Shattered

Chapter Nine

"You know you messed up, right?" Skyshadow asked, crossing her servos over her chest as she stared at the frontliner.

Sunstreaker didn't return the look, simply grimacing at the monitor screen in front of him. "You think I don't know that?"

Letting out a vent, Skyshadow stepped over to stand beside him. "I told you to wait. And you didn't."

"Sideswipe can't wait," the frontliner growled lowly, glaring straight ahead. "You know why I went ahead and interrogated Steeldust. You're also the one who originally suggested to spar with him. Remember?"

"I know," snapped Skyshadow. "But I only again told you to do it after you decided to yell at him. Otherwise we might have lost him before we could test our theory."

"What do you mean lost him? We know exactly where he is now."

Skyshadow shook her helm, wings twitching in agitation. "He will never talk to you while he's down there. He won't talk to anyone hardly when he's in the brig."

Sunstreaker simply let out a huff.

"Sunny," the young femme said, tone less angry. "We lost him. He won't help us anymore."

"So, he said," muttered Sunstreaker quietly, finally looking at his courted. "I'm sorry, I should have listened to you. I seen he was getting suspicious when we cornered him downstairs, but I couldn't let him go."

"Not when he knew we were investigating," the spy added quietly. She placed a hand on Sunstreaker's servo. "What's done is done. We need to focus our attention elsewhere for the time being. Steeldust isn't going anywhere currently. If we're lucky, he'll be willing to tell us what he knows."

Sunstreaker nodded, turning back to the monitors.

Neither said what they both were thinking.

That if Steeldust didn't tell them, they may have a lot less information to work with. And no future help.

"Do you think he did it?" Skyshadow asked softly.

Considering for several kliks in silence, Sunstreaker then shook his helm.

"I don't think it was him. But we can't be sure."

He turned his helm back to meet Skyshadow's optics.

"Not until we find out who did."

///

"If the Prime knows about this, I wonder why he wanted Sideswipe dead."

Despite vowing not to help Sunstreaker and Skyshadow, Steeldust found that he couldn't stop thinking about the whole thing.

There wasn't really much to do in the box anyways, so there was lots of time to think.

Or at least until someone had need of him.

So he thought while he paced.

Steeldust momentarily smirked as he imagined several different scenarios in which Lord Optimus Prime found out he was down here. But not by his orders or permission.

Steeldust tilted his helm, going back to his initial train of thought. Sitting down, he settled back against the wall, shifting to make his doorwings more comfortable.

"If Prime wanted Sideswipe dead, then who would he give the order to?"

The immediate answer was his personal assassin.