[ti]Ep 2[/ti]Recruit's Arrival (Closed) (Fin)

[Javelin]

(Set day 4, week 4, 2 pm, Episode 2)

The blacktop passed easily beneath her tires as Javelin made her way down the street. She was careful to keep to the same speed as the vehicles around her, not wanting to draw attention to herself in any manner.  She was an alien here, a foreigner, not used to the ways of the indigenous species, and wanted to keep below the radar.

Where were the Autobots?

She set out another ping around her on any and all Autobot frequencies, hoping to hear a welcoming voice.  So far, all she heard was silence. Dead air.

Was it radio silence? That wasn't good.  Were the Autobots in a bad way, unable to communicate because the Decepticons were closing in?  Should she be worried?  There was no way to help if she didn't know what was going on.

Were they....Primus, were they all gone now? Destroyed? What had happened since she heard the call?

No. No surely it was just....

The Neutral planet she had purchased a space bridge from hadn't been very....precise.  She had been unceremoniously dropped off next to a rather high cliff, and after setting one foot onto the new world, had stepped into empty air and toppled.  The fall hadn't been that far for her - a few dings and bumps, but she worried she had knocked something loose inside and just couldn't hear anything on the Autobot frequency.  

She moved into another lane, trying to blend in.  She hoped no one really saw through her tinted windows. After noticing all the machines here only seemed to move once the native species were inside, she attempted to create something that looked like a human.  She wasn't sure how it came out, and worried it was fuzzy - another possible something-or-other knocked loose.

Finding a row of vehicles in a somewhat empty parking lot, Javelin backed in, keeping low, and send out another broadcast on the Autobot frequency, in a growing sense of desperation.

::This is Autobot Javelin, recently arrived to Earth. I'm seeking Optimus Prime and the other Autobots. I'm surrounded by the native species, attempting to keep a low profile. Desperately requesting contact.::

She waited.

An hour passed.

Then another.

Starting to grow more and more uneasy, she pulled out from the parking space, and headed back to the streets.  Traffic started to pick up a little, and there were more and more humans now, walking around.  Javelin started to get twitchy. Someone was going to see her fuzzy hologram.

Deciding to leave the city proper behind, she headed outwards towards the edge of the city.  That would give her more room to move, and keep preying eyes away from her.

Slipping easily into and out of the traffic, she started to feel calmer as the traffic thinned out, and soon she left the majority of everything behind.  The open road felt better to her, her tires humming smoothly on the tarmac, the hot desert air soothing against her mesh.

Javelin send out another ping, a voiceless signal, hoping someone out there could pick up her location.  After that, she attempted another audio cast.

::This is Autobot Javelin, seeking Optimus Prime and the Autobots here on Earth.  Seeking contact. I do not think I am receiving any broadcasts due to possible damage.  I have left the human city and am currently moving south at these coordinates.::

Javelin sent out her current coordinates, praying someone was listening.  She knew night would be along shortly, and although hunkering down on an alien planet and hiding from Decepticons in the dark wasn't completely new to her, she certainly didn't relish the prospect.

"Come on, guys, someone has to be monitoring the airwaves."

[Soundwave]

Someone was.




There were some things in this world that were constants, things that could be relied upon, and counted on, things that happened in one way or another, hinged upon nothing but the passage of time. It could occur quickly, a misstep, a mistake, actions of a careless individual, or it could happen far later, but the point was, that none could remain hidden forever. Comfort, recklessness, or a need to breach the confines of home for pure survival... it created a vulnerability, one that shaped and blotted out a map to where the Omega Outpost lay.

It was in Nevada, that much was known as fact. There was very little that could be presented to persuade otherwise. There were military outposts scattered around, ample expanses of wilderness and barren desert. There were sprinkled populations that all centralized around Las Vegas as a hub, creating multiple blind spots where the native life forms were preoccupied elsewhere. A skirmish here or there, a fight, a wayward broadcast... The most important thing however, was the human pets. The trio of children all lived within an allocated radius of a schooling establishment.

It all pointed to a very specific area.

An area that was monitored rather well.

Javelin's cries for help were not being ignored, on the contrary they were being monitored extensively the very second that she exited the Ground Bridge and started broadcasting. Each cry, each call for assistance, a ping on a map that tallied a course that painted red smears to confirm where the Autobots were not located. If she had received a comm back, if she was responded to, then chances are her course would divert abruptly having been given new directions, or she would just stop broadcasting altogether on so many channels. Calculating the average distance a personal comm can go, and offering some leeway to accommodate an individual's personal capability, and she was doing ample work for the Decepticon cause.

There was a truce however.

The truce meant many things, but just with any contract and any agreement, there were loopholes to be exploited. While Soundwave was meant to technically suspend the active hunt for the Omega Outpost, focusing his abilities and effort on finding MECH facilities, it didn’t mean that he couldn't log down information while he flew over to the location. Ignore the fact that he could have Space Bridged to the appointed zone and saved a few hours of active flight. Ignore the fact that he intentionally flew under his own power just to stall and give her more time to further map the landscape on his behalf.

High in the air above Javelin, a dark form soared silently. There was no roar of an engine, or a snarl of a jet ripping past, instead there was just a slow hiss of wind being cut through at high altitude. It lurked not unlike a vulture, flying at a slow speed to keep pace with the tiny vehicle far down below that wove through the Nevada wilderness, observing, and monitoring her progress. It was only upon getting in sync with the Autobot, that Soundwave finally made his presence known.

