Wheeljack wasn't sure about the whole thing. He needed a cool down before he decided to break something. He didn't even know where he was flying off to, he just needed away from Earth altogether. Away from the Autobots, away from Megatron, away from everyone. He liked working alone anyway. He didn't even bother to try and find more people.
That was until. He came across another ship. "An Autobot ship?" He spoke. He decided to investigate. The ship wasn't even moving. Maybe they were struggling? What if the crew had already been offlined? When he got closer, he couldn't help but notice how small the ship was. It looked maybe about the same size of his own. A little beaten, but not destroyed. "What happened here?" He asked himself. He floated near the closest door he could find, and forcefully ripped it open. "Huh... The inside looks even worse than the outside." He stated.
He gravitized himself to the floor of the ship, kept his servos on his weapons. He pulled out his swords at the sound of groaning. He looked down towards the back of the ship to see a very young mech. An Autobot. He put his swords away and quickly went to his aid. "Hey." He spoke. "You okay, Kid?" The young mech stirred.
"Who..." His voice strained.
"Autobot." He reassured. "The name's Wheeljack. Imma get you outta here." Wheeljack swiftly pulled the bot up. He winced.
"What happened?" He asked.
"Looks like you crashed your ship." Wheeljack pointed out.
"Where... Where is..." Wheeljack looked at the back of the ship. A young femme with her spark chamber pierced through. A bad result of the crash. Wheeljack sighed at the sight.
"She's gone, Bud... I'm sorry." He huffed. The young bot stiffened in his arms. Wheeljack pulled him to his ship. Placing him as gently as he could to the seat beside his before returning behind the wheel. "You got a name?" He asked. The young bot took a minute to respond.
"Smokescreen."
(At the Autobot Base)
"We're receiving a call..." Ratchet spoke before answering. "Wheeljack?" He spoke.
:{Hey, uh... So... There's someone with me who may need medical attention. A ship crash. There were two of them, but only one survived. He's a little... Out of it.}:
"Where are you?" Ratchet asked.
:{I've just entered Earth's atmosphere. I'll be nearby.}:
"Sending a ground bridge." Ratchet announced, before ending the call.
"Another Autobot?" Raf asked.
"It seems so..." Ratchet replied. "I doubt Wheeljack would bring a Decepticon in for medical treatment." As soon as he spoke. Wheeljack came through with a injured bot. Ratchet immediately ran up to them. "He's so young." He whispered, a bit concerned.
"His ship was way out in the middle of nowhere." Wheeljack explained. "Out in space."
"Take him to the medbay!" Ratchet ordered, following close behind the two. Once Wheeljack laid him down, he decided to spend time with Bulkhead. Optimus watched as Ratchet did what he does best. His spark sank when he noticed all the dents and scratches that covered the bot's frame. Jack decided to watch with him.
"How young would he be? In human years?" He asked.
"A couple years older than you." Ratchet answered. "About 18 in human years."
"He's even younger than me?!" Bumblebee beeped.
"In human years; yes. He is younger than you." Ratchet answered. Bumblebee beeped sadly before returning to the main area.
"How is he?" Optimus asked.
"He's only dazed. All he needs is some charge and he'll be back on his peds!" Ratchet sighed, relieved.
"What about all the dents and scratches?" Jack asked.
"I can buff it out." Ratchet assured. Optimus stood closer beside his medic.
"Wheeljack said there were two of them..." Optimus reminded him. "If the two were close, he may need some time to mentally recover from this loss."
"I'm aware..." Ratchet spoke, his voice shaky. "And he's just a kid..." He mumbled to himself. Optimus took that response as he cue to leave. He decided to check on the others before he accidentally triggered Ratchet. Jack followed close behind him.
"Nice catch!" Bulkhead cheered. Wheeljack snickered.
"I can do better." He boasted.
(On the Nemesis)
"Easy, Screamer..." Knockout warned. "You've just got patched up." Starscream shoved the medic aside.
"I'm fine..." He growled. Grunting as he struggled to stay on his peds, holding on to his chassis as if to protect his own spark. He flinched when his optics scanned Megatron's. "M-Master!" He yelped. Megatron froze at the name. He remembered being just as scared whenever his Master showed.
"Please... Just call me Megatron." He begged, feeling saddened. The gladiator could see the obvious shaking spells. It was obvious that the seeker was terrified of him. "I won't harm you, Starscream." He promised. The shaking dimmed, but he was still tense. How was he supposed to believe him?
"R-Right." Starscream spoke. "E-Excuse me, Megatron..." The old brute moved out of the way, watching as Starscream limped to his room.
"It's going to be awhile before he trusts you." Knockout stated. "Before any of us can trust you." He added. Megatron's spark sank. He didn't want anyone to fear him, yet they did. He stiffened at the sight of Soundwave.
"I... Would like_ to speak with you." He repeated. Soundwave gestured for Megatron to follow, which he hesitantly did. Eventually, he found himself in a room with no one else but him and Soundwave. "I wanted to speak with you privately..." He spoke. "About the Prime." Megatron sighed.
"What about him?" He asked.
"How close have you gotten?" He started. "How much does he know about you?"
"More than he should..." Megatron confessed. "I found it... Difficult to lie to any of them. Especially BeeBee and Optimus."
"Does he know of the plan?" He asked. "What we discussed before the war started?"
"I... I haven't the slightest idea what you mean..." He lied.
"Do you at least remember what I told you... About how we have the resources to win the war?" He asked.
"I... suppose...?" Megatron grew suspicious. "Why do you ask?"
"Would you be willing to go through with it?" He asked. Megatron froze for a moment, unable to believe what he was hearing.
"I'm... I'm sorry... But no." He answered. "I do not wish to harm anyone else." Soundwave lowered his helm.
"Very well..." He spoke. And with that Soundwave walked away. Megatron hated that visor. He couldn't tell what the spy was thinking. He decided that he needed to keep an optic open when it came to Soundwave. He needed to let someone else know.