Chapter Text
Iacon, Cybertron
Iacon Freeways
32nd Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086
2 Quartexes After Optimus Prime's Death
Smokescreen sped down on of the partially restored Iacon freeways, adjusting his mirror slightly to eye whoever was driving behind him. A red Cybertronian car with yellow flames emblazoned on it, a large yellow spoiler, and a pair of triple exhaust pipes on the side swiped out of the way of some remaining debris.
"Careful, hot shot, hate to mess up that paint job of yours!" Smokescreen taunted his rival.
"You learn to run your mouth instead of your wheels on Earth, Smokescreen?" The other Autobot taunted back.
"Oh, so that's how it is, huh?" Smokescreen shifted gears and drifted around a corner, slipping onto a side ramp that led to a backroad he remembered was a great shortcut. These were the streets he grew up on, racing between buildings as he and some of the other young mechs tried to escape the boring parts of their jobs while avoiding the various patrol officers around the city.
It felt strange to be back on the metal roads of Cybertron after so much time spent on the variable terrain of Earth. It was good to be home, even better to see home healing, but there was a part of Smokescreen that was paradoxically homesick for Earth. He had gotten used to the little blue organic marble. The lush trees, the crystal clear water, the peaceful wind, it was serene in a way that Cybertron would never achieve as a fully mechanical world. Perhaps there was something of Earth he could introduce to Cybertron, though.
Optimus had always talked about hoping to find open peace between humans and Cybertronians, something that was hard to do when they were living as robots in disguise on Earth, but maybe Smokescreen could bring that vision to fruition now. There was so much empty space on Cybertron, especially now in the wake of devastation. He could import some earth from Earth, bring in some plant species, add a little organic to the technology of Cybertron.
Smokescreen drifted around another corner, emerging from the backroad and onto the main freeway again. His rival was no where to be found, getting a small chuckle out of Smokescreen.
"Couldn't take the heat, I guess." Smokescreen put rubber to road again, speeding up. As the finish line came into view, he saw the infuriating sight of the Autobot from before, now in robot mode and standing smugly next to the finish line. Smokescreen transformed as he reached it, groaned and shaking his head.
"Just a little too slow, Smokescreen." The other Autobot winked.
"I call shenanigans, Rodimus." Smokescreen rolled his optics before chuckling and sighing. "Nah, I slowed down because I got distracted. Thinking about Earth. Thinking about Cybertron. Thinking about rebuilding Cybertron with some Earth involved." Smokescreen walked over to a crater on the side of the freeway that had only been filled in enough to support the freeway. "Earth has these... Massive trees, they're even taller than Bruticus when fully grown. They're called red maples, they've got these beautiful red leaves all year long that become this super bright scarlet before their seasonal foliage loss."
"Hey, you're one of the High Councilors. If you want to bring trees to Cybertron, it's your wheelhouse to make it happen." Rodimus punched Smokescreen's shoulder. "We should probably get you to the Council tower anyways, you've got a meeting." Smokescreen groaned a little, leaning his head back before transforming again.
Temporary Iacon High Council Chamber
Bumblebee sat in one of three chairs positioned at the head of a large table in a room covered by a massive glass dome. It was the current temporary High Council chamber until more permanent ones could be established in the major Cybertronian cities, with Bumblebee serving as one of the three new High Councilors. Team Prime had decided that in lieu of Optimus, someone had to take command. Ultra Magnus had been nominated by Bumblebee and Wheeljack, who reasoned that as Optimus' closest lieutenant, he would be able to hold authority amongst the returning refugees. Arcee and Bulkhead had both suggested Bumblebee, as he had rather handily taken command during the Unicron crisis without Ultra Magnus or Prime available. In a move that shocked the remaining members, Ultra Magnus and Ratchet both pitched Smokescreen, with the remaining members being even more shocked when those two revealed that both the Matrix and Optimus himself had deemed Smokescreen worthy of being a Prime, therefore he was worthy now. Smokescreen, in an attempt to diffuse the surprise suggested Ratchet, as Optimus' oldest friend and most trusted confidant. Knock Out abstained from taking part, but made the suggestion that all three top choices lead together.
Bumblebee was beginning to regret saying yes. Smokescreen had the charisma of a leader and Ultra Magnus had the cool and calm reason of a commander, but Bumblebee?
Bumblebee was a scout who dreamed of being a warrior and that was it. He had no idea how to deal with logistics or command Vehicons, that was beyond his wheelhouse. He had tried to supervise work at an Energon refinery earlier and his performance was frankly laughable. He confused himself, his Vehicons, it was almost a disaster before Bulkhead showed up and Bumblebee asked him to take over. Bumblebee had put the Star Saber through Megatron, stared down Predaking, and held back Unicron with nothing but the Polarity Gauntlet, only to now have difficulties giving simple instructions to Vehicons.
What he give to have Optimus there to reassure him right about now.
Bumblebee was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of the door opening. A red Seeker reminiscent of Starscream but with a softer and less angular face, a yellow cockpit on her chest, large intakes to either side of her head, fins covering the sides of her hips, and upside-down wings in her back walked into the room and saluted Bumblebee.
