Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Corridors

Brawn had been unaware Jetfire had come aboard while he was out. While he couldn't blame Ironhide for nto wanting to partake in the topic, Brawn, at least could understand why Jetfire would be so focused on Starscream.

"Well... not all of us can say we knew Starscream before he joined Megatron. You take into account all the kills Starscream has racked up, it probably gets to him personally. He probably blames himself for all those deaths since he was unable to stop Starscream to begin with." he explained.

Brawn was not usually one to reason, but he knew quite a few Autobots who held a particular hatred agaisnt a particular Decepticon, and it was common fact that their own leader was one of them. "I wouldn't worry too much about it. At least Jetfire's never been one to recklessly run off to settle a score. He's not like some younger Autobots we know. Gotta imagine it's that patience and discipline he developed all those years doing all that 'techno-sciencey' stuff."

As Ironhide suggested getting a brew, Brawn smirked. "Hey, I'm for it! First one's on me!"

Command Center

Prime was just closing out his private comm system when a message appeared. It was marked priority and eyes only, so he entered his access code and opened it immediately.

Code: Select all

Subject Dealer neutralized to maintain integrity of Project Grail.

There was, of course, no signature on the communique, but none was needed. While, by necessity, there were several Autobots involved with the Grail, only two outside of Prime knew about Dealer, and of those only one was off-planet - Magnus.

Magnus had obviously made the decision to end that little fiasco after all this time, and with the security risks eliminated, Prime could finally deal with a problem that had been nagging him for vorns. He flicked a switch, activating a secondary screen, and Eject's face appeared on it.

"What's the play coach?" the diminutive Autobot asked.

"As soon as Hex arrives back at base, have him report to me in the command center."

"You got it coach."

Prime closed the contact and settled back in his chair with an audible sigh. It would be good to finally take care of this, but he still wasn't looking forward to it. No matter the reasons, no matter the lives saved, he doubted that Hex would ever understand.

Auxilliary Control Room

As he finished scanning the energon, jetfire turned his attention to the readings. They were most fascinating in his optics. He was certain someone, such as Perceptor, would awe at the specimine he was studying. However, there was little more he could do in controled environment.

It was time to go out into the field and collect a sample of what he was going to need to remove. While he was certain his initial idea would work, it could come down to the type of filtering that would be required. Something he was going to have to make something from scratch.

Jetfire shut down the console and uplaoded everything into a file on the Ark 19 Database. He was certain Prime would proabbly take a glance at it to check on his progress. Still, he needed to let his leader know he was heading out. He opened a comm link to Prime.

>>"Optimus sir. I've completed the initial annalysis and stored the sdata in the ships database. I'm heading out to the blast site now to collect some samples. I'll report back once I finish."

With that taken care of, Jetfire exited the Auxilliary control room. He'd set up something more to his needs when he got back. That way he could complete his work more effectively.

Command Center

Prowl sorted through the vairous profiles, elimnating the higer anked and lower rank personel. He made a point to stay away from field soldiers and stick with annalysts, programmers, and even strategists. He had to amdit, for a military, they may have been well-armed for a nation, but personality-wise, he would they they were rather diverse. This might make finding the right person easier.

The majority of his selections were stationed at the military HQ that the humans called The Pentagon, and for good reason given the shape of the building itself. He had done an annalysis of the building itself earlier. He was certain the facility in it's entirety was not limited to the suface. In fact, he was almsot certain there was a wide variety of facilities and tunnelways located beneath the city of Washington D.C.

Maintaining his focus, Prowl continued piling up names, though not bothering to sort through any of the psychological and personal profiles as of yet. That part would take care of that in the next step. He wanted to ensure he had an ample ammount to chose from before continuing on.

Lounge

"...so there were were bearings deep in this muck and in walk Chromia and Firestar! I thought Inferno was gonna blow a gasket when he saw 'em!" Ironhide guffawed and took another big swig from his mug of depleted energon as he finished his story. The stuff had a kick like a beryllium mule and was hitting his processor hard. He wasn't quite sure how much Brawn had drank, but he had lost count of his own total about a cycle ago.

The old security mech hadn't intended to drink nearly as much as he had, but it was a rare lately for him to have the chance to blow off some steam, and even more unlikely to have the chance with someone like Brawn - another tough old warhorse with nearly his own fabled constitution. If Kup and Trailbreaker had been there, it would have been perfect. As it was, it was still more fun than he'd had in orns.

"You know what we oughta do buddy?" he said, peering blurrily at Brawn. "We oughta head back to Cybertron on our next leave. Ah'd like to see the old place again even if it is a wreck." He paused for a moment, took another sip then added, "'Course seein' it like it is now'd prolly just make me wanna cry."

