"I must say that things are looking good so far," Skylynx noted as he still flew across space with the grace and agility he was so proud of. "We're travelling at fairly good speed, there are no meteor showers in the area and, more importantly, I detect no Decepticons."
"I'd like to see them try anything funny," Sunstreaker said. He was sitting by the control panels, and everyone present in the room could see that the yellow Lamborghini had clenched his right hand into a fist.
"Don't get worked up yet, Sunstreaker," Jazz said from the commander's seat. "We have some way to go yet."
"Where did you say the source of the signal was?" Sideswipe asked curiously, looking up from the communications panel.
"At the borders of the Q-30 quadrant," Jazz answered.
"That Primus-forsaken place?" Skylynx exclaimed. "There's nothing there but dead planets!"
"The signal came from there, so the planets are obviously not as dead as we thought," Jazz pointed out.
"This is just great. Prime had better not be taking us on a wild goose-bot chase," Sunstreaker said, shaking his head. He looked around, optics drifting in all directions. "Speaking of which, where's the big guy?"
"Probably recharging," Jazz said. "Or trying too, anyway."
"So you've noticed it too," Sideswipe said, facing the saboteur.
"It would be hard not to, kiddo. His body screams weary a mile away," Jazz replied. "But I've no idea what could be bothering him."
"Whatever it is, it must be something pretty bad," Sideswipe noted. "I tried to bait Smokescreen for information but I got nothing."
"Or maybe he didn't tell Smokescreen about it so we wouldn't worry," another voice said.
Jazz and the Twins turned around, startled. Bluestreak was by one of Skylynx's radars, almost concealed in the dark corner and barely moving as his optics remained locked on the datapad he was holding.
The saboteur was the first one to recover from his surprise. "Yeah, that sounds like Prime," he said softly. He exchanged a look with the Twins and then looked back in Bluestreak direction once more. "Hey, uh… Bluestreak? It's almost time for some nourishment, man."
Bluestreak raised an optic ridge, yet he nodded his understanding. "All right, I'll fetch you some cubes, and I'll check if Blurr and Wreck-Gar need any energon too."
"Good thinking," the saboteur said. "Check if Optimus is online and offer him some while at it."
"I will," the gunner replied in an absentminded manner, and he headed for the exit. The smile all three Autobots had cast in his direction as the silver mech walked out vanished when the door hissed closed behind Bluestreak.
"In case you two didn't notice, he didn't mention that he would have any for himself," Sunstreaker said.
"Yeah," Jazz replied, sitting back on his seat with a sigh before looking at Sideswipe. "And I bet he hasn't recharged ever since we took off, has he?"
Sideswipe shook his head.
"Blast it," Jazz muttered under his breath. "I hoped the mission would help him."
Sunstreaker pursed his lip components in thought. "Couldn't we just…?"
"No," the saboteur said immediately. "That's out of the question, Sunstreaker."
"It helped Red!" Sideswipe said.
"It didn't cure him!" Jazz argued.
"He has a life!" the red Lamborghini exclaimed, finally snapping. "Look at Bluestreak and tell me what good have memories done to him!"
"Bro…" Sunstreaker started.
"It's true! Yeah, he made horrible jokes and blabbed on as if there was no tomorrow. Are you going to tell me you don't miss his laughter and the way his presence alone cheered us up, because then this blasted war didn't look so ugly?" Sideswipe continued on, almost beside himself with exasperation. "Now, every time I look at him I see this…" He stopped midway, trying to find the right word but he failed miserably. "I miss the old Bluestreak, damn it!"
Neither Jazz nor Sunstreaker spoke at once. In the end, Sunstreaker broke the silence, regarding his brother in sympathy – a rare thing for the yellow warrior.
"We all do, Sideswipe," he said softly.
Jazz nodded slowly, the heavy atmosphere of the room burdening him, too.
Though the straps that kept him down on the berth were strong, he tried to scan his surroundings in the hopes of understanding what was going on. All he could see, however, was darkness which seemed to close around him, smothering him.
Then the cold glint of a metallic drill came within view, ready to do its hideous work with an audio-piercing sound.
"NO!" Both determination and despair fuelled his body and he gave a mighty heave, finally breaking the bonds on his right arm. He swung wildly, and the drill got tossed away before it could do him any harm.
