I wanna thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, put this story on their alert lists and added it to their favourites, you're all awesome especially , renegadewriter8, Sounddrive, optimus prime 007, Chaos Garden, Daklog 73, MoonWalker, Shizuka Taiyou, ExclusiveTM and Wicked3659 over at LJ. Anyway here's the next chapter for all you patient people!

Warnings: Use of profanities, angst

Disclaimer: Not mine, I just toy with with them and hand them back in less than pristine condition.

'Blah' – thoughts

::Blah:: - Radio Communication

:/blah\: - Inter. comm.

::/Blah\\:: Bond communication

*Flashback*

Nemesis . . . .

Bumblebee didn't think there wasn't one part of his frame that didn't ache as his systems on-lined one by one after being knocked off-line forcibly, it was a cautionary measure to ensure the enemy weren't tied into his systems. He knew that one day his luck would run out and he would be captured by the Decepticons and subjected to their interrogations, although the scout figured he wouldn't be much use to them but then again he was apart of special operations, so any sensitive information he had contained in his processor would be highly valuable to the enemy. Bumblebee on-lined his optics and groaned at the sight that greeted him, it was one place he really didn't want to be; on board the Nemesis, although he was mildly surprised to find that he was not in their brig or in any kind of interrogation room. In fact it appeared that he was in one of the many maintenance tubes they had used to get on board the battleship, the scout gingerly pushed himself up into a sitting position whilst biting back the groan of pain that wanted to escape him when his chest plates voiced their opinion about the movement.

"Glad to see you back on-line." Rumbled a voice not far from him.

Bumblebee twisted up onto his peds only to regret it moments later when not only did the top of his helm hit the low ceiling, but his fuel tank churned as well. He was well aware that Barricade had extended an arm to steady him, however the scout simply rewarded him with the heated and glowing end of his solar cannon which hovered just inches from his facial plates.

"You." Bumblebee hissed at him angrily as each of his combat systems came on-line.

The shock trooper snorted in irritation as he pushed the weapon away "Point that thing somewhere else and dampen your energy signature before you give away our position."

The scout muttered something under his breath as he deactivated his weapons systems and took a couple of deep calming intakes, although he was finding it hard to do so since Barricade was supposed to be their ally and yet the fragger had shot him! Why and for what reason? He was determined to find out. But first Bumblebee found himself staring at the small cube of energon the shock trooper had pressed into his right hand.

The scout scrutinised the cube of energon Barricade had handed him with suspicion, the shock trooper had already shot him once and he wasn't about to let him poison him too. Bumblebee glanced up to meet the crimson gaze of the black and white mech "So just exactly whose side are you working for? Or is this a campaign to suit your own ends?"

"Would you believe me if I told you it was part of an 'elaborate' plan conjured up from the pit by your superiors?" Barricade responded as he took a sip from his own cube, his crimson gaze never leaving the yellow mech sat across from him "it's not poisoned if that's what your concerned about Autobot."

Bumblebee shot the shock trooper a light glare before taking a hesitant small sip of his energon, he waited for it to settle in his fuel tank and for any adverse affects to take effect, but when none came he took a slightly larger gulp before he finished the rest of the cube.

"I have no reason to kill you Autobot, after all its part of the 'plan'." The black and white sneered at that, he was never one for tactical planning, the statistical side of it always bored him out of his processor. In fact he couldn't understand how his younger sibling could stand being stuck in a room running numerous simulations and long statistical analysis' for joors on end.

"I have a designation, and you keep mentioning a plan, what plan? Why wasn't anyone else been told about it?" The scout demanded as he rubbed at his chest plates, they were still aching slightly after being shot but Bumblebee knew the pain would fade eventually once his self repair had fixed all of the superficial damage.

Barricade vented a noisy sigh out of his intakes as he dropped down onto his aft not far from Bumblebee, his crimson gaze settling upon the scout "Our reason for being here is to slow down the Nemesis with subtle sabotage and to transmit the ship's spacial co-ordinates to your .. friends." The shock trooper looked vaguely uncomfortable about using that word as the black and white hardly knew the meaning of friends, comrades and adversaries yes, friends no.

"Wasn't that what we were doing in the first place before you shot me?" Bumblebee pointed out only to receive a blank look in return, an expression that reminded him all too well of Prowl. Although it shouldn't have surprised him since the pair of them were brothers, and now the scout was seeing just how much alike the two actually were "actually why did you shoot me? And I can't exactly go wandering around the ship without painting a giant bullseye on my back plates now can I .. genius."

The shock trooper simply stared at the yellow mech "I shot you because I was told too .. yes believe it or not, they wanted your presence here as a form of assurance that I wouldn't double cross them."

Bumblebee found his vocaliser refusing to work after that revelation, he was finding it hard to come to terms over the fact that Optimus Prime, Prowl and Jazz had more or less ordered Barricade to attack him in order for another plan to fall into place when another couldn't reach its full potential or ended in failure. And what about Mirage? What had happened to his team-mate after the shock trooper had taken him down? Surely Barricade wouldn't have terminated him or allowed him to be captured by the Decepticons? There were so many questions he needed answering and the only way he was going to get them was through prying them out of the shock trooper.

The scout vented a sigh out of his intakes as he pinched his nasal ridge with his thumb and index fingers "Alright I think you better start at the beginning before I can even begin to even trust you."

Red optics narrowed dangerously at the yellow mech "I don't have to explain anything to you, but since I need your full co-operation in this suicidal venture, so be it."

*Flashback*

The Prime straightened himself and a stern expression made its way onto his facial plates "Barricade." He rumbled which had the shock trooper pause in his stride, Barricade turned and crimson optics met deep cobalt ones "remain behind, there are things we need to discuss."

The other black and white made his way over, he received some curious and suspicious glances from the other Autobots as they left the room. Jazz waited for the last mech to leave before he stepped forward and tapped a few keys on the small control pad on the conference table, the doors slid shut and an audible click informed Barricade that a secure lock was now in place. The shock trooper glanced at the three mechs assembled on the other side of the large conference table, his crimson optics scanned each of them as he looked for subtle signs that would inform him of the reason why he had been asked to remain behind. However when silence continued to suffocate the room with its tight embrace, Barricade couldn't help but shift uneasily upon his peds as he waited for the proverbial ball to drop.

