Location: Jasper, Nevada
POV: Optimus Prime
The setting sun stretched long shadows across the desert ridge.
Optimus Prime stood motionless, the fading light reflecting across red and blue plating worn by war.
The evening air carried warmth — something Cybertron had long since forgotten.
"In the years since our arrival," he said quietly, optics fixed on the horizon, "this world has changed… and so have we."
Earth was fragile.
Yet it endured.
"Our human allies remind me of what we once were before the war. Divided. Uncertain. But capable of unity when it matters most."
He paused, watching distant lights flicker on in the small town below.
Before pride became tyranny.
Before brother turned against brother.
Megatron had not returned.
Stellar-Cycles had passed since his disappearance into the void. Many would consider that a victory.
Optimus did not.
Silence did not bring peace.
It brought unease.
"There is a stillness in the stars," he murmured. "And stillness often precedes conflict."
Ratchet's voice cut through the quiet via comm-link.
"Optimus, I trust you're not standing out there brooding again."
There was a faint crackle of static — and something almost fond beneath the irritation.
Optimus allowed the smallest incline of his helm.
"I was reflecting, old friend."
"Reflect later. We've picked up an Energon signature in the northern hemisphere. Large deposit. If we secure it, it should sustain us for several cycles." Ratchet continued. "If we secure it, it should sustain us for several cycles. I would rather not leave it unguarded."
Optimus turned his gaze upward.
The first stars were emerging.
Cold. Distant.
Watching.
"Understood. Prepare the GroundBridge." Emerald light tore open the air behind him.
For a moment, he remained where he stood.
The wind shifted.
A faint tremor brushed across his spark — not physical, not measurable. Instinct.
As though something vast had stirred beyond their sight.
Not merely Megatron.
Something greater was moving across the galaxy.
And Earth, fragile and hopeful, stood unaware.
Optimus stepped through the portal.
The GroundBridge collapsed.
The desert fell silent once more.
—
Location: Northern Hemisphere – Arctic Basin
POV: Optimus Prime
The GroundBridge collapsed behind him in a swirl of emerald light, its glow briefly illuminating the frozen basin before vanishing into the night.
Biting cold air rushed across his plating.
This region of Earth was silent in a way deserts were not. The wind did not howl here — it whispered. Snow drifted across jagged ridges of ice and fractured stone. Beneath it all, deep within the basin, blue light pulsed faintly.
Energon.
Raw. Ancient. Undisturbed.
Ratchet's voice came through the comm, sharper now that Optimus was on site.
"Deposit confirmed. It's deeper than we thought. Large concentration beneath the ice shelf. If we stabilise the extraction grid, this could sustain us for several cycles."
"Understood old friend." Optimus replied.
He stepped forward and knelt, brushing frost from the surface. The ice shimmered as faint blue veins glowed beneath his touch.
Hope.
Something he has not felt in a long time.
"Bulkhead, establish outer perimeter. Arcee, take the ridge line. Bumblebee, scan for seismic instability."
Bumblebee chirped in conformation.
Bulkhead transformed with a heavy crunch of snow and rolled outward before shifting back to robot mode, planting himself near a rocky outcropping.
Arcee vaulted effortlessly up the frozen slope, optics scanning the dark horizon.
Optimus rose slowly, surveying the basin.
Too quiet.
Ratchet had detected the Energon spike. That meant others could have as well.
"Readings are stable so far," Ratchet continued. "No Decepticon readings."
Optimus' optics narrowed slightly.
"Maintain passive sweep."
The first sign was not on scanners.
It was instinct.
A ripple across the snowfield.
A subtle tremor beneath his pedes.
Then—
Blaster fire erupted from the eastern ridge.
"Contact!" Arcee shouted as she rolled clear of a burst that shattered the ice behind her.
Three Vehicons descended from concealed caverns, rifles already charged. More signatures flared across Bumblebee's scanner.
"They were hiding under the shelf!" he transmitted.
Snow exploded as additional Decepticons burst from beneath the surface — eight, then twelve, emerging in coordinated formation rather than chaotic charge.
Optimus stepped forward.
Calm.
Centred.
"Hold formation," he commanded evenly. "Do not overextend."
Bulkhead intercepted the first pair, catching one by the torso and hurling it into a second with crushing force. Arcee fired precision shots from the ridge, disabling weapons before their owners could reposition.
But these Vehicons did not panic.
