Chapter 28: Helex
The highway's were busy, with plenty of traffic, as bots commuted across the planet. But as they got closer to Helex, the traffic began to thin out.
It almost had to be this way, or it wouldn't be worth the risk.
Optimus led the charge, the red semi truck with white stripes trying not to draw attention as he drove.
Bumblebee rolled behind him, followed by Ironhide's red and yellow van mode, and Trailbreaker's suv mode.
And in the end, drafting Trailbreaker with some rather obvious impatience, Sunstreaker.
"You okay back there Sunstreaker?" Ironhide asked.
"Yeah, just wish I could get some speed going." Sunstreaker muttered.
"Yeah, I'm sure an autobot speeding on the interstate won't draw any attention." Ironhide drawled.
"Come on yellow, keep a handle on it." Trailbreaker urged.
"Excuse me, new guy. I'm Sunstreaker. Not yellow. That's Bumblebee." Sunstreaker stated irritably.
"What's Bumblebee?" Bumblebee asked, slowing down.
"I don't think the new guy knows any of our names." Sunstreaker replied. "I'm just giving him the tutorial."
"Okay, first of all, do you even know my name?" Trailbreaker asked, pumping his brakes to make Sunstreaker uncomfortable.
"Yeah bubbles, I know your name." Sunstreaker drawled.
"Its forcefield guy if you're sticking to nicknames, and your name is Sunstreaker. Your brother is Sideswipe. The little one is Bumblebee. The one who hides in the monitor room is Prowl, obviously I know Mirage..." Trailbreaker recalled.
"Okay, that's enough, bubbles." Sunstreaker interrupted. "I don't have the attention span for this."
"Hey, Sunny, you never said his name." Bumblebee noticed.
"Shut up Bee." Sunstreaker grumbled.
"Hey!" Ironhide called, slowing down so that he was alongside Sunstreaker. "Be nice! You're supposed to be a role model for the youngins!"
"No ironhide, you're supposed to be the role model." Sunstreaker replied with a defiant engine rev.
"Yeah, and as your commandin officer, I'm delegatin that job to you. Enjoy it." Ironhide teased. "And be nice to the kid. Next time I'll kick your aft."
"You don't know my name, do you?" Trailbreaker asked.
"Yes I do!" Sunstreaker exclaimed. "It's Trail...Trail...hawk? Trailhawk? Trailblazer?"
"Don't tell him, let him wrestle with it a while." Ironhide suggested with amusement, as he accelerated toward the front of the convoy.
"Trailcutter!" Sunstreaker exclaimed.
"Close." Trailbreaker replied.
"Alright that's enough! Stay in formation." Optimus commanded, as they got closer and closer to Helex. "And try your best not to expose badges to traffic."
"I have an autobot badge on my hood." Bumblebee stated bluntly.
"I know." Optimus replied. "I have one on each of my sides."
"Same." Ironhide muttered. "But I don't see any cons yet."
"Let's hope our luck holds up." Optimus replied tensely.
"Prime, how do we know this guy is even gonna be there?" Trailbreaker asked.
"We don't." Optimus replied. "Its a feeling I suppose. I feel it in the matrix."
"What?" Bumblebee asked. "Like...really? Do you actually feel it in the matrix? Or is that just a thing you're saying?"
"It's a feeling." Optimus replied cryptically. "A strong feeling."
"Oh, well as long as it's strong..." Sunstreaker muttered.
"Our exit is ahead." Optimus said, as the factories of Helex appeared ahead of them.
It was a small, largely poor city.
It was largely working class population, and many miners hailed from here. It had a large, almost dry energon mine on the western quarter of the city. And a strong pro decepticon slant.
Optimus veered off, and the autobots followed him, as the darkness seemed to surround them immediately.
They descended off the highway, into the dark street level of Helex.
The sky seemed so obscured by the buildings and the factories. The only lights down here were artificial. Signs for bars, clubs, places for miners to spend their hard earned money getting blitzed.
"Keep a sharp optic out." Optimus commanded. "This area is filled with decepticon sympathizers."
"Where are we going exactly?" Bumblebee asked nervously, sticking close to the Prime's mudflaps.
"There's only one radio tower in the city, and it's far from anywhere civilized." Optimus stated, as the group rumbled through a grimy section of city, and it seemed to get even darker.
"Stay close." Optimus commanded. "Base, do you still have us?"
Prowl looked at a hologram of the city, following their signal.
"It's a bit choppy but I have you." He answered, squinting as he looked at the signals. "Any sign of decepticons?"
"Negative." Optimus replied. "Getting here was almost too easy."
"Don't jinx ya self big guy..." Jazz muttered.
Arcee stood ready, two blasters strapped to her back, and Jazz and Hound stood on either side of her, holding rifles.
Mirage listened in eagerly from his berth.
"Keep in contact." Prowl urged, looking at the five dots on the holomap. "You're less than a hundred meters away."
Optimus rolled up to the old, decrepit looking radio station.
At first glance it appeared as though he had wasted his time.
"Optimus, there's no way this still works." Bumblebee said, looking up at the sagging radio tower.
"Gotta agree with the kid, not a chance." Trailbreaker added.
"Looks can be deceiving." Optimus replied, walking up to it, and forcing open the rusted metal door. He drew his new gun from his back, and walked in, the other autobots moving in behind him.
The five mechs turned on their headlights, as they found the inside of the dusty radio tower to be pitch black.
"Floors clear." Ironhide declared, waving his rifle around the room. "But there are stairs."
Optimus nodded. "Behind me. We proceed with caution."
