Ep 1.-Reflector's Journal-open

[reflector]

It felt like had been several Earth days or maybe even a few weeks since Reflector had taken up hiding in the vents. In reality, very little time had passed, which made the minicon feel a bit spastic. He was at least using his time to great affect as he managed to sneak into a few of the other Decepticon rooms and catch bits of blackmail fodder here and there. However he still felt extremely at risk and alone and for the most part his 'guide' wasn't much help. Almost every time they met they ended up fighting. Reflector wasn't built for anger or hate, his processor couldn't handle those emotions for long and they quickly burnt him out, just leaving him scared and lonely. After being on Cleaver's ship for so long he had forgotten how nice it was to have someone he could always turn to.

Skittering through the vents, Reflector paused above one of his favorite spots, Soundwave's room. Though the minicon considered the larger mech not much better then the others on board the ship, he at least somewhat understood Soundwave. Soundwave didn't seem to be in at the moment, much to Reflector's disapointment, he rather liked being able to spy on the master spy. Truth be told he was fairly sure Soundwave knew about him, perhaps not to the extent of his spying, but no doubt he would get a chance to test his theory in the future.

With a sigh the little bot skittered on, this time heading for the Eradicon Barracks, more often then not something amusing was always happening there. When he reached the right vent, Reflector glanced down, zooming in as he heard several loud voices coming from below.

From what he could tell, there was a sort of sub-faction within the Eradicons, most of them liked this 'Pokemon' thing, which thankfully Reflector had managed to avoid up to this point. In any case the argument really started when a few of the Eradicons admitted they liked something called 'Digimon' and then the shouting and curses really began to fly. It was like a group of Towerlings fighting over which watered-down high-grade tasted better then the rest. Which reminded Reflector to rewatch that clip sometime, it was almost more amusing then the little spat he was watching.

[Deleted]

Fairwinds was also spending a lot of time in the vents, skittering across the Nemesis in search of information on Starscream's current activities, updates on Barricade's situation in the brig, and trustworthy Decepticons who could be employed to either help in creating a diversion or in the busting out of said Infiltrator.

She'd also been looking for a less-than-trustworthy but still important cassette, and it was with a delighted digitized squeak that she found him. Helm dipped and thrust ahead, the avian femme sidestepped the access vent into the Eradicon's mess and stormed ahead to where Reflector stood perched on the next.

And didn't he look pleased to see her.

"Reflector! You're still functioning!" she chirped by way of a greeting. "Are you okay? Do you know what's going on? Do you know about Barricade? I could really use your help, and I'll promise to never ever bug you or try to make friends with you if you don't want me to ever again if you do it."

Vibrating a little, optics wide, Fairwinds held her beak tightly closed so as to not speak whilst she waited for him to reply.

[reflector]

Hearing something coming through the vents, Reflector pulled his optic away from the Eradicon spat to see Fairwinds rush up to him and deliver some sort of speech at near hyper-sonic speeds. Reflector had no idea what she said or what in Primus' name she was so worked up about.

"Fairwinds? What...are you trying to tell me?" The little bot caught a little of it, some questioning if Reflector knew what was going on in the ship. He found this rather insulting, just because he was hiding didn't mean he stopped watching and recording every second of life on board the Nemesis.

[Deleted]

Fairwinds issued a short, childish buzz of irritation that Reflector hadn't immediately answered all her questions in a manner that would reassure her fully. When his large optic flickered with flashes across the spectrum of 'unimpressed' to 'getting torqued off now', she dropped down onto her undercarriage to equalise their heights with a fluff of her plates.

"Barricade's in the brig, and I can't get a message to or from him," she replied at a far more sensible rate of words per second. "Is your link with him stable across this distance? Can you talk to him?"

[reflector]

"I've been watching..." The little mech stated before sighing "Um...I don't know. You know I've never been linked before and Barricade didn't tell me anything." he then paused before thinking for a second "If he had something important to say wouldn't he have used the link?" Reflector still had no idea how any of this worked, but it seemed reasonable that if he could use the link then his carrier could as well. He didn't much like being around Fairwinds and her seeking him out kinda shocked him, it wasn't that he hated her or anything, their views just clashed so much that whenever he went paranoid or she waxed poetic about Decepticons, the other felt obligated to try and correct said view. Had their opinions not been so drastic, Reflector would have enjoyed having a minicon around that didn't creep him out, like Ravage and Ratbat.

