Nevada Desert
Soundwave
Soundwave had a prominent limp, but he was finally mobile. With properly processed Energon and being careful not to strain himself, he was recovering. Of course, he still had the hole in his chest to contend with. He didn't have the tools to do such a procedure on himself, not even accounting for the tremble his servos had from his damage. Laserbeak had similar handicaps, so was unable to assist in such detailed repairs, and he refused to allow the human anywhere near his Spark. He would just have to burden the vulnerability until he could get proper medical help with the Decepticons.
He hoped said help would be in his immediate future as he riffled through piles of human rubbish to locate pieces for a satellite radio to connect to the Nemesis. Even if all he could manage to send was a blip, they would come to investigate and pick him back up.
"I think I saw a broken transceiver over here about a week ago," piped the human. Soundwave glanced her way and watched the small bipedal creature scamper to another scrap pile under a rock arch. His translator was working, so he understood the organic without having to listen through Laserbeak. The human tended to ramble, a lot, and get underfoot. He suffered the noise and her unfortunate company as she had been useful in locating pieces he could utilize for his communications satellite. "Here!" she announced while attempting to dislodge the broken metal piece from its resting place.
Knowing the small twig limbed organic would not be successful in her attempts, he went to retrieve the device himself. Soundwave approached and shooed her out of the way so he could yank it free. With the existing scrap and the human's Refractor she used to bridge him out of the Flux Space, Soundwave was confident he had enough to start work on the communicator satellite.
He started for base, the small patter of human footsteps close behind his own heel struts. "Your limp is way better than it was yesterday," the human observed. "How's the rest of ya holding up?"
Adequate. The human's device on her waist buzzed for him. Any other form of code-based communication, aside from his own Primus given voice, would have been to slow, thus inefficient. Laserbeak had already utilized the human's device for similar purposes. Soundwave followed suit.
"Good to hear. I was worried at first you and Laserbeak would have to suffer my subpar repair work, but then you both started to heal on your own, even though your metal," she gave an oddly placed laugh. "Sorry, if that was a strange comment. I'm just fascinated how you work…." Then her voice dropped off.
The abrupt silence was a welcome change. But then Soundwave heard the human gasp, accompanied with her spiked pulse. He followed her gaze. Dust rose from the distant human road. A vehicle was passing. The coloring was that of human law enforcement.
Soundwave threw himself behind a rockface to hide. He couldn't risk discovery of any kind that may lead to an encounter with the Autobots. He was in no condition to fight. He was sure he wasn't spotted, as the lone vehicle carried on down the road. That was when he noticed he had company in his hiding spot. The human was cowering behind his left heel strut. Her small frame trembled, as if her heightened pulse rate rattled her from the inside out. She also rubbed her hands together fast, only stopping to shake them at the wrists.
Her strange behavior stopped, and she risked a glance up at him, his silent stair an obvious question. He needed to remain hidden. She did not. She straightened her back and glanced away as if embarrassed. "You're avoiding the Government and I'm on the run from my own pursuers. I can't get caught, let's just leave it at that." She offered.
Soundwave didn't question her further, though found the fact they were both fugitives mildly ironic.
They returned to the makeshift base and Soundwave got to work on the satellite. He wanted to work faster but was limited by his still healing wounds. He had to take frequent breaks. Prolonged standing put too much strain on his peds. He had stopped trying to keep the human out of his work a while ago. Whenever he took a seat to rest, she jumped in and continued where he left off on the satellite. Despite his original reservations, she knew what she was doing. For the sake of productivity, he didn't complain.
Laserbeak chirped at him. More Energon was ready. He and Laserbeak had been devouring it as quickly as they were able to process it. It didn't help they were only able to process small batches. Soundwave vented his frustration and reached up to his damaged visor. Releasing the clamps that secured it in place he pulled it away from his face plates. It was a better time than any to at least attempt to fix his visor. Though, without the Nemesis' systems to connect to, the readings it would show him were limited.
He sipped the warm Energon while examining the damage to his visor.
Soundwave felt the human's strange optics on him. He saw she had stopped work to instead study him in scrutinizing detail. She looked shocked, and he wondered what about him had changed for her to act so odd, or more so than usual.
She blinked, then came her strangely placed laugh. "I…sorry, I didn't know you had, a face." she finally said.