A light ping was sent in the femme's direction, a gentle nudge of a relay to confirm that she was finally heard and that she was not being ignored. It consisted of just a single glyph, a notifyer, simple confirmation, nothing between the lines nor detailing any further. The sender however held no signature or recognizable call, leaving it a vast unknown for the moment, still leaving her in the dark. That is... unless Javelin decided to evaluate the clear skies above, and happened to realize she was no longer alone.

[Javelin]

The road passed along smoothly, and Javelin took a few moments from her steady search to really take a good look around. The place she was in was rather pretty, really. The rock was a nice reddish orange, and with the single sun starting to move towards the horizon, the reddish tint was getting stronger. Browns, oranges, reds...she found it somewhat similar to other planets she had been on. The sky wasn't blue like that, of course but -

Ping

She almost hit the brakes for a second, caught completely off guard with the unexpected signal. Finally!

She slowed, waiting for further response, but after several seconds passed, she realized none was forthcoming.

That was weird.

She was on an abandoned highway, but following a hunch, she continued to move ahead until she found what she was looking for; a series of canyons and jutting rocky outcrops to the right. Javelin carefully eased off the road - her undercarriage really wasn't made for off-roading and she bounced and shimmied slightly, wincing as rocks glanced off her metal as she moved towards the canyon. A pume of dust rose up behind her, but she kept her movement slow so as not to make too much of an announcement.

Finally reaching the first outcropping of stone, she made a quick check around, and transformed.

Upright on her peds, she placed her servos to the small of her back and stretched, grimacing a little in savage glee as her spine made protesting crackling sounds. Far too many breems in her alt-mode and she felt stiff. She shook out her shoulders and arms, giving each leg a kick to get her fluids flowing properly again, then she took stock.

Still no reply from whoever had pinged her. No homing signal, nothing. She looked around. There was no traffic, no dust save the little she had thrown up.

Empty.

Nothing in either quadrant, that leaves...up?

Javelin shaded her optics with a hand to prevent glare, and scanned the sky above her. The sky was an amazing blue. She had an enhanced ability to look for patterns, though looking deeply almost took her offline in regards to being alert...but a simple scanning wouldn't take that much -

There.

Something small, and black.

Irises in her optics rotated, bringing the object in for a closer view. Though it was high, she could see a few things that gave her infomation.

It wasn't flapping, and it's course was steady. That ruled out any biologic native lifeforms. She could see the glint of sunlight on it's side, meaning it was metallic. So...that left three options.

Human. Ours. Or theirs.

If it was Human, there was nothing she could do. If it was Autobot, she assumed it would give her more than a simple acknowledgement ping. Which made her think Decepticon.

Javelin grimaced. Perfect. Less than a day here, and already trouble.

She cast a look behind her, noticing some of the deeper parts of the canyon were already starting to take on shadow. With a grin, she removed the energy bow from her back, and turning, slipped down into the canyon proper, moving towards one of the deeper shadows. Night would soon fall, and she'd be more in her element.

Let's see if the 'Con wanted to play.

[Soundwave]

A falter... some slowing... despite not receiving a response back on the same channel it was obvious that she had heard the acknowledgment and was changing course now, her path leading her in the direction of rougher terrain. If this had been a time of active warfare still, and the Truce was not clipping the wings of advancement, this situation would have been far different. To be honest, Javelin would not have had the opportunity to have made it to said shelter at all, Troopers deposited to cut her off and cut her down... that is... unless she continued to be invaluable help to finding the Omega Outpost, then she would not have even been confronted at all.

Alas, times were different, and the bit of information that could be received had been. It was time to take action and actually guide this lost sheep back to the fold. Granted, that also was a benefit to the Decepticons, for this would be one more mouth to feed, one more set of weapons to fuel, and one more drain on resources that Soundwave knew had to be running tight. To be frank, everything about this femme's arrival spoke of another burden for the Autobots, especially since it didn’t look like she had any mining skills to help them harvest their fuel.

With a gentle incline, and a steady descent, Soundwave made his way down to the topmost point of the modest canyon, transforming once within reasonable distance. A shift of armor, large plates locking into new configurations, the action was over in a blink, leaving a slender Cybertronian that landed roughly on the rocky ledge with an unfittingly light bang. He stood hunched for a moment, forearms curled and hooked in front of him until the momentum had appropriately bled away, allowing him to straighten out and stand tall with arms sloping down to either side gracefully. Each arm held the Decepticon emblem at the shoulder joint that shone with a dulled charcoal finish.

This war was long and grueling; there were many pawns and pieces that flowed in and out of the game on the regular. Faces can be blurs, individuals just fodder to the war machine, but a few individuals stood out as icons, names to be feared and known by reputation alone. For the Autobots, the Prime was the largest name of course, even those who followed his cause and never got to see their leader in person knew what he looked like and could pick out his voice. The same could be said for Megatron, sight alone drawing fear to Con and Bot alike. However those that work below the top figures could also be as notable, their reputations spreading far. Soundwave was one of them for those that kept tabs on some of the darker corners of the limelight. But even if this femme did not recognize the Decepticon Third in Command, the fact that his entire helm almost vaguely resembled the Decepticon emblem itself could be a rather notable tell to their devotion.

