Mirage walked calmly through the Decepticon base. Other spies had to learn to move quietly and sneak around, but Mirage could stomp through the halls shouting and no one would notice him. Of course, sneaking was a valuable skill, and he should probably work on it in case his mod ever malfunctioned, but honestly he was too busy running around on missions to do much practicing.
He made his way down a set of stairs, and then had to wait for a while at the door to the Decepticon prison. Before too long, a guard showed up and Mirage slipped in the door right behind him. Then, he got out of the doorway quickly while the guard he'd followed in talked briefly with another guard, and then took his place.
This room had probably been some sort of storage cellar before the Decepticons had started using it to keep prisoners. The cells were for holding merchandise, not mecha, and it wouldn't be too hard to stage a breakout, especially with Mirage to unlock all the doors. He would have to communicate with the prisoners, though, and that was more difficult because he couldn't speak without turning off his mod.
He walked the length of the room, thinking. The cells were ridiculously crowded and it seemed there were a lot of injured mecha among the prisoners who hadn't been attended to. That might make an escape a little more difficult. In order to bridge these mecha back to Iacon, they'd need to get them out of the city limits, or bring down the groundbridge shielding. Neither of those would be easy.
And they had to be careful about letting the prisoners know, too, because if Soundwave found out the Autobots were planning to rescue them, it was all over.
Jazz had given Mirage permission to try and break them out during this mission if he thought it was possible, and Mirage wished it was…
But there was no way to get them all off the Decepticon base without sounding some sort of alarm. It was too risky.
Better to wait. Mirage knew the Decepticons were planning on moving to a different base soon. If he could find out exactly when they were going to relocate the prisoners, it might be a good opportunity to rescue them.
The door opened and two guards came in, dragging a mech between them. They were followed by three other sets of guards, also bringing unconscious mecha. The guards opened one of the emptier cells and tossed the newcomers in, then left.
Mirage walked toward the cell with the new additions, listening as frightened hushed voices came from the cells around him. He tried to pick out what the prisoners were whispering among themselves.
"…those the same mecha?"
"…brought them back…"
"…never come back before…"
Mirage stopped outside the cell, looking in as the few conscious prisoners shuffled around to make space for the newcomers.
"Are they online?" Someone in the next cell over asked.
The Decepticon guard glared in their direction.
"Yeah," someone said, kneeling over one of the unconscious mecha. "I think so. I mean, they're not awake, but they're alive."
"Stop talking," the guard said, but wandered over, looking curious.
One of the unconscious mechs shifted and moaned, and the mecha in the cells around them pushed up against the bars, trying to see. An expectant hush fell over the room.
"Hey," the mech who'd been talking before said quietly. "Hey, can you hear me?"
Mirage had to move out of the way so the guard didn't bump into him.
The mech they'd brought back un-shuttered his optics, which flickered twice and then came on.
"Can you hear me? Are you okay?"
"Yeah," the mech said quietly. "I… I think. What happened?"
"I was about to ask you that. Can you remember?"
The mech shuttered his optics. "They… they opened me up… some sort of machine. There was this mech with no faceplate, just a big red optic…"
"What?" someone else said.
The dim-opticed mech sobbed.
"Hey…" the first mech to speak said, and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, mech…"
"…I felt like… I was dying. Like my spark was being torn in half. I think I passed out… I… I thought I was going to die… it hurts…" he trailed off, trembling for a few astroseconds then went still and silent, apparently unconscious again.
Mirage felt sick. He knew who that mech with the single optic was, and he could guess what this meant. No one had come back before, but now they were sending them back, online. Shockwave had been successful. He could now harvest as much spark energy as he wanted.
Mirage wondered for a moment how many mecha Shockwave had killed to get to this point. The thought made him angry. He wanted to go stick a nice long blade into that one-opticed freak's spark chamber. He could do it. No one would be able to stop him.
He ought to.
The Prime would be disappointed in him, though.
And Mirage hadn't ever actually killed anyone before. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to do it.
Either way, he needed to find Shockwave. If the mad scientist was on the next phase of his spark energy project, Mirage had to look into it. He backed away from the cell with the unconscious mecha and headed for the door, then hesitated. Should he wait to slip out the next time someone came in?
No. The guard was distracted by the unconscious mecha, and the speculations among the prisoners about what had happened to him. He pressed the button to open the door and left, searching his memory files for directions to Shockwave's lab.
He realized as he made his way to the central part of the base that he should probably send Jazz a message before doing anything so dangerous as infiltrating Shockwave's lab. However, sending messages from inside the Decepticon base was risky, even with Soundwave gone.
"…don't think he trusts me…" a voice said, and Mirage hesitated. He recognized that voice, it was the mech from Quantum—Blackangle—who was trying to stage a coup. Jazz didn't seem to think he had much of a chance and Mirage tended to agree—no one could overthrow Megatron when Soundwave was backing him.
"…This would be a perfect time if it weren't for that freak. I can't believe it. Megatron took all the other fliers with him to Vos."
"It is too bad." The two Quantum mecha came around the corner. Mirage pressed himself to the wall so they wouldn't bump into him. "But I don't think it necessarily means he's onto you."
