Goooood Evening/Morning/Day, everyone!

We need more romance in this story, so prepare for some wholesome flirting. Probably not between the characters you're expecting, though...

Previously on Young Wrecker: Halo Jyn and Wheeljack did what Wreckers always do and took vengeance on Hardshell. Dreadwing isn't giving up on recruiting his sister to the side of the Decepticons, with or without her approval. His efforts in this chapter may start becoming more obvious to certain members of the team.

Enjoy!

Chapter Ten: The Wrecker and the Rookie

Eight orns ago . . .

The thirteen-orn-old sat arms folded and hunched over as the medic continued to talk. It'd been a few megacycles since she'd escaped Shockwave's captivity. Yet she'd quickly wanted to pursue her training for the war, no matter how much the medic argue against it.

"What about medicine? Or archiving?" Red Alert continued to suggest. "You might be able to get a post at the Iacon archives-"

"No," She said adamantly. "I'm a Wrecker. Wreckers fight."

Red sighed. "The Wreckers were disbanded two orns ago."

Halo huffed in her refusal to accept the information. "Wheeljack and Bulk are still alive. I know they're out there. And I can't find them if I'm cooped up as some librarian."

"Halo Jyn, I'm sorry," Red Alert stated. "But I cannot in good conscience enroll you into the warrior-class training in your condition."

This was the fourth time she'd tried to convince them that she was good enough. Nothing she said could make them believe she was as capable as the others, not with her optics gone.

Realising she wouldn't get her way, the young femme angrily stood from her chair and stormed towards the exit. She bumped into a few bots as she stormed down the hallway, but didn't really have the patience to care.

Her pace slowed as she neared a training room. This was one kept for the professional warriors only, not the untrained cadets.

Too curious to pass on the opportunity, Halo slipped inside, closing the door behind her.

Her servo brushed across the wall, which was lined with an array of weapons. A curse escaped her as her digit met the edge of a particularly sharp sword. She backed away and shook off the pain.

"You're lucky, kid," A sudden deep, gruff voice caused her to leap in surprise. "Back at Akalai, slashed nearly the entire squadron in half with that number."

"Ironhide, you're scaring her," A femme rested her arms on his shoulder, smirking. "I'm sure she's never heard of Cons being dismembered from helm to pede."

"Yeah," Halo was tempted to lift her visor, but didn't. "I've seen worse."

The young femme turned back to the wall of weapons, going back to running her digits across to sense the different types. There were swords, daggers, spears, shields.

Chromia walked over to the femme. "Are you new to the warrior-class?"

She shook her helm, "They want me to be a stupid archivist."

Ironhide let out a bemused snort of laughter. That earned him a partial glare from Chromia. Halo came to a stop at the familiar shape of a bow.

Archery was one of the last weapons Wheeljack taught her to use. Now, it was useless to her.

The blue warrior noticed the youngling's expression fall. "Hey, you can try out the bow if you want. I'm sure Ironhide won't mind. Right, honey?"

Ironhide wanted to protest, but rolled his optics. "Sure, sweetspark."

"It's fine," Halo backed away from the wall. "I'm probably no good anymore anyway."

"Anymore? You mean you know how to use a bow?" Chromia tilted her helm.

The gold femme shrugged. "Not exactly rocket science."

"Halo Jyn!" A scolding voice came from the door. "You are aware that this room is reserved for trained fighters."

Jyn groaned at hearing the commander's voice. "Whatever, Magnus."

Ultra Magnus narrowed his optics, then turning to the other two. "Did you let her in?"

Ironhide smirked. "C'mon, sir, she ain't doing no harm."

"Someone in her condition shouldn't be allowed near artillery," He stated folding his arms.

"Condition?" Chromia raised an optic ridge.

Halo was ready to continue ignoring him, but his statement seemed too similar to Red Alert's. Realisation dawned as she spun around and angrily faced him.

"Did you tell Red not to let me train?" She said through gritted denta.

Magnus looked down on the youngling. "It is for your own good."

"Like PIT it is!" Halo balled her servos into fists. "Just 'cause I'm blind doesn't mean I'm useless!"

"The team needs a warrior, not a handicap." Magnus scoffed.

"Frag you!"

The mech glared. "I'm giving you one chance to take back that remark."

Halo put her hands on her hips. "Or what? You'll kick me out? I WANT to escape this hellhole! I want to fight on the frontlines like Bulk and Wheeljack are, but all you see me as is some dumb kid!"

