[Amanda]
With Ratchet monitoring the situation on his own, I decided to check up on things. Since I had my head in the book all day, I desperately needed an update on how things were going in regards of rebuilding Jasper.
"Everett Clovis of BeckIT speaking."
"Good afternoon, Mr. Clovis," I said.
"Miss Beckett! I was just getting some papers ready to send to you. There has been a lot of progress today."
That made me smile. "That's good to hear. Do you have any details for me yet?"
"The construction crews are about halfway done the houses on the north end of the town, while foundations have been laid in the east and south, and ground has been broken in the west."
My heart soared. "That's perfect. When are the west houses planned to be up?"
"Our goal was within the month, but based on our progress so far, it's looking to be around two weeks."
"Fantastic," I grinned. "Keep me as up to date as possible. I'll try to stop by the office soon, but-"
"Don't worry, Miss Beckett. We understand that you have a lot to do at the moment. I will continue to send you reports of our progress, and rest assured that this project is in good hands."
"I know it is. Thank you, Mr. Clovis."
I hung up, and turned to Ratchet. "Anything?"
"They have recovered four carries of energon," the medic replied. "But we can only receive one at a time in order to keep the ground bridge stable."
Getting up, I moved towards the edge of the platform. "And there weren't any troubles?"
He shrugged, opening the ground bridge. "I suppose we will have to wait and see."
Bumblebee came in first, pushing a massive cart full of energon. I ran down the stairs and used my powers to engulf it before moving it into our storage section of the base. Bumblebee buzzed a thanks and dashed back through the ground bridge. Arcee came through next, followed by another trip by her and Bumblebee.
"That's the last of it," Arcee declared and Bumblebee buzzed happily. "Yeah, we did get quite a bit."
"There wasn't anything weird when you got there?" I demanded. "I don't know, something greenish?"
"There really wasn't," Arcee said. "The Cons guarding the place were minimal, and I don't think the others ran into trouble while we brought over the energon."
Bumblebee shrugged, buzzing in a confused tone.
"But I thought..." I frowned. Where had that bad feeling come from? I allowed my powers to drift back to the location of the energon when suddenly, I felt a burst of energy shoot through my powers, making me recoil.
"Something happened," I announced, looking straight at Arcee and Bumblebee. "You should get back there right now. There was a massive burst of energy, and that's what the green tinge was from." They looked confused. "That's the bad thing! Just go!"
They both nodded and hurried through, and as they disappeared, I turned to Ratchet.
"Contact Optimus," I said urgently. "Find out if everyone's okay."
The medic nodded, turning back to the comms. "Optimus, we're detecting an energy surge. Is everyone alright?"
"There was an explosion in the mine," Optimus' voice filled the base. "I fear it may have been caused by whoever, or whatever Ultra Magnus and Wheeljack encountered while investigating the cave. We are currently attempting to enter, but the entrance is blocked."
"Keep trying," I urged. "Whatever Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus are facing... Optimus, they're in deep trouble."
"Understood." There was a click, and the base went silent.
"I suppose now we wait," Ratchet sighed.
I slumped to the ground. "I hate waiting."
"That's where we can agree."
The comms crackled to life again, this time Bulkhead's voice coming through. "Ratchet, we need a ground bridge."
The medic opened one, and I looked up as four Autobots marched through. "Where's Optimus? Did you get to Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus?"
Arcee stopped in front of me, shaking her head. "Optimus went in for them, and he told us to get back to base. It was a quick in and out." She turned to Ratchet. "He said the moment he was in the air, he would need a bridge."
Ratchet nodded seriously, fixing his eyes on the screen. I chewed my lip, feeling the similar waiting anxiety I always got whenever Optimus or any of the Autobots were out there. The four Autobots huddled around Ratchet, all watching Optimus' icon on the screen very closely.
"Now!" They suddenly shouted.
"I know!" Ratchet shouted back, opening the bridge. Optimus flew right through, holding Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus, who were both unconscious.
"Into my lab," Ratchet hurried forward, with Bumblebee and Arcee following to help the medic set up. Optimus gently set Wheeljack down on one table before setting Ultra Magnus down on the other. Ratchet started doing medical scans as I stood and walked to stand next to Optimus.
"What happened?" I asked.
"The Predacon appears to be more similar to us than we imagined," The Prime said. "It seems that his beastly appearance is his equivalent to a vehicle mode."
"No way," Bulkhead said, his words very Miko-like.
I glanced at the wrecker. "It makes sense actually. Cybertronians are all built the same, even if they have different outward appearances. Overall, Cybertronians systems are identical, just modified to fit."
The Autobots all gave me a shocked look, except for Ratchet, who just nodded.
I shrugged sheepishly. "I've been reading."
~~~
Wheeljack came to first, and he was okay. Sure, a little beat and bruised, but his recovery would be swift. Ultra Magnus... well he was another story.
According to Wheeljack, the commander had been trying to grab the Forge of Solus Prime to beat back the Predacon, when the Predacon stomped hard on the commander's hand over and over again until the metal gave way and crumpled. I sat next to Ultra Magnus' injured arm, using my powers to close the wounds and take the pain. By the time the commander finally came to, about an hour after first arriving, I had already sealed up the wounds and was currently trying to soothe the pain.
The commander opened his eyes and first saw Optimus by his side, and that's when I realized how close the pair really were, despite their differences in leadership style. Then Ultra Magnus looked down at his injured arm, his gaze first confused, then remorseful.
"Ratchet and Amanda will take good care of you," Optimus assured him, but Ultra Magnus didn't look too convinced. He lifted his arm, causing me to lift my silver dust as well.
"Careful," I said, but not harshly at all. "I just sealed the wounds. You'll need to really rest it."
He dropped his arm, allowing me to refocus again, and this time there was admiration in his gaze towards me. I'd always gotten the sense that Ultra Magnus had something against me, but I could see that wall going down.
"Magnus fought like a wrecker today," Wheeljack said, and there was respect in his tone.
But Ultra Magnus didn't seem to register that as he turned to the Prime by his side. "Optimus... when we spoke earlier... what could be greater than an army?"
"A human concept," the Prime replied. "One I have learned since coming to Earth." He looked across the table at me, our gazes locking. "A family."
[Elsewhere]
"What is this?" Starscream gasped at what was before him in the ruins of Shockwave's lab, which the Autobots successfully blew up.
"Pure Cybertronian cybermatter," Shockwave replied. "Not unlike that which once existed upon our primeval homeworld."
"Or that which engendered my citadel here on Earth." Megatron mused. "The result of the explosion?"
Shockwave nodded. "Indeed, yet the cybernucleic acid alone cannot account for these cyberforms. All possible logic points to the presence of two unexpected variables; synthetic energon and the essence of a goddess."