Glances Into a Spark - Trouble Lurking
Title: Glances Into a Spark - Trouble Lurking
Fandom: Transformers
Characters/pairings: ensemble
Rating: PG
Summary: Oneshots about any and possibly all of the movie cast, and then some.
Warnings: language
Notes: Old writing, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
Table of Contents
o o o
Theme #25: Trouble Lurking
o o o
I had been in the Autobot headquarters for almost three orns when I found the other intruder.
I was the kind of mech that drove the security types into full system crashes. The most heavily guarded buildings were my playgrounds, the most secure vaults my toys. But what sent Security into a real fritz was that I never touched anything, never took anything or destroyed anything, and many a logic circuit has crashed trying to figure out why.
I guess boredom never crossed their processors.
But even if they couldn't get enough slag on me from my casual breaking into the Council Chambers or the Academy or the high, vaulted chamber where the Allspark rested, I still had a nice-sized record from doing mercenary work with idiots that managed to get me caught or identified.
That record was why I was in the Autobot HQ, soon after the start of the War. I wanted to join the Autobots, but I had enough on me that the Prime's security forces would throw my aft in the brig as soon as they laid optics on me. It never hurt to bring a gift if you were showing up at the party uninvited, and I planned on bringing a rather nice one - I was logging every unguarded, unknown entrance into the Autobot base of operations that I could find.
And there were a lot of them. The problem with Prime's security was that a lot of 'em were big - real big. And big mechs had a tendency to - literally and figuratively - overlook the little ones like me. If there was a Seeker attack, the place would be fine. A siege? Fine.
A little minibot sliding into the spaces between the walls? Incredibly vulnerable.
If all went well, their gratitude over revealing a few vital flaws in their security net would balance out the urge to step on me. I was almost done with my 'research' when I came within a tick of running face first into a Decepticon.
He was creeping around the upper levels between floors, dead silent as he moved between support beams. Even I didn't hear him, and when I moved around a pipe, I almost crashed into his flank. But he didn't see me, and I immediately started to follow him. He was flat black, and I couldn't see an insignia, but I didn't have to. There was no reason an Autobot (as opposed to an Autobot hopeful like myself) would be sneaking around up here.
He seemed to know where he was going, moving through the building at a slow, easy pace. He didn't look around once, didn't scan his surroundings, smug confidence in his every move. Idiot. He was probably buzzed on the honor of being chosen for this mission.
Pathetic, if you ask me. Gave a bad name to good intruders.
He stopped after a few breems, and I felt the cool tingle of heavy electromagnetic shielding go up. My fellow invader fell off every sensor I had that wasn't direct sight. A nice trick, one I'd used myself in the past, but useless if you were in sight already. I didn't bother with my own shields, not only because he would feel he go up, but because he wasn't even thinking about scanning his immediate area.
Idiot!
He sat in the dark for long breems, and I sat just beside him, a few tacks behind and to his left, and I could just barely see the edge of the violet Decepticon insignia on the inside armor of his leg. After a while, I felt a scan from the room below just barely brush the edge of my sensor net. I must've been above the room beside the one with whoever was scanning. The scan signal dropped, and movement came from the room, the sounds of a large mech crossing the floor. More shuffling, then silence.
Finally, my friend in the darkness moved, sliding long, narrow fingers into a crack in the ceiling of the room below to pry open a panel of metal. I crept forward as the 'Con noiselessly dropped through his impromptu door, and what I saw made my valves seize. The Prime himself, resting on a recharge berth, optics dark and unaware, and the Decepticon was sliding a blade out from under his armor. I felt a hot flash of anger - towards Autobot security for allowing this to happen, towards the Prime, for not having any idea how close to death he was. But most of it was towards the arrogant idiot of a Decepticon, so with a wild shriek, I dove out of my hiding spot and latched onto his shoulders.
I caught a glimpse of the Prime jolting into awareness, heard the thundering footsteps of the Prime's Guards, but all my attention was on the Decepticon. He was taller than I was, tall and narrow, and I clung to him like a magnet, clawed fingers digging into his helm, toes buried up to the second joint in his waist. He didn't speak, but spun like a turbine, trying to throw me off. I held on, somehow, trying to get my fingers at his optics or the energon lines in his neck.
