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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 9, 2023 1:44:21 GMT
Characters Appearing: Nightshroud , Skyfire Location (s): Not far from the cave housing the Emberstone Timeline: December 15th, 2022 Plot Summary: Two short weeks before the big jailbreak, Nightshroud scopes out Witwicky but what she finds instead is the mech that Starscream once lost long ago.
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 9, 2023 1:51:45 GMT
She was so close.. Starscream was so close, and yet Nightshroud hated that she couldn't get to him. Not right now. She and Mire still had some prep work to do in order to preform this little escapade and so Nightshroud had taken it upon herself to go off on her own. Truthfully it had been a poor decision, but since when had she been known for making good ones? It made her so angry that she had already been so close to finding Starscream before when she'd run into Thundercracker, but now that she knew she needed to ready herself. The crimson femme would not go down without a fight, and she would fight to the death if that's what it took to save the one and only mech she cared about. Clematis was no longer family.
Starscream was.
Taking out her scimitar, the femme started hacking away at some of the nearby trees. There were frankly way too many of them around, and she needed the combat practice desperately. Again and again she struck the oversized brown sticks, not even caring how much damage she was doing to them. By the time she'd gotten it out of her system, she'd already felled at least three trees perhaps even four. She certainly wasn't counting, and it was just that many trees that were out of the way now.
Still keeping her blade at the ready, Nightshroud walked through the woods, spotting a small cave in the distance. It seemed a bit too small for her to enter, but she made a note of it should she need a place to try and hide out for awhile. Of course, what she didn't realize was that she about to receive some much unwanted company.
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 9, 2023 2:15:36 GMT
Skyfire had been hunting for Nightshroud ever since getting the datatracks from Jazz. Having reviewed them, he was certain of two things - Jazz had done everything he could, and that there was no sign that Nightshroud's spark had not gone to the Matrix. The female seeker had supposedly been seen with another who was in his size class, which meant he required a great deal of caution in his approach. Yet he'd found her, and she was alone a little too close to Witwicky - to the prison. He wasn't scared of her in the slightest due to the sheer difference in scale between them. So he transformed in midair, and landed behind her in mid-transform, standing up and stretching his neck and shoulder joints to give her a moment.
"You are Nightshroud, correct? I am Skyfire."
He knew that his name carried weight, though he didn't like it. Skyfire, the Lost Seeker. A legend, a myth to anyone who hadn't flown with him before the Great War. Only Starscream, his wingman had even remembered him. That same wingman was the one who'd left him for dead the second time. It was the Autobots who had reminded him of honor; Wheeljack had found him and repaired him. He hoped that perhaps he would be able to pay that forward, to another bot who was lost in the problems of the Great War. The needless war that had ended still bound them. Maybe they could start to change that tonight.
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 10, 2023 3:23:46 GMT
Nightshroud heard the incoming aerial craft, not even flinching as they transformed behind her and landed with a heavy thud. Whoever it was clearly was a large one; perhaps even closer to Mire's size range.. but this wasn't Mire. Something felt different in how they transformed and landed, and it only served to make the femme grip her blade tighter as they spoke.
And they knew her name.
Whipping around, Nightshroud turned just as the other spoke their own name. She gazed upon Skyfire with a harsh glare, especially when she noticed the Autobot sigil plastered right on his chassis. She'd heard some tales of this mech with how he had been lost on a distant world long ago but didn't know much else about his tale outside of whispers of how he had been rescued by the Decepticons only to plunge into deep freeze once more. There was some familiarity there as she herself had been rescued by the Decepticons, but the difference was she didn't join the opposing team. Powering up the afterburners in her heels Nightshroud let herself fly up to meet Skyfire optic to optic, hovering in place as she kept a steady hold on her scimitar just in case.
"You would be right, but I'm curious how you know who I am. Don't tell me my sister's been crying to every Autobot she meets again, has she?" It wouldn't have surprised her if he'd encountered Clematis. The crimson seeker couldn't think of any other way that he'd have known her name as she didn't serve with the main Decepticon army. She was curious to hear just what Skyfire had to say on the matter either way, but she was prepared for the 'you're fighting for the wrong side' spiel if he had indeed met up with Clematis.
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 10, 2023 4:51:38 GMT
Skyfire was actually surprised at the way she responded to him. He'd half expected that she'd attack. It would be a very bad idea for her to do so, but she was a Decepticon. Most Decepticons he'd met, even those who'd been reasonable machines in the Golden Age, had been reduced to being just a gig of attitude on a ten meg hard drive.
Still, there was something about the way she hovered that reminded him of the old days. Something about the way she flew made him think, momentarily, of the other Seekers; one in particular. He didn't have time for that process now, so it was killed without archival. "I am pleased to be right. Clematis is certainly not 'crying' at this point, nor was her explanation addressed to 'every Autobot'. We met, we spoke, and I decided that I would at least try to make you see reason."
