Duty and Deceit
Chapter 16
Makeshift Dealings
The pale blue cyberyllium-core data module glimmered in the sunlight as she examined it. It was hard to believe that something so tiny could be so important. With this little device in Decepticon hands, the Autobot forces would be crippled.
Behind her, the Autobot base could still be seen near the horizon. They would discover what had happened soon, and then the pursuit would begin. She planned on being long gone by that time.
She twirled it between her silver servos carefully. This data chip contained all of the Autobots' battle strategies, plans, and ideas; most importantly, it also contained all of the flaws in those plans. The Autobot tacticians would have to develop new plans and strategies and would be weakened until then. Tactical developments would also be much slower now that Prowl, their master tactician, had been terminated by Skyquake.
Shadowlight walked up to her and peered over her shoulder at the chip. "Pretty, isn't it?"
She hummed in agreement and subspaced it before giving her orders. "We aren't home yet, femmes. Keep your guards up and stay sharp, the Autobots won't hesitate to kill us on sight. Darkshine, scout up ahead for enemy ambush. Stryka, watch our backs. Everyone else, stick to the middle and protect the intel at all costs. I want everyone one of us alive and well at the end of this rotation, got it? Move out!"
The small party dropped into formation and began the two-rotation trek back into Decepticon territory.
It happened in the first night cycle at the end of the rotation. They had been running from the Autobot pursuit parties for the whole second day cycle, and the whole group was exhausted. Darkshine had a minor wound in her wing; she'd run into a small patrol and gotten hit before she could get away.
Shadowlight had repaired the damage as best she could, but Darkshine still wouldn't be able to transform for an orn at least.
They all needed to rest and their Autobot pursuers were, while too close for comfort, not traveling specifically towards them, so she pulled her team into a cave for the night. She set sentries at the cave's mouth, to cycle every joor.
Like any good commander, the small femme took first watch with a new mech named Quicksand. He was shy, with sandy armor and a big gun. As far she could tell, he was a tank, but she'd never seen him transform. Shy tank, go figure.
She saw them in the third groon of her joor on guard duty. A group of about a dozen Autobots coming their way with purpose clear in the way they moved. They'd been discovered.
Running inside, she kicked Stryka's helm roughly. It was the only way to get through the colossal front-liner's thick armor. That and it made a wonderfully loud clang, effectively waking most everyone from their recharge. The excessively well-armored femme's armor didn't even scuff, though her own foot now ached. The wall probably would have been softer...
"Everyone up, now! We've been found! Get moving!" Soon everyone was awake and drowsily getting up. All those who were properly awake were dragging the others to their pedes.
Standing in the mouth of the cave, she ushered her team out of the cave, leaving Stryka in charge of maintaining order and getting them to a safe, defensible place. All that was left inside now was the jet twins and a blue and green mech that transformed into a helicopter.
Darkshine was lagging and the Autobots had been firing into the entrance for several klicks.
"C'mon 'Shine! Hurry!" She yelled, providing as much cover fire as she could.
"Just go without me. I'll only slow you down." The jet replied bravely, her wing plainly causing her far more discomfort than she'd previously let on.
The other mech ran out to Stryka's group, where she, Quicksand, and a red and black jet were blasting the Autobot attackers. Or rather, ducking behind cover while the Autobots, who far outnumbered them, launched an endless stream of fire.
"Shut up, Darkshine." She growled. "You are going to get out there and we are all going to make it home, even if it takes a quartex. No one dies today, that's an order!"
They were almost out when the Autobots' constant firing took its toll on the weak cave entrance. Darkshine screamed as the mouth of the cave collapsed and the black jet shoved Shadowlight out as the cave crumbled down on top of her.
"Darkshine!" She and Shadowlight shouted.
The silver medic ran up to the rubble, where Darkshine could be clearly seen. She was buried up to her waist, and coolant streaked her streamlined faceplates. The two-wheeler glanced over her shoulder from where she was desperately trying to keep herself and her friends safe.
