Chapter 4 - Recupteration

By the time Arcee and her sisters had driven back to Chinatown, the cleanup effort was already well underway. The roads in and out of the city were filled with trucks, with the outbound vehicles filled with debris. This meant that the majority of the roads could be traversed easily; they only had to transform once to get past some rubble.

Army personnel littered the streets, either clearing them of bricks and other materials, or checking buildings for bodies to recover. It was a morbid job, and Arcee knew what it felt like. She'd recovered her share of human remains from disaster zones during her time on Earth, but it didn't compare to the sheer amount of death she'd seen on Cybertron. She never wanted to experience something like that again. None of them did.

As they drove on, they occasionally came across one of their fellow Autobots helping the humans in their cleanup tasks. Ironhide was in vehicle mode as Sideswipe piled blocks of concrete onto him; Hound was standing over the Twins, making them do some work; and Jolt, Drift and Mirage were holding up the first floor of a partially collapsed building as army men and women searched the ground level and cleared it of debris. Optimus, Ratchet and Wheeljack would be wherever the monster was defeated, but Jazz and Crosshairs should be helping the humans. They could be working somewhere else, but there was always the possibility…

'No,' Arcee thought fiercely. 'No one was terminated. Optimus would have told us.'

Thankfully, she was proven right several minutes later when they finally reached the area where the monster had been killed. The two Autobots were sitting under a building's awning, and judging by Ratchet's presence nearby, both had been injured. From what they could see, though, the injuries weren't severe. In fact, they couldn't see anything wrong with them at all.

"Ratchet's probably being paranoid as usual," Arcee said. "Can't see any damage on them."

"They might have suffered internal injuries," Elita pointed out. "Broken energon lines, or a asynchronous transfer adapter put out of alignment."

"Strongarm always used to have some trouble with that," Chromia chuckled. "Red Alert got so annoyed that he eventually gave him a new one."

"Wish Red Alert would swap your vocal processor with Bumblebee's," Arcee muttered quietly. "Never knowing when you'd be able to speak would do you good."

Chromia was the youngest of her sisters, and held a highly optimistic opinion of the world. There was also the fact that she didn't always take things seriously, and she never shut up. She'd improved a lot since she met Ironhide, but in Arcee's opinion, it would be quite a while before she was tolerable. Maybe it was Chromia's way of coping with the millions of years of horror she'd experienced, maybe not, but it really grinded her gears.

"Autobots?" asked a guard as the three two-wheelers approached the barriers that surrounded the area. "Your boss wants to see you."

"Thanks," Arcee muttered. They transformed and jumped over the barrier before speeding off towards the creature's carcass, eliciting a soft 'wow' from the guard. The Autobots were world heroes, and their amazing ability to transform was well documented, but seeing it on television didn't come close to the real deal. They were awesome!

The sisters soon found Optimus talking to a familiar person - Major William Lennox. They'd been told that Lennox had been the Captain of a group of soldiers who had worked with Optimus, Jazz, Ironhide, Ratchet and Bumblebee to defeat the Decepticons in Mission City, and had been promoted by the Secretary of Defence himself. For several years now, the Major had been the chief liaison between the Autobots and the Pentagon, and he had become a strong ally.

"The world's oceanologists are confused about this whole mess, none of them have any idea where the thing came from," Lennox was saying. "They're saying it might be some sort of ancient creature that was frozen in the polar ice caps during the Ice Age, and only woke up due to global warming melting the ice caps. Doesn't make a lot of sense to me."

Optimus frowned. "I am sure that if a creature of such size once existed on your planet, evidence of its presence would have been found," he said. "But I believe we may have the answer."

Lennox was relieved. "Thank god. The Pentagon wants a full report, and I was starting to think I'd have to give them something that sounded like the plot for Ice Age Five. The media isn't helping, either. God, this is going to be a mess." He shook his head. "What's your theory?"

"Ratchet detected unusual seismic activity deep beneath the Pacific Ocean several days before the creature emerged," Optimus explained. "It stands to reason that the monster was the source of the disturbances. But why such a creature would be lurking in your planet's depths, I do not know. Perhaps by analysing its remains, we can gain a greater understanding of its past and its behaviour."

"Sounds better than anything I've heard so far," Lennox nodded. "I've already got orders to move it. Don't know how we're going to do that, though. Probably cut it up."

"If you need any assistance, Ratchet and Wheeljack will be on hand to help," Optimus offered. "With your permission, I will also ask that you allow them to help your scientists analyse the creature's remains."

