Author's Notes: Guess who just got Covid? It's me, and everything hurts! But hey, silver lining, legally I can not go back to work until I am symptom free! And seeing as that will probably take a while, what better time but to start writing my sick face off?! Or at the very least I can work on the chaos that is this story's timeline. It will all come together. Probably.
In the meantime, let's get this show on the road before I pass out from the cough meds! Rhea's Cyberformation can't continue until it is deemed safe, they can't deem it safe until they talk to Autoclave who seems to have a reasonable theory behind why it failed in the first place. But Soundwave, still too scared to risk Rhea's life to continue the project, will not take Rhea to Autoclave who is across Kaon and locked away in Starscream's stronghold to keep him far from Shockwave! What is Rhea to do? Well, it seems as though she has a plan of action, and maybe a few accomplices to help her on her journey! Good luck to them all!
And our strange and sad boy Steven is still plagued with nightmares, still waiting for Rhea to come home... Wait, is he starting to see figments of his nightmares even in the waking world? It's probably just his sleep deprivation. Right?
Drop a comment and tell me what you think! I'm not living at work right now, so I have no choice but to respond! Spread the love, and as always, enjoy!
Date: Present Day, September 22nd, 2021 early morning
Steven
'Hey, this is Rhea. I can't come to the phone right now. Leave a message if you feel like it.'
Steven sighed, pressed against the speaker of his phone to just hear the recording of her voice. Then the computerized female voice interrupted just to rub it in his face Rhea's voice mailbox was full and he couldn't leave any more messages.
He dropped the phone onto his bed next to him and blinked his bleary eyes. The clock informed him it was four in the morning. Another round of horrific nightmares ripped him from any chance at a good night's sleep, so he settled on listening to Rhea's voice mail recording in the dark. He was running on about two hours of sleep stretched between two days. He was starting to see things which didn't help his daily drive to work, even if it wasn't two minutes away from his house.
It started small. Fleeting shadows around nearly every corner. Rustling outside his window. And he could almost hear voices, but they were far to faint to really make out anything legible. It was his sleepless over stressed brain. He wasn't going crazy. Rhea would come home any day, and she would have someone levelheaded to return to. At least it hadn't followed him to his job. There he needed to concentrate. There was no time for shadows or monsters or worry while at work.
Speaking of work, it seemed like a better distraction than any.
Steven stood and retrieved his uniform. He didn't feel like eating again, so he only breezed through the kitchen to take out the trash on the way out. Whenever Rhea would return, (she would return. She had to,) he was determined to keep the house in good shape for her.
Retinas burning against the harsh kitchen lamps, he went to pull out of the trash can from under the sink.
His heart sank into his shoes. It wasn't the first time that happened when he saw that letter. But he thought he was done with this.
Before, he had decided he imagined the cryptic warning written on the letter, even in spite of Max and Oliver confirming it with their own eyes. But as mysteriously as that simple and threatening message appeared, it vanished, leaving a blank piece of crumpled paper behind which he sacrificed to the same trashcan to banish it from sight.
It was no longer blank.
Steven carefully fished the now stained paper from the top of the trash pile. He blinked the sleep from his eyes again, not believing his own sight. No threatening message anymore, but instead, still written in his own careful handwriting, it read,
'Go find the idiot.'
What the hell was going on, and how could he stop it from driving him crazier?
He checked the new security footage he had set up in his copious amounts of free time he used to spend sleeping. He had wanted to prove to himself he must be sleepwalking in the few hours between nightmares. That would explain the odd clues and the changed password on the safe. The camera unveiled nothing. He only saw himself tossing and turning in bed until he jolted upright and awake. Then he knew the rest. Not once did he rise from the bed and go write on trashed paper in the kitchen.
He shut down the security feed and pocketed the paper once more. He got dressed while ignoring the nauseous and uneasy feeling that came with a sleepless night.
Walking in the dim light of pre-dawn to his car, he fumbled to find his keys. Had he left them in the front door? No, they were in his back pocket. Damnit, he never put them there. Who was the idiot he was supposed to find? If he was going to get impossible messages out of thin air, could they at least make some kind of sense-
His semi mundane thoughts extinguished when he caught the shadow dart behind his car in the corner of his eye. He hurried around the bumper, determined to catch it this time. There was something! Almost frantic, he scanned the ground, the front yard, under the car. Nothing. Not even a stray cat.
He was seeing things, again.
Date: February 1st, 2020
Rhea
Somehow, beyond all preconceived notions of the status quo, Soundwave had managed to convince Starscream to allow Autoclave in on the project. True, it took almost a month, but really, she was surprised it didn't take a year. Rhea could not even guess what he had to do to get the task accomplished. But of course, that came with a lot of ifs. Autoclave could only participate if it wouldn't involve Shockwave and the Seeker scientist occupying the same space or interacting in any way. (Which was impossible, obviously. Shockwave was the supervisor of the project.) And if they could find a way around that first hurdle, Rhea had to get to Starscream's own fortress to interact with Autoclave in person. Seeing as Starscream's fortress was not retrofitted to allow humans to live there, Rhea would have to rely on Soundwave taking her in his subspace, or in a containment vessel he would carry there. Neither she was having any luck getting him to agree to. He was still against the project continuing in fear of the danger. It was never a flat 'no.' More of him delaying the trip. He's too busy, or the next week would work better, or Starscream is mad because the Autobot Ironhide is still accusing him of stealing the Apex Armor, so he is too moody to talk to. It was always something.
And she was sure Soundwave knew as well as she did her getting there by herself was the impossible task, hence why it was the bar to clear. But he should have known her by now. When her mind decided to hyper fixate on a task, she would zero in on it to a terrifyingly manic degree.
First order of business, getting across Kaon to Starscream's dwelling. Was that a simple task for the whole of Cybertron's native population? Yes, since Starscream lived only down the road. But for Sovereign Soundwave's poor little (and she was little) human Communication's Officer, the challenge was daunting. The atmosphere was so noxious it would eat away the lining of her lungs in seconds. Things were rough outside the safety of Soundwave's tower, and that wasn't even considering the bad parts of town. Which was all of Kaon. Kaon was a hot mess.
But she wasn't about to let a planet with toxic air or a robot alien ghetto stop her. Her changing luck in the form of Thunderblast and Clobber being in the neighborhood was her sign. Plus, Soundwave was again away on business. Being Decepticon dictator kept him busy. Though she heard it was related to more problems on Prion. Maybe it was with the stubborn relic. More than likely, it was the minicon inhabitants. She worried what Doomitron and Sparkplug had done this time to warrant another peace meeting.
