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Antarctica- In the Cave

“I was just getting to that, Blurr. Okay, everyone, let’s start extracting the ore…carefully! I’ve already contacted the Ark-22 and requested some additional Autotrooper help. The faster we can get all this mined the faster we can get out of this frozen wasteland,"

"Aye aye, Wheeljack!", said Blurr, and he began doing just that. He located the nearby tools needed for the extraction and carefully but quickly began chisseling out the ore from the walls. This really wasn't his cup of energon you could say, this work, but the payoff would be worth it! That in mind, a little smile played onto his face.

Cliffjumper and Twintwist were complaining about the job being boring, which Blurr agreed with. However, he didn't want to join in the complaining and just kept working, gently digging out nugget after nugget of ore faster than the others were. Hot Rod went exploring deeper into the underground cavern, and Percy yelled down to them all to be careful with the ore or else it'd explode, in which Blurr responded,

“YahyahPercyweknow, weknow!”

When the hover carts made their way down into the cavern, Blurr quickly but gently loaded his haul of ore into one of them and was going to continue digging when his audio receptors picked up the ominous sound of ice breaking, followed by Hot Rod yelling. His voice had faded away. Blurr began to panic for his best friend's sake and rushed over to the hole where the others were gathered, shouting down to him if he was alright.

Blurr got Cosmos’ message too, but he ignored it. If Blurr could sweat, he'd be doing it now.

“HOT ROD!!!”, Blurr shouted. He got no answer.

The look on his face turned bitter. He gritted his teeth and narrowed his optics. He knew he had to do something. The whole reason why he came on this mission was to help Roddy if he had another weird episode. He couldn't just stand around doing nothing.

“Wheeljack! I knowyouhavesomecablesomewhere don't you?! I'mgoinginto the holeafter Roddy!”, Blurr said. He couldn't even wait for Wheeljack to rummage through his equipment. He took it upon himself to raid the inventor's supply until he found some suspension cable. He quickly wrapped it around his midsection, and then told Wheeljack and the others while throwing Wheeljack the end of the wire cord, “Actfast, I'm goin'in!!”, and with that, Blurr ran to the edge of the hole and jumped in.

Once at the bottom of the hole, he found Hot Rod K.O.ed on the ground.

“Roddy! Speaktome, buddy it's Blurr! Wake up!!”, he said in his panic, kneeling down and picking up the red cavalier in his arms and giving him a few shakes.

“Nonononononono!!”, Blurr yelled. “Comeon!!”

Cavern

“Great...” Railway huffed as he saw everyone slide on down into the cavern. He grabbed one the hover carts and slowly lumbered by the entrance, looking in and immediately feeling the brunt of his claustrophobia beginning to mess with his processor. “C’mon, it’s probably more open inside the cave.” he told himself to steel his servos some. “Unless it collapses... gaaah...”

The Terror of the Tracks readied his hammer and laid the business end of his weapon into the icy terrain. Pushing the car forward, Railway slowly slide down into the cavern utilizing his signature weapon like a great big anchor dragging behind him while the cart was making gravity do all the work for him. Slow and steady, that’s what he needed right now...

Once he reached the floor and quickly found everyone and walked up with his hammer resting over his shoulder and hover-cart tugging along behind him. The train-former did what he could to hide his anxiety from the closeness of the cavern walls.

“Alright, what do you need me to do?”

Ice Cavern

AFTRHR wrote:
>>”Uh, guys? Wheeljack? Perceptor? What’s going on?”<<

>>"I'm not entirely certain, Cosmos."<< Perceptor commed back to Cosmos. >>"The ice cracked and Hot Rod fell in!"<<

He felt terrible, really. He should have given the ice a thorough check for integrity. Now Hot Rod had been placed in danger.

Underground Ice Cavern – Top of the Hole

Blurr wrote:“Wheeljack! I knowyouhavesomecablesomewhere don't you?! I'mgoinginto the holeafter Roddy! Actfast, I'm goin'in!!”

Before Wheeljack could even react or respond to what Blurr had just blurted out, the blue speedster had tossed him the end of the cable and then promptly jumped into the hole. “Wait! Blurr! Dammit!” Wheeljack cursed to himself as he held tight to the end of the cable. Suddenly, the inventor could feel the blue bot’s weight on the other end of the line and while the mad scientist was able to hold on, barely, that didn’t stop Blurr’s weight from slowly pulling ‘Jack towards the edge of the hole.

“Slag! I’m sliding! Someone grab the line before I have to let go!” Wheeljack shouted. Without delay, Twin Twist jumped in front of the inventor and grabbed a hold of the cable.

“I got it, Jackie!” The former Wrecker said as he dug his feet into the ice, stopping both of them before they were pulled into the hole. Soon the line went slack as Blurr had finally reached the bottom. “I think he’s at the bottom, Jackie,” Twin Twist commented as he relaxed and let go of the cable. “I should go down and help him. We Wreckers were made for rescues…and killing ‘Cons, but since there are no ‘Cons around…”

“No, Twin Twist! That’s a bad idea,” Wheeljack responded with a frown under his face shield. “We don’t know what’s down there. Blurr shouldn’t have gone in so quickly!”

“No worries, Jackie! I’m a Wrecker, remember? I can handle whatever’s down there. Besides,” Twin Twist continued as he approached the edge of the hole, “It’s probably just more ice. I mean, what else could be down there? Heh.” Then, without further delay, the blue and white former Wrecker leapt into the hole. He didn’t even use the line to descend into the depths of the unknown. Twin Twist simply used his outstretched arms to brace himself against the sides of the hole and he continued downward towards both Hot Rod and Blurr.

“All right, no one else jump in, please!” Wheeljack said and he knelt down next to the hole again, peering down into the darkness.

Bottom of the Hole – Ice Pocket

Wake up, Rodimus. Wake up.

Hot Rod was in a dark place. He looked around and saw nothing. There wasn’t even a ground to stand on. He just heard those same voices again, telling him to find them and now to wake up.

Wake up! The cavalier felt his body shake violently like he was caught in an earthquake.

Roddy! Speaktome, buddy it’s….

Blurr wrote:“….Blurr! Wake up!! Nonononononono!! Comeon!!”

Then Hot Rod’s optics lit up and he was back in the land of the living. The shaking he was feeling had been Blurr trying to shake him awake. “Okay, okay, I’m awake, Blurr, I’m awake!” The cavalier placed a reassuring hand on the blue speedster’s shoulder plate. “I’m also okay. A little banged up but nothing serious.”

Hot Rod checked his internal diagnostics to confirm what he had just said. Like he thought, just a few dents and scrapes, nothing life threatening. The flame-covered mech then carefully got to his feet with Blurr’s help. “Thanks, bud. Now, where the frag are we?”

The red, orange and yellow Autobot peered around the small ice pocket that they now found themselves in. It wasn’t nearly as large as the cavern above, but it was spacious enough to comfortably move around in. Hot Rod took a few steps forward just as Twin Twist landed hard behind him.

“Yeah! That was fun!” The former Wrecker declared with both arms raised slightly in a victory stance. “So, you guys all right? Jackie’s freakin’ out up there, but I just ignored him and decided to come down and give you a hand.”

“We’re fine, Twin Twist,” Hot Rod replied with a smile. “Thanks. Although, you almost landed on Blurr, but he appears no worse for wear.”

“Oh, heh, sorry about that, Blurr ol’ buddy!” Twin Twist said, placing one arm around the blue speedster. The Wrecker pulled Blurr in close in a tight hug. “Hope I didn’t rattle your circuits too much. Hahah.”

Shaking his head, Hot Rod turned back and looked around the ice room. He had a strange feeling that there was something here. He didn’t know where that feeling was coming from or why he was feeling it. Then again, he didn’t know why he was getting those visions or hearing those voices, either. Maybe there was something here that could answer his questions. After all, his visions did involve ice.

Find us.

There it was again. The voices. “Where are you?” The cavalier muttered under his breath, but it was likely loud enough for Blurr and Twin Twist to overhear.

