G1: Loyalty
Title: Loyalty
Author: BitterEloquence
Rating: G
Word Count: 1103
Disclaimer: Not mine, nor am I making any money off of it. The only thing I own are the twisted ideas floating around in my head.
Notes: Thanks to wyntir_rose and this loosely ties into our "A Thin Line Between" Spec Ops-verse.
The best things in life are never rationed. Friendship, loyalty, love, do not require coupons. <>--Unknown
Jazz paced his office nervously, too restless to sit down or even try to pretend he wasn't bothered by what was to come. On his desk, two data-pads sat on top of the a list of applicants who'd volunteered for the Ark project. The Special Operations Unit had slowly but surely recovered from the catastrophic loss of nearly all their members all those vorns ago.
He liked his people, he trusted his people. Any of the mechs and femmes who'd volunteered he'd want at his back any cycle.
Jazz just wished it wasn't them.
The buzzer at his door dragged Jazz's thoughts back to the here and now. He cycled air through his vents raggedly and opened the door to admit the two mechs standing there. They were a study of contrasts.
Mirage was tall, slim and elegant looking while Bumblebee was small, stocky and had a guileless sort of homely face that just made people want to instinctively trust him. Each had their own specialty and were absolutely deadly in their efficiency.
Jazz could say without any bias that they were his best agents. And that's why he wanted them to stay on Cybertron. And on a more personal level that he was trying not to influence him, they were his best friends and he didn't want them in harm's way.
And the Ark mission could very well turn into a suicide mission. They all knew that.
"I know what you're going to say and you won't change our minds," Mirage stated calmly as he and Bumblebee slipped inside Jazz's office.
"Oh?" Trying to mask his unease, Jazz tried to play it off as nothing. "Ya mean y'don't wanna join me fer a drink?"
"Jazz...," Bumblebee called softly, a sorrowful and solemn look on his face. "Don't. We know you better than that."
With a smile pasted on his face, Jazz laughed a choked off little strained laugh and settled down behind his desk. "Jeeze, fine, I won't offer ya a drink. Sit down...."
Bumblebee sat down quickly enough though Mirage just remained standing, those aristocratic features cold and aloof. Bee shot the former noblemech a nervous look. "Mirage...!" he hissed, trying to draw the spy back to task. Bumblebee knew being confrontational wouldn't win Jazz over but Mirage had always had a mind of his own and he ignored the smaller mech.
"We're going with you," Mirage said coldly.
A dangerous glint entered Jazz's optics beneath the visor. "You are, are ya?"
"Yes we are," Crossing his arms across his chest, Mirage gave Jazz a scathing look. "And if you think after all these vorns we're going to let you skip off with a couple of rookies or an idiot like Cypher then you're not only insane, you're an even bigger idiot than Cypher."
"Mirage!" Scandalized, Bumblebee just shot Mirage an annoyed look. "Look, Jazz....we want to go with you . We're a team and teams stick together."
Jazz felt his resolve waver dangerously.
"You're going to need us," Mirage put in quietly, some of the confrontational arrogance fading from his faceplates. "You and I both know Megatron is going to chase after the Ark and leave Cybertron to rot. He knows about the Ark and he knows Prime will be on it."
Another crack in his resolve. Jazz cycled air through his vents and vengefully wished for a cube of high-grade. But with their energon stores at an all-time low, they were all on the strictest of rations.
"It's not that I don' want you two wit' me. There's not a single mech on this planet I'd want at my back more than you two."
"It's just you think this is going to be a suicide mission," Mirage cut in quietly.
"And we accept that risk just as we accepted long ago that we'll stand by your side to the end," Bumblebee continued Mirage's train of thought. The blue mech shot him an ironic look.
"While I don't share Bumblebee's enthusiasm to follow you into certain death, you're going to need us. Besides, I'd rather deactivate trying to find energon then deactivate from starvation here on Cybertron," the former-noblemech murmured laconically.
