Chapter 8 Highlight: HOT SHOT
Live life fast and to the extreme! This was the personal motto of the rookie Autobot, Hot Shot. Most of the more elder soldiers tended to dislike his hyperactive attitude and greatly loathed his "war is a game" state of mind. Bah! The old coots could go find a tractor belt or a metal coil of wire to hang themselves by… for all he cared those who hated his recklessness could go shoot themselves and just die.
In his processor, information moved at such rapid speeds that it never had a chance to be analyzed before he was already acting. About the only things ever thought about was speed, agility, overcoming the impossible, and lastly killing Decepticons. The way he tended to like something was whether it was fast, sleek, lethal, and great for destroying fast-moving targets. Most Autobots had begun their careers as reckless and speed-addicted rookies… which explained the reason why the war was lost on Cybertron.
"You could use a bit more control…" Optimus Prime had reprimanded him earlier as he and his partner Leadfoot sped down the highway, almost knocking him clean off the road. Laugh out loud much! Hot Shot was rolling with laughter all the way to the vessel he had been assigned to… until he had realized the Autobot commander was going to take charge of the operation. Slag! Luckily, he had gotten himself into the thick of the mess down on Rystolth and saved the lives of the survivors as they fled from the ever-so persistent Decepticons.
"Bring 'em all on!" he declared as Jazz scolded him for being a little too reckless down on Rystolth.
"Yer insane, mech!" the SIC retorted, "Ya need to slow down by A LOT an' focus. Only with a clear processor can ya hope to o'ercome all 'em Decepticons."
"Yeah? Well, what happened to 'if it can't be done with style, then there's no worth doing it', Jazz? Dude, that's your own slogan! Being fast and extreme is just how I roll with the punches."
"Style as in poise, skill, an' style o' attack method… ya gotta slaggin' think before ya enter a fight!"
"Bah! You old mechs are all the same: old and cranky… where's your sense of adventure and speed?"
"Ha! Until ya have a conversation with Ironhide, ya hardly can comprehend the term: cranky. Ya should be very lucky that Barricade did not scrap ya…"
"Barricade is fast, just like I'm built for speed, mech…"
"But he's a Decepticon… the only thinkin' they eva do is process ways on how to destroy us."
"I really don't care. You handle fights the way you want to, and I'll do it in my own style!"
Jazz crossed his arms, "FINE. But don't come whinin' to meh if you get seriously injured. Ah shall let Prime know that we had this conversation. Yer dismissed."
Rolling his optics, Hot Shot transformed into his sleek Cybertronian sports car alt-mode and sped off, leaving a trail of dust in his wake but not fast enough to escape hearing Jazz mutter "senseless rookie" under his breath. Whatever. In the Autobot ranks, he was free to act out in any manner he so wished to desire as long as it did not defy the Prime Codex- the rules of war for the Autobots. Rules, rules, rules. The only reasons why they exist are to cross without getting caught and achieve the impossible.
Despite living the life fast and to the extreme, Hot Shot was just the same as any Autobot: he was fully against the appalling Decepticon cause and wanted to help achieve universal peace. Back on Cybertron, he had lost a lot of acquaintances to the Decepticon ranks and many others were slaughtered in the myriad of attacks on Polyhex. Those that had joined the nefarious cause tried to persuade him to side alongside them… he would have, considering his closest friends were there: Ransack, Reverb, Backtrack, and Slingshot. Such thoughts were obliterated when they assisted in the invasion of Polyhex. Hot Shot sought out the Autobots and his few acquaintances that had joined the faction- to name a few: Streak, Leadfoot, and Bugle- and affiliated himself with them.
Stellar-spans before the war began, Hot Shot had competed at the Polyhex Speed Demon race annual event; lots of competition was always in place. It was only decades since he completed his life as a young Sparkling and evolved into mech… many of his friends were among his Sparkling pals. At the Polyhex Speed Demon race, the fastest and the most daring of all Cybertronians competed to see who would hold the title of "Speed Demon of Cybertron"- the winner would go on to Velocitron and race against previous Speed Demons and the fastest of cars across the Universe. Despite all the effort he had put into the race, he could never beat his long-time rival, Barricade, who has held the title for three decades.
Hot Shot hated Barricade; in fact he hated everyone who was faster than him in his caste. Once when he had won a smaller race in the Badlands, when the latter went to congratulate him, the young mech told him to "slag off" and that the Speed Demon "cheated" in all the events. It was this attitude that had encouraged most of the other cars in their caste to despise and shun Barricade which led to his decision to side with the evil Decepticons. Every race was looked as a bloody vendetta as many times the two had constantly fought- Barricade emerging victorious every time. Both had landed in the Polyhex Behaviour Correction Centre numerous times but Hot Shot swore vengeance upon his rival- who never anticipated hostility just because he was faster- when Barricade personally killed Silverspeed, Hot Shot's love interest.
