Authors Note: When words are italicized it indicatest that the character is thinking, not speaking.
Episode 05:The Autobots
Setting:Autobot HQ, Earth. May 12th 2008
Going through the black hole, or warp gate has I found was a very nauseating experience, at least for me and my friends it was. The Autobots didn't seemed bothered by it, but then again, I reminded myself, they were machines.
The next thing I saw, was the inside of a huge room somewhere. We were all standing on a platform inside the room that besides us, seemed empty.
"Where are we?", Lindsey asked looking around.
"You're at Autobot HQ kid", the Autobot with the Australian accent said, "the warp gate to be exact"
"Warp gate?", we all asked in unison.
"Yeah", the Autobot said, "it's how we're able to show up where ever we please"
"You mean like a teleporter?", Lindsey said.
"Sure", the Autobot said stepping off the platform, "whatever you bloke's wanna call it"
"Follow me kids", Optimus said looking down at us, "I have some things to explain to you"
We followed Optimus out of the Warp Gate and into through a doorway which led into a huge hallway. The other Autobots followed us to the end of the hallway where an elevator was. We all stepped into the elevator and I felt it ascending.
"So uh, where we going?", Carlos asked.
"To the bridge", Optimus replied.
"Bridge? You mean like on a ship?", Lindsey asked.
"Exactly like that", Optimus said has the elevator doors opened revealing the bridge of a spaceship.
"Welcome aboard the Ark", Optimus said.
"Whoa", I said, "we're in spaceship"
"This is huge", Hector said, "we don't' even have stuff like this and we're Americans!"
"Yes", Optimus said, "our technology is far more advanced back on Cybertron than it is here"
"Cybertron? Is that where your from?", Lindsey asked.
"Yes", Optimus said nodding, "it's our home planet"
"Then what are you doing here?", I asked him.
"Well", Optimus said sitting down in the command chair, "it's a long story and part of the reason why I want to talk to you kids"
"Go ahead Optimus", Hector said, "we got plenty of time"
"Alright then", Optimus said, "this story really starts back on Cybertron a long time ago. Four million of your years to be exact"
"Four million?!", We all said at the same time, "how is that even possible?"
"You see us Transformers don't age the way you Earthlings do", Optimus explained, "for us time doesn't pass as fast as it does for you"
"Oh I get it", Alexis said, "continue please"
"It was four million years ago when this all started, the war between us Autobots and the Decepticons. Has Autobots we believe that freedom is the right of all sentient beings, but the Decepticons simply want to conquer the galaxy. Their leader, Megatron is nothing more than a ruthless dictator who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals"
"Sounds familiar", Hector said, "there was this one dude in Germany, who tried to do that same thing"
"Hector let him finish", Lindsey said jabbing him in the ribs.
"The war between us raged in for years", Optimus went on, "the constant fighting severely depleted both our energon supplies"
"What's energon?", I asked him.
"Energon", Optimus explained, "is the power source that we Transformers rely on. It powers our ships, computers; every part of our technology is powered by energon. It occurs naturally on almost every planet in the galaxy, but the war on Cybertron has drained our supply of it to the point where some parts of the planet have no power at all"
By now, the three of us were enthralled by Optimus's story, and I was slowly starting to understand why they were on Earth.
"Eventually both us Autobots and the Decepticons were sending scouts to any planet to see if it had any energon", Optimus went on, "and then one of our probes told us about a far away planet that was rich with energon. Has soon as we heard that we scrambled a team and headed off to the planet. At the time we didn't know if it was inhabited or not, we just wanted energon"
"So you came to Earth looking for energon", Lindsey said, "then what?"
"Well when we landed on your planet we did find that there was much energon present, but we also found your civilization", Optimus said, "I personally didn't want any innocent bystanders to get involved in our war, and I knew that Megatron would try to conquer the planet. So we decided to hide out here until the Decepticons arrived. Once they did, we shot down their battleship, the Nemesis"
"Wait", Hector said confused, "if you shot their ship down then what are they doing here"
"The Nemesiscrash landed on Earth and has it fell into your planets atmosphere fragments of it fell all over the planet. Megatron and some of his most elite Decepticons survived and are still out there", Optimus said, "we're here to stop them from destroying your planet"
Suddenly, several things started to make sense in my mind. The first was that the meteor that crash landed on the planet last week wasn't a meteor considering what Optimus was telling me. "It had to be that Decepticon ship", I realized.
