Chapter Twenty-four:
"Jukes, I have just received a text from the lair. They said they found a survivor of an Autobot crash. Did you know about this?" Optimus Prime asked his passenger.
"I know about a crash, but there were no survivors," he answered in confusion.
"According to the text, my mechs Flashlight and Splash were killed in the crash, but a third, Sunstreaker, survived."
"He's alive?" Jukes asked in horror. "If we had known he was alive, we would have helped him much sooner. You see, his chest was crushed and we couldn't get access to his essence matrix. If we had, we would have seen he was still alive and Ellie would have moved heaven and Earth to repair him."
"I know that Jukes. I have spent enough time with the girl, and know my Autobots well enough to realize the girl tries to heal. I do not believe she would have wantonly allowed him to suffer.
"There is one thing I must ask of you though."
"Name it."
"Do not inform Sideswipe about this until we know Sunstreaker will survive."
"Of course. May I ask why?"
"Sunstreaker is Sideswipe's twin brother."
"What? He's a twin? How is that even possible?"
"I will have Ratchet explain it to you."
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
"Okay everyone, I'm through the corridor," Grapple said as he levered himself through the hatch on the other side.
"Report Grapple," Hound ordered. "What do you see in the main hold?"
"Sweet Primus! There are fifteen stasis pods in here. Three are destroyed from the impact it looks like. Two look like they lost power some time ago and one is empty. It looks like another one is empty, and one more, it looks like the occupant was put in injured. His power signs are all negative."
"Can you identify if any of the others survived? And who they are?" Hound asked as he made his way through the corridor.
"Standby.
"Okay, it looks like the remaining seven all have power readings, but I'm not sure what their status says. The displays all look like they're half shorted out. Probably from flying through the anomaly."
"Do you recognize anyone?"
"I can't get close enough to tell. I'm concerned that if I get too close, it will shift the balance and move the ship. Given how the hull is covered in stress fractures, it may very well kill anyone that may be alive."
"Alright. Where you, by chance, able to figure out which ship this is?"
"Yes sir! It's the Eight Track."
"The Eight Track?
"Clyde! Can you have Mike text Optimus and tell him the crash site has been identified as the Eight Track. We will let him know as soon as we do if there are any survivors."
"Mike said he's texting and received a message from Prime. He said he wants you to keep him abreast of all new information, and let him know immediately if Sunstreaker survives."
"Well, if he survived this long," First Aid said as he joined them with Ellie in tow, "he probably will pull through."
"That's good to know. Did you get him repaired yet?" Hound asked the medic.
"No. I have him stabilized right now and Ellie was able to put his spark in a holo preserver to give me the time to repair his body."
"Then what are you doing here?" Prowl wanted to know.
"I am here in case any potential survivors need immediate medical assistance," he said as he worked his way through the corridor. "Did you check these hatches to see if there were any more survivors in those rooms?"
"Yes. The first third of the hull was peeled off along the starboard side. There weren't any survivors in there. The port side held two bodies that we pulled out and set aside," Prowl continued.
"Yes. I saw them when we came up.
"So, what do we have in the hold?"
"Fifteen stasis chambers. Unfortunately, only seven of them appear to be functioning," Hound informed.
"Have you been able to get to them?"
"Negative. The hull is too unstable. I just can't get a clear enough reading to determine how terminal the stress fractures are," Grapple diagnosed.
"Hey! I know where we are," Ellie exclaimed happily.
"Yes . . . we are in the hold of a ship that crashed on your planet," Grapple replied slowly.
"Yes, but this hold is over a tunnel from the junction. I'd guess it's that collapsed tunnel," she replied just as slowly.
"So, mister smarty pants engineer guy," Ellie addressed Grapple, "would you like to see if we can get to those guys from underneath since it's too dangerous to try from here?"
He motioned back through the corridor, following First Aid. "I hate this miserable planet and its upstart species," he muttered in his native language.
"Well you did talk rather condescendingly to her," the medic answered.
"I'll stay here and monitor the chamber," Hound volunteered.
"Okay. Let us know the minute anything starts to shift," Grapple said in English.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Putting the phone away, she calmly began to pack up her belongings. She really was glad this assignment was over. She was almost starting to fall for that garbage the aliens were spouting off about self-determination. Maybe it was a good thing to be leaving now; she didn't want to be anywhere near this place when the units closed in.
Closing her locker with a soft click, she absently rubbed at the scar on her chest where her artificial heart beat steadily behind the metal ribs.
"Hey Stacey!" Mirage addressed her as she walked through the hangar. "You aren't going on any more dangerous dates are you?"
