1
1. Rewind- homage to Blaster! One of his cassettes, because none of them ever got any real air time! I know Rewind is a mech in G1, but she's a microfemme here because I wanted to have a tiny bit of variety. Please don't kill me.
2 Multi-phasic shielding. You know you're a trekkie when… lol. Yeah, that's right, I stole the idea from Star Trek, and I just gotta say; Gene Roddenberry rules! (And, just in case: Disclaimer; I so don't own Star Trek.)
3 Astroplex- a shameless little homage to Metroplex. Since Metroplex was built on earth and a ground base, I couldn't use him, but that didn't mean I couldn't give him a little shout out!
5 Omega Supreme- Yeah, I know, he's really monotonous in G1, and I tried to make it work, I really did, but there was no way I could do it. I had to give him a slightly more amiable disposition to make everything work, but if it counts, I did try to give him the emotional range of a rusty bolt!
6. Bee's Solar Agitator and shoulder mounted missiles- In Official Movie Guide, it says that he has a solar agitator instead of just a regular plasma cannon, so that's just what I'm going by. And the missiles? Yeah, anyone else notice them in the movie? I did after the sixth time I watched it, and I couldn't believe I missed them the first five times!
As per usual; this is Thank You Corner, dedicated to all you very kind readers who take the time to leave a review, no matter how long or short! Thank you kindly to Bluebird Soaring, a.mild.groove., theshadowcat, Litahatchee, lady tecuma, Twospotz, Stripperella, and Kittona! You are are so very, very, very kind to leave your reviews!
And Litahatchee, lady tecuma, for our frequent correspondence and flattery that we toss back and forth, I dedicate this chapter to you two!
Warning, two words: Long Chapter
"Home: no where else on Cybertron like it!" Hot Rod exclaimed proudly as they crested the last hill to Epsilon base.
Kup drove up behind his apprentice, transformed, and gazed out over the base with a proud expression. "Yeah, it's good ta be back," he said, patting the younger mech on the shoulder.
The base was set up differently than Iacon. Where Iacon was set up to be a compact, no-frills battle structure in which most of the important functions and facilities were located underground, Epsilon certainly took a more spread out concept into its design. No doubt in part to its more out-of-the-way status.
The entire ground-complex was guarded behind a towering barricade of non-descript grey tri-tanium, capped by a series of automated defences, sensor arrays, guard posts, and multi-phasic shield emitters. Within the base, several large compounds were built virtually on top of each other, all of them appearing to jostle for the best air space. They were each connected by a series of crystalline and metal transportation breezeways crisscrossing the space between like glittering threads of micro-fibre filaments.
At the epicentre of Epsilon, reaching out from the labyrinth of support and technical buildings, was the colossal main building. It was a gleaming obelisk against the darkening sky, conceived of layers of dark metal twisting upwards into the sky to inconceivable heights. The complex was built after the war began, serving as the air-to-ground docking bay for the massive air base that hovered stealthily above Epsilon. At the moment, it was that very air base- Astroplex- that housed the precious deep space ship everyone was anxious to launch; the Ark.
Arcee leaned against Bumblebee's side lightly, looking worn out. Because of her small size, she had to take the whole way double-pace to keep up with her mech counterparts. "Nice place," she murmured, scanning the area with a lazy sweep. "It's certainly different from Iacon."
Bumblebee nodded, whistling his agreement.
Ultra Magnus opened his communications hub and hailed Epsilon. "Autobot Base Epsilon, this is Iacon Base Commander Ultra Magnus. My team and I are approaching your perimeters; requesting permission to enter."
There was a pause as the request was received, processed, and their Autobot signatures were scanned to be deemed authentic. Soon afterwards, a femme's voice intoned across the comms link.
"Commander Ultra Magnus, this is communiqué officer Rewind. Your request for entrance has been received and approved; you may enter the premises. Chief Medical Officer Patchwork is on his way to intercept you at the gates for the protocol scan. "
"Thank you. We will be there shortly. Ultra Magnus out."
"Noted. Rewind out."
Even from the distance they were at, the five-mech team could see the defence systems disengaging, the pulse blast cannons jerking back and folding down into submissive positions while the multi-phasic shield emitters were turned off.
Hot Rod was practically bursting out of his exoskeleton to get to Epsilon now. Arcee watched him warily, groaning tiredly and leaning the rest of her weight against Bumblebee's frame. Just watching the mech jump around in anticipation was making her even more tired.
"Does he ever mute it?" she asked, via private digital link to Bumblebee.
Bumblebee gave a few short revs of laughter. "Not unless you hack his systems and do it for him." he replied, via same private link. Arcee rolled her optics, too tired to really enjoy poking fun at Hot Rod. Bumblebee easily caught onto the femme's wearied stance and became concerned for his friend. "Are you alright?"
Around them, Ultra Magnus was already informing the team that their request had been approved and that Patchwork would be at the gates waiting to give them their protocol scans to make sure they weren't tagged with tracers or infiltration bugs, or worse- infected with a virus. Though the duo kept their audio receptors a tuned to their commander, Arcee and Bumblebee carried on with their private conversation.
"I'm fine Bee, just a little drained from the trip. I just got off my shift with Moonracer when Ultra Magnus requested that I be the gun-femme for his team."
"There was no one else?"
Arcee shrugged, slipping a little before being caught by Bumblebee's large hand. He hoisted her up to his shoulder where she could rest a little easier, rather than expend the remains of her energy reserves trying to stand. Seeing the strain recharge-deprivation put on Ratchet made Bumblebee a pit of a lot more sensitive to the plight of other tired bots.
There was a moment that Bee thought Arcee would kick up a fuss over the treatment she was receiving, but then Hot Rod threw an interested glance their way and she bristled, not interested in having the other mech offer his shoulder to her as well. A hand found its way curled underneath the edge of his shoulder plating so she couldn't be moved.
