Chapter Eleven

Rae had finally calmed down enough to eat the cheeseburgers Lennox had brought her. She peeled apart the buns, took off the lettuce and tomatoes, and just ate the meat and cheese. Lennox was giving her his patented 'the heck are you doing?' look of pure disgust. "You do realize you're supposed to eat everything, not just the meat?"

"If you're going to insist that I eat fast food, I'm at least going to eat the best part." Rae retorted around a mouthful of hamburger. "I haven't eaten this slag since I started living at the base."

"The Decepticon base?" Jazz asked. The silver mech was sitting just behind Rae, letting the girl sit on his leg. Ironhide was right beside him, unwilling to let the girl out of his sight for long. Optimus thought it made for an amusing sight. His two most hardened warriors were the first ones to take to the girl. Rae shook her head and swallowed.

"No." she said softly. "There are Decepticons there, but not like what you think. Everyone who lives at the base is an exile. Veris is our leader, so to speak." Here her eyes locked on to Prime. "I'm surprised you never knew. You're previous second-in-command has been on Earth for a good long time, long before even the Decepticons arrived."

"Why was Veris exiled?" Jazz wondered. "I knew him by name, but I never got a chance to know him. He seemed like a decent mech."

"Mutiny." Ironhide answered. "Sympathizing with the enemy."

"Ensuring that Prime didn't kill his brother." Rae retorted. "Can't blame a mech for doing what he thinks is right. Silver was the one who brought me to the base, but Harbinger was the one to raise me. He's my guardian, so to speak."

"Ok," Sunny said, holding up a hand to stop her. "Who are the Decepticons in your little group?"

"Harbinger, Bracket, and Sheol."

"And the Autobots?"

"Veris, Silver, and Greystreak." Rae said with a roll of her eyes. "That's not counting Case, our medic. He's a Neutral." She closed her eyes for a moment. "They've all taken good care of me. When we were attacked by the Decepticons, I knew exactly what to do. Harbinger helped me get away from Devastator. From what Starscream told me, it'll be a while before their medic is able to create a new arm for him. I had to fend off the Seekers on my own. Unfortunately I didn't do any lasting damage to Thundercracker."

Suddenly Prowl started to laugh. "So you're the one who took his optic out!" he said with a look of pride. "I was wondering who Skywarp was teasing him about."

"Odd bunch of mechs, aren't they?" Rae commented. "Either way, they would have come for me if you guys hadn't attacked the Decepticons. I'm pretty sure they were keeping an eye on me. Not that Starscream would let them hurt me."

"Why would Starscream risk his position for a human?" Sunny wondered. Rae snorted.

"You guys really don't know, do you?" she said in amazement. She paused for a moment, seeming to debate something in her mind. "Don't ask me about that." she said finally. "It's not my place to tell you."

"If it's a weakness of the Decepticons – " Sides began.

"It is." Rae cut him off. "One that could very well endanger Starscream and several others I happen to be fond of. I wouldn't tell my family about a weakness that could get Ironhide and Jazz killed, so don't ask me to do it."

Lennox exchanged looks with the others. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of this teenager. He had learned from Bumblebee that younglings were highly valued on both sides of the war, so that might explain why Rae was so comfortable with just about any mech. What it didn't explain is why she had freaked out when she saw him, but he was willing to let that slide. There were a lot of people who simply didn't trust the military, or anyone else in uniform.

At that moment, Bumblebee entered the room. He had heard everything, including her passing comment about Case, and for that he thanked Primus for protecting his brother. At last the Neutral had a place where he could live in peace. Briefly he wondered if the medic had turned out anything like Ratchet, but let the thought slide. There was nothing he could ask Rae right now that wouldn't reveal his secret to everyone. So instead he delivered the news he had just discovered.

"Optimus – Decepticon Seekers reporting that they've located the AllSpark. We need to head out."

Prime nodded. "Ironhide, Jazz – I want you to keep a close eye on Rae." He still wasn't too comfortable calling her a youngling. She hadn't told them enough of her story, not a word about where she had lived before Silver had taken her in, or how they had raised her. She was not fit for battle training because she had no armor – how did they compensate for it if they raised her in such a way that even Megatron recognized her as one of their own?

He was afraid as well, even though he would never show it. He knew vaguely of Harbinger and the others, and he knew Veris all too well. The ex-Autobot was notoriously unpredictable, and once he got it in his head to protect someone, not even Primus himself could stop him. If Rae was the one he chose to protect, Prime feared what he would do to his soldiers before he could stop Veris.

Ironhide and Jazz nodded. "Not a problem." Ironhide said. "The Decepticons will never take us down."

Rae smiled softly. "It's not the Decepticons you should be concerned about." she warned. "Whatever you do, don't attack Veris. Harbinger will kill you."

"Do you really think a Decepticon can take Prime down?" Ratchet asked, speaking the first words he had all evening.

Rae didn't even blink. "Yes. That Decepticon can and will."

"We'll deal with that later." Prime instructed. "Get some recharge, all of you. We head out in the morning."

/---/

AN: Next up – odd humor and the Neutrals move out!