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Peruvian Valley, Central Andes - Outside Abandoned Mine

Prowl watched as Silverbolt took to the skies with Rewind secured inside his cockpit, having shrugged off the military strategist’s query, claiming that it was nothing important and promised that it would not affect the mission in any way. “I certainly hope not,” the black and white muttered to himself as he shook his cranial unit at the Aerialbot Commander’s unwillingness to share whatever concerns or doubts he may have. The analyst then regarded the open entrance to the mine where Bumblebee had disappeared into before attuning his scanners to the surrounding region outside.

So far there were no signs of humans nearby, and that was a good thing. However, that could also change at a moment’s notice so vigilance was paramount in this situation. Prowl knew that this was, for all intents and purposes, a mere scouting assignment, that while important was still simple enough to execute. Of course, even a scouting mission could diverge into something far more complicated if the teams were discovered by either members of the native population or by members of the opposing faction. Both groups needed to be avoided at all costs.

As Prowl slowly pushed into the trees of the surrounding forest to help extend the reach of his scans, he received a communique from Freeway along with a transmission of data that the throttlebot and his ranger companion had compiled while investigating the northern regions of the valley. They had apparently detected a radiation source that proved to be emanating from a very familiar crystal ore, the same unrefined ore that Perceptor already had a small sample of and was currently studying in his lab on board the Ark-22. That sample had been much harder to procure if memory served, but at least now they appeared to have access to a bit more of the unknown substance. Now, if they could only successfully stabilize it, they would have all the energy to power not only a new Earth-bound city but also the Autobot war machine and thus even the playing field if the Decepticons had already succeeded in refining the new ore for themselves.

Prowl opened a secured comm line to both Freeway and Nova Strike:

>>”Understood, data received. Good job, both of you. Secure the crystal ore in a protective container and handle it with care. It is not as stable as it may appear to be. Perceptor already has a small sample of this same substance up in his lab. He’s been trying to figure out how to refine it into a new energon that would give us increased power. The ‘Cons have already been experimenting with this stuff and it apparently contributed to the destruction of their old base. As for the ancient writings, they are curious but ultimately not as important as the ore, itself, and whether or not there is more in your area. It is logical to conclude that primitive humans would mistake such a crystal as something god-like. They simply lacked the technology to truly understand what they had. I doubt that their writings would provide us with any added knowledge, but I will have someone on the Ark-22 take a look at them once our mission is completed. For now, however, continue scouting the area for more crystal samples. In the meantime, I will have Silverbolt and Rewind do a fly over at your coordinates and provide you with a detailed map of the ruins. With their assistance, you should hopefully be able to pinpoint and excavate more deposits of the ore if there are any. Coordinate with them once they arrive overhead and keep me apprised of your progress. Prowl out.”<<

Cutting his comm link with “Blue Squad”, Prowl opened another secured channel with the Aerialbot Commander and his tiny pilot, who were currently in the skies above:

>>”Silverbolt, Rewind, this is Prowl. I need you to do a fly over at the following coordinates ASAP. It is the location where Nova Strike and Freeway are currently scouting amongst some ancient human ruins at the northern end of the valley. They’ve located a new ore that has the potential to provide us with enough energy to power our future Autobot City. Conduct a thorough aerial survey of the area and provide Nova and Freeway with a detailed map. This will aid them in locating any further crystal deposits that may still be the region. Is that understood?”<<

With the coordinates sent, Prowl returned his attention to the region surrounding the abandoned mines, keeping his scans focused on any possible human intrusions while he waited for further word from Bumblebee.

Inca Settlement Ruins

Nova Strike tapped a small blue metal armor plate just above a triforce shaped triangle on his left wrist. The armor plate disengaged its magnetic locks and rose ever so slightly before retracting to a small raised brace at the top of two hidden tracks. Within the newly exposed area a black onyx polished surface immediately rose to fill the void left by the thick armor covering.