"Just... Go! Go and save yourselves, save the mission, win the war... Just leave..." Darkshine said, her voice laced with pain and well hidden fear. She knew that Shadowlight could feel it in their twin bond. All spark split twins were mentally linked. She wasn't sure what would happen to Shadowlight if Darkshine died though…
"No! I'm not going to leave you. We'll dig you out, I can fix you, we're going to make it!" Shadowlight's black hands scrabbled at the rubble. Her silver wings were trembling.
The spy winced as she took a hit to her dagger arm. Glancing back at the twins, she watched Darkshine grip Shadowlight's hand tightly, making optic contact for a moment before her dented black helm fell to the ground and the pale red optics dimmed. "Go..."
She continued blasting the Autobots, but she was losing ground. Six to one didn't give her very high hopes of victory. She ran a quick scan over Darkshine and her engine whined quietly, unheard by any. The femme was already fading. The black jet's spark pulse was weakening and the Autobots were moving forward.
She recognized one huge shape. Optimus Prime himself stood on the hill, firing down on them. The data they'd stolen was vital; so vital that the Prime himself saw fit to pursue. Her black, gray, and Prussian blue armor shrank just a little closer to her frame.
"Oh... Scrap." She muttered, trying to still her trembling finials enough to scan her surroundings. There was one gap in the enemy lines, just big enough for all eight of them. By her calculations, the gap would close before they could dig the black jet out. A single drop of coolant slid down her face as she made the hardest decision of her Decepticon career.
/Stryka! Take the team through the opening at coordinates 96 south by 173 east. I'll be right behind you with Shadowlight. Hold it open for us./ She commed urgently.
/Yes ma'am. You have the device?/
/Affirmative./
Grabbing Shadowlight's arm, she tried to drag the femme to her pedes. "Shadow! We need to go, now! We have our objective, and the Prime is here."
The silver jet screamed, kicking her shin plates harshly. She gasped at the pain, but somehow stood her ground. "NO! I can save her!" Shadowlight yelled. "We can still save her!"
"No we can't, she's already fading. I will not lose both of you! We have to go. Shadow! She saved your life! Would you want her death to have been for nothing? We have to go." She somehow grappled the jet's arms behind her back, but Shadowlight kept kicking and screaming.
"She doesn't have to die! We can still save her! Let me go!"
"By the time we got her unburied the Prime will have killed us all. Even if we survived getting her out, we'd never make it home alive. Then the whole mission would have been pointless!" She raised her cannon arm, glancing back at Darkshine's mostly grayed frame one last time. "I'm sorry, Shadow. I am so, so sorry. But there's no other choice. We're out of time!"
Knocking the silver medic unconscious with a blow to the helm with her mini-cannon, she managed to drag the jet to the gap in enemy lines.
Right before she'd made it to safety, the Prime, only meters away, gazed straight into her desperate optics, and for an astrosecond the spy locked optics with Optimus Prime. The memory was seared into her mind, and she somehow got the feeling that she would never forget that one moment of mutual agreement, mutual understanding.
Spark and processor numb, she led her now seven-mech team back to Kaon. Oddly enough, they did not see a single Autobot patrol or pursuer for the remainder of the mission. Home free, but at so high a price.
Terabyte stayed curled up on her berth with her systems slowed down to near-recharge levels, but she couldn't sleep. After a nightmare like that? No, she couldn't risk the chance of going back there.
When Arcee's frame relaxed and her systems appeared to be fully shut down, the spy silently slid off her berth and through the door. Her pedes made no noise, the only sound made being the swish of air as the door opened then closed behind her.
She wanted to drive or train or even fight, anything to distract her from her troubled thoughts and the terrible image of Smokescreen's mutilated, sparking frame that plagued her processor. But she wasn't allowed to leave the base and doing so inside would wake the Autobots. Instead, she would have to find something else to take her mind off things.
