30- Operation Bumblebee (Part 1).
Gerrard V
Megatron flew into a rock formation, and landed just where there was a lot of Vehicons performing a mining operation. What they were not aware of is that they were being watched by Optimus Prime and Ratchet from a distance.
"Megatron?" Ratchet asked surprised.
"It seems you detected the ancient Autobot frequency precisely because it was unearthed." Optimus realized.
"Well, our backup shouldn't be far behind."
"Without knowing what the Decepticons have exhumed, I do not think I am willing to wait." Optimus declared as he pulled out one of his cannons and advanced to the dig site with Ratchet following him.
A pair of Vehicons continued digging into the ground with a drill until they stopped: they seemed to have found something.
"Show me." Megatron asked.
The Vehicons pulled out some kind of container.
"Bring it to me, with utmost care."
One of them brought it to their master, who opened it to see what it contained.
"Megatron, I cannot allow you to pilfer Autobot relics." Optimus said aiming him with his weapon.
"Not only are you misinformed, Optimus, but I will strongly advise you to lower your weapons. Unless you're in the mood for mutually assured destruction." Megatron answered, pulling out whatever was inside the container and showing it to the Autobots, some kind of weird metallic object.
"It can't be." Ratchet said in shock.
"The spark extractor." Optimus recognized as a few Decepticon tanks started to surround them and aiming their weapons at them.
"Rather unassuming, yet capable of extracting every spark within its radius. And to think that you led me straight to it, Optimus. Or should I say Orion Pax did?" Megatron mocked as he observed that Optimus had the Autobot emblem back. "You really should have left your Decepticon shield intact, for you have no idea how useful your code-breaking skills proved to be, during our all-too-brief time together. Soundwave, send the ground bridge."
Immediately, a portal emerged a few steps from them.
"Engage them!" Megatron ordered.
All the Decepticon troopers attacked Optimus and Ratchet, who fought against them, Optimus with his guns and Ratchet with his swords. A trio of snipers saw the fight from an upper floor, which distracted them from what came at them from behind: Bumblebee, who managed to drive between them and dodge all their shots and drove up, meeting with the others.
"Bumblebee, secure the package." Optimus commanded.
Bee continued passing through the Cons and followed Megatron into the ground bridge. Once inside, he looped around the vortex's tunnel and changed to robot form, taking the spark extractor from Megatron's hand.
"What?!"
Megatron pulled out his sword and chased Bumblebee, who changed back to his alt mode and managed to pass under Megatron, who missed trying to hit him.
"No!"
Megatron tried to pursuit Bee, but he reached the exit of the ground bridge first. And when Megatron got out with intention to use his fusion cannon, he only found the bodies of his deceased troops, but the Autobots were already gone, so he only growled in anger. Moments later, back at base, Bee was showing the children a demonstration about his previous action, by using BB-8.
"(Then I sneaked behind Megatron, grabbed the artifact and left like a ship jumping into hyperspace!)"
Arcee laughed. "Loop-de-loop, uh?"
Bee put BB-8 back on the floor with the children, which seemed to have enjoyed with Bee a lot. "(As a scout, it is my duty to pass enemy lines, whatever is the goal.)"
"You have some brass bearings, Bumblebee." Cliffjumper remarked.
Ratchet was examining the spark extractor. "Optimus, here: the source of the ancient frequency we detected."
"An Iacon homing beacon." Optimus recognized.
"What's an Autobot locator doing on that?" Arcee asked.
"The class-A Decepticon weapons confiscated during the war were sealed within the vault below Iacon." Optimus answered.
"Where you once worked as an archivist." Cliffjumper added.
"Iacon was both a cultural center and a stronghold, which Megatron raided when Autobot troops were at their nadir. It stands to reason that in anticipation of Iacon being overrun by enemy forces, these weapons were jettisoned off world to keep them far from Decepticon reach." Optimus explained.
"Clearly, the beacon was added as a safety measure, should the weapons ever be found by the undesired party." Ratchet added.
