#needless to say that ship has met a swift death

[thehouseofvs]

[RP Journal - 1/20/2021] Valeria Camena: Gifts, Truths, and Consequences

I suppose this is going to become a thing now, isn’t it? The idea of keeping a journal like this still seems rather silly to me, but perhaps my thoughts will change as I continue writing. That said, I guess I should provide an update since my last entry. That’s how these work, right? After Rae-Hann and I boarded our flight out of Kugane, the trip went by relatively quick. At least, quicker than it would have, if we had decided to depart by ship as originally suggested. Though, perhaps that might have been the better option, given how anxious the airship flight seemed to make Rae. It’s actually rather amusing; I thought nothing seemed to phase the Mystel, but heights appear to have accomplished the impossible. Thankfully, we were able to take a small break with a brief lay-over in Limsa Lominsa. At least, enough for Rae to be at bit more at ease before we took off again for Ul’dah. The journey was uneventful, honestly - but we spent the time with brief discussions, moments of quiet, whatever Rae-Hann seemingly wanted to indulge in...not that I minded, honestly. He has been through a lot lately, so I did not want to bother him too much. With our arrival in Ul’dah, we temporarily stopped by the Quicksands to purchase a couple of rooms for the night...though, frankly, neither of us wanted to stay for long. Rae-Hann had to go and take care of the business he had originally come to the city to do, and I...well. The Quicksands is a rather filthy place - by far the dirtiest hub I’ve seen in Eorzea. I do not know how Mistress Momodi stands it. No, I preferred to be on my way.

And what was my business in Ul’dah? Well, certainly nothing like Rae-Hann’s. I decided to stop by the Goldsmith’s Guild, to see if I could have a piece of jewelry prepared. Back during Starlight, Rae-Hann had gifted me a crystal infused with his own aether; a source of color that was separate from himself. It is such a beautiful magenta hue...

To my pleasant surprise, the artisans at the Guild were very helpful - albeit for a price. Fair is fair, I suppose. I wanted a swift job, and they wanted swift coin. That’s the nature of things. One of the goldsmiths presented me a necklace design that would suit the crystal, and after approving and paying, all I had left to do was wait. With that business taken care of, I also took the chance to contact my handler, Rikotsu. He was one of the first people I met after fleeing Garlemald, and while I wouldn’t exactly call him a ‘friend’, he has been a reliable contact of mine who had helped me get started as a mercenary. He had been kind enough to watch over Anemo while I was away in the East - I informed him of my return to Eorzea, and that I would swing by to collect Anemo after some initial business. To my utter lack of surprise, Anemo was a good boy...a happy griffin indeed. Other than that, the two days that I had to wait until Rae-Hann was finished with his task were...uneventful, to say the least. I tried to spend a little time in the Quicksands’ bar area, but after the fifth lewd gentleman...and gentlewoman...caller, I decided to leave. The rest of the time was a blur, as I took the time to explore the city. Despite coming here many times, I’d never attempted to really look at Ul’dah. It has quite the beauty of it’s own, though I did find myself wondering how different it’d look if it were any other shade than gray...

At the end of the second day, I had gone to collect my necklace from the Goldsmith’s Guild - and conveniently ran into Rae-Hann on my way out with my new prize. He seemed pleased with the new look to the crystal, so I was happy that the both of us could appreciate it. When I looked him over a bit, he did not seem to have changed, or be hurt, or anything like that. Honestly, I do not know what I was expecting, exactly. Only that when we spoke in Shirogane, he said he might be ‘different’. Whatever it was, he wasn’t willing to share until we were beyond the city’s walls. Which was fair enough, given the nature of his...dealings. So we agreed to head further in-land, towards Drybone in Eastern Thanalan. And, of course, we teleported...Mother, I despite the aetheryte system. Always leaves me feeling queasy. And Rae-Hann knows that, too, and takes pleasure in my discomfort as a tease. Well, we’ll see how much he’s laughing when he’s forced to fly on Anemo’s back...

When we arrived in Drybone, the first thing we agreed to do was find a spot where we could talk without being interrupted, so we settled on the local tavern. Most of the folks here tend to mind their own business, due to the number of travelers that pass through. So we went inside, found a place to sit, and Rae began his retelling of the last couple of days’ events. And of course, as he typically does, Rae-Hann started by dropping a shrapnel charge; apparently, Siannault had come to visit him last night, but he was not certain if it was real, or some sort of vivid hallucination brought on by consuming Una’to’s blood. Needless to say, all that strung together gave me considerable worry, but I allowed him to continue his tale. Thankfully, he explained that beyond a decent dosage of Void-tainted aether, he had not undergone any other changes to his being. And when I examined him, he was right...mostly. The aether certainly did not appear to be reacting negatively to his own, but the once-vibrant magenta that I knew to be his own aether had become murky with that ill, sickly purple hue that I knew all too well. For him to willingly do this to himself...it hurt, thinking what would bring him to take such lengths. So I asked why.

According to Rae, recent events had made him reconsider his position in the world. He did not see himself as normal, like the other people in his life, so in some strange logic, he thought that by consuming the rest of Una’to’s offered blood, he’d change in a way that would make people recognize his differences from them. And he mentioned a name, ‘Skadi’. A necromancer...the one that had his soul. In his usual fashion, he tried to deflect from the conversation by having us go and see what jobs lay in store for us here in Drybone. But I wasn’t having it. I wanted him to talk to me, to open up...and I wanted to know more about this Skadi. Yet another damned monster who took advantage of a man through his suffering, and knowing that Rae-Hann was a victim of it made my blood practically boil. In the past, Rae had tried to convince me that not all Void-related entities were ‘evil’, but if this is what his associates were prone to do...well, maybe I’d have to make a visits when our journey has concluded. At the very least, the intervention of several parties over the last few days had apparently inspired Rae-Hann with the will and desire to live - to prolong his existence, and avoid the inevitable prison that waited for him after his death. We discussed of ways to prevent that from happening, but beyond convincing Skadi of revoking the contract, or simply killing her, our options were limited - not to mention we would have to wait until she contacted him again, anyway. I hate necromancers.

