Transformers Prime:
Vehicon
Episode 8: Operation Mental Breakdown!
Disclaimer I do not own Transformers as it is owned by Hasbro.
Overclock: And that's how I accidentally sold my code to world governments and now as long as I make some new code every once in a while I never have to work again!
Radical Quiver: That's incredible! But why did you wait until now to tell me? We talk every day.
Overclock: Heheheh because I wanted to show you…THIS!
Several Photos show off what looks to be a mansion.
The first is a Master bedroom with violet wallpaper, a dark blue Alaskan king-sized bed with what looks like Mahogany wood stylized to make the head of the bed look like a fluffy cloud against the left side wall looking towards the west side. It was covered in several light blue pillows sitting comfortably on the blue sheets. On the right side of the bed was a mahogany bedside table with 2 drawers and a keyboard sitting on it, the keys rotating through all the colors of the rainbow. The left side had a large and very ornate perch made of a dull grey metal which looked big enough to let an eagle sit there with no problem.
Directly above the bed was a large flat-screen television that would allow someone to watch it without leaving the bed and if you looked closely, you could see some kind of cubical sci-fi-looking computer console with glowing rainbow arrows all over it in sync with the keyboard attached to the right side of the television.
The carpet of the room was a light grey and looked similar to shag carpeting. The room is illuminated by 5 flat, circular LED lights arranged in an X pattern making the room very well-lit. On the opposite side of the bed was another, much larger television mounted to the wall with another mahogany wooden cabinet which judging from the 2 game controllers sitting pretty in the center was meant for gaming.
There was plenty of room for movement between the furniture but not so much that the room looked empty.
The door to the room was to the far Northeast Corner of the room which looks less like a door and more of an airlock in the rectangular shape of a door, a panel to the left of the door acting as the handle. The North West side next to the wall had a white-slitted, double-door closet.
There was a caption above it saying.
Overclock: My Bedroom! Plenty of legroom and I don't even have to get up if I want to use my computer. And I can even fall asleep while playing with no consequences whatsoever!
The Second picture was a gigantic white game room illuminated by more flat LED lights with brown carpet that was stacked wall to wall with all sorts of game arcade cabinets with the exception of the far western wall. That was dominated by a wall-to-wall screen that would have looked at home in a movie theater along with 3 leather couches positioned to form a C shape toward the screen with a glass foot table in the center of the C.
The center of the room behind the couches were 2 long rows of high-quality gun metal grey foldable tables lined with matching folding chairs with plush seats and backs to make them more comfortable.
Overclock: The ultimate gaming den! I bet it can handle 30 people though I'm not one to throw actual parties but It's nice to have the space. And yes, the TV can connect to any of the cabinets and my computer if I want to play on the Jumbotron! You haven't lived until you have played on a screen belonging in a theatre. Speaking of which.
The third showed a futuristic-looking movie theater complete with lighting in the form of white circuits pulsing through the dark gray walls, and rows upon rows of numbered velvet theater seats, and the red thin carpet really helped sell the idea that this was an actual Movie theater and not a room in a house.
Overclock: My theatre! I love bingeing shows and movies and I can be as loud as I want without worrying about other people judging me or yelling at me to be quiet.
The Fourth was a kitchen resembling more a five-star restaurant kitchen with a sci-fi twist than a household kitchen. With chrome countertops, several sinks, ovens, and stoves, A deep freezer that again had the airlock door design, and a couple of double fridge/freezer combos.
Overclock: Gordon Ramsey would sell his left kidney to work in my kitchen! Everything here is cutting edge and coded by yours truly, same thing for all the stuff in my mansion as why would I settle for less when I can get more? I didn't cook before but with all my free time I am spending more and more time here learning how to make yummy food to eat. But now, to show you my pride and joy!
The fifth and final picture was of another massive room but this one didn't feel homely like the others, no, this one was cold, sterile, only partly illuminated by rectangular long lights dimmed to almost being off. This was not because the lights were weak but because they were purposely darkened to allow the contents of this room to show just how impressive it actually was.
Dozens of 7ft tall Servers scattered about the room flickered constantly with small blue LED lights. The dead center of the room was dominated by a colossal deep purple and bright Gold Cylindrical machine with sharp purple extrusions running on its frame. Giving a slightly malevolent look which was not helped by the thick cables running across the metal floor in neat, vein-like indents to connect it to every server in that room with purple rings of light evenly distributed across the cables
The machine had a desk in front of it made of the same dull grey metal as the floor. The Desk had a red gaming chair parked under it and 3 2 by 2 feet monitors plus peripherals sitting on top. These screens were directly linked to the machine but strangely, on the middle portion of the cylinder facing the terminal a chunk of the picture was gone. Not blurred out or distorted but literally a black square 4 by 4 feet big.
Overclock: Behold! My pride and joy. The Orion class Supercomputer Harbinger! Isn't it beautiful?
This bad boy is the most powerful computer in the world! Literally. According to the militaries I sub-contracted to make it Harbinger could contain the entirety of the internet twice over AND run it before starting to see any lag. And now I play Team fortress 2 on it. My frame rate is off the scale!
Radical Quiver: That's incredible! But, does that mean you moved away from Chatterbox?
Overclock: Actually, no. Chatterbox actually has a use other than annoying me. Remember how I said he was really good with languages?
Radical Quiver: Yeah? What about it?
Overclock: You are not going to believe this as I myself am still trying to wrap my head around it.
RadicalQuiver: Hey! Don't keep me waiting. Tell me.
Overclock: 😘 Consider this payback for back when I lost my digging job and you left me hanging for so long! Maybe I'll tell if you beg me.
Radical Quiver: You're still annoyed about that? Fine, Please tell me.
Overclock: Heheh alright. I've had my fun. Chatterbox can read all my code, including Cycode.
Radical Quiver: No way! He can read Cycode!?
Overclock: "Yeah, he can't code to save his life but since in the end it is still a language he quickly became fluent. he can proofread it for any mistakes so since I am so Fluid right now I hired him to be my personal editor and social interaction consultant. Best thing about being rich? You can make your friends rich reaeeeaaaallll quickly. Speaking of which.
Overclock:
####-####-####-####
The Security code is 420 and the pin is 6969.
Radical Quiver: Wait! Wait! What is this?
Overclock: What does it look like? It's a Bank account. And it's yours. All 500,000 of it.
Radical Quiver: WHAT!? 500,000 dollars!? Why? Why are you giving this to me?"
Overclock: Simple. You're my friend. I am happy that we don't know each other's faces as I can be completely open with you and talk however I want as well as talk about Cycode with you. You, me, and Chatterbox are the only humans on the planet that can understand it much less work with it. That is worth far more than you could possibly know. You were there when I was stuck mining for lunatics so I could rant about how it sucked and that little interaction helped me through it. You have been the bestest of best friends for me. So, now that I am rich, I want you to be rich too. What's the phrase? 'Share the wealth?' Hehehe😁
Radical Quiver: I, I, this is a lot to take in. Do you mind if you give me a little time to -process all of this? I need to talk to my family and friends.
