OKAy. Wow. First off, to address a couple of comments.
SomeRandomDragon: Yes, I have a list of notes for my OCs that I am constantly referring back to, especially for heights. And colors when it comes to the Twins and the Miner Brothers.
Estela prime: Leecher is technically just armor that Liliy co-pilots with Leech, a sentient cyberleech. Liliy and Leech do share a bond even though Leech is sparkless. But it is more of a symbiotic relationship. Leech has to link up occasionally with Liliy to stay alive.
Alright, on to the chapter. VEHICONS! ERADICONS! MINERS! DECEPTICONS! This chapter has all of these. AND NO AUTOBOTS! Or Liliy. As the title suggests, the chapter follows Ucon, the CRC's spy on the Nemesis. Episode 'Armada' (s2e10) is referenced.
AND a special shoutout to Lizwuzthere for helping with some of the details. (Find her on here or Tumblr, she is great!) [Plus, AA-00 technically belong to her.]
The breakroom was abuzz with excited voices when Ucon entered. He weaved his way over to the energon dispenser and filled his cube.
"What's going on?" he asked, sitting with some other Z squad members at their usual table.
"Oh, someone decided to give themselves a human name," answered ZX-02 with a shrug before taking a sip from his cube.
"Human name?" Ucon pushed his mask up so it sat on top of his helm.
"Yeah," replied ZX-03. "And now everybody seems to want one."
"What about you, ZZ-05?" asked ZG-04. "Oh, there was one I heard that would fit you. It was Suzy."
Ucon frowned. "Suzy is a girl's name."
"A what?" ZG-04 was confused.
"Nevermind," Ucon sighed. He got up from his seat, cube in servo. "I'm going to go enjoy my break somewhere quiet."
"Oh. Ok. Try not to be late for next shift though," ZX-03 called after him.
Ucon waved as he went out the door.
"Was it just me or did he seem upset?" asked ZG-04.
"He was definitely upset," ZX-02 confirmed. "That's rare."
"We should apologize to him later."
"Yeah," agreed ZX-03.
Ucon went up to the flight deck and sat down at the very edge. He stared at the passing clouds and took a sip of his energon.
"It's dangerous to sit on the edge you know," observed a voice behind him.
"I'm sure I would be fine even if I fell," he retorted.
The mech came and sat down beside him. But Ucon didn't bother to look at him because he knew he could not see him. As a precaution, Whiskey always remained in stealth mode whenever he visited. But, just knowing that he was there made Ucon feel better.
"So, what new with you?" Whiskey asked.
"Apparently, some of the vehicons decided they wanted human names."
"That's better than letters and numbers I suppose."
"ZG-04 suggested the name Suzy for me."
"Pahahaha! Suzy?! That's a girl's name!"
"That's what I said but apparently they don't understand human gendering. Beside I already have a name. The one that the Madam gave me."
"You didn't tell them it, did you?"
"No way! I'm not that stupid."
"Here. I brought this for you." A canister of red energon appeared out of thin air and Whiskey set it down next to Ucon's leg.
"Thanks." Ucon picked up the canister and subspaced it. He pulled a computer chip out in the same motion and held it out to the air. "Here's my monthly report."
"I'll get it to the Commander." The chip disappeared from Ucon's servo.
They sat in silence for a few moments while Ucon drank his ration.
"How is everyone?" he asked finally.
"How much time do you have?" Whiskey replied.
"Not enough."
"Well then, I will tell you that the twins are up and about but still not cleared to fly. Julian is also improving and everyone else is doing well."
"Julian? What happened to her?"
"Oh, right. The Decepticons probably didn't hear about MECH building a knockoff of Prime."
"No. But I bet they used the information they got from dissecting Breakdown, didn't they?"
"Yep. Anyway, MECH attacked a human military base with it and Julian tried to stop them."
"The knockoff was that good huh?"
"Good enough that when the Madam went after MECH, she took Kilo with her."
"So we don't have to worry about MECH anymore?"
"We don't have to worry about Silas at least."
"Is the Madam still hanging out with the Autobots?"
"Unfortunately, yes. They know who she is now though, thanks to Prime getting his memories back. I think she wants to help them end this war."
"I want this war to end. Every time the vehicons have a run-in with the Autobots, most of them don't come back."