We didn’t have much more to talk about after that, so we decided to take out our mutual frustrations on some of the local creatures in Thanalan. Fortunately for us, the locals here had a never-ending list of problems - and we ultimately settled on clipping a few imps of their wings, and clubbing a few of the walking dead near the Invisible City. With our destination in mind, we had set out. But, of course, things couldn’t be as simple as that. It never is. When Rae-Hann tried to summon forth his aetheric pegasus, Kurda, it instead transformed into a gnarled beast neither of us had seen before. It lashed out at both of us, and we were forced to put it down. After we decided that it would be best to keep such summonings to a minimum until further notice, we headed for the ruins, and handily disposed of the roaming ashkin that had made it their abode. It wasn’t a particularly difficult task, honestly, but it helped us relief some pent-up stress, and filled our pockets with a bit of gil. So, a win-win.

With our work finished, a heavy rain started to pour down onto us. Without a doubt, we were soaked by the time we got to the Golden Bazaar, but at least the man who put out the job notice also owned the local inn, so we were given a free night on top of the pay. Once in our room, we discussed where we would head off to next. Given our current location, the South Shroud seemed like the best choice, considering that Quarrymill was a prime destination for adventurers looking to catch their stride. Not that either of us were fresh to this sort of work...but dealing with a few bandit gangs might be fun, I think. As for sharing a room with Rae-Hann, well...I can’t say that the idea isn’t nerve-inducing. But I know he is not the type to do anything. I will just wait until morning to change, I guess...I still want to talk with Rae about some things. Particularly, some of these new memories that have begun to resurface in recent nights, with the usual nightmares that come with them...but am I ready to share these memories? Aurelian...if you were in my position, what would you do? You’d probably be handling things far better than me. You were always the stronger of the two of us. I guess that’s why- -No. Not tonight. Maybe tomorrow. @yokasaris​

[death-sentinel-a]

VERSES

A series of specific timelines available for threads. Ask if you want a specific verse for a thread!

Present day (Main verses):

Stranded (Hell chapter)

Following the failure to launch an assault on Nekravol at the end of both the Demon War and the Sentinel Civil War, a majority of the attack force the Night Sentinels and the Free Armies of the Argenta under King Novik had either went missing or perished. Kahann was one of those who have survived the crushing defeat, but disappeared from the sight of his people.

Kahann has since then traversed through his former home, both looking to find a way out of Hell, and seeing for himself what has become of it since he last left it.

Embrace Thy Role (Reclamation of Argent D’nur)

Finally free from the clutches of Hell, the Primeval of Argent D’nur makes his return in tandem with the arrival of the Doom Slayer to this planet once more. He has heard of the the plan to end the reign of Davoth and his ilk once and for all, and for Hell to never again directly harm many worlds to come.

Once upon a time.. (Past verses):

The Story Begins (Jekkad Era)

At the dawn of the void, two souls manifested into their respective beings, who came to be known as the twin Primevals Davoth and Kahann. Reality came to existence thereafter, and while the elder shone more in his feats, the younger lived just behind his shadow.

Jekkad was brought forth into existence, and built to become their home. From the vast varieties of nature to mighty buildings, and eventually a people to lead to prosperity from, everything seemed perfect. The two learned everything that they needed to know, and their ever-growing curiosity allowed them to improve upon their foundation.

Goodbye to a World (Jekkad Corrupted)

But as time progressed, Davoth soon found out that something was impeding the excellence that was his realm; And it was death.

He and Kahann are undying, and realizing the existence of an end to life among the people of that realm gnawed at the former’s conscience so, in fear of eventually being left alone, save his Primeval brethren. He had tried many things in order to have him share the blessing of immortality to his people, but to no avail.

And thus, Urdak, and eventually the Maykrs were created; They were designed so that he could get answers to the questions he had about everlasting life. Davoth’s fixation towards eternal life for the Jekkadi people soon caught Kahann’s attention. It was at the same time that he was given a Seraphim to serve under him directly, by the name of Aetyr.

He did not like it. It would upset the natural balance of things were it to be allowed to happen, and not only the younger Primeval would know of it. And so, he attempted to reason with whom he would call brother. First was simple decline from the elder, and then further attempts at turning him away from potentially jeopardizing reality itself became heated arguments.

Of course, Davoth’s servants at the time caught on to this, and upon discovering the secrets of immortality, they judged him as both unworthy of getting answers and a threat to all life-- This knowledge could be easily abused if it came to the wrong hands.

Instead, they entrusted those secrets to Kahann and it was only for him to know, for they deemed the young lord trustworthy. These beings later planned for him an escape should the need for it arise.

Davoth, filled with fury upon discovery of this news, launched an all-out war against his own Maykr servants, also having a majority of his people join his cause. Kahann, in response, rallied some Jekkadi who refused to follow Davoth’s campaign and built a separate faction to try and put a stop to his incessant quest for immortality. Years passed and losses were massive for all sides involved.

At the end of both the Jekkad-Urdak War and the Jekkad Civil War, Davoth challenged his brother in combat, in which he emerged victorious, and Kahann being badly wounded. However, Aetyr witnessed the needless abuse and damage done to his master, and retreated with him before the both of them would be killed.

