Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot.
SMALL MERCIES
Chapter 3: Developments
"He can't have gone far, he knows he's still on duty" Jeanie muttered to herself as she paced down the corridor, and turned a corner.
"There he is..." Chelsea pointed ahead. There, parked in his altmode beside one of the staircases leading up to the suspended walkways, Trailbreaker sat patiently; as he detected the girls approach, he flashed his indicators three times, signalling them to look up. Sitting on the third level walkway, with his legs hanging off the edge through the railing bars while he laid flat on the metal platform: Darren stared aimlessly up at the bare ceiling, trying to get lost in thought.
Glancing at one another in uncertainty, the girl's then tentatively made their way up the staircase. Max, Chelsea and Allie stopped at the second level, while Jeanie carried on up, and sat down on the last step: barely a meter away from her cousin. Glancing over at him, she saw the frustration had left him: but there was still that bland look on his face, as though he were dead to the world, (or trying to be, at least).
"You know? You're not the only one who's had to put up with her all these years" Jeanie said offhand: hoping to pick up where Darren had left them in the rec-room.
"...I know..." he sighed in regret, "...I'm sorry about-, you know" he lazily glanced over at her.
"I know" She smiled weakly,
"It's just- ... How do you do it? How are you able to take everything she say's and just be cool with it?"
"The truth is? I don't..." Jeanie confessed, Darren blinked in surprise, and sat upright to face her properly; "Okay, now you're shitting me" he sarcastically retorted.
"I really don't!" Jeanie retorted, "She bugs me as much as she does you and everyone else: and I'd be lying if I said we didn't get into fights over the things she say's every once in a while..." she paused to catch her breath, and continuing in a more measured tone, adding: "...But she's my sister: regardless of whatever goes down, I'd still be there for her. And I know she'd do the same for me too"
Darren looked at her blankly, and turned away to stare at the opposite wall of the corridor: "...I don't know, if she'd reciprocate the feeling," he replied with an air of bitterness: "All my life: all I've ever known Roxy to be, is a lying, selfish, unprincipled bully. Who cares for no one but herself...The fact we're cousins doesn't mean I trust her, and the fact she went to help save Max that night up in the Tranquility national park doesn't mean I forgive her..."
"But, what about when she got kidnapped by the Insecticons? Doesn't what happened between her and Morri up on that mountain count for anything?" Jeanie pressed him.
"...If it did, she's not proving it now..." Darren frowned,
Thinking back to what he said before, Jeanie asked: "...Was it really that bad in high school?"
For a brief moment, Darren regarded her with a mild look of spite: the bitterness in his eyes almost made her flinch, until a look of hurt came over him, and he dropped his gaze as he stared at the floor below. "... You don't have to shove someone's head down a toilet, or call them names to their face to hurt them. Talking behind their back can be just as hurtful, especially when it's the people you're supposed to look up to"
"...Ramirez?" Jeanie asked offhand; Darren's head snapped round and stared at her in disbelief. "...The short lady, the one who used to teach math? Always wore that skirt with the roses on?"
"...You had her too?" he blinked in surprise,
"Yeah, and it wasn't just your balls she used to bust over Roxy's bullshit: so don't go thinking you're the only who had a hard time" Jeanie stated:
"...Why didn't you tell me?" Darren pressed her.
"...Honestly?" Jeanie thought about it, "I didn't know she still worked at that school when you went there; and, even if I had known sooner: I don't know if you'd have really listened me?"
"..."
"Look, back then, before-, all this" she waved her hands around, trying to gesture to the entire base; "...You were a very different kid; you were always angry at the world: reclusive, stubborn: and you didn't care about a lot of things, family being chief amongst them... Being part of a family like ours isn't easy, I know, I've lived it every day of my life since I was born; but despite all the bullshit we throw at one another, we still gravitate back together again. I mean come on, who else knows how the cut the crust's off Violet's sandwiches? Or let Lizzy have the pixie sticks every Halloween? Or let Rosy have the last cookie in the jar? It's the little things, you know? And, it's not all bad all the time, it just-, takes patience, and a lot of tact ..."
"...I hear what you're saying" Darren sighed, "And, yeah: I get all that; I just- ...She makes it so damn hard"
"You don't make it easy for her too you know?" Jeanie pointed out, "Like I said: You were a very different kid; in the two years between now and then you've changed a lot. And, what happened when we accidentally discovered this place, kinda took us way off guard. All that time we thought you were at some fancy prep school, but instead here you are, working with the government and a bunch of alien robots trying to keep the world in check. Roxy didn't know how to handle that, she still doesn't know how to handle it: and in the face of facing the unknown she did what she always does; carry on as usual and pretend she knows what she's doing..."
"But she's got to know she's not doing herself any favors by being an ass to everyone: that's not how it works in the real world, and that's not how it works here" Darren retorted.
"Of course she knows, she may be blond but she's not stupid"
"Could've fool me" Max casually threw in,
Ignoring her, Jeanie continued: "...You know, you're right, Roxy hasn't done much to endear herself to everyone here: but I can't say you've done much to be nice to her either"
Darren stared at her, surprised.
"Bringing us to this place and keeping us here may have put some things into perspective for her: and yeah, she did learn a thing or two; but that's about as far as you went. Hoping that she'd be smart enough to shape up on her own... Look, I get that you're angry at her, and have been for a very long time: but you can't let past grudges get in the way of right now. It's not a question of shaping up: it's about trying to accept each other as you are. And that-, doesn't come easy for Roxy...She likes to be in control, and in this place she's way out of her comfort zone: that's a scary thing for her, and when she's scared she puts on her bad-ass bitch routine and picks on everyone in sight; she doesn't do it for kicks, she does it because she wants to maintain her comfort zone...And you-, kinda took that away from her" she explained tentatively.
Astounded by this revelation, Darren didn't know how to process this; "...Why didn't she just tell me?" he said offhand,
Jeanie passed a small chuckle, and smiled: "Come on, when have you ever known Roxy to get all emotional?"
"Good point" Darren smirked,
"Listen, you may not believe this, but you and Roxy are more alike than you both care to think: you're both passionate people, and passionate people have a tendency to let their emotions do the thinking for them. Neither of you are bad; you're just-, prone to being too much alike more often than not. It doesn't mean you can't get along: and it sure as hell doesn't mean you can't move forward...Years back, when I was still in high school, Miss Ramirez told me, 'be thankful for small mercies'. I didn't know what she meant by that; but after everything we've been through since joining NEST, I kinda understand it now...There's no one perfect way to be a sister (or cousin): but there are a million little ways, to be a good one. You don't have to see eye to eye on everything, you just gotta respect each other enough to be willing to listen to each other, when it really matters"
Thinking about it, Darren admitted: "...I can't promise anything"
Jeanie laid a hand on his shoulder: "I'm not asking you to make a promise: I'm just asking that you'll try. And don't worry if Roxy's not willing to try, that's not your problem: okay?"
