Transformers Break

[Perceptor]

“No, no! Please be careful with that!”

Two Autobots held a large cabinet tightly after hearing this statement, putting it next to the Teletraan Mobile in the HOPE’s main lobby. While the ship was large, a majority of it’s space was reserved for the cargo they’d be transporting back to Cybertron. A bridge, their single lobby and barracks were all this Autobot crew would have to themselves. 

“Thank you.” Perceptor helped them scoot the cabinet into position. He could only bring so much equipment with him on their trip, but the Science Officer felt it would be necessary for research. Various beakers and tools surrounded the area, with Perceptor well aware this could annoy the other crew members. “It’s… not perfect…”

“Well, fix it yourself. We’re done here.” The two Autobot helpers quickly left the lobby before Perceptor could respond. “No, that’s not what I… meant.” Looking defeated, the Science Officer glanced around the area. The ship was clearly run down, with paint scraped off and metal peeling from the corners, but the war effort meant other projects, mostly weapons, had to be prioritized. With everything set up, Perceptor left to go join up with his Leader on the boarding ramp.

“Sir. I have finished my assignment.” Walking down the ramp toward Sentinel Prime, Perceptor kept a very professional demeanor with the Autobot’s greatest commander. “Do you have any other orders?” Sentinel Prime chuckled to himself. Perceptor was one of the few Autobots he knew who would willingly ask for MORE work. “Not yet. We better wait for the other recruits to arrive first. They should-“

“I see one now, sir.”

Perceptor’s shoulder scope zoomed in on a single vehicle speeding toward their location. “Which one is it? My optics aren’t what they used to be.” Sentinel Prime admitted, trying to squint. “I wouldn’t know sir. None of us were given the crew log.” The Leader grunted, turning to look up the ramp. “That Kup, I swear.”

Getting a very close look, Perceptor wondered who his new companion would be and what position he’d fill. “Interesting…”

Edited July 17, 2021 by FrostyFoster

[Overcharge]

A teal all-terrain sped towards the HOPE's entry ramp, having been cleared through one of the checkpoints without issues. As it neared closer, it started decelerating, finally coming to a halt a few hundred meters ahead. It then transformed into a fairly unassuming Autobot, covered in grime and dirt from travelling all day. Immediately, he looked at himself, and strangely, he looked satisfied with his appearance. "Heh. My favorite part."

Then, he approached a luminous beacon, and raised his hand towards it. Energy emanated from the lightbulb and shot towards the hand. The raw electricity then engulfed his entire body, repelling the filth away from the metalwork and, in some cases, outright disintegrating it. In mere seconds, the teal Autobot was spick-and-span. Then, he felt presentable enough to approach the ramp on which his superiors stood tall, while the beacon slowly started to shine again.

Upon reaching the ramp, he took a knee at the very base, looking up towards Sentinel Prime and Perceptor. Of the two, he only knew the Prime. The other, he had not been told of, but he could only assume he was higher up the ranks than him. "Sirs. It is an honor to meet you. My name is Overcharge. I will be at the service of this ship."

On the outside, he appeared calm and collected. Inside, however, he was excited to set foot on a new planet. A new frontier...

[Perceptor]

Perceptor watched intently as the teal vehicle headed toward them, only to be in awe at what he saw. “I can’t believe it…” Mouth agape, the scientist stared at the Autobot cleaning himself using an unknown power. Reaching the ramp, he introduced himself to the two.

“At ease, soldier. You’ve arrived just in time.” Sentinel Prime commanded, loosening his posture toward Perceptor. “As you saw, Overcharge can reroute energy from the environment to his chassis. This rare ability of his makes him a valuable ally for this mission. Recon, medical, he can probably do it.”

Perceptor had seen many different types of Cybertronians in his time, but this was definitely new to him. “It’s incredible! I’m Perceptor, the Hope’s Science Officer. If you’d be willing, I’d like to run a few tests on you.” He wondered how these powers came to fruition, or if the teal Autobot even knew. However, he wouldn’t be getting those answers now. 

“That’ll have to wait, Perceptor.” Down the ramp came a light blue chassis, very clearly showing signs of his age, perhaps even older than Sentinel Prime. His face specifically was scarred and gruff, his optics dim. “You two. Come with me.” The old timer didn’t even wait to see the two react as he went back into the ship. Right away, Perceptor knew it was best to follow him, leaving the Prime to wait for any more recruits.

As the three waltzed down a hallway, the superior finally spoke up. “I’m Kup, but you’ll call me Captain or Sir.” While Perceptor never personally served with him, Kup was a war hero amongst the Autobots. The scientist was surprised he decided to join a mission such as this instead of continuing the effort along the frontlines of battle. “I’ve read up on your abilities, Overcharge. I’m promoting you to Corporal, effective immediately.”

The Autobot ranking system was simple. Private, Corporal, Lieutenant, Captain, Prime. However, specific ranks such as Science Officer were outside of the regular system and held special privileges. “I hope your talent will make your new rank worth it. As for you, Perceptor, I already expect the best from you. You WON’T let me down.” Perceptor quickly responded. “I won’t, Captain.”

The gruff Autobot had a slight hunch compared to the two, leaning forward as he spoke. “You’ll both be needed on the bridge for debrief soon, but do you have any questions for me now?”

[Overcharge]

The teal Autobot stood up once instructed to by Sentinel Prime, who gave the gray and red chassis a quick run-down of his abilities. He was then approached by this individual, who introduced himself as the ship's Science Officer. Unsettlingly enough, one the first things he wanted to do was to run tests on him. Fortunately, another familiar face came to the rescue, instructing both of them to follow him into the ship. Wow, that's... that's Kup! He's supposed to be one of the oldest Autobots still in service.

Quickly, he trailed behind the Science Officer, up the ramp into the ship. As they walked down a relatively deserted hallway, where the occasional civilian could be seen ferrying boxes from one room to the other, Kup promoted him from Private to Corporal. Overcharge could barely contain his satisfaction now, a smile running across his face. His efforts in the great steel and concrete jungle were starting to pay off.

Now, the old timer opened up a window to learn more. Figuring out a question about their mission would just get brushed off with a cold "It's all in the debriefing", the electromancer decided to ask about the ship instead. "Sir. Thank you for this opportunity. Uh..." He stumbled for a moment, before going on with his question. "Where are we staying? Do we have rooms?"

[Perceptor]

Kup motioned the two to follow him. “We’re close enough to the barracks.” A large door slid open to reveal around 20 living chambers, far from extravagant and quite small. “Most of the room on the Hope is reserved for cargo.” Pointing to a nearby array of windows, a gigantic empty space jutted out the back of the ship, with only a few green and purple construction tools currently held inside. 

“And that’s… pretty much it to show.” The old Autobot’s voicebox uttered. “Besides Perceptor’s workspace.” Intended to be a recreational room, Kup showed the teal Autobot the messy lobby. Most of the seating had been replaced with desks and cabinets filled with random parts that didn’t look particularly like something normally in a lab. “Excuse the mess.” Perceptor spoke up, feeling the need to explain himself.

“I haven’t quite had the time to rearrange everything yet, but at least the Teletraan Mobile is online.” The orange box currently displayed various calculations on the view screen above it. “Well, we’re gonna need it. Once we’re out of range of Cybertron, this will be our only source of data.” Kup picked up a nearby tube filled with some sort of liquid as he spoke. “What’s this?” Perceptor’s optics widened. “Captain, please don’t touch that! It’s highly dangerous.”

