Fading Starlight

Cybertron was dying.

The rumors were spreading throughout the population of the planet. For the first few thousand years of the war, both sides had access to ample supplies of energon. But now, the great lakes and refineries had run dry, and nobody knew why. Each side blamed the other for hoarding and burning through resources and tried to stay the panic in their ranks as fuel ran low. As such, the fighting had died down except for a few covert missions to try and establish control over the remaining energon sources.

Just because the fighting had calmed down didn't mean that good bots weren't still dying. All it took was one bad step and the entire company was compromised. Hyrax had made that bade step and suffered for it.

Tarmac didn't speak as he drove in alt mode back through the abandoned tunnels that led to the base of one of the Autobot encampments. They'd lost a good soldier today. It wasn't the first and it wouldn't be the last, but the drive back to base was always eerily quiet after they'd lost one of the company.

It'd started out as a simple mission. They were assigned by Ironhide to capture a cache of communication equipment before it was seized by the Decepticons. Unfortunately for Tarmac and his boys, they'd been beaten there. Barricade and his hired guns had camped out and waited for them.

Path had been the first one to take a hit. He'd dove for cover and had only received a few gashes in his shoulder, he would still need to see the medic when they got back to base. Hyrax had gotten separated from the others at this point and Tarmac had called a retreat. Hyrax had been closest to the equipment cache and had made a run for it, only to be blown to smithereens by a Decepticon rocket launcher.

There wasn't even anything left of him worth sweeping up.

"Should've been more careful." Was all Tarmac had said when they'd regrouped and prepared to head back to their base. Hyrax should've known better than to try that kind of foolishness on the kind of missions they ran. He'd only been on the team for a few rotations, but he'd learned their protocols and strategies quickly. He must have missed out on the part where it was specifically condemned attempting to be a hero.

Now, they were down a teammate and a communications officer. Tarmac's group was small- consisting of five to eight bots, depending on the mission. The group was practically grounded without a communications officer, and Tarmac couldn't think of another bot available to fill that role.

"Ironhide's gonna be mad we're needing another guy...again." Path said over the comms line, breaking the awkward silence.

"Ironhide can shove it." Tarmac muttered. "He knows what happens when you have servos on the ground. You lose soldiers."

"We've been losing a lot of guys recently." Blueshade chimed in, pulling up parallel to Tarmac.

"It's almost like we're fighting a war." Tarmac growled. His soldiers quit talking. They knew they weren't helping things.

Spoiler

@JazzicusMaximus

Reverse sat in Ironhide's office, nervously fidgeting. At the currently moment he'd been left alone. Ironhide went out to meet Reverse's new superior in the lobby.

Reverse wasn't exactly eager to be reassigned, but he was the best fit and their numbers dwindled by the day. He'd already avoided 3 other reassignments and they weren't letting him get away with this one. The last place he wanted to be was out in the field, where his chances of running into his siblings were higher. The one thing he feared most was to face them again. But then again it wasn't really them anymore, and that hurt more.

It also didn't help that what he wasn't being told is what happened to the last guy. Then again it probably would be best if he didn't hear about it. He continued to fidget with his servos, counting the seconds that Ironhide was away. He stopped when the door opened, and turned around to watch with a mostly blank face. Not that emotion really showed with his faceplate. He started counting again, this time to see how long it would take to leave the office.

Tarmac couldn't believe Ironhide was suggesting a rookie. A slower bot, sure. Another defected con, sure. But some kid? Ironhide knew how those always ended up, and Tarmac didn't want more energon on his hands.

"He's perfectly capable of the task." Ironhide said, his optics flickering a dull blue in the dim light. In order to conserve power, the base was kept at low light and minimal ventilation. It was stale and dark. What light there was barely reflected off of Ironhide's scuffed crimson chassis. It was just enough to illuminate the irritated look on his face.

"I'm not taking some dumb kid out there to get blown up. With all due respect, we've talked about this." Tarmac and Ironhide were about the same height and strength, and both shared a rugged, square build, stubborn personality, and constantly simmering temper. Tarmac looked around, desperately trying to think of anyone else who'd be suited for the job. "What about one of the scouts?"

"They're scouts, Sergeant. Your missions need strict comms support and not just any bot can provide that either mentally or physically. You're gonna have to suck it up and train the kid to work with your team if you don't want him killed."

Tarmac's temper boiled. "You think I didn't train the last ten Autobots who've since come and gone from this squad?" He waved his right hand and motioned towards the bay doors of the base. His voice was loud enough to be heard from the next few rooms. Most ignored it; they knew better than to meddle.

"I'm giving you an order. Reverse is up to the job if you give him the chance." Ironhide crossed his arms and squared up to Tarmac. He wasn't one to throw around his rank, but he'd throw him out of the base on his head if he wanted to argue any further. Ironhide wasn't known as a particularly gentle individual.

