Disclaimer: I only own my OCs. Vox belongs to a friend.

Wheeljack: What are we going to do with this femme?

Flamewar: We should squeeze all the information that we can get from her.

Zarron: *frowns* She is a prisoner, and she has rights. We question her correctly and hope she is cooperative.

Pitch: *frowns* For now.

Chapter 37: Making a Connection

Pandimala's 1st P.O.V.

Humming.

It was weird. I didn't think that would be the first thing I would hear after passing the patch. And from how it sounded, it didn't sound like vocal humming. Maybe it was from the ship? Being under the patch for however long it took might have made me sensitive to it now...though why that would be didn't make any sense. Maybe I could get with Knockout or Hook after they gave me a post-patch checkup and ask them if it was a side effect.

But, if it wasn't that, then what could it be? Immediately, my thoughts went to Skywarp. I swear, if that seeker fragging pranked me while I was unconscious, he was going to be the teleporting seeker with a limp. After all of the stress and emotions that came during the patch, I wasn't ready to deal with this humming noise.

So, I figured I should online my optics and figure out what was going on.

The blue glow of a blaster point met my optics.

My spark-rate jumped as I moved away from the blaster. Or, tried to at least. It was at that point that I realized that I was bound to some-sort of upright table. I thought I passed the patch! What were the Decepticons…?

Looking in front of me, I felt fear and panic rush through my systems. No. This couldn't have happened. What the frag happened? This couldn't be happening! No! I refused to accept this!

"Stop struggling femme or you will be put back into stasis,"

I stilled at that voice, though I narrowed my optics to glare at the Prime. Slagging Autobots! How did they even get me? Did they raid the Nemesis? That was the only explanation that I could come up with. How long had it been since they attacked? What were our casualties? My negative thoughts on Skywarp were immediately replaced with concern. If any of these Autobots hurt my fellow Decepticons, there would be no force able to stop me from tearing them apart!

"I say we should just tear out her spark and be done with it," Flamewar growled as she glared at me. "Shouldn't keep a 'Con online. Who knows what they will do to take advantage?"

Typical Autobot. At least, from what I had seen here since my training started with the Decepticons. While there were a few exceptions to that here on Earth, I could tell by the looks on the majority of the Autobots that they agreed with the femme. Slagging 'Bots.

"Back off Flamewar," I was surprised that it was Wheeljack defending me, somewhat, against the femme. "She's a prisoner and even they have certain rights. We took her from the fight online, so we have to keep her that way. We would be breaking intergalactic law if we did that. She can't defend herself and offlining her would be murder. It was you, Sentinel, and Pitch who brought her back here, I figured even someone as stupid as you could figure it out."

"Take that back Wheeljack," Flamewar hissed as she got into an attack position.

Wheeljack immediately took out his swords. "Don't feel like it femme."

Immediately, Sentinel and Pitch stood by Flamewar in attack positions while Zarron and Balm fell in beside Wheeljack. Most of the other Autobots looked like they didn't know which side to choose, let alone thinking of stopping it.

Frag. This was a lot of tension. What the slag has Paul been doing here? Playing patty-cake!? With all the fragging work I have put in with the Decepticons, I figured the idiot would at least make sure his Autobots were in as much harmony with each other as they could get. He had to know that I was going to be working with the Decepticons to make sure we accomplished our goals. Yet here were the Autobots, who were possibly even worse off than the Decepticons had been in the original timeline.

"Stand down," Optimus stepped in-between the two sides. So, it seemed that Optimus might just be the only thing stopping the Autobots from tearing each other apart. I would need to find a way to get in contact with Lord Megatron. This would be information he would need to know.

"What are we going to do about the femme Optimus?" Ratchet asked as he nervously glanced toward me. My glare never left Prime.

In return, the Prime turned toward me. "I do not recognize you, Decepticon. What is your designation?" My glare continued. "You are currently residing in our base as our prisoner. To begin negotiations, it would be prudent to give us your designation."

"There will be no negotiations," I growled back at the Prime, speaking. I would rather offline than allow myself to be used against my fellow Decepticons. These Autobots were not going to get the satisfaction in using me in such a way. I would not allow it.

"What was that?" Sentinel growled toward me.

