Rachel Starr clung to Jack Darby as the motorcycle drove down the beat up, almost forgotten Nevada road. Just a week ago, she'd assumed she was the only one who'd found the tiny planet. Now, she realized that the Unexplored Regions must've been far bigger than anyone at the Temple assumed.
She was pulled out of her contemplative by Jack talking to her. "Don't jump off."
"What?!" she shouted. How crazy did he think she was? Although... In fairness, she did use her lightsaber in front of him, jumped from a height that would injure most humans, and sprinted straight toward him. So maybe his thoughts were justified.
"It's gonna look like we're driving straight into the rocks, but there's a door." he informed. "Just...don't jump off." She nodded, then realized he couldn't see her.
"Got it!" she replied. The motorcycle- Arcee. Her name is Arcee. Arcee drove off the road, and like Jack had said, straight toward the rock structure. Rachel could sense several beings inside, but wasn't in tune with the Force enough to precisely sense who or what they were. She probably couldn't even get into Jack's head if she wanted to.
She unconsciously braced herself for the impact that never came. Instead, a motion activated door opened up, and Arcee drove into a corridor. It looked more like a tunnel. It was paved, lit, and there were guardrails along the sides of the road. It was not, however, built for two way traffic.
"Whoa..." she breathed. It echoed slightly in the curved tunnel.
"Yeah," Jack replied. "And if you think this is cool, wait till you see the main room." Which they drove into a moment later. There were four others, all much taller than the- Arcee. When am I gonna get this right?
Arcee stopped, and both Jack and Rachel got off. All eyes were on them now. Arcee transformed behind them, and Rachel turned to look. "Hey, Rach!" Miko shouted. Rachel turned around again, quickly finding the energetic Japanese transfer student. She was jumping up and down on a platform, waving. Rachel waved back, a small chuckle escaping.
The tallest of the robots walked over. His presence was authoritative and calming, and there was an air of almost regality about him. This was the leader. He knelt down to her. She couldn't stop her curiosity. "Who are you?"
"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron," he answered. "Autobots, for short. My name is Optimus Prime." She resisted bowing, but did dip her head a slight bit, out of respect. And, if she was being honest, which she had to be, habit.
"I'm Rachel Starr," she replied. "Why are you here?"
"To protect your planet from the Decepticons," Optimus answered, standing up. She nodded contemplatively.
"The ones who attacked me?" she asked, looking to confirm a suspicion.
"Affirmative," he answered. The thought briefly crossed her mind that he sounded a lot like Commander Rocky. She forced it away.
"So, the term 'Autobot' is a faction name, not a species designation," she mused. Only after she received a couple strange looks did she realize she'd thought aloud.
"How'd you know that?" the red and white one asked. He was probably the medic.
"Lucky guess," Rachel replied, trying to cover the slip-up. Jack, however, crossed his arms with a smile.
"I don't think you're from around here," he said. If there was any chance to recover, it was pretty much lost with the wide eyes and shocked expression. And it wasn't a preposterous and outlandish suggestion' kind of shocked look. It was a 'busted' one.
"You're from outer space?" Miko asked excitedly. Well, it was more like shouting.
"Uh..." Rachel stuttered. How was she supposed to fix this? "Y-yeah. Kinda."
"But you're human," Raf pointed out. She hadn't even realized the boy was there. In hindsight, though, it did make sense.
"Yeah. There are a lot of humans up there. A lot of other species, too," she caved, giving up on damage control.
"So, did they leave Earth, or did some of them come here?" Miko asked. "If they came here, why don't we all know about it? That would be in history books, right? If some left, why don't the rest of us know about it? Were they abducted? Are all those stories about Martians and flying saucers true? Are some of them little green men? Are-"
"Miko!" Jack cut in. "Give her a chance to answer."
"Why are you here?" Raf asked. Rachel looked to the ground.
"Because..." She sighed deeply. "Because I'm hiding."
"From who?" the bulky, green one asked.
"The Empire. I- okay, this is gonna be a really long explanation. This planet - Earth - is in a region of the galaxy that's termed by the rest of the explored galaxy as the Unexplored Regions. Nobody who's ever come in here has ever made it back out. There was some speculation about it, but my theory is that it's a lot bigger here than they all think."
"How big is it?" Miko asked.
"No clue. Like I said, it's the Unexplored Regions. The rest of the galaxy, outside the Region, is - was - immersed in war. The Separatists - a coalition of planets - broke away from the Republic and declared war, with a Sith Lord, Count Dooku, as their leader. In response to their massive droid armies, the Republic created clones. They were trained to be soldiers from the moment they could think."
The red and white one scoffed. "I'd assume the war is still at a stalemate."
"No, actually, and that's why I'm hiding here," Rachel corrected.
"What's a Sith?" Raf asked. Rachel thought for a moment.
"Someone like Hitler, or Stalin. Someone who has access to a special power - the Force - and uses it for evil," she answered. "The Jedi, of whom I was a part, are people who use that power to protect others." They nodded, and she continued.
