Chapter Text
"I'll say one thing, it's nice knowing the mines won't be blowing up in our faces anymore" Arcee commented as she ducked behind a rock to avoid the blaster fire from Vehicon miners that were shooting at her and Bumblebee. The black and yellow scout trilled an agreement and stood up to provide cover fire, giving Arcee an opportunity to work her way toward the group of drones that, while out-numbering them, had nothing on their combat expertise. "Just a few orbital-cycles ago Megatron would've been willing to blow this whole place just to try and offline one or two of us" she continued.
"What makes you think he wouldn't now?" Ratchet asked over comms. "Logic has certainly eluded him before in the face of his enemies."
"His army is hurting from the famine just like we are" Arcee pointed out. "I doubt they would follow through with an order to blow this mine."
"Do you really?"
Arcee took a klik to consider as she took down one miner and narrowly dodged shots from another. "I think they're less likely to, at any rate. There are more guards down here than usual."
"Well, even with that in mind you two need to be own your guard" Ratchet reminded her. "We only have so much energon to spare for injuries."
"Understood." Arcee dodged a mining drill as she made her way to the storage silo that Bumblebee had pin-pointed the location of while he was on recon last cycle. They had held off on opening a ground bridge directly to the site, since Bee had reported an unusually high number of guards milling around in the tunnels. If those drones got through the portal back to the Autobot base they wouldn't hesitate to wreck havoc. Arcee's job - along with Bee - was to neutralize the Vehicons so Ratchet could safely open a portal in the silo.
All so we can steal the Cons' energon like some desperate scavengers. Arcee grimaced at the thought as she sliced the throat cables of an attacking guard. Ever since they had left a depleted Cybertron in search of off-world resources, energon had been difficult to come by. But the Autobots had never had to resort to thievery before. Not like they had been lately.
Back during the early cycles of the war, planets like Earth had been favored sites for stowing energon caches. Far from any war-torn galaxies, populated by diminutive organics, they were ideal hiding places that had no reason to ever be targeted by advanced military factions. But the war had scattered Cybertron's inhabitants farther than anybot had anticipated, and energon signals from the Milky Way galaxy had captured the attention of Autobots and Decepticons alike. Earth's provision of energon caches had been a welcome surprise initially; the planet's warm and rocky underground turned out to have been an ideal climate for the hidden crystals to grow and spread. But with both factions having their optics set on humanity's home world, their covert but violent battles over the stellercycles had ensured that fuel shortages would become inevitable. Now it seemed that every other battle was over control of an energon deposit.
Or, more precisely, the energon itself. Arcee glanced around as she entered the storage cycle, taking in the site of the stacks of glowing cubes of energon that lined the walls. The trade-off of letting the Cons take control of the mines, and then taking their energon when it was all nicely processed and packaged for transport was just fine with her. The unit of guards coming at her didn't seem too enthused about it, but their collective opinion wasn't exactly on her list of priorities.
"Ratchet," Arcee tapped her comm once she had slashed her way through the resistance. "You can open up that bridge now." Bumblebee ran up to join her in the silo, blaster trained on two guards who had escaped from Arcee. They raised their servos, we're not going to fight you, and the scout let them leave. Only those who attacked would have the favor returned. Arcee and Bee had left alone all the of the miners who had just watched them run past and done nothing to stop them - it wasn't like they could anyway. Most of the guards fought back, but some did not, and it was Autobot code to consider drones as Neutral's until they acted otherwise.
In Arcee's optics, a Decepticon was a Decepticon. And one less Decepticon was one less helmache for the future. But even though pandering to the greater good sometimes called for surpassing certain niceties during war, there were still lines that shouldn't be crossed. Lines that Arcee had sometimes walked until she lost her balance and faltered. Sometimes the distinction between the enemy and herself had gotten more blurred than Arcee would willingly admit, but her partners had never given up on her. Optimus hadn't given up on her. And because others hadn't given up on her, Arcee hadn't given up on herself, and more often than not she could look in a mirror and be ok with who she saw in the reflection.