Running one hand along the wall to steady herself in the dark, Terabyte made her way to the main chamber. It was early morning, dawn was still several groons away. Her dark-colored frame blended in to the shadows. As she entered the room, the small femme found that the lights were on in med-bay and two mechs were having a heated discussion in muted tones. Or more accurately, the smaller was yelling at the other while waving a wrench around, also hitting the larger mech with it.
"How… do that?... the right… know!... be able… trust… own Prime! … don't… How…"
Terabyte could only see the blurred silhouettes of the two mechs through the glazed glass walls of med-bay. She had pretty good idea however, that the angry one was Ratchet. He was fond of waving wrenches. The other one, judging by shape and posture was… the Prime? The Autobots dared to attack their leader?
"… could you let her join us if… knew… she is?!" Ratchet yelled. The med-bay walls muffled the words making it difficult to hear. "…monster terminated…! Prowl is dead… her fault!"
"Old friend… calm…" The Prime said in a reasonable tone, making it too quiet for to hear any more than a word here and there.
She stood in the entry-way frozen as she watched the conversation play out. They were arguing about her. Had she somehow blown her cover without realizing it? Or did the Prime know who she was? Terabyte's worried thoughts bounced around her processor. How would this affect her mission?
"I confess…knew… her past… did not tell…" The Prime continued solemnly. He laid a hand on the medic's shoulder. "Perhaps… was wrong… I believe… best… Deserves… chance."
Ratchet's frame visibly relaxed as the medic accepted his leader's apology and explanation. Terabyte quietly continued on her path to the living area, hoping that she didn't look too suspicious. She was a few strides short of her destination when Ratchet and the Prime walked out of the med-bay.
"Terabyte." Optimus greeted her with a nod, his cobalt optics unreadable. "It is rather early… I did not expect to see you at this hour."
She dipped her helm and responded to the unspoken question. "My recharge was… disturbed. I thought to find a way to occupy myself until a more reasonable time of cycle. Perhaps I ought to have informed someone? I was not expecting anyone else to be awake either."
"May I ask what you were going to occupy yourself with this time of night?" Ratchet asked suspiciously. "Alone?"
"Ratchet." Optimus rumbled, his voice holding an unspoken warning to both of them. "I am sure Terabyte meant no harm."
Terabyte nodded stiffly in response before the Prime continued. "Although, I too am curious; what did you intend on doing?"
She froze for a moment. "I- I am not entirely sure, Lo- Prime. I h-had not decided when I left my quarters… P-perhaps it would be best if I simply returned to my quarters for the night?"
Ratchet's engine growled lowly and his blue optics were narrowed slits. "I agree."
With another half-bow to both of them, Terabyte retreated back to her quarters as silently as she'd left. Curled up at the head of her berth, with her knees drawn to her chassis, arms wrapped tightly around them, she sat in the dark silence of the quarters she shared with Arcee.
Her little excursion, while meant to calm her thoughts and fears, only served to add more worries to her growing pile. She did not recharge again that night.
The Prussian blue and black femme followed Arcee to the mess room that morning. They shared Energon in silence.
Upon entering the main chamber, Arcee immediately went to Ratchet to examine the almost entirely healed scrape. The medic grumbled about poorly tended injuries, but in the end he didn't actually do anything to it, attesting to the quality of her work. He replaced the severed pink face frame and was done.
"Alright! Chores are done. Now can we do some dune-bashing?" Miko said. Terabyte turned to see Bulkhead walk in with Miko comfortably perched on the green mech's shoulder.
"I don't know Miko…" the mech replied. "Last time we went, I spent a week picking the sand outta my articulators." Miko's shoulders sagged and her helm hung in disappointment. "But there's a monster truck rally in town."
Terabyte watched with amazement as Miko's expression swapped to excitement in the blink of an optic. Human frames were so flexible… along with their moods. One moment they're sad and saggy and the next they're strung tight with excitement. Her contemplations on squishies' quirks were interrupted by Ratchet, who was typing away at the terminal to her right.
