By Lacy Conley
conleyle@hotmail.com
"Could you run through that again, Cap'n?" Sub-Commander IceClaw blinked, puzzled at the question. Lutro nearly always understood orders the first time. There was no reason he could see that the demolitions expert would need a recap. He was about to ask what hadn't been understood, when he caught the object of Lutro's attention: the new recruit, Otternaut. Otternaut was looking ahead of her with a stare of confusion. IceClaw realized he had forgotten she was new to tactics.
"Otternaut?"
It took a moment for the femme to realize she was being spoken to. She snapped up, and gave a sloppy salute. "Sir?" "Calm down. No one gives much thought to rank around here, unless we need to." He gave his most reassuring look—the one that he'd heard referred to as his 'papa bear smile.' "Would you like me to explain that a little slower for you? With a little less of our verbal shorthand, maybe?"
The young river-otter smiled, and nodded enthusiastically. "Yes si—eh Cap'n. If you could." "Ok. Seabreeze will go in first, beast mode all the way. She's inconspicuous enough that she should be able to get close and give us a more detailed report on the setup of this little stronghold. Assuming she radios in a go-ahead, we'll operate as if the schematics we were given are correct. You and Lutro will go in along the riverbank. You'll be there to provide cover fire for him while he sets the charges that should blow enough of the wall open for all of us to head in. Keep alert for guards, but pay attention to what he tells you; he's getting to be an old hand at this, and his advise is generally sound. Once we've got our doorway, he'll give the signal to the rest of us.
"Seabreeze will drop back and wait for our exit. I'll lead our advance in, taking Highwire along with me as backup. When we get things under control, follow Lutro up. The two of you will locate and free the Councilor, using us as a distraction. He may be pretty banged up; Lutro will cover you if you need to repair him enough to aid in his escape. When you get out from there, hand him over to Seabreeze. We may have to scatter as we retreat. If we do, meet back here as soon as possible. Get everything that time?" He smiled again, and hoped she was comfortable enough that she'd tell him if she hadn't.
"Yes sir, I think."
"Mostly it's important that you know what you should expect. Keep your head up, follow orders, and you should be fine."
As she nodded, Lutro set a hand on her shoulder. "Just keep close to me kid. I'll keep an eye on ya."
IceClaw looked over his crew. "We're ready to head out, then. Be ready for the signals."
During the short wait, Otternaut found Lutro in the armory. "What're you doing?"
He looked up from his equipment locker. "What do you mean?"
"Oooh... Gear!" She picked up a small square device he'd set on top of the locker. "What's this?"
"A charge—a pretty powerful one too." He stood up, and took it out of her hands. "You might not want to play with that."
"I wasn't playing with it." She picked up a micro-ratchet, and spun it around. "I was just looking at it."
"Did you come here to keep me from getting ready, or did you want something?" Otternaut's face fell, and she carefully set the tool down. "Um... Sorry." She started to shuffle away.
Placing the charge she'd picked up into his forearm subspace, Lutro frowned. "Er, I didn't mean anything by it. We just don't get too many kits around here, ya know?" He reached down to lock the doors, then stretched his way back up. Then he gave what—in his mind, anyway—was a peacemaking smile. "Beast mode." The drab green and matte grey bot was replaced with a very large, muscular sea otter.
Otternaut smiled, nodded, and started to walk off again.
"Might as well head back up by the Cap'n. Shouldn't be too long before Seabreeze calls in. Oh, hey, and stick to beast mode until we get up close to the wall, would you? Makes for less obvious targets."
"Sure thing. Beast mode." She padded off toward the main briefing room. Lutro chuckled for a moment, then followed the river otter. I was going to be an interesting mission; that much was certain. He just hoped things would run fairly smoothly. Things were going to be hard enough on the recruit as it was.
Otternaut cringed as a bolt of energy shot past her ear, singing her fur. "Otternaut!" Lutro was shouting at her. "I told you to keep your head the pit down if they started firing on us. What do you think this is? A training mission?"
She fired a few bursts at the guardpost topping the wall corner, and dropped down next to the demolitions expert, who was placing charges faster then she'd thought possible. "Sorry, I just wanted to see if I had a shot on them."
