Marine Teals
:asdffgh: comm link
plain italics: flashbacks - memories
Chapter 9
"You know, by now I'd think you could have gone easier on me." Thundercracker mumbled disgruntledly, flinging his stylus onto the table. It rolled all the way across to Soundwave's side.
"Thundercracker, insist on game. Decision, regrettable?" The Seeker just glowered at the amusement in the Communication Officer's tone. There was that almost-adorable-but-not-supposed-to-be tilt of the helm, and Thundercracker mentally cursed his optics for not automatically shorting out upon viewing such an abominable gesture. Primus it pissed him off.
"Like Pit I am."
The other mech gently picked the pen up and held it up for him to claim. Their fingers brushed lightly against each other and both Decepticons jerked away as if electrocuted.
The teal Seeker stared hard at his game board to distract himself, as if somehow the intensity of his gaze would burn a hole though the damn thing. Where would Soundwave hit next? As routine and uptight as the tapedeck was, he was also random as hell. Soundwave seemed to always calculate at least three steps ahead of him. He stiffened when he felt the pressure of an intent, highly unnerving gaze boring through his cranium shell and quirked an optic ridge. "Is something the matter?"
Soundwave remained quiet and continued staring at him with a slightly inquisitive glint in his visor. What had he done (he was sure he hadn't done anything) to offend the marine mech now? Then something clicked.
"Alright, fine, I haven't exactly had a proper talk with my Trinemates, OK? You'll have to understand, elaborating on this topic is awkward as hell, because my Trinemates, while they can be flexible and sharp when they need to, are more stubborn and obtuse than pack mules in this matter. They simply won't listen."
"Attempts, not well executed."
Thundercracker breathed an indignant huff. "I tried twice already! They never listen! What am I supposed to do? And can you not remind me about this problem every waking moment of my miserable existence?" Feeling rather like reality had betrayed him – with the way things are going recently, Soundwave was the only mech he trusted to make his mind at ease nowadays – the Seeker sunk down in his seat to glare daggers at the offending mech. There went a pleasant morning.
"Situation, uncomfortable."
"Tell that to me."
"Soundwave, disinclined to be involved in Trine affair."
"Well too bad, because you're already in deep."
Soundwave sighed softly. "Trinemates' reactions and words?"
Thundercracker bit his dermas. The information regarding the quarrels were something he never thought Soundwave would ask, and he was not comfortable sharing such sensitive matter with the carrier mech. Because it mostly had to do with how his trinemates saw in him and Soundwave. Because telling Soundwave – a.k.a the reason for the fights – that he was an opportunistic and psychopathic emo who was preventing him from spending time with Starscream and Skywarp wasn't exactly cool beans.
"If you tell me what you and Starscream were fighting about in the hallway then I'll tell you. And why do you care so much anyway?"
It was Soundwave's turn to go stiff, his visor flickering with uncertainty. Thundercracker waited for a few minutes, but it seemed the Communication Officer was intent on keeping his mouth clammed shut.
"If you want to play it that way, fine! I'm playing fair, and unless you say something, I won't let slip a single word. I will deal with my problem when I see fit."
"Decepticon armada, benefit from- "
"Is the Decepticon's best interest the only thing you ever care about?" The teal Seeker threw his arms up in extreme aggravation. "My discomfort counts for nothing, does it? As long as the war goes in the Cons' favor everything is good! You only ever help me because it will benefit you and the Decepticons in some way!"
Soundwave's visor grew a deeper red. "Assumption, incorrect!"
"Oh? So you admit you care then?"
The tapedeck didn't reply.
"You're cold, Soundwave. I feel like I am always the one who try to reach out to you. You never actively befriend me unless it is in return for something I did. I care. I don't want to keep extending amicability to a mech who is unlikely to return at least half of the full amount." Roughly shoving the chair aside, Thundercracker stormed out of Soundwave's chamber, sparing back only a glance. Soundwave's visor blanched a little more than normal as he fumbled to say something to prevent the other from leaving.
Thundercracker rushed out of the room before he changed his mind.
"Don't think your boss can just bribe me and everything will go back to normal!" The teal Seeker hissed at the Cassetticons, who somehow had found a way to break into his Trine's room and were currently annoying the crap out of him.
"You moron. It's not a bribe, it's an apology. Seriously, Frenzy, I don't get why Boss have to be so nice to this fragger. He's gone soft."
Thundercracker stared at the purple symbiont and snorted cynically. "No fragging way has he gone soft on me."
"You're just too dense to realize it. The way he looks at you is enough proof. I hope, unlike the hundreds of savages in this Pit-slagging army, you're sensible enough to read the signs, because they're so bloody obvious it isn't even funny." Thundercracker just stared at the twins as if they had fused together at the neck and grown a third head in the middle.
"He's still doubting us."
"How much do you really know about carriers?"
The Seeker shuttered his optics at the sudden change of subject. "Well, not much, only that they usually have a legion of minions that is won through trust and... that they are quite sought after as potential mates." He didn't even know where that came from. Years of unwittingly listening to gossips had unexpectedly paid off. If Soundwave had known what the majority of the crew said behind his back in private, the marine mech would probably had a nervous breakdown.
He mentally shuddered when he recalled an eavesdropping eons ago. He'd joined the war long before he went on the Nemesis but back when he was still new to the Nemesis crew. Being unfamiliar with the interiors and the members of the vessel, he used his spare time to wander around. He'd regretted this decision ever since.
"So you're the new recruit?"
Thundercracker stopped when he heard voices around the hallway turn. There were a completely unfamiliar voice - the new guy, maybe? - and also Barricade's and Swindle's.
"Y - yes, sir."
"Polite, huh? Good."
