Hi readers!
I just want to apologize once again because I wrote this story back during the first TFP season and so some things here are based off of what was, and not what currently is... So! Anyway, ignore the non-up-to-date information!

Oh and I don't own any of the locations or characters, just the story plot! Enjoy!


Starry Surprise

pt4

Location: Autobot Base

Time: 2:43 AM

Optimus Prime was up late into the human hours of the night, pacing his room in somber silence. The other Autobots' return to the base from daily duties only made the fact of Elita One's death even worse, since comments on the subject echoed through the base frequently, torturing Optimus even further. Bulkhead, Miko and Jack were interested and saddened by the news, but Arcee was particularly struck. She, along with Prime and Ratchet had known Elita One personally and was deeply grieved at the legendary femme's death. In Optimus Prime's processor, he replayed a thousand times the day he parted with Elita One on Cybertron. The battles between Autobots and Decepticons had been growing and expanding to more places of the galaxy, so Optimus found it increasingly impossible to remain with Elita One considering his presence was requested to so many places for support. He recalled the day he said farewell to her...

"I will return before long," the Prime promised the sleek femme standing before him. The platform they stood on was populated with many bots all hurrying to board the Autobot ship known as the Ark, but Optimus's attention was centered on only one.

"And your presence will not go un-missed," Elita One's soft, gentle voice replied. It was the only voice Optimus Prime ever heard that could put his whole system at ease, as well as make his spark pulse faster. Optimus smiled down at the femme whose height reached about to his shoulders. His eyes were soft and glowed tenderly as he removed his hand from hers and stepped away towards the Autobot ship.

"Farewell Optimus Prime," Elita called to him.

"Farewell!" he called back as he boarded the ship.

It had been stellar cycles since then and now Optimus regretted ever leaving her. She was gone for good, and there was nothing that could amend the inner guilt that tore at the Autobot leader's spark. The pain he was now experiencing was far worse than any physical wound he had ever received. Only now, when Elita One was gone, did he realize how much he truly missed her...

Meanwhile, Ratchet was carefully looking inside Elita One's lifeless spark chamber with narrowed optics. As he studied more closely, he recognized the barely distinguishable scratch marks of a prong's edge against the chamber's wall. Suddenly, Ratchet's optics widened with new bright intensity. He shot up from his crouched position over the body and contacted Optimus Prime over the comlink system.

"Optimus! Come fast! I found something very interesting!" he exclaimed. This statement caused Optimus's spark to leap in his chest and he quickly left the cover of his room to reach Ratchet.

"What have you found?" Optimus inquired hopefully.

"I analyzed Elita One's body and indeed she received no damage indicating a cruel death. But, what I did find was a small scratch, suggesting the use of prongs inside her chamber," Ratchet explained. Optimus listened intently.

"..an exercise rarely executed except in the case of spark bonding and maybe an extreme case of chamber damage." Ratchet paused a moment.

"What are you proposing?" Prime asked finally, unsure of what to think.

"Optimus, you of all bots could recall Elita One's 'special' quality. Now, does it make more sense as to why she would be of use to the Decepticons?" Ratchet ventured. Optimus Prime calculated through the new set of possibilities that raced in his mind.

"But how could Starscream have possibly learned of Elita One's spark power? Only a few selected Autobots were informed," Optimus wondered.

"Perhaps they found a file deep in Cybertron's history records that we failed to delete before our evacuation of the planet," Ratchet suggested. Optimus ran his finger tips over his brow and closed his optics in thought. His spark pulsed faster as he arrived at the conclusion that Elita One's life source still existed and a chance of saving her remained. His optics brightened.

"Ratchet, am I to understand a chance for Elita One's resurrection still remains?" he questioned, looking from the medic down to Elita One's body in renewed hope.

"You are correct," Ratchet smiled, "Starscream's medic, Knock Out, was the one to perform the surgery no doubt. I can tell by his sloppy work. Knock Out would have known that the only way to preserve the power is to keep the spark intact. I have high speculation that they have it encased somewhere safe. For what purpose I have no idea," Ratchet finished.

"All that matters is its retrieval," Optimus answered resolutely, "I will leave immediately."

"Tonight?" Ratchet protested, "You haven't gotten recharge from your last battle! You'll drop powerless before you can land a single blow," he argued. Prime looked resistant but knew he should follow the medic's advice.

"You need at least a human cycle to recharge, maybe two," Ratchet insisted. Optimus sighed.

"Alright, first thing in the morning then," Prime conceded. Sunrise was near enough as it was. Ratchet nodded and Optimus Prime headed off to recharge though he doubted he could settle down with so much electricity running through his metal veins.

Location: The Nemesis

Earth Time: Next Day, 6:15 AM

Soundwave nearly cringed at the sound of Starscream's thousandth nag on the slow production rate of the special power weapon. Soundwave stood just behind the Decepticon Lord, becoming increasingly annoyed with hearing his master's complaints, but not enough to utter a sound.

"It's not large enough! You worked on this all night simply to arrive at a concept no better than the first model!" Starscream scolded one of his construction drones.

"Urrrgg, you incompetent group of mindless machinery! Where is a decent mechanic when I need one?" he snarled, overlooking the set of drones working at a table to assemble the shell of the gun meant to contain Elita One's spark power.

"Starscream!" Optimus Prime's voice resounded in the room like a crack of thunder and Starscream spun in complete terror.

"No!" the Decepticon leader shrieked as he set his optics upon the group of Autobots standing in the door way. Optimus stood in the front with Bulkhead and Arcee to his left, while Bumblebee kneeled, weapons ready, at his right. Drones sprang into fighting stances, activating weapons as the room filled with the thrum of cannons being primed for battle.

TO BE CONTINUED...


Thanks for reading! Hope you all are still enjoying this! Leave a comment and let me know!

-Stokin D Embers