Curate, connect, and discover
Emptiness Machine
Author notes: thanks again for being patient with me. Still going through it but here is the chapter I was most excited for đ (also I donât know how actual welding works just go with it.) enjoy!
The setting sun cast long eerie shadows before Starscream moved visibly again. You had settled yourself about ten yards away from his kneeling form. He just sat there motionless. Every once in a while youâd see a wing twitch, hear a muffled murmur from him. Other than these small signs of life, he was utterly still, seemingly made of stone. You hadnât announced yourself and it was easy enough to sneak up close to him when he first landed. Youâd had ample time to study his frame. From the looks of it, heâd suffered a great deal. Could have been from the battle, but after he ran off into the smoke you hadnât seen him again. You wondered who, besides Optimus, had the strength to deal such wounds.
A wound in his side was covered by a familiar energon patch. Itâs light pulsing indicated it was still working on drawing the nanites closer to the injury. This meant the patch had been applied not too long ago. His wing hung at an odd angle at his back. Your optics focused on the crude welding job and you winced. It looked as if someone had done it with a non dominant hand. Were the Decepticon medics that terrible at welding jobs? You look down at your own chest plate and the welds, still fresh, that adorned it. No they were neat and clean. This looked as if heâd done it himself. Though that would be foolish wouldnât it? Isnât that dangerous?
The more you looked at him, the more you wondered what the hell happened to him. There was scraped paint along several dents that looked like it could have come from the hallways of the Nemesis. You leaned forward a bit trying to see better.
A quick slip of your servo on the damp trunk of a tree suddenly unbalanced you. The sudden movement made a sickening crunch that echoed off the clear water. The next few clicks reminded you exactly why Starscream was second in command of the entire Decepticon army. As soon as the sound reached his audials, heâd spun around and taken several steps in your direction. His posture was that of a mech who was immediately ready to take on a serious threat. Frame stiff and weapons powering up as he raised them. The dual null ray blasters mounted on his forearms were trained in the direction of the sound. His optics narrowed as he scanned the thick vegetation that hid your crouching form.
âShow yourself!â He spat, stalking forward a few paces.
You donât make a move but instead call out to him from your prone position. âYou look worse for ware. The Autobots give you a run for your money?â
Recognition flashed in his optics and his blasters lowered just a fraction. He hadnât quite pinned down exactly where you were yet. In the waning light you could make out the faint glow of his biolights. Yours would soon make you visible amongst the foliage. It was better to stand up now and reveal yourself before he had a chance to find you. You moved, rustling the fallen leaves beneath you. There was a risk associated with trusting him not to blow your helm off. With the care he and the communications officer had shown you, there was a sense that he would hear you out.
âListen. Iâm going to stand up now. You know I donât possess weapons on my frame. Iâm unarmed.â You say clear enough to be heard.
Rolling from your back onto your belly, you slowly get to your peds. Palms out to show you donât have anything with which to fight back. His optics found and trained you with a cold stare.
âIs it a habit of yours to patrol unarmed? Those damn fools canât even train a proper army.â He grumbled almost quiet enough that you didnât hear.
He vented in exasperation, though he didnât lower his weapons as you stepped out from behind the foliage that had previously hidden you. You shook a ped to get rid of the loose leaves that covered it. The damp smell of moss and loam covered your frame and you were suddenly glad for the fact that your mech was an earthier color. Disguising the smears of earth from your clumsiness earlier. Your optics fell on his damaged wing once more. It trembled slightly as he tried to hold it at the same height as his uninjured one.
âDid one of us do that to you?â You asked, gesturing with your chin towards his injured wing.
âAs if an Autobot could inflict such injures on me.â He scoffed and flicked his uninjured wing in annoyance.
Though he quickly realized his error in ruling out the Autobots as the source of his injures. That left only one mech who could have inflicted those injuries. You slowly reach up to flick your visor out of the way, exposing your golden optics. The battle mask you usually wore retracted, allowing him to see the serious expression on your faceplate. His optics widened ever so slightly. He didnât know what to expect when he saw what was under that mask but it wasnât something that was as close to a real Cybertronian femme as he had seen in eons.
Cybertronian femmes were rare during the war, most of them fled off world and met horrible fates or disappeared without a trace. The rest joined the Autobot cause, with a few frighteningly unstable exceptions. His gaze lingered on the frown that was set in the malleable metal mesh of your faceplate. How the humans were able to come up with technology like this was beyond him. Though it sent an uncomfortable shiver up his spinal strut. It was unnerving. He started when you finally spoke again.