The blue femme vented, standing back with Bumblebee in one corner of the storage silo as a flickering portal opened up in front of them. "Let's move" she said, eager to secure as many of the cubes as possible. Certain mechs she knew - namely Optimus - were sore in the conscience about stealing in any form, even when it had been acknowledged as a necessity for continued survival. But Arcee didn't share those moral qualms. Not when it was Decepticons they were stealing from. Those slaggers had stolen two partners from her already, and that was two partners too many. As far as Arcee was concerned, anything she could take back from the Cons was justified.
As she and Bee moved the cubes of energon to piles in front of the bridge, Bulkhead arrived to transport them back to the Outpost, where Optimus and Ratchet would be working to get the cubes to the storage vault. They wouldn't try to take the whole stockpile - Optimus wouldn't allow it - but they would take a fair amount. The energon had never really belonged to the Cons in the first place, anyway; most of it had stemmed from old Autobot caches. The Cons had just done all the work of mining and processing it into a useable form.
"Thanks for doing all the work for us" Arcee said neutrally to the downed guards nearby. Several of them were still online, groaning from their injuries. One of them hissed something unintelligible as Arcee walked past, but he didn't move. "We appreciate it."
"Oh, I wouldn't be thanking anybot just yet." A smug, gravely voice came from overhelm, startling both Arcee and Bumblebee and snapping their attention away from the task at hand.
Starscream was poised on one of the crude metal walkways high up on the wall of the silo, smirking. In one outstretched servo he held a grenade. "Thanks to Soundwave, I overheard your comm chatter on my way here" the grey Seeker announced snidely. "Don't you Bots know the rules of war? Never leave the enemy with the spoils.That's one of them. So when it comes to blowing up the mines, I would say Lord Megatron has logic firmly grasped in his servos." Starscream released the safety on the device he was holding. "I can't say this grenade is as secure in mine, though."
Arcee dropped the cube she was holding at the same time as Starscream released the grenade. "Turn back, Bulkhead!" she yelled, turning to race for the bridge as Bee dropped his own cube and followed suit. One grenade by itself wouldn't have been much cause for concern, but in a silo full of processed energon it was a death sentence.
Bulkhead was just coming out of the portal when Arcee yelled, but he must have spotted the grenade because he backtracked hastily, transforming for a faster retreat. Bumblebee also folded down into his alt-mode and Arcee was about to do the same when one of the downed Vehicons lashed out and caught her pede, sending her sprawling.
"If I gotta offline, I'm takin' one of you slaggers with me" the black and purple mech snarled as he tried to pin her down. Arcee kicked at his knee joints and elbowed his faceplate, wriggling free of his claws. The grenade had landed amidst the storage cubes and was beeping its rapid death note.
:Arcee!: Bumblebee wailed. He had turned back at the entrance to the portal and was starting to move toward her to help.
"Go!" the blue femme yelled. She leaped over an offlined guard the frames and transformed, hitting the ground with spinning tires. "I'm right behind -!"
The explosion shook the silo like an earthquake and Arcee was cut off as pieces of debris were flung around her and into her path. A sharp piece of metal glanced off her frame and she was sent skidding into Bee with a cry of pain. The scout half-transformed to latch onto her with one servo and then raced them both to safety as the caustic cloud of energon and crumbling rock chased them in the bridge.
Starscream cackled as he watched the playback from the silo's security cameras on Soundwave's visor. He had flown back to the safety of the Nemesis immediately after letting go of the grenade, having no inclination to stick around for the resulting destruction. The cameras had ultimately been ruined, of course, but their recordings up to the point of the explosion had already been filed away on the receiving end, preserved for his enjoyment.
