*tumbles in*

Oh, thank goodness, you're all still reading my story. :)

I can't say much at this point, because I've got things to do, but Internet at home is STILL not fixed. Please, Mom. I'm not the only one. I've been going to the Library for three weeks now for free Wi-Fi. It's amazing I haven't been kicked out yet.

Oh, I nearly forgot-

WARNING: Intimate and gratuitous mentions of robo-sexual activities scene up ahead in the Preamble. This is your only warning. If you are underage, PLEASE, turn around or scroll down to the chapter. But if you ARE of age, please enjoy. I think.

Hopefully, by now, you are all acquainted with the Cybertronian terminology I use in this fic. If not….

Body Parts (all approximate, and the anatomical chart I use for my stories):

Hands = Servos
Arms = Support Servos
Legs = Stabilizing Servos
Tongue = Glossa
Teeth = Denta
Feet = Landing Pads
Shoulders and Knees = Shoulderplates and kneeplates, respectively
Eyes = Optics
Fingers = Digits
Hips = Pistons
Lips = Vocal Labi
Mouth = Vocal Receptor
Ears = Audio Receptor
Neck = Chassis Pillar
Torso/Chest = Chassis
Body = Frame/Shell
Skin = Protoplasm
Brain = Processor
Sections of brain = Lobes

Units of Time (all approximate, and the chronological chart I use for my stories):

Any time less than a second = Microklik
Second = Nanoklik
Minute = Klik
8.3 Minutes = Breem
Hour = Cycle
6 Hours = Joor
Day (both day and night) = Solar Cycle
Week = Decacycle
Month = Orbital Cycle
6 Months/Half a Stellar Cycle = Orn
Year = Stellar Cycle
83 Years = Vorn
Approx. 100 years = Megacycle

Cybertronian Units of Length (all approximate, and the metrical chart I use for my stories)

Klep – 1 Decimeter (0.10 m)
Kil – 1 Fathom (6 ft.)
Mechanometer – 1 Meter (m)
Megamile – 1 Decameter (10 m)
Kix – 1 Hectometer (100 m)
Microquad – 2 ½ Hectometers (250 m)
Hic – 1 Kilometer (1,000 m, or 4 microquads)
Vun – 1 knot (6086 ft.)
Solar Rek – 1 League (3 knots)

Hope this helps.

From now on, all Author's Notes, if any, will be at the bottom, after the chapter.

DISCLAIMER = Transformers: Animated belongs to Hasbro. Everything else: MINE.

"Fascinating."

The pleasured haze in my vision has barely cleared when I hear him whisper that particular word, pulling his digits out of my sopping wet valve with a loud squelch.

"Ahhh…..! Percy!"

He inspects his pointer and middle digit. "It appears I have overstimulated you. A combination of too much friction of my digits in your valve, as well as heat increase of 150.67% overall, has caused a minor leakage of….some sort of lubricant….from your valve. I will have this cleaned up promptly-"

"-with your glossa."

I ought to be appalled, but, much as I try to be, I simply cannot. I want him to…clean me up with his glossa. To feel him lapping at me down there, my thighs gently, or maybe not so gently, holding his head in place, to feel his servos cupping my aft.

My train of thought crashes when I feel his glossa lightly lick at the area where my thigh and valve are joined.

"Are you certain of this?"

I wrap one stabilizing servo around his head. "I'm certain. Why are you so hesitant? Put your vocal receptor to better use, scientist…."

With a rather devious glint in one optic, his faceplates suddenly disappear between my thighs and I feel a very unscientific thrash of a glossa in my valve.

"Ahh…."

My spinal unit arches off the berth, and I lift my support servos above my head. The feel of myself clamping down on the pliable metal sends a jolt of heat from down there to my faceplates.

Heat travels everywhere in my shell, and before long, I'm thrashing on my berth, my head rocking side to side. Suddenly, there's a servo pinning me down, and….something else….entering my valve even as he's lapping away.

"I did a little reading, and I found a method of stimulation that will actually cause an overload without the need for penetration", he murmurs, his voice unusually low and deep.
I look down far enough to see him plunge his middle and fourth digit into my valve, keeping the other digits straightened and rubbing against the surrounding areas. He sharply grinds upward again and again, dragging his glossa against my hyper-sensitive node.

"You read about this somewhere?", I manage to gasp out. His other servo keeps me flat on the berth, all the while stroking my midsection.

As flat as it can, considering the gyrating of my pistons makes it hard. I can't help it.

"Percy, I can't-"

Where did he even start looking? What else does he have in store for me?

"I think-I think-"

I can't think straight, the pleasure clouding my processor again. One of my servos grasps the back of his head.

"-I feel it coming-ah, ah, AHHH!"

Every wire feels like hot energon is running through-actually, it is hot energon, pulsing down into my valve.

"Oh, Primus, that was a big one, oh, oh, oh-"

Before long, I feel myself getting wetter and wetter.

"-ahhhh, ahh, mnnfffff, hmmm…"

His digits jerking up with ease, my lubricant spilling out onto my thighs and all over his faceplates.

"…..mmmaaaAAAAAHHH!"

Since his servo gently but firmly keeps on the berth, my squirming pistons twist once more, then release a gush of lubricant so large, it coats his entire servo and vocal receptor in my wetness.
The hot energon in my valve rushes back throughout my body through the appropriate wires, and I feel myself, almost as light as a dust particle, floating back from the top of my climax.
Between my thighs remains a pleasurable moistness as I shake from the aftershock of my overload. And on my chassis lies my best friend-

-no. More. More than that.

My lover. My significant other.

