Duty and Deceit
Chapter 31
The Wrong Side of the Gate
Charred, collapsed, and rusting. This was her home. Was. The femme's tanks churned. Dead frames of people she knew and people she never met lay strewn in the same positions that they drew their last breaths. No one had cared enough or had the time to bury the dead, even though it had been several vorns.
Ashes coated the whole city in a blanket the color of death. It was clear that no one had set pede inside the city since the rotation it fell. The spy walked through slowly, Skyquake by her side. In many places, the ground had fallen, as if there had once been a labyrinth below.
She felt like an empty husk as she walked through the palaces of the dead. All she could think about was how much the Autobots would pay.
Tripping on a round object, she fell to her knees, just like she had that awful day. A sense of deja vu washed over her as she turned to see what she'd tripped on. A pained gasp forced its way through her lips.
As she'd feared, she had returned to that horrid place. Skywarp's decapitated helm leered at her. She grabbed Sky's offered hand and let him pull her up. She didn't let go, holding onto it like her only lifeline; she was not far from that frightened youngling that had limped out of here three vorns ago, the memories all still fresh in her mind.
The spy looked down at the ashy helm. A frantic desperation overwhelmed her and she let go of Skyquake's hand and ran without explanation towards the pile of rubble that had held her apartment. Desperately she dug through the remains, oblivious to the life-En beginning to leak from her hands and servos as she scrabbled at the rusted chunks of building, mixed with glass.
She dug and dug, for an amount of time she could never remember. Skyquake and even Dreadwing's pleas for her to stop went unheard and unheeded.
Finally with a sob, she found what she was searching for. Her parents' frames. Bullwing's lifeless hands were still tightly wrapped around Tetrastar.
"Help me!" She shouted through her tears, "Help me get them out!"
Surprisingly both mechs hurried forward to aid her without question. After another groon, they had dug the two rusting frames from the rubble and carried them to a flat place. The spy silently grieved as she worked alone to dig a grave for them. The sun set as she worked, casting a dreary shadow over the city.
The sun had risen and fallen again, but she paid little attention to that.
She still sat on her knees, a pool of coolant around her pedes. In front of the small, broken femme stood a simple steel chunk of wall, crudely carved into a half oval. Carefully, painstakingly engraved into its surface were the words:
Bullwing and Tetrastar, Creators of Terabyte
"Ages come, and ages go,
On and on an endless flow,
Battles raging, vict'ries won,
Have no effects,
In sweet Protihex...
Ages come and ages go,
Sparks of loved ones, sparks of kin,
Never lost, they live within
Each of our sparks!"
The little femme hummed quietly to herself, rocking side to side with the gentle tune of the lullaby. She sat alone in the silence. Skyquake and Dreadwing had reluctantly left her in peace so they could complete the mission. They would meet her back here in a rotation or two.
She looked up at the sky fiercely. "I will avenge Protihex. This I vow."
Soundwave stood impassively in front of the cell's glowing Energon bars. Behind them, on a cold steel berth, lay a tiny, Protihexian femme. Her Prussian blue and black frame sparkled in the dim, rhythmically fluctuating light of her bio-lights. He had seen to her repairs personally.
Her recharge was broken with low whines and whimpers. Her servos scratched mindlessly at her spark.
She was still a youngling when she first came into his department. He hadn't expected much of her. Just another droning mind, another computer to sort his files. But her skill had impressed him. Even then, she had the processor for his higher level math and coding.
His routine of scanning new mechs' processors was far less routine with her. Her youngling mind had built around itself the most powerful firewalls Soundwave had ever encountered in the untrained mind; she was oblivious to her own abilities.
All Megatron saw in her was her rage. His leader wanted to mould her into a killing machine, because of the depth of her fury. But Soundwave knew that such a fate would break the femme. She had such potential, but she was not a war-mech. He could not allow his leader to shatter such potential.
When the battles became too much for her, it was easy to convince Megatron to give her to him. Megatron thought she was weak, but Soundwave knew better.
Because his leader gave up on her, Soundwave was able to tune her mind, focus her abilities, shape her into a masterpiece. Terabyte of course, never learned her own potential. To this very day, she never knew how much she had helped the Decepticons.
She was his masterpiece.
