Silverquick stepped on to the bridge, a few cycles before the first shift crew came on duty. The bridge was quiet, with the odd chirping or bleeping from the computers as they digested the gigaquads of information coming from the impressive sensor array. He looked out the main viewport, watching the stars slide by. It's all just one vast ocean, he thought. Swimming through the perpetual void...
As the Maximals came to take their shift positions and replace their comrades, Silverquick motioned to Krunch, Viracide, and Digit. "I'll take your shift report in a bit, Viracide," he said, "but first I'd like to see you and Krunch in my ready room. Digit, if you could keep an optic sensor on things for a cycle or two?"
Goldstreak rose from his station as the new shift arived. The course was set and there wasn't much to do anyway. He decided to head up to the observation lounge and lounge around up there for a few megacycles. He didn't feel like sleeping for some reason.
Before Krunch could take his place at Tactical, Silverquick motioned for him to enter the Ready-Room. He nodded to Viracide as they went inside.
What could be on Flipper's mind now? thought the sergeant.
Viracide left the commander's chair and followed Krunch and Silverquick. This was the time he reserved for his turn at bothering Kitfox but, this must be important. So Viracide entered the Ready-Room .
Nice little set up. Wonder why I didn't get one of these rooms. Viracide thought looking over the room.
"I've received a bit of information recently, and as you are my command staff—although I don't outrank either of you by much, and would like to think of us as somewhat of a triumvirate—I wanted your input. There's a small trading post about half a day's travel at high warp from here, and I believe a short stop would ultimately prove helpful to our mission. I should tell you, though, that the post is operated by Predacons."
Viracide looked over at Krunch he knew what was coming, so Viracide spoke up first, "Um, Predacons, right well, we better keep our guard up, and we better make a few security precautions. A Predacon TRADING post can't be that bad. And you said it was small. Nothing to worry about really." Viracide actually started to believe that there would be no problem, "And we ARE Maximals; if they start trouble we could always slag 'um."
Krunch reviewed his programming for options when entering "Enemy" territory, and promptly ignored them.
"Sounds good to me! Hopefully, we can lose our passenger! I don't trust him! But we Maximals need to show those stupid 'Cons that we're not afraid of them! I'd slag 'em just on principle! Besides, I need to do some shopping! How long before we dock?" asked the large dinobot.
"Very well, then. I'll order the course correction, and we should dock around 1500. When we get there, Krunch, I'd like you and Jynx to accompany me. Viracide, you'll remain on board to make sure there's no unexpected guests." Silverquick tabbed the intercom control on his desk. "Bridge, prepare for incoming correction of course and speed."
Viracide was surprised that Krunch reacted this way, and he smiled. "That went surprisingly well. Now only if I could say that about the Predacons."
Krunch nodded in agreement. He spoke to Viracide as he went back to the bridge.
"Don't worry about the stupid 'Cons, jelly-fish! Leave those skid-plates to me!" he boasted. There was a hint of excitement in the soldier's voice, as if he hoped there would be trouble.
"Bridge here," came the response.
"Digit, set course 435 mark 2 mark 91, increase speed to full," ordered Silverquick.
"Copy that, commander."
Slowly, the Renegade shifted its course. The Maximal ship accelerated, and shot through the darkness, towards its newfound goal.
—LB, JA, BB
As Charmacon turned around to report the data just received about the trading post, Stormclaw quickly raised one hand while viewing the personal viewscreen on his command chair. The area seemed secure enough; only Predacon ships were docked there, and the Post was doing regular business.
"I see. Still, it is likely that, if we dock first, the Maximals will harbor suspicion at the sight of a Predacon Stealth Ship. Then again, we must acknowledge the possibility our cover has been blown already by the traitor that sent us that message. Though I do not like it, it is probable that this individual shall, indeed, maintain an advantageous position to us."
