Trials, Tribulations, and Transformations
XXVIII - Proposal
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Grand Canyon, AZ - May 8th, 2011 - Sunday, 10:15 pm
"It feels and looks like the Sea of Rust back on Cybertron."
"Nice of us to agree on something," Steeljaw said.
"How long until Prime comes here?"
"Any minute now Ravage."
Ravage grinned impatiently. She looked about the eroded rock and cliff sides which consisted of one of the most beautiful and recognizable landmarks in the world. For a world that was mostly dirt and hardly any metal at all, it really wasn't bad to behold. The colors, the texture, the landscape, the rivers. It wasn't bad-looking at all.
Ravage grunted in admiration. "It's not home but it's not terrible to look at."
"It is, isn't it," Steeljaw agreed and then he looked up. "And how about that light show?"
Ravage looked up as well. She almost smiled. "It's rare to see the sky like this. Oh, I can see some familiar constellations. I haven't seen them since Cybertron."
"Indeed, it's a small world after all," Steeljaw said.
Ravage stared at him.
"Human culture reference."
"Sounds ridiculous," Ravage said.
"Funny, I was thinking the same."
A burst of green light came to being just meters away from where the Cybertronian cats sat. They stood ready and Optimus Prime stepped through.
The black and silver finish is new.
Ravage almost did a double take when she saw that Prime did not come alone.
In the palm of his massive hand, holding on to the thumb for support, was Sari Sumdac.
Despite the hour, she hardly looked tired at all. Her cheek was bandaged, clearly due to the mild abuse she had endured at MECH's hand during her captivity. She appeared to be dressed in some sort of sleep attire, a purple nightgown with matching slippers.
"What is she doing here?!" Ravage snapped.
Optimus fixed the she-cat with a neutral look. "She couldn't sleep so I allowed her to accompany me." He then gave Sari a hard but not unkind look. "This time."
Sari nodded curtly.
Ravage looked on with amused bewilderment. Got Prime wrapped around her finger did she?
Sari looked down from her perch and waved happily at Ravage.
Ravage looked back at her. She did not react.
But the corners of her mouth twitched.
This alone shocked her. Get a hold of yourself. This child means nothing to you.
She saved your life at her own risk.
Ravage flinched. Ok, so what? Soundwave saved my life by bonding his very spark with mine and he abandoned me. Why should this insect be any different?
"Are you prepared to hear my proposal?" Optimus asked.
Ravage shrugged. "I got nothing to lose."
Optimus nodded. "Steeljaw, stay here with Sari. I will talk to Ravage alone."
"Yes sir."
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Sari had protested but only for a moment. It was an anxious time, even though she had the swift Steeljaw by her side. Anxious she was, not for her safety, but for what may or may not happen to Ravage, a key player in her rescue. She watched and waited as Optimus and Ravage spoke afar in low voices. Optimus knelt so that he may have a better connection with Ravage when he spoke with her.
Sari couldn't read their lips from this distance and they both kept their faces remarkably unreadable so she could hardly guess what they were speaking of.
"Do you know what they're saying Steeljaw?" Sari asked.
"I can guess but no. My ears are sharp but I must respect Prime's privacy, thus I am tuning out what they're saying."
"Aww," Sari groaned.
"Be patient Sari," Steeljaw said. "I'm sure it is going well. Ravage may be...difficult but she's not without reason. And she has shown remarkable change in character as you well know."
Sari looked at him. "Did you know her?"
Steeljaw flinched. "Y-Yes. Long time ago."
"How well did you know her?"
Steeljaw gave Sari a dirty look. "That's personal."
"Were you…?"
"No." Steeljaw's voice was hard. "We were schoolmates, have been up until maturity. Nothing more.
"You went to school?" Sari asked with growing interest.
"Of course," Steeljaw answered, not the least bit offended by the question. "There were academic institutions for us beast formers as well. We're not witless animals you know."
Sari was defensive. "I never said you were."
