'What.' Optimus repeated, his legs trembling. The large ship crashed a mere seven feet from his command chair, and the shock of being nearly crushed by it's cockpit had a lasting effect. Sparks trickled from cracked monitors and equipment as loose, vine-like cables dropped from the ceiling, draping over the brown ship as they produced white flashes of electricity. A light banging rattled from inside of the shuttles cockpit, growing louder with each vibration.
Optimus readied his axe, prepared for whatever was about to come out, be it Decepticon or worse. With one last vibration, the glass shattered and out fell a large, jet-black Autobot, hitting the floor headfirst and landing upside down with his feet dangling in the air. The dark robot had a bulky torso with a dark red and black chest piece that appeared to form some sort of angled bul-bar, presumably one that would cover his front fender in vehicle mode. He had a deep, dark scar that ran over his right optic from brow to mouth-plate, signifying to Optimus a history of violence. His shoulders were broad, if only due to the fact that they appeared to form the top of his vehicle mode, but what made the bot stand out most, were the pair of large cannons connected to his lower arms.
Optimus stared at the robot, and the robot stared back, smiling beneath his darkened face-plate.
'Optimus!' he exclaimed, rolling over and jumping to his feet. The large Autobot bumbled over to the Prime before punching him playfully in the chest. 'Who'd have thought that after all this time, in a universe as big as ours, I'd ever see you again?'
'What.'
'Good to see you haven't changed!'
Optimus squinted at the bot, he knew he recognized him, but from where, when? Unless… He placed his hands on either of the Autobots wide shoulders and let himself grin beneath his face plate. 'Ironhide?'
He nodded, grinning back. Ironhide was known fairly well among the Autobots. Having fought in solitary for over three decades now, jumping from guild to guild, outpost to outpost, assisting and berating the squads stationed there. But what made him stand out from other freelance Autobots, were his considerable strength, firepower, and stubborn attitude towards the troops who were lucky/unlucky enough to fight alongside him. No one, however, knew him better than Optimus (though that wasn't necessarily saying a lot), having participated as his sparring partner during their days in the academy, the two had later, by pure coincidence, found themselves posted on the same backwater planet up until the squadron's disbandment three decades prior.
'I'm sorry, it's been so long that I barely recognized you and, well…' Optimus motioned to the bot's burly frame, '...you say I haven't changed, but I'm afraid I can't say the same about you.'
Ironhide raised a crooked brow, 'How do you mean?'
Optimus observed Ironhide, from top to bottom, looking for where to start. 'Well you didn't always have that mouth plate, and your paint... You're black now, why are you black?'
A small bronze and silver Autobot popped between the two, causing Optimus to flinch in surprise.
'Oh my God sir, you can't just ask someone why they're black!' The Autobot was thin with a scratch-infested and silver-trimmed chest plate, fitted with bronze arm and leg guards. Silver spines stuck out of the bot's head as an almost 'hair' like apparatus, that is, if hair looked like a cluster of swords. A pair of large, round, crimson optics rotated in place above their bronze mouth plate - watching in wonderment.
Optimus waved his hand swiftly in denial. 'Oh, no, I didn't mean it like that at all I- um… Ironhide, who's this?'
'Oh.' Ironhide pressed his hands against his hips, blinking at the short, bronze robot. He shrugged. 'Just some guy I guess.'
The bronze robot squinted at him in what looked less like irritation, and more like disappointment. 'Girl…'
'You don't know the names or genders of your own crew?' Optimus said.
Ironhide shook his head. 'Oh, this isn't my crew, we just happened to hitch the same lift.'
'We're hitchhikers,' the bronze robot explained. 'The name's Cog by the way, thanks for asking.' She stuck a thumb over her shoulder, gesturing to one of the two robots stumbling out of the ship behind her. 'And over there is the guy we hitched with.'
Sitting with his back and pressed against the front-end of the crashed ship was a short, aqua coloured mech with a yellow head crest ornamented with blue goggles above his optics. From what Optimus gathered, the bot was a flyer, as two yellow-striped wings stuck from out of the bot's lower legs. Perhaps it was the head crest, but there was something about the bot that reminded Optimus grossly of Prowl.
Uh oh… Prime mouthed. From his right came Ironhide, stomping over to the aqua coloured Autobot in a pace that couldn't have portrayed a more antagonizing disposition. Each step from the bulky robot seemed to make the room shake, causing dust and small slivers of debris to fall from the broken ceiling above.
Ironhide placed himself in front of the sitting bot, glaring at him intensely. The bot lifted his head in response, unsure of what the large, dark Autobot looming over him wanted.
'Hey.' Ironhide finally said.
'Hey.' He said back.
'You appeared to have had some... optical dysfunction, when choosing where to land…' with the shake of an arm, Ironhide's cannon's clicked together and activated, emitting a soft whirring noise. 'Perhaps I can… rectify that for you.'
