Chapter 27

Adjustment of Plans

"Query: Ready?" Soundwave said, to Steeljaw, after a quick glance at Steeljaw's master.

Blaster bent over and stroked Steeljaw's head. "Go on. Bring the runt back."

Whatever Steeljaw said to Blaster was not for others' hearing, but it made Blaster smile. Then Steeljaw turned, and Soundwave opened his docking bay door, and the young cybercat symbiont launched himself airborne, transformed in mid air, and allowed his momentum to carry him to the safety of what had once been Ravage's dock.

Soundwave could feel the increased drain on his power plant as his systems took over Steeljaw's needs. Simultaneously, a window popped up on his visor's HUD notifying him that Steeljaw had synced with the visor.

"I know you'll take good care of him," Blaster said, quietly.

"Blaster's trust, appreciated."

"Hnnh. I think Jaws has found his sparkmate in that brat of yours. If I tried to keep him from going with you, I'd be breaking his trust in me."

Soundwave puzzle through that statement, then nodded when he understood. "Steeljaw, trusts you to trust him. And to value his needs."

"Something like that. And your grammar's improved enough that you might be able to pass for normal without my best cybercat along for the ride." Blaster grinned at him.

"Soundwave, still cannot speak, understand, Cybertronian," Soundwave pointed out. "Soundwave, will require assistance from Steeljaw until reunited with Frenzy."

"Yeah. I forgot, you're so fluent in English. That must suck. Hey - you be careful, you hear me? - Yeah, Jaws, I know you can hear me in there." Blaster visibly winced, as Steeljaw apparently said something to him. "Steeljaw says I should tell you to get going."

Soundwave inclined his head in acknowledgement. "Greatest care, will be taken. Thank you, Blaster."

An opportunity for his "escape" had presented itself unexpectedly, in the form of an Autobot casualty in the fighting between factions. Silverbolt had taken a hit, and had somehow managed to land on I-10 in the middle of Los Angeles during the afternoon rush hour without hitting a vehicle. However, he'd been critically injured in the process.

"The glitch ripped half his plating off on a bridge, busted both wings," Ratchet grumbled at Soundwave, who was transformed into boom-box form and riding uncomfortably (vertigo at full force) in Ratchet's passenger seat. "Help me get the leaks stopped before you pull a runner, you get me?"

"Understood."

The scene, as Ratchet had indicated, was gruesome. Silverbolt had been going at a high rate of speed when he'd slid under a bridge. The bridge was demolished, and he'd lost all the armor off the top of his alt mode and crushed both wings. After the impact, he'd managed to transform, and was now seated in the middle of the road with energon pouring from innumerable injuries. One arm was dangling by a few cables, and both his optics were broken. His other arm was motionless at his side, shoulder crushed.

"It's me, 'Bolts." Ratchet said, as he opened his passenger door and Soundwave transformed and stood up in the same practiced motion. "Soundwave, too."

"Is it bad, doc?" Silverbolt asked.

"Nah. I'll have you up and flying in a few minutes - yes it's bad, you moron."

"Not getting any reports from my neural net and I can't see!" Silverbolt sounded close to panic.

"Observation: Your damage, fully repairable." Soundwave rested a hand on Silverbolt's good shoulder. "You are with friends. You will be, as they say, good as new, eventually."

"Better than you can say for yourself, huh? Sorry, Soundwave."

"Apologies, unnecessary. Damage, traumatic. However, Ratchet, skilled. Trust him. You will fly again very soon."

"You do realize he's just about the only flier I know who doesn't have sky hunger?" Ratchet crouched and started sealing off the energon leaks coming from a deep gouge in the jet's back. Soundwave worked on Silverbolt's opposite arm, efficiently clamping large energon lines torn by the crash.

"All fliers possess sky hunger." Soundwave shook his head. "The presence of a realistic fear of crashing in a time of war, when a flier may be unexpectedly shot down, does not contradict a desire for flight."

"Yeah." Silverbolt said. Then he added, "Vortex shot out both of my engines. Slagger."

"You should be faster than his missiles." Ratchet scowled.

"I am. Fireflight isn't."

"You took a missile for 'Flight?"