"Well, thanks to our hotshot stunt driver this one is going in our vault." Bulkhead said.
"Do you think this is the only intel you supplied to Megatron?"
"Arcee, you are right to ask. And I am afraid I…do not remember."
"Optimus, Megatron clearly took advantage of your amnesia, but for all we know this spark extractor is the extent of it. Have you stopped to consider that he might have suggested otherwise merely to plague your thoughts?" Ratchet suggested.
At the same time, at the Nemesis, Megatron hit the terminal hard, still furious for what happened.
"The spark extractor was in my grasp! I should have removed more than that scout's voice box when I had the chance."
To calm down his leader, Soundwave approached him and showed on his screen that they were still two more Iacon signals.
"Indeed, Soundwave. We possess two more sets of coordinates which Orion decrypted before departing our ranks. Let us see what other long-lost treasures we might be reunited with."
Atollon
Bee was driving across a strange coral-like forest, trying to not hit some kind of giant spiders which lived there, investigating another possible discovery.
"(Cliff, I have detected another signal. It's near my location.)"
"Yeah, I just picked up the same signal. Could be another homing beacon. Let's rendezvous at the coordinates."
Once Bumblebee was close enough, he changed to robot form and walked into a canyon. He heard a beeping noise, which was coming some weird artifact. He came closer to check it better, but when he did, he saw that it was not cybertronian. In that moment, he heard the sound of something charging, but when he turned to see what it was, an electric shot hit him, electrocuted him and knocked him out. The responsible ones: two battle droids which used disruptor rifles, and Grievous was with them, with some of his bodyguards, which used their electric staffs to keep the Autobot offline.
"Sir, another one's headed toward our position. Estimated arrival: two minutes." One of the droids reported.
"Work briskly." He ordered.
Immediately, a pair of sabotage droids and buzz droids went to Bumblebee's legs and started an operation while lots of grapple droids (B1 and B2, both blue ones and red ones) and grapple droidekas hold the Autobot firm from his arms and legs for precautions. Not far from there, a ship arrived: it was Starscream, who transformed and observed the entire scene from a cliff above them.
"It would appear the signal was a trap. Better Bumblebee than me."
As they continued, one of the droids was using his binoculars to watch for trouble. It spotted Cliffjumper, approaching in vehicle form from the distance.
"Sir, the backup is ahead of schedule."
"Hurry up!" Grievous demanded, getting frustrated.
"No need to ask it twice, sir." Other droid said as it took a metallic thing that the other droids pulled out of Bumblebee. "Cause we already won the big prize."
"Move out." Grievous ordered.
Starscream saw Grievous's forces getting on a Trident-class assault ship to leave the planet. He threw to the ship a little metallic device before it took flight and left as well. When Bumblebee was getting back, he saw the ship leaving. Just in that moment, Cliff arrived and transformed.
"Bee! Are you okay? Who did this? Cons?"
"(I'm not sure.)"
"There's only one way to find out. Come one!"
Cliffjumper took the lead and changed back to vehicle form. Bee was about to do the same, but when he tried nothing happened. He tried again, but no matter how many times he did, he remained in robot form. Seeing that he was not following him, Cliff returned back to him and changed form.
"We're rolling or not?!"
"(That's the weird thing. I can't.)"
"What do you mean you can't?"
Bee simply looked him worried. At that night, back at base, Bee was lying on a medical berth while Ratchet was scanning him with everyone waiting around him.
"You can fix Bee, can't you?" Leia asked worried.
"Bumblebee was hit pretty hard. The stun blast may have fried his T-Cog." Ratchet answered.
"Is that like a T-Bone?" Sky asked.
"Not exactly. It's the organ that allow us to scan vehicle forms and transform." Arcee explained.
"By the Allspark. Bumblebee's T-Cog isn't damaged, it's missing." Ratchet discovered, leaving everyone in shock.
"But the Decepticons transform too. Why would they steal that?" Luke asked.
"Megatron may be known to raise zombies, but he's no ghoul." Ratchet stated.
