Last Chapter in Rising Darkness! Oh gosh, are rewrites tedious work or what? It's a bit shorter than I wanted it to be, but it works. Next chapter probably will take place after EP 6, but before EP 7 since I'm probably going to rewrite that one.
I don't own Transformers, just my OC.
Chapter Four: Rising Darkness Part Five
Hanging out with Raf and Miko seems a little lamer than it was yesterday. We're missing someone, and I know we make a crappy Threesome.
"Optimus, I've pinpointed the location of Megatron's SpaceBridge, high in Earth's orbit."
"Out of our reach." Optimus says gravely.
"Ok, so you guys don't fly, but can't you just groundbridge there?"
"The groundbridge has limited range. Stretched all the way into orbit, it's vortex could snap and scatter us to the stars." Ratchet replies.
Miko looks taken aback.
"Since Megatron maybe already be in transit, I'm afraid we must take that risk." Optimus responds. "Reaching the space bridge first is our only means of stopping him."
A horn beeps as a motorcycle engine echoes off the stone walls of team Prime's base.
"Jack!" I exclaim as Arcee's motorcycle mode and Jack riding on it come into view.
"Hey, guess who's back." He says with a shrug as Arcee transforms.
"I knew it, I knew you'd come back!" I say, snapping my fingers.
"Autobots, prepare for departure." Optimus commanded. Jack's smile falls.
"Where to?"
"The final frontier." Miko says. I think she's trying to sound ominous or something, but it just falls flat.
"Space?" Jack asks. "I thought they didn't have any way to get there."
"They really don't." I say grimly. "It's going to be a lot of hoping for the best."
"Be seeing you?" Jack shrugs to Arcee. I turn to Optimus.
"See you when you get back." I say quietly.
"I will, Wren." He says. I gaze into the emotions that his bright blue optics seem to hold, like hope.
"Be careful, Bee." Raf says.
"I'm so jealous." Miko says to Bulkhead.
"Don't even think about following me." He warns.
"We aren't following you this time."
The bots all gather to leave.
"Optimus, if you leave me stranded on a planet teeming with humans, I will never forgive you."
"Until we met again, old friend. Autobots, roll out." Optimus says and engages his battle mask. They roll out. It looks so cool.
Talking through the comm-link, Optimus says "Without the dish, the decepticons will be unable to aim the spacebridge at Cybertron."
"Don't the decepticons know where their own planet is?" Raf, my ever-so-adorably-nerdy cousin pipes up.
"Naturally. But Cybertron is many light-years away. To reach their target their aim must be astronomically precise." Ratchet informs curtly.
"If Megatron went through the trouble of rendezvousing with his spacebridge, he must have an alternate targeting system. A remote one." Optimus says seriously.
Ratchet scoffs. "From what I know of Earth's technology that there exists a single telescope dish on this planet powerful enough to pinpoint Cybertron."
"What about a whole bunch of linked telescope dishes?" Raf asks. "Like the giant size array in Texas?"
Again, nerdy.
"Ehp-ehp-ehp, this is not child's play."
"Good thinking, Raf. Ratchet, have Agent Fowler alert the array staff to the security hazard."
We all turn to look at agent Fowler, recovering in a medical bed with an IV in his arm.
"You, Soldier, your out of uniform! Put on some pants!" He says, sitting up before flopping back down, still deliriously muttering something about cake frosting and dog fur.
"That may be a challenge."
"I can't get past the Array's firewalls." Raf says. "they're too thick!"
"You actually think you could keep the decepticons out?" Ratchet asks.
I slap the side of his metal face and give him a glare.
"Maybe, if I could get in."
"What if we could get you all the way in, like inside the building in?" I ask.
"I could log into their internal network on the other side of the firewall."
"The risk is too great. The decepticons will be there, perhaps even on site."
"Optimus, you said it yourself, this is greater than the safety of four humans." Jack says.
"If the cons win, it's not just going to be the four of us in trouble-" I start to say, until Miko finishes.
"Then we're fragged, along with everyone else on our planet."
"Raf?"
"I want to give it a shot." He said.
We bridge into the place.
"This view doesn't beat the last one." I snark.
"That'll take some getting' used to." Jack rubbed his head as Miko groaned. Honestly, I only felt a like bleh from the groundbridge experience, but it was gone the moment we got out of it.
We all walk inside and find a room with a computer. Miko glances out of the room.