They began to slowly make their way up the rusted stairs, headlights illuminating each treacherous step.
"Why are we armed?" Sunstreaker asked, waving his gun around. "Isn't this guy on our side?"
"Because we have no idea what we're walkin into, kid." Ironhide replied. "Could be anything in here."
"Yeah." Bumblebee agreed. "Besides, it's spooky."
There was a creak in the corner of the room as they reached the top of the stairs, and Trailbreaker let out a yelp, as he deployed a quickly disintegrating forcefield.
"Easy there bubble boy." Ironhide said, pushing past him with the gun. "Probably just some glitch rats."
"That's what they always say." Bumblebee muttered. "Then a sparkeater pops up and murders everybody."
"Kid watches too many movies, Prime." Ironhide said with annoyance. "Tell these guys to simmer down."
"Simmer down." Optimus replied. He paused, as his headlights passed over radio machinery.
And settled on a red and yellow box in the corner of the room.
"Blaster?" He called.
The box shook, then with the sound of a t cog engaging, it grew in size and changed form.
Blaster leaped up, gun raised.
"Who goes there?!" He demanded. "Think you can snuff me? You can't shut down the truth!"
"Easy there DJ anxiety, we're autobots." Sunstreaker assured, pointing at the badge on his chest.
Blaster's optics narrowed as he looked over the small group.
"What in Primus name are you doin here?" He asked. "Were you followed?"
"Slow down, and drop that gun." Ironhide warned.
"We aren't here to fight." Optimus stated, lowering his own rifle. "Like Sunstreaker said, we are autobots. We don't mean you any harm."
"You couldn't harm me if you tried, I'm a voice, you can't kill a voice." Blaster said defiantly. "I can't be silenced."
"A broken jaw can accomplish a lot of things." Ironhide replied.
"Can you stop?" Trailbreaker asked. "Seriously. Why would we break his jaw? He's on our side."
"He's jumpy and he's buggin me." Ironhide replied.
"Enough." Optimus commanded. "Blaster, is this where you conduct your broadcasts?"
Blaster nodded.
"One of the places, yeah. Obviously not the nicest location." He said, turning and flicking on the lights, temporarily blinding the five mechs.
"It's run down but that works to its advantage." Blaster said, sitting in his DJ chair. "Cons don't bother me, they don't think I could possibly function out of this place. Every time they swing by I turn the lights off and shrink down and they come and go." He said, gesturing to the area. "I'm still here so obviously it works."
"Indeed." Optimus agreed. "I have a favor to ask of you, Blaster."
"Hold up." Blaster replied, putting a hand up. "Now I know a lot of autobots, been with me since the beginning. But I don't know you. And with that voice, I woulda known you. I don't talk to people unless I know who I'm dealing with."
"My name is Optimus Prime." Optimus replied.
Blaster's optics widened.
"Prime?" He asked. "They got a new one of you already? Zeta Prime's still warm I hear. How long you been a Prime?"
Optimus shrugged.
"About a week." He replied.
Blaster stared back at him.
"You've been a Prime for a week? Where do they find you people?" He asked incredulously. "I mean do they pick names out of a helmet? Could I have been Blaster Prime?"
"I...don't believe it works like that. I nearly died." Optimus replied. "I used to be Orion Pax."
Blaster's optics widened.
"No way, the hero cop! I heard bout you, not bad, not bad. Okay. Now I know you. You obviously know me, I am the voice of the autobots, I have been for some time. Now you may not know but the last Prime and I didn't see optic to optic..."
"I didn't see optic to optic with Zeta either." Optimus replied. "I assure you, I am not Zeta Prime. But I still need a favor from you."
Blaster nodded, putting his hands together.
"I'm listening."
"I need to send a message to Cybertron." Optimus said firmly. "After the events of today, they need to know that someone is standing up to Megatron."
Blaster smiled.
"A message from the leader of the resistance himself? Alright then." He said, spinning to the control stack in front of him. "Lemme know when."
Optimus frowned.
"Wait...now? Already?"
"Yessir." Blaster replied. "Spread the good word whenever you're ready." He said, holding his hand over the control switch. "In fact...if we really wanna send a strong message..." he began crossing wires, and plugging them into different junctions underneath the desk.
Then he turned and pointed to Prime.
"Mics over here. Lemme know when you're ready."
Megatron stood in the office, staring at the hologram.
Thinking about his world, and it's people as the fallout of the day's events began to spread.
The door slid open, and Shockwave stepped out.
"You may wish to activate your comm." he warned. "Someone has hacked all of them, and is broadcasting a message."
Megatron opened his comm link.
"...for those of you who do not condone the atrocity committed by the decepticons today. For those who see all that is wrong with this new regime, know that hope is not lost. To all autobots who are hidden across this world, staying out of sight, for fear of execution, know that this time of fear is soon to pass. And to those who still believe in Megatron, and what he is doing, I ask merely that you have an open mind. Watch how he operates. Watch how he deploys his troops across our world, exerting control. Watch as he takes from you, watch as he goes back on the promises he made to you all."
Megatron glared at Shockwave.
"Track it." He hissed. "Where is the broadcast coming from?!"
"And watch how he panics when he sees he is losing his grasp on you all." The voice added. "My name is Optimus Prime. I am the leader of the free autobots. And we will not be fooled by Megatron and his veiled tyranny any longer. Neither should you."
Megatron's optics widened. His lip quivered. He turned and glared at Shockwave.
"Optimus Prime?" He asked, his optics wide. "WHO IN THE NAME OF MORTILUS IS OPTIMUS PRIME?!"