Kup smirked, tossing it aside. “Sure it is. I’ll be on the bridge.” The old timer left the two alone in the lobby, with Perceptor gently placing the tube back on one of the nearby tables. “War ‘bots can be so inconsiderate sometimes. Not you, of course.” The scientist stated to Overcharge. “Although to be fair, I barely know you. Speaking of, would it be ok if you went more in depth about your ability with me? The tests can wait, but I can curious of their exact functions.”

Ironically, Perceptor was also being inconsiderate, automatically assuming someone would even want tests performed on them.

[Overcharge]

Bed's a bed... could be worse really. Having fallen on hard times before, Overcharge did not scoff at the notion of resting in the barracks, even if his roommates could be noisy. He followed Kup and Perceptor into the lobby, which had been turned into a mad scientist's cave. The Captain then proceeded to mess with the scientist's shiny trinkets, much to the latter's chagrin. However humorous the situation may have been, the teal robot successfully contained himself.

After that, Overcharge was left alone by the war hero with the bot of science, which continued to pressure him about his ability. Good Hand above! The Captain just left me with this maniac, right in the middle of his lair... Gotta divert his attention somehow, at least until the briefing... The electromancer quickly looked around, and spoke evasively. "Psh. Yeah, Old 'bots can fail to see the big picture and concentrate on winning battles, ignoring why they're there or how... Not me, though. I like this science stuff too."

His optics finally fixated on the orange, boxy machine the scientist appeared to be so proud of earlier. Maybe this will get him started and keep us busy until we're called to the bridge. "Like this! You called it a Teletrain Mobile, right? What kinda data does it give really? How does it work?" While not his preferred theme of conversation, Overcharge intended to listen to whatever the scientist could tell him. I might learn something... and anything's better than being impaled on a pivoting stick really.

Edited July 19, 2021 by Replicator

[Perceptor]

“Oh, yes! It’s the newest model of Teletraan Mobile, in fact.” Perceptor quickly took off his calculations from the view screen, now displaying a basic array of data. “I’m not surprised you haven’t heard of it. These are reserved for higher ranked Autobot’s usage. However, for a top secret mission like this, it’s necessary for the crew to know of it.”

Clicking a few buttons, Perceptor showed the Teal Autobot a full biometric scan of Cybertron, displaying materials, weapons, and other types of information useful for war and research. “As you can see, if this got into Decepticon hands, we’d be in quite a mess. Thankfully, most data is locked behind your rank. For example…” Perceptor clicked on the file titled “Battle Plans”, only for an error screen to appear.

CAPTAIN RANK OR ABOVE REQUIRED.

“As a Science Officer, I’m able to see the planet’s materials and specific equations, but that’s about how much access I personally get.” Perceptor slid the entire planet away, now showing a different smaller planet. It was mostly red with specks of brown surrounding what looked to be large mountains. Practically no information was shown though.

“This is our destination, which we have named Krogo VI. I look forward to filling this with new knowledge.” Perceptor looked somber as he stared at the red planet. “My goal in life is to help this war end peacefully. While our mission to to load Energon off the planet, I hope there’s something I can use to complete that goal. Off planet travel is rare, I have to take advantage of it.”

“All Autobots, please report to the deck. All Autobots, please report to the deck.”

The intercom spoke with urgency, peaking the scientist’s interest. “I was getting off-topic anyways. Come, Kup will be able to share more about the mission.

…

“So… pathetic…” 

Pacing back and forth, Lord Megatron carried a ornate dagger stained with purple colored Energon liquid. “I thought you’d be honored of my presence. I normally have people who get what I want, but I felt the second in command deserved a little more respect.”

Megatron didn’t flinch a nanosecond as he jammed the blade into the Autobot’s lower torso, causing him to scream in agony.

“I was wrong.”

Not bothering to remove the dagger, he watched Prowl attempt to squirm out of the chain holding him above ground, but to no avail. “This knife… belongs… in your neck…” Prowl uttered softly as Energon dripped out of his mouth. “You’ll get… nothing from me.”

“Technically I don’t HAVE to get anything from you, it’ll just speed up the process a bit. Your orange toy you blew up still had specks of data on them. We’ll find that transport ship soon enough.”

“No…” Prowl hung his head down, feeling horribly defeated. He knew his best plan would be to stall for time, hopefully until the Hope can launch. Unfortunately, Shockblast burst through the door, ruining his plan with a single statement.

“Lord Megatron, we’re close to finding the ship’s location.” The purple Decepticon chattered through his yellow monoeye. Megatron responded by gritting his teeth. Without any mercy, he pulled the dagger out of Prowl, tossing it toward Shockblast. Panicking, the Decepticon moved his head to the right, the blade now sticking on the wall.

“WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT INTERRUPTING ME!” Megatron made it clear he wasn’t on good terms with his second in command to begin with, but hearing this made Shockblast even more fearful of his powerful leader. “Sorry, my Lord. I was just going to ask if we should put the Combaticons on standby.

“No, I already have a team in mind…” Megatron’s scowl turning into a devilish grin.

[Perceptor]

“This… was much less ‘bots than I had expected.”

A total of 16 Transformers stood across from the blue veteran commander, patiently awaiting an explanation on what exactly they would even be doing. Perceptor attempted to keep himself dignified in the small group, especially after seeing what looked to be a reformed Seeker amongst the ranks, but the other Autobots paid no attention to the Science Officer. Kup cleared his voicebox, beginning to speak in a booming tone.

“As you know, our mission is to reach the planet Krogo VI and extract as much Energon as we possibly can. While I’ll be a long ride to and from, it’s necessary for us to make it back to Cybertron before the Decepticons find out. Every single one of you need to be in your best condition if we are to succeed… let alone survive. This will be a suicide mission ONLY if you make it one. DON’T. MESS. UP.”

Kup had been in worse situations during this career, but something as crucial to the war as this even made the old timer worry slightly. Hoping the thoughts didn’t stick in his memory banks, he began to split up the crew. Two pilots were assigned, while five, including Overcharge and Hotlink, were assigned to guard duty on the planet. Alien life on Krogo VI was unknown at moment, with Kup hoping Perceptor could find out they even landed. The rest were then made maintenance workers.

“Everyone strap in! This’ll be a bumpy takeoff!” 

Seats popped up from the underside of the Bridge, a large seat put in the middle for Kup. A glass slit curved half of the room, although it wasn’t a useful design choice for the pilots, who had many screens in front of them already. Perceptor strapped into his seat, making sure the fastenings were extra tight. 

“Finally… I’ll be able to explore this mysterious world…” The Science Officer muttered to himself. All the waiting was bound to pay off as he watched the pilots moved levers back. The Hope began to point more and more upward as Sentinel Prime watched silently from below. The jets fluttered with small flares, only to burst out a stream of fire shortly after. The Hope quickly sent itself off the surface.

“Put cloaking and radar scrambling online!”

The pilots responded to Kup’s barking order by turning the ship visible, both to optics and any Decepticon trackers. This technology as still not completely accurate though, with small pieces still shown. Along with the fact that it drained a large amount of power, it would have to be turned off immediately after they reached a certain point between Cybertron and Krogo VI.