"There was no one else. Everyone with a worthwhile shot was either on duty or assigned outside Iacon and couldn't be contacted."
"Ironhide too?"
A rev of laughter was startled from the femme. Old 'Hide? Yeah, he was busy alright… Last I heard, he and Chromia had locked themselves into one of the firing ranges, but you and I both know what they're really doing in there-."
Bumblebee chirped in alarm. "Don't say it, Arcee! I'll purge my memories banks if you do." There are some images in the universe that no mech should have to picture, whatever the weapons specialist and his bonded were doing in the firing ranger was one of them.
Juxtaposed to their digital conversation, Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod were already transforming and heading down the slope that led to the base.
Kup gave an old groan of his servos as he stretched. "If ya don't mind, 'Magnus, I think I'm gonna walk the rest of the way. A good stretch of the ol' leg cables would be nice right about now."
Instantly, Hot Rod was up in his bipedal form, looking like he was about to deactivate on the spot. "Come on, old mech! Don't do this to me! It's just a little further- don't you want to get home?! Don't you want me to get home?!"
Kup waved his apprentice off with little patience. "It ain't like I don't want ta get home, Roddy, but this old frame isn't what it used ta be. Being compacted in ta my alt mode all orn seized most of my cables, I gotta walk it off ta get the lubricants running or my whole frame is gonna seize."
A spasm crossed Hot Rod's faceplate like he was about to fritz. He really, really wanted to get home to Epsilon!
The team commander revved once, idling patiently on the side of the hill in his alt mode. "Do as you like, Kup, and the four of us will go on ahead. Take your time to catch up."
Bumblebee and Arcee tuned into the conversation just in time to make it look as if they had been paying attention the whole time.
The old mech barked a laugh that crackled out of his vocal processor. "Ya know I will," he said, grinning gruffly. "If Patchwork's gonna be there waitin' ta give the maintenance check, than I'm gonna be going as slow as I can without going backwards. That old aft is about as nice as Ratchet on a bad orn."
Bumblebee shuddered. Hadn't Ratchet mentioned his old mentor once? Something about him being some sort of tyrannical glitch? If someone like Ratchet, for all his temper tantrums and tool throwing, could call another mech a 'tyrannical glitch', then it must be pretty bad…
"How about Arcee and I walk with Kup, to be his escorts…?"
Arcee shot him a humoured glance. "Aw, is someone afraid of a little check-up?" she teased, poking his head. He batted her hand away.
"The check-up isn't what I'm afraid of," the scout replied. "Watching Ratchet rage around the mad bay yesterday was bad enough, I'm not sure I want to meet the mech he learned it from." Arcee revved with laugher.
As the three bots approached the gaping maw of the gates, Patchwork was there. Alone. Looking a little tenser than what would probably be deemed safe for any bot. It seemed Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus had abandoned them to the medic's mercy.
He was an older model mech by the looks of it, designed specifically for the medic's trade, with his seven digit hands and multi-spectrum laser array built into his optics. He obviously had not reformatted for the war, retaining his older-than-pit frame from probably before the Golden Age, still sporting his old medic's decal above his Autobot's insignia in the middle of his chassis. He was a dusky yellow reminiscent of the colour Ratchet wore, yet far more faded than that of Iacon's CMO.
Bumblebee looked the mech over warily, surprised by the utter familiarity between this mech's severe expression and Ratchet's. It was the exact same "don't slag with me" look that Ratchet employed so well.
"It took you long enough," he rumbled, obviously annoyed with their tardiness. "I hope you're all aware that I don't have all orn to waste on you; I have other patients that need attending to. You could have seen it prudent enough to hasten your pace instead of dawdling the whole way. "
Kup groaned, stretching again until something sounded like it cracked. "Ah, slag off. I ain't as young as I once was," he replied, not at all perturbed by Patchwork's less than stellar greeting. "Ya can get after me all ya want, but lay off the younglings; these two here were just doing their job escorting me."
"A likely story, you old codger" Patchwork huffed, blocking their way into the gates as he fixed Kup with an obstinate look. "I've seen space dust faster than you."
Kup fixed the other mech with a disgruntled look. "An' I've met Decepticons with better dispositions than you," he replied. "Are you gonna let us in the gates, or are we gonna spend the night exchanging friendly banter?"
Bumblebee and Arcee exchanged glances. So Bumblebee's fears were not as unfounded as they thought; Patchwork really was a glitch.
Epsilon's CMO narrowed his optics and stepped aside. "Get in," he grunted. "And stop wasting my time."
The instant they were in the gates, the medic threw up the sign for the gates to slam close and the security to re-engage. The guards up on the ramparts saluted loosely as the three bots passed into Epsilon.
Without skipping a beat, Patchwork stepped behind them and thrust his hands into Kup and Bumblebee's backs, shoving them roughly into Epsilon's closest building- which just happened to be the main medical wing. Arcee shrieked a little as she was jarred from Bumblebee's shoulder, but caught hold of his horn-like short antennae before she fell.
"Could you be a little gentler?" she asked caustically as she pulled herself back up.
Patchwork shot her quick glance then returned to shoving the pair of mechs through the wide corridor. "Your leg functions are operational, aren't they?" he asked sharply.
She was a little taken back by the question, but replied with a suspicious nod in the affirmative.
"Then you could have walked here instead," he said. He shoved them into the last door of the hall, bringing them into his med bay. "There's no need for you to be up there."
Arcee bristled, her thin fingers digging in roughly to the edges Bumblebee's armor. "He was doing me a favour, I was tired from the journey," she replied. There was a bite to the edge of her voice.
