Ch. 162

Soundwave poked his helm into the bridge room, the space surprisingly empty... aside from the sad, sulking form of the yellow mech, Bumblebee. The scout was sitting on the floor, staring intently at the inactive ground bridge they had all used to escape... almost all of them.

Soundwave quietly walked from the door to Bumblebee's side, standing above him, "... Query?"

Bumblebee beeped softly, asking what the blue mech needed.

Soundwave crouched to the floor, "Soundwave: concerned for our missing comrades, too."

The scout bubbled in a hushed tone, shakily telling Soundwave that he was sure they were alright.

The blue mech's blank visor stared intently at Bumblebee, almost conveying disbelief, but he didn't say that aloud, "Query: Bumblebee's certainty is unquestionable?"

Bumblebee's optics widened and he turned away. He wanted to be sure. He was hoping he was sure... but after hearing the question, after really taking in the room he sat in, his demeanor changed.

The yellow mech shuddered and let out a sobbing whine, covering his crying optics with his servos as he whirled that he had never been so lost, so scared before. Their home was gone. Optimus and Smokescreen were missing. Starscream had been taken away.

Bumblebee shook as the sobs muffled over his bubbles and beeps and Soundwave carefully snaked his arms around him, humming a deep, reverberating base line. The sound echoed throughout the room and made the scout's chassis vibrate lightly. The feeling was soothing and he was quelled more by the knowledge that the blue mech was doing his best to comfort him than the act itself.

"Optimus: strong, valiant leader. Smokescreen: confident, brave soldier. Combination: intellectual and spirited. Certainty: valid."

The scout choked out a hiccup and chirped softly, asking if Soundwave was sure.

"No," was the blunt answer.

Bumblebee whimpered loudly before Soundwave continued, "Certainty: valid, not firmly fixed. Variations that could change certainty: ever present..." he buzzed deeply and hummed again, "Hope: needed... required."

The yellow mech's intakes were audible as he started to calm down. The stress was a lot but the moment helped, especially with the support.

Rapid pedfalls caught both mech's attentions as Arcee, Knockout and Bulkhead ran passed the room's door and down the hallway.

Bumblebee sniffed back his tears and stood up, buzzing to ask what was happening.

Soundwave stood with him, "Soundwave: uncertain."

Ratchet and Breakdown passed the door as well, but it was the blue Wrecker that paused to look in on the two, a frown on his faceplates, "A ship's coming this way! We might be in some trouble!"

Soundwave strode forward quickly, rigidity in his limbs as though he was angry, "Sensors and alarms: silent. Radar: clear."

"It bypassed the sensors somehow!" Ratchet yelled from down the hall, "It's LANDING right now!"

The thought of fleeing never crossed the minds of the Autobots as they poised themselves into advantageous positions and aimed their weapons towards the sky. They had just been beaten and chased from their only home on Earth. They would die before they lost their second base.

"Breakdown, stay ahead of Knockout!" Arcee ordered, "Maintain heavy fire and only engage in melee combat if they move into proximity; don't leave your posts! Soundwave! Over there, by Bulkhead and Ratchet! Bumblebee, with me! Where's Wheeljack?!"

Ratchet and Bulkhead ducked down low against a tumble of boulders they were using for cover. Soundwave integrated himself into their natural shield and stayed against the rock, his visor displaying specs and graphs as he tried to log into the Harbinger's radar systems.

Ratchet frowned, "Soundwave, you'll have to figure out the bug in our systems later, we're going to be in combat any minute now!"

Breakdown peeked over his cover, a slumped piece of the Harbinger that had yet to be cleared away from the entrance of the base, and scowled when a dark frame became more visible on the horizon.

"Slag, is that it?" he growled, "Could be a Con ship. But I can't tell from here."

Arcee and Bumblebee watched from their perch on higher ground, a ledge beside the ship. The femme already had her blaster trained on the incoming ship, the dot on the horizon that slowly grew in size. Bumblebee followed her lead and bubbled softly, asking if the humans were with Wheeljack.

