Marine Teals
Chapter 8
Soundwave yawned as he stretched his stiff, tired frame. He had stayed up all night brainstorming and had just started programming the frame for the virus. Ten joors wasn't that long a time for a virus of this function and scope, and he figured if he skipped recharge then he would have just enough time. Normally it didn't require much of him, but for this plan to work the thing had to be one of a kind.
Just as he resumed typing, the door slid open and a deep voice boomed, making Soundwave wince at its sheer volume.
"Soundwave! You skipped morning fuel!" Thundercracker marched in with two cubes balanced on one hand, the other hand waving in greeting. The tapedeck didn't bother to turn back. Since when did the mech have the right to enter his personal chamber without his permission? He glanced at the entrance to see his symbionts crowding with guilty looks.
"Sorry, boss. The guy insisted." Rumble scratched the back of his helm. Soundwave caught a glimpse of a small metal box behind Frenzy's back and didn't even need to guess to know what's in it. He would have to teach his Cassettes about accepting bribery later on. With long strides, Thundercracker neared him and plunked the cubes down a tad too hard, sloshing some of the contents onto the desk and the keyboards. Soundwave's nasal ridge scrunched up in disgust.
"Oops." The teal Seeker begun wiping at the spilled energon with his hands. How filthy. Instead of cleaning, he was just smearing the stuff all over the place. Soundwave grudgingly got up from his seat, took a rag from the nearby shelf and threw it in Thundercracker's direction.
The other mech chuckled as he went to clean. "Its so easy to annoy you." Soundwave groaned almost audibly and begun typing with a gusto. After ten minutes of typing and not a sound from Thundercracker, the telepath lifted his helm to see the Seeker had made himself comfortable on his bed and was nonchalantly drinking and watching him.
"Off."
"You're not using the berth. I see no reason why I can't sit."
Soundwave's left optic twitched. "Intrusion on personal property, not welcomed."
Thundercracker seemed cheerful but his voice carried a slightly bitter tone. "Personal, huh? When you've stayed with Starscream and Skywarp for as long as I have, you kind of lose your grasp on the concept of 'personal'. Takes time to reacquaint yourself." He pointed to the cube on Soundwave's desk. "You going to drink that or not?"
The tapedeck stared at the annoying mech atop his berth until the other looked away from discomfort. He picked up the cube in fake contemplation, well aware of a watching pair of optics. Soundwave took a sip then glanced. The Seeker was still watching him as if hoping for something. What was the idiot waiting for? He had drunk the energon, hadn't he? He paused for a moment then muttered:
"Gratitude, offered."
Thundercracker's face lit up and a smile painted itself across his lips. Soundwave smiled a little under his mask as well.
... Dork.
A cough from Frenzy announced that the Cassetticons were still in the room, and they were staring at Thundercracker and Soundwave as if they had just witnessed the most disgusting thing in their lives.
"Well...", Frenzy cleared his throat. Rumble snickered. "Seeing that we are invisible, we'll just leave so that you two can have some alone time. Don't have too much fun without us."
Soundwave, his face slightly hot, sent a burst of anger and warning through the symbiotic bond, which was promptly ignored. His symbionts left in a flurry of squawks, laughter and purrs, making wet kissing noises and hugging each other in mock affection.
"Why are they doing that?" An abashed Thundercracker glanced at a fuming Soundwave, who tried to stay ignorant and shrugged. He downed the rest of his energon as quickly as his straw would allow and slammed his cube down more violently that he had meant to. The emptied cube cracked, and Thundercracker's face blanched.
They sat in awkward silence.
"Soundwave... You need any help?"
The typing got faster and more furious. The Seeker swallowed.
"Well... If there's nothing I can assists you with, I'll go. Megatron is calling a strategy meeting in 15 minutes." When Soundwave didn't reply, he sighed, casted one concerned look at the tapedeck and left silently.
Only when he was sure the teal Seeker was really gone did Soundwave stopped typing, leaned back and placed a servo over his chest compartment to calm himself. Just associating with the mech alone was shortening his longevity.
He worked for two joors without rest. Ravage growling at him to rest was the only reason why Soundwave stood up and left his chamber (to the record room to get more reference).