"I….I was afraid I wouldn't be good at this", he murmurs, his accented voice sounding vulnerable. Not relaxed, but not scared either. Not really.

"Being a lover, I mean. And maybe, one solar cycle, a sparkmate. Didn't….consider it would be an option for me."

"It's an option for all."

There is no verbal response, but he slides further up my still-shivering body as he presses a kiss to my vocal labi. A strand of lubricant bridges our vocal receptors.

"Oh. Oh, that's embarrassing…"

"…..Embarassing? Who are you trying to impress? Believe me, there is no one else here, and I…"

"….It's lubricant, but it's so much. I think we made a mess on your berth, of all places. I will clean this up-"

"-You are my lover, not my maintenance bot", he tells me sternly, before softening and taking one of my servos to kiss.
"Now hush, never mind the 'mess', and relax."

"You're so thoughtful."

His voice is humble, but I catch his little smile in the dim light of his recharge quarters.
"I try. Thank you for believing so anyway, love."

My scientist presses one more kiss to my chinplate before he embraces me.

"Would you like to be on top, or should I?"

"I'm not picky."

"Still, darling-"

Boom.

"What was that?"

BOOM.

"I…I don't know, Moonracer, I-"

BOOM SCRATCH EEEEEKKKKKK

I shut my optics.

EEEEEEEKKKKK BOOM

"Perceptor!"

The first thing I see is the bright lights of my own recharge quarters flickering.

My recharge quarters.

Wha-how?

I spring up from my berth. I see my sniper rifle right next to me. And my team's ship is under attack.
My quarters are messier than usual, most likely a result of the ship being hit left and right.

"Moonie!"
Lancer sprints into my recharge quarters, and I tumble to the floor, trying to look like I haven't been in recharge this whole time.

"Oh, okay, you're alright. 'Mia just wanted to see that you were alright. She got really worried when you didn't respond to her comm. We just came out of a big battle with a Rock Lord. Only one. No serious damage to the Quintessa, thank Primus. I'll go and tell Fearless Leader you're fine."

She merrily leaves, my door closing behind her, and I pick myself off the floor and crawl back into my berth.

My sadly empty berth.
I curl myself in it. And I find, with some remorse and disgust, that my valve is soaked behind my interface panel, and my frame is warmer than usual.

All that from something that was just a dream.

Just a dream.

Just a beautiful dream.

Murmurs of the Mind

or

A story of a ship and a soldier, scientists at work, a happy enthusiast, a watchful old engineer, unfamiliar places, comrades lost, an invasion of privacy, pushing her away, and the next move of the enemy.


{Ten solar cycles after the commencement of Chromia Magnus}

[Outskirts of Iacon, Spacebridge to Earth, one microquad from Kaon]

Ironfist will freak out when he finds out about this.

As if out of a war holograph, there is Zeta Supreme, one of the Supremes I had worked on more than a thousand stellar cycles. From my own two unlucky servos, I helped to craft this giant.

Well, half of it.
The bow of the ship, where Zeta Supreme's head would be tucked into, is intact, but parts of the left side, as well as most of the rear half of the ship, are gone.
Zeta Supreme, or, the Xantium (as it had been codenamed) has landed on the outskirts of Iacon, the barren mechanometers of abandoned factories and buildings between Iacon and the faraway Kaon.

Correction: it has crashed there.

The Xantium is also the ship of the Wreckers, the Autobot combat group that Ironfist idolizes, and if my apprentice were to be here now, I could only imagine the fritzing that would follow.

I was out with Bulkhead, a spacebridge specialist, working on an active spacebridge and attempting to find if there were any glitches with it, when a bright flash of light hit us both.
There was a push, and the green mech and I were propelled backwards as the Supreme came through, dived into the ground, and careened for a hic before skidding to a stop.

"Ey, Bulkhead. Pop a signal flare and contact Chromia Magnus, please."
Not waiting to see if he's followed my request, I transform and drive to the wreckage. By the time I get there, the main hatch has opened, smoke pouring out.
I transform back into bot mode and grab a pistol from my subspace, ready for anything to pop out.

Wouldn't Ironfist want to be as close to this legendary ship as I am.

Any more thoughts of mine are derailed by the one that stumbles out of the Supreme. I find myself lowering my weapon and stepping closer.

"Impactor Major?"

A cough of dry vocal tubing is all that comes out of his vocal receptor, but the smoke clears and I see him clearly. I stow away my pistol as quickly as I can.

The leader of the first Wreckers team stumbles out of the entrance of Zeta Supreme, mumbling as if overcharged on high-grade.
"Carmina Aequitas. The Visor League. New Wreckers."

And then he falls into stasis, crumpling to the ground.

A solar cycle, and the Major has been rushed to Beta Magnus Hospital in Iacon, Zeta Supreme transported to the Guild Scientius for inspection and repairs. I am working in one of the engine turbines of the ship's remnants, trying to find what caused it to crash instead of landing safely.

"Wheeljack, that is not safe. In the event of possible ignition of the turbine, or-"

"-Perceptor, Perceptor, Perceptor, do not worry about me, a'right? This here thing crash-landed. The fuel lines are shot. There's no bot inside to activate the Xantium and set my aft on fire. Now…..", I respond, leaping down from the giant tube of the turbine, "…..we have ta see the insides. There was smoke coming out when Impactor Major exited. Let's find out where it came from."

"Also how Zeta Supreme came to be in this condition", the microscope replies with a slow nod.

It's been a good while since Perceptor's gotten his voice back. Things feel normal and well.

Almost. I have to remind myself it's still him, what with having the voice synthesizer for megacycles.

