Still in the fight
Disclaimer: I do not in any way shape or form own Halo or Transformers Prime. They belong to their respective owners.
(A.N): Just to confirm, Noble 6 has the same gadgets and equipment that the Master Chief has. Such as the drop wall, thrusters, grappling shot, armor lock, threat sensor and cloaking.
Chapter 1: Scraplets
It's been nearly a week ever since Six and his partner Jewel crash landed and agreed to assist Team Prime until they figure out a way to get home, and things have been going relatively alright for far.
Optimus and Ratchet were able to inform them about Cybertron and its history including the war. However, Six and Jewel didn't educate them much about where they are from since most of it was deemed classified. While the members of Team Prime did not push on the subject, this did lead them being confused as why they couldn't tell them much.
Jewel did most of the talking with Team Prime while Six didn't even speak out loud anymore after the introduction. He spent most of his time maintaining his gear, going over the intel Optimus provided, and conversing privately with Jewel.
Overall, other than the unexpected arrival, things were rather fine…for now.
In the main operations center, Ratchet inputted a set of coordinates into the controls before he pulled the lever. Earlier, Bulkhead and Bumblebee returned with some kind of frozen containment pod that they found during a recon mission in the Arctic. Optimus decided that he and Arcee would look for any clues of their find. Before he left, Ratchet spoke up, "Only until your sensors sound." He held up a handheld device and pointed it towards Arcee and Optimus, causing their Autobot insignias to blink in blue and let out a beep.
"Remember," he added, "once your core temperatures drops down into the blue zone, system failures are not just likely. They're immanent."
Suddenly, the familiar sound of engines were heard as Bulkhead an Bumblebee drove into the base, their human friends in tow.
"Miss us, Doc Bot?" Miko joked with a small smirk as she got out of Bulkhead while Jack and Raf got out of Bumblebee.
"Shouldn't you be in school?" Ratchet groaned with confusion.
"On a Saturday?" Miko said "we have the whole weekend to spend with you.
"I wasn't expecting a carpool. What gives, Arcee?" Jack asked as he walked over to his guardian.
"Tag team, Jack," Arcee responded as she stepped forward, placing one of her servos on her hips. "It's my turn for exploration duty."
"Eh, too bad." Jack said as he shrugged. "It's a beautiful day outside for a drive. Wouldn't want you to feel bad for leaving me indoors."
"Arcee clarified what she said. "Arctic exploration duty."
"Indoors where it's warm." Jack said point around the base and the human area.
"Arctic? I've always wanted to see snow." Raf said excitedly.
"I would invite you to join us, Rafael, but the weather conditions are too extreme, even for us Autobots." Optimus said.
"Ok, I…understand." Raf smiled in understanding.
"But, I will bring you back a snowball." Optimus said.
"That would be awesome!" Raf exclaimed before he noticed that someone was missing" …Hey, where's Six?" He asked.
Arcee let out a small sigh, "He's on top of the base. Don't know what he's doing."
While they did have an agreement, Ratchet, Fowler, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee still remained wary of the Spartan and his AI partner given that they still don't know much about them and where they're from.
"Oh, alright." Raf said before walking back to the human area with Jack and Miko.
As soon as the groundbridge opened, Optimus and Arcee stepped through.
"Transport complete," Ratchet announced
Just before he could deactivate the bridge, the controls short-circuited as spark and smoke flared out as the screen went dark, causing the groundbridge to shut down.
"By the All-Spark!" Ratchet exclaimed as he began to assess the damage.
Later, as everyone was gathered around a control panel as they examined the damage, Raf called out which gained everyone's attention, "Hey guys! Look at what I found!"
"We're busy!" Ratchet groaned in annoyance, only to let out a terrified scream as he saw what Raf was holding.
The Autobots scrambled to get away from Raf, activating their blasters and pointed them towards the metal creature that Raf held in his arms.
"Hey! Hey!" Miko said as she and Jack placed themselves in front of Raf to shield him. "What's with you guys?"