Command Center

"Very well Jetfire. Remain in radio contact," Prime replied as he received the scientist's transmission. He was sure Jetfire would be careful, he, unlike many of the other Autobots, wasn't the adventurous type. Jetfire was usually quite reliable. Prime had no worries in that regard.

Other matters did weigh on him however. Besides the war in general, there was still Hex to deal with. The more he considered, the more he was sure that the scout would react badly - worse than usual. There was one 'bot on base that Hex had bonded with however, and he did have the advantage of being one of a very small group that knew the whole situation.

"Axle report to my ready room please," Prime said accessing the base PA system. He then locked out his terminal, nodded goodbye to Prowl, and stepped into his private office off the Command Center.

Med Bay

The task that Ratchet and Axle had taken on was a long and arduous one, but the fruits of their hard labor would be a fully functional Bumblebee. For now all they had going was the Autobot’s inner structure. There was still much to do.

Axle was so engrossed in his current task that he didn’t even notice that the PA system was in use, and that Prime had requested his presence. It wasn’t until Ratchet placed his hand on Axle’s shoulder that the field medic looked up.

“Wha? What’s the matter?”

Ratchet flashed his assistant a smile and motioned for him to move away from his work.

“You’ve been going at it nonstop for some time now. It’s time you had a break. Besides, you’re no good to anyone if you don’t take time to care for yourself.”

Ratchet tossed him a rag and pointed to the exit.

“Anyway, Prime wants to see ya in his ready room.”

Axle nodded somberly and quickly wiped of the grime that had accumulated on his hands. It was then that a thought crossed his mind. Hex had gone along on that mission to subdue the Stunticons. Perhaps something happened to him in the field. Axle quickly left the Med Bay and made his way to the Command Center, the entire time hoping there wouldn’t be any bad news.

Command Center

Axle entered the Command hub of the Autobot base and took note of the mechs present. He offered Prowl a courteous smile and nod and then moved to the door to Optimus Prime’sready room. Before entering he tried to mentally prepare for what the Autobot leader had to speak to him about.

After composing himself he entered the room.

“You wanted to see me, Sir?”

Ready Room

Prime had just sat down behind his desk when Axle entered. He nodded in response to the medic’s query and said, “Yes Axle. I did.” Optimus paused as if searching for a place to begin, then seeming to come to a decision, he tapped a few buttons on his console, calling up a file, then turned the screen to face the medic.

Code: Select all

Subject Dealer neutralized xx xxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxx xx xxxxxxx xxxxx.

“I received this message from Magnus earlier today. I assume you understand the significance?”

Communications Center

Blaster had been occupying himself with music for the most part, but even he couldn’t avoid work forever without Rewind’s glares getting to him. The little archivist wouldn’t say anything, but every time Blaster had looked up, Rewind would be looking at him, then he’d rather pointedly go back to sorting the communications archives. Blaster got the point pretty quickly, but he’d waited several kliks before he’d actually gotten down to business. It wouldn’t do to let Rewind know he’d forced Blaster to work, better for him to think that the “Voice” was just bored.

Since Rewind was doing the older communications logs, Blaster brought up the comm. array and started going through the current reports. It didn’t take him long to realize there was some weirdness going on out there. Several Decepticon infiltration units had fallen right off the grid. They had abandoned the planets they’d been on, all planets in the very early stages of infiltration, taken whatever vessel they had in orbit, and rocketed off to parts unknown. By the time their Autobot counterparts had reacted, the ‘cons were long gone. There were too many like reports for Blaster to be able to write it off as coincidence, but he didn’t have nearly enough information to draw any conclusions beyond that.

Ready Room

Axle waited as Prime paused for a moment. In that short amount of time the field medic began to wonder why he, instead of Ratchet, was called. In all honestly Ratchet was the chief medical officer, and thus he should be the one making any reposts to Prime.

Axle’s train of thought was broken when he finally heard Prime accessing something on his terminal. It was clear by this time that the reason Axle was called and not Ratchet was because the issue at hand had nothing to do with the progress of Bumblebee’s repairs. When Prime finally found what he was searching for he turned the terminal around so that Axle could see the screen.

Slightly confused, Axle finally took a look at what Prime wished for him to see. The field medic’s shoulders slumped as he let out a heavy sigh. This was subject he wished he never had a hand in. So many lives lost, and for what, the gain of so little.

Axle finally had come to terms that he needed to come clean, but he did not think it would be this soon.

“Yes, I do.”

Axle took a seat in a chair just in front of Prime’s desk, but instead of leaning back he leaned forward, his eyes turned to the floor.

“But this is something that should come from you. After all, there’s only so much I can say to him.”

Lounge

Brawn hadn't bothered counting his drinks since the start. It wasn't the ammount of drinks that mattered, it was how much a bot could hold, and Brawn's reputation lived up to his name. He felt a little buzzed, but he was sure Ironhide was almost hammered.