"I know. We try to save as many as we can but too often the damage…"
"At least you care. And you try! The Autobots… They don't… Even the Decepticon officers... No one cares about the no-name no-ones! We're just cannon fodder to them!"
"All of them?"
"Well, not Breakdown. He cares. Thanks for saving him again, by the way."
"You're welcome but it wasn't me. Tango did it."
Ucon glanced in Whiskey's direction. "Tango? Really?"
"Yeah. Apparently he's made quite an impression on your sleek medic and his buff assistant."
Ucon sighed, his wings drooping ever-so-slightly.
"What's wrong?"
"He found me." Ucon looked over his shoulder.
Soundwave stood in the doorway to the ship. Laserbeak detached from his chest and transformed, flying across the deck to land near them.
Whiskey passed alarm thru their bond. [Soundwave is watching you?]
Ucon met him with hesitant reassurance. [He figured out that I have a connection to the Neutrals. But I don't think he knows how deep it goes.]
[It would probably be best if he didn't.]
Ucon drained the rest of his cube and stood up. [It's always nice to hear your voice even if I don't get to see you. Please visit again soon.]
[As you wish.] Whiskey bumped Ucon's leg slightly.
Ucon smiled a little as he replaced his mask and turned to go back inside. Whiskey stood up and watched him approach Soundwave, ready to move if the silent mech tried anything. Soundwave let him pass without a word. Laserbeak launched into the air and flew around the deck once before returning to Soundwave. Soundwave stared out across the deck for a moment longer. Whiskey was almost afraid that the faceless mech might've noticed him. But then he turned and followed Ucon into the ship. Whiskey waited another minute or two without moving before he launched into the air himself, transformed, and flew away.
The ship lurched under the ZZ squad's peds.
"What was that?" asked ZZ-03.
"I think we're under attack," ZZ-01 replied as the ship lurched again.
The second lurch was worse than the first and it knocked a couple of them on the afts.
"By who?" ZZ-04 wanted to know as he helped ZZ-02 back to her peds. "The humans? The Autobots don't have flight tech."
Ucon stared off down the hall as he accessed the SDS to scan for spark signals. "Insecticons…"
"What?!" ZZ-02 shrieked, latching back onto ZZ-04 after he let her go.
"But Insecticons are Decepticons too," ZZ-03 pointed out. "Why would they attack the Nemesis?"
"I don't know." Ucon shrugged. "Maybe someone else is controlling them."
"But who could…?" ZZ-02 asked.
"Airachnid. She's a type of Insecticon too," answered ZZ-01.
ZZ-04 shuddered. "She's still alive?"
"Commander Breakdown told me that she got away," Ucon informed them.
"The combat squads are being called to the flight deck," ZZ-01 said, listening to his comm. "We'll probably have a big mess to clean up in a little while."
Shortly after Megatron himself came out to fight the Insecticons, Airachnid's control over them faded and they recognized him and surrrended. The ZZ squad was among those that were called up to the flight deck to help with clean up. There were several wounded in the hallway already when they arrived. Knock Out was there being assisted by Breakdown and the vehicons who worked in the medbay.
Two vehicons hurried in from the flight deck with an eradicon on a stretcher. There's another eradicon beside them, holding the wounded femme's servo and covered in energon not her own.
"Please!" she begged loudly as the vehicons set down the stretcher. "We need a medic over here!"
"We're all kind of busy at the moment!" Knock Out snapped as he worked to stop the bleeding on some unfortunate vehicon who had gotten too close to an Insecticon's claws. "Just wait your turn."
"But she isn't going to make it!" She was desperate.
"Then leave her be." The reply was cold.
The eradicon collapsed to her knees beside her wounded partner. She was shaking with silent sobs as she stroked her helm.
Seeing all that, Ucon grabbed a spare medkit and went over to them.
"What's her designation?" he asked as he knelt on the other side of the stretcher.
She jerked her helm and stared at him for a confused moment before answering. "GL-05. But she likes to be called Glados."
There was a nasty gash in Glados' chassis. The glass that covered her insignia was shattered and the wound barely missed her spark chamber but she was going to bleed out in no time if nothing was done.
Ucon popped open the medkit and quickly sorted out the items he would need. "What about you?"
"Uh, GL-10. I also go by Glen."
"Glen. I like that one. Now. Hold on just a moment. I am going to help your…" He glanced down and then back up at her. "Partner."
