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(OOC: With Ember's permission, I've started this new thread for the scouting mission storyline. A huge shout out to Marcus Rush for helping me with the opening description.)


Within a relatively secluded Peruvian valley that is surrounded by the Central Andes Mountains lies the future site of Autobot City. The valley in question runs from north to south and used to be home to the Incas. As such, there are ancient ruins from their long lost civilization scattered throughout the immediate region. Furthermore, modern day mineral mines that have been abandoned for many years can also be found bordering along the outer mountain range. Local geology includes a few glacier fed rivers that empty into a small lake with a surrounding jungle at the base of the valley. Higher elevations reveal a more desert-like and rocky terrain while the highest altitudes exhibit mountain peaks which are covered by ice and snow, an unwelcoming combination of elements that results in many of the trails leading into and out of the valley becoming largely impassable during the bitterly cold winter months.


Peruvian Valley - Central Andes Mountains

The shaft of light broke through the cloud cover overhead and struck the ground near the edge of a small lake. Once the intense brilliance had dissipated, the scouting team of five Autobots was revealed, a bit disoriented from the bounce but no worse for wear. It didn’t take long for Prowl to shake off the effects of the trip as he began to scan the vicinity for any signs of indigenous life. Thankfully, the only organic creatures detected in the immediate area were harmless in nature, consisting of a variety of birds, small mammals, reptiles and amphibians. There were no humans found to be nearby and hopefully it would stay that way.

Turning to face the scouting team, the military strategist gave each of them a curt nod before speaking. “Okay, team, we’re here. My initial scans indicate that we are alone save for the local wildlife, most of which pose no threat to us. However, keep your sensors attuned for any signs of humans that may eventually wander into the region. Infiltration protocols are to be fully adhered to. You can move about in robot mode in the harder to traverse areas just as long as there is no potential for human discovery. Otherwise, use your vehicle modes where applicable. We’ll begin scouting here at the bottom of the valley first and then slowly make our way into the higher elevations. Rewind, your job will be to record and document everything that you see. I want a detailed survey of the entire region by the time this mission is concluded.”

Prowl paused for a moment to allow what he just said to register before continuing to address the team. “We are looking for the future home of 'Autobot City'. It will largely be underground, so look for any kind of cavern that is well concealed from prying eyes. We also need to make note of mineral deposits such as iron and copper that we can utilize in the construction of the new outpost. There are abandoned mines in the area that are promising sources of such materials. Furthermore, scan for natural gas and oil reservoirs that would be easy for us to tap into and siphon off additional energon in order to power our long term operations here on the surface. Any signs of human activity, or Decepticon for that matter, will be reported to me immediately. Do not engage unless you have my authority or you have no other alternative. Is that clearly understood?”

The military strategist cast his icy glare to each mech to ensure they were all paying attention before his features finally softened a bit. “Excellent. Now, if there are no further questions, let’s spread out and begin scouting the region. Nova Strike and Freeway, take the northern end of the valley. Bumblebee and Rewind, you two are with me. We will cover the southern areas. I want everyone to keep a secured comm line open so that we may easily communicate with one another for regular status updates or any problems that we may encounter. Be careful and good luck to each of you.”

Peruvian Valley – Central Andes Mountains

Travelling via orbital bounce had never been one of Bumblebee’s prefer modes of transport, but in these times it was the means of transport. Maybe it was just the disorientation. Once they had materialized and that familiar light had receded back into the sky Bumblebee took a quick scan of the area. Of course he knew that Prowl had already done the same…probably even before they had fully arrived.

Noting of importance showed up on any of his own systems giving him plenty of reason to relax, but only marginally.

From the surrounding flora and back to Prowl, Bumblebee focused in on their team leader as he briefed them on just what was expected from each of them. He had no qualms with keeping in alt mode when needed and using their bipedal mode when the terrain called for it…after all he didn’t want to have to explain to Magnus that they had been seen by a native.

Bumblebee’s attention perked when the rest of their mission was finally revealed. Locating an area appropriate to begin construction on a new base…and not just a base, a city. It was fantastic…frighteningly fantastic.

The yellow mech began thinking of the possibilities of having such a structure on the surface would have. Of course they were stationed at a base prior to this but that one was their ship and it had been sunk in one of the Great Lakes. A city was just…so much larger.

The small scout sent a nod in Prowl’s direction as he moved to join the tactician and Rewind. With another quick optical scan of the area Bee looked back up at Prowl.

“You mentioned that there were abandoned mines in the area…maybe we should locate those and see it they’d be a suitable option to build our new home. We might even get lucky and find a mine to build in with mineral deposits and several sources of energy inside.”

