Note: In its original printing in my fanzine Roll Out, this story was part of a crossover with another series running in the zine at the time (which will be continued as soon as I get that dang heating element for my Xerox machine :P). The other series, "Autobase Controllers" by Shaun McMichael, is about a group of Autobots and Decepticons who crashed on Earth several thousand years ago while searching for the Ark. The characters Dial, DeRolle, and Xevander were all created by him and originally appeared in that series.
Firestormers #6
By Trixter
"Something wrong, Trix?" Air Raid asked his teammate as the Firestormers took their positions around the bridge of the Starcruiser in preparation
for landing. Trixter had seemed vaguely sullen in the hours since they had rescued her from the Hub after their own escape from the Decepticon flagship Twilight, and as she sat down in the ship's pilot seat, he could see her dark thoughts decend almost like a cloud over her.
"You know, Air Raid," she said quietly, "no matter how long this war lasts, I don't think I'll ever get used to..." She paused for a moment, trying to think of the best words to convey her thoughts. "To killing someone. To taking another life."
"You still thinking of that Rook guy?" Afterburner interjected as he plunked down beside her in the co-pilot's seat. "It's not like you killed the guy with your bare hands or anything. It was an accident. And he would've killed you without a second thought. And he wouldn't have brooded over it afterward, either. The Decepticons would've probably given him a promotion or something."
"Cheer up, Trix," Strafe said from his position at the navagation controls. "We're about to land."
As they all settled in their seats, Trixter pushed a button and the main viewscreen on the wall in front of her lit up. A few more buttons and a picture of a light brown planet appeared. "There it is, guys, Procyon Five. That's where our mission is."
"Yeah, I checked the files on it earlier," Upstart chimed in from his "command chair" in the center of the bridge. "Just your average, everyday desert planet. I couldn't find anything interesting except for something about an Autobot research outpost there getting destroyed a few years ago. I'd guess that whatever the research team Prime sent us
to back up is here for, it has to do with that outpost."
The Starcruiser landed at the edge of the research team's camp, sending up clouds of sand around the makeshift asphalt runway. As the roar of the engines died down the door on the side of the ship slid open. Since he was the team commander, Upstart disembarked first. He found two Autobots standing beside the runway to greet the new arrivals. Upstart strode down the ramp from the shuttle. "Welcome, Firestormers," one of
them greeted. "I take it you are this unit's leader?"
"That's what they tell me," Upstart grinned. "And you're the ones in charge of the research team, right?"
"That's correct," she answered. "I'm Dharma and this," she gestured to her companion, "is Skids. And actually, we are the research team."
"Only two of you, huh? Well, I'm Upstart, and..." He turned back to the shuttle to introduce the rest of Firestormer Team Beta-5 as they came
down the ramp. "This is Afterburner, Air Raid, Strafe, and..."
"What the..." Dharma gasped, cutting him short. She stared up into the sky, a puzzled look on her face. They all looked up to see a bright
light slowly filling the sky from directly overhead. Just then Trixter came out of the shuttle muttering about sand and the Starcruiser's paint job and ran into Air Raid, who had stopped just outside the door. It was just enough to make them both lose their balance and send them toppling over the edge of the ramp into the loose sand below.
"Uh, Dharma? Skids? Does this sort of thing happen often here?" Upstart asked as he stared up at the light. Suddenly the light grew to a blinding brilliance, filling the world around them, then ceased altogether.
It took a moment for their optic sensors to readjust to the natural light level. "What was that?" Strafe asked, looking around warily. His hand twitched nervously as he wished for the gun he had left in the ship.
"Look!" Air Raid exclaimed, pointing to a diminutive blue form sprawled in the sand nearby.
Soon the entire group was gathered in a circle
around the newcomer. Dharma knelt beside the still robot. "It's a Transformer," she announced, examining him. "A Micro." He was laying on his side, so she gently turned him onto his back. "And an Autobot," she added, seeing the familiar symbol on his chest.
Trixter turned to find Air Raid staring at the stranger with a peculiar look on his face. "Something wrong?" she whispered.
"It's just, he looks almost familiar, and that light...I think I've seen that before. But a long time ago, I barely remember..." He turned to Dharma. "Well, how is he?"
