What Makes No Difference Is No Difference
Chapter One:
-0-At the Autobot Base, outside Jasper, Nevada (Nuh-vaaaaaaa-duh to all who want the CORRECT pronunciation. Not Nuh-voh-duh. End of public service announcement)
Ratchet stood at the console, his angst rising to epic proportions. Things were quiet around the base but he still felt the burn. There was an uneasiness in his spark, something to which he had learned to pay attention. It never addressed itself directly. He couldn't say this or that was going to happen. He just knew something was afoot.
"Ratchet?"
He looked down at the human he was most fond of. "Rafael?"
"You look upset. Is there something I can help you with?" the little boy asked with a kindly expression.
"No, Rafael. Thank you." Ratchet looked at the screen and saw on the edge what was probably going to be the source of his ennui. "I see we have company," he said quietly. "Ratchet to Prime. We have bogies on the screen."
The sound of heavy treads greeted that remark as Optimus Prime, the only legal leader of their people and bearer of the Creation Matrix, the Autobot Matrix of Leadership entered the vast room. He walked with grace and calmness toward the main computer terminal just as Ratchet placed Rafael gently on the table. "What is it, Ratchet?" Prime asked.
"We have four bogies on the edge of our sensors heading this way at speed," Ratchet said as the three of them turned to look. Behind them, the heavy treads of Bulkhead, Wheeljack and Arcee could be heard entering the room. They walked up and paused. "What's up?" Arcee asked.
"We have bogies entering the system that appear to be ours," Ratchet said glancing back at them.
"Well, tell us where they land and we'll go get them," a small supercharged voice replied.
Everyone looked down. Miko looked up. "Well? We can do it. Wheeljack, Bulkhead and me. We'll bring the smack down if they're 'Cons."
Prime grinned slightly, then looked at his science officer and chief medic. "Is there any information about who they might be, Ratchet?"
"Not at the moment. Their personal designation codes are shielded as yet," Ratchet replied. "The signals appear to be Autobot however. They appear to be traveling in transitional forms following the Omega Beam to Earth."
"If we can see them, the 'Cons can as well," the silky smooth voice of Wheeljack replied.
Ratchet nodded. "We can't fly so we're stuck."
"We have the Jackhammer," Wheeljack replied. "I can go and check them out," he said. Bulkhead nodded.
Prime looked at them and nodded himself. "Go. See who it is. If you can get them without conflict do so. Be aware that the Decepticons will be spying them also."
The two turned to walk to the elevator that would take them to the hangar where the small fighter ship of Wheeljack was hidden. "Wait for me!" a voice called out. They both looked down. "Not this time, Miko," Bulkhead said. "Too much danger."
"Aww! Bulkhead! You know I can pull my weight. Wreck 'N Rule!" she said hopefully.
"Not this time, kid," Wheeljack said with a grin. The two walked onward, the elevator door closing behind them.
"Frag," Miko said with great disappointment.
-0-In the solar system
They left in a hurry and buzzed off, the little ship more than equal to the task ahead. Seeker flights were the worst the 'Cons could send beyond the mayhem of Insecticons. The main warship Megatron possessed wasn't up to the speed and maneuverability of the Jackhammer.
"Miko would love to see this," Bulkhead said as he filled to overflowing the seat beside his buddy. "She's good to go at a moment's notice."
"I noticed that. Little femme has no fear. That can be a bad thing, Bulk. You need to talk to her about stepping off the cliff. She's less able to bounce than you and me."
Bulkhead nodded. A signal appeared on the sensor screen before him so he ran it. "They're dead ahead."
Wheeljack nodded and maneuvered his ship to head for the signal with haste. Behind them following as flashing blinking lights, four Seekers from the warship were in hot pursuit.
-0-At the controls
"What do you suppose they will do when they catch up to the bogies, Ratchet?" Raf asked.
"They can pull them on board. Or they can escort them. If they have trailing debris, they will probably follow them in."
"What do you mean 'trailing debris'?" Jack asked as he stood looking at the sensor screen before them.
