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Ark-22 Bridge

Wheeljack could only stare in disbelief at what Kup was saying. Prime no longer functions, he thought.

He took a few moments to process this new information, and as much as he respected the old warhorse Kup, he had to vent his logic circuits at the old timer.

"All due respect Kup, this doesn't make one slaggin bit of sense. If both Prime and Megs got caught in that blast, why , by Primus, are we going back? We should be giving Shockwave and his minions a lesson in proper attack protocols, and have them scurry back to Earth to salvage what ever is left of the Decepticon forces. I know I'm not the strategist here, but come on. Whose logic circuits came up with this plan?

Who do we have on Earth that is in High Command? A good number of bots by my reckoning; so, why not let High Command deal with figuring out who gets to sit in the Big Chair, while we take care of business."

Having shared his point of view with the majority of the room, as Wheeljack was too worked up for a polite chat, the engineer went over to a computer terminal and started making sure his relay feed was up and running. He had a lot riding on that ever so tenuous information exchange that had been set up with the purple overlord. He did not start regaining his composure until after the data packets started streaming, even then he was still quite ruffled in his manifolds.

Ark-22 Bridge

Kup nodded at Bluestreak as he felt Howlstrike’s hand on his shoulder. They were good lads, even if they fought like cybercast and robodogs from Centaurus Prime. He knew he could count on them both going ahead. Springer would certainly be of help too. There weren’t many Autobots around tougher then he was, and his leadership with the Wreckers would certainly be a plus. There was nothing like having the former leader of the crazy Special Forces squad on your side.

The old timer was a bit startled by Wheeljack’s outburst though. He figured the engineer would just go along with it. It wasn’t that he didn’t want his input, heck he welcomed any input from the big brain types, but he phrased it in a pretty scathing way, and he did take a bit of an issue with that. Lots of these younger types always thought they were smarter then the old mech. Still, he didn’t take it personally. Tempers were liable to be a bit hot after that sort of news.

“Well Wheeljack, let me put it to you this way. If Megatron is dead, what do you think is happening on Earth? I’m sure with the news of his death Starscream’s spark nearly burst from his chest in excitement. He is there grabbing all the power he can reach. Now think of Shockwave, isolated on Cybertron and away from practically everything. You think he’s just gonna sit there while Starscream solidifies his hold on things?” Kup snorted, “No, I’m sure ‘logic’ dictated he get his aft back to Earth as soon as possible. The fact that he abruptly left the meeting like that confirms that to me. No, we are all done on Cybertron for now. The next round of fighting will be on or around Earth.”

*

Ark-22 – Conference Room

Grimlock considered Snarl’s question for a moment. He hadn’t really considered that much. Really, he was rather enjoying his current alternate mode. It specialized in up close and brutal kills, which happened to be his specialty anyway. While he knew the other Dinobots hadn’t been quite as lucky they all seemed to have pretty good alternate modes as well.

“Me hadn’t really thought of that Snarl. From what me see though there not much on Earth worth taking for alternate mode now. Looks like animals we used all dead. Too bad, me would have liked to have seen planet full of them instead of little humans. Too small and fragile me think, and primitive. Don’t think we find anything better then what we have now. Besides, me just starting to get real hang of this alternate mode, and it probably freak out some Cons.”

Ark-22 - Bridge

While Bluestreak's small tribute to Prime had been a welcome one by Howlstrike and most others present, Wheeljack's mild tantrum had not been as well received. The hunter was a bit surprised by the outburst, having expected Rodimus to be the one to challenge Kup and not the usually quiet inventor. Regardless, Howl remained silent as the old timer gave his rational and well thought out reasoning for leaving. With the leaders of both factions now missing and presumed dead, no mech on either side was going to sit around and twiddle their actuators on Cybertron while all of the action transpired on and around Earth. The small blue orb may only be considered a backwater world to most, but like it or not the planet was now one of the most important fronts in the entire war effort.

Satisfied that Kup had things well in hand, Howlstrike patted the old timer on the shoulder before the hunter moved away from the command chair and walked across the bridge, finding a seat at a console directly in front of Bluestreak. The Autobot gunner's attention had been previously drawn away from his station by the somewhat heated exchange. He fully agreed with Kup, of course, and attributed Wheeljack's uncharacteristic outburst as nothing more than the stress of the situation getting to him. 'Streak would need to have a chat with the inventor at some point as he always found that talking about things seemed to alleviate any pent up anxiety.

