The Wrecker

Chapter 2: Bug out of my op.

I am continuing this based on reviews and requests. It being followed by a lot of people and I'm happy to provide more of a story.

Enter Frustration.

The ship was radiating with positive expectations. My mechs were jolly as they sat huddled around the long common area table. Cubes were slid around across the table as the crew celebrated their victory to come.

I sit at the head of the table optics watching everything. All my mechs are here save for two. Sideview my pilot, and Sifter my third in command, he was upset about Prowl being positioned above him by Prime; but he knows, and I know there was nothing to be done about it.

Speaking of my stoic second, I turn looking beyond the mechs to my right; he's here with us seated alone in the corner. The mechs stand around me and I'm caught off guard.

"Sir is what they are saying true?" I turn to Drift at my right.

"About what?" I ask.

"Is Prowl the one that saved your skid plate?"

I look to Prowl who hasn't even glanced up and I nod. I don't answer as I take a sip of my cube.

Drift raises his Cube. "To Prowl, who brought our Commander back to us."

"To Prowl!" they all cheer in unison.

Prowl looks up from his datapad and blinks looking at me. I look around as my men look at me expectantly and I stand lifting my cube. "Thank you Prowl." I try to make it sound less desperate than it feels.

He stands as someone hands him a cube. He twists slightly as he sets the datapad back down in his seat. Standing tall he looks at the cube quietly. "It was my greatest honor." He speaks slowly as his optics and his cube raise toward me. The room cheers and they all down their cubes. Prowl and I drink but our cubes are the only ones with Energon left in them.

As the cube lowers from Prowl's lips I watch him lick his lower lip slowly. I shake myself and make myself say something, anything. "Alright we have a mission that's starting in twelve Joors, hit the racks mechs, lets get some recharge." I lean down over the table watching them file toward the aft hatch of the ship that leads to crew's quarters.

The 'yes sirs' roll off their tongues and they file out of the common area slowly, discarding their empty cubes in a receptacle along the wall. "Prowl would you relieve Shifter please he's running the first Op, he'll need recharge as well."

Prowl nods to me as he turns following the others out dropping his cube in the same bin. I sigh and sit down at the head of the table to think and finish the cube in my hands. I roll the cube around in my fingers and sigh.

I hoped that if Prowl was watching the bridge for the Joors before the Op, during it he would be recharging, but I know that's not the case. He'll remain online until it's completed.

I sigh running a hand over my face as if to try to distract myself from my own distraction. "Primus." I murmur.

"That bad huh?" Her voice breaks my thoughts and I turn.

"Oh Swaybar." I reach out my hand "Down in the belly of the beast were you?"

She shakes my hand slowly. "The Axel is a brand new ship Jackie, I don't expect her to be falling apart anytime soon, all her diagnostics have come back clean." Swaybar pulls her hand back and smiles at me. "So …he's here full time huh?" She folds her arms over her chest and I turn looking away from her. "The newest Wrecker Commander Prowl."

"I don't want to talk about it." I say as I look down in to my half full cube.

"I can see that." She says coming forward sitting down on the table to look up at me. "But you can't stop thinking about it can you? Or is it him?"

I glare at her but can't hold the look. I wave a dismissive hand and turn dropping my half full cube down the disposal. "It doesn't matter."

"Oh I would like to think it does." She smiles. "How long have we known one another Jackie?"

"Forever…" I mutter.

"Forever that's right. Because I came out of the Well right behind you." She smiles in that way that always disarmed me. "We're practically siblings."

I shoot her another glare and she holds up her small hands. "Save for the fact we don't share a spark." She smirks. I roll my optics. "Look Jackie just go talk to him."

"I cannot." I say and shake my helm. "I can't believe we're talking about this like it's going to happen."

Swaybar shrugs. "You need to talk about it, can't have it corrode you from the inside out can we?"

I wait a moment to compose myself. My optics trail up and over the bulkhead behind us and I sigh as I reach my hand out to touch the hull. My brand new ship the Axel, one of the last great Autobot war ships. "Jack." She walks up placing a hand on my forearm. "Wheeljack." I look down into her eyes and sigh. "You've never been afraid of anything." She says softly. "You've always been the one to carry others through." I look away. "And now you've found something you just can't face." She is shaking her head in my peripheral vision. "Go talk to him." She pushes me toward the bridge hatch. "Go for Primus sake."

I turn my frustrated eyes on her again. "And don't you go putting your mask on to hide your face." She reached up and rapped her fingers on my face. I sigh and nod.

"Fine." I say to sooth her. "Fine!" I toss my hands up. Turning to the bridge I press the hatch open. Turning back I point a finger straight at her. "I cannot stand you sometimes."

"Love you too Jackie." She laughs and turns back to engineering.

I take a large vent and let the nitrogen mixture flood my systems and then I expel it. I gather my strength and press the hatch back stepping through.

Prowl is standing behind Sideview who appears to be showing him our route to Alexia Prime. Prowl is tapping his stylus nervously as he nods looking over the screens. "Sideview, Shifter…Hit the rack." I say quietly coming up beside Sideview. "I relieve you."

Sideview stands and salutes. "Yes sir." He stands back and I take his seat.

Shifter leans over handing a Datapad my way. "Light Reading on Alexia Prime." He smiles "The Mortra scans are on the final page, they have all the geographical lay outs."

"Thanks Shift." I nod "Dismissed. Prowl hasn't said anything. For all intensive purposes our outsider is remaining outside, he's watching out we work. Sideview and Shifter head to the rack. "And Shift?"