"If Megatron wasn't behind this, then who was?" Aris asked.
"The heartless ones who cannibalized Breakdown." Bulkhead deduced.
"And tried to gut me." Arcee piped in.
"General Grievous and his droids: the Separatist Remnants. And it would appear their knowledge of cybertronian biotech has grown more sophisticated." Ratchet deduced.
"But why would they want Bumblebee's part?" Luke asked.
"I guess probably to try to upgrade his droid army with a little help of cybertronian advantage." Cliff said.
"(This is not going to stop me. I'll continue fighting.)" Bee said as he got up and was about to leave, but Optimus stopped him.
"Bumblebee, please. You are not presently equipped to handle this."
"(Optimus, you don't know what it's like to lose something that important.)"
"You're mistaken, my friend. I do know what it's like to lose a vital part of oneself. And as a result, I know the value of putting one's faith in the strength of those around you. We vow to do everything in our power to make you whole again."
"And is not, Ratchet can just make you a new cog thing, right?" Han suggested.
"(I'm doomed!)" Bee groaned as he sat down the berth and put his hands on his head.
"What'd I say?"
"Han, a T-Cog is a bio mechanism, not a scrapyard find. If it were that easy, don't you think I would have replaced Bumblebee's voice box by now?" Ratchet snapped.
"(Thanks for remember me that, Ratchet. I'm practically useless now.)" Bee said as Ratchet put a hand on his shoulder.
"You're not useless, Bee." Leia retorted.
"That you can't speak like the others doesn't mean you are not like them." Luke supported.
"(Thanks for trying to cheer me up, guys.)" Bee said looking down.
"Alright, alright. I say none of us transform until Bumblebee gets his cog back."
"Your spark's in the right place Bulkhead, but I don't think now is the time to be limiting ourselves." Cliff said.
"Not with Megatron potentially seeking other doomsday devices. And I fear, not while Grievous uses Bumblebee's T-Cog for his own sinister purpose." Optimus proclaimed.
In an unknown location, inside some base, a group of droids typed some buttons in a terminal, making a mechanical claw to insert Bee's T-Cog inside some kind of giant unfinished droid with some cybertronian-like appearance. Kraken was supervising the whole operation while Grievous simply observed.
"Sir, all elements are placed and ready to be performed." Kraken reported.
"Commence Beta test." Grievous ordered.
The droids typed more buttons, making the right hand of the droid move. The droid's inside started to turn on, the eyes as well.
"Installation complete. Commencing scan." One operator droid announced.
The droid fired two beams of light that scanned a captured Republic gunship. Moments later, the terminal showed the results.
"Scan successful. Commencing transformation."
The droid stalled, again and again, but it didn't change form, not even moved. Grievous looked at them impatiently, so the droids tried again. The droid glowed again, but continued to be like glitched.
"Why is not happening anything?"
"We don't know, sir. We're trying to figure it out." Kraken answered.
And the droid turned off by itself.
"Well…?"
"We don't know what caused the shutdown, sir. Maybe there is some mistake in the design." One of the droids answered.
"Nah, I think it is because the prototype is partially incomplete. Its structure needs some retouching." Another droid suggested.
In that moment, they heard a sinister laugh coming from the entrance. It was Starscream, who followed them. He opened the big doors and walked inside the building.
"You are the soulless ones who turned poor Breakdown into a pitiful science experiment? Didn't learn much from the experience, did you?" Starscream said.
Suddenly, he found himself surrounded by lots of droids aiming their weapons at him: medium and heavy droids on the floor, infantry on the platforms, walker droids on the walls, even vulture and hyena droids in walker mode behind him.
"Enough to know where the soft spots are, Decepticon." Grievous answered as his Magnaguards put in battle position.
"Oh please, I'm not longer affiliated with that entity. Besides, if I were here to avenge the big lug, you would be scrap by now."
"Why are you here?"