He folded his arms over his chest. "I will start by making this perfectly clear. I don't care what brand you bear, or to whom you feel most loyal. The Great War is ended, that's the important thing. Many still have prejudices forged from millennia of conflict, to which I was not privy, because I was here. I was only involved in the last few years of the conflict. With that made clear, I will start with a question to which I expect a rational answer and not apoplectic anger. Why do you refuse contact with your sister?"
He wasn't going to start with the factional nonsense - he'd made his position clear on that. The War was over. He'd tried to convince Starscream already, because it mattered. He hoped that this younger mech would understand and see reason.
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 11, 2023 14:57:15 GMT
So Skyfire was here to try and make her see reason. Nightshroud couldn't have rolled her optics any harder at that statement as she listened to the other prattle on about how the war was over and whatnot. She was already well aware that the war between Autobots and Decepticons as they knew it back on Cybertron and even on Earth was finished, but that didn't mean the fight wasn't continuing. The whole 'we don't need to fight anymore' spiel had already been said hundreds of times by many a bot, but that didn't necessarily change things. The main issue remained that Autobots and GHOST were capturing anyone who still declared themselves a Decepticon and wrongfully imprisoning them for life. The Decepticons, who fought for freedom and the same rights as everyone else to begin with, still found themselves prisoners while the Autobots all high and mighty as they were still sat on top like everything was owed to them. However, Nightshroud didn't care as much about that age old war. Right now her main concern was that the Autobots had stolen everything from her.
And Starscream was everything.
"Because she left me to die." The crimson seeker spoke bluntly, optics still narrowed. "Whether she abandoned me on purpose or not, it doesn't matter. She should have known that I was alive through our split spark connection, and she didn't. I didn't see her again for half a stellar cycle. Instead of even considering my feelings about those that did rescue me, she insisted I join her because the Decepticons were the ones who were in the wrong. Like she expected everything would just be back to normal if I went with her, but how could it? I was hurt by the one bot I was supposed to be able to trust; The other half of my own spark! I swore to stay with those that rescued me because I had nowhere else to go, and every single time we meet it's the same thing. 'You're on the wrong side.' 'I'm trying to help you'. 'I wasn't lying to you, and I'm sorry.' Clematis always says the exact same thing, and every time she does it only hurts more. I have spent millions of years scared to ever trust anyone ever again because how do I know they're not going to hurt me the same way she did?"
With a weak laugh, Nightshroud continued. "Except I finally found someone I can trust. Someone who completely accepts me and is actually willing to work with me to make me feel whole again. Same bot who mourned you, actually.. and yet you did the same thing to him that Clematis did to me. The both of you are so much alike." Nightshroud's words spat out like venom. She knew her words would make it crystal clear that she'd aligned herself with Starscream, but she wanted Skyfire to understand why she hurt. She knew their situations were similar that they'd been abandoned and rescued by the Decepticons, except for one stark difference.
Skyfire betrayed the Decepticons and went with the Autobots.
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 11, 2023 16:41:48 GMT
On the whole, Skyfire was usually one of the most logical of the Cybertronians. Whether that was due to ancient damage to his emotional processing unit, or simply that his function was to be a scientist, it didn't matter in the end. But there were a few things that really riled him - and being accused of an action he did not commit was one of them. His face shifted to a look of rage at her accusation, but he realized - it was the same thing Starscream did, she was trying to get him riled. Trying to get under his hood and tick him off. It just so happened that she knew what button to push. He inhaled deeply, his optics focused on hers. She'd have to realize just how close she'd come to him losing his temper - and how bad that would likely be for her, considering the difference in size between them.
Still, he wasn't here to fight her. That would come later.
"She did not leave you. She was unconscious at the time of her rescue, and was unable to inform her rescuer - Jazz - of your presence. I have received a copy of Jazz's datatape of the entire event, from the bombing of the building to after he had rescued Clematis. I had hoped that you would be willing to review it. He, and all the other Autobots there, made all efforts to save every spark they could find. None of us are perfect. We are not gods. The fact that you were found while the Decepticons were poring through the rubble for supplies to fuel the war does not imply any rescue attempt on their part, I assure you."
His optics narrowed at her, and his voice turned somewhat sinister. Her words had hurt him, so Skyfire chose to take the time to hurt Nightshroud back. They both knew Starscream - and he wasn't going to let that drop. "In Jazz's datatape, there is visual and sensory evidence of exactly which Seeker dropped the bomb which landed on that building. I know you wouldn't believe me if I told you, and the one who did it probably considers the day your life changed forever no more memorable than any other random day."
Having twisted the knife in a way that would once have made his former Air Commander proud, he continued. "Your concerns about who would or would not hurt you are understood. You need help - psychological therapy would be most advisable. You are a victim of the War. That war has ended, but the scars run deep. You need help. The terrorists who refuse to accept peace prey on your anger, rather than try to help you move past it. Being trapped in your fear and hatred is not a path toward growth. You must learn to forgive. It is not easy, but it is necessary."
