DOTBS-Ch13-Expendable

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers, or any of the song/movie quotes used in this story.  However, the idea for this story does, indeed, belong to me.

HERE’S YOUR TRADITIONAL, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD REMINDER THIS IS NOT A SLASH FIC.

NOTE: DO NOT READ THIS FIC UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN DARK OF THE MOON!!! MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUND…YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
Transformers: Day of the Black Sun
Chapter Thirteen-Expendable
Rating: T
Words: 8,532

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DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE WAS A BORN FLIER, Silverbolt had never really been all too fond of heights.  He’d always experienced a great sense of dread whenever he had to fly, which increased the higher he had to go.  He supposed this came from the fact that he had been a weak flier back when he was a Youngling, and, even though he’d improved a great deal as he got older, he’d experienced a few falls and mistakes that made him reluctant to leave the ground.  But with most of Cybertron’s fliers on the side of the Decepticons, the Autobots had been in desperate need of aerial support in the war, and Silverbolt had joined, eager to help in spite of his fear. Optimus Prime had even made him commander of the few flight-capable Cybertronians that the Autobots had among their ranks-the Aerialbots-despite his protests and lack of confidence that he would be a good leader.  In order to serve out his rank to the best of his ability and so that he could be of help to the others, Silverbolt had learned to shove aside his fear and dislike of heights as best as he could whenever he found himself up in the air.  

That ability-to temporary ignore his fears-was really coming in handy now.

Firestorm’s earlier suggestion of visualizing the air currents as an invisible road had been a great help to Silverbolt, especially in light of his dislike of heights.  Firestorm had advised both Autobots from where he had been flying alongside them.  After showing the two Autobots how to “really fly”, as he put it, Firestorm had asked Silverbolt to demonstrate his normal flying abilities, and had offered suggestions as the silver mech obliged.  The old Seeker had then decided to put both of his temporary students to the test.  As the Prime was relatively new to flying, Firestorm had decided to test Optimus first, going against the Prime in an aerial spar, and although the mock battle had initially gone in Firestorm’s favor, as the training went on and Optimus learned exactly how to put Firestorm’s advice to use and adapted his flying and attack methods as a result, the Prime had improved to the point where Firestorm had been impressed enough that, after he had also tested Silverbolt’s midflight sparring skills, he had suggested  Optimus put his new aerial abilities to the test in a race against Silverbolt, as speed would be an important factor in the battles that were surely to come.  The larger Autobot, having more experience with flying, had won, of course, but it had still been a very close race and Silverbolt had only managed to beat out the Prime by a few seconds.  

The silver mech had initially been very embarrassed at the fact that he had beaten Optimus, but the Prime had praised him for his speed and skill in the air and assured him that it was alright-after all, the entire point of training they were doing was so that they could learn how to better use their skills.  At this point, it didn’t matter who won in their mock battles as long as they were learning from their mistakes and doing their best.  And Silverbolt was learning.  Firestorm, as old as the old Seeker was, knew methods of flying and fighting that he had never known existed.  In fact, he was so impressed by the techniques and eager to learn them that he barely noticed how high up they were and could nearly completely ignore his dislike of heights even more than he was normally able to.

There had been a few more tests in the air-more speed trails, maneuvering exercises, and mock battles, until Firestorm had been satisfied enough with the results of the tests he had given Optimus and Silverbolt to suggest that they return to the ground for the second phase of the training.  Optimus had agreed, and the three of them had landed.  It had been perfect timing, too, as Sideswipe and Bumblebee had just shot the last of the targets they had been practicing with, and they were also more than ready to begin the hand-to-hand combat portion of the training session.  Sideswipe and Bumblebee had sparred a few times, the winner varying each time, but both ‘bots were able to get a decent number of victories in.  Firestorm and Optimus had gone next, but their match had, surprisingly enough, ended in a draw.  The Prime had then motioned to Silverbolt to come and face him on the sparring field.

Which had lead to the current scenario that Silverbolt now found himself facing.

“You cannot blame him for that, Optimus,” Firestorm said, a faint smile on his faceplate.  “You told him to hit you.”

The Prime ruefully rubbed his helm from where he was currently in a half-sitting, half-laying down position that was not at all Prime-like.

Silverbolt reached out a hand to help his leader regain his footing, nervously stammering apologies.  “Sir, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to actually…”

“No, that is quite all right, Silverbolt,” Optimus insisted as he allowed Silverbolt to help him back on to his feet.  “I did, as Firestorm pointed out, instruct you to hit me if you could.  And you were able to.  This is a training exercise, after all; the point is to try and defeat your sparring partner.  Well done.”

The Aerialbot shrugged and looked away, still embarrassed at the fact that he had actually managed to hit his leader hard enough to knock him down.  He knew Optimus was right-this was what training was about, getting strong enough to fight your enemies, and as a result he knew that he couldn’t hold back in training just because he was practicing against Optimus. He looked back at the Prime and nodded.

“Thank you, sir.  I…I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“Nothing more than a processor ache, Silverbolt.  I will be fine.”  Optimus paused before continuing, and Silverbolt guessed that the Prime was calculating how much time they had spent training so far that afternoon.  “One more round of sparring for each of us, I think.  And then we will return to base.”

Silverbolt retreated to stand with Sideswipe and Bumblebee off to one side of the training field as Firestorm and Optimus prepared to go against each other again.  Sideswipe nodded at him.