"You wouldn't want to be scrapped on your first day here, would you? Being as nice as we are, we'd let you on a few tips to survive, cuz it's a jungle out there. For a small fee, of course." Yep, definitely Swindle.
"T - thank you!"
"Number 1: Do not anger Megatron or Starscream. Or Soundwave. Especially not Soundwave. That creep knows everything that happens on this ship. Megatron and Starscream are dangerous, but if you know the workings, you can avoid trouble with them. You can't read Soundwave. He can get rid of you as silently and effortlessly as he wishes. Watch out for him. All. The. Time."
"Two: trust no one and nothing unless it's proven. Everyone out there's gonna find a way to fuck with you."
"Three: Do not mess with the Command Trine - Thundercracker and Skywarp - or Starscream'll kill you. The same goes for Soundwave's midgets."
"The... sparklings? Tiny mech-beasts thingies?" Pit, this newbie was more clueless than Skywarp.
"Yeah." A guffaw. "The birds. The cat. The two little kiddies. Just don't let Soundwave hear you call them sparklings."
"Who's... Soundwave?"
"What, you don't know? How useless can you be? At least try to remember the names and faces of the most high-ranking soldiers!"
"The one with the flat glass chassis and shoulder rifle. Blue and white with streaks of red."
"Oh, the one with the visor and mask?" The new guy said in recognition. "He's hot."
A deafening silence. Thundercracker froze. He found Soundwave hot? Soundwave, of all goddamn mechs? What the actual fuck?
"... Listen, kid. You do not want to go there."
"Which brings me to number 4: Do not hit on the commanders and Megatron. Ever. They may come onto you but never do the opposite. Especially not to Soundwave. Unless you want to vanish from the surface of this world without a trace."
"You'd be the Nemesis' first suicidal Decepticon if you flirt with that guy. He may look all delicate and shit, but he can kill. He won't hesitate to lose an arm if it means he gets to decapitate you."
"Now scram. Try not to die."
Pedesteps echoed through the halls, and Thundercracker prayed to Primus they wouldn't head in his direction. Thankfully they went the other way.
"Could you believe that new scrapheap?"
"He should've known better than that. Half the mechs in this ship would kill to get a one-night stand with Soundwave. They'd murder him if he tries anything."
"Can't deny he's got good eyes, though."
The teal Seeker didn't like where this was going.
"Huh, yea... The other day I was hanging around with the Combaticons in the hallway when Soundwave walked by. Guess where the conversation went? We ended up talking about how we'd shove him into the walls and frag him until coolant tears stream down his cheeks and his knees become so weak he can't stand anymore."
"Oh mech, that graphic?"
"If you were there you wouldn't have said that. Have you seen the way he moves?"
"Yeah. Smoother than highgrade, his moves... And those hips and legs, too..."
"If I could, I would run my servos all over his thighs. And the buttons would be a nice little kink, no?"
Thundercracker speedwalked out of audioshot as quietly as his pedes would allow before he suffered permanent cranial shutdown, but the damage was done.
That was just an example. Over the years he had heard enough to seriously fear for his mentality and maybe a little bit concerned about the tapedeck's safety.
Primus, mental scars were hard to erase.
Rumble scrunched his nose at the term 'minions'. "Do you know why carrier models are so desirable as mates?"
He shook his head. Aside from the appearance, Soundwave isn't exactly role model.
"That's because it's a carrier's nature to be caring towards others. It's wired into their core programming. Care is vital to carrier culture because for both the carrier and his symbionts to coexist, they have to truly care for one another, almost on a family level. The care isn't confined to symbionts, however. Most carriers treat their loved ones carefully like a treasure."
He didn't exactly mean "desirable" in that sense. He was thinking something along the line of carnal pleasures, but there's no need to correct the symbiont. "Doesn't look like it. He's the coldest, most emotionless mech in the Decepticon army!"
"You're not at "that" level yet." Rumble made air quotes. "Maybe when you get there, you'll see what we mean. If you can even get there. This is as close as you'll ever get to Boss, so don't you dare push it."
Thundercracker glared down at the thing the symbionts had just given him, then glared back up at the Cassetticons' smug faces. Well, at least Rumble and Frenzy were visibly smug, but the Aerial Twins and Ravage were also giving the impression of being smug little bastards. The blue foil crystal, the one he saw on Soundwave's desk the first time he was in there, now laid in his palm. It was a bit unnerving that Soundwave seemed to know he liked this one, and also a bit spark warming.
"Ravage says Boss spent the longest on that one." Frenzy commented as the Cassetticons made for the exit. "So you have to keep it well."
Thundercracker threw a disdainful look at the foil crystal in his hand and then at the disposal bin nearby. His arm hovered over the bin but he hesitated for some reason and in the end placed the infernal thing on his desk. The Seeker took a few step back to inspect his newly acquired gift's position on his desk, cocking his head left and right to best admire the way the light reflect off the edges.
"What'd ya have there, T.C?"
With a turn of the head so quick he was sure his neck cables would snap right off, Thundercracker whirled around to see Skywarp standing in the doorway with a dorky grin.
"Ah, um… Nothing. Just some stupid rocks I picked up while flying outside."
"Let me see!" The purple mech tried to catch a glimpse but was immediately blocked.
"It's nothing of interest, really."
"Then lemme see!"
"No –"
Suddenly a weight hit him from behind, making the teal Seeker stumble forward. He immediately realized Skywarp had warped behind him, but it was too late. Skywarp was holding his foil creation in one hand, and he turned to the teal Seeker with his optics narrowed. Thundercracker mentally smacked himself. What was he thinking, putting Soundwave's foil crystal in his shared chamber where Skywarp and Starscream could easily see?
"T.C... What's this?"
