Transformers The Hatchling

Bitter victory

No POV

While the battle raged outside Earth's orbit, the kids had made their way into the Texas Array's satellite building, finding an empty office to use as a base of operations. Raf immediately went to work, his fingers flying across the keyboard as the others stood nervously by. The weight of the mission weighed heavily on them all, but the knowledge that they had to succeed was a constant driving force.

"I'm in," Raf said, a hint of excitement in his voice. "And so are the Decepticons."

Jack leaned over Raf's shoulder, squinting at the computer screen, confused. "What? How can you tell?"

Miko, just as clueless, stepped closer, her brows furrowed. "What's going on?"

Raf tapped a few more keys, bringing up the schematics he had seen before, the same alien math he had briefly glimpsed on the Decepticons' ship. "These are the schematics from their systems," Raf said, his voice steady despite the gravity of the situation. "But this time, I can download them." He plugged a small memory stick into the computer and began transferring the data.

"It's gotta be the space bridge," Miko said excitedly, catching on to the significance of the information. "The Decepticons are syncing it to the dishes, but I can sync to them."

Jack frowned, still concerned. "Will they know?"

Raf shook his head, a confident smirk on his face. "Even if the Decepticons see that I'm in their system, they won't know I'm in the building. They'll think I'm still in the network."

Just then, unbeknownst to them, Soundwave was in a room nearby, already locking the space bridge onto Cybertron.

"They're locked onto Cybertron, but not for long," Raf muttered, his hands flying over the keyboard. With a few rapid commands, he broke the connection. The coordinates flickered on the screen as the satellite network shifted. A brief moment of celebration went through the room as the kids realized they had succeeded—at least for now.

"Got it! The Decepticons are cut off!" Raf said triumphantly.

However, Soundwave quickly realized something was wrong. Seeing the sudden change in coordinates, he immediately started scanning the security cameras for the source of the glitch. As he traced the source, his tentacle extended out, snaking its way through the building, intent on stopping the kids.

"The dishes are heading back to Cybertron!" Raf said, panicked. "I'll just undo that again."

But just as the kids were celebrating, they failed to notice the ominous sound of the tentacle creeping into the room. Jack, with a growing unease in his gut, asked, "What happens when the Cons realize they're being punked?"

Raf didn't look up from the screen, trying to maintain his calm. "It's only virtual combat. You know, like online gaming," he said, trying to reassure Jack.

Miko, attempting to lighten the mood, laughed. "Yeah, Jack, what are the Cons gonna do? They're probably, like, a thousand miles away."

But just as she finished speaking, the sound of quiet clicking and whirring filled the air. Jack's eyes widened in alarm. "Miko, look out!"

The kids turned, just as a massive tentacle lashed into the room, wrapping around Miko and Jack, pulling them away from the computer with alarming speed. Both kids screamed, their hands desperately trying to grab onto anything to stop the pull.

Raf, still typing furiously, looked up, trying to ignore the chaos unfolding around him. "I won't let them lock on again!" he declared, refusing to give up, even as the tentacle threw Miko and Jack to the side. Raf quickly grabbed the memory stick, clutching it tightly as the computer was smashed to the ground.