He knew that was true from experience. Yes, he was still upset over the events that led up to been left buried a second time, but he was never upset about the first time, even as more details came to light. If anything, he was glad that Starscream had lived, and had not purged Skyfire from his memory banks. He was even thankful to Soundwave for having been the one to directly revive him. Frankly, if they'd continued the act, or not wanted to kill the humans Spike & Sparkplug, he'd have stayed a Decepticon for far longer. A little honor would have gone a long way.
Still, she wanted to address it. Let it come out, in full. "Starscream mourned me, I know that. But he never reported my location to the Elders, because of the electromagnetic storm. He believed that the Decepticons would be able to come to this world and plunder it, I'm sure of that. But because of the errors in his databank, he lost the triordinates. He did not know this world when the Ark crashed. It was simple greed that led them to me, not a rescue mission."
He shook his head. "I was assigned to guard duty while the Decepticons plundered the energy under the ice, or attempted to. I was approached not by a fellow Cybertronian, but by two humans. I took them prisoner, because they were very small, and bore me no threat. As soon as I informed Starscream and Megatron of this, they wanted to kill the pair! There are many things which have changed, but my honor did not shift. We don't kill noncombatant prisoners. I refused to allow it, as a matter of Cybertron law - as a soldier, it was my duty to refuse an unlawful order."
Now there was a sneer on his face. "Did I get an explanation for it, even explaining these two were enemy combatants? Not at all. I got a Null Ray in the bearings for it and screamed at - he called me traitor, as though voicing a point of law in defense of two lives was as much treachery as shooting an ally. The Autobots did not shoot me, they did not harm me. I managed, just barely, to help the Autobots and the humans escape while they stopped the plundering of energy, but it was too late for me. Starscream turned on me. My wingman was the one who shot me down and left me in stasis lock, buried under tons of ice and snow, left for dead a second time. It had been millenia between my first burial and rescue on this planet - my second was only a few weeks. Wheeljack was the one rescued me from that."
Skyfire looked her in the eyes. "Starscream was once a good bot. He might be again. But he refuses to put the war behind him. If he accepted that it was over, agreed to fight no longer, he would be allowed to fly free, instead of being caged and buried under tons of material on this miserable ball of ice and mud. But, he has hopefully at least learned one sharp lesson - we don't kill prisoners. If the Autobots did not follow the laws and morals of Cybertron, and killed prisoners, he'd be long since slagged. If they even considered it, I would oppose it as I did before. I would stand against Prime and Megatron together if they threaten him while he is a prisoner."
Things had changed over millenia, but to Skyfire, right and wrong didn't change. He had fought because there was no other way. Now, there was another way; and he was tired of those who refused to see it.
"I was not present for most of the War. But, I do know who struck first. And I know who attacked civilian facilities. I know which side dropped bombs on Uraya, and which side did all they could to save the civilians there. And you are not aligned to those who did everything they could to save you. As I said, I have a copy of Jazz' datatape of the incident. I have not yet contacted Red Alert and Inferno who are also from that city-state, but their presence was recorded as well - trying to save you and your sister. She was unconscious when she was found, she made no sound whatsoever. Unfortunately, thanks to the efforts of the Constructicons under the leadership of Megatron and Starscream, the Guardian of Uraya was murdered that day. The last of their kind alive to any knowledge is Omega Supreme, and he was Guardian of Iacon. And you may not believe me, but I am glad that you survived the assault by the Seekers. Your sister means you no harm. She will not turn on you and call you a traitor without reason."
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 12, 2023 3:06:49 GMT
Maybe Starscream had rubbed off on Nightshroud, or perhaps it was the lack of recharge and fueling. Either way she was out to make everyone hurt at the moment, and she could find that easy hook on Skyfire knowing his history with Starscream from the shorter of the two himself. She knew that he had been forced to leave him behind on Earth despite his efforts to find the mech he cared about, only to find him again on Earth with the rest of the Decepticons after the war had switched from Cybertron to Earth. She might not have known what happened between them, but it seemed that Skyfire was insistent on explaining every last detail to her: how Clematis had not abandoned her and how the Decepticons weren't actually intending to rescue her. The femme didn't remember a lot of that day, only remembering up until moments before the explosion and little moments before she had been rescued. She'd lost full consciousness from the blast, only to come back online long after Clematis had already been rescued pinned by rubble and scaffolding that had pierced through her armor.
So to hear that the tall mech claimed to have a datatape from Jazz himself had come as a surprise to say the least. Skyfire wanted her to review it, and while part of her didn't want to see it there was that curiosity as well. He seemed to believe she wasn't already aware of who had bombed Uraya that day, but what she didn't know what who exactly had been the one that caused the trauma she carried with her today.
