Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot.
HUNTERS MOON
Chapter 7: Captured
Somewhere deep in the southern Sierra Mountain range:
"Wh-what're we gonna do?!" Mudflap panicked: "We're gonna go after her dumb-ass!, that's what we'll do!" Skids frowned as he smacked his brother upside the head.
"I'll go..." Prime stated firmly: "It's only me he wants"
"You do realize this is a trap?" Ironhide pressed him
"I am aware of that possibility: but if it means Morri is spared, then so be it" Prime replied
"Fool. Forget the human, she's deadweight anyway" Grimlock frowned disapprovingly
"Don't you dare!-" Jetfire angrily paced over to the Tyrannosaurus, but Prime blocked his way, turning his attention back to the Dinobot; "We are not leaving anyone behind Grimlock. Especially one of our friends"
"Friends? It's a piece of meat: what's so special about one insignificant organic?" the Tyrannosaurus scoffed incredulously.
"That, 'piece of meat' laid down her life for us on more than one occasion. She's one of us, regardless of her species!" Hot Rod scowled up at the Dinobot; many of the other bots loudly concurred.
"Look, one of us or not: what guarantee is there that this human hasn't already killed her?" Tracks interjected
"What?! That's insane!" Bluestreak objected: as did most of the other bots.
"Yeah, come on man, where's the sense in that strategy?" Jazz concurred: "If he's using her as bait, it makes sense to keep her alive"
"Which is why I will not squander this opportunity" Optimus stated, "If there is even a remote chance Morri is still alive: I have to be sure"
"I do not doubt you're concern, brother" Majestrix interjected, "But going to surrender yourself is folly! If he's one of the same team that took Morri in the first place, and they possess a technology that conceals themselves from our scanners: there's no telling what else they might be capable of"
"I do not doubt that is highly probable: and if that is the case, how else are we to determine the best course of action to procure Morri? I have less than an hour to respond: and if this human is able to control the Insecticons, there is no telling what further troubles we might incur by disobeying his demands" Prime stated firmly.
"I understand that: but since when do we heed the demands of anyone (other than the Decepticons), who has the gall to take us on?" Majestrix argued back
"And since when have we ever been at the mercy of a human? ..." Prime stated angrily
The whole cave fell silent
"...We do not know what this human is capable of. I will not risk Morri's life, by going on assumptions and speculations as to what he may or may not do. The truth is I don't know: none of us do...I'm going to meet this human, and whatever cadre is following his lead" Optimus stated firmly. Glancing at one another, the bots all knew it would be pointless to debate this problem any further: when Optimus made his mind up about something, he very rarely (if ever), went back on his choices; and with a disappointed huff, Majestrix and the other officers all admitted defeat on the matter. "...Fine. But while you're gone, what are your orders?" Majestrix frowned as she folded her arms.
"Hold back, and do not follow me under any circumstances: but remain in comm frequency range (just in case). If anything happens and the Insecticons return, hold your position as best you can, and call Lennox for air support. If the battle does not run in our favor, pull back and retreat" Prime stated as he turned to leave the cave.
"And, what about you?" Grimlock scoffed
"... I will find Morri, free her, and get her to safety: but if something happens and it spells trouble for the rest of you, get out and leave me, no matter what. Understand?"
"...Yes sir..." the other bots all reluctantly replied: they knew whenever Prime gave an order like that, the chances that he'd come out of this unscathed were dismally low. Being a Prime, he was a real tough cookie to kill, and one couldn't say he hadn't endured much worse; but never the less, that didn't mean he couldn't get the stuffing beaten out of him. Majestrix paced after him, and as she laid a hand on the back of his shoulder, she leaned forward and quietly spoke into his audio: "Seriously: orders or not, if you get into trouble I'm coming for you, and whoever would see fit to harm you"
"No Majestrix" he turned to face her with a disapproving frown, "Do not put my life before Morri's: she is the one in danger here. Whoever these humans are, I will deal with them. Your duty is to the rest of the Autobots, lead them in my stead, and make sure they survive..."
Majestrix dropped her gaze in stubborn reluctance.
"Please? For me" Prime added in a softer tone
Majestrix eyed him with a mother hen look, before adding: "...You'd better come back alive"
Prime smirked as he turned and left: transforming, he took off into the forest, following the coordinates back to the other mountain.
As the bots all watched him leave, Majestrix couldn't help but wonder if this had been one of his smarter of ideas; in all likelihood, probably not: but then, that's the kind of mech he was, always thinking of others before himself, and never once seeing further than beyond the unpredictable nature of the immediate future. Sure he got into many scraps because of it, but no one could say he ever went into danger with any level of recklessness or ignorance. She knew he'd be able to handle himself, regardless of whatever he'd have to face...
But the only difference here was, these were not Decepticons he was going to face; and for the first time in many centuries, she couldn't help but feel helpless: in knowing that this was a whole different scenario, and with it, a whole new set of rules.
Meanwhile, elsewhere:
"So, Prime's not going in with any back-up, at all?!" Ashley panicked, "What about Morri?!"
