Disclaimer: All recognisable characters and places belong to HasTak, anything you don't recognise is probably mine.
Part 8: Confidence in competence
Chapter 1 of 5
Sideswipe rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. One more boring orn in an endless succession of boring orns in what felt like an equally endless succession of boring vorns.
The war... could this tedium still be called a war?... had been in this lull for decades. Over a century, in fact. The Decepticons had become entrenched at several strategically valuable sites, and apart from the odd skirmish there was little heard from them.
Oh sure, there was that nasty attack on the moon base above Gilsennin sixty vorns ago; but the super weapon had blown itself up, taking its creators and a whole battalion of Decepticon soldiers with it. And the storming of the energon mines at Kevri and Vroma Bes had been a sharp loss to the Autobot supply chain, but a few well placed charges on the part of the special ops forces had meant it was no gain on the Decepticon side either.
Then there was the disaster at Perihex to consider. The Decepticon scientists had convinced Megatron that the best way to flush out rebels hiding on the home world was through atmospheric manipulation. Quite what the result was supposed to have been was a mystery, but what it succeeded in doing was horrific.
The acid rain storms that the Decepticons had initiated at the start of the war had been made considerably more dangerous. Before, getting caught in the rain had meant scars and paint damage. Now just a few particles in your intakes could kill.
Almost all of the Autobots previously based on Cybertron had pulled out. A small contingent remained at the Iacon ship docks, well protected but also isolated: the work on the old Ark had come to a complete halt. The only good thing was that the Decepticons were just as vulnerable as anyone else and were safe only in the well shielded base Darkmount, so Cybertron was now just another stalemate.
The Decepticons did not even seem to care. Their attention was elsewhere.
While they were rarely engaging with any Autobot forces, and usually only by accident, they were actively seeking out and raiding every Neutral enclave in the galaxy. They did not seem to be recruiting, just looking for supplies and slaves. The Autobots went to help where they could, but often they were too far away and did not have enough notice to do much more than arrive after it was all over.
In response, the Autobot fleet was somewhat scattered, but Prowl insisted on maintaining an active presence near any Autobot-held asset. They were very short on basic supplies and the few times his orders had been ignored by the local commanders their enemies had been quick to take advantage.
Sideswipe's lips twitched towards a smile as an idea for a fabulous prank began to form. He would have to be careful, of course. Keeping Topnotch from guessing what he was doing was one thing, avoiding Prowl's attention was something else.
Once Prowl had his three new assistants working hard he had resumed oversight of on-ship discipline. He pointed out that he had been far more efficient and effective than Topnotch even when he was overworked, and that was difficult to argue against. And the fact was, none of the other officers particularly wanted the job, not even Tripwire. The SIC was quite busy enough without having to worry about whether the culprits involved in the latest rash of pranks had been found and appropriately disciplined. Topnotch was still there, and still handled a lot of the drudgery, but the trick for any prankster aboard was to avoid Prowl.
Which, Sideswipe sighed, he had not managed to do yesterday. Hence his current incarceration. But this new plot, ah yes, now that had promise.
"Sideswipe!" the guard barked. "Time's up. Geddout."
About time. Now to find some accomplices, and he knew just where to look.
Prowl watched attentively as the visitors entered the conference room: three Neutrals, all nervous and defensive but taking the indicated seats without protest. Optimus waited until the door had closed, then nodded to them.
"Welcome. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots and these are some of my senior staff: Ironhide, my Weapons Specialist; Tripwire, my Security Director and Second in Command; Prowl, my Chief Tactical Officer; and Curveball, my Third in Command. Welcome aboard the Escaphalion."
"We know who you and your staff are, Prime, there is no need to patronise us." the one furthest from Optimus snarled.
"Hush." the one next to him instructed. "It is polite to start with introductions and we are guests of the Prime. I am Steelrod. This is Gasket, and our less courteous friend is Oredigger. We represent a number of non-allied mecha you commonly refer to as Neutrals, but I should be clear that we cannot make decisions on their behalf."