"I'm a lot larger." Silverbolt snapped. Then, sounding a little defiant, he added, "I'm his brother. You can't understand, Ratchet. You can't know what it's like to have a bond like that ..." he trailed off, suddenly silent and looking very scared.

Ratchet and Soundwave exchanged glances over Silverbolt's head. They'd stopped the worst of the leaks, and Silverbolt clearly hadn't taken any life-threatening damage. He was just going to need a pitload of body work and reconstruction.

Soundwave looked down the road, then back at Ratchet.

Ratchet nodded.

Soundwave bolted, running for all he was worth. For the first time since he'd been injured he really tested his speed, strength, and stamina. Running was dizzying, as the world pitched and rolled around him. He stumbled, bounced off a bridge pylon, went to one knee, and lurched back to his feet. Behind him, he heard Ratchet yelling for him to stop, acting panicked even when he wasn't, and even as he scrambled between a stopped big-rig and a dually pulling a trailer. He left dents on both, and on himself.

Traffic was a nightmare, with a wounded Autobot and a destroyed bridge in the middle of I-10. Ratchet couldn't follow in alt mode (had this been an actual escape, and not planned), and he had a patient to take care of. This was a realistic, perfect, opportunity.

"... ungrateful, two-faced, slag-headed idiot!" Ratchet screamed after him, voice amplified and pitched to carry miles, even as the bond between him and the medic informed him that Ratchet was in no way angry at him. "Son of a glitch! After everything I've done for you!"

Ratchet, Soundwave thought, was an excellent actor.

"Ratchet!" Silverbolt shouted at the medic, "Let him go! Primus, they've got his symbiont! I'd go through the Pit itself for one of my brothers! He's just doing what he has to for his bondmate!"

There was a clang as Ratchet hit Silverbolt with something. "Yeah, well, he could have planned something out with us!"

Soundwave's long legs quickly carried him out of range of their conversation, even if his strides were stumbling and uneven. As planned, however, he knew that the comm channels would be abuzz with Ratchet's news that he'd run away. Blaster would come into the conversation reporting that Steeljaw was missing. Optimus would call off the search, stating it was Soundwave's right to chose his own path. And all of this news would be transmitted using an encryption key that one of Starscream's crew had "leaked" to Astrotrain.

:They're reporting that you're close to Crystal Cove,: Steeljaw, monitoring the comm chatter, said. :And a bogey at four o'clock.:

He looked up. Vortex.

He stopped, stood up straight, and waved one hand in a dignified greeting.

Vortex landed, transformed, and pointedly aimed a hand cannon at him. In Cybertronian, the copter demanded, "State your intentions, defector."

He only knew what Vortex said because Steeljaw translated it for him. Steeljaw replied with something curt, and a second later, a translation of Steeljaw's words appeared on his HUD. "Escape from captors."

"Huh."

"Starscream, manipulated Megatron into attempted execution. Autobots, undesirable allies. Astrotrain, logical leader, if Frenzy freed unharmed."

"Huh." Vortex repeated. "Always could count on you to be the biggest drone in the room. We kidnap your bondmate and you're ready to swear allegiance to the Boss Train if we let him go without harming him? If it was anyone else but you, I'd tell you to pull my other leg."

"Soundwave, logical. Not emotional."

For someone who'd only known him a few months, Steeljaw was doing a very good job at anticipating what Soundwave would say. Soundwave hoped Steeljaw was doing as good of a job in Cybertronian at mimicking his pre-damage speech patterns.

Apparently, it was enough to satisfy the notoriously suspicious and perceptive interrogator.

"Yeah, yeah. Fine." Vortex subspaced the blaster and transformed. "Hop on board. We'll meet up with Blast Off and take you up to orbit, and then you can talk to the big boss. But it'll be good to have you on the team. Nobody has any fragging organizational skills and we need you. You were always the one that kept the gears greased and the cogs turning."

:Oh, joy, more paperwork,: Steeljaw said, strictly to Soundwave.

:Steeljaw, may be required to do this paperwork. Apologies in advance.:

:Oh, no problem. I'm sure I'll pick up all sorts of useful intel I can pass on to my boss.:

:Soundwave, approves.: He replied, with three smilies after the comment.

