Chapter 114: Vehicon
Cliffjumper forced himself to cycle air evenly, breathing in deeply to maintain his composure, though the rest of him wanted to scream and rage and tear his home office apart. For 3 mega-cycles he'd been trying (and failing) to break the encryption on Galvatron's communication system. 3 mega-cycles of agonizing failure and anger at his inability to reach Galvatron, to be closer than he'd ever been before and keep hitting a wall!
No matter what he did, no matter how many tricks he tried, Cliffjumper couldn't connect to Galvatron's terminal. He knew it was there, it existed, he had cracked the terminal code itself, but he couldn't get past the firewalls that protected uninvited messengers. He felt like a spam bot at this point.
He had to think of a way to transmit something more directly. He wasn't able to actually link up on site…but Intel agents could sometimes piggyback on sent transmissions if they got a transmitter close enough to the space they were coming from. It could work in the opposite direction too. If he could get a transmitter into Karn's range space and link it to Galvatron's terminal, he could send at least some protected messages. Cliffjumper was acting on the assumption that Galvatron was the only bot with a functioning terminal on Karn, but that was risky too. Even with a link to Galvatron's terminal, it would be possible for other bots in the area to pick up transmissions, which is why Cliffjumper couldn't send them direct from Cybertron.
With Sunstreaker, he'd had a private link to the bot's ship. It was secure. This was more like tossing a message into the acid sea and waiting for someone to pick up at the shore, it if ever got picked up at all.
But how to get a secure transmitter close enough without it being spotted, reported, or destroyed? Cybertron was pretty strict on launching communications systems, too much of a security risk. But he was running out of time. Ultra Magnus was due back in another mega-cycle and they were heading to Vehicon a mega-cycle after that! If he didn't come up with something, he'd miss his chance to link to Galvatron entirely!
Slumping forward to cradle his processor in her servos, Cliffjumper sat in silent anguish for a moment, only for it to be broken by the harsh ringing of an alarm. Glaring at his desk clock, he saw it was already morning. He'd spent the whole night trying and nothing to show for it. With a groan he pulled himself out of his chair and made for the kitchen. Energon was the only way he was going to survive today, especially with their check-in meeting with Ultra Magnus that afternoon.
The day naturally dragged on for the mini, and perhaps others on the Sleeper Bot case. Longarm Prime had also been uncharacteristically silent and brooding the past few cycles. Perhaps the stress of this case was making for the Prime's own sleepless nights. Together they made their way to the council chambers at the end of the day.
As far as meetings went, Cliffjumper had attended duller. At least the company was good, for the most part. Longarm and the council had decided the best course of action for tracking down sleeper agents would be something akin to a task force. Blurr had been put back on the case, in charge of hunting down the bot responsible for making the sleeper agents. Longarm and Cliffjumper were also going to set Mirage on looking for possible breeches among their own ranks. Internal investigations were never fun, but it was unavoidable, especially with the Waspinator incident a few ano-cycles back, and now StunGun in the police force. They just had to be careful not to step on too many peds, hence Mirage. Blurr was a bit more…forward as an Intel agent. Mirage preferred to sneak around and learn in secret.
Sideswipe was heading efforts to find more sleeper agents in the civilian guild, and he'd shown up to the meeting with a pretty surprising guest: Rattletrap. Apparently Sideswipe felt the snitch would be useful, since he knew about the underbelly of Cybertron. Taking a place at the podium, the red cop stood firm, a clear contrast from the fidgety bot next to him.
"Sleeper agents have to have something in common, in order to have been found, recruited, and coded. I don't think random bots would be able to maintain covers or adopt the coding without some baseline sympathy with the Decepticons" Sideswipe explained. "If we can find that common link, we can seek out more of them."
Blurr nodded rapidly, transmitting from off planet as he made his way back to Cybertron, "My-previous-investigation-lead-me-to-believe-the-recruiter-was-in-the-Entertainment-guild, someone-or-some-group-able-to-attract-large-groups-of-people-under-a-cuase-without-attracting-attention."
Longarm spoke up then, "We need to figure out how far to cast the net. It's possible the instigator moves around, perhaps even targets smaller cities or locations." He shifted in his seat, exhausted from a late night of coding a patch to repair this glitch-up.
