Headstrong: Part 2
A fanfic by Bill T. Taylor
a.k.a. RedStreak
The first battle of Cybertron’s second gold age proved to be immense in every sense of the word. The city-transformers Scorpinok and Trypticon stood just outside the gold domed city of Iacon, looming over all in their path. To their flanks fought the whole of the Decepticon legions, hundreds of warriors focused on one goal: the annihilation of the Autobots.
It may have been two years since laser fire echoed across the face of Cybertron, but Iacon was far from unprepared. Powerful shield grids enveloped the city dome, shining a radiant blue and holding strong despite the pounding of an army’s weapons at it mercilessly. This time Iacon would not fall to the invaders, as the Autobots themselves would ensure.
Galvatron stood at the rear of the battle, distantly watching as his minions desperately held their ground against Iacon’s defenses. “Blast! Things were not supposed to be this way! When we last left this planet Iacon was but ruins! Not even the Autobots could restore an entire planet!” he decreed.
“I told you opening the Plasma Energy Chamber,” Scorpinok, broadcasting Zarak’s voice, thundered, “was a mistake. Clearly its power was made to the use of the Autobots during our long absence. You’ve left us in a stalemate Galvatron!”
Galvatron raised an angry fist at Scorpinok. “I am commander here, Zarak!” However, Galvatron secretly acknowledged the situation. The Autobots could stay behind their shielded city for decacycles without any inconvenience while his Decepticons ran their energon dry. Growling to himself, Galvatron said, “If I can not take Iacon, then I will take the life of Prime himself instead!”
“Galvatron,” Scourge’s voice crackled over his leader’s com-link, “I’m finishing my initial sweep of Iacon’s perimeter per your orders! I think I’ve….”
“A weak spot in their force field dome?” Galvatron jumped Scourge’s words.
“Well…err, no.”
“Then…WHAT? What possible discovery of yours could be of value to me?” Galvatron wanted to know.
Scourge replied, “I…I find this hard to believe, but I’ve found Optimus Prime himself not in Iacon…but Nelicon…outside the city shields! I’m not sure why but I’m sure he and a few isolated Autobots are….”
“NEVER MIND THAT!” Galvatron blasted into his com-link, “You stay there! Myself and the Target and Headmasters will join you to destroy Optimus Prime and whoever else foolishly was posted there.” Galvatron then redirected his com-link elsewhere, calling out for the two master teams. Strangely, only the Targetmasters (excluding Scourge) rushed before him. “Where are the Headmasters?” Galvatron stringently asked.
Misfire looked to Slugslinger, Triggerhappy, and Cyclonus, but neither offered any clues. “We, we don’t know Galvatron! None of them were with us on the battlefield! I…I thought you had assigned them elsewhere…AGH!”
As Misfire knocked down, Galvatron’s cannon smoked. “Don’t make presumptions about my orders, Misfire,” he told him with a frown. He glanced down, towards the Hive Targetmasters Aimless, Nightstick, Caliburst, and Blowpipe. “Well, do any of you have an explanation?” Secretly glancing toward each other, none offered a solution. “Fine!” Galvatron sneered, “I’ll just have to do with you eight. Come!”
The Decepticons flew off, followed quickly by the Targetmasters. Caliburst nudged by Nightstick, whispering, “You think they suspect anything?”
“Not a thing,” Nightstick replied, “But shuddup! A loudmouth like you could blow Zarak’s plans….”
Galvatron’s force flew around to the opposite side of Iacon, near New Nelicon. The Hive Targetmasters transformed into their respective Decepticon’s weapon, ready for action. They discovered Scourge already standing there at the backside of one building complex. Immediately he told Galvatron, “I think it’s some sort of repair facility – apparently they weren’t able to clear it out entirely before Iacon’s shields went up.”
“Perfect,” Galvatron said with a pleased voice, “Prime can’t get in without lowering Iacon’s defenses and neither can anyone help him…save a few weakling Autobots!”
“Finally!” Triggerhappy cheered, “We’re gonna take Optimus Prime down for good!”
“No!” Galvatron yelled, “You destroy everything else…Prime and I have a long score to settle, one I intend to win!”
At Nelicon, Optimus Prime, Gort, and Arcana continued their vigil as RedStreak’s repairs neared completion. A door slid open, Perceptor stepping through, wiping grease off his hands with a rag. “I’ve managed to stabilize his central circuitry and reboot his consciousness,” Perceptor told the three, “He’s alive, but I’ll need more time to repair his manifold and armor plating before he can enter battle.”