"Yes, well, I am sure that every other mech on your team is tired as well, but you don't see him carrying them," Patchwork pointed out. Without a word of warning, he reached up and plucked the femme from Bee's shoulder, ignoring her as she shrieked for her release.
A sharp, blue light shot from Patchwork's optics and ran over the length of Arcee's frame. She must have been in perfect health because Patchwork just glared and said, "the only thing I can tell you now is to mute it and get some recharge tonight so you don't crash the Ark tomorrow. Maybe you can have your comrade here carry you to your quarters as well, just in case you're too tired." It was hard to tell if he was just being plain rude or if he was baiting her for a fight.
The gun-totting femme looked too furious for words to respond. Bumblebee caught the dangerous, miniscule twitch of the femme's gun hand; a sign that she was ready to just un-subspace her bow cannon and start firing. The scout easily slid between them to diffuse the fight before it got worse.
"Sir, if you could quickly scan me, that would be appreciated," Bumblebee said, facing Patchwork with his hands up to show he was seeking peace. "Arcee really needs to recharge, and I'm sure you have more important duties to attend to here."
The medic stared down the minibot with a hard expression, too close to Ratchet's dark expressions for comfort, and then seemingly relented. He patted Bumblebee on the shoulder wearily.
"You have a valid point, young scout" he said, deflating. A bare smile crossed the edges of his faceplate. "Ratchet indeed was right about you- Bumblebee, was it?" Bee nodded. "I've heard many great things about you, I hope you know. Ratchet seems to think you have a talent for keeping the peace…" the old mech regarded him with a scrutinizing gaze. "I reluctantly would have to agree with that assessment."
Taken aback by the unexpected compliment by the decidedly irksome medic, Bumblebee managed to transmit a shaky thank you. Arcee shot Bumblebee an incredulous look, like she had suddenly been betrayed.
Kup snorted, leaning against the nearest berth in the bay. "Are my audios on the fritz, or did you just pay another mech a compliment?" he asked jokingly.
"Mute it," Patchwork barked stubbornly, instantly reverting back to his obstinate self after that astrosecond of managing to be, Primus forbid, nice. Bedside manner was not a program he employed often. "I'm just going to scan you quickly, Bumblebee, and then you take her-," he jerked his head in Arcee's direction, "-and leave me in peace."
Arcee gave a violent snort through her vents before marching over to the nearest berth, hefting herself up, and sitting down stubbornly.
Bumblebee's scan took as much time as Arcee's did; the blue-toned light of the scan shot from Patchwork's optics, easily swept over his frame, and then abruptly ended. As Patchwork reviewed the results of the scan, he poked and prodded around Bee's frame, stopping briefly to inspect the scarred metal of the minibot's damaged neck column. The metal there was deformed a little from the several surgeries Ratchet had preformed in attempts to restore Bee's vocal processor.
Straightening up after one last prod to the scarred metal, Patchwork gave the scout a deadpanned expression. "Looks like you're fully functional. Congratulations." He turned and swiftly swept Arcee from the berth she sat on, herding her towards the door. "Now get out." The scout trotted after his femme companion before he lost her.
The med bay door snapped closed behind them the instant they were in the hall. Through the door, they caught the old medic rounding on Kup.
"You look like slag, rust bucket."
"I'm old; I always look like slag. Tell me something I don't know, for once."
"Alright. You're an idiot too…"
Bumblebee nodded his head in the direction of the lift a little ways down the hall, silently asking if Arcee wanted to get going. She "harrumphed" at him mulishly, marching ahead of him. It was apparent that she still felt betrayed.
The night passed by quickly and moderately quietly. The only break in the dull nightshift atmosphere was when a jovial and slightly overcharged Hot Rod came by Arcee's quarters to see how she was settling in. Driven to the end of her patience by all the cumulative frustrations of her orn, the femme miraculously managed to toss the mech from her quarters and leave him in a crumpled heap in the hall after just a few short exchanges of tense banter.
After listening for too long to his bleak, intoxicated pleads to know what he'd done wrong, Bumblebee took pity on the mech and brought him into his own room. Hot Rod stayed for a while, happily relaying all the good Epsilon gossip he had learned from Blurr and Rewind over a few cubes of high-grade to the politely listening scout. Being unceremoniously tossed from Arcee's room was all but forgotten in his processor.
It was not until Kup came by, after finally being released from Patchwork's arduous scans and the volley of insults the old mechs tossed to each other, that Bumblebee was able to rest his poor audio receptors. Though Hot Rod was a friend of the scout's, it came as somewhat of a relief to see his back in the doorway as he was guided away by a tired and grousing Kup.
Orn-break came in a flurry of activity as last minute touches were put on the Ark to prepare for its departure. Overseeing the preparations was the once-mentor to Wheeljack, Wrenchwire. He was at the epicentre of the activity, conducting with his four arms to the maelstrom of drones and bots running about Astroplex's hanger intent on putting the finishing touches on the Ark.
Standing impressively below the ship was Ultra Magnus, watching the wild activity with a placid smile on his face. He stared that the underside of the ship, envisioning the coming future of Cybertron heralded by the hope the launching of this ship would bring.
Bumblebee grinned as he stepped foot inside Astroplex's main hanger. The Ark looked amazing! Even Arcee, who was maintaining her stubborn cold shoulder towards Bumblebee, cast an impressed glance over the stunning ship- her optics focusing on the impressive new weaponry installations.
Although it was only in its compacted state for storage convenience, it was still an immense ship, taking up a vast majority of the scant space in Astroplex's hanger. There were still several cables hooked up to the ship, inputting the right calibration equations and filling the data banks with libraries full of information that would undoubtedly be needed for the mission. The haul plating had been enhanced with an array of spatial distortion resistant materials; cobalt/tungsten main body armature, gleaming tri-tanium interstellar slipstream channels, blast-proof crystalline view ports, and amazingly well-crafted, heat-resistant rhenium/tungsten coated thrusters.
