Chapter 123
-0-The Conference Room
He stared at Prime, startled for a moment. "Apologize?"
Prime nodded.
He looked at Prime and the others as if some sort of joke was being played, then Nash arose to look at the two Autobots standing on either side of Prime. Their amazingly relatable faces bore a look of small amusement.
"I'm … I'm sorry."
Springer grinned. "You apologize worse than your boy, Todd."
"Ah, Todd," Jazz said. "He peed on your hand didn't he, Springer, when you tossed him in the brig."
"He did," Springer said. His eyes never left Nast.
Nast who was unable to figure out what was happening swallowed hard as tears welled in his eyes. "What do you want? Tell me. I'll do whatever you want. You want High Flier? You want to have the others? I'll give them to you. Just … just tell me what you want."
Prime leaned forward, glancing at Prowl for a second.
Prowl was looking at Nast with such contempt on his handsome face that Prime had to quash a smile. He looked beautiful to Prime no matter what was going on and the expression he had, contempt and disdain mixed with an inability to understand this kind of behavior on a personal level was no exception.
"We want it all … every bit of it. Then we have a surprise for you, Mr. Nast. We are going to tell you who High Flier really is," Prime said.
"Okay," he said licking dry lips. "I was approached by a guy named High Flier on our internal bulletin board. They said they were working on robotics and wanted information on you. He wanted to know about Springer and someone named Bumblebee, Kup and Hound."
Prime nodded. "Continue."
"It sort of led from one thing to another and we linked up, Daniels, Galloway and me. We all wanted the same thing. Galloway and Daniels wanted you gone from here, out our business and so did High Flier. It was ideological. They hate aliens. They think you're wrong for us, that the Decepticons come because you're still here. You go, they go.
"I just wanted business opportunities. I don't give a rat's ass about the politics and shit. I want to make and sell munitions and I wanted to have a couple of you to reverse engineer. He told me he could help me get a couple of Autobots but it never worked out. I never got either of them." He then shook his head. His hands and body were shaking slightly. "You're standing here. Of course I didn't get you. I just …" He sat down on the table swallowing hard as he waited for who knew what.
"You made a deal with the devil, Mr. Nast. Your wife is lookin' for you and she's been tryin' to correspond with High Flier," Jazz said. "We've been interceptin' her attempts and keepin' her off High Flier's radar."
Nast was shaken at that bit of news but he didn't say anything.
Prime leaned forward again considering the man before him. "High Flier wants a meet up shortly and is sending directions. We want you to go to it and be our own 'inside man', Mr. Nast."
"I don't think I can do that … I don't … my nerves …"
"You will go and we will be nearby. We will be listening in and we will protect the planet from you and them," Prime said quietly. "It is what we do, Mr. Nast."
He nodded jerkily. "You give me no alternative."
"You have alternatives. You can help us or you can go to the authorities in America and prison forever and ever," Prowl said as his nose structure wrinkled as if smelling something bad.
"What do I say?" Nast asked shaking harder.
"You listen. You don't make any stupid moves. You give us the time to get the information we need to take this whole thing down," Prowl said. He leaned forward. "Do you understand that you were dealing with someone who portrayed himself as connected to the Decepticons?"
"He never said so directly," Nast said slightly defensively.
"He captured Arcee and Springer," Prowl persisted. "That's not something a person without a lot of help can do. Arcee and Springer don't get captured."
He looked at them, then stared at the table top, his view of the slowly shrinking aspect of his world resting on the toes of his shoes. "He didn't tell me so."
"Well, let's rectify that then," Prime said nodding to Ironhide who walked to the door to open it. They all turned to look including Nast.
A figure stepped inside, a figure of enormous beauty and menace rolled into a sleek deadly design. He moved toward Prime then faced the figure on the table with such an expression of contempt on his handsome face that it was astonishing. "Mr. Nast, this is 'High Flier'. Of course, we know him as the Decepticon Seeker, Starscream."
Nast passed out cold on the tabletop.
Starscream looked at Prime then shook his head. "You have a sense of humor, Prime." He turned to the human, regarding him as he lay on the tabletop. "As they say somewhere, somehow … don't play with the big dogs if you don't want to get bit."
Prime grinned. "Well put," he said quietly.
-0-In quarters later that night
Orion lay on the berth between them, his little arms and legs flapping and waving as he tried to reach his father's digits. Ironhide held his servo over the infant wiggling his digits as he did.
Ratchet stretched on his side and Ironhide the other as the two cuddled their little mech in the quiet of the evening. Outside, the corridor was quiet and no one had broken anything requiring Ratchet's attention and skills. They lay down and comforted each other in the joy of their tiny family.
