Transformers: Sol Wars

by storyseeker7

Fleeing a dead Cyberton the Autobots find themselves in the home of humanity. But unlike in so many other universes the Humanity they find is different, it is a humanity that as spread itself across its home system. Will the Autobots find allies in this different humanity? Or will they find that they are just as divided as Cybertron was?

12. Illicit Activities pt: 2

Chapter 5: Illicit Activities pt: 2

---

Unknown

Jack had a hard time imagining a worse position he could be in. First, he had been captured by the outlaws. Then, just as they were about to let him go and be on his merry way, pirates jumped on them and seized the outlaw ship and crew. Jack included.

And not just any old pirate group, either. Jack wondered if he had done something to offend a deity out there. Now, once again, he was being held in the brig of a starship heading opposite where he wanted to go. Nor was he alone in that brig.

"You don't have to scowl like that," Caleb said with a smile that looked more than a bit forced. "At least your cell is a handsome, dashing rogue."

Funny, Jack didn't remember someone else in the same cell as them. "I blame you for this," Jack said.

The outlaw captain looked offended. "Now, how is this my fault?" He asked. "I seem to remember you were the one to chase my ship into the particle cloud."

Jack snorted. "That wouldn't have happened if you just cut your engines and let my people board your ship," he said. "Or if you hadn't captured me. I could have found my way back without your help."

Caleb's smile grew. "Then you wouldn't have enjoyed my hospitality as a host," he said.

"And I wouldn't be stuck in this cell, captured by one of the most infamous pirates since Black Beard," Jack shot back. "What do you have to say to that?"

Caleb looked Jack up and down, and he cracked a wide smile. Jack suddenly wished he could crawl into a hole to hide. "Nice body." Did he forget to mention that the two had been stripped down to their undergarments?

Which was why he was trying to avoid looking at the man chained next to him. Because god above, did he have a body that looked like you could grind meat on it. Jack slammed that particular thought down to the back of his mind.

"And nice ass."

Jack opened his mouth to say something. The opening of doors stopped the captive pilot, who turned his head to see who was coming in. Caleb did the same.

A man with dark hair walked out in front of their shared cell. He was smiling at the two occupants. "Good, the two of you are awake." He said. Two others came in, flanking him. Both had weapons drawn out. "Our Illustrious Captain wishes to speak to you."

"And what Captain would that be?" Jack asked, even though he knew who it was.

The man in front of the cell smiled. "Why the one and only…"

---

Axalon, Bridge

"Captain Iker Iglesia," Raymond said in an even voice. Optimus could hear the slight edge in his voice that betrayed his worry. "One of the most wanted men in the solar system. Even the League wants him dead."

"So, I take it that this guy is one bad dude," Wheeljack said. "What sort of stuff has he done?"

"It would be quicker to say what he hasn't done," Commander Raymond said. "This guy has a list that can go between Earth and the Belt. Murder, grand theft, hijacking, slaving, the list goes on. He is likened to a modern-day Blackbeard."

"Blackbeard?" Wheeljack questioned.

"A notorious pirate back in a time when our ships were made of wood and sailed the oceans of our planet," Raymond explained. "A nasty piece of work, and this Captain Iglesia is living up to his reputation as his modern-day counterpart."

Optimus saw Wheeljack frowning. "Well, that can't be any good. I saw that ship take the outlaw ship into its hanger bay. A rather large hanger bay if it can fit another ship in it."

"The Black Death," Raymond said. You got to some kind of crazy to name a ship after one of the deadliest diseases in Earth's history." Wheeljack and Optimus exchanged a look, wondering what that was about. The man shook his head and resumed his explanation. "That ship has been noted to have an abnormally large hanger. Speculation has been that it captures smaller ships like you just saw."

Wheeljack nodded. "Makes sense in a way," he said, rubbing his chin. "You can just get your target inside and shut the door on them. Assuming they can't blast their way out, they'll stuck there."

Optimus nodded. "Now the question is, what do we do from here?" He asked.

Wheeljack crossed his arms. "I don't know about you," he started. "But I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to bust Jack out of there. Wrecker style if I have to."

"You may want to hold off from that for a moment," Commander Raymond said.

Wheeljack frowned. "And why would I do that?" He asked.

"Because we now have an opportunity to catch this man," Raymond said. "The pirates don't know you're tailing them, right?"

Wheeljack nodded. "Of course, they don't. I have the stealth systems on the Jackhammer going full blast. I could fly within a meter of their hull, and they'd never notice me."

"Good then," Raymond said.

"What are you proposing, Commander?" Optimus said. He did have a rough idea of what the man was thinking.

"We let the Jackhammer follow the Black Death back to its base of operations," the Commander said. "If possible, Wheeljack can try to free Jack. But it would be better if he took out the base's sensor array."

Wheeljack's optics widen in understanding. "Then you guys come in and take the base and the Black Death," he uncrossed his arms. "Do we even have the ships for that? It would just be the Axalon and the Jasper."

Raymond waved his hand. "Not to worry," he said. "I already contacted Admiral Cartwell. We'll be meeting up with the Battleship Valentina and her escorts." A projection of the UNS battleship appeared along with four other ships. From Optimus's knowledge, they were a cruiser, a pair of frigates, and another type with which he was unfamiliar. "If we can catch Iglesia by surprise, not only can we save our crewman, but we will also have napped one of the most infamous pirates in recent history."

Optimus looked at the Holographic image of Wheeljack. He looked like he was in deep thought. "Wheeljack, I want you to consider our option here," he said. "I know you want to save Jack. But we have to consider what a chance this is."

Wheeljack frowned but nodded. "I get that Prime," he said. "This Iglesia sounds like one bad dude. And I agree this is a chance to put a stop to him. But you have to remember that I consider Jack to be a friend. If it means losing our chance at this guy to get my friend back, I'll take it."

Optimus saw a look in Commander Raymond's eyes that suggested he didn't fully agree with the sentiment. "Still, this is our chance, and I will take it," he said. "Hopeful once you followed the Black Death to its base of operations, you will find something that can help with both goals."

Wheeljack nodded, and then his image winked out. Raymond was silent for a long moment, prompting Optimus to speak. "Something on your mind, Commander?"

"I'm not sure if we can trust him with a task like this," Raymond replied. "I know he considers Airman Witwicky to be a friend. I can even understand his desire to see him back safe. As his commanding officer, I share that desire."

"However," Optimus said, sensing the conflict in the UNS Commander.

"Iglesia is one of the most dangerous men in the Solar System," Raymond said. "If we can capture him, a lot of people will be sleeping easier. Can we trust Wheeljack not to do anything that could jeopardize that?"

"Wheeljack is used to a different command style," Optimus explained. "As a Wrecker, he took missions that no one else could or would. But rarely did they answer to the normal chain of command. Even now that Wheeljack has joined my team, he sometimes goes off alone."

There was a skeptical look in Commander Raymound's eyes. "He doesn't sound like someone very reliable."

Optimus shook his head. "Do not get me wrong, Commander," he said. "Wheeljack is perhaps one of my best bots. While he does not always follow protocol, he gets the job done and follows his spark."

---

Jackhammer

Wheeljack had a determined expression on his face as he looked over the readouts of his ship. It had been a while since he had used the stealth systems on the old girl. He had to make sure they would not give out on him at the wrong moment.

Not when he was following a ship that outsized and outgunned him. Then his thoughts fell to what Jack's commanding officer said. A frown formed on his mouth. He didn't like it but understood where the man was coming from. Just after cutting the transmission, Wheeljack downloaded everything the UNS had on the pirate captain.

It had caused Wheeljack's concern for the fighter pilot to grow. This Captain Iglesia was the kind of guy he would put up there with Lockdown. Wheeljack eyed the sensor array, noticing that the pirate ship slowed down as it approached a large asteroid.

That must be it," Wheeljack thought. The base of operations for the Black Death and its Captain. "Hang on, Jack. I'll get you out of there."

---

Black Death, Bridge

Jack was surprised at how clean the bridge of the Black Death looked. For a pirate ship, particularly this one, he would imagine the whole bridge to be dimly lit, an odd to be filtering in, and decks and bulkheads to be rusted color with more than a few bloodstains for coloring.

Walking onto the bridge of the infamous starship was like walking onto the bridge of a UNS warship. The place was well-lit enough to clearly see where they were going and what they were doing. The decks and bulkheads were spotless (then not the shining clean he would have found on a warship). There was no mysterious mist in the air.

But it was a crowded area. Maybe two dozen people were operating rows upon rows of consoles and terminals haphazardly placed throughout the bridge. More than a few wires could be seen hanging out or lying across the decks.

Jack heard a low whistling next to him. "Impressive set-up, you guys got here," Caleb said. "But a little messy for my liking." He carefully steps over a tangle of cables on the floor.

The man leading them snorted. "Careful with that mouth of yours." He said. The group came to the bridge's center, where a man sat in a throne-like chair. "Captain, I've brought the prisoners as you requested."

The man in the chair looked up at the other man with a cold expression. "Good, then you may leave us," he said, standing up.

