Chapter 2

The Commander's senses returned to him after a series of subroutines rerouted all energy to his repair functions. They would first assess the damage before focusing on the more life threatening injuries. Anything less would be left to wait; the problem was that the longer an injury went untreated, the greater the lasting effects could be. That was why physicians, such as Ratchet, had become a necessity during the Great War. It had taken him a moment to realize he was not on Ratchet's medical berth; he wasn't even at the base.

He was in his vehicle mode, the form severely damage from the crash, the metal gnarled and twisted into jagged edges. A thin layer of dirt caked his form, a spider-web of cracks where the windows had once been. Using his external scanners, he scanned the inside of his cabin; the humans were, for the most part, unharmed. Since he had taken the brunt of the crash, they were left with minor injuries that would prove no hindrance to them. They were also conscious and alert as his dashboard flickered back to life.

Despite the results of the scanners, he asked, "Are you… uninjured?"

"We're fine, sir," replied the raven-haired boy. "I think the crash knocked us out for a while. It's already night outside."

Returning his focus outside, he realized the boy was right; they were shrouded in the darkness of night. He stared into an endless blackness with only the sounds of the forest as his reminder of life. Checking all available functions, he found his optical night-vision was still active. He would need it if he hoped to safely secure the children to a suitable extraction point. He recalled the signal jammer somewhere in the dense jungle.

If there was to be any hope for escape, they were left with two options: disable the jammer or escape its radius. In a normal combat situation, Ultra Magnus would have opted for the former, seeing as how there was no indication how far the signal extended. However, in normal combat he had a team with him; as of now, his only support was the three natives. He had already placed them in more than enough danger already. Therefore, a tactical retreat was in order.

But with his vehicular form compromised, he would have to make the journey on-foot.

"Exit my vehicle form for a moment, please," he requested.

They complied and he routed enough power to his T-cog to force a transformation. The metal groaned and shrieked as he assumed his bipedal form. Once the process was complete, his T-cog was forced into a shutdown period until all repairs elsewhere were complete. That left him with no weapons or transport beyond walking. In the case of enemy encounters, he would rely on his CQC training and tactical thinking.

Looking down at the three humans, he knelt down to offer his servo to them. They climbed on and he deposited them on his shoulder. Loosening his tightening limbs, he proceeded to push through the shrubbery, optics shifting to night-vision. He noticed the looks of concern given to him by the three natives, but still found himself not caring at the moment. At the moment all that mattered was their quick evacuation of the area before enemy patrols located them.

"Why do you think the 'Cons haven't noticed us, yet?" asked the female in a hushed tone.

"We were either extremely fortunate, or believed to have perished in the crash with nothing worth retrieving. If the latter is indeed true, then we have a tactical advantage that will permit us to escape without incident."

He'd been thought to have become one with the Allspark once before and used that to his advantage to gain a pivotal Autobot victory in the past. A part of him insisted that history should repeat itself tonight. But going after the signal jammer with no long-range attack capabilities and three native life forms in tow was well beyond standard protocol. The only option was to wait for Optimus Prime to provide support when communications were reestablished. For that to happen, it was paramount that he and children escape beyond enemy lines at once.

Pushing past the last of the shrubbery for now, he found himself in a clearing, a dirt path leading into two paths. One was sure to lead them out of the forest while another would only trap them deeper into its grasp. Faced with such a dilemma, he relied solely on the survival training provided to him by the Elite Guard. Part of their training had involved being taken off-world to planets with different environmental habitats. There, they were to survive amongst the wilderness with nothing but their strategic planning.

But wasn't a drill; this was active combat and he needed to be ready for whatever surprises this jungle might hold. Earth was mixture of different environmental habitats, ranging from scorching deserts to frozen wastelands. He almost smiled at the thought of how elated his instructor might have been if they had discovered a planet such this in their own star system. However, noise drew him from his reminiscing and he crouched lower in response. His body made its disagreement with the action clear with the white flashes of pain.