So Megatron was in Vos. That was interesting. Mirage knew that the Decepticons had been talking to Vos… but why would Megatron need to go there for an entire orn? That seemed kind of suspicious.
"Either way, it makes it impossible to move now. We'll have to wait and look for a better opportunity."
"You know," the second mech said. "It might be a good idea to try and get rid of Soundwave, if you're really worried he's figured you out."
They passed him and Mirage pushed away from the wall to follow them. It would be really, really nice if they got rid of Soundwave. Then Mirage could come here whenever he wanted. Not that he wanted to come here, but it would make it a whole lot less nerve-wracking.
"I'd like to," Blackangle said. "But I don't want to take any chances. There has to be a reason Megatron puts so much trust in him. I've only ever seen him doing desk work and, from what I know, the gladiator doesn't have too much appreciation for desk work. There has to be something else there too."
Well, he was right about that.
"I have a feeling I'll only have one chance at this, so I've got to be careful," Blackangle said. "I'm not going to spend effort on an assassination attempt that only gets me part way to my goal. Also, speaking of being cautious, I know the cameras don't pick up sound, but we need to be more careful where we talk. I have this weird feeling like someone's listening."
Mirage smiled.
He followed them a little further, but their conversation was finished and they parted ways at the next intersection. Mirage wished he'd heard the whole thing instead of coming in somewhere near the middle. He paused to think back on everything he'd heard them say, committing it to long-term memory.
He'd only made it to the end of Blackangle's first sentence before he stopped, core turning to ice.
Oh, Primus.
This would be a perfect time if it weren't for that freak. I can't believe it. Megatron took all the other fliers with him to Vos
There was only one mech he could have been talking about.
Mirage had been right there, listening in on that conversation. Right there, and he probably hadn't been the only one eavesdropping.
Soundwave was still on base.
Mirage took a side hall, heading for the nearest way out, but then stopped. He couldn't panic. Panicking would lead to mistakes. He had to contact Jazz. Caution was out of the picture now. He pulled out his datapad and typed up a quick message, explaining that he was aborting the mission and why.
He hit send and continued down the hallway. He was about to stick the datapad back in subspace when an alert popped up on it, informing him that his message hadn't gone through.
Jazz was missing something.
Actually, he felt like he was missing a lot of things, and it was driving him insane.
"That's all I know, I swear," the mech said. He was stasis-cuffed, cowering on the floor of Mirage's vaults. "We just saw an opportunity and took it. It wasn't even my idea, I just went along with it. Please don't hurt me, I promise I'm not working for Quantum or the Council or anyone, we just thought we could make some credit."
Jazz had no intention of hurting anyone. "Ya're lucky I believe ya," he said. "Because your friend's plan was the stupidest idea I have ever heard, and that's sayin' something. Ya really thought ya could kidnap the Prime and get away with it?"
Even if there was something larger at work here, this mech probably didn't know about it. The mech who'd been in charge of the group—the only one who might have known anything important—was offline, thanks to Ironhide. Jazz had told him not to kill anyone, but he hadn't listened.
"Thank you," the would-be kidnapper said, then stared up at him with frightened optics. "What… what are you going to do with me?"
"Eh," Jazz said. "Don't know yet. Don't freak out, though, the worst thing that'll happen ta you is us handing ya over ta Polyhex enforcement."
His comm. beeped and he answered it. "Yeah, Prime?"
"We need to have a meeting," Orion's voice spoke over the comm. "It's a matter of some urgency, and we would like your input."
All right, then. "I've gotta go," he said to the prisoner. "I'll talk to ya later, mech. Don't try anything stupid."
Jazz slipped from the vault and locked it behind himself, then headed toward the meeting room.
He was missing something. Elita had lied to him about Orion comming her, and how she'd figured out he'd been kidnapped. What did that mean? Did they have some other way to determine if he was in trouble? He was a Prime, so it couldn't be any sort of bond.
What was Jazz missing?
He pulled his datapad out of subspace, and it pinged several times, letting him know he'd gotten messages. He skimmed through them, noting that he'd gotten a report from Mirage. He'd completely forgotten he'd sent the noblemech to Kaon four joors ago. And this was the first message he'd received.
He read it as he walked.
[Sorry for the wait. I haven't been very productive, unfortunately, but I decided to report anyway. I have located the prisoners, but haven't been able to contact them. I also haven't been able to find out much of what you asked me to. I do have a little information to send you, which I'll put at the end of the message. The only good news is that I discovered that Megatron and Soundwave are in Tesarus and will be there for three more orns. Of course, that's also bad news because it means I have to spend more time in this dump. I'll get back to you in a few more joors if I find anything out.]
Tesarus, huh? Jazz wondered what they might be doing there. Quelling resistance, possibly, though he hadn't heard anything about that from the agent he had in Tesarus. He'd have to check and see if there had been any sign of Megatron there.
But first he had to go to this meeting. Meetings, meetings, and more meetings. Couldn't whatever this was wait until the ornly meeting next on-cycle?
He entered the meeting room and took his normal seat next to Mainspring.
