Chapter 2-Moving In
Following the battle against Megatron’s forces at the mountainside outside Tranquility, Optimus Prime brought the children and Minicons to his vessel, where Prowl’s team was also being restationed-the Ark.
The Ark was the primary starship of Optimus Prime-a Vanguard-class deep space interceptor that was the Autobot equivalent of Air Force One. It was a golden-orange vessel towering over the landscape and dwarfing everything below. At its front was a large, rounded section, a small projection at its tip and a long ridge running up its top. A long thick neck connected the front to the rest of the ship, a block area with two wings littered with numerous engines and a dome-like structure at its top.
“My god…it’s huge!” Darren gasped. “How big is this ship?”
“Two-hundred and seventy-five meters in length. Believe it or not, its one of our smaller ones.” Wheeljack said as he walked up to them. “Name’s Wheeljack, Autobot engineer and one of the bot’s who designed this beauty.”
“This is AMAZING!” Gina exclaimed. Her head looked like it was going to pop off from the sheer levels of excitement she was emitting.
“I’m glad you like it, Gina.” Wheeljack said proudly.
“Oh my god, I can’t believe I’m in an actual alien ship with real extraterrestrials.” Gina
gushed. “It’s like a sci-fi cartoon, but with better aliens! Junkies, I’m starting to feel
faint!”
“Careful, Gina, you’re drooling.” Sureshock chuckled.
Darren looked at the archway that once held the giant green portal that brought them there. “What was that portal thing that we drove through to come here?”
“That’s the ground bridge.” Jazz answered. “It allows us to get around the world without having
to pay for airplane tickets. All we have to do is type in the coordinates into Teletran-1 and drive to our destination. Takes literally five seconds to do.”
“So I could use this to visit Akibahara in Edo and be back in time for dinner?” Gina gaped.
“Yup, though it’s a bit rough for first timers like you.” Jazz grinned. He was loving the blonde’s enthusiasm. It was infectious!
“How about Bulkhead and I give you guys a tour of the ship?” Arcee asked kindly. The kids nodded excitedly with their new Minicon guardians.
“Ooh! I wanna ride on the big guy’s shoulder!” Annie exclaimed.
Bulkhead looked unsure, but Jazz nodded his consent. He leaned down and held out his large hand, allowing Annie to jump into his palm and drag Grindor with her. Annie was like a kid on her birthday as she and Grindor rode on Bulkhead’s shoulder. The rest followed Arcee, Jazz and Bumblebee down the hall.
In the Ark’s command center, Optimus was talking with Prowl and Ironhide about this sudden change in affairs. As expected, Prowl was less than happy at allowing the natives access to Autobot technology. Ever the rule follower, he protested even allowing the kids unrestricted access to the ship without their holomatters.
“Prime, you know it’s against protocol to allow the humans free reign of the ship.” Prowl said firmly in his respectable, but somehow still condescending tone he always addressed his comrades whenever they did something he didn’t like. “They should be placed in a biological containment cell until we can figure out what to do with them.”
“Prowl, the children have seen enough without our interference.” Ironhide said. “And High Wire pretty much told them everything. We can’t hide them if they know about the war and our presence on this world.”
“And the children are at risk due to their involvement with the Minicons. If they are going to be under our protection, then we must earn their trust and acceptance.” Optimus said.
“The children are in as much danger here as they are out there. They don’t have armor like us. One wrong move and they’ll go squish!” Prowl stomped his foot to emphasize his point.
But Optimus wasn’t deterred in his decision. “Then we must simply watch our step.”
The children were having the time of their lives. They were simply awestruck at the scale of the Ark, large even in comparison to the Autobots themselves. Arcee, Bulkhead and Bumblebee showed them the crew quarters, the engine room, the computer hub where the ship’s main AI Teletran-1 resided and finally the recreation room. There were two decks on the ship, but they
only had time to explore the lower deck. At the end of their tour, they circled around to the rec room for some rest. The place had a couple of tables and a bar with tanks of multicolored energon sitting behind the bar.
“You have an amazing ship, guys.” Darren said after taking a minute to process it all.
“Thank you. But it’s all thanks to the engineers and scientists who sacrificed a lot to build this ship.” Arcee said.
She remembered the uproar Optimus caused after announcing the ship’s construction. It was a miracle they were able to even build the ship’s frame, and it took nearly all their resources, and then some, to complete the vessel, and a lot of manpower to keep the Cons from torching the ship before it was ready to launch. It was a shame that it wasn’t able to go on its intended maiden voyage.
“Why is it so big?” I mean, you team isn’t large enough for this huge vessel.” Grindor said.
“The Ark was meant to be a transport and exploration vessel designed to carry large amounts of cargo and personnel.” Bulkhead explained. “The whole reason it was built was so that it could serve as an exploration vessel meant to travel to other worlds and collect enough resources to help us win the war. But one thing led to another and now it serves as Prime’s personal vessel.”
“Well, I think it looks magnificent.” Gina smiled. “Hey, Sparkplug, was the Exodus this grand?” When he didn’t answer immediately, she looked over at him. “Sparkplug, did you hear me?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry, Gina. My processor was someplace else for a minute.” Sparkplug sighed, setting his weary gaze on the children. “No offense, I’m glad I met you three, but I wish it was under better circumstances than this.”
“Don’t be like that, Sparkplug, it’s not like you can change what happened.” Thinking back to earlier, Darren sighed. “Besides, it’s our fault the Cons jumped us like that.”
“Still, I don’t like the idea of putting you three in danger because of us.” Sparkplug went on. He didn’t want to consider what could’ve happened to the kids if the Autobots hadn’t come in time. “All I wanted was for us Minicons to be away from that damn war, but all I’ve managed to accomplish was drag everyone into the middle of it. If anything happened to the others, I’ll never forgive myself.”
“That’s not your fault either, Sparkplug” Sureshock said, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Whatever the circumstances, we are here now. For the time being, we simply have to make do.”
“Indeed. Well said, Sureshock.” Optimus walked into the room and looked down at his smaller guests. “We will do our best to find your missing crew and bring them home, Sparkplug. I promise this.”
Sparkplug smiled. “Thank you, Optimus.”
Darren checked his phone and grimaced at the time. “Um, Optimus, no bars.”