As a result, the Maykr race sealed Jekkad away in a swift move, leaving Davoth and his people with it. The records on Urdak were later hidden away, and a decoy written in place to protect future creations from having to face the bitter truth. Enraged, Davoth allowed himself and his own world to be corrupted by vengeance and hatred, spoiling it into Hell in the process.

And then, the Father, guardian of the Maykrs decided to enter Jekkad one last time, reduce his fallen master into a Life Sphere, and hid it atop the Ingmore Sanctum.

Sanctuary (Early Sentinels)

Having managed to escape on a massive space craft filled with his master’s own creations, the Wraiths, Aetyr tended to Kahann’s wounds, and set the course for a planet Davoth bestowed to his sibling as a gift. The ship crashed directly into the planet, and what is later known as the World Spear became the catalyst to life on the planet they landed on.

The Primeval and his Seraphim assistant exited the ship, witnessing a barely living planet being invigorated with energies from said spear-like vessel, and by extension, three Wraiths that emerged from them. The planet was later named Argent D’nur, and the two oversaw its progress, leading to the existence of the Argenta race.

Kahann went on to meet the first people of the Argenta, and formed a sacred order of knights and sages to serve the planet’s needs and protect it from harm. For reasons unknown to the public eye, however, he had since left, gradually becoming obscure throughout history. The legacy of the Night Sentinels, though, survived to this day. From the hidden reaches of Argenta society, the two remained watchful, Kahann only emerging when his people would be in grave danger.

The Maykrs suddenly entering their lives and altering how things on the planet worked though did not sit too well with him, and ironically, this also was the case with Aetyr.

Beginning of the End (Era of King Novik)

Kahann did not have much fortune on him when he was spotted entering the city of Sentinel Prime without permission. Having failed to provide proof of his membership within the Argenta, he was mistaken as an Outlander, and became subject to the Blood Arena battles.

Safe to say, this was something he did not like for the most part, but if he had to ensure the Sentinels would be safe, he would take it over hiding himself for too long. Another Outlander later made himself known to the public, but Kahann had only heard of him until he had the chance to meet him. Being a low-ranked front line soldier wasn't the best job, but who was he to complain for not being present in the public for ages?

Kahann was met with quite a shock that this particular stranger looked like Davoth. What was going on? What would that mean to Argent D’nur? But again, who was he to turn down a potential ally and brother-in-arms?

Either way, it was only a matter of time before he would have to relive some of his worst experiences... Some which were locked away from his memories.

What lies beyond? (Other verses)

Slipgates (Crossover)

One of these days, Kahann cannot help but satisfy his curiosity, and what better time will it be than to hop through different places across the void? What would other worlds look like? What sorts of people would he meet along the way? What dangers might lurk around the corners?

[black-strike-otp]

part 16

“We need u to chill out with the drama and death, ma’am.”

Try ‘n stop me. I’ma start rolling d20′s to determine everyone’s fate in this story ‘n you can’t stop me.

~Days Later~

Neutroboost took front and center in the largest gathering room on the Rising Star days later. It was an announcement everyone was either dreading or eagerly anticipating, depending on your viewpoint.

The mech looked visibly troubled. The same, haunted look that manifested the moment he was informed that Guard had been sent to the medic’s bay for immediate surgery. It hadn’t lost his optics sense.

On the bright side, he continued working in Guard’s position (well, what should have still been his position, as he was supposed to be an acting commander all along). The guards protected the energon reserves and everything remained very much the same as it did prior to Guard’s injury.

Novastrike squeezed past the legs of some of the much taller bots so she could get a better look at Neutroboost. Sure she could technically hear the mech just fine from the back, but she wanted to see his reactions as he spoke.

“Guard’s expected to survive.”

An immediate sigh of relief casted over the crowd.

“Unfortunately, our fine medic has informed me that his wounds were strenuous and worse than originally thought. Guard’s going to require a lot of rest. There’s... little hope that his left leg. We expect he’ll be in a lot of discomfort, with the possibility of never having a functional appendage.

“You all must understand,” he continued, “Guard is an older mech. Older than anyone left on this ship. When he is ready to get back to work, he will let us know-”

“A very spark-warming speech, Neutroboost, but I’ve been lying low long enough.”

Everyone turned their helms around with a mixture of disbelief and joy. Novastrike’s audios strained to hear the Commander as she hopped up and down from her position to try spotting him. It was both ridiculous and comical, leaving a few to chuckle a little as they spotted her.

“Guard! I- I thought you would still be-”

“Yeah, the medics not too thrilled with me getting up and moving around yet either, but he knows I’m stubborn,” Guard pointed out, his blue optics twinkling. Bots respectfully inclined their helms and parted the way as he stepped by.

Quivering in place, Novastrike grinned and stepped back as she waited for Guard to pass. She kept her helm held high as he walked by; wanting a very good look at the mech.

Her smile faltered just a moment.

There was a massive patched up scarred section on the front of his chassis. Using spare materials, a large support structure had to be made for him to use as a cane to walk. He barely placed weight on his left leg, hopping more than walking to move around.

Neutroboost took a step back to allow the larger mech some space to speak. He, too, offered a slight blow as Guard turned to address the crowd.

“Now, I know all of you have been working extra hard since... Well, the incident. Neutro’s told me that the top of the ship has been properly sealed off. I’m sure you’re all very tired with energon running low, and I appreciate your hard work.”

