It's been rather strenuous and difficult for TurboRacer and most of those in Bootcamp. He and most of the others have been through the wringer no thanks to none other than Sentinel Prime himself, and the cadets were doing everything they can to keep going. Among them all, TurboRacer was definitely feeling the pain of the training, but he wasn't going to stop and fall. Some of the 'Bots think he's just too stubborn to give in and admit defeat.
~*~*~
After a hard long week, TurboRacer was now resting his aching joints as he sits on a metal crate. He had been worked down to his aching joints, hydraulic oil and Energon almost leaking out of his joints and parts across his body. His jet boosters were also smoking out from being overworked, almost threatening to burn out.
"Turbo, you need to tell Sentinel he's pushing you too far. Even the others are in agreement." Scarlet-Falcon said to him, all the while helping with repairing him.
"Scarlet is right, Turbo. You might not last much longer here." Chromia agreed with the cycle-femme.
"I know. But I cannot give into Sentinel's words or his demeanour." TurboRacer grunted as his joints creak and groan in pain. "But I must push myself forth and prove myself to him."
"Prove yourself to him? What in Sparks has gotten into you?" Scarlet-Falcon asked to him in bewilderment. "What on Cybertron has happened to you? What are you trying to prove?"
"I just want to prove Sentinel wrong. He has spoken nothing but slag about both Bulkhead and Bumblebee, saying they're failures but they're not." TurboRacer winced as his body shuddered, his boosters whining and shutting down with a dull metallic thud. "Ouch..."
"We know Bumblebee and Bulkhead aren't failures." Ironhide spoke up. "Sentinel is just throwing his anger out at us."
"And I'm not happy about it." TurboRacer grunted out.
"You need to rest. That's all I have to say." Moonracer added in.
Just then, Sentinel walked in, the cadets now standing to their feet and saluting at once, TurboRacer thought doing it rather slowly. Sentinel gave a nod of his helm to the cadets as they relax and he made his way up to TurboRacer, the blue/black mech settling down on the crate.
"TurboRacer. You have been given this assignment." Sentinel now hands the Autobot a notice. "About 24 cycles from now after you've recovered, you're to meet up with Autobot Springer on the far side of the planet. Orders come from Ultra Magnus directly. Your report back will determine whether your conversion is worth the Energon." With that, he made his way out of the cadets barracks.
"Wonder what that was about?" Scarlet-Falcon asked to TurboRacer, who shrugged back in response.
"I really don't know. But right now, I'm going to take some time to rest and recover before I get going on this assignment tomorrow." TurboRacer answered back before limping off over to his place to recover.
Among the 'Bots who have been watching all of this going on is TechGear. He has a sleek shape with light green and blue colours, his helm having a pair of sharp wings either side of his helm, with a pair of wheels at his pedes.
TechGeae is an engineering expert for any different machines on Cybertron, even that of spaceships. He has ambitions to be an engineering specialist for having great smarts, along with being a speed type. So he's been involved in racing on the streets, gaining good experience for mobility and a reputation as an expert racer. He's also been an underground fighter for some time, him having faced and defeated opponents, now having a tactical mind for seeing the weaknesses and having a proper fighting stance, even to earn a good title. He has got serious training from Bootcamp for fighting and weapons, which lead him to being an expert shots. Besides being good in weapons and very proficient combatant, he's ambitious to be a loyal and respectful soldier which was in toward Sentinel Prime's favour before admiring him for being determined to be a loyal Autobot. In private, he trained to be very proficient in swordsmanship, even making an upgrade on himself to have his swords built into his hands.
TechGear met TurboRacer when the former won a race as usual, and with his fans for just being humble. He is considered one of the good cadets under Sentinel Prime's but he is a friend that made friends with TurboRacer. He, from his underground fighting and official box-fighting, drew some attention to him, but the good kind, for he had been been invited by Master Yoketron of the Cyber-Ninja Corps, to be part of the brotherhood for being a possible crucial strategic asset and valued member to them since he is determined to be a good skilled Autobot fighter, from the master heard about his accomplishments, and warrior who wants to do some good.