She doubted Soundwave suspected what she was planning. But, no more lying. She retained the Translator in her ear. He would see her leaving the tower, and have no inkling how she was doing it. He may be joining her on this little outing sooner than she thought. Just because she wouldn't be lying didn't mean she had informed him what she was planning.
The airlock built into the front of the massive government facility/fortress cycled. The two Con's she was waiting for came in, mumbling the tail end of their conversation, "I know we aren't supposed to talk about it, but what do you think is making all the ships disappear?" Clobber said before she noticed Rhea and they dropped it.
Thunderblast crossed her servos and gave Rhea a condescending smile, "Well, well, well. Look who finally came crawling back for my ingenious solution to one of your original problems."
Rhea sighed, "I admit it works. That does not mean it is dignified."
Thunderblast scoffed, "Oh please! D uses the tech to get around. Has for ten orbital cycles and he's fine."
'Fine' was subjective when it came to Thunderblast's dog, who was at any given minute, teetering on the blade's edge of sanity.
"D is incapable of feeling humiliated. But that aside, thanks for lending me the tech."
Thunderblast shrugged before opening a few compartments in her subspace. Messy as always, even when it came to her own subspace. Speaking of D, her lower chest compartments popped open in her search for the promised tech and the dog sprang free. Thunderblast caught him without even flinching. "So, remind me again, why is our Sovereign making this so hard?"
"The last test had, complications," Rhea explained.
"What is it you humans say? You can't make an egg without breaking them?" Thunderblast tried.
"Close enough. And I agree. But I also see his point. That's where Autoclave comes into play. With him on the project, we'll piece it together."
Clobber shifted on her large peds, "Will Lord Starscream let that happen?"
"Already taken care of," Rhea said with a sigh. "Soundwave got him to agree, probably by owing him. But how much Starscream knows, or that I will be involved..." And that was all that needed to be said. How many conversations had she had with Soundwave's Decepticon Lord partner, Sharpshot? Plenty. But Starscream? The organic hating third Decepticon Lord? Did he even know her name? Well, if he didn't, he was about to.
"Found it!" Thunderblast proclaimed with a smile. And she let a disk fall to the floor. It didn't bounce or roll away. Instead, it hit the floor as if magnetized. D barked and tried squirming out of his owner's massive grasp. As they had established, the dog was used to using the tech to get around the alien world.
"It's totally safe," Clobber assured when Rhea found herself hesitating, "Earthling tested and approved," and her spectacled optic glanced D, who had given up his escape attempt to instead chew on Thunderblast's thumb. That couldn't be good for his teeth.
Rhea stepped onto the plate, and the speed in which the dome enveloped her was legitimately impressive, and startling. She was surrounded by what was akin to a glorified human sized hamster ball. As she suspected, there was no room inside for her dignity. But it would work to get her out of the building and across Kaon.
"It has three back up filtration systems and will last about three solar cycles before the filters need changing." Thunderblast explained.
"I would hope I wouldn't have to use it that long," Or before she had to pee. But she would cross that bridge when she got there.
Thunderblast snickered before finally releasing D onto the ground. She dropped another of the disks and the dog leapt onto it without a second, or even first thought. He was used to it, clearly.
He was equally encompassed in a protective bubble which he quickly utilized to rush for the airlock.
"After you, Communication's Chief," Thunderblast said.
Rhea was a little thrown by that, "You're coming with me?"
"We'd never let you go by yourself!" Clobber gasped. "Aside from what Sovereign Soundwave would say, it's dangerous."
"Kaon?" Thunderblast snorted with a healthy dose of sarcasm, "Please. It used to be way worse."
Clobber gave her a look, "No… I meant like, bots stepping on her."
Again, Thunderblast waved off the comment, "Save for a Predacon's weight, the bubble'll hold. I can't count the number of times D ran helm first into a crowd-"
"Um, guys?" Rhea interrupted. She pointed so both bots could see the last of their bubble dog vanish into the airlock. It cycled, and he was soon bolting down the streets of Kaon like literally hell on wheels. Or, hell in a wheel, in this case.
"Primus, he's such a brave beautiful boy," Thunderblast hummed with a proud motherly smile. Then she headed for the airlock at a walking pace. Rhea started after them. The bubble didn't need to be shoved forward with her own momentum, as she assumed it would need to be. Instead, it rolled along under her, sort of like a walking sidewalk at an airport. Somewhat more dignified.
The airlock cycled, and the massive metal doors split open. She had been outside the tower a good number of times. But usually, she was in Soundwave's grasp in a protective shielding of his own creation. And at Cybertronian height. She was on the ground now. Ground level in a Cybertronian city was a whole different level of terrifying.
Massive feet or wheels rumbled by every other second. Bots, vehicles, or bots that were vehicles hurried along, mostly minding their own business. Even in her embarrassing bubble, the ground rumbled with each thunderous step taken by a local who came just a little too close.
Of course, she did get a few odd glances as she struggled to stay between Thunderblast and Clobber. Less likely for her to get trampled, no matter what Thunderblast said about the bubble's weight limit. Knowing her luck, Predaking would land on her.
Thankfully, the bubble maintained a decent pace with the long strides of her bot company without her having to be in a dead sprint.
'Rhea?' Soundwave's voice was even, but she could hear the tired confusion in his tone. Wow he was quick to notice. She thought she would at least get to the next block. She also gave him a massive amount of credit for not just opening a Groundbridge right under her and have her land into his hand.
"Yes love?" She answered, a little too innocently.
There was a beat of hesitation, 'What are you doing?' Was he going to ask how she was talking outside of the tower when she should be turning blue and convulsing on the ground?
"Taking a walk. Looked like a nice day for it."
She heard him sigh. And he was talking through the Bond over their frequency, so he was actually sighing in his head. Something she assumed took a little more work than a normal sigh. 'You are making me regret my previous condition.'
"Not at all. You set a condition, and I'm going to follow it. No big deal."
'At least let me accompany you.'
"Aren't you in a meeting, like across the galaxy? I can walk down the street without you carrying me. Plus, I'm not alone."
More silence. He was probably checking the Decepticon Life signal frequency to see who betrayed him and helped her escape. 'Thunderblast. I suppose I'm not surprised.'
Rhea cracked a grin, "Good thing she's your high General and is too important to replace."
'She is lucky in that regard…' He grumbled, 'That being said, I would still feel more comfortable if you would remain with me on this, outing.'
"Then how about you meet us there once you're done?" She offered with a shrug, "I just need to talk to Autoclave about his findings… And Starscream too if I can nail him down. So, the east tower."
'Rhea…'
"What are you worried about? The bubble can't break, even if someone steps on it, apparently." Though she left out the Predacon exception in that report.
'Good to know. But still, I am sending Laserbeak to observe. It will give me peace of mind until I can meet you. I don't like you in Kaon by yourself.'