Overclock: Sure! Just before you go, 2 things.
First What do you think of my Harbinger?
Radical Quiver: I am so jealous! Just thinking of using it is making my head dizzy. But um, why is there a black space cut out of the picture?"
Overclock: An NDA. The companies and governments I am now contracted with don't like their secrets getting leaked and so I removed the identifier as once you see it, you would instantly figure out who was giving me my funding. Sorry, that's all I can tell ya!
Radical Quiver: That's fine. I'm just surprised that you went over another NDA after all you went through.
Overclock: Yeah, but the difference here was that I was the one in charge so I know exactly what's going on. Now, for the second thing then you can freak out your family as you are now the richest kid in the world.
Are you ready to hear number two?
Radical Quiver: Okay, what is it?
Overclock: Would you be interested in a job?
Radical Quiver: A Job?
Overclock: Well, to be more exact it's more contract work than steady employment but do you mind if I send a few programming jobs your way? You can veto them if you don't like them but if you do I can use this account to pay you. Between the 500k and what I can give you you can pay for any college you like! Heck, Why stop there? You could pay for ALL your siblings to go to college. And when you're ready to find a real job who knows, perhaps I can hire you as I did with Chatterbox.
Overclock: Judging from the fact you haven't replied in 5 minutes I am assuming that you are currently freaking out too hard to type so I'll just drop this here. No matter what you choose the account is still yours and we will still be best friends.
I sighed as I leaned back, the sand cushioning my body as I sunbathed on a desert beach in the tropics. The warm waters tickling my feet, making me briefly lament the loss of my toes. And took a bite out of Green Energon shaped like an apple and tastes like one too. Mhmmm. So glad I finally cracked how to simulate the 5 tastes. I have lots of free time and since I have 2 minds I might as well use both to make yummy yummy food. And the heh, 'Fruits' of my labors is that I can truly enjoy all life has to offer. I did figure out that Cybertronians have 2 tastes humans don't though. The first let me taste radiation/energy while the second tasted the elements of the periodic table themselves. It's quite an interesting experience, having 2 new types of tastes that humans don't but that just means I can enjoy even more snacks!
"This is the best! We can go anywhere we want and still be back home before bed! How's the surfing going Squawk?"
"Squawk! This is much harder than it loo!?" SPLASH
I giggled as I saw my bird fall off his blue surfboard for the 10th time. He's been getting better but still falls in. Such lovely entertainment for my body while my mind plays Civilization.
And best of all? I truly don't have anything I need to do. Thanks to me learning that I can just disregard Prowl's nonsense as long as it is time sensitive as waiting it out is 100% an option….unless it isn't time sensitive. Then the dreams will be annoying but I can deal with it. Yes. my life is now cruising on Easy Streak! Especially since with Squawk, I can turn literal sludge into gold. It was surprisingly easy to set up a system where I drop off the goods and then the cash is put in my accounts. Between this and the coding jobs I still do every once in a while I am the richest Cybertronian in the world! And the happiest.
Hmm? Oh, It's 3 PM already? It's time for my daily Sci Fi podcast. 'In the Mines!'
Hey, just because I'm not taking part in this stupid war doesn't mean I can't hear all about what's going on via the Vehicon miner channels.
"So what will it be? Will it be about the new Warmarshal? Or did Megatron finally kill Starscream for all his attempts to take over?"
I hope it's the latter as with him dead that means one of the bots who wiped out my mine will be dead and that's always good news. As for Counterpunch? I never expected the kiss-up who 'swore upon his spark' to obey Starscream to rise so swiftly in the ranks by betraying Starscream.
Turns out that Counterpunch guy resurrected Megatron and betrayed Starscream at the same time and now has the same job as Burnout did. Rumors have it that he listens to Starscream being tortured every night before he powers off.
All I can say is…wow…just wow. I may hate Starscream but even I am freaked out at the depths of Counterpunch's hatred for Scream. But, I can forgive that considering that he's on our side. And by our side I mean my fellow Vehicons.
Not only is he the first War Marshal since Burnout but he is also one of two Named Decepticons who treat us Vehicons like actual Decepticons, having us use more defensive tactics to minimize the number of Vehicons killed in battle while still getting the job done. Just a week ago There was a skirmish with the Autobots over an Energon source and instead of throwing Vehicons into the meatgrinder had his men take defensive action. They stalled out the Autobots while the others took as much of the Energon as they could before they blew it up and used the explosion to cover their escape. They had only lost 2 Vehicons on that mission. Such low casualties against the Autobots while also denying them the Energon made Megatron happy and granted him celebrity status among my people.
The other one is Breakdown. The Assistant to the Medi bot Knockout who while not too high up the food chain has more than once used his limited medical skills to patch up injured Vehicons in the mines he inspected. This has led to him being sort of like an 'honorary' Vehicon and the others aren't afraid to gossip or talk when he's around.
A true 'Bro' in every sense of the word.
It does my Spark good to know that at least 2 big wigs actually care about us.
Ooh! It's about to start! Let's hear what's going on in Mine B34.
'Did you hear? Breakdown has been captured by humans!'
'What!? How did he get captured by humans?'
'I don't know but Lord Megatron has decreed that no one is to help him escape.''
'You can't be serious X999! Why would Lord Megatron not send a rescue team?'
'Because apparently, the very fact that he was caught by humans has made Lord Megatron doubt his power. If he doesn't come back on his own….He won't be coming back at all.'
'That's a bunch of exhaust! If I was a warrior I'd go save him myself!'
'I feel the same but we are on the other side of the planet from him and are nothing more than miners. Our opinions don't matter. All we can do is trust that Breakdown gets out alive.'
'I hope so, what about War Marshal Counterpunch? Surely he will go save him."
"Sorry to say but the Warmarshal hasn't done anything. I guess he doesn't want to directly disobey Lord Megatron."
'Even the War Marshall knows better than to disobey a direct order. And I don't know about you X1054 but I would rather only lose Breakdown than lose the Warmarshal.'
I stop listening at that point as instead of getting some fun drama I got Stupid drama instead.
Augh!
I rubbed the bridge of my nose as I reluctantly got up and tossed the Energon apple aside, my appetite ruined.
"Out of everything I could have imagined I never would have thought that even named Decepticons would be tossed away like trash. Why?"
I gritted my teeth in anger and Shouted to Squawk.
"Squawk! Get over here! We need to return to the Harbinger."
"Squawk! Okay Mistress, But why?"
Why indeed. That seems to be the question that is going to ruin everything!
Why are the Decepticons loyal to a Tyrant who would callously toss them aside no matter who they are?
Why did my parent's Burnout and Shockwave follow him?
And worst of all.
"Because, We are going to rescue our honorary Vehicon brother Breakdown."
WHY WAS IT UP TO ME TO SAVE HIS OWN SOLDIER!?
"Squawk! What happened to Breakdown? And rescue? Don't you hate fighting?"
