Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.


Iussa: *looking through the cabinets* Do you have any energon goodies here? I could use some for when the others get their servos on you.

Authoress: *frowns* They aren't going to get me. I have a friend who is helping keep me out of their sight. So, I should have enough time to finish telling what happens before they get to me.

Iussa: *frowns* Shame, I was excited for the show.

Authoress: *shrugs* Not as much as I am.

Iussa: *confused* What show do you mean?

Authoress: *gives a slag-eating smile* You'll see.


Chapter 12: Code Nightingale

Emperor Thav's 1st P.O.V.

I felt like I was in some drug-induced simulation. If someone had told me that Pandimala, of all bots, would have reacted negatively to this machine, I would have thought they were losing their minds. Or processors. She was such a strong-willed bot with a good grasp on her mental state that seeing her like this was almost unbelievable. If I weren't personally seeing her like this right now, then I wouldn't believe it.

But that was where we were.

When the machine first started, I watched as all of the flying alt-mode bots in the room seemed to go off into a haze. From what I had been told in the past, the experience of popping wings for the first time was an intimate and wonderful sensation that friends helped guide a young bot through. The only bots in the room without flying alt modes were Lord Oryax, who had a treaded alt mode, and Bastiev, who had an average vehicle alt mode, had been looking around at the others. Of course, while I wasn't as affected by the machine as others here, I could feel a calming energy in the air.

I glanced over to Pandimala as the first emotions came from her.

To say that I was in shock was a gross understating of what I felt when I saw her. Whatever she went through during her original wing popping must have been terrifying for the femme. She was sitting pressed against the wall, looking like a caged animal. From how her optics were flicking to each being in the room, she was subconsciously keeping an optic on anyone her processor might perceive as an enemy.

"I'm placing the room on lockdown," Lord Dawnbreaker spoke slowly and calmly. "We are in a Code Nightingale."

Code Nightingale.

While anyone who came to Vestium Major knew what a Code Nightingale was, few still alive had ever experienced one. My grandfather, who has long since passed, was a young prince of Eternia when the Code was put into law. Duskmorrow, Lord Dawnbreaker's sire, had been the leader of Vestium Major at the time and was working on cleaning up the planet so that they could enter the galactic stage. While taking down a local drug kingpin, the strike team came across the kingpin's young creation, a femme called Nightingale. The femme showed apparent signs of abuse, and so she was taken in by a nice family. At first, it seemed like the femme would recover from the abuse she had suffered from her sire.

However, a simple accident caused chaos instead.

While playing with other younglings her age, one accidentally bumped into her wings. The impact caused the femme to flashback to the pain she suffered from her sire. This sort of reaction had never been seen on Vestium Major before, and, as any concerned parent should, her adopted creators tried to hold her and comfort her. However, when they touched her, it sent the femme into a processor break that she never recovered from. The young femme offlined a few solars later.

Lord Duskmorrow immediately sent out inquiries to his new allies to see if they might have known what had happened. Ethos, which was ruled by Lady Crotia, Lord Oryax's carrier, responded with information explaining what happened. When wings pop in a traumatic environment, the bot in question rarely comes out with a sound processor. In the rare cases that do occur, said bot is sensitive to stimuli similar to what they were around during the process. From their records, this sensitivity usually lasts a few thousand stellars after the incident.

As I looked at Pandimala, however, that brought another question. While I understood the machine must have brought back those feelings, most flyers pop their wings a few thousand stellars after their creation. From what her file said, Pandimala was twenty thousand. That would have given the femme time to overcome the sensitivity. At most, this should just be making her uncomfortable and not having a full-blown processor meltdown.

"Lord Dawnbreaker," Bastiev spoke neutrally, glancing toward Pandimala every so often as he did. "Did you know the femme was sensitive to this before our exhibition?"

I knew that answer before Lord Dawnbreaker spoke it. "No. Pandimala has been very guarded regarding her past. Given the circumstances that caused her to stay here on Vestium Major, we did not press her. Her inclusion in this presentation would have been refused if I had been aware of her condition."

