DOTBS-Ch8-2-First Strike

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Transformers, or any of the song/movie quotes used in this story.  However, the idea for this story does, indeed, belong to me.

HERE'S YOUR TRADITIONAL, FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD REMINDER THIS IS NOT A SLASH FIC.

NOTE: DO NOT READ THIS FIC UNLESS YOU HAVE SEEN DARK OF THE MOON!!! MAJOR SPOILERS ABOUND!

Transformers: Day of the Black Sun
Chapter Eight-First Strike
Rating: T
Words (for whole chapter): 10,283

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As the Autobots continued to discuss and revise their plans for the upcoming fight with Unicron, time passed fairly quickly.  It was early evening by the time the meeting had drawn to a close, with the humans once again promising to offer the Autobots whatever support they could and Optimus Prime stating once more that the Autobots would protect Earth and humanity from the dangers Unicron presented.  As the Autobots and humans went back to their duties, Firestorm  was escorted back to the medbay by Sideswipe and Ratchet.  Optimus went to check on Trailbreaker, and, after making sure that he and the other Sparklings-they were all out of their recharge now-were safely back in their play area, the Prime headed to the medbay to speak with Firestorm once more.

He arrived in time to see Prowl take over the guard from Sideswipe.  To his surprise, he saw that Firestorm and Ratchet were in a discussion that was about the medical field.

"Once everything is settled down and Unicron is taken care of, I think I would like to study in the medical field," Firestorm was saying to Ratchet as Optimus entered the medbay.  "I studied a little of it when I was younger, and it interested me, but I had other duties at the time and could not go much further than reading about it, and after that I became an archivist, so I was able to read more even if I was not able to actually come to full understanding of it.  I would like to learn more, though, so that I can help instead of harm."

"Studying to become a medic is hard work," Ratchet told Firestorm solemnly.  "But, if you want to, we can…" The medic trailed off when he noticed Optimus Prime standing nearby.  "Optimus."

Firestorm turned to face Optimus, surprise showing on his faceplate at the Prime's presence.  "Optimus Prime?  Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing is wrong," Optimus assured the old Decepticon.  "Firestorm, I know that ever since you came out of stasis, you have been putting up with our constant questions and answering them.  But you must have questions of your own for us."

Firestorm still seemed surprised, but the relief that made its way across his faceplates at Optimus's words made the Prime realize he had been correct in his assumptions that Firestorm wanted to ask questions as well, but had put off doing so in light of the message he had needed to deliver.  Despite the obvious fact that he had questions of his own, there was still a bit of hesitancy in his voice as he answered.  "Yes, I do have some questions…but I believe they may be of a sensitive nature to you and do not know if you would appreciate being asked them as a result."

"You have helped us," Optimus Prime insisted calmly.  "You warned us, and in doing so, have saved countless lives.  You have the right to ask us any questions that you like."

"If you are certain…" Firestorm replied, still hesitant.

"I am."

"Very well." Firestorm vented.  He looked at the medbay floor for a moment, then looked back up, meeting the Prime's gaze.  "I was told that the reason you are all so reluctant to trust me is because you were betrayed not too long ago.  I was wondering…who was it that betrayed you?"

Optimus Prime shuttered his optics in pain.  Even after the passing of one Earth year, the topic of Sentinel Prime's betrayal still seriously troubled every Autobot.  As Sentinel had been his mentor, basically his father, it cut Optimus more deeply than any other Autobot on Earth, except perhaps Bumblebee.

"If it troubles you too much, you do not have to tell me," Firestorm quickly continued.  "I do not mind."

"No, it is all right," Optimus responded, unshuttering his optics and looking evenly back at Firestorm.  "It is a sensitive topic, yes, but you should hear it.  We were betrayed by Sentinel Prime."

Firestorm flinched, much in the same way he had when he had found out that Jetfire had died.  "Sentinel Prime…he betrayed you?"

"Yes."

It took Firestorm several minutes to find his voice again.  When he finally did, his next question was a single word.  "How?"