"So ..." Barricade spoke up to break the awkward silence "do you plan on telling me why I'm here, or are you going to leave me guessing?" The shock trooper watched as the three mechs that made up the Autobot command team glance at one another, no doubt deciding upon who should go first. However Barricade decided to beat them to it as he focused his crimson gaze upon his little brother, his sibling needed to know that the strategy he had devised wasn't going to work not with the new radical changes made to the Nemesis "your plan won't work." An almost deafening silence fell upon the room and the shock trooper could feel the tension in the room suddenly sky rocketing, Barricade even noticed how his brother's plating seemed to bristle at the comment made and waited for the rant about probable outcomes for this upcoming mission and what the most favourable course of action was.

Prowl's entire frame tensed and his sensory panels rose up into a sharp 'V' formation "What?" He demanded.

"Your plan to attack the Nemesis with strike teams whilst sending in your ops team at the same time won't work, you'd be signing their death warrants." The shock trooper told him as he stepped toward the conference table, he noticed the brief flicker in his brother's back appendages and knew he had hit a sour note. Barricade understood that the one part of his vocation that Prowl hated the most was the probability that he could be sending good mechs to their deaths.

"Ya can't know that fer sure 'Cade." Jazz spoke up as he folded his arms across his chest plates, he was feeling slightly insulted that the shock trooper would question his skills as an infiltrator. He had slipped into Decepticon strongholds many times during the heat of battle and was successful ninety eight percent of the time in obtaining his goal, although he would admit that sometimes it had been by the last nano-click.

Crimson optics snapped in the direction of the saboteur "Actually Jazz yes I do, this isn't just any Decepticon stronghold you're breaking into, this is Megatron's flagship, he had it designed to keep glitches like you out when they enter battle mode."

"Then what do you suggest?" The tactician demanded sharply.

"Send your special ops team in first, that way Megatron will never suspect a thing and the Nemesis' defences will be minimal." Barricade began to explain "also your proposed route into the ship will take too long, I can provide a quicker and easier way in and to your targeted areas whilst avoiding any and all Sentinel patrols unless of course that sparkless fragger Shockwave has changed them."

Prowl took a step forward, his entire frame coiled tightly in anger "And you never thought to share this Intel. with us?"

The shock trooper brushed off the glare his younger sibling was giving him and fixed him with a hard stare "You never asked."

"The reason you are here is to provide any Intel. that could be valuable to us." The tactician snarled in return, the tips of his sensory panels were clinking softly against one another as the elegant appendages trembled with barely repressed anger.

Barricade's expression turned dark as he placed both of his palms upon the cool surface of the table and leant forward "The only reason I'm here is because you were too cowardly to kill me." It took a mere few seconds for the shock trooper to become acquainted with the glowing and heated end of his brother's acid pellet rifle, Barricade couldn't help but look a little surprised at that; after all it took a lot to push Prowl into drawing a weapon since he was more about negotiation and diplomacy, not this irrational creature that had been born through a combination of stress, tension and not enough recharge.

"That's enough." Optimus growled as he pushed the weapon that was pointed at the shock trooper's chest plates away "you are not here to squabble over past deeds am I understood?" The Prime directed a glare at both black and whites, his second in command sub-spaced his weapon and refused to make optic contact with him whilst Barricade simply gave him an indifferent look, but none the less he heard softly murmured 'yes sirs' from both mechs before he turned his attention to Barricade "as you pointed out that Prowl's current plan isn't likely to work .." Optimus ignored the small glare that was directed at him from his tactician, he sent a brief data burst across an encrypted comm. channel to his second in command informing him that he had every faith in his abilities but they needed the ex-con's input on the matter as it could provide a different and hopefully more favourable outcome ".. what areas do you believe need to be amended?"

"I would strongly recommend sending your ops team in first, also I wish to join one of the two teams preferably the one assigned to sabotage the Nemesis' key systems." The shock trooper responded as he folded his arms across his chest plates, he noticed the brief subtle glances the three of them shared and the tension in their frames.

"I don't think that would be such a good idea, the others are suspicious enough with their beliefs that you have your own agenda without adding to their paranoia." Prowl spoke up, his azure gaze hard and unwavering whilst elegant sensory panels stood rigid upon his back.

"I have intimate knowledge of the Nemesis' primary systems, my skills will be a valuable asset to the sabotage team." Barricade argued back with a determined look upon his facial plates.

Jazz glanced at his bonded "He's got a point, 'Cade could cut th' time in half fer th' team to get through th' security systems an' locate th' most vulnerable points, besides wasn't that th' reason ya asked 'im ta stay behind was due ta th' fact ya want 'im on th' Nemesis if everythin' goes pear shaped?"

The shock trooper's expression darkened "You want me where?"

The tactician vented a deep sigh out of his intakes "Jazz believed it would be necessary to have a back up plan in place in the event that his team is unsuccessful."

Barricade frowned as he allowed his arms to drop down to his sides "I don't know if your aware but if I step even a few metres near the Nemesis, Megatron will have me terminated faster than you can say holy frag."

"That's where these come in." Jazz told him as he removed something from his sub-space and tossed it to Barricade.

The shock trooper caught the objects with ease, he looked over the small flat circular devices that sat in the middle of his right palm before he glanced at the saboteur "What are these?"

"Shieldin' devices, standard special ops equipment, they'll keep ya spark signature under wraps, I also had Wheeljack add a little somethin' else, ya can scan another mech's specifics wit' it an' take on their appearance as long as ya wear th' device." The 3IC replied as he folded his arms across his chest plates.

"You mean as long as they don't explode first." Barricade muttered as he somewhat hesitantly put the devices into his sub-space "then what do you propose I do once I'm back aboard the Nemesis once everything has gone up slags creek?"

"You and Bumblebee will work as a team to slow down the Nemesis and provide us with indicators as to its co-ordinates should they manage to jump into transwarp before we do." Prowl told him.

"Wait, wait let me get this straight, you're sending the scout with me? I feel almost insulted." The shock trooper growled as he leant forward on his hands, his crimson optics bright with anger and disbelief "and I'm surprised that you have so little faith in your own plans." He noticed the small change in body language from his younger brother and understood in those few astro-seconds that even the most brilliantly minded strategist to grace Cybertron was having doubts about whether they were going to succeed or not.

"'Bee's fully capable of pullin' this off, he's infiltrated enough Decepticon strongholds ta know how ta play th' game safely." Jazz replied "he's also there just in case ya either become incapacitated or decided ta have a change of spark, I'd send Mirage but ah can't guarantee ya safety."

