Agent Fowler stepped into his office and let out a sigh. Taking a seat, he shifted through the towers of folders and reports strewed across his desk. For weeks, Jack had been missing and they were no closer to finding him. Somehow, the Decepticon's warship was evading their satellite and radar networks, leaving them with nothing to track them down. It'd been a headache stopping the general from taking June and the kids into federal custody, but he managed to convince him they'd be safer under the eye of the Autobots.
General Bryce's demands created new problems for him though. Besides getting involved in the war, Bryce demanded that the other children's families be informed about the aliens and where their kids were spending their free time. Keeping the parents in the dark when their kids' lives could be at risk was unacceptable in the general's eyes.
There was so much work to do but not nearly enough hours in the day. He frowned as he took a dissatisfying sip from his empty mug.
And apparently not enough coffee either.
Shoving aside an entire mountain of paperwork, Fowler finally found what he was looking for. The paperwork to finalize the formation of NEST's new strike force. The Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty had been created when the Autobots first touched down on the planet a few years ago. An agreement between the government and Autobots that their existence and subsequent war would be kept a secret from the general public. Only the United States and a few select countries knew of their existence. The Autobots would receive a base of operations and whatever technology they may require, (providing the humans had it and were willing to spare it) while they fought their civil war.
In Fowler's personal opinion, they really could've done more to help the bots before now. Forcing a much more technologically advanced alien race to rely on a Windows program from the early 2000s felt like a slap in the face to him.
As of now, NEST was operating out of a single small air base in Nevada with limited funds and personnel. A hodgepodge of military members from different branches with disorganized and outdated gear, they weren't nearly equipped well enough to fight a war. The most modern piece of equipment they had was the small squadron of F-35s stationed on base. They had the bare minimum required to run the place and defend itself if needed. With more support from the Pentagon, the new strike element of NEST would bring much-needed upgrades and firepower. Hopefully, with these much-needed funds, Ratchet could finally update the system to something more modern.
The personnel on the base knew of the Autobot's existence and the purpose of their mission, but very few had ever met the bots in person. If they were going to be working more closely together, that would have to change. Fowler picked up the phone on his desk and dialed an old number, holding it close to his ear as it rang. With a click, he heard a voice on the other end.
"Hey, how are you doing? - Yeah sorry, it's been a while. Listen, are you ready to meet the bots?"
Agent Fowler checked his watch as it read 1512, patiently waiting outside hanger E. He told them to be here at 1530 and though they still had plenty of time his old friend was the sort that made sure they were never late. However, 'late' to them was anything after fifteen minutes before the scheduled time, meaning he had about three more minutes. No matter, waiting a few more minutes in the sun wouldn't kill him. Soon everybody would be here and they'd be at the Autobot base within the next half hour.
As predicted, a Humvee soon came around the corner and rolled to a stop just a few feet away. The doors propped open as its occupants stepped out, four service members. They wore their respective branches' uniforms, a mix of army, marines, and air force. The three men and woman moved to greet the special agent.
Fowler moved to meet them halfway, stretching out his palm as he greeted their commander. "Lennox, it's good to see you again."
Lennox took his hand and pulled him close, patting his shoulder. "It's good to see you too Fowler. But what's crazy is that I've been at this base for nearly a year now and I can count the number of times we've seen each other on one hand."
"Sorry about that. Uncle Sam never stops piling on the paperwork, and our friends from out of town keep me on my toes pretty often." Agent Fowler joked as the two stepped apart.
"I was beginning to doubt the aliens even existed. Not a lot of folks have seen them." Lennox joked. He turned and gestured to the small group standing behind him. "I'm sure you remember the rest of the group."
Fowler nodded. "Epps, Anderson, Hernandez, a pleasure to see y'all again. And not seeing the bots was intentional, it created less of a chance of anything leaking. Though, that's part of the reason I'm now bringing all of you to their base. The Pentagon has decided to make some changes. I can give you more details once we're there, but in the meantime, take these with you and get onboard the chopper."