Laying his hand on her's, he passed a short sharp sigh, and got up back onto his feet. "...Guess I should be getting back to work; Red'll give me an earful if I don't triple-check the firewalls and anti-malware buffers" he turned to leave, but stopped as something came to mind. "...I'll-...I'll talk to Roxy later; after the president leaves"
Satisfied her pep-talk had brought about the desired results: Jeanie didn't take the subject any further, and simply followed Darren as he made his way down the stairs to the ground floor. "...You know? I never figured you for being a wannabe Dr Phil?" Max thought aloud.
Jeanie couldn't help but smirk: "Not quite; forensic psychiatry's more my thing"
"Forensic psychiatry?" Chelsea raised an eyebrow, "You mean like, FBI criminal profiling and all that shit?"
"I thought you wanted to be a writer?" Darren blinked in surprise.
"I do: but forensic psychiatry is so fascinating to read, and to write about. I like to think if things had been different, I'd make a go of studying for it and becoming a real psychiatrist"
"Then why didn't you?" Max asked
"Eh: if I had to be brutally honest? I'm way too much of a free spirit to make that kinda academic commitment, plus, with college and university tuition fees being what they are, and my current financial status; it's not really doable. Besides, there're tons of medical text books on the subject out there. It's easier to just read up on the essential stuff and go out to the park and practice people watching. (That and, criminal minds is pretty awesome)"
"Not that I'm an expert or anything? But I don't think a TV crime drama about FBI profilers counts" Darren pointed out dryly.
"In any case, I just find it fascinating" Jeanie shrugged, and thought nothing more of it.
As they reached the ground level, Trailbreaker discreetly rolled around to his charge's side: "...Okay?" he asked through his speakers; "I'm good" Darren smiled, placing a reassuring hand on his wing mirror: "Come on, I'll need to sneak back into the command center, and make sure Red doesn't spot me"
"Done..." Trailbreaker smirked as he opened his doors for them; Darren took his usual place behind the wheel, and together they sped off the short distance back to the command center. After letting the youngsters out, Trailbreaker transformed, and went to open the doors. "Hopefully, he'll be too busy to notice us" he thought aloud in a hushed voice.
"Hopefully" Darren emphasized as he got up close to the right side of his guardian's feet. Max, Chelsea and Allie followed suit as they flanked their cousin's side. The doors slid open: and fortunately Red Alert was, indeed, too wrapped up in his work to notice them. Moving at a quick yet soft pace, the five of them slipped in and moved off to one side out of the way...
But it was only when they were in the middle of the command center, that they saw the scene was much different to what they were expecting. Near the debriefing room, the president's security detail were standing at the ready: Galloway and Lennox were standing off to one side, not making eye contact, and both looking very reluctant and uncomfortable to be in each others company, while Lennox's men plus John and the Royal marines stood aside in equal restlessness, as if waiting for something to happen. And standing right in front of the doors to the debriefing room, Optimus and Eclipse stood like a couple of Buckingham Place guards, unmoving and to attention: their stern gazes telling any would-be eavesdroppers to move on. (Though, they seemed unaware of Roxy, Rosy and Lizzy up on the top-most walkway, along with Bluebird, Veebee, Firefly and Tangostar standing beneath one of the larger mezzanines, out of Eclipse's line of sight).
All around the vast room, the usual ambient sounds were the quietest they had ever been: everyone was busy working, but for some reason, there wasn't the usual banter or chatter. The hum and beeps of the computer systems could be heard echoing off the walls, and even the internal mechanisms of some of the larger bots could be faintly heard clicking, whirring and creaking. Looking around, the five friends were a little perplexed if not unnerved by the this abrupt change in the atmosphere: deciding to get answers, Darren strolled over to Lennox, being careful not to grab Galloway's attention, as he idly paced out into the center of the room.
"Hey Will, what's up?" he asked in a hushed tone behind the major's back.
Glancing over his shoulder at the teen hacker, Lennox took a deep breath in an effort to ease his tenseness: being thankful it was someone he could be frank with: "They've been in there nearly ten minutes now"
"Who?"
"Hailey? Her sisters, plus their folks and the president"
"I know this goes without saying: but, any idea what their talking about?"
"Not a clue..." Will sighed, "But whatever it is, it's getting pretty contentious"
Darren was about to ask what he meant by that, when the sounds of raised voices could be heard coming from within the debriefing room. He could hear Hailey, her sisters, their father, their mother: and who, he assumed to be the president. The doors armor plating was thick, and therefore the sound was too muffled to make out what they were saying exactly, but whatever was being said: it was clear they were getting very riled about something.
As he tried to ignore the growing tenseness of the situation: Optimus was disturbed from his concentration as Eclipse opened her comm-line to his, : I wanted to apologize on mother's behalf, for being so vague earlier:
: What is going on? : He pressed her, : First, you both disappear all morning, and then you request to shadow me for the remainder of the day? There had better be a good explanation for this erratic behavior:
: There is, but I can't talk about it now:
Optimus frowned as he glanced over at her, : ...Is there something I should know?:
Glancing over at her uncle, Eclipse was unable to hide the fear in her optics, : ...Something-, important: was all she said...
Optimus was about to press her, when suddenly the doors behind them opened up, and President Lawrence Waineright stormed out, clearly agitated and provoked. His brother followed out after him, with Hailey at his side: both looking equally angry.
"For god's sake Lawrence! Will you just listen to me for one minute!-"
"This discussion is over," Lawrence stated, his tone making it clear he wasn't taking this any further; "I've explained why you can't stay here: why can't you understand that?"
"Because it's shit!" Hailey angrily retorted: "I told you, I made this commitment, I have responsibilities, and the people here count on me to have their back. If I dumped them for the sake of your family's political agenda, what the hell does that say about me?!"
"Us too!" the twins concurred as they stormed out of the room, "-Okay we're not old enough to be interns (yet), but still! We got responsibilities too you know!" Becca fumed: "We always back up our big sister, regardless of whatever shit goes down: and you can't tell us what to do! We take our orders from the bug guy there!" Becky pointed at Optimus: who merely acknowledged the president with an uncertain gaze.
"Why the hell are you kicking up such a fuss over this?" Jason huffed in exasperation: the man was just about at the end of his tether with his brother, but he had just enough patience left to add; "It's not like mom, or dad or anyone else knows about NEST? And anyway, who the hell's gonna find out? There are like, three hundred American spy satellites up in orbit over north America-
"Three hundred and ten" Red Alert discreetly interjected,
-And a whole battery of super-computers that could run rings around the Silicon Valley! Plus a battalion of giant alien robots who're armed to the teeth with technology, that's the stuff of every tech-analyst's wet-dream! If so much as a flea comes within a hundred miles of this place I'm pretty sure these guys would know about it!"
"Not to brag or anything? But he pretty much nailed it" Red Alert smiled smugly.
