A/N: Sorry for the delay. Had this one ¾ of the way finished and then…WHAM! Writer's block for the ending. Gotta love those! So, yes, this is mainly a dialogue chapter, but a necessary plot mover nonetheless. Hope ya'll enjoy!
Chapter 22: Negotiations
The entire room fell into a deathly silence, as the cobalt Seeker strode with purposeful strides into the room. His steps echoed loudly and his weight shook the floor, causing most of the humans in the room to brace themselves for balance. His blazing optics were focused on Duke and his small entourage. A couple of the humans tensed, hands hovering over their firearms warily, their eyes never leaving the giant metal behemoth facing them.
Duke turned and faced the menacing Con, motioning with one hand down by his side for his men to stand-down. He and his team had been briefed on the current situation concerning the Decepticons and the Autobots, as well as the history between the two factions. When word came to headquarters that the Autobots were now in possession of the girl, he and his team had double-timed it to the Autobot base in order to retrieve her for safekeeping. COBRA wanted this girl something fierce and as it was their duty to protect the country and its civilians at all costs, the Joes needed to know why she was so valuable to all the parties involved. What the Joes had not expected was to find the Decepticons fraternizing with their sworn enemies. It had come as quite a shock to the small party to be escorted into the Autobot base by the very aliens who had sworn to destroy the planet and nary a shot had been fired. To say that the Joes were more than a little apprehensive would have been an understatement. Having Thundercracker leering over them didn't help matters either.
Duke's ever observant eyes quickly landed on the crouching figure trying to hide behind the Decepticon's massive air intake. He recognized this Con from the briefing files—Designation: Thundercracker, chosen alternate form: F-15E Strike Eagle. He was Starscream's Second in Command and one of the most dangerous aerial combatants to face in heavens' arena; his prowess on the ground was not to be taken lightly either. Duke's icy blue eyes once again diverted to the girl. Her knuckles were white, she was gripping the Con's armor so tightly. Her jet black locks were tangled and knotted and her expression was a mixture of pain and oddly enough, concern. Concern directed at the mech on whose shoulder she stood. Hmm, this was going to be more difficult than he first thought.
The tension within the room tightened to near-snapping levels, as Thundercracker knelt down to be face to face with the new comers. "Have I made myself clear?" he growled, in a very low, menacing tone. Duke, to his credit, never flinched as he stood inches from Thundercracker's countenance. The Joe's face tightened and his mouth became a very thin line. He was walking on thin ice and he knew it.
"And why is that?" he asked softly, choosing his words with care.
"She is not your concern, fleshbag. If there truly is any intelligence in that organic lump you call a processor, you will take your followers and leave."
"I was under the impression that Decepticons hated humans; what makes Miss Collins so special?"
"Do you have a glitch in your audio sensors, meatball? I said to leave!"
"Thundercracker," Dezba's tiny voice began, but she was instantly cut off.
'Silence!' She shrank back behind the intake and lowered her eyes to the floor, but her mouth was set in a grim line. This wasn't going to end well. He was fairly riled up now. No sense in wasting oxygen, that was for sure.
Optimus and the Autobots were tensing up noticeably. The Autobot leader cast a quick glance over to Starscream, but the Decepticon's facial expression was unreadable. Optimus wasn't quite sure what to do to diffuse the situation. If he intervened, there was every possibility that the Decepticons would attack; if he didn't do anything, chances were high more blood would be spilled this night.
"I'm sorry, but we're not going anywhere without Miss Collins here," Duke almost whispered.
Thundercracker chuckled darkly. "Your funeral." He raised a massive fist above the tiny group of humans. For Dezba and everyone else witnessing, the next several seconds seemed to move in slow motion. She saw her guardian raise his fist to strike down the GI Joes, she heard herself scream as the fist came crashing down. Duke and his Joes were scattering and drawing their weapons at the same time. The next thing she knew she was sailing through the air, thrown off of Thundercracker's shoulder by a violent force. She landed on something hard and yet forgiving, her breath escaped her in a rush and a searing pain shot through all points of her body. As her senses came back to her, she looked up to see Thundercracker being restrained by Starscream, the Decepticon's leader hand and body bracing against the blue Seeker's outstretched fist and arm. Her next reaction was to see just what had stopped her body from completing its unexpected flight. Large, purple fingers clasped around her body were a dead giveaway. She looked back and over her shoulder and gave Skywarp a hesitant smile of thanks.
