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The Ark--Medical Bay

Before Chromia could really get going, the door to the room hissed open. Parts of the ship seemed to be whirring back to life again. Not the least of which were the occupants of this room.

Chromia excitedly poked Elita as they entered the room. Elita not only had optics wide open, she was grinning like a madmech. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The first mech to emerge was one she recognized. Eucryphia. He, of course, had no reason to recognize any of them. Regardless...he spoke.

“Who are you?!” he spoke. Elita couldn't make it out, but she had to assume it was Old Cybertronian. A linguist she was not. She did, however, remember an old trick that Kup had taught her. Instead, she simply reached into a compartment on her back and pulled out a silver container. After hitting a switch, it produced a small, glowing rectangle of energon. While she did this, another mechanoid emerged from his stasis pod. This one was even more recognizable than the first. Galvatron, Nova Prime's hard-edged first officer. He seemed to be visually assessing them, just as Eucryphia was. When he spoke, it seemed to be in the same dialect. Even so, there was a more menacing bent to his tone.

”Intruders! Identify yourself or perish in the hands of Galvatron!”

Elita opened an emergency channel to everyone.

>>"Um...we've made contact. Direct contact. Anyone that can speak Old Cybertronian needs to get to me, Chromia and Windblade's position, STAT."<<

She traded glances with Chromia and Windblade before holding out the sliver of energon.

"Bahweepgrahnahweepninibong."

In the Ark

Flash wrote:“Whoa, you mean we get a chance to see more of the ship?! Haha, this is great! Count me in too!”

Firestar smiled at Flash, grateful for the company. “Sure thing. The more the merrier.” She wasn’t one to scare easily, but this ghost ship was starting to get to her. She’d seen her share of battles, but freshly deactivated was easier to deal with than a long deal and frozen graveyard. It struck her as odd, but she didn’t want to dwell on it. Doing so would only make the shadows jump all the more.

Turning, Firestar headed for the door. It shouldn’t be too hard find the power cores, assuming they were in the standard area as on other ships. If not, well, she’d worry about calling Elita if they became lost.

As she stepped out of the room and rounded the corner, she heard the Teletran computer reactivating.

<<SYS-SYS-SYS-SYSTEM SCAN COMPLE-EEE-EeeEEE-TE. PRESENCE DETECT-DETECT-DETECTED: CYBERTRO-TROOOO-NIIIIIIIIIII-TRONIAN SIGNALS CONFIRMED. ERROR! ERROR! PRIMARY POWER NEUTRALIZED; POWER CORE RELAY UNALI-ALLI-ALLI-ALLI-ALINGED. EMERGENCY-EMERGENCY-EMERGEN-CY-CY-CY RESERVES POWERING UP. TELETRAN-AN-AN-AN-TRAN 1: ONLINE. DISENGAGING EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT SYS-SYS-SYS-SYSTEMS.>>

Oh, that’s just dandy. I leave the room and things start working. Hope that’s not an omen of things to come. A half smile appeared on her faceplate and she shook her head. This was the last time and place she expected a joke to come to her processor, but she couldn’t argue with the results. She felt a little lighter, despite the overlaying guilt at feeling anything but depressed at being in a tomb. Think of this as an archaeology expedition. You’re looking at history. Nothing more.

Wanting to appear as confident and sure as possible, she smiled at Flash and said, “Guess part of our job just got easier, what do you say, Flash?”

As soon as she finished, a private comm came through.

Lancer wrote:>>"Firestar, where are you going? I'm coming with you."<<

Boy, am I popular at the moment. Opening the channel, she said, >>We’re heading for the power cores.<<

She slowed her pace. “We’re going to have company.”

Elita-1 wrote:>>"Um...we've made contact. Direct contact. Anyone that can speak Old Cybertronian needs to get to me, Chromia and Windblade's position, STAT."<<

“What? Uh…” she looked at Flash. “Do you?”

[The Ark - Bridge]

Firestar wrote:“I thought I saw a spark in a monitor in the corridor, but thinking back, I’m not sure if it was real or the light played tricks on my optics.”

“Yes, a single spark would be a good confirmation that the ship has some power left, although the fuses may be blown. We would need to access the engineering deck to find out for sure.” As Hurricane finished responding to Firestar, the main monitor lit up with a blue hue.

Flash wrote:“Hey, Hurricane, though you said the circuits were frozen.”

“Perhaps not quite as frozen as I thought they were. Seems the circuitry may have a delay in shifting powe-” Before he could finish explaining to Flash, a laser scanned through the entire room. The others looked to be in shock. Hurricane himself was surprised. “A scan…? Did I…”

Teletran 1 wrote:<<SYS-SYS-SYS-SYSTEM SCAN COMPLE-EEE-EeeEEE-TE. PRESENCE DETECT-DETECT-DETECTED: CYBERTRO-TROOOO-NIIIIIIIIIII-TRONIAN SIGNALS CONFIRMED. ERROR! ERROR! PRIMARY POWER NEUTRALIZED; POWER CORE RELAY UNALI-ALLI-ALLI-ALLI-ALINGED. EMERGENCY-EMERGENCY-EMERGEN-CY-CY-CY RESERVES POWERING UP. TELETRAN-AN-AN-AN-TRAN 1: ONLINE. DISENGAGING EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT SYS-SYS-SYS-SYSTEMS.>>

“Spawn of a glitch!”

The white turbomaster couldn’t believe his optics. “This is THE Teletraan 1? Marvelous. A piece of history. Yet, with its sorry state, it doesn’t look like it’ll be powered on for long. We have to fix this power issue as soon as possible.” Hurricane looked over to see Lancer following Firestar, when he received an urgent comm from Elita.

Elita One wrote:>>"Um...we've made contact. Direct contact. Anyone that can speak Old Cybertronian needs to get to me, Chromia and Windblade's position, STAT."<<

Firestar inquired Flash if he knew. “He doesn’t. But I know some basics.” Slag, we’re getting a lot on our hands now. He tried to regain his composure, feeling the load of responsibility upon his shoulders now. He didn’t know whether to reach for his weapon or not, wondering if the femmes had things under control. The others on the shuttle were about to reach soon enough, hopefully, so maybe they might have some more backup.

