The battle still raged on, even though both Autobot strike teams fought with everything they had. Prowl and Jazz were fighting from behind their cover, though the tactician had the additional task of keeping an open optic on the general situation. Ratchet worked on Bluestreak's leg, trusting Hound and Wheeljack to keep them safe from enemy fire. Ironhide had finally managed to deal with Ramjet and he was now helping Tracks with Thundercracker. Meanwhile, since there was no need to jam the signals anymore, Blaster had also joined the fight, heading straight at Soundwave to engage him in their usual sonic duel. Sunstreaker knew better than to stand in their way, so he joined his brother in fighting Thrust instead. As for Cliffjumper, he was able to get back at Rumble for their previous clash back in Santorini by throwing him a punch that knocked him out cold.
Even so, the Decepticons had no intention of giving up this time. Ravage and Frenzy had recovered, and they were more than eager to attack Gears and Smokescreen. Though Smokescreen used his smoke to confuse the two minicassettes, they were still in trouble, so Huffer had to run to their aid. Blitzwing was still locked in combat with Trailbreaker, forcing him to use his shields constantly, something that started to tire out the black mech. Thankfully, Brawn was close by, so the triple changer also had to deal with a minibot who was only too happy to exchange blows with him.
This battle was getting nowhere, just as Megatron had intended. And, as Optimus evaded another of the Decepticon leader's attacks, he realised that they were losing precious time, especially when Ratchet contacted him and reported over the secret frequency that Skyfire was down.
- How bad is it? – Optimus asked, while parrying another blow and punching Megatron on the chest.
- According to Bumblebee, Starscream hit Skyfire with his nullrays; Skyfire can't move, – Ratchet said.
- Not a problem. I can have him up and about in a jiffy, - Wheeljack declared, overhearing the conversation.
- Good, - Optimus said, taking his energy axe out of subspace. – Jazz, I want you to escort Wheeljack to the other plant a.s.a.p. Bumblebee needs that backup. –
- You got it, Prime, - Jazz replied, and he cast a brief glance in Prowl's direction. – Can you handle Dirge, man? –
Prowl nodded. – Mirage is on his way to the plant, too. You'll probably meet him there. –
- Gotcha, - Jazz answered, and he transformed to his car mode. – Alright, Wheeljack. Time to move out. -
- You don't have to tell me twice, - Wheeljack said, transforming as well.
Megatron, however, saw both Autobots drive off the battle, and he guessed what they were up to.
"Skywarp, stop those two from getting away!" he cried.
Complying in spite of his injuries, Skywarp materialised in front of Jazz and Wheeljack, ready to fire at them. At the next moment, however, a series of blasts hit Skywarp directly on his wings, forcing the Seeker to dematerialise again.
"No! This can't be!" Megatron exclaimed.
"Oh, yes it can, Megatron," Optimus said, the barrels of the laser turrets in his trailer still smoking. "Your game is up. It's time to fight in earnest now."
Megatron curled his upper lip in distaste. "As you wish then, Prime. Prepare for oblivion!"
And with that, Megatron charged at Optimus Prime once more, while Jazz and Wheeljack headed to the other plant at top speed. No other Decepticon tried to stop them again, so it didn't take them long to reach their destination. They transformed back to their robot modes as soon as they reached the first structures, their guns in hand and scanning for anything out of the ordinary.
"I pick up one Decepticon signal at 12 o'clock, but he's not moving," Wheeljack noted. "If what Bumblebee said is correct, it's probably Astrotrain, still unconscious."
Jazz pursed his lips momentarily. "Maybe. We'd better make sure though."
"I already have," another voice said out of thin air. "Astrotrain won't come online any time soon."
Jazz and Wheeljack looked to their right, just in time to see Mirage coming out of his invisibility cloak. Jazz smiled to see the spy and greeted him with a friendly nod.
"Been here long?" he asked, regarding Mirage curiously.
Mirage shook his head. "Not more than five Earth minutes. I checked the territory for any other unpleasant surprises, but it looks like the coast is clear."