Handing each member a large black case, Agent Fowler escorted the group towards the helicopter. Soon, everyone and their gear was loaded up. Running through his checklist, Fowler powered up the chopper and took off. Little was said during the uneventful flight through the Nevada skies.
The flat desert gave rise to plateaus and valleys. On the outskirts of Jasper, Fowler spotted his destination and aimed for the large plateau with a concrete structure on top. Smoothly, the helicopter was lowered and touched down on solid ground. As the spinning blades slowed to a stop, the group exited the chopper and surveyed their surroundings.
Epps quirked an eyebrow as he realized the plateau's true structure. "You keep the aliens in an old missile silo?"
Agent Fowler smirked as he walked towards presumably an elevator and pressed a button. "Hold your questions until the end and you'll likely get your answers."
The doors opened and Fowler stepped in, waiting. The group followed, packing themselves into the small elevator before descending. The soft rumble of the pulleys was the only noise made during the short trip, taken in silence as no one spoke. The elevator shook slightly as they came to a stop and the doors split open.
The group of humans stepped out, overlooking the large space hidden within the mountain. They stood on a raised platform in the center of the room, with a few old couches and a television set immediately to their right. But the giant jade monitors and the large white and orange robot casually typing away caught their attention the most. It looked displeased as it noticed them, muttering something under its breath.
"What the fuck…"
"The rumors said the aliens were mechanical but I assumed they'd be about the same size as us."
Fowler ignored the comments and stepped forward. "Ratchet, I've got the new group here. Where's everybody else?"
The grumpy bot waved him off as he went back to his work on the monitor. "Yes, yes I see them. Optimus is in his quarters and the rest are picking up the children and June."
"What's an Optimus?" asked Anderson as she continued to stare in amazement at the large mechanical being standing before them.
Lennox spoke up with his own question before anybody could answer. "More importantly, what kids and who is June?"
"You aren't the first to meet the bots. Long story short, they were spotted with the Autobots by chance and deemed valid targets by the Decepticons. Now the four civilians are under the protection of the Autobots," answered Agent Fowler. However, his answer only created more questions for the group.
"Autobots? Decepticons? You're losing me here," said Hernandez.
Heavy pedefalls echoed throughout the cavernous space. Every member of the new group turned their heads toward the source of the sound, watching as a thirty-foot red and blue robot walked in from an adjacent hallway.
Fowler chuckled. "And that's Optimus."
Optimus moved toward the group and gently laid his hand on the railing. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron."
"Also known as Autobots," Ratchet commented from his workstation.
Fowler introduced the group as he gestured toward each member. "This here is Chief Master Sergeant Epps, along with Gunnery Sergeant Hernandez, Staff Sergeant Anderson, and Major Lennox. I served with Lennox during my time in the Army and met Epps, Anderson, and Hernandez during a deployment in Qatar. They all come from different branches of the military and have impressive records. They've been part of NEST almost since its inception but their work has been mostly regulated to the administrative side. That's slated to change with NEST being refocused into a more combative and supportive role for the Autobots."
Optimus gave a slight nod as he gestured to his chief medical officer. "This is Ratchet. The team's chief medical officer."
"You're a medic too? Never thought I'd meet an alien in the same profession." Anderson joked.
Ratchet stopped his work as he looked over toward the human. "You are also a medic?"
She nodded. "I was a combat medic in the Army."
"Perhaps you and Miss Darby should get acquainted. I don't know much about human biology besides the little she's been trying to teach me," replied Ratchet.
Anderson was pressed to question the medic more about this 'Miss Darby', but Hernandez piped in with a question of his own.
"Fowler, you never answered what a Decepticon was."
"Short for Decepticon. They're like the big guys here, but they ain't friendly. The two sides have been locked in a civil war for centuries. Probably longer than humanity has been around." replied Fowler.
"Well then, why were you fighting, and what brings you here to Earth?" Hernandez questioned.
"Primarily for control of our planet's energon resources, the lifeblood of our race," said Optimus. "In the beginning, I fought alongside one whom I considered a brother. We fought to ensure that every Cybertronian would be treated as equal. Megatron's greed for power led the Decepticons in his campaign against all who opposed him."
