Transformers: Soldier of Freedom

by Solus0Prime

Maria Roskowick had trained with Will Lennox for many years. But after they went their separate ways, Maria never expected to get a phone call from the Major asking her to join a secret operation unlike any other. Apprehensive, she decides to join her old comrade and go through the training to join this secret mission. The operation is NEST, and Maria has no idea what she's in for.

9. Chapter 9 Egypt

Chapter Nine:

The helicarrier arrived at the base just moments after the Autobots, releasing the latches that held Optimus and letting him fall to the ground. I was quick to get off after we landed, and made my way over to where a group of soldiers now stood with the Autobots. I recognized Will and Robert Epps at the head of the group.

Will offered a smile and gestured to the building behind us. "All your gear is in the back, there."

"Thanks, Major." I nodded my head to show I had heard, as I wasn't looking in his direction. I watched as the Autobots stood in silence over their leader, and I felt tears threaten to spring up. Will rested a hand on my shoulder, and I made eye contact with him. "Hey, get changed, Captain. We're not going anywhere." He paused. "Neither is he." He jerked his head in the direction of Optimus.

Without a word, I jogged over to the building, making my way to the back where rooms were set aside for gear and weapons. I found mine on a hook with a piece of tape with my name on it, and took it with me to a set of bathrooms outside the room. After changing and setting my backpack with my other clothes in it on the hook, I made my way back outside to join the group, only to be cut off by a series of military vehicles, all of which had loaded weapons on the top.

I broke into a sprint to reach the Autobots, and the vehicles surrounded us in a circle, Will and his group included. Soldiers in the vehicles had their weapons pointed at the Autobots, and I was absolutely shocked. Ironhide was infuriated.

"What is the meaning of this? You dare point a gun at me?!" He loaded his own weapons. "You want a piece of me? I will tear you apart!"

Will ran to the vehicles, his hands outstretched. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Drop your weapons! Drop your weapons!" He turned to an officer of higher status that exited one of the vehicles. "Tell them to lower their weapons!"

The officer gestured to the Autobots. "Tell them first." William only repeated himself. "Major, there's nothing I can do. Talk to him."

None other than Director Galloway came charging forward. I clenched my jaw and stepped forward to stand beside Will. I would not be having any of it, not now. "Your NEST team is deactivated, Major. You are to cease anti-Decepticon operations and return to Diego Garcia pending further orders."

"No, we take our orders directly from Chairman Morshower, sir." Will answered.

"Well I'll see your chairman at the Joint Chief of Staff and I will raise you President of the United States." He pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket. "I have operational command now." He stepped forward. "An alien blood feud has been brought to our shores for which our soldiers are paying the price." He pointed to the Autobots. "The secret is out! This is our war now and we will win it, as we always have, with a coordinated military strategy."

Ratchet spoke up. "This fool is terribly misinformed."

"You're going to need every asset that you've got." William argued.

"What we need is to draw up battle plans while we explore every possible diplomatic solution."

"Like what, handing over the kid?"

Galloway paused. "All options are being considered."

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "I don't think you have the slightest idea of the idiocy you're displaying right now, sir. These Decepticons don't deal in diplomacy." I pointed at the fallen Optimus Prime. "They deal in violence and chaos."

Will nodded his head, agreeing with me. "There is no negotiating with them."

Galloway glanced between the two of us. "I am ordering you to stand down." He reached out and pulled the NEST badge from Williams uniform on his chest. "You won't be needing this anymore. Get your assets back to base. And take that pile of scrap metal back to Diego Garcia."

At his last statement I charged forward, ready to throw a good punch right in the man's face. William's arm shot out to stop me, but I pushed against him, shoving him away from me. The door to the vehicle slammed shut, and I slammed my fist against the glass where he sat, releasing a loud thud. The vehicle only pulled away, and he was gone.

A man on the PA system addressed the Autobots, informing them to report to a hangar for transport.

"Ironhide, we should leave this planet." Ratchet said.

"That's not what Optimus would want." Ironhide replied solemnly.

