14.Jan.06
For
Sapphire, and every other person who loves Rattrap.
Which
means I'm dedicating this to myself. I'm weird.
Oh,
and you know what? I don't own Beast Warriors. Surprised?
Part Two
By: Syntia13
"So, what is it, Rhinox?"
"Possible
solution for our communication problems. Since we can't transmit a signal strong
enough to cut through energon fields, I thought we can just amplify it on the
way."
"How?"
"With
these." The green bot laid few metallic objects on a table. "Simple
amplifiers. They will receive radio transmissions and send it further, without
decoding it or modifying it in any way. If we place enough of them in grid
pattern, we should be able to communicate over quite a large area."
"Whaddaya
mean, should?"
"Well,
we still have to test it--"
"Oh,
I can test it!"
A
collective "NO" from all bots echoed in control room. Cheetor looked
at their leader pleadingly.
"Come
on, Optimus, let me at it! I won't screw up this time, promise!"
"No,
Cheetor. I am going to test it. YOU can go with me--
"Ultra
Gear!"
"--IF
you'll remove all that paint from Rattrap's door within a mega-cycle."
"Awww..."
"You
wanted to say something?"
Cheetor
recognized the tone of voice and shook his head. He wanted to get out of the
base, and if he had to destroy his handiwork in order to do so (and why was
Rattrap so upset, it was just a 'biological contamination' warning sign!), so be
it.
"An
I'm gonna sit dere an watch, kiddo, so don't get any more ideas," Rattrap
warned, following him off the bridge.
Rhinox
laughed softly. "You should have added 'consider yourself grounded, young
bot'."
Optimus
smiled and sat down. "Maybe I should. He keeps getting himself in trouble,
and every time the only thing I can think of is, what would I tell Leverus if
anything happened to him."
Rhinox
cocked his head. "His protector?"
"More
than that. His creator."
The
technician raised optic ridges. "Rare thing."
"Yes.
Leverus and I fought together through quite a chunk of war; we used to meet
sometimes after it ended, and recall all the stupid things we were doing to
forget that we could die anytime... and Cheetor was listening, with optics big
as plates. And the very day he came of age, Leverus called me. 'Optimus, help,
my son wants to join the Rangers'."
"Closest
thing to an army he could find."
"Exactly.
So I said, 'don't worry, I'll take him for an exploration trip and he will have
adventure without risking his life.' I should have bitten my tongue."
"Come
on, none of us is are fortunetellers."
"Sometimes
I wish I was. *sigh* So...where are we to place the amplifiers?"
"I
have prepared a few versions of grid, it all depends on what distance they will
work..."
___________________________________________________________________________
"Here,
kitty, kitty, kitty! Where are you, kitten?" Tarantulas ran the arachnids
around in circles, usually the best way to attract the cat. "Here, kitty,
kitty!" he cooed, glancing at the screens. Not a blotch of red fur
anywhere. "Where are you, blast you?! Don't disappear on me now! I have a
pretty little cage ready, just for you!"
Not to
mention all the experiments planned...
But the
cat mischievously departed just when the arachnids were about two solar-cycles
from reaching spider's lair. Slaggin' feline!
"I'll
find you, just you wait!"
Bleep
**Megatron to Tarantulas! Where are you, spider?**
Muttering
curses he left the console.
"Tarantulas
here. What do you want?"
**Have
you made that programming chips already?**
"I've
prepared one, but--"
**Bring
it to me at once, we have a stasis pod falling.**
Megatron
barked an order and both flyers whipped off a salute and took off immediately.
Waspinator because he wanted to show how loyal and able a soldier he was,
Terrorsaur because he still remembered how the purple tyrant had swept the floor
with him after the floating mountain episode. Megatron hadn’t even bothered to
fire, he had just beat the slag out off him, and Terrorsaur hadn’t dared
transform and fight back. He wasn't suicidal, after all.
But I
will get you for that, Megatron. For that and for how you swindled me on Gladius.
But for
now, he obeyed.
___________________________________________________________________________
Something alien arrived at the swamps surrounding the lake. It was going through
it with speed never seen here before, making noises never before heard.
Thousands of birds took off in panicked swirls of colorful feathers, as it came
their way. Every now and then the thing would leap to the air, with a loud *snap*,
and some bird would screech indignantly at the feather pulled out off its tail.
Then the strange invader would fall back to the ground, with more racket. The
normally peaceful swamps were boiling with movement, colors and sounds.
The
alien finally stopped and fell to the ground, gasping rapidly. If someone saw
it, he could, with some imagination, distinguish vaguely wolfish outlines under
four inches thick layer of mud.
The
possibly-wolf closed its eyes and laughed some more. It was, basically, drunk
with excitement. In its head the swish of wings was coiling itself into tune.
This
planet is wonderful...
___________________________________________________________________________
shuffle
shuffle shuffleshuffleshuffle - soft noises of arachnids' legs on sand were the only thing that
disturbed night silence, until something looking much like a yellow-eyed demon
appeared before them and raised one of them in its pincer. Then the night filled
with mad laughter.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Oy,
Fearless Leader, are ya dere?"
**Optimus
here. What is it, Rattrap?**
"Wit'
my usual, or rather, unusual skills, I 'ave found us a sweet little hole
in da ground, full of retrievable energon."
**That's
great! Where is it?**
"Well,
bit too close to Preds' ground dan I like, but it's out of sight and da chances
are, dey donno about it. Sector 15, point 3-5-2/4-2-9"
**All
right, you and Dinobot carry on your task, I'll come with Cheetor to mine. Our
reserves are getting low.**
"Got
it. Rattrap out."
The
small bot looked at his companion.
"Well,
ya heard 'im. Here," he tossed a pack of metal discs to Dinobot. "Ya
go plant 'em on 3-4 line, an I'll take care of 3-2."