Optimus' look turned solemn as he continued. "Millennia of fighting poisoned our planet's core, and with the Allspark gone, new life would not return. We fled, searching the galaxy for new sources of energon. Megatron, never satisfied with his lust for power, followed us to Earth and now has your planet in his sights. If Megatron is not stopped, then I fear Earth will share the same fate as our home."
Arcee sped down the desert road, trailing behind Bulkhead and Bumblebee as they picked up their charges from school and work. Soon the trio reached their destination and dropped their speed as they approached the cliff wall, splitting apart and revealing the tunnel hidden behind. She slowed down, mindful of June atop her.
As they pulled into the command center, Arcee noticed Agent Fowler speaking to Optimus. She let June disembark before she transformed and stood taller, noticing that they had guests. By what little Arcee knew, they were members of Earth's military. It seemed Fowler's talks of working together and forming a special task force were finally coming to fruition. She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that when the gaps between the humans' technology and the Decepticons' own were nothing to scoff at. If they had found a way to fight back, she just hoped they wouldn't be throwing the humans to the slaughter to fight their war.
Evidently, Arcee wasn't the only one to notice the group, as Miko jumped out of Bulkhead's form as soon as he transformed and sprinted up the stairs.
"Woah, who are these guys?!" Miko shouted once she reached the top.
They all looked at her confusingly as she berated them with questions.
"Excuse me? Who are you?" The lone woman of the group questioned Miko, before realizing she wasn't the only new arrival. June finished her climb up the stairs as Raf sat perched on Bumblebee's shoulder. "Are these the civilians you were talking about?"
"Miko, Raf, and June meet Lennox, Epps, Anderson, and Hernandez," said Fowler as he gestured between the two groups. "And yes, these are the civilians I mentioned."
"You said there were four, but I only count three. Where's the other one?" asked Epps.
Arcee clenched her fist at the question. It wasn't their fault, they didn't know, but it served as another reminder of her failure. Every day that passed by bore added weight on her spark. She already failed two partners and if something didn't change soon, she was going to fail a third.
"Kidnapped by the cons," she spat. "They're keeping him captive aboard their warship and we've been unable to track it down and rescue him."
"Shit, he's been kidnapped!?" shouted Lennox. "How long has he been gone?"
"A little over a month now. As soon as we get the chance, we're jumping in to rescue him," said Arcee.
Bulkhead nodded in agreement. "That's right, Jack helped bring back Optimus and we're going to return the favor."
"It's been hard on us all," Fowler solemnly agreed. "The cons have been evading our satellites and their ship is always on the move. But they'll slip up eventually, and when they do we'll all be here. That's why the new group is here. I brought you all here today because I wanted everybody to meet and get acquainted. Humans and cybertronians are going to be working together a lot more closely in the future after all. In the case of NEST, it's being refitted into a task force to support the Autobots militarily. For instance, I have these experimental weapons I was hoping you could test out today."
Fowler gestured to the large black cases they had brought as he addressed the group. "They're experimental energy weapons, based on MECH's design. We managed to get our hands on a few from our last few skirmishes and add some upgrades. They run off battery packs and produce a 'beam' of energy that may be able to penetrate up to a few inches of steel. They've been minimally tested but I wanted your opinions on them for feedback before they're ready to be used in the field."
Before anybody could respond, Fowler's cell started ringing. With a groan, he pulled out his phone and answered. Even from where she was standing, Arcee could hear the shouting on the other end. Fowler's face turned grim as he continued listening for a few more moments, before telling whoever was on the other end that he'd get a handle on the situation.
Arcee did not like the sound of that, and judging by Optimus' faceplate, neither did he.
Agent Fowler rubbed his hand across his face with a grimace. "The Decepticons just attacked one of our bases in upstate Washington. And not just the regular cannon fodder either, Megatron was spotted there with him. They're in the middle of their attack, so we need to get a move on. Now."
"Bucket head never includes himself in these things unless it's a big deal," commented Bulkhead. "What could he be after?"