For now, the engineering deck was going to have to wait. It was time to take a detour. He turned to the rest of the bots around him. “Let’s go, down to Elita to see who they’ve made this… direct contact with.”

[The Ark - Medical Bay]

When Hurricane arrived at the Medical Bay, his optics did not land on Elita, Chromia or Windblade at first. No, his vision went beyond that, to the two unknown mechs, as Elita recited the universal greeting. He gave her a nod, followed by saying, “Let me try.”

The nervousness crept into his arms and legs, making him feel like collapsing into alt mode. He had read stories of the past, of Nova Prime and his great crew. The two mechs definitely looked ancient. While he did not recognise one of them, the other was vaguely familiar. Somewhere he had read about a powerful warrior, one of Nova Prime’s best, armed with a weapon of mass destruction. Another few accounts seemed rather… exaggerated. Supposedly he had helped Nova Prime unite the tribes with just his actuators and a lick of rust. Another where it mentioned him firing his cannon across space and hitting a single nail, dead center.

Whether or not these accounts were true was to be determined. The purple warrior certainly did not look like he was happy. Rather than test his patience any further, Hurricane summoned up the courage to talk.

But he almost forgot. What was he going to say? Perhaps it would be best to just start it off with a greeting. That would be the best course of action right now.

“HєƖƖσ. Ɯє αяє Oттσвσтѕ. Ɯє cσмє ιηтσ ρєαcє.” This was the best that he could muster up. His old cybertronian was not perfect, but hopefully it made some sense.

OoC: Due to a misconception, I will rewrite entirely edit my post accordingly.

Med Bay

Windblade watched in awe as an ancient Cybertronian by the name of "Galvatron" stepped out from another pod, and was no less startled than the other. She frowned as the crested mech ordered them to identify themselves, or suffer his wrath. Windblade didn't know the mech personally, but she could definitely empathize with his startled behavior. After all, he did just travel through time.

The femme's eyes widened at the thought. Galvatron may not have been the only one who traveled through time. What if Windblade had been in the pod for longer than she thought? What if she was in her obelisk for centuries, or perhaps even millennia?

Windblade caught herself from gasping. Best not to make a slip in front of someone so tense.

But to the matter at hand. She understood Galvatron's language, but she didn't know whether or not she could speak it well enough to hold a diplomatic meeting, let alone quell someone's nerves. That was when Hurricane walked up and made his passing attempt at language. Windblade winced.

"Perhaps," Windblade began softly, stepping forward, "Perhaps it would be prudent to allow me to speak for you."

She didn't know it all that well, but she knew it better than him. But that was the odd part. How could she have learned it? She remembered fragments of a voice, large and warm, tutoring her about various aspects of the language. Windblade obviously didn't finish her lessons, otherwise she would have been fluent. But the voice... What was that voice? Who did it belong to?

Just where did she come from?

"We are friends." Windblade said promptly, slowly and surely. Simple sentence structure was all she could manage in Old Cybertronian, but it got the point across.

She made passing gestures to each member of their crew as she named them off, one by one. Hopefully, putting a name to their faces would calm Galvatron down enough for a line of diplomacy.

The Ark – Bridge

Road Rage had remained with Hurricane, Lancer, Flash and their group when Elita-1 and Chromia had gone in a different direction. The former bodyguard kept to herself as they had traversed the corridors to what they thought was the bridge. Once inside, they had discovered several “dead” mechs in various states of disrepair.

“It’s pretty creepy in here,” Road Rage muttered out loud to no one in particular as she slowly made her way around the room. She knelt down and took a closer look at one mech who had fallen to the floor. He was mostly frozen and was missing a limb along with half his faceplate. “Very creepy,” she reiterated as a blue light suddenly began to pulsate before a harmless blue beam shot out across the bridge.

The crimson femme stood back up suddenly in surprise as the beam separated and created a grid pattern, quickly scanning the room and it’s occupants. Subsequently, the Ark’s computer came to life:

Teletran-1 wrote:<<SYS-SYS-SYS-SYSTEM SCAN COMPLE-EEE-EeeEEE-TE. PRESENCE DETECT-DETECT-DETECTED: CYBERTRO-TROOOO-NIIIIIIIIIII-TRONIAN SIGNALS CONFIRMED. ERROR! ERROR! PRIMARY POWER NEUTRALIZED; POWER CORE RELAY UNALI-ALLI-ALLI-ALLI-ALINGED. EMERGENCY-EMERGENCY-EMERGEN-CY-CY-CY RESERVES POWERING UP. TELETRAN-AN-AN-AN-TRAN 1: ONLINE. DISENGAGING EMERGENCY CONTAINMENT SYS-SYS-SYS-SYSTEMS.>>

Lancer then demanded to know who did it. Who messed with Teletran-1? “Not me,” Road Rage quickly responded, putting her hands up into the air. “I was no where near it.” Lancer then rushed out of the room, looking for Firestar. Soon afterwards, everyone received a message from Elita-1 over their emergency comms:

Elita-1 wrote:>>"Um...we've made contact. Direct contact. Anyone that can speak Old Cybertronian needs to get to me, Chromia and Windblade's position, STAT."<<

>>”I might be able to help. I’m on my way!”<< Road Rage commed back as she hurried out of the room. As a former advisor and bodyguard to the old senate, Road Rage was well versed in multiple alien dialects and cultures, and that even included some old Cybertronian dialects, as well. She wasn’t an expert and she was very very rusty, having not used it in many many vorns, but she was better than nothing.

The Ark – Medical Bay

Arriving in the med bay, Road Rage was stopped in her tracks at the sight of none other than Galvatron, himself. Holy frag! The former bodyguard thought to herself as her optics widened at the sight of Nova Prime’s second-in-command. She was frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

"Dear Primus, is that...Galvatron?!"

