Duty and Deceit

Chapter 21

Deus Ex Machina

Her optics were wide, her spark beat was rapid, and each pulse seemed to crash her spark against her chassis.

/Memorandum-Summons/

Specialist Terabyte,

Report to Lord Megatron's office promptly at 0900 of the next rotation. Refusal to comply will result in disciplinary action.

All Hail the Lord Protector.

/End/

So read the message displayed on her terminal when the femme sat down for her first shift the rotation before. It was now 0857 and she stood outside the throne room/office where their great leader resides. She had no idea why she had been summoned.

She had worried about it all of yesterday and gotten very little sleep that night. She hadn't gone to her training session either, but that didn't bother her as much as it normally would have. It had been two quartex since Dreadwing's return, and Skyquake had only shown up for their session once in that time. The twin mechs had been stoically silent the whole time, communicating only through their bond. Skyquake's brother also made his antipathy towards her very clear. The small femme was beginning to wonder if perhaps the homecoming of Skyquake's twin meant the ending of their friendship.

Letting out a long sigh, the spy checked her chronometer again. 0859. Willing her spark to stop beating so hard, the two-wheeler quickly made sure that her frame was unmarked before carefully pushing the colossal door open. She could only barely get it open.

Before her, silver armor gleaming where he sat majestically in his throne, was the great Lord Protector himself. Maintaining a reverent posture, she rushed to kneel before her leader.

When he spoke, his voice held a... weary undertone. "Rise, soldier."

Doing as she was bidden, the Prussian blue and black femme spoke cautiously, keeping her helm lowered and her voice neutral. "You summoned, my lord?"

"Indeed." The warlord was silent for a moment. "Soundwave informed me of your decision to no longer command. You are a skilled spy and an able leader... What reasons did you base this choice upon?"

The almost friendly curiosity in his words was unnerving and since she had never before met the mech in person, she was terrified. "I- After the death of one of those serving under my command, it became clear to me that I did- do not possess the leadership skills n-necessary to bring our troops home."

Megatron frowned and observed her with narrow optics. "I disagree, young femme. Darkshine was the first casualty under your command, yes? And after her death, you declared yourself unfit for command."

She nodded slowly, almost positive of what he was trying to tell her. He was suggesting that her decision was rash and not fully thought out, made in a haze of grief. Maybe he was right, maybe it wasn't a logical choice. But in her spark, she knew it was best.

"Femme. This is war. Some mechs live, others do not. But you keep fighting." He snarled bluntly, his voice callous to the deaths of which he spoke. "If everyone quit when some mech they knew perished, the enemy will have won without resistance."

Fuelled by an unforeseen strength and boldness, she challenged his statement. "And if no one cares for the life any other than himself, our armies will march into death like fools. Those who live would live only because they betrayed their cause. With all due respect Lord Megatron, would you have yourself remembered as the leader of fools and cowards? For if we do not hold life precious, the Decepticons as a whole will be no more than such."

Megatron was silent as he considered her words. In the silence, she could feel her courage draining away leaving only apprehension. Had she gone too far? After what seemed like an eon had passed, the silver mech spoke quietly.

"Well said, femme. It's a shame really, you would have made a strong leader. You have the skill and the strength, yet you lack the spark to bear the burdens of a leader." He sounded disgusted by the weakness. With a wave of his hand the warlord dismissed her with a final order. "Report to medical. The good doctor wishes to test a... theory."

"-ergon pulse from the nation of Greece." Ratchet said from where he stood watching his terminal. Only just having walked in behind Arcee, she missed the beginning of the medic's statement. "An ancient city. Quite historic I believe."

Bulkhead hummed thoughtfully. "Ancient Greece huh? Oh... field trip!"

Terabyte examined the Wrecker carefully, weighing her options. The opportunity was too good to miss. "Sir, request permission to accompany you in investigating."

The mech cocked his helm and shrugged, glancing down at Miko. "Dunno. What d'you think, Miko?"

She grinned. "If two's a crowd, three's a party!"