"Look how they run away," the grey Seeker chortled. "I'm sure those pathetic thieves will think twice before attempting another raid, now. And if the blast followed them through that bridge into their base, wouldn't that be excellent!" Starscream curled a triumphant fist at the thought, temporarily forgetting himself in front of Soundwave as he imagined being the one solely responsible for the destruction of the Autobot base. He was startled when a heavy servo clamped down on his shoulderplate, and had only a tick to register the looming reflection in Soundwave's visor before he was yanked around to face the darkly scowling visage of his leader.
"You did not even think to close down the entrance to the silo before you blew it up!" Megatron growled, a deep rumble that sent a poor-disguised shiver of fear down Starsream's backstruts. "That entire mine was destroyed!"
Starscream's wings pulled down in alarm as Megatron's massive claws dug into his plating. "I - forgive me, master, I should have thought of that" he acknowledged haltingly. "It was only a small mine -"
"One of our ONLY mines!" Megatron struck him across the side of his helm with the back of his armored servo, sending the Seeker skidding across the floor of the command center. "I will dictate which mines are destroyed, not you."
"I only made an assumption based on previous orders" Starscream whined as he pushed himself upright. As always, such unfair ridicule prompted regret that Megatron had ever returned from his three-stellercycle hiatus into space. During the warlord's absence Starscream had never had to about any criticism of his decisions and judgement calls, and he and everybot else had managed just fine. But now he had to step back and second-guess himself at every turn and cower when he made a wrong move. How was he supposed to know the whims of Megatron's processor, anyway? "You know," he said, vainly hoping to abate his master's ire, "There's a good chance one or both of those Autobots was severely damaged or even offlined, in that explosion. And if the blast made it through the bridge to their base -"
"If, Starscream." Megatron tilted his helm, tone sarcastic and demeaning. Starscream hated it. "Even if the Autobots sustained any losses, which I doubt, that would do little to allay my other grievances involving this incident." The last word was spoken in a hiss. Starscream shuffled his wings nervously as he stood up, remaining hunched in on himself as Megatron stomped toward him.
"Such as, my lord?" the Seeker asked warily, optics briefly flicking to the others in the room. Soundwave was watching the proceedings impassively, stance neutral. The Vehicons standing at the security consoles were ignoring what was going on behind them, or at least pretending to. They were used enough to Starscream or themselves being on the receiving end of Megatron's wrath.
"Such as," Megatron bent to look Starscream in the optics, sharp denta barred, "The fact that the Autobots seemed to know their way around that mine as well as any Vehicon, and they were able to reach the silo and obtain any number of cubes before you arrived. I distinctly recall ordering you to up security."
"I did." Starscream spread his servos and gave a helpless shrug. "At the time of the attack there were double the number of guards down there than there were two decacycles ago."
"And they were useless as decorative trinkets!" Megatron spat. "I put you in charge of training and of overseeing mining operations, but now I see I was erroneous in relying on you your ability to produce satisfactory results." The taller mech straightened, still glaring as he folded his arms. "Clearly, a marked change is in order."
What does that imply!? "I. . . Master, you cannot mean to. . . please, forgive me" Starscream floundered. "If you would just give me another chance, I -"
"We cannot afford second chances now, Starscream." Megatron's glare had a way of making the Seeker feel two feet tall. "Not when Prime's pathetic simpletons have got it into their helms that our energon is free for the taking, and experience is proving them right!"
Curse the Autobots to the Pit. Starscream scowled, then quickly neutralized his faceplates for fear that Megatron would take the expression as insubordination. "I. . . you're right, of course, my lord. I realize that our troops are not adequately prepared to handle Autobot attacks," he started carefully. Over the vorns the Seeker had come to realize that agreement generally worked better to quell Megatron's wrath than pleading for lenience - not that Starscream didn't still resort to the latter on a regular basis. "Clearly, we aren't the only ones still training. Perhaps it would be best if somebot else were to take over my position as overseer of mining operations, so I could devote more time to training." He spread his servos again with a forced apologetic smile. "A mech can only do so much at one time, after all."
"And who would take your place?" Megatron grouched, but he seemed to simmer down at the reasonable suggestion. At least he was willing to hear Starscream out, which was often more than could be hoped for.