Rocky outcroppings, deep ravines, this portion of the wilderness must have dipped lower than others millennia ago to cause so many trenches to be scored and cut through the landscape by erosion. It wove and curled, leaving larger platforms and exposing layers of stone that ran through the rusted rocks with streaks of cream and orange. Brambled shrubbery clutched desperately to the sides, reaching up towards the sun above that was now dipping down upon the horizon line making one edge of the sky bleach out and start to slide towards pink tones. As Javelin moved, a small rabbit got spooked out from its refuge, the tiny animal darting away and leaping through the dry shrubs with a rustle, its small white tail a cry for surrender.

Soundwave's helm turned slowly over the terrain, knowing that any war honed Cybertronian could have ended up in varied points at this trench where he could not actively see at the moment. However, he was willing to put a bit of faith that he knew exactly where she was at this time, his frame angling itself to face in that direction while still being alert to everywhere else.

With no prompting, there was a crackle from the Cybertronian, before the once black screen that acted as his faceplate lit up with a simple graphic. It was a series of thin lines running horizontal, lines that started to bounce and jitter up and down as a recording was played out loud enough that he assumed the Autobot could hear.

/̧̛̕/̨́Contacting all Autobots. From this point onward, till deemed otherwise, a truce has been garnered between Autobot and Decepticon kind/̵̡/̶̶̢͞

Speaking of icons and individuals of note, chances are Javelin would easily recognize the low baritone of the last Prime despite the crackle of static and mild filter that it had passed through with this projection. Optimus' words held power behind them, decisive action that told others that there would be no arguing with his choice that day. The question was if the small Cybertronian would recognize it as truth.

[Javelin]

The sun trekked it's horribly slow journey across the sky, as the small scout hid in the shadows, watching the play of light on the rock.

Javelin was hunched in the shadows, keeping herself as small as possible, her eyes fixated on the black dot as it suddenly dropped into a gentle incline and approached. She tightened her grip on her bow, slowly wrapping and unwrapping her fingers on the grip.

She watched as it transformed, standing on a rocky outcropping, her eyes moving quickly, looking for any weapon it had drawn. It was dark, and jutted against the blue sky as starkly as a dead tree, almost painful to look at, all sharp angles and savage lines.

Nothing.

She brought her other hand to her bow, and the bow jumped almost silently to life, only a faintest hum as both string and arrow formed of energy. Shifting faintly, getting ready to raise and fire should the need arise....and of course it would arise, that was a Decepticon, she was sure of it!

It was awkward-looking, and ugly, that was for certain, with those long spindly arms, and legs, and that weird...

Wait.

That face.

Her spark gave a slight lurch as she felt a surge of panic.

Oh scrap. Aw come on, really? Soundwave? HE'S here?

Her mind started to race. What was she supposed to do? She had never faced that one, had only heard horror stories about him. After Megatron and Shockwave, Soundwave gave her the deep shivers, and she always thanked Primus the likelihood she would ever actually face Soundwave was nonexistant.

She was really, really starting to hate this planet.

Ok Jav, choices. Shoot and run? Don't shoot and run? Is running an option? How slagging fast is this guy?

Her bow still vibrating silently in her hand, she looked down at it, and gently released it, watching as the string and arrow vanished. It was very unlikely she'd get a shot in now, he clearly knew she was there, was practically looking in her direction. So running would be-

She fell silent when she heard Optimus Prime's voice echo out over the canyon. For a brief second, she felt a burst of joy. Prime! Prime was there! He'd...

TRUCE!?

She shifted again, literally trying to make sense of what she was hearing. A truce? With the 'Cons? That was...there was no way....how on Cybertron...

Could Soundwave copy someone's voice that perfectly, though? Javelin had an ear for sound, and that was definitely Prime, it was hitting all the right wavelengths, even in that recording.

Javelin chewed her lower lip for a minute. Well, she could stay hunched here like an idiot, or stand up. Besides, if that was Soundwave out there, and not some insane wanna-be, he could just come down and attack anyway, so....

After what probably seemed to the Decepticon a painful length of time, the scout stood up into sight. She still clutched her bow, but no arrow was nocked - not yet.

"Alright, fine. I believe you. For now. Truce." She squinted up towards Soundwave, waiting for the 'Con to make the next move, either attack, or talk.

Or just up and leave, she wouldn't put it past him, from what she had heard.

[Soundwave]

Patience was everything.

Soundwave knew the Truce was a difficult thing for many individuals to grasp. Some Decepticons on the ship still didn't want to believe it was a thing despite seeing the outcome and hearing it in person. Granted, they were smart enough to not act out of line to break the parameters set by the Warlord, but they seemed to want to remain in oblivious ignorance over the situation rather than face reality head on. It is because of this fact the navy mech was in no rush to get a response, and simply stayed put on his perch not unlike a statue.

While he was not moving around much, not turning his helm side to side to look over the landscape and hunt, he was scanning; keeping note of anything that could be amiss, while also keeping tabs on the horizon line in the far distance. Glints of light, a fleck of metal, anything that would betray something that needed to be noted and responded to. Distant threats could at times be far more deadly than anything that was nearby, a fact he kept mindful of.

Finally however, she spoke, her voice cutting between the silence like a blade and drawing his attention to her exact location. In a way, Soundwave was suppressed she had taken it as well as she had, expecting more of a fight, or expecting a cocky response of some kind that was laced with arrogance. He would not have put it past her to bark out something akin to 'and you expect me to believe that Con!?' followed by gunfire, yet there was none. This was convenient, and worked in his favor, not needing to deal with further idiocy.