"Then why are you even here?" Tripwire asked.
"Good question." Oredigger grunted. "This is a waste of time."
"We are here," Steelrod responded firmly, "to request protection."
"The Autobots attempted to protect civilians back on Cybertron." Curveball pointed out. "It was a disaster."
"Anyone can seek asylum from the Prime and have it granted." Gasket spoke up. "It's tradition dating right back to Prima."
"True." Optimus nodded. "However, my troops are already stretched thin. We don't have the capacity to protect large numbers of non-combatants as well."
"You must protect us!" Gasket insisted.
"Why?" Ironhide questioned. "Why must we? How many times've you Neutrals sold us out to save your own shells? How often have we been turned away from shelter or supplies because it just might've drawn Decepticon attention? You're the ones who wanted us to surrender to Megatron - well where would we be now if we had?"
"Easy, Ironhide." Optimus interrupted, placing a staying hand on the mech's shoulder as he addressed the Neutrals. "You have come to make this request, but you must already know that the war is going poorly for us. Our ships and outposts are attacked twice for every Neutral base targeted."
"Yours are defended; ours are helpless."
"So now you want weapons from us?" Ironhide scoffed.
"I will never kill, and nor will many of my colleagues." Steelrod told him haughtily.
"No, you'll just hide in your holes and let us die for you, without lifting a finger! Prime, we don't have time for this nonsense!"
Ironhide subsided at a look from Optimus, and Tripwire shook his head disapprovingly.
"Ironhide's right. We can't waste troops as guards - we don't have enough as it is. The best thing you can do is keep running."
"Curveball?" Prime asked.
The Chief of Special Operations - who could not possibly have failed to notice how Optimus had introduced him without his title - shrugged casually.
"Far as I'm concerned, this is their problem not ours. We've got enough to worry about."
"Spoken like the sparkless killer you really are." Oredigger spat.
"At least I don't expect others to do the killing for me." Curveball retorted.
"Prowl?" Prime interrupted, cutting off the argument before it could get worse.
Prowl considered for a moment, aware that his own thoughts had taken him in a different direction to the others. That was his job, and he did not have to agree with the other seniors - Primus knew he had disagreed with them often enough in the vorns since he had been promoted - but it was politic not to contradict them entirely in front of guests. Besides, although he had been CTO for well over a century now, there had been few situations quite like this one.
"Prowl?" Prime called to him again.
He folded his hands in his lap, processors racing to assess the risks of what he was considering.
"It is best, perhaps, to begin with the facts that we can be certain of. We know that the Decepticons are looking for carriers. They know that we are armed against them but that the Neutrals are not, thus the Neutrals are a more desirable target.
"We also know that the Neutrals - while referred to as such for convenience - are not in any way a cohesive group, nor can we be certain of the affiliations or motivations of the group as a whole since the dynamics are altered by each individual. This was what led to the problems experienced on Cybertron during early attempts to protect civilians.
"Finally, we also know that our entire army could not possibly be enough to defend all of the Neutral bases, and that to bring them together in a single place would simply provide a larger and more vulnerable target to the Decepticons."
"So get to the point. What are you suggesting?" Gasket asked.
"Compromise." he said simply.
"I knew it!" Oredigger began. "You Autobots'll take everything we have and still want more..."
"Shut up." Curveball snapped, then glared at Prowl. "What kind of compromise?"
"We protect some of the Neutrals, but not all. Specifically, those at highest risk: breeders, sparklings and bond pairs. We bring them together in a single, defensible space and we keep the location secret. We assign as protectors only those Autobots who are either breeders themselves or who have lifemates who are at risk. That way we dramatically reduce the risk of betrayal.