Before she could start to ask what he meant, his visor flickered. It was still red but the shade was slightly darker than usual. Glen could not keep up with his movements. His arms and servos were a literal blur as he clamped severed lines and picked out bits of shrapnel. Hardly more than a minute passed before he leaned back on his peds, his servos slick with energon and oil.
"She's going to make it," he said, his visor flicking back to normal. He wiped his servos off. "At least until Knock Out can get to her."
Glen leaned over her. "She stopped bleeding?"
"Yes. But her levels are extremely low." Ucon pulled a transfusion tube out of the medkit. "I can spare a couple liters-"
"Use mine!" Glen thrust her arm at him, energon line exposed. "She saved my life. I can return the favor, even a little bit."
"As you wish."
Ucon patched the line between the two femmes and drew as much energon from Glen as he dared. Which wasn't much since she was a combat unit and they just seemed to burn thru energon faster. He switched the needles and gave some of his own energon to Glados as well.
"That should hold her for a bit," Ucon said, putting the items back into the medkit and shutting it. "I have to join my squad now. But I'll come back and check on her if I get the chance."
Glen reached across and grabbed his servo. "I can't thank you enough, uh, your des-?"
"ZZ-05."
"Thank you, ZZ-05!"
Later, when Knock Out finally got around to examining GL-05, he was surprised at the level of expertise used to patch her up.
"Hey! Who worked on this one?" He wanted to know.
None of his assistants knew.
"Why? Is something wrong, sir?" asked WY-01.
"Yes. There is someone on this ship as medically trained as I am and they're not in my medbay. Someone find out who did this."
"ZZ-05," ZZ-01 said as he came forward to meet Ucon.
"Yes, ZZ-01?" Ucon picked up a hint of unease in his squad leader's voice and that was never good.
"You are to report to AA-00 immediately."
Ucon frowned. "Am I in trouble?"
"No... You're being transferred."
It took a moment to sink in. "Transferred?! To where?"
"The combat squads. All the 5's in the Z, Y, and X squads are."
Ucon's wings lowered. "No way. We've lost that many?"
"I'm afraid so. Especially after the Insecticon attack the other day." He reached out and patted Ucon's arm. "Now get going. And good luck to you."
"ZZ-05, wait up," ZS-03 called.
Ucon stopped and waited for her, ZX-02, ZG-04, and ZZ-04 to catch up him.
"Heard you're getting transferred to the combat units with the rest of the Fives," said ZX-02. "Do you know what squad yet?"
"No. I won't know till the combat training results come out," Ucon replied as the five of them entered the breakroom.
"Damn. I wish you weren't going," said ZG-04.
"Me either. I might try talking to AA-00. Maybe I can convince them to let me stay on the Nemesis."
"Ha! Good luck with that, Five!" laughed ZZ-04.
"By the way, ZZ-05." ZG-04's wings twitched excitedly as they sat down at a table after getting their rations. "I found a name for myself."
"Me too," added ZS-03. "And we picked out one for ZX-02, too." She tweaked the wheel on his shoulder.
ZX-02 pulled away from the femme vehicon and rolled his optics. "Whatever."
"Oh?" Ucon was amused. "Let's hear 'em."
"I'm Ziggy," ZG-04 proclaimed proudly, wings high.
"I'm Suzumi," said ZS-03. "And this is Zanax."
Ucon raised an optic ridge. "Zanax? You guys made that one up."
"So what? It suits him. And he answers to it, so it's his name now."
ZX-02-Zanax-was pointedly ignoring her as he sipped his energon.
"What about you, Four?" Ucon asked, turning to his squad mate who had been quiet so far. "Have you picked a name out yet?"
ZZ-04 stared at his cube, wings drooping a little. "No. Not yet. It's hard finding names with two Zs."
"You could substitute," Ucon offered. "Take the name Susa or Susan and use Zs instead of Ss. Zuza or Zuzen, ya know?"
"Zuza…" ZZ-04 tested the name. "Zuza…" His wings lifted. "I actually kinda like that. Zuza. Thanks, Five!"
"What about you, ZZ-05?" Ziggy asked. "You rejected Suzy. Did you pick a name yet?"
"Well…" Ucon started, half-tempted to tell them his real name.
Thankfully, ZX-05 interrupted.
"ZZ-05!" he exclaimed, hurrying over to the table. "I finally found you! Come on! We have to go!"
"Wait, ZX-05. What are you talking about? Go where?" Ucon asked, confused.