When Javelin stood up, Soundwave's helm crooked in her direction to focus down at her, his frame angling the small amount further to face her. He was close with his above guesses, and now he had a chance to actually evaluate what he was looking at better.

Small, modest sized, holding an unconventional weapon which could be the crux of her survival. Novelty weapons that individuals master could be a great boon in combat, catching people off guard and making them second guess how to appropriately counter. They tended to take longer to fire though, bows always did, among numerous other flaws of note that made the weapon no concern to Soundwave past a cursory glance.

He had dealt with them before.

After a moment of consideration, Soundwave turned with fluid movement and started a calm walk along the ridge of rock to a lower point. Each step was calculated and at ease, a softer tap and crackle against the grit that speckled the lower points of the landscape. He maneuvered himself in the direction of one of the slopes that lead down into the ravine, but he did not start down one. Instead, he stopped at the top, helm turned in her direction.

Waiting.

[Javelin]

Javelin watched Soundwave, ready to fire should he launch himself in her direction, or raise a weapon to shoot, or..well...anything, really. All her instincts were screaming to shoot, raise her weapon and shoot, try to incapacitate him and bolt, get somewhere to huddle down in the shadows and wait for nightfall. Night was always her friend, her dark blue colors helped her blend in.

Her ears were open for any sounds that might indicate anything about to happen; running footsteps indicating an attack from the side while he had her attention, the hum of an energy weapon, the sound of a missile being fired. Anything that might give her the slightest chance of survival, that one extra second. One second had saved her life before, she'd take anything she could get.

She looked up at him as he looked down, and suppressed a shiver. That face....or lack of.

Javelin always tried to read people, to see what they were thinking, about to do. She always found Cybertronians that had no face as she knew the word always freaked her out. She understood most had no choice, some had had their faces removed through empurata, but it still gave her the creeping horrors. She knew Soundwave didn't fall into that category, but still....no face....brrr.

She blinked as he turned, and started walking away. Well, that was one thing solved, she supposed.

Javelin listened to the sounds of his feet, tapping and crackling as he went. Good riddance.

Her spark fell a little as he turned and looked back at her.

She shifted her weight from one ped to another. Great. He wanted her to follow him. Like that was a good idea. Stranger danger indeed.

Trying to force down the massive amounts of unease that were coursing through her system, she attempted to speak bravely, "Alright. Lead on. But I warn you, don't play me false or..."

Mentally cringing at how badly that came out - it could only have been worse if she had actually squeaked the words, she started to follow.

Angling her way along side him, looking up at him as he made his way towards the slope, she constantly kept him in her sights as she moved along, keeping as much of a distance between them as possible. His arms were unnaturally long and she figured he had one hell of a reach.

"Truce. Why is there a truce? Any recordings in that head of yours you can play to tell me that?"

Easy Javelin, easy....

[Soundwave]

Threats.

Cute.

The glossy black visor of the mech's face stared back absently at her final question, the femme's reflection and surrounding area shining off the glass to stare back at her. Soundwave considered what she was asking for with care, and how to convey months of experience and torture for individuals in a few fleeting moments. After this pause, he dipped forward slightly. The lean was gentle, and controlled, not abrupt. He was not pushing close to eliminate the gap between them, but he did need her to see what he wanted. With that, his visor illuminated once again, but this time it wasn't with a sound file, but instead images.

A small wireframe formed, displaying a human's standard outline. It was simplistic, no sharp angles of armor or pronounced joints like a Cybertronian build, almost sleek compared to their kind, and oddly simple. Beside this were height indicators and informational glyphs that told the species name and some broad sweeping information how it was organic derived. The information beside it wasn’t truly important, the point was that these were the native inhabitants, and set the framework enough for the next image to make more sense.

The screen cut away abruptly, to show a view of a large room from security feeds. Choppy video, rough, low frames per second, but that didn't really matter. What mattered were the contents, and the crackled sounds that rang out from it.

It showed a workshop, large and clean with concrete floors and ample flat surfaces that held mechanics and tools scattered about. Crane like devices hung on tracks that lined the ceilings, one barely within the camera's eye lowering shrapnel and large pieces of metal that weren't readily discernible from the poor resolution. What was more important was the center of the image, where what appeared to be a Vehicon lay secured down to a raised support structure.

Sharp beams, angled bars, a latticework kept the Cybertronian suspended enough so that workers could maneuver beneath its frame with no obstruction. These individuals were scattered around, two standing at the secured trooper's side, looking down, while a third was nearly invisible just beneath. A lone scientist rested to the left, looking at a monitor that’s contents were too blurry to discern.

Sparks rained out from where the trio of humans worked, gold and red splattering down to the ground in sharp pulses that caused shadows to dance and jitter in anger. These sparks were paired with the screaming sound of a high powered saw that ripped through the video feed, the noise grating and awful as the blade cut into varied metal types to hiccup and lurch and crunch. This sound could be considered bad enough, but the Vehicon was not exactly cooperative, their cries ringing out, hands flexing, frame lurching, trying to maneuver and twist away, but not being able to do so. Anguish lanced through their yells, a visceral near primal level of unhinged terror relayed that could not be faked in any way.

