Gaslight_Dreamer (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wyntir_knight) wrote2007-11-05 05:03 pm
wyntir_knight) wrote2007-11-05 05:03 pm
Entry tags:
The Devil You Know: Chapter 2
Title: The Devil You Know
Series: G1 universe, focusing on Original characters
Rating: R
Summary: In the early days of the civil war on Cybertron, Sentinel Prime authorized several refugee vessels to take Neutrals away from the planet in hopes that they could start peaceful colonies where they would be safe. Many of these refugees were never heard from again; lost to us through time and distance. But history does record the fate of one of the vessels. The Stormchaser was three orns away from its destination when it was shot down by Decepticons in an act of cowardice and deceit. There were no survivors. That is what history tells us. But in this case, history is wrong.
Author's Note: Day five, Chapter 2 is complete, and the word count is still on schedule!
8485 / 50000 words. 17% done!
Chapter 2
Arclight came online slowly. The first thing she was aware of was dull ache that permeated her whole body and a weight pressing her down into something soft and spongy. She groaned and activated her optics and found herself staring into the twisted face of Killzone. With a small shriek she shoved up against the Decepticon’s chest and scrambled backwards in a wild attempt at escape. Her backward momentum continued until she slammed into something hard, sending painful vibrations through her back.
She cried out in terror, bringing her arms up to defend against the attack that she knew was coming. Deafened by the sound of her overclocking systems and blinded by her fear, it took her several minutes to realize that the anticipated attack was not going to happen. Still shivering slightly, she brought her arms down and looked at her surroundings for the first time. She sat of the floor of a clearing, her back to the remains of a burned and blackened tree. Strewn about were the remains of a portion of the Stormchaser, shattered and twisted beyond all recognition. The organic growth in the clearing still smouldered from the heat of the ship’s burning descent, and now that she was calmer, she could feel the heat emanating from the ground, penetrating her armour uncomfortably.
Carefully she stood, taking stock of her injuries. Her armour was dented in several places, and the anti-torque rotors in her feet were twisted awkwardly. Her canopy was cracked and, while she couldn’t see it, it felt like one of her blades was bent slightly. As far as she could gather, she could transform, but would never be able to fly without some serious bodywork first.
“Well, it could have been worse,” she muttered to herself as she looked about the glade more thoroughly.
“A lot worse,” she added as she caught sight of a crumpled orange form lying about thirty feet away.
Killzone had been shattered by the force of the ship’s impact. His arms, legs, and wings had been sheered off, and a large, thick branch protruded from his back. On closer inspection, it was obvious that he had been impaled as they fell, his spark chamber shattered by the impact. His death had been instant. Arclight looked down at her own chest, finally noticing the small hole, rimmed with wood dust. It seemed that Killzone had taken the brunt of the force, and in doing so, shielded her from further damage.
“It looks like I owe you my life,” she said to Killzone’s still form.
She felt a tightness in her chest, a confusion overflowing into her. She owed him her life, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything but perverse satisfaction at his death. It was a feeling that she couldn’t reconcile with her nature as a medic. Thankfully it was something she didn’t have to contemplate for long. Right now survival was the most important thing, the only thing she could allow herself to focus on. So steeling herself, she turned from Killzone’s corpse and began to look for anything she could use to help herself. After several minutes of searching, she found her laserswords, still functional, buried under a metal plate that looked like it may have once been a part of a door.
After another frantic search through the rubble, she found the remains of a medical locker. Miraculously it had survived, not only the crash, but somehow, it had remained attached to the side of the ship through the explosive decompression of the medical bay and the ensuing fiery entry into the atmosphere. She opened the locker with trembling fingers, praying that she would find something, anything, that she could use.
“Oh! Thank Primus!” she cried as she pulled the contents from the shelves.
After much scrounging she found enough to put together a decently large field kit, and as long as she didn’t have to perform any major surgery, it would be enough. Stuffing the gear carefully into an emergency travel kit, she set about to finding fuel. Energon cubes would be best, but a portable converter would work in a pinch. The local organic growth wouldn’t produce anything resembling quality fuel, but at least it would keep her, and any other survivors, from starving before they could be rescued.
She walked carefully through the wreckage, avoiding Killzone’s body, gingerly moving debris out of the way as she walked. After completing a full grid of the clearing she was forced to admit defeat. If there was fuel to be found, it wasn’t here.
“Well that was a waste of time,” she muttered, putting her hands on her hip struts and surveying the area for anything she might have missed.
Now that he had confirmed there was nothing else to find, she needed a destination. With her anti-torque motors damaged, she couldn’t get any forward momentum while in robot mode, but she could still manage to go up and down under her own power. She fired up her thrusters and was quickly moving up until she hovered just above the canopy. Twisting around to take in all she could, all she saw was woods and more woods. It was disheartening to say the least. Giving up on her search for a destination, she came back down to the surface.