He flew out of the water and landed on my left shoulder and with a mental flip of a switch, the ground bridge opened before us and we entered it to arrive at the Groundbrige located inside the room holding Harbinger's computer core.
I never understood why only one Ground bridge was ever used. What if it was damaged or destroyed? Then you would lose your best escape route. So when I was redesigning the place I put a Ground bridge in several different rooms so that even if one was destroyed the others would still allow me to escape. They even had their own emergency Energon batteries so even if the power was cut they would still function…all keyed to different activation frequencies to again, make it so that even if one frequency was jammed the others would be untouched. In my bedroom it was in the closet, the Game room it was behind the large television. The theatre had a similar one as well behind it's screen. The kitchen held it within the deep freezer. And the Core had it….
I landed in front of the console, briefly glancing up as the ground bridge on the ceiling once again was hidden in the darkness.
On the ceiling. I was capable of flight so having them on ceilings or high places was just being extra cautious. The only downside was in order to prevent the bridges from interfering with each other I couldn't put them in every room so I had to be tactical about which rooms were far enough apart to have them. I don't know what would happen if two were activated too close to each other but I had a gut feeling it wouldn't be pretty.
"Breakdown got captured by humans and Megatron, instead of doing his JOB as leader decided to abandon him, if he can't make it on his own then he's not worth having according to Megatron. So we are going to do that sludge bag's job and save him."
I then began typing into the console the 30-digit access code and the Orion class Supercomputer and operating system of the entire ship Harbinger began to go online. The Decepticon power indicator that was cut out of the picture glowed purple as rings of purple lights traveled from the servers and back to the core. I was then greeted with the main command screen which I ironically had set as the default windows 7 grass plains background.
"Don't get me wrong Squawk. I still don't like to fight but this time. We are up against humans. Tiny, squishy, humans. I don't know how they managed to capture Breakdown but if we don't act stupid we should have no problem saving him. But first."
I then had my claw change to drill mode and plugged it into a hidden access port on the right side of the desk disguised as a cupholder to connect to my masterpiece. I had set lots of security measures into the Harbinger and one of which was that you needed to put in the code via the keyboard to even turn the thing on but to actually control it you would need to plug yourself into the access port. If you tried to use the access port to turn it or the keyboard to run it the Immobilizer hidden right next to the ground bridge would freeze you in your tracks.
Heh, to think that such a powerful weapon would be hidden on board the Harbinger. I know I should have taken it apart to learn how it works but eh, I'ts fine and since I'm against humans there is no rush to do so. I mean, I COULD take it out but that would leave my dear Harbinger defenseless as I can't use turrets or other methods of retaliation without destroying the core! But that doesn't matter as I have a Vehicon Supporter to save.
And the first thing I need to do to do that is.
"We need to find him."
And with my Harbinger I will tear the digital world apart to do so. You thought my hacking skills were good? That was me using just my internal systems. I am now going to be using a Cybertronian supercomputer. This won't take long at all.
"Let's begin with accessing the mission logs onboard the Nemesis. We will use the Harbinger's original access code and hope that we don't get noticed. We shouldn't especially since the Harbinger is stronger than anything they got so if on the off chance we do get discovered then I'll just brute force it and tear their firewalls to ribbons."
In my mental space, my avatar's screens had all gained the Decepticon emblem as my mental network connected to the Supercomputer. Then, I was in. and wow! This feels incredible! Like I was as blind as a mole but now I had the eyes of a Hawk! I bet this is how Doctor Xavier felt when he was using Cerebro.
I let myself marvel for a moment before I began my work. I opened a screen showing the comm relays for the Decepticon fleet and when prompted for my access code I used the Harbingers and after a few nanoseconds of held digital breath. I was in. I sighed in relief as like I had hoped I hadn't been discovered. But that could easily change so I have to be quick. I went to the Mission logs and found today's log and BINGO! Turns out Breakdown was on the Kamchatka Peninsula in eastern Russia in an abandoned town. I opened my own scanners to check the area and…Scrap. I can read his signature. While my Scanners aren't even updated to track fellow Decepticons yet. Which means that his Energon has been spilled.
"Well that's just Prime." I muttered in my physical body as my Mental one left the Harbinger's systems as quietly as it could but not before planting a backdoor inside my old Mine's Report folder as who would look in a defunct mine's data logs? And then from the human web, I quickly snatched the city layout plan from the Russian government's secure servers.
"Squawk! What is it misstress?"
I turned to look at my Minicon and gave him the news.
"Breakdown has shown up on the Scanners that hadn't yet gained the properly updated access codes to allow us to track our fellow Cons which means that he is leaking Energon and if he's leaking Energon.."
"Squawk! Then he is either wounded or dying!"
"Yeah, so we can't afford to wait for me to get those access codes without revealing that the Nemesis is being hacked and risk alerting Soundwave that something is wrong. I'll open the Ground Bridge as close as I can to his location and then we will go rescue him."
I activated the Groundbrigde above me, Squawk going through first and then I flew up through it finding myself rising in an empty intersection of a ghost town
I landed on the ground where the now-closed Groundbridge was and used my Energon mining-grade scanner to pinpoint his location.
"He's that way." I took on garbage truck form while Squawk flew above to provide air support as we followed the signal.
'Squawk! Can I ask you something?'
'What?'
'Squawk. Why are we trying to save Breakdown? Isn't he an enemy?"
Good point. WHY are we trying to save him? That is what you all are probably asking. Why would I, the lovely yet very private Overclock risk danger in order to save a bot who would not hesitate to kill me when I wouldn't do the same for Optimus?
Well, listen close as I give you and my bird the answer.
'Breakdown cares about us Vehicons.'
'Squawk?'
' He's one of the only named Cons who even bother to talk to the 'fake Decepticons' as if we were just like him. And he's a medibot. He repairs Miners who would have never gotten treatment as who cares if a miner is injured? He is the only med bot the others have and if he dies then the only fate for those who can't work will be to starve to death as trying to provide aid to 'broken tools' is a waste of resources. Warriors have it a little better as they can go to Knockout for repairs but only if they manage to return from the battlefield alive.
Afterall.'
My voice turned to derision and mockery of a certain gladiator turned tyrant.
' "The Strong survive and the weak perish." But would you look at that! He goes into a coma and instead of being tossed away he is given treatment for months!'
The Slagging hypocrite! Ooh, it makes my oil boil at the hypocrisy that spews from Megatron's mouth.
'If a Vehicon miner or even a warrior was in a coma he would be scrapped within the hour! It makes me sick.'
Squawk then asked a question but he didn't do his usual squawk.
"But that doesn't answer why you care. They aren't your allies. They aren't your friends. They are actually your enemies and wouldn't hesitate to kill you. So why are you risking your life to save Breakdown, and why are you risking your life for the Vehicons."
I took a moment to gather my thoughts as this was getting into mushy feelings stuff that I was still pretty uncertain about and the only thing I hate more than talking in person is sharing my feelings! But,
'Because they are family.'
