Omg, do you know how much of an inspiration boost my muse got? A massive one! After this chapter, it's going to be a two-parted battle that will be told in two perpsectives, but I won't say much about that. This chapter has got me tensed up and excited for the upcoming chapters. Please enjoy!

Chapter 15:

Battle Cries to the Heavens

"Optimus Prime, I understand your reason for wanting to rescue Miss Clark, but the fact is that we're going after one human being and risking the lives of my men and yours is just out of the question. If we do end up deciding to go after her, then you cannot expect us to blunder in blindly with guns blazing. What do you propose that we do?"

Optimus stood in front of the stand where he normally reported to General Morshower about their successes in wiping out Decepticons. While he was off-screen from the General, his facial expression had changed to a slight frown; lip components set in a straight line, the corners of his optic shutters tilted downward to his nasal strut and faintly squinting. While he understood the General's need of caution, he couldn't help but feel a tint of annoyance at the fact that he was one step ahead of him, having been planning what to do in his processor as he had made his way back to the hangar.

Behind him, Ironhide, Ratchet, Sideswipe, and the Bike Sisters – Arcee, Chromia and Flareup – quietly talked amongst each other in their native language. Optimus knew that they were discussing about the General's words, but he merely ignored them. By his feet, Jason had his head bowed, hands in his jacket's pockets to keep them warm from the biting cold, and his feet shifting about nervously.

Major Lennox and Epps were behind Jason, arms folded across their chests and already in their N.E.S.T armour, their heads concealed by specially designed helmets with see-through visors and a single antenna on the right side. On their backs, they carried sabot-armed assault rifles that reminded Optimus of the Spartans from the Halo video games done by Bungie that he watched Ratchet and Ironhide play during their spare time. Lennox and Epps even carried six unusual looking balls around their belts that Optimus knew were fragmentation grenades fitted with sabot-projectiles that are strong enough to penetrate Cybertronian armour, courtesy of Ratchet.

Optimus took a deep intake of oxygen before he exhaled slowly. He closed his optics for a moment until he opened them again, this time his composure was under control. "With all due respect, General Morshower," he replied softly, keeping his tone level, "but this is a matter of life and death. Jasmine Clark is my responsibility, and I promised her brother that I would bring her home safely where she rightfully belongs.

"And if the Decepticons are in Three Rivers – just like Major William Lennox said – I must be there in order to keep Starscream distracted long enough for a team to get into the base and rescue Jasmine. True that we will be outnumbered and outgunned by the enemy, but that is not the point of the attack. We are using the attack as a distraction, not an attempt to overwhelm them."

From the screen that Optimus was able to see of General Morshower, the human had a stern expression that would have rivalled Optimus' own, unsmiling and uncertain. The General leaned back in his seat, hands rubbing his face as he seemed to struggle what to do in this situation. Optimus knew deep down that he had made his point. Unlike the General, Optimus had far more experience when it came to arguments. Years of playing as both a warrior and a diplomat had rubbed off on him.

"Very well then, Optimus," the General sighed. "You have permission to go forward with the mission."

Optimus couldn't help but let a hint of a smile escape, relieved that it was going to happen. "Thank you, General," he nodded.

General Morshower merely shrugged. "Just do what you do best and we're even." The call was then disconnected.

Satisfied at last, Optimus glanced down to Lennox and Epps, his armour trembling with grim determination. "Get a team of soldiers together, Major Lennox," he ordered without hesitation. The two humans saluted in response and made their way over to the gathered men and women nearby to pick out who was coming along with them. His cyan optics then shifted over to his team of Autobots, who had been standing at the ready, waiting for him to give the command. "Ironhide, assign a number of Autobots to board the C-17s. I will follow as soon as I am done here."

Ironhide nodded, heading over to Ratchet, Sideswipe, and the Bike Sisters, who stood at attention and were eagerly waiting to be picked out to come along for this mission.