Terabyte followed a few steps behind the Wrecker and his charge, her weapons charged as she stood alert. Her golden optics bored into the mech's broad back as she glared at him. Disposing of the Autobot would have been so much easier if the human had stayed. The child's adoration for Bulkhead was misplaced, but the spy was still loath to outright slay the mech in front of her. She would never do that to a youngling.

Miko turned around and gestured for Terabyte to hurry up. She and the Wrecker were standing on the edge of a small precipice. "C'mon, slow poke! You're lagging!"

The femme complied and stood next to the Wrecker, keeping her weapons drawn. The human girl looked up at Bulkhead with one hand on her hip. "So what're we doing in Greco-ville?"

Bulkhead shot Terabyte a sly smirk. "We're scouting Energon. You're doing research for your history report."

In spite of herself, the spy smirked under her mask. That was something her sire would have done, and had on several occasions. She ignored the quiet voice in her mind questioning why the Wrecker was taking such care of the girl. She seemed to ignore that little voice a lot lately.

Miko harrumphed, glaring up at her guardian. She pointed at the green mech as she exclaimed disbelieving. "You punked me, Bulk? Not cool."

Terabyte glanced over the mech's shoulder to look at the rapidly beeping scanner in his hand.

"The signal is strong." She pointed out quietly, scanning the area carefully.

Bulkhead grunted in agreement. "An excavation site."

The pink-haired girl stared at the piles of dirt in front of them. Catching sight of the equipment she hadn't before noticed, Miko muttered in a slightly awed tone. "Whoa..."

The Wrecker shrugged. "I know construction." Consulting his scanner again, Bulkhead groaned. "According to this, humans hit Energon veins and they don't even know it."

Not quite listening, Terabyte's gaze was snared by a stone slab with carvings etched into its surface. Depicted in the center was a primitive human, holding up in one hand a glowing orb. Around him, many other humans bowed before the orb. She frowned.

"Sir..." Nudging the Wrecker's elbow, Terabyte pointed at the fresco. "Is that an-"

He rubbed his helm with one hand as he frowned at the image. "But why would ancient Greeks paint an Energon Harvester?"

Miko pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of it. "You know what that round thing is? You're smarter than you let on."

Pursing her lips, Terabyte took a mental photo of the fresco and compressed it into a short databurst. As soon as she got a chance, if she ever did, she needed to send this to her commander.

"But dumber than he looks." The navy spy spun around to look at the stranger. Beside her Bulkhead's engine growled and he shifted to an offensive stance, "Breakdown."

The mech appeared to have an automotive vehicle mode, and bore the Decepticon insignia on his steel blue chassis, but Terabyte had never seen him before. He held a silver hammer in his hands. 'Breakdown' chuckled. "Miss me?"

The Wrecker next to her growled again. "Like rust in my undercarriage."

"You know this lunkhead?" Miko asked as she glared – in a way she no doubt thought was menacing – at the new Decepticon. Terabyte scanned her database for the mech. She hadn't ever seen more than a light mentioning of him. He usually acted as little more than Knockout's shadow.

"We have a history." Bulkhead muttered as he continued to watch the steel blue mech.

Breakdown smirked. "And you have a pet." Picking up a marble column, the Decepticon hefted it over his shoulder. "Does it play catch?"

The spy watched in horror for a nanosecond after the pillar was thrown, her processors automatically calculating its trajectory. Ignoring Bulkhead, Terabyte dove for Miko and curled around the human, using her own frame to shield her.

She felt the debris hit her back, but didn't move until she was sure it was safe. The Prussian blue two-wheeler looked up just in time to see a steel blue jeep kicking up a cloud of dust in its wake.

Standing up, Terabyte turned to the Autobot. He was covered in dust and under him was the crumbled remains of the fresco. Bulkhead gave her grateful nod, ran a hand over his helm and grunted, giving Miko a rueful smile. "Told you I'm good at breaking things."

The girl held up her phone and grinned at her guardian, not seeming to have noticed that he'd done nothing to protect her. "I've always got your back Bulk. Got us a picture... of the picture."