"*snarl*
We shouldn't split up, vermin. This area is close to predacon
ground."
"Hey,
no way I'm spendin' whole solar cycle wit' ya! And da sooner we finish, da
sooner we can get outta here."
Dinobot
snarled, but didn't argue. This way, he didn't have to suffer Rattrap's company.
It was worth a risk.
A few
mega-cycles later they returned to base, to find Optimus emerging from the
CR-Chamber.
"Optimus?
What happened?"
Primal
tested his arm. "Megatron himself plus the flyers. Looks like they did know
about that energon dale."
Rattrap
glanced automatically at the other CR. "Is kiddo all right?"
"I'm
fine!" Cheetor bounced to the room. "You should've seen this action,
Rattrap!"
He went
on about the fight, with Rattrap putting in comments.
Above their heads Optimus exchanged glances with Dinobot.
Why
us?
___________________________________________________________________________
Rattrap
looked up from the poker game he was playing, jumped in alarm and activated his
comlink.
"Rattrap
to Rhinox, come in!"
**Rhinox here. Something wrong?**
"Where are ya? Ya disappeared from da scanners!"
**Did we? Strange. We're at 4-2-7/4-6-6, grid Septa. We shouldn't be out of
range yet.**
"Tell me about it. How are ya doing, anyway?"
** *snarl* We would be doing much
better without your babbling, rodent**
"Hey! Nobody asked yer opinion, Scale-belly!"
**We're
almost done. Three more amplifiers, and we're going back**
Rattrap smirked at the undignified snarl in the background. It sounded like a
certain raptor's mouth had been closed and kept that way by force.
"Gotcha! See ya in few megas"
But
barely two mega-cycles afterwards he was screaming franticly through the speaker
for Optimus to give Rhinox and Dinobot back up NOW!
And then
he listened, with his hands shaking, to the gunfire coming from his comlink.
"Come on, come on, get outta dere..."
Blast it
all, why it was him tied up to the radio when the Preds were attacking
his friends again? If anything happens... He cut out the thought.
"They just popped out of nowhere," Rhinox rumbled. "We were lucky
you and Cheetor were so close."
Optimus
watched grimly the four fleeing figures. They'd come in almost full squad and
hid at the two Maximals' path. As if they knew exactly where and when...
He shook
his head. He was being paranoid. They had no way of knowing. It must have been
coincidence.
"I'm
glad I've changed my patrol route," he said. "Or rather, I'm glad
Cheetor did."
Cheetor smiled. For once his impulsiveness turned out for good. If it weren't
for his inclination for racing cheetahs, they would have been way too far away
to give any aid.
"Can you walk?" Optimus asked worriedly. The two had taken some bad
damage.
"I'll
manage," Rhinox assured him. Dinobot snarled an agreement.
"Well then, lets go."
___________________________________________________________________________
OWWWWWWWWWW! OW! Owwwowowowowowow!
Rust was laying on his side, howling softly. It was the only action he dared to
undertake. His beast-mode was trying to die. His nanites were trying to prevent
it. The rest of him just suffered.
Note to self: never, ever, chase anything that moves despite the lack of legs,
no matter how cool its colors are!
Maybe
it's time to catch up on education... He closed his eyes and searched his
datatrax for files he'd downloaded from the Exploration Treasures' Museum.
Somehow, he never had time to actually go through them... Well, now he has.
Let's see, what do we have about organic life forms? Lets start with reptiles...
__________________________________________________________________________
Radar
beeped, and Rhinox blinked. "What?"
Optimus half turned to him. "Something new?"
"It looks like a beacon signal from stasis pod!"
"A pod?" Optimus immediately moved closer to watch. "Why hadn't
we seen it falling?"
Rhinox
didn't even have to ponder. "It must be one of pods that fall during the
battle. Remember, when that fighter--"
Optimus nodded. "You're right. And at least that means we don't have to
worry about the Predacons this time." He hit the comlink button.
"Dinobot..."
___________________________________________________________________________
"Most snake species are poisonous," Rust mumbled. "NOW they tell
me."
He read on.
Some of them are in native tongues called, for instance, 'two steps' or 'five
cycles', which indicates how long the victim lives after the poison is inflicted.
"How extremely reassuring..."
Fortunately, the poison only affects organic life forms, and Cybertronians
may walk through the jungle without fear--
"HA, HA, HA, very slaggin' funny! OW!"
___________________________________________________________________________
The
CR-Chamber was about to finish the repair cycle. Inside it, Optimus started to
wake up. It was a disturbing feeling, when his consciousness seemed to drift for
a moment in the darkness. It resembled all too much what he'd experienced when
the alien probe landed. The memory angered him. The Maximals were there for him
when he needed them, and now he was failing them! He'd lost the pod; he'd almost
got Rhinox and Dinobot killed... He should have had realized something was wrong
after the ambush at the energon dale, slaggit!
The CR
door opened, and Primal stormed out of it and slammed his fists on the table.
"This makes three straight operations ambushed!"
"Sounds
mighty suspicious."
"Like
some rat slipping info."
"Hey!"
Rattrap protested. He was getting fed up with others making fun of his
beast-mode!
Dinobot
growled.
"It was Rattrap who led us into a box canyon. He was also never attacked,
and was alone every time each ambush occurred. He could have easily passed the
information on our location."
The
control room boiled. Dinobot was accusing Rattrap, Rhinox and Cheetor were
defending him hotly, while Rattrap himself settled for insulting the raptor.
Optimus
didn't really listen to the argument. He was looking at Rattrap. In his head,
everything he knew about him from Rhinox, everything he'd observed for himself,
and all recent events formed themselves into a very interesting picture.
Maybe...
