Transformers: Cold Steel, Chapter 5
Autobot Headquarters.
"I believe your actions as of recent are due to the results of your last mission," said Ultra Magnus. "And that your otherwise professional conduct has been affected due to you taking the outcome personally. And in an effort to come to terms with it, you have taken matters into your own hands. But you didn't do it alone."
As the hearing continued to test her patience, Chromia couldn't deny that Magnus was right. He was no fool and he demonstrated it by putting the pieces of her words and actions together. But a large part of her didn't care. What she did felt right and she would do it again. She had no regrets on the matter and she would dare anyone to tell her that she should feel otherwise. Regardless of her defiance, she felt the smothering vice of consequence weighing down on her. But she would not allow it to compromise her resolve. She had done what she had to do. And she would surrender no apologies for her actions.
Magnus turned his attention to one of the officers sitting at the table, "I would like to call on Impactor to answer some questions. If it pleases everyone."
Chromia felt the attention on her shift towards the leader of the elite commando squad known as the Wreckers. Impactor, with his harpoon resting on the table, distracting some of those in attendance, stared squarely at Magnus, "What would you like to know, Magnus?"
Magnus picked up his datapad and glanced at it before returning it to the table, "How well do you keep a watch on the warriors under your command?"
"Until I get sick of looking at them. Why? Did you have some questions for them too?"
"Perhaps," Magnus simply replied. "Two members of your team, Twin Twist and Whirl, took an unscheduled leave of duty at the same time as Grindstalker was assaulted at the ruins of Defaxus. I'm wondering if this is more than just a coincidence. Because honestly, I don't think it was."
"First things first," began Impactor, shifting his weight forward. "As leader of the Wreckers, I get to decide when my soldiers take time off. In your terms, that's strictly my prerogative. And let's not mince words here, I know everyone considers those two the craziest of my bunch. It's not like I haven't heard some of you here call them unstable behind their backs. But I'm not here to defend who they are, after all, I agree with most of you, they've lost more than a few screws fighting this war. But as for their whereabouts. I gave them permission to drink their face plates off at Maccadams and to be back within a solar cycle."
"And were they back in time?" asked Magnus.
"Nope. They came back half a solar cycle late."
Magnus pressed on, "And had they appeared to have gotten into any sort of confrontation during their time away from headquarters?"
"Yeah, they got into a punch-up while out on leave. One too many shots of energon, some bots can't hold their own, know what I mean?"
"But no one fights at Maccadams, it's forbidden!"
"You actually believe that garbage?"
Under different circumstances, Chromia may have laughed at Impactor's comment. She didn't even crack a smile seeing how aggravated Magnus was with the Wrecker's leader. She would kill to have the freedom to say what she wanted as Impactor did. If she wasn't under so much scrutiny she probably would have. But this was more than just a hearing, it was far more serious than an Autobot abandoning her guard post. Chromia and everyone knew exactly what this was all about, there was no need to say so out loud.
But Chromia wondered if she told them the truth, perhaps that would set her free from the pain of her loss. As Magnus and Impactor traded words, Chromia couldn't help but think about the reason why she was where she was today.
Defaxus, Vos
One Orbital Cycle ago…
"I need a hobby."
In the municipality of Defaxus, located in the city-state of Vos, wondering about a crowded marketplace, Pipes kept his optics to the ground. He was pretending to be a simple Cybertronian, surviving like everyone else while the war depleted the planet's energon.
He didn't look anyone in the face, didn't talk to any merchants trying to sell him something but occasionally he inspected a table full of items Pipes believed to be overpriced and stolen. But worse than that, Pipes didn't find anything of interest that would cure him of his boredom. Nothing stood out as unique, which may have been for the best since Pipes was supposed to be providing support while on this reconnaissance mission.
He had been instructed to provide backup for Chromia and Moonracer if they got in trouble. He was strictly the muscle on this mission and Pipes had no problem with that. If he was shot at he knew how to shoot back.
But more importantly, Pipes was to keep watch on all the escape routes the team had designated earlier. The idea was after the mission was completed, they would use the closest one and get away from this settlement as fast as they could.
Pipes just had to wait it out and though at his wit's end, he appreciated the lack of incident. But when his comlink buzzed, he hoped it meant it was time to leave. "I'm listening."