"I agree, this doesn't feel right" John frowned in anxious worry,
: Prime! How can you just-
: -The subject is not up for debate Deathshot! : Optimus replied firmly : I will retrieve Morri, I promise: but I don't want to provoke this human into doing something that will put her in harm's way. I will go to him and negotiate her release; thereafter, I will summon you for an emergency evac:
: But this is a trap! Whatever he has in store, it can't be good! : The sniper argued back, his engines whirring louder with agitation.
: Undoubtedly, but like I said before, I will handle him. And one other thing: being riled like this does not give you carte blanche to back-hack my comm frequency, and eves-drop in on my conversations in real-time; understood? :
: ...Yes sir: Deathshot reluctantly growled through his clenched dental plates.
: Alright: hold back and await further orders: Prime out:
"So that's it?! He's just gonna go there alone?!" Ashley exclaimed in incredulous disbelief as he paced around on all fours: "What if something happens! What if something already happened?! And we're just standing here, doing-
-Alright Ashley, calm down!" John interrupted, laying a hand on his armored shoulder and stopping him in his tracks: "We don't know anything yet: and we can't go losing our heads over assumptions and speculations!"
"You know? If that human said he's got an hour to surrender, then it makes sense he must be somewhere in this vicinity for Prime to reach him within that time-frame" Thundercracker speculated aloud, "If we fly up and circle the mountain: there's a good chance he could be hiding somewhere on the other side?"
"But if that's true, what happens if he spots us?" Deathshot frowned
"He'll spot me, but he won't spot you" the seeker corrected, "You could sneak right up on that human, and he'd be none the wiser"
"And would we be any wiser, for assuming this human might not have already thought of a contingency plan, for if just such a strategy were to be deployed?" Ravage growled.
The others all looked at one another in concern.
"...That human may be out of my telepathic range, but Prime's mind is not: and through him I sensed the surface of this human's consciousness when he infiltrated the open comm frequency...I don't know who he is or where he came from, but I could sense he has a singular focus and sense of will: ergo, he's anything but naive. He knows what he's going up against; and I think he already has something in mind for when Optimus confronts him"
"That can't be good" Thundercracker frowned
"No..." Ravage gazed up at him with uncertainty in his one optic, "...I have a bad feeling Prime is going to be in over his head with this one"
At the same time, elsewhere:
"No way," Max gasped as Portia placed her and Roxy into Skywarp's cockpit, "He has to get her back!"
"He will: if Optimus is as stubborn as his big sister, he's already half-way there" Portia assured her, "You two on the other hand, are going back to NEST...I'll see you when this is over" she added, before closing the cockpit and motioning to Skywarp: giving him the go-ahead to teleport. And in one blinding flash and a crack of thunder, he was gone.
"You'll be next," Portia turned her attention to Firefly, "As soon as he gets back"
"Are you sure it's safe? Those bugs are still flying around up there you know?" Firefly pointed to the sky.
"Actually, I haven't heard them since that human infiltrated the comms," the spider femme replied with a suspicious frown, "If he really is able to control them, then how the slag did he accomplish it? The bugs have barely been on the planet twenty four hours, and suddenly this human show's up proclaiming to be in charge of them? Something doesn't feel right"
"Ditto," Trailbreaker frowned, "And I don't know about you, but I want to know exactly who Prime's going to meet..." the black mech added as he activated his encrypted comm frequency, and dialed up Darren on his private cell phone,: Trailbreaker?! What the hell man?!Who the hell was that on the comms just now?! Red Alert's throwing a glitch-fit and Prowl's one inch away from sending Lennox and his crew out there with the B2's for air support; what's going on up there?! : Darren picked up the cell in a frantic voice: in the background his guardian could hear his cousins freaking out over Morri, and what sounded like Red Alert spouting every cybertronian curse imaginable, with Moonshine and Novastar trying (and failing) to calm him down.
: That's what I'm calling you for: Trailbreaker replied, keeping his voice calm and clear : I need you to access Teletran's comm log, and pull up an image of that human male; run his face through the facial-recognition software, and see what you can find on him. If he's a known human criminal it might give us something to work with, if in the event we have to go pull Prime's aft out of trouble:
: Copy that, I'll get right on it: Darren replied hastily as he hung up.
"Do you think he'll get her outta there alright?" Tangostar pondered aloud
"I hope so..." Trailbreaker sighed, hoping and praying that his charge will come up with something; anything...
A little while later, elsewhere:
The mountain winds whipped high up over the valley walls, carrying the sound of a transformation sequence, followed by the unmistakable sound of Optimus's heavy footsteps.
As Morri watched and waited in anxious worry, she hoped and prayed that those shrewd battle-hardened instincts of his would warn him to stay sharp.
As Prime approached the mouth of the river, where the mountains sloped down into a wide steep-sided U-shaped valley, his long-range optical scanner's instantly spotted Morri tied to a boulder in the middle of the river: bound in rope and gagged with a cloth, she had no visible injuries; but the look in her eyes told him more. Holding his gaze with her's, she nodded in the direction of the valley walls: pointing to something. Scanning the thick forest and several steep ridge-lines that ascended upwards of well over eighty feet, he couldn't detect anything; and yet, there were shadowed figures and forms hidden amid the trees and rocks. Well camouflaged to the naked eye, but the humanoid outlines created by the sun's light were unmistakable.
