Ch. 2

"Alright, Autobots, fall in and listen up." Ironhide, experienced Autobot field commander and current leader of the exploratory mission, waved a hand forward as the last of this team stepped through the Spacebridge. "As far as we know, this planet is deserted, but lot can change in a few cycles. Prowl, Mirage, set up the energon test kits. Hound, you and Cliffjumper start surveyin' the canyon. Inferno?"

"Here."

"You're on standby. Anyone needs treatment, you get 'em stabilized and back through the Spacebridge to Ratchet, understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

"If the planet's deserted, we probably aren't going to have to worry about getting sent to Med Bay," Hound said with a grin.

"I don't anticipate anything going wrong, but after that skirmish with the Decepticon scouts, anything's possible." Ironhide peered out at the flat expanse of dusty plains broken up by jagged humps or rocks and scarred by winding canyons. "Still, Optimus asked us to scout this place out as best we can and for all we know, we could end up findin' something to bring back to Cybertron, so keep your optics open."

"Not much to see," Inferno noted as he checked over his medical kit.

"Wasn't much to see on Holtus either, but Optimus found somethin' pretty good there." Out of the corner of his blue optic, Ironhide caught a telltale flash of brown fur. The Autobot commander felt a smile steal over his face as he watched Miara the Teron scout sniff the the still warm air, moving about lightly on all fours. Yes, Optimus had indeed found something good on Holtus. Or rather, someone good.

It was hard to believe, Ironhide mused, but the tiny bundle of fur Optimus had found that day had grown into a slightly less tiny bundle of fur who had more than earned her title of Autobot scout. While every Autobot on Optimus's team had a hand in helping Miara grow from infancy, it was the Prime himself who had mostly raised the little Teron and it was no wonder that Miara quickly came to be referred to as "the Prime's offspring." Quite frankly, Ironhide doubted if Optimus could have been fonder of Miara if he had sparked her himself. Not that he could blame Optimus; the little Teron had a place in the spark of every member of Optimus's team, Ironhide included.

"Miara? All good?" he asked now.

"I... I smell something." Miara's long curved ears quivered slightly. "Something else is here and it's close."

"Oh?" Ironhide held up a hand, halting the other Autobots as he focused on the little creature. "Decepticons?"

"No, not them. But..." Miara sniffed again. "There's something in the air that shouldn't be here."

"Where?" Ironhide hefted his blaster, the weight of the weapon reassuring in his servos. "Can you track the scent, Little Sandstorm?"

"There." Miara held out a small clawed hand. "Just two degrees shy of straight west. There's a metallic smell that's not native to this place."

"Something metal that isn't a Decepticon?"

"It doesn't even smell Cybertronian," Miara answered.

"Someone else beat us here?" Hound asked.

"If it did, it would have had to have been between our last scan and us stepping through the space bridge," Mirage noted. "Not a lot of time there."

"Whatever it is, it bears looking into." Ironhide knelt down beside Miara. "You and Bumblebee go check it out, but stay out of sight, understand? You see anything-anything- and you call me. I'm not takin' any chances with what ya might find."

"Understood, Ironhide." Bumblebee grinned, but saluted all the same.

"We'll be careful. I promise," Miara added.

"Yeah, you better be or you won't get outta Med Bay for the next twenty cycles." All the same, Ironide smiled and reached out with a single finger to ruffle the top of the Teron's head. Miara's brown eyes beamed up at the Autobot commander from her furry brown face and above her ever-present sunny smile. The slightly thicker black fur that fell to her shoulders brushed softly against Ironhide's finger as Miara raised her head into his touch.

"Go ahead, Little Sandstorm," Ironhide rose back to his feet. "You too, Bumblebee."

"Ready, Miara?" Bumblebee was already shifting into his alt form.

"Ready!" Miara scampered forward and dove into the sand. The grit parted under the Teron's claws and Miara was quickly lost to sight, burrowing under the red dust that made up the planet's surface. A small cloud of dust followed the Teron as swam forward just under the surface. Bumblebee revved his engine and took off after her.