Pandimala was extremely guarded about her past. And it showed in the little information we had on her. Vestium Major's, Ethos', and Eternia's intelligence sectors had been trying to dig up anything about the femme—any mention of her designation in reports. However, we had come up empty. She was a mystery. At first, we assumed it was simply because she was a low-ranking soldier with no noteworthy experiences with the Decepticons. The femme herself had even admitted that she had recently joined the Decepticons. Of course, there was a vast spectrum with mechano-based beings, with the word 'recently'. Recent could be three days, or it could be three thousand years.

But, how the femme fought in her recovery training and interacted with the varying leaders who wished to meet with her told us that she had experience. And, since she said she was isolated as a youngling, she had to have gained that experience with the Decepticons.

"Does any being here know the femme well enough to help talk her out of this?" Sibathen asked, his optics not leaving the femme in question.

We all glanced at Grinchain, who shook his helm. "She didn't tell me much more than she told everybot else. Pandimala's good at getting information, but she keeps her information close to her." While the young mech tried to stay neutral in his speech, I could hear the worry in his vocals. And while that was telling of how close they were, it was not helping the femme now. "Young Grinchain, I want you to move away from the femme slowly," It seemed like Wern's lead inventor, Bistrak, caught onto this as well.

While Grinchain looked torn, he seemed to realize the severity of the situation at servo. So, he nodded before he moved away from Pandimala. Honestly, though, with how the femme was projecting her emotions, I didn't think it would make much of a difference. If I could feel the way she was feeling, being an organic, then I had a feeling she was reciprocating the emotions in the room just as powerfully. We had to be extremely careful right now.

"Pandimala," Lord Oryax spoke softly toward the femme. One of the studies done by various planets on this problem said that talking to them had sometimes brought a bot out of their panic. However, studies were still unsure as to why it only worked sometimes.

We all watched the femme to see if she reacted at all. However, she stayed in that same panicked state. "My Lord," Credax motioned for his leader to lean closer to him. What was he saying? Credax was a sharp mech who could react to most situations well. Whatever he was saying, it may be something he noticed about the femme. Hopefully, it was something that would help Pandimala.

"That may work," Oryax finally spoke out loud before looking back at Pandimala. "Pandimala, Lord Megatron is counting on you to be strong. You need to come back to your senses."

That might work. The femme made it no secret how much she admired and respected her Lord. Bringing him to the front of the femme's processor may be enough to snap her out of her panic. However, as the minutes passed, there was little change. If her Lord was not the catalyst to bring her out of this, I wasn't sure what would be strong enough to bring the femme to her senses.

Oryax and Credax had the right idea. If we were to get the femme focused again, we needed to bring up a subject that would grab her attention. Something that would surprise her enough, when said out loud, that she would bring herself back to conscious thought. Once she was at that point, we could let Physis in the room to get her back from this.

At this point, the mechano-based beings in the room sat on the ground. They were probably trying to appear less intimidating to the femme. That was a good delaying tactic, but something told me it wouldn't last long. Pandimala, even when she wasn't in this state, had a strong attachment to her emotions and understanding those around her. It wasn't a quality that was prevalent in mechano-beings, which was what made her unique. I had spoken to King Poiman the other day about trade matters between Eternia and Antiga Prime when the femme was brought up. I had never seen the leader so amazed with a mechano-being who wasn't under his planet's reach.

But, he had been. When he spoke to her, he said that she talked with him naturally. And she understood that, at times, yelling was necessary. That was especially true when the standard protocol wasn't followed, which happened when Pandimala didn't give him the proper greeting as the leader of a planet. The femme had been able to speak with Poiman, and Pandimala had been able to follow the chaotic nature in which he conducted business. Very few mechano-based species came from Chaos-centered gods, and Cybertronians were about as far from a Chaos god as their creator as a being could be. Order should be the way the femme operated her existence. Even in the most chaotic Decepticons, order always had a strong presence.

"Father," I glanced at Caigal as she whispered. "Perhaps we are looking at this in the wrong light. With everything that we have witnessed from Pandimala and how she acts, we may have been missing the obvious."

