Transformers Prime - Stay

23. Shred of Loyalty

        “How can we be sure you’re telling the truth?” Bulkhead was skeptical of her claims. After all he’d been through today, it was understandable. So she called the name of the voice everyone was dying to hear.

        “Miko?” She called, and the young girl was eager to step in.

        Her enthusiastic  voice came over the com link, perhaps a bit too loud for their current situation. “Hey Bulkhead!” She was ecstatic about their little plot and couldn’t wait to fill everyone in on it, but had neglected the fact that a slightly too-loud noise could jeopardize them. That is, until Blade gave her a stern warning like a librarian would a noisy child.

        “Miko . . .”

        “Oops,” Miko replied. “Sorry. Anyway, I’m fine. We’re on board the ship right now, so we gotta be careful. The nearby security cameras are having a ‘malfunction’ if you know what I mean. Jewel’s taking good care of me here, Bulk. And it’s not every day you get to see this place and not worry about getting scrapped.” Miko could be an excellent co-conspirator, as long as she could restrain herself from getting too excited about the fact that it was supposed to be a ‘secret’ mission.

        Blade divulged into the details about what needed to happen, and soon. “I’m going for a drive tomorrow morning. Bulkhead, you’re going to meet me at a rendezvous point to pick up Miko. We’re going to have a bit of a fight and in the cover of a dust cloud, Miko’s going to slip from my chest cavity to yours. We’re going to have to do it quickly because as soon as I catch sight of you, I’ll have to contact Megatron. I’ve managed to get rid of SoundWave but they’re going to be monitoring my signal.”

        Bulkhead’s anger had dissipated. Miko was safe and she was coming home. “Where should we meet?” The Wrecker asked.

        “I’ll let you know tomorrow,” Blade answered vaguely. “Come alone. You’re Miko’s guardian, they’ll think you’re seeking revenge. Which reminds me: until I’m done here, she’ll have to lay low. If they see her, it could blow my cover.”

        Blade’s logic was sound, but Miko didn’t seem to appreciate it as her disappointed voice leaked over the com link. “Aww man!”

        “Understood,” Optimus replied plainly.

        “I am, just so sorry to have put you guys through so much today, but I’m gaining Megatron’s trust. And I’m really sorry to you, Arcee. I didn’t mean to blast you like that,” Blade told her, remorse in her tone at the thought of harming her comrade.

        “It’s fine,” Arcee told her, having already healed from the majority of the injuries she’d sustained. “Just make sure you keep up the work on board. We need every advantage we can get.” Everyone was calming down from the day’s events. Miko was safe. Blade was still on their side. Everything was going well, despite how it had seemed just minutes ago.

        If things continued, Blade would give them the upper hand in this war. “Will do. We need to go, someone’s coming. Cut off the communication on your end. This could be important, but no promises.”

        Ratchet cut off the two-way connection so they could listen to her while keeping themselves absolutely silent with no worries of accidental overflow. If that occurred, her execution would be swift and merciless.

        ~~~

        As the sound of peds approached, Blade quickly made work of the screens in the small ‘research room’ she’d been equipped with, acting dismissively towards whatever visitor had come. “Important research in process. If it’s not urgent, please don’t interrupt.” She would keep up this act if it was the last thing she did. Part of the new role she’d taken on was conducting research for Megatron, as well as whatever freelance information she could gather. However, despite her warning, the doors still opened, and KnockOut joined her.