"Please! I mean no harm!" The Autobot leader stated as he held his arms up in a surrendering gesture, his optics wide with surprise, and if Starscream didn't know any better, a bit of fear was heard from his voice as well.
"Oh, really!" The Seeker growled sarcastically, his confusion increasing the longer, "Then what are you doing here?"
"Research." The red and blue Cybertronian replied as he lowered his arms, although his optics never wavered from Starscream's missiles. "For Mega–" The mech cut himself off before continuing. "For Lord Megatron."
"Is this…" The former Commander paused, "some kind of joke?"
"I do not understand. And why did you call me Optimus Prime?"
"Why wouldn't I?"
"Because my name is Orion Pax. I am far from being a Prime." The Seeker gaped as his sights landed on the Decepticon symbol adorned on the Prime's shoulder.
"You… reminded me of someone I once knew." Starscream said cautiously, watching the Autobot's face take on a peculiar expression. "That's all."
"You are… Starscream." The mech replied slowly, searching for confirmation.
"Yes?" He answered, curious as to what the amnesic Autobot wanted.
"Lord Megatron told me you had been terminated."
"Lord Megatron says many things, only some of which are true." He replied with no small amount of humor.
"You do not suggest that our leader would speak falsehoods?" The Autobot's scandalous disbelief had Starscream bursting into laughter.
"Ha-ha! You truly are being kept in the dark, aren't you?"
"You speak in many riddles, Starscream." The mech began with something pleading in his voice. There was something rather appealing in having the Prime look to him for wisdom. He can see why Megatron went through the trouble of lying to the Autobot instead of outright killing him. "Please, tell me what it is that you know."
"And in return?" He asked, feeling a little gleeful over the situation. Unfortunately, three Vehicons barged into the room.
"Starscream!" One soldier shouted as they all took aim. "Surrender!" He instinctively dove behind the Prime, using the mech's larger frame to provide decent cover. He was surprised, however, to find the Autobot leaning over him defensively while trying to pacify the Vehicons.
"Hold your fire!" The Autobot yelled, his usual baritone wavering in pitch. Starscream didn't wait to see how this would turn out. As the Vehicons were distracted by Prime, he quickly transformed and flew out of the room. Blaster fire followed him, and he skillfully navigated through the narrow hallways of the ship, avoiding each discharge. He heard the jet engine of a pursing Aerial Vehicon. In an acrobatic maneuver that earned him his position, he transformed and landed on top of the Aerial Vehicon and unloaded a barrage of shots into the drone's cockpit. As the soldier lost altitude, Starscream transformed and sped towards the hanger entrance.
Just as he took the last corner, he had to veer up slightly to avoid an unfamiliar black sportscar. A blaster model appeared out of its hood, firing potshots at him, and Starscream snarled as he spun to avoid getting hit. Seeing the hanger bay doors in the distance he released both missiles under his wings and pushed through the resulting explosion. Unfortunately, he was not in the clear just yet. The black sportscar burst through the fire second after him and transformed to reveal a solidly built mech. The mech chased after him on his pedes, continuing to fire away in futility. Starscream was just about to make a taunting remark when he felt a blast clip his vertical stabilizer before striking his frame.
Heat and pain immediately made itself known as warning messages and error alerts swamped his processor. He screamed as he rapidly lost altitude, plummeting dangerously into a nosedive. As the ground quickly approached him, he managed to pullup, flying horizontally along a rocky plain. Despite the agony it caused him, the Seeker transformed, knowing that he didn't have the fortitude to land in his alt form. That didn't mean his landing was any less painful.
His leg clipped a tree, sending him twisting through the air and he crashed into the ground, tumbling repeatedly until he slammed into a large rock. He groaned at the sky, vents clogging on the kicked-up cloud of dust and debris. Straining against the pain wracking through his frame, Starscream slowly sat up, only to end up crying out as heat seared at his right side. He glanced downwards, gasping as he spotted the large gash on his chassis that was leaking far too much Energon for his liking.
"Scrap!"
Few minutes earlier. With Mira just casually in her berth room in the decepticon warship, she was just still thinking about her assault against her family, she was beginning to think that it was her fault that she got into this position all because she just simply went out on her own. No doubt that when she would get back to base she would be in huge trouble but that alone would be better then being stuck on the warship with the Decepticons which made her smirk.
