Disclaimer: Only Ray, Decepticons are not mine.

Time units:

vorn - 83 years
orn - 1 week
joor - 6 hours
cycle - 1 minute
mega cycle - 1 hour
solar cycle - 1 day
orbital cycle - 1 month
stellar cycle - 1 year
breem - 8.3 minutes
klik - 1 second

[comm. link]

thoughts

This is bad. Primus help me. No, no, no!

My processor screamed at me to run away, as fast as I possibly could. My feeble arms tightened around the creature I was carrying, its small tail poking my side plates. The dull colors of the hallway were blurring around me but only one thing kept my weak legs going.

"Raaaayyyyyy-!" Brawl's loud, like always, voice echoed throughout the ship. Thanks to equipment elevators in between floors, I got away to another one. I was always glad to have a...precocious mind. So using it, I decided to first hide into a vent. I skidded into a halt as I ducked into a random room.

...Tool storage, perfect!

I changed my hand into a driver, placing the troublesome fella besides me. I examined around for a vent hole that was bound to be somewhere I could reach. The little canine trailed after me like a confused drone waiting for orders. I smiled as I kneeled for a jackpot - and it was only small as me. I set down to work, my driver rotating furiously as I pushed it against the nails of the vent hole frame. The turbofox sat patiently next to me, watching me.

...I take that back. Its amber optics glowed curiously as it licked my arm, obviously asking me to attention.

"Stop it, little guy!" I giggled as I worked, hurrying at the sound of the Combaticon approaching detected through my full blasting audio receptors. He had to be quite far but in the right direction.

It made a sad moan, wimping as signs for affection. I waved it off. "Ha! I'm the one who does that on this ship so I'm immune to cute little noises!" I whispered maliciously as my optics focused on my drill driver. Luckily, I was used to doing this when setting Shockwave's clamps down with lug nuts.

Yeah, his stuff are THAT big and Shocky does want perfectly stable stuff. He always checks it afterwards, hmm he doesn't trust me.

Job done, escapade resumed, I entered the vent. Once inside, I put back the loose frame back to its original position. Then I began to crawl like crazy, leaving a ranting Brawl behind me.

Brawl was getting tired.

It had been a little over an orn since he did something he liked - throwing a grenade into one's spark chamber, crushing a processor, blasting a mech with his proud firepower, tearing off limbs. Sparring with his fellow gestalt members wasn't enough, he needed a kill. His servos were earning for energon leaked from violence.

To make things worse, nothing had happened aboard Shockwave's creepy ship.

No space pirates, no Autobots, no Galactic Councils - heck! No neutrals to shoot at!

The con's scratched and worn armor plates of the rough military green color rumbled.

Neutrals usually were everywhere.

Many had escaped the Great War to evacuate the violence and the genocide that Megatron had promised. Cowards, weaklings, boring bots. Brawl huffed as he searched his radar - nothing. He continued his hurried pace.

Neutrals were many. Understandable, really.

They were mostly civilians, families who have been at peace not knowing the true horrors in their comfortable lives. After Megatron declared himself as the savior of Cybertron, thousands left the planet in seek of asylums. And that Optimus Prime encouraged the concept as much as he could afford to spare possible soldiers.

The Combaticon glanced around as he reloaded the ship schematics onto his HUD.

Ah, he loved being a Decepticon and was slagging proud of it. It wasn't that he liked to kill or watch others squirm dying - he just liked to wreck whatever was on his way. Brawl stopped as he stopped his train of thoughts. He stopped his movements and focused in maximizing his audio receptor activities.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Minuscule, but existent sounds were coming from the ceiling. He snorted as he came up with the only conclusion.

I could tell that my brilliant tactics of deception were working.

Me in the air conducts over his head.

He would obviously activate his energy scanners which would only show one life signal, indicating that it was me, not his would be new toy for his crave for energon. Not that the turbofox's life signal would pop up on his vague range, as it was too weak to be picked more than 10 footsteps away. I tested mine before so I had accurate data. That would complicate his situation for ending up searching the whole ship for the lovely obedient creature waiting away in a tucked away container in some random chamber. It was very most likely for him to come after my sounds of movement.

Besides, Brawl would never back from a challenge like that. Either he knew I was taunting him or that he considered me as a clumsy and stupid sparkling.

Rescuing my new buddy was worth the degrade of my image.

I crawled my way to one of the only research chambers Shocky allowed the Combaticons in.