An alarm echoed from the halls. “It sounds like battle has come to us!” Arcana stated.
“The internal defenses must have detected something!” Prime said, turning toward the door.
Perceptor turned to Optimus with concern. “But Prime, this is a hospital, not a command post! Beyond the main gates there’s no security!”
“They’ll we’ll have to arrange some,” Prime replied, taking out his rifle, “Perceptor, you and the Nebulons evacuate the injured. The Technobots and I will fight off the Decepticons ourselves.”
The medical bay doors Perceptor walked through reopened. RedStreak, still riddled with cracks and scars over his arms and body, slowly stepped forward. Afterburner and Strafe were at his sides, trying to hold him back, but the young Autobot persistently pushed them back.
“I’m coming too!” he flatly told Prime.
Perceptor stepped forward, blocking RedStreak. “You most certainly aren’t! RedStreak, you’re hardly strong enough to….”
RedStreak whacked the scientist aside with the back of his hand. “Like slag I am! Prime, I’m not going to lay back while others fight for me! I….”
“Please RedStreak,” Optimus Prime insisted, “Stay here with Perceptor, Gort, and Arcana. You’re an Autobot like the rest of us, but I won’t risk unnecessary lives. Me and the Technobots will handle things.” Afterburner, Strafe, Lightspeed, Nosecone, and Scattershot followed Prime through the main exit while RedStreak stood fixed as Perceptor supported him from the side.
Prime and the Technobots didn’t have to go far to find Decepticons. Around the corner of the main hall they had taken position; Scourge, Cyclonus, Misfire, Triggerhappy, and Slugslinger taking aim and firing with arm-mounted lasers and Galvatron stood behind providing additional support.
Prime ducked just as a blast blew a chunk of the hallway corner off. “Scattershot, Nosecone, transform and provide some counter-fire!” Optimus ordered.
“Will do Prime!” Scattershot replied. He transformed to cannon mode, blasting furiously as Nosecone transformed into a tank-treaded drill, providing further backup. The Decepticons ducked behind their end of the hall to avoid the hailstorm. Strafe, Lighspeed, and Afterburner took up position along with Prime behind Scattershot and Nosecone, keeping the Decepticons pinned to one spot.
“There’s something wrong here Prime,” Lightspeed said to the Autobot leader, “I see the Decepticons…but where are the Targetmasters?”
“Maybe they got tired of ‘em and squashed them,” Afterburner said in his opinion, shooting off another round of blasts toward Cyclonus and Misfire.
“Not when they can provide them a great deal of power,” Prime pointed out. Lightspeed’s observation made Prime wary. He didn’t like it when something was amiss, or at least when something seemed amiss. Prime glanced back to the side hall leading to the medical bay. Above, the cover of one vent started to jiggle suspiciously….
Aimless and Caliburst leaped down. They glanced about, silent as they knew Autobots were but a few meters further down the hall. Blowpipe hurriedly crawled out the loose vent, thudding to the floor hard.
“Ouch! Man what a trip!” Blowpipe griped.
Nightstick and Fracus descended next. “Quiet you moron!” Fracus hissed, “They don’t call these stealth operations for nothing!”
Prime’s eyes widened, watching as all five Targetmasters landed in the hallway. “AUTOBOTS, LOOK OUT!” he yelled to the Technobots.
“Oh great! Our cover’s blown, no thanks to you Blowpipe!” Fracus yelled.
“Well that ain’t gonna stop me!” Nightstick said, “Caliburst, Fracus, use me!” He transformed, changing immediately into an oversized Decepticon blaster. Caliburst and Fracus grabbed him, hoisting him like a bazooka over their shoulders.
“This is from Galvatron, Prime!” Caliburst exclaimed, pulling Nightstick’s trigger.
The medical bay door slid open, RedStreak stepping forward. “No!” he yelled. In that second, Caliburst and the others glanced to their right, distracted for a moment. Nightstick fired, a massive bolt flying clear over Optimus Prime’s head. The ceiling exploded, crashing down right on top of Prime and all five of the Technobots.
