Legal Stuff: Transformers, et al., are not mine, only my OCs. This story isn't intended for sale.

Cybertronian/Earth Time Reference:
Breem / about 8 minutes
Groon/about 1 Earth hour
Orn/about 1 Earth day
Orbital Cycle/about 1 Earth year
Vorn/about 83 Earth years

Chapter 3 – Earth Campaign (Part 5)

- Decepticon Base, Earth –

The Fallen leaned back in his seat as he watched Megatron gather and mobilize his forces. One unit was being sent to Egypt to hide and protect device from the remaining Autobots, another was sent to retrieve the Witwicky family to use as a hostage to draw out the boy, while the last group was spreading out trying to locate the human directly.

He watched his namesake with a sneer as he reveled in the fact that he'd managed to survive his brothers, the Primes Primus had created and their legacy. Soon, with the energon extracted from Earth's sun he would have enough to face Primus himself and make his creator pay.

Soundwave silently commed his commander, 'Megatron, we have found the boy, he is headed toward Egypt where the Fallen says his device is.'

:'Interesting. Inform the Fallen and I will collect Starscream. I want you to stay here and maintain surveillance.'

Soundwave nodded as Megatron turned to his master, bowed and left the room.

The Fallen did not even acknowledge the mechs standing before him as he continued his musings. The irony, he thought, this entire situation stemmed from organics on the planet he'd wanted to destroy in the first place. His current situation was due to the Primes and their desire to protect feeble and insignificant races. The Fallen held his servo out and imagined the human clutched within his grasp, once he extracted the information of the location of the Matrix of Leadership, he would be able to access all the information the AllSpark contained.

The Fallen lowered his servo as he watched as one of Megatron's minions, Soundwave, approach him. With a monotoned voice Soundwave regarded the Fallen, his masked and visored face hid any emotion the mech might have displayed, "Fallen, we have located the human."

Soundwave watched as the Fallen rose from his seat and strode out of the bunker without comment. Within seconds, per Megatron's orders those Decepticons on Earth who were flight capable were already leaving to Egypt.

— Cybertron, Femme Base —

The command center was rather crowded with the addition of the two males. Elita walked in and since there weren't enough chairs to go around started the meeting informally. Elita nodded to Lancer, "Lancer, how was our little adventure received?"

"The Decepticons have ramped up security and tripled the patrols. They're low on ammunition as our SIC was exceptionally lucky with her explosives."

"Then we'll have to lay low until patrols resume normal operations," ordered Elita. "Let's put the base on alert, minimal energy and try to keep our energy signature as close to nil as possible." She smiled proudly, "I commend each of you for performing your duties well."

She looked pointedly at Chromia as she continued on, "you've all earned yourselves some high grade tonight. Lancer, would you scare up some quarters for our two mech friends. Oh so we're all introduced, please identify yourselves and your area of expertise."

Wheeljack raised his servo, "I'm Wheeljack, as I mentioned before. I'm an officer, inventor, weapon's expert, I have some medical skills, and I'm an explosives expert."

The golden mech nodded his head regally, "I'm Sunstreaker, frontliner."

"Thank you," nodded Elita. "I am Elita-1 commander of this unit, my second is Chromia…"

"Chromia as in Ironhide's bond?" Wheeljack leaned forward eagerly.

"Yes, I am," replied the blue and silver femme with a wide smile.

Wheeljack nodded happily, "he's a good bot."

"That he is," she replied.

"Firestar, who you've already met is our medic," Elita waved a hand in the direction of each femme as she introduced them.

"Moonracer is our sniper and sharpshooter, Greenlight and Lancer are our science and operations staff, Arcee is our combat and hand-to-hand expert, and Flareup is our explosives expert. As we have no way of getting you two off-world and back to your unit, you are welcome to join ours."

Both mechs regarded one another and shrugged, as Wheeljack answered, "it's not like we've got anything else to do."

"Thank you. Lancer will show you to your quarters, I'm afraid you'll have to share. Don't off-load too many personal items, we need to be ready to bolt should we be discovered. In fact, if we should be detected, Lancer will show you the route out and where to meet up."

"Alright, again good work people, now go get some high grade and rest. Remember energy conservation, use at a minimum. Dismissed." The group of bots broke up into smaller groups with Lancer leading Sunstreaker and Wheeljack to their quarters. Greenlight took her position at the comms, as Firestar, Flareup, Moonracer and Arcee left to go to the small rec room to drink before recharging.

Elita placed her servo on Chromia's shoulder, "my office."

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Elita went to her small desk which was nothing more than a board on top of two boxes and sat down. Chromia moved to sit down as well but was halted by Elita's hand, "you do not have permission to sit Chromia. I'm afraid this is going to be a formal reprimand."

"I realize you had to make a battlefield decision and it was an excellent call. But I have to take you to task for disobeying orders, primarily because of Flareup. All of the femmes in this unit are combat trained and are highly skilled and responsible, except Flareup. Disobedience of orders should only be done with good reason. However, as Flareup's mentor you know she is not seasoned. She's a loose cannon and she looks up to you for leadership and guidance. If you don't obey orders then why should she?"

Elita stared at the standing femme and drummed her fingers on the top of her desk thinking, "so, you will be allowed to have high grade with the others but your punishment will be to assist Flareup in making ammunition and storing it. Explain to her you are being punished and that further actions will result in your removal as SIC. 'Mia, you know I need you so please don't force me to demote you, alright? Dismissed."

"Yes, ma'am. Apologies ma'am. Oh, Commander," responded Chromia. "Will you be joining us in the rec room?"

"No, I'm going to speak with Alpha Trion. He's found a shuttle that may be space-worthy. I originally planned to have us stay here and take back Cybertron but I am re-thinking that. The longer we stay the greater risk we take and with resources almost gone… I think staying is foolish and if we do have an opportunity to leave we should."

Elita shrugged, "of course all that hinges on whether or not Alpha Trion can get the ship functioning. However, with the addition of Wheeljack, that might speed things along. I'm going to go offer AT his assistance. Regardless, we need to set up two alternate fall-back sites."

