Ratchet's POV
I shifted patiently, waiting for anything that the others might tell me about what's going on. Had they restored Cybertron yet? Did the Decepticons get them? What's going on over there?
"Ratchet, please open a spacebridge." Optimus ordered, his voice emotionless.
I quick did just that. I didn't know whether to take his emotionless voice as his normal voice because we won or as his we failed voice.
Everyone walked through and I looked at them, nervous excitement running through me.
"What happened!? Did you do it!?" I asked and when no one said anything I panicked, "Say something!"
Bulkhead and I made eye contact before he looked away again painfully, "Optimus destroyed the Omega lock."
I gasped and looked at Optimus, "How- why- how-?"
"He didn't have any other choice. Megatron was about to Cyberform the Earth. It would have killed everyone here." Arcee defended half-heartedly.
I shook my head and looked away, disappointment swelling through me.
"Optimus, we needed that." I whispered.
He put his hand on my shoulder comfortingly, but I shrugged him off and walked back to the computer.
The monitor beeped, "Prime! Th4 Pentagon is preparing to go deathcon 1. I need to know what we're dealing with!"
Optimus frowned and walked closer, "To what do you refer, Agent Fowler?"
"Maybe you should take a look out your window." He suggested.
We all exchanged glances and headed for the elevator, our eyes widening when we saw the giant cybertronian fortress.
We walked forward some to get a better look at it as Agent Fowler's helicopter landed next to us and he ran over.
"Megatron has completed the first step in his invasion of Earth. Completeing his fortress." Optimus stated.
"In Jasper, Nevada? Why? I already evacuated the town, there's nothing and no one here except..." He trailed off.
"Uh oh." Bumblebee said, pointing out the Nemesis approaching.
"Because they have discovered the location of our base." Optimus realized.
"We've got bogies. 12:00."
I searched for the voice and saw Kat leaning against a rock, shadows blanketing her as she looked through a pair of binoculars at the ship.
"Into the base, quickly!" Optimus ordered.
I grabbed Kat so that she would not strain her short, human legs to follow after us. She scowled, but didn't protest as the elevator lowered.
"Where is Fowler?" Smokescreen asked.
"He seems to think he can hold them off! He just rode into an armada alone!" Bulkhead exclaimed.
"He's stupid, but not that niave. Fowler must have a plan of some sort." Kat replied.
We entered the room and the children looked at us worriedly.
"What's going on?" Jack asked.
"The Decepticons have invaded Jasper and are attacking the base." Optimus answered.
"That's not good." Miko stated.
I put down Kat next to them as the monitor beeped.
"Prime! Reinforcements just arrived." Fowler announced.
"Agent Fowler, your military cannot-"
"You didn't think I was going to let Team Prime have all the fun, did ya?" Wheeljack asked.
I groaned as Bulkhead laughed, "It's Jackie!"
"Who?" Kat asked.
"Bulkhead's wrecker friend. He's very irresponsible." I explained.
"But a good warrior." Arcee added.
"Ratchet, prepare to bridge everyone out of here." Optimus's decided.
I turned around in surprise, "We're abandoning base!?"
"The base is lost. Wheeljack and Agent Fowler can only buy us time to escape. Bumblebee, Rafael, you will depart first." He decided.
"You're splitting us up!?" Raf asked in shock.
"Shouldn't we stick together?" Jack questioned.
"All for one and one for all." Miko added.
"We must disperse to avoid capture until we can regroup and launch a counterattack. Survival is our only priority now." Optimus told them.
I looked down in defeat.
"We haven't much time. Ratchet, set the groundbridge. Everyone transform and gather your charges." Optimus ordered.
"Hold on, I'm going with Miko." Kat said, sidestepping Smokescreen's hand.
Smokescreen pouted and Optimus shook his head, "The Decepticons now know who you are. To avoid discovery, it is best that you split up."
She glowered, "The only reason I'm here is for Miko. Don't doubt my abilities to keep us under the radar."
"I don't doubt your abilties, but as long as you are here, you will abide by my orders." Optimus told her.
She glared as Raf and Bumblebee disappeared through the groundbridge. Arcee and Jack pulled up to it behind them.
"But you will not go with Smokescreen."
Smokescreen scoffed, "What!?"