The man who escorted Jack and Caleb nodded and left with his two guards. Now that no one else was in the way, Jack could get a good look at the man in front of him and Caleb. He was about around Caleb's height, had a stocky build, and was dressed in black clothes. His face was aged; Jack guessed he was in his sixties to seventies, and three scars could be seen. His short black hair was neatly kept, and his eyes a dull grey color.

The man gave the two of them a cold smile. "Welcome aboard the Black Death," he said. "As you may already know, I am Captain Iker Iglesia." He said.

Not for the first time since this whole mess had started, Jack felt a cold shiver down his spine. Some part of Jack had been hoping this all had been a terrible nightmare and he would wake up at any moment. He was awake and very much wishing he hadn't woken up.

"Yeah, we've heard about you," Caleb said. Jack shot the other man a look, asking him to be quiet. Neither of them knew what sort of temperament Iker had. "You're quite popular around these parts."

The pirate captain's smile grew. Jack felt like he was staring into the jaws of a predator. "So I am, so I am." He said. "But I supposed that should not be much of a surprise. I am likened to a modern-day Blackbeard, a distinction in which I take great pride. I bet you wished you had a reputation like mine, Captain Caleb Medina."

Caleb's eyes widened. For a moment, Jack thought he even saw a hint of fear in his eyes. "How?"

Iker's smile remained. "I like to keep tabs on the going ons of the belt," he said. "I know about most major events around these parts and quite a few minor ones. I even keep track of people of interest, big and small. Your name has appeared on more than a few UNS naval reports."

Caleb's cocky smile had returned when the pirate captain was done. "Well, it's nice to know that I'm famous." He said.

Captain Iglesia turned his gaze towards Jack. The fighter pilot flinched at the gaze of the infamous pirate. "And you," he said in a cool, crisp tone. "I find you most interesting, young man." If it was anyone else saying that, Jack might have felt flattered. But with this man, it felt like he was a predator playing with his food. "Initially, I thought you were just another El Dorado crew member. Perhaps even the Captain's lover."

Jack was flushed at the insinuation by the pirate captain. "We are not lovers," he said, careful to keep his voice even. "Trust me, I have better taste in men than him."

If Caleb was insulted, he didn't act like it. "Come, now, little pilot," he said. "If it weren't for the unexpected run-in, I might have coerced you into my bed."

Captain Iglesia cut in before Jack could respond. "As amusing as this is," he looked at Jack with an intense gaze. "I did get my answer when my men inspected the hanger bay of the El Dorado." His hand went for a terminal. On it, the image of Jack's starfighter flashed. "What they found was quite surprising, to say the least."

Jack gulped as Iglesia kept staring at him. "It would seem that our outlaw friend here managed to snag himself a prisoner from the UNS." He replied. "One who so happened to be piloting an advanced starfighter. Very impressive."

Caleb shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. "Wasn't that hard to do," he said. "This idiot decided to follow my ship into a particle cloud."

"Only because I was chasing after you," Jack barked at the outlaw captain. "It is your fault that I'm even in this position."

A snort could be heard from Iglesia. "Again, as amusing as this is," he said dryly. "I must thank you for bringing me such a valuable piece of treasure. Two of them, in fact." Iglesia smiled at Jack.

Jack suddenly got a bad feeling. "Two?" He asked the man. From the corner of his eye, he saw Caleb giving him a worried look.

"Jack Witwicky," Iglesia said. "The son of the famed Admiral Witwicky."

Shit, Jack thought. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said, trying to deflect the subject.

Iglesia frowned. "Don't play coy with me, boy. You're not very good at it." He said. "I know who you are and who your father is. As I said, I keep track of all the major figures in the belt, including who their friends and family are." The man placed his hand on Jack's chin. "You and that little starfighter will be very valuable to me. Which is why I won't do what I normally do to someone like you, Caleb."

Caleb narrowed his eyes at the pirate captain. "And that would be?" By the tone in his voice, he already suspected what the answer would be.

Iglesia's cold smile returned. "Usually, when I capture a ship like yours, I would have the captain killed as an example," he said. "Then the rest of the crew would be pressed into my services. But since you brought such valuable cargo, I am willing to spare you on the condition that you behave yourself."

Caleb gave the man a silent glare. "How generous of you," he said.

He got a cold smile from the pirate captain. "I can be," he said. "Now, as for you."

Being near this man was like spending time in Earth's polar regions. "What?" Jack questioned with some hesitancy. "What are you going to do with me? Have I killed just because I'm with the UNS? Torture me for secrets of the military?" Jack would be a liar if he said he was not afraid of dying. He didn't like thinking much of it. But in the rare instances he did, he had always envisioned a quick but fiery death in the cockpit of a starfighter.

Now, he was in the hands of the most infamous pirate in recent history. That wasn't really an option. The best he could hope for was to be lined up on a wall and shot. Then, there was the possibility that his death was not as swift or as painless as that. It really depends on how merciful this Iglesia character was. The latter was better left unsaid.

Iglesia stared at him with a natural expression. "Noth like that," he said. "You're much more valuable to me alive. And I doubt that you know anything that would be useful, even considering who your father is. No, I have something very different in mind for you."

Jack now had an idea of what the man was planning. "You want to ransom me off." He said. "You won't get away with this."

Iglesia smirked at him as his hand receded from Jack's face. "We'll see," he said. "I am certain that the son of the famous Fleet Admiral Witwicky will be worth my time. Maybe enough to secure a new battleship or at least get started on one. As for your Starfighter, it will be a wealth of technology. The inertial dampeners on that thing alone could increase our capabilities twofold. Not to mention the minimization of fusion weapons. You have just made my life a lot easier, little pilot."

Jack scowled at the pirate captain. "Glade to be of service." He spat.

The pirate captain sat in his chair and smirked at the pair. "Now then, I believe it's time that the two of you returned to your cells." He said. "I would not worry about your stay here. I can promise the two of you that you will be treated as honored guests." Then, a twist looked morphed across the scarred man's face. "But one last thing. If you have any thoughts of escape or making trouble while you're here." A cold smile spreads across the man's face. "I've arranged a little demonstration to dissuade you." He pressed a button on the armrest of his chair. "Bring him in."

The sound of a door opening echoed on the bridge of the Black Death, followed by a man's shouts. Jack didn't recognize the voice, but judging by the expression on Caleb's face, he obviously did. A man was dragged into view of Jack and Caleb. Then, he was held down in front of Captain Iglesia.

"No, please don't," Caleb said pleadingly. "You don't have to do this."

Iglesia ignored the pleas from Caleb as he pulled a pistol from the side of his hip and pointed the barrel at the head of the man. "Rivers," Caleb shouted. He shot to his feet. But was swiftly pinned down by two more of Iglesia's men.

There were tears in the other man's eyes as he spoke. "Captain, it's been an." A loud crack split the air.

---

Iglesia watched in cold satisfaction as the two newest prisoners were dragged away. One of them is more solen than the other. Then he looked down at the corpse at his feet. He gave it a good kick, flipping it over. "Clean this up," he ordered one of his subordinates.

Right away, two of his people came up and lifted the body. "So, are you really going to spare this Captain Medina?" One of his lieutenants asked. "It's not quite like you to be so merciful."

Iglesia looked at the man, smiling just a bit at seeing the cold shiver from the man. He had always enjoyed that reaction from people. "I would hardly call that mercy." He replied. "The stripe mines can be a dangerous place. Accidents can and do happen." He let the statement hang in the air.

His Lieutenant smirked. "I don't suppose you want me to arrange one such accident?" He asked.

Iglesia nodded, happy for the show of intelligence from one of his subordinates. "We don't need anybody getting ideas." He said. "But leave the UNS pilot in his cell. He is far more useful to us alive and unharmed."

The Lieutenant nodded. "What about the fighter craft we recovered from the freighter?" He asked. "Should we take it apart and see what makes it tick?"

Iglesia was tempted to say yes. From what his engineers had told, the craft sitting in their hanger bay was perhaps one of the most advanced fighters in the solar system. More so than the new vipers of the UNS were rolling out.

Then he shook his head. "Don't," he said in a tone that promised consequences if disobeyed. "We don't know what sort of surprises the UNS has in store for anyone who tries to take that thing apart. For now, run several thorough scans of the craft. See what we can glean from it."

The Lieutenant nodded. "We'll get on it, Captain," he said, then left.

Iglesia looked forward at the projection of the Black Death as it approached its base of operations—one of several he had operating in the belt. Iglesia frowned. He would have his ship move on to another base. He had already been working in this sector for several months, and UNS was hounding him from every corner.

Once this affair with the son of Admiral Witwicky was over, they would be out for blood. Once he switched to a new base, he would have to lay low for a while. Not to say that his pirate activities would cease. He had other vessels at his command who could terrorize the belt while the Black Death was out of sight.

His frown morphed into a smile. Even considering the risks, he had found himself one of the greatest opportunities he had seen in years. He was ambitious enough to take it.