But she allowed the enemy to corrupt her. They had tarnished his masterpiece. Their attempts to steal his work would inevitably fail. He would fix her. She would be his masterpiece again.
He had miscalculated when he sent her on that mission. There had been unforeseeable variables that had not factored in. The return of Skyquake shattered her defenses. The Autobots repaired him, and the corruption set in. But he would fix her, and he would make sure she could never betray him again.
Systems silently whirring to life, Terabyte lay on the berth, keeping her optics offline, not showing any signs of being awake.
Someone was watching her.
She could feel their gaze boring into her. Carefully she extended her electromagnetic field outwards, hoping to recognize the field of whoever was watching. Most mechs didn't have any control over their own EM field, and wouldn't notice the light touch of hers.
Stretching her field until it gently brushed against three different fields, the femme took little time to recognize them. Two were Vehicons, their fields withdrawn and pressed to their frames: they were afraid. Of what? She expanded a little further.
Terabyte quickly pulled back, recognizing the stiff, powerful EM field of her commander. She laid in the berth, trying to still her fluttering spark while continuing the charade of recharge.
Megatron's voice boomed through the silence, "Rise soldier. You cannot fool me."
She onlined her optics and sat up obediently, watching Soundwave warily. Her armor was flared to its normal, defensive position. The blue Energon bars between them crackled quietly.
Terabyte thought about all the times she'd been sent here to hack various Autobots for information. There had been few able to put up any sort of resistance. There had only been two that she hadn't been able to hack: Jazz and Perceptor.
Neither had fought back, they'd just protected their intel and tried to convince her she was on the wrong side. She never paid heed to their arguments.
That had annoyed her, that she couldn't hack them. So she'd studied her memories of those two mechs' firewalls until she found the weaknesses she'd missed. A few clever aspects were integrated into her own firewalls. She was confident that she would be able to hack them now.
But now she was on the wrong side of the gate as it were. She was the one to be interrogated, no doubt by Soundwave himself if his presence was anything to go by.
Suddenly Terabyte's hand flew to her neck as she remembered the battle last night. The wound she was expecting to find was nonexistent. Quickly she glanced down at her frame. Each golden joint was shiny and clean, freshly oiled. Dents and scrapes had been smoothed out and painted over. Nothing was left to betray the previous night. It was almost like a dream.
She looked at Soundwave inquisitively. He ignored her, flicking a hand at the guard. With a loud crack and a fizzle, the energy bars dissipated. The silent purple mech looked directly at her before walking slowly away.
Terabyte stood straight and tall as she walked past the guard. He snickered. "Hi, Terabyte. Happy death day!"
The spy glanced at him coolly. "Hello Haywire."
She moved on, following Soundwave quietly, keeping her helm high as various mechs either jeered at her or shrank away in fear.
Terabyte smiled wryly under her mask. This must have been how it felt when prisoners were escorted to the plaza for public execution. Helm raised high, spark pulse rapid, fear and anxiety stuffed behind a wall of pride. She'd never imagined that she'd find herself in this position… at least not in Decepticon territory.
She offlined her optics as she walked, not wanting to see their jeering faces. Her finials swiveled constantly, twitching nervously as she heard their hateful words. Traitor, dead-mech walking... many were cheering on the fate of a higher-up.
Somehow though, Terabyte was pretty sure they weren't going to off her... yet. They wouldn't have repaired her right before her execution. Such waste of resources would be unthinkable.
That's what scared her.
The femme didn't have a clue what they were going to do to her. She also knew that Soundwave knew that not knowing would be torture to her. Normally, when a prisoner was repaired, it only meant that Megatron wished to prolong their agony and would continue to torture them within an inch of their lives and then repair them just enough to survive the next session.
Finally they reached the med-bay, where Megatron and Knockout were waiting for them. Soundwave silently stepped aside, leaving her face to face with Megatron. She stood stiffly in front of him. Her armor remained flared to its usual position, if not slightly more so.
"Lord Megatron." She said neutrally, looking up at the large mech, her optics cold.
He inclined his helm slightly. "It seems the Autobots have not completely stripped you of sense."
"With all due respect sir," Terabyte continued evenly, her tone betraying very little. "Shall we get to the point?"