"Being grounded wouldn't be a bad thing at all."
A Decepticon holding an energon cube entered the berth to place it next to Mira, "Your energon for the day, kid."
Mira gladly accepted the cube as she grab it with her two servos, she smiled with gratitude, "Thanks Steve."
"No problem kid." Steve was a fellow Decepticon who was nice unlike most other Decepticon drones, since Mira had been transferred to the resting berths, Megatron gave him tasks to watch over Mira making sure she doesn't pull of any tricks, even though Megatron fused the dark energon crystal in her spark to hear her thoughts or just taunt her but he would still allow her to prefer her privacy, he may be evil but he still had his standards, well most of the time.
Steve was honestly happy to watch over Mira, who was practically like a little sister to him. Steve really liked enjoying her company a lot unlike most other Decepticons.
Steve sat on the berth next to her for comfort so that the little ex-Decepticon femme wouldn't be alone, Mira turned her direction at him, "Hey Steve, do you think there will ever be peace between humans, Autobots, and Decepticons?"
"...Well, I am not exactly sure of that kid. Maybe one day. I'm just getting tired of this war still going on."
"Same here, Steve, same here. If Starscream were here right now, I would shoot him out of the sky."
Steve lightly chuckles at that, "All of us want to shoot Starscream."
Just now there were the sound of blasters being heard in the hallways. Mira and Steve exit the room as they see a familiar Cybertronian flying across the hallway being chased by a Decepticon drone.
"I got this Steve." Mira quickly follows the two Seekers with her thrusters, flying down the hallways at high speeds as she sees Starscream taking the Decepticon Seekers in his Cybertronian form, quickly jumping off to transform back to his jet with style, she had to admit that he may be a coward when it comes to confronting Megatron or the Autobots but he did have amazing skills up his sleeve when it comes to fighting on flight.
When she sees Starscream blast down the door leading outside, he was evading the red blasters as Mira was doing the exact same thing, Mira lands on the edge of the ship as she fired her repulsor ray which hits Starscream's vertical stabilizer as he was screaming his way down to the earth, Mira smirked, "They don't call him Starscream for nothing."
Mira then decided to contact Soundwave through her comlink, "Soundwave, I'm going after Starscream alone down to earth, he's weak from being shot. Inform Megatron"
TFP
"Orion." Megatron announced as soon as he stepped into the archivist's chambers. "I am so sorry for the recent commotion." The amnesic Prime turned to him. The warlord ran his optics over the mech's form with concern. "You were not in any way harmed, were you?"
"No, Megatronus, but why did you tell me Starscream was dead?"
"Because he is dead—to our cause." He remarked, "Starscream was my most trusted lieutenant. Until he turned traitor and joined the Autobots." He paused here, allowing his words to sink in, before forcing his tone into something much softer. "Never have I witnessed a more profound act of deceit. He did not do or say anything troubling to you?
"No." Megatron studied him for a moment before smiling.
"Good. Perhaps it is best to forget the entire incident and return to your project."
"As you wish, my friend." The doors closed behind the ex-gladiator and he let his expression twist into a sneer, his anger mounting. He walked down the hallway, where Soundwave waited in the shadows.
"Orion was never very adept at the art of deception. I made a mistake not terminating Starscream when I had the opportunity. A mistake I do not intend to make again!" He paused in his rage to glance at Soundwave who had replayed the words of Mira going after the traitor Starscream.
"Mira, you are going after Starscream?:
:Yes Lord Megatron.: Mira replied back as the sound of her thrusters were being heard in the background, :I will be the one to end Starscreams life and I would prefer to do it with privacy because he tortured Sura, so this will be personal. With your permission of course.:
Megatron thinks about it for a moment before replying back, :Do as you wish, Mira, insure that Starscream is dead and bring me his head:
:Got it. Dang it, why does there have to be so many fragging trees!?:
TFP
Ratchet was bridging Bulkhead and Omega back to base when suddenly beeping came from the computer, catching their attention.
"What is it?" Bulkhead asked as Ratchet looked over the screen.
"A high-frequency signal with an embedded message… for me." He answered in surprise.
"Optimus?" The Wrecker asked hopefully, and Ratchet shook his helm.
