TF (OC): Searchin’
Rating: PG
Series: G1
Summary: This is the back-story for my OC Tracer. Tracer’s first real challenge comes in the form of Skywarp… how exactly do you track a jet that can teleport? And Prowl gets a taste of her temper.
Warnings: Still none… unless you count a few bad words and a bit of a temper tantrum?
Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I’ve forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.
Authors Notes: Yay more action and Tracer getting annoyed with Prowl!
Searchin' Part One
Searchin' Part Two
Searchin' Part Three
Searchin' Part Four
Searchin' Part Five
Searchin' Part Six
Searchin' Part Seven
Searchin' Part Eight
Searchin' Part Nine
Searchin' Part Ten
Searchin' Part Eleven
Searchin' Part Twelve
As time went on, Tracer became more accustomed to life on Earth and started being included in more than just the routine patrols or monitor duties. The first mission she accompanied the other Autobots on was more of a disaster than she would have liked.
It should have been easy. Simply follow the Decepticons when they retreated and locate their new temporary base. The battle had been short and few casualties had been sustained, for which Ratchet was grateful. Tracer had stayed behind the lines with him while the others dealt with the Decepticons, waiting for the battle to end so she could track them back to their base. There were few Decepticons left when Megatron called for the retreat. Tracer watched as they flew off, waiting for the lingering stragglers to leave before she left her hiding place. As the last jet jumped in the air and transformed, Tracer nodded to Ratchet and transformed, locking her sensors on the black and purple jet.
She followed the jet for a few miles, keeping her distance and using her sensors to track it when the readings suddenly disappeared. Sliding to a halt she transformed, scanning the skies for the jet. It had completely vanished.
“Well that’s strange…” She muttered to herself, transforming and continuing in the direction she’d last tracked the jet to be taking, hoping to pick up his energy signature again.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Where is she?” Red Alert virtually demanded of Prowl as soon as he entered the tactician’s office. Prowl looked up slowly from the report he was working on, regarding Red Alert with an even gaze.
“Excuse me?”
“Tracer. She is the only Autobot not to have returned from the battle and I know you had assigned her something. So where is she?”
“Red Alert, Tracer is more than capable of taking care of herself. At present she is tasked with locating the Decepticons new temporary base. She will no doubt return soon. Unless you doubt her skill?” Red Alert stood in front of Prowl’s desk, momentarily speechless, before turning on his heel and stalking out. Prowl shook his head before turning his attention back to his report, absently checking his internal chronometer. As his processor registered the time, he nearly dropped the datapad. Now he understood why Red Alert had come to see him. Six hours was more than enough time to locate a base, surely? He quickly ran various scenarios through his battle computer, each coming to a more unlikely solution than the last. Resigned, he made his way to the control room, intent on trying to contact Tracer before he had a rescue mission mounted. Silence greeted him as he entered the control room.
“Blaster I need…” Prowl trailed off as footsteps echoed loudly down the corridor. Mildly wondering why the Dinobots were out, Prowl was completely surprised when Tracer walked into the control room, right up to him and thrust a datapad at him.
“There! And next time, tell me when they have the ability to slagging teleport!” Without waiting for an answer (which Prowl was sure he wouldn’t have been able to come up with) she turned and left the control room, footsteps echoing again down the corridor. Prowl stared after her, logic circuits desperately trying to understand what had happened.
“What’d she give ya?” Jazz asked, leaning in towards Prowl. Activating the datapad, Prowl read what was written there before offlining his optics briefly.
“The coordinates to the Decepticon base.” He replied, ignoring the warnings his logic center was now screaming at him. Jazz let out a low whistle.
“She tracked Skywarp… right back to his base even though he’d teleported?”
“It certainly explains why she took so long.”
“Dang Prowl, you make it sound like a bad thing.” Prowl shook his head; he meant completely the opposite. He knew what Hound and Red Alert had told him of Tracer’s abilities, but to witness them was something completely different. He handed the datapad to Jazz, intent on finding Tracer and apologising. A hand on his arm stopped him and he looked up to see Hound standing beside him.
“You talk to her now, you’ll end up throwing her in the brig.”
“But I…” Completely at a loss for words, Prowl could feel his logic circuits beginning to fail.
“Let me deal with her. Used to it after all.” Hound smirked at him before leaving the control room to find his wayward student.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
“Tracer?” Hound peered round the doorway to the washracks. He knew the Minibot was inside, but decided that he had best announce his presence.
“Leave it Hound. I am not apologising to him.” Tracer called out from the stall she was occupying as he stepped through the door.
“Wasn’t even going to suggest it.” Hound replied, allowing his amusement to color his tone. As he waited, the water jets turned off and Tracer stepped out of the stall, much cleaner than she had been when she entered. Her temper however had not abated.
“No fragger told me any of them could teleport.”
“I guess we’re used to the fact that Skywarp can. Besides, he doesn’t do it that often.”
“Well he did today!”
“True.” Hound couldn’t stop himself from chuckling.