The silver warlord snarled, blood red optics glaring down at the femme who stood proud and tall – as tall as someone who only reached his midriff could stand.
"Indeed. You're mission has been... cancelled, Lieutenant Terabyte. The troops will be informed of the nature of your mission. You performed your duties admirably, and you have been recalled for a promotion to Lieutenant Commander, to continue your duties as second in command of your department. Return to your post, soldier."
Terabyte laughed humorlessly. She glanced at Soundwave and Knockout before regarding the warlord. Her mask was still up, but it was obvious to everyone that she was grinning like they were all two-bit fools.
"You really expect me to just come back like a good soldier, sir?" She shook her helm incredulously, her tone mocking.
"Well, actually..." Knockout started arrogantly, checking the polish on his servos.
"Be silent, Knockout." Megatron interrupted impatiently, sounding like he was very tired of saying that. His voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper. "You had such potential... Such beautiful rage..."
The warlord tilted her chin up with one clawed servo, so much that Terabyte felt her neck cables straining. "Your skill fueled by pure, murderous rage... It would be such a shame to see that wasted. After all, you do want to avenge Protihex, don't you? Why would you join the killers of your parents?"
The spy's faceplates went tight, her optics widened slightly. She hadn't told anyone other than Skyquake and Makeshift. She supposed that was another thing Makeshift had lied to her about. Not surprising really. But that didn't change that it hurt.
Her engine let out a low growl as she jerked her helm from Megatron's grip. His clawed servo scratched her mask with a harsh screech as she pulled away. "Why would I stay with the mechs who've lied to me for a decavorn? Sire always told me that when the only choices are bad, go with the lesser evil."
Megatron snarled, "Your sire was a weak, cowardly fool." He waved a hand at the medic, who was busily buffing his servos.
"Let it never be said that the Lord Protector is without mercy..." The warlord grinned cruelly, sending a shiver down her struts. "I will forgive your disrespect and graciously allow you to reenter Decepticon ranks with no demotion... whether you like it or not!"
Knockout smirked at her, roughly shoving her onto one of the medical berths, magnetizing the berth and strapping her down with steel clamps for good measure.
"I've never been too good at brain games..." He explained casually, unclasping the panel on the back of her neck covering the data port. "But I'll let Soundwave start his part first. To keep your mind, ah, occupied."
She frowned, not quite understanding what he was talking about. A thick cord was slammed into the data port. Terabyte gasped as her frame jerked spasmodically. Her firewalls instantly slipped into defense-mode as a foreign mind seemed to trickle into hers.
All awareness of the outside world melted and her thoughts were all turned inward. Soundwave's mind was crushing the thick, constantly fluctuating walls around her own mind. Layer upon layer of the thick boundaries of encryptions and defense felt the pressure of his attacks.
Already several layers had shattered under Soundwave's skill. Each time a layer broke, pain flooded her mind.
Terabyte shrieked and let loose her own counterattack, hacking her attacker's own heavily shielded mind. Being a cortical psychic patch, she was able to attack his mind just as easily as he could hers.
Her processors spun at full capacity as she searched and found the rare weaknesses in Soundwave's firewalls. Coding errors were out of the question, but his complex barriers had slight patterns, patterns only the trained mind could see.
At the same time, the femme was struggling to maintain her own defenses, frantically adding variations as she tried to ignore the continuing pain as layers fell. She noted with satisfaction that her attacks were not unsuccessful, and Soundwave's firewalls were shattering, though not nearly so fast as her own.
Just in case she failed, Terabyte deleted all the information she had on the Autobot base and its location. Only she was able to delete files in her own mind; that was one of the very few things that not even Soundwave could overwrite. She wouldn't betray them. If she survived until they came for her, then they could take her back to base. If they came for her...
Waves of contentment, lethargy, and security were coming from the empathic mech's mind as he tried to offset her focus, tried to lull her into a passive state of mind. But Terabyte wouldn't allow herself to stop fighting. She in turn put together a simple string of code which she added to every layer of her remaining defenses. It would simultaneously protect her from being affected by the waves, while bouncing them back at him.
In spite of her making it more difficult and in spite of her hacking his defenses, Terabyte felt a sliver of smug satisfaction and approval from Soundwave. She ignored it and continued her barrage with more vigor.
