Transformers Prime: New Beginnings Part 2
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A dust trail filled the air as Arcee and Jack raced through the desert, following the great shadow of the Ark as it headed straight for the nearest mountain.
"It's going down, Arcee," he said, eyes widening. He didn't need to the enhancements from the heads-up-display built into his helmet to know that these Autobots were in serious trouble.
"I know," She buzzed in his ear. "But we still have to try to help when they do land."
"If there's enough left when they do," Jack was having a hard time holding out hope. With the smoke billowing from both reentry and the damage, it looked like the large vessel was in serious damage.
"Brace for impact!" There was a crackle across the entire radio spectrum in warning.
"Scrap!" Arcee shouted, launching herself in the air before the shock-wave hit. The ground rumbled. A wave of dust billowed their way. His eyes shut involuntarily as he let go of her handlebars. For the briefest of moments, he felt weightless before landing with a hard thud in her arms.
She held him for a moment as he glanced up at her face. She smirked down at him. Blaster fire started up in the distance.
"We should keep going," Jack said, coming to his senses as he looked at the settling crash site. A mile out, there was something racing towards them.
"Yeah," She agreed, squinting to zero in on the two wheeler. He slid from her arms, preparing for a quick transformation and a jump on her seat.
"No way, is it really -" She got out before it transformed and fired a blaster bolt at Arcee's chest. Her eyes widened as she went down. falling to her knees.
Hurrying, Jack reached into the holster hidden under his jacket, one he only had by special approval by Prime, and levelled the blaster. Fortunately, Arcee had drilled him on the weapon for months before he was ever allowed to secretly carry it around. It networked with his helmet, tracking the Cybertronian as it ran towards them.
The gold and black bot stopped. Jack's finger hovered over the trigger, waiting to shoot. He realized that pulling the weapon was becoming a habit rather than a panicked necessity. His eyes narrowed, his mouth was hard set as he waited for the intruder.
Normally, he would not have hesitated for so long and shot at whoever was shooting at them, but this time... Something felt wrong about the situation.
"Jack, wait," Arcee's voice rang out in his ears.
"Arcee," The other bot said. Jack's targeting centered on the Autobot symbol on his chest. Quickly, he was identified from the database: Prowl. He held the weapon ready.
"I see you haven't lost your touch," Arcee said, sitting up slowly, unsteadily. She smirked, even as her left hand gripped her right shoulder rotor.
"We were attacked by 'Cons on the way in," He explained as Jack lowered the weapon. He wasn't sure he wanted to give it up. "We weren't sure what to expect with you riding up unidentified and in such a hurry."
Prowl offered her a hand that she waved off. Eventually, she stood.
"Welcome to Earth," Arcee said, glancing down. "This is Jack, my-" Jack could hear the uncertainty in her voice. "Partner."
"Partner?" Prowl's brow shot up.
"What happened to Cliff-" He started to ask before a ground bridge whirled into existence. All three stopped to watch as the procession of the other remaining Autobots arrived.
"He does make an entrance," Prowl said as Optimus Prime raced past them with Bulkhead and Bumblebee. The sun glinted off his windshield. Prowl's optic shades slid into place to protect his vision.
"That he does," Arcee agreed, folding her arms. "Is she with you?"
"Yes, and Ironhide," Prowl added. "Old Kup and Hotrod joined up with us on the way."
"Is that...?" She looked at the ship. There were two streaks from jet exhaust as two cons shot off into the sky once the battle had finally died down. There was wreckage from the crash, and the remains of a few of their attackers.
"Yes," Prowl watched himself grimly. "Thundercracker and Skywarp. Prisoners we picked up along the way."
"Scrap," Arcee frowned.
"What?" Jack asked, not liking all that was being left unsaid between Arcee and this Prowl. Their familiarity left him feeling unsettled.
"Starscream's brothers," Arcee clarified.
"Just what we needed," She smirked. "Just what Megatron needed too."
"So not on our side," Jack folded his arms and stood closer to Arcee, attempting to stand between the two bots.
"But maybe not on Megatron's either," Arcee added, a hand resting carefully on Jack's shoulder.
"They were headed this way anyway," Prowl shrugged. "It was inevitable."
"So just you five?" Arcee said.
"This was supposed to be a rescue," Prowl looked back at the smoking ship as Bulkhead pulled up.
"Jack!" Miko jumped out of the driver's seat and ran towards him as Fowler took a more leisurely pace. She hugged him tightly. Her eyes were wide with manic fascination of the destruction. She pulled Jack's helmet off as he put his weapon away.
She looked up at the new, black and gold bot, "Whose he?"
"Prowl!" Bulkhead transformed and put a giant paw on the smaller bot's shoulder, pulling him into an affectionate hug. "Old buddy, how's Jazz?"
"Home," he replied, strained by the large bot's strength.
"Home?" Arcee asked.
"Home!" Bulkhead repeated with surprise. "Cybertron?"
"Not..." Prowl looked back. "Not quite. We should go back and wait until we're secure."
"Of course," Arcee agreed.