âThen it must have been Megatron. Iâm not deaf. I heard him threaten you.â Speaking so boldly was also a risk but you had to know. Something about the way he held himself. The way he had tried to get you away from that awful scientist back on the Nemesis. You felt like you owed him your life. An uncomfortable feeling when it came from the enemy.
His lip twitched and he refused to answer. Instead choosing to deflect the question with one of his own. âWhat the scrap are you doing out here in the woods alone. You were in bad shape when I last saw you.â His voice was harsh and there was a staticky edge to it. Perhaps a nervous tell.
âI could ask the same of you. I thought Decepticons didnât venture to the surface. Something about it being âcontaminated by the native lifeâ or something.â You almost smiled at the affronted look he gave you.
As if he, the second in command of the Decepticon army would be scared of a few squishy humans. Slowly, you reach into a compartment on your side that contained a field medical kit. Inside you knew you had at least a couple of welding rods and a field welding torch.
âIf you want, I could help you with the welding on your wing. You are still leaking energon. It couldnât have felt good to fly like that.â
Extending your servo with the tools, you try to look as sympathetic as possible. âYou helped me. Iâm still functioning because of you and I owe you for that.â You splay your free servo over the chest of your mech. Over the tiny body hidden inside.
He looked at you with a mix of disgust and offense at the mere thought of your human made servos on his wing. He sputtered trying to get the words out for a moment. His vocalizer betraying him. You held up a hand and that silenced him surprisingly. âPlease let me do this. Weâd be even. They have no idea you tried to help me.â
Starscreamâs curiosity was the only thing that made him slowly close his intake and nod. His denta set as he slowly lowered his weapons. He knew he wouldnât be able to make the flight back to the nemesis without help. This was the first time in quite awhile anyone had asked to help him outright. It had been even longer since he allowed anyone to help him without lashing out. You smile and gesture for him to follow you to a fallen tree not too far along the edge of the water. There was just enough daylight left that you could probably get most of the welding done before the sun set.
âNo tricks human. Even with that machine you are soft. I wonât hesitate to offline a femme.â He growled as he begrudgingly settled himself down on the tree.
You notice him watching your every move, frame tense as if he expected you to take that torch and use it for more sinister purposes. You vent softly and move around behind him to look at his wing. This close to him, you feel a staticky tingle that runs through seemingly every energon line of your frame. You shudder. You could feel his agitation, fear, and apprehension. But there was a hint of something else there. A feeling you couldnât quite place. Something akin to curiosity. You shake your helm and try to focus on assessing the damage.
There were a few gaps in his weld lines that still leaked a bit of energon. You knew the mesh beneath contains many pain receptors. It was shredded at the joint and the tender mesh exposed. You cringed as you ran your optics over the crumpled mess. Of course heâd tried to fix it himself if Megatron was the one who did this to him. Heâd probably done it to humiliate him. Reaching out a careful servo you go to brush a digit along one of the weld lines. As soon as your digit makes contact he flinches. His other wing twitching and you feel a wave of embarrassment and rage through his EM field.
âI donât have all night Autobot are you going to get on with it or not!â He snapped trying to hide the fact that heâd had such a dramatic reaction to the contact.
You bite back a stinging retort and reach into the container at your side for a welding rod. You realize with a feeling of dread that you donât have any nerve dampeners on you. Nothing like an EM pulse emitter that could nullify the pain being caused by the fresh welds. You chew your lip for a moment and speak. âI donât have anything to help with the pain. Will you be alright?â
He doesnât respond. Only nodding, giving you to go ahead to continue. You take a deep vent in. If he had done this earlier on his own, he must not have had anything to numb the pain then either. Bracing yourself with one ped on the ground and the other against the fallen tree, you place one servo between his wings and use the other to unset the welds heâd placed. Flicking down your visor against the blinding torch, you set to work. Once you began, he made no sound to indicate he was in pain.
Only the groan of strained metal could be heard as he clenched his fists against the white hot flame of the torch. You worked quickly, wanting this to be over just as much as he probably did. After unsetting the welds, you worked quickly to right them once again. This time taking care to align the joint properly and seal any severed lines. His uninjured wing trembled a couple times but otherwise he remained still.
