Bulkhead looked up into the ever dreary sky, hoping for some sign that the Autobots could retaliate against the Decepticon armada, but alas, the sad sky never ceased its misery. Miko kicked a rock and watched it roll away.
"Bulkhead?" she asked.
"Hmm." grunted Bulkhead.
"Do you think that Optimus and everyone else are alive?" Bulkhead looked down at her in shock, sure they've been through a lot, but Optimus Prime, Rachet, Bumblebee, Arcee, Smokescreen and all the kids, have always pulled through.
"Of course they are. They're the toughest people I know, other than myself of course."
Miko laughed, but not the same as she always laughed. These past few weeks had been tough on both of them. After they had ground-bridged out of their base after the Decepticons blasted it, they had wandered around the desert, avoiding enemy bots and other unwanted people. Since Megatron began his takeover of Earth, it had begun to seem barren, and less hopeful that it used to be. There seemed no end to the lifeless rock. When Bulkhead had first came to Earth, he wasn't sure that he would adjust to the new "rock". Cybertron was all he had ever known, and fought on. But after meeting Optimus and everyone else, he began to see Earth in a new light, a light full of hope, and life. But now, Bulkhead looked around, it was nothing but a lifeless rock. It looked all too familiar; it was Cybertron all over again.
"Hellooo...Earth to Bulk." Miko waved her hands; Bulkhead looked around startled and looked down at Miko.
"You've been spacing out a lot lately, is something wrong?" Miko asked, obviously concerned.
Bulkhead snorted, was there something wrong? Look around, your entire planet is about to be destroyed and we can't do anything about it, but instead, Bulkhead said, "No, just...thinking?"
Miko looked incredously at Bulkhead, "You, thinking?" she laughed. "That's the silliest thing I've ever heard about."
Bulkhead smiled, the only reason he could smile in a situation as desperate at their own, was because of Miko. Without her constant chatter and companionship, Bulkhead wouldn't have been able to make through these few weeks. Rachet or anyone else still had to contact them, and they were waiting for that moment when the comm-link crackled to life and Optimus or Rachet said, "Come to these coordinates." A loud boom sounded across the desert, startling Bulkhead out of his thoughts.
"What was that?" Miko yelled. "Is it the Cons?" she asked quietly.
"I dunno, let's go check it out." Bulkheads transformed, feeling his body twist and conform to vehicle mode.
He popped open his door and said, "Get in."
Miko hopped in and they went speeding through the desert.
"So, do you think it's a Con?" Miko said, way too excited.
Yeah they had been out here in the middle of nowhere and the closest thing that they've seen to another life form were some lizards, but in his current condition, Bulkhead didn't think that he'd be able to take on even three of Megatrons goonies.
"Well, do you, Bulk?"
Bulkhead grunted, "Really unlikely. We've been out here for weeks, with no sign of activity. I think it's something like a satellite or something."
Miko pouted, "Well, that's no fun."
"Miko." Bulkhead said warningly.
Miko look outside the window, pouting. Bulkhead sighed. Suddenly Miko gasped excitedly, "There it is! I see it!"
Bulkhead swerved and opened his door and Miko jumped out. She started running towards it just as Bulkhead was finishing transforming, "Miko! Wait!" he yelled.
But too late, Miko was already sliding down the still steaming crater to investigate. She paused, and cocked an eyebrow. Just as Bulkhead was working his way down to her, she reached out an arm and started wiping the meteor.
"Miko, don't touch that!" Bulkhead yelled at her. She finished wiping the meteor and Bulkhead gasped, "By the All-Spark. I don't believe it."
Miko stood there, her mouth hanging open, "I don't believe it!" she yelled excitedly, "It's an Autobot! Can you believe it!"
she paused at look at Bulkhead, "Bulk? Are you okay?" Miko asked.
"It's an Autobot escape pod. And it looks like it came from one of our old warships." Bulkhead said, a frightened look on his face.
"What are scared of, Big Guy?" Miko said confidently, while patting the pod. "There's nothing to be af-" She was cut off by a big hiss that came from the pod opening.
Miko jumped back and Bulkhead yelled, "Get back!" Miko hid behind Bulkhead, scared, yet excited, about what was about to come out of the pod. There was coughing behind the steam as a figure staggered out of the pod.
"Hello?" a woman's voice croaked behind the steam. As the steam cleared, the figure became clearer. It was an Autobot. She had a figure similar to Arcee, except her armor was completely black. The only thing that stood out was her silver Autobot symbol and her astonishing blue eyes, that had a green circle around them. Her head was more subdued than that of Arcee's, and only had two spikes coming from her face. She clutched her side, which, Bulkhead noticed, was leaking Energon. The Autobot's eye widened and she transformed her free arm into an elongated gun that looked like it was meant more for long distance shooting than long range, but it didn't mean it wouldn't hurt any less. Bulkhead held up his hands in a submissive manner, "Whoa. Whoa. We're on your side." He explained calmly. The Autobot saw Bulkhead's insignia and lowered her weapon, but did not unarm herself.
