(Untitled)

[due_caution]

Red Alert had briefly considered tagging along with Kitten Prime and Company, if only to make sure Rodimus stayed safe and out of trouble, but thought better of it after contemplation. Right now, at a glance, who would even know that the small orange Terran cat is the Autobot Prime, unless someone draws undue attention to him

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[due_caution]

Oblivious to the comm conversation between Frostbite and Starscream - or rather, ignoring it for the moment, as Frostbite seems to have whatever it is she is working on well in hand - Red Alert is busy pouring through the security logs and communications from his security detail. What he is finding should be impossible. Utterly, and completely impossible.

How in the ever-loving slag does anyone, even a human trying to be inconspicuous, manage to vanish from the confines of Autobot City!? HOW!?

"We need to speak to Starscream again," Red observes tiredly, apropos of nothing. Or at least nothing he's said aloud yet, although it's clear from his tone and his expression that when he says "speak to Starscream," he doesn't mean "politely interrogate" so much as "grudgingly collaborate."

Somehow, Drath's clone of Spike has managed to escape, quite probably after having whatever subliminal/implanted conditioning/programming activated, despite how subtle they attempted to be. Obviously, they need more information about these clones and what they might be able to expect from the Not-Spike. Seeing as how Starscream is the resident expert about this machine, they need to speak to the Seeker.

Even Red, as paranoid as he is, knows when it's time to admit defeat. If the situation wasn't quite so dire - and he could be certain that there were no more other-worldly spies running around to see - he would indulge in an utterly childish fit of crying. Or at least an unsubtle pout or two. No time for that, however, although the look he bestows upon Frostbite is bleak, humorless, and more than a little rueful.

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream smirks to himself as he saunters out the door.

// Oh, good. I'm not disappointed in him then! //

Starscream is quite pleased; he'd been bitterly disappointed by Onslaught's inability to grasp the responsibility of command over indulging in his petty grievances. He had perhaps overrated Steadfast because she had been able to put her animosities on hold for the sake of the Decepticons. Or perhaps not. Red Alert seems to be turning out neither better nor worse than Starscream expects; it's a relief that his assessment of someone is correct.

// You're not in his office? Where's your office? I don't think I have that information. I actually meant to meet you where you were. //

[due_caution]

"How convenient," Red replies drily. "Checking up on his spy was he?"

Not that Red Alert can blame Starscream in the least; if he had access to invisible, intangible, nigh undetectable spies, Red would certainly be using them, too. The story of how Daniel, a small human child, had earned the sympathies and loyalties of a dead Decepticon Seeker must surely be an interesting tale, though.

Daniel and Carly. This news about Spike must be kept need-to-know, but Carly, at least, should be told.

It's not a task that Red is looking forward to.

He opens a secure comm to his security detail again.

// Mrs. Witwicky is only to be told that Drath may potentially still be alive, and that we have concerns for all their safety, hence she and Daniel will be provided with additional security measures and personnel. Do not, under any circumstances, tell the boy that his father is missing, and only explain as much to Mrs. Witwicky if she asks and Daniel isn't present. Tell her that I will be coming personally to explain the situation and answer any concerns as soon as I have finished sorting out the new security protocols being enacted for their benefit. Understood? //

// Yes, sir. //

// Good. Contact me if there are any further developments. Red Alert out. //

If he could have his way, both mother and child would be moved to more secure quarters, and a full press blackout would be initiated. Sovereign Autobot territory need not be required to fully cooperate with human news and press agencies, nor information act requests from private human agencies, and, to a limited extent, even human governmental agencies. Red would like nothing better than to take full and complete advantage of that fact right now.

Unfortunately, doing so would merely tip the real Drath off that his subterfuge had been discovered, which would then, in turn, severely reduce the chances of finding and rescuing Spike alive. Given the recent events, however, it would not, however, be out of character nor unexpected for the Autobots to sharply enhance the Ambassador's security and safety while in residence at Autobot City. And that is exactly what any irritating press representatives of any species will be told by the PIO - no more, no less.

"Kaci retrieved Spike from Central City when he was released from captivity, yes? We'll need to speak to her. After we speak to Starscream and have a clearer picture of what we're dealing with here, I'll speak to Rodimus."

Red isn't looking forward to that either.