"Again, not by myself," She huffed, "But Laserbeak is fine. Not like anyone will recognize me beyond maybe another pet of Thunderblast's. Folks know the Communication's Officer by my voice, not so much by my fleshyness."
'And, you are sure you are alright?'
She blinked. Wow, he was really worried about this. "I'm sure. Trust me. I'll call if I need rescuing," She tried not to audibly gasp as some lanky purple bot rushed between Thunderblast and Clobber, almost tripping on her.
'Rhea?' he demanded. Right, he could see her spiked pulse rate.
"Just amazed by Kaon! Really, Can't wait to walk it with you. And I mean, you would do the same on Earth if you could, right?"
Oddly enough, that comment gave him the longest pause.
'If possible, I would. I will see you soon at the East Tower. Expect Laserbeak within the next klik.'
"We get away with it?" Thunderblast asked with a mischievous grin.
A burst overhead, and Rhea looked up in time to see Laserbeak fly out of the Groundbridge. That had been less than a klik.
Laserbeak circled down. Then he tutted a little chirping snicker when he had his sights on her. Rhea frowned. "Thanks, Laserbeak."
'She is fine with me, Master. Join us at your leisure,' Laserbeak assured, after he stopped laughing, 'Aside from the means of travel, I am glad we are expanding on the testing.'
'We are not,' Soundwave's voice reminded them both. 'This is to put it to rest for good. I promised I would allow it, and perhaps consider it after studying the findings of Autoclave. Nothing more.'
"Are you even paying attention to the meeting at this point?" Rhea demanded of him grumpily.
'He is a remarkable multitasker,' Laserbeak informed her.
Rhea could be too, but right now, she was very solely focused on keeping her pulse rate down. If she was too stressed, Soundwave would pull the plug on this outing. It was a challenging task as she continued to gaze upward to the sprawling city. There was gunfire somewhere close, and not one bot in the vicinity seemed to notice.
There was also pounding music from a Cybertronian instrument she forgot the name of. It sent vibrations through the ground and shook her bubble.
Flashing lights and shouting and alien curses everywhere. Was she slowing down? How long had Laserbeak been hovering very close and radiating worry?
"Hey Rhea," Clobber's voice cut through the chaos. Probably right before Soundwave would have opened a Groundbridge for Rhea to roll right into because she was about to start hyperventilating. "What is the human All Spark like?"
Wow, that was out of the farthest left field of random. Then again, maybe not. They were headed over to discuss the Spark and soul. And Clobber making connections to more and more humans would bring about curiosity, especially when those humans started dropping dead.
But a glance up at Clobber made Rhea wonder if it was more than basic curiosity. This may be a strategic means of distracting her from the chaos around them. It seemed the sympathetic thing Clobber would do. Rhea appreciated it.
"I, actually wish I had a concrete answer for you, Clobber," she said with a little shrug. Her heart rate was coming back down as she further dissected the question. "Not even every human on Earth believes the same thing about what our afterlife is like. It's one of the biggest things we have fought over as a species. There isn't anything like the All Spark where you can physically measure it by going to the center of the planet."
Clobber's big curious optic blinked at her in surprise. "So, you don't know where you're Spark, or whatever it is, even goes after…" She couldn't finish the thought.
"Nope. Some humans don't even think we have souls at all." Rhea said.
"Well I know my beautiful little war machine has one," Thunderblast promised. They all glanced her beautiful boy as he, in his tiny ball, chased some poor unsuspecting bastard in vehicle mode down the road. The nameless con started shooting at the dog, who amazingly dodged every shot like he was training for the galactic doggy Olympics, "Autoclave gave me loads of shanix to let him scan D and a few of my other organic pets. He said he found something like a Spark. So, I figure if D has one, humans got to have one too."
Reassuring, even if she hadn't been trying to be.
"That's still so scary," Clobber said with a far-off vent, "To just, not know where you go."
'Especially since they live such short lives,' Laserbeak added, and it was one hundred percent for Soundwave to hear. Rhea had no doubt he was listening in as he multitasked.
"Where do you think you will go, if you don't, um, turn into one of us?" Clobber asked.
Rhea pondered that, "Admittedly, I don't know. My parents, the two humans who forged me," she clarified for Clobber, "Didn't really subscribe to any one religion. Then when they died, I didn't really bother to believe anything. Then I met and married a robot alien. That kind of throws a wrench in the whole 'religion' debate back on Earth."
And that was a massive understatement. One more thing Soundwave's reveal to Earth unraveled. Certain beliefs subscribed to the concept that humans were the only things hanging out in the whole universe. Then aliens showed up. Alien's that could turn into cars and had been hanging out on Earth since the 80's. Before the 80's, actually, and even messed with human historic events. So, who the frag knew what was what anymore.
"But, humans have more than one, right? Clobber asked, "Religion, or after lives."
"Yeah, I guess that's a possibility."
"Then, can you like, pick one?" she considered.
Rhea pondered that, "Actually, I think you can. Most humans stick with what they were raised on. But some jump sides and go with the one they feel is right."
"Which one would you pick?"
'None,' Laserbeak barked, and made sure to do so in Clobber's comm channel so he could be heard, 'She is becoming Cybertronian. Human afterlives are not an issue.'
"Not if our Sovereign has anything to say about it," Thunderblast hummed with a melancholy shrug, "Maybe it's not a bad idea to have a backup plan."
Well, that wouldn't help Laserbeak's anxiety. Rhea wondered if Soundwave was regretting sending him.
"Well, my grandparents were a particularly strict faction that branched off Christianity," Rhea added, rolling with Clobber's original question. "Maybe a tamer version of that? It's what I am most familiar with, compared to other doctrines."
Laserbeak was suddenly very quiet. It was his 'researching something' quiet, that made Rhea's anxiety rise right back up to critical levels before this conversation came to distract her. He was a spiraler. He would fall into a research rabbit hole and need someone to pull him out before he drowned. He was notorious for doing that on the internet too when Rhea was sleeping, and he couldn't grill her about whatever human topic he was curious about. Then he would usually wake her up to demand context.
Oh God. She realized with growing horror that he more than likely typed 'Christianity' into his remote link to the internet and was no doubt very far down the hypothetical rabbit hole.
'I am very uncomfortable with this option,' he finally said, proving Rhea's fear, 'The deity of this doctrine is remarkably fickle and even tried to terminate all humans no sooner than a few thousand solar cycles after creating them.'
Rhea snickered a little, "Yeah, but in Christianity's defense, basically all human God's are kind of like that."
"You have more than one creator deity?" Clobber asked in amazement. "I would think they would be constantly fighting over control of Earth… Is that afterlife you mentioned decent at least?"