Once you had finished you stood upright and flicked your visor back up to look at your work. It wasnât as good as a medic could have done but you were the best in your class at field medicine. These welds would hold and his wing was on straight this time. You cross your arms over your chassis, proud of your work. âAll finished. And the sun hasnât even set yet.â
Pastel pinks and oranges had begun to fill the watercolor sky. Still he didnât move. You cocked your head to the side suddenly concerned. Reaching out a servo you rest it in the middle of his back between his wings and feel him lean ever so slightly into that touch before he catches himself. Flinching abruptly away he stands and whirls on you. âYouâve already touched me enough insect. Iâm fine.â
His EM field flared with that unidentifiable emotion once again. You stepped back palms up to show you didnât mean to overstep. âSorry didnât mean to.â You mumble not knowing what exactly you were apologizing for. You had comforted Bee in a similar way once when he was seriously injured after a fight. The little scout seemed grateful for the gesture and you thought he might need something like that as well. Clearly not. You huffed out an annoyed vent. So much for him being grateful. At least you had made it through the entire process without him using those twin null rays to blast you back to the state you were born in.
He wouldnât look you in the optics. His pride probably so thoroughly squashed for the day that he couldnât possibly take another embarrassment.
âThere. We are even.â Were the only words he spoke as he whirled around and stalked off. Transforming and taking off over the lake a few paces down. He wasnât trailing that awful black smoke anymore and his wing seemed to be holding. You hadnât realized just how stiff youâd been holding your posture as you finally relax. His alt mode disappeared on the horizon, not knowing just how close he had come to discovering the Autobot base.
Emptiness Machine
Author note: Hey everyone Iâm so so sorry itâs been so long. This has been the worst three weeks of my life. Currently staying with my dad and having to see what exactly happens going forward. That aside please enjoy chapter 9 of emptiness machine! And thank you for your patience. â¤ď¸
The crushing hug the scout had you in nearly cracked the brand new welds that had been used to repair you. You chuckle as he finally lets go but keeps a servo wrapped around the arm of your mech. The other bot, Ironhide, waved at the two of you from the door.
âCâmon we ainât got time for tearful hellos. The others are guarding the open spacebridge as we speak.â
He starts out the door and bee goes to pull you along with him. The restraints that Starscream had ordered the drones to place on you were still binding your wrists. You awkwardly stumble along letting him guide you through the smoke. He and Ironhide had done quite a number on the drones through this hallway. you smile a little knowing later you would congratulate them on their victory. After turning down a few more hallways, you join up with the lambo twins and Hound. They urge you forward and through the last set of blast doors. The scene that awaited you was straight out of a science fiction comic book. Optimus himself stood in front of the open space bridge locked in hand to hand combat with Megatron.
Optimus swung his axe missing Megatronâs helm by mere inches. The Decepticon leader taking the opportunity to drive his energy blade up just missing vital energon lines running through his opponentâs neck. The prime countered, his joints straining as he swung the heavy weapon down in a brutal arc. Megatron sidestepped just in time to watch the axe slamming into the ground with a deafening thud, sending up a spray of sparks.
Before the axe could be pulled back, Megatron darted in, his energy blade flashing in the dim light, a precise thrust aimed at his opponentâs chassis. Optimus twisted, deflecting the strike with a swift, brutal swipe of his axe. Megatronâs blade grazed his plating, but he barely flinched.
There were scowls on their faces as they circled each other, each waiting for an opening to strike. Optimus growled deep in his frame, lunging forward again, his weapon whistling through the air. His opponent narrowly avoiding the strike. The energy blade was raised just in time, blocking the blow but the sheer force of it drove him to his knees. With a growl of fury, Megatron pushed back, rolling aside, narrowly avoiding a second strike.
He sprang to his feet, his blade now a blur as he countered with a series of fast, slashing attacks.The two bots locked optics, and in a flash, they were upon each other again, weapons clashing in a deafening frenzy of power and precision, each driven by eons of war and the raw need to destroy one another.
This wasnât a fight Optimus was trying to win. As you look closer, you see the Autobot leader carefully leading Megatron to the opposite side of the room from the portal. An effective strategy and flawless distraction. Using his own fury against him. You canât help but smile a bit as Bee tugs on your arm, pulling you towards the portal. Ironhide and the twins had already gone through and Hound was right on their aft. No one wanted to stick around while the two big shots had it out. Letting the scout lead you forward you brace for the dizzying swirl of noise and light before disappearing behind the rest of the team.
As you come out on the other side, you see the familiar sight of the launch bay. Right behind you, a heavy ped step announces the arrival of Optimus. Heâs clutching a fresh wound on his shoulder, but other than that he seems fine. Relief and exhaustion grip you and your knees buckle beneath you. Bumblebee luckily still has his digits locked around your wrist and catches you as you lean forward. His worried tone faded to a deafening ringing sound as your optics white out.