"Optimus. I'm receiving a signal on a restricted band." The medic glanced over at the Prime, who had walked up behind him to look at the screen. Soon everyone at the base had gathered in a loose ring around the terminal. "It appears to be coming from a starship inside this solar system."
The spy's attention however, was not attracted to the center screen showing the signal, but rather to the two screens next to it. The screen to the left was uninteresting; stolen space bridge blueprints. That would explain how the Autobots had managed to destroy their bridge.
Glancing at the main screen, Terabyte frowned. "That's an Autobot identification signature…"
Jack walked up to the rail behind the terminal and asked excitedly, "So there are other 'Bots out there?"
Arcee nodded from where she stood a little bit behind Terabyte, with Cliffjumper next to her. "The masses scattered throughout the galaxies when Cybertron finally went dark…" She scowled. "But, 'Cons have been known to bait traps with false beacons."
Simultaneously everyone in the room turned to look at Terabyte. She shrank slightly under their collective gazes. "That's a real ID signature. I've baited such traps; every programmer has a slight signature on their beacon, invisible - to all but those with the proper skills - this one does not carry such a signature."
"Yeah, you'd know, wouldn't you 'Con? That's your specialty ain't it?" Bulkhead challenged. "Of course, if it were a trap, the Decepticon would tell us it's safe."
Terabyte looked around nervously, hoping to gain someone's support. Surprisingly, Bumblebee stepped between herself and the green mech. "Lay off her, Bulkhead. She isn't one of them anymore."
"She isn't exactly one of us either." Bulkhead countered, pointing to the spiked insignia on her belt-plate.
Thankfully, the Prime interrupted just then. "Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega One. Identify yourself."
A mech's voice answered dryly. "I've had warmer welcomes from Decepticon combat brigades."
She looked over at the screen to the right and her attention was instantly captured. It showed a map of the base as seen from aerial view. The writing on the screen however, was tiny. There was no way to read it without drawing attention to herself. She could tell from the image, that the base was in a desert, canyon-filled region. The Autobots had already told her that the base was an abandoned human missile silo… That narrowed it down to about a dozen possible locations in Arizona, Nevada, Africa, Egypt, or Australia.
Meanwhile Bulkhead lurched forward, nearly launching Miko off his shoulder in his eagerness. "Wheeljack? You old 'Con-crusher! What're you doing all the way out here?"
The navy and black spy tried not to cringe at the 'Con-crusher' part. She knew of Wheeljack: he'd been with the group of Wreckers that blew Protihex. His reputation was massive, he was said to have single-handedly slaughtered hundreds of Decepticons in a single battle. One of the Autobots' greatest war heroes.
Terabyte's silver hands clenched into tight fists and it took all her will power to maintain an outward appearance of calm. Her armor flared out a little more and her finials twitched irritatedly.
The mech's voice pattern showed up on the center screen as he spoke, the sound-waves spiking and dipping with his words. "Bulkhead? That's you? What's with all the security?"
"The rock we're on is crawling with 'Cons…" Bulkhead answered. "How soon can get you get here and even the odds?"
The dark two-wheeler's lip-plates curled up in disgust behind her mask. The Autobots thought of them as pests, mere insects to be eradicated. Even the odds… Terabyte huffed lightly. Weren't the odds already in the Autobots' favor? Vehicons fell before them like leaves in the wind. Slaughtering her kind was child's play for them and they thought they needed more troops?
"-metime tomorrow if I put my metal to the pedal." Wheeljack was saying.
Miko grinned at Bulkhead. "Another 'Bot's coming here… How cool is that?"
'Yeah… really cool, kid. One of the mechs responsible for destroying Protihex and its people has come to Earth to finish what he started.' Terabyte thought bitterly. 'And I can't even kill him because of this mission… Not publicly anyway…' She looked up momentarily. 'Don't worry Carrier, Sire… I will avenge our people.'
"-ou verify his voice print?" Optimus finished the sentence Terabyte had missed.
Bulkhead looked up at Optimus and nodded firmly. "He's a thousand percent the real deal, Optimus."