Tarmac went to say something then stopped himself. He was many things, but he wasn't going to add insubordinate to that list. Growling, he lowered his hands to his sides, his optics narrowing as if to hide his disgust. "Yes Sir, Captain."

Ironhide nodded, and turning, knocked his fist on his office door with a loud clang. "Reverse! Front and center!"

Reverse stood to attention, counting the seconds it would take to be dismissed.

The door slid open and before Tarmac and Ironhide stood a very small bot- one might even call him a minicon. He was primarily a green color with a basic, expressionless faceplate. He stood at strict attention.

Tarmac was speechless for a minute, then he laughed. "Very funny, Captain. Where's my communication's officer?"

"Right in front of you." Ironhide didn't seem to find it funny.
It took Tarmac a moment to recover. This was his new recruit? He was hardly tall enough to reach Tarmac's knee.

"Ironhide, he's small."

Ironhide laughed. "He's a fantastic comm's guy."

"I don't think you understand." Tarmac's tone was serious and his face expressed great concern over the situation. "We're down on the ground fighting some of the meanest 'cons out there, and this is what you send me?"

"You don't got a choice, Sergeant. This is all we got." Ironhide turned to Reverse. "Reverse, this is your new commander, Sergeant Tarmac. You'll be serving under him as his chief of communications for his squad till further notice. Understood?"

The small bot nodded, but said nothing. That satisfied Ironhide.

"I believe the Sergeant has a debrief to get to. You'd do well to join in on that." Ironhide said, despite Tarmac's visible irritation at the idea. "You're dismissed."

Reverse's posture relaxed as he looked up to Tarmac.

Ironhide promptly turned and walked away, leaving Tarmac and Reverse alone. Tarmac, still a little bewildered, looked down at the little bot.

"You don't say much, do you?" His tone indicated this was not a question, but a statement.

Reverse just shrugged in a way that could either be a "sometimes I talk" or "not much to say", or both.

"You'd do well to answer your commanding officer." Tarmac growled and turned to leave. "Come on, we've got a debrief to get over with." His tone was laced with disgust. Now he had to think of how he'd explain this one to the boys. Small footsteps followed behind him, keeping up with his pace.

Ironhide must have lost his mind. Not only was this kid a complete rookie on the battlefield, he wasn't big enough to be of any use whatsoever. Sure he'd make an alright comms guy, if one of the squad didn't accidentally step on him. Each member of the team was expected to pull their weight, and anyone who couldn't was at risk of being demoted or moved to maintence duty. This wasn't fun and games out here, it was war, and Tarmac was looking for soldier potential, not tiny casette.
Tarmac walked into the medbay where Path was finishing his repairs. The medic, finally done welding his shoulder back together, saw Tarmac enter and scurry out. Path chuckled.

"Good to back back on base, ey Sarge?"

"Uh oh, somethin' ain't right." Blueshade hopped off the empty energon crate where he'd been sitting and walked over to Tarmac. "You've got that look in your optics."

Tarmac, practically seething at this point, looked around. His small squad of five bots (including him) were there, Path and Blueshade chief among them. Path was their best sniper, but doubled as the squad's medic in a pinch. It was only fitting he'd been the first one to get hit this time. Blueshade specialized in stealth. Too large for the average scout but with ample battle experience, Tarmac had snatched him from patrol duty and added him onto his team. Altrock was their explosions expert, and Helixon...Helixon did what he wanted.

Tarmac was used to having input when it came to adding members, making Ironhide's rank-pulling even more infuriating.

"Well boys, the Captain has assigned us a new comm's officer." Forget the debrief. Nobody wanted to talk about Hyrax getting smoked out there anyhow. Tarmac stepped aside to reveal the little autobot standing behind him. Timidly, the bot waved.
Path was the first to start laughing, but when he realized nobody else was, he stopped awkwardly.

"Oh...so we're for real."

"Thank you for noticing." Helixon snickered.

"It sure seems that way." Tarmac stalked over so he stood with his soldiers. All of them now looked down at Reverse.

"What does it do?" Blueshade said, with genuine curiosity. "What's your alt mode? Can you fly? What's your name?" He seemed to care a little less about Tarmac's uptight behavior and was more interested in their new teammate than the rest of them. The small bot pulled up a hologram that showed what he typed, answering Blueshade's questions.

Path stood up from the medic's table and leaned over to whisper to Tarmac. "He ain't gonna last ten seconds out there."

"I don't even know what the kid's good for. He's not said a word since I met him."

"Well, I'm not transporting him around." Path brushed off a few shards of metal from the site of his repair. "We've got our orders for the next mission, right?"

"To the most dangerous and con-controlled area of Cybertron? Yes." Tarmac's face was stern. "But first I'm fixing to dig up Hyrax's husk and give him a piece of my mind for leaving us in the lurch."

Path chuckled grimly, but he knew Tarmac was right. Down to five and a half bots, they were put at even more of a disadvantage than they'd been with Hyrax alive.

