Tranformers Prime: Miami
* = Translated from Russian
Chapter 8: Yuri (Part 1)
Baikinour Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan
January 15,1968
Yuri Gagarin always rose early for a space launch, He liked to feel the still of the dark night before the impending dawn. He did this for his first space launch in 1961, when he became the first man in space. It was a joyous day for all of Mother Russia. For they had draw the first blood in the space race against the Americans. Soon after the Soviet Union had the first woman in space and soon they would be the first to land on the moon and claim it for the motherland.
The victory was not without it's costs, many good men and women lost their lives in the service of their country to win the space race. The lucky one never made it off the launch pad. Some suffered horrendous accidents in space or were simply lost forever. Gagarin knew the risks involved, He knew the sacrifices that had to be made.
What he could not condone was the governments practice of erasing the cosmonauts existence from history. From removing documents to even doctoring photos removing them from the picture. The government did anything to admit fault in their space program. The Propaganda office, had built the Soviet Space program as an unstoppable juggernaut, Quick to point out the faults of the Americans and restoute to admit defeat.
Gagarin had not paid much to this practice until it affected his friend and fellow cosmonaut, Vladamir Komarov. Komarov was chosen to pilot the Soyuz-1 spacecraft, But he and Gagarin felt the craft was not ready and had serious faults in the mechanics and structure of it . The Soviet government still pressured to have the flight go as planned for the anniversary of the October revolution. Gagarin was Komarov's back up pilot, He knew that if he refused the mission, Gagarin would have to go up in his place.
The Soyuz was rushed, and a death trap. Komarov knew this and made the flight to spare his good friend. Almost immediately after launch the space craft displayed multiple failures,The antennas didn't work and the navigation computer failed. Gagarin was on the radio with Komarov as the craft plummeted back to earth. With his last dying words, Komarov cursed the people who put him in this flawed spacecraft. The capsules parachutes didn't deploy and it crashed into earth at full speed.
This on top of other incidents that were covered up made Gagarin, criticize the way the craft was made and the operating procedure of the Space Program. Due to him being a hero of the Soviet Union there was barley anything the government could to do oppose him.
Today however, Gagarin put aside his griefs and focused on his job. Making sure the pilot of the Soyuz-2 spacecraft was ready for his flight that was mere hours away. He made his way to the ready room of the Cosmodrome , there he found the pilot and his friend, Yuri Makarov.
\ Yuri Makarov was 27, Gagarin's age when he first went into space. When Makarov was 26 he made his first spaceflight, and now at the age of 27 he was prepping to possibly be on the Soviet team that would go to the moon. That's why he jumped at the chance to test the new experimental Soyuz-2 spacecraft.
Gagarin took Makarov under his wing, there were many things he liked about the kid. Aside from sharing the same first name, Markarov was fearless, He gleefully took on dangerous tasks without fear of his safety. He truly believed in the dominance of Soviet Space. He was also a shameless prankster. If we wasn't such a good pilot, he would have already been booted out of the Cosmonaut corps.
Makarov was already suited up and holding a cross while saying a silent prayer. When he noticed Gagarin enter the room he fuddled as he put it away.
"Relax Comrade, I don't care if you pray."Gagarin said with a grin."The propaganda office put that saying in ,not me. I think it would be crazy if you didn't have a little faith in something greater than you."
"I'm sorry Comrade Gagarin," Yuri apologized " I put up a brave front, but even I get a little nervous at this part of the mission!"
Gagarin checked his spacesuit to make sure all the locks and switches were in place."Your going to be fine my friend, Your one of the most gifted pilots ive seen."
In a pocket of his spacesuit Gagarin found a picture of a pretty young woman, She had dark black hair and wore the white dress of a Nurse." Girlfriend?" Gagarin asked.
"Fiance`" Makarov said " well if I ever get up the gumption to ask!"
" In cases like that ,I'll take a flight to space any day!" Gagarin joked.
The scientist re-entered the room and locked on his space helmet, It was time for launch. Gagrin took his place at mission control as Makrarov rode the elevator to the cockpit of the Soyuz rocket.
The rocket launched flawlessly, Yuri Makarov gritted his teeth as he felt the G-forces pull at him, Soon the pale blue skies of Russia became the cold darkness of Space.
"Makarov to Kozin! I have broken the gravitational field and am now ready for capsule deployment.!"Makarov said reading his instruments.
"Kozin to Makarov we have received you loud and clear and now deploying Soyuz capsule!" Gagarin said , as mission control ejected the Soyuz capsule from the rocket. The rocket fell back to earth glowing red from the heat of the atmosphere.
Makarov's mission was clear, test the new engine of the Soyuz space craft and orbit the moon, The engine itself was experimental, made with unknown elements that were said to be found under mysterious circumstances.
"Beginning deployment of the capsule's engines." Makarov called out as he flipped switches and hear the hum of the engines. With a violent jerk back the engines came to life. Markov began the difficult trek around the orbit of the moon. With whatever was in the engine was working like a charm, But deep in the Soyuz's body the engine started to leak it's special fuel called Energon.