"The rest of the Neutral bases will remain as they are. We will assist where we can, as we currently do, but our assistance will be prioritised along with all of our other needs. Knowing that the Decepticons cannot continue to run their factories from raids either on us or on Neutral bases will make it easier for us to plan and will likely reduce the frequency of those raids as there will be little gain for them.
"Having all of the breeders in one spot will create a tempting target, it is true, but it also makes it more defensible, particularly if we are careful in selecting the location, and the defenders will have every reason to remain vigilant as they will have a personal stake in the outcome.
"As the sparklings mature they will be given a choice to join the defenders, to join the Autobots, or to find a Neutral enclave to join. They cannot be permitted to remain indefinitely in place unless they are breeders themselves. We cannot cope with a constantly expanding population in this scenario any more than we managed on Cybertron."
He paused, well aware that he had everyone's full attention, then nodded to Optimus.
"It is a risk, but one with potential benefits to both sides. That would be my advice, sir."
Falling silent, he knew it would not be long before the questions started, and focused most of his energy on preparing answers where he could.
When the meeting finally ended, the Neutrals were guided directly back to their ship to return to their respective bases and spread the word on what had been proposed. Ironhide and Curveball also left, but Optimus motioned for the other two to stay.
"We need to start working on this quickly. Prowl, I want a draft of the full plan in three orns. Tripwire: who do you think we should include in this?"
"As few as possible. Even if we just keep it to those who were here, it would be risky."
"It can be done." Prowl assured him confidently.
Optimus smiled as he saw Tripwire frown at the CTO. Prowl seemed so rule-bound and conservative that it was often difficult to remember he was also the same mech who had come up with the piece of inspired genius - or perhaps madness - that had led to the Ark being safely delivered to Iacon.
At the time Quickquadrant had queried whether Prowl had truly come up with such an outrageous plan on his own or if he had had some help from some as-yet unnamed source. Knowing now what he did about Quickquadrant Optimus now realised that the mech had feared Prowl's competence, but any fears of the same that he might have harboured himself were now silenced. Prowl had come up with this solution with no forewarning, and the resolution had been enough to quell the rising tension.
"So you say." Tripwire allowed, still frowning. "But I am unconvinced."
"I could give you more detail if you will permit me a few groons to..."
"I don't want to know." the explanation was dismissed as the security officer rose to leave.
"What do you mean?" Optimus asked.
"I don't want to be involved." Tripwire clarified. "Everyone will expect that I know: fine, we can use that. When I say things, or don't say things, it'll get read as reliable information, so it'll provide a distraction."
Optimus nodded slowly, unhappy at the thought of his own SIC not being involved but understanding the reasoning.
"That makes sense."
"I still need some contact with the security team." Prowl frowned. "This will take a great deal of planning."
"I'll assign Red Alert to it." Tripwire told him. "He's already working with you on the new security protocols, it'll look like it's just a continuation of that."
"That is acceptable. But you will need to continue to meet with us, to give the appearance that you are still involved."
"True. But whatever you tell me at those meetings, I don't want the truth. Understood?"
"Yes."
"Good. Hopefully that'll help keep this from being known by half the universe within an orn of you making a plan."
"Must be nice." Cadmium commented to Sideswipe as they watched the two minibots being dragged out of the rec room and away by a security team led by a glowering Topnotch. "Seeing someone else in trouble for once, and not you."
"I'm not always in trouble."
"Oh no?"
"Anyway," Sideswipe continued quickly, "you can't talk. You got caught in that prank on Tripwire just the other orn. Which was a master stroke, by the way."
"Would've been even better if we hadn't been caught. I hate it when Prowl gets involved. I swear, he's gotta be prescient or something. Maybe he was a priest before the war?"
"Maybe." Sideswipe shrugged. "But whatever it is, he's not gonna guess this one. You want in?"
Cadmium laughed, leaning back in his chair.
"Depends. What've you got in mind?"
"Nothing much. Just a bit of shuffling of supplies. Come on, I'll show you..."