Sailing on the Sea of Stars
It was quite on the bridge. The only one there was Springer, who was staring at the radar intently. Although the rest of the crew of the Ark 7 didn't seem to realize, Springer hated staring at the radar. As a former Wreaker, sitting and doing nothing was not something he was used to. But this was what Rodimus wanted.
"You can't be JUST combat savvy. You have to have other skills, too!"
Rodimus' voice ran in Springer's ears. It was insulting. A soldier doing a grunts job! The nerve! But, Springer couldn't complain. Rodimus saved him from being slagged. And for that, Springer owed Rodimus. Did he have to like the tasks he was given? No. Not at all.
"Hey, Springer. How's it lookin' out there?" Rodimus' voice pierced the silence. Springer turned slowly to his commanding officer.
"Things are looking good, Prime. No signs of hostile forces."
"That's good," Rodimus put his hand on the back of Springer's chair, "You know, you don't HAVE to call me 'Prime'. Just 'Rodimus' is fine." Springer rolled his optics.
"Sorry. It's ingrained."
"Yeah. We've all heard the story of Nova's training. I know he's into that military stuff, what running the Wreckers and all, but sometimes you just got to relax. You can't be all wound up all the time. You'll pop a bolt."
"It's because of Nova's harsh training that the Wreckers are so good at their jobs. We're not the best commando squad in the galaxy from pure boasting alone."
"That's true." Rodimus stroked his chin in thought. "But, when you're not on duty, what do you do for fun? They joke that you sit around in shooting ranges all day until you are called for duty."
"Those shootings ranges are good places to practice!" Springer's voice started to rise. Rodimus was surprised that there was some truth to the joke.
"Well, anyways, how are we looking? We ready to land?" Springer turned back to the monitor.
"Yeah. Let me get the dock master on the horn."
Springer pressed a few buttons and some static came on.
"This is Springer from the Autobot ship Ark 7 calling the dock master for Polaris Bay. Requesting permission to land."
There was a slight pause.
"Permission granted. Welcome to Polaris Bay."
Rodimus walked back to the control console and flicked a switch.
"Blaster, Blurr, Arcee, Perceptor, Drift! We're ready to land. Get up on deck!"
In a few moments the rest of the crew was on deck at their positions. Blaster, who was the pilot for the ship, flipped a few switches and pressed a few buttons.
"Alright!" Blaster said with excitement, "Let's ground the eagle!"
The ship landed safely in the dock. Across the way was a large black ship. "Mirage" was painted on the side. Springer saw this and started to become excited. Would they see some action? He could only hope.
"The mission is to apprehend a pirate by the name of 'Tidal Wave'." Perceptor was reading the file they had received about the mission. "He has a large band of followers and is the captain of the ship "Mirage", which has cloaking abilities. But only while in flight."
"I guess we can't let it get off the ground." Drift said. Springer turned to Drift. He realized that in the Orbital Cycle he's been on the crew, he had never heard Drift speak. Springer figured Drift was one of those 'silent but deadly' types. After all, his skill with a blade was near legendary among the ranks of the Autobots. Then again, what can you expect from cyber ninjas?
A strange…thing came towards them at this point. It was small and tan-ish with a long neck. It wore some cloth clothing that looked similar to 'suspenders'. It only had one eye.
"Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep nini bong. My name is Roptha. I am the dock master of Polaris Bay."
"My name is Rodimus Prime. This is my crew. We've been called in to handle the pirate Tidal Wave, who we hear has been plaguing your shipping business."
"Yes. My people ship products to every corner of the galaxy. But, every since Tidal Wave took up residency here, we haven't been able to get anything out of the harbor."
Roptha's "people" were a race of traders known as the Migguy, who are primarily found on this planet known as Cyto. They remain active during the day and go into a mini hibernation state at night. They reproduce asexually and there are no gender differences between their people. In fact, it is debated, among some scholars, if they even have gender. Not enough evidence has been found to support either theory.
"Don't worry," Rodimus said, resting his hand on Roptha's shoulder, "We'll take care of this fiend."
"Thank you. I knew it was a good choice to get the Autobots here! We've already prepared the designated amount of Energon for payment,"
"Hold off on that. I don't like getting paid before we do the job. After all, it is bad luck."
"I see. Well then, we'll hold onto it until you're done."
Just then, Blurr shot out.
"Yo Rodimus? Where Can We Find TidalWave?"
Blurr spoke really fast.