Magnus glared at the short two-wheeler. She might not have been glaring back in the literal sense, but it was clear how much ire was boiling within her.

Ironhide stepped forward, angrily grabbing Halo's arm. "Don't you dare talk to the Commander like that, young lady!"

"Hey!" Halo tried breaking free.

"Nope!" Chromia stepped in. "No more excuses! If he wants you to be an archivist, then that's the safest space for you!"

Halo was more confused than angry by this point. Although it didn't surprise her. They'd been fine letting her in the training room until they knew her alleged "weakness". Everyone seems determined to give up on her before she was ready to give up on herself.

Ironhide turned to Magnus. "Sir, Chromia and I are heading to Iacon now to deliver some datapads. We can bring along this one if you want?"

Magnus blinked in shock. "Um...yes, Ironhide. That would be oddly helpful of you."

The black and grey mech nodded. "Just doin' my part, sir."

With that, he and Chromia dragged the unamused youngling out of the training room. As soon as they reached the hangar, Ironhide and Chromia exchanged a smirk.

Halo couldn't see but she could sense something more was happening. "What? What's going on?"

Chromia chuckled. "We're not going to Iacon. We're going to Prax."

The young femme's frown turned to a smile of disbelief. "Wait, really?!"

Ironhide shushed her as they walked towards the ship. "We don't need any more damn archivists. We need warriors. Kid, if you wanna be a war hero, no blindness, impairment, wound, or struggle is gonna make us try to stop you."

The dark-blue femme ushered Halo onto the ship. "Do you have everything you need? We still have time if there's anything you wanna get from your room."

Halo paused. She then felt the familiar ring shape of the necklace.

"This is all I need. I'm ready to go."

Present Day . . .

Halo's room felt colder than usual.

She sat on the edge of her berth, examining the Requiem Blaster. There had obviously been a quite few times she wished that she had her visual sense back, in the moments where she really knew it would be an amazing sight. This was certainly one of those occasions.

Jyn could feel the engravings, deciphering a few symbols that were potentially the ancient language of past Cybertronians. She wished she could know for sure though...

A knock from the door caused the gold femme to jolt a little. She hadn't noticed the footsteps approaching from the open door.

"You seem kinda on-edge, Haley." The familiar deep voice came from the doorway.

Halo sighed, but forced a partial smirk. "Bulkhead...I'm glad that you're up."

The green mech tried moving further into the room, but grunted in frustration as his leg dragged along the floor. Halo quickly stood up and met him halfway, agitating her own less-intense injury in the process.

"Hey, hey. I'm fine." She told him. "You shouldn't be out of the med-bay this early in the recovery stage."

Bulk let out a deep exhale, leaning on the wall beside the door. "Well...I wanted to check in on ya. Y'know...before..."

Haley raised an eyebrow. "Before I get kicked off the team?"

"Whoa whoa! Who said that was gonna happen?!"

Halo shrugged, and casually walked away to set the Requiem Blaster down. "This is, what? The third time I've gone on a mission without the approval from the Prime with a Plan?" She chuckled. "Don't sweat it. I'm sure he can't be half as bad as Ultra Magnus was when I got out from his command."

"This isn't the same as back on Cybertron, Haley." Bulk reassured her. "Optimus isn't planning that. He knows that deep down, you're a team player."

"No. I'm not." She countered. "C'mon, Bulk. I'm a Wrecker. We're warriors, not soldiers." She slumped back down, hunching over on the berth. "I was never really cut out to be here for long."

Bulk gazed at her with sympathy. He dragged himself over to the berth, carefully setting himself down next to her.

"Sounds like you've already decided to go." He pointed out.

She shrugged. "Not really. I'm just preparing for when it happens."

He hesitated to say the next part. "Halo...you know that Dreadwing won't stop trying, right? He's clinging to ya 'cos you're the last family member he has."

"We are not family." She spoke through gritted teeth. "Other than our parents, we have nothing in common. If he comes after me again...I won't hesitate this time. I'm not going to live in constant fear that this one Decepticon is always tracking, always hunting me. And if I have to kill my 'brother' to get that peace, then I guess I'll be an only child."

Nothing about the way she talked settled Bulkhead. He could hear it in his voice...this difficult midpoint among pain, fear, and rage. But he heard the rage above all else. It was the emotion the Wreckers had taught her the most.

Wreckers tended to have the mentality that, the angrier you are during battle, the less you're likely to feel the pain of an attack. Halo took it a little further than just during battle.

"Ahem."