The aqua coloured bot raised his servos over his head in panic. 'Look, man, I don't know what you're talking about or what you want to do to my eyes, but frankly, Idon't like it.'
'Funny, my cannons don't like you.'
'I don't know what to tell you, guy, 'cause I can honestly say that I have no idea what happened. The ship was on autopilot for crying out loud, you literally just pick a location, press a dial on the remote, and presto, that's where it takes you. There must have been a splotch of cosmic rust on the warp engine, or a malfunction with the ship's AI for all I know, because if you can't already tell, this isn't where I wanted to be.'
Before he knew it, Ironhide was looming directly over him, a bright orange energy forming in the barrels of his cannons.
'Is that so? Well you know what I think? I-.'
Deciding he had seen enough, Optimus placed a heavy hand on Ironhide's shoulder, pulling him away from the cowering bot.
'Ironhide, stop it.' Optimus spoke in a stern voice he had used exclusively in his days as a squad commander. 'This isn't how we do things, remember?'
Staring at the Prime, Ironhide delivered a perturbed grunt, before lumbering off to find something better to occupy himself with.
'Now then,' Optimus crouched next to the sitting bot, placing a lighter and warmer hand on his shoulder. 'What's your name?'
'Sky-Line,' the bot answered.
'Well, Sky-Line…' Optimus's face simpered into a sinister grin. 'Do you happen to enjoy running… frolicking about?'
Sky-Line smiled uncomfortably in hopes of breaking the escalated tension, 'Eh? Not particularly.'
Prime leaned forward, prompting Sky-Line to ask a question he would soon regret.
'Why?'
The next thing Sky-Line knew, he was outside, jogging along the rim of an asteroid, beads of oil dripping down his face as his legs screamed at him to take a rest.
'Great job Sky-Guy!' Optimus called, making a thumbs-up gesture a few dozen yards away. 'Only a few-hundred more laps around the Ark to go!'
Sky-Line cursed through gritted teeth as he continued his trek.
Optimus stood outside the Ark, his hands placed on his hips in triumph. The ship turned out to be an easy feat to remove thanks to its remote autopilot, and pulling it out of the Ark was a breeze despite its forward thrusters singeing the Ark's overhead even further. What Optimus found at all difficult about the whole ordeal was adjusting to having to socialize with other Autobots. He had been out on his own for three decades now, and while he was completely willing to stop and assist the needy neutral or organic in said time, Optimus had rarely any interaction with other Autobots.
'You see, Ironhide? That's how one punishes someone for wrecking my ship. Laps.' He shook his head as he reminisced about his days in boot camp. 'I always hated laps, never made any sense. The temptation to transform and drive the rest of the way made it even worse, but at least this way we won't end up with assault charges like the last time you tried to punish someone.'
Ironhide shrugged.
'You, my friend, are a monster.' The fourth and final hitch-hiker observed. He was a short, dark green bot with a square chest and a blue-tinted visor. He had three red crosses marked on his body, two on either shoulder, and one large cross on his forehead. He was grinning. 'You must enjoy seeing others in pain, don't you?'
Optimus sneered. 'Of course not… not real pain at least.' He stopped. 'Sorry I haven't asked yet, what did you say your name was?'
The bot jabbed a thumb at his face, 'The name's Incision. I'm a medical officer, see?'
'Oh, okay.'
Incision's grin broadened. 'You get it? 'Cause "Incision", like how you - you know, with a scalpel…'
'Yeah, I get it.'
'But- do you really? Cause it's like when you take a scalpel and create and-'
Optimus craned his head away from Incision, ignoring him indefinitely. 'So what's on your mind, Ironhide?'
The dark Autobot had his arms crossed, a shocking feat what with his large cannons normally getting in the way. 'I was just wondering where Cog went, not messing around with my luggage I hope.'
'Relax, she volunteered to fix my roof. All on her own even.'
Optimus's communicator buzzed. 'That must be her now.' His optics blinked in pleasant surprise as he answered the call. 'Yeah... really? Already? You've only worked on it for fifteen minutes, are you- well, great job, that was crazy fast!' he lowered his communicator slipping it back into his belt.
'She just finished.'
Incision made a 'rocking' gesture with his servos. 'Damn! Where'd she get her training, 'cause I want in on it, that way I'd be awesome. More awesome than my name, which is-'
Ironhide slammed a fist against the medical officer's crown, knocking him into the large asteroids hard exterior, despite this, Optimus didn't seem phased.
'Things seem to be looking up,' Optimus said, watching the stars, 'We've got a pilot, a medical officer, an engineer, a friend, it's convenient that-'
He stopped.
'Prime… you feeling alright?'
He nodded. 'I'm fine, thank you Ironhide.' He turned his head away, muttering to himself, '…It's just convenient is all.'
