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. . . . . . Change in place


If the native inhabitants of the planet knew of the aliens in their midst, they certainly didn't show it. In fact, they seemed quite happy to live in blissful ignorance of everything that was different to them in their simplistic lives. It was difficult to believe that these protohumans would one day lay claim to the world and its natural beauty, and would then destroy what had nurtured them in their earlier existence. But that was in the future. For now, they were content in their mundane task of living, acutely unaware of what they would become. Simple, unexaggerated peace. As such, the small band of protohumans had no idea that above their heads, far beyond the reach of the Earth's multiple layers of atmosphere, at that very moment, a strange occurrence was taking place, one that was becoming commonplace yet still brought with it a sense of foreboding, even when nothing happened. A patch of space, far from the planet, was bending and twisting in ways that simply didn't seem possible. Slim tendrils of energy poked through the turbulent fabric like the tentacles of some giant creature fighting for freedom, swaying and swinging and feeling the vacuum. And then, as if it had detected all that it wanted to know, the tendrils drifted back, pulling the stretched and torn area of space back with them, settling back in place as if nothing had happened.

Of course, it hadn't been undetected. Powerful alien instruments immediately picked up on the energy fluctuation, instantly sending their findings back to the main computer and to the waiting mech. Red optics flashed with concern at the image upon the screen, green lip components pressed tightly together in worried contemplation. The sound of movement alerted the watcher to the fact that he was not alone. He didn't have to turn around to know who it was that had graced the central control room of the large, downed exploration vessel.

"Optimus, scanners have detected another anomaly." A heavy sigh and a hand on his shoulder plate was his first response.

"In the same area?"

"Yup. That makes three in the past two solar cycles."

"Any activity?" Rhinox couldn't help but notice the slight trepidation in the Commander's voice, something that Optimus himself may not have been aware of.

"None so far. And they don't seem to be in a set pattern. They're almost...at random."

"As though there's no logical thought behind it."

"Doesn't seem to be. But, there's no way of knowing with these aliens. We don't know what they're truly capable of."

"Well, we know they have destructive capabilities. And so far, that's all they've shown."

"Yeah. But they also have CONstructive capabilities, if what they told you is true." Optimus hummed. That was true enough. The beauty of this planet was testament to that. Or it had been, before the second moon shifted and changed into the deadly Planet Buster. Absently, the Maximal looked to his hands. So much had changed since then. A large green hand came up to rest on his shoulder, a sympathetic smile gracing Rhinox's faceplates. Giving his shoulder a quick, friendly squeeze, he returned to his scans. Optimus sighed, turning his optics once again to the monitors.

"That's odd."

"What is it Rhinox?" The green mech leaned forward, optic ridges knitted together in a frown.

"I'm picking up more strange readings. They're nothing at all like the ones that have been fluctuating in that area." Optimus leaned over his shoulder for a better look, sporting a similar expression. Rhinox was right. Where the more recent happenings had bent and stretched the fabric of space, these readings spoke of something flashing in and out of existence. They were far too persistent to be scanner malfunction.

"Any theories?"

"Just one." A glance from the Commander was all he needed to spur him on. "Whatever it is, it's alien."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Earth. Prehistoric Earth. He couldn't believe his eyes. Well, he could, if he thought about it. Earth seemed to have a knack of getting itself into trouble, even before the humans had developed properly. Shaking his head, he turned back to the monitor screen. What could have caused a transwarp explosion so powerful it caused a quantum surge to spread through the galaxy unaffected? His frown suddenly transformed into a beaming grin.

"Time to investigate!" He spun on his heels, faltering almost immediately, brown eyes darkening morosely. He sighed, turning back to the central column, placing a hand on the panelling.

"Just you and me, Old Girl." He set the engines in motion, the ship vanishing from this dimensional plane and entering the Vortex. The trip was quick, lasting only a few moments in real time, the blue box re-emerging on the planet surface. The Doctor rummaged through compartments, searching at speed for something only he knew of. He exclaimed in success, pulling what appeared to be a palm sized monitor out from underneath bits of paper and collected knickknacks.

