Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, no matter how wonderful they are.
:comlink:
/telepathy/
Previously- The noise of jet engines closing and gun blasts hitting the ground nearby caused Ultra Magnus turn about and face an oncoming seeker. Turning his blaster, he returned fire as the seeker drew closer , flying past him and transforming mid-flight to grab Frenzy, its back turned to the Autobot.
Ultra Mangus took the opportunity to shoot at the seeker, the blast tearing through the seekers back and out of its chest. Letting out an audio-piercing cry, the badly wounded seeker took to the skies again smoke and sparks coming from its wounds.
12 January 1986, 19:00 joors, five miles from the Ark
Nitrofire could not fly any longer. Her fuel pump and some vital circuitry had been damaged by the blast from that damned Autobot, Ultra Magnus. Messages were flashing up warning her of imminent stasis-lock due to heavy loss of energon. Nitrofire doubted that she was going to make it back to the Pandemonium online as she was unable to make it to the rendezvous site agreed to with the force she brought with her.
Putting Frenzy on the ground after landing in a heavily wooded area, Nitrofire moved to lean against a tree for support. Her intakes shuddered with the strain that had been put on her system and energon soon stained the ground where she stood.
"Are you ok Boss Lady?"
"...do I look...alright to you Frenzy?"
"Why did you come and grab me anyways. I could have handled myself?"
"If the Autobots...had taken you back...we would not...have had the chance to...try and get the information again,"Nitrofire replied, her vocaliser glitching as she struggled to stay conscious.
"You're not lookin' so good, I've commed Soundwave and given him our location. He and the others should be here within a breem. I suppose I should thank you for gettin' me outta that Autobot infested ship"
"Don't bother...we need that information...now let me rest...energy supplies running low"
Frenzy looked on worryingly at the femme seeker. She wasn't looking real good...there was a huge puddle of energon pooling at her pedes. It looked like that Autobot had got her real good. Her wound was sparking and still smoking and her engines spluttering. What was most worrying Frenzy most though was that her optics were starting to flicker and the tips of her wings were starting to turn a deathly shade of grey. If his creator and the others did not get here soon, Frenzy was thinking that they would be transporting a sparkless shell back to their ship.
Right on queue Astrostain landed nearby, Soundwave, Rumble, Thundercracker and Skywarp emerging from within the transporter. The looks on their faceplates when they saw the state of the femme seeker told Frenzy that it did not look good for the femme.
"What happened?", asked Thundercracker, worry written clearly across his face
"The commander was shot getting me out of there. She kept flyin till we got here then..."
"Enough Frenzy...information...most important", Nitrofire managed to say before her legs gave out.
Soundwave, who was standing close by, caught the seeker before she hit the ground. Any further injuries could offline her in this state. Nitrofire was carried to Astrotrain's passenger area before being placed gently on the floor. Thundercracker and Skywarp moved to sit close by the injured seeker, stroking her wings in an effort to provide some amount of comfort. Nitrofire was in too much pain and could not be bothered to tell them to stop. Poor Skywarp's optics were leaking. He feared that in losing Nitrofire, he would lose the chance to add another seeker to their trine. Thundercracker was fairing no better.
Despite what the Autobots thought of them, Decepticons were still capable of feelings such as happiness and joy. If they weren't, there was no way they could hate the Autobots so much.
Thundercracker looked down at the commander again. She was getting worse...the greying on her wings was spreading and he could feel her spark signature spluttering and getting weaker. She would not last much longer. If only she was trine-bound, the power of a wing-mate's spark could support that even of the most fatally injured seeker. That is how seekers managed to survive as they were.
"Don't worry Commander...we will have you fixed up and flying again soon", said Thundercracker, his voice crackling
"Yeah...you'll be fine, you'll see, "said Skywarp, attempting to grin.
"I highly doubt...I will make it back...to the ship online...it was a pleasure to...serve with you...and fight for the...Decepticon cause...tell Whirlblade...I leave my army...in her capable...hands...", Nitrofire managed to gasp out before the light from her optics died out and she went into stasis-lock.
"COMANDER!"
"Oh don't you dare offline on us now. Who else is supposed to stop Starscream from being such an obnoxious aft"
"She can't hold on for much longer 'Warp. Her spark has nearly extinguished. Her spark signature is barely registering"
"We need to open her chest plates TC. If we take her into our trine-bond, we can keep her spark stable long enough to get her to the med bay"
"She already refused a trine-bond 'Warp. If we were to do that, she will cause us a whole lot of pain if she survives this. Not to mention Starscream will blow a gasket when he hears what we have done"
"Well do you have any other bright ideas?"
"Um...well, you got me there. I suppose we will just have to deal with the consequences later"
Thundercracker found the emergency release catch on the side of Nitrofire's cockpit and watched as it slid open, revealing her spark-chamber and the dying spark within. Both he and Skywarp released the catches on their cockpits and looked at each other, hoping this would work.
15 January, Nemesis Med Bay...
Nitrofire slowly became aware of feelings that were not her own crossing her consciousness.
Worry
Sadness
Hopelessness
Nitrofire became aware of voices around her as she became more aware of her surroundings. They seemed to be talking about her. She tried to recall exactly what had happened to her but all that came up in her memory banks was the fight with the Autobots, getting shot and then nothing.
As all her systems slowly started to come back online, she realised that her spark felt different. It had not felt that way since her sisters were alive. That could only mean...
Nitrofire onlined her optics and slowly sat up on the med bay berth. As she looked around, she realised that she was not in the med bay of her ship, so she must be on Nemesis.
Almost as soon as she got her bearings, Nitrofire was surrounded by medics, seekers and members of her crew, all seemingly relieved that she was back online. Thundercracker, Skywarp and surprisingly Starscream made their way to the front of the group, the red and white seeker ordering all the others from the med bay. When Starscream turned back to her, it seemed to Nitrofire that he was looking at her strangely. As soon as the med bay was clear, Nitrofire was inundated with questions from the blue and black seekers.
"How are you feeling?"
Happiness
"Do you need anything?"
Joy
"We're so glad you're back online"
Elation
In between all these questions, Nitrofire had started feeling emotions again that were not hers. It only took her an astro-second before realising whose emotions these were. She looked up at the blue and black and narrowed her optics before asking the question both of the seekers hoped that she would not ask...
"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"