Stormclaw stared at the stars beyond the bridge. Suddenly, the Maximal traitor materialized but meters in front of him. Stormclaw stood up rapidly, almost falling back as he did. The traitor, his image and features indistinct, pointed at the Predacon commander, then spoke accusingly, in a voice direct from his earlier dream:
"You petty excuse for a Predacon! Have you forgotten your true mission so easily? Pah! Still, I can't say I expected more from you."
Stormclaw's eyes lit up. In one fluent motion he unsheathed a sword from his back and jumped forward. Even before reaching the floor again, his flaming blade had slashed through the traitor's neck. The head fell off, roled a few feet and lay still. Then it began to laugh, looking Stormclaw straight in the eyes. The laughter grew stronger and stronger, until the Predacon commander shut his optic sensors for a second.
Instantly, everything was calm.
Stormclaw found himself standing on the bridge, wielding one still ignited sword. There was no sign of a body nor a head, though both Charmacon and Paradox were present. They eyed him with a puzzled look on their face. Then the commander switched off his blade, resulting in a faint hissing sound breaking the odd silence.
Paradox looked at the sword nervously and gave a sigh of relief when it was shut off; he thought for a moment that sword had been meant for him. Paradox gave a report, "Uh Uh Uh the Maximal ship will be arriving at the station within three megacycles. I do not believe they realize they have been detected by us, Commander, sir."
Charmacon looked up from his console, and eyed his commander. Hrumpf, a schizophrenic commander, an idiotic pilot, a scheming female, a snake with a dissappearing act, and a paranoid killer, we're in for a treat this journey...
—DN, BB, MdJ
Goldstreak walked into the empty observation lounge and changed to beast mode to lounge around and watch the stars for a while. He'd been watching them for his entire shift—that was kind of his job—and for some reason he found it relaxing. He also found it easier to think under the stars, and he had a lot on his mind right now.
Kitfox, pleased not to be tailed by Snarler for at least a brief moment, entered shortly. The ship lurched a bit as it changed course, and the stars streaming past the window took a different angle.
Kitfox looked a moment over at the young Maximal that was, though Goldstreak did not suspect, his own clone. Kitfox wondered why anyone that was so much of himself would be quiet and pensive by CHOICE. Then again, this one hadn't spent millions of years with no other option available.
Breaking up the silence, Viracide entered the room quite loudly, with his spark flaring. It was time. "Kitfox, I need some answers. First of all, what do you have to do with my project? Persia seems to know you, and Goldstreak and I were supposed to be working together!" Viracide knew how rude this could be but he needed to know.
He continued with his last question, the one Maya asked him to ask. "And is it TRUE what you said about that labrat?" Viracide then noticed how weak that question really was. Maybe Kitfox would remember which labrat it was...oh well. Maybe the labrat was Persia; she was right there when Maya was there. His brain started to hurt, so he just stopped thinked and waited for Kitfox's response.
Kitfox backed up at the sudden outburst. Then, his shock turned to a slight smile. He looked around, but noticed that the observation deck had no terminals for him to type on. How best to answer Viracide's questions...?
Kitfox reached behind his back and pulled a curved sword, serrated as a Transmetal fox's tail. He held it aloft, but nonthreateningly, waiting to see if Viracide would attempt to take it before he could use it.
Viracide was puzzled by what Kitfox did: standing in front of him with a sword drawn. "What is this? Sword? What does a sword have to do with this? It must be one of those mysterious things. Here...let me see that." Viracide held out his hand, not knowing what was going on...
His hand shaking ever slightly, Kitfox rose the blade up to his own throat.
I hate pain; I hate pain; I hate pain... The mantra echoed in Starscream's mind, and his hand shook now, harshly. The Magnaboss knew that Kitfox carried a sword. He was not allowed to energon blades, surgical knives, or anything sharper, but he did carry the sword. This was not an oversight of the 'Boss's, but he assumed that his estimation of Kitfox's bravery was on-target, and Kitfox would never attempt to cut his own throat with something quite that dull. I hate pain; I hate pain; yet I'm now forced to spend ETERNITY shooting myself in the foot.
