Jazz left Bumblebee to guard the little half mech prisoner, explaining that Optimus needed to hear all the girl had confessed. The yellow scout settled back onto the ground before the hanging cage, tinkering with his gun to pass time. Natty laid down with her head in the corner of her cage closest to the mech, left side against the bars, knees up.
The soft click-clack of the Autobot toying with his gun droned on through the night for what seemed an hour before the relative silence was broken by a ponderous voice, her mood having lifted a bit. "When you came to Earth, you came the long way, right? You went past all those stars... That must have been awesome." He paused in his tinkering to look up at her. Her left arm hung lazily outside the cage from between the bars, her face turned to the sky.
"I didn't... really... notice."
She shifted slightly to stare at him, "You didn't notice?" She was grinning playfully at him.
"I had a mission," he looked down at his gun. "It took precedence."
Snickering she gazed up at the stars again. "You still had to notice something. For navigation!" A pause and then a sigh, "Sky says one at these days he's gonna take me out there. Show me the stars. One day when we finally get away from this stinkin' war." Her dreamy expression sagged a bit, her voice growing sad, "Doesn't look like that'll happen now."
The yellow scout watched her sympathetically.
"Did you know, " she went on, "That the early human civilizations named the stars?" She turned to peer down at him again; he remained watchful, silent. "They did it so they could find their way back home. They created pictures with the stars--connect-the-dots kinda thing. The pictures are called constellations. Each one has a name and a back story. Neat huh? I don't remember anything like that on Cybertron."
Bumblebee shook his head, "No. Our scientists cataloged the stars according to size, distance, intensity, stage of its evolution... but I don't think any of them have names."
"Yeah, your culture's just not that creative."
"We're creative!" he argued. "We have artists, sculptors, dancers--"
"But no one ever named the stars," she cut in wistfully.
"Well... no," he acquiesced.
"And you didn't notice them while you navigated around them?" She was teasing him, it was plainly written on her face. With all that she would be facing in the morning, this showed no small amount of courage on her part. He was impressed. Gazing up at this brave little soul, he found that spunk... endearing.
"What are their names?" he asked.
"Hmm?"
"The stars. What are their names?"
She smiled genuinely, excited to speak on a favored subject. "Well... You see that bright red one?" He followed the direction she pointed in, and, locating the star, nodded. "That's Beetlegeuse. It's so bright because it's so close. Beetlegeuse forms one of the shoulders for the constellation Orion, the hunter. Do you see those three stars just below it? They look pretty evenly spaced. That's Orion's Belt, and hanging off the belt is his sword. The Orion Nebula is in there." She stopped for a moment, staring rapturously up at the Constellation. "I've always wanted to see the Orion Nebula in person. Oh, I've seen pictures, and looked at it through a telescope, but I want to be there. I bet it's breathtaking!"
"It is." The words were out before he realized he'd said them. Sheepishly he turned to meet her astonished gaze.
"I knew it! You were paying attention!" A wide grin spread across her half mechanoid face. "So--wait--you saw the Orion Nebula? I mean you were really there? Right there?!"
He nodded slowly looking as if he had just unmasked Spiderman.
"Wh-What was it like?! Tell me!" She sat up quickly, then closed her eyes tight holding up one hand. "Wait," her tone much more calm, "I've got a better idea." She was gazing at him through slitted eyes now. "Show me."
He cocked his confused head to one side. "What?"
"You can show me!" Her voice was calm despite the excitement in her now wide eyes.
"I don't have that capability," He cut in, "Optimus--"
She shook her head vigorously, "No, no, no." Grinning slyly at him, "I have this... unique ability to... link up... mind to mind--if you will--with another mech. It... kinda gives the other mech an energy boost--heightens your senses, strength, weapons, everything. I'm told it feels pretty good too. Anyway, you dig up the memory, and you can show it to me! It'd be just like I was there! I'd see everything through your eyes, but the experience is pretty real. And I promise, I won't go through your thoughts... I can't really, unless you let me--and, frankly, I don't wanna get that personal! You see, however much you open up to me... well, that's how open I am to you. I just want to see the nebula."
If he'd had an exposed mouth to hang open, it would be, as the humans say, catching flies--as it was, his jaw was quite slack, pulling his facial plates long, his optics wide. "WHAT?!" he cried incredulously, jumping to his feet. "You want to WHAT?!"
"Shh! Keep your voice down! This isn't something everyone needs to know about, if you catch my drift!" she scolded in a loud whisper.
"This isn't something I want to know about!"