"Get ready to move," Pipes heard Chromia say. "We're coming your way along with a squad of Decepticons behind us. Head for the east exit by the former communication tower and we'll be right behind you."
"Affirmative," said Pipes. "I'll be waiting."
As Pipes turned to leave, two Decepticons seemed to come out of nowhere and were blocking the way out. He could tell they hadn't recognized him but he knew they were looking for him and the rest of his team. When he turned back around, he spotted three Decepticons coming from an alleyway, headed for the others. "Ahh slag!"
Further down the busy block littered with Cybertronians, Chromia made her way along one side of the street, using its occupants as cover. She walked swiftly, trying not to draw attention to herself, knowing danger wasn't too far off behind her. "Pipes to Chromia," came Pipes' voice from his comlink. "Our escape route is cut off and you have company coming from my direction."
"Blast it," she said. Chromia knew she had asking the locals too many questions. But she had received some vital information so the results were worth the risks. She had learned about a Decepticon by the name of Grindstalker and that he was responsible for a string of robberies involving large amounts of shanix. She also learned of his ambitious plans for gaining more power, in the form of physical upgrades for his body, to eventually overthrow Shockwave. Chromia and her team had been trying to figure out who was behind the robberies and now all their hard work paid off. All they had to do now was get out alive and report back to base.
"Thanks for the heads up, Pipes. Maintain your position and stand by," Chromia could see the Decepticons Pipes warned her about coming her way. She stopped behind a pillar, pretending to rest against it and saw the Decepticons who were following her getting closer.
Activating her comlink again, Chromia looked across to the other side of the street to Moonracer. "Got any ideas, Moonracer?" We need another way out."
"We can't leave now," said Moonracer as he hurried past civilians oblivious to the situation. "These Decepticons have already started to violently harass everyone they can get their hands on to find us. We can't leave them here with these slag heads."
"We're outnumbered and our mission is done," Chromia shot back. "Even if we did take them all down, more Decepticons will show up sooner than later."
"And in that time, everyone here will have a chance to leave town before they arrive."
Moonracer broke from her path and headed for the middle of the street. Chromia told herself that she should have been used to Moonracer's cavalierness by now. And every time she tried to set the young fembot straight, Moonracer would remind her how she defied the odds. But even though she didn't want to admit it, Chromia knew Moonracer was right. Leaving the citizens here to the mercy of the Decepticons was not what Autobots let happen.
Stopping in the middle of the street, Moonracer took in everything within sight. All the possible places to take cover, alleyways, rooftops, doors and windows, any spot where an attack could come from. She could see the three Decepticons who had been trailing her and Chromia and knew more were behind them. Her weapons compartments on either side of her legs opened slowly, revealing a pistol in each. While the Decepticons were well within range, Moonracer waited for them to get closer.
Chromia peeked around the pillar to see the Decepticons Pipes had warned her about harassing the locals and questioning them. As soon as Moonracer made her move, they would hear the commotion and come running. Chromia knew if she dropped them quickly, she could cover Moonracer, then they could make a break for it.
With too many citizens around, Pipes decided the best way to deal with the Decepticons blocking their escape was to deal with them physically. He would have to get up close and personal but he was confident that he could make short work of them before they let off a shot.
When the Decepticons were finally close enough, Moonracer decided to break the ice. "Hey ugly," she said, immediately getting the attention. "Looking for me?"
The Decepticons came to a stop when they heard Moonracer. The two Decepticons on either side of the one in the center began to spread out, not wanting to make themselves easy targets. The Decepticon in the middle spoke. "Where are your friends, Autobot? We know if there's one of you there's at least more around for us to kill."
"Autobots? I don't see any Autobots, do you?" said Moonracer as she moved her left hand closer to her face, rubbing her fingers across her thumb. Despite her bravado, Moonracer was relieved to see the citizens clearing the streets. They could tell there was going to be a fight and didn't want to get caught in the middle. While it made it easier to take down the Deceptions, Moonracer knew it left the Autobots in the open too.
Waiting to see which one of the Decepticons would move first, Moonracer saw one of the Decepticons mutter something, as if talking to himself. She couldn't hear what he said, then realized he had whispered something into the comlink that rested on his shoulder.