---

Pirate Base, Holding Cell

Jack did not know what to say when he and Caleb were brought to their new cell now in the pirate base of operations. He was a little thankful they had been given new sets of clothes to wear this time.

Caleb was sullen and remained silent. Whoever that was Iglesia had shot must have been close to Caleb. "I'm sorry," Jack finally said. This got the attention of the outlaw captain. His eyes did not look so good.

"Rivers was one of the first people I recruited to my ship," he said. "We knew each other from the colony I grew up in. I wouldn't say we were friends, but we were close, and he was one of my best people."

Jack sat back against the cell wall. "Why did you get into smuggling?" He asked after another moment of silence. Caleb looked at him with a curious look in his eyes. "I'm not going to stand on some rock of morality and say it's illegal, but I'm sure you had your reasons. But it's also dangerous to get into, so why risk it."

A small smile spreads across Caleb's face as he adjusts himself on his bunk bed. "You remember when we were in my quarters?"

Jack frowned at the seemingly odd change of subject. "If this some kind of attempt to make a pass at me."

Caleb held his hands up and shook them. "No. No, nothing like that Mi Cielo," he said with a chuckle. "You remember those pictures I had lying around?" Jack nodded. "You asked me about one of them. A picture of a boy."

Jack nodded, remembering the short exchange he had with the outlaw captain. "Yes, you mentioned he was your brother, which makes sense. He looks so much like you that I thought it was you as a kid."

That got a laugh from the man. "Trust me, I wasn't near as cute as that when I was a kid," he said with a wide grin, rubbing his chin. "Thank God, I grew out of my ugly duckling phase. Wouldn't you say?" He continued after getting a flat stare from Jack. "The colony we grew up in was one of the harder ones. Even though it was one of the first to be established when Humanity started to spread into the belt. So, life was tough for us, especially with our mother not being all there."

Jack looked at Caleb with some concern. "Did she?" He let the question hang in the air for a second.

Caleb shook his head. "She didn't neglect us if that is what you are implying." He said. He sighed. "When she did come out, she cared for me, and my brother helped us when she could. I told you earlier that she taught me how to cook. But for the most part, it was just me and my brother."

Jack nodded; he didn't bother to ask about a father. He could make a couple of educated guesses about that situation. "So, is this outlaw thing a way to support your family?"

"My brother, yes," Caleb said. "I don't have to worry about my mom anymore. Not for the last six years." Jack chooses not to press on that subject and lets the man continue. "I send most of my credits to my brother."

"I see," Jack said. "So, what will happen now, with this." There was no need to elaborate. "What will become of him now?"

Jack saw a dark look pass over Caleb's face for a second. Then, just as quickly, it vanished. "He's a smart kid. Smarter than I will ever be, and I taught him how to survive. He'll figure something out; besides, I got a trusted friend looking after him."

Jack nodded. "That's good to hear." He said. But he would prefer it if they found a way out of this situation.

"But I think I would like it better if we found a way out of this," Caleb said, unknowingly giving voice to Jack's thoughts. Then, the next thing that came out of his mouth had Jack taking a mental step back. "What's your family like?"

Jack looked at the man with wide eyes. "Wh-what?" He said.

A smile was present on Caleb's lips. "I said, what's your family like?" He repeated. "I've told you a little about my family and hardly know anything about yours."

Jack frowned. "You've read the official records and know about my father." He said. "Shouldn't that be plenty?"

Caleb shrugged his shoulders. "Official records can only tell me so much." He said. "You would know something that they wouldn't tell me. So, what's your family like? Any siblings?"

Jack bit his lip, wondering if he should tell this man anything. After all, he barely knew anything about him. Then, the counter thought was that Caleb had told him about his family, so it was a fair question. "Two sisters," he said after a moment of debate. "Both of them are older."

Caleb's smile remained. "Two sisters. Ehh?" He said, rubbing his chin. "I always wondered what it would be like to have a sister."

Jack snorted. "An absolute nightmare." He said. "They're loud, obnoxious, and they have no concept of privacy when it comes to their 'baby brother.' They always picked on me, and you would not believe how many times they embarrassed me in front of my friends and any boy I had a crush on."

Caleb was grinning. "Sounds like what I do with my little brother," he said. "Except with the bit with crashes. As far as I know, no one's piqued his interest."

"Even if he did, he would be wise not to tell you about it," Jack said. "As his sibling, you would be obligated to pester and embarrass him about it."

Caleb's grin grew. "Too true," he said. "But I'm sure you've done more than your share of pestering and embarrassing. Lord knows my brat of a bother has gotten back at me plenty of times. But despite that, he's still my little bro, and there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. I'm sure that you feel the same way towards your sisters."

Jack was silent for a second, but a smile won out on his face. "I guess so," he said, leaning up against the cell wall, his arms crossed. "Despite everything they did to embarrass me, both were always there for me. Quite a bit more so than my own dad. Especially after my mom died."

A sympathetic look appeared on Caleb's features. "If it's not too much to ask," he started to ask. "How did she die? Was it some kind of accident?"

Jack shook his head. "Not anything like that, unfortunately." He said with some bitterness slipping into his voice. "My mother served in the Marines."

That got a raised eyebrow from Caleb. "A marine. Huh?" He said. "She must have been some woman. So, your father serves in the Navy, and a mother who was in the Marines. You really are a military brat, aren't you?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. He was used to comments like that. "Just how my family is." If his father was to be believed, military service in the family went as far back as the early twenty-second century. "When I was about six, my mother was sent out on a tour. She never came back."

Again, Caleb gave him a sympathetic. "Were they able to recover the body?" He asked.

Jack nodded at the man. "Yeah, they did," he said. "Though I never got to see it. Even at her funeral. My father kept me from seeing it." It was perhaps the last time he had seen his father be so concerned for him before he turned cold.

There was a moment of silence in the holding cell. "I am sorry about this," Caleb said. "If you hadn't been captured by me and my crew, you wouldn't be in this situation. You would probably be back on your ship, and I would be here."

"Worse," Jack said. "You would be dead. I'm the only reason you're still alive." Even then, Jack doubted that would last for long. For whatever reason, the fighter pilot felt that Iglesia would arrange for an accident.

"But Rivers would still be alive." Calen pointed out. "But you're right; things could definitely be worse."

The doors to the brig slide open, allowing a figure to walk in. Upon seeing the man walking in, Jack was struck with a strange sense of familiarity. The man was tall and well built, with black hair with grey lines. The man looked around the room with piercingly blue eyes.

The man smiled when he saw Jack and Caleb. An oddly familiar smile spreads across his face as he approaches the cell. "Well, well, what do we have here?" Again, the voice was startingly familiar to Jack, but he could not place it where he had heard it before. "A flyboy and what I'm guessing is the latest scum on this side of the belt."

Caleb frowned and stood from his position. He walked up to the front of the cell, standing centimeters away from the forcefield that held him and Jack in. Caleb glared at the newcomer. "What do you want?" He asked. "Come down here to mock us?"

The man smirked. "Hey now," he said. "I just came down here to chat with an old friend."

Jack looked at the am closely. Now, he knew that he had met this man somewhere before. The question was when and where? Jack got up from his bead and looked at the man closer. "Do I know you?" He asked, slowly approaching the cell barrier.

The man looked like he was offended. "Come on, Jack, don't you recognize me?" He asked in a tone that suggested he was taking some amusement from Jack's bafflement. "After all, I was on the Jasper a few days ago. If I remember correctly, I was talking to Chief Gostov about some ideas I had for upgrades to your little stealth ship."

Jack narrowed his eyes as his brain racked itself for the memory. The memory came to him, but there was no way this man could have known about that. Not unless he had been a part of the… something clicked in Jack's mind. But there was no way!

The man on the other side of the cell smiled when he saw the disbelieving look on his face. "Something on your mind, Jack?" He asked.

Jack took a step, having difficulty believing what he saw. "There's no way. But you're not," he held a hand around his height. Then, he raised it way above his head. "You're."

Caleb turned around, giving him a concerned look. "Hey, what is it? Who is this guy?"

"Wheeljack?"

---

Jackhammer

"Wheeljack?"

In his cybertronian form, Wheeljack smiled. "I am so glad this worked." He muttered inside of the Jackhammer. He responded to Jack's question. "What gave me away? My devilishly good looks?" He had his holo-form put a hand to its chin and let out a toothy smile.

Jack's optics, eyes, widen. "But how?" He asked. "You're not."

"Human." Wheeljack finished. "Thank Primus for that. No offense."

"Uhh, Jack, what's going on here?" The other man in the cell said. Wheeljack recognized him from the files he had downloaded. The outlaw captain, Caleb. Wheeljack thought he would be bigger.

Jack looked at the outlaw, sharing a look of confusion. "I think I might know him. But he shouldn't look like this." He said, gesturing to Wheeljack's holoframe. "He's supposed to be way bigger and not human."

The outlaw looked even more confused than before. "Not human?" He glanced at the holoframe.

Wheeljack smirked in his holoframe. "I think he's referring to this," he said. Then he closed his optics, his real optics. With a moment of concentration, he shifts his holoframe to look like his Cybertronian form.

