Cops and Robbers

Cops and Robbers

(A Transformers Fan-fiction)

Chapter 1

     The silvery city of Zetetic, nestled safely on the liquid ground of the Mercury Sea, slowed down as night approached, Rho Cassiopeiae falling from her lofty heights to meet the edge of Cybertron. The upholders--volitant in their biped formers--drifted through the city of learning, spiraling up the towering columns that housed Zetenies civilians, insuring that everyone had returned to their places of lodging without mishap. Straightaway, captain of the upholders, flew along the bulwarks, that protected Zetetic from large waves of quicksilver whenever there was a wind storm. The rotor blades in her wings giving just enough power to glide slowly above the metallic structure.

     She had worked hard to become the captain in Zetetic, dedicated all her energy to this way of life with the goal that one day she would be the best. Straightaway silently preened as she made her final round for the night; the captain of a whole city, not just any city but one dedicated to learning--she was indeed among the best of the upholders.

     The inhabitants of the city fell into their routine torpor, safe in their recharge because she protected them, she and her upholders. They were the ones who insured that sparklings did not fall off the buildings and sink in the mercury ground. They helped new-comers adjust to the way Zetetic worked, the way Zetenies should live. They were the ones who helped visitors find lodging and navigate the floating city. And she did a fine job at organizing her upholders--if she did say so herself. Not once in the five solar cycles since she’d been captain had a life been lost in the city to something other than natural causes.

     As the mecha stood above the gates, currently closed and blocking off the main way through the wall encompassing the city, the sound of splashing caught her attention. Looking over the side of the wall she saw someone splashing in the quicksilver in front of the gates, unable to climb up onto the small ledge at the front of the gates. The figure was so covered in silver metal that Straightaway could not tell whom it was, other than that they had wings which wasn’t really helpful since most Zetenies were fliers.

     Stepping off the bulwarks, she lowered herself until she was almost touching the mercury before addressing herself to the struggling form. “Please remain calm. I am going to remove you from the mercury. You need only to raise your servos above you helm and not struggle, I will do the rest.” She was glad she was listen to, she knew from experience the difficulties of trying to pull a struggling Cybertronian from the sea. As soon as the servos were above the silver coated helm Straightaway grabbed them and began to fly upward.

     Once they were both safely standing on the wall the upholder got a better look at the Cybertronian, trying to identify who it was. That the stranger was a seeker was obvious, the masculine frame clearly announcing it to be a mech, and as he tried to clean the liquid silver from his face-plate she could make out green optics; the mech was so covered with the mercury though, that his attempts at cleaning accomplished nothing. 

     Straightaway didn’t even need to think about what she was to do next, she was just that good at being an upholder. “Sir, Zetetic is closed for the night so I must ask that you come with me to the upholder barracks for the duration of the night cycle.” The fembot intoned in her authoritative voice. All lodgings of the city were closed for the night and would not open again until Rho Cassiopeiae’s light could be seen over the Mercury Sea. “You will also have a chance to clean the quicksilver from your frame before it becomes too dirty. If you would be so kind as to follow me.” With that she began to walk along the bulwarks toward the barracks, using her sensors to insure the mech was carefully following her; she was not interested in having to write a report on why the night’s torpor had been interrupted when she, the captain, had been on duty.

     “I will need to file your arrival and the reason why you came here.” She said as the two walked. Taking a data file out of her subspace she turned it on and started to type. “We might as well get started now so that you may recharge sooner. What is your official designation and your preferred name?”

     The mech stepped up so that he was walking beside Straightaway before he began to answer her questions. “My designation is Seeker W25-21P,” his voice was surprisingly deep, “I prefer to be called Skywarp.” 

     After taking note of this Straightaway looked over at the mech, gave him a cold glare and stepped ahead of him. As an upholder she was to walk in front of whomever she was guiding--that was just how it was. Skywarp apparently did not comprehend this since he quickly stepped back up to her side.

     “Why did you arrive at Zetetic during the time of torpor?” Her voice was stern, Skywarp did't seem to understand how the city was run, meaning that she would have to make sure he didn’t inadvertently disobey one of Zetetic’s many rules.

     “I was not aware that this city has a curfew.” He replied as if it cleared him of all responsibility.

     Straightaway looked over at the interloper, he should have known about the torpor and many other things before being allowed to visit the city of learning. “Your reason for come to this city.” The upholder was in no mood deal with incompetent travelers who thought that they could get of the hock by insisting they didn’t know something was wrong--she never was in the mood to deal with such stupidity.

     The mech puffed out his chest plate as if he were some all-important somebody. “I have come to check on a project that I commissioned,” was all he said.

     Straightaway glared at him, “listen sir, I am the captain of the upholder of Zetetic. You arrived at my city during the time of torpor, that means if I feel you are being evasive or otherwise impertinent, I can send you packing right back out of Zetetic, and with how thoroughly you are covered in mercury I highly doubt that you be able to fly out of the sea.” Her tone had not changed in the slightest from when she had been questioning him.

     The mech faltered in his stride and Straightaway once again walked in front of him. “Hey, I get the message captain of the upholders. But you don’t have to be so rude about it.” Skyward grumbled, sounding very insolent.

     “I was merely illustrating my point. Now, why did you come to Zetetic?”

Rolling his optics Skywarp restarted his explanation. “I commissioned a mech by the name of Screamingstar to draw up the designs for a ship, that was a while ago and I felt I should come and see the progress for myself since I am paying for him to create this blueprint.”

     Straightaway was not nearly done with her questioning, but by this point they had reached the barracks and she figured that she might as well let the flier wash the quicksilver from his frame rather than have him track it into the immaculate upholder building. Pointing to the outdoor wash racks, she waited for him to clean himself then escorted him into the barracks to finish her interrogation.