Intro to Earth
By: Laureas Prime
The sunset was brilliant, a shimmering expanse of pink, orange, and red. Not only the sky but also the entire world seemed beaded in color. But the natives of this world could never see the display that the lonely sentinel-like being saw. Optimus Prime had been all but kicked out of Metroplex by FirstAid, just to get some time off. Ever since his resurrection, the Autobot leader had been under a tremendous amount of strain. First the Hate Plague had to be contained, then the trouble with the Headmasters. And then Prime had dealt a decisive blow to Galvatron in one on one battle. This time Galvatron alone was the loser as he was placed into a coma by his injuries. Time alone would tell if the Decepticons would ever recover. For the moment there was a truce, and only a few rogue Dcepticons still fought on the far side of Cybertron. Now he was plagued by paperwork that came with the responsibility of leadership. Though his stoic demeanor remained the same, he was becoming increasingly remote to his second in command Hot Rod.
So Hot Rod had conspired with Ultra Magnus and First Aid to get Optimus out and about. Prime realized that they were concerned and rightly so, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was think. Part of him was still able to admire the beauty of the spectacle before him, but a large part of him was dwelling on memories. 'She's still out there, I can feel it! She must be. But why hasn't she tried to contact me?' he thought. He looked up at the darkening sky and whispered, "Elita, were are you?"
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"What do you mean that there's a truce, Chromia?" asked the slender red and silver femme. "We would have heard something before this if that was the case." She seemed unimpressed. The one called Chromia was undaunted by her commander's skepticism. "I saw Kup and Springer out there Elita. They were rounding up the Decepticons over here and Springer mentioned that Galvatron had been so badly injured that they didn't dare continue without him." Elita-1 stood up and looked her second in command over. When Megatron had returned to Cybertron and consolidated his power there, the Female Autobots had faked their death to save their male counterparts from foolishly trying to get them off Cybertron. They had laid low and had managed to catch most of the important news. Chromia saw the pain in Elita's optics and felt her sympathy grow. They had both lost
their male counterparts in the devastating attack on Autobot City. "So there's nothing stopping us from going to Earth now." Elita stated bitterly. Get FireStar, Moonracer, and the others. I'll go ready the shuttle."
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Optimus returned to Metroplex long after midnight. Though Transformers didn't need to sleep like humans, they did need to recharge now and then. And Prime had gone too long without one. So it was no surprise to find his 2nd standing on the outskirts of the city. "What took you so long," Hot Rod asked. He was furious for a number of reasons, not the least being the fact that Prime had made him second after only a couple weeks. Hot Rod didn't want the job but he knew he couldn't go back so he accepted. But that didn't mean he was gonna go out of his way to make Optimus' life easier. "I was about to send a patrol after you." Hot Rod's parental tone was grating on Prime like a rusty tailpipe. But he tried to shrug it off. "You've been wanting to have me take a break, Hot Rod," Prime said lightly. "Not so that you've got no time to recharge, Optimus. You haven't recharged in the past week!" Prime came to a dead stop and abruptly transformed. "It is not your business to keep after me as a human child, Hot Rod," Prime said. His optics were glaring and if Hot Rod hadn't carried the matrix as well for some time he probably would have backed down. But Prime hadn't made him 2nd for nothing. "It is my business to make sure you're not too stress Optimus and that's what I'm seeing. Have you forgot that you're suppose to shuttle up to earth's moon tomorrow to help open Stargate city?" Prime groaned and looked at his 2nd. "You should have reminded me Hot Rod." He scolded. "I'll have barely enough time to recharge to be presentable tomorrow." "You don't want to recharge Optimus, and you know it." Hot Rod stated. The older bot turned to him and then snapped, "My office, now. This is no place to discuss this, even if it is the middle of the night."
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Elita-1 stood upon a platform, surveying all of the femmes that had managed to survive the war. The female Autobots had split up to survive and until today, Elita had only known that they were out there and could be contacted. The groups had been no bigger then 5 femmes and they had spread across Cybertron. Now they were gathered together for the first time in eons. And they were a small group all together anyway. The Female transformers had never been numerous and with the war eating away at their number, the only thing Elita could think of was to split them up. But only 24! That all the other Femmes had been destroyed, Elita had no doubt. Only 20 other femmes besides Firestar, Moonracer, Chromia and herself. Elita sincerely doubted that any Decepticon Femmes had survived. Such a small group to continue the Transformer race. Although that idea was the last thing on Elita's mind as she spoke to the group. "I called you here because I want us to go to Earth. There's been a change in the war, one that may mean that we can finally be ourselves once again. And be with those we love." The Femmes waited expectably, and Elita felt proud of them and herself. *You truly helped me become a good commander, my love, * she thought sadly. "The only way we're going to get the truth safely is to go to Autobot City and find out from Rodimus Prime what's going on. I believe it's safe enough now for all of us to go." "So what are we waiting for," yelled Frizz, one of the youngest Femmes to survive. "I want you to be alert Frizz," Elita snapped. "We have no idea what we're getting into. Autobots let's roll!