"So much to prepare," she added tiredly as she stood.

"Yes, and you've done a great job. Optimus would be proud," replied Chromia as she held out her hand.

Elita reached across the table and grasped her friend's servo and smiled. Then she asked softly, "do you still feel him?"

Chromia smiled and nodded. Elita closed her eyes for a moment as she made a silent prayer. Chromia saluted and left the office and Elita followed.

— Chicago, Illinois – Accuretta Systems—

FirstAid slowly lifted his arm and made a fist and opened it again. He quickly ran diagnostics and scans to insure his appendage was operating properly. Once he was assured that was the case, he levered himself up as best as he could and reached over to grab his other arm. It took several attempts, one of which almost dislodged him from the berth but he was able to pull the arm to him and began to position himself to attach it. It was awkward trying to do so with only one servo, but he was a patient and persistent Autobot.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Ellie woke up with a groan and stared at the ceiling of her new room. She'd left the light on because the darkness was so complete she was afraid she'd be disoriented when she woke. She quickly covered her eyes with her arm realizing that she could've just left the bathroom light on and sighed at her stupidity.

She rose carefully and moaned in pain as her head and arm pounded in an agonizing symphony. She placed her feet on the cold cement, padded over to the kitchen and reached into the box on the counter to get the meds the doctor had given her yesterday. She quickly read the dosage instructions and then grabbed a glass from the counter and filled it with water. She quickly downed the pills with a sigh and walked over to bed. As best as she could with one arm in pain and a migraine, she made her bed and strapped it in and pushed it back up. Once it was in place she moved the chairs back under the table and sat down for a moment and placed her head on the cool surface.

Out of curiosity she lifted the cuff on the attachment and unsnapped it and pulled it off. She then removed the wrappings around the port and examined it. Both the incision site and the injection site were red and inflamed and she sighed. She went into the bathroom cubby and grabbed a towel from the linen shelf and returned to the kitchen to scoop up some ice from the freezer. She padded over to the sofa and sat down, dragging the remote over to her as she positioned pillows to prop the ice on her arm while she scanned the TV channels available.

With her feet on the coffee table she flicked through channel after channel as she waited for the drugs and ice to do their thing. She ran across an independent channel that made her stop and chuckle when the side image was that of an alien. She listened in amusement to the program and realized it was a conspiracy theory program and muttered out loud, "Jake would love this show."

Growing bored with a discussion of Area 51, she realized her headache had reduced down to a delicate throb and her arm, likewise. Her stomach growled making her turn off the TV and forced her into the kitchen to rummage around for something to eat. Pleased at the variety of food supplied, she decided to make a substantial breakfast and quickly cooked eggs, sausage and waffles.

By the time her meal was ready any pain she was experiencing was gone and she thought with relief that he'd given her some pretty darned good meds. She quickly bolted down her food surprised at how hungry she'd been and then took her dishes over to the sink, washed them and set them to dry. Once that was done she padded over to the bathroom to take a shower. Since she'd woke up earlier than expected from the pain she was able to bask in the heat of the warm shower, letting it pound on her back and enjoyed the rare treat.

Her rented room was in a building with a notoriously poor water heater. At most, she was lucky to have a warm shower, normally it was tepid, but if she made the mistake of waking up late, it was icy cold.

The memory made her shudder as she turned off the water and dried herself. She proceeded through her normal morning ritual and she paused as she applied mascara. She frowned and asked her reflection, "why am I doing this, it's not like I'm going to be seeing another living soul for who knows how long. Do I really need to put this stuff on?"

She tilted her head and regarded her face and grinned as she answered, "as long as I gotta look at my face, I guess it can't hurt."

By 9:55 a.m. she was out the door and down the hallway. She placed her hand on the lab's biolock and waited for the chime and snick of the door. Today was the start of her new cloistered life, she thought with a roll of her eyes as she walked into the lab.

When she entered the lab it was empty and she took a seat at the center table and waited. She positioned herself so that she could see the front door as she hated being surprised. She tapped her fingers on the counter top impatiently, it was 10:01 a.m., on her watch as she stared down at the device in annoyance. With a sigh she stood up and looked at the scribbles on the counter top more carefully. She tilted her head and frowned at some of the strange symbols written in confusion, none of them made any sense to her.

- Femme Base, Cybertron –

Elita started the next day by going over the inventory with Lancer as they began the process of organizing supplies for the move. No one questioned her actions, Elita as the unit commander could if she wanted simply stand back and monitor her team's activities. However, like the Prime, she preferred to lead by example and readily participated with any task. Such as the simple chore of managing inventory and preparing supplies for mobilization. If they weren't ready, they'd lose many vital supplies necessary for their survival.

Decepticon activity was still high since the retrieval of Wheeljack and Sunstreaker, so the femmes continued to remain hunkered down in their headquarters. Each worked on prepping their gear and in less than a day the base was almost boxed and ready for evacuation. The command center's consoles were still in place as they had been creatively engineered to disconnect into smaller units moved and reassembled without fuss. They would remain up until the move commenced.

Elita received a single ping on her internal comm and excused herself from Lancer to meet with Alpha Trion.

The old bot was waiting in his laboratory which was in a similar stage of disassembly. He greeted Elita with a smile and led her to a table which held a data tablet. He picked it up and handed it to her, "Elita, I've managed to get the ship over to the appropriate access roadway for the lower levels. This is the location of the refinery dock. It's time to move. I will be relocating as well so once you're gone I will be too."

He took her servo and held it to his spark, "continue to protect your people and it will go well. Now go little one." She blinked in surprise at the speedy dismissal and looked at him in confusion as he gently pushed her out the door and watched as it hissed shut.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Alpha Trion leaned his helm against the door as Elita left and sighed. He loved the 'little one' as he placed a servo on the closed portal and spoke softly, "go and find Optimus."