"Which would not only endanger the youngling .." He noticed a minute stiffening of the Prime's frame at that ".. but also your mission to keep tabs upon the Nemesis, besides I'm not that stupid or suicidal, even if I wanted to rejoin the Decepticons I would only be alive for a few astro-seconds before I was turned into a melted pile of scrap metal." Barricade pushed himself back up to his full height 'not if you don't offer something in return for your life like giving the scout to Megatron, the worthless fragger has always had a strange interest in the youngling.' However a voice from deep inside his subconsciousness quickly chased away those thoughts 'remember you swore an oath to protect Bluestreak, you have no choice but to ensure that this mission is a success." The shock trooper vented a sigh out of his intakes "you seem to be placing a slag load of trust in me, how do you know I won't betray you?"

A small smile made its way onto Optimus' lip components as he regarded the other black and white mech stood across from him "Faith and a good judge of character, that and I know you value your existence too much to potentially put either Bumblebee or Bluestreak at risk."

Barricade uttered a small curse and glanced up at the ceiling, cursing their deity for his luck "Urgh fine, you have my full co-operation."

"Good you'll report to Jazz for a full mission debrief, dismissed." The Prime responded.

The shock trooper vented a deep sigh out of his intakes before he turned to leave the conference room, he was fully aware of his brother's gaze boring into the back of his helm. The sibling bond that had been partially open for the last few days was now closed off and Barricade suspected that his little brother was sceptical about the back up plan, in fact so was he especially when there was a potential likelihood that he could be terminated in the process. But he would do this, if only to get Bluestreak back regardless of what happened to him.

*End of Flashback*

"Close your mouth plates youngling, you'll catch turbo-flies." Barricade told him as he ceased his pacing and fully faced Bumblebee who had sunk to the floor half way through his explanation "why are you gaping like a fish out of water, I thought back up plans were standard procedure when it came to you Autobots?"

Bumblebee's frowned deepened, he was going to hold a grudge against his team leader for this; after all why couldn't he have picked Mirage for this mission "Not when it involves shooting a member of your unit, I know Jazz has a tendency to change things as he goes along, but he's never ordered someone to shoot another mech just to carry out a ruse, besides why couldn't you have shot Mirage instead and then left him somewhere so the others could find him?"

The shock trooper rose a single optic ridge "The ruse would never have worked if I had, besides if I had shot that glitch and dumped his aft somewhere the probability of the Decepticons finding him first was too high."

Surprisingly the scout hummed in agreement at that "You do realise that Prowl and Jazz have now painted a giant bullseye upon your back plating especially once they catch up with us?" The yellow mech pointed out to him.

A dark look appeared upon Barricade's facial plates "I'm well aware of that."

Bumblebee frowned "And you're not concerned about that?"

"What difference does it make, if I'm discovered by the Decepticons Megatron will happily terminate me, if your Autobot friends catch up with us, I risk deactivation at the servos of that hot helmed glitch Ironhide." The shock trooper told him, his whole frame tensed at the thought of either scenarios being played out.

"Optimus wouldn't allow it." The scout replied as he began working a few kinks out of his joints.

"Your leader will have more pressing issues." The black and white pointed out.

An awkward silence fell between the pair of them for a few nano-clicks before Bumblebee decided to break it "So what now?"

"Well whilst your lazy aft was unconscious, I managed to take out two grunts and stash them somewhere before scanning their frames and downloading their data files and duty schedules." The shock trooper responded as he reached into his sub-space and retrieved two devices; the same ones he had been given back on board the Ark.

"Decepticons have duty schedules? I always thought things were done on a whim?" The scout teased.

The black and white mech shot him a light unamused glare "Soundwave is meticulous about keeping things in order to ensure the troublemakers stay out of the brig." 'Much like Prowl's role except he's not a sparkless drone.' Barricade though to himself "now we need to get moving before 'we're' missed."

"Right." Bumblebee uttered in response as he got to his peds, although his entire frame protested the movement and it also didn't help matters when a dizzy spell overcame his senses and nearly dropped him on his aft.

"I am to assume you know how to work this?" Barricade teased lightly as he held out the small, flat circular device to the scout.

The yellow mech shot the shock trooper a light glare before he snatched it out of Barricade's clawed hand. Bumblebee pressed the button in the middle then attached it to the centre of his chest plates, the scout vented a deep intake of air as he felt his EM field ripple and fluctuate as it was manipulated by the device before he glanced at the shock trooper. Bumblebee found himself looking twice when he noticed that the distinct black and white plating was replaced by a dark maroon colour, and the four crimson optics that had set Barricade aside from the other Decepticons had been replaced by two. That was the marvel of the shielding devices, it allowed any bot to take on another form without making any physical changes to their frame, the only downside was that the image was held together by their EM field and any disruption to the field such as interference from a device capable of producing its own electro-magnetic field would render it useless.

'So avoid shield generators and navigation relays.' The scout told himself as he moved to find a reflective surface so he could take a look at himself, he found one behind the shock trooper and elbowed Barricade aside, the shock trooper grumbled a few words at him however his attention was drawn to his reflection when he saw crimson optics set in a bronze helm staring back at him. The frame of the mech he was impersonating was just slightly bulkier than him, but his own EM field had no problems compensating for the slight difference, that and trapping air under his plating seemed to do the trick.

"Come on you can gawk later, I've got a 'con pinging Vice's comm. frequency, demanding to know where he is." Barricade told him as he handed the scout a data storage device that closely resembled a flash drive "all Surestep's duty schedules and codes are on here, do not loose it." Bumblebee cocked his helm to the side in an imitation of an eye roll "I will ping you a location to rendezvous once the duty shift is over, and youngling . . . mind yourself out there."

The scout couldn't help but look startled at the parting words as he watched the shock trooper duck into the hatchway and disappear, he had half expected a snide remark from the ex-con (who he was still having trouble trusting) rather than the words of caution he had been given. After all Barricade had been a constant thorn in his side during the first initial years combined with the violence he had displayed back on Cybertron, Bumblebee believed that the shock trooper was the last mech he expected to go soft. Unless, and it was the only thing he could think of, Bluestreak had, had a more profound impact upon the ex-con than any of them could have expected, but somehow the scout felt there was more to it than that however he had more important issues that needed to be dealt with first. Bumblebee accessed the data-chip Barricade had handed to him and quickly downloaded both the personality traits of the mech he was impersonating and the Decepticon grunt's duty schedule. The scout muttered several curses under his breath when he noticed that repairs to engineering were on the agenda, that meant all the hard work in slowing down the Nemesis was about to be undone.