Rhinox
slammed his fist on the table. "Rattrap wouldn't do that!"
Wouldn't he, now? Optimus was staring at Rattrap without really seeing
him. "I'm not so sure," he murmured, mostly to himself. He noticed
shocked looks on three robots' faces and Dinobot's smirk. His optics focused.
"Rattrap, I want a word with you. In private." He gestured towards the
corridor. The small bot gaped at him incredulously, then left without a word.
___________________________________________________________________________
Megatron drummed his fingers against the armrest. "Tarantulas, is the
programming complete?"
The spider hunched over the pod's console didn't even raise his head.
"I could do it a lot faster if I had a chip prepared."
If you hadn't got it trashed, you stupid, arrogant...
"I have to type all the codes in manually, it takes time."
Actually,
what he was doing right now had nothing to do with behavior programming. He'd
entered physical set-up data and was rewriting it. The Maximals believed that
the outer shell didn't matter. He knew otherwise. What's the point of having an ugly
female around? He was changing the crude lines the pod wanted to shape the
protoform in into something much more interesting.
He
glanced furtively at the DNA scanner and frowned. No tarantulas in range. Well,
some other species would have to do.
He
returned to the shell program and started adding some safe guards, just in case.
Megatron could be as impatient as he wanted, Tarantulas was not going to lose
such a great opportunity to test his talents.
___________________________________________________________________________
Rattrap slammed Optimus's quarters' door with a volley of words that made
Cheetor gasp in mixed shock and awe. Rhinox frowned. Rattrap hadn't been using
such language for decades! He was about to go after the small bot, when his
comlink beeped.
--Message
from Optimus for your circuits only--
He
turned from the others. "What is it?" he murmured almost inaudibly.
The voice that came was only heard by him.
**I want
you to check our comm equipment and then the whole control room for bugs, and if
the outcome is nothing, then...**
"Yes?"
**Then I want you to give me a tap device I could bug Rattrap with.**
"Optimus, this is--"
**This is an order, Rhinox. Optimus out.**
___________________________________________________________________________
Leaning over the code-breaker, Terrorsaur chuckled. So, Maxis thought they had a
spy onboard, huh? Oh, this was sweet!
Then he
fell silent. Maybe... maybe... he could use it?
___________________________________________________________________________
After
two mega-cycles Rhinox had to accept his defeat. He'd check entire control room
four times, and he found nothing. And that meant that now, as much as he hated
it, he had to follow the second order. A tap device... to spy on his best
friend.
Rattrap
was laying in his room, fuming.
Who does this ape thinks he is? Playing practice target was not in my
contract, I know cause I've checked!
But...
Yes. The
'but'.
With a
sigh he got up and rummaged in the pile of his belongings, until he found a
small, flat box. He opened it and looked at its contents. He hadn't used it for
so long he wasn't sure he still could. Funny, the way he was dragging this with
him after all that time.
He
closed the box and hid it in his wrist compartment.
___________________________________________________________________________
"Did
you make it?"
Rhinox silently pointed at the table. Optimus pretended he didn't notice the way
technician was looking at him.
I'm sorry, old friend, but I really have no other choice.
He picked up small disk and pressed the button.
___________________________________________________________________________
**So, how does it work?**
**It's
basically one-way comlink. I didn't have time to make anything more
sophisticated. OR a will.**
**Rhinox,
if he is innocent, this is the best way to prove it.**
**...**
**Never
mind. *Beep* Rattrap, report
to the control room.**
Terrorsaur
glanced over his shoulder. No one was paying him any attention. Tarantulas had
finally finished his work, and now all Predacons were watching Blackarachnia
practicing combat moves. And no matter how hard they tried to hide it,
dactyl-bot knew they were drooling inside. He was, after all. But now he had
more important things to think about...
**Waddaya want?**
**We've found some energy disturbances near sector 12. You'll check it.**
Straining his hearing, Terrorsaur managed to distinguish a small click of metal
on metal.
**Me an who else?**
**Only you. I don't want to risk anyone accidentally bumping into
Predacons.**
The
rat's response made Terrorsaur chuckle. With the rat's attitude and suspicions
already aroused, this would be all too easy! He turned to Megatron.
"Megatron,
there's a lone Maximal heading to our grounds. Shall I take care of him?"
Yes,
yes, please tell, yes, send me there...
The
purple bot waved his hand dismissively. "Yess, do that."
With a
smirk, Terrorsaur left. On his way out he stopped by Scorponok's lab and pinched
one specific tool.
Especially
for you, Megatron.
__________________________________________________________________________
Holy
stinking slag! I'm gonna die!
Terrorsaur's
attack caught him by surprise. One fast blow in the back of the head, and he was
laying on the ground, staring at the wrong end of Predacon's blaster. He hadn't
had time to do anything, even to say one word, for Primus sake!
"Well,
look who decided to turn up," a screechy voice said mockingly. "Got
any information for me?"
Huh?
Blinking in amazement at not being terminated, Rattrap looked up in red optics.
"An what kinda information ya want?" he asked carefully.
"All kinds, of course. But, right now, the Predacons need soldiers more
than any reports."
I
don't believe it. It's gonna be all too easy!
___________________________________________________________________________
Dinobot was triumphing.
"Will you still defend your friend?"
"This is some... I don't... Rattrap would never--" Rhinox's voice
failed him as Rattrap spoke again.
**Computer,
change da activation code**
Terrorsaur's laugh could be heard, and then...
___________________________________________________________________________
He
finally noticed what he'd been looking for. "Hey, and what's this?" He
pulled small disk off Rattrap's shoulder plate. "A tap device, huh?"
"WHAT?!
Dat slaggin' ape--"
*BLAM *
Terrorsaur
hid his blaster and dropped the remains of device carelessly.