Terabyte turned around and took a few steps away from the Wrecker and his charge. Scowling at the dusty Greek landscape, the femme snarled. "You're welcome, kid."

"It is indeed an Energon Harvester…" Optimus Prime confirmed as they all examined an enlarged copy of Miko's photo. It was slightly blurry but Ratchet was able to clear the image much more than normal human technology would have been able to. "A powerful tool created by the ancients to remove raw Energon from any source."

Miko tilted her head and a smile spread itself across her face as she came to her own conclusion. "Greek gods knew Autobots?"

The Prime shook his helm with a smile in his optics, though his faceplates remained solemn. "No. The ancients often used the art of a given era to conceal messages."

Terabyte nodded, having read about similar occurrences on multiple primitive planets. "This fresco was probably a message to any Cybertronians that came across it, indicating that a harvester was hidden somewhere on Earth."

Jack leaned against the railing and frowned. "Uh, Optimus, if the harvester removes Energon from anything and you all have Energon pumping inside you…"

The Prime nodded. "In Decepticon hands, the harvester would be a devastating weapon."

The navy and black spy felt her spark constrict painfully. The Energon harvester would decimate the Decepticon forces if the Autobots got it first. She wasn't sure how she'd manage it, but she must find a way to keep it out of Autobot hands. The amount of death it would bring was too much, even if she was forced to choose between it or her mission.

"See?" Miko told Bulkhead with a friendly punch. "You were a genius to total that painting."

Arcee smirked, shifting where she stood in front of Terabyte. "Miko's not wrong; How can the 'Cons find the harvester without the fresco?"

Raf looked up from where he was seated in front of his laptop, a little to the side of where everyone was gathered. "With high-speed internet." He started tapping at the keys on his computer. "If you do an image search for "Greek gods" and "golden orb", this pops up." Raf pointed to an image of a statue holding the Energon harvester in one hand. "It's in a museum."

The pink and blue Autobot scowled at the image. "That's the real deal?" She turned to Ratchet. "Contact Agent Fowler."

The only answer came from an automated message from the agent. "You've reached special agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an intensive training retreat and unavailable until Tuesday."

Ratchet growled, "I hate talking to machines."

Optimus Prime's next statement came as a shock to Terabyte, though she ought to have known better. The Autobots' acting had apparently been getting to her more than she wished to admit. "Without Agent Fowler's direct aid, we will have to confiscate the harvester on our own."

The eldest human boy held his hands up and took a few steps away from the Prime. "W-whoa, whoa, whoa. 'Confiscate'? As in: steal museum property?"

Raf frowned. "That sounds… illegal."

Terabyte smiled under her mask. At least two of the humans hadn't been completely brainwashed by the Autobots. Maybe she could at least delay the Autobots, and give Soundwave a little more time to get to it first. "It is."

"So we're going to rob the museum?" Cliffjumper asked, just a bit too excitedly. "And just the other day, you were reaming me for a couple tickets."

"I do not wish to break human law, but once the Decepticons learn of the harvester's location, they will not hesitate to obtain it by any means necessary. We must act covertly." The Prime answered calmly. Of course, his words were all empty. The Autobots couldn't care less about human law, they just played along with it so that they could have the Earth government's assistance.

Jack chuckled nervously. "Okay… n-no offense, Optimus, but 'covertly' and 'giant alien robots' don't really go together." He paused for a while before continuing. "Museums are public. A-and they have guards and security cameras-"

Miko cut him off quickly, reaching over to push her finger right up to his face. "No problem! We're small enough to sneak in. And we are not a government secret."

The spy stifled the urge to face-palm. Miko was turning into a full-on Autobot. She was about to protest, but instead only looked over in surprise as Bulkhead did so first, his voice surprisingly sincere. "Miko… I'm not sure that's wise."

Optimus laid a hand on Bulkhead's shoulder. "But it may be our best option, Bulkhead. The longer we debate, the more time we give the Decepticons."

Terabyte wanted to scream that that was exactly what was needed, but instead spoke up with a primarily neutral tone. "With all due respect, Prime, do we really have the right to send human children to fight our battles? This is not their war, nor should they be made criminals to gain a tactical advantage."