He vented softly and straightened, he was wasting time. He spun on his pede and quickly returned to the work of packing his equipment. Despite the great desire to go with the femmes, plans had been put into motion long before her creation which had to be fulfilled. As he worked he hoped he would see Elita and Optimus again.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

Elita read the information on the datapad and quickly stored it in her subspace. As she made her way to the command center, she noted gratefully Chromia was already there looking over reports. Elita tapped Chromia on the shoulder and then advised the command staff that she and Chromia would be doing a little recon.

Chromia stared at her leader in confusion but Elita merely shook her head as they left. Elita led them down many access paths and then stopped when they reached the corridor where Alpha Trion had placed the shuttle. It was massive and it amazed the pink femme that an old mech like Alpha was able to move a ship that large by himself. But there it was, the rest was now up to them.

Chromia looked at the ship and ran her hand along its smooth surface as she walked around it humming thoughtfully. While Chromia made her cursory inspection Elita looked down and took note of a set of transport flats the vessel rested upon which would make moving the craft easier than she anticipated. Chromia walked near the front and rubbed some dust covering the name and read it aloud softly, "Updraft huh? So this is the ship we're going to leave on?"

Elita nodded, "apparently. Come, there's more to do, follow me."

Elita quickly transformed and sped off with Chromia trailing behind. An hour later Elita stopped and transformed noting a small mark on the wall that Alpha Trion placed to indicate where they were to raise the ship. As she walked around she studied the large loading platform, it had symbols on the mechanism which were in an ancient form of Cybertronian and had not Alpha provided the correct information, she would not have known how to operate it.

Elita turned to her friend, "we'll be moving all of our gear here. This platform will raise the ship into a refinery where we'll relocate our headquarters. We'll split into teams, one to relocate the base the other to move the ship. Once we get the ship raised up into the refinery, we'll make any remaining repairs and prep it for launch."

"AT's work?"

"Yes," Elita responded sadly.

Chromia looked at her friend in concern and frowned, "what's wrong?"

"He's not going to come, he said he has to stay."

Chromia blinked for a moment at the information. Ironhide had mentioned to her that Alpha Trion was a puzzle of an old bot and had never made any sense to him. She never really had a chance to talk with him, because he preferred to work only with Elita or occasionally with Greenlight and Lancer. He was definitely a recluse as such she left old and eccentric mechs to their own devices and never questioned their decisions. Elita, on the other hand, had a much closer relationship to the mech and would feel his absence greatly.

Chromia walked over to her friend and put an arm around her comfortingly, "so, did he say why?"

"No. Only that he had more to do here and he couldn't explain what it was to me."

"'Hide always said that bot was a mystery and you just had to shrug your shoulders and do whatever he said. I know it's going to be hard but I'm here for you and I always will be. Understand?" Elita sagged a moment into her friend's arms appreciating the comfort. But only for a moment, it was not often she ever allowed herself to be emotional, and then stood with her 'command' face back in place.

"Let's get moving."

Chromia nodded and the two motored back to base.

— Chicago, Illinois – Accuretta Systems—

Ellie grabbed one of the pads of lined paper and quickly copied a few of the strange symbols. She looked at her watch and quickly stuffed the sheet into her jean pocket. She'd do some research afterwards if he didn't have time to explain what they meant. No sense in wasting an opportunity to learn something that might be useful for her career, whatever that may be. She drummed her fingers again and looked around the room. With a puff of air and childish boredom she spun herself around and around in the chair until she was dizzy. She slammed her hands on the countertop to stop her spinning when Gurmit dashed in.

The scientist looked both harried and apologetic, "I'm so sorry I'm late, the project I was working on… I wasn't tracking time. We are so very behind on our schedule. Never mind, that is not important. Ellie, please go over to the computer and port yourself in. I must check the data, there's a good girl." Then he dashed over to the medical section and quickly made himself another injection.

"What was that for?" she asked with a frown as he threw the depleted needle into the trash.

He quickly walked over to his computer terminal and checked the connection to her wrist. Then he sat to load the program, "that? It's nothing, just a mild stimulant. I am working on two major projects at the same time so from time to time I cannot get the sleep I need. The stimulants aid me in times like this, it doesn't happen often. I don't use them often because the after-effects leave me quite drained. Have no fear you won't be affected in such a manner."

"Good to know," she said. "Oh, I wanted to let you know there was pain and inflammation but the meds you gave me and putting ice on it helped, just like you suggested."

She pointed out the redness, "it doesn't seem to have gotten worse."

He leaned over and touched the wound carefully and muttered, "good, good. Your body is adapting quite well." He turned to review the lines of code and entered more and frowned at the results.

He sat back with a sigh and turned to her, "Ellie, I am a man who prefers strict schedules and I do not like to change them. However, it management is dictating those changes whether I like them or not."

He regarded the young woman carefully, "I must confess something to you with the understanding that once you leave this facility you will say nothing. If you do it will cost lives."

"Cost lives? Don't you mean save lives? Are you okay doc," she said worriedly as she pulled back from him.

"Just listen and then I will show you the truth in my words, alright?" She nodded with a frown and placed the wrist cuff back on her arm.

"The nanobots I injected you with were not designed by me," he held up his hand when she tried to speak out. "Please let me finish."

He looked down and attempted to gather his thoughts, "do you remember Mission City?"

She nodded and frowned again, only this time with confusion.

"What was reported was not what happened. It was the result of an alien race that has come to our world. They are terrifying killing machines and we have few weapons that can harm them. I was brought in learn how to destroy them. I have analyzed them on every level to see if there is any way we can fight back."

He stood up and paced with his hands clasped behind his back, fear and worry laced his words, "when I was brought on, I only knew of them as dangerous robotic beings. When one of their ships crashed, we were able to capture two of them alive. We are using them to test and study, some might say torture to divine their secrets. I have failed on so many levels… I still have been unable to find a way to defeat them. When they do decide to take over we will be defenseless."

"Initially we tried to use their armor both as remote battle suits and battle suits our soldiers could wear. We've tried to break down their armor through chemicals, infect them with viruses, nothing has worked. The project you are a part of is the neural interface bridge between their system and the human brain we hoped to use for the battle armor."