Terabyte felt all of her non-vital systems shut down, boosting processor power to maximum. Her engine growled in annoyance.
This wasn't working. She needed to break his walls before he broke hers, but her own walls were falling far too fast. She wouldn't be able to finish tearing them-
Realization struck her and she changed tactics quickly. A grin crept its way onto her masked faceplates. She didn't need to break his defenses... She just needed to get past them.
When infiltrating a fort, every spy knows that it's far easier to make a small gap through which to enter. No agent worth their polish would try to break down the whole fort. That was another mech's job.
With this in mind, her hacking got exponentially faster and in moments she was – metaphorically speaking – standing in Soundwave's mind. She stared forward into the vast expanse of uncharted territory. Perhaps this was what the humans' 'Armstrong' had felt when he landed on the moon.
A brief moment, less than a fraction of an astrosecond, passed in which Terabyte hesitated in awe of what she'd just accomplished and what lie ahead of her.
But that was all Soundwave needed.
Her helm seemed to implode and shatter as the last shreds of defense were fragmented and scattered through her mind. Soundwave's consciousness flooded into her processors all at once, the suddenness wreaking havoc through her processors.
Every neural pathway in her helm seemed to light on fire as the mech delved into every file in her mind, tossing them aside like crumpled scraps of paper, completely fragmented her mind beyond what she was capable of ever repairing.
She heard herself scream as her former commander scrambled her mind. She felt him reach into her core programming, changing and altering it to fit his purpose, but she was helpless to defend herself. It also felt as though there were hands in her spark chamber, doing who knew what.
She couldn't tell the difference between what was in her helm and what was reality.
Terabyte wouldn't have noticed when Soundwave had finished reprogramming her, for that was what he was doing. No, the small femme capable of hacking Soundwave – once anyway – wouldn't have noticed.
If it weren't for the brief warning her processors gave her saying: Modifications completed. Reboot systems to integrate changes?
Before her disjointed mind could process the request, Soundwave had confirmed it and exited her mind. Terabyte felt every system in her body go offline one by one until blackness enveloped her.
Meanwhile: Omega Outpost 1
Skyquake paced outside of the med-bay, armor flared in agitation. The other Autobots were giving him a wide berth, all watching his every move. Arcee kept shooting worried glances into the med-bay, where Cliffjumper lay in stasis, Ratchet busily painting the mech's new pede.
The other one had been irreparably damaged from the knee down, so he'd had to replace the mech's lower pede. Luckily, spare parts to replace the limb had been available, so the only thing Cliffjumper would have to do was reintegrate it, which would only take a day or so.
When Terabyte and Cliffjumper hadn't checked back in, they'd sent a rescue team. The red mech was found unconscious in a puddle of rain and his own life-En. Terabyte had been nowhere to be found.
This was day five of his vigil outside the med-bay, and this was the day Cliffjumper was to be released from medical custody. Skyquake's engine growled deeply. If he didn't find out what that mech had done to her...
Ratchet would be busy welding shiny red parts back together for a very long time.
Finally Cliffjumper limped out of the med-bay, wobbling slightly on the newly attached pede.
Skyquake stomped towards the mech, not particularly caring that Cliffjumper was still recovering from the battle. He didn't care that Cliffjumper now had a new pede to figure out. He did however, care that Cliffjumper hadn't returned with Terabyte.
The massive jet loomed over the red warrior, grabbing him around the neck and slamming him roughly against the concrete wall. Glaring into Cliffjumper's sky blue optics, Skyquake snarled, "Where. Is. She?"
The mech hung loosely in his grip, glaring back at him. "I might tell you if you asked nicely."
The jet slammed him into the wall again, ignoring the voices around them, yelling at him to stand down. He ignored the hands pulling him away; he didn't let go, simply jerking his shoulders just enough to dislodge them.
"I might kill you if you don't tell me what you did to her." Skyquake sneered, tightening his grip and feeling the armor of Cliffjumper's neck buckle, pressing down on the vital Energon line that powered his processors. "I don't think you're in a very good position to be laying down demands at the moment."
Skyquake's wing twitched slightly as he felt Arcee's blaster point press against his helm. "Put him down, now."
