Disclaimer: Hm, not that many reviews so far. I won't say that's troubling but since we're still in the early goings. I still don't own the rights to Transformers, naturally.

Chapter IV

Location: Langley Research Center
Hampton, Virginia

Three days later:

Marissa Fairborne was looking forward to some much deserve shore leave, especially after everything she and the EDC had been through. Although, she was sorely missing the action portion of her career. She wasn't used to acting as a liaison to NASA, not that she wasn't thrill to be at Langley. At least the food was respectable. Marissa wasn't the only EDC operative at Langley; William Lennox was there at her request, although he was elsewhere at the moment probably goofing off. Marissa humorously thought that was the case and she almost forgot about the video mail she was sending out.

"You know, Mom, I think you'd really like this place," she said to a woman that appeared similar to her, but older, through the video. "The rest of the team, not so much."

"I can't say as I'm surprised. The team always did prefer a good ground battle, especially Heavy Duty," said the woman. "If I recall, you mentioned the Autobots having their own commando unit."

"Yeah, they're called the Wreckers. I think Heavy Duty and Scarlett would get along great with Bulkhead and Airazor," Marissa exclaimed. The same could be said be Drift and Snake-Eyes. You and Roulette would be a great team as would Stratosphere and Duke. Depth Charge, well, he's the loner."

"I can only imagine. Well, I better get back to it. Stay safe out there, Marissa."

Marissa saluted and replied, "Yo Joe!" She never understood the meaning behind that phrase, but it seemed to work.

Just then, Major William Lennox entered the room and saluted Marissa. "Director Fairborne…"

"You don't have to keep calling me that, Will." Marissa said.

"Sorry. Old habits die hard," Lennox stated. "C'mon, you're needed on the field."

"Sounds important," Marissa said and followed Lennox out into the hall. That was when she noticed a number of Langley personnel running in random direction, almost bumping into one of them. "Care to tell me what's going on, Will?"

"I couldn't say. I was just told to bring you out onto the field." Lennox said.

"It's not a firing squad, is it?" Marissa joked.

Lennox had to laugh at the somewhat odd joke. "No ma'am, you're too pretty for that."

"I'm flattered, Will; didn't know you into girls like me." Marissa quipped, causing poor Lennox to blush.

Lennox regained his train of thought and led Marissa through the halls of the center, careful to avoid the seemingly increasing volume of personnel. Marissa could tell something was up. The Langley personnel wouldn't be in such a big scramble otherwise. But she did pick up some random chatter as she Lennox went, including word about a ship called Solaris. Marissa knew the ship and its lead designers, but not much else about its mission other than it involved a trip to Mars. Marissa suspected Lennox knew about as much as she did.

She'd likely find out some information at some point and followed Lennox further down the hall and eventually to the reception area. It was about as hectic as everywhere else with a number of people going every which way without stopping. Marissa then noticed a man at the reception desk studying a notepad. He wasn't that old, about somewhere in his late 20's or early 30's. But he was well dress, had short auburn hair and wore glasses. His clothes suggested he might be a high ranking person, but the strangest thing about him were his legs. It looked like he was wearing some sort of brace that rand from his waist down to his feet. Marissa deduced that he was a paraplegic when he noticed her and Lennox approaching.

"Marissa Fairborne, I presume?" he said.

"Yes…" Marissa answered, shaking the man's hand.

"I'm Chip Chase, head of R&D here at Langley. Sorry we weren't introduced earlier but I was caught in some prior engagements."

"It's not a problem. I think we're a little on edge these days," Marissa stated. "Come to think of, I might've heard your name before. As I recall, you were confined to a wheelchair."

"Yeah, I'm old friend of Spike Witwicky and I've supported the Autobots for many years. In fact, they're the reason I'm upright now," Chip stated and pointed to his leg braces. "Wheeljack and Brainstorm constructed these braces so I'd be able to walk. I'm still trying to get used to them but they work."

"They're impressive, I'll say that," Marissa said. "Maybe you can tell me what happening here. Seems like everyone's in a big hurry."

