Categories > Cartoons > Transformers > Prime Effect 4
Chapter XIX
0 reviewsAs Quickstrike attempts to escape the Predacons, Ser-Ket does everything she can to help the Autobot. But can she keep Rip-Claw at bay or will her Sister manage to foil their plan and snuff out the...
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Rip-Claw stood in the Achilles's ready room in front of a large holo-screen, which came to life and she found herself face to face with Galvatron.
"I received your message Lord Galvatron, how can I be of service to you?" she said in a loyal tone.
"I have been meaning to contact you Rip-Claw, but have found myself continuously delayed due to our preparations." the Predacon Lord replied, earning a curious expression from the Femme.
"Preperations, my Lord?"
"I will be leading an attack against Omega, in a bid to wrestle control of the Syndicate's forces for our own use. I was hoping to be already in battle, but the time it takes to ready our fleet has increased." Galvatron replied with an irritated tone.
"I see, if you need any of the troops from here on Omicron, then I will see to it that you get them." Rip-Claw said back, gaining a confused expression from Galvatron.
"No, that will not be required. I will in fact be sending more ships to help protect our interests on that colony. I did leave a message with Ser-Ket..." he said as a worried expression, while the Femme gave him a curious look.
"I have received no message from my Sister." she cut him, which made Galvatron's worried look to increase in tone.
"I thought Ser-Ket would have at least informed you of that, but then again she did seem to be somewhat out of character when we spoke."
"When was that my Lord?" Rip-Claw asked, her curiosity spiking at her Master's words.
"Two days ago, you were busy torturing your Autobot prisoners at the time. She seemed to be showing a lot of compassion towards our enemies, which I found to be worrying. Tell me, have you witnessed any similar behavior from your sister?" Galvatron asked, earning a thoughtful expression from the Femme as she looked away for a moment.
"As a matter of fact my Lord, I have noticed a sharp change in my Sister's actions. Especially towards our current and final Autobot prisoner, who I am ashamed to admit has managed to resist all my methods of extracting information from him."
The Predacon leader gave a slight smile in return, as he could not help but feel a certain respect towards anyone who could show such determination.
"I see, that is quite an achievement from one of our enemies. But tell me, what exactly has Ser-Ket been doing that has you concerned?"
"I proposed to my sister that while I spend my time inflicting tremendous amounts of pain to our prisoner, she would then appear as a sympathetic face who would slowly gain his confidence and that I would hope, in time would spill any secrets he was holding. But over the last two days, she has become increasing protective of him and openly ridiculed my efforts to break him." the Femme responded with concerned tone that was tinged with a touch of anger.
"Well in that case, I suggest you take a closer look at your Sister and report back to me with what you find. Can you do that?" Galvatron replied, before the familiar voice of Six-shot was heard in the background, making the Predacon leader turn away.
"My Lord, heavy cruiser wings Gamma, Epsilon and Theta are nearing their positions. We need your presence in the CIC."
"I will be right there Six-shot." Galvatron said back before returning his attention to the Femme.
"You have your orders, Galvatron out." he said before the screen went black, leaving the Predacon alone in the room as she activated her holo-tool.
"Computer, unlock security cameras for Brig zero-one and give me a report on their current status."
"Cameras are still active and can be viewed by anyone with access." the synthesized voice spoke back, earning a smile from the Femme.
"Very good, now show me what has been recorded over the last few days."
PRIME EFFECT 4
Quickstrike made his way down the corridor as fast and stealthily as possible, which would have appeared to have been a contradiction in itself, had it not been for the fact that the corridors were all but empty at this point.
'Where is everyone?' he thought while continuing to move forward, because apart from the two guards he killed when he escaped his cell, the Autobot had yet to encounter anymore and this bothered him more than he liked.
'Am I being played here? Did Ser-Ket merely act like she was going to help and is really in league with her sister after all?' he thought as he turned a corner, suddenly finding himself just a few yards away from three Terracons. The enemies had their backs to the Bot and had not yet noticed him, so Quickstrike hid inside the doorway of another room and peeked out at the soldiers.
'Well, that's just perfect. I want to go that way, and they happen to he blocking me.' he thought as he watched them. But before he could dwell on that thought any more, the lights in the corridor began to deactivate and activate randomly, gaining the Terracons attention and earning a smile from the Bot.
'I guess that answers that question.' he thought.
And so Quickstrike moved out of cover and rushed the enemies, killing one with a shot to the head. As that one fell to the ground, the other two turned round and faced the Escapee.
"Get him!" one shouted while the other leapt at the Autobot, his sharp claws bared. But Quickstrke simply fired several shots into the torso of the Terracon, sending him flying into the wall.
"You'll pay for that!" the last soldier shouted as he started to change right before Quickstrike's eyes.
'Not again.' the Bot thought, the sight evoking memories of the last time he saw this and what happened then. The Terracon now in its beast mode immediately swung its razor sharp claws at the Autobot who narrowly dodged it and then aimed his pistol at the enemy's head. But then with almost lightning quick reflexes, the Terracon knocked the gun out of Quickstrike's hand and then punched the bot in the stomach which immediately winded him as he fell to his hands and knees.
"Puny Autobot." the Terracon said with a humorous tone as he stood over the Escapee and readied his claws for the death blow. Quickstrike though noticed what looked like a combat knife on the floor to his right.
'That must have fell from the utility belts of the other two.' the Bot thought as an idea came to mind. Suddenly the enemy swung his claws down at the bot who fell flat onto his stomach, allowing the claws to swipe past his back by a mere few inches, earning a surprised look from the Terracon. Quickstrike the rolled on his side to his right and grabbed the knife, as the Con then lunged at him again.
"You little s..." he said before being cut off by the sharp painful feeling in his chest, so he looked down to see the combat knife embedded in his chest and Quickstrike looking up at him as he knelt there. The Bot simply stared up into the Terracon's eyes as they glazed over, a second later and he was dead so Quickstrike let the body fall to the ground before removing the combat knife from his chest.
'Since my holo-tool/blade isn't working yet, this will come in handy.' he thought as he cleaned the blade on his leg and then connected it to his utility belt. The Autobot got to his feet and carried on down the corridor for a long moment before something caught his eyes and he stopped again. He was now standing in front or a door that he recognised from Ser-Ket's map so he tapped the control panel on it's right side, opening the door and making Quickstrike smile as he looked inside.
'Now that will most definitely come in handy.' he thought before entering the room.
PRIME EFFECT 4
'Well, it is done.' Ser-Ket thought as she deactivated the computer terminal at her station, for the Femme had just made the changes to the ship's security protocols that would hopefully give Quickstrike the chance he would need to get to the shuttle-bay. And she had made sure that if anyone were to come upon the said changes, that she would not be implicated. So the Femme walked past the Terracons, whose attention remained firmly on their own work as they worked away at their terminals.
'I hope Quickstrike has had no problems so far.' she thought as she left the CIC and began walking down the corridor.
'I have tried to ensure that all the patrols will be diverted away from him as he makes his way to the shuttle-bay.' she thought while walking past two Terracons, who suddenly stopped and looked back at the Femme. And as she carried on, unbeknownst to what was going on behind her. One of the two then tapped his com-link.
"Commander Rip-Claw, we have Ser-Ket in our sights. What are your orders?"