'Family?'
Oh, man, this is gonna be so cringe! But I'm already talking might as well get it over with. With a slightly embarrassed tone, I continued.
'Yeah, family. I never had siblings, children, a partner, nothing. I only know about having parents so I don't really have experience with what those connections are like. But when I think about the Vehicons, about the ones who were born from the same Spark as me being used and tossed to the side when they are of no more use to their betters.'
I revved my engine in frustration.
"It makes me so angry! They don't deserve to be treated like they do. They don't deserve to live and die nameless and without even having a chance to go on the internet! To not play games, watch shows, laugh, or cry!'
'But the most important is that I want to be there with them! Well, not in person but that doesn't matter! I want to see their reactions, tease them, play with them, gossip with them the whole 9 yards. But they can't do that if they are dead! This feeling, the feeling of wanting them to enjoy life like I do and wanting to protect them. I think this is how it feels to be a big sister. And this EXTRA THICC! Oneechan is not going to stand idly by as their friend is killed all because their leader is so far up his own exhaust pipe that he's tripping on the fumes!"
Ugh, I feel so embarrassed. So glad that I'm in Vehicle mode right now and don't have to look Squawk in the eye. But I need a way to get out of this conversation.
I saw a tunnel coming up and thank the Allspark that's where the signal is from! Time to leave this cringefest!
"Oh look! There's the source of the signal, let's go save Breakdown and never talk about this again!"'
I quickly commented, turned into robot mode right outside and Squawk Talk landed on my left shoulder while shaking his head a little as if confused before answering.
"Squawk! Let's go save him!"
Seems like he moved on. Good. now we can have our little live fire practice. The dummies? Foolish Humans who thought kidnapping a Decepticon would be a good idea.
I smiled a vicious smile as I lowered my visor and revved up my drills, them and my visor glowing a malevolent purple.
They will learn why that was the biggest and last mistake of their lives!
"Let's"
Third-Person View. With Breakdown.
Breakdown was not having a good day. And a shame too as it started out pretty good. He found an Energon signature and beat Bulkhead in a fight, all was good. Until the humans kidnapped him and began tearing him apart piece by piece. And worst of all? He had no way to escape. They had him pinned to the dissection table via metal cuffs, He was unable to send nor receive any communications, he was missing an Optic, and he knew that Megatron would not come to save him. That wasn't how the Decepticons worked. The Strong survived and the weak perish. And right now, with his chassis ripped open and being dissected? he was pretty weak.
A stray thought went through his mind. A fleeting thought that he quickly squashed as he brainstormed a way to free himself.
'I bet the Autobots would have saved Bulkhead so why won't Megatron come save me?'
There was no point in waiting precious time lamenting when he could be using it to find a way out.
Silas, the cursed Meatbag looked so cocky as he looked down on him! An organic had the gears to look down on him!? He would smash that tick into paste if he could move!
Silas looked at him amused.
"I do have to say Breakdown, you are granting us quite the harvest of data. We are about to examine your central nervous system so you'll be out for a few minutes. But don't worry, I'll make sure your awake once we are done."
"I'm going to kill you! I'm going to-" Breakdown felt his system start to shut down against his will. He struggled to stay awake, trying to jerk around and break out…but he was too weak. And as he lost consciousness He began to wonder if he would even wake up again.
Silas chuckled a little as his treasure trove took a little nap.
"Truly remarkable. In just a couple of hours of study, we have advanced our technology base by decades. I can't wait to see how far we go once Breakdown is fully…broke down?" He turned to his men, them giving a short chuckle before returning to work.
Pleased that his men found him funny he turned to look back at the data on the screen when.
'BING!' A large, cartoony Windows 7 Error message appeared with the iconic sound making everyone stop what they were doing to turn to the sound of the noise.
Silas blinked in confusion as he read what was on the screen.
"Error, Privilege threshold exceeded? Please Check your Privilege?"
He turned to his techies who were working to remove the message.
"What is that? And why is it on my screen?"
The leftmost Technician was about to answer when…
'BING!'
A second error message appeared above the first but it was different. Instead of blue, it was a light purple and the error mark was replaced by the Decepticon symbol, making Silas frown as he read.
"Alert! Your subscription to life has expired. Please pray to your chosen Deity for renewal."
"Did it just threaten us?" He turned to his rightmost technician who was trying to close the window but every time he did it would appear seconds later but bigger with a louder bing!
And then the lights went out, the only illumination being the screen that now sported a colorful balloon and confetti background with a new alert.
"Virus detected! You have been hacked by Overclock_ "
This was then promptly followed by all the speakers in the entire complex blaring out a repetitive song about an 'Afro Circus' at ear-rape volumes. Mech all held their hands over their ears to cancel the sound and Silas tried to communicate with his men.
"We have been hacked! we need to-"
"Ba Ba Ba AFRO CIRCUS AFRO CIRCUS" Only to shut off his comm as the same song but a few seconds behind the first one pierced his eardrums making the dissonance even worse than if they were in sync.
"Fix this!" He yelled at his techies who were frantically typing but no matter what they did the computer would only show the message again and play a new version of that horrible music making several tracks of disjointed suffering.
"We can't! We have been completely kicked out of the Operating System! The only way to get it working again would be to do a manual hard reboot of the system!"
Silas snarled as he realized that based on the symbol on the message the attacker was Decepticon which meant that at any moment at least one giant robot who was skilled in sabotage is going to bust into the base and with no way to communicate with his men they were all dead meat if they stayed. So with great reluctance, he gave the order to the men below him.
"Send some bikes through the tunnels to warn the other men! We are initiating Omega protocols."
The men below him wasted no time and ran while he then said to his technicians.
"Take the physical backup Hard drives. we can try to remove the virus later." His men, all using their night vision goggles now, obeyed the order and Silas glared in rage at the mockery that had ruined his entire operation.
"Overclock. You will pay for getting in Mech's way." He then fled with the techies carrying their precious data to safety.
At the Closed shutters of the Tunnel, several men using their night vision goggles that were standard for Mech were trying to figure out what was going on, with one of the 8 men running up the tunnel to try and reach the command center.
"AUGH! This blasted song! It hurts my ears!"
"I can't take much more of this!"
"Stay strong man, Don't let the song beat you!"
"I don't think I would have ever thought that a song from Madagascar 3 would be used for sabotage!
All the other men stopped and turned in unison to stare at their compatriot who even though all of them wearing masks could feel the looks of disbelief and said defensively
"What? I watched the first when I was a kid. I had to know how it ended!"
"BZZZZZZZZZZT" The topic of the man's taste in movies was lost as not one, not two but THREE purple lasers pierced through the shutters at 12, 4, and 7 O. clock making all the men jump and quickly back away from the door which was what saved their lives as the 3 lasers rotated in a circular rotation resulting in a giant circle cut out to fall inwards with a loud metallic clattering sound.
