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Medical Bay

Hot Rod and Twin Twist rushed into the med bay to see the carnage firsthand. Both stopped in their tracks, covering their mouths with their hands. Even a seasoned former Wrecker like Twin Twist had to admit that he was left aghast at a sight such as this.

“Well frag me sideways! Look at this mess!” The jumpstarter declared, lowering his hand back down to his side. “Jackie was right. These guys look just like the one back up on the bridge. This must’ve been some kind of last stand or something. Didn’t go too well for these poor saps that’s for sure."

“No, it didn’t,” Hot Rod admitted as he carefully made his way across the room to where the active stasis pod was situated.

Blurr wrote:“Oh,nononononono, thiscan’tbehappening.”

“Whatisthat? Anyonebringascanner?”

The cavalier looked down into the window of the pod. “Can’t tell what’s in there, Blurr. Too much steam filling the chamber. I do have a scanner but I think the control console would tell us more about what’s in there. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Hot Rod then assumed the controls and quickly brought up the display. The readings gave the flame-ladened mech a pause. “What is it, Roddy?” Twin Twist spoke up from behind him.

“Um, there appears to be not one but two occupants in the stasis pod. One’s dead while the other is alive,” Hot Rod replied in an unsure tone. “The one that’s alive, though, is showing weird readings. I don’t know what to make of it.”

There was then a loud thud from within the stasis pod and something struck the inside of the window. Hot Rod slowly moved back over to the pod and glared into the mist within. A monstrous claw struck the window, leaving deeps scrapes in the glass. “Holy, Primus!”

Just then, the trio of autotroopers entered the med bay. Hot Rod motioned them over to the stasis pod. “There’s something in there. I don’t know what it is!” The cavalier explained the best he could as the troopers arrived at his position.

“Understood,” one of the autotroopers said. “Stand back. Let us handle this.”

More loud thuds and bangs emanated from inside the pod as whatever was inside continued to pound away. Suddenly, the window shattered, sending shards of glass flying outwards. Hot Rod covered his faceplate as the control console began to beep repeatedly. Due to the breach in the stasis pod, the program cycle was ending prematurely. As a result, steam hissed out from around the edges of the pod’s hatch, the seal having been broken. The hatch then slowly opened as the three autotroopers readied their firearms.

As the mist spread out from the stasis pod, a low growl could be heard. That growl then became a roar as several clawed tentacles emerged from the mist and grabbed one of the autotroopers before pulling him back into the fog. Horrible screams echoed through the med bay as the trooper’s chest plate was ripped open and his spark chamber torn out. The glowing light of the trooper’s spark could then be seen through the mist, which was now beginning to dissipate.

“Dear Primus!” Twin Twist exclaimed as a mechanical mutation stepped from the remaining mist, holding the spark in its hand. Within astroseconds, the beast had devoured the spark before setting its sights on the other two autotroopers that were closest to it.

“Everyone, get out of here now!” The lead trooper said and he and his comrade opened fire on the sparkeater. The laser blasts did little to deter the monster as its tentacles swiftly impaled both of the autotroopers and pulled them towards it and to their untimely fate.

“No argument here!” Hot Rod replied and he spun and around and waved to everyone to get out of the med bay immediately. “Go! Go! Go!” The cavalier and Twin Twist exited the med bay and once everyone else had gotten out, the doors shut behind them and Hot Rod quickly locked the room. He then opened a comm line up to Wheeljack:

>>”Wheeljack, this is Hot Rod! It was a sparkeater! I repeat, it was a sparkeater in the stasis pod! It’s killed the autotroopers you sent and now its…”<< The monster then slammed into the door, attempting to get out of the med bay. >>”It’s now trying to escape from the med bay!”<<

>>”I know, Roddy! We can see it from up here through the security feeds. You and the others get back to the bridge ASAP!”<<

>>”Roger that! On the way!”<<

Hot Rod turned to the others. “Okay, everyone, back to the bridge. Now!” With that said, the cavalier lead the way back to the command deck of the Unitrex-1.

