𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 3

Engineers from across Cybertron arrived at the Elite Guard headquarters in the subsequent few cycles. Due to the sheer amount of them, they were split into groups and sent to different areas. 

Inferna was put in a group of 7 bots- Lunarquake, Zephyr of Iacon, Avianstrike of Noca Cromun, Tempest of Nova Cromun, Astroblaze of Cyrstal City, and Honeybee of Praxus. The last member was her of course. 

They were assigned to assemble and check over weapons and were sent to one corner of the armory. 

Inferna sat quietly away from the other engineers, trying to focus on the pieces scattered in front of her. But no matter how hard she tried, Inferna couldn't concentrate. She was busy thinking about the war. Ultra Magnus to be more specific. 

'I wonder what he's doing right now. Most likely leading the Guard into battle, or strategizing with the Prime. Something like that.'

"Hey, kid," Lunarquake said, hitting the back of her helm. "Get to work."

"Right. Sorry." Inferna replied flatly, grabbing the pieces and slowly starting to assemble them. She accidentally placed some pieces in the wrong order, and angrily pulled them out. 'What is wrong with you, you know better.'

"Are you alright?" Avianstrike asked, and she quickly nodded her helm.

"Fine," she responded in the same emotionless voice she used to respond to Lunarquake earlier. "Sorry for disturbing you all."

Avianstrike looked at her suspiciously. "You must be Inferna. Ultra Magnus's kid, right?"

"One and only."

"Thought you'd been fighting with him on the front lines."

Inferna shook her helm. "No. He wants me here, building and repairing weapons for the Autobot Army. Same as you guys."

"Why don't you do your own thing? It's not like he could stop you," Zephyr said, and Inferna shook her helm again.

"He'll most likely find a way to prevent me from fighting on the front lines with the rest of the soldiers," Inferna looked down at the scattered pieces in front of her. "Besides, I don't know if I have the constitution to hold up in a firefight."

"Why don't you join the Wreckers?" Honeybee offered and Inferna tensed.

"Were you not listening to the last thing I said? I don't know if I can even hold up in battle, so what makes you think that I should join the Wreckers?"

"You also said that Ultra Magnus would most likely find a way to prevent you from fighting in the front lines," Astroblaze pointed out. "The Wreckers don't fall under the normal chain of command. You can join them without him interfering. Besides, I am sure they need another soldier and an engineer who can repair their weaponry."

"I have a friend that's in the Wreckers," Tempest said quietly from where she was working. "I'll try and contact him in a bit after I'm finished working on this."

Inferna smiled softly. "Thank you, Tempest."

She mumbled something in return, returning her attention to the blaster she was fixing. 

-

True to her word, when Tempest was finished repairing the blaster, she picked up her datapad and sent a message to her friend. 

Hey Bulk~ 

 I hope you're doing okay now, with the war and everything. Look, the reason I'm contacting you is because an engineer I know wants to join you guys. Her name is Inferna, and though I have only known her for a little less than a cycle, I can tell she is a tough, intelligent bot. I thought you guys would need another soldier, and an engineer even more so. Respond as soon as you can.

-Tempest

Inferna curiously peered over her shoulder as Tempest wrote the message. The Nova Cromunian engineer pushed the Iaconian away and sent the message. "There. I'll let you know when he gets back to me."

"In the meantime..." Lunarquake said, pushing a broken shield in her servos. Inferna sighed and grabbed a welding tool off of the table. "You really should stay here," he said quietly, and she closed her optics for a few nanokliks. 

"Lunarquake, I'll be more of use on the battlefield. I already explained this before."

"I know, I know. It's just... I'm worried about how you will hold up in there. What if you get injured? Or worse, what if you get killed?"

Inferna's visor and mask concealed her face as she wielded the shield together. "I'll be fine."

"How can you be so sure?" He asked. "Anything could happen during battle."

She handed the now-repaired shield back to Lunarquake. "In truth, I'm not. But, I can take care of myself just fine."

Tempest's datapad buzzed, and she picked it up. "He messaged back." She reported.

"Well? What did he write?"

Tempest flipped the datapad around to show Inferna. 

[31.5 N 14.6 S 34 E 20.4 W- Tell her to go here.]

Inferna leaned in closer to get a better look. "That's near the Badlands, right?"

Tempest nodded. "They must have been on a mission."

"That's also near Kaon, Slaughter City, and Blaster City," Lunarquake pointed out. "You know, where most of the Decepticon forces are gathered! Inferna, it's way too dangerous, you can't go."

She grabbed a blaster off of a table- a lengthy, light piece of machinery with a scope attached to the top, and secured it to her back. "I'll stay out of sight, I promise."

He tsked and muttered something that Inferna couldn't make out. "Fine. But it's your fault if you get scrapped."

Inferna didn't respond for a few nanokliks. "Goodbye, Lunarquake."

And with that, she walked away, out of the Elite Guard HQ, and transformed into her alt-form. 

'I can be there in a few Joor's [hours]. If I stay out of sight, I'll be alright. At least, I hope so...'