"Supposedly it's paradise," Rhea said. Though she added, "But if you break any of the predetermined rules, you get sent to a place where you burn for eternity."
Laserbeak squawked in alarm and hovered closer to her bubble, 'But the rules are contradictory! Anyone sane would be unable to comply with them all!'
"Then maybe she should pick a different one?" Thunderblast snickered.
"Well, there's Hinduism I guess," Rhea offered. "More than one deity, nonexclusive when it comes to other faiths…" She glanced at Laserbeak, feeling as if she were shopping for a sofa and not the end point for her very existence.
'Why are there so many deities in this one?' Laserbeak demanded sourly, 'Also, what does it mean when it says you will come back? Come back to what?'
"Reincarnation," Rhea said. "Our souls recycle, and we are born again as someone new."
Clobber brightened with familiarity, "Oh, Sparks do that sometimes."
'But after such a short first life?' Laserbeak snapped. 'No. You must remain 'Rhea' in your current version for more than at least ten million orbital cycles. Anything else is unacceptable.'
"Buddhism I guess?"
'No. There is 'reincarnation' mentioned in that one also,' Laserbeak pouted, 'Master, if we do not do the Cyberformation, how do we intend to locate Rhea as a different human? I shudder at the logistics of that undertaking,' he complained, dragging Soundwave back into the conversation from across the universe. She was sure he was listening, but he didn't answer.
Well, now she couldn't resist. With a devious smile she added, "I mean, if you want to get into crazy human after lives… You could investigate the ancient Greek belief system."
And Laserbeak did. And almost at once he squawked in panic. 'Master! There is NO way we are allowing Rhea's essence to be at the mercy of the freakish deities of this sect!'
Then he flapped to almost a complete stop, radiating absolute horror.
"Did you get to Zeus?" Rhea guessed with a snicker.
'Why was this deity never killed? There are enough of the other gods, they could have overwhelmed this one and instantly made everything better!'
"About sums up the Greek pantheon," Rhea said with a shrug. Then she glanced up at Clobber as Laserbeak continued to spiral down into an existential crisis, mostly at Soundwave's expense. "I'll get back to you on what I pick. But as you have witnessed, it's a complicated subject."
"All based in human mythos. None of which is reliant for factual interpretation."
Rhea twirled around in her little ball, and the momentum almost spun her into a gutter. She was surprised she hadn't felt the shaking footsteps of Shockwave until he was basically behind them. But from her perspective, everybot's footfall around her made the ground shake. How long had he been tailing them? But more than that, had she ever seen the scientist outside of his laboratory, or in natural light? No, she didn't think she had.
Why was he here? Was he coming with them? Like, into Starscream's tower? Was he allowed? Soundwave had gained permission from Starscream to allow her to enter to see Autoclave, an impressive task in itself. But Shockwave probably didn't make the guest list. This very much complicated Rhea's plans. But not like she could tell him to leave. If she tried, he would probably just kick her ball into a ditch and carry on towards whatever goals he intended to complete in this part of town. She could only hope it wasn't the same place they were going. She knew better, but she could hope.
"Commander Shockwave!" Thunderblast greeted with a grin, "Amazing to see you out of the lab for a change," she observed, just as Rhea had. "What brings you to this neck of Kaon?"
"I intend to gain more insight into Autoclave's research. If only to prove the theory incorrect and carry on with my own," he explained coldly. And there went her hope… But then that sharp red optic of his found Rhea, "This is also the only means for the experiment to continue. I am uncomfortable leaving research unfinished. Though I am confident the reason behind the failed experiment thus far has been due to the resilience of the test subject. Without a Spark, the limited intelligence of a human subject may not be compatible with an upgraded Cybertronian form."
"Wow," Thunderblast laughed out loud, "Rhea is standing right there."
"The fact still remains," Shockwave said.
"But, Autoclave said human's do have Sparks," Clobber pointed out shyly. "Or, whatever they call them… We were just talking about that, before you arrived."
Shockwave nodded, "And I shall again reiterate, the mythology of lower life forms trying to understand the reason for natural phenomenon is not grounds for scientific fact. Humans, and other lower carbon-based lifeforms snuff out at the end of their short lives. We can scientifically measure a Spark and its ties to our high consciousness. The same cannot be said about organics. There is no 'human All Spark' as you were theorizing."
"And that's Atheism," Rhea offered, because at this point, she felt like she had too.
Shockwave just gave her one of his lingering looks while Laserbeak quickly inquired more, 'What is that doctrine?'
"Basically, what Shockwave just said. That there is nothing after we die. All religion is nonsense. When we die, that's it. We would just blink out of existence."
"That's a bummer," Thunderblast grumbled after a long stretch of silence.
'I do not wish to indulge that possibility,' Laserbeak whimpered.
With Shockwave's contribution, talk of religion fizzled out. At least the complex chat had made the stressful jaunt fly by. The chaos of Kaon was now uniformed and orderly. They had arrived at the bottom of Lord Starscream's stronghold, and it was only at the cost of Laserbeak's peace of mind.
They were surrounded by well-fortified and stunning new architecture. Rhea was told it was designed to resemble Vos in its pre-war days. It was also very well guarded. If their band wasn't made of all Cons, they would have been blasted to pieces halfway down the block.
But the real give away they were in Starscream's corner of Kaon was the massive statue of the Seeker lord outside of his palace. The monument's expression was stone serious (no pun intended) with its thoughtful gaze watching over his territory. There were plenty of statues in Kaon, many of Megatron, but this was one of the bigger ones. That fact didn't shock Rhea. She was surprised it wasn't bigger. What did surprise her, was the statue of Starscream was not standing alone on the elevated pedestal. The effigy to the late Megatron was by statue Starscream's side, clawed hand on his shoulder and the other hand outstretched and sweeping outward. As if he were gifting the world to his ambitious second in command or giving his blessing for Starscream to rule in his place.
It was impossible to know where Starscream stood when it came to the memory of Megatron. When he didn't openly hate him, he was absolutely infatuated with his memory. His leadership skills, the battle strategies they drew up and fought together. Rhea often assumed the statue to share glory with his old leader was more strategic than in true loving memory. Megatron was still revered by basically everyone who called themselves Con. His speeches were regularly graffitied on walls, people still spoke fondly of him in the bars, and his memorial on the satellite station was very popular. Starscream may rightly assume the people would more easily follow his command if they thought he had Megatron's blessing to rule in his place.
Whatever the true motives behind the statue, the sculptor had taken a good amount of creative liberty by making the previous Decepticon Lord and the current the same relative height. Creative liberty, or Starscream's suggestion.
She couldn't help but ponder when she gazed up at the late leader. The same Megatron who inspired Soundwave, freed millions, started a war, destroyed their planet, spiraled into madness, then returned in the final moments to find glory by giving his life for his people once more. She had never met him. Soundwave had admitted many times that was one of his greatest regrets.
