Updated - 24~03~2020

Rewritten - 31~08~2021

Strategy

He observed, crouched over the roof's short fence, away from any visible spot. He waited patiently, after all, everything was about time, the right moment. It shouldn't take her long to appear into sight and he had to be ready.

He finally heard an engine far away in the distance. His wings rose up as his senses became alert. The azure silhouette advanced under his position, unaware of his presence. He waited for few clicks before proceeding to follow her stealthy. He jumped between shadows, trying to keep a low profile. He didn't wanted to be discovered yet.

She was getting away, but he couldn't afford to transform. He was still too close for that, she would hear his own engine, and all his efforts would have serve for nothing. He had to find another way. He jumped from a building onto another, maintaining equilibrium thanks to his wings and his extensive training he had had for stellar cycles, cutting the distance with his objective.

He didn't know who long had he followed her, but she suddenly came to a stop as she transformed back. He lowered down onto the edge of the building he was currently on, and waited, analyzing her moves. He had a clear view of her from there, and he wanted to know what was she up to.

She turned around, now facing in his direction. He stood still, wings flat against his back, torso on the ground. First light rays appeared in horizon, what got him cursing for himself. That would add extra difficulties to his duty. It would make it much easier to spot his bright crimson paint.

Her gaze scanned all the way from left to right, trying to make sure there wasn't anyone around. After what it seemed like agonic breems, she finally turned her back to him and retook her walk.

'That was closer.' He thought.

She climbed the stairs of the building she had ahead, unlocked the door and disappeared through the doorway, as it closed it behind her.

'Home, sweet home.' He concluded smirking, standing up on his spot. "Good twilight, Guard. You will take the surprise of your life when morning finally rises up."

He moved a servo to his battle mask, uncoupling it with a single gesture. The mask became loose and he finally retrieved it, allowing himself to enjoy the moment. He remained with his optics closed for some clicks, wind grazing his face, before reopening them and raising a pair of digits to his comm. link.

"Objective located." He shortly informed. "Do I have green light?"

"You may proceed." A voice replied at the other end. "The squadron is heading you. Confirm position." He sent the asked coordinates, though not the ones he was holding at the moment. "Position Confirmed. Arrival in T minus 6 breems. Over and out."

He vented deep and extended his wings to the morning breeze, bathed by the reddish rays that caressed his pristine paint job, allowing himself to feel like the Lord of the world. A shiver of thrill went down his spine, excitement present in his optics. He put his mask on again and got ready. He had a task to fulfill.

Daylight made it into her room, finally announcing the new cycle had begun. She was tired, specially after her night out. She should be taking advantage of every click she had left, but she found herself unable to keep recharging. She kept her optics close, despite being quite awake for the past few breems.

She was not ready yet to rise and shine early, so she instead covered her helm with her arm and curled up tighter on her comfortable berth, pretending she wasn't there. She just wanted to stay in that peaceful moment before someone could come and drag her out of her berth, back into duty.

The light rays that entered through the window warmed her frame, appealingly inviting her to lean into recharge. She was almost drifting again when a faint sound outside her room made all her senses alert. Her mind immediately dove into her Elite Guard skills. It was still too early for her family to be wandering around, but she sure had heard someone at the corridor.

The steps were quieter than what she've ever heard before, advancing closer and closer towards her room. She incorporated into a sitting position as silently as she could, and remained still, holding her vents. She revised the previous events of the night, trying to catch the slightest detail that could give her a clue.

The steps wandered closer, and her spark picked a new pace. They could not have followed her home, she would have noticed it. She wasn't afraid of what it could happen to herself, but she was afraid for her family. The energon in her veins cooled, her mind twitching focused.

The azure femme rested her forearm on the floor and rolled over her shoulder out of her berth, landing without making any noise. With stealthy steps, she cut the distance to the wall in front of her and pressed her back against it.

The step pace slowed, letting her know her visitor was taunting the terrain. She immediately transformed her right blaster silently and hold it with her free servo. She waited. Whoever it was, they had chosen the wrong house to enter in, and the worst opponent to face.

The cybertron finally came to a stop right in front of her door. Arcee vented, waiting the intruder to get to her. The door slid smoothly open, and a figure proceeded to enter in. She acted without second a thought.

As soon as the mech had landed a pede on her room, she had extended her left arm, passing it under his armpit and resting her servo on his shoulder, firmly holding him. She then pivoted over herself, dragging the mech along until his back hit the wall, right where she had been not a click before. She put her servo on his chest, immediately aiming with her blaster to his helm, starting it up while she strongly kept him in place.

Arcee stared into his cerulean optics for a moment, her expression fierce, only to slowly soften. The force applied on his chest was gradually lighten, until she stepped back, retrieving her blaster away. The black and white mech relaxed too, exventing calmly. She diverted her gaze, serious.

"Are you alright?" She inquired, not making optic contact.

"Sure." Prowl nodded, trying to sound at ease. It wasn't the first time she had attacked him since the incident, and wouldn't be last. "You're fast. Didn't see you coming."

"I'm sorry." She shortly muttered, resting a servo on her sore abs, before shaking her helm to dispel her thoughts.

