Gateway Future
A Swordsman's Pride
The black sun glinted off his red and orange armor in odd distorted patterns. It flashed against the silver visor that blocked his baby blue optics from its damaging rays. He sat as still as death with his right hand resting limply over his left bent knee. His right leg was stretched full, extending to the edge of the cliff he was sitting on. Every now and then he would push the silvery stardust of the black-bathed planet he was stationed on by moving his foot from side to side in a gentle rocking motion. It was impossible to tell if it was night or day on the desert planet, and in some small way, he liked that small fact. It left his mind open to wanderings of all sorts; his memory circuits had a habit of replacing the Black Star planet's scenery with the midnight views of earth he had recorded during his most favorable mission.
A blue sedan tipped with edges of black and speckled with silver dust drove silently behind him. It stopped and transformed effortlessly into a teenage looking Autobot. He had a black visor for optics that looked almost like earthen sunglasses so he didn't mind the black rays of the plant's odd sun. His silver hands weaved through the air as if to add emphasis to something he was saying leaving bright silver patterns in the air. As if he could hear him, the red and orange armored robot rose to his feet and turned to face the newcomer. He waved his right black had through the air in a counter statement, leaving his silver one to hang limply against his side. The sedan seemed to moan at him. The red and orange robot let out a minor chuckle before transforming into a sports car. The sedan followed his lead. Within a few moments, the two were racing across the baron world towards a blue and red metallic oasis – the gem of the strange black sunned world, Black Star mining observatory.
Black wings shone like silver against the blazing blue sun of his master's heart. He strode forward past burst of white light past burst of blue light, past bursts of pain and bursts of endless void-induced bliss. He'd seen this chamber one too many times this past cycle alone to be distracted by such outbursts as those found within the core of his master. His larger black torso was outlined in delectate patterns with silver and gold paint. His feet were blacker than the rest of him from the stains of Energon he had been forced to trudge through. His grey fists were clenched tight against his side, ready to snap to a defensive position at any given moment. With indifferent silver optics, the robot stopped before the central core of Unicron and rendered honors by withdrawing his left wing which ignited into a glowing silver sword, holding it vertical to the floor, and with one fluid motion lowering the sword so that both it and his right arm were horizontal to the ground and bowing down on one knee while shouting,
"I serve only Unicron!"
Unicron could only chuckle at this constant devotion he had drilled into his favorite subordinate. Without words he ordered the militaristic black jet to stand and return his wing to its proper position.
"I have a mission that requires your unique talent, my loyal servant." Unicron began. The jet crossed its clinched right fist over its dark purple symbol-marked cockpit and bowed,
"I await your orders, Master Unicron." Unicron chuckled yet again.
"You know of the Black Star mining observatory in the Taro system?"
"Of coarse I do, sir. I was the one that managed to...persuade our last Autobot visitor to disclose its location." the jet answered promptly. Unicron chucked aloud this time.
"Ah yes, I had almost forgotten. My apologies, servant,"
"None needed, my league," the jet answered almost automatically. Unicron fought back another laugh at his handiwork.
"My most loyal and trustworthy servant, you are to take a battalion of Invaders and Terracons and invade Black Star mining observatory. Strip it dry of every last spark of Energon and return it to me."
"As you command, Lord Unicron." As the jet turned to take his leave, Unicron cried out,
"Should you fail me, slave, do not dare to return for if you do I shall take the Energon lost in this raid straight from your still functioning Spark!"
The jet shivered slightly. He knew his master was not one to jest on such punishments.
Blaze screamed, kicking back the cotton swab dripping with antiseptics. Had it not been for a counter Gate to his fiery Blaze Red Alert might have lost his one good intentioned hand. A slap across the raging Shinobi's cheek silenced him.
"Shut up, you silly toddler, and let Red Alert clean up that wound before it becomes any worse than it is." Erin snapped. Her hand was held loosely in the air from where she had slapped the now stunned Blaze. The boy blinked, raising his one gloved hand to his cheek in shock. Never before in all his life had any being, much less a girl his own age, dared to so much as even touch him, a noble honorary Shinobi Gate Keeper. Swords seemed to pick up on the younger Gate Keeper's mood and laughed lightly to himself.
"That was new. I don't think I've ever seen Blaze become that quite that fast. Normally Commander Irrian, the Keeper of the Gate of Life, has to come in and sedate him with her Gate."
