Protection Protocol (Transformers)

[JonathanAnubian]

Prologue

The distress signal had come out of nowhere one cycle, lighting up their systems and blaring through their headsets. Whatever was causing it was old, ancient if Ironhide was to be believed, and nothing they tried could turn the damned thing off.

It left them wide open to attack.

Red Alert was having a meltdown and only Inferno could keep his amica from going haywire. Ratchet had already threatened to sedate him if he didn't calm down soon.

After much deliberation they decided to see what in the Pit was calling for help and hoped to Primus it wasn't a trap.
Arriving on the obscure outer planet they set out for the distress call, Optimus at the forefront of the party.

"Are you sure you should be walking into this with us, Bossbot?" Bumblebee asked, concern clear in his voice.

"I am." Optimus said, looking down at the advanced scout. "The Matrix is… resonating. Whatever this is could be important, for all Cybertronians."

Bumblebee stared up at him for a long moment before nodding firmly in understanding.

"What about you, old timer?" Cliffjumper asked before having to dodge a thrown wrench.

"I'm here in case your glitched aft gets injured!" The older mech snapped.

"Ratchet." Optimus sighed.

"Don't you 'Ratchet' me, Prime." He grumbled. "This just screams 'trap' in big bright glyphs. I'm going to be right here when you lot step in it and need medical assistance." And his tone of voice brooked no argument.

"Of course, Ratchet. You know I value both your skills and your advice." Optimus said with a small smile, though you could only barely tell behind his battlemask.

"Harrumph."

"Prime, we're coming up on the signal now. It's just over that ridge." Prowl stated, face a neutral mask.

"I s'spect we're gonna come face't'face with whatever's causin the noise." Jazz commented, visor flashing in the low light of the planet's distant sun.

Topping the ridge the group of Autobots stopped and stared in silent awe. In the center of a large bowl was a structure that could only have been made by ancient Cybertronian hands.

"By Primus." Optimus wasn't certain who had spoken but he agreed with the sentiment.

"Autobots, let's approach this cautiously." He turned to regard those with him. "Bluestreak, Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Jazz. I want you here on overwatch." The bots he had called quickly took up their positions, though the twins looked less than enthused about being left behind.

"The rest of you, with me."

The trip to the structure was silent, save for the signal that only got stronger the closer they approached. Coming up to what appeared to be the main doors Optimus stopped and summoned his axe as the others spied the problem and readied themselves for a confrontation.

The front doors had been blasted inwards, the edges melted to slag as one hung from its hinges. It was clear that great force had been used.

Optimus didn't need to say anything as he cautiously crept inside, Prowl stalking silently at his side.

As they walked the darkened halls distorted voices echoed off the walls, making Optimus tense with anticipation.

"I'm telling you the signal ends here!" Came a familiar voice as they rounded a corner and came into a large domed area at the center of the structure.

"But there is nothing here." Came a cultured voice, sounding much calmer than the first.

Optimus stopped dead in his tracks, recognizing the group that was milling about in the middle of the domed room.

"Is that the Wreckers!?" Bumblebee asked loudly in surprise.

Wheeljack, standing between Perceptor and Springer, turned and spied their group. "Prime! Ratch! I'm guessing you guys got the same distress signal as us?"

"We did, yes. Have you found the source?" Optimus asked, subspacing his axe as he stepped forward to inspect the room.

Wheeljack said, "kind of," at the same moment Perceptor said, "not yet." The two looked at one another for a long moment before Perceptor let out a small sigh.

"The center of the signal appears to be here in the middle of this room but we have yet to find the source." Perceptor answered primly.

"Topspin is checking the ceiling to see if anything is up there, and the others were off exploring the rest of temple. They should be back soon, Sir." Springer supplied with his usual confident smile.

As if on cue the other Wreckers appeared from different entryways around the dome, heading for the middle where their leader was located.

"Did you see anything?" Springer asked his group as they converged.

"Nothing." Said Broadside. "This place is entirely empty."

"It gives me the creeps." Sandstorm added with a shudder.

"I just don't understand why this signal is even here!" Wheeljack said with some frustrating as he fiddled with the scanner in his servos.

As more bots stepped closer to ask questions or state their opinions on how utterly obnoxious the signal was Optimus felt a shift beneath his pedes. Looking down he shifted his pede back and noticed slim fractures in the floor. Optimus' optics widened when Ratchet nudged Ironhide out of the way so he could admonish Wheeljack for his clear lack of medical care and the floor fractured further.

"Everyone stop!" He called out in warning, but it was too late.

"Woah, what's gotten into yo-" Topsin landed next to his brother as he spoke, looking confused, and the floor buckled beneath them.

"Brace for impact!" Ironhide yelled as the floor disappeared beneath their pedes.

They fell into the darkness below, Topspin diving for his twin as the light above them illuminated the room below.
Optimus landed hard, rolling to disperse some of the force. Even with the maneuver he could feel his joint creaking from strain. All around him were the frames of his Autobots, most laying motionless. Knocked offline by the fall.

"Optimus!" Taking a couple quick steps he fell to his knee next to the older mech.

"Are you alright, old friend?" He asked worriedly.

Ratchet grimaced. "Nothing a little polish can't fix." The older mech grunted as he tried to sit up. Something snapped loudly and the medic let out a staticky hiss of pain. Optimus' hands hovered over the old mech, uncertain whether moving him would cause more damage or not. "Looks like… one of my spinal struts… pitslag."

"Don't move, old friend, I'll find aid." He went to move but stopped when the mech's hand reached for him before falling.

"Optimus." The old mech said carefully. "Be careful. There's… something here." The mech whispered before his optics shuttered. If he hadn't been able to feel his magnetic field thrumming gently he would have sworn the mech was offline.

Standing he looked over the fallen frames. "Autobots, call out if you're online!" He called into the cavernous room.

He shuddered when he didn't hear an echo of his voice. How large was this space?

"Over here Bossbot!" A light flickered on and he sighed a little in relief seeing Bumblebee climbing to his pedes.

"No! Nonononono! Topspin!" Both he and Bumblebee startled when Twin Twist suddenly cried out in anguish.

Hurrying toward the voice he skidded to a stop in front of some rubble. Twin Twist was desperately digging at a large chunk of the ceiling, energon leaking from his servos as fluid fell from his optics. He let out another choked off sob of pain and Bumblebee reached out to try and stop him.

Optimus put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back. Trying to stop the frantic mech would only make the situation worse.

"Bumblebee, we need to help him quickly. Topspin is under there." Pulling out his axe he used it to wedge under the largest piece of debris and planted his feet. Heaving with all his might he lifted the debris and got his hands beneath it. With a massive shove he lifted it higher, enough that Bumblebee could slip inside and haul out the downed flier.

The moment the two of them were clear he eased the debris down and let it go, jumping back so as not to be caught by it.

Twin Twist had taken his brother from Bumblebee and laid him out on the ground, cradling his helm.

Bumblebee knelt next to the twins, expression serious. "Twin Twist, let me help. Okay?"

The mech made a low sound of pain but didn't stop the scout from checking over his twin.

Optimus knew that they were in good servos and turned his attention to finding his remaining Autobots.

'Here.' Twitching at the unfamiliar voice he spun in place, axe gripped tightly in hand. 'This way.' It spoke again.
Inside his chassis the Matrix began to thrum, gently at first but quickly growing in strength.

'This way, Orion Pax.' Without really understanding why he began following the voice, all other sound drowned out by the humming of the Matrix.

Tripping over uneven ground he fell against a solid mass. Using it to stand he felt along the edges and realized it was a door.

'Come inside.' Beneath his servos the door opened, a bright light spilling forth and temporarily blinding him. He raised his arm to cover his optics until the light was more bearable again. Putting his arm down he stared into a crystal clear golden pool of unknown liquid. At the center was a pedestal that held a simple cube. Around it was a corona of light, shining like a beacon.

'Come to me, Orion Pax, Last of the Primes.' Stepping into the golden liquid he felt it slosh over his pede. The ache from before left him as something warm and comforting embraced his frame. 'I am Chrono, Guardian of this Temple. It has been eons since I was placed here. Finally it is time I fulfilled my purpose.'

Optimus stopped before the cube. "What purpose?"

'To bring an end to the destruction of Cybertron.' The cube began to glow further. 'To bring peace. Is that not what you desire as well, Orion Pax?'

Optimus hesitated. He didn't know if thie was a trap, even if the Matrix seemed very keen on the idea.

'I will not harm your comrades. I was meant to create, to heal, not to destroy.' It reassured him.

Optimus thought about Ratchet and Topspin, both wounded beyond what any of them could reasonably repair. "What about a way out of here?"

'Yes. I will help you.'

Optimus reached for the cube, hesitated, then grabbed hold of it with both hands.

A searing bolt of electricity ran through his frame, passing over the Matrix, and down into the pool. 'Restore Cybertron, Prime, and make peace with all beings of Cybertron. This is your duty… your destiny.'

Light exploded around him and in a flash it was gone.

Optimus blinked up at the ceiling of the temple and frowned in confusion. It looked like the domed room they'd been in before the floor had- Sitting up quickly he looked around him at the fallen forms nearby. All of them were the bare metal of unpainted frames.

One of them groaned and sat up. "What in the slag hit me?" Came an angry feminine voice.

Looking into familiar disgruntled blue optics Optimus froze. "…Ratchet?"

The unpainted femme rolled her optics. "Who else would it-" She stopped for a moment and scowled in confusion. Looking down at herself the femme let out a shriek of rage. "Who in the Pit reformatted me into a fragging femme!?"

The shriek woke the other forms nearby, who also sat up in alarm.

"What in the slag?" Looking over the one who had spoken Optimus felt a flicker of familiarity and gaped.

"Wheeljack? You're Wheeljack, aren't you?" Now that he'd spoken again he realized that his voice was much higher than it had been before.

"Woah, Prime? Is that you?" The former mech looked him up and down for a moment. "Uh… did you know you're a femme?"

Optimus let out a heavy sigh as he… she? got to her pedes.

"I want everyone to state their designations clearly." Optimus said.

"Perceptor." Came a calm yet cultured voice, pitched low but unmistakably feminine.

"S-Springer." And oh, if the poor femme didn't look like she was about to break into hysterics at any moment.
"Ratchet." The angry medic growled.

"Wheeljack."

"...Prowl."

They all turned to him, her, and she took a deep breath. "Optimus Prime."

They looked at each other for a moment, feeling about with their magnetic fields to get a sense of one another.
Then Optimus heard it. A high pitched shrieking noise.

"Uh… was that one of you?" Wheeljack asked, optics wide.

"Oh for the love of!" Ratchet launched hi-herself off of the ground and started scanning the room. Over by one of the pillars was a small form, much smaller than any of the Autobots. The small form made another high pitched shrieking sound.

'Cybertronian Protection Protocol Activated. Prime directives- raise and defend young. Secondary directives- rebuild and repopulate Cyberton.'

Everybot flinched at the same time and Optimus had to assume they had heard the voice just as h-she had.

"Young?" Springer asked, voice wavering slightly.

Just then a group of small forms stumbled into the room, chirping and squalling for attention.
It was a group of young, unpainted and unarmored, sparklings.

"Oh smelter's rod!" Ratchet cursed, just quietly enough that Optimus could overhear.

"I don't think the smelter had anything to do with this." She said quietly, touching the center of her chassis where the Matrix had gone oddly silent. "But the blame can come later. We have work to do."

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 1

Following the sounds of the sparklings they quickly found another group of bots who had been teleported into the Temple.

By Optimus' count they had eleven adults, recently reformatted into femmes. Herself, Prowl, Jazz, Ratchet, Smokescreen, Blaster and Skyfire who had been all the way at the drop off point, Blurr who had been on the Wreckers' ship, Wheeljack, Perceptor, and Springer.

Which was concerning yet also quite useful as the sparklings outnumbered them two to one. Wrangling all the newly made sparklings was quite an issue and a half.

"Sunstreaker! You can't hit Roadbuster just because he shoved Bluestreak." Optimus admonished as she pulled the two scrappy bots away from each other. Sunstreaker stopped flailing and let out a pitiful chirp as Roadbuster crossed his arms and scowled. On the adult mech it would have been terrifying. On the sparkling it was laughably adorable.

"Uh, I'll take him si-ma- Prime." Springer held out hi-her arms for the sparkling and Optimus thankfully handed him over.

She had enough problems with her own little troublemakers. Bumblebee had latched onto her leg and refused to let go, sitting on her pede and making happy little chirps every time she took a step. Red Alert refused to come out from behind Inferno, the little guy trembling in fear whenever his amica wasn't standing nearby. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were getting into fights with everybot except Bluestreak or Bumblebee. Ironhide and Broadside were wrestling but it looked mostly harmless so she let it be. And the rest were just running and causing mischief like any curious new spark.

They'd found out quite quickly that the Wreckers only listened to Springer, then Wheeljack, then Perceptor, and only if they had to. The rest were mostly well behaved for Optimus and, surprisingly, Ratchet. She'd forgotten how much the old… the medic had loved sparklings.

"Is it just me or are we younger than we should be?" Wheeljack asked as she lifted the Wrecker twins to her chassis and gave them both a light tap on their helms for causing trouble. It appeared that Topspin and Twin Twist had been attempting to ambush Hot Rod.

"What gave it away?" Ratchet asked, glaring at the inventor.

"Well…" Wheeljack started, waving a hand toward the medic.