:Anyone tell you that you're way cooler than Vortex thinks?: Steeljaw replied. :Because you are.:

:Thank you.:

:Oh, you're welcome. This is going to be fun.:

Frenzy sensed Soundwave's arrival long before he saw him. He suspected, from the increasingly irritated feel of Soundwave's spark, that Astrotrain's mechs were interrogating him. However, finally, Soundwave appeared at his cell door, looking aloof and reserved and feeling pissed off, stressed, and exhausted.

"Agreement reached: We will be working for Astrotrain."

"Right, boss." Frenzy sighed. "Got any energon? I'm running on fumes."

"Swindle was sent to feed you, according to Astrotrain," Counterpunch said, descending the stairs to Astrotrain's hold.

"Punch!" Frenzy grinned at him. The young warrior was a bit on the violent side, but not crazy. Frenzy liked him, as well as he liked any Decepticon. Punch was also a mole, but even Punch didn't know that. Frenzy didn't hold it against him.

Punch shrugged. "Ain't an Autobot. And Starscream's a fool if he thinks the 'bots are gonna win this."

Frenzy chuckled. "Yeah, they're a bunch of idealistic slaggers. If you don't toe the line and believe in Prime's preachings, they'll turn on you in a second."

"I ain't drinking that kool-aid," Punch agreed.

Soundwave produced a symbiont sized cube of Autobot energon from his subspace and handed it to Frenzy. Frenzy said irritably, "And Swindle drank the energon he was supposed to give me in front of me."

"Want me to smack him down for you?" Punch offered, agreeably.

"Nah. I'll get him later."

"Frenzy, docking required for safety. Revenge on Swindle, must wait." Soundwave turned away from Punch and opened his docking doors. Frenzy saw Steeljaw's transformed form in what had been Ravage's bay, and for a moment, bitter grief threatened to overwhelm him. He forced himself through it, however, and jumped into a transformation. Soundwave caught him with skilled hands and slid him home.

As soon as his systems were synced, Steeljaw greeted him over the hardwired connection, :Hey, runt.:

:So what's the plan?:

:For now, gather intel. Soundwave's managed to convince Astrotrain he was being held captive and is glad for the 'rescue' and will work with the aftwit. We need to figure out how many nukes Astrotrain has, and disable and/or steal them. Once we determine how to do that, Jazz will arrange a pickup.:

:Sounds messy.:

:Yeah. The Autobots are worried about a high-altitude airburst, however, that'd do significant damage to earth's infrastructure. Losing a city would be bad. But if you blow a nuke up in low orbit, and you could destroy the power grid and many electronic devices for most of a continent. That'd be pretty bad for the humans.:

:Hnnh. Life would be so much easier if we didn't have to worry about the humans.:

:I happen to like humans. However, think logically. Frenzy, we can't go back to Cybertron. It's a dead world. Even if we win this war, it will be eons before Cybertron could support life again ... if it ever can. Earth's home, for now and probably forever. Fitting into human civilization is going to be a lot easier than building our own cities from scratch.:

:What if they turn on us?:

:What if they don't?: Steeljaw countered. :The only way to find out if we can make integrating with human society work is to try. That starts with protecting the humans. So disabling those nukes is priority number one.:

:I understand.: Frenzy sighed.

While they conversed, Soundwave had climbed the stairs to Astrotrain's bridge. Frenzy logged in to Soundwave's optical input from the visor and watched as Soundwave crossed the small room. Vortex was idly monitoring sensor displays. From the readouts, Frenzy could tell that Astrotrain was in deep recharge.

"How's the runt?" Vortex asked idly, without even looking at Soundwave.

"Underfueled," Soundwave replied, even as Steeljaw translated the English into Cybertronian.

:Location of Swindle?: Soundwave inquired across their private hardlink. Frenzy could feel the mix of irritation and coldly plotting analysis going on in Soundwave's spark. Soundwave was pissed in general, but also saw a way to make a point.

In Cybertronian, Frenzy asked Vortex, "Swindle's location requested."

Vortex poked at his displays. "Engine room. Think he's got a still set up. Don't wake Astrotrain; he's been in a foul mood."