The Prime turned back to the terminal to speak, not that Wheeljack could actually see him. "We will send landing coordinates, Wheeljack. Safe journey."
Just before Ratchet closed the transmission, Bulkhead took a decisive step forward. "See you soon, buddy. I'll make sure you get a proper welcome."
When the channel was closed and everyone was still gathered together, Arcee asked Bulkhead teasingly. "So who's the boyfriend?"
The green mech chuckled. "Me and Jackie go way back." He smashed his fists together with a crash. "We were part of the same war unit called the Wreckers. Which means the 'Cons are gonna wish he never found us."
Terabyte gasped quietly. Bulkhead was a Wrecker too. The urge to purge her tanks washed over her as it hit her. He'd seemed like a nice enough mech... She'd thought he was okay for an Autobot. Her optics narrowed.
She had been wrong.
Terabyte sat on the steps watching the children play a racing game on their console. They had let Raf play with them this time, having acquired a third remote, which made her feel a little bit better. She stared at the concrete floor between her feet, examining every nick, flaw, and scratch in the hard surface.
Her thoughts were dark and troubled as her various worries tumbled around in her processor. A Wrecker was coming to Earth. And a Wrecker had been here all along. Three Earth years and she'd never known. She'd have tried to off him by now if she'd known beforehand. The signs were all there; how had she not realized? It seemed all too obvious now that she knew. She ought to have known.
She had spent vorns trying to find those responsible for the loss of her home and family. But the universe is a big place... She'd only found two of the Wreckers in that time. One got away, but Dreadwing had fixed that. The other one she'd terminated at the Battle for the Three Moons. His name was Pyro; the Archives had firm eyewitness evidence that he had been among those who'd destroyed Protihex.
Terabyte had finally come to accept that Protihex was gone and after Cybertron went dark, she hadn't been able to find a trace of the Wreckers. The unit had disbanded and scattered; the likelihood of her coming across another two was incredibly slim, but she would not miss this opportunity.
She may not be able to have her vengeance on all the Autobots, but the Wreckers would pay. Wrecker history would not soon forget the name...
"Terabyte!" She glanced up to see the red horned mech for a moment before returning her gaze to the concrete.
"Been looking all over for you." Cliffjumper said, sitting down on the stairs next to her. "Hey, you alright? You looked a bit... off back there."
She looked up into his mildly concerned faceplates. Her golden optics were blank, betraying little of her inner turmoil. It was a good thing her mask was up though, because her faceplates still held a look of disgust and anger. "I'm fine. Just, fine."
He cocked an optic ridge doubtfully. "Uh huh. You're sounding really fine. What's up?"
Terabyte sighed. "It's nothing really." She tried to sound a little more convincing. And probably failed miserably. "I just... know the mech that's coming. And he's a Wrecker."
"You have bad history with the Wreckers or something?" Cliffjumper asked curiously.
"Yeah. Could say that." She replied evasively, not feeling like talking about it to an Autobot. As if he'd care. They probably had the destruction of Protihex listed among their great victories.
The red mech looked down and they sat in a tense quiet for a while. Finally, Cliffjumper seemed to be unable to contain his curiosity any longer. "So… What'd they do?"
Her dark frame went stiff. Why did everyone always have to pry? Was it so hard to grasp that some things simply were best left untold? She let out a hot vent of air before answering moodily. "You've heard about the fall of Protihex?"
At his slow nod, Terabyte finished darkly. "I was there."
The Decepticon spy said very little after that. Cliffjumper asked a few more questions, but Terabyte was anything but forthcoming.
The Next Rotation
"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone." Arcee told Optimus from where she stood at the terminal. Ratchet was at the ground bridge controls, putting in the coordinates. The landing zone was in the middle of an uninhabited region of Australia.
Terabyte looked over at the kids, who had congregated on the walkway to discuss the approaching Autobot.
"You think he's here to visit?" Raf asked, hugging his ever present laptop to his chest.
