Rated: M for adult themes: language, violence, mental rape, character death, mech erotica, torture, gore, and suicidal ideation. This varies from chapter to chapter, so read at your own risk.
Important Note: I started this series of fics before Revenge of the Fallen hit the theaters. This is an AU 2007 movie verse fic, NOT a ROTF/DOTM/AE/LK/BB or whatever follows fic.
Disclaimer: The only thing I own in this work of complete fiction is Velocity/Sira and Hardcore. They are mine. Everything else is copyrighted and owned by some really rich people. I make no money from this but wish I could.
XxxX
Full Velocity: Finding Salvation
Chapter 34: Siege
XxxX.
The day was nearly perfect, a pale blue sky dotted with the white, puffy clouds only young children drew. A cool breeze forced the relentless summer heat to loosen its grip on the land, the promise of milder autumn weather to come.
Sam leaned his head against the window and replayed the conversation with Sira. He wanted to tell Mickey what the femme had said, but he feared the heavy topic would ruin the day. Beside him, his fiancée unfolded and refolded the map in her lap, circling potential areas for their wedding. Their wedding. The words warmed his soul and made butterflies flutter inside of his chest.
Much to his parent's disappointment, he and Mikaela decided on a small, informal ceremony. Just good friends and close family; maybe a cookout for the reception. Something easy, simple, to the point, and cheap. Her parents didn't have an opinion one way or another; they just wanted their daughter to be happy.
"Damn, this had to be the longest red light on the entire planet," Sam thought to himself. Looking through Bumblebee's windshield, he could see three of the four lights at the intersection glowed red, and presumably the fourth one since no one moved. Great, call the city; the lights don't work.
Without warning, the yellow Camaro lurched forward, ramming the car in front of them, shoving it forward a couple of feet. Bumblebee backed up and cut a sharp turn into the oncoming lane. "What the Hell, 'Bee!"
The Autobot shook from the concussion wave of a nearby explosion; Sam and Mikaela covered their ears and ducked down inside their friend. The Scout wove and dodged through traffic as detonations erupted around them in a disorienting storm of blinding light and deafening sound. Sam's ears rang, and he only understood snippets of 'Bee's words. "'Cons" and "ambush" stood out clearly in the hollow spaces between blasts.
They slammed against their seatbelts as the Autobot abruptly stopped. Then they slammed against their seats as the Autobot accelerated backward. A shadow darkened the sky and slammed into the road in front of them. The seeker lunged after them; his claws raked open air as Bumblebee reversed rapidly.
Tires squealed as 'Bee slid backward down the street. Sam yelled as the Decepticon ran after them, kicking cars and pedestrians out of his way. The Autobot braked, using momentum to whip his front end around. Shifting gears, Bumblebee sped away from the threat. Sam knew Bumblebee played a dangerous game. Unable to outrun the seeker, they had to outmaneuver the flier, hide and evade, play peek-a-boo behind buildings and under bridges.
Alice Cooper began singing through Bumblebee's speakers, "Everybody knows I'm gonna steal that car. My reputation shows I'm gonna steal that car."
"Got ya," Mikaela said as she scrambled for her purse.
"Got ya? Got what?" Sam yelled in panicked confusion.
Another missile slammed into the ground near them, throwing up thick flames and black smoke. "Bumblebee is going to try and lose the Decepticon. Then we are stealing a car and getting out of Tranquility. Why do you think I carry my tools every time we leave the base?" Mikaela informed her fiancée.
"Steal? You carry tools to do this? You want us to steal a car? Are you insane? We could go to jail!" Sam stammered. "Did you two have this planned out? Like a code for when shit hit the fan?"
Mikaela ignored his panicked babbling as she slipped her purse strap over her neck and one arm.
A four story-parking garage came into view. Bumblebee sped towards the building, and Sam realized what the Autobot had planned. Speeding up, they bounced violently over the entrance ramp, and Sam hit his head against the roof liner.