"Just follow her and don't let her spot you, understand?" an agitated voice replied, earning a nod from the Con.
"Yes Commander."
The two Terracons then began following an unknowing Ser-Ket.
Meanwhile Rip-Claw was still in the ready room looking through recordings of both Ser-Ket and their Autobot prisoner, and she was getting more and more agitated at what she was seeing.
'So I have what looks like suspicious footage of my sister, but yet none of it has the audio to further confirm it.' she thought while watching the pair as they appeared to be talking.
"What are you two talking about?" Rip-Claw asked aloud with a frustrated tone. But suddenly as if someone had heard her, a holo orb materialized beside her and hovered there.
"May I be of service?" it spoke, surprising the Femme.
"What? Who are you?"
"I am your personal VI Captain, may I be of help to you?" it replied, earning a curious look from Rip-Claw.
'Stupid machine thinks I am the Captain, well I guess it could be useful.' she thought.
"I wish to know what is being said on these videos."
"Of course Captain, I will just run the speech recognition program. This will take only a moment." the VI replied before a new feature appeared on the holo-screen, one that looked like subtitles.
"Now that's what I wanted, thank you." the Femme said before focusing her attention on the screen and read the dialogue that appeared on the screen below both her sister and the Autobot prisoner.
"...but...Quickstrike." the Autobot said.
"What?" Ser-Ket replied.
"My name is Quickstrike." the Bot said back, making Rip-Claw's eyes widen at what she read.
'She lied, she lied to me. My own sister.' she thought as her spark started burn with anger, clenching one hand into a fist while raising her other to her com-link.
"Tell me, where is my Sister now?" she asked.
"Commander, Ser-Ket is currently..." one of the Terracons replied before being cut off by the almost deafening sound of the alarms as they began blaring out down the corridors.
"What in the Allspark is that?" Rip-Claw shouted as she tried to hear her soldier's voice over the noise.
"She is...wait?" the Terracon replied with a worried but alert tone all of a sudden, which did not go unnoticed by the Predacon.
"What? Explain..."
"Commander, we had her in our sights. But suddenly the emergency lighting activated and now... we've lost her."
"Find her!" Rip-Claw screamed as her anger flared up.
"Yes sir!" the Terracon replied with fear in his voice before the transmission ended and the Predacon was left to her own thoughts again, though now they were burning like never-ending fires in her mind, until one thought broke through and made her eyes widen.
'I know what she is trying to do. My Sister, my dear Sister. You will pay for betraying us….for betraying me.'
PRIME EFFECT 4
Ser-Ket moved at a brisk pace down another one of the many identical corridors that made up the Achilles, while making her way towards the shuttle bay.
'I could of sworn those Terracons were following me.' she thought as she neared her destination, thinking back to several minutes earlier before her modifications to the security protocols took effect.
'But they couldn't have surely, since no one would have been able guess what I had planned.'
Once at the door, the Femme pressed the buttons on the control panel on its left side which opened the door and allowed her access. Ser-ket then locked the door open with her holo-tool and ran over to the nearest shuttle, hoping to get it ready for Quickstrike when he arrived.
But just as she opened the hatch and prepared to climb inside, another voice gained her attention.
"Ser-Ket, Ser-Ket there you are."
The Femme looked back to see Quickstrike as he joined her side, and she noticed that he looked better then he did earlier, though the bruises were still visible.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, earning a smile from the Bot.
"I'm feeling alright, that shot you had me take certainly helped. Thanks for that."
"Your welcome, now I just need to get the shuttle ready for you and then you are free to leave." the Femme replied as she climbed on board the shuttle, but when she looked back at the blonde man looking back at her through the hatch, she saw a concerned expression on his face.
"You sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked in earnest. The Predacon looked back, clearly taken back by his question with an expression that was part appreciative and the other saddened.
"We have been over this Quickstrike, you know why I can't go." she answered in a similarly sad tone.
"Neither of you will be going anywhere." a familiar Female voice called out, gaining the attention of both of them as they looked back at the shuttle-bay's entrance. There they saw Rip-Claw in the company of several Terracons, who all had their weapons trained on the pair.
"I think you will find it impossible to activate that shuttle sister, since I have placed the entire ship on lock-down." the older sister said with real disdain in her voice before looking at the Bot.
"And you...Quickstrike, you will tell me everything and that will just be the beginning of further hell for you." she said, earning a knowing look from Ser-Ket as she realised that her sister somehow knew everything.
"I'll die first." the Autobot said as he reached for his pistol but stopped as the Terracons stepped forward with their guns trained on him.
"If you are thinking of a kamikaze attack, I would think again, since my soldiers are such very good shots." Rip-Claw said back before looking at her sister with a real pained and angry expression.
"Before I hand you to Lord Galvatron for what you have done, I just want to know...why? Why have you betrayed us, and for an Autobot of all things?"
"I di..." Ser-Ket began to say before Quickstrike cut her off as he took a step ahead of her.
"Ser-Ket doesn't have to explain her actions to the likes of you."
The Femme was again taken back by the actions of this Autobot, who even though she had gone through all the effort to get him out of danger, had suddenly placed himself between her and that same danger.
'He knows what they would do to me if the extent of my thoughts and worries came out into the open.' she thought as she noticed that the Bot had his hand behind his back and it was holding a grey metallic cylinder.
"Isn't that cu..." Rip-Claw started to say back before her eyes noticed that Quickstrike was hiding one of his hands, as the other one was hovering over his hoisted pistol.
"What do you have behind your back, I demand you show me now or..." the older Predacon said back in a slightly panicked tone and she signaled the Terracons, who took another step toward the pair.
"If you insist." Quickstrike replied with a lopsided grin as he revealed his other hand and the object currently in it's grip. Rip-Claw's eyes widened as she recognised it, as did the Terracons and even Ser-Ket.
"A detonator!" the older sister stated, earning a nod from the Bot who then pressed his thumb down on the red button on it's top.
Meanwhile lights activated in the room that Quickstrike had found earlier, revealing it to be an armoury and munitions locker that had a timer connected to several drums of explosives that suddenly lit up and began counting down from five seconds on the clock. The second it hit zero, the room exploded into a massive fireball that expanded out and down the corridors, incinerating any Terracons that were unfortunate to get in it's way. The explosion also breached the ship's hull as civilians looked out of the windows of their homes to see a funnel of black smoke rise up from the side of the cruiser as it sat next to the command tower of Omicron city.
Back on board the Achilles, the fireball was almost upon the shuttle-bay despite it gradually dissipating. Rip-Claw looked back to see the fiery glow getting ever closer to them through the open door of the bay, as Quickstrike pulled Ser-Ket into his arms and shielded her from the incoming explosion.
"Close the door!" she shouted at the Terracon closest to the door's controls, who panicked as he turned and began hitting all the buttons on it.
"It's not working, the door won't..." he managed to say before the fireball burst through the open doorway, engulfing him while throwing all the other Terracons, Rip-Claw included to the floor.
A moment later and as the emergency lighting flickered on and off, all the enemies in the shuttle-bay were subdued and dazed as Quickstrike held Ser-Ket in an embrace before pulling back slightly and looking the Femme in the eyes.
"You okay?" he asked in a gentle tone, earning a nod from female who then looked past him and noticed three of the Terracons slowly getting to the feet while reaching for their rifles.