'Unless Barricade has a plan.' Bumblebee thought to himself as he ducked under the hatchway and began making his way through the narrow and dimly lit crawl space that would take him deep into the bowels of the Nemesis.

Ark . . . .

The low hum of the Ark's engines and its systems reverberated throughout the entire frame of the transport ship as it travelled at transwarp speeds through the blackness of space, the stars which had once served as markers were no longer visible in the black canvas, in fact they were barely visible at all Prowl mused from where he was stood in his quarters. The swirling greens and purples that accompanied the transwarp corridor they were travelling through had been their constant companion ever since they had left Saturn's moon and pointed the Ark's nose toward deep space. They had tried with no success to locate the Nemesis' ion trail for the past couple of days, Wheeljack had even tried to modify the sensors as best as he could to extend their scanning range, but there was only so much power he could divert before he began compromising the transport ship's other primary systems. They had all suspected that Megatron would head back to Cybertron and wipe out any and all last pockets of Autobot resistance upon the planet, however the tactician knew the probability of that happening were very slim as there was no resources upon their war torn and barren world. No the Decepticons were heading somewhere else, a place perhaps where the Allspark could be regenerated, that was if such a place existed.

Prowl felt his spark clench painfully in his chest at the thought of that, the only way the Allspark could be rejuvenated, if that was even possible, was by ending his son's very existence; something he would not permit to happen but was unintentionally allowing it to by failing to rescue his sparkling from Decepticon clutches. The tactician knew from the very second that Barricade had told him the Nemesis was already fully repaired and that the Decepticons were harbouring a weapon on board that could easily destroy the Ark in one precision shot, the black and white mech had no choice but to tell his older sibling to execute their back up plan. Prowl knew he should question his own sanity like the others were no doubt doing in regards to allowing his brother into the ranks, not too mention trusting him to lead the sabotage mission, and now help them track the Nemesis which so far wasn't going to plan. The tactician was beginning to wonder whether he had placed far too much trust in his brother who had been up until recently fighting for the Decepticons, he knew that somewhere underneath that cold and hard exterior his older brother still existed and it was through that knowledge which had prevented him from terminating Barricade when he had the chance; and now he was entrusting him to ensure Bluestreak's safety and prevent his demise should they arrive too late to save him. He knew that if Smokescreen were still around, his eldest brother would tell him that he was making a mistake trusting Barricade and would have strongly advised against it. The black and white mech had known of the spark deep hatred and feeling of betrayal Smokescreen had held towards their brother, but his eldest sibling was gone and Prowl was left making the decisions he suspected were no longer the right ones.

The tactician was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard distressed murmurs escape his spark bonded who was currently crashed out on the couch in the middle of their living space, the black and white mech sent comforting and reassuring thoughts through the bond to calm the saboteur. Prowl watched as Jazz drifted back into the much needed rest he required for his self repair system to regenerate the last remnants of the injuries he had suffered at the hands of Megatron. The tactician knew his bonded was taking the failure of not being able to rescue their creation quite hard as Prowl could easily recall how despondent his mate had been when he had pulled him up from where he had collapsed upon the ground, then led him into the Ark's hangar bay. Although both of them found themselves unable to meet the angry looks nor the expressions of betrayal upon their comrade's facial plates, or the ones the tactician hated the most; the looks of pity or the soft murmured apologies. Prowl knew it wouldn't be long before Ironhide decided that he had, had enough of the tactician avoiding him and the rest of the crew (although Optimus had just becomes as reclusive since Bumblebee's capture as well) before the weapons specialist dragged him out of his quarters, then down to the training area just so he could beat some much needed sense into the black and white mech; well it would be either him or the twins who had been keeping their tempers in check and holding their glossas so far. Prowl knew that although the others were missing the exuberant sparkling, the lack of Bumblebee's presence was also keenly felt amongst the crew; after all they had, had a hand in raising the scout.

However it seemed that Ironhide and the twins were not the only ones ready to dismember someone but Mirage as well, the tactician had noticed a change in the normally calm and collected spy the moment they had left Rhea's orbit. The 2IC suspected that the anger that was just shimmering under the blue and white mech's armour was associated with Bumblebee's capture and Jazz's subsequent refusal to rescue the scout, however Prowl knew that despite their efforts to keep their back up plan under wraps, Mirage would eventually work out for himself that there was more going on than what they had been told; that was if he hadn't already. The tactician's attention was drawn back to the couch again when the distressed murmurs from his spark bonded returned, the 2IC vented a deep sigh out of his intakes as he made his way over to Jazz's side. However before he could reach out to him and rouse the saboteur from his restless recharge, the silver mech startled himself on-line and instantly backed his silver frame into the back of the couch. His azure optics were bright and unseeing and Prowl immediately noticed the glow of an energon blade in his mate's left fist.

"Jazz." He called softly in order to get the saboteur's attention, he knew better than to approach Jazz when he was still groggy from being abruptly brought out of recharge and holding a weapon that could do untold damage to him "Jazz." He called again, this time he noticed that awareness was slowly returning to his spark-mate. The tactician watched as his bonded couldn't help but give a sheepish look as he slipped the blade back into the slot which had been designed for it in his right forearm armour, then the saboteur allowed his entire frame to relax and crumple into a heap. The silver mech still looked completely exhausted despite the fact he had spent much of the last couple of days in recharge, his frame still bore stark reminders of what had happened back on Rhea and what they had lost. Lucky enough all of Jazz's wounds had been superficial and would disappear within a few days, but the aches and the stiffness simply could not compare to the turmoil that raged through his bonded's spark. They both vividly felt the failure, anger, despair and the sense of uselessness as the emotions transmitted constantly, clearly and with no restraint through their bond, the pair knew the odds of rescuing their creation now were not even worth thinking about which only served to ramp up their raw emotions to a new height. None of them could have suspected that Megatron had ordered the construction of a new weapon to be integrated into the Nemesis, especially Barricade who had claimed to know the battleship inside and out, although the shock trooper admitted that the layout might have changed from the last time he had been on board.

'Unless he wasn't telling us the entire truth and I stupidly believed him.' Prowl thought to himself, allowing a small swell of anger towards his older brother to build. He knew that at one time Barricade never once went back upon a promise he had made nor fabricated any facts, but the war not too mention the Decepticon ideals and morals had changed the shock trooper entirely and the tactician knew that his brother could have very well used this opportunity to return to his faction using Bumblebee as a bargaining chip.