The ride out of the atmosphere was far from enjoyable. For Perceptor, it felt as if the Hope could tear itself apart at any moment, jutting him back and forth in his seat as he held his straps. Once it broke the barrier though, the ride began to settle down, giving the ship a smoother sailing as it left Cybertron behind it.

“Don’t worry.” Kup called out as if he was speaking to the planet. “We’ll be back soon. Turn off the cloaking and scrambling. We’ll be in a floating target if those keep drying up our power!” With a few clicks, the Hope looked as if it was back to normal. Everyone except the pilots left their seats, with Perceptor heading back to his lab. “I wonder what Overcharge thinks of his companions?” He wondered, hoping his new friend would get along with them.

…

There was nothing in a space section far from Cybertron, only a single small spherical vessel barely moving across the stars. Inside the ship was a single open area, dim lights just barely hiding a messy interior. A large dark blue box took up most of the space, creating a slight yellow from the cracks between panels. Two Decepticons shared this dour living space, currently sitting across from each other at a nearby table.

“Ha! I knew you were gonna do that!” A white and gray Decepticon chuckled as he pointed to the game illuminating off of the table. “Looks like that’s another win for Ramjet!”

The Transformer across from him scoffed, showing off her black and purple exterior as she moved in her seat. “Ugh. Stop acting like this is still a game of skill, you conehead! We’ve played this so many times that it’s pretty much random at this point.” 

Ramjet grunted, turning the game off. “This is the only taste of victory I get, Slipstream. My arm cannons have even started to rust from lack of combat.” 

“Need I remind you for the millionth time how we ended up there?” Slipstream asked in a demeaning tone. “YOU blew up that Autobot Captain before it was time, ruining Lord Megatron’s plan. YOU tried to hide your mistake by blaming it on me. YOU almost got us killed by Lord Megatron until I convinced him to banish us instead. We were Special Ops, the best of the best! Because of you, we’re stuck here forever on a tiny ship with a stupid glowing box that does nothing!!!”

The timing was almost too perfect.

ORDERS RECEIVED. ESTIMATING TRAJECTORY OF AUTOBOT TRANSPORT SHIP

Silence feel into the room. “Did… did the stupid box just talk?” Ramjet asked. Slowly getting out of his chair to back away from it. Slipstream was equally surprised. That box did nothing for however many cycles they’d been stuck on the ship and now it started to talk? “I… I don’t-“

TRAJECTORY COMPLETE. STARTING ENGINES TO INTERVENE

The box made the spherical vessel fly though the vast emptiness of space, not waiting a nanosecond for the Decepticons to buckle up. As the two slammed into the side of a wall, they had no idea what was in store for them… 

[Overcharge]

While the Hope made its way towards Krogo VI, Overcharge couldn't think of much but the planet itself. Like Perceptor, he was excited to explore it, even if he was stuck guarding the ship with a reformed Decepticon. I'm the recon specialist. Sooner or later they're gonna have to put somebody else in place and send me somewhere far away. Entering the cantina, he briefly observed an Autobot getting their daily ration from a dispenser. This made him think, as he walked past the room and into another hallway. Though there might not be any energy for me to siphon in such a planet. I might have to get some from the ship's generator before I go anywhere.

He was also excited to socialize with the rest of his teammates, and get to know them, but Overcharge knew better than to find them right away and pressure them into playing cards or talking. Just like in the big metallic jungle, work would bring them all together. Wandering aimlessly around the ship, he stopped to observe Cybertron from a window, becoming smaller and more distant each passing second. Goodbye Cybertron. Will we see each other again?

[Perceptor]

Time began to pass.

The Hope’s distance between its home and its destination was about halfway completed. While the ride had been mostly calm, it wasn’t without its hiccups. “Captain!” One of the pilots called out to Kup, who was jutted out of his slumber. “Huh! What is it?” The leader groggily called out. The pilot sighed, zooming in on a small spot in their trajectory path.

“Another warp hole, sir. How should I navigate?” The pilot took these warps very seriously. No Autobot truly knew what was inside one or where they’d even end up. Kup, on the other hand, didn’t wish to be woken up for something as trivial as this had become. “Just alter the path. Do the same thing you’ve done the last dozen times…”

While the ride was boring for most of the crew, it gave Perceptor more time to create new inventions for research purposes. “Just… one more… turn…” The Autobot held a wrench tightly as he spun it around a bizarre cubic device, only for the whole thing to crack and burst. “…Scrap. I thought I had fixed that issue.” Perceptor had opted to spend a majority of this time alone, realizing that making friends wouldn’t be useful for the mission in the long run.

While he continued to tinker with the contraption, he missed a blinking message on the Teletraan Mobile. Something was headed their way.

…

“So, while we take the bridge, you’re gonna make a hole into the cargo hold and work your way up?”

CORRECT

Slipstream and Ramjet both looked perplexed. The box hadn’t spoken much on their journey to intercept the Autobot transport ship, only now letting the two Decepticons in on its plan. 

“But, you’re a box?” Ramjet ever so wisely interjected.

INCORRECT

“Then what trick do you have up your-“

WE ARE BOARDING. TAKE THE BRIDGE.

At that moment, a door opened behind the two, showing them the vastness beauty of space, only to be taken out of this bliss by having their spherical ship violently crash atop the back of the Hope. “You heard the box.” Slipstream exclaimed to her compatriot, both transforming into sleek jetmodes.

“We’re being boarded, Captain!”

“What? How?” Kup slammed his fist onto the armrest, pushing himself up off of it. “It’s attached to the cargo hold!” The pilot responded. “The ship doesn’t look to be Decepticon, sir, but I’m sending our guards to intervene” A crash within one of the windows interrupted the conversation, with two jets spilling inside to transform in front of Kup. “Actually, we are Decepticons.” Slipstream called out to the three Autobots.“Sorry, we’re gonna need this ship.”

At the back of the Hope, the box chirped, with sounds of ripping and cutting taking place below the mysterious contraption.

OPERATION SOUNDWAVE COMMENCING.

…

“What is that?” Hotlink, one of the soldiers, stared directly above at a hole starting to form above him in the massive cargo bay. Getting his flamethrowers ready, he pointed them above once he heard a booming voice.

RUMBLES. FRENZIES. EJECT.

10 of each jumped down the hole as Overcharge and Skids, one of the other soldiers, made it into the cargo hold. The two times of faceless drones were slightly shorter than Overcharge, very simple in detail and design. The blue types, Rumbles, had two large battering rams replacing their arms while the red types, Frenzies, carried standard assault rifles with their much more “normal” looking arms.

“Hah! Is that the best you got, pipsqueaks? Let me show you the power of fire!” Hotlink yelled, only for his confidence to be drowned out by the sounds of gunfire. The Frenzies didn’t even bend their forearms as they pointed rifles at Hotlink, tearing him apart as his limbs became filled with holes. “Oh, scrap!” Skids dove toward behind the nearest cargo equipment he could find, returning fire as he got up. “Hotlink is down!” Sending a message intended for the Autobots to the bridge, Slipstream smirked. “Overcharge and I will hold them off as long as we can!”