Rhea tried not to let her apprehension show as Shockwave indeed stood by them as they waited for the gates to open. His presence would not make her talk with Starscream go any smoother. She didn't have good odds before he showed up.
Thunderblast typed in her access code, and remarkably, the main door opened. But they were still quickly met at the gate by two heavily armed Seekers.
"State your business." One of them growled.
"I have an appointment with Lord Starscream's head scientist, Autoclave." Rhea said.
The guard looked about for her voice before locating her on the ground. His serious frown cracked into a grin. "Oh, is this more of the organic testing?" he asked, not of Rhea, but of Thunderblast.
"Ummm, yeah! That's all it is," Thunderblast assured him, "The more the merrier, right?" She picked up both Rhea and D's orbs under her servos like they were poodles in a purse. Rhea bit her tongue and didn't complain. D was still running in circles even though the ball had stopped.
With that settled, both guards landed their focus to Shockwave as he stood silent and terrifying behind the group. In the tense and awkward silence, he must have pinged the guards something. Either it was an access code or a disturbing threat, it shocked them both. The two began whispering to each other what they were supposed to do. Somebot barred from the palace had a passcode. Where he had procured such a key to Starscream's flashy house, Rhea couldn't guess.
The two guards consulted each other, but they did end up stepping aside. Their band was allowed to enter without further complaint beyond worried looks from the guards.
"Nice place," Clobber commented as she admired the high ceilings. "Makes me not want to touch anything though… I'd probably break something expensive."
Without a word, Shockwave broke away from their huddle and headed down another hall. They all stopped as he abandoned them without explanation.
"Where you headed?" Rhea asked.
Shockwave didn't turn or stop to answer her quandary, but he did at least have the decency to explain himself, "I have a turbulent history with Starscream. We will advance with less issue if I am not the focal point of his attention."
He vanished around a corner, and Thunderblast snorted a laugh, "Ok, so he does know Starscream hates him… So that means he just doesn't care."
"I mean, how can he not know?" Rhea said, "Not like it's a secret."
And speak of the winged, arrogant devil himself, the bot Lord of the hour could be heard all bent out of shape down the grand hall. Shockwave probably heard him first, considering his hasty retreat. But instead of flaunting about like a prissy peacock, as Rhea just assumed he did in his spare time, he appeared relatively busy. They found him in a larger archive room with two of his generals and one of his archivists crowded around a large holo table. He wasn't even wearing any of his flashy 'lordly' accessories. He saved them for events.
"We've only managed to obtain three vessels from deep space?" Starscream groaned. He rolled his crimson optics but didn't linger on that update. He flicked through the star map and pointed at a glowing portion, "We'll focus here… The less we interact with the Autobot forces during the search, the better. I don't trust the situation surrounding these disappearances, no matter how much good intention the Bot's exude."
"Hiya you're Lordship!" Thunderblast greeted cheerfully and far to over the top for the once quiet, echoey chamber.
Starscream spun around along with his company. His expression soured the most. "Oh right. I did agree to this. I didn't assume it would be so soon. And I foolishly thought the one coming would be Soundwave personally and not his jesters and pets. I can't even find peace in my personal sanctuary… Though Soundwave owing me a favor is something at least," He eyed Rhea and D, and somehow his frown managed to deepen. He leaned to one of his generals to grumble, "I thought we had already sprayed for pests?"
"Did you get my report, Lord Starscream?" Rhea asked, and made sure to add his title at the end. The more points she could accrue on this venture the better.
Starscream vented a sigh and waved her off so he could turn back to his maps. "Yes, yes. My Communication's Officer mentioned something about it. Still nothing from the Peaceful Tyranny. Maybe they blew themselves up or went awol like they tend to do from time to time. I'm not concerned."
"Only three ships have answered your comm?" Thunderblast gasped as she took in the charts, "Scrap, the Autobots are driving circles around us! How is that happening?"
Starscream glared at her for the outburst, "Yes, I am painfully aware of our poor luck, General Thunderblast. Thank you for the insightful reminder."
"It's kind of spooky," Clobber noted as she timidly approached the star map, "Like, all these disappearances and odd frequencies… You know, it is kind of like when the Plague started."
Starscream scoffed, "Oh please. If it were the Rust Plague, we would most assuredly know it by now. Vessels were found back then, and they were infected. They weren't just gone."
The mention of the infamous Rust Plague made the room's collective energy shift to the morose. Rhea had read about it and inquired more from a reluctant Soundwave. A Cybertronian sickness for which there was no cure and appeared from nothing. It was the main reason the Colonies, or what was left of them, were so cut off and hard to recover. To save Cybertron from the painful and fatal sickness, they cut themselves off. Even so many millions of years later, they never found out where that Plague had originated from.
Starscream appeared to accept his new company was not leaving, so he dismissed his team with a wave. "How is it I can help the High General, flesh cursed Communication's Officer, and spyful minicon of my fellow esteemed Lord today? Whatever I can do to make you hurry back home, I am happy to oblige."
That was Rhea's cue. From Thunderblast's grasp she sort of stepped forward, or at least as far as she could in her little bubble. "I'm sorry for the interruption. But I was hoping to answer the request of your head scientist. He invited me here for an experiment."
"Ug of course he did," Starscream groaned and just turned away from her. He flopped dramatically onto an awaiting chair and rubbed his helm tenderly. "This again? It's like I don't have enough to worry about without this human infatuation running amuck. Soundwave has already been horrifically distracted by it. And yes, Laserbeak, I am well aware he will hear that comment through you. My opinion still stands. We have far too many issues to be dealing with this little pet project of his and Shockwave's."
"Autoclave is interested," Thunderblast reminded him.
"I am very well aware of that too," Starscream grumbled, still massaging his helm, "But he is free to explore whatever scientific exploits he wishes, no matter how trivial. As long as I am not bothered by them."
"Autoclave shared with me his want to partner with Shockwave to push the experiment to completion," Rhea said as confidently as she could force her voice to be.
It didn't help, because Starscream's once dramatic stature went rod straight in a moment of speaking Shockwave's name. His wings were stark upright and his optics now glaring. "Autoclave may explore any and all scientific exploits, EXCEPCT those that involve Shockwave!" He stood up in a huff and went to fully leave the room and abandon his company. Rhea instinctively wanted to follow him, but she was being held back by her limited mobility in her bubble still in Thunderblast's grasp. Thankfully, Thunderblast moved after him for her.
"Please, this is something Autoclave is very passionate about!" Rhea pleaded, "And the war is over. There is no threat to Autoclave from Shockwave. He even said he was ready to forgive everything for the chance to carry on his research."