A wrench hit her right in the center of the helm with a clang and Wheeljack pouted at her amica.

The sparklings started to giggle, chirping and pointing.

Optimus felt her frame warming at the sound. This. This was what she wanted.

Innocence, life, peace.

"Optimus." Turning to Smokescreen she raised an optic ridge in question. The Praxian femme looked a mix between determined and concerned as her optics trailed after Bluestreak. "I need to assess the mental faculties of everyone here. Whatever was done to our frames has obviously affected our processors as well. We… I should be feeling more discomfort over the fact that I am now a femme, but I feel as if I have always been this way."

Prowl looked over at her… sister and gave her a nod of support, door wings twitching behind her slightly in agitation. "I agree with Smokescreen. My logic computer should have crashed more times than I can calculate." She shook her head.

"At least we're not sparklins too." Jazz chimed in, tossing Cliffjumper in the air and catching him again, much to the small bot's glee. Her voice was still just as smooth as before, only now there was a lilt to it that was even more pleasing to the audials. Comforting.

"That… voice. I assume everyone heard it as well?" Perceptor asked, kneeling next to Sandstorm and consoling the small bot who was clinging to her upper thigh.

"I sure as sla-" Ratchet looked at all the sparklings and let out a frustrated growl, "yes. I heard the- the voice." The medic went quiet for a moment. "I've never heard of that protocol before. If I could get a better look at the code I could explain what, exactly, it's doing. Although I can already tell it must have accessed and activated the latent caretaker programs in all of us."

"Caretaker programs?" Springer asked in confusion.

"If you've ever had your own sparkling before you'd already know about them. All bots have the most basic caretaker programs, it doesn't matter how you were sparked. Any bot can form a caretaker bond with a sparkling. Mech or femme, it doesn't matter. Although femmes do have a higher tolerance for taking care of more than one sparkling at a time, they're also better able to keep them in line due to the more interpersonal nature of their sparks."

"So-that-Voice-made-us-into-femmes-so-we-would-be-more-inclined-to-adopt-everybot?" Blurr asked, speaking pattern unchanged even though her voice had a much higher pitched melodic tone to it now. Around her the Aerialbots were chasing one another, except for Skydive who had also come to cling to Optimus' leg armor.

"Yes." Optimus said, looking around at the bots who had once been, and still were, under hi-her command. "And the blame rests solely upon me." She admitted.

The others watched her for a moment and she could see Jazz and Prowl sharing a look filled with layers of understanding. It made her wonder if their conjux bond was still intact or not. Though looking at Inferno and Red Alert she assumed that anything to do with their sparks was still affecting them. It wasn't as if Sideswipe and Sunstreaker or Topspin and Twin Twist could stop being split-spark twins, after all.

"What happened down there Optimus?" Prowl asked, lifting Sideswipe into her arms. The small bot chirped inquisitively before settling down, looking more than content to watch his sibling trying to coax Bluestreak out from behind the older Praxian.

"I… am not certain. I recall hearing a voice and the Matrix reacting to it." She reached up and pressed a hand against her chassis again, but the matrix remained cold. "There was a room filled with golden liquid and a…" She didn't know how to describe what she'd seen. The glyphs just didn't seem to come, no matter how she tried. "A guardian. The guardian gave me a chance. A chance to bring peace, to rebuild Cybertron… to save you all." She looked down at Bumblebee, whose big blue optics looked up at her with adoration. Reaching down she ran her digits gently over his tiny helm, eliciting a content trill. A gentle smile crossed her face before she looked up and locked eyes with each of them. "I am sorry this happened to you… but I could not pass up the chance. I would sacrifice myself a thousand times if it would stop the war."

Grim looks crossed the faces of the other femmes as the sparklings continued to play. Though it seemed a few of them were already more in tune with their new caretakers than expected as Bumblebee rose onto his pedes and hugged as much of Optimus' leg as he could. Likewise Sideswipe made a forlorn little chirp and snuggled closer to Prowl's chassis, as if trying to ward off the uncomfortable feeling in the air.

"Optimus…" Ratchet said quietly, her voice tinged with concern and anger. "You are not expendable. I don't care if it would stop this war dead in its tracks. You can't just sacrifice yourself like that!" Near the end the words were practically a hiss, making Optimus flinch slightly at the admonishment.

"Ratch's right, Op. You need to take bettah care of yaself. We don't wanna lose ya, ya're an important friend to many ah us." Looking to Jazz, Optimus could feel the calm reassurance her presence always brought and finally felt her frame beginning to relax.

"I hate to interrupt, but we've got incoming!" Blaster said as she dashed back into the domed room, one hand on the side of her helm as she took in all the information from her symbiotes.

"Incoming?" Ratchet asked, expression hardening.

"A Decepticon ship just landed outside the temple, I guess they weren't as worried about the signal being a trap as we were." Blaster said as she skidded to a stop in front of Optimus.

Everybot's optics were on her, the question of what to do practically screaming in the silence as even the sparklings began to sense something was wrong and quieted.

"Jetfire, Blurr, Smokescreen, Ratchet, I want you to take the sparklings further into the temple and keep them safe. Currently we have the upper hand, so we'll set up an ambush." Holding out her hand she summoned her axe from subspace but nearly toppled at the unexpected weight on her arm.

There were startled shouts of surprise as Optimus took in the large round shield now attached to her arm. It shimmered in the light as she looked it over curiously, wondering just what it could be made of. She pulled out her blaster and was glad that, at least, was the same as before.

"Autobots," she said firmly, "we hold here! We protect our comrades who are now too small to protect themselves. We will not allow the Decepticons to overtake us!"

A raucous cheer met her audials and she allowed her battlemask to slip into place.

They would not allow their future to be taken away from them again.

[Megatron]

As the incessant alarm that brought them to the barren planet finally ceased the warlord narrowed his optics at the screen. His mechs had been trying, in vain, to kill the detestable sound for some time now and yet, the moment they arrived, it ceased.

Turning to his second in command he glowered down at the bristling flier, who had been twitchy ever since the alert had begun. "Starscream, take your Seekers out on a patrol. I want to know if there is anything worthwhile on this blasted rock."

"As you wish, oh mighty leader." Spat the irate flier before turning on his pede and storming away.

"Soundwave, have you detected anything yet?"

"Negative response; there is nothing on the scanners, Lord Megatron." His third in command switched between frequencies rapidly, intent on his task.

Megatron stood, hands clasped behind his back, and frowned in contemplation. He had never heard of the kind of alarm that could hack into every system, like a virus, and not be expunged by even the best code breakers. I had even knocked out his third for a time due to it being echoed and amplified by taking over every frequency possible.

It had tapered off a short time ago, as if it was anticipating their arrival, and now it had gone silent.

It was far too suspicious to just leave without finding the source. There was no telling when it would happen again, and what havoc it could cause if they were in the middle of a battle.

But the question remained; had it only attacked the Decepticons communications? Or had it affected the Autobots as well?

He wasn't certain how long he stood there, running through different scenarios and pondering the origin of the alert, when one of the bridge crew tried to get his attention.

"My Lord." Turning to Reflector he nodded at the mech to proceed. "We're picking up something from the Seekers. It appears to be a structure not to far from here. Your orders?"

"Recall the Seekers, we'll bring the ship closer to this structure. Assemble a strike force. Soundwave, with me." He ordered as he turned to leave the bridge.

"Affirmative."

Whatever this was, whether a trap or not, he was going to get to the bottom of it. If it was a trap? He would make certain that it could never be used against them again.

[Optimus]

Pressing her back into the wall between two pillars the femme did her best to blend with the shadows of the wall. It wasn't that difficult, after all none of them had time or the resources to paint themselves yet. Only the Autobot insignia remained, the red a bright splash of color on otherwise drab frames.

The sound of heavy pedefalls caught her attention and she steeled herself, pulling her mind inward and calming her racing spark until her presence was smooth like glass.

The moment that a large, dark, yet familiar form passed her she sprang into action. Using the shield on her arm she launched herself forward and up, coming under the mech's arm as he attempted to swat her away. If she had been larger, like before, her attack wouldn't have connected, but as she braced herself the shield collided with Megatron's chin, snapping his helm back. While he was off balance she lunged forward and swept his feet out from under him.

She heard the other Decepticons shout in surprise as the others sprang into action as well.

Megatron's searing red optics glowered at her and she knew he wasn't downed. She didn't have as much strength as before, even if she was faster and more agile now. So she did the only thing she could think of in that moment and threw herself on top of the large mech, pinning him to the floor.

She held her blaster against his helm, blue optics blazing as she prepared herself for her long time enemy's counter attack.

Megatron's optics widened before narrowing. There was a calculating look on his face as he reached toward her, only to stop when she pressed the blaster harder against his helm.

"Tell your bots to stand down. I will not hesitate to aerate your helm if you do not comply." Something in the back of her processor twinged and she swore she felt the Matrix thrum in her core.

The next moment she found herself flipped onto the ground, her blaster knocked away and shield arm pinned firmly.

Megatron reached up and rubbed at his chin, though his optics never left hers. "Impressive." His voice rumbled through her as his optics fell on her insignia. "But I think you'll find, Autobot, that-"

Before the mech could finish the thought a high pitched wailing could be heard, piercing her processor and making her spark race. Tilting her helm back she spied Bumblebee down the hall. The moment her optics landed on the sparkling she began to struggle frantically against the large mech, everything inside her screaming that she had to protect her sparkling.

In a move that she would have to ponder over later, Megatron released her and backed away. She sprang to her feet and raced for her sparkling, who hurried toward her with outstretched arms. Before either of them could get too far Blurr appeared and scooped up Bumblebee, giving her a worried look before she vanished back into the temple.

With her sparkling out of danger she turned to face Megatron once again, squaring her shoulders and raising her shield.

She would defend the hall with the last pulse of her spark and her optics mirrored that resolve.

"Decepticons!" Megatron bellowed, red optics trained on Optimus. "Stand down!"

The command made everybot freeze, Autobots and Decepticons alike.

"Pr- Bossbot?" She heard Jazz call.

"Disengage." She ordered, her voice unwavering.

"But-" Springer started.

"Do as I say."

A moment later the other femmes, what remained of her Autobot Command, retreated from the Decepticons and came to stand at her back.

Megatron stalked forward a few steps but stopped when Optimus tensed. He made a show of bowing politely and it made her frown in confusion. "I do not believe we have previously met. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. We came in answer to the distress beacon." His optics trailed over the gathered Autobots for a moment before returning to her. "It was not our intention to scare you, as I'm certain you've heard many horror stories about myself and my mechs." Standing back to his full height he gave her a smile that she would have called charming, if she didn't know the mech behind it. "Are you still in need of assistance?"

Optimus mouth fell open behind her mask. Was… was Megatron serious?

After a moment of stunned silence Optimus lowered her shield. "No, the beacon was activated… accidentally. It took us some time to turn it off again. I… apologize if you went out of your way, but we don't need any-" A low gurgling sputtering sound could be heard, echoing off the walls, and Optimus turned to look at Blaster.

Her face flushed with color and she shuffled on her feet in embarrassment before shrugging. "I… we're low on rations and the sparklings…" She hesitantly explained, while also reaching up to press a hand against the holding area of her symbiotes.

Optimus should have known, carriers required more energon than others due to the smaller bots that relied on them to function.

"You are in need of supplies." Megatron stated, slowly coming closer until he was only a few feet away. "Allow us to aid you. You have a sparkling, yes? If not for yourself then do it for them."

Optimus wavered for a moment, glancing at Prowl and Jazz. Neither looked thrilled with the idea, but they didn't oppose it either. She had no doubt they were already formulating a plan of escape.

She turned back to Megatron, looking him directly in the optics. "I will allow you to aid us." Her voice hardened. "But one wrong move and we will not hesitate to destroy you. For the same reason I am allowing you to help us. Is that understood?"

Megatron smiled again and her spark began to race in its casing. "Understood."

Optimus nodded and, against her better judgment, turned to lead the Decepticons further into the temple.
"Ah, before we go any further," the mech said, "might I have your designation?"

Optimus froze, opening and closing her mouth for a moment before turning to look back at her foe.

"…Aria." She supplied after a moment. "You may call me Aria."

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 2

[Megatron]

Following the group of femmes further into the ancient structure Megatron couldn't help but watch the one who had attacked him, Aria. From the way the others looked to her for commands and reassurance it was clear she was the undisputed leader of the little group.

Imagine his surprise when the first thing to meet him when entering the structure was not his greatest enemy, as he had suspected, but a fierce femme with the courage to take him head on. His jaw still ached from the powerful blow masterfully delivered from beneath his guard. The way she had ducked under his arm and swept his legs out from beneath him when he was off balance- it was safe to say she was a veteran warrior. Yet as he looked over her frame he had to frown at the unfamiliar design.

It was like a perfect blending of civilian and warrior. Her 'weapon' of choice was also quite fascinating. He had not seen a gladiatorial shield like that in quite some time and it seemed to have some hidden tricks as well, if the shimmer along its surface indicated what he thought it did.

A threat to his life was normally something he would not abide. He was the leader of the Decepticons, and very few had ever bested him in combat, but the sheer determination in her optics, the will to go through with her threat, had stalled his processor for a moment. There had been no hatred in her gaze, only purpose, and he wondered why such a femme would go so far.

Then he'd heard the wailing and it clicked into place.