"Gratitude, expressed." Soundwave promptly headed for the ladder down to Astrotrain's enormous power plant.

Swindle and Brawl both looked up from the still as Soundwave entered the room, but Swindle wasn't quick enough to avoid Soundwave's swift lunge across the room. He squeaked in surprise as Soundwave's large hand closed around his neck. Soundwave lifted Swindle off the ground, gave him a hard shake, then produced the hand blaster from his subspace and pressed it to the terrified mech's head. Only the symbionts in Soundwave's docking bay noticed that Soundwave was bracing one leg against a bulkhead for balance.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry!" Swindle stammered in Cybertronian.

"Symbionts, protected." Frenzy mimicked Soundwave, with great glee. "Soundwave, superior to Swindle."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry, sorry, I won't mess with the runt again!"

"Your day's ration, required."

"Wha ... his ration's smaller than mine!"

"Your point?"

"Okay, okay, okay!"

Soundwave, cued by translations from Steeljaw, dropped Swindle on the ground. The small Combaticon ended up on his aft with a tremendous clang of metal on metal and a loud curse in a language that Frenzy didn't know, but Steeljaw did. Steeljaw translated it as, "Fuck a rock," with a note that Swindle had sworn in Rigelian.

Whatever, Frenzy thought. He hadn't needed a translation to know that Swindle had said something obscene.

"What are you doing?" Astrotrain, sounding incredibly grumpy, demanded. They'd made enough noise to rouse him.

Soundwave just cast Astrotrain's optical sensor, high on one wall, a wordless look. He held a hand out imperiously to Swindle, who produced a cube of energon in a near panic.

"I was recharging!" Astrotrain, indignant, added.

"I told you not to wake him!" Vortex shouted from the bridge.

"Swindle, stole from Frenzy," he said, utterly calm. "Compensation, required.'

"Listen here, you slagged drone, I gave you an order ..." Vortex began.

"Soundwave, does not take orders from Vortex. Will take orders from Astrotrain." Frenzy said in Soundwave's voice, still absolutely without emotion. "Additionally, discipline lacking among troops. Will enforce proper behavior. Theft will not be tolerated."

:Damn, you've got some cojones,: Steeljaw observed, as Vortex appeared in the doorway.

:Response, appropriate,: Soundwave said, backing Frenzy up. :I am an officer, and outrank Vortex. Chain of authority must be established, immediately.:

Astrotrain, with an irritated growl still in his voice, said, "I haven't been able to recharge for three earth days and I am exhausted. Vortex, Soundwave's right. He's the boss of you. Deal. Soundwave, you're in charge of discipline. Think you can get these losers all shooting in the same direction and not at each other?"

"Will attempt specified tasks. Outcome unknown."

"Primus, you're such a drone," Swindle rolled his optics, even as both symbionts transmitted smileys of appreciation to Soundwave's visor, and got a winking smiley back in response. It amazed Frenzy how few mechs recognized Soundwave's brand of humor.

"You'll manage, if you want to keep the runts with you and not in a holding cell," Astrotrain snapped. "I'm going back to recharge. When I wake up, I expect a full intelligence report of your time with the Autobots and a plan for organizing this army of aftwits back into military readiness. Vortex will help you."

"Understood," Soundwave said, crisply. "Reports, will be completed."

Soundwave took over the largest cabin in Astrotrain's small living area, evicting Vortex. The room was spartan - Astrotrain objected to any attempts at personalization of his private quarters, since they were part of his frame - and neat, if very small.

It took him less time than one would expect to produce both documents. The Autobots had anticipated the demand for intelligence, and provided Soundwave with details on their operations (some false, some misleading, and with just enough truth to be plausible) that they wanted him to pass on. Frenzy translated the Autobot command's notes into Soundwave's distinctive communication style, and sent the file to Astrotrain's message queue.

