Chapter 89
-0-Diego Garcia
The day drifted by with the soldiers leaving for their break. They came by to say adieu. Cosmos was taking them to Vandenburg and a couple of other bases that were close to their actual homes to cut down on the drive time. There were N.E.S.T. soldiers about but they weren't the first string, most of whom were survivors of the base attack by Blackout a few years back.
No one could imagine that the Autobots had prisoners in their brig and without their permission to enter or a disclosure on the Autobot's part, no one ever would.
Prime followed by Jazz and Ironhide headed to the brig, nodding to the jailers as they walked down to the cells. Inside, sitting on the ground in complete fear and dejection, Nast and his party waited.
They stirred, arising slowly and fearfully, the enormity of their situation dawning upon them anew. They were in the hands of a different completely alien point of view. They had no idea that these robotic entities could understand that they were fragile and easily killed. They wouldn't know that they had rights and protections because they were American, human and this was their planet filled with their own kind. Given that they had always delivered the fear and pain before, this was a new and completely terrible experience for them to see it first hand for themselves.
What if these aliens used summary execution and no one would ever find out what happened to them? What if they handed them over to their other colleagues and they were used for weird alien experiments? All of the most haunting scenes of every alien movie they'd ever seen had passed through their minds, collecting in their guts to make short work of their personal courage, self-image and egos.
They were at the mercy of machines, constructs like their computers, cars and microwaves. How could anyone hope to believe that such things could have souls, empathy and the ability to understand how much they could hurt another being? How much 'other' were these creatures?
It all crossed their minds that they were in the custody of individuals that might not have the capacity to think about the differences between right and wrong any more than a car could when the driver runs a red light. There might not be any sort of reflection, no moral capacity nor any hope of coming out of this in one piece. That they themselves didn't accord anything close to the same to their own numerous victims, members of their own species, didn't enter their minds once.
Prime could see the emotions and could almost follow their thinking line by line. Leaving them in the brig alone, guarded by two of the most intense Autobots in the garrison was part of the strategy that he was going to be using to get what he wanted in the end, Starscream. Cut off the head of the snake, the body dies. A wise thought the humans were wont to say. So true, he thought as he stared at them.
Moving closer, looking down from his great height, he considered them. One of them, a hired gun stepped forward. "I'm just a hired hand. I didn't have a say in what they were doing. I'm just a worker. I'd like to know what you want to know. I might be able to help you."
Nast looked at his employee as fury formed on his face. He clenched his hands. "Traitor!"
Ironhide snorted. "That's amusing. We were sort of thinking that about you, Nast."
Nast glanced upward sharply as Ironhide stepped toward him. He moved away to bump into the cell's bench as he did. They looked at each other, Autobot and human, then Prime nodded to Red Alert. The Autobot reluctantly released the bars.
Prime then bent down slowly with his hand reaching out, gripped Jaspers then rose up again, stepping back so the bars could be reactivated. Turning without a sound, he walked out with the others and his prize leaving the rest of them to listen to the screams of Jaspers until they died away.
Inferno who retrieved his place against the wall once more stared at them without mercy as the silence enveloped them again.
-0-Ratchet
He worked in Ops Center as the drama in the brig continued. Ironhide had filled him in with their usual shorthand as he continued with Optimus toward the ultimate goal: Starscream. It was nearly Christmas and here they were sitting around figuring out how to make life better against the tide.
He'd hit the internet to figure out what it was all about in more detail and considered that he liked it, the multi-layered concept of joyous materialism and solemn religiosity an interesting blend of the sacred and profane. He was no slouch in the profane department. He'd after all first met Ironhide when he was trawling the Citadel Medical Center for dates, it would seem. He, of course, had been terribly smitten. Ratchet smiled as he remembered …
"So, Ratchet, how about a drink after shift?" Ironhide had asked as he stood in the doorway, shiny, handsome, dashing, and intensely masculine, his red cape gracing his huge body.