Dropping to the ground, Moonracer brought up her pistol and shot a Decepticon on the roof of the building across from her. He had been ordered to take down her but she spotted him, killing him before he hit the ground. With her other pistol already in her hand, Moonracer fired at the Decepticons standing in the street, striking the one in the middle. The other two drew their pistols and started firing as they ran for cover. Before they could even fire a shot, they were struck by energy bolts tearing into the body as Moonracer rolled across the ground. The wounded Decepticons ducked behind whatever they could find and fired back as Moonracer hid behind a stack of containers.
Chromia saw it was time to make her move. She slid out from around the corner of the pillar and fired at the Decepticons coming from the other direction. She dropped one and wounded another as the third took to the sky to escape and returned fire. Projectiles from above forced Chromia back behind the pillar. She had to drop down lower as the pillar couldn't stand up to the assault, with laser bolts burning through the weakened structure, threatening to hit the Autobot. For the moment Chromia was pinned down.
Pipes watched as the two Decepticons blocking the exit made their way to the fight. Slipping in behind them as they hurried to the fray, Pipes walked up and grabbed each one by the leg. Pulling them backwards, Pipes dropped both Decepticons on their faces before dosing them with a cloud of corrosive gas from the exhaust pipes on his arms. The Decepticons shook violently on the ground, clawing at their bodies to remove the substance that burned their steel skin but failed to rid themselves of the acidic substance.
Pipes left the Deceptions behind to deal with their dilemma, knowing they didn't have long. He hurried to help his team, hoping they didn't have to deal with the possibility of reinforcements.
Safe for the moment as she took cover behind a pile of crates, Moonracer saw that Chromia was in trouble. Raising her pistols, Moonracer shot the Decepticon in the air several times and brought him down. Chromia saw her chance and leapt out from behind the pillar, finishing off the Decepticon she had wounded earlier.
With no visible threat behind her, Moonracer stood up to take on the last of the Decepticons, both of which were firing blindly as they stayed hidden. With a quick burst of her pistols, Moonracer shot both Decepticons in their hands, causing them to drop their guns. Before the unarmed Decepticons got away, they were gunned down by Chromia as she rushed to Moonracer's side.
"Aww, shucks," complained Moonracer. "You could have at least left one of them alive so they could tell others about how good I am."
Moonracer's joke was lost on Chromia as she saw a group of land vehicles coming at them. "Looks like you'll get your chance to tell them yourself."
Running to join the others, Pipes could hear the sound of engines roaring ahead. He knew it wasn't his teammates coming his way and feared the worst. As he came closer, he saw Chromia and Moonracer rushing to opposite sides of the streets, firing at a squad of Decepticons that had just arrived.
Pipes took cover, drew out his heavy blaster and started firing away. He saw that Chromia had found cover but noticed that Moonracer had taken a different approach. She was in the open, dodging everything that came her way, almost dancing, while every time she fired she scored a hit. Pipes didn't know if she was crazy or if this was a strategy the two fembots had developed over the years of working together. Whatever the case, it seemed to work as Chromia took down any Decepticon focused on her partner instead of her. But regardless of their teamwork, they were facing overwhelming odds.
"We can't do this forever!" yelled Chromia, loading a fresh clip into her rifle.
"Can't argue with that," said Moonracer, firing a pistol after the other, maneuvering out of harm's way, finally ducked behind a merchant's table. She hoped their efforts gave the citizens a head start out of town and the Decepticons second thoughts about ever coming back to this place. "But we can't leave the party without a parting gift."
That was the phrase the fembots used when it was time to exit a situation they knew they couldn't win. Before making their move, they tossed a combination of grenades towards the Decepticons. A flash of light blinded all caught by its brilliance as a couple of explosions went off soon afterwards. For a moment, the Decepticons stopped shooting as they tried to collect themselves.
"Ok, Moonracer. Let's get out of-!"
Chromia didn't finish her sentence as she saw an armored cybercar rush past the stunned Decepticons and slam into the table Moonracer hid behind, knocking the Autobot backwards. She brought up her rifle to fire but the Decepticon had already transformed and had Moonracer in his grasp. Chromia knew she wasn't the sharpshooter Moonracer was and couldn't risk hitting her friend.
The Decepticon, larger than the others, had a hand around Moonracer's neck and the other one crushing her hand and the pistol it held. The Decepticon took Moonracer with him as he leapt through a building's window, crashing to the other side.