"To propose an alliance. I heard about the actual situation the Separatists are passing through by now, and your exclusive use for droids in your armies reminds me a lot of my former war companions. You see, we have much more in common than you might think, and I am not merely referring to our battle scars or the shared hate against foes who believe themselves more important."
"What could I possible gain from such an arrangement?"
"Insider knowledge."
After hearing that, Grievous ordered his droids to low their weapons.
"Wise choice. Now, a T-Cog isn't technology, it is biology." Starscream started as he walked to the unfinished droid, passing next to Grievous. "Which means it will reject any power source other than energon."
"Go on."
"Energon is the fuel, the ammunition and the lifeblood of all cybertronians, whatever their affiliation. You and I both want it, and currently I lack the means of locating it. But once I supply with the…" Starscream said as he made himself a scratch, taking a small drop of energon, placing it into the droid's core, making it to turn on. "…particulars of its chemical makeup, we can utilize your considerable resources to devise the means of detecting new deposits. For us to share."
"If the supply meets the Separatists' rather significant demand." Grievous specified.
"Ha, intending to build a new and better droid army for the new Clone Wars, are you? I am no stranger to ambition. So, can I suggest you to start searching on planets which your side controlled during the war?"
Meanwhile, back at base…
"(Hey Ratchet, any news about my piece?)" Bee asked walking over to him.
"Optimus, Bulkhead and Cliffjumper haven't reported in yet."
"(But you will tell me everything about that, don't you?)"
"Bumblebee, I will let you know the moment I hear something."
"(And now, anything now? Please, please, please.)" He asked tapping Ratchet's shoulder.
Ratchet sighed. "For Primus sake. Will someone keep him occupied so I can get some work done?!"
"Hey Bee, how about a video game?" Luke called from the sofa.
"(Okay.)"
Bumblebee walked to see what the children were playing, and he saw they were playing a pod race video game.
"(It really has to be a racing game?)" Bee asked a little annoyed.
"Uh, bad call." Aris remarked.
"Sorry." Leia apologized.
"Hey, no big deal, that game is lame. What did you say we watch some TV?" Han suggested.
"(Yeah, that sounds better.)"
But when they turned it on, a speeder of the same model of Bee's alt mode appeared.
"The new model, it won't just rock your world, it'll transform it." The commercial said.
From seeing that, everyone remained shocked and speechless, with funny faces.
"(THEY DO NOT STOP SCRUBBING ME!)" Bee yelled putting his hands on his head.
"Taking the auto out of Autobot is so not a good thing." Han remarked.
"Bee, come on. You're just as amazing without your alt mode." Luke reassured.
"What Luke wants to say is that speed isn't everything." Leia added.
Before Bee could answer, Arcee and Sky arrived at base, at high speed, and stopping suddenly.
"Well, what do you say?"
"That I'm not one of the ones who like to go at high speed, I'm very dizzy. Besides that, the mark registered a new personal best, Arcee: you hit 120 easy."
"Uh, pals." Aris called as she pointed at Bee, who showed an angry look.
"Uh oh." Both friends said in unison.
"(I need a break.)" Bumblebee said walking to the base's entrance.
"Bumblebee, where do you think you're going?" Ratchet demanded.
"(I'm going for a walk.)"
"You can't just go for a walk. We are robots in disguise, leaving the base in this form puts you at risk of being seen, and of us being discovered." Ratchet told him as he motioned him back into the base. "You just need to remain in the base until…"
Bee whacked his arm. "(Till you fix me! I get it! Just like you did with my voice!)"
The children saw Bumblebee returning in a very bad mood.
"Yes, Bumblebee. Until I can fix you."
The next day, both Skywalker twins were waiting on a plaza of Theed for one of the Autobots to pick them up. They suddenly heard a siren and saw Ratchet coming in vehicle form.
"In you go." Ratchet said as they got inside him.
"Thanks for the lift home, friend of senator Organa!" Leia said loudly to make everyone around believe that as they started the ride.
"Where are the others?" Ratchet asked.