"Thank you for coming, Jazz," Orion said. His shoulder was in a brace and covered in temp plating. "And thank you for your help in rescuing me earlier."
"No problem," Jazz said. "Um… I got some questions about that, actually…" He glanced around, careful not to move his helm, so no one could tell he was looking at them, and wasn't surprised to see how uncomfortable Elita, Ratchet, and Chromia looked. They were definitely hiding something. "I wanna try and figure out more about the mecha who took ya. They mighta said something useful ta you Orion…I mean Optimus…uh, what do ya even want ta be called, mech?"
"Either one," Orion said. "Though when we are in front of mecha who don't know me personally, it would be good to call me by my title."
"Right," Jazz said.
"Speaking of my kidnappers, I never asked what happened to them. Did they escape?"
"Two are offline," Ironhide said. "We have the other in custody."
Orion's optics widened and he stared at Ironhide. "But… was that truly necessary?"
"Orion, thousands of mecha died in the last battle and you're worried about a couple of…"
"There is no excuse for unnecessary killing," Orion said. "Please try to avoid it if you can."
Ironhide shut his lip plates and shot a guilty look at the ground. Orion turned his attention to Jazz.
"As for the third mech..."
"I talked ta him," Jazz said. "As far as he knows it was a spur of the moment kinda thing. They just saw ya and thought they might get something out of kidnapping ya and holding ya for ransom."
"Really?" Ironhide said. "Are you sure he's telling the truth?"
Jazz shrugged. "Pretty sure. Polyhexians can be kinda stupid and crazy like that. I think it's something in the atmosphere." He grinned slightly.
Ironhide shook his helm.
"Also," Jazz said. "I feel like I'm missing something." He looked at Orion. "Like ya aren't telling me something about the situation."
Once again, about half the mecha in the room shot uncomfortable covert glances at each other. Mainspring and Red Alert seemed confused, though. That was really strange. The intelligence and security commanders were the ones who didn't know this secret?
Orion nodded thoughtfully. "I am sorry, Jazz. But I have to ask you to refrain from investigating or asking further questions about my kidnapping and subsequent rescue."
That was going to be difficult. Now that he knew for sure there was some sort of secret, it would be hard to stop himself from trying to figure it out.
"I do trust you," Orion said. "And I would be willing to explain everything under other circumstances."
"What he means," Chromia said. "Is you're a spy. And if the Decepticons ever catch you, we don't want you to be able to tell them this particular secret."
Jazz pouted. He saw the point, though.
"Will you give me your word that you'll let this go and not look into it?" Orion said.
Oh well… "Of course," Jazz said. "Don't worry, I get it. So, uh… I was gonna try and figure out who the other kidnappers were. Do ya want me ta drop that too, or…"
"You can keep looking into that," Orion said. "That's fine."
"Okay," Jazz said. That meant it was probably something about Orion. Something that had helped them find and rescue him maybe? Or a secret about what Orion was doing in Polyhex? Something too dangerous for Jazz to know...
He should stop thinking about it.
"May we proceed to the matter at hand?" Prowl asked. "Elita said she had something to announce about Vos finally talking to us?"
"Yes," Orion said, nodding to Elita. "You received a message from them, correct?"
"I did," Elita said. "We've finally made it through to them and they want to meet with Orion as soon as possible. They've given us through the end of the orn."
Ironhide frowned. "But it's almost the off-cycle…"
"Not in Vos," Elita said. "There, it's the beginning of the orn—the sun's just come up."
That was true, Jazz realized. Vos was on the other side of the planet.
"We can't send Orion all the way to Vos!" Red Alert said. "He was already kidnapped once this orn."
"He's not going," Ratchet agreed. "I'm not done with his repairs."
"We cannot miss this opportunity," Orion said. "I have to go."
"It's too dangerous!" Red Alert insisted. "Not to mention suspicious. They won't even talk to us for decaorns and now suddenly they want to meet with you in person?"
"It's just a diplomatic meeting," Elita said. "I doubt there will be much danger…"
"Going to Polyhex wasn't supposed to be dangerous either," Ironhide countered.
"Does that not seem suspicious to anyone else?" Red Alert demanded.
"I don't care whether or not it's dangerous!" Ratchet said. "He's not going anywhere with his arm like that! I have to finalize his repairs, and then he needs rest!"
"If I do not meet with them now, it is unlikely they'll ever speak with us again," Orion said.
Jazz listened to them argue for a few more astroseconds. Orion had a point, but so did Ratchet and Ironhide. And as much as he didn't want to admit it, Red Alert's argument made sense too. He waited for a break in the talking so he could interject.
"Hey, mechs, I got an idea."
They all looked at him.
"Send someone else besides Orion."
There was an almost comical moment where they all considered that.
"Well…" Elita said. "I could go, myself. But they did ask specifically for Orion."
"He's indisposed," Jazz said. "And he can't go ta Vos looking like that—don't they care a lot about appearances?"
"If it's dangerous for me, then it's dangerous for you," Orion said, frowning at Elita.
