BoP: C8 Uninvited House Guest

Uninvited House Guest

Trapper slid down the rocks leading away from the Seeker's hideout. Small stones flowed down next to her as she slid, for a moment she wondered if an avalanche would ensue, but not this day.

When she reached the valley floor she glanced up and behind her to see if the Air Commander of the Decepticons followed; he did not. She supposed he had no actual quarrel with her - perhaps not nearly as much as she had with him. Satisfied that she was not being perused, she ran through the trees to the river and followed it upstream to her camp.

Her desire to stash away the Seeker's weaponry in order to preserve her stay in the wilderness caused her to question her sanity. Was she actually betraying her side so she could hang out longer in the woods?  What motivated her desire to let him go? Did she actually believe his words of wanting the war to end and seeing peace. She admitted that she felt him to be genuine, but was unsure what gave her that impression. This was Starscream after all, he was a well known liar, manipulator of words, able to twist others to his will. She wondered if he managed to cunningly manipulate her with his empathy. How could he, of all people, comprehend the magnitude of how she felt about the loss of her team mates. Autobots would call her selfish for it or even mock her for feeling what most would claim to feel. To avoid having to explain she spent her time standing aloof and apart from the others. She felt that he would not consider her escaping and running cowardice because as far as she knew, he ran from things quite often. Perhaps somehow she enabled him to feel justified in his own flight reaction. She supposed it would not be so bad, generally speaking they say to run to fight another day. Ultimately she found acceptance by the mortal enemy the most disquieting of all.

Only yesterday the lines of battle was easy to differentiate: She was good and he was evil. It was as clear as it was to say she was a car and he was a jet. But not so much now. They had commonalities, things she could identify, and indeed, she felt a level of empathy toward him and she hated it. In simply talking to him she learned much about his personality his desires and his needs she also learned that he had a lot of deep rooted mental issues, paranoia, fear, hate and anger. However, someone as old as him  and under the brutal rule of one like Megatron these issues are easily explained. Anyone who encountered the Decepticons long enough usually came out heavily scarred both physically and mentally. She could see that members of the Decepticon faction were equally scarred. In fact she could see welted lash marks on his back and wings. Autobots were not known to whip prisoners, but Decepticons were well known to dole out horrific punishments on Autobots and members of their own faction. At some point in recent years Starscream had suffered some manner of brutal disciplinary action.

Something she and Starscream shared was how their leaders interfered with their lives.
She often felt annoyed by Optimus Prime and his orders. He often made unfair decisions that would affect her future. But as Starscream so eloquently said, this was war and they were both ordered to do things. That, and they should not be overly surprised that their own wants and needs would not be a priority after all, they both joined the military.

Then there was that cave. It was not an ugly cave, a cold or damp cave. Yes, it was wet in the lower cavern, but it was a stunning cave. Had they not been enemies she would have asked to return, spend a night, take a dip in the invitingly warm waters. The amount of detail he had put into everything from the pillars, lights, alcoves, the smoothed hand railing on the stairs going down to the bathing room. It was stunning. When compared to her own idea of living, an almost water tight tarpaulin, a few crates containing tools, or possessions, a source of food and a place to sleep - her idea of living. She could not help but be impressed.

What amazed her the most was his ability to create a posh dwelling seated in a mountain without disrupting the overall appearance of the landscape. She did wonder what he did with the material he mined out. Did he scatter it along the shore or did he fill up an cavern that was not needed? It was most likely to be the latter. She would have noticed evidence of mining had he tried scattering vast amounts of rock. It would be hard to make that sort of refuse look like it belonged in the landscape.

Nothing about the cavern screamed evil or war-like, only that of a time very long past –  the Vossian architecture was prominent. It was said the residents of Vos were very artistically inclined, wonderful constructions with intricate designs that spoke skill and refinement which was the hallmark of the Seeker Race. The fall of Vos only happened just around the time she and her team came online. For her there were only stories of the great Seeker Culture and that their command of the arts was second to none. Sadly the Great War left them a bedraggled and beleaguered people with virtually nothing of their culture left and with that mostly gone, they felt as if they had nothing else to lose. She could see that there had been some of the old culture left in the Seeker Air Commander. As long as it existed in a few it was not extinct.