The fluorescent lights and deep shadows of the parking garage quickly closed around them. The Autobot slowed just enough to allow the humans to scramble out before speeding on his way. Sam huddled between a late model sedan and a blue minivan with peeling paint; his arms protectively wrapped around the woman he loved. As his eyes adjusted to the half-light, fear tightened around his throat. At Mission City, he had been scared, but he had been blessedly clueless then. Now, he understood the stakes, knowing that if the Decepticons won, humanity would be wiped out of existence. The understanding that death would not come swiftly, and he would watch all his dreams for the future die before he did. His entire body screamed for him to run as his vision narrowed to a thin tunnel around him. The tightness on his throat spread down to his chest and kept him from breathing. They sat cornered between two cars, waiting for the monsters to find them.
Within minutes, a car slipped into the concrete structure, sleek, silver, and the chill of death radiated from it. It crept along slowly, tires gently rolling over a speed bump as it searched through the rows. Its engine purred, a seductive sound no human-created vehicles made.
Mikaela shot to her feet and dragged him with her. She pinned him against the minivan and began groping and kissing, running her hands along the front of his pants and tugging at his waist band. Sam tried to push her away, his eyes cutting to watch the approaching car. His fiancée's foreplay would have had him ready for more if a Decepticon hadn't rolled within ten feet of them. The holograph-driver gave them a brief look; before the car sped up and moved on to scrutinize a family of six loading a Suburban.
As the mech disappeared down another aisle, Mikaela broke off the kiss. She dug through her purse and pulled out a small pouch, unrolling it exposed her tools. Unfolding a slender metal rod, she quickly slipped it between the rubber seal and the window. One swift jerk and the locking knob popped up. She opened the door and crawled in.
Sam stood in shock. "That 'Con just drove by."
Mikaela, busy ripping wires out from under the dash, explained. "Remember, Optimus said that they have a hard time telling one human from another with scans alone. They get information like height, weight, gender, and general age, but not identifiers. Not enough to tell people apart, they rely on visual clues like we do, and a lot of people fit our general description." She paused as she stripped the insulation off a couple of wires. "The Decepticon was looking for something out of the ordinary. Our increased heart rates and adrenaline levels would have given us away, so we needed a reason for the changes. By kissing, our faces were hidden, making us two disgustingly amorous humans." As she struck the two wires together, the engine coughed several times. Tapping the gas, then the brake, the engine turned over. Shitty talk radio blared from the speakers before Micky slapped the power button to the radio and silenced the monotone voice.
As his fiancée adjusted her position and fastened her seat belt, Sam ran around the minivan. Tugging on the passenger door made hinges shriek in protest. They both looked up to see if the noise attracted any attention. Only the mom from the Suburban glanced their way, then went back to strapping her toddler in a car seat.
Plopping into the passenger seat, Sam noticed the smell of stale French fries and sweat. He immediately missed Bumblebee. "You - you figured all of that out? Right here? Right now?" Sam asked, amazed by his genius girlfriend, and licking his lips, still tasting her Chapstick.
Dropping the stalk control into drive, Mikaela checked the gas gauge and oil pressure before pulling out of the parking stall. Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she looked at the man sitting next to her. "You know Sam; maybe you should spend less time playing video games with the twins and more time actually talking with Ratchet and Wheeljack." She pulled out of the parking garage and into the harsh light of day.
XxxX.
Déja Vu.
Sira had witnessed this before. The Autobots charged their weapons as Optimus barked orders in a weird mix of Cybertronian and English. Her pump pounded in her chest, amping up her frame for the fight. This time, the enemy moved in the open, showed themselves, and destroyed as they pleased. Staging an assault on Tranquility, the Decepticons challenged the Autobots.
This time she did not watch in fear and confusion; as part of the team, Optimus barked orders to her as he did to the others. Sitting in Central ops, she hurriedly pulled up street maps and overlayed them on topographic maps. She monitored the police band to pinpoint the Decepticons' locations and shouted out coordinates when she found one.