Optimus felt a light tap on his foot that was almost too faint to be noticed. His optics shifted from the back of Ironhide to the floor where Jason stood, his eyes looking at the floor and his feet playing with the cement. Optimus kneeled down to be on eyelevel with the boy and he instantly knew what he was going to ask before he was even going to say it.

"Can I come with you, Optimus?" Jason asked nervously.

Optimus shook his head. "No, Jason, you cannot. You do not have the skills that are necessary to fight Decepticons. A civilian has no place on the battlefield, you will only get hurt."

Jason sighed, nodding reluctantly and looking up into Optimus' optics. "Alright, I just want you to do your best to get Jasmine back. Kick Starscream's butt for me, won't you?" He then punched a fist into his palm for effect.

Optimus' chest rumbled with soft laughter, amused by the gesture. "I will be sure to do that, Jason."

He stood up to his full height and began to make his way to the closest C-17 was, where Ironhide and Major Lennox were helping Sideswipe to back up into the waiting plane. Ratchet was already inside it, while the Bike Sisters were in another that Ironhide said he would be in. Sideswipe was making grumbling noises, saying how he had never had to back up into a plane just wouldn't allow him to stand up in like the dropships back on Cybertron.

Epps was busy getting the N.E.S.T troops aboard the C-17 that would be carrying Ironhide and the Bike Sisters. From what Optimus could see, there was at least twenty-four soldiers heading inside and taking their seats. While Optimus confirmed that it wouldn't be a full frontal assault, twenty-four soldiers, plus Epps and Major Lennox, was enough to keep the Decepticons on their toes until the rescue team had completed their main objective.

Optimus glanced over his shoulder one last time to Jason's way. The boy was smiling and giving him a wave. That was enough to give him enough confidence that he would bring Jasmine back alive. Whatever the Decepticons had planned for her, they would not get very far in it.

A faint smile crawled onto his lip components and he allowed his armour to shift and slide, twist and turn, as he became the familiar blue and red flamed Peterbilt 379 truck. He revved his enormous engine powerfully, causing everyone to become silent. No Autobot in the universe had the same power behind his engine like Optimus did. Exhaust escaped from his smokestacks as he slowly moved toward the C-17, angling himself until his behind was facing the hatch.

Ironhide and Lennox guided Optimus until he was securely inside. A soldier that Optimus identified as the pilot of the C-17 then strapped down his tyres to ensure that he would not move around during the flight. While he did feel uncertain about having his tyres held into place, he knew that it wasn't just for his safety, but Sideswipe's and Ratchet's safety as well in case turbulence hit and he would end up sliding into them, thus causing an accident.

The pilot, a female brunette named Marissa Faireborn – gave him a reassuring pet on the passenger's side door before she made her way to the head of the plane.

As the hatch was closed and Optimus and his group of Autobots were enclosed into darkness, the Autobot commander wondered deep in the pit of his spark if they were too late. Though another part of him felt that if they were, he would have known.

"This is Pilot Marissa Faireborn of C-17 No.2 speaking," came the calm voice of the pilot. "The flight to Three Rivers is twenty-one hours and thirty minutes, so you'll be in for a long trip. Try to make yourselves comfortable. We apologise to the Autobots that there is no energon for them to consume, but food and drinks will be brought out to the soldiers an hour after takeoff. We hope you have a pleasant flight."

Optimus mentally sighed in frustration. He heard Ratchet growl and Sideswipe hiss in anger. A long flight it would be, but it would give him a reason to get some recharge until it was over. "Autobots, get some recharge," he ordered them softly over the com-link. "If we're fully rested by the time we arrive at our destination, then a good fight will warm us up and stretch our limbs."

"Well, I hope we don't have to be strapped down forever, Optimus," Ironhide grumbled. "You know how much I hate being cooped up in an aircraft for a long time. My cannons are itching for a little action."

"It's that or sit back at the base doing nothing," Chromia's voice commented, earning a deep laugh from Ironhide. "But like you, I too am eager for something to shoot at."