And Optimus told him.  The Prime told the old Seeker the whole story, beginning with the discovery of the Ark's engine component to the final battle he'd had against Sentinel and Megatron in Chicago.  Firestorm remained respectively silent throughout the entire tale, sensing that, if he interrupted to ask any questions, Optimus might not be able to get going in telling the story again.  He could see just how difficult it was for the Prime to be telling this story in the first place, and he was not going to make it worse by interrupting; the sooner Optimus were to finish this, the better.  When Optimus was finished, silence reigned in the medbay for a long moment.

Finally, Firestorm shook his head.  "I knew there was something I did not like about Sentinel Prime.  But I would never have expected any of that from him."  The shock was still evident in his tone.

"None of us did," Ratchet spoke up quietly.  The medic had not spoken or moved from where he had been standing when Optimus had entered the medbay, but he had been listening to the entire conversation.  "It took us all by surprise."

"I understand now why everyone is having a hard time trusting me and I understand their hostility." Firestorm shuttered his optics and lowered his head.  "After that…I do not blame them."

"We learned the hard way to be extra careful in who we trust," Optimus spoke up again.  "After what Sentinel did, we cannot chance otherwise."

"I understand." Firestorm was silent for a moment, taking the story in, before unshuttering his optics and continuing.  "I have another question."

"Yes?"

"I heard rumors, back when I was in hiding on Cybertron, that some Younglings had survived the attack on the Youth Sectors.  Is this true?"

Optimus allowed himself a small smile.  "It is."

Firestorm looked as if he wanted to collapse in relief.  After what he had read in the old Decepticon's personal logs concerning his view over what had happened at the Youth Sectors, Optimus had no doubts the relief was genuine.  "Oh, thank Primus.  They would be adults now, then.  Are any of them here?"

"At the moment, no." Sorrow entered the Prime's voice once again. They had found a home on Earth, yes, but they had suffered incredible losses there as well.  "There were some-four mechs.  Their names were Jolt, Knockout, Skids, and Mudflap, but…Shockwave attacked our old base and killed all those who were there…those who had been Youngling survivors among them.  There were two others-a mech named Beachbreak and a femme named Arcee, but Beachbreak was killed by Starscream four years ago, and Arcee is currently missing after a battle with Soundwave nearly two years ago.  As we cannot pick up her signal anywhere…we assume she, too is offline.  There are more, yes, but they have not made it to Earth yet, if they are still alive."

"That is horrible.  They survived the Youth Sectors, only to…" Disappointment and sorrow flashed in Firestorm's optics, but both emotions were almost instantly replaced by confusion.  "Hold on.  The Youngling-Bumblebee, you called him?"

"What about him?"

"He is far too young to have been one of the Youngling survivors.  At the time of the attack, he would have been a Hatchling.  But I never heard of any survivors-all of the Hatchlings and Sparklings were killed, were they not?"

"Nearly," Optimus responded.  "Bumblebee was the only one who survived.  I do not know if the Decepticons thought he would die because they had forced him from his incubation chamber, or if the rubble from the collapsed structure shielded him from view, but by some miracle, he managed to avoid being killed by the Decepticons.  Ironhide found him and pulled him from the rubble.  He survived the attack, but barely.  He had been forced from his chamber early.  He was vastly undersized and so weak he could not even cry."

"When Ironhide brought him to me, I didn't think I could save him," Ratchet confessed.  "But I tried my best.  Even though I felt sure that he was not going to make it, I did everything I could to save him."

"And he lived." Optimus Prime allowed another small smile.  "You were able to save him, Ratchet.  As you saw for yourself, Firestorm, Bumblebee lived and is perfectly healthy.  He might be undersized for his age, yes, but he is alive, and that is what matters."

"He does not speak," Firestorm said hesitantly.

"No."  Optimus's voice was sad.  "Like all of us, Bumblebee has suffered as a result of this war."

The medbay was quiet for a minute.

"But he is still so young," Firestorm remarked finally.  "He should still have a caretaker, but I have not seen him with one who is obviously caring for him.  Who is his caretaker?"

"Ironhide was his caretaker," Optimus replied simply, sorrow evident in his tone.

