Ch. 12

The peace of the Med Bay was shattered by the harsh blare of alarms. Bud, Lenny, and Chad all jumped at the sound, the machines monitoring their hearts rates giving their own worried sounds at the astronauts' sudden reaction.

"What the heck's going on?" Lenny had to shout to make himself heard above the noise.

Ratchet, who had been finishing up another examination on Chad, jumped up and ran to the Med Bay's doors. The medic slammed his metal fist against a raised panel and the doors of the Med Bay closed tightly. The alarm in the room ceased, but the steady blaring continued out in the hall.

"It's alright," Ratchet assured them. "I've secured Med Bay; no one's getting in without my permission."

"What do you mean? What's happening?"

"A Decepticon attack," Ratchet answered, his tone grim as he glanced down at Bud. "Prime and I expected this; Megatron won't just give up on bringing Iacon under Decepticon control."

"So those Decepticons are here in the city?"

"Hopefully it won't come to that. But if it does..." Ratchet's face was grave as he stared at the tightly shut door.

"If it does?" Chad prompted.

"Never mind; Optimus won't let that happen. But we must be prepared for the worst." Ratchet walked over to a nearby counter and began laying out instruments. "Forgive me, friends, but I must be ready to treat any injured Autobots at a moment's notice."

"Of course," Bud said.

"Wait, what about us?" Lenny gestured at himself and his friends. "Are we in danger?"

"Not while I'm here," Ratchet assured him. "You're my patients and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. I'd rather not have to think about a situation where I would be the only thing standing between you and a Decepticon, but rest assured that I will do what I must if it comes to that. For now, though, just try to stay calm."

"Easier said than done," Bud muttered as he and the others watched Ratchet work. Outside of the Med Bay, the alarm continued to blare while footsteps and shouts added to the confusion. Bud strained his ears, waiting for the inevitable blast of an enemy Decepticon bursting through the wall or forcing its way through the Med Bay doors. Were Decepticons similar to Autobots? Were they bigger or smaller? Were they just as intelligent or did they rely on brute force? Would they simply kill him and the others or would they take the three humans prisoner for experimentation?

"You know, being stuck on Mars is sounding pretty good right about now," Lenny muttered.

Before Bud could respond, the alarm out in the hall ceased its noise, as did the running and shouting. While there were still voices and footsteps coming from the hall, the relative silence that had descended over the Med Bay was almost as deafening as the alarm had been. From his station, Ratchet stood motionless with his blue eyes fixed on the Med Bay door.

"Is... is everything alright?" Chad asked softly.

"I think so," Ratchet answered. "At the very least, no one seems to be in a hurry to-"

Heavy footsteps echoed from the hall. Bud tensed as the door suddenly slid open, but immediately relaxed as Optimus Prime stepped into the room. The Autobot leader appeared calm, but there was no denying the grim look in his eyes. Perched on his shoulder, Miara also looked worried as she nestled as close to Optimus's head as she could. At the sight of Bud and the others looking up at her, the Teron brightened and waved. Bud smiled and waved back as Ratchet approached Optimus.

"Is everything alright?" the medic asked.

"For now, yes. Two of our guards spotted Starscream and Thundercracker near the front gates."

"What? What were they up to?"

"Nothing and that's what worries me. They appeared to be spying on the front gates, but neither made an effort to stay hidden, even when they were spotted. What's more, they fired only a few shots not at the gates, but at the ground ahead of the gates before retreating. We managed to land a shot on each of them, but neither Starscream nor Thundercraker put up any form of resistance."

"It wasn't just them," Miara piped up. "I couldn't see him, but I know Laserbeak was nearby. I could feel him."

"Which means Megatron was watching." Optimus folded his arms. "The question is, what is he looking for?"

"Us maybe?" Everyone glanced down at Lenny as the astronaut spoke. "Isn't he looking for us?"

"At this point, I don't see how Megatron would even know of your presence, my friend," Optimus answered. "We were monitoring Iacon carefully during our use of the space bridge when we brought you here and thus far, there have been no data breaches on our base."

"That you know of."

"True, but I promise you we are doing everything we can to keep the Decepticons from learning about Earth. Still, did you sense any Decepticons entering Iacon, Miara?"

"No, Optimus. And according to Bumblebee and Prowl, none of the other guards noticed anything either."

"Still, if Laserbeak was involved, this wasn't a case of Starscream and Thundercracker acting alone," Ratchet pointed out.

"You mentioned Starscream and Thundercracker before, right?" Chad asked. "Who's Laserbeak?"

"A minion of a Decepticon named Soundwave, arguably Megatron's most loyal soldier," Optimus answered. "And yes, Starscream and Thundercracker attempted to steal energon convertors not long before we found you. Unluckily for them, the convertors were unstable and caused them significant damage."

