Transformers: Prime
Disclaimer: Because I own Transformers: Prime, I literally have the ability to transform into a planet through sheer force of will...No lie.
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Chapter 1
"The energon deposit must be protected! Autobots, delta formation!" Optimus Prime, Autobot leader, projected into his internal communications link, situated deep inside of the side of his helmet. The rest of the autobots sounded off affirmatives as Optimus rolled to the side to avoid a spray of laser fire. The blasts landed harmlessly behind him, striking rock formations next to the cache of energon, recently dug up from the ground. The battlefield was a large crater, with large piles of energon pools muddled about the ground and the walls of rock. With the autobots in V-Formation, the opposing tide of warriors, most notably among them, Megatron, Starscream, KnockOut and Breakdown. Behind and to the sides of the decepticon leader and his commanders were the decepticon ground forces, quickly gaining ground toward the Autobots. With Bulkhead on the far side, he quickly downed several underling decepticons before clearing a swath for the rest who clashed with the decepticons.
"Arcee, line up an offence with Bumblebee and divert Knockout. Bulkhead and I will engage Megatron and Starscream," ordered the prime. Optimus and Bulkhead ran in converging directions while Arcee and Bumblebee did the same, with Optimus and Bumblebee providing intersecting cover fire. Starscream was the first to transform, barrel rolling in the air while spraying laser fire at the Autobot formation, only able to slow them down momentarily. 'We're getting nowhere,' Optimus thought gravely, his processor working miles a minute to formulate a plan. While Arcee and Bumblebee were holding off many of the long range decepticons, Optimus knew that it would only be long before they would be forced to fall back. Barely seconds had passed, and Optimus had engaged Megatron in battle, the both of them in a shootout.
"Bumblebee, Arcee, prepare to fall back! Ratchet will activate the groundbridge!" Optimus instructed through the internal comm. before giving his full attention to the battle at hand.
"Optimus, you should know by now, that pillaging stacks of energon for your own is pointless by now," Megatron chided, strafing successfully from a salvo of laser rounds before discharging his own.
"Energon is the right of all creations of the allspark, you should know that," Optimus responded, hoping to distract him long enough for the transmission to Ratchet to get through.
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Ratchet had recieved the transmission immediately upon it being sent and the Medic bot had quickly triangulated the groundbridge's coordinates to Optimus and his comrades' location.
"Ratchet, are the guys OK over there?" Jack, the oldest of three human friends who frequented the autobot base asked. He entered the room with a bottle of water in his hand, just arriving from school. With mild irritation, he knew the other two humans would be arriving very soon. Jack and Raphael he could somewhat tolerate, but it still baffled him with Miko's tendency to be found in a battlefield with Autobots and Decepticons alike trying to reduce each other to slag. He shuddered at the thought.
Ratchet glanced behind him at the ground, where Jack was located. "They're fine," Ratchet stated curtly. "The groundbridge is prepped and ready-" The mech pivoted his head back towards the monitor after it had pinged several times times in quick succession. Jack ran up the stairs to the overhanging platform to get a better look at the screen. If Jack could read anything from mechanical facial expressions, Ratchet looked unnerved. "What is it?" the teen asked, not understanding what the pinging had signified.
"It's another transmission, but it's not from any of the autobots. Wait, it's not even a transmission. It's a signal." Ratchet said, trying to decrypt the message. "What the..." Ratchet activated the groundbridge and read the now deencrypted message. "10-22? By the sparks...What does that mean?" Jack looked at the message himself, and for the life of him, he didn't know what it meant either. He never was a fan of math.
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With quick response, the groundbridge opened up directly behind Optimus' team. Megatron had noticed also, signalling Starscream to intercept the space between the portal and the Autobots. "Move aside, Bumblebee! The energon is mine-I mean for the decepticons!" Starscream shouted, his Alt. Jet form speeding through the battlefield.
"Optimus, you're not leaving with the energon supply!" Megatron declared after shoving Optimus backwards after getting close enough. The energon supply was vast. Much of it was even held together in a cube like form, making it easier to carry. But optimus found that strange. And only one anomoly was possible to cause Energon on earth to naturally hold together with such solidity.
Bumblebee stringed out a statement unintelligible to any life forms other than cybertronian, as it sounded much like rapidly varying frequency sounds. Starscream scoffed at what apparently was an insult aimed at him. "Why you little-" Starscream started before getting his wing clipped by Arcee. With a verbal curse, Starscream crashed to the ground, forced to change back to cybertronian form.
Arcee and Bumblebee salvaged as much energon as they could, and threw it into the groundbridge, while Bulkhead and Prime acted as large shields as they slowly retreated backwards into the Bridge.
"-Optimus! Another signal popped up. You definitely need to see this!-" Ratchet exclaimed over the internal comm. "On our way," Prime assured before finally entering the ground bridge after following Arcee and Bumblebee's lead. Bulkhead was close behind, smacking another decepticon soldier away with satisfaction. Once they crossed the threshold, the portal closed instantly, safely cutting the access the distance between the Autobots and Decepticons.
"Ratchet. Good work, and everyone, well done. We may not have gotten all of it, but we have acquired a large supply of untapped Energon. Much has progress has been made," Optimus Prime congratulated before focusing his attention on Ratchet. "What was the strage signal you spoke of?"
"It's strange. The signal just reads 10-22...Mean anything to you sir?" Ratchet relayed to Prime. The bot in question did not respond for seconds before revealing what he knew.
"It's peculiar. It was the code-name I used when I was in temporary command of Bumblebee's subdivision shortly after we arrived on earth." Arcee turned to Bumblebee for clarification, in which he responded with a series of beeps and whistles.
"It was when you fought Mainframe?" Arcee asked from behind him.
"Correct." Optimus studied the readings that showed up on the screen. "There were only a group of Autobots that knew of that code. One of them is dead."
"Which one?" Bulkhead asked, taking a seat on one of the large platforms next to the monitor.
"Sentinel." Everyone was silent for a time and Optimus was greatful for the momentary quiet. They still remembered the whole fiasco. Sentinel Prime had brought the planet of Cybertron to earth, hoping to recharge the planet at the expense of earth, but Optimus and the autobots were able to pull through. They couldn't have done it without Sam, but he had moved on and the autobots had relocated their base of operations to here, in Jasper, Nevada.
We'll need to search the area. There could be a surviving autobot," Optimus concluded gravely, walking towards the recharge area. "Ratchet, see if you can find any residual readings from that area."
"Right."
Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Arcee, and Ratchet would stay awake for the time being, preferring to greet Miko and Raf when they got there.