Another shot zinged in close to the wall, hitting the casing on one of the sea otter's charges. "Slag—run—now!" He pushed Otternaut into motion, and sprinted away toward the riverbank. A vital count-down ran through his mind. 'Four... Three... Two...' He dove for the ground at the last nanoclick, tackling the kid so she'd hit the deck along with him. Behind them, the less then precise explosion roared, showering them with bits of debris, and everything was underscored by a screaming from one of the terrorist guards, evidently caught in the blast. Almost as quickly as they were down, Lutro was back up again. "Of all the scrapping—slag-sparked—pit!" He took two quick breaths, and jabbed at his radio. "IceClaw! We got a situation here!"
The Sub-Commander's voice came back clear and firm. "Report."
"Crossfire tripped the charges; all of 'em weren't set." He peered through the smoke and settling dust. "You've got your door, but it ain't half as big as you wanted. They sure as pit know we're here now."
"Understood. Keep your heads down out there, and wait for my signal." The signal terminated.
"Slag-sucking deceptitronic scrap heaps! C'mon kid, we gotta get under cover." Lutro pointed her toward a small rock formation a few meters to their left. As soon as she had regained her feet, they both scrambled toward it.
"I'm sorry—should I go back to Beast Mode—are you hurt?"
"I'm fine kid. And stay as you are, there's gonna be more fighting." He set his jaw, and drew his sword.
Otternaut raised up, hoping to get a shot on one of the sentries currently raining attacks down upon her commanding officer. As she was about to fire, Lutro grabbed her by the back of the neck, and pulled her to the ground. Not a nanoclick passed, and a barrage of chain gun fire peppered the air where she had just stood. The older bot leaned in close to her ear and snarled, "I can't keep you safe if you keep sticking your neck out like that. Settle down and use some common sense before you get both of us killed."
She shuddered. The excitement she'd had when they made their run up the riverbank was rapidly draining away, leaving only a dull terror like nothing she'd ever known. She felt cold, and remembered that they were technically outnumbered and outgunned. She felt herself start to shake.
Lutro sighed. "Easy kiddo, easy. Deep breaths. You're fine, I said I'd keep an eye on ya and I am."
Inhaling deeply, she tried to listen to him. She'd taken two or three deep breaths when the blaster fire started to die down. Lutro's radio crackled, then both could clearly hear IceClaw.
"Otter Patrol, your turn again. We've got 'em pinned for now."
"C'mon kid." Lutro scrambled to his feet. "Time to move."
The two scrambled forward through the haze of dust and smoke. It was a squeeze to make it through the blasted-out hole, and Otternaut found herself wondering how the Sub-commander had fit. Emerging into the open inner yard of the compound seemed to her like walking through a door into the Pit. Mech fluid was splattered all over the place. One of the terrorists was crawling around, searching for his missing head. Another—this one in beast mode—sat licking a wound with energon flowing freely from it. A few others were pinned down behind a pile of rubble; periodically they emerged to trade gunfire with IceClaw and Highwire. It took a push from Lutro for Otternaut to realize she'd stopped running, and was standing, shocked at the scene.
"Move it," he growled. "Who knows how long we have before their buddies show up to help out. She shook her head, and tried to ignore the sounds of the wounded. "Lead the way." He eagerly pushed past her, and they headed into the main building. The interior was dimly lit, and at first glance appeared to be deserted. Twisting though it was, the corridor did not seem to branch, and there were few doors leading from it. They continued until they reached a lift.
"Gotta head down, kid. All reports say that captives are held on the bottom level." She nodded stiffly.
"There's probably going to be guards. Are you ready to do this?" Otternaut nodded again. She didn't trust herself to sound brave if she spoke, so she said nothing. Lutro sighed, and jabbed the button to activate the elevator. They descended three full levels before coming to a halt.
Looking out, there was nothing surrounding them but darkness.
"I don't like this," Lutro muttered, drawing his swords. "Be ready." Suddenly, the room was filled with light. The otters found themselves temporarily blinded, as a tight voice called to them. "Yes! Yes! Be ready! Ready for the Pit, Maximals!" Otternaut's vision was starting to return. She blinked a few times, trying to hurry her optics' recovery. Three large Preds were advancing on the lift. "Lutro!" The sea otter was still holding his head, disoriented. Shaken, she fired on the closest Predacon. The shot was wild, and he ducked easily, lunging forward. Otternaut tried to fight her rising panic. Lutro recovered enough to recognize the situation, and he leapt forward to engage the other two Preds.