"Scraplet! SCRAPLET!" Bulkead shouted with pure terror in his voice.
"What's a Scraplet?" Raf questioned.
"The most dangerous and terrifying vermin to ever crawl upon the face of Cybertron," Ratchet replied with fear.
Jack and Miko took a close look at the metal being in Raf's arms. "This? Are you kidding me?" Jack scoffed in disbelief.
"You're giant robots! Scrappy here is…..teeny." Miko retorted dryly.
"You have no idea the damage that teeny thing can do!" Bulkhead said as he continued to back away.
"Aw, he wouldn't hurt anything," Raf argued as the Scraplet in question woke up.
As soon as the Scraplet spotted the Autobots, it opened up its jaws which revealed its razor-sharp teeth, and rapidly moved towards Bumblebee.
Instantly, Bulkhead and Bumblebee started shooting at the Scraplet with their blasters. However, all of their shots missed the tiny metallic organism. However, just before it jumped onto Bumblebee's leg, it was shot dead by what sounded like a human rifle.
Everyone turned to face the source, which they saw was Six holding a M40 AR with a smoking barrel and an underbarrel grenade launcher standing on the human area. He kept his weapon trained on it for nearly a minute to ensure it was dead before lowering his rifle.
"Whoa. I did not see that coming." Miko remarked as Raf ran towards Ratchet.
"Didn't even see him come in." Jack said as Six dropped down onto the main floor.
"I'm sorry Bumblebee!" Raf apologized since the Scraplet nearly got to him first.
"Now do you believe me?" Bulkhead asked. "All Scraplets do is dismantle machinery and eat anything metal! Especially living metal!"
"Well….. bug squashed. So, game over…right?" Jack asked hopefully.
"No. When it comes to Scraplets, there is never just one," Ratchet responded. "And I fear I know how they got in here."
The group looked inside a very large hole that the pod they recovered from the Arctic now had. Which it didn't had when they brought it in.
"It's a trap. A Scraplet trap." Ratchet announced to everyone.
"Uh, an empty Scraplet trap," Bulkhead correctly as Bumblebee hid behind Ratchet while trembling in fear.
"Most likely ejected into space eons ago, only to wind up in the Arctic where the subzero temperatures kept them in stasis." Ratchet said as he examined the pod.
"But, now that we brought the thaw- "Jack began.
"They're wide awake and ready to brunch," Miko finished.
"So…uh….how many are we talking about?" Raf asked Ratchet with clear nervousness.
"A thousand...most likely more," Ratchet responded as he took a cautious look around. "Power malfunctions and the groundbridge damage…. are sure signs that their infestation is already well underway."
As soon as Ratchet returned to the main console, he attempted to send a message to Optimus to no avail. "Ratchet to Optimus, do you read me? We have a situation." All Ratchet received was static. "Scrap! The Scraplets must have gotten into the com-link system. He growled as he turned to face the others. "If we don't exterminate these creatures immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!"
"Well, I say we bug out of here and let them keep it!" Bulkhead argued as Bumblebee whirred and nodded his head in agreement.
"Evacuation is not an option. If we don't get the groundbridge back online soon, Optimus and Arcee will both perished." Ratchet retorted darkly.
"They…. will?" Jack asked in shock and surprise.
Miko made her way over to Bulkhead." Bulkhead, you never run."
"Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot before. I have!" Bulkhead retorted. "They pick you apart from the inside out. Going for the small, juicy bits first…fuse by fuse…circuit by circuit, till there is nothing left, and I mean nothing! Not even your optics." He finished with clear horror.
"You have to let us help." Jack started.
"We're not made of metal." Raf finished.
"Yeah, the Scraplets can't hurt us. Except well, maybe him." Miko said as she pointed her thumb towards Six, who remained quiet ever since he arrived.
"Typically, I find your fleshiness to be your least inviting quality," Ratchet mused out loud." But it would appear to provide an advantage under these difficult circumstances."
"Okay, good, then we pair off. One bot, one human," Jack said." I'll watch your back as you repair the groundbridge."