"You feeling better, Ratchet?" Ironhide asked as Orion grasped his servo and raised himself up to bite on it.
"No, but I will, I suppose," Ratchet said taking one of Orion's peds into his servo to rub his tiny Ironhide toes with his digits. "I love this little sparkling, Ironhide. I didn't think I could love anything besides you this much."
"I know," Ironhide said. "He's the greatest thing we ever did together."
"He is," Ratchet said. "I can't even remember what it was like before he came."
"It was good, Ratchet," Ironhide said stroking Ratchet's face. "It was always good with you and me."
"I know," Ratchet said. "I guess I just got used to feeling this wonderful being around him all the time, having him here. I have all the way through this."
"You won't be gone long," Ironhide said softly. "We'll be waiting."
Ratchet nodded. "I love how you took to this sparkling, taking care of him and being his father. You know you're a great father, Ironhide."
Ironhide smiled. "Tell me to do something hard, Ratchet."
Ratchet smiled. "Carry the next one."
"Not on your life," he replied with a smile of his own.
-0-Conference room earlier
They provided him a chair to sit on and he did, his gaze fixed on the floor and his exhaustion evident.
Starscream sitting on a chair next to Prime regarded him. "Insect," he said with scorn. "Who did you think you were dealing with? Who else could have indulged your stupid requests but me?"
Nast looked at him, at Prime and then the floor. It was almost too much to consider all that was happening to him, what he was caught up in, so he found himself without expression. He just stared at the ground.
"I don't think he has much to say to you, Starscream," Jazz said with amusement evident in his voice. "What can you do to enlighten us more?"
"Not much," Starscream said considering the request. "I don't have many memories of those days. It all seemed old... like it happened in another time and place without me."
"You don't remember this person and his requests?" Prowl asked.
"Some of it. His requests. He wanted an Autobot or two. I gave him two. Does he want more? I would think the two I gave to him would be enough."
Springer grinned slightly, the incongruity of the figure before him warring with the terrible memories of their encounter on an asteroid far away. "You don't remember anything?" Springer asked as he took a seat across from him. The Seekers had been around him at Autobot City and as he observed Starscream's struggle to return to his personal sentience he'd found his anger diminishing and his personal empathy rising. "None of it?"
Starscream looked at Springer considering the faintly familiar face and color scheme. "I know you from somewhere but I can't place it."
Springer nodded. "Probably a good thing. I was one of the two Autobots you gave the insect."
Starscream thought about it a moment then fixed Nast with a disgusted expression. "How did you lose them when I gave them to you, insect?" He looked at Optimus who looked back at him with a slight sense of amusement and pity. "You really should think twice before doing business with this insect. He can't seem to keep his things in servo."
"I will remember that, Starscream," Prime said. "Thank you for coming."
"You're welcome, I guess," he said doubtfully as he rose slowly. He turned to Nast. "Be glad you're dealing with Prime. I would swat you, insect, for being such a dumb aft."
Nast shuddered, leaning backward in his chair as the Seeker walked out of the room with a malignant look on his face that he directed Nast's way. The door closed and he was back with a group of people who only hated him greatly rather than someone who would've killed him without a thought. Looking at Prime, he took a deep shaky breath. "What do you want me to do?"
Prime he leaned forward and told him. When they told him about Shockwave he sat in his chair and wept.
-0-On the way to Autobot City, Mars
Starscream leaned against the bulkhead of Cosmos lulled by the thrum of his engines and the soft movements of his body as he flew smoothly through the vacuum of space.
Springer sat in a seat on the flight deck as Arcee sat beside him. They chatted together discussing the new refugees and watched the chronometer tick off the minutes until they were entering the airspace of Autobot City. They touched down and taxied to the disembarkation spot where Thundercracker and Skywarp waited. They met Starscream to walk back chatting together about his trip to Earth and his conversation with the Prime.
Arcee and Springer transformed, rolling past them to drive back to The Fortress and their life there. The Seekers would take more time.
-0-Back in his cell
They brought him back and put him in his cell, the others watching silently until Ironhide left. Nast walked to his bunk and lay down, closing his eyes against his deeply felt emotional trauma. He ignored the others who implored him to tell them what had happened. It didn't matter to him. He was in a waking nightmare with no way out. He was going to have to be very careful to find his way. As bad as the original 'High Flier' had turned out to be, the new one was worse. He closed his eyes and tried to sleep. Eventually the others settled down as their curses and disgust rang in his ears.
-0-Ops Center
Prowl checked the intel overnight and smiled. Gathering it, he walked to the rec room to join Prime on his way to the N.E.S.T. HQ to discuss the New York City operation. He showed the intel to Prime.