"Your
friends had heard every word, rat, so if you thought of, oh, I donno, double
crossing me or something... Better think again, cause you don't have a place to
go back to."
Rattrap
looked at the red bot with a dose of respect.
"It
never crossed my mind" he assured him, saluting.
___________________________________________________________________________
This, Rattrap had to admit, was quite enjoyable. Especially the part when he had
the honor of bringing the mighty Megatron down. The part when he got locked in a
cage next to him was the annoying bit. Especially when T-rex freed himself with
a smug remark about his own brilliance. Then he left, probably to repair his
circuits, leaving the rat alone. Just as he wanted it.
Terrorsaur
had made sure he was disarmed, but the small box was still in his wrist
compartment. It wasn't a weapon, and the scanners didn't detect it. He took out
the lock-picks.
Well...
do I still remember how to use them?
He
closed his eyes and concentrated on the touch and sounds. Up, down, a bit to the
left, down again, slag, double catch, all right, I know this one, up-left-right,
down, just a bit further...
*click*
Oh,
come on, Megs, I've opened aircars with better locks than that!
The lava
hissed behind him and he flinched, half expecting to hear Preds' or police's
yells any nano-klik...
Then he snorted at his own stupidity.
Yeah,
right, not much chance for police officers down here.
He
glanced at the barred corridor entrance in the distant wall.
He took a deep breath. He prepared to jump.
He looked at the lava below.
He took a deeper breath.
He scanned the room, hoping to find another way out.
There was none.
Slaggit,
slaggit all, I'm just a miner, not some rusted commando!
His mind screamed as he jumped.
___________________________________________________________________________
Optimus was quite grateful that Rattrap had chosen this day to present them with
his language abilities, because it gave him plenty of things to call himself, as
he sat silently, staring at the nearby ship.
When the
anger and grim determination had worn off, he suddenly realized how extremely
stupid this idea was, but by then it was to late to do anything, because Rattrap
had already disappeared inside the Predacon base. At least he was alive at the
time.
Now
Optimus could only pray that he'd leave it in the same state.
___________________________________________________________________________
OK, this is weird, Rattrap thought, following a small gray creature. Not
to mention insane. But I was lost anyway, and if a rat can't trust another rat,
then this is a very bad world indeed.
He'd
toured almost half the base by the feel of it. The bright side of it was that he
was now armed with a few bombs and a small stun gun he’d filched from
laboratory-looking room. The downside was that he still didn't--
--Scanning
for maximal frequencies--
Rattrap
crouched and peeked over platform edge.
Ah-ha!
________________________________________________________________________
Cheetor was the first to break the silence. "What are we waiting for,
Optimus?"
"Yes, why do we not attack?" Dinobot joined.
"You are waiting for my command," Optimus snapped with a murderous
look. That quieted them instantly. Optimus was never like this before...
And
*I* am waiting for a signal. I just hope there is someone to send it to me.
___________________________________________________________________________
The spider web popped out of nowhere, and there was no way Rattrap could avoid
it.
Help! his mind shouted, but he forced his mouth shut before they
followed.
Yer
alone here, get a grip, no point in shouting. You knew this could happen, you're
prepared, remember?
He
twitched his arm and a long blade switched out. Yet another souvenir from the
past...
___________________________________________________________________________
Optimus's comlink beeped twice. He jumped to his feet. "We attack now! And,
Dinobot..." The warrior looked at him expectantly. "I want him
functional!" Dinobot only snarled.
The
Predacon base shook under a barrage of fire, and Terrorsaur screeched. Maximal
attack! Before he could gather his wits, a slightly amused voice from behind
almost gave him a spark attack.
"Well,
leader, how shall we respond?"
The Pterodactyl gaped in terror at a huge bot smiling politely at him.
I'm so dead!
After a
while his processor registered the meaning of the words that had been said.
"You-you will allow me to l-lead?" and it took all his strength to say
'lead', not 'live'.
Megatron chuckled quietly. Were they on more populated planet, Terrorsaur would
have been fed to the shredder already, but when every soldier was needed,
treachery had to be dealt with differently. The brute force obviously didn't
work, let's see if public humiliation and brute force would work any
better... But meanwhile, he just smiled.
Terrorsaur
gulped. Okaaay, that was scary. But since Megatron didn't do anything painful
yet, he may as well play along...
"Waspinator,
release my lieutenant, everybody, prepare to engage enemy," he ordered with
a barely noticeable tremor in his voice, glancing nervously at Megatron. The
purple tyrant bowed slightly and positioned himself near the exit, weapons
ready. Holy slag, he actually was taking his orders! Dumbfounded, the red bot
terrorized and prepared for battle himself.
In the
corridor near the holding area something stirred, and then there came a muffled
curse. "Wait till I get you, rat!"
Tarantulas
got to his feet and staggered towards the clamor of battle. He was about to
leave the base, when he heard two small explosions from behind. He looked back
and hesitated for a nano-klik, but then he disregarded it and joined the battle.
Optimus
clearly saw defiance in Dinobot's eyes, and decided firmly to not give him a
chance of getting anywhere near Rattrap. But in battle, decisions are much
easier made than executed; after just a few nanos he'd lost sight of the raptor.
The darkness of night didn't help any. Cursing to himself he took off, hoping to
grab the rat and retreat, but no such luck; Rattrap was surrounded by Preds and
was right now raising his blaster to fire.
Stop
fidgeting, slag you! How can I miss when you keep getting in my line of fire?
Oh, BLAST!
If any
of Maximals still had doubts about Rattrap's allegiance, they disappeared at
that very moment.
Dinobot
snarled triumphantly. He got to the traitorous rat first!
"I have awaited this meeting, traitor."
Since the very day I met you...