The ranger's optics darted from his wrist over to Freeway as the smaller communications Autobot specialist began his report to Prowl. It wasn't exactly the stuff of combat legends, or the sort of story that left a legacy, but at least it was one step closer to completing a mission he had been given. Quietly, Nova returned his attention back to the sensor readings he had been compiling for a larger more complete data burst back to the Ark scientists as well as Rewind when the time came and the archivist was within range.

Effortlessly and without pause the blue warrior's fingers dashed across the computer terminal within his arm. His fingers pressed holographic nodes adding compressed data before finally adding his own theories to the possible connection between the locals and their glowing green rock. As he worked his audio receivers opened up to the coded frequency that his team had agreed to utilize for this operation. Freeway's report was short and to the point, well maybe that was a bit of a stretch, but at least it managed to convey personal concerns regarding the potential linkage they had discovered.

Prowl, on the other hand, lived up to the verbose acceptance of the information from a tactical perspective and rejected the potential link. Nova couldn't blame the strategist, the posibility that the primative organics of this world could refine such a power source and yet not detect the radiation that it was emitting was laughable. However, Nova Strike maintained that the link was different beyond a technological standpoint. Perhaps by investigating the writings on the settlement walls, tablets or other alters and surfaces, could unlock the very details that they sought regarding the potential deposits of these ores.

Nova was not about to interject himself into the potential argument between Freeway or Prowl regarding that particular hypothesis. Instead Nova Strike finalized one of the more robust encryption codes he had been given privy access to and attached it to the compressed data burst. At the mention of Silverbolt being added to the operation, Nova Strike began to loose a smile. Perhaps now they had the means to find more dedicated sites for mining of these ores.

Nova Strike activated a simultanious link with the Aerialbot Commander and the Archivist that he was escorting. "Nova Strike to Silverbolt. Glad to hear you are back to operational status, though flying semi solo. I am sending you and your passenger a complete compressed data packet of the readings and text we've collected down here. If we can get a translation from Rewind and combine that with the maps Prowl requested, we might be able to dig out the original vein."

As Nova Strike sent his communique, he heard the orders from Prowl regarding the securing of the artifact. "Great, and I forgot my radiation proof lead box back on the Guardian." He turned to face Freeway and the glowing artifact. "Any ideas on how to load this thing up without damaging it or turning our inner electronics into Silicate Soup?"

<Got that, Red Horns. Blue Team will report when we have something else to report. Out> Freeway said finishing his mission report to the Autobot tactician, “Honestly using my name, you think he had never heard of using call signs?” he said to himself still he had to admit that if there were Decepticons in the area they probably would have noticed their arrival by now so it was probably safe to communicate without the need for call signs.

“So we'll have those hot-shot fly-bots on station if we need them, I'm sure they'll be a great use in mining. I always said that fly-bots needed to do some real work to keep their feet on the ground,” Freeway smirked, the Aerialbots had their uses of course, they had proven themselves good at scouting in the sky but it wasn't quite the same as having to infiltrate behind enemy lines on the ground, Freeway knew he was never able to turn tail and flee at mach four.

An idea did occur to Freeway about the question posed by Nova Strike, “Still Silverbolt might provide us with a solution to our problem. The Aerialbots can travel in space, yes? That means they have radiation shielding to protect themselves from stellar radiation. Maybe they'll be able to carry this thing without getting all melty? As for protecting it in transport we can pack it in some of this mud then use my laser to bake the outside of the mud into a crust so we have a safe way for moving it,” Freeway was well versed in the uses of mud as Wideload had learnt on several unfortunate occasions.

Peruvian Valley, Central Andes – Inside Abandoned Mine

Bumblebee sent a nonverbal acknowledgement to Prowl as he pressed deeper into the mine shaft. He ran his hands lightly over the surface of the rock using them as guides as he moved toward his intended target. The lights coming from his headlights seemed to become absorbed into the inky blackness of the shaft. It was actually very eerie. What if the hunger of this darkness was not satiated with the illumination coming from his headlights? Bumblebee shivered at the thought.