This made no sense at all: he could see them, but his scanners could not. What kind of technology was capable of eluding cybertronian scanners like this? It was a question he made a mental note to look into when this was over; but for now, Morri was the priority here...
As he carefully scanned around the valley, it became clear to Optimus that whoever these humans were, they were well-placed for a pincer maneuver; they had the advantage of the high ground, and their smaller size would allow them to take cover back and away from the ridge-lines if he fired at them. And at the points where the ridge-lines created a narrow 'corridor' with the river running through: they could easily attack from above, thereby his size and strength would do little to keep the fight in his favor.
Whoever this human was, he was a good tactician.
Looking further up at the valley walls, Prime could see way above the tree-line, where the forest gave way to the mountain, that the slopes were covered in loose rock and scattered scree; quite unstable ground for any living thing to traverse. A couple of well aimed shots at the base and middle of the slopes could easily start a landslide: one that could sweep down to the ridge-lines and knock the humans off their perches; failing that, he could just shoot the base of the ridge lines and collapse them completely. But the falling rocks could easily strike Morri and seriously injure her, or the resulting surge of water from the river could drown her.
Either way, the topography was not as favorable as he'd hoped for; and so, deciding to play this the old-fashioned way: Prime made his way into the valley, and decided to just go with whatever was going to come about.
"I AM HERE!" Optimus bellowed, his voice echoing back and forth between the mountains, "...NOW RELEASE THE GIRL!"
: I can see...: the human male's voice drifted over the comms once again, :And you didn't disappoint me; you're even more spectacular that I'd imagined:
Prime ignored the flattery, : We had a deal; I adhered to your demands, now let her go : he growled over the comm.
: Indeed, a deal's a deal...: the human replied; at the same time, a loud crack rang through the air, and the rope tying Morri to the rock suddenly seemed to explode in a fray of hemp fibers and fragmented granite. Prime blinked in surprise, it was a well-placed long range sniper's shot: striking the rock from the side, and loosening the rope instantly; Morri was able to struggle free and remove the gag from her mouth.
: ...Now, for your part old boy: the human smirked
Before he had a chance to react, the air was suddenly filled with raw static energy, as something painful hit Optimus in the base of his back-plates. Jerking and flaying around in agony, the Prime staggered forward several paces, before turning around, and seeing a whole army of humans melt out from the forest. Each of them armed, covered head to toe in black combat gear with full-face masks: and flanked by, what looked like a cross between a giant rail-gun and an ion-plasma discharger, lumbering along on giant caterpillar treads (ones that looked suspiciously similar to those on an Abrahams tank).
As one of the strange weapons began charging up to take another shot: Prime's battle-mode instantly kicked into gear as his wrist-guns activated; and fired, just as the weapon unleashed a giant pale blue 'fireball' of raw plasma energy. Prime's shot deflected it away from him, and struck part of the forest two hundred feet away, incinerating and carbonizing the trees instantly in a 'bubbly-fiery' blaze of blue energy.
Prime had barely a tenth of a second to glance at the weapon's handiwork in shock and alarm: in all his years he hadn't seen a weapon of such destructive capability since the darkest age of the war. When Megatron's scientific masterminds had no concept of restraint or mercy; and when anything that was anything of his creation, could decimate whole legions in the blink of an eye.
This was bad. This was very bad. And as three more the weapons took aim and began charging, he wasted no time bolting into the forest, up and over the side of the nearest ridge-line, and out of the weapons line of sight: just as another three shots missed his helm by mere inches. Looking down, he spotted Morri making a dash for the tree line: heading in the opposite direction away from the mouth of the river. But higher up the slope, Prime could see dozens of dark figures moving through the trees towards her at speed.
Changing direction and jumping off the ridge-line, Prime landed the river with one almighty CRASSSHHH! Looking behind her, Morri gasped as she saw the giant Autobot leader come at her in several effortless bounds; he was about to scoop her up when a shot of white energy struck him in the shoulder and knocked him off balance. At the last second before he fell, Prime forced his legs to lift him off the ground in one ginormous forward flip, narrowly avoiding the human as she simultaneously covered her head with her hands and dropped to the ground, before he crashed into the trees, and rolled down to the riverbank.
He quickly got back up, just in time to see an older human male, holding a large weapon of some sort: "Excellent reflexes old boy!" he called out. Prime instantly recognized his voice, "YOU!"
"Indeed, but I'm afraid that temper won't do you much good!" he called out as he took aim and fired at Optimus again: the shot struck him hard in the right knee, nearly throwing off balance again: but Optimus stood firm. More than the pain, he gasped in alarm as he suddenly remembered where he's felt this kind of energy before: 'Stasis energy! He's harnessed stasis energy, into a weapon?!' he thought in astonishment.
"Prime!" Morri cried out.
The valley was suddenly alive with the distant sound of thundering clunking machines and the footfalls of soldiers, much more than he had initially anticipated; he could hear them everywhere. And as he looked around to try and spot where they were coming from: Prime realized this was not a fight he could win.
"Well? Stand and fight? Or run? Either way, you don't have many options" the human shrugged.
'Okay...' Prime sighed mentally as he geared up for the next round: "Morri: run" he gazed down at her. "Where to?! There's only one way out of the valley!" she exclaimed, pointing in the direction of where he'd entered the valley; the way that was now barred by the giant mobile rail-guns.
