Echoes

[Soundwave]

Characters: Soundwave , any Decepticon
Location: The Communication's Officer's personal quarters
Content Warnings: Violence, Gore
Plot Summary: Many have submitted after battle reports and Soundwave is one of the few officers tasked in reviewing them to see if he can gain a better logistical standing over the Autobots. What he has found has disturbed him and sent him to his quarters to meditate on his findings

[Soundwave]

Composited notes, reports, data pads. An enemy intelligence officer's high rev dream come true... All of which had a similar theme. After mission, and conflict reports on Earth and nearby space. This collective information was strewn about the quarters, the now horridly cramped quarters of one individual. This one sought an answer it seemed. An answer that somehow eluded even their optics. Yet they knew it was within these reports and may prove invaluable!

The owner of this collective library of reports was still there, almost buried under some of the paper work. Most Decepticons fought wars with fists and loathed the idea of being a desk jockey. Yet some had to forget their wanton dreams of destruction and sought something constructive for their forces and potentially massively destructive for their foes. The individual here did two roles, often times finding themselves drained of energy by the end of the day. Yet this particular job demanded all their attention and resulted in someone half buried and relaxing as it appears. Yet this was a facade by someone who displays their face in a smooth face mask.

Behind that mask, eyes scanned countless amounts of lines. Algorithms to help deduce a pattern. Computers set to connect the dots and see what he could find in it all. yet his optics slowly drift shut and the systems aboard dimmed the lights while it still searched for patterns. Instead of using a cold machine to discover the truth, perhaps an abstract way of thinking could help? His optics closed, body stilled, and mind slowly seeping into a realm of focus. That mask hid what was happening beneath, holding back memories and thoughts.

Reports of Decepticons. Losses and wins, victories and triumphs. Gathered items, lost items, fallen comrades, new allies. It all felt familiar. Something like a chord that sounded familiar, struck again and again. Repeating itself for all of time. It was all the same now. Yet it was different. Such as Wheeljack cracking his visor.

Infuriating, yet dead cold in appearance on that fateful eve. He had recalled times of being struck and wanting nothing but utter destruction upon the other. Such were the early early days of his career. A career that lead to a mountain of dead beneath him.

The dead were not from the wars. But instead from his times as a gladiator. He was not the strongest or the fastest. Sure he was strong but what he made up for was his analytical abilities. Observe and watch, record and decipher a pattern. Such how he won so many fights. So many, countless fights. The endless onslaught...

The onslaught painted the walls, the dirt, the spikes of the coliseum. He remembers distinctly. He remembers his pedes digging into the dirt below while his stance widens and lowers for greater stability. How he was holding a blade, both hands, the blade between he and his foe. His opponent. He distinctly remembers side stepping once. His pommel hand yanking quickly, then his arms swiftly dragged his well used blade along. His opponent on the ground next to him.

The foe on the ground was a victim of fame. He was in the arenas fighting with a showman spirit. Showing off, presenting elaborate kills, flourishes. He was aiming to gain a fanbase so his name will live on forever. Many fans liked him. They adored his flashy moves and broad spectacle worthy strikes. Yet here he lays. Defeated...

Soundwave had watched his victim, learned his tells and habits. This foe had always started with a large downward swing. Soundwave used this to his advantage and side stepped to parry such a useless fool's strike, all the while pressing his own blade to the back of his opponents neck strut. A quick jerk and a partial decapitation. Soundwave wanted this fool to live through hell before finally passing. He still had his thoughts and ability to observe. Yet the most he could move was his fear to the forefront of emotions while his eyes stared a thousand yards ahead, unmoving. Soundwave knew that the officials will toss the opponent out like trash. He wanted this showboat to suffer for not being a true warrior. Live in the heap of trash and die alone and unloved.

A smile crept along the lips of this seeker. Something rarely seen but will never be seen with that mask. Soon his eyes opened to see ahead... All this time it felt like he stabbed the faces in of his opponents at his feet. He could have sworn that was what he did there. Yet he remembers a true memory, not of a false memory that has been done only once in actuality before meeting Megatron.

That meeting helped him rise up and rule, and in doing such he pledged his allegiance to Megatron. He didn't need to speak, only act as Megatron commands.

