Seeing the direction that this story is going, I have decided to raise the rating for safety reasons.
Anyway, this is the seventeenth chapter of this story. Glad to continue writing this! :)
This starts in Optimus's POV and goes from there. I don't own the Transformers, Hasbro does.
Here we go!
I shivered as I lay on the cold floor of the death room. I brought my knees closer to my cold frame, attempting to retain my own warmth as I quietly cried.
Arcee was comforting me through the air vent before she suddenly stopped. I was left in this silence, without the comforting words of my family member. Never have I been so frightened in my life. The child within me wailed for the comforting warmth of my father. I wanted to be held close to him again. I wanted to be lulled asleep by the rumbling purr of his engines as I leaned into his chestplates.
I clutched at the black and silver Autobot insignia charm of the necklace Cliffjumper's spirit had given to me for my spark day. The little necklace only empowered the cherished memories of my family, online, as well as deceased. I remember the happiness I felt on my spark day. The happiness I felt when I saw Soundwave walk in the base with my father.
The child within me also wished to be in the company of Soundwave. My processor flashed through the moments I shared with him. I looked up at Soundwave's mask as I was being fed by him, feeling his loving affection. I heard myself laugh as I played little games with him. I felt his gentle touch as he stroked my little helm while I lay on his padded berth, sleeping. Despite his cold, emotionless appearance, Soundwave had a very warm spark. During my stay with the Decepticons, Soundwave seemed to care for me as though I were his own child.
These familiar memories echoing in my mind, I found that I had crawled over to the dead sparkling with underdeveloped wings and lay down next to him. I told myself that he was alive and was merely recharging. I took little comfort in the lie.
As I looked at the sparkling's small, partially closed servo, I wondered what this sparkling was like when his spark was still beating. Did he like energon candy as I do? What was his favorite toy? Did he enjoy games? Was he shy?
Of course, I will never get the answers to these questions. He is dead.
Despite the inanity of my thoughts, I could not help but wonder about this sparkling, lying dead next to my cold frame. What was his name? Where was he from? Who was his carrier?
How did he get here?
I shivered again at the notion of this sparkling being taken from his family. I had hoped that I was the first sparkling to be taken by this mech. But, this sparkling was testament to the unfortunate truth. In an attempt to dispel this frightening sensation, I reached out and touched the cold sparkling, feeling the light orange paint on his chassis turn to powder in my servo. He is not alive, yet he is my companion in this death room. I suppose I am not so alone.
I tried to wipe my tears away and slowly sat up to gather the blanket that I had used to cover myself. With the blanket in my servos, already beginning to lose the warmth the cloth kept close to my little frame, I looked down at the sparkling, into his dead optics.
This sparkling died there, cold and alone.
Blinking away the tears that threatened to fall, I pulled the blanket over his cold frame and shifted closer to him. My blanket was large enough to cover both of us, so I took the other end of it and pulled it over my frame as well. I moved closer to the sparkling, jerking slightly when I felt his icy plating on my leg where it brushed against his own stiff limb. I laid my helm next to his and gazed at his faceplates. The dried streaks of blue tinted tears traced down his dull, peaceful faceplates from his open optics.
The sight caused my own tears to overflow, blurring my already blurred vision. He felt the same emotions I am now. He felt the same yearning to return home. He felt the same crack in his spark from being taken from his family.
I lifted my little servo and slowly closed his optics. He is dead, but at least he will appear to be sleeping.
Both of us lay here, underneath my blanket. I pressed even closer to him, seeking what comfort my companion could provide, letting my warmth spread into him. This sparkling is the only one in this world who understands the pain I feel. We both are here, in the dark death room of the strange mech. We both are crying.
Arcee attempted to comfort me before she abruptly stopped. Arcee does not feel this biting cold; she does not understand.
She can no longer comfort me.
As I attempted to avoid looking at the pile of severed pedes that was uncomfortably close to my companion, I gazed at my silent friend's small, outstretched hand again. I shifted under the blanket I shared with my companion, reached over and gently grasped his cool hand.
The silence in this death room was becoming intolerable. I looked around the death room and saw the heads suspended from the ceiling. I immediately turned away, the silence in the room beginning to ring in my audio receptors. I could hear the silence; I could almost identify a sound in the silence.
The distant wail I heard petrified me.
Eventually, I started to sing quietly, my ventilations hitching frequently. I had to fill the silence; I must ignore the mournful wail. My father sang this to me the night before I was taken to the Decepticons, and it made me feel slightly better. That feeling was all too brief. A tiny sob escaped my lips as I felt the stiffness in his hand, disrupting the pattern of the song. Soon, my little song was reduced to a series of whimpers that were laced together in my futile attempts to fill the crushing silence in the death room. I gave in to the sorrow of the child within me and my tears streaked down my faceplates as I lay on my side, next to my companion, and dripped onto the cold floor between my faceplates and his.
I curled up, settling into the fetal position on the cold floor while I held the sparkling's hand. I quickly saw that the sparkling mirrored my position; his knees were drawn close his chassis. The sparkling's plating was beginning to feel warmer as I shared my blanket – our blanket – with him.
At least, in death, he will no longer be cold and alone.
...
I was asleep when I felt a gentle hand touch me, rousing me from my light slumber. Before I opened my optics, I realized that I was no longer lying on the floor next to my companion. My plating was warm, as if I had been wrapped in a heated blanket. This heat enveloped me, making me feel safe, despite my upsetting surroundings.
Immediately relaxing into the comforting warmth, I made sure that my optics remained shuttered and frame remained curled into the fetal position. The child within me feared that the warmth that I so desperately wanted would vanish if I attempted to glimpse its source. The warrior within me eclipsed the childish notion. Eventually, I steadily opened my optics and turned to face the source of the strange, yet welcoming warmth.