"What I did was take a part of their technology, the nanobots, and attempted to reprogram them to act as a bridge. An interface if you will, between our human brain and their mechanical processor. That is what I injected into your system, their nanobots, the blue fluid suspension is called energon. It is their life blood as well as a component in their weaponry."

"Energon's power alone is devastating and sadly we can't use it because we can't recreate it. We're running out of time and I'm being pressured to find a weapon, a solution, anything and do it now."

"At first we thought we were dealing with an alien take over. Now we are not so sure, these aliens appear to be factionalized and are at war with each other. We're not sure if our world was simply in the way or if they intend on harming us or what. These factions are called Autobot and Decepticon. I have recently been persuaded to believe the Decepticons are the ones trying to take over our planet and the Autobots are here to help us. My superiors find their presence on Earth too dangerous to risk trusting either. I've sworn to protect life, but…."

He scrubbed his face in frustration, "how do I chose? Do I place their lives over ours and take the risk they'll destroy us? Or do I participate in harming them? Which, right now is not that important, what is important is the project you're in. The integration of their technology and the human neurological system has failed…."

"Failed," she asked softly and then raised her arm. "As in, no one you've done this to has lived?!"

- Cybertron, Femme Base -

Elita walked down the corridor to the hidden doorway and again through a small passageway to Alpha Trion's laboratory. She smiled as she observed Alpha Trion's form slumped over his keyboard in recharge and politely rapped on the wall to get his attention. The older mech popped up startled and turned to regard the pink femme commander, "was the mission successful?"

"It was, better than we imagined," she walked in and sat down on another chair. "We were able to retrieve energon, some supplies and two prisoners, one of which is a scientist. Chromia was able to plant charges on their ammunitions depot which went up rather well. We believe their stockpile is decimated. The downside is that Decepticon patrols have been increased so there's a risk of detection."

Elita leaned forward in her chair, "Alpha, you know I originally planned to stay on Cybertron but with the addition of two more members, dwindling resources, and psychotic Decepticons running loose, I agree, it's time we leave and regroup with the rest of the Autobot forces. That is, if the shuttle is space worthy?"

"My dear, you have carried these responsibilities admirably and the decision to leave is no doubt a hard one. My tests have validated the vessel is space-worthy but there are still some repairs to be made as well as finding a safe launch site. I have had a shield generator in storage that can be run for short bursts that will offer adequate cover for the ship, I didn't offer it to you because it drains too much energon. So between fueling the generator and the shuttle, there won't be much left."

Alpha Trion walked over to a computer screen and pulled up several different locations, "as to launch sites, I believe the refineries are our best solution. As soon as I locate one, I'll ready it for the ship. Moving the vessel will take time because we'll have to go deep, almost planet level. It will be dangerous because of the age of some of the structures below, but the size of the lower levels is perfect for the passage of a ship it's size. It's a good thing our ancestors were much greater in size than we are now or we wouldn't be able to move it safely. The only trouble I foresee is raising the ship to the surface once you've reached the refineries."

"In the meantime, I shall make improvements on the vessel and update its computer with coordinates to an outpost I think is still safe. I'll contact you when it's ready to move. I estimate it will take your unit about a month to lower, move the ship to the refinery site, and raise it. While you're moving the ship I will ready a repair bay in the refinery so the final repairs can be complete there."

"Elita, you'll need to split your team to do this. Half to move the ship and half to relocate the base and supplies to the refinery hangar. But, in order to get that location and the ship ready, I'd better get back to work."

Elita nodded feeling tension but surpressing the unwanted emotion, "sounds good, will you need assistance moving your equipment?"

Alpha Trion turned to his computer and began to type in data, "no."

Elita frowned in confusion, "no? You're going to abandon all of this?"

"No… I'm not coming."

Elita looked at her mentor in horror, "what? No! Alpha, you can't stay! We won't leave you here alone, you must come with us!"

The older mech looked at her sadly and turned away, "I have my reasons."

Elita shook her helm in annoyance, "oh no, I'm sorry Alpha Trion, not this time. There is not one good reason I can think of for you to stay. WE need you, the Autobots need you." She trailed off softly and she reached for his hand pleadingly, "Optimus needs you."

Alpha regarded her servo wistfully, "true, those are indeed good reasons. But there is much more involved here that I cannot share with you. My work is not complete. Rest assured, I will be fine. I know this planet far better than any Decepticon does, they will not find me."

"But Alpha…"

"Enough young one, your words grieve me and I do not wish to grieve. I do not make this choice easily, now go and leave an old bot in peace."

A blue liquid tear flowed down Elita's cheek as she stood obediently to her feet. She wiped it away in annoyance disliking any display of emotion as she walked over to the older mech and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked away and waved his hand for her to go and she sighed sadly but obeyed.

- Earth, Accuretta Systems -

"So... what you're telling me is that all those reports touting your test subjects survived, didn't and you lied to me so you could try again?"

Gurmit stopped to better organize his thoughts. He chose to avoid answering her question, "I want you to meet them. I think with their help they can integrate the nanobots in your body and keep you alive. Come with me."

He turned and walked to the doors at the back of the room and placed his hand on the lock and waited for the confirmation click. He never turned around as he opened the door to see if she followed.

Ellie stood up her body chilled in disbelief, "and if the nanobots don't integrate with my body I die. I suppose the part about you safely removing them is a lie as well?" She followed him into a huge darkened chamber and stopped as her words echoed back at her.

"Prepare yourself," he said as he walked over and flipped switches on the wall lighting rows of lights within a chamber that was incredibly huge. Easily 3 floors high and larger than the building itself. She walked into the room and gaped for a moment until her eyes fell upon two huge beings and froze.

Robots? Ellie closed her eyes as her brain refused to accept what she was seeing and opened them again. They were still there. The one closest to the door was seated on a platform, his body was made of large sections of red and white components. His head contained no features only a glowing blue visor and a silvery mask over the lower region of what should be his face. The other was lying on a pallet further away and was solid black and lacking arms and legs. However because of the robot's torso she assumed that one was a female, if they had sexes. The female's features were set in a sneer and illuminated by a pair of ruby red eyes.