"Prepare to be terminated," he snarled, raising his sword.
Rattrap
choked in the warrior's grasp. His optics were locked on the blades, all blurry
from rotation, only its tip still and clear, before it came rushing at him.
"NO! Ya stupid--"
Something bashed at the side of Dinobot's head and Rattrap was dropped to the
ground. He gasped for air, looking up at his rescuer.
Gee, thanks, Megs...
The gunfire could be distinctly heard, and Rust accelerated, flattening his
ears. Gunfire could mean danger for Megatron, but, more importantly...
A
battle! My first!
Oh, the
thrill!
Dinobot came to, held in Megatron's dino-hand, with Rattrap aiming a gun at him.
But the worst part was the screechy voice next to his audio, shouting
"Destroy him, I command you!" He was almost sure he'd gone deaf in
that audio...
Rattrap's optics flickered to the sides. He was still surrounded by the Preds!
What was he suppose to do now?
Slag
you, Chopper-face, if I get killed because of this, I'll have your spark for
breakfast!
He shot at Terrorsaur, beastmoded, and ran for his life.
"That
will not save you, vermin!" Dinobot had no difficulties fighting free from
Megatron's grasp, and, not paying attention to anything else, he pursued the
rat.
Rust
terrorized and raised his blaster. He was still quite far away, but he had
excellent night vision, even better aim, and he'd added a custom-made blaster to
the packet. Its barrel was so long that it could pass for a rifle in smaller
bot's hands.
The only
problem was, there were a little too many targets to choose from...
A green
laser cut through the darkness, hitting a rat, which squeaked and transformed.
Ah, none of his comrades, therefore an enemy. Rust pulled the trigger, grinned
at the result, and rushed forward on four paws.
Rattrap
grinded his teeth. He knew whom the laser belonged to!
A shot
in the back send him flying to the ground, which probably was a good thing,
because five more of Dinobot's blasts seared above him. But the warrior was
taking another aim right now and--
The
ground trembled under thundering steps, and the massive form of a rhino appeared
in front of him. Rattrap jumped on his back without a second thought. Phew...
"Thanks,
buddy."
Rhinox didn't respond.
Oh. Right. Well, let's wait till we're all safe at the base...
Rust howled.
No,
come on, don't leave just yet!
He
transformed again and shot two grenades from his wrist launchers. The launchers
weren't originally designed for grenades, and therefore they were dreadfully
inaccurate at long range, but he almost scored. Almost. The rhino tripped, and a
bot on his back screamed, but that was it. His first land battle was over.
"Oh, slag!"
Something clicked nearby. "Rust?" came the voice full of disbelieve.
Young bot jerk his head. The form was slightly different, but the face and voice
were familiar.
"Hi, sarge!"
The bot blinked, then suddenly raised his claw. "Look out!"
Rust
whirled around, only saw blue-faced warrior and turn back to ask what was he
supposed to be looking out for--
--and a
laser from behind torn out quite a chunk of his side. He fell to the ground, and
rolled reflexively. Two more shots scorched the place he'd just left. Then the
attacker retreated.
With a
grunt, Rust scrambled to his feet.
"What's going on, sarge? Why did he shoot me?" he considered it for a
nano and added "this time?"
The
other bot clicked his claws again and Rust smiled. That bot had used to drum his
fingers against his chestplate. Apparently one tick was replaced by another.
"Dinobot
joined the Maximals the very first day we've arrived here."
Rust
stopped and blinked.
Dinobot?
He turned his head and looked at the fleeing form of raptor.
Oh.
bleep **Scorponok, where are you? You are to come here immediately!** bleep
Scorponok? Who's making up these names?
He smiled widely. "Well, let's go".
He didn't need to consult his Megs-checker, the yells were enough. Someone was
being given a lecture. Hehehe, good thing it wasn't him!
They
came from around the ship and Rust chuckled inwardly at the sight of the red
robot falling to the ground and loosing his head at the process. That guy had a
gift for trouble!
Megatron growled and beastmoded, as the first shocks of an energon surge went
through him.
Rust sputtered.
"If
he's called 'Trexy' now, I'm gonna ROTFL*"
he whispered into Scorponok's audio. He didn't react, but it was hard to tell if
the reason was excess of loyalty or lack of understanding.
"Megatron!
Look whom I've found!"
The
T-rex frowned at the form looming behind his second-in-command, but then the
blue optics flashed at him, and he grinned.
"Ah, our brave, lost ally is back!"
"Back and ready for duty, sir," Rust declared, giving an offhand
salute.
"Excellent. Have you picked another name?"
"I….would rather stick with Rust, if that's all the same for you,
sir."
"But of course. You may take this scrap--" he indicated Terrorsaur,
groaning on the ground, "--to the CR-tank--"
Rust
threw the body over his shoulder seemingly effortlessly, but Megatron heard a
quiet grunt and saw the way he was protecting his side from the contact. Well,
let's see how far can we push him...
"--and
then, we have a missing new predacon, a femme by the name of Blackarachnia. You
will track her down and bring her back."
"Aye,
sir." Rust picked up the red head in his left hand. "Can I repair
myself before I go?"
Megatron
eyed the hole in his side as if he only just saw it. No point in pushing him too
much, is there?
"Oh,
very well."
Rust
nodded and went to the ship, tossing protesting head up and down carelessly. He
stopped that as soon as he was out of the others' sight.
Well
now, this new entrance leads to the corridor on a second level, near the bridge,
so the CR-tanks are... that way.
___________________________________________________________________________
Rattrap took a look around. Rhinox and Cheetor were clearly avoiding his gaze,
their faces full of hurt and disappointment. Dinobot on the other hand looked
almost happy. He'd drawn his sword already.
"Now,
I will terminate the traitor myself!"