"Except for a few minor injuries, he seems to be fine," she reported. "He's just unconscious. I noticed, however, that his Autobot symbol has a few minor variations from the modern one that date back at least a few centuries. It's very peculiar."
"Dharma is a bit of a history buff," Skids explained, smiling.
"His symbol may be an old style," Afterburner said, "but last I checked, exploding cuffs were a new thing." He pointed to the bulky pair of shackles around the Autobot's wrists.
Just then the wind took on a howling note, and Skids looked to the horizon. "I suggest we finish this inside. Sandstorms are frequent and violent on this planet, and it looks like there's one headed this way."
"So you mean everyone in that outpost was killed by something their own scientists cooked up?" Trixter asked in awe. "That's horrible!" The Autobots were seated around a round table in the center of the largest of the metal buildings of which the camp was comprised while Dharma and Skids filled the Firestormers in on the details of their findings. The back wall of the room was covered with communication equipment and the still-unconscious newcomer laid on a bench against another wall. The entire place was lit by a single gaslamp in the center of the table, and the flickering flame lent an eerie glow to the room, complimented by the howling wind outside the creaking walls. Outside the building the sun had been blotted out almost completely by the thick, swirling winds.
As Upstart had guessed, Dharma's and Skids' project involved the destroyed settlement. "It was a top secret weapons development base," Dharma told them, having to speak up to be heard over the storm raging outside. "Those scientists were the only ones there. It was built on this desolate planet in hopes of keeping it secret from the Decepticons."
"But just as we found the scientists' notes," Skids added, "we believe our communications code was cracked. That's why we needed you here, in case the Decepticons attack us to get those notes. In this case, knowledge truly is power. The weapon those scientists created was more powerful than they had expected, powerful enough to decide this war, and while I'm sure Optimus Prime would be more than reluctant to use such a thing, I'm afraid I can't say the same about Megatron, or for that
matter some of the other Autobots."
"So do we get to see this base?" Upstart asked.
"There's not much to see besides some sand-covered, bombed-out buildings," Dharma told him, "but if you want I can take you as soon as this storm dies down."
Just then they heard the newcomer moaning. All optics were on him as he sat up stiffly, then looked around the room slowly. "Where am I?" he
asked hoarsely, as much to himself as anyone else. "Or maybe I should ask when..."
The other Autobots looked at each other, unsure how to answer him. Finally, Air Raid spoke up. "It's Earth-year Ninteen-Hundred-Ninety-Seven," he said quietly, "and right now you're on
the planet Procyon Five, in an Autobot research camp."
"Air Raid?" the Autobot said, looking up at him in surprise. "I didn't expect to see anyone I know in the future..."
"What do you mean, 'future'?" Afterburner challenged.
"DeRolle said he was sending me to the future," he replied defensively. Fellow Autobots or not, the Micromaster was starting to feel intimidated, but he struggled not to let it show. He noticed then that his shackles had been removed, which made him feel a little more hopeful that they didn't intend to hurt him. From the puzzled looks on their faces, he realized he needed to explain more. "He was going to make me help some other Decepticon there, except I guess it's here now, but
thanks for taking off those cuffs. That future-Con sent them to him. Xevander, I think his name was. I think maybe he was gonna use them to
track me or..."
"Hold on," Trixter said. "Let's start with who you are and where you're from. Then we'll get to why you're here."
"Oh, yeah, my name's Dial. Originally from Cybertron, but I was last on Earth. I'm not sure what the Earth-year was then, but I'm sure it was a
much smaller number than ninteen ninety-seven. My team and a Decepticon team got stuck there. We were fighting and I got captured, then the head
'Con there, DeRolle, decided I'd be good guinea pig for some time-travel experiment he was working on. He sent me here to help that Xevander guy find where our ship crashed in this time."
They all looked at him for a moment, then at each other. "Well, what's the verdict, guys?" Upstart finally asked.
"I say we trust him," Trixter said. "His story's too elaborate- not to mention strange- to be a trick, and it does kinda make sense. Anyway, with a possible Decepticon attack on the way, we don't have much choice. We can work out the details later."
Meanwhile, unknown to but not unexpected by the Autobots in the camp below, a Decepticon shuttle eased into orbit around the planet. Misfire,
the ship's pilot, turned to the team commander, who was impatiently pacing the bridge. "Okay, Melee, we're in orbit."