[Overcharge]

"Eek!" Overcharge, who had been following Skids' trail in his alt mode, quickly steered behind another pile of cargo and transformed as well to avoid the barrage. Staring down the barrel of ten assault rifles and probably about to be charged at with twenty battering rams, he understood that if he and Skids intended to survive without having to run away, they'd need to make an offensive play. Raising his left arm towards a junction box, he addressed his teammate. "Skids, right?! We won't be able to hold them off! I'm gonna try something, so have your gun ready!"

He siphoned energy from the box until his lights and optics had a certain shine to them, and then prepared to make his move. "You better be on a fresh magazine..." Then, he put his right arm over the boxes and started discharging his energy on the Decepticon mooks, quickly panning his arm to douse the ones on the left first, then the ones on the middle and the right. "Now! Left to right, fire, fire, fire!" His intention was to stun as many of them as he could, so that they'd drop their guard and allow Skids to down as many of them as possible.

If things went their way and they were to dispatch the Decepticons easily, perhaps Hotlink was not beyond saving. Most helpfully, the projectiles had not ruptured his flamethrower's fuel tank, so he wouldn't go up in flames if nobody hit it too hard. However, that was exactly why he couldn't go close until every enemy in the room had been taken care of.

[Perceptor]

“You’re impressive!” Skids called out over the sounds of his blaster bolts hitting the drones. One by one, the Rumbles and Frenzies couldn’t do much to defend themselves as the Autobot made holes in their chest. “Just keep them busy, Overcharge!“ 

COUNTERPLAN. RUMBLES. EJECT.

Five more Rumbles jumped down from the hole in front of the remaining drones, which was about half. While their appearance was mostly the same, giant shields had replaced their battering rams, holding them in front of their forces. “Blast!” Skids screamed as he watched his bolts hit the defensive wall, not leaving even a scratch. 

“We gotta lock down the cargo bay! Hold them inside while we recuperate.” The blue Autobot make an attempt to go toward the only door connecting the cargo hold and the main part of the Hope, only for a stray blast to slide into his right knee. “Ahhhhhh! Decepticreeps!” Pointing his rifle back at the Rumble’s wall, A Frenzy retaliated by firing a shot through one of the walls slits, sending it directly through Skid’s head.

Blue and purple gunk and scrap hit the wall as the corpse crashed to the metal floor. Hotlink’s corpse, on the other hand, began to turn a bleak gray color, with one of the drones kicking it aside as they made an offensive toward the remaining Autobot in the room. Hotlink’s fuel tank slid across the cargo bay into a few bright red crates, tapping them ever so slightly, but not igniting.

…

“As long as there aren’t any… complications, no one will have to get hurt.” 

Slipstream negotiated with Hope’s Captain as Ramjet held the two pilots at blasterpoint. Kup couldn’t help but speak up once he heard this. “Typical Con lies! Your people are slaughtering my men as we speak.” Shrugging, Slipstream turned away from the grizzled Autobot. “I guess no one ELSE will have to get hurt?” Her split second mistake allowed Kup to kick the Decepticon in the back, sending her toward Ramjet.

The two clashed as Kup pressed a single button on his chair, producing a heavy machine gun from the side. “Big mistake, Cons!” The Captain screamed with envy, sending an uncountable amount of blaster bolts toward the two. In fact, the pilots even had jump out of the way as the bridge became a war zone. 

“Big mistake, Bot!” As Ramjet jumped out of the way, his response was followed with a few shots toward the pilots. “Ramjet, you idiot!” Slipstream yelled over the gunfire, watching the pilots slump to the floor. “Those were are only way to the planet! We can’t pilot this!” The ship began to bank right without anyone controlling it, but Kup didn’t let up. “I’m sick of Cons ruining everything!!!”

Perceptor attempted to grab broken gadgets and beakers while the ship lost control, but he quickly realized it would all be for naught. “The bridge!” Sounds of gunfire escaped through the walls of the ship, the Science Officer too far from the cargo hold to notice it there. A few Autobots ran past him as he made his way to the front of the ship, hearing them stammer about various mechanical failures. “I can’t believe it! Boarded in the middle of our trek? How inconsiderate!

Click! Click! Click!

Kup pressed down on the trigger, but nothing spurted out of the large machine gun. Opting to not give up, he tossed the blaster at Ramjet, sending him into the front control deck. Slipstream watched intently as the Captain swung a right hook at her, only to be stopped in his tracks with a blade to the neck. “Sir! What is-NO!” As the doors opened, Perceptor saw Kup drop to his knees, a Decepticon slicing deeper into his neck. “I… failed you all…” Kup‘s last words came out with a whimper as Slipstream pulled his head off of his body.

[Overcharge]

"Damn it!" Overcharge saw his only remaining ally getting shot in the head by one of the Frenzies, and from his experience in the urban battlefield, he knew he was very unlikely to keep Skids alive long enough to reach the medical bay. Hotlink was beyond what Overcharge considered the point of no return, and had been tossed next to some highly conspicuous crates. This, at least, made the process of triage easier for him. Siphoning some more energy, he quickly ran towards Skids and picked him up, passively transferring some of his stored energy to his body. Hopefully, that and the energy he'd pick along the way would be enough to keep him alive for a run to the ER. He intended to abandon the cargo bay and retreat wherever his odds looked better. And I am to retreat, I might as well try to save Skids.

Next, he pointed his free hand towards Hotlink's propellant tanks and quickly fired a single blast of concentrated energy towards them. If his hunch was correct, the conspicuous crates contained highly volatile ammunition, and had been made bright red on purpose so Cargobots would know to handle them carefully. Igniting the propellant tanks could result in a big enough explosion to act as a smokescreen, behind which he could leave the room with Skids and maybe even take out a pair of Cons. Goodbye, Hotlink. I'm really sorry for this. I did look forward to meeting you.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Replicator
Somebody once told me - hands off my macaroni - Milwaukee pasta bandit found dead

[Perceptor]

Perceptor froze with fear. He didn’t sign up for such brutal events as this! While turning back toward the door to flee, Ramjet shot the control panel to the left of it, locking him inside. “Heh heh. Where do you think you’re going?” Ramjet scoffed as he walked closer. Slipstream tossed the bloodied head into the pilot’s corpse pile, Perceptor’s optics widening.

“Please! Why are you doing this?” The Science Officer slipped as he slowly walked backwards, falling on his back. The two murderers laughed at the mistake, Slipstream placing her foot atop Perceptor’s torso. “Do you really need an answer to that? Who do you think we are?” She wiped the blueish purple liquid off of her blade, placing it back in her forearm. “We would just like to continue this fun little trip you’re taking. Well, not the trip you just did. The journey you’re on.” Slipstream had a perplexed look on her face. “Do you know how to pilot this? Triggerhappy over here took out your friends.”

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The Hope rattled and rocked as a large explosion commenced in the cargo hold. The three left alive on the bridge were sent flying an all directions, the ship not attempting to course correct. As smoke filled the entire backend of the Hope, Perceptor laid on the bridge’s floor, noticing a large swirl of multiple colorful waves outside the front window. “Wormhole!” Immediately jumping up, he noticed the two Decepticons, their chassis’s sliding across the ground while the ship began to be sucked inside.

“No no no no no!” Perceptor pulled on the bullet riddled pilot seat to sit near the controls. While he would never wish to not be a scientist, he felt a pilot’s license would’ve been quite useful at the moment. Gripping the controls tightly, he attempted to bank left, but nothing would budge. It was too late for the Hope. Perceptor felt almost weightless as he watched the bright colors engulf his vision.

