A New Dawn - Transformers Prime (4)

Chapter Twelve

[Amanda]

The base was quiet, at least, the back halls  were. Jack and Miko ran laps around the main area, Raf was working on  decoding the database (which was proving to be more difficult than  originally expected), and Ratchet hooking Cam up to the world's  satellites. I was searching deep within the base, surveying the  different rooms. There was a kitchen, a couple bathrooms, but other than  that the rooms were empty. I pursed my lips, thinking about converting  the empty rooms into bedrooms when Ratchet's voice echoed through the  hall.

  "Amanda, you should see this," He said,  and I hurried into the main area of the base to see Raf and Ratchet  pulling up some information. Miko and Jack had stopped their laps,  taking a pause to also look at the screens.

  "We have the latest logs from the ship decoded," Raf reported, and hope filled my chest.

  "Full of good info, I hope?" I asked.

   Raf nodded. "According to the data logs, the ship has travelled all  over the universe, but never stopped in a certain place for long. The  longest stop they took was about a month, and the ship sustained a lot  of injuries during that time."

  "It would seem  that they were under attack or in battle," Ratchet continued. "The  records indicate that wherever the ship had been, there was a battle as  well. While it doesn't explicitly say that any lives were lost, the ship  itself wasn't able to make it far. Still, they set course for Earth."

  I nodded. "We know these are Valilorna's followers, so it would make sense for them to come here in their time of need."

  "It does?" Miko asked.

   "There are two main planets for Cybertronians to hunker down on," I  explained. "Earth and Cybertron. With Cybertron bustling now, Earth is  the only option for those who don't follow Primus. Plus, Unicron is our  planet's core, remember? They'd feel a pull to Earth even more than the  one they felt on Cybertron."

  Ratchet nodded,  confirming my logic. "Amanda is correct. Unicron's presence makes this  planet the idle location for Valilorna's supporters to create a refuge."

   I turned back to Raf. "But what else? The ship was damaged during a  month long stay on a planet within a decent distance of Earth, and flew  here, where it must have finally gave out. Do we know what happened  during that month? Or any details about the Cybertronians that made it  to Earth?"

  "We're still working on that month  trip," Raf answered. "But we can tell you that there were around 44  Cybertronians that jumped ship when it crashed. Most were soldiers, with  two tech experts, a medic, two commanders, and the captain."

  "Who was the captain?" I asked urgently.

  He shook his head. "Still working on the details."

  I sighed, rocking back on my heels. "Is there anything else?"

   "Well," Raf looked up at Ratchet, and the pair exchanged a look before  the younger boy looked back at me. "We have an idea about how the  Cybertronians have been undetected."

  "And?"

  "They're disguised as humans, all of them," he said. "And they're already worming their way into society."

  I chewed my lip while Jack asked, "What do you mean by that?"

   "I mean, they're planning to replace people in society that they've deemed  important," Raf explained somberly. "And according to what we've  uncovered so far from the records, they already have soldiers targeting some of  the biggest companies in the world, the military, and even the  government."

  We all fell silent as the gears whirred in my mind. This was worse than we could have ever imagined.

  "How'd they manage to do that so quickly?" I asked.

   "The same way the Autobots did when we first arrived on this planet,"  Ratchet said. "We knew nothing of Earth before we arrived, but within  moments of scanning the planet's information, we could communicate  effectively and blend in with our surroundings. It isn't difficult for  Cybertronians to assimilate with the societies of the planets we visit."

  "So they're already in the system?" Miko demanded, sounding a bit worried.

   "If they're aiming for the government and the military," Jack started. "What's  to stop them from getting nuke codes or starting World War 3?"

   The taste of blood tainted my tongue as I bit through my lip, and I  forced myself to stop and think. "Okay, listen up. I know we're at the  disadvantage here since we're trying to play catch up, but we can't let  that stop us. We're still the only things standing between Valilorna's  followers and their goal, and we need to act that way if we're going to  get anywhere near them."

  I turned to face the  computers. "Ratchet, Raf, I need you to focus everything you have on  decoding that database. I know the encryptions get more and more  complex, but we really need to know what we're dealing with and we need  to know soon. Any resources you need, I'll try everything in my power to  get for you."

  Then I faced the others.  "Miko, Jack, we need to get you battle ready. I know everything is  happening super fast, and I wish we had more time, but seems like fate  has other ideas. We'll focus on combat and weapons training for now, and  go from there."

  "What about the Cybertronians that already infiltrated the big leagues?" Miko asked.

   "I'll call Finn and tell him everything we've learned," I said. "He  has the contacts to deal with that sort of wide scale issue." Pursing my  lips, I scanned their faces, taking in their new determination. "We  keep this under control, and we'll be good. Everyone got it?"

  As they nodded, I silently hoped that my lastwords were true.