Chapter 14

=0=Czech Republic

Prime ran with superhuman speed toward the flash, his sensors picking up nothing that might indicate a Decepticon presence. He jumped a broken piece of abandoned farm machinery to land with a thundering crash and continued onward at high speed. As he got closer, he spotted a soldier lying where the blast had tossed him while retreating. He stopped to check, noting the presence of life signs. :Prowl!:

:Prowl here:

:We have wounded!:

The mechs in the hallways, out in front of the hangar and in the Rec Room listened silently standing together worry and frustration. Prime's voice filtered over the comm system, the sound of burning and a shout beginning nearby followed by another rang out with the constant screams of a wounded soldier.

:Cosmos is on the way. What do you need? Reinforcements?:

"Not here. There are no Decepticons here. What about the others? I fear this is true with the others:

:I can't raise Jazz. Ironhide is in a fight:

:Get someone out there now, Prowl:

:Right away

The line was open and they could hear the shouts and blasts of combat with the London team as well as the burning and cries of the wounded with Prime. Paris was silent and they stood in dread of what it meant. Prowl was on the line, too, his calm voice directing rescue.

Silverbolt and fourteen mechs were being dispatched, the mechs called running from the Rec Room and other places, checking their weaponry on the fly. Silverbolt took off, the sound of his jets fading away intensely frustrating to those left behind.

All around the area out of the way of running mechanisms, human civilians and armed forces personnel stood or sat, watching for information as well. Navy personnel from ships in port mingled with marines and army soldiers, taking time to see what was up.

"Something must have gone wrong," a French soldier said as he stood with a mixed group of marines and soldiers watching the Autobot embassy. "This mission has taken a turn."

An English soldier nodded. "I think so," he said. He glanced at the Embassy. "I wish I could go inside there and watch."

"Be a striker," a soldier said glancing at the Englishman.

"Just like that," the English soldier replied with a slight grin.

=0=London

Ironhide lay down a steady fusillade of fire as he blew the shelter of the enemy into wood chips and concrete dust. Fire from behind signaled the presence of Mirage. The return reports inside the disintegrating structure were faltering and the sound of a something big moving away from them could be heard. :Bluestreak!: Ironhide commed.

The sound of thrashing could be heard in the lull in shooting as Ironhide glanced back. Epps and the soldiers were moving along the edge of the fire fight lobbing grenades into the building. They exploded and the fight ended. It was silent a moment, then the thrashing sound was heard again.

Ironhide rose and ran toward it as Mirage appeared in the dust and fire light. The soldiers moved to where Sideswipe lay.

A huge dark shadow was fleeing, rising to fly away even as Ironhide shot at it. Mirage fired and ran after it pouring rounds but it flew away. Cursing with frustration, they rounded a pile of wood and debris spotting Bluestreak struggling.

With an unholy roar, Ironhide ran forward and grabbed Ravage by the neck and tail pulling the beast off of the younger mech. He literally in his rage tore it to pieces, flinging them away in a rain of energon and sparks.

Turning back, he saw Bluestreak trying to stand up, staggering as Mirage moved to hold him. Ironhide ran to him catching him before he fell. Glancing around swiftly, his optics scanning the slag hole that once was the target of their expedition, he felt a savage sense of satisfaction that it was smoking and filled with charred things. Helping Bluestreak forward, Mirage following with his rifle in his hands, his optics scanning the sky, they walked to where the others were huddled.

"Sideswipe!" Bluestreak said struggling to go to the big mech sprawled in the dirt.

Ironhide held Blue as he thrashed then calmed, his optics focused on the figure of Sideswipe lying on the ground with an emergency compress on his leg. "I have a boo-boo," Sideswipe said smiling sheepishly. "I'm getting slow."

Blue subbed his emergency kit and looked at the wound. A round had passed through his leg and the energon leak needed closed. Blue opened the packet with the equipment but fumbled it, his hands were shaking so badly.

Ironhide tugged at Blue and had him sit, the youngster lying back as he did, his head on Mirage's lap. Then Ironhide began to bind up the wounds, stopping the bleeding with a field patch. He then bound the wounds with special pressure wraps that would protect the breakage without causing more damage. When they were both taken care of he looked at them with relief.

"You do that well, Ironhide," Epps said patting Sideswipe.

"Ratchet rubs off," Ironhide said. He started, then internally checked his bond. For a moment it didn't register and then it did. He arose, an expression of such fear on his face they were all quieted.

"What is it, Ironhide?" Blue asked sitting up painfully.

He stood a moment turning this way and that, the two youngsters and Mirage understanding immediately. They looked at each other with fear and concern.

Epps caught the exchange and began to ask but they cut him off. They sat where they were watching silently, then finally Ironhide relaxed slightly, turning to face in the general direction of the Czech Republic. He didn't know he was but he did because that's where the small flickering spark bond of Ratchet was coming from. "We have to get the frag out of here," he said as sirens in the distance could be heard. "I have to find Ratchet."

=0=Czech Republic

The burning hole in the ground was a total loss as was intended. Prime's instinct was right. This was a set up and he waited anxiously for Prowl to tell him that Jazz and the others were safe. As it was, they had two injured organics and a few battered Autobots. Ratchet had been blown head over heals fleeing at his warning. He'd lost a bit of paint along his hip and acquired a few dings here and there but all in all they were alright. He was circulating among the troops dispensing aid and grumbling. It was a welcomed sound to Prime.