"No need to ask, Optimus. That'll be fine."

"Better clear it with your superiors first," Arcee interrupted, zooming up beside Optimus. "They might not be happy with you making decisions for them."

"Most of the government's always happy for you guys to help," Lennox said. "It's the Pentagon you need to be worried about. The high-ups kept ordering the pilots to fly up close to the thing before you got here. Thought it would be more effective. Idiots."

"We saw," Elita said drily. "We weren't impressed."

"They were planning to nuke the monster too, if it wasn't taken down after a few hours," Lennox sighed, "and I'm not convinced they'd wait until you were clear." He shook his head. "I dunno. After six years, you'd think they'd trust you."

"Military organisations cannot afford to trust," Optimus said sadly. "That is true no matter what the species. But rest assured, Major, your government can always rely on us to stand in defense of your people, not matter how great the threat."

"I'll pass the message along, but I don't expect they'll listen," Lennox said, just as his earpiece beeped. "Excuse me, I'll have to take this."

With the conversation over, Optimus turned to Arcee and her sisters. "Arcee, how did your mission go?" he asked.

"Rescued three humans, evacuated them to hospital," Arcee reported. "They should be fine."

"On of the humans got some blue lubricant on him," Elita said, "but it didn't seem to bother him. It stung when I got some on my frame, though."

"Probably just the monster's blood," Chromia cut in, shrugging. "It's organic, so what else would it be?"

"Whilst you are probably correct, Chromia, it doesn't hurt to check. I too felt a stinging sensation, and the others reported it as well. As a result, I gave a sample for Wheeljack to analyse."

"You'll be lucky if it doesn't blow up," Elita muttered quietly.

Privately, Arcee agreed. Wheeljack was as much a scientist as she was a Wrecker - nothing like one. If she wanted a scientist, she'd call Perceptor. Unfortunately, she hadn't seen him since she and her team left to find the Allspark, and wasn't likely to see him again.

"Ah, Prime," Wheeljack called, noticing their approach. "No luck so far, I'm afraid. My inbuilt scanners aren't built for this type of work. I need my equipment back at my lab, or at least some of the humans' more advanced tools."

Optimus frowned. "Have you asked Ratchet for help? I recall that he recently upgraded his scanners to better analyse organic components."

"I did, but he said I'd have to wait. He's using the opportunity to give Jazz a thorough medical checkup."

"Now that I have to see," Chromia said, grinning. "Where are they?"

"Over there somewhere," Wheeljack replied, pointing vaguely behind him. "But I wouldn't bother checking. You know what Ratchet's like when he's got a patient."

"Crosshairs won't let him get too serious," Arcee said, as she and her sisters began rolling slowing in the direction Wheeljack had pointed. "We'll tell Ratchet you've ordered him to stay and help." she said to Optimus.

"Thank you, Arcee," the Autobot leader said, and the sisters zoomed off. "Wheeljack, I also ask that you stay here and help the humans. They will need all the help you can get."

"But I told you, I need my tools -"

"The Wreckers will bring your equipment when they land in a few hours' time. In the meantime, I ask that you determine how best to transport the creature to a more viable location. The humans want it out of the way as soon as possible to allow the reconstruction process to begin."

Wheeljack sighed. "I'll go have a look and see how best to cut it up," he said, and he plodded off towards the monster's dead body. Even in death it dominated the landscape, with its body casting a large shadow over the surrounding area.

"Optimus, sir!"

Optimus looked down; an army officer was standing at his feet, a note of some sort in hand.

"Yes?" Optimus asked.

"The media's wondering when you're going to do your interview. They're saying they can't wait the usual thirty-six hours because it's 'too much in the public interest'," the officer said.

"Tell the media that the rule still stands," Optimus said. "It might even take a little longer before I have the time. I understand that the public wants to know exactly what happened, but for now, the biggest focus is the recovery effort. I shall let them know when I am ready."

"Err, right. I'll tell them no, for now. Thanks!" the officer said, before running off.

Optimus watched her go with a small tinge of annoyance. The Autobots were extremely popular with the media, and were roped into doing interviews with them after every mission - at the very least. In most cases, the media already knew most details about the disaster the Autobots had responded to, and just wanted an excuse to get an 'exclusive' report on whichever Autobot was trending at the time. Most of the Autobots despised the media and resented the interviews, but accepted them as part of the life on Earth. Optimus didn't particularly like them either, but he recognised their importance in building trust between the two species. By sharing some details about life on Cybertron and the war with the Decepticons, he had demonstrated that he was willing to trust humanity with sensitive information. In return, the humans had allowed them to share their planet, trusting them with their infrastructure and resources. Though the media didn't realise it, they had helped forge a great friendship between two species. It was Optimus' intention that this friendship would only be strengthened over time as the Autobots responded to disasters of any kind, helping humanity wherever they could. Today had just been another example of that co-operation.

