When Spike woke up that morning, the first thing that he noticed was that Bumblebee wasn't waiting outside his house like he usually did. That was something that didn't escape Sparkplug's attention either, so father and son figured that the Autobots must be preoccupied with something. Deciding that they should find out what it was, they hopped on the family car in order to drive to the Ark.
Sparkplug half-jokingly declared that he hoped he could still remember how to actually drive after all this time being driven around by giant car-morphing robots. Nevertheless, he managed just fine. And so, half an hour later, the two humans arrived at the Autobot base.
The first Autobot they met was Windcharger. And to say that the minibot was agitated would have been an understatement. He kept pacing up and down the corridor, muttering to himself.
"Windcharger?" Sparkplug ventured.
Windcharger looked at the two humans in surprise. "Oh, hi. Sorry, I didn't notice you there."
"No kidding. Any more distracted and you'd be walking all over us," Spike said with a shake of his head. "Where's everybody?"
"Prime and Prowl are in the control room. The others are waiting outside Wheeljack's lab."
"Why, is there something wrong?" Sparkplug asked.
"Come, I'll tell you on the way," Windcharger offered. As all three walked down the corridor, Windcharger explained to them what had happened so far, including Seaspray's discovery and the signals that the orbs emanated.
"So you guys are sure it's not a Decepticon trick?" Sparkplug asked when Windcharger ended his story.
"It doesn't look like it anyway. Wheeljack and Perceptor are trying to examine the thing, but they haven't come out of the lab yet; that orb really has both of them baffled."
"Still, it must be interesting to see," Spike said. "Do you think they'll let me have a look at it when they finish?"
"I don't see why not," Windcharger said with a shrug. "You'll have to ask them though."
"Look out! It's getting away!"
The humans and Windcharger stopped on their tracks, for it was Brawn who shouted that. Before they could fully grasp what was going on, they saw a golden orb rolling rapidly in their direction. Brawn was running after it, and five other Autobots followed him close behind.
"I got it!" Ironhide suddenly cried out, lunging forward to catch the orb.
As though sensing the trap, the orb made an abrupt turn to the right, and so Ironhide landed unceremoniously on Windcharger instead.
"Ow…" Windcharger said, his voice sounding muffled from underneath his fellow Autobot's bulk.
"Sorry, Windcharger," Ironhide said sheepishly.
"Never mind that!" Perceptor said, running frantically. "Will somebody apprehend the escapee sphere already?!"
"I don't see you doing anything!" Brawn snapped.
"Hang on, my force-field should take care of it!" Trailbreaker declared and he activated a force-field standing at the orb's path.
"Trailbreaker, no!"
Wheeljack's warning came too late. As soon as the orb touched the force-field, it shot up in the air and started flying hither and thither in such an amok state that all everyone could see was a yellow blur.
"Great! How are we supposed to catch it, when we can't even see where it's going?!" Spike asked.
"Well, I can tell you where it's going now!" Sideswipe said in horror. He pointed at the orb as it headed toward a door at the end of the corridor.
A very familiar door, to be exact.
"Oh no… Not the Dinobots' residence!" Perceptor exclaimed.
To the Autobots misfortune though, the door opened and the orb flew inside. At the next moment, there was a clank, accompanied by a terrible roar.
"Oh dear…"
The orb flew out again at an even greater speed, only to hit the wall across with a loud crashing sound.
"AND ME GRIMLOCK SAY: STAY OUT!"
And there was silence once again in the Ark. The Autobots and the two humans walked up to the shattered orb, looking with morbid fascination at the scattered metal parts.
"Well, that settled things," Sparkplug said wryly. "Do you want me to help you clean up, Wheeljack?"
"Thanks," the Lancia said, sighing as he looked at the mess. "I appreciate it."
"Here, I'll help too," Trailbreaker said, already kneeling to pick up several pieces.
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"So you're saying that all three orbs started from this location?" Optimus asked Prowl. He was looking at the small island that was barely visible as it was surrounded by the rich blue of the Atlantic Ocean.
"That's what all my calculations have pointed out," Prowl answered.
"And yet Sky Spy didn't detect anything so far," Optimus said thoughtfully.
"That doesn't mean that there isn't anything there," Prowl reasoned. "Perhaps Sky Spy can't scan it, for all kinds of reasons."
Optimus nodded, for he realised that what his second-in-command said made sense. He turned to face Prowl.
"Who is closer to that area?"
"Tracks and Powerglide," Prowl answered. "They're in London."
"Contact them and tell them I have a scouting mission for them," Optimus said. "If there's anything on that island, they might be able to find it."
"Understood."
"Meanwhile, I want you to calculate where the remaining two orbs are heading. Perhaps we might be able to determine what it is they're after."
"It will be done," Prowl replied.
Suddenly, Teletraan I spoke.
"Optimus Prime, incoming transmission from the Autobots Blaster and Cosmos."
Optimus and Prowl tensed at once, for they knew what that meant.
"On screen," Optimus commanded.
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"Hold these, will you, Spike?" Sparkplug asked, handing his son some of the metal parts that once comprised the orb.
Spike complied, though it was clear that there was something bothering him.
"You know… I don't get it," he said. "I thought you guys said the orb wasn't functioning."
"Well, it wasn't," Perceptor said. "Until Wheeljack put a laser scalpel on it to open it up."
"Yeah," Wheeljack said ruefully. "That was when it went berserk."
"Just like when it hit Trailbreaker's force-field," Spike noted. "That can't be a coincidence, can it?"
"Indeed not," Perceptor answered. "It would seem the orb's functions were triggered when it was close to a powerful form of energy. The laser scalpel and the force-field were just two such forms of energy. And that's not all."