It's a sad state of affairs when the most enjoyable thing I have to look forward to is another friendly visit from Starscream and his unknown battalion of undead spies.

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream only takes one wrong turn, and backtracks as soon as he figures out that the human commissary isn't where he intended to go. He smirks at the jaw-dropped looks he gets from the humans and a small red minibot who is apparently too surprised to do more than stutter incoherently before Starscream saunters out of audial range.

"Third door on corridor 3-A... Ah, here we go. 'Legal Affairs, T. MacBride'." Starscream tilts his head curiously; who was 'T. MacBride'? Something to ask once he located everyone. With the same non-chalance he'd used visiting Red Alert's office, he brushed a blue thumb across the door button, as if he were just passing by and just happened to bump it.

[kaci_celica]

Kaci's about to ask Bumper if he wants any help with dismantling the ah... wall display, shall we say, when the door suddenly opens.

A stunned kind of silence drops into the office like an anvil from some ridiculously comical cartoon show. There's a loud clatter from somewhere near Bumper.

"...Starscream!"

Whilst not quite as shocked as Bumper evidently was, Kaci is still surprised to see the Seeker standing in the doorway. Bumper's question mostly answered her immediate 'What's he doing here?' thoughts, though.

Poor Bumper. She glances over to him and notes the axe still on the floor. For lack of anything better to do instead of standing there and watching Starscream with a surprised-curious look on her face, she heads over and carefully picks up the rather large weapon before stepping back again, giving Bumper some space so he could continue doing the talking.

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream watches the yellow minibot stagger about with an odd expression.

"Don't get all armed and dangerous on my account!" Starscream says, waving one hand dismissively. "My guns aren't even charged, let alone pointing in your direction."

He smirks at Kaci and Bumper. "Of course I'm looking for Frostbite and Red Alert! Why else would I be here?"

The large red and blue Seeker studies the dartboard for a moment; there's a rather hacked and shredded photo of a human on it. "Oh, good. It's not me."

After casually glancing around the rest of the room, Starscream's gaze comes back to Bumper. A yellow minibot--like that perpetually annoying and nearly useless Autobot Bumblebee. Probably very like him--a berserker like Brawn or Cliffjumper wouldn't have dropped that axe and stood staring at him.

The dark Autobot--Kaci--is more reserved. And she rather carefully picked up the axe and is holding it ready. Frostbite's reports indicated she'd been in the expedition to Drath's warehouse, and her armored hull had survived the explosion handily. So--tough, possibly combat-trained. More dangerous than the minibot, definitely.

[attair_al_fada]

"I'm a guest now?" Starscream smirks slightly. "And not the ironic sort who finds his quarters locked from the outside."

Ruby optics glitter with amusement as he steps past Bumper into the interview room.

"Hello again, Red. I hear things are getting interesting again."

[due_caution]

Red Alert spares a moment to scold himself for letting Starscream's presence get to him again as that faint discomfort slides along his circuits upon the Seeker's entrance.

"I doubt it would work, anyway. You seem to have a truly annoying tendancy to get yourself out of some incredibly impossible situations, so I doubt a locked door would be much of an impediment," Red replies drily as he waves his hand towards an unoccupied chair beside him.

"And, Starscream, whenever you're involved, things tend to start at 'interesting' and go downhill from there." Is that a joke? Surely not. Red Alert has no sense of humor, especially where the former Air Commander is concerned.

He waits for the door to close and secure again before settling back in his own chair with his arms crossed tiredly over his chest.

"Drath was not Drath, Spike was not Spike, and all incarnations of which that haven't already been reduced to a sticky red paste by enraged Stunticon commanders have... gone and vanished," the security chief explains without preamble, a growling tone to his voice expressing more clearly than the words themselves just how intolerable Red Alert finds the whole situation. Especially the part about Not-Spike having vanished from under their very optics. "You're familiar with the original process. Ignoring Drath's possible motivations, what kinds of contingency programming can we expect from the Witwicky clone?"

[attair_al_fada]

Starscream glances at both of them, his expression even, concealing any emotions. Red Alert is plainly Not Happy with the current situation; neither Drath's machinations nor having to put with Starscream as an ally of sorts appeared to sit well with the Autobot Security Chief.