"Quick thinking," she said softly.
He shrugged his wings. "Who needs reflexes when you've got teleportation?" She followed his smirking glance to see the incensed optics of several of the Autobots. Clearly, their intent had been to catch her as well, but it appeared that the fast acting Seeker beat them to the punch. In the next instant, Starscream's raspy, but authoritative voice drew both of their attention.
"Not today, Thundercracker," Starscream hissed, as he strained to withhold his wingmate. "Let's at least see what these worms know of the current situation and their involvement with Collins."
"We can't trust them, Starscream! How do we know they are not among the humans who have instigated this whole mess!?"
"Soundwave knows! Had you not been gallivanting around in the desert nursing your pride, you would have known that!" He flung Thundercracker's wrist back, sending the blue flyer toppling over backwards onto his wings. The room shook with the weight of his impact, and Dezba started towards him, but Skywarp's fingers created a solid barrier. "Now then, get to your feet you worthless pile of reject parts, and let us settle this dilemma like soldiers instead of sparklings!"
With a wounded, subdued rage, the blue Eagle struggled to his feet. His optics, however, never left the new comers that had slowly been matriculating from various pieces of cover. He regained his footing and walked over to stand beside Barricade, arms across his massive cockpit. He barely noticed when the black and white interceptor leaned over in his direction and whispered, "Frankly, I'm disappointed Screamer didn't let you follow through." Thundercracker snorted derisively. For once he agreed with the Shock Trooper. Skywarp soon joined him on his right wing, allowing Dezba to transfer hands from purple to blue.
'Are you all right?" she felt him ask.
'Yeah, I'm OK. Although next time I want to learn how to fly, I'd rather be in the cockpit than out in the open air." She received a slight chuckle in response, as she rubbed her injured ribs.
'My apologies. I…I let my anger cloud my judgment.'
'Obviously. But hey, thanks for sticking up for me, although I think attempting to crush these guys was taking it a bit too far. Believe me I'm not going anywhere without you."
She felt him swell with pride; he also clasped his hand a little tighter around her body, his own form of reassurance for both himself and for her. Once again, Starscream's voice cut into the air of the room like a dull knife cutting into tissue paper.
"My sincerest apologies, Optimus Prime; it will not happen again," he snapped viciously, turning his blazing, crimson optics on Thundercracker. The blue Seeker returned the heated stare with one of his own, subconsciously raising the girl closer to his cockpit. Starscream turned again to the Autobot leader.
"As I see it, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," the Prime stated evenly; he inclined his head to Duke and his soldiers. The humans stood, weapons raised preventively to their shoulders, eyeing the mass of metal giants warily. Starscream's intervention came only as a mild surprise; the Decepticon leader wanted to know what these humans knew and it was the only reason there wasn't a bloody smear on the floor. He was the only one that could have acted without Decepticon opposition. Optimus and his crew could have stopped Thundercracker, but they wouldn't have been able to prevent everyone from getting injured or worse. A firefight would have been sure to ensue.
Starscream gave a derisive snort and looked down on the small group, contempt evident in his stare. "I don't apologize to vermin," he sneered, turning his back on Prime and walking back over to his side of the room. Tensions were nearing the boiling point and the steady hum of weapons systems reminded everyone present just what they were dealing with.
"Duke, why is it that you have orders to take Miss Collins?" Optimus prompted again. However, before the soldier could make ready a reply an outraged voice made itself heard.
"WOULD EVERYONE HERE PLEASE STOP TALKING ABOUT ME AS IF I WERE AN OBJECT!!? PLEASE!! I'm right here, you know!" She motioned for Thundercracker to put her down on the floor. She stumbled off of his hand, clutching her ribs as well as she could and made her way over to the Joes. "Now then, why in the hell do I need to go with you guys when I have a thirty foot tall body guard that can do the job just as easily, if not better than you? Oh, and I know he's not costing tax payers anything, so what's with you?"
At first the Joes didn't say anything; they exchanged looks with one another as the seemingly complex situation was summed up in an almost insanely simple question. Suddenly one of the Joes broke the silence with muffled, giggling laughter. It was Scarlett, the red-haired counter intelligence vixen.
"And just what do you think is funny, Scarlett?" Flint asked, throwing a glance to Duke in the process. Gung Ho and Roadblock exchanged looks with one another. Scarlett slung her crossbow back over her shoulder and approached the apprehensive young woman before her. She gently placed a hand on Dezba's shoulder (which earned an automatic growl of warning from Thundercracker) and turned to face her companions.