"You don't think I already know that? I carry my own hatred, and no one is using me. I did what was necessary to survive, and if I don't let anyone in then I know I can't be hurt again. That's where Starscream and I have much in common. We've both been terribly hurt by those we once trusted, and he's already helped me heal from some of those old war wounds. I no longer needed to mask my insecurities with hatred when he was around, and then you all took him from me!" Nightshroud glared angrily at Skyfire, though knew he wasn't necessarily the one to blame in that regard. She merely referred to the Autobots as a whole, but it was one more reason to hate them.
The femme continued to listen as the scientist explained his history with the Decepticons when he had first awoken back on Earth, how he wished to protect a couple of seemingly harmless humans before Starscream apparently labeled him as a traitor and shot him with his null ray which somehow sent the mech right back into stasis lock before going back under the ice. It was laughable in a way, though the crimson seeker didn't laugh. The mech she cared about had never once mentioned shooting Skyfire, but she had been told how the other had joined the Autobots souring the reunion. Maybe it wasn't the whole truth, but it hadn't been any of her business to ask anyway. "Well if he shot you, then he certainly had to have had a reason right? Starscream told me all about how you decided to join the Autobots after being rescued by the Decepticons. I don't know about these humans, but I have heard just how destructive they can truly be. You would be a fool to trust them." Then again, she was a fool for trusting Starscream herself but it had helped better her.. at least until she'd lost him. Now Nightshroud was slipping back into her old ways of being rash and reckless. She'd do anything if it saved Starscream's life.. even at the cost of her own.
She really didn't want it to come to that either.
However, as Skyfire went on to speak of Starscream's state while locked up Nightshroud's rage only grew. The taller seeker had to know where he was being kept, though she was aware of his exact location now too with Mire's help. She just couldn't go there yet as they weren't ready. "That's the thing, Skyfire. He has. He has given up on this war! All Starscream wants to do is save as many lives as he can and go home to Cybertron to rebuild. Away from you, away from Megatron.. and anyone who wants to continue this damned war. I don't even care about this war anymore. I just want Starscream back, and I will do everything in my power to get him out of jail." Dangerously, Nightshroud smirked before continuing. "I know exactly where he's being kept. I know exactly how to get in, and I'm not telling you my plans.. but sometime soon expect to see all hell raised. I will save him, and I am willing to throw my own life away trying if that's what it takes... but I want you to know this, Skyfire. I want every Autobot who took part in taking away the ONLY trace of happiness I have felt in millions of years to suffer every ounce of agony I have felt since Starscream was captured."
Nightshroud backed up a little bit, staring the other bot down. "So before things get out of hand, are you showing me that datatape or not? I already know the Decepticons are the ones responsible for the bombing, so nothing you could possibly have to show me is going to phase me."
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 12, 2023 8:32:14 GMT
Skyfire looked at Nightshroud, his expression stony. He'd decided already that her attempts to get at him wouldn't be effective. He sighed deeply at her assessment that they'd taken Starscream from her. If only she knew how untrue it was. He let her continue talking, though he was deeply unhappy with the way she seemed to interpret the events of her own near-death. It was a totally separate set of circumstances than the physical impossibility of saving Skyfire from Earth without an external ship.
"I accept that you have pain, and that over the millenia, it's developed into hatred. You need help, and change will not come overnight. I do not begrudge you the need for survival, nor do I have any disrespect for your loyalty to those you see as having rescued you - after all, you weren't hit with a null ray and then an ion blast for defending seeming innocents."
He looked at her impassively when she said that Starscream must have had reason to fire, and blinked his optics, slowly. They both knew that was a lie. "I didn't 'align myself' with humans at the time. I merely reviewed the situation. The two humans had no weapons which could hurt a member of our kind. I did imprison them for trespassing."
She told him that Starscream had given up on the war, and shook his head, interrupting her. It was probably a shock given his reputation, but he only let her continue after speaking quickly. "That's a lie."
He sighed when she talked about him as though she were in love. If only Starscream knew the loyalty he inspired in those around him. There was a reason why he had been selected as Air Commander. There were likely a great number of their allies on Cybertron who would still follow Starscream, regardless of how he stood, if there were sides, or what side he was on. He was that good a leader, when he wanted to be. That was his function. "I know where he is as well, Nightshroud. In fact, I can guess where he is at this exact moment, and what he's doing. Until he surrenders, and means it? Let him sit. Let him mope, and think of the wonders this world could offer, the truths it could unlock about our people. If you make any attempt to free him, I will oppose you - and all your allies, because you wouldn't be stupid enough to do this without a wing. I do not doubt your ability - that is not the point. It would be mere protoform's play for Skywarp to break him out, for example. I will not allow it, until he surrenders. The day he is good enough to lead Thundercracker, Skywarp, and I again, to redeem Acid Storm, Dirge, Ramjet, and the others... on that day, he will be a free mechanism again, free to fly the skies again. Until then, I will oppose your efforts. Short of rusting beyond all function, I will resist you. I do not wish to fight you. If you force the issue, you have my word that I will make every effort to encourage Optimus and Megatron to allow you and Starscream to either share a cell, or have adjacent cells. If you can convince him to genuinely give up the fight, such that Thundercracker and I actually believe him, I will be glad to be the one to destroy the damned restraining bolt, which still seems less barbaric to me than removing his power chip rectifier."