Bridge

While Wheeljack was happy to hear from Perceptor that the ship’s guidance system was back online, it was the events within the med bay that had the majority of his interest. Watching as the sparkeater emerged from the stasis pod and attacked the trio of autotroopers was both grotesque and fascinating at the same time. Thankfully, Hot Rod and the others had gotten out of the med bay in time and now the sparkeater was trapped.

“I can’t believe what I’m seeing, Perceptor,” Wheeljack stated as he watched the mutated creature on the security feed continue to fling itself at the med bay door, trying to get out. “I thought sparkeaters were just myths, but apparently I was wrong. I was so wrong.”

The sparkeater then stopped its attempts to break through the med bay doors. Wheeljack watched the monitor as the beast searched around the med bay until it found a grate in the ceiling and yanked it off with one swift tug. The mutated creature then disappeared up into an air duct. “Oh, no…” the mechanical engineer gasped as he opened another comm line to Hot Rod and his team:

>>”Guys, you need to get up here as quickly as you can! The sparkeater got into the air ducts. I repeat, the sparkeater is out and using the air ducts to move around!”<<

>>”Terrific! Got any other ‘good’ news for us, Jackie?”<< Hot Rod responded back in a sarcastic tone.

[Medbay → Bridge]

Cosmos couldn’t believe what his optics were witnessing. The sight of the bodies was already enough to shake him, but when the last pod shattered open, he felt his servos lock up. The Autotroopers stepped in… but they couldn’t really do much about it. Cosmos had already started backing out of the room before Hot Rod had even said to get out. He quickly lifted off the ground and collapsed into his alternate mode, levitating and spinning away from the shut doors of the medbay.

Wheeljack wrote:>>”Guys, you need to get up here as quickly as you can! The sparkeater got into the air ducts. I repeat, the sparkeater is out and using the air ducts to move around!”<<

”Eep!” The news being thrown into the comm channel was even worse than what Cosmos had expected. He turned on his floodlights to their maximum luminosity to light the dark halls, and oriented himself just right to make himself as far away from any air ducts as possible. Cosmos made his way to the bridge first, quickly barging into the room through the doors.

Frantically reverting back to robot mode, he looked up at Wheeljack and Perceptor. “What do we do?!”

Bridge

Hot Rod, Twin Twist and the others ran into the bridge and quickly closed and sealed the doors behind them. Wheeljack and the remaining autotroopers were already closing off the air vents with thick metallic slabs and other debris, using blow torches to secure them in place. Once done, Wheeljack approached the group.

“What do we do?!” Cosmos asked frantically.

“We keep those doors closed for starters,” the mechanical engineer replied.

“Well thanks, Captain Obvious,” Twin Twist retorted sarcastically. “Obviously, we won’t open the doors! But what the frag are we going to do about that thing?!”

Just then, a loud bang was heard on the opposite side of the bridge doors. Then another bang, followed by yet another. Parts of the metal door began to push inward as the beast attempted to gain access to the bridge.

“Will those doors hold,” Hot Rod asked.

“Unknown,” Wheeljack responded, honestly. “While this ship is intact for the most part, it’s been sitting down here for thousands of years. The integrity of the metal could be compromised.”

“Could be compromised?! Well, that’s just great!” Twin Twist exclaimed. The former Wrecker rarely showed fear, but coming face to face with a sparkeater had revealed that there were some things that even he was afraid of.

“All right, everyone, calm down,” Hot Rod said, looking around at everyone in the room. “We can’t let this thing get out of here. We have to find a way to kill it. Regular guns don’t seem to have much of an impact on it judging by what little damage the autotroopers’ weapons did to it down in the med bay. Still, sparkeaters aren’t immortal right? So, there has to be a way to kill it.”

“No, I can’t imagine they’re immortal,” Wheeljack confirmed, turning to Perceptor. “Any ideas, Percy….”

Another loud bang followed by several more. The bridge doors were beginning to give way to the immense strength of the sparkeater on the other side. The Autobots inside then backed away.