Firestorm looked away quickly.  "Oh.  I see."

"After Ironhide's death, we all sort of took Bumblebee in, more than we had before," Optimus continued.  "But he does have a caretaker of sorts, though not the usual kind."

"And who is this caretaker?" Firestorm questioned.

"The human boy, Sam Witwicky.  The two of them are very close-they consider themselves to be brothers.  Bumblebee was originally assigned to be Sam's guardian when we first came here, and he continues to watch over Sam.  But to use the Cybertronian equivalent of human age, Bumblebee is slightly younger than Sam, and Sam is fiercely protective of him."

"A human, caretaker of an Autobot Youngling?" Firestorm was amazed.  

"Yes." Optimus nodded.  "And while it may be hard to believe that it is possible, there is no denying that it works."

"These humans truly are fascinating creatures," Firestorm said softly, the amazement still evident in his voice.

Optimus allowed another smile.  "Indeed they are, Firestorm."

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Salvo and Howlback had led the Decepticons into the states.  They had traveled fast and hard, stopping only for short recharges and to refuel on the Energon rations they had brought with them.  Even traveling at their speed, it had taken them several days to reach their destination, but they had finally arrived in Ohio.

Per their instructions, they fanned out in search of a place that they could use as a base.  One of the younger soldiers among their ranks-an orange-armored mech named Scattershot, who, despite being one of the "expendables", had a keen optic-had found an old, abandoned factory that was perfect, and they had secured it immediately, utilizing some of the signal dampeners they had brought with them to mask their energy signatures-the remaining ones would be used to get them inside the parameter of the base without setting off any alarms (which would make the planned distraction useless if that happened).  The factory even had a large room that would serve excellently as a holding cell for the Autobot they would capture on their way back from their attack on the Autobot base.

Once everything was in place and their new base was secure, the Decepticons took in one last round of Energon rations, and then settled down to grab a few hours' recharge before evening fell, when their attack would begin.

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"Look, Blaster.  See the different colors in the sunset?  Do you remember what they are? No, not that way, that's Mirage."  Sam was sitting on one of the many stacks of crates outside the main Autobot hangar.  He was holding Blaster in his lap-he'd received a text Bumblebee while his friend had been out on patrol, asking him to check up on Blaster-and he'd taken Blaster outside to wait for Bumblebee to come back, which he should at any minute.  He was currently trying to teach the Sparkling how to recognize more colors by pointing them out in the sunset, but it wasn't going very well anymore;  Blaster was more interested in wriggling and looking at everything else outside.  He plainly heard the faint chuckle from Mirage as the little Sparkling squeaked at the older Autobot.  Sighing, Sam tried to maintain his grip on Blaster.  Sheesh, I can't handle a baby Autobot, he thought with amusement.  How the heck am I ever going to be able to look after a human baby when Carly and I have kids?

But worrying about that would have to wait until this whole mess with Unicron was over and done with.

During the week that followed Firestorm's waking up and the meeting in which the truth of the threat the old Decepticon had warned Bumblebee of had been revealed, things had become a lot busier at the Autobot base.  Now that they knew the threat was not coming from the Decepticons and was based off-planet, the Autobots had decreased the number of patrols they did (although they still carried frequent ones out just to be safe) and had increased their training exercises.  The human members of NEST-Sam and Carly included-were helping out in any way they could, refusing to let the knowledge that they would be unable to help in the actual fight get in the way of their support of the Autobots.   After finishing up for the day in the Intel department, Sam had gone to the main hangar to do what Bumblebee had asked him to and had been immediately latched on to by Blaster, who was wanting to know "Where Bee" because "Bee gone", so Sam, knowing that Bumblebee would be back from his patrol soon, had taken Blaster outside to wait for him.

In the distance, Sam saw the gates to the base open and watched as the police car he knew was Prowl entered, followed by the familiar yellow Camaro that was Bumblebee.

"Hey, Blaster, look!  Bumblebee's back.  Why don't we tell him what you learned while he was gone, little guy?"