I smiled once I saw who it was.
...Jack's POV...
I sat nervously on the couch next to Miko, who had a worried look on her face, as I flipped my phone shut. I had just got off the phone with my mom after she called me, asking what happened. She said that Bumblebee had raced Raf over to the hospital ER earlier and was worried about the rest of us. Mom said that Raf had significant damage to his hearing, but was otherwise unharmed. He'll be at the hospital for a little while, just so the doctors can keep an eye on him.
He had to have been hit by some sort of sound based weapon. I'm one hundred percent positive it was the guy who took Optimus and Arcee.
I told my mom that things weren't going well, and that I'd rather not talk about it over the phone. I knew she wanted to get over here as soon as possible, but I also knew that the hospital was busy. I could hear it in the background. She won't be coming over to the base for a while. Once she was done at the hospital, which will be some time this afternoon, she's going to come down here to check on the two of us.
Miko gave me a worried look. "Is Raf okay?"
"My mom said he's going to be fine, but whatever he was hit with gave him permanent hearing loss."
Miko's eyes widened in shock as she gasped, putting her hand over her mouth. "You mean... Raf's deaf?!"
"No, no, no, he's not deaf." Thank God he isn't, I thought as I shook my head. "He can still hear, but it's not as good as it used to."
That seemed to calm her down a bit, but she didn't look like she was feeling any better. She just sunk into the couch, a lot quieter than she normally is. She's really worried about Raf, like I am. The poor guy got hurt again, but at least it's not a life or death situation this time.
From what I remember learning in biology in my freshman year of high school, serious pain starts at one hundred and twenty-five decibels. I thought that's what caused what happened to Raf. But when Mom told me that he was bleeding from the ears and was going to have some permanent hearing loss, I knew the decibel number was higher. Death of hearing tissue will happen at one hundred and eighty decibels. That's almost like standing next to a jet engine while it's firing off.
What I don't understand is how come Miko and I didn't lose part of our hearing. All three of us were in the same room when this happened to Raf... but he was the only one who got hurt. The only thing I can think of is some kind of powerful sound beam that concentrated only on Raf. I saw on a documentary that the military used something like a high-intensity low-frequency sound machine for interrogations at some point, but banned them because they were too dangerous. I guess they aren't dangerous enough to make Cybertronians ban them.
"If they don't call in soon, I'm gonna blow up all those 'Cons." We turned around when we heard Wheeljack mumble. He was pacing back and forth, tossing the grenade he usually kept at his hip up in the air repeatedly.
"What do you think happened to them?" Miko asked me. Wheeljack turned back from where he was walking by the Ground Bridge controls and answered for me.
"They got caught by the 'Cons, that's what." He started pacing again, past us and back towards Halli, who was still lying on her berth.
The poor dog was hurt when the intruder came, and now she's just lying there on her side, watching Wheeljack. She looks like she's doing better already; I saw her gently thump her tail against the berth when Wheeljack had his back turned. She looked like she wanted to stand up.
Or she's getting ready to.
"Look, kid," Wheeljack said to me. "I'm going in to go check things out. Stay here with the dog."
I jumped up and ran over to the railing as Wheeljack walked over to the Ground Bridge. Miko followed behind. Wheeljack was already resetting the coordinates! Why would he go into the Nemesis? He won't stand a chance alone!
"Wait, Wheeljack!" He only moved his optics to look over at me as he stood in front of the Ground Bridge control panel. I hesitated for a second when I saw the look on his face. That was the first time I had ever seen him glare at anyone. "Bumblebee said not to come after them!"
Wheeljack smirked at me. "Since when do orders ever stop me?" Before I could even think of a response, Wheeljack had already set the coordinates of the Nemesis into the monitor. The Ground Bridge flashed and the blue-green vortex turned on.
"See you two later." All Miko and I could do was watch as he transformed and zoomed through the Ground Bridge. We continued to stare as the Bridge closed.
"So, we're stuck here, alone in the base with a hurt cyberdog." Miko muttered from next to me as she rested her arms on the railing and put her head down. She probably felt useless here. To tell you the truth, I felt the same way. All of the other 'Bots were gone, except Halli. I doubt she can really do anything to help out.
Suddenly, I heard a hissing sound. Miko's head shot up as she heard it too. I looked around, trying to figure out what it was. It sounded like hydraulics hissing. I've heard this before… I heard it one time when Ratchet strained a bit while standing up. He said that his joints tended to do that when he sits for an extended period of time.
"Is that Halli?" Miko asked, looked up at me. I didn't answer. I only moved to run down the stairs and go over to the cyberdog. Miko did the same and soon we were both standing in front of Halli as she lay on her berth.
I could feel her golden optics burning into me as she stared at me. Her legs were constantly moving around, and I tried not to wince when I heard her sharp claws scraping against the berth.
Miko's eyes lit up as she moved closer to the huge dog's muzzle. "Come on! You can do it!"
I was about to ask her what she was talking about when I saw the answer to my question. I backed up a few steps as I stared at the enormous dog. I watched her head rise higher and higher, and a huge paw landed right in front of me. I could hear hydraulics hiss again as another paw came down off to my right.
Halli worked up the strength to stand up.
She stood over Miko and me, looking down at us. Her tail was all the way down, almost like a wolf's. The brown plating just above her golden optics were lower than they usually were. I didn't know dogs could even have that serious of a look on their faces.
"Halli, are you okay?" I asked, not really expecting an answer. She lowered her head so she was eye level with me and blinked slowly. I hope that means yes.