Several minutes longer and several meters further and his sensors began to pick up that same reading from earlier. “Finally.” He breathed. Bee took a step but stopped when he heard the tell-tale sound of shifting rock. “Uh oh.”

The minibot attempted to leap away, but the floor was faster. The rock beneath his feet crumbled sending him down into a dark abyss below. “NOO!” Bumblebee hit the ground hard, landing on his right shoulder dislocating it. He let out a low hiss as he grabbed it with his left hand.

Bee rolled onto his back and offlined his optics. He waited trying to will the pain in his shoulder to ease. It didn’t work. “Nice going, Bee. Your first assignment since…ugh!” He removed his left hand from his shoulder and slammed his balled fist into the ground, hard. “Prowl is gonna kill me. Or worse, reprimand me in that stoic tone while Ratchet beats me senseless with his favorite wrench.”

“Okay. I can’t lie here and sulk. Gotta…” With a grunt he lifted himself up into a sitting position and at the same time onlined his optics. “Aw man. Lights are out.” He ran his hand over his headlights and felt the jagged edges of what used to be glass. He had hoped he wouldn’t need to resort to night vision, if only to conserve some energy, but it seemed that it was his only option.

The entire area was bathed in a sickly green hue as his optics switch over to night vision. Bumblebee took several moments to take in his surroundings. Unfortunately, there was nothing. No exit, no way to climb back up through the breach he fell through and nothing of any use. Upon his second sweep he caught a glimpse of something that, to him, seemed out of place. “What is that?” He questioned.

His left hand back to gripping his shoulder, Bumblebee carefully stepped over the debris that had fallen into the pit along with him. Once he was close enough he ran a scan, the readings showing up clearly on his HUD. “It’s coal.” Bee ran his hand down the length of the wall. “Oh wow. Maybe I won’t be talked to death by Prowl.” A broad smile worked onto his faceplate as he opened up a commlink with the black and white.

After several long agonizing moments Bumblebee’s smile dropped. There was nothing. Not even static.What happened? The minibot raised his head and looked to the hole in the ceiling while he ran a diagnostic on his communicator. “Aw slag. Must’ve been damaged in the fall.” He spun around in place trying to find some way of either communicating with Prowl or to find a way out. Neither panned out.

The sound of rocks being crunched underfoot drew his attention back down and into the pit. It was dark. Primus not now. Not here. In one last desperate attempt to get help, Bumblebee cried out hoping the tactician would hear. “HELP! PROWL! ANYBODY!”

Peruvian Valley, Central Andes - Outside Abandoned Mine

Prowl continued to busy himself with scans of the surrounding area, keeping a careful lookout for any human intrusions that could stumble upon their little scouting mission. So far, so good. There was nothing to report and that suited the logic-driven mech just fine. However, with his primary focus on scanning and analyzing the immediate area, the black and white had almost forgotten about Bumblebee until his internal chronometer alerted him that the minibot’s check-in was long overdue. It certainly seemed a bit strange that the minibot had not checked back in to update the military strategist on his progress and/or potential findings. It was very possible that ‘Bee had simply forgotten or had lost track of time while searching through the tunnels, but that was still unlike him. A more logical conclusion was that something bad had happened.

Taking no chances, Prowl opened a comm line to the yellow scout as he approached the mine entrance:

>>”Bumblebee, this is Prowl. I haven’t heard from you in three breems now. What’s your status?”<<

There was no immediate response from the minibot as only static came back across the shared channel. Logically, there was one of two explanations. First, Bumblebee was too deep inside of the mine for a transmission to reach him or two, the scout’s communicator was damaged. If the second option was the case, then it was also logical to assume that ‘Bee, himself, was damaged, as well.

>>Bumblebee, this is Prowl! Can you hear me? Report at once!”<<

The strategist’s second attempt at contacting Bumblebee was just as unsuccessful as his first attempt. The black and white then knelt down at the entranceway and peered inside. “BUMBLEBEE! Can you hear me!!” The sound of his voice echoed into the dark tunnel, but he got no response back, at least nothing that his audios could pick up. Standing back to his full height, Prowl set his scanners on high and attempted to penetrate as deep into the mine as possible. The results showed nothing. The mineral ores that comprised the rock acted as a shield, only allowing scans to permeate so far in, and ‘Bee was apparently well out of range.