"Tidal Wave frequents the Dead Pony tavern." Roptha said. Rodimus was surprised someone could actually understand Blurr and not have a universal translator installed. Rodimus then realized the name of the tavern, which worried him slightly. That's a pretty repulsing name. But, whatever helped…
"Springer, Drift, Blurr, come with me. Everyone else, stay put." Rodimus ordered. Oh yes. Springer was going to have fun tonight.
The inside of the Dead Pony tavern was…quaint. A bunch of tables and stools, a bar counter with shelves of drinks behind it, a staircase that led to an upstairs. There were a lot of people in the bar. It looked like it was ripped right out of a western. Except, you know, for the pirates sitting at the bar.
Rodimus walked in and the place went silent. The pirates turned slowly and stared at the red robot with flames painted on him. Rodimus was pretty out of place here. Then again, so were pirates in a western.
"Parlay." Rodimus said, raising his hand. The pirates looked at each other. Tidal Wave turned slowly at Rodimus.
"Parlay? Parlay can only be invoked by pirates." Tidal Wave looked over Rodimus. "And you, most certainly are not a pirate."
"You never know. I may just be the flamboyant kind." Rodimus smiled, lowering his hand. Tidal Wave clearly didn't like that comment.
"I know who you are, Autobot! I recognize your insignia. Do you really think you could fool me?" The other pirates raised their weapons. "You messed with the wrong pirate, Autobot. Prepare to die."
"We've got better things to do tonight then die." Springer appeared in one of the windows and blasted one of the pirates, killing him on the spot. The other two pirates turned to Tidal Wave, who looked confused as Springer vaulted over the window sill and into the room. Blurr ran in at this point, too.
"KILL THEM!"
The pirates raised their weapons, but the barrels fell off. They turned and noticed Drift sheathing his sword. He was fast. Not as fast as Blurr, but he was fast. Tidal Wave stared in horror as his men were so easily disarmed by this ragtag group of Autobots. Rodimus just smiled.
"So, you ready to give up yet?" Rodimus said in a joking manner. Tidal Wave sneered.
"You think I could be defeated so easily?" Boosters in Tidal Wave's feet activated and he dashed towards the second floor. Blurr gave chase before Rodimus could even give the order.
Tidal Wave was fast, but Blurr was faster. Tidal Wave had barely made it outside when Blurr cut him off. Blurr's arm morphed into a blaster, which he pointed at Tidal Wave's face.
"No One Is Faster Then Me! You Should Have Given Up When You Had The Chance!"
"You should be more aware of your surroundings."
Blurr turned to notice about a dozen pirates pointed blasters at him. Blurr gave out a tiny "meep". The blasters started to fire, but no one expected Blurr to be fast enough to dodge all of the shots…at the same time.
"You're Slower Then My Aunt Override!"
Blurr was fast. That hasn't been pointed out yet. After a brief moment of letting the pirates think they had some sort of hope, Blurr easily took them all down in a few moments. However, this was just enough time for Tidal Wave to escape back to the Mirage.
"HE LET TIDAL WAVE GET AWAY!" Springer was hoping mad. Though Rodimus suspected it was more due to the fact that Blurr saw more action then Springer.
"So, you would have just gotten shot by all those pirates, just so that way you could have gotten the target?" Rodimus asked. Springer stopped and thought, realizing Rodimus' point. "Plus, Blurr may be fast, but he can't fly. Which was the only way he could have caught up with Tidal Wave."
Springer was quite now. Rodimus was content.
"Blaster. Can you send Eject to the Mirage and have him do stuff?"
"Sure, dawg." Blaster pressed a button on his chest, which caused it to open and a small disk shot out, which transformed into a robot. "Yo, Eject. Operation; Blackout." Eject looked at Blaster, and then ran off towards the Mirage.
"Wait. How does he know where to go? You never told him." Springer seemed confused.
"Naw, it cool. My microbots share a link wit me. They know where to go, even if I don't tell 'em." Springer wondered why give orders to them at all, but decided not to question. Rodimus turned to Perceptor.
"Perceptor, get in the eagle's nest and wait for the perfect shot."
"Oh, I feel that I'm going to be waiting a long time." Perceptor said with a sigh. Then, he turned and walked over the railing on the side of the ship that led to the top. Again, Springer was confused.
"Now, ready to go knock on the front door, Springer?" Rodimus said with a cheery smile. Springer accepted that he will always be confused with this crew.
Sure enough, Rodimus walked right up to the Mirage and knocked on its main hatch. Springer was horrified. This was suicide. What was Rodimus thinking? The hatch opened and Tidal Wave walked out.
"What do you want, ye scurvy dogs?"