"Quickstrike, behind you!"
The Autobot suddenly spun round with his pistol and killed all three, sending them onto their backs with smoking bullet holes in their heads. Quickstrike then got to his feet and held his hand out to the Femme, who looked up at him with a curious expression.
"Come with me, you can't stay here now." he then said which made Ser-Ket simply stare at the Bot's eyes, noticing how sincere he was looking while holding out his held to her. What felt like a long moment passed before the Femme then reached up and placed her hand into his, who gently yet firmly clasped his around hers and helped Ser-Ket to her feet.
"Lets go." he said with a slight smile, one that for some reason made the Predacon feel better, despite the situation they were both in and she smiled back and nodded.
"Okay." she replied as the pair moved for the charred doorway, when suddenly Quickstrike felt something grab at his ankle with a vice-like grip.
"Aggh, what the fuck!" he exclaimed as both he and the Femme looked down to see Rip-Claw lying on her front, her arm outstretched and gripped around his leg.
"Neither of you will get of..." the injured Predacon started to say before being cut off by Ser-Ket who kicked her sister in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing her to release the Autobot. Quickstrike looked back at his new ally with a surprised expression.
"Ser-Ket, that was..."
"She deserves worse, but we don't have time. The other Terracons will swarm this area soon enough, so we should go."
The bot nodded in return before picking up two rifles and handing the Femme one, and then the pair stood either side of the doorway as they readied themselves to move.
"Okay, is there another way off the ship? One that isn't held up by the lock-down."
"Yes there is, the escape pods. They are on a different system that is not impaired by the security protocols, and should be on deck above us." Ser-Ket replied.
"Good, lets go then." Quickstrike replied as they both walked out of the shuttle-bay, leaving Rip-Claw and what remained of her team unconscious on the floor.
Once in the corridor which at this moment was empty, Quickstrike looked down both sides before looking back at Ser-Ket with a confused expression.
"Which way?" he asked, making the Femme point to their right.
"That way should lead us to a Jeffries tube that will get us to the deck below, don't want to be using the elevators now."
"Good call..." he replied with a smile, earning a mirroring look from the Predacon that nearly made him blush.
"...Alright, you lead the way and I will guard our rear." he added as the both started down the corridor, but not before hearing the sounds of footfalls approaching quickly from the other side of the corridor, as shadows could be seen on the wall going round the corner.
"We need to hurry." Ser-Ket replied, earning a nod from the Autobot as he followed her down the opposite side of the corridor. And after running down what felt like a never-ending corridor, the pair came across what looked barely like a hatch in the floor ahead of them.
"There, that's our ticket off this floor." she said before kneeling down next to it and opening a hidden control panel next to it, meanwhile Quickstrike kept lookout down both sides of the corridor.
"Any idea how long this will take? Because we are don't have any cover here." he asked, while the Femme punched in a few key commands into the panel's keypad.
"This should only take a minute, just keep you eyes..." Ser-Ket replied before she stopped and sniffed the air, it was something that caught the Autobot completely off guard as the Femme's face went serious as she looked back at him.
"They will be here in moments, I need you to cover me. Can you?" she asked in a serious, but in no way insulting tone.
"Sure, just let me know when you done." Quickstrike replied in a mirroring way, before the Predacon looked back to her work.
"To your right." she suddenly said just a second before a Terracon stormed around the corner of the corridor on his right, making Quickstrike raise his rifle and shoot the enemy dead. Then another and another and another followed the first, all which fell to the ground with bullet holes in their chests. The Autobot then glanced down to see that Ser-Ket had finished with the control panel and had turned her attention to the hatch, which now had a hand hold on either side of it.
"Want a hand with that?" he asked as the Femme grabbed hold of the hatch and began to pull, before he turned his eyes back towards right hand side of the corridor, just as more Terracons appeared.
"I've got it." she replied over the sounds of gunfire, a smile was present on her face as she looked down at the hatch.
'How cute.' she thought as she gripped the hand holds and pulled, opening the hatch in one go.
"Now!" she exclaimed as the Autobot gunned down the latest wave of Terracons on the right side, he then looked down at the now open hatch and the cute looking Predacon Femme kneeling down beside it. An impressed expression was evident on his face as he smiled at her.
"Wow, your strong." he said with a hint of shyness to his voice.
"I know...are you worried?" she replied with a mischievous tone, one that again made the bot's cheeks heat up.
"No...not at all." he said while almost stammering, which made the Femme smile.
'Yes, he is very cute.' she thought before spotting three Terracons approaching them from the other side of the corridor behind Quickstrike. So she equipped her rifle and fired a burst of bullets past the bot and into the enemies, felling them instantly.
"Lets move."
"Ladies first." Quickstrike replied which made the Femme smile again as she climbed down into the Jeffries tube, quickly followed by the bot who then closed the hatch behind him.
It didn't take them long to climb down the almost claustrophobic Jeffries tube, as Ser-Ket reached the hatch that led to the next deck below her. She looked up to see Quickstrike's backside just above her as the bot climbed down the ladder.
'Nice ass.' she thought before keying another combination into the keypad that was next to the hatch, causing it to unlock and open. The Femme the dropped out into the corridor and found that it was empty, despite the emergency lighting flickering on and off.
"Its clear, but watch the drop...its higher than it looks." she said as Quickstrike dropped out and landed next to her, a confident smile on his face.
"I got it." he replied casually before equipping his rifle, the Femme simply shook her head as she does the same.
"The escape pods should be just down here." she said back as they moved down the corridor towards another T-junction.
"Just past this left tur..." the Femme added as she turned the corner and was met by a fist to the face, which made her stumble back a little disoriented. The another punch flew towards her, but this time Quickstrike blocked it and punched back, hitting the face of the Terracon who had ambushed her.
But as the Autobot went to take on this enemy, he the felt a foot slam into his back as another Terracon revealed itself. Both bot and Femme tried to recover as they were surrounded by the two Predacon soldiers, who looked at them with discontent.
"You okay?" Quickstrike asked as Ser-Ket felt her jaw.
"I'm fine." she replied before being cut off by the Terracons.
"Silence, you are both under arrest. As say he orders of Commander Rip-Claw." one soldier replies before tapping his com-link.
"We have them Commander, right where you said they would be."
"Good, hold them there until I arrive." an angry female voice said back from the other side of the link. Both Ser-Ket and Quickstrike glanced at each other.
"Want to see your sister again?" the bot asked, making the Femme shake her head in response.
"Not particularly."
"Then let's get out of here." he replied, earning angry stares from the Terracons.
"You will not..." one started to say before both Cons were suddenly made to defend themselves as the pair of escapees lunged at them. Quickstrike threw a punch, which one enemy blocked but he had no chance with the round house kick that then connected with his face, which sent him back into the wall.
Ser-Ket meanwhile kicked the other in the face, before spinning around and back kicking him in the chest which made him stumble backwards. The Autobot had caught a glimspe of the Femme's attack and could not help but be impressed as he grabbed a punch from his opponent and countered by elbowing him in the face.
'Most impressive.' he thought while still holding onto his Terracon's arm, twisted it behind the enemy's back and then roundhouses him in the chest. Little did he realise, or maybe he should have but Ser-Ket too had secretly glimpsed him too and liked what she had witnessed.