Starscream spun around with a snarl, "No, you are passionate about it, human. Let us get that one fact straight! At some level, I get it. Your existence alone is pitiful. If I were in your position, I would want to upgrade to a Cybertronian form also. But you could not hope to ever understand the complexities of our history, let alone theirs! Autoclave does not know what he wants, so I am here to stand in the gap and keep him from slipping into something above his helm. That is my final word of this ridiculous subject. Shockwave is not to be involved!" He snapped, ready to carry on down the hall.
"Um, pardon me, my lord?" squeaked an attendant having appeared from an adjacent hall.
Starscream jumped on the opportunity to waylay his anger at somebot else. "Yes, what?!"
The mousy bot was reluctant to finish his report, "Um, there was confusion in the upper halls… Had you authorized Commander Shockwave to enter the third level of the laboratory?"
Starscream's jaw hinge fell open in a rather comedic fashion considering the timing and circumstances. Then he was fully panicked, "Who in the Pit's let him in?!" He didn't stick around to find out. He was hurrying away from the group in a flash, headed in the direction Shockwave had ventured.
'Scrap,' Laserbeak grumbled, 'This does not bode well for the continuation of the Cyberformation testing.'
Rhea was at the mercy of how fast Thunderblast could run after him. Clobber and D in his ball fumbled after them, not willing to be left behind or miss out on the shit show that was sure to follow.
And what a show it was.
They arrived on the correct floor to the sight of many bots loitering next to an important looking door, all totally unsure of themselves and giving the room weary glances. Thunderblast hurried past them and inputted the access code Rhea had pinged to her earlier. The door clicked and then rolled open, and it unleashed a flurry of creative curses all sourced from Starscream himself.
Rhea spotted Autoclave. It was easy too. Autoclave's laboratory was much brighter than Shockwave's. It also had windows to let in natural light and nourish the incased organic species that lined the walls. It reminded her of Thunderblast's quarters if they were clean and orderly. Autoclave was sort of pressing himself against the far wall as Starscream shouted every fowl word he knew at the stoic one opticed scientist.
"And another fragging thing! You assume you had any right to waltz in here on the guise of us being on the same team! Make no mistake, you are not welcome in my presence!" Starscream hissed with a sharp digit stabbing Shockwave's chest.
Shockwave shoved away his offending hand with a single motion, "You are being hysterical. I am not here to be in your presence."
"Or HIS!" Starscream snarled and snapped a thumb Autoclave's way.
'Starscream, please…' Autoclave's synthetic voice begged. But his faint pleading was lost in the chaos.
"Autoclave has variables I require for my research. It will not take long," Shockwave insisted.
"Over my aft!" Starscream snapped right back. "Get out!"
"If this is related to the event that took place four million orbital cycles ago, I do not grasp your hostility. If you recall, we were both ordered by Lord Megatron to retrieve the research relating to Dark Energon from Autoclave and his research team. They were uncooperative, and lethal force was necessary. You did not raise an objection at that instance. Why are you now?"
Starscream sputtered, having absolutely no defense. He glanced quickly between Autoclave and Shockwave, as if he was worried this was news to the smaller Seeker scientist and he would be overcome with betrayal. Autoclave's unchanged expression let Rhea know he was well aware.
Starscream looked feral, almost ready to attack or flee out of the cheery lab's many windows. No, fighting appeared where this was going. Starscream maintained his deadly glare. But she did notice the subtle twitch in the corner of his mouth plates. The smallest crack in his projected emotional armor.
A Groundbridge ripped open. Rhea assumed who it was even without looking. Putting aside the dangerous situation she put herself in and Laserbeak no doubt reporting a live update, only other Decepticon Lords could Groundbridge into each other's strongholds.
Soundwave wasn't necessarily aggressive. But once Laserbeak reconnected to his torso, he placed himself between the two, defusing any thought of a fight. Starscream refocused his viperous stare at Soundwave instead.
About a thousand things could be communicated in the silence shared between them. Starscream's wounded anger and Soundwave's knowing, sympathetic affect. Distant whispers of the past only the two of them would know. Only two among the few still alive to remember.
It was a frozen stare down, none of the three Con's daring to move, or risk conflict. Rhea realized how dangerous this had turned. Two Con Lords should not be fighting. It could throw away all the progress they had made towards peace… She didn't know how to fix this.
Autoclave thawed first. He managed to peel himself from the wall and scurry over to Starscream. The Seeker Lord jumped nearly into the ceiling when Autoclave laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. But he calmed down when he recognized who was touching him. Starscream's face once twisted with rage, was now a mask of grief.
Autoclave said something. But it was on a private comm and Rhea and the rest of the room was not privy to it. Save for Starscream.
"It's not ok," Starscream whispered back. He managed to not hiss it. "He has crossed the line coming here."
'I invited him,' Autoclave informed him.
Starscream startled, now utterly confused.
Autoclave gave him an awkward smile. 'I need him for my research. And vise versa.'
"After what he did to you?"
'I forgive him," Autoclave explained. That confession appeared to only confound Starscream more. 'I have to, or I can't move on. It doesn't make it right. It just lets me not have to be scared anymore.'
"Well you shouldn't," Starscream snapped, making Autoclave jump. Starscream seemed to instantly regret the hostility, and he dialed it back. He closed his optics, then vented deep, "You shouldn't forgive me either."
'To bad. I already have.' Autoclave snickered. 'And I don't need to trust him. I trust you. He can't hurt me again, because I trust you'll protect me.'
Starscream managed to swallow his whimper before it made much of an appearance.
Autoclave looked to the accumulated audience, 'Give us a moment?'
Nobody protested, and Autoclave led his Lord out of the room. Rhea managed to catch a glimpse of Starscream slump over, helm rested on Autoclave's shoulder in despair before the door slid shut. In the awkward silence that followed, Shockwave stirred. He headed to the monitor and started pulling up the files he came for, totally undeterred by the drama.
"I shouldn't have come," Rhea huffed. And she fully just sat down in her bubble. "All this because I just wanted to continue the testing. This could have gone really bad."
"I mean… Autoclave did invite you," Thunderblast offered. "If they have this unresolved trauma, then maybe they should settle that before inviting guests over that trigger it."
"And as previously mentioned, the invitation was additionally extended to myself," Shockwave volunteered as he typed. It was odd he said anything in his defense. Maybe he was covering his tracks so not to get in trouble with Soundwave. "That is how I acquired the access codes to enter the facility."
Rhea huffed, then glanced at Soundwave above her. "I didn't think you wanted to be here?"
"You have come all this way. No matter my personal feelings regarding the testing, I will support you," He explained. She pressed a hand against the barrier of her bubble, wishing she could touch him.