"The results are out," answered ZX-05. "You and I have been assigned to the DC squad!"
Suzumi let out a low whistle. "Whoa, DC! That's like, top brass!"
"ZZ-05, I didn't know you were good at fighting," Zanax commented.
"I can hold my own if I need to, but I actually hate fighting," Ucon replied.
"Anyway, we need to get going," urged ZX-05. "They're meeting up right now!"
"Alright. I'm coming." Ucon drained his cube and got up from the table.
"Good luck, you guys!" The others called as the two eradicons left.
They ran into AA-00 on the way. They were by no means pleased with Ucon's request to stay with his old squad. ZX-05 had to drag him away before he was able to work the silver eradicon into a true rage. Never a hard feat for Ucon, it seemed.
Finally, Ucon stood at attention next to ZX-05. They had been assigned to the DC squad as 09 and 10. The squad leader, DC-01, glared at them from behind her mask.
"I don't like that I have been assigned two mechs from the bottom of the list but the two of you got the highest scores on the combat training. However, training is nothing compared to real combat. If you slow us down, you'll be back on scrap duty if the Autobots don't get you first."
"I already tried to convince AA-00 to let me stay on scrap duty. They said no."
"DC-09!" She stepped up to him. "I know about your reputation. You think you're a real funnybot. I do not tolerate goof-offs so you better shape up."
"Ha. AA-00 already tried getting me to do that and it hasn't worked so far," Ucon replied in amusement. Then he turned serious. "But one thing I have never failed to do is protect my team. So I will do my best to do that, number one, ma'am." He saluted.
As soon as he was able to get away from his new squad, he hurried up to the flight deck, pulsing urgency across his bond to Whiskey. Upon reaching the deck, Ucon transitioned his paint job to his usual matte black and took to the shadows. It was nighttime so blending in was easy. A couple minutes later there was a soft thump as Whiskey landed on the deck.
"Ucon?" his disembodied voice called quietly.
Ucon shifted in the shadows. "Over here."
Whiskey hurried over to him. "What's the matter, Spark? You usually don't call for me."
"I've been transferred."
"Transferred?"
"To the combat squads. I am now DC-09."
"The combat squads? But that means you'll be leaving the Nemesis-"
"And engaging the Autobots. Yes, I know. I tried to get AA-00 to not transfer me but they wouldn't listen. Whiskey, you have to tell the Madam. Ask her to talk to the Autobots. My chances of being killed on this mission have gone up tenfold if they don't show some restraint."
"Then leave with me right now, Ucon."
"I can't."
"The Madam won't blame you for leaving because it got too dangerous."
Ucon shook his helm. "That's not it, Whiskey. I can't leave because I care too much about the rest of the vehicons."
Whiskey sighed. He wrapped his arms around Ucon and pulled him close. The shorter mech's helm thunked against his chest plates and his servos found their way around his back to hug Whiskey tightly.
"Sometimes I wish your spark wasn't so big."
Ucon chuckled. "You know, if I had to choose, I would always pick you over them, right?"
"I know, Spark, I know. But you know that every time you leave the Nemesis now, you'll have an escort."
"I wouldn't want it any other way."
"Now then." He pulled away and retrieved a canister of red En from his subspace. "I'll give you this. Just in case."
Ucon nodded and took the canister. "Thank you. Please remember to talk to the Madam for me."
"I will." His servo cupped the back of Ucon's helm and he leaned down to put their forehelms together. "You go get some recharge."
"Only if you let me see you. Just for a moment."
Whiskey did not hesitate. He turned visible and smiled at him. "How is this?"
"Much better. You know what I just realized."
"What?"
"I get to leave the Nemesis for patrol. We could go on a date."
"I look forward to it. Now get back inside before someone comes looking for you." Whiskey pushed him out of the shadows and turned invisible again.
"Alright. Alright. I'm going." Ucon switched his paint back to purple and hurried into the ship.
"There he is." Breakdown spotted Ucon as he was heading to his quarters. "ZZ-05!"
"I don't understand how you can tell all of them apart," commented Knock Out, keeping pace with his partner.
"It's pretty easy once you get to know 'em," Breakdown replied. To Ucon, who had stopped to wait for them, "ZZ-05, we've been looking for you."
"Uh." Ucon shifted on his peds. "I guess you haven't heard. It's DC-09 now, sir."