The obvious. What would the obvious be here? The femme had a solid connection to many instincts usually seen in organic beings; she had empathy for the struggles of organics, and, in opposition, Pandimala seemed almost unaware of instincts that mechano-beings should have. Recognizing those of a higher status was a sense that species like Cybertronians developed quickly, given their long existences. Not knowing who was in charge could be dire to them. Yet, Pandimala didn't show any of the proper reactions.

An answer was forming as I brought all of my thoughts together. And it was an answer that I was afraid was correct. If I was right, she was a being that hadn't existed since the times of the original Thirteen Primes of Cybertron. Should I be correct, this would have to be the catalyst that would snap her out of this state. It didn't seem possible, but I knew to anticipate chaos thanks to my interactions with Murav, the god of my people.

So, I walked to the edge of the platform Caigal and I were on. As I stopped, I noticed that Pandimala moved her focus to me. This was it. No going back now. "It is going to be alright, Lizzie,"

Immediately, her intakes seemed to freeze, her gaze wavering as it seemed to bore into me. After a few minutes, her optics dimmed, and her helm leaned back against the wall behind her. That, of course, caused a number of the bots in the room to panic until a figure appeared next to me. She was in her soliform.

Her soliform glanced up at me in tears before, to my surprise, she darted to me and hugged me as if she would fall into the Pit if she didn't hold onto me. She needed comfort, and now, she must feel more secure in her solifrom than in her chassis. When she started to cry, I instinctively wrapped an arm around her to support her before placing a hand on her head. I hadn't had to comfort someone like this since Caigal was in her growing years.

"I'm sorry," Pandimala whispered as if she feared getting in trouble.

Shaking my head, I patted her head a few times before responding to her. "You have nothing to apologize for, Pandimala. Nothing at all." The room seemed to have stilled when this all started unraveling. While I knew she needed time, we needed to have Physis come in and check her. "Pandimala, do you think you will be alright to have Physis come in and look at you?"

The room grew tense as we all waited for the soliform to answer. After a few moments, which felt like an eternity, Pandimala gave a slight nod. "Yeah…I'll be okay,"

I noticed Lord Dawnbreaker immediately go for his comm at her word. However, as he did, I looked down at the soliform clinging onto me. Pandimala, responding to her soliform's designation and taking this form to be comforted, told me that my previous thoughts on her identity were accurate. Despite the odds, Pandimala was a phenomenon called a new spark. She started her existence as an organic, more than likely the one she had as her soliform, and events beyond our comprehension caused her to change into Pandimala.

Later, we would find out the answers. For now, though, the femme was scared and still on the verge of a breakdown. Pandimala had saved me from a political coup that was part of a larger plot to cause destruction. Being here for her right now was the least I could do.

Lord Oryax's 1st P.O.V.

As Physis looked over the femme, whom he refused to move due to her delicate disposition right now, I felt like I was finally coming out of shock. I had been so excited about experiencing that first click that my wings popped; I hadn't thought about the possible repercussions. While I knew most of those that would be affected in the room, and I was sure that Wern had picked their representatives with this exhibition in processor, I hadn't considered the one bot whose history was a mystery.

Pandimala.

We had known she was hiding information about her past. We knew that. And yet, we hadn't stopped to think if this could affect her. It was sloppy and not a mistake I was going to make again. For now, though, we needed to comfort the femme while getting whatever answers we could from her. While it was a harsh reality, the truth was that Pandimala would be easier to get answers from in this state. While I did not wish for her to go through this, we shouldn't waste this opportunity.

"Pandimala," We all glanced at Physis as he addressed the femme, who was still in soliform clinging to Thav as if he was her spark support. "Your chassis should be able to support your processor without falling into the panic you were just in." He then motioned toward said chassis. "Are you ready to go back?"

I focused on the femme as she seemed to debate his question, as simple as it was. I half expected her to keep hanging onto Thav. He was the one who discovered her identity, and that would make the femme closer to the labac than to any other being on this planet right now. He was the reason she was able to ground herself as she did. It took a strong being, mechano or organic, to pull oneself out of a trauma-induced shock as she did.