“Maybe we should all just get back up that ice tube and just seal this fragger inside,” Twin Twist suggested, motioning towards the hole in the ceiling that led up to the ice pocket above. “Seal it in here and then call for back-up and then come back and destroy it. What do you guys think?”

“Sounds like a solid plan,” Wheeljack agreed. “But we’ll need to get up to the surface in order to send a clear signal to the Guardian.”

Just then the loud sound of creaking metal echoed throughout the bridge as the sparkeater’s claws forced their way through the seam where the doors came together and slowly forced them apart.

“All right, let’s go. Now! Move!” Hot Rod shouted as Wheeljack and the others began to ascend through the hole in the ceiling, climbing back up to the ice pocket. From there they would have to then climb back into the main cavern and then to the surface.

Hot Rod remained behind with Twin Twist and the remaining autotroopers as they set their sights on the bridge doors that were slowly being forced apart. “Don’t shoot until you see the whites of its optics."

“I think its optics were yellow in color,” Twin Twist said.

“Whatever,” the cavalier replied, keeping his focus on the doors.

The sparkeater then appeared through the opening and roared at the Autobots who were standing their ground within the bridge. Hot Rod, Twin Twist and the troopers opened fire, hoping to at least slow the beast down while the others made their escape.

Bridge

Cosmos was not going to stick around for this. He had heard their conversation - they needed to get a message up to the Guardian. If there were sparkeaters on this planet, they were, simply put, screwed. This was not good news for anyone. The ship itself was, but oh Primus, that ship was infested with one of those monsters. There was no time, Cosmos just whooshed himself out of the hole as fast as he could fly.

“Don’t stay in there for too long!” he said to Hot Rod and Twin Twist, who had decided to provide cover fire. The spacefarer knew that he could get out and get the message delivered sooner than most. He flew back up to the surface, where the other Autotroopers were waiting, transforming back and planting his feet into the snow.

He urgently looked at one of the Autotroopers. “There’s no time - send a message to the Guardian saying that we… we found two things - the Unitrex-1, and a sparkeater inside it. And, uh...” he said, looking frightened, down into the hole.

Meanwhile, Topspin was standing right next to his brother. Even in the thick of a tense moment, Twin Twist always had some kind of dry joke to make. It gave Topspin a momentary chuckle, as he prepped his cannons, ready to inject some volts into the slageater the moment it showed its ugly face. When it did show itself, Topspin pulled the trigger.

Bridge

“Just like ol’ times with the Wreckers, aye Topsy?!” Twin Twist shouted over to his brother, Top Spin, as they continued to fire at the advancing sparkeater. While the monstrosity still gave Twin Twist the creeps, blasting away at it in the heat of battle certainly brought back some great memories with his former teammates.

The sparkeater was unfazed by the laser fire and quickly leapt onto the nearest autotrooper, knocking him to the ground and ripping him open. The trooper’s spark was swiftly devoured before the monster leapt at the next hapless mech.

“Aaaaahhhhhh!!!” The second autotrooper screamed as the sparkeater dug its serrated claws into his chest plate. The trooper maintained enough composure to continue blasting away at the sparkeater’s midsection, succeeding in doing major damage to the creature’s armored plating. The mutation roared at the trooper and knocked his weapon away before digging into his chest cavity. The trooper refused to give up and began punching the weakened midsection armor of the sparkeater. The trooper managed to tear the armored plate loose just before his own spark was finally devoured.

“This isn’t working how I’d hoped,” Hot Rod shouted at the others as they all moved back towards the opening in the ceiling. It was then that a laser blast struck the loose armored plate of the sparkeater’s midsection, blowing it off completely. Underneath, the monster’s exposed stomach full of partially digested sparks now lay bare. “Frag! Everyone hold your fire and get up through the hole now!”

“Are fraggin’ nuts?!” Twin Twist shouted back.

“Those sparks in his belly are now exposed,” the cavalier explained. “We can’t risk hitting those with our weapons fire or it will cause a massive explosion!”

