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Outside Shuttle Bay

Oh, brother, Wheeljack thought to himself as he was forced to listen to Red Alert’s paranoid rants about the newly intelligent and likely non-existent cyber-rats. It was almost as bad as one of Bluestreak's tirades. Red was clearly delusional if he thought those little critters could hide their own droppings and intentionally cause a power surge that would short out the shuttle bay doors in order to protect their nest. Sure, it was possible for a cyber-rat to accidentally short out an electrical device, but not deliberately. They weren’t that smart regardless of what the security mech thought.

“Relax, Red. I’m sure the cyber-rats aren’t on to us. Everything will be fine. And there’s still no need to break anything, like I just said. Besides, I’m almost done here. Just give me a few more astroseconds, okay?” Wheeljack pleaded as he sped up his work, knowing that his stalling tactics had pretty much come to an end. It should be all right, however, as Smokescreen has had plenty of time to leave the ship and head on down planet side. At least, I hope he's gone by now. No telling if he ran into any more problems. Although, if he had I’m sure he would’ve commed me by now.

Making the final bypass connection, the mechanical engineer closed the access panel and re-entered the security codes. This time the shuttle bay doors parted down the center and opened wide with a hiss, exposing the vast room beyond. Wheeljack then held one hand up to both Red Alert and Inferno to stop them from proceeding in first. “Allow me, gentlemechs. I’ll go in and see if the coast is clear.”

Shuttle Bay

Wheeljack then proceeded into the chamber where a variety of shuttle craft were docked. He looked around, pretending to search for cyber-rats when in all reality he was checking to see if Smokescreen and Tracer had left yet. Unfortunately, his scanners would be largely useless considering the fact that the wayward ‘Bots were using his very own signature inhibitors to shield themselves from detection. The scientist would simply have to rely on his optics to determine if they were still here or not.

After walking around the room a bit longer and finding no mechs or warming shuttles in sight, Wheeljack concluded that Smokey and his companion were gone. Thank Primus, ‘Jack thought as he turned back towards the open doorway where he fully expected Red Alert and Inferno to already have entered through. “Looks like the coast is clear, guys. I don’t see any cyber-rats anywhere.”

Inferno waited quietly, if somewhat impatiently for Wheeljack to finish and open the cargo doors. He became even more impatient when asked to wait a few seconds more.

"This is driving me binary!" Inferno thought to himself. "First it takes forever to open the pitt forsaken door now I have to wait when there is potential danger? Still...I don't know a thing about cyber rats, other than they sure are fun to shot. Best let the whacko scientist go in first. He'd be better at locating the nest than I would. Once he finds them though, their ugly little hides are mind!"

Inferno checked all his systems during the wait, and he was operating at full capacity. He did transfer a little bit of energy from his sensors to weapons though. Between Red and Wheeljack, sensor sweeps would be covered. A little extra firepower might go along way though. Finally the all clear signal came from Wheeljack. Inferno began stepping into the cargo bay.

"Be ready Red Alert, these little things can be pesky. Just point me towards their nest and I'll take of them..."

Shuttle Bay

Red Alert held his rifle up, his index finger just off the trigger as he entered behind Wheeljack and Inferno.

"I'll be the judge of that, Wheeljack", the security director replied, "If there's any sign of them, even the slightest drop of waste or so much as a wiggle from one of their nasty tails, my sensors will detect it!"

Red Alert moved in a constant circle as he walked through the shuttle bay, to keep anything from sneaking up on him as well as not allowing anything to pass his notice.

Where are you, you disgusting vermin? You may be able to trick Wheeljack, but you won't fool me any longer!

With each passing astrosecond that Red Alert searched he became more and more alarmed from the lack of any readings or signs, and it wasn't for a lack of trying. Wherever he looked he scanned over every micrometer with his sensors, searchign for even the slightest hint of any cyber-rat. But there was nothing. What was going on?

"I don't get it!", Red Alert said confused, "Even if they knew we were coming, there should still be some signs of them! Some chewed up cables, or a hole in the wall! Even the original scent I picked up has gone cold, what's going on?"