RedStreak reached for Nightstick, managing to pry him away from Caliburst and Fracus but the gun seemed to squirm in his own hand. Nightstick bolted and turned about, his barrel facing RedStreak’s face. “Hey! Watch whose handle you’re grabbing, bub!”
RedStreak barely had time to let out a gasp as a second plasma bolt fired. The left half of his face was sheered off down to the base circuitry beneath. As RedStreak began to fall, Caliburst, Aimless, Blowpipe, and Fracus simultaneously transformed, hovering in midair for a split second as they fired in concert. Multiple shots went clean through RedStreak’s left shoulder, thighs, and his torso. Inside his spark chamber twin bolts sliced through the casing, cutting through the still-pulsating orb protected within.
Prime’s optics widened as he watched RedStreak’s smoking shell tumble to the floor with Targetmasters gathered around him. “REDSTREAK!” he exclaimed.
Galvatron’s red eyes shimmered. “Now Decepticons!” he declared, “FIRE!” Galvatron fired the first shot, blasting a chunk of the hallway ceiling above the Autobots’ position. Scourge and Cyclonus followed up, shredding the ceiling with their own lasers as Misfire, Triggerhappy, and Slugslinger joined in arms. The entire end of the hall caved in, crashing down on top of the distracted Prime and his squadron.
From the rubble emerged Nightstick and the Targetmasters, coated with bronze dust. Hacking Nightstick gruffly yelled, “Hey Galvatron! Watch it! You nearly buried us alive too!”
Galvatron looked down at the black and gray Targetmaster. “I’m in a good mood Nightstick. I suggest you don’t ruin it!” he suggested, “Now, Targetmasters, return to your Decepticons! We shall return to Galvinok victorious in this battle…as we shall be in the war!”
Mere minutes after the Decepticons departed from Nelicon and Iacon in turn, the rubble pile churned, the five Technobots and Prime himself emerging from the rubble. “Ugh,” Prime moaned, the vent-like crest on his brow dented and his red and blue armor scuffed, “Autobots…damage report.”
The Technobots emerged in no worse condition than Prime. Grunting, Afterburner confidently told Prime, “We’re online. Heh, it’ll take more than a building collapsing to stop the Technobots!”
“What of Perceptor, RedStreak, and the Nebulons?” Prime asked, searching them out.
Perceptor slowly emerged from the wreakage that remained of the medical bay. In his hands he held both Arcana and Gort, the only members of the Autobot team left undamaged. “We’re…fine Prime. I managed to shield our friends at the expense of my own body, but I’m alright.”
“Where’s RedStreak?” Prime asked. As he, Perceptor, and the Technobots searched through the rubble, tossing scraps of metal and wiring, Lightspeed made a grisely discovery. A hand stuck out of the litter, and when uncovered, Prime’s optics dimmed. “Dear Primus,” the Autobot commander uttered, “RedStreak….”
Perceptor gave him a once-over with his analyzer circuits. “He’s too heavily damaged for stasis lock to sustain him. This is beyond my skill to repair.”
Gort shook his head. “Then he’s too far gone.”
Arcana stepped up. Staring at the ravage face of RedStreak, he quoted, “Perhaps, perhaps not. There…is one that may be able to help us…maybe.”
“Who?” Prime immediately asked.
“An old colleague of mine, friend even,” Arcana replied, “But we must travel to Nebulos to seek his aid…if he’s willing to give it.”
“Let’s hope Hot Rod and Cerebros will give us a warmer welcome when we get there,” Prime stated.
A monstrous pair of iron claws swung down with the animosity of a tiger. Hot Rod jumped to his side, firing away with his large blaster. A single shot ripped through the heart of the machine, striking a crucial fuel rode inside. The resulting nova-like explosion could be seen for miles.
Hot Rod was thrown against a rocky ridge along the hillside. His weapon tumbled about shortly behind, arms and legs and a head unfolding. A humanoid crashed right beside Hot Rod, equally scorched and panting exhaustively.
Looking down, Hot Rod gasped exhaustively, “I see now why they call you Firebolt.”
The Nebulon simply smiled back. In seconds a green pickup truck pulled up, Cerebros bolting off it as the truck itself transformed into the familiar Kup. “We saw the blast, kid,” Kup said to Hot Rod, “Now you see why I keep telling you to be careful where you aim?”
“Yeah,” Hot Rod replied, “Never aim for the fuel core…ever.”