His jaw clenched in annoyance. This wasn't her fight! He grinned savagely, never turning his gaze from Cliffjumper's optics. "I see... that's how you've stayed alive in this war. You let your little femme fight your battles for you. Typical."
The mech under his hand growled, his voice filled with static as his vocalizer was also being crushed under the jet's grip. "Prime, Arcee, back off. I got this under control."
"You're getting strangled!" Arcee shouted, not moving her gun, "How is that 'under control'?"
"You trust me?" Cliffjumper asked tightly. "I got this."
The blaster powered down and Skyquake felt her back away reluctantly. He snarled, squeezing the mech's neck even harder in his worried anger, "Now. I ask again: where is she?"
The mech's red hands reached up and scratched frantically at his throat, squeaking out, "Can't... talk."
Heaving an impatient sigh, Skyquake dropped the mech like a limp rag. Crumpling to the floor, and massaging his slightly crushed vocalizer, Cliffjumper shot a dark glare at Skyquake.
"There." The jet spat, unsympathetic to the Autobot's injuries. "Talk."
"Soundwave. Took her to the Nemesis." Cliffjumper croaked. "Couldn't stop him."
Skyquake roared and kicked the wall sharply, inches from Cliffjumper's face. He turned around, afraid to look at the red warrior, lest he lose what little control his worry had left him. Terabyte wouldn't want him to kill Cliffjumper. It wasn't even the mech's fault really.
"Do you have. Any. Idea." He ground out, furiously, "What they'll do to her?!" Skyquake growled. "We have to get her back."
Some Unknown Time Later...
Defrag progress at 100%... External aid departed.
Terabyte stirred slightly. A finial twitched. Her systems whirred lazily to life and she onlined one red optic.
The world above her was... fluffy! Her processors informed her cheerily. And pink! No... wait. Her other optic onlined, clearing things up a little.
The world above her was shiny, her processors reevaluated. And very red... And mechly. Like a face.
The femme groaned and shuttered her optics quickly. Her helm throbbed painfully.
"Rise and shine, sweetspark!" Knockout sang, far too loudly for her health.
She held her optics tightly shuttered, reaching up to massage her temples. Making sure her mask was up, which it thankfully was, Terabyte sat up slowly, opening her optics again.
"What happened?" The spy asked blearily. The last thing she remembered, she had been on a deep cover mission in Autobot ranks...
The red mech shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, you know, this and that. Nothing you won't remember in time, darling."
"Don't call me that." She muttered, running a self-diagnostic. Everything seemed in order.
A few memories slid into place. There had been a battle. Cliffjumper had discovered that she was a spy. He tried to kill her, but Soundwave rescued her. She'd hit her helm in the fray, but she'd been repaired and promoted, her mission ended. Then Megatron had dismissed her.
Terabyte looked down at her pedes and frowned. The blue parts of her armor seemed darker. No longer Prussian blue, it was now only a few shades short of being black. Midnight blue. Her bio-lights were different too. Red bio-lights... Had they always been red? No. They were yellow. She liked the yellow better.
"Why are my optics and bio-lights red?" She asked suspiciously.
"You don't remember?" Knockout asked, soundly mildly concerned, though mostly just curious. "That's what you came in here for in the first place. That helm injury the other day must still be affecting you."
"Why would I do that?"
He shrugged again, raising his hands in a gesture of innocence. "Don't look at me. I just followed orders." His optics picked up a mischievous glint, "Not that I'd blame you if you want to look at me... we both know I'm gorgeous."
Terabyte rolled her optics disgustedly, muttering, "Narcissistic rust-bucket. Why did I say I wanted them changed?"
He glared at her. "Since you were so polite about it... You said something about wanting to separate yourself from the past. What with Flyboy terminating and all."
Skyquake had terminated? The world seemed to shatter around her like glass. Why hadn't she remembered that?
The battle replayed in her mind. Bumblebee tearing out clumps of circuitry. Herself bent over his frame. Protecting him from the Prime. Ratchet refusing to fix him. Her voice wavered, "W-when?"
"I don't know, you're the one who sent in the report." Knockout snapped irritatedly. "I have more important things to do than get interrogated by an amnesiac femme with less manners than a glitchmouse."