'I bet he would be good to spar with.' she thought as she too locked her opponent in an arm-lock, and then broke that arm by slamming down on her shoulder armour. This caused the Terracon to cry out in pain, but he was quickly silenced by Ser-Ket who elbowed him in the throat and followed it through with a back fist, which knocked the Con out and sent him to unconsciousness as his body fell to the floor in a heap.
"I'm done, how's yours?" the Femme asked as she looked back to see the Autobot throw his opponent to the floor and then kick him in the face, earning the same result.
"Me too." he replied with a smirk, earning a smile from the Predacon.
"Good, its right around this corner." she added while gesturing to the left, so the pair walked around the corner to see the large round metallic hatches sticking out of the wall.
"I just have to prep for launch and deactivate it's tracking beacon, wouldn't want my sister to be able to follow us."
"Good call." the Bot replied as he watched her using her holo-tool. After a moment the hatch opened and revealed the spherical interior of the escape pod, which was quite small but still large enough for two persons.
"Get in..." Ser-Ket said before looking over Quickstrike's shoulder and spotting Rip-Claw further down the corridor.
"...Now!" the femme added as she pushed Quickstrike, who did what she said and climbed into the pod before she did the same. Her sister charged toward their position with Terracons following close behind, her face was one of rage as she grippes her weapon.
"Stop them!" she shouted as more Terracons approached from the other side of the same corridor. But by the time both groups arrived at the escape pod hatch, Ser-Ket had already closed and locked it.
"Get this thing open now!" the Predacon spat as the troops around her hurried and tried to open it.
Inside the pod, Ser-Ket took control with the holo-interface while Quickstike watched.
"Don't worry, they can't get in." the Femme said after noticing that the bot had glanced back at the hatch after hearing the Terracons banging on the other side.
"Alright, so where do we go. I guess we're not going into space now?"
"No, this escape pod doesn't have the power or fuel to make orbit. So it will just get us away from here." she replied as she typed on the holo-keyboard.
"In that case..." Quickstrike said back as he leaned over the Predacon, surprising her a little.
"Get us as close as you can to these coördinates." he continued as he typed the numbers into the destination matrix, as Ser-Ket watched him curiously.
"Where's that lead?" she asked.
"There should be a hidden escape shuttle in that area, it was for VIPs." he said back, earning a nod from her before she retook control of the user interface.
"Okay sit back down then, because we are out of here." the Predacon replied before pressing the flashing ignition button to her left, which made the pod shake as the engines powered up and fired. The force of the engine pushed the pair back into their seats as the escape pod launched out of the Achilles's hull, soaring through the sky dusk sky and into the distance as it left the Omicron colony behind.
Rip-Claw just stood there, looking at the open space in front of her that moments earlier housed the very escape pod that her sister and their Autobot prisoner had just escaped in and gritted her teeth as her anger was now on verge of exploding. But she tried to restrain herself as she tapped her com-link.
"I want that pod tracked now!" she spat as the Terracons around her watched with worried expressions, unsure of how their Commander was going to act.
"I apologise Commander, but it appears the pod's tracker has been deactivated." another Con replied over the link, which made the Femme clench her free hand extremely tightly.
"Then use the ship's sensors, get a lock on it." she replied, before wating another moment for the CIC to answer.
"Again we are sorry Commander, it seems the damage from the armoury on the deck above you has severed one of the primary power conduits. We have lost control of the sensors."
And it was with this answer that Rip-Claw completely lost it, as she suddenly grabbed the neck of the nearest Terracon and snapped it, The Femme then turned on another and severally beat him as the others recoile in fear at the sheer brutality their Commander was showing.
"Commander, Commander are you there?" the CIC asked worriedly before the Femme stopped and stood over the Terracon that was now slumped against the wall, it was barely recognisable due to it's face being so badly beaten. Rip-Claw though did not even flinch as blood stained on the knuckles of both her hands.
"Get it all repaired...do it now!" she then stated in a voice so angry that it sounded somewhat shaky.
"Yes Commander...of course sir." the CIC replied in fearful voice as the Femme looked over at the Terracons standing away from her.
"Take him to the Medi-Bay and leave me...Now!" she spat, gaining a universal nod from the Terracons who fearfully helped up their unconscious comrade and retreated away from the Predacon. Who simply stood there and looked down at her bloody hands in complete silence.
PRIME EFFECT 4
Ser-Ket and Quickstrike walked through the dense foliage of what looked like a forest in the black of night, the only light they had to illuminate their path was from the torches that they had equipped to their utility belts. The pair had walked for almost an hour after their escape pod had crash landed a few kilometers behind them.
Quickstrike had used his holo-tool, which was now fully active to give them the direction of the escape shuttle that he said should still be available to use. Ser-Ket though had noticed that the bot was now starting to look tired as he began to stumble through the greenery.
"I think we should stop and rest, there is no way the Rip-Claw will find us, so we should be safe….at least for tonight." she said as she walked closely behind the Autobot who kept his eyes on both his holo-tool and the forest before them.
"I'm okay Ser-Ket, just a….little…. out of breath." he said before suddenly falling to his hands and knees.
"Quickstrike!" the Femme shouted as she rushed to his side, the concern in voice evident as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Ser-Ket could feel Quickstrike physically shaking as he breathed heavily, his entire body was close to collapse.
"I felt fine fifteen minutes ago, but now I feel like I like road-kill all of a sudden." the Bot replied as he looked at the Femme, he could see how concerned she was for him and that lifted his spark.
"I guess that shot you gave me has lost its effect." he added, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.
"That would be my guess…" she replied as she looked down at his holo-tool screen.
"Your map says we are still half a day's journey from your escape shuttle, we won't make it now. So I say we rest up and head off when it is lighter." the Femme added as she looked at the map again.
"Your holo-tool is detecting a cave about one hundred feet away, lets go."
Ser-Ket then helped Quickstrike to his feet and together they made their way through the forest until they came to a cliff-face and found the entrance to the cave, which was dark and not at all inviting.
"This will do." Ser-Ket said as they walked out of the cool night air and into the rocky interior until they reached a dead end, which was evident by the natural rock-like wall that greeted them. So the Femme helped him to sit down and they removed their survival backpacks that they took from the escape pod. The fPredacon opened hers and took out a rolled up sleeping bag which she then laid out next to the Bot.
"Okay, you should wrap yourself up and get some sleep." she said in a caring tone, Quickstrike nodded and then climbed into the sleeping bag. Once settled in, he looked up at the Femme with a curious look.
"What about you?"
"I will let you rest and take the first watch, you can take over for me once you feel up to it." Ser-Ket replied as she held her rifle and looked down at him.
"So…sleep well and I will wake you in a couple of hours."
"If there is any trouble…" the bot began to say back before the Predacon cut him off.
"If there is, then you won't need me to wake you up. Now go to sleep."
Quickstrike sighed as he nodded in return, silently surrendering to the Femme and he lied down on his side and closed his eyes. Ser-ket then turned away from the sleeping Bot and focused her attention on the cave entrance, as she leaned against the cave wall.
'Well here I am, on the run from my own people with a member of the very people who mine are now at war with. And yet….' she thought as she looked back at the now fast asleep Quickstrike, noticing how cute he looked as he slept.
'…I feel more relaxed here, than I ever did with them.'