"Nah" Rattletrap interrupted, looking up, "Iacon is one of the biggest cities on the planet, easy to hide in plain sight. Small town bots are too…friendly, and nosey. Always know when something is up. A sleeper bot would be recognized as soon as they missed a city hall meeting or somethin'."
The council bots considered the statement before nodding in agreement. Alpha Trion spoke up, "For now, I feel it's best to focus on our immediate area. Iacon is the center of Autobot Operations, it mustn't be compromised."
Botanica stepped forward then, "I have contacts within the social elite that may be of some help in the venture. Endeavors like this are not without their costs after all. The recruiter would need to be an excellent coder themselves or have access to one, as well as safe locations to conduct the re-coding sessions. Hiding such locations would attract attention, so they must be in plain sight. If we can narrow down the scope of suspects in the Entertainment guild, with the financial backing to pull something like this off-"
"Follow the creds" Rattletrap nodded, suddenly freezing up when Botanica looked at him directly. "Uh- mam" he added, his faceplate warming considerably.
Botanica smiled softly, nodding. "I will handle the upper crust, you will help with the underground. We appreciate your assistance in this venture Rattletrap."
"Yeah sure, no prob. I mean, I'm an Autobot too after all." Rattletrap murmured, suddenly finding his peds very interesting.
Cliffjumper glanced between the snitch and the council member. Rattletrap was suddenly so polite. He and Sideswipe shared a glance. So he wasn't imagining it, Rattletrap was smitten, and Botanica certainly wasn't turning him down. Huh. Well more power to them, Cliff thought, though he sure as frag wasn't going to get involved.
"Good" Ultra Magnus intoned from his screen. "Conduct investigations with the utmost secrecy, we do not want to falsely accuse anyone. Onto more private business." As he spoke, several bots stood and left, including Rattletrap, and Blurr's connection cutting off with a final salute, leaving only those that knew the truth about Axletron. Once the doors shut, Ultra Magnus continued, "Sideswipe, how is StunGun? Has his behavior remained the same?"
Rubbing his chin, Sideswipe spoke up, "He's still fixated on Axle, asks about him every chance he gets, but he's clammed up a bit on other things. Search of his apartment and terminals at home and at work haven't turned up anything. If he does have info on the Decepticons, he never wrote it down. We think it was secured as a timed data release in his processor, revealed only when the coding activated. But what he knows now, he isn't sharing yet." With a glance at Cliffjumper, he added, "The only real bargaining chip we have with him right now is Axle, but I'd rather not involve him in this. With how much time has passed since Megatron went missing, we don't even know if the information StunGun has is even still viable."
"All intel is useful intel, even if it's outdated." Alpha Trion intoned, "You never know when you'll be in a dark enough corner to go back to plan A."
Cliffjumper knew Alpha Trion was right, but he sure as scrap didn't like it. Before he could protest however, Longarm Prime spoke up, "As helpful as he would be, I don't think Axletron should be involved in the investigation. It would increase the risk of him being found by the Decepticons, and put him in danger. We can figure out another way to get the data out of StunGun."
"I agree. It would be best to keep Axletron out of this." Ultra Magnus replied. "He is still too vulnerable to be allowed out in great measure, but his recent behavior shows a clear need for more engaging experiences." Everybot thought back to the zoo trip that started this great investigation. How could a teenager sneaking out lead to something to big? It was hardly fair, but then again, Axletron was far from a normal teenager. "We will be back on Cybertron in a few cycles, and leave for Vehicon a mega-cycle after. Hopefully this trip will quench some of Axle's thirst for adventure. How are preparations going Cliffjumper?"
"Well, Ultra Magnus," Cliffjumper replied. "We're prepared and Hound, Perceptor and Wheeljack have been working on something to help Axletron blend in better, and even though he's still grounded, he's extremely excited to be taking a trip with you and seeing more of the commonwealth."
