12. Quaero
It worked so well, it was almost too easy.
A tall man in his mid-forties with a short black Afro and a small beard wearing a white shirt, a light brown waist coat, and a pair of trousers with black loafers quietly walked down the hallways of the military base. He was carrying some files. He glanced around every now and then to see if anyone suspected him, but they just carried on.
"Agent Fowler, those medical supplies still haven't arrived."
The man snapped his head to an open room. He snuck over to it and poked his head inside to find a few men monitoring at computers and two people that stood out.
"We have wounded men who need…" the woman added.
"I'm doing the best I can, Nurse Darby!" Fowler snapped.
Nurse Darby glared at him.
"I've been a little busy juggling nuke happy generals who don't seem to care if they blow Nevada sky high and a Decepticon warlord who wants to make nice now that the Autobots are in the scrapyard!"
The man frowned. Autobots? Decepticons?
"Megatron's opinion, not mine," Fowler amended. "He's feeding me a load of horse puckery, trying to crush our spirit."
"Still no word?" Darby asked.
"Listen," he said, gently, "no contact and coordinate sends only tells me that something huge is coming up and that it's not going to be pretty."
"But if I could just call Jack..." Darby insisted.
"You know it's too risky," Fowler reminded her. "So do the Bots. The Cons could trace any cell phone signal."
Darby glared at him.
"Then take me home," she growled. "If Jack can't call, that's where he'll look for me!"
"Jasper's under complete Con lock down," Fowler warned. "No one's getting in. The only ones who can fix this are Prime and his Bots."
He turned towards the window.
"I'm sure they're out there, keeping a low profile," Fowler whispered. "They gotta be."
A man came from one of the computers. "Agent Fowler, the Decepticons are at it again."
Fowler growled. "Don't they ever take a day off?"
"Sir, we think they finally managed to infiltrate our defense networks, which they once did in Qatar three years ago. Only this time, it worked."
"What did they get?"
"We still don't know. They've hacked into every intern network. It's like as if they were looking for someone...or something."
"Can we stop them?"
"Every time we try, they speed their search up. It's like they're trying to infect our systems with some kind of a virus."
"Then they must have some hiding in Asia somewhere."
"I'm sorry sir, but that's incorrect," the man pipes up in an almost deep voice, stepping into the room.
"Excuse me sir, but who are you?" the man who announced the hacking asked.
"Isaac Sumdac, a scientist in technology," the man explained. "I have seen your problem many times before."
Fowler and Darby looked at each other before looking back at him.
"All I am trying to say is that they hacked your firewall in ten seconds. Even a supercomputer, with a brute force attack, would take twenty years to do that."
"Maybe you can explain why our enemies are doubling their armed forces..."
"Maybe it's a precaution. Isn't that what you're doing? The signal pattern is learning; it's evolving on its own, and you need to move past Fourier transforms and start thinking quantum mechanics..."
"There is nothing on Earth that complex!"
"All right, that's enough! Listen, we've got NSA specialists working here. If you can come up with anything to support your theory, we're listening. But if you don't get a filter, you're gonna have to leave. Understand?" Fowler warned him.
Isaac narrowed his eyes. "Understood." He turned on his heel and marched out of the room. He sighed in defeat. He just wanted to get out of there and fast with any signs of his family being alive. There was no telling what could have happened to her, his only child.
He pulled out his wallet and opened it, to reveal a beautiful baby girl wrapped tightly in a light pink blanket. He smiled as he stared down at the being that made up his daughter—red hair, pale brown skin, maroon eyes, and a round face with a small smile. His fingers danced lightly on the surface of the being he had fallen in love with since birth, even after her mother left.
"Hey."
Isaac looked up to find Darby coming up to him.
"You said your name was Isaac Sumdac. I heard you had a daughter. What of her?"
"That's why I came here," Isaac told her. "I'm looking for her right now."
Darby looked skeptical. "Did she run away? Or was she kidnapped?"
"No and hopefully no," said Isaac. "Please, I need help. I do not know where else to go. I've tried everywhere."
Darby paused to think before saying, "There may be a way."
