Beeps and Buzzes

🦕 ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 4

　　　
"-- this drone I stole has recorded footage of an Autobot raid... in pieces. Watch what happens here,"

Bathed in a soft blue light was your expression of complete horror, held rapt by the destruction of Ratchet which only furthered your growing contempt for the human race. From a bot who was gruff at times but nevertheless reliable, brought to a point where he'd chucked all his pride and pleaded for mercy.

You'd use the term inhumane, and yet...

"Oh, that's Leadfoot" realised Hound,

"they rip him apart" Cade enforced,

"Savages" Cross stated,

Hand over mouth, you were rendered speechless. Bee's mournful whirrs audible to just you, others adopting a queasy silence as the footage crackled on.

Leadfoot, torn to shreds in a barbaric display of human brutality, one could only think in horror what the other Wreckers would do if they knew. Or if they were alive to know. Blood brothers - or equivalent - a tight knit family before the whole fraction separation started, known for extreme reactions, a massacre waiting to happen.

Lord knew you wouldn't stop them if that ever were to happen. Bigger question was if any of them remained.

Hound removed his helmet out of respect, pressed to his chassis, managing to tear himself away before it got too gruesome. No longer wanted to subject yourself to this massacre, began drawing lines by your feet. First squiggly lines, then actually characters.

Those Autobots were your friends. They did nothing wrong.

"And later," Cade continued tactfully, super in-tune to everyone's sombre emotions "this truck comes along and drags him off. KSI Kinetic solutions, defence Aerospace government contracts... then they designed this drone"

That company name felt familiar. No, no it was!

Years ago you considered applying for them or something when the world was slightly less audacious. You knew they were high fliers in the technology industry, able to turn their hands to anything and the place to go for any promising young engineers or mechanics.

Shane interrupted your trail of thought, trading uncertain looks with the metal titans surrounding him "so these government guys just want to hand you over to this KSI?" there was no mistaking that tone of uncertainty.

Both he and Tessa had proven (visibly and vocally) that neither wanted any involvement in this, and nobody could exactly blame them for not wanting to feature in this terrifying reality. Once upon a time it would've been special to meet Autobots, nowadays these titans were considered worse than criminals!

God, what's the world come to. First fugitives, then scrap parts for some snobbish tech company? Just the mere thought of your deceased friends getting dissected was enough to induce nausea.

Refusing to remain quiet any longer; with steepled fingers you entered the conversation, nudging tiny sand piles over a crude Cybertronian character. Anybody with knowledge might've been able to read it as 'All Gone'.

"KSI's main headquarters is in Chicago. I'm willing to bet that they... they get taken there. Lots of leftovers from That Battle. I think they were partly in charge of the whole cleanup operation besides Sector Six. Decepticons, Autobots and Scrappers. It big enough to hold it all"