Temerity
Part 12-Interrogation
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro and Takara. I am merely taking them for a short spin.
"Sometimes solutions aren't so simple,
Sometimes good bye's the only way."
--Shadow of the Day, Linkin Park
Temerity-Unreasonable contempt of danger; extreme venturesomeness; rashness.
Another long weekend alone. It didn't bother Mikaela much anymore because at least she now had Sam or like now, the Autobots to spend it with. Sam was in Las Vegas, dragged there against his will for his grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. She'd been invited, but decided to stay in Tranquility. Besides, without Sam around, it would give her a chance to talk to the new Autobots on her own, without the usual questions about Sam and the destruction of Megatron.
Now she was looking for Hot Rod, finding him outside.
"Want to go for a ride?" Mikaela asked.
Hot Rod looked down, raising an optic ridge.
"Bumblebee's with Blue and the twins, and I don't think he's going anywhere for a while," Mikaela said. "And I bet you're dying to get away from here. At least if you're with me, you won't get in trouble."
"You're not worried about that yourself?"
"I don't care," Mikaela said.
Hot Rod grinned.
--
Mikaela convinced Hot Rod to go to the lake. It was quiet, and someplace the young Autobot hadn't yet seen. And considering what she'd been hearing around the base, Mikaela thought it was a good idea to get him away from the others for a while.
Once there, Mikaela exited Hot Rod and found a place to sit. Hot Rod transformed, sitting down beside Mikaela.
"I've never seen so much water before," he said. "And I know this is small compared to the other bodies of water on this planet.""Yeah," Mikaela said. "So, did you see the pictures Epps took?"
"Jazz showed them to me," Hot Rod said. "That has to be the tamest drunk Prowl's ever had."
"What?"
"I've never seen him passed out quiet and innocent before, and believe me, I've witnessed Prowl at his best. . .or worst. . ." Hot Rod said. "Servo's. Underground district in Iacon. We went there one night--Jazz thought it would be fun. A fight nearly broke out when they realized half of High Command was there, along with the head of the Autobot forces, but it went back to normal pretty fast. I spent most of the night sitting in the corner, trying to avoid Arcee," Hot Rod said.
"And who is that?"
"A female that was in Prime's unit at the time," Hot Rod answered. "Anyway, Prowl danced on the bar. I believe the term you'd use would be 'shaking his booty.' I bet Jazz still has holos hidden somewhere, if you want to see them."
"Seriously--Prowl? Dancing on a bar?" Mikaela asked, stunned. "He's usually so. . ."
"Reserved?" Hot Rod offered. "Not that night."
"Sounds like you guys had fun," Mikaela said.
"We did. One of the few times I ever saw Prime completely overindulge," Hot Rod said.
"Did he dance on the bar?" Mikaela asked, smiling at the thought.
"No. Prime's not an exhibitionist. He sings."
Mikaela laughed at that, Hot Rod joined her. It felt good, to have a reason to laugh.
-----
Locked in Prime's office for a debriefing was now how Springer wanted to spend the evening. The others were enjoying the beginning of the human weekend, and knowing the twins, there was high grade involved. But no, Prime chose this particular night because he suddenly found himself with a few hours and nothing to occupy them, so he decided a debriefing would be good. Now, Springer was sitting beside Kup, facing Prime across his desk. Their leader had his arms crossed, optic ridge cocked.
"Springer, there is much we have to discuss," Prime said.
Springer fought back a few choice words. So long on their own and now he found himself having to answer again to someone else. Not a happy prospect.
"If it's about what's been going on since you got to this planet, I'm well aware of the Decepticon situation," Springer said. "And I'm sure you've had a chance to go over the Valor's logs by now, so what's the big deal?"
Kup shot the younger mech a look that said "shut up" but Springer wasn't buying it.
"I have had a chance to scan the logs," Prime said.
"Then what are we doing here?" Springer said. "I'm sure we've all got better things to do. . ."
"You forget your place," Prime said, his tone hinting at more than mere annoyance.
Springer sat back.
"This involves more than just your ship logs. It goes beyond the past few months, back to before Tyger Pax," Prime said.
Springer's optics widened, finally getting the seriousness of their conversation.
"What do you know of what happened to the Vector?" Prime asked.
"You read my report," Springer said.
"I know what it said, but refresh my memory," Prime said.
Springer didn't hesitate, not wanting to further infuriate Prime.
"We were under heavy fire from the Harbinger and the Venom, trying to protect the orbital station long enough to get everyone off," Springer said. I thought we were going to have to detonate the ship when the Vector decloaked on the other side of the station. The instant she appeared, the Decepticons stopped firing for what seemed like forever. Blaster was monitoring the communications between the two ships on the station, and relayed it to us. They received orders to abandon us and fire on the Vector. They hit both port thrusters, took out the communications relay, then the ship jumped. We traced one more jump before it disappeared off our grid," Springer said. "The only ship considered unaccounted for."