I finally turned my glare toward him. "You will not use me against the Decepticons. My designation will not be taken by force." I then returned my look to Prime. I was surrounded. While I might be showing a calm air on the outside, I was internally having a panic attack. I didn't trust the Autobots, and now I was basically at their mercy. I didn't know who to even begin to try and open up to. Find out information and maybe bring ties closer. I still wanted to bring peace between the Autobots and Decepticons. However, I did not want the Decepticons to get the short end of the deal. That happened in the first take of the show. Never again.

"Why you ungrateful piece of slag." Flamewar hissed, taking out a blade. "I'm still for taking this slag out."

My panic continued to rise as many of the other Autobots seemed to agree with the femme, though she was the only one to draw a weapon right now.

"Stand down," Optimus ordered them all. Slowly, each of the offended Autobots relaxed their stances and Flamewar eventually put away her blade. The Prime then returned attention to me. "Your stay here would run much smoother if we were to know your designation." Out of the corner of my optic, I could see the four humans trying to stealthily observe our conversation. If I was not so worried about how the Autobots would react, I would move focus to them.

And especially Paul. From the glare he was sending my way, he was not happy at my arrival. Why that would be, I had a few guesses. It would be interesting to see if any of those guesses would be accurate.

"Enough of this slag Prime," Flamewar growled, causing my mental attention to focus back on them as she walked up to me, able to avoid the Prime's outstretched servo to stop her. "The femme seems to be just like every other 'Con. And if they don't want to talk," She then moved her faceplate so it was mere inches from mine. "Then you find ways to,"

Bang!

A dull pain throbbed through my helm, though a small smirk managed to sneak onto my faceplate, right before a deafening shriek came from Flamewar. The sharp edges on the top of my helm slamming into the area just under her optic was a beautiful combination. Served the femme right for trying to intimidate me. Even the slight panic I felt hearing the sound of blasters powering up at my reaction was worth it. The Decepticons even knew better than to put themselves within striking distance of a prisoner. Seems the Autobots had some learning to do.

"Hope that wasn't your attempt to charm me," I chuckled, though I never let my glare go. "If it was, you could polish up your act a bit."

I heard a chuckle come from my left and I was surprised to see that it was Wheeljack. Zarron and Balm had hidden smiles on their faceplates, but Wheeljack was the only one not hiding his reaction to what I just did. And he approved. Could he, and eventually, they, be a future ally?

"You glitch!" Flamewar hissed.

"Enough!" Optimus ordered as sharply as I ever heard the Prime order something in this dimension. Even including the original timeline. Optimus then turned and stared at me for a few clicks. It was slightly unnerving. Finally, he spoke, though not to me. "Wheeljack, for the time being, you shall watch over the prisoner."

"Come on Prime, if she won't even talk, then"

"You are going to watch over the prisoner." It took all the training I had to keep my optic ridge from rising in surprise. Optimus interrupting and not listening to his troops. Where the frag was this coming from? If this was how he was dealing with the divide in his troops, he was screwing up. I would have to find some way to update Lord Megatron on the information I was getting.

"Yes, Prime." I could hear Wheeljack's denta grinding as he responded, a glare of his own aimed at the leader of the Autobots.

After that, the rest of the Autobots filed out of the cell that I was in. It was hard to keep the smirk off of my faceplate as I heard Paul and the other humans discovered by the other Autobots. It was a small moment of seeming normalcy here among the Autobots. It reminded me of the fun times on the Nemesis.

"So," But, that simple word coming from Wheeljack reminded me that this was not the Nemesis. I was surrounded by enemies. "Since you aren't doing much talking, I might as well get this out while I can." What was he going to say? He sounded serious and I had to be careful. I watched his faceplate carefully. What was he going to say? Slowly, a smirk came on his faceplate and when he looked at me, I saw no ill-will in his blue optics. "Nice hit on Flamewar. That'll teach the femme to control herself...though hopefully, she doesn't. I wouldn't mind seeing you get a hit on her again."

Before I could stop it, a laugh came out of my vocals. I wasn't even sure why exactly I was laughing. Was it because the mech was taunting the Autobot who seemed to be most aggressive toward me during that, or that Wheeljack was honestly trying to make small talk with me? It reminded me of home...of my family...the Decepticons. It was comforting to my inner panic about all of this. "Thank you," It barely came out as a whisper, but yet I found the words coming out of my vocals.