The high whine of charging weaponry went almost unnoticed. However, I sure as slag noticed when high-percussion blasts slammed into the assassin and my left leg. The Decepticon's shields collapsed inward, and with me being in the radius, the drop sent white noise across my sensors. Hands grabbed me - big ones - and when I blinked back the interference, we were both in the custody of a few very large mechs.
The Decepticon was fast dealt with, sent to the brig as soon as his insignia was revealed. I, of course, had no insignia, so after the 'Con was dragged away, I found myself in front of Optimus Prime himself.
Primus, he was tall.
His personal bodyguard wasn't quite as tall, but almost as imposing as he pressed a finger against the side of my helm - reading my signal, cross-referencing it with Iacon's records, and he gave a disgusted snort. "Mercenary," he growled at the Prime. "And he has a habit of being where he shouldn't be. You should see his record."
"Which is why I was in the ceiling," I interjected cheerfully. I ignored the glower the Guard gave me, looking at the Prime. "I want to join the Autobots, but a record like mine'll land me in the brig for vorns. So, I want to make a bargain."
The Guard made another annoyed sound, but the Prime was considering me thoughtfully. "Stopping that assassin was your bargaining chip?" he questioned.
"Nope, I found him snooping, and he just proves that what I offer has worth." I jerked my head at the ceiling. "How'd he get in, hm? You've got minibot-sized boltholes all over the place. I was cataloguing as many as I could find as my bargaining chip." I looked at the Guard. "Clear my record, and the information is yours." Back at the Prime. "Let me join, and my 'habit' of being where I'm not supposed to be is yours to command."
The Prime and his Guard shared a look, then looked back at me. "What's your designation?" the Prime asked.
"Jazz." Not my original designation, but it was the one I liked best and the one I went by most often.
The Prime nodded. "Jazz," he repeated. "All right, Jazz, you're going to the brig. When you get out - however you chose to do so - you're an Autobot." The Guard and I both gave the Prime a disbelieving look, one alarmed, one amazed. "At that time, you'll hand over the information you collected, and your record will be cleared."
The Prime had bolts, that was certain. I couldn't help a laugh. "I'll see you by this time tomorrow," I promised.
"I look forward to it," he replied, then nodded to the mech's holding my arms. "Escort him to the brig."
Fandom: Transformers
Characters/pairings: ensemble
Rating: PG
Summary: Oneshots about any and possibly all of the movie cast, and then some.
Warnings: language
Notes: Old writing, in it's mostly original format (very minor corrections may have been made)
Table of Contents
o o o
Theme #25: Trouble Lurking
o o o
I had been in the Autobot headquarters for almost three orns when I found the other intruder.
I was the kind of mech that drove the security types into full system crashes. The most heavily guarded buildings were my playgrounds, the most secure vaults my toys. But what sent Security into a real fritz was that I never touched anything, never took anything or destroyed anything, and many a logic circuit has crashed trying to figure out why.
I guess boredom never crossed their processors.
But even if they couldn't get enough slag on me from my casual breaking into the Council Chambers or the Academy or the high, vaulted chamber where the Allspark rested, I still had a nice-sized record from doing mercenary work with idiots that managed to get me caught or identified.
That record was why I was in the Autobot HQ, soon after the start of the War. I wanted to join the Autobots, but I had enough on me that the Prime's security forces would throw my aft in the brig as soon as they laid optics on me. It never hurt to bring a gift if you were showing up at the party uninvited, and I planned on bringing a rather nice one - I was logging every unguarded, unknown entrance into the Autobot base of operations that I could find.
And there were a lot of them. The problem with Prime's security was that a lot of 'em were big - real big. And big mechs had a tendency to - literally and figuratively - overlook the little ones like me. If there was a Seeker attack, the place would be fine. A siege? Fine.
A little minibot sliding into the spaces between the walls? Incredibly vulnerable.
If all went well, their gratitude over revealing a few vital flaws in their security net would balance out the urge to step on me. I was almost done with my 'research' when I came within a tick of running face first into a Decepticon.
He was creeping around the upper levels between floors, dead silent as he moved between support beams. Even I didn't hear him, and when I moved around a pipe, I almost crashed into his flank. But he didn't see me, and I immediately started to follow him. He was flat black, and I couldn't see an insignia, but I didn't have to. There was no reason an Autobot (as opposed to an Autobot hopeful like myself) would be sneaking around up here.