Creating a proposed command structure and disciplinary regulations was easier. Soundwave knew the mecha involved very well, and produced a plausible chain of command - with Vortex and Blast Off as second and third in command after Soundwave, and Soundwave's "special ops" division reporting independently to Astrotrain. Soundwave claimed Swindle, Onslaught, and Reflector for his "division" - as well as summoning several mecha from distant systems. Of the mecha he recalled, two were potentially useful to the new government as they had been administrators in their past lives, two were medics, one needed to be eliminated as he was a sociopathic threat to universe (and had long been on Soundwave's short list to assassinate; Megatron had refused to allow it as Megatron had found him useful), and one was an Autobot mole - a seeker who Jazz had wanted "reassigned" to Starscream's forces.

Once everything was completed, he ejected both symbionts to allow them a bit of free time. Frenzy landed on the desk and stretched in an exaggerated fashion. Steeljaw, more dignified, just sat down on the desk and said, "You sure it's safe for us to be out?"

"Confirmation: Room monitored, if Astrotrain choses," Soundwave said, in unavoidable English. "Soundwave, valued. Steeljaw, now Soundwave's. Astrotrain, will not allow damage to Soundwave or symbionts. Soundwave's cooperation, conditional on safety of symbionts."

"Gotcha, boss."

Frenzy sat down next to Steeljaw and leaned against him. He didn't say anything, he just tucked his knees to his chest. After a moment, Steeljaw rested his chin on the top of Frenzy's head and curled his tail around Frenzy's feet. They were in no way safe, and had zero privacy for anything truly intimate, but Frenzy found the proximity of Steeljaw's spark and quietly humming systems comfortable and warm.

For Astrotrain's benefit, Frenzy murmured to Steeljaw, "Didn't take much convincing for you to come with the boss, did it?"

Steeljaw said, in a sour tone, "I volunteered. I haven't been happy with Blaster for a long time. Soundwave suits me better, and I get you as a fringe benefit."

It was a complete and total lie that Steeljaw was unhappy with Blaster. Soundwave knew that Steeljaw's partnership with Blaster was solid and enduring. However, Astrotrain could be listening, and they had parts to play.

"I can't believe you let him touch you," Frenzy improvised, and the implications of his words left a miserable feeling in the symbiont's spark. Blaster didn't deserve to be maligned. He was a good mech, and Steeljaw's love and trust for his master was blatantly obvious.

Steeljaw was silent for a long, long, moment. Soundwave wondered if Frenzy he'd gone too far. However, Steeljaw was special ops for a reason, and he finally answered in a rough, angry, voice. "Didn't have much choice. He's a bit bigger than me, if you haven't noticed, and the Autobots assume bondmate means lover. Glad I won't ever have to do ... that ... again for fuel."

Frenzy twisted sideways and buried his face in Steeljaw's neck. "I'm sorry, Steelie."

"Soundwave's a good master." Steeljaw's voice was sharp. "And he doesn't expect anything of me I ain't wanting to give."

Soundwave said, in a flatly unemotional tone, "Steeljaw, Frenzy, assistance required. Frenzy, you will help Steeljaw compile data on available resources."

The data Soundwave meant was on Astrotrain's current weaponry. Steeljaw nodded, and laid down on his chest, shuttered his optics, and shunted all extraneous power to the formidable array of sensors packed under his armored mane. Frenzy moved several feet away so the physical contact with his own metal frame wouldn't distort the scans.

Passive scans only, Soundwave knew. They didn't want to push their luck and arouse suspicion from the Decepticons. So far, it seemed as if Astrotrain's forces were accepting Soundwave's story at face value.

As Frenzy had noted, there was low-level gamma radiation present in amounts above the expected background levels. It wasn't enough to harm even a human, but it was detectable. There was only one source, and further sampling of the atmosphere detected a few molecules of uranium. It was possible that Astrotrain had scientific equipment on board that was emitting the gamma radiation, but Steeljaw thought a far more plausible explanation was that the shuttle had at least one uranium bomb on board. He detailed all of this in a databurst to Soundwave's visor, and a report to Blaster.

Further passive scanning revealed Astrotrain was in poor repair; when Steeljaw focused on his auditory sensors, he could hear that the shuttle's enormous power plant had a suspicious-sounding ping. His fuel pump also had a murmur to it that sounded like backflow from worn casings. The atmospheric mix was off as well, with too much carbon monoxide and not enough oxygen. Astrotrain's air scrubbers probably needed to be serviced and, complicating that problem, he was supporting too many mecha. He wasn't designed to carry more than half a dozen civilians for an extended period and he had at least fifteen people on board, counting Reflector as three.