Arcee turned her back to him and walked up to her berth, sitting down on it. He mimicked her, taking a seat right by her side. They stood in a comfortable silence for a long moment. Prowl's gaze wandered around the tidy room, before he finally decided to break the silence.

"I'm glad you made it back home," He silently spoke, making her lightly turn her helm to look at him. "I was afraid something could have happened to you."

"Why you think I left?" Her optics focussed on the outside of the window, turning her face away from him. She perfectly knew he was aware of her night adventure, as the scratches on his finish hadn't gone unnoticed.

"I could not recharge yesterday night." He admitted. "Didn't heard you make your way out of your room, but I did indeed heard the main door sliding open when you left. Also when you returned. The way you have acted few breems ago only confirmed my suspicions." She didn't reply right away.

"I promised you I would come back." She finally said, before abruptly standing up, changing the topic. "I do believe our shift starts soon. Let's just refuel and get on the move. We should not waist any more time."

It was noticeable she didn't want to talk about what she had done at night, and Prowl had learned over the stellar cycles he should not push that spot. He let it go and stood up, walking his way out of the room with her after him.

The crimson mech rested peacefully near the meeting point, hidden in the protection of heights. He was supposed to wait for the squadron, but since he had had enough time, he had decided to go one step ahead.

Taking into account the location of his objective's home and the nearest stations, he had triangulated the exact location they should head once reunited. It had been a sparkling game for him, after all, that was what Seekers did, seek and find, and he was really good at it.

It was still early for the Elite Guard to show up, and there was still no sign of the squadron, so he took advantage of the moment and stretched all his length as he comfortably laid on the roof of the building he was currently on.

Once the squadron joined him, they would secure the perimeter, before proceeding to head their objective. It was a mission of very much importance, there was much at stake and could not afford the slightest mistake. One false move, and everything would go to rust.

The faint sound of approaching turbines announced him the proximity of aerial cybertronians. He nimbly stood up, recovering his focussed aura while scanning the sky. He suspected they were his fellow Seekers, but there was still room for doubts. They could be friends of foes, so he covered himself too, so that he couldn't be descried easily.

The crimson mech could not locate where the fliers hand landed, but he had heard the transformation sequence, and they were somewhere around, close. An incoming transmission finally confirmed his suspicions as little by little, few figures on different buildings revealed themselves to him.

"The Shadow Squadron presents." A femmenine voice spoke emotionless, informing him. "I, Slipstream, leader on duty, cede the command to you, Sir. Awaiting your command." He spotted her on the building right in front of him, with her gaze fixed onto him. He replied with a short nod, accepting the leadership, as well as formally greetings her.

He slowly advanced towards the edge of the build, where he crouched, studying the situation in silence. He counted up to six Seekers at his disposal. Good. He then diverted his gaze to look at the city for an instance before finally speaking.

"Our objective works at police station 12, located on the main street. The building has four exits, two in front, one at the back, and one at the roof, which they don't usually use." He began. "Our attention should focus in the main two exists. Those are the ones that we need to cover."

"What about the other two?" The youngest one of the group asked. "Shouldn't we cover those too?"

"If we were to prepare an ambush, definitely." The leader replied calmly. "But we're Seekers, master of deceive. Whatever we do, they'll immediately presume they're in the worse scenario, and I want to use that on our favor. I intend them to know we're here. So let's just allow their minds to fill the gaps."

"Creating the illusion we're more than we actually are… Making them think they can't run, making them believe they can't hide…" A smirk was noticeable on the playful tone of the purple and green femme's voice. "Plus One tactic, Sir?"

"Precisely." He replied with an special shine in his optics, smirking too under his mask. He continued to expound his observations. "The number of actives has grown due to the current situation, thus the security has increased considerably. We should not have any trouble getting inside, but, if we happen to find any obstacle, apply minimal force, only to disable."

"Understood." The other femme of the group confirmed. The squadron members prepared for getting into action.

"One last thing." The leader held them for a moment, walking by the edge of the building he was currently on until he reached the corner. "As long as I'm concern, citizens still have no clue of what's going on, and it would be beneficial for us too if they remained that way. Keep that in mind." He then turned his back to the fall, his pedes dangerously out of the border.

"And… Remember why does the Shadow Squadron hold that name." He genuinely added, letting the gravity embrace him, disappearing form sight.

The azure femme and the black and white mech walked into the overcrowded station. All optics were fixed on her as she advanced, murmurs spreading around, but she did not care. She simply walked by with a serious expression on, deep in thoughts. She had more important things in mind.

Her steps were directed to the screen showing the station's work schedules. She planted herself in front of it and searched for her code on it, reading it. Senior cadet training. She nodded thoughtfully as she slowly walked away. Despite the situation, they still had an obligation towards the future Elite Guards, and they needed them now more than never. They couldn't wait. It was essential for Iacon to keep up with their formation.

Her gaze traveled over in the crowd, yet she didn't found the mech she was looking for. She huffed, frowning. She sneaked between her workmates, until she came across Jazz, who was consulting a data pad, energon in servos. He immediately noticed her and raised his gaze to lock it with hers, worried at her state.

