On lining near Solspark always felt right, a relationship no bot could have foreseen, even him. The ops team rolled with it, wanting to know who could train her first, each in their specialized area as her basic skills training left him frazzled and an unintentional path of damage across the Ark.
'More than a friend, less than a lover and hopefully a spark mate in the future,' Jazz reasoned, unable to pinpoint the exact instant she had found a way into his spark. 'All that time building my reputation of many partners to keep them from getting interested in me. No bot figuring out I was alone for centuries. Ah well, cover was getting old. Running out of associates still online to supposedly partner with.' Sharing the recharge room with his half-sized bunk on the right side and her bunk on the left side blocked much of the lower wall murals but a necessary sacrifice to keep her close.
Rustling sounds signified Solspark waking, stretching and sitting up. Jazz adding an entry to his team list of upgrades. 'Femme got to come online quicker. Add coding for instant alert. Sound dampers to quiet her steps from Bumblebee. Dozen throwing energy daggers under those long forearm plates from Mirage. Add a jammer relay mid gear from Skids. Code tracker to always find her location and retrieve instead of the portable ones, Prowl and me. I swear she knows somehow and get injuries to wipe them out. And not a signal she can corrupt or bounce ping."
Solspark stretched full length, her long armor lines graceful. Seeing him, her smile widened to enlighten her countenance. "What's on the schedule for today?"
"Trouble, mischief and disaster."
"Sounds like Grimlock, twins and another attempt to disable the alarm system," she teased, self -deprecating.
"Not a bad third attempt. We need fire drills quarterly even without Wheeljack's lab explosions and you were helping Red Alert stay on track. Hence why we practice, practice and practice. Like I keep telling you, all the simulations ain't a substitute for the real thing. Things always go wrong. Wait until you hit the field."
"I bypassed the proper circuit wires according to the schematic downloaded and it should not have triggered," she reminded, straightening the top berth cover neatly.
"And change happens. Learned that on a mission where I had an escape plan all worked out and found they had done some redecorating. Dead end corridor instead of a branching hallway and pursuit coming right behind."
"What happened?" She stopped, the rifle power pack in her hand instead of loaded.
"I hologrammed as part of the floor and they went running by. Decepticon seekers never looked down, running high sensors sweeps in case I tried the ceiling or escaping through the circulation vents. Learned my lesson relying only on official records. You got to plan for problems," he chuckled, approving of her auto loading the repaired rifle without having to look, her focus on his story.
"My hologram emitter covers a hand space at best. Never my whole frame."
"And a lovely frame but we need to upgrade that too. If you are willing?" Jazz peered, pretending to size her up looking through the space between his cupped hands.
"My frame?" Solspark's tone could have frozen the volcano's core.
"Holo emitter. Spy and saboteur is part training and…" He reminded, wondering the reason behind her sensitivity on the issue. One more bit of knowledge to trade or trick her into revealing to his delight.
"Part parts. The best tools are useless if you don't know how to use them. You are your greatest asset. Unarmed and alone in a room you should still be dangerous," she quoted dropping the rifle onto her back auto storing it away. "Add away if the job requires it then, the next time I am in med bay you have my permission. I could use a handy cutter, use to have a medical saw and I miss it sometimes. How about a grand sword like Optimus?" she pantomimed a long blade slicing the air.
"Girl bot neither of our sparks could power that or his mace. But a smaller version," Jazz smiled, recording her agreement and forwarding it to Ratchet and Wheeljack. Wheeljack to make the tech, Ratchet to install it when available. "There is a matter we need to discuss, however. More personal."
"I will not add sound speakers to my alt mode," she teased, turning serious as he went serious. Bracing for the worse, little emotion was betrayed by her frame movement as his visor flipped up.
"I am presenting myself for your consideration, without demand or reservation. I ask that you challenge or deny my spark, as equal to your own, forever apart yet one half of a whole for as long as our sparks blaze and beyond to the Matrix," Jazz stated.
"Yes."
"Uh, that took one nano second. Are you sure? I am being serious," he stared at her, his multi-layer optics scanning Solspark for any sign of hesitation or refusal.