Between his brother and nieces: Lawrence knew he was losing ground with this, and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep up the pretense forever; deciding to play the odds, he changed his tactics a little: "...Look, Jason...I have no doubt that this is the safest place in the northern hemisphere, if not the entire planet; but it's not just the girls I'm concerned about-
"-Concerned? ..." Hailey exclaimed, "I met you only once when I was like, twelve? That was the only time I ever saw you in my whole life! And then suddenly, outta the blue, you show up here, and tell me that I'm fired from my job, because I'm the niece of the president of the USA, and my being involved in a black-ops unit with extra-terrestrial beings is too much of a political liability if someone were to go digging into your past? That's your idea of being concerned for me?! For my sisters? ...You know, dad warned me that his whole side of the family were fucked up, but god! You're unbelievable!" she ranted.
"...Fucked up?" Lawrence glanced over at Jason in astonishment, "...So this is what we've been reduced to now, is it?" he threw up his hands and stepped in front of his brother: his security guards discreetly moved to within close range of him, but kept their distance as Lawrence continued: "You know, you denouncing mother is one thing, and I can't blame you on that front: but you wanna go the whole hog and shun the rest of us? Why?"
"You know damn well why..." Jason stepped closer, bristling as his voice betrayed his rising temper, "All our lives, you've know why: and you have the audacity to paint me as the bad guy in all this!? You know, if it were anything else I'd write this off as one of your typical 'over-reactions'. But this?! This is taking it too far Lawrence! The whole reason me and Beverly moved out here to California was so we didn't have be involved with the family, to not have to live in your mother's shadow all the time, for the rest of our damn lives! ...And it wasn't just her you know? You wanting to try for the vice-presidency, dad running the company: you all had an agenda: an agenda I didn't want to factor my family into. So we got outta the way, and gladly! ...How does being the president of the US change all that?"
"It changes everything" Lawrence sighed in exasperation,
"HOW!?" Jason angrily pleaded, "What is the threat here?! What are you trying to gain from this?!"
"Nothing!-"
"-Then why are you here?! Why come all the way out here for this?!"
As they watched and listened to the two brothers argue: both the bots and the humans were now quite perplexed as to what this was really about; and Lawrence in particular, was a real curiosity. His expression, though clam and relatively collected, seemed to hint at a man that was growing desperate to try and reach a particular desired outcome. Or was it something more than that? He hadn't given enough away for anyone to make an educated guess as to what the subject of their argument was about, and it seemed (judging by his measured demeanor) he was playing his cards close to the chest with his brother. With the optic of a well-trained tactician, Optimus watched the two humans carefully, as Jason's wife interjected...
"Perhaps we all need to take a time out?" she suggested, turning her attention to her brother-in-law: "...Look, you flew a long way to come here, so I highly doubt you'll be leaving within the hour; just go to the rec-room, have a coffee, and just take some time to reconsider this"
"As generous as your offer sounds Beverly. There's nothing to reconsider here" Lawrence stated, sticking to his guns: "The girls can't stay at NEST-
"WE HAVE NAMES YOU KNOW!" the twins angrily exclaimed,
"...Hailey, Becca and Becky," he corrected, "Can't remain here: and neither can the two of you. When this is over, you are all getting on that plane, and accompanying me back to Washington"
"What?!" Bluestreak exclaimed,
"See, this is also why we can't leave!" Becca gestured to her guardian: "who's gonna look after Blue?!"
"I'm sorry, but what?!" Darren exclaimed in equal shock.
Glancing over at him, Hailey huffed in frustration as she folded her arms, and explained sarcastically: "...He wants us to leave home and go with him to Washington so he can 'keep us safe' (whatever the hell that's supposed to entail?) It's bad enough I'm an intern for this black-ops outfit: apparently, all the president's known family have to be accounted for, and being on a security check list isn't good enough for 'uncle Lawrence' here"
"But-, what about Jay-jay? What'll happen to her if you're gone?" Trailbreaker exclaimed,
"Who's Jay-jay?" Lawrence frowned in confusion.
"My ward!" Hailey glared daggers at her uncle, "And the day I abandon her is the day hell freezes over!"
"I'm sure whoever (or whatever) Jay-jay is, she'll be perfectly fine without you" Lawrence stated,
"Like hell she will!-
-*Ahem!* Colonel Bishop cleared his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. "Far be it for me to interrupt this 'family reunion': I believe it may be prudent to take Mrs Waineright up on that time out..." he stated as he came down the stairs to the ground floor.
"Took you long enough" John huffed discreetly, "I take it that 'security matter' has been sorted out?"
"Quite, there shouldn't be any more interruptions..." Bishop whispered over his shoulder as he passed by the Royal marine, and approached the Waineright's; "Please excuse my tardiness Mr President, but I don't like to leave urgent matters hanging around unsorted"
"You must be the base commander, Colonel Bishop"
"A pleasure sir: and any other time I would observe the usual pleasantries... " The colonel tipped his head in a discreet nod, "But I'm afraid I must protest at the reason for your being here. If I may be frank sir, I do not appreciate the commander in chief firing three of my best operatives, for seemingly trivial political matters"
Galloway looked like he was about to blow a gasket, but Lawrence remained calm and collected: "...Well? I have to say Colonel, that's- not quiet what I was expecting from you"
"On the contrary sir: if the girls were not able to live up to the high standards I set for this base, I would've seen them out the door personally. But this is NEST, as far as the world is concerned we do not exist, and likewise the politics of the country you now run, do not apply to us in the same way they apply to everyone else. That being said: while I respect your authority and the power of the office you now serve, I must respect my unit, and the team we have in place here. Hailey, Becca and Becky are key element of that team: and I would be most loathed to part with such valuable assets"
The president, unusually, seemed to be okay with Bishop's blunt approach. While it wasn't everyone's ideal way to approach the commander in chief, Bishop remained firm and unwavering, and he gestured for the president to follow him. "...How about we discuss this in detail, up in my office? And let the rest of your family take a break?"
Glancing over at his brother and nieces: no one voiced any objections as Lawrence took Bishop up on his offer; "Very well: Galloway, wait for me here while I see to this"
"Sure thing sir" the bureaucrat nodded, though secretly he would give anything to be a fly on the wall in Bishop's office. As the two gentlemen headed up to the office on the top-most platform of the suspended walkways, the Waineright's tension seemed to ease a little: but their guard hadn't dropped, as they all remained both anxious and worried. Unable to stand this any longer, Hailey stormed out of the command center. Jason and her sisters were about to go after her, when Beverly stopped them: "No don't-, just let her have some space..." she pleaded. Unsure what else to do, they all left the command center, with a very worried Bluestreak following after them: and a very confused eavesdropping audience all around them...
Scampering down the outside of the walkway staircase like a chipmunk, and then dropping the last four meters to the floor; Lizzy discreetly snuck over to her guardian's side, and climbed up onto Firefly's shoulder. "Okay, what the hell just happened?!" she hissed, praying Eclipse wouldn't notice her.
"I think the dude wants her and her folks to pitch up and move in with him?" Firefly shrugged.