"So you're basically telling us that the Decepticons want to take over the planet and you're the good guys who are here to stop them?", Hector said.
"Right", Optimus said, "as long as the Decepticons are on Earth, your planet is in serious danger"
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Setting: Mojave Desert May 12th 2008
Captain Carlisle Jones surveyed the empty desert around him. His company had been dispatched to this area to search for, well he hadn't been told what to look for, but he'd learned to expect that from Command. The captain was a large, muscular African-American that was clean-shaven and bald. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses has he stood next to the Black Hawk helicopter that had brought him and two squads to the area. The heat wore down on Capt. Jones, the tactical gear he was wearing didn't help matters either. However his experience in the military had gotten him used to tough environments.
"Capt., we have something over here", his radio buzzed.
"What did you find soldier?", Jones spoke into the radio.
"Impact craters Sir. They look like they came from some kind of bomb or missile. We've also found tracks made by some sort of vehicle that turn into giant footprints"
The Captains eyes narrowed at the mention of footprints. It was just the kind of thing he had been trained to spot.
"Anything else?", he asked.
"Yes Sir. We've found some debris here. No idea what it's from but they look like robotic limbs"
"Secure that area", Capt. Jones ordered, "I'll order some analysts in to document everything"
"Yes Sir"
The Captain put away his radio and turned to see his Company Sergeant approaching him. First Sergeant Jim Ackerson was slightly shorter than Carlisle, but still had the same muscular build.
"Cap'n you better come see this", 1Sgt. Ackerson said.
Capt. Jones followed the Sergeant a short distance over to a desert road. There, on the road and left abandoned. Was a car.
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Setting:Autobot HQ
Has it turned out, the Arkhad been hidden in Death Valley, and was underneath a mountain. Had I just been casually walking past, I wouldn't have even noticed anything wrong about it. The only problem was, that it was really far from where my friends and me lived. But that didn't seem to matter too much according to Optimus. He told us that he could have one of the other Autobots take us home.
As it turned out, the Autobots were pretty cool with having us around. They showed us all around the ship and we became fast friends with them. At first it was really awkward, considering that they were machines.
I sat outside the base sitting on the edge of a cliff in the hot desert sun. Even though it was scorching hot I still felt relaxed.
"Sheesh", Wheeljack said from behind me, "I don't know how you humans can stand the heat here"
"It takes some getting used to", I said chuckling, "but there are some parts of Earth that are really cold too"
"Well I wish I could be there right now", Wheeljack said, "I think this heat is starting to fry some of my circuits"
"Where are the others?", I asked him.
"Last I checked Carlos was hangin' out with Jazz and Sideswipe", Wheeljack said, "your friend Lindsey was looking at Teletraan I last time I saw her. I better get back and make sure she didn't cause some sort of major computer failure or somethin'"
"Oh not Lindsey", I told him, "she's a real nerd when it comes to computers, or anything for that matter"
The two of us walked back into the ship via a hidden passage way carved out of the side of the mountain. The passage way came to an end when it reached the metal hull of the Ark. The airlock doors slid open and Wheeljack and I both stepped into the ship. As soon as the door opened I almost bumped into Outback's leg. I looked up at him and immediately saw that something was wrong. His face had a worried look on it.
"I've been lookin' for you mate", Outback said looking down at me, "I got some bad news for you"
"What is it?", I asked frowning.
"Your car mate", Outback explained, "I was gonna bring it back to HQ and have Ratchet and Wheeljack fix it up but when I got to the spot where you left it the bloody thing was gone!"
"What?", Wheeljack and I said in unison.
"How could it be gone?", I asked, "nobody ever goes out to that area at all"
"There's more to it than that mates", Outback went on, "I checked the spot where we found Prowl, only there was nothin' there"
"You serious?", Wheeljack asked, "nothing was left?"
"Not a bloody trace", Outback said shaking his head, "it was has if everything had been covered up. And the parts of Prowl that got blown to bits were gone too"
"We should tell Optimus about this", I said.
"I told Ironhide already", Outback said, "he's on his way to tell Optimus right now"
"So what does this mean exactly?", I asked has I followed the two Autobots to the bridge.
"Well kid", Wheeljack said, "best case scenario some drifter or something probably came across it and decided to salvage it"
I swallowed. I had a feeling that that wasn't the case.
"What about worst case?", I asked him.
"In that case", Wheeljack said, "someone took your ride and made it look like it was never there"
When we stepped off the elevator and into the bridge, Optimus, Ironhide, and Jazz were already there, along with Lindsey and Hector.