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Prime all but stormed into his office, showing his rage like never before. It was highly unusual for the Autobot leader to totally loose it like this, but Hot Rod's had hit a very sore spot inside Prime's spark. And there was no way that his 2nd was going to get out of the tongue-lashing that was coming his way. Or so Prime had thought. But he didn't realize that Hot Rod was counting on Prime loosing his temper. For that would use up all of Optimus' reserves and then he'd be forced to take a recharge. In fact, his body would simply shut down. *And the sooner the better, * Hot Rod thought darkly. Then maybe I can find out what this is all about and he'll stop hiding whatever it is that's bugging him from me.* Optimus' first words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Now, what did you mean by saying that I don't want to recharge," Prime said, his voice icy cold. It meant that he had gained control of himself again. Hot Rod groaned silently and answered the question with a sneer, trying to provoke Optimus even more. " You think I can't tell when an Autobot isn't recharging?! What do you take me for Optimus, an idiot? I was in charge for a while remember?" Prime simply stared at him, and for a minute Hot Rod thought he was going to call his rifle from sub-space and blast him were he sat. Then Prime slumped forward, placing his elbow joints on his desk and running his hand over his forehead. It was a totally human gesture of extreme weariness, and Hot Rod knew it. " I suppose you're right Hot Rod. I do not want to recharge. But I will." "Optimus please, tell me what's wrong. I'm your 2nd for Primus' sake!" Optimus just turned towards him slightly and shook his head then headed for his quarters. But Hot Rod sat there a long time afterwards, dazed by the agony he had seen in Prime's optics.
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The femmes left Cybertron under fire from a small group of renegade Decepticons. They could have stayed and fought it out but Elita refused to loose anymore of the femmes that she had manage to bring through all the fighting. But as they lifted off from Cybertron's surface, Elita knew that they hadn't gotten away unscathed. There were a couple of the femmes in the repair bay and there was not much the others could do for them until they got to Earth. But something worse was developing in the rear of the shuttle. Elita heard Gasket, Wheeljack's daughter and the femme's best mechanic, swear a blistering oath and storm forward glaring out the window as she did so. " Those Slaggin' DECEPTISCRAPS!" she exploded. Jolt, Gasket's mother and Elita's best pilot, turned from her spot at the controls. "What is it Gasket?" Elita asked patiently, feeling that she wouldn't like the answer. She was right. "One of those Deceptmolts managed to hit the fuel line. It's a small leak but enough to create problems for us all. By the time we hit Earth orbit we'll be out of fuel. And Sparkle hasn't been able to cut through the communication lock on this shuttle. We won't be able to warn them of what's wrong. We'll just crash." "We'll think of something Gasket. They'll know it's a Cybertronian shuttle. I doubt they'll shoot us down." But in her spark Elita knew they were in serious trouble. *Oh Optimus what do I do now? * she thought. She always thought of her love in a critical situation and it had managed to get her through every crisis, but what could she do now? Where the last of the Female Tranformers going to be destroyed?
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Hot Rod had accompanied Optimus to Stargate City on the moon. It was mostly Rodimus Prime's handy work that had set the humans and Autobots to working together and create this beautiful city of the stars. So the humans had asked to have him join Optimus at the last minute. Considering what he had seen and hadn't discovered about Optimus in the last day he was glad. And it gave Ultra Magnus something more to do then picking up the renegades. He'd be in charge of Metroplex while they where away. Not that Hot Rod thought that any Decepticons would try and pull something, but it was better to be on the safe side. They had boarded the shuttle with Arcee and were greeted by the humans. Arcee was coming along because of her Headmaster partner, Daniel Witwicky. The Witwickys had been stanch allies of the Autobots from day one and Daniel's parents were instrumental in getting the human half of the 'Stargate' team together. Hot Rod watched as Optimus leaned down to speak with Spike, Daniel's father. Hot Rod also noticed that Optimus avoided looking at Arcee whenever he could. "Approaching Stargate City," Springer said from where he sat at the controls. Hot Rod strapped in for landing and saw Optimus staring out the window. Suddenly something seemed to click in Hot Rod's head. *He doesn't look at Arcee, * he thought. *And he's afraid to recharge. He's been having nightmares. And I bet I know about whom. * Hot Rod scowled at the thought. He knew he couldn't bring it up right now. But when they got back to Metroplex, Primus help Optimus. "Hey, where did that shuttle come from!!!" Springer yelled as a warp gate opened nearly in front of them. It was a Decepticon Shuttle from the looks of it and it seemed to be in bad shape. "Springer, radio the shuttle to follow us," Prime commanded "No response Optimus... they may not be able to respond."
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The ride inside the femmes' shuttle was anything but smooth now as they approach the warp gate to Earth. They had all strapped down and Sparkle had given up on the comm. unit. As Elita took her seat there was an explosion and Jolt yelled "We're through but I've lost all control. And there's an Autobot shuttle that's flying straight for us!" Elita sprang out of her chair and came to Jolt. "We can't hit that shuttle! There must be a way to swing us out of their way!" "We're too close!"Jolt cried. Suddenly another explosion came from the back and a scream of pain echoed up the passageway. "That was Gasket!!" Jolt cried and was about to get up. "Stay put Jolt! Gasket's given us a chance to save our fellow Autobots!" Elita shouted as she strapped herself in to the copilot's seat. Jolt started punching buttons as Elita stared at the approaching shuttle. She thought for a second she saw Optimus but that was impossible! Then Jolt called her back to the task at hand. "We need a ten micro-cycle burst from the left engine. Tell everyone to hold on tight." Elita nodded as she relayed the orders and punched several of her own buttons. She looked up again just as Jolt hit the button to ignite the left engine. The world turned upside down as the other shuttle past by with only inches to spare. She saw Springer at the controls of the other shuttle, with Arcee in the background. Then the world turned right side up again but Jolt wasn't relaxing. In fact she was even more tense. "That last blast used up almost all our reserves, Elita. And we're caught in the gravitational pull of the planet. We all better start praying to Primus for a miracle."