"Breakdown, perhaps" Starscream thought quickly. "Or -"
"Breakdown! That lumbering oaf?" Megatron snorted and waved the suggestion away. "I sometimes wonder why we even keep him on. . ."
Starscream frowned, a bit taken-aback at the insult to the Decepticon's sole remaining frontline officer. Granted, the big blue mech wasn't the brightest bulb, but still. . . "Breakdown has managed to become a threat to the Autobots during his time with us," Starscream reminded the warlord. "And he's the only one who can deal with Prime's pet Wrecker in close-quarters situations. None of our remaining troops have the armor or strength for that. Plus -"
"Feats of destruction hardly equate to any skill in management" Megatron said flatly. "Breakdown can break things, but he is far from my first choice as an overseer of anything. And do not bother to suggest Knock Out for the position," the silver mech said before Starscream could voice that very thought. "The doctor earns his keep here on the ship as CMO; hardly anywhere else is he an advantage to us."
"What about Soundwave, then?" Starscream shot a glance at the silent purple mech behind Megatron. "He's certainly much more efficient with security than any of us. He would know where best to place the guards and cameras." The grey Seeker clicked the tips of his digits together nervously. There really weren't any other options left.
"Hmm. . ." Megatron turned to glance at the communications officer himself. "Along with your current duties, Soundwave, what do you think of taking on a few more?" He looked back at Starscream. "Since some of us are apparently incapable of multitasking."
It was unfair, in Starscream's opinion, but he kept his intake shut and watched as Soundwave texted an answer on his visor.
:If you wish it, master:
"Excellent. That settles this problem, then." Megatron eyed the Seeker cowering in front of him as if to emphasize that he, Starscream, was entirely to blame for the "problem". Which really wasn't accurate in the slightest. He had just been doing something that he was sure Megatron would have ordered himself.
But he was not in any position to complain about how things had turned out. In fact, Starscream was rather relived to be freed from any duties related to mining operations. Now he would be invested in an assignment much more suited to his area of expertise, and wouldn't have to worry about any more blame falling to him for future failures regarding mining endeavors.
Plus, he would love to see the Autobots try to sneak past Soundwave.
"Well, you'll have to take it easy for a few cycles, but you'll be alright" Ratchet informed Arcee as he straightened and set aside what was left of the patch kit. As the medic wiped his servos with a cloth he gave the blue femme a stern look before she could slide off the medical berth. "I do mean it about taking it easy. No putting strain on that leg."
"I don't think I have much of a choice either way" Arcee said ruefully as she rubbed at her knee joint. It had been hyperextended when some slag-helmed Vehicon had grabbed her. "I guess now is my cue to say you were right. The Decepticons are still willing to sacrifice their own resources to get at us. Well, at least Starscream is."
"Starscream has always been willing to make sacrifices that do not directly affect him." Ratchet rolled his optics as he dropped the cloth on the medical berth and swiped at the energon stains. "And with that in mind, we may be better off staying away from their mines for at least a few decacycles. Our supply should last for a while if we're careful, and it's clear the Decepticons are upping security now that they know we're targeting their supply."
"Why don't you guys just find a mine of your own?" This was from Miko, who was sitting on a countertop that ran along one wall, swinging her legs off the edge of it. All three of the children had insisted on hanging out in the med lab while Arcee was getting patched up, which Ratchet had grudgingly allowed on the condition that they stayed out of the way. "I mean, wouldn't it be easier to collect those crystals when you're not being shot at?" Miko continued.
"It would be advantageous," Optimus agreed. The Prime was standing in the doorway, arms folded as he leaned against the frame. "Given the choice, I would much rather we produce our own fuel than resort to robbing the Deceptions of theirs. But our options these cycles have been unfortunately limited."
"There are only one or two untapped deposits that we know of," Ratchet informed Miko as he updated Arcee's medical information on a nearby holoscreen. "But they aren't easily accessible to us, given that we have no way of accessing them without disturbing the human population in the area."