“That was a nice punch, Silverbolt.”

“I didn’t really intend to hit him,” Silverbolt muttered, still feeling embarrassed about the whole thing.  “Even if it is just training, and that was the point, he’s still our leader.  It just doesn’t feel right to fight him.”

“Silverbolt, we’re going to be fighting Cyclonus and Unicron.  We can’t afford to hold back in our training if we want to be ready for them.” Sideswipe vented, shaking his head as he returned to watching Firestorm and Optimus as the old Seeker blocked a blow from one of the Prime’s Energon swords.  The silver mech spoke up again after a few moments of silence, turned back to address Silverbolt.  “I don’t like the idea of going against Prime either, but it is only training.  It’s not like we’re actually fighting him with the intent to put him out of commission.”  His optics hardened with hostile suspicion as he returned to watching Firestorm and Optimus as they continued to spar with each other.

When Optimus started training me, Bumblebee began, referring to how Optimus had mentored him in his Autobot training when he was young-well, younger. I didn’t like the idea of it either. But he told me that fighting him was necessary battle practice.  I still didn’t like it, but it didn’t bother me as much after that.  I mean, if Optimus is okay with it, we should be too, right?

“I guess you’re right,”  The Aerialbot replied uneasily.  Silverbolt still wasn’t exactly comfortable with the knowledge that he had knocked Optimus Prime to the ground, but the words of Sideswipe and Bumblebee, combined with the praise Optimus had given him at the end of their sparring match, served to reignite the flying Autobot’s confidence somewhat.
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Something was wrong with Blaster.  Trailbreaker was sure of that.  He just wasn’t sure exactly what it was, though.  But it had to be something bad.  Why else would he not be interested in playing with him and the others?  He was just sitting next to Sam and Carly, huddled as close to the two humans as possible, hugging his stuffed penguin tightly and staring at the door that served as the hangar’s exit for the Autobots.

Maybe it was because Bumblebee was gone.  Blaster had been upset before his caretaker had left, but he had calmed down slightly when Bumblebee had reassured him. Trailbreaker, who had been startled by Blaster’s crying when the older Autobots were leaving, had been watching to see what was wrong and had seen his friend calm down before Bumblebee left.   But the red and blue-armored Sparkling had also noticed that, as soon as Sideswipe and Bumblebee had left, Blaster had started crying again and hadn’t stopped until Sam had held him for a while, and after that, the red Sparkling had been sitting in the same spot, doing nothing but staring at the door.

Trailbreaker was too young to understand just why Blaster had gotten so upset when Bumblebee left (even if he had known why he wouldn’t have been able to understand the circumstances that lead to it).  His caretaker left all the time, and even though he wasn’t old enough to understand the meaning of Optimus’s role as Prime and leader (all he really understood was that Optimus looked out for everyone, not just him), he accepted the fact that sometimes his caretaker needed to leave him in the care of others.  But that was okay, because Optimus always came back.

Maybe that was it-Blaster didn’t know that Bumblebee would come back.  No wonder he was so sad.

But Blaster would feel better if he went over to play with him, Trailbreaker decided.  He knew he would.  Whenever he’d been upset, playing with his friends made him feel a lot better.  And he knew from watching Optimus that spending time with others when they felt bad was something nice to do.  Besides, Fireflight, Beachcomber and First Aid were all playing together, which meant that Blaster was the only one who didn’t have someone to play with, and that wasn’t any good.  Letting out a string of determined clicks, Trailbreaker grabbed his stuffed bear and as many of the nearby toy blocks as he could carry and made his way over to where Blaster was sitting.

“Need help, Trailbreaker?” Sam asked, standing up and walking towards the oldest Sparkling.  The sight of the red and blue Sparkling unsteadily making his way towards them, arms full of toys, both amused him and caught his interest.  

Trailbreaker shook his head in protest.  “Do it myself!”

“What’re all these toys for?” Sam asked, walking alongside the Sparkling, respecting Trailbreaker’s insistence that he could carry the toys himself, though he still kept an eye out in case he needed to catch any falling toys.  Or a falling Sparkling, because even though Trailbreaker had the most mastery over walking among the Sparklings (Trailbreaker preferred to walk and hardly ever crawled anymore, whereas Fireflight, First Aid, and Beachcomber spent equal amounts of time walking and crawling, and Blaster couldn’t walk yet) he still didn’t have a very good balance when doing so, and still fell down now and then.

“Blaster sad.  Toys f’him,” Trailbreaker said matter-of-factly, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.  Which, to him, it was.

“That’s nice, Trailbreaker.  Did you hear that, Blaster?  Trailbreaker brought you some toys to play with.”

Blaster looked over the toys Trailbreaker was offering to him.  While he normally would want to play with his friends, at the moment the fear and anxiety he felt from being separated from his caretaker was too strong-the bad ones could come back at any minute and try to take him away again.  Right now all the little red Sparkling wanted was for Bumblebee to come back and pick him up and hold him.  Sam had held him earlier, which was nice and made him feel a little better, but it wasn’t the same as when Bumblebee held him.  Sam might be nice and everything, but the human didn’t have a warm Spark that the little Sparkling could snuggle up against and that made him feel safe.  “No want toys,” Blaster whimpered, hugging his penguin plush tighter.  “Want Bee.”