Optimus looked at the tiny phone. “A precautionary measure. The Ark blocks all non-Autobot radiowaves.”
“Well, I need to call my big sister before she calls the National Guard to look for me and
Annie.” He told Prime.
“Same here,” Gina smiled apologetically. “It’s getting late and my mom’s definitely not someone you want gunning for you.”
“Very well,” Optimus nodded and turned to his Autobots. “Bulkhead, you take the twins home with High Wire and Grindor. Arcee, you’ll escort Gina and Sureshock home.”
“Got it.” Arcee nodded.
“Let’s not waste any time then!” Bulkhead grinned.
“Hold up. Will we get to come back tomorrow?” Annie asked. This was a once in a lifetime chance and she wasn’t going to let this be some one-off thing.
“Of course you will.” Prime answered. “You are welcome to the Ark so that we may better protect you.”
“Yes!” Gina cheered.
“Score!” Annie smiled and high fived Gina.
Darren shook his head with a smile. “Good grief.”
XXXXXX
Knockout knew this was going to happen. He knew that Megatron was bound to get involved with all the shady business Starscream was conducting. The fact that Starscream did a bad job of hiding his dealings was proof enough that hanging around the Seeker commander was nothing but bad news and a waste of time. Scalpel made sure to remind him of that fact.
“I told you ve should’ve sold him out to Megatron! I tell you these things and you never listen!” Scalpel growled in Knockout’s audial. The tiny Decepticon was little more than eight long, spindly legs tipped with razor sharp points connected to a narrow body and an oversized head with large red eyes. He was Knockout’s assistant in medical and scientific affairs, and was his constant companion, which the taller mech loathed.
“Yes, Scalpel, you’ve told me that numerous times already.” Knockout said through gritted teeth. He really hated having this little bastard hang on his shoulder almost every day. “Ranting about wrong decisions isn’t going to change anything.”
“And yet you still adhere to that weakling’s command. You are too reckless. I plan on seeing this war to the end and you are not going to ruin it for me!” Scalpel yelled.
“Would you shut it?” Knockout snapped.
“Is there something wrong, Knockout?”
Knockout and Scalpel froze as Megatron walked over to him, looming dangerously over the two smaller mechs. Standing at an imposing thirty-five feet tall, Megatron was the tallest mech on the team at the moment, dwarfed only by Lugnut, who stood at thirty-eight feet. Knockout always felt intimidated standing next to Megatron and today he was really on edge after Starscream got ousted for doing essentially nothing but hoarding energon on this planet.
“N-No, my lord. Just having a friendly conversation with my partner here,” Knockout said shakily. “Right, Scalpel?”
“Scalpel wanted to leave Knockout to burn so badly at that moment, but decided to be the better mech and defend his partner’s story. “Yes, ve vere just talking about the amount of energon on this planet. It’s collection of energon is uncanny.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Megatron looked at the hologram of the planet Terra. “I’m beginning to see why Starscream wanted to hide this planet, it’s certainly interesting. Two species of humans warring for dominance over this world’s future, energon leaking from the seams, and now Minicons. What else does this planet have to offer?”
“Lord Megatron, I know the chances of us entering open conflict with the humans is impossible, but aren’t you worried about Starscream’s actions exposing us?”
“Please, Knockout, the humans are of no concern to me. We could easily conquer the planet with
just our numbers here and the Nemesis. Should we be forced into open conflict with humanity, we will have no problem bringing them to heel.”
“I would say otherwise, Megatron.” Nightshade walked onto the bridge, approaching the two mechs in a slow gait. “I’ve been using the ship’s computers to access the human’s satellite network, and I’ve managed to gain some valuable intelligence concerning their military capabilities.”
“Their military capabilities are hardly unknown, Nightshade. They had no powerful weapons, no fusion cannons, no reliable laser or plasma weaponry, no working electromagnetic cannons…they don’t even have functioning interstellar craft.” Megatron sniffed indignantly. “What harm could they do to us?”
“Numbers.” Nightshade answered curtly. “They may have no powerful weapons, but if we were to strike from orbit with the Nemesis, we will be forced to be at just the edge of Terra’s atmosphere, putting strain on the fusion generators to negate the gravitational pull and make us vulnerable to their long-range missile systems, primitive as they may be. If we were to strike on the planet’s surface in any major nation, we’d be overwhelmed by a number of military vehicles, namely their tanks, talos and aircraft. Our armor may be able to take hits, but only to a certain extent, and if they’re smart enough to aim at our joints. They have handheld weaponry made to take out tanks and talos that could easily deal damage to us if, again, they aim at our joins. And judging from the latent radiation markers in several corners of the planet Soundwave detected upon arrival, they no doubt have access to some form of nuclear weaponry. They will resort to such weapons if provoked enough, and I don’t want a repeat of Axuria.”
“Please don’t mention Auxuria.” Knockout groaned.
“And let’s not forget about these espers populating the world. The majority of them are harmless against us, but there are a number of them sporting abilities capable of damaging us, including a man capable of manipulating magnetism.” She continued. “I’m sure you’ll have fun fighting him.”
Megatron glared at Nightshade. He valued her battlefield awareness and analytical abilities, though her snark could use a bit of tuning. Still, he took her input to heart. He didn’t get this far by being overconfident against an enemy.
“Since Starscream saw fit to completely ignore the infiltration protocol, and with the Minicons found on this world, we must play by new rules if we are to win this race to Armageddon.” Megatron said. “We must remain vigilant, operate in the shadows, and annihilate anyone who threatens our operation on this world. This world will be ours, and our conquest of Terra will be built upon Autobot corpses.”
XXXXXX
It was almost five when Arcee arrived at Gina’s street. Knowing how strange it would be for the girl to arrive at her house in some stranger’s “car”, Arcee stopped at the corner to let Gina and Sureshock off.
“Thanks for the ride, Arcee.” Gina said as she pulled the transformed Sureshock after her.
“No problem, I’m happy to help.” Arcee said. “You take good care of her, Sureshock, okay?”
“I will.” Sureshock promised.
The street was calm and quiet as the afternoon faded into the evening. Gina led Sureshock to her home, a surprisingly large house that looked different from the other ones. Opening the door, Gina stepped inside and took a deep breath. Despite her lingering excitement at getting to initiate first contact with alien robots, it was good to have some peace and quiet after a long, hectic day in her home.