Well, he's as him as he could be with vorns worth of missing memories.

"Wheeljack?"

"Wha-?"

"Are you listening to me?"

"Sorry. You were sayin'?"

"I asked whether we should bring your apprentice or my assistant to the Commons, to help us with this."

Ironfist is an engineer. And Moonracer is a 1st class repair bot. Both could be of great help to us.

But I'm a little hesitant to call either of them. Ironfist could be distracted from his job if I bring him to inspect the legendary Xantium. Moonracer, though on good terms now with Percy, could have flashbacks just from being in this place.
The last time the little speedster set landing pad in the Guild's Commons, the walls were a dark red. The Supremes were being built. And the last time she had worked with my partner was…..

I summon both of them anyway, and in about a breem, I hear the dainty steps of Chromia's apprentice nearly overcome by the flurry of running from my own apprentice.

"NO. FRAGGING. WAY."

"Calm down, Fizzy. Calm down."

"Verity, do you even KNOW what this is?!"

"Do I want to fucking know if you're yelling in my tiny organic audio receptor?!"

"Pipe down, you two", Moonracer tells them, dropping her servo on Ironfist's shoulderplate. To me, in an almost-murmur, she asks, "Wheeljack, is….is this what we think it is?"

"Yep, Moonie. And Fizzy. This here is Zeta Supreme, a.k.a. the Xantium."

My apprentice makes a soft but high-pitched sound behind his mask, scurrying closer to the hatch of the ship.

"What's left of it, anyway."

He is close enough to me that I see the only organic in the place rolls her tiny optics.
"Ever since I woke up from my recharge, about a joor ago, he's been going on and on about some bot called Impactor Major. The bot-in-charge of this Xantium. Where's he now?"

"The Beta Magnus Hospital. And, um, you wanna go on my shoulderplate or what? Because Ironfist is, well, gonna be unstable."

"My life is unstable. I'll be fine."

And all the while my apprentice admires everything on the wreckage with glee, from the purple-and-gold painted, titanium plating to the triple-barreled sub-machine cannons.

"Can we go inside?!"

I look over at Perceptor for a second 'affirmative', who is about to ask Moonracer something, but he catches me and gives a slight nod.

"Sure, Ironfist. Keep your lights on, though."

"Thanks so much, Wheeljack! Oh, Verity, wait until we get a look inside…."

I hear him running inside with excitement, but my attention quickly returns to my partner and his assistant, who are inspecting the burnt edges of one of the holes of the ship. I disappear back to my turbine, but I can't help but keep an optic on the two.

"When Shockwave was Longarm Prime, his last notes regarding Zeta Supreme specifically stated that the Decepticon Heavy Brigade had hunted down and destroyed it, with only one surviving Decepticon-"

"-Yet here it is. Perhaps Impactor Major tricked them somehow. After all, Shockwave wasn't there. Any Decepticon could've reported to him; maybe Impactor Major found friends to repair it after his attackers flew off. We'll just have to wait until-"

Moonracer's speech processes are cut off by her tripping over something and falling.

Right into Perceptor's support servos.

"Oof! Oh! I'm so sorry, Perceptor! I'm not usually this clumsy; I just think I overlooked something which is also not usual of me. I think I scuffed your finish a little-!"

"-Shhh." The indirect order for her to hush is gentle, and he helps her to stand up as straight as she can. "It isn't your fault. Rather, the cause of your fall is that splintered wire impaled into your stabilizing servo, approximately two scints above your ankle joint."

"Wha-oh! How…how did I not feel that?"

"I presume it is because of your battle experience. You are accustomed to acute injuries such as sprained ankle joints and third-degree wounds, so your body didn't register a significant amount of pain to alert you."

"Still, I'm surprised I didn't feel it. And-oh, it's leaking now. I'll clean that up later, Perceptor, after I'm done fixing up my wound."

"At least allow me to accompany you to the nearest first aid station."

"Oh, don't worry, I know where it is here."

"No, I mean, you may lean upon me for support until we get there. I lack suitable crutches, and I do not see a need to carry you."

You may lean upon me for support. There is too much meaning behind such casual words, and she feels it, too.

The pale green femme gazes at him for a klik before she bends down, yanks the wire out, and straightens up. One of her support servos slides across his shoulderplates, and one servo of his holds her in place, his other servo hovers above her pelvic joints, just a scint from her piston.

"Moonracer, may I hold your piston to support you?" At her nod, he carefully grips her, and she limps her way to the first aid station near the bottom of the stairs, his servos never leaving her. I can't but smile to myself.

Chromia would freak if she saw this.

I watch them with zeroed-in optics, quiet as Percy opens the cabinet. He faces Moonie and stands up straight and she uses him for support. She stands the whole time, cleaning then binding her wound with some steelbelt bindings. Her left servo never leaves him, as she uses her denta to open and close things.
And Percy is fixated on her servo against his chassis the entire time. There is not a tiny bit of discomfort or irritation in his faceplates, which is rare. Just curiosity.

I zero in closer.

Percy suddenly asks Moonie something, though I can't decipher because I'm too far away to hear. But she is caught off-guard, and she responds, her right servo brushing the area where her faceplates and helm meet, above her optics.

I zero in closer.

He bows his head like a nod, touching the side of his yellow visor. Her optics widen and she drops whatever she's holding.

"You are such a creep."

Without even a glance to the source of the voice, I reply, "At least I don't make my partner carry me so I can eavesdrop on two young bots."

I hear a snort coming from the little femme next to my landing pads. "I didn't make him. He did offer. And am I the one watching them touch each other like college students?"