Guard gave a small pause as a brief round of applause and whistled chorused through the crowd. He made a gesture with his servos, snickering a little as the crowd settled. “However, the fact remains that we lost some very good friends in the battle. Good family. And we were ill prepared. So, much as this concerns me to say, we’re going to need to look for energon. Desperately. More than ever. Because we’re going to need energy not for today, but for tomorrow. For the fights that may certainly come our way.”

Novastrike glanced around. She met the worried optics of bots. They were rogue specifically to stay out of this war. And although they all knew Guard would do everything he could do to keep them out of harm’s way, his openness to acknowledging the threats around them left everyone uneasy.

“I know everyone here has a good spark in them. I know all of you want what’s best for the crew, for Cybertron, for our species. But we can no longer slack of training. We can’t continue to think just because we’re in the big, wide open space that we’re unseen. It isn’t Cybertron, but there’s signals coming off of us of our origins. And for some, just because we don’t follow, that’s simply enough to offline us.”

“But I will do everything in my power to keep everyone here safe, as I have tried to do so far,” Guard stated softly, turning his optics down upon his wounded leg.

Servos came together in colossal set of applause. A chant began to spread through the crowd moments later. Novastrike turned to see thebots placing one servo against their chassis armor over their spark and pumping their other servo in the air. Needless to say, with a whimsical grin, she too joined in.

“For Guard! For the Rising Star! For Guard! For the Rising Star!”

The old mech offered a tired smile, a blurry look about his optics. He blinked rapidly and startled, glancing over to see Neutroboost place a servo against his arm and nod solemnly with a smile of his own.

It was quite possible he shed a tear or two before the meeting was adjourned.

~

~Months Later~

The Nemesis was under heavy fire. There had to be at least half a dozen starships in its fleet, and even more ships that didn’t qualify as technically ‘starships’ but those stolen and used as such during the Exodus.

Standing against it was the Ark, and a much smaller armada of Autobot vessels. Much like the Nemesis, it took was encountering heavy fire from its opposite faction.

Seekers and fliers were using their abilities to their advantage. With the Autobots lack in these fields, the Nemesis had a slight upper servo.

Upon the Ark, Blackout could make out Lord Megatron taking on Optimus Prime himself. Obviously anyone with half a processor was letting the leader of the Decepticons have his thrill for the kill. Any Autobots who attempted an intervention were either being slaughtered or punted off the ship, where they would soon find themselves surrounded by a hoard of Decepticons.

The havoc was delicious.

Blackout took a ‘grunt’ job. Since all the lazy, stupid Decepticons didn’t act nor think of it, he had his cannon open and was going after the Ark’s weapons. Most of the dumbafts were trying to go after the Autobot’s themselves instead of considering the giant mcfragging laser beams and particle-combustible cannons, and missile launchers.

Oh, not to mention the overshock sonic battery that sent out massive waves of discharge that made auto-calibrating systems malfunction like Blackout’s EMP generator.

Blackout used his EMP discharges and machine guns to try keeping away the Autobots that kept coming at him like mosquitoes. They hardly had enough Seekers to prove a real nuisance, any any trying to fire on board the ship were for the most part, easy to dodge so he could focus his attacks on the Ark’s weapon systems.

Explosions riddled the ship, but seemed to only be leaving surface damage. It was well-built, Blackout would give them that. Shards of metal and any bots outside the ship trying to attack went soaring off from his attacks, but it seemed he was doing minimal damage to the vessel itself.

:: Blackout to Nemesis, direct attacks on the Ark’s front and top where the laser emitters are. Be aware, Lord Megatron is fighting on the upper deck. Do not hit our Lord. ::

:: This is the Nemesis to Blackout, we read you. ::

The Nemesis’ charged up its large fusion cannon and fired. The enormity and strength of the blast washed over the front of the Ark in a blaze of fire. A wave of energy from the black went soaring like a sonic blast in all directions, hitting a flier Autobot. The bot went soaring in Blackout’s direction and he fired his cannon, leaving the poor sap a ruin of scrap metal floating in space.

The Decepticon Hound whipped around his machine guns and trailed bullets along a couple of Autobot fliers and seekers that darted around him wildly. He began flinging his alt-mode around swiftly, aiming to try taking another of them out.

A seeker streaked by Blackout as he turned. His cannon went off with a clap of thunder, striking the seeker and sending him spiraling.

But not before he managed to drop a small gift of a payload before he went flying.

Blackout put full power in his thrusters, but it was too late.

The flak grenades detonated. With the openness of space the damage could have certainly been much worse, but fire and shrapnel pelted into Blackout’s frame; digging into him and his undercarriage. One of his thrusters was knocked offline and the other sputtered, slightly.

He could feel a swift reaction of Scorponok’s pain through the bond.

Blackout jerked his cannon around. The thing spat sparks as it loaded up another shot and he fired after the seekers and fliers even as they flew well beyond an accurate shot.

A sudden sonic blast slammed into Blackout, sending him spiraling in circles. His systems glitched as he whipped around and around, trying to gain control of his steering.

The Nemesis had powered up the fusion cannon again and fired.

Scrap, he was too close to the Ark.

Although the direct attack was no where near him, the energy whipped around the ship and sent Blackout hurtling away from the Ark. With a lack of control, he simply started flying randomly and couldn’t stop.

Seekers suddenly came jettisoning past him, deploying missile after missile into his frame. Energon and metal exploded outward from his body and into space.

“ERROR: Systems Malfunctioning. WARNING: Reaching critical energon loss.”

Blackout tried to hail the Nemesis or frag, any of the stupid Decepticons floating their useless afts around.

The seekers rounded back around, firing off their neutron blasters and energon blasters as they passed.