"Security sure is lax in this place." Miko says as Raf types his little heart away.
"I'm in."
"Good." I nod.
"But so are the decepticons." He says.
"That's not so good."
"How can you tell?" Jack asks.
"Schematics with the same alien math we saw on their ship. But this time, I can download it." He says and plugs in a flashdrive. I would call it kinda cool but it's still nerdy to the girl who can ride a skateboard.
"Its gotta be the spacebridge." Miko says.
"The decepticons are syncing it to the dishes, but I can sync to them."
"Will they know?" Jack asks.
"Even if the decepticons see that I'm in the system, they'll have no idea I'm in the house,"
"They're locked onto Cybertron, but not for long." Raf informs us. "The dishes are heading back toward Cybertron, I'll just undo that again,"
"What happens when the 'cons realize they're being punked?" I ask.
"It's only virtual combat, like online gaming."
"Yeah, Wren," Miko drawls. "What are the 'cons gonna do? They're probably like a million miles away."
I glance up as she says this to see a metallic tentacle. "Uh…"
Jack screams and it grabs onto him, then Miko grabs onto Jack and I grab onto Miko as the Soundwave's tentacle waves us around. It spins us around and launches us into all different directions. Miko grabs axe and takes a swing at Soundwave, only for him to grab it.
"You handed it an axe?!" Jack exclaimed.
"Not good." Raf gulped.
"Aw crap, do I gotta do everything myself?" I chuck a heavy metal cog at the tentacle. Don't ask me what it's doing in here. The tentacle pulls away. We run into the main room to see a massive purple decepticon, Soundwave, standing on the roof. He turns eerily and Miko takes a photo of him. And then flies away.
"Why is he leaving?"
I knelt beside some wires. "Because he cut the hardline,"
"The dishes are locked onto Cybertron now, for good." Raf says.
We get back to base and tell Ratchet the poor news.
"Optimus, I'm registering a rapidly expanding mass in their space bridge vortex, one with a peculiar energy signature."
"Dark energon." Optimus responded gravely as Fowler hobbles over to us. "Ratchet, we must destroy the spacebridge. There's enough live energon coursing through it to achieve detonation but we lack the firepower to ignite it."
"If I knew how the spacebridge was engineered, I might find a technical way of accomplishing that feat."
"Would schematics help?" Raf asks.
"Optimus, I must say, the spacebridge is our sole hope of ever returning to Cybertron, are you certain its destruction is the only option?"
"I am afraid so."
"Then by all means, let us light our darkest hour."
I snicker at that. The dramatic effect, yeesh. We get to wait for news.
"These things are getting closer, that's bad, right?" Agent Fowler asks.
"Yup."
"Ratchet, we're in position." Arcee says.
"Arcee, pay close attention." Ratchet responds. "Follow the line from the flow regulator to the energon pump. There should be a valve."
"I see it."
"Good, to turn all that power against itself, all you need do is reverse the current." Ratchet tells her.
"Current reversed."
"Yes!" Agent Fowler cheers. "Right?"
"I'll ready the ground bridge." Ratchet says. We all wait on the catwalk, but I scramble down the stairs.
"Do you think they're…?"
"Four life signals, but one very faint." Ratchet laments.
Optimus walks out first and I cheer. "Awesome!"
Bulkhead walks out next and Miko's face lights up. "Bulkhead!" She shrieks, runs up to him and hugs his hand.
Bee runs in cradling Arcee just as the groundbridge turns off.
Jack runs up to them with concern etched on his face.
"We lost one this week, by the allspark, don't let it be two." Ratchet mutters.
Jack gently puts his hand in Arcee's palm. She opens her optics slowly and focuses on Jack.
"Arcee!" Jack says.
"Jack, really? There are other motorcycles in the world."
"But, you're my first." He gives a half-cocked grin.
"Prime." Agent Fowler says. "I didn't get to thank you bots for the save. I owe you one." He steps in the elevator to leave. "We all do." The elevator closes.
Miko looks a bit sad, then walks up to Optimus. "Is this the part where you say goodbye and tell us we need to forget we ever saw you?"
"Without a means of leaving this world, We autobots take strength in the bonds we have forged with our four young friends. True warriors, if not in body, then in spirit.
My name is Optimus Prime, and I send this message, though we did not choose to be of Earth, it would seem we are here to stay. If you approach this planet with hostile intent, know this: We will defend ourselves. We will defend humanity. We will defend our home."