Abruptly the video stopped.

/̵̕/̷̡MECH are an... unnecessary distraction to the war effort, wouldn't you agree?/̨͘͞/̶̧͟͡

Gravely, fierce, yet the voice rumbled out calm and collected. It held a haughty edge to it, telling of an individual that knew they were right and were going to get what they wanted one way or another. Megatron's voice was unmistakable.

[Javelin]

Javelin stopped when Soundwave did, wary, almost vibrating with her need to get the hell out of there. Despite hearing Prime's voice, she didn't trust this Cybertronian, not as far as she could literally pick him up and throw him somewhere. She was wired and alert for any movement that indicated attack. Just what she'd do if he did attack, she had no idea. Fight or flight. Shoot or run. Both?

She took a way step back when the navy mech leaned forward, her right ped angling backwards for a good running start. His motion was slow, not jerky or sudden, and she knew it was meant to be taken with ease, no sign of attack.

Even that little bit of motion towards her made her want to bolt, though. But the moment his visor flickered to life, she paused, waiting to see what he was going to show her.

The first images were simple enough. Yes. Humans. She knew the humans. Small, helpless little things, not really able to even protect their own planet very well, apparently.

Her optics flicked from one image to the next, taking in what he was dancing over the visor. A factory? Warehouse? Some sort of industrial-looking place. The sound was terrible too. The quality of the video grainy...a hidden camera, maybe?

She shifted her weight from left foot to right, squinting slightly at the images. Why was he showing her this? She didn't understand.

Oh.

Was that a....wait, that was....

Her optics widened in shock as the images suddenly altered, from a location to....

What were they doing to that mech!?

Her vents let out a gasp as her internal temperature soared, then plummeted in horror as she watched them starting to cut into the Vehicon! While it was awake!

The squeal of the saw made her jump, and jump again at the sudden, anguished scream as the Vehicon was...tortured. There was no other word for it, tortured!

Javelin's hand clenched violently hard on her bow, her voice raised in fury, "Why are they doing this? What's going on?"

She hated hearing Megatron's voice echoing from Soundwave's visor, but her insides were churning in a sickened soup.

Why weren't they all out wiping these...these....monsters off Earth? How dare they do this to them! This was nothing short of...of...were all humans in on this? Is that why the Autobots weren't answering, were they hiding, fearing for their lives?

Javelin looked around, furious, almost wanting to see a human now, someone she could pin, demand answers from. Her servos curled into furious fists, she looked back, stepping forward herself, grit crunching under her feet. The lowering sun glanced off her light armor, making her look darker now, oddly, almost a purple, but her eyes were bright with easy to see emotion. The Vehicon might be a Decepticon, but what she just witnessed was disgusting.

"The humans have turned on us, is that it? The truce is because of the humans?"

[Soundwave]

Not all humans were to blame for the actions of a few, but Soundwave did not particularly care enough to point out the flaw in her logic, especially when it didn't concern him at all. If she wanted to go on a rampage through the town, stomping humans into red smears? Well... that would be the Autobots problem to contend with. Sure, it would not be ideal if the fact aliens were on Earth got out to the public eye, but in the end it would be just an inconvenience for Decepticons, and something the bots would have to struggle with far more. They tended to mingle in cities and interact with society, while Decepticon side had... Knock Out... who would just need to deal with not being able to go down to Earth to race and watch movies.

Nuances, details, once again there was depth to the situation that she did not grasp, and information he didn't feel inclined to dive into. The Truce had a few other facets to it, a couple other things that wanted to be exploited by both sides, but sure... watered down to the base level, the truce was because of MECH and the threat they pose for their kind. If she wanted to jump to conclusions and not wait for more information...? Very well then.

Soundwave's helm dipped forward ever so slightly in reply, the nod subtle and small to match well with his lack of overt movements and actions. He did not project anymore images after this fact, instead his attention seeming to drift away from Javelin as if she was no longer a concern for him.

A gentle step, a slight turn of the frame, Soundwave peered off into the far distance, looking over the flat plane of nothingness that was broken up by jutting mesas and snaked with cracked roadways. They had to be out here somewhere, they had to be nestled down in some kind of bunker, or burrowed into the earth like rodents, yet nothing was ever found. But he would continue to sift... and cut... dig and piece through every grain of information...

A small transmission was sent out then, the modest action accompanied by a pling noise of radar. The communications relay traveled along the same wavelengths that Javelin's own calls had a few minutes prior, but they had the benefit now of being boosted with considerable more range due to the Communication Officer's particular talents. If the Autobots were anywhere within the state of Nevada, which Soundwave was rather certain of, chances are they would be picking up in a few moments.

The transmission was a metaphorical tap, a light package of information bundled up neat and organized. It consisted of their individual current location, and the call sign of an Autobot soldier, nothing else added. He didn't have to convince them of anything, and didn't feel the need to bog it down with frivolous other details. All they needed to know was the current location, and the fact one of their own was away from the flock.

[Bluestreak]

Soundwave's ping reached its destination almost immediately.

The truce was on. Everyone at base respected it, and understood it. Yet that really didn't matter when you realized you'd been sent a message from Soundwave and it was awfully close to where you considered home.