He paused when he heard noises coming from the empty meeting room. He was certain the strategy meeting ended already, and no Decepticon onboard was diligent enough to stay. He could only see Thundercracker, who seemed to be having a heated argument with his Trine, judging from the voices, angry hushed words and terse replies. The teal Seeker had his fists clenched, his wings tense and raised high. When Skywarp said something that particularly agitated him, Thundercracker's optic ridges furrowed and he retaliated with a hiss.
Feeling that he had stumbled upon something that he shouldn't bear witness, Soundwave turned to leave when suddenly Thundercracker's optics caught his. The Seeker stared at him in surprise, then unclenched one servo and gave a small wave. The tapedeck heard angry footsteps coming towards him that didn't definitely belong to Thundercracker.
Soundwave didn't wave back. He bolted.
If he didn't have to keep up an image of stiff stoicism, Soundwave would've dropped to the floor and crawled on all fours. That was how exhausted he was after two sleepless days. The blue tapedeck only took breaks to fuel, and even those where extremely short. His optic lids were so heavy they nearly fused together. He dragged his sluggish frame through the halls back to his chamber. The way back never felt this long before... Either he was too tired to judge distance or the length of the corridors did grew.
In those two days he hadn't been visited by or heard from the teal Seeker at all, but the telepath had been too busy to feel bothered. From what he had gathered from his symbionts, there had been a couple of intense strategy session and that the whole ship was buzzing to prepare for the latest schemes.
What had Thundercracker been doing?
He shook his helm. He didn't care. He shouldn't care. The most important thing was the mission.
Soundwave had just tested his newest creation on the Nemesis' systems and was met with great success. In other circumstances he would've celebrated but seeing as his symbionts had long since recharged and he could hardly walk straight, Soundwave decided to save it for another time. He could only took a few steps before promptly collapsing onto a hallway bench.
He shouldn't recharge here...
Ah screw it.
Soundwave woke up with a start. Two days without recharge was making his internal chronometers go haywire. At night the Nemesis was chilly and the tapedeck shivered slightly. Alarm stilled his frame as he registered a weight on his chest and his head on something that was not the hallway bench.
He onlined his visor and Thundercracker came into view. Soundwave blinked.
Distantly he registered the weight as Thundercracker's arm and that he was using the Seeker's right leg as a pillow.
"Hey. You awake?" Thundercracker's voice was low, and the arm across the telepath's chassis tightened. Soundwave lifted a servo, intending to swip it across Thundercracker's face but instead sloppily smacked the other mech square on the cheek.
"Cut that out!" Thundercracker growled and rubbed the side of his face. Not an illusion then.
If the teal Seeker was able to move him without him knowing, then he must be more drained than he had thought. Soundwave squirmed a little under Thundercracker's arm and tried to push off the offending appendage. Thundercracker kept it there and watched in mild amusement as Soundwave struggled in vain.
"Can I move you to a more comfortable place? This bench is killing my aft."
In his sleep-induced state, Soundwave didn't think too much. He held out his arms like a sparkling and Thundercracker scooped him up. The Seeker's body was like a furnace and he pressed into the welcoming warmth. When they reached the door to Soundwave's personal chamber, he mumbled the password for the other to key in.
"Does it mean I can break into your room at any time now?" The Seeker heaved him up and placed him onto the bottom berth. Soundwave curled into himself, a bit disgruntled at the sudden loss of heat.
"Password, change tomorrow."
"Che. Stingy."
His symbionts were snoring in the berth above. Soundwave heard shuffling, then the weight of another mech settled across his body.
"Thundercracker, leave. Heavy."
The mech shifted and the tapedeck felt vibrations from the other frame as he laughed. "Nope. I'm comfy."
"Thundercracker."
"Let me crash at your place for one night. I'm too lazy and too tired to get up. I promise I won't murder you in your sleep."
"Actions, unwise."
"I'll be gone early in the morning. Nobody will ever know."