"I Am Soundwave, I Do Not Concern Myself With Trivial Talk. I Acted And Performed. My Voice Is Silent Yet I Craft Waves Of Destruction." With that being said, the once silent mech rose from his chair. That thick layer of dust that collected. Gathering the datapads he gazed upon them and their reflection showed in his mask. "Further Data Must Be Acquired. The Autobots Will Live Another Day Because I Fear That This Will Require That All Are One."

The door to his quarters slid open with a creak and now the tall, slim master of silence stalked out of his quarters. The dust that had collected upon his body rolled off in a billowy cloud behind. An agent of death now rising from the pestilence of the coliseum is on the move again.

[Deleted]

Zodiac walked down the halls of the Nemesis with her optics to the ground. She didn't want this life for herself. At all. She didn't like taking orders. She didn't like the fact that she was a decepticon lap dog used only for quick assassination jobs. At some point back on Cybertron she had been a infamous assassin that was feared by any bot that was on the opposite end of her trusty sniper rifle. Fearsome, cold, purely evil. That's what she was called. A cold femme that could extinguish the spark of just about anybot with enough credits to give her reason to. And she was now reduced to this. Simple errand femme, ready at the beck and call of any of her superiors.

She closed her optics and she could see it. She could feel it.

The cold Cybertronian air nipping and snapping at her armor as she itched to pull the trigger. She zoomed in on hr target from a far. The mech was recharging in complete bliss and ignorance as to what danger was only seconds away. Or perhaps the high speed chases between herself and the authorities. The wind underneath her wings as she blasted through the air on her thrusters firing at any poor bots that got in her way. These moments in her life are what made her life worth living. Other than that she was incapable of feeling much else.

But everything went down hill after she was forcibly recruited for the Decepticons. What was she supposed to do? Say no and die in the slums she was created in? No. She simply couldn't, and even though she regretted her decision she would do it again in a spark beat. Anything was better than that scrap heap of a town. Now make no mistake. She was not a Con for the sake of loyalty. Or even love for Megatron, but rather for ambition. She knew that if she did her job efficiently and well enough than perhaps she could move up in rank. Perhaps if she staged enough "accidents" for her superiors she could even get to second in command. Or maybe even lead the Decepticons herself. Anything was better than staying in the same place for so long.

She reopened her optics.

She was Zodiac. Not a femme to be trifled with, or stepped on. And she would not stand to be kept down in the same demeaning position for so long. She had to move up eventually. The femme grinned to herself. In time, hopefully, she would be able to move ever higher.

Just as Zodiac turned the corner her eyes widened a bit in surprise as a tall seeker stepped out of his quarters. No. It couldn't be. Zodiac of course had heard of the infamous Soundwave. A mech that never really spoke to anyone but Megatron. A mech whose combat skills were matched only by those of Megatron himself.

She quickly composed herself and scanned him with her optics. She noticed that he was covered with a slight layer of dust as if he had been sitting down for a long period of time. And of course she noticed his mirror like faceplate. She doubted that was is true face, but with a mech like Soundwave you never know. His monitor was so clear that she could see her own reflection.

"Greetings Soundwave," Zodiac greeted in a respectful manor giving the seeker a ghost of a smile. I was always good to make a good first impression. "How are you?"

[Soundwave]

The billowing layers of dust faded as he escapes his tomb. A derelict zombie of sorts, unknowing in command or thought. Droning his actions. A "gaze" set forth a thousand meters ahead of him. He ignored a vast majority of lesser around him. Not that there was actually anything in these halls to stop him.

His mask blipped a little and he came to a full stop. Towering and unmoving as he detected movement that wasn't there. Yet... But, the movement belonged to a femme who was standing infront of him. How careless of him to trudge onwards without a thought of any Decepticon around him. He wasn't Starscream, so self absorbed in himself to realize who was around. No, he was the observant.

This stranger of a femme could see her reflection upon that slightly curved mask of his. Matter of fact, her reflection was dead center on it! The background itself was distorted around her in this purple world. The sniper might have the feeling of a scope upon her with this viewpoint. Who was the hunter now?

Hunters typically track animals and do their jobs. Rarely do they come across new species. To Soundwave, this femme was a new species and that disturbed him greatly. Who was she? Immediately on the inside of his mask, for his eyes only... He pulled up all records of individuals upon this ship, even if they transferred here.

Analyzing Individuals Key Features

Cross Matching Key Features Of All Personnel Aboard The Nemesis

...