“I know, little guy,” Sam told Blaster sympathetically.  “He’ll be back soon.  He promised, remember?  Bee keeps his promises.”

Blaster’s only response to that was another faint whimper.

Trailbreaker frowned in concern and sat down next to the much smaller, younger Sparkling.  He had to make his friend feel better.  Being sad was no good at all.  “Bee come back.  Wait ‘n see.  Opt leave too, but always come back.”  Even though he accepted the fact that Blaster didn’t want any of the toys he had brought over, he still offered the younger Sparkling one of the toy blocks, just in case he would decide later that he wanted a toy after all, and this time Blaster took it.  Blaster might not want to play, but that didn’t mean Trailbreaker was going to leave him alone.  The red and blue Sparkling had every intention of staying and keeping his younger friend company so that he wouldn’t be so sad.

Blaster watched as Trailbreaker began lining up the toys he had brought over.  While he still didn’t feel like playing, he felt a little better.  Bumblebee had told him the same thing before he had left-that he’d come back.  Blaster wanted his caretaker to come back right now and wouldn’t feel completely safe until he had, but Sam and Carly had stayed with him, and now Trailbreaker was there, too, so at least he wasn’t alone.

“You know,” Carly spoke up then, watching as Trailbreaker continued to line up the toys while Blaster watched him, “Even though he’s obviously still upset, I think Blaster’s doing pretty well considering how anxious he was when Bumblebee left.”

“You’re right.  At least with Trailbreaker around he’s distracted enough to not be as upset as he was,” Sam replied, nodding in relief.  He knew that there was little he and Carly could do to calm Blaster all the way down if he got upset again; all they could really do was get him to stop crying.  They weren’t able to cheer him up completely.  Like Bumblebee, Sam didn’t like seeing the little Sparkling so upset and quiet when he was normally a cheerful little ball of energy.  He knew that Carly felt the same way, and wished that he could come up with something that would help Blaster feel better.

Unfortunately, all he was coming up with at the moment was a great big zero, and he sighed in defeat, looking back at Carly.  “I just hope Bee will get back before Blaster goes back to thinking that he’s not coming back and starts crying again.”  

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Fortunately, they didn’t have to wait much longer.  Twenty minutes after Trailbreaker had come over to share his toys with Blaster, the sound of approaching engines from outside the hangar signaled the return of the training group.  The engine noises grew louder as they approached the hangar, then cut off.  Only a few moments later Optimus Prime, followed by Firestorm, Sideswipe, and Bumblebee, entered the hangar. Each of them bore the obvious dents and scratches that the Autobots always got as a result of their training sessions, but none of them seemed to mind.  In fact, the collective mood of the returning Cybertronians seemed to be relatively cheerful, which signified that the session had gone well.

“Hey, Optimus!” Will Lennox called from where he was heading out with a group of soldiers to take part in the human soldiers’ training session for that afternoon.  “How did your training session go?”

“That training session went well, thank you, Colonel.  We will still be having the combined training session this evening, yes?”

“Of course,” Will agreed, before motioning to the soldiers to follow him as he exited the hangar.

“Well done, all of you,” Optimus said once the humans had left, turning to face the others with him.  “And thank you, Firestorm, for helping us with the aerial combat training.”

Firestorm dipped his head respectfully.  “You are welcome, Optimus Prime.  I am glad I was able to be helpful beyond warning you of Unicron.”

“Will you participate in this evening’s training session with the human soldiers?”

Firestorm hesitated.  He hadn’t really worked around the humans very much, even in the few days since the Autobots had given him their trust-well, most of them, Red Alert and Mirage were still somewhat suspicious of him and Sideswipe remained both suspicious and hostile-and free reign of the base.  To tell the truth, even though he admired the humans’ courage and the remarkable strength that they had for such a small, primitive species, he worried that he might accidently harm one of them.  He was, after all, much larger than any of the humans.  But Optimus Prime and the other Autobots worked with the humans every day, and nothing bad had come of their interactions with their friends.  If they could work alongside the humans without incident, then so could he.  The old Seeker nodded resolutely.  “If you wish for me to join in, Optimus Prime, then I will.  But in the meantime, I believe I had better return to the medbay to retrieve the datapads Ratchet has prepared for me to read.”

“Very well,” Optimus agreed.  “We all have business of our own to attend to at the moment, especially those of us who have Sparklings to look after.  It is time for us to take them to our quarters for their afternoon recharge naps, after all.”  The Prime inclined his head respectfully at Firestorm and watched as the old Seeker returned the gesture and then headed in the direction of the medbay.  The Prime made a mental note to get the former Decepticon personal quarters of his own sometime soon, so that he wouldn’t have to stay in the medbay all the time, before turning and joining Sideswipe and Bumblebee as they went over to the Sparkling play area.  He noticed that Trailbreaker was sitting next to Blaster, and even though he heard the Sparkling let out a series of excited clicks at seeing him, he made no move to leave his younger friend, causing Optimus to consider his Sparkling charge with amused thoughtfulness.

Bumblebee came to a stop nearby, and he warbled a cheerful greeting to Sam and Carly, before looking worriedly down at Blaster.  The little Sparkling had been watching Bumblebee closely ever since he had heard the training group arrive in the hangar, waiting anxiously for him to come over to the Sparkling play area, and now that the scout was standing in front of him, Blaster held his arms out in a silent plea for his caretaker to pick him up, his purple optics begging for the comfort he had wanted ever since the scout had left him earlier.  Bumblebee responded instantly, scooping him up and holding him securely.  