Thundercracker raised his sevos in a placating manner while slowly inching closer, optics never leaving the foil crystal. Maybe if he surprise his Trinemate, then he could get it back without breaking it too much. "Well, it's-"
"It's from Soundwave, isn't it?" Skywarp's voice grew louder in anger.
"Skywa-"
"I don't even know what's going on with you anymore, T,C!" The purple and black Seeker yelled, stomping one pede hard in the floor like a spoiled sparkling. "You spent every free minute hanging around that creep! I don't even see you anymore! You changed, T.C. You used to hang out with us more. You use to act more like a Trinemate to Starscream and me!"
Thundercracker stood stock still at Skywarp's outburst. Something inside him snapped. Before he knew it he was shouting too.
"Maybe if you two aren't so against me being friends with Soundwave then I wouldn't hang around him so often!"
"Who's more important: your Trinemates or a random stranger? I miss you. We miss you!"
"He's not a stranger." Thundercracker tried to pacify himself. "As far as I know there's no rules against being friends with your comrades. What's wrong with me doing that?"
"Hah. FRIENDS?" Skywarp's voice was dripping with sarcasm. "The way that freak looks at you isn't the way friends look at eachother. He's bewitched you, T.C. He's taking you away and I despise him for it!" With those final words, the purple Seeker closed his fist and crushed the crystal foil in his palm. Thundercracker stared horrified at the remains of the beautiful trinket as Skywarp flung the scraps into a corner with a look of disgust.
He crushed it.
Oh. Thundercracker was absolutely livid. He was so slagging furious he could murder a dozen mechs in cold energon and not feel even a shred of remorse. But the teal seeker refrained himself from shouting because he knew the most effective and terrorizing way to address his fury to such an infuriatingly obtuse mech like Skywarp was to be calm and civilized.
"That was a gift." He said quietly. Skywarp seemed thrown off by his level demeanor and was staring at him, wide-opticked. "Soundwave is pleasant. He's considerate. He doesn't monopolize. He helps me and I help him. He has a bunch of other qualities that you two will never have. So unless you and Starscream learn to share, then I will be seeing him a lot more."
He shouldered past Skywarp and stormed out before the purple Seeker could say anything or stop him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid! A few slaps to the helm only helped to make him feel more stupid. Why did that foil crystal mean so much anyway? He was supposed to be angry at Soundwave, not defend him! The anger had deflated as quickly as it came, leaving only a feeling of sadness and hollow.
Had he really changed that much?
Thundercracker tried to reason with himself, that his Trinemates were simply being paranoid and irrational, that they were reading too much into things, but he knew the excuse couldn't stand. He neglected his Trine in favor of Soundwave. There was a rift between him and Skywarp and Starscream, and it was widening day by day. He had to do something. However, that 'something' would surely include cutting off all ties with the blue tapedeck, and Thundercracker didn't want to lose what little connection he had with Soundwave. He liked spending time with the mech.
He liked Soundwave. In a friendly manner.
The teal Seeker took his helm in his hands and groaned. He practically ruined his bond with the Communication Officer today. Soundwave probably hated him even more now.
He heard footsteps approaching and turned to the source of the sound only to find the one mech he wanted to see the least in this situation. Soundwave.
Sometimes he wondered if the marine telepath had a sixth sense. Soundwave took a step then stopped as if waiting for permission. Thundercracker raised his wings high and tense, wrapped his field tightly around himself, indicating he didn't wish for company.
"Go away, Soundwave. I don't feel like talking to you right now."
Shuffles, then the sound of metal against metal. Thundercracker looked to the side to see the blue tape player had gingerly positioned himself right beside him. He growled in warning but Soundwave neither turned nor made any indication he had heard Thundercracker's disapproval.
"Why are you here?" He regarded sourly.
"Soundwave: on duty."
"I'm pretty sure this is not your shift."
"Soundwave's current task: maintenance on docking bay's data ports. Duty, not limited to shifts only." The marine mech stated with force, but he wasn't making eye contact with Thundercracker. The corner of the teal seeker's mouth turned up into a smirk.
"Were you looking for me?"
Soundwave's visor went darker, and the tapedeck drew his own knees up, refusing to look at the other mech. He's embarrassed. How adorable.
The heavy silence stretched on until Soundwave spoke up, and he was surprised that the marine mech sounded… hurt. "Thundercracker, accept Soundwave's apology? Soundwave, will not pry."
"… No, no. I should be the one who's sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I was angry."
"Negative. Thundercracker's anger, understandable and reasonable." A soft sigh. "Soundwave… not the most expressive."
"Not expressive would be an understatement of the vorn, you know," the teal Seeker chuckled, earning a glare from the other mech. Frag it if he ruined the moment, it was way too funny not to comment. "… You don't have to explain yourself, though. I know this is how you roll, and I couldn't care less if you are not as outwardly affectionate as most mechs. You just... throw me into a loop sometimes, you know? I'm never sure about your thoughts and reactions, so usually I don't know what to do. We are friends, right? However loosely that term applies."
The Communication's Officer wrung his servos together nervously, his visor light giving a few unsure flickers. Distantly Thundercracker thought about how ironic it was that the Communication Expert himself failed so much in real life interactions. Then the blue mech mumbled so quietly that he had to lean forward to catch his words.
"… Affirmative."
"That's all I need to hear." The Seeker lifted his gaze to the sky and remarked after a long pause.
"This is becoming a problem."
Soundwave huffed. "Understatement."
"Really... I say I'm going to solve this, but it's not like I can do much to them. Throwing hissy fits can only work so much."
"That fact, known."
"Are you not going to reply in any sentence with over five words?"
"Negative."
"Awfully talkative today, aren't you?" He gave a humorless chuckle. "That... thingy you gave me... it's gone now. Skywarp squashed it into itty bitty pieces. I couldn't even give it a proper funeral."
