DISCLAIMER: I do not own Beast Wars. Echo is my OC.
Echo slinked around the base making sure that no one would disturb her. She was sick of being on one side or the other in this foolish war. Besides, the tyrant screwed up his opportunity to kill the Maximals. Not that she cared either way, but perhaps she wouldn't have gone to Omicron. No matter anyway. Echo put in a disk connected to a wide cord which was connected to a large disk.
"Computer, copy all data files. Ranging from data tracks to logs." Echo ordered the Predacon ship.
"Acknowledged." A cool femme voice said.
On another note, the widow abandoned the Predacons for her lover, the bird-dog. Though she'd never admit it, but Echo knew that it was true indeed. Also, the one thing that creeped Echo out was that Megatron had a fetish for bird cages. And what is up with his rubber ducky? Echo concluded that the ducky was his security, and that thought made her laugh every time. A big bad tyrant with a duck as security.
"Copy complete." The femme voice informed her.
"Good. Now, download Voice program." Echo ordered.
"Acknowledged, downloading now."
Echo used the voice programs to gain access to recent files if she decided to leave. She could access them over her ship's computer without anyone's knowledge of her doing so, but Tarantulus' computers had too much security on them for Voice to avoid.
"Download complete."
"Activate Voice program and encrypt."
"Acknowledged."
"Voice?" Echo said in a low tone.
"Good day, Echo." Voice chimed happily. Voice wasn't like the Maximal and Predacon computers, Voice was a smart computer, or AI, but not quite as advanced as the bots.
"How are your systems functioning?"
"At full capacity. Are you leaving?"
Echo checked her scanners again and replied, "No. Sorry, to cut you short, but you need to run this program and I'll contact you later."
"Understood." Voice answered encrypting herself.
Echo closed the link to the computer mainframe and returned to her duties.
Tarantulus watched the femme walk away. He hadn't heard anything she said, but noticed that she was adding or removing programs. He had been watching her the whole time with his little spy bots.
"Hmm." He thought. "This should be good. Hehehehehehe. If I turn her in then I'll be in Megatron's good graces again. Stupid femme." Tarantulus mumbled to himself before heading off to the bridge.
Tarantulus transformed and used a hover pad to get to the bridge.
"You!" Megatron snarled. "What are you doing here!"
"I have come to offer you a truce."
"A truce?" Megatron repeated suspicious of the spider's motives.
"And as a gesture of good faith I show you what your prized assassin was up to earlier."
Echo overheard what was going on and decided now was the time to run.
Megatron watched the image of Echo doing something to the computer mainframe and growled. "Find her! And bring her to me! I-WANT-THAT-FEMME."
Echo had already transformed into beast mode and was in stealth mode now running at full speed to her ship. She stopped a moment to catch her breath. She was in a forest, so she was hidden from view.
"Alert, Predacon signatures near."
"How many?" she panted.
"Five."
Echo huffed and took off again, but towards Maximal territory. She couldn't risk them finding her ship. She turned off her stealth mode for a moment to get their attention. They were converging on her faster than she thought they would. How could they find her?—Tarantulus.
The wolf snarled transformed and pulled out her stunner. She'd have to take out Rampage quickly. What better way than instant paralysis. She took off her stealth mode without stopping. Amazingly to her luck Rampage came up to her immediate right, and one shot and he was paralyzed. She put that weapon away and pulled out her glocks. There was a clearing ahead where they flyers had a chance to get her. Echo estimated where they'd be and got ready to fire. As soon as she cleared the forest she fire at where she estimated Waspinator would be at she fired and hit him directly. Now, she only had Quickstrike, Tarantulus, and Inferno to contend with. All 3 would be difficult, but with Tarantulus' weapons it would be next to impossible. Her energy cells were close to depletion.
Echo looked ahead to see a waterfall.
"Perfect." She smiled.
Still running she headed for the cliff. She was half way there when Tarantulus and Quickstrike arrived and aided Inferno in firepower. Echo turned enough to fire a few shots.
"The royalty wishes to speak with you!" Inferno yelled at her.
"Oh, does he well tell him to bite me." Echo snapped.
"For the royalty!" Inferno hollered firing at her.