“You say something, Roddy?” The former Wrecker asked. Hot Rod didn’t respond as he took a few more steps forward, activating his head-mounted lights so that he could see in the increasing darkness away from the hole in the ceiling. The cavalier took one more step and…

Clank!

“Wait…clank?” Hot Rod said out loud. “Ice doesn’t make a clanking sound. Only…” The flamed-adorned mech quickly knelt down and focused his twin cranium lights on the floor of the ice pocket where he had just stepped. “Hey guys, come take a look at this!”

“Coming, Roddy!” Twin Twist yelled back as he trotted over to Hot Rod’s side. “What’cha find, bud? Oh….” The blue and white Jumpstarter knelt down next to the cavalier. “It that?”

“Yes,” Hot Rod confirmed, looking over at Twin Twist. “It’s metal. We’re standing on metal and it appears to extend well under the ice.” The cavalier then activated his sensors and began to scan the area beneath them. The readings he received back were startling. “And whatever it is, it’s not small. It extends well beyond the confines of this small ice pocket we're in. Something quite large is buried beneath our feet and it appears to be….hollow.”

“Holy frag!” An excited Twin Twist looked back over is shoulder at the blue speedster. “Hey, Blurr, yell up to the others and let them know we found something made of metal down here, something big and hollow!” The former Wrecker then turned his attention back to the flame-covered ‘Bot. “What do you think it is?”

“Not sure but it might be a ship,” Hot Rod replied without hesitation.

“What makes you think that?”

“Just a hunch.” The cavalier remembered his dreams and visions of a ship trapped in the ice. If this was, in fact, a ship then maybe his visions were more than just dreams. Maybe they were real and whomever wanted him to find them were inside. Although, he hadn’t detected any life signs, but his own personal scanners could only go so far.

“Twin Twist, can you drill a hole down into…whatever this is?” Hot Rod asked.

“Sure thing, bud! No problem!” The former Wrecker then quickly transformed into his drill tank alt mode and started his twin drills spinning. Angling himself down, Twin Twist began to borrow into the metal beneath them, sparks flying as he did so. “Just an FYI, this will take a little longer than drilling through ice. Oh, and watch out for flying sparks. They could sting. Heh.”

Bottom of the Hole – Ice Pocket

Concern had overloaded Blurr’s logic circuits as he tried to wake his friend. “Yougottawakeup; yougottawakeup,” he repeated over and over as he tried to rouse Hot Rod without any success.

This wasn’t what he’d expected when he’d chosen to come along. This was supposed to be a simple mining mission, not a leap into a hole — for which he knew he’d heard it from some slow-moving mech. Was it really his fault they were so slow? — but things had changed faster than… well, faster than Blurr could move.

When Hot Rod started moving, Blurr’s vocalizer became so twisted and crossed with what he wanted to say, his mouth opened and closed without a sound coming out.

Hot Rod wrote: “Okay, okay, I’m awake, Blurr, I’m awake!” The cavalier placed a reassuring hand on the blue speedster’s shoulder plate. “I’m also okay. A little banged up but nothing serious.”

Relief swept through Blurr. Not only was his friend alive, he seemed fully functional and his vocalizer uncrossed itself and the words came out faster and faster. “HotRod, Iwassoworried. Whathappened? How’dyoufallthrough?”

Blurr helped him stand when Hot Rod tried to get up on his own. “Easydoesit. Youdon’twantto overstressyourself. Yousureyou’reallright?”

Hot Rod wrote: “Thanks, bud. Now, where the frag are we?”

“Idon’t—” Blurr started to respond when Twin Twist landed next to him, barely missing him and causing Blurr’s energon to race through him even faster. “Hey! Watchit, wouldya?”

Twin Twist wrote: “Oh, heh, sorry about that, Blurr ol’ buddy!”

“I’mfine, but—” Despite his speed, Blurr couldn’t avoid Twin Twist grabbing him.

Twin Twist wrote: “Hope I didn’t rattle your circuits too much. Hahah.”

Knowing it was a losing battle, Blurr let the Wrecker do his thing. In fact, it gave him a chance to slow his thinking and ultimately, his vocalizer. “Rattle me? Nah, youmissedme.” Of course, he couldn’t keep it slow for long. Half an astrosecond was far too long as it was.

Hot Rod wrote:“Where are you?”

At hearing Hot Rod, Twin Twist set him down and they moved toward the cavalier. “Whereiswho, Hot Rod?” Blurr asked, looking around. He was about to race off in search of who his friend was talking about when…

Clank!

The sound echoed in the small cave they were in, and Blurr turned his attention to their discussion over what appeared to be a ship and drilling into it.

"Oh,no,no,no,no,no!" Something about it didn’t seem right to Blurr, so he said, “Ifit’saship, shouldn’twewaitforWheejackandPerceptor? Wedon’tknowwhereit’sfromorwho’s inside.”

He didn’t like this at all and hoped Hot Rod or somebody would listen to him.

[Aerospace above Antarctica]

Perceptor wrote:>>"I'm not entirely certain, Cosmos. The ice cracked and Hot Rod fell in!"<<

>>"Oh dear! I’ll be right there in just a moment!"<<

Cosmos was about to do something risky. He probably shouldn’t have left his post, but this was an emergency, and if Hot Rod had fallen too far in, the others wouldn’t be able to take him out. None of them were flyers down there, except Topspin, but he wasn’t small enough to fit in some places.

Once he was low enough to the surface, he transformed and landed down. He looked around, and it seemed that mostly everyone had gone down into the tunnel. The shuttle was nearby, so he figured he’d wait up here and keep watch on that instead.

He looked into the tunnel (not much to be seen, they were all probably further down), and shouted, “Hello? Are you guys in there?”

[Orbit-to-Surface Comm to Wheeljack and Perceptor]

Red Alert wrote:>>”H-hey guys, there's been a lot of things happening while you two were away. I'm attaching the notes from the security meeting, and I've highlighted the things that are relevant to you. B-basically, we're going to be doing most of our big science projects, like the combiner, in a remote outpost in Africa. I was hoping that you guys could maybe head straight there after you are done, a-and meet up with the team that's going to be helping put things together."<<

AFTRHR wrote:>>"Oh dear! I’ll be right there in just a moment!"<<

Perceptor was about to caution Cosmos about coming down to the surface, but then he realized, at this point they may need all the help they could get.

When he heard the Autobot call down the tunnel, he turned towards it. >>"We're down in the cavern, Cosmos! Be careful, there is a bit of a drop."<<

AFTRHR wrote:

Red Alert wrote:>>”H-hey guys, there's been a lot of things happening while you two were away. I'm attaching the notes from the security meeting, and I've highlighted the things that are relevant to you. B-basically, we're going to be doing most of our big science projects, like the combiner, in a remote outpost in Africa. I was hoping that you guys could maybe head straight there after you are done, a-and meet up with the team that's going to be helping put things together."<<

As Red Alert's transmition came through, Perceptor's optics went to Wheeljack. "I'm up for it... But let's get Hot Rod safe. I'm starting to think the sooner we get out of here, the safer we will be."

[Underground Ice Cavern]

Perceptor wrote:>>"We're down in the cavern, Cosmos! Be careful, there is a bit of a drop."<<

>>”I’m on my way!”<<

Cosmos hopped over the edge of the tunnel and dropped down into depths below, transforming into his round spaceship. He steadily descended the cavern, making sure not to bump into anything that might disturb the structural integrity of the place.

His flood lamps turned on immediately after it was too dark to see properly. It didn’t take him long to get down to the level of the group, and the little green saucer tilted over, turning into the small green robot.

“Are they down there? I’ll go down with the tow line and pick them out.”

Bottom of the Hole – Ice Pocket

Blurr wrote:“Oh,no,no,no,no,no! Ifit’saship, shouldn’twewaitforWheejackandPerceptor? Wedon’tknowwhereit’sfromorwho’s inside.”

“Easy there, Blurr,” Hot Rod said as he patted the blue speedster on the shoulder to try and calm him down some. “That’s why we’re letting the Wrecker go in first, besides the fact he’s also the one with the drills.”