"I'm not allowed to use this except for emergencies," June said as she opened a drawer and pulled out a USB drive. "Well, this could be one of them."
Isaac frowned. "Wouldn't you get in trouble for this?"
"Yes and no," June said. "It'll only take matter of hours before they figure it out."
The plan was not an easy one to strategize.
It took hours for them to agree to find out what happened to the elder three Maximals. While Optimus would have liked to have the negotiations done elsewhere, he knew it was best to do it in a place where the kids felt safe. They knew the ins and outs of the Harbinger, where to hide, to run, to get help. Even if another location was scouted, it would not offer them the same sense of security.
But as the GroundBridge fired online, the Autobots felt uneasy. Cerulean optics fell upon the portal as the Autobot leader bowed his helm.
A hand rested on his lower leg. He looked down to find Sari standing next to him, a confident smile graced on her pale lips. "You can do it, Optimus. I believe in you."
Optimus smiled and nodded before looking ahead and giving out the command:
"Autobots, roll out!"
Only Ratchet had remained behind. Closing the portal, he sighed and watched as the humans disappeared back deep into the ship.
In the events of the week, things seemed to be for once nice. After catching up with what they missed out on the Maximals, the Autobots had made themselves even more comfortable. Basically, however, the madness never stopped.
Ratchet hesitated, letting the decision in his mind juggle in his head. He wanted to do it, but he felt like he couldn't. He tapped the counter of the controls impatiently, trying to make up his mind. He closed his optics for a moment, trying to concentrate. He sighed before he finally dialed a number and waited for a while.
"What is it now, Lord Megatron?" a familiar voice growled.
Lord Megatron? Ratchet thought before he whispered, "Agent Fowler, it's Ratchet!"
"Ratchet?!" Fowler said. "Where are the kids? Is they with you?"
"Yes, he is," the medic replied. "Listen, we don't have much time. I have taken a tremendous and calculated risk in contacting you. Hopefully the Decepticons aren't monitoring any other types of frequencies as closely as they no doubt are that of the humans. I am transmitting our current co-ordinates…"
A static disrupted the call, causing Ratchet to curse the machine and slam a hand on the consoles. "Blasted tech!"
He was cut off…but a series of code showed up on the computer screen next to them.
"Ratchet, have you heard from anyone else?" Fowler asked. "What about Prime?"
The call was disconnected.
"Well, looks like we'll have to do this the hard way," Fowler said, turning to Darby and Isaac that had just stopped by the room. "Pack your bags, you two. We're off to wonderland. The rest of you, monitor any signs of the Autobots in case they try to contact us again."
"Yes, sir," one of them answered.
"What will it take for this to operate properly?" Ratchet cursed as he tried to figure out the problem.
Sari and Jack, who had just entered the room, stopped nearby.
"What's wrong now?" Jack asked.
"This blasted tech," Ratchet shouted. "I cannot seem to get it to work right for more than a week."
"You have no idea," Sari grumbled to herself.
"Guys, we're out of some things," Raf said, poking his head in the doorway.
"I'll be right back," Sari said as she walked over to one side of the room.
"How are you going to get it?" Jack asked.
Sari stopped by a shape covered by a tarp before she pulled it off, to reveal a black and silver Buell Lightning XB9SX.
"Oh, hot ride!" Miko spoke as she entered the room.
"Took me forever to finish it, too," Sari said. "Anyone want to come with?"
"I'll go," Jack said.
"Of course," Miko mumbled.
Raf glared at her.
"So, when do we head out?" Jack asked.
Sari handed him a helmet. "Right now."
"Be careful," Ratchet cautioned.
Sari gaped at him. Then she gave him a smile.
"What?"
"So, you do care."
Ratchet gaped at him before he barked, "Be careful...so that way a Con can get you."
Sari rolled her eyes before she got Jack to drive them out of there.
"Were you serious?" Raf asked.
"Shut up," Ratchet grumbled.
"I didn't really think Ratchet cared that much," Sari giggled as they exited the grocery store.
"Ratchet can be not grumpy when he wants to," Jack explained.