Something else (or perhaps the same thing) seemed to disturb Frostbite. She held herself like a wounded Autobot, trying bravely not to show her pain. She evidently likes to play Go--Starscream notes the mech-sized board on the desk in front of her, with a Go problem partway to a solution. So. A strategist. Holds her emotions close, and probably her grudges closer. Dangerous!

"I doubt it would work, anyway. You seem to have a truly annoying tendancy to get yourself out of some incredibly impossible situations, so I doubt a locked door would be much of an impediment," Red replies drily as he waves his hand towards an unoccupied chair beside him.

Starscream turns the chair around and leans against the back of it. Unlike humans or some Autobots, he's not well-designed for sitting and finds it only occasionally comfortable. That, and he wants room for pacing.

"I'm stubborn, Red. I don't give up on what I want. Defeats are merely setbacks along the way," he says. A flash of a smile. "The opposite of interesting is 'boring'. Who wants that?"

Starscream picks up the datapad and examines it. "These are the summary results. I hope someone, somewhere has the full nucleotide sequence recorded. Tell your lab to compare Not-Drath's DNA with Not-Spike's DNA with a normal human's DNA, and exclude any common sequences with the normal human. That should get you the chimeric DNA segment that is common to all human synthezoids."

Optics glitter with amusement as the Seeker tosses the datapad back on the desk. "Red, I'm sure you can figure out likely persons to double-check for synthezoid DNA. Just figure out who we would have replaced with programmed facsimiles if we'd tried to affect the Autobots from within. The child has been cleared, I take it?"

"As for the programming--has anyone deduced what Drath's goal is?" Now Starscream looks at Frostbite. "The synthezoids can be programmed to do anything humanly possible, including suicidal and homicidal actions. Usually a replacement keeps his original memories and personality, and believes himself to be the original--until something activates the programming. Programming can be blended with the personality characteristics--that is, the replacement appears to be acting like himself, only having a bad day or somesuch. Alternatively, the original personality can be completely overriden by the activated programming--your trusted friend the harmless little secretary who loves kittens starts slaughtering her way through the daycare center, for example."

"So, what is Drath trying to accomplish here? He very nearly succeeded in decapitating both High Commands, which could have restarted the War, and would have weakened both factions in any case. I can see Quintession interest in this." Starscream lets go of the chair and starts pacing.

"Revenge? I heard that Rodimus previously interfered with Drath's operations. What of the others who were involved in that incident? Have they been attacked? What do you know about this human? What are his goals and interests?"

He stops suddenly. "Totally unrelated question: who is 'T. MacBride'?"

[due_caution]

Red Alert would like to think that someone in the laboratory handling the DNA testing is clever enough to already be working on Starscream's recommendations, however too many assumptions having been made are what had allowed Drath and Not-Spike to slip through their very fingertips. He's not taking any more chances and nothing for granted.

"I could appreciate a little 'boring' now and then," Red mutters as he hunches over his workstation again to send off orders to the lab with Starscream's recommendations. His tone isn't very convincing, though. He barely admits it to himself, so admitting as much to Starscream, at least willingly, is about as likely as the security chief inviting the former Air Commander over for a pleasant afternoon of macramé and ener-crumpets, however, without the often maddening challenges of the chaos that seems to breed in Autobot City, Red Alert would likely pine away to nothing.

He just has an image to maintain, that's all. That, and carefully maintaining that front is part of the camouflage that keeps the real enemies of the Autobots complacent and more easily manipulated. Even Red Alert can admit that, for once, Starscream does not fall into that category.

He still isn't planning on inviting the Seeker over for drinks and a movie anytime soon, though.

"Drath's remains and Ambassador Witwicky's testing was a priority. We're still waiting on the results of Daniel and Carly's tests," Red observes absently as he continues tapping out his orders, adding in a request to have the other prisoners from Drath's compound tested as well, and sends them off to the lab. "I'm forwarding your recommendations on to the lab with an urgent request for a field test for those markers. I'm not over fond of having to wait 12-36 hours for results from a full DNA profile."

Red Alert manages to stifle a calculating grin as he ponders radioing Skyfire to bring that DNA Sequencer of Starscream's back with him when the shuttle-mech returns to Autobot City. Too predictable. Even if it would be morbidly amusing to see Starscream's reaction to such a request. He'd probably be expecting it anyway. Oh well.