"Not anymore 'Raj," she addressed familiarly. "I'm just going to meet my friend's new baby."
"I'm afraid you aren't," he said sadly.
Quickly, she looked up at him in confusion. "Excuse me?"
"We have received the personnel files of Dr. Alistair Carlisle's subjects. Your name was included; artificial heart, lungs and ribs, correct?"
Briefly, she thought about throwing her bag at the troops closing in on her with their weapons drawn, and then dismissed the thought. Instead, she merely dropped her bag and raised her hands.
"It truly breaks my spark to do this Stacey," he addressed her with a gravelly voice.
"Save it you alien freak! I'm not buying your pathetic propaganda."
Mirage sighed heavily with regret. "Take her to the brig with the others."
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Thankful for the millionth time she was known for bringing in oversized purses, Dr. Alicia Eglin efficiently removed all personal traces of her existence from the small closet that served as her office. There wasn't that much, she only brought in generic articles that she found on the internet or in magazines.
Opening her private paper files, she opened each one and carefully removed the top sheets before she shredded the rest. Once she had all of the information she wanted, she stuffed it into her purse and dumped the shredded documents into the incinerator just outside her door.
Finally, she was going to be getting away from that sociopath and his absolutely psychotic obsession with torturing that poor little girl. The very idea he was blood to her made Alicia cringe. If the prophecies were true, the idiotic genius did not have long to live. That idea made the woman smile with cruel delight. Any being that would treat the key so inhumanely deserved to die a slow and painful death.
The phone ringing on her desk brought her out of her thoughts. "Yes?" she asked as she picked it up.
"Doctor Eglin, we wanted to let you know we haven't received the clear code from any of our undercover people," the voice on the other end informed her.
"Any destruction signals?"
"Yes ma'am. Just from Major Ellison's implant."
"Activate the cleaning protocols for Airman Carey," she ordered in a clipped tone. "If you don't hear from Ensign Mahoney in thirty minutes, activate them for her as well."
"Yes ma'am."
Dr. Eglin hung up the phone in disgust. The one thing she hated was wasting human life. Unfortunately, she knew it was the kinder thing to do when the alternative was torture by the alien infidels. She didn't want any human to be subjected to the insult of turning against their own, or accepting slavery when it could so easily be prevented.
Sighing, she left her office to oversee the newest batch of patients. This group proved to be promising, at least according to their records.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
Airman Jacob Cary paced back and forth in his cell. He was still surprised the aliens hadn't tortured him yet. He figured they were just waiting until their prime got back to oversee his humiliation.
But still, General Lennox's words rang in his ears; if these aliens were so bad, why did they bother to save the humans he told them about? He knew it was the truth. He had read and downloaded their files among the rest of the assigned personnel's when he was first assigned.
Maybe, he had been lied to. Maybe, they were playing on his innate fears. Maybe . . .
The severe pain he felt behind his eye was the only warning he received before his implant exploded.
VVVVVBREAKVVVVV
The sound of the alarm coming from N.E.S.T. headquarters had Barricade scanning the immediate area for incoming threats. When he found nothing, he deployed his extra sensitive listening equipment and trained it on the building.
" . . . Where the hell is the threat?" he identified the voices of the guards. He adjusted his range and listened some more.
" . . . Lock it down! Lock it down! It's a bomb . . . after prisoners . . ."
" . . . Where'd it come from? How'd they get it in?"
" . . . Casualties?" he heard General Lennox asking someone. He focused his equipment on his conversation.
"Airman Cary sir. I was watching his cell, he was pacing and then suddenly stopped and grabbed his eye. Next thing I know there's a cloud around his head and he just falls over."
"It had to have been his implant. It was probably rigged to blow when it received a signal or something to keep him from talking. Have Dr. Zadak examine Ensign Mahoney for an explosive device and tell Mirage and Dino to arrange some sort of dampening field around her so she doesn't receive a similar signal."
Barricade put his listening equipment away and started his engine. He knew the local authorities would be responding, so he took the opportunity to use their presence to cover his withdrawal. He figured there was no such danger to the child, and even if there was, he knew the Autobots would deal with it. After all, she had been outside of Carlisle's control for over five years and hadn't died yet. He figured if she had had such a fail-safe, it would have been activated long before now. If he were to speculate, he would guess that her escape and evasion of the good doctor was probably what convinced him of the necessity of such technology.
He turned on his lights and accelerated toward the freeway. He had done what he had set out to do; soon, the Autobots would be facing a threat they didn't even know they had.