MENDED

Chapter six

"Every moment is a fresh beginning." —Nathan

{6}

It was the next day. Optimus and Fowler were at another military base, clearing up events of the day prior. Novalee spent her time with anyone she could after school. Miko would come an hour late because she had gotten into detention again. So it was just Novalee, Jack, Rafael, and the Autobots who were still here.

“Is there anymore of you guys out there?” Novalee had asked curiously.

“We were scattered to the stars when Cybertron went dark, we have no way of knowing if anyone is alive or not” Ratchet said.

“So did you guys have families like we do?” Rafael asked.

“Yes we did,” Stormbreaker said “Me and Elimpitha are sparkmates—your terms would be husband and wife. We had a little sparklet on the way before the war, she was born at the very beginning and was sent off like the other sparklings.”

“A sparkling is a baby—right?” Novalee asked.

“Correct, Nova’, and they are the most precious beings on Cybertron. However many of them were killed in a massacre. Many creators lost their sparklings during the launch because of the Decepticons” Ratchet said painfully.

“Did you have a family” she asked. Ratchet looked at Novalee and shook his head,

“No, I did not.”

“But you have us now”

“Do you have any stories about Cybertron?” Novalee asked.

“Yeah! We could learn more about you guys” Rafael said.

“We once had pirates long ago on Cybertron, back when our civilization was still building up. One cyber-pirate was very famous. His designation was Thundertrail, but everyone knew him as Thunder. His name struck fear in the hearts of sailors and the sight of his ship weakened even the bravest captain. Thunder was one of the most notorious pirates to ever sail the Sea of Rust. He knew Ankmor well, calling Ocracoke Island his home.

“This was the early years of the Cybertron. Cybertron's Sea of Rust was dotted with small villages and loading docks, and almost all travel and trade was done by ship. Piracy was rampant and passengers and sailors alike lived in constant fear of being attacked, robbed, kidnapped or killed by pirates.

“Thunder received his nickname because of his armor. He was a giant of a mech. They say that when he was preparing to attack a ship, he would have an assortment of pistols strapped to his chest—cocked and ready to fire. A broad cutlass and various daggers were at his sides. But the most frightening weapon was his appearance.

“Just before boarding the vessel that he was attacking, Thunder would take slow burning fuse matches and, with bright red ribbon, tie them in his hair and beard. When lit, these smoking matches gave him the appearance of the Devil.

“The residents of Ankmor complained to Governor Enigma of Old Kaon. He sent a ship out from Old Kaon, under the leadership of Catchafire, to capture or kill the pirate. On the morning of second cycle of searching, Catchafire spotted Thunder's ship in Ocracoke inlet. A terrific battle ensued between the two ships. A cannonball from Thunder's boat caused the Old Kaon vessel to become stranded on a sandbar.

“Thunder raised his flag, lit the fuse matches and pulled alongside. The sailors and pirates began fierce hand-to-hand fighting. Thunder and Catchafire found themselves face to face and drew swords. The pirate swung his cutlass and broke Catchafire's sword in half. But before he could run the young captain through, another sailor came from behind the pirate, drew his sword and swung with all his might.

“Thunder's grisly helm fell to the deck. After winning the bloody battle, Catchafire took the pirate's head and tied it to the bowsprit so that, as they sailed home, all could see that Thunder was dead. They took the pirate's body and threw it overboard. Legend says that this helmless body swam around the ship three times before sinking into the Sea of Rust.

“With Thunder's death, the end of piracy soon came to Cybertron. But to this day, they say that on early mornings at Ocracoke Island, you can still catch a glimpse of Thunder's ship sailing through the inlet to once again do battle” Elimpitha went on telling the tale of Cyber-pirates. The two twelve year olds were enchanted at the story. Their eyes held delight and awe.

“I like cyber-pirates!” Novalee said, jumping up from her sitting position and waved her arm around, pretending to be at battle. Rafael joined her, and they started to play a reenact of the battle of Thunder and Catchafire.

“Ay, mateys! There be one captain on this here ship!” Novalee said, pushing in an Scottish accent.

“Your terrible tain of this sea is over, Thunder!” Rafael said. The ‘Bots and Jack chuckled at the two. Their reenactment ended when Novalee dramatically fell over and played dead. Rafael stood over her and started to laugh, the young girl joined in as well.

“Optimus and Fowler should be returning soon” Ratchet said.

“Okay!” Novalee said.

“Then was a good show you put on, you two” Stormbreaker said, with a grin.

“Ah thought it was da real thang!” Jazz joked. Novalee blushed in embarrassment, but still gave them a toothy grin. The groundbridge opened, Optimus and Fowler coming through. Fowler was holding a tan folder with a small stack of paper on it, and his eyes were on Novalee.

“Nanc—Novalee. Through your family’s paperwork, i came across something. Are you aware you have a fraternal twin?” Fowler asked.

“A what?” Novalee said confusedly.

“An opposite gender twin—your brother” he said.

“I have a brother?” Novalee shrieked.

From Cybexx: I actually really like pirates and thought why not add them to this. The story is actually based off of Blackbeard and a lieutenant, the one that killed him. This is fun to write.