Disclaimer: As per usual, the good things in life are not mine to have, but belong to someone else... in this case Hasbro, Takara and IDW and anyone else I've forgotten… Tracer belongs to me… as do Kicker and Rollback
Feedback makes friends. Flames dealt with by the masters of paranoia and fire, Red Alert and Inferno.
Authors Notes: This is where things begin to converge… I'm taking elements from the cartoon series here (specifically 'The Search for Alpha Trion'). And for the purposes of this story, I'm kinda trying to forget that 'The Ultimate Doom' actually brought Cybertron close enough for the occupants to notice… 'Oh, hey look, this ginormous blue-green planet just showed up on sensors Elita One' rolls eyes And it so wasn't explained in the series either!
And yes, I slightly rewrote the episode… I hate the fact that Elita One is so pathetic she needs to ask Alpha Trion for advice when she knows the Decepticons have found their base… growls Equality, please! Okay, I'll stop grouching and let you read now…
It wasn't long until they had all been reassigned. Red Alert and Inferno were to go with Optimus Prime on his search mission, much to Firestar's disappointment. Prime hadn't wanted to take any femmes with him, for reasons best known to him. Kicker had been transferred to a front-line unit, which meant he got to fight, something Tracer was sure he secretly wanted to be able to do all the time. Rollback was forced to stay in Iacon as part of the now limited medical team that would be left on Cybertron. Teams had been split up and reassigned as mechs were drafted for Prime's search mission. Tracer had been torn between being pleased and disappointed when she found out her old mentor Hound had been one of those drafted. Tracer and Firestar had been assigned to Elita One's team of femmes, but weren't due to move to the new base until later that orn, which meant they were in Iacon to see the shuttle take off, carrying what could be the last hope of winning this war. Firestar deliberately hadn't spoken to either Inferno or Red Alert after they got their transfers verified.
"C'mon Tracer, we've got to get a good view." Firestar pulled on Tracer's hand, leading her towards the launch pad. It seemed like all the Autobots left in Iacon had turned out to watch the shuttle leave.
"I'm hurrying as fast as I can." They managed to jostle their way to the front of the crowd that had gathered at the pad, watching to see the Autobots make their way onboard the shuttle. Most were mechs Tracer didn't recognise, but Hound's form stood out amongst them. As did Inferno's; much larger than most of the others.
"Look, there they are." Tracer pointed out their former team members to Firestar, who waved as soon as she spotted them. She smiled softly as Inferno turned and waved back enthusiastically. Red Alert settled for a slightly more sedate wave. Tracer shrank back behind Firestar as she saw the Twins saunter past, not particularly wanting them to see her.
Eventually, all the members of the search mission had boarded and the shuttle was ready to leave.
They watched until the shuttle was out of optic range, engines burning bright against the dark of the sky.
"How long do you think it'll take?" Tracer asked Firestar as they made their way to their dorm.
"Red said they shouldn't be gone more than half a vorn. We're due to meet with Elita One, Chromia and a few new recruits in a couple of joors, so we'd best get some recharge in."
No one on Cybertron registered the presence of the Decepticon cruiser following the Autobot ship. No one observed the battle and chase that ensued through the shower of debris resulting from a massive asteroid collision. No one saw the boarding tube attach itself to the outside of the spaceship, allowing the Decepticons entry.
No one saw both ships veer drastically off course, hurtling through the galaxy and spinning out of control to land on a nearby planet in a distant system far from Cybertron.
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Energon was a rarity on Cybertron. Several thousand vorns had passed since the Autobots launched their ill-fated search mission for a new source of energy. The remaining Autobots had scattered, shocked by the loss of their leader. Elita One had not given up hope. She seemed to know something the others didn't, which meant her unit stayed on Cybertron, eking out an existence as best they could; often resorting to Decepticon techniques, infiltrating and stealing energon from Shockwave, Megatron's lieutenant left in charge.
"I'm telling you, there's a huge store of energon there."
"What would Shockwave be doing with such a large supply?"
"I don't know. I just find the stuff, I don't wonder why."
"Chromia, I want you to organise a raid. Shockwave doesn't need all that energon and we certainly do!"
"Of course Elita." The light blue femme turned and quickly called a few names. Together they organised a plan.
"Tracer, is the place under guard?"
"Didn't seem to be. I didn't pick up any energy signatures any where near the stockpile."
"Okay. Firestar, you and Moonracer are with me." A chorus of affirmatives and they were on their way. Tracer watched them leave. She found the energon; the others went and stole it. It had been like this for many vorns; raids and patrols, planned precisely to keep Shockwave aware of the continuing presence of Autobots. They snuck in and stole energon, planted explosives and accomplished it all without being seen. They were Elita One's elite.
But this time they were careless. Tracer was monitoring the perimeter when Chromia commed for entry to the base and was refused. She shook her head as Elita One looked at her for a report.
"Request denied. You've got company." Tracer watched as Moonracer dispatched the sentinel robot that had tracked them with a well-placed shot before allowing them entry.
Unknown to the femmes, Shockwave had tracked his sentinel robot and had deduced the approximate location of their base. While they busied themselves unloading their stolen energon and debriefing, Shockwave was establishing a radio link with Megatron, the Decepticon commander. It had been assumed since the day the Autobot shuttle left Cybertron that Megatron and his army had followed. No sign had been seen of them on Cybertron or any of its outposts. The war still continued on without their leaders; temporary ones stepping into place to ensure their survival.
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"I'm going to scout around. I've informed Alpha Trion that the Decepticons have probably discovered our base, so we're going to need to relocate." Elita One entered the main communal area.
"Wouldn't it be better if I went?" Tracer asked, staring up at the pink femme. "I'm faster."
"As I told Alpha Trion, I can handle a few Decepticons." The tone in Elita One's vocaliser brooked no argument.