"Calm down—pick your shots," he shouted, as he sized up his opponents. She stepped forward, off the lift platform, and tried to take his advice. Taking what felt like an eternity, she aimed a second time. This shot hit, and her adversary snarled at her. Unfortunately, he was now at a distance to return the attack. Otternaut tried to back away from the handblade slash, but she wasn't quick enough. She felt her armor absorb most of the damage, but gasped as the end of the cut bit deeply enough to touch circuitry.
Desperate, she switched her grip, and swung the rifle at his head. Laughing, he managed to duck the swing, but when she reversed the motion, he didn't react in time. There was a jarring metallic thud. Otternaut lost her grip on the weapon; it clattered to the floor. She looked up quickly, and gaped in horror. She had taken the Predacon's head cleanly off his shoulders. She was stooping to retrieve the rifle, when Lutro appeared. He slashed twice at the headless Pred—who dropped. "I—I..."
"Two things," he stopped to breathe, "One? Don't—ever—take a break in a fight. Two? It's a gun. You shoot it. Not swing it."
"Uhm... Right."
They both stood for a moment, collecting themselves. Suddenly the quiet was broken by the sound of something scrabbling away.
"He's getting away!"
"We aren't here for him, kid. Our responsibility is the Councilor. Speaking of—" he turned, and shouted, "Councilor! Councilor? Are you down here?" Lutro paused, and momentarily was rewarded with a faint voice from behind a door. "Get him out of there and on his feet. I'll keep an eye out.
Otternaut unlocked the cell, revealing a battered squirrel. "Sir? Can you stand?"
"Not exactly."
Glad of the councilman's demolecular ability, Otternaut gingerly picked him up, and moved back out into the hallway. "Lutro?"
"Gun it kid, smooth run from here, but we've got to be quick." She nodded, and the two scrambled for the elevator that would take them back to the rest of the team.
"Pred lover."
"It's not like that... He's Maxi now, why should it matter how he protoformed?"
"You call yourself a Maximal? You think you're a part of this army? They should spark slag heaps like you."
Otternaut turned, and looked down. "He's my friend."
"No Maximal would be friends with a Pred. If I weren't—"
"Seabreeze!" Lutro rounded the corner, snarling. "Back off."
"What? You some kind of turncoat now too? I gave you more credit then that." She crossed her arms and sneered. "Guess it must just be some kind of flaw. Think they should leave otters open to pred protoforms now?"
Lutro bounded forward, and let loose a punch that connected with the bird lady's jaw, knocking her sprawling across the floor. "Leave the kit alone, you hear me? Next time it'll be IceClaw, and not me that lays ya out." Stepping forward, over her, he stalked down the corridor. Otternaut was close behind him. "I thought you hated ex-Predacons too." "I do." He turned toward her, stopping in a brighter space of the corridor. "I didn't defend that scum, I defended you."
"He's a priest!" She was shocked to see how irrationally people were reacting to her friendship with Firetail.
"Yeah, well he's still a Pred. I don't trust Preds, I don't like Preds, and I don't think you should be hanging around with one. I can't stop you from being stupid, kid. But I can stop them from taking it out on you that you haven't learned the hard way yet. He steps out of line with you, and don't think I won't scrap him as soon as look at him." Lutro continued stalking down the hall, leaving a crestfallen Otternaut. She'd hoped Lutro, of all bots, would understand. He'd given her a chance, why couldn't he give the same chance to a priest who happened to have been protoformed a salamander?
IceClaw took a moment of pause, looking over his team. He knew most of them were not going to enjoy what he was about to say. "They've agreed with me that we should take a guide with us. In this case, we've a member of the Church of Primus who is willing to show us how to reach the drop-point. His name is Firetail—friend of yours, isn't he Otternaut?" The river-otter's face brightened, even as Seabreeze and Lutro both scowled. "That's right Cap'n. I've known him for almost half a stellar now."
The Sub-Commander nodded. "Highwire and I are in agreement on this; Firetail is the bot to help us out. If either of us hears anything about anyone giving him a hard time, or making racist comments, it will be reflected in your evaluations. I remind you that you're all due, and some of you may be looking to move up in rank."
Highwire stepped forward to speak, an fairly uncharacteristic action for him during a briefing. "The priest is a Transmetal Two. He may be making the drop with you. Watch his back, I suggest, and let your petty hatreds rest." Evidently finished both speaking and listening, he faded away toward the docking bay.
IceClaw nodded after him. "We sleep on-ship tonight, and our guest will be joining us shortly. They want us ready to move out early tomorrow."