"On my spark, you beat me to it. I had processed asking you," she confessed, optics wide and venting hard. If she had been human she would have blushed bright red.
"Then why didn't you?"
"We have not been together that long. Didn't want to risk losing the best thing that ever happened to me."
"I am not a thing," he teased, wrapping his arms around her to pull her against his front mounts. "And I feel the same. We got all the time in the universe."
"Prowl to Jazz. We have a developing situation," transmitted clearly through his speakers.
"And time is up, no thank you universe. Go ahead," he answered, leaving his arms around her. She made no attempt to pull away as they listened, her energy layers read into his every system for future reference.
"Commander Ultra Magnus is down, not critical but heavily damaged after a round with Shockwave. He is currently inbound on a shuttle for advanced repairs. Can you take command of the accompanying Wreckers until he is released from med bay?"
"Me? Ain't that normally your job?"
"Optimus Prime is meeting with human officials in DC all month with Ironhide, Wheeljack and Elita's femme team. Congressional hearings. A corporation wants to harvest the border forest on the Ark's edge."
"This area is protected by treaty, both worldwide government and local military," Jazz stated, for Solspark's benefit and let her hear a sample of what earth-based command duties could include.
"Humans want the boundaries on the treaty land down to bare ground. Elita and Chromia are working with lobbyists, Prime testifying on preventing the devastation that Cybertron suffered from happening here. The aim is to make it a protected national forest park as their government had promised and never did. I am in command here until their return."
"Needing me to take up the slack with the new arrivals. Got yer back Prowl. Jazz out," He agreed, sending the digital signatures and electronic forms to make it official.
"Who are the Wreckers?" Her voice half muffled against his front assembly.
"A special task force, close knit combat team. Have to see who is on the roster currently. They tend to lose bots all the time. Set their own rules on time and places. Don't be surprised if they drop in here unannounced."
"Do I have to go back to my quarters then? Or can I stay here?"
"Neither," he said, then relented at her flickering panic before releasing her and stepping back, his visor engaging to damp his optics down. "We are getting new quarters. Mechs going to combine next three rooms over with this one. Welcoming present for you joining our little group and an excuse to expand. Convert side rooms for team conferences, minor repairs and our own energon storage area. Office space and the most important, room for my music collection. For now, we got a spare room across the hall. Time to meet the Wreckers."
That evening they enjoyed a quiet moment of energon discussing the new arrivals. "Arcee is an expert in hand to hand combat though not the strongest and a sharpshooter to rival Moonracer. Springer is brave and confident to being smug and the only other bot to match my smart quipping," Jazz noted.
"And charming in a dignified way. Protective of Arcee I noticed. Stood between her and you every time. Your reputation no doubt," Solspark teased.
"Blurr is special. Super-fast until he tires, recharge mid step almost anywhere. Then up and running. Tried duplicating his tech over time, no success. He was unloading and doing their room set up, but you can meet him tomorrow when he stops, literally. Perceptor stayed behind to hold the base. Kup can teach you tricks but loses you in war stories. He keeps Hot Rod under control. Crazy mech with the brightest armor paints."
"I like Hot Rod. He would be good to team with on a long patrol," Solspark stated, sipping her energon. She should have wondered why she was so drawn to him. His brash attitude, careless mannerisms and yet the trust. A feeling of old friendship needing only a word to renew accompanied by a need to support, reassure him in his decisions. Belatedly she realized the energon cube was empty that she had been staring into.
"Does he need to have an unfortunate accident? Ain't above removing my competition for ya spark and I know where to hide a few frames."
"Not like that Jazz," she laughed, covering his hand with hers. "No one even enters my driving lane but you. There's more to Hot Rod than we can see."
"Trouble? Anger issues? Lacking common sense?" Taking her cube, he chucked it to ricochet against the wall, spin across the counter and tilt into the recycle bin.
"More potential to be great. Why are you laughing?"
"Hot Rod? Potential? More like needing rescue thanks to his own actions. Wait a breem," he smiled at her, a look combining mischief and danger and utterly Jazz. "Big day tomorrow lady bot."