It also struck her as if he was deeply homesick. Perhaps the loss of his home city was also on a similar level as to her loss of teammates. With everything she saw in there, she learned one thing about Starscream that was not spoken of, the treacherous Decepticon was an artist -  and an amazing one at that.

It then made sense he would understand the pain, then again, he said he once had a mate. Another thing that stood out at her was the lack of trophies. She would have expected someone like him to have them on display some where. There did not appear to be any war trophies anywhere, although she had to admit to herself wasn't entirely sure of what he would take after a kill. It was as if he wanted to leave combat, war, strife and everything unpleasant at the door. Then she paused to think, unless the artefacts, which were statues, and bits of alien and earth-borne artwork were classed as trophies.

His willingness to have his existence end there also confused her. It conflicted with everything she believed about the Decepticons, the Seekers and this particular individual. She could not end him, not without knowing a bit more of the story. So she elected to free him. He didn't react aggressively, although the other Seeker, Nemesis, which he called his “computer”, showed up to give him a warning. He had not indicated that there was a sentient computer or Seeker around, which meant he could have had something waiting to capture or kill her and he chose not to. It did indicate some deception on his behalf, yet she could not entirely blame him. Everyone had to have secrets and defences. It did prove to her, although he felt he was done for, he was not going out without a fight.

She ran along the river bed until she arrived at her hidden tent. She paused and looked around, he did not see it because it was night and at night it was well hidden, shrouded by the dark. During the day it was not as hidden, scraggy tarp covered in a mixture of netting and ghillie material -  which she had to change out depending on the time of year. Then again, he was not a scout.

She cursed herself because as a scout she should have read the signs better, she did have a sort of strange feeling about the mountain but could not put a finger on it. She had been virtually outside the door in the past -  perhaps not that close, but looking right at it. The holographic image did flicker a little, but now she knew what she was looking for, it was obvious.

She entered her tent, the other Autobot had not arrived yet, but she wanted to hide the evidence that the Seeker was there. Who was it who was coming? Bumblebee? Optimus? No not likely Optimus, he wouldn't pay a visit this far up, unless there was something dangerous afoot. She snatched up a crate from her pile and then grabbed the flier's service pistol, and his rifles and stuffed them into it. She tossed some netting over the weapons and slammed the crate shut, locking it. She loaded it into a pile and threw even more netting on top, draping it in a haphazard manner in an effort to make it look as if it has been sitting there in neglect for a while. She scuffed up the ground, to mask the impressions of the Seeker's distinctive foot prints. She added more wood to the fire to warm up the tent as well as make it appear as if she had been hanging around all day.  

A half an hour later a Pinzgauer pulled up and transformed. He was not tall, only about the size of Bumblebee, coloured in an old style camouflage pattern and his soft top turned into a backpack. He slung the sack over his right shoulder and looked around with a nod. Trapper groaned inwardly, it was Overcast. He was the last person she wanted to have up here. He for such a small Autobot he had more than enough arrogance to make up for two her size. He was not only high on himself, he was dangerous to friends and foe alike.

Overcast seemed to make an effort to compensate for his small stature. He was strong, not nearly as strong as Brawn. The two were more than able spar with one another with entertaining results. Where Brawn had physical power in his robot mode; Overcast was more powerful with his alternative mode, being able to haul loads many times his own size. He was also capable of traversing extreme terrain in vehicular mode. This made him the first choice for exploring environments such as mountainous landscapes. However he had a darker side, a love of the hunt and hunting, his habits with taking trophies from kills was seen as strange. Autobots did not typically desecrate the dead of the enemies. Some said he would have been more suited as a Decepticon for that particular trait alone, only that he hated them with a passion. No one was sure what they did to him to cause him to feel the extreme rage he had. Some Autobots, such as Cliffjumper applauded his attitude and they would trash talk about what they would do to Decepticons all day if they could.