"Yes sir?" He pokes his head back through.

"Swaybar needs help before you hit the rack." I smirk.

"Sir I'd rather fight a whole contingent of Decepticons than go into engineering when Swaybar is around." He smirked.

"Thought you liked her?" I venture.

"Yeah, but come on Sir she's like your sister." He laughs and turns out the hatch and it causes me to roll my optics.

Taking the controls in my hand I make a minor course correction. He steps up beside me and I smile. "Friendly banter?" He quips.

"Yes it keeps it light here, we see so much devastation, mechs offlined, dead hatchlings." I sigh slowly pointing to the seat beside me. "Have a seat."

Prowl blinks as if conflicted. "I uh…"

"Loosen your springs Commander have a seat." I motion him to sit again. "It's easier for me to look you in the optics while I'm flying while we go over the plan."

"Understandable." He admits and sits down in the co-pilot seat. "We'll land on Alexia Prime to the Cybertronian settlement there." He thumbs the datapad to the next screen. "We're going under the guise of cargo delivery, Energon, medical supplies." He blinks and then puts the datapad in his lap. "I am going to be reassigned."

I blink and turn "Why?" I shake my head "Why on Cybertron would you ask to be reassigned? According to Optimus you're the best tactician Primus could ask for."

Prowl nodded "That may be so, however I'm having trouble adapting within your crews setting." He turns looking at me and I stiffen.

I sigh. "Maybe if you'd relax." I suggest but I admit I'm having troubles relaxing myself. I look up at him. "Look Commander I know it's hard, but we need you to get through this, lets just." I try to say this and listen to myself. "Lets just get through this mission and we'll discuss the sundries of your assignment after."

He doesn't speak so I continue nervously. "Commander." I shake my head. "Prowl from one mech to another I didn't want to be here either." I admit to him quietly.

"I have a hard time believing that Wheeljack." He says. "Where else would you be?"

"I had this dream once." I laugh thinking back. "That I was this great inventor." I shake my head. "I would build these fantastic inventions, and most of the time they didn't work."

"What happened?" Prowl asked.

"They mostly exploded in my face." He laughs a bit but catches himself. "My Caste was science class." He silences his laugh.

"You were in the Science guilds?"

"Yes actually." I reach forward pressing two small buttons on the console to activate the autopilot. I turn my chair to face him. "When the war started I couldn't stand around. I watched my research deteriorate before my eyes." I shrug slowly. "I was angry at the whole planet." I explain and look up. "So I enlisted with the Autobots. Was chosen out of a select few by a mech named Springer." I say slowly.

"You were trained by Springer?" Prowl blinks.

"Yes, I am sure you read my files." I offer with a raised optic ridge.

"I did." He admits quietly. I reach over and tap his hand. I'm so close to shaking armor plating as I have ever been. His proximity is intoxicating and I'm not reading him well enough. "I have trouble with you onboard." I admit. "But that doesn't mean I want-" I reach back running a hand over my face. "I don't want you to feel you need to be reassigned."

Prowl looks up at me and nods slowly. He's features are so cold and stone like, and it's hard to make out what he's thinking. It's hard to guess. "I am distracted here." He admits slowly. "It is interfering with my ability to function."

I nod and wait. "Go on."

"Prime thought I would be able to overcome it however I am finding it most difficult to focus." He sighs "We spoke of it before you came to his office. When you were laying there…in the sand." He looks at me nervously. "I held your very existence in my servos." He looks at his hands in doubt. "I saved you."

"You did." I acknowledge. "I am grateful."

"But at that moment I watched you. I panicked I felt this…pang." He uttered slowly. "This resounding crash in my spark."

My brow raises and I wait. "I felt the weight of it all." Prowl puts his hand on his helm and looks down. "I am so wrapped up in my work." He shakes his helm "I haven't been able to see anything outside this war. Prime's right I have emotionally compromised myself by closing myself off." He shakes slightly but gathers himself. "I work instead of live. And when I almost lost you I felt like I had lost-" He can't speak.

"You didn't loose me." I reach out and touch his shoulder my voice cracks. "Prowl I have always felt-" I shake my helm and turn to the controls and check them over and shake my head. "You compromise me daily." I say softly.

I turn to face him but he's looking at me with a pale blank stare. "Commander what are you talking about?" He shifts.

"Who are you talking about?" I change the subject.

He gives me a long serious gaze, and I shake my head. I have the sudden realization that we aren't talking about the same person and I shift pressing a button. "Torque to the bridge." I announce and push back from the console. "I'll be in my bunk."

"Wheeljack…wait…" Prowl stands but he doesn't chase me out the door he just waits there. "Wheeljack…" He sighs and in an Non-Prowl like fashion I hear him punch the bulkhead.

Pressing into the Common area I don't even look at Swaybar who's sitting in Shifter's lap. "Wheeljack?" She pulls back from her lover and jumps up to chase me.

"Boss?" Shifter looks around. "Sir? Commander!"

"Go to the bridge." Sway tells Shift and he goes without another word.

I ignore them from here on out as I press into my quarters. "UNICRON!" I growl and smash my hand into the far wall.

"Jackie come on!" Swaybar growls over the sealed door. "I will force it open."

I growl because I know she would do just that. "Just leave me be Sway."

"No I won't! I'll stand here until you open this door!" I flop down on the berth and seal my face behind my mask. I reach up and put my arm over my optics. "For being the Commander of the Wreckers you sure are a coward SIR!" She slams her hands on my door and I shake my head.

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