Suddenly, she turned and walked off down the hallway. Miko and I looked at each other for a second before going after her.
"Hey, where are you going?" Miko asked as we ran behind her. Halli slowed and lowered her head to the ground, completely ignoring us. She started sniffing around on the ground. I instantly knew what she was doing.
"She's tracking something," I said, walking around to stand by her head, which was still close to the ground.
"She's tracking Optimus's scent!" Miko gasped, breaking out into a huge smile.
I looked at the huge dog and back over at Miko. "We don't know anything about tracking, so let's just follow her."
…
We followed Halli a little ways down the hall before she stopped in front of a storage room. That's strange; the storage room doors were never just left open.
Halli padded closer to the door, sniffing at one point on the floor. From where I was beside her, I couldn't quite see what she was sniffing, but Miko could.
"She found Optimus's stuffed tiger!" I looked around Halli's legs to see it. Optimus must have dropped when he was taken; after his birthday, the tiger went where ever he went.
I went over to it and Halli lifted her head so I could get to the stuffed tiger. I looked it over and saw blue-ish stains in the fur on its head and on its ear. They looked like little tear stains.
"Maybe we can track Optimus's scent with it." Miko suggested. I nodded, then shook my head. It was a good start, but not the best idea.
"We might be able to track him, but for all we know, Optimus could be on the other side of the planet. It would take way too long."
Miko put her hands on her hips and gave me an irritated look. "You got any better ideas?"
Halli stared down at the two of us with an impatient look in her optics. It took us a second to notice her turning around and walking back towards the main control room. Neither of us questioned it, and we just followed the cyberdog. I guess she has her own plans.
When we made it back to the main control room, Halli walked over to the Ground Bridge controls and stood up on her hind paws, resting her front ones on the control panel. She looked over at us standing in the center of the room, lifted a paw and banged it on the control panel.
"She wanted us to Bridge her somewhere!" Miko smiled.
"Y-yeah, but 'somewhere' could be the somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy! And she can't exactly tell us where!" I said. Miko looked like she was about to say something sarcastic when we both saw Halli move again.
Halli pushed off the control panel and I heard a muffled thump when her front paws came back down on the floor. The enormous German shepherd lookalike padded closer to us and turned around all the way. She stared up at the green tinted monitor. Miko and I looked at the monitor, not really expecting to see anything. There's just the same picture of the Nemesis and its flashing set of coordinates on the screen.
"Oh, she wants to be Bridged out to the Nemesis!" As soon as Miko said that, Halli's tail lifted and started wagging hard, almost shaking her whole body. She looked anxiously back at us as her tail continued to wag for a little longer.
"Maybe someone there can help us find Optimus." I looked at Miko as if she had lost her mind.
"Miko, no! We can't just ask them for help!"
"Again, you got any better ideas?" I was about respond when Miko ran up the stairs and over to the computer Raf used to turn on the Ground Bridge. I sighed and waited by Halli's leg. She's going through with this whether I like it or not.
The Ground Bridge was up and running in a few seconds, and Miko came back down the stairs. Halli turned and looked towards the vortex, but didn't move. I gave a confused look.
"I thought you wanted to go to the warship," I said, looking up at the dog. She only crouched down very low, so low that her belly was pressed against the ground. It reminded me of a camel kneeling and waiting for a rider to get on its back...
"Oh no, I'm not getting on your back!" I said, shaking my head and backing away a bit. There is no way I'm riding a giant dog. I've never even ridden a horse before!
Halli thumped her tail against the floor impatiently and looked at me. Miko was already scrambling over Halli's shoulders and sitting at the base of her neck.
"Jack, she's gonna need someone to talk for her." I considered what Miko said for a moment. I guess she's right. Halli is going to need someone to talk for her. I know Miko's going to want to fill that position, and I can't just let her go alone.
"So you coming or not?" I looked up at Miko and back down at the stuffed tiger that was still in my hand. Optimus needed help, and for all we know, the three of us could be the only ones that can do that.
I slightly tightened my grip on Optimus's stuffed tiger as I looked at Halli and Miko. "Let's make sure to be quiet when we get there."
...Steve's POV: Aboard the Nemesis – Twenty Minutes Later...
"I don't think Commander Starscream's suspisious of us," My friend, Shank, pointed out. Just a little while ago we deflected Starscream from finding Soundwave in his personal quarters.
"I don't think Soundwave knows that we warded off Starscream so he could get away without look suspicious," I said as the two of us walked down the dark hallway. There wasn't anything for us to do, really, aside from keep an optic on Starscream. I heard through the private Vehicon comm. link that Lord Megatron had secretly left the warship under Volk's control, though it looks like he's just filling in Soundwave's station. That wasn't extremely strange since Volk is trained enough to handle the communications station, and he's taken over a few times when Commander Soundwave was out on important missions.
Volk sounded confused and little upset over the comm. link since Lord Megatron didn't tell him anything about why he was put in such an important position under orders to make sure Starscream knows nothing about where Lord Megatron and the other commanding officers are. Volk doesn't know this, but Lord Megatron left with the Autobots, too. I don't think Starscream knows the Autobots were even on the warship. To Volk, he was just put there out of the blue. I can understand how he feels. Volk is the kind of bot who needs to know the reasoning behind such an important command.
I have a feeling that we may have to tell Volk about what's going on.
"Hey, Steve, I need to check in with Knockout," I heard my friend say from beside me, pulling me out of my thoughts. I looked at him.
"Why?" He pointed down at his ankle.
"Remember when your dog nearly bit my foot off? I don't know about you, but that's kind of hard to forget." I waved him off when I heard the irritated tone in his voice.
