Chapter 49

Wrecker Coordinates

Bulkhead and his parents waited patiently at the Wrecker standard coordinates for two days, but there was no sign of Wheeljack. Megatron's forces had yet to locate them, but Bulkhead remained ever vigilant nonetheless. Saline's jaw was still broken, and despite Klunker's best efforts he simply couldn't fix it.

As the stars once again appeared in the sky, Klunker and Saline found themselves lying in the grass, holding servos and looking up at the sprawling lights of worlds unknown.

"Night happens very quickly here," Klunker commented softly.

"Yeah, it takes a little getting used to," Bulkhead commiserated.

"I know. We have been here for a long time," Klunker reminded him, "I believe earth is an exceptionally beautiful planet. Perhaps it will be a good place to retire, should the Autobots actually win this war."

Saline's vocalizer made a rasping noise that Klunker could immediately tell was skepticism.

"It could yet happen," Klunker replied defensively, "I know the Autobots are few and the Decepticons are many, but it is an army of our comrades. All they need is for someone to remind them, and then the Autobots will have the advantage again. I am sure others survived the attack on the base, and together we can yet save them. All we have to do is keep hope alive."

Saline squeezed his servo tighter, but didn't turn to look at him. Klunker could tell she was still depressed about not being able to talk, among other things.

"Why hasn't Wheeljack gotten here yet?" Bulkhead asked for what must have been the tenth time, "Maybe the Jackhammer is damaged. We probably should have tried to leave with him."

"You know that was not possible," Klunker replied solemnly, "Everything was chaos around the base. If we did not leave then, we would not have left at all. If your friend is alive, he will be here."

While they spoke, Saline suddenly sat up. It was such a quick motion that the others were startled. Saline looked down at her left wrist, and Klunker knew what that meant.

"You found an energon deposit?" Klunker asked excitedly.

Saline nodded, and then stood up. She ran in the direction her energon detector was indicating, quickly followed by her sparkmate and son. It had been two days since they were able to refuel, so naturally this was the most welcome news they'd had since they separated from the others.

When Saline stopped, she found herself in front of what looked like a sinkhole. She knew better though. Evenly carved, ledges swirling down…no, this was no sinkhole. This was a tunnel dug by Vehicon miners.

Saline stomped her foot, upset that what they had found would likely be guarded by Megatron's cronies. Klunker saw the tunnel and hung his helm, knowing they were outgunned.

"Come on Carrier, where's the energon?" Bulkhead asked, unaware of their shared thought.

Klunker and Saline just looked at each other at first, but Klunker knew he would have to be the one to confront this.

"Bulkhead, this is a Decepticon mine," Klunker said ruefully, "We cannot take this place with only three of us. You are a Wrecker, but your carrier and I are merely servant drones. We could not help you fight, and you could not fight alone."

"No? Watch me," Bulkhead replied confidently.

Bulkhead walked toward the tunnel's ledge, but he was pulled back by Saline. She shook her head furiously and tried to hold him back, but Bulkhead continued to try to pull away.

"Carrier, stop it! We need that energon!" Bulkhead insisted.

Bulkhead tried to escape her grasp, and Saline continued to hold him back. When Bulkhead finally freed himself from her grip, the momentum caused him to fall into the hole!

"Bulkhead!" Klunker screamed.

Without thinking twice, the duo transformed into their mining vehicle modes and drove down into the tunnel to find their son. Bulkhead, fortunately, was hanging onto the ledge about halfway down.

Saline transformed into robot mode and grabbed Bulkhead's wrist, but she wasn't strong enough to pull him up. Bulkhead let go of the ledge since it was too close to crumbling under his weight. Klunker grabbed onto Saline's waist to pull her up, and she used both arms to try to pull Bulkhead. Nothing was working, and Klunker could feel the earth beneath his heel struts side him toward the abyss.

"I…can't…hold on…" Klunker groaned, his joints creaking with the effort, "…I'm sorry. We're all going to die together…"

Saline glared at Klunker, a determined look that usually gave him comfort but now frightened him. Before he could register what she was doing, Saline kicked Klunker in the abdominal struts!