He laughed when Ironhide finished. There was one thing about Ironihde, he had interesting stories, and the most interesting were the funny ones about other Autobots. Ironhide ahd then changed the subject about goign to Cybertron. Brawn hadn't really thought of it. While he would not object to a reassignment, he didn't want to leave yet. He had to bash in Megatron's brains first.

"I'll take it in mind ol'buddy. Still, I'd feel better going, after giving Megatron a splitting headache first. Least then we could have something else to tell the others about." Brawn repied. It wasn't that he didn't want to see Cybertron again, he just wanted to take care of business first.

Orbital Bounce Platform

Jetfire reached the Orbital Bounce platform and plotted the coordinates for his next destination, the underwater battlesite.

He stepped up to the platform silently and stood, waiting for the platform to activate. Within mere moments, Jetfire vanished as he was on his way towards his destination.

Underwater Blast Site

Jetfire had been transported to the exact coordinates of the original teams bounce, yet it was now part of a large crater. Just par tof the devastation that was the result of their war.

"Great Primus!" was all Jetfire muttered, as he stood, astonished by what his optics saw. The devastation was far beyond what he had anticipated. They were either going to need someting big to clean up, or a lot of what he was going to have to develop. This would mean pulling off Autobots to provide manpower.

However, first thing was first he was going to need plenty of samples and a range of contamination. He activated his scanners and began a job what would take some time.

Ready Room

"Believe me Axle I know this has to come from me. I only regret keeping Hex in the dark for so long." Prime sighed, bent his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Whatever gains we made by stringing Dealer along, it wasn't worth the pain we've put Hex through. He never understood, and for reasons of security, we could never explain it to him before now. He's come to hate most Autobots and his faith in our cause is virtually nonexistent."

Prime rose from his desk and began to pace behind his chair. There wasn't much room, only a few strides in each direction, but for once Optimus didn't seem his usual masterful self. He was letting Axle see, however briefly, the real being that lived behind the facade of the fearless leader.

"You're the only one he still talks to, the only one he listens to it seems. I suppose I called you here to see if you had any insight to offer."



Communications Center


Had anyone but Blaster been monitoring communications, the tiny irregularity on the Autobot distress band would have probably gone unnoticed. It was only a blip, barely discernible in the background static, but to the communications expert, it stood out like a beacon.

Of course, knowing that there was something there and being able to tell what it was were to entirely different things. He replayed the segment over and over, cleaning it up a bit each time, applying filter after filter to the signal until he could tell for sure it was Hot Spot's beacon. Not that there was much doubt that it was someone on Hot Spot's team, but now he was sure.

That done, all he had to do was calculate the point of origin and... that can't be right! He rechecked his figures and sure enough, Hot Spot's distress call was coming from within Decepticon HQ.

"Elvis' Pelvis! They're in the soup now," Blaster barked, as he reached over and opened a comm channel to Prime.

>>Optimus, you're not going to believe this, but somehow Hot Spot and his bunch are inside Decepticon HQ and sending out a distress call.<<

Ready Room

Whatever insight Prime was hoping for from Axle, would have to wait, and whatever vulnerability he had shown was gone the moment Blaster spoke over the intercom. Prime was, in an instant, his usual commanding self. He stepped purposefully back to his desk and flipped the switch for base-wide intercom.

>>All Autobots report to the bounce chamber immediately. Hot Spot and his team are in trouble. I'll brief you before we bounce.<<

He clicked off the intercom and looked to Axle. "I suppose Hex's revelation will have to wait. Bring your medical supplies, but be prepared to fight." With that, Prime strode past Axle and out into the Command Center on his way to the bounce chamber. On his way he flicked open his personal comm and sent to Blaster: >>Inform Jetfire his mission has been cut short. He'll be bouncing site to site from his current location to our rally point outside Decepticon HQ.<<

>>Roger Prime," Blaster replied, then relayed the message to Jetfire as he and his cassetobots rushed to the bounce chamber.

Lounge

"Dontcha just love the timin' Brawn?" Ironhide groused as he clambered to his feet and staggered to the waste disposal unit. He plugged in, dumped his fuel cells into the recycler, and grabbed some energon rods to refuel on the fly. By clearing his system, he'd be rid of the deleterious effects of the energon ale he'd consumed within moments.

"Ah love bustin' Deceptichops, but you'd think they coulda waited until ah sobered up the natural way," he said as he rushed from the lounge plugging in the energon rods as he went. It wouldn't do to show up for battle with an empty tank.