"Bee!" Blaster squeaked in delight, reaching towards the approaching Bumblebee.

Bumblebee obviously saw them from where he was; the young Autobot flashed his headlights at them in greeting as he drove up, initiating his Transform sequence so that he was fully in robot mode by the time he reached them.

"Hey, Bee!  Hello, Prowl," Sam added as the police car pulled to a stop next to them and the Security officer also resumed his robot mode.  "Did you guys find anything on patrol worth mentioning?"

"Same as always.  No trouble to be seen," Prowl replied.  "I'm actually glad that's the case.  It means we can focus on the battle that's coming.  Excuse me."  Prowl entered the main hangar to report to Optimus.

"No news is good news, I guess," Sam commented, looking up at Bumblebee.  The young Autobot nodded in agreement.

Blaster was reaching up towards Bumblebee, squeaking and clicking happily.

"Up, Bee!  Up!"

Bumblebee willingly obliged the Sparkling's request; lifting Blaster up with one hand and lifting Sam up with the other, he headed towards the hangar, carrying his human brother and Sparkling charge inside.

"Oh, hey, Bee, Blaster's learned some colors now."

Bumblebee chirped curiously, looking at Sam, then at Blaster with interest.  At Blaster's age, he'd been told, Sparklings began to attach colors to their names, but he hadn't heard Blaster doing so, except briefly when he used the word "pnk" meaning "pink" to refer to Energon when he was hungry as "Energon" was beyond his capability to pronounce at the moment.

"Watch.  Blaster, what color is your armor?"

"Red."

"What color is Bee?"

"Yell'w."

Bumblebee's optics smiled with amusement.

Sam grinned at him.  "Wait, he knows more.  Blaster, what color are your optics?"

"P'ple."

"What color are Bee's optics?"

"B'ue."

"That's right," Sam said with a smile.  He looked back up at Bumblebee.  "I tried to teach him more but he got too wriggly to pay attention."

Bumblebee clicked in amusement as they arrived at the Sparkling play area.  Taking care to keep Sam balanced with one hand, he lifted Blaster down into the play area, where the little red Sparkling squeaked and crawled off to play with the others.  Bumblebee felt a strong sense of relief at that.  Blaster had been so shy and clingy when they had first arrived at the base over a week ago, it had seemed impossible that he would have ever calmed down enough to be alright to be left with the other Sparklings while Bumblebee went off elsewhere.  But he had, and now, despite having moments of clinginess now and then, Blaster was perfectly fine with Bumblebee leaving him in the care of someone else that was not Sam, Carly, Wheelie, or Brains, for a short while.  Straightening back up, Bumblebee looked at Sam.   "I'm glad-he's-settled down finally," The young Autobot pieced together.

"Yeah, me too, Bee," Sam agreed.

Bumblebee hesitated for a minute.  He looked worried about something.  He began to speak to his human brother again, this time in his own voice.  "S-Sam, i-if…"

The young Autobot's words were cut off as the sound of a loud explosion coming from outside rocked the hangar.

Every Autobot in the hangar jerked in surprise, looking towards the entrance in shock.  Another explosion rocked through, and Bumblebee instinctively cupped his right hand protectively over Sam, who was still on his shoulder.  Terrified cries were coming from the Sparklings, and Bumblebee crouched down next to Blaster-who had hurriedly crawled back towards him after the first explosion-cupping his free hand over the frightened little Sparkling.  Nearby, Sideswipe was trying to comfort a crying Fireflight.  

"What's going on?" The silver mech asked frantically, looking on as Mirage ran towards the hangar entrance to see what was happening.

"We're…" Another explosion rang out.  "We're under attack!  There's…I don't believe this…Decepticons!"

Decepticons.

At that word, all of the Autobots and humans in the base sprang to their feet.  The attack had caught them by surprise, and, even with all the extra training they had been doing lately, they still felt unprepared.  Optimus Prime, who had been off in a side hangar, entered just in time to hear Mirage's disbelieving statement.  He didn't hesitate to attempt to pull the members of NEST out of their shock and into action.

