Hello again! Thank you to everyone who has read this story so far! It has reached almost 200 viewers from several different countries. I'm so happy that you guys are enjoying this! Also, thank you to Pagen Goddess for your Transformers Dictionary. I wasn't quite sure if I was using the correct terms and you dictionary helped out a lot! I couldn't figure out how to make changes to the other chapters, but lets pretend that I said 'stellar cycles' instead of 'cycles'. Anyway, this chapter will finally have some Autobot action! Please comment and enjoy!

Heart of a Warrior

Chapter 4

"Optimus!"

Ratchet had called the Autobot leader to the main computer. There was a violent beeping sound emanating from it.

"Our scanners have detected a Cybertronian emergency beacon coming from the outer regions of the Solar System," said Ratchet.

"Of what origin?" asked Optimus.

"Neutral," said the medic, "There's something you seldom find."

"Why would a bot send out a neutral beacon?" said a mech's voice from behind. Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, and Smokescreen had entered to room upon hearing the news as well.

"Anyone care to answer?" asked Bulkhead, continuing on with his question.

"Usually," answered Optimus, "Neutral beacons would be sent out if all resources and/or options on a ship had been exhausted. The beings on this ship may hope to receive aid from anyone, including the Decepticons."

"[Think we could try and call them?]" asked Bumblebee in his beeping voice.

There was silence for a moment. Finally, Optimus stepped up to the computer.

"Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega-1," said Optimus in a semi-monotone voice, "We have receive your emergency beacon on the planet Earth. What is your status?"

For a minute, there was no response. Then, a femme's voice spoke.

"Wh-what planet?"

"Earth. My name is Optimus Prime and I am here on this planet with five others."

"A-Autobots…" the voice was still weak, but sounded stronger, "Need… help… seven with me… five stellar cycles… no Energon…"

"Wait, seven?" piped in Arcee, "Autobots or Decepticons?"

"What is your designation?" Optimus asked the voice again.

The femme's voice could barely be heard. But she spoke again.

"S-s-Silverstreak… Autobot…please…"

"We need to help her!" exclaimed Smokescreen, "Can't we guide them to Earth like the Decepticon warship guided my stasis pod here?"

"If we send Earth's coordinates to their ship," answered Ratchet, "Then Silverstreak can program them into the ship's navigation and direct it here."

Optimus spoke through the computer again.

"We will send landing coordinates to your ship. Once you receive them, deactivate your beacon and program the coordinates into your ship's navigation."

"Thank… you…" Silverstreak replied.

Ratchet sent the coordinates and soon the emergency beacon disappeared from their scanners.

"Looks like we're getting some extra firepower!" Bulkhead pounded his fists together.

"Maybe," said Arcee, "It just depends on who's on board."

"Whoever our newcomers may be," added in Optimus, "I have no doubt that they will contribute what they can to the team."

"Prime!"

Agent Fowler's voice and image popped up on the main computer. His eyebrows were bent into a stern V-shape.

"Agent Fowler," replied Optimus, "How may we be of service?"

"I'm getting reports on a giant spaceship landing in the middle of South America. No word on it saying if it's Bots or Cons, but I figured you should check it out before anything else."

Agent Fowler hung up.

"[They're here!]" beeped Bumblebee, practically jumping up and down.

"Who's here?" asked Miko, "More bots?"

The kids had been picked up from school an hour before Fowler called.

"Arcee, Smokescreen, Ratchet," said Optimus, "You're with me. They will no doubt require medical aid."

Ratchet activated the Ground-Bridge and they entered into a hot and boggy tropical forest. They immediately saw a rather small looking Cybertronian ship in the middle of the trees.

Optimus, Ratchet, Arcee, and Smokescreen walked over and stood under the ship, but it did not open.

"Arcee," Optimus looked at the blue femme and nodded.

Arcee jumped on one of the ship's legs and climbed to the opening of the ship. She managed to open it enough for the others to grab on and climb inside. Once they were inside the ship, Ratchet turned on the lights to get a full view of everything.

The cabin was still cold and a few things were messed up.

"Humph," grunted Ratchet, "Not the best way to transport eight soldiers."