"Understood." Tracer reluctantly complied, busying herself instead with helping Moonracer store the energon cubes. She didn't watch Elita leave. No longer paying attention to the monitors, she was unaware that Decepticons had located their base and were about to try and flush them out.
The base shook as the Decepticons attacked. Columns crumbled and debris rained down on them, forcing them to take cover within their own base to avoid getting crushed. Tracer's processor registered the image on the monitor screen as she dived for cover, even if her optics didn't.
As the dust settled, Tracer looked around. The base was in disarray, debris everywhere. She heard noises, scrabbling as they all tried to recover and help each other up.
"What happened?" Moonracer asked, struggling to a standing position.
"That's what I'd like to know!" Chromia declared.
"The last thing I saw on the monitor were some Decepticons, right above our headquarters."
"Elita One? I hope she's safe." Moonracer looked around, hoping for some confirmation from her team-mates.
"I saw nothing, just a small Decepticon with piledrivers." Tracer muttered, wishing she had good news.
"Not much we can do to help as long as we're trapped." Firestar said, pointing out the debris covering their exit.
"But we're not gonna stay trapped, are we?" Chromia sounded determined, eliciting a positive response from the others as they started work on moving the debris.
Nearly five breems later, they admitted defeat. There was no way they could move the sheer amount of metal that blocked the entrance. Disillusioned, they sat about listlessly, trapped in their own base.
"There must be some logical way out of here!" Chromia mused.
"We'll run out of energy before we get out of here." Someone muttered.
"Of course!" Moonracer sat bolt upright. "The energon cubes. We could use them to blast our way out."
"But they had to have been destroyed in the earthquake." Chromia's tone held a note of defeat as she watched Moonracer cross to one of their storage rooms.
"Me and Tracer put them in here for safe keeping!" She cried, opening the doors and revealing a large stack of energon cubes.
"Okay. Pile up the energon cubes then." Chromia ordered. No sooner were the cubes were piled in the entrance than they took refuge behind the debris created by the Decepticons attack. As soon as everyone was safely protected, Chromia fired, igniting the energon cubes.
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The acrid smoke and flames cleared quickly, showing the entrance to be accessible now.
"Let's find Elita One, before it's too late!" Chromia led them out of the base. Once clear, they all transformed.
"Anything Tracer?"
"Not a thing Chromia… although…" Tracer paused, double checking the readings on her sensors. "I'm picking up Decepticon energy signatures near the citadel." The decision was made to go after the Decepticons in revenge and the hope they had Elita One. As they drew nearer, Tracer let out a small gasp, veering slightly off course.
"Tracer?" Firestar asked from her side, concerned.
"Must have been a sensor glitch…" Tracer replied, no conviction in her tone.
"Do you see what I see?" Chromia cried, transforming as soon as she stopped, Moonracer at her side.
"Autobots!"
"And it looks like they could use our help." Firestar countered. Three Autobots were in a standoff against the four Decepticons.
It didn't take long with the added firepower the femmes provided for the Decepticons to begin retreating. Just as they thought they were winning, Shockwave transformed, forcing them back towards the edge of the platform they were fighting on. As they clung on to the edge, the sound of a diesel engine rumbling towards them echoed off the buildings. As the Decepticons saw Optimus Prime and Elita One pull up, they retreated, leaving the Autobots to celebrate their victory and their reunion.
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The Autobots stayed until the femmes had relocated to their new base, helping out as best they could whilst explaining their presence. There was so much to talk about. Several thousand vorns had passed and there was much to catch up on. The realisation that the ones they loved still functioned had taken them all by surprise. Once they were in the relative safety of their new base, with the perimeter sensory grid set up and operation, they all took the chance to relax and catch up.
Firestar had dragged Inferno over to a corner, where they now sat; Firestar curled up against Inferno, relishing the presence of one who was so close to her spark. Tracer sat down in front of them, feeling slightly awkward as though she were intruding, but at the same time needing to know what had happened. The femmes had all paired off with their respective mechs. Tracer had already seen Chromia and her bondmate Ironhide disappear into Chromia's new quarters. Moonracer had given Powerglide, a former team-mate of hers, the guided tour and was now settled down next to him, listening to his 'daring exploits' as he termed them.
The Decepticons had attacked the ship after it had taken off, sending them spinning out of control and crashing down on a primitive planet. The shock sent them all into stasis lock, which would have been permanent had the volcano they crashed in to not erupted and reactivated the onboard computer system.
It seemed all too soon when Optimus Prime left the confines of Elita One's new office to announce that they would have to return to Earth. A plan was quickly devised to ensure that the Decepticons were not monitoring the space bridge. Tracer was sent ahead to monitor the situation. When she sent back the all-clear, all the others made their way to the Decepticon's base.
But there was little despair as they watched their comrades leave. There was more hope than ever before; hope for the future and relief that their loved ones had not perished. The war would continue, but they now had the support of the mechs and new sources of energy.
"Don't stay away too long Optimus." Was Elita One's last comment as she waved, watching her bonded enter the space bridge.
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While on Cybertron, the units of time and distance are measured in Cybertronian units, as detailed below... it's a mix of IDW, DW and BW
Astrosecond : 0.498 Earth seconds
Nano-klik : 1 Earth second
Klik : 1.2 Earth minutes
Breem : 8.3 Earth minutes
Cycle : 1 hour 15 minutes
Joor : About 6.5 Earth hours
Mega-cycle : About 93 hours
Orn : About 13 Earth days
Deca-cycle : Approx. 3 weeks
Stellar-cycle : 7.5 months
Meta-cycle : 13 months
Vorn : About 83 Earth years
Hic : 1 kilometer
Vun : 1 hectometer
Mechanometer : 1 meter
Megamile : 1 mile