The Ark - Medical Bay

When a second form emerged from a CR pod and spoke to them, Chromia began to have her doubts. She didn’t recognize the purple warrior or his compatriot. She figured them to be of the original crew, but she only knew names. She hadn’t religiously watched the holovids. That being said, the big purple one looked important. He was probably Galvatron.

Elita gave them the ole universal greeting. The first one that woke seemed to pause. Well, that was something at least, right? The others rushed to them and all began to try their hands at ancient Cybertronian. Geez, she had no idea they had so many linguists in their little rag tag group. Here she thought Ancient Cybertronian was a more rare thing. Well, she wasn’t complaining.


-
Eucryphia looked to the growing assembly of Cybertronians warily, his hand on the hilt of one of his swords. The universal greeting had caught him a bit off guard. Were they not Cybertronian? Why would they use that instead of addressing them properly? As one made another attempt at communication, Eucryphia slowly began to realize. He turned to Galvatron, and lightly touched him on the arm.

“My lord, they seem to mean us no harm. More importantly, we must ensure the safety of Nova Prime.”

Galvatron looked to Eucryphia and nodded grimly, gesturing for him to proceed. Drawing his swords, Eucryphia approached the group and gestured with a wave of his sword.

”Move aside for Lord Galvatron,” he said slowly and distinctly so that their translators would understand, ”Or be moved.” In response, Galvatron stepped forward, his menacing shadow looming over the Autobots as if to emphasize Eucryphia's words and express his impatience.


The Ark - Corridors

Thunderclash arrived in a flurry of ice and snow, having spotted the entrance from a fair distance away. Transforming, he limped over to Patchwork and clapped him on the shoulder. He was about to say something when a lot of chatter came over the comms. Direct...contact? With the Ark’s crew? Moving into the dark of the ship, he moved toward where Elita’s transponder signal was coming from.

What he saw was well. Disturbing. Two figures from the past stood before them, brandishing weapons. They spoke Ancient Cybertronian. That Thunderclash clearly recognized. They were in no state to combat legends. For that matter, he had no desire to do so, but if they threatened his crew, he would be left with little choice.

“No sudden movements, any of you,” Thunderclash said calmly from behind the group, “We wouldn’t want to startle or provoke them more than we already have.”

((OOC: Small edit made to include Galvatron at Cry's request.))

[The Ark - Medical Bay]

It seemed that he was not the only one with some manner of knowledge in Ancient Cybertronian. Windblade, for one, had experience. Her pronunciations were certainly better, although that could be due to the her mysterious origins. The one with the sword seemed to be saying something quietly to Galvatron. He tried his best to decipher, although their accent and fluency was a bit troublesome to check with. Something about the group being harmless. Thank Primus they do not think of us as hostiles. And… Nova Prime? Was he hearing this right? Yes, he was. It certainly seemed to be.

Eucryphia wrote:”Move aside for Lord Galvatron, or be moved.”

The swordmech responded directly, this time. Hurricane gestured to the rest of the Autobots present to shift to the sides. “They want us out of the way for now. And…” He didn’t finish. Well, it was more like he didn’t have to. Thunderclash had arrived with the rest of the crew on the shuttle.

Thunderclash wrote:“No sudden movements, any of you. We wouldn’t want to startle or provoke them more than we already have.”

“Ah yes, Thunderclash. Don’t worry, it seems we are on favourable terms here. A bit of a language barrier was present, but we have sorted that out.” He looked over to Galvatron and the swordmech walking past, and opened up a comm on a secured frequency to all the Autobots. >>”Though it seems we may have some things on our hands that we weren’t quite expecting.”<<

The Ark – Corridors/Medical Bay

Hurricane wrote:“Let’s go, down to Elita to see who they’ve made this… direct contact with.”

Firestar didn’t hesitate in following Hurricane. She may not be the best equipped when it came to a fight, but she’d be slagged if she’d stand by while her friends faced something unexpected and possibly dangerous.

Judging from what she’d seen of the former crewmembers, she couldn’t help but imagine the horrors the others may have encountered. Half frozen, half rusted mechs wandering around, searching for fresh energon to…

Stop it. Now is not the time to relive a holographic novel. I gotta keep my head in this. Elita and the others need me… need all of us.

While the thought was reassuring, she couldn’t fully push those thoughts and memories aside. She’d spent too much of her lifecycle performing in those and other features to shut them off. Though, she thought, this would be the perfect time to start.

When they reached the medical bay, she came to a stop at seeing the two mechs standing by the open chambers. It only took a few words of the ancient language for her to know she was out of her depth in that. Judging from the weapon the one (Galvatron, was it?) wielded, she wouldn’t be much help there, either. Still, she remained and followed Hurricane’s advice as others entered.