Soundwave sighed in exasperation and pushed weakly, and with a chuckle Thundercracker rolled aside. The teal Seeker gave his helm several hearty pats before switching to a caressing motion: tracing edges, dragging a digit against nooks and crooks, stroking an audio. The constant administrations were pulling him back into recharge.
He watched the mech towering above him and bit his lower derma. He did miss their usual and not so usual encounters, no matter how hard he convinced himself.
"Thundercracker's activities two days prior?"
"I was busy. Besides, you seem to dislike my company." Thundercracker smirked. "Did you miss me?"
Soundwave didn't reply. He just pressed into Thundercracker's large servo. The Seeker's hand stilled, but resumed after a while.
"Deployment plans, complete?"
"All wrapped up and done. There'll be a briefing before we execute the plan tomorrow, so you needn't worry too much about that now. Believe it or not, I actually thought up the entire thing, sticks and stones and all that."
"Original idea, Thundercracker's. Responsible for planning."
"Prepare to be amazed, you stick-in-the-mud."
He couldn't understand why the Seeker kept using human expressions that did not apply to Cybertronian culture but he was too tired to care. Soundwave's optics offlined as fatigue consumed him.
Shrill noises at the back of his processor brought the blue tapedeck back to the land of consciousness, and he groaned as he shut off the annoying repetitive sounds. Soundwave stretched languidly, wanting nothing more than to snuggle back into the wonderfully warm albeit heavy blanket encasing his frame.
Wait.
Shit.
Soundwave was more than glad he had set his internal alarms earlier than usual (even in 'usual' times, he was still the earliest to online on the Nemesis) since he was currently in a rather compromising position. Thundercracker was sprawled completely over him, with his arms and legs wrapped around Soundwave in a vice-like hold. The tapedeck wiggled in an attempt to break free, however it only made the Seeker tighten his grip. Thundercracker muttered gibberish, something about a hug pillow. Vibrations from his engines reverberated through Soundwave, making him shiver.
Fully awake now, Soundwave tried not to stare at the opposite mech. Their faces were close, dangerously close, so close he could see every detail of the other's faceplate. Thundercracker's facial features weren't as fierce as Starscream's, or sly as Skywarp's, but bold and powerful. His mouth was set in a strong line, his optic ridges drawn together slightly, creating a small frown that further accentuated his perfect masculinity. The telepath resisted the urge to ran a digit along a strong jawline, feeling his cheeks heating up more the longer he stared.
Thundercracker was very, very handsome. He wondered why he had never noticed such a thing.
Well, it wasn't like waking up in berth with another mech could be any more awkward.
He stopped short at how utterly wrong that thought sounded. All the innuendos and implications came crashing in a wave of paranoia that he preferred not to experience at the moment. His only goal right now was to get away. Luckily he could still move his arms. With one servo clamped tight over Thundercracker's mouth, Soundwave angled his other hand and slammed it sharply against the sleeping Seeker's temple.
Thundercracker jumped a mile into the air and bumped against the upper bunk. The hand over his mouth had muffled the shout, but the collision still created a loud CLANG. Soundwave swiftly pulled the teal mech back down, praying to Primus his symbionts wouldn't wake up. Thundercracker gripped his helm in pain and growled an angry 'what the fuck' but was silenced with a seething glare.
Silence, then the snores continued. The telepath breathed out in relief.
"What in the blazes was that fo-" Thundercracker whispered but was cut off mid-sentence when Soundwave grabbed his collar and hauled him off the berth.
"Wha-" Arms and legs flailed as the teal Seeker was dragged to the door. Soundwave panicked when he heard shuffling from his symbionts' berth, and he pushed harder. Thundercracker was digging his pedes into the ground, which wasn't making the job easier.
"Thundercracker, leave. Never mention last night to another mech."
"Calm down, wait a-"
The tapedeck slammed his servo on the security lock and with a final push, threw Thundercracker out. Indignant shouts and curses could be heard from the other side, then the sound of footsteps creeping further away. His back against the door, Soundwave breathed a sigh of relief and took several deep breaths to calm his nerves.
Right that moment, Rumble groggily poked his head out from above. "Boss, you're up already? What's with the ruckus?"
