PART II: SILVERSHOT; OR, THE TERMS OF WAR

chapter 2

 

            One night Silvershot had had enough. She caused an uprising, to give herself time. Then she led her soldiers to a safe spot. When she deemed them safe, she burned down the camp. Only a few survived, but everyone rejoiced. We were out of that sector in what seems like hours. We were free!! My Silvy, my Silvershot, had saved us all. I was so proud of her. I planned to propose to her, to make her my sparkmate. We had a small union, but we never could settle down. Three years later we were deployed again after being sent from random planet to planet on smaller, civilian missions.

            The planet was called Dracon seven. It would be the last place Silvershot would ever see alive. It was dense with forest for the most part; but what wasn’t forest was a barren, dry, overbearing dessert. She died there, in the desert.

            We were overrun. Some young thing—one of Megatron’s new upshots named Starscream, and a band of fast, sleek jet Decepticons were testing new bombs at Dracon seven. We didn’t know that Megatron was on the planet at that time. We weren’t winning and we did know that. They’d take this desert planet and fill it full of craters. That Starscream, he broadcasted to us that we had lost, and to surrender. Silvershot stood up and shot a laser at the PA system the Decepticons had set up, and suddenly there were explosions everywhere! We transformed and rolled out. Thundercracker, one of the second-hand men that worked with that brute Starscream, found us and laughed in our faces. He was going to kill us.

            What did Silvy do? She spit in his face. As the spittle ran down his face, he smiled. I’ll never forget that smile. It was a heartless, soulless grin—the devil’s grin, you humans could say.

            He shot her at point-blank range. She didn’t even have time to cry out.  Most of her head was blown off, leaving very little to salvage. I knew she was dead. I was in a rage like I never knew before. Never to have sparklings, never again to practice tactics and talk about the newest, most productive fads…never to see those blue eyes again. I was getting older…who would want me now?

            I punched that guy in his fragging face. We grappled for what seems like an eternity, and he won. I was taken in to see Megatron himself, but Starscream got to play with me first. If Optimus Prime hadn’t stormed the Decepticon base, many others and myself would have died.

            I went back for her body. There was a massive pool of energon around her body. I picked her up and held her close. Some young yellow bot named Bee told me we didn’t have time, and that we needed to go as soon as we could. I tried to tell him I didn’t care…but soon enough, we were found. We ran!

            They gave us a warning—and I got mine right on my backside. I have never, ever repaired that burn. It reminded me of her. It reminded me I had her, I lost her, and that I had to move on.

            It’s all we can ever do. Just move on.