"I'm not letting a slagging forcefield stop us!"
Ratchet declared and switched to Earth communications.
"Autobots! This is your medic! I need someone to hop the spacebridge and get a duplicate virus from our ladies on Cybertron!"
Jazz, almost completely recovered, practically crackled with anticipation and his own determination.
He'd be there and back in an astrotick if he were out there.
X
X
X
X
Optimus Prime received his medic's transmission, as did the rest of the rescue team.
"Autobots! Volunteers!"
Prime called over the battle noise, covering Trailbreaker and Inferno with his ion blaster as they destroyed the last of the scattered components.
"I'll go Prime!"
"Me too!"
Tracks and Bluestreak detached themselves from the battle, transformed, and made an all-out sprint for the spacebridge.
"Stop them!"
Megatron bawled wildly at his grounded air power.
Thrust and Ramjet got themselves back in the air and took off after the fast-disappearing dust cloud.
"Don't stop for anything," Tracks panted to the young gunner.
"I won't, believe me!"
Bluestreak exclaimed, swerving sharply to dodge some shots from the maroon Conehead.
A strafing run by Ramjet caused the Corvette to brake and skid slightly, almost hitting the silver ZX's back end.
"Rust them!"
Tracks exclaimed and took to the sky, taking a risky dive straight at the two Decepticons.
He made good use of his black beam gun as Bluestreak slid to a stop, transformed, and dashed to the spacebridge controls.
He quickly set and activated it as the two Coneheads swooped about blindly, swearing and firing random shots.
"Tracks!"
Bluestreak yelled, transforming and shooting into the spacebridge as it began glowing.
The warrior streaked over the top, landed, and braked hard, sliding as the spacebridge opened.
X
X
X
X
"This has to be it," Hound hissed, as he and Mirage came upon a tritanium cell door.
The spy glanced into the small room adjoining it and spotted the blank cell monitor screen.
"It is," Mirage confirmed, "I think they've been monitoring Prowl,"
"Let's get him out of here,"
They quickly examined the sealed door.
"We better try this without firepower, in case there are any Decepticons about. We can't let anyone else get infected," Mirage pointed out.
They braced themselves.
"Ready? One, two-"
They both drove their shoulders into the door.
Effectively.
It burst inward, the momentum catapulting spy and scout forward.
"Oh Primus-" Mirage gasped and Hound gripped his shoulders from behind.
Their second in command was covered, literally, with Energon.
Ratchet had warned them, but it was still a shock to see it up close and personal.
The pink fluid poured from every part of him.
There was a puddle running across the floor where it was overflowing from the bench.
They crept forward.
The tactician was so still.
"Slagging thugs!"
Hound burst out, recognizing Astrotrain's handiwork.
That vehement curse, muffled and incoherent though it was to him, got through to Prowl.
He made a valiant attempt to sit up.
He couldn't move, but the two Autobots leapt forward at the faint moan.
"Prowl, it's Mirage, and Hound,"
The Ligier dropped to one knee in front of the rack, and laid a hand on the tactician's shoulder as Hound checked over his midsection.
"No...the virus," Prowl managed with an effort, but not able to shrug away from them.
"Prowl, we've got an antiviral agent," Hound told him quickly, "And we're going to get you out of here,"
They sat him up gently, feeling how high his core temperature was, and the Energon streaming from him.
"Listen...to me," Prowl gasped, "Weapon...on ocean...floor...destroy it,"
He stopped and swallowed hard, and his rescuers felt a tremble go through him.
"Mirage, we'll have to carry him," Hound said quickly, "He can't even sit up,"
The scout scooped Prowl up, trying hard not to make contact with his piteous door-panels.
And was appalled at the tactician's difference in weight.
"Slag! Mirage, I'd say he's lost more than half his Energon," the Jeep hissed over his shoulder.
"Leave me," Prowl managed to snap, "That's an order,"
"I thought Prime stripped your authority," Hound said lightly.
"Therefore we outrank you Prowl. And we're not leaving you for all the Energon cubes in the galaxy," Mirage added.