"Sideswipe!  Get the Sparklings to safety, and stay with them once they are," The Prime ordered.  "Everyone else, outside!  We need to stop them before they cause any severe damage or breach the base hangars!"  Mentally, the Prime's thoughts were confused. Decepticons? After so long?  Why now?

Bumblebee sat Sam down, reluctantly lifting his hand from Blaster as well.  Blaster whimpered; he was scared and wanted Bumblebee to stay with him, but Bumblebee rubbed his head soothingly, managing to rasp out, "S-stay with S-Sides," using the nickname that Blaster knew Sideswipe by.  Blaster whimpered again, but made no move to follow Bumblebee when his caretaker stood up and moved quickly after the rest of the Autobots leaving the hangar to fight.  Sideswipe was already hurrying from the hangar with Fireflight and First Aid, knowing that the Sparklings would remain in the play area until he was able to get them all out, as even the tallest of them-Trailbreaker-was still too small to get out unaided.

Will was leading a group of human soldiers out of the hangar as well.  He spotted Sam standing there, fists clenched, watching the entrance to the hangar.  It was obvious he wanted to help the Autobots. Sam wasn't a trained soldier, but he had fought the Decepticons again and again, proving that he was a soldier, albeit not an officially trained one.  Making a split second decision, Will rushed over to Sam, yelling at his men to keep going-"Get out there and help the Autobots!"-and came to a stop next to the upset young man.

"Sam," Will said seriously.  "You're not a trained NEST soldier, but I know you can fight." He handed Sam something.  "Take this.  It's a boomstick-one of the last ones Wheeljack made.  Use it, if you get a chance, but be careful."

"Thank you," Sam told Will gratefully, following him out into the scene of the battle.  He was going to find Bumblebee.

No Decepticon was going to have the chance to even come close to killing Bumblebee this time-he would be sure of that.

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Howlback quickly made her way through the now mostly-abandoned Autobot base, Skyjack following close behind.  Getting in had been all too easy-thanks to the distraction Salvo and the others were providing, it had just been a matter of slipping behind the Autobots and human soldiers as they rushed out to fight.  Those fools were so focused on the enemy in front of them that they had neglected to notice the enemy behind, sneaking into one of the side hangars.  The signal dampeners she and Skyjack wore were also a great help, essentially making them invisible to the Autobot scanners and Energon Detectors that protected the base.

And now they were in.  Using her scanners, Howlback managed to pinpoint the strong signal that could only be coming from the Autobot network.  She came to a halt a short distance away.  Based on the layout of the base she had in her navigation systems, the medbay was in this corridor, along with two rooms that appeared to be empty.  A few more rooms down was her destination.

"Stay here and keep watch," She ordered Skyjack.  "Do what you do best.  Make yourself invisible."

"Gladly," Skyjack grunted, withdrawing into the shadows.

Howlback ran down the corridor the rest of the way, arriving at a door, behind which she knew her target lay.  A swift broadcast of stolen codes, and the door opened, allowing her enough time to slip in before it slid shut behind her.

The computer that hosted the Autobot network lay across the wall opposite the door.  It was large, and took up the entire wall in a fashion similar to old human computers.  But this computer, despite its similar size, was nowhere near as primitive as the old human computers it resembled.  

Howlback trotted up to it.  Standing on her hind legs, she placed the claws on her front legs onto the main console.  Initiating the uplink, she noted with satisfaction that the firewalls the system boasted were mere child's play to an espionage expert such as herself.

"All right, Teletraan-I," She hissed quietly.  "Let's see what lovely information you have stored inside you for the Decepticons to use."

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In the medbay, Sunstreaker looked nervously around as another explosion rocked the base.

"What is going on?" Firestorm asked as he came to stand next to Ratchet, alarm evident in his voice.

"Decepticons," Ratchet growled.  "Optimus Prime just contacted me.  We are under attack."

Firestorm took another step forward.  "I can help!  Let me out to fight.  I may be old, but I am strong.  I can help you drive the Decepticons away.  Please!"

Sunstreaker shook his head.  "No way.  Optimus said you had to stay in here under guard."

