I'm not part of your machine... | Transformers Prime | Soundwave Centric

16 - If You're Lucky You'll Be Surrounded By The Ones That You Love

Breem = about 10 minute
Cycle = about 12 hour
Orbital Cycle = about a month
Vorns = 83 years (more used in a" for a very long time"/"we've known them for years!" way)
Nano-cycle = about a second
Groon = about an hour
Deca-cycle = about 3 weeks
●∘◦❀◦∘●∘◦❀◦∘●∘◦❀◦∘● = perspective change
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ─── = the end/beginning
- - - - - - - • - - - - - - - • - - - - - - - • - - - - - - - = time break/skip
══✬✩══╡˚✧✬✧˚╞══✩✬═══ = time skip and perspective change

Another escape, drug and alcohol use, talk of abuse, descriptions of abuse, mentions of sexual harassment and implied abuse,

We're temporarily jumping back in time for the beginning of this chapter. And I know this is supposed to be a Soundwave-focused story, but Starscream gets his own angst in this chapter because I'm the author and I said so.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Megatron was frantic now that he properly noticed Soundwave's absence. The panic of having his faction's collective babysitter missing surely setting in now that it had been about 3 cycles since Soundwave was confirmed to be nowhere in nor near the ship. Or locatable in any sense of the word.

To complement Megatron's stress was his officer's uneasiness. Starscream was nowhere to be seen, around the warlord at least, he was surely hiding away to avoid any beating. Knockout was busying himself with fixing the injuries that whatever poor viehcon who got in Megatron's way sustained. Shockwave managed to both plan an escape plan from the crumbling faction and pretended to be focusing on whatever project Megatron assigned to him.

- - - - - - - • - - - - - - - • - - - - - - - • - - - - - - -

As nano-cycles turned into groons, two of the three officers waited. This time however it happened to be Shockwave who was the late one, he had unfortunately gotten caught in Megatron's angry path and was stuck talking him down from his dark energon-induced state.

Knockout and Starscream stared at each other nervously. They knew, logically, that Shockwave would be fine. He could protect himself after all! But they couldn't negate the nervousness surrounding Megatron, after all, it was first Starscream, then the viehcons, then Soundwave, who would be next? They couldn't truly know that with the warlord's erratic behavior.

The door to the lab managed to be slammed open and closed with a might that neither bot from the high command thought was possible; both because the door slid open and closed, but also had no fast-opening function.

"Illogical." Shockwave vented out heavily, it was the closest to seething they ever thought they would hear the scientist's vocals go.

Knockout sighed sinking further into his slouched position on one of the, now three, stools in the lab. "Oh, Primus-"

"Just what did that brute do now?" Starscream spoke in a tone that matched Shockwave's vacantness in expressiveness.

"Megatron believed it was a productive idea to stop me in the halls to speak to me about the Predacon Project... and complain about the state of the Nemesis." Shockwave aired his grievances with the silver-clad lord.

Starscream made his thoughts known with a few insulting profanities at the one bot not present.

"Ah... I hate to change the topic so quickly, but," Knockout started.

Shockwave nodded, "Of course," he quickly continued after pulling up a map of Nevada with multiple purple and blue blinking dots on it. "This is a map of Nevada, the purple blinking lights are life signals. Specifically signals of you, Starscream, and I." He pointed at two dots placed much farther away from the others, "I was able to, using some old tracking devices Soundwave used, pick up signals from Soundwave and one other. They are the blue dots."