"He wants the girls and their creators to move to Washington so he can place them into 'protective custody'" Bluebird corrected.
"What? Why?"
"Good question" Darren interjected,
"Wha-, how did you-..." Bluebird did a double take: how did he sneak up on her like that? One minute he was out in the middle of the room, the next, he's right up alongside her and her sisters; "Never mind; this whole thing doesn't make any sense? What makes him think they'll be safe in Washington, when we've got a base full of bots right here?"
"One possibility could be: he's worried about a potential scandal" Darren hypothesized, "If the press or one of his political opponents found out about Hailey's connection to NEST: that would create all sorts of problems. But given the procedures the Pentagon has for dealing with the press and social media: that's very highly unlikely"
"But if that's unlikely to be the case, what else is getting the dude so riled up?" Tangostar thought aloud.
"I don't know... But now that I think about it: why would the president, who's barely been in office twenty four hours, suddenly go out of his way to come to a top secret military outfit to tell his nieces to quit, because he's worried of a possible intelligence leak?" Darren frowned as the cogs in his mind began to turn, "...Something's off about this"
"You think?" Max raised an eyebrow: "I've heard of people making a whole load-a fuss over nothing, but this is way outta proportion. There's something the president isn't telling his family, and I bet you an intelligence leak has nothing to do with it"
"Not to mention-" Lizzy added as she jumped to the floor. "The dude is threatening to take Hailey and her peeps away from here: from you guys, from Jay-jay. Look, I'm not into all that sappy stuff, but even I couldn't bear to see the look on that lil' cutie's face when she finds out her foster mom had the leave her: and what about Blue? I don't think he could have anyone else behind his wheel. We're just gonna stand by and let that happen?"
As he stood there thinking about it, Darren was already trying to figure out a way to stall the president long enough for this to be resolved: and with that stubborn sideways look of his (reluctant to say to his cousin's face that she had a point), he discreetly signaled for them to follow him. "...I don't know how we're going to do this, but we're not going to have a lot of time to do it in"
Meanwhile, at the same time elsewhere on the base:
At this point, she didn't know what to think. The only thought on her mind, was what the hell was going on?
After trailing Majestrix to the brig, Morri was certain that Velocity had a connection to this mystery: as she had heard Majestrix talking with her; but she hadn't heard what was said. For fear of the Prima or prisoner spotting her, she'd kept her distance, and tried to listen in as best she could. But to no avail: the distance was simply too great for her to hear anything clearly, and once Majestrix had left the brig and was some way down the corridor, Morri resumed her tail. Being careful to follow the Prima by the sounds of her footsteps: and to time her own footfalls so that the Prima's large footsteps would cover the sound of her own; as she tracked her through the labyrinth of corridors and wide passageways.
They had traveled some distance, as they were now in the empty sectors of the base: where some of the largest, widest and tallest rooms and hangers were situated. Back in the days of the cold war, when the facility was on stand-by for the outbreak of WWIII: this was the part of the base that would've served as an underground city, for hundreds if not thousands of civilians. There was so much space down here, that neither the Autobots nor NEST could figure out what to do with it all: and so, with the acceptation for some of their much larger vehicles and weapons, the rest of the lower level was left to gather dust, until such a time the need for such free space would be required.
Down here, not a soul or spark was anywhere to be seen. No one came down here, if at all? There were no suspended walkways lining the walls and ceiling, no alcoves in the walls for any humans to get out of the way of some lager bot's feet: there wasn't enough activity down here to warrant them; which made Morri all the more anxious, as she followed Majestrix, deeper, and deeper into this proverbial underground no-man's land. But that wasn't the worst of it: down here, the bare concrete walls and ceilings, that towered as much as over a hundred and ten feet in some areas, meant that sound carried for hundreds, if not tens of hundreds of meters in any given direction.
As such, Majestrix paced along at a much steadier speed, carefully placing each footstep, as though she were stalking prey. Ergo, Morri had to slow right down, steady her breathing to quieten each breath she took, and creep along more quietly than her quarry: all the while keeping her distance, so she remained out of the Prima's immediate audio range. At this point, Morri couldn't be sure if this was going to yield anything, or worse, if Majestrix had already spotted her, and was leading her down here to confront her about it. How would she explain it? These and other questions were buzzing through her mind with such dread, that she almost hadn't noticed that Majestrix had stopped...
Freezing as still as a statue, and even holding her breath, Morri watched with a cold knot in her stomach as the Prima stood still; she was barely three hundred and fifty yards away: at this range, even a exhaling breath, no matter how soft, would give her away. The characteristic red flash from her optic scanners swept over the doors of one particularly large hanger and its surrounding walls. Seemingly satisfied that there were no obstacles to contend with, the Prima relaxed her posture, and approached the doors: prying them open with hardly any effort. But when she looked inside, her expression turned to one of disappointment and frustration.
"Where did she put it?" she muttered to herself, as she scanned the hanger interior.
Clearly there had been something in that hanger, that wasn't there now, but what? The urgency of the situation gave Morri more reason to worry: but the knot in her stomach tightened when she heard footsteps and voices approaching from the opposite direction. Majestrix heard them too, as she swiftly stepped into the hanger, and moved to one of the far corners of the interior. All the while, oblivious to her human shadow...
With panic beginning to creep in and her adrenaline spiking: Morri quickly, but quietly, crept into the adjacent hanger on the opposite side of the corridor. The doors on this hanger were all but closed, with a small gap just big enough for her to squeeze through; and just in time, as the voices drew nearer, heading in their general direction...
In her hiding place, Majestrix stood still and silent, but with her weapons systems on standby. While all Morri could do, was ready her CTG's laser blaster, in case the worst case scenario should transpire...
As the voices drew closer, they heard it was three of them: Coldbore, Longrange and... Blackshot?
Majestrix's frown soured into a scowl, but Morri was flabbergasted: what on earth was Blackshot doing, talking to the two wayward snipers? And what were they doing down here? They were supposed to be on the level above, working in the garbage disposal plant; supervised by-
'Blackshot' Morri suddenly remembered, as she recalled reading through today's duty roster, only last night. Blackshot was down for being their supervisor for the whole week. 'That would explain the absence, if she's the one in charge of them'
But from the overall tone of the conversation, it didn't sound like that of a couple of prisoners conversing with their guard. As the three flyers turned down the corridor, both human and Prima could hear what was being said...
"-Of all the times to betray me she chooses now to grow a conscience?" Blackshot scowled angrily; "I don't care what has to be done, we need to find her and her mother, and stop them before they have a chance to find us"
"Eclipse is shadowing her uncle, but Majestrix has already docketed Red Alert's personnel tracking system: she could be anywhere in the base," Coldbore coolly replied: "She's going to be the trickiest of them all to deal with: if Eclipse divulged everything to her, then it'll only be a matter of time before the plan is exposed"
"We moved the device to the new location as specified, but we won't be able to keep it there for long; if we can keep it on the move we may have a chance, if nothing else to at least bide some time until the human president is gone..." Longrange added, stopping just short of the hanger Majestrix was hiding in. As the other two stopped and turned to face him: Morri nearly jumped out of her skin as she heard Blackshot's tail fin lightly brushed up against the door she was hiding behind; she was practically right behind the femme, with only two inches of steel between them, but managed to remain silent as she heard Longrange ask: "Look, why don't we just enact the plan now? It's not going to matter if the human president is here of not: we've breached Teletran's security protocols, we can go through with this any time we please; why the wait?"