Surprised by the sudden change, both humans in the holding cell stepped back. "Okay, that's new." The outlaw said. Then, a flash of recognition appeared on the man's face. "Wait a minute, you're one of those aliens. Cybertronians, wasn't it? But aren't you supposed to be a bit big?" He raised his hand up high.

Wheeljack crossed his arms. "I'm not actually here," he said. "My real body is sitting back in the ship. Which is hanging out on this barren rock that the pirates call a home. What you are looking at is something we cybertronians call a holoframe."

"Holoframe?" Jack questions. "Is that something like a hologram?"

"Close, but they're a little more complicated than that," Wheeljack explained. Then he had his holoframe's hand reach out to touch the forcefield. A look of surprise appeared on both humans' faces. "You see, these things are solid. We have nanomachines to thank for that."

"That's something," the outlaw captain said, crossing his arms. "But why do you have that? Doesn't seem useful to you guys."

In both his real body and holoframe, Wheeljack shrugged. That was one mystery that was still hotly debated. "No one is quite sure why holoframe technology was made. However, the most accepted theory was that we could interact with our minicon cousins more easily. But we're getting off track here. The point is that it is useful right now. I can make this holoframe look like whatever I want. I can look like my handsome self here or," with another moment of concentration, he shifts his holoframe to its human form. "Make it look like something decidedly less appealing. But still a better sight than the two of you."

A snort escaped from the mouth of the outlaw captain. "Well, I can see that ego isn't unique to us homo sapient."

"So, are you going to get us out of here?" Jack asked. He had a hopeful look in his eyes.

"Not right now, I'm afraid," Wheeljack replied, as much as he would have liked to get Jack out here quickly. He knew the best option was to wait until reinforcements got here. "These might be pirates, but they have tight security on this rock. I'm only in because of the Jackhammer's Cybertronian technology."

The outlaw captain nodded his head. "So, what's the plan?" He asked. "How exactly are you going to bust us out then?"

"Us?" Wheeljack questioned as he narrowed his optics at the man. "Last I checked, you're why my good friend Jack is stuck in this cell."

"Yes, us," Caleb replied. "As me, him, my crew, and anyone else taken by Iglesia's bastards."

Jack looked at Wheeljack. "Don't worry about him," he said. "Just get us all out if you can."

Wheeljack gave the outlaw a sharp glare. Then he sighed. "Lucky for you, my plans already involved getting everyone out of here." Not at first. He had only planned to get Jack out and let the UNS handle this pirate business. Then, he got a good look at the pirate's labor force on his way to the holding cells. "But you got to hang tight for just a little bit. I've sent a message to Taskforce Omega-1, and they're on their way here now. Along with some additional ships."

A frown appeared on the outlaw's face. "Iglesia will see them coming." He said. "When he does, he'll make a run for it. Might even decide to destroy this base rather than let it fall into the hands of the UNS. Along with all of its assets."

Wheeljack smiled in his Holoframe. "Which is why I'm going to take out their sensor station before the fleet arrives in a few hours." He said. "But until then, you have to stay put, and you'll be out of here soon enough." Then he looked at the outlaw. "Although you might have some trouble with that."

The outlaw raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think that?" He asked.

"I overheard some chatter from the pirates," Wheeljack explained. "Sounds like this Iglesia guy wants an accident to happen to you. If I were betting, man, I would say it could be today or tomorrow."

A look of concern appeared on Jack's face while the outlaw snorted. "Figures," Wheeljack heard him mutter under his breath. "Wasn't enough that he killed one of my people. Now he wants me dead." He shook his head and looked back at Wheeljack. "Don't worry about me. I've been in tight spots before. I can get out of whatever that joder has in store for me."

Wheeljack shrugged. "Either way, it's nothing on my spark," he said. "Thought you at least deserved a warning. As for you, Jack, just stay out of trouble, and I'll be able to get out of here."

Jack nodded. "I'll try." He said.

Wheeljack nodded. "You know when to move," he said. "Once the fleet is close enough, I'll blow that sensor station to the pits. Understood?"

"Yes, sir."

"Got it."

With a final nod, Wheeljack deactivated his Holoframe. The two humans treated him to one final look of surprise as his sight in the holding cell vanished. Wheeljack shook his head in his real body as the strange feeling of being in two bodies at once receded.

"That's going to take some getting used to," he muttered. Then, he focused on the task at hand. The sensor station wasn't far from where he landed. Once the fleet got close to its range, he would fly his ship up and give it a taste of cybertronian weapons. Ideally, it would be the last thing it would ever taste.

Wheeljack scanned the station for the nth time since he got this hunk of rock. He didn't pick up any defenses around the station. Nothing that indicated a shield of some kind. If it did, odds were it was deactivated.

"Probably don't need it until they see someone coming," he said to himself. "Luck for me, they won't see the Jackhammer coming until it's too late." A smile appeared on Wheeljack's face. Being out here alone, pitted against an unsuspecting enemy, he felt like a wrecker again.

This Iglesia wasn't going to know what hit him.

---

Pirate base, labor camp, several hours later

Caleb kept his wits about him since he was dragged out of the cell and thrown into this hell hole. If he had merely disliked Iglesia before, it was a burning hatred for the man. Everywhere Caleb looked, he saw the suffering of human beings as they toiled away.

Living in the belt and being what many considered an outlaw, Caleb had seen many places with a range of liveability. From that, he had seen a lot of things that most people wouldn't have. Certainly, no one came from Earth, Luna, Mars, or any other major colonies. Stuff that Caleb wished was just an exaggeration or regulated to the pages of ancient history.

What Caleb was witnessing ranked highly in that category, and it was something he fervently hoped that no one else would see. He would never let his little brother see or set foot in a place like this.

Neu Tegucigalpa was not the best place to live in, but at least one could make a living if they tried. But in this pirate base, Caleb realized you would be lucky to see the next day.

I might not if I'm not careful, Caleb thought to himself. "Captain, there's another one."

Caleb nodded. He noticed the presence of Iglesia's goon. Several of them, in fact. They weren't trying to hide themselves even as they snuck through the crowds of slaves. "I know Kira," he said to his first mate. It was good that the pirates had not seen fit to separate him from his crew. That or they didn't care. Either way, it reeked of overconfidence.

"Just stay close to us," Kira said. A couple of other crewmen nodded. "We'll keep you safe, captain."

Caleb smiled at her. "Thanks for the sentiment," he said. "But I don't think any of us will be safe until we get off this rock."

A frown appeared on Kira's face. "Are you sure that this Wheeljack can be trusted?" She asked. "We don't know anything about these cybertronians. For all we know, this guy could be in League with Iglesia."

That thought had occurred to Caleb for a moment. The Cybertronians were completely new. Hardly anyone knew anything about them. So, there was a sense of uneasiness about them. Nothing that had gone into Xenophobia, thankfully. However, Caleb would not be surprised if some individuals would try to take advantage of that.

Caleb thought it was unlikely that he would ever encounter one of the giant robots. Then, again, he never thought he would be caught by the modern-day Black Beard. "I think we can," Caleb said with certainty.

Kira gave him a wary eye. "You sure?"

"I know people," Caleb said. He had always been a good judge of character. He didn't know if it was something that came naturally to him or some skill he rapidly developed because of life. He didn't honestly know. In either case, it had helped him greatly over his career as an outlaw and in life.

It was one of the reasons why he was so easy around the UNS fighter pilot who had come into his life recently. (It didn't hurt that the guy was easy in the eyes either and had a nice ass.) He knew Jack was a good man. And he knew that this Wheeljack was also a good man. Bot?

"But they're not," Kira started, then stopped herself. A thoughtful expression flashed across the woman's face. "Okay, say we can trust him. What do we do then." The group was now walking into a tunnel. It was not hard to notice that they had a small following.

"Simple, we try to keep our heads down," Caleb said. "Try to stay out of trouble until he makes his move." Something that might be hard to do if Iglesia had his way.

Kira nodded. "Then we make a break for the ship," she said.

Caleb quickly corrected her. "You make a break for the ship. On the other hand, I have a very important date I need to see."

Again, Kira frowned. "You don't have to go for that fighter pilot," she hissed. "I'm sure he can handle himself, and plus, he already has a friend looking out for him. Not to mention, he has caused us some trouble. He might take the opportunity to cause some more."

Caleb shook his head. He knew that Kira was coming from a good place. She was looking for the crew and their Captain. It was something that Caleb tried to do. Unfortunately, as he first liked to point out, he had a bleeding heart.

"I'm sorry, Kira," he said. "But I got to make sure that he gets out alright. You know me."

His first mate smiled at him ruefully. "I don't know what's worse, your bleeding heart or your hormones." She stated. "Either could be driving you right now."

Caleb smiled back. "It could be a little bit of both."

Kira shook her head. "Fine," she said through a sigh.

"Don't worry. I'll make it back to the ship before you realize I'm even gone," Caleb reassured Kira and the rest of his crewmates. "Does everyone else know what to do?" The group kept turning at different tunnels as he saw more pirates following them. Caleb realized he was being taken to an isolated section of the labor camp.