Prowl had no choice now. He had to determine what had happened and since the rest of the scouting team was preoccupied with other matters, the logical decision was for Prowl to enter the mine and find Bumblebee on his own. Of course, there was the small problem of how he would fit inside, but he already had a solution for that.

The black and white took a step back and transformed into his Nissan GT-R police car mode. Instantly, his human avatar, dressed in a policeman’s uniform, appeared in the driver’s seat. In this form, Prowl should be able to drive into the mine with just enough room to make clearance overhead and to both sides. At least that’s what he had determined visually with his optical sensors. He just needed to go slow to avoid unsettling any of the surrounding rocks and thus causing a cave in.

Easier said than done, Prowl thought as he opened up a comm line to the rest of the scouting team to inform them of what he was doing:

>>”Everyone, I’ve lost touch with Bumblebee. I’m heading into the mine shaft to locate him. It’s probably nothing but a busted transmitter, but if you don’t hear back from me within four breems assume that means we’re in trouble and will require assistance. I’m sending the mine’s coordinates now just in case. Until then, just carry on as previously ordered. Prowl out.”<<

With his message sent, the police car carefully rolled forward into the mine, disappearing into the dark void.

Inside Abandoned Mine

Prowl’s headlights were set on high which illuminated the darkened pathway ahead. He drove at a steady pace for almost a full breem, making sure not to strike the sides of the tunnel as he went deeper and deeper into the empty mine. It was a very tight fit, but his sensors alerted him of any outcroppings along the walls so that he could try and avoid such obstacles and thus maintain the integrity of the shaft.

“Bumblebee! Where are you?! Are you okay?!” Prowl’s vocals echoed all around him and throughout the mine, itself. At first he heard nothing, but then a cry for help echoed back to him. It was the yellow scout and he was clearly in distress. “I’m coming, Bumblebee! Just hang on!”

Picking up the pace slightly, the police car continued forward for several more meters until his headlights revealed a deep hole in the tunnel floor ahead of him. Prowl stopped several yards from the edge of the pit, not wanting to get too close and risk the surrounding earth giving way. Unable to transform due to the extremely tight confines around him, the black and white decided that it was best to send his holomatter avatar out to see if Bumblebee was down in that hole as the minibot’s pleas for help seemed to echo everywhere and therefore was difficult to pinpoint his exact location. Unfortunately, opening his doors was also impossible due to the close quarters and thus a little ingenuity was in order.

Prowl’s avatar vanished from behind the driver’s seat and immediately reappeared in front of the police-modified Nissan GT-R. The wonders of modern holomatter projectors, the strategist thought as his consciousness looked out through the eyes of the faux officer. The avatar then walked towards the edge of the hole and peered down into the blackness below. There wasn’t much he could see except for a slight metallic glimmer that might just be an Autobot.

“Bumblebee, can you hear me?! Are you down there?!” Prowl’s avatar called out, hoping to get the response he was hoping for. Of course, if ‘Bee was down there, it would be a real chore to get him out without risking the rest of the tunnel floor collapsing and trapping both of them within the mine. If that happened they would be stuck until one of the other members of the team came looking for them.

Peruvian Valley, Central Andes Mountains - Skies

Rewind had been spending his time dutifully mapping out the valley, constructing a three-dimensional holographic version of it at the same time. He was doing the best that he could anyway. With Silverbolt largely unresponsive to any of the tiny archivist's attempts at conversation, Rewind had grown quiet and simply carried out his duties with a small nagging concern that something was wrong with Silverbolt. The tiny archivist would have normally taken the Aerialbot commander's silence in stride, considering that Silverbolt probably had a few things on his processor. However, considering their non-existent proximity to the ground and the fact that Rewind lacked any flight capabilities whatsoever, the tiny archivist tried once again to break the silence.