"Because this isn't about making a statement to the humans," Blackshot bitterly scowled, "This is about setting a new precedence for the Autobot cause: reminding them of what our true priorities should've been all along. And having the humans involved in any capacity will only have them believe that the coup is directed at them,"
'A Coup?!' Morri's brain nearly did a full one eighty: but she bit back the urge to gasp, as she continued to listen in shock...
"For now, our top priority is to keep the device safe: if Majestrix is looking for it, then it'll only be a matter of time before she catches up to us" Blackshot stated,
"How will you handle her?" Coldbore asked,
"I'll see to her personally" the femme scowled,
"And what about Eclipse?" Longrange asked,
"Forget her for now; once we've overthrown the base I'll deal with her then" Blackshot stated: she was about to add something else, when her comm beeped; there was a brief moment of silence, and then the direction of the conversation swiftly changed...
"...What's wrong?" Coldbore asked her,
"Change of plans: wherever you've hidden the device, you need to get it back into the base, right now"
"Why? What's going on?" Longrange pressed her.
"Our 'look-out' has spotted an unknown object approaching the base fast, and from the readings he's getting it's putting out a lot of energy"
"Decepticons?" Coldbore asked
"No, apparently it's much too small. Whatever it is, it could set off the device prematurely; get it back inside and keep it safe, or at the least, get it somewhere it can be isolated. I need to get back into the system and make sure all the 'back-door' connections to Teletran are secure..." she added, before activating her comm "Which reminds me...: Shadowstar, do you copy?:
: I copy: the sphinx-drone replied,
: Status report: have you located Majestrix? :
: Not yet, she's disappeared: and it looks like no one else has seen her all morning:
: Well keep looking; at the very least you can try to track her scent: the femme scowled angrily as she flipped her comm off. "Come on, we've got work to do" she stated: and together they turned, and went back the way they'd came...
Peering out from her hiding place: Majestrix scowled as she stealthily stalked after her SIC: after she had gone, Morri chanced a cautious glance around the door, and breathed a soft sigh of relief. But she suddenly remembered Majestrix's interest in the hanger: and so treading softly over to the hanger, remaining alert and silent; Morri approached the doors, and stepped inside...
The hanger was completely empty, nothing but dust on the dark concrete floor, and cobwebs hanging from the high ceiling...
The dust on the floor
Morri almost missed it, had she not glanced straight down at her feet. For there, about a meter in front of her: a series of scuff marks could be clearly seen in the dust, along with multiple sets of footprints: bot-sized footprints. Something had been moved in and out of here recently, and had Morri not ventured further into the hanger for a closer look, she would've also have missed the strange large triangular marks, the ones that didn't looked scuffed, and seemed to suggest that something had been standing in here. Going around the vast room, she counted another two of the same size and shape; all three marks were approximately forty feet apart, and all situated in a near-perfect triangle.
'A tripod?' she assumed. But if it was a tripod, what had it been holding upright? And just how big was it? Activating her CTG's scanner, Morri scanned the floor to see if there might be any residual energies or chemical residues: and sure enough, she got a hit; but as the data scrolled across the holoform monitor, she struggled the make sense of the readings.
'What on earth puts out this much energon?' she thought in bemusement.
Outside the hanger, completely oblivious to the human: Shadowstar stood watching the hanger. Having stalked Morri all the way down here, and then stopped short of her position when she heard Blackshot and the snipers approaching: she'd been listening in the whole time. But then, quite unexpectedly, she turned, and trotted off back the way she'd came...
When the sphinx-drone was some distance from the hanger: Deathshot disengaged his stealth-mode, and stood there for a moment in shock, as his mind tried to comprehend all that he had just overheard. A coup? Here on the base? No way was this possible? And what was the device they were talking about? For the first time in a long time, his pump seized up as dread began to filter through his mind: and as the possibilities of what might happen began to fill his thoughts, he nearly jumped out of his armor as a small soft slither of flesh brushed up against his ankle joint.
"Hey hey! Calm down! It's only me!" Morri tried to calm him as she stepped back to avoid being knocked over, "What the hell are you doing down here?"
"I-" Deathshot took a deep breath in through his vents as he collected his composure: "Shadowstar was tailing you"
"What?!" Morri exclaimed, keeping her voice low,
"I saw you tailing Majestrix, and she was tailing you: she-
That was when it hit him.
'Why didn't she tell Blackshot Majestrix was right there?' He suddenly realized,
He heard it plain as day over Blackshot's open comm line: Shadowstar was obviously part of her 'team', and she requested a status report on Majestrix's current whereabouts. So why did she lie?
Majestrix would've overheard everything Blackshot had said, as had Morri. Why would she do that?
Unless...
"D?" Morri raised an eyebrow, as she watched the expression on her guardian's face turn into the thousand mile stare; and as she laid her hand on his leg, he suddenly snapped out of it: "Never mind. Listen we need to get back up the command center and tell Prime about this"
"No bloody shit, come on!" Morri didn't have to guess what he'd overheard, as she leaped into his waiting hand, and scrambled up onto his shoulder as he paced off silently down the corridor, back towards the upper levels.
...But what he hadn't picked up: was Longrange hiding behind the corner of the next corridor; deciding to tie up this 'loose end', the young sniper took a different route, back to the upper levels, and activated his comm...
: It's me, we've got a serious problem... :
Outside the command center:
She didn't know what to feel more,
Angry?
Upset?
Outraged?
A combination of all three? In any case, she wasn't in an agreeable mood: she just wished that her uncle would leave this place, and leave her and her family in peace. What was the real point of all this? National security and potential intelligence leaks be damned: there was something Lawrence wasn't telling them; and it annoyed her to no end.
As she wiped the tears from her eyes, Hailey took a deep breath, and tried to regain her composure: in preparation to rejoin her family, who were waiting in the rec-room. As she stepped around the corner, she was greeted by a rather concerned-looking Bluestreak, along with Skywarp and Novastar, and an even more worried-looking Jay-jay and Annabelle; Violet too didn't seem to be pleased from where she sat atop Novastar's shoulder. "... Oh, uh? What're you guys doing here?" she asked offhand.
"Blue told us about what happened: between you, your creators and your uncle?" Skywarp shrugged, "We figured you could probably use moral support"
Before she could reply, Jay-jay approached her with a box of tissues, and gazed at her with a rather apologetic look. Hailey couldn't help but smile at Jay-jay's gesture, as she pulled out a couple of tissues from the box, and wiped her eyes. "Don't go away Hailey, plees?"
