Red Shirts

1: Forging Signatures

Bluestreak of Praxus stood aboard the empty command deck of the space cruiser assigned to him, the Red Shirt, and he couldn't help but feel overwhelmed. Throughout his whole life, he never thought for a nanosecond that he would be a commander in the Autobot army, but his exemplary performance in battle made sure he was swiftly promoted. Now, running his grey metallic hands across the control panel of the Ark-class cruiser, flustering feelings erupted from his frame.

"What am I even doing here?!", he screamed, trying to get a grip on the situation. "There are so many better Autobots they could have gotten to captain this thing, and they frakking chose ME?! Why?!" Clutching the bridge of his nose and falling into his captain's seat, confusion gave way to frustration. "What about Springer or Thunderclash? Rodimus? Slag, even Punch could have done a better job than me!"

"You know, we 'aven't even taken off yet, cap'an," drawled a baritone voice from the next room, "so perhaps you shouldn't judge yerself so harshly." Bluestreak turned in his seat to see a shorter red and blue mechaniod with a single glowing slit for an eye under an overhanging forehead. He was carrying a stack of boxes labeled "Mainframe's Things".

"Don't be like that, man. You know I'm right," Bluestreak said somewhat indignantly. Mainframe retorted with a look, or the best approximation of one a faceless robot can muster.

"Ya always say slag like that, but do ya actually think we agree with ya? If ya weren't the best choice they would've picked someone else, Blues."

" Yeah, I guess you're right, Mainframe."

"Aren't I always?", he replied with a flourish.

"No way! You seriously can't have forgotten the incident with Mirage and the turbofox, right?"

"Okay, first of all," Mainframe snapped, slamming the boxes onto a panel, "how was I supposed to know that thing would go after Mirage's rear end?"

"See?!", Bluestreak jumped up out of his seat, "That's the point I'm making! You're not always right! You can't claim that honestly!"

"Okay, okay, fine. I'm wrong. What are ya gonna do about it?" Mainframe leaned nearer to the car bot, placing his arms upon the taller mech's shoulders in a playful manner.

Bluestreak placed a finger on his chin, thinking conspicuously. After a moment of false deliberation, he smugly looked at Mainframe and leaned into his ear. With a false flirty tone he spoke, issuing his first command as captain.

"Go clean the hull."

Mainframe became visibly concerned. "Wait. Yer jokin', right? This is some sort of joke."

Receiving a reply only in the form of a raised eyebrow, Mainframe wistfully clamored off to the janitor's closet.

Bluestreak rolled his chair back around towards the huge deck window, leaned back, and smiled. While he still had many reservations about his new title, he pushed them into the back of his mind.

He pulls out a data pad from a storage pocket in his chest, and extends it. Opening a camera app, he begins to speak.

"Captain's log. Day one. Things are going swell. So far."