"What'd we miss?", Wheeljack asked casually.
"We're still trying to figure out what this thing with Willis' car means", Ironhide said gruffly, "personally I think that some other human came along and salvaged it along with the parts from Prowl that were left"
"I'm not so sure Ironhide", Optimus said, "from what we now of that area nobody lives there and it's very rare for anyone to be out there intentionally"
"But still", Jazz spoke up, "remember whoever it was covered up any sign that it was ever there"
"It's a desert", Ironhide said, "considering the conditions and climate that could've happened naturally"
"He's gotta point boss", Outback spoke up.
Optimus looked deep in thought at the moment. At the time, all I could think about was my car and how I was going to explain it away to my Dad. I had no idea what would happen because of it, or how soon I was going to find out.
"Willis why don't you just go to the police and say your car was stolen?", Lindsey asked.
"Huh?", I said looking over to her.
"Just say that we went somewhere and left it in a parking lot and when we came back it was gone", Lindsey told me, "then you can tell your Dad what happened and nobody will get suspicious"
"That just might do", Optimus said, "even if you don't get your car back, it should keep anyone from getting suspicious"
"But how am I supposed to get home?", I asked, "and how am I supposed to get from place to place?"
"That's easy Willis", Jazz said, "one of us can take you"
"That would be sweet", Hector said, "your vehicle modes are way cooler than Willis' crappy old car any day!"
"Now wait a minute", I said glaring at Hector, "what is wrong with my car?"
"Nothing", he said quickly putting up his hands in defense.
The Autobots all laughed, even Ironhide chuckled a little bit. Eventually I saw the humor in it and I started to laugh as well, and so did Hector and Lindsey.
"Alright everyone", Optimus said once the laughing had died down, "back to serious matters"
Immediately everyone paid attention, focusing on Optimus.
"You all know that I wanted to keep our presence here on Earth a secret", Optimus began, "but since these three have found out about us, I've decided to let them help us fight the Decepticons. That is, if you want to"
I was stunned by this, and so was everyone else in the room. When Optimus said that I honestly had no idea what to say or due. "But I'm a human?", I thought to myself, "how could I possibly make a difference in a war between giant robots?".I looked up at the Autobots looking down at me. I remember feeling afraid, of what could happen to me, my friends, and possibly the planet.
Somewhere though, in the back of my mind something was telling me to put aside my doubts and accept Optimus' offer. "This is a once in a lifetime opportunity", I told myself, "how can I afford to pass this up?".
"You can count me in", I said confidently.
"Yeah me two", Hector said, "no way I'm gonna pass this up"
We all turned to Lindsey, who still appeared to be thinking this through carefully, the way she did with everything. She had her arms crossed and her brow was furrowed, the way it always was when she was thinking hard about something.
"Come on Lindsey", Hector said, "it won't be any fun without you"
"Yeah", I said to her, "besides we'll probably need that brain of yours"
At that the corners of her lips ever so slightly started to curve upwards and I thought I heard a very small giggle. That giggle turned into a chuckle, and blown laugh and she grinned at us.
"Alright if you really want me", she said, "but you two are going to have to listen to me for once"
"What do you mean for once?", I said grinning right back at her.
Even though I knew that there would be trouble ahead, and that we were now involved in a war, that somehow, someway, everything would turn out all right for us.
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Setting:Decepticon Excavation Site, Mojave Desert
Originally, the huge underground cavern that the Decepticons stood in had not existed. Originally, it had been a small cave that the Decepticons found and then started to dig a tunnel into. The tunnel now extended for miles, and Megatron intended to dig directly underneath the city where the energon deposit was, and he was almost there.
Everything had been going to plan except for the day's skirmish with the Autobots, which had almost given away their location. Megatron scowled at his troops has they stood assembled before him. Even though the Autobots had not discovered what they were doing, it had been a very close call.
"You fools!", Megatron yelled at them, "how could you let the Autobots get so close to us!"
"But Megatron", Scourge said, "the Autobots didn't find us"
Megatrons reply to this was to grab Scourge by the through and lift him off the ground. Scourge gagged has Megatron tightened his grip around his throat.
"The Autobots didn't find us, because we got lucky", Megatron said, "if you incompetent scrap heaps had done your job, they wouldn't have even come close to us"
Megatron released his grip on Scourge and he fell to the floor cavern floor with a thud. Megatron then turned to the rest of the Decepticons.
