Still in the fight
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or Transformers Prime in anyway shape or form. They belong to their respective owners.
(A.N): Just to let you guys know. I may be skipping over some episodes in the future, haven't decided which ones yet.
Also, regarding whether or not the Banished or additional UNSC forces arrive in the Transformers Primes universe. I've haven't decided yet. I'm worried that if I do bring them in there will be too many characters to keep track of and it'll ruin the flow of the story. However, I am still unsure of this so I may change my mind later. If you guys have any thoughts or suggestions feel free to put it in a comment.
As always, hope you enjoy this Chapter!
Chapter 2: Con Job
After nearly a week after the Scraplet incident, Miko was sitting on Bulkhead's shoulder as they walked into the main area from a corridor. They had just finished some chores Ratchet had asked them to do.
"Okay, chores are done, now can we go do some dune bashing?" Miko asked excitedly as she hoped to go again.
"I don't know, Miko. Last time I spent a week picking sand off of my articulators," Bulkhead said, feeling reluctant about going again.
He then saw Miko having a disappointed look on her face. "But, there's a monster truck rally in town," he suggested, hoping to cheer her up, which worked as she perked her head up at the words "monster truck rally."
Before she could ask more on the subject, Ratchet called out from the main console.
"Optimus!" Ratchet said which caught everyone's attention. "I'm picking up a signal coming from a restricted band. It appears to be coming from a star ship inside the solar system." He typed on a few keys in order to identify it, which resulted in an unexpected signal. "It's an Autobot identification beacon!" he gasped in shock, stunning everyone.
"So, there are other bots out there?" Jack asked from a raised platform where he stood with Raf and Six.
"The masses scattered to the galaxies when Cybertron finally went dark." Arcee explained right before she put up a serious expression, "But Cons have been known to bait traps with false beacons."
Optimus turned to the main screen and opened up a hailing frequency.
"Unknown vessel, this is Autobot Outpost Omega One. Identify yourself." Optimus requested to the unknown ship.
There was a brief moment of static before a voice replied back, "/ I've had warmer welcomes from Decepticon Combat Brigades. /"
"Wheeljack!?" Bulkhead asked in surprise as he suddenly jerked towards the screen, almost causing Miko to fall over before she caught herself. "/Wheeljack!? You ol'Con crusher! What are you doing all the way out here!?/"
"/ Bulkhead? That you? /" The voice asked curiously. "/ What's with all the security? /"
"/ The rock we're on is crawling with Cons. How soon can you get here and even the odds? /" Bulkhead asked anxiously as he wondered how long it would take for Wheeljack to arrive.
"/ Sometime tomorrow…if I put the metal to the pedal. /" Wheeljack responded, sounding anxious himself.
"Another bot is coming here. Awesome! How cool is that!?" Miko exclaimed excitedly, earning her a nod from Bulkhead.
"Wheeljack…" Optimus said thoughtfully as Bulkhead turned to face him. "I know of him by reputation only." Optimus admitted to the group. "Can you verify his voice print?"
"He is one thousand percent the real deal, Optimus!" He nodded with confidence, not doubting at all that it was his friend.
Optimus gave a nod before he turned back to the monitor. "/ We will be sending landing coordinates, Wheeljack. Safe journeys. /"
"/ See you soon, buddy! I'll make sure you get a proper welcome! /" Bulkhead said excitedly.
"/ Can't wait! /" Wheeljack chuckled as he cut off the connection.
"So, who's the boyfriend?" Arcee asked jokingly.
Bulkhead gave out a small chuckle. "Me and Jackie go waaay back. We were part of the same war unit: the Wreckers." He said as he pounded his fist into his palm. "Which means the Cons are gonna wish he never found us."
"Wheeljack's ship is approaching the landing zone,: Arcee reported as everyone watched the computer screen that was tracking Wheeljack's ship.
"You think he's here to visit?" Raf asked.