The rest of the crew was getting unedged as they, too, realized that the time was fast approaching. Wheeljack, you better move quickly, or else I might not have a head to keep down.

"I have a couple of others spreading the word," Kira said. "They should," She stopped. The whole group, including Caleb, stopped. He looked around, seeing one group of pirates behind them and another in front of them.

Caleb's crew formed a protective bubble around him. He saw them drawing hidden and makeshift weapons. Caleb reached his hand for a power tool, a laser drill. With a quick modification, it made for a decent laser weapon.

One of the pirates stepped up. The leader of the group. "We have business with that man," he said in a low growl. "The rest of you can go if you don't say anything to the rest of the workers."

That was never going to happen. Caleb saw a couple of his people move closer to him. "I'm afraid that you're mistaken," Kira said. "You must be looking for someone else."

Caleb smiled for a second, so happy for the display of loyalty from his crew. "Yeah, I don't think we have any business with you," he said. "Now, if you would be so kind. Can you get out of our way? We have a whole day of work to get to. I don't think your boss would be pleased about the productivity interruption."

The pirate leader looked at some of his men. He nodded at them. Then, all at once, the group of pirates charged in. The sounds of shouting and fighting quickly echoed in the tunnels as the pirates clashed with Caleb and his crewmates.

Weapons were quickly drawn and met with other weapons. In the chaos, Caleb noted that pirates mostly carried blunted weapons and makeshift knives. They must have wanted his death to look like a fight among workers.

Thankfully, Caleb and his crew were prepared. Not expecting a stiff resistance, the pirates were thrown back for a second. Then, they gained their footing and charged back the outlaw group. One pirate ran up to Caleb and got past one of his crewmen.

The man stabbed a knife forward, aiming for Caleb's gut. Caleb quickly grabbed the man's arm and redirected his attack. Then, with his other hand, he pulled out the modified laser tool and fired a blast into the man's chest. The man let out a gargled noise as his body slumped to the ground. Not wasting any time, Caleb quickly aimed his weapon at another pirate and fired. The pirate moved out of the way but took a hit to his shoulder.

Caleb quickly ducked as a metal rod narrowly stuck to the side of his head. The pirate tried to swing at Caeleb again but was tackled to the ground by one of his crewmates. A couple swift punches to the jaw had the pirate out of the fight.

Caleb quickly surveys the fights, smiling when he sees the skirmish going their way. Several of the pirates were on the ground, unconscious or otherwise. He did feel pain in his heart when he saw two of his crew on the ground, unmoving and not breathing. Some other pirates have even fled from the fight, going deeper into the tunnels.

Kira had slammed a pirate, the group's original leader, into the tunnel wall. The man tried to pull a knife on her. But Kira quickly snatched the knife away before he could pull it. A moment later, that same knife was held to his throat.

"Now, if you value your life," Caleb heard her hissing. "You'll tell us where you have your real weapons."

The man looked at her defiantly, but the edge of fear could be seen. "No way," he said. "Iglesia will have my head if I do."

"I'll have your head now if you don't," Kira said. She pressed the knife into the man's neck, and a thin red line formed where the blade met the skin.

The man looked like he wanted to gulp but had enough self-control not to. "Fine," he said. "Not like you lot will make it there anyway. We have people all over this base."

A moment later, the tunnel shook.

---

Jackhammer

Wheeljack flew his ship over to the sensor array. Less than a minute ago, he had gotten the signal that the fleet would soon be entering range. Wheeljack was smiling from audio receptor to audio receptor. He had been getting tired of all the waiting and was itching for action.

"Jack, you and your friend better be ready," Wheeljack said. "Because things are about to get nosy." He had no doubt that some of the slaves the pirate held would take advantage of the chaos. A part of him was even hoping a full-on revolt would occur. The more the pirates had to deal with, the better the chances that Jack would slip out.

"Who knows, maybe our Iglesia problem will be taken care of in the chaos," the wrecker muttered. But he had a feeling that this pirate would not be taken care of so easily. Odds were it would take the cannons of a battleship to remove the guy from the picture.

Or a well-placed photon blast. Wheeljack smiled as he targeted the sensor array on the pirate base. The structure was unshielded, and it was likely not expecting an attack. The pirates were in for a rude awakening. With a gleeful smile, Wheeljack fired missiles at the sensor array.

The sensor array immediately came to life as the missiles were detected. Just as quickly, panic overtook the array operators as they realized how close the missiles were and tried to raise shields to protect themselves. Wheeljack would have to admit he was just slightly impressed with how quickly the operators in the sensor array reacted.

But with the short distance the missiles had to travel, and the little time they had to react, their actions would be futile. The missiles collided with the main structure of the array, and a millisecond later, it was engulfed in an anti-matter explosion. For good measure, Wheeljack fired several bolts of energon from the main cannons of his ship.

He did not have to check the readouts to know the array was gone. With a press of a button, he sent a ping out that would be intercepted by the fleet. They would know to press their attack. "All right, Jack, it's up to you now."

Then he flew the Jackhammer, taking it in for an attack run on other targets Wheeljack had identified. Like a good wrecker, he would raise the pits on these pirates.

---

Pirate Base, Command Post

"What is going on?" Iglesia's voice was heard above the blaring of klaxons.

"I don't know, captain," an underling said frantically.

Iglesia narrowed his eyes at the man. "Then find out," he said in a voice that promised death if it didn't happen soon.

An icy fear washed over the man's face as he faced his station. Three seconds later, the underling made his report. "C-captain, the sensor array has been destroyed."

Iglesia paused for a second as he tried to comprehend the implications of that statement. "Destroyed?" He asked, his voice becoming frosty.

The underling stiffened in at his post. Slowly, he turned around to face his captain and nodded. "Y-yes, captain. The Sensor array has been destroyed. And, and." The man's voice died off.

Iglesia's hand slowly went to his side. "And?" He inquired. Around them, the room was deathly silent.

The underling was silent for several seconds, his eyes darting in all directions, and his throat was disabling, gulping. "We are getting reports of other attacks. A single vessel of unknown design."

Iglesia mussed on the report for a second. Then, in one a blur, he whipped his pistol out and fired a bolt into the underling's chest.

The man let out a gargled shriek as his back slammed in his chair, where it spasmed for a second or two before going still. Without a word, Iglesia clipped his weapon back to his side and gave a silent nod to another underling.

The man gulped and took his predator's place. "Now then, would anyone like to give me a visual of this unknown attacker?" He didn't have to wait long.

In front of him, an image of a ship appeared. It wasn't anything he had seen before. It wasn't a full-sized starship, but it was bigger than any shuttle Iglesia had known of. It was a blocky design with what appeared to be large cannons mounted on the sides, facing forward. It was firing blue bolts of light.

Iglesia's hand went to the control panel to his side. He zoomed the image in on a detail that caught his eye. It was a red insignia made from geometric shapes forming a face.

"The Autobots?" Iglesia whispered to himself. "Now, what are they doing out here?"

"You know who these people are?" Another underling asked.

Iglesia nodded. "Yes, I believe so." A cold smile spreads across his face. "And it presents us with an opportunity. Launch all fighters and attack shuttles. I want that ship taken down and recovered." After all, what pirate worth his salt would pass up a chance at advanced alien tech?

"Captain," an underling shouted. "We're getting reports of disturbances from the labor camps. Our workers are revolting."

Iglesia snorted. Of course, they would choose to raise up now. "Deploy security forces and quail this rebellion. Tell them they have my say so to slaughter the workers until they get back in line."

---

Tunnels

When the tunnels started to shake, and klaxons sounded, Caleb knew Wheeljack had made his move. "So, ET can be trusted to do a job," the man muttered.

"What's going on here? Are we under attack?" One of the pirates said, looking around the shaking tunnels.

"Who would be stupid enough to attack us?" Another pirate rebuked.

"Clearly, people smarter than you," Kira said, holding a pistol she had taken from a pirate. The remaining pirates looked around, seeing they were outnumbered now. Worse, Caleb's crew had taken the weapons off the unconscious/dead pirates. Real weapons.

A brave pirate tried to reach for the pistol at his side. Two bolts of plasma had him on the ground. The remaining pirates decided then that discretion was the better part of valor. "Screw this," a pirate said, dropping his makeshift weapon and running down the tunnels. He was joined by the rest of the pirate group.

However, Caleb and his crew did not waste time enjoying their victory. They quickly scavenged what weapons they could from the pirates on the ground. Caleb, now armed with a real plasma pistol and not the dainty laser drill he was using, spoke to his crew. "All right, everyone, this is our chance. While rescuing our guest, I want the rest of you to make for the ship."

"Got it," Kira said. "Don't worry, captain, we'll keep the engine running for you. You just make sure your rescue will be worth it as much as I would like to take charge. I don't want to become captain just yet."

Caleb smiled, happy for the show of support from his first mate. "Don't worry, I'll be back so quickly that you won't even notice I was gone. Now, you know where the El Dorado is, right?"