He flipped his optics to projection, extending a cable from his neck for her to jack into the sensoria he received from Jazz. "Nightshroud, are you aware of the Cybertronian altmodes of the majority of the Seekers? If not, I can translate the altmodes to their Earth modes."
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 12, 2023 14:38:47 GMT
And there it was! Despite Nightshroud's feelings about Starscream, Skyfire was quick to demonize him. Starscream had made genuine progress with the femme, helping her to see more than hatred and had brought a sense of calmness and rationality that she had long forgotten during the years. He made her feel cared for and that treated her in a way similar to how a sire would treat their own sparkling. Nightshroud was a sparkling to him, and now that that one thing keeping her sane had been taken away the femme found herself slipping right back to the edge of sanity. She couldn't recharge well with the constant nightmares even when she tried to remember the older seeker's words. She felt that everyone was out to get her, and she found her newfound partnership with Mire to be taxing at that.
It was just until Starscream was free and safe..
Skyfire could call it all a lie all he wanted. He could accuse Starscream of wanting to continue a pointless battle all he liked, but he didn't know Starscream like he was now. He had told her all of how he wanted to go back to Cybertron and rebuild; to restore Vos and make it a place where anyone could be accepted including her, someone who had to visit an underground facility to exchange wheels for wings. If Starscream was moping, then the seeker was in a far worse state than Nightshroud had already feared. What if he was slipping back into old habits? What if he was just lying to the Autobots to keep his own agenda a secret and the femme had just blown it? Either way, the larger one didn't believe her so if Starscream's plans were meant to be secret they were still safe for now. What she wouldn't stand for was letting him stay down in that cell for another minute longer than he needed to. That limit was already being pushed. "If you think you're going to scare me into abandoning Starscream, then you're sorely mistaken. He made a vow to never abandon me, and I will not abandon him when he needs me. I don't care if I have to face down Omega Supreme himself, but Starscream will be escaping. Maybe not today as I'm not prepared, but in the coming weeks. You can even tell him yourself if you like. He already knows I'm coming for him, and I'm not about to let him down. I don't claim to know what he has said to you or even Thundercracker for that matter, but it's.. laughable. You're so quick to jump to the conclusion that he must be lying and my feelings about it should just be disregarded. We're clearly wrong, and that's what you all have decided. I know he has a history of treachery. I'd be a fool if I didn't consider that, but he saved my life before he was captured. He gave me a place to stay and welcomed me with open arms. He prioritized my safety over his own, and that was his decision not mine.. I know he does not want to continue this fight, and you seem to be obsessed with this idea that he's thought otherwise. You and Clematis both.. You're both too blind to see maybe, just maybe.. you're wrong."
There was a hesitance when Skyfire offered the cable to her. Nightshroud stared him down cautiously, not removing her optics from the mech as she slowly came forward to take the cable and make the connection. From there she could see it: Jazz's memory of that night in Uraya. She remembered the streets and the surroundings, even if the memories had faded over time. To see Uraya as it was moments before the bombing was surreal, and it would be a lie to say it didn't elicit any sort of amazement from the crimson seeker. "I know their alt-modes well. It's hard to miss them." At a distance it would be difficult to tell as many seekers shared not only the same mold but also identical alt-modes. At a distance it was hard to tell colorizations, but within Jazz's memory just as Skyfire was so certain he knew exactly dropped the bomb that ultimately tore Nightshroud and Clematis apart.
"What am I looking for? What are you so certain I will see? Like I said, I already know the Decepticons are the ones who bombed Uraya."
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 12, 2023 22:57:10 GMT
Skyfire had reviewed the tape himself previously, of course. Thankfully, Jazz had looked up, and made a positive identification of his enemies - the three-man wing with Starscream in the lead, flanked by Thundercracker and Skywarp. He slowed the playback, and turned attention to the bomb bays of the three Seekers. The only one that opened in trajectory to hit the building which was identified as the laboratory which Clematis would later be saved from was Starscream's. Skyfire had been totally unsurprised at that, of course - Thundercracker would have used his lightning weapon, and Skywarp would have warped in and out, rather than dropping the bomb from in the air. Only Starscream would have been so cruel. He could feel in slow-motion the fear welling up in Jazz, the determination to save everyone he could. The efforts he had already started to make. In that moment, it was obvious that the Autobot's intentions were not combat, but rescue.