Jazz was finding all of his good reasoning and arguments being shot down one after another until he was left with a combination of despair and the tiniest, traitorous spark of relief. As selfish as it was for him to privately admit, he did want his team with him when they went off into space. But the voice of logic and reason (a voice that sounded frighteningly like Prowl in his head) tried to call a halt to the whole damned thing.
"And who's supposed ta be in charge if I take you two, huh?"
"Put that idiot Cypher in charge."
"Ya just said he was an incompetent idiot." Jazz shot back.
"No, I said he was an idiot who can't watch your back. He can dictate and push paper around with the rest of them," the blue mech needled.
"Mirage...Jazz....come off it. We're going with you. Our minds are made up on this," Bumblebee finally spoke up, ever the voice of reason.
"And what if I order ya to stay?"
"Do you really think you could stop us?" Mirage asked and an equally stubborn look filled Bumblebee's optics. The saboteur looked at his friends unhappily for a long moment.
"I'm really not gonna be able to talk y'all out of this, am I?" he finally asked with a defeated look.
"Not a chance."
"....right. Fine. But if ya deactivate, I don't want to have yer sparks haunt me in t'matrix."
"And if we deactivate, I don't want you telling us 'I told you so' either."
"Fine, ya got yerself a deal. Now, about that energon?" Smiling, Jazz looked at his two friends mischievously before pulling out a single cube of high grade from a special compartment hidden within his desk.
"Is that....what I think it is?" Mirage asked a little hopefully.
"If ya think it's a cube o' high grade then yeah, ya'd be right. Jus' don't tell Prowler I got it." The saboteur grinned and poured the energon into smaller drinking cubes before handing two of them over to his teammates. "To Cybertron...." Jazz offered the toast solemnly.
"To friends...," Bumblebee murmured, equally solemn.
"Frag that, to the high-grade." And Mirage ruined the solemn mood with his sarcastic quip and caused his two teammates to burst into laughter. Smiling to himself, the former noblemech took a sip from his cube and eyed his two laughing friends over the edge of his cube.
Author: BitterEloquence
Rating: G
Word Count: 1103
Disclaimer: Not mine, nor am I making any money off of it. The only thing I own are the twisted ideas floating around in my head.
Notes: Thanks to wyntir_rose and this loosely ties into our "A Thin Line Between" Spec Ops-verse.
The best things in life are never rationed. Friendship, loyalty, love, do not require coupons. <>--Unknown
Jazz paced his office nervously, too restless to sit down or even try to pretend he wasn't bothered by what was to come. On his desk, two data-pads sat on top of the a list of applicants who'd volunteered for the Ark project. The Special Operations Unit had slowly but surely recovered from the catastrophic loss of nearly all their members all those vorns ago.
He liked his people, he trusted his people. Any of the mechs and femmes who'd volunteered he'd want at his back any cycle.
Jazz just wished it wasn't them.
The buzzer at his door dragged Jazz's thoughts back to the here and now. He cycled air through his vents raggedly and opened the door to admit the two mechs standing there. They were a study of contrasts.
Mirage was tall, slim and elegant looking while Bumblebee was small, stocky and had a guileless sort of homely face that just made people want to instinctively trust him. Each had their own specialty and were absolutely deadly in their efficiency.
Jazz could say without any bias that they were his best agents. And that's why he wanted them to stay on Cybertron. And on a more personal level that he was trying not to influence him, they were his best friends and he didn't want them in harm's way.
And the Ark mission could very well turn into a suicide mission. They all knew that.
"I know what you're going to say and you won't change our minds," Mirage stated calmly as he and Bumblebee slipped inside Jazz's office.
"Oh?" Trying to mask his unease, Jazz tried to play it off as nothing. "Ya mean y'don't wanna join me fer a drink?"
"Jazz...," Bumblebee called softly, a sorrowful and solemn look on his face. "Don't. We know you better than that."
With a smile pasted on his face, Jazz laughed a choked off little strained laugh and settled down behind his desk. "Jeeze, fine, I won't offer ya a drink. Sit down...."