The Magnaboss's guess was nearly perfect. Kitfox lowered his arm. But then, he turned the blade, and slashed across his opposite wrist. He winced, but held the injured arm up, and showed Viracide how rapidly the wound knit back together. Wires twined to meet their matches, and the metal bent back to position, lined along with a flicker of blue energy.
Then he looked over to Goldstreak, and gestured for him to come forward.
Okay... now I'm interested. Goldstreak got to his feet and Maximized, then walked over to the pair. "Okay. You have Goldstreak's attention. What is it you want?" He looked at Kitfox, wondering what was going on.
Viracide's eyes were open in amazement. "Holy slag, near instant healing! You have strong spark powers." Viracide knew the connection somewhat. Persia worked with people that had spark powers, like himself. Viracide looked down at his own spark; it was nowhere near the same level of power. But it was possible that this Kitfox had something to do with him as well. He looked over at Goldstreak, knowing that Kitfox must have something in common with him. "Goldstreak? Do...you...do the same thing?"
Kitfox lowered the sword, looked at Viracide, and nodded. Then, with a motion as quick as light, he slashed out with the blade, and cut into Goldstreak's arm.
Goldstreak grabbed his arm with the other, bending forward as if he was in a great deal of pain. "YOU BASTARD, WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR? GOLDSTREAK WILL RIP YOU APAR..." He stopped suddenly, realizing it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. He looked up at Kitfox, then straightened, as his arm instantly knitted itself back together. "Why doesn't it hurt like it should?"
Kitfox met Goldstreak's eyes for a moment. Then, calmly, he put the sword away.
Viracide felt like he was getting somewhere. He knew that all his questions were not even close to being answered, but he did know Goldstreak was directly made by, from, or for Kitfox. It was time to see if the same was true for himself. "And I, were my spark powers created under your supervision as well?"
Kitfox shook his head, and shrugged.
Viracide was quite distressed; that was not how Persia knew Kitfox. But he still had to know, "But you still know Persia; obviously it has something to do with your spark powers, but it seems that some other things happened, I mean... it seems like she knows you pretty well..." Viracide almost stumbled on his words but he tried to compose himself, trying not to look like a fool, "but how... do you... feel about her?"
Kitfox choked. His only available reaction was to blink in incredulous surprise. This IDIOT has fallen for his maker!! One of those females from the lab... And his delusion's gone so far that he thinks I actually CARE! Starscream had found it a particular torment to be gifted with a body certain women found attractive. They'd also hung around him for his evident genius, his enforced "mysterious" silence, and, yes, even the way he treated them all like second-class slime...because women were stupid, stupid, stupid. Kitfox's fists clenched in rage just thinking about it. If he cares to seperate me from even ONE of those useless fools he'd be doing me a favor.
All the same, he contemplated lying to the youth just to irritate him. It wasn't likely he would survive, anyway, special resistance or none. The only reason Viracide and Goldstreak were "paired" is because they were deemed likely to survive the longest. An engineer missing a vital skill...an inexperienced commander...a soldier the Maximals wanted rid of ANYWAY...all doomed, and likely in full knowledge of the fact. Kitfox assumed Velocity was the only survival "wild card." Goldstreak would live, of course. And Viracide...
You can HAVE the girl, if you really WANT her. It was neither possible, nor would it be advantagous, for Kitfox to explain the pattern of his last few thoughts, but the young pyrokinetic did not have any documented telepathic ability. Kitfox attempted to express his response with a dismissive wave of his hand.
Viracide turned up a corner of his mouth. He'd hit Kitfox hard. From his reaction it was clear: he didn't care. He didn't care at all. He didn't care about Persia, him, and this crew. Maybe except for that Goldstreak. Viracide got the exact reaction he knew was coming. But he would have to sort all this information later. All Viracide knew for sure was that Kitfox was not to be trusted. But he knew that anyway.