Ellie stumbled to a stop and gasped unable to formulate a single word as her mind tried to make sense of what she was seeing. Granted she enjoyed science fiction from time to time but she was no fan. She only watched such programming when there was nothing else on.

The seated robot nodded at her making her eyes widen and then he spoke, "Gurmit. Is this the human you mentioned to me yesterday?"

Ellie's eyes widened even further as she stared at the robot and then turned when the female snorted and looked away. What surprised her was the tone of his voice, instead of a theatrical robotic sound his tones were deep, warm and gentle.

Gurmit walked up beside Ellie and placed a hand on her shoulder making her start and then she carefully tried to pull away. The scientist clamped his hand tightly on her shoulder, "yes FirstAid, this is the girl I mentioned yesterday. The nanobots have been in her system for less than 24 hours, I hope there is something you can do to help. You… you installed your legs."

Ellie felt Gurmit's body tense as the hand on her shoulder clenched tighter and realized how terribly afraid he was. Her head swiveled back to the robots when she remembered the images from Mission City news reports and wondered if she was safe.

"I have. I found movement without them to be problematic and as you can see, I have not damaged your facility or equipment nor am I threatening you in any fashion. With respect to the little femme, as I said before, I will do all I can. I just wish you hadn't injected her knowing the results would not change."

"Femme?" Ellie squeeked out the word as the large being stood and stepped to kneel in front of her to get a better look.

Noting her fear by her physical reaction and biological readings FirstAid said gently, "I am FirstAid. Femme is the designation we give to the… females… of our species."

He lifted his arm slowly and activated his scanner, the flare of light that played over both human's caused them to jump back and shout in fear.

FirstAid tilted his helm and lowered his arm slowly, "oh, I'm sorry. I did not mean to frighten you. I thought you possessed medical scanning equipment?"

Gurmit said tremulously as he looked behind to gage the distance to the door, "we do, but we use stationary devices which do not send out beams of light as yours just did."

"Ah, well, let me explain then," First Aid sat down on ground slowly and leaned over to show them his forearm. "I'm a medic and as a part of my upgrades, I've been equipped with various types of scanning equipment which aid me in determining the condition of my patient. I also have the necessary tools and supplies to make most repairs, although that applies to my species not your own."

With a gentle flick of his wrist a small display appeared from a hidden compartment on his forearm. He passed his other hand over and raised it into the air, making the display on his forearm appear above his arm. Using his fingers he increased the size of the image and quickly snipped out the male form on the scan.

"This is an image of the scan I took, I removed Gurmit's form so I can focus on the femme's body. Ellie, correct? Do you see the flare threading through your organic system? That indicates the nanobots…"

Ellie stared at the image entranced until she comprehended what he'd just explained, "wait, did you say nanobots? Doctor, is this another lie? You told me you were only injecting me with one."

Gurmit released her shoulder and stood straighter, "I told you directives changed. I did not wish to frighten you."

FirstAid shook his helm, his voice deepened with suppressed anger, "again, you knew the results would be the same, yet you risked this human's life hoping to provoke me into providing you with a possible solution. I told you I might not be able to find one and you still risked her life. This was a gambit you yourself should've made, not an innocent. No matter what your reasoning was, what you have done is a crime."

Dismissing Gurmit with a small growl he turned to the smaller human, "young one, I will do all I can to save you but I can make no promises. My medical training is for my people, not for organics."

Gurmit frowned at the Autobot and then looked at the young woman, "it was your kind who forced our hand. As we speak, your kind threatened us publicly with annihilation if we don't procure a human you want. There is no time left, we have to find a way to fight so our race can survive."

Gurmit turned to the young woman pleadingly, "Ellie, I didn't select you, in fact I personally rejected your application. Management must've sensed my reticence and decided to force me to use you as a tool to motivate me…."

Ellie stepped back from Gurmit and shook her head as she tried to digest everything that was happening, "so you injected me anyway? Do you seriously think they'd have any reason to save my life just so you can use that to kill them? Are you insane?!" As she shouted she backed away from the doctor and accidentally bumped into the robot's huge hand. She squeaked as she turned around to look up at the giant being.

"Gurmit, please leave us. I would like to talk to the femme alone," FirstAid commanded as he opened his hand. "Little femme, would you please sit on my servo, it will be easier for us to talk when we are at optic level."

Ellie gulped as she turned to look at Gurmit and then back at the giant mechanoid. She stared at the doctor as he shuffled out of the office, head lowered in defeat. He paused at the door and turned to look at the large hand poised to pick up the girl warily.

"I would not worry, I was not the one who harmed her in the first place," FirstAid said gently and waited.

Ellie looked up and frowned unsure if she could trust him, it was hard to tell what he was feeling or if he had any feelings at all. When she looked at him all she saw was her own reflection in the blue shield that covered where his eyes could be. If he had eyes. He nodded but did nothing more to encourage her and simply waited. She turned to look at the door again but the doctor vanished. Alone with beings she'd never imagined to ever meet, she stepped numbly onto the open hand and she sat down.

"Thank you," FirstAid said as he gently elevated his hand and slowed when she leaned over for balance. When the human was at optic level the Autobot tilted his helm thoughtfully, "again, your designation is Ellie? Is that right?"

"Designation? Optic? Uh, yes my name is Ellie is that what you mean by designation?"

FirstAid nodded, "I am FirstAid and the femme over there is called Duststorm. We are both from a planet called Cybertron. But I don't think that's what's most important to you right now which is your condition. I cannot make you any promise of cure, just that I will do all I can to help, alright?"

Ellie nodded, "thank you. What do I need to do?"

FirstAid tilted his helm as he pointed to her wrist, "I noted a small port, Gurmit does not possess one nor have any of the other humans I've seen, what is its purpose?"

Ellie shifted the wrist band and uncapped the device, "Dr. Krishmanurty installed it. He has a computer cable he plugs into it to get data from the nanobots. At least that's what he said it was for, now I'm not so sure."

"I see." Then FirstAid asked gently, "my kind uses such ports for medical purposes. Perhaps I may do the same with you if you would allow me to port into your system and check for myself?"