Since the ship was designed for scientific purposes, my boss had most of the chambers or offices as his labs. Though his main aim was of finding energon or energy sources, he also led the scientific army of Decepticons.I, being his assistant, had the privilege to have permission of being at almost all of them while the newest additions to the crew were banned from. The gestalt could only enter three of them and I could walk in and out from at least nineteen.

Considering the size of the ship, that's a lot.

I knew Shockwave's schedule for it was one of my duties and went to him who was to be checking his reinforcement of booster and engines for Megatron's secondary elite circle. It has been a while since they had an upgrade, apparently. When I asked him how long it had been, Shocky only told me that it was enough for me to get my frame upgrade. At least 5 orns. Wow.

At first, he ignored my pleas that I shouted at him while clinging to his leg - it's uncomfortably easy, making me wish for my first upgrade very soon - and walked around his lab with me still attached as if I weren't there. He even tested the upgrades as I told him how bad it would be if Brawl got hold of my canine friend.

The nerve circuits he has!

Damn fully upgraded mechs, they are so tall.

I almost glitched when the antagonist from my aspect of the event appeared at the door because I could tell that he decided to just make me spit the little fella's location, instead of physically catch it. For once, I didn't like how things were going according to my plans. When he approached us along a very annoyed glow of his golden optics, I whimpered as Shocky greeted him.

"Brawl," he said as he waved off one of his many drones back to its main function of categorizing substances, "you were not able to appease your boredom?" Despite not having emotions, Shockwave managed to sound sarcastic. I don't know how he does that.

"No, thanks to puny over here." The greenish Brawl growled at me as I squeezed my boss' leg harder.

Shockwave was surely going to give the turbofox away to him!

That would shut him up about his need for violence for at least an entire orbital cycle if he got those servos onto my new friend. Even patient Onslaught had been requesting daily to Mr. Captain for a side trip to make him and Vortex stop babbling. I shrieked in panic as I used my last resort. Before any mech could say anything, I screamed.

"I'LL BE ABSOLUTELY QUIET FOR THE NEXT ORN!"

My voice rang throughout Shockwave's first public lab, causing its residents to look at me simultaneously. Only the quiet clicking and tapping of the drones continued in the silent for a few minutes. I made my best cute optics at their staring faceplates. The static of the comm. link was heard as voices began from the open channel.

[Okay, I don't know whatever this is about but accept the fraggingoffer.]

Blast Off sounded happy. I told myself that I would especially annoy him by bombarding questions in his class. He should appreciate my enthusiasm and company!

[Agreed.] Onslaught seconded with relief. OK, these guys really need to learn how I was being nice to them. [Shockwave, I know you want some silence around your ship. This is the second time ever since we've come aboard that I've heard her say something like that.]

[Which was what?] Vortex's grumbling joined in. [A stellar cycle ago?!]

[Brawl,] Swindle's chuckle. [as a businessbot, I'm advising you - that's the best offer you could get out of your situation! Give it up!]

Brawl - well - he bawled.

I guess me shutting up is like high-grade. He slapped his face with his servos, muffling his cussing.

How could I tell? Shockwave jammed my audio receptors. He does that every time someone starts cursing and saying bad words. Something about not wanting to hear me reciting the new words I would have learned which would disturb his flow of concentration.

But Brawl wasn't the one to make the decisions here. It was because of that that Brawl really got mad. I looked up, to find Shockwave looking down to me. I stared at him back, the tension getting onto my nerve circuits.

Little fella can't die! My internal tanks grumbled. Heck, my spark stopped working for a klik!

"Offer accepted." He stated in his mundane voice. I threw my arms up with a squeal of joy and the hunter next to me did the same in frustration. Then I realized something as my caretaker fetched his latest schematics data pad.

"Shockwave." I looked up again with a slight frown, sitting on the floor with optics following his pace. "You knew I would do that, right?!" His head turned just a bit to my direction, still unabling me to see his amber optic.

"Oh?" His emotionless tone taunted me as he answered my question. "Already breaking the deal, Rau? Have you grown wary of the turbofox already?"

That's it. I pouted.

Yes, that's one of my latter last resorts.

No, it doesn't really work.

Then the sneaky mech resumed his work.

"That's what I assumed."

"...Alright." Oops. I forgot about the bot trying to scrap my new buddy. Optics glowing with panic, I ended up facing him with his nose almost touching mine. His optic band was glowering, making my frames stiff with awkwardness and fear. "This once. One word and your pet is mine."

I realized something at his words.

I had a pet!

Brawl, his towering figure shadowing Ray completely, glared down with his greatest intimidation of Megatron he could at the sparkling that...was...smiling. With a growl, he tried again to threaten her by taking another forced step and pinching his faceplate even closer.

