For the hapstance au
The autobots are(reasonably) freaking the absolute FRAG out because this civilian(the equivalent of a teenager, nonetheless!) who was asleep for millions of years and knows-more-than-he-should just got kidnapped and is on the DECEPTICON WARSHIP.
And then he escapes. With omega keys. The phase shifter. And the locations of Decepticon mines because he HACKED. THE. NEMESIS.
I feel like they would be very suspicious, but Smokescreen is lit just chilling and also dealing with the fact that his planet is dead and also his friend that kinda-was-a-bit-of-a-father-figure-to-him is very dead.
YEAAAAAAAAAAAH-
Smokescreen doesn't even fucking work here guys, he just. APPEARED.
Even WORSE for the Autobots too is how Smokescreen is there for multiple days. As far as they're aware Smokescreen might be being tortured for information, or under the Psychic Patch, or who knows what else. They can't find him, they can't help him,
Arcee ESPECIALLY is taking this really really hard, because to a fair degree she was responsible for chasing the kid off. She never would have done it had she known the danger he would be in but... she didn't know, and now all sorts of unintended and awful consequences might be happening. She was so angry with the things he was saying, and it just came bubbling out and she-
She can't do anything. Just like with Cliffjumper.
Another unintended side effect of Smokescreen's several day jaunt is that Autobots? Might end up moving bases early??? After all, there is a very real possibility their location has been compromised, so off to Hanger E they go, except this time they still have their original groundbridge :D
They of course keep extremely close tabs on the base. For all they know, Smokescreen could escape and that's the first place he'll go, so they need to take every precaution (even if the chances grow slimmer by the day and they start to give up hope but can't bring themselves to stop)
And then one day they get a call.
From the Nemesis
FROM SMOKESCREEN
Smokescreen, who is VERY much alive and kicking, who has fucking CALLED THEM and is ASKING FOR A LOCATION FOR THEM TO MEET UP because he HACKED??? THEIR GROUNDBRIDGE?????
And it might be a trap but OKAY I GUESS so they HAUL ASS to the coordinates he sent and he's ACTUALLY THERE HOLY SHIT. He's a bit banged up and dirty and has like two boxes under his arms but he is SHOCKINGLY intact and they haul ass BACK to their new base so they can get a somewhat cohesive understanding of what the hell just happened
Turns out the boxes contained two omega keys, an absolutely MANGLED datapad with an unholy amount of cables attached, the destroyed remains of the Psychic Patch, at least two hard drives of shit, and hunks or raw energon
turns out? Smokescreen had essentially camped out in the vents while periodically poking his head out to menace some people, fuck with their cameras so Soundwave couldn't capture him, and poach a few consoles to contact them. He's apparently done this multiple times in the last days, but the most recent was the only one where communication went through
is he traumatized? absolutely. Is he obviously not explaining everything? 100%
but despite all odds he's here and he's bought them a little bit more time, time which they can use to try and get more information
(meanwhile you have smokescreen, who for the last several days was using the fact he was DEEP in enemy territory to pointedly AVOID thinking about Whatever The HELL Is Going On With His Relationship With Alpha Trion, and is unfortunatly experincing the adrenaline crash of the century)