"Yeah, that was kind of your fault. You shouldn't have been messing with her in the first place. You know she doesn't like you."
"Yeah, yeah." We continued to talk to each other the entire way to Knockout's medbay. Shank needed to check in with Knockout so he can remove the recovery patches and make sure the bite wound wasn't infected. I doubt it was (Shank wasn't glitching about it), but you can never be too sure.
Once we opened the medbay door, we just stood there in the doorway in shock. No one was in there! Oh, my Primus, and I know exactly where they are, too. Shank and I shared a panicked look.
"They're out looking for Parvolus!" We nearly shouted at the same time. This is not good. Starscream's going to know something is up when he sees that Lord Megatron, Commander Soundwave, Commander Dreadwing and Knockout and Breakdown are gone on some mystery mission. We have to make sure that it takes him the longest possible to find out something's up.
I placed a digit to my audio receptor and commed Rudder. He'll man the med bay. He knows more about that sort of thing than any of us Vehicons.
"Tripwire to Rudder, come in, Rudder." I said over the comm. link using my real name. Shank looked at me as I contacted the old medic. The look in his optics told me that he knew exactly what I planned on doing.
"Go ahead." I mentally sighed when I heard the old mech's voice, not that I didn't know whether or not he would respond.
"Rudder, I need you to man the medbay." I refrained from saying why over the comm. link since I didn't know if anyone on the warship was listening in on the conversation.
"...On my way." I lowered my hand when the connection cut out. Rudder will have to take this position while Knockout and Breakdown are gone. Thankfully it won't be too strange since, like Volk, he has filled a higher position before.
Once he got there, we told him that Knockout and Breakdown were off on the hunt for whoever took Parvolus and that he needed to fill in for them. I also told him that we were trying our hardest to keep this whole thing on the DL, especially from Starscream. Since Rudder already knew what was up, he agreed with us, but warned us not to try too hard, otherwise our efforts would look really obvious to others.
Shank and I left the medbay in a hurry, and speed walked down the hall over to Soundwave's station. Thank Primus Volk was still there and no one else was nearby.
"Volk, Volk! We need to talk to you about something!" Shank said as we approached him from behind. The paranoid mech nearly jumped out of his plating when he heard us, and turned around to glare at Shank and I.
"Don't do that, Shank! Are you trying to crash my CPU?!" Shank waved him off.
"Oh, please, if I wanted to do that, I would have done it by now." I lightly shoved Shank, trying to silently tell him to get serious. I mentally sighed in relief when he got the point.
"Volk, we need to talk to you about something-," I started before getting cut off by Volk turning back to the monitor.
"Can't it wait until my shift is over? I'm busy!" I resisted the urge to grab his shoulder and turn him back around. This is way more important than he knows.
"Officer Volk," I said, knowing the title would get his attention. "This is in regards to why you are here in the first place."
Volk scoffed, still facing the monitor. "What do you know about this? I'm the top Vehicon officer and I don't even know why I was stationed here. What makes you think you know?"
"He doesn't think he knows. He knows he knows." Shank said, getting irritated. I put a servo on his shoulder to calm him down. He quieted down, but he still had an irritated glow in his visor.
"Volk, Lord Megatron put you here to keep the Nemesis under control while he's gone." The paranoid mech stopped and turned around to look at us.
"Yes, I know that."
"But you don't know why he left, do you?" He didn't respond, but I knew that he didn't know. "He left because the sparkling is missing."
He stared at us in shock. The only way we know this is because we eavesdropped. And Volk, being the paranoid mech he is, hates eavesdropping.
"You listened in on a private conversation?! I hope that Lord Megatron doesn't find out you did that, otherwise, you're as good as slagged. And now that you've told me, all three of us are going to die! Do you realize what you've done?!"
Volk's voice started to rise in pitch, as it usually did when he started to panic. I heard Shank snicker, and I subtly kicked him. I held up both my servos, trying to calm Volk down.
"I know, Volk, I know we could get in a scrap load of trouble if Lord Megatron finds out we know this. But that's not important right now. We need to keep everything under control while we are here so Starscream doesn't find out what's going on." I whispered the last sentence, making sure he saw how important this was.
Volk stepped closer to the two of us. "What does Commander Starscream have to do with this?"
Shank and I shared a look before I told him. "You know how Starscream tried to kill the sparkling?"
Volk nodded, anger flashing across his red-orange visor. "It's impossible to forget what he did."
"Well, he's trying again."
"WHAT?!" Volk shouted. Shank and I were quick to quiet him down. Once we calmed him down a bit, I continued to explain the circumstances to him.
"He hired somebot to kill the sparkling for him, and now Lord Megatron and a few others are searching for the bot that took the sparkling." A confused look almost replaced the anger towards Starscream in Volk's optics.
"Who are the others with him?" I hesitated before telling him that Soundwave and two of his Deployers, Knockout, Breakdown, Dreadwing, and the Autobots were out searching for the mercenary's ship. Volk is really paranoid, but he knows how to keep a secret really well. I can trust him to know this.
Volk's visor brightened in shock. "Lord Megatron called a truce with the Autobots?! ...This truly is serious... Commander Starscream doesn't know that he is a suspect, correct?"
I shook my helm. "Shank and I have been running around trying to make sure that he doesn't find out."
Volk placed a servo on his chin and looked away for a moment before looking back at us and nodding. "I'll do what I can to make sure that Commander Starscream doesn't find out from this station. But, the troops need to know about this to guarantee that this plan will work."
