A/N: The plot is beginning to thicken! Any guesses as to who Sector Seven's Commander is? Let me know what your thoughts are, and I'll tell you if your correct or not. ;)
Disclaimer: Don't own TFs; Hasbro does.
Chapter Nine: Midnight Visitations
Miller furiously threw the portfolio containing the report of Bravo team's failed attempt to follow the Decepticon. Papers flew in every direction, showering the room in an angry deluge.
"Son of a bitch!" The curse hung in the air, while the angry Sector Seven director ran his hands through his chocolate-colored hair. When the Commander got word of this recent failure, his head would be on a pike. What was it going to take to take to get that wench back?
The telephone on his desk shrilled loudly, breaking his concentration. "Miller speaking."
"You incompetent fool!"
Oh boy. Here we go, he thought.
"What is it going to take to capture that girl?!"
Funny, that's exactly what I was thinking.
You've let her slip through your hands not once but twice! Explain yourself."
"Well, Commander, sir. You see…"
"Enough excuses! This is strike two, Miller. If you know anything about baseball, I suggest you come up with a plan that will work next time!"
Click.
Damn it. Well, there was nothing left to do but try to work out a new method of retrieving the girl and hope that he didn't strike out on this one.
"Where are we going?" Dezba asked, throwing a glance upwards to catch Thundercracker's eye. She sat comfortably in his hand, her legs tucked underneath her.
"To my quarters. There we'll have some semblance of privacy and little chance of anyone listening in," he gruffly replied, cocking an optic down in her direction.
"Oh."
Silence fell between them; the only sound in the corridors being Thundercracker's footsteps. In present time they came to the door of his quarters. The large jet lifted up his free hand, preparing to type in the entrance code.
"Wait. What if someone comes to check my prison cell?" she questioned.
"I highly doubt it. Since Starscream has already interrogated you, he'll have no need of you until at least in the morning. Plus, there was no one guarding your cell when I came; if he wanted someone to guard you, then a guard would have already been in place," he paused briefly looking down at her, then he grinned slightly. "If I know Screamer, he won't view you as a threat, not in the condition I saw you." Thundercracker proceeded to enter the code. A small hiss sounded as the door opened; he quickly stepped inside and scanned the corridor one last time, ensuring they were alone. With another hiss the door slid closed.
"Gee, it's nice to know I'm held in such high regard around here," Dezba drolly replied. She felt him shake faintly and heard his rumbling chuckle. He placed her on the desktop and then settled himself in the chair, his great wings thrown into sharp relief by the light shining above and behind him.
"Now, let's get down to business," the Seeker said, the humorous glint in his optics replaced by a deep seriousness. "You mentioned that you have seen my homeworld before; tell me about it."
It was more of a demand than a request, but Dezba really didn't mind. Perhaps she would finally get some answers to the strange occurrences that had taken place over the past few days, then again maybe she wouldn't; but, for some bizarre reason she was glad to be speaking with the Decepticon about the happenings and was somewhat relieved she wasn't the only one having to deal with the reverberations.
Slowly and carefully she related every detail she had had about that strange dream while unconscious in his cockpit. She even described the being who had spoken with her and all that he told her. After she had finished her account, she watched Thundercracker warily in order to gauge his reaction. To her surprise, he didn't even blink an optic; in fact it appeared as if he were thousands of miles away. His elbows were resting on the table and he had his chin cupped in his hands; he appeared deep in thought.
"Thundercracker?" she queried, cautiously placing a hand on his forearm armor. Her slight touch broke him from his trance. He stared down at her, his red optics lit with a fiery glow; a frown forming on his mouth before he diverted his gaze once more.
"She-Who-Goes-to-War," he whispered, almost to himself.
She glanced questioningly up at him, confusion wrinkling her face. "Say that again."
"She-Who-Goes-to-War. That was how the figure in your dream addressed you, is it not?" he asked, focusing on her once more.
"Well, yeah it was. What about it?"