Scrap. I have a bad feeling the calvary isn’t a good thing right now.

~~~

Bringing up the rear, Scorch kept his optics and sensors at the ready for any sign of trouble, though he doubted such a thing even existed on this icy wasteland. Still, that didn’t mean he’d shirk his duties. It simply wasn’t in his programming.

The trek didn’t take as long as he expected, but then he’d also raised his body temperature to keep ice out of his joints, so the environment didn’t hinder him as much as the others. This is why I guard their afts. Someone’s got to stay loose back here, He chuckled at his thought as they reached the Ark.

As much as he had forced his attention to protecting his comrades, he’d snuck a few glimpses at the ancient ship here and there. Now, as they stepped inside, he knew it’d be more difficult than previously to not be drawn into awe at finding such a relic. Normally a simple task to stay focused on his duty, he was grateful for the added incentive to remain vigilant. If these mechs prove dangerous in the slightest, he’d take them out. Clean and easy. Well, maybe not so clean.

His hands flexed on his fire turbine engine, just itching to use it on these ancient mechs if they so much as glitched a hostile intention.

Thunderclash wrote:“No sudden movements, any of you. We wouldn’t want to startle or provoke them more than we already have.”

Scorch glanced at Thunderclash as a brief debate surged through his processor, but in the end, he did what he always did. He moved aside as Hurricane indicated, after Thunderclash moved, of course, “Right, boss. I’m frosty… until they make an aggressive action,”

He was one of the few there that knew the name Galvatron, rather, he knew of the exploits of the mech that had had that designation. If this was the Galvatron, then now would be the best time to strike.

Hurricane wrote: >>”Though it seems we may have some things on our hands that we weren’t quite expecting.”<<

Scorch turned his attention to the mech. Responding on the same open channel, he said, >>Yeah, so I noticed. Are you sure they’re not dangerous? If there are any doubts, now would be the time to act before they refuel.<<

The Ark--Medical bay

Elita-1 stood perfectly still, watching the entire scene play out before her very eyes. In her mind, Galvatron's presence confirmed that the lost Prime, Nova, was indeed somewhere on this ship. Not all of them were aware of just how much history they were making, but Elita was. That was why she had every intention of treading carefully.

“No sudden movements, any of you,” Thunderclash said calmly from behind the group, “We wouldn’t want to startle or provoke them more than we already have.”

"Agreed," Elita said calmly, moving slowly to one side as Eucryphia seemed to indicate was necessary. Hurricane went a step further and confirmed as much.

“They want us out of the way for now. And…" he said, before trailing off. She traded intermittent glances with Chromia as she watched the ancient Cybertronians take their leave of the area. >>”Though it seems we may have some things on our hands that we weren’t quite expecting.”<<

>>"Maybe I'm just caught up in the awe of the moment, but what exactly are those 'things' you're referring to...besides the whole rediscovery of the first Ark and its original crew being completely unexpected."<<

However they decided to proceed, these were not enemies, thus Elita had no reason to treat them as such. They were practically figures straight out of Cybertronian folklore at this point. Even so, they were very much alive. And needed to be dealt with just like any other living being.

"Well, they wanted us out of the way. They didn't say anything about not following them," Elita said with a smirk as she slowly exited through the same path that Eucryphia and Galvatron had taken.

>>Yeah, so I noticed. Are you sure they’re not dangerous? If there are any doubts, now would be the time to act before they refuel,<< Scorch transmitted.

>>"I'm not sure and I have some doubts, but this situation requires us to be reactive only. I hope you agree, Thunderclash. Attacking them based on suspicion would be....I'm going to put it as nicely as I can...foolhardy."<<

The Ark – Medical Bay

Road Rage had been right. The original crew of the Ark-1 were here and some of them were still alive. The purple mech with the very large arm cannon was definitely Galvatron. That she had no doubt. However, she was unsure who the other one was. It mattered little at the moment. Their words were of ancient Cybertronian and she kind of understood a little of what they were saying but not a lot. Certainly not enough to try and communicate with them.

Hurricane wrote:“They want us out of the way for now. And…”

Thunderclash wrote:“No sudden movements, any of you. We wouldn’t want to startle or provoke them more than we already have.”

The crimson femme looked back over her shoulder and was surprised to see Thunderclash standing right behind them all. A smile breached her faceplate as she was very happy to see him up and about. Road Rage gave her commander a nod before looking back at Galvatron and stepping to one side to give him and the other Ark crew member enough room to move by them. Once they were gone, Elita-1 spoke up.

Elita-1 wrote:"Well, they wanted us out of the way. They didn't say anything about not following them.”

“Indeed,” Road Rage replied as she moved towards the exit of the medical bay. Before leaving the room, the former bodyguard approached Thunderclash and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder plate.


“How are you feeling, ‘Clash?” Road Rage asked, smiling. “You look better than before, sir, but try not to overdo it. You’ve been through a lot lately and are still not at full strength.” She then glanced out the door to where Galvatron and the other Ark crew member had gone. “I think we should follow them as Elita said," the red warrior suggested as she returned her attention to the Regional Commander. "After all, if Galvatron and this one are alive it’s very likely that Nova Prime is, as well.”

Road Rage couldn’t imagine actually meeting Nova Prime, himself. It was enough to have stood in the same room as Lord Galvatron, but Nova, as well? Her spark may not be able to take it.

The Ark – Medical Bay

Elita-1 wrote:>>"I'm not sure and I have some doubts, but this situation requires us to be reactive only. I hope you agree, Thunderclash. Attacking them based on suspicion would be....I'm going to put it as nicely as I can...foolhardy."<<

What’s foolhardy is allowing someone we don’t trust to walk around without a debriefing. Scorch wisely kept his thoughts to himself as he knew better than to question his superiors. Still, something about this didn’t feel right. If Elita didn’t trust them, then she had a plan, right? Guess we’ll just have to watch them closely and hope we don’t regret it.

He forced his servos to lock up so he wouldn’t shake his head. There was too much going on and they were too on edge and flailing about to process smoothly. But that wasn’t his concern, what was his concern was covering their afts, and he couldn’t do that by standing aside and any mech, especially outdated, half powered ones.