Obviously the sensor arrays had gone through major overhauls if the complex series of sensitive sensors that rounded te ship were anything to go by. Weaponry had also been upgraded to include several plasma cannons, launching grids for projectile weaponry, and an array of EMP blasters located in the ports on the ventral side of the ship.
"Ain't she a beaut'?!" Someone crowed from just behind Bumblebee. A quick hand slapped down on his shoulder and shook him amiably. "Never seen a ship better lookin' than this one!"
Nearly jumping out of his own armor, the scout spun around to be met faceplate to faceplate with a multi-hued green minibot grinning from audio receptor to audio receptor. Initial identification scans revealed that this loud, grinning bot was designated "Wrenchwire". The bot swung around to meet Arcee, a secondary set of arms detaching from the underside of his primary arms to clap her on her own shoulders.
"Look at her, my dear! Sexy little thang, ain't she?!" the engineer cried, shaking Arcee excitedly. "If she were a femme, I wouldn't mind tanglin' interface lines with her! Y'know what I mean, eh? Eh!"
Bumblebee was forced to do a double take of the engineer as he darted off towards the Ark with more excitement oozing off of him than a youngling about to receive its first upgrade. As Wrenchwire skidded to a halt below the ship, Ultra Magnus raised a hand in greeting and the engineer skittered over to jabber excitedly at the city commander while gesticulating wildly with all four of his arms.
Bumblebee continued to stare. That was supposed to be Wheeljack's mentor? But he was so… so… energetic, and enthusiastic, and, well, he acted so young; not at all like the older mechs Bumblebee knew.
The scout nudged Arcee. "Energetic, isn't he?" he asked in hopes of clearing up the bad air between them.
The femme quickly shook off the shock of being accosted by the strange mech, regrouping to fix her faceplate into its originally obdurate expression. "Whatever." She snorted, and then marched away.
Bumblebee sagged, staring after her back as she disappeared into the rushing crowd of bots and drones. The cold shoulder act was really starting to get old, but he had no idea how to fix it. He had spent all night trying to get through an apology for something he had no idea he did, only to be blocked off on every frequency he tried.
Suddenly Bumblebee was aware of a very gigantic presence kneeling down at his side. Jerking around to face the bot, the minibot was faced with the very gigantic frame of the Epsilon's base commander, Omega Supreme. The scout had heard once that Omega Supreme had been one of the immense Guardians that protected Cybertron under the command of the High Lord Protector, but never had Bumblebee imagined the sheer size of the ex-Guardian. Simply put, he was HUGE! He could have easily been the size of a small transport ship.
Though the commander's faceplate was heavily scarred and ill suited to convey emotions, it was at least obvious that he was offering the minibot a pitying look.
"You can't win them all, little one," he said. Even a whisper from him came out boomingly loud. "Keep at her and perhaps she'll come around."
Bumblebee stared up at the commander in awe. He managed a shaky nod, failing to point out that Arcee was only a friend, not someone he was courting.
Omega Supreme nodded in return. He straightened up with a growl of objecting gears and servos. Bumblebee had to step back a few paces to continue to stare up at the gargantuan mech's face.
"It appears that the Ark is almost complete with its refitting." He waved over Iacon's base commander and Epsilon's head engineer. Ultra Magnus wandered over to the pair with Wrenchwire in tow. "How are the preparations proceeding?"
"Looks like we'll be ready to head out shortly," Ultra Magnus replied, craning his neck to be able to look into his fellow commander's faceplate. "Wrenchwire just wants to do a last-astrosecond check of the engines and then we can launch."
Bumblebee whistled happily, looking forward to returning home. "Does Arcee know?"
"Yes, I let her know before she boarded. She's checking out the weapons bay at the moment," the commander said. Bee acknowledged him with a nod.
Wrenchwire sidled up to his own commander and patted him on the lower shin, the highest point on Omega Supreme the minibot could reach. "Yeah, never seen a ship finer than this, I gotta tell ya, Commander. 'Thought Prime was outta his processor callin' me up fer the refittins when he's got Wheeljack down at Iacon with 'im- an' Wheeljack's better than any mech I've ever known, y'know? But hey, we got Astroplex and whatnot here, and are all outta the way from the main branches of the war, so I could see his point sending the Ark here. Smart mech, that Optimus Prime is. Not that I'm downplaying my own abilities- No sir! Not a second rate mech here! Taught Wheeljack everything he knows! He learned from the best, he did!"
The mech appeared to be gearing up for a spiel.
"Yes, sir! This here was a team effort 'tween me an' him!" He gestured to the aftside of the ship. "I mean, look at those thrusters! Rhenium/tungsten coating- Primus, good ol' Jack's a genius ta come up with the right refining process ta come up with a perfectly manageable form of it. It's got the highest melting point in the entire galaxy. I swear, ya can run those thrusters on high fer vorns without seeing wear! An' don't even get me started on the guns! We got plasma cannons! EMP blastors! Solar agitators! The list goes on! Even got a couple of UFBs in there, just in case! I'm bettin' my damn spark that this here ship is gonna get y'all ta the Allspark no problem! No doubt about it at all!"
"It is good to hear that the Head Engineer responsible for the refitting of the Ark is so confident in his work. I look forward to the launching."
"As do I," Ultra Magnus said. "I am eager to return to Iacon. Too long away from that base often causes me to worry extensively over what trouble has been stirred up in my absence."
Bumblebee grinned. The only kind of trouble in Iacon any mech in command would worry about was the kind that came synonymous with the twins. They seemed to take it upon themselves to live by the philosophy of "when the cyber-cat's away, the glitch-mice will play". They even lived by the philosophy when the cyber-cat wasn't away.