The familiar heavy footfalls of Optimus Prime were heard. Sari and Steeljaw saw him coming but Ravage was not with him.
Looking around, Sari saw the she-cat leaving in the opposite direction of where Optimus was coming from. She caught Ravage taking a look over her shoulder in her direction before disappearing in the canyon way.
She looked up pleadingly at the Prime. "What did she say?"
Optimus looked down at her sadly. "She is...undecided."
"What?"
"I offered Ravage a chance to join us in hopes of putting an end to this perpetual conflict but she wishes to have no more to do with the war. However, she had said that she would ponder it and she has assured me that whatever decision she comes to, she will not hinder the Autobot cause but she would not aid in it either."
Sari frowned in disappointment. "Where will she go?"
"Ravage is capable of surviving on her own Sari," Steeljaw said. "Especially on an alien planet rich with Energon."
"But if she's rogue, won't the Cons come after her?"
"Eventually if they have not already taken action to do so," Optimus said gravely. "But finding her will be no easy task. Ravage is an adept hunter and scout. If she does not wish to be found, the Decepticons will have little chance of tracking her at all."
Sari bowed her head to rub her eyes and she smiled. "So they'll have trouble finding her but not us?"
"Not nearly as much because I can track her," Steeljaw said. "And since she can't call on a groundbridge, she won't get very far."
"What about MECH? What if they catch her again?"
"After today Sari, MECH will not be in a position to engage in any substantial operations," Optimus said assuredly. "With one of their key bases destroyed, their numbers dwindled and an enormous amount of sensitive data leaked to us-"
"Courtesy of Blaster," Steeljaw said.
"-MECH will have no choice but to go into hiding until they can recover from this setback." There's still the mole within Agent Fowler's agency, the same mole who reactivated his tracking chip thus leading to his capture, along with his son and Bulkhead.
Sari's mouth was wide open. "So in other words?"
Optimus gave her a light smile. "MECH will not be causing much trouble anytime soon. Thus they will most likely not waste their efforts and risk exposure in a foolish attempt to recapture Ravage."
Sari sighed in relief. She didn't realize she was holding her breath. "Good."
"Until Ravage contacts us to give her final answer, it would be wise to maintain radio silence. Soundwave may be out of commission but I do not wish to risk a possible contingency plan in the event he should incapacitated." Optimus pressed his commlink. "Blaster, reopen the groundbridge."
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Ravage shuffles from her place in the cave she had found in the Canyon. It wasn't her idea of a place to abide, but what were her alternatives?
She couldn't go back to the 'Cons nor did she want to. She was more than likely a fugitive now, marked to be captured or killed for aiding an Autobot. Besides, any desire to serve the Decepticon cause was dead in her now. How could she fight for Megatron or Soundwave any longer after what she had been through in the past 30 earth years?
The torture, the humiliation, the degradation, the cruelties she had endured which were a thousand times worse than she had ever seen from any Decepticon.
Not even Shockwave could be so cruel. Another thought came to mind which Ravage likes even less. Flatline on the other paw...Ravage shuddered. Expelling him from the Decepticons was perhaps the wisest decision Megatron ever made. Why he didn't simply execute that miserable piece of vermin, I'll never know.
None of those thoughts gave her any peace. Now all she wanted to do was recharge and never wake up.
Will I ever know peace after today? After everything I've done? After everything that's been done to me?
She paused for a moment.
No. The Autobots are not an option, not after what I've done. It would just be another prison. And Soundwave...he's in a coma? Is it true? If so, did I do this?
Ravage's optics started to sting.
She growled hideously.
Wretched, wretched humans! How can Prime desire to protect those...those...unfeeling sacks of meat?! There's nothing to them but cruelty and greed!
Ravage paused. And the Decepticons were no better.
Her mind was tinged with bitterness.
And self-hatred.
I'm no better.
Then the image of Sari popped up inside her mind.
Why did I do that? Why did I go out of my way to rescue that runt?