"But I can help!" Firestorm argued.  

"No," Sunstreaker insisted, but Ratchet was considering Firestorm carefully.  

"Optimus did say you needed to remain under guard, but…" Ratchet said softly.

What the medic did next surprised all those present in the medbay, including himself.  He opened the door, and gestured to Firestorm.

"If you can help us, then help us."

Firestorm hesitated only briefly, and then rushed out of the medbay, Ratchet following closely.

"I will guard him," The medic called back to Sunstreaker.  "This is my responsibility."

"Wait! Ratchet!" Sunstreaker yelled after the retreating medic, but Ratchet and Firestorm were now out of auditory range.  The yellow mech vented in exasperation.  "What am I supposed to do in here by myself?"

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Sideswipe was making his last Sparkling recovery trip to the main hangar for Blaster.  It took him a while to locate the little red Sparkling, but he finally found him curled in a little ball under one of the thermal blankets in the play area, clinging to his stuffed penguin tightly.

"There you are," Sideswipe said in relief.  He'd been starting to think that the little Sparkling had somehow managed to escape the play area.  "What are you doing?"

"Hidin'.  Booms sc'ry."

"Yes, they are," Sideswipe agreed, lifting the little Sparkling up.  Another explosion sounded and Blaster whimpered, burrowing into Sideswipe's arms.  "Easy there, squirt. Bumblebee and the others will take care of things."

"Bee make booms go 'way?"

Sideswipe smiled as he carried Blaster out of the main hangar, into the side one where the room that served as the safe/nap area for the little Sparklings was located.  "Yes, Blaster.  Bumblebee and Optimus and everyone else will make the booms go away, and then things will be quiet again.  Until then, you need to stay with me, alright?"

"'kay," Blaster squeaked quietly.

"Look out, Sideswipe!"

Sideswipe barely had time to identify the shouted words as Ratchet's when the red, orange, and gold form of Firestorm raced past, heading for the main hangar.  Flattening himself against the wall to avoid being knocked over, Sideswipe stared after the old Decepticon in shock before turning to face Ratchet, who was running after Firestorm.

"What's going on, Ratchet? Is Firestorm trying to escape?"

"No!  He's on his way to help out in the battle!" Ratchet raced past and the silver mech had to flatten himself against the wall once again.  "Forget Firestorm, Sideswipe.  You just get Blaster in there with the others and make sure they stay safe!"

Sideswipe watched as both the medic and Seeker left his sight, and then shook his head.  He didn't understand why Ratchet trusted Firestorm-a Decepticon-enough to let him go, but he had a Sparkling to worry about now.  He'd look into the issue of Firestorm being let out later.

"Things sure aren't getting any less strange around here.  Come on, Blaster, let's get you to the others, where it's quiet and safe."

Neither the silver mech or the little red Sparkling were aware of the unfriendly pair of optics watching them from the shadows.

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Computron was not a warrior.  He knew this for a fact and never tried to pretend otherwise.  Even back on Cybertron he had never fought in any of the battles, instead preferring to assist the Autobots with his knowledge of the planet and his information-gathering tactics.  The life of an espionage agent suited him more than being a warrior by a long shot.

That was why, when Optimus had given the order for the Autobots to head out into the yard surrounding the base to fight the attacking Decepticons, Computron had flown above the battle in a wide circle, counting the Decepticons' numbers, and, after giving it off as a report, had gone the long way around to the hangar that housed Teletraan-I in one of its rooms.  The computer system needed to be kept safe now, and he was the mech to do it. Instead of entering the hangar from its main entrance, he used his "secret" one-an air vent that had just enough space for him to slip into.  He landed inside the air duct and made his way along until he came to the duct's exit into the room that containing Teletraan-I.  He poked his head through the vent and went absolutely still at what he saw.

A Decepticon was at Teletraan-I's control console.

A Decepticon was infiltrating the Autobot computer network!

Computron might not have been a warrior.  But he was extremely protective of Teletraan-I.  He had maintained it, monitored it, installed it, made it what it was, and now this Decepticon was using it.

Not on his watch.

