Escape (Ironhide)

[Red Alert]

<"Yeah, found that out when I could see clear down his barrel. I was still new at the time."> Red Alert took a half-step back when Ironhide snapped at him, then stepped forward once more when Ironhide finished. "Because, Ironhide, we want you to have a chance at something that we either can't seem to find or are purposely denying ourselves." Red Alert replied lowly. <"I have a basic understanding of how you feel, Ironhide. That's why I won't give my Spark the chance to find its other half right now. Not until the war is over, and I could be dead long before that."> Red Alert shook his head. <"When I chose to come into security, I did so because of two things. One, it was the only place I would actually be able to function well in. Two, I wanted to be able to protect others. Standing by and watching you go mad from missing your Spark Mate is not what I would call 'protecting.'">

[Ironhide]

As Wheeljack nodded in agreement, Ironhide took it all in, though he remained scowling at the pair. He snorted then and shook his head. <"He left, said he's gonna spy fer us n send info my way. Much as I wanna have him here, he ain't comin' back n I gotta accept it. 'S his choice, always was, n I dunno when er if I'll see 'im again. Even if I do, he won't come back, not unless the war's over er he's forced ta come. N I ain't forcin' 'im, so dun ask."> he told Red Alert firmly. "Ain't nothin' either o' ya can do fer me, he ain't comin' back." he added out loud and turned to walk away, his hand moving up to rub the scars on his chest. What he didn't tell them was that he still held out hope that Barricade would come back to him, and he prayed it would be soon.

All Wheeljack could do was look over at Red Alert helplessly as Ironhide started to walk away. <"We tried, Red. All we can do. He knows we're willing to help, so if the time comes he'll have us to turn to."> He didn't want to give up, that much was clear, but what could he do while Barricade was gone and Ironhide made it clear there was nothing for him to do? At least not right now, anyway.

[Red Alert]

Red Alert nodded, letting out air that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. <"Yeah...Primus, I'm glad that didn't go worse."> He pinched his nasal ridge, his fingers rubbing small circles on the sides. <"I think I'm going to go recharge, unless you need me for something else, Wheeljack?"> Blue optics looked up at the engineer as he spoke, feeling the lack of recharge taking its toll on his frame.

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack shook his head. <"No, you go recharge, Red. You need it desperately, I can tell."> he urged, glanced at Ironhide's retreating form, then looked back to Red Alert. <"After you've rested, I'll go ahead n do a full neural scan on you, okay? Just to be on the safe side."> he added, hoping Red Alert would be more willing to submit to such a scan than Ironhide ever was. It was Wheeljack's specialty after all, and maybe he could do something to help the poor frazzled Security bot. At least he hoped so.

[Red Alert]

<"Dare I ask why you need a neural scan, Wheeljack?" Red Alert asked, beginning to make his way into the base. <"I can assure you, Ratchet made sure my files were updated, and I did not come in contact with Barricade during his stay here. My neural systems are working the way they should be.">

[Wheeljack]

Wheeljack nodded at that. <"Well, I figured if you wanted me to go over them since it's kind of a specialty of mine. It's no secret that you've got a neural glitch that hits ya. I just thought if you'd want me to have a look n see if I could help? But it's up to you."> he offered with a shrug as he followed Red Alert out of the shooting range and into the base proper. He hated feeling useless and unable to help out; it was one of the reasons he tried so hard to invent useful things for the Autobots, from weapons to tools to whatever they needed. It only added to his frustration when they failed to work properly, though he kept an optimistic outlook on things no matter how catastrophic the failure.

[Red Alert]

<"I'll be fine."> Red Alert insisted. <"I'm used to the glitch, it's actually better than it ever has been. I haven't had an attack in several Ano-Cycles, and I am used to my sensory system being the way it is."> He purposely left out what specifically caused the attack, not wanting more of that rumor circulating again of how he and Jazz were lovers, afraid that the attack would only confirm it.

[Wheeljack]

<"Alright. Let me know if you need anything."> he replied and headed off towards his lab, leaving Red Alert to go recharge on his own. He thought about his current projects and sighed, not feeling up to tackling them yet knowing that if he didn't keep himself busy he'd only end up worrying himself sick over the Aerialbots, wondering where they were, if they were okay, whether they were going to make it to Earth, and whether they hated him for leaving them behind on Cybertron. He paused just outside the Autobots' main hangar and looked up at the sky for a moment. He just couldn't help wanting to see them again, wishing they were there. With a heavily vented sigh he lowered his head and went inside, deciding to busy himself doing inventory of the med bay supplies for Ratchet just to occupy himself so he wouldn't go stir crazy.

[Red Alert]

Red Alert nodded, finishing his journey to the security room. With the press of a button as he entered, an alcove opened up in the wall, revealing his berth. Sighing, he sat down on the edge for a moment, rubbing the sides of his helm. {"For Wheeljack's sake, I hope they're alright..."} He spoke, lying down as he let his systems begin to slip into recharge, his processor remaining the most active part of him as he recharged, monitoring the security net.

[Leathurkatt]

Thread Complete

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