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Clobber asked Soundwave, "How was the meeting?"
Soundwave graced her with a barely noticeable grin, "Unproductive. I was far too distracted to multitask. But the gist was the same as always. Autobot and Decepticon infighting on Prion. The Relic we are excavating was almost extracted, but its barrier pushed it deeper and out of reach again. And the search to recover the lost Apex Armor is ever echoing in these meetings."
Now that Rhea was in Soundwave's grasp, she caught what she could swear was the smallest hint of a smirk on Thunderblast's expression before it vanished back into a serious frown, "Too bad about Prion and the Relic, but why care about the last topic? The missing armor seems like the Autobot's business. Not our fault they don't know how to guard a safe properly."
Clobber gave her a flat look but dropped the topic to instead just roll her optic. Well, that settled who took the Armor. What Thunderblast was doing with the indestructible relic, Rhea didn't even want to know. Probably nothing too dubious. Probably.
The door opened again, and the two Seekers returned. Starscream's usual arrogant and annoyed scowl had returned, not a trace of the previous vulnerability present on his expression. Autoclave seemed tense, but was still grinning.
Starscream stopped short of Shockwave, who paused his investigation into Autoclave's archives to face the Seeker Lord. "These are the parameters you must follow in order to remain in my palace," Starscream hissed. "When working alongside my head scientist, you will be either under my watch, or that of one of my High Generals. And for each corresponding visit, you will require a new access code, and it will come from me."
Shockwave's helm nodded, "That is acceptable," he turned to Autoclave after the simple acknowledgement, "Shall we get started?"
Autoclave hurried along to his terminal with Starscream right on his heel struts and grumbling. His previous apprehension appeared gone, or at least for the time it was forgotten. He waved Rhea and her party forward. Now it was Soundwave's turn to be apprehensive.
Shockwave was busy studying them as it scanned through files of an assortment of seemingly organic alien species. Some were caged in the lab around them, others Rhea recognized as pets from Thunderblast's personal quarters.
'The question is regarding the organic subject's lack of a Spark which would allow a successful consciousness transfer. As previously mentioned, in the Cybertronian race, the consciousness can exist far from the Spark as it remains housed in the chassis." Autoclave reminded the group, or more likely Shockwave, who continued to watch the screen with a mechanical stair. With excited movements no longer bogged down with fear, Autoclave hurried past the monitor to a second terminal. Digits flying as he typed something into the terminal, then the floor split open. A platform rose from the darkness under their feet/peds. The platform, or table, whatever it was, was encircled with metallic rings which unfurled like reflective flower petals. The rings appeared to float, held up by either magnetism, Cybertronian technology or magic, Rhea couldn't tell.
He looked to Rhea and patted the raised platform. Her place.
Soundwave did not budge to bring her closer to the odd machine. Undeterred, Autoclave just nodded, 'Perhaps a demonstration on another subject should come first, to set expectations at ease,' he then glanced to Thunderblast, and then D.
"We've already done this, Boss. It's nothing to worry about," Thunderblast assured Soundwave before stepping forward. Autoclave hurriedly changed the file on the large screen, pulling up the profile of a familiar four-legged creature. In the file were preexisting scans and recordings of Code name: D, Thunderblast's crazy ass dog.
Thunderblast placed D in his ball on the raised platform. She then had to bribe him to remain there with her usual baby talk regarding him as being the best most brightest boy in all of the universe. Autoclave worked as fast as he could, adjusting instruments around the platform and on the metal rings. D had to be adjusted on the table over ten times when he attempted to jump off to the floor. A lethal jump, even in his bubble, but Thunderblast caught him every time, laughing at his antics while Autoclave almost had a bout of Spark failure every time.
D was pacified with a pile of treats Thunderblast poured out into the ball through a small little airlock hatch. While he snarfed down his treats, the rings started turning about the table. Rhea pressed both hands against her protective sphere, watching the odd device whirl and beep around the dog. Shockwave was unreadable, but she did glance Soundwave's expression once or twice. He appeared unsure, but curious behind his blank mask. The image on the screen shifted. What she thought was once just a recording of the events taking place right before them, Rhea soon saw what Autoclave's instruments were trying to pick up.
It was small at first. So subtle she almost missed it. But as the rings turned, the light surrounding D became clearer. An aura of shifting color pulsed around the eccentric dog. It was encompassing him, stronger in some choice points and flaring when he finished his food and decided to give jumping off the table another go. His frantic motion stopped the readings and the aura vanished. The machine powered down and the rings stopped spinning so Thunderblast could retrieve her best brightest boy before he could roll off the table.
"What was that energy reading?" Shockwave questioned his fellow scientist.
Autoclave smiled brightly as he pulled up recordings of a similar test. It was another of Thunderblast's organic pets. And it was a much more cooperative species. Very similar auras swirled around each one, just like D. 'Simply put, it is the organic Spark equivalent,' Autoclave told Shockwave excitedly. 'Our Sparks are fixed within one point, our Spark Chambers. I have determined that organic beings, or at the very least, those I have studied, have a similar core essence. Unlike our much more tangible Sparks, they are more, metaphysical? Much harder to get a fixed reading on… But I have managed to catch glimpses to study over the cycles.'
"And we are sure humans have a core essence that can be similarly measured with this device?" And this time, Shockwave was looking to Rhea in Soundwave's grasp.
There was only one way to find out. She looked back up to Soundwave. He was the focus of everyone in the room. She caught one of his thin fingers grasped around her orb twitch with anxiety. He noted D once again with Thunderblast, looking no worse for wear after being scanned.
'I assure you Sovereign, it is perfectly safe,' Autoclave promised him.
Rhea tapped on her orb. She nodded to Soundwave when she had his attention. "Come on. Aren't you just a little curious to see my human Spark? I am."
He pursed his lip plates. With a vent, he moved forward. Rhea tried to keep her heartrate down for Soundwave's sake as he placed her on the table under those massive floating rings. He backed away, watching her like a hawk. Autoclave thanked him before typing into the machine to bring it back to life.
She didn't feel anything. Not even a tingle. The worst of it was only the loud woosh of the rings as they spun faster to make her dizzy for trying to keep up. It was reminiscent of an MRI machine on Earth, but instead of looking at her brain in chunks, it was taking pictures of her soul. Or at least it was trying to. She hoped she had one.
She watched along with everyone else as her own image on the large monitor shifted. Something was floating around her once the rings had become only a blur. Like a dancing flame that enveloped her. She held perfectly still, just so the machine could get the readings they needed. Not like she was board. The image was mesmerizing. And the longer it went, the clearer it got. The aura moved faster as she grew excited. It was odd, as if it were made of fire and water all at once, dancing on the surface of her skin and flaring on certain points of her body.