Soundwave didn't bother dignifying the strange comment with a response. For a creature intelligent enough to decipher his SOS in the flux space, learn Cybertronian biology to repair him, and assist in building an intergalactic communication's satellite, her thought process could be ridiculous.
"Sorry, was that a weird thing to say?" she acknowledged before getting back to work. "So, since this satellite will be long range, I guess the Autobots aren't on Earth anymore?" she went on to question.
Soundwave chose his words carefully. "I am not sure of their current location," he spoke through her device. It wasn't a lie. He didn't know where either Autobot or Decepticon were. He had no idea what had happened since he had been gone. For all he knew, Megatron had reclaimed Cybertron and devastated the Autobot forces. Or the war had just rekindled back on familiar territory. Either way, he needed to get back and help.
The thought brought his break to an early end. He finished the Energon and put his visor down to be repaired later. He got back to work, new Energon and determination fueling him. It wouldn't be long now. He would be back on Cybertron soon. He would be under Megatron's command.
The human was looking at him again, and it was distracting. With another frustrated vent, Soundwave turned her way to determine what she wanted. She was staring at his face, just like before. "Inquiry?" he asked, eager to get back on task.
"No," she said with a shift of her small heel struts. "I just like your eyes, they're pretty."
Soundwave didn't know how to respond to the observation of his optics, or what purpose it served the task at hand. "…Noted." He offered finally. Such a strange creature. It must have been a human trait, focusing on small, unimportant details. Or perhaps such observations were unique to this one human. She already exhibited behavior he hadn't observed in others of her race. Then again, he never gave the organic race much thought to begin with. He never assumed he had a reason to.
He pulled the human's refractor device over to synchronize with the satellite. Once both devices were operational and sending out a destress beacon, anyone, Decepticon or Autobot, could trace it to the source. This wouldn't be a problem for him, as he only needed to stay hidden from the Autobots long enough for the Decepticons to return, follow his life signal and recover him. However….
Soundwave glanced at the human. She was busy wiring a new panel onto the satellite. She was focused, engulfed in her work, the world around her unimportant. It reflected how he worked. "Reha."
The human jumped in surprise. He assumed she would. She was a skittish creature to begin with, and this was the first time he initiated a conversation or utilized her designation. "Once activated, the signal will be traceable from all sources. That will include your own race's military. You mentioned you were being followed. I am informing you of this so you will have ample time to leave before the device's activation."
Reha staired up at him. At first, her face was unreadable, blinking her strange brown optics. But then she smiled. "Thanks for the heads up. I can clear out in no time."
He nodded at her and got back to work, despite Laserbeak's curious gaze across their workspace, burning a hole in the side of his helm. Laserbeak's voice appeared in his mind. "You bothered to warn the organic of the danger?"
Soundwave refrained from glaring at the minicon for using his own words from before against him, especially since it was used sarcastically. "I do not want to owe anything to this human." He thought back. He had already acquired a large debt to the organic. She freed him from the flux space, nursed him back to health and was now assisting him in getting off world. This way, they were even.
Soundwave winced, a jolt of pain from his chest flaring when he turned to fast while retrieving another part. The jagged armor of his chest plate was pushed inward and scraped against his Spark Chamber. Each time it happened he would have to grit his denta and wait for the horrible feeling reverberating through his chassis to fade. It was becoming harder to. He didn't have the tools or the means of fixing it himself, and Laserbeak was still to damaged himself to do such an operation.
"That needs to be addressed, Master Soundwave," Laserbeak said through their connection.
"Acknowledged," Soundwave said back. No one knew better then him how urgent the wound needed to be patched. Any half decent blast to the hole could terminate him instantly.
Laserbeak chirped, his focus landing on Reha. Soundwave scowled at the minicon. No, he couldn't allow himself to get that desperate.
Location: Westcoast Military Base
Ratchet
"How's it coming, Raphael?" Ratchet inquired from his own work at the console. The young teen had been working feverishly to get beyond the Hacker's encryption and trace where they had opened their own Groundbridge a month prior.
Raphael pushed his boxy glasses back up the bridge of his nose between fast types on his laptop. "I'm narrowing it down," He reported with a smile. "I can get the general location. The Groundbridge was opened in the Western United States. I'm about halfway through decoding the Groundbridge's scrambled coordinates log."