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"They're gonna hit us," Springer yelled. "I've got no room to maneuver." Suddenly they saw an explosion in the back of the shuttle. And then the engine on the other side fired. "BRACE FOR IMPACT," Prime roared as he strapped in next to Springer. But the impact never came. The other shuttle did a 180 turn and missed their shuttle by inches. "I don't understand," Arcee said. "Why didn't the Decepticons ram us?" "Well it looks like whoever was piloting that shuttle did their best to avoid us. And I say they deserve a medal, Decepticons or otherwise." "Springer follow that shuttle," Prime suddenly ordered. "We must reach it before it crashes and destroys all aboard." Kup, one of the oldest Transformers around, immediately exploded. "Are you out of your mind Optimus? That's a bunch of Decepticons that you're talking about!" Prime whirled on Kup, his optics blazing so brightly that Kup took a few steps back. "There were Female Autobots on that shuttle, Kup!" Prime shouted, momentarily losing his stoic pose. Kup however wasn't backing down. "Yea, well then they should have given us a signal or something. For Primus' sakes, they're gonna crash." "And you think they don't know it Kup?" Arcee asked as she came to Prime's side. "Sparkle just contacted me on the femme's private ban. The radio's out on the shuttle and now they're out of fuel for landing." Arcee caught Kup's disbelieving glance and said, "Here, I'll prove it. Daniel, if you'll help." She transformed and Daniel showed up with his Exo-Suit. He connected himself to the computer. Then Sparkle's voice popped out at them. "...Attacked by Decepticons when we left Cybertron. Our shuttle received major damage, including total destruction of our comm. system. Arcee if you're receiving this...." The voice abruptly cut off. Kup backed down, without a word. Which was just as well because Springer now said, "I need everybody strapped in, Now! This is gonna take some fancy flying." Hang on Elita, * Optimus thought as he belted himself into his seat. *Just hang on! *
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It seemed an eternity before they were able to catch up to the shuttle. Springer deployed the tractor beam and locked the femme's shuttle into a piggyback position underneath their shuttle. "I don't know how long I can hold this thing," Springer shouted over the whine of tortured metal. "The tractors weren't build for this kind of stress. If we hold them too long we'll shake apart." "This is crazy!" Kup exclaimed, holding on to the sides of his seat. "Well if you got any ideas Kup, I'm sure we're open to suggestions," Optimus said. "Well what about calling in the calvary..." Springer suddenly swore as the control panel sparked and spat. "Damn! We've lost the tractor and retro-boosters. The other shuttle has a chance now, but we may end up paying for it." "Oh no we won't. Springer, call Metroplex," Optimus ordered. Springer started to call up Metroplex using a wide-banned distress signal. It was a few minutes before Blaster answered. "Metroplex, Blaster here." "Blaster, this Optimus Prime. We've a situation here. I need Superion and Defensor to slow our shuttle down and stop it from crashing." "No problem, Prime, the Ariealbots and Protectobots are on their way." Prime sat back in his seat and glanced over at Springer. "Are the scanners still working?" he asked. "Yes Optimus. Don't worry, I'm already tracking them, even while I try to slow us up a little to make it easier for Superion and Defensor. They'll be 'landing' in a remote area southwest of Flagstaff Arizona."
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"EVERYONE HANG ON!" Jolt shrieked. "WE'RE COMING IN AND IT'S GONNA HURT!" Elita gave Jolt a startled glance, thinking that was an understatement when the shuttle banged into the rocky ground. It bounced and flew a few more feet then plowed into the sand at the foot of a cliff. Inside the shuttle there was chaos. All of the femmes had suffered some damage, some worse then others. Elita had been knocked out and she was slow to come back online. "I think that only Moonracer, Chrysalis, Frizz, you and I are still functional, Chromia," Elita heard Jolt say. "Correction, I'm awake," Elita said, dazedly. "What's our condition, Chromia?"she asked her second. "Well, most of us need repairs badly. Wrench has done about all she can. I can't give you a fix to the nearest city either. Gasket is the most serious case. If we don't find the Autobots soon, we'll lose her." Elita nodded and started moving to the hatch. "Jolt, you and I will go on recon. I don't think the shuttle was destroyed. If that's so, then Arcee will be looking for us. And perhaps Springer as well. But we must hurry. Chromia, you and the others stay here till we get back." By now Jolt had gotten the hatch open and she and Elita quickly disappeared. Moonracer stood by the hatch for a few minutes, just to make sure that Elita and Jolt had left, and that no one was watching her. Then she bolted out after them. The last time she had pulled this stunt not only had she had nearly gotten herself killed, but she nearly got her teammates and their male counterparts killed as well. Chromia's voice came small over the desert sands,"Moonracer, don't! You know...." *What happened last time. I remember Chromia!* Moonracer thought sourly as Chromia's audio faded out. *But I want to see EARTH!*
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"How far away from Metroplex do you think we are Elita?" Jolt asked worriedly. "I won't know Jolt. I've never been on Earth and even the information that Optimus gave me is several stellar cycles old. I do remember him telling me were the Ark is located. I assume that Metroplex isn't to far from there." A note of empathy grew in her voice. "Don't worry Jolt, we'll save Gasket. It shouldn't take too long." They were swinging around a curve as Elita said this. It was well they had slowed down else they would have driven right into a band of Decepticons. Elita didn't recognize any of them and was about to transform when she spotted Soundwave. That was one face she'd never forget, nor Jolt either. "Behind the rocks!" Elita called as she spun around on her tires. "Those have to be the Sweeps that I heard about. And the purple jet is called Cyclonus," Jolt told Elita. She was quite angry at the situation. "Why did they have to come here?! "she asked rhetorically. "Well don't worry too much about it cause the calvary's here," Moonracer called from another boulder. "Moonracer, I thought I told you to stay with the shuttle!" Elita snapped as she clipped one of the Sweeps on the shoulder. "Hey I knew you could use me. And 4-1 odds aren't bad," Moonracer said glibly. The barrage of energy fire suddenly got fiercer, as if to mock Moonracer's words. "Oh slag," Jolt said. "How are we ever going to get out of this?' It seemed a question that had fewer answers each second to Elita.