“It’s not funny! I couldn’t exactly come back to base and say he’d just disappeared could I now?”
“If we knew you’d been tracking Skywarp you could have.”
“You know tracking means no radio contact! Besides, Ratchet saw who I went after.”
“If Ratchet was paying attention. He’d have been a little more concerned with the wounded.”
“Yeah well let’s just say I felt I needed to prove myself.” Tracer stared up at Hound, almost pleading with him to understand.
“Well I certainly think you did that.” Tracer relaxed slightly.
“Really?”
“When I left the command center, they were all muttering about it. Wouldn’t be surprised if it hadn’t gone the whole way round the Ark by now.”
“Just what I need, to be the subject of gossip. Look at the jumped up little tracker who thinks she’s better than everyone else.” She muttered darkly. Hound sighed. This wasn’t going the way he’d planned.
“C’mon kid. Let’s get you refuelled then you can whine some more.”
“I am not whining!”
“Yes you are.”
“Am…” She stopped and eyed Hound carefully. “You’re distracting me.”
“Yup. Is it working?”
“Fragger.” Hound cajoled her into accompanying him to the rec. room so she could refuel. What she wasn’t expecting when she got there was to be surrounded by everyone as soon as she entered, everyone clamouring to be heard. It was reminiscent of her second day on Earth, when everyone had rushed to greet her and introduce themselves. Except this time it was much louder. Tracer winced as someone practically shouted in her audios and actually contemplated switching them off, grasping on to Hound’s arm as he made his way through the crowd.
“Okay everyone, let the girl have a drink before you start with the questions.” Hound had to shout to make the others hear him. Gradually the sound began to die down and Tracer vented a sigh of relief.
“Silence is golden eh?” Tracer jumped at the sound of the voice so close to her audios, glad that Hound had gone to get the energon. She would have certainly dropped it. Whirling round, she stared up into the visor of the third in command, Jazz. He held up both hands at her expression. “Okay, easy there.” Relaxing slightly at his defensive posture, she attempted a smile and a joke.
“I’m not that scary.”
“Heh no, but ya sure shocked Prowl.” Tracer made a non-committal sound and sat down at the nearest table.
“Jazz…” Hound came up to the table and handed a cube of energon to Tracer before acknowledging the saboteur, a slight warning in his tone.
“Just congratulating her Hound, that’s all.” Hound sat down, not at all surprised as Jazz sat down too.
“See kid, told you that you did well.”
“Darn right. Thought she nearly froze Prowl’s logic circuits there for a moment.”
“I didn’t?” Tracer was horrified at the thought.
“Nah. Just threw him. Don’t think he knew you were tracking Skywarp. And then when you give him the coordinates. Man, you should have seen his face after you stormed out.” Jazz leant back in his chair and let out a long laugh. “So how’d you do it?” He asked in all seriousness once he’d finished laughing.
“Now Jazz, we can’t be giving away our secrets can we?” Hound answered for her, smiling easily at Jazz.
“Man that just ain’t fair.” Jazz grouched good-naturedly.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tracer spent the rest of the evening in the rec. room, talking and joking with the others, her temper gradually fading as time passed. She was still sitting at the same table when Inferno entered the rec. room. He had an unfair advantage in finding Tracer in the crowds; he and Red Alert had been watching from the Security Director’s office. As best he could, he crept through the crowds to stand behind her. She was half-sprawled across the table, clearly in need of recharge but reluctant to leave, listening to Hound and Trailbreaker talk about some of the more beautiful spots each had found on their travels. Trailbreaker was describing some huge hole in the ground that showed nearly half of the history of the planet, with Hound interjecting where he could. Neither of them paid Inferno much attention and Tracer had her back to him. As he stretched out to flick her antennae she twitched.
“Don’t you even dare.” She murmured.
“Heh, still got it then?” Inferno smirked, waiting while Tracer pulled herself upright.
“Where you’re concerned, yes.” She grinned up at him, optics slightly duller than normal.
“Red sent me to tell you to recharge before Ratchet finds out. Apparently it looks as though you’re gonna recharge here.” Tracer paused at that, suddenly registering her energy levels and grimacing.
“Go on, you’d best get.” Trailbreaker said, making shooing motions with his hands. Hound nodded in agreement.
“Last thing you want is Ratchet on your aft about not recharging enough. Primus knows he has enough problems with Prime and Prowl.”
“Go on… before Inferno here has to carry you back to your quarters.” Trailbreaker grinned as he spoke.
“Fine, I can see when I’m outnumbered.” Tracer grouched with a smile, standing up and making her way out of the rec. room and back to her quarters. Inferno followed her down the corridor.
“Red was worried about ya kid, that’s why he sent me down.”
“I appreciate it Inferno. Hadn’t realised how low I was. Besides, you can certainly tell Firestar you’re looking after me now.”
“Hey, how’d you know about that?”
“I have my ways.”
“You spent far too long hanging around with Kicker.” Inferno muttered, shaking his head.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
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Part Fourteen