"The base in question hosts a large amount of military projects. All kinds of secret tech Uncle Sam has been cooking, and judging by the route they're taking, we think they're after something in particular. The DNGS."
Raf spoke up from his place on Bee's shoulder. "The nuclear tech that MECH was after?"
Agent Fowler nodded. "It seems the Decepticons may be interested in the tech after all. Whatever their intentions may be, we cannot allow them to get their claws on it. The amount of damage they could cause would be catastrophic."
Everyone turned their head when Optimus began speaking. "Megatron must be stopped. Agent Fowler, have the facility evacuate all personnel. Will you and your team be accompanying us, Major Lennox?"
Arcee watched as the Major's face furrowed in consideration. He looked towards Fowler and the same small group he arrived with before turning back to look at the Prime.
"This is just as much their call as it is mine," Lennox answered. His face turned serious as he addressed his small squad. "This is going to be unlike anything we've ever seen before, nothing like our time in the desert. We'll be going in severely outgunned and outclassed by anything those Decepticons may have, armed with experimental weapons that have never been used in live combat. We likely aren't going to be getting reinforcements besides the bots here, we are the reinforcements. There's no shame in backing out now."
With no hesitation, every single member of Lennox's squad stepped forward as Epps placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know we'd follow you anywhere. You got us through a lot, you'll get us through this."
Lennox smiled in appreciation as he turned back toward Optimus. "We were brought here to help and that's what we're going to do."
Optimus smiled in appreciation as Fowler handed Lennox a handful of devices that could easily clip onto their person.
"Take these radios with you. They'll allow you to communicate with everybody and the base while you're in the field. And I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out but these weapons don't use typical ammunition and are much less mechanical than you're probably used to. Just put the battery in its slot, flip the safety, and squeeze the trigger."
Lennox said his thanks as he handed every member of his team a radio. "Washington's pretty far from here though, how are we going to get there?"
Optimus simply looked at his old friend. "Ratchet, ready the ground bridge."
Quickly, the medic approached the console, punching in the coordinates Agent Fowler provided, and pulled the lever. The ground bridge roared to life with its usual roar and blinding light that filled the silo.
"Autobots, roll out!"
Arcee couldn't help but snicker as the new additions to the human team stared in amazement at what was happening before them. At once, the giant mechanical beings transformed in front of their very eyes as their ears were filled with the sounds of shifting metal and gears. The squad pushed aside their feelings of astonishment and hopped inside Bulkhead, barely strapping in before the Autobot peeled off through the roaring vortex.
….
Almost as soon as they came through the ground bridge, they were met with a barrage of energon fire. Arcee skidded to a stop next to Optimus and the others, transforming and surveying the destruction that surrounded them. Everywhere they looked, wreckages of transports and burning buildings filled the air with smoke. As the Autobots provided covering fire, the NEST team sprinted to a nearby piece of debris for cover.
Hernandez leaned against the fortification as he rubbed his arms. "Do your guy's bones feel weird too?"
/"Don't worry. You'll get used to it."/ Raf's voice cut in through their comms.
Shocked, Hernandez turned to Epps. "Is that the kid from the silo?"
Optimus continued to provide suppressive fire as he answered. "Rafael is of great help to the team. His knowledge and skill with technology has aided us on multiple occasions against the Decepticons."
"Kid has to be a genius or something then," said Epps.
"Could you cut the chatter and focus on the giant robots shooting at us?" Anderson cut in as she aimed down her experimental rifle. As she squeezed the trigger, a bright beam of light streaked across the battlefield and struck a vehicon in the faceplate. It staggered as it clutched its face in agony before falling.
Arcee couldn't help but be impressed at the effectiveness of the new weapon as she fired a few potshots at the Decepticon leader. Standing next to him, she spotted Knockout and a new con she didn't recognize along with a handful of vehicons that were already going down. At this rate, they'd overpower their forces and be able to-
A ground bridge opened behind Megatron and his lackeys, bringing a wave of reinforcements, and destroying any hope Arcee may have had in ending this quickly. A volley of energon fire soon followed and Arcee raced for cover along with the humans behind an abandoned tank. The cons had taken a defensive position near one of the facility's hangars as they fired back, intent on not allowing the Autobots the option of encroaching on their position.
