(no subject)
“Sellout?” Hindsight called from the door of the bridge.
The blue flier nearly hit his head on the underside of the main communications console. “Wait a minute.” He hurriedly pulled himself out and looked at her, fins flattening around him like he’d been caught stealing energon. “Everything all right?”
She nodded, frowning at him, dusky red armour even more shadowy in the half-lit room. “Shouldn’t you turn the lights up if you’re going to rewire that?”
“Oh, I’m not- it’s nothing that important.” He caught the edge of the console with one hand and dragged himself up, then leaned back against it. “Nothing that can’t wait. What are you looking for?”
“I’m going to get back to my post soon,” Hindsight said. “It seems I remember more than I thought I did, but there’s nothing more I can do for Bumblebee.”
Sellout nodded. “Thanks, though. You were brilliant with that processor circuitry: if it wasn’t for you, she’d be offline by now.”
“I don’t want to do that again,” she said levelly.
“All right. I wouldn’t have called you normally, but this was an emergency-”
“Sellout,” she said firmly. “I’m not doing that again. It was… interesting. Maybe not as bad as I thought it would be. But I’m not who I used to be, and I don’t need to be reminded.”
Sellout looked at her, and then leaned forward. “You know,” he said, waving back at the console, “we could ask for the information you need - you could even leave to retrain, if you wanted.”
Hindsight’s mouth set in a line. “I think we both know that’s a bad idea.”
“Take a ‘Con with you and we’ll be even.”
“No, Sellout. It’s too late.” Hindsight cooled her tone before she continued, “Even if I could relearn all that - even if I wanted to relearn - I’m too long out of practice, and too far behind the times. I’ll never reach the level I was at, especially the way my memory is now. I’d never be the best again, and frankly, I can’t live with that.” Another pause to cool down, as Sellout nodded acquiescence, and she added, “Just let me stick to being a soldier in the galaxy’s most ridiculous war, and then we’ll call it even. What are you doing in there, anyway?”
The jet-former looked down at the console and sighed. “Something I said we were trying to avoid. Songstop made it look like this couldn’t contact anyone further than the moons, just in case Bumblebee or Ironhide took a peek at it. I just have to undo his adjustments…”
“Oh.” Her expression clouded over again. “Should I stand guard out here for you?”
Sellout gave her a weak smile. “Please.”
Hindsight took a step back and reached up to close the door. “I’ll tell anyone who comes that you’re in there sweet-talking Inkcape over the line.”
“Yeah, very funny.” No more time to procrastinate. He turned back to the console reluctantly. “I’m sure that’ll keep them away.”