Autobot HQ

Having only recently arrived on Earth, Annex was still getting acquainted with his new post, and his new alternate mode. He actually rather liked the design, something about it had struck him and he had scanned it at his first opportunity. The Autobot ranger had been checking his equipment for the first time, making sure everything was in working order now that he was here when Prime's announcement had come over the communications system. Needless to say Annex was surprised. He had figured his first field mission would be more akin to the long range scouting missions he was used to. Regardless this was the reality and he had to act.

Making sure his carbine and knife were ready he headed out of the room he had been assigned, nearly running into Ironhide on the way out.

"Whoa there!" He said in surprise nearly avoiding a potential collision, but quickly falling in beside the other 'Bot. "What is going on? I've barely been here a cycle and already I'm being thrown into combat. Is this a pretty standard happening around here or am I just lucky to be arriving just as the big thrown down is happening?"

Command Center

Prowl was well into his work before his train of thought was interrupted by Optimus Prime's message. Saying nothing, he stopped his seach, knowing it would be there when he returned. He got up form his terminal, though pressing a button to save his work as he saw Prime exit the Command Center. he followed after Optimus. Once Optimus gave them their breifing, he was certain he could formulate a plan.

Lounge

"Hey, means more fun for us." Brawn said in a more enthusiastic response as he got up and followed Ironhide to the waste dump. he dumped his recent batch of fuel cells before grabbing some energon rods and installing them. It was time to get to work.

He followed Ironhide out of the Lounge and ehaded for the Orbital Bounce Platform. It was then that they ran into a new arrival, Annex, who was clearly clueless about what was going on.

"We got some bots in trouble. Everyone that can be spared is headed for the Orbital Bounce Platform. We're gonna be bustin' up some Decepticons." Brawn said, to summarize what was going on. "Let's get movin' soldier!"

Ocean Floor

Jetfire had begun scanning the contaminated water. The readings began to paint a clearer picture. While he was certian he could devise a mechanism that could filter the water, what pained him was that there was no means of preventing the catastrophy that created this devastaiton he stood in.

Jetfire prepared to take some samples when he was interrupted by Blaster regarding he situation with hot Spot and his team. Clearly there was some Decepticon trickery afoot if they ended up in the Decepticons fortress. Needless to say, they were going to need some aerial cover.

He immediately opened his commlink in response.

>>"I understand Blaster. I'm on my way back now!"<<

This project could wait. Lives were at stake. Jetfire pressed a button on his arm to reactivate the Warp to bounce him back to the ship. He vanished within moments.

Medical Bay

Hardhead had been resting comfortably in a recharge station for at least a cycle when Prime's orders came in over his comm line. Hot Spot's team was in trouble and needed immediate assistance. "I guess I've lounged around long enough," the green mech said as he stood up and unhooked himself. His fuel cells were fully charged, and he had completely recovered from the decapitation he suffered at the hands of Blitzwing during the previous battle. In fact, he felt better than he had in a long time.

"Blitzwing better watch out," Hardhead muttered to himself angrily. "Payback's a coming." And to ensure that payback was handed out properly, the veteran soldier checked his shatterblasters and laser-guided cannon to see that they were all locked, loaded and ready to go. Once that was done, Hardhead exited the med bay and hurried down to the bounce chamber. Soon he would be back out in the thick of battle and this time things would end very differently for him.

Hallway

Annex looked over at Brawn when he filled in the newly arrived ranger on the situation, causing him to grin.

"Sounds like it's going to be a good show then." He nodded as he walked beside these two legendary Autobots. "Saving some 'Bots from those 'Con fraggers, while giving them a few new dents to worry about, sounds like it could be a good day for us. I suppose you two mechs don't mind if this ranger bot tags along with ye on the way to the mission?"

OoC: Hey guys! Newbie Alert!!

Hallway

Jazz jogged lightly to Ironhide and Brawn then said, "Hey Ironhide! What's up?"

Jazz already knew that there was a rescue mission about to leave, and Jazz wanted to go with them, but decided to start a conversation instead of just outright asking if he could come or not. Jazz had been wanting to bust some Decepticons ever since he saw Optimus Prime's message.

EDIT: OoC: Hehe, for some reason, I read that Hex was standing next to Ironhide...

Ready Room

After Prime tried to explain his feelings to Axle about the situation involving his Hex, he then asked for some insight on how to deal with the young mech. Axle stood quiet for moment. He raised one hand to his head as he thought carefully of what to tell Prime, and just as he opened his mouth to respond he was cut off by Blaster’s announcement. The field medic grew worried when he heard that Blaster received a distress call from Hot Spot. Hex is with that team, Axle thought.

With his thoughts caught up on the young mech he’d taken under his wing, so to speak, Axle then attempted to address Prime about what the current situation would have on Hex. As the Autobot Commander left the ready room Axle quickly followed suit. He jogged slightly to catch up.

“Prime! Wait. You wanted my insight; well here it is. Hex has been on a steady downward spiral for some time now. It’s been getting harder and harder for me to talk to him. He’s even gone so far as withdrawing from the rest of us.”