"Hopefully whatever they find won't cause us any trouble."

"And if it does, we'll handle it." Ironhide aimed his blaster out over the the deserted plain, expertly peering down the barrel at an imagined foe. "We always do."
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None could beat a Teron in the sand. Optimus had told Miara that for as long as she could remember and while Miara couldn't remember her first experience with sand, she couldn't ever remember not feeling so at ease when submerged in dusty terrain. The Teron's small, but sharp claws tore through the red grit and her thick tail propelled her forward as Miara made her way forward. Above her, Bumblebee's tires whispered over the ground as he scanned the surrounding area for any more clues to whatever it was Miara had sensed.

We're nearly to it. Miara could feel a slight hum through the sand through her ears. Scrambling upward, Miara popped out of the sand just ahead of Bumblebee. The yellow Autobot halted, but didn't transform back. The two scouts found themselves by a large cluster of rocks and Miara rose up from all fours to sniff the air again.

"It's here."

In response, Bumble transformed, but crouched low behind the rocks. His whole body tensed as he gently pulled Miara close to him.

"Can you feel any more vibrations, Sandstorm?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, I think I can sense something too. Right, on three?"

"One."

"Two."

"Three!"

Miara and Bumblebee peered around the rock, ready to jump back at the slightest sign of danger. However, what met the scouts' gaze was not what either of them expected.

Under the light of the sun, a lone cylindrical metal ship sat still and silent on the dusty ground. The gleaming silver of the ship was dented and covered with a layer of red sand. Fragments of rock were scattered around the base of the ship and one of its tail fins was hanging loose. A few loose wires, their end still sparking slightly, dangled from the damaged fin and hung dejectedly downward. Other than the quiet hum of a ship in stasis, not a sound came from the scene nor was there a hint of movement from inside.

"Oh, Primus," Bumblebee breathed. Tapping into his radio, the yellow Autobot quickly made his report.

"Come in, Ironhide. We've found a ship."

"What? What kinda ship?"

"We're not sure, but it looks like it crashed. If anyone's inside, they might be hurt."

"Alright, I'm bringin' Inferno your way. Stay down and try to find out what you can."

"Understood." Bumblebee cut the communication and looked back at Miara, who had dropped to all fours. "Anything?"

"I can't tell, but..." Miara frowned and laid flat against the sand, allowing the tips of her ears to make contact with the ground. Closing her eyes, the Teron focused hard. "The ship is silent, but I don't think it's deserted." Miara stood back up again. "Whoever was driving it may have been deactivated."

"After a crash like that, I'm not surprised." Bumblebee shook his head. "If I had to guess, I'd say they ran into some trouble with asteroids. See the damage to the left tailfin?"

"I do. Maybe that was why they couldn't avoid the asteroids."

"And what probably caused them to crash. Even if no one was hurt, that ship isn't flying again for a while."

"Maybe we can help them!" Miara's tail wagged excitedly. "I hope whoever's inside is okay."

"Inferno should be able to help 'em. In the meantime, you sense anything else?"

"No, but..." Miara cocked her head. "I think I hear a beeping coming from inside the ship."

"Yeah?" Bumblebee peered closer at the unmoving vessel. "Maybe one of their monitors is still running. That might be able to tell us something."

"I hope so." Miara looked over her shoulder. "Good, they're here."

Bumblebee and Miara watched as Ironhide and Inferno, accompanied by Hound and Cliffjumper, came barreling over the sand, kicking up massive dust clouds from their wheels. The four Autobots skidded to a halt, effortlessly transforming back as they did. Fully upright, Ironhide's optics widened as he peered over the rocks at the ship.

"Holy Primus, you weren't kiddin' when you said what you sensed wasn't from Cybertron, Miara!"

"No wonder they crashed." Hound shook his head as he surveyed the damage. "Huh, they got lucky they survived the asteroids."

"If they survived," Inferno added. "Any movement from inside?"