“I heard that!” Twin Twist called up from the hole in the metal surface beneath their feet.

“How you doing down there, bud?” Hot Rod shouted back to him. “Breakthrough yet?”

“Almost!” Twin Twist replied as his dual drills continued burrowing through the metal, sparks flying back over his chassis. “I should be there just about….whoa!!” Suddenly, the jumpstarter disappeared from sight as he tumbled into the void below. He landed on the metallic floor within the darkness with a loud thud before transforming back into his robot mode.

“You okay down there, Twinny!” Hot Rod yelled down to him.

“Yeah! I’m fine!” Twin Twist replied, brushing himself off. “And don’t call me Twinny!” The jumpstarter then switched on his head-mounted lights and glanced around the blackness that surrounded him. He was in a large room with a main chair situated in the middle and many consoles and stations surrounding the edges. It looked almost exactly like a…. “Well, I’ll be slagged.”

“What’s going on down there, Twin? What do you see?” Hot Rod shouted.

“Well, Roddy, you were right,” Twin Twist replied. “This is definitely a ship!”

“How do you know?”

“Because I’m standing on its bridge right now,” the Wrecker responded back. "It's pretty clearly a bridge of a ship! You don't have to be a smart-bot to see that!"

“I knew it!” Hot Rod exclaimed, turning back to look at Blurr and grabbing him by the shoulders in excitement. “I knew it was a ship, and I’ll bet it’s the same one from my visions! How that’s possible I have no idea, but I can’t see it being anything else.” The cavalier then opened a comm line up to the resident scientists:

>>”Wheeljack, Perceptor, this is Hot Rod. We’re in a small ice pocket down here, but we’ve found a ship of some kind buried in the ice beneath us. Only a very small portion is visible, but Twin Twist has burrowed into it and he says he’s standing on the ship’s bridge! You guys have got to get down here now!”<<

>>”Wait, Hot Rod! Don’t do anything rash! You don’t know what you’re dealing with! Wait for the rest of us!”<< Wheeljack commed back, but it fell on deaf audios, at least where the brazen cavalier was concerned.

Meanwhile, down inside the frozen ship, Twin Twist began slowly walking around the bridge. It appeared to be completely empty with everything covered in ice and snow. Many of the consoles were damaged, but much of it was in remarkably good shape all things considered. There were no crew members, though. Besides the jumpstarter, there was no one else on the bridge, alive or dead.

Approaching one of the forward stations, Twin Twist pounded on it, breaking some of the ice before then wiping the pieces away onto the floor. He tried pushing some buttons on the console, but got nothing in response.

>>”Hey, guys, looks like the systems are dead. There’s no power down here. There’s also no crew members anywhere, at least not on the bridge. Not sure what happened to them.”<< Twin Twist said, switching to the shared comm system so he didn’t have to shout anymore and so that everyone could now hear him. He then focused his head-mounted lights directly ahead to the front of the room. >>“The forward windows are cracked in several places and completely broken in others, probably damaged when it crashed or whatever happened here. Also, I think this ship is Cybertronian.”<<

>>”Really?!”<< Hot Rod commed back.

>>”Yeah. There’s Cybertronian writing on the consoles and on the main command chair. I mean, you guys should really get down here and see this.”<<

>>”Roger that!”<< Hot Rod replied as he approached the edge. “Blurr, make sure everyone up there gets down here okay. Then come down and join us. Oh, and don’t worry. Everything will be fine!” The cavalier smiled and gave the blue speedster a quick wink before his carefully sat on the edge of the hole and slid down into the ship below.

Topside – Underground Ice Cavern

Wheeljack looked over at Perceptor as they listened to the shared comm line and everything Twin Twist and Hot Rod were saying. Before the mechanical engineer could say anything, Red Alert’s transmission came in across their comm lines. The mad scientist received the notes of the meeting they had missed and while those big science projects certainly peaked his interest, what they had apparently found down in Antarctica would have to take precedence for the time being.

>>”This is Wheeljack. I read you Red Alert. There’s been a lot of things happening down here, too. Not sure what we’re dealing with yet, but we’re going to be a while longer than initially anticipated. Just tell the team to go ahead without us. We’ll contact you and the higher-ups once we have more information down here. Wheeljack out.”<<

Perceptor wrote:"I'm up for it... But let's get Hot Rod safe. I'm starting to think the sooner we get out of here, the safer we will be."

“I’d be up for it too, Perceptor,” Wheeljack responded with a nod to his fellow scientist. “But things have just changed dramatically. We have to investigate this finding first.”

Cosmos wrote:“Are they down there? I’ll go down with the tow line and pick them out.”

“Yes, they are, Cosmos,” the engineer replied as he then checked the line to make sure the end was secured in the ice wall. “And they’ve apparently found a ship of some kind. We’re going down the check it out,” Wheeljack added as he walked over to the edge of the hole, cable in hand, and carefully lowered himself down. “Everyone follow my lead down. Go slow and steady and hold on to the line tight."

Wheeljack then descended further, disappearing from sight.

[Bottom of the Hole - Ice Pocket]

Wheeljack wrote:“Yes, they are, Cosmos, and they’ve apparently found a ship of some kind. We’re going down the check it out."

”A ship?” Cosmos couldn’t believe his audio receptors. He quickly grabbed the towline and floated down into the pit below.

He saw Blurr with the help of his flood lamps, and transformed to stand on the ice next to him. “Hey, Blurr! How’d you even end up down here?” The little green minibot’s adorable little chassis made him look like child’s toy down here in the darkness. He handed Hot Rod the towline, and looked down into the hole in which Twin Twist had supposedly gone into. As he described the bridge over the comms, Cosmos sent one back.

>>”Twin Twist! Make sure there’s no traps or anything!”<<

Cosmos folded back up into his alternate mode and lowered himself into the hole, entering the exact bridge that the Jumpstarter had described earlier. “Woah!” He transformed and landed next to the blue and white mech, aiming his flood lamps around to get a good look of what was going on. To his surprise, Hot Rod was also now in the bridge of the ship. Cosmos waved at him before taking a few light, cautious steps towards the controls on the front end of the bridge. These controls were awfully familiar - confirming that this was some kind of Cybertronian ship.

“Woah! Is this real?” The minibot was struck with awe and wonder.

Caverns
Perceptor listened to the comms from Hot Rod with awe. A ship?

Though his optics went to Wheeljack as the engineer spoke. He nodded.

Smokescreen85 wrote:
“I’d be up for it too, Perceptor,” Wheeljack responded with a nod to his fellow scientist. “But things have just changed dramatically. We have to investigate this finding first.”

"Oh certainly, I agree." He said "The 'game' indubitably changed. A Cybertronian ship? Here... In the ice? This is not something we can just allow to be disregarded. Who knows what it contains, we need to find out."

As cautious as Perceptor could be, be was, at spark, a scientist, with a scientist's curiosity. His processor was already working on the possible ramifications of what could happen of they didn't investigate the ship.

Smokescreen85 wrote:"Yes, they are, Cosmos,” the engineer replied as he then checked the line to make sure the end was secured in the ice wall. “And they’ve apparently found a ship of some kind. We’re going down the check it out,” Wheeljack added as he walked over to the edge of the hole, cable in hand, and carefully lowered himself down. “Everyone follow my lead down. Go slow and steady and hold on to the line tight."

Wheeljack then descended further, disappearing from sight.

As Wheeljack disappeared, Perceptor grabbed the line and quickly followed. He caught sight of Cosmos just as the tiny 'Bot disappeared into the ship. >>"Try not to disturb anything down there."<< He cautioned then realized he might be coming across as unconcerned about his fellow Autobots. >>"As much as you can in that darkness at least..."<<<

Bottom of the Hole – Ice Pocket

Hot Rod wrote:“Easy there, Blurr,” Hot Rod said as he patted the blue speedster on the shoulder to try and calm him down some. “That’s why we’re letting the Wrecker go in first, besides the fact he’s also the one with the drills.”