With a sigh, she heaved the sack over her shoulder, picked a direction, and began walking. Arclight made her way through the forest at a steady pace. The decomposing forest floor was springy and compressed under her weight, causing her to sink to the ankles every time she stopped moving. The thick trees towered above her, the canopy over a thousand feet up, but through it she could see the light of a bright, hot, yellow sun. The floor was covered with the decomposing remains of organic matter, with thick cable-like roots poking through the debris. On several occasions, the roots seemed to grab at her ankles and off in the distance she heard the cries of strange organic creatures. She couldn’t see any of the animals, on any of the visible spectrums available to her, but, somehow she knew they were there. It was a terribly disconcerting feeling.
She continued walking through the woods, away from the wreckage of the Stormbringer. She had no idea where she was going but knew she needed to get to the rest of the ship and possibly to other survivors. She tried to keep focused as she searched for any signs of debris or cybernetic life, but she was finding herself distracted by the organicness of her surroundings. They were so strange, so alien. It was pretty, in its own way, but it was so far out of her comfort zone that she found herself jumping at every noise and shadow.
“Come on, femme! There’s nothing here that you can’t handle!” she chided herself. “It’s not like there are any organic predators that can eat metal.”
She had almost convinced herself to calm down when a loud crack sounded from behind her. She spun, raising her hands in defence. There was no one there, at least no one she could see. But she wasn’t about to believe her senses at this point. She backed away from the noise and promptly fell flat on her aft.
“Blast and slag,” she muttered. “This was just what I needed!”
As she moved to stand, she looked straight up, and saw something that made her gasp in surprise. There, through a gap in the green canopy, she saw a trail of oily black smoke training across the sky. She jumped to her feet and shot herself into the air once more. That plume of smoke had not been there before, but it was here now, and that meant she might be able to get a direction. Up she flew until she broke the canopy. At this height, she was beyond her safe range. If her thrusters shorted out, she wouldn’t likely survive the fall, but the next sight made her throw all of her concerns to the wind. There, in the distance were the remains of a portion of the Stormchaser, jutting out of the forest like a strange metallic hill. She hadn’t seen it when she was last in the air, but that didn’t mean anything except that she had missed it, or had been too far away at the time.
She came back down as quickly as she dared, and as soon as her feet touched the spongy forest floor, she took off through the woods toward the remains of the ship. If there were survivors, they would be there.
She ran through the woods as fast as her legs would carry her, praying to Primus the whole way that she was still on the right track. As she ran, the woods began to become denser. The trees were closer together, the earth, broken by more roots, and the canopy became so thick that she could no longer see the sun. In fact, it had become so dark, that she was forced to slow down or run the risk of missing something important. Finally, her forward momentum had slowed to a near crawl. Several large trees in her path had forced her to make several twists and turns, and now, she was no longer sure if she was going in the right direction. She stopped and looked up at the canopy.
“There is no chance I’m getting through there without taking some serious damage,” she said.
“It came from over there!” a voice cried out.
“I’m telling you, there’s no one out there!” a second voice argued.
Arclight froze, unsure of what to do. She needed to find the survivors, but she was suddenly reminded of the Decepticon attack. If these were other Neutrals then she was fine, but the Decepticons had a history of shooting first and asking questions later. Considering the circumstances, it was possible that any Autobots she came across might do the same.
Before she could come to a decision, a decision was made for her.
“Come on,” the second voice said. “We need to catch up with the others before that Autobot notices we’re gone. And Waverunner needs our report.”
Arclight knew that she had heard the name Waverunner somewhere. She thought for a moment, running through her processor, trying to find where she knew that name from. Suddenly it came to her. Waverunner was a Neutral elder. He was well respected among the refugees, and a staunch voice against the war. If he was involved with this group, even if there was an Autobot among them, then this was who she had been looking for. She moved carefully through the woods toward the voices.
“Excuse me,” she said, loudly as she stepped through the trees and into the sight of the two mechs.
The first was tall and slender. His black and red colour scheme and his general form spoke of a communications mech of some sort. The second was shorter and stockier. His light blue paint suited his relaxed stance, but the bristling nodes that spiked out of his armour spoke of an origin as military hardware.
“Halt!” the tall one cried as he raised a small firearm.
He was obviously trying to act brave, but Arclight could see his gun-hand trembling. She raised her hands to her sides carefully, spreading her fingers to show that she wasn’t a threat.
“Relax, Roulette,” the shorter mech said. “I would think that it’d be obvious that she’s harmless.”
“You don’t know that, Twostrike,” Roulette countered. “She could be a Decepticon, for all we know.”
“A ‘Con medic! That’s rich,” Twostrike laughed as he came forward. “Trust me, the ‘Cons never had much use for ‘em and they certainly wouldn’t have use for someone like her. No offence, ma’am, but you’re a little … uhm … small.”