Far Field
Watches on the sidelines groaned and paying off bets as Rollbar fell, his armor dented. The fourth contender on the obstacle course, he had made it the farthest from the starting line. Then an unexpected riser from the swinging beams smashed into him, driving him sideways to trigger an out-of-bounds ending. The penalty chest sensors shocking both him and the victim he failed to rescue, the designated objective of the course.
A creation of Jazz, Prowl, and Wheeljack, it challenged their abilities, no bot having an advantage in size or speed as the three sections of the course rolled out. The first third emphasizing running irregular surfaces while evading strikes from simulated cross fire. The second section with traps and moving obstacles testing balancing and frame control, two ion cannons at the start that triggered on any weapons fired to prevent contestants from blasting their way through. The third and most dangerous section was armed with half a dozen shocking grid fields and pop up Decepticon warriors hidden among obstacles for testing endurance. A training course reflecting earth hazards for practice, Optimus and Ironhide holding the record for both time and damage caused.
The Wreckers were originally scheduled to train on it and now it was a contest for all. Any challenger had to complete all three sections and free Hot Rod from being a prisoner of the Decepticons or both were penalized. The fifth and final attempt contestant that failed and the day would end with the 'prisoner' and "rescue' being offlined. Four of the Ark Autobots had tried and failed, the Wreckers enjoying watching far more than risking their own frames.
In the laser holding cell, Hot Rod rubbed at his armor, the latest charge dissipating as the red and gold mech waited. One try left and no volunteers, the penalty charge ramped up to five times strength. The lower charge still tingled when a voice interrupted the silence.
"I challenge."
Repeating it louder, every optic snapped to her or so she felt. "I, Solspark, take the challenge to be the fifth contender."
The watchers either vented in disbelief or cheered, bets escalating as she walked up to platform to accept the sensor. A moment of tense arguing between her and First Aid over its placement added to betting speculation as the penalty sensor bolted onto her hip and not her front. The Medical Assistant stomped off, much like his boss Ratchet would have done.
Stepping up to the starting line, Solspark watched the countdown timer reset. 'Thank Primus I left the Matrix in our room. Spy rule seven. Vary your pattern and stay within your cover. If this goes wrong, no bot will be the wiser it exists. I must be off processor to try but I am tired of seeing Hot Rod suffer because they are not taking this serious.'
Prowl laid one hand on Jazz's shoulder, no words spoken as the mech literally bent the data pad in his hand with tension. Rules were set by them and could not be changed to give her any advantage. She was on her own.
Horns blared, sending Solspark into motion, running and climbing through the first third of the course, her past experiences of moving precisely to not jar wounded evacuees and still duck weapons fire an advantage. Sliding and falling down the last obstacle left dings and scratches in her armor but Solspark was still upright and winning, even if stumbling across the line.
"Can she clear the second section?" Jazz's question was softly spoken, meant for one bot only.
"No. There is one route that would get her thru and tactically the odds of her recognizing it are low. And she would never survive the third section, lacking both experience and part enhancements. Her actions indicate she knows failure is probable, moving the sensor down onto her hip and away from the Matrix." Prowl answered concisely.
On the course Solspark watched the timer reset, the countdown triggering when she took her first step forward. 'Right, swinging moving targets. Evade or disable without weapons use,' she murmured, plotting a route for minimum collisions. 'I don't know how I am going to win, I just know I am not going to lose.' Running, she passed between the cannons before slowing to duck under the swinging beams rather than attempting to go over, the path that had cost Rollbar his victory. 'Never going to clear this section in time. A straight-line path to Hot Rod and every obstacle invented is crossing it to make me swerve or evade to lose time. This course is designed to make us fail. Only a flyer could win. Wait a nano second.'
::Hot Rod! How heavy of a physical impact can your armor withstand?:: Solspark sent on a narrow internal beam, jumping over bouncing disks.
::Why? I can't leave the square. Not even to save you. Rules won't allow it. And how are you talking to me? I'm surrounded by signal jammers.:: Hot Rod puzzled, seeing the laser lines confining him.
:: They cheat, so can I. And I am about to hit you, hard. Get ready mech!.:: Solspark warned, her comm tone a mixture of excitement and confidence.
::How hard? You are half a field away and hit me with what?:: Hot Rod asked, able to see the traps still waiting on the path and all were bolted or locked into the ground.