“Gina? Is that you?” A woman’s voice called from the kitchen.
“Yeah, it’s me, mom.”
From her vantage point by the door, Sureshock was able to get a glimpse of Gina’s mother as she walked out into the living room. Julia Harkins looked vastly different from her daughter-she was a fit young woman with long red hair and hazel brown eyes, along with a visibly toned body that looked a bit too large for her clothes. She wore a short-sleeve shirt, so Sureshock could see the faint pink scars running up the length of Julia’s arms. This woman was probably a fighter, a strong one if those calloused hands were anything to go by. Julia was definitely not someone you wanted to piss off.
“Gina, what happened to your moped?” Julia asked upon seeing the odd little orange moped sitting on the stoop. “Why is it orange?”
“Uh, I had it redone and upgrade with some parts from the junkyard.” Gina said, thinking of that excuse on the spot. “Darren and Annie helped me. I was late because the bus was taking too long.”
Julia was a very perceptive woman, so Gina was very relieved when her mother nodded and smiled. “Well, be sure to call next time when you think you’re going to be late.”
“Will do, mom. Sorry.” Gina stretched her sore arms and said, “I’m just going to put her-I mean, it, down in the workshop.”
“Don’t take too long down there. I almost have dinner ready.”
Gina nodded and escorted Sureshock around the house to the backyard where she pulled open a metal hatch in the ground. Carefully, she climbed down the steep steps and flicked on the lights before placing Sureshock down.
“Okay, you can transform now.” Gina said after pulling the hatch closed.
The Minicon switched forms and looked at her surroundings. Gina’s “workshop” was a repurposed bomb shelter than ran under the entire length of the backyard and part of the house. It was given to Gina as a place where she could work on her various projects and inventions after she set her curtains on fire playing around with some powdered hephaestium that burst into flames immediately after being exposed to electricity.
It was a cozy little place actually; it had a long work table, various tools and machine parts, a shelf with nearly two dozen little robotic animals, a bed, a TV, a mini-fridge where snacks and drinks are kept for late nights in the “office” and a wall full of awards from school and science competitions.
“So…this is my workshop. My special little place.” Gina said nervously, fiddling with her fingers. “It’s no high-tech super awesome enterprise or anything, but it is my home away from home. What do you think?”
Sureshock laughed at her nervousness and took Gina’s hand. “I think it’s perfect, Gina. I’m not judgmental about where I’m going to live after spending nearly 4 million years in stasis.” She took another look around to take it all in. “This is just so weird. Waking up on a planet far from home, with most of my friends scattered across the globe. A femme could get a bit lonely under these circumstances.”
Gina took Sureshock’s other hand and gave her a kind smile. “But you’re not along. You’ve got High Wire and Grindor, Sparkplug, Jolt and Longarm, and now Darren, Annie and me. Not to mention the Autobots. We’ll be right here beside you, okay?”
“Okay.” Sureshock nodded. “Thank you, Gina.”
“Anything for a friend.”
Meanwhile in another neighborhood, Darren and Annie were taken to their house with High Wire and Grindor, courtesy of Bulkhead. The four were completely exhausted and were ready for a good night’s rest.
“Man, I can’t wait to do some cool stuff with Bulkhead tomorrow. A giant robot with a wrecking ball for a hand. How cool is that?” Annie gushed. Darren rolled his eyes.
“Yes, Annie, it’s very cool. Just like the last five times you’ve mentioned it.” He sighed.
“You don’t sound very exalted.” She noted. “We just discovered an alien race together. Made human history in a single day.”
“Which is all well and good, but right now, I’m tired and hungry.” Darren said. “Almost getting blown to kingdom come can do that to a person.”
“Right,” Annie drawled. “Because it’s not like you don’t have telekinetic powers or anything-oh
wait…”
“Powers?” High Wire inquired.
“I’ll explain later.” Darren told him.
“Man, if siblings argue as much as you two do, then I’m glad to be an only mech.” Grindor remarked.
“Shut up, Grindor.” The twins said in perfect synch.
They reached their house in the middle of the street and quickly made their way to the door. But just as they reached the front stoop, the door swung open to reveal their not-so happy older sister.
“Hey, Debbie.” Darren and Annie said together in unison. Something they only did when trying to look innocent. The scrutinizing gaze of their sister made them go still.
“You two are late,” Debbie Radcliffe said curtly, arms crossed. “Where have you two been?”
High Wire and Grindor noted that Debbie was significantly older than Darren and Annie. She was
a young woman in her early twenties with similar features to her younger siblings, with the same long black hair and deep green eyes. She wore a white and green nurse’s uniform, showing that she had probably just gotten home from her job at the hospital.
“Sorry we’re so late, Debbie. The damn bus was giving us a hard time.” Annie chuckled nervously. “You miss one and you might as well walk home. Haha…”
“We were at the junkyard with Gina and lost track of time.” Darren explained. “We missed a bus
and decided to ride home instead.”
“I see. Just give me a heads up if you’re going to be late again, okay? You know how I worry.”
Debbie smiled. That was when she noticed High Wire and Grindor. “What happened to your bike and skateboard? They look different.”
“Annie trashed them while trying to do some tricks and we spent a good part of the afternoon helping Gina fix us some new rides.” Darren said smoothly. He wasn’t always this flawless when telling a lie, but the subtle ribbing he gave Annie made him a bit more confident. He could already feel her glaring at the side of his head, and it made up for the exhaustion he felt.
“Fine. Put those in the garage and come inside. I have dinner ready.” Debbie said and went back into the house. “And I’m making you favorite, Annie. Pork chops.”
“Yay, more meat for the carnivore.” Darren teased. Annie punched him in the shoulder, making Debbie laugh.
Afterwards, the twins brought High Wire and Grindor to the garage, and placed them against the wall by the work table.
“We’re going to leave you here until we finish dinner then sneak both of you up to our rooms.” Annie told them. “Will you two be alright down here?”
“Don’t worry, Annie, we’ll manage” High Wire assured her. “Now, you two run along before your sister starts shouting.”
“That’s the last thing we need.” Darren huffed as he and Annie walked to the door. “Maybe if you’re lucky, you’ll see how violent the women in my family are.”