"All medical patients are Ratchet's temporary charges. You will go with him. That's an order." He said sternly, nodding to Arcee as she drove off.
"I've listened to your orders only because it allowed me to protect Miko! This is not me protecting her!" Kat growled.
"No, but when we unite again, you may do that, unless you wish to break two out of my three terms of staying here." Optimus said, "Ratchet. Transform. I will man the groundbridge from here."
Optimus nodded to Bulkhead and he raced through the groundbridge with Miko before Kat could protest further. Kat snarled angrily.
"Get in. Now." I flung my passenger door open.
She sent Optimus a withering glare, "I won't forget this, Prime."
I quickly drove through as she got in and we passed into a frosty terrain. The groundbridge disappeared behind us and we were left in an uncomfortable silence.
Her anger was understandable. I feel that way about Optimus all the time, but I usually regret it. It hurts him to know that someone he cares about it is upset with him. He cares so much for all of us.
"He's trying to protect you." I stated.
Kat's angry eyes shifted into two emotionless holes and she stared out the window, watching the snowflakes drift down slowly. We needed to take cover.
"I don't want or need his protection. I came here with one purpose. One purpose only and he just shot it out of the sky." She growled.
"You may not realize this, but you aren't invincible, Kat. You might not need as much protection as the other humans, but you do need protection. Whether you want it or not." I told her.
Her fingers curled in her lap, but her eyes stayed fixed on our terrain. There wasn't another word spoken until I found an old and broken barn.
The snow had begun to pick up, making it slightly difficult to see. Luckily, that also meant I could transform.
I pushed the doors open and looked around. There were two small holes in the roof and it was kind of short, but it would do.
Kat and I stepped inside and I kept my head low to avoid hitting the top.
"This is underwhelming." I grumbled.
"Could be worse." She shrugged, "We could have not found shelter at all or we could have blown up in the last base."
My thoughts drifted to Optimus and I frowned. I should have at least apologized for blaming the destruction of the omega lock on him before I left.
"What do we do now?" I asked, sitting down.
"Monitor the Decepticons, come up with a plan for counterattack, and locate the others." She decided, pulling out a tablet.
"For someone whose sole purpose was to protect her sister, you seem very intent on helping us fight a doomed war." I noted.
Kat let out a sad sigh, "Yeah, well, I owe you one."
"Getting this involved in the war is not 'one'. It's sacrificing yourself for no good reason."
Kat raised an eyebrow, "'No good reason' is a very good reason."
I scoffed, "Right. And how do you suggest we do any of that?"
Kat smiled, "I planted bug, cameras, and trackers all over the Nemesis, as well as Megatron and Starscream. It should only take a few hours to hack through their shields and locate them. No doubt they're searching for the bots as well and I'll transfer a signal into their computers and they'll lead us right to them."
"You say that you can hack through their shields like you think you actually can." I rolled my eyes.
"You bots are constantly underestimating me. Don't you ever get embarrassed?" She asked lightly.
I huffed, "You're cocky."
Kat smiled and looked down at her device, "How often do you need energon?"
"I should be fine for a few days if I conserve energy, but if you really want to find the others, we're going to have to drive a lot."
Kat shook her head, "The Decepticons have a groundbridge, no matter what we do, we'll never beat them on foot... or wheels and I can't call in an jet, so thr only way to get even is to build a groundbridge."
I laughed humorlessly, "I told you I had no idea how it worked, just the basics. Even if you somehow found a way, we don't have energon to power it."
Kat's smile seemed even more smug now, "I did find a way to build one. Without energon."
I scoffed, "Impossible."
She looked back down at her tablet before swiping and creating a giant holographic blue print. My eyes widened as I examined it.
"By the Allspark. You're a genius!"
Kat nodded, "Obviously. Now, I need to work on hacking into the Nemesis. Do you think you can work on the groundbridge?"
I took another glance at it before nodding, "Certainly. I'll need to go get supplies, my holoform is mostly complete. Do you have any money on you?"
"What kind of question is that? I carry over 50 pounds of gear on me at all times. I'm always prepared." She laughed, pulling two ziplock bags out of her boots and tossing them to me.
Maybe we weren't so doomed after all.
Word Count: 1623