Prime was about to take aim and fire, when suddenly, a commotion overhead got both his and the human's attention...
"IIINCOOOMIIING!" Chelsea yelled at the top of her lungs as Lazerbeak beat his wings hard and fast, trying desperately to stay ahead of the Insecticon that was gaining on him. As the giant beast flew overhead, Prime suddenly got an idea; aiming his wrist-guns, he fired his largest caliber at the bug, right in the abdomen. Taken by surprise, the beast circled around to see who'd shot him, and upon spotting Optimus, let out a shirking howl as it lined up to charge him.
"You might want to stand back," Prime gestured to Morri to take cover in the trees: the British brunette didn't argue, and dashed for the tree-line as the bug came down at high speed. And in one almighty back-flip, Prime kicked the bug up and away: the force of the kick disorientated the beast to such a degree, that it's wavered around violently before plummeting into a downward spiral; right into the line of mobile rail-guns.
The resulting explosion sent a giant blue fireball up eight hundred feet into the sky, and shook the valley with a deafening thunderous roar, knocking the humans off their feet. Wasting no time in taking advantage of the explosion; Optimus quickly scooped up Morri, and keeping her safely tucked up in one hand, made a dash for the opposite end of the valley.
It wasn't long before the humans were back on their feet, but by the time the troops were converging together for a frontal assault, Prime was well out of firing range. Overhead, Lazerbeak and Chelsea both breathed a sigh of relief: but no sooner had they thought they were out of danger; the sound of helicopter rotors fast approaching from somewhere in the neighboring valley, signaled the advance of a full-on airborne assault from a formation of ten black Apache attack choppers.
"SHIT!-" Chelsea yelped as the eagle-drone narrowly missed one of the choppers. "It's Prime their after!" Lazerbeak squawked as he circled around, and tried to draw the pilot's attention.
But none of the choppers paid any attention as they made a bee-line for Prime. Realizing this was about to get way more dangerous, Optimus knew he had to get Morri out of here. He opened his comm, but as he tried to reach Deathshot, a sharp painful burst of static screeched through his processor like fingernails on a blackboard: 'A jamming pulse: why am I not surprised?' he mentally huffed in frustration. Deciding to improvise: Optimus turned sharply and headed up the steep slope towards a particularly large ridge-line: one that was peppered with large craggy boulders. If he could get her in among those rocks, he could then lead the choppers away while she used the forest to hide, or to run; even though it was a risky gamble, he didn't have many other choices.
"Lazerbeak!-" Prime caught the drone's attention, "Go find Majestrix, and tell her to pull the Autobots out!"
"Copy that!" the eagle cawed as he soared up high, and flew back in the direction of where the initial battle with the bugs had taken place.
Several of the choppers fired at Prime, but he was running so fast and staggering his moves to such a degree that none of them could get a clean shot: when he reached the ridge-line, he purposely tripped up and landed on his front, with one hand stopping him from face-planting on the ground. He then discreetly used the other hand to place Morri down between two large crooked boulders: "Stay down, and when they are far enough away, run!" he ordered in a hushed voice; Morri didn't have time to argue as he pushed her down, and used his other hand to bounce back up onto his feet.
The roar of the choppers coming overhead, and the sound of their gatling guns firing drowned out the sound of Prime's footsteps as he ran away; now nearing the threshold of her worry, Morri crouched down and listened nervously as the commotion quickly began to sound more distant, the further away Prime ran. Not knowing if he would be okay, versus trying to figure out how she'd get out alive was now near-overwhelming; and with her CTG's emergency signal still jammed, she couldn't think what any other options there could be possibly be.
After a few tense minutes of listening and waiting, the sounds of gunfire and cannon-fire could be heard echoing from the opposite end of the valley: well over a couple of kilometers away. Deciding to chance a cautionary look, Morri carefully climbed up the jagged rocks, and with her head pressed against the side of the bolder, carefully peered down towards the valley floor. There were men and vehicles moving along the river, but there was no one else around in the forest between the river and her; looking around, she saw the boulder field extended way up into the forest: and looked tall enough to provide enough cover to stay hidden.
Creeping in between the rocks, hunched down as low as she could go, Morri traversed the boulder field like a chimp on all fours: cautiously glancing up every few meters to check none of the troops were still in the woods. And when she finally reached the densest part of the undergrowth, she ran as fast as she could deep into the forest, until the river was no longer visible, and the sounds of the chase could be barely heard over the trees. Stopping to catch her breath, the fear and anxiety came back as she dreaded what was happening to Prime. Honoring Chumley's demands or not, he needed help; he needed his Autobots if he was to stand any chance of surviving this.
Morri was about to check her CTG again: when suddenly, something hard knocked her over, grabbed her by the scruff of her uniform's collar in its jaws, and dragged her at high speed through the trees. Between trying to struggle free and trying to figure out what the hell was happening now: she saw flashes of white and purple, and a characteristic feline profile with a human-like face. "Shadowstar?!" Morri exclaimed in alarm, "What the hell are you doing?!"
The sphinx-drone didn't reply as she dragged Morri for quite a distance: far up the slope, and into a tall vertical gorge flanked by thick trees overhead; where finally she slowed down and let the human go. Scrambling back up onto her feet, Morri quickly dusted off the leaf litter as the sphinx circled around behind her.