Bluestreak's attempt to get back to work was interrupted again when the former Predacon sat down in front of him, a slight grin spread across his animalistic faceplate as he stared right at the gunner. 'Streak tried to ignore the Autobot tracker, but it was no use as Howl seemed determined to bother him. “Is there something you want, Howl?” Bluestreak finally asked with a sigh, trying not to look Howlstrike in the optics and instead focus on the terminal in front of him. Normally the silver and black mech would chat up anyone who sat near him, but the hunter/tracker was a different story as he made the gunner feel a bit uncomfortable to say the least. It wasn’t as bad as before, but ‘Streak still would rather have a mech like Springer to talk to.

“Not really. I’ve just been wondering about something for a while now and thought you might help me clear it up,” Howlstrike responded, keeping his optics on Bluestreak.

“And what would that be?”

“Your name’s Bluestreak, right?”

The gunner gave Howl a perplexed look. “Last time I checked, yes.”

“Well, isn’t it usually customary for any mech with a color in their name to actually have said color somewhere on their frame?”

“Is there a point you’re trying to make, Howl?” Bluestreak asked, feeling somewhat irritated with the former Predacon’s line of questioning.

“My point is that you don’t have any actual blue on you anywhere. Wouldn’t a name like Silverstreak be a better fit?”

Bluestreak let out a deeper sigh as he sat back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest plate. “Wow, you must really be bored if you’re asking me about my color scheme.” The gunner remained silent for a moment, looking to see if Howlstrike would have any kind of follow-up quip. When the hunter did nothing but continue to stare at him, the silver and black mech felt the need to give a slight explanation. “Fine, if you must know, before the war I used to be mainly blue in color with some silver mixed in. That's where my name originally came from. Happy?”

Howlstrike squinted his optics at the Autobot gunner trying to figure out from his facial features whether he was really serious or not. When the tracker determined that ‘Streak wasn’t joking around he asked the obvious follow-up question. “Really? So, why did you change your colors?”

Bluestreak’s expression instantly became more serious as he unfolded his arms and went back to work at his console. “My colors changed when I changed,” he replied stoically, trying to avoid going down that dark road any further. ‘Streak wasn’t sure if the tracker was just trying to start up a friendly conversation or if he was simply trying to annoy him. Either way, it wasn’t something the gunner was willing to talk about in any more detail, especially not with a former Predacon. "Now, if you don't mind, I've got work to do."

Howlstrike cocked his cranial unit to one side as he wasn't quite sure what Bluestreak had meant. The tracker also realized that the usually talkative Autobot had no desire to continue the present discussion and therefore no further explanation was forthcoming. “I’m sorry if I touched a nerve receptor. I just figured a chat would help pass the time as we traveled to Earth,” the hunter growled as he turned his back to Bluestreak and faced the controls of his own console. “I guess I was wrong,” Howl added as he looked down at the various buttons and lights that adorned his terminal. He was reluctant to touch anything as his technological prowess was less than admirable. Therefore, Howl decided to leave things alone to avoid any unintended problems he might otherwise cause. This line of reasoning didn't just apply to his computer, but to a certain Autobot gunner, as well.

Ark-22 - Conference Room

Snarl nodded in agreement at his commander’s response regarding their present alt modes. While the dinosaurs they were each based on were now all extinct, the Desert Warrior had to admit that these monstrous forms would certainly give the Decepticons on Earth something more to fear than the usual cars or trucks. Snarl still wasn’t thrilled with the aesthetics of his Stegosaurus mode, but he had made the best of it thus far and found that it was far better than anything else the primitives on Earth could provide.

“You right, Grimlock. If these creatures still alive, we blend in better. Too bad. Fleshling vehicles not very fitting for Dinobots. Even military machines not up to our standards. Guess keeping beast modes best option for us.” Snarl paused for a moment to consider what some of the other Autobots might think about them retaining their Dino modes. “However, while me not worried, we might have problem with Kup or Prowl if they want us change modes for stupid infiltration. Love to see them try and make us. Heh heh heh.”

ARK 22 - Bridge

Arcee had done all the work she needed to do at her console. She contemplated finding a way to remain busy there but thought it might be better to be a little social. Some of the others had remained uncharacteristically quiet, while others had been aberrantly outspoken.

Pushing away from her chair she surveyed the remaining bots in the room. Springer was busy flying, and she thought wheeljack might appreciate the time to cool down. She walked over to the gunner station between Bluestreak and Howlstrike and addressed them both.

“How are you two holding up?” She said quietly “First a less than stellar visit home, and now this huh. It’s enough to make a ‘bot want to just shut down.”