Ultra Magnus' expression softened, "Glad to hear it." Firming up again, he glanced about the rest of the council. "We all have our assignments, I expect another debrief when we return planet side. Meeting adjourned, everyone have a good night. "
As the bots split for the day, Longarm mused on his luck as we walked with Cliffjumper back to the Intel offices. Shockwave was reassured that Cliffjumper and the Council's decision to keep Axletron hidden and out of the sleeper agent situation would be his saving grace. Rosanna had been tinkering with a way to send subliminal messages through her songs. While all her songs held particularly Decepticon-ish themes, they did not have any overt forms of control or sway. Shockwave was working to change that, in an effort to cover up the coding weakness in his agents, who remained fans of the pop star even after their covert induction into the Decepticons. For now it was something. He'd have to see what more he could do while Cliffjumper and Ultra Magnus were off planet.
Two mega-cycles later had Axletron gazing out onto the planet's surface, watching as the ship approached the outskirts of what looked like an enormous city. Ultra Magnus joined him, savoring the sparkling's excited and eager look. He knew Axletron would love this trip. "Vehicon was the first planet taken over by the Decepticons during the Great War." Ultra Magnus began to explain, as they landed, "We liberated it during our planet hopping campaign, but some Decepticon influences can still be seen." Ultra Magnus explained.
Axle gazed down at the bright mishmash of buildings and bots. It was so different from the structured layout of Iacon, with its perfect cookie cutter buildings. Here, everything was unique, a building onto itself. A good chunk of them had enormous, high reaching doors; made sense if it was once a Decepticon held building. They made even Ultra Magnus look small!
The sound of a door sliding opened drew the two bot's attention away from the landscape. Cliffjumper and Jazz moved forward, both brightly grinning. Behind them, Sentinel sullenly followed along. "Axle" Cliffjumper grinned, "we figured out a way to let you explore planet-side."
"What is it?" Axletron asked excitedly.
"Mini holographic projector" Jazz gushed, pulling a small machine out of his subspace. "Fresh from the science guild."
"Hound had one like this during the war, perfect for hiding in plain sight." Cliffjumper said, tapping on Axletron's medical port. The sparkling opened it without question, allowing his mom to link him to the machine.
"That kind of tech is rare, so this one is pretty basic, but perfect for a little outing. We programed it to make you look like a TA-33 body style bot. It's the same model as Sideswipe" Jazz explained as he began hooking it up to Axle's system. As Jazz activated the projector, Axle could feel the new linkup in his hub.
"Stick to red, if you don't mind" Cliffjumper tuned in, "I'll be easier to keep track of you in a crowd."
Jazz smirked and nodded, tweaking something before stepping back and nodding to Axletron.
Activating it, Axletron watched his reflection change before his optics. His sharp angles smoothed out into a square helmet, while his thicker peds narrowed into smaller treds and his shoulders broadened. He was still red, and he had his horns too! But his faceplate was missing his high, dark cheeks, and jutting helmet. "Weird" he murmured, reaching up to touch his faceplate. It felt the same, but the reflection showed his hand touch a stranger.
"Be careful" Jazz warned, "It's only a hologram, your mass and proportions haven't changed. Don't want to bump into anything by accident."
With a nod, Axle continued poking his arm. "It is odd." Cliffjumper added with a grimace, a bit unnerved by the change, so used to Axle as he knew him, "But it'll let you have some fun at least. Here." Pulling out a credit chip, he handed it over to the sparkling. "Spending money, find a nice souvenir, try the local food, see the sights and all that."
"You're not coming?" Axletron asked with surprise.
"I'll meet up with you guys in a few micro-cycles." Cliffjumper explained. "I need to work on some things for Intel and the Vehicon branch while we're here. Stick with Ultra Magnus and Jazz, keep your comm. on and if something doesn't feel right, hit your panic button. Got it?"
The sparkling nodded with a shy smile. "Yes mom."
With another smile, Cliffjumper nodded his approval and watched as the three bots headed down the landing ramp to explore the sights. He trusted Ultra Magnus and Jazz to keep Axle safe and while the sparkling was still on thin ice for the zoo adventure, he knew not to wander off alone again.