“Isn’t that what we want? Won’t that kill it?” Twin Twist reasoned.

“Yes, and us along with it!”

“Ah, good point. Let’s go, everyone!” Twin Twist yelled as he aimed his weapon at the ceiling over the sparkeater and opened fire. The blasts hit their mark, causing part of the ceiling to collapse on top of the creature. “That won’t last long but it should give us more time to get out of here.”

“Good call,” Hot Rod replied as the group climbed up through the hole and back into the ice pocket before then ascending into the ice cave where the ore-13 deposits were located.

Back down on the bridge of the Unitrex-1, the last autotrooper was about to ascend when a tentacle shot out from the ceiling debris and latched on to the trooper’s leg, causing the ‘bot to fall and get dragged back to the debris pile where the sparkeater was now emerging.

Underground Ice Cavern

The screams of the autotrooper echoed up into the ice cavern, causing everyone to spin around with their guns drawn. “If it was a bad idea to shoot at the sparkeater down there it’s an even worse idea up here,” Hot Rod commented.

“Yes, you are right,” Wheeljack replied. “One stray shot and all this ore will explode. We need to get to the surface.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice! Come one, Topsy!” Twin Twist called back to his brother just as the sparkeater erupted from the hole in the floor at the far end of the cavern.

The group of Autobots rushed through the tunnel that sloped up towards the surface.

Surface Dig Site

Hot Rod, Wheeljack, Twin Twist and the rest of the team reached the surface as the roar of the sparkeater emanated from the hole behind them. “Let’s go! Back to the shuttle!” Hot Rod yelled as he lead the way through the blinding snow squall that was now upon them. The shuttle was about a quarter mile away. Hopefully, the storm would slow down the sparkeater just enough to allow them to escape.

Looking back, Wheeljack could see a bright, glowing light through the snow. It was the eaten sparks in the creature’s exposed stomach. “The snow doesn’t seem to be slowing it down!”

“Can’t we shoot at it now?!” Twin Twist shouted, stopping in his tracks. “I mean, we’re outside now! Isn’t it safe even if it explodes?”

“Not yet!” Wheeljack called back. “It’s still too close to the ore deposit! Just a little further!”

“Aaaarrrgghhhh!!!” Another autotrooper screamed as the sparkeater jumped onto his back. The trooper struggled as the rest continued towards the shuttle knowing that there was nothing they could do to help him. Within moments, the sparkeater decapitated the trooper and devoured his spark before then advancing through the snow squall at lightning fast speed. It could sense the sparks of its prey which helped guide it through the blinding storm.

Shuttle

Having reached the shuttle craft, Hot Rod ushered the team up the ramp before joining them and closing and securing the door behind him. Inside, Wheeljack entered the pilot’s cabin and took the controls, trying to start the engines.

Nothing happened.

“What’s wrong?” Hot Rod asked the mechanical engineer.

After checking the instrumentation, Wheeljack responded, “Engines are iced over. It’ll take time to dethaw them.”

“We don’t have time…” the cavalier stated the obvious just as the sparkeater slammed its body into the locked door. The pounding continued as large dents began forming on the door.

“I take it we can’t blast him here, either, right?” Twin Twist asked, sticking his head into the cockpit.

“No,” Wheeljack responded. “I’m afraid not. Not while we're on the ground.”

“Shoulda let me and Topsy blast it when we were outside,” Twin Twist complained, slamming his fist into a nearby bulkhead. “Now, we’re stuck in here.”

“I don’t think so,” Hot Rod said as he pulled out his weapon and blasted the shuttle’s forward window out.

“What the frag are you doing, Hot Rod?!” Wheeljack exclaimed, getting up from his chair.

“I have an idea. Everyone, out through the window! NOW!” The cavalier yelled, motioning for everyone to get going. “And get as far away from the shuttle as you can!”

“What are you up to, Roddy?” Wheeljack demanded to know as the team began to climb through the broken cockpit window one at a time.

“You’re not staying behind, are you?” Twin Twist asked, looking back over his shoulder.