"Then there's no point in wastin' time," Jazz said. "Bumblebee and Skyfire shouldn't be too far away."
"They're not. Come on," Wheeljack said at that moment, already heading to the direction from which the energy signal came. Sure enough, they soon found the minibot, still next to the Valkyrie, talking to him encouragingly.
"Hey, Bumblebee! The cavalry's here!" the engineer cried.
Bumblebee looked up, and he smiled in relief when he saw the newcomers. "Finally! For a moment there, I thought you guys wouldn't make it."
"Better late than never, buddy," Jazz said, smiling back at the minibot. "Where's Starscream?"
"He's gone towards the generator relays," Bumblebee said, stepping back to let Wheeljack work on Skyfire. "Faera went after him about a quarter of an hour ago, but she hasn't contacted me yet. I should have--"
It was then that a deafening roar cut through the air like a knife, making the Autobots freeze. They exchanged a glance as the same question crossed their minds, but Wheeljack shook his head at once.
"It's not her," he said. "If it was, the chip would have translated the roar."
"I think I can translate that roar as 'uh oh'," Jazz pointed out wryly.
At those words, Bumblebee dashed forward without thinking, running as fast as his legs could carry him.
"Bumblebee, wait!" Mirage cried, but it was too late; Bumblebee had already gone out of sight. "Stubborn minibot…" the spy muttered under his breath, and he ran off as well, activating his invisibility cloak.
"You'd better go too, before those two put a foot in it," Wheeljack said, turning his gaze to Jazz. "No worries, I've got everything under control here."
Jazz nodded his understanding, then hurried in the same direction Bumblebee and Mirage went, determined not to let Faera down. If she needed help, they would be there to offer it to her.
-----------------
Starscream held up a datapad and checked again the plans of the plant. Provided Soundwave's information was correct, then the control panels should be straight ahead.
Perfect. All he had to do now was fire at the generator relays, then contact Astrotrain so that they could start harvesting the energy for themselves. They already had enough cubes stored in subspace to make this a worthwhile raid.
When things seemed that easy, however, there was always a catch. Fortunately, Starscream already suspected what was the catch this time, and he was prepared for her. Though his sensors couldn't detect the female Sadjen, there was someone with him who could.
Sure enough, just as Starscream approached the control panels, Ebon stiffened and held his head high, his nostrils twitching. At the next moment, Ebon narrowed his eyes and let out an almost deafening roar, a sign that he had pick up his adversary's scent and he demanded of her to show herself.
As if she decided to meet his challenge head on, Faera stepped out of the shadows, her neck arched and her gaze locked on Ebon.
"Well, I'm out, Ebon. Just as you requested," a synthesized voice said, coming out of her.
Starscream raised an optic ridge. "How intriguing. The Autobots implanted a translator on you, didn't they?"
Ebon snarled in Starscream's direction quite indignantly, then got ready to lunge at Faera. But Starscream felt too close to victory to allow anyone to ruin things for him, so he opened a panel in his arm.
"You stay where you are, pet. I'm not done talking," he declared, and he pressed a button.
Just as Starscream had intended, the electrum spikes on the box lengthened and stretched, piercing the Sadjen's back further and approaching his core. Ebon let out a painful roar as his exoskeleton got torn asunder, and his legs practically buckled underneath him. Nevertheless, he stubbornly tried to take a few more steps in Faera's direction. That is, until another press of the button had him collapse, breathing heavily as he tried to ride out his pain.
Faera's eyes widened as she stared appalled at the scene, something that didn't escape Starscream's attention. Perhaps this was a good chance as any to verify some other matters.
"So… where's your miracle thingamajig, woman?" he asked, as if nothing had happened. "I don't see it on you."
"Unlike your side, the Autobots preferred to be discreet," Faera replied. She looked briefly at Ebon, her shock gone from her eyes, then back at Starscream. "I'm surprised you managed to latch that machine on Ebon's back. Besides our claws and teeth, there's just one other one thing that can actually penetrate our bodies."