Miko leapt up, "Maybe he'll stay!" She frowned suddenly and crossed her arms, tapping her lips with one finger. "Hmm… He'll have to find his own human though…"
The two-wheeler's engine growled lightly. "I'm pretty sure that Wheeljack isn't all Bulkhead's got him cracked up to be."
"You're a Decepticon though. You wouldn't have got a chance to meet him except on a battle-field." Jack pointed out.
'Oh yeah. The mech had a hand in slaughtering over two hundred thousand innocents. Mechs, femmes and sparklings alike. He's bound to be a great guy.' Terabyte retorted mentally. Her armor flared out a bit, but she remained silent.
"Was. Terabyte was a Decepticon." Raf corrected. "She's on our side now, remember?"
She smiled at the little boy. He was so young and trusting… If her mission was ever discovered, she didn't know if she'd be able to bear it. This little human mech that reminded her so much of her brother, trusted her. Terabyte could almost feel how betrayed the kid would feel if she was found out.
Terabyte clenched one fist determinedly. She'd hold her cover. Duty and Decepticon honor set aside, she'd hold her cover for this one little fleshy's sake. She'd hold on.
"Ground bridge cycling up…" Ratchet said, interrupting her thoughts. She glanced over to see the control box shut down in a flurry of sparks. With a swift kick to the base of the control box, Ratchet grumbled loudly. "Aargh! Scraplets!" He let out a deep sigh and looked at her and explained unnecessarily, "Equipment hasn't been the same since the infestation."
The medic turned back to the device with a wrench in hand. He must have had it in his subspace.
"So Wheeljack's going to land half-way around the world, and then we'll bridge him back here?" Jack asked the Prime. The kid seemed slightly doubtful of the efficiency of that. He had a decent point. And he'd just helped her narrow down where the base could be.
Optimus stepped up next to her and answered the human mech solemnly. Terabyte tried not to think about how much larger the Prime was compared to her. Normally such drastic size differences didn't bother her but the Prime… He had a very strong aura of authority and power that frightened her.
"We can't risk revealing to him the location of our base, just in case the Decepticons are tracking Wheeljack's ship."
Moments later an alarm blared through the base and everyone rushed over to the terminal to see what it was about.
"Bogies." Arcee explained. "Closing fast on Wheeljack's position."
Bulkhead's engine growled. "Decepticon scum!"
Optimus laid a hand on Bulkhead's shoulder. "We will never obtain peace if such prejudices are maintained. We fight in this war with the goal of saving this planet and creating peace between Autobots and Decepticons."
With that rebuke, the Prime turned to his second. "Arcee, take Bumblebee, Bulkhead, and Terabyte to assist Wheeljack."
The four chosen 'Bots went up to where the ground bridge portal would open and waited. After several klicks, Bulkhead turned around.
"Open the bridge, Ratchet!" The large green Wrecker smashed his fist into his wrecking ball impatiently. "We're missing all the action!"
The ground bridge opened in a swirl of greens and blues, and the team stepped forward.
"I'll prepare sick bay." Ratchet said resignedly.
Bulkhead laughed. "For who? The 'Cons? This is Wheeljack we're talkin' about."
With that, Bulkhead ran through the portal, the other three following close behind.
The first thing she recognized was that the place reeked of fresh spilt life-En and burning wires. Then she saw the last Vehicon still standing. A long, silver, Cybertanium blade was thrust upward through the mech's spark.
The red visor flickered briefly before the blade was torn from his frame and the lifeless husk fell face first into the ground.
Terabyte stared at the white mech. He had a red and green chevron pattern on his chest, other red and green accenting the rest of his frame. Blue life-En dripped off the end of his samurai-like swords. The crevices in the blades meant for draining the life-En were stained with its blue glow.
Next to her, Bulkhead laughed. "Heh. I taught 'im that."
'Good on you.' Terabyte thought, sickened. 'There's really a lot of fairness and honor in stabbing your enemy in the back.'
Wheeljack swung his swords in a fancy arc before sliding them into their sheaths on his back. "You ever think I might need a hand here?"