A scan of Astrotrain's electrical field was illuminating. The mech was currently armed with heavy plasma cannons, and they were quite possibly too much for his wiring. Shuttles were not warcraft, and even though Astrotrain had been heavily modified and rebuilt into a warframe, he still retained vestiges of his civilian origins. The electromagnetic fields coming from the capacitors and wiring on his port side weapons array hinted that he was carrying weapons with power draws that were dangerously close to his maximum capacity. He needed more capacitors, but parts in his size were extremely difficult to find.

:No wonder he needs so much recharge,: Steeljaw added, to the end of his notes.

Soundwave almost felt sorry for the psychopathic shuttle. He was stretched thin, working with minimal resources, and his state of repair was so poor that he was most likely registering pain.

Frenzy sat down with his back against Steeljaw's shoulder again. He had a datapad in his hand, and had discretely hard lined with Soundwave's visor. Steeljaw's notes on Astrotrain's systems wouldn't arouse much suspicion if they were decoded - particularly since Soundwave intended to use 'repairs' as a cover for 'sabotage.' However, they had to be more careful of other topics. Steeljaw nudged Frenzy's arm with his nose, then pointedly opened a port on his neck.

Frenzy extended a second line from a wrist port, and casually caressed Steeljaw's neck. At the same time, he plugged in to a convenient dataport. Then, hiding the connection with his body, he snuggled closer to Steeljaw. :I want to chat up Swindle tomorrow, and see what intel I can gather. Will you stay with Soundwave? If anyone tried to talk to him and we're not docked, it would be bad.:

:Yeah, sure.:

Frenzy sighed. :This is more dangerous than I like. :The 'cons need us, but they don't trust us.:

:Worried about needing backup?:

:Well, duh. Or worse, not needing backup.:

:He does know when you're upset.:

:But not why. Or where I am. Or if I actually need help. There are situations where he'd make me look weak if I didn't deal with it myself.: Frenzy casually ran his free hand down Steeljaw's neck, fingers finding sensitive points with skill. :I can tell Ratch, and he can tell Blaster, who can tell you, and you can tell Soundwave, I guess.:

:Humans have a game called 'telephone' ... it's amazing how information gets garbled as it gets passed through several people.: Steeljaw sounded irritated. :At best, that's going to be inefficient.:

:Best we got.:

Steeljaw rested his chin on Frenzy's leg. He looked up at the smaller symbiont, then leaned into a caress when Frenzy moved his fingers to Steeljaw's ears. Abruptly, Frenzy's hand stilled. :Thought you didn't like your ears messed with.:

:No, I don't like being scritched like a dog.: Steeljaw's faint smile was audible across the hardlined connection. :No worries, Frenzy. Do continue.:

Frenzy laughed out loud, drawing Soundwave's brief attention. While both symbionts were including him via text printed to his HUD, he was only paying minimal notice to their discussion. :So that's why you let Blaster rub your ears and nobody else.:

:I'm letting you,: Steeljaw said, pointedly. :Feels good. Don't stop. And I know you don't think of me as an animal. You've made that plenty clear.:

:Yeah, I love you,: Frenzy said, simply, stroking his hand down Steeljaw's neck with a gentle caress. Then he froze, optics going wide, as he realized what he'd said. Soundwave, too, stilled. It was a big admission for the little mechling.

:Love you back, runt. Would you ... would you merge with me?:

:Now?!: Frenzy said, shocked. Soundwave very nearly chuckled aloud, and his amusement made Frenzy shoot him a dirty look. Frenzy sent a message for Soundwave's eyes only, :Boss, quit laughing at me!:

:Pit, no. I'm not that much of an exhibitionist!: Was Steeljaw's response.

:Just don't make a mess on the desk,: Soundwave told them both.

:Boss, STFU. And Astrotrain might actually check his camera logs for once, and then he'd have vids to sell to Swindle.: Frenzy rolled his optics. :So no, not a good idea.:

:I don't think I want to 'face in front of Soundwave, either,: Steeljaw said, feeling intimidated and embarrassed.