“Oh, shut up!” Annie punched his shoulder again.
“Ow!” Darren rubbed his sore shoulder. “See what I mean?”
They left the garage, shutting and locking the door behind them. This left High Wire and Grindor alone in the garage, with only the passing of cars outside being heard. After a few minutes of silence, Grindor spoke up.
“Hey, High Wire?”
“Yes?”
“I think I’m going to like it here.”
“Me too, Grindor. Me too.”
XXXXXX
The next day, the Autobots picked the children and their new Minicon guardians up from school and took them to the Ark. as soon as they got to the ship; they went their separate ways, integrating themselves with some of the Autobots and Minicons. Gina spent her time with Bumblebee and Sureshock, hanging out in the rec room at one of the tables.
“So you guys were stationed here for a year?” Gina asked.
“Yup,” Bumblebee nodded with a smile. “There was some Decepticon activity in this region of space, which drew us to Terra. We bunkered down when he discovered that the Decepticon infiltration unit was being led by Starscream, one of the higher ups in the Decepticon hierarchy.”
“Amazing. So I could’ve just walked right past you bots and not even realize it?” Gina ran a hand through her hair. “Jinkies.”
“I know, it’s crazy when you think about it, but I don’t think we’ve ran into each other before. Trust me, I would remember driving past a girl as smart as you.” He winked at her, earning a giggle from the girl genius.
Sureshock, who was surfing the web on Gina’s laptop (which could work within the Ark’s electromagnetic shielding thanks to some tiny upgrades from Wheeljack) looked over at Gina. “Gina, these robots these people are digging up from the ground…what are they
“Those are golems, Sureshock.” Gina answered. “They’re ancient robots used thousands of years ago in an era called the Age of Wonders. It’s when the world was ruled by an empire that used advanced technology, like those golems you see there.”
“They look like talos.” Bumblebee noted. He heard bits and pieces about golems from Prowl’s info sessions upon arriving to Terra, but they were rater vague since Prowl didn’t consider them anything worth focusing on.
“Talos were directly inspired by them.” Gina took the laptop from Sureshock and brought up some more pictures of golems that were intact. “No one really knows how the golems work, since we’re talking about a time period where things like AI and robotics weren’t even a concept yet. Scientists theorized that they were fully autonomous, but no one knows how, and no one can explain why or how some golems still work even after being buried for thousands of years.”
“Wait, they still move on their own?” Bumblebee blinked.
“It’s what’s so dangerous about them. There’s a 50/50 chance of some archaeological team
stumbling upon a tomb guarded by golems and said golems attacking the group. My dad’s an archaeologist and he was attacked by a golem that was shaped like a centaur.”
“Outstanding…not your father being attacked, I mean, the golems.” Sureshock said quickly. “It seems there’s more to this world than meets the eye.”
“No kidding.” Bumblebee agreed.
“And that’s only a small part of what the fabled Age of Wonders has to offer for us. When I get older, I’m going to be an archaeologist and explorer just like my dad and grandpa and learn everything there is about the Arian Empire. That would be the experience of a lifetime.” Gina smiled and wrapped her arms around her knees in childish glee. “Aside from meeting you guys, of course.”
“You know, you don’t have to wait, Gina.” Bumblebee smiled. “With our ground bridge, you could go anywhere in the world.”
“And I would like to join you, if you will accept me, Gina.” Sureshock said passionately. “I’ve spent far too long in that escape pod and I would like to see everything this world has to offer.”
“Then we’ll see the sights of Terra and uncover its secrets!” Gina smiled, placing a hand on Sureshock’s shoulder and Bumblebee’s large hand. “All three of us!”
Elsewhere, in the rocky mountains of Coronado, Bulkhead sat on top of a steep, rocky hill in vehicle mode, with Annie and Grindor in the front seats. Truthfully, he was supposed to be on recon, but Annie somehow managed to convince him to “take a break” and do some extreme off-roading. It was a bad idea, obviously, but she had given him that pleading, wide-eyed stare that looked rather similar to a puppy’s and…he couldn’t help it!
“This is crazy, Annie.” Bulkhead said. “I’m supposed to be protecting you.”
“Bulkhead, relax, we’re sitting in 10 tons of alien muscled steel. We’re protected.” Annie said smoothly, ignoring Grindor’s increasingly panicked whines. “Now punch it!”
Bulkhead sighed, but started his engine anyway and drove forward, tipping over the edge and sliding down the uneven slope. He tried not to go too fast, as his large green jeep mode violently rocked and jumped with the grace of a half dead rhino from the rocks under his wheels. Annie was hollering and cheering like she was at a rock concert, while Grindor had his eyes shut and was praying to whatever god he could think of.
Fortunately for him, it was over soon as they reached the bottom and stopped on flat, solid land. Grindor pushed his way out and fell to the ground, happy it was over. Annie was still laughing from the thrill it gave her and patted Bulkhead’s steering wheel as thanks.
“That was awesome! Let’s go again!” She grinned.
“Noooo!” Grindor groaned from his place on the dusty ground.
“Sorry, Annie, but we need to head back to the Ark. I’m later enough as it is.” Bulkhead said. Annie groaned in disappointment, but Grindor was elated.
“Yesssss!” He shouted.
“Well…can’t we at least see what kind of explody things Wheeljack has?” Annie asked, hopefully.
“…Don’t tell your brother.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Back at the Ark, Darren was demonstrating his powers to Arcee and High Wire in the ship’s storage room. They had never seen an esper up close before, given that Prowl made sure none of the Autobots encountered an amalgam that could possibly expose them, so seeing his powers up close was a welcome experience. Watching Darren lift small crates with only his mind amazed High Wire, who had never seen something like this before.
“I have never seen anything like this in my years of living on Epistemus.” High Wire said. “And I doubt that most other races in the galaxy are as diverse in powers as you humans.”
“Glad you enjoyed the show.” Darren said. He tried to carefully set the crate down on the floor, but a lapse in concentration nearly tipped it over. “Just don’t expect a second performance.”
“And there are more people like you all over the world?” High Wire asked.
“Yeah, espers number in the millions now, with thousands being located right here in Osea. Most of us look no different from humans, but we all have some power or mutation that sets us apart from regular humans. I’m a telekinetic, I can basically move things with my mind.” Darren said, further impressing High Wire.
