Making Things Right: Part 7
The begining of the final Operation on Endport, the Maximals are forced to find a way off the planet, to try and salavage Justice. However they will face one of their toughest taskes along the the way, Fighting one of their own...
PART SEVEN
"I told you I'm retired. I liked the look of this place and decided to move here." Despite an immobile snout, Mandrake still managed to appear surly.
"But the Preds.."
"What about 'em? None of my business. Besides, I'm to old to be bothered with." He cocked his head at an angle. "You know, for a com bot you sure aren't paying very much attention to your job."
" Well that would be due to the fact ...I have a visitor. So your a Maximal...or we're. You can stay..but I have to catch up on my duties. I'll talk to once I've catch up on the lastest goship. " Eternity turned and walked back into the vessle. " Oh! Bucky....your going to break something...now please get out of my way."
[Onboard the Xavior]
With a sharp burst of pressurized air, the door to Switchblade’s CR chamber shuddered and then opened. Switchblade stood motionless for an instant, entranced, hovering between sleep and awake. Here optics fluttered and brightened. The drab metal bulkheads of the Xavior coalesced into coherent images. She took a breath…
Shaking her head to clear away the sleep induced fog, the badger ‘bot stepped carefully down the small step leading to the CR tube and looked around. For a moment she simply stared at nothing, straining to remember where she was and what had brought her there. Her brows arched as memory hit her. The Resistance. The attack on Predacon Headquarters. That monster Grapple. Weede, Cutter…and Spat. Especially she remembered Spat, struggling weakly in a pool of his own blood. Suddenly Switchblade found herself wishing that realization hadn’t found her so quickly. She frowned and pushed the gruesome image away. The courier took a few halting steps toward the door. Vaguely she remembered entering the Xavior. She had been tired and injured at the time. They both had. Switchblade halted suddenly as another thought hit her.
Solarflare.
Switchblade turned slowly and gazed back at the open CR chamber she had so recently emerged from. Beyond its open lid she could just barely see the view window of the next tube over. A face peered through the view plate; a sleeping face. It was Solarflare, still recovering from his not inconsiderable wounds. Switchblade changed course and walked stiffly over to the chamber holding her injured partner. She stood there silently for a long time, just looking at his face and thinking. He was a good ‘bot, Solarflare. Competent fighter, cool under pressure, and incredibly devoted. It was all a lot more than she deserved in someone who willingly volunteered to watch her back. In fact, it was a lot more than she deserved period. Switchblade knew how she affected most ‘bots. She came off as rough and abrasive. She pushed them away, whether they wanted to be pushed or not. She was coarse and uncultured. She was little more than a street urchin, even now! What was it that the finch saw in her? Switchblade shook her head in silence. She didn’t know. But whatever it was, she knew he saw something. Something worth volunteering to risk his life over.
That the courier found hardest to comprehend.
She reached out a hand, placing it on the heavy leaded glass of the regeneration chamber, tracing the shrapnel marks still faintly evident across his face. ‘Let him sleep’ she thought. After all, he had caught a rather large part of his last charge. Solarflare, she reckoned, had been the more injured of the two of them, and would take longer to heal. It had been a stretch even to make it to the Xavior with him. But they made it. And he would be fine given the time.
Switchblade removed her hand and let it fall by her side. Turning again she made for the door, and eventually the rest of the ships improvised crew. The hum of Solarflare’s CR chamber died as she moved farther and farther away.
As she passed down the short metal hallways she caught a faint glimpse of another smaller med. bay. Querion’s somber form was seated on the floor watching as green lights burned steadily above two of the chambers. Switchblade slowed, but moved on. She wanted to stop and ask the identity of the two injured ‘bots, but thought better of it at the last moment. Querion, back to the thin ship’s door, looked in no mood for conversation.
Moving toward what she dimly remembered as the ship commons, Switchblade’s mood darkened perceptibly. She had tried to fight the good fight, and all it ever brought her was defeat and injury. Injury, it seemed, was all this fight had ever brought anyone. Her minds eye brought back the images of Spat and of the two CR tanks. Of Grapple and Solarflare. Hell, how many ‘bots there when she arrived had simply disappeared? Two? Five? Silver Claw was gone. Even that nuisance Chapel. Where were they? Were they dead? Alive? She didn’t know, and it scared her. Dark clouds seemed to loom thick on the horizon, and the way things were going, they would get much worse before they got any better. She had to get out before that happened, or she might never get out. Alive anyway. Switchblade sighed.
“When we get to Cybertron,” she whispered to herself, “I’m gone.” As she walked on she let her mind wander to other things. Her past. Her future. And a certain winged figure, always lurking in the back of her mind.
Trapper
"Here it is, now who wants shotgun"
"Shotguns boring!" Penji commented.
Solarflare knew that this relationship was going to nothing but hurt him, like every other. He had figured this all out a long time ago when he first met switchblade. The badger was so cold and pushed so hard at him. He thought to himself that deep down she needed someone. Everyone needed someone, maybe she didn't need him persay but needed him to rub of the coarse exterior. He almost didn't care what she thought. He wasn't leaving her side anytime soon even if it meant leaving the resistance. "But what about the resistance?" He promised Nocturna that he would contiue to fight. His mind was torn, he wouldn't break his promise, but he wasn't about to leave one of the only things he gave a rats ass for.