"The leader of the Republic, Chancellor Palpatine, turned out to be a Sith in disguise. He trained Count Dooku. He was effectively running both sides of the war." And with that revelation, it was really no wonder the war dragged on as long as it had. "When Dooku was killed, Palpatine tricked and turned a powerful Jedi, Anakin Skywalker, and moved to take control of the whole thing. He ended the war by ordering the Separatists to shut down their droid armies, and activating a dormant protocol inside the clones' minds."
"What was the protocol?" Jack asked, although she could hear in his voice that he already knew it wasn't good.
"Order 66," she replied, gritting it out through clenched teeth. She allowed herself one moment of anger, which was then replaced by sadness. "They were to kill every Jedi. We lost almost everyone. I lost my mentor, Master Chi. I escaped from the clones, took my starfighter, and fled to the Unexplored Regions. I don't think they'll follow me. Not out past where they can receive orders."
The room was silent for a long moment, as she reflected on what had happened, and the others took in the story. "I am deeply sorry for your loss," Optimus finally said, drawing her attention to him.
"Thank you," she replied quietly. "So, what's your guys story? Why are the Decepticons here?"
"I regret to say, because of us," Optimus answered. "Our world, Cybertron, was also plunged into war. It lasted eons, until our planet was drained of power and life. We ejected a powerful artifact, the AllSpark, into space, to keep it out of the Decepticons' hands."
"Once the AllSpark was ejected, the core darkened," the medic continued. "Our planet could no longer sustain life, and we were forced to leave in order to find Energon, the lifeblood of our race."
"We sought refuge here, on this isolated planet far beyond the reach of Megatron," Optimus added.
"At least, that's what we thought," the green one said. "Megatron caught wind of our message to the other 'Bots, and Starscream followed us here."
"Earth has become the battleground for the War, which still continues," Optimus finished. Rachel nodded.
"I assume the government knows you guys are here?" she asked.
"Agent Fowler, our government liaison, managed to get us this abandoned military missile silo. It is now both our base, and our home." Optimus answered.
"So...You guys all know my name, but I don't know most of yours," Rachel said, changing the subject.
"This is our medical officer, Ratchet," the red and white one nodded, "Bulkhead," the green one stepped forward, "and our scout, Bumblebee." The yellow and black one waved, and Rachel waved back. "You have already met Arcee." Rachel and Arcee both nodded.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Bumblebee said. He spoke through beeps and whirrs, though. Likely something wrong with his voice, Rachel thought.
"It's a pleasure to meet you too," she replied.
"Wait, you can understand him?" Raf asked. Rachel nodded.
"Where I come from, there are a lot of droids, and not all of them speak Basic. English!" she corrected herself. "Sorry. I'm still trying to get used to the terminology here."
"How long have you been here?" Jack asked.
"About a month now," she answered.
"Who's going to be her guardian?" Arcee asked. "We don't have anyone to spare."
"Guardian?" Rachel asked, looking between Optimus and Arcee.
"The Decepticons know of your involvement with us, and they will target you," Optimus explained.
"Oh. Well..." she started, but trailed off, thinking. While the 'Bots discussed the situation, Rachel pondered the options, finally coming up with one and just blurting it out.
"I only live a block away from Jack. I can pretty much take care of myself, but if I need a guardian, Arcee could keep a loose eye on me."
"It makes sense. We can pick her up and drop her off, she already knows me, and she does live only a block away," Jack supported the idea. Jack smiled, and she smiled as well. She really hoped she wasn't blushing.
The 'Bots looked between each other, obviously trying to determine if this was a good course of action. "She can take care of herself. She pretty much took a Vehicon out on her own," Arcee pointed out.
"When?" Ratchet asked, baffled.
"One of them tried to kidnap me, and when it transformed to fight Arcee, I ended up in this chamber inside its chest. I cut a hole through the chamber and escaped," Rachel answered.
"Cut a hole with what?" Bulkhead asked. Rachel took the silver and gold lightsaber off her belt, and activated it. The sapphire blue blade sprang up, lighting the area around her.
"This. It's a lightsaber. It can cut through pretty much anything, except a few rare metals probably not found on Earth, and another lightsaber blade. Younglings - those are Force-sensitive kids who are taken to the Jedi Temple," she ignored the twinge of sadness as she said this, "and trained before they're chosen as Padawans - are trained in lightsaber combat around 6 years of age," she explained.
"What determines who can and can't be a Jedi?" Jack asked.
"Well, some individuals are Force-sensitive," Rachel replied. "They can sense things before they happen, move things with their mind, read others' minds, and sometimes calm animals. Those are the basic skills. Anything else has to be learned."
"So I might be a Jedi?" Miko asked excitedly. Jack shot Rachel a panicked look, and that told Rachel all she needed to know regarding what her answer should be.
"No. I'd have sensed it. Sorry," she replied.