After a few nanos, the femme gave a slow nod before she hesitantly let go of Thav. It took the femme a few more clicks, nervously glancing at each of us as she did before her soliform shimmered and vanished. Clicks of silence passed by before the femme's systems whirred to life, chassis preparing to operate after the trauma she had to relive. It took a few clicks longer than average, but eventually, Pandimala's optics onlined, and I noticed that she was glancing nervously between all of us.

"Pandimala," I glanced at Grinchain, who sounded hesitant as he spoke to the femme. "I'm so sorry. You wanted to leave, and I asked you to stay."

The femme's optics focused on the mech, though I noticed those optics twitched before she shook her helm. "I…I could have left." Her vocals were just above a whisper as she answered him. "I thought it might bring up memories…not that. This is partly my fault."

Before the young mech could say anything back, though it looked like he wanted to do just that, Physis took over. "Pandimala, before we continue, there are certain medical questions that I need to re-ask you. Given the situation this solar, I think it would be best if you answered them the best you can."

Pandimala moved her gaze to Physis, and I could see the hesitation in her optics. Even in this state, the femme was not one to trust easily. While I could respect that, we needed answers. Pandimala was destined to remain on this planet for the foreseeable future, and we needed to be prepared should a situation like this happen again. "We can't risk a situation like this again," I said. Her optics snapped to me as I continued. "Given all that has happened, would you want to place Lord Dawnbreaker and the rest of us in such a precarious position?" I had to watch what I said, given that the representatives of Wern were still here. And, while I wanted to send them away, they had every right to know what was happening since their invention set this into motion.

Pandimala kept her optics locked on me before she let out a vent and looked to Physis. "Ask your questions, Physis." The sole fact that Pandimala didn't call him 'doc', which she tried to do when she could, told me how seriously she was taking this.

"I think you may have an idea about the first question I am going to ask," Physis started. "Besides a Cybertronian, have you ever been a member of a different species?"

Pandimala looked as if she was disassociating with us as she answered the mech. "Yes. I was human."

While I had a feeling that was how she would answer, it was still startling to hear, given all that was happening. And to have been human before this, no less. Humans were not the most well-known species, but enough was known about them that I knew they had a relatively short lifespan compared to many species in the known universe. And, while I knew that they matured far faster than most species, most planetary hosts only took the word of a human as being spoken by a fully formed being once they reached the age of fifty stellars, over halfway through their lifespan. It wasn't fair to them. However, given the rarity of the species away from their homeworld, that was the best many could do with the limited information they possessed.

"Pandimala, how old are you?" Physis asked though I noticed that he had tensed since his last question.

The femme remained quiet after that. She seemed to be debating on whether or not to answer the question. I couldn't fault her for that. Given my thoughts, she must realize that her age may be used against her once it was known to all of us. Even though the femme had proven just how sharp and well-honed her processor was, that might just be thrown into the Pit once her age was said. "Twenty,"

There it was. However, it seemed as if Physis was not taking any chances. "Twenty what, Pandimala?" While he was not harsh, anybot could hear the urgency behind his question.

"Twenty stellars,"

Twenty stellars. This femme, who had survived a hit from Vestium Major's defense system, controlled her snaps faster than any triple changer to solar, and carried a wisdom greater than the age of her entire species, was twenty stellars. There were trade agreements that took longer to make between species, and this femme had experienced so much in that time.

And that was just what she experienced as far as we were aware. Given our situation, it was obvious that her wings had come out at a poor time. It could have even been an enemy attack, depending on how long she had been a Cybertronian. Given that we had already ruled out Earth as a potential station for her before this, that left a servo-full of planets she could have been on. Factoring in atmospheric requirements that humans needed to function and their reach from their other holdings left us with even fewer options.

"Where were you stationed?"

For the first time since this situation started, a hard look came on Pandimala's faceplate before she shook her helm. "No. I can't tell you." While she didn't look like she would break down again or snap, she did have a panicked look on her faceplate.