She felt Prime enter the room. "You know what you are to do?" he asked as he laid a pistol-like weapon in front of her. "I hope you do not need this."
Sira deftly slid the blaster into the holster in her thigh. Her programs dismantled it and stored it away as they had every time she practiced with it. "I've got the maps going, the local dispatch and Emergency Services tuned in, and as soon as you stop bothering me, I will inform NorthCom of the situation, she responded while typing away on the control panel. Five screens lit up with information. She turned one to CNN and another to MSNBC, a third perpetually dedicated to the sensor array that surrounded the base. Thanks to Wheeljack, who stayed up many nights and taught her how to use this tech stuff and remained silent when she carved English words next to the Cybertronian glyphs. It would have been easier if she simply interfaced with the central computer, but she refused. They tried it once, and the cold, lifelessness of the machine freaked her out to the point of blind panic. That kind of interaction might be natural to the Autobots, but not for her.
She felt a hand grip her shoulder. "Lock the base," Optimus advised
"I planned to. Now get out of here and save the day." Looking over her shoulder, she gave the mech a small smile. "And Optimus, don't get your ass shot off. We have a book to finish."
He responded with a solemn nod before leaving her in Central Ops, alone.
She counted six Cybertronian energy signatures heading away from the base. Everyone had left, even Ratchet. She typed the commands to seal and lock the blast door at the top of the elevator shaft, then raised the platform, a second layer of protection. She understood why they left her; she was a liability. They would be busy watching after her instead of themselves and in a battle that would get one of them hurt or worse. She had started weapons training with Ironhide, and it was not going well. She could aim and shoot, but nowhere near the proficiency Optimus wanted. So, here she sat, watching and waiting, of little use to anyone. She opened a phone line and punched in the code for NorthCom while scanning the screens with her optics. She might have been reduced to the position of Uhura, but she was going to be the best damn Uhura in all of fucking Star Fleet.
"United States Northern Command," stated the calm male voice on the other end of the line. Sira gave the man the three words that routed her call where it needed to go - to the top. She briefly wondered how pissed off the military would be when they realized Optimus told her his codes, not that anyone on this end cared.
A few moments of silence ticked by. She could hear several clicks as the call routed along physical lines. Her optics wandered to the screen with CNN news coverage. It would be hot in Texas today, and oil prices hit an all-time high. No shit, on both accounts.
"This is General McKaffee," snapped the deep, confident voice. "What do you need, Optimus?"
It took every fiber of her being not to growl obscenities at the vile human. She counted to three before continuing in strained neutrality, "General McKaffee, this is NBE number - whatever, I forgot my number, the numbers are fucking stupid. This is Velocity; I am calling on behalf of Optimus Prime. The Decepticons are currently attacking Tranquility.… " Her voice trailed off as the images on CNN caught her undivided attention.
An overly polished and painfully tailored female newscaster began, "We are going over to our affiliate at KGBG in Tranquility, California for live footage of unusual events unfolding there." The scene changed to a shaky camera showing the image of an enormous seeker falling out of the sky and landing on the roof of a four-story building, missiles erupting from his sides, leveling a nearby grocery store. The screams of terrified people almost overpowered the local reporter's words, "This is not a joke! Huge robots are destroying the town! People are dying, and nothing can stop them!"
The camera shifted as a colossal mech with blue and red flames covering his armor came into view. Optimus stopped and fired at the seeker perched on the rooftop, and then he turned and looked at the camera. "Get out of the area! It is not safe, and we cannot protect everybody," Prime's baritone roared as explosions shook the ground and the camera.
Dimly, Sira recalled the hated human on the other end of the phone. The General continued, "…underlings not knowing their place, and this bullshit will not be tolerated."