She sighed as she looked back out of the cave as the breeze slowly increased, rustling the leaves of the trees outside and wondered what was next for the pair and if they were going to be able to escape the inevitable wrath of her Sister and the other Predacons.
"I received your message Lord Galvatron, how can I be of service to you?" she said in a loyal tone.
"I have been meaning to contact you Rip-Claw, but have found myself continuously delayed due to our preparations." the Predacon Lord replied, earning a curious expression from the Femme.
"Preperations, my Lord?"
"I will be leading an attack against Omega, in a bid to wrestle control of the Syndicate's forces for our own use. I was hoping to be already in battle, but the time it takes to ready our fleet has increased." Galvatron replied with an irritated tone.
"I see, if you need any of the troops from here on Omicron, then I will see to it that you get them." Rip-Claw said back, gaining a confused expression from Galvatron.
"No, that will not be required. I will in fact be sending more ships to help protect our interests on that colony. I did leave a message with Ser-Ket..." he said as a worried expression, while the Femme gave him a curious look.
"I have received no message from my Sister." she cut him, which made Galvatron's worried look to increase in tone.
"I thought Ser-Ket would have at least informed you of that, but then again she did seem to be somewhat out of character when we spoke."
"When was that my Lord?" Rip-Claw asked, her curiosity spiking at her Master's words.
"Two days ago, you were busy torturing your Autobot prisoners at the time. She seemed to be showing a lot of compassion towards our enemies, which I found to be worrying. Tell me, have you witnessed any similar behavior from your sister?" Galvatron asked, earning a thoughtful expression from the Femme as she looked away for a moment.
"As a matter of fact my Lord, I have noticed a sharp change in my Sister's actions. Especially towards our current and final Autobot prisoner, who I am ashamed to admit has managed to resist all my methods of extracting information from him."
The Predacon leader gave a slight smile in return, as he could not help but feel a certain respect towards anyone who could show such determination.
"I see, that is quite an achievement from one of our enemies. But tell me, what exactly has Ser-Ket been doing that has you concerned?"
"I proposed to my sister that while I spend my time inflicting tremendous amounts of pain to our prisoner, she would then appear as a sympathetic face who would slowly gain his confidence and that I would hope, in time would spill any secrets he was holding. But over the last two days, she has become increasing protective of him and openly ridiculed my efforts to break him." the Femme responded with concerned tone that was tinged with a touch of anger.
"Well in that case, I suggest you take a closer look at your Sister and report back to me with what you find. Can you do that?" Galvatron replied, before the familiar voice of Six-shot was heard in the background, making the Predacon leader turn away.
"My Lord, heavy cruiser wings Gamma, Epsilon and Theta are nearing their positions. We need your presence in the CIC."
"I will be right there Six-shot." Galvatron said back before returning his attention to the Femme.
"You have your orders, Galvatron out." he said before the screen went black, leaving the Predacon alone in the room as she activated her holo-tool.
"Computer, unlock security cameras for Brig zero-one and give me a report on their current status."
"Cameras are still active and can be viewed by anyone with access." the synthesized voice spoke back, earning a smile from the Femme.
"Very good, now show me what has been recorded over the last few days."
PRIME EFFECT 4
Quickstrike made his way down the corridor as fast and stealthily as possible, which would have appeared to have been a contradiction in itself, had it not been for the fact that the corridors were all but empty at this point.
'Where is everyone?' he thought while continuing to move forward, because apart from the two guards he killed when he escaped his cell, the Autobot had yet to encounter anymore and this bothered him more than he liked.
'Am I being played here? Did Ser-Ket merely act like she was going to help and is really in league with her sister after all?' he thought as he turned a corner, suddenly finding himself just a few yards away from three Terracons. The enemies had their backs to the Bot and had not yet noticed him, so Quickstrike hid inside the doorway of another room and peeked out at the soldiers.
'Well, that's just perfect. I want to go that way, and they happen to he blocking me.' he thought as he watched them. But before he could dwell on that thought any more, the lights in the corridor began to deactivate and activate randomly, gaining the Terracons attention and earning a smile from the Bot.
'I guess that answers that question.' he thought.
And so Quickstrike moved out of cover and rushed the enemies, killing one with a shot to the head. As that one fell to the ground, the other two turned round and faced the Escapee.
"Get him!" one shouted while the other leapt at the Autobot, his sharp claws bared. But Quickstrke simply fired several shots into the torso of the Terracon, sending him flying into the wall.
"You'll pay for that!" the last soldier shouted as he started to change right before Quickstrike's eyes.
'Not again.' the Bot thought, the sight evoking memories of the last time he saw this and what happened then. The Terracon now in its beast mode immediately swung its razor sharp claws at the Autobot who narrowly dodged it and then aimed his pistol at the enemy's head. But then with almost lightning quick reflexes, the Terracon knocked the gun out of Quickstrike's hand and then punched the bot in the stomach which immediately winded him as he fell to his hands and knees.
"Puny Autobot." the Terracon said with a humorous tone as he stood over the Escapee and readied his claws for the death blow. Quickstrike though noticed what looked like a combat knife on the floor to his right.
'That must have fell from the utility belts of the other two.' the Bot thought as an idea came to mind. Suddenly the enemy swung his claws down at the bot who fell flat onto his stomach, allowing the claws to swipe past his back by a mere few inches, earning a surprised look from the Terracon. Quickstrike the rolled on his side to his right and grabbed the knife, as the Con then lunged at him again.
"You little s..." he said before being cut off by the sharp painful feeling in his chest, so he looked down to see the combat knife embedded in his chest and Quickstrike looking up at him as he knelt there. The Bot simply stared up into the Terracon's eyes as they glazed over, a second later and he was dead so Quickstrike let the body fall to the ground before removing the combat knife from his chest.
'Since my holo-tool/blade isn't working yet, this will come in handy.' he thought as he cleaned the blade on his leg and then connected it to his utility belt. The Autobot got to his feet and carried on down the corridor for a long moment before something caught his eyes and he stopped again. He was now standing in front or a door that he recognised from Ser-Ket's map so he tapped the control panel on it's right side, opening the door and making Quickstrike smile as he looked inside.
'Now that will most definitely come in handy.' he thought before entering the room.
PRIME EFFECT 4
'Well, it is done.' Ser-Ket thought as she deactivated the computer terminal at her station, for the Femme had just made the changes to the ship's security protocols that would hopefully give Quickstrike the chance he would need to get to the shuttle-bay. And she had made sure that if anyone were to come upon the said changes, that she would not be implicated. So the Femme walked past the Terracons, whose attention remained firmly on their own work as they worked away at their terminals.
'I hope Quickstrike has had no problems so far.' she thought as she left the CIC and began walking down the corridor.
'I have tried to ensure that all the patrols will be diverted away from him as he makes his way to the shuttle-bay.' she thought while walking past two Terracons, who suddenly stopped and looked back at the Femme. And as she carried on, unbeknownst to what was going on behind her. One of the two then tapped his com-link.
"Commander Rip-Claw, we have Ser-Ket in our sights. What are your orders?"
"Just follow her and don't let her spot you, understand?" an agitated voice replied, earning a nod from the Con.
"Yes Commander."
The two Terracons then began following an unknowing Ser-Ket.
Meanwhile Rip-Claw was still in the ready room looking through recordings of both Ser-Ket and their Autobot prisoner, and she was getting more and more agitated at what she was seeing.