Both Wreckers turned their helms towards the door again. Halo silently scolded herself for not noticing another 'bot approaching. She was really off it today.

Arcee folded her arms, looking at Halo with a half-glare.

"Optimus is ready to talk to you." She said in a monotone voice.

Halo turned to Bulkhead, offering a shrug. She stood up and reluctantly followed Arcee out of the room.

Bulkhead would never say this to Halo - or probably to anyone - but the thought crossed his mind sometimes...

It made sense to him that she had Decepticon CNA.

Halo continued walking the hallways alongside Arcee until they reached a room at the end. Halo had assumed that this room was for storage or something mundane. She was surprised as the door slowly opened. The Autobot leader stood there with an air of austerity, glancing at Arcee.

"Thank you, Arcee." He nodded to her.

"I really hope you're going to discuss everything we talked about." She didn't look up at him.

Optimus paused. "I may have to replace some of the words you used, but yes." He turned to Halo, stepping aside to allow her in. "Halo."

The gold two-wheeler reluctantly trudged into the room. Arcee glared at her before walking away. The Prime let out a small sigh and marched back into the room, closing the door behind him.

The room couldn't have been bigger than the medbay. Lined wall to wall with shelves holding several datapads, in the centre sat two metal crates that seemed to double as chairs at a large table. Optimus gestured to the crate on the left.

"Usually, disciplinary meetings would've been held in the study." His usual calm tone gave nothing away. "I'm making do with the furniture at hand. Please, have a seat."

Halo obliged. The Prime sat opposite her.

"Look, Optimus, if this is just gonna end in me being kicked off the team, can we skip the small talk and I'll just go pack?" Halo didn't waste any time.

The red and blue mech tilted his helm. "Hm. Well, I was aware that would be a fear. I also knew it was a potential consequence. So I held a vote."

Haley's spark twisted. "A-A vote?"

"Yes." Prime picked up the datapad on the table between them, looking over it. "Not a single Autobot here voted against you. But that isn't without changes. Ratchet thinks you need a lot of guidance. Arcee believes you need support. Bumblebee thinks you need more opportunities for fun."

Halo's shoulders dropped a little, surprised that anyone would still want her to stay after the stunts she pulled.

"And you?" She continued. "What do you think I need?"

Again, the Prime paused, setting the datapad on the table. "I believe you need stability. Bulkhead left when you were younger. Then you were separated from the only family you'd known, and bounced around from several different teams and bases."

She chuckled a little bit. "Yeah...Magnus' team was my shortest stay."

"I'm aware that Ultra Magnus is...different in the way he handles these kind of issues." Optimus admitted. "However, I do not believe that outcasting you is the best course of action."

Halo wouldn't have admitted that she was relieved to stay with the team. Of all the ones she'd been apart of, she'd made the most friends here. Granted, that was not a high bar, but it was something she was hesitant to give up.

Still, she couldn't ignore the obvious thing he was asking.

"I appreciate the worry and everything, Optimus." The gold femme smiled a little. "But...I'm not sure how much I wanna change. Bulk thinks I don't notice how scared he is when I talk about battle. I do. I just don't want to fix that part of myself."

The Prime gazed at her with a soft concern. "Where did you find the Requiem Blaster, Halo?"

She shrugged. "I told you all the story already."

"Yes, but I don't believe it. Not entirely." He stated bluntly. "The previous owner of that weapon was never found."

Gritting her teeth, she remembered the promise she made to Megatronus. "Well...if the owner were alive. I'd say they're not a threat. They're an old 'bot who understood me enough to allow me to retrieve the Blaster."

"That understanding is exactly what I'm afraid of."

Silence.

Halo leaned forward, feeling her annoyance shift to anger.

"Optimus," She purposefully tried to control her volume. "Everything I've done against the rules has been for someone on this team's own safety. Minus the racing. As long as it's in favour of the team, you have nothing to worry about."

Optimus would've responded, but Halo stood up. She offered a polite nod to him and walked out before he could return it. She closed the door behind her and sighed.

"Good talk?"

Arcee's voice once again caught her off guard, causing a small jolt from the gold femme. The blue Autobot raised an eyebrow, surveying her up and down.

"You're slipping." 'Cee pointed out. "Do you need to see Ratchet?"

Halo vehemently shook her helm. "I'm fine..." She offered a half-smile. "Soooo, you voted for me to stay?"

The blue femme went back to glaring as they began walking towards the main room. "Don't make a big deal out of it. I can still take my vote back."