Skyfire's comms voice spoke quietly across the cable link between them. <That is what you need to see. You know who that is as well as I do - I could make positive visual identification from a dozen factors in the visual recording alone, without the confirmation from Jazz's onboard computer encoded in the datatape. You've seen that the encryption is valid. This sensory recording has not been tampered with.>
He played it slightly further, pausing to show the moment of impact with the building, so she could see the fact that Starscream was, as usual, showboating and gloating over the impending destruction of a defenseless civilian building. It pained Skyfire to do it. By the Inferno, it even pained him to look at Starscream acting like this. But she would need to understand, the distrust wasn't unearned. This was the Starscream that Skyfire had not known. This was the War at its height in a way he'd never truly understood. If there were Autobots who still carried that hate in their sparks, this was an example of why.
He didn't bother speaking again, letting the datatape play out, showing her what heroic efforts Jazz and the Autobots made. He showed that in spite of probes in the rubble, in spite of a network of Autobots working together while under fire, they had not found even the slightest hint of Nightshroud's life-signs. Jazz (whose audio sensors were known to be among the best on Cybertron) didn't hear or sense a sound from Clematis. Nightshroud had not been meaningfully abandoned. The rescuers did all they could, until the ground fighting began. The first Decepticons to land and start firing on the medics and rescue workers along with Jazz, Red Alert, and Inferno, were the Seekers. They were led, of course, by Starscream, who destroyed the sensor net with a Null Ray and carelessly attacked those who were trying to find anyone who might have been left - even just their shell.
He paused on the look that Jazz had recorded on Starscream's face. It was a look of smug hatred, one which made Skyfire's lubricant pump run cold.
He hoped for a moment that it would have the same effect on Nightshroud.
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 12, 2023 23:31:14 GMT
As if right on cue, Nightshroud's question had been answered for her. That familiar trine.. those familiar colors.. Starscream had been there that night, but not in a way that she ever would have expected. The femme watched the events unfold, watching the bombing itself from Jazz's perspective. He could see the very way Starscream acted so callously and cruelly, and that was when it finally hit her.
Starscream.. was the cause of all of her pain and trauma.
Nightshroud watched in silence, trying to deny it as much as possible. There was no way.. It had to have been someone else. It couldn't have been the same mech she knew now, and yet it was. It didn't make sense, but if this truly was not tampered there was no denying it. This was the truth, and she didn't know what to feel. There was no angry, no betrayal. Just.. nothing outside of her stunned expression. She couldn't focus on the rest of the events that played out, trying to find any excuse to deny what she'd seen but it was no use. Skyfire had managed to drop an equally strong bombshell on the crimson seeker, and the longer he played that datatape the worse it felt. The way he paused it on Starscream's face as the seekers fought off the Autobots attempting to rescue everyone they could. It was too much..
<STOP!>
With an anguished cry, the femme ripped the cable out before she lowered herself to the ground. The afterburners cut out a single meter off the ground resulting in Nightshroud unceremoniously landed. She sat there wordlessly, clutching her helm tightly with both her servos. Why..? Why did it have to be Starscream, the one mech who she let herself trust? Shuttering her optics tightly, she whimpered not knowing what to do or think. She felt so much hurt, but at the same time a thought came to mind. Starscream would never have told her he was the one who had dropped the bomb, right? There was a reason for that, and that reason was crystal clear. He would've known, or at least had reason to think, that if Nightshroud ever found out she would turn against him. He would've known he was the cause of her nightmares, because she had told him she'd been there that night and what had happened to her. What if.. there was another reason for it all?
What if.. the reason he was caring for her as he had wasn't a manipulation attempt, but an attempt to make up for what had happened that night in Uraya? The seeker knew that one night destroyed her life, and he'd been trying to pick up the pieces. It wasn't like he knew her back then. It wasn't like he was specifically trying to kill her after all. He was just trying to accomplish a job whether he was ordered to or not. It'd only been millions of years since that night. Bots could change, and despite having every reason to turn against Starscream at that exact moment..
She couldn't..
While she didn't look at Skyfire, Nightshroud let her arms drop to her sides as she spoke staring blankly into the woods. "He wasn't trying to kill me.. He didn't even know me, and I didn't know him.. We spent all that time together after the war. He took me in, and gave me a home.. made me feel safe for the first time. He made me feel like I was a part of something. I think all this time he knew the damage he caused me after I told him I was there that night.. and everything he's done since then was to make up for it. If Starscream hadn't bombed Uraya that night.." Nightshroud paused, her face scrunching up a bit. "I wouldn't have an adopted sire who cares so much about me. You can tell me whatever you want, Skyfire.. play any memory you want.. but I'm not turning my back on him. You can't turn me against him. I still love him.."
