Temerity
Part 17--Boundary
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.
Optimus wanted answers about Hot Rod's modifications, yet he was hesitant to follow through on what he now knew. Considering Hot Rod's volatility, it would probably go badly. He also wanted to know the fate of the Vector and the rest of her crew, not just for his own piece of mind, but also for Ironide, to give him closure, if it could be had. Ironhide deserved that much, but not at the expense of Hot Rod's well-being. And lately, Prime knew he was walking a fine line between alienating his oldest friend and damaging the trust he was re-building with Hot Rod. Ironhide's recent distance was understandable yet regrettable. Optimus wanted to set things right with Ironhide but he didn't have many options. Countless times, and now was no exception, he wished there was an easier solution, but there was not. In Ironhide's case, he was having to not act as a friend and press a hard line as leader to drive home the point that answers would be had when they could, and not until. With Hot Rod, it was the opposite--trying to offer what he could as a friend yet still retain his authority as the young Autobot's commander.
Again, it would have to wait. He pushed the questions from his mind, switching his thoughts to the meeting he was headed for.
--
"We've isolated a sample of the virus and placed it in one of the small terminals from the shuttle and preliminary tests show that not only its it viable, it is also very prolific," Perceptor said. "It quickly replicates itself upon contact with an uninfected system and it is actually quite extraordinary. . ."
He stopped when he saw the look on Prime's face. One optic ridge raised, arms crossed, his energy signature giving off a particularly unpleasant resonance.
"Cut to the part about its origin," Prime said.
"Skywarp was correct when he stated Decepticons 'naturally' carry the virus but this is only because their physiology has been altered to allow the virus to develop a symbiosis with their systems," Perceptor said. "The version in each of them is not identical, yet it behaves in exactly the same way when infecting a system, although the version carried by Frenzy and Rumble seems particularly violent."
"Why wasn't our network infected when both of them linked with the main computer?" Prime asked.
"I'll take this one," Wheeljack said. "The best we can tell is that when they linked with the network, they set up their own temporary firewall to keep anything from getting in so they could take out what they wanted. Pretty simple, really. Plus neither of them established a physical link with the network, which helped."
"If we proceed with this project, will it be dangerous for the Autobot who forms the nexus for the link?" Prime asked. "You know this isn't my specialty."
"We've already discussed this with Ratchet and he said Prowl would be the logical choice and as long as he doesn't fully merge with the network, he should be fine. He has already volunteered," Perceptor said. "He is the only one of us capable."
"Thank you, Perceptor. That will be all," Prime said, leaving.
-----
The decision was made. Prime was reluctant to go forward with the decision, but the Decepticons were willing, and so was Prowl. It was a potentially dangerous project because Prowl would serve as the focus for the uplink, yet he would not be fully linked to the network or the others. Instead, he was going to help hold their work together until the Decepticon virus was fully woven together with the Autobot code, forming a new virtual entity.
He was also more than a little disturbed over the news the virus the Decepticons carried was engineered, and that someone had intentionally infected them with something so dangerous. The virus they carried was the same that took down the network at Soccent Base in Qatar and also every human defensive and communication network on the planet. If there was a connection between the Decepticon modifications and Hot Rod. . .
No, he thought. Not possible. But his ability to mask his energy signature and the way Hot Rod took down Thundercracker were both Decepticon technologies. And why hadn't he seen the similarity between the other modifications and the interface he designed for the ARK-class ships?
Only one Autobot had undergone the necessary upgrades to bond with the ship, and it had proven fatal. Highbrow barely lived long enough to take the Valor's weapons and propulsion systems offline, forcing Springer to take his place. And where Highbrow failed, Springer succeeded. The artificial intelligence on the Valor was one of Shockwave's last experiments, and it proved volatile when brought online. Only by sheer force of will did Springer bring it to heel and he was now the only one who could control the ship, which had evolved a form of sentience beyond what any of them could have imagined.
Curious that Hot Rod had modifications similar to but far beyond what was new technology not long before they left Cybertron. He'd get answers. But Prime wasn't ready to cross the line, break what little trust was between he and Hot Rod.
-----
3:37 a.m. Lennox checked his watch, yawned. Epps leaned against the Hummer, arms crossed, eyes closed, clearly dozing. The Ranger reached over, tickled Epps' ear. He jerked awake, startled. "Wha?"
"Some welcoming committee we are," Lennox said. "Wake up."