The shock forced Klunker to let go of Saline, and both she and Bulkhead fell into the cavernous void. Klunker gasped in horror as he heard their bodies clang upon landing, and he held his sore midsection without taking his optics off the spot where his family just was. For the second time since meeting the Autobots, fortune had spared him.

"No…" Klunker whimpered, his voice barely a whisper, "Bulkhead…Saline…no…"

Klunker heard nothing else but the sound of his own breathing. How could they be there one moment and gone the next? The darkness was all that was left, and Klunker didn't have the strength to escape it. He didn't even have the strength to get up and leave. So, there he sat, just watching, and waiting for something he knew wasn't coming.

Bulkhead sat up and rubbed his sore helm. Fortunately the fall wasn't as bad as it would have been if they'd been on the surface level. When he turned to regard his carrier he saw that she was unconscious. Bulkhead, worried for his mother, kneeled down to listen to her intakes. She was still breathing. Bulkhead breathed a sigh of relief himself, and then picked her up so they could investigate the tunnel ahead of them.

It didn't take long for Bulkhead to find energon. Unfortunately, he also found two mining drones extracting the vital blue crystals. Bulkhead didn't come all the way down here to let Megatron's cronies take the energon. He knew he and his parents needed it, and they would likely need to save some for Wheeljack and whoever else they managed to find.

"Hey, 'Cons!" Bulkhead shouted, his hands shifting into wrecking balls, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

The miners stopped digging and regarded Bulkhead for a moment. He expected them to either fight or run, but he didn't expect…

"Bulkhead?" One of them asked, recognition clear in his tone, "Hey, Jazz! Bulkhead showed up! What'd I tell you?"

Bulkhead was confused for a moment. He forgot all about the miners Jazz took in before the exodus from the base. When the familiar Vehicon with the black and white paint emerged from the darkness however, Bulkhead couldn't have been happier to see him.

"Jazz! You made it!" Bulkhead exclaimed and ran up to him.

"Yep," Jazz nodded casually, "So, your carrier alright?"

"I hope so," Bulkhead replied, "So, these Vehicons giving you any trouble?"

"Not at all," Jazz waved away his concern, "In fact, it was Springer's idea to show up at the Wrecker coordinates. Of course, we got hungry on the way here. Hence the stop in this cave."

"Springer?" Bulkhead asked in disbelief, "One of you is Springer?"

"Sure am," Springer replied as he walked toward Bulkhead and Jazz, "After the last time we met, I'm honestly surprised you're still kicking. You always were a bulky pile of scrap. Haha!"

"Ha, says you, propeller aft!" Bulkhead laughed.

Bulkhead then set his mother down gently and banged forearms with Springer in a traditional Wrecker greeting. Moonracer, who had kept her distance, was confused by this behavior. Jazz came over to stand beside her, and together they watched the Wreckers insult and hit each other.

"I don't understand," Moonracer whispered to Jazz, "I thought they were friends."

"They are," Jazz replied, "Wreckers are very…I guess blunt would be the right word for it. They frag around and talk trash with each other, but it's because of their close brotherly bond that they can get away with scrap like that. I kind of understand, since my best friend Prowl and I were pretty straightforward with each other when we talked too. Of course, that's because we started out hatin' each other. Vorns of knowing someone does strange things to your processor."

"I guess I understand that," Moonracer conceded, "They kind of remind me of Thunder Wrath and Knockout."

"Who's Thunder Wrath?" Jazz asked.

"My late sparkmate," Moonracer sighed, "He and Knockout were brothers. They fought all the time too, but they also brought out the most in each other. Thunder Wrath was the brawn, and Knockout was the brains. Thunder Wrath didn't let people in easily, but when he would confide in me his deepest thoughts and desires, it was a thing of beauty. Speaking with Thunder Wrath was like watching a budding flower finally open up and take shape. I think earth people call it 'blossoming'? I loved watching Thunder Wrath blossom, so to speak. Ever since I regained my memories, all I can think about is him. I know he died during the war. I didn't see it, but the fact that Knockout is alone proves that Thunder Wrath is gone."