“None taken,” Arclight replied. “As long as you don’t shoot me, you can pretty much call me anything you like.”
“We won’t shoot you,” Twostrike chuckled. “Will we, Roulette?”
“Uh, no, I guess not,” Roulette replied as he put his weapon away. “I think you need to come see Waverunner.”
“That’s just what I was hoping you’d say,” Arclight replied with a smile as she lowered her hands.
“Now, who are you?” Twostrike asked.
“My name is Arclight. I am … or should I say, I was … an EMT volunteer on the ship,” Arclight explained. “What about you?”
“Roulette and I are just colonists,” Twostrike replied.
“Just?” she asked
“Yup. Just,” Twostrike replied with a smile. “So if I can ask, how’d you survive?” Twostrike asked Arclight as Roulette led them through the woods.
“I think it was pure luck, actually,” Arclight replied. “I was by the Med Bay when we went down. Looking at the damage around me when I woke up, I have no idea how I survived it.”
“Primus’ grace I guess,” Twostrike replied. “I take it that you were the only one?”
“Yes,” Arclight replied with a sigh.
“Well, we shouldn’t question a gift like this,” Twostrike said. “We could use a medic. We have sixteen survivors so far, seventeen including you, and some of us are damaged.”
“How badly?” Arclight asked.
“I only have the most basics of field repairs,” Twostrike said with a shrug. “I can patch a hole and stop a mech from leaking out, but that’s about it. But, honestly, it looks like everyone has nothing more than a few scrapes and dings.”
“That’s really amazing,” Arclight replied as she sped up her pace.
Twostrike just shrugged and continued to follow Roulette through the woods. As they walked the trees seemed to spread out, becoming more sparsely spaced. They also seemed to younger in this area of the wood. Certainly, they were thinner and shorter, some no taller than she was. After a few more feet, they entered a small clearing, filled with mechs.
A large blue mech stepped forward. A good head taller than Arclight, he had to be about forty feet tall and was built like a tank. He was obviously Military Hardware, but he sported a large, red Autobot sigil in the middle of his chest.
“Who’s this?” the blue mech asked.
“Hey, Waverunner!” Twostrike called out, brushing past the blue mech. “We found another survivor, sir,”
A mid-sized yellow and white mech stood from where he was working on a piece of equipment. He approached slowly, moving awkwardly, almost painfully.
“Who’s this?” he asked in a voice only just above a whisper.
“Waverunner, sir,” Roulette said, stepping forward, “this is Arclight. She’s a medic. She can help you.”
“I don’t need help,” Waverunner replied. “There are many who are more injured that I am.”
He approached Arclight slowly, looking her up and down carefully.
“And who are you?” he asked slowly.
“Arclight, sir,” she replied. “I was a volunteer medic. I was told by Twostrike that there were wounded?”
“Right to the point, I see. That’s good,” Waverunner replied. “However, I’m not the person you need to be introduced to. Cobalt here has taken it upon himself to be our de facto leader.”
“At least one of you grasps the concept of respect,” the large blue mech said as he came forward to stand beside Waverunner. “I’m leading these people to the rest of the ship. We’ll be able to find fuel and a communications beacon there. It’s probably too much to hope that the escape shuttles survived, but you never know.”
He turned from Arclight and Waverunner and motioned t0o the rest of the assembled with a grand, sweeping gesture.
“These survivors are all Neutrals, and in need of protection. I need you to deal with what damage you can. The more people we have fully functional, the faster we can move, and the sooner we can get off of this world.”
“Uh … sure, I’ll see what I can do,” Arclight said before moving off among the crowd. Twostrike came with her to help as he could.
“So, Twostrike,” Arclight began carefully as she worked. “How is it that you’re being led by an Autobot? I din’t think there were any on board?”
“I’m not sure where he came from,” Twostrike replied. “But I have some ideas.”
“Oh?” Arclight asked.
“Yeah. There were rumours before we left that this program wasn’t entirely altruistic,” he said.
“How do you mean?” Arclight asked.
“There were stories back on Cybertron that the refugee vessels were being used-”
“That’s enough, Twostrike,” the femme Arclight was working on interrupted. “We don’t have time for those ridiculous rumours.”
She turned to Arclight and sat up.
“Cobalt told us that he was on board as part of a platoon to help protect us against Deccepticon attack,” she said.
“Yeah, and fat lot of good they did,” Twostrike grumbled.
“I don’t recall you doing anything against the Decepticons,” she femme replied. “Now you go off and make yourself useful. No one needs to hear more of your paranoid conspiracy theories.”
“Yes, Syzygy,” Twostrike said with a sigh before he moved off.
“Now,” she said as she turned back to Arclight. “All you need to know is Cobalt came to us and helped lead us. None of us have the skills to survive out here. He’s going to save us and get us back to Cybertron.”
“Oh,” Arclight replied.
