Ravage came to, remembering his defeat. He lay in that memory for a moment, neither moving nor listening because he no longer needed to. That was over. He was uninjured—in fact he had been repaired, which seemed about typical of the Autobots: restore your health but take your freedom. Reluctantly, he reactivated his senses, one by one, saving his optics for last.

At least they had given him a prison cell with low light. He rolled onto his belly and raised his head: a standard recharge bunk on one wall was to be expected; the console on the other was not. He scowled suspiciously at it, and the screen activated, displaying Perceptor's face.

"Greetings, Ravage. I apologise for the limitations of your, ah, accommodation, but our infrastructure is yet primitive—of which you should be cognisant. Please notify us if you have particular requirements that are not met, but considering your recent interactions, understand that you will remain in confinement for the duration of your stay."

He paused, giving Ravage a chance to make some response. Ravage rose and stalked under the bunk—the only shadow his cell provided—turning his back on the console before curling into a ball.

"Your opinion is acknowledged," the Autobot sighed. "Nevertheless, we have provided you with a transmitter capable of broadcasting to nearby systems. Please note you do not have access to the receiver; however, if there is a response to any communication you send, we will notify you."

Did the Autobots not credit him with emotion or was this deliberate abuse? Ravage had been isolated from everyone he knew for days; to be told he could contact them but not hear their reply was so painful he could almost feel it physically.

"In recognition of the recent catastrophic events, Rodimus Prime has offered a ceasefire in the Cybertronian War," Perceptor continued with brutal dispassion. "We will gladly secure your restoration to any allies that might survive, and we request that you raise the matter of arrangements for deceased Decepticons. Subsequent to the conflict with Unicron, it is an unfortunate reality that many remains have been found. We would grant them the respect of being interred by their own peers."

Another pause. Ravage refused to react.

"Well, I believe that suffices for the present. I will leave you to deliberate these matters at your leisure. If you have any concerns, you will inevitably find a method of alerting us." There was a click as the screen went black.

Ravage remained in his shadow. There would still be a camera on him, and if he used the transmitter, his message would be monitored by the Autobots before it was sent anywhere. Inaction was the only privacy he had.

Yet it had been seven days of isolation, and now he had a communications device. He would be transmitting to a void, certain only that the Autobots would be listening… but it would be with the possibility that his message would reach Soundwave. There was a comfort in the idea that his survival would be known to somebody who cared.

Nor would it be without purpose, he considered. He did not like the idea of being used as bait—even if the Autobots were sincere about letting him go, it would be humiliating to ask his fellow Decepticons to make themselves so vulnerable for his sake. However, he had information. With as little data as the Autobots seemed to have on Decepticons, it was very likely the Decepticons were as unaware about the status quo on Cybertron.

He spent a few more minutes on the age-old spy dilemma of how much of what he knew he wanted others to know he knew… Then he rose, padded to the console and folded himself into the cassette slot. Sacrificing the secrecy of one of Soundwave's bands, he issued his transmission. When it was finished, he repeated it. Then he repeated it again.

He settled into the rhythm as if it were a heartbeat, eternally repeating his message, so he could linger in the dream of it being received.

Author's Note:

Apologies for the cliffhanger ending, but this was originally act one of a larger story. However, the main story got away from me while writing, and I decided to tweak the first act and make it its own thing. Going back to wrestling with What Happens Next now... Hopefully, at some point I'll get it coherent enough to publish. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed this little Wheelie and Ravage spotlight!