"Starscream." He replied irately before reading the message aloud. "I have obtained information regarding your leader. Bring medical kit. Come alone."
"Well you're definitely not going alone." Omega growled. "Wouldn't past it Screamer to setup a trap."
"Indeed." Ratchet replied as he headed to his lab to retrieve his field-ready medical kit. "However, we can't pass up the opportunity that he may be telling the truth." He moved to the Groundbridge controls, pausing long enough to contact Bumblebee, Arachnid, and Arcee to return to base.
"Be on guard." He advised before inputting the coordinates and activating the Groundbridge. They arrived in a coop of trees and rocks, the full moon just beginning to peek through dark clouds overhead. The ozone was overly charged and the puddles on the ground let him know that a fierce storm had only just passed.
Ratchet's optics were immediately drawn to a trail of Energon. With a nod, they followed it a large rock formation, where the sounds of pained grunts reached their receptors before they rounded the boulder.
"I told you to come alone!" Starscream shouted as soon as he spotted them, servos bracing the gash on his chassis. It was detrimental wound—the kind only a Cybertronian with medical knowledge could patch up.
"And since when do we listen to you?" Bulkhead grumbled as one of his servos transformed into a mace. Despite how serious Starscream's injury was, Ratchet did not move to assist him. In times like these, they could not afford to be lenient.
"Where is Optimus?" The medic asked harshly, trying to ignore how the Seeker's frame shook from obvious pain.
"Patch me up and perhaps I'll tell you." The Con growled back, his tone coming out much weaker than he'd likely wanted. Ratchet forced himself to remain unmoved even as Omega glanced at him in question. "Have some sympathy. Surely even you can see that this is no minor scrape!"
"Then I suggest that you speak quickly!" Ratchet snapped as he moved to kneel beside the Seeker. Rather than open the med kit however, he leant over Starscream intimidatingly. The Con reeled back as much as he could, a pained noise escaping him as the clumsy movement aggravated his injury. "Has Optimus been harmed in any way?!"
"He's fine!" Starscream shouted, a bit of panic creeping into his tone. "Fine!"
"Where is he?!" The Wrecker shouted, taking a loud stomping step forward.
"Where do you think?!" The former Decepticon Commander shrieked, terrified optics darting between the pair. "He's on Megatron's w-warship!"
"Which is located where?" Ratchet demanded and Starscream gave a shaky laugh.
"Ha-ha. Now? Who knows!? It's a ship! It moves! It took me months to find it, only to get fired upon." There was a shuttering intake from the Seeker's vents, a sign that his injury taking its toll. Still, the medic offered no aide.
"You wouldn't go to the trouble of calling me here unless you had information to trade." He growled angrily, hoping he was right and that Starscream hadn't simply called them because he was desperate. "Real information!"
"Your beloved leader seems to h-have lost his senses." The wounded Con replied lowly. "He goes by the name Orion Pax now." He groaned here, optics shuttering. "And it seems Megatron has led him to believe he's a Decepticon."
"Tell us something we don't know." Bulkhead retorted bitterly and the Seeker's optics widened in undisguised dread.
"What?! How could you possibly know that?!" He succumbed to a coughing fit and Ratchet grimaced as he stood up.
"We are wasting our time." Ratchet uttered to Bulkhead and Omega, who took that as their cue to leave. Ratchet hesitated for a moment. Had the wound been less severe, he would've had no qualms leaving the Seeker unassisted. However, that gash in his chassis would prove fatal if left untreated. Was abandoning Starscream like this really the right thing to do? Somehow, he didn't think it was something Optimus could condone.
"Wait! That's all I have! Please! You can't just leave me like this!"
The sudden sound of rocks clattering caught everyone's attention. Starscream let out a startled yelp while Omega, Bulkhead and Ratchet whirled around, figuring that the Cons must've tracked Starscream down to finish of the Commander once and for all. With his blasters pointed in the direction of the sound, Ratchet tensed as a dark from stepped out from behind the cover of a large rock formation. The three Autobots gasped when they saw who it was.
It was Mira who in a kneeling position on the hill, who was waving at them, "Hey guys."
"Are you alright? How did you get here? How's Optimus?" Ratchet asked in rapid succession.