"Hey...ah, Silverbolt? You doing alright there?"

Before the Aerialbot commander had a chance to answer him, Prowl's voice crackled over the comm lines.

>>”Silverbolt, Rewind, this is Prowl. I need you to do a fly over at the following coordinates ASAP. It is the location where Nova Strike and Freeway are currently scouting amongst some ancient human ruins at the northern end of the valley. They’ve located a new ore that has the potential to provide us with enough energy to power our future Autobot City. Conduct a thorough aerial survey of the area and provide Nova and Freeway with a detailed map. This will aid them in locating any further crystal deposits that may still be the region. Is that understood?”<<

A new ore? Perceptor would have a field day with that back on the Ark 22. The Aerialbot commander and Rewind had done a few passes within the proximity of that area before, but as of now, Rewind only had a rough image of the landscape. They would need to fly over there once or twice more. Circling it would be even better!

"You hear that, Silverbolt? Let's make tracks! Or...whatever the appropriate term is for aircraft. Vapor trails?"

Rewind was enjoying his role in this venture. There were terabytes of data and information to store into a whole new section of the Archives. It wasn't long before Nova Strike sent the airborne pair a communique as well.

"Nova Strike to Silverbolt. Glad to hear you are back to operational status, though flying semi solo. I am sending you and your passenger a complete compressed data packet of the readings and text we've collected down here. If we can get a translation from Rewind and combine that with the maps Prowl requested, we might be able to dig out the original vein."

"Semi solo?! What am I, spare parts?" Rewind huffed. The tiny archivist actually didn't mind the comment. He was all too eager to set his processor to work translating the text from the data packet Nova Strike had transmitted. Rewind loved a challenge like this. Accessing the archives, Rewind began cross-referencing the text with some other early human writings. It was slow going, but the readings slowly started to come together. A few letters evaded Rewind to the archivist's frustration. The tiny archivist was so absorbed in his work that he almost missed Prowl's communique about going into the mine shaft to look for Bumblebee. Pausing, Rewind frowned and hoped the scout would be alright.

Rewind decided to send a progress report in to Nova Strike and Freeway, opening an open link between the four of them. >>"Nova Strike, Freeway, this is Rewind. I'm almost done with the translation, and the map'll be done once I and Silverbolt here do a couple flyovers."<<

That done, the tiny archivist dove right back into the meticulous task of translating the text.

Peruvian Valley, Central Andes – Inside Abandoned Mine

It had been several breems and Bumblebee was starting to believe that one of two things up top was happening. One; Prowl was preoccupied with something else, like a Decepticon attack, or two; the other team was in need of his help and the logical thing to do was leave him in the hole he fell into until a better opportunity to save him popped up. Both options pretty much sucked.

Now, for what might have been for the hundredth time, Bumblebee tried to climb out of the pit. Unfortunately with only one working appendage the feet was not working as well as he’d expected.

With a thump and a crunch of rock Bumblebee fell back down to the floor on his aft. The minibot lifted himself up and let out a low growl. He rarely got angry but being trapped in this dark locale was just not his cup of energon. “Come on!” The scout gritted his teeth and set back to trying to climb out. And again he lost his grip, however he wasn’t as careful as he had been in his prior attempts and reached out with his injured arm to stop his decent. “UGH!” Hot searing pain shot through his shoulder as he lost his grip and he tumbled to the floor landing, once more, on his damaged shoulder.

He tossed his head back in a silent scream before rolling off his shoulder and digging his actuators deep into the loose gravel. Finally, the pain subsided enough for him to clench his hand onto a tight ball and slam it down in frustration. “Such an idiot. I should have seen that the floor was covered in loose rock before it even came into view.”

Bumblebee lay there for several more minutes before he began to hear what he thought sounded like an engine? The yellow mech lifted his head off the ground and keyed his audios to a much more sensitive setting. He picked up dripping water, the sounds of bats squeaking, and…a voice!