Viracide turned to Kitfox. "Thanks for your time. I best be going now." Viracide left. He was undecided on what to do next. He could sit on the bridge and think. But he decided just to take a walk and work it all out.
The first images that he recalled were those of his first days. Learning of Cybertron, its ways, and that he was a Maximal. He was surprised that this had taken place not so long ago. He was so young, about 7 decacycles. During those days he had not chosen a beast form, and his mind was still developing. Then it happened, his "mother" was sent somewhere, as she was a scientist. Viracide did not know where she was sent, but he was not allowed to come as well. He was placed in care of the Maximal government, where a new option of life was made known to him: the one of the Transmetal II. He wanted to be a part of something, so he joined...
Viracide stopped for a moment, and looked out the window, looking to see if they were nearing the station. His mind wandered back into the past again. He had his beast mode chosen for him, a jellyfish. And he was given a name, "Viracide." It meant something that fights against Viruses, something like that. Once he'd moved to the lab, he only stayed organic for 15 megacycles. Then he was Transmetallized. He remembered the following days...the scientists all around him, congratulating each other. Viracide had stable Pryokenitic abilities, a special mark among lab-created Transmetal II's. The scientist mainly responsible for this was the cat, Persia. She'd spent many days with him, giving him special attention, above the others. Building his powers to his spark's limits. She was a part of him, a very special part. It couldn't be helped that he loved her. He knew it had to be expected; she was the only female he had known; she spent so much time with him, giving him help, giving him...life. He knew that maybe she thought nothing more of him then her life's work, and never reached the level of feeling that he had. But Viracide knew he was young, that this might pass, in time. But he wondered as he looked down, out the window. He saw the light of the stars flicker, then he saw one growing larger; as it did, it faded slightly. They were nearing the station. Viracide knew nothing about light speed and how fast the ship was going. But it could be less than a megacycle away.
—MC, AF, BB
Having hooked his computer into the ship's mainframe, Aspis had plenty to do for the entire voyage. Checking archives, playing games...the plans of his comrades didn't really interest him all that much with all this cool stuff at his disposal. He never went too close to anything that would expose his poking around, like private messages or classified information. He just sat there, watching and exploring. That is until a little program he installed alerted him of a change in course, to the outpost of Kull Tan.
Aspis didn't know much about this part of space, which unsettled him. He did a quick cross-reference of the name with some maps stored in the ship's computer and figured out the location. Kind of backwoods, but not in the nice, peacful rural sense of the word. This looked like a vicious haven for the lowlifes of society. But still, the whole situation didn't sit right with him. Why would they go THERE? Most of this crew was the farthest from "lowlife" as possible, Aspis included. So, he felt it was time to get involved. Moving quietly, he took a lift to get to the bridge, and finding Charmacon, he spoke. "Well, Subcommander. Why the change of course?"
"Ahhhh As-s-spis-s-s, I am glad to s-s-see you are s-s-still on board," responded the subcommander, not taking pain to veil his sarcasm. He found the male serpent's silence almost as suspicious as the female's lies. "We have received a mes-s-s-sage from the Maximal ves-s-s-sel. We were told that they are to make a s-s-stop at the Kull Tan Trading Pos-s-st. They appear to have a s-s-spy on board, as-s-s s-s-sens-s-sors-s-s s-s-show them not res-s-sponding to our change of flight plan, which of cours-s-se matches-s-s theirs-s-s."
It was too much for Paradox to pass up. He started chuckling, "Shouldn't the snake be the one that doing all the hissing?" Paradox swung back to the console quickly and continued his work.
"Really?" Aspis replied to Charmacon. "That'ss very interessting." He paced for a few moments, as if in deep thought. "However," he added, drawing out the hisses subtlely in reference to Paradox's sarcastic query, "how do you know they aren't ssetting uss up? Did you bother to figure out who gave uss the information?"