"I understand your concerns, but this discussion is over. Our human allies have volunteered of their own free will. No matter the risks, the Energon harvester must not be allowed into enemy hands." The Prime's tone made it obvious that he would tolerate no more arguments. Terabyte felt a shiver run down her struts.

Throughout the planning, the rest of the rotation until first night cycle, and the trip to the museum, Terabyte remained silent. While the Autobots spent the wait brooding over the coming mission, the spy was plotting a way to prevent the Autobots from getting the harvester without blowing her cover. There was also the matter of the Wrecker…

Try as she might, Terabyte was unable to think of a solution to either problem, but rather ended up deciding that she would simply have to bide her time and be prepared for any opportunities that might arise. For the remainder of that time, she worked on compiling her next report. Once again she was amazed by how quickly time had passed. Just one more orn would mark her third quartex with the Autobots. In one way, she couldn't believe that it had been so long, yet in another way, she felt as if it had been forever.

First Night Cycle

Terabyte pulled up towards the front of the museum, parking in alt-mode next to Bulkhead, facing towards the city. The Autobot leader was watching the front of the museum. Opening a comm. channel to all of them, Optimus began relaying orders.

/Autobots, confirm position./

Arcee and Cliffjumper checked in first, Cliffjumper sending a cheeky, /Westward, ho!/

/East side, ready./ Bumblebee sent dutifully, followed by Bulkhead, /Southside covered./

/Good. Maintain your guard./ Using his link to the Autobot base, Prime now spoke to the kids. /Jack, Miko, Rafael, I will have a clear view of you. Once you secure the harvester, I will contact Ratchet to bridge you back to base. Optimus out./

Terabyte had her headlights off and she and the Wrecker sat silent in the pitch-black of night. She transformed silently, extending her dagger and facing Bulkhead. He shook his helm slowly and commed her. /Shh… Prime said to stay put. I don't like this any more than you do, but orders are orders./

She didn't answer, or even show any signs of having received his message. Instead, she took a small step towards him, the yellow glow of her dagger and biolights illuminating her masked face. Alone with the Wrecker in the dead of night, Terabyte would not likely ever have a better chance than now. The Wrecker would pay for his crimes.

/Terabyte! What are you doing? You'll give away our position./ Bulkhead warned her as he backed up a little bit and transformed.

Just then, the sound of electricity and the screeching of tires broke both Cybertronians' attentions. Sharing a glance, they transformed and sped to the front of the building where the noise had come from. When they reached the front, Terabyte caught a glimpse of a red car speeding off down the road with the same blue jeep from earlier that rotation.

Jack ran up with Raf at his side and bent over, panting. "The 'Cons have the harvester! And security has Miko!"

Within the confines of her mind, Terabyte let out a sigh of relief. The Decepticons had the harvester. Her people were safe.

Bulkhead growled. "What? I'm going in after her."

Optimus stopped him with no more than a reproving look. "Bulkhead, Miko may be detained, but she is safe from harm."

With that, the Prime called for a bridge and they returned to the base. Once they were all there and Ratchet had been satisfied that they were all still functioning, Optimus gathered them all together once again.

"In all likelihood, Starscream will use the harvester to gather as much Energon as quickly as he can from the planet's otherwise unmineable Energon deposits." The Prime stated.

Ratchet picked up almost seamlessly from where his leader had left off. "I've calculated that the most likely location for Starscream to go to first would be right… here." The medic pointed at a tiny red dot on the map. It was near Egypt in the Sahara Desert. The sand made it too inconvenient for mining operations.

"We must approach with extreme caution." The Prime continued in grave tones. "Starscream will not hesitate to turn the harvester on any one of us. Bulkhead, it is best that you remain here."

The green mech's optics lit up. "So I can bust Miko out of the museum?"

"So you can help Ratchet." Optimus smiled reassuringly at the Wrecker. "You may be Miko's guardian, but she requires human assistance. Agent Fowler remains her best option."