Yet here he was standing in her home looking as If he owned the place and there was likely little she could do about this cretin now. She hoped she could find something to deter him from staying longer than necessary.

“Nice place you've got here, Trapper,” the small Autobot said stepping across the threshold “Its got that fresh, roughing it feel. I do like.” he strode in as if he owned the camp. He placed his bag on the table, shoving her papers and datapads aside. One tumbled to the dirt.

Trapper glared at him as she picked it up. “Why are you here, Overcast?” she asked, a question similar to what she had asked Starscream the night before. If he didn't have a legitimate reason, she would kick him out immediately. She entertained the thought of stringing him up by his feet like she had the Seeker.

“Prime sent me. He felt you'd be lonely, And since you haven't had any results in your reports, he wanted me to check things out.” Overcast looked around at the contents of the camp. “I'm also interested in a spot of moose, deer or bear hunting and maybe some off road exploration. I'm itching to try out my new tires. Oh hey, I'm hungry what do you have to eat?”

“Hunting? There is no point in killing lessor mammalian creatures for sport, we don't eat their flesh; and Overcast, for the record, I am not lonely, I have had results and I explicitly said I wish to be alone here.” She tossed him a wafer, “that's all I got for foodstuff,” Trapper grumbled.

“Faugh, war rations... Just as well I packed something better,” he opened his backpack and dumped out a heap of energon goodies across her table, sending the rest of her papers and datapads to the ground. There was at least a six month supply now occupying her desk.

“How long do you intend to stay?” she growled staring at her datapads that were strewn on the floor and then at the provisions. Was he going to at least pick them up? She wondered.  

“Oh a month, or two, at least until we slag that sucker,” he said rubbing his hands together, he dropped into her chair and slung his feet onto the desk next to the energon goodies.

She watched as clumps of dirt dropped off onto the surface below them. Her mouth twitched. “Slag what sucker, Starscream? I thought I was supposed determine what he is up to -  if he is here at all, and capture him.” She had determined Starscream was here, just to get away from the Decepticons, much like she used this as an opportunity to get away from the Autobots, or at least guys like Overcast. Yet another commonality between the two enemy fighters; they each had an overbearing blow-hard they wished to avoid.

“You haven't seen him yet?” he said in disbelief, he started to pick some insects off the front of his chest and drop them on the floor next to him. An action that made Trappers tank churn uneasily.

“No, I'd have made a report if I had.” The area is riddled with magnetic anomalies. If he is here at all, he's very well hidden.”

“That's why Prime sent me, he wants results, basically yesterday. The Seeker flew up this way so Prime had Skyfire drop me at the pass and I came by the logging road. I'd have been here last night, but Skyfire had been delayed in South America,”

“Last night?” She realised had he been here when the Seeker was caught in her trap, it would have been an entirely different night. They'd have been radioing back for a pick up along with a slightly warm Seeker Corpse.

“Yeah, didn't you get the message?” he asked, pointing at her terminal.

She groaned, “I forgot to check my messages,” she said. A half truth, she spent the night swapping uncomfortable stories with the enemy and that sidetracked her from checking in on her communications.

“So what place is mine?” he said looking around at the crates, boxes tarps and the single platform.

“None of them, go back to the Ark, I have this mission covered,” she shoved past him and grabbed up the datapads from the ground glaring at him balefully. Clearly he had no intention of cleaning up his mess.

“Prime gave me orders, do you really want me to disobey Optimus?”

“I couldn't care less,” she snapped, “I want to be left alone, and that means not with you.”

“Awww, but you're my favourite girl,” he smiled. “ A chance for you and I to hang out under the stars and the trees...”

Trapper turned around waved her finger in her face threateningly. “Listen, Bot - refer to me in that manner again and I swear to Primus I will end you, here and now,” she pulled out her blaster, shifted the safety off pointed it into his face. He did not know it was still unloaded. She expected him to recoil but he didn't.

Overcast laughed heartily. “You wouldn't, you like me too much.” his reaction disappointed her.