Blaster let out a tiny huff from his vents, burying his face against his caretaker’s shoulder armor.  His anxiety and fear faded away, and the Sparkling finally felt safe.  Bumblebee had kept his promise and had come back, and the bad ones hadn’t come.  Bumblebee and Trailbreaker and Sam and Carly had all been right.  Everything was okay.  Maybe he didn’t have to be scared anymore.  Why should he be scared when his family was all here to protect him?

Anyway, he was tired and wanted to take his nap.  Now that Bumblebee was here he felt safe enough to do so.  Blaster turned his head to one side, still resting against his caretaker’s armor but no longer hiding his face, satisfied that he was safe and content now that he was back with Bumblebee.

Bumblebee chirped comfortingly at the Sparkling, receiving a few tired, contented-sounding clicks in return.  He felt a hint of surprise and spark-felt relief at how relatively calm Blaster was.  Not that he’d had any doubts Sam and Carly would be able to look after him and keep him from getting too upset-far from it-but still, it was a relief to see that Blaster wasn’t upset to the point where he wouldn’t have calmed down as quickly as he had.  Adjusting his hold on the Sparkling slightly, Bumblebee shifted his attention to Sam and Carly, an unspoken question showing in his optics.

“He cried for a little bit after you left,” Sam reported.  “But he calmed down a little after I held him for a while.  He’s pretty much been quiet the whole time, and he didn’t feel like playing with any of the others.”  He smiled slightly, shifting his gaze up to Optimus.  “Trailbreaker’s been keeping him company.  He didn’t like the fact that Blaster was sad, so he grabbed his toys and came over here.  He helped Blaster feel a little better.”

Optimus knelt down so that he was closer to Trailbreaker’s level.  The Sparkling was still sitting where he had been when the Prime had entered the hangar with the others, and had been watching Blaster as he reunited with Bumblebee so that he could be sure that his friend was finally happy, but his caretaker’s movement caused him to shift focus onto Optimus instead.

“Is that right, Trailbreaker?  You helped Sam and Carly keep Blaster company?”

Trailbreaker nodded, the look on his faceplates extremely serious, which was amusing to see on a Sparkling.  “Uh-huh.  Blaster sad.  No good, Opt.”

Optimus smiled slightly.  “Yes, you are right, little one. It is never any good when a friend is sad.  It was very nice of you to keep him company so that he would feel better.  I am proud of you, Trailbreaker.”

The red and blue Sparkling clicked happily at his caretaker’s praise, causing Optimus to smile again.

“Are you ready to take your recharge nap, Trailbreaker?” The Prime questioned.

Trailbreaker blinked, and then looked up at Blaster.  His younger friend looked happy again, which was good.  He wasn’t sad anymore, and besides, he was probably going to take a nap too.  He looked pretty tired.  The Sparkling looked back at his caretaker and nodded, grabbing his stuffed bear and unsteadily getting to his feet. “’kay.”

Optimus lifted Trailbreaker out of the Sparkling play area and sat him down gently on the other side, taking hold of the Sparkling’s hand that wasn’t wrapped around the stuffed bear.  He returned his attention to the group of humans and Autobots that were watching over the Sparklings.  The others were getting ready to take the Sparklings to the quarters for their naps-Sideswipe had taken hold of a happily squealing Fireflight, who had climbed on top of a stack of the large soft blocks and had been trying to jump off in what seemed to be an attempt to fly, whereas Red Alert (the red mech was actually a surprisingly good Sparkling-Sitter despite his tendency to have panic attacks) had taken charge of both First Aid and Beachcomber, carrying a Sparkling in each arm as he stood to take them back to the medbay, which Ratchet was no doubt getting ready for them, making sure that everything was put away so that the Sparklings couldn’t get into something that they shouldn’t.  Blaster was still being held by Bumblebee, although now he was partially on his way into recharge and was absently sucking on his left hand.  

“There will be a combined training session with the human soldiers this evening,” Optimus informed those Autobots still present in the hangar.  “Red Alert, you have already agreed to take part.  If either of you,” Optimus continued, nodding Sideswipe and Bumblebee, “would like to participate, return here once your Sparklings have woken from their recharge.”

“Yes, sir, I think I’ll do it. I’ll have to get Sunny to agree to watch this little terror here, though,” Sideswipe replied, shifting his hold on Fireflight, who had finally quieted down now that his caretaker was properly holding him and had given his stuffed owl-which he had left on top of the blocks-back to him.

If Blaster’s still feeling all right when he wakes up, I’ll come too, Bumblebee agreed.  I think he’ll be okay, though.  Especially now that he knows I’ll come back when I say I will.

Optimus nodded.  “Very well.  I will see you both then.  Sam, Carly, thank you for helping to watch the Sparklings.”

“No problem, Optimus,” Sam replied.

“We’re happy to help,” Carly agreed.

Optimus nodded at them again, then turned, leading the now droopy-opticed Trailbreaker back to the quarters they shared, still holding the Sparkling’s hand as he refused to be picked up and insisted on walking.  “Come, Trailbreaker.  We need to get you to your berth before you fall into recharge on your feet.”