Soundwave immediately sealed off his end of the bond so that the Cassettes wouldn't suspect anything. He quickly mumbled an excuse about banging his head against the upper bunk.
"Whatever, I'm sleeping again." Rumble disappeared, instead a sleepy Frenzy peeked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Boss, why is your face so red?"
It had been one fantastic recharge. No patients, no pranksters, no explosions, no Decepticons. Ratchet woke up in a good mood.
He walked to the Rec room to get his morning ration, waving at a babbling Bluestreak on the way. Most mechs were awake, some standing near the energon dispenser, some sitting at tables looking half-online. Ratchet snatched a cube and headed to Jazz, Bumblebee and Hound's table.
"Hey Ratchet!" Bumblebee waved. "Good recharge?"
"You bet. Stupid war always messes with my beauty sleep."
Jazz laughed. "You do say, Doc. The Cons have been really quiet these few days. I could use more days like this. I gotta write some music down or my skill's gonna get rusty!"
Suddenly the great monitor flickered, and Ratchet and the others groaned simultaneously. Optimus only called them in the Rec room if something serious was up. Just then said mech entered the room, humming a small tune with a datapad in hand.
Everyone stared at Optimus. He looked oblivious.
"Why are you all looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face?"
Then the screen onlined with Skywarp's face all over it.
Ratchet stared. All the Autobots present gaped. Optimus shuttered and unshuttered his optics several times in hope that Skywarp's face was just an illusion. The entire room froze in dead silence. The purple Seeker looked at them cluelessly, glanced around somewhere off-screen then said:
"Oops, wrong line."
Cliffjumper, who was the quickest to recover from the shock, shouted at the Decepticon. "What the frag are you doing here, Decepticon scum?!"
"What a nice greeting. Bye bye." Skywarp snorted cynically then searched for the terminate button.
Optimus quickly intervened. "Wait, wait. Skywarp, you just connected with the Ark, and you expect to just leave without an explanation? What are you doing?"
Skywarp didn't speak for a few seconds, simply watched them with a disdainful pout as if contemplating whether he should indulge the question.
"Skywarp." The Prime said, this time louder. The Seeker shrugged.
"Monitor duty. Everyone went out and I have to stay to watch a bunch of screens. I get bored and tries to mess around on the Internet, but instead I accidentally connects with you fragfaces. Happy?"
Ratchet was immediately alarmed. "Hold on. You said everyone went out. To where? What for?"
Skywarp's lips formed into a wicked smirk. "I can't tell you that." He hit a button, and the screen went blank. They were still in post-shock when Red Alert frantically burst into the Rec room.
"Decepticon activity at a power plant fifty miles from the Ark!"
It seemed a bit too coincidental to the medic, but the other seemed to pay no mind. Skywarp was known as a smartaft and a scatterbrain, after all, so Ratchet quickly put his doubt away as he transformed into his alt mode. Optimus straightened himself: "Autobots, roll out!"
When they arrived, the Autobots were surprised to see far less Decepticons than they had expected.
"Um, Prime..." Ratchet looked up at the Autobot leader, who seemed to be no less bewildered. "It's not like I'm unhappy or anything, but... Skywarp said everyone, and there's like... half of them? Did the rest catch some kind of disease and decide to drop dead at the same time?"
"I'm not sure, Ratchet, but I guess it's a good thing? Since we outnumber them, we should be able to defeat them quicker." Optimus said diplomatically, glancing uncertainly at a cackling Megatron.
"Come on Prime, stop stalling and fight me!"
Optimus just shrugged and charged at the silver gunmech. Ratchet dove behind a wall of boulders when gunfire showered where he previously stood.
"Guys!" Wheeljack's voice echoed from inside the dust clouds. "I have this machine that-"
"NO!" All Autobots within audio range yelled at the inventor, and he shrank into himself. Wheeljack's inventions almost never went well. Most of the time they exploded. Sometimes there were even side effects.
"It was just a suggestion. No need to get angry..."
Ratchet just sat there and watched the others do their thing. There wasn't really much to do since they outnumbered the 'Cons two to one, and the more violent members of his crew were already taking all the action. It was fun to see Thundercracker being chased by two gun-wielding Lamborghinis, who kept on shouting about the need to perfect their Jet Judo. Thundercracker, on his part, stayed as high in the air as possible.