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Superion and Defensor caught the
shutttle about a mile above the planet's surface. They had a fun time wrestling it to the ground, so it was about an hour after the crash that Optimus was able to gather a search party from the Autobots gathered around him. "Protectobots, you'll take the north quadrant. Aeirlbots the south and the rest of us will head toward the group of Transformer signals coming from the west. The only thing we are sure of is that they are no further east than this because we would have heard from the humans in this area. Springer, I want you to stay with the shuttle in case any of the Female Autobots show up here. Autobots, Transform and Roll Out!" Optimus transformed to his truck mode and led his team west. Hot Rod sped up to drive alongside of them. "I thought Arcee was the only Femme left," he said softly to Prime. "As did I until I joined the Matrix, Roddy." Optimus replied. "All Autobots join the Matrix at life's end. But I could not find Elita's spark inside. That is when I knew she was still alive. They wanted us to believe that they were gone while the Decepticons had control of Cybertron." Hot Rod mulled that over then said," I suppose that makes sense. But why come out now?" "Probably they have heard of the 'truce' and decided to confirm it with you. I sincerely doubt that they have heard of my 'rebirth'," Optimus pointed out. He had a feeling that if they were in their robot forms, Hot Rod would probably smack himself. But before Hot Rod could answer, Kup spoke up. "Prime I'm reading weapons fire up ahead. And it definitely looks like the Decepticons."
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The fighting was quite one-sided now. Only Elita-1 was capable of continuing the battle. But it was only a matter of time before they captured her. Most of the Sweeps were down but Cyclonus and Soundwave were still firing. And to make matters worse Soundwave had released Lazerbeak, Ravage, and Rumble.
Jolt was still online but was losing fluid at an alarming rate. "Why on Cybertron are they here?" she gasped out weakly. "I'm not sure but it looks like they're gathering metals. They certainly don't look 100 percent. But that hardly matters in a bat...UHHH!" One of Cyclonus' shots had finally connected in Elita's chest. Ravage was there first and jumped on top of Elita's unconscious form. Cyclonus came limping up behind him and pointed his gun at Jolt who was about to raise hers. "Surrender Autobot. You are outnumbered and your comrades are off-line." None of them were aware of the bright red semi barreling down on them at more then 200 miles an hour. That is they weren't aware of it until a burst from Kup's blaster knocked Cyclonus off his feet. Before the other Decepticons could react Optimus exploded out of his truck form and kicked Ravage a good hundred feet away from Elita. Standing over her limp form he called his laser rifle from sub-space and placed several good shots toward the remaining Decepticons. Cyclonus, who was in charge of the mission, knew then that it was hopeless. " Decepticons, retreat," he shouted. Optimus didn't waste any time on him, but began radioing the other Autobots.
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Back at Metroplex, First Aid, and Hoist worked on the other femmes. They were all going to be all right. Even Elita was going to be okay. But every Autobot knew how special Elita was so she lay in a separate room in sick bay. Optimus hadn't left her side, which meant that Hot Rod had to take over his duties. But for once, Roddy didn't mind. He hadn't seen Prime since they got back to Metroplex, but now he walked in. "How's she doing," he asked softly. "Better then at first," Optimus replied in barely more than a whisper. He turned to his 2nd. "I doubt that you've just stopped in to check on our wellbeing. I take it that Preceptor had enough time to analyze what the Decepticons were doing on Earth?" Preceptor had been the one to repair Elita, and after he had assured Prime that she would recover he had gone down to the main computer room to scan samples of what the Decepticons were trying to take. "It looks like they were trying to find the right sort of metals to repair Galvatron. They must have heard of the femmes' departure from Cybertron, and hoped that would distract us. Obviously they weren't expecting us to come down right on top of us." Optimus nodded his face grim. "We'll have to increase the guard," he said. What ever else he was going to say was stopped by a soft sigh from the medibed. Prime reached the side just as Elita's optics flash. "Elita," he said softly, almost chokingly. Elita looked up at Prime in disbelief, then lunged upwards and threw her slender arms around him and hung on as for dear life. "Optimus oh thank Primus," she cried as Hot Rod left the room. He stopped outside the door and remained there intending that no one disturb the loving couple. Roddy knew that Prime would be all right now.
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A week had passed and Optimus Prime found himself up at the same cliffs he had seen that beautiful sunset. But this time he wasn't alone. It had been a wild week, full of adjustments for both Bot and Femme. Most of the femmes seemed to be settling in to the routine and were glad to be with their male counterparts. The only two that didn't seem to hit it off were Percepter and Ratchet's daughter Wrench. Optimus had let Hot Rod convince him that he should and could take time off to spend with Elita. So he had and enjoyed every minute of it, Tomorrow was 'back to the old grind' as humans would say, but it wouldn't be quite the same. Elita would be there to share with him everything. As she was now. "By the Matrix," her soft voice pierced his thoughts. He looked down at her and smiled. Since they were alone he had taken his battle mask off. Elita looked up at him and smiled back, recognizing the young Orion Pax in his face. "It's so beautiful," she exclaimed. "I stood here a week ago in human time, and wondered if I would ever see you again. " His arms tighten around her. "I won't let anyone separate us again my love." "Paxie, you can't promise that," she reproached him. "We must make the most of the time we have."