A sparkling. And judging from her reaction, going from calm warrior to frantic femme, he inferred that it was her sparkling.

The way she had stood in front of that hall, as if she and she alone could stop all of them if her companions failed… it had made something inside him flare with interest.

An interest he'd not felt in eons.

He came out of his contemplation as Aria looked to the femme flanking her on the left. "J-Jive," she seemed to hesitate, glancing back at him momentarily before turning back to the other femme, "please go on ahead and let them know we have a ceasefire. I don't want to scare the little ones."

The visored femme gave Aria a playful salute. "Ya got it, Bossbot." She said before disappearing down a different hall. The accent sounded Polyhexian, but it was buffered by something else. A kind of musical undertone that should have been familiar but wasn't.

Aria turned back to him and he put the information to the back of his processor, for the moment. "There are four others, besides those you see here, and twenty-three sparklings." She said calmly. "I ask that you are careful around them, some of them have… have been through a lot." Her shoulders drooped slightly and for a moment it looked as if all the weight of the cosmos rested upon her back. In the next moment her resolve and determination were back, shoulders squared and emotions set aside for later. "If I see anyone being the slightest bit rough with them, I will eject the perpetrator myself." Her optics flashed and Megatron knew she was serious about her threat.

"We would never seek to harm sparklings." Megatron stated simply. "Warframes care about our young just like any other frametype. If something occurs I can assure you; I will deal with it myself." And he meant every glyph of it.

Aria watched him warily for a moment before something in her frame relaxed. The way her optics shifted and softened he would bet any amount of shanix that she was smiling behind her battlemask.

He briefly wondered if he could convince her to drop the mask but discarded the idea immediately. None of the femmes trusted him and he would be a fool to think that would change any time soon.

They entered a large domed area and Megatron almost froze at the four femmes standing there, protectively hovering over the small swarm of unpainted sparklings.

Something inside his spark ached to see them without a splash of color, too close to the color of death for comfort. He noted that none of the femmes had any color either and wondered if they had all chosen to get rid of any distinguishing marks or if it was a side effect of something else.

The sparkling from before tried to run toward his caretaker but was stopped by a sharp eyed Praxian femme.

"You really brought the Slagmaker in Chief himself here, didn't you?" One of the femmes scoffed as she stomped forward. "Who's injured? I know one of you afthelms is, you always are."

"R-Rivet!" A particularly large femme stuttered, looking scandalized. "Not around young audials!" She looked down at the sparklings, who seemed more interested in the new bots than anything the snappy femme was saying.

Megatron let out a chuckle of amusement before catching Aria staring up at him. The moment their optics met she looked away again.

"I think it would be best for everyone to introduce themselves." She said as the waved off the femme medic with a gentle voice. "I'm fine, Rivet, check the others first."

The medical femme pursed her lips for a moment, obviously wanting to argue, but after a moment she let out a heavy vent and stalked toward the other femmes who had been part of the ambush.

"My designation is Pacer." The Praxian femme standing to Aria's right stated calmly.

The Carrier spoke next, giving them a jaunty wave, though she held her field in quite close. "Frequency." He noticed that she did not supply the names of her symbiotes.

The next femme smiled confidently. "Rebound."

The largest femme ducked her head a little, looking flustered at the sudden attention. "S-Skydancer."

The next femme let out a small tut as she crossed her arms. "Lectura."

The femme who had collected Aria's sparkling earlier shifted from pede to pede, as if trying to disperse her nervous energy. "Afterimage." It took him a moment to parse out her designation, she'd spoken almost too fast. By the look of her she was a speedster, potentially Velocitronian.

The sharp eyed Praxian gave them a polite nod, expression carefully neutral. "Mistveil."

The last femme just kind of shrugged. "I'm Uplift."

By the time the femmes were finished their introductions his Decepticons had gotten themselves into some kind of order, the shock finally beginning to wear off. At the same time Rivet, the medic, finished whatever repair the confident femme, Rebound, seemed to have and finally stepped away.

The medic glowered at him for a moment before letting out a heavy vent. "Well?" She asked, one hand on her hip and a tool in the other.

"Well what, femme?" Barricade asked in response.

"Well which one of you low processored idiots is injured?" She snapped.

"You… want to fix us?" Breakdown asked, looking from the medic to Barricade and back.

"I'm a medical professional. I won't leave any bot unattended if I can help it." She said firmly. "I swore an oath and I intend to keep it."

Megatron watched his mechs as they mulled over the information.

Finally Barricade shrugged and motioned to his arm. "I'm having trouble moving it."

Megatron's optic ridge rose slightly in surprise.

"Hmph. Let's see what the damage is." Rivet strode over to the warrior and immediately started running her digits over the appendage. She dug into the shoulder seam and Megatron's optic ridge rose further when the mech's face flushed slightly.

"Hey!" His attention was grabbed by a sharp shout and he turned just in time to see Aria's sparkling break free from the sharp eyed Praxian, Mistveil. The little bot bolted across the room and Aria let out a small fond huff before she knelt and opened her arms for them.

The sparkling let out a series of angry chirps before snuggling against the femme's chassis. "I know, little one, I'm sorry for scaring you." She said quietly, voice soft and filled with warmth.

Megatron burned with sudden desire at the sight. It was a future he knew he would never have, back when he was a gladiator, but one he had always craved.

"And who is this?" He asked, keeping his tone light. "I don't think we've been introduced yet."

Aria looked up at him, almost seeming startled, before she ran her digits over the sparkling's helm in a calming gesture. "…Hornet. His designation is Hornet, and he may look cute but he is a fierce little fighter." There was a sense of pride and adoration in her voice and the sparkling responded in kind, sitting up straighter and making happy little chirps.

Large blue optics landed on Megatron and the sparkling made a couple of clicking noises before pointing at him.

"No, little one, I think you should stay right where you are." Aria chided gently.

Wide blue optics stared up at her and it was only a matter of time before the femme caved under the absolutely devastating stare. She turned to look up at him, optics blazing with protective light. "If he receives even a single scratch…" She let out a harsh vent before stepping closer and holding out the sparkling to him.

The sparkling made more clicking and chirping noises, glancing back at his caretaker. She let out a small chuckle. "Yes, he is very big. No, I don't think you will be as big when you are older." The sparkling whined and Aria shook her head in amusement.

Without thinking about what he was doing Megatron held out his servo to the tiny bot. The sparkling reached out and patted his servo, looking fascinated. The little one tried to wriggle out of Aria's hold to get closer and she let out a low defensive sound, something bordering on a growl, before pulling her sparkling back and away.

"Mistveil, would you take Hornet for me? We should probably begin our discussion on what the… Decepticons might aid us with."

Without a word the Praxian femme came forward and took Aria's sparkling, who began to complain the moment he was not in contact with his caretaker.

"I think ah saw a meetin room nearby, Bossbot. We can take care o' these mechs." The Polyhexian femme said, pointing toward one of the arches that led down another hall. "Just through there an then turn left."

"Thank you, Jive." Aria turned and looked over her gathered femmes. She seemed to hesitate for a moment. "Lectura, with me. Pacer, you're in charge until I return."

As soon as the prim femme joined them Aria turned to him. "If you'll follow me, Megatron." She said as she turned away and began walking toward the archway.

His spark flared and his steps almost faltered.

When was the last time anyone had said his designation like that? As if he were an equal. And why, in the Smelter's name, did he not feel the need to correct her?

[Aria/Optimus]

By grace of her training, and long years at war, she was able to maintain a veneer of calm as she turned her back on her greatest enemy once again and led him further into the temple, their current temporary base. Intermittently she'd felt the Matrix give off pulses of warmth in a manner that felt like approval but otherwise the artifact in her chassis remained dormant.

It was odd, she thought, Megatron was acting far more subdued than she had ever seen him. Even during the tentative 'peace talks' of millennia ago the mech had always seemed to have this overwhelming presence that just screamed dominance. But at the moment whatever that presence was had been reigned in, leaving her reeling and confused.

Even Bumblebee, who had more reason than most to be terrified of Megatron, had only expressed a sparkling's curiosity over the 'big big mech.'

At least she had confirmation that those who had been reverted back to sparklinghood had no memories of their lives as adult frames. None of them had seemed to have a poor reaction to the Decepticons. Lacking the innate fear of warframes that older bots expressed.

Jazz's quick thinking in warning everyone else they would need to choose new designations was Primus sent. Optim-Aria only hoped the sparklings would take to their new designations as quickly, otherwise they could all be in grave danger.

Entering the room Jive had pointed them to she was glad to see there were chairs large enough for somebot of Megatron's size. Going around the table she took a seat, laying her servos flat on the table.

The mech's optics flicked down to her empty servos and a look of surprise came over him. Perhaps he had not expected someone like her to know anything about Warframes or their different cultures. The gesture itself was such a small thing and yet it seemed to have quite an impact on the large mech.

"Why don't we start this negotiation with what you're actually willing to provide immediately. Then, if we have further needs, I can bring those items to your attention." Her helm tilted slightly as she looked up at him. "Does that sound straight forward enough?"

Megatron leaned back in the chair, interlocking his digits and letting out a contemplative noise. "It is straight forward enough, however, I have one request." There was a gleam in his intelligent optics and Optim-Aria stiffened with wariness.

"No offense to you, Megatron, but I would like to hear it before I agree to anything."

The mech chuckled. "It is nothing sinister, I promise you. It is only; how do you expect me to trust your word when you won't even show your face?" His tone was mild but his optics bore into her intently. "You still look ready for battle with your mask and shield."

"I… suppose that is fair." With a simple motion she subspaced her shield before retracting her battlemask. "Is this better?"

"Quite." She looked up at the warlord and something in his presence seemed almost… pleased.

"Then please proceed. What sort of aid are you offering us?" She waved at Perceptor, now Lectura, and the other femme pulled out a pad to take notes on.

Megatron sat up straighter. "For starters, we can provide you with Energon."

---

Character List

Femmes;
(New, Old)

Aria/Aria Prime- Orion Pax/Optimus Prime
Rivet- Ratchet
Pacer- Prowl
Jive- Jazz
Rebound- Springer
Mistveil- Smokescreen
Frequency- Blaster
Uplift- Wheeljack
Lectura- Perceptor
Skydancer- Skyfire/Jetfire
Afterimage- Blurr

Sparklings;
(New, Old)

Hornet- Bumblebee
Swiftstrike- Sideswipe
Sunspot- Sunstreaker
Whisper- Bluestreak
Brightarrow- Silverbolt
Skyfall- Skydive
Reverie- Fireflight
Windsweeper- Air Raid
Arbalest-Slingshot
Hopper- Cliffjumper
Flashfire- Hot Rod
Steelspark- Ironhide
Figment- Mirage
Ace- Arcee
Steadfast- Hound
Brightflare- Inferno
Siren- Red Alert
Outburst- Broadside
Dusty- Sandstorm
Stalwart- Roadbuster
Twirl- Topspin
Twist- Twin Twist

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 3

[Rivet/Ratchet]

Watching Optimus leave with Megatron made all of Ratchet's renewed circuits twinge with worry. Enough that he… she could feel her Amica reaching out to envelop her spark in warmth like a physical hug. A small smile crossed her face as she stepped away from the Con she had been working on. "Better?" She asked with a critical optic as the mech lifted and rotated the arm at the shoulder.

"Huh. Much better." The mech stared at her for a moment before giving her a small grateful smile. "Where'd you learn to work on Warframes, femme?"

Ratchet stiffened, optics narrowing slightly. He… she knew that Barricade wasn't just a simple enforcer. He was smarter than most gave him credit for, but not her.

She'd been online longer than any of them knew, save perhaps Optimus or Skyfire.

Putting a hand on her hip she glowered at him and brandished the wrench in her hand. She would have to talk fast if she wanted to throw off any suspicion. "I used to work in a neutral clinic, the head medic there would take in anyone who was injured no matter what side they were on or frametype they were created with. Not that I think it's any business of yours, mech." Once again she felt a gentle warmth from her Amica, underlaid with a feeling of concern.

"No offense meant, femme. Just curious." The mech said, raising his servos in a defensive gesture in front of his chassis.

"Hmph." Turning away from Barricade she took in the others that Megatron had brought with him and had to force herself to keep a neutral expression. Or at least a disgruntled one. The old Slagmaker must have seen the Wrecker's ship and decided to bring the big guns. Standing awkwardly, where Megatron had left them, were the Constructicons. Scrapper, Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Hook, and Long Haul were all watching the sparklings with mixed interest. Nearby Breakdown was going between looking at Knock Out nervously and watching the sparklings with something approaching wonder. Meanwhile Knock Out was still standing speechless, optics wide as he stared at the femmes and sparklings.

That was a lot of crazy to bring on a mission and leave alone with 'the enemy.'

"Steelspark!" Came the stern voice of Smokescreen. "Do not pounce on Windsweeper!"

Turning to see what was going on Ratchet rolled her optics. Ironhide had decided that Air Raid wasn't paying enough attention to their game, it seemed, and had pounced on the larger sparkling. Of course this meant that the rest of the Aerialbots had taken notice and flocked to protect their bonded brother.

Fireflight, who had been climbing on Skyfire, jumped off as if to dive bomb the tough little grounder.

"I've got them, Mistveil." Skyfire said as she scooped Fireflight out of the air and picked up a sniffling Air Raid. "Reverie, no diving. You could hurt yourself." The large femme scolded with all the gentle grace of a seasoned caretaker.