And then, nothing.

…

Many light years away, a mangled mess formerly called the Hope came out of the warp hole. The mess floated on its side toward a large planet. It looked nothing like Krogo VI, instead being mostly shades of blue, green and brown. No one was around to see the beautiful planet, the only one awake no having eyes to begin with.

CALCULATING THE BEST LANDING LOCATION.

The black spherical vessel let go of the mangled mess, sending itself farther and farther away as the Hope broke through the atmosphere. By this point, standard protocol for a crash landing would’ve broken out, but without a Captain, or any crew member functioning for that matter, nothing was slowed as more parts flew off, the ship slamming into the bottom side of a mountain. The ship’s parts tore deep into the rocks, sticking snuggly inside as an avalanche of boulders began to cover it. From the outside of the mountain, it looked as if it had only been lightly scarred. However, this mountain how carried something important to the planet’s future.

The black sphere, on the other hand, gently landed within a snowy tundra. While the sphere has minor damage, what was inside felt weak after traveling through the worm hole.

ENERGON LEVELS DEPLETING. COMMENCING SCAN OF ENERGON.

SCANNING.

SCANNING.

ENERGON LEVELS MORE THAN SUPPLEMENTAL. PROCEEDING WITH RECUPERATION PLAN.

End of Part 1: Hope

[Perceptor]

Ron! I swear to God if you’re workin’ on that Jeep again, I’ll-“

“Will you shut up already? This is history!”

A heavyset man with a short gray beard and baseball cap rolled back under his prized possession, an original WWII Jeep passed down from his father. He had managed to take good care of the vehicle for many years, keeping the paint and parts pristine. “Dammit, where’d I leave the stupid flathead.” Rolling out to look for this screw driver, the Jeep remained silent outside, but inside…

No… that can’t be true. A signal? An Autobot signal? 60 years and they’ve finally found me! Hahaha, yes! I can’t believe they… 

Wait a minute. 

That’s a distress signal…

“Aw, come on!” The man ravaged through his toolbox, only for the Jeep to start up. “What the?” He exclaimed, turning around to see the headlights illuminate. The Jeep didn’t waste any time speeding out of his garage, leaving tire tracks across his driveway. “G-ghosts! The ghosts of dead soldiers took my car? Why? Why?!” He called out to the Jeep, but it didn’t slow down in the slightest.

Uh oh. No driver.

The Jeep quickly created a lifelike hologram in the driver’s seat. He knew those years of practicing holos would pay off in some capacity. Leaving the suburbs, the vehicle headed northwest.

Years? Geez Hound, you’ve been on Earth WAY too long.

…

“No no… no?”

Perceptor jutted up, looking around not to see shiny stars. or a warp hole, but sharp rocks sticking in the windows in front of him. Wherever he was, it wasn’t space. “Uh-I-huh?” The bridge didn’t look too different, other than the rocks decorating the place. The two Decepticons were still laying on the ground, albeit scuffled around from the landing. Kup and the pilot’s corpses also didn’t change much, but Perceptor wished he didn’t have to see them like that. 

“Better check for survivors.” Not wasting any time, Perceptor pried open the doors with a nearby piece of scrap, bringing himself back into the hallways of the Hope. What he saw in these halls broke him. More often than not, he’d find a dead body than one that was shut down. Protocol was too deal with the wounded first, so anyone who wasn’t conscious was taken to their medical bay. It was small, never intended to be used in the capacity it would have to be, but he managed to bring four bodies into stasis. 

“You’ll have to stay offline until we get better care. I’m sorry.” The Science Officer hooked up wires to their heads as they laid on makeshift gurneys. Ironically, the hardest part for Perceptor wasn’t the death, but lifting the offline around the ship. He understood very clearly he wasn’t the strongest Autobot and it showed. Eventually, he made it back to the cargo hold. 

A good chunk of it had been blown away, Perceptor assuming this was the explosion that rattled the ship around. Many blue and red lifeforms of unknown origin surrounded the space, utterly decimating their metal bodies. However, two bodies stuck out. “Overcharge!” The Officer ran toward him and one of the soldiers stationed on the ship. Perceptor had never gotten his name and it seemed he never would, considering the hole in his head.

“Wait… he’s still functional?” Perceptor pulled up the blue Autobot’s chassis, leaving an unconscious Overcharge behind. “Don’t worry old friend, I’ll be back!” He called out, obviously not getting a response. Skids, who Perceptor looked up on the Teletraan Mobile, took over their only stasis tube, a contraption saved for only the worst of injuries. Perceptor tapped away on a keyboard as the barely alive Autobot floated in a light green liquid. “Memory banks are fried. Expected. But maybe…” Perceptor considered the options, but he wished not to leave Overcharge in the cargo area.

Dragging the final Autobot back to the medical bay, Perceptor connected Overcharge to the final stasis cap, only for a jolt to send him flying into an unopened crate. “Ah… I should’ve taken caution. His energy powers could be unstable.” He uttered while rubbing the back of his head. Thankfully, this seemed to be a saving shock, as Overcharge opened his eyes, laying on a gurney.

“Overcharge! By the Matrix, you’re alive.”

[Perceptor]

“What? Whe- what is this?"

Perceptor stood above the panicked Autobot. “I understand your shock, no pun intended.” He pulled the cap off the Overcharge, tapping a few buttons on the keyboard next to him. “A lot has happened. We seemed to have travelled through a warp hole and survived.” Perceptor surveyed the broken down medical bay. “The Hope is currently trapped inside of some sort of rocky tomb. I regret to inform you that most of our crew has perished, including Captain Kup.” A somber look appeared on his face, opting to type back on the keyboard.

Still disoriented, Overcharge put his head between his hands. "Decepticons were boarding us... they blasted Hotlink to kingdom come and shot Skids... and then I picked him out and ran out of the room... damn... Skids is probably up there with Captain Kup and the crew right now, isn't he."

Perceptor assumed the lifeforms in the cargo hold were of Decepticon origin. He couldn’t even find Hotlink’s body, but Overcharge was right to think Skids was dead. After all, most lifeforms don’t survive a headshot. “Surprisingly, Skids is still alive, albeit barely.” He motioned over to the large tube to the left of him. “I managed to put him in stasis before his body completely shut down. However, his memory banks are completely lost and I don’t have the technology to revive him. He’ll have to remain here.”

Overcharge was surprised to hear that Skids managed to survive, even if it was likely he would never be the same. "Huh. That's one thing gone right. Yay us..." He looked at Skids' pod, before looking at the Science Officer. "What was that you said about being trapped in rock? Are we in Krueger... 7?" Overcharge asked, getting the name of Krogo VI wrong.

“That, I am not certain, if you meant Krogo VI. Come with me.” Hoping to bring Overcharge to the Teletraan Mobile, he caught a glimmer from the crate he was pushed into. “Hmmmm.” Perceptor slid his hand across the lock holding it together, only for another stasis pod to slid out. “I can’t believe it…” He muttered, staring at the black Autobot inside, his green highlights matching the liquid. “Who is this?” Perceptor attempted to prop up the tube, but it proved to be quite heavy.