"Don't you think she's made a wise point? Think about it. We may be the Joes, but we've never faced anyone or anything, for that matter, as powerful as these…Cybertronians. Leave it to a woman to simplify everything down into its most simple state." Scarlett then turned to Dezba. "We did not know you had a…guardian," she said, casting a furtive glance up at the dark blue Seeker, "especially one that was a Decepticon. We were told that they weren't exactly known for their generosity towards humans."
"That still doesn't explain why you're here and why you want me," Dezba countered, raising a dark eyebrow and cocking her head to one side.
"Prior to finding out about this development, our orders were to take you back to our headquarters for safekeeping until we could figure out exactly what COBRA is up to," explained Duke. "As you've seen yourself, they've gone to great lengths to get you, even succeeded in getting you away from these Decepticons once before. What's to keep them from trying again?"
"How did you know about that?" Starscream challenged Duke, red optics blazing with suspicion.
"Well, let's just say you're not the only one that has an outstanding Intelligence Officer, Commander," Duke replied, a knowing smirk pulling at his lips.
"Well, let me make one thing crystal clear here: I'm not going anywhere without Thundercracker. Period. Dot. End of story. And I can already tell you that this COBRA bunch isn't going get the information they want from me."
"Is that what this is about? What kind of information, Miss Collins?" Optimus asked quietly.
Dezba cast a glance back up to Thundercracker. "You're in this as much as I am. Maybe you could explain it a little better?" Thundercracker nodded his head and reached back down to pick the girl up. He placed her once again on his shoulder and directed his hell-fire glare to all before him.
"As most of you already know and those that don't," he growled, "this human and I share a mind link with one another. A bond so powerful that we can transfer thoughts, memories, pain, strength and a myriad of other emotions."
"Prognosis: Thundercracker and the human have a symbiotic relationship," said Soundwave, his monotonous voice echoing within the room.
"Symbiotic. Like you and your cassettes?" Hound asked, speaking up for the first time in a long while.
"Comparison is accurate," the Nighthawk confirmed.
"It is true that Dezba was taken from us, but it was during a time we were all trying to figure out what in the Pit was wrong with her and with me. This whole mind-link thing had everyone a little confused. But as you can see, we got her back…"
"Yeah, thanks to the Autobots," Sam muttered under his breath. A sharp snarl from the blue Seeker caused both Michaela and Sam to duck behind their yellow protector.
"Continue Thundercracker," Optimus urged.
"We allowed the Autobots to take her back to their base. She was injured while with those humans who took her. The Autobots could provide medical care that we could not and it is the only reason we are here now, under this cease-fire. Dezba has told me what she learned while she had been taken and it will be a sobering revelation for us all." His optics looked at each Cybertronian in turn. "The human scum named Miller was to capture and interrogate her on the whereabouts of Vector Sigma."
Almost instantly a chorus of raised voices began shouting questions to one another. Optimus motioned to all for silence. Slowly the din faded to more tolerable levels.
"Vector Sigma? I thought that was just a legend? That it didn't exist?" Bumblebee asked the question that had set all of their processors afire.
"We thought much the same," the blue Seeker agreed. He looked over on his shoulder at Dezba. She pursed her lips into a thin line and then began to speak.
"Apparently, my family on my mother's side carries a phenomenon known as genetic memory. Something happened in my ancestry in which memories of you guys," she motioned to all the transformers, "or rather beings like you, began to appear in my ancestors' minds. Like for me, I've witnessed the very first battle that sparked your War. My mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and so forth experienced similar images. I know this now because Miller told me that they were often reported for mental illnesses and he had the records to prove it. He also told me that my mother had a dream in which Vector Sigma spoke to her and revealed its location to her. According to him, my mother had this dream right after your Allspark was destroyed in Mission City, but he killed her when she refused to give him the information and then realized I was still alive. These people, who are after me, believe that I'm next in line for Vector Sigma to reveal itself to me and they want to use its power to take control over Earth and eradicate you guys."
"No offense, little one, but how do we know for certain that Vector Sigma will reveal itself to you? If my understanding of human genetics is correct, sometimes such phenomena will skip a generation," Prowl inquired.
"Well, I know because I've been told. A man appears in my dreams every so often and gives me clues about this future that I'm facing," she answered, lowering her head.