I nodded. I can understand the logic in the decision. The plan is to make sure that Starscream thinks that absolutely nothing wrong, but it would be completely useless if some unknowing mech ruins the entire plot by saying or doing something he shouldn't have around Starscream. If the plan is discovered by Starscream, all three of us here know that he would bolt faster than lightning.
Volk decided to gather all the Vehicon officers and hold a secret meeting. There were a lot of shocked and angry whispers among the thirty-two Vehicon officers in the room when I broke the news that Starscream hired a mercenary to kill Parvolus. Their assignment was to tell their squads the news and that they were to make sure that Starscream knew absolutely nothing. No one was to speak verbally of the news about the sparkling. The only way that information was to be shared among the troops was on the private Vehicon comm. link. Starscream couldn't tap into that transmission line; only Vehicons know how to. I'm really glad I created that comm. link line for us troopers. We need some way to share information privately.
Volk and I decided not to tell them about the Autobot-Decepticon truce. Both of us agreed after the meeting that that was a little too much information for them, and too soon. That could cause another world of problems.
Soon enough, the entire warship knew about what Starscream did. Everyone knew about the plan to keep Starscream in the dark, except Starscream, of course. It was business as usual, and the Nemesis was to look to Starscream like it was just another normal day. The troops did a pretty good job at looking as if nothing was up. If I didn't know anything, I'd think that everything was fine.
The private Vehicon comm. link was another story. It was buzzing with the news of the sparkling being taken from the Autobots. Everyone was upset. People were already saying that they wanted to gang up and wring a confession out of the grey Seeker. I heard someone over the comm. link (I think the guy's name was Pillage) say that he wanted to form a lynch mob and kill him. A bunch of people agreed with him.
I kind of got the feeling that Shank wanted to sign up for that lynch mob as I walked down the hallway with him. I tried to get him to calm down when both of us were suddenly snatched into another, darker hallway.
"Both of you 'Cons, talk. Where are the other 'Bots?" Both of our helms were banged against the wall, and all I could see for a moment were white stars gliding across my vision. My head started to ring, but I fought to clear it up enough to see who had ambushed us. Before I could get a good look at the bot, I felt the incredibly sharp point of a sword pressing into my throat. I looked to my left to see Shank sitting up against the wall with a sword pointed at his neck, like me. Only he was hardly conscious.
I looked at the bot threatening the two of us. the mech was white, red and green... this was the Autobot named Wheekjack! He probably came in after the Autobots after not hearing back from them. I'm going to have to convince him that I'm on his side when it comes to finding the sparkling.
"Wait a minute, wait a minute, can we stop for a minute? I know you're here for the rest of the 'Bots, but they aren't here." The sword pressed harder in my throat, drawing a little energon, as he glared down at me in the dark hallway.
"And why should I believe you?" I ventiliated heavily, feeling the pain of his sword piercing the sensitive plating.
"Because I want the sparkling safe just as much as you do." He chuckled at me.
"Oh, really?" He pressed the sword even harder into my throat, and for a moment I thought he was going to impale me. He didn't believe me. I shuttered my optics, preparing myself for pain, right when I heard a sound from down the darkened hallway. The sword let up a bit and I opened my optics to see Wheeljack glancing repeatedly down the hall, where the sound was coming from. I took my chance to shake Shank awake when the Autobot wasn't looking. My friend looked around, confused. Then he heard what was coming down the hallway.
It sounded almost like paws slamming against the metal... Soon enough, though I found out that that's what it was.
My old cyberdog came running down the hallway, towards us! I sat up slightly, even with the sword threatening to lop my head off, and looked at her running towards us. How in the world did she get onto the warship?
I couldn't even try to think of an answer when she tackled me to the ground, dead set on licking my face.
"Hey, hey! Calm down, girl!" I couldn't help but laugh as she nearly got on top of me as she happily licked my faceplates.
"You know this dog?" Wheeljack asked, lowering his sword, only so that he wouldn't hurt the dog. I wasn't able to answer him, since he asked another question, but not to me.
"What were you two doing riding the dog? And I thought I told you two to stay at the base." Another, female voice came, though I couldn't see where around the dog that was still smothering me with affection.
"Since when do orders ever stop me?" I recognized the voice, but only vaguely. I think it was one of the humans the Autobots associate with.
Eventually I was able to push the heavy dog off me and stand to my feet. She sat obediently by my legs and looked around at all of us. Shank had stood up and moved away from her. He was probably thinking about when he was bit by her. The only reason why she did that was because her tail was stepped on. Otherwise, I don't think she would have done something like that.
"Oh. Wonderful. Humans." Shank muttered sarcastically, prompting me to kick him. I know he doesn't like humans, but now is not the time. I looked down at the two humans as they spoke to the white Autobot.
"It's okay, Wheeljack. I'm sure those two are fine if the dog is fine with them." The female human said. The white Autobot looked back at us and looked us over before lowering his swords.
"I guess you're right. That dog isn't friendly to just anybody."
"We came to help find Optimus after we saw that Halli wanted to sniff him out with this," The black haired human male said, holding up what looked like a stuffed animal. Suddenly, an idea came into my processor. Maybe we Vehicons couldn't go help look for the sparkling, but maybe I can send them out.
"We can help you all find the sparkling." I said, gesturing towards Shank. I saw the human female put her hands on her hips and glare up at me.
"And why would we believe you? You're a Decepticon!"
"Yeah, I'm a Decepticon. A Decepticon that is perfectly capable of warning everyone on this warship that you all are here and where you all are." I saw Shank's optics brighten in satisfaction when he saw the little human hesitate. The little human male spoke up.
"He's right; he could have called security on us as soon as he saw us."