“Someone has to,” the flame-adorned mech responded before turning his attention back to the mad scientist. “Just trust me, Jackie. GO! NOW!!” Hot Rod shouted as everyone climbed out of the shuttle and rushed away as fast as they could. Wheeljack nodded and then joined the others.

However, one autotrooper remained behind. “You too. Out!” Hot Rod said, pointing to the window.

“No way, sir,” the trooper replied, steadfastly. “If you’re going to face that sparkeater, you’re not going to do it alone!”

“What I have planned doesn’t require two,” Hot Rod explained. He knew what had to be done and he had to be the one to do it. After all of the pain and destruction he had previously caused, the flame-covered Autobot understood that this was his redemption moment.

“That’s what I figured,” the trooper said as someone else then hit the cavalier over the head with the butt of their gun, knocking him unconscious. “Get him out of here.”

Twin Twist, who had just climbed back into the shuttle, knelt down beside Hot Rod. “Will do.” The former Wrecker then threw the cavalier over his shoulder plate and stood back up. "Good luck, soldier," the jumpstarter said before climbing back out of the cockpit window and rejoining his brother, Top Spin, outside. “Let’s go, Topsy!”

When everyone was far enough away, the autotrooper inside the shuttle activated the door, allowing it to open. The sparkeater rushed inside as tentacles shot forward and impaled the trooper in his torso and legs before pulling him close to the mechanical beast.

“This is for my comrades, fragger!” The autotrooper exclaimed as he fired his laser gun directly into the exposed abdomen of the sparkeater, igniting the partially digested sparks within.

Outside, the shuttle erupted into a ball of fire, sending a powerful shockwave across the snow-covered landscape and knocking the fleeing Autobots off their feet.

Twin Twist fell face-first into the snow, dropping Hot Rod in the process. Wheeljack was also knocked down. Looking back at the brilliant light, Twin Twist chuckled. “Now, that’s what I call a fireworks display, aye, Topsy!”

Bridge → Underground Cavern

Twin Twist wrote:“Just like ol’ times with the Wreckers, aye Topsy?!”

”Sure,” Topspin said, continuing to hold fire and moving around acrobatically to avoid the monster. Thankfully enough, enough damage had been done to expose its belly, but it was filled to the absolute brim with volatile sparks. Hot Rod luckily had the bright idea of getting them out of there - it would probably have been a bad idea to damage the ship’s infrastructure anyway.

Topspin followed right behind the rest, and seeing that the tunnel was even more cramped, decided to transform into his alt mode and zip his way ahead, outside. It’d save him a little bit of time at the very least. Things were tense, but Topspin’s expression was focused. No time for panic.

Surface

Cosmos was terrified.

Thankfully the transmission had gone through to Blaster aboard the Guardian. But he was running much like everyone else. When Topspin and the others emerged, he booked it for the shuttle.

The next few moments were a lot to process for him. He just watched as everyone evacuated through the window of the shuttle, and then Twin Twist knocked out Hot Rod to carry him out. The lone autotrooper was going to take it. Cosmos didn’t look, he just flew outward.

When the shuttle went up in flames, Topspin was standing right next to his brother. “Heh,” he said at Twin Twist’s fireworks joke. “Looks like we’re grounded for a little while now,” he said, giving a little salute for the Autotrooper who had valiantly sacrificed his life.

Cosmos looked up, wondering. “He… he did it, huh,” the minibot said, opening his wrist mounted interface. “I’ll ask for another shuttle - maybe we should keep getting the ore out.”

Topspin was already in his alt mode before anyone could even turn to look. “Yeah, let’s go check out that ship as well. This’ll be a fun ride. Race you,” he said, chuckling at Twin Twist as he instantly engaged his engines and flew right across back to the dig site.

To Blaster, Cosmos sent a status update. They really needed a shuttle now. He could fly up to the Guardian on his own, but these people couldn’t.

Surface – Dig Site

“Heh. Looks like we’re grounded for a little while now,” Topspin remarked to his brother.