::Going to engage the big guns and let the force propel me into you.:: Solspark answered, pretending to focus on the beam swinging back and forth over the mud pit.
::I can't catch you at that speed! You'll be like a frigging rocket!:: Hot Rod protested, suddenly understanding.
::Language youngling. Not catch. Cross your arms over your spark and brace to protect. Tuck and roll upon my impact, disburse the kinetic energy. Ready in five.:: Solspark ordered.
::This is a bad plan!:: Hot Rod argued, moving his feet apart and dropping his center of gravity lower before locking down armor. Weapons were disabled, coding securing accidental release if his battle systems engaged after contact.
::Four.:: Solspark counted. Twisting on her legs, she rotated guidance locks to angle his direction as the long rifle on her back sub spaced out, charging rapidly to full power.
::I am not sure this is how I want to win:: Hot Rod
::Three. Would you rather take the full charge in losing?:: Solspark continued counting. Sliding her entire frame to the side she missed aerial ribbons to duck under another beam set, moving but only halfway through the course section. Her left arm blaster rose out of armor plating, hard charging into a high-power shot when needed as she moved two more steps up the path.
::We are so offline after this:: Hot Rod mock groaned, excitement racing at the wild plan.
::Two. It's my idea. I will take any blame:: Solspark offered. All her attention focused on the plan, not seeing Jazz utterly confused as she hesitated mid-course, pulling weapons with time rapidly running out. Prowl stiffened as he watched, beginning to realize what she intended with no time to stop it.
::Blame is the least of my concerns right now.:: Hot Rod added, closing his optics, overriding anti collision safety protocols lest he move.
::One. Engage!:: Solspark sent. Dropping prone she drew her rifle in one smooth motion right side as her left arm locked before rolling and flipping up onto her feet. The cannon targeting systems registering her weapons too slowly as she fired dead on, blowing the red chaser panel apart on both units. She took one second to throw the rifle to side to get it clear, the arm blaster ejecting and falling away before the cannons activated.
Bright fury overlaid into a single line, the cannon energy pouring into the spot where she had been. No longer standing but partially transforming, Solspark flipping her more fragile helm and front away and to the side. The calculated movement allowing her thickest plates take the blast, hurling her down the course as the penalty sensor disintegrated on her hip. Her trajectory precise, she slammed straight into Hot Rod as he waited, smashing him out of the trap with their combined forms sliding past the final goal line as the timer expired, no penalty charge triggered.
Faintly his transmission wove in. "Charge…would …have …hurt …less ...than …this…." Blackness overtook them.
Outside med bay the Wreckers listened, audios against the doors. Kup and Springer standing, Arcee and Blurr crouching below them. Inside Prowl and Ratchet watched the arguing pair, ready to intervene if needed. Solspark sat on the surgical table, her side armor removed with the back armor bent and mangled, the worse damage covered in a medical drape. Jazz stormed back and forth in front of her, his optics blazing nearly purple without the visor engaged.
"Are your processors cracked? What were you doing? Your battle armors were entangled! Do you know how long it took to free you from Hot Rod to get repairs started? You tied up med bay and the full medical team for complicated injuries that should never occur outside of a combat situation!" Jazz continued in a rare display of anger, letting her see how upset he was because of her actions.
"Sorry. Trying to win," she mumbled.
"Win?! You both could have been offlined! I am your commanding officer and none of my team should ever risk themselves that way! And on something so trivial as a game? Have you learned nothing that I have tried to teach you? Logic dictates action when necessary and that was illogical off the scale to risk yourself and your teammate that way! The only reason you are not in the brig is because I may need you or I would weld your aft to the nearest console. But if you ever do that again, by Primus, you will never see the light outside this Ark again!" Jazz threatened, locking down his systems to run tighter controls as she flinched, leaning away. Her pain bothered him, her fearing him worse than any injury. The Matrix sitting nearby on the counter flared, adding to his awareness of the situation. Normally the chewing out motivated his ops teammates, arguing why their decision was right or promising to never mess up that way again. This was different. She was hurt and he wanted to help her, not add to her pain but Solspark had to understand how dangerous her choices were.