Optimus' voice rang through their comm.
:Ratchet! Red Alert just reported to me about Decepticon activity two hundred miles from the Ark in the opposite direction!:
The white medic blinked in surprise, then it suddenly clicked. That's why there was only half of the Decepticon armada. This raid was only a mere decoy.
Primus did the Decepticons just get smarter?
:I never thought I'd live to see the day when Megatron actually learns from his errors. What do we do?:
:I've already sent the ones at the Ark there to try and keep the situation at bay until reinforcements arrives. Take Ironhide and half of the team and go!:
Ratchet waved to Ironhide and then shouted at the Lambo Twins before leaving:
"You idiots better keep yourself online when I come back, or my collection of wrenches will have the honour to get acquainted with your afts!"
"Go away old man!" They both yelled back in unison.
:I can't believe this is actually working!: Thundercracker seemed pleasantly surprised. Soundwave had to admit, when he was first briefed of the plan he didn't believe Thundercracker had thought up the entire thing. He crouched down and scanned the surrounding rocks for hidden surveillance cameras and automated guns, then checked for spark signature inside the Ark. It seemed to be deserted.
:Thundercracker, smarter than appearance.:
An indignant cry answered him. :What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'll have you know I look like a fricking scholar!:
Soundwave just rolled his optics. :Holograms, functional?:
:Perfectly. It wasn't too hard to make your hologram believable. I mean, you don't usually talk that much anyway, so we only have to run a recording of your "As you command, Lord Megatron" everytime Megatron shouts an order at you. The Cassettes kept the act rolling smoothly.: The teal Seeker laughed. : You don't know since you're not here but it's fragging hilarious 'coz the Autobots fell for it, hard.:
The tapedeck ran at top speed through the halls to the Command Room, where all the archives and main systems resided. The layout of the Ark's interior was virtually wired into his processor, acquired through various infiltration missions, so it didn't took long.
:Ouch!:
Soundwave froze mid-step. Explosions were followed by a string of curses. :Thundercracker, injured?:
:Nah, just a graze. Half of them just left, though. Guess Starscream's team did their thing. About time, too. It's getting real tiring having to fend off three mechs at once.:
He ruthlessly hacked into the Ark's systems and uploaded the carefully disguised virus, burying it deep within the archives. Soundwave took extra effort to erase his tracks and looped the cameras, then fiddled with the time on the security videos to make the time flow natural.
:Are you done yet? We're getting our ass whooped over here!:
After setting the cameras on auto-loop for two minutes, the blue telepath sprinted out of the Autobots' ship. :Task, complete.:
:Great, now we can retr- : Soundwave's audio was met with shouts and rocks crumbling in the distance. :Frag! Talk when we get back.: The teal mech cut his commlink immediately.
Soundwave crept low and slowly away from the Ark. Only when certain he was out of the surveillance cameras' range that he broke into take-off and launched himself skyward, racing back to the Decepticon warship as quickly as his thrusters allowed. When he arrived, the Nemesis was eerily devoid of activity. Soundwave didn't need to check to know Skywarp was the only one on board. The more he waited, the more his apprehension grew. He pinged Thundercracker repeatedly but received no response. Did something went wrong with the mission?
'Cassetticons, respond.'
'Oh hey Boss. Rumble here.'
'Situation under control?'
'Well... Things went a little weird here. You remember that crackpot Autobot inventor?'
Wheeljack. 'Affirmative.'
'Apparently he brought along one of his new inventions and had it heading towards where Megs was, who happened to be wrestling with Prime near the power plant. It exploded, predictably enough, and the explosion was so huge it took down a huge section of the power plant along with both Megatron and Prime. It was an awesome explosion, like fireworks! There were sparks and glowing lights and smokes an-'
'Rumble.' Soundwave didn't need to know how spectacular the explosion was, he only need to know what's going on.
'Right. Both are currently stuck under the rubble. Hope they're still alive. We have to work with the Autobots to dig out the two, and it sucks. We're still digging.'