"That is the translation of your name in the Navaho language," he stated matter-of-factly. She stared at him, mouth open in surprise. "You did not know this?"
Dezba shook her head to clear away the shock before answering him. "No, er uh, I mean yeah, yes! I just never really thought about it before. I mean, what's in a name?" And how did he know I was Navaho?
"First of all human, if your memory circuits weren't glitched you would remember that I can access any information I desire through your World Wide Web; therefore, finding the origin of your name wasn't really that difficult. Second, in my culture, your name is something to be proud of, something you strive to bring as much glory and honor to as possible. It is how a warrior will be remembered over time." Thundercracker glowered down at her; if he looked at her any harder, Dezba feared she'd burst into flames from the heat of his gaze.
Geeze, I gotta remember he can read my mind now.
Like I said, maybe your memory circuits are glitched.
"Damn you," Dezba spat but the words lacked the heat to make them meaningful.
The irritation left his optics and he chuckled once again. "You're amusing, Dezba Collins."
A flush rose in her cheeks and she quickly averted her gaze. "Well, uh, anyways, what does the meaning of my name have to do with my 'gift'?" she asked, trying to get back to the subject at hand.
"Maybe nothing," he said with a shrug of his shoulders, "but seeing as how it literally means you're going to war, and we are currently in a war, I find it more than coincidental."
"We're in a war?" Dezba cocked an eyebrow; this was certainly news to her.
"Ahh, that's right. I never finished telling you just exactly who and what I am." Thundercracker leaned back in his chair a distant look on his face; and so, he recounted the Great War that had ravaged his home planet, Cybertron. He told her that the Decepticons had become restless under the corruption of the Council and how they began to long for change. He spoke of the joint leadership between his leader Megatron and Optimus Prime and how the brother's relationship deteriorated over differences in leadership style. Finally, the brothers went their separate ways and the War began. The conflict quickly escalated into a struggle over the AllSpark and its immense power. Thundercracker related how Optimus had cast the AllSpark into space in an attempt to stall Megatron and how Megatron followed it to Earth, bringing with him their War. Thundercracker finished his tale by telling Dezba how he was one of the first waves of troops to respond to Starscream's call for revenge when the Second-in-Command had returned to Cybertron with news of Megatron's defeat.
He didn't leave anything out; he didn't sugar-coat the facts to sway her in his favor. Thundercracker explained everything as objectively as possible. With their newfound telepathic bond, he knew she would discover the raw facts sooner or later; there was no sense in delaying the inevitable.
When he had finished speaking, Dezba slowly sat down, bringing her knees up to her chest. She sat in silence for several long moments, trying to digest all that the blue jet had told her. Her head sank between her arms, black hair cascading around her knees. Finally she raised her head, the yellowish tint in her hazel eyes more prominent in room's light. "So…let me get this straight. You and another group of robots have been at war and still are at war, even though that cube thingy you guys were fighting over got destroyed in Mission City."
"Yes." He crossed his massive arms over his cockpit.
"And the guy who interrogated me, Starscream right? He's now in charge because a kid younger than me destroyed your old leader using that cube, which is how it got destroyed."
"Correct," Thundercracker growled. This was beginning to get annoying. Did all squishy's brains operate at 20 capacity or just this one?
She grew silent once again, gnawing on the facts placed before her. If Thundercracker's theory was right, it would seem she was going to play a role in their war whether she liked it or not, and although he never directly said it, Dezba concurred that most people would view her as being on the wrong side. On the other hand, it had been a Decepticon that saved her and she knew full well that Thundercracker could have just as easily killed her along with the other two guys, whether she spoke Cybertronian or not. Also, her treatment by the Decepticons, although not five-star class, had not been unharsh either. Finally, she could not ignore the one major issue that was at hand: her telepathic bond with Thundercracker. Even if she went to the Autobots for their protection (as if the Decepticons would let her!), he would know exactly what she was doing, feeling, saying…in short everything. To her reasoning, going to the Autobots would probably put her and others in more danger than they already were. Well, staying with the Decepticons was better than being dead, she guessed. Which reminded her; according to her hometown news media, she was already dead. What's up with that? Breaking her silence, she voiced her concern to the dark blue jet, giving him an abridged version of Starscream's announcement and her subsequent reaction.