He didn't turn to look at Soundwave until he heard the sound of crumpling thin-leafed metal. Long, elegant blue digits folded the foil, smoothing out creases and crafting patterns. Back in the days foil creation was a high art that had few practitioners because it required imagination, skill and endless patience. Thundercracker found himself staring mesmerised at Soundwave's servos as they danced across the foil sheet in precise, graceful movements.
He was making a new foil craft just because Thundercracker said his old one was broken? The Seeker's fuel tank did a weird flip-floppety, and there was this strange giddiness clouding his processor, like he was drunk on fine high-grade.
... it's a carrier's nature to be caring towards others...
"You know, uh…" Thundercracker swallowed, trying to articulate his thoughts. "My Trinemates think that you are just trying to use me for your own goals."
Soundwave's hand stilled. His visor darkened a few shades, but he resumed his crafting, so the teal mech took it as a sign to continue.
"Simply put, they don't trust you. Scratch that, they hate you. You already know plenty of adjectives they use to describe you on a daily basis, so I'm gonna spare you the pain of listening to them again. They think that you coerce me into spending time with you, and that you are manipulating my presence. They… They are just plain ridiculous."
There was no answer from the other mech, though Thundercracker could tell he was furious. The tapedeck continued to work in silence. After a few touch-ups, Soundwave surveyed his work for flaws, then offered his creation to the Seeker. He cradled the avian object in his servos, awed. It was an eagle with its wings spread wide as if soaring in the air. The lights hitting it at all the right angles, gliding off the winged appendages only increased its majestic appearance.
A smile pulled at Thundercracker's lips. He didn't know why such simple gestures from the tapedeck always seemed to lighten up his mood, no matter how crazy he felt. He liked that Soundwave never imposed his presence. He never hollered for attention or demanded respect. He was just... there, and that was very comforting.
"… Trinemates' antics, not surprising. Starscream's assumptions, similar: Thundercracker exploited by Soundwave." The telepath breathed out in exasperation.
"Oh Primus fuck. That was what he told you that time? So what do you think we should do now?"
There was something apologetic in the blue mech's gaze, and Thundercracker felt a sense of dread. A long pause. "... Frequency of interaction, must be diminished. Suggestion: cease acquaintanceship."
The Seeker's mind stalled. He didn't want that. No. Maybe it was because of the way Soundwave just sat there looking guilty like he murdered Thundercracker's grand uncle and stole his secret collection of crackle sticks, or maybe the Seeker was just going through a rebellious phase and wanted to break rules and mess things up to see how far he could get away with it. Either way, Thundercracker flipped out completely.
"… Screw them."
Soundwave stared at him in surprise, shocked at the forcefulness of his words.
"I'm sick of them poking their meddling noses in my business!" The telepath flinched a little at his outburst, but Thundercracker paid no mind, and continued on with his rambling.
"I am going to decide what I do and who I befriend, not them. They have no right. I am not going back to being strangers again. I've worked too hard to get to this point to back down!"
A tiny sound escaped the tape player as he quietly regarded Thundercracker, and Soundwave tilted his head to the side, visor dimmed to a warm, mellow glow. There was definitely a glimmer of confusion, relief, and also... fondness? The blue telepath tugged at his arm and motioned for him to bend down. Puzzled, Thundercracker did just that.
Soundwave leaned up, then light fingers grazed the top of Thundercracker's helm as he was petted. Glass chest lightly scraped against his and his spark pounded in his chassis as he felt a foreign rush of adrenaline at their frames' proximity. Then, without rhyme or reason, the blue telepath craned his helm up to lightly brush the edge of his battle mask against Thundercracker's cheek.
Thundercracker froze on the spot as Soundwave's pliant frame settled more tentatively against his own, battle mask now fully pressed against his faceplate, backstrut slightly arched, visor offlined, ventilations soft. A blue hand came up to grip his shoulder for balance. Soundwave made a small noise at the back of his throat, and Thundercracker felt butterflies bloom in his fuel tank. He was having a serious case of the warm fuzzies. Even in his processor-paralyzed state, some subconscious part of him told him to place one servo on the small of the tapedeck's back.
Primus, his hips were so small.
I would run my servos all over his thighs...
His other servo slowly migrated to Soundwave's legs and ventured a gentle touch, feeling the warm, smooth metal underneath. The tapedeck shifted his hips so that he was nearly straddling the teal mech's lap, and Thundercracker grew bolder, laying his hand near Soundwave's blue aft. They were alone on the docking bay, and whatever transpired between them stayed a secret of both mechs. It was tempting and a bit scary.
... shove him into the walls and frag him until coolant tears stream down his cheeks and his knees become so weak he can't stand anymore...
His faceplate lit up as if on fire. Bad, bad Thundercracker! This was no time to think of those memories!
His action seemed to startle the slighter mech, as Soundwave's visor suddenly flashed online and the telepath immediately jerked away from the Seeker. Thundercracker recovered quickly enough to grab Soundwave by the forearm, shooting the other a questioning look and was shocked to see the unguarded confusion and panic on the Communication Officer's face. Soundwave wrung his arm hard enough for Thundercracker to topple backwards, giving him an opportunity to slip away.
The teal Seeker laid there for a while, wondering what the hell was wrong with the both of them. He remembered how the white arm in his grasp shook as he pulled Soundwave back. The tapedeck had launched into hysteria when Thundercracker looked at him, and he had never seen Soundwave so confused and lost. As if he wasn't even aware of what he had been doing.
What had gotten over Thundercracker was another problem. He just made a move on the telepath. Primus.
Thundercracker felt troubled. That had been incredibly nice, whatever that was. That was also the closest thing to intimacy that Soundwave had ever allowed between them.