"No way I’d know..." The teal Autobot only managed to utter these few words, as he got up from his resting place and sauntered towards the pod containing the mysterious Autobot. "The orange box... can't it tell you who's in all these pods? Doesn't it have a... a crew registry?" Overcharge proceeded to help Perceptor prop the tube up.

“That is correct.” He responded, thankful for the help. The two went back to the main lobby. Perceptor had used the Teletraan Mobile a few times since their crash landing, but this new predicament needed to be prioritized. A name popped up, along with a picture. “Private Hot Shot. Supposed to serve as a Scout once we got to the planet.” Different from Recon soldiers, Scouts played the part of hit and run tactics, speeding off before trouble could erupt. “It seems he was injured before our trek and needed to heal during it. I wonder if that ended up saving his life.” Perceptor thought of the Autobot floating through the cold depths of space, but decided against continuing it. Before they went back to the medical bay though, the Science Officer checked their location. Big text that said “UNKNOWN” appeared. “So not Krogo VI then, unless some wires got scrambled in the Mobile.”

“Hope he's gotten that rest he needed. I don't see anybody on their feet besides the two of us and getting out of the rocks is going to be a lot of work..." He was briefly interrupted when a roof panel that was hanging from a wire finally broke free and fell to the floor. "Never mind getting this ship to take off again. I'm no engineer but... looks beat to scrap from here."

“I… agree. While it may be early, he seems to be in better condition than Skids.” Perceptor had to make a decision as he walked back to the medical bay. Opening Hot Shot’s stasis tube was risky, but Overcharge was right. They were trapped and needed all the help they could get. Connecting the tube next to Skid’s, so that the liquid could drain, Perceptor quietly pulled open the tube. Thankfully, the Private looked to be in healthy condition. “Hot Shot?”

All was silent.

All that could be heard was the buzzing of his spark. Then suddenly, the hissing of hydraulics as the pod opened. His fingers started to move as Hot Shot spark started to fully come online, his eyes lighting up. He blinked a few times. but he was groggy... "Where..." Before he could finish, he heard someone say his name. With his fuzzy optics though, he couldn't tell who it was in a haze, thinking he was still in his Decepticon holding cell. Leaping from his pod he pulled his Ion Blaster and pointed it at Preceptor. "I won't let any Slagging Con get me again!"

Perceptor’s optics widened as the weapon pointed at his face, holding his hands up. “Please don’t be alarmed, Hot Shot! We are allies.” It was clear the Private was dazed from his rest and Perceptor knew he had to navigate this situation. “Autobots. See?” Hands still up, he motioned a finger down to his chest. “Now could you please put the Ion Blaster down? There’s a lot to share with you.”

everything still looked fuzzy. Hot shot used his hand to snack his head a few times, trying to recalibrate his optics. It took a second or two, but they finally adjusted and he was able to see better. Looking at Preceptor, Hot Shot saw the Autobot logo and let out a few labored breaths as he put the blaster down and looked around. "Sorry about that... Stasis Lag it can really mess with your systems.”

By the time Hot Shot had calmed down and could look his way, Overcharge was already ready for battle, his optics and lights shining bright with energy siphoned from the ship and his hand pointed at the Private. However, as the situation was defused, he put his hand away and calmed down. "Well, that's a full charge cycle wasted... Doc, do you have any empty batteries? If I try to give back this electricity, I'll just blow the room's fuses. And if I keep it for too long, I start having pains."

“I wish I could’ve studied your powers before this tragedy…” Perceptor thought to himself, pondering if the Corporal’s powers were more than meets the eye. “Hmmm… try to power up the bridge’s batteries. If I recall correctly, those are fully depleted.” The Autobot turned back to his new companion, interested. “Perhaps I should introduce myself. I am Perceptor, the Hope’s Science Officer. This is Overcharge, a reconnaissance type. We are all that is functional on this ship.”

Perceptor explained the situation to Hot Shot, from the attack to the fatalities. “And that’s how we ended up here. Come, we should get to the main lobby to work on Teletraan Mobile before we start digging.” Perceptor proceeded to walk toward the door, but turned. “Or do you have any questions, Hot Shot?”

Hot Shot looked at Preceptor as he talked and told him all that had happened. It was a lot to process as he turned to leave Hot Shot, not wanting to tell him he was more lost than the Hope was. He just shook his head "Nope, no questions... Just ummm lead the way Preceptor."

“Very well.” In actuality, part of Perceptor wanted to give the bodies a proper burial, but the Teletraan Mobile’s security was above all else. Keeping it intact was their only way to possibly send a message back home. The two left, Perceptor assuming Overcharge did the same toward the bridge. The main lobby was still messy from the explosion, Perceptor not bothering to clean up as the large view screen still displayed “UNKNOWN”. “This won’t be easy…” He muttered, tapping to get out some sort of signal. However, it had already been done. “Strange. A distress beacon was sent out already. Must’ve been automatic.”

BANG! BANG! BOOM!

The Hope rattled, sending whatever tools left on Perceptor’s table on the floor. “That came from the back of the ship!” The Science Officer’s fear heightened as he ran toward the cargo hold.

Along the hallways that led to the cargo hold, Perceptor met Overcharge, also running towards the noise. "I heard that! I'm guessing one of those Cons isn't quite dead, huh?" As they ran together, he added: "I managed to charge some of the batteries! The systems should work long enough for you to do something before they're depleted again..."

[Perceptor]

Birds chirped as they flew between many lush evergreen trees, a clear river flowing nearby. In one of trees was a hawk, mostly black with streaks of red donned on its body and wings. It didn’t chirp, or make any sound for that matter, staring directly at a dark green Jeep going off-road. The peaceful landscape was glistened by the full moon and stars, reflecting off his small windshield.

They’re lucky they landed so far from civilization.

The Jeep’s axels bounced while it went over the uneven terrain of branches and grass. Hound felt the area was beautiful, wishing he could stop and enjoy the scenery. After so long without any other Autobots though, he couldn’t allow this opportunity to slip. Unfortunately, his trek was stopped, parking next to a large mountain.

 

What are they doing inside of Mt. Bison?”

The Autobot transformed mid sentence, revealing boxy frame ordained with stars and red and yellow stripes. A single pistol was strapped to his right thigh, but a large bazooka  was the real showstopper, rope over his chest holding the weapon on his back. “So, we are you hiding?” Hound surveyed the area, but the only noticeable objects in front of him were rocks, rocks, and more rocks.

“Oh, maybe they’re hiding… or they’re trapped!” Hound pulled the bazooka onto his shoulder, hoping he was right. If he was being honest with himself, he just wanted to use it again after so long. “Eat your heart out, Patton!” Several shots of yellow lasers blasted into the mountain, each shot taking away a little bit of the craggily wall.

The hawk continued to stare, watching the once rocky wall turn into a jumble of metal scrap. “Woah. Maybe I went overboard…” Seeing the condition of the cargo hold, Hound was expected a stern talking to by the ship’s Captain. Instead, three Transformers ran out, standing at the edge of the hold. “Please drop the weapon or we’ll fire.” The red one stated, holding a long rifle.

“Wait wait wait! I’m an Autobot like you.” Hound noticed the Autobot logos, but still gently dropped his weapon, hoping not to raise tension. “Sergeant Hound, responding to the distress signal, sir!” He came a salute, but the red Bot didn’t seem convinced.