Peruvian Valley - Central Andes Mountains

Prowl looked down at the approaching minibot and regarded him with a smile. “The mines are a good place to start looking, Bumblebee. It’s possible that the tunnels could lead to deeper underground caverns that would be large enough for our new base. Bear in mind, however, that the Ark-22 will likely serve as a central hub to the overall city. Therefore, we need a way to land the ship inside the cavern without drawing too much attention to ourselves. It’s quite likely that we may have to blast or dig our way inside as whatever entrances the humans have dug will just not be large enough by any means. It’s either that or we find a different spot. Still, it’s a fine starting point if only for the energy potential it could yield. Now, let’s go. There’s not a moment to lose.”

The military strategist gave both Freeway and Nova Strike a curt nod before motioning for Rewind to follow him and the yellow scout. Prowl remained in robot mode as he moved away from the lake and into the concealment of the surrounding forest. The sounds of the indigenous wildlife flooded his audio receptors like a swarm of hungry insecticons. Thankfully, there was nothing to be concerned about as none of these organic creatures could do any harm to an Autobot’s chassis. Still, they were a bit of an irritant and made it difficult to hear more important sounds such as any possible human activity that may enter the area without warning.

After hiking through the dense woods for almost a breem, Prowl stumbled out onto a primitive-looking dirt road that appeared to have not been traveled in quite some time. It ran south through the forest and would likely lead to one of the mineral mines of the region. The black and white glanced back over his right door wing to make sure both the scout and the cassettebot were still with him before walking to the center of the roadway and transforming into his Nissan GT-R police car mode. “Okay, it's alt mode time, Bumblebee,” the military strategist said as he then opened his driver’s side door to the tiny archivist. “Hop in, Rewind. My windows should be tinted enough so that no one will realize you’re not organic. If worse comes to worse, you can always transform and tuck yourself away into a seat cushion. 'Bee, don’t forget to activate your holomatter avatar. We’re going incognito for the time being. It doesn’t look like humans have used this dirt road for awhile, but you can never be too sure. Better safe than sorry.”

Peruvian Valley - Central Andes Mountains

Nova Strike released a rather loud stretch and yawn as his intakes absorbed the rich nitrogen air into his manifolds. His limbs reached out and cracked several gears and sprockets right into place and out of stagnant stations. "Earth huh?" He spoke as he rubbed down his torso trying to brush away the invisible effects of the bounce transport systems. He was never a fan of the mode of transport, then again given his line of work bounce networks were too easy to trace. Give him a drop pod any day.

Still he had to hand it to Blaster. So far no Decepticons had arrived to cause them trouble or respond to the massive surge in ambiant energies. Which meant one of two things, the Decepticons were too preoccupied with their Borilium Balonia Sandwich festivals or the Autobot communications officer had managed to outwit Soundwave's monitoring skills yet again.

The ranger allowed his tense body to finally relax and take in the surrounding sights. Magnificent trees lined the massive basin, intertwined with bushy vegitation. Nova Strike marveled at the lushness of the planet he had been assigned to explore. "So... these green things are the dominant forms of life on this planet. Definitely seems to be the most abundant."

His attention was snapped as Prowl began distributing patrol assignments. "Northern shore of the valley and lake." Nova's sensors immediately painted the range he was being ordered to investigate. His optics narrowed as several hidden structures began to register faintly on his HUD. Still he detected no motion nor technological imminations from those blocky marks on his monitors.

"Alright Prowl, we'll keep in touch. There are a few areas of interest along the northern edge of the river valley that has peaked my curiosity." Nova Strike tapped the isoliniar sensor package he had strapped along his right wrist and exposed a small slip from its internal mechanism. He then turned to Freeway and once again slapped the diminuative mech on the blind spot of his shoulder, covertly depositing the slip between two sensor pads. "Alright short stuff. Lets see what this rock has to offer. Faster we get this done, the faster we can get back to the frontlines."

Nova Strike transformed into his vehicle form, a Blue Ferrari Modena with custom tinted windows, curves along the wheel wells and a large segmented passenger dome. Instantly Nova remembered that this was not a combat operation and immediately retracted the large cannon that protruded from the center of the passenger dome and corrected the seals. He kicked over his engine and allowed the throbbing power to reverberate through the ground. Flocks of birds took off from their branches as the roar of his engines shook the trees around the Landing Zone. "Heh, had to get that out of the system." His engines fell silent as he activated the dampening fields that muted the raw surging energies his interior produced, rendering him all but silent.

"Lets get this show on the road."

Bouncing from orbit was not the worse way to travel and it certainly was quick, this time it had gone very smoothly for Freeway who nodded his impressed and set a personal note to thank the team who serviced the bouncing unit. The part of the planet they had bounced to was not without its organic life forms. The local aliens were probably doing various organic processes which Freeway had taken the time to read up on and then instantly wished he hadn't, it was all very revolting and he had been sorely tempted just to delete all that memory but then it might provide for some fun jokes down the line.