Trapper stared at him and shook her head, part of her preferred the Seeker's company, at least he seemed...reasonably okay. She did not deign to dignify his comment with an answer, but holstered her weapon once more. The threat was lost on him ant it was also an empty threat – literally and figuratively.

She pointed to the dampest and most inhospitable location within her tent. “That will be your spot, Bot. I'll move these crates out of the way.

She heaved off the netting, the smaller crate and pushed the crate that had stowed the Seeker's weapons nearer to the front door. Doing movements to appear that she was accommodating her unwelcome guest and at the same time trying to get the weaponry where she could return it to its owner with little notice. She paused briefly wondering why she felt it so important to give the Con back his guns -  wasn't it naturally better if he was disarmed? She realised she had bought his words after all about a peaceful Cybertron. And that Prime and Megatron would not allow it to happen if they continued their feud. She realised that she had agreed with the flier, too many had died in battle when it really only needed to end in the pits from which it had sprung from. She wondered if she was being cleverly manipulated; but by who, Optimus, Megatron or Starscream? Perhaps all three.

“Hey what's in that box?” Overcast asked as she shoved by the door.

“Nothing.” she responded.

“Well then if its nothing, can I use it?”

“No - it's filled with nothing that you need to have any concern about,” she responded darkly.

“Well, where can I stash our energon?” he asked.

“You can store your energon in your bag and keep it out of my space. While you do that, I'm going for a hike – I need the space.”

She placed a padlock onto the crate to keep the other from peeking into it. She left the tent and removed the flier's knife. It seemed old, well cared for and very sharp. She took out some trap wire and wrapped it around the hilt then tied the key into it. She would give this to him, and he would have the key to access the crate when he received it.

She stopped near the spot where she captured the flier the night before and kicked up the dirt. Then she strode purposefully into the trees, taking the same path that she and Starscream had before, in an effort to obfuscate his tracks. If Overcast was here to hunt, then he was most certainly not just hunting earth mammals, but the Seeker.

Overcast was an accomplished tracker in his own right and he would quickly identify the Seekers tracks. She was unsure if he had left identifiable trails elsewhere, having said he preferred to travel at night. It was entirely possible Overcast would locate the hidden base, but her tracks mingled with Starscream's would be abolished. Their path along the rocky shoreline did help the matter as he did not leave impressions in the rocks. It wasn't until they came to the large tree that overhung the water and turned east from the Beaver Lake that his tracks became pronounced once more.

His trail had an interesting quality, although he seemed to walk heavily, he pressed most of his weight on his toe, the thruster ring was often only a partial circle because he did not put all his weight on his heel. This could have been partly due to him balancing to counter the combined weight of his wings when they were pulled back behind him.

She followed the trail until she arrived at the base of Cliffside Cavern and glanced upward. It would be a fair climb and she worried about being noticed. She was about to start her climb when the caw of a crow grabbed her attention. She noticed an oversized bird sitting in a branch near the top of the tree staring down at her, it cawed again.  

“If you're what I think you are, then tell him he is in danger...” The bird cried out again then flew off toward the cliff base. A few minutes later an oversized doe came out the forest and ran up to her and forced a slip of paper into her hand, nuzzling a little. She unrolled the paper and it read. “Message received, do you wish to explain it to me in person? - SS”

“Nemesis,” she knelt before the oversized doe and stroked its head, realising it felt every way real. However it watched her with an intelligence that deer would not possess. “I can't explain to him in person right now. I can't get him his weapons at the moment. But I have his knife...” she took out his blade and held the hilt toward the animal. The doe took it in her mouth. “Relay him the message that the Autobot intends to stay until we slag him.” The doe snorted in response “I will try to get the weapons crate to the edge of your range, that's the key to the lock. Just leave something to indicate where that is along the river. Also tell him, I believe him and that I feel he is being genuine, I will help him if I can.”

The doe turned and ran off, flicking her white tail once before she vanished through the trees, in a moment a huge eagle with a knife clutched in its talons flew upward toward the cliff and vanished into the rocks.

Trapper watched then decided to continue on with her hike, getting herself as far away from the intruder for the time being.
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