In the medic's peripheral vision he caught Miko sticking out her tongue at his implication that humans were the stand-alone issue in the situation. Jack looked up from the homework he was only half-paying attention to and asked, "Why not have Unit E collect the energon for you? Agent Fowler could probably work something out with the government to get access to the land the deposits are on, depending where they are." The black-haired teen looked at Ratchet expectantly as the medic turned to face him fully. "Are they in the U.S?"
"One of them is, yes." Ratchet looked to Optimus. "I hadn't considered the possibility before, but I don't why we shouldn't take advantage of the resources at our disposal. Which does include human allies. That is one thing we have that the Decepticons do not."
"How quickly we change tunes" Arcee observed in an amused tone. "First the humans were the problem, now they're the answer."
"They're only the answer because they're the reason a complication even exists" Ratchet retorted.
"I believe this may be something to look into" Optimus told Jack with an appreciative nod, ignoring the bickering. "Ratchet, when you're able to, send Agent Fowler a request for a meeting either today or tomorrow, whenever he is available. And tell him to bring some of his most trusted men."
As Laserbeak flew ahead of him into the tunnels of one of the Decepticon mines, Soundwave referred to her live feedback that displayed on his visor to pick out where he would position the guards, and how many miners he would add or reassign. He was sending his own feedback to Knock Out for advice on which tunnels needed to be let rest so they could replenish, and which ones the miners should direct more of their efforts toward. The red medic might not know as much about energon as say, Shockwave, but currently Knock Out was the only mech onboard the Nemesis with any scientific training that amounted to something. He had been helping Soundwave experiment with and work out miner crew rotations for the past decacycle, knowing it had to be a balance of mech-power and energy conservation. Starscream had put the rotations into effect, and though Megatron had not yet commented on the crew's decreased energon usage, it was there. And that's what mattered. The Autobots were hopefully still in the dark about how desperate the Decepticons were for energon. Soundwave had been doing everything he could to get the Nemesis to run on as little of it as possible, but he knew he would soon have to recommend to Megatron that they dock somewhere on the ground and activate camouflage shielding.
"Hey, check it out mech! It's Soundwave!"
The nearby exclamation drew the comms officer from his processings. A miner was nudging the mech working next to them, and pointed in Soundwave's direction when their friend turned around. Soundwave knew the Vehicons were unused to seeing any high-ranking Decepticons in the mines besides Starscream, who bossed them around like they were processor-less drones, and Breakdown, who they saw as a friend and equal. He ignored the staring mechs, continuing on through the nearly stripped tunnels to the mine's storage unit, which was so meager that it lacked any cameras besides one that had been broken recently. Soundwave was aware of the reason it broke - some Vehicons had been drinking high-grade and a fight broke out - but nobot had asked about it, so he hadn't volunteered the information. Soundwave respected Megatron's inclination to running a tight ship and fully intended to see that it remained as such, but he also understood that if the Vehicons were too closely monitored, they could become uncontrollable.
"Soundwave." His master's deep voice rumbled over comms as he was standing in the center of the storage unit, recording its exact coordinates. Laserbeak had joined back up with him and was now docked on his chestplates, allowing Soundwave to share the information he was gathering with her directly via coded files. "I can see the mine is all but depleted" Megatron said. "I do hope you can come up with a system that will allow us to get the most out of it while not sacrificing conservation and security."
Soundwave sent a few lines of text to the screen Megatron must be watching over Knock Out's shoulder, in order to inform his leader of his intention to regularly open portals in all of their mine's storage units so the energon cubes could be transported directly to the Nemesis' vault at a greater rate than they currently were.
"Excellent." Megatron approved. "Even if the Autobots do manage to get to one of our silos, there will never be much there waiting for them." If Soundwave knew the mech at all, the former gladiator was probably curling one servo into a fist, a dark grin of determination on his faceplate as he said, "We are entering into a new war, Soundwave. One I fully intend to win."