Omega Supreme chuckled, a sound that was as loud as two boulders colliding, and gazed around at the crazed congregation of Autobots in the hanger. "It is difficult to be any Autobot Base Commander when the bases you command are full of such energetic Autobots."
" 'Energetic' is a nice way of putting it," Ultra Magnus replied good naturedly.
Wrenchwire clapped his primary set of hands together, the secondary set already drawn up into the underside of the primary. His faceplate was stretched into a wide grin. "No bot ever said 'energetic' was a bad thing," he said. He leaned over to wrap an arm around Bumblebee's shoulders. "Ain't that right, lil' Bee?"
"No, energetic is a good thing," he replied, and then gestured to the wildly running, yelling, and fritzing bots around the Ark. "But I'm not so sure about crazy…"
Wrenchwire paused for an astrosecond, and then burst out into loud revving laughter, thumping Bee on the back. "Crazy's just another way to say genius!" he exclaimed.
"Or 'Autobot', as it stands." Omega Supreme smiled down at his head engineer, amusement alight in his blue optics, though it was hard to tell from such a distance.
"I concur," Ultra Magnus agreed laughingly.
Wrenchwire revved with even louder laughter, waving off the commanders with one hand and shaking Bumblebee again with the other. "Never mind them," he crowed. "I like ya, y'know? I can tell yer a good mech, a good soldier- I have a talent fer knowing these sort a' things. Yer gonna come with me fer one last look over the engines before I give this beauty the okay to let her go!"
Before he even gave his consent to help, the scout was dragged away by the engineer into the bowels of the Ark to inspect the recently installed, redesigned engines.
"Final systems check; all systems are go. Starting engines and bringing all sensors on line… now." Ultra Magnus's voice rang loud through the entire base, his voice being projected through both Astroplex and Epsilon's ground base so that no one missed a moment.
Rewind's voice cut through the base loud and clear in response to Ultra Magnus. "Depressurising Astroplex Main Hanger; dropping bay door… you are clear for launch, Ultra Magnus."
Waiting eagerly for his cue, Bumblebee hovered over his consol in anticipation to enter the command to launch the ship. Ultra Magnus turned impressively to the scout and nodded firmly. "Entering Iacon coordinates; engaging engines."
With a few clicks of excitement, Bee entered the correct sequence, feeling the ship vibrate around him as the thrusters engaged. With a moderate jerk, the ship started toward the freedom of the wide open space beyond Astroplex.
Just before they were free of Astroplex's hanger, Omega Supreme's deep voice came over the comms, just as his faceplate appeared over the main view screen. He stared directly into Ultra Magnus's optics. "The hope of Cybertron is resting on that ship, Ultra Magnus. Get it to Iacon in one piece."
The Iacon commander levelled his gaze with his Epsilon counterpart. "I will. I promise."
In the background of Epsilon's command center where Omega Supreme stood, Hot Rod, along with an assortment of other gathered mechs, jostled for room to bid enthusiastic goodbyes to the departing ship. Kup was featured near the back of the room, hand raised to the screen in goodbye, just as Wrenchwire came dashing into view waving all four of his arms gaily. Even Patchwork bade them good riddance with a surly posture and a hard glare.
As the gleaming ship took to the air fully, suspended low over Cybertron's surface like a great looming sentinel, a thunderous cheer rose up from Epsilon base, ringing proudly through the air. Hope was now on the horizon.
"Are you talking to me yet?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because."
"Because why? What did I do that was so wrong?"
A stubborn snort came through the comm.. "It's not what you specifically did, Bee, it was the principle behind the action."
Bee sat at his recon station for an astrosecond, analyzing Arcee's transmission. What principle? What action? "I don't understand. Can you at least tell me what I did wrong so I can at least apologize for it?"
Had he been up in the portside gun turret where Arcee had taken refuge for the trip, he would have seen the femme tense, her faceplate crumple into a mash of anger and disappointment, and her fist strike the targeting consol venomously.
"You didn't back me up, Bee!" she shouted. "Patchwork was completely attacking me and you did nothing to defend me! What the pit were you thinking? We're supposed to be team mates- I thought we were friends-!"
"We are friends-!"
"Friends back each other up!"
To this, Bumblebee had no reply. He struggled to string something together to tell her that he had had no intention of siding against her when he had cut in between her and Patchwork- he just wanted to end the fight before it began. "I- I'm sorry."
"It's a little late for 'sorry', Bee."
She cut the comms abruptly, leaving Bumblebee stunned where he sat. She curled up in the seat she occupied in the gun turret, wishing desperately that there was something out in the ruins for her to shoot.
She knew in her spark that this was more than just a case of a friend not backing up a friend; her feelings for her superior officer, for Bumblebee, were of more than just friendship, and they were starting to get in the way. The scout, as intelligent as he may be, was far too naïve to see what was right in front of him. It was best for Arcee to just let everything go and get back to things that were important. It was illogical and unhealthy for her to be pining away over a mech she could never have; if it got any worse, she would have to modify her emotional subroutines so she didn't have to deal with the distractions.
Ultra Magnus glanced up from his monitoring post to the hunched over form of Bumblebee moping at his station. It truly was a pitiful sight.
"Look alive, Bumblebee," he ordered. "Sensors show that we're coming up on the Black Expanse. We're about to go completely sensor blind; I need you alert and out there for recon. There's no time for you to sit there pouting over your disagreement with Arcee."
Slowly, Bumblebee rose from his seat and slouched out of the bridge.
The commander sighed, watching the scout leave. Alone at last on the bridge! Perhaps he would finally be able to find some respite from the storm cloud Bumblebee seemed to be tracking around with him. He settled back into the Captain's chair, relaxing fractionally while still monitoring the Ark's functions.