::/We'll have ta wait an' see love, if he's doesn't hold true ta his word, th' next time ya see 'im ya can put an energon blade through his spark.\\:: Jazz sent over their link as his spark-mate's train of thoughts flowed across the bond.

::/Maybe if I had done that in the first place we wouldn't be in this mess\\:: Prowl responded as he sat down beside his bonded, his door-wings drooped upon his back and trembled with the distress that was beginning to overwhelm his emotional circuits.

Jazz shifted to close the space between them, he activated his magnetic constrictor coils in his palms and traced his left hand down the centre of his bonded's back, the low pulse of magnetics washed over tense and taut muscle cables, spinal struts and wing joints. The tactician couldn't help the small moan that escaped him as he felt the tension begin to drain out of his frame, he murmured a few words of appreciation as his entire body began to relax and his processor ceased racing at a million thoughts a minute.

::/As much as ya don't wanna, ya gonna have ta trust 'Cade,'sides he can't go back on an oath he made ta me an' Blue.\\:: The saboteur told him as he continued his soothing administrations, he couldn't help the small smile that tugged at his lip components at the sound of his bonded's purring systems. Jazz knew that since the battle on Saturn's moon Rhea, this had been the only time that either of them had been in their quarters. The saboteur himself had been cooped up in the med-bay until a day ago when Ratchet was convinced that his injuries were healing well, and Prowl had sealed himself in the tactical planning room, leaving only when he felt he needed to refuel or take a few minutes to clear his processor before delving back into the fray of logistics and statistics. Eventually the pair of them had been almost forcibly escorted back to their quarters so they could recharge and return to duty better minded, although in all honesty Jazz felt a lot more worse than he did yesterday however he pinned it down to the strange dreams bordering on visions he kept having. They had started a couple of weeks after he had been brought back on-line, at first they had left him tired and irritable after he refused to fall into recharge but eventually they began to petter out before stopping altogether, and not once had he spoken a word of what he saw although he knew that Optimus suspected something was going on. Then they had returned after Bluestreak's conception warning him of dangers that had long since past, but could be easily repeated again; and now the dreams had escalated into flashbacks of a past that their species were not aware of.

'Or we chose ta bury it and ignore it fer th' sake of it.' The saboteur thought to himself as he recalled the last dream he had which had brought him abruptly on-line. Jazz remembered seeing a species much like their own ('or possibly an early manifestation or one of the many colonies that were sparked by the Allspark.' the saboteur pondered) which had thrived and prospered before a beam of blinding light was cast up into the sky, Jazz had seen the planet's inhabitants stop as they watched this strange phenomenon occur before the beam dispersed into a ring that shot out across the surface mercilessly extinguishing every spark upon the planet. The saboteur suspected that the Allspark had something to do with the genocide of the entire planet since they all knew that the cube was capable of taking life as easily as it gave it. It was with that knowledge Jazz understood the dire implications should Megatron find some way to return the Allspark to its former state, he knew that by doing so would not only end Bluestreak's life but threaten the existence of everyone including the Decepticons still on Cybertron. The saboteur refused to allow his son to be used as an instrument of destruction and prayed to any deity who was listening that he would sooner give his life to get Blue back.

"Jazz." He heard his mate call out to him which drew the silver mech from his thoughts, Jazz glanced at his spark-mate who was now knelt in front of him and saw concerned azure optics gazing back at him.

"I'm fine." The saboteur told Prowl before the tactician could even ask the question, although he noticed his bonded didn't look all that convinced.

"Are you sure?" The tactician inquired as a worried frown made its way onto his facial plates "I called your name several times love."

Jazz massaged the top of his nasal ridge with his right thumb, he could feel the beginning of a processor ache starting to niggle at the forefront of his head "Sorry I just .. have so much on ma mind at th' moment."

The black and white mech lightly gripped his spark-mate's right knee joint in a gesture of reassurance "Anything you wish to share?"

"Wish I could love but ah don't even understand what's goin' on." The saboteur replied as he allowed his frame to sag back into the chair, he vented a heavy and weary exhale of air out of his intakes, he knew that it would be unfair if he decided to keep this from his bonded although he quickly came to realise that he had been already. The silver mech sat forward and gripped the hand that was resting upon his knee joint before he met Prowl's gaze "I think this all has ta do wit' that planet that I bookmarked."

The tactician frowned at that "What does?"

"Th' ancient glyphs, th' dreams if ya wanna call them that, they all seemed ta tie in wit' this planet." Jazz responded rather cryptically.

"Jazz it all seems far fetched, how can you be so sure?" The tactician inquired as he shifted to move so he was sat on the edge of the couch.

"There's somethin' there that's related ta Blue's kidnappin' an' I can't shake this feelin' that what ever is there it's gonna determine th' outcome of th' war." The silver mech responded as he pushed himself up from the couch and began pacing back and forth "I'm gonna look through th' archives an' see if I can find anythin' that might shed light on this."

Prowl pulled himself up to his full height before moving to grip one of his bonded's upper arms, halting him in his tracks "Jazz are you really sure that's wise? The Ark's archives are incomplete in regards to the Prime dynasty and their projects."

The saboteur stepped in closer and cupped his mate's face with his hands, drawing his helm forward so their foreheads were touching "I know, but I have ta try, I gotta understand what's goin' on."

The tactician vented a small intake of air and shuttered his optics briefly "I understand." And he truly did, he had seen glimpses of the strange dreams whilst he had been recharging in the chair next to Jazz's berth, and although the brief flashes intrigued him they also worried him; after all the brief glimpses showed him the genocide of an entire planet that had looked very much like their own. The black and white mech had recognised in some of the flashes, a few of the distinguishing features such as the sun (although it had become a red giant when they had touched down upon the same planet), several of the buildings, bridges and even the large pyramid like structure in the centre of the city. Prowl and the rest of his team had suspected that the planet they had landed upon whilst chasing a possible Allspark signature, was almost Cybertronian in origin. But none of them had recognised any of the structures that laid in ruins and simply believed it to be one of the many lost colonies. However the tactician was beginning to suspect that maybe he should have investigated the ruins and the somewhat untouched pyramid a little more closely, but a sense of foreboding had prevented him from doing so. In fact the others had felt the same way too whilst trudging through dust and debris before they had requested that they leave; a surprise in itself since it was incredibly hard to spook the twins. But now he understood why he had felt anxious to get off that planet and knowing that they were heading back there was enough to send a shiver down his spinal strut.