Being paired with Nova Strike wasn't too bad, at least that mech seemed to know how to get things done and might even have a sense of humour. Though Freeway wouldn't think of Nova Strike as being in charge of the duo he was happy enough to let the bigger mech choose the direction of travel since he had the sensors and all.

He watched Nova Strike transform into his vehicle form, the first time he had gotten to see an Earth design. It looked pretty sleek, clearly designed for top end performance, “Glad to see we are thinking along the same lines,” Freeway said and transformed into his own vehicle form, something called a Chevrolet Corvette Z06.

He instantly began to regret his choice of design. While undoubtedly it performed exceedingly well on roads the kind of terrain they would be tranversing would not offer a chance to go very fast, “We'd get this show on the road if there were actually a proper road. You show the way I'll bring up the rear,” Freeway started his engine, got ready to drive.

Peruvian Valley - Central Andes Mountains

As the disorientation of the bounce wore off - it always hit the cassettobot a bit harder than full sized Autobots - Rewind glanced around, taking in the majestic alien scenery with wonder. Earth was so strange and different from Cybertron, but it was grand in its own way. Rewind began recording his observations even before Prowl briefed them on their mission.

Rewind nodded and jumped into the driver's seat, settling in neatly. He glanced about to document their starting surroundings even though they hadn't embarked yet. This sort of assignment was one that the tiny archivist could thoroughly enjoy.

"All set, Prowl! Recording for posterity."

Rewind sat straight in the seat, looking about like a protoform that just set foot in Iacon for the first time. Getting paired with Prowl and Bumblebee suited him just fine. They certainly wouldn't get off track or be lead astray with Prowl heading their expedition team.

Peruvian - Hidden Valley: Northern End

Nova Strike carefully turned to avoid a large tree trunk that had been torn from the ground during what appeared to be a sliding of the soil several months back. Enough of its root system remained intact to give the being a limited burst of life, but Nova doubted it would ever be at full capacity as it had been before its current situation. His tires hugged the moist ancient cobble stoned path as it wound through the valley towards the north shore. Relatively intact, though broken and in dire need of a rebuild... or at least pavement.

He readjusted his gyro sensors for the continual vibrations as he and his partner ventured further into the thick dense forest. Eventually as he came around a large granite boulder, one that had mysteriously rolled onto the road several eons in the past. Nova Strike adjusted his initial estimate from Eons to Years, temporal mechanics and conversions were never his strong suit.

With his mind struggling to reach the appropriate temporal conversion, Nova Strike's sensors sparked a proximity alert. He slid to a stop as only those in the racing profession could. His tires squeeled briefly against the broken stone as he finally came to a halt at the edge of a small foot bridge, broken in the center and unable to hold the weight of a full sized Cybertronian. He left plenty of room for the Throttlebot comedian to adjust or drive past unheeded.

"Freeway," he finally called out as his sensors were tuned further northward to the entire flank on the other side of the earthen battery. "There is an artificial construct a mile up. Think you're up for a little off road exploration?"

Peruvian Valley – Central Andes Mountains

While Prowl elaborated on just what would have to be done in order to ensure that their new HQ’s location was safe Bee began to initiate several scans of the area and slowly let his systems bleed out in order to incorporate a larger locale. So far there were no immediate threats but that could change in a sparkbeat. With humans one could never be too careful.

The spy snapped back to attention flashing his unit Commander a warm smile before sending a slight nod in Prowl’s direction. Getting things moving was a welcome gesture to be sure. Without a word Bumblebee followed the black and white until the small group of three located a small but still useful dirt road.

As Prowl transformed into his alt mode Bee followed suit. Panels shifted and merged until the minibot had taken on his VW Beetle mode…he then activated his holomatter avatar as ordered. The image of a young woman appeared in Bumblebee’s front driver’s seat and quickly flashed the police officer and the cassettebot a smile. Bee revved his engine slightly before he finally headed out South on the road and toward what were surely the mineral mines.

Even at the distance they were at from their first targeted location Bee’s sensors could detect a faint energy signature…that must be radiating from several deposits.

“I don’t know about you, Prowl, but my sensors are tingling. I think there might be a mine up ahead…five megamiles to go. Should only take us eight kliks to get there.”

Bumblebee pushed ahead slightly giving him a much better feel for just how intense the energy signature was. And as he suspected it was getting stronger.

“Once we arrive I’d like to head in just to be sure the location is secure and that there aren’t any surprises that might have been left behind by any human miners. I’m small enough to slip in and back out without being detected. Hope that’s all right with you.”

Peruvian Valley - Central Andes Mountains

Once Rewind was secured in the driver’s seat and ready to depart, the door of the Nissan GT-R police car slammed shut and Prowl revved his engines just as Bumblebee joined him, assuming his own Volkswagen Beetle alt mode. Without waiting any longer, the black and white sped forward along the dirt road with the yellow minibot by his side. The ride was a bumpy one as the military strategist’s vehicle mode was not intended for off road travel. However, it was nothing that the analyst could not handle nor would it be something he would complain about. More often than not, discomfort was something that had to be endured for the betterment of the Autobot war effort, even on smaller missions such as this one.