Prime considered what Springer said. The status of every other ship from the battle was either destroyed or functional. The Vector was the only unknown.
"What's this got to do with anything?" Springer said.
"You're aware Hot Rod was on the Vector," Prime said.
"Yes."
"He showed up approximately five Earth weeks ago, alone, injured almost beyond repair. Ratchet said his systems were burnt out, and it appeared he had been in his cometary form a very long time," Prime said.
"So? Hasn't he said anything about what happened to the ship?" Springer asked.
Prime exchanged a glance with Kup.
"Lad, that's the thing--we still don't know what happened. He says he can't remember," Kup said.
Springer raised an optic ridge. "Has Ratchet substantiated that claim?"
"Yes," Prime said. "And that's not all. During the initial round of repairs, Ratchet and Prowl found that Hot Rod's processor has been modified."
"What? How?"
"At this time, the scope and function are unknown," Prime answered.
"Have you asked Hot Rod about it?" Springer said.
"Not yet," Prime said. "He's had more than enough to deal with lately."
"From what I've heard, Ironhide needs his aft kicked," Springer said.
Prime let the comment slide.
"I have another question," he said. "It may seem strange, but it would help explain Ironhide's. . .aggression since Hot Rod's arrival, beyond his questions about the Vector. What do you know of Hot Rod's. . .relationship with Ultra Magnus?"
"What about Ultra Magnus?" Springer said.
"Was Hot Rod ever involved with him?"
Springer looked from his leader to Kup and back again.
"Are you delusional? They could barely stand to be in the same room together. And there was only one mech Hot Rod was ever really interested in. . ."
Kup cut him off.
"Lad. . ."
Springer glared at Kup. "Delusional. Ironhide would've killed anyone, especially Hot Rod, if he even looked at Magnus in a way different than usual," Springer said. "Even though Magnus and Ironhide weren't talking there for a while, they were still together even though they were apart. Even I could see that."
"Are you sure?" Prime asked.
"Pretty sure," Springer said. "And what would it matter anyway now? If Ultra Magnus is dead, he got what he deserved."
-----
Hot Rod sat in his quarters, fighting the urge to drop into the oblivion of recharge. He wanted to rest, but he couldn't. Mikaela proved to be a welcome distraction for a while, and he hadn't stayed out long past taking her home. He could've stayed away from base longer, but he didn't want to chance getting caught, again. And he wasn't ready to explain what he was doing poking around out in the desert by himself. It was his business, and his alone.
His thoughts were interrupted by the door chime.
"Enter," he said.
He smiled, seeing Springer enter his quarters, but the smile faded a little when he saw the grim look on his friend's face.
"What happened to you?" Hot Rod asked.
"Debriefing with Prime and Kup," Springer said.
"Sounds fun."
"It was anything but," Springer said. He raised an optic ridge, noticing the smile still on Hot Rod's face.
"What's so amusing?"
"Just thinking," Hot Rod said. "I told Mikaela, you've met her, right? I told her tonight about that time at Servo's"
"Which time?" Springer asked, sitting down on the berth beside Hot Rod.
"The night we met Arcee," Hot Rod said.
"What brought on that particular memory?"
"Mikaela asked me if I'd seen some pictures of the night Kup and the others arrived. Epps, one of the humans, took pictures of the twins, Prowl, Jazz and Blue and Ratchet passed out in the med bay. Prowl looked really sweet and innocent lying there on the floor," Hot Rod said. "I just started talking about how he's kind of wild when he drinks too much, and it went from there."
"Did you mention how you got your aft grabbed more than once?" Springer asked.
"No, left that part out," Hot Rod said. "Grabbing someone's aft is not the way to their spark."
"Works for me," Springer said, flashing him a crooked grin. "Is that why you sat in the corner all night long?"
"It was safe," Hot Rod said. "And I could see everything that was going on."
"Never mind you had Kup on one side and Prime on the other," Springer said. "She was persistent, wasn't she?"
"You have no idea," Hot Rod said. "Then she moved on to you."
Springer snorted. "Look, it's been fun talking about the past, but there's something I need to ask you," Springer said.
"About what?" Hot Rod asked, optics narrowing.
"Prime has some strange notions. . ." Springer said.
"Regarding?"
"He seems to think. . .I can't believe I'm even saying this. . ." Springer said.
"What?"
Springer met Hot Rod's optics. "That you. . .were involved. . .with Ultra Magnus."
Hot Rod didn't answer immediately.
"There was something between us," Hot Rod said. "But. . ."
"But what?" Springer said.
"I. . .I was entrusted with something Ultra Magnus couldn't do," Hot Rod said.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Springer asked.
"Forget it. I've already said too much," Hot Rod said, standing. "Get out," he said, shoving Springer toward the door.