We all headed to our respective hangars, readying ourselves for transport. I watched as soldiers once again loaded up Optimus, taking him to a larger plane.

"So, we're shipping them back to base. This is such a mistake." Will said as he watched beside me.

"Major Lennox! Phone call!" Someone behind us shouted. Will turned and ran inside the building to take the call. Robert Epps approached me and smiled kindly before turning to watch Optimus being taken to a helicarrier. It was only a minute later when Will came running out of the building.

"Who was it?" I asked.

"I was given coordinates, it was something about Optimus." He sighed. He immediately had my full attention. "Some guy that said he was with Sam, he wants us to bring Optimus to the coordinates he gave me. He said something about a possible resurrection."

"We have to go! We have to at least try!" I answered.

"I gotta find out where the coordinates are," He paused. "I don't know what's going on, but it's worth looking into." Will lead Robert and I towards the aircraft that was to transport Optimus, it's pilot standing right outside. The soldier gave Will a salute. "I need you to check some coordinates for me." Will repeated them for the pilot to enter in his system.

The pilot exited the cockpit after several minutes. "Coordinates, 29.5 north, 35.88 east. Tip of the Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba."

"Egypt? Are you serious?" Robert asked. The three of us thanked the pilot then turned to walk away. "Even if we could figure out a way to get the big man over there, how is this little kid supposed to bring him back to life?"

"Look, I don't know, but we gotta trust him."

I smiled. "It's worth a shot."

We stopped, and Will rubbed his forehead. "Look, I think I got an idea." He ran back towards the pilot that we talked to earlier. Robert and I watched from a distance. After a minute of Will's wild hand movements, the pilot nodded once, and gave a salute. Will ran back over to us. "All right, looks like we're clear. We need to make sure we get on that plane with Optimus when we load up. Get all your gear together, we're leaving in the next hour."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to tell us what's going on?"

"Oh, you'll know." Will gave us a smirk before leaving us to help deal with the other soldiers. Robert gave me a look before leaving to get his own gear together. I only needed to grab my bag, as I had already changed into my proper gear. I found Robert outside the building, and we walked towards the plane that held Optimus. We were loaded up, and to my dismay I saw that Director Galloway was on the same plane as well. I rolled my eyes, thankful that at the very least I didn't have to sit next to him. When I finished buckling up I couldn't help but stare at Optimus. There was a net over him, with latches on the side to hold him securely in place. His arms were folded over his chest, and I couldn't stop my breathing from getting shaky.

The planes were all finally loaded up and secured, and we were quick to take off. I had no idea how long this flight was going to be, and I certainly had no idea what William had planned.

It had been at least a few hours, there was no way of knowing for sure. I spent some of the time speaking to Robert, who sat next to me. The majority of the flight, though, I spent my time looking at Optimus, taking in every detail and going through possible ways of bringing him back. I had no idea what Sam was doing in Egypt, and I had my doubts about his claim of bringing the Prime back. Despite that, I clung to hope, almost desperately. Not just for myself, but for the rest of the Autobots as well.

Suddenly, the pilot's voice came through on the intercom. "We've had an engine malfunction. We're gonna have to divert to SOCCENT. Flight master, let's lighten the load and prepare for bailout."

Will sat forward in his seat, glancing at Galloway briefly who was asking several questions, clearly on the verge of a freak-out. Will stood up, addressing everyone on board. "All right, team, grab your chutes!" Everyone immediately did as they were ordered, clipping on their parachutes and tightening the straps, making sure that everything was secure. I watched as Will helped Galloway into his own parachute.

"You're familiar with the standard MC-4?" William asked.

"Of course not!" The director snapped. I could tell he was all sorts of anxious. "I've never jumped out of a perfectly good airplane before." Will spun him around to adjust the straps on his chest. "Wait a minute, is this really happening?"

"Yeah."

"Wait a minute, wait a minute." Galloway was looking around now. "You're behind this, aren't you?"

Will gave him a look. "What are you talking about? You heard the pilot. These guys don't mess around, this is just standard procedure. I'm just following orders to the letter. Isn't that what you said?" I couldn't help but smirk.