No Records Found In The Crew Manifest

She was an unknown, someone who bore the Decepticon sigil yet he had no records of. Had he been in that room far longer than he anticipated? He had only been in there a good 3 hours. Surely... She knew his name, of course, who didn't? Yet it was frustrating for this immobile mech to not know this individual.

Unnervingly he nodded his helm slowly to her. The reflection's utter focus broken. Just as quickly as it revealed the floor panels beneath them, it returned her purple face. Then his voice spilled forth. Not as graceful as many other Cybertronians. Instead something robotic, alien... Despite this, it commanded a strong desire. Someone who speaks so rarely has risen their voice.

"Identification"

[Deleted]

The femme watched as the tall mech looked at her for a brief moment. Or at least assumed he was looking at her. This meant one thing. He was analyzing her just as she had been doing to him a few moments prior. She fought contain her smirk as she already knew he wouldn't find anything. She was simply to new. She liked having the advantage over bots, especially a bot such has him.

The silence continued to last longer and she could feel his penetrating gaze on her faceplate. Zodiac cocked her head to the side and continued to stare at the mech's monitor. She tried her hardest to see past the glass of the visor to see the mech's true face but ultimately failed. All she could see was her own optics staring back at her. Finally the silence was broken when the mech asked for her designation.

"Oh. How rude of me" Zodiac replied backing away a bit, but not moving her optics from monitor for a single moment. "I am Zodiac. I am new to the Nemesis, this it my first time here actually."

Soundwave seemed to be slightly thrown off by her presence and she like that. She was going to tell him that she was the resident sniper here, but decided that with all the observing he must've done it wouldn't have made any sense. She two high powered energon pistol on her hip and a sniper rifle on her back she wasn't exactly being subtle.

"Is there anything you need help with? Anything at all," Zodiac asked in genuine curiosity. This mech was surrounded by a cloud of mystery and he looked as if he had just moved for the first time in hours.

[Soundwave]

The mask still reflected her being until it light up in a ghastly light blue before an image of her face appeared on it. It shrunk down into a corner box with Cybertron dialect next to it, her name. Zoh Di Ack. He unfortunately didn't know the human spelling for that name and went with a phonetic spelling. Yet it will quickly change if he learns the proper spelling, and in doing so he will silently curtsy his helm to her for the correction. Then his screen went back to that dark reflective purple.

Zodiac stood before her, studied again. Wings, sleekness, and weapons carried about the halls. She was a seeker with trust issues it seems. He has observed many that had such issues carry weapons for protection. She was a sniper and those were solemn, quiet and often times had... Interesting personalities. Yet she branded two pistols on her sides. Perhaps she had plans to work around her main one incase it failed? Or was she too cocky to where she can waltz up to her target and place just a round in their helm?

She was an enigma that his onboard computers tried to decipher with hardly a word spoken. Such were his usual ways yet she brought something out of him.

"I Am Securing Information From Mission Reports.
Inquiries Will Be Sought After. You Are Proficient In Acquiring Information?"

[Deleted]

Zodiac watched his screen light up as an image of herself displayed. So he had been scanning her after all, not that that was much of a surprise. She watched in amusement as the picture shrunk down with the words "Zoh Di Ack" in Cybertronian. She fought to contain a chuckle but it ultimately failed.

"Z-O-D-I-A-C," She spelled out for the tall mech as she coughed into her servo to gain her composure. "And yes I am proficient in collecting information. What information do you require Soundwave?"

He ha told her that he would ask more questions later, she hadn't missed that. She wouldn't comment on it but she was well aware of this. Zodiac would be careful to tell him the bare minimum needed. She didn't want to dive to deep into her personal history, especially not to s stranger. A stranger to whom she noticed is incredibly tall. Zodiac was quite tall for a femme herself but never had she ever had to look up at someone else before. Optic level? Sure that was expected. Lower than her? Not at all uncommon. A bit higher than her? Also not uncommon. But he towered over her by a comfortable margin. On top of that she noticed his sharp arms and two port holes the sides of his chest. Zodiac's optics wandered as she looked over the rest of the mech. He seemed tall and sleek but power and danger emanated from him.

If Zodiac had remembered correctly he was as a gladiator before the war. Much like Megatron. If there was one thing she knew about gladiators it was 1) they were ruthless and 2) they were excellent hand to hand fighters. It was no secret that Soundwave would be able to take down nearly any adversary, Zodiac herself being no exception especially since long distance combat was definitely her forte.