"A femme after my own spark," Ironhide snickered, although Optimus could picture him smirking in his vehicle mode.

Optimus was about to answer when he felt the C-17 lurch forward slightly as it began to move onto the runway in preparation for takeoff. He was glad that he didn't have a window to look out when the plane was in the air. He didn't like being up high in the sky, not that he had a fear of heights or anything. He just preferred to keep his feet flat firmly on the ground.

"You girls up for a game of Fullstasis?" Flareup asked, earning groans from Chromia and Arcee.

"No way, Flare!" Arcee hissed. "You win that game every time!"

It's going to be a long trip, Optimus thought as he switched his systems to recharge mode. He set his chronometer to wake him up in approximately twenty-one hours as he shut down for the time being.

Twenty-One Hours Later
Decepticon Base, Three Rivers

Jasmine felt her stomach groan in protest as she awoke from forced sleep. She curled up into a ball, trying to prevent the only noise in her cell from overwhelming her sense of hearing. Her mouth was partially dry from lack of liquid, even her saliva couldn't even satisfy her thirst. Having been starved of food, water, and sunlight, she knew that she was going to be in for one hell of a time when the Decepticons decide to come back for her. She had lost track of time, but she hardly cared anymore.

What was the point in just lying here, being forgotten by those who cared about her?

Not too long ago, she had been busting to use the bathroom and then had been forced to relieve herself in a corner as far from her cot as possible. She was disgusted with herself, but she had to go. Her stomach had slowly started to turn sour and her nose beginning to clog up with mucus. Chills had overtaken her until it was enough to make her shiver. Much to her horror, she realised she was feeling warmer than normal and it had taken her less than half an hour to figure out she was coming down with a fever.

"What else could go wrong?" she groaned weakly.

No sooner had those words left her mouth, the leather cover that had been keeping her in the dark for so long was lifted off her cell and she was exposed to fading sunlight. Crying out, she curled up into a ball in an attempt to cover up her quickly adjusting eyes. Having been cooped up in the darkness for nearly four days had made them sensitive.

A massively clawed hand suddenly smashed its way through the ceiling and her overly sensitive eyes were forgotten. The hand made a reach for her, but she attempted to roll to the side to avoid it. It ended up clutching the cot firmly in its claws before it crushed it, the cot splitting into a dozen pieces. She hobbled toward a corner as fast as she could, but the hand made another lunge for her and it wrapped its claws tightly around her waist, one of them drawing blood from a nasty cut on her right side between her ribs and hip. She squealed in agony as the blood dripped down her side and coated the hand, but it merely ignored her as she was lifted high into the air and she felt her stomach lurch, a brown-clear liquid leaving her mouth and splattering all over the floor of her cell.

The claws shifted her until she was resting in the palm of the owner's hand and they encaged her. She was forced to look into the red predatory eyes of Starscream and she wished that she hadn't. She saw nothing but malice and hate, followed by a smirk that made her shivers even worse than before.

Starscream bounced her around in his palm as he moved from the cell to another room that she had never seen before. Without warning, she was dropped carelessly from his hand to a slab of concrete. The claws then grabbed her wrists and ankles – even though one arm and leg were paralysed – holding them down tightly as Starscream leered over her with glee and hunger. She knew it was useless to try and escape, for the more she struggled, the stronger the hold on her became.

"Such a weak human," he grinned, liquid dribbling from his mouth. "I could just tear your limbs off!" The claws in his fingertips tugged on her wrists and legs to prove a point and she could not help but let off a whimper. "But first... we have some delicate work to do." His optics diverted over to a table not too far from them, littered with glasses filled with organic material and an unusual microscope. "Scalpel, your patient is here."

In response to his words, the microscope transformed into a spider-like robot with a head too big for its body and large, red eyes. The creature that Starscream identified as Scalpel skittered from the table, over to the concrete slab, muttering in an accent that Jasmine identified as German. It made its way over Jasmine's body and its head tilted left and right as it scanned her thoroughly. It was over in less than a second before it glanced up at Starscream and clicked a claw in an eager manner.