"No! No! It's perfectly safe! Really! Please!" she was getting quite desperate, "This may be my only chance." The excitement completely washed out of her face, leaving only the fear of losing a dream. "Bumblebee... Optimus isn't gonna keep me here, I'm not Cybertronian, but the humans won't regard me as human either. Captain Lennox will have to turn me over to the military and when that happens... you can count me dead. They'll dissect me for the technology my body holds, all in the name of scientific advancement." The yellow mech already knew the truth of her words from his own experiences, having been locked up by Sector Seven for the same reason. "So... consider this a last request." She shrugged, "Before my execution."
"Execution--that's a little dramatic, don't you think?" She was getting to him despite this front.
"Not really. They're gonna kill me. Maybe not right away, but eventually."
He sighed stepping close to her hanging prison, but staring at the ground. He stood quietly before her contemplating what she was asking of him. On the one hand, it was very unlikely that Optimus would keep a human--of any kind--prisoner, especially one that was potentially a military fugitive. On the other, if she was handed over to the military... well he already knew first hand what they would do, but she would not have allies to barter for her freedom like Sam and the Captain had done for him. It was a small thing she asked for in light of what was to become of her. He lifted his head to gaze into her pleading face. Heaving an enormous sigh, and praying to Primus he wouldn't regret this, he reluctantly agreed.
"Okay. How does this work?"
"I have to touch you. It doesn't matter where, just so long as I can access your CPU. Here, put your fingers through the bars, I'll use your hand." Reaching up he cautiously weaved the fingers of his right hand through the bars of her cage.
"Now," she went on placing her mechanoid palm gently against his larger yellow one. "You won't feel anything at first, but everything around us will seem to have stopped, like we jumped outside of time. Don't be alarmed, it only takes a moment for it to catch up. It's just the link being initialized. You'll be able to hear me in your head right away. When time catches up to us, you'll suddenly feel very energized, like never before. Don't get to excited, okay? I'm gonna keep it low powered, 'cause the more I give you, the more personal it gets. At some point it can be like... sex without bodies!" She winked playfully at him, giggling, "But we won't go there!"
Taking a more serious tone, she said, "Ready?" He nodded. "Oh! One last thing--whatever happens, don't pull your hand away! Let me break the link. If you do it, the abruptness will put us both in a world of hurt! Trust me, you don't want to go through that! It's a pain like no other!"
She steadied herself against the bars between them. "Alright, here goes..."
Because there was no one around and the night wind was rather still, the "jumping out of time" part was barely noticeable. As he became aware of her consciousness, he suddenly remembered the connection she had claimed to have with the other Decepticon. A sinking feeling settled in as he wondered if he had just walked into a trap.
"No," her voice rippled gently across his mind. "When I open up this link, it blocks him out. Which is nice, 'cause he was just yelling at me a second ago about revealing this secret," she chuckled.
"Will he tell Optimus about what we're doing?"
"No way! His whole point was to keep this thing a secret. He won't tell anyone. But he'll be screamin' at me when we're through."
A sudden rush of energy went through the yellow Autobot, making him think he could take on even the indomitable Ironhide and win! He could feel her giggling at his surprised exhilaration.
"That's nothing, Scout! Too bad I'm locked up in this cage, I bet you'd like to try this stuff out!"
He felt he certainly would--if his self diagnostics were running correctly, his land speed alone had increased by 30 mph. and his strength output had nearly doubled.
"Imagine what you could do in a fight!" The idea was intoxicating to him. "Want some more?"
He pondered this for a moment, the feeling was so intoxicating, but what was the catch?
"Catch? There's no catch... except that this only works while I remain in direct contact with you. So you have to take me where ever you go, but is that really so bad?"
Jazz would dismantle him if he took her out of her prison, and if she escaped... !
"I'm not going anywhere! Where am I gonna go? I can't leave Sky behind, he's my lifeline--literally. As long as he's here, I have to stick around. But that's okay, I don't wanna get you in trouble. After all, you're doing me a HUGE favor and it just wouldn't be right."
"Since when are Decepticons honour bound."
"Hey, I'm not a Decepticon by choice!" Their minds being so connected, he would know if she were lying, but her words rang with truthfulness. He was little surprised at this. In fact, everything about her was surprising. She was so very human and yet Cybertronian at the same time. Her playful personality carried none of the trademark Deepticon maliciousness. There was no blood thirsty nature, no brutality, but plenty of sorrow and regrets. And nightmares. He could feel how every death she had witness or, worse, enforced, haunted her soul, tortured her psyche. That, mixed with the push-pull between her organic and metallurgic natures, lent a slight instability to her mind. And there was such a vulnerability underneath her battle toughened exterior, a sweet tenderness to her soul that could not otherwise be seen. It was at once pleasing to sort through her mind and exotic as well.
