I'm glad to see that people are reading this. If you enjoy it, you can favorite and follow. If you have anything to say about it, write a review.
But for now, these three parts will be released quickly, and more parts will be released further down the line. It's fine, though: Parts 4 and 5 will be released in a few days.
Once Human, Part 3
"I'm telling you, it was real! It destroyed my barn and attacked us! I was lucky to chase it off with my shotgun!"
A familiar-looking farmer with a drawl was yelling out, his fear clear. This is what Ralph has been trying to quell for a whole hour. Ralph was a scrawny man in a green military garb, holding a heavy-duty pad in front of him. He adjusted his thin, rectangular glasses to keep his cool, but his patience was being stretched thin.
"Sir, it is not that I don't believe you, but I think that you are not recalling everything exactly."
"Like hell! I saw that giant robot! And so did my daughter! She hadn't slept through the whole night, scared for her life! What is that thing, huh!? An enemy robot!? Are we at war!?"
The farmer kept asking questions, and Ralph was trying to think up a response, but then his pad sounded an alert. It was Aiko, telling him to wrap things up and meet him at a rendezvous location. What could it be now?
"Well!? Am I right!?"
Ralph was snapped out of his thoughts and was stuttering.
"Uh– uh– It was a robot, yes, but… it's a project! Yes, a company was attempting to create an autonomous robot for construction, but it went haywire, and started running around. Thankfully, no one was harmed, but they will be looking to repay the damages to your farm," Ralph sighed, thankful at his fabrication.
"Damn companies. I'mma make them pay out the ass for this! My animals will not be going cold tonight… wait… what company was it?"
Ralph silently cursed, before hearing another alert from his pad. They wanted him there now.
"Uh, here," Ralph quickly wrote and handed the farmer a number, "This is a spokesperson that will talk about your case. Duty calls."
Ralph went away, leaving a slightly displeased farmer for a yellow-and-black muscle car. He entered it and sighed, looking at the car's dashboard screen.
"Alright, you heard them, right? They're calling both of us to… this location," Ralph pointed at the blip on the map of the dashboard screen.
After Ralph said that, the radio responded with beeps and droning noises.
"No no no, it's not a fight. They just want us for an investigation… although it's odd… doesn't matter. Let's get moving, Bumblebee," Ralph said as he looked at the Autobot symbol on the driver wheel's horn.
The muscle car named Bumblebee sped off onto the tarmac, while Ralph held onto his seat.
"Going a little fast there, eh, 'Bee?"
More beeps and drones that almost formed a confused sound.
"Sorry, sorry, I just prefer driving myself," Ralph apologized to the autonomous car.
Eventually, the vehicle seemed to relent by extending his wheel slightly, and Ralph took the wheel and pedal to control the ride there.
"Thanks, 'Bee."
A single beep as a response was all Ralph needed as he drove to the rendezvous, until eventually, the human-autobot pair reached an empty field, far from the road and curious human eyes.
Ralph picked up his radio and asked, "This is Ralph. We're here. Where are you?"
"They'll be there. Judge is just having problems driving," said Ratchet over the radio.
"... Roger… wait, who's Judge?"
Ralph's question went unanswered as a ground bridge opened in the center of the field, causing the grass underneath to sway as though it were being affected by a heavy wind. And out of that came the black pick-up truck Ironhide, drifting far into the grass.
"Hey, Bumblebee. Ralph." Ironhide simply said.
Bumblebee responded with a few beeps.
"Hey, Ironhide," Ralph said awkwardly, before asking, "Why are you here, by chance? I haven't heard the purpose of this mission."
"Oh, you're not gonna believe this. We're here to find his body."
Ralph and 'Bee were confused until they saw a heavy military truck pull through the ground bridge with a struggle, as though the 'Bot in control was unfamiliar with driving. The desert-brown truck screamed every English curse word in the book as it tried to recall how to drive right. Ralph thought the 'Bot's alt-mode was akin to that of a light garbage truck.
Shortly after, Jackson walked out of the portal, looking as calm and distinguished as ever as the portal closed behind him.
"Bumblebee! Ralph! Did you two pacify the witness!?" Jackson asked.
"Uh, yes, Sir!" Ralph saluted at Jackson, while Bumblebee gave some affirmative beeps.