She wasn’t convinced. She had heard what the Decepticons had asked on the ship. They were searching for something, and she had to wonder if Twostrike hadn’t been right about why the Autobots were on board. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
“All right everyone!” Cobalt called. “That’s enough of a break. We have to keep moving. I don’t want us wasting energy on lights. We need to get as close as we can to the remains of the ship before night falls.”
Slowly everyone stood and moved into a military formation. The smaller and weaker mechs were in the middle, while the larger, more heavily armed mechs took the dsides and back. Cobalt and Waverunner took the front of the line.
“Arclight! I want you up here with me,” Cobalt ordered. “You’re our only medic and we can’t afford to lose you.”
Arclight came to stand next to him.
“Do you really think that there’s going to be a problem?” she asked.
“We can never be too sure. We don’t know if there are native hostiles on this world and we don’t know if the “Cons followed us down.”
He took one last look at the assembled bots before turning and walking away.
“Move out!” he ordered. “And keep up. We don’t have time for stragglers!”
The group moved through the forest silently. No one spoke and even engine sounds seemed depressed as everyone tried to be as quiet as possible. Arclight fell back to her training. As an EMT she had had to move through more dangerous areas than other medics had. Each step was carefully placed, always conscious of the noise she was making, the springy forest floor, and the noises around her. It was an exhausting process and she saw that it was affecting the others present as well. Everyone was jumpy and nervous, starting at every noise in the woods. When a nearby tree branch fell, someone near the back of the line shrieked in terror. The fear and confusion was taking its toll on all assembled. Arclight found that more and more people were beginning to fall behind.
“We need to slow down,” she said to Cobalt softly. “They can’t keep up.”
“If they want to live then they will,” Cobalt said emphatically.
“They’re not soldiers! These people are scientists and academics. They’re not formatted for this kind of forced march! You need to slow down!” Arclight argued.
Cobalt suddenly stopped and turned on Arclight, backing her into a tree.
“The only thing that I need to do is get these people to safety,” Cobalt growled, his face bare inches from hers. “And the only thing that you need to do is follow orders. Am I making myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” she replied.
Cobalt turned away to continue walking, but stopped as Arclight spoke again.
“I fully understand your position, sir, but you have to realize that you won’t be able to save any of these people if you run them into the ground. You have to be reasonable,” she argued.
Cobalt spun and, moving faster than she could track, he had her pinned to a tree. His massive hand closed around her throat, his weight pressing her into the wood. He stared at her, his blue optics blazing in anger.
“I will not have you questioning me,” he growled as he squeezed her neck, blocking off the energon flow to her central processor. “You will know your place and you will act accordingly. Being a medic will not curry you any favour with me.”
Warning messages began to flash across her optics as she clawed frantically at Cobalt’s arm and hands. She kicked out and desperately pulled at his fingers seeking release. Her feel only hit air and her hands may as well have been scratching at solid rock.
“That’s enough, Cobalt,” Waverunner said. “We need her functional.”
“Promise not to question me again and I will let you go,” Cobalt growled.
Arclight could only squeak and nod her head slightly. Satisfied with her answer, Cobalt opened his hand and let her fall to the forest floor. She lay still for a long time, as her systems tried to deal with the damage he had caused. She felt large hands take her by the arms and help her up. Twostrike placed his arm around her shoulders, supporting her as they followed the rest of the others.
“Why didn’t they do anything?” Arclight asked, her voice barely above a whiper.
“They’re not fighters. They’re frightened and disoriented, and … and I don’t know,” Twostrike replied.
“And what about you? You sure look like Military Hardware. Why didn’t you do anything?” she demanded.
“Looks can be deceiving,” he replied, his voice filled with sadness. “All of us here left Cybertron because we didn’t have any other choice. Keep that in mind before you make snap judgements.”
“I … I’m sorry,” Arclight said.
She pushed away from Twostrike gently, determined to stand on her own.
“I think I’ll be fine now,” she said. “Thank you for your help.”
She started to walk away when Twostrike took her by the arm.
“I need you to promise me something,” he said softly.
“What?” she asked.
“I need you to promise me that you’ll be more careful. Cobalt’s not what he seems either and I’m not sure he’ll give you another opportunity to mouth off to him.”
Arclight looked at him askance before opening her mouth to reply. She never got the chance as a cry and the sound of a gun shattered the silence of the wood. Without a second though, they ran forward and right into the waiting sights of a team of Decepticons. The neutrals all stood aside, hands in positions of surrender, and Cobalt lay still on the ground. His arms were being brutally tied behind him by a black and tan mech.
“Well, well,” said a silky voice. “It looks like everyone has joined the party.”
Arclight took a frightened step back as the green Seeker from the ship stepped into view.