"Where were you, Pandimala?" I glanced at Dawnbreaker with a worried look. The mech had an edge to his vocals that I rarely heard. He wasn't happy. Though, what he wasn't happy about, I couldn't be sure of.

In turn, Pandimala glared back at the leader. "I already told you I can't tell you." Her answer was clipped and restrained.

This was turning into a disaster.

"If you won't tell me where you were stationed, then I can only surmise that you were on a Decepticon-allied planet. It is no secret that experiments performed by the Decepticons during their Civil War edged the ethical lines that we hold in the Galactic Alliance. Your creation must have come from those experimentations and is proof that the Decepticons have crossed a line they cannot return from," Pandimala was standing, a surprised and angry look on her faceplate before Lord Dawnbreaker continued. "Pandimala, you will be barred from leaving Vestium Major as a material witness to this affront. Once the Advancement Fair is finished, I will file charges with the rest of the Alliance. The Decepticons will turn over the scientists responsible for this or face embargos from all Alliance members and their allies."

The temperature of the room seemed to drop fifty degrees in an instant. When I glanced toward Pandimala, I felt my spark freeze in terror when I saw Pandimala's look: cold, detached, and murderous all at once. And that look was directed toward Dawnbreaker. "You blame the Decepticons simply because I will not disclose my station?" Her words were slow and deliberate. "Very well. If you indeed file those charges, then I will not hesitate to file charges against Vestium Major for transgressions against myself that have directly violated Galactic Law."

"Vestium Major is paying for the wrongs to you, Pandimala. You would have no claim," Dawnbreaker spoke back to her as if he was speaking to a misbehaving sparkling.

"That debt is not yet paid in full, though that does not matter," Pandimala kept calm, which in itself was haunting. The femme was known for her empathy and emotional reciprocation. We were witnessing none of that now. "If you blame the Decepticons for a crime they are not at fault for, and the Galactic Alliance allows it, then my claim will also be recognized." She then turned to leave.

"Where are you going? We still have more to speak on." Lord Dawnbreaker said. I could see that this situation had shaken my friend. I still couldn't quite believe what was happening.

Pandimala stopped at the door and turned to face Dawnbreaker. "You have already shown me you do not wish to speak. You want to demand answers that I cannot give you. Until you come to your senses and treat me as the adult I am instead of the sparkling you see; I will no longer reside in the palace. I'm sure Iussa wouldn't mind hosting me for the time necessary for you to get your helm out of your aft." The femme then left the room.

While I could see that Dawnbreaker wanted to chase after the femme, the representatives of Wern were still here, looking about as out of place as I was feeling at the nano. "My apologies for the situation. My thanks for you in presenting your invention. Please return to your embassy and send my thanks to Lord Keadal for allowing you to travel here." While the three looked hesitant to leave, they must have realized they wouldn't get answers from the idiot next to me. So, they bowed their helms and gave their platitudes before they departed.

"Sire," Grinchain, to my surprise, started to speak. "How could you treat her like that?"

Those words seemed to trigger a response from his sire. "She is a sparkling Grinchain. A sparkling! She was forced to endure existence-changing torture when you were just learning to walk about confidently."

"Says you!" My optics about shot out of my helm when the young mech growled that, his wings twitching. "You heard her. The Decepticons didn't do that to her!"

"Pandimala would have had no idea what they were doing!" Dawnbreaker snapped, standing from his seat.

However, spending time with said femme seemed to have given Grinchain more of a spinal strut than I ever imagined. "She knows more than you! She's open-processored and realizes when we can't answer her questions. Obviously, the place she was stationed was restricted information. Maybe it was because of what happened to her? Did you think about that? Or are you too high on your throne to see what mere mortals might think?"

"Enough!" I had never seen Dawnbreaker look so furious at one of his creations. "Spending time with Pandimala has made you forget your manners, Grinchain. Scorchflint!" I felt confused when said mech stepped into the room. When did Dawnbreaker call him? "Remand Grinchain to the holding cells for a few solars. Perhaps that will allow him to see reason."