Red Alert had already exited the play area was on his way to give First Aid and Beachcomber back to Ratchet, trying to maintain a secure hold on both Sparklings.  Sideswipe walked up to Bumblebee and his family, shaking his head.

“Did you see him try to jump, Bumblebee?  It looks like he’s gone from simply wanting to fly to trying to fly.” The silver mech vented wearily as Fireflight let out another happy squeal at the word “fly”.  “It looks like I’m going to have to keep a closer optic on him from now on so that he doesn’t hurt himself.  See you all later.”

Once they were the only ones still near the play area, Sam looked up at Bumblebee.

“Hey, Bee, how did the training go?  Your leg still okay?”

Bumblebee shifted his hold on Blaster so that he held the little Sparkling in one hand, using his now free hand to give Sam and Carly a confident thumbs up.  True, his leg was still a little sore and he still had the tiniest bit of a limp, but it wasn’t hurting him enough to bother or hinder him anymore, really.

“So that means you’re still going to come home with us tonight?” Carly asked.

Bumblebee nodded enthusiastically, gently readjusting his hold on Blaster when the Sparkling-who was almost completely in recharge-let out a very soft whine at the movement.

“That’s great, Bee!” Sam said eagerly, although he made sure to keep his voice down so that he wouldn’t disturb Blaster, too.  “It’s not been the same without you-and Blaster-there.”

Bumblebee chirped in quiet happiness at Sam’s words.  He’d missed being home with his human family, too, and he had a feeling that Blaster felt the same way, but was unable to really express it due to his young age.  The young Autobot glanced at the Sparkling in question and, seeing that he was only moments away from complete recharge, decided the time had come to return to his and Blaster’s temporary quarters.

“Got to get-him-to bed,” He informed Sam and Carly, piecing together clips from his radio as quietly as he could.   “You can-come with me-if you’d like.”

At the silent nods of agreement that the human members of his family gave him, the young Autobot scout turned and led the way to his temporary quarters, taking care to be quiet and not jostle Blaster as he walked.  The little Sparkling was finally calm and relaxed, and Bumblebee didn’t want to disrupt that by waking Blaster up from recharge on accident.

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In the old days, back when the War was in its height on Cybertron, Prowl had never been one for giving a Decepticon a second chance-once a ‘Con, always a ‘Con, and that was his firm belief in the matter.  When he had arrived on Earth, however, he had found that two former Decepticons-Wheelie and Brains-had been accepted into the Autobot ranks, and had learned of another, the old Seeker Jetfire, who had sacrificed himself to help the Autobots in their fight against the other Decepticons.  The Security Officer had found himself needing to readjust the way he saw things, and had initially been very reluctant to do so.  However, time spent around Wheelie and Brains, along with Optimus and the others telling him Jetfire’s story, had made him realize how wrong he was.

Decepticons could change.

Maybe not all of them, but the potential was still there.  It was the same belief that Optimus had always held-that everyone, no matter their affiliation, had the capacity for good and should be given the chance to redeem themselves-and Prowl, who had once disagreed completely with that philosophy, now found himself accepting it.  Firestorm’s recent arrival and actions since he had awoken out of stasis had backed up his new belief.

And now he found himself facing another individual who had the chance at starting a new life with the Autobots.

Scattershot, however, still had yet to speak with anyone after what had happened at the abandoned factory.   Optimus had encouraged those who stood guard over the Decepticon’s room to talk to him and make sure that he was doing well.  Scattershot never responded verbally, but it was obvious to Prowl and the others that he was paying attention to everything the Autobots told him, even though he still seemed too upset to reply.  Whether he actually cared or not was anyone’s guess, but Optimus seemed confident that Scattershot would come around, although he didn’t say why he was so confident.  Prowl had spent the better part of an idle drive through the city trying to figure out Optimus’s reasoning, but had eventually decided not to worry about it and to trust the Prime’s judgment in the matter by simply waiting for the former Decepticon to speak.

Prowl glanced at the door to the room Scattershot was in, then glanced down the hall.  Red Alert would be coming to take over the guard duties soon-as soon as he delivered Beachcomber and First Aid back to Ratchet, of course.  The Security Officer shook his head in amusement.  How could the sight of a regular human vehicle send Red Alert into a panic ( “It could be a Decepticon that’s shielding its signal somehow, Prowl!  Or it could be rigged up to spy on us, or it could be…”) but looking after two Sparklings not cause him to freak out at all? Sometimes, he believed he would never figure his friend out.

The amusement faded quickly, however, as Prowl turned his thoughts to the more pressing issue.  Scattershot was the only one who possibly knew what had been stolen from Teletraan-I.  Possibly, that was, because based on what the Autobots had seen and heard at the abandoned factory, added with what Scattershot had already told Optimus, the orange-armored mech had not been an important member of the Decepticons and therefore could very likely not know what the higher-ranked ones were planning.  While Optimus stressed that he did not want Scattershot to feel pressured into giving out information, at the same time it was known that they needed to know what Scattershot did, if he knew anything at all.  However, the Prime had ordered that they only let Scattershot tell what he wanted to, when he wanted to.

The problem was, Scattershot still hadn’t said a word in almost four days.  And until he got over his shock enough to finally speak to them again, there was little they could do except wait.

That, and hope that Computron and the others helping him could fix Teletraan-I soon.