"We can travel in a transitional format. That is how Optimus, Bumblebee and I got here." He looked down at them, then keyed an image to appear on the screen. It was Optimus Prime in profile. Then that profile began to wind up becoming an oval shape. That oval shape then appeared in flight with a long burning trail behind it. "The burning debris you see here are accretions that formulate around us in transit. It burns off as we go without harming us in the slightest. In fact, it can hide our signal when we're in this state which is our most vulnerable condition. That's why I cannot read the designations of these four mechs."
"Wow," Raf said as he looked up at the screen. "That is awesome."
A ghost of a smile crossed Ratchet's face. "It is isn't it," he said with a trace of satisfaction.
"Wheeljack to base."
"Ratchet here."
"We have four bogies on our tail. We're going to blast them. Stand by."
Wheeljack's voice cut off trailing static behind it. Arcee glanced at Jack and June Darby who had joined them along with Agent Fowler. The tension was thick as the dots on the screen began to swirl and twist. Obviously, Wheeljack was taking the attackers on a wild ride.
They all watched silently, Bumblebee walking in to join them from somewhere in the base. He looked at the screen and waited too. One by one, the lights blinked out until there were only Autobot signals on the screen. Everyone relaxed a bit as Wheeljack made up the distance to the four furiously flying transitional formats.
"Wheeljack to base."
"Ratchet here."
"We're going to lead them in and keep the bogies off. They're too hot to load up."
"Affirmative," Ratchet said. He glanced at Prime. "They will be here on Earth at the designated pick up spot in fifteen minutes."
"Will you send a bridge?" Raf asked.
Ratchet nodded then glanced at Prime. Prime nodded then turned toward the tunnel from which all good things came and went. "When Wheeljack gives the all clear, get them, Ratchet. I would like to speak to them right away," he said as he walked back into the installation.
They watched him go, then turned to Ratchet. "You can't figure out who they are?"
"Not yet." Ratchet glanced down at Jack. "We could be getting anyone."
-0-Out there
They formed up around the Jackhammer as Wheeljack turned on the speed. They followed trailing streaks of debris behind them like cometary tails. They flashed past Saturn and made their way in an arc around Mars as they began to fall into the Van Allen energy belt that flowed out from Earth in all directions. The radiation would shield them until they landed and at that point they would need transport away immediately.
"I wish I knew who was coming," Bulkhead said glancing at Wheeljack. "I wonder if its any of the old gang."
"I hope so. All the more servos to slag the 'Cons," he said as he once again arced toward Earth. The blue marble and its dark moon loomed ahead as Wheeljack flew for the middle of Alberta, Canada. The transitionals would careen through the atmosphere, the friction heating as well as slowing them down. The transitional forms would slam into the earth and begin to unwind immediately. From that point onward, they were visible to sensors and the 'Cons would swarm to kill them.
-0-At the base
Miko stood with mild irritation as she waited for any kind of word from the team. She had wanted to come and was not leery in the slightest about the danger. She was a rare breed of cat among humankind with a pronounced lack of fear in her major response skill set. That made her a Wrecker type personality but also a danger to herself in that she would not know to run given circumstances that would compel someone else to hit the bricks post haste. Her lack of ability to see warning signs was her worst enemy. "Any news?" she asked for the dozenth time.
"They're landing now." Ratchet turned back to the panel to get the land bridge ready. Staring at the screen, he pinged the call signal and waited for a response.
-0-Out there
They streaked through the sky and slammed into the ground, a foursome that threw out a rolling peal of thunder into the bright mid-afternoon skies of Medicine Hat. The countryside of farms and flat open spaces was sparsely populated so unless someone found the landing zone, they would in all likelihood not know aliens had slammed into their area.
The smoldering holes in the ground began to show movement as transitional formats began to unwind swiftly. Slowly, protoforms began to rise as four bots began to stand up. Hovering overhead watching for bogies, Wheeljack and Bulkhead watched. Then Wheeljack pinged the response.
A blossom of energy erupted catching the protoforms' attention. They looked up and one waved. Then they turned and ran like the wind for the bridge. One-by-one, the four entered and it powered down to disappear immediately.
"Step on it, Jackie. I want to see who has come for dinner," Bulkhead said with a grin.
"You and me both," Wheeljack said as he stepped on the gas. They disappeared in seconds. Two minutes later, a flight of Seekers would appear. Only four long ditches ending in four holes would tell the story. They would go back to Megatron empty-handed.
-0-TBC 04-16-13 edited 1-16-17