Duty and Deceit
Chapter 8
Crisis
"This is important!" The voice of one of the higher ups shouted through Soundwave's recording. The mech's voice that was being used sounded like one of the drill sergeants. Maybe Sixshot? No longer using audial, she turned her gaze to her department head's holo-projection.
It showed an Autobot base in Kalis from an aerial view; probably taken by Laserbeak or one of the other flying cassettes. The image zoomed in to the ground, showing an intricate defence grid, with several patrols in strategic positions. She examined the zone quickly and thoroughly before it moved on. Her mission was simple, yet would test all of her skills.
The little femme had gone on such missions before, but this time it was a rescue and a sabotage that she was to perform. To make matters worse, she wouldn't be going solo; she had a field medic assigned to her and another femme to act as the medic's bodyguard in case the captured mech was injured. At least she would be in charge. As long as she was in charge, the mission would be successful. The mech they were rescuing was one of their best spies, Makeshift. He had been posing as an Autobot commander, but was discovered when the real commander returned from his 'peace negotiations' early. Makeshift was also her mentor – everything she knew about her job, she'd learned from him - so she was determined to succeed.
When the photo of her assigned partner appeared on Soundwave's projection, the spy recognized her instantly; it was the femme from medical - Shadowlight? - that had looked after Skyquake. The other one came up as well but she didn't recognize her. She wasn't entirely sure why it was an all-femme team, but she guessed it probably had something to do with femmes being smaller, that and they all had dark paint jobs. They could sneak around much easier.
The two-wheeler looked the two jets over quickly. They would be dispatched for the mission in five klicks. Both the femme jets were tall and thin, characteristic of Seekers. Their paint jobs were incredibly similar only inverted. Shadowlight was mostly silvery gray with black accents, while the other one was black with silvery gray accents. Although their alt-modes were different, they had almost identical features.
"You two are sisters?" the Prussian blue femme asked, though the answer was pretty well obvious.
"Yes ma'am." The black one answered smartly.
"And your name is...?"
"Darkshine, ma'am."
"Ok, seriously. Cut it out with the 'ma'am' ing, please. If you need to address me, Terabyte will do just fine." She smiled behind her mask. It was kind of strange for an older femme to call her ma'am; she hadn't expected her promotion to Specialist would have put her above so many. Apparently some people were just fine with being ordinary grunts.
Final stages of the mission. Rotation 3 off base.
"'Shine, get down! You'll be-"
Laser fire blasted through the air above her helm as she ducked out of the way. "-Sighted." She finished with a sigh. For all of Darkshine's respectful words, she really needed to work on following orders. They couldn't afford to lose the whole mission for one femme. Besides, Shadowlight could take care of herself, she just needed a little support.
Thankfully they had managed to knock out the Autobot's defences and communications, as well as rescuing Makeshift. He was now behind the boulder next to her with Shadowlight and Darkshine flying overhead. Their position was already given away, so the sisters were picking off as many troops as they could from above. The Autobots didn't stand a chance, as was clear a few klicks into the battle.
/Terabyte – got a 'Bot incoming on your ri- nevermind, Makeshift got him – what do you think about throwing a little femme party at our place when we get back? Maybe pull an all-nighter, get to know each other better?/ Shadowlight asked, still blasting at the remaining Autobots.
/Sounds fun. You have sweet En'?/ She asked as she shot an Autobot flier out of the skies with her cannon.
/Yup. What's a party without sweet Energon?/
/Then it's set. Party at your place starting after workshift!/ She shot the last mech who wasn't retreating - she never killed retreating mechs, the idea of doing so was sickening to her - before giving the order to return to base. Transforming, she shot off over the flat terrain, greatly looking forward to the arranged party. It really was surprising how well the three femmes had taken to each other in only three rotations.
Arcee had been holding a stack of datapads with a cube of Energon balanced precariously on top. The Autobot femme had just come back from the main room and was taking her fuel and some reports she needed to file to her quarters where she could work more comfortably. Focused intently on not dropping her load, Arcee didn't see the two mechs coming around the corner until it was too late.
For their part, Cliffjumper had just reached the climax of the story of how he and Arcee came to Earth when they rounded the corner. Terabyte had been listening to the story, enjoying his wild retelling of the venture, and didn't see Arcee until just a few astro-seconds after the fact.