"I highly doubt they s-s-set us-s-s up. If that would be the cas-s-se, why would they lure us-s-s to a Predacon Trading pos-s-st, where they are highly outnumbered? You may attempt to figure out who s-s-sent the mes-s-sage. I will give it to you, s-s-so you may try to decode it."
Nightfall rolled her eyes. Give them time, and they'd debate it 'till the universe collapsed... Not that she wanted to go running in, mind you. But whoever had sent it seemed to have done them a service. And it wouldn't be the first time a Maximal turned on his comrades. Especially a smart one that figured out it was a suicide mission... Oh well, it looked like she wouldn't be getting a sleep cycle soon; they'd expect her at her post for the emergency...
—KH, MdJ, BB, CB
Numerous view screens flashed brightly on the silent bridge. Only Snarler and Digit, who had enabled the Autopilot, were present. Currently seated in front of the Sensor station, the femmebot was eagerly explaining the most basic of functions to the large Stegosaurus.
"It is likely the log files have been given a correct format before, so we can skip that part for now and come back on that later. Here, let me show you how to request all logged events from the past 48 megacycles... Ouch, that's quite a list."
A lot of activity had happened in the last day, Snarler thought.But then again he was new to this; perhaps it was normal for there to be this much information.
"So this is the computer activity form every user on this ship..." mused Snarler, scrolling down the list and trying to find any of his activities. "Why don't you try to narrow our search, and tighten the constraints... perhaps the past 10 megacycles, and user names starting with a "K"... let's find out if Krunch likes our computer terminals, okay?"
Digit laughed at the unlikely thought, and then helped Snarler make the proper adjustments to the query.
This time, only a few dozen transmissions rolled over the screen. Both Maximals smiled at eachother, and absent mindedly browsed through the list...
"Doesn't that bot do anything other than think of war?" joked Snarler, as they saw that over 90% of Krunch's computer activities involved war simulations and weapon checks.
As Snarler went through the list with Digit a few strange lines came up under the Kitfox logs. They appeared to be jumbled as if someone had tried to hide his tracks.
"What are those?" Snarler asked, pointing to the jumbled data that once was a Kitfox log.
The femmebot leaned closer, a puzzled look over her face.
"I have no idea, Snarler... but maybe we can find out."
She kindly pushed the big Maximal aside, and took control of the keyboard. Very rapidly, she began punching in commands, apparently running the log file through another application.
"Slaggit," she cursed under her breath. "This is too encrypted for my little program. I'll not try any further then, in case Kitfox has the means to check back on this," she whispered to Snarler, suddenly very cautious. Then her eyes fell on a detail that her preliminary decryption act seemingly had recovered... Digit's mouth fell open as she read the words on her viewscreen:
TRANSMISSION: 3459826
SENT TO: Pr###con V##s#l
The text of the message was unretrievable, but the implication was clear. A Predacon vessel had been notified; a Predacon vessel was nearby.
Checking further down the log, Digit noticed something else strange. Kitfox had apparently discovered a way to disable one of the ship's default scanning methods. It was a system labled "Ax-2..." Cloak-piercing?
Snarler just stared at the screen for a while before speaking. "I think it is time to let Silverquick know about this," he said, looking at Digit for reassurance in the hope that he was imagining the text in front of him. "I also think it might be wise to keep this secret from the others for the time being. We don't want to tip off Kitfox before we are ready for him."
—DN, DT
Velocity walked down the hallway from the quarters to the bridge in a half-dazed, nervous state, having been unable to return to sleep. Glancing at his last flask of High-O, he growled irritably. He craved it, but he needed some more. He slipped the flask back into subspace.
His lack of sleep had done something for him though; he'd gone through all his memory files, pulling out his clearer memories related to the Blood Fires. He glanced around nervously and saw no one else in the hallway.
"Computer," he spoke in a whisper, "encode selected files."
"Acknowledged," the voice spoke from his chest region. Velocity sighed with relief—not all of his memories could be encoded, but incriminating snippets of conversation, a few locations and names could be. Feeling a bit safer, he skipped onto the bridge...