“I heard that there were espers in Emmeria who were being captured and sent to labs for study. There were also reports of people calling the police on them and basically selling them out. Neighbors, friends, even family…” Arcee frowned and shook her head at the brutality of it all. “I can see how espers like him can have hard lives.”
“Not all espers are demonized. In Sunehra, espers are venerated, and Britannia is working on enforcing laws that protect esper rights. But generally, the feeling among the public is that espers are too dangerous to roam freely and should be locked up, or they’re freaks of nature that should be killed on sight.” Darren explained. “I’m one of the lucky ones. I can hide my powers, but other espers can’t control their abilities, or they have some physical mutation like wings or horns that are hard to hide. There’s even some man whose body is just a flaming skeleton. Its stuff like that, that makes most people see us as freaks or uncontrollable monsters.
“Does anyone aside from Annie and Gina know about you?” Arcee asked.
“Only Debbie. I made it a golden rule to never use my powers in public. I couldn’t risk ruining my sisters’ lives with the social stigma of being related to an espers or being targeted by those Friends of Humanity hicks.” He said.
It was an easy thing to do, hiding his powers. He had them all his life, born with them in fact. Debbie told him that as a child, he healed incredibly fast and was stronger and healthier than most kids his age. People usually became espers around puberty, but he was a rarity, having been born an espers from the start. Annie might disagree with his beliefs, but he wasn’t going to put himself or his sisters at risk just to flip a bully giving him a hard time. Being ousted as an esper was tantamount to an execution order, and if those government lapdogs didn’t get him, then anti-esper groups like Friends of Humanity would make their lives hell. Heaven forbid if anyone found out he was a variant on top of that.
“That’s…terrible,” High Wire said, his round eyes narrowing into slits at his displeasure. “To think that some humans are so quick to hurt amalgams for something that’s basically out of their control.”
“They do it out of fear. No matter what planet you go to, the formula is always the same.” Arcee remarked. “If you give people power, too much power, it makes some people afraid. And fear makes people do stupid things. Terrible things.”
She thought back to Cybertron’s pre-war era. Subjugation and discrimination ran rampant throughout cybertronian society, full of corruption and abuse which directly led to the Decepticon Uprising.
“If it’s any consolation, Darren, I think your powers are something amazing. Something to be proud of.” High Wire patted Darren on the back. “They are a part of you, and you should honor that. Not many people are gifted as you.”
“Gifted?” Darren snorted. “Arcee, I’m a part of a race of superhumans being persecuted around the world. I’m of the same race as the terrorist group preaching esper dominance through violence and bloodshed. There hasn’t been a day where I’m worried about my secret getting out and my family’s life being ruined. If these powers have done anything, it’s paint a target on my back.”
Darren looked at his hands. He could kill with these hands. Or save lives. Yeah, he was lucky, for there were espers with far more dangerous powers that were as much as a danger to themselves as they were to other people. Espers who couldn’t control their abilities and were walking time bombs. But even still, it would be nice to not to have to look over your shoulder every day or worry for your life. It would be nice to be normal for a change.
XXXXXX
Optimus and Sparkplug stood in the doorway watching the rest of the team joke and laugh with their new friends. Just a few days had passed, and it felt like the Autobots (most of them) were getting used to the presence of humans and Minicons on the ship. Sparkplug smiled as he saw Annie and Darren cheering Bulkhead on in a drinking contest against Ironhide.
“It’s good to see the children fitting in.” Sparkplug said, crossing his arms. “They look so happy.”
“They are. By rights, we should’ve even be interacting with the natives, but it can’t be helped. I can only hope that Megatron doesn’t attempt to enact some form of revenge on them for stealing the Minicons.” Optimus said. “But they do break the monotony of the constant fighting. I’ve never seen Bulkhead and Arcee look so happy before on a mission.”
“Don’t tell Prowl that. I imagine he’s just barely keeping himself from flipping a table at showing the kids your ship.”
“Prowl is a dedicate soldier, but he’s…stiff. He adheres too strictly to protocol, and sometimes it keeps him from being flexible enough to deal with drastic changes on missions, namely this. He get’s bent out of shape when others don’t follow proper procedures, including me.” Optimus shrugged.
“Well, he better get used to it, because those children are here to stay.” Sparkplug sighed. “Prime, I hope they don’t get dragged too deep into this war. It’s bad enough the Minicons were thorn into this god forsaken conflict, I won’t stand them being put in the limelight as well.”
“Wasn’t the whole reason you left was to preserve Minicon culture and society?” Optimus asked. “You were quite adamant about retaining your people’s independence. I assume Goldfire was a product of that steadfast position.”
Sparkplug bristled. “Goldfire was a precaution in case you-“
“Optimus, Sparkplug,” Longarm ran up to them. “Ratchet wants to see you two. He says it’s really important.”
Sparkplug gave Optimus a look before following Longarm down the hall with Optimus in tow. Longarm led them to the computer hub where Teletran-1 resided. Ratchet was already at the main terminal studying a stream of data running across the screen. He motioned Optimus to his side as the pair entered the room.
“What’s the problem Ratchet?” Optimus inquired.
“Teletran just received another distress signal. One that’s nearly identical to the signal sent out by the first one the children found.” Ratchet explained. “Along with an encoded message.”
Ratchet pointed to the cybertronian script on the screen. Sparkplug had Optimus lift him up onto the console and took a look at the message. It didn’t take him long to realize that it was from another escape pod somewhere in the country and nodded.
“I think I have an idea on who sent it. This came from another escape pod, so there must be more than one Minicons involved, possibly the other half of the skeleton crew I was with.” He said. “Optimus, we need to move out now before the Cons get to them first.”
“Already on it, Sparkplug.” Optimus said. “Ratchet, call Ironhide, Prowl and Bumblebee to the shuttle bay. We have Minicons to rescue.”
XXXXXX
Liftor was a nervous wreck. The orange and blue Minicon was hiding inside a tiny tunnel near his escape pod, which acted as a safe haven for him and his partner Rollbar after they awakened. They spent the better part of the hour trying to gather their bearings, figure out what time period it was and how long they were in stasis. Before they could get to the important questions about their situation, the pod’s early warning systems alerted them to the presence of multiple Decepticon signals nearby. That was only the start of their troubles.