"I know," she said. "But… does that really matter? I can go in your place, don't worry. You're hurt anyway, and a trip to Vos might not be pleasant for you, especially if we end up staying there a while."
"The Seekers may be offended if we don't send Orion himself," Mainspring said. "I do think Elita should go, but you might also want to send someone higher in the chain of command."
"I could bring Prowl," Elita said. "Or Ironhide."
"Prowl?" Chromia scoffed. "That would make a good impression."
"Chromia, please," Elita shot a glare at her sister. "Besides, if I'm correct, Seekers and Praxians have a sort of kinship…"
"Well," Prowl said coldly. "Perhaps some of them do, but I am not particularly diplomatic. I don't get along with other Praxians either. Besides, I have a lot of work to do here."
"And," Ratchet said. "You all seem to have forgotten, but he is also injured and nowhere near recovered."
"That is not the point," Prowl said. "This is a diplomatic meeting, as Elita has said, and I am perfectly capable of sitting in meetings."
This was about to devolve into a fight again. Jazz looked to Orion, who seemed thoughtful.
"Please," the Prime said. "We do not need to argue about this. I agree that the trip would be difficult for me, and I trust Elita to represent the Autobots to the leaders of Vos. However, I also agree that sending her alone could offend the seekers. Prowl and Ironhide, will you both accompany her and her team?"
Silence fell for a moment.
"I'll go," Ironhide said. "Of course. She'll need a bodyguard anyway."
Everyone looked at Prowl.
"I will go as well," he said. "Though I do think Chromia has a point."
Chromia smirked. "He admits it himself. Soon as he opens his lip plates, they'll throw you all out."
Elita shook her helm.
"I am sorry," Prowl said.
Orion sighed. "You are better at diplomacy than you give yourself credit for, my friend. But if you feel uncomfortable going, I am willing to reconsider my decision. I can go myself, once Ratchet has finished repairing my shoulder… maybe I should."
A compliment and then a major guilt trip. Not fair. Jazz glanced at Prowl and saw a hint of shame on his faceplate before he hid it. "Of course I will go," he said.
Orion looked a little guilty too. "Then again, I can hardly ask you to go for me, especially since you are also injured…"
"I am fine," Prowl said coolly "My injury is not as recent as yours, and I am recovered enough that it won't be a problem."
"Thank you," Orion said.
"So," Elita said. "Now that that's settled, we should talk about what we're going to say to them when we get there."
Prowl finished writing up instructions for his brand new second-in-command, a young mech designated Hurricane. He didn't anticipate being gone very long—a few joors at the most, but he didn't want to leave the Autobots without a strategist again. Furthermore, he hadn't finished everything he'd wanted to do this orn, and he had a feeling that by the time he came back—which would be late in the off-cycle for Iacon—he would be too tired to get anything done. It frustrated him that he was still so weak.
There was an entry request, but Prowl hadn't heard anyone outside in the hall so he ignored it. He knew who that was, and if the mech had something important to say, he'd probably just let himself in. Sure enough, the door slid open on its own a moment later and Jazz stepped silently inside.
"Hey, Prowler," he said.
"Don't you have more important things to do?"
"Than bother ya? Not really."
Prowl glared at him. "Well, I need to leave in a few breems, so I can't talk to you."
"Ya're so hostile," Jazz said. "Ya might wanna work on that."
"I believe you've told me that before. I suppose now you'll try to convince me to play a board game or make some friends or something foolish like that. How many times do we have to have this conversation before you leave me alone?"
The other mech frowned at him, and Prowl felt bad for a moment. He was sure Jazz had good intentions, and he didn't actually dislike the other mech, but it was a matter of pride now, and being far too busy for anything remotely social.
He was still surprised Optimus had called him a friend. He really hadn't done anything to merit that, but he supposed if anyone was his friend, it was Optimus. Maybe Mainspring too, though that was more like a friendly business association.
"I'm not here ta try ta convince ya ta do anything," Jazz said. "I just wanted ta say two things."
Prowl looked at him, but, of course, couldn't even try to read his expression behind the visor.
"First, don't listen ta Chromia about keeping your lip plates shut. Ya don't have ta talk ta the seekers if ya don't trust yourself ta be diplomatic, but if ya think of something that needs ta be said, comm. Elita and let her know. She won't get offended—she's got a pretty good opinion of ya, and she'll listen."
Prowl considered that, then nodded.
"Ya're not just there as an apology that Orion can't go."
Actually, Prowl was certain that was exactly why he was going. But if, as Jazz was suggesting, there was something he could do to help this mission go smoothly, he would be glad to. "You said you wanted to say two things. Was that two?"
"Nah, that was just the first one. I might upgrade it ta three, though, cuz I thought of something else."
Prowl glared and Jazz smirked. He was doing this on purpose, just to be annoying. Prowl was almost sure of it.
"The second thing is that we're all onta you Prowler. Ya can keep trying ta pretend ta be a stuck-up glitch, but we can tell… some of us at least… that ya're not. You're like Ratchet."
"Excuse me?"
"Only ya don't throw wrenches, ya throw words ta try and keep everyone away."
Prowl hid his discomfort. "Was that the new thing you thought of, or one of the original ones?"
