Nightbeat leaned against the table in the rec room, eyes fixed on the game Arcee, Moonracer and Flare-up were playing. Elita-One and Chromia were sitting around the table.
"I heard," Arcee looked up at the dark blue femme with a mischievous smirk. "That you started screaming when you woke up."
"Med-Bays are not exactly somewhere I like waking up in." Nightbeat scoffed, optics narrowing.
"I know the Hatchet is scary," Flare-up lay a card down and then took a sip of her Energon. "But the way you were screaming...I though he was hurting you."
"Femmes, enough. Let us be happy that Nightbeat is here, alive and well." Elita frowned, pausing her hand, which was polishing her blaster. Her pink armour shone like it hadn't done on Cybertron, those so many vorns ago.
"Yes, Elita." The two youngest femmes nodded, and had the decency to look ashamed as Nightbeat stared at them with hard optics.
"My past is also not something I would like to wake."
"Loosen up, Night." Chromia slung an arm over the darker blue femme's lower back and slid a cube of high-grade over. "Don't be such a stick in the mud."
"Is that an order, Chromia?" Nightbeat smirked, shifting on her pedes as she lifted the Energon cube.
"Just drink the damn thing."
The Autobot femmes laughed, drawing the attention of the mechs in the room. After the few years and months the femmes had been at the NEST base, it was still hard to get used to their presence.
"So tell us, Nightbeat," Moonracer hummed, placing several of her own cards down. "What happened after we left Cybertron?"
"After most of the femme units left with Hound," Nightbeat hummed, optics narrowing in thought. "Powerglide, First Aid, Hot Shot, Blaster and I did our best to hold the Autobot territory left. We managed to secure the Iacon libraries. However, two vorns after you left, we ran out of Energon and had to abandon the planet. As we were leaving, some 'Cons saw us and Blaster and I got separated from the other two."
"And the Iacon libraries?" Elita was stiff, a hopeful look in her eyes.
"When Wheeljack's inventions do work, they're extremely helpful. I saved the most important literature and art within the subspace device the crazy mech made and left on Cybertron."
"The library is saved?!" Moonracer smiled, eyes bright. Nightbeat's neon under-glow faded to grey and her facial plates tinted blue.
"Yes." The Special Ops femme nodded.
"Doesn't that makes you want to sing?" Flare-up gave Nightbeat a sly smirk.
"If you're taking a jab at my occupation back on Cybertron, it won't work." The blue femme sneered, optics narrowed. "How ever there are plenty of songs here on Earth that are quite entertaining."
"Perhaps I shall have a talk with Optimus." Elita hummed, smiling. "The entertainment would be good for morale."
"Yes, Elita." Nightbeat sighed. "I really must have a conversation with him myself, regarding Jazz."
The femme Commander was quiet as she pressed the side of her helm. "Optimus is in his office at the moment. He said he's not busy."
"Excellent. If you don't mind, I'm taking my leave." Nightbeat stood, leaving the femmes to their games.
The door slid open as she approached, revealing a silver mech and a golden one behind him. She lifted an optic ridge, arms tucked behind her back.
Sideswipe blinked down at the femme, her arms tucked behind her back and her optic ridge lifted. She seemed to be glowing, but Sideswipe couldn't really tell.
She was dark blue, and on one of of her shin-struts was a lighter blue patch. Her helm was smooth save for the pretty spikes along the sides of her helm and the wings behind them. A pair of wheels sat on her shoulders, and they also seemed to glow.
"Excuse me." She murmured, striding forward. Sideswipe stepped to the side and blinked his optics at her. Sunstreaker watched her go with an impassive face.
"She wasn't bad." The golden mech muttered, striding past his brother into the rec room.
"I wonder what she was called?" Sideswipe set his optics on the femmes playing cards, and skated over. "Hello, ladies."
"No." Arcee and Flare-up growled at the same time.
"What!? I hadn't asked anything yet!" He pouted.
"Femmes, enough. Let the mech talk." Chromia grinned, then turned her optics to the younger mech. "What do you want?"
"Who was the femme?"
"Which one?" Moonracer teased, glancing at Sunstreaker as he made his way over.
"The one with dark blue armour! I've never seen her before! Who is she? Where did she come from?!" Sideswipe crossed his arms.
"Well, Sides," Moonracer focused on him. "When a mech and a femme love each other-"
"Moonie! I don't need that talk again! I meant, where did you find her? And what's her designation?!"
"Ah." Elita chuckled. "Her designation is Nightbeat, and Ironhide found her and Blaster getting attacked by Eradicons in the Grand Canyon."
"I see."
"Are we done here?" Sunstreaker growled, still holding Energon. "I'd like to finish this, and then go recharge."