"Yeahhh, but you won't." Halo smirked. "You secretly like having me around. You're like the wise aunt I never had."

"Uhhh, I will agree to being the wise slightly older sister." Arcee gave Halo a light punch on the shoulder, chuckling. "And if you go helm-first into another mission, you're gonna get a big-sister aft-kicking."

Halo scoffed. "Yeah, right."

The two femmes both paused simultaneously, their faces falling as their smiles became confused frowns.

"When did I start tolerating you?" Arcee asked genuinely.

"Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I've wanted to fight you." Halo mused.

"Yeah...weird how that changes." 'Cee trailed off. "We're still acting like we hate each other around the others though, right?"

"Oh definitely. That's half of the fun."

They continued talking while moving down the hallway. A loud alert rang through their audio receptors. Both Autobots answered as Ratchet's voice came through on the end.

"Attention, everyone. Rafael has spotted a photograph of what appears to be a Cybertronian escape pod. Report to the main area."

Halo grinned. "FINALLY! I've been cooped up here for way too long."

Arcee shook her helm, walking ahead of her. "Uh-uh. You're not fully healed yet. And face it, you're a little off-game lately."

"Awww, c'mon, Arcee!" Halo folded her arms. "You know I'll only sneak out anyway."

The blue femme sighed. "Primus, you're just another Miko."

"With a gun." Jyn corrected.

Bumblebee trailed behind the group as they explored the dense forest, trying to avoid looking over at the gold and silver femme as she spoke to Arcee. Optimus noticed the scout's aversion, glancing back to him.

"Bumblebee?" Optimus's concerned voice caused the scout to look up. "Are you alright? You seem distracted."

Bee's optics widened in surprise as he quickly tried thinking of an excuse. "I-I'm okay, Optimus. Just...should Halo be on this mission? If there's a 'Con, it could be dangerous."

Optimus turned back to the gold femme a few yards in front of them. The wound on her frame from her last fight was visible. But aside from that, she seemed fine.

"She doesn't seem to be in pain to me, Bumblebee." He reassured him. "I haven't seen you two talk much lately. Is there a reason for that?"

There definitely was.

But Bee was unsure if he could bring himself to say it.

They were friends, and that much hadn't changed. But the way he saw her was shifting. She was bold, vibrant, strong, reckless. Those were all qualities he'd seen before.

And now, something had changed.

"Optimus...you always told me that it was pretty dangerous to make connections in a war." Bee recounted. "That it might hurt too much if...something happened." He looked up to the leader through wide blue optics. "Is it better to never try out of fear, or to try and experience everything I gave up for the war?"

The Autobot leader stood there, taken aback at the scout's question.

It'd become common knowledge that Bumblebee had a soft spot for the newest member of the team. Optimus assumed it was a small crush. He'd never seen Bumblebee be romantically interested in anyone before.

But the way he looked at Halo, the way her talked about her, and the way her tone changed when Bee comforted her...it told Optimus how well they worked together.

The Prime offered a small smile. "You must really care for Halo Jyn." Bumblebee's face turned blue with embarrassment. "If you feel so strongly, I believe you do not need an answer from me."

Bee smiled under his battle mask, grateful for the leader's support.

"Hey, guys!" Halo's voice caused them both to turn. She pointed up ahead through the trees to a clearing. "I think we found our spaceman."

The wreckage led in a destructive path through to the edge of the clearing. A trail of energon fuel leaked from the vessel. Arcee went ahead to investigate as Halo, Optimus and Bee kept their weapons drawn.

After closely inspecting the open door of the ship, the blue two-wheeler turned to her teammates.

"Empty." She informed them. "But the insignia is Decepticon."

Bee shrugged. "Maybe they already took the 'Con back to the Nemesis?"

Halo sighed. "Well, I'm gonna do a once-over before going back."

She marched off towards the forest, Requiem Blaster mounted on her back. The others stayed to look around the crash site.

Halo was only just out of earshot from the others when she heard something unfamiliar. The sound of heavy footsteps doing their best to be quiet. She paused in her tracks. The footsteps stopped a few seconds after.

She slowly turned her helm, trying to figure out what direction they came from.

"...Uhhhh, hello?" A new voice chimed in, followed by a tap on her right shoulder. "Can you see me, or-"

In her reflex, she grabbed the hand of the person, twisting their arm and pinning them to a tree.

"OWOWOWOW, OKAY, MY BAD!" The mech pleaded.

"Who are you and what is your allegiance?!" She yelled, unwilling to take chances.