‘I went on the Exodus to get away from the Decepticons and yet here I am with them standing right over us!’ Liftor thought wearily.
The escape pod was completely hidden inside a little cave under the surface of a stalagmite behind a large energon crystal. It was one of many that filled the mine full of raw energon
crystals. From his position near the tunnel he dug out to reach the surface, he could see, maybe
four Cons minding the crystals with a mechanized driller machine. Two smaller mechs, a blue one with large claw arms called Rumble, and a red one with normal proportions named Frenzy, were transporting carts of energon into a ground bridge. Liftor’s already fading hopes for rescue were dashed completely as he recognized these Cons as some of the higher bots on his “get the hell away at first glance” list he compiled once: Soundwave, Starscream, Knockout, and the
aforementioned twins.
“How long is this going to take, Knockout?” Starscream growled. He shot the medic a glare as he paced irritably. “I thought you said there was a panel in this cave!”
“It should be, this was the place the signal came from.” Knockout frowned at his scanner. “By
rights, we should’ve have detected anything with all this energon around here.”
“I don’t care; just find the damn panel already!” Starscream said. He was eager to get the Minicon first before Megatron had the chance to snatch it away from him like the uncouth savage he was.
“Starscream, may I remind you that I am in command here, not you.” Soundwave said. Starscream threw him a scathing look.
“I am well aware of that, Soundwave. Thank you for reminding me.” He hissed.
“And I will keep reminding you until you finally understand.” Soundwave replied. “Perhaps this search will be more productive if you actually aided Knockout in the search.”
“Hot burn from the boss!” Rumble chuckled.
“Man, as if Starscream couldn’t fall any farther!” Frenzy cackled.
“Shut up you plebians!”
Liftor watched the Decepticons quarrel among themselves and crawled back through the tunnel to his pod. Once inside, he saw Rollbar sitting at the computer reading the diagnostic data as if nothing was wrong.
“We’re in trouble.” He said.
“I know.” Rollbar acknowledged.
“No, you don’t understand.” Liftor grabbed him by the shoulders to face him. “We are in trouble. I just saw a team of Cons led by Soundwave and Starscream. It’s only a matter of time before they find us, snatch us up, and possibly torture us for the location of the others. I won’t last a day in a prison cell, Rollbar! They’ll crack me in half, and then-“
“Liftor!” Rollbar slapped him across the face. “Calm yourself! They haven’t found us yet and I
intend to keep it that way.”
“How?”
“By staying put.”
Liftor’s hope died again. “W-what? But-“
“We can’t leave or Soundwave will find us. I heard he has the acute senses of a pneuma-lion and he’ll hear us the minute we try to make for the cave entrance.” Rollbar said.
“We can’t just stay here, either. With this much energon, the Cons are going to be here a long
time.” Liftor said, starting to get frustrated.
“I’ve sent out a distress signal to any Autobot units on this planet. I’m not sure if it went through, or if there are any Autobots within range, but we’re out of options.” Rollbar sighed. “Either that or the Cons really do get bored and leave us alone.”
Sadly, neither option seemed very likely at the moment.
XXXXXX
Optimus led his strike team through the tunnel of the cave they traced the signal to. With Bumblebee, Ironhide and Prowl backing him, Optimus quickly led them into the energon mine. Bumblebee gave a low whistle as he gazed up at the large energon crystals sprouting from the ground.
“Wow,” He breathed. “This is the most energon I’ve seen in one place since coming to this planet.”
“Take it all in, Bee, cause we ain’t gonna see this much energon in a long time.” Ironhide grunted.
“Cut the chatter and focus, people. We’re approaching the target.” Prowl said.
Optimus snuck into the cave and quickly hid behind a boulder, with the other Autobots hiding behind their own cover. Optimus’s eyes narrowed as he saw Starscream and Soundwave overseeing the operation. Frenzy and Rumble were controlling the drillers to dig up more energon, while Knockout was presumably still searching for the Minicon’s escape pod.
“Think we can take ‘em all?” Ironhide asked.
“We came here for the Minicons, Ironhide. Fighting with all this raw energon around us is dangerous.” Optimus turned to Sparkplug. “Do you have a fix on their location, Sparkplug?”
Sparkplug nodded. “Yeah, I can sense their signals, but…there’s too much interference from all of the energon to directly pinpoint their location.”
“We won’t be able to get in close without being spotted.” Ironhide said.
“In that case, a distraction is in order.” Bumblebee said. He took out his blaster and increased the power output before aiming it at Soundwave.
“Bee, hold up!” Prowl whispered, but the scout had already pulled the trigger.
The Autobots watched the laser bolt fly through the air towards the back of Soundwave’s head. Just when it seemed that it would hit Soundwave and deal a potentially lethal blow, the spymaster side-stepped it at the last second. It shot over his shoulder and hit an energon crystal, causing a reaction that created a very noticeable explosion. The other Cons were caught off guard, though Soundwave calmly addressed their uninvited “guests”.
“Autobots sighted. Initiate counterattack.” Soundwave commanded. Then he fired three rockets from the launcher on his shoulder.
“Autobots, scatter!” Optimus called out. The team split up just as the rockets hit their hiding spots, blowing the rocks apart and signaling the start of the battle. Soon the cave erupted into a shoot out between the Bots and Cons, taking care not to hit the energon.
Liftor and Rollbar head the commotion and went to investigate. Peeking out of their tunnel, they were pleasantly surprised and elated to see Optimus Prime himself leading a team of Autobots fighting the Cons.
“We’re saved! We can finally leave!” Liftor cheered, but then realized something. “Wait, how are we going to reach them? We’ll get blown apart out there.”
Roll bar racked his processor for a plan that could get them across to their saviors in one piece. He looked at Optimus and saw a little yellow figure standing near his leg. “I got it! Liftor, remember the private comm-channel Sparkplug had us make for the Minicons?”
“Of course I remem-oh.” Liftor frowned. “Will that work? Our tech is really old now and it took a lot just to get the computer running.”
“It’s worth a try.”
Sparkplug was hiding behind a large boulder, ducking as plasma blasts hit the ground around him. Then he got a ping on his private comm-channel. It was a Minicon-only frequency developd by the same tech heads who designed the Exodus’ computer and navigation systems. He quickly switched it on and got a quick reply back.