"Stop that!" There was an embarrassed anger in her outburst. "Didn't I say we weren't going to rifle through each others thoughts?!"
He felt a sudden urge to gather her up in a comforting embrace, but she railed hard against the idea.
"I don't want to be comforted! I want to be... !" More calmly, but still stern, "Look, I just wanted to see the Orion Nebula, that's all."
"I'm sorry," he replied softly, "You've been through so much I just... I thought you might need someone... "
"Well, I don't! You thought wrong." She was lying, he could feel her need echo along every circuit and connection in his being, but he left it alone.
"You wanna see the nebula?" he asked drawing her into his own mind, wrapping her up in the coveted memory. He could at least do this for her.
The outrage instantly forgotten, she gasped, "Wow," as the image unfolded around her, filling her vision with streaky clouds of oranges, reds, yellows, whites, and blues--all shades of each color. They swirled, and stretched before her, around her, their silent song filling her mind with wonder and awe at the Master Artist's canvas. A handful of new stars sleepily poked their infant rays through the warmed gases, announcing their existence. Her breath caught in her throat as she stared rapturously around her, words failing to describe the raw beauty. She could feel the presence of the Yellow Autobot as if just behind her, watching her react to the majesty he had witnessed so long ago. It was all overwhelming her and if she had been standing she would certainly have hit her knees by now.
"Do you like it?" He asked cautiously. He already knew the answer, he could feel her emotions washing over her just as she did. Taking a chance, he moved closer, and she turned to him quickly, the awestruck expression making her eyes wide, jaw slack. Submerged in his mind, their projected images were nearly the same height--his just a bit taller--and as he studied her face, she seemed pale, near to fainting. Instinctively reacting to this, he reached for her, pulling her up against him in a secure embrace.
Instantly a war began to rage within her, part wanting to melt weakly into the safety he offered, part wanting to fend him off, afraid of what that vulnerability might lead to.
"You don't have to be afraid, Natty. I won't hurt you."
"How do I know that?" she whispered accusingly, still debating her options.
"I can't lie to you here. You know my intentions. I only want to make you feel safe, for once... I noticed you haven't felt that way for a long time." He added a little bashfully.
"I've never felt safe. Not entirely."
"You're safe now." He pulled her closer as if emphasizing the point, his thick yellow arms wrapping around the small of her back. Even here she seemed so tiny, frail, adding to his desire to protect her.
"No," she broke her gaze away from the depth of his bright blue optics, pushing with her hands against his chest armor, but not enough to free herself. Loosening his hold in response, he hoped to make her comfortable with him. "I'm not safe. It's only a matter of hours before Captain Lennox turns me in, and then it's all over for me. How can you call this safe?"
"Hmm," he ducked his head to catch her gaze, and, failing that, hooked a silver tipped yellow finger under her chin to lift her reluctant eyes back up to him. "Natty, nothing can hurt you in this moment, right now. It won't last throughout the day, but... tonight, you can rest. Let your guard down, I will protect you until the Captain comes." For good measure he added, "It's what I do." But somehow that wasn't quite right, as if there were more he'd left unsaid--a niggling feeling too much in its infancy to be expressed.
She was torn, it would feel so good to just snuggle her tired self against his chest. She could get lost in him for a while, there would be no impending doom, no Decepticons, no war, no prison. But who was this alien offering her a temporary sanctuary? She knew little about him, not enough to trust him. Maybe Sky had been right when he said this was too much of a risk. What would the Autobot do with all he had gleaned from her, strictly personal though it was? And what did it really matter anyway? She was facing almost certain death in the morning. It was the "almost" that gave her pause.
"No, Natty, don't go! Don't break the link! Stay here with me. Please stay!" he was pleading, but she just couldn't do it.
Slipping through his grasp like a phantom she whispered back, "This is too close, too personal... I can't... "
She was gone.
The yellow mech found himself standing in front of her cage as his optics regained their focus, his hand still clinging to the bars of the cage. The little cyborg pulled her mechanoid appendage away, leaving a small cold sensation on his palm in the vacuum left behind. Clasping his fingers tightly around the bars in frustration, he glared at the yellow paint on the back of his hand. He didn't know how long he stood that way before a soft whimper caught his attention. Without thinking it through, he opened the little cage and reached inside. "Natty, come with me," he said pulling her limp form free of the prison. "Tell me about those stars." He cradled her in both arms and, finally, his persistence won out. Though not relaxed by any means, she curled softly into his warmth and let him carry her to the exterior of the barn, where he sat down, leaning back against the structure. The cyborg nestled against him.