Now being an Autobot and combatting the Decepticon forces time and time again, Hot Shot furtively wished he was never a jerk towards the Decepticon Enforcement and Interrogation Officer. Now whenever he could clandestinely meet with his old rival, he tries to apologize and establish a mutual respect with him. Barricade had retorted with "the lone motive why you say this is you respect me because I'm a threat, Autobot froth" and the rivalry has continued since.
It's my fault Barricade has sided with the Decepticons, he thought, if only I wasn't a total slagtard…
"Lost in thought, Hot Shot?" a voice called from behind him.
The rookie turned around, astonished at his companion, "Optimus Prime? What are you doin' here? Are you here to berate me too?"
"Jazz told me, yes… but I figured some other tribulation was troubling you mentally. So, care to inform me of your issues with yourself? When you and Barricade crossed paths, the Decepticon seemed enraged to see you and acted out in a speedy, violent manner. At first I assumed that it was how he always fought but then I discovered that the reason he did that was because he saw you."
Hot Shot hesitated to speak at first but then he relaxed, "I guess you could say that the reason why he joined the Decepticons was because of me; I was a jealous, selfish competitor with him back before the war started. Barricade was the Speed Demon of Cybertron for three decades and during those stellar-spans, I treated him lower than scrap. Most of my friends agreed with me and we would constantly gang up on him and beat the poor fellow… since then we would halt him from coming to the racetrack on training solar-cycles and continue to pummel him whenever we saw him. As we met every time, it appeared that he had gotten stronger and deadlier- he had almost scrapped us one solar-cycle. Before the war had occurred, Barricade emerged near us with the Decepticon faction insignia implanted on his chest and he said 'if I commit horrible things against you, know that it is VENGEANCE!'"
Optimus Prime nodded, understanding and listening to every word, "These things happen but dwelling on the past will not change anything, Hot Shot."
"I just feel guilty that I'm the cause of him affiliating with the Decepticons…"
"Don't let that get to you… that was then, this is now. Have you tried apologizing?"
"Yeah, but he responded with: 'the lone motive why you say this is you respect me because I'm a threat, Autobot froth' then he remarked that we were still enemies and if I did not leave, he was gonna bust a cap up my aft."
"Well if he doesn't accept your apology, that's his problem, not yours. Besides, do not forget that when the Decepticons were still in the developing stage, Megatron taught them to despise those who treated them unfairly in the past and desire vengeance as a way to solve conflicts."
"Okay. I guess so…"
A gentle hand landed on his shoulder as Optimus Prime finished the conversation and left, "Do heed to the prudent words of Jazz and your superiors, Hot Shot, or you will be corrupted."
There has to be a way to save Barricade, Hot Shot thought, I don't want him to be corrupted for my stupid error… he should not have to seek violence on others when I'm the cause of his suffering. Maybe, just maybe, I can establish communication secretly with a Decepticon and briefly convert in order to save my former caste member. All I have to do is quickly infiltrate the Communications Grid, secure a line, and somehow communicate with Soundwave or whoever.
Amazing… the Grid was actually unguarded and no one was inside operating it at the current cycle. He only had a few millicycles to act before another Autobot would enter the room. Foolish? Perhaps… it all depended on the opinion of the one who was considering it. To Hot Shot it was a desperate attempt to bring his rival to see that violence was not the answer to his problems…
ALERT! DECEPTICON FREQUENCY DETECTED! DECEPTICON COVERT AGENT IN OUR MIDST!
Immediately the room went into lockdown stage, leaving the Autobot rookie trapped within it. A laser cage formed around him and an electric stun weapon knocked him unconscious…
"Hot Shot? What are you doing here?" Blaster enquired as he entered the Grid centre, "Computer, override security protocol Delta-Psych-Niner-Four Program Sear."
"…what happened…?" the rookie asked, holding his head as his circuitry spun inside it.
"The computer registered you using a Decepticon frequency," Prowl, the Autobot Security Officer replied, putting a pair of stasis-cuffs on the rookie's hands, "And to be on the safe side, I'm following orders to take all possible threats to see the Boss."
Hot Shot was certain that Prowl could pass for a Decepticon easily: he was as brutal as Brawl and just as much as a jerk Stockade was. In his usual, callous way, Prowl dragged Hot Shot down the many halls and passageways to reveal to the other Autobots who was in trouble. Fragtard. Finally he was cast into the office of Optimus Prime who was expecting a spy to be thrown in… instead Hot Shot came tumbling into his workplace.