Series: G1 universe, focusing on Original characters
Rating: R
Summary: In the early days of the civil war on Cybertron, Sentinel Prime authorized several refugee vessels to take Neutrals away from the planet in hopes that they could start peaceful colonies where they would be safe. Many of these refugees were never heard from again; lost to us through time and distance. But history does record the fate of one of the vessels. The Stormchaser was three orns away from its destination when it was shot down by Decepticons in an act of cowardice and deceit. There were no survivors. That is what history tells us. But in this case, history is wrong.
Author's Note: Day five, Chapter 2 is complete, and the word count is still on schedule!
Arclight came online slowly. The first thing she was aware of was dull ache that permeated her whole body and a weight pressing her down into something soft and spongy. She groaned and activated her optics and found herself staring into the twisted face of Killzone. With a small shriek she shoved up against the Decepticon’s chest and scrambled backwards in a wild attempt at escape. Her backward momentum continued until she slammed into something hard, sending painful vibrations through her back.
She cried out in terror, bringing her arms up to defend against the attack that she knew was coming. Deafened by the sound of her overclocking systems and blinded by her fear, it took her several minutes to realize that the anticipated attack was not going to happen. Still shivering slightly, she brought her arms down and looked at her surroundings for the first time. She sat of the floor of a clearing, her back to the remains of a burned and blackened tree. Strewn about were the remains of a portion of the Stormchaser, shattered and twisted beyond all recognition. The organic growth in the clearing still smouldered from the heat of the ship’s burning descent, and now that she was calmer, she could feel the heat emanating from the ground, penetrating her armour uncomfortably.
Carefully she stood, taking stock of her injuries. Her armour was dented in several places, and the anti-torque rotors in her feet were twisted awkwardly. Her canopy was cracked and, while she couldn’t see it, it felt like one of her blades was bent slightly. As far as she could gather, she could transform, but would never be able to fly without some serious bodywork first.
“Well, it could have been worse,” she muttered to herself as she looked about the glade more thoroughly.
“A lot worse,” she added as she caught sight of a crumpled orange form lying about thirty feet away.
Killzone had been shattered by the force of the ship’s impact. His arms, legs, and wings had been sheered off, and a large, thick branch protruded from his back. On closer inspection, it was obvious that he had been impaled as they fell, his spark chamber shattered by the impact. His death had been instant. Arclight looked down at her own chest, finally noticing the small hole, rimmed with wood dust. It seemed that Killzone had taken the brunt of the force, and in doing so, shielded her from further damage.
“It looks like I owe you my life,” she said to Killzone’s still form.
She felt a tightness in her chest, a confusion overflowing into her. She owed him her life, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel anything but perverse satisfaction at his death. It was a feeling that she couldn’t reconcile with her nature as a medic. Thankfully it was something she didn’t have to contemplate for long. Right now survival was the most important thing, the only thing she could allow herself to focus on. So steeling herself, she turned from Killzone’s corpse and began to look for anything she could use to help herself. After several minutes of searching, she found her laserswords, still functional, buried under a metal plate that looked like it may have once been a part of a door.
After another frantic search through the rubble, she found the remains of a medical locker. Miraculously it had survived, not only the crash, but somehow, it had remained attached to the side of the ship through the explosive decompression of the medical bay and the ensuing fiery entry into the atmosphere. She opened the locker with trembling fingers, praying that she would find something, anything, that she could use.
“Oh! Thank Primus!” she cried as she pulled the contents from the shelves.
After much scrounging she found enough to put together a decently large field kit, and as long as she didn’t have to perform any major surgery, it would be enough. Stuffing the gear carefully into an emergency travel kit, she set about to finding fuel. Energon cubes would be best, but a portable converter would work in a pinch. The local organic growth wouldn’t produce anything resembling quality fuel, but at least it would keep her, and any other survivors, from starving before they could be rescued.
She walked carefully through the wreckage, avoiding Killzone’s body, gingerly moving debris out of the way as she walked. After completing a full grid of the clearing she was forced to admit defeat. If there was fuel to be found, it wasn’t here.
“Well that was a waste of time,” she muttered, putting her hands on her hip struts and surveying the area for anything she might have missed.
Now that he had confirmed there was nothing else to find, she needed a destination. With her anti-torque motors damaged, she couldn’t get any forward momentum while in robot mode, but she could still manage to go up and down under her own power. She fired up her thrusters and was quickly moving up until she hovered just above the canopy. Twisting around to take in all she could, all she saw was woods and more woods. It was disheartening to say the least. Giving up on her search for a destination, she came back down to the surface.
With a sigh, she heaved the sack over her shoulder, picked a direction, and began walking. Arclight made her way through the forest at a steady pace. The decomposing forest floor was springy and compressed under her weight, causing her to sink to the ankles every time she stopped moving. The thick trees towered above her, the canopy over a thousand feet up, but through it she could see the light of a bright, hot, yellow sun. The floor was covered with the decomposing remains of organic matter, with thick cable-like roots poking through the debris. On several occasions, the roots seemed to grab at her ankles and off in the distance she heard the cries of strange organic creatures. She couldn’t see any of the animals, on any of the visible spectrums available to her, but, somehow she knew they were there. It was a terribly disconcerting feeling.