Frenzy giggled. :It's not like he doesn't know when we do it.:

:Hardly a prude. Just private.: Steeljaw nuzzled Frenzy's cheek briefly, then put his head back down on Frenzy's knee.

:You've had some bad experiences with interfacing, haven't you?: Frenzy asked. :Umm, we can take this private if you want.:

He glanced up at Soundwave. Frenzy - and Steeljaw - were used to being part of a bonded whole. Few things were private from one's bondmates, but it was a polite offer by Frenzy.

Steeljaw shrugged, not caring if Soundwave was reading the conversation. In some ways, given how closely they could end up related if he ever bonded with Frenzy, it was good that Soundwave knew all his darkest secrets. He sighed, and told both of them, :Yeah, a few. Nothing like being forced, nothing like that, but ... well, I went to a university with regular mecha, and they saw me as a freak. I consented to a few things I probably shouldn't have. Degrading stuff, in retrospect.: Steeljaw twisted around a bit, so he could trace Frenzy's foot with the stubby fingers of one forepaw. :Most of the mecha I 'faced with wanted me to act like an animal. Or they wanted to dominate me. Or they were just in it for the novelty factor. One femme filmed us without telling me and I had to sue her in court to get her to destroy the film. I'm scared copies may still be out there, because she had me on a chain and leash and it was really humiliating ... pit, Frenzy, I don't know why I'm telling you this. It's all old history.:

:I love you.: Frenzy caught Steeljaw's paw in his hand and laced his fingers between the other mech's short digits. :I'm attracted to you, too, but not because I think you're a freak. Because you're beautiful.:

He pulsed a few memories of Steeljaw across the hardlink. Steeljaw, laughing. Steeljaw, optics concerned, curled against Bluestreak's side in the rec room, while the normally talkative gunner saw in brooding silence. Steeljaw, bantering with the other Autobots. Steeljaw, in Soundwave's lap. Steeljaw, streaked with energon and soot but completely untouched after a battle. Steeljaw, taking down a Decepticon several times his size in combat, in a ferocious display of power and skill. Steeljaw, teasing his siblings. Steeljaw, over Frenzy in a moment of passion. Steeljaw, under Frenzy in a moment of equal intensity. Steeljaw, intent on writing a program for Soundwave's visor, hunched over a pad and completely focused. Steeljaw, laughing, again. Always laughing.

:I would consider a bond with you,: Steeljaw offered. He glanced up at Soundwave to check Soundwave's reaction. Soundwave said nothing, but his mask was open. A small smile touched his face and he nodded in quiet agreement.

:Is that a proposal?: Frenzy's reaction was knee-jerk, and teasing.

:An offer, yes. I ... recognize I've finally met someone who loves me for who I am. And I love you back, Frenzy. I don't want us to be apart.:

:There's kind of a problem with that.: Frenzy reminded him. :The Autobots don't exactly trust me. You bond with me, you lose your security clearance ...:

:No.: Steeljaw stopped him with a simple word. :I won't.:

:Ratchet got away with it because he's the Prime's best bud. Plus he'd probably hit someone with a wrench if they questioned his loyalty. I don't think we quite rank as high.: A bad thought occurred to Frenzy. :And I won't let you break your bond with Blaster and your siblings. No! It's not worth it. We can wait.:

:Thanks for not expecting me to chose.: Steeljaw met Frenzy's red optics with a deep blue gaze. :I ... wouldn't want to try to make that choice.:

:They'll trust me someday. Or the war will end. Umm. Blaster won't have a problem with us, will he?:

:They trust you now, lover.: Steeljaw smiled at him.

:What? Why?:

:Ratchet.:

:I ... oh.: He did have a secondary bond with the medic, and if Ratchet had vouched for him, it was plausible that the Autobot command would decide he was trustworthy. :I didn't even think of that. Guess I figured they'd always think of me as a 'Con first, forever.:

:Some Autobots will.: Steeljaw held his gaze. :But not the ones who count. Frenzy, this is a dangerous mission. I completely agree with you that I don't want to end up on one of Swindle's porn tapes, particularly given the typical clientele interested in my frame type, but as soon as we're somewhere secure, I want to merge with you. And ... more. If we both agree.:

:Primus.: Frenzy tucked his knees to his chest.