He gripped his weapon a little tighter as the mechs walked past him and let his optics track their movements. Especially this Galvatron. He was obviously the leaders and the other one was his… Well, me, Scorch thought, then dismissed it. He wasn’t a trusted advisor or bodyguard, but a rearguard. Not that he was less important, just a different skill set.

He waited as patiently as possible for word from Thunderclash that contradicted Elita’s. Not that he didn’t trust her judgement, he just trusted his team leader more.



Unlike Scorch, Firestar followed Elita-1’s instructions without question. They’d been through too much over the millennia to second guess her commander. Still, she couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that twisted her internal circuitry at the site of the ancient mechs and hearing Elita’s concerns didn’t help. As she watched Galvatron and his subordinate pass by. Only then, did she remember what she and the others were about to do when the comm came.

While the power core didn’t seem to be important at the moment, information was, and to get that they needed to get the power turned on fully. Of course, the thought that the survivors would wish it to be activated had crossed her processor, and that sparked what could be a potentially stupid idea. But, under the circumstances, it was the only way she could see for them to be proactive in the situation and maybe not cause a conflict.

As she remained unmoving, she opened a channel to Elita-1. >> Elita, we were going to head for the power core to see if we can’t reconnect main power when your message came through. I don’t know if it’s wise to turn it on yet, but maybe we can drain enough into battery packs to power certain systems to limit their access?<<

She winced inwardly at how she sounded. Primus, I rambled It was a fatal mistake she’d seen others make on the stage when they forgot their lines, and one she had avoided until now. Oh, that sounded so much better in my processor

The Ark - Bridge

Old cybertronian? What were they talking about down there? Flash wondered as he stared at the blue light that had flickered on and dark screens before him. I mean the supposedly dead Ark just shouted at us, wonder why everyone’s running off.

>>”Hey guys, whenever someone in charge gets a chance, wanna make your way to the bridge? The ship just kind of talked at us.”<< Flash commed in to the whole group.

“Excuse me, Mr. Ship,” Flash began, tapping at the dark screen curiously, “You still there?”

<<“Teletran-1 st-st-standing by for commaaaaand.”>> The console responded back in a glitched monotone.

“Oh hey! You aren’t speaking the Old C, Awesome! Okay, Teletran, do you know what happened? Like, how y’all got stuck like this?”

<<“Data not found. Emergency reboot/lockdown sequence en-en-en-en-engaged. Master key requi-qui-qui-quired.”>>

“Master Key? So there’s no power and we’re locked out of the system?” Flash inquired aloud, scratching at his helm.

-

Following alongside Thunderclash and the rest of the stranded, Nautica shifted from her alt mode as they reached the legendary starship stuck in the ice.

“Galvatron?” She had asked to no one in particular as she brought out the synthesized Energon she managed to craft from the little resources they had. “What’s a Galvatron? Something important I assume?”

As if almost on cue, two towering mechanoids rounded the corner near where Thunderclash and the others had entered from. One was clad in violet purple and gray armor, the other a more deep navy blue and gold but both looking very sharp and rough around the edges. Nautica nearly leapt off her feet at the sudden appearance of these two ancient mechs. “Who-wait, what?Where’d they come from?! Who’s that??”

-

Back in the bridge, Flash continued to try and speak with the onboard computer system, having no luck getting through to this Teletran system it was claiming to be.

“Man I am really not cut out for this computer stuff. Why did Hurricane have to-“ Flash was cut off as 2 sets of unfamiliar crimson optics bore through the darkened interior of the low light bridge. He froze as their large frames approached closer within the bridge. His servos shaking, he nervously spoke up not knowing what he should do.

“I uh, um... Hello there? Heh...”

Death lingered in the silent corridors of the Ark as Galvatron made his way towards the bridge of the once mighty vessel. Bodies of once proud Cybertronian warriors littered the floors of the giant ship, reminding him of the tremendous loss the traitor had brought with his actions.

They had served well. As had those who had managed to make their way into the CR chambers before the inevitable crash. Their sacrifice, their prolonged death as their remaining life force had been sucked slowly away to sustain the lives of their betters had ensured their place in history of the Cybertronian Empire. And now their grave had been disturbed.

So many questions still left unanswered. How long had they slept waiting for someone to find them? What had happened during their absence? Did their empire still exist? Had the traitors taken over? And these strangely talking Cybertronians wearing the ancient symbol of the Primes, who were they? Scavengers? Their sorry, beaten up state certainly suggested as much. Yet, Galvatron had seen enough during his life to recognize battle damage when he saw it. And these Cybertronians wielded theirs with nonchalance only battle hardened soldiers did.

And despite of their obvious familiarity with combat, these Cybertronians were following him and Eucryphia like awestruck protoforms. Could it mean? No. No matter. They would all fall before his might were they foolish enough to step on his way. Let the Prime decide their plan of action.

As Galvatron stepped into the bridge, his optics immediately fixed onto a smaller red, blue and yellow Cybertronian shaking nervously in front of Teletraan-1's control panel, clearly his tampering with it being interrupted by their arrival.

"Intruder! Stand away from the computer!" Galvatron growled at the startled mechanoid while heading straight towards Flash who seemed to be frozen on his tracks for reason or another. It mattered little to Galvatron who upon reaching Flash, swatted him away effortlessly with a swipe of his hand. The ancient warrior proceeded to place his hand on the interface panel now before him, almost instantly causing the desired reaction in Teletraan-1.

<<"M-m-master key recog-cog-cognized.">> The computer responded. <<"Rerou-routing aaaall emer-mergency power to com-commaaand capsu-sule.">>

A hidden hatch in the floor where command throne of the ship was once located opened and lights lit up down the tube leading deep into the ship's depths.

"Too long you have slept." Galvatron spoke out as the command capsule rose from the depths of the ship almost as pristine as the day it was sunk into Ark's bowels to protect its invaluable content.

"Arise Nova Prime."

OoC: I was only slightly lying when I said I would post two days ago, I guess! See! Only marginal disappointment on all fronts.

The Ark -- Medical Bay

Windblade understood most of what their hosts said, and could get the general gist of what they meant when Galvatron and his entourage strode past them briskly. She pressed her slender form to the door frame as the hulking giants trod between them, her smaller stature clear from their path.