"Oh, really?" Sari smirked. "I wonder who's scarier: him or Hound?"
Jack shivered as Sari laughed.
"You find this funny, don't you?" Jack queried.
"Maybe," Sari said.
"I wish I was being bossed around by the moth right now," he mumbled.
"No, you don't," Sari said. "But trust me. It's not as bad as getting on Rhinox's bad side."
"Why?"
Sari nearly looked scared.
"Let's just say he won that round," she tells him.
Jack followed and sat with Sari inside a small coffee house. The air was a little chilly outside, but it didn't stop them from hanging out. Sari had shown him her newest inventions, tried it out.
"It's nice to see the stars," Sari sighed, her eyes fixed upon the skies. "In cities like Detroit, it's so bright, you can't see them."
"Think maybe Ratchet is tired of you saying how old he is?" Jack asked.
Sari couldn't help as she burst out laughing, and soon enough, Jack was laughing with her. Not only did he make her happy, but he made her laugh, too. Mostly because he was a bit of a dork. Her face became distant when they finally stopped laughing.
"If only life could be this wonderful all the time," she sighed, deep in thought.
"What do you mean?" her friend asked, concerned about her sudden change in emotions.
"Just life," Sari explained. "There is this guy my dad knew, Porter C. Powell. He was trying to get my dad's company."
Her friend's eyes clouded up, and Sari could see that he wasn't happy either. It was sweet how protective he had become over her; it was another quality she liked about him.
"Jack, calm down," she told him. "I said no, and most certainly embarrassed him in front of a crowd of people. I would never even consider giving my dad's company to him."
"I know," Jack sighed. "But I do fear that one day he might, you know..."
"You're kidding, right?" she said. "I don't find him that charming. He gave us all a rough time." Then she added, "And I'll be the first to tell him that at the banquet that I'm going to trick Ratchet into letting me go to so I can embarrass him further."
Jack brightened completely at this comment.
"Who are you going with?" he asked.
"I don't know," she sighed. "But I certainly don't want to go alone. Hey, why don't you be my date?"
At that, Jack sat straight, his eyes wide. Him? Really? The very idea of taking her to the banquet warmed him up and made him want to do a cartwheel. But there was a down side to this plan.
"Um, Sari, in case you haven't noticed, I don't exactly know anything about these types of banquets," he pointed out.
"Well, you don't have to be one of those businessmen just to go," Sari explained.
"Well, I guess I could give it a shot," he admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
Sari smiled widely, and caught up in the moment, attacked him in a tight hug of thanks. She had hugged him a few times before, but Jack still hesitated whenever she did.
"We better get going," she informed, once she'd pulled away. "Ratchet would kill us if we were gone too long."
"Yeah, we better," Jack realized. "I just hope neither of the girls are being wooed."
Sari giggled, before leaning in and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.
"How can you not get rid of such an atrocity that abomination made me?!" Megatron demanded.
Knock Out jumped back in surprise before saying, "We-we don't know, my lord. It's just...I don't know."
Megatron looked at Shockwave for an answer.
"A logical explanation is not yet found in my expertise," Shockwave answer. "However, I am still working to find the meanings of this."
"You better," Megatron snarled as he stood up, "or so help me Primus I will—"
He never got the chance to finish as he received a message from Soundwave. Megatron snarled and stormed out of the lab and up to the bridge, where Soundwave and Airachnid were.
"What have you required?" Megatron asked.
"It appears the Autobots have new allies in the fold," Airachnid reported, her back turned to him.
"What?!" Megatron spot. "You are lying."
"N-no sir, look," Airachnid pointed out.
Megatron stepped forward and peered to see. Sure enough, four new signatures were imprinted on screen.
"So, Ultra Magnus has arrived on Earth," Megatron said. He pursed his mouth pieces to the side before asking, "Does Lockdown know of this?"
Soundwave nodded.
"Well then," Megatron gloated, "if Lockdown does indeed know, then his companions shouldn't be too far behind."
And that, my friends, is how this will get even more interesting. Who these new Decepticons will be, you'll have to wait. Until then, have fun.