They advanced in staggered lines.
Testing angles.
Suppressing movement.
Optimus noted the discipline immediately.
A heavier unit rose behind them — modified armour plating, reinforced chest struts, dual cannons mounted along its forearms.
"Target Prime!" it barked.
Blaster fire converged.
Optimus advanced into it.
He deflected one blast with his energon blade, armour absorbing another. Snow vaporised around him as he closed distance in deliberate strides.
The first Vehicon lunged.
Optimus caught its arm mid-swing and twisted sharply, snapping the joint before delivering a controlled ion burst through its chest. He pivoted, using the falling chassis as cover against incoming fire, then hurled it into an advancing line.
The heavy unit charged its cannons.
Optimus did not retreat.
He accelerated.
The heavy fired its weapons.
Optimus dropped low, sliding across the ice beneath the blast. He rose within striking range and drove his blade into the cannon housing, severing one arm completely. The second cannon discharged at point-blank range—
Optimus caught the barrel with both servos.
Snow cracked beneath the force.
He twisted.
Metal shrieked.
The cannon tore free.
He drove his shoulder into the heavy's chestplate and forced it backward into the ice wall, fracturing both armour and glacier.
Behind him, Bumblebee disabled a flanking unit with a perfectly timed EMP blast. Arcee descended from the ridge in a blur, blades flashing as she dismantled a pair attempting to encircle Bulkhead.
The remaining Vehicons regrouped.
Optimus stepped between them and the Energon vein.
Unyielding
"You have lost, leave now," he stated evenly.
The heavy unit, damaged but functional, rose shakily.
"We were sent to observe," it replied.
Optimus' optics narrowed.
"By whom?"
No response.
Instead, the heavy triggered a retreat pulse.
The remaining Decepticons disengaged in synchronised withdrawal, dragging damaged units and laying suppressive fire to cover their exit. They did not scatter.
They fell back with precision.
Within moments, the basin was silent again.
Steam rose from shattered ice.
Arcee lowered her weapon first.
"That was random," she muttered.
Bulkhead nodded. "They didn't even try to win."
Optimus deactivated his blade, watching the direction of their retreat.
"No," he agreed quietly. "They came to confirm our presence."
Bumblebee's optics flickered.
"Like a probe?"
"Yes."
Ratchet's voice cut in, tension evident now. "Energy readings are still viable. But if they know about it—"
"They will report back," Optimus finished.
A long pause followed.
The wind shifted across the basin, carrying loose snow in slow spirals.
"Proceed with extraction," Optimus ordered at last. "Double the perimeter grid. They may return with greater force."
Autobot units moved to comply, deploying stabilisers and containment rigs across the glowing ice shelf.
Optimus stood at the centre of it all, optics drifting upward toward the night sky.
The stars were sharper here.
Colder.
Somewhere beyond them, forces were moving.
Megatron is among them.
Yet the Decepticons were not any less dangerous.
Optimus' spark tightened faintly.
The stillness he had sensed earlier had not been emptiness.
"Optimus?" Ratchet asked quietly.
"We will secure this Energon," he replied. "And we will remain vigilant."
His optics lingered on the heavens a moment longer.
Optimus turned back toward his team.
"Autobots," he said calmly, voice steady as stone.
"Complete the objective."
—
Location: Arctic Basin → En Route to Autobot Base
POV: Optimus Prime
The extraction rigs hummed as containment units sealed around the crystalline Energon vein.
Stabilisation fields pulsed outward in soft violet waves, cutting clean blocks of raw Energon from the ice shelf.
"Containment secured," Ratchet confirmed. "Begin transfer."
Bulkhead locked the final crate into position aboard the transport carrier and it is soon connected to his alt mode.
Bumblebee ran perimeter sweeps while Arcee remained on overwatch.
The wind shifted again.
Optimus did not need sensors to tell him.
The sky darkened — not with clouds.
"Multiple inbound signatures!" Bumblebee beeped. "Fast movers — high altitude!"
Optimus looked up just as red streaks tore across the stars.
Seekers.
Two he instantly recognises instantly.
"Starscream, Soundwave" Optimus contemplates for a second "Autobots defensive positions!"
They descended in tight formation, plasma cannons flaring as they strafed the basin. Ice shattered under the barrage, containment fields flickering as blasts struck dangerously close.