X
X
X
X
Elita-One and her troops crouched, silent and hidden, around the spacebridge control level.
She had nearly her entire compliment of Autobot females with her; only a handful had remained to guard their base.
And had complained about being the ones left behind.
Most forcefields weren't visible.
This one was, due to its magnitude.
Elita studied the shimmering glass-like dome carefully, trying to narrow down a weak spot, or stress point.
She hoped whichever Autobots had elected to come and collect the duplicate were packing reasonable firepower.
As it stood now, she couldn't get in, and they wouldn't be able to get out through it.
Chromia, sticking with her commander, nudged Elita and gestured.
Shockwave's contingent of Seekers had scurried to life, and a few astroseconds later, a column of light cascaded to the spacebridge launch.
X
X
X
X
Bluestreak felt himself materialize on a solid surface, and quickly checked to make sure everything was still attached.
Tracks, still in winged Corvette mode, managed to transform from his upside-down position, and spat out a mouthful of Oregon desert.
"You ok?"
Bluestreak asked, a giggle in his tone at the warrior's disgusted expression.
"I will survive," Tracks said dryly, "Come on, let's get moving."
They stepped out of the transport module, and Shockwave's troops opened fire.
The Autobots transformed and split up, firing retaliatory shots for all they were worth.
"Tracks! Elita-One and the others! They're out there!"
Bluestreak called, spotting the unique pink bodypaint of the female commander as they began popping out of their foxholes.
"Tracks! Bluestreak! Come in! This is Moonracer. Shockwave has a level-ten forcefield around the spacebridge compound. You'll need to destroy the force generator, we can't get to you!"
"Moonracer! Understood," Tracks replied, leaping behind a console and taking out two Seekers.
"Tracks to Bluestreak! Where are you!"
Bluestreak was leading a trio of Seekers on a merry dance through the surrounding control areas, dodging shots that instead were damaging the Cybertronian consoles.
"Haha! I'll have to quote a friend here: you couldn't hit an Autobot with a moonbeam!"
The young gunner yelled cheekily, swerving to avoid another barrage.
"Hold still, Autobot scum!"
One of the jets shrieked out of sheer frustration.
The unintended target crackled, then went up in a cracking bang as Tracks appeared in the doorway.
The blast sent the silver Datsun across the room, almost to the warrior's feet.
"Bluestreak! You did it! The forcefield is disappearing!"
The Corvette exclaimed as the gunner transformed.
X
X
X
X
Hound and Mirage moved as quickly as they could through the base, back the way they'd come.
The tactician was wavering in and out of consciousness.
"Leave me," was the only thing he was gasping through his barely-lucid moments.
Scout and spy ignored his words.
"Hound, let me take him," Mirage said, once they'd cleared the cell block and were back in the tunnels.
The Jeep's front was stained with Prowl's Energon.
"Ok, just let him rest for a astrotick," Hound relented, carefully sitting the Datsun against the tunnel wall, "He's shaking like a loose wingnut, and I think his temperature is still climbing,"
They kneeled either side of him, leaning over to shield him as a muffled blast rocked the base and sent loose debris showering down.
They brushed the dirt off as well as they could.
Mirage made a gentle but futile attempt to wipe the pink liquid from the tactician's optics.
Prowl coughed, choked, and violently brought up a shocking amount of Energon, Energon of a colour and quantity that no Transformer should ever bring up.
"Primus..." Mirage gasped, as the tactician panted, shaking.
"Mirage, look," Hound said grimly, as they gently supported Prowl.
The scout gestured to the white chest, the colour barely visible through the Energon, scraped patches and dents.
The Datsun's bodypaint was slowly turning a pale ash-grey.
They attempted to pick him up, but the tactician resisted to the best of his ability.
"Prowl, what're you doing?" Hound exclaimed, "We've got to get you out of here,"
"The virus...you can't...infectious...all the Autobots..."
He coughed and retched, bringing up more Energon.
"Prowl, I'm not arguing with you," Mirage said firmly, dropping to one knee to pick him up.