"Finally have the chance to use you, eh?" He thumbed a hidden switch, rewarded with the almost inaudible beep of the scanner coming online. He grinned, pulling out the silvery antenna from the top. The screen lit up, alien glyphs scrolling from left to right before falling into a steady dark green. Periodically, a white point flashed in the centre accompanied by a high pitched bleep. Good, it was working. Filled with a brand new enthusiasm and excitement, the Doctor threw on his coat, thrusting the gadget into the deceptively deep pockets, slim fingers brushing over the cool ceramic of his Sonic Screwdriver and the worn leather of his psychic papers as he did so. He smiled to himself in memory as the corner of a white paper bag came away with his fingers as his hand withdrew. Shrugging, he dipped into it, pulling out an orange jelly baby. Popping it into his mouth, he sighed in nostalgia for all of a few seconds before all but bounding to the door. The Time Lord flung it open, exposing the interior to the cool night air. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out, stopping only to close and lock the door, then making his way confidently out into the darkness.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Commander had left the engineer in charge of the monitors for the rest of the night, as the green mech had absolutely refused to leave his post. There was no arguing with him when he was being stubborn. Rhinox's keen optics flickered over every screen tirelessly, running scans of their territory and as far into space as they would reach. Whatever the alien fluctuation was, it had vanished from his scanners. Maybe it had been nothing of consequence; maybe it had simply been an alien vessel passing through the system, unaware that there was intelligent life on the planet. Maybe...He stopped mid-thought. There were those fluctuations again. Only this time, much to his trepidation, they were planet-side. Immediately reacting, his digits flew across the typepad, the sensors acting accordingly as an image was relayed to the monitor. He watched as a strange object flashed in and out of view, a light on top blinking in time to it. It was different to anything they had come across so far, and most definitely not of Vok design. Where most of their devices seemed to fit in with the biological planet, this most certainly didn't. It was box like in appearance, and of blue colouration. Completely out of place on the planet. Not wasting another moment, he hailed the commander.

Optimus was just beginning to fall into a much needed recharge, cycling air threw his vents in a sigh. He allowed his body to relax into the berth, pushing the worries of the day to the back of mind, optics shuttering. His peace, however, was not destined to last long.

"Optimus, I need you to come to the bridge." Rhinox's voice rang over the internal communicator. Optics flickering back online, Optimus stifled the groan as he pushed himself up and off the berth. He immediately made his way to the command centre, all thoughts of his own needs pushed to the back of his processors. Rhinox never called him back unless it was something important. All thoughts of possible activity, Predacon or Vok, came to the front of his mind, battle computer poised to kick into action. The larger mech didn't turn as Optimus all but ran to the bridge, Rhinox's optics fixed to the screens in front of him.

"Rhinox? What's happening?"

"See for yourself." Optimus looked to the strange device on the image. Rhinox sensed the question before it could be asked, turning to his long time friend and commander.

"You know those fluctuations? The ones that we've never seen before? Well, it would seem that this object is the cause of them." Optimus' optics never left the image, optic ridges knotted together in a deep, speculative frown.

"What are we thinking? Probe? Instrument? Ship?"

"The latter, by the way it appeared." They turned away from the screen. "I've heard rumours of a type of craft that can quite literally appear out of nowhere in the exact fashion that this one did, but I never thought anything of it. Thought they were just that- rumours. It appears I may have been wrong." Optimus hummed, looking back to the screens.

"If we picked it up, I'm willing to bet that the Predacons have also. Whatever it is, we can't let it fall into Megatron's hands." The briefest of moments passed as he calculated the different possibilities, turning back to his friend.

"Wake the others. Have them briefed and ready for any eventuality. Have Cheetor and Rattrap meet me at those coordinates. I'll contact Airazor and Tigatron and have them meet me at the same coordinates. If I head off now, I may be able to beat the Predacons to it."

"And if it turns out to be as hostile as the alien artefacts?"

"I'll try and not get close enough to activate it, but if it does turn out to be hostile...just have the R chamber ready. I don't fancy dying a second time." Optimus turned towards the lift, not leaving room for further discussion. Quickly entering, he cast one last look to the green mech, as it descended to the ground below. Once there, he activated his flight mode, taking off the moment Rhinox dropped Sentinel. The mech watched the point of light on the monitor that was Optimus as crossed the screen.

"Good luck, Optimus." He punched the internal communicator, raising the rest of the crew.

"Rattrap, Dinobot, Cheetor, Silverbolt. Report to the bridge immediately." He shut it off with an audible click. His optics darted back towards the screen, almost sure that he had seen something move across it. Whatever it was, it was gone now. He turned to face the centre of the room as the four mechs entered, two rather groggier than the others.

"Yo, Big Green, what gives?"

"Yeah, I was in the middle of a recharge cycle when your message woke me up."

"We have a situation. Some kind of craft has appeared on the planet. Optimus is already making his way to it. Cheetor, Rattrap, you're to head out immediately and meet him there. Silverbolt, Dinobot, you two are to remain behind and help me keep an eye out for any Predacon activity.

"Whoa, whoa, wait a cycle. You mean ta tell me that me an' the kid have gotta go trekkin' at dis time to check out somethin' that could have somethin' ta do with these anomalies?"

"That's about the gist of it. now go on. Airazor and Tigatron should have been contacted by now. Keep your guard up. Optimus suspects the Predacons may know of. Now go on, the pair of you." Rattrap's shoulders slumped in defeat, air cycling in a sigh.

"Fine. C'mon, kiddo. Let's go."


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