And was that a mask - on kiss on the cheek?
"Blaster, stop. Just. Stop. I could hear you blasting your Primus forsaken rock and roll all the way down the hall in the medbay, and it's murdering my audios."
The red and yellow boombox glanced at the Autobot medic, who entered the monitor room with both servos clamped tight over the two sides of his helm. Blaster's dermas stuck out in an indignant pout.
"Whaddaya mean, 'murdering your audios'? Rock and roll is the jam, mech!"
"My aft it is. Just turn down the volume. I can't work with this level of noisiness."
"Well too bad then!" Blaster grinned a slag-eating grin. The chevron mech resisted the urge to punch that insolent smile out of his faceplate. Youngsters these days had no respect for veterans.
"You're supposed to be on monitor duty, not listening to a bloody metal concert!"
"Fine, I'll check the archives." Blaster dropped back into his chair, flicking through a few switches, flitting between different surveillance cameras. Ratchet turned to leave, but was jerked back when the other mech called his name.
"I didn't say you could leave, Ratchet. Primus forbid if you sit down and relax for a while. You've been doing nothing but work for a joor now. Help yourself to some mid-grade, there's a dispenser in the corner." The red carrier mech pointed to a nearby chair. "If rock's not your thing, then I'll play some classicals. I've heard old mechs love classicals."
Ratchet's optics narrowed in suspicion. "… This isn't some elaborate plot to pull me away from my workplace, is it?"
Blaster raised his hands in mock resignation. "You've got me, my mech."
The Autobots were always contriving up plans to make Ratchet leave the medbay and take a rest, ranging from sparkfelt persuasion, mild to extreme annoyance, and downright threats of physical and mental harm. Ratchet never yielded unless he felt like it or too amused by the ridiculous attempts. Once Sideswipe commed him, screaming something about getting his spike stuck in a fan, and he faked the pain so well Ratchet was genuinely fooled. The hellion did sounded as if he was being castrated. The medic had to abandon sorting out his surgical tools to come to Sideswipe's aid, only to find out that he was having a game of cards with five other Autobots. The group had locked the room and refused to let Ratchet out until he had had at least three games.
The Bots never had to try the same tricks with Prime. Ratchet was menacing enough when he needed to, and they enlisted his aid with enthusiasm. There was nobody to intimidate Ratchet, however, and that was why they had to resort to such methods. It was quite thoughtful of them, though… He guessed Blaster's job was to play the music loud enough to annoy the living Pit out of the medic so that he would come down to confront the boombox. Ratchet bet a million to one some mech had snuck into his medbay and locked it by now.
Might as well enjoy himself.
"I want some Blues, though."
"Blues? Oh jeez, old mechs' got terrible tastes." The Autobot Communications Officer made a face, but he did chose a decent soft song. "Ironhide even asked me to play some country for him once. Primus."
The white medic leaned back in his seat and watched as Blaster dug around in Teletraan-1's archives, checking for corrupted files and spams. With his optics offlined, Ratchet was about to doze off when the red and yellow mech exclaimed in excitement.
"Ooooooooh! What's this?"
"Huh? You found something?"
"Several music files never accessed before! It says in the genre they're all Rock and Roll! Sweet!" He pulled up the files on the biggest screen for Ratchet to see. The medic scrunched his nose in distrust.
"Never accessed? Don't you find it a bit strange?"
Blaster laughed. "Mech, when I arrived on Earth, I downloaded literally millions of Earth songs and melodies. I don't know if I've ever listened to them all. I've never checked, so it's possible I've missed a couple. Just last week, I found in the drives three songs I've never heard before!"
He's crazy. This bot is out of his goddamn processor.
"So, my ancient doctor," the boombox swung one arm in a flourish, the other arm already itching on the 'Enter' button. "Are you ready for some sweet new grooves?"
Ratchet immediately sunk lower in his chair and assumed a hunched posture, servos clasped securely over his audios. "Bloody frag! I'm not ready for anything!"
Blaster just barked a hearty laugh, then selected a music file titled "U Can't Touch This".
The moment the Communications Officer opened the file, every monitor in the room froze. Immediately afterwards they started to flicker erratically, flashing between blinding white and pure black. Blaster, realizing his mistake a second too late, slammed on the keyboards in a desperate attempt to stop whatever it was that was happening. Ratchet had a hunch that it was something bad. All monitors switched to a blue screen, all displaying one line in glowing purple:
"GET REKT, NOOBZ."
What the shit did that even mean? Was that even proper English? Ratchet swore to Primus, if it was one of those pranks from the Lambo Twins again…
"Frag!" The red carrier mech let out a litany of curses as he fumbled over the consoles, entering strings of complex command to reboot the Ark's systems. At his attempts, the screens changed back to a pitch black, and an ominous laugh echoed through the monitor room's speakers. Then the screens read:
"YOU SHOULD NOT HAVE DONE THAT."
A small gif of a program file disappearing came up on the monitors underneath the new words. Blaster continue his curses, and the gravity of the situation slowly dawned on the medic.
Hold on one sec. The words were in purple.
"Blaster," Ratchet hissed at the panicking boombox, "What the frag have you done?"
"Nothing! I didn't know that music file is rigged! It looked completely normal!" Blaster frantically tried to stop the system breach to no avail.
"Are you even the Autobot Communication Officer or not? Fix that scrap before the virus shut down our entire security system!"
The red mech frantically opened his comm link to everyone on board the Ark, shouting at the top of his vocalizer: "Security breach! SECURITY BREACH!Cut the power to Teletraan-1's systems immediately! Secure the perimeter of the Ark and arm yourselves!" He turned to Ratchet. "Doc, pull the emergency level over there!"