"Where am I?" She asked, obviously struggling to talk.
Bulkhead walked towards her and held out his arm, "Don't talk. We need to close up that hole in your side."
She staggered weakly, protesting, "No, I don't need any..."
The Bot had started to fall when Bulkhead caught her. He sighed, "Us Wreckers just don't know when to accept help."
"You know her?" Miko said incredulously.
Bulkhead scoffed, "Who doesn't know her? Among the Wreckers she's really famous. Sky the Eagle Eye."
Bulkhead looked down at Sky, and started walking back to their temporary home. It was really just a cave that Bulkhead had made some adjusting to, but it served its purpose. As they walked, Miko asked Bulkhead about Sky, "How do you know her? Is she an old war buddy? What does she do? Why do you think she was in that pod thingy?"
The questions went on and on, but Bulkhead didn't mind. With all his time spent with her, he came to enjoy all of her questions.
"I'll tell you once we get back to the cave." Bulkhead said. Miko nodded, content with his answer. Sky hung limply in Bulkhead's arms, breathing heavily.
"Is she gonna be alright, Bulk?" Miko asked, obvious concern in her voice. Bulkhead nodded curtly, "Definitely, Sky is one of the toughest Bots I know. She'll be fine." Even though the was more comforting himself more than Miko. Right now they could use any help they could get, if they were to have any hope of defeating Megatron and his Decepticon army. Bulkhead doubled his pace and they soon reached the cave. Bulkhead ducked into the cave and laid Sky onto a stone slab that Bulkhead slept on whenever he wasn't on guard duty. He went into the back of the cave where they kept medical supplies and other extras. He brought out a blowtorch that had been slightly modified to work as a way of stitching up wounds. Miko and Bulkhead had "borrowed" it from a town a few miles out. The entire town had been deserted, they all left in a rush. Probably because of the giant Decepticon tower that was still visible to them inside their cave. A constant reminder as to what their mission was. Bulkhead gritted his teeth, he wasn't very good at delicate work, but for Sky's sake, he would try.
He flipped the blowtorch on and sent a silent apology to Sky. As soon as Bulkhead put the blowtorch to her, she flinched but didn't move. Bulkhead worked as fast as he could without messing up, which wasn't very fast. The whole procedure took over twenty minutes, Racht would have disapproved.
"Alright, it's done." Bulkhead announced. Miko had dozed off, and jolted awake. She stood, excited about the new addition to their team. Sky sat up, still dazed from her crash and patch up by Bulkhead. She twisted her torso to look at the wound, "Thanks Bulkhead. Sorry I was so stubborn." she laughed nervously.
Sky looked down at Miko, and raised an eyebrow. "What is that?" she said, pointing at Miko.
Miko crossed her arms and huffed, obviously offended, "My name is Miko and I'm a human."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're the indigenous life forms that Optimus Prime was talking about." she said, recalling the coded message that was sent to their warship. That was, until the Decepticons destroyed it.
"So, how did you get to Earth, Sky?" Bulkhead asked, breaking into her thoughts.
"Huh? Oh. Well, I was on one of the old Autobot warships and we had received a coded message from Optimus Prime, saying that we should come to a planet called Earth, and join him there. We were just a few star systems away from a forgotten space bridge, when we were ambushed by the Decepticons. They completely destroyed the ship, I barely was able to escape. I took the first pod I could find, and put in the coordinates that Optimus had sent. It obviously took a long time to get here without a space bridge though." she laughed at that. "That basically sums it up. But tell me, what's your story? What have you been doing these past years on Earth?" Sky asked, curious as to what her fellow Wrecker had been up to.
"Ah, well, you know." Bulkhead put his hand behind his head, scratching it. "Beating Decepticons and saving the world and stuff..."
Sky raised an eyebrow, "Just that?"
"Yeah," Bulkhead said nervously, "Just that."
"Then where's Optimus?"
"He's out on a mission."
"Where?"
"Somewhere."
"Tell. Me. Where. Bulkhead."
"He's dead!" Miko yelled, tired of dodging the subject. Bulkhead and Sky looked at Miko incredulously.
Bulkhead looked sheepishly away, "I'm...sorry, Sky. Megatron blew up our base, and Optimus didn't leave until all of us were out, he didn't make it."
Sky wobbled and sat down hard on the rock bed. Her hands trembled as she looked down, what was the point of coming here if Optimus was dead? The wreckers were self-sufficient, yes. But there had to be some kind of commanding force behind them.
"What do we do now?" Sky asked, her voice strong despite her doubt.
Miko hopped up onto the rock and stood on the Autobot's lap, looking her in the eye. "We fight." Miko said, her voice unwavering.
Sky looked at the tiny human, surprised at her bravery. How could such a vulnerable creature be so...so...courageous? Facing her fears with such strong and confident eyes. Miko put her hands on her hips and stared at Sky until she smiled, maybe she could learn to enjoy the company of these, humans.