"I'm sure we'll sort it all out once we get outside," Chip stated and started walking toward the main entrance with Marissa and Lennox behind. Every step he took was accompanied by a slight mechanical whine from his leg braces. "Words reached Langley that the Solaris, commanded by Jessica Morgan and Gregory Swafford, had landed just recently at Nellis Air Force Base. Last I heard its cargo was being shipped here via military cargo plane."

"What sort of cargo is it?" Lennox asked.

"Not sure, but it's arriving at this facility today," Chip said. "So basically, you'll find out when I find out."

Once the trio got outside and out the main field, they saw the cargo plane already out on the tarmac. It was a Lockheed C-5 Super Galaxy, a strategic airlifter for the United States Air Force. Major Lennox had seen, and flown in, his share of C-5's in his military career before joining the EDC. Chip Chase, to date, had not. It wouldn't have been all that prudent for a then-wheelchair bound passenger on a plane that size. The plane was impressive to the militarily raised Marissa, although she somewhat preferred the Antonov An-225, the chosen alternate form of Stratosphere.

As they approached the C-5 as it was cutting the four engines, the front portion of the plane slowly began opening. Maybe it was on instinct, but Marissa and Major Lennox half-expected a horde of Decepticons, or worse, politicians, to come rushing out. Conversely, and thankfully, a group of soldiers exited the plane. Behind them was a large tarp covering something as it was rolled out of the plane. There was that slight air of confusion among Marissa, Chip and Lennox as the large and, Chip happened to notice, unusually shaped cargo rolled slowly passed. Then the three of them noticed two other people leaving the plane, neither of them in military uniform and following the soldiers and the cargo.

One of them, a man, barked orders to soldiers. "Okay, I want this cargo in my private sector as soon as possible. Let's try to make this discovery worth it," the man heard the mechanized whine of leg braces and turned to meet Chip Chase. "Dr. Chase, I'm glad you managed to make it. I was worried your wheelchair wouldn't allow it."

"Cute, Gregory," Chip said, obviously not amused. "I assume this is the cargo everyone's been talking about."

"It is, Dr. Chase," said Gregory. "I'm having it stored in Sector Seven. It's a privately own sub division within Langley."

"Owned by whom? Top men," Chip said, pulling off his best Indiana Jones quip. "I don't like being kept in the dark about things like this, Greg. I'd like to know what sort of cargo you've got here."

"With all due respect, Dr. Chase, I don't think we should discuss sensitive information with civilians." Gregory stated regarding Marissa and Lennox.

"These two aren't civilian per say," Chip stated, pointed. "This is Marissa Fairborne, Director of Earth Defense Command, and Major William Lennox of the US Military. They're more than qualified to handle to sensitive information."

"I understand that, but…" Gregory said but couldn't finish.

"Also, keep in mind that I'm still the head of Research and Development here at Langley, which means I have the final word on who learns what, when and where," Chip continued. "So, unless you'd like the President of the United States and a few dozen lawyers breathing down your neck, you'll tell me what I want to know. Does that sound reasonable?"

Before Gregory could answer, Jessica Morgan stepped forward. "I'm sorry, Dr. Chase. Gregory and I have been a little bit on edge since we landed at Nellis," Jessica glanced at Gregory briefly before continuing. "We've discussed informing you about the cargo, ultimately agreeing upon it."

"We have. My apologies for being…" Gregory said.

"A total jerk!" Lennox quipped, garnering a slightly annoyed look from Chip.

"I'll let it slide this time, Gregory. Now, how about you take us into your private sector?" he said.

Gregory nodded and took to leading the group to where the cargo was being taken. Marissa, who'd been quiet for most of the time, couldn't stop glancing at the tarp. There was something almost familiar about it, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She followed Gregory alone with Lennox, Chip and Jessica toward a large warehouse like structure situated in a corner of the facility. It lacked windows but the main door sported an upside down triangle insignia with the number 7 in the middle of it. Marissa had seen the building before when she and Lennox first arrived at Langley but neither of them saw any real point in prying. Obviously, current events changed that.

