TFARCHIVE FORUMS

Expansion of "And There Shall Come...a Leader!" written for a Short fiction competition on the theme of

- My Brother Standing Next To Me



Memories

Bluestreak remembers fallen comrades at a memorial.


Bluestreak kneeled and taking the rust red link of chain attached it to one of the links hanging down the wall of remembrance. The chains often found on the battlefields of the Great War had become symbols of the fallen. As Bluestreak got up to his feet he looked up at the stars in the sky. Sometimes Bluestreak liked to imagine that each star represented one of his fallen comrades.

There were so many to remember in the millions of years that the war had carried on. Not only his comrades in arms but everyone he’d ever known from his home town. Everyone, every acquaintance, every brief encounter, everyone he’d ever bought something from or passed the time of day with, everyone he’d ever shared a bar or street with.

Like the stars themselves some of the fallen shone brighter in his memories than others. Bluestreak walked along the war memorial. The ebony wall stretched as far as the optic could see. The name of every Autobot who had fallen in the War in chronological order was engraved upon it.

In death all were equal the names of privates were engraved next to those of generals. Death the great equaliser. Bluestreak paused as he spotted a familiar name. He reached out and traced the name with a finger. He blinked and paused as a host of memories flooded back. Fusion, poor, noble doomed Fusion.

~*~

Decepticon Ammo Dump , Gamma section

Fusion peered through the window crouching down to keep a low profile.

“Hurry up ‘Streak, the guards changing soon. They’ll discover where we broke in, are you sure the Shatter bombs are in here?”

Bluestreak flew along the aisles optics scanning labels and boxes.

“Sure, sure, working as fast as I can, intercepted coms Intel says they had a delivery of 4 dozen last cycle. Must be round here somewhere, just keep on watching for guards. “

Fusion grunted.

“Right, right. I want to live just as much as you do. Primus knows why I let you talk me into volunteering for special duties. You’ve been getting me into trouble ever since you talked me into volunteering for the Autobots just after we met in that refugee camp.”


Bluestreak kept searching

“Come on, come on, gotta be here somewhere. Who organises this place, there doesn’t seem to be any sort of coherent system.”

Fusion glanced over his shoulder.

“How about chronological, if they’re stowed in the order they came in; if you can find the other items on that same intercepted order then maybe they’re nearby.”

Bluestreak paused.

“Good point, right then, so 50 plasma charges, 3 dozen fragmentation grenades think I saw them somewhere around here. Hmm right, ok ahh got them. Here they are.

Fusion cocked his rifle.

“’Streakkkk , get them loaded they’ve found the guards we killed.”

A siren started to wail.

“’Streak we’re gonna have to make a break for it, they’re coming this way. You make a dash for it, Prime needs those bombs. I’ve got your back.

The pair transformed.

Fusion burst through the door and as soon as he was spotted started firing, while Bluestreak shot away at full speed.


~*~


The real tragedy was that they’d almost made it. There had been a long hard fight practically all the way from the Decepticon ammo dump back to the Autobot frontlines. They had fought and hid and ultimately fled along the confusion of the road network playing a deadly game of cat and mouse. Fusion covering my back giving me the chance I needed.

Fusion was tough but he’d never been fast. There was always a need to compromise between speed and armour protection. The armour was what allowed Fusion to keep on surviving blast after blast to keep on keeping me alive. The armour was ultimately what killed Fusion that and the gaping hole the Cons had blasted in that expressway.

Fusion had known he couldn’t make that jump. In training he’d always got top marks in the live fire exercises but come consistently in the bottom third getting round the assault course. He’d slowed down, attracted the Cons wrath, all so I’d get away.


Bluestreak removed his hand from the memorial. Fusion I never really had time to mourn you. As soon as the bombs were delivered it was on to the next mission. Then there was the mission after that. More deaths, more comrades gone forever, more empty spaces round the squad table. More names that people just stopped talking about.

The war just kept grinding on, onward, upward striving for that elusive final victory. A grinder that spat out dead bodies and mechs broken in body or soul. Bluestreak moved on slowly scanning the wall. He paused again ahhhh, Bullseye poor, poor Bullseye........

Good show. Bluestreak doesn't get half the love he deserves. He's one of the most 'human' Autobots, and it really shows in a story like this. I've always wondered about his friendship with with Fusion (er...and Stepper if you believe crazy Japanese retcons) too.

Nice piece, op. We all love Bluestreak.

Warcry wrote:(er...and Stepper if you believe crazy Japanese retcons)

Wait what?

Stepper's reissue bio says he was best friends with Fusion and Bluestreak. No one quite understands how that works, given their respective personalities.