Ratchet was going to get a helmache trying to keep all of their new designations straight.

"Why are none of you concerned about your paint!?" Knock Out finally said in exasperation. "Look at you all! You're so- so- drab!"

Ratchet snorted in amusement. Wheeljack just looked at the fussy Decepticon and shrugged nonchalantly in that almost infuriatingly blasé manner of his… hers.

"It's not like we have any paint lying around here to work with. Trust me mech, if we had any paint we would have given the little ones some color first thing." Ratchet could feel how disturbed her Amica was at the idea of gray sparkling frames.

A sentiment she shared but was carefully ignoring for her own sanity. She'd seen enough dead frames, sparkling frames, in her function to last for an eternity. She had no desire to see more.

"Uh, hate-to-interrupt." Blurr said, helm on a swivel as their optics swept across the sparklings. "Has-anybot-seen-Figment?"

Ratchet felt her spark grow cold as they all quickly took a count of the sparklings.

One was missing.

"If Figment is with one of you, mechs, I hope to Primus you hand them over quickly." Ratchet's optics went wide with surprise as something cold washed through her frame. She turned toward Skyfire, who'd been the one to make the threat, and for the first time in a long time realized that the gentle scientist was, in fact, quite large. Large and imposing as she stood at her full height, though it wasn't enough to tower over the larger Decepticons.

"Remain calm, Skydancer. I know your caretaker programming is overworked right now, but I've been keeping an optic on them and they have not interacted with the sparklings." Prowl said carefully. "I'm certain that he is nearby."

"Steadfast." Prowl turned to look down at the sparkling that had once been Hound. The newly made femme smiled gently, something Ratchet had only ever seen her do when around the twins or Jazz, and ran her digits over the little mech's helm. "Can you find Figment for me? I know you're very good at finding things."

The little mech chirped an affirmative and walked a few paces away before stopping and going almost unnaturally still. His blue-green optics seemed to gleam as he took in everything around him before chirping again and pointing toward one of the pillars. He looked up at Prowl and chirped again, more insistently this time.

"Thank you, Steadfast. You did a very good job." Prowl said as she rose and walked over to the pillar the sparkling had indicated.

Although walking wasn't quite right anymore. No. The Praxian almost seemed to glide across the floor. Rather than a predator stalking their prey the femme looked regal and graceful.

"Figment. Come out now, please. You gave Skydancer a scare and owe her an apology." Prowl stood with hands on hips and looked down at the pillar, doorwings twitching slightly.

Ratchet had to hold back a curse as the sparkling almost seemed to materialize before her very optics.

A sparkling… shouldn't have that kind of ability. While Mirage had specialty mods installed early into the war he was currently a sparkling and had no space, let alone the hardware, for that sort of thing.

Which meant that his ability to cloak himself was no longer a mod.

He was an Outlier.

[Aria/Optimus]

"For starters, we can provide you with Energon." Megatron said evenly. "Although it is not configured for sparkling consumption it wouldn't be hard to dilute it down and find the right additives. There are many under my banner who have special needs due to their place of origin or unique modifications."

Aria wasn't surprised. For all that Megatron was a warlord he had accepted anyone who wished to join his cause. In all their time as enemies she had noticed that any prisoners they'd taken had looked quite healthy, despite whatever wounds needed to be treated in the medical bay after the fighting was over. Ratchet had never had to give any of them an infusion except medical grade energon to promote healing.

"I'm certain that once Rivet has looked over the sparklings she will have a proper list of their current needs to share with whoever you have as your current quartermaster." Aria said politely. "Lectura," she turned to the scientist, who looked up from her notes, "you know how to safely dilute and modify energon, correct?"

"I do, P-Aria. I'm certain Rivet and I can work with whomever is assigned from the Decepticons to be our overseers, since I assume we wouldn't be left to our own devices." Lecura reached up as if to adjust the monocle she used to have before realizing it was gone and lowering her servo.

Out of he corner of her optic she saw Megatron's gaze narrow slightly. A shiver of worry ran through her frame but she kept her expression polite and impassive.

"I'll be sure to assign someone who is willing to work with your bots without being disruptive or combative." The large mech said easily. "After all, this is for the little ones. Regardless of your faction, sparklings are our future." There was a weight to his glyphs as his crimson optics shifted to regard Aria carefully.

"Thank you, Megatron, for now that is all we will require. What is it you-"

"If I might make a suggestion?" The warlord interrupted.

Aria's optics narrowed with suspicion. "Go on."

"You need paint." He said firmly, optics scanning both of their frames before flicking back up to meet Aria's. "Regardless of faction, seeing bots walking around in a color so similar to that of sparkless frames is frankly disturbing. Especially the sparklings." There was a hint of something in his tone, the way his optics twitched slightly, that made Aria wonder if it was really Megatron who was disturbed by it.

An odd thought about someone who was colloquially known as the Slagmaker.

"Energon for the sparklings and paint then." Lectura said beside her. "And what will that cost us, Sir Megatron?" Her blue optics were sharp as she stared across the table at the large mech.

"I am certain we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement." An amused smirk crossed his face before his expression turned more contemplative. "What can you femmes do for my faction, I wonder?" There was almost a playfulness to his voice now.

Lectura bristled next to her and Aria held out her servo as she opened her mouth to reply. The other femme looked at her, frame stiff with anger, but Aria shook her head. She let out a vent and sat back slightly, offended but willing to let her Prime handle the situation.

"Among our number we have a tactician, a medical trained professional, a communications specialist, two scientists, an inventor, a courier, a psychologist, a musician, and two warriors. Which are myself and Rebound." She stared him in the optics, waiting to see what he would do.

"Hm." The mech quietly mulled over the information for a moment. "We have no need for a musician, psychologist, courier, or an inventor. But I'm certain we can find other tasks that they might be able to perform in exchange."

"Are you suggesting that-" Lectura began.

"Lectura. Stand down." Aria said firmly, voice only slightly raised above the other femme's outburst. She turned towards Megatron, optics like precious crystals as they shone with inner strength. "I will not allow my companions to be taken advantage of, Megatron. I know you are a mech of your word, and although I disagree with the way you govern your faction I know you to be a mech of honor in some respects."

The mech's optics bore into hers as he stared her down. Yet oddly she did not feel threatened by it. The fact that he was listening so intently meant he was taking her seriously.

"I do not believe you mean to suggest we use our frames as a means of payment. Even if I am mistaken, and that is what you are suggesting, I will tell you right now- that option is not on the table. Nor is it up for debate." She sat straighter, shoulders squared and helm held high. "My femmes will not be coerced. Do you understand me?"

[Megatron]

It was fascinating how easy it was for Aria to command those who followed her. The first time the other femme had reacted to his words all it took was a simple raised servo and small shake of the helm to stop her in her tracks.

The make up of the femme's team was quite odd, if you didn't take into account the majority of them were civilian frames with battle upgrades. Why would they need a tactician, two scientists, and a comms specialist? The psychologist and medical professional made sense, they were taking care of sparklings after all, but a tactician? Was there a reason for the odd mix of femmes or was it that they had all been thrown together by circumstances out of their servos?

Aria's words rang in his audials.

She thought he was honorable? A mech of his word?

He'd styled his comments to get a rise out of her, to test her reaction, but this was not what he'd expected. The fact that she believed he hadn't meant his words in the more degenerate form they could be taken in had him blinking in shock.

He cleared his intake. "You are correct to assume it was not meant in that manner." He clarified. "We have many manual labor positions open and other errands that could use extra servos. I assure you that I do not condone that kind of violence, regardless of what others might say about my warriors. If I find one of my warriors has committed such an act they are imprisoned, tried, and executed for their crime."

No, Megatron would never condone forcing someone into a berth. His early days as a Gladiator flashed behind his optics and his servos clenched against the table. He knew what it felt like to lose the ability to choose, to have the safety of knowing ones frame belonged only to oneself taken away and crushed under pede.

Aria's crystal blue optics dropped to his servos for a moment before her expression darkened. Her servo twitched as if she wanted to reach out but she refrained. Instead she looked up into his optics and gave him a smile that in another bot he would call pity but on her he would call sympathy. "We would be happy to perform labor tasks in exchange for the sparkling grade energon and paint. If that is all you wanted to suggest?"

"Unless you have a store of weapons hidden somewhere in this temple I don't believe you have anything else to offer, do you?" He said with a chuckle.

Aria rolled her optics before she froze, cheeks reddening from embarrassment. "Then we have a deal." Standing she held out her strong servo to him, palm facing the table.

Megatron's processor was racing as he stood and reached out his own servo, palm up, to grip her arm in the Kaonian form of agreement. Her digits curled around his wrist, all that she could realistically reach, and they shook on the deal. He hesitated to release her for a moment and heard her make a small noise of confusion. His optics were trained on their clasped arms before he looked back into her optics. "You seem to have some interesting knowledge at your disposal." He said as he released her. "I have never known of an Autobot who understood Kaonite etiquette."

Aria nibbled on her bottom derma for a moment before seeming to remember she had retracted her battlemask and stopped. "I… used to spend copious amounts of time in the Archives." She explained, tone almost shy.

"You were an archivist?" Now that was certainly a surprise, although a welcome one.

It only made his interest grow.

"Ahem." The other femme interrupted them as she also stood. "I believe that with the negotiation finalized we should begin working on the logistics. We-" Suddenly the femme twitched slightly, helm canting to the side as if listening to something. Likewise Aria reached up to tap at the side of her helm, nodding to whatever was being said on the other end of the transmission.

"Is there a problem?" He asked, raising an optic ridge in question.

"Only a small incident. One of the sparklings disappeared momentarily. Figment likes playing hiding games, he caused a bit of fuss before he was found. But he's safe and back with the others now."

He was surprised that the sharp opticed femmes could lose one of the sparklings but with his warriors standing nearby he knew their attention must be split. He reminded himself that they didn't know that the Decepticons would never hurt a sparkling. At least not yet.

"Well, since we're finished here we might as well-"

His comm crackled. ||My Lord!||

||What is it Barricade?||

||You need to return immediately. Starscream and his Trine are here and causing a disturbance.|| The mech reported quickly.

Megatron cursed internally. ||We'll be there momentarily.||

Looking at the sudden fierce looks on the femmes faces he assumed they'd also been contacted about his second in command. Letting out a harsh vent of frustration he waved toward the door. "I believe that is our cue to return. It appears my second in command is making a nuisance of himself. He will be dealt with the moment I arrive, I assure you."

There was a small flash of appreciation on Aria's face before she nodded. Her battlemask slid back into place but he thought he could still hear her mutter, "why is he even in the chain of command to begin with?"

Megatron let out a snort of amusement but didn't reply as they turned and headed back to the main chamber of the temple.

---

Character List

Femmes;
(New, Old)

Aria/Aria Prime- Orion Pax/Optimus Prime
Rivet- Ratchet
Pacer- Prowl
Jive- Jazz
Rebound- Springer
Mistveil- Smokescreen
Frequency- Blaster
Uplift- Wheeljack
Lectura- Perceptor
Skydancer- Skyfire/Jetfire
Afterimage- Blurr

Sparklings;
(New, Old)

Hornet- Bumblebee
Swiftstrike- Sideswipe
Sunspot- Sunstreaker
Whisper- Bluestreak
Brightarrow- Silverbolt
Skyfall- Skydive
Reverie- Fireflight
Windsweeper- Air Raid
Arbalest-Slingshot
Hopper- Cliffjumper
Flashfire- Hot Rod
Steelspark- Ironhide
Figment- Mirage
Ace- Arcee
Steadfast- Hound
Brightflare- Inferno
Siren- Red Alert
Outburst- Broadside
Dusty- Sandstorm
Stalwart- Roadbuster
Twirl- Topspin
Twist- Twin Twist

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 4

[Aria/Optimus]

Even before they came into the main atrium where they'd left their respective groups Aria could hear a loud shrieking that was just on the edge of being too much for her audials to handle. Lectura looked at her with wide optics, wincing as the noise became louder.

She couldn't see his face but ahead of them she thought she could hear Megatron muttering something about 'that cursed shrieking half-glitch,' which was not inaccurate.

The situation they came upon would have been more alarming if it wasn't so comical. Thundercracker and Skywarp seemed to be keeping everybot at bay while Starscream bristled and shrieked in what had to be High Vosnian, since Aria could only understand about half of what he was saying. The mech was half crouched over the sparkling Aerialbots, keeping them within his sight, as Skydancer calmly replied in the same language.

She was able to catch parts of the conversation as they came closer and she almost stopped in surprise. "-protect them- small and fragile- need to learn- Vos culture- no one left to teach- take them under wing- proper flying!" It almost sounded as if Starscream was trying to adopt the Aerialbots. A thought that was as interesting as it was alarming.

For each point that was raised Skydancer countered with her own. "-we are protecting them- yes, nestlings are small and fragile- yes, they need to learn- of course- I can teach them- you cannot- they are not Seekerlings."

The last one seemed to really get under Starscream's plating as he stood to his full height and hissed something defensive.

"Enough!" Came Megatron's booming voice, startling everyone into reaching for their weapons.

Not wanting to have this devolve into fighting Aria stepped up next to Megatron. "Stand down! I will not have weapons being drawn in the presence of the sparklings." She said with all the authority she possessed.

It must have said something about her years leading the Autobots when even the Decepticons followed her order without a fuss, although they did turn to their own leader for confirmation.