The End
By: Laureas Prime
The sunset was brilliant, a shimmering expanse of pink, orange, and red. Not only the sky but also the entire world seemed beaded in color. But the natives of this world could never see the display that the lonely sentinel-like being saw. Optimus Prime had been all but kicked out of Metroplex by FirstAid, just to get some time off. Ever since his resurrection, the Autobot leader had been under a tremendous amount of strain. First the Hate Plague had to be contained, then the trouble with the Headmasters. And then Prime had dealt a decisive blow to Galvatron in one on one battle. This time Galvatron alone was the loser as he was placed into a coma by his injuries. Time alone would tell if the Decepticons would ever recover. For the moment there was a truce, and only a few rogue Dcepticons still fought on the far side of Cybertron. Now he was plagued by paperwork that came with the responsibility of leadership. Though his stoic demeanor remained the same, he was becoming increasingly remote to his second in command Hot Rod.
So Hot Rod had conspired with Ultra Magnus and First Aid to get Optimus out and about. Prime realized that they were concerned and rightly so, but the last thing he wanted to do right now was think. Part of him was still able to admire the beauty of the spectacle before him, but a large part of him was dwelling on memories. 'She's still out there, I can feel it! She must be. But why hasn't she tried to contact me?' he thought. He looked up at the darkening sky and whispered, "Elita, were are you?"
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"What do you mean that there's a truce, Chromia?" asked the slender red and silver femme. "We would have heard something before this if that was the case." She seemed unimpressed. The one called Chromia was undaunted by her commander's skepticism. "I saw Kup and Springer out there Elita. They were rounding up the Decepticons over here and Springer mentioned that Galvatron had been so badly injured that they didn't dare continue without him." Elita-1 stood up and looked her second in command over. When Megatron had returned to Cybertron and consolidated his power there, the Female Autobots had faked their death to save their male counterparts from foolishly trying to get them off Cybertron. They had laid low and had managed to catch most of the important news. Chromia saw the pain in Elita's optics and felt her sympathy grow. They had both lost
their male counterparts in the devastating attack on Autobot City. "So there's nothing stopping us from going to Earth now." Elita stated bitterly. Get FireStar, Moonracer, and the others. I'll go ready the shuttle."
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Optimus returned to Metroplex long after midnight. Though Transformers didn't need to sleep like humans, they did need to recharge now and then. And Prime had gone too long without one. So it was no surprise to find his 2nd standing on the outskirts of the city. "What took you so long," Hot Rod asked. He was furious for a number of reasons, not the least being the fact that Prime had made him second after only a couple weeks. Hot Rod didn't want the job but he knew he couldn't go back so he accepted. But that didn't mean he was gonna go out of his way to make Optimus' life easier. "I was about to send a patrol after you." Hot Rod's parental tone was grating on Prime like a rusty tailpipe. But he tried to shrug it off. "You've been wanting to have me take a break, Hot Rod," Prime said lightly. "Not so that you've got no time to recharge, Optimus. You haven't recharged in the past week!" Prime came to a dead stop and abruptly transformed. "It is not your business to keep after me as a human child, Hot Rod," Prime said. His optics were glaring and if Hot Rod hadn't carried the matrix as well for some time he probably would have backed down. But Prime hadn't made him 2nd for nothing. "It is my business to make sure you're not too stress Optimus and that's what I'm seeing. Have you forgot that you're suppose to shuttle up to earth's moon tomorrow to help open Stargate city?" Prime groaned and looked at his 2nd. "You should have reminded me Hot Rod." He scolded. "I'll have barely enough time to recharge to be presentable tomorrow." "You don't want to recharge Optimus, and you know it." Hot Rod stated. The older bot turned to him and then snapped, "My office, now. This is no place to discuss this, even if it is the middle of the night."
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Elita-1 stood upon a platform, surveying all of the femmes that had managed to survive the war. The female Autobots had split up to survive and until today, Elita had only known that they were out there and could be contacted. The groups had been no bigger then 5 femmes and they had spread across Cybertron. Now they were gathered together for the first time in eons. And they were a small group all together anyway. The Female transformers had never been numerous and with the war eating away at their number, the only thing Elita could think of was to split them up. But only 24! That all the other Femmes had been destroyed, Elita had no doubt. Only 20 other femmes besides Firestar, Moonracer, Chromia and herself. Elita sincerely doubted that any Decepticon Femmes had survived. Such a small group to continue the Transformer race. Although that idea was the last thing on Elita's mind as she spoke to the group. "I called you here because I want us to go to Earth. There's been a change in the war, one that may mean that we can finally be ourselves once again. And be with those we love." The Femmes waited expectably, and Elita felt proud of them and herself. *You truly helped me become a good commander, my love, * she thought sadly. "The only way we're going to get the truth safely is to go to Autobot City and find out from Rodimus Prime what's going on. I believe it's safe enough now for all of us to go." "So what are we waiting for," yelled Frizz, one of the youngest Femmes to survive. "I want you to be alert Frizz," Elita snapped. "We have no idea what we're getting into. Autobots let's roll!