“Almost three years,” Cerebros sighed, “and still we’re picking off more and more of the Hive’s evil machinery on this world. Will there ever be an end?”
Elsewhere on the plum-colored skies of Nebulos, deep within one of the ancient mountains, dusty machinery that had gone unused for years came online once again. Over a cylindrical column flashed blue lights as a warbling hum echoed in the chamber about it.
Its door slid open, and through it four Decepticon Headmasters came forth. From the head of Mindwipe, Vorath cheered with his hissing voice, “Yes, it worked! My old teleportation prototype functioned perfectly!”
“For once,” Krunk, speaking out from Snapdragon’s head, said, “The last time you used it you blew out half of the planet’s power grids! If it weren’t for Zarak putting so much faith in your half-witted inventions….”
“ENOUGH OF YOUR INANE WHINING!” Mindwipe blatantly yelled, “Up to this point we Decepticons have put up with your traitorous actions! If you expect us to take one more step, we demand you explain your plans!”
From Weirdwolf’s head, Monzo said, “As you wish, Mindwipe. I only dare speak this since we require your aid. Zarak orders that we capture the quantum fission core of a certain…local inventor.”
Weirdwolf growled, “Why should we care for this? Yeah, why?”
“Its power source and weapons amplification benefits are beyond your comprehension,” Vorath assuredly stated, “And so long as you remain allies with Zarak, it will prove to be a benefit to your kind as well.”
“You reliance on such scientific gadgetry sickens me,” Mindwipe grumbled, “but very well. We’ll blast our way in to steal this…thing you need.”
As the Decepticon Headmasters pressed forward with their agenda, an unexpected arrival came to the Headmasters and Targetmasters of Nebulos. As they watched from a golden prairie, a Cybertronian shuttle descended from above, the first they’d seen in over two years. A ramp deployed, Optimus Prime himself walking down to greet his old friends.
“Prime!” Spike joyously yelled. He leaped down from Cerebros’ shoulders, transforming and running up to the Autobot. He removed the exosuit mask, looking up at Prime with his own eyes. “Oh man is it wonderful to see you again!” he hugged Prime’s leg, “Although…I was hoping Arcee and Daniel were with you.”
“Yeah,” Chromedome added, “And I was hoping to see Brainstorm and Highbrow with you as well; what’s up?”
Optimus Prime would have been happy to see so many smiling faces, but he could not readily return the expression. “Arcee and Daniel are doing just fine on Earth, Spike,” Prime told the human, “but I can not say the same for our friends Brainstorm and Highbrow…nor RedStreak I’m afraid.”
Kup stepped forward with a cocked eye. “What happened Prime?”
“It is a long story, and I have little time,” Optimus Prime frankly said, “We need your help again, Headmasters and Targetmasters. To save RedStreak’s life, we need to find a Nebulon named…High-Q.”
“High-Q?” Duros spoke out from Hardhead’s head. He and Stylor transformed and stood before Prime’s feet.
Stylor informed Prime, “But High-Q, as great and obliging a Nebulon as there was, is…er…not the best person to come forward to.”
“Indeed,” Arcana’s voice came from inside the shuttle. He stepped forward, appearing before his fellow Nebulons, still in his exosuit. “But we need his expertise in repairing young RedStreak. He’s sacrificed himself twice while defending myself and Gort and then Prime himself from the Hive and Decepticons. Convincing High-Q himself to aid us is the least we can do in return fellow Nebulons.”
“Then it’s settled,” Prime firmly stated, “We’re going to seek him out for RedStreak.”
Over hills, plains, and much rugged terrain did the Autobots and Nebulons traverse to find the whereabouts of the much-spoken Nebulon, High-Q. Through Arcana and the Nebulons’ directions did they come to a jagged canyon. The convoy of Autobots halted at its south end, transforming to look out over a single, large building of incredible design.
“This is it,” Gort said, “High-Q’s laboratory, his personal fortress and research center. Believe me when I say this is the closest anyone’s gotten to it.”
Optimus Prime was still confused. “I don’t understand how High-Q came to live out here so elusively. You Nebulons speak so highly of him as great friend and scientist for your planet. Why would….”
In the canyon, one of two turrets mounted to either side of the complex turned about and aimed at the canyon’s intruders. A shattering blast rocked the canyon, sending the Autobots themselves careening down in a landslide. As the turret took aim once more, a strong voice emanating from the complex boomed, “Zarak! Your Hive machinery will not succeed! Never will you use my inventions again!” A second volley was launched against the Autobots, leaving a large crater in the canyon floor.