Breakdown looked startled. "Oh. You've been transferred to the combat squads?"
Ucon nodded. "Yes, sir. Did you need me for something?"
"Knock Out just wanted to know where you learned your medical skills." Breakdown gestured to the red medic standing beside him.
"You mean that eradicon I helped? That was just basic first aid."
"Basic my aft." Knock Out crossed his arms. "You could be a medic."
Ucon shook his helm. "Hardly. Fritz probably would have laughed at my work and told me three ways he could do it better."
"Fritz?" asked Knock Out, curious.
"A medic I served with a long time ago."
"And what happened to Fritz?" One optic ridge raised.
Ucon shrugged. "Last I heard, he might've joined the Neutrals."
"Damn."
Ucon stared. "Sir?"
"I was looking for more help in the medbay. I could have you transferred-"
"Thanks but no thanks." Ucon glanced at Breakdown. "Soundwave would not allow it."
"Huh? What does Soundwave have to do with this?" Knock Out asked.
"Five, I told you-" Breakdown started.
"Nine," Ucon corrected, interrupting. "It's Nine now. And I'm sorry, Knock Out, sir."
"Does AA-00 know that Soundwave is watching you?" asked Breakdown.
"Not to my knowledge. I think they would've asked me about it by now if they did."
"Why is Soundwave watching you?" Knock Out demanded.
"Because I-"
Breakdown finished for him. "Asked the Neutrals to save me."
"Oh." Realization dawned on Knock Out. "So you know Tango?"
Ucon shrugged. "Maybe. I'm sorry, commanders, but I need to go recharge. So, if you'll excuse me…"
"Of course, ZZ-DC-09. Go ahead."
"Thank you."
While Ucon was out on his third patrol, he snuck off and met up with Whiskey. They settled down by a secluded lake in the middle of nowhere. Whiskey sat against the trunk of a tree, its large canopy hiding them from the night sky. Ucon sat between his legs, letting his partner massage his wings. After a while, the eradicon leaned back against the larger mech and Whiskey wrapped his arms around his waist.
Ucon sighed, content. "I wish we could have peace like this forever."
"Then life would be kinda boring."
Ucon laughed. "Well then, I wish the war was over and I could at least enjoy life with you."
"Now that I can agree with." Whiskey hummed a note or two before asking, "Say, Ucon?"
"Hm?"
"Who do you want to win?"
"Not the Decepticons. Or at least not Megatron."
"But you don't really trust the Autobots either."
"Only as far as I can throw Kilo."
"Hmh. Which is to say, you don't at all?"
"Well, maybe as far as I can throw you. I trusted Optimus enough to not shoot me when I stepped between him and my squad."
"So, a little."
"Only a little. But, honestly, I think the Madam would do a better job."
"Hm, yes. But, if we were to somehow revive Cybertron, I doubt she would want to lead. And I doubt that everyone would want to follow a Laserblade."
"Those mechs can get fragged. The Madam is a great leader. Speaking of… did you talk to her?"
"Yes. She asked me why I didn't pull you out. I told her it was your decision to stay. She respects that and promised to talk to the Autobots. And she ordered me to stay close to you."
"Like you need to be ordered to do that."
Ucon got up and turned around so he was on his knees. Servos on Whiskey's shoulders, he leaned in close so their faces were just inches apart. Whiskey's fans immediately clicked on and his servos went to Ucon's hips. Ucon didn't say anything. He didn't need to. Whiskey could tell what he was thinking through their bond. But just before they kissed, Ucon's comm crackled.
{DC-09, where are you? We're heading back to the Nemesis now.}
Sighing in defeat, Ucon dropped his helm on Whiskey's shoulder. "Damn…"
"It's alright, Spark," Whiskey said, planting a kiss on the side of his helm. "At least we finally got to have a date. What's it been? Years?"
"Yeah," agreed Ucon as he got to his peds and then helped Whiskey up. As he did, he quickly kissed him on the mouth before he could straighten up fully. "Care to fly me home, good sir?"
"It would be my pleasure," Whiskey replied with a grin.
One of the smaller mines had been completely stripped. The DC squad was ordered to go and pick up the last of the energon. The miner squad would take care of the mining equipment. It was going smoothly. The energon was loaded up and ready to go at the entrance. The miners were almost finished cleaning up inside. Then the earth started shaking.
