Smokescreen hadn't commed (Y/D) since the night at the oasis, which was two days ago, and he hadn't been able to meet up with her either. It's not that he couldn't com her, it was more of the fact that he wouldn't. He'd never commed another femme in his life! Save for Arcee but she doesn't quite count. This was different, it wasn't business as usual it was because he could, and he was bored. So here he was, quiet, staring at the ceiling as he lay on his berth, nothing but the silence of the base to occupy his thoughts. He wondered if (Y/D) would even be awake right now. Should he bother her? It'd be pretty rude to wake her from her recharge. He finally mustered up the courage to com her.

         |:Smokescreen to (Y/D)... :| That just sounds stupid...

         |: (Y/D) to Smokescreen, finally get bored huh? :|

Does this femme ever recharge?

         |: Well... not exactly... anyway, uh... how are you? :| he asked, unsure of what to say.

         |: Tired, :| she admitted, |: But I can't recharge yet. :|

         |: Why's that? :|

Smokescren lifted himself to sit up, swinging his pedes over to dangle down the side of his berth.

         |: Meh, kinda stuck between a rock... and another rock, but I can fix that. :|

There was the sound of blaster fire, and then retaliation, most likely Decepticons. Soon it was silent, and he could hear (Y/D) panting on the other end.

         |: Do you need me to come get you? :| the rookie asked after a short silence.

         |: Nah, :| she breathed, |: You'd get in the way, besides takes more than a couple drones to bring me down, :| she laughed, |: I got what I wanted anyway. :|

         |: And that was? :|

There was a couple more moments of silence.

         |: Just some stupid relic. Useless without a power source, but Megatron has that power source. :|

         |: What do you mean? :|

         |: Dark Energon silly, :| she acted as if it were the most mundane of things, |: Let's just say Unicron had a few relics of his own. :|

His curiosity spiked, and Smokescreen wanted to escape just to see what this relic could be. Perhaps it could help the Autobots, though they might just destroy it if it's a relic meant for Unicron.

     The two talked the night away, mainly of how Smokescreen would figure out how to meet her in secret again without risking being found out. Eventually the topic transitioned to (Y/D) and her current hobbies and such, to which she gladly answered. She loved to talk of her adventures around the world as more-or-less neutral. She had been from Africa to Europe, Australia to South America, Canada and even Hawaii, as well as some unknown islands that were yet to be discovered. She went on about how she wished that they would be untouched by human hands. While they may have some beautiful things, sometimes these things destroy the natural beauty of the world.

         |: You should have seen the wild flowers on one of the islands, :| she sighed, |: When you put them to the sunlight they looked like glowing copper, reminded me of Cybertron, and the many souvenirs Megatron would bring from Kaon. :|

         |: Were you... close with your sire? :| Smokescreen asked, nervous of what her reaction would be to this type of question.

         |: Yes, I was, :| she answered truthfully, |: He'd take me to his tournaments sometimes. Carrier never approved, but it prepared me for what was to come, though at the time, we didn't know what was to come. Not even Sire knew at the time, he was just trying to make a name for himself to break the cycle of oppression that was already upon us. :|

Smokescreen found her story so infatuating, he hung onto every word. She was able to see Megatron before he turned into the tyrant he was. She watched him rise in the Gladiator Pits to what he is now. She saw him go from a loving sire... to the monster he aloud himself to be.

         |: Wh-why did you leave the Decepticons... if you were so close? :|

A long silence ensued, and Smokescreen thought she had disconnected, until the soft shuffling came from her sitting down somewhere.

         |: It's almost morning... you should get some recharge. :| She sighed.

         |: I-um, yeah... thanks... I'll com you later tomorrow tonight? Or whenever I can? :|

         |: Whenever you can, :| She stated, |: Night Smokecreen, I'll talk to you tomorrow. :|

The line went dead, and Smokescreen sighed. At least he knew he didn't blow it.

     The next day went by painfully slow for the poor rookie, but he was glad to find that he could take a break, and be aloud to leave on account of good behavior, of which he kinda planned. Bursting through the door, smokescreen quickly messaged (Y/D), telling her that he was alone, but couldn't go to the oasis. She sent a quick message of 'okay' and coordinates. Smokescreen followed them, and soon found himself near an old cave, crumbling from years of hard weather. He looked around, but didn't see the femme he had been itching to meet up with.