"Skydancer, since Starscream is only capable of speaking High Vosnian at the moment would you please explain what he is shouting about to those who can't understand?"

Skydancer looked to Starscream, who was venting harshly and still refused to step away from the Aerialbots. Thankfully the group of young fliers just looked fascinated by his wings and were chirping amongst themselves.

"Starscream and his Trine came this way when something about the temple felt familiar to him. After they entered he demanded to see Lord Megatron before he noticed the sparklings. I… can't say exactly what triggered it but I believe the, um, Protocol, hit him hard." Skydancer said with some embarrassment.

"Protocol?" Megatron asked beside her, looking suspicious.

Aria rubbed at her forehelm in exasperation. "The Protocol was embedded in the signal that was sent out before we were able to shut it down. It seems to be an ancient failsafe from Cybertron pertaining to the immediate protection of all sparklings. Not everybot is going to respond to it in this manner but Seekers have always been especially keen on the welfare of sparklings. It comes from their ancient roots when, during a plague, a virus hit their population and took half of their young in one fell swoop." Aria sighed, saddened by the loss of life even though it had happened ages ago. "Since then, to preserve their frametype, their coding adapted to consider all sparklings worthy of protection, although they of course have more of an affinity for flight capable young." She motioned to the Aerialbots that were still hanging around the older flier's pedes. "Since there are enough femmes here considered 'able' to take care of the non-flight capable young his coding considers it his Trine's right to take the sparklings and teach them properly as Fliers of Vos."

Pausing in her explanation she saw the looks of shock shared equally by Autobot and Decepticon alike. She could practically feel Megatron's gaze on her and she was glad she'd pulled her battlemask up so no one could see the slight flush of embarrassment on her cheeks.

Why was everyone always so surprised by her knowledge? She'd been an Archivist, for Primus' sake.

"Is it their right?" Asked Uplift, looking curious.

"If we were on Cybertron and the sparklings were orphaned like now, then yes. The Winglord and his Trine would be well within their right to claim any orphaned flier for Vos. Especially if they were a Seekerling."

"Pr-Aria is correct." Skydancer said, stuttering over her proper title but quickly correcting herself before she could let Optimus' true designation slip. "But we are not on Cybertron. Starscream has no jurisdiction here. Which means I will be teaching them." Her tone was calm yet firm.

Aria waited for Sarscream to start shrieking again, demanding that Skydancer obey him due to his station as Winglord, but after the two stared one another down the flight framed mech seemed to take a mental step back. The mech's optics looked over the shuttle, as if seeing her in a new light, before he spoke once more. "If you were Trined I would consider that a challenge." He said primly, puffing himself up as Thundercracker and Skywarp gave each other exasperated looks behind him. "My Trine will train them to fly."

Well… at least he was speaking a more common language now, and in a more appropriate tone of voice as well.

"I will not retract my claim. You are second in command of the Decepticons, you do not have the time to devote to raising sparklings or giving them the attention they need. Not to mention the fact they are Autobot sparklings." Skydancer said calmly in return.

Aria looked up at Megatron and saw his expression turn thoughtful. Whether it was the kind of thoughtful that would benefit them or not she couldn't be sure.

"Seeing as we," Megatron motioned toward her then back to himself, "have come to a mutual beneficial agreement, which would see our two groups working closely with one another for the foreseeable future, I see no reason why Starscream cannot aid you in teaching the little ones." The large mech looked to her. "Unless you have some objection?"

Aria looked up at Megatron before turning toward her Autobots. It had always been her wish to unite all of Cybertron and here Megatron was offering the opening she needed to take the first step toward her dream. Of course it meant that Starscream, of all mechs, would be working closely with her team but… was this not what Chrono had activated the Protocol for? So that the destruction of Cyberton and their remaining people could be halted? It would be a good opportunity to judge for herself if the two factions could learn to live with one another.

After a moment of contemplation she nodded. "I agree, in the interest of cooperation. However, as I said earlier, I will not allow the sparklings to be around violence, and I want one of their caretakers with them at all times." Her optics bore into Megatron's, the depth of her emotions clear despite the battlemask she wore.

"An understandable compromise." The other leader declared simply, giving her a polite nod of acknowledgment that was both surprising but not, seeing as he had been nothing short of a gentlemech since he had introduced himself. "I will have Soundwave prepare a list of all those who would be safe around the sparklings, as well as who will be working with your scientist to make the sparkling-grade energon." He said simply.

Aria smiled, feeling relieved. "I'd appreciate that greatly, Megatron. Please send it to… oh, I suppose we haven't exchanged comms frequencies, have we?" Not being able to contact one another directly would make coordinating a bit difficult.

Megatron went carefully still, his optics narrowing slightly, before he held out his hand and a notification pinged inside her helm. It was what appeared to be a personal frequency sent by the large mech in question.

After carefully studying it with the many detection programs she had at her disposal she accepted the frequency before sending her own back. With a connection established between the two of them they would be able to communicate instantly, rather than have to go through their respective communications officers.

"I hope that is sufficient?" The mech asked, one brow raised.

Aria couldn't help but snort in amusement. "Quite, thank you Megatron. It will certainly make this exchange easier." Hearing a scoff she glanced over at the still gathered Decepticons. "Seeing as the sparklings have had an… eventful cycle, I think it's about time for you and your mechs to head back. Once the excitement has calmed down I will contact you with my own list. If that is acceptable to you, of course."

Megatron stood there watching her for a moment, no doubt trying to gauge her sincerity, before he took a step back and gave her another stately bow. "I look forward to receiving your missive. Until the next time we meet, Aria."

Before she could even fathom a response the mech had turned to his warriors and ordered them back to the Nemesis.

Once they were gone Rivet stormed over, looking as if she were about to blow a gasket, and grabbed her arm before hissing; "we have a problem!"

"What? Are the sparklings okay?" It was the first thought on her mind, especially since Figment had disappeared earlier before quickly being found.

"They're fine except for the fact that Mirage is now an Outlier!" Rivet stated, voice trembling slightly with nerves and concern.

"But- how?" She couldn't help asking.

"I don't know, Prime, and that's what has me worried." Together they glanced over at the sparklings, who were once again running around and playing now that all the excitement was over.

"We'll get to the bottom of this, Rivet. But regardless of whether or not any of them are Outliers I swear to you- we will treat them no differently. There will be no shame or grief here, only acceptance and love." It didn't matter what obstacles she had to face, Aria swore on the Matrix that she would give the sparklings a bright future, no matter the personal cost.

[Megatron]

As his advanced team returned to the Nemesis, Megatron's processor was going over everything he had observed of the strange Autobot femmes. But the more he tried to focus on the little details the more his mind wandered back to their leader, Aria. There was something about the way she quietly commanded he attention of the others that felt vaguely familiar to him, something he could not put his digit on currently, but whatever it was had certainly caught his attention.

Unfortunately his thoughts were interrupted now and then by the hissing and whining of his second in command as he complained about the large flier femme.

"I am the Winglord of Vos! She can't just- just- disregard my claim like that!" He hissed and spat at his trine mates.

Thundercracker looked as unfazed as ever, not even attempting to calm his leader, while a wide grin spread across Skywarp's face. "You could always just court her. We both know you have a thing for shutt-" Starscream let out an indignant squawk and slammed a servo over his trine mate's face, stopping him from saying anything more.

Megatron decided to ignore anything further from the fliers unless they caused any actual trouble. He had no desire to learn about his second's… preferences. The very thought made him shudder in disgust.

Instead he returned to his contemplation of the Autobot femme.

The way she'd fought suggested she knew battle, and the steady look in her optics when her blaster was against his helm told him that she was a veteran warrior with a strong spark. But it was the way she spoke and led her group that was far more telling than her actions during their short scuffle. The respect she received from the other femmes was clearly returned in how she listened to them and regarded their words carefully. Yet when she gave a command it was obeyed quickly and with trust. Her skill at looking past the obvious was clearly gleaned from her time as an archivist, a tidbit he was certain she'd let slip by accident.

There was also the fact that she seemed to believe he was a mech of honor who would keep his word, despite the propaganda that had smeared him as a cruel barbarian with a taste for energon and all kinds of debauchery.
All in all the femme was an enigma, an intriguing mystery he wished to unravel.

By the time he stepped back on the bridge of the Nemesis he had already made his decision.
"Soundwave, I have new orders. Orders that are sure to cause a stir. I need you to focus entirely on the internal matters until this situation calms down."

"Affirmative. Query; what kind of situation?"

"Let's just say, we have some new temporary allies who may not remain so temporary if I have my way."

---

AN: I won't post the names again unless someone mentions it because it seems a little pointless. Or maybe I'll add them in a different Threadmark so it's easier to find. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Character List

Femmes;
(New, Old)

Aria/Aria Prime- Orion Pax/Optimus Prime
Rivet- Ratchet
Pacer- Prowl
Jive- Jazz
Rebound- Springer
Mistveil- Smokescreen
Frequency- Blaster
Uplift- Wheeljack
Lectura- Perceptor
Skydancer- Skyfire/Jetfire
Afterimage- Blurr

Sparklings;
(New, Old)

Hornet- Bumblebee
Swiftstrike- Sideswipe
Sunspot- Sunstreaker
Whisper- Bluestreak
Brightarrow- Silverbolt
Skyfall- Skydive
Reverie- Fireflight
Windsweeper- Air Raid
Arbalest-Slingshot
Hopper- Cliffjumper
Flashfire- Hot Rod
Steelspark- Ironhide
Figment- Mirage
Ace- Arcee
Steadfast- Hound
Brightflare- Inferno
Siren- Red Alert
Outburst- Broadside
Dusty- Sandstorm
Stalwart- Roadbuster
Twirl- Topspin
Twist- Twin Twist

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 5

[Aria/Optimus]

After Rivet and Mistveil finished checking over the sparklings they discovered that Figment wasn't the only one with a newfound Outlier ability.

"From what we're been able to ascertain through tests and a series of simple questions it appears that at least three of the sparklings have some kind of ability that is outside of the norm, besides Figment." Mistveil looked at Rivet, who sighed.

"We'll get the simplest ones out of the way. Steelspark's armor plating is twice as strong as it should logically be considering the materials it is made from. I suspect that he also has an abundance of hyper-active nanites. On the other servo we have Steadfast, who can now detect spark signatures even behind thick walls." The medic motioned back to the psychologist to continue.

"Most alarming is Siren. After testing I found he is able to pick up on the thoughts of those around him." The femme's expression didn't change but the way she gripped the datapad was enough for Aria to know she was concerned. "I think there may be more we aren't picking up on but at this time the sparklings are too underdeveloped to get a good idea of what those abilities may be."

As Mistveil and Rivet finished their report Aria shuttered her optics and let out a heavy sigh. "We'll start with the most concerning case first." She turned to look at Mistveil. "Do you believe this is a newly acquired ability? Or do you believe it was something before the… reformat." It was the most delicate and least suspicious way to refer to their sudden transformation.

"Looks like you already have your suspicions so I won't waste time; I think Siren, or rather Red Alert, always had this ability. It's the most probable cause of his chronic paranoia. What most thought of as a glitch was actually an Outlier ability that no one really understood. It's no wonder he was so paranoid if he was constantly hearing unknown voices whispering in the back of his processor." The femme shook her helm, looking frustrated.

Rivet reached over and put a servo on her shoulder in comfort. "It's not your fault. You worked hard with Red to keep him as stable as possible."

Aria waited a moment, allowing her psychologist a moment to collect herself and soak in the comfort the rough medic was willing to give. "Do you have an idea for how to help him cope with this ability?" She didn't add 'this time,' assuming it was implied.

"Having Brightflare around is helping. With such a calm, steady, and honest presence helping to make him feel safe he has someone to buffer others thoughts and anchor himself with. Although he's not doing it consciously." Mistveil sighed, tapping her stylus against the top of the datapad while she thought. "The only suggestion I have is… well, to find another telepath and ask them about healthy coping mechanisms or ways to control it." The femme frowned.

"There's only one mech I can think of who can pull thoughts directly from a bot's processor, and you want to ask him to help us with a vulnerable sparkling?" Lectura asked with a look of horror.

"We really don't have many options, not if we want to ensure the health and wellbeing of the sparkling in question." Mistveil said firmly. "Do you have a better suggestion?"

Aria crossed her arms, cocking her hip slightly as she thought over the information presented to her. "I've already made the stipulation that any interaction between the sparklings and the Decepticons must be monitored by an Autobot. But I'm not sure about allowing Siren near the Decepticons is a good idea when he can't control his ability." She shook her head at the very thought. Who knew what kind of very uncomfortable or violent thoughts the young one might overhear. It would be better to keep him away from the Decepticons for the time being. "Perhaps one of us could contact him and ask a couple of questions. We might have to reveal why we're asking, but at least Siren won't be exposed to them if one of us goes instead." She suggested, optics shifting from one femme to the next to judge their reactions.

Mistveil pursed her derma, looking down at her datapad once more. "I think that idea has merit. But if we send one of us there is a much higher chance of being discovered for who we were before the… reformat." She warned. "It would have to be someone with resistance or an immunity to having their thoughts read. The only femmes I can think of are perhaps myself or Afterimage. Myself because I have the mental training to stave off such things and Afterimage because her thoughts run so fast they would be difficult to decrypt."

Lectura glanced between them all. "You're not actually thinking of sending someone to ask Soundwave, of all mechs, for help?"