"Look out!" Ucon yanked the closest miner to him out of the way as the ceiling collapsed.
"No! My squad!" she cried as they disappeared behind a pile of rocks.
As the dust cleared, DC-01 called for a ground bridge.
Ucon spun to face her. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "We need to help the miners."
"Our orders were to collect the energon from this mine," DC-01 replied coolly. "That's it. I'll report the cave-in to AA-00 and let them handle it. For now, we are returning to the Nemesis."
"But, ma'am-" Ucon started.
"No buts, DC-09!" she snapped.
"I'm not going," the miner declared.
DC-01 shrugged. "As you wish." And turned to give orders as the ground bridge appeared.
Ucon just stood there. The miner stared up at him. There was a servo on his arm and reassurance from Whiskey across their bond.
[It's alright, Ucon. I'll take care of it.]
Ucon leaned forward and whispered to the miner. "Don't worry. You're in good servos."
"Let's go, Nine!" DC-01 yelled at him.
"I'm coming," he said, turning to follow his squad through the ground bridge.
"What did he mean by that?" the miner asked after the bridge disappeared.
"It means he entrusted you to me."
She jumped in surprise and stumbled back when Whiskey materialized out of thin air next to her.
"Wh-who are you?" she sputtered.
"My name is Whiskey and I'm here to help you."
"Y-you know DC-09?"
"By another name but yes, I know him. Very well." He turned and started picking up rocks off the pile and tossing them to the side.
She just watched him warily. "A-are you a Decepticon?"
He paused with a rock in his servos and glanced back at her. "Do I look like one?"
"You have a v-vehicon mask." She pointed at the mask hiding his faceplates.
"I used to be an eradicon just like DC-09," he said, tossing the rock aside.
"Used to be?" she asked curiously, coming over to help.
"DC-09 and I were part of the same squad. After an Autobot attack one night, we were the only two survivors. I was barely alive and he looked after me until we were picked up by some Neutrals."
Together, they pushed a larger rock out of the way.
"What happened after that?" she wanted to know.
"I stayed with the Neutrals and he went back to the Cons."
She stopped and looked up at him. "You chose to leave the Decepticons?"
"Yep."
"Do we really have a choice? Is it really possible to leave?"
After tossing another rock aside, Whiskey turned and looked at her. He bent so he was closer to her level and gently poked her in the chestplates.
"You have a spark, don't you?"
"Y-yes."
"And you can think for yourself, can't you?"
"I can."
He straightened and put a servo on his hip. "Then you can choose to leave the Decepticons if you want to. Mind you, it is not something you should do lightly. It really wasn't an easy choice for him to go back."
"Why?"
"Because he and I are bonded." He knocked the side of his fist on his own chestplates. "And since he went back, we haven't been able to see each other."
"If you were bonded, then why did he go back?" She was incredulous. "Why didn't he stay with you?"
"Because he wanted to help the other vehicons, like yourself. And he felt he couldn't do that as a Neutral." He was making that up, of course. Liliy had asked Ucon to go back as a spy, since he was the only one who had retained his original eradicon frame.
"Then why didn't you go with him?"
"Because I was tired of the fighting. With the Neutrals, I could be at peace."
"But aren't you worried that DC-09 might be killed?"
"Oh, I am. But when he first went back I didn't have to worry too much. He was stationed on the Nemesis as ZZ-05."
"Oh! I know him. Always getting in trouble with AA-00. There was some reassigning done recently, wasn't there? Since we have lost so many."
"Yes. Now I worry about him so much that I follow him around whenever he leaves the Nemesis."
"Wh-"
He stopped and held up his servo. "Sh, sh. Do you hear that?"
She stopped and listened with him. Then Whiskey suddenly pulled her aside as a drill came plowing through the pile.
"Watch where you're going, Mike!" Whiskey snapped, after the drill came to a halt. "You almost ran us over."
"Oh, sorry, Whiskey," said the copper plated miner behind the controls of the drill.
"Sorry my aft," Whiskey growled.
Mike noticed the femme beside the larger mech. "Hello, who's this?" He hopped off the drill and pushed up his mask.
She flared her armor and attempted to appear threatening. "I'm VQ-03."
She failed miserably when Mike flashed his most charming smile.
"A pleasure to meet you, Viniq." He took her servo and pressed a gently kiss on her digits.
Flustered, she pulled her servo away and squeaked, "V-viniq?"