"We're here to give ourselves up. The rest of the crew is on the ship, contacting Iacon with the news that we've failed the mission." Rodimus said, hands up in the air. Springer followed Rodimus' lead, even if it would get them killed. Tidal Wave stared at them for a moment.
"I suppose we can take you as prisoners. You can swab the deck and eat the leftovers of our meals."
"Oh, we don't eat. We're robots." Rodimus said, smile on his face. Tidal Wave cocked an eyebrow, but just shrugged and turned around.
"Bring the prisoners aboard! Make sure they have stasis cuffs on, too." Cuffs were placed on Rodimus and Springer. They were aboard. Phase one of the plan was complete. What that plan was, Springer had no idea. He was still pretty sure that the plan was to get themselves killed.
"Are the stasis cuffs connected to the power grid of the ship?" Rodimus asked.
"Yes, of course. Aren't all stasis cuffs connected to the power grid?"
Rodimus smiled.
Tidal Wave had led them to the top of the ship. There was a large plank set up on it that extended past the ship. According to Tidal Wave, this could be pulled in so it was destroyed during dog fights, but Springer felt it wasn't really necessary. I mean pirates with a plank. Pft.
"Alright. Time to walk to plank to yer doom."
"I thought we were going to be prisoners?" Rodimus asked, mockingly.
"Well guess what. I lied." Tidal Wave leaned in. "Lyin' is part of me job description. Bein' an Autobot, and a Prime at that, I figured ye would have known." Tidal Wave pulled back and unsheathed his sword. "Now, WALK THE PLANK!"
Rodimus smiled.
"No. I think it will be YOU who walks the plank." A smirk rose on Rodimus' face. Tidal Wave cocked his eye in confusion. Springer looked at Tidal Wave and exchanged a similarly confused look.
They waited.
In reality, they only waited a few seconds. To Springer, it felt like several Mega Cycles. Suddenly, the stasis cuffs fell off. Rodimus stood up, blasters extending out of his arms, pointed directly at Tidal Wave. Springer was stunned stupid. The plan actually worked. That's what Eject was doing.
"Tidal Wave. You are under arrest by the Autobot Royal Guard. Any resistance will be considered hostile intent and dealt with accordingly." Rodimus smirked. There is a reason why he was a prodigy at the Autobot Academy. Why he was the youngest Prime to ever be awarded the rank. Springer realized that now. Springer drew his sword with his right hand and his left hand morphed into a shield. It was time to throw down. Wrecker style.
"A vast! You can't stop me! I am Tidal Wave!" Tidal Wave drew his own sword. Several pirates appeared with weapons at the ready. Springer would get them. He lunged at one and cut him down, moving to the next pirate with great speed.
Rodimus nimbly dodged the sword swings Tidal Wave launched, waiting for the right chance to get his counterattack in. Or, waiting for something else entirely. Springer was making short work of the pirates coming up. If anyone was left, Springer had them.
Suddenly, Rodimus fell over. Tidal Wave hovered over Rodimus, sword at the ready.
"Prepare to go down to Davey Jones' locker." Tidal Wave said menacingly. Springer turned just in time…to watch Tidal Wave's right leg get blasted off. But, it wasn't Rodimus who did this. It was Perceptor. Perceptor, who had been sitting onto of the Ark 7 for 3 Mega Cycles waiting for the perfect shot. And by "perfect shot", Rodimus meant, "Save my axel if I get in trouble". Some call it insanity. Perceptor calls it diligence.
Tidal Wave was writhing in pain. He had dropped his sword and the pirates who saw this scattered. Rodimus stood up, blaster pointed at Tidal Wave.
"Ready to give up yet?"
"We can't thank you enough, Autobots!" Roptha was on the verge of tears. The terror of Tidal Wave was gone and they could finally get back to shipping their goods. Rodimus was happy to see his work helping others. Blurr and Arcee were dragging Tidal Wave on board while Blaster was bringing on parts he had taken from the Mirage. As Springer looked on, he realized what it was like to do more…down to planet work. He had always been doing intense military missions; he had never known what it was like to solve more civilian problems. It made him feel…good inside.
"If you ever need help again, just drop Iacon a line." Rodimus said, shaking Rophta's hand.
"I will! I will!" Roptha said, tears starting to stream down his face.
In a few minutes, the Autobots were packed up and ready to go. Blaster flicked some switches and hit some keys.
"Next stop: Kaon Prison to drop this baddy off." The engines roared as fire spewed out and smoke started gathering. Within a few seconds, the ship was off the ground, about to sail on the sea of stars back to Cybertron.