Only to see Digit and Snarler at the Sensor station. The dogbot blinked, hoping that they didn't know that he had arrived on the bridge earlier than his scheduled time. He'd hoped to check out just where the science or engineering lab was in the ship for some covert High-O creation.
Velocity gave a loud, grating, nervous laugh. "H-h...hey, guys, pals, friends!" he said, with a chortle as his ears slicked backwards. "How's it goin'?" he asked. He peered at their serious faces, his knees beginning to shake with fear.
"What's happenin'?" he asked, failing to sound casual.
"Uhhh, not much. You're early; I was just learning computers, finished now...now, see ya later," said Snarler, speaking in much the same tone as Velocity which had resulted in a messed-up sentence.
Snarler then got up and then made the most pathetic yawn ever before leaving the bridge and heading off to Silverquick's quarters.
"I'll be right with you, Snarler," Digit said, looking over her shoulder back at the giant Maximal. Their eyes met for a second, then she returned her attention to the display.
Velocity grinned broadly as Snarler left, despite the fact he had no idea why the dinobot wanted to leave in such a hurry. He glanced over at Digit, wondering if she could give him some clue. The dogbot was curious, but not overly so—the less people here, the better.
"Uh...yeah, see you too," he said to Snarler's back, with an enthusiastic wave. It was odd, how he hadn't spent much time with someone who was supposed to be 'rehabilitating' him. Maybe he'd get to see more of Snarler once the ship got into more of a routine. Maybe he could teach the stegosaurus some of his computer skills too, if the bot was that interested in learning.
He then turned back to Digit, his small mind already leaping to some less illicit reasons for being on the bridge. Of course, if he could avoid that question altogether...
"So, he good with the brain-boxes?" Velocity asked quickly, jerking a thumb in Snarler's direction and nodding at the computer console simultaneously.
It took the slender femmebot awhile to realize the question was directed at her. "Who? Oh... Snarler?" She laughed softly, her eyes still fixed on the screen. "I don't know if he'll ever become an expert, but we did make some good progress today."
The dogbot nodded quickly and grinned. "Progress is...good," he said, in one of the arguably dumbest lines ever. He considered broaching the idea of helping Snarler further with computers if he so desired, but remembered he had a bit of a mission to complete first.
Her fingers danced over the keyboard, from time to time accessing a colorful secondary pad. Finally, she gave a last press, causing the monitor to go to standby, then she leaned back in her chair. For a moment, she sat there in silence. The dogbot noticed her aptitude with computers and nodded a bit. She could teach Snarler just as much as he could about computers. He was a bit curious as to what had been on the screen before he got there, but shrugged it off. If he really felt like it, he could find out later.
Digit realized with a start that Velocity was still in the room, and stood up quickly. She smiled warmly, and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"I am sorry, Velocity, forgive me for being so rude. Why are you on the bridge this early anyway? Trouble sleeping?" Velocity blinked and he flinched visibly as Digit laid a hand on his shoulder. His face jerked into a grin, and he giggled stupidly in relief. What luck! She'd given him perfect cover!
"Yeah, trouble sleeping." He nodded vigorously. "This mission's pretty big," he gestured to the ship and viewscreen showing many stars, "and I'm just so...small. Kinda scary, y'know?" Of course, he said it in such a relieved and rushed tone that it was debatable how much of it he really meant.
After a somewhat restful sleep, Krunch walked onto the bridge and took his place at Tactical. Upon sitting, he ran a diagnostic on the shields and the torpedo launcher to make sure all was in order. The dinobot then ran some quick combat simulations, just to help pass the time. While the simulations ran, the sargeant opened a small compartment on his arm and pulled out a large pinch of what looked like brown vegetation, which he greedily popped in his mouth and chewed with great relish. As dribble ran out of the corner of his mouth, Krunch noticed Digit and Velocity talking, but remained silent.