"The third thing is don't overdo it, mech. Ya've fooled pretty much everyone inta thinking ya're all better, but I know that kinda wound normally takes quartexes ta heal, so you ain't fooling me. Ratch is a miracle worker, but not that much of a miracle worker. Take care of yourself, okay?"
Prowl tried very hard to stay annoyed. It took him a few astroseconds before he could muster enough of a scowl. "I am…"
"Oh, and a fourth thing," Jazz said. "I will get ya ta play a board game with me. It's gonna happen one of these orns. Ya can't fight it forever, Prowler."
"That is not my designation," Prowl said and stood, careful not to wince as the ache in his spark intensified. "And now I truly don't have time to talk any more."
"Okay," Jazz backed out of his office and walked away, and Prowl went to join Elita and her team. You couldn't groundbridge to Vos—they always had shielding up—but the Autobots had a few flying shuttles, and one of them was large enough for the trip. Flying all the way would take too long, so they'd have to open a large, double-ended bridge up in the atmosphere for the transport to go through. It would take a lot of energon, but it would be worth it if they could open correspondence with the seekers.
The eight mecha who were going—Prowl, Ironhide, Elita, Moonracer, and four other mecha in Elita's department—barely all fit in the elevator. Prowl agreed with Red Alert that this tower would be a nightmare to evacuate from. They could bridge out, but if the groundbridges were out of commission, they'd only be able to get one elevator load out at a time.
They got to the ground floor and made their way out to the front of the building where their shuttle was waiting, standing helm and shoulders over the rest of the traffic in the courtyard that connected the tower to the street.
"Good orn," she said, bowing slightly.
"Thank you for coming, Tradewind," Elita said.
"It's my pleasure." The shuttle transformed and opened her doors so they could board. Prowl was unreasonably nervous about this. The more he thought about it, the more unrealistic it seemed that Vos had suddenly been willing to meet with them. He knew Elita was persuasive and persistent, so maybe this development was a result of her diplomacy skills, but he couldn't help being suspicious.
"Ready?" Tradewind's voice said, altogether too cheerfully.
"Yes," Elita replied. "Let's go."
The shuttle took off more quickly than Prowl's recovering spark chamber liked, and he grabbed onto a handhold on the wall, wincing slightly.
He heard a bridge outside, and then felt it as they flew through. It took a few moments for all of his systems to re-calibrate to adjust to the difference in gravity and location, especially since the shuttle was turning.
He looked toward the front windows just as the city came into view in the distance. Prowl realized the images he'd seen simply didn't do it justice. No strings, no platform, just a vast, flat disk in the distance. And the closer they got, the more he realized just how large Vos was.
Part of him didn't like the impossibility of it all, but a larger part appreciated its beauty. It wasn't surprising, he thought, that seekers considered themselves better than everyone else. You could live up here your entire life and never even wonder what life was like on the ground.
As they got closer, he started to see the detail. The entire city seemed to be made of tall spires connected by platforms and domes and an intricate network of roads There was so much empty atmosphere, and there didn't really seem to be an actual ground level. Prowl wondered how the edges of the circular city stayed up. There must be engines all over it, lifting it. The energon that must consume… unless the engines were somehow more efficient.
"We're getting a comm. from Vos," the shuttle said brightly, severing Prowl's train of thought.
"All right, can you connect us?"
"Of course!"
A loud voice came over the ship's comm. "Unauthorized ground-based shuttle, identify yourself and prepare to be boarded."
Prowl glanced at Elita, who frowned. "We are the embassy sent from the Autobots to meet with the leaders of Vos. I am Elita one and…"
"We hoped you'd take a hint," the voice cut her off. "The Autobots are beneath our notice, and your coming here without permission is a breach of our travel laws. Prepare to be boarded and arrested."
"We have an appointment," Elita said calmly. "We are here to represent the Autobots to the leaders of your city. You responded to our request and agreed to meet at this time. Please talk to your superiors to confirm what I'm saying."
Silence on the other end. Elita took a deep vent and shuttered her optics for a moment, looking nervous.
"Oh dear…" Tradewind said quietly, and Prowl felt the shuttle decelerate. "Elita, what would you like me to do?"
"Should we contact base?" a mech from Elita's department asked.
"Yes," Elita said. "Moonracer, let them know what's going on. Don't panic them, tell them we've hit a snag, but we should be able to talk our way through it."
Moonracer nodded.
"Unauthorized ground-based shuttle, prepare for boarding and arrest."
Prowl could see the group of seekers now, outside the windows of the shuttle.
"Elita?" Moonracer said.
Elita held up a hand to quiet her. "You are making a mistake. We have an appointment. Talk to…"
"Resistance will result in more severe measures and will be considered an act of war. Thank you, we'll be with you shortly."
Silence.
"They cut the comm." Tradewind said.
"I can't get through to base," Moonracer added.
Well, this was going well so far.
"Fantastic," Ironhide crossed his arms. "Now what."
