Ep. 2 - Forge the Shackles - (Closed)

[Deleted]

Amused, Wheeljack eyed up the aerial as directed when the mech started to downtalk himself. He didn't look like much, to be honest, aside from those scars. But this conversation had made it more than abundantly clear to Wheeljack that the mech was anything but. He knew a lot, he knew far more than he should and in the Wrecker's mind, that made him a lot more dangerous than if Deuce's mass was 95% rocket launchers. As much as Wheeljack preferred and enjoyed the much simpler world of the Wreckers where brawn, gusto and sheer overwhelming firepower was valued more than any form of subtlety, he was not so detached from his roots that he'd forgotten that knowledge tended to be a much better form of power.

Though ultimately it was always so much more satisfying dealing with your problems with a few well-placed grenades.

"Doing the jobs sensible bots would stay away from, that what the Wreckers do," Wheeljack commented agreeably. "You've come to the right Bot if you want someone to go toe to toe with a Con front-liner and to be honest, that's a rematch I'd have looked forward to, with or without this business to take care of. Speaking of which, I don't think I've ever seen a Seeker frame modified like that. Didn't know they built them that bulky or big."

As Deuce laid out the details of their next rendezvous, Wheeljack wandered back over to his ship. "Any other requests while you've got me out here?" he inquired lazily. "Maybe a space-bridge or a transmitter so you can phone home Cybertron. You know, just the small and simple stuff."

[Deleted]

Deuce burst out laughing.

"No! No, I'm good," he chuckled. He peaceably held up his hands. "Me, with a space bridge! Wouldn't that be sweet? Maybe one day. I can dream, can't I?"

Grinning, he scratched his scarred cheek and looked the Wrecker up and down.

"Tell you what, though," he said. "You seem like a good guy. And you're doing me a major solid here. So maybe I can toss a a couple of helpful little bits of advice your way to help even out my debt. Maybe they'll be useful to you, maybe not - I dunno, maybe they won't even concern you at all. But what the hell, eh? It's no skin off my wings."

Deuce held up one finger.

"You seem to be working independently of the Autobots right now, and believe me, I know how dangerous living alone can be," he said. "So this is just a friendly warning from one blues traveller to another: if you happen to take your ship across the Atlantic and fly over the British Isles, stay away from Scotland for a while. I've gotten word that something nasty lingers there. Dunno what it is yet, but I'll keep my ear to the ground. And secondly-"

He held up a second finger in a V sign and smiled.

"Keep an eye out for any green stars during your travels, would you? As far as I'm concerned, a green star in the sky is a bad omen. Maybe that's just me being superstitious. But I've seen a number of them lately, and they've got me worried. Something weird is going on up there. So take that warning as you will."

[Deleted]

It seemed even though Wheeljack had left the Omega base, he was not free of mecha admonishing him to be careful. Though honestly, Wheeljack couldn't recall ever been given such odd warnings nor from a mech as odd as the neutral he was dealing with.

Green stars? Something is up in Scotland?

Wheeljack had no idea what Deuce could possibly mean by green stars. Scotland on the other hand was much more understandable and accessible.

And if there was one thing Wheeljack couldn't leave well alone, it was such a blatant mystery like that. Wreckers ran forward when there was danger, not away. Deuce might have been trying to give a friendly warning but all he'd done was wrack up Wheeljack's curiosity. Something to look up, maybe, when this business with Skywarp was concluded.

Despite himself, Wheeljack snorted. Hadn't it been not so long ago when Ratchet had admonished him to look after himself and to keep out of trouble. The Wrecker had made no promises after all.

Speaking of Ratchet and nasty things that linger…

"Thanks for the warning," he said. "I'll stay away from Scotland then" -for the next forty eight hours, maybe- "And keep an optic out for...on the sky." Wheeljack couldn't help the incredulity that slid into his voice there. He gazed curiously at Deuce for a moment. Technically, there weren't any true green stars, it was only an optical illusion that made them appear green to the observer. Which just made the mech's warning all the more puzzling...

"I'll add a few of my own, though I have a feeling a mech like yourself might already be in the know," the Wrecker added. "If you're going to be hanging around North America, watch out for MECH. 's a rogue human military outfit with a rather macabre interest in collecting Cybertronians. As far as we can tell, they're only operating on this continent, but as we've come to learn, I wouldn't put anything past them."

A memory of finding Air Raid -fighting Air Raid- rose up in his mind and he eyed Deuce, weighing up the cost whether this was a piece of intel he should pass on. It was valuable and probably classified, he'd never really checked with Prime but, all the same, it was something Wheeljack felt shouldn't be kept secret, regardless of faction or lack thereof. MECH was a threat to all Cybertronians and they would not distinguish whether they targeted Autobots or Decepticons or Cybertronians that had nothing to do with the war at all.

And maybe, by letting Deuce have this, the mech might offer up something that could be useful in helping Air Raid. He really seemed to hear the oddest things.