"Good. Alright, listen!" Jackson turned to face every Autobot, "Considering Judge's story, the facility he escaped from must be in this vicinity! So we need you to retrace your steps, Judge! And remember to transform into your alt-mode when around civilians! Roger!?"
Ralph looked to the new vehicle, who was still grunting as he was driving, "Roger!"
"Good. Now let's get moving."
Jackson then took Ralph's place in Bumblebee's driver's seat, relegating Ralph to the shotgun seat. The Autobots then took off, with Ironhide leading.
"Uh, Sir, I have to ask… Ironhide said we were finding someone's body. What does that mean?" Ralph asked his commanding officer.
Ralph saw Jackson almost hesitate to answer, which was unlike him.
"Oh, Ralph, Bumblebee, do I have something to tell you."
Jackson looked back at Judge, following behind Bumblebee.
Decepticon Warship - The Nemesis
In the Nemesis's medbay, Slipstream and the other Seekers could only lay down and watch as Lord Megatron berated Starscream to no end. Though Slipstream may have laughed at this under different circumstances, she didn't want to do so while so close to the Warlord.
"This is unacceptable! You found an Autobot facility, and only destroyed it!?"
"I-I fail to see the issue, Lord Megatron. Whatever those Autobots were using the facility for, it doesn't matter if it's been turned into a scrap heap. I would consider that a success, yes?"
Megatron then immediately grabbed the Seeker leader's head and threw him back into a wall, forcing him to fall.
"And yet you couldn't even destroy the escaping Autobots!?" Megatron yelled out, furious.
"A-A minor slip-up, but my Seekers gave that Autobot a beating like no other. I have no doubt that he was offlined, considering the damage done to him."
Slipstream watched the weaseling Starscream try to appease Megatron, with minimal success. She gritted her dentas at the lie, however: that new Autobot may have been beaten severely, yes, but offlined? She doubted so, with how quickly the other Autobots retreated with him.
Suddenly, all the arguing was brought to a halt once the alarm sounded off, and they all recognized it as the Breach alarm. What happened?
Megatron's red eyes brightened as he placed a digit to his audio receptor, "Soundwave, report!"
"The alarm is coming from the shooting range, but there are no breaches to the outside of the Nemesis."
Starscream pondered the report, "The shooting range?... But didn't Knockout go there to–"
"Lord Megatron!" Said Knockout who entered the room in a rush.
"What did you do?" Megatron said, his patience thin.
Though Knockout stammered at Megatron's troubling tone, Brawl then came in with a wide grin on his helm.
"Lord Megatron, that Dark Energon stuff you brought back is incredible! I only shot off one round with an ion cannon, and it already scrapped that training bot!" Brawl said, ecstatic.
"Really?" Megatron said, intrigued.
"Yes, actually, the shot was so strong it nearly put a hole through the wall of the range. I theorize that the Dark Energon's volatile nature destabilizes anything it touches, causing more damage than conventional Energon weaponry." Knockout explained.
"Interesting… and the weapon that was used? Is it still functional?" Megatron asked.
"It was somewhat strained, but it can still fire. But the damage it did is incredible. It could be enough to bring the Autobots to their knees!" Brawl said.
"That being said, we should still be cautious about using any of this on our soldiers. As promising as Dark Energon looks as ammunition, its effects on the body need to be closely looked at. We would need to find some volunteers, and–"
"I'll take it."
Everyone looked to Slipstream, now leaning up on her berth. Thrust and Thundercracker were surprised, while Starscream was aghast.
"Absolutely not, Slipstream! You're still damaged from the last fight, so–"
"Cease, Starscream." Megatron commanded, and advanced to Slipstream, making her tense up, "Look at that, Knockout. Your first volunteer. Treat her with the Dark Energon and heal up the Seekers. Starscream!"
Starscream jumped upon hearing his name, "Y-yes, Lord Megatron."
"Take your Seekers and investigate that facility. Leave no piece of scrap unturned. And when you return, I expect you to return with something promising."
That last sentence held a threatening undertone. Starscream knew what this meant. Turn something up, or else.
30 minutes ago…
Jackson opened up large sliding doors at the silo base, revealing a dark garage full of vehicles.
"If we're gonna be searching for your human body, we'll need you as our guide. Which means you'll need a disguise."
"A disguise? Like one of their vehicle forms?"
Jackson flipped a light switch in the garage, revealing many vehicles of many types, coming from all eras between WWII to early-2000s. Some were helicopters, some were planes, and some were even tanks. Despite his predicament, Jasper found himself getting excited at the idea of becoming a heavy and hard-hitting war machine.