Sureshot transformed, zooming fast as the turret targeted him. “He thinks we’re some form of Hive machine!” he said to Spoilsport, mounted on his hood in weapon mode.
“He doesn’t recognize any of us like this!” Spoilsport pointed out.
Arcana, standing across from Prime, bolted for the complex. “Arcana!” Prime yelled out, but already the Nebulon was sprinting. Arcana removed his exosuit, casting it off like dirty laundry. The turret swung in his direction just as Arcana shouted, “HIGH-Q! STOP! IT IS US!”
The turret froze in position for a minute, its twin barrels blaring menacingly at Arcana as he stood there vulnerably. The Autobots froze where they stood as well, even as the second, equally powerful, turret targeted them. Finally a response came.
“Arcana, is that you?” a voice from the speakers asked. Above, a single window in the main building’s top section opened, a pale green-skinned figure peering out. It was a Nebulon man, middle-aged but no less imposing than Gort with fixed blue-green eyes and yellow-green hair mixed with strands of white. He wore a silvery suit with an ear piece clapped to one side of his face and a single eye piece on the other.
“High-Q,” Arcana addressed the Nebulon, “These machines are not of the Hive’s design. They are beings from Cybertron on a mission to restore their comrade to life; seeking help only your genius can provide.”
Glaring emotionlessly at Arcana and those before his fortress’ arsenal, High-Q responded, “You should know me well enough, Arcana, to know I can not afford to trust anyone. I desire no harm on any being, organic or mechanoid, but I can not risk the Hive using my devices to spread their evil. I request for you all to leave….” The turrets rotated, clicking into position. “Now, preferably.”
“But High-Q, you must understand….” Arcana tried to reason with his old comrade.
Behind the scenes, four beastly Decepticons snuck down the northern entrance to the canyon of High-Q, finding his defenses trained on the Autobots at the opposite end much to their amusement. “Good,” Apeface grunted, “Autobots provide distraction to big guns of Nebulon base. We raid it easy!”
The ape-bot transformed, taking on the shape of a supersonic jet. Apeface sweeped high into the sky before diving straight at the complex and the gathering Autobots and Nebulons. A trio of bombs feel from his underside, ripping the ground up.
“The Hive!” High-Q yelled, glancing skyward, “They have returned!” He turned his back on the congregation below, rushing back inside his technological castle. The two guard turrets fired at the intrusive, attacking jet. Two small red towers rose up, additional guns mounted to their sides rotating and also firing as an even larger, fixed gun swung upwards from the apex of the complex, producing a certifiable firestorm over the canyon.
As explosions rocked the landscape, Hot Rod yelled out, “Decepticons! How did they get here?”
Optimus Prime, even as the ground itself trembled from the battle, aimed his gun at Apeface and fired. “Never mind that Hot Rod!” he yelled out, “We’ve got to help High-Q!” Quickly the guns of a dozen Autobots joined with those of High-Q, all directed at shooting down the flying menace.
Snapdragon gazed up from the rear of High-Q’s complex, watching as Apeface circled round and round above. “Good,” he growled in his deep dragon voice, “Autobots distracted. Now for us to do our part….”
A single blast finally struck Apeface’s wing, blowing a huge chunk of it away. As the Decepticon yelled, crashing in the distance, Hot Rod yelled, “All right! That’s one less Decepticon to worry about!”
BOOM!
The side of High-Q’s complex blew apart, a smoking hole formed. Mindwipe, Weirdwolf, and Snapdragon all rushed out, carrying with them a glowing, spherical orb. “No!” High-Q let out a yell, “My fission core!” All at once the multiple turrets and guns adorning his base whirled to a halt, freezing up as everything went dead.
“Kup, Hot Rod, Crosshairs, Sureshot! Don’t let them escape!” Optimus Prime commanded.
“Don’t worry, Prime! We’ll track them down!” Kup assured Optimus. He and the others transformed to vehicle mode, their Nebulon counterparts shifting and merging with them in turn.
Chromedome stepped up to Prime, asking, “Shouldn’t we join them?”
