Chapter Eleven – Frozen Cold

Across the snow filled plains of the deep arctic, a group of vehicles slowly ride through the many deep banks and icy conditions of the harsh winter tundra. In a straight line they all follow one another, using the same tracks and keeping their high beams focused on each other's bumpers. The dreaded snowstorm darkens the area like a shadowy specter cloaking them all from seeing any direction.

"Hey Trailbreaker!" The little yellow Volkswagen shouts out to the leading pickup. "How much further? My rear axles are freezing!"

"Don't know little buddy." The black 4x4 enclosed truck replies. "Something is jammin' my radar. I'm just using the digital compass Sparkplug has…"

"Oh terrific." Huffer now moans as he's stuck in between the two in the line. "Some warriors we are…we can't even find our way through a snow valley!"

"Hey it's the arctic" Spike now laughs as he listens to all complaining the Autobots are making. "This mother nature at her most raw element."

"Mother who?" Wheeljack questions as he shivers behind the entire convoy.

"Never mind Wheeljack. Take too long to explain." Spike sighs. "I'm just glad you guys gave us a pit stop in Canada before we continued on."

"Well we didn't want you guys to freeze up here." Brawn now adds as he too is stuck in between the line up. "Good thing you packed those winter clothes to wear…it's going to get nasty cold in this neck of the woods."

"You mean 'In this neck of the ice' don't you Brawn?" Cliffjumper laughs as he suddenly taps the dark green and yellow SUV from behind with his fender.

"Yeah, yeah...Ice. Shut up back there will ya? And stop pushing me for Cybertron's sake…you're peelin' the paint off my backside!" Brawn snickers.

Cliffjumper laughs again and moves out of the linear convoy as he speeds ahead with his tires throwing snow up onto Brawn's windshield.

"You're starting to sound like Sunstreaker! Hahahah!"

As the little red Mini pulls up beside Trailbreaker, Sparkplug looks out the window at the car and shakes his finger at him.

"Hey cut the comedy! Concentrate on the mission or lets turn back right now."

Cliffjumper gives a soft sigh. "Oh, alright Sparkplug. Just teasin' is all."

"Yeah and that's what got you into trouble with Optimus Prime in the first place isn't it Cliffjumper?"

The little mini Autobot remained silent for a second as Sparkplug's comment struck a cord with him. Trailbreaker gave a quiet chuckle and moves up ahead so that Cliffjumper can pull back into the line.

"He got you there Cliff ol' pal. Remember you're not a ranking officer in the Autobots anymore…just a civilian whose probably going to get in a whole lot more trouble when and if we get back home."

"Yeah…" Cliffjumper sighs again. "Just a civilian."

As they continue to dive deeper into the dark snow filled weather, Spike looks back out the rear window and gives a curious look at Wheeljack trailing a few feet away.

"You ok back there 'jack my man? You've been kinda quiet."

"Huh?" The striped racing car responds. "Oh…uh…just lost in thought is all Spike."

"Uh huh…" The young man says with skepticism. "It wouldn't be about those dinosaurs again would it?"

"Dinosaurs?" Bumblebee inquires.

"Nothing…forget it, Bumblebee." Wheeljack suddenly snaps in frustration. "I was just telling Spike one of my passing thoughts is all. Just keep driving will ya?"

"Ok, ok…geez!" The yellow car says as he moves up a bit more. "Touchy subject or what? Guess you're the only one he wants to share with huh, Spike?"

Looking back out the window again, Spike remains silent as he gives Wheeljack another glance. The robot seemed too deeply focused in his thoughts to respond to anyone, something Spike knows well enough not to push any further. It's obvious that Wheeljack is very secretive about his creative endeavors and not one to openly admit about things until he's ready to share with everyone else. Turning back to watch the road ahead, Spike simply zips up his deep red and white winter coat and flips the hood up.

"I think we should all stop for a second to get our bearings. Hey dad?" The young man says as he picks up and speaks into the C.B. mike.

"Yeah son?" The father's voice replies through the speaker.

"Let's stretch our legs for a sec and let the guys transform…it might help them more to move about in robot mode."

"Sounds good to me." The father cheerfully replies. "Suit up tight son…it's deadly cold out there."