"They're called 'alt-modes', and they allow transformers to blend in with human society. To get one, you have to scan a vehicle to get one, specifically one that conforms to your mass, so I've got a suggest… what are you doing?"
Jackson was looking at an amazed Jasper, who was looking at a particular tank, one of a light shade of brown, a short and flat frame, and a large single cannon on its top, along with several ordinance-defense systems in place. Everything about this tank just screamed 'I am durable. I am deadly. I am divine.'
"It's so beautiful…" Jasper whispered to himself then felt a knock at his metal foot.
"Not a chance. When was the last time you've seen a tank roll down the highway?" Jackson then walked over to the end of the garage, "This would be a good choice."
Jasper looked at where Jackson was, and his heart… spark?... sank. It was a mere truck, a heavy-duty one with eight wheels, looking like it carried a small, angular carrier load. It was a desert brown and looked like it was repaired quite a few times. It still had a license plate on its bumper: PNTBR8KR. Everything about this vehicle said 'Put me into a retirement home.'
"... Really? I know beggars can't be choosers, but this is my only choice? It looks so… bland compared to anything. Why do you even have it here with tanks and jets?" Jasper whined.
Jackson gave a small glance to Jasper before saying, "It was a weapons' transport back when it was in operation, and had its own name during its time… Pointbreaker. This thing has saved many soldiers during its time."
"I guess that's kinda cool," Jasper whispered before saying, "Okay, I'll choose this, now what?"
"Scan it."
Jasper looked behind once he heard heavy footsteps, and found Ratchet.
"Right, I forgot, you wouldn't know what that means… look at it real closely… squint at it," Ratchet said with finality.
Jasper was still confused, but went along with the instructions, looking long and hard at the battle-hardened vehicle. But nothing.
"Uh… nothing's happeni–"
Suddenly, Jasper's eyes-now-optics scanned the vehicle with a blue wave of light, sending the vehicle, and Jasper, into a shock.
"Keep in mind, that any vehicle scanned will be temporarily disabled, but they'll be fine afterward," Jackson said, longingly looking at the disabled vehicle.
Jasper was recovering from the surprise but found himself… more knowledgeable. Not only did he have an image of the vehicle in his head, but he knew its ins and outs, how it operated, how fast it could drive, everything. It was like he had a flawless blueprint of it in his own mind… processor.
His body even changed. What was once mostly gray was now a desert-brown, his more jagged surface was replaced with a flatter surface, and wheels resided in his legs.
And in his thoughts, he knew: if he knew the vehicle, and he had the parts…
Jasper took position, and watched as his arms suddenly folded into his chest, merging into something larger. His parts spun and shifted, forming a body that he could never imagine in his natural life. The sounds of the pieces reshaping and slamming echoed deep within him. The feeling was somehow half-disorienting, half-natural, and yet entirely exhilarating. And by the end of the process, he became the very same vehicle that he scanned.
"Woah!" Jasper exclaimed in his new form, "This feels… weird."
"Well, get used to it. You're being sent back to where you were found, so stay cautious. Optimus would go with you, but he's looking into another matter," Ratchet said.
"Uh… Ok… Man, this is something…"
As Jasper marveled at his transformation, Jackson looked upon him with great concern, but remained silent.
Now…
As Jasper remembered his first transformation, Ralph looked upon him from Bumblebee from outside the shotgun window. He was amazed… and horrified. He was made into a Transformer. A fully functional Transformer. All against his will, but by what? The Decepticons? They despised humanity, and viewed them as ants. Feeble little ants. But would they even consider this?
"I wouldn't suggest staring at him too long," Jackson said from the driver's seat, "He's still struggling with all this, so leave him to focus on looking for his body."
Ralph understood, but paused, "If we're looking for his body, where's Optimus? Of all Autobots to do this mission, I'd expect him to be here."
Jackson sighed, "He's taking a different angle to this, looking at the area where Jasper was kidnapped."
Ralph nodded in agreement, before looking to Bumblebee, "'Bee, what do you think about this?"
Bumblebee, oddly enough, was silent to Ralph. That was odd. What was he thinking?
"'Bee, what is it?"
Bumblebee finally answered with a long set of beeps and blips, which confirmed his suspicions.