The rings slowed their twirling until they came to a stop, taking the infatuating aura from around Rhea's image on screen. She couldn't help but glance down at herself, almost expecting the light to be visible to her own eyes.
Soundwave was silent, but clearly transfixed. Once clear too, he collected her back into his hands.
Shockwave was equally silent. He looked at the beaming Autoclave. 'Remarkable, is it not?'
"How have you determined this is not just a phenomenon while the organic subject is alive? What becomes of this organic Spark when extinguished?" Shockwave said, shattering the silence like a led cannonball through a stained-glass window.
Autoclave's expression fell. Leave it to Shockwave to come to the most depressing conclusion to any happy moment.
But with a solum nod, Autoclave appeared to have an example. He pulled up another file and opened a recorded scan of something else. Some sort of odd little alien creature. Blue with black spots and deathly pale. It laid in a spacious cage in the recording. 'I had found this little fellow on one of our planet's neighboring moons a few orbital cycles back. Charming little creature, injured and unable to integrate back into its habitat… I kept him well fed, until the end of his natural life. Though it was bittersweet, I saw an opportunity to discover exactly the answer to your question.'
And the recording showed Autoclave gently resting the cage on the same device Rhea had just left. The spotted alien was laid out on its bed of soft substance, its breathing slowing, it's vitals on the machine behind it dropping. With a wistful pat of the cage, Autoclave's recording activated the machine and stepped back.
It roared to life much the same as it had for D and Rhea. And the dying alien's aura was similar, though had a sort of similarly spotted quality much like its physical owner. But it was flickering as its vitals crashed lower. Fading, sinking into its spotted skin. It disappeared inward, as if absorbed into the little alien's core. The vitals flatlined, its breathing came to a final rest.
Then the light in the machine exploded. That once fading aura burst forth from the still little body and blasted skyward, out through its protective cage, fazing through the still spinning rings and then out of sight into the ceiling.
'Where did it go?' Autoclave chuckled, 'I have no clue. But I can tell, it did indeed have a place to go.'
Rhea blinked in absolute amazement. Autoclave had actually just taken a video of a soul ascending from its body and heading to… Spotted alien heaven? Space? Somewhere. But what was important was it didn't just burst into particles or vanish like an extinguished flame. And it proved Shockwave wrong. Rhea had that too. And if she had it, it explained why the Cyberformation was not working right. This was the missing variable.
She was ecstatic, and for some deep buried reason, sad. Had both her parent's souls done the same thing when they took their last breath? She shifted her focus as fast as she could the moment her brain started going down that road. Shockwave was distracting, so she settled on him.
"This will require extensive testing, on both living, and deceased subjects," Shockwave stated out loud. He was now squarely focused on Rhea and D respectively. In his future plans, would they be considered 'living' or 'deceased' subjects? It was hard to say with Shockwave.
Thunderblast piped up in disgust before Soundwave could, "Frag you. You aren't getting near my pets."
"Or Rhea," Clobber added.
"Yeah, her either," Thunderblast added as an afterthought.
'That can always come later,' Autoclave insisted with a fake smile. He was very keen to avoid any further conflict in his lab. 'I believe our focal point should refocus on the Cyberformation!' He hurried to pull up the data from Shockwave's last test which ended in near fatal failure.
"And how would this new development make the testing any less dangerous?" Soundwave intoned after such a long time standing idle and silent.
"It is an explanation for the near termination of the subject during the last test," Shockwave said. Was he actually addressing Soundwave? It didn't appear that was the case, considering his near permanent focus glued to the screen as he combed through Autoclave's notes. "It is not the fault of the organic vessel itself, but rather a semi-permanent affixture of the organic Spark to the mind and body of the organic subject. Is that the conclusion you have come to?" He asked Autoclave this time.
The Seeker scientist nodded quickly, 'Indeed. It is not entirely concerned with the body. I have found, the connection between the soul and mind is far more important.'
"So that could conclude why the organic subject's body attempted shutdown," Shockwave muttered. Rhea just turned her head back and forth between the scientists as they banged out a theory to answer Soundwave's previous concerns.
As far as she was able to keep up, she got the simplified version. When they pulled her mind out of her body, leaving her soul behind, her ethereal self panicked and tried to kill her own body. If her body died, the soul would be freed. Then it would be able to reconnect with her mind and head off into the unknown, like the spotted alien had. Finally, Autoclave concluded, 'Under no circumstances, can the mind and organic Spark, or, Soul, be disconnected, or the body will die.'
Silence once more, but this time, Rhea felt the weight of it. "So, then it's impossible?" she sounded just as hollow as she felt. "My mind and soul can't disconnect at all until I kick it for real?"
'Not exactly,' Autoclave assured her, and hope dared to return into her heart. 'The body can be kept alive on its own. All we would have to then worry about is finding a way to transfer both the mind AND the Soul to the Cybertronian avatar. Tricky, but not impossible. Sparks can be moved from their housing and survive. I see no reasons an organic soul could not also.'
Autoclave fully jumped when Shockwave stirred. He had been so enthralled in his science talk, he apparently forgot the other scientist was looming over him. That brought Starscream back into the scene, standing his ground before Shockwave despite their noticeable size difference. But instead of snatching Autoclave by the throat for a second time in a long lifetime, Shockwave approached the monitor. Wordlessly, he typed in a set of new equations. A moment later, a victorious little beeping could be heard from the monitor as the numbers fell into place.
Shockwave stared at the screen for an uncomfortable amount of time. Then he shifted that piercing stare to Autoclave for even longer. Autoclave looked ready to melt into the floor. "I will require the equipment you utilized in those previous scans," Shockwave informed him, not exactly asking permission.
Autoclave blinked. Then he quickly nodded. 'I-I would be happy to oblige.'
Shockwave turned to Rhea next, "I will be mapping this aura surrounding your organic form once I have procured the proper equipment. Once mapped, testing would be able to continue." And that last comment was for Soundwave.
Shockwave downloaded everything from Autoclave's monitors, probably intending to continue this train of thought in his own laboratory. "This is adequate. We will reconvene for further scans with your machine once I have finalized this data." He started for the door without a thank you or even a passive goodbye.
After completing a doubletake at the larger scientist's retreating back, Autoclave stammered after him. 'Um, if I could have another moment of your time before you depart! It is rather unrelated, but I think you would find it benefiting you-'
Benefiting him or not, Shockwave was apparently not interested. He allowed the door to slide shut between them without addressing Autoclave's comment. Again, the silent scientist's wings drooped. He shifted the data stick away yet again. The same one Rhea had seen him sporting in Shockwaves lab.
But not totally defeated, he turned to give Rhea a hollow smile, 'Shall we continue the scans?'