"Ah, there you are," the Decepticon growled.  "Tricky, but got you.  Now for the last bit…almost done…"

Computron recognized the Decepticon's voice.  Howlback.  Of course.  Espionage expert, eh?  Well, you'll soon learn that no Decepticon espionages Teletraan-I when I'm around and gets away with it.  The small black-armored mech silently crept closer until he was right behind Howlback.  She hadn't noticed him yet.

Good.

"Excuse me, miss," Computron said politely.  "Are you looking for something?"

Howlback went stiff with shock.  Her surprise only lasted briefly, however, and she spun around, lashing out at the small Autobot with her claws.  Computron pulled back quickly, but her claws still left a thin, shallow gash in his chest armor.

"Get away from my computer!" Computron yelled, beating at Howlback's head with his wings.  He may not have been a warrior, but he could fight, if he was pressed to do so.  Howlback snarled and swiped at him, but he flew out of her reach, refusing to let up his assault.

"Get fragged, Autobot!" Howlback roared in frustration.  "You're too late!"  And with that last scathing remark, she turned around and smashed one of her claws into the computer's command console.  The damage from that attack would start the system crash.  The virus she had planted would finish the job.

"Not my computer!" Computron screamed in fury as Howlback leapt to the floor and raced towards the room's exit.  "Get back here!"  He tried to fly after her, but she was uninjured where he was losing Energon, however little the amount, from the gash on his chest, and she was quickly gaining the lead as a result.

Skyjack! Howlback commed urgently as she ran down the corridor.  The mission is complete, but one of the cursed Autobots found me!  Let's go!

Howlback, wait'll you see what I found!  Came Skyjack's reply.  You won't believe this!

Never mind! Howlback replied. Let's go! Now, before the Autobots get wise to what I actually did!

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Outside, the battle wasn't quite going poorly, but it wasn't going well, either.  The Autobots might have outnumbered the Decepticons that were present, but the attack had caught them by surprise, and the Decepticons were taking every advantage of their foes' lack of readiness that they could.

Salvo was a fierce fighter.  He was proving that to Optimus right that moment.  What was the most frustrating was that, every time the Autobots would try to land a blow, the Decepticons would pull back away from it and then surge forward again.  It was a different manner of fighting than the Decepticons usually employed, and the Autobots weren't adjusting to it quickly enough.  The humans weren't having any better luck in the fight, as the Decepticons would simply shove them off to one side and focus solely on the Autobots.

Bumblebee had just finished knocking down one of the smaller Decepticons when a sudden crashing blow to his back sent him painfully to the ground.  He tried to get up, but the Decepticon who had hit him was pinning his legs to the ground, restraining him with both hands.  Bumblebee twisted around to see Bullseye smirking at him.  The red mech was smaller than Bumblebee, but he was older and stronger-despite his size-and the scout struggled to get free without success.

"Hello, runt!  Aren't you the hero from Tyger Pax?  You're one of the causes of our troubles you know!  So today, I'm gonna be extra nice and pay you back for it!"

Bullseye wrenched one of the Autobot's legs back as hard as he could, twisting it painfully as he did so. Something inside Bumblebee's right leg snapped, and the young Autobot screamed.  

"Leave him ALONE!"  

Bullseye turned to see who had dared to interrupt his fun with that yell, only to see a human.  He nearly burst out laughing.  A worthless human, challenging him? "Shut up, human! Wait a minute…" Bullseye peered closer.  "You're that Witwicky insect!"

Sam brandished the boomstick his still carried at Bullseye.  By all rights, he knew that he should be scared of the large Decepticon, but hearing Bumblebee scream like that had made him so angry he was past the point of being afraid.  "Get away from him!"

"Or what? You tap me with that little toy?" Bullseye sneered condescendingly.  He made a move to injure Bumblebee's left leg in the same way he had the Autobot's right, but before he could do so, he found himself knocked off the young Autobot with a powerful blow.  Skidding to a stop a few feet away, Bullseye leapt back up and glared in surprise at what he saw.