"What? What did he say?" Asked Jackson.
"He said that if it was the Decepticons that did it to him, how did he escape?" Ralph answered.
Jackson cocked his head on the realization, before hearing Ironhide telling them to stop.
"You recognize this?" Ironhide asked Jasper.
"Yeah… I remember this farm."
Ralph saw that it was the very same farm he was sent to do damage control, and looked to Bumblebee's radio.
"Wait, it was you?" Ralph exclaimed, surprising Jasper, "You broke the barn?"
"Didn't mean to, but yeah. By the time I realized I wasn't in my own body, I had already accidentally broken into his barn… God, I must have scared the shit out of him and his daughter."
Ralph was silent to the somewhat somber answer before Jasper continued.
"When I escaped, I first entered the farm plot from the left side. But how do we go there without being seen?"
"I'll handle that," Ironhide answered, driving in front of the group, "Time to go off-road."
Ironhide first drove, then Jasper, then the rest. Ralph wondered what they would find, and wished that Optimus was there with them.
Back in Kamilo…
Optimus drove down the streets of Kamilo, finding it rather empty. It was strange, as he mostly struggled to take his large alt-mode down any road, but here, no one seemed to drive. Quickly, he found himself in front of the address: Jasper's address.
So this was where he lived as a human?
It was an apartment building of two floors, with a structure of old brick. In the center was the parking lot, with the apartment rooms surrounding him barring one side being the entrance and exit. Optimus's search found this place to be rather old, safe, and as Jasper pointed out, cheap to rent. One apartment room, its windows barred like the others, was on the first floor and labeled '103'.
His apartment.
But Optimus noticed the apartment home to be intact. If he were abducted here by Decepticons, the home would have seen some damage; and if it were out in the parking lot, he would have seen skid marks or jet burns. So how did he get abducted?
Optimus's thinking was interrupted when he saw someone knocking on the door to 103. A woman he did not recognize.
"Hello? Jasper? You in there?" The woman asked.
Optimus knew that she must have known him personally. Perhaps, if he could talk with her, she might shed some light on this. But he refused to transform here, so he knew then: it was time to really blend in. He rerouted some Energon to one internal device that he seldom used.
"Damn it, Jasper, you couldn't be sleeping any harder? You haven't been answering my calls! You're starting to worry me!" Said the woman, a twinge of concern in her voice.
"Do you know Jasper?"
The woman turned to the deep voice to see someone seated inside a red-and-blue truck who she's never seen before. A rather tall man, wearing a dark-blue shirt and slacks with a fire-red leather jacket on top of all that. He looked roughly fifty, with salt-and-pepper shortcut hair and a black mustache. His aged face was mostly stoic, but his blue eyes gave off a dignified look and a heavy stare.
It was Optimus, in his hardlight form. Normally, his hardlight form was only used to fill the driver's seat with a human form to quell any suspicions of a self-driving vehicle. But now he would use it to communicate with someone for some time. Optimus just had to be careful to move the form's lips when speaking, else she may realize he is something… not so human.
The woman answered, slightly confused, and approached the red-and-blue truck, "... Yeah, I do. What's it to you? Are you a neighbor?"
"No, I'm… an interviewer. I thought I would talk to him further on something, and came here." Optimus said, recalling Jasper's made-up story he told his parents. He didn't like using lies, but he knew he couldn't just tell her the truth.
"An interview… he's already looking for jobs? Wow, he's quick," the woman said, "Well, I'm Roe, his friend. I'm just looking for him, but he doesn't seem to be home."
"I see… Well, he must be off somewhere. I saw him last a few hours ago, and he seemed very busy at the moment. It was something about his parents."
"Oh… Oh!" Roe exclaimed, before laughing, "Ohoho, he's in trouble! He must've told them he graduated and they got mad they weren't invited! Hahaha… ha… That explains a few things… We had something planned today, and…" Roe went silent as she had a sour look on her face, before continuing, "Doesn't matter. He'll be back in a day. I'm sure of it. I'll call him later."
"Hard to say, his phone's dead and he has no charger," Optimus added.
"Really? That's unlike him… well, he'll charge it up eventually."
"Hmm…" Optimus simply grunted, before realizing something, "Do you have his phone number? We never got his during the interview, and he's not in our system, so I can't access it."
"Oh, okay, do you want me to write it down?"
"I can memorize it."