"Prime wants us," Bulkhead said, transforming.
"About time," Arcee sighed, transforming herself.
"Race you," She said, speeding off and leaving sand at Prowl's feet.
"I see some things just don't change," Prowl said before joining her in pursuit.
"Oh hell," Bulkhead chuckled, a door opening. "Coming Miko?"
"Sure, sure." She pulled her phone off to start taking snapshots.
"Agent Fowler," He replied. "And... uh... Jack?"
"Coming," Jack ground his teeth, not liking any of it.
"More bots," Fowler shook his head when he was in Bulkhead's backseat with Jack.
"How the hell am I going to clean this up?"
"I don't know," Jack said, watching Arcee and Prowl rocket through the desert. He checked his watch. Fifteen minutes. He had been together with Arcee for fifteen minutes and she had already run off with some other bot.
"Well, it looks like we've got something else to celebrate for the party," Miko said, looking back at Jack.
Bulkhead's console lit up, "Miko, it was a surprise!"
"She told me hours ago, Bulk," Jack laughed uneasily. He glanced over at Fowler who was working on his Blackberry.. At least, he could be professional about this.
"Aww," Bulkhead sighed. "Miko!"
"What?" She folded her arms. "I did it to cheer Mr. Grumpy-old-fart-pants up."
"And it did, Bulkhead," Jack assured him.
"Bombs," Fowler smirked to himself. "Old, undiscovered, previously unexploded ordinance."
His phone was to his ear as he started issuing orders. "Bulk, let Prime know I'll have a small fleet of choppers here in twenty minutes. We'll cordon off the area for salvage."
"Uh," Bulkhead replied. "He got it."
"Thanks, big guy," Fowler said, going back to his phone.
"So you and Miko?" Fowler asked Jack quietly, not looking up.
Jack looked up at him, frowning, clutching his helmet.
"No," He replied in a near whisper.
"Does she know that?" Fowler glanced at Jack, giving him a meaningful look.
"Kup and Hotrod are here?" Bulkhead said as they pulled out. His doors swung open quicker than usual. Of them all, Bulkhead seemed to mind passengers the least, but he seemed more excited than a little boy on Christmas. "Ready to meet some legends, Miko?"
"Sure thing, Bulk," She said, jumping out.
Jack held on tight to his helmet, which always felt like a piece of Arcee he carried around. He stood next to Fowler, content to watch even as Arcee caught his eye. She winked and nodded her head for him to come over. He breathed a little easier and shook his head.
He put a hand on Fowler's shoulder and lead him a little further away into the desert.
He looked Fowler in the eye, "It really isn't Miko..."
"Prime!" The large, red bot laughed before leading his leader into the damaged ship. "Glad to know you're still fightin'"
"Yes, Ironhide, though we have lost a few and all had many close calls, we still fight Megatron," Prime agreed grimly. The remains of their Decepticon attackers littered the halls. He frowned grimly as he had been more and more in recent months. He could only see the remains of lost Cybertronians now, and not the remains of killed enemies. Orion Pax asked himself yet again, where had this war left them?
"It is good that you and the others have made it this far," he said carefully. "And it is good what you've built."
"Prime," Ironhide said. "You've no idea. I thought my spark would crumble when we left Cybertron and watched her die."
"I know, Ironhide," Prime said in agreement. "Which is why we must not let Megatron know about the colony. At least, on Earth, he is lost to defeat."
They wound their way through the halls, heading towards the bridge. Optimus hesitated, sensing that Elita was just on the other side of the jammed open door.
"Finally decided to arrive, did you?" Her voice said. She turned in her captain's chair to look at him. They regarded each other for a long time. It'd been... Prime realized he was no longer sure how many cycles it had been since they had last seen each other.
He frowned and looked away first. He just was not the same bot he was when they last parted. Too much happened. There'd been too much time in between. Captain Elita-One had never known Orion Pax, who felt more like an impostor than truly Optimus Prime. How much did she admire the Matrix rather than the bot himself?
"I will…" Ironhide looked between them both from the door, unsure whose leave he needed. "I will go over the damage."
"A nano-vorn, Ironhide," Prime raised his hand, beckoning him to wait.
Optimus tapped his wrist, activating a speaker for a communicator, "Ratchet, are the humans on the way?"
"Yes," Ratchet's voice filled the room. "Helicopters, as Fowler said. No sign of 'Con activity. It seems like the two 'Cons who bugged out aren't interesting Megatron's people."
"No sign of Soundwave or Airarchnid?"
"No, Prime," Ratchet said.
"Organics," Elita said skeptically, giving the Cybertronian version of a snort.
"Who have been more help to our cause in recent vorns than I care to recount," Prime said, standing taller.
"Good to hear your vocalizer, you old hatchet-bot," Ironhide said to lighten the mood.
"Yes," Ratchet chuckled. "Why? Do you have dents to bang out?"
"Always," Ironhide laughed.
"It is good some old bonds last," Prime said before turning to Ironhide. "Very well, begin assessing the damage.