"I don't know, but they better slagging be..." she murmured, "I know the kids and June can hide away, but Wheeljack can't handle this fight. And we can't lose another..."

The scout simply nodded and kept his optics trained on the incoming ship, its loud engines warning the Autobots that it was coming in fast. Within seconds, the dot that had seemed so far away was suddenly upon them, dust and dirt flying into the air as it made a low pass and circled back around.

Arcee was nearly thrown over by the current of wind and she growled, yelling out above the noise, "Hold your fire and stand your ground! Wait until we see an enemy target!"

The bots readied their weapons and took careful aim as the ship dove in once more. The engines slowed, allowing the craft to hover, and it stayed airborne, almost in a taunt against the troops it dared to fluster.

Arcee felt her spark skip beats the longer the ship remained an unknown neutral: it didn't activate weapons but it didn't try to hail them either. The femme didn't look away from the craft. Her optics wanted to glance to her companions, the ones who had been looking to her, treating her as a leader. She couldn't read their thoughts or emotions but all she could feel was the welling fear that this hesitation she had was going to fail them. That whomever was in this ship was going to end them all.

She didn't give the order to shoot. Arcee could hardly see through the clouds of dust that ravaged their lines of sight and continued to push the fear she had. How had they been found so quickly? Did that mean-

The femme had to hold in a gasp as the bottom of the craft opened and a lift slowly began to descend. In the dim light of the evening, in the rushes of dirt and dust that swirled around them, Arcee could see two figures on the lift. Her blaster began to charge. She couldn't risk it. She aimed. She couldn't lose even one more-

A grip on her shoulder made Arcee hesitate as Bumblebee pulled her back and whirled loudly, running to the craft in excitement. His buzzes and beeps were fast, but he kept repeating one phrase: they're alive. The femme watched as the ship finally landed and the dust settled, revealing the two mechs on the lift she had nearly shot upon: Smokescreen and Optimus.

"It's Optimus!" Bulkhead yelled out, the mech quickly lumbering from his spot to join Bumblebee as the shock settled over the rest of the team.

Smokescreen was quick to jump from the ship's lift and land into Bumblebee's tight grasp, the two grabbed up by Bulkhead as the white mech laughed. Knockout finally managed to pull himself free of the paralysis that had bound him after Ratchet moved forward and one by one each bot made their way to the ship, an array of emotions floating through each of them.

Optimus smiled down at his team with more than just a sense of relief. All of them were talking at once, all of them couldn't express their emotions fast enough. Knockout had simply resorted to crying. Arcee had stayed back, allowing the rest of her team to swarm the white scout and Prime. She needed a moment to collect herself, to realize what she had nearly done yet hadn't. If Bumblebee hadn't stopped her-

"Arcee."

The femme started to shake.

Optimus made his way to her, his smile still strong, "Arcee, are you alright?"

Arcee nodded, crossing her arms tightly, "I-I'm fine... This is just more than I could have hoped for, all things considered... We thought the worst..."

The Prime nodded, "I understand."

Smokescreen beamed from the center of the crowd around him and almost snickered, "Yeah, well it's getting better," he turned back towards the lift as it activated and heavy pedfalls became clear to indicating a third bot, "We're expanding the team again! Guys, this is-"

"Ultra Magnus," came Wheeljack's tired voice form the Harbinger entrance, a pained smile on his faceplates.

The lift descended and a tall, blue mech with a none-too gentle expression became visible. The mech, Ultra Magnus, gave quick glances to each Autobot before settling on Wheeljack.

"That's 'Ultra Magnus, sir'," the blue mech stated clearly.

Wheeljack smirked and shook his helm, "I don't got a question or a request of ya, its just a statement of fact. You're Ultra Magnus, just like Scream said," the chatter among the rest of the team ceased and the Wrecker slowly held up his servo, a data file clenched among his digits, "And that's not all he told me. This is a present from Scream. And now that the band's back together, I think we should all see what's on it."