Oh, right, the touching.
It's not as much as it was back then, where Percy was comfortable enough to lay his head in Moonie's lap. Or when she was comfortable enough to hug him when he was frustrated about something. Or when both of them were comfortable to sit on a table with their kneepads touching and just…..talk.

It's not the same, but…it feels almost if nothing has changed.

Almost.

"Touch each other? Like lovers? Don't be crazy. They work in close quarters and have begun growing a bond, like best friends. Almost. And aren'cha supposed ta be with my apprentice, listening ta him ramble about the Wreckers?"

"You know something, Wheeljack. I can't listen to Fizzy talk about them, much less take them serious, if there aren't any ladies. I fucking can't."
Verity doesn't say this in an upset way; more like an incredulous, this-is-ridiculous-I'm-throwing-my-servos-up way.
"I mean, from what I've learned, there are more mechs than femmes on this planet, but there had to be ONE fucking female on the Wreckers. One."

"There was one."
A surprised glance from the Earth femme.

"I guess Ironfist never told ya. And he wouldn't have told ya because he don't know. Few bots do. There was a female, but she kept her Wrecker status a secret for a whole bunch of reasons."

There is a heaviness in my spark as I murmur, "Her designation was Override Prime. She was the only femme Prime in her time, and the only Prime to pilot a Supreme. Kappa Supreme, codenamed Chromia Ten, was her Supreme, lost at the servos of Blitzwing. She went down with her ship."

My servos clench.
"She wanted to lay low about her Wrecker status because she felt that, if bots knew about it, they would assume she used that experience to become a Prime. She was a role model for a lot of younger femmes, and she felt she'd place an impossible burden of having to be a Wrecker, or being a special, or something like that, on those that looked up to her.
She wanted it to be clear that anybot could be a nobot, and if they worked hard enough, did what was right, and learned to care about the disadvantaged, they could be somebot."

I almost don't hear the whispered response. "That's bullshit."

"I don't have to understand English, or whatever you humans call it, to understand what you just said. If you really think so lowly of Override's beliefs, why do you stick so closely with my apprentice? He believes the same, to quote you, 'bullshit'."

"…..I don't know. Honestly, he's the first friend I've had in a long, long time. He reminds me of Hunter. Hunter was a human mech, and he was my best friend."

"And what became of him?"

I presumed the answer, but it still hurts to hear.
"What became of Override Prime. Hunter and I, we were inseparable. We even lived in a library together.
Until he died, about two stellar cycles ago. A few days later, I caught a train to Detroit, where the Spacebridge on Earth is located. Came here, hoping that I could meet some aliens before life caught up to me."

"Before life caught up to ya? Were ya an escaped convict? Did'ya steal something important from ya government? Did'ya….offline another human?"

"No, though society treats me like a murderer sometimes. I lost my parents when I was little. I grew up homeless, jobless, and anything I learned, I certainly didn't learn from any school or university. I stole so I could survive. I ran away from any family that took me in. I lost every friend I ever had.
I came to Cybertron, because I wanted to see an alien up close and personal before my life went out like a light. I believe there was life out in space. Hunter and I both did. We talked about that, too.
I honestly expected to offline here. I expected life to come get me and end my existence."

She looks up at me with a sigh and a resigned expression. "The aliens got to me first."

"Mmm. Good thing a tall, bulky, handsome, younger, smarter alien with optic shields on his head got to ya before ya went squish."

One end of her tiny vocal receptor quirks up. "Good thing indeed. Even though he reminds of Hunter sometimes. Only sometimes. But life is life, and sometimes it sucks. And I figure it's good to have a friend in an unfamiliar place."

I bend down and lay my servo flat. I intend for her to crawl onto it, but she looks at it warily.

"Don't ya worry, ya won't explode", I tell her, my accent kicking it like it does when I'm not having serious moments.
Verity looks at it a few nanokliks more before stepping onto my servo. I carry her up and hold her up, so she can see my partner and the pale green femme coming back to their work, Moonracer's wound bound up nicely.

"A friend in an unfamiliar place is good to have. But in my experience, and this handsome fragger…" and here I plant my servo on my chassis, "…is older than he looks…..in my experience, an unfamiliar place is not always a tactile place, one that can be touched and seen. Sometimes it's an unfamiliar place is a place in life, a place in time."

I point in the direction of Perceptor and Moonracer.
"My partner there is in a place in his life where things he thought made sense sometimes don't. And where he's meeting strange bots who know him, even though he don't remember them.
And…..he's now trying to fill in the spaces in his mind. He's in an unfamiliar place right now. And I'm glad he's finding friends that he needs."

"So what'll happen when he loses those friends? They can't be with him forever, regardless how long you guys live in comparison to humans."

I know what would happen if he were to lose the few friends he has. I have experienced it firstservo. If he were to lose everyone he loved, I can imagine only one outcome. I rack my processor for an answer, an honest one.

"He will be with them one solar cycle, though I pray that solar cycle isn't for a long, long time. Many of us believe in a place called the Allspark. When any bot, regardless of faction, offlines, they go ta the Allspark if they've lived a life that is right by Primus, the creator of Cybertronians-"

"-Ironfist told me all this. He says that if I am a good, hardworking ally to the Autobots, I may be the first human to go the Allspark.
But as a human, we have a different sort of Allspark. We fleshies have many names for it, but they all mean one thing: Heaven.
Heaven is where good people go, those that have done right things despite the cruel world we live in. I think Hunter found his way there, and….that thought comforts me. A little."