[Deleted]

Fairwinds shrugged her wings, rolling the complex appendages forward against the u-shaped vent that enclosed the top and sides of the base of her neck. Truthfully she'd didn't know much about Barricade's relationship with his newest cassette, but she knew Barricade well, and Reflector didn't make a point of disguising his feelings and opinions.

"Well, maybe 'cause you don't get along so great, he's been leaving you to your own thing," she finally suggested. Bobbing her helm towards the vent, and the crowd of Eradicons who had been turned away from the Medbay as non-emergency and left to tend to each other's injuries, Fairwinds added: "Not like you haven't been 'bridged straight into a clusterfrag yourself."

That Reflector had never been linked to a carrier before complicated things - he wasn't used to communicating across that highly specific medium, nor to the feel of having another mecha linked strong and reassuring to his own systems. Fairwinds had only experienced being disconnected from a carrier for a few vorns between Switchback's death and Megatron's invitation for her to integrate with him.

She hadn't enjoyed it, and desperately wanted Reflector to give being cassette/carrier-linked a proper chance so that he could appreciate, in her opinion, how much better it felt. Having his carrier locked in the brig in the middle of a chaotic and dangerous upheaval wasn't really conducive to that, but she'd give it a go.

"You've got a connection with him even if you're not sure how it works. Just, think what you want to say at him, if that makes sense." With a pulse of reassurance and encouragement, Fairwinds flicked her crests at the little mech. "Try it. If it works, the worst he can do is snarl at you, and that's nothing for Barricade."

[reflector]

The timid minicon didn't like the sound of this at all, his head was the last place he wanted anyone to be. He had too many secrets, too many blackmail plots, too many fears. "Are you sure this is the only way?" He asked as the shutter on his optic rapidly flickered, a sign that Reflector was getting worried and of course his worry lead to paranoia. There was also the problem of that little tryst Barricade had with the commander, Reflector had the memories burned into his own processor and was afraid of what his carrier would do to him if he found out Reflector knew a very close guarded secret.

Fidgeting like a cat in a room filled with rocking chairs, Reflector turned his optic to Fairwinds, the giant orb staring at her, hoping she would tell him that she had a plan that would just let him get out of letting Barricade into his processor. It was the worst nightmare the little minicon could ever imagine, but at the same time he felt a small voice in the back of his spark telling him that he should try and free Barricade, or at least help from the shadows.

[Deleted]

Fairwinds regarded Reflector silently for a moment, then she rose, sidestepped across the vent to come alongside him, and resettled on her undercarriage again close enough for their fields to overlap. Between her wings and his spindly appendages, it was the closest she could get to giving a reassuring hug. And it didn't involve actually physical contact, which she suspected Reflector might not have appreciated.

"No one else can talk to 'Cade inside that brig," she murmured, turning her helm to present both 'you're my only hope' optics. "He really needs your help. I'm working on getting the area cleared and breaking down the door, but we need Barricade in on this as well."

[reflector]

Flinching at her words, the little hacker would have much rather her comfort come without the guilt trip. He closed his optic with a small vocal hiccup similar to a whimper, he then did his best to try and clear his mind and not think of the last time he dived into Barricade's mind. "I'll hack...I'll spy...whatever you need." He said to Fairwinds as he tried to focus "Just...don't make me do this too much..." he sounded frightened, to the point that even Fairwinds was someone he would look to for trust. Slowly he stepped closer and wrapped his long coiling arms around the little avian, holding on tight as he looked for that link within his mind.

<Barricade? Barricade?>

Repeating the name over and over again in his head and thinking back to his 'partner' it was the only thing Reflector could imagine would activate the link, if it existed.