The small bot backed away quickly, and Optimus moved to block the warrior's way.
"Stand down, Dinobot!"
These
three words, he reflected, were slowly becoming a mantra, used almost as often
as 'shut up Rattrap'. Speaking of the rat...
He
turned and cleared his throat.
"Well, Rattrap, report."
Whatever others were expecting, it wasn't that. Rattrap smirked.
"Well, ah, we 'ave a new Pred to worry about, Blackarachnia, she has a
rader nasty temper. What else? Oh, Megs keeps birdcages in place of holdin'
cells. Hangin' from da ceiling. Over da lava pit. I hadta made a very difficult
jump over da stuff. An twice, I might add."
Optimus
raised his optics to the skies. "Rattrap..."
"AND
dey 'ave aaaall sorta traps everywhere, even in da air ducts, and dey never seem
ta clean da place, ya wouldn't believe da size of a spider web I walked
onto..."
"Rattrap!"
"All
right, all right," he pulled a small chip out of his wrist compartment.
"Here. Got no idea where dey found dat, but dat's what dey were usin'. A
maximal decoder. And dere was quite a pile of other parts wit' our symbol on 'em,
so I left a little time bomb in dere. And inna pod too, ya know, just in
case."
Optimus
turned the decoder over in his fingers. All this because of such a little thing.
He breathed deeply.
"Congratulations,
Rattrap!" he said extending his hand.
"Call
me a Spy Master," small bot answered gloatingly, shaking the hand. He
resembled a small balloon filled with pride. Optimus wouldn't have been
surprised if he stared to float.
"You
mean, his capture, and his betrayal...were all a set-up?" came from behind
him.
Rattrap looked up at Dinobot with a smirk.
Ya were hoping ya got rid of me, weren't ya...
"Yeah," he said casually.
Dinobot
remembered the scene from the battle and averted his gaze. He had every
intention of going against Optimus's order, and almost killed a comrade. Shame
was not an emotion he was used to dealing with. And what made it worse, was that
it was Rattrap, off all bots, to cause it. He'd never thought the rat would have
the nerve to accomplish such a task. How quick he was to condemn him...
Rattrap
blinked as the warrior looked away and slumped his shoulders. What the--? He was
used to constant fights with raptor, and didn't know how to deal with this
sudden walkover. A bit puzzled, he turned to the rest.
Cheetor
was delighted (ultra gear!), but Rhinox seemed ready to kill. And by the looks
of it, Optimus and himself were likely targets.
"WHY
didn't you tell us?"
"We had to keep it a secret, to keep his cover safe"
"Yeah, I didn't wan’ dem Preds gettin' suspicious, ya know, I was quite
outnumbered out dere." Rattrap smiled at his friend apologetically. It must
have been hard for Big Green...
Dinobot snarled. Here was something that could help him forget about his shame
for a while.
"And
we are outnumbered as well," he stated.
"What? What are ya talking about, Dino-brain? Yer figure circuits
overloaded?"
"*snarl* Didn't you notice someone shot you at the end of the battle, ro--Rattrap?"
"Sure I did. I'm lookin' at 'im."
Dinobot
actually flinched.
"I mean later, rodent! Someone shot you and threw explosives at
Rhinox."
Rhinox frowned. "That's true, it surprised me, none of the Predacons used
grenades before..."
"Yes. *snarl* It was none of the Predacons you know."
Optimus
tensed. How could there be a second new Predacon? Did they find the other stasis
pod, or... He didn't even want to think of other possibilities... That another
predacon ship had arrived. "Who was it, then?"
Dinobot
frowned. "Rust. As strange as the name may be," he added, before any
of them could wonder why he was cursing all of a sudden. "You must remember
the fighter that went down during our initial battle..."
Everyone
nodded.
"Rust was the pilot. Apparently he survived the crash."
Optimus sighed in relief. Not as bad as he feared, though still a problem.
"Well, who is he, Dinobot? In the report we'd got he was only mentioned as
'unknown'."
Dinobot
narrowed his optics. The fact was, he didn't knew much, but what he did know...
"I
am not surprised. Whoever he is, we met him on the day of the theft. *snarl*
From what I've observed, he's either insane, or Megatron has tampered with his
programming. Or possibly both." He frowned again and paused.
"Well,
ah, if dat's all ya 'ave ta say, Dino-butt..."
Optimus intervened before a fight could start, and after just a few more
insults, a tale begun.
The
theft had taken place not in the middle of the night, but in the late afternoon,
when the city life hit its heights. All went according to plan, and just twenty
cycles after Tarantulas and Dinobot entered the building they were back on the
streets, passing the Golden Disk to Megatron, who had been waiting for them in a
vehicle that looked like an average air-car, but was in fact a little
space shuttle in disguise. Scorponok joined them only a cycle later, after
making sure none of the alarms were triggered.
Four
land-bound thieves headed out in the shuttle, while two flyers followed at a
certain distance, looking out for trouble.
And
trouble did appear. Somehow, the police were waiting for them. The entire
district was surrounded, and it looked impossible to escape, but Megatron tried
anyway... And when all the Pit broke loose, he shouted into his comlink
"Rust, where are you?" and a voice Dinobot had never heard before
answered **Dead ahead of you, sir!**
"Give
us cover!"
**Aye, sir!**...
...and
part of the wall of a building ahead of them exploded, and from the smoke and
flames, a fighter emerged.
It
zoomed above them and plummeted into the mass of police units, firing, and the
police signatures on the scanner Dinobot was watching started to disappear as if
by magic.
But
there were still too many of them on their tail to escape successfully.
"Rust, lure them away from us!"