"While we go on a bug hunt," Miko added.
Suddenly, a female voice with a New Zealand accent caught everyone's attention. "If I may offer a suggestion, perhaps fire extinguishers may benefit in this endeavor." Jewel said aloud as she appeared on Six's hand.
"What?" Ratchet asked as everyone looked over to the pair.
"Seeing as how the cold temperatures of the Arctic kept the Scraplets in stasis, it would stand to reason that the velocity of the CO2 gas expelled from a fire extinguisher may do the same." The AI said calmly.
Ratchet pondered for a few seconds before replying, "That may work. There are some fire extinguishers in the storage unit." Soon as he was done, Six went off with astonishing speed and came back two minutes later with three regular-sized fire extinguishers and tossed them towards the other humans. Soon as he was finished, he began to make his way down a corridor.
"What are you going to be doing in all this?" Miko asked.
Jewel appeared once more as she gave them a small smirk. "We're going hunting." She said right before Six activated his helmet flashlights and went down a dimly lit hallway with his M45 shotgun raised right in front of him.
When Six returned after dealing with a large swarm of Scraplets, he returned to the main area where he saw the Autobots fending off a group of flying Scraplets while the humans blasted them with their fire extinguisher. Pulling out his Disruptor he began taking out between five to ten at a time thanks to the EMP pulse its rounds emitted.
Soon enough, the swarm was defeated. Raf and Jack blasted piles of Scraplets with their fire extinguishers while Miko smashed a few with her crowbar. Six stood guard and remained alert for any others. The Autobots leaned against the wall as they groaned in pain
"Did we get them all?" Jack asked just before a loud ominous drilling sound was heard coming from further inside the base.
"Hardly. These were just scouts." Ratchet replied.
Bumblebee whirred out what was most likely a complaint or groan before he sprawled out onto the ground.
"So, the rest of them know we're in here?" Bulkhead fearfully asked.
"And if we allow ourselves to become their next meal, Optimus and Arcee will never make it back home. We MUST get the groundbridge operational." Ratchet stated.
"Then we could use it to send the Scraplets anywhere on Earth," Raf said.
"Why not back to the Arctic? We already know they don't do cold." Jack suggested as he held up a fire extinguisher.
"Sweet! One stop shopping." Miko cheered in approval as she held up her crowbar.
"Given the body mass of the Scraplets, subzero temperature should be able to freeze them on contact," Ratchet said thoughtfully." So, if the groundbridge is still not receiving power than mayb-"
"Perhaps there may be a breach in the Energon fuel line." Jewel finished as she appeared, causing everyone to stare at her in surprise. "I continued to think on the problem while you all were battling the Scraplets."
"If we weren't breaching," Bulkhead spoke up which caught everyone's attention, "one of us could get back over there and fix it."
"Where do we find it?" Jack questioned.
"And how do we fix it?" Raf added on.
Ratchet gave them a repair kit and instructions on how to fix the Energon fuel line. "Be careful, Energon can still be harmful to you." He warned.
"We'll stay here and stand guard," Jewel said.
Six deployed his threat sensor and stood watch as he remained alert for any sign of Scraplets.
"Perhaps you should have accompanied the others Six," Ratchet said as he, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee leaned against the wall.
Six made no sign that he heard Ratchet as he continued to stand guard.
"So," Bulkhead said which regained their attention," If we get….when we get the groundbridge back online, do we send the creepy crawlies out? Or bring our bots in?"
"Optimus and Arcee will be fresh meat," Ratchet responded. "If we bring them in first, the Scraplets will have no reason to leave. We'll need bait."
"And where are we going to get bait?!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "The Scraplets have already helped themselves to everything in here!"
Suddenly, Six pointed his weapon towards a vent in a ceiling. Before the others could question him on it. The vent bursted open as Scraplets came swarming out of it, prompting the Autobots to tremble in fear at the sight.
"Ratchet!" Jack shouted as he ran into the room with Miko and Raf running right behind him. "All systems go!"