Blaze remained silent throughout the remainder of his treatment. His only counter to being slapped was to slam his hat back down upon his head and turn his back to the girl. Swords could hardly fight back another fit of laughter at the attitude his counterpart was showing towards their rescuers.
"Your name is Swords, correct?" Erin questioned at a whisper. Swords closed his eyes and turned so that his chin was almost pointing at the ceiling.
"Sorry, you're going to have to speak up if you're going to earn my respect, Renegade." Swords laughed.
"She asked what your name was," Jet Fire growled.
"I won't answer to a giant fool, robot. I'll only answer to the questions asked of me by a fellow Gate Keeper."
"Then answer me now. Is your name Swords or not?" Erin snapped. Swords looked at her with a mischievous smirk in his eyes and laughed,
"Yep, my name is Swords, Keeper of the Gate of Blades. My counterpart there is Blaze, Keeper of the Gate of Inferno."
"How is it that you and Blaze were injured, Swords?" Optimus questioned. Swords ignored him with an air of annoyed superiority. However, before he could set off a retort Erin's fan had snapped shut with a clap of ice.
"You'll answer the questions asked to you by any Autobot or Demolisher without delay, you hear me?" Erin snapped. Swords looked at her with a whisper of a smirk. He straightened so that he was standing on his feet and looked up at Prime, smiling,
"Blaze and I were put on indefinite withdrawal from duty when we told the Commanders about what happened to your base yesterday. After a little digging, it came to our attention that perhaps the Renegade was right about the upper levels being corrupt and conceited. So, we escaped the confinement of our cells and made a run for it."
"We were luck to make it as far as we did before our fellow Shinobi overtook us." Blaze picked up, "We had to play dead for a good half an hour before these idiots,"
"You mean these Autobots who saved your lives," Erin interjected with a cold gale that made Blaze question if she was really the Keeper of the Gates Ying and Yang and not the Keeper of the Gate of Ice.
"...These Autobots managed to find us and keep us alive. I guess you could say we owe them our lives." Blaze concluded.
"Is there anything else you're not telling us?" Jet Fire questioned. He still had yet to trust these two emotional youths. After all, they had tried to kill Erin just yesterday.
"Only one thing; we're thinking of starting a Renegade Gate Keepers Corps, but we need the essentials. You know, food, supplies, and a strong-willed experienced leader with control over an unquestionably strong Gate." Swords smirked. Erin blushed bright red with shock and quickly turned her back to him.
"Y-You've got the wrong Gate Keeper, then..." Erin blushed shyly.
"Do we now?" Blaze teased.
"...Y-Yes...I've got no leadership skills whatsoever...." Erin explained between stutters. Now Jet Fire was truly floored. One second they want to kill her, the next they want to follow her to the ends of the earth. Fortunately for all parties involved a station wide solar alarm went off, disrupting the event mid process.
"Optimus, sir! Emergency transmission from Black Star! Terracons aided by unknown humanoid life-forms are attacking Black Star! Reinforcements requested!" The whole base was instantly alive with action. Optimus began roaring out orders in every direction.
"Jet Fire, take Erin and her new team to the warp room at once, and be sure they get suited up appropriately before launch! Prepare the Space Bridge for immediate launch to Black Star! Send word to Hot Shot and Sideswipe that reinforcements are on their way!"
"W-What?! My TEAM?!?!" Erin jumped. She had no time to argue as Jet Fire grabbed her in his hands and allowed Swords and Blaze to jump tight against his back. All she had time to say after that was, "B-But I can't lead!!"
"Yeah yah can, just not these two misfits that've tried to kill yah more than once in the past forty-eight hours." Jet Fire countered teasingly. Erin looked up at his smiling face and screamed at an almost glass-shattering pitch,
"Not funny, Jet Fire!!"
Jet Fire's red glare blasted out above the Black Star planet's surface. He tilted slightly to the side at some internal prompting so that his three passengers – one dressed in a white and black Autobot space suite, one dressed in a pure black Autobot space suite, and the final dressed in a blood red Auotbot space suite – could easily look out his main windows at the battle scared landscape below. He landed without word in front of what was left of a red and blue metallic oasis. Once his passengers had disembarked he transformed to robot mode. He signaled to the other three to activate their com systems. At first the crackle of static greeted his internal receiver but was quickly replaced by,
"Oh my lord... Jet Fire, how many were stationed here?" from Erin.