         "(Y/D)?" he called "Helooooooo!"

His voice echoed through the vacant space, and he huffed, wondering if he was stood up. Deciding this to be a perfect space to fool around and trying some new moves he had come up with, Smokescreen transformed to his alt and drove around, making close calls his goal as he neared a cliff and drifted last minute. The rookie laughed as he came out of another close one, only to find a pair of pedes coming dangerously close. He screetched to a stop, and transformed to find a smiling (Y/D), her green optics shining.

         "I really need to stop trying to run you over," Smokescreen laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his helm.

         "Eh, takes more then a hit to my pedes to make my spark go out," she grinned, "Nice tricks though."

Smokescreen felt his cooling fans kick in when he realized she had been watching him. He hoped they weren't as loud as he thought they were.

         "Well, they're not exactly perfect yet," he admitted, though this fact was obvious, "but I hope to use them when they are."

         "Can't wait to see that day," there was a short pause, "So what brings you out here with no escort?"

He explained that he was 'let out' on a account of good behavior, to which the two laughed, knowing that this little meeting itself could be counted as almost treasonous, but neither seemed to care, one because she was no longer affiliated with any faction, the other because he had to much fun simply talking to the femme he met by almost running her over.

     (Y/D) showed off her own moves after awhile, proving that being in the air is much more exihlerating than being on the ground. She dove, and rose back up, scaring the grounder who watched as he mentally scolded himself for thinking she would simply fall like the lob ball Bulkhead and Wheeljack threw from time to time. He clapped as she made a sharp turn that most pilots would only dream of doing when piloting a B-2 Spirit. She defied the limits that would stop even a Seeker as she went through dangerous aerial maneuvers. When (Y/D) touched back down, she stood on the tips of her pedes, arms raised in a show of bravado mixed with grace. Smokescreen clapped once more, wondering what it was like to fly.

         "Wow! Isn't it hard to calculate how high and how fast you go while in the air?" he asked.

         "Not really," (Y/D) shrugged, "but I've had time to practice, being offlined and all."

         "Oh... yeah, right," Smokescreen smiled nervously, and fell silent, not really sure what to say anymore.

         "So," (Y/D) started, thankfully, "When did you leave Cybertron? With the others?"

         "No," he admitted, "Originally I was protecting Alpha Trion, but I was captured by Decepticons and later escaped."

The femme nodded, satisfied with this story.

         "Uh... when did YOU leave Cybertron?" He hoped this wasn't crossing the line or anything.

         "Long before you guys left," she stated, "The Ark hadn't even been sent out yet."

         "That's pretty early into the war," the rookie commented.

         "Well it was either that or watch my home burn under the pede of my own sire," she shrugged, "I wish I had trusted my instincts earlier, but I was taught by my Carrier and my Sire that family came first..."

         "Who was your carrier?" Smokescreen would have stopped himself from asking, but it came out before he realized it, and became silent as the horror of her possible reaction settled into the empty pit of his tank.

     For awhile she simply stared at him, her expression a combination of uncertainty and surprise. No one cared to ask before, and only a select few knew who her carrier was, those who knew by chance were eradicated before they could make it known to the public. (Y/D) absentmindedly started to chew on her digit as she looked away, a habit she had picked up when she thought.

         "A respectable femme," was her answer, "She supported my Sire until he no longer was the mech she came to love, so left him."

Smokescreen was confused. Was her Carrier offlined, or alive? Who was she? Why is she such a secret? What POSSIBLE explanation could be given to justify such secrecy wrapped around two femmes? He wanted to find out who exactly this was that stood in front of him, optics glazed as she recalled memories hidden from the world. He wanted to understand.

     It was beginning to near an hour and a half since Smokecreen had been at base, and he came to the conclusion that he should go. Saying their farewells, Smokescreen watched as (Y/D) took off, smiling as he strained to see the white-ish silver speck, now invisible to the naked optic. When he made it back, his actions were not questioned this time, and a simple 'how was the drive?' came from Bumblebee, to which Smokescreen answered truthfully:

         "Awesome."