Axle took a hold of Prime’s forearm to get the larger mech to stop his trek.

“Optimus, I’m afraid he’s gonna go over the edge, and when he does we might never get him back.”

The medic gave the Autobot leader an anxious expression as he released his arm.

Corridors

“You’d know what’s goin’ on Jazz if you’d quit blastin’ that durn music all the time. Hot Spot and his team are in trouble and we’re goin’ to rescue ‘em.” Ironhide replied, never slowing his march to the bounce chamber. He did however, glance over to Annex and asked, “Did you just say ‘ye’? An’ people think ah talk funny…”

Within moments, Ironhide, and those who were walking with him arrived in the bounce chamber. The rest of the Autobots filed quickly in, followed shortly by Prime himself.

***

Prime could hear the distress in Axle’s voice. The medic had watched over Hex for vorns, so of course he was concerned. To be honest, Prime was too. Whatever happened with Hex was his fault. Whether he liked the decisions that had led to this point or not, he had made them, so whatever came of them was his responsibility. Still, there was a crisis afoot, and that had to take precedence.

“Then we’ll just have to pull him back from the brink Axle,” Prime said, clasping the medic’s upper arm. “We won’t let him go over the edge. But if we’re going to save anyone, we need to get a move on. Let’s go”

Prime led the way into the bounce chamber where the rest of the Autobots, with the exception of Ratchet who was still working on Bumblebee, had assembled. He stepped behind the bounce controls, where he could see his team and they could see him. Ironhide stood along the wall with Brawn, Jazz, and the newcomer Annex. Blaster and Hardhead, having come from the rear of the ship, formed another cluster along with the recently returned Jetfire. Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were, of course, together. Finally, Prowl and Axle had arrived just before Prime since they were all coming from the same place to begin with.

“I’ll make this short. Hot Spot and his team have somehow bounced into Decepticon Headquarters. We have no details beyond that, only a distress signal from Hot Spot to let us know where they are. The plan is simple. We bounce in at the edge of their scrambler field, engage whatever forces Megatron has outside, fight our way in and bring our people out. Let’s roll out!”

Prime tapped a sequence into the control pad, then joined his team on the bounce platform as they faded out in a silvery flare of light.

High above Lake Michigan

Four USAF F-22 fighter jets soared above the great lake of Michigan. Or at least that was what they appeared to be for casual observer. However, it was not a sanctioned overflight of US Air Forces. These four were Decepticon seekers. They had received a signal from the highest possible authority figure in the Decepticon army - Lord Megatron himself. The signal had left no questions to be asked. They had been given a target and an order to bring devastation to the Autobot base hidden beneath the waters of Lake Michigan.

Few miles before reaching their target coordinates, all four seekers took a dive towards the surface of the lake, launching two missiles each before pulling up to avoid entering the waters below themselves. The missiles however breached the surface and went through a minor transformation to act as supersonic torpedoes. The exterior defenses of the Autobot base were activated, jammers tried to steer the self propelled explosives from their targets but had little chance of success given the target locked missiles. The following mini-torpedoes provided to be far more successful, managing to destroy most of the initial volley.

The counterattack would have likely worked had this been the only wave of missiles sent down towards Ark-19. For shortly after their initial assault, Cobalt had led his team of Amethyst, Firebat and Solarstrike for a second pass launching another series of missiles down at their target. And this time, the automated defenses failed to act fast enough to stop all of the explosives from reaching their target.

Several explosions rocked the hidden spaceship resting in the bottom of the lake, sweeping aside the protective layer of mud from the ship's surface and penetrating its outer armor, allowing water masses to begin pouring through the various holes and cracks into the currently undermanned Autobot vessel.

>>"We have done as commanded, return to the supply depot for rearming. I doubt we did more than cracked the shell."<< Cobalt radioed his team and set his course towards the East Coast with the other three seekers following closely on his tail.

Medical Bay

Ratchet had gone right to work after Axle was called out to speak with Prime. The Medical Officer picked up right where his assistant had left off finishing up with Bumblebee’s internal structure. In the time since he managed to put together all of the wiring and circuits. He made sure to get all of the connections completed before he ran a diagnostic to reassure him everything was functioning within the proper parameters.

Hours went by until finally all of Bumblebee’s internals were in place and fully functional. While Axle was working on the frame, Ratchet had fashioned the armor that would become the minibot’s outer skin. Once all of the intricate labor was completed, Ratchet affixed the armor in place.

“Well now. You’re looking better already, buddy.”

Ratchet flashed a broad smile while he one last cursory examination before he put Bumblebee into his new body. Satisfied with all of the results, the Chief Medic opened the chest revealing the chamber that housed the spark. Ratchet straightened his posture and sighed before he turned and made his way to the cabinet where he had stored Bumblebee’s spark.