"Arcee, what happened to y…?"

"Need you to do me a favor." The azure femme did not talk around. "It's important."

"Sure. What is it?" He replied, putting his data pad away and leaving his energon on the table, focusing.

"I need to switch schedules with you." She shortly stated. She gave a quick peek over her shoulder, before lowering her voice and speaking again. "Yesterday night got into something important I now need to discuss with Magnus." She added, not giving much information away.

"Or in other words, you got into troubles. I can see that. I only need to look at your armor to know your winged red friend was involved." The mech shook his helm, crossing his arms over his chest. "Arcee, I'll gladly give you a servo, but you're risking yourself too much. We all have a limit, don't wait to find it the hard way." She did not say anything to that, she simply sighed, diverting her gaze. "At least, can I have a clue of what happened?"

"You'll soon know." That was all she said, before walking away towards the Commander's office leaving a much concerned Jazz behind.

The azure femme stopped at the door, vented deep once and then proceeded to enter in. She was met by the surprised gazes of both mechs inside, whose attention now laid on her. Magnus frowned.

"Agent One, don't you know how to knock before coming in?" He complained. "I'm having an important conversation here with Mirage."

"What happened to you?" The blue and white mech couldn't hold the question, arching an opticbrow.

"That doesn't matter now." She replied to him before focusing on Magnus. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but what I have to say is more important than anything you might need to discuss with Mirage." Her reply was solid and showed no hesitation, her icy optics locked onto the Commander's ones. Her superior sighed, and then directed to the mech who waited in silence.

"Mirage, leave us, please. We shall continue later with the matter." The Commander asked. The silent mech nodded and left without a word, not before giving her a discrete worried look. Arcee took his place in front of the painfully organized desk, and waited for the door to close. "What's so important to interrupt us?"

"Yesterday night went to Kaon." She stated emotionless.

"You did what!" Magnus irately roared, fisting the table forcefully, making everything jump out of place. "Wasn't I clear with my orders? Not only did you go on a solo mission, because I pretty sure you did, but also invaded an hostile city! We are supposed to handle this crisis discretely, not inform the enemy we're vulnerable now!" The Commander silenced, leaning back on his chair and covering his face with a servo. He took some breems to try calm himself.

"After what happened, all the station is trying to protect you, make sure it doesn't happen again, but you just keep putting yourself in danger." He rested both forearms on his desk, both servos folded together. He locked optics with her again. "What am I supposed to do with you, Arcee?"

"Listen to me." She replied determined. "That's what you can do."

"Alright." He gave up, leaning back once again, his elbows rested on the table. "I'm listening to you. What made you head Kaon?"

"I got few clues that told me it wasn't the Seekers. I needed answers, and although I didn't found them all, discovered something important. Kaon in a much alike situation." She informed. "Their city was attacked and they found an Elite Guard insignia. Naturally, the Seekers suspected of us."

"Kaon too?" He raised an opticbrow, surprised.

"Yes." Arcee confirmed. "That's why I talked to the Lord and offered to pull sources together. They shall send someone to us for a response. "

Ultra Magnus sighed deeply, resting his forehelm on his knuckles, murmuring something. She remained silent, awaiting for his reaction. He was trying to process what she had just said. He finally straightened and locked gazes once again.

"I always trusted you on making the best decisions, bold, most of the time, but accurate." He slowly began. "You are one of my best agents, and I'm not pleased by the idea, but you leave me no other choice than opening you a proceeding, with immediate withdraw from work, and in consequence from this case." He stated silently, maintaining his serious expression.

"The Council will have to study your case, and see if they allow you to continue working as an Elite Guard." He paused. "For now, leave your badge on my desk. That should give you some time to think a out your actions."

"I understand it's the protocol, but you're making a mistake." Arcee replied calmly, trying to convince him. "Iacon needs all its agents now more than never. I still can be of help, if you let me…"

"No, Arcee. You got away once, but it won't be so easy this time." He warned her. "I need you to understand this is a serious situation, and this is not about the Elite Guards anymore, this is about Iacon. Millions of Iaconians depend on us now, and if we fail them, there would be nothing to fight over. I'm sorry, but I'm not revoking my decision."

"I perfectly understand it, and I'll gladly go through the court-martial again, when this is over." The azure femme spoke serene yet firm, leaving her badge on the table as she had been asked to. "All I ask you is to listen to what they have to say before taking any other step." She advised. "No one likes the idea, but we need them as much as they need us. This could be our only chance to avoid an imminent war. Think about it." With those words, she stood up, ready to leave.

Arcee knew she would be denied to work in the case, and also had expected the proceeding, but she was never the loafing around type. She would find the way to keep working in the case, even if it was unofficially.

She reached for the panel on the wall, still giving a thought about her new situation, when a frenetic knock on the door got her back to reality. She frowned, looking at the Commander shortly, only to notice he was as equally confused as she was. She hurried to open it and Cliffjumper came into view.

"What's going on?" Arcee inquired to her partner. "You were about to tackle the door down."

"What is it?" Magnus stood up. The horned mech looked at the floor and then back to them, unsure how he should explain it. He finally talked. "You should come and see it yourselves. Both of you."