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In an act of kindness, upon their return to the Autobot base nearly four days ago, Prowl and the other Autobot that usually guarded Scattershot-Red Alert, yeah, that was what he called himself-had escorted him, not to the room he had been kept in before the rescue mission, but to one of the spare quarters set aside for future Autobot arrivals.  It was located away from the occupied rooms, yes, but the fact that it had been given to him was a gesture of kindness and sympathy towards what had happened to him that the orange-armored Decepticon had never experienced before, at least, never experienced from the Decepticons.  His new room also contained what he had told Optimus Prime he wished the previous one had had-a window, so that he could see outside.  The fact that he had been given a room with a window and that there were no guards outside said window (even with his weapons disabled he was still more than capable of breaking out a window to escape) was a sign of trust that Scattershot felt more than a little amazed at.

If he was completely honest with himself, Scattershot realized, he actually preferred being a prisoner of the Autobots than being a soldier in the Decepticon forces.  He’d never been treated well by the other Decepticons there, aside from the very few he could truly call his friends.  In the days since the Autobots had taken him captive, he’d been treated far better.  True, he wasn’t really allowed his freedom, but here he had nice quarters of his own, was given Energon rations greater than any he had received before in the Deception army (he had a feeling that this was actually the amount of Energon all Cybertronians needed to remain healthy, but as he couldn’t remember ever getting much his entire life he couldn’t be sure of that), and the other Autobots, while not exactly friendly towards him, had treated him fairly and would talk to him frequently.  Even Optimus Prime himself had come to talk with him once or twice since the return of the rescue party.  The words the Autobots had all spoken to him, especially those of Optimus Prime, had made him think, something he had not been encouraged to do among the Decepticons.  

The Autobots thought he was being quiet because he was still upset over being cast out of the Decepticon army.  While that was partially true-he was still confused and upset over losing the only family he could properly remember-the real reason he had been silent for the past few days was because he was thinking, weighing his options and struggling to find answers to his questions on his own.

He’d been taught that the Autobots were his enemies, but his experiences of the past few days had led him to start to believe otherwise.  If the Autobots had been going to kill him, surely they would have done so by now.  And while a small nagging doubt about how genuine the Autobots were in their actions was still there, for the most part, he had accepted that they were nothing like what the Decepticon officers had taught him.  Scattershot still didn’t trust the Autobots completely-no, not yet-but he knew that they wouldn’t harm him, at least.  That conclusion brought another thought to mind, another dilemma.  He had been cast out from the Decepticons-kicked out, told to get lost, under pain of death if he ever returned.  He had no home, no friends, no family to turn to anymore.  He was alone.

But Optimus’s earlier offer, his suggestion that Scattershot join the Autobots…could that still be in play?

Could he really have a place among the Autobots?

Scattershot walked over the small window in his quarters, looking at the world outside.  Among the Decepticons, he had been one of the lowest-ranked soldiers, about as low as one could get without being a salvage or scrap drone.  Even Soundwave’s cassettes had been higher ranked than he was.  He was basically useless in a fight; even if he hadn’t disliked the idea of harming the innocent the fact that he was hopeless with his weapons made him a terrible soldier.  He had always been sent on the least important missions, the most insignificant raids.  He was, as Salvo and Bullseye had put it, expendable.  Unnecessary, not needed.  Something that could easily be done without.

And while the part of him that was not still plagued with doubts about the Autobots embraced the idea of joining them, he couldn’t help but wonder if that was a good idea.  Wouldn’t he be just as useless to their cause as he was to the Decepticons’? Just as expendable?

Even as he thought that, images he had seen since returning the Autobot base surfaced.  Wheelie and Brains, two former Decepticon drones, were treated the same as the Autobots who guarded him were.  And as for the Sparklings…if anything would fit the description of weak and useless and expendable that the Decepticons held, it was Sparklings; he knew that all too well as he had seen how poorly the Hatchlings had been treated when the Decepticons had been based in Africa, and even before then, when Megatron had first ordered their creation.  But here, they were loved by all of the Autobots and the utmost care was taken in every aspect concerning their upbringing; what little of it he had been allowed to see, anyway.  They’d stormed a Decepticon base just to rescue one Sparkling; the Decepticons would never do something like that.  And the humans-who had all been deemed worthless by the Decepticons, even those few they had actually bothered to work with-were seen and treated as equals by the Autobots.  Did that mean that the Autobots held a different view on what expendable was than the Deceptions did?  Did the Autobots even believe in anything being expendable at all?

One thing was for sure.  Scattershot now knew that he wasn’t going to find the answers he needed on his own.  All he had gotten from trying to figure things out all on his own was a sharp processor ache.  He needed to talk to someone.

He turned away from the window and walked towards the door.  Venting slowly to gather his nerve, he reached hesitantly up and tapped the door the gain the attention of the Autobot standing guard outside-Prowl, he was fairly certain.

The time had come to, at least partially, break his silence.

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Upon hearing the tapping on the other side of the door, Prowl had resolutely turned and opened it.  He was greeted by the sight of an extremely nervous-looking Scattershot.  The orange-armored Decepticon lowered the hand he had been tapping on the door with immediately and took a step back.

“What is it?” Prowl asked sharply, belatedly remembering Prime’s orders to treat Scattershot kindly.  He mentally berated himself when he saw Scattershot flinch and shrink back slightly.  “What do you want?” He hurriedly continued, this time in a kinder tone.  