She continued walking through the woods, away from the wreckage of the Stormbringer. She had no idea where she was going but knew she needed to get to the rest of the ship and possibly to other survivors. She tried to keep focused as she searched for any signs of debris or cybernetic life, but she was finding herself distracted by the organicness of her surroundings. They were so strange, so alien. It was pretty, in its own way, but it was so far out of her comfort zone that she found herself jumping at every noise and shadow.
“Come on, femme! There’s nothing here that you can’t handle!” she chided herself. “It’s not like there are any organic predators that can eat metal.”
She had almost convinced herself to calm down when a loud crack sounded from behind her. She spun, raising her hands in defence. There was no one there, at least no one she could see. But she wasn’t about to believe her senses at this point. She backed away from the noise and promptly fell flat on her aft.
“Blast and slag,” she muttered. “This was just what I needed!”
As she moved to stand, she looked straight up, and saw something that made her gasp in surprise. There, through a gap in the green canopy, she saw a trail of oily black smoke training across the sky. She jumped to her feet and shot herself into the air once more. That plume of smoke had not been there before, but it was here now, and that meant she might be able to get a direction. Up she flew until she broke the canopy. At this height, she was beyond her safe range. If her thrusters shorted out, she wouldn’t likely survive the fall, but the next sight made her throw all of her concerns to the wind. There, in the distance were the remains of a portion of the Stormchaser, jutting out of the forest like a strange metallic hill. She hadn’t seen it when she was last in the air, but that didn’t mean anything except that she had missed it, or had been too far away at the time.
She came back down as quickly as she dared, and as soon as her feet touched the spongy forest floor, she took off through the woods toward the remains of the ship. If there were survivors, they would be there.
She ran through the woods as fast as her legs would carry her, praying to Primus the whole way that she was still on the right track. As she ran, the woods began to become denser. The trees were closer together, the earth, broken by more roots, and the canopy became so thick that she could no longer see the sun. In fact, it had become so dark, that she was forced to slow down or run the risk of missing something important. Finally, her forward momentum had slowed to a near crawl. Several large trees in her path had forced her to make several twists and turns, and now, she was no longer sure if she was going in the right direction. She stopped and looked up at the canopy.
“There is no chance I’m getting through there without taking some serious damage,” she said.
“It came from over there!” a voice cried out.
“I’m telling you, there’s no one out there!” a second voice argued.
Arclight froze, unsure of what to do. She needed to find the survivors, but she was suddenly reminded of the Decepticon attack. If these were other Neutrals then she was fine, but the Decepticons had a history of shooting first and asking questions later. Considering the circumstances, it was possible that any Autobots she came across might do the same.
Before she could come to a decision, a decision was made for her.
“Come on,” the second voice said. “We need to catch up with the others before that Autobot notices we’re gone. And Waverunner needs our report.”
Arclight knew that she had heard the name Waverunner somewhere. She thought for a moment, running through her processor, trying to find where she knew that name from. Suddenly it came to her. Waverunner was a Neutral elder. He was well respected among the refugees, and a staunch voice against the war. If he was involved with this group, even if there was an Autobot among them, then this was who she had been looking for. She moved carefully through the woods toward the voices.
“Excuse me,” she said, loudly as she stepped through the trees and into the sight of the two mechs.
The first was tall and slender. His black and red colour scheme and his general form spoke of a communications mech of some sort. The second was shorter and stockier. His light blue paint suited his relaxed stance, but the bristling nodes that spiked out of his armour spoke of an origin as military hardware.
“Halt!” the tall one cried as he raised a small firearm.
He was obviously trying to act brave, but Arclight could see his gun-hand trembling. She raised her hands to her sides carefully, spreading her fingers to show that she wasn’t a threat.
“Relax, Roulette,” the shorter mech said. “I would think that it’d be obvious that she’s harmless.”
“You don’t know that, Twostrike,” Roulette countered. “She could be a Decepticon, for all we know.”
“A ‘Con medic! That’s rich,” Twostrike laughed as he came forward. “Trust me, the ‘Cons never had much use for ‘em and they certainly wouldn’t have use for someone like her. No offence, ma’am, but you’re a little … uhm … small.”
“None taken,” Arclight replied. “As long as you don’t shoot me, you can pretty much call me anything you like.”
“We won’t shoot you,” Twostrike chuckled. “Will we, Roulette?”
“Uh, no, I guess not,” Roulette replied as he put his weapon away. “I think you need to come see Waverunner.”
“That’s just what I was hoping you’d say,” Arclight replied with a smile as she lowered her hands.
“Now, who are you?” Twostrike asked.
“My name is Arclight. I am … or should I say, I was … an EMT volunteer on the ship,” Arclight explained. “What about you?”