The security director continued scanning, though he was beginning to thing that maybe Wheeljack was right about the cyber-rats. But that didn't mean something wasn't up. The unusual scent, the door to the shuttle bay being disabled. There had to be something. And as Red Alert neared the end of the shuttle bay, another piece of the puzzle showed itself- or more precisely wasn't there at all. His neurocircuits went into a frenzy he saw one of the shuttles missing from it's designated spot.

"Wheeljack! Inferno! Over here!", Red Alert frantically shouted, "One of the shuttles is gone!"

Shuttle Bay

Wheeljack’s amusement at Red Alert trying to determine where the cyber-rats had gone was quickly replaced by a sense of dread at the security director’s discovery that one of the shuttles was missing. Thankfully, the mechanical engineer had already altered the logs to reflect one less shuttle, but he still needed to come up with an actual reason for why they were one short. His mind raced quickly to come up with another lie to tell. In all honestly, this was becoming more than just a bit of a burden for him. If it had been any other mech he was covering for other than Smokey, he would have respectfully declined.

As it were, Wheeljack had made a promise and he was going to fulfill his end no matter what. He ran over to where the neurotic ‘Bot was standing and patted him on the shoulder. “Whoa, easy there, Red. Don’t blow a gasket. We were one shuttle short when we left Cybertron,” the scientist replied as he pulled out a datapad and accessed the log. He then handed it to Red Alert for his own examination. “See, it’s right there. I updated the log myself a short time ago.”

Of course, Wheeljack also knew that Red Alert would demand a reason for the missing shuttle. What exactly had happened to it? Well, the engineer had managed to come up with a quick answer that would hopefully satisfy his paranoid comrade. “The reason we’re one short is due to my own failure back on Cybertron. I was attempting to install a new plasma coil of my own design that was intended to make the shuttle fly more efficiently. Unfortunately, once I had it hooked up, the coil overheated and exploded, damaging the craft beyond repair. We were then suddenly called back to Earth. I didn’t really have all the necessary parts I needed as the damage was too extensive, so I just discarded the broken craft before we left. No need to haul around a useless wreck after all. I have to admit, I was a bit embarrassed by the whole thing, which is why I never mentioned it to anyone.”

Wheeljack hoped that his explanation would satisfy Red Alert and Inferno. But, just to be absolutely safe, ‘Jack decided to try and shift the conversation back to the possiblity of a cyber-rat infestation. “As for where those cyber-rats disappeared to, I don’t know what to tell you. Maybe they….wait an astrosec.” The scientist had another one of his brilliant ideas.

Moving away from his two suspicious comrades, Wheeljack jogged down the bay a bit before going behind one of the other shuttles where no one could see him. He then quickly bent down and opened his toolkit and reached inside. He pulled out an old rat trap of his that he had forgotten about until now. He had tinkered with it back on Cybertron after the initial encounter with those creepy rodents. However, it never worked right, so he just discarded it into his toolkit with all the other junk.

“I think this is what that nose of yours picked up, Red!” Wheeljack called out as he reappeared from behind the shuttle, pretending that he had just found the trap undereath the craft. He walked back down towards the two ‘Bots, holding the device in his right hand while still carrying his tool bag in his left. “It’s an old trap that I invented. It’s supposed to give off a cyber-rat scent that lures them in and then zaps them dead. This one must have just run out of scent. That’s probably the source of the odor you detected and why it just stopped. I must have placed this in here just after we had first arrived on Cybertron and completely forgot about it. That was a while ago, after all. Sorry to throw you for a loop there, buddy! I meant no harm.”

Wheeljack sincerely hoped that this would finally lay to rest all of Red Alert’s suspicions. Everything had been accounted for: the shorted out doorway caused by a power surge, the cyber-rat scent caused by the old trap, and the missing shuttle caused by Wheeljack, himself. They were all lies, of course, and ‘Jack felt terrible about havig to tell them. Hopefully, this would put Red Alert’s paranoia at ease so that he didn’t have to tell any more and they could all move on to other things more important.