"What the hell was tha-ARGH!" Morri yelled in pain as Shadowstar struck her across the back of her neck and shoulders with her claws; "WHAT THE FU- but she didn't have time to realize what was going on, let alone retaliate as Shadowstar struck her again: this time across the side of the head, knocking her to the ground, where her head struck a rock. Coming up alongside her, Shadowstar stared down at the semi-unconscious human nonchalantly: no expression or emotion, just a blank stare as she watched Morri's eyes drowsily open and close, as she drifted back and forth between consciousness.
"What was that for? ..." Eclipse frowned as she disengaged her stealth-mode, and appeared in the middle of the gorge. Followed by Longrange, Coldbore, Velocity, and Blackshot: "Seriously? Was that really called for?" the purple femme pressed her.
"I wanted to see what would happen" Shadowstar replied, in an annoyed yet passive manner.
"It bleeds: what did you expect would happen?" Longrange drolled as he folded his arms.
"Frankly, I think that was somewhat disappointing" Velocity said offhand in a sweet yet spiteful tone.
"You said you wanted her unconscious, she's unconscious: problem solved" the sphinx replied curtly.
"No, she's expiring. Look" Blackshot scowled as she pointed to Morri; looking down at the rock she hit her head on, the bots all saw a slow steady trickle of dark blood oozing from the wound on her head. Gasping in alarm, Eclipse kneeled down beside her, and after gently maneuvering her into her hands, scanned the injury carefully. "There's a subdural hematoma forming in her frontal cranium: she only has minutes before it becomes fatal" Eclipse stated in a dire tone.
"Then get her back to the base: I'll sort out your cover-story later" Blackshot ordered: Eclipse was about to transform when the black femme stopped her: "Not you, we still need you here. Velocity will take her; once Deathshot learns of what has happened he'll be the first to return to the base, with him gone we can proceed with the rest of the plan" she stated.
Eclipse reluctantly handed Morri over to Velocity, and she accepted the human with a small sly smirk on her lips: "Don't worry, I'll tell them she put up as a good fight" she purred. Blackshot then took out a small silver canister from her sub-space, and sprayed a fine pale yellow mist all over Morri, before placing her in Velocity's cockpit. The blue femme then transformed into her jet form, engaged her stealth-mode, and disappeared from sight. The sound of the trees rustling overhead was the only give-away of her presence as she ascended up into the sky, and shot southwards with a small sonic boom in her wake.
Turning her attention back to Shadowstar: Blackshot grabbed the sphinx-drone in one lightning-fast move, holding her by the scruff of her neck plates before throwing her against the wall of the gorge with such force that she shattered the rock on impact: "The plan is vulnerable enough without you endangering it!" she snapped viciously, "If that human dies, everyone's going to want an explanation as to what happened!"
"Like it matters?" Shadowstar snapped as she got back on her feet, though she remained hunched down in a defensive posture, "Those humans are an energon cube a piece: Prime can always find another one to replace her"
"Not her..." Blackshot scowled, "That one is of particular sentimental value; not just to Prime and Deathshot. If she dies, it will create more problems than we will be able to work with, and the plan will be shelved for another hundred years. I've put far too much time and invested too much, to let one careless act of emotional gratification ruin it all now..." She grabbed the sphinx again; raising her up to her eye-level, "And I suggest, if you want what I promised you: you'll start towing the line, and stop this childish behavior right now. Understood?"
Shadowstar didn't reply as she glared up at the flyer with bitter disdain, and as she dropped her gaze in submission, Blackshot threw her against the rocky wall a second time. "...And you're mother thinks you're a disgrace? You disappoint me" she added in a dark tone.
"Okay, now that we got that little detail outta the way: what's next?" Longrange asked nonchalantly.
"Cut the jamming pulse and let the bugs loose: we're going to need a cover-story for why we were out this far away from the action: the more those beasts keep the other Autobots occupied, the more time we can by" Blackshot replied
"What about Optimus?" Eclipse asked with concern
"Regardless of whatever the humans do to him, he'll survive. He always survives"
"Okay, but what about the others? If this gets too hot Majestrix will call a retreat" Longrange pointed out
"No she won't" Eclipse stated
"But-, how can you be sure?"
"I know my mother, she won't abandon her little brother for anything" the purple femme sighed,
"Fine. That takes care of how we're going to sneak back; and with the humans occupied they won't be an issue either" Blackshot stated as she sprayed her pale yellow spray over the other four bots and herself, "Now get going, it won't take long for the Insecticons to pick up the Dinobots scent..."
Coldbore and Longrange transformed, took off, and disappeared from sight; Eclipse glanced over at Blackshot, as if she wanted to say something: this didn't escape the femme's notice as she stored her canister away back into her sub-space: "...You have something you wish to add?" she asked curtly, as if to state the question wouldn't be welcome. Eclipse let her gaze drop in passive submission, as a look of awkward disappointment seem to flicker in her blue and purple optics for a split second: "...No" she quietly replied.