For the first time this solar cycle, she looks up and holds my gaze.
"I know I'm not headed to Heaven or to the Allspark or wherever, but I'd like to think that Perceptor deserves that. To be surrounded by only good bots, and not by bots that ignore him or take advantage of him or misunderstand him. Everyone here deserves that.
Except for Skyfall. You need to slap the Pit out of that bot. You or someone else, because Ironfist doesn't seem to wanna do it."

My entire altered frame sighs.
"I cannot say you're wrong, though there's still much to speak about. Speaking of Ironfist…..let's go look for our favorite Wrecker fanatic." Verity smiles and nods, and whistles something as we venture deeper into the Xantium.

"Can't imagine how crazy he's gettin' over the Autobot's newest discovery."

Turns out, he isn't the only one.

Just three solar cycles after Zeta Prime crashed on Cybertron, the Guild Scientius has a taste of the Pit.

They are everywhere.
When the workers of the Guild saw them outside, everyone braced themselves with a drink of medium-grade. Except for Verity, who tipped back a sip of some Earth high-grade called 'whiskey', and cursed about 'damn paparazzi'. Whatever that was.
On Cybertron, we older ones had a designation for these sparkeaters: gossip groupies. And none of us expect the Pit that stretches on for the cycle after.

Because the moment everyone stepped out and the doors closed behind us, they jump on us.

"Hi, miss, we know you're a busy femme, but we can offer you credits in exchange for-"

"Um, I already do have a stable job, and I don't-"

"Hello there. Would you happen to know anything about-?"

"No, I have nothing to say on the matter….."

"Hey, look, it's Skyfall! Skyfall, if we can have a few kliks of your time….."

"Of course! If it's regarding the recent crash landing in Iacon-"

"It's an organic! Keep the microphone away from it and try to get it in front of that mech! The one with the mask-"

"My designation is Ironfist! And my friend here-"

"Ack! Get away! Give it space!"

"-Fear me, motherfuckers!"

"Perceptor, sir-!"

"The answer is no!"

"Hey, please, Wheeljack! Over here, Wheeljack! Can we ask you and Perceptor-?"

"We can answer if ya can step back a klep or two-!"

They harass Moonracer, attempting to bribe her for details.

They surround Mainframe, trying to corner him into revealing any info on his computer alt-mode.

They crowd around Skyfall, soaking up every little thing he knows about Zeta Supreme.

There is a very thin circle of space around Ironfist and Verity, and only because the Ambassador from Earth insists on scaring and yelling at the easily frightened bots to 'get the frag out of his faceplates'.
Those scavengers somehow find the ability to poke cameras and microphones at my unsuspecting apprentice.

And the flashing. Primus, how I hate flashing cameras.

I am simply trying to hold off bots, physically and vocally. My concentration goes to trying not to call Chromia Magnus just to get Autotroopers to control the gossip groupies.

Perceptor, being head of the Ministry of Science, stands on a pulpit I hurriedly assemble and attempts to grab the attention of the mass of gossip groupies.
Problem: he isn't a yeller by nature. Even with the repairs to his vocal tubing, and the ability to alter the volume of his voice, he has no success calming anybot enough to answer questions.

The three lone gunshots that ring in the atmosphere silence everyone.

In front of the head of the Ministry is his assistant with a simple pistol in her left servo. Where did she even get that?
It points upwards at a 60-degree angle, and the barrel end glows from the use of rounds. I am the only one standing in a mass of bots that duck and cover their heads.
Moonracer's faceplates switch from serious to smiles in the blink of an optic, and she innocently addresses the audience.

"Greetings, everyone. Now that I have your attention, I would like to direct you to Perceptor, Head of the Ministry of Science and the spokesbot for the Guild Scientius. He will open for questions if he chooses, but if not, be satisfied with any information he releases. If you can't comply with these conditions, kindly leave, or I will not be so kind in making you leave."

For maybe half a breem, there is only silence. Then Percy, turning down all questions, has only this to say:

"The Ministry of Science asks that, at this time, all C.E.D's and newsreporters refrain from asking us information regarding the vessel that crashed between Iacon and Kaon. We have very little information at the moment, and we will release a public statement with further details in a decacycle, at the latest. We also ask that news centers do not harass Impactor Major, the only bot from the vessel, while he is in recovery. That is all."

The cameras pop, and some bots continue to pester us for answers, but the workers of the Guild Scientius hurry inside and shut our doors.

A decacycle. The gossip groupies will lurk around us until then. It wasn't as bad as the orbital cycles leading up to the war.
That was the Pit. Percy and I were cornered and forced to stay in the Guild an entire stellar cycle, because of the bots wanting to know how we would stop a war that inevitably came.

But with mostly everyone else retreating to their corner of our sanctuary, Perceptor still hurriedly punches the code to barricade the doors and not allow anybot in.

"Perceptor, I don't think that is necessary", Mooracer murmurs. "Mechanically barricading the doors of the Guild. They're all gone, and most are smart to stay away."

He turns to look at her, and before he even opens his vocal receptor, I sense something is wrong.

"Do you know what was unnecessary, Miss Moonracer? The use of gunshots to calm the crowd."

He's tacking the Miss prefix to her name. And the tone of his voice. Something is wrong.

"Well, I'm sorry about that. Did I scare you? I was only trying to help-"

"-And you caused everyone there to panic. The Ministry of Science is attempting to address the concerns and questions of the public, and not cause bots to be afraid of us. We make weapons but we do not use them, not especially to placate a frenzied crowd. If I needed that sort of order, I would have called in Autotroopers, or utilized Wheeljack's strength-"

"-Well, I know it's not much, but I am sorry-"

"-I am head of the Ministry of Science, and by extension a member of the Autobot High Council. I can only imagine the reaction of the other Councilbots if they knew about the use of a weapon by my assistant for violent means-"

"-Do you have any idea what those newsreporters, those bots, could've done had I not used my gun? They could've gotten violent. Several of them pulled my support servos. A lot of them went after Wheeljack, trying to yank the multipacks on his pistons. And I don't want to start about that pair of mechs that tried to 'save' Ironfist from Verity-"

A loud bleeping interrupts any more of their arguing. It's from Moonracer, whose servo flies up to her left audio receptor and presses something there.