The white medic did just that, and suddenly the entire Ark was flushed with spinning red light and sounds of "Alert! Alert!" He heard urgent pedesteps echoeing from the halls, and seconds later every single screen in the expansive monitor room went dark. The only source of light illuminating the two mechs in the chamber was the emergency lamps along the hallways outside and the glow from their blue optics. Ironhide was the first to come to them.
"The frag happened?"
"A virus disguised as a music file was buried in the archives! I have no idea how it got there and how it managed to fool Teletraan-1 into thinking that it is just a normal music file!" Blaster ground out in frustration as he continued to type in a frenzy. "I can't assess the damage it has done to our system, it's way too fast! I could only cut the power so that the virus can't do anything worse than it already has." The Communications Officer opened his commlink and instructed Inferno to reconnect Teletraan-1's computers to the power grid. It took a few minutes passed for Teletraan-1's monitors to online again.
The medic leaned over the consoles to get a better look at the screens and at Blaster's reactions, because he didn't really have the expertise to directly judge the extensiveness of the damage to Teletraan-1. The more Blaster worked, the more his expressions blanched. His mouth was set in a thin line of grim determination, and Ratchet and Ironhide knew better than to disturb the carrier mech. They whispered to eachother instead, updating the other about the situation.
"Ironhide, any attack warnings or anything?"
"None yet. Everyone's on high alert, though. Tracks and Mirage are patrollin' the perimeter for any 'Con activity. What happen'd here? Ah didn't really get it."
"Blaster found these unopened music files while cleaning up the system. We didn't suspect anything because Teletraan-1 didn't say there was anything wrong with them, and Blaster has a habit of downloading music and not listening to them all. So we opened one, and this virus just broke loose. We told the others to cut the power to the monitors to contain the breach, and warned everyone of a possible attack."
The red and yellow mech slowly pushed himself away from the monitors, one servo massaging the bridge of his nose. "Well, if the Decepticons were to hit us now, we're pretty much fragged."
"What do you mean? How much did that virus break? We literally let it out for less than two minutes!"
"Yeah, and in that two minutes it has crashed the Ark's entire security system, erased the programming for the ventilation systems and impaired the locking mechanism of half the doors inside the Ark. Every defense mechanism available is dead – the surveillance cameras are gone, the automatic long – range shooters are deactivated, the lights no longer works except for the emergency lamps, and Primus help the mechs who were inside a locked room." Blaster huffed in anger. "I'll have to start from scratch, and it'll take days before Teletraan-1 can return to normal, during which time the Ark is vulnerable to all attacks. I've only been able to contain the virus to one domain in the systems, which, ironically, controls the lightings. Sorry for that, but that's the best I could manage. I've never seen something like this before, so it will take some time for me to study and remove it. I'll work on the locking mechanism first, but even that will take me at least thirty minutes. In case of an attack, ya all have to buy me enough time to fix that."
"It's okay. You did what was necessary." Ratchet gave a small gruff.
"Heh… If the purpose of whoever did this was to make me feel inferior then they've succeeded, because I'm feeling it very acutely right now."
Ironhide suddenly broke in, voice dead serious. "… Blaster, next time, ah think ya should shaddup."
The white medic whirled around to face the old soldier. "Ironhide! Watch your mouth! Why'd you say something so rude?"
"Cuz Red Alert just commed me seconds ago, sayin' the Decepticons will likely arrive around the Ark in three minutes."
:Soundwave.:
No reply. Thundercracker tried again.
:Soundwave? Come on, answer me.:
Now Thundercracker was really concerned. After their little 'session' on the docking bay, Soundwave was avoiding him like the Rust plague again, and he was afraid that their already tenuous friendship had suffered just because Thundercracker couldn't keep his damn servos to himself. He could imagine the tapedeck doing the face - touch thing out of pure friendship, only to be completely creeped out by the Seeker manhandling his thighs.
They were already in enemy territory, and Thundercracker was feeling more and more antsy, not able to dispel a looming sense of dread that threatened to engulf him. It didn't help that Soundwave had not spoken a single word to him since.
"Decepticons, ATTACK!"
When Megatron gave the command, all the Decepticons immediately threw themselves onto the battlefield and opened fire on the Ark and the Autobots. The Seekers launched skyward for an aerial advantage. Before the blue Communications Officer could join the soldiers, the teal mech swiftly pulled him behind a massive rocky mound, hiding them both from plain sight. Soundwave immediately tried to jerk away, however Thundercracker did not relent his grip on the telepath's shoulders.
"Soundwave, answer me!"
Soundwave started to thrash harder, all the while avoiding optic contact. The teal Seeker squeezed his shoulders a bit tighter, and Soundwave's servos came up to claw at the appendages keeping him hostage. His visor was overly bright, and there were small tremors travelling up and down his blue and white frame.
Was the telepath having a panic attack?
"Did I scare you in any way? Did I displease you?"
No answer, but the trembling increased. An almost imperceptible shake of the helm. Soundwave lowered his helm and doubled his escape attempts. It suddenly dawned on Thundercracker that he was terrifying the other mech.
He released the tapedeck's shoulders to quickly grasp the blue hands with his own, taking care to do so in a gentle and unrestraining way. Soundwave's afraid, the reasons why he didn't know, but he needed to placate him, to show him Thundercracker was not a threat. The Communications Officer looked down bewildered at their joined servos, and he was too surprised to continue his resistance. Slowly, Thundercracker rubbed small circles on the back of Soundwave's servos, and gradually he felt the carrier mech relax in his grip. When the tremors stopped, the Seeker bent down to level their gaze, giving Soundwave an inquiring look.
He couldn't fathom what could make Soundwave act so out of character. Soundwave was never afraid, he was the one who did the terrorizing. It gave him a perverse sort of pleasure, knowing he could have such an effect on the stoic telepath.