Nightbeat lifted a servo and rapped it in a staccato beat against the office door of the Autobot Commander.
It slid open and her optics were met Optimus's knee joint.
"I forgot how short I was compared to you." She snorted, turning her grin up to him.
"You are tall compared to the other femme bots, but we are not here to talk about such things. Please, come in." Optimus stepped aside and she strode in, leaping onto the chair set before the desk and then propping her feet onto the desk itself. Optimus shook his head.
"To what do I owe the pleasure, Nightbeat?" He seated himself across from her and clasped his hands on the desk.
"Well, other than unexpectadly waking in the Med-Bay and having a scream-fest with dear old Hatchet," Nightbeat sighed, smirking. "I noticed the lack of my captain. And as his lieutenant, it's my job to know where he is, which I don't because I've just arrived on planet. Which begs the question, where is Jazz?"
"Jazz..." Optimus vented heavily, optics dimming. "Jazz has gone to the Well of Allsparks."
"How'd he die?" Nightbeat's smirk faded.
"I shall show you." The Prime pressed the side of his helm and a hologram lit the wall behind her. The femme turned, and her optics focused on the scene.
She watched, shoulders relaxed, as Jazz tried to delay Megatron when he appeared on the city war zone, covering for the human Captain's men and the cilivians. Despite the human's calls for him to fall back, Jazz faced Megatron alone, and all he got for the trouble was being blasted by the Decepticon leader's fusion cannon.
As Ironhide and Ratchet escourted the human boy, and the Allspark to safety, Megatron grabbed the small bot.
"You wanna piece of me?! You wanna piece of me!?" The silver bot yelled, kicking at Megatron as the large mech grabbed him.
"No! I want two!"
Nightbeat watched as Megatron flexed his powerful arms, ripping Jazz in half as the Autobot let out a roar of pain. The large bronze Decepticon sneered, tossing Jazz's halves to the side.
Optimus was quiet as the hologram vanished. Nightbeat was silent, still turned away.
"A-and the Allspark? What happened to it?" She asked, deadly calm coating her words.
"The Allspark was destroyed when Samuel Witwicky placed it in his spark chamber. However, a shard remains; under human supervision in one of their most guarded faculties."
"I see. His death wasn't in vain then." Nightbeat turned back, optics closed as she wiped the single bright Energon tear off her cheek plates. "Business then; are there any other Special Ops bots here?"
"One yes." Optimus smiled softly. "His name is Mirage."
"I remember him." Nightbeat hummed, all traces of sadness vanishing from her person. "Suave, cocky, and totally obnoxious; a noble. Yes, I remember him."
"Shall I comm him?"
"Yes, do!" Nightbeat's glow flashed to an orange colour.
::Optimus to Mirage. I need you in my office:: -Optimus; public link
::This is Mirage. I will be there in uno momento:: -Mirage; public link
"Where did that accent come from?" Nightbeat laughed, placing her chin into her servo and staring at the door. The knock that came on the door seconds later made her smirk grow.
"You may enter." Optimus shook his head, arms clasped upon his desk again. The door slid open with a soft hiss and the noble mech entered the room.
"You wanted to see me, Prime?" Mirage asked, optic ridge lifted. Optimus wordlessly swept a hand at Nightbeat, who's smirk widened to a shit-eating-grin.
"You." He growled, optics narrowing.
"Good to see you, Mirage. I trust you've been following orders?"
"Lieutenant," He grumbled. "Such a pleasure. How is your voice? Is it well?"
"It's fine, thank you." Nightbeat scowled. "And your noble status? Oh wait, you don't have one anymore. Which reminds me, Optimus; I've saved the Iacon libraries."
"You have? That is excellent news." Optimus smiled. Mirage scowled.
"Thank you for meeting with me, Optimus. It was a pleasure to see you again. Mirage, why don't you take me on a grand tour, so I know what I'm working with?" Nightbeat slid from the chair and sauntered over to the red mech, who scowled.
"I suppose I can take time from my schedule to...show you around base, femme." He huffed, turning his nose into the air.
"Ah, ah, ah. That's Captain now."
"It is not my place to get between this argument," Optimus interrupted, both the Special Ops bots pausing beside the door. "But as Nightbeat is taking Jazz's place, she will also be taking his spot as my First Lieutenant."
"Of course." Mirage nodded his head. Nightbeat grinned, giving a lazily salute she knew Jazz was adept at using and strode out the door.
"First Lieutenant Nightbeat." She laughed. "I like it. Almost makes me want to sing."
"Shut up, femme."
A loud clang rang though the halls as the door to Optimus's office slid closed, making him chuckle as curses wafted through the metal door and walls.