"Yes? Oh, hey, 'Star. What is it?" A pause, and the irritation in her faceplates gives way to shock. "Oh. Oh, Primus, alright. Alright, I'll be there ASAP. Moonracer out."

A rushed apology to Percy slips from her, then she tells him and I, "There are Decepticons nearing Kaon, headed in the direction of Kaon Prison. They've been spotted a klik ago, and Chromia…Magnus…needs me. I'm sorry, but I'll have to hold off working here for now."

"Take the underground tunnels to Fortress Maximus. You know how to get there, right?"

"Yes, Wheeljack."

"Be safe, you understand? Fizzy and Verity will miss you, and I need someone that won't cause stuff to explode. Be safe, Moonie." I hold out one support servo for a hug, and she comes in with both support servos around my doorwings. I pat her pale green doorwings for a nanoklik before letting her go.

"Bye, Perceptor, sir." Oh, no. The 'sir'. Just three solar cycles ago, he was gripping her piston and walking her over to take care of a minor wound from a wire. But now…she doesn't even look at him.

He responds with a cool and indifferent, "Goodbye, Moonracer", but the glance he sneaks at her betrays emotion.

The sharpshooter makes her leave, and my partner attempts to make his leave to his quarters, but I intercept him.

"What the Pit was that?"

"What was what, Wheeljack?"

"The way you acted towards your own assistant, Per-cep-tor. You just blew up at her, figuratively, over something so petty. What gives? You've never acted like this."

I'm lying. I'm already lying. Primus help me. I expect him to be angry at me.

I do not expect his usual cool, emotionless façade to deflate into remorse.

"I regret my actions and my behavior towards her. But, if I may speak frankly, I…..was getting attached to her. I mean, I've allowed myself to be comfortable with a bot that physically struck me within the first breem of our first meeting.

I have allowed her full access to the Guild, I have allowed her to work personally with me, I have allowed her physical contact with me. To the point that she laid my head in her lap, and I had said nothing about it.
She knows about my….conditions, knows about the Guild Scientius' inner workings; she knows more about Zeta Supreme and Impactor Major than Chromia Magnus, her own mentor.

Do you not remember what had happened to the last bot that I gave that amount of trust to? A bot that wasn't you, or any other bot I knew before the Great War of the Factions?
These are dangerous times, Wheeljack.
She is a soldier foremost, and I….need to know who and what I can hold on to, and let go. No unnecessary attachments."

For a full klik, there is only silence.

I cannot believe what I'm hearing, and yet, I am not surprised. My spark is heavy, to know the widespread effect Longarm Prime's betrayal had. What the last few megacycles have done to his already fragile trust. To everything, really.

"Don't do this, Perceptor. You don't know her very well….not yet, anyway. But I do, and I can tell you that she can be trusted. She is good. More worthy of your trust and friendship than ten loyal Autobots. Don't keep pushing bots away. I am not your only friend in this life. You-"

This time, we are interrupted by incoming communications from Alpha Trion himself.

"Greetings, Perceptor and Wheeljack. I regret to inform you both that you must place the Guild Scientius under lockdown, evacuate all scientists there, then come quickly to the Fortress Maximus. Take the underground tunnels, but be cautious. Chromia Magnus orders that both of you are needed here."

No time to lose.

The only ones in the Guild now are Ironfist and Verity. Mainframe and Skyfall are elsewhere, and I quickly inscribe a message for any Autobots that attempt to get inside by use of their codes. I hope they understand.

A lockdown of our facilities, then the three of transform into our altmodes, the human jumps in, and we quickly drive off.

"What is this place?"

"Underground tunnels beneath the surface of Cybertron. Only a few bots know about this maze. We're headed to Fortress Maximus and awaiting further orders from the Magnus, since we don't know if Kaon is the only place Decepticons are headed to", my apprentice tells the awestruck femme.

"I don't get it", she replies. "Do the 'Cons want Megatron? Their leader is being kept in Trypticon, right? How far from Kaon is Trypticon? And why would they want to go to a place there are no 'Con leaders? I think it may be a diversion. Distract and attract bots to one place, then another team raids Trypticon for their Lord."

"Not too loud, Verity", Percy reprimands her. "Wait until we touch bases with Chromia Magnus and her team."

The drive isn't too long, thank Primus; just a breem. The little femme leaps out and tries to find a place underneath the dark blue doors of a back entrance to the Fortress. We transform into our bot modes and walk over, the younger weaponsmith picking his friend off the ground.
There is an orb in the middle of the two panels of the door, like the main entrance of the Guild. The scanner is an optic scanner, and a quick sweep of the microscope's optics gives us access.

Another two kliks, and we are faceplate-to-faceplate with Alpha Trion, near the Council Hall.

"Greetings to you, Wheeljack, Perceptor, Ironfist, and Verity." He greets each of us with a regal nod of his head, and we return the nods, even Verity, who tacks on a respectful salute from her standing position on her engineer's bright red shoulderplate.

"What are our orders, Alpha Trion, sir?"

