Chapter 2

Let me explain a few things about myself before I continue. As you know, my name is Radiowave. I'm one of about 12 teenagers in my colony, Lunar-85 on the planet Arkendrone.

It's made up of multiple groups of refugees, our parents and grandparents who were Autobots who didn't want to fight, and Decepticons who weren't as prone to violence. Both sides had come together and fled to a far corner of Cybertrons territory where we inhabited the planet blooming with organic life. So far, I was part of the first generation to be born here.

We welcomed any refugee bots but so few people knew about this place, the most we got was one or two a year. There were also a few Autobot medics that came here to drop off supplies. One time they even brought a whole bunch of mechs from Cybertron. My friends and I got to talk with and get to know them a bit.

I immediately took to two of them, a smaller black one, an archivist who wanted to document our settlement, and his companion, a big orange and white bot who was at least two whole heads taller than me. He explained he was a mnemosurgeon which piqued my interest a bit.

I loved those two and was delighted when they returned a few times after their first visit. I'd go with all the other teens to the landing pad for the ship to arrive, hardly being able to wait to see Chromedome and Rewind again.

CD, as I called him, was a reserved bot but would always talk with me and tell us about what he did when he was a cop. Rewind on the other hand was a bit more enthusiastic and would record all our conversations. I showed them around the entire place and even the peaceful valley on the other side of the mountain range, harboring lush green pastures and a breathtaking view of a lake.

Our settlement had all the necessities we needed. It rested in the basin of a large valley and contained small clusters of housing units, a school, an energon mine, a med center, etc. There was also the main building where the adults discussed important things but no one under age was allowed in there.

I spent most of my free time with my friends, exploring the surrounding hills, riding hoverboards in the field, or spending time helping my carrier around. Everybody knew everybody and it was overall just a lovely place.

My carrier and sire met during the war. She was an Autobot on the front lines when they met. Her entire team had gone into battle but they'd all been taken out. She'd taken cover in some abandoned buildings to wait for someone to help her and like me, would softly sing to herself when she needed a distraction.

My sire was a Decepticon that happened to be making his way through the area at the same time. He'd heard her singing which immediately captivated him. He went, found, and helped her get to safety but they still met and kept in contact. Both had a great love of music and sang together often. It's where I got my talents from.

This continued for a while till my sire decided he could no longer spend any more time away from her and the two of them escaped with a bunch of mechs to Arkendrone. A couple of years later, bada bing bada boom, one colony is built and they're sparkmates.

A few more years after that, they had me. I was a special case. Not only was I able to produce sonic blasts from my servos, but I could also read minds. Well, that ability only stretched so far. It seemed it was affected by how well or how close I was to a person. If they were family, I heard everything, if it was a stranger, dead silent.

We lived as a happy family for a few years. I think we had a pet but I don't remember what happened to him. Everything was perfect but like always, that never lasts. The cons somehow found my sire and threatened to exterminate our community and kill us if he didn't come back. My carrier always said it was the hardest decision he ever had to make, but went, in the end, to keep us safe.

I don't have many memories of him, most of them are a blur, or I can never properly see his face. I do know I got most of my dark blue color scheme from him though. I remember his strong servos gently cradling me as he hummed or lifted me in the air, making me squeal in delight.

He was always there for my sparkling self, always the one to stop me from doing anything stupid, and always there when I had a panic attack. Oh ya, those. Turns out mine are genetic, passed down from my carrier's side, and set off when I'm under a lot of stress.

Fun

Now, I've crashed on a planet, and everyone I know is dead. My carrier, my friends, everyone. The last person I have is my sire and I swear to Primus, I'll find him even if it kills me.

But something was wrong. I have no other memories of him, mentions or conversations I'd had with my carrier, they were all gone. I realized the hit probably messed something up in my processor and of course, everything I knew about him and a few other things were now gone.

Now let's get back to the story, I'm starting to wake up.

——————

I became aware I was lying down before I even opened my optics. I was no longer in the escape pod, instead now on what felt like a berth. Voices drifted through my audio receptors but I could tell who they were. I slowly opened my optics.

I found myself staring up at a metal ceiling, bright lights glaring down at me. I ever so slightly lifted my helm, enough to see who was with me. To my left, also on berths, was a small white mech with a visor and a thin blue one with claws and whose chest had been blown off. Just a few meters away, an orange mech with very noticeable eyebrows and goggles seemed to have just gotten his arm fixed by a white and orange medic.

Goggles then walked over to the clawed one, 'Thanks for the fix, Ratchet.' He said, 'I suppose it's Whirl's turn next?' 'Would I be betraying my profession if I said I was hoping for a series of distractions that would prevent me from fixing him for another, ooh, five hindered years?' Ratchet grumbled, carrying a tray of tools away.

