We're older now and still running against the wind, P/Sludge/Zeta clearing

[Big Kahuna]

Ever since his reactivation, Moonhunter had avoided Sludge whenever possible. He wasn't exactly sure why he felt so ill at-ease around the Dinobot. He had met Sludge before, way back in the days when he had been a mere human. They had never been friends, of course, or anything more than passing acquaintances. Kerry had been advised to give the Dinobots a wide berth, which he had done. Even if Sludge and Swoop had been more tolerant towards humanity, the rest of their unit had enough of a reputation to compensate.

Sludge could not possibly recognize him, nor would any of the smarter Dinobots. But Moonhunter had gone so far to distance himself from his past that he did not know what to do when a reminded of it loomed in plain site right outside, especially these days when he had forged bonds with those around him. Moonhunter was his identity now, and Moonhunter had friends of his own. Would those bonds survive if it became public that he was just a shell, an identity for a chameleon who had changed everything about himself multiple times, even his species?

He had a lot to lose these days. More than he'd once sworn he would ever allow himself to have again.

But Moonhunter was still Sludge's direct commander, so interaction could not be avoided. Moonhunter stood at the edge of the clearing, awaiting Sludge's return. There was a specific reason he had the Dinobot patrolling their territory more often, close enough to come within sensor range of the Predacons. He wanted to remind their "guests" of just where the balance of power lay. Sludge was Moonhunter's big stick… but the former bounty hunter preferred to speak loudly about him.

[Slipstream]

There was no way that Sludge could ever make the connection that the small human known as Kerry Vasquez was transformed into the Autobot known as Gunslinger, who would go on to become the Maximal called Moonhunter.

That kind of plotline would probably hurt his processor anyway.

Instead, the Dinobot’s mind was concentrating on the simpler things in life - currently on why the sky was the shade it was, and how high it was. Sludge was simple like that. He stomped through the forest, in a long circuit of the Zeta Colony, but especially the Predacon shanty town - he always tensed with expectation whenever he passed the encampment, ready to pounce into action. But, as usual, no order came.

A frustrated snort rushed from his beast mode’s nostrils - he had been patrolling the Colony’s perimeter a lot more often than usual, but he still had no inkling of why, not that he minded.

As he began his wander back to the clearing that surrounded the Colony ships, one energy signature waited for him - it belonged to that werewolf-bot who looked after the colony. From his posture, it looked like he’d been waiting some time.
Sludge hadn’t ever spoken to him faceplate-to-faceplate since his reactivation.

He stomped through the foliage to enter the clearing and, sure enough, there he was, waiting for him.
“Boss-bot.” he boomed, nodding his great reptilian head slowly as he moving into the clearing, towering above the considerably smaller Maximal.

[Big Kahuna]

Damn, but Sludge was an impressive sight even without his reputation. His beast form bulged with muscles every time he moved, rippling under his armored hide. And being a robot in disguise meant he was bristling with weaponry underneath. Being a former Dinobot just added to his fearsome image. Moonhunter felt himself being a bit envious. Not that he wanted to be a giant like Sludge and thus unable to personally interact with more moderately-sized beings. But he had spent a century working to endow himself with the terrible reputation that Sludge already had. Perhaps the Predacons would not have attacked had the name of Moonhunter been more feared. At the very least, he realized he should have awoken Sludge early.

Perhaps the best weapon <i>was</i> the kind you didn't have to use.

He was almost surprised that Sludge acknowledged his presence. Granted, Moonhunter was his commander, but Sludge was a living legend. Not the smartest or fiercest Dinobot, but he had still been one of the famous unit. “I thought you only ever called Big Grim that,” he said with a note of humor. The Dinobots had not been so much loyal to the Autobot cause as they had been to Grimlock himself. And Grimlock had fought for the Autobots... exactly why was still the subject of debate amongst some historians.

[Slipstream]

For one with such a fearsome reputation, Sludge could have been slightly more aware of everything – in short, he could have done with being more intelligent. But his simplicity was both a blessing and a curse to Maximal commanders such as Moonhunter – he would never question orders, so long as he could stomp on something, or frolic in water for a few days afterward, but unless it was said stomping, he would have to be mollycoddled through the exercise – not an attractive prospect when the ‘child’ was a 32 foot-tall Dinobot.

Sludge blinked. Answering the small white-furred Maximal as ‘boss-bot’ had seemed natural at the time, and as for only calling Grimlock by that term, the Dinobot had an answer for that:
“Grimlock no here.” he said, his lips curling in amusement, “Me Sludge need call some-‘bot ‘Boss-bot’.”

The Dinobot watched Moonhunter for a moment before whining lightly, much like a dog that desperately wanted something,
“Me Sludge want to stomp Predacons. When can me stomp Predacons?”

[Big Kahuna]

He returned Sludge's wry smile. “True.”

In a way, Sludge was the perfect weapon. Dumb and unquestioning, with a fearsome reputation to ward off would-be attackers. Had Moonhunter brought him online much earlier, he might have preempted the war. That burden weighed on his conscience, but he had also had fuel costs to consider, and just what to do with a bored weapon. Now Moonhunter had all three problems to worry about. They couldn't just pack Sludge away back into stasis; it was a tricky process and they lacked the tools. Besides, Sludge was still an Autobot/Maximal; it wouldn't be fair to allow him to be awake only when he was useful to them.

But the problem of keeping their "weapon" preoccupied still presented itself as an issue. “The 'war' is technically over right now,” he explained. “So you can't go stomping them. I know, I don't like it either. If I could get away with it, I'd kick 'em out and let 'em wear out to death. But they're not all bad, and I can't risk making them too desperate. An enemy with nothing to lose is the most dangerous kind.” Moonhunter would risk no more lives than he had too. The list of deaths he considered himself responsible for was too long already.

How had the Primes handled this kind of pressure? Moonhunter could barely keep account for a small colony. Optimus and his predecessors had been responsible for their entire races.