"So are you willing to work with me or not?" I asked, stroking the top of the cyberdog's head. I noticed a recovery patch welded to her helm, but paid no attention to it. She seems to be doing fine. Wheeljack looked Shank and me up and down before slowly putting his swords away.
"I guess I can work with you two. Only for the kid." I nodded at the white Autobot (I believe he's a Wrecker), and spoke.
"The other Autobots are fine; in fact, they are out searching for the sparkling." I shifted slightly on my pedes as the six of us stood in the dark hallway.
"How are they out looking for the kid if they got caught by the 'Cons?" Wheeljack asked, holding his arms over his chassis and glaring at me.
"Lord Megatron cut a deal with them, agreeing to work with all three of them to find the sparkling," Shank said, answering for me.
"Uh, I find that a little hard to believe," The human male said. I looked down at the little human.
"You humans and Autobots aren't the only ones who care for the sparkling."
Wheeljack laughed. "So old Buckethead's gone soft, huh?"
Shank balled his servos into tight fists at the term the Wrecker used to refer to our leader. "Look, Lord Megatron cares about whether or not a sparkling lives to see another solar cycle."
"Shank, calm down," I said, looking over at my upset friend. He looked back at me, visor bright. The last thing we need is to start fighting.
"I can send you to the coordinates that Lord Megatron, his mechs, and the other Autobots set. Just wait here with the dog." I didn't give them any time to respond before I left the dark hallway and raced towards down another hallway, with Shank beside me. I know they aren't going to leave that hallway, since that risks them being seen.
There was a Ground Bridge Station nearby that was currently unmanned, so I can use that to send a Ground Bridge to them.
...
I reached the Ground Bridge station with Shank and accessed the Nemesis's coordinate database. The coordinates Lord Megatron used to go with the Autobots to find the sparkling was guarded by a number of tough firewalls.
Soundwave, naturally. He probably put them there to keep Starscream from seeing them, Now I'm really glad Shank knows a thing or two about getting past Soundwave's firewalls, though I'd rather not think about exactly how he knows.
Soon we had the coordinates set and we sent a transportation vortex to Wheeljack, the humans and the dog. Once we saw that they had gone through, I closed the Ground Bridge and had Shank put the firewalls back up and hide them, so the coordinates will appear to be invisible in the system. We can't have Starcream seeing these coordinates.
Shank looked at me, a nervous look in his optics. "I hope they know what they're doing."
I nodded. I know he wasn't just talking about Wheeljack, the humans and the dog. He was talking about Lord Megatron and the others. Both of us know that the sparkling didn't have much time. Both of us prayed that they find him.
But we can't think about that right now. Right now we have to make sure that Starscream knows nothing about this. Shank and I walked off to check up on Rudder and to see if he needed any help.
We have to do what we can here on the warship to make sure that the first baby in many vorns lives to grow up.
...Dreadwing's POV...
Soundwave and I had steadily drifted away from each other, though we remained in contact with each other via comm. link. Thus far I have seen nothing beyond trees. This was the same for Soundwave. No one was reporting in, so I can safely assume that no one found the mech's vessel. We have been out here for quite some time, and the longer we take trying to find the little child, the more danger the child is in.
I gazed at the landscape below me and watched the trees blur together as I flew overhead. Once I looked back up at the clouds ahead of me, I carefully lowered and raised my left and right ailerons, rolling my alternate mode slightly to the right. As I adjusted my ailerons, I simultaneously shifted my rudders to the right and turned, soaring in the direction of a very distant clearing. I then moved both ailerons to tilt in the opposite directions, rolling my alternate mode so that my underside was parallel to the ground, and boosted the power to my engines. I felt my F-35 alt mode shake ever so slightly as air resistance increased.
I normally enjoyed the sensation of the air on my armor, but this time I did not feel so comfortable in the skies. I was not flying for enjoyment.
Lowering the power to my engines, I slowed down and drifted to the left, having sighted Lord Megatron in his alternate mode. He was heading towards me. He most likely wishes for me to give him a report on my search, though I have nothing to report. Regardless of that fact, I moved towards the clearing so I could formally speak with him.
...
"Did we meet here for a report?" I asked as I stood in front of Lord Megatron in bipedal form. My lord looked down at me, a slight glare in his optics.
"I know you have found nothing, so why would I bother asking you something that I know the answer to?" I blinked up at him, remaining silent as Lord Megatron looked away from me and into the sky. I watched as he seemed to focus on something that was in the air, high above the trees.
If we did not meet for a report, what are we here for? I thought as I looked in the direction my lord was looking. And what was he looking at?
"Dreadwing, why did you not tell me of the arrival of one of your Seekers?" Lord Megatron growled dangerously, staring down at me with one accusing optic. I made sure to show no emotions on my faceplates as I wondered what he was talking about. Had any Seekers from my army reached this planet, they would have notified me via transmission. I have not received a transmission from any of my mechs in a very long time. What made him ask me this?
"My lord, none of my Seekers have reached this planet." I responded. Lord Megatron raised an arm and gestured in the direction he was looking.
"Then who might that be?" I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw nothing at first. There was just the night sky and the clouds. Clearly there is something there; Lord Megatron would not point there if there was nothing. I shifted the lenses in my optics back slightly, making images I received from long distances significantly sharper. The change I engaged allowed me to see objects clearly from much longer distances.
I focused my optics and scanned the dark skies. It didn't take me long to see what Lord Megatron was referring to.
I could see a fighter jet moving towards us. From here I can see that the plane was red and white, and appeared to be larger than my alternate mode. From what I know of human fighter jets, specifically Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets, no planes of that kind have such colors all over the body. This had to be a bot.