Transition into the Expanse was a smooth one, at least.
As soon as they were over the Expanse, they dropped the ship lower into the valley so as to not be so out in the open above it. Instantly, as anticipated, all main sensors and communications went down.
It was completely quiet as the Ark crept along the Expanse. There was a new tenseness to the atmosphere that had not been there before.
The view screen lifted from the front of the bridge, revealing the large crystalline view port hidden behind it. Out it, Ultra Magnus peered curiously at the landscape and the little yellow blur of Bumblebee doing his job below. Vaguely the commander wondered if they were going to have another surprise visit from Devcon, if only to break the doldrums of the last leg of their mission.
Bumblebee drove along the path gouged into the rusted land with the intensive purpose of keeping his optics peeled for any sign of Decepticon activity. This was the last leg of the journey, the most important part of the journey; there was no room for mistakes; no room for his feelings to get in the way.
The Expanse stripped him of his sensors, his communications, and any connection to any of his fellow Autobots close behind him in the ship. He was relying purely on his skills as a scout out here.
It was a make or break situation.
He had to be more alert than his last trip through; more alert, more thorough, more vigilant. It wasn't that he was being paranoid about the Expanse- no; it was the feeling that he was being watched that made him on edge. The disturbing feeling that hidden optics were tracking his every movement, the haunting sensation that had followed him throughout the first trip, had grown more intense during the second.
Unable to take the intense pressure of the unknown force watching, Bumblebee circled around again. He veered sharply to the right, vaulting the detritus that had accumulated along the rough trail, and dived into the wilderness of the rust and shadows. With all the skill that Mirage had trained into him, the scout swept the area carefully. He zigzagged in a wide curve around the Ark, covering as much ground as possible.
He veered around to the left side of the ship, transforming to stand tall on the ruins of a building. In the far distance, he could make out the vague image of flickering lights. A scavenger camp perhaps, or Neutrals? Bumblebee darted away before his interest could be piqued; the feeling of being watched was getting worse. He grew increasingly restless.
A glint of red caught his peripherals. Swinging around, gun already out and charging, Bumblebee targeted an innocent red filament that most likely once belonged to a monitor. He sighed and retracted his gun.
This was getting ridiculous.
He took up front position again, leading the way for the Ark as the ship cut through the air with a stealthy hum. Getting frustrated with Expanse and its omnipresent silence, not to mention the constant thought of Arcee being brought up in his processor, Bumblebee roared his engine and shot ahead. He put major distance between him and the ship, enough so that he nearly disappeared from view in the view ports of the bridge. Though he was being reckless in doing this, the distance was a necessary thing for the small bot to get some of his processes in order. He just needed a couple of astroseconds to think.
Something shifted to his left. There was a whisper of rust sliding against rust.
A louder crash sounded to the right, causing the scout to halt. A crash that loud could only be made by someone moving something; there were no winds or vibrations in the Expanse to move anything big enough to make such a racket.
Now completely convinced that something was concealed in the ruins, Bumblebee shifted to his bipedal form and trained his cannon on the general vicinity of the area where the sound emanated from. He cursed himself when he realized that he could not send out any demand for the hidden bots to reveal themselves; he could not even issue a warning that he knew they were there.
Glancing back at the Ark, Bumblebee realized the true rashness in his decision to put so much distance between him and the ship. With his gun still trained to the right of the path, he failed to pick up on the threat was stalking him from behind.
A single blow to the back of his head was enough to disrupt his neutral relays enough to knock him out. His frame hit the ground hard. A foot came out and kicked him hard in the side panelling, tossing the minibot across the path easily.
The bulky black-armoured mech that had struck him regarded the fallen warrior with a critical optic. Once it was confirmed that Bumblebee was indeed out, the nameless mech made a motion to the exact position the scout had had his gun trained on astroseconds before. Two more bulky shapes rose from the detritus, one bipedal, one the shape of a hulking quadruped.
One bot jerked its head towards the oncoming ship. No more waiting; it was time to attack. The other two agreed stonily.
Not long after the three-mech team of Decepticons left, Bumblebee began to stir feebly. Thank Primus Jazz had showed him how to install a rapid-reboot program in case he was ever knocked out in battle.
Systems attempting to reinitialize… rebooting… rebooting… warning; disruption in field harmonics detected. Abnormal ultrasonic frequencies are interfering with the reinitializing of basic systems…
Bumblebee groaned as a long list of the impaired systems scrolled across his vision. He didn't need his maintenance programs telling him what was being interfered with- he could feel it.
And then he remembered why he was having such problems rebooting his systems. Someone had knocked him out from behind.
Dismissing his vertigo while his systems tried to regain their equilibrium, Bumblebee turned to face the Ark, expecting the worse. The ship was a lot closer to his position than he anticipated. Either he had been out it longer than he thought, or Ultra Magnus had picked up the ship's progress to get through the Expanse quicker. It didn't matter which was true, though, not while three hulking black shapes were streaking through the detritus towards the ship.
Panicking, Bumblebee threw his gun up and fired a large volley of super charged photons, lighting the sky in a display of blue explosions. There was no way he was going to make it to the ship on time, so he could only hope that Ultra Magnus got the message before the Decepticons got there.
Even before the photon charges dissipated in the air, Bumblebee was already transformed and speeding through the rust and slag towards the ship. His pump was pounding in his chassis at a near critical rate as he pressed his systems into overdrive in an attempt to go faster. Gear burned, energon boiled, cooling fans suddenly becoming inadequate as the scout's entire frame heated up to an intensity that his circuits were in danger of frying.