Instead of trying to take back what he said, I felt proud of the young mech when he held his helm up and glared at his sire. "It will save me from being in the presence of a fool, at least." Scorchflint placed stasis cuffs on the young mech before he escorted Grinchain out. Seabreeze looked shocked at his bondmate, and I couldn't blame the mech. Perhaps it was the stress getting to the mech. While I wasn't sure what was causing Dawnbreaker to panic like he was, I knew he needed time to think.

Or, from the look Seabreeze was giving the mech, when his bondmate snapped him out of it.

As I left the room with Credax, since it was clear that this had devolved into a family matter, I allowed myself to worry. Pandimala, while much younger than we thought, had shown a sharp processor and a staggering ability to make alliances. That was evident in how Grinchain had stood up to his sire as he did. I did not doubt that Seabreaker would follow Grinchain's lead in some way once he discovered what Dawnbreaker had done. Her threats before she walked out of the room were clear. If Lord Dawnbreaker attacked the Decepticons for the information we found out in any way, Pandimala would respond in kind. She didn't say it in so many words, but she didn't have to. We had seen the evidence for ourselves. The fact that her snaps were centered around Lord Megatron and her loyalty to him and the Decepticons, then she may offline somebot if she felt she needed to.

Thoughts on her snaps made me realize there was a mech who needed to know about this that was not yet involved. "Sandstorm, it's Lord Oryax. We need to talk."

"Something happened at the demonstration. Please tell me Pandimala didn't attack one of the representatives?" While he seemed to realize something had happened, he wasn't quite there yet.

"I wish it was that simple."

"What do you mean? That was my worst-case scenario! What the frag happened?" The triple changer demanded over the line.

I couldn't stop the vent that escaped me. "Meet Credax and me in a private room at Teklan Hall. And brace yourself." I then ended the line.

"Lord Oryax, what are we going to do?" Credax asked as we made our way to the location. "Taking our personal feelings about Pandimala off the table for now," Yes, because most in the embassy, if not everybot, agreed that Pandimala was a great femme. "What are we going to do? If word reaches the Decepticons about this, we could be in trouble. That is especially true given the troubles we have been having in the Alliance. Add in the fact that representatives of Wern were in there to see that, and I'm concerned."

"I know. I'm concerned as well. We will talk to Sandstorm when we get to the Hall. Hopefully, he will have some insight, given the training he has been doing with Pandimala." I agreed with my Ambassador as we made our way through the crowds. The crowds that were blissfully unaware of the trouble that was brewing. If we didn't get this settled soon, it would overflow into one of the biggest disasters the Galactic Alliance had seen in my existence.


Iussa: You didn't!

Authoress: *smirks while eating goodies* Oh, but I did.

Iussa: She almost offlined me the last time she was with me! And now she is going to be staying with me?

Authoress: Well, if Lord Dawnbreaker comes to his senses soon enough, you won't have to worry about her staying too long. Unless she likes staying with you.

Iussa: *starts praying to Primus not to let that happen*


AN: And here is the next chapter! Just like I promised, it is here quickly. And oh boy, do we have a doozy here, folks! Thav is able to bring Pandimala out of her trauma as he realizes what might be behind Pandimala's organic tendencies, despite her mechano being. Of course, once she is out, she gets into more trouble as Physis and Lord Dawnbreaker try to find out more about Pandimala. Hopefully, things get resolved, or there may be more trouble on the horizon.

And I need to stop before I give a summary of the entire chapter. Though, I do want to laugh at poor Sandstorm. He thought Pandimala attacking the representatives was the worst-case scenario—poor mech.

Well, until next time, which will be soon as well because I just finished the rough typing for the next chapter (I still need to upload and edit it, of course), here are the next chapters!

Chapter 13: Digging Deeper

Chapter 14: Reconciliation

Chapter 15:...(find out next time!)

So here you go! And thanks to everyone who has interacted with my stories, whether reading, reviewing, favoriting, following, or any combination of those. I do appreciate every one of you. Until next we meet, though, TTYL! *swaying to Fishing in the Dark by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band*