"Uh, how would you do that, wouldn't you need a really small cable?"

FirstAid chuckled in a way she didn't take as condescending, "my race has the ability to transform. To show you I must set you on my leg as I cannot withdraw my medical lead easily with you sitting on my servo."

She nodded and waited as he lowered her to his leg. She stepped off and sat down. As he opened his wrist section, she leaned forward to watch and had to place her hand on his leg to brace herself. She noted with surprise that it was warm, "you're warm, I hadn't expected that."

FirstAid glanced down at the human as he used his freed servo to extract his medical lead and lowered it to the girl, "that is because I am a living being. I'm going to lower my lead close to your appendage. Just grasp it and touch the lead to your wrist port, it will transform to the appropriate size. Then insert the lead, it will only take a moment."

Just as the robot outlined he held the huge lead, easily the diameter of her head, for her to grab. When she did it began to transform with a whir of mechanics that continued as she touched it to the port on her wrist as she watched it reshift until it was the appropriate size of the port on her wrist.

"Would you please insert the lead? I don't wish to cause you injury by using unnecessary force."

"Oh, okay," she said in an awed voice and with a gentle click the device attached. "Okay, what next?"

"Well, I will try to access whatever system is accessible," FirstAid said. "Again, my experience with organics is limited and none I've known possessed a medical connection port such as yours. Please tell me if this causes you any discomfort, is that acceptable to you?"

She simply nodded and tried to relax.

FirstAid tilted his head, "I will commence with a very light probe…. I do not know how long this will take, so please be patient."

"Okay," she said softly as she took a deep breath to keep from shaking. She felt a slight pressure in her arm and nothing more. They sat there in silence for some time before he spoke again.

"You may remove the lead," FirstAid advised and waited as she extracted the connection. She watched with fascination as the port reassembled itself back to its original size as he retracted it back into his wrist compartment which closed with a slight snick sound.

"This is complex. I shall do my best to explain," FirstAid looked up when he heard a small system activate. "Doctor, do not spy on us. I will advise you of my findings."

Ellie turned on the metal leg and looked around, "he's spying on us?"

"He has a surveillance system that he uses to watch and study us," FirstAid informed the young woman. "Fear causes even the most rational of beings to do the most horrendous of things."

Duststorm snorted, unable to contain her response. Ellie looked up at FirstAid with a questioning expression.

"We are not willing participants, Ellie. She wishes to be freed, as do I. I hope if I can appeal to Gurmit's better nature he will help free us. Duststorm has a more… cynical… view and does not agree with me."

Ellie felt a chill down her spine, "that's right… you're prisoners and here I am hoping you'll help me. What does that make me?"

"It makes you a victim," grumbled Duststorm. "You were used as much as we were, so I have no issue with you. I don't want to see a youngling die as much as the next femme, I just don't want to give him a weapon to harm us with."

Ellie looked over at the femme helplessly, "I don't know what to do. I don't want to die but if you save me they'll use that to kill you? This is all wrong." Ellie looked at both bots helplessly and then slumped over in defeat.

FirstAid nodded, "what they did is wrong. I will do what I can as long as I do not create a weapon to kill my people. Do you understand?"

Ellie took another deep breath and nodded, "I understand."

As they waited for Gurmit to join them, she tried to take her mind off her predicament and looked around the room. She frowned when she realized there wasn't a large entrance, "how did they get you both in here?"

"Look behind me," Duststorm said softly. "Next to me is a large egress port, it's been covered, but it's there. Unfortunately we were in stasis when they brought us in, so I'm only guessing that was the entrance. Do you know where it leads?"

Ellie shook her head, "this building has several lower level parking garages but I've never been in them, I don't have a car. I won't be able to check later cause when I volunteered, part of the security package was that I couldn't leave this floor or the building until my part is done."

"You can't leave?" Both bots regarded the young woman for her to explain further.

"It made sense at the time. I was told this was a program to test new nanotechnology for precision surgery. This new way of operating on a human body would avoid surgical complications many suffer and die from. Using these micro-devices would increase a patient's survival. Since this technology is new, whoever succeeds in bringing it to market would earn a great deal of money. So to prevent the technology from being stolen, the information had to be kept secure."

"Why did you do this in the first place," FirstAid asked gently.

"I want to go to college and I need the money to pay for it. This program's human testing appeared to be benign with no risk and it included a large financial reward. I should've realized it was too good to be true. So, if you believe Dr. Krishmanurty is a fool, I am one as well."

Duststorm vented in frustration, "why didn't your caretaker prevent you from making such a stupid decision?"

"Duststorm," FirstAid chided. "It is not necessary to add to her grief, she is suffering enough as it is."

"No it's okay FirstAid, I deserve it. I'm going to assume caretaker means parent and my father did warn me against taking risks. But on my planet I'm considered an adult so I can make decisions without his permission."

"You're an adult?" Duststorm tried to adjust her helm to try to get a better look, "you appear to me to be nothing more than a sparkling."

"What is your frame age Ellie," asked FirstAid.

"Uh, well, I'm 26 years old if that's what you're asking. Humans become an adult usually around 21 years of age, sometimes 18. It depends on the place you live," she said hoping that answered their questions.

FirstAid nodded, "I see. Now, as to your condition. Gurmit, it is alright to enter."

Ellie turned about on his knee and watched the door as the young doctor entered and walked over to his chair and sat down, "I would like to record this conversation."

"Aren't you already? No matter, this is what I hypothesize," FirstAid shook his helm as he looked down at the small femme sitting on his knee.

"The nanobots injected into your frame are what our frames use as repair drones. They populate every living Cybertronian body because their purpose is to repair and maintain our internal systems. They are able to do this because they can link with the host bot's core system. They use this link to obtain information, such as where injuries are located and what repairs are needed to be made. When injuries are too severe, a medic is needed."

"The problem Gurmit, is the nanobots within her body have no core to link with and will never find one. In Cybertronians if the link is damaged or disabled the drones are programmed to rebuild the necessary connections. To do this they will spread throughout the frame searching and building a Cybertronian filament network to reestablish the connection. They will do so until they either find the core or drain the body's energy and metallic elements. Given the nature of your organic processor once they begin building within it, they destroy and interrupt the natural organic body functions so organic dies."