"You're not gonna believe this, Blue," Bulkhead murmured. The big green mech was hunched in what appeared to be an uncomfortably small chair for someone of his size. He'd managed to sit a little more comfortably in it by settling himself on the very edge and jutting one leg out to either side as if he was a bodybuilder sitting on tiny-tot Playschool furniture. "Check it out. Switch over your monitor to seven five one- open channel."

The silver mech used his toe to swivel his own chair to eye his friend. "What?" he echoed. "Wait, what, what am I not going to believe, you're not watching Teen Titans again, are you?"

"Naw," Bulkhead replied. "I got Miko to record it for me, we're going to watch that tonight. I don't do that sort of thing on duty, you know that."

"Hahah," Bluestreak laughed as he immediately turned back to the system in front of him. His fingers flicked over the softly burnished touch-screen, closing one window, opening another. "I know, I know. I missed the other day's episode though and was hoping you had the spoilers, and - oh. Oh. Is that, that's..."

As the information opened in front of him, he frowned and concentrated on it. "Did you send it over to Ratchet?"

"Yeah, he's on his way already," Bulkhead agreed. "Said he'd be here in a minute but- well, it's..."

"A little uncomfortable?" Bluestreak mumbled, his chatter breaking into the other mech's thoughts. "Yeah, I'd say so, I mean yeah, there's like a whole list of things wrong with this moment. Like okay, there's an Autobot involved, someone we don't know - well, that's not surprising, we get that happening all the time, every week, someone shows up and we have to go get them, well at least they didn't crash a ship this time, because with how many times ships crash around here you get a bit worried that Earth's got some spooky gravitational quirk or something, or either that or most Autobots probably didn't pass pilot's school back home, which makes me honestly sort of think that if we ever, ever leave Earth we better make sure to see the credentials of whomever offers to fly us out, and-"

"Blue," Bulkhead rumbled gently, lifting up one massive palm as if he was going to gently tap on the silver Autobot's metaphorical mental brakes.

"Huh? Oh sorry, right right, what's wrong with all this, the whole thing, like the fact that this ping is from a Decepticon, and no, it's from you know who, and he's super close to our base."

"Right, yeah I thought about all that too. Thing is, they've got to honor that truce as much as we do, but... I dunno, We gotta go get this 'bot though," Bulkhead nodded. His huge hand opened and closed beside his thigh as he shook his head. "This has been an interesting situation, this truce, and ah, hang on, hang on, Ratchet's on his way up, he says we have to go get them out and then when whomever goes bridges back in. He's putting work aside right now and coming up - he's going to be on standby immediately to check them out, just to make sure everything's clean."

"I'll go, I've got it," Bluestreak agreed, without even a second thought. The idea of an Autobot out there, lost among an unfamiliar landscape, and being found by a Decepticon bothered him intensely.

He understood and thanked the fact that there was a truce on one hand and on the other he didn't like it at all. Not that he would ever take his personal feelings to Prime; their leader had been hearing enough about it, and Bluestreak felt terrible even thinking it at times. Prime had not make this decision lightly. 

Unfolding himself out of his chair, Bluestreak stood up. The light from the monitors gleamed off of his silver finish. His long barreled rifle had been resting next to his chair, but even as the silver mech was rising, he'd gripped his weapon, tested the safety twice, checked the powerpack, and then shifted it smoothly into the magnetic clips behind his shoulder.

"Tell Ratchet I've got it, I'll go get them and get them back here."

Behind his shoulders, the silver mech's doors flicked once as if to balance himself.

"You sure?" Bulkhead asked him.

"Yeah, I'm positive," Bluestreak replied. "Quick in, quick out. You've got an eye on the monitoring gear, I'll be fine, I'll be great, I promise - hope this mech's okay... I'll be fine. Open a bridge up, I'll go get them and get them out of there."

Which was what he was pretty sure everyone wanted to tell themselves going into a situation with Soundwave.

Where there was Soundwave, usually Megatron wasn't far behind. He really didn't want this, but he also knew that if something was fishy, he was faster than Bulk and could get some cover fire down. Don't dare send a group of us, anything that might be considered testing the boundary of the truce... but you have to hope that everything's on the up and up and while I want everything to be on the up and up you just can't believe that one hundred percent anymore with anything, I guess.

However, he was so not leaving his rifle behind.

A few moments later, the GroundBridge whirled into light. The tall silver mech pivoted on his heel, and hurried into it.

[Javelin]

Gravel and grit crunching underfoot, the scrape of metal against rock as she moved. The hot desert air blowing past her in eddies, the cry of a hunting bird somewhere in the distance. The reds and oranges of the ground as the sun moved lower in the sky. All these things seemed more detailed than normal to Javelin as she tried to calm herself, to keep herself settled. Her field was jumping with confusion and alarm at what she was hearing, one servo clenching her bow with a savage grip.

Venting a quiet breath inward to try and steady herself, she attempted to pull her field down in closer around herself, wrapping it tight around her like a blanket, trying to gain control of herself. She wasn't newly forged. She had been in battles before, she didn't normally panic like this.

But Soundwave was throwing her off, badly. Fair or not, the ones with no faces always unsettled her so badly . You couldn't read them, read their faces, they gave nothing away. Often even their fields were muted and dulled.  At least it wasn't Shockwave, she tried to tell herself. The things she had heard about that Decepticon, with his experiments...

She had nightmares about Shockwave, and had never even seen him in person.

Watching Soundwave, she listened as he sent out another ping, and turned, trying to listen for any reply. He stood so motionless most of the time, barely moving, and even then, only moving the amount that was necessary. It was so...unnatural...

