Transformers Prime: A New Beginning

Chapter 61: Inside Job

Normal Perspective:

Several hours had passed since Smokescreen's capture. Michael had returned to the base a while before, only saying he had to take care of something. The 'Bots then turned their focus back to finding Smokescreen, searching for his location throughout the night and into the early morning, but had no luck. Jessica had to go to school, which Cliffjumper had taken her to, and the 'Bots still hadn't had any luck when he arrived back.

It was mid-morning when they finally gave it up, deducing that he was in the one place they deemed nearly untraceable.

"Smokescreen must've been taken aboard the Decepticon Warship." Ratchet concluded. "Tracing his signal through its shielding will be impossible."

"Continuing monitoring all frequencies, Ratchet." Optimus ordered. "Far more than Smokescreen's fate may be at stake."

"...I don't get it." Bulkhead said, still confused by it all. "How could Smoke be an Omega Key?"

"Perhaps he isn't the Key, but its container, as Michael had suggested." Ratchet replied.

"The other Iacon relics were sent to Earth in pods." Arcee pointed out, remembering that the recent ones that had been found had all been sent to the planet they now inhabited in identical pods, except for the one Key and the Star Saber. "Why not this one?"

"When the Decepticons stormed Iacon," Optimus began, gaining everyone's attention. "it may have been too late for Alpha Trion to launch the final Omega Key into Space. At least by standard means."

"So Smokescreen assumed everything went black because he was hit by Decepticons." Arcee said, realizing what had actually happened in Smokescreen's backstory.

"But Alpha Trion's the one who actually turned out the kid's lights." Bulkhead put in.

"It stands to reason that my mentor did not want Smokescreen to know what he was carrying in the event of capture."

"Which, unfortunately for him and us, happened anyway." Cliffjumper said.

"And with a mobile relic," Arcee said, catching what Optimus was meaning. "Alpha Trion couldn't possibly supply fixed coordinates."

"So the Big A slipped us a clue instead: Smoke's mugshot!" Bulkhead said, catching on.

"That's actually quite clever." Starscream admitted.

"The Decepticons got to Smokescreen first." Ratchet said mournfully. "I fear they had decoded the same clue."

At the same time as the Autobot's realization, onboard the Nemesis, Smokescreen awoke from unconsciousness, finding a very unwelcome faceplate very close to his own.

"Wakey wakey." Thundercracker said with a smirk.

"What?!" Smokescreen asked in shock, finally realizing where he was, and tried to escape, but he had been restrained, with his Phase Shifter being removed while he was unconscious. Smokescreen looked at his wrist, finding it gone, and looked at the seeker in anger.

"If you're looking for your Phase Shifter, it's right here." He said with a dark grin, showing his wrist to him, revealing that he was now wearing it.

"Enough prattling, Thundercracker." Megatron ordered, then he turned his attention to Smokescreen. "Hand me the final Iacon relic. Now."

"Yeah. I can't really help ya." The rookie replied, knowing that he didn't have it, unaware of the clue that had been discovered in his absence. "That's the only one I was packing." He added, eyeing the Phase Shifter.

"Soundwave." Megatron said, turning to his TIC, who brought up the now-loading image of Smokescreen's image that the Database had shown them.

"You got the wrong guy chief." Smokescreen said, knowing that nobody, apart from Optimus and the other Iaconian archivists, could get access to the database. "Optimus Prime's the one who can decode the Iacon Database.