At the 8 hour mark of the mission when when trouble started. Makarov was about o start his trajectory back toward the Earth When the systems internal alarms sounded. The engines exploded was the side of the spacecraft was blown out.
"Mayday! Mayday! I've just had an explosion of some sort!" Makarov said as he struggled to get the craft under control.
"Makarov, what is your position!" Gagarin called out but got no response.
Makarov was now in a race against time to stabilize the craft and guide it back on the trajectory course.
The Oxygen tanks then began to fail , as Makarov knew his time was running out fast. He tried one last desperate recourse and that was to fire off the emergency engines,
What happened next no,one, Not even Makarov could explain, As a bright light in space exploded and wrapped around the craft. Makarov shielded his eyes as cries of Gagarin slowly faded from his ears.
Present day
Shockwave was quick to deploy Astrotrain to retrieve the object from deep space. Astrotrain followed the point of origin of the portal , and quickly locked onto the craft.
"I have a visual" He said " It appears to be a derelict space craft from one of the human's attempt at spaceflight."
"I want that spacecraft Astrotrain, it has valuable dimensional data on it." Shockwave said
Back at the Autobot base, Perceptors alarms rang out, He quickly checked his instruments and found the visual he was looking for.
"Elita-One come quickly!" He said through the intercom, Elita came in followed by Mirage , Susntreaker, Green light and April.
'What do you have?" She asked looking at the screen.
"I set my instruments to notify me of any unusual dimensional activity and I'm getting reading from Earth's orbit!" Perceptor said sharpening the image on screen.
On the monitor it was shaky at first but Perceptor's telescope caught the image of a falling Spacecraft.
April squinted and took out her Ipad."Wait I've seen that before!" She brought up the wiki article of the Soyuz Space craft. " That ship belongs to the Russians!"
"And it's about to have a bad day..." Sunstreaker said as they saw Astrotrain in his shuttle form headed toward the falling object.
"Whatever the Con's want it for it can't be good." Elita said , Perceptor you'll need to lock onto Astrotrain and track his movement, we will need to make sure he doesn't reach his destination.
"Look something's happening..." Mirage said.
Astrotrain locked on to the craft and transformed as his hands were outstretched ready to grab it. Inside, Markov was disoriented, as his oxygen tanks were quickly running out.
"Kozin! Kozin come in, this is Makarov I had a slight engine failure but it appears I am ok! ,Over!" Nothing as radio static fell around his ears
Before he could call again the entire craft shook as it felt like he hit something. He had to unlatch himself from his seat to see out of this window, What he saw he knew he would never forget. His eyes had just locked on to the eyes of Astrotrain. Astrotrain grinned in amusement at the shocked look of the human, as Markov was befuddled by the fact he was staring into the face of a giant metal man."
"WHAT IN STALIN'S BEARD IS THAT!" He shouted
:There is a human alive and he is still inside..." Astrotrain reported as he began to pull the craft back into earth's orbit.
"Good, I will need him alive..." Shockwave said coldly.
Yuri could feel the craft slowly move away from it's intended course, He didn't know what the metal man wanted, but he knew it wasn't good and judging that the purple symbol he wore wasnt a yellow hammer and sickle, He didn't want to find out.
Yuri reached for the re-entry pods release instruments, "Das Vadonya Zhopa!" He yelled as he pulled the lever.
The crafts rockets fired off and the first part of the module hit Astrotrain with enough force to knock him out, he spun out of control as the release pod shot into the Earth's atmosphere.
That maneuver was impressive even to Team Elita, "It looks like we have a chance now to get the pod before the Decepticons do!, Perceptor can you calculate the trajectory?"
Peceptor checked his terminal " Provided it survives the crash, 250 miles east of Miami!"
The position marked on the computer had it deep in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, They would need to reach it by boat.
"We will need to take the frigate , " Elita said speaking of an old Navy ship that was outfitted to carry them should they ever need nautical transport,Green Light now will you have a chance to test the grappling claw Perceptor made for you!"
Green light smiled and nodded " I've always wanted to play those claw games..."
"Hey don't forget me!" April said grabbing her medical bag
"Hey it might be too dangerous, " Mirage said about his charge.
"If that's a spacecraft there is an astronaut in it, and he might need medical attention, crucial seconds if I have to wait for a ground bridge, Plus do I look like a 15 year old adrenaline junkie!"
"Ok you have a point,"Elita One said " Let's load up,"
They got one the loading elevator that lifted them up above base to the bases secret harbor dock, April saw for the first time where on Biscayne Bay they were, as they were facing the side of the island away from the main shoreline.
The Autobots loaded on to the navy frigate and set course for the point of impact.
Shockwave undeterred at Astrotrain's failure was still determined to get the falling craft."Blitzwing lead a detachment of Eradicons and bring back the capsule, Do not even consider failure!" He hissed.
Yuri's head swan as he finally stabilize the craft from spinning to a proper falling trajectory, he aimed the craft for the ocean in case his chute deployment failed, He would rather smash into the ocean that the bare earth. His oxygen tanks now read zero as he could feel himself fading from oxygen deprivation.