"Listen, please," Prowl gasped, "Sun...send me...into sun...gamma radi...ation...now...destroy...body...and virus,"
"What's he saying?" Hound asked, in desperate bewilderment.
"Throw him into the sun, now, that it'll destroy his body and the virus," Mirage deduced grimly.
"Alive!"
"Yes," Prowl whispered.
"No way Prowl, we'll take our chances with the vaccine," Hound snapped.
Prowl was extremely dizzy, and the pain and nausea was engulfing him.
Hound and Mirage's voices seemed to be coming from the bottom of a deep well.
He struggled to hear and understand, and he was so cold.
X
X
X
X
Thundercracker had quickly gone to "investigate" the opposite end of the base to where he figured any Autobot rescuers would try to enter.
Astrotrain had tailed him, as the Seeker had hoped he would, leaving the cell unguarded.
"There's nothing here," the triplechanger concluded bitterly, "I'm going where the action is!"
Astrotrain dashed out, and Thundercracker heard him transform and exit via the sky tunnel, in shuttle mode.
The battle was still going strong, as far as the Seeker could hear.
He spun at a sudden sound, middle turning to ice at the thought of Megatron realizing he was letting the Autobots escape.
Instead, he made visual contact with three Autobots.
They'd obviously taken a wrong turn.
They stared at one another for a split astrotick, then the disappearing one spoke up.
"I'd stay back if I were you," he warned in a low tone.
Thundercracker gazed, horrified, at the Energon running down his front, the visibly-trembling second in command he carried, and the pink fluid on the other Autobot.
"You came left at the Great Divide, didn't you," he said flatly, referring to the mammoth rockfall that marked one of the catacombs at its split point.
"You need to go back and then go straight on; that'll take you out of this base,"
The Autobots stared at him.
"Go,"
Thundercracker asserted.
"Why should we trust you?" Mirage said flatly.
"Because I don't want to slagging die in a pool of my own Energon!" the Seeker snapped, "You've got all the genius scientists, haven't you! Your medic is trying to destroy that virus, isn't he? Now go!"
The Decepticon glanced at the unconscious tactician, then the two Autobots risking their afts, against all odds, to rescue one of their own.
Thundercracker had a brief moment of pure envy.
He highly doubted he could look forward to an attempted rescue by his faction if he were in the black and white mech's position.
The two Autobots looked at each other.
"You've got brains," Hound said levelly, and they made their way back down the tunnel.
X
X
X
X
The females surged forward as the forcefield flickered briefly, then faded out.
Elita-One coolly called her orders as the skirmish boiled in and around the spacebridge compound.
Datsun and Corvette ran to join them, to help and to take custody of the duplicate virus.
"Firestar!" Tracks yelped, and dive-tackled the red and gold female out of the path of a Seeker's deadly run.
"Nice to see you too Tracks," she couldn't help laughing as he clambered up, then pulled her to her feet.
"Apologies. That was very ungentlemanly," Tracks commented.
"You can practice your chivalry later! Let's get going!" Chromia exclaimed.
"You miserable glitches! You cannot escape!"
A new, cold voice cut through the battle noise.
Elita stood her ground as Shockwave waved his Seekers into submission and strode forward.
"Shockwave! Do you even know why these Autobots are here?"
She called levelly as Tracks and Bluestreak showed themselves.
The big Decepticon paused.
Elita-One pulled herself to her full height, and Chromia came to stand beside her.
"Optimus Prime and his scientists are trying desperately to destroy a deadly virus, a virus that was discovered not far from here. A virus that could kill all of us,"
A couple of the Seekers backed up a step or two.
The Autobots collectively held their figurative breath as Shockwave hesitated.
"Lies!"
He burst forth suddenly, and the jets opened fire again.
"That's our cue!" Tracks exclaimed, and he and Bluestreak transformed.
"We'll cover you!"
Moonracer yelled as they blazed toward Shockwave and the spacebridge module.
The two Autobots dodged the Decepticon with the help of the female firepower, and hurtled into the control room.
"Stop them!" Shockwave bawled, transforming and firing a bolt of pure energy at the transporter.