"Optimus," Ironhide called over the comm. link. "Bumblebee's just arrived; he's heading your way."

"Thank you Ironhide, I will meet with him shortly."

After the events at Mission City, Bumblebee had decided to stay with the human boy, Sam. This had lead him to Chicago, where Sam now lived. The yellow Autobot had no doubt heard about the monster's attack on San Francisco and rushed to help.

Sure enough, several minutes later, Bumblebee came zooming around the corner, before transforming, jumping over the barriers and landing on two feet in front of Optimus.

"Sorry I'm late, Optimus. I came as fast as I could," the yellow Autobot said. "Is there any way I can help?

"Well met, Bumblebee. For the moment, I ask that you focus on helping the humans clean up." Optimus said, giving Bumblebee a small smile. "There are still a lot of debris to clear of the roads. I imagine we will be here for quite some time."

Bumblebee sighed, disappointed. He'd hoped to get back to Sam in Chicago as soon as possible. Nevertheless, he recognized the importance of the job, and it wasn't like Sam couldn't survive without him for a while. "Yes sir."

He walked off, using his sensors to detect energon sources in order to locate his fellow Autobots. At least he'd be able to catch up with them. Life with Sam prevented him from seeing them regularly. Still, it was a minor cost, and he'd much rather protect the human boy than do anything else. But when duty called, he responded, just like today. Time to move some dirt!

After a week and a half of near-constant work, the cleanup effort was all but completed. The streets were cleared, and only a few buildings were left on the demolition list. The work had been sped up considerably by the arrival of the Wreckers, who had taken a great delight in blowing up buildings that had been damaged beyond repair. Under the watchful optics of Ratchet and Wheeljack, the creature's remains had been cut up and moved to a research facility in the central United States. Most of it had been frozen for research purposes, but the rest had been incinerated; there simply hadn't been enough storage space! The skull had been kept wholly intact, though, and was in stored while waiting to be installed in a memorial to the attack. Construction was set to begin construction in a few weeks, and the media was buzzing about its unveiling, but for the mean time, they had another 'exclusive' to feast on.

After days of holding the media at bay, Optimus had finally consented to an interview. But in typical media fashion, it wasn't going to be a one-on-one. Instead, the company running the interview had conducted a lottery, allowing members of the public to attend the session. It was essentially a chat show - apart from the fact that it was open air and on location in the Presidio of San Francisco.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the host, David, boomed, "as I'm sure you all know, about a week and a half ago, we witnessed one of the most astounding events to have occurred in the twenty-first century so far. A giant monster emerged from beneath San Francisco Bay and attacked the city, destroying countless buildings and killing many people. Thankfully, with the help of the Autobots, the monster was quickly defeated. And now, ladies and gentlemen, in a television exclusive, I will speak live to the Autobot leader himself, who has graciously allowed us some of his limited time. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you: Optimus Prime!"

Cheers erupted from the crowd as spotlights swung to light up Optimus, who was standing patiently next to the raised platform the host was standing on.

"Optimus, it's great to have you on."

"My pleasure, David," Optimus replied.

"Now, I'm sure that everyone here remembers their reaction to, um, what are they calling it, the Kaiju? The Kaiju's emergence from San Francisco Bay. I know what mine was - my jaw hit the floor! But what was yours? Had you encountered anything like it before?"

"Cybertronians come in a variety of different shapes and sizes," Optimus explained. "One of the largest Cybertronians to ever exist was a Decepticon by the name of Trypticon. His size is comparable to the creature we defeated. It took half the Autobot army to take him down, at the cost of many lives."

"Wow," … David softly. "But if it took half or your army to take down this Trypticon, why were you able to take on our monster and defeat it with so few of you?"

Optimus paused thoughtfully before replying. "We had the element of surprise. I do not believe it was expecting to encounter any resistance like us. Our agility and the effectiveness of our weapons were not something it was counting on."

"True, true - but for two Autobots, speed and agility wasn't enough, was it? Mirage nearly got crushed, and Jazz had a nasty fall. We all know that Jazz has been dead before, but what was your reaction when he landed on that building? Were you worried that you'd have to mourn for him again?"