The men all aimed their guns toward the entrance where then a giant robot calmly stepped inside. With three arms all aimed with bristly purple drills, an inhuman face plate bearing two purple visors glowing the same purple, the Decepticon logo and the giant mechanical bird staring them down like lunch, the men decided to do the smartest thing.
"RUNN!" the one who liked Dreamwork films was the first to break ranks and with no way for their boss to know they ran with the comms down they all did the same. Maybe if they had reinforcement and communications they would have tried to fight but they were so vastly outclassed both in strategy and power that retreat was the only logical way to deal with such a threat.
The robot for their part saw them run and after spinning the 3 drills to shoot them lowered them a moment later, deciding that shooting fleeing humans in the back was just not their thing, and calmly strutted towards the end of the tunnel. Their scanner honed in on their prey.
As they walked they saw more humans but they all didn't even try to stop them and instead ran into the side doors and other exits to get out of their way. This made the intruder feel quite powerful as they didn't even need to fight to make the humans run!
In no time at all, they arrived at the command center and the table holding the partially deconstructed Breakdown. Gasping as they saw his missing optic.
"Squawk! This was a success! Shall we turn off the song?"
The big bot nodded and the music stopped, the lights turned back on, and the computer lost the error message to now show the previous orange background. The bird then flew over to the screen to look at it.
The bot then spoke in a slightly scratchy female voice as it crouched down to poke Breakdown in his empty optic socket with its right index finger.
"Eww, They tore out his eye! What were they even doing with him?"
"Squawk! Let me check!" From the bird's headphones, two small tentacles ending in audio jacks extended and jabbed themselves into the machine, which was then swiftly taken control by the bird who began scanning through the data.
"Squawk! They were trying to figure out how Cybertronains work! They are a group called Mech."
"Mech huh? Can this get any more cliche? The group who wants to make robots is called mech?" She then slapped Breakdown to try and wake him up but no luck.
"Seems like they knocked him out cold. Okay, keep an EYE out on the cameras while I run a diagnostic on this guy and get him loose. Heh, Eye. Oh, and put on some music. We know this place got amazing speakers so let's use them!."
"Squawk! Heh, Eye, Eye sir! DJ Squawk is gonna Mech you cheer!" the pair shared a laugh, and soon after the entire base was filled with the sounds of Russian Dance music as Squawk was feeling a bit Patriotic being in the country of his birth and thanks to their trans warp link Overclock could enjoy it as well. For about half an hour the pair did their own thing and had a great time doing it.
Overclock for her part, while grossed out at first became enamored with examining what a 'normal' Decepticon's insides looked like and purposely kept him out cold as she poked and prodded him using the tools the humans had left behind mixed with her own sensors.
SquawkTalk for his part was playing around with the base's many cameras and files as the base was actually quite large and well stocked up. The Humans didn't have time to collect everything so there was an armory full of weapons and explosives. He also began downloading all the logs as he knew his mistress would like to have them later but at the 10-minute mark there was an attempt to wipe the files remotely but Squawk squashed that pretty quickly using code her mistress had given him for such an occasion. Everything was going well.
That is until a new camera came online called 'EyeBomb Trap' drawing his attention immediately.
"Squawk! An Eye bomb trap? I wanna see!" He then triggered the camera to activate.
Third Person View, Team Prime.
Team Prime minus Bulkhead were all staring in horror at Breakdown's eye as they had never considered that such a thing could have happened. They had come here to try and rescue Breakdown from Mech but instead of finding the Con they only found his eye sitting on a fountain. Ratchet recovered first and callously took the eye and slotted it into his Energon Scanner confusing Arcee.
"What are you doing?"
'Ratchet explained as the eye booted up.
"The Optic Sensors might have retained the final images seen."
The Scanner then displayed a green-filtered video of a Drill manned by a human slowly descending towards the camera before it turned to static surprising the team which only grew when a new scene appeared on the screen.
"Squawk! Ooh! It's online! Neat! But I don't get it. I don't see an eye bomb trap. Just the Autobots….how lame."
The sound of loud Russian human music was blaring in the background but was quickly muted enough that they could easily hear the speaker while a familiar bird Minicon looked at them, curiousity in its red eyes.
The words 'Eye Bomb Trap' made the trained soldiers not hesitate to look around and they found a bomb inside the fountain's foundation with 30 seconds on the clock.
"Evacuate now!" Optimus shouted and the Autobots all ran away, but they didn't cut the feed which allowed the Minicon to watch them run while also seeing behind them when Ratchet's hand lowered and raised.
"Ooh! So that's where the bomb is! But Squawk! Is it gonna-"
BOOOM! The bomb went off but the Autobots easily managed to get out of range of the blast and the bird cheered.
"Wooh! Squawk! That was awesome! I am definitely gonna show this to my Mistress once she's done working on Breakdown."
The Autobots caught their breath for a moment before they returned their attention to the bot on the other side of the screen and what it just said.
"Did it just say its Mistress was working on Breakdown?" Arcee asked Optimus while Ratchet questioned the bird.
"Hold on! What do you mean working on Breakdown?"
The bird tilted its head to the right in slight confusion before answering.
"Squawk! What do you think? The humans that were here beat him up pretty badly. Tore out his eye and had him strapped to a table while they took him apart piece by piece. My Mistress is currently studying the damage and once she's done she'll fix him up and send him off. My Turn! How are we communicating? You don't look like you're in the base so where are you?"
Ratchet contemplated hiding some information but Optimus had other plans upon seeing how cooperative the Minicon was being.
"We found Breakdown's eye and my Field medic Ratchet attached it to our scanner which resulted in our communication. My name is Optimus Prime. What is your name?"
"Squawk! I can't tell you! Misstress says it is bad internet etiquette to share real names on the internet! But you can call me DJ Squawk!"
"Bad internet etiquette? What is this bird brain talking about?" Ratchet was completely lost but Optimus played along.
"Apologies DJ Squawk. I did not mean to be rude. You may call me Orion if you wish."
DJ Squawk looked happy as he bobbed his head.
"Okay, Orion! Wow, my first internet friend! And it's an Autobot! How cool! Squawk! You know I am not supposed to be talking to you as Mistress doesn't like you but since we are internet buddies it doesn't matter who we are! Mistress says the best friends are internet friends yes she did Squawk!"
Arcee rolled her eyes. "Great, I thought that was just what Raf's friend said but it looks like it is the norm on the internet."
"DJ Squawk. Where is your Mistress? Is she nearby?"
He nodded his head. "Yeah! She's actually right behind me! You wanna see?"
Optimus kept his calm as he nodded.
"Yes, I would."
"Okay! Squawk! Just be quiet! She's really in the zone right now and I'm not supposed to bother her unless it's an emergency."
DJ Squawk shuffled out of the way and Team Prime finally got their first real look at the civilian. And she was nothing like they expected.