“Easy?Easy?” Blurr repeated. Hot Rod was right, he had to calm down before he created enough friction to melt his own hole in the ice. But that was easier said than done. Why is he always given the impossible tasks? Still, he tried to slow his vocalizer at least before his words buzzed together and communication became impossible. “Okay… I’m relaxing. We’re in aicehole breachinganunknown ship,andit’s okaycause wehavea wrecker withus?”

It was a start, but he knew he could do better. Why can’t they speed up? I did it? Blurr groused to himself. “Wreaking things like this can be bad,bad,bad!”

Blurr, trying his best to help after Blaster’s recent message came through (Seriously, could he pick a worse time?, began running off a thousand and one reasons why breaking into a strange ship was a bad idea while Hot Rod and Twin Twist continued their discussion and efforts.

He turned to point to Twin Twist in time for the mech to disappear through another hole. “Yousee?Yousee?” he said, pointing and looking back at the entrance above, attempting to will someone to join them.

Twin Twist wrote: “Well, I’ll be slagged.”

“Thiscan’tbegood,” Blurr muttered. He was glad the Wrecker wasn’t wrecked, but he couldn’t shake the feeling something was wrong here. While he’d grown used to Hot Rod’s impetuousness — Blurr was usually more than happy to join him — something like this so soon after his… issue gave the speedy ‘Bot all the reason he needed to be worried.

Hot Rod wrote: “I knew it!” Hot Rod exclaimed, turning back to look at Blurr and grabbing him by the shoulders in excitement. “I knew it was a ship, and I’ll bet it’s the same one from my visions! How that’s possible I have no idea, but I can’t see it being anything else.”

A million responses flashed through Blurr’s processor, but none seemed right for the moment. He wanted to feel good for his friend, especially since this would vindicate him and give him peace of mind, but was that was it really was, or had Hot Rod blown a few logic circuits. In the end, Blurr did what he thought was best.

Smiling, he grasped Hot Rod’s arms. “That’samazing,Hot Rod. Ihopethisistheansweryou’relookingfor.”

While concerned, he couldn’t keep second guessing Hot Rod. At some point, someone needed to have his back. Blurr just hoped he wouldn’t function to regret this decision.

Hot Rod wrote: “Blurr, make sure everyone up there gets down here okay. Then come down and join us. Oh, and don’t worry. Everything will be fine!”

Fine? Everything will be fine? Nothing is ever fine when someone says fine, Blurr fretted, but nodded. “Becareful. Wedon’tknowwhat’sdownthere.”

As Hot Rod disappeared into the ship, Blurr looked from side to side in the darkness. This had every plot he’d ever heard of in a horror-vid. All they needed was a giant monster to leap out and devour the follishly impetuous crew.

“Why doesn’t anyone listen to me?” he groused, waiting for the others to arrive. Hopefully, they’d find more than body parts strewn around when they got there.

Blurr tried not to check his chronometer, but failed a dozen times. Patience and waiting are two things that don’t fit into one’s universe when their entire existence is built around the need for speed. He ws about to go down into the ship to make sure his friends were all right when Cosmos’ floodlamps ignited the entire cavern in a super intense glow as theyreflected off the ice.

Cosmos wrote:“Hey, Blurr! How’d you even end up down here?”

Blurr jumped at the sudden light, then at the familiar voice, but he’d be scrapped if he’d admit it to anyone.

Holding a hand up to shiled his optics, Blurr said, “Gladyoucouldjoinus.” He tried not to sound disappointed in the time it took, and he wasn’t sure he succeeded.

“HotRodfelldownaholeandfoundthis.” He motioned to the ship. He forced himself to slow down once more to make sure he was understood. “I told them to wait, but does anyone listen to me? No,no,no.”

He remained indignate as Cosmos checked over the ship, then sent out a group message. Up until that poit, Blurr hadn’t had much to react to, or that he hadn’t already in one way or another, but the mention of traps brought another groan from him.

And them Cosmos entered the ship, leaving him alone once again.

“Comeon,comeon,comeon,” he muttered, trying to will Wheeljack and Perceptor to hurry. The longer it took them to get there, the longer it meant he’d be stuck here alone and letting Hot Rod get into whatever trouble he could find.

Perceptor wrote: >>"Try not to disturb anything down there."<< He cautioned then realized he might be coming across as unconcerned about his fellow Autobots. >>"As much as you can in that darkness at least..."<<<

“That’swhatIsaid,” Blurr muttered for what felt like the millionth time as he turned his focus from the hole above to what he could see of Cosmos’ light through the hole in the ship.

“Buttheydon’tlistentome.” As he spoke, he realized they probably wouldn’t listen to Perceptor either, and that didn’t make him feel any better.

Bottom of the Hole – Ice Pocket

Blurr wrote:“Comeon,comeon,comeon,”

“We’re coming. We’re coming,” Wheeljack replied back to Blurr as he set both of his feet carefully on the ice at the bottom of the hole. It was a very small pocket, indeed, and it was beginning to get more and more cramped by the astrosecond as more mechs arrived to see what had been discovered. “All right, we’re here. Now, were did Hot Rod go? Oh…” the made scientist stopped himself as he saw the second hole Twin Twist had dug that led down into the ship. “Nevermind. I have a good idea where he is.”

Perceptor was close behind him, warning the others not to disturb anything down in the ship. That wasn’t a bad idea. There was no telling what this ship was or who it originally belonged to. >>”Perceptor’s right guys. Try not to mess around with anything at least until we get down there.”<<

Wheeljack then turned to Perceptor, Blurr and the others. “Okay, follow me again. There’s no rope this time, but the hole into the ship seems to be on an angle so we should just be able to slide ourselves in there. Be careful, regardless, though.”

With that said, Wheeljack sat his aft on the edge of the opening and gently slid himself down into the darkness below.

Bridge – Inside the Frozen Ship

Hot Rod landed on the icy floor of the bridge with ease, switching on his headlamps as he gazed around the large room. He could see Twin Twist on the far side fiddling with buttons and levers in an attempt to get something to respond. “You weren’t kidding about this place, Twin,” the cavalier said as he traversed from one side of the bridge to the other.

“Did you think I was joking, Roddy?” Twin Twist replied stoically, turning his attention to the approaching flame-covered mech.

“Of course not,” Hot Rod responded as he stopped at a console and brushed away some of the snow. “The markings are definitely Cybertronian just like you said.”

“Yep. Just like I said.”

Perceptor wrote:>>"Try not to disturb anything down there. As much as you can in that darkness at least..."<<

“Too late,” Twin Twist replied out loud to Hot Rod who so far was the only one present. “Think I should tell him that? Heh.”

Hot Rod glanced over at the former Wrecker and grinned. “Might be best to sugar coat it a bit.”

“Gotcha,” Twin Twist replied, switching over to the comms.

>>”We hear ya, Percy! Don’t worry about nothing. We won’t touch anything…besides the numerous things we already touched. Heh.”<<

“How was that?” The jumpstarter asked with a wide smile.

“Ahhh….not bad. Maybe a little more sugar next time,” Hot Rod responded as he moved away from the console.

“Hah, if you say so, Roddy!” Twin Twist patted the cavalier on the shoulder plate just as a loud noise came from behind a nearby closet door.

“What the frag…!!!” Hot Rod exclaimed as he almost jumped out of his frame and quickly moved behind the former Wrecker.

Twin Twist slowly turned his head around to look back at the cowering Autobot. “You know, for a cavalier you sure are a fraidy bot…”

“Hey, I’m not…” Hot Rod started to say as he straightened himself up and stepped out from behind the jumpstarter. “…I’m not afraid. I was just startled a bit, that’s all. I mean, what the frag was that anyway?”

“Sounded like it came from inside that storage closet,” Twin Twist reassured Roddy. “I’m not picking up any life signs. Something probably just fell or shifted its weight. Would you like me to check it out?”

“Please. I..I mean, sure go right ahead.”

Twin Twist chuckled slightly as he moved towards the storage closet. At that moment, both Cosmos and Wheeljack arrived on scene. The mechanical engineer switched on his headlamps and looked around. “So what do we have here gentle mechs?”

“Twin’s gonna check the storage closet. Something moved inside,” Hot Rod quickly brought Wheeljack up to speed.