She snapped out of her daze and moved her optics back to his mirror like face waiting for her answer.

[Soundwave]

The chuckle that she presented made his helm tilt upwards. Just what was making her processors to go awry in the presence of him?! Had he missed something in the air? Yet instead it became apparent when she started to correctly spell her name aloud. That resulted in the letters changing accordingly and that helm tilting slightly downwards before a gentle curtsy was given afterwords.

Of course having learned her proper name will mean he can track her easier. Perhaps gain more knowledge of her! Yes, not having a proper file on her will induce some worry. Who knows if he can truly trust her. Though with all these Decepticons now a days, many couldn't really be trusted unless you showed a plethora of force.

Soundwave himself held such force. Being a gladiator who took a beating yet allowed it to surprise his opponents. Rarely was he caught off guard. Only because of a lack of information. In such his battle prowess assisted in his victories, numbers as well.

Fight when you have a guaranteed victory. His optics widened behind that mask of his as if he had learned a fairly similar phrase from the humans. Though he does not recall anything of the like. His own daze left him wandering and staring ahead before gazing downwards inexplicably. These turn of events felt driven by unseen forces.

When Zodiac comes from her own trance, she will find Soundwave carefully rubbing at the layer of dust upon his limbs. To which he held up his actuators up into view to show the browned tips of his digits. He was expecting an answer for this. Dust doesn't cake one when they hold still for roughly 3 to 4 hours. Seems this is the first question he was asking her.

[Deleted]

Once Zodiac finally broke out of her daze and once again focused her attention on Soundwave she found him rubbing some of the dust on his armor. He then held it up for her to see. The dust had turned the tips of his digits a brownish color. From what Zodiac could tell Soundwave must've been sitting still for a very, very long period of time. Perhaps a whole day. A whole day spent sitting down and working, but this was to be expected of a mech of Soundwave's devotion to the Decepticon cause.

There were two types of bots in this war. The warriors who slashed and teared at the enemy, and then the helpful bots who chose to help from the comfort of the Nemesis. Now, Zodiac thanked the stars that she was the first option. Anything could could cause one's body to become so full of dust with hardly any movement at all would've driven her insane. She also noticed that Soundwave did not talk to her this time. She frowned at this. She had enjoyed speaking with Soundwave and had gotten him to speak not once, but twice. No doubt more than any other Cons have.

"It looks like you've been working for quite a while. A whole day, maybe more" Zodiac replied looking at his mirror-like face once more. "How ever long it was you could definitely use an oil bath."

She wasn't kidding about that last bit. She was never a fan of getting dirty, which was part of the reason she became a sniper in the first place. To avoid having to get her own servos dirty. She preferred to keep herself as clean as possible, that fact was obviously clear in the shine of her wings. She always made sure to clean and polish her armor.

"What were you working on that required that much time?" Zodiac asked in genuine curiosity.

[Soundwave]

Time had flown by and this Communication's Officer had not realized it until now. He examines his brownish digit, growing curious as to why such an amount had adorned him. Yet when Zodiac spoke, his mask jerked towards her. A whole day?

"Most Unlikely. A Whole Cycle Can Not Accumulate This Amount. Only Months Can Acquire..."

He fell silent and stood straighter, taller. Something was coming to a realization! Had he been caught in this unfortunate happenings that he had read upon in the reports. Deja Vu or something? Yet he had lost track of time and it. He gazed at his limbs once more in disbelief. Why had so much dust collected on him when his internal clock registered he was in there mere hours.

His mask fell upon her once more and he stepped closer to the individual before him. "An Oil Bath Will Preceed This Question. What Is The Current Terrestrial Planet's Season?" He wanted to know what the time was? Surely someone of his position should know it.

He thought of something. This newfound information will be a great travesty. No, he should only let the higher ups know of this. No need to let everyone know then throw the ship into utter chaos.

He stepped back from her and relaxed his shoulders while his onboard computers took a more sterile approach to this situation. Such as coming up for a reason for the seasonal question. ...Records have him on Earth fighting for an Iacon relic a while ago. Perhaps he could use that as an excuse to visit that area.

"I Have Been Studying Reports And Found Patterns In Autobot Behavior. I Will Investigate Further To Gain A Leg Up Upon Them." A lie... But one that works best with his occupation.