Ellie blinked and tried to laugh, "is it okay if I don't understand what you just said."

"Given the situation, it is perfectly understandable," FirstAid tipped his helm to her. "The point is, there is nothing he can do to reverse what he's set in motion. You have failed again, doctor."

Gurmit frowned and stood up, "are you saying you can do nothing? Ellie's the last candidate anyway, there will be no others, can't you at least try?"

"There are a few things I would like to try. The sooner I get to work the better, I need to stop the advancement of the nanobots. This requires unlimited access to her frame, is this possible?"

"No, I wish to monitor her as well. She will visit you, under supervision, and then I must examine the work to make sure she is medically sound," Gurmit shook his head vehemently as he exited the chamber.

"Afthole," Duststorm quipped.

FirstAid ignored his companion, "Ellie, I don't know if I can arrest the nanobots but I will at least try to make sure you don't suffer too much discomfort."

"Thank you for trying and for what it's worth, I'm really sorry about all this," she said as she looked up and shrugged.

FirstAid nodded, then he turned and looked at his platform and presented his hand to the young woman, "we should start, since Gurmit didn't request you leave. Would you lie down on this berth, it will make examining you easier than leaning over you while you're on the ground."

Ellie nodded and waited for FirstAid to offer his hand. She stood up and carefully stepped onto his open hand and let him lift her over to the platform. She shivered a little as she laid down on the chilly surface.

"I need to connect my medical lead again and see if I can redirect the nanobots remotely, just like before."

Ellie nodded and adjusted her wrist cuff to uncover the port and waited for the lead to transform and gently inserted it. Then she laid back and closed her eyes and tried to focus on breathing to calm herself. She didn't really feel anything and overwhelmed by the stress actually fell asleep.

FirstAid noted the shift in Ellie's systems and sighed, "good, she's fallen into recharge."

Duststorm asked unable to hide her concern, "do you think you can help her?"

FirstAid looked up, "I don't know."

"Well, at least you've got something to do. I think I'm going to go mad if we stay here any longer."

"I understand, a seeker trapped underground… I am sorry, truly," he said as he attempted to connect with the small nanobot drones.

"It's not like there's anything either of us can do about it," Duststorm sighed. "I guess I'll recharge."

"I am here if you need to talk," he said as he tried various algorithms to redirect the active drones.

Duststorm snorted. Outwardly, he was still an Autobot but that didn't stop her from feeling slightly grateful she had someone to keep her company within this tomb.

— Cybertron, Femme Base —

The femmes were used to base moves so they responded quickly, impressing the two mech Autobots residing with them. The halls were quickly stacked with crates ready to move when Elita called a meeting to advise them of the ship when Wheeljack nearly vaulted out of seat in excitement.

Elita ordered everyone to rest before the start of the move as she sat alone in the command center. She ran her hand over the equipment deep in thought and then placed the system on automatic and left.

She walked down the corridor to Alpha Trion's lab, part of her sure that he would be gone. While another part of her secretly hoped he would be there to at least let her say good bye. She activated the handle, the door slid open and unlike before the hallway usually dimly lit by the lab, was dark.

She activated her night vision and walked into the lab. She scanned the room and true to his word, almost all of his equipment except a few pieces was gone. She walked over to a table and slumped in the chair he'd left behind and broke into quiet sobs. It wasn't that she was sentimental but Alpha Trion had been both a mentor and a tangible link to Optimus. When she regained her composure she saw a tablet sitting on the table in front of her, picked it up and activated it.

"Dearest Elita, you have either started the move or have completed it and have come to check in on me. I told you, I would be gone. I thought it best because it breaks my spark to leave you as I have grown to love you as my own. To my spark, you are as much a part of my family as is Optimus."

"Be assured that the plans I follow have a purpose and were set in motion centuries before your creation. When I accepted this responsibility, I did not realize the pain I would experience having to leave valued friends. The situation is dark, but you must believe in the possibility of hope and it is for that I ready Cybertron. I love you greatly, my dear, and I count the days until we see each other again."

"Elita, some of the files on this data pad might be useful for Optimus, would you hold them for me until you see him again. With love, Alpha Trion."

She turned off the datapad and placed it into her subspace with a sigh as she wiped her cheeks dry. She stood and slowly scanned the area one last time and left not knowing if she would ever see him or this place ever again.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The next morning Elita was rudely shaken out of recharge by Lancer. The Decepticons had accidentally stumbled across one of the outer access tunnels. Elita sighed and ordered an immediate evacuation of command to the ship. There was a chance the Decepticons might miss the base, but the lives of her team weren't worth the risk.

'So,' Elita thought with a sigh, 'like any well thought out plan once the Decepticons get involved get ready to scrap it all and wing it.'

With the ship several levels down, the femme commander decided to pack up the base and instead of moving it to the refinery, relocate it to the ship. Then everyone could move the craft en masse to the new location. This would be risky as most of the femmes would have to be in vehicle mode both in transporting the base's equipment and pulling the ship. But she couldn't afford the chance of the Decepticons would find the ship while they were moving the base and vice versa.

The challenge would be if the Decepticons attacked them in transit, heavily loaded and in vehicle mode, they would be unable to defend themselves. Elita hoped being in the lower levels would be enough to avoid detection.

As Lancer packed the last computer components into Greenlight's vehicle mode, the rest of the team made a quick check of the base. There were bits of furniture remaining, but no documents or equipment that the Decepticons would find useful or in any way use identify this place as a former Autobot installation. Once each femme reported back an all clear Elita gave the order to evacuate.

Elita and Chromia, ever thorough, did another pass through of the base. Once they were sure, they went to the power room and as Elita shut down the power generator Chromia transformed so it could be loaded on her. Once it was secure, the two femmes silently left their base and headed down to the lower levels where the ship was stored and the rest of the team waited.