Echo narrowly missed cyber-venom from Tarantulus. She snarled and fired back. Echo turned around to see the edge. She smiled triumphantly and leaped off twisting in the air so she fell on her back. She fire at the ant while he fired at her with several successful hits, but nothing lethal. She fell into the mist concealing her from the ant. Inferno roared with rage that he had lost his quarry. The royalty would not be pleased.
Echo pulled herself ashore coughing and spluttering and tried to convert to beast mode.
"Beast mode." She said in between coughs.
Nothing happened.
"Beast mode." She said more firmly.
Nothing still.
"Dammit! Voice, give a diagnostic."
"Minimal damage, however, you cannot transform because Inferno his your transforming mechanisms. Internal repairs cannot begin until you convert to beast mode, and if you do not do so soon. You will go offline."
"Well, you're just full of cheery information aren't you?" Echo snorted. Her ship was too far away for her to walk damaged. The only other option were the Maximals. Echo gritted her teeth. How she hated having to crawl back to them for help, but she knew Optimus would not turn her away. He was a pacifist, and he would ask Rhinox who wouldn't deny her repairs either.
"Voice, gimme closest Maximal units."
"Cheetor and Silverbolt."
Echo sighed. At least it was Silverbolt. He was quite chivalrous. She sighed one more time before opening the com to him. "Silverbolt, come in."
Echo reluctantly waited patiently and there was a response. "Silverbolt here, is that you fair lady?"
"Uh, yeah. Look, I know I've been kinda awry lately, but I left the Preds and I'm too damaged to return to my ship. I… I need your help."
Silverbolt looked at the feline flying next to him and asked, "What do you think? We can't just leave her like that."
"What if it's a trap?" Cheetor cautioned.
"The fair lady would not do such a thing to us. She may have turned, but she is still good underneath."
Cheetor sighed and decided to call base. "Cheetor to base."
"What's up kitty cat?" Rattrap said.
"I need to speak with Optimus. We've got a situation."
"Preds?" Rattrap questioned.
"Well, technically no."
"What is it Cheetor?" Optimus asked.
Echo was growing uneasy with a long silence over the com link, but was relieved when she heard Silverbolt reply.
"Echo, I'm on my way, but I—" Silverbolt responded.
"I'm transmitting my coordinates directly to you now." Echo quickly replied before cutting off the link. She knew that if the Preds heard the transmission they could track her quicker. Echo found cover and sat down leaning up against a tree and waited for Silverbolt to pick her up.
The white knight didn't take long. Echo had forgotten that he had missed him. Quickstrike had been a poor substitution for the white knight. At least Silverbolt had never tried to court her like the two-head.
Echo got up and walked over to the transformed fuzor. "Hello, Bolt."
"Fair lady." He greeted unsure of her.
"Look, sug I ain't gonna bite. I appreciate this greatly." Echo told him sincerely.
"C'mon. Let's get you back to base." He said scooping her up and taking flight.
Only one question plagued Echo, "Bolt, won't BA be kinda pissed…"
"She knows that she's the only one for me."
"Awe, how sweet." Echo said just as the feline swooped in next to them. "Hey, kid."
Cheetor didn't say a word to her. She knew that he was still sore at her for turning, but she had her reasons. Primal had driven her to it, and Dinobot had died on her.
"Energon shields low, covert to beast mode. Stasis lock eminent." Echo's internal computer said.
"Hey, Bolt. I gotta shut down before I fry my systems."
"Understood. See you when you wake up."
Echo smiled and shut her systems down. She also, didn't want to contend with the other Maximals when damaged.
Echo's optics flickered on and the room came into focus. Rhinox was standing over her. She breathed calmly before sitting up.
"Try transforming." Rhinox told the femme.
"Beast mode." Echo said transforming into her wolf form. "All right." She turned to Rhinox. "Thank you, and I hope there's no hard feelings about my actions. I did what I had to do."
Rhinox nodded and replied, "None taken. Optimus would like to speak with you before you depart."
Echo sighed, "Where's his quarters?"
"I'll show you." Rhinox said walking out of the room with Echo in her wolf form following him. Rhinox knocked on a steel door.
"Enter." Optimus said.
Echo entered leaving Rhinox behind. Optimus stood towering over the small femme wolf. She sat down and waited for what the Maximal leader had to say. When he didn't say anything Echo grew impatient and finally broke the silence.
