Temerity
Part 15-Trust
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.
:Follow me:
Hot Rod followed Jazz down the highway, turning down a dirt road. It wound through the desert until finally they reached the shore of the lake. A nice, secluded spot. Remote.
Jazz transformed, waited for Hot Rod to follow suit.
"What are we doing here?" Hot Rod asked.
"You and I need to talk," Jazz said. He gave it a few seconds to sink in. "Nifty mods you've been showing off the past couple of days," Jazz said. "Serious upgrades for somebody who barely made tactical unit commander."
He saw Hot Rod shift. Suddenly, Hot Rod found himself unable to move as Jazz hit him with the electromagnet in his arm.
:You don't stand a chance and you know it. Try onlining those weapons again and you'll be dead before your frame hits the ground:
Hot Rod drew back.
:Good. We understand each other. Now, I'm curious as to why one of ours is packin' around Decepticon tech in his noggin. If I were you, I'd consider my next words very carefully. Because if I don't like the answer, only one of us is going back to the base alive:
Hot Rod now understood the reason for such a remote meeting place. The better to dispose of a body, if needed.
:It's because of the mission:
:The one where your unit was slaughtered, you mean:
:Yes:
:Why?:
:It was required. And that's all I can say:
:All right. Next question. Ironhide's been talking about a traitor being on the Vector, and I managed to pry out of Springer that he thinks Magnus is dead. Is he?:
:Springer talks too much:
:So would you if you drank enough high grade:
Great. Nice of Jazz to let him know Springer didn't volunteer the information without help.
:How do you know about the modifications? I'm not answering another question until you tell me:
:It's my job to know:
He had him there.
:Define traitor:
:Flippancy is not going to get you out of this:
:It wasn't me. I can tell you who it wasn't. And to Springer, Magnus is as good as dead. As for his status, I do not know:
:And what of the Vector?:
:Does it even matter anymore? The ship itself wasn't important:
:What's that supposed to mean?:
:Take it as you will:
:You really don't remember, do you?:
:No:
Hot Rod felt the magnetic field let go of his body.
:Ironhide's talking to whoever will listen. He'll have his answers, one way or another. And I don't envy you when he decides enough is enough:
:That's my problem, Jazz:
:True. But he's forgotten there were five other Autobots on that ship besides you and Magnus, and one of them was one of your closest friends:
Hot Rod ignored the last part, decided to try changing the subject.
:What are you going to tell Prime?:
:The subject of this conversation stays between us. We both have our secrets. And besides, Special Ops sticks together:
Jazz said the last with a sly smile. :C'mon. Race you home:
-----
Prowl and Optimus sat in a corner of the rec room, enjoying their evening energon. The two shared a rare companionable silence. So far, it was a good day. Nothing had blown up, in the literal sense, the twins were out of the med bay, SecDef Keller hadn't blown a gasket over the latest Decepticon incident (because he had reassurance the Decepticons were being held in a secure location, and both Prime and Lennox neglected to mention the 'secure location' was the med bay, under Ratchet's watchful optics) and Kup, with the assistance of Smokescreen and Wheeljack, successfully integrated the shuttle's shield system into ops to protect it in case of another attack.
Except both Autobot leader and second in command both knew the peace was over when they saw Ratchet enter the room, bearing down on them.
"I should declare you both unfit for duty and put Bluestreak in charge," Ratchet said.
Prime and Prowl exchanged a quick glance.
"Don't close ranks on me," Ratchet said. "You've left me hanging with my own quarters and med bay overflowing with Decepticons, and then I find out you did something harebrained and put Hot Rod on the duty roster, without consulting me. And you went behind my back and had Perceptor online his weapons systems. No wonder Wheeljack's been walking around humming all day. First big explosion, I'm taking a day off and you can fix the damage yourself, Prime."
Prime had a sheepish look on his face, and Prowl's lips were curled up in the slightest hint of a smile.
"And don't even get me started on you. . ." Ratchet said, switching his attention to the second in command. "When was the last time you took a day off? Got a full night's rest? Did something besides work and lock yourself in your quarters or office with a stack of reports? Even *he* gets more rest than you do."
Ratchet pointed at Prime, hoping to use his leader as an example Prowl could follow.
"If you weren't so damn stubborn Prowl, Jazz and Blue could've taken care of you a long time ago. . ." Ratchet trailed off, vented air in a sigh and stalked off.