"The human speaks the truth," Soundwave confirmed once more. "Mental probing has revealed evidence of such apparitional existence."
"Yeah, you would know, wouldn't you, trashcan?!" Dezba growled from her perch. Soundwave's visor glinted unemotionally in the artificial light.
"This is quite the revelation," Optimus mused. "We've always believed the Allspark to be the original source of creation on our planet, but it appears that is not the case. Apparently the old legends held a grain of truth within them."
"More than we realized," Starscream concurred, he placed a clawed hand under his chin, a thoughtful look in his red optics.
"Is that all that you know?" Optimus asked Dezba, concern deep within his azure optics.
"Yeah, that's all I know. Before Miller could continue beating the crap out of me, this guy called Zartan showed up and wasted him. He was like a human chameleon, able to change his appearance like I can change channels on a TV, he drug me around the building trying to get away from Trashcan's rejects over there and that's the last I remember until I woke up here."
"Zartan!? Now we know for certain that COBRA is neck-deep in all this. He's COBRA Commander's secret right-hand man. He brings Zartan in when he wants discreet, attainable results. Zartan is a master at disguise, as you witnessed yourself. You were very lucky to have escaped," Flint elaborated.
"Duke, you and your team seem to know much about this organization that calls itself COBRA. Can you please elaborate?" Optimus asked, now turning the focus back onto the Joes.
"COBRA is a powerful terrorist organization that me and my team were formed to combat. We know their leader as only COBRA Commander and he desires nothing more than to control the world. He went underground for several years in which we never saw or heard any type of activity during that time. After the events of Mission City, activity began to pick up. We suspected that COBRA was gearing up for another major initiative, but we never knew exactly how they were doing it. Looks like they were using Sector Seven as the go-between and a cover for their operations. COBRA was a handful before they got their hands on alien technology, if they manage to figure out a way to use this Vector Sigma you keep referencing…"
"They must be capable of space travel before that can happen. Human technology is not advanced enough to make such a deep, space-faring expedition. Cybertron is light-years away and besides, they still do not know of the location of the planet or Vector Sigma," Hound interrupted.
"You are only partially correct, Autobot," Barricade spoke up for the first time. "The humans are capable of interstellar travel, are they not Optimus Prime?"
All the humans turned to stare at Optimus expectantly. He gave a long, tired sigh. "You are correct, Barricade. Before we made planet fall on Earth, we came into contact with humans for the first time near what they call the Andromada Cloud. It was a tiny craft, but had clear indications of Cybertronian design, derived from the reverse engineering of Megatron's body when he was held in stasis."
"And what a pathetic craft it was," Starscream sneered. "The humans may have been able to travel within the vastness of space, but they were utterly clueless to interstellar navigation. I did them a favor in destroying their ship. At least it was a quick and painless death."
"It is not for you to decide who lives and who doesn't, Starscream. All sentient life is valuable no matter how small or delicate," Optimus reprimanded the winged Con.
Starscream narrowed his optics dangerously. "And it is not for you to decide what is right and what is wrong, now is it Prime? After all, that is what makes us sentient isn't it—the ability to choose what is right and what is wrong and being conscious of that decision."
Optimus pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "What is done, is done and there is no changing the past, we have only control over the present and the future. Since there is an alliance between Sector Seven and COBRA, we must assume that they still have access to the technology to build another ship."
"It appears we have quite the handful to deal with, Optimus," Hound said, looking at his leader expectantly.
"That is why it is imperative that we keep you, Dezba Collins, safe from the hands of COBRA. Can we expect your cooperation?" Duke asked the young woman.
"Hey, I'm not the only one involved here. If anything you should be asking these guys for their 'cooperation.' Their planet is at stake too, you know!" Dezba retorted.
"She has a point, Duke," Scarlett said to her Commander. "This thing has gotten much more complicated than we ever expected."
"Damn right I have a point! Like I said, I'm not going anywhere without Thundercracker…"
"Yes, you have already made yourself explicitly clear on that matter," Prowl interjected, he focused his freezing gaze on the aforementioned Con. "It has already been established that the two of you share a symbiotic relationship, but my question is what triggered it to begin with?"
Once again the babbling voices died down as all waited for the expected response. Thundercracker exhausted air out of his intakes; he really did hate giving explanations, especially when he didn't quite understand everything himself.
"I don't know what triggered it; all I do know is that after I touched her for the first time in the desert, I was able to access her memories and she was able to access mine."