Chromia got up to follow them but almost had her head blown off as energy bolts flew by. She jumped back behind cover and returned fire with no intention of letting up. "Pipes! Where the frag are you?"
Inside the building, Moonracer fought to get up, but the Decepticon had her pinned down with his superior strength. Disregarding her damaged weapon, Moonracer tried to free the other hand holding her remaining pistol but the Decepticon was too strong. "Think you could take down my squad that easily, arrogant Autobot?" asked the Decepticon. "You're a good shot, I'll give you that. But what happens when both your hands are non-functional?"
As the Decepticon began to crush her hand, Moonracer thought now was a good time to let her enemy in on the secret to her marksmanship skills. "Shootings all in the wrist, slag-face!"
Twisting her hand slightly, Moonracer fired a laser bolt that burned the Decepticon's face, leaving a deep graze. He instinctively let go of Moonracer to hold his wound, allowing the Autobot to fire point-blank into the Decepticon's lower torso.
The Decepticon fell backwards, allowing Moonracer to push herself free. To Moonracer's shock, he was still alive, realizing he was equipped with heavy armor. While he felt pain every time he took a hit, he was far from damaged. As the Decepticon got to his feet, from his back he pulled a battle axe. One swing from the weapon would take down anyone on contact.
Moonracer knew she was in trouble. The Decepticon, despite being on the receiving end of her assault, moved after her. Each shot connected and slowed him down, but it made him angrier and more determined to get his hands on Moonracer. He thought the Autobot would wind up getting away but when the shooting suddenly stopped, he saw his chance.
Shocked, Moonracer realized her pistol was out of energon. She struggled to reload her weapon as her damaged hand made it almost impossible to do so. Just as Moonracer finally managed to put in the new clip, Moonracer's pistol flew away as it was smacked away from her grip. She couldn't see where it went as a fist crashed against her face, knocking her to the floor. Looking up through cracked optics, Moonracer saw the distorted image of the Decepticon standing above her with his axe raised high above his head —
Outside, Pipes ran over to Chromia, almost getting hit in the process. "We've gotta get out of here! Where's Moonracer?"
"She's trapped in there with a Decepticon!" yelled Chromia, pointing at the broken window. "Cover me, I'm going in!"
Before Pipes could protest, something came flying out of the window. It bounced along the ground and landed next to the Autobots. It was Moonracer's pistol. As Pipes fired back at the enemy, Chromia watched in horror as the Decepticon who attacked Moonracer stepped through the smashed window, carrying something over his shoulder.
"This is what happens to all that cross Grindstalker!" yelled the Decepticon as he threw Moonracer's body through the air. With a sickening thud, Moonracer's body crashed on the ground where it laid still.
"Moonracer?" Chromia said, looking for a sign of life. But she knew she would find none as she looked at Moonracer's once bright optics, now cracked and blackened, void of energy.
Then giving into her anger, Chromia stood up, switched the firing mode of her weapon as she made her way towards Grindstalker and let off a supercharged blast in his direction.
The direct hit to his chest sent Grindstalker tumbling back, causing him to trip through the window he came through. Chromia was about to finish him off when a laser bolt struck her shoulder, knocking her rifle out of her grip.
Seeing he had to take charge, Pipes sprayed the Decepticons with a burst of corrosive gas. The shooting decreased enough for Pipes to run for Chromia without getting hit. With his blaster in one hand, Pipes picked up Chromia. "Time to go!"
"We can't leave her!" protested Chromia, elbowing Pipes to break free of his grip.
"I'm sorry but she's gone!" answered Pipes, wishing he could at least retrieve Moonracer's body.
Like a wild beast, Chromia screamed as she reached out for her friend. She refused to believe she was gone and fought to pull herself from Pipes, clawing the ground to get to Moonracer. She didn't care about the laser bolts flying by or her injury, she needed to get to her friend. But it was hopeless as Moonracer grew further away.
Then as Moonracer's body was almost out of sight, Chromia's outstretched hand grabbed onto something. Looking down, she saw she had snagged Moonracer's pistol. As she held it right against her chest, she looked up again to see that Moonracer's body was no longer visible as the mist from the corrosive gas blanketed the street.