A clattering distracts us, and in comes Firestar, Chromia's lieutenant. The white space around her Autobot insignia indicates that her leader isn't the only one who got a promotion. She isn't Elite Guard, probably by her choice, but holds the rank of Minor, so she fulfills the bare minimum of a Magnus' Second-in-Command.

"Greetings, all of you", she says, her deep static-like voice rushed and concerned. "My orders from Chromia Magnus are to ensure that all 'bots of influence' are kept under safelocks here in the Fortress, as well as important bots such as the two of you." She motions to me, Percy, and Alpha Trion.

Oh, right. During times like this, when Autobots are under attack, it was always procedure to place Perceptor and I, the 'brightest minds of the Autobots', in a safe house and keep us there, until we got the alright from militants that that we could come out and not be captured. Or something like that.
Only happened once, and during the Great War. When the war was right on Cybertronian ground.

"We've moved Ultra Magnus to the storage areas two levels beneath us. Decepticons are least likely to suspect anyone hiding there, and even if they do, will not get to it.
We've gotten bots to fortify the entrances to the storage area and walls with duranium.
We added a second set of locks that are optic scanned; will only respond to Autobot optics. We've also coated the paint of the exterior with neurons and cloaked the place as best we could.
The job of the bots hiding it out with Ultra Magnus will be to protect him and themselves. There are weapons located in secret panels in the floor; the panels will open only if the storage area is infiltrated from the outside."

"And what if the 'Cons scan the place, find nothing, and suspect that we're there? Or worse, they suspect because other places on the Fortress Maximus are easy to break into by comparison?"

Ironfist brings up a few good points. Firestar's answers put me at ease.

"Don't worry, we've thought of that. Most of the other places in the Fortress have strong locks, or are fortified with duranium. Chromia's office is protected by a scanner in case of infiltration. Insignia or optics, and of course, Autobots only."

For now.

Verity, in a rare show of politeness, raises her servo, and when Firestar points it out, she relays her earlier theories of a distraction-and-ambush attack by the 'Cons.

"I am to stay behind here, in case the Decepticons will try to invade Fortress Maximus. My teammates Greenlight and Lancer are headed to Kaon now to keep an optic out, and Chromia will join them shortly."

"And what of Moonracer?", Perceptor unexpectedly questions her. The flame-colored femme raises an optic ridge at this, as three other pairs of optics look in his direction.

"Outside the Fortress, hiding and scoping for unfriendlies. Why?"

"She is my assistant. Difficult to find another one with her level of intellect and expertise."

His statement is cold and he shrugs indifferently, but his servos clench stiffly at his sides.

"Right…", the promoted rescue bot croaks.
"I figure since we'll be a waiting a while, Sentinel Prime and a few other bots, including a squad of Autotroopers, have been sent to Beta Magnus Hospital…"

She goes over a few more details, then we wait. What would've been an awkward silence is broken by the sound of my apprentice and his friend chatting about what's been happening; her questions and him explaining things.

Two breems pass.

Firestar looks up, presses a digit to her audio receptor, and listens. She takes her servo off. Then whirls around.

"Storage. Now. Look for 'storage' in a sign above the door in Autobot glyphs. And whatever you do, do not come out. There is a communication feed down where Ultra Magnus is.
No one down there can contact us, but you'll be able to hear every line of communication from all Autobots. So everybot down there will know what's going on, and whether it's safe or not to come out. That's how Chromia or I will give the 'all clear'."

"Wait, what? What's going on?"

"The Decepticons have raided Kaon Prison. I don't know what more they intend to do, but an encrypted message was sent to Chromia from an unknown source, telling her that another team of Decepticons may be on their away to Fortress Maximus. Quickly, now." She pushes all of us to the elevator and forces everyone in, pushing a button, before bidding us good luck and locking up the entrance with plasma bars.

A creak of the elevator doors closing, and we are momentarily plunged into darkness as the five of us make our descent.
Then light pours in, and, as Alpha Trion knows this place better than anybot, we follow him as he rushes to the storage area Firestar Minor specified.
We come to what looks like a bland, unprepossessing door, and the Councilmech brings down his faceplates so his optics may be scanned.
It slides open, and we hear some fearful voices, followed by gasps of relief.

I spot many familiar faceplates, including Councilfemme Botanica, First Aid, the former apprentice of Ratchet, and Cliffjumper. And Ultra Magnus, still in deep stasis but looking better.

"I'm so glad you all could make it!", the Councilfemme exclaims. "Somebot, please, close the door now."

I nod and go first to manually close it, but just as I do, several thoughts fly through my processor.

How did those Decepticons get to Cybertron?

How many are in Kaon? And probably headed to Fortress Maximus?

And if they're in Kaon, what could they possibly want? While Kaon was their city, all that's there now is the massive prison. It still holds some bots, but no important Decepticon generals, like Shockwave or Strika.

And then it hits me.

A solar cycle and two joors ago, Bulkhead and I had managed to completely fix the active Spacebridge between Iacon and Kaon. We deactivated it after we had repaired it.

I had forgotten that Decepticons also knew how to work Spacebridges. That's why we didn't get any warnings from the Moonbases.
Because they didn't ever enter Cybertron's atmosphere to get to Kaon.

And the realization of why all this trouble completely forms in my processor.

During the last stages of the Great War, the 'Cons had planted land mines in a ring around Kaon Prison. They intended to use it both as a symbol of protest and something to give them advantage; they would detonate it after they freed everyone inside, and the Autobots would have no place to put prisoners nor would we discover anything they hid inside.

Doubtful that they hid anything. We won the war, and the detonation remote for the mines was destroyed and the mines deactivated.