The large double doors of the warehouse began to slowly but surely open enough to allow the cargo to be transported inside. Gregory led the group inside afterwards and it was then that Marissa and Lennox took in the scope of the interior. This was also Chip's first time inside an otherwise often locked warehouse. Like he implied before; he didn't like being kept out of the loop. He also noticed a myriad of high tech machinery that looked like it all had been put together by hand. It made him wonder if other Langley personnel knew about this place. It was also another example of him being kept in the dark, a notice he sorely disliked.

Once the cargo was brought to halt near the center of the warehouse, the soldiers escorting it all took their leave in single file. Lennox looked, half admiring the troops and half intimidated by them. He then looked around, taking in the scope of the warehouse and said, "Well, this is… large."

"Well we're here, Gregory," Chip stated. "I think now would be a good time to start explaining this cargo."

Gregory looked at Jessica before the latter began speaking. "Well about a few weeks ago, NASA detected a distress beacon emanating from orbit around Mars. Gregory and I were dispatched on the Solaris to investigate."

"We found a derelict spaceship drifting across the orbit of Mars," Gregory added. "I ventured into the structure to recover any information or materials I could find."

"You obviously found something," Marissa said for the first time since meeting the two scientists. "That's some awfully big material."

"It's not material," Gregory admitted. "It is, or was, a life form."

"A life form! What like an alien?" Lennox concluded.

Chip was growing increasingly suspicious. "What sort of life form?"

Gregory suddenly became hesitant to speak when Jessica stated, "We believe it to be robotic in nature."

Robotic? The second she heard that, Marissa stormed to the tarp and pulled the sheet up before she slipped under it. Gregory was already too late to stop her. Under the tarp, Marissa looked up in absolute shock at the sight of a large metal hand. She immediately came back out from under the tarp, glared menacingly at Gregory and Jessica, and then proceeded to under the retrains. Gregory was unable to intervene due to both Lennox and Chip standing in his way while Marissa eventually removed the tarp. The tarp fell to the side and then the collective shock of herself, Lennox and Chip took hold. In spite of the extensively heavy damage and faded color, there was no mistaking that the so-called cargo was actually the corpse of Optimus Prime. Seeing the body of a friend and ally caused Chip to glare angrily at both Gregory and Jessica, mostly Gregory.

"Maybe you'd like to explain this, Dr. Swafford." he growled.

Again, it was Jessica who spoke up. "Dr. Chase, I take full responsibility for this. It was my suggestion to bring the body back to Earth with the express purpose of returning to the Autobots."

"I should hope so," Chip snapped. "This is Optimus Prime we're talking about. When last I heard, the Autobots had taken his body back to Cybertron to be buried. I hope you can shed some light on how he reached our solar system in his condition."

"There might be a way of ascertaining that, Dr. Chase," Gregory said, drawing an angry gaze from Chip. "If you allow it, Jessica and I can tap into his central processor, his brain if you will, to get a detail account of the circumstances leading to his return to our system."

"I'm sensing an ulterior motive here, Gregory." Chip stated.

Gregory was again hesitant to speak but did so anyway. "In addition to tapping into his brain, I'd like an opportunity to study the body. Maybe, disassemble it."

"Gregory, we never discussed that." Jessica said in shock.

"You mean butcher it? That's out of the question." Chip said.

"Please, Dr. Chase, think of what could be learned," Gregory insisted. "Studying the body could lead to better defenses against the Decepticons and, by extension, the Autobots should they ever go rogue."

"The last Optimus was disassembled, by the Decepticons I might add, his parts were repurposed as an alligator," Chip stated, clearly remembering that incident in Manhattan years ago. "Personally, I don't trust that you won't do the same thing and turn Optimus into a faulty car engine."

"But Dr. Chase…" Gregory tried to speak but Chip cut him off.

"Optimus Prime has saved our world more times that I care to count. He sacrificed everything to protect the human race," Chip stated. "I'll be damned if I let the good he did go up in flames just so you can find what makes his race tick. So in short, I'm denying your request to study the body."

Gregory was practically begging at that point. "Please Dr. Chase, if you would at least consider the possibility of…"

"There's nothing to consider," Chip snapped, silencing Gregory, before he turned to Jessica. "Now as for Dr. Morgan's suggestion, I'll allow for the two you to amazing Optimus Prime's central processor. Find out how he managed to return to the Sol System. Afterwards, we return the body to the Autobots… non-negotiable. Am I clear?"