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Prime all but stormed into his office, showing his rage like never before. It was highly unusual for the Autobot leader to totally loose it like this, but Hot Rod's had hit a very sore spot inside Prime's spark. And there was no way that his 2nd was going to get out of the tongue-lashing that was coming his way. Or so Prime had thought. But he didn't realize that Hot Rod was counting on Prime loosing his temper. For that would use up all of Optimus' reserves and then he'd be forced to take a recharge. In fact, his body would simply shut down. *And the sooner the better, * Hot Rod thought darkly. Then maybe I can find out what this is all about and he'll stop hiding whatever it is that's bugging him from me.* Optimus' first words snapped him out of his thoughts. "Now, what did you mean by saying that I don't want to recharge," Prime said, his voice icy cold. It meant that he had gained control of himself again. Hot Rod groaned silently and answered the question with a sneer, trying to provoke Optimus even more. " You think I can't tell when an Autobot isn't recharging?! What do you take me for Optimus, an idiot? I was in charge for a while remember?" Prime simply stared at him, and for a minute Hot Rod thought he was going to call his rifle from sub-space and blast him were he sat. Then Prime slumped forward, placing his elbow joints on his desk and running his hand over his forehead. It was a totally human gesture of extreme weariness, and Hot Rod knew it. " I suppose you're right Hot Rod. I do not want to recharge. But I will." "Optimus please, tell me what's wrong. I'm your 2nd for Primus' sake!" Optimus just turned towards him slightly and shook his head then headed for his quarters. But Hot Rod sat there a long time afterwards, dazed by the agony he had seen in Prime's optics.
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The femmes left Cybertron under fire from a small group of renegade Decepticons. They could have stayed and fought it out but Elita refused to loose anymore of the femmes that she had manage to bring through all the fighting. But as they lifted off from Cybertron's surface, Elita knew that they hadn't gotten away unscathed. There were a couple of the femmes in the repair bay and there was not much the others could do for them until they got to Earth. But something worse was developing in the rear of the shuttle. Elita heard Gasket, Wheeljack's daughter and the femme's best mechanic, swear a blistering oath and storm forward glaring out the window as she did so. " Those Slaggin' DECEPTISCRAPS!" she exploded. Jolt, Gasket's mother and Elita's best pilot, turned from her spot at the controls. "What is it Gasket?" Elita asked patiently, feeling that she wouldn't like the answer. She was right. "One of those Deceptmolts managed to hit the fuel line. It's a small leak but enough to create problems for us all. By the time we hit Earth orbit we'll be out of fuel. And Sparkle hasn't been able to cut through the communication lock on this shuttle. We won't be able to warn them of what's wrong. We'll just crash." "We'll think of something Gasket. They'll know it's a Cybertronian shuttle. I doubt they'll shoot us down." But in her spark Elita knew they were in serious trouble. *Oh Optimus what do I do now? * she thought. She always thought of her love in a critical situation and it had managed to get her through every crisis, but what could she do now? Where the last of the Female Tranformers going to be destroyed?
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Hot Rod had accompanied Optimus to Stargate City on the moon. It was mostly Rodimus Prime's handy work that had set the humans and Autobots to working together and create this beautiful city of the stars. So the humans had asked to have him join Optimus at the last minute. Considering what he had seen and hadn't discovered about Optimus in the last day he was glad. And it gave Ultra Magnus something more to do then picking up the renegades. He'd be in charge of Metroplex while they where away. Not that Hot Rod thought that any Decepticons would try and pull something, but it was better to be on the safe side. They had boarded the shuttle with Arcee and were greeted by the humans. Arcee was coming along because of her Headmaster partner, Daniel Witwicky. The Witwickys had been stanch allies of the Autobots from day one and Daniel's parents were instrumental in getting the human half of the 'Stargate' team together. Hot Rod watched as Optimus leaned down to speak with Spike, Daniel's father. Hot Rod also noticed that Optimus avoided looking at Arcee whenever he could. "Approaching Stargate City," Springer said from where he sat at the controls. Hot Rod strapped in for landing and saw Optimus staring out the window. Suddenly something seemed to click in Hot Rod's head. *He doesn't look at Arcee, * he thought. *And he's afraid to recharge. He's been having nightmares. And I bet I know about whom. * Hot Rod scowled at the thought. He knew he couldn't bring it up right now. But when they got back to Metroplex, Primus help Optimus. "Hey, where did that shuttle come from!!!" Springer yelled as a warp gate opened nearly in front of them. It was a Decepticon Shuttle from the looks of it and it seemed to be in bad shape. "Springer, radio the shuttle to follow us," Prime commanded "No response Optimus... they may not be able to respond."
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The ride inside the femmes' shuttle was anything but smooth now as they approach the warp gate to Earth. They had all strapped down and Sparkle had given up on the comm. unit. As Elita took her seat there was an explosion and Jolt yelled "We're through but I've lost all control. And there's an Autobot shuttle that's flying straight for us!" Elita sprang out of her chair and came to Jolt. "We can't hit that shuttle! There must be a way to swing us out of their way!" "We're too close!"Jolt cried. Suddenly another explosion came from the back and a scream of pain echoed up the passageway. "That was Gasket!!" Jolt cried and was about to get up. "Stay put Jolt! Gasket's given us a chance to save our fellow Autobots!" Elita shouted as she strapped herself in to the copilot's seat. Jolt started punching buttons as Elita stared at the approaching shuttle. She thought for a second she saw Optimus but that was impossible! Then Jolt called her back to the task at hand. "We need a ten micro-cycle burst from the left engine. Tell everyone to hold on tight." Elita nodded as she relayed the orders and punched several of her own buttons. She looked up again just as Jolt hit the button to ignite the left engine. The world turned upside down as the other shuttle past by with only inches to spare. She saw Springer at the controls of the other shuttle, with Arcee in the background. Then the world turned right side up again but Jolt wasn't relaxing. In fact she was even more tense. "That last blast used up almost all our reserves, Elita. And we're caught in the gravitational pull of the planet. We all better start praying to Primus for a miracle."