"The rest of you, shall be on constant alert for any Autobot activity", Megatron snarled, "is that understood"
"Yes Megatron", they all said in unison.
"Good", Megatron said, "I will not tolerate mistakes"
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Setting: Sector 7 HQ, Briefing Room.
The Colonel could never quite figure out why the briefing room was so large when there were always so few people in it. It was built like a university classroom, with the seats arranged in a semi-circle around the front of the room rising up on an incline. Despite its large size, only a few people occupied the seats.
The two most important people were the General and his superior. Aside from them, there was Sector 7's Chief Scientist. Sector 7 was divided into several parts. The first, was Section 1, which was the intelligence section. Their job was to acquire information, analyze reports, and spy on the enemy. Section 1 was mainly where the Colonel worked.
Section 2, was Research and Development. Their main purpose with Sector 7 was weapons and technology. Most of their energy was devoted to producing Sector 7's unique weapons and equipment, most of which were devices similar to the ones seen in spy films. Section 3 was similar to Section 2, but dealt with computers. Section 4 was merely logistical support.
Lastly there was Section 5. Section 5 was the combat branch of Sector 7, and made up of elite soldiers from every branch of the U.S. Military. Many members had been Navy SEALS, Army Rangers, or some similar group. At this particular meeting, all the important section chiefs were present. The General was in charge of Sections 1 and 5, and Section 3's Section Chief, Professor Arkeville.
Professor Arkeville was the section chief in charge of Section 2 and had put herself in charge of the team that was examining the UFO fragments, as well as the evidence that had been recovered in the Mojave. The Section Chiefs from the other sections were not present at the meeting because they were not required to be there, and they didn't have the security clearance. Other than those people the room was practically empty.
"I've established a timeline of events", the Colonel began, "that track the progress of what's been happening recently"
The Colonel pressed a button on a small remote and the rooms lights dimmed and behind him a screen lit up.
"First, on the night of May 3rd, an unidentified flying object appeared in Earth's orbit. At first it was believed to simply be a meteorite, until one of our satellites managed to get a visual. It appears that at the time, someone hacked into our satellite network"
The Colonel paused to make sure that everyone was keeping up with him.
"Roughly six minutes after this happened, the UFO was apparently shot down by some sort of ground-to-orbit weapon. We have not identified what this was at this point, although we have confirmed that it was not launched from any nation on the globe"
"As the UFO crashed it fragmented into several pieces in various locations around the world. Has you know, we've analyzed the pieces that we've been able to acquire. Prof. Arkeville has the details"
Up in the audience, Prof. Arkeville stood up and turned to face the General.
"All reports conclude that the UFO was indeed an alien vessel", she began, "the technology on used in its construction is far more advanced than anything we've been able to develop. Also we found something that I thought was rather disturbing. The vessel had no signs of organic life onboard and no apparent life support systems that we could find. That's all we have for now"
After Prof. Arkeville sat back down, the Colonel started his report again.
"Also on that night either during or after the UFO had crashed, several of our bases in the Mojave Desert were attacked. The Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada, and a squadron of A-10's in Area 51. My analysis of the attacks is that they were unplanned and occurred purely as the result of coincidence"
"All reports indicate that the attacks were scattered, and lasted no more than ten minutes before the enemy retreated. My guess is that some crew members of the UFO somehow made it to the ground, and got scattered all across the Mojave. The damage that each base took was minimal and few casualties"
"The Agents we sent in to investigate reported that witnesses say they saw and I quote, "giant robots coming out of black holes". Witnesses also reported that the robots appeared to take on the form of military vehicles before retreating"
"The very next day, May 4th, Center City, California is attacked by these very same robots. We've confirmed from witness reports and later evidence that there were no more than 16 of these robots, which appear to have the ability to take on the form of vehicles. Also, further analysis of the takes indicate the possibility that there were two separate groups that were fighting against each other".
The Colonel pressed a button on his remote and the image on the screen behind him changed. It showed two pictures, one of a M1 Abrams tank transforming into a robot, and the other of a black and red robot. The picture of the Abrams Robot had a red circle drawn around its left circle, where a purple face was emblazoned. The other had a red circle drawn around its chest, where a red face was.
"These two markings appear to be symbols, of some sort. My best guess is that they're the equivalent to unit insignias or on a higher level, the equivalent to national flags. This and the fact that they were fighting each other indicates to me that there are two groups of robots, engaged in a conflict with each other"
That statement raised a few eyebrows and even the Woman who was in charge of Sector 7 had a hint of skepticism on her face. Despite her gender, the Woman who sat next to the General in her perfect military uniform was probably one of the best strategist the Colonel had ever seen.