They all looked to Elita, then followed her gaze as she looked at Prowl. Right. Elita was taking point, but he technically outranked everyone. He was already running through the possibilities. They could not afford to do anything that the seekers would consider an act of war, so trying to run would be a very bad idea. Hopefully, if they cooperated, they would be able to explain themselves and convince the seekers that they were telling the truth. This was probably just a misunderstanding, but there was also a slight possibility that the Vos Council actually hadn't contacted them and asked them to come.
If the Vos Council hadn't contacted them...
"We need to talk to the others back at base," Prowl said. "We don't have enough information to understand what happened, but at this point, I doubt we can avoid being arrested."
"What if they're in league with the 'Cons?" Ironhide said. "This would be a great opportunity for them… if they kill you, Elita…. Or Prowl for that matter…"
Or Ironhide. And if all three of them offlined here...
"No, we're pretty sure they haven't settled anything with Megatron yet," Elita said, though she looked troubled.
"I don't think we should let them arrest us," Ironhide said.
"Resistance won't help us at this point," Prowl said. "Besides, if they were working with the Decepticons, they probably wouldn't have hailed us, they'd have simply attacked. We have to assume that the seekers are not currently our enemies. We should comply with them and try to get a message back to Iacon."
The shuttle changed trajectory slightly. "So, should I let them in?" Tradewind asked.
Prowl looked to Elita. She nodded. "Let them in."
The door opened and the shuttle filled with wind. Three seekers entered, all painted in the colors of Vos Enforcement. Prowl could see several more flying nearby.
"Keep the door open," one said, and Prowl recognized his voice as the one they'd heard over the comm. "And follow the escort to the landing station."
Prowl felt their trajectory change again.
Two of the seekers stayed by the open doorway while the other one pulled a pair of stasis cuffs out of subspace.
"May I speak with your superiors?" Elita said.
"I already did," the seeker said, and waved the other one forward. "We sent the Autobots no invitation to show up here."
Prowl's spark sank.
"So, one way or another, Elita One, you are lying to us, not to mention breaking the law."
"I can give you a copy of the transmission…"
"That won't be necessary at this point," the seeker said, and the mech with the stasis cuffs reached her. She allowed him to put them on her wrists, and the mech moved on to the next member of their group, pulling out another pair of cuffs. Ironhide looked as if he wanted to resist when it was his turn, but he didn't.
The mecha at base would know something was wrong, because of Elita and Ironhide and their bonds, but they wouldn't know what was wrong. And with this new revelation, it was even more important to contact them.
"We would like to talk to…" Elita tried again.
"Silence. You can talk to whoever they send to question you."
Prowl took a deep vent. It was now imperative that they leave and leave quickly. He was only glad that Orion hadn't come. Of course, offlining Elita would result in his death as well. "If it was not you who contacted us, it was likely the Decepticons impersonating the Vos Council. You should investigate that."
"I said no more talking," the seeker waved the guard at the door toward Prowl.
"The Decepticons must want us here for some reason. They may be—"
The third seeker rammed an energon prod into Prowl's side. He gasped and doubled over, and two of the seekers dragged his arms behind his back to stasis-cuff his wrists together.
He didn't resist, and when they released him he sank to his knees, optics shuttered. Apparently, energon prods and spark damage didn't mix. And it didn't help that his arms were pulled back at a painful, awkward angle. He didn't try to get up again, and only noticed when they landed because the small bump when Tradewind docked on the platform jarred through him like being hit by a mass transit.
He forced himself to his pedes and stepped toward the rest of the group in the hopes that it would discourage anyone from touching him. It didn't help. The seekers grabbed him and shoved him roughly out the door of the transport onto a windy platform connected to a flat, dome-shaped building.
They were led toward the dome. Prowl avoided everyone else's optics, and he was grateful when Ironhide moved to stand in between him and the seekers. They were taken inside the dome, marched down a long hallway and into a dimly-lit room full of small, cage-like cells. The seekers shoved them into individual cells, and Prowl let himself sink to his knees again.
"When it is convenient for us," the seeker in charge said. "You will be investigated, your identities will be verified, and if it turns out you really are who you say you are, we will contact Autobot to negotiate your deportment and return you to them." He turned and walked away, along with most of the other seekers. Two guards remained behind.
This was not good.
At least it didn't seem like the seekers were working with the Decepticons, but if this misunderstanding had been Megatron's doing, then something terrible was surely about to happen. They'd attack somewhere, most likely. And once again, Prowl would be unable to help. Why hadn't they thought of this possibility before they'd left?
It was too late now.
He would fail the Autobots again.
Thundercracker alighted on an open platform, where fifteen or twenty seekers sat at tables, chatting quietly and sipping energon. He was pretty sure they'd be here—this was Andromeda's favorite spot.
Sure enough, he spotted her and Tealwing, sitting at a table on the other side of the platform. He almost started pushing through the crowd, then remembered he was in Vos, and leaped off the platform instead. He flew underneath it and came up on the other side.
Then, with no ceremony or introduction, he sat down at their table.
"Thundercracker!" Tealwing jumped up. "By the Allspark, where did you come from?"
He shrugged.
"Really, where the frag have you all been?" Tealwing demanded.
"Is everything all right?" Andromeda asked.