Howlstrike was a former predacon, which made her a little weary of his temperament, but far be it for her to judge a book by it’s cover. If Optimus had trusted him and Kup let him walk around freely on the bridge, she obviously had little to fear.

“It really makes you want to get there and teach some decepticons a lesson.” She continued “I don’t think I’ve ever been more anxious to get somewhere in my life.”

Anxious was a good word for it. Excited but nervous, relieved but weary. On her exterior she exuded confidence in her words, but inside she was aware of the chaos they might be facing upon arrival.

Ark-22 - Bridge

Seeing as though there was nothing more for him to do at the moment except sit idly in his chair, Howlstrike had begun to meditate in order to pass the time until they had arrived back in the Sol System. It was a method he often used in order to help keep his anger in check, and it worked quite well....most of the time, anyway. There were still things that triggered his aggressive tendencies, but thanks to Kup’s teachings, Howl had learned to at least curb his reactions into something a little less destructive.

Arcee’s approach and subsequent attempt to start a conversation had roused him from his meditative state. Howlstrike looked over at the pink femme with a sense of intrigue. The tracker had spent very little time in her presence as she mostly spent time with Hot Rod. Of course, the cavalier had changed a great deal in the past several cycles, so much so that perhaps she no longer recognized him. Maybe that’s why she had chosen to converse with the former Predacon and the unusually quite Bluestreak, instead. Regardless, Howl decided not to be rude and offered a response.

“I’m holding up just fine, Arcee,” the Autobot hunter spoke in his deep, gruff vocalizer which was a stark contrast to the softer sounding femme. He hoped his voice didn’t startle her too much as he was curious as to where this little chat would end up going. “How are you?” Howlstrike’s awkward tone in speaking with Arcee elicited a slight chuckle from Bluestreak, whose optics remained fixated on his view screen. “Did you say something, Tiny?” Howl asked, glancing over at the silver and black mech.

The Autobot gunner finally looked up when he heard the tracker’s nickname for him. It was obviously meant to get his attention and it had worked. However, Bluestreak remained calm, having successfully pushed those previous dark thoughts out of his processor for the time being. Instead, he simply glared back at the former Predacon without uttering a response to him before looking up at the pink femme. “To answer your question, Arcee, I’m fine. I have to admit the news of Prime’s death hit me pretty hard as I never thought we’d ever lose Optimus. I always considered him unstoppable, you know? But, I guess no mech is truly indestructible are they? Everybody becomes one with the Allspark eventually. Of course, once we arrive back on Earth and kick some Decepticon aft plates I’ll be even better!”

“Well, there’s the talkative mech we all know and love! Glad to have ya back!” Howlstrike interjected as a grin spread over his animal-like face plate.

Bluestreak glared back at the hunter once more and uttered a short, simple reply: “Bite me, Gruesome.”

“Ha ha! You’re lucky I’m not hungry right now,” Howlstrike retorted as he playfully licked his metallic lips. “Or am I?”

“Well, if you are, I hope you choke on my tail pipe,” Bluestreak said, shaking his cranial unit before looking back up at Arcee. “Sorry about that. My friend here has a tendency of getting on my nerve receptors. Thankfully, I’m learning to ignore most of his comments, but I still have a long way to go.”

Ark-22 – Bridge

With the various Autobots around him now busy chatting with each other or fulfilling their duties Kup finally had a few moments to himself. He sat back in the command chair, and folded his arms in front of him. This was probably about as close as he was going to get to a moment of peace for who knows how long. Things were going to be crazy. He wasn’t looking forward to that. Trying to figure out who would lead the Autobots as a whole was going to be a chore, and possibly even violent. He hoped it wouldn’t come to that, they weren’t Decepticons after all, but there were going to be plenty of big egos involved, and leaders were always alpha type personalities.

The old timer let out a sigh. He himself had little interest in leading the Autobots. He was far too old to take on that kind of burden. Heck, it seemed like he had to yell and scold anyway to do what they needed to do. He wasn’t about to do that to every Autobot around. No, he would happily be an adviser to whoever did get the job. He would just have to make sure whoever got it was a good listener.

“We are clear of Cybertron Kup and the transwarp drive is ready.”

Kup snapped out of his thoughts as Springer spoke up. It seemed his moment of peace was already over. He let out a nearly silent sigh. He was getting too old for this slag. “Alright Springer, take us back to Earth.”

The ship’s mighty engines slowly spun up, building up energy. Finally, once they had reached full capacity they activated and the Ark-22 disappeared in a flash of light.

OOC: Relocating to new thread in The Solar System forum