"Hand over ze shard!" it ordered without hesitation.

"I would be more than happy to," Starscream sneered as the piece of metal appeared from behind one of his claws and was handed over to Scalpel.

It clicked in satisfaction and its chest components opened up. Something silvery, long and coated in a green-yellow goo crawled from out of the storage. One of its appendages snatched the shard from its owner's claw and wormed its way over to Jasmine's face. Jasmine's eyes widened with horror as Scalpel opened her mouth up as wide as it could get her to so that it could crawl inside. The robotic worm snaked its way forward, assisted by the slim on its body.

The base suddenly trembled from an enormous impact, windows shaking and dust falling from the ceiling, thus causing the worm to pause in its entry, a questioning look in its beady red eyes.

"Sideways, Barricade!" Starscream snarled.

The two small Decepticons were at their leader's side less than half a second later.

"Go and find out what is happening out there before I rip out your spark chambers!" he threatened without hesitation.

Barricade and Sideways nodded without saluting and made their way out of the room. Starscream drew closer to Jasmine and Scalpel, his tone becoming even more dangerous than before. "Scalpel, continue the experiment," he growled.

Scalpel didn't need to be told twice and he once again inched the robotic worm to continue forward into Jasmine's mouth. Jasmine struggled uselessly, but she still tried. Starscream's grip on her wrists and ankles tightened even further to prevent her from getting away. The worm inched further closer to mouth.

"Lord, Starscream!" Sideways' gruff voice called, once again forcing Scalpel to stop moving the worm from entering her mouth. "Two C-17s have arrived!"

Starscream let off an angered snarl, more liquid dripping from the corners of his mouth. "Mixmaster, take the human back into her cell! All Decepticons, head outside in preparation for an attack!" He glanced to one side and Jasmine could make out the faint shadowed outline of a robotic feline. "Ravage, take Scalpel away to safety. I cannot afford to have him or you damaged in the fire fight."

A low growl comes from Ravage as he places both paws on the slab of concrete, his chest components opening. Scalpel shoots one last glare at Jasmine and scuttles into the safe storage chamber of the catlike Cybertronian. But in his rush to get into the feline, Jasmine made out him accidentally dropped something onto the floor. But her attention was diverted as Ravage's single red optic stared at her for a moment longer before he made a dash for the shadows, leaving Jasmine alone with Starscream until Mixmaster came to take her back to her cell.

Mixmaster then dropped her back into her cell and headed off without another word with the other Decepticons.

Jasmine felt tears leaking from her eyes as relief washed over her brain. Whatever had caused the base to tremble had just saved her life. She crawled over to the corner where her cot had been and hugged her good arm and legs close to her body. Something told her that help had finally come, and she prayed deep down that it was Optimus.

"Everyone, we have arrived at our destination," Marissa's voice boomed over the plane's speakers. "Prepare to bail out in approximately ten minutes. Hope you got your parachutes on, because it's going to be quite a drop."

At least twenty minutes earlier, Optimus' chronometer had woken him up from his recharge. He was eager to stretch his limbs, but they just had another ten more minutes before they were prepared to make the leap. He scanned himself to check to make sure that everything was all in place. When he found that everything was all in working order, his sensors detected the approach of Marissa. She was kneeling by one of his tyres and was unhitching them from their binds.

"You ready for this, Optimus?" she questioned with a soft smile.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Optimus replied, his tyres shifting slightly. "This mission is far too important for us to fail."

"I understand," she replied, giving him a gentle pat on the side. "Good luck out there."

"You too, Marissa Faireborn," Optimus replied casually.

Once she was done with unbinding him, she headed back to the head of the plane. Once he was certain that she was gone, Optimus opened up a private com-link to Sideswipe and Ratchet. "Ratchet, Sideswipe, you will be taking a small team of humans into the base while Ironhide, Arcee, Chromia, Flareup, and the other N.E.S.T soldiers provide the distraction."