'So I have what looks like suspicious footage of my sister, but yet none of it has the audio to further confirm it.' she thought while watching the pair as they appeared to be talking.
"What are you two talking about?" Rip-Claw asked aloud with a frustrated tone. But suddenly as if someone had heard her, a holo orb materialized beside her and hovered there.
"May I be of service?" it spoke, surprising the Femme.
"What? Who are you?"
"I am your personal VI Captain, may I be of help to you?" it replied, earning a curious look from Rip-Claw.
'Stupid machine thinks I am the Captain, well I guess it could be useful.' she thought.
"I wish to know what is being said on these videos."
"Of course Captain, I will just run the speech recognition program. This will take only a moment." the VI replied before a new feature appeared on the holo-screen, one that looked like subtitles.
"Now that's what I wanted, thank you." the Femme said before focusing her attention on the screen and read the dialogue that appeared on the screen below both her sister and the Autobot prisoner.
"...but...Quickstrike." the Autobot said.
"What?" Ser-Ket replied.
"My name is Quickstrike." the Bot said back, making Rip-Claw's eyes widen at what she read.
'She lied, she lied to me. My own sister.' she thought as her spark started burn with anger, clenching one hand into a fist while raising her other to her com-link.
"Tell me, where is my Sister now?" she asked.
"Commander, Ser-Ket is currently..." one of the Terracons replied before being cut off by the almost deafening sound of the alarms as they began blaring out down the corridors.
"What in the Allspark is that?" Rip-Claw shouted as she tried to hear her soldier's voice over the noise.
"She is...wait?" the Terracon replied with a worried but alert tone all of a sudden, which did not go unnoticed by the Predacon.
"What? Explain..."
"Commander, we had her in our sights. But suddenly the emergency lighting activated and now... we've lost her."
"Find her!" Rip-Claw screamed as her anger flared up.
"Yes sir!" the Terracon replied with fear in his voice before the transmission ended and the Predacon was left to her own thoughts again, though now they were burning like never-ending fires in her mind, until one thought broke through and made her eyes widen.
'I know what she is trying to do. My Sister, my dear Sister. You will pay for betraying us….for betraying me.'
PRIME EFFECT 4
Ser-Ket moved at a brisk pace down another one of the many identical corridors that made up the Achilles, while making her way towards the shuttle bay.
'I could of sworn those Terracons were following me.' she thought as she neared her destination, thinking back to several minutes earlier before her modifications to the security protocols took effect.
'But they couldn't have surely, since no one would have been able guess what I had planned.'
Once at the door, the Femme pressed the buttons on the control panel on its left side which opened the door and allowed her access. Ser-ket then locked the door open with her holo-tool and ran over to the nearest shuttle, hoping to get it ready for Quickstrike when he arrived.
But just as she opened the hatch and prepared to climb inside, another voice gained her attention.
"Ser-Ket, Ser-Ket there you are."
The Femme looked back to see Quickstrike as he joined her side, and she noticed that he looked better then he did earlier, though the bruises were still visible.
"How are you feeling?" she asked, earning a smile from the Bot.
"I'm feeling alright, that shot you had me take certainly helped. Thanks for that."
"Your welcome, now I just need to get the shuttle ready for you and then you are free to leave." the Femme replied as she climbed on board the shuttle, but when she looked back at the blonde man looking back at her through the hatch, she saw a concerned expression on his face.
"You sure you don't want to come with me?" he asked in earnest. The Predacon looked back, clearly taken back by his question with an expression that was part appreciative and the other saddened.
"We have been over this Quickstrike, you know why I can't go." she answered in a similarly sad tone.
"Neither of you will be going anywhere." a familiar Female voice called out, gaining the attention of both of them as they looked back at the shuttle-bay's entrance. There they saw Rip-Claw in the company of several Terracons, who all had their weapons trained on the pair.
"I think you will find it impossible to activate that shuttle sister, since I have placed the entire ship on lock-down." the older sister said with real disdain in her voice before looking at the Bot.
"And you...Quickstrike, you will tell me everything and that will just be the beginning of further hell for you." she said, earning a knowing look from Ser-Ket as she realised that her sister somehow knew everything.
"I'll die first." the Autobot said as he reached for his pistol but stopped as the Terracons stepped forward with their guns trained on him.
"If you are thinking of a kamikaze attack, I would think again, since my soldiers are such very good shots." Rip-Claw said back before looking at her sister with a real pained and angry expression.
"Before I hand you to Lord Galvatron for what you have done, I just want to know...why? Why have you betrayed us, and for an Autobot of all things?"
"I di..." Ser-Ket began to say before Quickstrike cut her off as he took a step ahead of her.
"Ser-Ket doesn't have to explain her actions to the likes of you."
The Femme was again taken back by the actions of this Autobot, who even though she had gone through all the effort to get him out of danger, had suddenly placed himself between her and that same danger.
'He knows what they would do to me if the extent of my thoughts and worries came out into the open.' she thought as she noticed that the Bot had his hand behind his back and it was holding a grey metallic cylinder.
"Isn't that cu..." Rip-Claw started to say back before her eyes noticed that Quickstrike was hiding one of his hands, as the other one was hovering over his hoisted pistol.
"What do you have behind your back, I demand you show me now or..." the older Predacon said back in a slightly panicked tone and she signaled the Terracons, who took another step toward the pair.
"If you insist." Quickstrike replied with a lopsided grin as he revealed his other hand and the object currently in it's grip. Rip-Claw's eyes widened as she recognised it, as did the Terracons and even Ser-Ket.
"A detonator!" the older sister stated, earning a nod from the Bot who then pressed his thumb down on the red button on it's top.
Meanwhile lights activated in the room that Quickstrike had found earlier, revealing it to be an armoury and munitions locker that had a timer connected to several drums of explosives that suddenly lit up and began counting down from five seconds on the clock. The second it hit zero, the room exploded into a massive fireball that expanded out and down the corridors, incinerating any Terracons that were unfortunate to get in it's way. The explosion also breached the ship's hull as civilians looked out of the windows of their homes to see a funnel of black smoke rise up from the side of the cruiser as it sat next to the command tower of Omicron city.
Back on board the Achilles, the fireball was almost upon the shuttle-bay despite it gradually dissipating. Rip-Claw looked back to see the fiery glow getting ever closer to them through the open door of the bay, as Quickstrike pulled Ser-Ket into his arms and shielded her from the incoming explosion.
"Close the door!" she shouted at the Terracon closest to the door's controls, who panicked as he turned and began hitting all the buttons on it.
"It's not working, the door won't..." he managed to say before the fireball burst through the open doorway, engulfing him while throwing all the other Terracons, Rip-Claw included to the floor.
A moment later and as the emergency lighting flickered on and off, all the enemies in the shuttle-bay were subdued and dazed as Quickstrike held Ser-Ket in an embrace before pulling back slightly and looking the Femme in the eyes.
"You okay?" he asked in a gentle tone, earning a nod from female who then looked past him and noticed three of the Terracons slowly getting to the feet while reaching for their rifles.
"Quickstrike, behind you!"
The Autobot suddenly spun round with his pistol and killed all three, sending them onto their backs with smoking bullet holes in their heads. Quickstrike then got to his feet and held his hand out to the Femme, who looked up at him with a curious expression.