"I missed you too, Ratchet." Mira chuckled and the medic scowled to hide how flustered he felt at the genuine warmth in Mira's teasing tone. "To answer your questions in order—I'm fine, I was tracking down Commander Starscream, and Optimus is doing okay, all things considered."
"You!" Starscream shouted with a mixture of rage and fear. "You're the one who shot me down!"
"No kidding?" Bulkhead asked and nodded "Heh, nice one kid."
"Wait, what is this?" The Seeker asked dubiously as his optics darted between them. "Are you—are you an Autobot spy?!" He screeched in disbelief.
Mira sighs as she looks down at her pedes in shame, "Well, not exactly. Megatron is forcing me do this."
Bulkhead deactivated his blaster and walked over to Mira, seems that he realized that Omega was right about what he said, "Listen, kid, it's your fault that you got yourself into this, you were just trying to help us. Come back to base with us."
"No! I can't!" Mira took a step back which left Ratchet and Bulkhead confused, she take the risks of going back to base if Megatron takes control of her.
"What do you mean you can't?" Ratchet questions, "You're out here with us with an opened groundbridge on your way back to base, Megatron won't follow."
She needed to come up with something fast to keep their safety intact, "I need be sure that Optimus isn't harmed in any way. To gain the Decepticons trust is to follow there orders."
Omega could tell that she was partly telling them the truth, he could tell that Megatron did something to Mira which forced to aid the Decepticons against her will, her assault of him and Arcee earlier proved that point, Mira wouldn't just immediately attack the Autobots without hesitation. "Mira."
Omega stepped forward to kneel to her level, "You did what you had to do, there is no need to come into details of what Megatron did to let you heed his commands, whatever happens in the future, know that the blood you shed you never be on your hands, know that you will always be an Autobot by heart. You will always be the sweet and innocent youngling that I know and love."
"Sweet!? How is it sweet that she shot me out of the sky!" Starscream complained making Omega chuckle.
"Be grateful that he didn't offline you, Seeker."
Mira shallows the lump down her throat when he stated the part about offlining him, Megatron needed proof of Starscream's demise, "Here's the thing, my next assignment by Megatron is to...bring Starscream's...head."
"What!" Starscream shrieked after what the youngling said.
Ratchet, Omega, and Bulkhead's optics widen, "Scrap, we need him to tell us where the Space-bridge is. It's our only hope of saving Optimus."
"Curse you, Megatron." Omega mumbled in frustration until an idea popped in his head, "I've got an idea. Hey, Starscream, what's the size of your head?"
TFP
Mira soon called in a groundbridge to return to the warship, she had been waking down the hallway, the Decepticon drones were just staring at the sight before them, even Barricade, Blackout, Slipstream, and Flamewar were impressed, Mira had finally entered the main room on the front side of the warship, Megatron looks behind him to see Mira tossing the head of Starscream to Megatron's pedes which leaked energon.
"It is done, Lord Megatron." Mira says as part of her face was covered with energon.
"Well done, Mira." Megatron says as he chuckles evilly, "It would seem that you are trust worthy after all."
"Well, should the dark energon in my spark be removed?"
"Given time to know your place. Then I will remove it."
Mira nods her head with understanding Megatron's words as she knows that the Autobots will just have to wait.
TFP
"The Decepticons' Spacebridge is located right here." Ratchet said as he input the coordinates the duplicitous Seeker had given them upon delivering the cubes of Energon they'd agreed on. Starscream had tried to haggle for more, but he'd quickly back down when Bulkhead immediately shifted his servos into his primary weapons. "It's deep within an Energon mine."
"Adjacent to a raw fuel supply. Clever." Arcee commented grudgingly.
"Our mission is to covertly gain control of the Spacebridge so that we can gain access to Cybertron." The medic continued, determined to ignore the interruption, when Arcee cut him off again.
"And we're sure we can trust our intel?" She asked.
"Normally, I'd agree with your suspicions, but we must trust that Starscream was telling the truth. If only just this once. We will Groundbridge directly in to the Energon mine and make our way to the Spacebridge chamber, neutralizing any Decepticon forces we encounter." Ratchet stated, explaining the plan that would hopefully lead to the return of Optimus. "Stealth must be an absolute priority. We will most certainly be outnumbered and if any Decepticon should transmit an alert to their warship–"
"The odds become four hundred to one." Bulkhead muttered grimly.