"Yeah, well, clearly they're up and about now," Lenny groused.

"Indeed. And Laserbeak's presence would mean Megatron was watching whatever it was Starscream and Thundercracker were attempting."

"I wonder if he was telling them what to do," Miara mused. "Starscream usually prefers sneak attacks unless he thinks he has the advantage. Attacking the front gates was certain to get our attention."

"Which might have been Megatron's plan," Bud said, looking up at Optimus. "I don't know much about your battle strategies, Optimus, but that sounds like a distraction to me."

"I thought the same thing," Optimus said, gently taking Miara into his hand and holding her against his chest. "I'm certain that Megatron is going to try and mount an attack on Iacon in the near future. It's the when and how that are eluding me."

"Which may be what he wants," Ratchet said. "To have you worry."

"No doubt." Optimus sighed, running a finger up and down Miara's back. "I hate to ask this of you, Little Sadstorm, but would you be able to regularly patrol the gates of Iacon for the next few solar cycles?"

"Of course!" Miara beamed up at Optimus. "It's my job, after all."

"And it's my job to keep you safe. To keep all of you safe." Optimus knelt down by the astronauts' beds. "You were probably startled by the sudden turn of events, were you not?"

"Not the first time we've heard an alarm," Chad answered with a grin.

"True, but it's always a bit of an unnerving experience," Bud replied.

"And moreso when you're in a strange environment." Optimus nodded. "But rest assured, we're not going to let you come to harm. You or any of your people."

"We appreciate that, really, but I have my doubts you'll be able to keep knowledge of Earth hidden from the Decepticons forever," Lenny said.

"Perhaps not, but we will do so for as long as we can." Optimus's eyes softened as he stroked the top of Miara's head. "As of now, Megatron still had no idea where the planet Holtus is and I plan to make it just as difficult for him to find Earth, if not more so."

"Still, if he attacks your city and finds us..."

"I won't let that happen," Optimus said firmly. "Your safety aside, we have far too many civilians in Iacon to ever risk allowing Megatron to make it past Iacon's gates."

"What if he mounts an attack on all of Iacon's gates?"

"Thankfully, Megatron has neither the numbers nor the arsenal to do so. But he could easily attack us from multiple fronts, which is what I'm certain he's going to try and do. Ratchet, I'll need the you and the full Med Bay staff on stand-by at all times."

"Understood."

"And the other scouts and I will be running patrols." Miara's tail wagged eagerly against Optimus's metal palm. "We'll stop Megatron before he gets past the gates; I know we will."

"Megatron getting past the gates doesn't worry me that much, Little Sandstorm; we've stopped him before and we'll do it again. What does worry me is not finding out Megatron's true plan before it's too late. I'm more certain than ever that Megatron plans to do more than attempt another takeover of Iacon. But does he also plan to hack into our data systems or raid our energon supplies? I don't know, but I must find out. In the meantime," Optimus glanced down at the three astronauts, "how are you feeling? Well enough to leave Med Bay tomorrow?"

"I'm certainly eager to get out of bed."

"So am I."

"Me too. Especially since I can actually think clearly again."

"Yes, your processing unit is working at full capacity, Chad," Ratchet said with a smile. "You'll probably still be sore for a bit, but as of now, I am comfortable releasing you from Med Bay during our next solar cycle."

"Good. We've moved your ship to a secure location in the Great Dome. Once you leave Med Bay, you may continue to stay there until we can get you home. And unfortunately," Optimus said with a sigh, "we may not be able to risk a space bridge any time soon. Not until I'm certain the Decepticons aren't waiting for us to do so before they strike."

"Understood. We should probably discuss this with President Gilligrass and NASA though."

"Of course. I want to keep them informed as much as possible. For now, though, is there anything else we can do for you?"

"No, Optimus, I think we're good. But is there a way we can help you?" Bud asked.

"Yes. You can stay safe and allow us to keep an optic out for Decepticon activity." Optimus's voice softened a bit. "I do hope to be able to show you some of our home before we send you back to yours, though."

"I'd love to see more besides your infirmary. No offense, Dr. Ratchet."

"None taken, Chad."

"And if the Decepticons attack while we're out sight-seeing?" Lenny asked.

"We'll help you," Miara assured him. "That's what Autobots do."

"Indeed so." Optimus rose to his feet. "I'll come by later to let you know if we've detected anything. Miara, are you ready?"

"Yes, Optimus!"

"Let's roll out then. Until this evening, my friends."

"Thanks, Optimus. See you, Miara. Good luck with your scouting mission."

"Thank you. I'll see you later."

"Hope she'll be alright," Bud whispered as Optimus and Miara left the Med Bay. "I hope we'll all be alright."

And for a time, they would be.