“Something moved?” Wheeljack questioned as he walked over to intercept the former Wrecker. “Be careful, Twin Twist. We don’t have any idea what we are dealing with here.”

“Oh please, I’m a Wrecker, Wheeljack. I can handle whatever’s on the other side of this door,” the jumpstarter said as he reached the closed door and forcibly pried it open. After a few grunts and shoves the threshold into the small storage closet was wide open. “See, nothing to worry….”

Suddenly, a body fell out faceplate first onto the floor just outside the doorway, hitting the icy surface with a thud. “Holy frag!! What the…??!!!” Twin Twist jumped back several feet, clearly being startled, himself.

“For a Wrecker you’re awful jumpy,” Hot Rod commented, receiving an angry glare back from the jumpstarter. The cavalier then took a step towards the body but was stopped in his tracks by the sound of Wheeljack’s voice.

“No one touch it!” The mechanical engineer exclaimed as he rushed over and quickly knelt down next to the body. He shined his headlamp directly onto it, revealing that it was mechanical in nature. Wheeljack closely studied it, pulling out a scanner in order to get a full readout of the body. “It’s Cybertronian,” he said as he continued scanning. “Whoever it was has been dead a very long time.”

Wheeljack then put the scanner away and placed both hands onto the far side of the body. He then gently turned it over onto its back so that the dead mech in question was facing up. What he saw shocked him more than the discovery of the ship, itself. “Dear Primus, what happened to you?” Wheeljack asked the body rhetorically.

Hot Rod took a few more steps closer and knelt down beside the engineer. “It looks like his chest plate has been ripped opened, Jackie, and violently, too. What could’ve done that?”

“Maybe someone just shot him,” Twin Twist suggested, moving closer to the body and looking down over the two Autobots’ shoulders. “I’ve seen blaster fire do far worst than that to a mech.”

“No, he wasn’t shot,” Wheeljack said, rejecting the idea outright. “There’s no scorch marks and this isn’t the kind of damage one would see from laser fire. Someone or something ripped his chest opened.” Wheeljack shined his headlamp straight down into the gapping hole in the dead mech’s chest. “Oh dear…”

“What?” Hot Rod asked. “What is it?”

“The spark chamber is missing,” Wheeljack responded, looking Hot Rod directly in the optics before returning his attention deep into the chest wound. “And by the looks of it, the chamber wasn’t just removed, it was torn out!”

“Torn out? But where is it?” Hot Rod queried.

“Is that it?” Twin Twist asked as he shown his headlamp into the closet. The others gazed inside and saw a small, round ball lying near the back corner.

Wheeljack got up and stepped around the body, entering the closet. He quickly came out with what was only an empty shell now. “Yeah, it’s the spark chamber, severely damaged and devoid of a spark.”

Hot Rod got up and stood next to Wheeljack, taking the spark chamber in his hands and looking it over. “Who could’ve done this?”

“I don’t know, Roddy,” Wheeljack replied, placing his hands onto his waist. “But the only way we’re going to find out some answers is to restore power to this ship. Then we’ll be able to access the computer system and find out what the frag happened here.”

“Agreed,” Hot Rod replied, handing the spark chamber back to Wheeljack. “I’ll go and find the fuel room and see if there’s enough energon to get things going again. If there is enough then there might be a broken connection that needs to be fixed in order to restore power. Whatever the case may be, I’ll get the job done.” The cavalier then headed for the exit. “Come on, Blurr, you’re with me!”

As Hot Rod reached the double doors that led out of the bridge, he realized that without power they wouldn’t open automatically. Wheeljack shook his cranium. “Twin Twist, Cosmos, go with them, and be careful! Keep your sensors attuned for any life signs. There have to be other members of the crew somewhere, dead or alive.”

The former Wrecker nodded. “You got it, Jackie!” The jumpstarter then walked over to the double doors and pressed his actuators into the seam before prying the doors apart with his brute strength. “After you, guys.” Twin Twist motioned for his three comrades to leave first.

“Thanks,” Hot Rod nodded as he and Twin Twist exited the bridge with Blurr and Cosmos presumably right with them.

“Okay, Perceptor, help me pick this body up and place it onto that conference table over there for further examination,” Wheeljack said as the scientist/sniper arrived in the ship. Wheeljack then knelt down and carefully grabbed a hold of the left side of the dead body and waited for Perceptor the grab the right side. “Once it’s on the table, we’ll be able to study the body better.”

Cavern above the ship

Smokescreen85 wrote:
>>”We hear ya, Percy! Don’t worry about nothing. We won’t touch anything…besides the numerous things we already touched. Heh.”<<

Perceptor let out a little sigh as he listened to Twin Twist. He decided there was no use trying to further caution those two.

His attention went to Wheeljack, though, as the engineer slid down into the tunnel to the ship. He followed, careful not to get too close behind, in case Wheeljack suddenly stopped.


At Hot Rod's suggestion to find the fuel room, he was within hearing distance. "There may be some emergency power for the guidance systems here on the bridge as well..." He speculated as he slid into the bridge. "Whoa..." He said softly, observing what he could under the low light.

Smokescreen85 wrote:"Okay, Perceptor, help me pick this body up and place it onto that conference table over there for further examination,” Wheeljack said as the scientist/sniper arrived in the ship. Wheeljack then knelt down and carefully grabbed a hold of the left side of the dead body and waited for Perceptor the grab the right side. “Once it’s on the table, we’ll be able to study the body better.”

Perceptor nodded and grabbed the other side of the body. "I'm guessing you didn't see an Autobrand or otherwise in this light?" He asked Wheeljackpeering at what there was of chest on the body. "This ship is old though... Could even predate the war possibly... Maybe...? Once we have power we'll know..." He was more just thinking out loud at this point, resisting the urge to drop the body and rush to the consoles to see if he could get any online.

[Bridge - Inside the Frozen Ship]

It had been a very confusing past few breems. First, Cosmos had thought that Hot Rod was in trouble because he fell into some icy ditch. Then it turns out that the icy ditch was actually a buried ship. Wew.

It didn’t even take that long for a corpse to fall out of a clos- wait, what?! A corpse?! Cosmos’s small optics went wide, nearly tripling in size. He wasn’t sure whether to move his feet toward the body or away from it. In the end, he decided to hide behind the rest of the taller mechs. Better for them to look at it.

A bit of back and forth while they did the quick autopsy, but Cosmos couldn’t help but overhear something about the spark chamber being missing. Ripped out? Wait a second... He wasn’t sure if it was what he was thinking it was, but he reluctantly asked, “Like… like a sparkeater?” The minibot had only heard stories about those eldritch monstrosities. Myths and folktales. That kind of thing. But what he had heard was unspeakable of. Apparently, they were terrifying creatures, some kind of monsters.

When Hot Rod and Blurr were going to go find power, Wheeljack told Cosmos to go as well. “Oh, okay, I’ll do that then,” Cosmos said, accompanying the three mechs into the corridors. Wew, that was weird.

The corridor is dark. Not the most comfortable kind of dark. Especially not after that weird body that fell out. The round boy switches on his flood lamps, lighting up the corridor considerably. But there was another issue now - which way do they go?

“Oh, um, left or right?”

Bottom of the Hole – Ice Pocket

Wheeljack wrote: “We’re coming. We’re coming.”

But not fast enough for the speedy ‘Bot as he paced back and forth between the hole above and the hole in the ship. It wasn’t a long walk, especially at his pace, and he wouldn’ve have een surprised if his steps burned a hole through the ship’s hull before the slow moving mechs got—

Wheeljack wrote: “All right, we’re here. Now, were did Hot Rod go? Oh…”

Is he serious? Can’t he see… His thoughts trailing off, Blurr turned and pointed as Wheeljack concluded,

Wheeljack wrote: “Nevermind. I have a good idea where he is.”

“Hewouldn’tlisten. He’s possessed or stubborn, I’mnotsurewhichitisorwhichisworse—hejustwouldn’tlisten. I knew nothinggoodcouldcomeoutofthis, butnoonelistenstome. Ohno, Ineversayanythingworthlisteningto,” Blurr rambled to himself as he impatiently waited for the two scientists to come up with a plan.