“No, High-Q needs our help now…as does RedStreak,” he stated. Prime, Pointblank, Hardhead, Chromedome, as well as Gort and Arcana entered into the fortress. Inside were massive computers and consoles, devices that rivaled even Cybertronian technology. Then they found High-Q himself at his control post, surrounded by an even larger array of monitors and databanks…all rendered inert without power.
“Go on,” he mumbled in a melancholy tone, unconcerned by the ‘intruders’, “Take what you need. The Hive has finally succeeded in defeating me completely.”
“We never came to defeat you,” Gort assured High-Q, “We came for your help.”
With the Autobots willing aid, High-Q’s fortress came alive once more, lights shimmering brilliantly once more with power. High-Q sat up in disbelief. “I…I can hardly believe it. Thank you…friends,” he managed to say.
“You can thank us,” Optimus Prime said to the Nebulon, “by helping our dying friend. It is…the reason we came to you in the first place.”
“Very well,” High-Q sighed wearily, “Bring him here so I can evaluate his condition.”
Elsewhere on Nebulos, back in the Hive’s old caverns, Midwipe, Weirdwolf, Snapdragon, and a trashed-looking Apeface returned. Their Headmaster counterparts, at work restoring their aged equipment, paused only briefly in their work to receive the Decepticons.
“Ah! Good!” Vorath hissed with a smile in his throat. From Snapdragon he took the glowing orb, holding it in his own hands. “At last, the quantum fission core – High-Q’s most powerful source of exponential energy. Now, we must return to Zarak!”
A laser fired out from the dark. Four sets of headlights shined out at the Decepticon Headmasters, the young voice of Hot Rod declaring, “I don’t think so, slime!” He, Kup, Sureshot, and Crosshairs drove at them, transforming with their Targetmaster weapons in their hands. “You’re going to return what you stole or else!”
“Over your dead body shells!” Apeface roared. Immediately he and Spasma merged, converting to full robot mode and charging straight at Hot Rod with a fist. The Autobot swung to the side, tripping Apeface with little effort.
“Decepticons, stop them!” Vorath shouted. With the orb in one arm he ran to his teleporter, punching in a set of codes. “I’ve got to get this thing to Zarak, now!” he hurriedly gasped. His invention began to power up, but something went horribly wrong. Bolts of unstable energy seethed from the cylindrical chamber, threatening to overload.
Across the galaxy, on the Earth’s moon, Chip oversaw the latest endeavourer of the Apollo moonbase. A drill bored into a crater, seeking out an isolated source of geothermal energy. As his fellow lunar colonists stood beside him at the crater’s limb, Chip stated confidently, “This drill should help us tap that pocket of magma we discovered just below the moon’s crust. That should provide us with enough power to….”
Suddenly, a ribbon of energy opened up above them. It widened, becoming a strange rift. It pulled everything toward it like some stellar vacuum, dust and rocks flung up like a sandstorm. Chip, suspended by his hoverchair, was also swept up, his fellow colonists watching as the energy rift sealed up with him trapped inside it.
Back on Nebulos, the Autobot Targetmasters were at the necks of the Decepticon Headmasters when Vorath’s teleporter blasted out a huge bolt of blue energy. From it a single figure was tossed out. A hoverchair tumbled to the floor, its former occupant laying there unconscious.
“Chip?” Kup said, looking at the human.
Mindwipe swung a fist at Kup, taking advantage of the situation. “Now Decepticons! We leave this planet, now!” The other Headmasters fled, running inside Vorath’s malfunctioning device. Sealing up inside, Mindwipe grumbled to Vorath, stuck inside his head, “This had better work this time Vorath, or else all our molecules will be flung across space!”
“Trust me, second time’s the charm!” Vorath assured him.
Outside, the prototype teleporter rattled like a tea kettle, cracks forming in its sides with beams of energy leaking out. “Hit the deck people! It’s gonna blow!” Crosshairs shouted.
Kup grabbed Chip, he and the others running into the caverns head and ducking to the ground. The Hive’s chamber exploded, shaking both the caverns and mountain with the force of a fifty-kiloton bomb. Slowly, as rubble settled, Kup got up and looked to the destroyed chamber entrance behind them.
“Slag, they’ve escaped…or got the bolts blown out of them, I don’t know which!” he said.
Chip gave a moan, awakening. “Ugh…where am I?”
Half a megacycle later, Perceptor and Blur came, pushing in a hovering gurney with what looked like an old target-practice drone that had outlived its usefulness. Whole sections of armor plating were missing, ragged wires jutting out of exposed vital circuitry.