Galvatron didn't seem to be the type to dawdle, wasting little time on even diplomacy. She took it as an affront to her honor; not only were her efforts of diplomacy seemingly brushed aside, but she was blown past as if she didn't exist at all.

She frowned. She understood that they were guests -- if not intruders -- but they deserved more than an offhanded comment and a brutish sweep out of their way. She had half a mind to draw her blade and make them give the respect that she and her friends deserved, but thought better of it. Galvatron and his newly resurrected entourage had no idea who they were, nor what would insult them. Society changes as the times.

Nevertheless, she strode behind the hulking Galvatron, her lips being tugged downward into a frown. The woman followed them to the bridge, then to the computer terminal and the Autobots already trying to man the controls.

"Um, I wouldn't get in his w--" Windblade began, but Flash was already tossed aside, "... Way. Sorry."

The purple man began to interface with the computer, and the hollow hum of electrical power echoed through the walls as it surged all around the room. A hatch opened, a gaping hole letting stale air wheeze into the room, bringing a cool, deathly air with it. Windblade would have winced if she hadn't already gotten used to the smell already.

But then Galvatron spoke a word that she knew. She didn't know why, but... It was familiar. "Prime".

Her energon began to race through her body, but she didn't know why. What was this feeling? Who was a Prime? Or maybe a better question, what was a Prime?

The capsule breached the floor and, with a mechanical hiss, locked into place. Ice rolled on the slick, metal sides of the cylinder, cold air rolling down its shape onto the floor. Glass would have revealed who -- or what -- was held within, had it not been frozen over completely by eons of frost and ice.

"Who...?" Windblade couldn't help but to blurt out, her wings standing rigid.

He was obviously important, but she wasn't going to insult their hosts by asking who this "Nova Prime" was. Unlike Galvatron, she actually understood diplomacy. But that didn't stop her from asking her friends.

She didn't care who answered her, but she knew that their older members present wouldn't understand her when she asked to the open air, "Who... Who is Nova Prime?"

[The Ark - Corridors]

Elita-1 wrote:>>"Maybe I'm just caught up in the awe of the moment, but what exactly are those 'things' you're referring to...besides the whole rediscovery of the first Ark and its original crew being completely unexpected."<<

>>”By the looks of things… And from what I understood, they were talking about Nova Prime. If it means what I think it means, then this might end up as a problem for us.”<< Hurricane joined the rest of the group, which seemed to be following the two ancients.

Scorch wrote:>>”Yeah, so I noticed. Are you sure they’re not dangerous? If there are any doubts, now would be the time to act before they refuel.”<<

>>”So long we don’t provoke them. I’ve read some things about Galvatron. Nudge their patience, and their ire will awaken. It’ll most likely result in all of our limbs crushed. Best to keep low for now.”<<

Hurricane mentally debated the possibilities of what kinds of things could be concerned with Nova Prime. Surely, there had to be more mechs in the Cryogenic Recovery Chamber room. He wondered what kind of entourage was lying beyond. Other, similarly powerful and mysterious warriors? It didn’t matter. Their main objective at the moment was to survive, both the frostbites and Nova Prime’s crew.

Flash wrote:>>”Hey guys, whenever someone in charge gets a chance, wanna make your way to the bridge? The ship just kind of talked at us.”<<

>>”On our way, Flash. We’re reaching in a klik.”<< Did he just say that the ship talked at him? That must have been Teletraan-1. Best to get there before Flash messed with any of the controls.

By the time the group had reached, Galvatron and the other ancient had already begun operating the controls. The purple warrior placed his hand on the interface, which caused Teletraan-1 to spring up.

Teletraan-1 wrote:<<"M-m-master key recog-cog-cognized.">> The computer responded. <<"Rerou-routing aaaall emer-mergency power to com-commaaand capsu-sule.">>

He’s in possession of the master key? Looks like we would need to work with them for the time being. The hatch under the captain’s seat opened up, revealing a deep, vertical shaft. A faint, dim light emitted from it.

Galvatron wrote:”Rєѕт уσυ нανє тσσ Ɩσηg. Ɯαкє Ɲσναє Ƥяιмυѕ.”

”You have rested too long. Rise, Nova Prime.” Hurricane’s mind translated Galvatron’s words almost as if there was some outside force conducting his mental processors as if it were part of an orchestra. He didn’t realise that he was speaking out loud. He was just in such awe of having witnessed such an event.

He was watching history unfold before his eyes.

But from elsewhere, an intrusive thought came into his mind. The fuel cores still needed to be checked. With the way Teletraan’s speech automation was going, there was probably a lot on this ship that was in need of some desperate repair. But power was the most important thing.

Slag. Why am I the one doing this?

The white turbomaster tried his best to communicate with the two ancients in his broken Old Cybertronian. “Ƭнє яσσм σf єηgιηє ιѕ ηєcєѕѕαяу fσя cнєcкιηg. Ɗαмαgє мαу вє ρяєѕєηт ιη ρσωєя cєƖƖѕ. SнσυƖɗ I Ɩσσк αηɗ αттємρт fιxιηg?” He turned around and explained what he had just said to the rest of the crew. A chill went through his circuits, not just from the climate, but from the sheer tension of the room’s atmosphere.

The Ark--Corridors

Elita-1's footfalls could barely be heard by even the most carefully-tuned auditory sensor as she and some of the others followed Galvatron to the bridge of the Ark. She was doing her level best to not allow her sense of awe to override her sense of survival.

>>Elita, we were going to head for the power core to see if we can’t reconnect main power when your message came through. I don’t know if it’s wise to turn it on yet, but maybe we can drain enough into battery packs to power certain systems to limit their access?<<

>>"Understood,"<< Elita commed back. >>"Do nothing for the time being. Just remain on standby. Now that we've awakened some of them, I don't want any of us doing anything that could be perceived as interference."<<

Elita followed and watched as Galvatron entered the bridge and summarily swatted away one of Thunderclash's crew. She tensed, but did nothing. It was not a destructive blow, rather one meant to clear a subordinate out of the way. At least that was the way a certain segment of society dealt with their subordinates. Old habits not only died hard...sometimes they did not die at all.

Galvatron interacted effortlessly with the ship's primary computing system, as Elita had fully expected he would.

”Rєѕт уσυ нανє тσσ Ɩσηg. Ɯαкє Ɲσναє Ƥяιмυѕ,” Galvatron spoke, though Elita understood none of it. Well, not quite. She had picked out one word. "Prime". The reactions of some of the others, particularly that of their rescuee, confirmed what she thought she had heard. Not just Prime. Nova Prime. With every command from Galvatron, the ship seemed to come more alive. And now--she could hardly believe she was standing here to witness it--she was seeing the rediscovery and reactivation of the Prime who had been lost. Nova.