Aria sighed but it was Rivet who spoke. "That's exactly what they're thinking, and I can't even fault them for it." She snapped. "He is probably the only one who could understand the pitfalls and help us avoid them with Siren. Even if he's a fra-" she growled and caught herself, "weird mech."

She inclined her helm toward the medic. "The question is this- who do we send? I don't want to put anyone in danger if I can help it, but we're already at a disadvantage."

"I'll do it." Startling she turned to see Frequency standing just to her left, looking sheepish. "I couldn't help but overhear." She shrugged, unashamed of her highly attuned sensors.

"I'm afraid to say it, but you don't have the training. What makes you think you can pull this off?" Mistveil asked, not unkindly.

"You don't need to worry about that. There's less risk for me since I…" the femme took a deep vent before letting it out, bolstering herself. "I can change the wavelength of my thought processes at will." She said the last part quickly, as if she were ripping off a nanite patch.

"You're an Outlier?" Rivet asked, looking completely unprepared for the revelation. "Bl-Frequency, why didn't you say anything? That information is important for a medic to know!"

The femme fidgeted in place, optics finding the ground as she shrugged. "I just… the time never seemed right and I've never had a reason to say anything about it before." It was obvious that she was uncomfortable revealing the information, even now.

Reaching over Aria carefully set a servo on the communication specialist's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of reassurance. "Thank you for trusting us. I know that must have been difficult for you to divulge. Your trust will not be misplaced, no one here will judge you for your gift." She reassured, tone firm with conviction.

Frequency looked her in the optics for a long moment before smiling and recovering some of her usual cheer. "Thank you, Pr-Aria." She looked to the others and stood a little straighter. "So how about it? You think it would work?"

Mistveil looked conflicted but nodded. "It should work. But he's going to be suspicious of you. We should work on some pre-determined thoughts you can 'let slip' to cover up your ability. If the- if Aria approves."

Aria smiled and retracted her hand from Frequency's shoulder. "I have every confidence in the both of you."

As the two began talking over how to deceive one of the top ranked Decepticons Aria received a message. Checking the sender she was surprised to see it was from Megatron, with Soundwave's signature attached. Turning away from the group she scanned it for any potential spyware before opening it and reading over the contents.

Inside was a list of all Decepticons deemed 'safe' to be around the sparklings and a work roster including which mechs they could report to for work shifts. It included two to three shift options for each of the femmes, which was a bit surprising but very welcome. It meant that some of them could remain behind and watch the sparklings, some of them could go and get their paint done, and some of them could work a shift with the Decepticons. There were even suggested sections each femme could choose to work from. Like medical, repair, or inventory. A couple of them were specifically requested, for certain tasks, like Rivet and Lectura, but that was perfectly logical considering their specialties.

Turning back to the group of femmes she cleared her intake to catch their attention. "Autobots, I have our first assignments."

[Megatron]

Standing at the base of the ramp leading to the interior of the Nemesis, clawed servos comfortably linked behind his back, Megatron pointedly ignored the low hissing and squabbling of the three Seekers beside him. Sadly they were integral to his current plans or he would have sent them away the moment Starscream began to twitch.

"C'mon, Star! Just be happy you get to play with the-" The chirping sound Skywarp used was clearly a word in a foreign dialect he did not understand, but was most probably what Aria had called High Vosnian. Strange that they would be speaking it now when he was fairly certain Starscream hadn't spoken it in decivorns. It was as if seeing the sparklings had flipped a switch in the fussy mech.

"The 'chirp' should already be in our care!" His second in command squawked indignantly while Thundercracker looked up at the stars, as if asking a distant Primus for patience.

"I don't think that the femme in charge is going let you steal the 'chirp' from her." Thundercracker interjected. "But if you prove you'd be a better 'trill-chirp-click' than that shuttle femme then maybe you can convince her to give them to us."

"I will remind you all that if you even attempt to snatch the sparklings away from the Autobot femmes that I will be obligated to punish you accordingly." He said calmly, though his blazing red optics were anything but as he glowered at the flighty Seekers.

All three of them froze in place, as if just remembering he was standing there. Starscream scowled but nodded jerkily at him in understanding.

"We're not talking about stealing them!" Skywarp spoke up quickly, glancing between the other two Seekers. "Just convincing the femmes to let us keep them cause we'd be good 'trill-chirp-click!'"

Starscream scoffed. "He doesn't know what that means." The mech crossed his arms imperiously, rolling his optics. "Very few outside of Vos speak High Vosnian, even if they speak the more common dialect."

"Oh… but didn't that shuttle femme and important femme know what you were saying?"

Starscream sighed in exasperation. "That shuttle femme was clearly from Vos and many academics learn to speak High Vosnian as part of their studies. The other one, however… is far more unusual." Helm tilting slightly the Seeker actually seemed to be contemplating the oddity of Aria knowing how to speak a language that was exclusive to Vos.

"She was an Archivist." Megatron interrupted with confidence. "She mentioned it once during our negotiations and again in the rotunda."

Starscream scoffed. "Just because she was a glorified data compiler doesn't mean she should be able to speak High Vosnian." The mech smirked, glancing over at him. "Maybe she has a flight framed lover tucked away somewhere."

Megatron glowered at his second in command, trying not to show his annoyance at the very suggestion.

"I see them." Thundercracker said suddenly, cutting through the tense atmosphere. "No wonder it took them so long, they're on pede."

Shifting his focus toward the group of femmes he counted four adult frames and eight smaller ones. Amongst them was Aria with her sparkling cradled in one arm and another ground frame in the other. The second he recognized as the femme who had taken notes during the negotiations. The third was a femme he had only seen once, the Carrier, and taking up the rear was the shuttle femme with five of the flight framed sparklings cradled against her chassis.

Once they were within speaking distance Megatron stepped forward to greet them, before Starscream could start acting cocky and arrogant. "Aria, it is a pleasure to see you again so soon." He said with a smile. "Knock Out is already waiting in a room set aside for your group."

Although the femme had her mask obscuring the lower half of her face he could tell she was smiling. "The pleasure is mine, Megatron. I speak for all of us when I say that we will be relieved when all of the little ones are sporting new colors."

"I couldn't agree more. If you'll come this way?" He motioned toward the ramp and smirked when the femme didn't even hesitate. Judging by the way she held herself it was not a lack of fear that had her striding forward so confidently, but necessity.

The others were a little less enthused to be entering the Nemesis but his focus was primarily on Aria. Behind him he could hear Starscream speaking to the shuttle femme, the strange warbles and trills sounding just as grating as his normal speech. Next to him Aria let out a chuckle.

"Something amusing?" He asked, looking down at her smaller frame as they entered the landing bay.

"I just never thought I'd see myself entering the flagship of the Decepticons as a guest. It's almost unthinkable." She looked up at him with a small shrug of her shoulders.

"Understandable. I can't say it wouldn't be strange if I was welcomed aboard the Autobot flagship." The very thought was laughable. It would no doubt be a trap designed to take him out once and for all.

As they walked the long dark halls of the Nemesis he began pointing out different rooms and their functions along the path. The running commentary seemed to relax the femme next to him as she turned to ask him questions about the ship itself. Her curiosity was laudable but he was certain not to give her too much information about the inner running of his flagship.

Making their way further into the ship they began to see more of his warriors. Each time they came into view the reaction of his Decepticons was either laughable or downright embarrassing.

As they came to the medical bay area he stood next to one of the larger supply rooms, which had been emptied, and motioned the femmes inside. "I have given Knock Out this room for the sole purpose of detailing your group." He said as he keyed open the door. Sure enough Knock Out was standing near a wall with a sprayer in hand, testing the different nozzles.

When he heard the door open the mech turned around and brightened, in a manner of speaking. "Ah, you're here. Perfect. Who wants to go first? The quicker you decide the order and colors the quicker we can reverse this absolute tragedy."

Megatron's optics narrowed at the mech.

One of the femmes stepped forward with a laugh. "I'm right there with you. Got any blue?" She asked as she walked over to the containers of paint and the mixing station, looking thoughtful.

"Of course I have blue. I have every color imaginable." Knock Out huffed as he set down his tool and joined the femme at the mixing station. "What shade were you thinking?"

As the two spoke about colors Megatron turned to Aria. "I'm afraid I can't stay much longer. Starscream has been ordered to show you all due respect and lead you around the ship when your paint is finished. It is my hope you will join me afterward for a more in depth discussion about where your femmes would fit amongst my warriors." He said with a polite bow, smiling at the femme as her wide blue optics looked up at him in surprise.

"I would be happy to talk with you further about our placement and what tasks we might be performing. As soon as the others are finished and the sparklings have settled down." She agreed.

"Then I shall take my leave now. Good orn Aria, femmes, and the little ones." Reaching out slowly he placed the tip of one digit on Hornet's tiny helm and got a happy little chirp for his effort. He chuckled before sweeping out of the room and allowing the door to close behind him.

Pleased with how things were going so far he decided to check on the other project he'd given his warriors. ::Scrapper, report.::

::My Lord.:: The mech responded quickly. ::Construction is complete, following all extra safety protocols. The area is secure and ready for use.::

::Good work, Scrapper. You are all dismissed back to your regular duties.::

::Yes, my Lord. Thank you, my Lord.::

Continuing on to the bridge Megatron smirked to himself in triumph. So far everything was going to plan. Now all they had to do was wait and slowly pull their prey in closer.

Entering the bridge he was met with Reflector hurrying over. "My Lord! The scouting team have found a couple of shuttles on the far side of the temple. Both look brand new, like they just left the assembly line."

"If there are shuttles then there are ships nearby. I want a full scan of the system, immediately."

"At once, my Lord." As Reflector hurried back to his station Megatron turned to look out toward the temple. There was something strange going on, and he was going to get to the bottom of it.

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 6

[Aria]

Once Frequency was finished getting painted she turned to look at them, hands on her hips. "How do I look?" She asked with a pleased smile.

The colors the femme had chosen were a light blue and a pure white. The colors were quite striking yet soft on her frame, especially since she had changed from the half and half design of before. Now her torso and helm were solidly blue with some small white detailing while her limbs were all white with blue detailing. If Aria looked closer she thought there might also be tiny lines of a soft green in between the white and the blue, giving the femme an almost faded look. It was quite fetching.

Knock Out did good work.

While it had been talked about earlier no one had been able to agree on whether or not to keep their original designs with adjusted colors or to go with entirely new designs along with the new colors. But if they went with the former there was a higher chance of their identities being discovered.

In the end they decided it would be best for each femme to make her own decision. Which suited Aria just fine. She had felt quite uncomfortable with the idea of an entirely new color and design. Even now she was still struggling with the thought. But thankfully her new frame didn't have the same hard lines or shape as her previous one. Even if she had to change her colors the lines of her paint wouldn't match up with that of the mech known as Optimus Prime. So at the very least she would be able to keep the design, even if the colors had to go.

With Frequency finished Knock Out turned and eyed the lot of them. Aria thought the mech would be more upset having to do so many new paint jobs but as the mech listened to the Autobots complimenting Frequency's paint he seemed to preen.

Ah, yes. Knock Out was that kind of mech, wasn't he?

Lectura stepped forward and if Aria didn't know better she would have though the femme just rolled her optics. "Just so you are aware I have no particular design in mind. I would, however, prefer a moderate shade of green."

Knock Out looked the femme over, optics narrowed, before he let out a prim huff and turned towards the paints. "You just leave the design up to me. A 'moderate' shade of green. Hmph!"

Aria would have watched the mech work but after a moment Hornet began to squirm and fuss in her arms. "Hey, what's the matter little scout?" She asked, running her digits gently over the sparkling's helm. It was normally a calming gesture but it seemed that the little mech just didn't want to be soothed.

Hornet made a high pitched whine and pointed to the floor, clicking in frustration. "Down!"

"What do we say when we're asking for something?" She asked, tone stern as she looked down at the tiny scout to be.

Hornet crossed his arms, little wing stubs twitching with annoyance, as he let out a stubborn little chirp. "Please."

Aria nodded. Although his attitude could use a little work he had used his manners, and she wanted to reinforce that good behavior. "Alright, but you stay nearby, and you do not leave this room. Understand?"

Hornet gave her a little pout but nodded in a very exaggerated manner. It was absolutely adorable.

Once Aria set the little mech on the ground he darted off to pester Frequency, poking at her new paint and making curious whistling sounds. It looked like he was excited by the prospect of getting his own new paint.

At a sharp whistle Aria turned to see Skydancer wrangling the sparkling Aerialbots. It looked like they too had become bored just watching and wanted to play around. The problem was that they were attempting to climb the shelving which housed the paints. "No- try later- ask Aria." Aria wasn't able to pick up the full context from the trills and twitters but she was fairly certain she heard her designation.

The Aerialbots started to make a fuss and the large femme's expression fell slightly. She looked a little out of her depth.

Suddenly a low coo that rose into a sharp chirp caught the Aerialbots, attention. Aria too looked towards where the sound had originated and felt her optic ridges rise in surprise as Starscream knelt and held out his servos to the sparklings. "Negative- bother- Caretaker." Aria had almost forgotten the three Seekers were in the room, especially with how quiet Starscream had been before that moment. Starscream's optics shifted to look up at Skydancer before speaking again. "Here- let us- play- the air?" She translated what words she could and looked towards Skydancer in surprise. It almost sounded like Starscream was asking for permission for something.