Shuttle Bay

So someone stole a shuttle, but why and when? Does it have anything to do with the cyber-rat smell? Was a decoy, or some part of their plan, or was it all just a coincidence?

Red Alert's mind filled with questions, his processors working overtime to figure out what was going on, when he was startled by Wheeljack patting him on the shoulder. Fortunately for the engineer he didn't get the barrel of the security director's gun in his face this time.

"Slaggit stop doing that!", Red Alert frustratingly said.

Before the security director started alerting the other Autobots in the system, Wheeljack explained the reason for the missing shuttle. It was certainly plausible, everyone knew there was always a risk of something exploding whenever Wheeljack tested one of his new inventions. After taking the datapad from the engineer, Red Alert took a thorough look through the log. Aside from the fact it had been filed late, everything checked out. Rather than relief, though, Red Alert felt a great deal of frustration at the whole mess.

"Wounded pride is no excuse for creating holes in security!", Red Alert scolded the engineer, "I should have been informed about all of this the astrosecond it happened! Did it ever occur to you that someone might have taken advantage? If the Decepticons had known about this they could have easily planted a replica of the shuttle in here without me knowing any better, and loaded it with explosives or a commando unit to take control of the ship while our guard was down! And how do you explain for the cyber-rat scent, hm?"

At first Wheeljack wasn't sure how to explain the possible infestation, then he suddenly remembered something. Red Alert stood and watched as the engineer ran over to a shuttle far away, got down to the floor and picked up some kind of device. Like many of Wheeljack's devices it was difficult to tell what it was until the engineer explained it. A trap that used cyber-rat smell to lure them? That certainly made sense. Red Alert rubbed his chin a he thought about it.

That would seem to wrap everything up- the smell, the locked door, the missing shuttle. But it was rather convenient that Wheeljack would explain things only now. He's not an idiot, surely he would have remembered such things earlier. But still, I can't be chasing around phantom rodents, not when there's always the chance of a Decepticon attack.

"I suppose that does explain everything.", Red Alert said thoughtfully as he rubbed his cranial plate, "But can you get that trap running again? I'd like to confirm it was the same odor I picked up. And if you can get it to work it would be most assuring to know we have it, just in case."

Red Alert took a long look around the shuttle bay. Something still didn't feel right, he could feel it deep in his spark. Whether it was cyber-rats, Decepticons, or something else, he just knew there had to be something else going on, something he wasn't aware of. He hated that feeling and hating not having any kind of evidence to act on it. For now he would just have to monitor his sensors and play things as they came.

"Then I guess there's no more reason to stay in here.", he said to Wheeljack and Inferno, "We should go back to the bridge where we can keep a better watch on things. If they took my warning seriously, even though most bots don't, they should have run a sensor sweep of the ship for any rodents. And if there aren't at least we can keep a better watch on whatever the Decepticons might be plotting."

With that the security director turned around and headed out of the shuttle bay.

This isn't over yet. Something is happening without my knowing. I just need to be more vigilant.

Inferno's processors were starting to hurt with all the current events. There was a cyber rat infestation then suddenly there wasn't. A shuttle was missing, then it wasn't. It was torture to Inferno, and he couldn't even fathom what went through Red Alert's head on a daily basis. Slowly, Inferno realized there was no threat and he began returning his weapons to normal levels.

He began following Red Alert to the bridge and opened up a dialogue with the security director, "Well Red, I can't make a lick of sense of what has happened here but if your satisfied...then I am satisfied.: Inferno took a quick glance back to Wheeljack, and remembered how uncomfortable the mad scientist made him feel,
"Er...no offense or nothing 'Jack...but I suppose you answered Red's questions to his satisfaction. That's good enough for me. You, take it easy alright?"

Inferno turned and followed Red Alert up to the bridge. His statements to Wheeljack almost sounded forced, but were not meant to be impolite. The scientist just creeped him out that much. To distract him of that, Inferno started dreaming up when the Decepticons may attack next, and the glorious battle to ensue.

