Chapter 10
Uprising
"Fiery the Angels rose, and as they rose deep thunder roll'd
Around their shores, indignant burning with the fires of Orc…"
- -William Blake
"Star," Silvershine almost whispered, "You ok?"
Her inquiry was met with stone silence. She felt like she may as well have been calling out to the thick, tense air around her. Starscream stood in the medbay seeming to be in his own world as he looked down at Thundercracker.
"I'm sorry Starscream," Silvershine tried to console. She stayed put in the doorway of the medbay, not wanting to approach Starscream in case he did not want the company. Even though they had worked together for a long time and were getting closer as a couple, Silvershine still found it hard at times to gauge his moods.
Stillness dominated the room as Starscream remained quiet and sullen.
Silvershine exhaled a long sigh through her air exhaust. "Star," she pleaded, "I'll do anything to help you, but you've got to talk to me, you can't just keep this inside. I remember what it was like to lose my family; I had trinemates too…..at one time."
"Silvershine," Starscream spoke, his voice a raspy grate. "Have Knockout's little slave come and give Thundercracker a good buffing, his finish is scratched from his fall. I want him to look nice for the funerary proceedings."
"But Star, you have to think positive, you can't just give up like…"
"Do it Silvershine," Starscream insisted. "I have research to conduct," he said as he moved to leave the room.
"But I can help you," Silvershine replied.
"No," Starscream hammered out the word.
"Why," Silvershine demanded, "why are you trying to keep this distance now, between us, I don't get it, is it because we interfaced, are you regretting that now?"
"Because this could happen to you," Starscream yelled, interrupting her rant. "This could happen to you Silvershine," he repeated softer. "I can't lose anyone else."
"Starscream, you were the first mech I have ever been with, the first one I have ever loved, I don't want to lose you either. This could happen to any of us, that is why we have to all work together to figure this out. We're all in this together Star, even the humans."
"I know," Starscream admitted bitterly, "the human scientist, she has given me an idea."
"Then let me help you," Silvershine urged.
"Ok," Starscream shook his head wearily, surrendering to Silvershine, "you can join me in the main research lab after you have spoken with Knockout. Soundwave will join us as well."
Bumblebee lay on a table in one of the smaller medbays, still a bit strung out from his dealings with Soundwave. He stared up at the large overhead light mounted on the ceiling above him, its beams showering him in a golden hue. The light seemed comforting to him somehow, it felt safe to be near it. He had heard whisperings and murmurings from the drones coming in and out of the medbay; talk of Thundercracker, 1st Sergeant of the Air Defense, being taken down by one of the light creatures. He now lay dying in one of the medbays. Bumblebee never would have thought that he would find himself feeling sorry for a Decepticon, but here he was, laying here alone, feeling sorry for Thundercracker. Times had changed and they were getting worse. Bumblebee wondered what the powers that be would eventually do about this situation, Megatron and Starscream, they had what they wanted now, ruling a new Cybertron built out of earth. Could they keep it?
Bumblebee closed his optics, remembering the details of what the mind probe had uncovered. The Quintessons and the light creatures together on the small, purple planet he had visited in his earliest days as a scout. They had been talking, communicating somehow with one another, though the precise way in which that had taken place Bumblebee could not exactly make out or remember. Then, something must have gone wrong. Bumblebee cocked his head and blinked his optics, trying to clear the fuzzy thoughts away. He bolted straight up on the table to a sitting position, startled by the recollections now flooding his processors. Something went wrong, because the light creatures started attacking the Quintessons. "You brought us here to kill us," one of the Quintessons had screamed, its tentacled limbs fluttering about as it scrambled to get away. It was a trap, Bumblebee now remembered; the light creatures lured the Quintessons there to slaughter them, but why?
Bumblebee had been so scared trying to flee himself that he had tripped on a small, jagged boulder, creating a rattling echo that one of the light creatures had heard. It had started to approach, but Bumblebee fell on his light ray he had brought along to see inside the caves of the purple planet. The light ray snapped on, scaring the light creature away long enough for Bumblebee to request a ground bridge and escape.
Bumblebee shook his head wearily and tried to stand, his legs still a bit wobbly. This was more information than had come about during the mind probe and he was sure it could be of some benefit to Soundwave as he wandered shakily out of the medical bay to find him.
"Hmm Hmm Hmm," Miko hummed away as she worked to buff Thundercracker to a thorough shine. Although it took her a lot longer to buff Thundercracker than it would have taken a normal sized mech to do it, Miko's tiny hands could reach places easily with the tiny, custom made buffer that Knockout had designed for her. Miko wanted to do the best job possible, Thundercracker was Lord Starscream's friend and Miko felt sad inside that he was dying. He had saved the rest of her group and her friend Bethany was safe now because of him. She had started on his chest, polishing the Decepticon insignia there, ridding it of the scratch Thundercracker had gotten when he fell forward. It now looked like a bright, proud symbol again, just like the ones the other Decepticons wore. Miko focused intensely on the task, polishing in slow, smooth circles like Knockout had taught her. She was about to head up to the scratch on Thundercracker's shoulder when he started groaning. Miko hesitated, feeling a heated surge beneath her feet in Thundercracker's spark chamber.
"Uh, Knockout," Miko called.
"Yes, little pet, having problems are we," he asked as he approached.