"Redwing reporting, sir." The Autobot jet smiled. She was a younger Cybertronian, somewhere around Smokescreen's age but still slightly younger. She had been a recent defector from the Decepticon cause, but did have the distinction of defecting before the war ended. She had joined a team of Autobots stationed on Velocitron, offering her aerial services to the ground-bound Autobots. They had accepted, with Redwing proving herself skilled and loyal to her new cause. When her team left Velocitron to return to Cybertron, she came along to see the home planet she had no memory of. Upon arrival, she requested a trial for her actions during her short tenure as a Deception, but Ultra Magnus vetoed this request and offered her clemency immediately. She was then assigned to work as Bumblebee's bodyguard, ensuring he had an eye in the sky available to him at all times.
"At ease, Redwing." Bumblebee waved his hand. "Has anyone else arrived yet?"
"Yes, High Councilor. High Councilor Ultra Magnus and Prowl will be in shortly, as will Commander Jetfire, Ratchet, Knock Out, and Arcee." Redwing stepped up behind Bumblebee, folding her arms behind her back. "High Councilor Smokescreen is en route according to Rodimus." As if on cue, Ultra Magnus limped his way into the High Council chamber, supported by a quietly grumbling Prowl. Prowl helped him to his seat beside Bumblebee before taking his place next to Redwing. The two bodyguards shared a nod, Redwing offering Prowl a Shanix chip. Ratchet and Arcee entered next, sitting further down the table, before Jetfire entered, ducking his head slightly as he did.
"Consider this my formal request for the permanent chambers be built with taller doors." Jetfire joked before taking a seat between Ratchet and Knock Out. The three began to compare notes on their various ongoing projects, mumbling amongst themselves. After a few minutes passed, Smokescreen and Rodimus entered, taking their places on the High Councilor platform.
"Thank you all for coming, we are awaiting our guest now." Ultra Magnus spoke, his voice still slightly weak from the attack by Skylynx and Darksteel. Predaking's roar rang out as he transformed and landed on a landing platform just outside the dome, stomping in slowly as he held some kind of bundle tenderly in his arms. He ducked down to fit his head through the door, with a vindicated looking Jetfire motioning at him as he did.
"Autobots, I thank you all for coming. I bring glad tidings and great news for the future of our races." Predaking shifted his arms to reveal a Sparkling. Everyone in the room except Redwing gasped loudly, Ratchet shooting up instantly. "I was out surveying my kingdom when I came across what records indicate was once a Sparkfield before the war extinguished this planet's heart."
"What alternate mode are they?" Ratchet asked, leaning against the table excitedly. "Aerial, ground, liquidcraft, spacefaring?"
"None of the above." Predaking offered the sparkling to Ratchet, leading the newborn to open their yellow optics and grasp at the old medic's arm with her nascent claws. "She is a beast and I know not how."
"Optimus." Ratchet whispered. "Optimus, when he restored the Core and became one with our planet, he must have reignited it in such a way that allowed Predacons to be sparked on this world just like any other form of Cybertronian." Ratchet laughed excitedly. "He's given your species a future, Predaking."
"Then I offer my thanks to your late Prime." Predaking nodded. "I ask then that any beast sparkling found within the Sparkfields around Cybertron be offered to my people."
"Of course. We ask the inverse of you regarding sparklings with non-beast forms found within your territory's Sparkfields," Smokescreen requested. Predaking paused for a moment before making a noise of agreement. "Additionally, with your permission, I'd like to dispatch a message to the Cybertronian colony world of Eukaris. Its Cybertronians have adopted animalistic forms, I seek inform them that they have a kingdom and a king on Cybertron if any wish to come here."
"I shall gladly accept that. It would be delightful to have my like-kind here." Predaking sat down next to Arcee, watching Ratchet, Jetfire, and Knock Out analyze the sparkling. To him, nothing quite illustrated the forthcoming peace between the races of Cybertron like this sight. Three scientists fascinated by this new sparkling not because they were searching for a weapon, but because the sparkling represented the end of the war that they had fought and bled and watched comrades die for.
"Arcee, how are refugee return efforts going?" Bumblebee asked.
"As well as they can be, considering all of the barriers. A lot of Autobots out in the cosmos lack ships, a lot of Decepticons are still holding out, and a lot of neutrals just... Don't want to come back after everything that happened here." Arcee folded her arms. "We've had three arrivals in the past quartex and a half, Jetfire not included because he flew here alone. I'm going to keep pushing comms signals out into space, but I'm not very hopeful that there's going to be a mass return any time soon."
"That's disappointing but it can't be helped. We'll have to focus on what we do have here then." Bumblebee nodded.
"As for our Shockwave situation, we are still searching for him. Given that he has not yet been found on Cybertron, we must begin considering that he may be off-world." Prowl cut in to the meeting.
"Duly noted." Bumblebee nodded. "Meeting adjourned, unless anyone else has anything." The room was quiet, with Bumblebee nodding again. "Dismissed."