They would be daring enough to try it again. And they had been using Zeta Supreme and the injured Impactor Major this whole time, using the excitement over that discovery to infiltrate Cybertron.
And if the anonymous report that a secret group of 'Cons are heading to Fortress Maximus is true, that makes things more bleak.
Because they know. They know our defense troops are stretched out everywhere, which means weak points everywhere.

I have to get out there. Get rid of one of our weak points and give the 'Bots the upper servo.

I walk up to Ultra Magnus.
"Things will be alright, Ultra Magnus, sir. Verity, make sure to keep an optic on him." The human femme, looking tired, simply nods.

"Ironfist, keep everyone in here safe."

I approach Percy last and engulf him in a big hug. Too compressed to do more, he settles for patting my back.

"Wheeljack, this display of friendship is unexpected-"

"I know it is, Perce. You take care of yourself." I release him and head for the double-walled door.

"Wh-wh-where are you going, Wheeljack?", Ironfist murmurs. I can practically hear the krizzt of pounding sparks in the chassis of everybot.

I shake my head.

"I'm so sorry."

Then I lock it in place and shut the door, giving it a good pull.

It's bolted shut. Good.

Yet I can't help placing a servo on the door one last time, imagining that, on the other side, there's at least another servo on the door as well. Pressing for my comfort, hoping that I'll change my processor before it's too late.

Then a shake of my head, and I'm making my way to the elevator.

In the brief darkness ascending, I relay what's happened in just one solar cycle. I remember everyone trapped in safety beneath my landing pads.

The last I saw of everyone there is the fear filling their faceplates. Their fear for my safety.

Especially in Perceptor's usually stoic expression.

I close my optics one more time.

I'm so sorry, but I must do this.

Author's Notes:

CLIFFHANGER. HAHAHAHA. Find out what happens in the next installment of…..

….whoops, got a little carried away there. :D

First off, to anyone turned off by the intimacy and explicitness of this chapter's Preamble…..

…I warned you, fair and square. I changed my story to an M rating for this, so any complaints about how OOC it was, or how Percy wouldn't ever think that way about Moonie, or anything along those lines…shove it up your tailpipes.

And now for my lovelies….

I hope you all like this one.

A few notes about other things Cybertronian in this chapter:

-Override Prime is a character in Transformers: Animated, but doesn't appear in the cartoon. I believe she appears in the Allspark Almanac II. Maybe I'll write a side story as to why she didn't want to be recognized as a Wrecker in public. Let me know if you want me to write it.

-Chromia X, which in Latin, translates to Chromia Ten, is the codename of Kappa Supreme, the only female Supreme who was bonded to Override Prime. A personal headcannon of mine is that the name Chromia is kind of like the name Mary, a common name for females with many variations. It wasn't uncommon to name ships after females.

-Verity is 21 in this story at this point in time. She's of age to drink. Something tells me she's been downing a few shots before 21, though….

-Ah, the gossip groupies. The paparazzi of Cybertron; bots who will do whatever it takes to get the facts they want. It's a title I think the bots of Wheeljack's generation made up, as a codename for these scavengers so they wouldn't be under fire, yet could openly criticize these guys.

-C.E.D, or Current Event Datafiles, like magazines or newspapers. There was a newspaper in the Allspark Almanac II, but I doubt they'd call it a newspaper…

Oh! Let me go over character quirks really quickly….

-Wheeljack speaks with a Jersey accent, like his G1 counterpart. I imagine him being voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, but with a higher-toned voice than the deep baritone this beloved voice actor is famous for.
I also imagine that, in most situations, especially funny or light situations, his accent is heaviest, but the more serious he is about something, the more his accent disappears. Also, how a person thinks and tells a story is very different from how they talk in real life.

-Ironfist (at least G1 Ironfist) is said to sound like he's from Nebulous, a planet where everyone there seems to speak with an accent from Down Under. His entire G1 page is covered with Aussie references and pokes, but Animated Ironfist, in my mind, is Kiwi. That's right, from New Zealand! They sound like Aussies, but prettier. Just trust me on this.
If I had to choose his voice actor, I'd choose Mike Ginn, a New Zealand actor who now lives in LA. He's got the accent and the acting chops to pull off stuff like this. :)

-Perceptor, if I had control of Transformers: Animated, will be voiced by Paul Eiding. But sound younger, a little deeper. Maybe heavier. Or at least sexier. Just to see how the fangirls react.

-Verity may have an accent, considering she's from the East Coast of mainland USA. Or something. Either way, she swears a lot. Learning another language certainly increases her vocabulary of curse words.
Since she has no former voice actor from another continuity, I one day dream of voicing Ms. Carlo. Perhaps I'll do a reading from my story for you guys, when I have the money to afford a voice station….

-Moonracer is Moonracer. She aspires to be somewhat like Mako Mori of Pacific Rim fame, a girl who can protect herself, the ones she loves, and does not try to improve herself simply to gain attention of a mech. She is, in my head, voiced by Andrea Libman, the voice of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy.

-Botanica has a lot of interesting backstory, especially in Animated. I would bring back Katherine Barr, her voice actor from Beast Wars fame, but if Cree Summer would voice her, I would be ecstatic.

I am already compiling a Cast list for this story, and will post it up with a new chapter when I'm done. The Cast List will explain characters and their quirks better.

Welp, I think that covers everything. If you have any questions about anything, let me know! Questions, comments, reviews. Let's see what you all can offer me to help make the story better. :)

I will be back with more; promise!

(As soon as the Internet back home gets fixed. Something tells me Mom is not about to fix it soon. I can't keep going to the library and mooching off their Wi-Fi. They probably think I'm using their free Internet to view porn or something.)

~Ylysha