"Absolutely, Dr. Chase," Jessica said. "Thank you."

With that, Chip took his leave with Lennox behind him, but Marissa stayed behind for a moment glaring at Gregory and Jessica. She was feeling a range of emotions that very much included disbelief, sorrow and anger. Mostly anger and directed toward the two people standing in front of her. Marissa took a step forward and glared first at Jessica, who displayed a slight look of regret, while Gregory remained seemingly indifferent. That alone made Marissa sick to the point of wanting to slap the taste out of his mouth. But Marissa remained professional and after a menacingly final glance, she walked off. In the back of her mind, she was going to keep a close eye on Jessica and Gregory.

At the same time, Jessica was glaring at Gregory and he could feel it. He became defensive and stormed off to his laboratory deeper in the warehouse. Jessica hesitated to follow and looked at the giant metal body of Optimus Prime, ever inert and lifeless. It scared her in a way, but what was more damning was the callousness of Gregory to be so insistent of disassembling it. Jessica eventually walked off and left the body alone unaware that at that very moment, the dimmed left optic of the fallen hero flickered briefly. It lit up, still very dim but enough to take in its surroundings. It darted back and forth, taking everything in, but unable to comprehend it. Then a sudden flashback struck…

((It is dark, silent and cold. Then everything flickers into a blurred view and first thing I could barely see was a wall or a ceiling. Something is not right; I should not be here. I should be within the Matrix resting, adding my knowledge, my experiences to he who succeeds me. But here now, it all seems worse. How long have I been… gone? Then they appear above me. Aliens, unknowable and hideous, yet familiar. They are roundly shaped, disgusting tendril whipping every which way. They possess five faces, each one more evil than the last, and they study me, examine me.

"He has been sleeping for two stellar-cycles." one says. Two stellar-cycles?

"Yet we have been in exile from Cybertron for countless millennia." The other one says. Exile? Quintessons.

"The loss of Alpha Q has diminished our goal, but our resolve has never been stronger," Says the first alien. "There may yet be life within this one. We shall him as our puppet to eradicate our enemies, Autobot and Decepticon alike."

"Are you so certain," the second Quintesson asks. "This one may yet possess some lingering remnants of his past life."

"Indeed," the first Quintesson replies and looks down on me. His face switches to one that represents Death. "Erase his memory."))

The optic shut down and the body of Optimus Prime went inert again. Still being nearby, Jessica stopped and looked back at the body. She felt as if something was very much a miss, even getting that feeling that she suddenly wasn't alone. Jessica took a couple steps back toward the body. It didn't move as far as she could tell, but something just felt… strange. She took a few more steps toward the body, but it still remained still and silent. Yet, Jessica had that feeling in the back of her neck that something was just off.

She inched closer and closer until she was by the giant hand of the deceased Autobot. Against her better judgment, Jessica touched the steel. It felt icy cold which wasn't a surprise, but not because of its composition. There seemed to be a certain air of sadness in the steel, but it wasn't like Jessica could pinpoint it. She wasn't a robot and she most certainly would have no idea what robots as advanced as the Transformers felt. Jessica stepped back, looked at the body for one last time and then walked away. Then she quickly turned back toward the body. She thought she heard something like a faint whine before dismissing it and moving on. She never noticed that one of the fingers moved ever so slightly.

Author's note: Well, that's pretty much it for this chapter which as you might notice right away is very human-centric with the reintroduction of Chip Chase. Here, he's wearing mechanical leg braces, which is another nod to "The Return of Optimus Prime."

Another nod features the Quintessons operating on Optimus during the flashback ala "Dark Awakening" and yet another nod is the flickering optic from Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Also, you might notice the reference to another popular franchise. The names ought to be a dead giveaway.

Fun fact: I originally thought about introducing Josie Beller/Circuit Breaker as a central antagonist, but I figured we've got robot hating human already; best to not push it.

Positive feedback would be very welcome to keep this story alive, so let me know what you think.