AN: ... hurray! or Boo, depending on your viewpoint, but I digress. ANNYWAY... I don't know where this is going to go. I just have a general idea, but I'm hoping it'll follow at least that much. xD
-insert inert disclaimer here-
Chapter 3
It was quiet inside the abandoned base... too quiet. Red Alert padded along as quietly as he could manage, cringing visibly every time he heard the loud clank of metal on metal. His damaged visor scanned through the darkness with ease, despite it being shorted out on the left side which left him partially sightless. The medic rounded the nearest corner, gun-arm raised defensively just incase, and when he realized that the coast was clear, he continued on, looking back every few moments, just to make sure he wasn't being followed. Red kicked up the fine film of dust that blanketed the ground as he crept along, stifling a cough as it aggrivated his oxygen filters, but continued on silently. He didn't know where he was going, but had a gut feeling it was the correct path. Looking at a sign on one of the walls, he realized it was in an archaic form of Cybertronian... the kind that hadn't been used since the first Great War.
"Control Center." ... Bingo. Red Alert followed the arrow that had been engraved right beside the words, and at the end of the dark hallway, he found an open door.
The room was emitting a pale glow from within.When he looked inside, he noticed it was dark save for one sole computer monitor, that flickered and glowed a light blue. He strode over to it with care, minding the discared scrap metal that littered the floor, and stooped down to read what was on it. At a glance he couldn't decipher the old Cybertronian, so he looked about for the main control interface. It took him only a moment to find it, and he quickly activated the power generator, lights, and security system throughout the entire base. A small wall of monitors flickered on to his right, just above that first computer screen, scanning the base for activity. The place was completely abandoned, and he was pleased to notice there was a medical bay as well. 'Looks like we're in the clear...' He noted mentally before touching his comlink.
"Wheeljack, this is Red, over."
Outside, the ex-Bot had placed Windracer up against the nearest wall, out of the blaring sun, and had taken a seat beside her. He'd been in reflective mode when the prompt had jarred him quickly to full awareness. "'Jack here, whats your status?"
"It's a ghost town in here. Not a single living thing besides us, and there's a good-sized medical bay too."
"...Permission to enter?"
Red Alert chuckled over the line. "I'm not your commander, we're not even of the same affiliation anymore.You don't need to ask me that. But yes, get inside quickly. We don't know what else is running around out here."
Wheeljack almost defended himself, explaining that it was only a habit and he meant nothing of it, but kept silent and gathered the femme into his arms with care. He stood, turned to the main door, and carefully stepped inside.
xxxxxx
Gorby II's Cabin
"Oww... I think I've got whiplash..."
"You and me both, Po," Kilowatt agreed as she rubbed the back of her gray-armored neck, wincing a touch as she did.
"Hey, at least we survived..." Feralbrawn added as she stood from her seat at the pilot controls. "Right, Hema?"
Hematite was absolutely fine, save a few dents, and she nodded absently. "Right... now where the pit are we?"
Aurora had been looking out the main viewport, and had assessed that this was most definitely not Cybertron... or maybe it was? She scratched her chin in thought, then donned her commander voice again. "We'll figure that out once we get outside the ship. Primus knows it'll cave at any moment." A groan from the Gorby-2's framework punctuated the statement. "Salvage all the weapons you can, stow them in subspace if necessary, and let's clear out. We don't have much time and we still need to find the others."
The five female Autobots scurried about carefully, hoping that a misstep wouldn't cause the entire spaceship to collapse inward on them. They snagged tracking devices, comlinks, weapons, and munitions clips, shoving them into their subspace pockets for transport, and were soon on their way out of the dilapidated spacecraft.
Feralbrawn was the first to speak once they were out of harm's way. "Wow... what a wasteland..."
"You're telling me," Kilowatt responded, nudging a stray rock with one of her feet. "But where the Pit did the others go down?"
Aurora scanned the heat-warped surroundings with narrowed optics, looking for the signs of Axalon's remains. She soon noticed a slowly rising plume of dusty gray smoke to her far right, and pointed. "There. We need to over there now and start searching for survivors, so move out!"
The five Autobots quickly shifted into their alternate forms: Aurora, into a red, white, and blue jet; Polaris into a gray and black stealth bomber; Kilowatt into her dark green pickup truck mode; Hematite into a bright-red car, and Feralbrawn into her woolly mammoth beast form.