"You just signed a death warrant on your career, Major!" Suddenly, the plane shifted dramatically, forcing everyone to grab on to something. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, what was that? What was that!"

"That's not good." Will said. "Come on!" Will lead him towards the back hatch that was beginning to open. The director was freaking out, shaking his head, grabbing on tightly to the Major's arm. I watched as Will shouted at him, pointing to different parts of his chute. Suddenly, Galloway pulled on the blue cord, releasing his main parachute. I laughed as he was flung out of the plane.

Will headed away from the hatch towards Epps and I. "Did he say good-bye?" Robert asked jokingly.

"No, he didn't even say good-bye." Will replied with a smirk. The hatch remained open as the plane continued onwards, and I helped a group of soldiers secure a parachute to Optimus. We had just finished when the pilot gave us the go ahead, and we released Optimus from the bottom of the plane, allowing him to slide downwards and through the open hatch. Once he was clear, the other soldiers began to follow suit, jumping out of the plane. Will and I were the last ones to jump, making sure that everyone else had gone.

We landed in what looked like a village, with buildings falling apart and crumbling. Surprisingly, people were living here. As I detached myself from my parachute, I spotted the other Autobots making their way to meet us.

"Let's move it! Remember, they're friendlies." Will said to the soldiers near us. We ran towards the buildings, making sure that Optimus was covered from all points. Soldiers then began to cover him with a tarp, so that he wasn't able to be seen from above. After getting a weapon, Will began giving orders, making sure everything was secure.

I turned at the sound of heavy footsteps to see Ironhide approach me. He crouched down to face me better, he lowered his arm and outstretched his hand, a gun laying in his palm. It was the same one he had given to me before Optimus' fight with the Decepticons. "You forgot this back on base. You know, I don't think it's normal for a soldier to forget their weapon."

I smiled and took the gun. "Thank you Ironhide." He nodded once before standing again and walking to the other Autobots. I secured the gun in my arms and ran to find Lennox. I found him on a roof of one of the buildings with Robert and a group of other soldiers who were scoping out our surroundings.

"So, we just dropped off 10 tonnes of dead robot in the middle of nowhere." Robert said. "I hope this little kid knows what he's doing."

"Yeah, me too." Will replied.

"Got a visual!" A soldier shouted behind us. "Yellow team! Four clicks!" We all looked in the direction the soldier spotted them.

"Pop flare!" Will ordered. The soldier who spotted them fired off a flare in the air to give our location. After a few moments, Robert spotted a jet circling our location.

"That's got alien tattoos all over it. That ain't Air Force." Robert said.

"Decepticon." I whispered. Suddenly, static broke through on our com links.

"What the hell was that? Anyone there? Anyone copy?" Will said, trying to adjust it. He tore it off his head in frustration. "It's dead, comms are down."

"EMP burst." Robert said. "I see how this day is going in this god forsaken desert."

Addressing another soldier, Will said. "Right, go burn an SOS. Let the eye in the sky know we need some help."

After that soldier had left, I turned to face another group. "Fire some more flares, we need to make sure Sam can find us." Two soldiers gave a nod and spread a bit apart and fired them off. I followed Will to the ground, where we came to stand not too far from where Optimus lay.

"We've got incoming!" A soldier shouted. Will ran forward, a few of his men on the ground following him. I stuck by his side as missiles landed not far from our location.

"We've got a whole lot of fight coming our way!" Lennox shouted. Our group met up with the Autobots a little ways from the small village. We were all watching as a group of Decepticons were spotted not far from us. "All right, those Decepticons are searching for Sam! Whatever he has he thinks it'll bring Optimus back to life. So our mission is to find him and get him to Optimus." He paused to catch his breath. "We're gonna draw fire from the left flank. I need a scout team."

"I'm leading." Ironhide stated, getting up to head in the direction Will had pointed.