"What and spoil the show?" Bulkhead answered.
The small femme's jaw tightened until it clicked from the pressure. Her disgust only got stronger when Arcee pointed to a rising Vehicon.
"You missed one." She taunted.
Wheeljack didn't even turn his helm. Tucking his shotgun under his arm, he shot the Decepticon straight in the face, blowing the mech's helm off.
She thought that one's name had been called Voltage. He'd sometimes taken her her Energon when she forgot to go get it, usually when she was busy decoding a promising file. It was sometimes hard to tell though; the Vehicons did all look the same.
The Wrecker pulled down his battle mask and looked them over. "If this is all you've got, this place is in more trouble than I thought."
Terabyte frowned minutely at how the mech seemed to not even notice the enemy symbol on her chassis. Odd. She figured that he would try to kill her, or at least give some taunt or other regarding her prisoner status.
Bulkhead stared at him for several seconds before running up to the white Wrecker and hugging him tightly, completely lifting the mech off his pedes. He laughed long and loud. Arcee and Bumblebee gaped for a moment before smirking at the mechs.
"Jackie!" Bulkhead shouted as he shook the mech in the air.
Wheeljack glanced over at her with a look of awkward disgust. In that moment, Terabyte realized who the mech really was. He broke optic contact with her and laughed at the green mech still hugging him.
"Watch the finish, you big wrecking ball." She noted the light undertone of true annoyance buried under the fond teasing.
She glanced at Arcee and Bumblebee before tentatively opening her special mentor/apprentice bond. She grinned as she instantly sensed her mentor's proximity. She'd only been off the Nemesis for just under a quartex; but it would be good to see him again. Even if he was wearing the face of an enemy. Terabyte brushed away the tiny doubts in her spark… He didn't need to have killed those mechs…
The five mechs ran back through the bridge, with Terabyte last through. She was just barely through when the portal closed with a loud crackling and a brilliant array of sparks as the bridge shorted out.
"Jackie, come 'ere." Bulkhead said, gesturing to Miko, who was just coming down the stairs. Terabyte watched as 'Wheeljack' followed Bulkhead over to see the girl. "Meet my other best buddy, Miko! She can wreck with the best of us."
Miko waved at the newcomer casually. "Hiya."
The white Wrecker crouched down. "You keepin' Bulkhead outta trouble?"
Miko grinned and shrugged, her pink highlighted hair bouncing. "I try... but trouble finds us anyway."
'Wheeljack' looked up at Bulkhead and smirked. "We're gonna get along just fine."
Hearing the heavy pede-falls of the Prime, everyone in the room turned around. Wheeljack spoke up. "Optimus Prime. It's a privilege."
"Likewise, soldier." The Prime replied. "What have you to report from your long journey?"
Wheeljack shrugged nonchalantly. "Been bouncin' around from rock to rock, searching for signs of friend or foe." He looked around and locked optics with Terabyte for a moment. "Here, I find both."
"Our numbers are few, but strong." Optimus said solemnly. "We have suffered losses, but we have grown." As he said so he looked around at Terabyte and the humans. "And we would relish welcoming a new member into our fold."
"I would be honored." The mech answered. No one noticed the light stress on 'would'. He finished through their bond. "But I'm too busy trying not to purge."
Terabyte stifled a laugh. "Good to see you again, Boss."
Bulkhead grinned. "Then let's get this party started!" As he spoke, the mech laughed and smacked Wheeljack on the back, making him stumble forward several feet.
Her mentor regained his balance for a moment before turning around and slamming his chest into Bulkhead's with a loud clang of metal. "Hu-yah!"
Terabyte just barely caught Ratchet's sarcastic muttering. "Oh... Joy."
The dainty silver lip-plates curled up into a smile behind her Prussian blue mask. The odds really had been evened out by 'Wheeljack's' appearance. Only it was the Autobots that would be wishing he'd never found them, not the Decepticons.
'You better watch out, Autobots.' Terabyte thought happily. 'Makeshift is back in the game.'