Wheeljack wrote: “Okay, follow me again. There’s no rope this time, but the hole into the ship seems to be on an angle so we should just be able to slide ourselves in there. Be careful, regardless, though.”

That’s their plan? I could’ve done that, Blurr thought, following them through the hole.

Bridge – Inside the Frozen Ship

Blurr landed on the bridge’s deck with a light thunk after the others, and barely managed to catch himself before he slipped and took out those nearest him. Not good, not good. What good is my speed if I drive in place?

He hated feeling inadequate like this. There were too many what ifs involved. What if the others need help? What if they need to get out of there in a hurry? What if, what if, what if.

He forced himself to slow down before he drained his energon reserves. It took everything he had not to rush to Hot Rod’s side and clunk him upside the head and knock his logic circuits back into order. Primus knew he had every right to. Especially after having a hand in forcing them into a situation they weren’t expecting or equipped to handle.

Still, they were there and what was done was done. Never mind the ship was less inviting thn the cavern above.

Hot Rod wrote: “Twin’s gonna check the storage closet. Something moved inside.”

“Somethingmoved? Maybeweshouldn’t—”

The sudden crash of a body falling and Twin Twist’s cry cut off Blurr in midsentence, leaving him speechless as he stared at the form.

Wheeljack wrote: “It’s Cybertronian,” he said as he continued scanning. “Whoever it was has been dead a very long time.”

As if Blurr had any doubts as to the stupidity of coming down here, Wheeljack added, [quote=”Wheeljack”] “The spark chamber is missing. And by the looks of it, the chamber wasn’t just removed, it was torn out!” [/quote]

“Idon’tlikethis. Canweheadbacktothesurfacenow?” Blurr asked, his words blending together as he spoke faster as faster as his energon rushed through is circuits.

Hot Rod wrote: “I’ll go and find the fuel room and see if there’s enough energon to get things going again. If there is enough then there might be a broken connection that needs to be fixed in order to restore power. Whatever the case may be, I’ll get the job done.” The cavalier then headed for the exit. “Come on, Blurr, you’re with me!”

“What? Who? Me?” Blurr swore his audio receptors glitched, but he’d come this far cause of his friend, and he wasn’t going to leave now. “Surething, Roddy.”

As they made their way toward what he hoped was their actual destination and not another grand adventure, he noticed Cosmos accompanying them. Glad someone that can fly is with us, he thought, feeling slightly better at it not being Twin Twist. It was difficult enough keeping Hot Rob out of trouble without the Wrecker’s influence.

“Welcometotheparty, Cosmos. I’msurewe’renotdoomed, doomed, doomed,” Blurr said, hoping he sounded cheerier than he felt. Cosmos’ floodlights illuminating the corridor definitely helped.

Cosmos wrote: “Oh, um, left or right?”

Thinking, Blurr glanced at Hot Rod then Cosmos. “Anyone know what kind of ship this is? Maybe Perceptor or Wheeljack have a schematic?” Blurr asked, forcing his vocalizer to slow down to the point it hurt. He didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings.

((OOC: Sorry this took so long. Between real life and an uncooperative muse, it's been slow going. Hopefully, this post will push things along a bit.))


Corridors – Inside the Frozen Ship

Blurr wrote:“Welcometotheparty, Cosmos. I’msurewe’renotdoomed, doomed, doomed.”

“Agreed,” Hot Rod replied to Blurr. “We’re not doomed whether that be once, twice or three times. We’ll be fine. Just stay together.”

“Whatever you say, Roddy,” Twin Twist spoke up in his usual gruff voice. “Besides, with me here, I’ll protect you all from all the frozen…whatever…that we may run into. Heh.”

Cosmos wrote:“Oh, um, left or right?”

Hot Rod glanced over at Cosmos and shrugged. “Let’s head right.” The flame-covered mech then led the group down another corridor that seemingly came to a dead end.

“Great job, Rodders,” Twin Twist interjected, crossing his arms over his chest plate. “Perhaps we should try the other direction.

“No,” Hot Rod retorted as he walked over to a hatch on the floor.

Blurr wrote:“Anyone know what kind of ship this is? Maybe Perceptor or Wheeljack have a schematic?”

“No idea, Blurr, but…” the cavalier responded as he knelt down and forced the hatch open, exposing a ladder that lead down into the bowels of the vessel. “…most engineering sections and accompanying fuel rooms are located on the lower levels. So, we head down. Let’s go.”

With the said, Hot Rod climbed down into the hatch. With no power there was no way to use a turbo lift. So, they would have to go it the old fashioned way.

“Oh, goodie, another hole,” the jumpstarter said sarcastically as he patted Blurr on the shoulder. “Let’s do this! Ha!” Twin Twist then climbed down after Hot Rod and descended into the darkness below with only their head lamps lighting the way.

Bridge

Perceptor wrote:"I'm guessing you didn't see an Autobrand or otherwise in this light?”

"This ship is old though... Could even predate the war possibly... Maybe...? Once we have power we'll know..."

“No, I didn’t see an Autobrand,” Wheeljack replied as he and Perceptor heaved the dead body onto a nearby table. Once that was done, the engineer pointed his headlamp down into the gaping hole in the mech’s chest. “Although, if there was a brand of any kind it would have been on his chest which is now gone. So, light or no light, it’s a mute point.”

Wheeljack grabbed his toolkit and placed it on the edge of the table and opened it. Grabbing a few utensils, he began to route around inside the chest cavity that had not only been torn open but had the spark chamber removed from it. “Well, as I suspected before, the spark chamber wasn’t surgically removed. It was literally ripped out by force. So, this wasn’t some kind of surgical procedure gone wrong,” the mad scientist said, looking up at Perceptor. “It was murder. Whoever or whatever did this, used a tremendous amount of force. I can’t imagine any normal ‘bot or ‘con having the strength to do something like this or why they would. A point one percenter perhaps, but until we can find evidence of such a mech being on board I can’t confirm that’s what happened.”

“What about a spark eater?” The voice came from one of the autotroopers who had finally arrived down from orbit and made their way under the ice. “I thought I heard Cosmos say something about a spark eater before he left.”

“First off, nice for you guys to finally arrive. I had only requested your presence a cycle ago. And, second…” Wheeljack paused as he continued to examine the body. “…there’s no such thing as a spark eater. They’re only a myth to scare protoforms.”

Lower Decks – Fuel Room

It had taken a bit of time, but Hot Rod and his team had finally made it to the deck where both Engineering and the fuel room were located. Scans indicated energon readings ahead and after forcing open a set of double doors, the cavalier stepped across the threshold and into the chamber that housed the fuel cells.

“Well, there they are,” Hot Rod said as he looked at the glowing cells of energon. Upon closer inspection, the cells were only about ten percent full, but it should be enough to get the important systems up and running, especially the ones on the bridge.

“That’s not a lot of energon in those cells, Roddy,” Twin Twist pointed out the obvious. “We’re going to need more. Otherwise, this ship will go dark again.”

“Yes, I see that, Twin Twist. Thank you,” Hot Rod replied, moving over to inspect the fuel cells closer.

“No problem. Always here to help!” The former Wrecker followed Hot Rod over to the fuel cells and looked around, shining his headlamp at different fuel lines and connection nodes. One in particular stood out from the rest. “I think I’ve found our problem.”

“Hang on, I’m coming,” Hot Rod responded as he walked over to where Twin Twist was now squatting in front of. The main fuel conduit to the cells was disconnected from the primary hub that would then distribute the energon to the rest of the ship. “Yeah, that’ll do it. Think you can reconnect it?”

“Do I think I can reconnect it? Do I look dumb? Of course, I can reconnect it! Sheesh!” Twin Twist exclaimed as he grabbed the main fuel conduit and stuck it back into the port on the side of the bank of fuel cells. “There, all done.” After a few moments of waiting, nothing was happening. “Why isn’t it working?”