"Go up through the middle with Arcee and Ironhide!" Will said to the soldiers that ran past to join the Autobot. To another group he said, "All right, when you see the precious cargo, I want you to pop green smoke and come back though those pillars. We'll have the ambush set. All right, let's go! Move out!" With Will in the lead, we all broke into a fast jog, heading towards the pillars that Will had pointed out and designated for our ambush.

Almost immediately we engaged with the Decepticons, gunfire being exchanged from both sides. I had lost track of how many of them there were, and with the explosions surrounding us it was hard to tell. There was another village in the distance, and it seemed they were all firing from there.

Will started yelling at Ironhide to go, the Arcee twins joining him, initiating his part of the attack. Explosions surrounded us, and we were losing soldiers, already there was a designated spot for the injured. With the buildings being blown apart, we were quickly losing cover. At the sound of incoming helicopters, Robert looked through his binoculars.

"We got Jordanians!" He yelled.

"We got help!" Will exclaimed.

Unfortunately, we weren't the only ones that could see the helicopters. Decepticons were nearing our location, and could just as easily see them, causing them to fire at will. The two helicopters went down, crashing into the buildings. I ran as fast as I could from the crash site, being mindful of where a few of the Decepticons were coming from. I crouched down behind a building, looking around myself and spotting the Decepticons ahead of me. I turned as Will joined my side, and the rest of the soldiers moved to new locations. I got the Decepticons in my sights and fired, happy that Ironhide's gun was made to do damage to these guys.

From behind us, tanks began rolling in, and with them, new soldiers. One of them approached Will. "Where do you need us, sir?"

"Protect those in the line of fire!" Will shouted, pointing. The soldier took off, leading the tanks away from us and towards the soldiers that were closest to the oncoming Decepticons. Will grabbed a radio from one of the soldiers closest to him, throwing it to Robert. Oncoming fire from the Decepticons was getting increasingly heavier, and we had to move locations again for better cover. We were so close to the pillars now, I only hoped Sam could get to us safely. As I looked through the pillars, looking for any sign of the boy, my sights landed on a Decepticon just behind the pillars, a Decepticon I recognized. Megatron.

I turned to Will. "Megatron is here, Sam must be close." He nodded once, looking through the scope of his weapon.

"I've spotted Sam!" Ironhide shouted. I cast my gaze closer to the ground, and I saw Sam running towards us, a girl following closely behind us. Knowing that Will and a group of soldiers were headed towards him, I fired my shots at Megatron, trying to get a good line of sight. Without warning, Megatron stepped clear into view, firing a heavy set of gunfire towards Sam and the girl. Explosions broke out around them, and they tumbled to the ground. William ordered cover fire from the tanks that were set up. Will tugged on my arm, signalling for me to follow him as he ran towards the two kids. We had cover fire from all around us, making sure that the nearest Decepticons were not able to reach us.

Will and I stopped behind a piece of a building, and Will yelled for the kids to come to us. I peered over top, firing at the Decepticons around us. Sam and the girl ran behind the building, panting heavily as they leaned against the crumbled wall. "You better have a good reason for us to be here." Will said.

"Where's Optimus?" Sam asked.

"He's right over there across the courtyard." Will pointed to where the feet of Optimus were peering out from under the tarp a short distance from us.

"I gotta get to him right now." Sam held up a dirty sock.

"Not with an air strike coming." Will replied.

"I have to get to him right now!" Sam yelled.

I ducked quickly, crouching behind the building. "Decepticon incoming, I don't think he saw me." Suddenly, a jet came flying towards us, transforming and crashing through a building. "Behold the glory of Jetfire!" It exclaimed as it attacked the Decepticon. "Now let me show you how we brought the pain back in my day." Jetfire pushed the Decepticon against the building, and slammed his foot down, decapitating it instantly. Suddenly, another Decepticon came up from the ground, slamming into Jetfire, ripping apart metal. He threw the Decepticon to the ground, and as he fell, slammed his fist on it's head.

"All right, we're gonna make a break through for the B's on my command, okay?" Will said. He faced Sam and the girl. "You guys stick with me, you understand? Stay on my ass."