"Kaon," Thundercracker said. "And I don't really know."
"No sarcasm?" Andromeda tilted her helm to the side.
"Wow, something must really be wrong," Tealwing said. "Where's Starscream and Skywarp?"
"I don't know," Thundercracker said. "They sent me on some ridiculous mission halfway around the planet, but I found out they were coming here, so I came too. I don't know where they are, though."
"We haven't seen them," Andromeda said.
"What do you mean they sent you on a mission?"
Andromeda nodded. "That is a very good question."
"Sorry," Thundercracker said. He considered getting up again, but Andromeda must have sensed what he was about to do.
She put a hand on his. "Don't go," she said. "We haven't seen you for quartexes, and you can't just show up and leave without talking to us. What's wrong?"
Thundercracker wasn't sure what his brothers were planning, and he didn't know where they were. He ought to go looking for them, but really, what was the point? He had to assume they'd come here to do something they didn't want him to know about. And even if he found them and figured out what they were planning to do, he probably wouldn't be able to talk them out of it.
"Thundercracker?"
He looked down.
"What have you three been doing lately that requires going on missions and keeping secrets from each other?" Andromeda said, optics narrowed.
Thundercracker sighed. "I don't think I should talk about it, at least not here."
"That bad, huh?" Tealwing said. "You know, I told you mechs not to leave."
"Yeah, I remember that. You almost changed Starscream's mind."
"There's the sarcasm," Andromeda said, and got up. "Come on, let's go to my platform." The three of them flew off toward the center of Vos, where Andromeda lived. The one thing Thundercracker did like about the ground was privacy. Seekers sacrificed it for open atmosphere. You had to talk quietly if you didn't want to be overheard, even in your own home. Only the domes and towers had roofs.
Andromeda's platform was small and well-kept. She had been sparked upper class so she lived in a nicer part of the city-state. Sometimes Thundercracker wondered how she'd ended up in his group of outcasts, but then he remembered she was far too friendly to be a proper nobleseeker.
"Okay," she said once they'd landed. "What's going on?"
"Well," Thundercracker said, "Have you been keeping up with politics much?"
"The war?" Tealwing said. "You three are involved in the war?"
"No, we joined the Crystal City Council," Thundercracker said.
"What side?" Tealwing asked.
"Of the Council?"
"Really," Tealwing said. "You know what I'm asking."
"The Decepticons," Thundercracker said.
Silence.
"Well, that's better than the other ones at least," Tealwing said. "The Autobots are just the Iacon Council's puppets."
Thundercracker shrugged. He wasn't so sure about that. "Yeah, but it's not good for Starscream. He's even more unstable than he was. And 'Warp's not doing that well either. If anything, both sides are in the wrong."
"I think that's the case with most wars," Andromeda said. "You can find good and evil on both sides."
Thundercracker sighed. "They're up to something," he said. "Something that has to do with Vos. Something they don't want to tell me. I'm worried Starscream's going to try to get revenge on the Vos Council somehow, for denying him his place in the Armada."
"Primus and Unicron," Tealwing rolled her optics. "That idiot. What exactly does he think he's going to do to get revenge on them?"
"If I knew I might be able to talk him out of it, but… I can't even talk to him at all. He just tells me to shut up and stop being insubordinate, and then sends me off to guard prisoners or fly around the city ten times."
"Well, fragging stand up for yourself," Tealwing said. "Tell him to shove it up his tailpipe and stop being stupid."
Thundercracker looked at Andromeda. Who shrugged as if to say 'she's got a point.'
"You're such a martyr," Tealwing continued. "Fine. Get Starscream over here and I'll yell at him for you."
Thundercracker snorted. "I can stand up for myself," he said. "It's just different because he's an adviser to Megatron. He has the power to have me killed if he gets too angry with me."
Tealwing stared at him. "You're joking. He wouldn't do that. You're part of his trine."
Thundercracker shook his helm. "I don't know anymore. I mean, I doubt he'd kill me, but he might lock me up, and he's beyond reasoning with. Believe me."
"If you bring him here, we can try to talk to him." Andromeda said.
"Yeah," Tealwing said. "I mean, he doesn't listen to anyone, but sometimes I could talk sense into him."
"If I could find him, maybe I would bring him here... but honestly I just wanted to stop in and talk for a breem. I don't know when I'll have another chance."
Silence fell.
Andromeda shook her helm sadly. "I really did hope that Starscream would mellow out when he got older. It's too bad."
"You and me both," Tealwing said. "Frag, I gave that mech so many chances…"
Thundercracker nodded. "Yeah. I wish they'd just let us into the Armada. Everything would be fine then. I… I should get back to looking for them. It was good to talk to you, though." He transformed and flew away. They called after him, but as much as he'd like to stay and catch up some more, he had to figure out what his trine brothers were up to.
"Something's happened," Chromia said. Jazz looked up from his datapad. They were still in the meeting room, waiting for Elita's team to report in.
"Something's happened?" Red Alert said. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Elita is not answering her comm." Orion said.
Jazz frowned at the worried expressions of the mecha around the room.