:Prowl to Prime:

:Prime here:

:Silverbolt has arrived in France. It was as you suspected. They took a blast but Springer alerted them to the prospects so there are a lot of dings and dents but no fatalities:

Prime's spark squeezed and he thanked Primus silently. :I am glad:

It was silent a moment. :So am I: Prowl replied softly. :We're going to send local N.E.S.T. people to clear Ironhide's team from London. Apparently there was a Decepticon there and they flew off before firm identification was made. We can speculate on who it was but there's little evidence thus far that it could be Starscream or any other Seeker. Sideswipe and Bluestreak sustained serious wounds but will recover. Soldiers in the Paris operation suffered wounds but nothing fatal:

Prime stretched his head back lessening the tightness of the cables in his neck. :Thank Primus. We were set up, Prowl:

:Perhaps, but they didn't get the weapons system in London. Ironhide fragged the building the weapon and the arms dealer was in. They're still bagging the pieces:

:That is good news. What is the status of our transport home?:

:We'll send Cosmos or Silverbolt, whomever is first available. Cosmos is due shortly with Jazz's team:

:Very well. We'll be waiting. Prime out: Optimus walked to where Ratchet knelt pulling a piece of shrapnel out of Smokescreen's leg. He had staunched the energon flow and was binding the wound with pressure bandages. "That should hold you, Smokey, until we get you back to Med Bay."

Arcee herself unharmed stood over Ratchet weapons in hand and one optic to the sky as they waited for transport.

"Ratchet, Ironhide wasn't hurt. He's unhurt and the others will recover."

Ratchet looked up fixing Optimus with a sharp gaze. He nodded pausing with his efforts. "Thank you, Optimus."

Prime nodded in return, then rose upward to walk to the smoldering fire which was just beginning to burn down. A bomb had been placed in two places to draw attention away from the main one. A Seeker was obviously supervising the transfer of Cybertronian weapons technology to the arms dealer in London.

It was luck that they'd picked up that tick in the overall criminal operation. Then he corrected himself. They had found it through effort and skill. His people and the humans were tenacious and they deserved all the accolades they could possibly receive.

As he stared into the smoldering hole, he could hear overhead the sound of Silverbolt and a mech contingent coming downward toward them. A flood light filled the area as he looked up to spot Inferno's face looking out of the open door. He waved and Inferno waved back relieved.

Optimus Prime stood by the burning building looking up at the Autobrand on the ship.

Relieved.

=0=Diego Garcia

Cosmos dropped off the team from France with stretchers carrying the soldiers and Hound. Hound had taken a bad hit to his leg, shrapnel flying close by as he fled from the bomb. Springer had found Jazz in the darkness. He had paused the advance and was about to signal a pullback when the bomb had gone off. They were tossed like dolls and fell hard. Hound was closest taking the worst hits and because his soldier was behind him his soldier lived.

They were commed that Cosmos and medical aid were on the way and when they arrived they helped the wounded in first, then climbed aboard themselves. Local N.E.S.T. personnel and agents from Interpol as well as special operatives from the Police Nationale would clean up the mess and forward any evidence to the Special Division, a new unit that was now a part of Interpol.

It was the conduit to handle evidence in international Autobot-N.E.S.T. operations on soil of non-treaty nations. Neither France nor the Czech Republic were signatories to the Autobot treaty establishing their presence on the Earth. That was still to be ratified in their assemblies. This activity in their countries would probably be a spur to that outcome.

Silverbolt was redirected to Prague to provide security for the team and help the medics load them up. Once that was accomplished, Prime boarded Silverbolt with the security squad and flew to London. They landed at Mildenhall Air Base and waited as Ironhide's crew was brought to the field in closed semi truck trailers. They were loaded onto the big jet and on their way in minutes.

By the time the sun was up, the entire operation was over and everyone was either in Diego Garcia or shortly away from arrival.

=0=In Med Bay

Ratchet limped in tossing his bag down on the floor near to the emergency gear room. He looked at the patients on the beds, most of them lightly wounded from shrapnel.

First Aid laboring over Hound looked over his shoulder and smiled. "Hi, Ratchet. Welcome back. You look like slag."

"Thanks," Ratchet said grimacing at him. "What's the status here?"

"Sideswipe got wounded in the fire fight in London. Hound, here got shrapnel in Paris. Bluestreak is wounded. Ravage tore him up and they're coming in with the Prague team. Should be here any minute. Ironhide wasn't harmed by the way."

"Thanks," Ratchet said. He walked to the office to sit on his chair. His hip ached and the scrape of paint from his chassis stung. He sat there resting his joints, considering how a moment of sublime pranking could take a diversion into the pit, then things right themselves again. It was strange but it was their life and had been since Primus was a pup as his old genitor used to say.

He smirked as he thought about Ironhide. The game was still afoot and Prowl was still almost constitutionally incapable of landing Prime. And there was still the problem of Ironhide and the sparkling. He smiled and shook his helm. "Its good to be home. Come home, Ironhide. Quickly." He sat a moment longer, then arose to limp into the Med Bay to help.

=0=Shortly after

The tarmac was crowded by mechs and organics. Ambulances for the wounded soldiers were waiting. Dozens of mechs stood around the area waiting making themselves available for their returning comrades and Prime.

Silverbolt set down with a delicacy that belied his immense bulk. They offloaded the wounded then disappeared into the Autobot complex. The humans took their wounded while Prime and the base commander talked, a conference call with the Joint Chiefs and relevant civilian authorities scheduled for later that afternoon to discuss what the operation could mean.

Prime who was tired and aggravated finally headed toward the hangar and Ops Center. Ironhide left earlier walking toward the complex to disappear inside. He could imagine his old friend looking for Ratchet and he was sure he did. As for himself, he had to see Prowl before recharge. He could squeeze a couple of joors in if he worked at it.

The sun was coming bright and warm over the curve of the earth as Optimus Prime disappeared into the hangar complex that was home.