"Maybe he'll stay!" Miko piped in excitedly, before she placed her hand under her chin, assuming a thinking pose. "Hmmm…. may have to find his own human though. Maybe Six."
"I don't know if Six would agree to that. Or even if you can even call Six human." Jack retorted quietly as he made a subtle gesture towards the Spartan, who was separated from the other humans as he stared at the screen.
"Yeah, ever since he got here, he hasn't even taken his armor off or spoke after we introduced ourselves. Not to mention all the feats he's shown himself to be capable of." Raf whispered as they recalled him outrunning the Scraplet swarm at astonishing speeds.
While they wouldn't admit it, they were kind of scared of Six. He acted more machine than the Autobots and gave off this air around him that made them nervous.
He also had this tendency to stare at people for long periods of time.
"Groundbridge cycling up," Ratchet announced, which shook the kids out of their thoughts. However, a burst of electricity shot out of the control console." Blasted Scraplets!" Ratchet cursed. "The equipment hasn't been the same ever since the infestation."
"So, Wheeljack is going to land halfway around world, and then you'll bridge him here?" Jack summarized in confusion.
"Security reasons, I believe," Jewel said with her New Zealand accent as she appeared on Six's hand." Bridging him directly back could potentially compromise the position of this base."
"Indeed, Jewel." Optimus nodded in the duo's direction before turning to face the kids. "We can't risk revealing the location of our base, just in case if the Decepticons are tracking Wheeljack's ship or if they intercepted our communications," he explained.
Miko looked over to Bulkhead, who was pacing back and forth with an anxious expression on his faceplate. "Dude, I've never seen you so stoked before!"
"Oh! You're going to love Wheeljack!" Bulkhead said with a grin. "We were like brothers! And tonight, we're going to party!" Bulkhead proclaimed with a raised fist.
"Sweet!" Miko cheered, just as the alarms went off which alerted everyone as they turned to the screen. They saw several Decepticon signals in pursuit of Wheeljack's ship.
"Bogies! Closing fast on Wheeljack's position!" Arcee reported.
"Con scum!" Bulkhead shouted with anger.
Bulkhead tapped his foot impatiently as he stood with Bumblebee and Arcee as they waited for the groundbridge to open.
"Open the groundbridge, Ratchet!" Bulkhead said anxiously. "We're missing all the action!"
After a few moments, Ratchet managed to activate the groundbridge. "I'll prepare sickbay."
"Who for….the Cons?" Bulkhead laughed. "This is Wheeljack we're talking about!" He said just before he, Arcee and Bumblebee ran through the portal.
After about several minutes later, everyone rushed out of the vortex with Wheeljack with them. Just before Ratchet could close the bridge, the controls malfunctioned again which resulted in smoke coming out of the controls. Ratchet groaned at the fact he had to fix it again, though at the moment he was just glad that everyone made it through alright.
As soon as they arrived, Bulkhead led Wheeljack towards the platform to start introductions. "Jackie, come 'ere. Meet my other best buddy, Miko." He gestured towards the girl on the platform to the newest arrival. "She can wreck with the best of us!"
"Hiya." Miko waved.
Wheeljack walked over to Miko. "You keeping Bulkhead out of trouble?" He asked as he leaned in.
"I try, but trouble finds us anyways," Miko answered as she shrugged her shoulders.
Wheeljack turned to Bulkhead with a grin. "We're gonna get along just fine."
They soon heard footsteps approaching behind them, which belonged to Optimus prime as turned around to face him. Wheeljack stepped forward to greet him. "Optimus prime. It's a privilege."
"Likewise, soldier." The prime replied. "What have you to report from your long journey?"
"Been bouncing from rock to rock, searching for signs of friend or foe," Wheeljack explained. "Now, I find both."
""We are few, but strong. We have suffered losses." Optimus stated, referring to the recent loss of Cliffjumper and others. "But we have grown and we would relish welcoming a new member into the fold."
"I would be honored." Wheeljack said.
"Welcome to Team prime." Optimus announced with a small smile.
