Shane Freak
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Chapter 551: Meeting
🕑 Added 2023-09-09 07:12:52 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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"Screech!"
Ratchet retracted his right hand, still emitting white smoke, and blew on the welded joint that had just formed. Then he said to Sideswipe, "The external injuries are fine, a few days of rest will do the trick!"
Sideswipe, who looked as cold as a warrior, appeared quite disheveled at the moment.
Ratchet had just reattached his severed arm, and there were wounds on his chest, back, thighs, and even his head.
Clearly, Sideswipe had recently been through a fierce battle.
"Thank you!"
Sideswipe flexed the newly attached arm a bit, as there were still some components inside that needed to consume the energy within his Spark for regeneration. His newly attached arm was not very agile.
Ratchet nodded in response, unfazed by Sideswipe's cold demeanor.
Turning to Optimus Prime, who was inquiring about the injured soldiers nearby, Ratchet wore an uneasy expression. "Leader, when will the new energon cubes arrive? We've been heavily engaged with the Decepticons recently, and without enough energon replenishment, many warriors won't be able to recover quickly."
Ever since Ironhide's patrol team discovered Decepticons in the Mariana Trench area, the Autobots had been embroiled in a battle for control of Megatron's remains against the Skytiger Legion.
In the past two weeks, the Decepticons had launched three waves of attacks, deploying a total of 37 Decepticons, including several high-ranking warriors. The pressure on the Autobot defense had been increasing, and Ironhide, Sideswipe, and others had already been rotated out for rest.
Facing the increasingly fierce onslaught from the Decepticons, Ironhide had taken a hit to the abdomen, while Sideswipe had lost one of his arms, a weapon he frequently used, in a battle with Surfboard. However, Surfboard had not emerged unscathed; Sideswipe had pierced his mechanical body with a blade before Surfboard managed to escape.
Optimus Prime frowned as he looked at the recently returned subordinates from the front lines. His expression was far from reassuring.
He hadn't personally commanded the recent battles in the Mariana Trench area because the U.S. military had captured images of Soundwave. It was clear that Soundwave, the intelligence officer of the Skytiger Legion, was considered a significant threat in Optimus Prime's eyes, second only to the elusive Starscream and even surpassing the enigmatic Lord Fallen.
Optimus Prime had tracked Soundwave and his team, nearly circumnavigating the entire Eurasian continent. Just when they were on the verge of capturing him, Soundwave abruptly entered Russian territory, forcing Optimus Prime to temporarily abandon the pursuit.
This was an unspoken agreement between the United States and Russia, as well as a fragile understanding between him and Sun Cheng.
Since the last failed attempt led by Ironhide to eliminate Decepticons that might be hiding in North Dovinsk, Optimus Prime had considered leading his team to confront Sun Cheng again. However, due to the significant distrust and pressure from the United States government and Sun Cheng's repeated gestures of goodwill, he had temporarily put that plan on hold.
Afterward, Russia had become a thorn in the sides of both the Autobots and the United States. They both wanted to resolve the situation, but they were hesitant to take action, constantly reminding each other not to provoke a conflict.
Thus, a stalemate had developed in Russia.
"The new energon cubes won't be here for another two months... The High Rack has already transported a batch of energon cubes from Planet VT-8. However, it's 184 light-years away from Earth..."
Since the end of the Second Cybertronian Civil War, the Autobots had lost all their bases on Cybertron Planet and were left with only a few Autobots who continued to operate as guerrilla forces, harassing the Decepticons. The main force had been forced to relocate to a Cybertronian satellite to resist the Skytiger Legion.
Losing Cybertron Planet meant that they no longer had access to supplies and energy resources.
In the past century, Optimus Prime had dispatched numerous exploration teams throughout the Milky Way, searching for the All Spark and seeking out the colonial planets established by Cybertron during the Ancient Council era.
Many of these colonial planets had been forced to shut down during the Cosmic Rust and two previous civil wars.
Among them, there were still many colonial planets with rich mineral resources. Some dying planets could even extract thermal energy from their cores and convert it into energon cubes.
Planet VT-8 is one of the closest colonial planets to Earth and has become one of the most important supply sources for the Autobots since its discovery.
"Two months..."
Ratchet looked troubled. The deep-seated enmity between the Autobots and the Skytiger Legion often led the Autobots to confront their enemies head-on when their traces were found.
However, the reality was that with more and more Autobots responding to Optimus Prime's call and arriving from various parts of the Milky Way to Earth, their daily energy consumption alone was becoming unsustainable. While Cybertronians didn't need to eat every day like humans, maintaining a massive mechanical body weighing several tons or even dozens of tons required constant energy consumption from their Sparks.
Especially after a battle, they needed to quickly absorb energon cubes to replenish their Sparks, as without sufficient energy, they might lose their ability to function, let alone heal their mechanical bodies.
In the past few weeks, in their efforts to prevent the Decepticons from taking away Megatron's remains in the Mariana Trench, the Autobots had engaged in several fierce battles. This had further exacerbated the already tense energy supply situation.
"Perhaps we should seek assistance from the humans!" Ratchet hesitated for a moment before making the suggestion to Optimus Prime.
"I object!" Sideswipe immediately rejected the idea, and Ironhide also shook his head in disapproval. "I don't agree either. Humans have never truly trusted us. They've repeatedly detained the Decepticon remains we've tried to eliminate and have been researching ways to deal with us!"
Although Optimus Prime advocated cooperation with humans, just as humans had never fully trusted them, he had never completely trusted the United States government either.
Optimus Prime was aware of what Ironhide mentioned, that the United States government had indeed been experimenting with Decepticon remains to develop weapons against these extraterrestrial beings.
However, without cooperating with the United States government, it would be very difficult for the Autobots, who had suffered two defeats in internal wars, to deal with the Skytiger Legion given their current strength.
Optimus Prime was hesitating whether to compromise with reality and expose such a significant weakness to the United States.
At that moment, a remote communication suddenly came from Bumblebee, who was still with the United States boy Sam, and Optimus Prime's blue eyes flickered intensely for a moment after receiving and reading the message.
"Leader..."
Ironhide and the others noticed Optimus Prime's unusual reaction. He waved his hand and said, "It's Bumblebee. He just sent a message from the United States!"
He glanced around at his Autobots and spoke with a heavy tone, "Frenzy managed to contact Bumblebee through the communicator left with Sam. He wants to talk to me in person!"
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 552: Going to the Meeting Alone