The answer, he would have to make her stay. If it came down to it he would tell her what he felt then she would either stay, or just go faster. In his mind his dreams ran through his head of the battle. Grabble stuck in his mind. He was glad switchblade killed him but couldn't recall that she said she did. He mind raced as the minutes went by and then he saw switchblade. And then His dream turned into a nightmare.
Solarflare stood in a back alley, everything was black and white. He stood with Switchblade and the two looked at each other. He was watching from outside himself as he saw his lips moving but couldn't hear anything. It seemed it was somthing very important. When he stopped talking the badger learned close to him and prepared to kiss him. At the last moment she pulled away in tears and ran down the alleyway. He coldn't move his body as she ran from him and then he saw the turtle. Grabble turned and smiled at him, then his arms seem to extend and grab Switchblade and his shotgun ports errupted...
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH......." SOlarflare woke up screaming in his CR tube. ALl of the sound was muffled from the outside but it echoed inside. The tank hissed as it opened. The finch turned next to him, his first thoughts of switchblade. He looked to the tube next to him and saw it empty. Solarflare dropped to one knee, she had pushed him away again.
Trapper:
"not the weapon, who wants to sit shotgun that means in the second pilot's chair"
Querion raised an eyebrow at the new 'bot, wiping the ale that stained his fur with a hand, setting the mug down with the other. He shook his head, and said, "Don't do that in future. I might have killed you."
The femme blinked at the wolf-bot's bluntness, then said, "I'm Phyphen," extending a hand in a form of greeting.
A half-smile appeared on Querion's face. He looked at Phyphen's hand, and walked past her, muttering his name.
"Querion."
Displaying a hint of irritation, the fox placed her balled fists on her hips, and said, "And you are here why?"
"Friends. Injured. CR Chambers. Need I say more?"
The swordsman looked at the mug and the spilt ale, and said," And I was having a nice drink, until you came along." Querion shook his head in mock pity, then shrugged.
"No point crying over spilt ale. You want to get me another mug?"
Buckshot shrugged and moved aside, letting Eternity at the controls. Truth be told, he had been idly considering pushing this big red button he had saw on the console, but something told him it would've been ill advised.
He turned around to glance at Mandrake.
"So what's your deal, gramps? You looking to join the rebellion or are you one of the civilians?"
------------
As Switchblade walked along, she stopped short, getting a whiff of something faintly sweet-smelling and slightly noxious. Smoke. She walked a little faster, her mind clouded with her own musings, just in time to run into Weede.
The Maximal quickly hid some kind of neon-green tube, deeply inhaled, and shook his head. He smiled tipsily up at Switchblade.
"What's going on, Switch-chick?" he greeted.
Eternity threw on the headset and pressed the big red button. // Thanks for the info...I'll get right on it.// She pulls some plugs and rewired into another console. // Be very very quite....I'm looking to talk to you. Anyone there?//
Eternity sat back waiting for the others to respond. At least she had Buckshot to entertain her.
Trapper
"Hmm.....This is the Maximal Ship The Cheese Wedge, We have recieved your transmission, please respond!"
“That’d be our home base.” Rita informed Trapper leaning over the console, “Hey, Eternity right?”
//Yes, is this the captain of the “Cheese Wedge”?//
“No, this is team two reporting. Mission accomplished. The captain of the ship was kind enough to offer us a ride out of the warehouse, which we demolished.”
//Complete obliteration wasn’t part of the mission parameters.// Rita couldn’t tell the emotion behind this statement due to static, but she could guess.
“We strive to transcend all expectations. Where should we land?”
//Dunno, maybe you should stay up. I‘ll go ask.//
“You do that.” Rita propped her elbows on the back of the pilot’s chair. Trapper glanced up at her.
“Can I have my communication’s system back yet?”
“Yep.” Rita confirmed, “So, how fast can this thing go?”
Rhapsody got the signal. //Tell them to stay up, we are leaving.//
//Rodger.//
Rhapsody hit her comm and radioed Burnout. "Lets get this show on the road."
"Right." He said.
"So where were we?" She said to wraith before he Comm buzzed again. "What!'"
//Umm rhapsody, they're coming...//THe song bird knew what it meant before enternity even explained.
//Enternity abandon your post ASAP get into space GO!//
//YES MA'AM!//
Rhapsody hopped up from her chiar and ran to the bridge. The ship was already off the ground moving smoothly. "Does this thing have any weapons?" she asked quickly.
"Hmm Dedlis?"
//A few.//
"Well use them a target them!" RHapsody pointed to two small fighters heading twoard the Xavior. Two round ports opened in the sides of the ship firing small torpedos. The small missles nailed the two smaller ships dead on. All three ships could now be seen around the skies of endport and as if on cue all three rocketed toward space in an instant. No large space battle, no planet wide conflict, this time they had made it out quickly and quietlyTeam two had done their job and the blockade wasn't alerted in time. About ten mintues after steady cruising toward Cybertron Rhapsody returned to her seat, patting burnout on the back before she walked out.
Graphics Provided by Riboflavin