But he remained crouched as he scanned the surrounding area; even with night-vision, the jungle still obscured much from him. To their credit, the three natives said nothing and only huddled closer together on his shoulder. Raising his servo, he transferred them to the ground and prepared for a confrontation. The leaves of the jungle rustled as something emerged from it. It was small life form native to the area.

Ultra Magnus allowed himself to relax as the animal scurried off into the darkness once more. Replacing the children on his shoulder, he chose to head right and stayed on the path. In his current condition, he was no match for any Decepticon with long-range attack capabilities yet he could not hide in the jungle without attracting attention to himself.

"So what's the plan?" asked the female.

"Escape this dense jungle and contact base for support," he replied.

"Wreckers don't call for back-up," she retorted, apparently regaining some of her defiant nature now that danger seemed to have passed.

"And that philosophy is why they possessed the highest casualty rate among and Autobot sub-division," he shot back. "That was one of many factors that resulted in Optimus Prime's decision to place them under my command."

"With Autobot numbers declining, they couldn't afford any more unnecessary losses," observed the raven-haired teen. Once more, Ultra Magnus found him to be the more tolerable of the three. The youngest boy remained quiet as they traversed the jungle.

"That is correct. Due to Wrecker behavior, more and more Autobots were lost as the Decepticons gained more and more footing on Cybertron. They were so intent on going out in a blaze of glory, they failed to observe the ramification of their actions. The decline in our forces was among many factors that played a role in Cybertron's eventual loss of life."

Any retort the girl might have given was silenced by his recounted of events, so he continued, "While I admire them for their great sacrifice, we cannot afford to lose anymore soldiers for such trivial reasons."

Pushing forward, the found himself at a dead end; a Cliffside, possibly the one they had fallen from. Biting his disappointment and anger, the Commander took a moment to think. The energon should have been mined and delivered the Nemesis by now, so why were the Decepticons still here? Surely hunting an Autobot was not so important as to waste valuable man power. There was something more happening here.

Perhaps another Predacon fossil, he thought. That would certainly provide ample reason to stay; hunting him would only be an added pleasure. But then there would be more forces in search of something as precious as that. And, again, they were likely to have found and excavated it while he was unconscious. There was something more to this; he knew there had to be.

Roaming his optics over the area once more, he realized there something in the distance. Through the jungle, he pushed past the branches and the leaves. Soon he found himself towering over what appeared to be an opening. It was not of Earthly origin and the markings were all too familiar. He'd seen this once before during a battle on an ice world.

This was a Decepticon auxiliary base; abandoned, from the looks of it.

The planet's natural greenery was already starting to retake the ground that had been parted for its arrival. This would certainly warrant an enemy patrol, though it was likely to require more men than he assumed were here. There were likely security measures in place to prevent Autobot entrance, yet he could use this to establish a command post and keep the children safe. In order to bypass the security measure, he would need a Decepticion access code; even a Vehicon would due. Immediately, he felt a blaster against the back of his helm.

"Tough luck, Autobot," growled a Vehicon trooper.

The humans looked worried, but Ultra Magnus focused all his energy on preventing a smile from forming on his lips. Sometimes they made this far too easy.

"Hold on," he told the children.

They, apparently, had yet to be seen by the Trooper, "Hold on for what?"

Pivoting on his heel-strut, he knocked the blaster arm away, spinning the Trooper around, and took hold of his helm. Without warning, he twisted it and snapped the 'Con's neck. He kept hold of him to keep him from falling to the ground. First rule of stealth operations, impromptu or otherwise; leave no sign of your presence. Using the access code in his right arm, the security measures were disabled and they were permitted entrance.

"Rock on!" shouted the girl. "That was so Sam Fisher!"

"Who?"

"A spy from a video game," the youngest answered.

"Does he adhere to protocol?" the mech asked.

"For… the most part," the boy answered sheepishly.

Ultra Magnus found no room to care for furthering his apparent similarities to a fictional character. The offline Vehicon in tow, he and the humans descended into the auxiliary base.