'No casualties?'
'We're OK, don't worry, Boss.' His voice suddenly turned sly, and the marine tapedeck could feel mischief radiating from Rumble's side. '...If you're also asking about Thundercracker, he's fine. Just a bit scruffy.'
Flustered, Soundwave sent a reprimanding burst at the hellion, who laughed and shut off the bond. That... Since when did his symbionts have all these stupid assumptions?
Rumble's words assured him a little, though.
The marine tapedeck nearly jumped for joy when figures approached the hatch, but immediately deflated when he realized that it was Starscream's fleet. The tri-colored Seeker landed with a screech of metal on metal, then gripped both of Soundwave's shoulders so tight it hurt.
"What happened to Thundercracker's team? Why isn't he answering me?"
Soundwave didn't bother to reply. He just stared back blankly. Starscream growled angrily and shoved him aside before marching inside, no doubt seeking Skywarp. The telepath instructed the rest of Starscream's team to carry what they had collected to the storage chambers, with a short notice for Hook to prepare for possible patients. The two raids were intended to be mere distractions, they weren't meant to produce anything, but extra fuel was a welcomed bonus. When he was sure they were all gone, Soundwave sat down on the Nemesis' deck and fiddled with the hatch controls, nervously waiting for Megatron and the others to return.
At long last, there was a flash of teal at the horizon, and Megatron's team came into view. Then the tapedeck saw Thundercracker, radiant sunlight bounced of his armors, reflecting its colors and momentarily blinding his optics with shimmering gold. Thundercracker's shade of teal was unique, and amongst the approaching shapes, it only took him a glance to tell where the Seeker was.
Smelt it. He really liked Thundercracker's teal. There wasn't anything quite like it.
Megatron was the first to land and he only nodded at Soundwave instead of the usual greeting. The Warlord didn't speak to any of them at all, he just headed straight to the Command Room. Soundwave was decidedly confused by this unusual behavior when a dark grey servo tapped his forearm and he felt himself smothered under the collective weight of five smaller frames.
"Boss!" The cassetticons yelled in unison. They smelled of muck and grime. Soundwave peeled them off his body, gave every one a good job pat on the helm and shooed them off to take a bath.
Thundercracker gave him a merry wave. :Ey!:
The blue tapedeck scanned Thundercracker for injuries, finding only small dents and a shallow cut on his shoulder. He ushered the other mech towards the Command Room.
:Megatron, unwell?:
:Nah. He's been like that since we pulled him up from the rubble. Been kinda quiet on the way back here.: The teal Seeker looked in the direction Megatron went in a contemplative manner. :Strange they didn't kill eachother while trapped down there. Prime didn't say anything when the Autobots pulled him out either. They just kind of nod at eachother then parted ways.:
Thundercracker beamed at him, preening like a proud peacock. :Miscalculations aside, my plan is awesome, isn't it? They never suspected a thing!:
:Thundercracker's performance: excellent.: The blue telepath murmured and gave the other's arm a light squeeze. Thundercracker's optics widened in surprise, then he smiled.
:Now I'm sure the universe is coming to an end.: He laughed when Soundwave sent him a glare.
"Soundwave. How long does it take for the plan to come into action?" When he and Thundercracker showed up, Megatron seemed to have regained his normal self. Starscream and Skywarp immediately dragged the teal mech away despite his protests. Soundwave looked on, a bit sullen.
"Blaster's usual system check-up: 12:00 a.m Earth time. Preparations, must be made before designated time."
The gunformer's features broke into a feral grin, and Soundwave wore the same expression underneath his mask. Out of the corner of his optics, he caught Thundercracker grinning in the same way.
They only had to wait a day after all. It would be absolutely glorious.
We've reached 40 follows and 30 favs. Oh God oh God I don't deserve such a wonderful thing (melts into a puddle of shame and dies).
In this chapter I introduced another point of view - Ratchet's (do hope it's not confusing to keep up). His point of view is only supportive, and will only be used when the plot dictates so you guys don't have to worry too much.
Thanks to everyone who read, faved, followed and reviewed! It makes my day :')
Peace!