Since TechGear heard of the brotherhood, he wants to stay in top form and decided to accept the invitation to join the Cyber-Ninja Corp to be trained under him, even Jass as his teacher and mentor, which lead to being a good figure in his life. While part of the brotherhood, TechGear trained in the art of Circuit-Su, Metallikato and Processor-over-Matter, to become fully-trained, along with Master Yoketron helping improve his boxing fighting skills and swordsmanship to incorporate into his skills.
For several cycles to about a stellar-cycle, TechGear learned well, leading him to being confident, respectful, understanding, good listener, trustworthy and reliable. During that time, he is considered a good pupil under Yoketron's teachings: he decided to leave to join Bootcamp to be an Autobot soldier and warrior to learn more, but is considered welcomed to come home if he wanted to, to which a holographic bust of him is in Master Yoketron's chambers along with the other star pupils for TechGear has excelled in the ninja training like Jazz and his other fighting skills.
During his time at Bootcamp, TechGear has had to contend with Sentinel Prime, since he's under his order at Bootcamp. Sentinel Prime can be a jerk, which TechGear agrees with TurboRacer to endure it. TechGear respects the Autobot Commander Ultra Magnus since he's leader of the Autobots. TechGear also likes & respects Jazz, for he is his mentor for ninja training and the one Autobot within the Elite Guard who TechGear knows is a nice guy. While in bootcamp, TechGear has learnt teamwork and to keep a level-head while being creative in situations. He is also one of the cadets that's at Turbo's equal in speed not second best. Besides his other talents, he excelled at for he wants to be one of the good cadets along with Turbo to make a difference.
(A/N: TechGear belongs to SniperSwagged )
"You rest now, friend. You've earned it." TechGear said calmly and quietly to himself before he goes off to recharge for tomorrow.
~*~*~
About 24 cycles later, after recovering from his injuries beforehand, TurboRacer left the Bootcamp for his assignment. He did get a warning from Sentinel that it better be satisfactory or it could lead to him getting a low score or worse. Scarlet-Falcon and TechGear also gave their word of concern and reassurance, and he left via his alt-mode before he took to the air in robot mode.
TurboRacer eventually arrived at an Energon refinery of sorts a few hundred klicks away from Iacon and the main location of the Autobot base. When he landed, he looked to see there was some smoke from a series of explosions in the nearby refinery plant. So he rushed over to see what was happening.
"Excuse me. I've been sent here by Ultra Magnus to assist you. May I ask what's going on?" TurboRacer asked to a 'Bot who was talking to Autotroopers.
The tall bot turned around to speak to TurboRacer. His armour has a light shade of green and some greyish and yellow elements as well. His helmet resembles that of a samurai, and he carries two katanas on his back. He is also really strong-looking. TurboRacer wondered if he actually finished Autoboot Camp.
"You were sent here by Ultra Magnus? Say, you must be TurboRacer, right?" The new bot asked.
"That's me, sir." TurboRacer replied.
"My name is Springer. I'm a hunter, I got hired some time ago." The new 'Bot said, shaking TurboRacer's hand in response.
"It's nice to meet you, Springer. So did you see anything suspicious around here?" TurboRacer asked to Springer.
"Well, there was an explosion in that plant over there. Authorities reported some weapons were stolen by what appears to be a gold, purple, and black 'bot. Obviously, a Decepticon." Springer explained to him.
"I see. There's been a lot of stealing of powerful weapons going on around here lately." TurboRacer took a guess.
"Yes, and I think they went this way." Springer said, pointing to the alley in front of them.
"Okay. Should we go check it out now?" TurboRacer asked.
"I guess. We shouldn't wait too long before they do something again."
The two both made their way down the alley, with Autotroopers guarding the entrance. It got darker the further they went in. TurboRacer's scanners were now picking up movement really close to them, but they couldn't see or hear anything.
"Springer, I'm picking up movement nearby! Do you see anything?" TurboRacer asked.
"Same here. I wonder what that is." Springer informed.
"Wait... I think they're underground. The target is faint here, so I think we're on top of it, literally!" TurboRacer took a guess.
