A long-range connection is established.

::Update.::

"We have a situation."

::Explain?::

"That warp-gate you wanted... They have given him full access to it. It is going to be impossible to reacquire him now."

There is a long moment of silence.

::Then he has become a liability. What a shame. Our technicians would have loved to dissect it.::

"What do I do?"

::Arrange an accident or something. Just get rid of him.::

"Understood."

The connection is terminated and the guard contemplates his possibilities.

How do you take a teleporter by surprise?

And even more importantly, how do you kill one?

Skywarp lands on the runway after a longer flight.

He walks into the facility and towards the elevator with a light gait to his steps while his processor still spins from the playful flight he has had with his escort.

They had made his teleportation into a complex game of tag, and the six fighter jets had over time learnt to calculate his pattern, managing to tag him a few times when he reappeared.

The elevator door opens and he walks down the corridor to his chambers.

Teleporting like that is taxing on his systems, and when he enters, he instantly pours two cubes to replenish his fatigued systems.

With a deep sigh, he leans back on his berth and enjoys how his spark pulses with contentment.

To be able to teleport again feels so natural, and it is giving him back a sense of self he didn't realize he lacked.

He is no longer just Skywarp, but Skywarp, warp-gate extraordinaire.

It is his identity.

Who he was borne as, and always will be.

"This is me." He mumbles drowsily, suddenly extremely tired, and his non-vital systems begin to shut down one after another a few seconds later.

::Airwave, has Skywarp returned from his flight?:: Nacelle asks, contacting the control tower, ::He is late to his appointment.::

::I saw him land fifteen minutes ago.:: Airwave responds.

Nacelle frowns.

Skywarp has never before been late to an appointment.

Something is wrong.

He can feel it in his spark.

Skywarp has looked forward to this session.

They are going to prepare him for his first gender-interaction simulation.

::Visual on Skywarp.:: He contacts the surveillance room while rising from his chair and walking to the door.

::Last seen entering his room.:: Hotglide answers coolly, when Nacelle enters the elevator to bring him to the level housing Skywarp's chambers.

The elevator door opens and he walks briskly down the corridor.

Stopping in front of the door into Skywarp's room, he knocks on it.

There is no response and he repeats the motion.

"Skywarp, are you there?" He calls through the door.

Nothing.

He tries the door and it opens.

When Nacelle enters, he instantly notices the loud sound of overtaxed systems and hurries towards the source, activating the emergency alert as he kneels down beside Skywarp's prone frame on the berth.

"Frag! Skywarp, can you hear me?" He shakes the black and purple seeker, but doesn't get any response.

A harsh slap to a cheek doesn't provoke a reaction either and he resorts to the last, twisting a wingtip painfully.

Nothing.

The respiration is faint and most likely the main reason behind the stressed systems, but something else is clearly responsible for Skywarp being completely unresponsive.

The spark pulse is weak, but stable so far and Nacelle is relieved when the physicians arrive to take over. It allows him a moment to think and he looks around searching the room.

What could have caused this?

He knows the time frame.

Fifteen minutes.

It is not long.

There are two empty energon cubes on the floor beside the berth, nothing else seems out of place.

He picks one up, sniffing at it.

The energon supply system is an old outdated model. This far from the main supply line, the airbase has to manually refill its system from large containers delivered each week. And every energon dispenser needs to be refilled regularly, each room having their own separate system.

What remains of the energon Skywarp has ingested comes back clean of any kind of contaminant or poison he is able to detect, but he is not fooled by the subtlety that has been utilized to hide what truly has transpired.

Someone wants Skywarp dead and the next hours decide whether or not they succeeded.

His optics narrow dangerously.

"Where are you hiding, you vile little coward."

He spots the camera blinking calmly above the window.

::Requesting the footage from Skywarp's berth room from the last few hours.:: He contacts Hotglide.

::One moment.:: Hotglide answers, and there is a pause before the guard returns, ::Something must be wrong with the camera. There are no footage from the last four hours.::

"Of course." Nacelle grinds out, anger rising.

But it narrows it down.

At least he can rule out the clients at the facility.

None of them would have access to the energon systems or the surveillance cameras.

A thought hits him and he curses.

Thundercracker!

Is there any way for him to handle this without causing a relapse in the blue seeker?

::Visual on Thundercracker.:: He requests, dreading the conversation he is going to have with the blue seeker.

Thundercracker is going to discover Skywarp's condition no matter what he does, and it is better to be honest from the start.

And...

...maybe it is time for him to come clean about his true identity.

At least to the only one he currently can trust to not be an enemy.

::Currently inside his chambers.:: Hotglide reports back.

With a heavy sigh, he leaves Skywarp's room, knowing full well that the coping mechanisms that he has taught Thundercracker are going to be tested.