"Don't worry sweetie" Hailey sighed, "I don't intend on going anywhere"
"Good, because we intend to help" Novastar added: as Jason stepped out from behind Skywarp's ankle, and approached his daughter. "Dad..." Hailey approached him, "Hey cupcake..." he sighed as he embraced her in a warm hug, gently stroking her long blond hair: "...I'm sorry, for all this nonsense: it's a whole load of trouble you don't need"
She pulled out of the hug, and looked him in the eye: "Why the hell's he being like this?"
"I don't know sweetie" was all he could offer, "But as far as US presidents go, I can't say he's making a good impression with this"
Thinking back to the argument in the debriefing room, something occurred to Hailey she hadn't considered before: "...What you said back there; what made you guys fall out with each other in the first place, to hate each other so bad?"
For about a tenth of a second, there was a brief flash of reluctance in Jason's eyes, and then he sighed and shook his head: "...It's ancient history; family troubles that-, aren't yours to worry about..." he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead. "But right now, we need to try and figure out how to convince him to change his mind..."
As she tried to think straight, Hailey glanced over at Jay-jay, and suddenly, she got an idea: "There's one idea we can try," she smiled as she approached the sparkling, "Jay-jay, do you want t help me out here?"
"Yeah!" the little femme beamed excitedly, "Me too!" Annabelle piped in,
"Come on, I'd like you to meet my uncle" she gently took her by the hand, and lead her to the command center, with their entourage following close behind. Her father in particular, readied his guard, and braced himself for round two: he had faith in his daughter, but his cynicism towards his brother had him convinced this was not going to work out. In any case, he brought up the rear, and started planning his next line of defense, (being a lawyer, dealing with this complex line of difficult persuasion was nothing new to him: the fact it was his own brother, was what made it all the more harder to negotiate).
As Hailey and Jay-jay entered the command center, Sam glanced at her with his usual casual smile and nod; and as the doors slid open, he concentrated on studying the layout of the room, and everyone within it. When the doors closed again, he jogged off back to the corner of the intersection, where Ashley, Tom and Danny were waiting for him.
"Okay, the good news is, your dad's in there: the bad news? So is Galloway and the president" Sam stated.
"Bollocks: you three will have to go in without me" Ashley huffed,
"I dunno how we're gonna tell your old man this is an emergency? He'd take you more seriously if you told him yourself" Sam pointed out.
"Well I can't go in there without Galloway seeing me! As far as the bloke's concerned, I'm still a twelve foot human alien hybrid; he doesn't know about my new 'abilities'" Ashley retorted.
Thinking about it for a moment, Tom then interjected: "All right, I'll go in and get uncle Johny: Sam, you go back in there and find Bee and Prime, we're going to need all the help we can get if this turns out to be real"
"Okay" Sam nodded, "You two wait here, and stay out of sight" he added, as he and Tom snuck off back towards the command center. Upon entering the room, the two boys looked at one another, and started looking around the various faces for their quarry.
Instantly spotting his guardian, who was talking with Prowl, Optimus, Eclipse and Ultra Magnas: Sam moved off to try and grab Bumblebee's attention, and at the same time, try to get Optimus alone: while Tom made his way over to his uncle. Slipping his way through the group of soldiers, John spotted his nephew, and upon seeing the look of concern in his eyes, moved towards him...
"What're you doing here? We're sort of in the middle of something" John told him,
"I apologize" Tom stated, "Listen I need to talk to you alone"
Frowning in concern, John leaned in closer: "Something wrong? Is it Ashley?"
"...Sort of" Tom replied in uncertainty, "-Don't worry, nothing's wrong with him, it's just-...he overheard something: something that-, might be trouble. We need to find D"
Meanwhile, elsewhere on the base:
"Hmm..." Soundwave pondered as he gazed down at the encryption on the parchments, "It's not a liner-based code: and the alignment isn't based on prime numbers...This is truly, a most perplexing encryption. I'll have to recalibrate the pattern sequencing of my-
The communication officer's line of thought suddenly stopped, as his mind began to pick up the mental essence of another sentient being, It was quite far away from here, but approaching fast,
'A cybertronian?' he wondered,
'Can't be: can't you feel it?' he sensed Ravage within his chest compartment,
Sure enough, Soundwave could sense that whatever this unknown entity was, its mind didn't feel like that of a cybertronian; a human then? If it was, it was no human mind he'd sensed before; as he tried to 'look' closer into its thoughts, all he could sense was something akin to mental 'white noise': static and blurred with no clear line of intention or forethought. Whoever they were, they were either not conscious, or undergoing a process of severe mental trauma; both were a daunting prospect, and as he sensed the entity approach NEST's airspace, he sensed Crystalwing reaching out to him with the same concern.
'Soundwave, do you sense that?'
'I do,' he assured her, 'quickly; we must get to the command center, and warn the others'
At that moment, Soundwave opened his chest compartment and ejected Ravage, who unfurled in mid-air, and landed on all fours. "Do what you must, I'll take care of things from my end" he assured him, and the panther-drone galloped off, locating his brother's minds and summoning them to him.
From the speed at which he could sense the entity approaching, Soundwave knew he didn't have a lot of time: quickly, but carefully, he gathered up the parchments, and having no time to locate Morri and return them, he decided to stash them away in his sub-space. He figured he'd return them to her later, and explain why he held onto them. Satisfied the parchments were safe, he then left the hanger, and expanded his telepathy to try and locate Crystalwing...
At the same time, back in the Command center:
Sam discreetly moved in, to try and tap Optimus on his foot to get his attention: but as Optimus watched Hailey and her father try to plead with Lawrence in Bishop's office, his comm beeped:
: Optimus, do you read me? This is an emergency:
: I read you Soundwave, what is wrong? :
: Sir, I just sensed an unknown entity, inbound towards the base:
: A Decepticon? :
: No sir, I can't be certain but it feels like a human of some kind: whatever it is, I can't get a clear reading on its mind:
That last part sent up a big red flag in the back of Optimus's mind, as what he remembered of Broadsword suddenly came to mind.
: Sir, you don't suppose it may be Broadsword again, do you? :
: That's just what I was thinking: Prime stated, : Report to the command center immediately, I'm putting the base on code reed, have your drones ready to mobilize:
Already done sir, over and out:
"Um, sir?" one of the human techs grabbed his attention: "Air traffic control just reported an anomaly fast approaching from the north-west. Doesn't look like a Decepticon, but it's not one of ours either"
Frowning in concern, Prime turned to address his officers: "Initiate code red: seal off all exterior exists and prime the base's defense systems"
Meanwhile, miles away:
Cruising high over the desert, a brilliant blue fireball sped over the mountains and over the interstate highway: turning one way and then another; it almost seemed to be lost, as if uncertain of which direction to take, or where its destination was. It then stared to climb up, gaining altitude until it reached over five thousand feet, and stopped...
Far away: just peering out from behind the foot of a mountain, the top of what looked like an air traffic control tower could be seen through the partial cloud cover. The anomaly then dropped down, and began picking up speed again, as it made a bee-line for the tower...