As a pair of robotic arms hoisted the remains of RedStreak onto High-Q’s medical scanner, the Nebulon looked upon him with a scientist’s curiosity over a dissected animal. “Intriguing,” he said, “Massive head and neurological circuitry trauma, cracked mainframe, armor deterioration….”
“Please,” Optimus Prime spoke up assertively, “this is our friend. Is there anything your knowledge can do for him?” At that same moment, Kup, Sureshot, Hot Rod, and Crosshairs entered, carrying with them a very-much unexpected guest. “Chip?” Prime said, completely surprised.
As Chip sat in his hands, Recoil, sitting on Kup’s shoulder, explained, “He suddenly appeared in the middle of the battle in…some weird energy field.”
“Yeah,” Kup added, “And I’m sorry to say the Decepticons got blown up with that energy core.”
“No,” High-Q said, still fixed on the damaged Autobot, “It was Vorath’s teleportation device. When he and Zarak still worked with me, it was but a haphazard prototype, but it explains how they arrived in addition to the human’s appearance as well….”
“Wait a second,” Hot Rod spoke up, “You…and Zarak…worked together?”
“That was ages ago, light years it seems now,” High-Q informed the Autobots, “He once was as loyal and valued a partner as Arcana, before Zarak formed his Hive and sought to dominate Nebulos. Most of the Hive’s machinery were...in fact, of my design.”
“You built those monsters that tried to kill us?” Chromedome blared.
“Easy Chromedome,” Prime halted the Autobot, “Clearly it was not High-Q’s intention to use them as such.”
“But Zarak did, and that, you see, is why I went into hiding so very long ago,” the Nebulon genius sighed, “I…could not bear to see him use my designs to hurt my people. But now that they have my core…there’s no telling what Zarak will do.”
Kup slammed his fist into his palm. “Well we’ll take care of him!” he firmly assured High-Q, “Him and Galvatron.”
“There is one other concern beyond Decepticons though, Kup,” Gort reminded.
“Yes, Brainstorm and Highbrow,” Prime added, “They are still trapped on Galvinok. We can not forget them.”
“But what about RedStreak?” asked Perceptor.
“I’ll watch over him,” Chip vowed.
“But Chip, without your hoverchair you’re…well, immobile,” Hot Rod tried to politely say.
“No offense Hot Rod, but I know my own disabilities,” Chip somewhat harshly told Hot Rod. “Please Prime, I owe him my life for what he did during the hate plague.”
Prime looked down at the medical scanner, High-Q’s instruments probing and scanning the Autobot. “As do I, Chip. I trust you and High-Q will save him while we save Brainstorm and Highbrow.” The Autobot commander turned to the Headmasters and Targetmasters. “Autobots and Nebulons, we’re going to be moving out into Decepticon territory. Signal Spike and Cerebros…we’ll need them and Fortress Maximus if we expect to succeed. Headmasters and Targetmasters…transform…and roll out!”
Beyond the canyon, Cerebros entered Fortress Maximus as his fellow Auotbots boarded the shuttle Prime originally arrived in. As the shuttle’s engines whirled to life, the giant city-Autobot shook with a might of his own. In tandem they took off, bound once more on a rescue mission.
Back at High-Q’s private base, Chip sat in a seat just to High-Q’s side, overseeing RedStreak’s extensive repairs. Currently, several robotic arms armed with claws and drills busily stripped the Autobot’s ravaged body of armor and weapons, snipping away at every frayed wire and cracked circuit. They tossed such damaged, useless pieces away onto a conveyor belt feeding into a smelting furnace, melting them down in its fires.
“RedStreak’s body is beyond any conventional restoration,” High-Q stated, the glow of welding sparks and the furnace fire reflecting in his face, “RedStreak as you once knew him shall be no more. From his ashes we shall construct a whole new Autobot, one that can stand against the Hive and Zarak himself. Just like the legendary phoenix of your world, Chip, he shall be reborn in fire.”
RedStreak’s half-burned faceplate made its way along the conveyor belt towards the smelting furnace. Amid circuit boards and other pieces of Autobot scrap it was tossed into the molten fires of the furnace. As yellow liquid metal bubbled about it, the face of Autobot RedStreak sank, disappearing in a column of steam.
To Be Continued….