"So, you're a 'Con with manners. Not something I see much of,"

"How often do you speak casually to Decepticons?"

Wheeljack looked at me in surprise for a click before he smirked. "You caught me there femme. Not usually able to have a polite conversation with a 'Con when you're trying to avoid being skewered."

"And the same could be said for having a polite conversation with an Autobot when you are trying to avoid being blasted in the faceplate." I found myself smirking back at the mech.

Wheeljack raised an optic ridge at that. "So, if I try and ask you any questions about the Decepticons, something tells me you aren't going to answer me. Am I right?"

"That'd be right."

"Maybe later." Doubtful, but the Autobot could hope. He did seem like the best one for me to leak information to, once I met with Lord Megatron and got clearance to start doing just that. We would see, though. "Do you think that I could get your designation at least? It's kinda weird not knowing what to call you when we talk. Plus, since the big guy has me watching you, it will make talks later go by easier."

"I'm not sure," I answered hesitantly. While I knew I would have to give my name to them eventually, I wasn't sure I was going to want to tell Wheeljack first. There were others who would probably be better to talk to.

"Didn't think so. It was worth a try though." He then shrugged. "I'll just see if I can't get Zarron or Balm to get us some energon. Something tells me it's going to be a long solar."

Really? He gave up that easily? Glancing at him as he moved away from the cells, I realized that, surprisingly, Wheeljack was probably the best one to open up to. So, as he walked away, I decided to answer him. "Pandimala. My designation is Pandimala."

Lord Megatron's 1st P.O.V.

"We need to go after her!" Not surprisingly, Starscream demanded this as we stood on the bridge with some of the others.

When we had finally convinced the drone to tell us where the others had been stationed I had led the way to investigate what had happened. With the suddenness of the Autobot attack, I did not think that Pandimala would be placed in harm's way. However, upon arrival at the room, it was discovered that her guards were indeed offline and Pandimala was no longer in the room. Soundwave checking the security footage confirmed that three of the Autobots had taken the femme from the room and through one of their escape ground bridges.

Honestly, I had reacted the same as Starscream was when I first realized this. The Autobots now had my newest strategist in their possession, plus with the extra information in her helm, she would be in even more danger if they were to find this out. Plus, Primus would probably try and sway her away from us since he would be close to the femme again.

However, with the results of the patch in my helm, I realized that keeping the femme there might work out for the better. She would eventually find her way out of their base and would be able to give us first-servo information about what was happening inside of Autobot faction here on Earth. She was in the perfect spot to retrieve information.

However, despite my reasoning, a few of my officers still felt that it would be best to simply remove the femme from her current location.

"With Flamewar in the base, her spark will be exposed for offlining at every waking opportunity. We would be risking Pandimala for information that we can gather fro out fights on the battlefield." Vox was one of the ones that wanted Pandimala returned immediately. Understandable, given the mech's history with Flamewar. However, Pandimala would be more than capable of dealing with the Autobot.

"Pandimala knows when to take action and when to keep to herself. She will not allow the Autobots to gain any sort of advantage over her." Shockwave put in. He seemed to see the situation in the same light that I did.

"But it's not just Flamewar we have to worry about. Sentinel Major and Pitch are both on this planet right now, and they do know how to covertly push their agendas, as many of us know." And that was Thundercracker.

"Optimus Prime will not allow his troops to break intergalactic law, lest he brings the wrath of the Galactic Alliance down on the Autobots." I rebutted that. While Optimus would stop them for his moral ground as well, that was the logical reason behind them.

"What are your plans for contacting her for information then?" Hook questioned. He seemed between the two sides on this issue.

Glancing between my officers, I answered the question. "We will keep all communication arrays scanning for Pandimala's comm signal and it is to be accepted immediately. Also, I want at least two officers to be in Neutrality at all times from now on. That is one of the new drone establishments planetside that the femme is aware of. If she can physically leave their base, whether that be in her base form or with her soliform, she will try to go there to contact us. This I am certain of." The bar was just on the outskirts of Jasper city limits and the femme had asked about it not long before the trouble that landed her under investigation. She knew of its location and would eventually make her way there.