Back inside NEST:
Klaxons blared to life, and red lights flashed along the corridor walls as the whole base instantly began to buzz with activity. Every bot and human reported to their post, ready for their orders: while those who were not part of the unit, were left to find shelter and get out of the way as best they could.
"Come on Mr President, Mr Galloway, we need to get you both somewhere safe" Bishop stated as he and the president's security detail accompanied the gentlemen down the stairs of the walkway to the ground floor: "We have a specially constructed panic room for just such an occasion"
"Very well, but I'm not going in there without my family" Lawrence stated vehemently,
"I've got to go: Mikaela and Ratchet will need me in the med-bay..." Hailey stated as she helped Jay-jay climb over the walkway railings, and into Bluestreak's waiting arms: "Jay-jay sweetie, Hailey's gotta go do her thing. I'll see you later when this is over okay?" she assured her with a reassuring kiss on the forehead: "Okay, bub-buy" Jay-jay waved good-bye, as Bluestreak quickly hurried her out of the command center. As Hailey hurried down the stairs, Lawrence was quick to try and stop her.
"I meant all my family: you're not going anywhere" Lawrence stated,
"Like hell I am!-" Hailey retorted, "If something happens and we get casualties, the med-bay's gonna need an extra pair of hands!"
"You told me you were an Autobot 'nanny', not a medic" Lawrence pointed out,
"It's called multitasking, look it up!" Hailey retorted, but as she reached the bottom of the stairs, one of the security guards placed a hand on her shoulder and jerked her back. "HEY!-"
"HEY!-" Jason rushed the guard, and immediately smacked his hand off his daughter's shoulder: "Don't you dare lay a hand on my-
Thwack!
The guard's punch caught Jason completely off guard, and as he staggered backwards in a daze, the rest of the security detail were quick to tackle him, and wrestle him to the ground.
"DADDY!" Hailey yelled in a panic as she tried the wrestle one of the guards off her father; Optimus was set to step in and break up the scuffle, until the president beat him to it. "WAIT!-" Lawrence shouted angrily, and the guards stopped, "That's my brother! Let go of him!" he ordered, to which the men did without hesitation. Helping her father off the floor, Hailey let him lean on her as he rubbed his sore jaw, whilst waiting for his equilibrium to stop spinning. Lawrence moved in to try and help, but Hailey swatted his hand away.
"Don't!-" she angrily spat, "Just-, don't. Go and hide if you must, but I gotta job to do" she stated, before turning her attention back to her father, as she lead him out of the command center: "Come on dad, Ratchet will have some ice for that..."
Having watched the incident, the Autobots and humans in the room gazed at the president with a level of uncertainty, even Lennox and his men weren't sure what to think. Had it been anyone else they may have rushed to the president's aide without question: but knowing Hailey, and by extension her parents, somewhat changed the dynamics of where the true loyalty lay in all this.
Sensing this had the potential to become worse, Bishop decided to get the president out of here: "...Mr President?" he gestured to the door.
Lawrence didn't say anything, and merely followed Bishop as he led the way to the panic room: catching a glimpse of his brother and Hailey, as they made their way to the med-bay.
"Okay, focus people: we got a code red to worry about" Lennox stated, changing the subject, (and thankful the Waineright's were now out of the room): "Call it Prime, what've we got?"
"An unidentified anomaly heading straight for our airspace: have your men ready to move out in case things get dicey: we'll take point on any offensive measures this anomaly throws at us" Optimus stated.
"Done: okay guys let's suit up!" the major barked, "Briggs, I want you and your men to-
But when the Major turned to where he thought John had been standing, he saw he was gone: even the other Royal marines were surprised to see he was absent.
"...Where's he gone?"
At the other end of the room, hidden behind one of the large bot-sized consoles: John stared at his nephew in a mix of confusion and alarm: "-Wait a minute: Eclipse tried to kill Soundwave?!" he exclaimed in a hushed voice.
"Yes but-, listen, that's the least of it. I don't know what's going on but from what Ashley told me it sounds like something big's going on" Tom explained anxiously.
"Where's Morri right now?" he pressed him,
"Tailing Majestrix, I've no idea where they are: and I don't know where D is either"
"John? ..." Lennox called out
"Come on mate! We got arse to kick!" he heard one of his men bark
"Shit..." John cursed, "Listen, I can't do anything right now: find D and fill him in: I'm sorry Tom but you'll have to handle this yourselves" he patted him on the shoulder, and went to back to rejoin his men.
Huffing in frustration, Tom didn't argue or object: and as he placed his hands on his hips, he tried to think of an alternative plan. "Hey-"Sam interrupted, "Looks like more trouble",
"Any luck with Bee or Prime?" Tom asked,
Sighing in defeat, Sam gazed over his shoulder at Prime, who was busy consulting with his officers, including his guardian: "I was just about to open my mouth when that comm came in and Prime hit the code red"
"That's going to keep them busy for a while" Tom realized, "I don't think we're going to get any help here: I couldn't find Darren either, so it looks like we're going to have to improvise"
"Agreed," Sam nodded, "Come on, we can at least try to find Morri and D, and then figure out what to do..." he led the way discreetly out of the command center, being careful no t to draw any attention. As the doors closed behind them, Tom caught a glimpse of his uncle standing amongst the other soldiers; and wondered if he should have tried to convince him to come and help them with this?
"Problems?" Optimus asked the Yorkshire-man,
"Nothing I can't handle" John stated, before considering what Tom had told him"...Though, I'd like to speak to you in privet, later: if that's okay with you?"
"That will be fine" Optimus nodded, "But for now, our attention must be focused on the situation at hand"
"Uh, Prime?" Portia grabbed his attention as she studied the data on the console she was stationed at: "The Black Solstus's long-range scanners have picked up something strange; the anomaly is indeed human: bio-scanners confirm it. But-...well? See for yourself..." she pointed to the monitor. As he leaned over her shoulder for a look at the monitor, Prime studied the data carefully: but the more he read, the more his concern began to grow, as he recognized something very familiar about the energy readings the anomaly was putting out...
Quickly, he stepped away from the monitor, and activated his comm, : Deathshot, do you read me, over?:
At the same time: at the other end of the central level.
"Okay...Okay..." Morri rubbed her temples as she tried to think straight: "A coup; where the hell do we even start with trying to stop a coup?!"
"We have to tell Prime, and tell him to lock the base down: I don't care what the code red is, this takes top priority" Deathshot stated vehemently.
"Listen, that 'device' they were talking about: I think it may have been kept in the hanger Majestrix hid in; there were marks made by a giant tripod of some kind: any ideas as to what it could be?" Morri thought aloud
"Not a clue, there were many weapons that utilized a tripod as part of their design: but that wouldn't make any sense, to threaten everyone into submission with just a bomb or an EMP emitter? Unless it's going to be used on someone else..." the sniper speculated, before his mind returned to Shadowstar, "...What I don't get is: why did Shadowstar lie like that?"