"You're runnin' late love, ya should have been on duty ten minutes ago." Jazz lightly berated his bonded.

Prowl allowed a small chuckle of amusement to escape him as he brushed his nose against his spark-mate's "I know and I'm sure Optimus will forgive me this once."

"I don't know th' others might see it as a dereliction of duty an' wit' th' way they're actin' at th' mo, I can see thin's gettin' out of hand." The saboteur responded with a tinge of uncertainty laced in the tone of his voice, it was highly unusual for the silver mech to be concerned of what the others thought of him but with the second failed attempt to rescue their creation, the whole ordeal was leaving Jazz emotionally sensitive.

The tactician vented a deep intake of air out of his vents, he knew exactly what his bonded meant by that however as far as he was concerned the others could go and suck on their own exhaust fumes, he had tried his hardest only for it not to be good enough and therefore allowing his son to be moved out of their reach once again. None of them had expected (least of all him) the hidden weapon that Megatron had unleashed upon the Ark, in fact they should have been grateful that they still had a ship and the Decepticon leader hadn't unleashed Driller to keep them at bay whilst they escaped from the moon. Prowl understood that the others regarded him as a sparkless drone, but in his profession he was required to distance himself from the mechs and femmes that he served with and sent into combat as any familiarity with any of them could potentially influence the outcome of any strategy he devised. It had been one of the many reasons why he had been so reluctant to even start a relationship with Jazz in the first place as he was worried he might unintentionally get the saboteur killed due to his emotional attachment to the silver mech, however Jazz was still here and despite how the others thought of him now, he was going to get Bluestreak back

"I suppose I should get going before they decide to send Ironhide down." The tactician murmured as he pulled away from the saboteur slightly, although he kept one clawed hand resting upon the back of his bonded's helm using the small contact as a conduit of comfort and reassurance.

A small smile graced the silver mech's lip components "Wouldn't want old 'Hide draggin' ya outta 'ere by one of ya sensory panels."

"No I don't." The black and white mech replied as he pulled away slightly and flicked his sensory panels in a challenge "just don't do anything too tiring, Ratchet has yet to release you onto light duty and I for one don't wish to receive an audioful from our resident medic."

Jazz cocked his finned helm to the side in an imitation of an eye roll at that "I don't plan ta, all I'm gonna do is go ta ma office an' do a little research."

"You actually remember where your office is?" Prowl inquired as he rose a single optic ridge as he regarded his spark-mate.

The saboteur swatted his bonded playfully on the arm prompting a chuckle to escape the black and white mech as he danced back out of the way "Yea ah do cheeky, now go on get 'fore they really send 'Hide down ta find ya."

"I'm going." The tactician told the silver mech as he moved back in briefly to deliver a swift kiss to his bonded's lip components before he slipped out of the room.

A small smile graced Jazz's lip components as he watched his spark-mate leave their quarters before it disappeared entirely as the doors slid shut, he felt his spark-mate's demeanour change entirely once he had left their quarters and the saboteur knew it was due to the same conflicted emotions about facing the others that he himself was feeling. The silver mech couldn't help the small twinge of anger as he moved across to the view port and folded his arms across his chest-plates, that he felt towards his comrades for believing that Prowl was simply a cold and sparkless drone just because he was trying to prevent any and all strategies he was devising from being emotionally influenced, he had seen the way the failure of not being able to rescue their creation had grieved his bonded and he be damned if he was going to allow any of them to use that against him.

But right now Jazz knew that he too needed to remain clear minded as the last thing they needed was a fractured crew; after all infighting would make them no better than the Decepticons, but the saboteur felt that they were acting just that little bit like their enemy by sending one of their own in with no infallible plan of being rescued, and his only source of ensuring his safety was a comrade he couldn't fully depend upon. The silver mech vented a deep intake of air out of his vents as he shuttered his optics and pressed a thumb against the top of his nasal ridge, he had run risky ops missions with low chances of success before, but this time it was completely different as they were expecting both a youngling that was still somewhat inexperienced and an ex-con whose loyalties were still questionable to pull this off without so much as getting caught and executed in the process. Jazz was beginning to wonder whether all of this was worth it, he had sacrificed a few sparks in the line of duty (although not intentionally) how was this any different? However he quickly chastised himself for even thinking along those lines as he gingerly made his way out of quarters and began heading towards his office, this was completely different compared to those times as there was simply more at stake here; the safety of an entire planet let alone the universe was at threat here.

The saboteur hoped that they would catch the Decepticons up soon so he could take his anger and frustration out upon the enemy before retrieving his son from Megatron's clutches. The saboteur wanted nothing more than to just plunge an energon blade into the Decepticon leader's chest and repay him in full for all of the misery and painstaking loss both he and his bonded had to endure for the past couple of weeks since the battle at Diego Garcia. Although Jazz had to admit that the last time he had gone up against Megatron, he had feared for his spark especially after his first engagement in over thousands of vorns had nearly ended in his termination. But a part of him demanded that he get retribution for the suffering his creation was having to endure for the sake of one mech's insatiable greed for power.

The silver mech vented a deep sigh out of his intakes when he finally reached his office, at least for a while he could lose himself in the research he had planned rather than dwell upon past events which would without a doubt send him spiralling down further into the depths of depression. Jazz entered the code for his office and stepped inside once the doors whooshed open, the saboteur quickly made his way around the desk and more or less collapsed into the chair. A part of him hesitated about searching for answers as to what was going on, but then there was also the issue of whether the Ark's data-base contained any files relating to the Prime dynasty, however deep down he knew he needed to do this as eventually the others needed to be told and their co-operation and trust gained before the upcoming battle that would certainly decide their fates. The silver mech sat forward and began tying different words into the search engine which would lead him to the information he required, in fact he became so engrossed in what he was doing that he didn't even notice the harsh buzzing of the door chime nor the doors sliding open.

"I want to know just exactly what the frag is going on?" Mirage demanded as he stormed into his superior's office startling Jazz out of his reverie, it was unusual for one to ever hear the spy use any form of profanity unless he was extremely upset or downright livid with someone.

The saboteur couldn't help but frown at his sub-ordinates behaviour "I don't understand."

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Mirage responded as he pointed an accusing finger at his team leader, his normally calm and collected façade all but gone "why are you risking Bumblebee's life for some pointless endeavour?"