Blackout was floating further and further out from the fight at this rate. His systems suddenly went into lockdown; going into stasis as his frame was blown into by hundreds of tiny blaster shots.

~

“It looks like there must have been a major battle here.”

“Indeed it does,” Guard stated wearily, looking at massive wreckage and rubble left behind by the warring Autobots and Decepticons.

Novastrike’s audios lowered slightly, seening all the offlined bodies simply left to float in space. She sent a silent prayer out to Primus. No matter how far they were from home, she knew he must be accepting the sparks of these fallen souls back into His grace.

Guard turned slowly at the team of bots standing around him, jutting out a digit to one of the many ships left stranded. “We’ll start with that one first, and see if there’s any survivors or energon that managed to get left behind.”

The group nodded their helms respectfully in response. “Yes sir!” they shouted in unison.

With her tail giving a small lash to and fro, Novastrike stepped closer to Guard. The mech looked absolutely exhausted. She wondered if he’d been drinking his ration of energon at all lately.

“Sir, is there anything I can do?”

The Commander adjusted his cane to the best of ability. He was clearly exhausted; he barely managed to shuffle slightly in her direction to look down at her better.

“You may wait at the hatch for them to return, Novastrike. I’m sure they’ll salvage some things from the ship, and we’ll need help organizing and categorizing anything that’s brought in.”

“Yes sir,” she responded respectfully, trying on her best supportive smile. Despite how tired he looked, he still offered the kindest smile in return.

Transforming into her cyber-cat alt-mode, Novastrike bolted down the hallway. Her claws scrapped the ground below her, helping to grip the ground and propel her forward faster. Bots staggered as she darted by, shouting obscenities at her speed that it wasn’t a race and that she needed to watch it.

A purring laughter escaped her. Just because they didn’t understand the thrill of a good run, stretching out all your limbs and feeling the pressure loosening in your joints, didn’t mean they had to be so snippy.

Nova came to a halt just outside the hatch bay. Magnetizing her pedes onto the floor, she waited for someone on the other side to open the door for her so she could come out.

“Hey there Novastrike,” the mech stated warmly.

She offered a polite nod.

“Ooh no, looks like Guard sent short stuff to help us out,” teased another.

“Short stuff’ll still kick your aft in the training room.”

“Ooohh she got you!”

“Shut up.”

Nova’s optics looked over those standing around with the hatch open. Neutroboost made the most prominent presence, standing near the middle of the room with a datapad in one servo and speaking to a mech standing beside him.

:: This is Team Alpha. We found energon, I repeat, we found energon! ::

Everybot broke out in cheers. Over the open comm channels on the ship, Guard’s voice echoed through the radios, “Excellent news. Any survivors on board?”

:: Negative, sir. Massive casualties. We’ll keep looking, though. ::

"Roger that. Report in with anything else you find,” Neutroboost murmured over the comms.

Venting a sigh of reassurance, the little femme walked close to the edge of the hatch. Space extended out in every direction endlessly. Planets, stars, the cosmos itself. She took a deep breath through her vents as though she was in awe.

A sheen of light captured her optics. For a moment, she thought it may be a comet, but it seemed too close.

Her optics readjusted.

It was an outline. The armor was so incredibly dark, it blended in with space itself.

Novastrike zoomed in the scope of her optics. There were gaping holes in the small ship, wires protruding here and there, and-

Her spark lurched. There had to be something wrong with her optics. That couldn’t be?

“Does anyone else see that dark, black ship about forty-eight degrees off, right there?” Novastrike asked, pointing a digit towards the manifestation.

A couple of the mechs stepped closer. Their optics whirled faintly as they readjusted.

“You know, I think you’re right.”

“That one looks pretty rough, I don’t think we’d find anything on board it Novastrike.”

Neutroboost strode over slowly. Nova gazed up at him, watching as his optics shifted slightly to look better into the void.

He gave a small noise. “Well I’ll be fragged,” he stated.

“Do you see it?” Nova asked helplessly.

“Of course I see it,” Neutro half snapped. He gave a morbid chuckle. “Looks like that mech finally got what was coming for him, huh?”

Instantly, the little white femme’s ears lit up. Her derma peeked out slightly from a deep frown on her faceplate and she snarled.

“How could you say such a thing- he could still be alive!”

Neutro turned a bored expression over to the femme. “How is that our problem? The big fragger probably met his fate anyway, look at how damaged he is.”

Neutroboost turned back and gestured to Blackout’s alt-mode. The other mechs turned to look at Novastrike, their optics showing alarm.

By the time the other turned his smug expression to where Novastrike had been, she was no longer there.

“Sir-”

Neutroboost turned to follow the gazes of the other mechs, spotting a rather defiant looking little femme harnessing up one of the few jet packs they had on board the ship.

His optics paled. “Are you mad?” he stammered. “Don’t you dare go out there.”

Clicking the harness into place, Novastrike gave a wave of her servo. The tether she secured around her floated lightly behind her as she demagnetized her pedes from the floor.

“Somebot, stop her!” Neutro demanded over the comm links. “Guard, we have a situation with your favorite little femme.”

Pressing curiously down on the accelerator for the boosters, Novastrike shot out from the Rising Star as she turned off her comm channel.

She gave a nervous squeak and let go of the accelerator. She continued floating straight out from the ship, her optics wide as she glanced around. It looked incredible out there. Looking out from the windows of the Rising Star didn’t do it justice. It was like being encompassed in shadows and moonlight faded and distant from every direction.

Glancing around, Novastrike adjusted the positioning and angle of her jet pack and gave a small pulse in the opposite direction. She flipped the direction around again and gave another small burst, slowing her approach as she directed herself over to the familiar ship.

