𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫

Chapter 6

[Time Skip- Thunderhead Pass]

Inferna felt sick as she and the rest of the Wreckers went toward the location of their next mission- a place named 'Thunderhead Pass'. She tried calming herself as they drew nearer and nearer, the jagged peaks coming into view.

"Moonracer, Inferna. Go onto the top of the cliffs- you guys will be our eyes. Alert us where the cons' are coming from."

"Yessir," the two chorus, and split from the main group, heading up the tallest of the jagged peaks.

"You'll be fine kid," Moonracer said to Inferna. "Just follow my lead, ok?"

Both transformed back and took their positions behind a large boulder, where they wouldn't be seen. From her position, Inferna could see the entire valley below them, without using the scope on her blaster. So far, she could only see the Wreckers trekking through the gorge, and other Autobots coming in from the North, entering Thunderhead Pass. 

But, but no Decepticons in sight, yet.

She decided to use the scope to view the large group of Autobots. There were at least 400 of them, a red and blue bot leading them. Optimus Prime was his name Inferna remembered. 

Next to him was a familiar blue and red Autobot, and the 35 other Elite Guard members assembled behind him. Inferna retreated further behind the boulder, even though he couldn't see her from where she originally was. 

"What is it?" Moonracer asked. "Decepticons?"

"No," Inferna mumbled. "It's nothing."

She looked over at where Inferna was staring, noticing Ultra Magnus. "That's the Elite Guard commander, isn't it? You don't like him or something?"

"I told you, it's nothing."

Moonracer narrowed her optics, knowing something was wrong, but didn't pry anymore, turning her attention back to her job. 

A low rumbling sound came from the distance and Moonracer muttered obscenities. "Seaspray- couples of cons' coming your way. They're ground-based- gladiatorial corps mostly likely."

Inferna cringed. Though the Wreckers were recklessly brave and trained, going against the gladiatorial corps is certain suicide. 

"Do you know if there any other Autobot sharpshooters?" She asked Moonracer, who shook her helm.

"No, I don't."

"Then we need to comm the rest to get to higher ground and fight them from there! They can't fight hand-to-hand with them, they'll die!"

Moonracer scoffed. "You shouldn't underestimate them, they'll be fine. And besides, we can help from here."

She aimed at one of the gladiators and fired. Though there wasn't a visible wound, the gladiator collapsed, optics dark. 

Inferna turned to her, confused. "What-"

"High energy EMP bullets," Moonracer said before Inferna could finish. "Does the job pretty well."

Inferna turned her attention back to the battlefield, which was, of course, in complete chaos. She saw Ultra Magnus fighting off multiple Decepticons at a time with ease, his face blank and emotionless. 

One was approaching from behind silently, the commander too busy to notice. Inferna pointed her blaster at the con, firing. The con fell and didn't move again. 

Ultra Magnus briefly glanced up at where Inferna and Moonracer were, though he saw nothing. 

Inferna continued to watch over him from above, deactivating cons' who get too close without him knowing. 

Before she knew it, the battle was over. The Decepticon forces suffered massive casualties, so much so that the remaining cons' retreated. 

Inferna relaxed, sitting down and closing her optics. She had survived her first mission. Granted, she wasn't down where the real carnage was, but still. 

"Hey," Moonracer nudged her. "It's not over yet. We need to go down and meet up with the rest."

Inferna nodded and stood, following the teal and green femme down the rocky peak, feeling a little sick. 'I wonder how many Wreckers aren't coming back from this mission....'

They waited for a while at the base of the peak, waiting for the others to come back. Inferna grew agitated, starting to twitch. 'Did all of them get deactivated or something?'

Finally, the Wreckers, in their alt-forms, came towards them, transforming back into their bi-pedal modes. Leading them were Seaspray and Wheeljack, both of whom looked more annoyed than somber. 

Inferna went to Wheeljack, noticing his expression. "What happened?" She looked around, seeing that someone was missing. "Where is Bulkhead? Is he..."

"Dead?" Wheeljack laughed, though it sounded hollow and cold. "No, of course not."

"Then where is he?"

"Joined Optimus and his crew," Seaspray told her. 

Inferna was relieved that he wasn't dead, though disappointed that he left the Wreckers. But she had other problems to deal with. 

She noticed that a bunch of Wreckers holding broken weapons- some had only minor cracks and dents, while others were snapped clean in half somehow. 

Inferna sighed and collected the broken weapons from them. "We'll set up camp on top of the peaks to stay out of sight. I need to repair these weapons before we can go."

"How long with that take you?" Seaspray asked. 

"A few Joor's at most," Inferna replied, heading over to the empty battlefield. "I'm going to collect some other weapons from the battlefield and use the materials collected from those to fix these. I'll meet you guys up on the peak when I'm finished."

Without waiting for a response, Inferna headed over to the ruined valley, where the fallen soldiers laid. 'Hopefully, I'll be able to repair these... I don't even have the tools I normally use. Whatever, I'll just have to make do with what I have.'

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