Suddenly, the very image and remembrance of her healing at the hands of that human child entered her mind as swiftly and mercilessly as a battering ram.
How...how in any star system did the Master Key end up in the hands of a human child?! It's inconceivable!
Then an image of the child smiling brightly at her came to mind.
She risked her own safety for me. A perfect stranger. Surely she knew who I was if she had been in the company of the Autobots. And yet…
Ravage clenched her optics.
She's too good for this disgusting, putrid universe. All the more reason to stay away. She has no idea who I am or what I'm capable of. She's better off having nothing to do with me. She doesn't need a monster in her midst.
And she wept bitterly.
There can be no home for me.
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Undisclosed Location - 11:00 pm
A man sits behind a desk, a very expensive one at that. Hand carved mahogany, fit for one of high repute. The wall panels of the room are imported cherrywood, they help keep the room dark.
The man who sat in shadow behind the desk likes it that way.
"Yes...yes...I know how serious the situation is. Remain calm. Continue your work as though nothing has changed. I'll handle the rest."
He hung up the phone.
"Idiot," he muttered to himself.
He dialed a number on his phone and he waited for an answer.
"Well?"
"The matter has been dealt with."
"Who'd you use?"
"Criminal elements, nothing that can be traced back to you or me."
The man heard a relieved sigh. "Thank you."
"Anytime, and our arrangement?"
"As soon as I become senator, that clearance is as good as yours."
"As for your son, I'd highly recommend he stays out of trouble from now on."
"Never mind him, he's my problem."
"You can't keep this matter quiet forever. Sooner or later, your son will cross the line and you won't be able to sweep this under the rug."
"If you want my help, you make sure it does."
The man's voice became cold as ice. "I beg your pardon?"
There was a choking sound on the other end which seemed to indicate that the man on the other end knew he stepped out of line. "I-I mean I will do my best to reign him in."
"See that you do, you can't cover for him forever."
And then he hung up and not so gently.
"The Autobots are far more trouble than I gave them credit for."
"Trouble in paradise sir?"
The man behind the desk turned his head a fraction to his left. "The Autobots' numbers have increased. Our operations have been compromised, Atlas."
A larger man, broad shouldered and full of muscle, emerged from the shadows.
"Is it that bad?" The large man - Atlas - said skeptically.
The man behind the desk glowered at him. "Worse. We need to go black...for now."
"And the Autobots' human allies and charges?"
"For now, we can't touch them. Their families have gone into hiding. We don't have enough inside men to search for them. And they can't make a move anyway, too risky. Too many eyes watching."
Atlas snorted derisively. "Who'd thought that a bunch of machines could get the better of us?"
The man gave Atlas a seething look. "I wouldn't give these robots too much credit Atlas. It is far from over. Now-" He stood up and turned toward the massive window behind his desk. "-let's get you on schedule."
Atlas smiled sadistically. "You want me to hunt down the cat?"
"No," the man said sharply. "That creature is not your priority."
"Too bad," Atlas said with some disappointment. "It had a lovely voice."
"That beast was not there for your amusement Atlas."
Atlas grunted cynically. "It was just a bucket of bolts that happened to know how to scream really well."
"Moving on," the man said, raising a finger to illustrate the importance of what he was about to say. "I want you to go to Detroit. Someone will contact you with the details when you arrive."
Atlas grinned. "Isn't that where Sumdac Systems is located?"
The man nodded. "Go."
Atlas backed into the shadows of the room, out of view.
The man was alone now. He sat back down in his leather chair and swiveled it so that he could look out the window. He removed a cigar from his jacket pocket, put it in his mouth and lit it.
This planet isn't big enough for the two of us Prime, and this planet is not yours to rule Megatron. Make no mistake, whatever I can't control, whoever I can't control...well...More ordinance to the melting pot.
The moonlight shone past the moving clouds and very lightly illuminated the bronze plated pole just to the right of his desk.
And attached to that pole was the American flag with a bronze eagle on the top of the pole.
To be continued...