Going Green

Chapter 1: Caught in the Crossfire

Everything became a blur as the world spun and the ship spiraled down into a ravine. She pulled her controls skyward with all her might, but they failed to respond to her commands.

The ship hit the ground roughly, the front of it crushed inward. Verdant jerked in her seat, but kept position, as she was strapped in well. The front of the ship bore down on her, trapping her against the chair. She could smell fire as her fuel leaked and her systems struggled.

Verdant grunted, trying to wriggle out of her tight predicament, but she was firmly stuck between her seat and what once made up the front of her ship.

"Fraggin' piece of scrap." Verdant muttered, transforming her servo into a blaster and shooting through the metal. She huffed and crawled through the opening, adjusting her optics to the sunlight.

"Hey, you!"

She looked up, catching sight of the two Autobots from earlier. A small organic lifeform was on one of their shoulders, but Verdant could barely see it. They were so much higher up and the sun was behind them.

"I know you!" A familiar voice yelled down, "Verdant, Ultra Magnus's third in command, right? We're the wreckers!"

Oh great. Wreckers. Certainly Verdant's least favorite assignment under Magnus's command. It did however make this easier that wreckers were here. They knew her and they knew Magnus.

Well, just about everyone knew Ultra Magnus, but still.

"Affirmative!" Verdant yelled up to them, "Any chance you two have a way out of here?"

There was a small pause, and then two of them pointed their blasters at her. Verdant took a step back in surprise. What in the name of Primus!?

"Behind-"

Verdant heard the sound of metal flying through the air and she whirled around, equipping her knife, but she wasn't fast enough to stop as a red rocket slammed into her arm. Verdant went flying back as it exploded, and she hit the side of the ravine.

Her processor short-circuited for a moment, but she noticed the two wreckers providing cover fire as a silver seeker and a small group of vehicons appeared.

"Starscream," Verdant scowled, climbing to her pedes and sending a sour glance toward her torn arm. "Piece of scrap seeker."

She ran toward her ship and ducked behind it, taking cover as the attack ensued. She noticed that a groundbridge was still open further behind the Decepticons. It likely led directly to their base of operations.

Verdant frowned. Staying in this hole with the Decepticon second in command and a squadron of vehicons was a suicide mission. They could get more and more backup, and she had no way to evade it.

Besides, while the wreckers were covering her, they were blind. It would only be a matter of time before Starscream sent vehicons to apprehend them as well.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Verdant shot her way into her ship and scrambled around the interior for an emergency communicator and her ship's datacore. One of them sat in a cabinet and she pulled it out, grinned, and then ran back outside.

Two vehicons stood in her way and Verdant quickly shot them down before pointing the communicator at the wreckers, instantly transferring her ship's datacore to the two of them.

Including the location of the other Autobots and Ultra Magnus's ship. She didn't plan on getting taken captive or killed, but if something were to happen, at least the wreckers weren't screwed.

Verdant climbed atop her ship. "Hey, Starscream!"

The seeker glanced over at her, just in time to get a flash of black and green as she tackled him.

"Get off of me, you repulsive Autobot scum!" He screeched, clawing at her arms.

Verdant pinned his wrists behind his back and transformed her injured servo into a short blade. "If you even so much as twitch, Starscream, you'll never twitch again."

She backed up, glaring at the vehicons, who had ceased fire with their commander in peril. Slowly, Verdant turned, circling around the vehicons until they were standing between her and the groundbridge. She nodded toward it.

"Get in there and shut it down."

"You can't do this!" Starscream screeched, "Do you know who I am?"

"My hostage." Verdant pressed her blade closer to his throat. "Now calmly tell Decepticon Command to shut off their groundbridge and that your targets have been terminated."

Starscream scowled. "Fine."

The vehicons glanced at each other before backing into the groundbridge.

Verdant heard a small click as Starscream's comms activated. "Soundwave. Close the groundbridge. My armada and I have terminated Cliffjumper and Breakdown. We are back on the Nemesis."

Verdant shoved him forward once the transmission ended. "Good bot."

Then she pulled back her blaster just long enough to get the momentum to slam it back down and knock him unconscious. Starscream immediately crumpled to the ground, sporting a sizeable dent in his helm.

She turned to look up at the wreckers. "Found a way for me to get up there yet?"

"Uh," the lighter-colored wrecker looked down at her with a blurry facial expression that Verdant could at least make out as amusement. "I got a little sidetracked."

She sighed and glanced at her ship.

It was completely trashed. Ultra Magnus was not going to be happy about this. On the other servo, she could probably piece together some kind of rocket to launch herself out of here. The only other alternative would be to stab some knives in the rock and climb, but Verdant wasn't sure her physical strength was up to par with that challenge.

"WOOOHHOOOOO!"

Verdant yelped and jumped to the side as one of the wreckers came sliding down the side of the ravine. The wrecker landed heavily next to her and stumbled forward a few paces before grinning.

Oh frag her spark.

Unfortunately, Verdant recognized him.

"Long time no see, Verdant," Wheeljack winked.