"Ratchet," He added. "If the situation changes, notify Agent Fowler and myself immediately."
"Very well," Ratchet's comm went dead as Prime folded his arms. He frowned as he looked over Elita. How had time treated her? Had she changed as much as he had?
"I will-"
"Go, Ironhide," Elita said, watching Optimus.
"Prime?" Ironhide asked.
"Do what is needed," Optimus commanded. "Ask for Agent Fowler to begin coordination."
"Til all are one," Ironhide saluted, before finally leaving.
"Till all are one," Optimus repeated, looking down.
"Optimus," Elita stood slowly from her captain's seat, the connecting cables slithered away from her body.
"Orion." His optics looked into hers. "Optimus Prime was a title bequeathed by the Matrix of Leadership."
"The Matrix?" She asked, looking down herself.
"Is now a ghost rumbling around my own storage," He said. "After Unicron, only the key to Vector Sigma could retain my memories, but the power of the matrix is lost. I am the bot I was when this all began with Megatronus."
"Megatron," She shook her head in her own disbelief.
Optimus looked down the empty hall, wondering when he would hear Miko or Agent Fowler's voice echoing down the halls.
"We were lucky our young friends were fastidious in holding it tight," He said at last.
"You trust the humans?" Elita's metallic brow shot up.
"As much as I trust Cybertronians, Elita," Optimus said, cryptically. "However, we have found a few who are deserving of our trust and respect. As a guest on this planet, I expect all Autobots to honor our covenants."
"Yes...Prime," She said, bowing her head in acquiescence. He may not have the Matrix, but it was not a prerequisite to be their leader.
She moved closer to him, inching carefully. Prime was not sure what it was in her optics. There had been so much time... so much had happened. He looked deep into her optics. Orion Pax's spark still burned brightly for her, even though he'd only ever known her as Optimus. "I would have once composed bad Praxian sonnet's for you..." He'd told her long ago in the respite between space battles when she captained his command ship. There very one they stood in.
"Elita...I..." The words refused to vocaliize for Prime. His helm bent to rest against hers.
"I know, Opti-Orion," She replied, leaning into him. The captain bled out of her composure. Her smaller hand wrapped in his. "My spark-song has missed yours, my love."
"Even if I am not...?" The question lingered in the air between them as her spark chamber cracked open and her data cables sought his own. They joined, sharing a moment of bliss as their spark energy mingled. Once again, they were one...
"Oh, oily fragging scrap," a voice said from the other side of the bridge as a bot sat up. "Why did I hard boot like..."
"Slipstream," Prime frowned, his connecting cables slicing back into his chamber as it snapped shut.
"Optimus Prime," The seeker smiled, moving to sit up against the wall. "Well, now, I must have made it to the Well of All Sparks after all. Or was I a good girl just to catch my captors with their spark chambers open?"
"Slipstream," Prime repeated, advancing on the flier. His energon blade was aflame.
"Wait," Her optics widened. "Wait, I'm a prisoner. Tell her Captain. I'm a prisoner and you cannot do that."
"A prisoner would need a prison," Optimus reminded her. "And we do not have anything like that on this planet."
He leaned down, his blue face close to hers, "Do I make myself clear?"
Slipstream nodded quickly before a blast of energy hit her. Prime looked at Elita-One.
"Stasis ray," She explained with a long venting of her exhaust. "Simpler. I just wish we hadn't picked her or her brothers up along the way."
"Megatron had finally broken Starscream down," Optimus shook his own head. "This could embolden him again."
"Megatron's problem, right?"
Optimus let it linger. There was too much to consider. Instead, "I will move her personally in the trailer. Fowler's helicopters should be flying in nano-vorns."
Suddenly, the ship shook with a large crash. Something had banged against the hull. Elita steadied herself against Prime. "Oh, now what?"
"Optimus?" Jack's voice yelled from the hall. He stopped running at the doorway. "Somehow, Bumblebee got loose. There's a fight."
"Bumblebee?" Prime asked.
Arcee shook her head, offering a hand to Bulkhead as he struggled to stand. Their little scout had thrown him against the side of the ship in an effort to get Bulk to release the grip he held onto him. If it had been a 'Con like Breakdown, she would be praising him.
"Fights like a beserker," Prowl said, sidling next to her and Bulkhead as Bee's fist reached up to connect with Hot Rod's face. The fast talking Wrecker started backing away. The clicks and beeps of Cybertronian insults filled the desert as the yellow and black bot ranted as he pounded away.
Finally, Hot Rod regrouped with a quick jab and a upper cut. The other bots circled around them, giving them space.
"Kick his tail pipe in, Bee!" Miko yelled.
"Miko!" Bulkhead grabbed her before she could get too close with her recording camera.
"Should we step in?" Prowl asked Arcee.
"Probably, someone," She shrugged. "Kup's a senior officer."
"And just as willing to let them pound on each other," Prowl reminded her. "It is the Wrecker way."
"I'd rather watch," Arcee folded her arms. She looked around and frowned. "I can't stand that loudmouth prick anyway. And challenging Bee was out of line with the scrap he's pulled."