"We'd better go underground then." Springer pointe over to a nearby manhole.
"Agreed." TurboRacer acknowledged.
The two both remove the lid and descended into the Cybertronian underground sewers. As soon as they got down the ladder, TurboRacer heard an engine-revving far ahead.
"Hear that?! I think our thief went that way!" TurboRacer points down to a tunnel to the left. The two ran down the tunnel and saw a light starting to fade away.
"That's him alright! He's getting farther away! We gotta keep up before we lose him!" Springer acknowledged back, silently transforming into a large Cybertronian car. TurboRacer acknowledged and he transformed into his alt-mode. "We're gonna have to be quiet as can be. and I'd better use my infrared scanners so they won't see us."
"Okay, let's go!" TurboRacer acknowledged back as the two drove down the tunnel as slowly and silently as needed. Within a few minutes, they saw light ahead and stopped a couple hundred yards away from the room it was coming from.
"That looks good. Now we have to be really quiet." Springer transforms into robot mode along with TurboRacer, and the two walked towards the light.
Inside a small room were two Decepticons talking with a table between them full of weapons and tools. The one bot fit Springer's description of the thief perfectly. The other bot, however, couldn't be seen; he was too far hidden back in the dark for them to make out what he looked like.
"So did you find anything worth it this time?" The bot in the dark asked with a very low and creepy voice.
"Oh sure. Cyber-grenades, trip mines, grappling hooks, you name it!" The other bot with all the weapons and purple optics answered, who appears to be an arms dealer.
"What about some upgrades for the fusion cannon?" The dark 'bot asked.
"You mean Megatron's fus-"
"Shhh, yes that!" The bot in the dark hushed. "Try to be quiet. We don't know who could be watching us!"
"Um, okay. Well, why do you need these upgrades if it's not your cannon?" The arms dealer questioned.
"He told me he'd pay me if I can get them to him. He's having me do the work cuz, you know, it's not quite so subtle for someone like him to just show up here in front of his enemies." The dark 'bot answered back.
"I see. Well, this is the best I can do right here." The arms dealer said handing the dark bot some small devices that appear to be upgrades.
TurboRacer and Springer backed away far enough to be able to speak to each other quietly. "I heard him say something about Megatron, Springer." TurboRacer said.
"I heard that too. This doesn't sound too good. Okay, here's the plan: I saw a shaft that leads behind the bot with the gadgets. If I can get up there, I'll use some stasis cuffs on him, but you're going to have to provide a distraction for me, then use your cuffs on that other bot." Springer explained the plan.
"Okay, sounds like a plan. I just hope I can face that other bot. He looks pretty tough." TurboRacer said. He then went back to see the Decepticons while Springer took a different route to the shaft. TurboRacer waited a few cycles until they were distracted enough.
"Okay, so I'll trade you the upgrades and these other weapons for that plasma rifle, and we call it a deal." The arms dealer said.
"Alright." The dark bot acknowledged as he took them and placed them inside small compartments on his arms and chest. He then hands the rifle to the dealer bot, who put it on the table, then started searching for something in his chest compartment.
While this was happening, Springer was up in the shaft with the cuffs open and ready to use. He signalled to TurboRacer to commence the diversion for both of them were distracted and the plasma rifle was there ready for him to snatch. He didn't waste any time; he dashed forward, flexing his arms and deploys energy blasters, grabbing the rifle and swung around with his blasters at both the dealer bot's neck and at the dark one.
"FREEZE, BOTH OF YOU!!" TurboRacer shouted, with the dealer immediately putting his hands up and the darker one slowly puts his up. "SPRINGER, NOW!" He glances quickly at the shaft.