Once they reached the ship they loaded it with the extra supplies. Sunstreaker stayed in his bi-pedal form to act as front guard and started down the pathway marked by Alpha Trion as most of the femmes, including Wheeljack hooked themselves up to the transport pallets and started to pull the large vessel forward. Elita trailed behind guarding their rear as they made a long and dark trip through Cybertron's underworld to reach the refineries on the edge of the Sea of Rust.

—◊◊—◊◊—◊◊—

The small Autobot unit made their way quietly and with relief because the path Alpha Trion selected was on access levels untraveled and free of Decepticons. Since all but Elita and Sunstreaker were pulling the large vessel, moving it had gone much faster than anticipated and within several cycles the ship was in place.

Elita decided it would be better to unload everyone and set up the command center first before bringing up the ship. Leaving the shuttle behind, her entire team drove onto the platform. She activated the unit and despite the age of the equipment or perhaps Alpha Trion had made repairs, the weight of the team including supplies did not seem to hinder the lift's progress as they rose slowly to the surface. Once they reached the surface, Elita and Sunstreaker leaped off the platform and did a search of the building. Then Elita scanned the area as Sunstreaker waited by the platform to lower it should this area be considered unsafe. Again, as Alpha Trion had promised, the area was free of Decepticons. With precision trained from years of survival Elita quickly rejoined her team and started to unload. Each femme, once unloaded helped the other until the interior of the refinery was filled with a mess of crates.

"Greenlight, Lancer, I want you two to find a good location for our computer equipment and set it up. I want scanners operational as soon as possible. Moonracer, Firestar, Flareup, Arcee and Sunstreaker, setup a perimeter. Remember, we're topside and don't have much in the way of shielding, so keep a low profile. Wheeljack, unload the shield generator and get that setup and ready to go. The minute we get a ping on long-range sensors, start it up. It burns fuel quickly, so only run it when necessary. Chromia, help me move the containers over here so we can position the shuttle closer to the roof opening. Once we're done, we'll move the ship onto the platform and bring it up."

The refinery Alpha Trion had located for them was a massive building made of a particularly reflective substance. At the time the refinery was built, the material was used because it was cheap and easy to come by. The knowledge of this special metal was either by intention or ignorance, never recorded and its supplies mysteriously vanished. Except for one Cybertronian whose knowledge was vast both in time and in many fields. The metal's unique property was that it could reflect scanner signals and provided a safe haven for the femmes to hide in until launch. The only weakness was the large hole in the ceiling, either caused by war or age, which the addition of the shield generator would be an added layer of protection until launch.

The platform lowered slowly down the myriads of levels as the two femmes stood as silent guardians. Neither spoke as the platform rumbled down each lost in thought as they waited for it to reach the correct level. Elita worried that the lift due to its age would give out but was grateful when the level was reached without incident. She reached to press the button to stop the platform.

Chromia chuckled at her friend and punched her lightly on the arm, "worry-wart." Then the sleek blue femme quickly hopped off the platform before it stopped and grabbed a towing cable. She quickly transformed herself while attaching the cable to her rear bumper. Elita joined her friend and quipped back tartly, "that's commander worry-wart to you soldier!"

The two burst out laughing and then stopped when their echos reverberated back to them. Chromia spoke up softly, "I guess that wasn't a smart thing to do, huh."

"Yes," Elita agreed softly as the pair pushed their systems to the limit as they pulled the massive vehicle slowly onto the ramp, "let's just hope we're the only ones down here that heard that."

"Thanks for that Elita, you just sent shivers down my spinal support," Chromia grunted as she increased her engine speed.

"What are friends for," Elita grunted back as their engines whined in complaint as they slowly moved the massive bulk onto the lift.

When the shuttle was in place they both transformed and double-checked. Elita nodded with a fatigued huff as she walked over to the lift's control pad, "looks good, I think we're done. Whew. That really hurt."

Chromia rotated her arms and shoulders, "that hurt? You've been sitting behind a desk too long."

"Oh really? Speak for yourself," the commander quipped lightly as she looked up watching the small lighted square above slowly increase in size as they drew closer to the top.

"Always do. But then again, I'm not the one complaining," Chromia smirked.

"I can fix that," Elita stared down her second threateningly.

Chromia canted a hip and waved a servo at her superior, "yeah, yeah, that's what you always say and you still haven't been able to kick my aft."

"Only because I don't want to hurt you but keep it up and that may change," Elita said as she leaned back against the control pillar again to stare at her second with a mock-frown.

Chromia burst out in mocking laughter and then quickly covered her mouth to muffle the noise. When she did speak she weezed, "oh that's a good one…" Then she snorted disdainfully, "you don't want to hurt me? The fumes are getting to you pinkie."

"You do remember what happened to the last bot who insulted my armor color… I'd rather not visit that same punishment on you. Just count yourself lucky I need a SIC with a bond," Elita smirked back at Chromia.

"Awwww, is that the only reason…"

The lift rumbled to a halt as Sunstreaker hissed interrupting the banter, "talk any louder and Decepticon command could hear you. Shut it already will ya!"

Chromia walked off the platform and handed him a tow cable, "who died and made you commander?"

"Keep it up and you will. Noisy femmes," he growled as he transformed and attached the cable and then waited, "well, am I getting some help here or am I doing this alone?"

Elita walked over and gently rapped Sunstreaker on the roof, "ditch the attitude or you will be pulling that darned thing by yourself. Wheeljack, will you give us a hand? Chromia?"

Chromia stared at her commander in disbelief, "what again?"

Elita bent down and picked up a tow cable and handed it to her second and smiled.

"Fine," Chromia grumbled as she also joined Sunstreaker, tow cable attached.

"Good to see morale is up," laughed Wheeljack as he joined the others.

"Come on, let's pull people," ordered Elita as she joined the rest. The four transformed Autobots pulled the massive ship into the open area of the refinery. Once the vessel was in place the team split up as Wheeljack, Greenlight, and Lancer went through the ship's systems while Elita and Chromia completed setting up their communications hub. With the generators on line, both femmes watched long-range sensors for Decepticon activity while the others worked on the ship.