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"They're gonna hit us," Springer yelled. "I've got no room to maneuver." Suddenly they saw an explosion in the back of the shuttle. And then the engine on the other side fired. "BRACE FOR IMPACT," Prime roared as he strapped in next to Springer. But the impact never came. The other shuttle did a 180 turn and missed their shuttle by inches. "I don't understand," Arcee said. "Why didn't the Decepticons ram us?" "Well it looks like whoever was piloting that shuttle did their best to avoid us. And I say they deserve a medal, Decepticons or otherwise." "Springer follow that shuttle," Prime suddenly ordered. "We must reach it before it crashes and destroys all aboard." Kup, one of the oldest Transformers around, immediately exploded. "Are you out of your mind Optimus? That's a bunch of Decepticons that you're talking about!" Prime whirled on Kup, his optics blazing so brightly that Kup took a few steps back. "There were Female Autobots on that shuttle, Kup!" Prime shouted, momentarily losing his stoic pose. Kup however wasn't backing down. "Yea, well then they should have given us a signal or something. For Primus' sakes, they're gonna crash." "And you think they don't know it Kup?" Arcee asked as she came to Prime's side. "Sparkle just contacted me on the femme's private ban. The radio's out on the shuttle and now they're out of fuel for landing." Arcee caught Kup's disbelieving glance and said, "Here, I'll prove it. Daniel, if you'll help." She transformed and Daniel showed up with his Exo-Suit. He connected himself to the computer. Then Sparkle's voice popped out at them. "...Attacked by Decepticons when we left Cybertron. Our shuttle received major damage, including total destruction of our comm. system. Arcee if you're receiving this...." The voice abruptly cut off. Kup backed down, without a word. Which was just as well because Springer now said, "I need everybody strapped in, Now! This is gonna take some fancy flying." Hang on Elita, * Optimus thought as he belted himself into his seat. *Just hang on! *
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It seemed an eternity before they were able to catch up to the shuttle. Springer deployed the tractor beam and locked the femme's shuttle into a piggyback position underneath their shuttle. "I don't know how long I can hold this thing," Springer shouted over the whine of tortured metal. "The tractors weren't build for this kind of stress. If we hold them too long we'll shake apart." "This is crazy!" Kup exclaimed, holding on to the sides of his seat. "Well if you got any ideas Kup, I'm sure we're open to suggestions," Optimus said. "Well what about calling in the calvary..." Springer suddenly swore as the control panel sparked and spat. "Damn! We've lost the tractor and retro-boosters. The other shuttle has a chance now, but we may end up paying for it." "Oh no we won't. Springer, call Metroplex," Optimus ordered. Springer started to call up Metroplex using a wide-banned distress signal. It was a few minutes before Blaster answered. "Metroplex, Blaster here." "Blaster, this Optimus Prime. We've a situation here. I need Superion and Defensor to slow our shuttle down and stop it from crashing." "No problem, Prime, the Ariealbots and Protectobots are on their way." Prime sat back in his seat and glanced over at Springer. "Are the scanners still working?" he asked. "Yes Optimus. Don't worry, I'm already tracking them, even while I try to slow us up a little to make it easier for Superion and Defensor. They'll be 'landing' in a remote area southwest of Flagstaff Arizona."
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"EVERYONE HANG ON!" Jolt shrieked. "WE'RE COMING IN AND IT'S GONNA HURT!" Elita gave Jolt a startled glance, thinking that was an understatement when the shuttle banged into the rocky ground. It bounced and flew a few more feet then plowed into the sand at the foot of a cliff. Inside the shuttle there was chaos. All of the femmes had suffered some damage, some worse then others. Elita had been knocked out and she was slow to come back online. "I think that only Moonracer, Chrysalis, Frizz, you and I are still functional, Chromia," Elita heard Jolt say. "Correction, I'm awake," Elita said, dazedly. "What's our condition, Chromia?"she asked her second. "Well, most of us need repairs badly. Wrench has done about all she can. I can't give you a fix to the nearest city either. Gasket is the most serious case. If we don't find the Autobots soon, we'll lose her." Elita nodded and started moving to the hatch. "Jolt, you and I will go on recon. I don't think the shuttle was destroyed. If that's so, then Arcee will be looking for us. And perhaps Springer as well. But we must hurry. Chromia, you and the others stay here till we get back." By now Jolt had gotten the hatch open and she and Elita quickly disappeared. Moonracer stood by the hatch for a few minutes, just to make sure that Elita and Jolt had left, and that no one was watching her. Then she bolted out after them. The last time she had pulled this stunt not only had she had nearly gotten herself killed, but she nearly got her teammates and their male counterparts killed as well. Chromia's voice came small over the desert sands,"Moonracer, don't! You know...." *What happened last time. I remember Chromia!* Moonracer thought sourly as Chromia's audio faded out. *But I want to see EARTH!*
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"How far away from Metroplex do you think we are Elita?" Jolt asked worriedly. "I won't know Jolt. I've never been on Earth and even the information that Optimus gave me is several stellar cycles old. I do remember him telling me were the Ark is located. I assume that Metroplex isn't to far from there." A note of empathy grew in her voice. "Don't worry Jolt, we'll save Gasket. It shouldn't take too long." They were swinging around a curve as Elita said this. It was well they had slowed down else they would have driven right into a band of Decepticons. Elita didn't recognize any of them and was about to transform when she spotted Soundwave. That was one face she'd never forget, nor Jolt either. "Behind the rocks!" Elita called as she spun around on her tires. "Those have to be the Sweeps that I heard about. And the purple jet is called Cyclonus," Jolt told Elita. She was quite angry at the situation. "Why did they have to come here?! "she asked rhetorically. "Well don't worry too much about it cause the calvary's here," Moonracer called from another boulder. "Moonracer, I thought I told you to stay with the shuttle!" Elita snapped as she clipped one of the Sweeps on the shoulder. "Hey I knew you could use me. And 4-1 odds aren't bad," Moonracer said glibly. The barrage of energy fire suddenly got fiercer, as if to mock Moonracer's words. "Oh slag," Jolt said. "How are we ever going to get out of this?' It seemed a question that had fewer answers each second to Elita.
