Fly the Phony Skies

Hotlink entered her new base. Megatron had shuffled the Seeker trios yet again. I bet Starscream never loses Skywarp and Thundercracker. Well, rank has its privileges. The Emperor of Destruction did this every so often; no one knew if it was to prevent any thought of an independent cell arising from within the ranks of the Seekers, or to see if new combinations might be more effective.

"More of Megatron's screwing around. I swear, changing duty rosters is how Megatron relaxes," said the red and black 'bot walking in the door. "I'm Red Wing. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Hotlink. Here's death to the Autobots!"

"I'll drink to that!" said the next one through the door. He was green, with beige wings, thighs, and forearms, and black details. "I'm Corepunch. Might as well get to know each other, if we're going to be shooting Autobots together!"

The next few days were pretty typical. After entering a new trio, there's a certain pattern. The three Seekers will get together to demonstrate skills and expertise -- what their particular weapons do, any particular special skills like teleporting, that sort of thing. The early evenings are then spent over glasses of Energon swapping war stories and bragging about Autobots attacked. Hotlink knew that nearly all of this was buffaloid waste, both because she'd done this a few times, and because her own stories were the same.

The late evenings the trio would separate to their own quarters and spend hours researching their new comrades -- partly to see if any of the stories were true, but mostly for anything that could be used as blackmail.

It was here that Hotlink's routine became less, well, routine.

Red Wing's records were of the sort she expected to see. Battles fought and lost. A couple of commendations from Air Commander Starscream, nothing unusual -- Hotlink had many of the same ones, in fact, and she doubted that Screamer did anything more than approve them. I've seen Starscream twice. Neither time was for more than five seconds, and neither time did he show he knew I was there. Thank Primus for that. Some scuffles with the law before the Great War. A couple notable battles -- including one Hotlink had been in. Must have been the other side of the formation. That was a large battle, there were a couple of dozen of us. A few personal quirks, nothing she hadn't seen in a few bots before. Red Wing was loyal when he had to be, or when it was in his interest to be, a coward when necessary, and had the usual amount of flaws.

Corepunch's records, however....

Corepunch's records were unusually uninteresting for a Seeker of his age and rank. A couple of battles mentioned, but they were either larger ones which involved most of the Seekers, or extremely obscure ones. No real commendations, just some typical service medals, which everyone gets if they live long enough. Essentially a generic service record, what you'd see if you filled a form for a generic Seeker. Nothing that would get any excitement, but definitely nothing that would get you noticed by Megatron or Starcream, good or bad.

Corepunch's personal files were exceptionally boring. No incidents with police before the war. No signs of loyalty or disloyalty. No sign that he was ideologically committed to the Decepticon cause. No indication of what he did before the war. No streak of cruelty. No personal vendettas.

In fact, Hotlink could see no reason why Corepunch was a Decepticon. Primus, she thought, I have little proof that he's a sentient being. In fact, his files would be perfect for --

"Hotlink to Red Wing. Could you meet me before our shift tomorrow? I have something I want to discuss."

Corepunch walked into the ready room. Hotlink spoke.

"Who are you?"

"I'm....I'm Corepunch, part of your new trio. We met a few days ago..."

"Never lie to a woman with flamethrowers. Who are you really?"

"What do you mean? I'm Corepunch, a Decepticon Seeker."

Red Wing jumped in, "You are an Autobot spy."

"Who, me? No, I'm...."

Hotlink cut him off. "You have two choices. You can confess. Or you can become the first Seeker with a cube as an alt-form."

Corepunch backed toward the door. He tried to go out. It was locked. "You two are crazy, you know that!"

Hotlink turned her flamethrowers on. "I see you have chosen the cube. Let's see if you make the same choice when things get hot."

Corepunch's screams were Energon curdling. His wings warped and melted off. His finish turned mostly charcoal. His Decepticon badge flaked off, revealing a different face underneath. The monitor turned on.

"You got that, Commander Starscream?"

"Indeed, I did, Hotlink. You have done well indeed! Report to me tomorrow. I have need for a personal interrogator on my staff."

Red Wing interjected. "What about me?"

"Take out that trash in front of you. Your new assignment will be posted this evening. Commander Starscream out."

"But-- But--"

Hotlink turned her smirk full on to her former trio partner. "What do you want? I'd say your assistance today made up for your cowardice over Nuon City." She unlocked the door. "Now, you heard our commander. Take this bent Autobot frame to be recycled."