Ch. 211

Megatron and Shockwave trudged out of the canyon to the desert just beyond, the sight of the Nemesis in ruin making the warlord scowl. Shockwave was trying to communicate with the ship but things weren't looking too positive. Especially if the Insecticons were being used to help keep the ship airborne.

"How could this have happened?!" Megatron seethed.

Shockwave knew it was a rhetorical question and didn't answer. Instead, he continued to mess with his COMM.

"This is science officer Shockwave. Respond, Nemesis."

He received nothing but static. This was a concern in a general sense but even more so with the large orange bow of an unknown ship slowing to a hovering halt over the far mountain range. Megatron's optics were glaring into the hull and he roared angrily when its faction sigil became visible.

"How?! HOW?!" his cannon lurched up as it charged and he fired at the ship but the blast crackled against an unseen force just before impact, brilliantly lighting the ship's outer shielding in a phosphorous glow, "No..." the warlord hissed, letting his cannon settle by his side, "impossible... They've tricked us into coming here. They've acquired their own ship."

"Yes," Shockwave noted, "one with a very capable meteor deterrence barrier-"

Megatron turned on his science officer and grabbed him by his chestplate, "Don't just stand there! Get ahold of the Nemesis! Call in for a bridge! We need to get back on deck, we need to-"

A flicker of treasured silver glinted in the corner of the enraged mech's optic. It twisted and twirled from high above and far away before displacing and nestling to the ground safely.

Megatron's optics widened. His attention was now on someone else entirely.

"No... NO!"

Starscream shuddered at his painful yet safe landing. He shook off some dirt that had settled into his back struts as he sat up and trembled when he heard Predaking roar from above. The Predacon had transformed... back... and had dove out of the gash in the ship, Darksteel and Skylynx hot on his trail. Starscream shuddered again when he heard the distant and angry roar of Megatron but it was quickly muddled by Insecticon wings and cannon fire. If C.Y.L.A.S. was truly making his move today he and his bugs were ensuring to spare no one on his hit list.

The seeker grumbled painfully and rolled over to push himself to stand when he yelped and fell back into the dirt, clutching his right leg. The knee joint was certainly not supposed to look that way. He whimpered as he coughed back a far louder cry and attempted to stand again, this time putting more weight on his left side. He was going to get away, there was no doubting this thought, but he was going to be limping his way to freedom.

Far above him on the other side of the desert, nestled just above the mountains, Arcee stumbled through a ground bridge set out just for her, pressing a servo into her side to stall a leak, "Bulk, I gotta get back out there..."

The green mech jumped away from the Ark's ground bridge as Soundwave shut the machine down, shaking his helm, "Sorry 'Cee, not gonna happen," he scooped her up easily and scuttled her out of the room, "Knockout and Breakdown are expecting ya. We kinda figured something happened after you called for us to blow up the Harbinger."

The femme smirked, "Yeah... It did a lot of damage..."

Optimus came down from another hallway as the pair ducked into a med bay. He wanted to check on Arcee but knew that his size would simply get in the way of any immediate help she would need. Instead, he sighed and quickly made his way into the ground bridge room.

"Soundwave, can you open a bridge for me?"

"Ground bridge: older model. Portal stability: limited."

Something the Prime didn't need to hear right now. The Nemesis was only a handful of miles ahead of them. A large gash in its side had been greatly noticeable. As had been the silvery figure who had fallen from it.

"Soundwave," Optimus thought carefully, "if you were to bridge me out at the base of this mountain, just out onto the desert, how stable would the bridge remain?"

The blue mech calculated for only a few moments before answering, "Bridge stability at base range: between 86% and 93%. Bridge stability at halfway point towards Nemesis: 52%-57%. Portal overload imminent after 14 seconds. Cool down period: 9 minutes."

The larger mech frowned in thought. At least an 86% chance of him not being torn to pieces in a temporal void if he came out closer to the Ark. The bridge would basically shut down after he made it out. And then he would be out there on his own to wait for a retrieval bridge for 9 minutes. He nodded quickly, his battle mask sliding into place.

"Soundwave, I will see you again in just under 10 minutes," Optimus informed the mech, stepping in front of the portal arch, "I need to be out on the field."

"Optimus: understood," Soundwave typed into the console and the bridge arch bloomed to life; as the Prime stepped through, the blue mech called out to him firmly, "Soundwave: wishes luck. Now get Starscream."