He finished his calculations and set the emergency controls to release the chute at 20,000 ft. Provided the on board computer still worked, He fell back in his chair as he blacked out, at least if it was his time he would be asleep and not know if he failed or not. He then fell into a dream and could only think of his love Kataya.
The craft tore through the atmosphere as the fires of re-entry died off and blue sky could be seen, At 20,000 feet, the chutes shot though the craft as the large orange and white chute opened up and slowed the Soyuz's descent.
"Elita , "Perceptor said " You should be in visual range of the craft now!" He stayed behind at base to monitor the crafts decent and relay information to Elita's team.
"Roger that Perceptor! "Elita-one's said as the craft rocked up and down the waves. She looked to see Sunstreaker having a grand time piloting the boat, as April struggled to get her sea legs. The shade of green April was turning was a color Elita one never saw on a human before.
Nearing the splash site was Bltizwing flanked by four Eradicon planes, "Shockwave! We seen the craft's splash site but the Autobots are closing in on it's position!" they banked and made a circle as the craft made its splashdown.
"Get the spacecraft! "I'll tend to the Autobots!" Shockwave said as he went to the controls of the Enslaver. "Bring the ship topside!"
The Enslaver rose to the tops and sat on the surface, there Shaockwave activated the six Dimensional spike control dishes, He sent out a pulse that activated the magnetic fields in the Bermuda Triangle. Clouds started to roll in as high winds picked up and a storm was summoned.
The Autobots ship rocked as high winds soon slammed wave after wave against it. The Autobots stayed outside while April retreated indoors.
"Maintain course! I see the pod!" Elita said as she saw the craft splash down just as the strong winds rolled in.
"Boss lady we got company!" Mirage said as he saw the five aircraft Decpticons arrive on scene and encircle the pod. "they are making a grab for the pod!"
"Full speed ahead! Mirage man the cannons with me! Green Light transform and get that pod, we'll cover you!" Elita commanded as Green Light transformed and zeroed in on the pod.
Sunstreaker steered the boat within firing range of the ships as Elita and mirage manned the laser cannons they installed on the frigate.
"Fire!" Elita yelled as they laid suppressive fire on the Decpticons, the five craft scattered as two were hit and crashed into the ocean. It was enough time for green Light to hover over the pod, Her gyros worked overtime to steady herself against the roaring winds.
"c'mon...c'mon!..." She grunted as she lowered the claw and picked up the pod, she tried to fly away but saw she was being dragged by the chute, She extended one of her guns on her wing and blasted the cords that held the chute, Now that she was free she headed back toward the frigate.
"The Autobots have the Pod! attack!'"Blitzwing ordered as the remaining three formed a V formation to attack.
Green light set the pod softly on the landing pad and transformed in to her robot mode as April joined her. April jumped on the pod and looked through the window, where she saw the Cosmonaut unresponsive.
"Green Light he's not moving! Open that hatch!"
Green Light busted open the window of the capsule and tore away the door, She reached in and carefully extracted the pilot. She set him down on the deck of the ship , While April dragged him inside the ship to tend to him.
The adrenaline that shot through April allowed her to drag him through the rocking ship indoors. Green light rejoined the fight as April removed the cosmonauts helmet. She could see his uniform and saw that he wasn't just a Russian Cosmonaut, he was a Soviet Cosmonaut.
She checked his pulse and saw that he had a weak pulse but wasn't breathing.
"Scrap!" She said as she opened his mouth and started giving him mouth to mouth resuscitation . 'breath dammit!"
Topside, Elita-one and the Autobots fired on the approaching airstrike, "Perceptor! Open a sea bridge! get us out of here!" Her radio fizzed out as she now saw they were on their own, The Decpeticons about to attack and now the sky was turning a weird orange color. Then in the skies above them they saw three huge round portals open up as they could see winds, rain and even strands of light being sucked in.
'Oh, that can't be good..."Elita-One said.
A/N : Thank you all for bearing with me through that history lesson! I hoped I rewarded you with a great action scene and a cliffhanger. Now how many of you all thought I was gonna use Yuri Gagarin as a recurring character? Gagarin died in a jet crash on March 7,1968 , but I wanted to establish the friendship with him and Yuri Makarov. This part was crucial to show the back story of Yuri Makarov . The story of Komarov is true, and is an fascinating read, I do recommend to look him up on Wikipedia. Ok let's read some comments!
MEELeeSmasher – Right now, the Dinobots don't really fit into the current arc, but don't despair! They may make an appearance just yet.
MerchantNavyCadet- Thank you good sir on the compass education, it will come in handy in the chapters to come, Now we may not meet the "King", we just might meet a "Queen"...Spoilers...
NEXT TIME – Part two of "Yuri" meets it's epic climax as April struggles to revive the fallen cosmonaut and Elita One and her Autobots are now at the full wrath of the dimensional and gravitational forces of the Bermuda Triangle. The Autobots come face to face with the Enslaver as Eltia one makes a disturbing connection.