[Deleted]

Zodiac smirked as Soundwave finally came to the realization that he must've spent hours locked away doing whatever it was that he was doing. How someone could waste so much simply sitting down in one spot was beyond her understanding. She was surprised he was still able to move at all. All that time being immobile would do a number on one's joints.

Which was why she was so surprise when he took a step closer to her. She looked up at his monitor trying to keep her cool. This mech was truly intimidating even when he was asking her a simple question. "Uh - I believe the humans call it winter but I'm not sure. It's cold and it's currently snowing outside."

Ah, snow. A simple thing. Just regular frozen water that slowly falls from the sky. And a stupid and simple as it was she enjoyed it. She enjoyed flying in it, and the way it covered the Earth like a blanket from down below. Her wings perked up a bit as she itched to go flying.

"So you've been the Autobots? That sounds reasonable," Zodiac replied. Taking a step back from the tall mech. She didn't like the feeling of power that he had over her. Not just in terms of rank, but just power in general She urged to get to know this mech more. But how? This was Soundwave after all. A mech who didn't care for little simple things. A mech who literally lived for the Decepticon cause. A cause of which she had no room in her spark for. "I recommend that you go for flight or two every now and again. You definitely look like stretching your wings will do you some good. I was just about to go flying myself if you feel up to it you could come with me. Unless you are busy."

If he accepted that would be a perfect opportunity for her to learn more about this mech. But she would have to be careful not to reveal to much about herself. Only the bare essentials.

[Soundwave]

That cocky little smirk. He knew this seeker had a personality. But what was it in it's entirety? He couldn't tell and that made him suspicious as he gazed upon her. That mask unyielding while he gathers more answers.

The once "immobile" mech now stood there, soaking in the ever flowing vastness of knowledge. Yet this river of knowledge for him began to freeze over. Chill him from the inside out. He could feel it! Winter? It had as much of an affect on Earth as it did him here for some reason. He could feel the coldness spreading as the halls grew ever wider to him and Zodiac further from him. Until it all snapped back with a kindle of fire within to keep this eerie knowledge away.

"A Flight?" Despite his newly formed flamed, his arms ached to transform into wings and feel the gusts of wind blowing over them. The freedom of flight. His spark began to pulse more as an excitable flight may help ease him up and relax hi-

Emotional Status Elevated

Executing System Response

...

A Flight Is Needed To Loosen Up Joints In Order To Remain In Peak Condition, Not Thrills

His inner mask displayed the coding and his spark became a cool flame instead of a bustling one...

"I Will Accompany You In Flight" Not much room for interpretation there. Yet he still wanted to know more, such as the winter on Earth. Was it truly winter? Last he remembers, it was spring. This is most troublesome for the mech. "But First An Oil Bath Before I Cloud The Skies With This Filth"

Before she could acknowledge he was coming. He stepped past her. If he could, he would step through her as if she was nothing. Yet he recognizes her as a valuable asset to the cause, not trash like the Autobots.

[Deleted]

Zodiac stood there in complete and utter shock. Her optics went wide. He had actually accepted her invite to go flying and in doing so successfully caught her off guard. But before she had a chance to get a word in he left and made his way to what she assumed was the showers. Her spark skipped a beat. Bingo! This was her chance to learn as much as humanly possible about this mysterious mech, perhaps a secret or two about Megatron. If she could get on Soundwave's good side then she could finally start making her way up in rank.

She could've sworn that he sensed a lighter energy coming from Soundwave before he left. An almost happy energy that was quickly extinguished back to his former calm demeanor. "I guess I'll wait here." Zodiac said mostly to herself seeing as how Soundwave was already gone, no doubt to that oil bath that she had suggested.

She leaned against the wall as she went over what just happened in her processor. Soundwave. The silent, oh so mysterious Soundwave was actually going to step out of the Nemesis for the first time in months solely to fly with her. She almost felt honored. There was a certain excitement in the idea of flying with the mysterious mech. She irked to learn more of him. She wanted to know his strengths and his weaknesses, any information she could grasp from him.

But unfortunately she would have to wait. And so she did. She stood there watching vehicons pass by, none saying a word to her. Which was fine, she had no interest in speaking to simple minded drones. She went back to her emotionless state as she stared blankly nothing in particular. Her wings twitched a bit as she still ached to fly. But she would have to wait for Soundwave first. She closed her optics and let her mind wander of instead.

Oh, this will be interesting.