"Prick?" Prowl asked.
"Human term," Arcee shrug. "They rub off."
"I saw," Prowl smirked as he watched the fight. "Where is your little 'partner'?"
"Getting Optimus, most likely," Arcee glanced at Prowl, raising her own brow at his tone.
"So organics?" Prowl asked. "I never figured you for the fetish."
Arcee scowled and looked away. What was she supposed to say?
"It isn't unusual," she replied after a few moments of silence. Bumblebee took a hard hit before smacking into the dirt. A cloud of dust was kicked into the air.
"Get'em Bee!" Miko yelled again, now from Bulkhead's shoulder.
"What?" Hot Rod challenged. "No love for me?"
"Sure," Kup chuckled through his thorium-cigar. "If you'd learn to keep your mouth shut, you wouldn't get beat on every planet we go to."
"Slag off!" He laughed before rushing Bumblebee. "Is that all you got, bug-bot?"
More insults were hurled at Hot Rod, Arcee noticed Bee's tone was changing as it was turning more into a sparring match than the temper filled rage it started as. Bee was preening as much as Hot Rod. She'd forgotten how much he used to do it when Cliffjumper was around. Damn, she thought. Cliffjumper.
"Con's got Cliffjumper a couple Earth years ago, right before I stumbled on Jack," Arcee admitted to Prowl.
"Arcee," Prowl put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. How?"
"Being stupid," She shrugged. It had become a dull, emotional scar that she only picked at when she needed to remember. "Stupid, arrogant, and foolish when it came to taking on 'Cons. Starscream finished him off. Then they used his body for a Dark Energon experiment."
"Primus," Prowl's optics widened. "That's how its been here on Earth?"
"Along with Unicron being the center of planet, sure," Arcee looked at him. "But it's home. Jack's..."
"Jack's getting Optimus Prime rather than stand around to watch two fools fight the wrong fight?" Prowl speculated.
"He's always been that way," Arcee admitted. "Being the best of what we could be, should be."
"Like a clerk who stood up to Senate and then his partner in politics for the spark our people?"
"Ratchet's said it before," Arcee looked down. "He makes me want to be a better bot."
"Then why haven't you broken up the fight?" Prowl asked.
"Some things must be settled, master," She replied. "And some things can only be stopped by greater forces."
"Or Elita-One," Prowl nodded towards the open door where both of the bots were standing. Optimus's arms were folded as he looked on.
"What in Unicron's Dark Spark is going on around here?" Elita yelled. glaring at both bots. The fight stopped as Bumblebee hung his head, looking down.
Arcee gave a very human sounding snort as she folded her own arms and leaned against the hull. She whispered to Prowl. "Remind me to tell you about that."
"Oh, Elita, just a bit of horseplay," Kup said, looking at them both. He nodded towards the other. "Prime."
"Sergeant," He replied.
Optimus turned towards the combtants, "Bumblebee, Hot Rod, save this for practice rounds later, or for the remaning Decepticons. In the meantime, we've got the humans coming in to secure this place."
He looked down at Jack, "And we have things to celebrate back at base."
Arcee looked up when she heard the steady beat of helicopters. Her spark trembled for a second as she remembered Airarachnid, but with so many choppers heading their way, her worry faded.
"Prowl," She said finally. "No one else knows yet. It just sort of happened."
"My vocalizer is muted on the matter, my student," Prowl put a hand on her shoulder. "Let's see this base and swap stories."
"Really, Optimus, we don't have to," Jack started to say as he looked for the other humans.
"We now have even more reason for celebration, Jack," Optimus knelt to speak only to him. "And your mother has put a lot of effort into a party. I do not want to disappoint her."
Their leader stood again, raising his fist into the air. "Till all are one!"
"Till all are one!" Arcee and the others replied with feeling.
::His beacon is up ahead:: The metallic blue Seeker communicated to his brother. They flew in close formation, skimming the surface of the Earth's Moon, just above the rims of the ancient craters. Light shone down from the local star. It was a breathtaking, but lonely place. Just the sort of place his brother would pick to pout.
::He must have truly pushed the limits this time, brother,:: The inky black one communicated across the void in reply. The only telltale sign he was there was by the absence of stars shining through his paint, and the slight crackling of energy that made it possible for localized teleportation.
::Yes:: Thundercracker replied. ::We owe those drones we shot on our way out a debt of gratitude for facilitating our escape while they attempted to storm the vessel.::
::I will name a sparkiling for them then.:: Skywarp commented. :::What will we do about Slipstream?::
::What could be done? We barely made it past old Kup and that psychotic killbot Hot Rod.:: Thundercracker just hoped that she and the Autobots on the Ark were killed in the crash, or will be dismantled by the backwards, organic population on the planet before Megatron could discover they hitched a ride to aide their brother and Wing Commander.
::We never should have ranged so far,:: Skywarp said again. Thundercracker could not understand his incessant guilt. Starscream was always good at getting into trouble, even when they were there to vaporize the pieces.