Sure enough, the closer she got, the more it looked familiar. Or, should have looked familiar.

Shards of Blackout’s armor seemed to levitate around him in a debris field. The closer she got, the more she could see the speckles of energon that were simply floating around him as well.

Flipping her direction, Novastrike turned on the magnetism on her pedes and clanked into Blackout’s side.

Her spark fluttered anxiously. It was impossible to tell if he was alive, or dead. She reached down and slowly ran her digits over the mech’s armor.

Armor shifted from atop Blackout. Novastrike let out a small shriek, slapping her servos over her mouth. Oh Primus- was something- was something on him? Was it feeding on him, was it a Scraplet-

Scorponok undocked from Blackout’s frame and Novastrike let out a ragged groan of relief. It didn’t last long, as she noticed that Scorponok’s backside was lined with holes. His golden optics were rather lifeless and fatigued.

“Hello there buddy,” Nova all but cooed, carefully shifting her pedes on Blackout so she didn’t rip off anymore armor or get stuck as she reached a servo out to him. “You doing okay?”

The bug blinked his optics out of sync. He gave a chirp like he was confused by what he saw, and tilted his helm slightly.

“Hold on a moment, Scorponok. I got you,” Novastrike soothingly said, reaching out further. She ever so slowly placed her digits against the bug’s helm. He gave a small, weak whirl and nudged his helm a little more against her servo.

“Thank you,” she whispered, smiling slightly.

Demagnetizing, Novastrike angled her jet back and gave a light squeeze. She circled around Blackout and looked into the tether one way, knotting it. Then she floated slowly around the other direction, knotting the tether over a different section.

“There, I think that’ll do,” she murmured, glancing over the big ship.

She turned her comm channel on.

:: -in Primus name do you think you’re doing, you idiotic, ridiculous, stubborn, hard-helmed- ::

:: You can reel me in now Neutroboost, I got him. ::

:: Reel you in?! Reel you in?! You think I’m just going to- ::

A gentle tug came from the tether, and Novastrike magnetized herself against Blackout’s side, curling her digit against his armor as he got yanked forward slightly. Scorponok gave a startled metallic click and wrapped a section of his tail against Blackout to make sure he didn’t go floating off.

As they came closer to the Rising Star, Novastrike could see Guard standing by Neutroboost at the front of the hatch with his arms crossed as Neutro flung his arms wildly around, ranting and raving.

Uh-oh.

Giving a slick boost on the jet pack, Novastrike raised Blackout just enough so that he’d slide into the open bay without hitting the lower section of the hatch. Guard and Neutroboost stepped further back, and Guard, without turning his optics away from Blackout and Novastrike, gestured to another mech standing nearby.

The doors slowly closed for the hatch, and gravity was initialized once again.

Scorponok tumbled off of Blackout and onto the ground. He didn’t even so much as make a noise of pain as he simply lay sprawled where he fell.

Nova dropped down off Blackout and on the floor, her audios lowered.

“I can’t believe you!” Neutro growled. “Of all the stupid stunts, you bring this back? He’s probably not even online! You’ve wasted time and energy, and now we’ll need to throw him back out! And what if was online, hmm? You think we have the energon to spare for him?”

Guard raised a servo to Neutroboost. His optics grew brighter and he looked absolutely livid. He clearly wasn’t done chewing out the tiny femme but pouted furiously, waiting to see what Guard would have to say.

Much to Novastrike’s surprise, he made a wide arc with his servo, offering for her to speak.

“Guard, I’m sorry.”

“You are apologizing insincerely,” Guard rumbled deeply.

“I’m sorr-”

“Explain yourself, femme.”

Novastrike bit into her lip slightly. “I... I don’t really have a good explanation, sir. I know him. If he’s alive, I just... I wanted him to have a chance at living...”

“So, are we going to give all these poor, helpless individuals a ‘chance at living’ now?” Neutroboost snarled with annoyance.

Guard lifted a servo to him again for silence. Neutro grumbled, turning his helm away.

A little smile pulled at the corner of Guard’s faceplate. “I suppose we should call in the medic, then. You have a kind spark Novastrike, be sure that you’re placing it in the right servos.”

Novastrike started, and Neutroboost’s jaw dropped at the comment.

“Y-Yes sir,” she whispered, feeling a mixture of confusion at the comment and vulnerability.

The large mech gave a small nod. Ignoring Neutroboost’s sputtering as he tried to aim a disagreement towards him, Guard turned and headed for the exit to the bay with his fellow Commander right on his heels.

The others in the bay room exchanged glances, and turned to follow after the two Commanders.

~

“Well, he’s online. Barely,” the medic said softly, checking her scanners as she walked around the massive tattered obsidian ship.

“Do you think you can save him?” Novastrike asked anxiously, her digits twiddling in front of her chassis.

The femme glanced down at Novastrike slowly. “I can try my best. No promises.”

“And Scorponok?”

“He’ll most likely live,” the femme stated. “It looks like most of the shots glanced him. I would say your big friend here probably tried positioning himself so that he took the brunt of the attacks in order to save his minicon.”

Novastrike’s spark skipped a pulse. She looked between Satan and his small companion, whom the medic had managed to place upon a berth in her med-bay unlike giant’s large form.

A questionable grumble moved through Guard as he spoke: “How are you going to patch up the mech in this state.”

“I can’t,” the femme admitted. “I’m going to have to force his t-cog to transform. That alone might kill him.”

Novastrike could feel Guard transfixing a glance upon her. She tried to keep a steady, blank face.