“Sergeant isn’t one of our ranks, Decepticon.”

Woosh!

Two jets flew above the four as they didn’t let up, sending Hound mixed messages as he watched the white seeker head toward the skies with its companion. “What are you talking about?” Hound took advantage of the situation by pulling his pistol out. “I know a Cybertronian seeker when I see one! Now who are you!”

—

Perceptor was completely appalled. When he had checked the two Decepticon’s bodies, he got no lifelines. Expecting to scrap them for parts after they dug out of the Hope’s tomb, this new addition decided to do it for them. However, something was astray. “We are not affiliated with them. Drop your second weapon please.” Perceptor knew he probably wouldn’t be as assertive under normal circumstances, but with two by his side, the odds were in their favor.

More trouble seemed to arise though as a shadowy figure struck the green Transformers in the back, slashing at him. “What the?” Hound turned to fall on his back, grabbing the creature by its neck. Bang! Bang! Two pistol shots went through it, dropping dead. “A… panther?” Hound looked shocked. The “panther” was metallic, obviously showing him what affiliation it was as he noticed a faint purple symbol on its rear.

Perceptor also noticed Cybertronian writing on the creature. “Ravage-165…” The Science Officer noticed similar model numbers on the dead drones in the cargo hold. “I highly doubt you’re a Decepticon at this point.” Perceptor lowered his weapon, but this was a mistake. Many pairs of purple eyes illuminated between trees, rocks, and anywhere else a smaller drone like that could hide.

Growls and purrs took over the sounds of the forest as each slowly made their way toward the four. “We are going to need your help, ‘Sergeant’.” Perceptor tried to keep his fear inside his chassis. Even with their small size, they were the ones to be outnumbered.

Heavily outnumbered.

[Overcharge]

The situation was, suffice to say, less than ideal. Overcharge had little energy in store and was caught outside, without any nearby power sources to feed on. The four Autobots were heavily outnumbered and surrounded by Ravage drones, as Perceptor called them, which approached them slowly but at a steady pace. To make things worse, the bot in charge was none other than a Science Officer, and he wasn't giving out any orders that could be of any help.

Forced to think of something on a whim, the teal Corporal made a suggestion, not wanting to question Perceptor's authority, even if he didn't seem the type that'd care about that. "Perceptor... Sir. Maybe we should form a circle? They're many, but they're weak. We could reduce our blind spots to a minimum and make it so they can't gang up on any single one of us..." After his statement, he adopted a fighting posture. Come on, then. I'm gonna beat the scrap out of you monsters... as many of you as I can.

[Hot Shot]

Hot Shot was still stasis lagged, having walked out of the new exit in their ship. He was fairly confused and once Hound and Preceptor began talking everything seemed to start sliding down hill. Things started getting heated and Hot Shot thought he might have to start blasting. However as the jets flew by and everything began to happen Hot Shot started to have flashbacks to when he was captured. Panicking Hot Shot, looked around and watched Hound hit the ground. Hot shot saw all the decepticon eyes glowing around him. Fear overtook him. Pulling his blaster 

"I'll slag each and everyone of you Cons! You won't take me again! 

Hot Shot wasted no time and began to fire out at random, sending blaster fire everywhere he saw the eyes. He didn't care fear had taken him and he wouldn't go back to being a decepticon prisoner or their lunch

 

[Perceptor]

Overcharge’s suggestion to circle up made sense. Perceptor worried that these new rabid metal creatures could make it inside of the Hope, ruining whatever connection they had back to home. Unfortunately, they didn’t have much time to plan further as Hot Shot fired erratically at the Ravages. Some shots did hit their targets, Perceptor watching as a few slumped over dead.

However, most blasts went into the forest, causing scorch marks in the gigantic evergreen trees. It was clear to Perceptor that the Private was still jittery from his stasis rest. The Ravages didn’t seem to care, screeching as what felt like an entire battalion came bolting toward the four. “Goddamnit! There’s too many of them!” Hound yelled, firing his bazooka. No trace was left of the poor Ravages that got hit.

Not that Perceptor cared. He was more busy wondering what a Goddamnit was. 

As chaos unfolded (with the Science Officer joining in the battle, albeit missing most of his shots), he knew the Hope needed to be prioritized. “Overcharge! Fall back to the cargo hold and keep it secure. Hot Shot! I’m gonna need you to calm down and-“ Three Ravages took advantage of the weakest looking prey, latching their jaws onto Perceptor’s limbs as he fell backward. “No, no! Get off me!” Hound could only watch, still busy with his own batch of drones.

The black hawk took flight, gliding across the sky to the cargo hold. While the night kept it hidden for now, it was clear this was no organic bird, but another machine…

[Overcharge]

The situation was becoming more complicated by the minute. The drones swarmed the four of them, despite their best efforts to keep them at bay. Having no weapons to his disposal, Overcharge was relegated to punching Ravages to keep them off him, and punch them he did. Then, he was ordered to fall back and guard the cargo bay by Perceptor, but the bot who gave the order was immediately ganged up on by more of the drones. Immediately, he had to decide between the ship and his friend.

Choosing to put his faith on the Private getting a hold of himself and helping Perceptor before it was too late, Overcharge transformed into his alt mode and sped towards the cargo hold. He then spoke over the comms with Hot Shot, trying to scare him into reason. "Private! I cannot turn back now! You must help the Science Officer! That's a direct order! GOT IT?!" On his way to the cargo hold, he ran down several Ravage drones rather effectively, before transforming back upon arriving and siphoning energy from a loose cable.

Is this it? Do we die defending this piece of scrap that might just not take us off the planet anyways? Is this really how I go?

Edited August 28, 2021 by Replicator
In 1981 the airline was contracted to conduct a series of flights to send arms to Iran, to assist in arming Nicaraguan contras. Military equipment from Israel was shipped to Iran, in support of the latter during its war with Iraq. A total of 360 tons of a

[Hot Shot]

To Hot Shot it was like he was back on Cybertron. Fighting off cons left and right trying not to be captured as he heard Preceptor scream for them to get off of him Hot Shot was finally able to snap out of his haze. It was like his memory circuits flew back in gear and Hot Shot was ready to race. Hearing over charge yell at him Hot Shot smirked as he quickly turned into his alt mode. 

"No need to tell Overcharge! But thanks for the kick in the tailpipe!" With that his tired squealed as he put himself in high gear! And he was off like lightning plowing through Ravage after Ravage till he made it to Preceptor. Using his transformation as a kick off his windshields slid out of his arms and became like blade hacking and slashing most of the beast-bots off Preceptor. After landing he used both his blades and hands to get them off the science officer and then pulled him up hoping to primus his hydraulics weren't shot. 

"You good to stand!" He waited to see his answer if he could they would need to work together to deal with the remaining bots. 

[Perceptor]

Perceptor’s savior came in the shape of his extremely recent companion, watching him slash through the nasty drones. “Thank you, Hot Shot! I thought for sure that I was a goner!” The Science Officer wasn’t expecting to be torn apart today, that was for sure. As he got back to feet though, the Ravages growled, unmoving.

The group, mostly Hot Shot, had taken out quite a few, but not nearly enough to stop fighting altogether. Nevertheless, the black panther bots literally turned tail, heading back into the wilderness. “Ok… I’m confused…” Hound rubbed his head as they dodged through the trees, only to turn around to see one more.