“Hello? Sparkplug, is that you?” The voice on the other end was his friend, Liftor. “Sparkplug? Please tell me this thing is working.”
“Liftor?” Sparkplug voiced his disbelief.
“Oh thank Primus. I thought we wouldn’t be able to get any reception down here.”
“I can barely hear you as it is. Where are you?”
“Not too far from your position, near the group of pointed rocks to your east. Can you or the Autobots get to us?”
“I’ll see what I can do, just hang on.” Sparkplug looked up at Optimus, who caught the tail end of their conversation. “I’ve found them, Prime, but they need help.”
“I understand. Bumblebee, take Sparkplug to those Minicons.”
Bumblebee nodded and picked up Sparkplug, ducking behind crystals and rocks while shooting at Rumble and Frenzy to keep them off his tail. He made it to the hole over the pod and dropped Sparkplug off, where he ran into the tunnel to meet with Liftor and Rollbar.
“It’s so good to see you guys are okay!” Sparkplug smiled.
“Same here. We were worried this was the end of the line for us.” Rollbar said. Liftor looked up at Bumblebee, then at Optimus.
“Sparkplug, what is Optimus Prime doing here? In fact, what the hell are the Autobots and Decepticons doing on this planet in the first place? How did they find us?” Liftor thought for a moment. “As a matter of fact, where is here, anyway?”
“Let’s save the questions for a less hazardous place, yeah?” Bumblebee peeked over a boulder and fired one of his stingers. A bolt caught Starscream in the shoulder and sent the Seeker spinning on his heels from the force of the attack. He was firing his cannons when that happened, and his diverted attack hit an energon crystal on the upper level of the cave, causing a chain reaction that blew up a ring of energon above them.
“Watch where you’re shooting you damn fool!” Knockout growled, covering his head to keep the falling crystals from hitting his polished head crest. “Do you want to blow us all to hell?”
Bumblebee made sure the three Minicons made it to Prime’s side and was about to run over to help Ironhide and Prowl with the Cons when he noticed something glowing in the ground not too far from him. The strange object was blue and green in color and was shaped like a hexagon, with a cybertronian symbol on the front-the symbol of the Minicon faction. Sparkplug immediately recognized it as a stasis panel from the Exodus.
“Guys, I have a visual on a stasis panel.” Bumblebee reported.
“Go get it, Bee! Hurry before the Cons see it!” Sparkplug urged him.
Bumblebee ran forward and transformed mid-sprint to drive across the battlefield at full speed. He swerved wildly to avoid energon and oncoming laser blasts as he reached the drillers and changed form, leaping for the panel-only to get kicked in the face and smash into a crystal head first. The scout shook his head clear of the ringing from the blow and looked up to see Soundwave approaching him. The spymaster stood in his way, his red visor and silver mouth plate giving no indication to what he was thinking or feeling. Bumblebee jumped to his feet and ran at Soundwave, thinking that moving fast would give him an advantage against the mech.
He had no idea how wrong he was.
Deploying his wrist blades, Bumblebee came at Soundwave with a series of slashes and stabs. All of which didn’t even reach Soundwave as he easily dodged the high-frequency vibrating blades, letting them swing past his face close enough to make the air around his head hum. Soundwave wasn’t concerned about fighting this scout, as he had taken on worse opponents as a gladiator in Kaon’s arenas. But time was of the essence and he had a mission to complete.
Bumblebee was caught off guard by Soundwave’s sudden advance on him. The spymaster began wailing on the yellow scout with hard blows to the face and chest that Bumblebee had troubling countering. They came at him with such speed and precision that he was quickly put on the defensive to avoid being beaten into submission. He deployed his stingers and fired them at Soundwave, but they were also dodged, despite the small distance between them. Soundwave threw a kick at his head, but he ducked under the leg. But the kick was only a feint for the punch to his nose that knocked him to his back.
Bumblebee hit the ground and rolled onto his front, spitting out energon and wiping his lip. “That guy can throw a punch.” He quipped. He looked up and saw Soundwave pulling the panel from the wall and summon a ground bridge. “No you don’t, Soundwave!”
He charged at Soundwave, who turned his head to glance back at him. Raising his right hand, Soundwave’s arm retracted and shifted to form a small microwave dish in place of his hand. When Bumblebee lunged at him, Soundwave fired an intense sonic wave at Bumblebee that caught him in the chest with enough force to dent his chest plate and blew him back nearly two feet. He smashed through multiple energon crystals before hitting the ground at Ironhide’s feet.
“Bee!” Ironhide helped the scout up. “Bee, you alright?”
“Oh,” Bumblebee groaned. His sensors were fizzy and his chest hurt, but he was still somewhat conscious. “D-did anyone catch the number of that truck?”
“Prime, Bee’s out of it!” Ironhide yelled.
Optimus ducked under a swipe from Starscream’s blades and punched him in the chest to knock him back. “We have what we came for. Autobots, fall back!”
“But the Minicon, Prime!” Prowl protested. “We can’t let the Decepticons leave with it!”
“We can’t do anything about that now. Bumblebee’s down and we can’t risk further casualties with all this energon around us.” Optimus said. “Ironhide, help him to the tunnel!”
Ironhide nodded and picked the scout up, letting the Minicons ride on his shoulder before running back to the cave entrance. Soundwave saw the Autobots regrouping and messaged his team.
“Our objective is complete. Now we must return to the Nemesis.” He said. Starscream glared at him.
“Retreat? And leave all this energon here for the taking?” Starscream growled. “The Autobots will take it!”
“Then you must make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“How?”
Even a drone would be hard pressed to ignore the annoyance in Soundwave’s tone. “Blow the mine.”
Optimus knelt down over Bumblebee, who was recovering slowly, but was still in pain. “Can you transform?”
“I think so,” Bumblebee grunted. “Don’t expect any grade-A driving though.”
“I’m calling for a bridge.” Prowl said, calling Teletran-1 for an immediate evac at their location. Looking back at the Cons by pure chance, he saw Starscream hefting something in his hand-a concussion bomb!” “Damn!”
“I’d love to stay and chat, Autobots, but I’ve got more important things to do. Sayonara!” Starscream chucked the bomb into a cluster of energon crystals and ran into the ground bridge, which closed behind him.