"I told you it was a trap!" Red Alert said "We should never have let them go!"
"It's not that kind of something happening," Chromia said. "I think 'Hide would be more upset if it was some sort of trap. Maybe they're just having some trouble with the seekers…"
"We cannot rule out the possibility that they are in danger," Orion said. "Jazz, will you look at the communication we received from Vos and see if it might have been compromised in any way, or intercepted by the Decepticons.
"You got it," Jazz said. "I'll take a look and see if I can find anything."
He went over to Elita's computer terminal. Fortunately, she'd been talking to them over the system, not her personal comm. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell whether the communication had been intercepted, but he could try.
It only took a few breems for him to figure out that something about the message wasn't quite right and only a few more to figure out what it was.
He leaned back in his chair. The others in the room were talking quietly, trying to decide what to do. No one had come to any sort of conclusion.
"Hey, mechs," he said.
They turned to look at him and the room fell silent.
"So, in all outward appearance, it looks like that message we got was from Vos, but I traced back and I'm starting ta think it's not."
"What?" Red Alert demanded. "Where is it from?"
"It's hard ta tell for sure," Jazz said. "But my best guess is Kaon."
Unfortunately, stasis-cuffs prevented any sort of long-distance communication, as well as transformation and most mods. Prowl couldn't use his battle computer, nor could he try to explain any sort of plan to the others over a private comm. He had tried talking to the guards, explaining to them what must have happened, but they hadn't been very friendly. Elita had pled with them as well, but they hadn't listened.
They needed to get out and warn base that something might be happening with the Decepticons. He had thought of a few possibilities for what Megatron's plans might be and some of them could cause serious problems.
He heard Elita lean against the wall of her cell. "Any ideas?" she asked quietly.
"Some," Prowl said. "I don't want to wait to go through the normal legal system, though." The Decepticons were probably planning on that, and it would take far too long.
"No talking," One of the guards snapped.
"So..." Elita said, ignoring him.
"We need to get out of here," Ironhide finished for her.
"I said no talking," the guard hissed. "Don't make us come in there."
Prowl waited, nervous. If the guards opened his door, Ironhide could probably take them out and release everyone, but where would they go from there? They were at a major disadvantage in this city. Their transport had been left behind, and was probably being kept in a larger cell somewhere. There didn't seem to be any other way to leave this particular dome besides flying, and there was certainly no other way out of the city.
They hadn't thought about being trapped here. Had Red Alert said something about it? Probably, but he complained about everything that might be dangerous, so it was hard to know when to take him seriously.
"I'll talk if I fragging want to," Ironhide said.
The guard pulled an energon prod from subspace. "I said silence, ground-pounder."
"Think you're scary, don't you?"
Both guards went over, presumably to teach him a lesson. Good. Prowl listened as they unlocked the door and then as Ironhide quickly and efficiently overpowered and knocked them out. It took barely an astrosecond before Prowl heard both of them hit the ground. That was a very satisfying noise.
He got to his pedes and stepped to the front of his cell, trying to see what was going on. Ironhide had managed to get the seekers' keys out of their subspace, and was working on getting his stasis-cuffs off.
"Don't let us out yet," Prowl said. "The only way we're getting out of here is if you can find the shuttle."
Ironhide got the stasis cuffs off. "Why not let you out and we can find her together?"
"One mech is less likely to be seen than if there were eight of us, and since you can take down guards so neatly, you have the best chance of getting through without letting anyone sound the alarm. Be quick, though, because if someone comes to check on us while you're gone, we will have trouble,"
"Right," Ironhide said.
"And leave the key with Elita, just in case."
Ironhide walked over and handed Elita a key through the bars and then left the room. Prowl only hoped he'd be able to find Tradewind and then come back for them in time. Maybe he should have sent Elita as well, and the two of them could have just left… but it would be harder for Ironhide to sneak with Elita in tow.
They waited in silence. Prowl could no longer hear Ironhide's footsteps.
A wave of exhaustion hit him, but he weathered it, fighting to stay focused despite his spark pain. He needed a better plan. "Elita," he said. "The most important thing is to get you to safety. We don't understand the whole situation here, but I can only assume the Decepticons are involved somehow. It would also be good to get me back to base, where I can direct a battle if need be. Your safety first, then getting me back to base…"
"Everyone's safety is important," Elita said.
"You're right." Prowl shuttered his optics. "My apologies."
There was a moment of silence
"Prowl, are you okay?"
"Yes," Prowl said. "Why?"
"Are you sure?"
No. "I'll manage."
They waited in silence a little longer.
Then his doorwings picked up the sound of steady pedesteps.
The pedesteps of multiple mecha. He took in a deep vent and let it out slowly, willing whoever it was to pass by the door without looking in. One set of pedesteps was louder, and the other two were quieter, which meant there was one large mech and two small ones. Ironhide and two seekers bringing him back to lock him up again? Prowl could only hope that wasn't the case.
The sound got louder.
"Someone's coming," Moonracer said.
And then there was only expectant quiet and the sound of mecha approaching. Prowl looked up so he could see the doorway, just in time for Megatron to walk into view.