"Interesting," Prowl murmured. "It is a curious thing that only you have this connection with the human. Why not any of us? Why you in particular?"
"If I knew the answer, Autoscum, I would have gladly thrown it in your face by now, but as it stands I don't know the answer anymore than you do," Thundercracker replied irritably. Honestly, this whole discussion was beginning to grate on his sensor wires.
"We are facing a very grave threat to our existence, and you Dezba Collins, may hold the key to restoring our planet and ending this War," Optimus said, tacitly changing the subject.
"But I haven't even had that vision yet!" Dezba protested. The sudden importance thrust upon her made her feel very uncomfortable and more than a little wary.
"That is why it is all the more important to keep you from COBRA," Duke petitioned. "Our force can keep you safe until we can stop COBRA from following through with their plans."
"We can watch over the girl just as effectively as you can, human," Starscream countered, optics narrowing suspiciously.
"Just like when COBRA stole her from tall, dark, and violet over there?" Flint asked innocently.
Skywarp growled very softly. "Hey! I was ambushed, you little pest!"
"Still, they over-powered you, a Decepticon, and they can do it again," Duke pressed his case. "We have the knowledge and background to handle this group and to stop them in their tracks."
"We all have something at stake in this matter," Optimus began, stepping forward and making sure he had everyone's attention. "Vector Sigma, a relic we believed to be lost in the mists of legend, is in danger of falling into enemy hands and with it our chance to end our war once and for all. Duke, we cannot allow you to take Dezba from us, but if you, Starscream, are willing to work with us, we will help you protect this innocent life that destiny has chosen to carry all of our futures. What say you?"
Starscream brought a clawed hand to his chin thoughtfully. "You are asking much, Prime. How can I ignore millions of years' worth of warfare and distrust?"
"Because I know you are not my brother, Starscream. You have a scientist's mind and as such, you study every possible scenario at hand, before deciding on a course of action. I also know that you seek to end this war, not from greed but for the good of all of Cybertron. You now have that opportunity. Individually, we may not be able to safeguard you, Dezba, from COBRA's intentions, but if we can work together, we stand a much better chance of stopping this new threat before it destroys any more lives."
"I will…think about it, Prime. But until I reach my decision, the girl stays with Thundercracker." He turned to the blue Seeker, "Where you go and where you stay is your own decision; you know the risks involved." With that the dusky brown Seeker looked at the rest of his men in turn and strode from the Command Center, wings proudly raised. One by one, his Decepticons followed until only Thundercracker remained with the Autobots and the Joes.
"You all are welcome to use our spare quarters until a consensus can be reached," Optimus offered. Thundercracker regarded the Autobot leader with guarded optics. His intense gaze studied each one of the other Autobots. He was met with varying degrees of hostility, distrust, and anger. It was painfully obvious to him that although the Autobot leader was willing to overlook his past, the others were not.
"Your offer is generous, Optimus, but I must refuse," he rumbled lowly, turning to follow Starscream and the others. He now held Dezba protectively in his claws, loosely clutching her to his cockpit. As he walked out of the Command Center, Dezba turned and watched the Autobots and the Joes fade from sight; it seemed even among highly advanced sentient machines, they still had trouble with the complex process of reconciliation.
"Do you think they'll leave the base?" Scarlett asked Optimus.
"I do not believe so. Thundercracker is a mech with a very difficult past. It will take him time to rediscover who he truly is. As for Starscream…only Primus knows his decision. He is in a difficult position. If he agrees to help us, he risks losing the support of the Decepticons and with them much needed help in defending what remains of our homeworld not to mention the Decepticons do not harbor much respect for your world. Helping us is helping you; if he doesn't agree, we must convince Thundercracker and Dezba to remain, but we risk fighting two battles on the same front, two battles I know we cannot both win. We can only keep an eye on them and hope."
"Well, then we will stand-by until a decision is reached," Duke said.
"Very well. Bumblebee? Could you please show our human guests as well as Prowl and Hound to their quarters?"
"Yes, Prime," Bumblebee said cheerfully, as he prepared to exit the Command Center.
"If it's all the same with you, Optimus Prime, I'd like to stay with you and discuss some things a little more thoroughly," Duke asked.
"That will be quite all right, Duke. I'm sure you have many more questions." Optimus chuckled lightly. He bent down and offered the Joe Commander a hand.
One by one, the Command Center emptied; much had been accomplished, but much had been left to be desired.