Thank you, Primus--I'll never regret this! he prayed, silently remembering his initial concerns.
Jazz cursed under his breath at the sight of the open cage; Bumblebee no where in sight! But he was even more alarmed to hear his name whispered by the yellow scout from the side of the barn. Turning he expected to see devastation and destruction--the sight before him did not live up to those expectations. The errant mech was completely unharmed, reclining against the side of the barn, something held protectively against his chest.
"Bee, what is going on!!" The silver second raged.
"Shhh. She's recharging, Jazz," came the whispered reply.
"WHAT?! Who's recharging? And WHERE IS THE PRISONER?!" Bumblebee was known for his pranks, but this was just not funny.
Holding up one hand, the scout answered, "She's right here, Jazz. She's recharging."
"Have you LOST YOUR DAMN MIND?!"
"Shh. You're gonna wake her up," Bumblebee hissed.
Jazz stared in disbelief, spluttering various syllables and momentarily unable to form a coherent thought. Shaking his head he began to pace in front of the yellow mech, shooting angry side glances at him. As he paced a slow realization took hold, "Bee... why is she out of her prison, and why--Primus help me--are you holding her like--like... a femme!"
"Oh! Jazz! No! It's not like that!" The scout loosened his hold, letting the young half human slide down from his chest onto his lap, the movement causing her to stir in her sleep. "I... I... promised her I would keep her safe until the Captain comes for her in the morning."
"That doesn't explain why she's out of her prison."
"She was scared, Jazz. And she should be! The humans will label her as non-human and dissect her like they tried to do with me! They're gonna kill her Jazz, if we hand her over to the human military, they'll kill her!" He sighed softly, cradling the sleeping form protectively again, "I just couldn't let her face that alone."
"That doesn't make any sense, Bee. Less than twelve earth hours ago, you were happily dragging her into the cactus on the way over here, and now you wanna protect her from what might--might--happen?" The silver mech folded his arms across his chest, shifting his weight angrily. "She's a Decepticon, Bee!"
"She doesn't want to be."
"Give her here!" Jazz growled impatiently, "I'll put her back in the cage."
"But... I promised I'd watch over her until the Captain comes in the morning... " Bumblebee protested weakly, holding the cyborg a little closer.
"You couldn't do that and leave her in the cage?!" Jazz motioned behind himself at the red stained horizon, "It's morning, Bee." The silver mech leaned down and reached for the sleeping figure. "Sara brought a bunch of human food for the prisoner, and the Captain's already speaking with Optimus about her fate." He scooped the girl up carefully, despite Bumblebee's reluctance to let go. "In fact, I came out here to see if she was awake yet, and willing to eat something."
"The Captain's here?" Bumblebee sprang to his feet while Jazz carried the waking prisoner back to her prison.
"Yeah, he's talking with Optimus right now," he repeated. As he placed the groggy cyborg on the floor of the cage he turned to the yellow mech who now stood anxiously beside him. "Bee, the humans that captured you weren't part of the military. They were a group called Sector Seven, and they've been disbanded--"
"No they're not." Both Autobots turned suddenly to face the hoarse voice of the little cyborg. "They've gone rogue. But that's not who I'm afraid of." She took their blank stares as invitation to go on, "It's the scientific community that will want to get hold of me." She wrapped her arms around her legs pulling her knees tightly to her chest. "Did you know that I can't get sick? I don't have antibodies like a normal human," she tapped the center of her chest, "My secondary processor creates these nanobot things that clean out my organic side. They have, like, an intelligence of sorts. Can tell the difference between what's supposed to be in there and what's not. My heart is robotic, too; it acts as both a pump and a filter. It's little things like that gonna get me killed.
"There'll be under the table deals with high ranking officials once word gets out about me. No one will classify me as human, so it will be easy to justify whatever they want to do." She stopped talking abruptly exhaling with a shudder and beginning to tremble all over.
Even Jazz was stunned by her speech. But it was Bumblebee that hissed out, "I can't let that happen," and then ran to the barn, bursting through the doors and into the conversation inside. The small second in command stared after his yellow friend. "What has gotten into him?" he mumbled.
"Where's he going?" Natty asked, but Jazz just shrugged in reply.
After a moment of silence Skyfire's voice broke into the cyborg's tumbling thoughts. It would appear, little one, that you have made a friend of the scout. Even now, he pleads for your life.