Looking down at her bow, she drew a thumb over a small, silvered rectangular insert in the grip. It wasn't very big, and looked well worn, touched many, many times. If you didn't even know it was there, it would be very easily overlooked. A tiny insert of metal, nothing more, but touching it centered Javelin. She felt a soft calmness come over her, and her thoughts became more clear, as if someone else had taken them, and was putting them in correct order.

Alright. First, calm down. He hasn't attacked you, so it's very likely this truce is real. If that's the case, you're not in danger. So stop acting like a glitch-head and think.
If the humans were attacking us, you would have seen signs of it in the human city. Talk about the aliens, rhetoric about going to war or killing. Nothing on their airwaves. And if they were attacking us, Prime would be pulling the Autobots out. He wouldn't let his people be killed, so there's obviously more going on here that you understand.
And for Primus' sake, don't believe everything this 'Con is telling you! Truce, yes, but a 'Con will lie just for the sake of it!
So slow down, calm down, and wait.

There.

Better.

Javelin turned, silent, looking around in a circle, looking for any approaching humans. The heat the sun had set into the metal of her form felt good, although it was starting to fade a little as the day moved on.  The shadows in the canyon were growing deeper and darker.  Raising a hand, to shield her gaze from the sun, she looked for any sign of dust, sign someone might be approaching.
Her field was still anxious and nervous, but the panic that was threatening to explode had gone. She had heard Soundwave put out a ping, so it was more likely that-

She jumped a little, startled, as green suddenly flared a little distance away, and the unmistakable form and shape of a ground bridge blossomed into view.

[Soundwave]

It was the little details.

Soundwave did not miss the action she took to soothe and try to calm herself, for something upon that weapon of hers offered support and comfort that quelled over some of the ragged edges that bristled along her neural paths. It gifted order; it gifted a form of tranquility, slowing down fluttering flinches that betrayed nervousness and unease. It screamed out to the navy mech, making him read into the situation with cautious care to see if there was anything to be learned from the moment.

It could be just the fact it was a weapon however, something to instill pain upon those that would wrong her. Many individuals have been saved by their armaments so many times, that being without it brings unease. Its presence alone can act as a grounding force to root them down and assure them that if things do go wrong, that it would stand beside them as always to repel the offending force.

Was this all that there was? She had mellowed out rather well all things considered. Was she thinking of better days? Memories of someone past? Did she disconnect herself enough that the fact she was beside the Decepticons third in command was lost to her? The faceless visor turned to peer back at the smaller Cybertronian that only came up to Laserbeak's level, trying to learn what he could about her in these fleeting moments to put onto record.

Sadly, he would not get opportunity to try to sift through things too much, for there was a faint sucking noise followed by the immediate burst of sound and light formed by a Ground Bridge's appearance. It spiraled open not far from them, flaring teal and blue light against the nearby rocks. Jittering shadows, throwing ember like ribbons that dissipated once getting too far from the vortex, Bridges were always fascinating, but that was not the focus in this moment.

Instantly his attention was upon that point.

Soundwave's visor locked down into its center, staring intently at the veil that separated him from the Omega Outpost. It was so near, so close that if he were a careless individual, if he were brash and care not for the orders of high command, he could act and be through it before whoever was coming out would realize what was happening. It would be quick, it would be surgical. Lock into the systems, down the shield and vacate. Instead, he could only stare at the void, and try to sense what he could through it, which... wasn’t really anything. The world dropped away beyond the sheet of light, ripping only long enough for the Autobot to emerge into the open.

Bluestreak: Tall, lanky built, silver frame with dark accents. Rare survivor of Praxis, voice to spread fear. Endangered 'species'. Ranged centralized combatant, melee virtually unheard of. Talented sharpshooter.

This individual was seldom seen out on the field. He was a distance fighter, one that could pose a threat to any combat situation, but tended to not be recognized readily by Decepticons due to his lack of direct involvement. In a way it was surprising he had come out here this day, though the truce likely played a buffer between them. Severing anything of any real threat. The worst that could happen out here was getting some dirt kicked up over ones finish.

Focusing down upon the Autobot, Soundwave waited.

[Bluestreak]

Bluestreak stepped out of the cool green light of the tunnel into the early evening heat.

It was always strange to him; the GroundBridge. Not in how it worked, he knew about that, but for that sense of disconnect you had on Earth with it. He couldn't remember many places where he'd been where one tunnel could take you into ice and wind and snow, and then next into blazing sunshine.

As it was, the long red shadows of the desert sunset curled and drifted across the desert. Underneath the angle of his red chevron, his bright blue optics immediately took everything in. Too long spent in the fight, so many days that had depended on him finding a secure place to take aim from while protecting himself as much as he possibly could. Canyons and rock outcrops, crossed and crossed again; and while it was comforting in some respects, he couldn't help but try and fight down an automatic, nervous wash of fear that roiled in his chest. In his hand, his fingers closed around the stock of his rifle, rubbing quietly against the smooth metal.

It was pointed obviously and directly at the ground though, and the silver mech did not twitch or bring it upwards, even though he had already spied what stood silently up there. A lean, angular mech, nearly the same color as the darkening sky.

His doors couldn't hide their twitch as his scanners flicked out and found... just them. Only Soundwave, and one other, and that one other was of course in no way, shape, or form the massive Warlord himself.