Ratchet who was lounging in his office after a long day of fixing up shiny, handsome, dashing and intensely masculine mechs who didn't seem to grasp the concept of ducking was smitten even more though he'd refused a drink the night before in a bar after being finally introduced by a drunken mutual friend with tentacle digits. Laying the friend out had taken no time but it had impressed the big mech with the bluest optics Ratchet had ever seen a great deal. Intrigued though he was, Ratchet couldn't let the big lug know too much. What would be the fun in that? "Sure."
Ironhide with a satisfied smirk on his face and a swagger in his rather intriguingly awesome aft turned on his peds and left. Ratchet who was no slouch in the looks department himself given the number of mechs that hit on his yellow chassis with almost comical regularity smirked. "See how much you swagger when I get through with you, Ironhide."
He sat back closing his eyes in fatigue and considered the big black mech who just happened to turn up everywhere he went after the bar scene. He was even sure if he opened the cooler he would see big blue handsome optics leering out at him. Ratchet liked him, loved his big format, his funny sense of humor and even his designation.
Iron. Hide.
He surely had it. Lord knows his colleagues had put it back together enough times. He had once himself. It was hard to have distance when you're face down inside a big chassis while the servos of said chassis caressed your aft. Even the threat of a rap on the helm with a hammer couldn't swerve the aforementioned mech from his eternal fondles.
Ratchet had shined himself up at the hospital shower racks and was walking to the entrance when he saw Ironhide standing in the doorway haloed by the light, waiting for him as he said he would. Ratchet felt his spark tug, then he gathered himself together to pause in front of his date. "So … what brings you here, big boy?"
"Good lookin' mechs," Ironhide said slipping his arm around Ratchet to apply his hand to Ratchet's back for the first time ever.
"You look for dates at hospitals?" Ratchet asked as he laughed, finding a gentlemanly touch a nice change of pace for once.
"Never know what will crawl out. Literally," Ironhide said chuckling at his own audacity.
They went to a nice club, drank a lot of high grade and danced. Ironhide couldn't, Ratchet was a whiz. Somewhere in the middle, Ratchet fell in love and never left. However, that didn't mean he wouldn't make Ironhide work for his reward. Ratchet didn't put out on the first date. What was there to do on the second one if you did, he thought with a chuckle as they swayed and sashayed their way out into the dark night of Iacon.
Ironhide who was seduced by Ratchet from first glance gripped him around the waist as they both walked down the empty street. Behind them the sound of laughter, chatter and music faded. They were both drunk and feeling no pain while the idea of making it to the Citadel where both were stationed on peds alone looked at this point daunting.
Ironhide paused on the sidewalk to look this way and that for transport. There was none. He looked at Ratchet who was swaying as he grinned at him. "You look beautiful."
"You're pretty cute yourself," Ratchet managed before they launched themselves at each other. Staggering backward into an alley necking furiously, they fell to the ground rolling repeatedly to slam into the building wall. Then they gave in to drink and fell into a stuperous recharge.
The next day the sound of garbage collection drones woke them up so they walked to the Citadel to start a new day. It would be a longer chase this time but in the end they would both give in.
Ratchet's way.
-0-Sideswipe and Bluestreak
They sat together in the lounge off the Rec Room, peds up on the table before them as Bluestreak snuggled against Sideswipe's chassis. "Sunstreaker is aware you're with me." He grinned as he pulled Blue closer.
"You and your bond," Bluestreak said looking up at Sideswipe. "Tell him hi for me."
Sideswipe paused a moment to do so, then chuckled. "You don't want to hear what he replied."
Blue grinned as he snuggled closer, watching the mechs in the Rec Room beyond playing cards, chatting and laughing. It felt like home.
-0-Ironhide v Ratchet
"You're kidding."
Ratchet could remember the exact words and expression on Ironhide's face as he laid down his terms as well as the wrench he'd used to tighten the last bolt on Ironhide's knee assembly.