“Roulette and I are just colonists,” Twostrike replied.
“Just?” she asked
“Yup. Just,” Twostrike replied with a smile. “So if I can ask, how’d you survive?” Twostrike asked Arclight as Roulette led them through the woods.
“I think it was pure luck, actually,” Arclight replied. “I was by the Med Bay when we went down. Looking at the damage around me when I woke up, I have no idea how I survived it.”
“Primus’ grace I guess,” Twostrike replied. “I take it that you were the only one?”
“Yes,” Arclight replied with a sigh.
“Well, we shouldn’t question a gift like this,” Twostrike said. “We could use a medic. We have sixteen survivors so far, seventeen including you, and some of us are damaged.”
“How badly?” Arclight asked.
“I only have the most basics of field repairs,” Twostrike said with a shrug. “I can patch a hole and stop a mech from leaking out, but that’s about it. But, honestly, it looks like everyone has nothing more than a few scrapes and dings.”
“That’s really amazing,” Arclight replied as she sped up her pace.
Twostrike just shrugged and continued to follow Roulette through the woods. As they walked the trees seemed to spread out, becoming more sparsely spaced. They also seemed to younger in this area of the wood. Certainly, they were thinner and shorter, some no taller than she was. After a few more feet, they entered a small clearing, filled with mechs.
A large blue mech stepped forward. A good head taller than Arclight, he had to be about forty feet tall and was built like a tank. He was obviously Military Hardware, but he sported a large, red Autobot sigil in the middle of his chest.
“Who’s this?” the blue mech asked.
“Hey, Waverunner!” Twostrike called out, brushing past the blue mech. “We found another survivor, sir,”
A mid-sized yellow and white mech stood from where he was working on a piece of equipment. He approached slowly, moving awkwardly, almost painfully.
“Who’s this?” he asked in a voice only just above a whisper.
“Waverunner, sir,” Roulette said, stepping forward, “this is Arclight. She’s a medic. She can help you.”
“I don’t need help,” Waverunner replied. “There are many who are more injured that I am.”
He approached Arclight slowly, looking her up and down carefully.
“And who are you?” he asked slowly.
“Arclight, sir,” she replied. “I was a volunteer medic. I was told by Twostrike that there were wounded?”
“Right to the point, I see. That’s good,” Waverunner replied. “However, I’m not the person you need to be introduced to. Cobalt here has taken it upon himself to be our de facto leader.”
“At least one of you grasps the concept of respect,” the large blue mech said as he came forward to stand beside Waverunner. “I’m leading these people to the rest of the ship. We’ll be able to find fuel and a communications beacon there. It’s probably too much to hope that the escape shuttles survived, but you never know.”
He turned from Arclight and Waverunner and motioned t0o the rest of the assembled with a grand, sweeping gesture.
“These survivors are all Neutrals, and in need of protection. I need you to deal with what damage you can. The more people we have fully functional, the faster we can move, and the sooner we can get off of this world.”
“Uh … sure, I’ll see what I can do,” Arclight said before moving off among the crowd. Twostrike came with her to help as he could.
“So, Twostrike,” Arclight began carefully as she worked. “How is it that you’re being led by an Autobot? I din’t think there were any on board?”
“I’m not sure where he came from,” Twostrike replied. “But I have some ideas.”
“Oh?” Arclight asked.
“Yeah. There were rumours before we left that this program wasn’t entirely altruistic,” he said.
“How do you mean?” Arclight asked.
“There were stories back on Cybertron that the refugee vessels were being used-”
“That’s enough, Twostrike,” the femme Arclight was working on interrupted. “We don’t have time for those ridiculous rumours.”
She turned to Arclight and sat up.
“Cobalt told us that he was on board as part of a platoon to help protect us against Deccepticon attack,” she said.
“Yeah, and fat lot of good they did,” Twostrike grumbled.
“I don’t recall you doing anything against the Decepticons,” she femme replied. “Now you go off and make yourself useful. No one needs to hear more of your paranoid conspiracy theories.”
“Yes, Syzygy,” Twostrike said with a sigh before he moved off.
“Now,” she said as she turned back to Arclight. “All you need to know is Cobalt came to us and helped lead us. None of us have the skills to survive out here. He’s going to save us and get us back to Cybertron.”
“Oh,” Arclight replied.
She wasn’t convinced. She had heard what the Decepticons had asked on the ship. They were searching for something, and she had to wonder if Twostrike hadn’t been right about why the Autobots were on board. It wasn’t a pleasant thought.
“All right everyone!” Cobalt called. “That’s enough of a break. We have to keep moving. I don’t want us wasting energy on lights. We need to get as close as we can to the remains of the ship before night falls.”
Slowly everyone stood and moved into a military formation. The smaller and weaker mechs were in the middle, while the larger, more heavily armed mechs took the dsides and back. Cobalt and Waverunner took the front of the line.