He listened patiently. Naturally, he had heard every thought that had run through her mind. As a result, he had felt it best to not interfere with her reasoning; let her come to her own conclusions. When she had, he surprised himself by feeling somewhat relieved. Her reasoning (albeit slow) was logical; it was something he had a hard time seeing in humans. Her questioning voice dug him out of his thoughts. "It's a cover up," he stated answering her question, "and that's about all I've been able to figure out." He uncrossed his arms and leaned forward once again.
"Do you think they'll come after me again?" A worried look entered her eyes and she nervously brushed a strand of hair behind her ear.
Thundercracker allowed himself a small laugh. "Hah, they've already tried, the fraggers! But Barricade took care of that little problem for us." Sure enough as soon as the scout had returned, he had briefed everyone of his mission, not leaving out a single, gory detail. She saw a devilish gleam light his optics; it was all she needed to see to hypothesize what had resulted.
"Don't bother telling me; I don't wanna know," she said, raising her hands up to emphasize her point.
His deep, rumbling chuckle filled the room. "I guess some things are better left unsaid."
"In this case, yes." The shared a laugh together. For the first time since their fated meeting both mech and human felt relatively comfortable with each other. It was certainly a strange feeling and one neither had expected.
Once their laughter subsided, Thundercracker leveled her with another intense stare. "I believe it is time to return you to your cell; the dawn is almost here and we're both in need of some recharge."
"Sounds good to me." She stifled a yawn and wearily climbed up into his hand.
"I also wouldn't…"
"…mention this to Starscream?" she finished for him. She raised her brow with curiosity. "If he's your leader, then why all this secrecy?"
The question caught him off guard, but he quickly recovered. "Just let me deal with that; I have my reasons," he answered. Then he quickly added, "and don't try to prowl around in my mind to find out; I'll let you know when I feel like it."
Dezba opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. At this point in time, sleep definitely seemed more important than playing with fire.
By the time they had made it back to the cell block (in which they thankfully went undetected) Dezba had fallen fast asleep in his palm. Gently, he deposited her sleeping form on the floor.
They had covered a lot of ground over the course of the night's conversion; however, he would need to dig around for a few more puzzle pieces. For instance what was the connection between her dream, her name, and the power they now shared? Another question was if her mother was murdered, then what happened to the stepfather? Was he still alive; or was he dead as well? Does he even have a connection to all this, or was he a victim of circumstance? Well, he wasn't answering any of these questions standing around here. He cast a final glance at her cell. As much as he hated to admit it, he was stuck with this human and all the complex problems that came with her; but if he had to be honest with himself she really wasn't half bad, for a human.
A lone human figure walked down a brightly lit corridor. On either side he was flanked by Autobots Prowl and Ironhide. None of the three said a word to each other; in fact, you could have probably cut the hostility with a knife, it hung so thick in the air. But the man was determined he was going to do the right thing, even if it meant a third face off with the Topkick's huge cannons.
Finally they reached their destination: a broad, double sliding metal door. Prowl spoke into the comm link, announcing their presence.
"Optimus, your visitor has arrived."
"Please, show him in," came the smooth, baritone voice of the Autobot Commander. Abruptly, the two massive doors slid open, revealing the Autobot Command Center. Once inside, Optimus dismissed his two officers and was left alone with the human visitor.
If Optimus Prime was surprised to see his visitor, he showed no sign. "So Agent Simmons, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
A/N: Just to clear up any confusion about the telepathic link TC and Dezba share: They can feel each other's emotions and read each other's thoughts, but only when neither are speaking. They cannot read each other's thoughts when holding a verbal conversation.