"Then let's get this party started!" Bulkhead said as he pounded a hand on Wheeljack's back, which prompted the latter to turn and give each other a chest bump
"Oh joy." Ratchet groaned in dismay as he began to repair the groundbridge.
"Come on, Jackie! Show me what you got!" Bulkhead called out from where he stood.
In response, Wheeljack threw a large metal ball, that looked to have been welded together by scraps of spare metal, sending it flying before being caught by Bulkhead, causing him to skid back a few feet.
"Nice, lob." Ratchet laughed before throwing it back at him.
Wheeljack caught the returning metal ball and threw it back again, harder this time. While they were doing this, the others watched them from the sidelines, while Six remained by himself on an empty platform.
"So, what's that about?" Jack asked Arcee curiously.
"It's called lobbing. A favorite pass time on Cybertron. Especially among the warrior class." Arcee explained to him.
While the Wreckers continued their game, Miko was strumming on her guitar before turning her gaze over to Raf who sat on the floor. "Come on, Raf. Show us some moves!" She encouraged as she played a beat.
"Oh, alright," Raf said before he stood up. He then started moving his arms and legs in a very familiar dance.
"Of course, the Robot," Jack laughed.
"Ugh…" Ratchet muttered as Bumblebee started imitating Raf's movements.
"So, where's Optimus?" Jack asked Arcee, noticing that the Autobot leader was nowhere in sight.
"Went for a drive." Arcee replied to the question. "Primes don't party."
As Miko continued strumming her guitar, she noticed Six who was working on something by himself.
"Hey Six!" She shouted which gained his attention. "Why don't you try dancing!?"
Six only returned his visor back to whatever he was initially staring at. Showing that he was in no way interested in participating in any of the ongoing festivities.
"Man, I swear that Six is even more of a machine than you guys. Especially with the fact that he's supposed to be a human." Jack said to his guardian.
"Yeah…somethings really off about him and Jewel." Arcee replied in agreement
Jack and Arcee were taken out of their thoughts when they heard Bulkhead shouting. "Coming at ya!" He shouted as he threw the giant ball.
Unfortunately, the ball went a little higher this time as it slipped through Wheeljack's servos and smashed into a nearby wall…and then landed on the groundbridge controls which sent sparks of electricity out.
The medic turned to glare at Bulkhead. "You know, I am attempting to perform sensitive calibrations!" He yelled in frustration.
"Sorry doc," Wheeljack apologized as he grabbed the ball, "guess we're a little charged up." We walked by Ratchet before stopping in front of the groundbridge. "You built this bridge from scratch, huh?" He questioned curiously.
"I did." Ratchet replied curtly as he resumed his repairs.
"That's quite a feat of engineered," Wheeljack complimented, as an unnoticeable smirk appeared on his faceplate.
"Yes, it is." Ratchet agreed, both surprised and glad that someone was interested in his work.
"Something wrong with it?" Wheeljack asked.
"I didn't care for the way it sounded this last jump. I put it in shutdown."
"What if you need to use it?"
"Ooh, I can't disrupt the defrag process without potentially causing irreparable damage."
"So uh, how long will the defrag process take." Wheeljack said as he leaned in closer.
Ratchet turned to face him. "A few hours. If we're lucky. Maybe longer." He replied with a shrug before turning back to continue his work.
An annoyed scowl that appeared momentarily on Wheeljack's faceplate was replaced by a look of calm as he made his way back to Bulkhead to continue lobbing.
Later, Bulkhead was telling everyone one of his war stories about him and Wheeljack. The kids were sitting on one of the containers while Wheeljack, Arcee and Bumblebee leaned against the platform. Six remained where he was, not interacting like he had done during the entire party.
"So, there we were, no communications, low on Energon, surrounded by Cons, so what does Wheeljack do?" Bulkhead said to the kids, theirs faces filled with anticipation. "Tell em, Jackie." Bulkhead laughed.