That said, the Autobot leader took Arcee, Cliffjumper, and Bumblebee through the ground bridge to Ratchet's calculated destination.

Terabyte raised one optic ridge, her lip-plates pursed in slight annoyance. "I suppose that means I am to remain here. Is there any way in which I may assist you, medic?"

"Be quiet." The red and white bot snapped tetchily.

A few minutes later, Agent Fowler's answering machine was heard again, repeating the same words as before. "You have reached special agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an intensive training retreat and unavailable until Tuesday."

"Still no answer." Ratchet unnecessarily informed Bulkhead.

The Wrecker's engine growled in frustration. "Fowler's probably lounging around some poolside cabana." With an exasperated grunt, Bulkhead smashed his fist into the medic's welder, effectively pulverizing the tool.

"Aargh! Bulkhead! I needed that!" Ratchet yelled angrily, waving the half-finished replica of the harvester that was in his hand.

"We can free Miko if we can just return that harvester to the museum." Bulkhead said finally.

Terabyte shook her helm, the idea instantly disqualifying itself. "So it can get stolen all over again?"

The olive green Wrecker groaned, turning around and holding his helm. "I am so dumb!"

She almost felt sorry for the mech. Almost. She looked up at Jack, who'd moved from where he had been standing next to her and Raf. As usual, she was seated on the stairs. The eldest human spoke up. "So, how are we going to help Miko?"

Ratchet didn't answer for a while, busily poking around inside his golden orb. Finally he looked up. "By returning this replica to the museum." He shot a withering glare in Bulkhead's direction, speaking with annoyed emphasis. "The construction of which would be going a whole lot faster if Bulkhead hadn't just mangled my frame welder!"

Jack shrugged, muttering. "We're already trespassers and thieves. Why not add forgery to the list?"

'Yeah. Why not? It's not like the Autobots actually follow their own ideals. Why should the law of other worlds be any different?' Terabyte thought sourly, totally missing the first part of Bulkhead's sudden inspiration.

"-ool he has, he's gonna take the easy route." The Wrecker said excitedly. "Ratch, open a bridge to where we found the fresco. Terabyte, you're with me. We've got a harvester to get back."

Autobot and Decepticon spy stood side by side and watched in horror as Starscream raised the harvester, pointing it directly at the two new Decepticons. They dodged out of the way, only for the unlucky Vehicon behind them to get caught in the harvester's path. The mech screamed, his life-En literally being torn from his frame in a fabulous display of swirling blue lights.

In mere moments the mech's empty husk crashed to the ground, the frame completely drained of all life.

Had she not been in the War as long as she had, Terabyte probably would have purged. Even so, the sight of such a brutally pointless murdering of a fellow Decepticon, for no better reason than to see if he could… It made her ill. Shaking her helm as if to rid herself of the horrid image engraved in her mind, the spy moved forward silently, indicating that the Wrecker follow.

The sound of shattering sliced through the stillness of the night, immediately making their position known to Starscream, Breakdown, and the other mech, who as he turned to face them, Terabyte instantly recognized as Knockout. Turning around, the spy discovered the cause of the sound. Casting her a guilty glance, Bulkhead slowly raised his pede off of the remains of an ancient vessel of some sort. "Oh, scrap."

She sighed. "Ditto."

Knockout approached her slowly, one side of his lip curled in disdain. His voice rolled over her like a poison. "So, Terabyte. You finally betrayed us."

Unable to answer otherwise without revealing her secret to the Autobot currently preoccupied with Breakdown, the spy stayed silent, her only action being to extend her dagger and charge her cannon.

"You see, I knew all along with you." He laughed, pausing for a moment to examine his servos. Vain mech. "It was only a matter of time. You never were a true Decepticon."

Again she remained quiet, now circling the red mech. Warily, she was constantly aware of where his Energon prod was, yet she also tried to appear unconcerned by it. If she looked like she wasn't paying attention, then Knockout would strike overconfidently.

"So how long have you been a traitor? Orns, quartex, vorns?" Knockout sneered his rich, high-class accent twisted in false pity. "They don't seem to trust you yet… how sad."