Springer suddenly leaped down and cuffs the dealer. TurboRacer now made sure the dealer bot was cuffed properly, and he quickly turned back to the dark bot, but he had one hand high in the air and suddenly threw something on the ground in front of him and thick smoke billowed out from the impact. TurboRacer shot in the direction the rifle was pointing at, but it was no use. The dark bot vanished. Thinking quickly, he does a quick spin on his heel to get rid of the smoke, and he just had enough time to see the bot run out of the door behind him and transform and drive off. TurboRacer raised the arm to shoot at him but just missed it so he ran out the door and chased the Decepticon. It was easy to see him since his rear lights were shining in front of TurboRacer. He tried shooting, but it was no use; the dark bot manoeuvred himself so he'd dodge the blasts. TurboRacer got his cuffs out as the dark bot now stopped below a beam of light and transformed into robot mode. TurboRacer could barely make him out from a distance: All he remember us that the bot has a hook on his right servo and lots of spikes everywhere. He now used his new grappling hook to go up the manhole he was right under. TurboRacer leaped for him, but just missed and the bot shot straight up the hole and into the streets. TurboRacer shot up the hole as fast as he could, but when he got up, the dark bot had already driven off too far.
"Scrap! I almost had him!" TurboRacer shouted angrily. He returned to the room Springer was in with their prisoner. The dealer bot was still cuffed and ready to be arrested.
"Did you catch the other one?" Springer asked.
"No. He got away. I was so close!" TurboRacer said gloomily. "I failed my assignment."
"It's okay. Turbo. We have this guy, at least. I say this assignment of yours is still a pass." Springer interjected.
"Yeah, you bots sure know how to crash a party!" The dealer bot sighed sarcastically. "If you'd had the right equipment, you'd have gotten both of us! Speaking of which, how would you both like a brand spankin' new laser cannon to use against-"
"Don't count on it, Decepticreep!" Springer sneered. "You're going straight to the stockade!"
"Yeah, and whatever it is you have to say about Megatron, you'd better tell the authorities!" TurboRacer added in.
"Megatron? Who said anything about Megatron?" The dealer asked innocently.
"Pfffft! And you call yourselves the masters of deception!" Springer scoffed.
The dealer bot was eventually arrested and had been taken to the stockade. It was later found out his name was Swindle, but he refused to tell them anything about Megatron, nor the name of the bot who was with him.
"Well, that wasn't half bad, Turbo! You were pretty good down there!" Springer encouraged to him.
"Yeah, I just wish I'd have caught that other bot!" TurboRacer sighed. "If only I got the handle of my third V-mode."
"Hey, you did good, alright? You set up an excellent diversion so without you, we wouldn't have captured the first one." Springer reassured. "And I'm sure you'll get the handle of it in no time. Learning how to handle it isn't easy."
"Yeah, you're right, I'm being too hard on myself." TurboRacer agreed with Springer. "Well, this wasn't too bad of a first assignment. We caught a 'Con, and we're both still alive!"
"Atta-bot!" Springer smiled, patting TurboRacer on the back.
"So, Springer, by the way, have you been trained in Autoboot camp by any chance?" he asked Springer.
"Sorta. I trained there for a while and then dropped out."
"No kidding." TurboRacer mused. "So what made you drop out?"
"Eh, I just didn't like the way I was being trained, so I sought training from Master Yoketron instead." Springer explained.
"Yoketron? I have a friend name TechGear who was under the teachings of Master Yoketron." TurboRacer commented.
"Yeah, Master Yoketron would talk about TechGear, saying he's one of the best students he's ever had." Springer now added in.
~*~*~
So after that day, TurboRacer made a new friend and he had accomplished much for his first assignment, and Ultra Magnus was impressed by this. But he still wondered about the mysterious bot he couldn't catch and, if he'd get those so-called upgrades to Megatron or whoever it was.
For the next few deca-cycles, TurboRacer spent some cycles tracking down and capturing simple Decepticon agents and spies with Springer's help, by request from Ultra Magnus to test his triple-changer abilities in assignment operations. Along the way, TurboRacer met some other 'bots like Blurr and Jazz and became friends with them. He was certainly having a wonderful time: he met new friends, and got to be in a lot of action! The only thing he really missed were his old friends. But there were cycles when he'd call Scarlet-Falcon up via comm-link to chat when he had nothing, and she's there for him each time.
Sure enough, it will be time for graduation for the 'Bots, TurboRacer hoping he had passed despite his record...