The group turned to Wheeljack, who gave off a nervous laugh as he shifted uncomfortably. "What I do best!"
Miko turned to Bulkhead with a very excited look on look on her face. "He chucks the only grenade he had left, smack into the primary heat exchanger!"
"Yeah, seemed like a good idea at the time."
"The entire joint went supernova!" Bulkhead said as he threw up his arms swiftly for emphasis.
"Awesome." Miko stated in total awe.
"Yeah, I'm still picking shrapnel out of my backside." Bulkhead scratched his back as he winced, recalling the battle.
"I'm not surprised. Given the size of your backside." Arcee chuckled.
"Good one, Arcee." Bumblebee said as he laughed.
"There it is." Bulkhead gestured to the grenade on Wheeljack's waist. "Jackie's signature, one grenade, one shot." He then noticed that Wheeljack looked like he was deep in thought.
"Hey, you alright?" Bulkhead asked as he waved his hand in front of Wheeljack's faceplate, gaining his attention.
"What?"
"You don't seem like yourself." Bulkhead said in concern.
Wheeljack pushed himself off the platform he was leaning against. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know, you just seem quiet." Bulkhead shrugged.
Wheeljack gave out a sigh, "Guess I've been stuck in a can for too long. I should go topside before I get stir crazy."
"I have patrol in the morning. You can come with." Bulkhead suggested.
"Let's go now." Wheeljack insisted to Bulkhead.
"And break up the party?" Miko said with curiosity, "I mean, everyone's loving you here."
"She's right, everyone's loving you!" Bulkhead pitched in." You've got to tell them about the Battle of Dark Mount Pass!"
"You tell it." Wheeljack turned down, which surprised Bulkhead. " You're better at it." He then turned to face Miko with a smile. "How about if Miko here shows me the rest of your base?" he suggested.
"Uh, yeah! Sure, Jackie, go ahead." Bulkhead reluctantly complied.
"Tour starts now! Let's go Wheeljack!" she said excitedly before she led the Wrecker somewhere else in the base.
The rest of the Autobots noticed that Bulkhead had a concerned expression on his faceplate. Arcee and Bumblebee glanced at each other before Arcee spoke up. "You alright, Bulkhead?"
"Yeah, just…out of sorts, I guess." Bulkhead sighed out as he turned to face them.
"Don't tell me you're…..jealous?" Arcee lightly teased.
"That Miko's making a new friend? Come on!" Bulkhead brushed off since he was happy that Miko got to meet someone he considered to be a brother." Something's….something's just not right about Wheeljack."
"Bulkhead, really? He's travelled galaxies. You haven't seen him for centuries. He could just be rocket lagged or…..well bots do change you know?" Arcee retorted with a raised brow.
"Not Jackie." Bulkhead insisted as he looked down the Corridor Miko and Wheeljack went down.
Ratchet continued to monitor the progress of the groundbridge repairs at it was nearing completion. "Almost there." He muttered to himself as he typed a few keys.
Meanwhile, Bulkhead, Arcee, and Bumblebee continued with their previous discussion.
"Look, I know Wheeljack better than anyone does." Bulkhead said to the group.
"I don't know Bulkhead; bots can change over time." Arcee replied with doubt in her voice.
Bulkhead insisted stubbornly. "Not Jackie."
"Hey, what are you guys talking about?" Wheeljack asked as he entered the room right behind Miko.
"I was just telling the guys all about you and me," Bulkhead responded as he turned to Wheeljack. "At the Battle of Dark Mount Pass."
"That's one heck of a story," Wheeljack remarked.
"Yup." Bulkhead's expression suddenly turned serious. "Tell it."
"Talk, talk, talk! How about AFTER we go off-roading?" Miko suggested as she was starting to look bored.
"Miko, stay out of this!" Bulkhead warned. Shocking her with how harshly he sounded, even if it wasn't much.
"Bulkhead, easy." Arcee cautioned.
"I'm not sure I-," Wheeljack started but was cut off by Bulkhead.