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Superion and Defensor caught the
shutttle about a mile above the planet's surface. They had a fun time wrestling it to the ground, so it was about an hour after the crash that Optimus was able to gather a search party from the Autobots gathered around him. "Protectobots, you'll take the north quadrant. Aeirlbots the south and the rest of us will head toward the group of Transformer signals coming from the west. The only thing we are sure of is that they are no further east than this because we would have heard from the humans in this area. Springer, I want you to stay with the shuttle in case any of the Female Autobots show up here. Autobots, Transform and Roll Out!" Optimus transformed to his truck mode and led his team west. Hot Rod sped up to drive alongside of them. "I thought Arcee was the only Femme left," he said softly to Prime. "As did I until I joined the Matrix, Roddy." Optimus replied. "All Autobots join the Matrix at life's end. But I could not find Elita's spark inside. That is when I knew she was still alive. They wanted us to believe that they were gone while the Decepticons had control of Cybertron." Hot Rod mulled that over then said," I suppose that makes sense. But why come out now?" "Probably they have heard of the 'truce' and decided to confirm it with you. I sincerely doubt that they have heard of my 'rebirth'," Optimus pointed out. He had a feeling that if they were in their robot forms, Hot Rod would probably smack himself. But before Hot Rod could answer, Kup spoke up. "Prime I'm reading weapons fire up ahead. And it definitely looks like the Decepticons."
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The fighting was quite one-sided now. Only Elita-1 was capable of continuing the battle. But it was only a matter of time before they captured her. Most of the Sweeps were down but Cyclonus and Soundwave were still firing. And to make matters worse Soundwave had released Lazerbeak, Ravage, and Rumble.
Jolt was still online but was losing fluid at an alarming rate. "Why on Cybertron are they here?" she gasped out weakly. "I'm not sure but it looks like they're gathering metals. They certainly don't look 100 percent. But that hardly matters in a bat...UHHH!" One of Cyclonus' shots had finally connected in Elita's chest. Ravage was there first and jumped on top of Elita's unconscious form. Cyclonus came limping up behind him and pointed his gun at Jolt who was about to raise hers. "Surrender Autobot. You are outnumbered and your comrades are off-line." None of them were aware of the bright red semi barreling down on them at more then 200 miles an hour. That is they weren't aware of it until a burst from Kup's blaster knocked Cyclonus off his feet. Before the other Decepticons could react Optimus exploded out of his truck form and kicked Ravage a good hundred feet away from Elita. Standing over her limp form he called his laser rifle from sub-space and placed several good shots toward the remaining Decepticons. Cyclonus, who was in charge of the mission, knew then that it was hopeless. " Decepticons, retreat," he shouted. Optimus didn't waste any time on him, but began radioing the other Autobots.
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Back at Metroplex, First Aid, and Hoist worked on the other femmes. They were all going to be all right. Even Elita was going to be okay. But every Autobot knew how special Elita was so she lay in a separate room in sick bay. Optimus hadn't left her side, which meant that Hot Rod had to take over his duties. But for once, Roddy didn't mind. He hadn't seen Prime since they got back to Metroplex, but now he walked in. "How's she doing," he asked softly. "Better then at first," Optimus replied in barely more than a whisper. He turned to his 2nd. "I doubt that you've just stopped in to check on our wellbeing. I take it that Preceptor had enough time to analyze what the Decepticons were doing on Earth?" Preceptor had been the one to repair Elita, and after he had assured Prime that she would recover he had gone down to the main computer room to scan samples of what the Decepticons were trying to take. "It looks like they were trying to find the right sort of metals to repair Galvatron. They must have heard of the femmes' departure from Cybertron, and hoped that would distract us. Obviously they weren't expecting us to come down right on top of us." Optimus nodded his face grim. "We'll have to increase the guard," he said. What ever else he was going to say was stopped by a soft sigh from the medibed. Prime reached the side just as Elita's optics flash. "Elita," he said softly, almost chokingly. Elita looked up at Prime in disbelief, then lunged upwards and threw her slender arms around him and hung on as for dear life. "Optimus oh thank Primus," she cried as Hot Rod left the room. He stopped outside the door and remained there intending that no one disturb the loving couple. Roddy knew that Prime would be all right now.
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A week had passed and Optimus Prime found himself up at the same cliffs he had seen that beautiful sunset. But this time he wasn't alone. It had been a wild week, full of adjustments for both Bot and Femme. Most of the femmes seemed to be settling in to the routine and were glad to be with their male counterparts. The only two that didn't seem to hit it off were Percepter and Ratchet's daughter Wrench. Optimus had let Hot Rod convince him that he should and could take time off to spend with Elita. So he had and enjoyed every minute of it, Tomorrow was 'back to the old grind' as humans would say, but it wouldn't be quite the same. Elita would be there to share with him everything. As she was now. "By the Matrix," her soft voice pierced his thoughts. He looked down at her and smiled. Since they were alone he had taken his battle mask off. Elita looked up at him and smiled back, recognizing the young Orion Pax in his face. "It's so beautiful," she exclaimed. "I stood here a week ago in human time, and wondered if I would ever see you again. " His arms tighten around her. "I won't let anyone separate us again my love." "Paxie, you can't promise that," she reproached him. "We must make the most of the time we have."
The End