Chapter 5: B-127

The gold colored shuttle streaked across the Cybertronian sky, the Alpha Centauri sun shimmering off it's hull.

Orion Pax sat on the bench next to his squad, looking at his rifle.

His mind racing.

"Pax. What happens if we arrest him?" Jazz asked.

Orion snapped out of his deep thoughts, and looked over at the visored mech.

"We are not cleared to arrest him..."

"Okay but what if we do?" Jazz asked. "We ain't some kinda death squad, we're cops. We bring in decepticons."

"Oh cram it." Ironhide grumbled. "You killed three decepticons in that bar. You said it yourself. They blew up your old hangout, ended your music career, you signed up cuz you wanted payback. And now you're sittin here whining cuz we have to take out a traitor?"

"It just don't feel right." Jazz replied.

Hound stayed quiet, cleaning his own rifle in the background.

"We have to trust in Zeta Prime." Orion stated. "He needs Mirage terminated. We have to trust his judgement."

"Two minutes from the drop." Prowl called from the cockpit. "Make your peace with Primus if you are so inclined."

"Janitors. Are you kidding me? JANITORS?!" Sunstreaker exclaimed, as he dragged a metal broom across the floor of a Citadel hallway.

"We got a badge." Sideswipe replied, fully absorbed in the autobot logo on his chest. "We're official, Sunny."

"WE'RE JANITORS, SIDESWIPE!" Sunstreaker shouted, shaking his broom in frustration. "This is rock bottom. It has to be, right?"

"No. Prison would've been rock bottom. Because we would've never gotten out." Sideswipe replied calmly. "Sunny, we get paid money to clean the capital building of Cybertron. We're making 25 shanix an hour to sweep a floor!"

Sunstreaker let out a groan, as he slumped against the wall.

The two paused and nodded to a passing autobot soldier, who gave them a weird look.

"I hate this place. So pretentious." Sunstreaker grumbled.

Sideswipe let out a chuckle as he began wiping his corner of the floor.

"I'm surprised you even know what pretentious means."

Bumblebee rumbled across the surprisingly empty freeway, across the long, peaceful metal plains of Cybertron.

The view up here was beautiful. He could see miles in every direction. He could see the city of Altihex long before he arrived.

Massive, towering, skyscrapers. Altihex was one of the finest cities on the planet, home to theaters, musical halls, and the autobots primary training ground, and stronghold.

He heard a few jet turbines overhead, and paused as a pointy jet zipped above his field of vision.

It seemed to be circling. And the triangular shape of it was unmistakable.

Bumblebee accelerated, trying to close the distance to Altihex as quickly as he could.

The cosmopolitan city, the third largest on Cybertron, grew larger as the miles passed, but still, the jet continued to circle.

"Citadel Command, this is Courier B-127, I believe I'm being tailed by a seeker, please advise."

Static.

"Copy that, Courier B-127, this is Citadel Command we are sending a unit to assist you." His comms replied after some silence.

Bumblebee breathed a sigh of relief as he continued watching the jet.

"Thank you Citadel Command..."

A siren suddenly wailed behind him.

"Jeez, That was quick..." Bumblebee muttered, looking in his rear view, and seeing a rapidly approaching black and white police car.

He slowed down, as the police car pulled directly behind him.

An autobot badge on it's hood.

"Pull over, B-127." The car called sternly.

Bumblebee skidded to a stop, as the car pulled in behind him.

Bumblebee transformed up, and looked up at the jet, as it continued to circle.

"You see it?" The small yellow mech asked, pointing up at it.

The police car transformed up behind him, and looked across at bumblebee, a pair of red optics glaring at the mech.

"It's rude to point." The mech stated, stepping towards him.

"You my backup?" Bumblebee asked nervously.

"Yeah. Name's Barricade." The cop replied. He looked up and waved at the seeker, who continued to circle them.

"Um...is he an autobot?" Bumblebee asked, pointing at the jet again.

Barricade slapped his hand down, and gave the mech a warning look.

"Why are you pointing, little guy?" Barricade asked. "I told you, it's rude."

Bumblebee felt a shiver up his spine, as the police mech stood over him.

"I uh...I gotta go, I have a delivery to make..."

"Yeah about that..." Barricade said, clamping a hand down on the mech's shoulder. "Don't fret about it. I'll take it off your hands."

Bumblebee shook his head slowly.

"It's uh...my first assignment. I have to deliver it to..."

"To Outback, in Altihex, at the stronghold, I know." Barricade replied, pulling the mech towards him. "Why so tense friend? We're on the same side. Now tell me, why aren't you coughing up that data packet? A ranking officer just asked you for it."

Bumblebee's metal lip quivered as he looked up at the mech, whose grip on his shoulder was increasing.

"Um...I heard a lot of decepticons have uh...r-r..."

"R-r-r, spit it out pipsqueak, I don't have all day." Barricade teased.

"Your, uh...your..." Bumblebee pointed to his own, blue optics.

"Ah. Yeah. Red optics have a bad reputation at the moment sadly. Thanks to those...decepticon slime." He said, looking up at the jet. "But I chose to change my optics to red, they look good like this, and I'm not changing them back because some thug miner thinks he can claim them." Barricade snapped. "Besides...red optics are better for interrogations." He suddenly threw Bumblebee against the highway, sending him sprawling down.

"Now. On to business, rookie. I've asked you twice for that data packet. You are dangerously close to insubordination, and if you didn't look so clueless, I'd have arrested you already. Hand it over." He commanded, gesturing with his hand.

Bumblebee tried to crawl back, away from the police mech.

"I don't know what your deal is, guy, but uh...I gotta make this delivery solo, thanks for the help though..."

"Hey flyboy!" Barricade called out, waving at the jet.

It dove downward, corkscrewing before changing form, and landing next to Barricade.

The red and white seeker narrowed his optics as he stepped forward, and grabbed Bumblebee by the leg, then tossed him back towards Barricade.

A decepticon badge proudly displayed on his chest.

"You...you're...you're a..." Bumblebee stammered, as he tried to get off the metal ground. Panic gripping his frame, as he looked back at the tall, vicious looking seeker.

"Turbofox got your tongue little guy?" Barricade asked. "I tell ya, this kid needs a speech therapist." He said, suddenly kicking Bumblebee painfully in the side. "What's the point of having a voice box if you can't manage a sentence?"

The policeman ran his hand along his autobot badge, and as he did, it morphed into a decepticon one.

Bumblebee shook his head in disbelief and fear, as he tried again to crawl away.

The seeker stepped over and cut him off, stomping down on his hand to keep him in place, and glared down at him with an almost amused look.

Bumblebee let out a yelp of pain.

"I'm just the courier..." He protested.

"Meet my colleague, Starscream." Barricade said, gesturing to the seeker, who towered over both of them, now grinning down at Bumblebee. "You've made your last delivery, courier."