"Like what?" Terabyte countered in annoyance. "Buffing your nose?"
She stormed out angrily, heading towards her quarters. Out of habit, the femme passed by the door that would have been to Skyquake's quarters, laying a hand on it as had become her habit since they left Cybertron. She looked at it sadly, a drop of coolant falling from her optics, now the color of fire.
Terabyte shook her helm firmly. She didn't have time to mourn. She could mourn after the War. If she let herself dwell on the matter, she wasn't sure she'd be able to bring herself back out. No, she couldn't let herself think about her grief, lest it overwhelm her.
She could only think about revenge.
Stomping into her quarters, Terabyte glared at her reflection in the small mirror on the far wall. She had always preferred the spiked Decepticon insignia. She focused on her newly altered bio-lights. The red was fitting. It made her think of rage.
The Autobots had now taken everything worth living for. First her home and family, then her friends and planet. But they had made a big mistake when they took Skyquake. One of the last mistakes they would ever make.
They had taken her anchor.
Next Day
Megatron stood on the upper deck of the Nemesis, gazing out over the edge, watching the Earth below them. Pathetic flesh bags milled about their own useless lives, scurrying about in their little cities as if whether or not they ate at 'McDonald's' or 'Burger King' was a matter of life or death.
This planet contained so much riches, vast expanses of wealth and power just beneath its muddy surface, and the inhabitants didn't have a clue. He closed his optics. He would build a new Cybertron on this world; a single step in his journey of conquest.
But Optimus and his team of misfits were getting in the way of his plans. And somehow the army of idiots under his command couldn't figure out how to offline five Autobots. Or even the puny flesh bag sparklings they carried around.
"Soundwave." Megatron acknowledged, his musings interrupted, "What is the femme's condition?"
"All is prepared." A recording of Shockwave's voice replied coldly.
The warlord hummed thoughtfully. He had ordered that she be reprogrammed in such a way as to make her totally loyal to himself and his cause. His silent soldier had a disturbing attachment, or more accurately: possessiveness, for the femme.
"How much did you alter?"
The communications and intelligence commander hesitated for a while, gazing out at the clouds. Finally he settled for a recording of Knockout from his security feeds. "Oh, you know, this and that..."
... Terabyte's voice, bleary and confused, "What happened?" ... "Expect me to come back... I will stay..."
Megatron nodded. "Her true memories suppressed and replaced? And all predetermined failsafes installed?"
Soundwave nodded an affirmative.
The silver mech held his hands behind his back, a smirk on his lip-plates. "Excellent." He turned to face Soundwave, the smirk twisting into a snarl. "Bring her to me, with Starscream. I wish to test her loyalty... and pay a few bills that are long overdue..."
"Bring her to me... I wish to test her loyalty..."
Terabyte watched her commander with a calculating gaze. She turned away from her terminal where she was enhancing scanner capabilities. "Yes sir. Will there be Autobots present?"
An indigo cursive x appeared on his visor for a moment. Then he turned and walked back into his office to work. Anyone else would have been insulted by this. But as his second, she was pretty well used to her silent commander's many quirks. And his frustrating habit of walking out mid-conversation.
She walked quickly to the upper levels, ordering a few idle Vehicons back to their respective departments. Arriving on the roof, she glanced around, quickly spotting the tall figure of the Lord Protector.
The lieutenant marched up smartly to the warlord and the air commander. She stood stiffly to attention.
"My lord." She paused, tacking on the respectful side note, "Starscream."
The Seeker made an offended noise, but was quickly silenced by a withering glare from Megatron. "We will go by bridge." He motioned to the Vehicon in charge of the ground bridge.
Terabyte scowled momentarily at the swirling green portal. She didn't remember the Decepticons having a ground bridge. It must have been constructed during her absence. She had sent Ratchet's bridge schematics in her second report. The Decepticon trio stepped through the bridge, into a valley between an abandoned mine entrance and a lush green forest.
Megatron calmly led them towards the entrance, the spy following at a respectful, but close distance behind and to his left. To his right, Starscream struggled to keep up, his poise anxious.
"Uh..." The air commander chuckled nervously, "far be it from me to question your intentions, but I do not understand why we've returned here after all this time..." He looked around as if considering escape, chuckling again, "Alone."