Wheeljack stood up and locked his optics on Perceptor's. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"I believe so."
"Stop talking in riddles and just say it," Brawn said with a huff.
"Well…" Perceptor said, "There is strong evidence to suggest that the sphere was a sort of scanning device."
"What? How can you be sure?" Sideswipe asked in surprise.
"Because of the way it moved," Wheeljack answered. "According to Seaspray, it was the orb that found him. As soon as it got triggered, it headed outside and started moving about."
"As though it was trying to know its whereabouts," Sparkplug said, catching on.
"So… you're telling me it was scanning us?" Ironhide asked, crossing his arms in a sceptical manner.
"It certainly seems to be the case," Perceptor said. "And when Trailbreaker overcharged it with his force-field, its scanning malfunctioned."
"Making it head to the Dinobots' room," Trailbreaker mused. "That actually makes sense."
"What about the screech it let out?" Brawn asked.
"What screech?" Spike asked.
The Autobots stared at Spike incredulously.
"You're kidding, right?" Sideswipe said. "That thing was making such a loud noise that it nearly wrecked my audio receptors."
"We had to keep shouting so we could be heard," Brawn seconded.
"Sorry guys, but Spike is right. I couldn't hear a thing either," Sparkplug said.
"Intriguing," Perceptor mused. "Perhaps it was in a frequency that can be picked up by Cybertronians, but not humans. But… what kind of frequency could that be?"
"One that was distorted from malfunction, that's for sure," Wheeljack said. "That sound was nothing like the one Seaspray recorded."
If Perceptor meant to say anything else, he never got the chance. It was then that Prowl's voice was heard ringing in the corridor.
"Attention. All Autobots please proceed to the control room."
Perceptor, Wheeljack and the others exchanged glances.
"That sounds serious," Sideswipe commented.
"Indeed," Perceptor said. "It could be Blaster with his report."
"Which means we shouldn't just stand here," Ironhide replied, already walking towards the control room. "Let's go."
The others didn't need to be told twice, of course. And so, five minutes later, everyone within the Ark had gathered at the control room. Optimus Prime and Prowl were already there, naturally, whereas Blaster and Cosmos could be clearly seen on the monitor.
It was Bluestreak who asked the question that was in every Autobots' mind at that moment. "So there's finally news?"
"Yes," Prime said. "And I believe you should hear what Blaster has to say." He turned around and addressed Blaster. "Okay, Blaster. Report."
"Right, thanks Prime," Blaster said. "I'll start with the good news and then I'll go to the bad news, if that's fine by you."
"Go ahead."
Blaster nodded his acknowledgement. "Well, folks… it's not a code. It's an echolocation transmission."
"A sonar?!" Sparkplug exclaimed.
"That coincides with our theory that the sphere was a scanning device," Perceptor noted.
"Yeah," Wheeljack seconded. "As it swam, it scanned the depths by using sounds."
"But why did it swim up to me?" Seaspray asked, not really understanding.
"My guess is you seemed like a curiosity to it," Wheeljack explained. "It got attracted to you like a bee to pollen."
"It seems the best explanation for now," Perceptor said.
"Indeed," Prime said thoughtfully.
"And that means the other two orbs are doin' the same sniffin' out their companion did," Jazz remarked.
"However, this leads us to the next question," Prowl said then.
"Which is?" Ironhide asked.
"Why?" the tactician answered.
"And here comes the bad news, folks," Blaster said at that point. "The frequency of the signal isn't Cybertronian or Earthen. It's something else entirely."
Stunned silence reigned in the room for many long moments. The first one who finally spoke was Spike, and he was looking at Blaster incredulously.
"Something else entirely as in… alien?"
"You got that right," Blaster answered.
"Are you sure about this, Blaster?" Prowl asked.
"A hundred percent."
"Swell," Sunstreaker declared indignantly. "As if there aren't enough races on this planet already."
"It's not that that concerns me, Sunstreaker," Optimus Prime said then.
"Then what is?" the yellow Lamborghini asked.
"Sunstreaker," Ratchet said, "if there are aliens out there that sent detectors around the globe, it means there's something already here and they're looking for it."
"Quite right," Perceptor said.
"But… who? And what is that something?" Mirage wondered.
"That's what we have to find out," Prime declared, turning to Prowl. "You have your orders, Prowl. See to them at once."
Prowl nodded and walked out, while Optimus didn't lose any time. He pressed a button on Teletraan I's control board.
"Teletraan I, contact Skyfire. Tell him to return to the Ark at once."
"Order acknowledged," Teletraan I replied. In the next moment, the Autobots were shocked when their computer added: "Warning: lost contact with second scanning device."
Indeed, there was only one orb left, and it was swiftly moving towards the Cape of Good Hope. Now the Autobots knew that that couldn't possibly be good news.
"Teletraan I, what was the last known location of the second orb?" Optimus asked.
"Sector R-60."
"That's the Decepticon Base," Hound said. "It looks like we're in for a race."
Optimus couldn't agree more to that.
----------------
He had become quite tense since the first orb disappeared and he had barely taken his eyes off the screen. However, as time passed, he was dismayed to see that the other two orbs had yet to locate anything of importance, and he didn't know what to think anymore.
Was it possible that his search had been for nothing after all? Could it be that he was wrong in his assumptions and he would have to start looking elsewhere?
It was then that the second orb vanished from the screen. Jumping at the chance, he zoomed in and twitched his fingers to read on screen any information there was about the Pacific Ocean.
He smiled when he saw that there was a shuttle there, because he understood that nothing was lost after all. And now it was time to find out if this shuttle was actually the one he had been looking for.
It was with that thought in mind that he activated his ship and directed it westward.
TBC...