Hot Rod looked around and found a lever next to the port. He grabbed a hold of it and pulled it down, which subsequently opened the port and allowed energy to flow into the fuel conduit and then into the primary hub. Within astroseconds, lights began going on all around them. “Okay, now we’re cooking!”

>>”Wheeljack, this is Hot Rod. We got the fuel cells reconnected to the ship’s systems. You should be getting power at any time now.”<<

>>”Thanks, Roddy! Good job!”<<

Cutting his comm line, Hot Rod glanced over at the rest of the team. “Well, that was easier then I expected.” Hot Rod then switched off his headlamp as the ship became illuminated in a warm light. Walking past the fuel cells, the cavalier stepped into an adjoining chamber where he found the ship’s engine. “Dear Primus. What kind of engine is this?”

Twin Twist walked up behind him. “Hmmm, it doesn’t look like any kind of engine I’ve ever seen.”

Hot Rod then approached a terminal and tried to access the engineering systems. Belong long, the cavalier got his answer. “I don’t believe it. Do you guys know what this is?”

“No, we don’t. So, don’t keep us in suspense, Rodders! Tell us!” Twin Twist said impatiently.

Bridge

The lights flicked to life overhead, bathing the bridge in a brilliant glow. Wheeljack looked up from his examination of the body and smiled underneath his face shield. “Ah, so much better,” the mechanical engineer stated, turning off his headlamp. “Now, maybe we can get some answers from the ship’s computers. Perceptor, do me a favor, and boot up the guidance systems so we can figure out where this ship came from and how it got here. I’ll boot up the logs and see if I can find anything out there.”

Wheeljack then turned to the group of autotroopers who were milling about. “You five each man a console and boot up the appropriate systems - science, security, weapons, engineering, all of them.” The troopers nodded and got to work as the engineer sat down at one of the stations. After booting up the console and accessing the ship’s logs, the mad scientist began going through them. The first thing he noticed was the identity of the ship. Wheeljack’s optics widened. “Well, I know what ship this is,” Wheeljack started to say as he turned to look directly at Perceptor.

“We’re on the Unitrex-1.”

At that moment, Hot Rod's voice came across Wheeljack's comm line again:

>>”Hey, Wheeljack! This is Hot Rod down in engineering. You’ll never guess what kind of engine this ship has!”<<

>>”Let me guess, a quantum generator?”<<

>>”Yes! How’d you know?”<<

>>”Oh, just a hunch.”<<

Smokescreen85 wrote:“No, I didn’t see an Autobrand,” Wheeljack replied as he and Perceptor heaved the dead body onto a nearby table. Once that was done, the engineer pointed his headlamp down into the gaping hole in the mech’s chest. “Although, if there was a brand of any kind it would have been on his chest which is now gone. So, light or no light, it’s a mute point.”

Preceptor made a bit of a face as he looked at the bot's chest, now illuminated by Wheeljack's light. "Moot point indeed." He agreed as Wheeljack got out his tools and began exploring the damage.

He watched with a scientist's curiosity as Wheeljack worked.

Smokescreen85 wrote:“Well, as I suspected before, the spark chamber wasn’t surgically removed. It was literally ripped out by force. So, this wasn’t some kind of surgical procedure gone wrong,” the mad scientist said, looking up at Perceptor. “It was murder. Whoever or whatever did this, used a tremendous amount of force. I can’t imagine any normal ‘bot or ‘con having the strength to do something like this or why they would. A point one percenter perhaps, but until we can find evidence of such a mech being on board I can’t confirm that’s what happened.”

He slowly shook his head, for once the 'Bot that always had an answer had no answer. "We should search the brid-" he began as the recently arrived autotrooper offered a suggestion.

Smokescreen85 wrote:"What about a spark eater?” The voice came from one of the autotroopers who had finally arrived down from orbit and made their way under the ice. “I thought I heard Cosmos say something about a spark eater before he left.”

“First off, nice for you guys to finally arrive. I had only requested your presence a cycle ago. And, second…” Wheeljack paused as he continued to examine the body. “…there’s no such thing as a spark eater. They’re only a myth to scare protoforms.”

Nodding in agreement of Wheeljack, Perceptor dismissed the sparkeater idea. "Just a fairy tale." He muttered as suddenly, the lights came on.

Smokescreen85 wrote:"Ah, so much better,” the mechanical engineer stated, turning off his headlamp. “Now, maybe we can get some answers from the ship’s computers. Perceptor, do me a favor, and boot up the guidance systems so we can figure out where this ship came from and how it got here. I’ll boot up the logs and see if I can find anything out there.”

With a nod, the scientist went to the console where the guidence systems would be accessible, bringing the information up on the screens in front of him.

Smokescreen85 wrote:"Well, I know what ship this is,” Wheeljack started to say as he turned to look directly at Perceptor.

“We’re on the Unitrex-1.”

At that moment, Hot Rod's voice came across Wheeljack's comm line again:

>>”Hey, Wheeljack! This is Hot Rod down in engineering. You’ll never guess what kind of engine this ship has!”<<

>>”Let me guess, a quantum generator?”<<

>>”Yes! How’d you know?”<<

>>”Oh, just a hunch.”<<

"The Unitrex-1... Fascinating..."

[Lower Decks - Fuel Room]

“Woah!”

Cosmos’s reaction was pretty simple. Ever since taking that turn in the corridor, climbing down the hole and ending up in the lower decks of the ship, the small round boy had wondered what was awaiting them on the other side. A ship of Cybertronian origin on such a planet, at the same place as the Ore-13 they were looking for? That was pretty cool and interesting!

He had just been watching with curiosity while having his floodlamps on so that Hot Rod, Blurr and Twin Twist could see the path ahead. They seemed to have found the energon conduit for the fuel cells, so that was nice. When the lights came on, Cosmos switched his floodlamps off.

But the engine! It was a quantum generator! No way, woah! It made Cosmos think about earlier, how he was wondering how such a ship could be here. Maybe it had a malfunction while quantum leaping, which caused it to get displaced and end up here?

“What do we do with this ship then?”

Lower Decks – Fuel Room

Keep calm, keep calm, the speedster told himself over and over as he flowed behind Twin Twist and Hot Rod. It wasn’t that he was frieghtened, per se. He just didn’t like wandering into the inner belly of a strange ship that shouldn’t be here.

It brought to mind the stories of various creatures that waited in the dark to steal a Cybetronian’s spark, energon, or both. While he’d never put much stock in those stories, it was harder to ignore them while wondering through a dead ship.

Then they reconnected the power.

It was the smart thing to do, so despite his reservations, Blurr kept his thoughts to himself as he continued watching the corridor and room to ensure nothing was sneaking up on them. It only took one microsecond for those stories to be proven right, and Blurr had no intention of being the one others talked about except to mention his survival or other heroic nonsense that made mech’s reputations anymore.

Oh, how he’d give anything to be back dominating the racing scene and living an oppulant life. But no, he had to be drawn into this… conflict. Primus and the fates just couldn’t let well enough alone.

All of that was forgotten when Hot Rod opened the door and they could see the engine. For the first time since this endeavor began, Blurr’s systems seemed to slow, as if running in a degrading cycle.

Cosmos wrote: “What do we do with this ship then?”

That was an excellent question, but there was another that continued to nag at Blurr’s logic circuits. “Roddy,” he began, this time not having to forve himself to speak slowly for their benefit. “How did you know this was here?”

Since this began, Hot Rod had been acting as if possessed, or like he had information they didn’t. Blurr hoped it was the latter. If his friend had another relapse and they were drawn here into a trap…

Lower Decks – Engine Room, Adjacent to Fuel Room

Cosmos wrote:“What do we do with this ship then?”

“Um, that’s a really good question,” Hot Rod responded as he began to ponder the answer. From what he knew of history, the Unitrex-1 was the first quantum jump ship of its kind. Not only that, it was taken by a group of NAILs (Non-Aligned Indigenous Lifeforms) who wanted to escape from the war. They were never heard from again and now they knew why. At least, they kinda did. But what the slag happened here? They found one crew member up on the bridge, but where were the rest of them?