The cassettebot, however, might find the trip a bit jolting to his tiny systems which were likely not accustomed to rough conditions such as these. Prowl could be wrong, of course, but it was still a logical assumption under the circumstances. “How you doing, Rewind,” the black and white asked, not out of real concern but simply to appear more friendly towards his fellow Autobots. After all, Prowl was well aware of how he was perceived within the ranks. It was an outward perception he needed to change to better aid him in achieving his goals, both long and short term. Internally, he would still be the same logical mech he had always been, one where emotion came second to pure reason and cold, hard facts.

As they continued their trek south, Prowl’s sensors began picking up the same readings that Bumblebee had detected, and those readings were getting stronger by the astrosecond. There was definitely a mineral mine up ahead, one that was hopefully devoid of human activity. “Eight kliks, huh? Well, ‘Bee, I say we double time it then! Why take eight when we can get there in four?” The police car accelerated, but allowed Bumblebee to pull just ahead which enabled the mission commander to keep an optic on his small comrade. The black and white didn’t want the scout to go off half cocked or anything. The yellow minibot was very brave and a real asset to the Autobot cause. However, after the recent capture by the Decepticons and subsequent torture by Darkride before being rescued, Prowl had sensed a change in the diminutive ‘Bot. It was only slight, but it was there whether the scout realized it yet or not.

Bumblebee then offered to head into the mine once they had arrived in order to ascertain how secure the tunnels were. Prowl considered the request for a moment before responding. “Agreed. However, I want you to be careful, Bumblebee. If there is any sign of instability within the mine I want you out of there immediately. Is that clearly understood? I can’t afford to have you trapped in there or worse.” While Prowl did not want to see Bumblebee get hurt, he was more concerned with completing the mission with as few a problems and setbacks as possible. Having to mount a rescue in the middle of the jungle would only slow the proceedings down when there was still so much ground left the cover.

After another half breem, the mine finally came into view and Prowl immediately pulled ahead of Bumblebee in order to survey the scene first. The entrance, itself, was covered with wooden boards that were nailed into place, a sure sign that the mine was long abandoned. The military strategist’s scanners could only penetrate so far into the rocky hillside that now stood before the trio, but what he could detect seemed very promising. “I’m reading mineral deposits within the mine including gold, silver, copper and iron. I’m not picking up any signs of humans, but then again my scanners only go so deep. You’ll have to remove those boards first, which shouldn’t be an issue. Then head inside and do your thing. See if there are any larger mineral deposits deep within or even larger caverns that I could fit in without having to remain in my alt mode. Now, listen carefully, ‘Bee. I don’t want you in there for more than a breem or two. After that, you are to report back here immediately. Understood?”

Prowl then turned his attention to the small passenger behind the wheel of the analyst’s police alt mode. “Rewind, I want you to begin surveying the area outside of the mine if you haven’t done so already. Be as detailed as you can and leave no stone unturned. Once Bumblebee reports back, we’ll decide whether further exploration of the mine is warranted.” The black and white then opened his driver’s side door to allow the archivist to exit. “I will stand watch for any signs of human intrusion into the region as well as conduct my own scans. Now, let’s get to work, team!”

Peruvian Valley - Central Andes Mountains

As their scouting party set off, the tiny archivist soon found himself bouncing sporadically in the driver's seat. It was jarring to say the least and very uncomfortable for the small cassettobot. However, the archivist's own discomfort was the last thing on his processor. Some of the playback of the footage that Rewind will have captured on this venture might be too erratic to make sense of. The archivist prided himself of the reliability and accuracy of his accounts. He braced himself as well as he could, trying to stabilizing his head.

Bracing himself actually made the ride a little less uncomfortable to Rewind's pleasant surprise. He diligently surveyed the passing scenery outside of the windows when Prowl inquired about his well-being. It took a moment to register. Concern was not something the analyst really ever expressed.

"I'm alright, Prowl. Doing my best."

Rewind continued to do just that until Prowl finally rolled to a stop. He slumped in the driver's seat a little, grateful that the jarring bouncing had stoppped. He listened attentively as Prowl gave out his orders and hopped out of the driver's seat.

"Right, got it, Prowl. Hey, Bee," the tiny archivist turned toward bumblebee with a look of concern, "be careful in there! Approximately two years ago, there was a bad mine collapse in Copiapo, Chile, and the workers weren't able to get out for 69 days."

That tidbit of information Rewind had dug up while researching anything that he could find on human history, cultural, and current events. He was glad it had some use! Rewind jogged off to go investigate and document the entrance of the mine.