Spike and Sparkplug climb out of Wheeljack and Trailbreaker as the convoy comes to a stop. With both humans walking away from them at a safe distance, the entire line of Autobots quickly transform into their alternate modes. Both men watch in amazement as the robots flip, pivot and change form with that unique sound that goes with it. Somehow both of them will never tire of seeing what these robots from space are capable of doing.

"Aaaah!" Huffer yelps as he straightens his back. "That feels better…man we've traveled so far I was getting a kink in my lower rotors."

"I know what you mean Huff…" Brawn quickly smiles at him. "This is one rugged landscape we had to cross. Rock, mud, snow…heh! I feel like my tires need new treads after all that."

Wheeljack walks past the others and stands behind Trailbreaker, the black and silver chromed robot continues to stare out into the dark blizzard.

"Really quiet out here, isn't it?" Wheeljack mentions as he folds his arms over himself as if he can feel the chill of the wind.

"Yeah…" Trailbreaker smirks. "Reminds me of the night we were lost on Terrak Five. Nothing but snow, wind and a whole lot of nothing either way."

Wheeljack chuckles as he remembers. "Good times…bad storm. I remember that was the last mission we ever on, then the war heated up and we needed to stick to Cybertron after that. Feels like forever since we last had scientific mission of that kind."

"Well, that was a long time ago Wheeljack." The black robot sighs as he switches his scanner eyes off and looks around at him. "But with Decepticons always on our case…I doubt we'll ever be allowed to go exploring again. Not until their defeated and Cybertron is free again."

"Yeah." Wheeljack somberly says as he looks down at his feet kicking some snow. "I just hope our world is still there after all this time. I'd love to see if my lab is still intact in Iacon…"

Trailbreaker turns fully around and folds his arms over as he continues to talk to his friend.

"Sounds like you regret coming along on this mission with us…guess you miss being a scientist rather then being a warrior, huh?"

"Some days I do…" Wheeljack sighs again as he rubs his manifold chin. "Creating new devices and technological breakthroughs was my specialty, but I loved going on those missions for research and new energy sources…now it's making weapons and killing Decepticons. Maybe I'm just homesick or dreading what we'll find on Cybertron once we return…but…"

Trailbreaker pats him on the head, the black and chrome robot is slightly larger then the depressed friend and gives him a smile to cheer him up.

"I know, I know…you're a scientist not a warrior." Trailbreaker chuckles as he finishes Wheeljack's thought. "Trust me, you're not alone on that feeling. You think I've always been a soldier all my life? Heck, I was a shipping unit transport…yep…carried heavy loads across all of Cybertron. Nothing was better then being on the open roadway…it was pure freedom. Now look at me…a tough, lean machine that does nothin' but bust Decepticon chops and crashing on a planet light years away."

"Some freedom, huh?" Wheeljack utters as he looks up at him.

"Lighten up you two!" Cliffjumper says as he waltzes into the conversation. "Save the 'boo-hooing' for another time. Hey, Trailbreaker! You locate that energy signature or what!"

"Who died and made you leader of this mission?" Trailbreaker snickers at the mini robot's comment. "But if you're in such a dang hurry…then by all means…try to locate the source yourself."

"What is it Trailbreaker?" Sparkplug says as he and his son walk up after hearing them talk. "What's wrong?"

The others all gather around as he gives a long sigh and unfolds his arms.

"There's…there's something jamming my radar. Its like this whole area is non-existent, I can't even keep track of our own progress. We might be going in circles…or we're right on target and don't even know it."

"Sounds fishy to me." Cliffjumper grumbles as he rubs his chin with concern.

"What about the digital compass you and Sparkplug were using?" Wheeljack asks.

"Seems to be alright…I think." Trailbreaker shrugs. "But even that I don't trust. I got this sort of gut feeling this isn't a natural occurrence."

Spike gives a look of interest and folds his arms as he thinks.

"That could mean we're very close. Archeville will use every trick in the book to stop anyone from finding out his secrets…"

"If it is Archeville's doing, that is." Sparkplug adds.

Spike's eyes shift side to side as he tries to think, his mind is riddled with what to do next and how to proceed. Suddenly he looks up at them all and stands over into the center of the circle they've formed around each other.

"Look…we've come this far. I say we keep going forward until something turns up."