One of his crew nodded. "The pirates escorted us right out of her cargo bays, captain. They didn't bother to hide where they landed her. We know exactly where she is and how to get there."

Caleb nodded. "Good, that's what I want to hear." Then, the sound of weapons fire reached his ears, along with the screams of others. Caleb looked in the general direction of the sounds.

"Sounds like the other workers are taking this as a chance to break free," Kira said. "Good, it'll give us a better chance of getting out of here."

Caleb nodded. As much as he hated to admit it, the additional chaos of the labors under Iglesia's rule rising up would help them. He just hoped the death toll would be kept to the minimum.

"Let's go."

---

Axalon

"We just got word from Wheeljack," Commander Raymond said. "He's taken the pirate base's sensor array down."

"And just in time, too," Optimus said, rubbing his chin plate. "We have crossed the threshold for their sensor range. Hopefully, they will not see us coming."

"That is my hope, too," Raymond said. "If all goes well. We should have our crewman back and Iglesia dead or behind a holding cell."

Optimus preferred that it would be the latter of the two. Even after reading up on the man, the last of Primes believe he at least deserved to stand trial for his crimes. "Are all ships battle-ready?" He asked.

Raymond nodded. "The task force is ready," he replied. "All weapons are charged, and all fighters are on standby for launch. The Jasper is also ready to launch from your hanger. With your permission."

Optimus nodded. "Permission granted, commander. The Axalon is also ready for battle."

"Good," Raymond said. "And happy hunting." His image winked out.

Optimus surveyed the command center of the autobot cruiser, seeing his autobots were ready. "Full ahead."

---

Pirate Base, brig

Another shake ripped through the holding cell. "Wheeljack must be giving them hell out there," Jack whispered. Thankfully, the sounds of klaxons died out some time ago. Jack was standing at the edge of the holding cell, barely an inch from the forcefield that kept him.

He was having something of a staring contest with the warden. "You know, sounds like someone is giving your guys some trouble out there," Jack said to the man. "You sure you shouldn't be out there helping them?"

The pirate gave him a dirty stare. "Can it, prisoner," he said. "I've been told to keep an eye on you, and that's what I'll do. Besides," the sound of thunder was heard in the brig. "Whoever is foolish enough to attack us will regret it quickly. Iglesia does not like uninvited guests."

Jack crossed his arms and leaned on the side of the cell, careful not to touch the force field. "And what about invited guests?"

The pirate smiled at him. "Marginally better," he said. "Now, I suggest you shut up and let me do what I want." The man looked down at a terminal, doing what Jack could care less to know about.

Jack sighed as more thunder echoed into the brig. "Come on, Wheeljack," he mutters, looking up at the ceiling. "Stop playing around and come and get me already."

More thunder was heard in response to his statement. Jack perked up as he realized the sounds were slightly different this time. Nor were they quite the sound of thunder he had been heard for the past half-hour. "Do you hear that?" Jack asked.

The pirate at his station snorted. "Of course I do," he said. "I think that everyone on this base can hear us being attacked. Would you like to point anything else out?"

"No, not that," Jack said with a frown. "The other sounds, the ones that don't sound like thunder shaking this base."

The pirate looked up from his station, giving Jack a look like he was crazy. Then his expression morphed into confusion as he caught onto the sounds. While muffled by the walls, Jack could tell the sounds were getting louder. No, not louder, but closer.

The pirate stood up from his station. "What in the?" The doors slid open as a figure fell over, another pirate. Weapons fire could be heard now with the brig doors open. The warden was quick to react. Pulling a weapon out from his side.

But was cut down by two plasma bolts to the chest. The man slammed into his station and slid to the floor. A new figure burst into the brig, avoiding a hail of plasma fire.

The figure took cover behind the former warden's station, allowing Jack to see who they were. "Caleb?" Jack said over the sound of weapons fire. "What are you doing here?"

Bolts of plasma came in from the open brig door. "Rescuing you," Caleb said. He pulled out from his cover and fired a pistol. The sound of a body dropping was heard, then followed by shouts. More plasma bolts poured into the room. "What else does it look like. Now, if you give me a minute, I'll have you out of there."

Two pirates armed with rifles ran into the room. They took flanking positions on the sides of the brig station Caleb took cover behind. They began to fire. Jack jumped back from the force field as a stray bolt slammed into it. He was loath to admit it, but he let out a pathic yelp when that happened.

"Careful with prisoner," one of the pirates said. "Iglesia will have our hides if something happens to him."

"I know th," his partner started. Caleb took advantage of the momentary distraction and fired his pistol. The pirate dropped to the floor with a burning hole in his chest. The other pirate went down just as quickly with a bolt to the stomach and a second in the chest.

Silence fell over the brig as Jack and Caleb waited for more pirates to come in. Caleb had his pistol lined up on the doorframe. After about a minute, Caleb visibly relaxed and stood up from his cover. He turned over to face Jack with a smile.

"Alright, flyboy," he said, walking to Jack's cell. "Your knight in shining armor has come to rescue you."

Jack snorted. "Hardly," he shot back. "Now get me out of here. Before the pirates send in more bodies."

Caleb nodded and hit his hand on the control panel next to the cell. The forcefield flickered into existence for a second, then vanished entirely. Jack carefully listened for a low humming sound. He found none and nodded his head.

He stepped out of the cell. "Good thing the pirates thought to put control panels on their cells," Caleb said. He pointed to the smoking ruins of the singular terminal in the brig. The station where the warden had been. "If they had tied the forcefields to that thing. Getting you out would have taken some more work."

Jack nodded. "Where's the rest of your crew?" He asked. "I thought you would be with them."

Caleb gave Jack a smirk. "What can I say?" He said, holding his hands up. "I can't resist a pretty face."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Can you not think about getting into my pants?" He asked the man with a scowl.

The outlaw shrugged his shoulders. "Would you prefer it if you were the one in my pants?" He cheekily asked. Jack gave a stare that could cut through battleship hulls. He let out a small laugh. "But honestly, it didn't feel right leaving you here. Even knowing you had friends coming for you. I couldn't risk something like that. My conscience has enough on it already."

Now, that gave Jack pause for a moment. "L-lets just go already." He said, pushing ahead of Caleb. "You know where your ship is, right?"

Caleb nodded. "Sure, I do." He said. "She is my ship. Come on, I'll lead you there. Here, take this." He tossed Jack the pistol he was holding. "You do know how to use that thing?"

Jack quickly inspected his new weapon. "Basic training includes the use of firearms," he said. He made sure the power gauge on the weapon was set correctly. He noticed that the weapon had no setting for kill and stun, though it did have a safety mechanism. He made sure that it was switched off. "I might be a fighter pilot, but still drill us regularly in their use."

"Good to know," Caleb said as he knelt over a dead pirate. "Because you're going to get a lot of use out of that thing before this day ends."

"What about you?" Jack asked. He leaned on the doorframe and looked out to ensure no one was coming. There were distant sounds of weapons fire. "And what's going on out there? Sounds like a warzone."

"That's probably because it is," Caleb said. He pulled off a rifle from the dead pirate and inspected the weapon. "Looks like the local workforce has decided to take advantage of the attack. A lot of fighting occurred when I got out of the labor camp."

"Labor camp?" Jack asked, appalled that something like this could exist in this time and place.

Caleb nodded. "As for me," he stood, holding a new plasma rifle. "You won't have to worry about that. Come on, let's go."

Jack was glad that Caleb never noticed the slight blush on his cheeks or noticed that his heartbeat had gotten faster.

---

Jackhammer

Wheeljack pulled his craft into a tight turn to avoid a volley of plasma fire from the pirate fighter craft. "Persistent little scrappers, aren't they?" He said to himself, a smile wide on his face. He took the Jackhammer in a steep dive.

More weapons fire came at him, this time from defense stations on the asteroid base. Wheeljack avoids every shot and returns fire with the Jackhammer's energon cannons. Explosions ripped across the pirate base.

The wrecker was shaken in his seat. He frowned, looking at the monitor showing that shield strength was down to sixty-four percent and minor damage to the hull. The pirates got him good with that shot, and he flew his ship into a turn, avoiding another barrage from the pirate fighters.

Then he swung the old girl around and fired her main cannons. Several pirate ships vanished from his radar as the others broke away from their attack on the Jackhammer. Smiling, Wheeljack swung his ship back around and went for another attack run on the pirate base.

All the while, he kept tabs on the pirate's communications. A lot of chatter was happening, and the pirates had not thought to secure their channels. Or if they had, they were very easily broken. In either case, Wheeljack was now listening to everything they were saying. Just as Wheeljack had hoped, the labor force they had employed was now revolting. And by the sounds of it, they were giving the pirates a lot of headaches. Good for them.

He also kept his audio receptors open for any mention of Jack and his outlaw friend. Thus far, he had heard nothing, which was relieving and worrying. He hoped that the former was the right one.

The warning flashed across his screen, catching the wrecker's attention. A smile crept across his face as he looked at what it was. "Well, the main event has decided to start early." He said as he looked at the sensor profile of the Black Death and three other smaller ships.