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 12, 2023 23:58:22 GMT
Skyfire retracted the cable, and stood by quietly to let Nightshroud process the situation. She understood the point he'd been trying to make. It was agony, the same kind of process he'd gone through during those weeks in stasis. He'd spent his dying time, knowing his batteries would run dry again, trying to rectify the memory of Starscream the passionate scientist with the bot who'd yelled and called him a traitor for standing up and doing what was plainly the moral thing. But she was right - the attack had been targeted against the lab, not her specifically. Starscream didn't know - and just as likely, he didn't remember. He sighed when she declared her feelings for him.
"I am sorry for causing the pain you are now going through - I know it too well. You care for him. If you see in him even an iota of the mechanism he was in the Golden Age, then I ask you to please, stop fighting. It won't help. Carrying on the war, or some misguided terrorist attack will not help him. If you have a real issue with the means of his imprisonment, talk to the people who can do something about it. I will make sure they listen. If you can't bring yourself to blame Starscream for that night, then surely, you also cannot blame Clematis. She is a victim as well, and she loves you. I mean it when I say that I do not care what insignia you wear, now that the war is over. It's not my place to judge your relationship with Starscream; only to say that if you can actually help him to not be the mech we've seen in that cell, or in that recording, I would be proud to fly in formation with you. Your sister did not abandon you. If you are still angry with Jazz, even having seen what he saw and feeling what he felt, I accept that as well. But hating someone who is as much a victim as yourself, and who means you no harm? It seems illogical."
He shrugged lightly, his cogitator turning as he considered the situation in more depth. How could he get Nightshroud to understand, he only wanted to help? "Clematis chooses not to work with G.H.O.S.T., because she is not a combatant. She is a medic, and from my understanding, possesses great skill. You could request that she visit Starscream in his cell, to attempt to diagnose the myriad problems in his systems. It would be less confrontational than asking Ratchet, and it would help Starscream get his faulty diodes sorted. I would willingly be her escort to the jail - and yours. But you would have to make two oaths to me. First, that you will contact Clematis and speak to her, as we have spoken; second, that you will attempt no violence or make an effort to have him illegally broken out of jail. You will not be imprisoned if you do not fight. If an Autobot attacks you first, they will answer to me."
He wasn't trying to stop her feelings, that would be stupid. He just wanted her to see reason. He needed Nightshroud to see that there was a better path forward than hatred and violence. The War was over. They needed to keep it that way, to live up to the ancient intonation - till All are One.
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Post by Nightshroud on Feb 13, 2023 4:07:01 GMT
Nightshroud sat there on the ground, staring out into the woods as she tried to sort through her thoughts while Skyfire continued to prattle on. Learning that Starscream had been the one to bomb the science lab she worked at had been a lot to take in, but even now she made excuses for him. She truly believed he was no longer that same mech and he'd proven that to her himself. He didn't want to continue the fighting, yet Skyfire insisted that Starscream still wanted to fight. Of course she was going to believe the one she called her adopted sire over a lost seeker she'd only just met, even if he and Starscream had once been friends. That didn't change things for her, but what did finally snap her out of that trance was the larger mech's talk of going to someone who could do something about Starscream's whole imprisonment situation. She wanted to laugh out loud right then and there, but kept silent until he finally decided he was done talking. Again he mentioned how Clematis loved her and how she'd never abandoned her, and again mentioned that he himself was not faulting her either.
He wove a tale of how they could best help Starscream and get him medical attention he apparently needed, claiming there had to be something wrong with his processor. Maybe the war had made everyone a little crazy, but Nightshroud didn't for a second believe that the jailed seeker needed someone to sort out all the problems in his processor. He was perfectly capable of doing that himself. He'd helped Nightshroud with her issues, and she'd helped with his. Maybe it wasn't the perfect solution, but it helped get them through the tough times when they were alone.
Once Skyfire finished his piece, demanding that Nightshroud make two vows to him at that moment there was a brief period of silence before the crimson seeker laughed. She covered her forehelm with a servo, laughing hard and cruelly. "You are unbelievable. You really had me going there for a moment, but do you seriously think it's as simple as me walking up to the warden and telling them 'hey I think Starscream's wrongfully been locked up'? No, it's not. Do you know what happens when the Autobots and GHOST find Decepticons? They immediately throw them in a cell. Doesn't matter how dangerous they are; doesn't matter what you say. Unless you are renouncing your ways that instant, you're just another piece of scrap to them that needs to be locked behind bars for the rest of your life. Did you forget that the Decepticons were founded on the whole principle of fighting slavery and having rights just like everyone else? You can call it whatever you want, but is that not the same damn thing that's happening here? You pose a threat to this new order of 'peace'? Away you go never to see the light of day again. Do you seriously think I could walk in there thinking everything's going to be perfectly fine? No. Of course it won't because it's a trap and I'll just get locked up too because I don't agree with you."