Melee stopped pacing, sat down in her chair in the middle of the bridge, and turned to the copilot. "Ruckus, find out where the Autobot camp is and and how many of them are there," she said. She smiled gleefully. "Now I'll get to try out the new gun Megs gave me," she added to herself. She picked up a bulky rifle from beside her chair and pointed it at the planet on the viewscreen. "BOOM!!" she shouted, laughing and throwing herself back in the chair as if pushed by the rifle's recoil. Slugslinger and Darkwing exchanged exasperated glances.
"Okay, I've located the camp," Ruckus reported a moment later, studying the console before him. "I'm adjusting our orbit now. I'm only picking up eight 'Bots there, one of them just a Micro. No heavy artillery or anything. Should be easy enough to take."
"All right, then, here's the plan, guys: me, Slugslinger, Misfire, an' Darkwing will attack the camp while Ruckus gets the info for Megatron from the old base. Got that?"
Later in the day, Dharma and Upstart were hiking through the sand to the old Autobot outpost. They were nearly They were nearly to the main
entrance when they saw a brief flash of light in the distance. "That was a warp gate!" Upstart exclaimed.
"A huh what?" Dharma said.
"A warp gate. They're pretty much general issue for Firestormers. Maybe it's our reenforcements, c'mon!" He jumped into the air and transformed to jet mode, speeding off in the direction of the flash.
"Wait!" Dharma shouted after him. "What if it's..." She tried to run after him, knowing even as she started that it was useless in the loose sand. She switched to her Miata-style car mode instead, then folded her wheels in and rose off the ground like a hovercraft. A cloud of sand flew up behind her as she took off after him.
When Upstart arrived at the source of the flash, all he found was a large rectangular box poking out of the ground. It was taller than him and made of metal polished smooth by the blowing desert sand. He walked around it and found a square hole edged with fresh laser marks. On the ground were the charred and twisted remains of the grate that had been welded over the opening. Upstart stuck his head through the hole and found himself looking down a large vertical ventalation shaft that
disappeared into darkness a few feet below ground. He then reached down, picked up a handful of sand, and dropped it down the shaft. When he heard it sprinkle to the bottom just a few seconds later he jumped down the shaft himself.
Upstart landed hard and crouched there for a moment as the echoes faded away around him. He adjusted his sensors to the darkness and looked
around. He could make out a wall behind him and a T-shaped intersection where the short hall ended ahead of him. The metal of the walls, ceiling, and floor all had a charred, warped look. He finally stood up and took a step forward. The echo of his footstep through the metal-walled halls of the underground base startled him. He stood still and listened for a moment before taking another step, being careful not to make as much noise.
He crept quietly to the intersection and looked down the corridor to his left. He couldn't make out anything in the darkness, but before he could
look the other way he heard a voice behind him. "Turn around slowly, Autobot, and keep yer mouth shut." He felt a gun barrel being pressed against his back. He slowly turned around to find Ruckus nervously holding the gun on him. The Decepticon inched his way to the shaft, never looking away from Upstart. Suddenly there was a loud clang from behind him and Ruckus spun around. Dharma lunged at him. She grasped him by the head and he fell unconscious to the ground. Then she turned to Upstart.
"What were you thinking, coming down here alone!?" she scolded. "What if I hadn't gotten here when I did!?"
But Upstart wasn't listening to her. Instead he was staring open-mouthed at Ruckus. "How'd you do that?" he asked in amazment. "Was that like
some kind of Vulcan Death Grip thing?"
"He's not dead, he's just unconscious," she explained. "It's part of this special power of mine." As she leaned over the Decepticon, she asked, "Which hall did he go down?"
"Uh, the one on the right," Upstart answered, still gawking.
"Slag, then he probably has the notes stored in his memory. I had hoped I wouldn't have to do this." She carefully placed her hands on the sides
of Ruckus' head.
"Do what?" Upstart asked, watching her warily.
"I can interface and tamper with the memories of other Transformers," she explained. "I'm going to erase what he found from his memory. Now be
quiet so I can concentrate."
Upstart stood against the wall and watched in silence as Dharma went into a trance-like state. The minutes it took for her to find and erase the notes from his memory seemed hours in the tomb-like stillness.
Finally she stood up, looking a little pained. "There. He won't wake up for a couple hours, and when he does he won't remember a thing about
this place. Now help me get him back to the camp."
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