Prowl looked after the medic, at Prime, who had his face buried behind one hand, shoulders heaving, trying not to laugh, back at Ratchet's retreating form and back at Prime.
"What did he mean by that?" Prowl asked.
Prime took one look at his second in command, optic ridge raised, and this time made no effort to hide his laughter.
"My friend, if someone has to explain it. . ."
"What?"
Prime laughed even harder before finally stopping, seeing the confused look on Prowl's face.
"Prowl, I believe you need to talk to Jazz about this matter. . ."
-----
Jazz caught Prime walking down the corridor to his quarters.
"I've been looking for you," Jazz said.
"You're back late," Prime said. "Have any problems?"
"Nothing a little intimidation didn't take care of," Jazz said, flashing a grin.
"Jazz, you didn't. . ."
"Look, there's not a scratch on him, and I needed to set a few things straight. It's all good," Jazz said. "Besides, now we know where we stand with each other. I wanted you to know you were right--he can be trusted."
Prime tilted his head, interested.
"What?"
"'Night, Prime," Jazz said, leaving for his quarters.
-----
He felt the others disconnect from the link, silence filling his mind and audios. Optics offlined as he sent the command to detonate the ship, feeling the ship dying, his body burning from more than the fire of the exploding craft. Hot Rod screamed.
--
:Hot Rod's quarters NOW:
Prime obeyed the call, finding Ratchet standing over the younger Autobot, who was thrashing in his berth, talking unintelligibly.
"What's the matter?"
"He's having a nightmare, judging from the activity in his cortex," Ratchet said.
Prime knelt down beside the berth, reached out, but pulled back. "Should we try and wake him?"
"Anything is better at this point," Ratchet said.
Prime reached out, taking Hot Rod by the shoulder, shaking gently. A hand flew up, grabbed him by the wrist. His optics onlined, and Hot Rod sat up, instinctively wrapping his arms around Prime.
:Can you handle this?: Ratchet asked.
Prime nodded.
--
Prime came out of recharge, realizing quickly something wasn't quite right. He was upright, obviously not in his own quarters. Then he remembered. Hot Rod. Nightmare. He was sitting on Hot Rod's berth, back against the wall, with his arm around Hot Rod, the smaller mech's head resting on his shoulder. Prime went to pull away, hoping he wouldn't wake Hot Rod, but he was too late. He met the other's optics.
"Awkward," Hot Rod said, flashing a smile. "Have you been here all night?"
"You don't remember?"
"I remember having a really bad nightmare, and not much else," Hot Rod said.
"You screamed, waking half the base in the middle of the night," Optimus said. "Ratchet called me and I stayed."
"Oh," Hot Rod said. "I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize," Optimus said. "That must've been some nightmare."
"You have no idea," Hot Rod said.
"Do you want to talk about?"
"No," Hot Rod answered.
"All right," Optimus said. "It's still early, so I'll leave you to your recharge. Remember, you can call me if you need anything."
Hot Rod nodded, watching Prime go.
-----
Springer cocked an optic ridge, seeing his leader leave Hot Rod's quarters. This was. . .interesting. He was just back from patrol, tired as hell and still feeling the effects of the hangover from the high grade Jazz kept supplying the night before. Maybe I'm hallucinating? The green mech shook his head, offlined his optics a couple of times. Nope, Prime was still retreating down the corridor to his own quarters. Springer pushed it from his mind, making for his own quarters. He threw himself down on the berth, falling into recharge quickly.
-----
6 a.m. Prowl ignored Sideswipe's greeting as he watched the early morning broadcast of the human version of "news." Ops was quiet, barring the constant banter between the twins and Smokescreen, who were taking bets, probably something he'd later regret not giving it the proper amount of attention deserved.
The second in command groaned, seeing what the humans had in their possession.
--
Prime stood, arms crossed, clearly not happy at what he was seeing. "Where did this footage come from?"
"An unnamed human sparkling took these images," Prowl said.
Perceptor looked at the pictures on the screen, curious.
"Is this planet being prepared for an alien incursion?" he asked.
Wheeljack and Prime glanced at each other. Springer stared at the scientist. Perceptor noticed the green mech looking at him like he'd suddenly grown a second head. Perceptor raised an optic ridge in question.
Springer smacked him in the back of the head.
"Those are pictures a human took of Kup's shuttle when it landed," Springer said.