"She's big." (Arcee)
'Beep Beep'
"She must be the same size as Bulkhead." (Ratchet)
She was a large stocky purple Fembot whose face was hidden by a welding mask with 2 visors glowing purple on her head that was shaped like a construction worker's hard hat. Her forearms were bulky turbines ending in surprisingly small and nimble silver-clawed hands that were currently deep in Breakdown's chassis. On her back was a bulky backpack and from her right shoulder was a yellow garbage truck claw that was grabbing tools from the backpack and giving it to her main hands when she needed a new tool. She was bobbing her head to the beat and humming along without a care in the world.
The Autobots couldn't help but compare her with Miko, both in her enjoyment of music and the innocence that came along with it.
"She is quite good with her hands." (Optimus)
"Squawk! Yep! Mistress loves making things and I help out a lot! We have fun all time."
Ratchet looked both upset yet also impressed with the Sparkling.
"She is making mistakes but she's pretty good. Perhaps she was trained in medicine?"
DJ Squawk looked to Ratchet and shook his head.
"Squawk! Nope! My Mistress is a miner through and through! She's just super smart. The smartest bot in the universe!"
Optimus's tone was faintly curious as he asked.
"A miner? Was she a miner back on Cybertron?"
Squawk nodded.
"Yep! She's been a miner her whole life!"
Arcee then thought about what Bulkhead was talking about when they first saw her running away.
"Bulk was right. She's not a warrior but a Laborer just like him."
Ratchet rubbed his chin with the hand not currently holding the scanner as he pondered this information.
"But how did a laborer know about the relic? And if she was a child of Iacon why was she a miner? Wouldn't she be a scholar?"
"Squawk! Child of Iacon? What's that?"
Ratchet looked a bit put on the spot as the bird was staring right at him and he bumbled through the answer.
"Well um, Since she knew where you were, an Iacon relic. We assumed that she was the child of one of the librarians of Iacon. Cybetrons greatest reservoir of knowledge."
Squawk looked very interested in this as he bobbed his head a bit.
"I'm a Relic of Iacon? Cool! Squawk! What was I?"
Ratchet was very uncomfortable as he was forced to admit his ignorance.
"I um.. I don't know. Did your Mistress not tell you?"
The bird preened under its left wing for a moment as it pondered the question before shooting up as he recalled something.
"Oh yeah! She did! Well, it was actually Prowl who told her but Mistress says that it doesn't matter what I was before as I'm her communications officer! I translate everything for her so that she doesn't have to learn other languages but I love learning new languages! Squawk!"
He was bobbing his head in a circle as he began talking about his favorite topic. Language!
"I currently know over 40 human languages and am currently working on reviving ancient Egyptian but trying to find out the pronunciation from hieroglyphs when no human has spoken it in over 2 thousand years has been a challenge but I'm certain I'm close to a breakthrough as some of the markings resemble a dialect of ancient Cybertronian and um….What were we talking about again?"
Most of team Prime gained little sweat marks as they were beginning to understand that Squawk was a literal bird brain but Optimus actually gained a look of intrigue with matching inflection in his voice.
"Truly? I have heard of the Hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt but do they really have hints of Cybertrionian in them? Which Dialect?"
"Huh?" (Arcee)
"Beep?"
"Optimus?" (Ratchet)
"Squawk! I think it is a variant of Quentesson but it has been altered somewhat as the humans couldn't transcribe the markings correctly. Probably due to the limits of their tools and the generational drift most languages go through as time progresses but by using some deconstruction simulations I've almost managed to convert them back to Quintessan and if I use the pronunciation of Quentesson and run it through the filter of the modern Egyptian language-"
Optimus finished with some enthusiasm, more than the others had ever seen him use before. And it was actually freaking them out a bit.
"Then you can use root vernacular algorithms to recreate what that language must have sounded like! Impressive."
Squawk Looked genuinely surprised at Optimus and asked hopefully.
"Squawk! You get it!? Does that mean you study languages too?!"
Optimus nodded with a nostalgic look on his face.
"Back in my youth, I was a clerk in the Iacon hall of records and to read the records stored in the Iacon database I needed to be fluent in all Cybetronian languages and dialects"
Squawk looked really excited to the point he was vibrating in place.
"Really!? What languages do you know? What dialects? Do you want to work with me on the Egyptian project? I can send you the relevant files if you give me an email address. Squawk!"
"Sadly I do not have a human Email address so perhaps you can tell me yours and we can discuss this further at a later time?"
Squawk was now visibly vibrating as he eagerly sent an email address to the scanner.
"Sure! Squawk! My Email is ChatterBoxer #####.com! Once you make an email label it with your internet handle and I'll know it's you! Oh, this is gonna be so much fun! Mistress can't understand anything that isn't coding or Cybetronian which funnily enough is the exact same as human English. I have a few theories on that too and-"
Squawk stopped talking as something off-screen stole his attention, resulting in his body language becoming tense and his crimson eyes sharp.
"Squawk! Sorry, Orion! I gotta go. Your Green buddy just entered the base and My mistress is terrified of Autobots so I need to let her know! Bye bye!"
The line then abruptly went dead. Leaving Team Prime to blankly stare at the screen as they pondered on what had transpired.
Ratchet looked to Optimus, a questioning look on his face and tone.
"Optimus We lost the feed. What should we do?"
Unspoken was the med bot's desire to understand the impossibility that had just happened. Not once in his entire time working with Optimus did he see Optimus actually interested in something not related to fighting Megatron and especially not him being passionate about it!
This was shared by the others and Optimus, of course, noticed this but seeing as Bulkhead was about to come into direct contact with the now-confirmed civilian Miner he had to give Bulkhead the heads up.
He turned on his comms and said to Bulkhead.
"Bulkhead. Breakdown is no longer being held captive but instead, the Sparkling is currently trying to repair him and her Minicon has spotted you. Do not do anything rashly and try to initiate peaceful contact. Do not let her leave but do not threaten her. We will be returning to base and opening a new ground bridge at your location."
Bulkhead sounded surprised at this and it cut to him standing just past the circular hole in the gate.
"Really? But why is she here? And why is she playing metal music? Pretty good too. Bet Miko would know the band. So you want me to try and keep her here?
"Affirmative. Thanks to her Minicon who we were just in contact with we have learned several key details about them and the two biggest being that she was a Miner on Cybertron."
Bulkhead gained a very smug look as he cheered.
"HAH! I knew it! And a miner huh? I had some mining buddies back in the day. Good bots. They always got each other's backs and never slack off." he then blinked.
"Wait, the Minicon told you?"
"Yes, DJ Squawk was surprisingly quite amiable to talking to us when we accidentally came into contact with him and he even saved us from a bomb trap Silas planted for us."
Bulkhead snorted.
"DJ Squawk? Is that his real name? Now I know who picked the music at least. And he saved you? Are we sure they are Decepticons? Because they don't sound like them."
"Bulkhead. Focus. The second piece of information is that she is extremely terrified of Autobots making me believe that she has been a Decepticon even before she left Cybertron. So whatever you do DO NOT threaten or frighten her. Keep your distance and keep us informed if anything changes."