“We should probably try and see if we can get this ship fixed and airborne again,” the cavalier suggested. “It’ll be a great asset to us, but an even better question, Cosmos, is where are the rest of the crew? They have to be here somewhere right?”

Blurr wrote:“Roddy, How did you know this was here?”

Hot Rod’s question was interrupted by another question Blurr had wanted to ask for some time now. “Are you referring to the ship, itself, or the quantum engine? The engine I just discovered by accident.” Or did he? The cavalier began to wonder if he had just wandered into the engine room by mere curiosity or if he had been guided unknowingly. At this point anything was possible.

“As far as the ship is concerned,” Hot Rod continued with a brief pause. “I’ve had visions of a ship trapped in the ice. This ship. I didn’t know if they were just dreams or something more. Clearly, they were something more.”

“Clearly you’ve lost your processor chips, Roddy,” Twin Twist then interjected with a smile. “Just kidding. Or am I?”

“Well, regardless of my mental state, we still need to find the rest of the crew,” Hot Rod replied, trying to get everyone back on what was more important. “Let’s fan out some, but not too far from each other. We’ll start here and spread out into the corridors, checking each room as we go. Sound good, everyone?”

Bridge

Perceptor wrote:"The Unitrex-1... Fascinating..."

“Yes, it is very fascinating, Perceptor,” Wheeljack responded without taking his optics off the computer terminal in front of him. “The last time this ship was seen was way back in the early days of the war when a group of NAILs stole it and quantum jumped to parts unknown. I guess it’s not unknown anymore. We just need to figure out why they took it and where exactly they were heading. Hopefully, these logs, and there are a lot of them, will shed some light on that.”

“I think I found the rest of the crew,” the autotrooper manning the security station suddenly spoke up.

Wheeljack stopped what he was doing and spun around in his chair. “Where?”

“Medbay,” the trooper responded as Wheeljack got up and approached the security station. “I was able to access the security camera down there and now that the lights are on I see this…”

The autotrooper sat back in his chair to allow Wheeljack and Perceptor to take a look at the carnage. Mechanical bodies were strewn around the room and even in piles in the corners, each one in the same condition as the dead mech found on the bridge.

“Dear Primus,” Wheeljack muttered aloud as he took a closer look at the monitor. “They all have holes in their chests, just like the one here. What the frag did that?”

“I don’t know,” the autotrooper began to reply. “But, I am picking up a lifeform reading from one of the stasis pods down there. I can’t see it on the security feed as it’s out of frame, but it appears to be connected into the Medbay’s auxiliary power supply which is separate from the rest of the ship. That’s standard for all ships, of course, in case of a power failure elsewhere.”

“So, there may be someone alive!” Wheeljack exclaimed. “We need to check it out to be sure.”

The mechanical engineer then opened a comm line down to Hot Rod and his team:

>>”Hot Rod, Blurr, this is Wheeljack. We’ve found the rest of the crew. They’re in the medical bay. Unfortunately, they’re all dead like the one up here. However, we’ve detected a possible life reading from one of the stasis pods. Can you guys check it out to see what it is? Use extreme caution, of course.”<<

>>”Copy that, Jackie! We’re on it!”<< Hot Rod commed back.

“Perhaps it would be a good idea to send some of us down as back-up,” the autotrooper suggested. “Just in case.”

“Good idea,” Wheeljack responded. “You and two others head down. Be careful.”

The autotrooper nodded as he stood from the chair and motioned for two other troopers to follow him. The trio of autotroopers then disappeared off the bridge and into the corridor beyond.

Engine Room

>>”I’m sending down three autotroopers to assist you. They’ll meet you guys at the medbay.”<< Wheeljack transmitted to Hot Rod and his team.

After sending an acknowledgment back, the cavalier turned to the others. “Well, you heard Jackie. Let’s head to the medical bay and see if there’s a survivor!”

With that said, Hot Rod took the lead and headed out of the engine room with Twin Twist, Blurr, Cosmos and the others close behind him.

Medical Bay

Carnage. That was the only word to describe the scene in the medbay. Bodies lay everywhere, on the floor, against the walls and on several of the operating tables. Their chest plates were ripped open with spark chambers littering the floor. It was a scene so grotesque that it would make even the toughest ‘bots purge their tanks.

Against a far wall, a lone stasis pod sat with power cables attached to the sides. When main power had failed long ago, the medbay’s back-up power had kicked in to keep the contents from expiring. But now main power had been restored and just in time as the auxiliary core was almost dry from the many vorns it had slowly fed the stasis pod.

Now, as primary energon flowed back into the medical bay, a quick power surge struck the pod’s systems. Within the stasis unit, something stirred, awakened by the surge. A clawed hand suddenly struck the inside of the glass, scraping across the smooth surface.

Bridge

"Wheeljack, the guidance systems are online." Preceptor reported as a info box popped up on his screen confirming he had accessed the system.

[Engine Room → Medical Bay]

Cosmos couldn’t believe it. He was on the Unitrex-1, and it was everything he had heard about. Everything after that moment had happened so quickly in such quick succession that he hadn’t really even had the time to properly process what was happening. Hot Rod had a dream of some sort, and it seemed to be linked to it. Now, Cosmos wasn’t really superstitious, but…

His thoughts were pulled away when he arrived at the medbay.

Cosmos felt like ejecting his innards at the extremely grotesque sight. Rusting, torn apart bodies everywhere. He turned away and hid behind Twin Twist’s larger frame. He didn’t want to watch, but the light from the lone stasis pod in the corner and the clawing inside made him even more on edge. At this point, he was all about ready to bolt.

>>”Um, Wheeljack? Perceptor? Most of the bots in the medbay are… were really just torn apart to bits. There’s something… or someone, in a stasis pod. It looks like it’s been reactivated with the power… and… um…”<<

Lower Decks – Engine Room, Adjacent to Fuel Room[

Hot Rod wrote: “As far as the ship is concerned,” Hot Rod continued with a brief pause. “I’ve had visions of a ship trapped in the ice. This ship. I didn’t know if they were just dreams or something more. Clearly, they were something more.”

Visions? Visions aren’t good. Visions mean his processor is running wild. Visions mean— Blurr forced that line of thought out of his processpr. Hot Rod wouldn’t knowingly put them in danger. But if he was dreaming about space ships buried in the ice, did that mean the dead were somehow reaching out to him?

A shiver coursed through Blurr, like a batch of iced energon was accidentally injected into his circuits. “Idon’tlikethisatall,” he mumbled to himself as Twin Twist joked with Hot Rod. “Nope. Notatall.”

Blurr liked Hot Rod’s idea of them separating less than his having visions, but before he could speak up, Wheeljack’s communication came through.

Wheeljack wrote: >>”Hot Rod, Blurr, this is Wheeljack. We’ve found the rest of the crew. They’re in the medical bay. Unfortunately, they’re all dead like the one up here. However, we’ve detected a possible life reading from one of the stasis pods. Can you guys check it out to see what it is? Use extreme caution, of course.”<<

Extreme caution? Wheeljack’s instruction struck Blurr as unneeded, but given how Hot Rod was acting, it made sense. Still, hearing the crew was dead shouldn’t have surprised him, yet it did somehow. It also made the shadows appear different around them as he followed Hot Rod and Twin Twist out of the engine room. Atleast,we’llhavecompany, he thought as his optics flashed with a surge of energon. How he missed the good old days when his biggest concern was an upgrade to race faster.

Medical Bay

“Oh,nononononono, thiscan’tbehappening.” Blurr’s vocalizer spit out the words faster than normal as his processor registered the carnage waiting them in the medical bay. It looked like they’d been torn apart or worse, though what could be worse was lost on him.

The scratching in the stasis pod only added to his already weakening resolve to be here. It was something out of a horror vid. “Whatisthat?” he asked, doubting anyone knew, and fearing how [Hot Rod intended to find out. With that last thought in mind, he wanted to tell Hot Rod not to do the expected and open the pod. Roddy’s smart enough to know better, he told himself, hoping he was right.

To prevent that, a sudden insight came to him, and Blurr asked, “Anyonebringascanner?”