"Scrambling communications upon entry will certainly provide an edge in this regard." The medic continued.
"Taking the 'bridge is the easy part. You three need to hold it long enough for me, Omega, and Jack to get to Cybertron and back." Arcee stated.
"Well if Ratchet gets to go on a commando raid, then I'm going too." Miko remarked enthusiastically, earning her several looks.
"Miko." The medic said firmly. "You will help Rafael operate our Groundbridge and manage the communications hub." He frowned hard at her, hoping to dissuade any rebellious attempts. "This is not up for debate. You must remain here."
"Ugh! Can't go to Cybertron, can't storm the Decepticon Spacebridge!" The girl threw her hands up in frustration before marching away, continuing to grumble under her breath.
"Agent Fowler, you will be on stand-by in case of emergency." The human, after shooting Miko a reproachful look, answered with a salute.
"Will do Ratchet."
"Autobots, rollout!" Arcee took point as she darted into the vortex. After a moment, when no warning came over the comlinks, the remaining mechs passed through the Groundbridge.
"Clear." Arcee called from several feet ahead of the cavern they arrived in. The Bots exchanged nods, each resisting the urge to draw out their weaponry. Blaster fire would attract too much attention, and life signals may be monitored. No casualties were allowed on this mission. Still leading the group, Arcee held up a servo before raising three digits to show the number of enemies. Silently, she gestured for Omega to follow her and the two skillfully took out a Vehicon each.
"Command!" The third Con shouted in his comlink as he backed away from the pair of scouts. "This is Spacebridge control. We are under attack! Command! Do you–" He was knocked out from behind curtesy of Arachnid.
"To the lift." Ratchet ordered as he pointed to their destination at the end of the cavernous hallway. Together they swiftly reached their destination, waiting mere moments as they descended deeper into the mind. A Vehicon was stationed at the bottom of the lift and Omega intercepted him.
In silence, the warrior snaps the Decepticons helm, killing him in the process. Target down. Bumblebee and Arcee took point again as they charged forwards, and the Autobots quickly took cover as they scanned the area.
"By the Allspark." Ratchet said in a hush, his optics reverently roaming over the Spacebridge.
"Thank you, Starscream." Arcee murmured as Omega looks at her with an optic raised, "Who else would it be?"
Only four Vehicons were present and the Autobots exchanged looks.
Omega gave command, "Bee, Arcee, Arachnid and I will take the ones on the 'bridge platform. Ratchet, you and Bulkhead take the two on the ground." It was a sound plan. The ones on the platform were further away and much closer to the controls. They could easily contact the Nemesis once they realized their comlinks were being scrambled. Speed was key in preventing such a scenario.
With nods traded, the launched their attack, with the scouts easily overtaking their larger comrades. With a series of acrobatics jumps and flips, Arcee and Arachnid used there momentum to deliver a well-placed kick to their opponent's head, rendering them unconscious. Arcee glanced over at the others, seeing that they had all taken out their own targets. She watched Ratchet move to man the controls, where he seemed to pause as he hovered over the panels.
"A masterpiece of engineering." He complimented with no small amount awe. Arcee rolled her eyes as she came to stand beside him.
"Is it operational?" She asked.
"Fully." He replied as digits began their work.
"Perimeter secured." Bulkhead announced triumphantly.
"Let's hope things keep going this smoothly." Bumblebee added lowly.
"Now all we need is Jack." Arcee said as she crossed her arms.
"I'm shutting down the scrambler in order to contact base and maintain communications through the remainder of the mission." Ratchet hesitated for a moment. There would be no turning back after this. "Strike team to base. Objective secured." He announced, and the response was almost immediate.
"This is base. We read you Ratchet." Muting the channel for a moment, the medic turned to the others. The groundbridge at the base appeared as Jack now wearing his space suit walked out as the green vortex disappeared.
Arcee placed a servo on her hip, "You ready?"
Jack takes out the key to Vector Sigma, "Let's do this."
The three of them soon step on Cybertronian.