Roe then gave Optimus Jasper's number, "I know I'm his friend, but I hope he gets the job. What is the job?"
"... Cyber Security," Optimus answered.
"Huh, I did not expect that from him… well, I need to head off, it was good to meet you…"
"... Orion."
"Wow, cool name… Goodbye, Orion."
Optimus waved her goodbye before starting up his engine, about ready to deactivate his hardlight form.
"Oh, and Orion?"
Optimus looked to Roe and stopped the engine from immediately roaring.
"Jasper may not seem like the most friendly kind of person, but he just gets frustrated whenever he has shortcomings. When push comes to shove, he does his best to get the job done."
Roe then walked off, leaving Optimus to drive himself away and deactivate his hardlight form in a flash of blue light. But what Optimus had now, was Jasper's phone number. Maybe, if his phone was still on his human body, he could track it down.
Hopefully.
In the forest…
Jasper walked deep into the forest, finally free to be out of his alt-mode. As cool as it was, he was surprised that he could get cramped in that form.
"How do you guys handle being in that vehicle form for so long?" Jasper asked Ironhide, also out of his alt-mode.
"It takes some getting used to, but the problem is standing still too long. Remember, 'Bee? I went into stasis at a parking lot for a few days, and had a crick in my pedes for a week."
'Bee, who was walking alongside Ironhide, beeped affirmatively, almost kind of laughing. And in 'Bee's servo was Ralph, looking down with concern due to the height.
"Uh, yeah, sounds real funny…" Said Jasper, confused at 'Bee's strange language.
But, now that he got a closer look at the yellow-and-black Autobot, he realized something.
"Hey, I think I recognize you. Yeah, from the picture, you hit your head on a street lamp in the night, right?"
Bumblebee looked at Jasper wide-eyed.
"I'm sorry, what?" Jackson said, trying to keep up behind the three Transformers, "Someone captured a picture of you?"
"... It was my fault, Sir. I needed him to reach a roof to get something. But I thought we expunged all of those pictures."
"Not good enough for my friend. I dunno how, but Zane always found weird pictures of giant robots just in plain sight. They usually looked so blurry or out-of-frame that I laughed it off. I mean, come on: giant robots among us? It's crazy…" Jasper chuckled before looking at the Autobots and to himself, "Apparently not that crazy."
Jackson still wasn't happy, and gave Ralph and 'Bee a look that told them they were in trouble later down.
Ironhide groaned, and asked, "Are we getting closer, Judge? Do you recognize anything here?"
Jasper kept looking around, slightly frustrated, "Unfortunately, no. All of this forest looks exactly the sa–Ayame!"
Suddenly, Jasper tripped over a large tree root poking out of the ground, slamming down hard enough that it felt like a small earthquake. 'Bee struggled to keep Ralph from falling out of his servo.
"Judge, you alright?" Jackson asked, not showing much concern.
"Yeah, roughly, I–"
Jasper stopped as he looked around, and saw a forest clearing, with a familiar-looking river. It all looked too similar for it to be a different one.
"... Here… Yes, yes, yes! I tripped here! And if I recall, I was coming from…" Jasper kept moving around the clearing until the image matched exactly, and he turned 180 degrees, "That way!"
Jasper proceeded to run in that direction, surprising the Autobot crew and the two humans.
"Hey, slow down! 'Bee! Keep up with him! Jackson!" Ironhide said before transforming into his alt-mode, "Get in!"
Jackson relented to the sudden orders and got into Ironhide's driver seat, and Ironhide drove off to catch up with a sprinting Bumblebee.
But Jasper barely heard them, because he was close. He was so close to his original body, he could just feel it. He couldn't believe it! This nightmare would end right here and–
Jasper stopped, looking ahead with a despondent look. Bumblebee and Ralph caught up with him, but stared ahead as well. And finally, Ironhide rolled up with Jackson, and transformed to grab Jasper's shoulder pad.
"Jasper, it's a bad idea to just run ahead without a care in the… world…"
Everyone looked on at the facility that held his body, or where it once stood. What Jasper barely remembered as a high-tech yet low-profile building was reduced to a scrap heap, blasted to pieces until the only thing that was left standing was the structure keeping it all from truly falling apart.
"No…" Jasper muttered, his servos shaking.
"What happened here?" Ralph asked, bewildered.
"We got reports of several carpet-bombings in the forest, this must've been the target. Perhaps it was a clean-up? The Decepticons tried to wipe their experiments off the face of the Earth?" Jackson pondered.