"Right on time," he said.
Prowl agreed as they continued onward to spend a couple of hours in the company of the humans they cared about the most, the N.E.S.T. soldiers.
-0-Sunstreaker and Sideswipe
They sat together going over their needs for the strike teams that were being organized. Word was out that there'd be another hearing in Washington, D.C. and Sideswipe felt he had the inside track on going once more in Ratchet's security detail.
"Poor Ratchet," Sideswipe said putting his peds on a chair. "Leaving his sparkling will be tough."
Sunstreaker nodded. "I like the sparklings. I like Silverbow. If we ever have a sparkling or two I want a femme like her and a mech like him."
"They'll be awesome," Sideswipe said. "I wonder if they'll be a winger?"
"Maybe," Sunstreaker replied. "I wonder what tiny wings look like? I bet they're cute but then they would be because they'd be ours."
Bluestreak walked from the direction of the enlisted mech's barracks heading with a smile toward the two. Sitting with them, he relaxed, too. "I'm on the list to go with Ratchet."
"You are?" Sunstreaker asked with surprise. "How do you know?"
"Prowl let me know," he replied as his wings relaxed in their company, his contentment evident.
"Who else is going?" Sideswipe asked. "Am I going?"
"I don't know. He didn't say and I didn't ask."
"Great, Blue," Sunstreaker said. "You have a window to look through and you don't ask?"
"Won't matter anyway. They'll send who they want," he replied. "I thought you'd prefer to go to New York on that mission."
"I won't mind it." Sunstreaker leaned back to regard Bluestreak for a moment. "We were talking about Ratchet."
Bluestreak's smile faltered. "I feel sorry for Ratchet. I couldn't imagine leaving my own sparkling."
They stared at each other a moment, then Bluestreak sat up fixing them both with a stern optic. "Don't look at me like that. I took steps."
"So did I," Sideswipe replied.
"What steps?" Sunstreaker asked as he looked from one to the others.
"To prevent sparking," Bluestreak said glancing at Sunstreaker with a strange expression. "You know … like we talked about on the beach that day. You went to Ratchet didn't you, Sideswipe?"
Sideswipe nodded. "Sure. We agreed. Sunny?"
The two of them looked at Sunstreaker as the Lamborghini stared back at them with narrowed optics. "What?" he asked.
"You went, too, didn't you? To Ratchet? To prevent sparking?" Blue asked.
He sat back slightly defensively. "I will."
Blue glanced at Sideswipe with concern. "Sunny, why didn't you go and take care of it? We all decided to do that until we could figure out how we felt about carrying and sparking."
"I will," Sunstreaker said defensively.
They stared at him with horror in their optics, then he arose to walk away.
"Oh, Sideswipe … I have a terrible feeling," Bluestreak said rising with gathering horror.
"You and me both, Blue," he said rising, too. They followed swiftly after Sunstreaker.
-0-Med Bay
Ratchet heard the commotion before he saw the three entering Med Bay. He stared at them with agitation. "Hey!"
They halted in the doorway.
Ratchet pointed to a bed on his desk, the bed that he used when Orion was in his care on duty.
They looked contrite. That is, everyone but Sunstreaker.
"What the frag is going on here, Bluestreak?"
He walked to Ratchet glancing nervously back at the twins who were standing by the door, Sunstreaker angrily and Sideswipe nervously. "We need you to check on something, Ratchet."
Ratchet discerning things quickly glanced at Sunny. "Sit on the berth, Sunstreaker."
Sunny glared at him.
Ratchet who was not in the mood to be kindly or patient moved toward Sunny with a glare stern enough to stop a runaway train. "Get on the berth, Sunstreaker or I'll have your ball bearings."
Sunstreaker shaking his head in agitation complied, his expression one of intense aggravation.
Blue moved to Sideswipe and took his servo, the two huddling more closely together, their worry evident.
Ratchet looked at Sunstreaker with a bland expression as he internally commed Ironhide. :Ironhide:
:Ratchet?:
:Get some muscle and come to Med Bay. We may have a brawl in a nanoklik:
:On my way:
Ratchet made a show of doing things as he linked into Sunstreaker and dragged things out waiting for Ironhide to come. By the time they did, Ironhide, Prime, Prowl and Jazz coming through the door at the same time, he had the news the three wanted.
Glancing at Ironhide who checked on Orion he turned toward Ratchet with an expression of expectation on his face.
"What is going on, Ratchet?" Prime asked as he glanced at everyone in the room."
Ratchet girded himself, then replied.