Bumblebee sat down quickly enough though Mirage just remained standing, those aristocratic features cold and aloof. Bee shot the former noblemech a nervous look. "Mirage...!" he hissed, trying to draw the spy back to task. Bumblebee knew being confrontational wouldn't win Jazz over but Mirage had always had a mind of his own and he ignored the smaller mech.
"We're going with you," Mirage said coldly.
A dangerous glint entered Jazz's optics beneath the visor. "You are, are ya?"
"Yes we are," Crossing his arms across his chest, Mirage gave Jazz a scathing look. "And if you think after all these vorns we're going to let you skip off with a couple of rookies or an idiot like Cypher then you're not only insane, you're an even bigger idiot than Cypher."
"Mirage!" Scandalized, Bumblebee just shot Mirage an annoyed look. "Look, Jazz....we want to go with you . We're a team and teams stick together."
Jazz felt his resolve waver dangerously.
"You're going to need us," Mirage put in quietly, some of the confrontational arrogance fading from his faceplates. "You and I both know Megatron is going to chase after the Ark and leave Cybertron to rot. He knows about the Ark and he knows Prime will be on it."
Another crack in his resolve. Jazz cycled air through his vents and vengefully wished for a cube of high-grade. But with their energon stores at an all-time low, they were all on the strictest of rations.
"It's not that I don' want you two wit' me. There's not a single mech on this planet I'd want at my back more than you two."
"It's just you think this is going to be a suicide mission," Mirage cut in quietly.
"And we accept that risk just as we accepted long ago that we'll stand by your side to the end," Bumblebee continued Mirage's train of thought. The blue mech shot him an ironic look.
"While I don't share Bumblebee's enthusiasm to follow you into certain death, you're going to need us. Besides, I'd rather deactivate trying to find energon then deactivate from starvation here on Cybertron," the former-noblemech murmured laconically.
Jazz was finding all of his good reasoning and arguments being shot down one after another until he was left with a combination of despair and the tiniest, traitorous spark of relief. As selfish as it was for him to privately admit, he did want his team with him when they went off into space. But the voice of logic and reason (a voice that sounded frighteningly like Prowl in his head) tried to call a halt to the whole damned thing.
"And who's supposed ta be in charge if I take you two, huh?"
"Put that idiot Cypher in charge."
"Ya just said he was an incompetent idiot." Jazz shot back.
"No, I said he was an idiot who can't watch your back. He can dictate and push paper around with the rest of them," the blue mech needled.
"Mirage...Jazz....come off it. We're going with you. Our minds are made up on this," Bumblebee finally spoke up, ever the voice of reason.
"And what if I order ya to stay?"
"Do you really think you could stop us?" Mirage asked and an equally stubborn look filled Bumblebee's optics. The saboteur looked at his friends unhappily for a long moment.
"I'm really not gonna be able to talk y'all out of this, am I?" he finally asked with a defeated look.
"Not a chance."
"....right. Fine. But if ya deactivate, I don't want to have yer sparks haunt me in t'matrix."
"And if we deactivate, I don't want you telling us 'I told you so' either."
"Fine, ya got yerself a deal. Now, about that energon?" Smiling, Jazz looked at his two friends mischievously before pulling out a single cube of high grade from a special compartment hidden within his desk.
"Is that....what I think it is?" Mirage asked a little hopefully.
"If ya think it's a cube o' high grade then yeah, ya'd be right. Jus' don't tell Prowler I got it." The saboteur grinned and poured the energon into smaller drinking cubes before handing two of them over to his teammates. "To Cybertron...." Jazz offered the toast solemnly.
"To friends...," Bumblebee murmured, equally solemn.
"Frag that, to the high-grade." And Mirage ruined the solemn mood with his sarcastic quip and caused his two teammates to burst into laughter. Smiling to himself, the former noblemech took a sip from his cube and eyed his two laughing friends over the edge of his cube.