"No… no, it couldn't be… it was the collapsing that released me from my restraints, so why would they… why would… they…"
Jasper tried to think up an answer, but couldn't. He was stumped. Then he felt that servo on his shoulder pad turned from a grab to a reassuring pat.
"Bud, I'm sorry it ended like this…" Ironhide said, trying to reassure Jasper…
But Jasper was having none of it.
He walked forward, surprising Ironhide as he proceeded to shovel as much scrap as he could with his servos. He was searching through the rubble.
'Bee beeped in confusion, and Ralph asked, "What are you doing, Judge?"
"Until I see my body, I will do what I came here to do," Jasper said, adamant.
The other four looked at each other with some grim expressions. But eventually, Bumblebee put down Ralph and joined in on Jasper's shoveling.
Ralph was confused. "'Bee, what are you–"
'Bee only responded with a few beeps, but Ralph understood them well. As did Ironhide.
Jackson, however, did not, "What? What did he say?"
Ironhide then walked forward to the rubble, shoveling it out, "He said that if there's even a small chance it survived, we have to try. Optimus would have wanted the same."
Jackson was surprised at the message, and more so when he saw Ralph join in by shoveling a small section. He then relented by walking onward, rolling up his sleeves, and joining Ralph.
Elsewhere…
Optimus drove down an isolated street, following the signal of Jasper's phone as he called it. Wherever he was taken, he was taken rather far from Kamilo. Perhaps if he kept following the signal, he would not only find Jasper's body, but also the Decepticon that made him into a Cybertronian, as unlikely as it would be.
Eventually, Optimus was brought to a stop as the signal led off to a forest thicket, with no signs of any street leading there. He had no choice.
Double-checking that he was alone, Optimus transformed and quickly entered the forest, sliding down the slope until he reached the river. Thankfully, it was empty, allowing Optimus to walk freely on the waterside. The signal grew in strength more and more until eventually, he was right in front of it.
Optimus looked down and saw it: a smartphone with a rather thick rubberized case, holding just a hint of green in the overwhelming black. With great caution, Optimus slid the phone onto his servo and saw that its screen was cracked. He called the number and still found it ringing, its battery on low power.
Optimus sighed. Though he did find Jasper's phone, he did not find his body. He placed the phone into a small compartment in his chest piece. However, he also noticed something else odd: there was a path etched into the stones that led to the uphill forest thicket. As though something was dragged up there by… something.
Suddenly, however, Optimus heard a noise coming from the trees. But just as he looked to the source, it stopped, and he found nothing. Then there was another noise. Then another. It sounded like something scurrying, something prowling in the cover of the forest. And yet it sounded like nothing… organic.
Then he heard a noise behind him and struck: he transformed his servo into a sword and slashed the air behind him, halving a little metal creature with a cylindrical body and several metal clawed tentacles. The creature's tentacles writhed in a panic, separated from its shaking top-half whose single red optic was trained right on the Prime.
"What are you? Identify yourself. Were you the one who kidnapped Jasper Judge?" Optimus demanded.
The metal creature said nothing, and merely squirmed as it leaked out Energon. But as it stopped wriggling, Optimus noticed something wrong… it had no emblem on it. If it wasn't a Decepticon, then what was it? The only Cybertronian beings on this planet should be Autobot, Decepticon… and that was all. Optimus decided to take in the unknown metal creature for later investigation by Ratchet.
Something was not right.
Optimus put a digit to his audio receptor, "Ratchet, I'm going to need a ground bridge at my location."
Ratchet responded, "Sure thing, Optim… wait, something's wrong. Four Energon signals are approaching you fast!"
Optimus looked up as he heard the roar of several Decepticon jets approaching, and formed blasters in response.
Yet, they never stopped. Instead, they went overhead and continued past him. Optimus was confused, but realized that his location was rather close to where Ironhide and Judge's investigation were. And it also correlated with the drag marks…
His optics widened in realization, and he quickly turned on the comms, "Ratchet, the Decepticons are heading for the facility! I need a ground bridge, immediately!"
"I can't retrieve you, Optimus! I think something is interfering with my targeting system!"
"Then warn the others, as well as Division Major Aiko! I'm on my way!"
Optimus then transformed and drove full-speed in the direction of the jets, hopeful that he could get there in time.