Both groups were unaware of the other as they walked down the hallway, reaching the corner at just exactly the same moment. All Terabyte knew was that she was walking and then suddenly Arcee had walked right into her, dumping something wet all over her.
Cliffjumper leapt out of the way and very helpfully just stood there staring at the two-wheelers, waiting to see how they would react.
Arcee and Terabyte stared at each other unseeing for a while before what happened began to process. Arcee's datapads were scattered on the floor, the cracked screen of one flickering forlornly. Her Energon cube was shattered; its contents covering Terabyte's chassis and now rolling down one pede in rivulets.
Terabyte's lips curled in disgust, and although her mask hid it; her revulsion was clear. A similar expression touched Arcee's face-plates, though her disgust was directed at Terabyte, not the accident.
"Watch where you're going!" The femmes snarled simultaneously, which only made them madder. They both glared at the other, mutual dislike rolling of them almost tangibly. Cliffjumper chose that moment to make an attempt at breaking them apart before a fight started, which from the tension in the air between them seemed very likely.
Resting a restraining hand on Arcee's shoulder, he took a clean cloth from subspace and passed it to Terabyte; who was completely oblivious to the offer.
"Why don't we all just apologize and get this cleaned up. Then we can just move on and forget this-"
"You want me to apologize to her? Like that's gonna happen! She," Terabyte interrupted angrily and at this point raised a finger to point accusingly at Arcee, "just dumped a whole cube of Energon on me, and you want me to apologize?"
"I wouldn't have dropped it at all if you had been watching where you were going!" Arcee yelled back, shrugging off Cliffjumper's hand and balling her hands into fists.
"This is stupid. It's not worth fighti-" Once again, both femmes ignored the red mech's attempts to calm them, though his words did echo annoyingly through Terabyte's processor. He was right, they were being childish, but... It was Arcee's fault!
"Oh so this is my fault then, is it?" Terabyte gestured at the energon dripping down her front and the broken datapads on the floor.
"Yes!" The blue and pink warrior looked down at her triumphantly.
Terabyte glared at the Autobot, fuming inside but not wanting to compromise her position. The Prussian blue femme forced herself into a submissive pose, the action being almost painful as every gear in her frame resisted. Her jaw tight, Terabyte bowed her helm slightly before she bent down and with strained care picked up the fallen datapads; handing them stiffly to the smug femme in front of her, not bothering to wipe the bright blue Energon from off her chassis first.
"Thank you Cliffjumper. It was a pleasant tour, and informative." Her voice was mechanical and empty aside from a light stress on 'was'. Her face-plates just below her optic twitched in frustration and reluctance. Inclining her helm respectfully to Arcee again, Terabyte continued in half-hearted obligation, "Arcee. Shall I bring you another Energon?"
"That's nice of you Terabyte, but that's okay. I'll get it for her." Cliffjumper replied quickly. He glanced between the two femmes anxiously.
"In that case, I apologize for any inconvenience that may have been caused, and I will now excuse myself; with your permission of course." Terabyte specifically didn't say who caused the inconvenience, taking victory at least in that.
"Of course. We'll see you... later?" Cliffjumper again answered before Arcee had a chance, then pulled Arcee back the way they had just come.
When both Autobots were out of hearing range, Terabyte growled. Letting loose the fury she'd been restraining, the spy slammed her fist into the wall as hard as she could, leaving a human dodgeball-sized dent in the dull gray metal before stomping off to the wash racks.
The rest of the orn went relatively smoothly, Arcee's 'victory' making the other femme less antagonistic towards Terabyte for the most part. It was as if Arcee just needed to prove to herself and to Cliffjumper that she was superior to the ex-Decepticon. Although Terabyte's pride was still sore from that encounter, she had to admit that it had ultimately stabilized her standing with the femme and thus the Autobots as a whole.
Like she had thought, new quarters were not found for her; she was still in the brig. She had at least been given a remote control to turn off the shield. But today, that didn't matter very much to her. Today was her first patrol. Terabyte was more nervous than she would ever admit, she hadn't slept much at all... until 0700. She decided she would read a little bit and then go out to prepare for her patrol at 0830; the Autobots wouldn't miss her.