The first four tore off in a flurry of dust, leaving Feral coughing as she galloped behind them. "Hey! Wait for me!" She'd never been a good runner, even as a quadruped, and tried desperately to catch up. Unfortunately, the sounds of their engines and motors drowned her out, and the gap between them increased dramatically until they were gone. "Guyyyyyyyyyyys!"
xxxxxx
Desert, Location 1
A bright orange and red Jeep bounded quickly along the rocky terrain, the shocks absorbing every bump and jolt with ease. A young but deep, masculine voice hummed absently as the vehicle approached the area where he'd seen the two foreign ships crash. As the jeep passed over a small, jagged ridge, it took note of a cluster of Transformers that were hastily making their way to a second crash site.
'Hmm. Must be surivors of that first ship,' he thought as he finally noticed the dilapidated Gorby-2. Zooming in on the lead 'bot, he noticed the jet's wings were adorned with the bright red Autobot emblem, and inwardly he grinned. 'And Autobots, too. Swell!'
The jeep took his gear out of park and accelerated quickly, bounding down the incline and onto the flat desert before him, and started his approach to the small Autobot squad ahead.
xxxxxx
Abandoned Base, Medical Bay
The door on one of the many dust-laced CR chambers slid shut, enclosing the badly wounded Windracer within. Red Alert stood back and made sure it was working, sighing with finality when he noted it was."Well, she'll be in there for a few hours at least, and she's out of danger."
Wheeljack was silent, but then proceeded to look around his surroundings. "We need to go back, you know. We need to check for survivors."
The medic nodded sagely in reply, surpressing his natural urge to be wary of the ex-Autobot for the time being. "Yes, we do. I just hope there are survivors..." He added darkly, visor dimmed in apprehension.
Ironically, 'Jack tried to be positive. "We were all on one of the outside corridors closest to the ship's exterior, and we survived... I'm sure the others were protected by the hull when we went down."
"...Or they were crushed alive."
xxxxxx
Desert, Location 2
Feralbrawn's broad feet thundered across the cracked and dry ground, slowed, and then finally stopped. A mixture of heatstroke and exhaustion caused the black-furred mammoth to collapse to her knees and eventually onto her stomach. Prehistoric elephants covered in thick insulatingfur weren't meant for desert life, obviously, and Feral was regretting having ever chosen this accursed form in the first place. "Augh... can't... move..." Maybe if she went into recharge for a few minutes...
A rumbling jeep engine caused the ground underneath her to vibrate slightly, and her animal eyes snapped back open. Was that the others, coming back? No, it didn't sound familiar...
She watched out of the corner of her eye as a jeep rolled quickly in her direction over the cracked earth. Unfortunately, Feral wasn't in any shape to fight and could only watch as it came to an abrupt halt before her.
'Uh oh...'
xxxxxx
Unknown Coordinates...
The strangely adorned throne room was dim with the exception of several large computer monitors. A handful of Transformers were examining the data as it was generated, while others were gathered around a large throne. Seated in the elaborate chair was a large, purple-clad mech with three horns rising from his helmet, and wings bent across his back.
An almost equally large mech spoke first, his voice heavy and dark. "Well, it looks like there's been another distortion today... It would explain all the freak accidents here at HQ."
"More newcomers?" the one that obviously came off as their leader questioned.
"It appears so," A navy blue seeker responded. His face was covered with a mask, and the only things exposed were his optics that quickly scanned the newly generated computer map. "There are two major crash sites that we can discern, both of which are in no-man's land. I'm unable to tell wether or not there are any others scattered about at this time."
"Great," the first Transformer replied, grinning under his own facemask. He flexed his arms in anticipation. "Well, you heard Naval Strike, G.P, what say we go on a little..." He paused. "...hunting trip?"
'G.P.' gave a malevolent smirk to the tan-brown tankbot. "An excelent suggestion, Gore. Get a crew together. Tell them that anything wearing the emblem of the Decepticons shall be recovered and sent to the medical ward if neccessary."
Gore's grin didn't part from his face. "And the 'reds'?"
Galvatron Prime rose from his throne and gave a dark chuckle. "Obliterate them."
TBC
Le Gasp! I ACTUALLY UPDATED THIS MOFO! O.O! How gravy is that? Took me a good long time, and for all that waiting I can tell this falls headfirst into the craptacular category, but I needed to get something out in order to try and coax those creative juices into flowing... Not working, I can tell. v.v; For one chapter, not much happened... it's like watching paint dry, I swear. How the poo does Centbot do it? T.T' :envies Cent's mad writing skillz:
Anyhoo, coming up... What will become of Feralbrawn? Was anyone else lucky enough to survive the Axalon's crash? How will the Decepticons throw a monkey wrench into this operation! Find out, next time!
And review! Kthxbai. XD