And so Cliffjumper stayed on the Steel Haven, with Sentinel, who could not seem to take a hint and instead spent all his time groaning and complaining while Cliffjumper filed reports and sent massages to the on-location staff. "You sure you don't want to go planet-side Sentinel?" He asked after the large-chinned bot spend a good micro-cycle complaining about being stuck on ship babysitting duty. "I can watch the ship myself, the security system takes care of most of it anyway."
With another frown, Sentinel grumbled, "Who'd want to get pulled into that mob, this planet is so crowded."
"It's a major base and trading Hub Sentinel," Cliffjumper interjected, "What do you expect?" With a few more clicks, he finished his report and prepped the transfer before standing. "I need to check in with the Intel agent here, you staying or coming?"
"I'll come with, best remind those backwater grunts what a real Autobot Elite guard looks like." Sentinel boasted as he stood and headed for the door. Cliffjumper followed behind with a great roll of his optics.
The Autobot base on Vehicon didn't really hold a candle to Iacon, but it was still impressive, at least in size, as it had originally belonged to the Decepticons. The lead Intel agent in this region was a small femme named Tapwire. Green and blue, with a helmet similar to Ultra Magnus', she gave them a tour of the base and overview of the Decepticon situation in the sector. As a major trading port, Tapwire kept her audios close to the ground, ever worried about Decepticon attempts to attack the planet. Fortunately, they were a sufficient enough force to keep the planet safe.
All in all, Cliffjumper didn't mind her. She did her job, filed reports on time, and didn't slap Sentinel silly whenever he opened his stupid mouth, though her servos did twitch for the blasters at her hips on more than one occasion.
Ultra Magnus was meeting with the base leader the next day, Air General Wing Saber and luckily Cliffjumper did not have to be present for that, though he did have to include it in his report to Longarm. Instead he'd finally get a break from Sentinel's nonstop complaining. As they walked through the town's markets, Sentinel was airing out every grievance he could think of, from the heat, to the crowds, to the fragging dust!
Cliffjumper could feel his temper flaring, his energon starting to boil in his systems. He was maybe two nano-cliks from exploding when he spotted something out of the corner of his optic that made him pause. Sentinel continued a few paces before realizing Cliffjumper had stopped following. "What's the holdup? Come on, let's hurry back to the ship. I need a cube."
This was his chance. "You go ahead Sentinel, I want to check out that shop we passed a while back. I think I saw something Axle would like. I'll meet up with you at later ok?"
Unwilling to go back into the crowded market, Sentinel merely nodded and waved Cliffjumper away. The mini swiftly made his way through the sea of bots, aiming for the small shop with a back wall of transmitters just visible through the window.
"Hello! Welcome, come on in!" greeted the bot at the front sales desk, a thin grey and orange bot with goggle optics. "Looking for anything in particular?"
Making his way to the desk while looking at the various merchandise displayed on shelves, Cliffjumper nodded. "A friend of mine moved to a rather obscure part of space for a research expedition, and communication with just his ship's transmitter has been flakey at best." Cliffjumper explained, "Got anything capable of deep space transmission, but portable?"
The salesbot hummed for a moment as he thought, before stepping off his seat and gesturing Cliffjumper to follow how down the counter line, "I think I have something that could work. Most deep space transmitters need to be large or powerful enough to be accessed from any device. This transmitter is a bit more limited, but it can be still linked to a few specific terminals." Digging through some shelves, the bot pulled out a black and grey transmitter and placed it on the counter top, about chassis level with Cliffjumper, "You would have to set it up for the area of course, but after it's linked to a terminal, shouldn't lose the connection again."
"Can you explain the set up procedure?"
Nodding, the bot elaborated, "Sure. First you have to link it to your terminal, so that it has a home link to connect and relay transmissions to. After that, you send it out to your friend's area of space and link it to their terminal. It's all wireless, just needs to be within a certain range to link. Once the connection is made, accept it at home and you'll be set to transmit back and forth between those two devices."
Cliffjumper nodded, "Sounds simple enough. Alright, I'll take it."
"Wonderful!"
After paying and bidding the salesbot goodbye, Cliffjumper carefully tucked the transmitter into his deliberately empty subspace, finding it just fit. With a hopeful smile, Cliffjumper made his way back to the Steel Haven, a careful plan forming in his processor.
End Chapter 114