He scrambled up onto his feet, grimacing when he again tried to use his injured arm. “Gah! P…Prowl?! Is that you?!” Bumblebee moved to the wall of the pit and strained his neck cables as he tried to look up and over the rim of the pit.

And there it was. A smile spread over his dirty face as he finally heard the tactician’s voice. “Here! I’m here, Prowl! I fell into…well, I feel into a pit!” He grunted slightly as he tried to reach his hand up the wall. “I can’t climb out, busted up my shoulder pretty good!”

For a moment Bumblebee remained quiet as he drew his optics over the area he was trapped in. “Be careful! The ground’s not stable!” He had had time to examine every part of his prison and if he couldn’t be lifted out there was probably only one other option. “You might be too heavy to get close enough! But I might have an idea if whatever you’ve got planned doesn’t pan out!”

Peruvian Valley, Andes Mountains - Inside Abandoned Mine

Prowl was relieved when he heard Bumblebee’s voice coming from the bottom of the dark pit. From a logical standpoint, the military strategist had found his subordinate and did not have to waste anymore time searching the mine for him. Of course, that would’ve been problematic considering that there was a big hole preventing the black and white mech from progressing any further. As it were, there was an alternate problem in the form of the minibot's damaged shoulder, which had apparently hampered the scout's attempts at climbing out of the deep crater, himself. It was a difficult position to be in, but not an insurmountable one especially with the strategist now on scene.

“Understood, Bumblebee,” Prowl’s avatar called down to the injured Autobot. “I’m well aware of the unstable ground around the hole. You may not be able to see it, but I have my holomatter avatar deployed and standing at the edge while my actual self remains in car mode several yards back. Unfortunately, I am unable to transform due to the tight confines within the tunnel. Therefore, my human representation will serve as my body for now. It should be light enough to avoid any additional cave-ins. So, just hang tight. I do have a plan to get you out of there.”

The faux police officer stepped away from the edge and returned to the front of Prowl’s Nissan GT-R alt mode. The grill then opened up, revealing a basic grappling hook that would hopefully be long enough to reach the bottom of the pit. The avatar bent down and grasp the hook in one hand as the strategist extended the metal cable, providing plenty of slack for the holomatter human to work with. Walking back to the edge, the artificial cop threw the hooked end into the gaping hole while the GT-R continued to protract the cable to its maximum length.

When the metal cord had reached its limit, Prowl’s avatar peered over the edge again, trying to get a clear view of the minibot-in-distress. It was hard to tell if the hook had reached far enough into the dark pit for the scout to grab a hold of it. “Bumblebee, I’ve deployed a grappling hook down to you from the front of my alt mode. I’m afraid it’s not as long as something Hoist would possess, but it’s the best I can do in our present situation. Can you see the end of the line? Are you able to reach it? I might be able to give you a little more slack if need be, but not a lot as I would be risking the floor collapsing even further if my real body came much closer.”

Peruvian Skies - Central Andes Mountains

"I'm sure Slingshot and Air Raid are alright," Rewind said companionably to Silverbolt, "Nothing you can do for them right now anyway." Attempt at reassurance accomplished, Rewind finished up the translation of the text and filed away both the translated and original readings. Hopping out of the pilot's seat, Rewind made his way down to the open hatch in the bomb bay carefully. The last thing that he wanted was to get sucked out into open sky.

Bracing himself, Rewind leaned out to look down at the valley below. Chromedome would probably kill him if he ever found out how close the tiny archivist was to the edge. Leaning down low, Rewind all but stuck his head out of the bomb bay doors to get the best possible view of the valley. After a few passes, Rewind had the complete map of the area.

Retreating back into the safety of the bomb bay - nestled among bombs, not really safe, but hey - and took a moment to appreciate not being blasted by the wind. The tiny archivist wormed his way back up to the hatch and crawled back into the seat, closing the hatch behind him.

"Phew! Got it, Silverbolt!"

Rewind spent the next few astroseconds compressing the data of both the translated text and the map and transmitted it to Freeway and Nova Strike.

>>"Rewind here! I'm transmitting the text and the map now. Happy hunting, you two!"<<