Sky-Line wheezed as he came to a stop to catch his breath. Hands on his knee-joints, he spat up a wad of oil and prepared to start up, only to stop himself once more. He checked his six and noticed that the Ark was blocking Prime's view of him. I might as well walk if they stopped watching, he thought, and did just that. He raised his upper lip at the thought of the cobalt coloured Prime. ''Can't believe I have to do slag like this under a so-called "Prime".' he said aloud. 'Why he decided to keep such a false title despite lounging about for the past thirty years I will never understand.' He spat. 'If Prowl doesn't pay me extra for doing this I swear I'm gonna-.'
He heard the sound of rock crack under-foot from behind him.
'Ah… scrap.' He shut his optics and turned around, prepared to run more laps as punishment. 'Look sir, I didn't really mean what I said, really, honestly, it's like a disorder I have, and trust me, it is a totally real, and not at all-.' he opened his optics to see that it wasn't Optimus he was talking to. Nor was it Ironhide, or Cog, or Incision. Standing before him was a metallic creature with long spindly legs, multiple green eyes held together in a cluster, and a silvery-blue plating that reflected the space around them.
Sky-Line's screams echoed from behind the Ark's massive structure, causing Optimus to act immediately, kicking up rock as he sprinted towards the source of the wail.
'Who "AIIIIIIIID'd?!' Incision demanded, trailing behind him.
'That scream sounded feminine.' Ironhide observed. 'Cog?'
'I don't think so.' Optimus replied. 'It came from the other side of the Ark, which means—.'
Darting around the corner, Optimus skidded to a stop with Ironhide and Incision in tow. A few meters ahead of him was Sky-Line, or better yet, what was left of him. His left arm was torn open, exposing a canvas of circuitry and exoskeleton that reminded Optimus of his dissection studies during his younger days in med-school. His right had been torn off completely and replaced with thick grey wires that leaked a sickening green liquid. His legs were fused together in a mangled mess that would make even the Autobot Chief Medical Officer: Ratchet flinch. His torso had been ripped open, a flood of tubes and circulatory capacitors circling a crushed spark, torn out from within and seemingly gnawed at. What disturbed Optimus most from the gory canvas, was Sky-Line's face, his optics blocked by a black sludge, and his head crest all but torn off. His glass goggles shattered, and his mouth hung open as if still in mid-scream.
Ironhide looked unfazed by it, but turned away from the sight regardless, the same went for Incision who merely bowed his head in respect to the dead. Optimus felt as though he were going to vomit, but held it back for the sake of his companions and shook his head thoughtfully. 'What could have done this?'
'Not the Decepticons.' Ironhide said, turning back to Optimus grimly. 'Saying they're bad would be an understatement, but none of them, not even Megatron, I don't think, is capable of doing this.'
'Not on their own, no, but maybe they…' he stopped to think. 'I don't know, maybe they developed something capable of doing this.' Optimus snapped his fingers, 'Incision, you're a medical officer, yeah? Do you think you could do a biopsy? See what might have done this sort of thing to him?'
Incision nodded. 'Yeah but- well for one, a biopsy might be a little pointless since those are all about the severing and sampling of skin, and without the equipment I-'
Optimus rolled his optics. 'Fine, sue me for never finishing med-school, can you make a diagnosis?'
I'll do what I can.' The medi-bot kneeled next to Sky-Line and in a flash, several scalpels, syringes and spyglasses flipped out from his wrists. His visor also contorted and shifted into a magnifying glass in one optic and a double-layered scouter in the other. Optimus was awed by the swiftness in which Incision worked, his magnifying glass darting from individual component to individual component as his lips moved non-stop, taking mental notes by the second. Incision stopped, converting his arms and visor back into their stationary modes. He turned back to Optimus and Ironhide who stared at him through eager optics.
'Okay, from the looks of my scans, I can determine with absolute certainty…'
He paused for dramatic effect; Ironhide and Optimus leaned in.
'…That he's dead.'
They both groaned in unison.
'I didn't even go to med-school and I could have figured that out!' Ironhide snapped, slapping himself in the forehead.
'Are you sure you're a doctor?' Optimus asked, folding his arms.
'What do you want me to say, that he was killed by a Decepticon? I can't just open his brain and see what happened before he died, no one can.'
'Er… guys?'
Optimus raised a brow, 'I wouldn't say no one. There have actually been quite a few cases that-.'
'Prime?'
'What is it Ironhide?'
The dark robot pointed a beefy finger at a large hole carved into the side of the Ark.
Prime groaned. 'Why is it that I can't go twenty minutes without someone wrecking my ship?'
'I'd be more worried about what made the thing than how to fix it.' Ironhide said.
Incision raised his hand. 'Hands up, who wants to bet that whatever killed Sky-Line did this?'
Optimus grimaced. 'Yeah, whatever it is, its in my ship. Which means it's…' Optimus spun his head to face Ironhide.
'Which means it's hunting us down when we're alone!'
'So it's-.'
Optimus sprinted forward and transformed, driving head-first into the circular hole. 'Its next target is Cog!'