The blue mech then shot up and grabbed the orange one in his claws by the throat. I quickly bought my helm back down and squeezed my optics shut. I picked up a few things while listening to them talk.

Whirl was the blue one while the orange one was Rung who was his psychiatrist. A smaller white but I didn't notice before was Swerve. I found out Whirl wasn't the most cheerful type and even went to prison. The sounds of a thud told me he'd dropped Rung and walked out the door, grumbling.

It seemed his reason for being in here was thanks to the white and blue bot, Tailgate, who thought he'd killed him. The mini bot started going off about missing a ship called the Ark, a place called Benzuli and someone called Nova Prime. That conversation ended when Swerve told him he'd been in stasis for over six million years. That shocked even me.

While Swerve tried to calm an alarmed Tailgate, I heard footsteps making their way over to me. I tried my best to stay as still as possible, my visor and mask hiding any evidence I was awake. 'What about her?' Rung asked, standing what felt like right next to me, 'She wasn't on the ship when we left.'

'Team found her in a stasis pod a couple of leagues away. According to its records, she's been in stasis for at least 10 months.' Ratchet explained, 'I think I know the kid, and believe me when I say, I hope she isn't who I think she is.' 'Why's that?' Swerve asked, listening in on the conversation.

The atmosphere grew darker as Ratchet replied, 'She may be the only survivor of Luna-85.' 'Isn't that the colony that was wiped out by the DJD?' Swerve asked. 'Who?' Tailgate said but was ignored.

'Luna-85 was a peaceful group of neutrals living on an organic planet.' Rung explained, 'But a few months ago, they were found by a deadly group of Decepticons who destroyed and exterminated them.'

'It was so bad,' Ratchet continued, 'There were thought to be no survivors.' 'Then how do you know her?'

I could hear the sadness in the medic's voice as he went on, 'I visited that planet a couple of times myself. Knew a femme named Silverstream who looked and had a kid similar to this one.' I opened my optics and saw his face turn into a grim expression.

'When I got there after the attack, it was nothing but a blood bath.' He said, 'Bots had been killed in the most gruesome ways possible. I saw for myself the remains of Silverstream, they'd completely tortured the poor femme in too many ways imaginable. Another reason I think this is her kid is that she was lying next to an empty escape pod launch pad.'

'I watched it.' I finally spoke up, 'I watched it all.' Rung jumped when he heard me and the others all whipping around. I gingerly got up onto my elbows and then into a sitting position. Ratchet rushed over and immediately started checking my vitals.

'What do you mean, you watched it?' Swerve cautiously asked me. 'The ship appeared out of thin air.' I spoke, 'It entered the atmosphere and went straight to the town. They immediately started firing at us and the massacre began as soon as they landed.'

'I only avoided it 'cause I went into the hills to get some fresh air.' I said as they all listened closely, 'I ran to my house to find my carrier but ended up seeing them gather a group of survivors and-' my voice started breaking as the scene replayed in my mind, 'I couldn't do anything. All I could do was watch them murder my colony and friends.'

'Th-they then brought my carrier forward. They were going to electrocute her so I attacked them and stabbed Tarn in the shoulder with a pole.' 'Wait wait wait!' Swerve said and ran over to me, 'You stabbed Tarn, the leader of the Decepticon Justice Division, in the shoulder with a pipe?' I nodded. The mech gave me a grin, 'That's hardcore kid.'

'Then what happened?' Rung asked, ignoring the other bot. 'We tried to get to the escape pods.' I continued, 'We found some working ones but my carrier made me go in first. She was about to get in when they shot her.'

My servo started shaking madly and I felt tears pricking my eyes, 'They stopped the launch sequence,' I croaked, 'They taunted me, and then- then- they made me watch. They made me watch them torture my carrier.' Everyone was silent after I said that.

'But then how are you alive?' Tailgate asked. My chest heaved as sobs racked my frame, 'Tarn said there was no use in killing me.' I sobbed, 'He said you can't take something from someone who has nothing. They said they'd come to find me later.'

I was in a full breakdown when I finished, bawling my optics out and curling into a ball, rocking back and forth on the berth, and clutching the blue necklace. 'It's alright.' Ratchet said, awkwardly patting my back, 'You're safe now.'

I suddenly remembered something, 'My guitar!' I exclaimed and frantically looked around. 'It's here.' Swerve said and took from a drone. I grabbed it and inspected the frame, making sure there were no dents. I sighed in relief and hugged it close.