"Nope."
Ironhide looked at Ratchet, considering the challenge in his optics, the smirk on his face and the incredible attraction of his yellow aft. "You're on."
"You're finished," Ratchet said glancing over his shoulder. "NEXT FOOL!"
Ironhide hopped down, skirting Ratchet and as the medico turned back to the berth to clean up. Ironhide gave him a sound slap on his yellow aft.
Ratchet turned toward the big goof then shook his head. He held up the tools in his hand. "You'll have to do better than that," Ratchet said. "You aren't the only mech out there."
Ironhide knowing the truth of that smirked. "But I'm the one who's going to land you, ya big yellow aft."
"Don't try and sweet talk me, Ironhide," Ratchet said laughing loudly.
"Tonight. I'll come and get ya," Ironhide said as he walked to the door with an excess of satisfaction in his step.
Ratchet watched him go then smiled. Tonight was going to be fun.
Ironhide clearing the door casually hurried to the medical library annex down the corridor then pulled a cable out of his wrist. Plugging in, he searched the database and pulled up relevant files, books, treatises and entertainment videos as he brushed up on his technique for the evening.
/… audition for ya, ya slagger … I don't have to audition … when I 'face someone they stay 'faced … frag, that's a good one …/
He downloaded that one and several others, then headed for the mech's club down the street to get a wash, a wax and a detailing for the only mech he would ever demean himself enough to woo to this degree of humiliation.
Ratchet the awesome, he thought. Ratchet the one who by Primus was going to be his. For Ratchet the Beautiful, Ironhide would suffer.
-0-Bluestreak and Sideswipe
They sat on the couch necking, talking quietly and enjoying the company of the other. Winding down with someone was a good thing, Sideswipe thought with smirk. :… Right, Sunny? …:
:FRAG YOU, SIDESWIPE! I'LL KICK YOUR AFT! I'LL TEAR YOUR AFT OFFAND SHOVE IT DOWN YOUR THROAT!:
That was when Sideswipe tamped down the twin bond, preferring to give all the attention he had to Bluestreak and his amazing lips.
-0-Ratchet and Ironhide
He stood in the doorway of the hospital, shined, spiffed and ready to rumble. Ironhide arrived at about the same time as shiny as a new penny himself. They admired their reflection in the others chassis, having a good joke about how slippery it was going to be shortly. Then they walked off together on the first day of the great adventure that was going to be Ratchet v Ironhide in The Bosom of Love™.
-0-Lounge
A rap on the wall interrupted their moment. They looked up, then straightened up quickly. Prowl who was standing in the doorway with a severe expression on his face shook his head. "No intimacy for three decaorns."
Bluestreak nodded, glancing at a shame-faced Sideswipe.
Prowl turned to go, then paused by the door with a smirk. "You might thank Sunstreaker for me knowing about you two." Then he left with a soft chuckle trailing behind.
Bluestreak who smiled in spite of himself looked at Sideswipe who had an expression of intense surprise on his face.
Sideswipe looked distant as he opened up the twin bond again. :SUNSTREAKER! YOU FRAGGER!:
A voice trailed over Sideswipe's outrage: "What's that, Sideswipe? I can't hear you."
Bluestreak sat back, anticipating the entertainment value of their endless moments some day soon when he'd be able to hear it, too.
-0-Prime
He walked into the conference room then set Jaspers on the table, one of the soldier's chairs catching him as he shrank back. Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, Prowl and Springer were facing him. Springer came in from Autobot City just for the paybacks of the interrogation. They stared down at the human, himself almost insignificant in comparison.
"Mr. Jaspers, I want to know what you know. And I need you to make sure you do not leave out a thing," Optimus said.
Jaspers stared at Prime, his mind in a jumble, then he decided to throw himself on the mercy of the truth. He sat back, gathered his thoughts and began to spill his guts, Nast be damned.
By the time he was finished, it was clear that Nast probably would be.