Optimus picked up the Minicons and transformed with the other three Autobots following behind him. The bomb detonated and the explosion caused the rest of the crystals in the cave to go up in flames, engulfing the cavern in a fiery display of blue flames that rushed into the tunnel and trailed after the Autobots.
“Teletran, send a ground bridge at our previous coordinates! NOW!” Optimus commanded.
It was fortunate for them that Teletran-1 was quick on the draw, summoning a ground bridge right in front of them. They drove into the portal at full speed and didn’t stop until they were back in the Ark, with the intense flames spurting from the closing portal. Ratchet blinked as he saw the state they were in, smoke rising off their tired forms and armor slightly burnt.
“You four must’ve had some fun.” He remarked. Even Optimus had to glare at him for that.
XXXXXX
Bumblebee sat on the medical berth in the med bay with an unhappy look on his face. He just spent half an hour in the CR chamber recovering from the internal damages Soundwave dealt him with that sonic wave and Ratchet was doing some minor checkups to see if there was anything else wrong with him. The mission itself was technically a success-they saved Rollbar and Liftor, but they had also lost a third Minicon, one that was still in its stasis panel. A panel they didn’t even know was there until it activated at that moment. And because he screwed up, the panel was in Megatron’s hands. Optimus and Ironhide didn’t scold him too much on his rash actions, knowing that he was well aware of the minor mistakes he made in challenging Soundwave alone, but Prowl wasn’t so merciful.
“What was that?” Prowl asked, his voice tight with agitation. “No, really, what was that? Because I don’t know what that was out there.”
“Well, there was a lot of shooting and explosions, so…” Bumblebee trailed off at the intensity of Prowl’s glare. He was really ticked off today.
“You had one job to do, and that was retrieve the panel. Not engage Soundwave.”
“He was standing in my way. There was no way I could get around him without fighting him.” He said. “I thought I could at least stun him long enough to make a break for it.”
“Well you thought wrong.”
“How was I supposed to know Soundwave was off-limits? I didn’t wake up this morning thinking that Soundwave, a mech who has the personality of a brain dead turbofox, was a martial arts master equal to Nightshade?” Bumblebee replied, not losing his patience. He didn’t need Prowl grilling him or his attitude right now. “Get off my back!”
“No, I won’t get off your back! We lost a Minicon today, Bumblebee, and now Megatron has gained an advantage over us!”
“Prowl, leave Bumblebee alone. He did his best.” Longarm said firmly. “And I appreciate it if you didn’t refer to us as if we’re weapons of mass destruction.”
“As long as the Decepticons use you Minicons as tools of destruction, you might as well be deemed as such.” Prowl replied. Before Longarm to say something nasty to Prowl, Optimus stepped in.
“Enough.” The tone in his voice quieted everyone down. “Prowl, go take five. We’ll talk later.”
“But Prime-“ Prowl shut his mouth when Optimus gave him a rare glare.
“That wasn’t a request.” Prime said. Prowl stiffened up and nodded, walking past Optimus at a brisk pace and out the door without looking back.
“Finally, some peace and quiet.” Longarm grumbled.
“Optimus, I am so sorry.” Bumblebee apologized, looking defeated now that the wind was taken from his sails. “I tried, really, but Soundwave…”
“There’s no need to apologize, Bumblebee. We know you tried.” Optimus assured him. At his feet, Sparkplug nodded.
“No one blames you for losing the panel. I’ve already made my peace with the possibility that I won’t be able to…save everyone.” Sparkplug said. It was a grim thought, but he had to realistic. Not all battles were won in war.
“But I would appreciate it if you refrained from taking such risks in the future.” Optimus said to the scout. “There’s a thin line between being a hero…and being a memory.”
Bumblebee smiled. “Understood, sir.”
Optimus told him to get some rest and walked outside with Sparkplug. The Minicon kept pace with Prime, and after a few minutes, he decided to address the elephant in the room.
“So…what do we do, Prime?” Sparkplug asked. “Megatron already has the first panel…and a potential hostage.”
“Megatron will never ransom the Minicon. He’s simply gained a lead in a demented arms race over your kind. He won’t stop until he’s turned you Minicons into the weapons he sees you as.” Optimus stopped and looked down at Sparkplug. “But we won’t stop doing what we’ve always done…saving those that can be saved. Nothing more, nothing less.”
Sparkplug said nothing, but he nodded a silent thanks to Optimus. As grateful as he was for Prime’s help, he couldn’t help but worry for the poor soul in that panel. He prayed threat the Minicon could remain strong until they were rescued some day.
XXXXXX
Megatron and Nightshade stood on the bridge of the Nemesis, watching Soundwave enter with Starscream and Knockout behind him. Laserbeak, a red and black Decepticon with a bird-like robot mode, flew in and landed on Nightshade’s shoulder. Soundwave approached Megatron and presented the panel.
“Mission accomplished, Megatron.” He announced. Megatron smirked and took the tiny panel from him.
“Excellent work, Soundwave. It’s good to know that not everyone on this ship is a waste of space.” Megatron remarked coldly.
Starscream and Knockout both bristled at the insult that was clearly aimed at them. Starscream
nearly threw one of his own Megatron’s way, but a warning look from Nightshade made him back down.
“While it is paramount that we acquire as many Minicons as possible to further our campaign on this planet, it is very fortunate that you managed to recover this one.”
“Oh?” Knockout leaned forward in interest. “How so?”
“Did you really think the Exodus crashing here was an accident? Almost a third of its crew are Decepticons, hidden amongst them to sabotage the ship for us to find and plunder. And it’s all thanks to my little friend here.”
Megatron applied some pressure to the panel and allowed it to scan his biosignature. It glowed and then dissolved in his hand into tiny multicolored particles that reconfigured into a humanoid shape. Once its form solidified, the Minicon stood in Megatron’s palm. He was a deep gray with blue on his arms and legs, and had a yellow visor with a gray mouth plate. He looked around at the other Decepticons before settling his gaze on Megatron’s devilish visage.
“Welcome to the land of the living, Leader-1.” Megatron greeted his new partner.
Leader-1, chief among the Decepticon aligned Minicons (known as Mini-Cons) bowed his head in respect to his master. “I live to serve you, lord Megatron.”