Thankfully, Ultra Magnus must have gotten the message, because even as Bumblebee sped for the ship, the Ark's battle mode was deployed. A growl of thrusters rattled the valley as the compacted ship rose from its low-hanging position to hover at a safer height, pulse blasters dropping from the ports on the ventral side to target on the quickly approaching unknown mechs.
A spark of hope dared to hum in Bumblebee's chassis as he watched the Ark take several shots at the oncoming bots. Slag went flying, rust coming up in clouds so thick that everything was obscured completely. 'Great shot, Arcee!' Bumblebee dared to think. It was quiet for long enough to hope that those single shots had taken out the attackers, but then the shifting orange cloud of airborne rust split with a deafening roar as a small, black Cybertronian air craft came screeching out. Hanging off the wings were the two other bots.
Bumblebee's engine was nothing but a screaming whine as he pressed himself to move faster. This couldn't be happening!
The fearsome jet barrel rolled through the air to avoid Arcee's shots, each one getting closer than the last. Before any of the shield emitters could be thrown up, the enemy jet cut a sharp turn under the gun defences and swung in close to the ship's side. One of the hanging on bots, the heavyset quadruped, detached from the jet and hit the ship, large claws deploying to pierce the hull for stability. Without any sensors, the Autobots onboard had no way of knowing that they just contracted a parasite.
The black four-legged beast jerked its spiked limbs from out of the hull, dropping lower on the ship, then reattaching itself near the bottom. As the two other Decepticons kept Arcee and Ultra Magnus busy, the third was able to work undisturbed on the hatch to the ship.
Bumblebee was directly under the ship as he transformed straight to battle mode, aiming his solar agitator at the clinging beast hanging from the underside of the ship. Two shots went off, both missing by fractional amounts; the distance was too great, and his targeting array was one of the affected systems that didn't reboot properly! In horror, his optics focused in on the dark-armored Decepticon as it opened its large, wide mouth, lined with double rows of pin-shaped armor-piercing fangs, and several black cables shot out, burying into the control panel on the side of the ventral hatch.
It was hacking into the ship!
Bumblebee doubled his efforts to dislodge the hulking beast, managing to strike the creature directly on the back several times, and catching it on the hide legs twice. Definitely fragged off by the volley of shots, the beast activated its own weapons systems, shoulder mounted missiles organizing and twisting around to target the scout. Three warheads were fired, two of them just barely missing Bee as he dived out of the way, but the third detonated directly behind him, throwing the minibot high into the air. Warnings scrawled across his peripherals informing him that his back plating had been compromised and several transformational circuit arrays were fried.
Something sharp caught him in the exposed circuitry, jerking him forward, and then up. Oozing trails of viscous energon trailed away from his flailing frame and the jet he was speared upon took a sharp turn up, heading out from under the line of fire. The poor scout writhed in silent agony as he realized that yet another vital system of his was compromised; his tactile/pain receptors. He was unable to shut them down.
"Hold on a little longer, Bumblebee! The jet's coming around again!"
Out of the haze of searing pain that wracked the scout's body, he vaguely recognized the booming bass voice as belonging to the Autobot bounty hunter, Devcon.
On either side of the nosecone he was speared upon, sharpshooter lasers engaged and targeting the oncoming jet, whose passenger locked onto to them with the large barrel of his cannon protruding from his chassis. Booming shots fired at them, then the scream of return laser fire, and the Ark joining the fray as several pulse blasts rained down on them. Devcon managed to manoeuvre around them, but the other jet was not so lucky, its passenger was struck, obliterating its arm and part of its leg, its frame thrown from the air craft and crashing to the far below ground.
Bumblebee steeled himself against the pain burning every neutral circuit in his frame as he grasped Devcon's alt mode and shoved himself forward, dislodging himself from the jet and swinging up to straddle it instead. He nearly shut down from the effort.
"Stay online, Bee! These are the Decepticons I've been tracking! You can't go offline or I won't be able to protect you!"
Optics darting back to the beast still hacking into the Ark, Bumblebee hissed angrily as he realized the fragger already managed to hack the hatch systems and force its way inside. The scout pounded on Devcon to get his attention and then jerked all of his weight toward the ship to show the bounty hunter what the problem was. A series of angry curses roared from the jet as it swivelled around to dive for the exposed entry.
The enemy jet did the same, pulling a corkscrew dive from high above them to hit the entrance full throttle, transforming mid air, using his momentum to throw himself into the lower hanger.
"Pit-fragger!" Devcon roared. His thrusters roared angrily as they put on an extra spurt of speed.
As they neared the entrance, Bumblebee could see Arcee already engaged with the quadruped bot as its accomplice tore up the supplies in the hanger, throwing much of it out the gaping hole of the hatch.
Devon's first loop through, Bumblebee disengaged from the jet, hitting the hanger hard and rolling. Several gears in his shoulders dislocated. He was up and running for the quadruped Decepticon just as the bounty hunter came roaring through the hatch.
"Careful of that one, Bumblebee!" he shouted. "She's a viral specialist! Don't let any of those cables touch you!"
Arcee screeched as her right arm was bitten off, the grating pin-like teeth of the beastly Decepticon easily shearing through her armor. The gaping mouth, stretched across entire breadth of the ugly faceplate, opened wider, fangs glistening with wet energon, as several virus-injector cables shot out.
Bumblebee screeched, leaping onto the back of the beast and taking hold of the nearest missile launcher. With strength that he didn't even know he had, he ripped the armament from the beast's back. Below him, a screaming roar came from the beast. It reared and stumbled back into a wall, crushing Bee with its massive frame.
"Bumblebee!" Arcee scrambled up from the floor, clutching her right shoulder joint where her arm had been torn out. Bright blue energon poured from severed energon lines.