Bulkhead deployed an experimental shielding device across the transport while Arcee returned fire from the ridge. Bumblebee transformed mid-stride and accelerated, drawing aerial fire away from the Energon crates.
Optimus' optics narrowed.
Behind Soundwave, another jet rolled through the air with theatrical flair before transforming mid-descent and landing atop a fractured ice column.
"Did you truly think," Starscream sneered, wings flaring wide, "we would allow you to hoard such a generous discovery?"
Optimus stepped forward, planting himself between the Decepticons and the Energon transport.
"This is unnecessary. All we want is to leave." Optimus spreads a hand outwards "This war has gone on for too long, learn from the mistakes of Megatron, let us end this war."
Starscream laughs hysterically and wipes at his optics before speaking "Ever the optimist aren't you."
Soundwave moved.
Tendrils of dark cable lashed from his frame, striking with precision.
One snared a containment unit, attempting to wrench it free. Another fired a concussive pulse that knocked Bumblebee from his elevated position.
Optimus surged forward.
His energon blade ignited in a flash of blue.
He intercepted the cable mid-strike, severing it cleanly before closing distance with Soundwave in three powerful strides.
They collided with a shockwave that cracked the ice beneath them.
Soundwave's arm shifted into a compact sonic cannon at point-blank range.
Optimus caught the barrel just as it discharged.
The blast detonated against reinforced plating, throwing snow into the air in a blinding plume.
Optimus pushed through it.
Blade against armature.
Metal screamed.
Soundwave moved with fluid precision, avoiding overcommitment. He pivoted, using momentum rather than brute force. His free hand transformed into a vibro-blade, striking Optimus's shoulder joint.
Optimus deflected with his forearm and countered with a sweeping strike that forced Soundwave backward across the ice.
Neither spoke.
For the time for speaking was over.
Behind them, Starscream dove toward the transport, firing sustained bursts.
Bulkhead roared, tackling him mid-flight. The two crashed across the snow in a spray of ice shards. Starscream twisted free with agile contempt, slashing Bulkhead across the plating before leaping back into the air.
"You are as stupid as you look!" Starscream hissed.
"Maybe," Bulkhead growled. "But at least I'm not you!"
Optimus advanced again on Soundwave.
Soundwave tilted his helm, Optimus's blade nearly hitting its mark.
More Seekers descended.
This was a coordinated extraction assault.
Optimus shifted tactics instantly.
"Autobots, form on me!"
He disengaged from Soundwave with a powerful shoulder strike and positioned himself at the trailers flank.
Arcee covered the ridge with precise suppressive fire. Bumblebee rejoined formation, optics blazing with renewed focus. Bulkhead planted himself beside the transport's rear.
Starscream circled overhead, calculating and angry.
"Soundwave," he snapped, "if we do not secure it, destroy it!"
Soundwave's cannon charged.
Optimus recognised the threat immediately.
He launched forward before the weapon could fully cycle, slamming into Soundwave with enough force to drive both of them through a fractured ice shelf.
They crashed into a lower cavern in a cascade of snow and stone.
In the cavern, dim blue light from exposed Energon veins cast long shadows.
Soundwave rose first.
Optimus followed.
For a moment, silence.
Then they clashed again.
Close quarters.
No distractions.
Soundwave was a Gladiator comparable to Megatron before the war though he has lost his size it hasn't decreased his combat performance in the slightest.
Soundwave struck with cables and sonic bursts, attempting to destabilise Optimus's footing. Optimus responded with calculated, heavy strikes to limit mobility.
He drove Soundwave into a column of ice, cracking it clean through.
Soundwave retaliated with a focused sonic pulse that shattered the cavern ceiling.
Ice collapsed between them.
"Decepticons! Retreat."
Soundwave disengaged instantly.
He fired one final sonic blast to obscure visibility, then transformed and ascended through the collapsing cavern shaft.
Moments later, the Seekers' contrails faded into the upper atmosphere.
Silence returned.
Snow drifted through the fractured opening above.
Optimus climbed back to the surface.
The transport remained intact.
Damaged — but functional.
Bulkhead limped slightly.
Arcee's plating bore scorch marks.
Bumblebee stood ready, scanning the sky.
"They didn't stay to win," Arcee observed.
"No," Optimus agreed quietly.
Ratchet's voice returned over comm, tense but relieved.
"Transport readings are stable. You need to move before they reconsider."
Optimus looked once more toward the stars.
"Autobots Transform."
"And Roll out."