"I never had a mate, but I know how it feels to lose those you care about the most," Jazz commiserated, "It feels like I say that a lot, but I meet a lot of people who have lost someone. Every friendship snuffed, every bond broken, and every family torn apart will be avenged. Megatron won't win. We can't allow him to keep hurtin' people like this. All we need to do is find more teammates, and then we'll be ready to roll out and save those Vehicons."

Moonracer didn't know how much she agreed with this, but she didn't say anything lest she offend Jazz. Watching the Wreckers curse and plan, looking down at the miner still unconscious and injured, and seeing the fire in Jazz's visor…Moonracer couldn't help but feel like there was too much hate in their species.

She wasn't a soldier, and she couldn't stop seeing the Decepticons as Cybertronian. She didn't want to harm anyone from either side, and would heal whoever needed her. That was her driving force, and she knew that at one time it was Knockout's too. If only she could talk to him, and convince him to stop working for the side that wanted only to harm and enslave. She had to believe that deep down inside that polished frame was the spark of a mech she once called 'brother'.

The tunnel was dark, and grit was starting to seep into his struts, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was safety. All that mattered was survival. All that mattered was…that he failed. He failed Thundercracker, he failed the Decepticon cause, and he failed Megatron. For these things any Vehicon should die, and yet SS-ICN-12 wasn't ready to go just yet.

The jetpack was a failure, and by extension so was he. Knockout was injured and the officers would surely kill him for that. Most Vehicons would report for termination under such circumstances, but for reasons even 12 didn't understand, he wanted to live.

He had never been to the surface of the planet before, and didn't know what to expect. Mostly what he saw was dirt and darkness. Maybe he should have tried going during the day. Well, that didn't matter now, since he was hiding in a dark tunnel filled with scraps of energon crystals. He would live off what he could scavenge, and then…what? SS-ICN-12 realized he had no plan beyond the next orn.

He sighed and went into recharge, hoping that when he awoke he could come up with a better plan. Maybe a way to bring a severed Autobot helm to Megatron to make up for his transgressions. Surely that would atone for his jetpack debacle. Surely…

…

SS-ICN-12 awoke to find that he was no longer in the tunnel. Instead, he was standing on a sheet of metal, which hovered above a pit of boiling magma. SS-ICN-12 peered down at the beckoning pool and felt a dread in his chassis he had never felt before. How did he get here? How could he free himself?

"Our war of attrition comes to an end," A booming voice announced.

SS-ICN-12 turned this way and that to find the sound of the voice, and finally found several Autobots glaring at him. Many Autobots in the background had glowing cyan optics, and at the front of the mob was their Prime, except it wasn't Optimus Prime. It was Bulkhead, with regal green armor and a scowl that could peel paint. 12 was afraid, and for some reason he felt a sense of awe before this personage. Was this the last thing he would see before he died?

"You're an imposter," Bulkhead accused, "You are not my son. My son would never kill innocents in cold energon. How can I ever trust you again?"

Suddenly SS-ICN-12 felt shorter, and he looked down at his servos to find his thin purple digits replaced with chunky silver ones. They looked surprisingly a lot like Bulkhead's.

"Space is dangerous," SS-ICN-12 said, his voice devoid of feeling, "I looked through my targeting scope, and I fired. So much easier than using wrecking balls. You should try it."

"You can't fly," Bulkhead Prime growled, "You can't fly. You can't fly. You can't fly…"

Before long every Autobot was chanting 'You can't fly!' and drifting further away as the lava pit expanded. The beam he was standing on was becoming narrower and narrower. Suddenly, the beam completely disappeared, and the fiery pit was about to claim him!

He felt himself falling to his doom, but suddenly a servo reached out and saved him. He looked up, and saw it was Knockout. Knockout was wearing the jetpack, and looked less sharply defined than before. Almost like an Autobot.

"Sir! Thank the Allspark!" SS-ICN-12 shouted in relief.

Then Knockout, still holding his hand as they dangled over the pit, pulled 12 up and whispered into his audial "You can't fly…"

With one swift motion, Knockout dropped SS-ICN-12 to his certain doom, and the Vehicon screamed helplessly as he was hurled into pits of inferno…

"AAAAHHH!"

"What was that?" Springer asked, suddenly alert, "Hey guys, wake up. I heard a scream in this tunnel. It could be Decepticon activity."