"Wow, you are REALLY strong for a two-wheeler!" The mech tried to wriggle free. "The name's Smokescreen. If you let me go now, I promise not to hurt you."

Halo chuckled. "I'd like to see that attempt." She held a small blaster up against his back. "Last chance. Your affiliation."

"What do you mean? Didn't you see my optics?!" Smokescreen retorted.

"I'm blind, afthole."

"Oh. Again, my bad. I'm an Autobot."

Halo sighed and released him. "There. Was that so difficult?"

As she was putting away her blast she felt a strong shove cause her to stumble back. She caught her balance against a tree. Before she could retrieve the blaster again, she heard the revving of an energon barrel.

"Yeah, isn't it much easier to answer questions when you got a gun pressed to your spark?" He smirked. "I don't see an insignia on you. What's your name?"

Halo gritted her teeth. "You're annoying."

"Yeahhh, I get that a lot." Smokescreen admitted. "So if I can't see your insignia, or your optics, how do we settle this?"

She shrugged. "Well, I could call Optimus Prime to confirm I'm part of the Autobots."

He chuckled. "Sure. And I'll share some refined energon with Megatron after."

"Halo Jyn?" A deep voice called from among the trees.

Turning back, Smokescreen's optics widened at seeing the tall, red and blue frame of the last Prime. Optimus' weapons were drawn, as well as the blue femme and especially the yellow mech standing either side of him.

"Optimus! Great timing!" Halo waved at the team. "Hey, do you mind confirming to this guy that I'm an Autobot? We got into a little disagreement."

The Prime was confused, but obliged. "Um. Certainly. Greetings, fellow Autobot. I understand your fears, but would greatly appreciate you releasing Halo Jyn. She is indeed one of us."

Slightly starstruck by the Autobot leader, Smokescreen retracted his weapons. Halo scoffed slightly, making a point to bump his shoulder as she marched towards the team.

"You okay, Halo?" Bee kept his blaster trained on the new 'Bot.

She brushed it off, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm fine, Bee. He's an Autobot, but also an idiot."

Halo didn't care to listen to the explanation of how the new recruit arrived on Earth. She stood there, radiating irritated energy. Arcee almost looked proud.

"Sooo, Ratchet is the doctor, Bumblebee's the scout, Arcee's the sharpshooter, and Optimus is the leader." Smokescreen repeated. "Bulkhead is - or was - the muscle. So what exactly do you do?"

Halo was convinced that Optimus choosing her for the tour was some kind of joke on his part. Primes don't party, but they do enjoy meddling.

"Training room is just down this hall." She ignored his questions.

Smokescreen chuckled. "Still mad at me for earlier, huh?" His helm turned as he noticed the open door to the Hangar. "Whooaaaa, whose ship is that?!"

"Oh, you mean the Angel?" Halo realised. "That's mine. It was a prize at a casino in one of the few remaining cities on Cybertron. I annoyed the wrong gang boss, and needed a getaway vehicle."

The white and blue mech looked impressed. "Sounds like there's a story there."

Halo shrugged. "I've got a lotta stories. None of which you're gonna hear."

"Oh come oooon." Smokescreen nudged her arm gently. "You know you wanna brag."

"I know it seems like a lot to a rookie who only ever saw the inside of the Iacon Archives," Halo began, stopping and turning back to him. "But you shouldn't need to brag when you've got enough battles under your belt."

He folded his arms and leaned over smirking at her. "Well, a femme as badaft as you should get the right to brag. Don't you think?"

Halo's smug expression quickly turned to a surprised one. She suddenly felt her face grow warmer as a blue tint spread across it.

She did her best to appear annoyed. "If this is your idea of flirting-"

"It is."

"Smokescreen, you have a better chance with Ratchet than with me."

"Then why are you blushing?" Smoke countered.

She ignored him and began walking back the way that they came. "Tour's basically over. Pick out your own room."

Smokescreen obliged and continued on down the hallway towards the empty rooms.

Halo turned the corner. Once she could hear him walk away and that he was definitely out of earshot, she leaned against the nearest wall and clapped a hand over her mouth.

Holy Primus, what was that?!

End of Chapter!

Okay, I really had a lot of fun writing this one. I wrote it in a day, which is probably a new personal record for me!

I'm fairly certain that Smokescreen/Halo is NOT the endgame ship. I just figured they would have fairly good chemistry given how similarly stubborn their personalities are.

Thank you so much for reading!

'Til All Are One,

GreyroseLegacy