Scattershot blinked nervously, then straightened and took a step forward again.  “Um…Prowl, right?”  At the Security Officer’s nod, the orange mech continued, looking slightly more at ease at Prowl’s silent encouragement.  “If…if it’s not too much trouble, I’d like to speak with Optimus Prime.  I…I need to ask him something.”

“Can’t you just ask me?” Prowl questioned.  Scattershot shook his head, an action that caught Prowl’s interest.

“No…sir.  I think it’s…I think I need him to answer.”

Before Prowl could form an answer to that statement, Red Alert came rushing into view.  The red mech skidded to a halt upon seeing the door to Scattershot’s quarters open with the Decepticon standing in the doorway.

“Prowl, watch out!” He cried excitedly, dashing forward again.  “The prisoner is trying to escape!  I’ll help you get him back in the-“

“Red Alert, it’s fine,” Prowl said firmly, stopping his friend’s headlong rush with an arm, just in time to prevent the other mech from crashing into both him and Scattershot.  “He’s not escaping.  He just wanted to talk to me.  I need you to go and get Prime.  Scattershot wants to speak with him.”

“Please, I promise it’s not a trick or anything,” Scattershot said in a small voice.  “I have some questions I really need the answers to, and Optimus Prime is the only one who can give them.”

Red Alert looked from Prowl to Scattershot in confusion.  “But…I’m supposed to be taking over the guard.”

Prowl pointed in the direction of Optimus’s quarters.  “And you can do that after you go and get Optimus.  Go on.”

Red Alert cast one more suspicious glance in Scattershot’s direction, then turned around and headed in the direction Prowl had indicated, still muttering agitatedly about “escaping prisoners” and “the lack of true security around here”.

Prowl turned his attention back to Scattershot, and he saw that the orange mech looked nervous again and was staring in the direction Red Alert had gone.  Prowl couldn’t be sure, but he thought he could see a trace of hurt alongside the nervousness in the Decepticon’s optics, and realized that Red Alert’s assumptions had done nothing to help what Scattershot was no doubt still feeling about what had happened to him.

“Don’t worry about Red Alert.  He’s always like that,” Prowl informed Scattershot, the faintest trace of a smile on his faceplate.  “He’s not happy unless there’s something he can overreact to and panic about.  You’ll get used to it soon enough.”

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Even though Trailbreaker had been tired and ready for his recharge nap when Optimus had retrieved him from the Sparkling play area, it had taken a while before the Sparkling was willing to be put into his berth for said nap.  Trailbreaker had insisted on sharing everything that had happened that day with his caretaker, and only when he had finished had he allowed Optimus to put him in his berth.  Once there, however, the Sparkling had fallen into recharge in minutes.

Sitting at his desk now that Trailbreaker was finally resting, Optimus found himself thinking over his Sparkling charge’s behavior in the main hangar that afternoon-his worry for Blaster, his determination to help him feel better, and his refusing to leave his friend’s side until he was positive the younger, smaller Sparkling was being taken care of.

Now that he thought about it, Optimus realized that Trailbreaker, despite being too rowdy by accident now and then, always seemed to be trying to take care of the other Sparklings, making sure that they were always together, all had toys to play with, and always tried to cheer them up when they felt sad.   The other Sparklings listened to him in his efforts, as well.

He is developing leadership skills, the Prime realized.  They are simple because he is so young, but that is what they are, and the other Sparklings see him as a leader because of this, despite their own young ages.  I wonder if…

The Prime’s thoughts were cut off by a rapid, urgent knocking on the door to his quarters.  Quickly, not wanting the visitor’s knocking to awaken Trailbreaker when the Sparkling had finally fallen into recharge, Optimus stood and made his way to the door, opening it.

“Red Alert, what is it?”

“Sorry to disturb you, sir, but it’s important,” Red Alert replied, talking rapidly as he always did when he was agitated about something.  “Prowl sent me; he’s guarding the prisoner, and he says that-“

Optimus cut off Red Alert’s rapid speech by holding up a hand.  “Slow down, Red Alert, and please, speak more quietly.  Trailbreaker has just fallen into recharge and I do not wish for him be woken up.”

“Sorry, sir,” Red Alert apologized sheepishly.  He shook his head before continuing in a more even and quieter tone.  “Prowl sent me to get you.  He’s guarding the prisoner-that Decepticon that turns into that beat-up orange car-Scattershot.  Anyway, Scattershot was talking to Prowl when I arrived to take over the guard shift, and apparently he told Prowl that he wants to speak with you, so Prowl sent me to tell you about it.”  He hesitated before adding, “Scattershot seemed really anxious, like it was really important.”

“I see.”  Optimus nodded.  “Thank you, Red Alert.  I will go and see what it is Scattershot wants now.” The Prime paused for a moment before continuing.  “I know you are next on the schedule to guard Scattershot, but would you watch Trailbreaker for me while I speak with our guest?  You can pick up your shift once Scattershot was said what he needs to.”

“Yes, sir, I will.” Red Alert still seemed agitated as he agreed to the Prime’s request, and quickly revealed the source of his continued agitation by speaking up again.  “Do you really think we can trust anything Scattershot says?  He is a Decepticon, after all.”