'It seems like you went through quite a lot.' Rung said sympathetically and put a servo on mine, 'If you ever need someone to talk to, I'm the mech.' 'Thanks.' I said and gently put the instrument down, getting off the berth.

'Hey, Ratchet!' Someone called as they entered, 'We found a few more bots by the...' I turned to see the mech in the doorway. The familiar color scheme and fin-shaped helm stopped as he saw me. I felt my spark flutter when I saw him.

'Domey!' I yelled and ran to him, jumping into his arms. He caught me and I put my arms around his neck, hugging him for dear life. 'Radiowave?' He asked in disbelief. I nodded into his shoulder. His arms went around me and hugged me back, 'Radiowave!' he said in glee and squeezed me tight.

'Rewind!' He yelled back down the hallway, 'Get here now!' My helm picked up when a smaller set of footsteps came running down the corner. 'What is it? What's wrong?' The mini bot yelled and skidded in.

I let Chromedome go and dropped down next to him, immediately pulling the small bot into a hug. He also stood, confused for a few seconds before he registered who I was. He squealed in delight and embraced me back.

We both started laughing when CD picked us up and hugged us close. Rung chuckled and came over, 'Seems you three know each other.' He said. 'You think?' I giggled from the mech's grip.

Chromedome set us down, 'We visited her planet a couple of times.' He said, the grin noticeable in his voice, 'She was always with us whenever we went there.' 'But what happened?' Rewind asked, 'We heard it was attacked. We thought you were dead.'

I shook my helm sadly, 'I was the only one that made it out.' The mini bot gave my servo a sympathetic pat. 'I'll tell you later.' I heard Ratchet say to CD.

'What are you going to do now?' Swerve asked, coming up to us. 'I- I'm not sure.' I admitted. I hadn't even thought about that. 'I guess the only thing I can do is look for my sire. He's still alive so I'm gonna find him.'

'But you can't do that alone.' Rewind said, 'How 'bout you stay with us? We're looking for the Knights of Cybertron. You can keep searching with us while we travel.' I'd honestly hoped he'd say that. I grinned under my mask. 'Thanks, I think that's my best bet.'

'Speaking of which.' Ratchet said and went off to a storage cupboard. He took out a smallish metal box, 'I found this in the wreck of your home. Since you were the only one whose body we didn't find, I kept it with me in case I ever ran into you. It's from your parents.'

He handed it to me. I felt objects slide and clatter around in it. 'So do you know if there are any spare rooms?' CD asked Ratchet as I rubbed off a layer of soot that had smudged the top. My servos started shaking again when I saw my name written on the top.

'There's an empty one next to mine.' Rung said, 'She could stay there?' 'Ya, I think that's good.' I said, trying to hurry the conversation along as tears started filling my optics again. 'You sure?' Chromedome asked worriedly.

'Positive.' I nodded hurriedly and clutched the box tighter. 'I'll show you there now.' Rung said, probably seeing my eagerness to leave. 'I'll catch you guys later!' I waved as I followed the psychiatrist down the hall. 'We'll be outside!' Rewind called.

'So what is this place?' I asked him as we went. 'A ship called the Lost Light.' Rung replied, 'We're traveling to find as Rodimus says "The Legendary Knights of Cybertron.' 'Well, it sounds cool.' I replied keeping my helm down when we passed a group of mechs. Their attention was directed at me when we passed.

'Why's everyone staring at me?' I mumbled and picked up the pace so I walked right beside Rung. He chuckled and put a reassuring servo on my shoulder, 'Don't worry,' he said, 'It's probably just because most of the mechs here haven't seen a bot as young as you in millions of stellar cycles.'

'Really?' I asked, 'That's so sad.' He nodded, 'Indeed it is.' 

'So this is the kid I was told about?' Someone asked behind them. They turned to see a flame-colored, grinning mech coming up the hall, accompanied by a white mech with red highlights. 'Rodimus.' Rung nodded, 'This is Radiowave. She has decided to join our journey while continuing her own.'

I gave them a small wave, 'Nice to meet you,' The white one said and shook my servo, 'The names Drift. So we'll be seeing you for a while?' 'Until I can find my sire.' I said in a small voice. 'Right.' Rodimus said, 'You're from Luna-85 right.' I nodded and gripped the box tighter.

'We'll speak later.' Rung said, 'I'm just quickly taking her to her room.' 'Ok then,' the red mech grinned, 'See ya! Till all are one!' 

'Why'd he say that?' I asked Rung as we continued. He sighed, 'It's a habit of his to say it as often as possible.' he said, 'We've even had bets during his speeches as to how long it'll take him.' I smiled, thinking how this group of adventures wasn't as serious as you often expected.

'And here it is!' The orange mech said and stopped outside a door. He punched a few buttons on the keypad and they slid open. 