"Perhaps it is the mech we are searching for." I suggested, still looking hard at the plane that was growing closer to us. Lord Megatron laughed humorlessly at me.
"I would think that a mech who can invade the Autobot base alone at least knows how to fly."
I said nothing in response as I watched the unknown plane roll to the left and right. It had an alarmingly erratic flight pattern. The plane couldn't seem to remain parallel with the ground; the nose kept pitching up and down, as well as rolling almost uncontrollably.
The sight reminded me of when I watched Skyquake practice flying for the first time, so many vorns ago. I remember watching him test his abilities as a youngling. This bot looks very much like a youngling finding their wings for the first time.
This bot truly was a novice at flight, as my brother, Skyquake, once was.
At this point, the bot was close enough to the clearing Lord Megatron and I are standing in to land. We took a few precautious steps back as the bot drew closer. From the erratic flight pattern I was slightly concerned for the bot's safety. A flyer almost always crashes the first time they attempt it.
The bot transformed midair, far too high for a safe landing, and fell to the earth, flailing wildly. I winced at the sound of the mech's frame impacting the ground.
The mech skidded to a stop, digging a small trench in the ground and sending grass flying in all directions. Lord Megatron and I stared at the mech who had crash landed a short distance away from us. I can imagine that was very painful.
The strange mech groaned in pain as he rolled over onto his front, having dented a wing. I saw Lord Megatron blink at the mech.
"You are pathetic, whoever you are."
The mech didn't respond to the insult as he continued to lay there, ventilating heavily. My servo moved towards the cannon on my back, but I decided against it. If this mech can hardly fly, I doubt that he is a threat.
I stepped towards the red and white mech, making sure I had his attention by moving a pede in his line of sight. Regardless of how ridiculous his entrance, I still need basic information from him. "State your business, mech."
The only thing the strange mech did was slowly rise to his servos and knees. I watched as his white and red-tipped wings, which appeared to be rather large, automatically folded to press against his back. His twin jet engines were hidden underneath the folded wings on his back. The sight was comparable to that of a moth's. The white cockpit of the strange mech's alternate mode had split into several pieces and shifted to form a sort of hood over the mech's helm, casting a shadow over his optics. On his faceplates I noticed a long scar over his right optic that was strangely familiar.
He pushed off the ground and stood to his feet, staggering and swaying slightly. He reached up and rubbed the back of his helm, which was most likely sore from the fall he suffered. "I think I broke the sound barrier... That was worse than my trip with Wheeljack in his ship."
My optics widened, instantly recognizing his voice. It was the Autobot medic! He must have just changed his alternate mode; before we came here, I knew that he transformed into his ambulance mode. Lord Megatron seemed just as surprised as I was, though he had a more approving expression on his face.
"I see that you finally understand that flyers are superior to grounders!"
The medic continued to ventilate roughly and turned his helm to stare at Lord Megatron. "My previous alternate mode could not handle the sort of abuse associated with this search. I'm only doing this for my son."
The medic's tone was very serious, and his wings flared out slightly, emphasizing his words. The medic was far more attached to the little child than I initially thought. He is the child's father... I know the pain is hard to deal with, knowing that his child could be in imminent danger.
I looked the medic over. Under the circumstances, I suppose the change should not have been so surprising. When pushed to the right point, sires and carriers are known to do anything they can to ensure the safety of their child.
Suddenly, I heard the roars of powerful engines. I identified four of them coming from the general south and east. Before I could verbally take note of them, I spotted four forms burst from the trees, bringing with them dirt and other organic matter.
Knockout and Breakdown came into view, followed by the two Autobots. All of them, aside from the yellow youngling, onlined their weapons systems and aimed at Ratchet.
"Who are you, Seeker? And how did you find us here?" Breakdown growled, aiming his shoulder mounted cannon at the Autobot medic. I blinked. So I'm not the only one who thought the medic was a Seeker.
Bumblebee walked towards the medic and said, "Nice look, Ratchet."
The others' optics all widened in shock. The green Autobot changed his blasters back into his servos and looked at the medic.
"Ratchet?" The medic merely placed his servos on his hips in irritation.
"Who else would it be, Bulkhead?" The others glanced around at each other and offlined their weapons systems one by one. His response confirmed who he was to them.
"Wow," Knockout gaped as he looked the medic over. I can understand why he was so awestruck. The medic's new appearance was very pleasing to the optics, to say the least.
"Knockout, attend to the fledgling's dented wing," Lord Megatron ordered. I glanced at my lord when he used the term to refer to Ratchet. Fledgling was an old term often used to describe novice flyers back on Cybertron. I appreciated the mention of the word. I was reminded of my early days of flight.
The word made me take a mental note to give the Autobot medic flight lessons.
Knockout nodded and moved towards Ratchet. The new flyer looked at the other medic as he stepped around behind him.
"I need you to open your wings a bit and I'll pop that dent right out..." The new flyer complied, flaring his wings out and allowing Knockout to correct the dent from his fall. I watched Knockout take something from his subspace and crouch, grabbing the dented wing to keep it still as he worked. The new flyer gave an irritated grunt and glared over his shoulder back at the mech crouching behind him.
"Be careful with those!" Knockout scoffed.
"Oh, quit complaining." Ratchet continued to grumble and couldn't keep his wings still. I can understand why the new flyer was so uncomfortable. There are millions upon millions of highly sensitive circuit endings in the wings alone. The sensory reception can be hard to control in the wings, especially for new flyers.
"We were nearby when we saw him flying overhead. We didn't know who it was, so we came racing here," The green Wrecker said, gesturing towards the yellow youngling. That seemed to be the case for Knockout and Breakdown as well.