The
fighter had suddenly jumped up, made two loops around, as if deciding what to
do...and dived straight at them. It pulled up just before the crash, for a few
nanos it hovered above them, almost touching their shuttle...and just as
suddenly it turned at a crazy angle and sped away, disappearing among buildings.
Scorponok cursed and started asking what was that all about, when most of the
police forces abandoned the chase after them, going after the other ship
instead.
Megatron
laughed. "They think we've passed the Golden Disk to him! Excellent, yess.
And how inventive!"
They had
no trouble disposing of the remaining pursuers and leaving the city. About half
a mega-cycle later the fighter caught up to them.
**I lost
last of them in underground ducts** the pilot seemed to be extremely pleased
with himself. **Where to now, sir?**
"Just follow us."
Soon
they reached the cruiser, and they first saw their new comrade. Despite his size
he looked very young...
"Who's
the kid, Megatron?" Terrorsaur asked, and Rust immediately started
explaining that he didn't like to be called 'a kid'. He stopped the second
Megatron ordered him to, and Terrorsaur managed to crawl away.
After
that no one tried to annoy the newcomer, or even go near him. There was
something in his smile that unnerved even Tarantulas. The scientist didn't look
too happy when the young bot approached him, asking something. They disappeared
into a lab for some time after that, but for what purpose, Dinobot didn't know.
There
were other things that occupied his mind. They made a few random trans-warp
leaps and went into hiding, because Megatron needed few days to decode
information the Disk contained.
He
confirmed that, indeed, the original Megatron left an additional message in it,
just as he suspected, but refused to inform Dinobot of its exact content. He
only mentioned that the task it assigned required going to Earth. But the
Maximals didn't really need to know that, did they...
As for Rust... During those few days he always kept close to Megatron, always
kept his blaster at his side, (never in a subspace compartment) and whenever
their leader gave him an order, he was zooming through the corridors in
motorcycle mode, to fulfill it all the faster.
And one order... It wasn't even an order. Just a day before the Axalon found
them, Megatron looked up from the console he'd been working at and said
"Rust, I'm bored. Shoot your hand off again."
Dinobot fell silent for a while and looked up at the listening Maximals.
"And
he did."
___________________________________________________________________________
The robot that had shot his hand off at his commander's request entered the
Predacon base with an inert, black and yellow body on his shoulders. He was
whistling quietly, but stopped the moment he was within hearing range of the
rest of the crew.
He
headed for the control room. The doors weren't operating, and he had to wrench
them open. Then he stepped aside and kept them open for Tarantulas and Scorponok,
carrying a charred pod. He didn't notice the odd looks they gave him, because he
was scanning the room for Megatron. Ah, there he is.
"Brought
her, sir," he reported, adjusting the weight on his shoulders.
Megatron glanced at him. "Excellent. Any particular reason she's
off-line?"
Rust smiled widely. "She didn't want to be brought."
"I see. You know were the CR-tanks are." The young bot nodded and
headed there.
He was
dumping the she-spider in the tank, when the platform in the other one rose up.
"Hey, how's the head?"
"$&*^%#$ off."
Rust chuckled. "Just asking!
Sheesh, you're touchy!"
They
spent the rest of the night in the communication room, where something had
exploded, removing scrap and repairing what was repairable. Well, actually,
Megatron, Tarantulas, and Scorponok were doing the repairs, Waspinator was sent
outside as a sentry, and Terrorsaur was assigned to scrap removal, but Rust was
helping him.
What? He liked carrying heavy things!
At dawn
Megatron dismissed his troops for half a mega-cycle, mentioning that Rust may
consider himself off-duty for the time being. Cool.
He headed towards his quarters.
Hmmm.
Footsteps behind him. Two bots or more? Turning the corner he slowed down enough
to glance at the outlines reflected in the wall. Terrorsaur and Tarantulas? And
what did they may want? Well, let's wait and see...
Nothing much, he realized, as he opened the door. Just to have some free laughs.
Rust put his hand on the upper frame and looked at his room thoughtfully.
The
door. The wall around the door. The other wall. Some flooring. And...
"Nice
view you got there," sputtered Terrorsaur between laughs. Tarantulas just
chuckled.
Ah, figures. Be a nice guy for a nano, and they start to think you're at the
bottom of hierarchy chain. He would have thought he'd left strong enough
impression when they first met...
But the
view was nice. He liked the way lava lighted the space. He wondered
briefly what had exploded here. One of engines, maybe? He leaned forward to look
at the boiling pit two decks down. Hmmm, maybe he could stay here... He
tested remaining floor, and some of it crumbled under his foot. Nope. Pity.
Oh well.
He decided to attend to the newest problem. He had to remind his teammates that
he was NOT to be messed with. Which one would serve as an example? Tarantulas?
Hmm, there was something in him, he might be a bit too dangerous to cross, and
he did give him the Megs-checker. So it would be Terrorsaur. Tough luck
you got, bot.
"Where's
all my stuff?" he asked, ripping two chunks of synt-foam from isolation
layer around the door.
"Huh?"
With a
wide smile, Rust put his arm around red bot's shoulders and pulled him close.
"See those clamps on the wall? There were six small containers secured
there. The clamps are intact, the boxes are gone. Where are they?"
Terrorsaur
snorted. "How should I know".
Aw, wrong answer, bot!
From
Rust's point of view, it went like this:
If
I slam him face-first to the wall
and if I shove synt-foam up his
jets
and if I push him through the door
and if I catch his leg just before
he falls
then maybe he'll get a bit more
cooperative.
For
Terrorsaur it was like:
smile
*slam*
"oooph!"
*whooosh*
"HELP!"
and then
"Let me down!"
Rust smiled. "Are you sure?" and Terrorsaur realized his mistake.
"NO!"
"So where's all my stuff?"
"I donno!"
"Aww, that's too bad..." his grip loosened a little.