"What kind of plan is that Spike?" Huffer moans. "We could be just moving around in circles like Trailbreaker said!"

"Well it's better then standing around here and not doing anything, Huffer. Something will turn up…I just know it."

Huffer gives a disapproving shake of his head and looks up at the others.

"This is nuts…but I can't think of anything else, how bout you Trailbreaker?"

"I guess I could put my ultra-high beams on and keep the radar on a low setting. It might not tell us what's too far ahead…but at least it will let us know if there's any sort of trouble a few feet ahead."

"Well, lets get back on that trail Autobots." Huffer commands. "Transform and roll out!"

They all revert into their previous car forms and Spike and Sparkplug both climb inside Trailbreaker. The black truck turns on his ultra-high beamed lights as they cut through the storm darkness like a pair of lighthouse beacons. They continue their journey once again and keep the pace a bit slower then before.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Inside the icy grey ship the Decepticons captured, Megatron and his men search about the bridge and begin digging for any sort of worth to the vessel. The Decepticon leader was unhappy with the discovery of this well kept secret, he ripped panels off the walls and lifted heavy Earth drilling equipment out of his path. Starscream searched about the ancient vesel as well, keeping a close eye on the two humans as he over turned bolted chairs from their rusted spots and tired to inspect the mess for any sort of clue. Archeville and Chip Chase stood beside one another as they watched the large monstrosities tear away at the craft.

"What the hell is going on here Archeville?" Chip whispers in anger. "What happened to you? What are you doing here…with these things?"

"Quiet fool!" The mad scientist whispered back in equal anger. "I told you to speed up the process and now we're paying for your stupidity. Why isn't the project ready yet? Hm? You promised me it would be fully operational and ready for use…"

"Well excuse me, Doctor!" Chip quarreled. "This isn't something you can simply rush, I mean…my god…this is alien technology, I had to learn how to operate the damn systems and understand the language to get anything going! I can't believe you would bring these creatures here…I haven't even gotten the other one functioning yet!"

Suddenly Starscream turns his head and looks at the two arguing. The sound of his large footsteps approaching them both makes the men stop in their arguments and gulp in fear. The air commander gazes down at the terrified humans and squints his large red eyes at them.

"What other one?" Starscream inquires.

"P-

pardon?" Chip nervously says.

"What other one are you talking about?"

Archeville calms himself from the frightful moment of Starscream's presence and clears his throat as he speaks.

"You must have heard wrong Starscream. Uh…he said…I mean…he was rather referring too…"

"Silence human!" The Decepticon screamed at the man. "Don't play games with me. I am not some feeble human with weak hearing…Cybertronians have superior listening with flawless quality. This flesh creature you call Chip Chase said something about 'another one'...another one of us you mean?"

Megatron heard the air commander raise his voice and soon came up beside Starscream as he saw him questioning the humans.

"What is it? What did you hear?"

"They were just about to tell me…I mean us…Megatron."

The leader looks down with glowing eyes and scowls at them.

"Well? Lets have it then…"

Chip gave a quick glance at Archeville and he in turn gave one back shaking his head. He did not want Megatron to know of what Chip was talking about. But fearing for his life, Chase suddenly confessed as looked up at the two evil Decepticons.

"This ship…had a passenger. It's…it's in the other room…thawing out. We had to remove the ice it was locked in…the vessel must have been totally submerged in water many thousands of years ago."

Starscream quickly gazed around the bridge and saw the metal door Chip quickly pointed too, a small crack in the metal was large enough for a human figure to pass through, but Starscream ran over and pulled the large metal door off in a furious state. The door crashed on the floor a few feet away from where Soundwave was standing and looked up at the air commander with disapproval. The jet commander stepped into the very dark room and quickly saw the very thing the human was talking about. There, lying on a grey metal table, almost like a medical bay, was a very large robot colored white with blue and red markings. As the commander gasped at the discovery, Megatron stepped in and noticed Starscream's expression.

"What is it Starscream? Why do you recoil? It's as if you've seen a ghost?"

"Perhaps I have might Megatron…perhaps I have…but that's only because…I know him…"

"Who is he?" The Leader inquired as he gazed at the body.

Starscream walked over and looked down at the face of the robot.

"His name was…Skyfire."