The saboteur couldn't help but look surprised at that, he knew the spy would catch on eventually about the back up plan which had been set in place, that was what made the blue and white mech such a brilliant intelligence agent. However the silver mech bristled at the comment about the mission being pointless; this was a question of Bluestreak's life and the future of their faction especially if what he was seeing in his dreams as of late was allowed to come to pass "this mission is far from pointless Mirage, Prowl knew as did th' rest of us that there was no way we could have won that last battle, ya saw th' weapon they pulled on th' Ark."

The spy clenched his fists by his sides "I know I was there, but to send Bumblebee in like you did, you might as well of signed his death warrant considering the fact that you paired him up with that two bit glitch Barricade."

Jazz's optics flashed in anger as he placed his hands upon the desk and leant forward on them "Who would ya have rather ah sent in then?"

"By all accounts I would have thought you'd would have sent me in, after all was I not trained for that kind of espionage, or did that escape you?" Mirage inquired bitterly "I'd rather it had been me than the youngling, you've placed an awful lot of responsibility upon his shoulder struts and I know Bumblebee is up to the task, but he will hesitate to kill Barricade should the glitch betray us and that mistake could get him killed."

"And that's th' reason why I didn't want ya on this mission 'Raj, I trust ya explicitly always have done but I needed a mech with a less biased view on 'Cade, an' since 'Bee wasn't around ta see what he did at Ky-Alexa, he'll be a little more reserved." The saboteur vented a sigh out of his intakes as he wearily collapsed into his chair and scrubbed a clawed hand over tired facial plates "ya probably think that ma processor needs examinin', but I trust 'Cade ta pull this off wit' 'Bee."

The spy's frown deepened, he knew there was more going on than meeting the optic; after all Jazz was not one to trust another lightly particularly a mech who had been a Decepticon up until a couple of months ago "Your right about that, I don't know what he's done to earn your trust however, after all was he not the one who nearly killed you and Blue several months back?"

"He swore an oath ta protect Bluestreak just like you an' th' twins did." The saboteur responded, he watched as a surprised look appeared upon his sub-ordinate's facial plates "oh c'mon 'Raj ya know Praxians have got this thin' goin' on in regards to protection protocols, I'm befuddled that it's such a surprise ta ya."

The spy collapsed into the other chair on the opposite side of the desk "Certainly explains his overly protective behaviour towards Bluestreak during the initial stages of when he was at the Diego Garcia base, but Jazz to assume that those same protection protocols will be enough for Barricade to keep Bumblebee out of trouble whilst they carry out this mission is …."

"Insane." The silver mech finished the blue and white mech's sentence.

"Beyond insane." Mirage replied.

"Ya tellin' me, thought I was gonna crash maself when Prowl was tryin' ta explain th' whole concept ta me durin' the early plannin' stages, he was convinced that 'Cade wouldn't harm 'Bee nor put him in any kind of danger." Jazz told him as he leant back in his seat whilst his azure gaze fixed upon a spot on the desk.

The spy couldn't help but look surprised at that "Prowl is not one to trust lightly when it comes to a mech who have changed their affiliation, I'm even more surprised that he would trust Barricade enough to pull this off, it seems . . . ."

"Out of character?" The saboteur offered as he glanced at his sub-ordinate "I guess th' strength of familial bonds is hard to ignore."

"It appears so." Mirage replied as he slouched in the chair he was sitting in "I just wish you had sent me in Bumblebee's place, I do not want to have to explain to Sam should we return to Earth how his guardian was killed."

Jazz began tracing imaginary circles upon the polished surface of his desk "I know mech an' ah hope it won't come ta that, just gotta have a lil faith." That was one thing none of them had discussed since they begun this venture into space, the saboteur presumed that the others already expected they would return to Earth once this was all over, although Jazz wasn't sure whether they would or not; after all they had brought their long age war to Earth and it seemed unfair to continue waging their battles there. But several of them had formed friendships with the humans, they had even become a part of their families, however they all knew that if they didn't return to Earth, Megatron would without a doubt return there just to wipe out the humans out of existence.

"I think we'll have to have a little more than faith Jazz especially when the time comes and you have to explain this whole fiasco to the others." Mirage spoke up which drew the saboteur out of his musings.

"I'll cross that space bridge when it comes ta it." The silver mech responded as he traced a faint scratch in the surface of the desk before meeting his sub-ordinate's gaze "don't suppose you have a few breems ta spare?"

The spy shot his superior a confused look "I'm not due for duty for another three hours at best, why?"

"I could use some help wit' a lil bit of research." Jazz told him.

"Research?" The blue and white mech inquired as he made his way round to the other side of the desk, immediately his gaze landed upon the screen in front of him and both his optic ridges rose upwards "you're looking into the Prime dynasty?"

"I was hopin' there might be answers in th' data-base that could give us clues as ta what Megatron's after on this planet we're headin' too." The saboteur responded, he decided that Mirage didn't need to know about what he had seen during his recharge cycles; at least not yet anyway.

The spy glanced at his team leader "Are we even certain that he's heading there?"

"I'm more than certain, I saw th' co-ordinates in this device that without a doubt Starscream managed ta open somehow." The silver mech told him "an' they matched th' same ones we have in our data-base."

The blue and white mech couldn't help but look surprised "They did?"

"Yea mech, in fact you've been there once." Jazz replied before he began tying in a few commands and drawing up the files pertaining to the planet that was shrouded in mystery. The saboteur glanced up at his sub-ordinate and noticed the look of recognition appear upon Mirage's facial plates.

"I remember that planet clearly, it's architecture at least what was left of it was similar but so entirely different at the same time, I remember that it even unnerved the twins to the point they refused to stay planet-side." The spy told him before it suddenly dawned upon him, although he pondered how exactly Jazz knew so much "you think that inhabitants demise might be located within the old archives stored aboard this ship?"

The saboteur vented a deep sigh out of his intakes "Quite possibly, I know th' Primes documented everythin' that was significant an' I recall Alpha Trion downloadin' those files into th' ship's data-base." The silver mech noticed the suspicious look upon his sub-ordinate's facial plates "I was there on th' bridge before take off when Alpha Trion came on board."

Mirage rose a single optic ridge as he regarded his team leader "Let me guess you stuck your olfactory sensor where it didn't belong."

"As if it was that easy, he encrypted the files so only Optimus could open them." Jazz told him.

"And you want my help in breaking into them?" The spy inquired, not sure whether he wanted to join the saboteur in this endeavour; after all there was just some things that were better off being left undiscovered.