"... Matter, can be discussed later?" There was a desperate edge to the tapedeck's monotonous voice, and his visor light almost seemed like a pair of pleading optics. Thundercracker didn't have the spark to press on. He dropped his vocals to a softer tone.
"Ok, just... just answer me something else: why are you here, on the battlefield? Shouldn't you be back at the Nemesis controlling the virus?"
"Virus, already contained by Autobots. Furthermore, virus is programmed, therefore piloting unnecessary."
"But still..." Thundercracker bit his bottom lip, unable to explain himself. There was that antsy feeling again, though the Seeker couldn't wrap his fingers around the cause. Whenever this occurred, something bad was guaranteed to happen. "At least stay back this time?"
The blue mech considered his request for a few seconds then vented lightly. "Thundercracker's concern, appreciated but unfounded. Soundwave, can defend himself." To emphasize his point, Soundwave shrugged his right shoulder, where his rifle pod was currently positioned. The action didn't make Thundercracker any less worried, and he nervously squeezed the smaller servos being held in his own.
Soundwave sighed, shrugging off the Seeker's dark hands. "Departure, overdue." With a final backward glance, the marine tape player disappeared into the midst of the raging gunfire. Deciding that he was being irrational and paranoid, Thundercracker pushed his worries to the back of his mind and instead chose to focus on the battle. He launched himself sky-ward and proceeded to empty his null ray cartridge onto the Autobots. About a third of them was missing, which was a huge advantage for the 'Cons. Thundercracker drifted near the Ark for a few minutes, listening to the frustrated yells and banging of fists against doors. It seemed the virus served its purpose of messing up the Ark's systems, and the virus must have crashed the door opening mechanisms if the thunderous bangs of metal on metal and the shouts of trapped mechs were something to go by. The long-range automatic shooters weren't working either.
Pits, Soundwave was a fragging genius.
His gaze lingered on the marine blue mech moving gracefully like flowing water across the battlefield. It was unlike himself to get distracted in a fight, and on some urgent impulse, Thundercracker touched down and decided to do on-land combat instead. This way, he'd be able to keep an optic on the telepath and for some unknown reason, he's decided to land near the bot. Between throwing not-so-subtle cautious glances at Soundwave and shooting the Autobots in the chassis, the Seeker's mind was thoroughly occupied. Soundwave carried himself with a kind of silent grace, no excess movements or flourish, each motion of sleek limbs precise and resolute. With a slight shift of position, the Communications Officer lined a faraway Autobot in his line of sight and took a single shot. The unfortunate mech dropped to the earth like a broken puppet. With a half-turn of his lithe frame, Soundwave wound his arms around Trailbreaker and performed a Cybertronian equivalent of a human's harai goshi, throwing the much-bigger mech onto the ground and knocking him out cold with a single sweep.
Maybe Thundercracker was just being hysterical. Despite unfavorable rumors when it comes to direct combat, the tapedeck's battle prowess was undeniably formidable. For a split astrosec, Soundwave lifted his helm in the Seeker's direction, and he could not tore his optics away from the battle-high mech's glowing visor. Later, Thundercracker would muse, that if he had not stood there like a stranded duck ogling the blue telepath's slim hips and violent optics, he would have noticed Prowl half a kilometer away, aiming his acid pellet shooter at the Seeker and pulling the trigger.
A blue blurr flitted across his vision, and then gunshot. Thundercracker's CPU processed the situation an astrosec too slow and he looked around, bewildered. Soundwave laid crumpled on the ground in a growing pool of his own fluids, his body curled up in a fetal position in an unconscious attempt to protect himself. Thundercracker had a sinking feeling, as if his vocals had dropped to the bottom of his fuel tank. The idiot had taken a shot for him.
"No, no, no, no, no, NO…" His hands frantically moved over the gaping wound on the tapedeck's side, trying to stop the energon flow. Energon splattered all over his lower arms and painted his servos a luminous purple-pink. A sudden flurry of commotion at the Ark had the Seeker sweep his gaze across the battle for a few seconds, and his spark stopped when he saw that the mechs preciously trapped inside the Ark had been liberated, and was helping the dominated Autobots gain the upper hand. Soundwave's shaking blue servo fumbled for its hold on the Seeker's arm.
"Thundercracker, l – leave!" A violent cough, then an agonized wheeze. Soundwave's visor light was a barely – there flicker, dimming quicker by the second. Thundercracker could tell the poor mech was fighting to stay online.
"NO! Why the frag would I leave you here!" He gathered the injured Communication Officer in his lap, eliciting a pained gasp from the other. Pedesteps and shouts resounded in the distance, and Thundercracker knew if he dawdled any moment longer he would risk his own escape, but his surrounding blurred to a stop when he looked down at the trembling marine – white frame he was holding.
"Thundercracker, vacate the battlefield! P – Please! Rescue later!" The telepath's voice dropped to a soft, desperate plea. He calculated his options. The Decepticons were already retreating, deeming the damage they had caused enough. It was impossible to carry Soundwave back on his own while make a safe escape at the same time, and he doubt that anybody would want to help. They could always rescue Soundwave later, but… It was this moment that he knew his processor was no longer capable of logical reasoning because no rational thought could push him to move and save himself. The teal mech hugged the tapedeck closer, ignoring the continuous comm pings from his Trinemates.
It was illogical. It was moronic.
"No."
Soundwave gaped at him. "B – But…"
"I'm staying and that's final. We're gonna be captured together and I don't care how stupid it sounds. At least this way I know what these fuckers might do to you."
Helms appeared in the distance behind the rocky hills. Thundercracker had lost his chance. The half – awake tape player gathered the last of his strength to feebly hit the Seeker on the helm. Thundercracker didn't feel the force of the hit at all, and it terrified him. This is bad. This is really bad.