"I hope these jets got good aim." Robert said beside us.

"Why's that?"

"I told them to hit the orange smoke." Will and I looked to find that orange smoke was being released around us.

Will rolled his eyes. "You mean that orange smoke?"

"It wasn't my best toss, okay?"

"Well fuck, let's go!" I yelled. Just as the signal came through Robert's radio, we broke into a sprint, heading towards the courtyard as fast as we could. It didn't take long for the jets to start firing, all of which was a lot too close to us for my liking. We kept running past our own line of soldiers, and were heading past the courtyard to where we would have better cover. But Sam broke off from us, heading towards Optimus. I chased after him, causing Will to yell at the both of us.

I heard a heavy growl, and Megatron came sprinting through the smoke, firing at Sam. I did not hesitate to fire my gun at him, but he was able to land a shot that sent the boy flying through the air, landing some distance away. He fell limp. I kept firing at Megatron, making my way backwards as other began firing at him as well. I wanted nothing more than to kill him, but the coward transformed into a jet and took off as we were firing.

The girl ran past me, running straight for Sam. She laid down beside him as she screamed his name, but he wasn't responding. Will was quick to pull her away, telling her to stay back before he started to perform CPR. I jogged up beside them, crouching down beside the girl. She pulled at her hair as she watched helplessly, and I called for Robert to contact medical officers. He radioed them in, and a helicopter landed a little ways from us, and a group of medics came running over, pushing us all to the side so they had room.

I grabbed hold of the girl as she tried to get closer to him, but she wasn't letting up. I repeated over and over that it would be okay, and while I was attempting to comfort her, I was also trying to reassure myself. I watched as the medics stepped away, solemn expressions on their faces. My eyes went wide, and the girl screamed in my arms. I let her go, and she crawled over to him. She was crying, and started screaming at the boy to come back, and that she loved him.

I couldn't help but fall to my knees and look over to where Optimus still rested. After all of this. After all that fighting, and the hope that we all had. I couldn't believe it. It felt like I lost Optimus all over again. I wiped at my eyes as I felt wetness on my cheeks. Images flashed in my mind of Megatron stabbing the Prime directly through the chest, Optimus falling to the ground, his eyes searching to make contact with my own before they went dark.

I turned now back to the girl, who was laying over Sam as she cried. All of a sudden, Sam jerked, and he gasped for air, his eyes snapping open. My attention was drawn to a pile of dust beside him that began shifting and merging to form a solid mass, an elongated diamond looking thing, that spiraled and had sharp points on each end of it. Sam reached for it as he slowly sat up, the object now glowing blue. Everyone was standing and watching now, amazed at what was happening. Sam got to his feet, and made his way to Optimus, climbing on top of him. He came to a stop on his chest, and let out a scream as he brought the object over his head, and slammed it down into the Prime.

Optimus' body shook, and there was a high pitched sound. I ran closer, and I pushed Will aside as I heard Optimus cough and gasp. Sam quickly climbed off of him, and a few soldiers pulled the rest of the tarp away from the Prime. He groaned as he sat up, and he looked at Sam intently. "Boy, you returned for me." I slowly walked forward, my mouth open. He was alive. As I split from the main group of soldiers, I caught his attention, and I watched as his eyes focused on me, and he gave me a small smile. I returned the gesture, completely overjoyed that this was actually happening. Optimus was alive! He shifted slightly, beginning to stand.

"A living Prime!" Jetfire exclaimed behind us. "I don't believe it!"

Optimus slowly got up, the Autobots standing in a large circle around everyone. Suddenly, something fired directly at him, sending him to the ground again. A Decepticon stood there, and swung his metal spear at the humans nearest him.

"My Matrix." It said, as he rested a foot on Optimus' chest. The object Sam used moments before to resurrect Optimus floated into the Decepticons' hand, and he jumped into the air, and took off in great speed.

"Get up, Prime!" Jetfire yelled.

"He's turning on the machine! You got to stop him! Get up!" Sam yelled frantically.

Our attention was drawn to one of the pyramids in the distance, as we could see two figures at the peak of it:Megatron and the Decepticon that took the object from Optimus. Robert used his radio to contact air support, and the rest of the soldiers on the ground ran forward to engage. Will ordered the tanks to fire at the Decepticons, attempting to stop what they were doing and bring them down. I stayed behind, next to Optimus, Sam and the girl. I watched as tanks were pulled forward through the air towards the Decepticons and suddenly dropped to the ground with a great force.

"In all my Decepticon life, I never did a thing worth doing until now." Jetfire said gently as he neared Optimus. "Optimus, take my parts and you will have a power you've never known." Optimus crouched, looking intently at Jetfire, but said nothing. "Fulfill your destiny." He reached inside his chest, pulling out a bright blue thing, what I could only assume was his heart.

Ratchet ran forward, pointing to another Autobot. "Jolt, electrify! Transplant those afterburners." The Autobot Jolt released two cables, one that connected to Optimus, the other connected to Jetfire. As electricity sparked through the cables, different parts from Jetfire were pulled towards Optimus and connected to him, assembling to become a part of him. Optimus stood, his weapons loading, and the jets on his back firing up.

"Let's roll." He jumped into the air, and I watched in complete amazement as Optimus flew towards the pyramid where the two Decepticons were, and fired directly at the metal machine at the peak, causing it to explode and sending the Decepticons tumbling down the pyramid. I raised my fist and cheered as I watched on.

"He never ceases to amaze." Ratchet said from beside me. I glanced up at the Autobot, grinning.

"Well, he's a Prime for a reason, isn't he?" Ratchet let out a low chuckle, something I hadn't heard from the medic before. I returned my gaze to Optimus, watching as he crashed into the structures below the pyramids with the other two Decepticons. Worried, I started to run forward to where he landed, thinking only of making sure the Prime had backup, even if it was just me.

A metal hand blocked my path. "He'll be all right." Ratchet said. I sighed heavily. It wasn't that I doubted Optimus' ability, I merely wanted to make sure that he had help, he was outnumbered after all. I watched as two jets flew from where Optimus was fighting, gaining a great distance from our location. As things fell relatively quiet, we all watched to see Optimus emerge from behind the Sphinx sculpture. He shook off the armour that Jetfire had loaned him, letting it fall to the ground.

I glanced at Ratchet beside me briefly before breaking into a sprint, meeting Optimus as we walked towards us. I came to a stop when I was before the Prime, panting slightly. He crouched down so he could face me better. There was already a smile on his face.

"You're okay?" I phrased it as a question, wanting reassurance from him directly. My eyes searched him for any signs of injury or even any sign of this being all fake.

"I am all right, Captain. The Fallen has perished at my hand, and your planet is safe from his rule." He said gently.

I stepped closer, looking into his eyes now. "Optimus...about before, you know, in the forest...I just...I just want to apologize for not being able to do more..." I looked away, tears beginning to spill. "I could have done something, something more, and...and none of this would have happened..." I looked back at Optimus as I heard movement, and saw that he had lowered his hand to my level. With slow movements, he curled his fingers around me. I leaned into his hand, wrapping my arms around his thumb.

"There was nothing you could have done, Captain. Events took place in the manner that they were supposed to, I doubt anyone could have prevented them." He said softly.

I laughed slightly through my tears. "How many times do I have to tell you to call me Maria?" I glanced up at him as he chuckled. I squeezed his thumb once before letting go. "Come on, let's get out of here. Your Autobots are dying to see you, I'm sure." I walked beside the Prime as we made our way back to everyone. I watched with joy as Bumblebee ran to his leader in excitement, the rest of the Autobots not far behind. Ratchet asked Optimus about his well-being, firing as many medical questions as he possibly could. Optimus patiently answered them all, making sure that the medic was satisfied with his health. It was clear that the Autobots were in much better spirits with their leader back, and understandably so. He represented their entire cause, and it was Optimus that brought the team into existence. I looked up at the Prime, smiling brightly. He was back, and I promised myself to make sure he was never lost to us again.