The warlord simply kept walking, bringing a slight smirk to her hidden faceplates. Starscream lagged behind as they entered the cave.
Peeking in after them, the spindly seeker called after them more insistently, "Every last trace of Energon was extracted from this mine..." He sounded like he was trying to persuade his leader. "There's nothing left."
Not for the first time, Terabyte wondered why she had been brought with them. Of course, she didn't dare ask Megatron, lest his patience run out. The warlord's apparent patience with Starscream amazed her.
Finally the Lord Protector turned around, his voice rumbling through the caves, "Indulge me, Starscream, won't you?"
The air commander's engine made a strangled sort of squeak and he scampered forward. Wringing his hands, he muttered, "Eh heh... Yes..."
As they walked in continuing silence, the only sound to be heard was that of their own echoing pede-falls, and the occasional clatter of a displaced pebble. After a breem, Terabyte cautiously broke the silence.
"My lord, if I may," She started, immediately cutting herself off as the tunnel they were following met into a large chamber.
Three large, Decepticon mining drills were parked haphazardly along the walls of the massive chamber. Terabyte attempted to run a scan, but something in the mine's composition was interfering with her systems. Sensing the tension between her leader and his second, the spy kept her distance, opting for observation only.
Megatron cocked his helm slightly, his voice level. "How intriguing."
"Oh!" Starscream jumped nervously, before cringing away from the warlord momentarily. Seconds later he straightened up, wings flared indignantly, stomping forward and flinging his hands up angrily, "Agh! Incompetent fools! This mining equipment should have been relocated."
"Why is it still here?!" Starscream exclaimed, no doubt not intending for his act to be so translucent. He would be awful in her department. And probably dead.
"A most valid question." Megatron said flatly, sounding as equally unimpressed as she was.
Starscream pulled in a harsh intake before spinning around and stumbling over himself and a hasty excuse. "My apologies, master..." And enter youngling-ish servo pointing, Terabyte thought with a wry smirk. "I believe Soundwave was in charge of, eh, coordinating transport."
The warlord's considerably large engine growled, the low sound echoing in the cavern. Starscream's engine let out a tiny whimper, before he spluttered, "B-but in all fairness, during your interstellar travels, we all had to assume additional responsibilities, am I right, Terabyte?"
She gave him a flat stare, cocking one optic ridge slightly. Terabyte grinned behind her mask, quite enjoying the air commander's struggles. After all, entertainment was hard to come by in war. Dryly, she replied, "That's 'Lieutenant Commander' Terabyte to you. Sir."
Starscream chuckled weakly, easily translating her obvious refusal of any assistance. "Eh heh... Clearly, mistakes were made..."
Megatron hummed in agreement, the white ring in his red optics brightening as he got angrier. "Yes..." Terabyte jumped back slightly as the silver mech plunged his fist into the wall next to him, pulling out a large clump of raw Energon. "Clearly."
The Seeker gasped loudly, already stepping back quickly, hands halfway raised to his face in defense. The warlord snarled, crushing the crystals underpede. "Every last trace of Energon extracted?!"
"L-lord Megatron! I-I can explain!" His pale red optics were wide with fear as the air commander continued to back away from the enraged warlord approaching.
Terabyte pitied the Seeker, but was not inclined to vainly sacrifice her own life in an attempt to save the rude, whiny mech. She had nothing against Starscream, nothing personal. She just needed to live long enough to avenge her home, her family, and Skyquake.
"Explain what?" Megatron asked furiously. "That you've been hoarding a supply of Energon for your own personal use?!"
"No!" Starscream wailed instantly. Then he amended, "Not exactly... you see I-"
"Do not take me for a fool, Starscream!" Megatron roared, bending down to look the Seeker in the optics.
"I- b-b-but- not-!" He sputtered, armor tight to his frame.
The warlord ignored him, still stalking towards him, "I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning." He tilted his helm back, one massive, clawed hand reached towards his spark. "Not only did you pluck the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to extinguish my spark," Megatron swung fist to the side, just inches from Starscream's face, "But you tried to raise your own undead warriors with it!"
