Ch. 135

"Hour four," Smokescreen groaned tiredly, rubbing his optics, "I don't know how much more we can handle. Optimus and Ratchet took the first shift. Breakdown and Knockout volunteered for the second, just to get it over with. I somehow got roped into the third with Bulkhead, who I'm sure would much rather try to make paper airplanes than this."

The green mech frowned beside him, "Smokey, stop. You've been monologuing the same intro at the beginning of every hour before you give the worst summary of what happened in the last hour-"

"Nothing happened. The scanners scanned nothing. Radar radared nothing. Morale is low. My sanity... is slipping away like curses from Starscream's mouth."

Bulkhead huffed, "I don't think 'radared' is a word... but I like the imagery on that one. Now stop."

Smokescreen whined and leaned himself over the computer console he was sitting at, "I can't take this! Destiny is calling me! It's telling me to get out there and make a name for myself! Not... sit here gathering dust!"

"Well too bad," his companion smirked, "We're on duty, so take it seriously. Do you even know what to do if something does come up?"

The white mech sat up, "Sure I do! We isolate what the scanners pick up, call in the team and get confirmation from Soundwave once it's up on the monitors. It's not hard."

Bulkhead chuckled, shaking his helm, "Just like a rookie to think it's that easy."

"Oh, is that a challenge?"

"Sure, if you can call it one, then it is," the green mech smirked, "Just remember to keep your cool and do it in order."

Smokescreen smirked back, "It's three things. How hard can that be?"

A somewhat sharp and annoying alarm began to sound and the white mech's optics widened, leaving Bulkhead to smile darkly, "You were saying?"

Smokescreen looked over at the monitors and in a panic, shut the alarm off. He yelped and tried to quickly bring it back online when a wailing siren began to go off over the speaker system.

Bulkhead watched in sad amusement for only a moment more before tapping a couple commands on his own console, which began isolating what the scanner was reading, and activated his COMM on the Autobot's shared channel. He didn't speak, only allowing the loud siren to blare from his audials through the COMM before stopping the feed, and it wasn't long before the small army that was 'Team Prime' rushed their way in, Ratchet angrily leading the charge.

"Who put on the fire siren?!" he growled, leaning over Smokescreen to turn it off, "As though I have to ask?!"

Smokescreen put up his servos in defense but the medic glared, "Don't even try to make excuses. Believe me, as a doctor I've heard them all!"

Soundwave came to the front, his robotic tendrils quickly typing at a monitor between the two mechs feverishly.

Bulkhead almost held in an intake, "'Wave? We got confirmation?"

The blue mech paused in his work and nodded, pointing at the screen, "Energy presence at sixty-seven percent greater than previous smear operations. Energy presence: confirmed geode operation."

There was a dead weight that lingered in the air of the base. No one wanted to ask what was next, but the question was still evident in the way Optimus addressed his team.

"We need to investigate this geode location," he said firmly, "Ratchet, Soundwave and Starscream, the three of you will remain here for this mission."

Knockout's optics boggled and he quickly raised his servo, "I want to stay. Leave me here."

Breakdown patted his back, "C'mon, doc, it'll be fun to pound into some metal. Plus, after Soundwave, you've got the quickest typing digits I've ever seen. We might need them to do some quick hacking."

The red mech took to the compliment readily, but displeasure still held onto his faceplates tightly. The rest of the team was preparing, however, stretching joints and testing their weapons' transformation sequences. Starscream watched in almost a dark envy and relief; he was desperate to leave the confinements of the Autobot base but couldn't safely do so with Megatron looming at every turn. But perhaps this would be the last mission they ever needed to make. Chances were slim, but maybe Megatron would be there and he would either be killed or captured in battle. A small part of the seeker dared to hope.

Ratchet studied and frowned at the coordinates his computers had isolated but input them into the ground bridge controls anyway, "Does this location look familiar to any of you?" he asked, gesturing to the former Cons.

Starscream glanced at the map and shook his helm, "No, this is a new spot. I may have already altered events enough that the timeline won't play out the way it should have," a glare from the medic was shot painfully his way and he rolled his optics, "Well, pardon me, Leader of The All-Knowing, what would you have done?"

Ratchet only grumbled, activating the ground bridge in silence. The portal opened with a confident 'hum' and the rest of the team took a stance, ready to run through.

"Autobots," Optimus said firmly, "roll out!"

The group transformed and drove through the portal quickly, each bot revving their engine in preparation for whatever was to come. The ground bridge closed shortly after their departure and Ratchet kept his optics glued to his many monitors, intaking data that indicated their safe arrival as Soundwave worked to get specs on their location.

"Optimus," the medic called through his COMM, "I need to know what you're seeing. Can Knockout or Breakdown send me a visual feed when they are capable?"

No verbal response came. One of the monitors lit up with grainy static before switching, clearly, to Breakdown's view of the location they had bridged to. The team was hidden behind a large collapse of boulders, some three times the size of Optimus himself. There were quick moving lights behind the boulders, a clashing of pedfalls and metal, angry orders being thrown about by a voice that was distinctly Dreadwing's.

Starscream held in a nervous intake as he watched the screen. Was this it? Was the end of this nightmare he had created coming to an end?

Breakdown's view drew closer. None of the Autobot's exhaled a word. His optics narrowed in as he peeked around the corner and the scene on the monitor shuddered as the mech did so.

The cave was enormous, and it had to be. Stacks of energon and metal supplies were being carted around, moved and prepped for transport. Dreadwing scowled as he read through reports he was handed from a drone, quickly handing them back. It was hard to hear from where Breakdown stood, but the blue seeker seemed to yell, 'send me back to the Nemesis' before the real jewel of the operation began to glow and hiss in delight. At the end of the cave, clustered tightly among the rock and shadow, was a large, brilliantly built space bridge. The bridge charged to life and a portal opened, which Dreadwing stomped through, and promptly closed behind him.

Optimus looked over Breakdown's helm, his optics wide, and studied the scene quietly before murmuring, "By the Allspark..."

Starscream, watching from the safety of the base, was also in shock. This was larger than even the mines he had been put in charge of when Megatron had been away. They had to stop the operation at all costs. And the seeker felt that little glimmer of hope within him grow, the thought of his freedom from all that he had created and destroyed becoming more than just a thought at the back of his helm.