"Aris is with her mom and aunt, helping her in some negotiations between mandalorian clans. Sky is visiting Onderon's king with his parents, and Han's on Corellia, having a speak with his parents about entering the flight academy." Luke summarized.
"We were expecting Bulkhead." Leia said.
"Well, sorry to disappoint but he's on watch duty. You want to ride with the siren on?" Ratchet offered.
"No thank you." Both of them answered.
Meanwhile at base, the terminal's screen showed a known signal.
"(Is that what I think it is?)"
"This could be it. I'll alert the others." Bulkhead said.
"(We two can handle this by ourselves.)"
"I know you and I can handle it, Bee. But there's no reason to…" Bulkhead said until he sighed. "What are you trying to prove?"
"(That I'm still good as any Autobot.)"
Bulkhead groaned in defeat. At the same time, Ratchet kept his way to base through Theed.
"Ratchet, what happened to Bumblebee's voice box?" Leia asked.
"It was…severely damaged in battle."
"How?" Luke asked.
"How do you think? Tragically, of course. It happened at Tyger Pax: our brave scout was captured by Megatron's forces and interrogated. But he refused to provide intel, and paid a grave prize for his courage. Bumblebee was left for scrap, but Autobot troops found him and evacuated him to a triage facility, where a field medic managed to stabilize his condition."
"So, we owe Bumblebee's life to that field medic." Leia assumed.
"That's one way of looking at it, I suppose. Though the medic…could have done better." Ratchet finished.
Luke and Leia could sense the feeling of guilt coming from the Autobot, it was obvious that Ratchet was that field medic.
"You made all you could for Bee in that moment, Ratchet. Don't feel bad for that. Sometimes things don't go the way we expect." Luke said, trying to cheer the old Autobot up.
"Well…thanks for understand it. And…for trying to make me feel better."
Alderaan
Inside a forest, a ground bridge appeared and Bulkhead came out.
"Clear." Bulkhead said, allowing Bumblebee to came out as he sighed. "I still don't know how you talked me into this. You're worse than Han."
"(At least I know how to defend myself.)"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know."
"(You don't have to worry about me.)"
"Not every mission ends in a high-speed pursuit. But without your…"
"(I thought we've dropped it.)"
"Fine, I'll drop it. But if Optimus finds out this was not my idea."
"(Fine, I got it.)"
Bulkhead's scanner started to beep. "Signal's coming from over there."
The scanner showed that the signal was inside a cave in front of them, but there was something wrong with it.
"And it's coming our way, fast."
Then Knock Out drove out at high speed and passed near them.
"Catch me if you can!" He challenged as he drove away.
"I'll get him." Bulkhead said, but then they saw Breakdown coming out of the cave preparing his hammer. "Okay, you get him!"
"(Understood.)" Bumblebee agreed as he started going after Knock Out while Bulkhead pulled out his wrecking ball and engaged his rival.
Bumblebee ran after Knock Out as fast as he could, but Knock Out drove faster.
"Sporting of you?" He remarked, seeing him through his rearview.
Bee tried to shot at him, but he was unable to summon his guns.
"(Don't tell me I can't even use my weapons.)"
"You're not even gonna try and shoot up my tires?" Knock Out asked in confusion before stopping. "Bumblebee, where is your famous horsepower, uh? Some me some speed!"
That hit Bee's nerves. He tried to reach Knock Out, but when he almost got him, the Decepticon drove away. Next to him, Bee saw an old speeder, so he grabbed it and put it on the road, jumping on it to continue the pursuit, like if he was skating with it.
"What is with the rent-a-speeder?!" Knock Out joked with a laugh.
Then the speeder started to get out of control when one of its parts pop out and flew away, putting him nervous.
"I'd stick around and do some doughnuts around you, but I have a delivery to make." Knock Out said referring to the relic he had in his back seat.
Knock Out turned a sharp corner by a cliff before driving off. Bumblebee tried to do the same, but the speeder flew off of the cliff, along with him.
"(NOOOOO!)"
To be continued…