Tension had lightened, but Cliffjumper and the Prime were the only ones that even acknowledged her most of the time. And Ratchet. Ratchet had been unusually kind to her ever since the processor scan.
Terabyte must have dozed off while reading though, because at 0910 her proximity alert woke her up. Jolting up, she looked around and saw... No one. Slowly she shut down the field and peeked outside.
"So, are you gonna go or not?" Terabyte looked down and saw Miko staring up at her impatiently. "Optimus and 'Bee are going to check out a weird signal, and you're s'posed to go with them."
Just then the readings on her chronometer seemed to click into her processor. She was late. Deviation from the rules would ruin everything... Oh no. Terabyte transformed into her Cybertronian alt-mode – she had not taken an Earth form, it was a disgrace to the memory of Cybertron. Cybertronians shouldn't look like the humans' machines.
Through her side mirrors, she saw that Miko had climbed into her seat and was admiring her alt-mode. Making sure the fragile fleshy was safely positioned, she sped off towards the bridge room.
"Wooohoo!" Miko shouted as the wind tugged at her clothing, "You're faster than Arcee! And way cooler looking. Three wheels! Awesome!"
Terabyte couldn't help but smile at the girl's excitement. She'd take a compliment any day, especially at Arcee's expense. Although...
"You better not let Arcee hear that... She hates me enough as is."
As she spoke, she took a corner perhaps more sharply than necessary, her third wheel splaying out to the side to hold her balance. A squeal from her passenger rewarded Terabyte's effort, and she grinned internally. Human or not, she'd always liked younglings; Cybertronian younglings were getting more and more rare any more though.
When they got to the bridge room, she paused just long enough for Miko to get off and to a safe distance, then she transformed as fast as she could. Dipping her head formally to Optimus, Terabyte's vents heaved as she hurried to cool down before speaking.
"Forgive me, my lord, I was ready to go and I just-"
"It's alright, Terabyte. We have detected Decepticon activity in the desert. For your first mission you will accompany Bumblebee and myself to investigate. Ratchet." Optimus interrupted her rushed apology and motioned for the medic to reactivate her weapons and long-range communications in case they were separated.
"Good luck. You'll need it." Ratchet whispered into her audials as he worked.
After Ratchet had unlocked the needed systems, Cliffjumper gave her back her black mini-cannon. Flashing her an encouraging smile, he activated the ground-bridge. Feeling her spark pulse speed up, Terabyte followed Optimus through the portal with Bumblebee to her right.
As soon as she was through, her HUD powered up with a flurry of sensor readings. Her sensors had picked up three Decepticon spark signals, as well as a residual energon reading. One of the signals was weak, like the mech had just come out of stasis. Looking around, she caught a glimpse of Soundwave on the clifftop.
"This does not look good..." Bumblebee said quietly in Cybertronian.
"No Bumblebee, it does not. Remain here, I am going to investigate." The Prime ordered before walking into the canyon, towards two of the life-signs. Bumblebee followed at a distance, carefully keeping himself hidden and watching the Prime closely.
/Sir, I've sighted Soundwave; with your leave I will find out what he's up to... and stop him if I can./ Terabyte informed the Prime as she rolled off to the cliff where she'd seen Soundwave. Optimus just sent a small ping of acknowledgement. This was a perfect opportunity to check up on the details of her mission. Hopefully Starscream hadn't altered it too much, getting out now would be... difficult to say the least.
When she reached the cliff base, Terabyte transformed and started the climb up. Thankfully there were plenty of footholds for her, making it an easy hike. By the time she reached the top, she could hear a roar coming from below, followed by the sounds of crashing metal. A battle had just begun.
Not taking time to see who was fighting whom, Terabyte made her way to Soundwave, who was recording the battle with Starscream now at his side.
"Are you getting this Soundwave? We will need official documentation of Optimus Prime's demise... for the record." Starscream said, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
"Commander Starscream." She dipped her helm – respectfully interrupting – and maybe less respectfully, ignoring the Seeker's protest of "That's Lord Starscream to you!" and turned to her commander. "Sir, I have successfully infiltrated the Autobots. They do not yet trust me, as you expected, but I have been paroled. The Autobots' Prime informed me of Lord Megatron's demise. I came to confirm this lie and to ask if there have been any changes to my mission of which I should be aware."