“He is not a Decepticon anymore, Red Alert,” Optimus Prime declared firmly.  “You saw for yourself what happened at the abandoned human factory.  He may not be an Autobot, but he is no longer a Decepticon.  He has already helped us when we needed it.  I believe we can trust him.”

“If you say so, sir,” Red Alert replied unhappily.  

Optimus exited his quarters and looked back to Red Alert as the other mech went inside to assume his temporary duty as Trailbreaker’s Sparkling-Sitter.  “While I respect your opinion in this matter, Red Alert, I would like to give Scattershot a chance with us, and I believe that what he has finally decided to share may be a determining factor in whether or not trust in him would be misplaced in the long run.”

Optimus could see that his words had put the paranoid mech at ease…well, sort of, anyway.  Red Alert nodded at him and there was a significantly less amount of agitation in his voice as he promised to look after Trailbreaker while the Prime was talking to Scattershot.  As the door to his quarters slid shut behind him, Optimus walked in the direction of the room Scattershot was currently being held in.

Now then, the Prime thought.  It is time to find out just what it is the Scattershot is so anxious to ask me about.

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Scattershot still wanted to get the answers to his questions, but even though Optimus Prime had been kind to him his entire time as the Autobots’ captive, he was still intimidated by the sight of the Autobot leader.  Sure, Optimus hadn’t been cruel to him like he had expected-had been taught-to believe,  but that still didn’t change the fact that he had seen the Prime in battle before and knew exactly how fierce Optimus could be when he needed to be.

Optimus could sense the Decepticon’s renewed unease and spoke kindly in the hopes of eliminating whatever was making him feel that way.  “I was told that you have some questions for me, Scattershot.  What do you wish to know?”

Scattershot was silent for a long moment.  Finally, he was able to draw up his courage and look the Prime straight in the optics.  “The other day…you said…you said I didn’t need to be a Decepticon.  You said that there’re Autobots who used to be Decepticons.  Does that mean…does that mean, if I wanted to, you’d let me join you?  I’m not saying yes,” He added quickly, “I just want to know…you’d really let me join, if I wanted to?”

Optimus smiled slightly at the orange mech.  “If you were to truly want to join us, yes, we would allow you into our ranks.  It might take a while for everyone to accept you, but you would become an Autobot, and would, eventually, gain the trust of the rest of us…and our human allies, as well.”

Scattershot nodded thoughtfully.  He still wasn’t sure if he really wanted to join the Autobots yet, but the idea of gaining a potential new family…even one that could not be more different than the one he’d recently lost…was comfort that he welcomed.  He hesitated a moment before plunging ahead with his other question.  

“Optimus…sir, what do the Autobots consider to be expendable?”

The Prime’s optics widened, then narrowed slightly.  “Expendable, Scattershot?”

“Well, you see, among the Decepticons, I was pretty much worthless.  I can’t fight very well at all-not that I like doing fighting anyway-and if you can’t fight well you don’t really matter in the scheme of things.  I wasn’t an important member of the Decepticon army and that’s why Salvo could afford to…to kick me out.  He wasn’t losing anything important.”

Sudden understanding lit Optimus’s optics.  “Scattershot, is that the true reason why you are so reluctant to join the Autobots?  Because you feel that you were useless to the Decepticons and so will be useless to us as well?”

Scattershot automatically opened his mouth to protest, but shut it when he realized the Prime’s words were an echo of what he had wondered earlier himself.  He still had doubts about the Autobots due to his upbringing as a Decepticon, in light of how he now knew the Autobots really were, those doubts were not strong enough to be the true reason he didn’t want to join the side of the Autobots.  Optimus had seen the truth-Scattershot was afraid that he would be just as useless to them as he had been to the Decepticons.  He looked down in embarrassed silence.

Optimus took the younger mech’s silence as confirmation to his suspicions.  The Prime stepped forward, placing a hand on Scattershot’s shoulder, causing the mech to look back up at him in surprise.

“Scattershot,” Optimus began, his voice kind.  “No one is worthless.  Just because you are not good at one thing does not mean that you do not have a natural talent that lies elsewhere.”

“But I’m nearly completely hopeless in a fight.  How can I-“

“You do not have to be a soldier.” The Prime’s voice took on a firmer note, though it was still kind.  “Not everyone is meant to fight. That is why we have medics like Ratchet, and espionage experts like Computron.”

“But I’ve seen them fight,” Scattershot protested.

“Yes, but it is not their main strength.  They will fight if pressed, but they do not enjoy it and it is not what they truly are meant to do.”

Scattershot was quiet for a moment before speaking up again.  “But what am I good at?  What can I do?”

“That is something you need to find out for yourself,” Optimus replied, though not unkindly.

The orange armored mech folded his arms and looked thoughtful, but his expression was still mostly troubled and confused.  Finally, he looked up at Optimus again.  “Thank…thank you for answering my questions.  I…I need some more time to think, though.  I…I’m sorry.”

Optimus nodded respectfully.  “I understand, Scattershot.  If and when you are ready to speak with me, or any of the others again, you need only to let us know.  And there is no rush in deciding what you truly want to do. Take your time.”  The Prime turned to leave, but before he exited the room, he turned partway around to address the younger Decepticon one more time.

“Remember this, Scattershot.  Among the Autobots, no one is expendable.”

With that, he turned back around and exited the room, leaving Scattershot alone once more with his thoughts.