The femme's optics bore into the kneeling Seeker's for a moment before she smiled gently and nodded. "Thank you, Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp. If you could take care of Brightarrow, Windsweeper, and Arbalest, I can watch Skyfall and Reverie."

Watching Starscream pick up Brightarrow, who had once been Silverbolt, and give the sparkling a genuine smile of joy was… a very conflicting sight. He was not a mech that she would ever consider trusting and yet she knew without a doubt that he would never harm any of the sparklings. It went against his very core coding. Seekers were protective of their young to begin with and it seemed that the Protocol was only reinforcing it.

As the mech lifted Brightarrow into the air and simulated flight she couldn't help smiling at the sound of joy and laughter.

"So, what do you think? I do good work, right? Of course I do." At Knock Out's voice she turned back to see Lectura's finished paint. The femme was a deep forest green with a lighter green on her lower arms and legs.

"This will do… thank you." Lectura didn't look all that pleased but she didn't complain either. It was just something they would all have to get used to.

Knock Out looked towards her and she felt a prickle of nervous energy spark through her. She wasn't quite ready yet. "Skydancer?" She turned to the larger femme, ignoring a scoff from the Decepticon. "I'll watch Skyfall and Reverie."

The larger femme gave her a quiet look of concern but nodded and handed over the two sparklings without comment.

"So how about you then?" Knock out asked as he cocked a hip, brandishing the paint sprayer.

"A black base with red and blue sections. I… have the design file here." Skydancer said almost shyly.

"Oh? Let's see it then."

As the two of them spoke about the shuttle's new paint Aria turned her attention to the two Aerialbot sparklings. Neither of them seemed particularly upset with being handed over to her, or were trying to escape her grasp. So she took a seat and held the two of them close. "How about I tell you a story?" She asked with a small smile.

The two sparklings perked up and chirped an affirmative that had Aria chuckling.

"Alright then. Let me think… how about the Tale of Petrix Petrorabbit?" It was a tale used to encourage sparklings to listen to their creators and caretakers, for fear of suffering consequences. When the two sparklings chirped in agreement she began her story.

"Many megavorns ago there were four little petrorabbits. Flippy, Moppy, Sleek-ear, and Petrix. They lived with their creator in a cozy burrow-" as she wove her tale she noticed Figment and Steadfast had run over and were attempting to climb up her pede so they could listen as well. Lifting the two of them into her lap she let them get comfortable as she continued. "-Flippy, Moppy, and Sleek-ear, who were good little petrorabbits, went down to the fields to forage; but Petrix, who was very naughty, ran straight away to the dunes, where his creator had warned him not to go."

When she finished the first story they begged for more so she pulled up another memory file from her time as an archivist and began The Tale of the Cube and the Crystal Cube. By the time the second story was completed and she was well into the third, Jammina Cyberduck, Skydancer was finished.

"But this isn't what I asked for." The femme said with some distress, causing everyone to turn toward the quiet scientist.

Knock Out let out a huff. "I improved on the design, that's all." It was clear he had no qualms ignoring the femme's distress as she self-consciously crossed her arms over her chassis.

Aria's optics trailed over the larger femme's frame and frowned slightly. Just as she'd asked the base coat was black while sections were painted a bright red and medium blue. But between those sections all the detailing had been done in a familiar shade of purple. Aria glanced towards Starscream and his trinemates to see their reaction to the femme's new paint and frowned at the smug look on the Decepticon's face.

"What's wrong with it? The purple looks like my-" Skywarp was interrupted by a sharp elbow from Thundercracker, who gave his leader an implacable stare.

There must have been a short conversation over their personal comms, or perhaps their bond, as Starscream stepped forward and looked imperiously down at Knock Out. "You were assigned this task by Lord Megatron, and he was adamant that you respect the wishes of the femmes."

The red mech let out a click of agitation. "Fine. But I was only trying to improve on the design. Besides, I don't see you objecting to the matching red." He said with a superior smirk.

Aria looked between Skydancer and Starscream before looking back at Thundercracker and Skywarp. Oh… oh Primus. Now that she was looking for it she realized that Knock Out had matched Skydancer's shades to that of the Command Trine. Red for Starscream, blue for Thundercracker, and purple for Skywarp.

Starscream let out a defensive hiss that sent a shiver down her spinal struts, and set the flight framed sparklings in her lap to twittering in mild distress. "Whether I object or not has no bearing on your orders." He snapped, pointing one claw tipped servo at the mech's chest. "If Dancer of the Skies doesn't want certain paint then you will listen to her desires."

Before Knock Out could say something in response Skydancer stepped partially between them. "It's alright Starscream. I… am not opposed to the purple now that I know it was not done with malice." Her optics fell on the Seeker before darting away again shyly. "Thank you for defending my right to choose."

Starscream's wings twitched upward in a manner that Aria vaguely remembered being an indication of surprise before they shifted into what she thought might be a pleased or smug position. "Of course. But if you change your mind Knock Out will be fixing your paint." He glared at the Velocitronian before turning back to his trine and accepting Brightarrow back from Thundercracker.

With the confrontation ended Skydancer hurried over to her with an apologetic smile. "I'll take them off your servos, Pr- Aria." Holding out her large servos towards her Aria realized that she wanted the sparklings. It looked like it was finally her turn for paint.

With as calm a look as she could muster she carefully handed over the four sparklings and made her way over to Knock Out's little painting corner.

"Well, well, well. The femme of the joor. Painting you will certainly be interesting." The mech said as he circled her frame with a light hum.

"How so?" She asked, doing her best not to cross her arms over her chassis and hide from his intent red optics.

"I've painted Warframes and Civilians but never somebot that was a mix of the two." He stopped, looking up at her with servos on hips. "So, what colors am I working with?"

Aria cleared her vocoder. "I have a rough design drawn up," her optics narrowed, "with pre-determined shades if you don't mind."

The mech rolled his optics and made a 'give me' motion with his digits. Aria sent over the files and waited as the mech reviewed them.

"Doable, easily, but a bit bland don't you think?"

Aria gave him a stern look that had cowed far larger and more stubborn mechs.

"Alright, fine. Give me a moment to mix the colors."

It didn't take him long before she was standing beneath the sprayer as he made a black base coat, being careful not to accidentally color over her insignia. Once the black was dry he switched to a deep shade of pink. It was not close to the bright glow of energon, which was only worn by warriors of certain renown or those who wanted to make a statement, but closer to a red. Once the color had set the mech switched to the medium purple, which leaned more towards a blue hue. This way she could feel as if she had her old paint without giving anything away… at least she hoped.

When he was finished the mech stepped back and gave her a quick once over with his optics. "Not bad, you certainly have the lines for this kind of design." The mech said with an approving nod. "It looks a bit familiar though…"

Aria looked at him in surprise, her spark pulsing faster in her chest. "I imagine that most designs would be familiar to you, I've heard you were a renowned cosmetician and cosmetic surgeon?"

The mech's optics brightened and he smiled. "I was, still am in most respectable circles." He boasted, pulling out another sprayer. "Just the final over-coat and you're finished."

Letting out a small sigh of relief she stood under the sprayer one last time before she was finally released back to her comrades.

"Oh wow! That looks wicked Pr- Boss!" Frequency said as she stepped back into view of the others.

"I must concur. It is very fetching." Lectura said with a polite nod.

Skydancer just smiled brightly.

"I do good work, if there was any doubt." Knock Out said smugly as he came around the screens used to keep the paint contained to one area. "So, how am I doing this? I assume their caretakers have chosen their colors?" He nodded towards the sparklings running around playing.

"Yeah, we picked their colors." Frequency said as she scooped up one of the sparklings and snuggled him before striding over to Knock Out's corner. "We can start with Steadfast. Just a nice madder red for this little mech."

"If you insist." Knock Out said as he moved out of the way and let the femme bring the sparkling back behind the screens.

Thankfully Steadfast, who used to be Hound, was a very calm and quiet sparkling. Not prone to fits or fussing. He was more curious about the sprayer and the paint than anything. So his time under the sprayer was short.

Seeing Steadfast sporting his new red made the other sparklings curious and excited about getting their own paint. They crowded around him and poked at the shiny color with awe.

When Frequency snagged Figment the mech went eagerly. Although he fussed a little when it came time for the sprayer he didn't act out and was finished almost as quickly. Now sporting a primarily gray with steel blue color scheme.

Next went Brightarrow, who only fussed when he was separated from his brothers and couldn't see them. But with Starscream standing there the sparkling calmed enough to get his primary navy blue, white, and purple design. Skyfall went next and received a similar design but with navy blue, black, and white detailing. Then Reverie, Windsweeper, and Arbalest with navy blue, white, and black detailing. It was similar enough to how they'd preferred their colors before the change just slightly modified as to be unrecognizable.

Aria did note the unreadable look between Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp as the three of them were the ones taking turns to stand with the Aerialbots as they were painted, leaving Skydancer and whoever wasn't in the painting area to watch the remainder.

Five bots being colored similarly was a trend only permanent teams or Gestalts went for. To see it on sparklings was a bit of an oddity. She was certain that there would be questions eventually. She only hoped she and the others could come up with a good excuse. Then again Seekers, and really anyone from Vos, thought of bonds as sacred. So they very well may not ask at all out of respect.

Out of all the sparklings the one she least expected to have trouble with was Hornet. So it was quite a surprise when he was the one who threw a shrieking tantrum when his demand for a yellow primary coat was at first denied.

Aria floundered for a moment as Knock Out winced and took a couple of large steps back, giving her a look that screamed 'make it stop.' So she scooped up the little scout and rumbled her engine in a manner that had always soothed her when she was a sparkling. "Do you think we could go with a more orange yellow primary color?" She asked the mech once Hornet had calmed some, letting out angry little hiccups.

"Anything if you make sure he doesn't do that again!" The mech said as he turned back to the paints to mix a new shade.

As soon as Knock Out was testing the dark mustard yellow on a corner of scrap metal Hornet chirped in happy excitement, pointing at it. "Color! Mine!"

Aria let out a sigh but nodded. "Yes, that is your new color." She didn't want to reinforce the bad behavior but there wasn't really anything she could do to scold him about it now that he'd already gotten his way. She would have to be more vigilant and stop the tantrum before it began next time.

Once the base coat of dark mustard yellow was finished Knock Out looked to her with a raised optic ridge. "That yellow is a bit… much on its own." He said with a grimace.

Aria chuckled. "Luckily I've already picked a secondary. Can you make a dark brown that wouldn't look out of place with the yellow?"

"Can I?" He rolled his optics. "I can make any color you can think of… almost any color." He admitted with a sigh. "Paint supplies aren't exactly a top priority." Mixing the brown he sprayed it on the scrap metal before shaking his helm and adding a little bit of green. Spraying it again he seemed pleased with the hue and turned back to Hornet.

"Anything specific?" He seemed to have learned his lesson after Starscream had gone after him for not following their wishes.

Aria hid a small smile. "Stripes, his old paint had stripes." She gave him a polite incline of the helm. "In this manner I'll bow to your expertise and let you decide how best to apply them."

The mech smirked and brandished the small detailer. "Prepare to be impressed."

When he was finished Hornet was looking over his new paint and chirping happily, letting out pleased little whistles. His helm was now brown, with the section framing his face remaining dark yellow. His pauldrons were also brown with diagonal stripes in a single chevron pattern going down his arms. The top of his chest was brown with the same single chevron pattern down his abdominal plating. His hips remained yellow while his knee guards became brown. The upper part of his leg armor was yellow, as were his pedes, while a reverses chevron rose to meet the knee guards.

All in all it was a very striking, and very different, design to what he'd had as Bumblebee.

Picking up Hornet once his last coat was finished she smiled gratefully at Knock Out. "I know it was only orders, but still- thank you." She said sincerely.

The sparklings lack of color had been a thrumming note anxiety in the back of all their minds. Now at least some of them were looking far more healthy and a lot less like sparkless frames.

Knock Out looked taken aback as he set down the sprayer but his smug grin returned quickly. "You are very welcome. Now just be sure not to ruin those new paint jobs doing anything reckless."

Aria frowned slightly. "What would you consider reckless?"

The mech paused. "Just be careful, Autobot. Or next time I'll be picking your colors." He said, voice dripping with disdain as he named her faction.

Right. She had almost forgotten who they were dealing with here. She would not be making that mistake once she and the others were actually working amongst the Decepticons.

"I'll take your warning to spark." She said seriously before leaving the mech to clean his tools.

"Oh hey, look at you!" Frequency practically cooed as she spotted Hornet's new look. "Our little scout-bug."

Starscream looked over from where he was keeping his servos under a hovering Arbalest. "Scout-bug?" He asked, looking a klik away from snorting at the nickname.

Aria gave Frequency a stern look as the other femme winced. She turned to Starscream and gave him a polite smile. "It's a nickname based on his creator's specialty."

The mech gently lifted Arbalest out of the air, much to the little mech's confusion, before giving Aria a calculated look. "His creator? And who would that be? Another Autobot, I assume."

"That information is none of your business, or concern." Lectura said with a haughty sniff, playing up her 'elite scientist' persona.

Starscream gave the other femme a disgruntled look but bit back his reply when Skydancer placed a hand on his shoulder, almost subconsciously, and took Arbalest gently from him.