Of course, when she would bee able to temporarily avoid the Autobots that she was currently being held by would be the unknown factor in this. So, having two officers at the bar at all times would make sure that we would be able to intercept her as quickly as possible.

"This still sounds risky," I heard Skywarp mumble under his vocals. However, he didn't seem to be making more of a disruption at that so I decided to let it be. We had more pressing issues at the click.

"As regards to Thrust, he is no longer a Decepticon due to the crime of treason. If he comes back to the ship, you are to shoot on sight and alert all of us of his return. I have already sent a message out to all Decepticons on the removal of Thrust from our ranks. I will not tolerate treason in the Decepticon ranks and will take immediate action to make sure that it is dealt with swiftly. The Decepticons are currently at a turning point in our efforts, and I will not see that ruined by scheming and traitors." They all nodded at that so I dismissed them.

Once they were gone, I glanced at one of the monitors. It was still broadcasting Pandimala's spark rate from the chip that Soundwave had planted inside of her when she was human. while I was confident in the work I knew the femme could do, I also knew that it was best to be prepared. If that spark-reading showed that Pandimala may be in mortal danger, then we would storm the Autobot base and take back our Decepticon. We no longer left our own behind, and I was ready to fight Primus himself to make sure that the femme was returned to us.

Wheeljack's 1st P.O.V.

"So femme, can you tell me how long you've been planetside?"

In return, Pandimala shook her helm. "Sorry Wheeljack, but I can't."

After I had gotten her some energon, Pandimala had agreed that I could try and ask her some questions. However, she did say that there would probably be quite a few that she could not answer due to her loyalty to the Decepticons. It was fair enough. if I could get any information out of her, we could start to build a profile on her. None of us had ever even heard of this femme before.

"Do you have a human you take care of?" She asked me back.

Of course, I wasn't the only one asking questions. So I could get her to trust me more, I was also answering the questions that I could that she asked. So far, there hadn't been many that I couldn't answer.

Including this one. "Naw, we leave that to some of the others here at the base." Now it was my turn and her question brought up an interesting question. "How did you know that we had humans here at the base?"

Instead of looking worried, Pandimala simply shrugged her shoulders. "Honestly, I noticed them spying on us when I first woke up here. I assumed you lot knew that they were here and were watching them." Well, Ironhide owed Ratchet some credits. He was sure that this femme hadn't noticed the humans then. Well, guess that she did. "Though, I have to say that the eldest looking one did not look pleased with my presence here."

"Makes sense, since your lot still have his employee hostage on your ship. Of course, from what Ironhide found out during the raid, we know why the Decepticons haven't used her against us."

I noticed that a strange look flashed across the femme's faceplate at that. "Why do you think you know why?"

Was she trying to play this off? "Ironhide ran into Dreadwing during our raid and he let slip that he did not know of any sort of hostage that was being held on the Nemesis. Put two and two together at that."

To my surprise, the femme let out a sigh. "Dreadwing is new on the ship, and with how Lizzie is treated on the ship, he must not have realized what her role on the ship was. Despite common belief, we Decepticons know how to care for other beings, and Lizzie has given us no reason to treat her anything but hospitably. I can assure you that, just before your raid, Lizzie was alive and well on the ship."

My optics widened at that. While that contradicted what Ironhide found out, I couldn't detect any sort of deceit behind the femme'ss optics. If she was lying, she was loads better at it than even Starscream, a mech known for his smooth lies.

But, her openness on the subject had me curious. "Why were so ready to answer that question? With every other interaction the Autobots have had with the Decepticons, we have not been able to even get the state of her well being from your lot. How come you are willing to tell me now?"

Pandimala smirked. "Two reasons. First being that you are holding me prisoner and, while I can't reveal some information to you, the status of the human on our ship is something that I can give you to appease you. Secondly, that is about all the information that I can give you about her. So, I figured it was best just to tell you now."

Honestly, it made sense. Holding onto information like that when she was a captive would not serve her too well and I was not going to complain about getting this information. "Makes sense."

"I know." She had a smirk on her faceplate. Cocky femme. "Now, during the fiasco that happened when I woke up here, I noticed that a few of your Autobots seemed a little...savage in their suggestions on what to do with me. Especially the femme called Flamewar. Is there anything that you can tell me about that?"

