Transformers Prime: Dark Side of the Moon

Chapter 14: Occupation of Chicago Part 3

The ground bridge opened just beyond the city borders. The Autobots stared in shock; they had to stay behind and help with the evacuation of Washington, which only slowed them down. The world was in chaos, no one to assume command, leaving humanity's gate in the hands of the Autobots.

Right now, in their darkest hour, the next step was to improvise a plan.

"Holy crap, We came here to find Sentinel... in the middle of that?" Mirage said.

"We're going into that?" Arcee sounded dubious about it.

"No one's going in, unless we have a plan of attack," Windblade said flatly.

"Are you kidding?" Wheeljack couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I thought you were badass, Windblade. This is just ... it's a city that's been messed up by war! You've never been to places like that?"

"We've been to plenty of places like that," Mirage said. "But we got prep time, we got access to way more equipment than what we have with us, and—oh, yeah—we got a paycheck... except me, always".

As they argued, suddenly from behind them, Wheeljack shouted, "Incoming!"
A Decepticon fighter was howling through the air in their direction. Optimus hoped for a moment that it hadn't spotted them, that it was just hurtling past on its way to somewhere else. That notion was quickly dashed when the fighter angled straight down toward them and opened fire with a strafing run.

The Autobots scattered in all directions, and it was just Arcee's luck—or maybe it was by design—that the fighter appeared to be zeroing in on her.
"Scrap!" She yelled.
It chewed up ground behind her, and she knew that it was catching up. It was only a matter of seconds before it overtook her, and there was nowhere for him to hide.
And suddenly the fighter exploded, blown right out of the air.
The concussive force knocked Arcee off her feet, and she fell flat onto the highway. She covered her head to protect herself as huge chunks of the fighter bounced all around them. She saw the head of a Decepticon, the pilot, go rolling past, and—with the sound of the explosion still ringing- she and the others looked around to see where the blast that had destroyed the fighter had come from.

They couldn't believe it.

Ultra Magnus was standing ten feet away, smoke still wafting from the discharge of his arm cannon. Arrayed behind him were all of the Autobots from the base.

"Apologies in advance sir," Ultra said. "We needed to prepare ourselves before arriving, along with the Calvary".

"What Calvary?" Optimus asked.

Ultra pointed up in the sky. The Autobots couldn't believe it: the Ark was flying again.

"But your ship ... They blew it up ...," Windblade said.

Suddenly the voices of Elita, Bulkhead and Moonracer ringed through their comms.

"Hahahaha we fixed it, didn't we?" bulkhead said. "They got the idea to go back to the Moon and repair it. One booster rocket to separate later and bam!"

"Well done, you three," Optimus said.

"Thing was a bucket of bolts anyway," Elita said dismissively.

Moonracer agreed. "It has enough Energon to last a few weeks. Let's pray we'll use it wisely."

Optimus looked toward the city. There were explosions in the distance, and Ratchet watched with dismay as another building collapsed. As a medic, He hoped that there was nobody in it but was afraid he was wrong.

"If they're destroying the city," Optimus said, answering the unspoken question, "it's to make a fortress so no one can see what they're up to inside."

"Then I think I know how to get a look," Windblade said. She turned and pointed to the fallen alien ship. There were chunks of it all over the place, but a considerable portion of it was still in one piece.
"Can we sneak in with that thing?"