She did not respond; she could not respond. The monitor blazed with images of Optimus taking heavy fire and staggering under the enemy's assault. The great mech fell forward with an earth-jarring crash, his blazing azure optics looking at the camera. Quickly, he flipped to his back, raised his barrage cannon, and repeatedly fired at an unseen target. The transmission ended, and the image returned to the CNN newsroom. The overly coiffed woman sat with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.
Sira wanted to scream. She wanted to rush into the battle to help her friends. She wanted to punch the wall in frustration, but she was stuck here and couldn't do a damn thing. What little control she had, began slipping away, and she flung a nearby datapad out the door of Central Ops. It did nothing to alleviate her anxiety.
"Are you listening to me?" condescension echoed in the General's words.
She locked onto a target. Without restraint, she snarled into the line, "Turn on CNN, you pompous dick weasel. They have better intel. then you do."
A long pause hummed over the connection. The muffled voices that came from the General's end of the line kept her from assuming he hung up. Muting all the monitors, the femme wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation.
A new voice came over the line, startling her. "Velocity, this is General Pittenger. I…"
"Oh goody," she snapped. "Another God dammed General. Well, while you two are trying to figure out who has the shiniest brass buttons, my guys are out there getting their asses shot apart defending this country and its citizens."
"Autobot Velocity," started the new General. "I have already ordered an air assault team to assist Optimus Prime and his men. Ground reinforcements should arrive in the town of Tranquility within the hour. And Miss, for the record, I have the shiniest brass buttons and five stars. General McKaffee only has four, and his buttons could use some polish."
"Sir, I think I love you," she said.
Wumph!
Sira felt the vibration as it traveled through the ground and tingled through her peds. Looking around, she tried to decide if she imagined the muffled noise when she noticed the magenta light blinking rapidly, desperate for her attention.
"What the fuck?" she hissed and tapped the magenta light. Shrill alarms shattered the air around her. Rapidly scanning the control board, Sira tried to find the source of the alarms.
WUMPH!
The femme's head snapped up, and the floor shook. The monitor showed ghostly figures moving through the near-desert, much too large for wildlife, and not any energy signatures she recognized. "Oh shit. No. No. No." Muting the alarms so she could think, Sira panicked, trying to recall procedures if the base was under attack.
WUMPH!
She lost her balance as vibrations tore through the base. Scrambling to arrest her fall, she clung to the lip of the control panel. Lights flickered, and the monitors before her rolled with static like an old TV with foil-capped, rabbit-ear antennas. The noise rang in her audios but quickly faded to unnatural stillness.
Turning to the widows lining Central Ops, the thick glass looked out to the central dais, but she had raised the elevator, leaving only the wide piston that raised and lowered the platform. Nothing moved. No threat lurked in the empty room. As the only way in and out, she remained safe if the doors held.
A thump, then the moan of stressed metal grated through the still air.
Another thump followed by another moan.
And then another. The sounds pulled the femme away from Central Ops. She slipped into the larger room, trying the figure out the weird noises. Cautious, timid steps brought her to the piston under the dais. Not as large as the platform it lifted, the piston left gaps in the elevator shaft above, gaps full of thick shadows.
Laying a hand on the piston, Sira looked upward into the darkness. Movement shifted above, a shadow within a shadow. Another impact reverberated down the shaft as the shadow banged against the wall. Sira threw herself to the side, a frantic leap to avoid what fell from above.
A portion of the lift platform crashed into the floor, digging into the bedrock below. Dirt and debris puffed outward in an erratic cloud. The impact bounced her off her peds and onto her aft. Out of instinct, Sira covered her mouth and nose before she remembered she did not breathe anymore. She stared at the slab; confusion muddled her understanding.
She sat on her aft, legs splayed in front of her watching the dust settle around her. Blinking and stunned, she wondered, how could the lift fall apart?
The answer came as a dark figure dropped from above and landed on top the broken dais. Turning, the unknown mech glared at her and raised his cannon.
XxxX
Author's Notes:
"Stealing Cars" by Alice Cooper.
Thank you everyone for reading and enjoying!