"Then get going" Blackshot ordered again, the tone of her voice making it clear the conversation was over. Eclipse transformed, opened her cockpit for Shadowstar to climb into, and then took off; tracing the flight path of the others. As her internal cockpit sensors picked up Shadowstar's vitals, she could practically feel her anger and anxiety radiating off her in thick tense waves, her twitching tail further indicating her eagerness to want to expend her pent-up frustration.
Internally, Eclipse pressed her hand to her forehead, and sighed in dismay. But she was careful not to let her counter-telepathy slip, and quietly flew the rest of the journey in silence.
At the same moment, elsewhere:
"Hm, that sounds close" Thundercracker thought aloud as the sound of distant gunfire echoed over the mountains; Deathshot was about to say something when Velocity's panicked voice came in over his loud-speaker, : Deathshot! Deathshot come in! This is Velocity! Over:
: Velocity? What-
: It's Morri, I have her! :
: You what?! :
: I have Morri and am currently inbound back to the base! :
: The base? Why?! :
: Prime managed to get her but they roughed her up pretty bad, she's hanging on but I don't know if she'll make it! :
: Stay on course! I'll be back to NEST in record time! : He replied, closing his comm; he then looked over at the seeker: "You going to be okay here?"
"I got things covered, you get going" Thundercracker nodded as he fired up his engines, and blasted off in the direction of the distant firefight.
Deathshot didn't waste a second in transforming, and opening his cockpit for John, Ravage and Ashley. The Briggs elder and the panther-drone climbed in, but just as Ashley was about to jump up and take his seat, he suddenly pitched over and grasped his abdomen as waves of sharp pain rippled throughout his body. Fear and panic began to fill his mind, as all at once his sight went blurry, and his strength left him as he collapsed to the ground. His father's frantic voice faded away as he lost all consciousness, with Ravage's shadow being the last thing he saw.
"YOUNGLING!, YOUNGLING!" Ravage roared in his ear while trying to butt him with his muzzle: at the same time he expanded his telepathy out to his mind, in an effort to try and stir him awake. But it was no use; he was completely dead to the world.
"What the hell just happened?!" John nearly panicked as he leapt out of the cockpit and held his son in his arms.
"I don't know!"! Deathshot exclaimed worryingly, "Get him in my cockpit and buckle in, I'm going for double-quick time!" the sniper stated. Between them, Ravage and John managed to maneuver the twelve foot high human/cybertronian hybrid into the front seat of the snipers cockpit, and strapped themselves in too. All the while Deathshot had already taken off, and was five hundred feet off the ground when he sealed his cockpit shut, and pushed his afterburners to full capacity.
The resulting sonic boom rang out far over the mountains as the sniper took off in the blink of an eye, heading south for the desert.
At the same time, elsewhere:
"What the hell was that?!" Chelsea glanced over her shoulder as the sonic boom rumbled across the sky.
"Deathshot: there's no seeker alive who can best him in a high-speed aerial pursuit" the eagle replied as he swooped down for a better look at what was going on below.
"Uh? Didn't Optimus say we should be heading back the other way?" Chelsea thumbed over her shoulder.
"To slag with his orders, those humans took him completely by surprise: the bots will come for him soon enough; and it will be my spark if I don't provide air-support" Lazerbeak frowned as he kept one optic on Optimus, and the other on the humans as they chased him through the valley.
Suddenly, the eagle cocked his head to one side, as if something caught his attention: "What's wrong?" Chelsea asked anxiously
"It's Ravage, there's been a development"
At the same time, elsewhere:
: Majestrix? Do you read me? :
: Lazerbeak: what's the situation? : The Prima answered anxiously
: Not good; Prime succeeded in retrieving Morri but he got ambushed: the eagle-drone replied
: Why, am I not surprised? : Majestrix sighed in exasperation as she pinched the bridge of her nose-plates.
: It gets worse; these humans, whoever they are, they've got cybertronian weapons at their disposal. Ion plasma cannons and what looks like some kind of gun that shoots stasis energy. Plus there's a whole hoard of solders dressed up in some kind of armour my scanners can't penetrate: I can only keep tabs on them visually:
: Where is he now? : She frowned
: Running and/or driving ten miles south west of your position, and trying to head further south; he's managed to put some distance between himself and them, but I don't know how long he can keep it up for?:
: Stay on him and report any developments: I'll be there soon: Majestrix replied before turning her attention to the other Autobots: "Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Ironhide, Jazz, Arcee, you're with me; the rest of you stay here and keep an optic out for the bugs" she ordered as she turned to leave the cave.
"Finally! I was wondering when that aft-head would need help" Ironhide sighed in relief as he charged up his cannons.
"Help won't be all he needs" Majestrix frowned: "Elita: you're in charge until I get back" she stated, to which Elita nodded.
"I'm in charge" Grimlock shoved his way to the front of the crowd; "You're staying here"
Scowling in utter annoyance, Majestrix glared daggers up at the Tyrannosaurus as she got right up in his face yet again: "If you think I'm just going to abandon my brother-
"-He made his choice. And now he must face his end. You're staying here!" the Dinobot leader stared her down,
"I don't have time for this" Majestrix huffed as she pushed his huge head out of the way and carried on walking. She gasped in surprise as she suddenly felt teeth dig into her shoulder, and was lifted off the ground and slammed into the cave wall.