"We found out the hard way that MECH knows enough cyberbiology to render a Cybertronian's brain module completely inactive thus allowing them to take control of the frame," Wheeljack smiled grimly. "And perhaps the more concerning part is that undoing the damage is no easy fix. Right now, all we have is a lot of questions but no answers on how to repair the victim."

[Deleted]

Deuce quickly sobered.

“MECH has actually managed to gain enough understanding of the Cybertronian brain module to manipulate it to that extent?” he said. “That’s – troubling. Almost sounds as if they’ve managed to get a hold of one to study, doesn’t it?”

He gave Wheeljack a meaningful look before wandering back and forth a few strides in a pensive manner, his hands folded behind his back in thought.

“I’m no neuroscientist, so I’m afraid I can’t be of much help in this matter,” he said. “I haven't personally heard of a way to repair the kind of brain damage you’re talking about, but I have connections who might have. If I learn of anything that might be of interest to you regarding MECH and their experiments, I can certainly pass it on your way. I don't like the idea of MECH being able to create brain–dead zombies any more than you Autobots do.”

Deuce looked back at Wheeljack and smiled grimly. “That work for you?”

[Deleted]

Wheeljack gave a satisfied nod. It had been a long shot, really. MECH seemed primarily located in North America and the Wrecker hadn't really heard of any neutral activity on the continent. That one of them would be keeping an optic and cooperating on this matter was all hat he could expect to ask for.

"Probably be best to pass anything you find straight on to the Omega base," he rumbled agreeably. "Not a whole lot I could do with it and I'm not always in the best circumstances to be fielding random pleasure calls."

Deuce had been very fortunate that the Wrecker hadn't been tearing his way through an energon mine when he'd attempted to make contact. Reception in those places were the pits.

Wheeljack briefly contemplating checking whether Deuce knew a way to actually contact the base. The Wrecker knew the Omega base had contact with a neutral enclave somewhere in Africa but that didn't necessarily guarantee that the mech had ties to it. Wheeljack, however, didn't particularly feel like handing out Autobot codes that he may not have the authority to share.

When it came down to it, Wheeljack figured Deuce would speak up if he didn't know. And , if he didn't speak up but didn't actually know a way…

Well, Deuce was a resourceful mech. He'd figure something out.

[Deleted]

Deuce smiled.

"Omega base it is," he said. "I'll get right on my contacts and see what they can dig up for me. Any information they provide I'll pass along to the base Autobots one way or another. Through smoke signals, if I have to."

He laughed. "Luckily for me, most Autobots don't tend to shoot first and ask questions later. Most Autobots. If someone from Omega is willing to talk to me, then cooperating with them over this MECH business is in all of our best interests. And with that in mind…"

Deuce held out his hand to Wheeljack.

"Tomorrow, high noon, Great Basin desert," he said. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Wheeljack. Here's to a mutually beneficial deal. Gotta say, I'm kind of stoked to see a Wrecker in action. Can't say I've ever done so before. I was nowhere near the front lines or the kinds of shady places your black ops took you while the War was in full swing. Man. The stuff I missed out on."

[Deleted]

Wheeljack was pretty confident that any Autobot would be glad to hear whatever information Deuce could scrape together. But still-

"Ratchet and Prime would the ones to talk to," he said. His mood turned somber for a moment as he reflected upon that last visit to Ratchet before he'd left the base. "Ratchet, especially, would appreciate any information you can find. If you do find a Bot, harass them till they get you on the line with one of the higher ups, they'll listen."

His mood lifted when Deuce held out his hand, commenting how much he was looking forward to this. A pleased grin spread across Wheeljack's face, he always liked an appreciative audience for his work and skill. He clasped the offered hand briefly in a firm grip.

"I'll be there," he assured. "I'm looking forward to it. As of tomorrow, the Cons are gonna be down a Seeker."

[Deleted]

Deuce grinned.

"Me, talking to the Prime!" he chortled. "That'd be one for the books. But I'll take your advice to heart. I'm always up for an opportunity to pester the Autobots until they pay attention to meeeee. Just hopefully without gunshots."

He returned the handshake solidly and then stepped back with a salute.

"And come tomorrow, we'll be doing them a big favour," he said. "I don't think any of them will weep bitter tears if they should discover that they've got one less dangerous Decepticon to worry about. Can't say I expect any medals for it, but hey, that's not what I'm after anyway. I'll see you then, man."

Deuce smiled and lowered his hand. Dust eddied around his legs as he kicked upwards, his heel thrusters glowing. An instant later he folded up into a jet, sleek and scarred, a grey Falcon that hovered briefly before arrowing upwards with a great blast of its engine. Within seconds it had roared above the level of the drifting clouds, where it performed three beautiful vertical rolls in farewell before lazily levelling off into inverted flight. It rolled level and climbed for altitude, until it was little more than a glittering dot in the deep blue sky.

Dust gently settled around Wheeljack's feet.