Omega was utterly shocked at the sight of Arcee's home planet that is completely dead. He doesn't need to say anything but his optics say everything. Arcee was giving out a sad look that two of her partners were looking at her world in ruins, she spoke, not hiding the sadness within her voice, "This isn't how I wanted you guys to see my home. In the fog of war, it's hard to see the next leg of the mission. Beyond the next punch in a fight. We did everything to save Cybertron. But when the fog finally lifted. There wasn't much left to save."
Omega placed a comforting servo on her, he gently wiped an energon tear away from Arcee's metal cheek, Jack replied, "I-I'm sorry Arcee."
"I believe that there will be an opportunity to restore Cybertronian in the future when this war will be over once and for all."
"Yeah, I agree with Omega." Jack nodded his head in agreement to lift Arcee's spirits which made the femme smile.
Jack took out the key to Vector Sigma, "So Ratchet said that the key will help guide us to the big V but I don't see how it can-"
The key flashed a dim blue light as Jack was using it like a compass as the light shines brighter in the right direction.
"There you go." Arcee replied as she transformers to her motorcycle form as Omega transformed to his black Lamborghini. Jack gets on Arcee as they both drive into the distance.
TFP
Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arachnid, and Ratchet continue to take control of the monitor and making that everything is still secure until Breakdown called in to check the results, "Space-bridge control, what is your status?"
No one answered yet, Bulkhead was going to give it a try to fool his arch-nemesis until Ratchet stopped him, "Bulkhead don't, he'll recognize your voice."
"Well I can make it lower. Higher?"
Ratchet hesitates for a moment, "He'll recognize mine and Arachnid."
The three Cybertronians look at Bumblebee who shrugged in confusion with having no idea how to trick Breakdown.
"Come in Space-bridge control, don't make me come down there and dent some engine blocks." Breakdown threatens.
Omega jumps the conversion as continues to drive with Arcee and Jack, "Ratchet, patch me in. Trust me."
Ratchet patches in Omega as he changes his voice to another fictional character, "This is Spacebridge control, everything is under control."
Omega was using the voice of Lawrence Barnes otherwise known as Prophet from the video games; Cysis 1, 2 and 3. It made him sound a professional solider which gave him the idea of using the same nano-suit abilities that him, Mira, and Sura to use in the first place.
Breakdown checks in again for precaution, "Under control? Are you sure about that."
"Affirmative. There a was a small error but everything is fine now." Omega replied, but he decides to get some more information involving Mira, "So what was the issue of Mira rejoining our cause?"
"Well I was there with Knockout and Megatron, after we looked through the kids memories, we finally discovered where Autobots might be located, after that Megatron simply uses to blackmail to get to Mira's head. After a while, we check on the kid just to make sure she's alright."
Omega stood in a silence for a moment when the others were listening in, at least they know everything which was a good thing. For the base's hidden location was a lost cause which now Fowler will take care of with the Pentagon to relocate the Autobots. For Mira they will have to figure that out later on, "I see. Alright then Breakdown, we'll keep in touch if anything, have a nice day."
Breakdown paused for a moment after that last part which caught him off guard, he responded back, "...You too. Keep up the good work."
"Will do, Space-bridge control out." Omega closes communication as the others were snickering at the conversation with humor but Ratchet didn't when he knows that Omega was more concerned about the important parts of the conversation.
Omega contacts base; "Agent Fowler, be sure to evacuate Jasper right away."
"I'm already on it."
Arcee was very impressed by Omega making sure that everything was kept in line with the real priorities, Jack interject, "So far everything is going good. Once we get Optimus back, we'll relocate to a new base and get Mira back."
Arcee turns her side mirror to Jack, "You got that right Jack."
Minutes have passed by when they had reached Kaon, the Decepticon capital.
"Toward Kaon?" Arcee questioned.
"The Decepticon capital." Jack adds in.
Omega stops his position to transform into his mech form, Arcee halts her position when she saw her sparkmate not following, Omega spoke, "You two keep going. There is something I need to do for Primus."
"That isn't the mission, Primus hasn't been activated for amny years." Jack gets off of Arcee as she transformers into her Cybertronian form
"We are still connected in a way. You two keep going. I'll be right back." Omega replied back as he flies off into the distance of Cybertron.
Arcee sighs as she looks down at Jack, "We'll go on foot from here. Wouldn't want the noise to attract the wrong kind of attention."
"Cons?" Jack asked.
"Vermin."