::We fly where our Wing Commander commands,:: Thundercracker reminded him as they began their final descent into Starscream's hidden base.
They hovered for one moment, before transforming and dropping slowly to the landing small landing bay. Thundercracker searched the airless space around them before knocking on the camouflaged door in front of them. Starscream made sure there were several bolt holes for he and his brothers in every system they searched with a stock of energron ready at a moment's notice.
In the Terran system, there was one on the fourth planet of the system, three more scattered amongst the moons of each of the largest gas giants, and another on one of the tiny, icy worlds that orbited slowly around this insignificant yellow star. Only their fool of a brother would pick the one closest to the action. This was, of course, the one they did not know about before flying off on a mission to locate more planets with deposits of energon.
::Starscream, we are here,:: Thundercracker comm'd angrily. ::Open the slagging door before we catch notice of one of Soundwave's pets.::
::Yes, yes,:: Starscream's replied over the channel.
Skywarp looked back at his blue brother, worry plain in his optic shades. ::I don't like this.::
::Thirty nano-vorns and we leave,:: Thundercracker decided.
::Where to?:: Skywarp asked as the rock opened up into a sliver of a door. It was just big enough for the seekers to file in single file. Thundercracker nodded for his brother to go first, his blaster held ready in case it was a trap by Megatron. They walked into darkness.
Lights from dials and buttons came alive all around them, giving them enough illumination for their optic sensors to take over for their positioning radar. Both 'Cons moving back to back as the room began to slowly drop.
::How long has this been here?:: Skywarp wondered.
::He's been back and forth to this system for centuries,:: Thundercracker speculated. ::With enough nanities and time, anything can be constructed without supervision.::
::LIke that colony those Autobots weren't taking about,:: Skywarp reminded him.
::In a system rich in energon,:: Thundercracker thought they were full of sludge. ::I agree with Slipstream, the way they kept mentioning it to peak our interests, then pulling back? It must be a trap.::
::What is a trap, Thundercracker?:: Starscream joined in on their communication.
::In time, brother,:: Thundercracker said as the elevator finally lowered itself into an open hangar bay. It was open all around them. The platform they rode on locked in place, and both Seekers stepped off.
"Brothers," Starscream vocalised into the air filled room.
"Atmosphere, in here?" Thundercracker asked, curious as he approached.
Starscream looked back at them both with an amused grin. "I believe you said I enjoyed the sound of my own vocalizing?"
"I did, brother," Thundercracker strode further into the room, chuckling.
"Wing Commander," Skywarp laughed himself, embracing Starscream. "It is good to be a proper trine again."
"That it is, brothers," Starscream turned to look at Thundercracker's back wings. They were folded back in repose as he looked over the computer screens. He stood up tall, hands behind his back, while Starscream hunched over bird-like.
"We would have been here sooner," Skywarp said finally. "But we heard the faint pulse of Slipstream's distress signal near Junkion."
"After that last battle there, she'd managed to get as far as an asteroid before falling into stasis," Thundercracker turned to face their leader.
"Where is she now?" Starscream asked, anger creeping into voice.
Skywarp placed a hand on Starscream's shoulder, "She was still recovering from her damage while we were on board as prisoners of the Autobots."
"Prisoners?" He asked, looking to Thundercracker.
"She could barely fly," He replied. "They were headed out way."
Thundercracker bowed slightly, "We knew you would provide when called, but those damned drones..."
"Yes," Starscream shook his head, thinking of what now passed for their seeker comrades. "I've come to see the error of my alliances."
"So we kill Megatron?" Thundercracker's chest jutted out as his arms folded.
Starscream's fingers waived about in the air nervously. "It is not so easy as that. He's taken up with his favorite pleasure bot again."
Thundercracker's optics rolled as he frowned. He could feel a dull ache in his rattling around his head. "I thought we were rid of her?"
"Not on that she is back," Starscream raised his arms in annoyance. "She's assumed control... Well, as much control as Soundwave would allow any of us to have."
"An accident should have happened to him long ago," Thundercracker added.
"Believe me, I've tried," Starscream shook his head.
"We could try warping him into the gravitational pull of a sun again," Skywarp suggested.
"You've tried twice," Thundercracker reminded him. "You never get close enough.
"And Megatron would miss him," Starscream shook his head, holding up a dismissive hand. "Plotting to undo the Decepticons is useless. The Matrix is lost. Our planet is lost. There is only waiting for the solar cycles to pass for our bodies to rust away."
"Is that why you are in an air filled tomb?" Thundercracker asked. "So you will oxidize?"
Starscream scowled at his older spark brother before turning in a dismissive wave, "I have just been biding my time until something of interest came along. I still have my spies within Nemesis."
"Who? The ground pounder that spends his days and nights waxing himself worse than the highest of pleasure-bot?"
"What?" Starscream's optics blinked as he processed the comment. "Oh, Knock-Out, yes. He says Megatron is more focused on a war with the humans than anything else."
"The organics?" Both Thundercracker and Skywarp broke into a long laugh.