"Come with me, you can't stay here now." he then said which made Ser-Ket simply stare at the Bot's eyes, noticing how sincere he was looking while holding out his held to her. What felt like a long moment passed before the Femme then reached up and placed her hand into his, who gently yet firmly clasped his around hers and helped Ser-Ket to her feet.
"Lets go." he said with a slight smile, one that for some reason made the Predacon feel better, despite the situation they were both in and she smiled back and nodded.
"Okay." she replied as the pair moved for the charred doorway, when suddenly Quickstrike felt something grab at his ankle with a vice-like grip.
"Aggh, what the fuck!" he exclaimed as both he and the Femme looked down to see Rip-Claw lying on her front, her arm outstretched and gripped around his leg.
"Neither of you will get of..." the injured Predacon started to say before being cut off by Ser-Ket who kicked her sister in the face, knocking her unconscious and causing her to release the Autobot. Quickstrike looked back at his new ally with a surprised expression.
"Ser-Ket, that was..."
"She deserves worse, but we don't have time. The other Terracons will swarm this area soon enough, so we should go."
The bot nodded in return before picking up two rifles and handing the Femme one, and then the pair stood either side of the doorway as they readied themselves to move.
"Okay, is there another way off the ship? One that isn't held up by the lock-down."
"Yes there is, the escape pods. They are on a different system that is not impaired by the security protocols, and should be on deck above us." Ser-Ket replied.
"Good, lets go then." Quickstrike replied as they both walked out of the shuttle-bay, leaving Rip-Claw and what remained of her team unconscious on the floor.
Once in the corridor which at this moment was empty, Quickstrike looked down both sides before looking back at Ser-Ket with a confused expression.
"Which way?" he asked, making the Femme point to their right.
"That way should lead us to a Jeffries tube that will get us to the deck below, don't want to be using the elevators now."
"Good call..." he replied with a smile, earning a mirroring look from the Predacon that nearly made him blush.
"...Alright, you lead the way and I will guard our rear." he added as the both started down the corridor, but not before hearing the sounds of footfalls approaching quickly from the other side of the corridor, as shadows could be seen on the wall going round the corner.
"We need to hurry." Ser-Ket replied, earning a nod from the Autobot as he followed her down the opposite side of the corridor. And after running down what felt like a never-ending corridor, the pair came across what looked barely like a hatch in the floor ahead of them.
"There, that's our ticket off this floor." she said before kneeling down next to it and opening a hidden control panel next to it, meanwhile Quickstrike kept lookout down both sides of the corridor.
"Any idea how long this will take? Because we are don't have any cover here." he asked, while the Femme punched in a few key commands into the panel's keypad.
"This should only take a minute, just keep you eyes..." Ser-Ket replied before she stopped and sniffed the air, it was something that caught the Autobot completely off guard as the Femme's face went serious as she looked back at him.
"They will be here in moments, I need you to cover me. Can you?" she asked in a serious, but in no way insulting tone.
"Sure, just let me know when you done." Quickstrike replied in a mirroring way, before the Predacon looked back to her work.
"To your right." she suddenly said just a second before a Terracon stormed around the corner of the corridor on his right, making Quickstrike raise his rifle and shoot the enemy dead. Then another and another and another followed the first, all which fell to the ground with bullet holes in their chests. The Autobot then glanced down to see that Ser-Ket had finished with the control panel and had turned her attention to the hatch, which now had a hand hold on either side of it.
"Want a hand with that?" he asked as the Femme grabbed hold of the hatch and began to pull, before he turned his eyes back towards right hand side of the corridor, just as more Terracons appeared.
"I've got it." she replied over the sounds of gunfire, a smile was present on her face as she looked down at the hatch.
'How cute.' she thought as she gripped the hand holds and pulled, opening the hatch in one go.
"Now!" she exclaimed as the Autobot gunned down the latest wave of Terracons on the right side, he then looked down at the now open hatch and the cute looking Predacon Femme kneeling down beside it. An impressed expression was evident on his face as he smiled at her.
"Wow, your strong." he said with a hint of shyness to his voice.
"I know...are you worried?" she replied with a mischievous tone, one that again made the bot's cheeks heat up.
"No...not at all." he said while almost stammering, which made the Femme smile.
'Yes, he is very cute.' she thought before spotting three Terracons approaching them from the other side of the corridor behind Quickstrike. So she equipped her rifle and fired a burst of bullets past the bot and into the enemies, felling them instantly.
"Lets move."
"Ladies first." Quickstrike replied which made the Femme smile again as she climbed down into the Jeffries tube, quickly followed by the bot who then closed the hatch behind him.
It didn't take them long to climb down the almost claustrophobic Jeffries tube, as Ser-Ket reached the hatch that led to the next deck below her. She looked up to see Quickstrike's backside just above her as the bot climbed down the ladder.
'Nice ass.' she thought before keying another combination into the keypad that was next to the hatch, causing it to unlock and open. The Femme the dropped out into the corridor and found that it was empty, despite the emergency lighting flickering on and off.
"Its clear, but watch the drop...its higher than it looks." she said as Quickstrike dropped out and landed next to her, a confident smile on his face.
"I got it." he replied casually before equipping his rifle, the Femme simply shook her head as she does the same.
"The escape pods should be just down here." she said back as they moved down the corridor towards another T-junction.
"Just past this left tur..." the Femme added as she turned the corner and was met by a fist to the face, which made her stumble back a little disoriented. The another punch flew towards her, but this time Quickstrike blocked it and punched back, hitting the face of the Terracon who had ambushed her.
But as the Autobot went to take on this enemy, he the felt a foot slam into his back as another Terracon revealed itself. Both bot and Femme tried to recover as they were surrounded by the two Predacon soldiers, who looked at them with discontent.
"You okay?" Quickstrike asked as Ser-Ket felt her jaw.
"I'm fine." she replied before being cut off by the Terracons.
"Silence, you are both under arrest. As say he orders of Commander Rip-Claw." one soldier replies before tapping his com-link.
"We have them Commander, right where you said they would be."
"Good, hold them there until I arrive." an angry female voice said back from the other side of the link. Both Ser-Ket and Quickstrike glanced at each other.
"Want to see your sister again?" the bot asked, making the Femme shake her head in response.
"Not particularly."
"Then let's get out of here." he replied, earning angry stares from the Terracons.
"You will not..." one started to say before both Cons were suddenly made to defend themselves as the pair of escapees lunged at them. Quickstrike threw a punch, which one enemy blocked but he had no chance with the round house kick that then connected with his face, which sent him back into the wall.
Ser-Ket meanwhile kicked the other in the face, before spinning around and back kicking him in the chest which made him stumble backwards. The Autobot had caught a glimspe of the Femme's attack and could not help but be impressed as he grabbed a punch from his opponent and countered by elbowing him in the face.
'Most impressive.' he thought while still holding onto his Terracon's arm, twisted it behind the enemy's back and then roundhouses him in the chest. Little did he realise, or maybe he should have but Ser-Ket too had secretly glimpsed him too and liked what she had witnessed.
'I bet he would be good to spar with.' she thought as she too locked her opponent in an arm-lock, and then broke that arm by slamming down on her shoulder armour. This caused the Terracon to cry out in pain, but he was quickly silenced by Ser-Ket who elbowed him in the throat and followed it through with a back fist, which knocked the Con out and sent him to unconsciousness as his body fell to the floor in a heap.