“I’ll do what I can,” the femme repeated. “I’m going to seal up as much of his energon lines before I do that as I can, and with the fresh energon the team’s bringing in he’ll at least have a fighting chance with some of that in his system. I do assume, anyway, you’ll allow him some...?”

“Of course,” Guard agreed. “He’s our guest. And if Novastrike trusts him, then he is welcome here. We’ll do our best to help him recover, and protect him.”

Nova let out a soft, breathless gasp. Guard’s optic ridges raised high as he looked down at her, chuckling at her reverence gaze that lay upon him.

“Thank you, sir,” Novastrike gushed warmly, bowing her helm low.

Embarrassment flashed across Guard’s faceplate, and he quickly waved his servos in the air. “None of that, Novastrike. Although, if he does make it, I am putting you in charge of him. We can’t keep the mech against his will, but if he decides to stick around for any length of time, anything he does...”

“Is under my jurisdiction and punishment if he acts up. I understand, sir,” Novastrike murmured softly.

Guard gave a short nod. “Very good,” he stated. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to return to Neutroboost and try to calm him down and explain... all of this.”

The medic gave a thin laugh. “Ah, yes. Neutroboost is going to love this.”

Guard winced. “Indeed,” he agreed.

Novastrike flinched slightly as the Commander shuffled slowly around and ambled out of the room. She could see the worry written in the medic’s face, too, as she watched him too. That did nothing to ease any of her worries.

Suddenly, she turned her face upon Novastrike. She practically jumped out of her armor from the stern gaze.

“You brought him in, you’ll be helping fix him,” the femme stated matter-of-factly. “Now, get over here and put those little servos to use. You’ll start with stabilizing his little friend while I work on big-n-scary.”

A nervous smile stretched on Novastrike’s lips. “Y-Yes ma’am,” she squeaked, trailing after the medic.

[adventureswithten]

Hi, I have been looking for you for sometime, just started following you. Can I request a imagine were the Doctor gives reader a necklace. And it is an ancient Gallifreyian custom, to give your intended a necklace. Basically the pendant is in ancient Gallifreyian writing saying who you are being courted by. And you run in to the Master, this has been driving me up the wall I just can't write 10 yet. I am using the plot on one of the classic Doctors. Thanks for your time.

It had been another close call for you and the Doctor. It hadn’t occurred to you that when you agreed to travel with him so many other species wouldn’t be so civil. You’d just outrun the hexagontals, an alien that strongly resembled fire breathing dragons from fairytales. You and the Doctor had rescued their counterparts the aquanots, i.e. Water dragons, from slavery and dehydration by their stronger brethren. Needless to say the hexagontals were less than pleased with you.

The TARDIS doors bolted open as your foot soles slammed to the main control room floor. With your back you held the door closed, a little singed and smelling smokey but no worst for wear. At the console the Doctor twisted knobs with soot on his handsome face, his glasses on in a flick and his tongue peeking out from the corner of his lips. You blew out a puff of breath and then jumped as a weight punched the doors. Before you could panic the tubes at the center began to swish and pull and the reassuring whooshing whirring of time travel filled the space.

“Where are we now?” You asked sometime later, when the TARDIS had stilled and the Doctor was smiling at you again.

“Well, I thought we’d take a moment to have a breather. That sort of thing.” He said crossing the room to put his long fingered hands on the door. You smiled as he quirked and eyebrow and looked over his shoulder. His ancient brown eyes seemed to search yours before he opened the doors and left. For a moment you stood there, thinking of all he’d become to you, and how you’d come to love him so fiercely. You were sure he’d never feel the same, because sure he thought you were clever and kind, and yes he smiled at only you in that way that crinkled those ancient brown eyes, but romance was not his cup of tea.

Your pondering was interrupted when those long dark tresses and gorgeous delicately freckled face popped back inside the TARDIS. He extended his hand and asked, “Coming ___________?”. You nodded, shaking your forlorn thoughts and gasped when you took in the world around you, hands lifting to your mouth in awe.

The sky was pure purple, a mixture of the deepest plum and the prettiest electric violet. The sand beneath your feet was pale pink, shimmering like tiny pearls made up each grain. The waves crashing against it was made entirely of sapphires rolling with white diamonds dotting the tips like foam. You’d never seen anything like it in your life. When you looked at the Doctor, he had that toothy white smile marveling at the delight on your face and by the set of his shoulders you could tell he was quite pleased with himself.

Still speechless you eased yourself down to sit in the sand and he followed your lead, stretching his long brown pants clad legs in front of him, off white converse showing more visibly. Suddenly his hand was on yours as you sat in comfortable silence. You wanted to look at his face, to find meaning in the touch of his hand but instead resolved to allow his immense warmth to seep from that touch all the way to your bones.

“I’ve never met anyone like you, ___________. Your absolutely brilliant, and I could watch your face to see your expressions and see how you take every new adventure in forever.” He said, braking the silence. You inhaled and turned to see he was still staring at the sapphire ocean as he spoke, but his thick brown brows were pulled down and lines creased between them. You’d seen that look before, it meant he was thinking about Galifrey, his home planet. About the time war. It ached you inside to see that face.

He pulled his hand away and kept that serious and deep looking, easing from the sand and standing before you. Finally, he outstretched his hand and you took it happily, searching your mind to find a way to pull him out of his self doubt and despair.

“Doctor I-” you began to say but he stopped you.

“Long ago, on my home planet, there was a ceremony and this custom we Time Lords had. It was for those we loved, sort of like the way humans propose marriage, only a bit different. Maybe it won’t even mean much to you, but we’ve had a lot of tough journeys lately.” He said, those ancient and endless brown eyes boring into yours, one hand in his pocket and concern marring his brow. You were trying desperately to understand so finally your hand touched his suit jacket sleeve.