"Your plan seems to be the best one we can think of," Optimus changed the subject, the conversation regarding her suggestion obviously over.
"Okay," she said. It wasn't like she had anything to say.
"Welcome to Omega Base," Jack said. She smiled.
The Padawan was foolish.
She'd been careful up until recently, and then the mistakes flowed. She used the Force, dropped her mental guard, and was no longer actively hiding her presence. "Lack of use has made her skills rusty," the Mirialan murmured, despite being alone. "Or perhaps she's just overconfident."
She was now able to both pinpoint the girl's location, and sense her thoughts. The Padawan didn't even know her mind was being invaded. She'd sought refuge with a group called the Autobots. Useful information for tracking her down.
As she approached the uncharted planet, the ship's scanners picked up another alien ship, high within the planet's atmosphere. They picked up her signal too. "Incoming ship, identify yourself," a voice came over the comm system. She would've just ignored it, if not for a voice in the back of her mind.
These are the Autobots' enemies.
"I wish to speak with your leader. I have a proposal for him," she stated, then promptly terminating the conversation by deactivating her comm system. She guided her Interceptor down to the flight deck of the ship. There was a contingent of tall robotic figures waiting to shoot her down.
"Fools," she hissed. But as her thumb went over the torpedo trigger, another figure appeared, and the faceless footsoldiers lowered their weapons. The guns that she had thought were permanent fixtures on their arms transformed into actual arms, with hands and fingers. "Most intriguing," she murmured as she landed.
They weren't impressed with her size. "State your business and leave, fleshling," the one in charge said. His voice was whiny and grating. She wouldn't enjoy speaking with him.
"Are you the captain of this warship?" she demanded.
"No, but Lord Megatron is far too busy with his own matters to deal with you," he snapped. She smirked, quirking an eyebrow.
"The only one I will speak to is 'Lord' Megatron," she replied. "Take me to him."
"And why, pray tell, would he want to speak to the likes of you?' the slender, winged robot sneered.
"I have a deal for him. One that concerns your enemies, the Autobots." Now he stiffened up. "Take me to him."
He turned around, and she followed him into the warship, the smirk never leaving her face.
"What is it, Starscream?" the hulking, gunmetal gray brute asked when the winged robot entered the bridge. This 'Starscream' was far shorter and much less armored than his apparent commander.
"Lord Megatron, there is someone here who claims to have a deal to strike with you. She says it concerns the Autobots," Starscream answered. The disgust was barely kept out of his voice, and she could tell.
Megatron turned around, and immediately, she was hit with another wave of the Dark Side. It seemed to radiate from the robot. The sheer power was almost overwhelming. It fueled her. "What could a human possibly have to offer me?" he asked. His voice was low and threatening, but she was not threatened. She could obliterate everyone in the room if need be.
"She's not human," Starscream added. It sounded dangerously close to a correction, though, and thus earned a glare from the leader. Starscream shrunk back. He's a coward, she thought to herself, but he's cunning.
"I am from beyond your region of space, from a part of the galaxy you have yet to explore, Lord Megatron," she started. She bowed low, in an attempt to earn his favor. "I am searching for a fugitive. Someone my Master has assigned me to kill. I have tracked this fugitive to this planet, and have stumbled across a piece of information beneficial to us both."
"Which would be?" Megatron asked. He sounded only slightly less skeptical than earlier, but he was listening. And as long as he was listening, she could pursuade him to help her get anything she wanted.
"My fugitive, Rachel Starr, has taken refuge with your enemies, the Autobots. This girl will undoubtedly know where their base is. Help me capture her, and I will get the location out of her. You get the base, I get the girl," she offered.
"What assurances do I have that you won't just kill her on sight?" he asked, still skeptical. The tone was only slightly threatening, and that was more for intimidation. It was likely a tone that he always used whenever speaking.
"I will bring her to your ship for the interrogation. You may monitor me the whole way through. If I do not return, well, I have no way off the planet. My ship stays here, with you, until the job is done. Is that fair, my lord?" she asked. She now looked up, and saw the smirk that must've mirrored her own when she'd approached.
"Very well," he replied. "What is your name?"
"Among my colleagues, I am known as the Second Sister. My name, however, is Barriss Offee."
A/N: DUN DUN DUUN! Dramatic reveal! Yeah, I have no idea where the idea came from. It just kinda jumped at me as I was literally finishing off the story. It does still work, though! Barriss is a Mirialan, and I never stated any physical details beyond gender and species.
Besides, I don't read comic books (Don't kill me!) and I haven't read her Wikipedia page, so I have no idea what actually happened to her. As far as I'm concerned, she was arrested, the fall of the Republic, she got turned to the Dark Side, and here we are.
(Besides, she did blame the Jedi for the war, and she probably got left alone for so long. It stands to reason she could've lost her mind. And the Emperor is a pretty powerful dude. He twisted Anakin's thoughts, too.)