This threw Bulkhead for a loop as the very idea of someone being terrified of the Autobots, THE GOOD GUYS
incomprehensible.
But then he thought about it a bit more and suddenly her hasty retreat after saving his life made much more sense now that he knew that she was a laborer afraid of Autobots.
"So that's why she ran after saving me. It must have been like saving Megatron. Didn't want to stick around in case things went to scrap"
He deactivated his weapons and began to slowly walk through the tunnel, taking care to appear as least threatening as possible though considering that the music just cut out with a record scratch told him that she was fully aware that he was there.
"Okay, Optimus. I'll try to keep things calm. She just cut the music so let's hope that's a good thing."
As he progressed through the silent tunnel he slowly began to see the end of it and along with it. The sound of someone freaking out.
"Squawk! Help me get Breakdown's bindings off! Bulkhead is almost here and I want to be out of here before he shows up as I am NOT in the mood to be killed thank you very much!"
"Squawk! But mistress! Are you sure? They didn't kill us last time so maybe they won't now?"
'So that's DJ Squawk? He sure doesn't seem scared of us.'
"That's only because we got away in time! Bulkhead is a Wrecker! They're the Navy Seals of the Autobots and I'm just a Miner and your just a bird who turns into a hammer! He's gonna rip out our sparks and show them to us before we die!
'Rip out their sparks and show them to them before they die? Scrap, she really is terrified of us. What did she go through to think like that?'
He wouldn't have to wait long however as he finally got a visual of the pair.
He first noticed the bird who was pecking at the steel bindings holding a one eyed Breakdown. Then his optics soon landed on the one who had saved his life.
She was big, about the same size as him but still retained the curves of a fembot while also showing that she, like him, was built to work. Her coat of paint was purple with grey metal accents that strongly reminded him of the clone soldiers of the Decepticons. The Vehicons. And her head had a purple construction hat built into it with a visor currently lifted up though her back was to him so he couldn't see her face.
She had a backpack with a jet turbine and 2 extendable wings on the sides which clued him in on the fact that she could fly and sprouting from her right shoulder was a yellow claw arm that was currently working in tandem with her arms to free Breakdown.
He was about to call out to her but those words died in his mouth as she finished removing the last binding holding Breakdown down.
"Don't you remember that they wiped out my entire mine!? We hadn't done anything to them but they still slaughtered us like pigs and left me buried in the rubble! Now do something useful and buy time for me to get Sleeping Beauty back to the Harbinger!"
"Those Slagging Decepticons! They killed my whole crew! Why? Why did they kill them? We hadn't done anything to them! I can't just sit around! I have to avenge them, let me join the fight!"
Suddenly Bulkhead wasn't in that tunnel anymore, no, he was back on Cybertron when he was first rescued by Autobot soldiers, and what he said when he asked to join them.
He was laying inside an overcrowded field hospital in the ruins of what used to be a city hall as a med bot looked over the many, many blaster wounds covering his body while an Autobot officer was getting his testimony.
He remembered the hurt, the grief as the bots he had known for his entire life were killed for no other sin other than not being a Decepticon. He remembered the rage. That terrible rage would be the driving force for his entire Wrecker career with it only abated after Cybertron was dead. He knew exactly what this miner was going through. But instead of choosing to fight as he did, she had chosen to run away.
'So even Decepticons suffered? I had no idea.' His moment of self-reflection was terminated when the Minicon came in screaming and shooting his blasters.
"SQUAWK! Back off! My mistress does not want you to interfere!"
Bulkhead held his arms up to protect his face as he tried to think of a way to get this bird off him without making things worse between the 'Mistress' and the Autobots and sadly, he had no clue.
"Ow! Optimus. The Minicon is opening fire on me! He's trying to buy time for them to escape! What should I do?"
"Keep them in that base Bulkhead! We will be there very soon!"
"On it!" He then aimed his arm cannons at Squawk shouting.
"Back off bird brain! Or I'll do something you will VERY much regret!"
"PISHSHHHTT!"
The familiar sound of a Ground Bridge opening made Bulkhead smile and the bird stop shooting as a green portal appeared next to Breakdown and the Miner.
"Great! You're here already! Good job opening it right next to her."
But to his confusion, his team didn't come through the bridge instead, the miner was carrying Breakdown over her shoulder like a bag of potatoes and hastily entering the bridge.
This prompted Bulk to contact his team.
"Um, guys? Why aren't you going through the bridge?"
Back at base Optimus, Arcee, Bumble Bee, and Rachtet were just returning through their own ground bridge so Bulkhead's question confused them.
"What do you mean? We just returned to base."
Arcee's question prompted a new question and no one liked the answer.
"You guys just got back? Then why is there a Ground Bridge right next to the Cons?"
Optimus was frozen for 3 seconds before he shouted.
"Bulkhead! That isn't ours! Stop them from escaping!"
Bulkhead tried to move but the only Con left was the bird who was MUCH faster than him and while he was talking to Prime it was heading towards the bridge and before he even got halfway there the bridge closed. Leaving him alone in the tunnel and feeling quite a bit useless.
"She's gone. Requesting bridge to return to base."
A few moments later a new Ground bridge opened behind Bulkhead and he morosely returned to base. When he saw everyone there, he shook his head dejectedly
"Sorry, I didn't expect her to have a Groundbridge."
Optimus put a hand on his shoulder as he consoled him.
"Neither did we. The idea that the Miner would have access to a ground bridge was never even a possibility until now. Also, the fact that you were there to rescue your rival was already something worthy of praise. You truly rose above yourself this day."
Bulkhead perked up a bit at this but he quickly returned to feeling down.
"But I failed. I was so blindsided by her past that I just stood there like an idiot and let her get away."
"Past? What do you mean?" Arcee asked with interest and Bulkhead sighed again.
"I found out why she's afraid of Autobots. And it isn't pretty."
"Beep Beep?"
At Bumblebee's question of how bad it was, Bulkhead gained a 1000-yard stare.
"You guys remember how I joined the cause?"
Ratchet nodded.
"Of course, you joined after your construction crew on Cybertron was killed by…..!"
Ratchet gained a look of both alarm but also deep sadness as his analytical brain pieced together the truth even as Bulkhead finished with clenched fists so tight the metal groaned under the pressure.
"Decepticons. And the same thing happened to her. But instead of Cons, it was Autobots. They slaughtered her entire mine and if she hadn't been buried in rubble she would have died too! I never. I never."
Arcee and Bumblebee let out gasps while Optimus once again showed why he was the leader as he finished the words that Bulk couldn't with solemn sympathy.
"You never thought that a Decepticon could go through the same thing you did. It is much easier to dehumanize the enemy. Make them out as monsters who only destroy and kill. But that is a comforting lie to hide the fact that just as you are fighting for what you believe is right, the enemy is doing the same." He then turned to address the whole team.
"That is the cruelty of war. And that is why we fight. Because the longer this war goes on the more innocents on both sides will suffer and from that suffering will come even more suffering. We have to make sure that the lives lost were not in vain and make it so that no one has to ever face what you and the Miner have gone through ever again."