She watched in awestruck silence.

The Ark – Corridors

Hurricane wrote:>>”So long we don’t provoke them. I’ve read some things about Galvatron. Nudge their patience, and their ire will awaken. It’ll most likely result in all of our limbs crushed. Best to keep low for now.”<<

Scotch tried hard not to glare when he received the message. Their patience ain’t the only thing getting nudged here. His ground his mouth gears as his optics flashed. He didn’t want to reply back, but to do otherwise on an open channel with their commanders listening could send the wrong message. Not that he was concerned, as any that doubted his loyalty were beyond help.

What did bother him was the uncomfortable he was being put in by allowing these aggressive mechs to bark orders and act as though they were in charge. When he did respond, he tried to keep his disappointment from showing in his tone, but he doubted he was successful.

>>Roger. Though I stand by what I said about dealing with them before they refuel or awaken more.<<

He left it at that. It was his job to follow orders, so he would do so without hesitation. He just hoped doing so wouldn’t result in he and the others ending their existence as piles of slag. Of course, it didn’t stop him from keeping his weapons ready for any hint of aggression.



The Ark – Bridge

Elita wrote:>>"Understood,"<< Elita commed back. >>"Do nothing for the time being. Just remain on standby. Now that we've awakened some of them, I don't want any of us doing anything that could be perceived as interference."<<

For reasons she wasn’t sure or, Firestar’s energon suddenly flowed a little easier.

>>Affirmative, Elita. Standing by.<<

That was that, and though she felt better about the decision, she couldn’t help but wonder at the sterner stuff these older Cybertronians were constructed of. Sure, they all shared the same metallic compounds and basic circuitry, but there was something more that reminded her of their own leaders and battle-hardened warriors. She’d often watched others portray characters with a similar air about them, and she had often wondered where they drew their inspiration.

Lo and behold, it was in front of her the entire time.

That epiphany, along with seeing ancient mechs continue to function as though they had never been in stasis, made this Galvatron and his compatriot interesting beyond measure.

Knowing she wouldn’t be of any use if she lost herself in studying Galvatron for a stage career that needed a serious reviving, she told herself, Focus, focus, focus. Observe for later, but stay ready.

Her old mantra from her days as an understudy helped her to regain her focus as she followed Galvatron and the others to the bridge. She was curious to see what he could do with the power still offline. Even if his logic circuits were coated in ice, he would know his options were limited, wouldn’t he?

The thought brought to mind an idea she’d researched for a part previously where a commander chose to destroy his ship rather than have it taken over by…

Oh scrap. He wouldn’t. He couldn’t. Could he?

Firestar was about to send a warning over the comm to Elita and the others when Galvatron spoke. Though she had no idea what he’d said, she was sure it didn’t sound like a curse on them or something. It sounded almost reverent?

What in Primus’ name is he up to?

The Ark - Bridge

Thunderclash gestured for everyone to stand down for now. The last thing they wanted was for legends to make know how they became legendary. He quietly followed along with the rest of the crowd toward the bridge, listening attentively. Thunderclash didn’t need the mind of Hurricane to understand that what they witnessed now was history. He watched with reverent silence as the Cybertronians of old awakened a Prime.

For her part, Chromia was a little more on edge. Call it paranoia or old-fashioned, but the only Prime she took stock in was the one she’d seen with her own two optics and fought alongside. Nothing they could really do about it right now. She looked at their new recruit as she voiced a question that Chromia didn’t really think any Cybertronian would ask.

Keeping her voice down, Chromia answered, “Nova Prime is one of the ancient Primes. Leaders chosen by Primus. They lead our people. Though...the current Prime is Optimus. He’s the leader of the Autobots.”

Her optics turned back to the scene in front of them. Eucryphia dropped to one knee and bowed his head as a capsule shot up from the floor. He was kneeling as if in reverent prayer. Chromia frowned uneasily. That wasn’t the way Bots treated Optimus. Suppose things were different back in the day. Still, it looked an awful lot like how Decepticons paid respects to their leader.

Ark -- Bridge

Windblade listened intently to what Chromia had to say. Apparently, Primes were religious and military icons -- chosen by someone named Primus. Windblade couldn't help but to smile. Finally. Answers. And this Primus fellow seemed to be of the wise sort -- perhaps he could help if she asked him where she came from?

She was about to say as much when she realized her questions probably wouldn't be very well received, given the obvious gravity of the situation. Of course, given how plainly shocked and somewhat insulted Chromia seemed after having to explain who Nova Prime was, Windblade wasn't about to ask "who's Primus" to a room of people who would likely feel the same way.

"Thank you." she replied softly, barely moving her lips. Windblade could feel Chromia's scorn on the back of her neck.

Frowning, Windblade felt herself sag in her stance slightly, her wings drooping a few feet.

I guess I have some reading ahead of me. the youthful femme thought to herself somewhat bitterly. How easy it would be if everyone had the answers and could give them freely, but of course such a world could not exist.

With her thoughts her only company, she could do nothing but watch as the capsule finally reached the bridge. Mechanical locks slammed into place with a pneumatic whistle. Rolling mist tumbled from its sides and across the floor. Another lock opened, this time within the capsule.

Whoever Nova Prime was, he was about to make his appearance. Alive or dead.

Ark - Bridge

With Galvatron’s codes entered and power rerouting, the ship rumbled slightly as a hidden hatch slowly opened. A jet-Black capsule slowly rose from within the internals of the ship before the pods doors hissed open. Emergency lifelines and support systems retracted from around the black and white mechanoid within. Blue optics slowly flickered to life after eons of rest. Golden actuators reached out and griped the side of the containment capsule weakly as Galvatron welcomed his old friend back in the ancient cybertronian. Nova Prime had awakened.

“Galva- Galvatron...” Nova called out in the olden tongue trying to situate himself to his new, albeit familiar surroundings. ”Where- Where are we? What happened?”

Flash froze in place shortly after picking himself up from Galvatron’s swipe as he saw the black and white Prime of legend emerge from his protective pod, a mixture of fear and unknowing sweeping his chassis.