He seemed to know where he was going, moving through the building at a slow, easy pace. He didn't look around once, didn't scan his surroundings, smug confidence in his every move. Idiot. He was probably buzzed on the honor of being chosen for this mission.
Pathetic, if you ask me. Gave a bad name to good intruders.
He stopped after a few breems, and I felt the cool tingle of heavy electromagnetic shielding go up. My fellow invader fell off every sensor I had that wasn't direct sight. A nice trick, one I'd used myself in the past, but useless if you were in sight already. I didn't bother with my own shields, not only because he would feel he go up, but because he wasn't even thinking about scanning his immediate area.
Idiot!
He sat in the dark for long breems, and I sat just beside him, a few tacks behind and to his left, and I could just barely see the edge of the violet Decepticon insignia on the inside armor of his leg. After a while, I felt a scan from the room below just barely brush the edge of my sensor net. I must've been above the room beside the one with whoever was scanning. The scan signal dropped, and movement came from the room, the sounds of a large mech crossing the floor. More shuffling, then silence.
Finally, my friend in the darkness moved, sliding long, narrow fingers into a crack in the ceiling of the room below to pry open a panel of metal. I crept forward as the 'Con noiselessly dropped through his impromptu door, and what I saw made my valves seize. The Prime himself, resting on a recharge berth, optics dark and unaware, and the Decepticon was sliding a blade out from under his armor. I felt a hot flash of anger - towards Autobot security for allowing this to happen, towards the Prime, for not having any idea how close to death he was. But most of it was towards the arrogant idiot of a Decepticon, so with a wild shriek, I dove out of my hiding spot and latched onto his shoulders.
I caught a glimpse of the Prime jolting into awareness, heard the thundering footsteps of the Prime's Guards, but all my attention was on the Decepticon. He was taller than I was, tall and narrow, and I clung to him like a magnet, clawed fingers digging into his helm, toes buried up to the second joint in his waist. He didn't speak, but spun like a turbine, trying to throw me off. I held on, somehow, trying to get my fingers at his optics or the energon lines in his neck.
The high whine of charging weaponry went almost unnoticed. However, I sure as slag noticed when high-percussion blasts slammed into the assassin and my left leg. The Decepticon's shields collapsed inward, and with me being in the radius, the drop sent white noise across my sensors. Hands grabbed me - big ones - and when I blinked back the interference, we were both in the custody of a few very large mechs.
The Decepticon was fast dealt with, sent to the brig as soon as his insignia was revealed. I, of course, had no insignia, so after the 'Con was dragged away, I found myself in front of Optimus Prime himself.
Primus, he was tall.
His personal bodyguard wasn't quite as tall, but almost as imposing as he pressed a finger against the side of my helm - reading my signal, cross-referencing it with Iacon's records, and he gave a disgusted snort. "Mercenary," he growled at the Prime. "And he has a habit of being where he shouldn't be. You should see his record."
"Which is why I was in the ceiling," I interjected cheerfully. I ignored the glower the Guard gave me, looking at the Prime. "I want to join the Autobots, but a record like mine'll land me in the brig for vorns. So, I want to make a bargain."
The Guard made another annoyed sound, but the Prime was considering me thoughtfully. "Stopping that assassin was your bargaining chip?" he questioned.
"Nope, I found him snooping, and he just proves that what I offer has worth." I jerked my head at the ceiling. "How'd he get in, hm? You've got minibot-sized boltholes all over the place. I was cataloguing as many as I could find as my bargaining chip." I looked at the Guard. "Clear my record, and the information is yours." Back at the Prime. "Let me join, and my 'habit' of being where I'm not supposed to be is yours to command."
The Prime and his Guard shared a look, then looked back at me. "What's your designation?" the Prime asked.
"Jazz." Not my original designation, but it was the one I liked best and the one I went by most often.
The Prime nodded. "Jazz," he repeated. "All right, Jazz, you're going to the brig. When you get out - however you chose to do so - you're an Autobot." The Guard and I both gave the Prime a disbelieving look, one alarmed, one amazed. "At that time, you'll hand over the information you collected, and your record will be cleared."
The Prime had bolts, that was certain. I couldn't help a laugh. "I'll see you by this time tomorrow," I promised.
"I look forward to it," he replied, then nodded to the mech's holding my arms. "Escort him to the brig."