Except it wasn’t a Ravage. A metallic hawk sped behind the Corporal, heading toward him. “Overcharge! Watch out!” Perceptor called out. He wondered if the small drone snuck in during the chaos.

[Overcharge]

Their luck appeared to be on the turn when Hot Shot rescued Perceptor from the Ravages, which strangely, started to retreat. They could've won if only they had pressed on... While happy about it at first, Overcharge then found it suspicious that the likes of them, vicious and bloodthirsty, would give up on their attack so suddenly.

"Officer, something reeks about all this... Why did they just do that? They had the upper hand."

A possible answer presented itself when his teammates turned around to look at him, probably without the slightest clue either and eager to tell him about it. In doing so, they spotted a metallic bird speeding towards him, and warned him about it. I see how it is! They were a distraction! This bird here's probably the one with the really important mission! But you won't get away with it!

His body still jolting with electrons, he directed all his energy towards his fist, then turned around, trying to punch the robot bird in its shiny, pointy beak. "Electron... PUUUUUNCH!"

[Perceptor]

KAW! K-EHhhhh…

The metal bird scraped across the cargo hold, coming to a complete stop right on the edge where the Hope and the landscape met. Perceptor stared inquisitively at the drone, picking it up to see what it truly was. The limp machine sported red sprites (although some of them had scraped off) and, like the Ravages, had a small brand.

“Laserbeak-84.”

While Perceptor held the bird, Hound wondered what all of this meant. He’d already been through the a few wars and definitely didn’t want to go through another, but the Decepticons attacking his new home? He couldn’t stand by and watch, even if the red Autobots seemed to not trust him.

“They’ll be back, you know. Were the Decepticreeps following your ship when you crashed?” Hound tried to get answers, but Perceptor’s optics only narrowed once the green Autobot spoke. “You may have fought with us, but I’m still unsure of few things. I think I should be the one asking questions, ‘Sergeant’.”

“Why do you act like Sergeant isn’t a rank? Sure, it was a more recent addition, but…” Suddenly, the ship’s cargo hold perplexed Hound. Obviously it would be damaged after a crash landing, but it wouldn’t rust… 

“No… Your ship… it isn’t called the Hope, is it?”

That make Perceptor perk up.

“You know of our ship and this clearly isn’t Krogo VI.” Perceptor uttered while walking toward Hound. “Perhaps we need to follow this trail more. Do you know what planet we are on?”

Hound could barely speak after hearing this confirmation. “This is Earth. You-you guys didn’t come here to save me.”

“Our mission was not a rescue. I-“

“No, no, no. I came here to rescue YOU, Science Officer Perceptor. It’s been so long that I forgot your faces from the mission files. You’re Overcharge, and you were the one in stasis, Hot Shot.” Hound pointed at the other two, amazed they also ended up on Earth.

“You three went missing 300 YEARS ago!”

Hound knew this shocking revelation would surprise them, but the looks on their faces said otherwise.

“…I do not know what a year is.”

—

After a lesson in the difference between a cycle and an Earth year, the four met back the Teletraan Mobile, hoping to get more answers from Hound. While there was still an array of confusion coming from the Science Officer, much of what Hound said made sense.

“Around 60 years ago, I was sent by Sentinel Prime to find the Hope. Krogo VI ended up being a lost cause, barely any Energon to siphon, but your disappearance weighted down on the poor bot. He’d sent search parties out before, but to no luck. As I went out to space, I accidentally ended up in a warp hole.”

Perceptor stopped him there. “I would assume the was the same warp hole we went through.”

“Then this should also sound familiar. The warp hole damaged my ship. Had to crash land in the Atlantic Ocean. Once I made it to the surface, it was awful. The humans, the organics living on Earth, were in the middle of an all out war, kinda like our own. Knowing I couldn’t participate in it, I disguised myself as one of their vehicles.”

Hound transformed in front of their optics, showing the three his clean chassis. Transforming back, he continued.

“It was violent. I saw some horrible things, but I couldn’t do anything about it. Just had to watch and be driven. After the war, I tried to make contact with home, but everything I did came up empty. Eventually, I ended up in an auction and was bought by a… nice couple? It’s complicated. Anyways, my owner kept good care of me. I could’ve driven off at any moment, but I knew I had to accept this new life.”

“And you didn’t end up finding any Decepticon signals as well?”

“No sir. No signals whatsoever until your ship finally broadcasted one. I did check the internet though once my owners got it! Useful resource. Kinda like our Mobiles. Actually…”

Hound tapped several buttons on the Teletraan Mobile, much to the dismay of Perceptor.

“Please don’t touch that!”

Sounds of screeching and static came out of the Teletraan’s speakers.

“Don’t worry! It’s just dialing up to AOL! Very primitive tech, but it’ll be useful, trust me!” Hound called out, yelling over the Teletraan. Thankfully, the sounds stopped, a small tab appearing on the screen titled “EARTH INTERNET”. Hound chuckled as he saw this. “So, what’s next sir?”

Perceptor then realized that he was technically the one in charge of the four. Specialized ranks like his were the equivalent of a Lieutenant, but  no one time did that idea cross his memory banks. He just gave out orders because someone needed to.

“Well… as my first act as leader, I elect to share my leadership duties with the three of you. We’ll work together as equals, help each other as equals. Fight as equals.”

—

A blizzard coated the two jets with snow as they continued to fly north, following Soundwave’s beacon in what they would soon learn to be the Canadian territory called Nunavut. What they saw wasn’t hard to miss. A large castle hidden by the ice caps emerged for the two. Leaving them in awe.

“He built this! Glad he didn’t end up waking us up sooner. I bet this would’ve been a pain to build! Ha!” Ramjet slowed with Slipstream on the runway appearing in front of them. Inside the bay were many drones working on weapons, carrier planes, and best of all, Energon. Ten of the drones carried their leader, still a large glowing box, toward the two. Ramjet almost chuckled until Slipsteam elbowed him, although she admitted that it did look a little silly.

RAMJET. SLIPSTREAM. IT HAS BEEN 312 EARTH YEARS 6 MONTHS 14 DAYS 2 HOURS AND 38 SECONDS SINCE I LAST COMMUNICATED WITH YOU.

“…OK?” Slipstream shrugged, unsure what any of that meant. “So… Soundwave, right? It seems like you’ve built up a nice small army.”

CORRECT. THIS PLANET IS PLENTIFUL WITH ENERGON. I HAVE TRIED CONTACTING LORD MEGATRON 4,742,895 TIMES. I HAVE RECEIVED NO RESPONSE. TWO DECEPTICON SOLDIERS WILL BE USEFUL IN OUR CONQUEST OF THIS PLANET FOR LORD MEGATRON.

“How did you find the Autobot’s ship?”

I KNEW OF THE HOPE’S LOCATION SHORTLY AFTER LANDING ON EARTH. MY CONNECTION IS LIMITED. MY SUPERIOR INTELLECT WAS DAMAGED. SLIPSTREAM. RAMJET. YOU WILL FIX IT. LASERBEAK-84 WAS SUCCESSFUL WITH IT’S MISSION. OUR NEXT PHASE WILL BEGIN.

End of Part 2: Earth

Edited September 17, 2021 by FrostyFoster