“Arclight! I want you up here with me,” Cobalt ordered. “You’re our only medic and we can’t afford to lose you.”
Arclight came to stand next to him.
“Do you really think that there’s going to be a problem?” she asked.
“We can never be too sure. We don’t know if there are native hostiles on this world and we don’t know if the “Cons followed us down.”
He took one last look at the assembled bots before turning and walking away.
“Move out!” he ordered. “And keep up. We don’t have time for stragglers!”
The group moved through the forest silently. No one spoke and even engine sounds seemed depressed as everyone tried to be as quiet as possible. Arclight fell back to her training. As an EMT she had had to move through more dangerous areas than other medics had. Each step was carefully placed, always conscious of the noise she was making, the springy forest floor, and the noises around her. It was an exhausting process and she saw that it was affecting the others present as well. Everyone was jumpy and nervous, starting at every noise in the woods. When a nearby tree branch fell, someone near the back of the line shrieked in terror. The fear and confusion was taking its toll on all assembled. Arclight found that more and more people were beginning to fall behind.
“We need to slow down,” she said to Cobalt softly. “They can’t keep up.”
“If they want to live then they will,” Cobalt said emphatically.
“They’re not soldiers! These people are scientists and academics. They’re not formatted for this kind of forced march! You need to slow down!” Arclight argued.
Cobalt suddenly stopped and turned on Arclight, backing her into a tree.
“The only thing that I need to do is get these people to safety,” Cobalt growled, his face bare inches from hers. “And the only thing that you need to do is follow orders. Am I making myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” she replied.
Cobalt turned away to continue walking, but stopped as Arclight spoke again.
“I fully understand your position, sir, but you have to realize that you won’t be able to save any of these people if you run them into the ground. You have to be reasonable,” she argued.
Cobalt spun and, moving faster than she could track, he had her pinned to a tree. His massive hand closed around her throat, his weight pressing her into the wood. He stared at her, his blue optics blazing in anger.
“I will not have you questioning me,” he growled as he squeezed her neck, blocking off the energon flow to her central processor. “You will know your place and you will act accordingly. Being a medic will not curry you any favour with me.”
Warning messages began to flash across her optics as she clawed frantically at Cobalt’s arm and hands. She kicked out and desperately pulled at his fingers seeking release. Her feel only hit air and her hands may as well have been scratching at solid rock.
“That’s enough, Cobalt,” Waverunner said. “We need her functional.”
“Promise not to question me again and I will let you go,” Cobalt growled.
Arclight could only squeak and nod her head slightly. Satisfied with her answer, Cobalt opened his hand and let her fall to the forest floor. She lay still for a long time, as her systems tried to deal with the damage he had caused. She felt large hands take her by the arms and help her up. Twostrike placed his arm around her shoulders, supporting her as they followed the rest of the others.
“Why didn’t they do anything?” Arclight asked, her voice barely above a whiper.
“They’re not fighters. They’re frightened and disoriented, and … and I don’t know,” Twostrike replied.
“And what about you? You sure look like Military Hardware. Why didn’t you do anything?” she demanded.
“Looks can be deceiving,” he replied, his voice filled with sadness. “All of us here left Cybertron because we didn’t have any other choice. Keep that in mind before you make snap judgements.”
“I … I’m sorry,” Arclight said.
She pushed away from Twostrike gently, determined to stand on her own.
“I think I’ll be fine now,” she said. “Thank you for your help.”
She started to walk away when Twostrike took her by the arm.
“I need you to promise me something,” he said softly.
“What?” she asked.
“I need you to promise me that you’ll be more careful. Cobalt’s not what he seems either and I’m not sure he’ll give you another opportunity to mouth off to him.”
Arclight looked at him askance before opening her mouth to reply. She never got the chance as a cry and the sound of a gun shattered the silence of the wood. Without a second though, they ran forward and right into the waiting sights of a team of Decepticons. The neutrals all stood aside, hands in positions of surrender, and Cobalt lay still on the ground. His arms were being brutally tied behind him by a black and tan mech.
“Well, well,” said a silky voice. “It looks like everyone has joined the party.”
Arclight took a frightened step back as the green Seeker from the ship stepped into view.
no subject
Arclight is beginning to grow on me - that is a credit to you, you know.
no subject
You know, Cobalt was supposed to be a nice good guy. In my mind he was, and then he informed me that he's actualy a real jerk ... so I can't fault you for not liking him. Even I don't like him.
And I'm glad to hear that Arclight is growing on you. :)
no subject
suh-weeet! I read your other stories involving her. I allways thoght it was kinda sad. I can't wait to read more of this. It sounds really interesting!
by the way, who's the green seeker? just wondering.
Later!
no subject
The green seeker, like all the characters is an OC by the name of Windsaber. He'll be getting more air time as the story progresses.