She snarled, his words stinging her pride. She wasn't a traitor. This was for her cause. The only reason she was with the Autobots was for her cause. "What would you know of loyalty? Or trust? Your only loyalty is to yourself."

The mech's lips split into a grin. "Coming from the femme who just betrayed us. Nice."

With an angry roar, Terabyte lunged at the red Decepticon, unable to allow her loyalty to be insulted any further. Slicing her dagger towards the mech, the spy felt herself smile under her mask as the tip of the blade pulled a long scratch across the perfectly polished chassis. Quick to dodge Knockout's counterattack, she slid back out of range and began circling again.

The vain mech looked down at the scratch for several seconds before he finally let out an enraged hiss. "You. Scratched. My. Paint."

Before she could react, the mech was charging towards her at full-speed, Energon prod charged and crackling. Too slow, Terabyte leapt to the side and Knockout pressed the prod into her abdomen. Landing hard on the ground, the small spy could feel her frame twitching uncontrollably as the electricity coursed through her. She let out static-filled yelp as he pressed it deeper into her chassis.

Fiery pain blossomed from where the prod punctured her armor, the agony spreading rapidly through her systems. She couldn't control herself to move, the pain enveloping her thoughts and making any primary functions near impossible. Blackness tinged the edges of her sight and mind as the furious Decepticon medic continued to electrocute her.

Terabyte opened her mouth and with a wild scream, used what little strength she had to swing her pede under her attacker, effectively knocking his pedes out from under him. The Energon prod fell deactivated to the ground beside her.

Rising on shaky pedes, the spy retracted her dagger and glared at the mech. He was attempting to stand up again. Terabyte's engine growled and, vents heaving, she readied herself. Right as the Decepticon medic was halfway standing, she took one step back. Pulling her fist back, Terabyte punched him in the face just as hard as she could.

With a slight wobble, the mech fell back to the ground unconscious. Terabyte shook out her hand and grinned behind her mask. "Now that's what I call a knock out."

After taking several moments to bask in her success, the femme remembered the current battle. Turning around she ran towards Starscream and Bulkhead. Beautifully strange and almost ethereal blue tendrils of light were swirling around the large green Wrecker as he struggled to crawl forward.

She knew that she ought to stop the mech's progress, make him stop approaching the Air Commander. But the lights were so beautiful. So mesmerized by the lethal lights, Terabyte simply stood frozen in her spot, watching. Several meters away, Breakdown stood with a similarly hypnotized expression.

The Wrecker somehow managed to get to his feet. He stumbled forward, purpose clear in his optics. When he finally reached Starscream, Bulkhead raised one hand and grabbed the harvester. The Seeker's optics widened in shock and Terabyte saw his mouth open as he asked a question. She was too far away to hear.

Then Bulkhead punched him in the face and snatched the harvester. Terabyte's whole frame jolted suddenly as if she'd just been pulled out of a trance. Realizing what the Wrecker was about to do, the spy ran at top speed towards him, her cannon charging. As soon as it reached full power, she raised it to fire.

Before she could shoot, the Wrecker crushed the golden orb in his fists. Taking a step back, Bulkhead threw the dented orb high into the sky. Almost out of instinct, Terabyte raised her cannon and blasted the broken remains of the harvester out of the sky. Bulkhead blinked several times, staring first at the ashes now floating down in the moonlight then at her smoking cannon. He gave her a weak thumbs up before swaying unsteadily, the mech crashed to the ground, his frame exhausted from Energon deprivation.

As an afterthought, Terabyte was glad she'd shot the harvester. It no longer appeared as though she'd been aiming at the Wrecker's spark. Which she had been. So many times this day she'd been tempted to break her cover, and very nearly had. But as far as she knew, her cover was intact.

Hearing a ground bridge open, Terabyte looked up to see two things. One was Breakdown speeding out into the desert with Knockout on his back. The other was Team Prime. They flew out of an above-ground portal, transforming mid-air and landing on their pedes, weapons at the ready.

Terabyte stood to attention, smartly saluting the Prime. "Mission accomplished, sir."