When you wake hours later, you expect to be disconnected from your mech. Instead, you are laid out still connected to your machine on one of the medical berths Ratchet uses to treat injured Autobot. Your chassis is open, exposing your real body. Tubes and energon lines are connected at various points around your frame. Blinding white light from above you makes you blink a few times, trying to adjust your optics to the harsh glow. From the cockpit of your mech, a familiar voice mumbles.
âSheâs awake. Seraphim can you hear me?â Dr. Antonovâs voice was muffled by the layers of plating and wires he was behind.
You groan in response and he moves to be closer to your helm. You turn and train him with golden optics. âDr. Antonov. Itâs good to see you. IsâŚeverything alright?â
The doctor stayed shut away in his lab most days. After years of working for the government, he had finally retired. He was promptly brought back for the express purpose of finishing his research on Cybertronian biology after first contact. He was a kind man, albeit a bit odd and antisocial. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled up at you. His greying, dark hair a mess as it usually was.
âYouâve had quite an ordeal havenât you Sera? Honestly I was surprised we got you back in one piece! Given how Prime had described the Decepticons.â He reached out and patted the side of your helm gently. You look back at your open chassis.
âDoctor, why havenât I been disconnected?â as you asked this, his smile faded. He looked his age once again as he turned slowly to walk back to where he had been.
âSomething is interfering with your ability to disconnect from the Seraphim frame. If we try to sever the connection in this stateâŚyour consciousness could be lost.â
Before you could process his words, you hear shouting outside the door. Muffled voices and sounds of a struggle could be heard. Two bots were arguing.
âYou better let me in old timer before I let myself in.â
âSheâs just waking up, we donât want to overwhelm her with company. Besides, we donât know if the doctor has broken the news to herââ
The bot guarding the door was cut off as the other shoved his was into the med-bay. The giant metal door slid open and quick ped steps announced the arrival of a very worried and fussy friend.
â˘â˘â˘
âYou absolute failure! I cannot believe you allowed Optimus Prime and his lackeys to bridge directly onto the flight deck of my ship!â Megatron sent a devastating kick into the side of the kneeling figure before him. It sent the bot jolting to the side, nearly purging his tanks from the force of the blow. Venting rapidly, Starscream tries to re-align his vocal apparatus to speak.
âLord Megatron! Please I was interrogating the prisoner! Didnât you want the valuable information she was carrying?â Another blow to the helm as he bowed low, trying to appease his leaderâs anger. Dizzy and disoriented he tried to right himself, only to be grabbed by a wing and flung across the room. There was a sickening crunch as his wing dislocated and hung useless by a few cables. His body hit the opposite wall and he landed in a heap unmoving. The gathered Decepticons seemed to flinch in unison as the Warlord stalked towards the seeker.
âStarscream you imbecile. I told you to take care of it. Didnât I? I wanted that thing offline! It had no such intel to give you. It was taking you for the fool you are! And now Optimus prime has ground bridge coordinates for the flight deck of the Nemesis!â He reached out a clawed servo and grabbed the seeker around the throat. Lifting him off of his peds. Starscream sputtered but couldnât get the words out. Energon leaked from the split in the mesh of his lip where Megatron had landed a solid blow earlier. He bared his denta at his leader and scrabbled at the grip around his throat as Megatron squeezed. Starscreamâs optics flickered as he was about to lose consciousness. A calm and steady voice interrupted the two.
âLord Megatron if I may, the abomination did in fact possess coordinates for other energon mines. Isnât that correct Soundwave?â Shockwaveâs even tone despite the mauling of his second in command, made Megatron pause.
He growled and dropped the body of the seeker and he crumpled into a heap on the floor. Turning his attention to a very uncomfortable looking Soundwave, Megatron began to stalk over looking eerily calm. As he approached Soundwave produced a small disk. One he had hoped to keep hidden for his own research. But Shockwave had seen him downloading the information from the prisoner. He handed it over, there was no information on the location of the base of operations for their enemy, however, the location of half a dozen energon mines wasnât bad intel at all.
While Megatron was discussing the new intel with Shockwave, Starscream winced as he hauled himself up. This wasnât the first time his leader had taken out a defeat on his frame. He gritted his denta against the pain and limped painfully out. He needed to be away from here. Anywhere but here before panic gripped him once again. He felt his spark start to spin faster as he hobbled to his habisuite to do his own repairs.