“You can tell me anything. You can talk to me about Galifrey. I know it makes you sad but you can talk to me about happy things too. I want to know all about where you come from.” You answered, encouraging him to go on. He ran a hand down the back of his head and smiled shyly.

“Right. Weeellll, here ya go.” And carefully he placed something in your palm and squeezed your fingers over it in one swift motion. You laughed and opened you fingers delicately. Inside was one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry you’d ever seen. It was a delicate chain that glimmered like starlight and hanging from it was the circles and odd symbols you’d seen somewhere in the library in the TARDIS. You were profoundly happy but also confused, what did it mean and how was it connected to proposals on Earth?

Seemingly satisfied with your joy, he then took the chain from your fingers and stood behind you. You weren’t sure if maybe you were imagining it but he felt closer and warmer than ever before, as of you could nearly feel his hearts jumping out of his chest to press against your back. He eased the pendant in front of your eyes and you could feel him connecting the chain.

“Once when these were worn by other Time Lords, it showed others who was courting you. Who you were meant for. Who you’d want to spend your life with. And now I’m giving it to you. It’s mine, it says the Doctor. It doesn’t mean I own you, and if you ever change your mind I don’t want it back. I just felt like you deserved something to mark how you are the end of my loneliness.” He said and tears filled your eyes. He was wonderful, he was perfect, he was impossibly maddening and you felt the weight of what he’d done heavily in your heart. Because you know he’d just admitted how much he loved you, how he’d want you as his companion always. Finally you flung yourself into his arms, catching him off balance as he fell to the soft sand and you buried your face in his shoulder.

“Oh thank you, Doctor. Thank you.” You whispered.

The memories flashed across your mind if you’d been on that sapphire shore only days ago, instead of months. The Master, the last Time Lord and the exact counterpart of your beloved Doctor had you strapped against a metal board standing upright. You weren’t afraid as mad as the Master was, your Doctor would come for you. He always did. It wasn’t until the maddening eyes of the blonde man caught your necklace did you begin to worry. In a swift motion he tore it from your throats and you cried out as he tossed it aside, it skidding across the floor and into the shadows.

“You don’t belong with him. And he can’t save you now.” The Master mocked, seeing the clear and very real fear and distress on your face.

“Wouldn’t say that if I was you.” And you fell lax against your bonds as you heard that soft and authoritative voice. There he was, standing long and lean against a darkened doorway, the silhouette of those messy brown spikes, the blue suit and bright red tie, sonic screwdriver at hand and fierce eyes.

“Alright?” He asked you and you nodded vigorously. Of course you were now that he was here. The Master wasn’t willing to give up that easily though and threatened to blow the entire ship to bits. You panicked but only for a second, because the Doctor had gotten the two of you out of tougher situations.

With a loud thud the power system shorted in the ship thanks to the handy sonic, and your bonds released automatically. You rubbed the place they’d been pressed against your skin and started to run to your Doctor. Before you made it to his safe and warm embrace you heard the chilling, grated sounds of the word, “Exterminaaaaate.” In seconds the room was filled with Daleks and the Doctor yelled, “We have to go. Run.” And his hand was just within your reach. Beans began flying though the air, hot and murderous as bullets, buzzing with voltage beyond human knowledge.

Your mouth set in a firm line and your chin jutting out just so, you slid to your front on the cold grate floor and dove into the shadows.

“___________!!!” The Doctor cried and the sheer fear and helplessness, the edge of rage nearly broke you in two. Fumbling blindly with your hands you finally clutched the metal chain with the pendant attached. You breathed a sigh of relief and pressed your lips to the sacred Galifreyan writing. Quick as lightning you were on your feet again and running to the Doctor. His warm hand squeezed yours hard and he led you down a darkened hallway, the Daleks following and sending death beams at your heels.

At last the TARDIS was in sight and with the force of all his strength the Doctor shoved you through the doors and your palms smacked the floor. You nearly flew back out to help him when you heard the buzzing of the sonic and the Daleks slowing down, their words becoming deeper and slower. For a moment you were frozen with fear and wishing the silence didn’t stretch so long.

At last he flew inside and brushing past you began flipping switches and biting his sonic between his teeth. With a shake the ship flew into motion and you remained sitting on the floor trying to catch your breath. Hands in his pockets he began pacing the control room and you realized he was upset, in fact you’d venture to say he was pretty angry. You were pretty sure you knew why.

“I’m sorry it’s just-” you began to say but he cut you off biting the pad of his thumb just before he began to speak.

“Don’t know what I’d have done. If you’d been hurt. Or worst.” He said.

“I know and I’m sorry. It’s just, that pendant, it means more to me than anything, any gift I’ve ever received. And I just couldn’t, I couldn’t bear to lose it.” You said, tears filling your eyes at the thought of never seeing it again.

“It’s a piece of your home. Of you. And I’m turn it’s part of me, and my home. Cause that’s wherever, or whenever you are.” You continued, meeting his eyes and speaking without even blinking or looking away. Before you could take your next breath his hands were on your face and his lips were pressing to yours in soft and tender emotions deep as space. Your hands fell to your sides, the necklace still at hand as you poured all your lent up longing and love into kissing him back. It could’ve been hours, it could’ve been seconds, but it felt like the greatest moment of your life and it would never be long enough. Then he pulled away and issued you that perfect white smile at full wattage.

“How bout I fix that for you?” He said happily, putting the tip of the sonic to the broken chain, easing his black thick framed glasses up his nose while the light headed and giggling feeling from his kiss remained with you.