"Thundercracker, stupid!" His words lacked force or spite, and was lighter than a breath of air. He sounded as if he was laughing and crying at the same time.
"Yeah, but as of now I'm your problem." The Autobots were sprinting at them at top speed. Thundercracker leaned down so that his face and Soundwave's were almost touching, effectively shielding them both from prying optics. Those self-righteous bastards had no right to intrude on this moment. "So just enjoy it while you can, m'kay? I'm sure it would be insanely maddening to spend time alone in a brig surrounded by Autobots."
Soundwave didn't even seem to have the energy to laugh, so the marine mech settled for a small giggle. It was a foreign sound coming from such a stoic mech, and the knowledge that he was the cause of it made the teal Seeker brighten up. The Communications Officer closed the tiny distance between them and gently bumped the edge of his battle mask against Thundercracker's nasal ridge. Then his visor light flickered off as his body fell limp in the Seeker's arms, hands falling onto the ground with a silent thud.
Ratchet knew the moment he caught a blur of teal blue that he knew something was off. The EM field ahead of them hummed with barely suppressed rage, energy being thrown off in erratic waves, clashing violently against the Autobots'. Jazz winced as a particular vicious EM wave hit his field.
"Is this really Thundercracker's field? I've never seen it like this before…"
The Seeker's back was turned towards them, wings pulled high and rigid on his shoulders, his body hunched over a smaller blue and white frame. It didn't take the white medic long to realize the other frame belonged to an unconscious Soundwave. Who was bleeding energon profusely all over the ground.
"Freeze!"
Thundercracker didn't even bother to turn to face them, still hugging the injured mech and silently attending to his wounds. Ratchet was itching to get to the bleeding mech, Decepticon or not, but his instinct told him if he were to approach the teal Seeker right now, he would had a very high chance of getting mauled.
"Screw off." Thundercracker's voice was very tight and restrained.
Some mechs, like Cliffjumper, however, did not like being ignored by his enemies. The Minibot took a few steps towards Thundercracker, yelling at the top of his vocalizer:
"You fragging filthy 'Con! You don't know your position here do you?"
Everything happened in a split astrosec. One moment Cliffjumper was shouting profanities at Thundercracker, the next he was lying on the ground, thrashing and screaming, energon splattered all over his right shoulder. The teal Seeker had his right arm raised, smoke wisps still escaping from his null ray nozzle. All guns were immediately directed towards Thundercracker, who simply settled back to his previous crouching position with a growl.
"If he doesn't keep his mouth shut, next time it won't be his shoulder."
Silence washed through the wasted land, the Autobots too flabbergasted at seeing ever-calm, thoughtful Thundercracker so trigger-happy to utter a word. Thundercracker was one of the hardest mechs to provoke, yet at this moment he was so abnormally aggressive. Ratchet watched Thundercracker's arm circled Soundwave's prone frame protectively, secure enough to guard but loose enough to allow him quick reaction, and he wondered. Were they…?
"Thundercracker…" Optimus tried. "Soundwave's wounded."
There was a searing edge to the normally peaceful mech's drawn-out answer, so alien it even made the Prime cringe. "I wonder whose fault that was."
"Thundercracker," Ratchet cut in while giving Cliffjumper a temporary patch job, just enough so that he wouldn't lose any more energon. "I know you're a rational mech. Well, at least the sanest Decepticon in the whole armada. You should know that right at this moment you are very likely to become our prisoner. I would advise you not to be so provoking, and it would be to both your and Soundwave's benefits if you surrender immediately."
The Seeker shot a look in the Autobot medic's direction, optics narrowed into slits of molten crimson. "You hurt him. What makes you think I'll cooperate? I will personally deactivate each and everyone of you with my hands alone."
Ironhide snorted. "Protective, ain't he?" Ratchet rubbed his temples. This is going to be difficult.
"You're not in a position to threaten, Thundercracker." The Prime crossed his arms, ready to give the others orders to restraint the two mechs. Thundercracker cocked his helm to one side and feigned a contemplative manner.
"… Maybe not, but I could always go on a spree and take down some of you before I get deactivated. Or I could self-destruct."
"And leave Soundwave here all alone? You wouldn't." Ratchet's words stilled the Seeker, and the medic realized that using the tapedeck to force Thundercracker into submission was the smartest course of action. The other Autobots watched the exchange with bewilderment and interest, quite possibly not catching on to Ratchet's sudden revelation. "For Primus' sake, Thundercracker, if I don't get to Soundwave in the next five minutes, he could fall into permanent stasis lock. Would you like that?"
There was only silence as Thundercracker leveled his gaze at the white medic. If looks could kill… Ratchet returned the gaze calmly, knowing that Thundercrakcer would inevitably cave in soon.
"… Fine, handcuff me. But if you mess with Soundwave in any way, if I found out that he was changed in any manner… I'd make sure you have a few deactivated bodies on your hands."
"Medics' vow." Ratchet crossed his servos in front of his chassis. "Besides standard warfare procedures like disabling Soundwave's weapons, I'm not going to touch him. You know I have more dignity and pride than resort to such lowly methods."
No response. Then Thundercracker slowly got on his pedes, raised his servos in a forfeit, and the Autobots watched as an unnerving smirk played across his dermas.
"All right. You've got me."
A super duper long chapter as an apology for disappearing for so long. Like, double or triple the normal length.
Life's annoying but I have to get used to it. A wonderful follower even send me an encouragement message, thinking I was going to abandon this fic, which I think was very sweet. I'm not going anywhere, don't worry. I love you all for sticking around with my stupid story, following, faving and leaving nice reviews :'
Until next time, then!