"Restrain him! He's trying to get away!" a voice said to his left, but he didn't care. He had to get out at all costs. He sat up, managing to break the other straps, but strong tentacles wrapped around his wrists and forced him down. He kicked and punched like a wild animal, trying to fight back… and suddenly time came to a stand still as he caught sight of the mech that was laying offline at the other berth.
Windcharger?
"Windcharger!" Optimus came back online with a start, optics snapping open. Yet he was no longer in darkness or restrained anymore. All he could see were the familiar walls of his room.
The door hissed open at the very next moment, almost startling the Autobot leader. To his surprise, Bluestreak rushed in, looking quite concerned.
"Sir?"
The Autobot leader winced inwardly at Bluestreak's formality, but he couldn't bring himself to say anything about it. He simply sat up with a sigh. "Bad dream," he explained.
"It certainly sounded like it," Bluestreak noted, a frown clouding his youthful features. He stepped closer, taking out of subspace a small energon cube, and he held up the item closer to the much larger mech. "Here."
Optimus looked at the cube uncertainly, then back at Bluestreak. "Isn't that your ration?"
"No," Bluestreak said. "It was meant for you. I was on my way here to bring it."
That, Optimus supposed, explained why Bluestreak was close by to hear his cry. Accepting Bluestreak's courteous gesture, he took the cube and sipped some of the luminescent liquid. Its sweet taste was enough to discard the last remnants of his nightmare.
"Thank you," he said sincerely.
Bluestreak's lip components tugged to a brief smile. "Any time," he replied, and he turned around as if about to walk away. He stopped at the last moment. "May I speak freely, Sir?"
Optimus was quite surprised at the request; nevertheless, he nodded. "Always."
"Good." Bluestreak pondered on the matter for a while, hesitating as to how to proceed at first, but then he went ahead and just asked. "Is there a reason that I've been picked for this mission?"
Optimus thought fast. "We needed a gunner," he said.
"Except I haven't been a gunner for more than a year now. The only duty I have been trusted with was surveillance," Bluestreak pointed out. "So what made the difference this time?"
Optimus now realised that there was no point in sugarcoating anything, not when Bluestreak regarded him so closely, demanding the truth. The young one was no longer a child, and he shouldn't be treated like one.
"You have everyone worried," he finally answered. "You've barely recharged or consumed energon ever since you came out of your stasis-lock."
Bluestreak pursed his lip components momentarily. "You've been talking to First Aid."
"Affirmative," Optimus said. "And Smokescreen has confirmed your wary behaviour as well."
"We're at war," Bluestreak reasoned.
"Should you be wary of your friends too?"
Bluestreak didn't say anything.
"Bluestreak… I won't pretend and say I know how you feel. But you can't live in fear forever. I hope you understand that."
"Is this what this mission is about?" Bluestreak asked softly. "So I can overcome my fear?"
"Partly," Optimus answered. "It's also a chance for you to realise that there are still some things worth fighting for. You can't just back away."
Bluestreak heaved a sigh. "That sounds like something Prowl would have said."
"Then you know it's good advice. Follow it, Bluestreak."
"I… don't know how," Bluestreak said.
"That's what friends are for," Optimus said kindly. "As long as you let them help you."
Bluestreak nodded once more. "I'll try."
"That's more than enough for me," Optimus replied, smiling underneath his battlemask. "Thank you, Bluestreak."
Bluestreak smiled a bit as well, but he didn't get the chance to say anything. At that moment, the familiar piercing sound of an incoming transmission cut through the brief silence.
"Jazz to Optimus Prime. Do you read?"
"Loud and clear. What is it, Jazz?"
"Skylynx has just picked up the distress signal again. You'd better come to the bridge."
Optimus and Bluestreak exchanged a glance, and then the Autobot leader talked to his transmitter again.
"Copy that. We're on our way."
Optimus and Bluestreak stepped inside the bridge, not in the least surprised to see that the rest of the crew was already there. Jazz was still sitting on the commander's seat, while the Twins were focused on the monitors. Blurr was pacing up and down in an agitated manner, and Wreck-Gar was standing by the entrance, keeping his arms crossed. When they saw the Autobot leader, however, everyone stood in attention and saluted.
Optimus waved his hand dismissively, since he never cared for such kind of displays. "Report."
"Allow me," Skylynx said, his dashboard flashing as he kept talking. "My superior sensors have picked up the transmission that brought us here in the first place. More than that, there's less disturbance, so we can listen to the message to its entirety."
"Did you record it?" Optimus asked.
"Of course, Prime," Skylynx said. "Jazz has taken up the task of unscrambling it."