Shaking her helm, she continued. "You keep saying Clematis never abandoned me and how she loves me.. but let's make something clear. I told you she should have felt I was alive even after the bombing. She didn't once come looking for me until I made a move with the Decepticons and word just happened to fall her way. She could have done something at any point of time after she recovered, but did she? No. She was too busy galavanting with her new best friends to even notice that I might've survived. I knew she was alive. At any point.. she could have felt me, and she didn't. What's your excuse for that one, Skyfire? I was hurt both physically and mentally. I nearly bled out. My T-Cog was nearly destroyed! I was told that I kicked my rescuer in the face as they tried to pry me free from the wreckage, and somehow they gave more of a crap about me than my own spark twin did but by all means! Keep telling me how much she loves me. Keep telling me she didn't abandon me because while she might not have during the bombing, she most certainly did in the aftermath."
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Post by Skyfire on Feb 14, 2023 3:52:01 GMT
Skyfire watched Nightshroud as she spoke, giving her as little emotional response as he could. She wanted to make him feel outrage and pain, but he simply didn't. She was responsible for her own bad decisions. Plus, her actions had put him in the sort of mood where he was somewhat inclined to ensure her self-awareness; no matter how much pain it caused her in the short term. She reminded him of Starscream - not the scientist, not the prisoner, but the petulant idiot who preened and paraded his superiority over all others.
"It may not be that simple, I grant. But an attack on the prison will lead to either imprisonment or termination. You will not be successful in that effort. I may have to petition Prime and Megatron to move him to a secure isolated cell, far away from GHOST headquarters - out of your reach and knowledge. Starscream's mere presence is now a security risk."
That, he knew, would drive her up a wall. The possibility of being so close to him, to seeing him free, dashed. The reason why? Because she'd talked about freeing him. Skyfire let that hang for a moment. He was rarely so kind as other Autobots, it wasn't in his programming.
"If you delete this haywire 'rescue attempt' out of your logic circuits, do not attack anyone, and surrender your weapons when asked, you will not be harmed, and you will not be imprisoned. You are wholly correct, those who disturb the peace and try to restart the Great War are jailed for their crimes. Would you rather they be slagged on sight, as cities full of good and innocent mechs were under Megatron's Decepticon regime? Would you rather that imprisonment granted no rights at all? No trial, no appeals? The Autobots believe in freedom and justice. They also believe that the "freedom" to harm others is the one bridge too far. Your planned is action dangerously close to restarting the War, or at least breaking the peace."
He wasn't giving her an inch anymore. No longer was it couched in 'doing the best for others'. He wasn't regarding it as a crime of passion anymore; it was a terrorist act, plain and simple. If she committed it, she'd be breaking the law. In so doing, her life and freedom were forfeit. Whether she knew it or not, that was the case, and Skyfire wasn't giving her one iota less. "I am an Autobot, and I am a member of GHOST. I am not arresting you tonight. I came out here to try and speak with you, to try and get you to help yourself and the person you claim to care about; and on behalf of someone who cares for you. I make no excuses for her actions - you need to talk to her, and get them yourself. If there is one, though, do you believe she could have walked up to a Decepticon camp while bearing the Autobrand, and said that she just wanted to talk to you, without being harmed? She would have been taken prisoner, chained up, and dismantled cog by cog and diode by diode - tortured to become spare parts as Decepticons were injured. Her core consciousness would have been deleted. Shockwave did such things. Ask Starscream how many parts he has which were 'recovered' from imprisoned Autobots. He won't remember - because to him, such abuses were normal, even justified. Soundwave will likely have kept a log. Wars destroy families, because the two sides are equally brutal in their necessary methods. That is what peace is for. It is for mending those tragically broken bonds."
He looked at her, optics locked on hers. "We have peace now, here on Earth. Mend your broken bond with your sister. Talk to her. Ask her. If you don't like her answer, I don't care if you stop talking. But I cannot answer the questions you have of her. I do not have her datatapes. I do not know her cogitation routines. I don't even know, first-hand, about how certain things were. All I know is what has been reported. I like very little of what I've heard of the actions of the Decepticons. The slaughter of the Guardians, the use of the Robo-Smasher, the tortures, the wholesale slaughter and destruction of civilian facilities - all of those and more.
He raised a hand now, pointing at her, specifically at the Decepticon loyalty mark on her chest. The hulking bot's eyes were bright, and his voice was getting somewhat more emotive.
"That is what you align yourself with. That is what other Autobots see and know when they see the brand you bear. That mark is the mark of torture, death, destruction, and selfish conquest. It is the mark of those that nearly brought our race to its knees."
He looked at her with a glare, and then shook his head. "It's not the mark of a person who risks their freedom and life for someone they love. If you truly care for him, if you wish to mend that wound, and restore Starscream to the mechanism we both know he can be, you will not do what you are planning. You will talk to your sister. You will help to actively preserve this peace, even if you don't like it."
He shrugged. "But if this falls on deaf audials, know this: It is not Prime and Megatron that you would have to fear."
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