"And these are my quarters. Usually when we're on a missiony thing, I have to share with Seabreeze, but she's not been very nice lately, and since it's such a big ship and all, IceClaw told me I could stake out my own, and how are you, they haven't been mean to you yet, have they?" Otternaut sat down, motioning for her friend to do the same. Firetail chuckled softly. "Slow down," he said pleasantly. "You will need your excess enthusiasm tomorrow, to help keep you safe."
Otternaut looked almost disappointed. "Oh, yeah. But they haven't, have they? Done anything mean to you yet?"
"They are professionals; I am certain they would not endanger their careers merely to cause me to suffer."
"But they hate you."
Firetail leaned back, looking calm. "Do you understand why?"
"They said it was 'cause you used to be a Pred. I tried to tell them it didn't matter, 'cause you're one of us now, and a priest and everything, but they wouldn't listen." "They listen to their anger, and you must understand that they feel it is a just anger. They believe that because the Decpticons were the enemies of the Autobots, the Predacons are logically the enemies of the Maximals. They feel that all Predacons are criminals at heart, and that, as criminals, Predacons and former Predacons are a threat to the Cybertronian way, and to the Maximal way of life."
"But that's stupid."
"Indeed, there are those who feel as you do, Otternaut. Unfortunately, there are many more who feel war is the heritage of our people. As long as there are weak to be preyed upon, the strong must try to protect them from the corrupt."
Before Otternaut could respond, IceClaw's voice came over the radio. "We're approaching the target zone. Could you bring Firetail up to the bridge?"
"Yes sir."
The battle was fast and brutal. Otternaut found herself separated from both Lutro and Firetail as the team spread out across the drop point. Dispatching a large adversary with a well-timed shot, she looked out across the field—just in time to see an insectoid Pred drop Lutro with an ominously glowing blade.
Unable to scream, she ran across the field, falling to her knees at her friends side. Frantic, she pulled at plating and tried to reconnect circuitry. In her frenzy, she wasn't aware of Firetail's had approached until he was standing next to her. "You can heal him, right?" The salamander knelt, examining the fallen lieutenant. After a long moment, he looked up. Quietly, he said, "I am afraid not. There are some injuries that cannot be healed, some damage that cannot be repaired."
"Liar!" Having dispatched her own opponent, Seabreeze had moved toward them. Now she aimed a club blow to the back of the priest's head. "You killed him! You killed him!"
"Seabreeze! No!" Otternaut tried to block the second blow, and in so doing was hit squarely herself.
"This is your fault," Seabreeze hissed. "Your stupid little Predacon friend killed him, and it's your fault!" She hit Otternaut again, this time drawing mech fluid.
"It wasn't like that," Otternaut gasped, dodging a third blow. "He got here after I did!"
"You were in it together, then." She spat, drawing her main gun. "I'm going to enjoy this." A white blur streaked out of nowhere, knocking Seabreeze aside, and pinning her. It was Highwire, who was closely followed by IceClaw. Ignoring the scuffle of his second trying to subdue Seabreeze, he laid a heavy hand on on Otternaut's shoulder. "He will be sorely missed."
IceClaw was sitting in his office. It had been a long day; he had never found it easy to attend the funeral of a friend. When he heard someone come into the room, he looked up, unsurprised to see Otternaut standing on the other side of his computer console.
"I can't do it," she said. "Not like this. I can't keep fighting."
"You want to resign your commission," he asked gently.
"Yes—no—I'm not sure. I know I'm sick of fighting. I'm sick of hurting people. I'm sick of people dying."
IceClaw nodded. "Before this, I had been working on evaluations. I'm putting you in for a rank up; I think you've more then earned it."
"But I—"
"Let me finish. I also think you need some time away from this place. I already talked to Firetail, and he's agreed that you need to be somewhere peaceful, so you can sort things out. There's room for you at his church. I've sent in my evaluation already, and attached a report suggesting you be reformatted and assigned as a combat medic. You won't be there to hurt people, but to keep them from being hurt any worse. I've also suggested reassignment, I'm not certain it would be wise for you to continue working with Seabreeze."
"Captain... I... Thank you."
"They're going to give you at least a Decacycle or two. If, after that, you honestly don't think you can continue, even as a medic, they'll be willing to accept it if you resign your comission then."
"I'll miss you, sir."
IceClaw nodded. "Contact Firetail as soon as you're ready to leave." She nodded, and started to turn to the door. "And Otternaut?"
She paused, "Yes Captain?"
"Good luck."