"Neither do I: now stand down and yield!" The Tyrannosaurus growled impatiently
The other bots all voiced their objections fervently: "Come on Grimlock! This isn't the time or place!" Bumblebee stated firmly
"I agree" Majestrix scowled as she shot back up, grabbed the Tyrannosaurus by his muzzle, and threw him out of the cave, "The rest of you Dinobots can stay out there with him, unless any of you want your teeth knocked out" she added venomously as she cracked her knuckles loudly. Sawtooth stomped towards her, ready to throw her down: as did Skyblade, Hammerjaw and Scytheslash; but to their dismay (and the other Autobot's surprise) Leviathan, Swoop and Carnage stepped in front and stopped them.
"What the frag?" Sawtooth growled in annoyance
"This is neither prudent nor logical: yield brothers, and let Majestrix go to Prime's aid. Least his spark be snuffed out prematurely" Leviathan stated firmly
"You're sticking up for her?!" Hammerjaw exclaimed incredulously: "Yeah! What gives?!" Scytheslash concurred in equal disbelief.
"'What gives' is that this won't do anyone any good! Prime's in trouble and we ain't even gonna help him?!" Swoop argued back.
"Of course we're not going to help him!" Grimlock stated as he stomped back into the cave, "That sentimental soft-sparked fool always placed too much emphasis on the weak and undeserving: if I was Prime, this war would've been won eons ago! And we wouldn't be scavenging for scraps at the furthest fringes of the galaxy! Prime's getting what he deserves, and not before time"
"You, in charge of the Autobots?" Ultra Magnas frowned angrily, "I would rip out my own spark before I bow to you! All you've ever wanted is power for yourself: you couldn't care less about the rest of us, unless we're cannon-fodder!"
"Seriously dude, you've never had the spark or brains to lead anyone, let alone the rest of your own team" Jazz added, "What makes you think we'd follow you now, or ever?"
"Because I can crush you in my jaws on a whim, you little whelp!" Grimlock growled down at the silver Pontiac, "Show me disrespect and I'll rip you all in half!"
"You'll only do that, over my dead body!-" Majestrix scowled as she grabbed the Tyrannosaurus by his nostrils and jerked him downwards so he was optic-to-optic with her: "If you so much as lay one tooth on any of these bots, I will personally rip you're head off, and hang it among my trophies!"
Grimlock pulled his nose out of her grip, and turned to face her head-on: "You? Looking out for them?" he smirked, "That's rich, coming from the sister of our greatest enemy"
"Uhg! Not this again!" Sideswipe rolled his optics, as did most of the other Autobots.
"Look, we already know Megatron and Majestrix were twins. Big whoop! She ain't anything like the dude: she's legit!" Jazz spoke up
"You're willing to place your life in her hands?" Grimlock raised a skeptical optic ridge
"Better her's than yours" Ultra Magnas scoffed,
"Look, this isn't up for debate: and we don't have time to be going around in pointless circles; we're goings, and that's that!" Ironhide growled as he shoved one of his cannon's into the Tyrannosaurus's face. As the cannon's energy chargers hummed against his teeth: Grimlock reluctantly stepped aside with a disgruntled snort: "...Fine, but don't you dare expect us to come running to your aid if you need back-up" he seethed.
"That's what we're here for" Bumblebee stated
"Take care: because you might be a while" Majestrix sighed as she and her team left the cave.
"Huh? What'd you mean-, But Bumblebee's question was cut short as he suddenly spotted the Insecticons fast approaching their position; "...Aw frag..." he frowned.
"Never mind lil' buddy: just keep yer guns up and yer wit's sharp" Jazz patted him on the shoulder, before firing up his own weapons, and joining the other Autobots as they moved to set up a defense at the mouth of the cave.
Meanwhile, 10 miles south-west:
This was getting too drawn out.
As Prime kept up the pace, his mysterious pursuers were giving it their all in an effort to stay (barely) within firing range. The attack choppers were doing most of the chasing, while the armored land-vehicles brought up the rear. But for the most part it was a game of keep-up, with Prime leading the way. He was proving to be a most elusive quarry; clearly he wasn't unfamiliar to this kind of chase: as the choppers would get into position and fire, he'd either duck, weave or deflect the shots away with his wrist-blades. And every time one of the mobile rail-guns would take a shot, he'd barely dodge out of the path of the blue fireballs, as they whizzed past his head or shoulders, and incinerate part of the forest.
But Optimus knew he couldn't keep this up forever: he'd already figured out that they were chasing him in order to wear him out, and exhaust him to the point he'd be too worn down to fight back. If it weren't for the choppers confining him to the valley floor, climbing up the slopes to gain the advantage of the high-ground might be an option; but with the rail-guns blocking his rear: doubling back wasn't optional either.
Chumley watched the chase with fascination from the safety of his chopper, the one right at the rear of the formation: "He's not slowed down even once" he said offhand to his co-pilot: "At this point he's thinking he can try to wear us down, make us run low on fuel and have to call the chase off"
"Just like those wolves in Yellowstone, sir" the co-pilot replied
"Indeed, but at least-
Thunder ripped through the air, as a giant sonic boom threw the choppers formation into disarray; when they finally managed to regain control and level out: Chumley was less than please to see one of the aerial Autobots hovering above Prime, firing at the rail-guns and pushing them back the way they'd came.