:You ... you do want that, right?:

:Yes!: Frenzy twisted to face Steeljaw's concerned gaze. :Steelie, I love you.:

:I love you more.: Now Steeljaw's tone turned teasing. The cat was constitutionally incapable of remaining serious for long. Soundwave, who had been watching them closely, turned back to his work.

:Glitch. Not the time to get into a fight.: Frenzy said, but Steeljaw could not miss the amusement in his spark. :On a more serious note, I believe Astrotrain's plan - if you can call it that - is to retreat to a base in lunar orbit. It's a bit of a dump, but it can hold atmosphere and it's got functional power cells. Six Shot and his buddies were calling it home, but I guess Astrotrain won via tactical nuke. Once there, he's going to regroup and put Soundwave to work on tactics.:

:Is Blast Off carrying any heavy ordinance?:

:I've already passed on to Ratchet what I know, though Jazz knows some of this already.: Frenzy tucked his legs to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. :Megatron had two small 10 megaton U-bombs rigged for high altitude blasts for the purpose of an EMP, and a couple bigger ones that he was holding on to for ... well, just in case. In case he had to take the humans out of the equation. The big boys were, and probably still are, in the Nemesis's bomb bay and not accessible without moving the Nemesis because the ship's buried so deep in the mud in the ocean floor. Astrotrain hit Six Shot with one U-bomb, and he's carrying the other in his hold.:

:You sure Jazz knows about the ones on the warship? We're going to be moving the Nemesis.:

:Yeah, I mentioned them to him. Starscream'll give 'em up, no problems there.:

:Why do you think that?:

:Dude, Starscream fights with null rays. He's an egotistical, narcissistic, slightly sociopathic power-crazy doofus, but he's squeamish about burns. He hates any weapon that uses heat, and what's worse than a nuke for causing massive burn trauma?:

:I ... never knew that about Screamer.:

Frenzy's smirk was audible, even if it didn't show on his face. :Given the number of times Megatron singed his tailfeathers, are you surprised?:

:That's crediting Starscream with more empathy than I'd have thought possible.:

:Nah, it's not empathy. It's just that every time he sees someone else melted to slag, it reminds him of just how many times Megatron blasted him with his fusion cannon and he has flashbacks. Seriously - Megatron got him bad a few times. I've seen Starscream's spark once, the damage was so bad, and I still don't know how he survived that round.:

:Decepticon command was seriously dysfunctional.:

Frenzy snorted aloud. :You're only now noticing this?:

Steeljaw's response was a darkly amused laugh across the hardlink. :Noticed it a long time ago, runt. It's why I'm an Autobot.:

:Yeah, well, some of us were smarter than others.: Frenzy glanced over at Soundwave, then down at his hands. :Ravage wanted us to join the Autobots, you know. Soundwave overruled him. He was concerned Ravage would never pass the background check, and even if you guys did accept us, we'd never have a chance at command positions. The odds of surviving as grunts were pretty low. Ravage had a pretty extensive criminal history, including several vorns in prison for murder.:

:Which side did you want to join?:

:Didn't care about the politics. Liked Megatron, in the beginning. Thought Optimus was a pompous fool.:

Steeljaw laughed silently, jaw hanging open in a grin. :I'll tell him you said that.:

:Figured the whole noble leader thing was just for show, and figured he'd be just as much of an aft in private as Megatron turned out to be.: Frenzy stared over the tops of his knees at the small, spartan room. :At least Megatron was ... Megatron.:

:He was very charismatic.:

:Yeah, something like that. And powerful. I figured he'd be good protection for us.:

They fell silent, curled together, for a long moment. Frenzy could feel the soft flow of air through Steeljaw's vents, warmed by his robust power plant, against his back. His systems were at idle, softly humming. Occasionally, a hydraulic pump would kick on with a low hum, or a relay would click. Frenzy's own systems purred with good repair, and a sense of ease he hadn't felt in a long time.

:I should go snoop around a bit.: Frenzy finally said, straightening up. :Keep an eye on m'boss for me. Tell Blaster to have Ratchet yell at me if anything happens.:

:Will do.: