Ch. 109

Ratchet tiredly pulled himself away from his computer to rub his optics. It had been a restless couple of days. With Starscream's hiccup evolving into a more frantic episode and the team still tending to fresh wounds, it was hard to get excited about much. Except what the future could hold...

The medic scoffed and shut off his console, "I don't need to know," he murmured, "that wouldn't be fair..."

"What wouldn't be fair?" came a curious voice.

Ratchet flinched in surprise and turned his chair to look at Smokescreen, the mech smiling widely at him, "Ah... just our... numbers and stamina against Megatron's rage, I suppose. I doesn't matter what we gain, his forces always seem to beat us back... Even with Starscream, we're at a disadvantage."

The white mech shrugged, "Yeah, guess you're right. But Scream says he's working on it. He wants us all to meet him downstairs and we're just waiting on you."

The medic blinked in surprise and nodded, standing to follow Smokescreen deeper into the base.

"Do you know why I have yet to encourage any of you to use these?"

Starscream gestured gently to the many storerooms behind him, each containing an Iacon relic safely within its chamber. The artifacts had been moved into the base sometime after the whole 'trapped in ice' debacle. The silver mech was just glad he hadn't been awake for it.

Bulkhead groaned audibly, "Uhh... Is this a test?"

Arcee sighed, "Do you think we can't handle them?"

Optimus smiled softly, "You have not encouraged us to use these because of the risk that comes with removing them from our base. They may be able to turn the tide of a battle, but they could just as easily be lost in the fight."

Starscream's wings clicked happily, "Exactly! But today we are going to discuss the final relic that I have been unable to procure on my own. It requires a Prime to rescue it-" Smokescreen walked in quietly with Ratchet and the seeker rolled his optics, "Better late than never," he murmured, then cleared his throat, "The last relic is a sword, your sword, Optimus. I say 'your sword' because none of us can use it unless we are, or have the servo, of a Prime."

"Have a servo?" Bulkhead whispered to Arcee.

Starscream frowned, "This Megatron hasn't done it yet and probably won't. Moving on..." he pointed to Soundwave, who displayed a 3D map on his screen, "Megatron's forces are still being placed in certain mining locations. They will soon discover the Star Saber trapped in the side of a mountain."

Smokescreen awed loudly, his optics wide, "THE Star Saber?! One of the greatest Prime artifacts ever forged?!"

Starscream gasped and clapped his servos, "I KNOW, right?! I'm SO excited to share this bit of information with you! It's the highlight of my function!"

The white mech frowned at the seeker's mockery as the silver mech frowned back, "As I was saying... Megatron's clear yet not-so-clear motives will make this a far more difficult retrieval than it should be. But, and this is a big risk, if we give Optimus cover fire while he uses the Phase Shifter to move the rest of the way through to the sword, we can pluck it right from under Megatron's ugly mug without him noticing."

Arcee crossed her arms, "Sounds easy enough. If we only risk the one relic, it should be worth it."

Bumblebee nodded but beeped, noting that Starscream had made a fair point: Megatron's reaction to the presence of the two relics may differ.

Optimus hummed lowly, "The Star Saber is something we cannot risk allowing Megatron to even be aware of. Starscream is right. This mission must remain as covert as possible."

Ratchet scowled, "And how are we supposed to achieve that? Once they know we are nearby, they'll either expect Starscream to show or use us to draw him out!"

The seeker shifted on his peds, "Yes, how horrible for you. Rest assured, Soundwave and I are working on that. Slowly, but we have a thought or two we may be able to put into practice. Unfortunately, if we use it now, we may never be able to use it again once they learn of the trick."

Bumblebee buzzed, asking what the trick was.

Breakdown smirked, "Screamer's clone's chassis. It still emits his energy signature, just a little differently."

Knockout chuckled, "If we can have Soundwave hack into the Nemesis soft line and patch into my medical records, we can wirelessly signal the clone's frame to emit a more 'Starscream-esque' energy signature. Then, and this is my brilliant fun part-"

"No it isn't!" Starscream glared, "I told you this plan nearly fifteen minutes ago!"

The red mech glared back, hissing, "You're stealing my thunder!"

Smokescreen shook his helm, "Ok, enough, what happens after you change the energy signature?"

Breakdown smiled, "We make our own holographic clone of his energy signature. They'll have to know Silas is on board, if he's still alive. And if we patch Scream in with the signature, he can run around the Nemesis to his spark's content without getting caught."

The seeker sneered, "My ghost will haunt them. Long live this extinguished glitch."

Arcee smirked, "Alright, Fly Boy, think you can distract them long enough until we can get Optimus in there safely?"

Starscream pouted, "Doubting my talents? Oh, Arcee, you wound me! Of course I can! And if Soundwave can fix the receiving end, I might just be able to see into any nefarious plans they are concocting."

Optimus had been quiet as he listened to the plan but frowned lightly as a thought struck him, "Starscream, can you be harmed at all through this process?"

The seeker hummed quietly, "Well, this isn't exactly a procedure we've done before... We're only attempting it because the Harbinger is still remotely attached to the Nemesis."

"Starscream," the Prime asked again, "will you be harmed?"

Starscream crossed his arms, then shrugged lightly, "I... don't know. But I can take the risk. And we need to strike while we can. The less time Megatron has to do anything more, the better..."