"Why do I have to go along with Ratchet, Optimus?" Sideswipe responded, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "I'm a front-liner, not a babysitter!"

Optimus snorted, "The reason why you are going with Ratchet, Sideswipe, is because I know that you used to be one of the best bodyguards of an Autobot settlement before Demolisher destroyed them. You are also one of Ironhide's best students. I couldn't have picked a better Autobot to escort Ratchet and the N.E.S.T soldiers."

There was a sigh. "Fine, I'll do it, but only because I respect your decision and that Ironhide couldn't even do a better job anyway."

Ratchet scoffed in response, but Sideswipe ignored him.

"Alright, Autobots, it's bail out time," Marissa spoke over the speakers. "Go kick some Decepticon ass!"

The hatch opens and a huge gush of window makes its way into the plane, causing Optimus to shiver slightly. While he was used to bailing out of dropships back on Cybertron, the rush of air never stopped surprising him with its coolness.

His tyres shift from side to side, engine roaring to life that was overshadowed by the howling of the wind and the C-17s massive engines. He rushed forward without warning. He fell for a split second before he transformed into his bipedal mode, stretching out his arms and legs as wide as he could before he straightened himself, allowing his fall to be fast and precise. With his speed increasing, he twisted and turned during his dive and – at the last second – three parachutes shot out from his back, slowing his descent. Just as he reached the ground, he corrected his position, transformed his hands into his twin blades and cut the strings. He landed with a heavy thud, shaking the ground beneath his weight.

Adjusting himself slightly, he glanced behind him to find Ratchet and Sideswipe standing on either side of him. They too shook their armour after the heavy landing, just as Ironhide, the Bike Sisters, and the N.E.S.T soldiers landed a short distance away.

Optimus didn't want to wait a second longer, Jasmine needed to be rescued quickly; he began to give out the commands. "Ratchet, Sideswipe, don't waste any time. Go now while it's quiet."

Ratchet and Sideswipe nodded and disappeared into the coming night with their team of four N.E.S.T soldiers that Epps and Major Lennox had handpicked for the mission. Their footsteps were the only sound that gave them away before they faded away from human sight. Ironhide and the Bike Sisters moved closer to Optimus, their weapons primed and ready.

Optimus could hear the clicking of weapons being prepped and he switched to night vision that would allow him to see in the dark. He could make out all twenty soldiers, Epps and Major Lennox loading up their assault rifles with sabot rounds. Some of the soldiers seemed nervous with the way how they were struggling to load up their weapons, but the experienced ones gave them reassuring pets on the shoulders to calm their nerves.

Optimus puffed his chest outwards as he shifted his blades back into his hands. At a simple mental command, his back plates shifted away from his body to reveal his fuel tanks. As the fuel tanks unhitched themselves, he grabbed the handles and pulled them out swiftly. The barrels extended outwards into his Dual Ion Blasters, their inner cores humming with power as they were primed and ready for battle.

The Decepticon base that stood no more than fifty meters away from their position opened up and eight Decepticons came pouring out of it like ants angered by the disturbance on their nest. Like the Autobots and the N.E.S.T soldiers, their weapons were also ready, but none of them made a move to attack.

The ceiling of the base suddenly erupted from within, glass and wood scattering and clattering to the ground in the wake of the Decepticon leader.

Starscream hovered in the air for a moment, his bright red optics narrowing in hatred at Optimus Prime. He pointed a finger at the Autobot commander, shouting: "Decepticons do not let the Autobots into the base!" His voice then became more frantic, more demanding, more high pitched. "Attack, attack, attack!" The thrusters on his back ignited powerfully and he shot towards the group.

With his battle mask sliding into place and his bright blue optics glowing with intense anger, Optimus tensed his body in preparation for the charge. He gave one simple command, his voice strong but still carrying his fury, "Autobots, soldiers of N.E.S.T, attack!"