"Tell it!"
Wheeljack and Bulkhead stared at each other before finally Wheeljack gave in.
"Fine, you wanna live in the past, Bulkhead? The Wreckers were trapped between a Decepticon patrol and a smelting pit. The Cons were vicious, bearing down on us with everything they had. Me and Bulkhead engaged the enemy, left them for scrap. Then I made us a way out using their backsides as stepping stones to cross the molten metal." He told the humans before facing Bulkhead. "Isn't that how it happened?"
"Yeah…. that's exactly what happened." Bulkhead growled with a frown.
Wheeljack smirked as he started to look proud of himself. Until Bulkhead finished…
"Except for one thing."
This started to make 'Wheeljack' widen his optics in horror and shock.
"I wasn't there!" Bulkhead declared
Shock suddenly filled everyone in the room. Even Ratchet since he stopped working as he turned around. "What?" he gasped.
"I already left the Wreckers to join up with Optimus." Bulkhead revealed. "But you wouldn't know that if all you did was access Wheeljack's public service record." He said as he pointed at the imposter's chest.
Miko still looked confused at what was going on. "Uh, Bulkhead? What does that have to do with-Whoa!" Miko was cut off as she was suddenly grabbed by 'Wheeljack'.
"MIKO!" Bulkhead shouted as he attempted to grab her back, but the spy pushed him and Arcee away as he ran towards the groundbridge controls while Ratchet backed off.
"Stay back! Or I'll squeeze her into a pulp!" The spy warned threateningly with a different voice as he used Miko as a hostage.
"Decepticon coward! Let her go and face me!" Bulkhead threatened.
"Don't fret, there'll be plenty of fighting to come," the Deception assured with a grin.
"Is there even a REAL Wheeljack?" Jack asked
"There is," Arcee verified as she glared at the imposter.
"Indeed. And I am sure that Lord Starscream is making sport of him." The spy sneered
Suddenly the controls beeped, signaling that it was now online. "About time." The fake Wheeljack stated impatiently as he inputted a set of coordinates and activated the groundbridge.
He quickly glanced at the vortex in triumph before returning his gaze to the Autobots, right before something came directly at his left optic.
Turns out, Six was the culprit as he fired his grapple shot directly at the imposter's left eye, using his cloaking module to get in close without anyone noticing. This caused the Decepticon to drop Miko as Six grabbed her and set her down as she ran to Bulkhead.
"AAAGGHHH!," The fake Wheeljack screamed in pain as the electricity flew directly into his optic from the grapple shot's cable.
Six then grabbed something with his other hand and was launched up as he delivered a devastating punch that complexly buried his optic into his face before landing on the ground.
"GAH! Filthy human! You'll pay for that!" The Decepticon declared as he pulled out his sword and began to attack the Spartan. However, just before he could, the left side of his face completely blew open. Causing the imposter to stumble around for a minute before collapsing.
Everyone turned to face Six in shock and amazement as he slowly moved with his BR 75 raised and pointed at the insides of what remained of the Decepticon's face. Being careful to just in case if he wasn't dead. Soon as he confirmed he was, he lowered his rifle and turned to face the others.
"Six? W-wha-?" Arcee questioned.
Jewel soon appeared where she usually did, on Six's hand. "We placed a plasma grenade directly inside of his head when we knocked out his eye." Jewel said nonchalantly.
Before anyone could say more, Wheeljack came out from the other side of the groundbridge.
"I'd shut that hole before they come through." The real Wheeljack warned.
Hearing what Wheeljack said, Ratchet grabbed the control lever and pulled it down, closing the vortex.
Wheeljack disengaged his face guard as he sheathed his swords. Seeing as how his imposter was already lying dead on the floor with his face blown up from the inside out. "Whoa, did he do that?" Wheeljack gestured to Six.
"Yes, yes he did." Arcee said impressed.
Wheeljack turned to Ratchet. "You hit the switch. It's time to take out the trash." Ratchet reactivated the groundbridge in response as Wheeljack activated the spy's grenade.