"Prowl, that behaviour was unacceptable." Optimus Prime scolded his officer, "Decepticon or not, we do not treat recidivists in that manner. Consider this your final, formal cautionary or you will be positioned underneath Ironhide's watchful care. If such behaviour continues, you will be court-martialed for undermining my direct authority."
The bad-mannered Autobot officer scowled as he proceeded to salute and left the office in a huff. Alas much to his disappointment, he was called back to remove the stasis-cuffs and to leave a higher-ranking officer in an appropriate style.
"One moment please," Optimus hit a button on his desk that directed communication to his SIC, "Jazz."
"Yes Optimus?"
"See to it personally that Captain Prowl gets removed from his position, is stripped of his rank, and placed under Ironhide's watchful optics."
"Oh yes sir!" Jazz had never sounded more contented in a few solar-cycles, "Ah'll get right on it!"
"Good. Optimus Prime out." Turning his attention over to Hot Shot, Optimus stood up and leaned on his desk, "What is this all about? Apparently you have triggered a base-wide red alert which put every Autobot on sight to immediately initiate Security Protocol Quasar, Sub-routine One-Zero-Four-Zero."
"I… I am guilty of this heinous crime…" Hot Shot replied, "But I am not a spy. I just wanted to establish some form of communication with a Decepticon to set up a place where I can side with them, to infiltrate their ranks and bring Barricade to our side. I am deeply sorry it came out like this…"
"Hot Shot." Optimus Prime's voice was calm and wrath-free, "You are young and yet have much to learn about your rival and the Decepticons. Certain factors also contributed to his decision to affiliate himself with them; this truth cannot be overshadowed by guilt. If you were to join the Decepticon ranks, know this: affiliating is the easy part… leaving, well that's a complete new level."
"Oh… I didn't know that…"
"Did you know that on average approximately two Decepticons are executed every stellar-span for choosing to leave their ranks? The Decepticon cause is a life commitment: once you join, the only way out is death. Every deserter is marked "kill on sight" and they will eventually be executed. Barricade is probably well-aware of this so he will be reluctant to your pleads; for if any other Decepticon catches him communicating with an Autobot in an non-hostile manner, he can be executed."
"I feel rotten that I got him into it."
"We all feel rotten about the choices we select at some point in our functioning span."
"You're not mad?"
"Hot Shot, you are young. You still have much to learn. Even I do not fully comprehend everything there is to know about the Universe and why Fate has waylaid both factions. But I do my best to understand and I listen to the wise teachings of Hablano Primzahl."
Gazing at his commander in awe, Hot Shot changed the subject, "Who is this Hablano Primzahl?"
"To be perfectly honest, I cannot figure this out myself. He appears as the leader over Tranquility and of a peaceful race of dragons, but when he speaks… it's like he's from another realm entirely. He possesses such knowledge that would quite literally put Soundwave to shame and cause Vector Sigma to resemble a Sparkling's first computer…" Optimus Prime sighed, "He claims that everything we have known since we have begun to function is all a lie. Hablano Primzahl is a being like no other but he argues the point that he is merely a servant to a Great Creator. It makes me wonder…"
"Wow… I hope some solar-cycle that I can meet him."
"It is truly an honour to talk with him. The last teaching of his that he told me a couple cycles ago that I need to unveil all the lies that I have known. I have the strangest feeling that he is some kind of..." he paused and changed the subject, "I apologize for getting sidetracked. But you must be wary of the Decepticons and their tactics; unless Barricade has a change of heart, do not continue to persist."
"Heart? What is that?"
"I meant 'Spark'. Forgive me if I am starting to not be clear in what I say."
"Hey no worries, Prime."
"Come with me the next time I go to speak with Hablano Primzahl. You can explain to him your issues with Barricade and see what he replies. Believe me… your mind will be open to greater things in life."
"Permission to bring my youngest friend, Bumblebee? I know that he would enjoy speaking with your mentor about the bigger picture of life, as will I."
"You may tell Bumblebee as well as all your acquaintances that Hablano Primzahl is willing to communicate with us for six consecutive solar-cycles, but every seventh day he will not."
"That's an interesting schedule…" Hot Shot mused as his leader nodded. He took a moment to actually think without someone thinking for him before adding, "Permission to leave, sir?"
"Granted."
The Autobot rookie walked over to the door and snapped to attention, saluting immediately after and left the office, a little pleased that Optimus Prime was not ill-mannered. He began formulating ideas to distract his processor from wandering back to the past, and planned on hanging out with his good friends. Alas, no matter what he did, guilt still had a tough hold on his Spark and he swore that no matter how much the Decepticon abhorred him, Hot Shot would rescue Barricade from the evil influence of the malevolent Decepticon leader, Megatron…