Not at all. In front of him, standing in the ruddy sand, was a femme he did not recognize. Yet there was the bright red sigil on her shoulder, and it was a welcome sight. Dark blue matched with purple, and a frame style that was certainly on the lighter side but not frail or delicate. Vehicle mode too, his sharp eyes found the curves of the tires and in a way he was a bit relieved. Not a flier - well not that they didn't need fliers but the fact that she seemed to be a car put him more at ease. Decepticons rarely were grounders.

In her hand was a lovely curve of metal; and immediately the gunner recognized it as something that took an awful lot of skill; wait, is that a bow? The silver mech was quick to focus on any kind of distance weapon, and this one certainly appeared to be in good shape with the quick glance he spared it.

Oh it is, it is a bow. Whoa, I've not seen one of those since, huh, I guess it's been a while. A really long while, sure I think the last time I saw one like that was back- well, gosh maybe it was before we left Cybertron...

His thoughts immediately whirled back to that silent shadow, vulturing above them on the stones.

What would Prime do, what would he do in this situation, how would he handle the fact that this Decepticon, this guy alerts us? I don't know. I'm not sure. I should be sure but ugh, this is totally out of my realm of sure, then again this whole truce is out of it too. Primus that one gives me the creeps up there just watching like he's parked in front of a holo vid. He's probably recording everything; wait, of course he's recording everything and that makes it worse because I sure as heck have to do the right thing because if I give this guy any reason to doubt there's a truce it's going to come back and bite me right in the...

The silver mech squared himself up (maybe because he was trying not to think about the idea that something was going to leap out and bite him in the skidplate or peck his optics out.) He glanced at Soundwave before he offered a quick nod of acknowledgement, dipping his chin in a polite, reserved gesture towards Soundwave. 

There. Well, it wasn't probably exactly what Prime would do. Prime would have offered some words, a thank you, something, but Bluestreak could not. He just couldn't, no matter how hard he tried, the same way he'd felt when he'd been dealing with Fairwinds a while back.

It took him a second to find his voice. When he did, it was soft and surprisingly gentle. 

"Hullo," he said, even as his sky blue eyes focused again on the femme in front of him. "Hey there. I'm Bluestreak, and are you okay?"

He tipped his head, offered her an easy, friendly smile. "Bet you're ready to get out of here, huh?"

[Javelin]

Javelin's field rippled again with unease as she watched the bridge open. She squeezed the bow in her hand tightly, trying to draw comfort from it, but her nerves were starting to stretch farther and farther now. She had no idea who was going to step from the bridge, Autobot or Decepticon. Her field threatened to pulse with jagged edges of yellow and orange again, but she pulled it back around her like a human cloak.

If it was a Decepticon? Truce or no truce, her politeness only had so much of a shelf life. She wouldn't attack, but she would "step out" as the saying went. Take off. Skedaddle. Vamoose. Remove herself from that area, post haste. She had zero intention of hanging around with two or more 'Cons, especially one of them being Mr. Creepy there. If Soundwave had called for other Decepticons, that wasn't a good thing. She had heard him send out a ping. If other 'Cons answered? She was out of there.

Although, at this point, even another 'Con would be ok if he or she at least talked instead of looking like the Necrobot come to drag us all to Oblivion.

She hated feeling like this. Cowardly. She wasn't a coward, though she could get nervous, but by Primus she felt so uneasy. What had she heard that human say, in the city? The "Heebie Jeebies"? That sounded close to what her field was doing, right now.

Optics fixed tightly on the bridge, she literally took one step back as the figure moved through, ready to turn with a "Oh Gee, thanks, but I'm gonna wait until my 'Bots show, thanks. Don't hang around for me!"

The first thing she noticed was his height. Why was everyone so tall here?

Tall, silver colored. At least he had a good, solid form, and had a face. That was a huge help.

Her eyes noticed the rifle secondly. Distance weapon, from the look of it, not really a close combat rifle. He seemed a little light on his feet as well, not super heavy.

Her eyes scanned for his badge, and seeing the one she was hoping for, she felt a lot of her tension fade out, her field settling back to where it should be. She wasn't alone with a 'Con anymore.

Thank Primus.

Javelin watched as he looked up at Soundwave, and she studied him closely. His action would lead her, let her know what was going on, if there was -

Oh. A nice, polite nod. He was probably as uneasy about all this as she was. Ok then.

His smile, and suddenly hearing another voice, and one that was kind and gentle, pulled a huge relieved smile from her as well, and she felt a lot of the stress drain from her frame. Another Autobot. Someone familiar and safe. Someone who knew what the scrap was going on. She was more than willing to just stand back now and let someone else, who understood the political scene take over.

Javelin walked towards Bluestreak, slipping her bow back up onto her back, where magnets locked it into place with a quiet snick!, and smiled up at him.

"Bluestreak. Hi. You have NO idea how glad I am to see you. Yes. Yes, I am more than ready to get out of this place. Lead the way."

She decided to wait until they were either in the bridge or even in a safer place before introducing herself.  She didn't want Soundwave to know her name.  It meant nothing, really, she wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, but truces never lasted, and in Javelin's mind, the less any enemy knew about you, even your name, the better.

Javelin cast a worried look over a shoulder, back to where the navy wraith watched them. As the sky darkened, he was getting harder and harder to see.