Well, it really wouldn't hurt to tell her that. Plus, she should be prepared for how those three could act. "I don't trust them. Pitch, Sentinel Major, and Flamewar. You know who they were right?"

"Yeah,"

"They seem to want to act first and ask questions way later….if at all. And that's something coming from me. You need to make sure to watch yourself when they are around you. They seem to be looking for any excuse to snuff out your spark femme. From what I can see, you aren't half bad for a 'Con. Honestly out of all the Decepticons we know that are on Earth, you are probably the most cooperative we will ever get as a prisoner. Don't give them an excuse to take you out."

I noticed the shiver that seemed to run down her chassis before she nodded. "I'll try my best Wheeljack."

"Good." Well, it was all I could ask for. This femme was the enemy, despite none off us ever having seen her before this solar. "Well, I had better get to recharge. Ironhide is going to be taking over during the night shift this solar. I'll return in the morning cycles and we can talk some more, alright?"

"Alright. Goodnight Wheeljack."

"See ya femme." I then walked out of the room. That was strange. Something about how we left each other wasn't settling right with me. However, I couldn't quite place my processor on it. I'd have to think about it more during recharge.

Passing Ironhide, I figured that the mech might want to hear the good news. "I got her to answer a few questions. One about Paul's employee."

"Did she admit that they offlined the human? Fragging Decepticons."

I shook my helm. "No. She was quite adamant that the femme was quite online and being decently taken care of. I think I believe her."

"Then how does she explain Dreadwing's reaction, or did you not tell her."

"I told her." I answered him."She said that the human is treated in a way that Dreadwing, being new on the ship, does not realize that the femme is technically a prisoner."

"Likely." The exaggeration was not appreciated. "However, with this, we can hold off on telling Paul until we get a 'Con who's been around for a while to admit it. Thank Primus we haven't told him yet."

I was not going to have a debate with Ironhide about how believable our prisoner was anymore. I wanted to get some recharge before my shift next solar cycle. "Good luck Ironhide." I wished him before making my way back to my quarters.

Once I was there, I dropped to my berth and stared up at the ceiling as my recharge protocols started to activate. Something seemed off about Pandimala. Hopefully, I could figure it out before something went wrong.

Lord Megatron: *angry* The Autobots took my strategist! *glares at Authoress* How could you let this happen?

Authoress: *surprised* Why are you so upset about this? I thought you were alright with her being with the Autobots, and that she could take care fo herself? *knowing smirk* Of course, unless that was just an act about how you,

Lord Megatron: Don't even finish that Authoress. *glares* If anything happens to her while she is with the Autobots, I am taking operations out of your flesh.

Authoress: *gulps*

AN: And here is the next exciting installment of this series! I hope you all found this as entertaining as I did!

Pandimala has awakened with the Autobots! An interesting confrontation and Pandimala sees first-servo the tension that has been rife among the Autobots. The femme is upset with Paul. With all of the stress he has been putting about supporting the Autobots, not much to show for it.

Of course, there seem to be some rising tensions among the Decepticons. They seem to be split among the Decepticons about what they should do about Pandimala's capture. Lord Megatron seems to be showing one front while secretly being worried about his strategist. Interesting...very interesting. *smirks*

Finally, we hop into Wheeljack's point of view and we see some questions being thrown between him and Pandimala. Finally, the Autobots get some ideas about the condition of 'Lizzie'. Honestly, though, I think Pandimala seemed to get more out of the questions than Wheeljack did. Though, it was a start. Then, the bit between Wheeljack and Ironhide at the end there seemed to cause Wheeljack to think some.

Well, that wraps up my summary of this interesting chapter. The next chapter is going to bring about some interesting developments around Pandimala and maybe a surprise or two. Just to give you all a bone, the next chapter is also going to see the return of a character that hasn't been seen for a number of chapters.

Well, that's all I'm going to say for now. While you all try to think about who that character is that will be returning, here are the names for the upcoming chapters!

Chapter 38: Receiving an Outlet Triangulation

Chapter 39: Sound of Silence Triage

Chapter 40:...(Find out during the next installment...and it will be very interesting!)

And that is all this tired worker has for this solar. Drop a review if you would like and I hope you all keep enjoying reading this! TTYL! *thinking about little boxes made of ticky-tacky*