Even though she was shorter than the General, she had a commanding presence around her and carried the utmost respect of the Colonel, the General, and all those who served under her. Against military regulations, she wore her jet-black hair long and it hung down well past her shoulders.
"So what you're saying is, that these two opposing factions are at war with each other, and that the damage done to Center City was merely collateral damage?", she asked.
"Basically yes", the Colonel said nodding, "had they made a concentrated effort to destroy us there's no doubt in my mind that they could've done so with minimal effort"
"If that's the case", the General said, "then it's possible that we might be able to enter negotiations with at least one of these groups"
"Do you really think that's wise General?", Prof. Arkeville asked, "remember we're dealing with machines here, not two countries at war"
"Professor", the Woman said calmly, "calm down, and let the Colonel finish his report"
The Colonel cleared his throat before continuing.
"Has I was saying, they appear to be more interested in fighting each other than fighting with us or the rest of the world for that matter. Moving on to today, approximately one week after the attacks on Center City, an E-3 Sentry from Edwards Airforce Base was testing the new PERCEPTOR radar system. This is what it found using its real time 3D Imager"
The Colonel pressed the play button on the remote and the screen began to play what the 3D Imager had recorded. Although it was a relatively short recording, lots could be learned from it.
"This footage clearly shows that there are two opposing factions of these machines", the Colonel said, "by the time our people got to the scene they were gone but there was evidence of a fight. Our forensics technicians are currently analyzing most of the evidence that was found. This includes tire tracks from multiple vehicles, footprints, impact craters from bombs, and parts from one of the robots"
"It was my impression that an abandoned vehicle was recovered as well", the Woman said from her seat, "what have you found out about that?"
At the mention of that the General turned to his Superior.
"We've found out who it belongs to, but there's a problem with it. Colonel, if you'd explain"
The Colonel pressed another button on the remote. This time, the image of a teenaged boy with curly brown hair, and brown eyes.
"This", the Colonel said, "is Willis Cody, age 16, born April 22nd, 1992. Currently attends West Lafayette High School and is on Summer break"
"I don't see much of a problem with this General", Prof. Arkeville said.
"The kids not the problem", the General said, "his father is"
"His Father?", Prof. Arkeville asked.
The image on the screen changed from Willis to an older man, who looked much like Willis except that his hair was starting to turn gray and he had a goatee. Also, he wore glasses.
"Doctor William Cody, age 52, born September, 17th 1956. Currently he's one of our top scientists and has lead the teams that developed some of the latest military hardware, including the PERCEPTOR System. Initially we wanted him to be our chief scientist but he declined. He has close ties with several prominent politicians in Washington, and is good friends with General Roscoe as well as the head of the CIA"
"Forgive me Colonel, but I fail to understand how this could be a problem", Prof. Arkeville said.
"Perhaps I can explain better", the Woman said turning to the Professor, "Dr. Cody in his time working on government projects has made some very powerful allies in an attempt to make sure that he cannot be controlled. If we were to openly interrogate his son—"
"He would come after us", Prof. Arkeville finished.
"Exactly", the Woman said.
"We don't wanna spook the doctor", the General said, "we think there's a good chance that the kid knows something though, so I'm having some of our agents monitor his activity"
"What about wire taps?", Prof. Arkeville asked.
"That to", the General said nodding, "by now Agent Phillips and his team should have everything in that house bugged. We'll be able to hear what he talks about on the phone and whatever goes on in the house. We're also hooked up to his computer"
"Now that that's taken care of we need to consider our next move", the General said, "these things seem to be able to appear at any given location undetected. If we're gonna keep track of them we need to come up with some way of tracking them"
"My people are working on it", Prof. Arkeville said, "we've analyzed most of the technology we've recovered and we're working on reverse engineering it for our use"
"That's good", the Woman said, "but it still doesn't help us find them"
"Like I said, the kid knows something. Our best bet would be to tail him and see where he leads us"
"I agree with the General", the Woman said standing, "for know all we can do is follow him and try to respond as fast as possible when they show up next. This meeting is adjourned"
PKendall317: Ok, this is going to make me sound a little whiny, but I'm going to say it anyway. Would it hurt you people to leave just one small review? Just tell me what you think of the story, whether it's good or bad doesn't matter. I want your opinions.