I walked in and stared around me. It was a nice small, cozy room with a single berth, a small desk and computer, and a miniature window on the side. 'Sorry, it's not much.' He said. 'Nah,' I replied, 'I like it.

I put the box on the berth and walked over to the window. Outside was a swirl of colors and bright stars. 'Well I'll let you get settled in.' Rung said. 'If you need me, I'll be right next door.' 'Thanks Rung.' I said. 'Anytime.' He grinned and left.

I sighed and collapsed sideways onto the berth, my pedes and arms hanging off opposite ends. I took a deep intake and let my mask and visor slide up for the first time in months. Cool air hit my face and I ended up just laying there for a while.

I frowned and turned my helm to look at the box. My optics trained its metal side, picking up every dent, scratch, and scorch mark on it. I prepared myself and sat up, in a cross-legged position with the  container on my lap. 'Let's do this.' I whispered to myself and opened the lid.

Inside were a couple of things. I lifted out what seemed to be three small toys, one of a bird, of some kind of big cat and the other was a whale. I held the small things in my servo, admiring the detail and their delicate yet accurate designs.

The next was a small device with a screen. I also found a set of earphones underneath. I plugged them in and it turned on, going white and then flashing briefly before a library popped up. Going through it, I realized it was compiled of a whole bunch of songs, some I recognized, some I didn't. I also found the darker section of plating on the side of my helm slide up so I could put the buds in. We'll try that later I thought and returned to the contents.

The last two items seemed to be connected. One was what I remember my carrier telling me was a cassette player and a small tape that fit perfectly in my palm. I turned it over multiple times before finally putting it in and hitting the play button.

For a few moments, there was silence but then a voice spoke up. It was a smooth and calm yet I could sense the anxiety in it. It was one I didn't recognize, yet it brought back memories.

Radiowave, it said, I'm going to be completely honest with you right now. I hope you never hear this recording. If you do, that means the worst has happened and I wasn't there to prevent it. I'll probably know before you listen to this but I still felt like I needed to say a few things before I left.

I have no idea how old you'll be if and when you hear this but, you're upstairs right now, asleep with your carrier on our berth. I couldn't sleep, knowing this'll be the last time I'll probably see you two for a while.

Tomorrow, the Decepticons are coming back for me. They said I was too valuable and had to return. So this is me, apologizing in advance. Recording this, I realize I'll miss most of your childhood and maybe your teenage years as well.

They took a long and shaky intake.

I want you to know I'm doing this for you and even if I'm far away, I'll always be thinking about my little sweet spark, waiting for me at home. You may blame or even hate me, I understand that but please know I still love you and will try everything in my power to get back to you.

You may hear many things about me. They will most likely be true. I have and probably will do some horrible things but please understand I do them to keep you safe.

As I said before, if you're listing to this it means your carrier is no longer there for you. You're probably not even on Arkendrone anymore. That's why I made this box, so you'll always have a piece of your planet with you.

Those toys were made from some of the rarest metals on the planet. I know because I made them myself. I was going to give them to you sooner but decided to keep them in case anything like this happened.

The iPods from Earth. The two of us spent a few years on that planet and found a few songs we loved so, I thought you'd like them too. You may even recognize a few. I tweaked it and the earphones to fit you and only you.

I wish I had more to give you but nothing I look at seems like enough. Nothing would be able to reflect my sorrow and regret, leaving you two alone. I know these bots will look after you and your carrier but it won't be the same.

I want you to hold on. As soon as I feel anything happen, I'll come looking if I aren't already. I'll try to come and find you as soon as I can. A few taps were heard, like he was nervously trying to find the right words.

Be strong for me ok? I know and have seen the things you can do. I know about your telekenise and as happy as I am that you have it, it doesn't come without it's costs, beware that there will be those that'll try and get you if they discover you have it. Your sound waves would have probably developed enough for you to defend yourself but still be careful.

The sound of footsteps entered and a small, gruff voice spoke up, Saying your last goodbyes? It asked. Yeah, the original replied, Just give me a few more minutes please? Sure it said and I heard it walking away.

He sighed, I'm not sure what else I can say just, be safe. I want to see your small smile again. I want to hear the sound of laughter once more. I could hear him beginning to sob, Please remember I will always love you. I'll do my best to find you.

You may not recognize me, but I will know you.

Stay safe Radiowave. I'll be there soon.

The tape clicked to a stop and shut off. The room went silent as I sat there, cradling the small device in my servos. Quiet tears were making their way down my face and dripping into my lap but I smiled and started rewinding it.

'Don't worry.' I said as I waited, 'I don't blame you. I'll be waiting.'