Shuttle Bay

Wheeljack felt a great sigh of relief when Red Alert finally conceded that there was no credible threat from either cyber-rats or a wayward shuttle thief, even though the latter was the actual truth. At least the security expert had not discovered what the scientist had been desperately trying to hide, thus keeping Smokescreen’s little trip a closely guarded secret for the time being. Now the only problem will be getting him back up here. How in blazes am I going to explain the reappearance of the missing shuttle? I guess I’ll worry about that when the time comes.

“Again, Red, I’m very sorry for not telling you before about the destroyed shuttle. I’ll be sure to swallow my pride and inform you of any more accidents in the future,” Wheeljack replied to Red Alert before considering the security specialist’s next request about getting the rat trap working again. “Sure thing, Red, I’ll do my best. Although, the thing looks kinda fried, but I’ll give it a whirl and let you know later if I’m successful.”

The mechanical engineer then turned to Inferno and nodded approvingly. “No offensive taken. I’ll be down in one of the science labs setting up a new workspace for myself. I’ll see you guys later,” Wheeljack said as he watched his two comrades leave the shuttle bay and head up to the bridge. That was just too close for comfort. If I hadn’t remembered about the broken trap in my toolkit, Red would still be sniffing around in here. I hope Smokey appreciates what I’m doing for him and his femme. Even though I owe him one, this all goes above and beyond what I initially had in mind. At least he’s a good friend which makes it all worth while in the end, I suppose.

After a few more astroseconds of contemplation, Wheeljack placed the rat trap back into his toolkit and quickly exited the shuttle bay, heading for the science labs that were located just down the corridor. Since his old lab was still drying out and likely wouldn’t be full functional again for some time, ‘Jack decided it prudent to begin setting up his equipment down in one of the labs aboard the Ark-22. No one would likely care just as long as he didn’t blow himself or the ship to pieces.

Easier said than done, of course.

Bridge

Red Alert marched onto the bridge just ahead of Inferno, still flustered over his most recent false alarm. Looking around the were the same 'bots that had been there since they left Kup and the others went over to the Guardian to discuss things with Prowl. The mechs still on the Ark-22- Springer, Bluestrak, Arcee- all seemed to be just going through the motions, just waiting for something to happen.

"Did anyone run a sensor sweep of the ship?", Red Alert asked as he took his usual place at the security console, checking the sensor logs to get his answer before anyone said anything, "No, of course not."

Without even thinking the security director ran the sensors throughout the ship, searching for any kind of non-transformer type of life. Even though Wheeljack had explained everything, Red Alert still wanted to be one-hundred percent certain.

"Once again you all just assumed it was nothing, 'that crazy Red Alert is crying cyber-wolf again!", the security director ranted to everyone as the scans completed.

Looking over the data, there was nothing out of the ordinary. The only lifesigns were Autobots that had been assigned to the Ark-22. Red Alert felt some relief, but at the same time a little embarrassment. Once again the other Autobots would have reason not to believe his warnings.

"All right fine, so it turns out there are no cyber-rats onboard.", Red Alert announced, swallowing his pride, "But it's better to be safe than sorry! There's danger out there, everywhere, and the Decepticons are massing around this system, and you'd be sorry if cyber-rats had chewed this ship apart when the Ultrax has it's cannons aimed at us!"

Red Alert looked back at the security monitors, searching for anything out of placed, any anomaly, any inconsistancy in any readings on the Ark-22 and whatever he could find out about the Guardina and the-

"Wait a minute,", Red Alert said out loud, "How long has the Ark-19 been gone?"

Bridge

The silence on the bridge had become deafening to Bluestreak not to mention boring. He had first tried to make friendly conversation with Arcee, which worked for a while until she got tired of his ramblings and pretended to have a cranial ache. He then tried to convince Wheeljack to let him come along on the supposed cyber-rat hunt, but he was rebuffed there, as well. Now, all he had was the typical mundane chore of running computer diagnostics and watching as endless numbers and equations filled the screen before his optics.