Miko sqeaked as Thundercracker sat upright, involuntarily tearing himself away from the medical cables hooked up to him. He groggily realized Miko's presence, catching her in his hand.
"Hi," Miko said nervously, looking up at Thundercracker. "Uh, Lord Starscream asked me to polish you," she explained, brandishing the buffer for him to see, "for your uh….."
"We thought you were a goner," Knockout broke in smoothly.
"But you're alive," Miko chirped.
"I've never felt better," Thundercracker advised. "I feel as young as a sparkling."
"Hm," Knockout mused, "better keep you in here for observation; you're not in any condition to leave just yet. It's not every day bots come back from almost being dead."
Thundercracker looked down at Miko, buffer still in hand. "I think I can finish this up myself little one," he told her as he sat her down on a nearby shelf.
"Lord Starscream's gonna flip when he sees this," Miko said excitedly.
"Yes," Knockout agreed, in all his days as a medical officer, he had never seen anything like it.
"Flip about what," Starscream demanded hotly as he appeared in the doorway. "Knockout, I've been looking all over for you, Bumblebee just wandered out of the medical bay and interrupted my meeting with more news….."
Starscream stopped talking and stood stunned with an open mouthed expression as he suddenly noticed Thundercracker sitting upright on the berth. He looked at Knockout, then back at Thundercracker.
"Not me," Lord Starscream, Knockout informed him shrugging his shoulders, "as much as I would like to take credit, this just happened for no apparent reason."
"What do you mean it just happened doctor," Starscream growled, "one minute Thundercracker is as near to death as one can get without actually being dead and the next he's online and wide awake like nothing happened?"
"Well….yes," Knockout cooed, trying to calm Starscream's hot demeanor. "It will take further testing to determine a cause my Lord, there is much that we are still discovering about this situation. As you just said, even Bumblebee is still remembering new details."
"Yes, yes," Starscream rationalized, his processors cooling down from their anger. "The important thing for now is that you are ok," Starscream addressed Thundercracker.
"I didn't know you cared," Thundercracker joked.
"Well, it is better not to lose my 1st Sergeant of Air Defense at a time like this," Starscream attempted to cover his emotions.
"Of course," Thundercracker replied coolly.
"And Bumblebee's news," Knockout reminded Starscream.
"Yes," Starscream replied. "He has been able to remember an apparent uprising of some sort that took place between the light creatures and the Quintessons. It seems the light creatures attacked the Quintessons, drawing them into some type of trap."
"I thought the ancients killed off most of the Quintessons during our own uprising against them," Knockout questioned.
"Yes, most of them," Starscream explained, "some remained and may have been the creators of the light creatures; of that we are not certain, Bumblebee's memories are cloudy at best."
"One of the humans, Dr. Collins," Starscream continued, "has sparked an idea on how to defend against the light creatures using light itself. It is a theory we are now researching further."
"A human doctor," Knockout laughed, scoffing at the idea.
"Yes, a human doctor," Starscream hissed. "It is her idea we are researching and not yours, so maybe you would like to stop preening and follow me to the lab, Bumblebee could use some vital scans, he seems a bit distressed after his recent memories."
"Sure thing boss," Knockout replied. "Miko, time to go back into your container."
"Ah, no more playing with Thundercracker," Miko whined.
"No, absolutely not," Knockout was firm, "Decepticon air defense command and tiny humans really don't mix well most of the time."
"Ok," Miko sighed.
"Knockout, if you please," Starscream rasped, "time is of the essence here."
A beeping sound caught Starscream's attention as Soundwave appeared on a nearby comlink in the medbay.
"My Lord, Bumblebee has vanished."
"Vanished," Starscream repeated. "You mean he's gone missing?"
"No, my Lord," Soundwave answered, "vanished into some type of portal, ground bridge possibly."
"You mean to tell me that some type of ground bridge portal formed right in my own lab and Bumblebee vanished into it."
"It would appear so my Lord," Soundwave replied.
"Well, I trust you captured some footage of this, this event," Starscream screeched.
"Yes, my Lord."
Starscream bawled his claw up into a fist causing Knockout to recoil away from the immediate vicinity of him. What the scrap was happening he thought. If the light creatures were involved, how dare they come into Tricon, into his own lab and take what belonged to him. The thought of it infuriated him. Starscream reached for the comlink and punched in the code to contact Dreadwing.
"Lord Starscream," Dreadwing acknowledged.
"Dreadwing, ready the air defense unit. Due to Thundercracker's recent condition, I would like to have you head up this mission."
"Of course, my Lord," Dreadwing replied.
"Bumblebee has just been abducted by what I suspect are the light creatures. Thundercracker has recovered from his ordeal, so it appears we are not entirely susceptible to their attacks. We are also developing light weapons to use against them. I think it's time we find and engage these light scrap, they take one of mine, I take one of theirs," Starscream purred darkly.
"I will ready the fleet," Dreadwing responded.
"Good," Starscream rasped, "it's time for our own uprising."
Across the planet, deep in the Arctic Circle, Bumblebee awoke to the clear, night sky, the sound of biting arctic wind and the sight of the glowing light creatures all around him.
As the light creature nearest to him moved in closer, he was certain this would be the night he would lose his spark. He closed his optics, ready to join the other autobots at last.
The light creature stood in front of him for seconds that seemed like eons before it finally spoke.
"Greetings," it said.