Thinking about what he'd told her on the way up to the command center, there was only one logical explanation for the sphinx-drone's irregular behavior: "Isn't it obvious? She-
But as they rounded the corner, the sniper abruptly stopped in his tracks: Morri nearly fell down his front as she almost didn't grab the edge of his shoulder plate in time. She was about to ask why they'd stopped, when she saw the reason standing less than seventy yards in front of them...
Longrange stood in the middle of the corridor, deliberately blocking their way: from the way he gazed at them, Deathshot knew right away that he'd made them out, (somehow...)
"...Where're you two going in such a rush?" the younger sniper smirked,
"There's a code red in progress: didn't you hear the klaxons?" Morri replied right off the bat.
"True, but I don't recall hearing Prime summoning you both..." he stated, as he folded his wings closer together: and the sound of his wrist-guns cocking could be heard", I'm sure whatever it is, it can wait a little while" he smiled as he widened his stance: as if he were getting ready to attack.
Realizing he was about to rush him, Deathshot readied himself, :Listen to me carefully...: he told Morri via her earpiece on their privet channel, : When he comes at me, I want you to run for it: I'll keep him pinned down and buy you some time to get to the command center, it's just eight hundred yards around the next corner:
Glancing past Longrange's shoulder at said corridor, Morri didn't like the prospect of having to make the dash; especially if someone like Longrange was in the way. But she didn't doubt her guardian, and she knew he could hold his own; being the older, more experienced combatant: she didn't even have to speculate if the odds would be in his favor. But just to be sure, she reached for her CTG, and discreetly primed the weapon's system, ready to fire anything at a second's notice.
"...Okay" she whispered as softly as she could: she knew his sensitive audios heard her.
"Why? Is there something you wish to discuss?" Deathshot asked, deliberately humoring him as he activated his own wrist-guns...
The tenseness of the atmosphere was about to break, when suddenly-
: Deathshot, do you read me, over? I need you to come to the command center right away, over:
Both snipers and the one human were taken aback by the sound of Prime's voice emanating from Deathshot's loudspeakers,
: ... Copy that: the sniper replied. Simultaneously, they both offlined their wrist-guns; and Longrange merely gazed daggers at them both, as they moved forward. "...I guess it'll have to wait..." he stated coolly.
As he walked by him, Deathshot and Longrange gazed at each other intently; they both knew what the other knew: and as he turned the corner, Deathshot knew this had just become much more dangerous. "From this point on, you don't leave my side for anything, understand?" he told his charge, "definitely" she sighed anxiously.
Picking up the pace, they made it to the command center: and without taking any time to fill him in on what's going on, Optimus jumped right in as he beckoned the sniper to his side. "Tell me Deathshot, what does this look like to you?" he pointed to the data on the main monitor.
Looking at said data, Deathshot was a bit perplexed at what he was reading: "It's-, the energy signature the BSHB's gave off when activated by their users"
Optimus frowned, "I suspected as much," he then activated his comm; : Wheeljack, do you read me?:
: I read you Prime! : The scientist replied as he primed some new prototype weapons.
: Tell me, what is the state of the BHSB's? :
: The BSHB's? ... : the scientist went over to the corner of his lab, where the vault containing his most valuable and dangerous inventions stood; typing in the key-code to the access panel, the lock unbolted and the huge metal door swung open, he then pulled out the draw containing the BSHB's containment unit, and gazed through the reinforced glass lid at the tiny devices inside, :Well sure, they're right-
But he stopped mid-sentence, as he saw one of the holding clasps inside was empty.
:... Oh no, one of the device's is missing! : he panicked
"That confirms it" Prime sighed
"I don't understand, what's going on?" Deathshot demanded.
"It would seem one of your BSHB's is currently being used by someone else, other than one of our human comrades" Prime stated, to which Deathshot only stared at him in alarm. "The code red, it's a human: and it's right now, it's hovering right over the air strip" Portia filled the sniper in.
"What?" Morri blinked in surprise; gazing up at the security feeds of the outside of the base on the main monitor, she saw what looked like a large vivid blue energy orb, floating like a dandelion seed over the main runway of the base's air strip, with energy licking off its semi-transparent surface like flames, and in the center of the orb, the glowing white silhouette of a human figure could be vaguely made out.
"...Bloody hell..." Morri gasped, "Who is it?"
"Unknown: but whoever they are, we can't read their mind" Soundwave pointed out from where he stood on the other side the console with Crystalwing: "It must be a device of some kind, or someone with a highly acute level of perception, able to block us out; in any case, we can't tell what their intentions are" she added.
"If their intention was to take us by surprise then they obviously don't have tactical knowledge of the base: our external security grid is tracking their every move and they've lost the element of surprise" Ironhide observed,
"But it's not like they made any attempt to hide their presence either: air traffic control spotted them when they came within two hundred miles of our airspace, and they didn't attempt to use the mountainous topography to conceal themselves. They wanted us to see them coming" Chromia added.
"Regardless of how and why, this human is possession of my tech" Deathshot stated, "And that's not good"
"Which is why I need you to go out there, and see if you can take control of the nanites that make up the device: like you said, it's your tech, no one knows the BHSB's better than you do Deathshot" Prime stated
"No problem" Deathshot replied as he handed Morri over to Optimus: for a brief moment, she glanced at him as if to say 'I thought you told me not to leave you?'. He merely gazed at her with an apologetic look, and glanced sideways at Optimus, as if to beckon her to stay with him; she nodded, and scurried up onto the Prime's shoulder, much to Optimus's surprise...
"Stay with Prime, I'll be back shortly" he stated, and hurried out of the command center, towards the entrance of the open-air hanger. Prime gently took Morri off his shoulder, and moved to place her down on the console, when she suddenly grabbed his thumb: "Optimus wait!-", he stopped, "I know what's going on outside is serious, but there's something I need to tell you right now!"
"I'm afraid it'll have to wait youngling" he stated,
"No listen! It's Blackshot, she-
At that moment, the whole commend center went pitch black as the lights went out and all the computers switched off,
CLANG!
Someone's fist made contact with the side of Prime's jaw, hard. So much so that the force of the strike sent him toppling over onto his back, and in the motion of falling he felt Morri suddenly yanked out of his grasp. In a split second he onlined his night-vision, only to catch a glimpse of a dark shadow dashing past his head, heading for the door.
The power suddenly came back on, and the door to the command center closed.
But no sooner had everyone spotted Optimus laying on the floor with a noticeable ding in his jaw-plate: the Prime sprung back up onto his feet, and was out the door in a second. As his officers chased after him, he stopped and glanced both ways down the corridor: who was it that punched him? Where did they go? And why did they take Morri?
"Optimus! What the slag just happened?!" Ironhide gasped
"I don't know Ironhide, but this situation just became more serious" Prime frowned,
Multitasking, that's the key here Optimus :/
Stay tuned, and don't forget to R&R on your way out :)