"It doesn't matter, he's gone. All of the sparklings are orphans. Were orphans." Aria corrected herself as she smiled gently down at Hornet. Already she could feel the creator-creation bond growing between the two of them. Hornet had chosen her from the start and didn't seem very inclined to leave her side. It made her feel both joyful and a little regretful.

As Optimus he'd taken Bumblebee under his guidance and had mentored the young scout as best he could between mission briefings and battlefields. But he'd never taken the extra step to formalize anything, to let the bot he would be proud to call creation form a bond with him. The risk was just too high. If either of them died it would severely impact the other, though not as much as a conjunx bond would if broken. Neither she nor Bumblebee had anyone close enough to have been considered spouse material, let alone acted upon such feelings.

Starscream's optics bore into her for a long moment before he backed off. "Well. If you're all finished we have places to be." He turned to Lectura. "Thundercracker will show you to the science division where you can make the sparkling grade energon." He motioned to his trinemate, who gave a short wave at the attention. "If there's no objections we can-"

Frequency stepped forward, arms over her chassis and an amused smile on her face. "Hold up there, I have business with a specific mech. Think you could point me in Soundwave's direction?"

Starscream spluttered for a moment before giving her a sharp look. "If you come along with your leader when she is presented to Megatron I can bring you to him." It was clear he was suspicious of them. Or perhaps the distrust between Starscream and Soundwave that they heard about through overhearing Decepticon gossip wasn't exaggerated.

Fortunately Frequency was excellent at affecting a perfectly relaxed demeanor and just gave the mech a lazy smile in return. "Thanks!"

The mech huffed, wings twitching with agitation. "With no further interruptions?" When no one said anything else he nodded curtly and went to the door. "Follow along, and don't wander off." Behind them Thundercracker and Skywarp took rearguard near Skydancer.

At first she thought they were being boxed in so they couldn't escape but as Skydancer flushed slightly and looked between the three other fliers Aria realized that wasn't what was happening at all. Starscream, and by extension his trine, were falling back on their core programming. They were guarding the sparklings and their caretakers. It was completely instinctual and subconscious. It was also, for a trine of the Winglord, seen as a potential courting gesture to another flier.

Aria buried her face against Hornet and tried to stifle her laughter. This orn was just getting stranger and stranger. So focused on not laughing aloud and embarrassing the poor shuttle femme Aria didn't notice as the matrix lit up with approval and warmth before going dormant once more.

 

[JonathanAnubian]

Chapter 7- Decepticons

[Shockwave]

Alone in his lab, where he had been undisturbed for some time, the purple mech waited for the test results of his latest experiment. He did not feel anticipation, nor did he feel impatience. Rather he took the time while waiting to be as productive with his time as possible. It was only logical, after all.

Carrying a couple of beakers to the sink to be washed the mech faltered in his steps as an invasive signal was suddenly broadcast on every frequency. No matter what channel he attempted, or how he tried to shut the signal down, nothing worked.

Whatever it was he could tell it had some sort of core programming and could feel the moment it wormed its way past his firewalls and started to attack his systems.

Plugging himself into one of his isolated terminals he scoured the lines of code to see what the program was attempting.

What he found had the cyclops staring at the screen for a long time, uncomprehending. What the program was attempting to do, and succeeding at, was impossible. Or at least he had thought it impossible.

As the program began to attack and re-write the coding that had been forced upon him ages ago by the Autobots, rendering him emotionless, he stood there as an odd sensation suffused his frame.

It was distress.

Shockwave, for the first time in countless millennia, was feeling an emotion.

…this was going to take a considerable amount of time to process.

[Starscream]

Escorting the femmes and nestlings down the halls of the Nemesis he kept his helm high and wings set in a confident position. Being allowed to hold the nestlings, to play with them and ease their distress, had left him feeling quite chipper. Knock Out stepping over the line had been a momentary hiccup but as he glanced back at the shuttle femme he could admit that the mech did good work. Seeing their combined colors along the femme's sturdy frame and wings had all three of them feeling more than a little pleased, appreciative, and proud.

As far as the grounders were concerned it was nothing more than a new paint job. But for those who hailed from Vos the statement was quite blatant. Normally, as Winglord, Starscream would have demanded such a transgression be rectified. He had not given his express permission and neither of his trinemates had been approached to facilitate such a request. It was highly inappropriate all things considered. However he had to admit that he quite liked the idea of the femme knowingly wearing his trine's colors.

If they were going to attempt to court the shuttle anyway then why not make a blatant claim? At least this way anyone who tried to approach the femme would be warned away from trying anything, or else suffer the wrath of the Winglord's trine.

As plans went this one had a high percentage of success.

"Hey Starscream, you going to fill us in on where we're heading any time soon? It's feeling a bit tense back here." The Carrier femme said casually, voice sounding relaxed and at ease.

Turning his head he looked over the tense frames of the Autobot femmes and realized that the Carrier was right. He felt a flash of concern from Thundercracker, nervousness from Skywarp, and had to grit his dentae to not scowl.

"It's just up ahead." He said with a small huff.

"…yeah, but what's up ahead?" The Carrier femme muttered with a roll of her optics.

Starscream just ignored her and pushed onward. He had been forbidden from saying anything and while he normally would have scoffed at Megatron ordering him to do something so unnecessary he actually agreed with the mech for once.

Passing by the guards stationed outside the room he could feel the tenseness and worry from his trinemates as the femmes almost didn't follow him inside. Turning around when he was far enough in the room that they could all come inside he grinned smugly as he watched their expressions change from concern to surprise.

Behind him, created by the Constructicons at the behest of their Lord, was a penned in play area. Inside there was a gym set and a few hastily thrown together toys that the nestlings could play with. "In case you are concerned about its construction it has followed all the proper safety protocols as last updated in the last recorded Public Safety Building Guide, version 336.54.9908." It had been a surprise to learn that Scrapper still carried the building codes after all this time.

The nestlings began to chatter amongst themselves, fidgeting and trying to get down so they could go and explore. Except for the flight of nestlings, who had been much better behaved since he and his trine had stepped in to help.

Brightarrow looked to his caretaker then to Starscream before chirping. "Down please? Go play please?"

He wasn't certain if the question was being asked of himself or the flight's caretaker but he smiled and nodded his permission all the same.

He was the Winglord, and if he had his way their rightful caretaker, it was instinctual that the nestlings would look to him for permission.

Skydancer's optics brightened and she smiled as she stepped forward and placed the nestlings inside the walled play area. The floor and walls were all padded on the inside, to help keep the nestlings safe from harm, and the play structures were well grounded.

After Skydancer it was the leader, Aria, who came forward and set her little menace in the pen. "Be nice, and no climbing the walls." She said sternly. The little yellow and brown mech just chirped cheerily back before practically throwing himself at the gym, little wing-stubs twitching with excitement.

Once Aria had set her own nestling down the other two finally followed suit. As they watched the nestlings explore and begin to play their tense frames began to relax.

"Starscream, who else will be watching the sparklings while we're off in meetings or working?" Aria asked him, optic ridge furrowed and field pulled in tight.

"Skywarp will remain here to help with the nes- sparklings. As well as Reflector." Nodding past the femme's shoulder at the mech who had silently come inside a moment ago he smirked when she turned in surprise.

"I see." He wanted to snort in amusement as the leader of the femmes narrowed her optics for a moment before fully turning toward the other mech. "Apologies, I had thought your designation was Spyglass?"

Reflector straightened a little in surprise, not that Starscream could blame him. It was strange that an Autobot would know to make that kind of distinction.

"This unit is sometimes called Spyglass to differentiate it from the other units, but we are Reflector." The mech said with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

Understanding seemed to dawn on the femme and she nodded. "Of course, forgive me if I overstepped. I will be sure to refer to you by your preferred designation." A polite smile crossed her face and Reflector-Spyglass nodded.

"It is appreciated." Turning to Starscream he crossed his arm over his chassis. "This unit is here to serve our duty." Although he spoke simply there was an edge to his field that spoke of excitement and yearning.

Starscream understood. It had been a long time since there had been nestlings amongst them to dote on and protect. The urge to guard and provide was a near constant itch under the plating. He nodded and motioned towards the play area.

Reflector straightened a little in surprise, not that Starscream could blame him. It was strange that an Autobot would know to make that kind of distinction.

"This unit is sometimes called Spyglass to differentiate it from the other units, but we are Reflector." The mech said with a slight shrug of the shoulders.

Understanding seemed to dawn on the femme and she nodded. "Of course, forgive me if I overstepped. I will be sure to refer to you by your preferred designation." A polite smile crossed her face and Reflector-Spyglass nodded.

"It is appreciated." Turning to Starscream he crossed his arm over his chassis. "This unit is here to serve our duty." Although he spoke simply there was an edge to his field that spoke of excitement and yearning.

Starscream understood. It had been a long time since there had been nestlings amongst them to dote on and protect. The urge to guard and provide was a near constant itch under the plating. He nodded and motioned towards the play area.

[Soundwave]

As he worked on the internal issue his Lord had tasked him with the quiet mech paused when an alert came over his comms. Reading the missive he stood there for a long moment as he contemplated what one of the femmes could want with him. He wasn't often sought out, even by those of his own faction, besides Lord Megatron and others who were in the Decepticon inner circle.

Agreeing to the meeting he finished another dossier and filed it away for perusal later. He sensed the SIC before he arrived and had a moment of mild confusion before he turned to see two frames darken his doorway.

"Soundwave, this is Frequency. She had some business with you." Starscream said without preamble, waving his servo in the air as it the matter had nothing to do with him.

"Statement: Introduction satisfactory. Question: What business does Autobot Frequency have with Soundwave?" Turning to the femme he ignored when Starscream rolled his optics and left the room. He knew that his old friend felt some guilt and discomfort over the way he spoke when there were others around.

"Hiya mech." Came a melodic voice from the femme. Now that he was paying more attention to the femme he realized she was a Carrier, like himself. His interest was piqued. There weren't a lot of their frametype around anymore. "So this is a bit of a… delicate issue, right? I need to know that whatever I say here isn't going to be leaked to everyone." Before he could raise an objection the femme raised her servos. "Hold on, lemme finish, I know you can't keep it from Meg- Lord Megatron. I just don't want it doing rounds in the gossip circles. It involves one of the sparklings and we take their safety seriously."

Deadly seriously, if her optics were anything to go by.

"Statement: I understand and will comply. Proceed with your query." He agreed to the request easily. Although many tended to forget the symbiotic relationship between a Carrior and their Symbiotes was very much akin to a Caretaker-Creation bond he knew the femme would trust him at his word. If anybot would agree to protect sparklings it was a Carrier, with a close second being a Seeker. Not to mention the fact that Warframes were just protective over young frames in general.

"Thank you." The femme was quiet for a moment, clearly thinking about how to phrase her questions.

As she stood there contemplating he tried to get a read on her emotions and thoughts, only to find himself rebuffed by a scrambled and unintelligible frequency.

"One of the sparklings, his name is Siren, is showing signs of being an empath. Our psychologist did some tests and found that he could read the thoughts of those around him but… he's too young to understand what's going on. He has a… close friend who is keeping him calm and grounded but it's obvious that he's afraid of the voices he's hearing in his helm." The femme let out a sigh and Soundwave felt a ripple of sympathy.

He remembered those days. The feeling of going insane, the lack of understanding, the isolation…

"I was hoping you could help us with some coping mechanisms. Maybe some kind of tricks or training? We figured if anyone would understand it's you, Wave-mech." As the femme gave him a wide smile, optics filled with hope, Soundwave felt his spark begin to spin faster in his chassis.

Wave-mech. Only one bot in existence had both the ability to block his empathy and also called him by that ridiculous nickname.

"Statement: There are old files with training instructions and coping mechanisms. I will compile them and send them to the Autobot leader. Question: Will that be sufficient?"

The femme's smile brightened considerably. "Yeah! That's perfect, thanks Wave-mech! Now I've got to go head to my shift, we'll talk later yeah?" The femme said as she walked backwards towards the door, where Starscream was outside waiting.

"Affirmative." He said just as she was ducking outside and prodding the irate Winglord into showing her around.

The sudden silence of his personal comms center left Soundwave with two burning question; how in Primus' name had Blaster been reformatted into a femme? And… what did he do with this knowledge?

[Deadlock]

Sitting on a crate and looking over the rifle in his hands the black and red mech let his mind drift. Nearby he could hear a couple of slackers talking as they rummaged through the other crates to find whatever it was Starscream had ordered them to find.

"I'm telling you, smoking hot. They look like civies but they move like they've been kicking aft for millennia. I only got a quick look before his Screechiness warned us off. Seriously, the way that mech's been acting lately has been really weird." The first voice said with a scoff.

"I heard that the shuttle's new paint job has the same shade of red as Starscream. Usually he'd be tearing into whoever had the ball bearings to do it." The second voice supplied with an amused snort. "Do you know what the first thing the Autobot medic did was? I overheard Barricade talking about it to someone."

"No, what happened?"

"The medic walked right up to our Lord and demanded to know who was injured, while cussing. Then fixed Barricade's arm while telling him off."

"No slagging way, you're full of it."

"No, I'm serious! The name was something like… Ricket? Racket?"

Deadlock stiffened, his attention wholly fixed on the conversation now. There was no way. No way in the Pit that he'd heard right.

Setting down the rifle he stood and walked around the stack of crates to stare down the two mechs, who startled at his sudden appearance.

"The name wouldn't happened to have been Ratchet, would it?"