"Yes, I know. That's why I decided to put that knowledge into good use," Starscream said, smirking. "Oh, I don't plan on killing him," he added, noticing Faera's stiffened posture. "I simply consider this a… training tool of sorts." In that moment, Ebon pushed himself back up with a low growl, and the air commander purposefully walked up to him to stroke the ebony head. "It would be a waste to lose such a fine slave… yet."
"Not if I can help it!" Faera cried, and she launched herself against the Seeker. Starscream acted quickly and took out his electrum blade to plunge it on the female Sadjen's chest, but Ebon growled and headbutted Starscream out of the way. Faera landed on the male Sadjen instead, tackling him forcefully on the floor and pinning him down on his side. Ebon kicked viciously and he attempted to get up again, but she'd have none of that.
"You brought this on yourself! Now hold still!" she snarled.
Starscream, however, had other ideas.
"You shall pay for this!" he shouted at Ebon, and he pressed the button on his arm again. Ebon roared again as the spikes tore his exoskeleton further, and spasms of agony washed through his body.
"STOP IT!" Faera bellowed, casting a death glare in Starscream's direction.
Starscream did, only because he had seen enough. After feeling his side for damages, he got back to his feet slowly, smiling triumphantly as he finally found out what he had wanted.
"Such care for someone who merely saved you because he wants to kill you himself?" he said, and he chuckled cruelly. "I thought that blabbering blue Datsun was exaggerating when he said that you don't hate Ebon, but now I see it only too clearly. You actually love him."
"That's my business!" Faera snapped. Opening her jaws wide, she sank her teeth on the device on Ebon's back in order to tear it off him.
Starscream shook his head in mock sympathy. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
She looked at him from the corner of her eye, a growl emanating from her throat even as she still kept the device between her teeth. "Do you actually think I'll listen to you?"
"Oh, fine, go ahead and bite it off him if you want," Starscream said, shrugging. "It's not like I care what happens to him."
She lifted her head. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Let's just say I took some extra precautions in case you, or anybody else, tried to remove his box," Starscream said. "The electrum spikes are actually hollow so they can accommodate quite the amount of nitroglycerine in them. Do you know what that is?"
"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me," Faeara said, still glaring at Starscream.
"Of course," Starscream said. "Nitroglycerine is a powerful explosive, ready to go off at the slightest disturbance unless it's frozen… like now. Try to force it out and the rapid thawing will cause a detonation that will blow up this facility and everything else in its vicinity sky high."
"You will be killed too," Faera pointed out.
"So will you. More importantly, so will innocent lives," Starscream retorted. "Is it really a chance you want to take?"
The female Sadjen said nothing, but Starscream could tell that she was torn. Her tail swayed vigorously, while her ears and nostrils twitched subtly as she contemplated matters carefully. In the end, however, she stepped back slowly, keeping her eyes both on Ebon and on Starscream.
"Just as I thought," Starscream said, and he spared a brief look on Ebon as the male Sadjen got back on his feet. "She's all yours."
Ebon bared his teeth, the prospect of the oncoming battle giving him new strength. But then, all of a sudden it seemed, he stopped in his tracks to smell something else in the air.
Faera didn't give him the chance to investigate matters further. She lunged at him, forcing him into combat.
"What?" Starscream exclaimed, his optics widening in surprise.
He got his answer when Bumblebee appeared, his gun already in his hand. Swearing under his breath, Starscream held up his null rays and got ready to fire at the annoying minibot. However, another voice behind him made him stop.
"Sorry, Starscream; you should have bragged less," Mirage said, coming out of his invisibility cloak and holding Starscream at gunpoint. "I'll take the null rays if you please."
"Just try and take them, Autobot," Starscream said, but a third blaster was aimed in his direction as a response.
"He said, 'please'. I won't be that nice," Jazz said, optics flashing dangerously underneath the visor.
This time, Starscream decided that it was for the best to comply. He grudgingly handed over his null rays to Mirage, who tossed them as far away as possible.
"Right," Bumblebee said, and he turned to Jazz. "Should I put the energon cuffs on him?"