Bulkhead sighed as he ducked behind a damaged cargo plane for cover with Bee and Optimus. "Scrap, those drones are going to slow us down enough for bucket head to get his hands on the DNGS."
Optimus turned his helm toward the battlefield for a moment, then down to meet the gaze of the human squad leader. "Major Lennox, if we provide you a distraction could you and your team flank Megatron's forces and handle the vehicons?"
"We'll do as much as we can to make sure they won't be a problem for you," answered Lennox.
Optimus nodded and looked back at the large green bot. "Bulkhead, clear a path and go with the humans."
The wrecker obliged and chuckled as he grabbed the large airframe they were just using for cover. With a heavy grunt, he lifted and hurled it in the direction of the Decepticons. It soared through the air before crashing into the ground and kicking up a mountain of dust. Bulkhead quickly transformed and waited for the humans to hop in. Once they did, he took off to move around the battle zone and take the cons by surprise.
"We must move quickly and press the attack," Optimus ordered the scout and second in command.
Arcee wasted no time and transformed. She raced alongside them toward the Decepticon's position, dodging stray shots as the vehicons aimlessly fired. Through the dust, a dark gray frame emerged, belonging to the new con she noticed earlier. She gave herself a boost in speed as the con searched the area they once were. By the time he realized what was happening, Arcee had already transformed and sprung into a kick.
Her pede slammed into his midsection, driving him back as he grunted in pain and instinctively shielded it with his arm, leaving him exposed. She pulled back her fist and struck him against the helm, knocking him onto his aft.
He tried sitting back up but Arcee stopped him before he could even raise his head, placing her pede on the con's throat. She'd never seen him before and it looked like he didn't even have an alt mode yet, which meant he'd recently arrived. He had come with Megatron though, most likely through a ground bridge like the vehicons. That meant he'd been aboard the Nemesis and that meant he'd likely seen or at least heard about Jack.
"There's a human aboard your ship," Arcee calmly stated, converting her arm into a blaster and aiming it at his helm. "Megatron took him from us and we want him back."
The Decepticon only grunted something in response as he tried to force her pede off of his throat, but Arcee only increased the pressure as he failed to escape.
"I'm only going to ask one more time. Where is the Nemesis? Where is Jack?"
Arcee was caught off guard as the con rolled himself over, throwing her off balance and providing him the opportunity to kick her back. She landed in a heap before quickly standing back up and keeping her blasters trained on him as he slowly stood to his full height.
Rubbing his throat where her pede once laid, he stared her down as he spoke clearly. "I don't know anybody onboard the ship named Jack. But if he's the same human I saw in Shockwave's laboratory, he's dead."
Everything around her ground to a halt. The con was still saying something to her, but she stopped listening. She couldn't understand, this shouldn't have happened, this shouldn't have been possible. Her friend was dead, and yet the Decepticon right in front of her was using his voice.
Sorry this took such a long time to come out and it's not even that big of a chapter. It was supposed to be longer (and it was!) but it was just taking me forever to comb through and edit the whole thing. So I split it so I could get a chapter out asap. The good news with this is that the next chapter is already written, just need to go through and edit it the same as I did with this.
Also, it's not an important detail but comm speak has changed. "It used to be this," but I've changed it /"to just be this"/. There's a lot of comm speak in the next chapter and all that underlined text just became an eyesore for me. I'll most likely go back into the previous chapters and change it to the new version.
On another note, Jack's cybertronian name, as a few of you already noticed, is a reference to another tfp prime fic After the Fall written by Hexalys. Stories like that are what inspired to me write my own story and I wanted to give a nice nod to it. Though the name won't stick around forever, it's just a placeholder and plot device. I have a few ideas on what his new name will be but if you have any suggestions, feel free to drop them.
Thanks for reading and hopefully I can get the next chapter out within a few weeks at most.
9/28/24