The four Autobots walked into a small hallway. Arcee looked to her right and gasped. Right next to her was a stasis container holding a silver mech with blue highlights. He was about Arcee's height; maybe a little shorter. Everyone else looked to his or her sides as well. Optimus found three femmes. One of them was light pink with white highlights, another was mainly magenta with some sliver designs, and the last one was gold and dark orange. Smokescreen looked to his left and found a dark grey femme with red highlights. Ratchet found a femme with a turquoise frame decorated with lime green, wave-like patterns.

"Optimus," Ratchet's optics widened, "These are all younglings."

Optimus looked at all of the pods again.

"Only six pods," he muttered to himself, "Check the cockpit for the other two."

Smokescreen nodded and walked in that direction.

"Optimus," said Arcee, "Are you sure it's safe to bring them back to base. They may be younglings, but for all we know Silverstreak could've been lying to us. None of them have any insignias or identification whatsoever. All of this could be a set-up"

Smokescreen was listening to what Arcee was saying and couldn't help but agree. There was really no way to know if they were telling to truth.

Smokescreen entered the cockpit to find two more femmes strapped in the seats. They were both fairly small, at least a few feet shorter than Arcee, and neither of them were moving. One was jet black with green highlights and the other was lavender with gold patterns. As he peered more closely at the lavender femme, Smokescreen nearly jumped back.

"Guys! Guys," he ran back to where the others were talking, "These younglings are Autobots!"

"How can you be so certain?" asked Ratchet.

"I recognize one of them in the cockpit," exclaimed Smokescreen, "She was a scholar at the Iacon Academy! The rest of these youngling must be her friends!"

Ratchet went back to the cockpit and scanned both femmes.

"Both of them are in stasis lock," he said while walking back, "They barely have any Energon reserves left."

"They must have stayed behind to pilot the ship," added Arcee.

"We must get them all back to base immediately," said Optimus, "Ratchet, deactivate the pods."

Ratchet and Arcee each deactivated three pods and released the younglings in stasis. Optimus went back to the cockpit and carried the two femmes in both his servos. The younglings that were in stasis stumbled onto the floor and couldn't stand up. Ratchet, Arcee, and Smokescreen each took two and helped them off the ship.

"Bumblebee," said Optimus through his com link, "Open the Ground-Bridge."

"[Did you find them?]" beeped Bumblebee.

A green portal opened and the Autobots walked through to return to the base. On the other side of the portal, Bulkhead and Bumblebee widened their optics when they saw the two young femmes in Optimus' servos, followed by the others walking the rest of the younglings into the base. Jack, Miko, and Raf ran over to the rail to see what was going on.

"Whoa," said Miko, "They're even shorter than Arcee!"

"Miko," Jack nudged her with his elbow, "Don't be rude."

Optimus placed the two femmes in his arms in the medical bay and Ratchet, Arcee, and Smokescreen helped the remaining younglings to the extra berths near the back of the base. When they returned, Miko bombarded them with questions.

"Who are those guys? Why are they so small? Are they awesome fighters? Is one of them famous? How big are their blasters?"

"Miko," Ratchet interrupted her, "They're younglings. They've probably never even seen war."

"Why would there be so many of them way out here?" said Bulkhead.

"Hold on a second," Jack finally spoke, "Before anyone gets any further in this conversation, what exactly are younglings?"

"You might say that their right in between being full-grown and being a sparkling," explained Arcee, "They're probably around your guys' age."

"Really?" asked Miko, getting excited, "Maybe they like heavy metal! I'll get my guitar!"

"Ep, ep, ep!" Ratchet blocked her path with his servo, "They've all gone through a major Energon depletion and need time to recover."

"So," asked Bulkhead, "How exactly are we planning to care for eight younglings?"

"Well," said Arcee with a vent, "Let's find out."

Yay! Novabolt and her friends have reached Earth and are in Team Prime's care! I know I haven't specified who's who with the color schemes and everything, but here's a little guide to help you visualize the characters better:

Novabolt- lavender/gold

Silverstreak- black/green

Stormrunner- dark gray/red

Cryoblast- silver/dark blue

Sunspot- gold/dark orange

Searay- turquoise/lime green

Lightjet- magenta/silver

Moonhopper- light pink/white

Hope this helps out a little! Watch for the next chapter coming soon! Laters!