"Impressive son," Agent Fowler said. He stood over Raphael on the elevated catwalk and observed his work. "You know, Uncle Sam really wants your talent with computers. You could really do your country proud."
Raphael smiled at the praise. "That would make my mom happy I bet, and Bumblebee too. Speaking of, I can't wait to see Bee and the others when they arrive. It feels like forever since they visited."
"It will be a short visit," Ratchet insisted. "They will be here just long enough to investigate, and hopefully prove my theory wrong."
"And that theory would be?" Agent Fowler pressed. "You never did elaborate."
Ratchet only scoffed, intending to say no more. It was only a hunch, though a hunch that had a growing amount of evidence to support it.
The smaller bay doors opened, and Ratchet saw Miko and Jack return. It seemed the small amount of quiet had come to an end.
"We're back with promised snacks!" Miko announced to the hanger while waving bags of food items about. "I hear we're taking on hackers today! Good, it's been way to boring around here. When can we Bridge there and get our hands on 'em?"
"You won't be fighting anyone," Ratchet huffed. "That will be an Autobot job, if it is needed, emphasis on 'if needed.' If all is well, the team will return to Cybertron soon after. There are more pressing issues back on Cybertron right now. More than Human hackers and strange radio frequencies."
Miko let out a loud squeal, and Ratchet rolled his optics. He wondered if she heard anything of what he had said.
"Bulkhead is going to be here any minute! I can't wait to tell him all about my guitar tour around Tokyo!"
Ratchet didn't have time to scoff again. Jack had left Miko to her own devices and approached him at the console. "Everything is ok, right? You've been really on edge." Jack noted.
Ratchet hesitated. "Of course, of course. This is just a simple scan for potential danger. Nothing out of the ordinary."
"You're downplaying this," Jack said, an edge to his voice.
Ratchet's work stalled. He finally looked down at Jack, his brows downturned and an expression of worry prominent. "You need to keep us in the loop. Seriously. You guys tried to protect us… When Optimus passed. But you don't have to do that. We can take it. Even though we're on Earth, you guys are family. You don't have to protect us from the truth."
Even Miko had fallen silent. Ratchet became aware the others were turned their way, waiting for his response. He released a vent. "I know." He finally agreed. The human kids were too smart for their own good sometimes. "I am almost certain the one we are tracking down is Soundwave. We will need as many Bots as possible to capture him once he is located."
"I guessed it was Soundwave," Raphael sighed.
Though taken off guard, Ratchet wasn't necessarily surprised. Raphael was observant.
"But screen face is stuck in the Shadow Zone. Me, Raf and Jack sent him there ourselves!" Miko protested at the news. Her arms folded as if Soundwave's activities insulted her personally.
"But it's been a year. Wouldn't he have run out of Energon by now?" Jack pointed out.
Ratchet shook his helm. "It would depend on how much physical activity Soundwave had been doing in the Shadow Zone while trapped there. There are ways of conserving energy even for that long. Soundwave is smart. He would have been utilizing every trick to stay online. But we won't know for absolute certain until we track his signal down."
"How did he even get out in the first place?" Miko demanded.
"The hacker Raphael is currently tracking." Ratchet explained. "They were able to utilize our own Groundbridge here and refract its portal into the needed wavelength to open a means into the Shadow Zone."
"I don't get it," Agent Fowler said. "What would some human hacker have to gain releasing a Con?"
"No idea," Ratchet admitted. "But that is a question for later. If Soundwave is free, he will be searching for any means of getting back to Cybertron. That includes our Spacebridge here. We will need to make sure he does not locate our base and utilize our technology for his plans."
The somber conversation came to a halt as the console pinged. Relief filled Ratchet's Spark. It was the rest of team Prime requesting a Bridge to their location. He activated the Spacebridge and waited, Raphael and Miko leaning against the railing of the catwalk eagerly.
Through the twisting portal multiple bots became visible. The first of which was Arcee, her light ped steps coming to a stop before Jack. She knelt, a smirk on her faceplates. "Long time no see, partner. You changed."
Jack snickered, ruffling his longer hair. "It's a human thing. It's good to see you again Cee."
Just as Bulkhead's larger frame came through the portal, Miko let out a scream. Before Agent Fowler could stop her Miko leapt off the catwalk at Bulkhead, her arms outstretched.