"Well, while we're here, does anyone have anything to report?" Bumblebee asked, his doorwings flapping gently to emphasize his optimistic words. Everyone standing in the clearing said or did something that implied that we had nothing give. The scout sighed, doorwings lowering again.
"Okay, so this is getting nowhere fast. Something else needs to be done." Everyone listened to the scout, though my attention was briefly drawn away by the sound of metal popping back into place. Ratchet's wing was mended, evidently.
"And what do you suggest we do, scout?" Lord Megatron looked down at the youngling. Bumblebee lowered his helm briefly in thought.
"We may have to get the location of the ship out of Starscream." I saw Ratchet's optics at the mention of the Seeker's name. I am confident I saw them turn blood red for a moment.
"An excellent idea, Bumblebee," Lord Megatron said, for the first time using the youngling's name. My optics widened slightly as it registered what my lord's words meant. This was a sign that he recognized the youngling as the Autobot leader, and not a mere scout.
"Yeah, let's wring the truth out of Starscream," Breakdown smiled. What surprised me was the fact that Breakdown's archenemy, Bulkhead, agreed with him. They both shared a look, proving this.
We decided to interrogate Starscream, which seemed to be the best course of action in our search for the little child. When I saw the look in Ratchet's optics, I was not sure that the fellow Seeker would leave the interrogation unharmed.
As I stood by, watching the others, I wondered once again where Soundwave was. He seemed to have been affected by the news regarding the owner of the ship we were searching for. Upon hearing the name Faultline, Soundwave looked as if he was about to fall apart. I had never seen the silent mech appear so shaken.
I can only wonder what about Faultline caused the silent, strong-willed mech to falter.
...Optimus's POV...
I smiled up at Cliffjumper as he held me close to his chassis. I briefly noted that I was wrapped snugly in my soft blanket as i gazed up at the spirit's serene face. The red spirit gently smiled back at me as he stroked the side of my little helm. His warmth flowed continually over me, washing away my fear. The child within me was still, satisfied with being cradled to the warm chassis of the red spirit.
I felt very safe in his arms. I hoped that this moment of warmth never ended.
I curled up tighter and yawned, bringing my little fist close to my face to chew on my digits. The red spirit reached over me and wiped away a stray tear from my little face as I absently gnawed on my thumb.
The red spirit's optics were a familiar, comforting, gentle white, illuminating the plating on his dark grey faceplates. Soft, white rays of light shone around the spirit's horned helm as he smiled down at me.
"You're safe, little one."
The red spirit rocked me lightly from side to side, holding me securing in his arms. I heard an old song coming from him, further comforting me and staving off the fear of this death room. The song was very old, and in a language that I could not understand. It was far too old for the red spirit to know of it, yet the ancient song was coming from the spirit.
Enjoying the warmth I was bathed in, I vaguely wondered how long he had been watching over me as I was lulled into recharge. I soon found that the amount of time did not matter to me. I was merely delighted to know that I was no longer cold and that I was nestled in the welcoming and warm arms of a loved one.
I hope to leave this death room soon, but at least I can sleep in the loving arms of the red spirit.
...Arcee's POV: Three Hours Later...
I tried to force myself to sleep on this berth, but it wasn't working. No matter how hard I tried, my processor would not slow down enough for me shut down for recharge.
Faultline came again a little while ago with some pleasant smelling oil cake for me. I took the opportunity to demand to know what he wanted. He didn't really answer my question. He only looked at me and smiled, placing the oil cake on the table with crystal zap pony. Just his presence in the room made me feel sick, and I didn't touch the food. What he said to memade me feel even worse, shaking me to the core.
"Arcee, what I want from you, I will get from you in the end."
I want to thank WingWolfAlari for giving me ideas for the basic structure of the next few chapters. As a token of appreciation, I have drawn some 'Tiny' related gift art for WingedWolfAlari. There's a link to it on my profile page. It's called 'The Love of a Father'. Thanks again for all your help, my lovely reader. :)
The reference Ratchet made to his wild ride with Wheejack in the Jackhammer after crash landing in front of Megzy and Dreadwing is dedicated to Kohana Maru. Thanks a million!
ForgotMyName2Day, 'Lackluster' does not have a shock collar, and we will find out why in later chapters.
Shohanny, 'Lackluster' isn't Soundwave's sparkmate. His sparkmate, Halyard, died before the war of Cosmic Rust.
I did quite a bit of serious research on fourth and fifth generation fighter jets trying to decide what plane Ratchet was to change into. I narrowed my search down to planes that were still in service were between fifty and sixty feet in length. I saw that it wouldn't make much sense to have an alt mode that is a replica of a plane that is no longer in the air. I put a size limit on the jet mode because Dreadwing's alternate mode, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II, is roughly fifty-one feet long. Ratchet and Dreadwing are of similar size, so it would make sense that their alternate modes would be of similar size.
The one I settled on was the Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornet, as Dreadwing mentioned before. The Super Hornet is roughly 60 feet long and has a wingspan of roughly 44 feet. This one has a maximum speed of Mach 1.8, or 1,190 mph. The sound barrier is broken at Mach 1, or 760 mph. It can fly as high as 50,000 feet, possibly more. This plane's armament includes a six-barrel cannon, and a rather wide array of guided bombs and missiles.
So, overall, this plane is impressive.
All of this, aside from Arcee's POV, occur at around the same time. If you have any questions, comments, or ideas, just let me know in a review.
Till next time! :)
P.S. Now the entire warship knows what Starscream did. I think Pillage is going to go through with this lynch mob... Ratchet, along with the others, is ready to murder him during his impending interrogation... Things aren't looking good for the grey Seeker. At all.