"Interlopers?" Chumley frowned, "Now that will not do at all!"
Down on the ground, Prime was covering Thundercracker's tail-fins as he shot at the rail-guns: "I thought I told you all not to follow me?" he frowned disapprovingly.
"Yeah, well you're sister disagrees" Thundercracker replied, "I picked up her signal inbound for this location; looks like she'll be here any minute"
"No! You all have to pull back!" Prime ordered sternly
"Correction: we're getting you outta here. This fight ain't going anywhere, so save yourself the bullets and trouble and just pull out!" Thundercracker shot back
"I gave you a direct order!" Prime angrily stated
"I know!" the seeker shot back, "But try telling that to your sister!" he pointed to the Majestrix, as her jet-form thundered overhead, circled up and around before she transformed, and crashed into the line of rail-guns: tearing and slicing them apart with her wrist-swords, and quickly throwing the ground forces into disarray, while the choppers tried and failed to stop her.
"This isn't good sir" the co-pilot swallowed hard: "If she's here-
"-I'm well aware Jenkins..." Chumley huffed in disappointment. "Dammit! And I was hoping to make a good sport of this," he sighed as he reached for the digital communicator in his pocket, and clicked the button to talk to his men: "Alpha-Zulu one, this is Barkiss calling: send in the nets and fire-lines; and be sure to provide plenty of fire-cover"
As the three Autobots stood their ground: the choppers began backing away; as did the ground forces as they beat a hasty retreat back the way they came; "They're backing off?" Thundercracker raised an optical ridge: "What gives?"
"That..." Majestrix frowned as she pointed to a formation of four giant tiltrotor aircraft approaching their position: strung between the four aircraft, was a giant net made of cables and chains, with four stasis-field generators attached to each corner. Flanking their sides was another formation of fifteen attack-choppers; but these were not Apaches: scanning them, the bots could find no record of them in any known military aircraft data-base. But whatever they were, the missile launchers and huge twin-pair of gatling-cannons on their undersides told them they weren't lightweights.
"...Oh Primus" Thundercracker blinked in surprise
"I think it's fair to assume we all know where this is going" Majestrix frowned
"Just run, and get out of here" Optimus ordered again
"Like frag!-" Majestrix scowled as she powered up her engines and took off: she lined up a shot for the foremost tiltrotor when one of the choppers fired a pair of robust harpoon-like projectiles into her abdominal plates; blue sparks and lighting exploded from out of her wound as she pitched forward in agony. All power in her engines suddenly cut out and she fell back down to the earth, crashing into the forest and leveling the trees beneath her.
Thundercracker was quick to step in as he shot one of the choppers in the tail rotor, sending it into a dangerous spin and crashing into two of the others choppers. The resulting explosion fell to the valley: nearly landing on top of Prime, who just barely jumped out of the way as the fireball engulfed the trees, and soon set the forest ablaze.
Running to his now semi-unconscious sister, Prime checked the wound as he held her in his arms: it wasn't deep, but the energy it released into her system had done some serious damage. She was vulnerable, and there was no way he was letting them take her. "...Don't you dare" she weakly bit through her clenched dental plates, "I know that look in your optics: you're planning on doing something stupid"
"If it means you get out of here alive, so be it" Prime stated as he gently lay her down and stood back up. Firing up his guns, he took off in the direction of the tiltroater's, and purposely fired at them; but the shots seemed to bounce off some kind of protective force-field that completely encased the aircraft, and as the formation turned to chase him, Prime watched as Thundercracker landed next to his sister, and helped her get back up onto her feet.
Although Thundercracker continued to fire with his one free wrist-gun, the choppers and tiltrotor's had moved out of range, and were now pursuing Prime as he led them away.
"Ironhide and the others won't make it in time" She sighed in defeat
"Then-, what do we do?" Thundercracker asked anxiously
The valley ended at the foot of the mountain, and with a five hundred foot wall of rock creating a dead-end, Prime gave it his all as he made his stand, and fired up at the aircraft: but the tiltrotor's force-fields deflected every shot, and with the attack-choppers pinning him in place with volley after volley of machine-gun fire and ion-plasma shot: Prime was helpless as the craft moved right overhead of him, and dropped their net down on him. As the cable-net came into contact with his armor, a massive surge of stasis energy ripped across his body as he convulsed violently, and howled in pain. Another surge knocked him out cold, making his body go completely limp: allowing the aircraft to draw in the cables around the underside of the net, and lift him up into the air in one piece.
As they watched on helplessly from over three kilometers away, Majestrix could only beat herself as she watched her unconscious brother fly away, flanked by the attack choppers as they headed north.
: This Majestrix calling all Autobots, the rescue mission was a failure: stand down and await my return, I'm calling a full retreat: She announced over the comm, before comming NEST base: NEST base: this Majestrix Prima, requesting an immediate evac from our current coordinates. Have the rescue team accompanied by air-support: we're going to need some help getting out in one piece:
Uber cliffhanger time! 8D
This chapter was a real bitch to put together, just couldn't seem to get my mojo flowing at full speed on this one. But at least I got there in the end, and that's all that matters :)
Hope you enjoyed, and stick around; it's gonna get more tense from here ;) please don't forget to R&R!