She beamed.

Confused and disturbed by the sudden joyful expression on her face, the Combaticon backed off. In his data pad, happy was positive. Positive was well, good. But she practically glowing and one didn't need a bond with Ray to know that how gleeful she was being. Decepticons like him didn't like that much of happiness around them.

He decided to retry his tactics.

"I'll dig out its green optics."

Ray's brows rose. Not good enough. She still had a smile plastered onto her mouth.

"And rip its armor plating off, one part after another."

Her optics dimmed. Her cracked smile was still present.

"And shoot its tail off."

What.

Her smile stretched bigger.

"And feed it toxin down its throat."

She giggled, covering her mouth with her tiny servos.

"And file its audio receptors off."

The sparkling cooed something Brawl panicked at.

Why was she getting happier with his sincere threats?

..Though I'm going to do much worse than that. He decided determinedly.

"What is it with you?!" He yelled at the minuscule figure, which was still beaming. She even let out a huff with a dreamy stare.

The more I thought about it, the less I became to regret about my offer of not speaking.

I had a pet! A turbofox! Best companion one could get in a boring research ship with moody mechs!

Brawl scowling at my face literally didn't bother me. He was saying things that I didn't really register for being so distracted about the little fella I got to keep alive. I wasn't really aware that I had the brightest smile I did in ages, but I was able to faintly tell judging from the con enraged.

"...green optics."

Oh yes! The cutest pair of optics I've ever seen, I remember now!

"...its tail..."

A short but swift tail. The turbofox had even chased it and I uploaded the short but significantly funny memory to my HUD.

"...feed.."

I would even feed it! What if it ingested high grade? Several scenarios formed in my processor, triggering a laugh from me.

"...audio receptors.."

Oh those twitching triangle things on its head! It purred when I scratched it last time. How adorable...

"What is it with you?!"

I finally snapped out of my daydreaming of my own pet and got a mad, but very mad Combaticon. I tried to open my mouth and having realized that I had already offlined my vocal processor for a very reasonable reason. I simply ran away. I slipped beneath his open legs and activated my pede wheels to roll off to the hallways.

As I've explained before, I have a precocious mind.

Ever since I was forged, I always had expectations for my frame. It was very, very plain. It had excellent basics thanks to Shocky but it had absolutely nothing of the extraordinary.

Aren't sparklings supposed to have at least the prototype of the equipment that they'll use when they get their full upgrade? Yes they were. That's how Cybertronians gained and (rarely) chose their class! Seeklets have wings (obviously), mindful sparklings extra processor capacities, workers their extra armor, forgelings delicate servos...Soldiers and warrior would even get to be installed with their first battle computers.

Disappointed after the lesson from Vortex, I had decided I deserved to get at least a little gadget to get me helping to go around the ship following Shockwave. So the thing I came up with was wheels for my pedes! When I showed them to my dear boss, he approved of them.

"Saving time and effort. Creative thinking, sparkling." He had nodded, meaning a compliment.

Ha! Of course, this was rare since I seldom attempted such activities but who cares? I got a compliment from Shockwave!

I have a reputation to keep as his assistant, too.

Ever since, I was able to not annoy my dear Combaticons for being late to their classes. It wasn't because I was late. It was in the opposite - I was too early. Competition must be a common thing with mechs, because they tried to get earlier than me and to scold me in a triumph manner. They detested of being after a sparkling like me, who's a femme too. So with my pede wheels, I would fool around more and arrive to their lessons a bit later. They still can't beat me but oh well. They're the slow ones.

I have a pet now!

I giggled as I swerved my way through the drones carrying loads like always. I began to think of what designation to give to my own, adorable too, turbofox.

AN: Posted my work of at 15 months ago. I hope you enjoy my work of regret.

-Ray has roller skates, inspiration from Verity from the IDW series and my desire for decent ones.

-A bit of AU explanation mixed in.

-While the Autobots lacked a bit of number in their ranks compared to the Decepticons, Prime urged people to leave. My Prime is way too sympathetic kinda like TFP's.

-Secondary elites being bots like the Coneheads, Stunticons and the DJD (behind the scenes). Pretty prolific characters.

-Bots are usually forged into a frame that decide their class like a caste and this depends on the status of the Creator. For some info on Creators, read my other story of 'Prodigy at Service.' I'll expand this further.

-Ray got a pet for not talking for a week! Imagine the reason the Combaticons' eagerness. Ray is a chatty little bot because she's curious and a little sparkling, so they are the ones being a bit exaggerating.