"All yours, buddy." Wheeljack turned to Bulkhead, who nodded and proceeded to pick up the imposter.
Bulkhead then spun around, gaining motion, before he threw him with all of his might into the portal.
"Nice job." Wheeljack complimented as the bridge turned off. "So, how about that proper welcome you said before? For the real fun?" he suggested.
Bulkhead laughed. "Heck yeah!" The kids, especially Miko, looked excited at the opportunity to party again.
"Not again." Ratchet groaned.
"Now that you're a part of Team Prime, we need to pick out a vehicle mode for you." Bulkhead offered to Wheeljack after the party. "I have some ideas."
"Uh…..about that, Bulk." Wheeljack interrupted." Now that my ships repaired. I'm itching to know what else I can find out there.
Once Miko overheard what Wheeljack said, she stopped strumming her guitar and ran over to them." Wait, you're leaving why? Why?" Miko asked in disbelief with the rest of the humans and Autobots behind her.
Bulkhead looked at his friend with a knowing look on his face. "Because some bots never change," he answered with a laugh.
Optimus gave a nod. "Wheeljack, know that you will always have a haven here should you ever have need of it."
Bulkhead then wrapped an arm around Wheeljack's shoulder. "Jacky never stays, but he always comes back." He said just before the two wreckers pounded fists. Wheeljack smiling at the statement.
Once they arrived at Wheeljack's ship (the Jackhammer), Wheeljack gave Bulkhead an offer. "There's room for one more Bulk, even one with a backside like yours. Who knows who we might find out there? Some of the old crew?"
Bulkhead gazed down as he was tempted by the offer. He was fond of Earth, but he also liked the idea of traveling throughout the stars with Jackie. However, he took one glance at Miko, who was staring down at the ground sadly at the thought of him leaving, he had already made up his mind.
"Sounds like fun, Jackie." Bulkhead said to the bot he considered to be a brother." But my ties are here now, with them." He turned towards Miko," With her." Miko perked up at the statement and gave her guardian a smile.
Wheeljack nodded in understanding as he turned to look at Miko. "If anything happens to my favorite Wrecker, I'm coming after you." He playfully threatened.
"I'll take care of him." Miko said with a smirk, before she pulled out her phone. "Now say 'cheese." She took a picture of the two as they stood side by side with smiles on their faceplates, sharing one last fistbump.
Once she took the picture, Wheeljack moved towards and knelt down, facing Six. "See you around, metal man. You'd make a pretty good Wrecker." He complimented, with a small hint of disappointed in his voice.
Jewel then popped out of Six's hand to reply to Wheeljack. "Why thank you. You seem like a capable fighter yourself."
"Well, that I am." He then gestured towards the Spartan. "He doesn't talk much. Does he?" Wheeljack asked the AI about her partner.
"No, he does not. He's more of the strong, silent type." Jewel responded with a small smile as the Lieutenant gave a quick shook of his head in amusement.
Wheeljack chuckled. "Well alright than." With that, he entered his ship and departed from the planet.
As soon as they reentered the base, Arcee turned to Six." Hey Six, Jewel."
Jewel appeared on Six's hand as the two looked up to face her as she grabbed their attention.
"You did well, saving Miko from a Con, we didn't expect you to do that." Arcee said.
"Heck yeah!" Bulkhead exclaimed. "You fought like a Wrecker back there!"
Six gave a nod in response as Jewel smiled at them. "Why thank you. Glad we could be of help."
"Where'd you even learn to do that anyway?!" Miko asked excitedly.
Suddenly, the duo became silent, as if they were recalling something from their past. Six made no movement as Jewel glanced towards the ground.
"Experience." Was all Jewel said before the two made their way further into the base. Leaving the humans and Autobots questioning what she meant by that.
(A.N): As always, hoped you enjoyed the chapter. If you did, feel free to leave a review.
Stay frosty gents.