"Well? You called me here, so is there something that you wish to discuss?" Echo said to him.
"Yes." Optimus replied.
"And that would be?"
"Your plans, Echo."
"My plans? Plans for what?"
"What you intend to do. I know that you've left Predacons, but then again you've left us as well once."
"Those plans…well, I dislike having to be on one side or the other, so I've decided to place myself on neither."
"Neither side. How do you intend to—"
"I still have my hidden ship you know, and if I don't want to be found, I won't be." Echo said confidently, but thinking, Only one other can find me with my stealth mode on—Rampage. However, he would never do that to me. How or why, I'll never know.
"…but if that's is what you wish. You know where to find us, if you were ever in trouble." Optimus finished.
"Yes, and thank you Optimus." Echo said before departing. The femme trotted off still in wolf form; she nearly collided with the black widow.
"Watch where you going." She snapped continuing on.
"Blackarachnia," Echo called causing the widow to turn. "Take care of Bolt, you got yourself a good one."
The widow merely stared at Echo before Echo decided she wasn't going to reply and left. The rat was one of the last ones she had to deal with.
"Like I told Optimus, never trust a Pred. Once a Pred, always a Pred." Rattrap commented.
"You're right rodent, however, only my protoform was Predacon. I act on my own accord. I do not have the shell programs of Maximal or Predacon, so therefore I can be neither." Echo stated calmly before leaving and letting her words sink in. She walked out of the front doors of the mountain base. Silverbolt was on watch outside.
"Fair lady, where do you go now?" he asked in his gallant tone.
Echo looked out to the horizon before looking back to him and replying, "Home. I'll see you when I'll see you Bolt. Until then."
Silverbolt watched the femme take off to the southwest. It saddened him to see her on her own, but in his heart he knew that it was best for a freelance like Echo. She wouldn't get into any trouble unless she went looking for it.
Echo walked up to the control room of her ship. It wasn't too long ago that she became a ronin. Voice alerted Echo.
"Alert. Maximal transmission coming in."
"What's so special about this one Voice?" Echo asked looking at some stolen Predacon files.
"Take a look at this." Voice said brining up the scanners.
Echo turned to look and saw an incoming ship that was entering the atmosphere. Another star hopper. "Voice, where's that landing going to be?" Echo asked urgently.
"Unsure, but guest Grid Alpha Seven. Cheetor is presently in that area."
Echo didn't wait to be told again before bolting out. The grid was very far away for Echo to travel, but she had nothing better to do. Perhaps, the star hopper would take her perspective on the war and go rogue.
Dammit! Echo thought. I missed them.
Echo had made it to the drop site and could tell a fierce battle went on, but no one was there. She had no idea what had happened or if the star hopper was still alive and what side they were on. Echo was quickly brought out of her thoughts when she heard in explosion erupt from the water.
"Rampage." She said with a smile. Echo opened her com link to him and removed her stealth mode.
It didn't take long for Rampage to come to her location. He didn't fire at her, but merely approached her.
"So my friend you wish to have a talk or a little fun?" Rampage asked her.
"A talk for now." Echo replied calmly to the psycho. "Do you know who the star hopper is or was?"
"Ah, you wish to know of my friend. A Maximal of course, however, he only wishes to play with me."
"Does your friend have a name?"
"Depth Charge."
The name no sooner rolled off of Rampage's tongue bringing back images of the Colony Omicron. Echo quickly shook her head. "The Guardian."
"You remember him?"
"I remember of him…he was the one who hunted you non stop. Rampage, I have a favor to ask of you. Don't tell him who I really am."
"What makes you think the Maximals won't?"
"He's a rogue. He won't listen to them." She replied converting to beast mode. "Thanks for the update. Now, if you'll excuse me I some things to do."
As Echo was walking away she was stopped dead in her tracks when Rampage spoke her name, "Zero."
She turned glaring at him. No one dared use her old name. Only if you wanted her attention.
"Be careful. The Guardian won't hesitate with you when playing." Rampage cautioned knowing her weakness.
Echo just turned and continued to her ship. Apparently, it was that obvious Echo had liked the Guardian back in the day. Guardian Depth Charge was the only one who could keep up with X just as well as she could, and he was just old technology. X was immortal, and Zero was a stealth assassin.