"Be my guest, man," Jazz answered, still holding Starscream at gunpoint.
Yet Starscream smirked. After dealing with Megatron's constant death threats practically ever since he had joined the Decepticons, this was nothing but sparkling's play.
"Do that and Ebon will have no master to control him," he said. "You don't want him to roam unchecked, sinking his claws on anything that crosses his path, do you?"
"Nice try, Starscream," Mirage said. "Lying won't get you anywhere."
"If you don't believe me, go ahead and ask her," Starscream replied, and he activated the thrusters on his feet. Before any of the Autobots could react, Starscream had crashed the roof through which he flew away, and Jazz had to shout at everyone to take cover. Seeing his chance, Starscream quickly located Astrotrain, who was finally coming around, and gave his new order.
"Snap out of it and grab Ebon! We're done here!"
Bumblebee opened his optics cautiously, and he looked at his surroundings. Debris were scattered all about, and there was still a lot of dust in the air, almost blocking his air vents. Other than that, however, Bumblebee was unharmed.
"You guys okay?" he asked, turning to Mirage and Jazz.
"I think so," Mirage said, checking himself, "Just dents and scratches, as far as I can tell."
"Same here. Can't say the same about the roof though," Jazz said. "Grapple and Hoist will have their hands full for a week."
"Yeah. At least the Decepticons didn't get to steal any energy," Bumblebee pointed out. Indeed the place was quiet now, and he couldn't detect any enemy energy signals.
It was over.
Wait a minute…
The place was too quiet.
"Where's Faera?" he asked, when he realised that he didn't hear her roars.
"She was fighting with Ebon just minutes ago," Mirage said, looking around.
Bumblebee now knew that this wasn't good, and he berated himself for not noticing her absence sooner. "Faera!" he cried.
"Hold on, I'll try to contact her," Jazz said, opening his communication frequencies. "Hey, Faera, this is Jazz. Do you copy?"
"I'm right here, Jazz."
All three Autobots turned around in surprise, and saw Faera walking up to them. Her step was slow, almost tired; but Bumblebee saw how drained she really was when she changed back to her humanoid form. The look in her eyes screamed weary.
"Are you okay?" he asked before he could help it.
"Yes, don't worry," she replied in a reassuring, albeit soft tone.
"What about Ebon?" Mirage asked, his optics reflecting his frowning expression.
Faera's hands clenched into fists, and Bumblebee was sure that she was barely controlling herself not to punch the wall nearby in frustration.
"He ran away," she replied, grounding out the words as though they sickened her. "As if becoming a slave wasn't bad enough."
A terrible suspicion formed in the back of Bumblebee's mind. "Then… Starscream was telling the truth? He actually controls him?"
Faera heaved a sigh and she averted her eyes. That was enough as an answer.
"Primus, girl…" Jazz murmured, clearly shocked. "It could have been you."
Bumblebee shuddered at that thought, for he knew that Jazz was right. If the Autobots hadn't found her when they did…
"I would die first," Faera declared vehemently, only for her expression to change to one of utter disappointment. "Ebon stripped himself even of thatdignity."
Jazz opened his mouth to speak, but it was then that the characteristic sound of an incoming transmission cut him off.
"Wheeljack to Jazz. I just saw Starscream and Astrotrain fly away with Ebon. You must have really got them on the run!"
Bumblebee watched Jazz clench his jaw momentarily, while Mirage shifted on his legs in evident discomfort. They clearly felt as uneasy as the minibot himself did. Faera, on the other hand, simply drew her shoulders back, composing herself once more.
"I guess we did," Jazz finally answered, his tone not as cheerful as he would have probably liked. "How's Skyfire?"
"He's good to go," Wheeljack answered. "I even patched up his arm temporarily, so he can fly us out of here."
"Roger that, Wheeljack. See you in a minute." With that, Jazz ended the transmission. "You heard him, folks. Let's go."
Everyone nodded and complied, yet their spirits were heavy. They were all aware that that battle had hardly been a victory.
TBC...