"I do." The silver mech responded "but I can easily do this on ma own, but siftin' through th' data could take a while, an' I'd rather have answers just in case we catch up wit' th' 'cons ..."

"Alright you have it." The blue and white mech interrupted his team leader, he immediately noticed the smirk appearing upon Jazz's lip components before the saboteur turned to the screen. Mirage vented a deep sigh out of his intakes as he moved to the other side of the desk and dragged the spare chair round to the other side, he plonked his backside into it and activated a small keypad on his superior's desk. Within seconds plates shifted apart to reveal a second keyboard before a holo-screen frizzled into life above it.

The saboteur met the spy's gaze briefly "Alright let's get to work." He uttered before the pair of them delved into the ship's archives and the files that had been locked away for far too long.

Nemesis ….

Bumblebee was positively nervous as he made his way through the dark inter-connecting corridors of the Nemesis, although he tried to implement as much as his special ops training as possible to keep the bubbling anxiety at bay. So far he hadn't met any Decepticon officers which on one servo was a relief whilst on the other he knew that the shielding device that special ops commonly used to dampen their spark signatures but had been modified, had to be tested against 'cons other than drones and lower grunts who really didn't take that much notice of him. The scout now apart of the repair and maintenance crew had already been in engineering where he had to repair the damage created during the time he, Mirage and Barricade had been there, although the shock trooper had easily covered their tracks and reported that the 'glitches' would be fixed soon enough. Bumblebee vented a small sigh through his intakes, Mirage simply had no idea of the plan that had been set in place and wondered whether the spy had figured out the ruse yet as Jazz was never one to leave a team-mate behind no matter the circumstances. The scout knew, as he passed through the inter-connecting corridors, that once all the pieces came together, there would be trouble in the special ops ranks. Bumblebee had during his time on the team, overheard several nasty arguments between Jazz and Mirage, a few in fact which had escalated into fist fights that he and Hound often had to break up. Yet despite their arguments, the pair of them would risk life or limb for one another and their team-mates, something he knew would grate on the spy until he decided enough was enough and confronted the saboteur over it.

Bumblebee had to admit he had been surprised by the shocking revelation that his superiors had ordered Barricade to remain aboard the Nemesis if things went pear shaped as that required a large amount of trust to be placed upon the shock trooper, although he wasn't too sure about the whole ruse of the black and white mech returning to his faction by shooting him to make it look real and was willing to hold a grudge against them for that.

'But Jazz always has his reasons.' Bumblebee told himself as he continued through the inter-connecting hallways, he couldn't help but feel anxious every time he passed by a Decepticon, he preyed to Primus that the small circular device would continue working especially since it had been tinkered by Wheeljack and the engineer didn't exactly have a great track record when it came to devices he had modified. Either way it seemed to be working just fine as he stepped past Sideways who growled at him, typical Decepticon behaviour he had been told by Barricade after the first time it had happened, the shock trooper informed him that when a grunt crossed paths with Megatron's elite, the warriors had this tendency to show the lower ranks just who was in charge. The scout waited until the silver Decepticon had disappeared around the corner before venting a shaky intake of air he had been holding, it was rare that he ever questioned any kind of device Jazz had commissioned for the op that was to be undertaken, however it was his life that was at risk if something should go wrong. It was also unlike him to be anxious about infiltrating a Decepticon stronghold since he had carried out several ops like this one back on Cybertron, but there was a power here; one that both frightened yet intrigued the yellow mech.

Bumblebee continued walking toward Starscream's lab where Bluestreak had been kept according to Mirage's Intel. his real purpose there was to gather any information that he possibly could and compile it into a portfolio that they would send through a quick data burst then pray that the Ark would pick it up. The scout continued through the inter-connecting corridors until finally he arrived at Starscream's lab, Bumblebee quickly glanced around to make sure no-one was within sight before he stepped towards the large doors. Using Surestep's access code Bumblebee entered Starscream's lab, the room beyond the two rather imposing doors was dark and the scout could smell the distinct tang of plasma discharge and acrid smoke as he stepped cautiously inside. The lights flickered and dimmed before rebooting fully revealing the damage that had been dealt to the walls, ceiling and floor, the scout scanned the lab before his gaze fell upon a faint golden light somewhere towards the back of the room.

A curious warble escaped Bumblebee as he picked his way across the debris strewn floor, the scout moved aside pieces of equipment that had been damaged in the fighting to reveal a strange artefact lying upon the floor. Bumblebee cautiously picked the device up and inspected the gold cube, he could feel a strange ancient energy much like the Allspark surrounding it and briefly pondered if it was related to the now destroyed cube, and if so what had been it's function? Either way he would never find out as he was neither a historian nor an archivist, that and he also knew there was no-one who could possibly tell him what it had been used for. However there was a sense of familiarity with the device he was holding which compelled him to tap out a sequence upon the golden surface of the cube, he jumped slightly when a hiss escaped from a hidden seam and the device opened up. The scout could feel his spark pulse wildly in its chamber as a small orange, transparent holographic orb appeared in the centre swiftly followed by symbols he knew had to be written in the language of the Primes.

However what seemed more strange to him was that he could actually read the symbols that were rotating in a slow circle, how that was possible? He had no idea, but either way he knew it provided him, and as reluctantly as he was to admit, Barricade an advantage. Bumblebee translated the symbols as co-ordinates, as to what he wasn't sure however none the less he made a copy and stored them so they could be included in a data stream back to the Ark. The scout briefly pondered what other secrets the small cube contained and since he now knew how to access and read the symbols he began tapping out another sequence upon the outside of the device, immediately the small transparent holographic orb changed to a blue colour followed swiftly by a network of galaxies with a single dot in the middle of them. A small frown made its way onto Bumblebee's facial plates at that, it seemed that there were dozen or more co-ordinates stored inside of this device, as to why he didn't know, but he couldn't help the sense of dread that settled in his fuel tank at the thought there was something far more sinister going on.

So preoccupied with the device sitting within his servos, Bumblebee failed to hear the doors hiss open nor the sound of footsteps approaching until it was too late. A clawed hand wrapped itself around his wrist tearing it away from the device and turning him harshly round to face the one Decepticon the scout hoped never to meet up close and personal, the small mech's azure gaze met the single glowing crimson optic glowering down at him.

"Care to explain what you're doing here?"

A/N: Look cliffhanger! *runs away* Can't promise when the next update will be as RL is so busy right now, but I'll try my best!