Bulkhead's heart lifted at his words and he felt a new fire in his belly even as he regained his usual attitude.
"Right. I can't afford be mopey! I'm a Wrecker and we don't do mopey!"
He punched his right fist into his left hand as he said this and his eyes lit up as he remembered something.
"Right! I almost forgot! When they were retreating they talked about going back to the Harbinger! That must be what their base is."
"The Harbinger?" Ratchet turned to the computer and after a little digging, he smiled.
"Ahah! Here it is." Team Prime gathered around Ratchet as he showed images of a Decepticon ship similar in shape to a freighter floating in space.
"The Harbinger was a transport ship used by the Decepticons when they needed to transport vast amounts of manpower and materials from planet to planet. However, it went missing and there haven't been any sightings of it for stellar cycles."
"But now we know where it went. It went here! And the Miner is using it as a base." (Bulkhead)
"That would explain where they have been hiding if they found a functional Decepticon Transport ship then they would have quite the stronghold." (Arcee)
"I highly doubt that the ship is functional. If it was she would have left the planet already. DJ Squawk said that they have been fixing things so they must be doing repairs on the ship's wreckage." (Optimus)
"Beep Whoop!"
"Bumble Bee's right. They must have found a Ground bridge and fixed it for their own use! That explains why they got away from us with the Harvester." (Ratchet)
"Speaking of the Harvester, She must have been using it to gather Energon as Ground bridges require Energon to use. (Arcee)
Ratchet began pulling up the global scanners but after a moment he frowned.
"As I suspected. The Harbinger must be shielded from scanners similar to how our base is shielded. I can't locate Breakdown's Energon signature."
Arcee put a hand on her hip as she said.
"So basically we have no idea where she or Breakdown is? Then this was just a big waste of time?"
Optimus shook his head as he gestured for Ratchet to let him access the computer while pulling up to everyone's surprise, a human search engine known as Woogle.
"On the contrary, we have gained many things of value. We have learned that she is a Miner, We know that she is somewhere safe with both the means to escape danger but also sustain herself, We also know that she has access to the Decepticon comm channels as that was the only way she could have known that Breakdown was in danger. But more crucial than all of that. We have learned that she is willing to put herself in danger if it means saving her fellow Decepticons while seemingly getting nothing out of it."
"Wow, a Con with actual loyalty? The Pits of Kaon must have frozen over." (Arcee)
" No it didn't. She's just a Miner! As I said miners are some of the most loyal bots out there. They have to since if they get buried they need to trust that their buddies will come to dig them out. " (Bulkhead)
Ratchet shook his head as Optimus typed into the search bar. 'How to set up an email address'.
"A real pity that such a brilliant and loyal young fembot would end up becoming a Decepticon laborer. A true waste of potential. With how intelligent she is I bet I could easily make her my assistant and we would have 2 med bots instead of just me." The idea of having actual help with keeping his team of reckless fools alive was almost enough to make him shed a tear but alas, it was not enough.
"Yeah, that's not gonna happen since not only is she terrified of us for as much as I hate to admit. A very good reason. But we have no way to contact her much less find her." (Arcee)
Their little discussion ended when Optimus finally spoke up again.
"That is not true. For the final thing, we gained was."
Hopeful music began to play as the bots turned to the screen and were dumbfounded when they saw that he was on a human email service under the handle 'Orion'
And sitting in his mailbox was an email filled with Egyptian hieroglyphs, notes, and a winking emoji resembling DJ Squawk's face.
"A friend."
Authors Note: BY The ALLSPARK was this a doozy! Sitting at about 12,000 words this is the biggest chapter I have written for this story so far. So I hope this was worth the 3-week wait. . I had postponed the chapter an extra week to make sure it was exactly what I wanted and I gotta say that I am very proud of what I got here.
It progressed the story, had some laughs and set the stage for future plots. I also tried a new dialogue thing where I have the characters talk and then have the name of the character after them as it is much easier to do several people talking at once using this method. Is it any good?
Full disclosure this chapter pulled a plot twist on me, the AUTHOR at least 3 times. The first was with her going the cyber attack route in retrieving Breakdown (Full credit to Team Train-Wreck for their 'Raf's Afro Circuit's video. Watch it on Youtube and you'll understand the overall vibe I was going for.)
The second was Squawk Talk and Optimus becoming buddies. This happened as I realized something that has been overlooked by even the show itself. Optimus used to have hobbies. He used to be passionate about learning the history of Cybertron. To do this he had to know how to read all of it and the Iacon Database was a giant maguffin that was only initially usable because Optimus could translate it. That is where Squawk Talk and Optimus's talk about ancient Egyptian came from.
I actually had to step away from the keyboard for a bit to process what I just wrote. But as I thought deeper about it the more amusing the idea became of Optimus and Squawk being friends like how Overclock is with Raf. I will shamelessly admit that the whole 'don't share your IRL name' rule from the beginning of the story was a great way for characters to interact without ruining the Raf and Overclock not knowing who each other really is subplot.
It will also open up some interesting conversations between the pair and let Optimus have a.. Gasp! An actual friend who he can just be himself with? All the other bots have things they do for fun, usually with the humans with Ratchet kinda being in between with it, and at the end of the story he was getting pretty buddy-buddy with Shockwave who also liked science. So it's time that the big boss bot had a chance to indulge in something other than the war with Megatron and maybe even get some character development. This isn't a one-way street either as Squawk might benefit from talking to someone as wise as Optimus is and become a better subordinate for Overclock.
The last loop the story gave me was realizing just how DARK the first part of the story is. Even though she wasn't too close with the other Vehicons and buried it under jokes and other distractions it does nothing to change the fact that her ENTIRE social group was killed right before her eyes. Unless you are a psychopath that would mess anyone up.(To be fair she definitely wasn't normal in the first place but the nightmares she had soon after speak for themselves.)
This of course led to Bulkhead's own history popping up and I guess He and Overclock have more in common than I initially thought. Yep, 3 twists that once again remind me that even the Author can be caught off guard by the story they are writing.
And just so you are aware. Yes, they didn't bring up Prowl but I am starting to find that trying to shoehorn every piece of info into character Dialogue sometimes makes it worse than if it just goes implied that they discussed it in later chapters. They will talk about Prowl later rest assured.
Last, of all I gotta say thank you all for your reviews and name ideas as they were a real motivator to keep writing. With college getting harder as the semester progresses my time to write is dropping so though I hope to write once a week expect delays like this one to start occurring.
Now, about that Preview.
NEXT TIME ON TRANSFORMERS PRIME: VEHICON.
Overclock has a new houseguest. How will she, the Introverted Vehicon Queen deal with the Assistant Harmacist Breakdown? Will they fight? Will they talk? WILL BREAKDOWN EAT SOMETHING YUMMY? Tune in next time to find out on
Transformers Prime:
Vehicon
Episode 9: Hostile Houseguest.