"They are resourceful, annoying, little vermin," Starscream face contorted from disgust. "If they survive long enough to get off their rock, they'll wind up causing more damage to the galaxy than we did."
"Then we rescue Slipstream, carpet bomb their planet into submission, and make for the planet the Autobots have recently colonized," Skywarp suggested with a glint of glee in his purple optics.
"No, forget the humans, they'll wipe themselves out eventually." Starscream looked up. "New colony?"
"While we were on the Ark, Slipstream cracked their database. They moved an iron planet from its inner orbit and have remade it into a New Cybertron," Skywarp added.
"I think it's a trap for Megatron," Thundercracker shrugged.
"Interesting," Starscream stroked the pointed end of his helm as he considered the possibilities. "And she is still with them?"
"Yes," Thundercracker replied. "We should free her."
"Of course, of course," Starscream was already spinning his extra processors into life. "How to play this?"
"And if it is a trap?" Thundercracker asked.
"Then we make sure we've liberated enough of our brothers from their subjugation by Soundwave's control," Starscream smirked. "Then we find that little planet and cleanse it of the Autobots and begin a new empire..."
Starscream looked down, optics widening. "What is that beeping?"
Thundercracker looked back from where he had been watching a signal enter the Terran system. It seemed like they weren't the only Decepticons following the Ark through space. "A friend, I hope."
"A friend?" Starscream wondered.
"A loyal one if the pay is better," Thundercracker reminded him. "Should I tell him to rendezvous here?"
"No," Starscream shook his head. He walked over towards the viewscreen. He networked his positioning system to the communications and sent a location. "The Autobot's nor the Decepticons would not notice him there. I, also, do not think he would like to see Lord Megatron."
"Why not, brother?" Skywarp wondered.
"Swindle thought his life and freedom from prison wasn't payment enough," Starscream smirked.
"Silly, Combaticon," Thundercracker chuckled.
"Brothers!" He added. "It seems things are turning our way."
"Move along," Arcee said, her hands transformed into her blasters as she walked next to Prowl who was holding his energon bow loosely. They followed Slipstream as the prodded her through the base to a room that could be used as a temporary brig. The seeker's hands and wings were wrapped in stasis cuffs. Arcee grimaced, wondering why they had never truly thought this through as a possibility. After all, for the fifteen minutes Starscream defected, what were they going to do with him? She could not believe they would have given him run of the base, nor a summary execution...
It just was not Prime's style. Besides, the birdbrain had too much intelligence to parcel out, and he would have been too smart to let them walk in his head and take it like they did with Bee and Megatron.
Slipstream, however-Arcee levelled her blasters at the bots back-was useless.
"My student," Prowl smirked. "I do not believe Optimus would allow such an action."
"Thinking of shooting me in the back, are you?" Slipstream cackled. "Why don't you and save us the trouble."
"Now do you understand?" Prowl asked Arcee.
"Shoot me in the back while I am unarmed and restrained," Slipstream teased, glancing back. "Prove to everyone that your side is so much better than mine. Prove that just because you were built to be a used by everyone that you can be hard too. After all, I did nothing to you, sister."
"Your big brother killed by partner," Arcee said.
"Who? Thundercracker?" Slipstream asked. "I'm sure he's killed more of you red faces than you've killed of us."
"No, Starscream," Arcee's eyes narrowed.
"Wing Commander got his hands covered in energon?" She laughed skeptically. "Never."
"He admitted it," Arcee said. "Boasted about it."
"Well, some slagheads need something to boast about," Slipstream shrugged.
"In there," Arcee said, pointing to an open, meter thick door. The room was a lead lined Faraday cage. She frowned, wondering if Slipstream would actually comply.
Prowl held their ground, gesturing with his bow.
"Slipstream," Optimus Prime finally stepped up behind them. "There will need to be decisions made, and many will need to come from you shortly. In the meantime, in this fragile of moments, you will be kept in here, in stasis."
"If this a sentence?" Slipstream asked.
"You have committed many crimes against your fellow Cybetronians. However, this will only be as difficult as you make it."
Slipstream cackled on more time, "What choice do I have? Either I sit and be good, or your smally, doxy kill-bot will finish me off."
"Doxy?" Arcee asked darkly. Her blasters quivered to unleash a volley.
"Slipstream," Prowl's voice cracked in the chamber. Her head snapped to his. "You have a chance here. There's no need to fight over who controls Cybertron anymore. It is your decision if you will be a part of the solution, or part of what we leave behind."
Arcee watched Slipstream look down. Was it shame? Was she considering it? Or was she just plotting? Arcee could not fathom one of the 'Cons could actually do more than feign at changing sides.
Jack asked her once why she fought as a Autobot. She'd given him all the standard answers, ever one that she knew was the correct answer, the ones she knew Prime would want to hear. Deep down, she searched her spark. Why? Why kill Decepticons for a cause? She only ever came to one conclusion, because the 'Cons kept killing the ones she loved.
Could it be the same reason why Slipstream wore purple? Because the Autobots were shooting at the ones she loved? Though, who could ever love a Seeker nightmare like Wing Commander Starscream?