"Tarantulas, help me!"
Tarantulas
had backed away to a safe distance the moment the attack started, and was now
watching the two bots thoughtfully.
"I
think I saw Waspinator buzzing around here," he said almost absentmindedly.
Rust
grinned and in one fluid move pulled the red bot into the corridor, turned him
the right way up and put him on his feet.
"Thank
you," he said cheerfully, patting his head. Then he fell on four paws and
trotted away, leaving them behind.
"Slaggin'
psycho..." Terrorsaur muttered when he was sure Rust wouldn't hear him.
"What did he put in my jets? Help me with it!"
Tarantulas
was so deep in thought that he actually did help, against all predacon
protocols.
He was thinking of Rust.
That kid
- and he wouldn't call him that aloud, oh no - was his big failure.
He
hadn't known about him.
That was almost scary.
He hadn't known Megatron hired that one bot more.
He hadn't known that this bot even existed.
And when
he tried to find any info on him when they went into hiding, his computer gave
him nothing. He tried the name, the appearance, the energy signature, even the
fighter's data, and it all resulted with a short notice about the theft over a
stellar cycle ago. But Rust didn't exist in computer data banks anywhere.
And then
he approached him with that infernal smile on his face, and asked if Tarantulas,
by any chance, possessed a small tracking scanner, with such and such
qualities...
And
Tarantulas had a hard time controlling himself, because such scanners were one
of latest, top secret devices used by high PSP officers and assassins, and no
civilian was supposed to know about it.
And that
could mean...
...that
saying 'no' would be a very bad idea.
So he
gave Rust the scanner along with detailed instruction how to install it, both in
himself and in the target, and when the visitor finally left his lab, he sent a
very carefully arranged question to headquarters...
...and realized he'd made a mistake where their answer was, basically, 'Huh?'.
But now
he was thinking about that again, because the way Rust demanded information was
basic procedure for field PSP officer. Of course it was also something any
average thug would do... but still, he had something to think about.
__________________________________________________________________________
Waspinator's
door was locked. Rusted examined the lock briefly, then kicked it. Yep, he was
right, very fragile thing...
He
entered and found his containers right away. They were sitting on a shelf just
across the room. Locks intact, contents untouched. Rust frowned. What's the
point of taking them, then? He examined the room, full of garbage... Then he
took a step back and examined it again, moving his thoughts to a different
track.
The way
the colorful thingies were scattered across the room.
The way six boxes were arranged, as if on display.
He
stifled laugher. Apparently Waspinator dragged the boxes here, because he liked
colorful holo-stickers they were covered with. Well, Rust liked them too. He was
the one who put them there, after all.
Hmmm.
The wasp's room was originally rookies' quarters, and was smaller than
the crew's rooms the others occupied. Smaller, but with two bunks. It never
stopped to amaze Rust that the more bots were supposed to fit in the room, the
smaller its capacity was. There must have been some conspiracy behind this.
"What
doggy-bot doing here?!"
Rust let his smile cover half his face, and turned.
"The name's Rust. And I live here. Why?"
Waspinator gaped at him, stunned.
"This Waspinator's room," he buzzed finally.
Rust
tapped one of the boxes. "My stuff is here, I'm staying here. I'm not going
to rupture myself dragging this to the other room. You may stay or go, your
choice."
But stay. I like having company.
"Doggy-bot can't just move in!"
"Rust. And watch me."
Waspinator
was torn. He hated having roommates. They were always laughing at the way he
spoke, and they were trashing his belongings, and always made him sleep on the
upper bed and laughed even more when he kept banging his head on the ceiling.
But on the other hand, if he retreated and picked another room, he would never
hear the end of it.
He
thought briefly about complaining to Megatron, and cringed.
No, he'd rather stay and suffer Rust's presence.
He
circled around the bigger bot carefully and started to climb on the bed.
Something gray blurred past him and lots of teeth snapped in front of his face.
"Upper
bunk's mine. Get
lost."
He fell
to the floor and stared up in surprise. Wolf-bot wanted to recharge up there?
"Why doggy-bot--
The wolf landed on top of him.
"RUST!"
he yelled, and growled.
Waspinator yelled as well, and shielded his face with one arm, the other
searching desperately for a weapon...
The jaws
full of spiky teeth drew back suddenly.
"I
forgot about my backpack. Be right back." And the wolf trotted out, as if
the event never took place.
Waspinator
scrambled to his feet and sat on his bed, looking after him. He didn't
understand this bot, and he didn't like that. Dealing with people who did
strange things tended to end in the CR-tank, in his experience. He sighed. Why
did his life have to be so complicated?
By the
time Rust found his backpack and returned, Waspinator was fast asleep. The Wolf
bot left the container in the corner and jumped onto his bunk silently. He was
tired, but it would be five or eight cycles before he slept. What to do with
eight cycles?
Something I missed very much in the wild.
He closed his optics and concentrated on his spark. He hated doing it at home (ha!),
because most sparks there were identical to his, but here... He focused... and
six distant stars appeared in the darkness. The youngest and closest -
Waspinator. The two that seemed oldest... he momentarily switched to his scanner
and back - this one's Megs, so that must be sarge. The gleam in
the direction where the communication room was - Terrorsaur on monitor duty.
Moving from CR-tanks area - must be Blackarachnia. Awfully mature for a newborn,
but of course she had to be at least fifty to be in the Axalon's crew. Maximals
didn't employ underage bots. And the dark star outside the base - Tarantulas.
Having them all identified, Rust let his senses unfocus, and recharged.
___________________________________________________________________________
So, what
do you think? Did you like that? Hallo? Anyone reading this? Hallo?
___________________________________________________________________________
*
ROTFL - roll on the floor laughing. But you knew that, of course