“Yeah, well, at least that sparkeater is gone,” Twin Twist responded as he glanced down at the unconscious Hot Rod who was lying in the snow.

“I’ll ask for another shuttle - maybe we should keep getting the ore out,” Cosmos suggested.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” Twin Twist agreed just as his brother had already assumed his alt mode.

“Yeah, let’s go check out that ship as well. This’ll be a fun ride. Race you,” Topspin laughed and was gone in a flash.

“That dumb fragger knows I’m not as fast as him. I’ve got treads for slag’s sake!” Twin Twist exclaimed as he looked over at Wheeljack. “Hey, Jackie. Keep an optic on Hot Rod. Okay?”

“No problem,” Wheeljack replied as he approached the cavalier’s side and knelt down next to him.

Twin Twist nodded as he transformed into his drill tank mode and sped off after his brother towards the dig site. Wheeljack checked Hot Rod’s vitals. Except for a small dent on the back of his cranium thanks to the former Wrecker, the flame-covered mech would be just fine.

“Uuhhhh…..” Hot Rod groaned as he began to regain consciousness.

“Hey, Roddy, you okay, bud?” Wheeljack asked, patting him on the shoulder plate.

“My head hurts,” Hot Rod replied, lifting his arm up and rubbing his forehead.

“That’s because you got hit by a Wrecker. Heh,” Wheeljack explained.

Remembering what had happened before he blacked out, the cavalier’s optics suddenly grew bright. “Wait, what happened? Where’s the sparkeater?!”

“Okay, calm down, Roddy. The sparkeater was destroyed. An autotrooper sacrificed himself to save us while Twin Twist knocked you out and carried you to safety. Unfortunately, our shuttle is gone, but Cosmos has already informed Blaster up on the Guardian what’s going on and we should have a new shuttle here shortly. Meanwhile, we’re going to head back to the dig site and start removing that ore and continue our analysis of the Unitrex-1.”

Hot Rod listened to Wheeljack’s update and nodded as he slowly sat up, his head still ringing. “All right. Sounds like a plan. Help me up.” The mechanical engineer did just that, keeping a hold of Hot Rod’s arm as he got to his feet.

“The jumpstarters are already heading back to the dig site,” Wheeljack added. “We should head back now, as well. Not much we can salvage here. A new shuttle and more autotroopers should arrive in a few breems.” Hot Rod nodded that he understood. Wheeljack then turned to everyone else that was still milling about the site of the destroyed shuttle. “Okay, everyone, let’s get back to the dig site. That ore isn’t going to mine itself.”

Wasting no more time, Wheeljack transformed into his car mode and headed off through the snow towards the dig site. Hot Rod then followed. “I wanna focus on the ship, Jackie. It’s the one from my visions. There’s something special about it and I need to get to the bottom of it.”

“Understood, Roddy. Perceptor and I will be there to help you figure things out,” Wheeljack assured him. “We should also determine if it’s salvageable and still air worthy.”

“It is…air worthy I mean, once we fix her up,” the cavalier said.

“How do you know that?”

“I…I just do, Jackie. I can’t explain it.”

“Well, I hope you’re right,” Wheeljack replied as they reached the entrance to the underground cavern. Twin Twist and his brother had already gone inside, the tracks in the snow showing the way.

Both Hot Rod and the mad scientist transformed back into their robot forms and looked at each other. “You okay, Roddy?”

“Yeah,” Hot Rod smiled back. “My head is feeling better. Still a little rattled, but I’ll be fine.”

Wheeljack nodded and took the lead down into the tunnel that would take them back to the underground cavern where the huge ore-13 deposit was located along with the Unitrex-1.

((Nudging))

Some time later...

Perceptor sat in front of a half-dozen screens on what consisted of the Unitrex-1's bridge. He had activated a small cadre of dormant buildbots and sent them to work completing various tasks aboard the vessel.

"Restoration coming along at an acceptable ratio, I do think," Perceptor said, his attention focused on the screens and having no real idea if anyone else was listening. Or even within his immediate vicinity to listen.