"I'm done, how's yours?" the Femme asked as she looked back to see the Autobot throw his opponent to the floor and then kick him in the face, earning the same result.
"Me too." he replied with a smirk, earning a smile from the Predacon.
"Good, its right around this corner." she added while gesturing to the left, so the pair walked around the corner to see the large round metallic hatches sticking out of the wall.
"I just have to prep for launch and deactivate it's tracking beacon, wouldn't want my sister to be able to follow us."
"Good call." the Bot replied as he watched her using her holo-tool. After a moment the hatch opened and revealed the spherical interior of the escape pod, which was quite small but still large enough for two persons.
"Get in..." Ser-Ket said before looking over Quickstrike's shoulder and spotting Rip-Claw further down the corridor.
"...Now!" the femme added as she pushed Quickstrike, who did what she said and climbed into the pod before she did the same. Her sister charged toward their position with Terracons following close behind, her face was one of rage as she grippes her weapon.
"Stop them!" she shouted as more Terracons approached from the other side of the same corridor. But by the time both groups arrived at the escape pod hatch, Ser-Ket had already closed and locked it.
"Get this thing open now!" the Predacon spat as the troops around her hurried and tried to open it.
Inside the pod, Ser-Ket took control with the holo-interface while Quickstike watched.
"Don't worry, they can't get in." the Femme said after noticing that the bot had glanced back at the hatch after hearing the Terracons banging on the other side.
"Alright, so where do we go. I guess we're not going into space now?"
"No, this escape pod doesn't have the power or fuel to make orbit. So it will just get us away from here." she replied as she typed on the holo-keyboard.
"In that case..." Quickstrike said back as he leaned over the Predacon, surprising her a little.
"Get us as close as you can to these coördinates." he continued as he typed the numbers into the destination matrix, as Ser-Ket watched him curiously.
"Where's that lead?" she asked.
"There should be a hidden escape shuttle in that area, it was for VIPs." he said back, earning a nod from her before she retook control of the user interface.
"Okay sit back down then, because we are out of here." the Predacon replied before pressing the flashing ignition button to her left, which made the pod shake as the engines powered up and fired. The force of the engine pushed the pair back into their seats as the escape pod launched out of the Achilles's hull, soaring through the sky dusk sky and into the distance as it left the Omicron colony behind.
Rip-Claw just stood there, looking at the open space in front of her that moments earlier housed the very escape pod that her sister and their Autobot prisoner had just escaped in and gritted her teeth as her anger was now on verge of exploding. But she tried to restrain herself as she tapped her com-link.
"I want that pod tracked now!" she spat as the Terracons around her watched with worried expressions, unsure of how their Commander was going to act.
"I apologise Commander, but it appears the pod's tracker has been deactivated." another Con replied over the link, which made the Femme clench her free hand extremely tightly.
"Then use the ship's sensors, get a lock on it." she replied, before wating another moment for the CIC to answer.
"Again we are sorry Commander, it seems the damage from the armoury on the deck above you has severed one of the primary power conduits. We have lost control of the sensors."
And it was with this answer that Rip-Claw completely lost it, as she suddenly grabbed the neck of the nearest Terracon and snapped it, The Femme then turned on another and severally beat him as the others recoile in fear at the sheer brutality their Commander was showing.
"Commander, Commander are you there?" the CIC asked worriedly before the Femme stopped and stood over the Terracon that was now slumped against the wall, it was barely recognisable due to it's face being so badly beaten. Rip-Claw though did not even flinch as blood stained on the knuckles of both her hands.
"Get it all repaired...do it now!" she then stated in a voice so angry that it sounded somewhat shaky.
"Yes Commander...of course sir." the CIC replied in fearful voice as the Femme looked over at the Terracons standing away from her.
"Take him to the Medi-Bay and leave me...Now!" she spat, gaining a universal nod from the Terracons who fearfully helped up their unconscious comrade and retreated away from the Predacon. Who simply stood there and looked down at her bloody hands in complete silence.
PRIME EFFECT 4
Ser-Ket and Quickstrike walked through the dense foliage of what looked like a forest in the black of night, the only light they had to illuminate their path was from the torches that they had equipped to their utility belts. The pair had walked for almost an hour after their escape pod had crash landed a few kilometers behind them.
Quickstrike had used his holo-tool, which was now fully active to give them the direction of the escape shuttle that he said should still be available to use. Ser-Ket though had noticed that the bot was now starting to look tired as he began to stumble through the greenery.
"I think we should stop and rest, there is no way the Rip-Claw will find us, so we should be safe….at least for tonight." she said as she walked closely behind the Autobot who kept his eyes on both his holo-tool and the forest before them.
"I'm okay Ser-Ket, just a….little…. out of breath." he said before suddenly falling to his hands and knees.
"Quickstrike!" the Femme shouted as she rushed to his side, the concern in voice evident as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Ser-Ket could feel Quickstrike physically shaking as he breathed heavily, his entire body was close to collapse.
"I felt fine fifteen minutes ago, but now I feel like I like road-kill all of a sudden." the Bot replied as he looked at the Femme, he could see how concerned she was for him and that lifted his spark.
"I guess that shot you gave me has lost its effect." he added, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.
"That would be my guess…" she replied as she looked down at his holo-tool screen.
"Your map says we are still half a day's journey from your escape shuttle, we won't make it now. So I say we rest up and head off when it is lighter." the Femme added as she looked at the map again.
"Your holo-tool is detecting a cave about one hundred feet away, lets go."
Ser-Ket then helped Quickstrike to his feet and together they made their way through the forest until they came to a cliff-face and found the entrance to the cave, which was dark and not at all inviting.
"This will do." Ser-Ket said as they walked out of the cool night air and into the rocky interior until they reached a dead end, which was evident by the natural rock-like wall that greeted them. So the Femme helped him to sit down and they removed their survival backpacks that they took from the escape pod. The fPredacon opened hers and took out a rolled up sleeping bag which she then laid out next to the Bot.
"Okay, you should wrap yourself up and get some sleep." she said in a caring tone, Quickstrike nodded and then climbed into the sleeping bag. Once settled in, he looked up at the Femme with a curious look.
"What about you?"
"I will let you rest and take the first watch, you can take over for me once you feel up to it." Ser-Ket replied as she held her rifle and looked down at him.
"So…sleep well and I will wake you in a couple of hours."
"If there is any trouble…" the bot began to say back before the Predacon cut him off.
"If there is, then you won't need me to wake you up. Now go to sleep."
Quickstrike sighed as he nodded in return, silently surrendering to the Femme and he lied down on his side and closed his eyes. Ser-ket then turned away from the sleeping Bot and focused her attention on the cave entrance, as she leaned against the cave wall.
'Well here I am, on the run from my own people with a member of the very people who mine are now at war with. And yet….' she thought as she looked back at the now fast asleep Quickstrike, noticing how cute he looked as he slept.
'…I feel more relaxed here, than I ever did with them.'
She sighed as she looked back out of the cave as the breeze slowly increased, rustling the leaves of the trees outside and wondered what was next for the pair and if they were going to be able to escape the inevitable wrath of her Sister and the other Predacons.
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