The spy frowned, tilting her helm. She didn't remember that happening while she was with the Autobots... Knowing Starscream, it was probably such a failure that it never got out of Decepticon gossip loops.
"It's no secret you lost an arm in the attempt, which you've since had replaced."
"You knew about that?" Starscream asked incredulously, pausing in his retreat.
She could only see the warlord's back, but she heard the sadistic grin in his voice. "Soundwave is quite competent in surveillance, I can assure you."
He straightened up, no longer advancing as he was now in the center of the chamber. He looked around at the cavern walls, speaking as if to an old friend, "The fact is, Starscream, despite your treachery, I've allowed you to carry on so long because I took a certain delight in following your failures."
Taking a few steps into the cavern, Terabyte bit down a laugh. So the common ranks were not the only ones who found amusement in Starscream's grabs for power. To Megatron, the Seeker's plots must compare to a mere annoyance. A pest.
"But you've finally become tiresome..." Megatron sighed heavily; his cannon – which was nearly five times the size of her own – began to hum quietly. "Predictable."
"Frankly," He leveled the charged cannon on Starscream's helm, the point of it centimeters from his face. "You've hit rock bottom."
Bathed in the purple glow, the Seeker's pedes gave out and he fell to his knees, hands clasped together as he pleaded for his life. "M-master, please! Give me one more chance!" He whimpered and his expression turned desperate, "I beg of you! Have mercy!"
"You have ceased to be of use to me, Starscream." Megatron said coldly. His cannon whined as power built up, "Thus you shall simply cease to be..."
He powered down the cannon and lowered it slowly, bringing a glimmer of relieved hope to the Seeker's optics.
"Terabyte, come."
Optics widening slightly, the femme did as commanded, standing stiffly beside the warlord. "My lord."
He grinned at her, revealing his sharp, pointed denta. The silver mech took a step backwards, wrapping his hands behind his back. "Normally I would relish snuffing your pathetic existence, Starscream... however, Lieutenant, would you do the honors?"
She gasped, her armor shrinking slightly towards her frame. Making sure her audials hadn't malfunctioned, she whispered, "You wish for me to slay my commanding officer, second in command of the entire Decepticon army, my lord?"
His optics held an amused light. Megatron seemed to find her shock entertaining. "Yes."
"Is this a test of my loyalties, Lord Megatron?" Terabyte asked, charging her cannon and leveling it on Starscream's helm.
"Yes." He said, patience wearing thin, "I'm not getting any younger, Lieutenant..."
She bit her glossa. But seeing the red glow of her cannon, Terabyte's spark turned cold. It was nothing personal. She just needed to stay on her leader's good side. She needed to have more power in order to succeed in her goals. With Starscream out of the way, Soundwave would rise to take his place, leaving her as head of the CI department. The power one has in that position... would greatly further her goal.
It wasn't as if being weak had saved Skyquake. Her morals hadn't helped her save him. So why bother? Her logic processors asked coldly. Without Skyquake nothing mattered. Avenge the fallen.
"It is nothing personal, Starscream. But I have a duty to fulfil." She said plainly.
Starscream whimpered pitifully, "Wait! Would you kill a childhood friend in cold Energon?"
She blinked, her aim never wavering. "As if you've ever thought about me since that day. You didn't even realize who I was until I told you, and you didn't care." She glanced at her whining cannon. "It really has very little to do with you at all."
"However..." She continued slowly, frowning. Starscream glanced nervously at her cannon, which was beginning to overheat. "My lord, with all due respect, what is there to gain from his death?"
"Spare parts." Megatron snarled, as if that were enough. "Are you questioning my orders, Lieutenant?"
"No sir," Terabyte replied, "But-"
"You will obey your master!" Megatron roared, pointing a servo at Starscream. "Kill him."
Something in the back of her processors seemed to activate at the warlord's first sentence, sending a jolt through her frame. Her helm twitched to the side as Soundwave's failsafe came to life, putting her memories of the last five minutes along with the other suppressed memories.
She straightened, slightly confused. Why was he so angry? She already said she'd do it. Her response was firm, her spark cold to Starscream's pleas. "Yes, my lord."
Avenge the fallen, she thought, icy fury burning through her. One step at a time, she would avenge them.
She pulled the trigger.