He flew the Jackhammer off towards the pirate fleet.

---

Pirate base

Jack didn't know how long it took them to get to the hangar where Caleb's ship was. But he was relieved to see the older freighter style when it came into view. It would be nice if a horde of pirates weren't surrounding it.

"Daman," Caleb said as he ran up behind some crates. Jack ran up beside him. "I was hoping they would be too busy to try and stop us."

"How many are there?" Jack said. He inspected his weapon, making sure it was still in good condition.

Caleb looked over the crates. Then he pulled his head back. "Looks like about two dozen pirates between us and the El Dorado."

"What about your crew?" Jack asked. "How are they holding up?"

"Don't worry about them," Caleb said. He looked at his rifle. "This isn't the first firefight they've been in. We only need to worry about how we will get past them."

Jack nodded. "Well, they don't know we're right behind them," he pointed out. "I doubt we have time to do anything fancy. So, about the direct approach?" Jack smiled.

Caleb smiled back at him. "I like the way you think Mi Cielo," he said. "On three. One. Two. Three!"

Jack and Caleb dashed out from their cover. Running up behind the pirates, both men aimed their weapons at the backs of their enemies. Seemingly sensing that something was wrong, a pirate turned her head.

She opened her mouth to get a warning. But the plasma bolt from Caleb's rifle silenced the warning before it could reach the air. More bolts slammed into the backs of the pirates, cutting several of them down.

Half the remaining pirates turned around and started firing at their new attackers. Jack and Caleb took cover, avoiding the worst of the plasma fire. Jack ducked out from his cover when an opening presented itself, and he fired his pistol. He saw a pirate dropping before he was forced to retreat behind cover. He looked over to see Caleb standing behind some crates. He leaned out and fired two quick bursts from his rifle. Then he pulled back in, avoiding a bolt of plasma. Caleb looked over at Jack and nodded.

Jack nodded back. After exchanging fire with the pirates for another minute, both men ran out when they saw a window open.

Jack aimed his pistol at a pirate that was shooting at Caleb. Three quick shots had the man pulling behind cover, but not before one of Jack's shots got him in the shoulder. In his line of sight, he saw two more pirates drop as plasma bolts tore into them. The shots have come from behind them.

It didn't take a tactical genius to determine that the pirates were in a bad position. They were fighting against two separate forces on different fronts. Granted, one of those forces only had two men in it. But Jack and Caleb were still recking havoc from behind the pirates as they closed in. More than half of the pirate force was down and losing space.

Whoever the leader of this group was must have realized this as he called out for a retreat. They parted shots with the crew of El Dorado and the second group, Jack and Caleb. "Pirates," Caleb said. "They may act tough, but once you put a little pressure on them, they break."

Jack wanted to make a similar retort about outlaws. However, he kept his jaw shut and ran for the ship in front of the pair. He wouldn't relax until he was inside the hold of the outlaw ship.

"Captain," one of Caleb's crew called out as they neared where the rest of the crew was.

"Good to see you again, Jones," Caleb said. "How's the rest of the crew?"

"Just fine, captain," the man said. "Everyone is back on board. Along with a few extras."

Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Extras?"

The man smiled. "Let's just say they're some people looking for a career change." He looked at Jack. "Is this our special guest?"

Caleb nodded. "He is," he said. He turned to face Jack. "Jack, you may want to head for the hanger bay once we board."

"Hanger bay, why would?" Jack asked, then shut his mouth when he realized what Caleb was getting at.

"My fighter."

Caleb nodded. "I got Ortega working on it now." He said. "He should be done by the time you get to the hangar."

"What about the lockouts?" Jack asked. "I don't think the pirates are just going to let us get away. I could really use the weapons on my bird."

"Don't worry about that," Caleb said. The bay doors started to shut once everyone was onboard the El Dorado. Just in time as dozens of pirates surged into the landing bay. "I'll have the lockouts released when you are ready."

The bay doors shut, and a moment later, Jack could feel the ship lifting off and flying out of the pirate base. Jack nodded. "Alright then." He said. "I'll get to my fighter, and then what?"

Caleb's smile went from ear to ear. "We give Iglesia hell."

---

Black Death

The commander bridge shook as the alien vessel made another attack on the Black Death. Iglesia let out a low growl. "I thought I told you to target that vessel."

"I'm trying too, Captain." The man at the weapons station said. "But that thing is faster than it looks. And it has been hugging our hull tightly, so I can't get it with any of the heavy cannons."

Iglesia held off shooting the man for his incompetence. Even if it was made from advanced alien technology, taking one shuttle should not be hard. "Then get our fighter on that thing." He said. "Have them lure it away from us so you can target it with the weapons." At this point, he wasn't concerned about taking the ship intact. They could see what technology was possible from the wreckage.

"And what about our support ships?" He asked further. "Why haven't they done anything to help us?"

"On it, Captain." Another underling said, a tremble in his voice.

Iglesia snorted and looked at an image of the alien shuttle as it made another attack run on his flagship. A scowl spreads across his face. Whoever the occupant of that thing was, they had caused him a lot of trouble today. He would make sure the alien inside would live to regret crossing him.

His scowl turned into a cold smile. Iglesia wonders if these Cybertronians could feel pain or fear.

"Captain, several ships are coming from the base," an underlying said. "They're some of the ships we've captured over the last several months. What should we do?"

Iglesia rolled his eyes. "Leave them be," he ordered. "They can't get that far from us. We can deal with our uninvited guests when we are done with them."

If the workers at his base thought he had been cruel and harsh before, they would soon learn otherwise. After their little uprising here, he would work each and every last of them until they collapsed.

"Captain, a few of them are coming right for us."

---

El Dorado

"Prime the main cannons," Caleb said. "Target the nearest pirate ship and fire."

"Yes, Captain," Kira said. "Cannons armed and locked."

"Fire!" Caleb shouted. From the depths of the El Dorado, Caleb heard the tale tell signs of the fusion cannons firing. On a monitor close to him, he saw white balls of light flash across space and slam into a pirate ship about the size of a frigate. More bolts slammed into the ship, ripping into its shields and then to its hull. But those bolts did not come from the El Dorado.

Caleb looked over at Kira with a raised arched eyebrow. She shrugged. "Looks like we have some friends to help us. That means we're not the only ones crazy enough to take on Iglesia and his fleet."

Caleb smiled and turned his attention back to the battle. The pirate vessel had suffered severe damage and was left adrift; it was out of the fight. "Target the next pirate ship," he said. "We'll pick them off until only the Black Death remains."

"Or until we're all blown out of the sky," a crewman in the background quips. "Witch ever comes first."

Caleb ignored the man. He tapped the communications button on the armrest of his chair. "Jack, is your fighter ready to launch?" He asked the UNS fighter pilot. "Because we could use the added firepower." The El Dorado shook as a pirate vessel fired on them.

"She's ready to fly, Caleb," Jack said over the comm. "Just waiting for you to release the lockouts."

Caleb nodded. "Release the lockouts now," Caleb said. He noticed the sharp look from his first mate as he started to punch in the codes. "Something the matter?" He asked her.

"Are you sure about this?" Kira asked. "What if he turns on us?"

Caleb shook his head and continued to punch in the codes. "We can trust him," he said. "He's not a bad guy. Besides, he's got bigger problems to deal with." He punched in the last code and sent it to the fighter's computers.

"I just hope you're right about this," Kira said.

Caleb turned his attention back to the battle, smiling.

"Lockouts released. You're good to go."

---

The instant Jack heard those words, he slammed the accelerations, flying his fighter out of the outlaw ship's hanger at a breakneck pace. A second and a half later, he was surrounded by fields of stars.

Jack closed his eyes at last, enjoying the sense of freedom washing over him. He had missed this feeling since he was confined first to the El Dorado's brig, then to the hands of the pirates. The moment would only last a half-second as a warning flashed across his HUD.

Jack opened his eyes and saw a group of pirate fighters closing in on the El Dorado and the other ships attacking Iglesia's fleet. About four of them, by Jack's counting. Jack closed in his fighter unto them. It became evident to Jack that the pirates did not expect an enemy fighter to come for them. They kept flying for the others briefly before veering off for his bird. That moment of hesitation gave Jack all the advantage he needed. Closing into range, he fired his fighter's fusion bolt cannons in several sustained bursts.

Two of the pirate fighters vanished from Jack's HUD. The remaining two broke their formation and flew off in different directions. Jack chose one and swung his fighter after it, bringing its cannons to bear.

The enemy fighter tried to shake him off with maneuvers, but Jack's more maneuverable Viper easily kept pace. A burst from the fusion cannons saw the pirate fighter blinking from Jack's HUD.

A warning flashed across Jack's eyes. More pirate fighters were coming after him. Jack smiled and flew his bird into the fray.

---

Jackhammer

Wheeljack whistled as he saw another pirate ship grey out on his sensors. "Not bad for a band of mismatches," he said with a respectful grin. He had expected some ships to escape from the pirate base. Workers who were justifiably tired of their pirate overlords. He did not expect some of them to join the battle against Iglesia's fleet, with the EL Dorado leading the charge.