Firestorm stood protectively over Bumblebee, wings spread out to the side, head forward threateningly.  "Stay away from the Youngling and the human, Bullseye, or next time I will do more than just knock you to the ground!"  The old Seeker snarled, his normally reasonable gruff baritone now low and menacing.

"You!" Bullseye said incredulously, optics narrowing.  "I remember you!  Firestorm!  You're the coward who didn't have the courage to stay and fight by Megatron's side!"

"No," Firestorm said in a dangerously quiet voice.  "I was one of the few who actually had the courage to leave and chose my own path.  Now, shall you leave this time, or do I have to fight you again?"

Before the red mech could answer the old Seeker's question, a sudden, shouted command rang throughout the battlefield.

"Fall back, Decepticons!" It was Salvo.  "Fall back!"

Bullseye growled in annoyance.  It was the signal that the mission had been a success and that it was time to retreat to their new base.  So much for fun-first the human had spoiled it, then Firestorm had ruined things more, and now a retreat order.  With another annoyed snarl, he Transformed back into his motorcycle form and drove away to join the other fleeing Decepticons.  However, one of the smaller Decepticons-the one Bumblebee had knocked over earlier-was a bit slower in getting up, and before he could run away as well, Firestorm dashed over and pinned him to the ground gently-but firmly-with one foot.  The small Decepticon struggled, but Firestorm leaned down to hiss a warning.

"Stay still, you little troublemaker!"

The tone of his voice let the captive Decepticon know that Firestorm meant business, and he immediately ceased his struggles to get away.

And just like that, it was over as suddenly as it had begun.

Optimus Prime looked around at the assembled Autobots and humans.  Thankfully, there were none who seemed to be severely injured. There was damage to the base, but fortunately, it, too, appeared to not be serious.  His attention was instantly drawn to Firestorm.  He had noted with surprise the arrival of the old Seeker into the battle, but had been too focused on his own fight with Salvo to give it any further notice.  At the moment, Firestorm, while keeping the small Decepticon captive firmly held down with one foot, was looking over Bumblebee, who appeared to be injured.  The Youngling had managed to stand up, but when he tried to put weight on his right leg, he flinched violently and shifted so he was putting hardly any weight on it at all.  Ratchet immediately came over and helped to support him, while Sam patted the young Autobot's uninjured leg in an attempt to comfort him.

"They got away," Mirage said in anger, looking in the direction the Decepticons had fled.

"But we held them off," Optimus Prime replied.  His gaze took in all of the humans and Autobots, and Firestorm, as well.  "Well done, all of you.  You fought bravely."

"But what did they want?" Red Alert fretted.

"I do not know," Optimus Prime admitted.  "I wish that I did."

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

They made their way back into the main hangar.  There were minor injuries to be taken care of, and the humans that were hurt went to see the human medics, while Optimus accompanied Ratchet, who was supporting Bumblebee, and Firestorm, who was leaking Energon from a gash on his left foot but insisting firmly he needed no help, to the medbay.  Sam followed closely behind, asking frantically if Bumblebee would be alright, and Ratchet kept assuring him that yes, he would be fine.  The Decepticon Firestorm had captured had been turned over to Prowl and was being taken to one of the empty rooms to be locked in and guarded until they decided what to do with him.

As they entered the hall that lead to the medbay, they were met with a distraught Computron, accompanied by Sunstreaker, who was supporting his brother.  Sideswipe was leaking Energon from a wound on his head and seemed really upset about something.  The silver mech was trying to get to Optimus, but Sunstreaker, obviously worried about his brother, was holding him back and trying to clean the wound on his helm.  Optimus stepped forward.  

"Sideswipe, what happened?"

"Optimus, I tried…he snuck up behind me, and I…Sunstreaker, get off, I'm fine…I tried to stop him, but he was bigger than I am, and then suddenly there was another one there and I couldn't…"

"Calm down, Sideswipe," The Prime said firmly.  "Now, tell me, and slowly.  What happened?"

Sideswipe's resolve finally failed, and he looked at Optimus with despair and shame in his optics.

"They took him, Optimus.  The Decepticons took Blaster."