The bright blue glow bathed the entire bay in a serene light. It wasn’t often that he got to see ‘live’ spark. Most often his patients were on the verge of deactivation of in a deep stasis induced coma. Looking at the brilliant orb nearly caused the medic to shut down his optics, but he caught himself and simply dilated the sensors to let in as little light as possible.
He carefully took hold of the canister and brought it back to the berth the empty shell. Ratchet opened his intakes and drew in air before he reached into the canister and gently pulled out Bumblebee. Cradling the pulsating sphere Ratchet placed it in its chamber and activated the defense shield that safeguarded a Cybertronian’s life essence.

Ratchet walked around the berth to the terminal that was connected to the shell and entered a few access codes. From a tray near the terminal he picked up a syringe and injected its contents into the main fuel line. A moment later he started up the Energon push.

Some time passed until finally Ratchet saw the first sign of processor activity. A broad smile formed on his face as he saw Bumblebee’s hand twitch.

“That’s it, little guy. Give it a minute; you’re getting’ there.”

At last the blackened glass that covered the mech’s optics began to brighten, at first a faint white glow, but it steadily intensified to a light blue. This was followed by a few other body parts coming to life. Ratchet took another look at the terminal and nodded as each system began to come online, and finally there came a faint moan. Ratchet’s head turned to look down at his yellow friend. He placed his hands on Bumblebee’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“How do ya feel?”

Bumblebee opened his mouth, at first his vocalizer released static, but once it cleared he was able to get out a response.

“I…I fe..feel like I we….went a hundred rounds with Megatron as a sp….sparring partner.”

Ratchet threw back his head and let out a hearty laugh. The smaller mech still knew how to put things into perspective. Once Ratchet had calmed himself he started to disconnect all of the wires and tubes that kept his patient on the berth.

Throughout the next few hours Ratchet filled Bumblebee in on what had occurred in the recent weeks.

“So Prime took the rest of the ‘Bots and bounced to the ‘Con base to rescue Hot Spot and his team?”

Ratchet nodded in the affirmative as he typed up his reports. Bumblebee was pacing the floor in front of the medic’s desk. He was anxious to help his friends, but he was still under Ratchet’s care. There was also something nagging him that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He finally stopped his pacing and sat down.

“Ratchet, I know this may sound strange, but I’ve been accessing my memory banks and well, I think I’m missing some time.”

Ratchet perked up and flashed Bumblebee a neutral expression. The Chief Medical Officer thought it prudent that the time period the spy spent hold up in the Decepticon’s base be deleted from his processor. The experience he was subject to would simply cripple his friend. With the actions of the ‘Con interrogator wiped, Ratchet also took the precaution and deleted the conversation Hex had with him about his experience while he was a captive.

“Bumblebee……”

Before Ratchet could offer the minibot the scripted excuse, the entire ship lurched from a series of explosions. Ratchet gripped the sides of his desk and looked around his office. He quickly stood up and made his way to the door when another series of explosions rocked the Ark-19.

“What was that?! Are we under attack?!”

As the medic steadied himself in the doorway, he called back to Bumblebee.

“I wouldn’t put it past Megatron to send a team to attack while Prime and the others are occupied! Now come on, we need to make sure the hull hasn’t ruptured!”

Ratchet took off for the Command Center while Bumblebee quickly followed.

“While I check the Ark’s sensors for any breaches, you try to contact Prime!”

Corridors

“Oh-no-oh-no-oh-no-what-was-that?!-what-was-that?!-the-Ark's-shaking-it-feels-like-it's-moving-it's-not-supposed-to-move-it's-a-base-it-doesn't-do-things-like-that-it-shouldn't-do-things-like-that!”

Watching the interior of the Ark submit to the destructive forces of—well, whatever had assaulted them—did not rate very high on Blurr's agenda. Nor did the concept of expiring at the bottom of a lake. Blurr attempted to abolish those horrifying thoughts, but he found it exceedingly difficult considering he already was deposited in such a predicament. An album of nightmarish images imprinted themselves in his vision, subsequently causing his circuits to tingle.

He had to search for his friends. He had to rescue them.

Blurr opened a comm-channel, praying for voices to fall upon his audio receptors. >>”Are there any Autobots there? Anybody Autobots at all? If you can hear this, please respond! I'll move to your position! Just sit tight—I'll be there before you know it!”<<

It had taken every microjoule of Blurr's strength to superintend his brisk manner of speech. Strength essential for surviving his present circumstances. He sincerely hoped he possessed enough to aid all he came across in their escape of their abrupt tomb. If he didn't...