“Oh. My. Primus above...” he murmured.

Unlike Eucryphia, Galvatron did not kneel. Nor did he bow. Instead his harsh stare took an assessment of the risen Prime – and found him wanting.

“Galva- Galvatron...” Nova called out in the olden tongue trying to situate himself to his new, albeit familiar surroundings. ”Where- Where are we? What happened?”

Pathetic. A show of weakness and confusion before possible enemies. And no effort of hiding it. Those were Galvatron’s thoughts on Nova Prime’s first actions after being awakened. The one who had chosen to call himself Prime should have striven for more. Disappointing. Still, Galvatron had no plans of forfeiting their long standing association of mutual benefit because of this. No, Nova Prime was still indefinitely useful to him. Particularly in this new situation they had found themselves in.

”We were betrayed.” Galvatron answered the only question of Nova Prime’s he had a clear answer to. ”During your rest, in his growing madness - your so called friend sabotaged the Ark and fled – leaving us with no means of piloting the ship and no means of determining our exact coordinates at the time.”

”As you can see. A crash landing ensued.” Galvatron scoffed and nodded towards the Autobots that had followed him and Eucryphia into the bridge - having ignored their attempts to communicate with him so far. ”Rest of your questions I suggest you aim at this ragtag band of scavengers that woke us up.”

The Ark – Bridge

Road Rage followed Galvatron and the others back to the bridge. Thunderclash seemed to be doing okay even if he had not yet responded to her inquiry of how he was doing. His mind was clearly distracted by other things that were far more important than her question. The former bodyguard would certainly not fault him for it. It was a difficult time for all of them, scary and exciting at the same time.

Once on the bridge, Galvatron immediately knocked Flash out of the way and took control of the ship’s computer system, activating a hidden hatch in the center of the room from where a new stasis capsule emerged. Galvatron said something in old Cybertronian, which Road Rage had a hard time understanding. The one word she was able to make out was “Prime”.

Nova Prime? The crimson femme thought to herself as the pod opened and none other than Nova Prime, himself, stepped out. The Prime of legend began to speak to Galvatron, who had not shown the same level of respect that the other newly awakened mech had. Galvatron responded in old Cybertronian, most of it lost on the former bodyguard.

“Anyone know what exactly they are saying?” Road Rage whispered to her nearby comrades.

[The Ark - Corridors]

AFTRHR wrote:
But from elsewhere, an intrusive thought came into his mind. The fuel cores still needed to be checked. With the way Teletraan’s speech automation was going, there was probably a lot on this ship that was in need of some desperate repair. But power was the most important thing.

Slag. Why am I the one doing this?

The white turbomaster tried his best to communicate with the two ancients in his broken Old Cybertronian. “Ƭнє яσσм σf єηgιηє ιѕ ηєcєѕѕαяу fσя cнєcкιηg. Ɗαмαgє мαу вє ρяєѕєηт ιη ρσωєя cєƖƖѕ. SнσυƖɗ I Ɩσσк αηɗ αттємρт fιxιηg?” He turned around and explained what he had just said to the rest of the crew. A chill went through his circuits, not just from the climate, but from the sheer tension of the room’s atmosphere.

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Patchwork said, shrugging with a creaking sound. He had been quiet for quite some time as events unfolded all around him, clearly all events far bigger and far more important than any meager moment of his existence, no doubt. "Ancient legends and historical figures walking around these days, well, only so much I can manage about that. But! But the fuel cores? Now I might be much more of use with that: we'll settle the historical records and put the living legends up to date on current events in due time!"

The Ark - Bridge

”We were betrayed. During your rest, in his growing madness - your so called friend sabotaged the Ark and fled — leaving us with no means of piloting the ship and no means of determining our exact coordinates at the time.”

Nova Prime’s audio receptors practically burned as Galvatron’s words began to piece together the events that had transpired. As his systems began to reenergize with new-found life once more, the black and white prime rose back to his full height.

Jhiaxus... Nova cursed internally, What reason would he have to try and turn on me like this? He was instrumental in the formation of our Empire, What madness had struck him to turn to treachery of this caliber?! He couldn’t have done this alone... He place a hand on his kneeling friend and brother-in-arm Eucryphia. At least there is still some loyalty that still stands with me...

”As you can see. A crash landing ensued. Rest of your questions I suggest you aim at this ragtag band of scavengers that woke us up.”

The blue optics of the former Prime shifted to those of his “rescuers”. Who were these mechanoids that stood before him? Cybertronians? They certainly looked like it. Based on their appearances none seemed to have been of the disposable class, or even bestial like those savages he had fought to claim Cybertron from eons ago.

”Rise, my old friend,” Nova began, patting Eucryphia’s shoulder, ”We have business to attend to.”

The hushed whispers of the mechanoids around him did not fall on deaf audio receptors. The old Prime could make out a few key words in their speech. Strange how they did not speak the language of their own people. And those that did butchered it about as well as Galvatron can clear through a battlefield.

“You scavengers won’t touch another thing aboard my ship.” Boomed Nova Prime’s voice as he broke his Old Cybertronian to address Elita and Thunderclash’s combined forces, “Have you all forgotten your native tongue? Why do you speak with the common vernacular?”

[The Ark - Bridge]

Nova Prime wrote:“You scavengers won’t touch another thing aboard my ship. Have you all forgotten your native tongue? Why do you speak with the common vernacular?”

His voice. Nova Prime, alive, and his voice. Hurricane mustered up the courage to speak back, despite the fear striking his body with needles. Best case scenario, he allowed mercy and allowed the crew to work with him. Worst case scenario… well, he didn’t want to have to think about it.

“Apologies, sir.” I need to pick my words carefully. Was “Sir” adequate? “There was a language barrier. The common vernacular has been the norm for Cybertron for… eons now. I regret to inform you that тнιѕ Ɩαηgυαgє ιѕ cσηѕιɗєяєɗ ɗєαɗ ησω.”

How he managed to transition so smoothly from new Cybertronian to old Cybertronian was beyond him. He wished he hadn’t spoken. He looked to Thunderclash and Elita, and wished that they had spoken up before he had. Slaggit…

“I understand that you would like us to refrain from interacting with anything on the ship, but the ship’s fuel cores in the engine room might be damaged. If this ship is to become airborne, those would need repairs.”

At the end, he slipped in a quiet mutter. “Some of us could help.” The anxious anticipation began.