Shards (Transformers Prime, Shattered Glass)

Chapter 18

The darkness seemed at once both stifling and vast. Starscream's every step sent metallic echoes bouncing down corridors far out of sight and drowned out Sierra's beating heart. It all seemed endless to her, but Starscream clearly knew where he was going.

"Almost there," he murmured softly as they rounded another dark corner.

The corridor opened up into a massive room, filled with dead computer screens and a mess of wires trailed out across the floor.

"Does it always look like this?"

"Uh, no, I really don't know what happened," he set her down on a console and knelt to work on reconnecting the wires.

"What are you doing?" She slid to the edge and went to her knees to peer downwards.

"Trying to restore communications -ack-" he pulled his hand back as electricity arched from the wires and zapped him "Well, at least we know we do have some sort of power."

The sound of static from the screen made them both jump.

Sierra turned and Starscream straightened as an image flickered to life and a heavily distorted voice crackled across the speakers.

"Oh no," Starscream's voice dropped to a whisper and cracked "How did HE get this frequency."

A massive metal beast was framed by a background of swarming Insecticons. Violet eyes set in a sickly gray face bored holes in Sierra in the one second that they made contact with her gaze. But they swept past her and settled on Starscream.

"Well, you look well, Commander."

Sierra curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms at that voice. It sounded like open sea ice beginning to fracture, deep and threatening, with an utterly flat dull tone.

"What do you want, Optimus Prime" Starscream hissed and the venom in the words made Sierra jump.

Optimus chuckled roughly "I was hoping to confirm the end of a war that's gone on too long Commander."

"Well I'm SO sorry to disappoint you," Starscream snapped "But your face makes me sick, so I'll be going now."

The screen went black with a click.

---

"Raf! Raf, where are you!"

The door to the storage bay hadn't opened due to the power being down and Soundwave had to wrench it open to get in. But for all his frantic desperation, the little human was nowhere to be found.

"Raf! C'mon, where are you!"

A soft whine broke the still and Soundwave zeroed in on the noise, tracking it across the room to a pile of crates.

Carmine was hunched over, her nose stuck up and she strained towards Soundwave but wouldn't move from the curled up boy.

"Raf?!" Soundwave reached out and prodded the boy. Raf rolled limply

----

It took Starscream a good long twenty minutes to repair the damage done to the console and reroute the power. By then Sierra had fallen asleep again, curled on the alien equivalent of a keyboard and missed the rather impressive light display as the ceiling pulsed to life.

Right away the commlines crackled to life spitting static.

With a couple of adjustments he cleared the lines and a familiar voice came barking across.

"Who's got the lights turned back on?"

Starscream sighed in relief "I did, Megatron."

"You've returned Commander. Everything alright?"