"Only two Autobots, and I'm praying right now that they're both alive. They're buddies of mine from our first earth mission." Jet Fire explained.
Swords withdrew a Transformer sized blade from his Gate and stated plainly, "Catch, exhaust for brains. You can use my sword in case you run into Invader trouble." He added as Jet Fire checked the sharpness of the blade, "It also cuts through Transformer alloy like a hot knife through butter, in case you run into Terracons."
Erin had begun to look for any signs of life with Blaze on her heels while Jet Fire was being coached on how not to kill himself with the barrowed weapon. Her ear-piercing scream made Jet Fire jump.
"I found somebody!!" Erin screamed. Blaze was sliding directly behind her as her white and black form slipped over a small – by human standards small, by Transformer standers nothing more than a bump in the dirt – mountain range. Jet Fire felt his spark skip a beat in shock.
"That's them!" he shouted. Erin's Ying Gate was lifting the two silver covered bodies out of the crater they had been pummeled into as carefully as if she were lifting eggs that were about to hatch out of a cold nest. The orange and red one's optics brightened for a moment before dimming again. "Hang on, buddy... Jet Fire to Mountain City; get ready for a couple of emergency medical cases!"
The memory played out before him like a nightmare. He remembered looking up into the night sky again and seeing him descend upon the once calm silver planet like the angle of death himself. He had tried to open a communication line with his old friend, but all hopes of communication were slashed through like wet paper when he saw his comrade sliced in half across the mid section by his black sword.
"...Starscream...don't... It's me, Hot Shot... Remember... And Sideswipe...." he whispered in his dreams. As the glowing silver wing sword descended on him, he bolted from his bed screaming, "Starscream, don't!!!"
A blast of warm but gentle energy sent him crashing gently against the bed he had bolted from. His baby blue optics darted around the room he was in like a scared rabbit being chased on the open parry. A human was standing on what looked like a wall. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his beady sunshade hidden eyes were all but glaring at him from underneath the eternal darkness his odd hat provided. His suite looked oddly familiar to him for some strange reason.
"You're awake. Good." the human huffed. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned his back to the awakened robot. Hot Shot tried to move and say something again, but the gentle burst of heat forced him to stay still and silent. "Don't even try to move. My boss is sleeping at your feet, and I'm not about to have her get squished by your carelessness."
Hot Shot sat up carefully this time and angled himself so that he was looking down at his feet. Curled up almost like a kitten was a young human girl dressed in what looked like a kimono. She would let out soft moans every now and then but the majority the snores she gave off proved she was deep in a peaceful dream.
"See what I mean? Sound asleep with no way to move her without being rude." Hot Shot turned to look at the human again who was now standing straight on the floor and demanded almost harshly,
"What happened to Sideswipe? Where am I? Who are you and who is this kid? What's going on around here?"
"One thing at a time, Hot Shot!" a familiar old voice laughed. Hot Shot turned to look at the entrance to the medical wing and instantly felt relieved.
"Optimus, sir..." Hot Shot whispered. Relieve filled his overloaded worry circuits. It didn't matter where he was now; he knew both he and Sideswipe were in good hands. Optimus walked over to him, took one look down at his feet and notably fought back a chuckle. He scooped the child off the table carefully, surprisingly not awakening her and deposited her on the bed opposite from Hot Shot. She sprawled out on this bed stretching her stiff limbs as if to try and awaken from her peaceful dream. Instead of opening her eyes she turned her back to the group and curled up in yet another sunlit dream. The human dressed in a black suite shrugged with his hands in the air in a 'go figure' gesture.
"Blaze, will you please let Red Alert know that Hot Shot is active and asking questions?" Optimus directed supposedly of the human now at his feet. He shrugged again, muttering some back talk before exiting the room supposedly to go deliver the message. Optimus sighed, "I just can't understand that human..."
Hot Shot slowly lowered himself back down onto the medical bed. He looked at Optimus with optics full of confusion, pain, disbelief. His duty was probably the only thing driving him on to stay awake. Without rendering a salute as protocol dictated he launched directly into his report of what had happened on Black Star mining observatory. It was somewhat surprising to him that Optimus kept up with his sliced report even as he was slipping under some kind of sedative. He hadn't noticed Red Alert slip in and activate a laser syringe. When he did, however, he let out a little chuckle to signal the end of his struggles against the medication and fell peacefully back into recharge mode.