Reverse was a little more comfortable with the fact there was at least one bot who wasn't laughing at his size. He was asking a lot of questions though.

There were two other bots, one was standing on the ceiling with magnetic boots working on what looked like a landmine. The other was just leaning on the wall, minding his own business.

He didn't completely blame them for thinking he couldn't do much with his size.

Spoiler

Altrock magneting around everywhere is canon now

"Listen up, all of you. Altrock! Get off the ceiling." Tarmac walked over to a table and pulled up a hologram. "We've got another mission to prepare for. No time for fooling around."

"No rest for the weary..." Path muttered. He was still studying the young communications officer. He looked like he had spark to him. Time would tell.

"There's a small decepticon base a hundred klicks north the Nova station outside Kalis. We have intelligence that says they're guarding an energon well, and we plan to take it. Here's the schematics." He pulled up an image on the holotable. Blueshade was the first to jump up and study them.

"Are these old scans?" Blueshade frowned.

"Unfortunately. That's the best we can get." Tarmac said. Path sighed behind him but the sergeant opted to ignore him.

"We're pulling out at dawn. We're going to groundbridge to the Nova station and then roll from there. Pack your things." He turned and looked at the new recruit. He frowned. The kid's alt mode wasn't going to be rolling anywhere. He'd decide who Reverse would backpack on later. Blueshade would probably be the only one who wouldn't outright refuse. He just might talk the kid to death.

"Do you even have any weapons?" Tarmac glared down at Reverse.

Altrock walked over and stood on the wall to listen to Tarmac.

"That's no fun." He muttered.

Reverse stood on top of an energon crate to look at the map. He looked at it, memorizing it the best he could. He looked up at Tarmac when he asked if he had weapons. Some small part inside of him felt like wilting under it. But he just pulled out the blasters that were holstered on both hips.

"What are those?" Helixon squinted at the blasters.

Path stood up and stepped over towards Reverse and held out his hand. "Let me see those."

"Hmph." Tarmac grunted. Those were so small he'd have to hit a con straight in the optic to even make him flinch. "Those are gonna have to do I guess."

Reverse put them in Path's hand. Yes, they were small. But he had them made by Brainstorm, so they weren't quite normal. He hadn't fired them at all so he didn't know what they did yet. He asked for it not to be too wild, just something with a higher output.

Of course he had another scientist check it to make sure it wasn't going to explode in his face.

"Those look like something I'd use to clean Prowl's keyboard, or do glass art. Seriously what 'con is gonna be phased by that?" Helixon cackled.

Path couldn't even touch the trigger his hands were so much larger. But these were made with great skill. "Condensed ion output? Impressive." He handed them back. "They must have quite the kick. You might need to put a rifle stock on it."

"Enough. You're all dismissed for now till we move in the next few hours. Get your scrap together. I don't want to lose any more bots on this mission." Tarmac didn't take his eyes from Reverse.

Path stayed behind, idly studying the hologram as he waited for the others to leave.

Reverse holstered them, not looking to his sergeant whose eyes were still on him. He stayed in the room, and continued to look at the map.

Altrock walked out, going back onto the ceiling as he continued to tinker with his landmine. Helixon strutted out, off to go cause some trouble somewhere else.

Path and Tarmac stood relatively alone and turned their backs to Reverse, but they could still be heard talking in hushed voices.

"Don't look at me, you're the sergeant." Path said, crossing his arms. Path was a tall bot but more slender than Tarmac. He was built for agility as much as he was for brute strength. His varying color scheme of tan and dark grey made him hard to spot on almost any surface on Cybertron. His light blue optics were focused on his commanding officer as he leaned back against the holotable.

"And I'm giving the orders. When we reach Nova Station, I want you and Blueshade to take charge of the kid and cover us from the rear. That'll give him a chance to see combat but not die immediately." Tarmac said, his gruff voice sounding even hoarser as he tried to talk quietly.

"And why do I have to take Blue with me?"

"His attitude's been gettin' on my nerves. He needs to simmer down or he'll be the next one to get his head blown off."

Path sighed. "So long as comms duty doesn't distract me. I don't aim well with chatter in the background."

"Doesn't look like you're gonna get much out of him." Tarmac glanced back at the rookie who was still studying the schematic. "I doubt he'll be of any use to us."

"Maybe, maybe not. Time will tell." Path straightened. "Good luck with Alt and Helix."

"I'll straighten them out one way or another."

Reverse continued to look at the map, while yes, he could hear their conversation, he did nothing about it. He just noted their doubts.

Spoiler

Skip over to leaving?

Blueshade walked up to Reverse, avoiding the two larger bots having their conversation.

"So, what's your name again? Where do you come from? I was in the academy before the war. Worked in Iacon for a while before getting drug all the way out here." Blueshade spoke quickly, like he was in a hurry to get somewhere.