"None that we could sense," Bumblebee said.

"Right." Inferno readied his medical beam. "Cover me; I need to get close to get a scan."

Bumblebee crouched down and held out his hand. Miara jumped into his palm and climbed onto his shoulder as the team followed Inferno closer to the silent ship. Bumblebee kept his palm cupped lightly over the Teron as he trailed after Ironhide, who had his blaster at the ready. Miara clung to her fellow scout's shoulder as ship loomed closer. Her nose twitched at the unfamiliar scent of the ship as well as the familiar smell of rock and metal left behind from the asteroids that had damaged the vessel. Still, no sound other than a steady beeping came from the interior.

"That must be their ship's entry point." Ironhide pointed to a tightly sealed hatch set against one of the walls. Miraculously, there was no sign of it being breached and other than a few dents, the door had done its job of keeping whatever was inside secured.

"Pretty small, though," Cliffjumper noted. "If someone's hurt, we might have to cut open one of the sides."

"Should we proceed, Inferno?"

"Wait!" Inferno held up a hand as he ran his scanning beam over the front part of the ship. "Primus, these beings are organic!"

"Organic?" Miara poked her head around Bumblebee's protective hand as the other Autobots turned to look at her. "Are they like me, Inferno?"

"No, no they're quite different. But they're not moving; we do need to help them, but we can't do it here."

"Why not?" Ironhide asked a bit impatiently.

"Because the interior of the ship is heavily oxygenated," the field medic answered. "Whatever's inside may depend on oxygen to survive and the atmosphere of this planet does not have enough of that element. Until we know for sure, I can't risk exposing them to an environment that will cause them harm."

"Then we'll need to get this ship and its inhabitants back to Cybertron; the atmosphere there should suffice." Ironhide sheathed his blaster and began calling out orders.

"I'll contact Optimus and Wheeljack for a space bridge. Hound, you and Cliffjumper be ready to help send the vessel through. Inferno, keep an optic on the occupants inside until we can get them safely transported."

"Yes, sir!"

"Understood."

"Bumblebee, I want you to do a perimeter check of at least five miles out. For all we know, someone else could've been hurt in this crash."

"On it, Ironhide."

"Should I go with him?"

"Not this time, Miara. I have something else in mind for you."

Ironhide held out his own hand and Miara hopped neatly from Bumblebee's shoulder into the field commander's palm. "What can I do to help?" the Teron asked.

"I want you to return to Cybertron with the ship." Ironhide nodded at Inferno, who was doing his best to monitor the interior of the vessel and, more importantly, the people inside it. "If we're going to be dealing with more organic creatures, it might help them feel more at ease if they have you for company, especially after they've been injured."

"I can do that! I'd be happy to, if you think it'll help." Miara brightened at the idea.

"If anyone can put them at ease, it's you, Little Sandstorm."

"Plus, Ratchet may need you around for comparison once we get a better idea of what these creatures are," Inferno pointed out.

"I'll do whatever I can." Miara held onto Ironhide's fingers as the field commander tapped into his radio to report back to Optimus. "I just hope we can help whoever's inside."

"Me too, Miara. First things first, let's get them back to Cybertron."

Miara sat back against Ironhide's chest as the field commander reported the situation back to Optimus. The Teron kept her eyes on the ship as Ironhide described the situation to the Prime and awaited orders. Inferno, meanwhile, was relying the information he'd discovered to Ratchet and now and then, he glanced over at Miara before answering the Chief Medical Officer's questions. Still, neither sound nor movement came from inisde the strange ship.

Don't worry, whoever or whatever you are. We're going to help you. We're Autobots; it's what we do.

Yes, Miara thought to herself. Yes, the Autobots would help these strange creatures and everything would be fine. Perhaps they'd even become allies to Cybertron in the future. That would be nice.

But first things first, like Ironhide had said. Right now, the Autobots had to get these strange creatures back to Cybertron for treatment. And luckily for them, they would be getting the best care Cybertron had to offer.