Soundwave nodded once, then stepped away from the cliff edge and he looked up at the sky. Terabyte dipped her helm in acknowledgement. Her commander was satisfied with her progress.
"Where have they gone?" Starscream asked angrily, "Soundwave! Why aren't you tracking them?!"
A transmission beep emitted from Soundwave with a slightly exasperated ring. Terabyte couldn't blame him, no one liked having to put up with the Seeker.
"What, what is it?" Starscream asked impatiently, turning to face the stoic mech waving his thin hands dismissively. A weak Decepticon life-signal showed on Soundwave's visor, the exact location not yet pinpointed. "A second Decepticon life-signal?" The Air Commander's voice lowered thoughtfully. "But Skyquake is the only sleeper buried in this area!"
Terabyte's finials pricked forward in interest. Skyquake? He was here? Now? Her spark pulse sped up almost double and her frame practically tingled with excitement. The small femme's EM field flared happily, Skyquake had been woken at last. She could hardly wait to see him again; it had been almost a decavorn since he'd been given the sleeper assignment.
Soundwave turned to Starscream and showed that the Decepticon signal was coming from the location of where the space bridge used to be. Where the Lord Protector had supposedly died.
"The site of our destroyed space bridge..." Starscream took a step toward Soundwave, glaring at him. "You're not telling me that life-signal belongs to Megatron?" The mech spluttered, "B-b-b-but he was microns from the detonation point! Nothing could have survived that blast! Your sensors must be faulty!"
Starscream stormed away in a huff, staring out over the cliff's edge as if searching the clouds for advice. Suddenly he flung his arms out rudely. "Ignore the contact! Delete the coordinates!" He snapped almost desperately.
The spy was hardly paying attention until this point, but Starscream's orders to ignore the fact that Megatron could be alive snapped her back to the conversation. Driven by her duty to her people, Terabyte took one bold step towards the rash Seeker.
"Sir, with all due respect," Her tone was nearly completely void of respect, "That is treason. Lord Megatron must live. He is the only hope our cause has left."
Starscream walked up to her, his wings making him seem much larger than the thin mech really was. He raised one clawed hand menacingly over her, but Terabyte held her ground, hoping that either Soundwave would intervene or that the Seeker would see reason.
Raising her energon blade defensively Terabyte looked the Commander in the optics. She couldn't back down, it would only be seen as weakness. Although... She was standing before the most cowardly mech in the Decepticon forces; he may not have the bearings to attack a femme. As she looked up at the silver claws brandished only a few inches from her face, she could only hope. It would be a shame to incapacitate her commanding officer. Terabyte figured Soundwave would not appreciate that.
After a klick, Starscream stepped back shaking his helm roughly."Gah! What am I saying?" The Seeker was beginning to sound high-pitched and hysterical. "O-of course, this must be - ah -investigated. If Lord Megatron is up there, I shall bring him home." Starscream puffed out his chest importantly. "Remain here and monitor the outcome. When Skyquake snuffs Prime's spark, I must bear witness."
"I must bear witness." Soundwave replayed after the Seeker had flown off. The silent purple mech turned to Terabyte and shook his helm slowly. His chest-plate opened to reveal Laserbeak, who flew out in Starscream's direction. Someone needed to keep an optic on the power-hungry Air Commander.
"Commander Soundwave? What of my mission?" Not sure which method of communication he would use, Terabyte regarded the department head expectantly watching and listening for his answer.
Choosing visual display, a bright red equals sign lit up his visor and flashed a few times before disappearing. Her mission was unchanged. With that, the mech transformed and flew off to a discreet position near the battle to follow his own orders.
Now alone on the cliff, the Decepticon femme stared unseeing into the clouds, her spark and processor buzzing with excitement. Skyquake was back! Oh, she had so many things to tell him! Terabyte's took in a huge vent of air, grinning widely under her mask.
She'd missed him so much... But now he was back!
A.N. Now things start getting exciting! Reviews are greatly enjoyed, encouraged, and loved. Dear readers, we have one action packed chapter coming up! And if you've watched the show; you've got a pretty good idea why. But what will I do? Not even I know yet...*Dramatic suspenseful music plays loudly*