Bumblebee gave her a look that screamed for her to run. He was going to protect her! It didn't matter that she wasn't talking to him at the moment, she was still his friend and he was going to defend her no matter what!
Devcon was shouting something from his corner of the hanger as he took on the other jet. They grappled viciously with each other, close range weapons blowing holes through each of their armor. The Decepticon kicked out with his foot, sweeping the bounty hunter's legs out from under him. They crashed to the floor with a resounding crash, rolling across the debris strewn floor, ripping at each other like it was a brawl to the death.
Bumblebee clawed that the hulking form of the beast as the viral special leapt on him and pinned him roughly to the floor. His optics blacked out briefly as the back of his head hit the floor hard. When his sight blinked back, he was caught staring into the same deep red optics that had been watching him all throughout the Expanse. They were they same unforgiving, deadly optics that had tracked him mercilessly, hungrily…
The beast leaned in close to his faceplate, dried energon flaking off the creature's fangs and falling on him. With wide, blunt olfactory sensors, the horrific thing took a deep drag of the air through its intakes, grinning widely.
"Aren't you a little taste of the Matrix," the beast growled, a femme's ravaged voice issuing from the beast. To the scout's ultimate horror, as he screeched, writhed, and panicked from beneath the creature, several long black cords descended from the bot's open mouth. Glistening on the end of them were the sharp points of the viral injectors.
Bumblebee redoubled his efforts to free himself. He tried to transform his arm into his gun, but the gears he'd jarred on impact coming into the hanger made it impossible to complete the shift without blowing several lines in his arm. His shoulder mounted missiles were impossible to deploy as well- blaring warnings screaming across his vision telling him that they, too, were compromised.
"Get your dirty claws off of him, you viral fragger!" Arcee screamed.
Bumblebee tensed in absolute terror as the femme who he thought had run out of the hanger, the femme he was struggling to protect, dived between him and the virus carrying cables. They latched onto her in several places, across her chassis, neck column, head, and one ripping past her interface port. Piercing light erupted through the cables, shooting into the pinned femme. Her entire frame arched, threatening to snap in half, as a single, piercing note of a scream was ripped from her vocal processor.
A sudden pulse blast ripped the gargantuan beast from on top of the two Autobots. Arcee fell limply onto Bee, her frame sparking, limbs jerking sporadically. Bumblebee looked up in time to see Devcon deliver another set of pulse blasts to the quadruped's exposed chassis. On the floor next to the bounty hunter, the crumpled mess of his opponent laid smoking and twitching.
"Stand down, Virus." Devcon ordered. "Try anything else, and I'll shoot a hole right through your spark."
Virus snarled viciously. "Not a chance in the pit, Autoaft!"
She charged the bounty hunter, running full tilt at him without any heed to the shots deflecting off her. She rammed him hard in the chassis, sending him flying through the air. In one swift move, the Decepticon grasped her comrade with her teeth and swung the mech onto her broad back. In a shocking move, she ran for the open hanger door and leapt out, diving straight for the ground.
The sliding door to the hanger that led to the rest of the Ark was shot in by a laser rifle as Ultra Magnus finally managed to blast his way into the hanger. It seemed Virus had managed to lock the ship down before Arcee grappled her away from the ship's controls; the entire time his team had been fighting for their lives in the hanger, he'd been fighting to get in.
Devon was up and already running after his prey. "If you want this ship to get to Iacon in one piece, Ultra Magnus, I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can RIGHT NOW!" He then threw himself out the gaping door, transforming as he went. The deep blue jet dove for the ground after the viral saboteurs that had gotten away.
Bumblebee ignored his commander as he cursed loudly in the doorway of the hanger. He continued to ignore him as he went about to the controls and tried to override Virus's encoding, eventually getting the hanger doors to close. From the control panel, he set the ship on automated defence alert and activated all the weaponry. He even rerouted ship's helm controls to the consol he was at, forcing the ship higher into the sky, away from the dangers below, and engaged the thrusters to full velocity. If they were lucky, they would reach Iacon in just under two joors.
None of this matter to the scout as he cradled Arcee's frame in his arms. Her optics focused in and out on him, dangerously dim as she looked him in the faceplate. Her left arm, the only arm she had left, lifted to his faceplate to gently touch him. Where her right arm used to be, Bumblebee tried valiantly to stem the superfluous amounts of energon oozing out by blocking it with his own hands. He was struggling in vain as the energon continued to flow.
Whatever Arcee had been infected with, it was obvious that the virus was already taking its toll; her frame's functions were already beginning to shut down. She was barely lucid enough to acknowledge the extensive list of warnings and malfunctions that were scrolling across her peripherals.
The commander came to kneel by the pair, a large hand coming down to run along the battered armor atop Arcee's head. "Arcee, can you hear me?" he asked softly.
The femme nodded, but her unfocused optics stayed on Bumblebee. Her frame trembled just as badly as Bumblebee's, who was now rocking the femme gently, making desperate cooing sounds to her in hopes that she would hold on a little longer. More than anything, he wished he had his voice so that he could say something to her. He didn't want the last things said between them to be a fight.
"That was a very stupid you thing did. Extremely brave, but very stupid," Ultra Magnus said softly, stroking her head.
"I…I couldn't let…Bee get hurt. I- I care t-too much f-f-for hiiimmm…" Her vocals trailed off. Immediately, her optics went dim and her frame lay limp in Bumblebee's arms; she'd gone into stasis.
The Ark hummed to life as it crossed the boundary of the Expanse, finally beyond the nightmarish valley. Sadness flooded the scout as he realized he may have just gained back his way to communicate, but it might have already been too late for what he wanted to say.
Opening a private digital link to Arcee, the scout transmitted the words, regardless of whether or not she was going to hear them.
"Arcee… I care for you, too."