"Wow!" Bulkhead exclaimed, just managing to catch her before she hit the ground.
Bumblebee rushed past the commotion to Raphael with a wide grin. "I hope you've been practicing your gaming Raf, because I fully intend to win our rematch this time." He said, offering a hand for Raphael to jump into.
Ratchet vented loudly. "I disagree, Arcee. Not enough has changed around here."
Location: Nevada Desert
Soundwave
Soundwave had recovered the final pieces needed from the scrap yard. He had left Laserbeak to supervise the human's work while he was gone, and it was not late into the night. The project was going far too slow. Soundwave was painfully aware how low his mental faculties were, which had crippled his productivity. He was sure a damaged processor was the cause. He needed to get proper medical attention as soon as possible.
Even with the delay, they were almost done. Though he wanted to get the prototype running as soon as he got back, he was weary and needed to power down to recover further.
He froze in his tracks when he heard a familiar voice carried on the desert air. Megatron's powerful inflection shook him. It was coming from their base. It wasn't his master, magically manifested there, but rather the recording of a speech Soundwave recognized during the early days before the war.
He easily found the source. Laserbeak was connected to Reha's small computation device, playing the recorded memory file from eons ago. The human in question was seated before the screen, her focus locked on the image of Megatron. There would be no mention of either Decepticon or Autobot in this recording, so their deception was still safe.
"She wanted to know about our leader," Laserbeak explained silently.
"Unity is within our reach, Cybertron!" The recording of Megatron announced to the cheering crowd from his elevated platform. "I see in your optics the change our world has been demanding for countless ages! I see it, my brothers! Our determination, our passion for justice that will break down barriers and topple corruption! Hard work is before us, but at the end of this path will be equality for all Cybertronians, no matter the caste! We are one Spark, and nothing can move our will!"
Soundwave saw Reha was entranced by his master's inspiring words, much like he had been the first time he heard Megatron speak.
The recording ended with the Elite guard breaking up the crowd, bringing Megatron's speech to an early end. Reha spun around from the screen to gaze up at Soundwave. "Is that what he's like in person?" she asked eagerly.
Soundwave observed her for a moment, a curious gleam in her odd optics. He suddenly saw his own younger self in the human. Intelligent and underappreciated. Taken advantage of in a corrupt system. It was a shame she was human. She would have made a fine Decepticon.
"Yes, he is just as inspiring in person," Soundwave confirmed. "I have worked under him for countless mega cycles, even before the great war. Megatron stood up for the lower castes. He brought about change in a horrifically broken system that was unmoving since it's inception. My loyalty in his cause is unshakable. I would die for it."
"We need someone like Megatron here on Earth," Reha said quickly. Her optics dropped, her hands scratching at the flesh on her arms again. Soundwave had observed the repeating behavior and had yet to determine a justification behind it. "Our system is corrupt too. I guess government corruption is a universal trait. If it wasn't for the way things are… I wouldn't have to be on the run."
"You are a fugitive, correct?" Soundwave inquired before he could question his motives for doing so. "You are brilliant. Why does your government wish to suppress your talents and not utilize it?"
Reha shrugged. "It's what Megatron was fighting for in a way. We don't really have a caste system here in the United States, but there are classes, I guess. I'm lower class and a minority. They say mentally ill as well. That's three strikes against me. The people I'm running from were using me, but not for my abilities," her gaze was far away as she continued to scratch at her skin.
"Before I picked up your SOS in that pocket dimension, I was heading East, back where I was born. I'm still going there, once this is all over."
"You're staying here heightens your risk of capture?" Soundwave noted.
Reha only nodded.
"Then why did you stop to trace my signal?" he questioned. "You could have carried on. It would have been a wiser choice to insure your self-preservation."
"I really don't have a logical answer for that. I've been obsessed with all things space and mechanical my whole life. During the darkest times trapped and exploited by others, I would just get lost in the science of my hobbies, and that included interest in alien life," she chuckled to herself, and then looked up to give him a lopsided smile. "I guess the short answer is, I was determined to see my passion through. And it was a good damn thing I did because it led to you and Laserbeak. I'm just a human, so I'm sure I will never understand all that you have gone through. But hey, I get how it feels to be far away from home. My needs can wait. You, on the other hand, need to get back to Cybertron, and that is now my priority. You and Megatron have a war to win after all."