"No," Optimus said immediately. "We have all survived worse injuries. Jazz was not in immediate harm."

"Even though the monster nearly crushed him?"

"Jazz and Crosshairs were partners on Cybertron - they always look out for each other. I trusted Crosshairs not to let his friend come to any harm."

"Good for you...if only our government trusted us enough not to spy on us," David said, rolling his eyes and eliciting a chorus of laughter from the audience. "Just joking, don't worry!" he grinned. "Now, Optimus," David continued, lowering his voice, making it softer. "Everyone here knows that the Autobots have been at war for millions of years. We know that, for the past six, you have found peace here on Earth. What was it like fighting once more? What were you feeling when you finally killed the monster?"

Here, Optimus paused again.

"I do not revel in fighting," He started. "But the War has lingered in my mind for millions of years. I have known peace for the past five years, but so short a time cannot erase countless aeons of fighting. When this 'Kaiju' came, it was much like a return to the time of War. An opponent who sought to destroy us and our allies, to tear down what we had built up. I do not enjoy taking the life of another living being, but I will not deny the satisfaction of having defended our own."

"Wow," David said. "Wow. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the true wisdom of a leader."

The audience clapped politely.

"Now," David continued as the camera zoomed in on his face, "unfortunately, Optimus is still quite busy, and so we cannot continue this interview for much longer. But before we close: a rare opportunity. Before the show began, we asked members of the audience to submit questions they'd like Optimus Prime to answer. We've selected the ones we liked the most. First, from Fred: 'Did you guys have any car races on Cybertron, and if so, what were they like?'"

"We had races, certainly," Optimus replied, "but they were unofficial and mostly made up on the spot by Autobots who were bored on missions. I believe the Decepticons also participated in similar events, but I cannot give you any more detail than that."

"Not to worry, I'm sure we all understand. But bored Autobots racing? I'm sure we can all relate to that!" David chuckled. "Next question from Jackie, and this is a weird one: 'can you alter your robot modes so that you're wearing clothes? I think Jazz would look hot in a tux!' What do you say to that?"

Optimus frowned. This was exactly the type of question that made the media unpopular with the Autobots. "We can...imitate your human coverings," he said. "I believe that Crosshairs has what you would call 'glasses' and a 'coat'. But that is the extent of our abilities. If we were to mimic any human fabrics, they would be, and look like, parts of us."

David smiled. "Well, I'm sure we'd all like to see you dressed up, but please, stay away from some areas of our fashion industry! Some things are not meant to be worn by giant metal robots! Now, the next question is from a lovely lady called Alison: 'What was life like before the war?' Well, I think that question's been answered before...Optimus, would you like to reaffirm your answer?"

Optimus paused for a moment, just long enough to recall memories of older, happier times, before speaking again. "As I have said previously, the answer to that question has many answers. The war did not begin overnight, but slowly built up over millions of years. There is not enough time for me to explain in detail, but life on Cybertron before the start of the war was…best described as peaceful. Cybertron's golden age was a time of exploration and friendship, but like all good things, eventually came to an end."

"I'm sorry to hear that." David said. "But thank you for sharing!"

The crowd was subdued in its applause, respecting the fact that their insight into Cybertron's past was a rare privilege. The Autobots didn't like to discuss it, and the subject was rarely raised as a result.

"Now, for our final question...I think we've chosen the best for last: 'could you please transform and roll out?'"

Optimus had already taken a few steps back from the platform in anticipation of the request - it was always asked at the end of an interview. This one he didn't particularly mind.

Without saying a word, he initiated his transformation. The crowd gasped in amazement as pieces folded out and rearranged themselves into different shapes. They watched in awe as, where Optimus had stood only a few seconds ago, a long-nose truck was now parked, it's red and blue colour scheme shining under the surrounding spotlights.

"No matter how many time we see it, it's still amazing," David shouted over the audience's roars of approval. "That's all from San Francisco tonight, but don't forget the planned memorial service in December, to be attended by the President. More information on that as we hear it. But for now, goodbye!"

As the crowd applauded, the credits rolled and the cameras shut down, the citizens of the world finally began putting the attack behind them. They once again turned to the future, a bright and prosperous future filled with mankind's success thanks to the Autobots. Little did they know that the San Francisco attack was to have consequences much greater than any had predicted. The battle had not been won - it was just getting started.

Author Note: The main focus of this chapter was to show the co-operation between humans and the Autobots, as well as a snippet of how the media treats the Autobots. We'll see more of both as the story progresses.