Command Center

Ratchet took a seat at one of the many consoles lining the front of the Command Center. He quickly accessed the Ark’s sensor array and found several hull breaches located in the aft section of the ship. The levels in those sections mainly housed the living quarters, the Medical Bay and the main munitions locker.

Bumblebee had taken a seat at the communications station and had tried, several times, to contact Optimus Prime. After five attempts Bumblebee decided to contact Ironhide with the heads up. He had just finished sending the message when Ratchet had turned to face him.

“Bee! We need to get down to the Med Bay and the munitions locker on level 12. If they flood we’re out several hundred tons of ammunitions. It’ll set us back a quarter vorn!”

Bumblebee nodded at the CMO and stood up from the seat. Ratchet had engaged the blast doors sealing off most of the decks that were not in use. After running one last scan of the breached levels, he stood and jogged out of the Command Center and set off at a full run toward the Med Bay. Bumblebee broke off from Ratchet’s side and set off down a separate corridor for the munitions locker.

Medical Bay

Ratchet screeched to a halt just inside the doorframe to the Med Bay. The first signs of sea water had already begun to trickle in. A couple of feet had accumulated causing the CMO to curse in two dialects of Cybertronian. Not wanting to waste any time he began to gather as many tools and supplies he could carry. While he was working he received a panicked call from Bumblebee.

>>”Ratchet! I can’t get all of this out of here in time and the water level is still rising. I’ll need your help.”<<

Without skipping a beat Ratchet responded. >>”I won’t be able to make it to you in time Bee, but Blurr is still on board. Contact him; I’m sure he’ll be able to give you a hand.”<<

Main Munitions Locker

Bumblebee closed the link with Ratchet and quickly opened a link with Blurr. >>”Blurr! It’s Bumblebee. I need your help at the main munitions locker. The Ark is flooding and if we don’t get these weapons out of here things will go very badly for us on this planet.”<<

Corridors

It had not taken long for Blurr to receive a response to his transmission, a stroke of good fortune he dearly embraced. Every breem was invaluable, an asset of the highest quality needed to be spent proceeding in the most efficient manner possible. They weren't in possession of the greatest amount of time, but Blurr was confident he and Bumblebee would complete those tasks that needed to be fulfilled. His speed was an advantage they were likely to exploit, he thought. But one Blurr was going to have to manipulate right now, as conditions became more unfavourable. Much more unfavourable.

>>”I'll be right there, 'Bee! Just hold on!”<<

He was already well into his journey to the Main Munitions Locker when he had concluded his transmission to Bumblebee.

Main Munitions Locker

Staggering speeds enabled Blurr to travel to his destination with ease, expending little time and energy in the process. It also helped that he was familiar with the Ark's setting. Something that made Blurr exhale with a touch of relief. He was conscious of the fact his high-strung tendencies could succumb to the events presently occurring, so every bit of convenience he experienced assisted to appease his anxiety.

“'Bee!" Spotting Bumblebee, Blurr moved closer to the yellow Autobot, attempting to maintain the calmer tone his vocaliser was producing. “Let me take care of the heavy weapons. I can manage them just fine. And where are we going with these things, anyway?”

Main Munitions Locker

Bumblebee went right to work quickly loading his arms full of any ammunition he could get a hold of and carry. Busy snatching things off the nearby shelves, the infiltrator responded to the former racer.

“We’re gonna have to bring as much up to the Command Center as possible. It’s the highest point on the ship and probably the only place that hasn’t ruptured yet.”

Hands packed full, Bumblebee looked over at Blurr and continued.

“I tried to contact Prime to let him know our situation, but I couldn’t get through. I would up sending the message to ‘Hide. I’m just worried something went wrong, he hasn’t gotten back to me.”

Hefting his load he jerked his head in the direction of the exit, “Come on, the faster we move the more we can get out of here.”

The yellow ‘Bot took off at a trot toward the lift.

Main Munitions Locker

“Sure, no problem. I can do that.” Blurr began collecting various weapons from the lines of shelving opposite the ammunition, making certain they were firmly placed in his grasp. “Yeah, that'd make sense. I just hope that's the case, because if the Command Center looks anything like some of the corridors I had to pass through to get here, we're in big trouble.”

What Bumblebee said next startled Blurr, thrilling his disposition with dread. He took a moment to compose himself, to consider what he was going to say to Bumblebee. Conversing with the infiltrator would be near impossible if Blurr's reply swept by his audio receptors in a furious dash. Such was often the case in times of a crisis.

“Hey?-what?-what-do-you-mean?-what's-going-on?-what-happened-to-Optimus?-you-mean-something-happened-to-Optimus?-no-that-can't-be-right-we're-talking-about-Optimus-here-the-greatest-Autobot-to-ever-function-something-couldn't-have-happened-to-him-in fact-I'm-sure-he's-fine-he-can't-be—“

Fearing his thoughts might claim validation, Blurr ceased his reply, aiming to erase all of his negative whims. He couldn't afford to have his nervousness governing his actions. The consequences would be disastrous. Fatal. Clutching the weapons closer to his sleek form, Blurr advanced to the lift, following Bumblebee.