He didn't expect Jack's fighter to come out of the outlaw ship. He did like seeing the pirate fighters scraped by the UNS pilot. Then Wheeljack grimaced when he noticed a friendly ship turned to slag by the main guns of the Black Death.

Wheeljack tapped at the controls of his gunship and brought her down on the pirate battleship. It was time for the main event.

---

Space

Several vessels of different sizes and designs bore down on the pirate fleet of about six ships, including the battleship Black Death.

While the pirates were generally large and more heavily armed, the attacking ships were more numerous, and due to their smaller size, they were faster and more maneuverable. Some of the ships had even seen ship-to-ship combat before, so their crews could draw on their experiences.

It also helped that one of the ships was a Cybertronian. A ship piloted by a bot with centuries, if not millennia's worth of fighting experience. All things considered, the battle was roughly even, much to the displeasure of Iglesia.

Pirate fighter craft tried to rip apart the attacking force ships. Still, it was countered by the lone UNS fighter piloted by Jack Witwicky. Another pirate ship fell under the combined weight of fire, and another hit its engines badly.

Some ships have started attack runs on the largest pirate ships, Captained by the infamous Pirate Captain. They avoided the frontal arch of the battleship-sized vessel and kept to its sides and aft. With the added help, Wheeljack could launch more daring and damaging strafing runs on the large vessel. The energon blast tore into the thick armor plating of the Black Death. Wheeljack focused on removing weapon hard points on the hull to reduce the pirate battleship's fighting ability. Then, more ships came at Iglesia's flagship, like hornets swarming around a large animal.

Then, everyone's luck runs out. Iglesia, in a fit of anger and calculated thought, had one of the tractor emitters on the Black Death fire a pulse of magnetic waves to knock a ship off course, then lock onto it and drag it into the forward-facing arc. The El Dorado was now in the crosshairs of a pair of fusion beam cannons.

---

Aboard his flagship, Iglesia smiled and gave the order to fire.

---

"No," Jack said, pushing his fighter into overdrive.

---

"Scrap," Wheeljack said, mirroring Jack's actions. He targets the main weapons of the pirate battleship. But he knew he would be too late.

Caleb said a silent prayer. "I'm sorry, everyone," he stated somberly. He closed his eyes, waiting for death to take him. In the back of his mind, he sent a silent apology to his younger brother. There was a blinding flash of light.

But death never came.

---

Just as the Black Death would have opened with its fusion beam cannons, twin lances of white light slammed into the vessel's side. First impacting its shields, then boring through them, and bearing down on the hull. The lances faded out as the shields of the pirate vessel closed. Chunks of the pirate battleship drift away from it.

"Report!" Iglesia shouted above the noise of his now smoking bridge.

An underling coughed as he inhaled some of the smoke. "We took a direct hit on our port side, Captain," he said. "The shields held for a bit, but the fusion beams managed to penetrate and hit our hull. We have a hull breach on decks five through seven, sections five and six. Emergency bulkheads are in place."

Iglesia had a snarl on his face. "What happened? What was that?" He demanded answers. His hand was hovering over his pistol.

The underling stiffened in his seat at hearing the tone of voice from the infamous pirate. "Checking sensors, now." He said, quickly going to work. From his vantage point, Iglesia could see the man paling. He turned around his seat and slowly gave him an answer. "Captain, the attack came from a UNS Battleship. I'm reading a task force of UNS warships coming for us."

Iglesia saw red.

---

Axalon

"Nice shot," Elita One commented.

Optimus nodded, agreeing with his sparkmate's comment. It certainly had been a well-timed intervention from the UNS battleship. He didn't want to think what would have happened if they had been a moment later.

"Get me Wheeljack," Optimus said. Not a moment later, the image of the former wrecker appeared in front of the Prime.

"Boss, it's good to see you," Wheeljack said with a wide smile. "I got to say that was some good timing."

Optimus nodded, smiling at his old friend. "It's good to see you too, Wheeljack," he said. He turned an optic to the tactical projection. "I see you took some liberties with your orders and engaged the enemy."

Wheeljack's smile grew. "What can I say?" he said. "I like doing things the wrecker way."

Optimus heard Elita snorting next to him. "That is something we all know." She said.

"I trust that you could at least complete your goal?" Optimus asked.

Wheeljack nodded. "Jack is safe," he said. "Or as safe as he can be right now. If you look at your sensors, you'll notice a UNS fighter buzzing around the pirate flagship."

Optimus nodded. He had noticed that. "Then we can move to deal with this pirate lord," he said. "Wheeljack, I want you to continue your attack runs on the Black Death. Focus on taking out key systems like their weapons and engines. I will see about getting you additional support."

"You didn't even have to ask," Wheeljack said. His image vanished as the transmission was cut out.

Optimus turned his full attention to the battle. "Helm, move us in to engage the pirate battleship. Bring us parrel to the Gagarin. The rest of the battlegroup will handle the other pirate ships. Autobots engage."

---

Space

Iglesia and his pirates found themselves in a bad position with a UNS task group bearing down on them. They were now caught between two opposing forces bent on their defeat. On one side was a ramp-shackled group of ships lightly armed but still a nuisance. On the other side was a task group of fully manned and trained warships.

One pirate ship exploded as fusion beams tore into its hull. Another was swarmed by UNS fighters and autobot aerial bots. Meanwhile, the autobot cruiser Axalon and the UNS battleship Gagarin exchanged blows with the Black Death. Fusion and Energon beams tore open its hull as the Jackhammer ran attacks along its side.

The pirate battleship tried to fight back by firing its fusion beam cannons at the two battleship-sized vessels. But the beams had little effect on them, and the damage to the ship caused power issues across the board.

---

Black Death bridge

Iglesia slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair. A low growl escaped from his throat as the reports came in.

"We've taken another hit. Hull breach."

"Bolt cannons twelve and fourteen are gone. Main cannons down to sixty-seven percent strength."

"We just lost an engine."

"We just got a report from our base. They're being overruned."

Iglesia closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Get us out of here." He ordered, opening his eyes. "Set a course for base three. Maximum thrust."

No one questioned his orders.

---

Axalon

"Optimus, the pirate ship Black Death is turning about," a crewman said. "They're retreating from the battle. Should we pursue?"

Optimus rubbed his chin plate. "Get me the captain of the Gagarin." He said.

In a few seconds, the image of a human male appeared in front of Optimus. "I take that you noticed Iglesia is running away with his tail tucked between his legs?"

Optimus nodded. "That I have," he said. "Captain, do you think your ship can pursue the Black Death?" He asked.

He got a raised eyebrow from the human. "My ship should be able to keep with it," he said. "I would need to recall my fighters to aid in the pursuit. But we should be able to capture her."

Optimus nodded. "Good," he said. "While your ship pursues the Black Death, the rest of our forces will move to secure the pirate base."

Understanding flashed across the Gagarincaptain's face. "I see," he said. He salutes the Prime. "Then I will give chase to Iglesia. The next time you see me, he will be in the brig of my ship."

"Good hunting, Captain," Optimus said, cutting the transmission off.

"Optimus," a crewman said. "Other vessels appear to be fleeing the base. They don't look like any of the pirate vessels. What should we do?"

"Leave them," Optimus orders. "Our job here is to secure the pirate base and take Iglesia prisoner."

---

Space

Jack flew his fighter towards the nearest allied ship. Incidentally, it was the autobot cruiser Axalon. He flipped the communications array on. "This Jack Witwicky to the Autobot cruiser Axalon, requesting permission to land." Jack took a quick glance at the readouts of his bird. "I also request that a repair team be on standby."

A minute later, he got a response. "Permission granted," an autobot voice answered. "You may land in bay two. Repair teams are on standby. Welcome back, Cobalt-3."

Jack smiled on his breathing mask. "Acknowledged," he said, then cut the communications. He looked at the sensor readings, looking for the silhouette of the El Dorado. He was not surprised to see the outlaw ship making a break for it at top speed.

Jack thought he didn't want to stick around and celebrate. He was surprised that part of him was disappointed he wouldn't get to say goodbye to Caleb and his crew. Jack chuckled to himself. He guessed they must have grown on him.

"Or rather he did," Jack muttered to himself. Then he noticed that Wheeljack's ship had flown up beside him. Jack smiled. It was good to be back home. He flew into the hangar of the Axalon.

---

El Dorado

Caleb leaned back into his chair. "Looks like they're leaving us alone," Kira said. Caleb nodded, relieved he wouldn't have to worry about the UNS. Though he was surprised, he was a tad bit disappointed. "Though I can't say the same thing about Iglesia."

Caleb snorted. "For all care, they could blast him to space dust," he said. "Come on, people, let's get out of here. Set a course for the nearest port of call."

His eyes went over the sensor readings being fed to his station. He looked over the fleet of UNS warships and wondered if he could find a certain fighter among them. A small smile spreads across his face. Perhaps they would meet again one day.