Bulkhead and Jazz awoke immediately, but Moonracer struggled to get up and Saline grumbled and turned over.

Saline awoke, a rasping static voicing her displeasure at being disturbed.

"Don't worry, Carrier. We'll check this out," Bulkhead assured her.

"Moonracer, stay with Saline," Jazz ordered.

"Yes, sir," Moonracer replied, perfectly willing to skip out on action.

The Wreckers and Jazz ran to locate whoever screamed, but Springer was much faster due to knowing the tunnels already. As a mining drone, he made half of the tunnels they were currently holing up in. It didn't take long to find the source of the sound, and he also wasn't surprised to find it was a Vehicon soldier. He half expected Wheeljack to be there dishing out blows, but the Vehicon was surprisingly alone. Since guards came in groups, this was especially odd.

"Hey, why did you shout like that?" Springer asked, deciding on the direct approach.

"Yah!" The Vehicon jumped at the sight of Springer, but then, "Oh, ICN-8675. It's just you. Yeah, um, don't tell the officers, but I just had a nightmare."

"That makes sense," Springer replied easily, "It's the earth's gasses. They corrode the memory blockers in our obedience chips. I think. Wheeljack's explanation amounted to that much, at least."

"Is there a cure?" SS-ICN-12 asked, "No, on second thought, don't answer that. I can't go back to the ship. You're not a soldier, so, uh, you're not obligated to turn me in, right?"

"I'm an Autobot now, dummy," Springer chuckled, "So no, I won't turn you in to Bucketface."

"Autobot!?"

At this SS-ICN-12 jumped to his pedes and immediately aimed his weapon. Springer didn't have a gun, but he had drills, so he revved those up in anticipation for a battle. Before one could commence however, Jazz and Bulkhead caught up to them. When they did however, they aimed their weapons directly at the Vehicon soldier.

"Eh heh heh, guess I'm outnumbered, huh?" 12 asked nervously, "Oh well, I guess this is a more honorable death than starving down here or being dismantled by whoever replaces Knockout."

"We don't have to kill you," Jazz pointed out, "If you surrender, we could take you prisoner."

"Prisoner? Hah! You're hiding down here too!" 12 scoffed, "You have no prison, and I have no reason to stay with you the instant your backs are turned. No, you have to kill me. That's how this works."

"Guys, we can't," Springer interjected, "He's having dreams. That means his chip is weak. He's close to remembering his past, whoever he was, and we need to give him a chance to regain himself."

"I already know the part of my past that matters," SS-ICN-12 grumbled, "I was saved by Thundercracker, and then I not only let him down but I also injured our only medic over a stupid invention. I'm just a big scrap heap with legs. Just kill me, ya jerks!"

"What a sparkling…" Springer muttered to the others, who smirked despite themselves, "Look mech, you can die if you want, but if you wanna live you'll join us on our quest to find the rest of the Autobots."

"You're outta your minds," 12 snorted, "You two ain't Autobots, you're company property that got reprogrammed by Bulkimus Prime and the rest of the Blunder Brigade."

"Bulkimus Prime?" Bulkhead laughed, "You're funny."

"I'm sure you get a chuckle out of the pits of inferno, too," 12 griped, remembering his dream, "Alright, fine! You wanna babysit me until I can kill one of you? Fine. Maybe I can sell you a jetpack…"

With that the group returned to the awaiting femmes, a new Vehicon in tow. Unfortunately none of them had the technical skills to remove his inhibitor chip, and no one was willing to risk performing the surgery without that knowledge. Their only plan at this point was to gather energon, refuel some more before leaving, and locate Bulkhead's sire somewhere on the surface.

Author's Notes: If you enjoy my writing style and would like to check out some original content, I recommend "Panhandling The Stars" on Kindle Vella. It's not my only Kindle Vella novel, but it is the only space-themed one at the moment, as well as the one with the most completed chapters. Kindle Vella is like FF in that chapters are posted one at a time by authors and readers can directly support only the stories that keep them wanting more. Thanks for reading this message. It can be awkward for me to talk about my original work, but if I don't, then how will anyone find it? Thank you :)