Slipstream chuckled again, as if she had come to decision. She stepped inside the room without further complaint. Arcee frowned, suddenly very worried. Slipstream might be restrained, but she was still operational, and any of Starscream's top fliers had equally dangerous minds.
"Optimus Prime, you should ask yourself, why does she smell like an organic?" Slipstream asked. What had she guessed? What did she know?
"Slipstream," Optimus addressed her. "Someone will return shortly with a ration of energon and lubricants."
Slowly, the door closed by its own power. The locks clicked into place. Prime tapped the controller for the cuffs he was holding as the stasis field disabled all but Slipstream's spark chamber and processors. She would have time to consider the future. Arcee watched Slipstream drop through the transparent aluminum window in the door.
"Arcee," Prime said. She snapped to attention. He looked down into her face. "We can all be more than sum of our parts, or pasts."
"Yes." She glanced at Prowl before looking back at Prime. "About that, may we speak?"
"Of course, Arcee," Prime replied.
"In.." Her vocalizer faltered as she decided to commit herself to a new future. "In private, if we can."
"Certainly, Arcee," He held an arm out for her to lead the way. "Should Master Prowl sit in?"
"If you require it, my student," Prowl gave her the slightest of bows.
Arcee looked at Prowl, wondering if it would be for the best. She wasn't sure how Optimus would react. She had justified this in all sorts of ways, but he might look at just the obvious ones. Jack was human, he was also still a boy. She was an autonomous robotic life form from another planet fighting a secret war against other autonomous robots, and by human standards, vastly older than even his mother. She's something practically from science fiction!
"Sure," Arcee shook her head. Finally, her blasters tucked themselves away she could have use of her hands. "We should make this quick. Bulk's wanting to do karaoke again this year."
"Karaoke?" Prowl asked.
"A human past time," Optimus replied. "Involving mimicry for comic affect. An unpleasant experience for the audiials."
"Especially when Bulkhead tries it," Arcee shook her head, resigned to her fate.
Having a base inside of a mountain meant that with some careful planning, and digger-bots, they could expand. It also meant that there was room for each of the Autobots to have rooms of their own. With time, even the new arrivals could have space within the old bomb shelter. It was a meager room, but it contained the few belongings Orion Pax had kept on his long journey through the cosmos. He dimmed the window that looked out into the common area. He looked at the empty husk that held the Matrix of Leadership, touching it lightly before turning to face one of his most loyal soldiers.
He was certain she would ask her leave. He had been waiting for Arcee to return to her wandering ways, more so now that the he was merely another bot like them all. There had also been little for them all to do with Decepticon activity focused on Silas and Mech. With no fighting, there was nothing to drive Arcee further. Revenge had fueled her far longer than it did most 'bots. It had taken her to depths that even the most dogmatic of Autobots and Decpticons would not go. If the Decepticons had not forced her to his side in the early days, he was certain that she could have easily been one of Megatron's most prickly of followers.
The only true code Arcee seemed to follow was the one impressed upon her by the other bot to join them, Master Prowl, a master of their martial arts. Their secret order on Cybertron once taught that they could transcend their programming and enact "processor over matter." Orion and Jazz had heard their whisperings as well as Megatron's. They flocked to the banner of reform early on, but refused to destroy the very fabric of their society for a group of virus addled bots.
Optimus allowed the silence to settle. The welcomes and the party could go on a little longer without them. Even before, he had never been one for celebrations. He had always found them to be the most awkward affairs.
"Arce, you once said that 'Prime's don't party," He looked down. "Upon reflection of the memories I have of the Matrix, The Thirteen did 'party' much. It is Orion Pax that finds gatherings difficult."
"Uhmm, sure," She looked at Prowl.
"Megatronus and his ilk did enjoy a certain level of bacchanalia," Prowl agreed. "One of the many things he over promised, I fear."
"What did you have to say?" Optimus asked finally, pushing back the memories of old Cybertron.
"I..." She looked down. "I used the holo-emiters and ordered Bumblebee to do the same in the field."
"I figured as much," Optimus said. "But that admission does not account for your hesitation, nor is it your worst disobedience under my command."
Arcee frowned as her optics studied the ground. "It isn't just that."
"Very well, I will want a full report in how they behaved from both you and Bumblebee. Testing them on the spur of the moment was best. You have done well with his training."
"Emitters?" Prowl asked.
"Yes," Arcee's eyes dimmed as hers flew off her body and came to life. Her human form looked up at the looming bots. Her brow furrowed as her human face frowned at them both.
"A creation of Wheeljack's," Optimus said.
"Interesting," Prowl bent to look at Arcee more closely. "Semi-solid, no less, able to manipulate matter. The mad-bot out did himself with these."
"And I am sure you'd like one," Arcee asked.
"If the Ark cannot be repaired, one should take t time to explore the environment, and the culture that was shaped by it," Prowl smirked.
"Yes," Arcee's hologram looked up and between them both. She glanced over at her seemingly lifeless body.