Regardless, the silence was still there, allowing all of the thoughts and images of his home city’s destruction to seep back into his core processor. He off-lined his optics for a brief moment, but that only made things worse. No, he had to remain busy somehow, otherwise the dreadful quiet would drive him insane. Keep it together, Blue, just keep it together.

Just then, Red Alert arrived, entering the bridge with Inferno close behind him. The paranoid one reluctantly admitted that he had been wrong about the cyber-rat infestation, but quickly followed up his admission by stating that it was better to be safe than sorry. Bluestreak could agree with him to some extent, but considering Red’s past history with blowing little things out of proportion, it was hard to take him seriously sometimes. Still, it was nice to have someone around that paid so much attention to detail. Red was really the perfect choice for head of security.

“Sorry I didn’t run any scans, Red,” Bluestreak apologized as he stood from his station and approached his paranoid comrade at the security console. “I was already preoccupied with system diagnostics.” That wasn’t entirely the reason as it would have been easy to run a diagnostic and scan the ship at the same time. No, it was more Blue’s own inner demons coming back to the surface that prevented him from scanning for cyber-rats. However, that was something he was not willing to admit to anyone, especially not to Red Alert.

Bluestreak’s attention was then drawn to the security monitors as Red Alert questioned how long the Ark-19 had been gone. The black and silver mech scratched his head in bewilderment. “I don’t know, Red, I didn’t even realize it was gone until you just said something. I’m sure everything’s okay, though. Prowl probably just sent it out for further repairs or something like that. He would’ve contacted us if anything was wrong. You know the ol’ prick-bot is always on top of things, kinda like you, Red, just not as extreme.”

The Autobot gunner chuckled as he patted Red Alert on the shoulder before realizing that his friend might take what he had just said the wrong way. “Not that you’re a prick-bot or anything! I didn’t mean it like that! Not at all! I just meant that you and Prowl are both very attentive and serious about your jobs. If something was wrong, you would both act quickly and not waste any time in alerting others of a breach in security. That’s why I’m sure everything’s fine. The Ark-19 was pretty banged up from what I could tell, so it probably needed extensive repair work that could not be done here. But, I’m sure you’ll check with Prowl just to be safe, won’t you?”

Bridge

If any 'bot rambled on for no good reason Red Alert would suspect them of trying to hide something, that they were nervous and overcompensating for some information that they didn't want him to know. Any bot, except for Bluestreak that is, who Red Alert saw as more of an attention-grabbing annoyance. Especially as he checked the logs and records for any orders given to the Ark-19.

"Would you shut off your vocal components for 10 astroseconds so I can concentrate!", Red Alert yelled, his work was far too important to be nice about it, "I didn't become security director to make friends, so stop apologizing! If you really need someone to talk to then talk to Inferno!"

Despite whatever Bluestreak thought, the fact that Prowl had not informed the security director about the Ark-19 was a troubling development. The two had worked together countless times, and they had developed something of an understanding of each other. Prowl had to know that withholding any major orders, such as the deployment of a ship, would only create suspicions and panic in the security director. From what information Red Alert was able to gather, something had definitely gone wrong.

"No, no, no, this wasn't supposed to happen!", Red Alert said out loud to himself, "The Ark-19 had a skeleton repair crew, but Prowl never ordered her to leave to any repair station. The Ark-19 just ejected an escape pod and went to transwarp without any authorization!"

For Red Alert this seemed like a worst-case type of scenario, he slammed his fists on the console in anger. If the Decepticons had managed to take the Ark-19, there was no telling what kind of important information they would acquire- technical schematics, tactical strategies, troop deployment- it would be an energon mine for the Decepticons! How could this have happened?

"I need to contact Prowl, NOW!", Red Alert frantically opened a comm-link to the Guardian.

>>Red Alert to Prowl, what's going on over there? What happened to the Ark-19? Have the Decepticons taken it? WHAT'S HAPPENING!?!<<

The security director incessantly tapped his fingers on the console as he waited for a response. Looking around the bridge, he gave every Autobot a suspicious, accusing look. He started to wonder.....