[Deleted]

There was a long pause, static and silence. Then:

<There you are.>

Barricade’s gravely rumble managed to transmit even through gestalt glyphs, vibrating in the brain-module like an engine warming up. It might not have been immediately apparent that the infiltrator had come awake at Frenzy… no, Refelctor’s comm, but the glyphs of his own name brought him out of shut down. His HUD came online, readouts and internal diagnostics informing him his weapons were locked and there was something fucking up his vocoder. Then all the pain. Primus fragging dammit, the pain/ Like a sledge hammer to the gut. He would have purged, but gag hadn’t come off.

Starscream was rowing a petty boat to Polyhex apparently. Fair enough.

Fully awake now, the infiltrator craned his neck to look up at the glowing energy band between the heavy cuffs around his wrists. Reinforced titanium mix, military grade. Nothing he could pick. Welp. Barricade kicked experimentally, his lower body swinging back and forth some three meters off the floor. The energy-cuffs were starting to bite into the alloy at his wrist-rotors and forearms somewhat. The police-impersonator gave up the swinging as a bad job and let himself hang stiff from his restraints and congratulate himself on being a fine mess.

<I thought Starscream stuffed you in a cupboard or something..>

[Deleted]

<<OOC: I'll skip my turns whilst these two guys have a chat. Tag me back in when you're done. I imagine that, concentrating as hard as he is, Reflector is gonna be pretty immersed until they finished.>>

[reflector]

Though he didn't know it at the time, his cord like arms were constricting Fairwinds, luckily Reflector lacked the raw strength for it to be anywhere near threatening.

<Only Fairwinds, possibly Ravage and a few Eradicons know I exist.>

Though he might be a frightened bottle of nerves, one thing Reflector did near peerlessly was hide. Unless Reflector wanted to be found, there was a small chance that many on the Nemesis would even know he was there.

<I have also been watching and collecting as much recorded data as possible...>

Adding this last bit, the minicon hoped to prove his worth to his partner, he didn't quite know enough about the ship or the crew to understand everything he had stored in his memory banks, but he was sure Barricade would know how and where to use this leverage.

[Deleted]

<Good.>

Barricade pulled himself up by the wrists to peer at the energy bands chaining the massive metal cuffs to the ceiling node. Hmm, possible to break these cuffs maybe. That is… if he wasn’t still glitching from the null ray shot, nauseous from the gag, and generally kind of banged up. (He suspected there may have been cheap shots while he was unconscious.) The LT huffed and relaxed again, focusing on the wobbly link between him and his new, clearly nervous cassette. Poor sucker. Links up with the only Con on Starscream’s immediate kill lis. Once he busted out, the little bot might dock with him and never come out again ever.

<If you’ve been eavesdropping, then you probably know that Starscream is having his bi-monthly coup and I just happened to be in the way without my full faculties. I’d gauge Princess Shrieker’s vengeance level to be at a middle this time around, so he might take a few days to gloat and prance around and make fun of me before he gets around to something drastic like ripping vital pieces off. Either way, let’s get cracking on an exit strategy before Shockwave or Sounders give him the side-eye and put him in a stabbing mood. I’ll be cross if I get stabbed.>

[reflector]

Opening his optic the little minicon realized that he had been pulling a python on Fairwinds and quickly unwrapped her from his cord like arms. Taking a few steps back to mentally steeled himself, fighting off the raw disgust and unease he felt bubbling in his reactor.

"Barricade said he wants a plan and will be angry is he get's stabbed..." He paused for a moment to collect himself, taking a moment to try and get over one of the most invasive breaches of his person he had ever suffered "Did you really need me to tell you this?"

[Deleted]

Fairwinds hadn't minded the constricting hug. Barricade squeezed her far worse - though she liked to interpret it as his psychotic way of showing affection.

She smiled at Reflector now, pleased and encouraging. "Not the stabby part so much. Just that he's, y'know, not stasis-locked and can actually help on his side. Can you get me some info on what kind of restraints they've got him under? And say that'll you'll be back in contact with a time for bustin' his aft outta there."

A pause as she took in his pained expression and throbbing field again. Fairwinds scuttled back close to him and added: "If that's okay, y'know...I've just gotta... talk to a couple of other folk first before any decisions get made."

The avian cassette straightened with flared helm crests, exposing the ragged metal just inside her beak that served as denta. "'m'taking this plan thing really seriously, like."