"You've made modifications to your Sadie program?" Prime asked.
"It seemed the most efficient thing to do," She shrugged. "It was already a familiar template. Then after trawling the Internet, I was able to mold a composite that fit."
"As if crafting your spark's reflection into human form?" Prowl speculated.
"Bumblebee and Bulkhead have been working on the same thing," She glanced at Optimus. "We've been attempting the same for both you and Ratchet."
"How much of your core personality is in the thing?" Prowl asked.
"The emitters handle and contain a lot," She glanced at Arcee again. "I haven't gone too far from my spark to risk not being able to quickly download myself back into it."
"So this is only a portion of you?" Prowl bent down to look at her more closely before rishing again to face Arcee's darkened and emotionless optics.
"Core program, core personality, core memories," She reported. "Just copies."
"We should still take care, however," Optimus said. "Imagine if Megatron were to get one of these, or Knockout?"
"Swindle," Prowl suggested with a smirk.
"Swindle," Optimus admitted in agreement, looking to Prowl. "I will want a report on the others movements as well."
"I will speak with Kup and Hot Rod," Prowl added. "They traveled more widely in recent cycles. I have been too preoccupied with reopening an academy for new sparklings to travel more than this trip, Optimus."
"Then my apologies," Optimus gave him a slight bow. He turned back to Arcee. "But we should get back to the heart of Arcee's concern. Arcee?"
Sadie visibly swallowed. "I want to use this form to continue guarding Jack when he goes to college."
Optimus nodded slowly and frowned. "I had not considered that eventuality."
"He'll be more vulnerable on his own." Her human eyes pleaded. "And with this it might be even easier. I could blend in. I could even be a student."
"He is a truly exceptional human," Optimus suggested. "He might do with some time on his own, to grow into the being he should have been without our interference."
"I don't think its possible now," Arcee added.
"Besides, I...," She glanced at Prowl. Optimus could see the struggle. The look in her optics when she was with him was hard to miss.
"He is young and a member of a fickle race," Optimus reminded her.
"By our standards, am I not much older." Arcee reminded him. "In the old way, in the castes, Bumblebee and I would be considered barely out of the Well of the All Sparks. We would not have achieved much yet in our assigned duties."
She looked up at him. "Besides, Jack isn't fickle."
Optimus folded his arms and looked down. She almost seemed comfortable in that skin of nanites. She seemed more comfortable standing before him as a human than she ever does as a bot. Given her nature, it could lead to trouble, but perhaps this was for the best? Such weariness in one so young. Orion Pax could understand it.
"Cybertronians have been known to be involved with organics of other species at one time or another," Prowl reminded him. "They do outnumber our race."
"Have you discussed this with him?" Optimus asked.
"Earlier, this morning. It was what we were doing before the crash," She admitted.
"Very well," Optimus decided. "Eyes and ears on this world will help us. We can only glean so much from their media."
He looked down into Sadie's eyes, "And I would like to see what suggests you have for my own form."
"Considering going into the field?" Arcee asked.
He glanced at Prowl and smirked. "I was once, derisively known as being the Librarian. I believe I would like to see the inside of a human one. Even the one in Jasper."
And perhaps time away from the full breadth of memories would do some good, He wondered.
"You will not be leaving Earth with Elita?" Prowl asked
"I have a responsibility to stop Megatron."
"I wonder if he continues because you live?" Prowl asked. "And if you just stopped, he will as well."
"And if I leave, would he and his followers follow to your new home, your new sparklings?" The question hung in the air as Opitmus waited for a response from Master Prowl. He knew it was the truth. Optimus Prime and Megatron were bound together by their battle through time. There would be no simple ending it. Megatron had defied the will of Unicron for the right to kill Optimus Prime on his own terms. Then, when the opportunity presented itself, he balked because the chase was what they both needed and craved. Who cared what they destroyed?
"The humans," Prime continued, "have a story about a leader who was charged with leading his people to a promised land by their deity. The trek went on for cycles, far longer than it should have. In the end, only the children and the leader remained to enter their promised land when the time finally came."
Optimus looked up, memories of Cycbertron filling his head, "Because of the wickedness enacted by the leader, even he was not allowed to enter this promised land. He was charged to die in the wilderness."
"Master Prowl," Their leader said. "If we are to survive, Megatron and I must never enter the Promised Land. Our arrogance and defiance has caused too much destruction. We are too much from the old order, my friend."
"Earth will be my home until I rust."
"Very well," Prowl frowned and touched Optimus's shoulder. "But Primus did not charge you with this task, and there is still too much needing to be done. But I cannot argue with a made up processor."
The projection ended as Arcee's optics came back to life.
"And it will be mine too," Arcee decided. As much as she loved Jack, she also would never leave Optimus for a world filled with Cybertronians who would still look at her like she was the accidental sparkling of a ditzy whore-bot who opened her spark chamber up at the wrong possible moment.
"You may regret that decision," Optimus remidned her.
"But your war was so I could make that decision, Optimus," She reminded him in turn. "I might hate 'Cons, but its time to move on from it."
