The Great Attractor: A Transformers/Mass Effect crossover

Chapter 15: The Phantom Frigate

The world spun around Alexis Thi Dang wildly; she felt herself being flung out into space by centrifugal force—no! Not again! She fell back against something solid, then tumbled head over heels down some slope or other—there were noises somewhere above her—unpleasant squeaks and squawks from metal surfaces rubbing together. For a moment there it seemed nothing more than the spinning wheel on an antique telephone answering machine—a high-pitched buzzer chimed sharply overhead while the floor turned beneath her feet until gravity was working in its proper direction once more...and now here came another sound that might have been heavy machinery struggling to restart itself after having stalled midstream.

It finally dawned on her where she must be – aboard a freighter flying over an Asari colony in the Attican Traverse; although their basic appearance had not changed much since they first began transporting people in commercial airliners during World War II, but for all the wrong reasons: when airplanes proved vulnerable as bombing targets to German fighters equipped with rockets, the US military found themselves desperately needing aircraft able to carry large cargo loads safely between certain U.S. cities without refueling stops along the way. Docking facilities became essential elements within passenger compartments attached directly to planes serving routes deemed too hazardous to allow them take off loaded. Passenger service restored after hostilities ceased did so using converted B-29 bombers under the Boeing Company's "Superfortress" designation (with names such as ††††XB5J1 & XE788). A series of subsequent contracts eventually led to production variants designated C-97 Stratofreighter rather than Superfortress among many others including - finally! —the highly successful Lockheed Constellation which provided services throughout most of its active life spanning nearly 50 years despite replacing three separate types of engines, four different power plants and even changing owners six times prior to becoming retired almost two decades ago.

<Starscream, what's going on?> Alexis texted into a datapad which the jet had given her earlier before sending her on this freighter that was supposed to take her to a Batarian smuggler actually willing to transport her and Starscream to Omega; however it appeared something was happening in the Citadel, now flooded by refugees escaping either the Decepticons or the Quintessons, which was making everybody nervous.

<Alexis, come down to the cargo hold. As soon as I can get into my jet mode, we can get out of here - it seems this freighter is under attack!> 

Alexis took her backpack and tried to get past the crowd of panicking, screaming refugees consisting of humans, Asaris, Turians and Salarians tumbling around, and there was a distinct sense of the freighter rapidly losing height. She rushed through a corridor and climbed a narrow metallic ladder down to the cargo hold where she spotted Starscream still in robot mode trying to open the main doors. "We've got to get out! Alexis, see that manual switch on your left?" Starscream looked visibly agitated but wasn't about to let fear take control of him.  

"I see it. The ramp should descend if I press this." Alexis did as she felt Starscream expected her to and tried to keep a safe distance from the opening doors as the air draught hit her face and blew her long black hair all over her eyes. Then she saw it: a peculiar, nearly ornamental alien warship encroaching the freighter which was dangerously close to crashing.

"Alexis! We must go!" Starscream had transformed into his jet mode behind her, and Alexis quickly climbed into the cockpit. Starscream accelerated out of the freighter so fast the g-forces could have crushed her but he took into account that a human cannot actually withstand the absolute maximum speed of most modern jets and avoided endangering Alexis more than necessary. The freighter, carrying dozens of refugees from the Citadel, crash-landed somewhere below them as Starscream did his best to escape the bizarre looking vessel.