::What do you find amusing?:: Prowl asked on a medical private comm line, looking over and seeing Ratchet's smirk. The situation could become dangerous for all involved if it continued escalating, forcing the armored enforcer to possibly subdue his best friend and nothing was amusing about that. And trying to ignore the guilt he felt from realizing Solspark's plan too slowly, helplessly watching as the ion cannons fired.
::Hearing my lectures with his vocal dramatics. All the aft chewing he received over the centuries, is now directed her way. Fun to watch.:: Ratchet gestured, his lips echoing the last phrase without sound.
Prowl analyzed the conversation, nodding in surprise as word matches confirmed. ::A combination of Prime, me and you apparently. And your dramatics::
::I do not gesture and stomp like that. I throw wrenches at worst!:: the medic protested, making a swinging arm gesture the same instant Jazz gestured it in front of Solspark.
"There is a thin line between being a hero and being a memory. A line you nearly crossed the nano second you fired on those ion cannons. And what do I tell Hot Rod? Sorry about your teammate taking you out and saving the Decepticons the effort!" Jazz continued lecturing, his spark winding down from the fright of the collision and their still forms, neither responding as medics moved in.
"I told Hot Rod before," she began, stopping to wince in increasing pain as self repair fizzed out.
"You told? That solves everything! How about telling gravity and cannon fire not to work while at it!" He razzed, calming down to not upset her further. "The Wreckers found it hilarious and refused to press any type of disciplinary action. Your stay in med bay could have been avoided by processing the plan more thoroughly. He is known for being reckless and you blew past his record by Cybertron's farthest moons by coming up with this plan! Did you even consider the consequence to your actions long term?" He asked, hesitating as monitors beeped warnings as pain thresholds reached.
"Want to recharge in room. After lockdown meds," she vented, reaching for him. Jazz engaged his visor down as he moved close enough for her to lean on him.
"Not yet. You are too vulnerable until at least a layer of armor is replaced, even temporary layers. They already started construction on our rooms and the spare quarters are too small for your treatments. Otherwise we could share quarters with the Dinobots this week," he lightened, looking over her shoulder and nodding.
"Dinobots ok. Please Jazz," Solspark begged, a longing in her tone.
::I will not abandon you sweet spark, but I am sorry. Your actions put you here and your injuries are beyond my control. We will make you better. You will be safe:: Jazz sent, touching helms with her. Her hands tightened on him then went limp as Ratchet finished the deep stasis coding injection. They eased her down flat on the surgical table, Jazz's touch lingering over her spark armor before stepping back.
"I have all the necessary parts for her upgrades except the deep tracker. Wheeljack is still building it and transferred with Prime. We can add it once they are back. Then the hard part," Ratchet rolled a parts cart closer, removing trays and laying out tools. Prowl took his leave out the hidden passage, the situation under control.
"Recovery time?" Jazz guessed.
"Teaching her to use all this new tech. I'm surprised she agreed to it. And please remove that. I wouldn't want it misconstruing I was attacking and be fried," Ratchet gestured at the Matrix sitting on the counter nearby.
Picking it up, Jazz began transforming his chest plates to hide it. "For a small object, you certainly cause big problems."
"You or the Matrix?" Ratchet chided.
"It's okay if you don't like me, not every bot has perfect taste," Jazz rejoined, chuckling as he effortlessly caught a flung silver wrench. "Quick trip to Wheeljack's lab to adjust the back bar to accommodate her new fittings and I will return."
"The doors will be locked."
"Okay by me. Be needing the lock picking practice," his voice carried down the hallway as he left.
To be continued…
Author's Notes: Thanks for reading and reviews. The formal spark request is like asking to date steady into an engagement mix. The pair work their relationship out over time in a race that lives for centuries plus. Once spark mated fully, they cannot sever the link or be undone if things go bad, costing both their sparks. A step not taken lightly. A challenge made in seriousness but breakable at any point by either or both without fault until the last step. Some bots never spark mate, other take partners keeping none and a few are forever spark mated like Optimus and Elita One, Chromia and Ironhide, Moonracer and Ratchet. The death of one takes out the other, their sparks as one even apart. Transform and roll out!