"Fire it up!" Miko called as she pumped her fist into the air.
Ratchet managed to get up and grab the groundbridge control lever. "Groundbridge…..activated…" he said as he pulled down the lever before falling down to the ground.
As the groundbridge opened up, Six took a quick look at the amassing Scraplets before firing his disruptor pistol at them, taking down about seven before they turned their attention towards him.
The Scraplets suddenly flew down towards him as Six ran towards the bridge. Staying out of the swarms reach as he leapt through at superhuman speeds, the massive group of Scraplets following right behind him.
As soon as Six exited the tunnel, he spotted Optimus and Arcee staggering their way towards him. He made a gesture to get down before he dove into the snow, just before the multitude of flying Scraplets came through and flew over his head and towards the two Autobots.
The instant Optimus spotted the Scraplets that were coming their way, he placed himself in front of Arcee in order to shield her from the approaching swarm. However, this soon proved to be unnecessary as the Scraplets quickly froze over, their frozen bodies bouncing off Optimus and Arcee.
As soon as the hail of Scraplets laid in the snow, the Autobots looked up to see Six already on his feet. Looking completely unfazed by what just occurred as he inspected the Scraplets to ensure that they were in fact dead.
The entire compound was almost completely torn apart by the Scraplet infestation. As of now, Arcee, Bulkhead, and Bumblebee sat on their berths while Ratchet and Optimus sat against the wall. Ratchet watched over Miko, Raf and Jack as they worked on the medical equipment while Six worked on his weapons.
"Report bio circuitry status?" Ratchet asked.
"Levels are rising," Jack responded as he handed him a thumbs up.
"Excellent. Rafael, make sure you keep a close watch on Bumblebee's electro pulse monitor. Miko, check Bulkhead's interface patch." Ratchet instructed.
"It's steady," Raf said
"Looking good!" Miko gave him a thumbs up.
"Perhaps you should get some rest yourself old friend. You saved quite a few lives today." Optimus pointed out with proudness in his voice.
"It…. wasn't all my doing." Ratchet smiled at the human kids and Six. "We're just fortunate that this infestation happed, on a Saturday."
"Though out human friends may be small, they are still strong." Optimus stated humbly.
There was a brief moment of silence, until a girlish scream tore through the air that originated from Miko.
"Scraplets?!" Jack asked as he and Raf grabbed their fire extinguishers.
"Spider!" Miko screeched out as everyone, except Six, stared at her in disbelief. "Get if off! Get it off!"
As soon as Miko ran past where Six was working on his plasma pistol, Six absently adjusted his foot so it crushed the spider. Not even taking his visor off his gear as he did so.
"Is it gone?" Miko inquired, peeking through cracks in her fingers.
Six made no notice as he put away his plasma pistol and took out his Shock rifle and began to take it apart.
"uh…thanks dude." Miko said as she made her way back.
"Well, you got to give the guy props," Bulkhead said as attention was diverted over to him. "When we made our way back here after our bug hunt, Miko and I found at least 300 dead Scraplets in a corridor.
Everyone looked over at Six, shock present on their faces and faceplates. He made no acknowledgement of the newfound attention as he continued working.
"That has to be some kind of record. I mean, only a few cybertronians took on a Scraplet horde and lived to talk about." Arcee said.
"Indeed. Well done, Six." Optimus agreed.
Just as Optimus finished speaking, Jewel popped up with a small smile. "It's quite nothing really. Six and I have gotten ourselves out of worst situations against more threatening enemies than that."
This quickly sent the group into silence as they wondered what enemy she was talking about.
"What do you mean by worst situations and more dangerous?" Jack asked.
Jewel gave him a quick look that was unreadable. "I'm afraid that's classified." She said before disappearing from view. Six refusing to comment more.
Nobody decided to question further as they focused on recovering from their wounds. Though, the thought did linger on their minds for some time.
(A.N): So yeah. Once again thank you to all of you who decided to give this story a chance and to those of you who left a review. Really nice to know that there are some people out there that enjoy my work.
See you next time lads.