Medical Bay

>>”Bumblebee, its good to hear from you little buddy. We are on board the Guardian now. Can you make it to your bounce chamber or do we need to pull you out of there directly? At the very least it’ll be easier if you’re all in one room. All that water can make it tricky to bounce you out.”<<

Ratchet had made sure to link his personal communications device directly to the Ark-19 just in case Bumblebee’s signal reached Prime. To his surprise it was not the Autobot leader who responded but Ironhide. While the CMO was busy loading his arms full of tools and supplies he patched into the radio relay and sent a quick reply to the Security Officer.

>>”Hey , Hide it’s Ratchet. Bee and Blurr are busy moving the ammo to one of the higher levels of the ship. They might be just about finished. There is no way we’ll be able to get to the bounce platform, it’s already submerged. But we can all gather on the Command Deck so you can get a lock on us from there. I’ve also got some medical supplies and tools that’ll need to be bounce as well. Contact me once the Guardian arrives.”<<

With his arms full Ratchet slogged out of the med bay and then closed the blast door ensuring that the rising water would not continue to flood the corridor. The CMO began his trek back to the Command Deck when he opened a link with Bumblebee and Blurr.

>>”Bee, Blurr, I was just in contact with Ironhide. He and the rest of our guys are onboard the Guardian. They’re heading back here to bounce us off the Ark. If you’ve finished getting the ammo out of the Munitions Locker then head up to the Command Deck that’s where we’ll be bounced from.”<<

Corridors

Bumblebee grunted slightly as one of the rifles he was carrying shifted and nearly fell from his arms. After a second or two of arm adjustment and some shoulder shuffling he was able to keep the weapon safely cradled in his arms. At the same time he was trying to make out exactly what Blurr was babbling about. Unfortunately he wasn’t having any luck. All he got out of the racer’s frantic banter were ‘Optimus?’ and ‘greatest Autobot…’.

Bumblebee let out a heavy sigh as he tried to figure out what to say to the blue mech, but surprised when Blurr suddenly grew quiet. As the door to the lift opened and both Bots entered, Bumblebee looked up at his sleek companion.

“Blurr, don’t worry. I’m sure Prime is fine. He’s probably checking in on the injured, you know how he is.”

The minibot shot his friend a reassuring smile. It was then that he received the communiqué from Ratchet. He was sure that Blurr was getting the same message as he. After a moment Bumblebee responded to the CMO.

>>”We’re on our way, Doc.”<<

Command Deck

The door to the lift finally opened and the small form of Bumblebee emerged. The minibot trotted the rest of the way down the corridor to the entrance to the Command Center. Upon entering the room Bumblebee noticed Ratchet sitting at one of the terminals. Bumblebee placed down his burden and made his way to stand behind the CMO.

“Blurr and I were able to get most of the ammo and weapons out of the locker. I figured the best place to keep them was here since it’s the highest point on the ship.”

Ratchet nodded before he turned around in his chair.

“Nice job you two. Now all we need to do is wait for the Guardian to arrive.”

Corridors

Still recovering from the discomfort produced by his verbal disaster only moments ago, Blurr fidgeted a great deal, the weapons in his grasp clinking and clattering in a disordered fashion. His gaze was affixed to the lift's flooring, for the most part, concentrating on other matters swirling in his processor. The fact Optimus hadn't returned a transmission had truly startled him. Add that to the assortment of challenges they were dealing with, and it was not unexpected to witness an uneasy Blurr.

Blurr was released from his series of thoughts when Bumblebee assured him of Optimus Prime's well-being; Ratchet's transmission, too—occurring directly after Bumblebee's reply—alleviated a good portion of the anxiety he was experiencing. Although it had not gone away entirely, Blurr's animation had decreased, making him more bearable company in the lift. Being confined in such a small area—and possessing the tendencies that he did—he was aware his erratic movements and cacophony of tones could have irritated his friend terribly.

Blurr returned Bumblebee's smile with his own. “Yeah, you're right. Optimus is fine. There is nothing to be worried about.”

Command Center

Following Bumblebee down the corridor which led to the Command Center, Blurr noted that composure—as much as he could claim his state of mind to be granted such a luxury—had set in. He, Ratchet, and Bumblebee were soon going to be mingling with their friends again on the Guardian, and that was a calming thought. One that permitted his moderate composure to remain intact.

Placing his weapons down near Bumblebee's pile, Blurr leaned on the chair closest to him, a smile developing on his face-plate. “We won't have to wait long, will we, Ratchet?”