"Why do we have to wait out here?" Epps said.
"To keep an eye out for any civilians that decide to happen by," Lennox said. "You know that."
"Yeah, don't want Keller to have to deal with Homeland Security again," Epps said.
Lennox snorted. After what they'd dubbed the "Kup incident" they now had protocols in place to keep such a thing from happening again. The footage from the landing shuttle that hit Youtube and news broadcasts around the planet days before set off Homeland Security like nobody's business. Now, they were waiting for the three remaining Autobots from the Valor to come down. Trailbreaker, Grapple and Hoist were ready to leave the ship, which Springer had forced into stasis only hours before.
He came back to reality when Epps smacked him in the shoulder, handed him a pair of binoculars, pointing.
"There's two of them now," Epps said.
Lennox watched as what looked like two large meteors burned through the sky, passing overhead with a sonic boom. The two soldiers tracked them, then lost sight.
Minutes later, a third followed.
"C'mon," Lennox said. "Let's go say hello."
--
"Wow," Epps said. "Three really big ones."
Lennox shot his friend a look.
"They have names," he said.
"I know. Trailbreaker, Hoist and Grapple, but it's kind of hard to tell them apart when they look like this," Epps said.
Lennox had to admit he did have a point. In their protoforms, they were hard to tell apart, except Trailbreaker was almost as tall as Optimus, yet a bit bulkier. Hoist was about the same height as Trailbreaker, but was heavier. Grapple was just big, and they filled up the med bay.
"C'mon, this place is getting crowded," Lennox said, noticing the Autobots and the tiny Decepticon twins standing at the med bay entrance.
"Yeah, I'm going home to get some sleep," Epps said. "Can I sleep late?"
"Don't see why not," Lennox said. "If they need us, they know where to find us. Besides, they've got enough mechs running around now to put up a good fight if anything happens, but I doubt it will. And today they're going to be working on the new firewall, so see you sometime."
Epps grinned, leaving, Lennox followed, giving Frenzy and Rumble wide berth as he exited. Frenzy looked at him as if he wanted to say something and Rumble glared. Having them around was going to take some adjustments.
-----
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ratchet asked as he watched Prowl lay back on one of the surgical berths.
"I'm perfectly capable," Prowl said. "If we're going to do this. . ."
Ratchet raised an optic at the uncharacteristic frown on Prowl's face, resigning himself to his role in the project. His job was to monitor the participants. Not hard, but if something went wrong, it would be hard to pull them back, and considering how difficult his most recent medical uplink with Hot Rod went, Ratchet wasn't relishing the prospect of having to do it again so soon. But Wheeljack and Perceptor would be with him in case something did happen.
-----
Mid-day. Prime knew he shouldn't be away from base, considering the seriousness of the undertaking going on and the new arrivals, but he had much to think about. And he hadn't taken much time for himself lately, but a few minutes at the lookout wouldn't hurt. Hot Rod was on patrol with Jazz, which was working out so far, another small burden off his shoulders, yet the issue of the young mech still weighed heavily. Best to push that from his mind, try to enjoy his freedom and the changing of Earth's seasons. But easier said than done when Prime heard Ironhide approach.
"Who are you avoiding now?" Ironhide asked.
"Do you really want my answer?" Prime asked, crossing his arms.
Ironhide ignored the barb. "You know why I'm here," he said. "I want answers. I won't wait any longer. And there is nothing you can do to stop me."
"And I've already told you--approach Hot Rod again about the Vector and you will answer to me," Prime said. "Need I remind you of that Ironhide?"
"You wouldn't dare," Ironhide said, wanting to see how far he could push Prime.
"You forget--I am Prime. You are not," Prime said.
"I know I'm only a lowly soldier--but at least I can be taken at my word, unlike you lately. What about this one Autobot makes him different, so worthy of your attention?" Ironhide said.
"That, Ironhide, is none of your business. Do not push your luck any further," Prime said.
"Have you forgotten what happened? Hot Rod's unit was slaughtered. How do we know if he was telling the truth about it? And the fact he says he doesn't remember what happened to the Vector seems very convenient," Ironhide said. "He could have betrayed his team to the Decepticons and we'd never know, and the same goes for the Vector."
Ironhide's optics widened when he heard the faint click of Prime's battle mask sliding into place, the suddenly balled right fist barely held in check at Prime's side.
"Leave. Now."
"This isn't finished," Ironhide said, walking away.