As Krunch entered, the chihuahua's expression turned into a grimace. Slaggin' fat oaf, just needed to sit here right now... Velocity thought, feeling just irritable enough to give the bot a piece of his mind.
Digit looked at little Maximal beside her, then followed his gaze.
"Seems like someone else had trouble sleeping as well," she smiled. Looking back at Velocity she noticed his negative stance, but decided to say nothing. She turned around, as if to find Snarler there. Of course, the hallway was empty.
"Listen, Velocity, I... guess that Snarler can take care of things. We just ran into a minor problem when you came in, one we had to report to Silverquick right away. It's a little less than half a megacycle before my shift is done, so... if you don't have any other plans till then, maybe you'd like to keep me company here?"
The dogbot turned to Digit and blinked, looking about as dumb as a standard warrior asked to do complex scientific equations. All thoughts of Krunch were forgotten. That dumb look morphed into a weak grin as he decided the make the best of the situation.
"Yeah, I guess," he said, with a shrug and a giggle. It was a bit of a shame that he couldn't check out where the science lab was. But, the chihuahua decided, spending time with Digit might be beneficial. It would be a normal social Maximal activity to participate in. He moved to sit down into the seat next to her.
—DN, DT, LA, JA
Goldstreak approached Viracide, interrupting his fellow Maximal's silent vigil on the streaming stars. Still holding his quickly-healed arm with a quiet awe, he asked a question that had been weighing on his mind. "Can you do this as well, Partner?"
Viracide looked down at his own arm, the one that carried the Transmetal II enhancer. "I wish I had that type of strong healing power, altough they say my spark is highly adaptive. Something rare I guess. But they're unsure to whether I'm could be more than a pyrokenitic." Viracide almost had tears coming to his eyes. He didn't understand why. Perhaps it was the harshness of the word "they." The fact that he didn't use the word "she." However, he quickly regained his composure and continued. "The simple fact is that we have the only spark powers on this ship. But you got them outside Transmetal II powers, probably having to do with this Kitfox."
Looking back to the stars, Viracide was certain he had pinpointed the station, and several shades of flickering light from other approaching ships.
Viracide looked at Goldstreak, quiet one that he was. He was just probably waiting for Viracide to finish. "Well, I do have a few questions about Kitfox. First of all, why did he send Jynx to kidnap Digit? Was it to get to you? And the fact Kitfox did that tips me off to the fact that maybe he might try something soon. You have any idea of what he might try?"
"Yes, Goldstreak would agree that Kitfox is the cause of his powers. At least, he seems to have the same ability. But Goldstreak can't be sure why Kitfox gave him this power. Why would he have given it to him, and no-one else on this ship..."
—MC, BB
Snarler was heading off to the Commander's room when he saw him walking towards him, obviously heading for the bridge.
"Silverquick," Snarler said, as they neared each other, "I need to talk with you URGENTLY. And in private," he added, looking around as he said the last word.
"Very well," said Silverquick, noticing the concern on Snarler's face. "My ready room." When they got inside, Silverquick said, "Computer, secure room." The door double-bolted behind him, and armored shutters slid in place over the armorplated window. Silverquick turned to Snarler, expectantly. "What's going on?"
"Well, sir, it's like this. While Digit and I were checking the computer logs of Kitfox we came across several encrypted messages. Digit attempted to decrypt them, and we got this," said Snarler.
He then showed Silverquick a palmtop computer with a copy of the decrypted file.
TRANSMISSION: 3459826
SENT TO: Pr###con V##s#l
"We can't find out what was sent. All we know is that they probably know something about our mission, and are possibly following us. Another thing, we have discovered that Kitfox has apparently discovered a way to disable one of the ship's default scanning methods. It is a system labled 'Ax-2...' Cloak-piercing."
"By the hand of Primus!" Silverquick swore. He reread the palmtop's display, his brain going into overdrive. Why were the Predacons shadowing an exploration mission? And Kitfox... Silverquick chastised himself for buying Kitfox's act. He tapped the comm panel on his desk.
—DT, LB