"Isn't that what VQ stands for?" He was still smiling, charming.
"No? I mean—No," she corrected quickly. "VQ is what squad I'm in."
"Oh. That's too bad. I think the name Viniq rather suits you."
"Hhhh!" A bronze plated miner appeared behind him and smacked him upside the helm. "Mike! Stop flirting! We've got work to do!" To VQ-03, "I apologize for my brother's behavior."
Surprised, she just nodded. She wasn't sure what to make of them.
Nova turned to the taller mech. "Whiskey, the rest of her squad has already been recovered."
"Thank you, Nova."
"What does that mean?" the femme asked.
"Means it's time for us to go too." Whiskey gestured to the ground bridge that opened near them. "After you."
She drew in a deep vent and stepped into the portal.
"Hey, DC-09! Did you hear what happened to that miner squad you left behind?"
"No. What happened?"
"AA-00 sent a rescue team down to the mine and when they got there, the cave was open and the miner squad was gone. It was like they had vanished without a trace. Apparently you couldn't even tell that the cave had been a mine."
"Wow. That's crazy."
"So what happened out there?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, with you. I would've thought that this would've been one of those incident where you would've disobeyed a direct order in order to help. You did it all the time when you were in the ZZ squad."
"That was when I was safely on the Nemesis. Out in the field is totally different. One wrong move could compromise the entire team."
"Yeah. Tell me about it. But I'm surprised you figured that out so quickly."
"I was in a combat unit before I joined the Nemesis crew you know. I… know what it's like to lose your entire squad. We've all lost. And we'll probably keep losing if this war continues."
"Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry."
"Me too, DD-03. Me too."
After the rescue team had reported back, AA-00 had gotten upset with DC-01 for not at least helping a little. Upset was understatement, actually. They were downright angry. That was another five miners gone. DC-01 was demoted and put in charge of the lowest eradicon combat squad HO. DD-01 took her place and all the other Ones shifted up under him.
She confronted Ucon later.
"This is all your fault!" She jabbed him in the chestplates.
"How is this my fault?" He took a step back, opening his servos in a non-threating manner. "If you had listened to me and stayed to help the miners, this wouldn't've happened. So this is your fault, not mine."
She suckerpunched him. Ucon fell back against DC-06 and DC-10 who were behind him. The vehicons who happened to be behind her grabbed her arms and held her back when she tried to hit him again. Energon dripped from his mouth as his companions pushed him upright.
"Are you ok, Nine?" DC-10 asked.
"Yeah." Ucon wiped away the energon.
"What is going on here?"
It was DA-01. While he wasn't technically in charge of anyone but his own squad, the other eradicons looked up to him and respected him. Most of them anyway.
"Nothing you need to stick your nasal guard into, Dane," she snapped, adding the human name he had picked out as an insult.
"HO-01, this was your mistake," Dane said. "You were in charge of your team."
"I was following orders!"
"And now we are short a miner squad. And you have been demoted. Perhaps you should stop and consider your fellow vehicons next time before you follow your orders to the letter. Like ZZ-05 used to." He glanced at Ucon.
Ucon lowered his gaze. "I don't have that luxury anymore," he mumbled before turning to leave.
No one stopped him.
"DC-09!"
Ucon turned to find the source of the cheerful voice that called him. He spotted GL-10 waving at him. Her other arm was linked with another femme who he assumed was her partner that he had saved. The glass on her chassis had been replaced but there was still a big weld mark on her armor underneath it. He waited for them to get closer before he spoke.
"Hello, Glen. And you must be Glados? So glad to see you up and about."
GL-05 smiled. "I hear I have you to thank for that."
"You are most welcome," he said with a slight bow. "But how did you find me?"
"It took some asking around," admitted Glen, "but I was surprised to learn that someone with medical training like yourself wasn't transferred to the medbay."
"I had to decline Knock Out's offer for various reasons."
"Oh, I see."
"Are you two on break?"
"Yep. We were just heading down to get a cube."
"Do you mind if I join you?"
"Are you sure you want to be seen with us lower-ranks?" asked Glados.
"What nonsense are you spewing? We're all comrades," Ucon replied.
"I'll drink to that."
Later, on his off-shift, Ucon laid back on his berth and wondered how long it would be before he ran into the Autobots and his true colors were revealed.
By the way, Whiskey is 10 feet taller than Ucon, just so y'all know.