Queensland, Australia
Daintree Rainforest
33rd Day, 3rd Quartex, Cybertonian Standard Year 191086
February 18, Earth Year 2013
A trio of humans dressed in Unit E body armour made their way through a jungle, two of them much taller than the third. The two taller ones carried human-sized Cybertronian blasters while the shorter one simply had a large backpack of Cybertronian technology slung over her shoulders.
"Nakadai, Epps, we're nearing the signal." One of the taller soldiers said.
"Roger that, Lennox." The voice of a now seventeen year old Miko Nakadai came from the shorter soldier. In the year since the Autobots had left Earth, Jack, Miko, and Raf had come into the employ of Unit E's Cybertronian response branch, the Nonbiological Emergency Special Taskforce, codenamed NEST. While Jack served in a command position as Director Fowler's immediate aide and Raf was NEST's communications specialist, Miko operated in the field. This mission was no different. NEST had discovered a radio signal deep within the Daintree Rainforest matching that of an Autobot distress signal, so the field team had been dispatched. Miko, Lennox, and Epps were the humans involved in scouting for Decepticons, but when the going got tough, they had a secret weapon making his way through the opposite end of the rainforest towards them for help.
The trio emerged from the dense foliage and saw a crater in the ground with a crashed Autobot escape pod in the middle. However, there was no Autobot to be seen around it, with Vehicons of a new design milling about instead. These ones were taller and slightly bulkier than the Vehicons that Miko was used to, largely due to the vehicle kibble on them that indicated that they transformed into helicopters instead of cars or jets. Epps pulled out his binoculars and began to look over the operation.
"Pod's cracked open. Cons already got inside. Not sure about survivors." Epps shook his head. "ETA on the big gun?"
"Two minutes." Miko checked her watch. "I don't want to sit and wait for him, though. I'll distract them, you two check the pod for survivors, we hold out until he gets here to help clean up."
"Alright." Lennox shook his head and chuckled. "You're the one with the magic armour." Miko smiled beneath her balaclava before sliding down into the crater. She activated the disk on her back, the Apex Armour forming around her as she reached the floor of the crater. She charged at the Vehicons, smashing one of them with a leaping punch. The remaining Vehicons opened fire on her, though their blasts were either absorbed, dispersed, or deflected by the Apex Armour. Miko watched out of the corner of her eye as Lennox and Epps sprinted through the chaos to reach the downed escape pod, grabbing one of the Vehicons and using it as a flail to bludgeon another one.
"Nakadai, we've got survivors!" Epps yelled into his comms. Miko made a noise of acknowledgement before letting loose a flurry of attacks into a line of Vehicons. The roar of an engine came through the trees as a red and black pickup truck crashed through the underbrush. It sped over the edge of the crater, transforming in the air and landing. Ironhide charged up his cannons and held them out, grinning slightly.
"You feeling lucky, punks?" Ironhide opened fire on the Vehicons as Miko continued to bash her way through the small army. Ironhide reached up onto his back and grabbed a rifle from it, tossing it to Miko. Miko caught it and blasted a Vehicon getting too close to the escape pod. After a brief firefight, the Vehicons had all been felled, with Ironhide clicking his cannons offline. "Done and dusted." Miko handed the rifle back to Ironhide, who slipped it back into its holster. The human and Autobot walked over to the escape pod, finding Epps and Lennox standing guard over a group of three young Cybertronians. "Alright, lads, where're you from?"
"We come from Aquatron," One of the young Autobots, a white and red bot with boat parts scattered about his body, said. "My name is Drydock." He pointed to one of his companions, a dark grey Autobot with fins on his back and legs, eyes on his chest, and long chainsaws on his shoulders. "This is Sharp Edge." He then gestured to the largest of the trio, a dark blue and grey Autobot with both aerial and aquatic kibble dotted around her body. "And her name's Skywave."
"I'm Ironhide, commander of Autobot operations here on Earth." Ironhide began to help the Autobots out of the escape pod. "You're in luck as far as terrain too, folks, this planet's got plenty of water. And plenty of kind inhabitants." Ironhide gestured to Lennox, Epps, and Miko. "Meet Major William Lennox, Master Sergeant Robert Epps, and Commander Miko Nakadai." The three humans pulled off their masks, revealing that Miko's hair was now cropped short to avoid getting in the way of her gear. "We're with NEST, a human and Autobot alliance, and we're here to welcome you to Earth."
"Thank you, Ironhide, it's been a long journey." Sharp Edge sighed happily. "Decepticons took out our ship, it was full of weapons and supplies that we were supposed to bring to Earth."
"We were stuck in orbit around this planet's star, our comms offline and us in stasis. We finally woke up not too long ago and directed ourselves here because our scanners picked up Cybertronian life," Skywave explained. "Now here we are."
"Well, I'd better tell Cybertron you're here. If y'all want to go there, by all means, the planet's in the midst of rebuilding and I'm sure they wouldn't say no to your help." Ironhide tapped a few buttons on his wrist to summon a Groundbridge. "But if you feel like staying on a water world, Earth's doors are open to you." Ironhide gestured to the now open Groundbridge, with the three humans and four Autobots stepping through.