"Oh. . ." Perceptor said, the lights finally coming on. "Well then, the paranoia this species has regarding the unknown should make an interesting study if Prime deems it worthy of my time. . ."
"Perceptor, once we have your lab up and running, you can research anything you want," Optimus said. "Within reason, as promised."
Prime noticed Wheeljack's fins flashing blue. "The same applies to you."
"Speaking of things not allowed, I'd ban "Mythbusters" now," Springer said. "They blew a hole the size of a landing pod in one of the empty holds on the Valor. It's repairing itself quite nicely, but believe me, it's better to head this one off while you still can."
Prime noticed Perceptor was smiling and Wheeljack's fins were now glowing blue. "That was one of the best explosions ever," Wheeljack said.
"Do I want to know?" Prime asked.
"We could easily replicate the experiment with materials readily found in quantity on this planet," Perceptor offered.
"Or we could show you something else," Prowl said. "Ever seen Mentos and Diet Coke?"
Engineer and scientist exchanged a glance. "No."
"C'mon. I'll tell you all about it, and I'll see if one of the humans can round up those supplies," Prowl said, throwing an arm across the shoulders of both Wheeljack and Perceptor, leading them from ops.
Springer watched them go. "Y'know, even something as simple as a chemical reaction is going to end badly with those two," he said.
"I know," Prime replied. "Although I think this is Prowl's way of showing Ratchet he knows how to 'blow off steam.'"
"I don't quite think that's what ol' Hatchet had in mind," Springer said.
"How did you hear about that?"
"It's a small base. Scuttlebutt travels fast," Springer said. "I pity Prowl. I really do. He's brilliant, but sometime's he so dense. . .can you imagine what'll happen when he figures that out?"
-----
Ratchet declared a night off for everyone once he found out how harmless the human experiment was and that Mikaela, Sam and Bumblebee had brought the necessary ingredients to the base. And of course, Wheeljack and Perceptor just had to find a way to take something harmless and make it into something incendiary. How they got the concoction to ignite. . .no one could figure out, although it was quite spectacular watching a flaming geyser, which brought about a discussion about something called the Fourth of July and fireworks, which served to further enflame Wheeljack's enthusiasm. After the part where Ironhide started asking just how big one could make fireworks, the evening was declared over.
Hot Rod found Springer in the rec room. He pulled up a chair, sat down beside his friend.
"So, enjoy the show?" Hot Rod asked.
"Those two have created nothing but chaos in my life since the moment they set foot on the Valor," Springer said, leaning back, arms crossed.
"That would be a no then?" Hot Rod said, grinning.
"I swear Wheeljack occupies his time sitting around thinking of new ways to blow up things," Springer said. "And Perceptor does not help. If I didn't know better, I'd swear they're both nuts. . ."
"But that isn't the case," Hot Rod said.
"No. I'm just glad they're on our side," Springer said. "You cannot imagine what it's been like locked on a ship with those two."
"Ask Kup what it was like being stuck with the twins and Blue," Hot Rod said.
"High grade and good stories," Springer said. "That I could live with."
"And the old war horse has a thousand new ones just waiting to be told," Hot Rod said. "Hey--I seem to remember you said once Kup's stories drove you crazy."
"They did, but not anymore. I'm only going to say this once--do you know how much I missed you two?" Springer said.
"I know. Same here," Hot Rod said, clasping Springer on the shoulder. Springer reciprocated, grabbing Hot Rod's wrist.
"I thought you were dead," Springer said.
"For a while, so did I."
"But we're here, and the past is behind us," Springer said. "And you're getting better. That's all that matters."
Hot Rod smiled. "And you're as stubborn as ever. Same old Springer."
"Hey--I've changed. Stronger, wiser. . ."
"Older," Hot Rod suggested.
"You're the same age," Springer said. "Almost."
"I might be younger, but remember, I saved your aft first, not the other way around," Hot Rod said.
"I know, and I've never forgotten," Springer said. "Except I think the tally is now in my favor. I always used to spend all my time pulling your aft out of the fire."
"I've kept things interesting," Hot Rod said.
"You sure have," Springer said, leaning forward, resting his chin on his hand. "Speaking of interesting. . .what was Prime doing leaving your quarters early this morning?"
"I had a nightmare. He stayed. That's all," Hot Rod said. "He's done it before."
"You're sure there's nothing going on there?" Springer asked.
"Springer, are you crazy? It's Optimus Prime. He's concerned, that's all," Hot Rod said.