"And I gotta tell you, things sound pretty bad," the saboteur said, pressing the button. Static filled the room for a few moments, but then all the Autobots heard the same distorted voice that they had listened to back on Cybertron.
"This is a code one message to any Autobot who's listening. Five creatures known as Quintessons are planning a covert attack on planet Cybertron with the intention of occupying it. Six Autobots have already been reprogrammed for that very purpose and will be used for the impending attack if assistance isn't acquired. The enemy base is-"
Suddenly, the message was cut off with a great exploding sound that made everyone in the room almost flinch, only for silence to prevail once more. All the Autobots exchanged glances in numbing confusion, far more shaken then they would ever want to admit.
Blurr was the first one to break the eerie quiet.
"Oh…. This isn't good. This isn't good at all! Just when we think that we've gotten rid of the Quintessons once and for all, they come back and try to enslave us all over again and this is getting really tiresome and-"
"We get it, Blurr!" Sunstreaker exclaimed exasperatedly.
"Sorry," Blurr said, stopping at once.
Optimus, however, didn't notice what was going on around him. He kept replaying the message on his mind, feeling that he was on the verge of discovering something important.
"A franc for your thoughts?" Wreck-Gar asked in a ridiculously falsetto voice, cutting into the leader's train of thought.
"This rescue mission has just got a lot more complicated," Optimus answered. "And now I realise that there are no such thing as coincidences."
"Prime?" Jazz asked, perplexed.
"The Quintessons had reprogrammed me to lead you to your destruction. Now they're attempting to do the same thing again, using more Autobots that they've managed to get a hold of."
"Those sick bastards," Sideswipe exclaimed, pounding the control board with his fist in his anger. "If I get my hands on them, I'm gonna make them meet their own maker."
"And we've gotta help those Autobots," Bluestreak said. "If there's a way."
"Indeed," Optimus said, nodding. "Skylynx, how long will it take you to reach Q-30 quadrant?"
"About a megacycle," Skylynx answered.
"Very well. Maintain your course but keep yourself out of any detectors. We don't need to let the Quintessons know we're coming."
"Of course, Optimus," Skylynx said. "Fear not, the Quintessons won't know what hit them."
"I'm counting on that," Optimus answered.
"Number One, engage," Wreck-Gar said full of authority, though it wasn't necessary. Skylynx set his thrusters on full throttle and headed towards the source of the distress signal. The other Autobots sat in the cockpit on edge, waiting to hear Skylynx's next status report. And finally, just over a megacycle later…
"Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We're fast approaching the first planet within the Q-30 quadrant, a lovely place filled with ash, lava and dust. Please remain seated as the planet's gravity will make this part of the trip rather bumpy."
"Do you see anything out of the ordinary on the surface, Skylynx?" Optimus said, leaning forward on his seat.
"Nothing as of yet, Optimus. The place looks as barren as the day it was created."
"Yeah, well, not quite," Sunstreaker said, optics locking on the monitor to his left. "I just saw something glinting."
"You sure about this, Sunstreaker?" Jazz asked, a frown clouding his visor.
"I'm never wrong," the yellow Lamborghini declared. "There's something down there."
"But what is that something?" Bluestreak asked.
"Could it be some kind of natural phenomenon? 'Cause it's happened before and there was no danger involved," Blurr provided.
"Sorry, old chap, but I fear that what Sunstreaker spotted is, indeed, an artificial structure."
"Then we've reached the Quintesson Base!" Sideswipe exclaimed. "We've found it!"
"Hold on, Sideswipe. We don't know anything yet for sure," Optimus reasoned.
"We are now! Incoming!" Sunstreaker cried.
Indeed, a barrage of missiles flew to their direction, ready to hit Skylynx.
Optimus tightened his jaw. This was going to be bad.
"Autobots, brace yourselves!" he cried.
"No, jump out! It's your only chance!" Skylynx cried, already opening one of the hatches.
"We're too high!" Bluestreak said.
"Never argue with the pilot, Bluestreak!" Jazz said, tackling the gunner so they would both jump out.
The Twins exchanged a glance, nodded and jumped out as well, soon to be followed by Blurr and Wreck-Gar. Even as the Junkion cried out, "Jeronimo!", Optimus cast one last glance at the base and then at the ground.
"Prime, please!" Skylynx cried. "I can't stay stable much longer!"
Optimus nodded, took a deep breath… and he jumped.
TBC...