Cybertronian Civil War Part 9: Cheetor’s Arrival

[7Knight-Wolf]

Warning--a lot happens inthis chapter! ~7K-W
*************************************************************
Cybertronian Civil War Part 9: Cheetor’s Arrival

(Recap: Divisions of Cybertronians start a war, blaming each other for recent Terrorist attacks. Maximals Topazor and Springer and human Chris go to Earth to find the real identity of the Terrorists. On Earth, the team meets Maximal Cheetor, and humans Jessica and Ben. Ancient hero Rattrap is the only bot aware of Terrorists’ identity. Rattrap is somewhere on Cybertron.
************************************************************

Cheetor leaves in search of a spacecraft to get Topazor and his friends to Cybertron. Topazor wonders about Cheetor’s secret studies on Earth. Ben blames Chris for recent destruction. After Jessica also reveals unresolved anger at Chris, the humans witness a Terrorist air-raid on Earth.)

Five minutes after the air-raid near Walden, Topazor, Springer, Ben, and Chris gathered in the storage room of the café. The eating room was filled with panicking customers. Jessica was trying to calm down the costumers.

“What did you see exactly?” asked Ben.

“Cybertronian ships,” answered Chris. “They used plasma-balls to destroy the town which is a few miles from here. The plasma balls are only made by one company—Crowe Mercenaries: the guys who sold the weapons to the Terrorists.”

“You’re very observant,” said Topazor.

“I’ve learned how to handle myself,” answered Chris. “Cybertron will do that to you.”

“Now look, we’ve got to put these fires out,” said Ben in a get-down-to-business voice. “Time is money. There’s a stream a few miles west of here. We can use the water.”

“Why don’t we use the water from the reservoir here?” suggested Springer.

“No good,” answered Chris, “we might need that water to survive, depending on how long we’re cut off from the big cities. If you bots are fast, you can get there, set up some water pumps and try to put out the fire. I’ll go with Topazor and Springer.”

Ben looked a little surprised at his younger brother’s intelligent plan of action. “I’ll round up some citizens and tell them to bring all the extra garden-hoses they have,” stated Ben. “It’s a crazy idea, but it’s our only option.”

“I like crazy,” said Springer.

And it wasn’t long before Topazor, Chris, and Springer had set up two or three big water pumps taken from swimming pools and basements. After that Ben, who was much more capable than he looked, arrived with the hoses. The robots were better equipped to spray the fire with the tubes, but it was the humans’ job to attach the hose-lines to each other. Soon yards upon yards of pool and garden hoses were stretched out, spraying water on the fire.

“It isn’t working!” shouted Topazor. “The fire’s spreading too fast!”

Chris shook his head. “Ben, trained firemen sometimes have to work for weeks to stop a single forest fire. Topazor is right—we can’t stop it.”

“How about we all drop what we’re doing and perform a rain-dance?” Springer joked.

“There isn’t a cloud in the sky,” Chris groaned, exasperated. How could he save his county? Save his brother? Save Jessica? “Wait, Springer, you’ve got the right idea,” Chris announced suddenly. “We’re not doing a rain dance, but you natural water is the only way to stop the fire. If it won’t rain, we’ll have to make our own flood.”

Ben nodded. “Good thinking. Topazor, Springer—I need some manpower over here. Dig a trench from the stream all around the fire. Make it wide as possible. I’ll get the guys to grab some shovels.”

Topazor dropped the hosepipe he was carrying and growled in frustration. “As crazy as this sounds to you humans, we robots can’t do EVERYTHING! How are we supposed to just make a trench appear?!”

Springer was already digging. “Just get working, Tope!”

“But this is impossible!” Topazor growled. “It’s illogical.”

Springer was frustrated too. “Everything has to be logical to you, doesn’t it? Or are you just afraid of getting your hands dirty, Mr. Politician?”

Sparks were flying. But before Springer and Topazor really got down to fighting, Chris showed up driving a farmer’s plow. It was not an uncommon machine in this rural county. The robots and the men watched as Chris started to drive around the fire area, making a trench behind him which filled out with water from the stream.

Ben picked up on the genius idea and ordered his men, “Everyone with a plow-tractor, get in and follow Chris! We need wide trenches to stop this fire!”

By sunset the trenches were all the way around the fire and started coming back to Walden. Everyone was absolutely exhausted. Topazor noticed the darkening skies beginning to cloud over. “Well,” he said, “our trenches will slow the fire. It looks like it might rain tonight, and that will finish the job.”

“Where’s Chris?” asked Ben suddenly.

Just then, a bunch of men arrived carrying Chris. Ben ran over and helped lay Chris down on a stretcher. “What happened?” he demanded.

“He cut the trench a bit too close to the fire,” explained a man. “The flames made his tractor overheat; we barely got him out before it broke down. He’s got some nasty burns, but he should be fine.”

Then everybody began filing toward home. They had saved the county, and everybody knew it was because of Chris. Ben stood over his little brother and said, “Hey…that was good thinking. You were a hero today. The whole county is proud of you.”

Chris wished that Ben would say “I’m proud of you, too.” He slipped out of consciousness.

Later, Topazor said, “Things down here on earth are just as bad as up on Cybertron. Well… whatever happens, we shall face it. These people have charged us to help them, and Topazor, for one, shall prove worthy of their trust.”

“You sound just like your Dad,” Springer chuckled.
*******************************
Chris woke up and saw Jessica leaning over him, holding a damp rag. He sat up and felt burning pain on his face and arms.

“Good morning,” said Jessica. “How do you feel?”

“Okay.” Chris got up and looked in the mirror which hung on the wall of this small room in Ben’s ranch-house. Chris saw a nasty red burn below his left eye; there would be a scar. His hands were scratched up too, but they would heal quickly. “Well, at least you’re not hurt,” Chris said to Jessica. “Why is it you always get out scot-free while I get burned? This time literally?”

“Well, I am the Pizza Queen,” Jessica answered with a laugh. “…Hey, If things ever straighten up, we should go hit the pizza place again…together.”

“Yeah, and actually pay for the food,” added Chris.

Topazor overheard the conversation from outside the room. For some reason, he thought of Miratron. Topazor wondered what had happened to her. Was she safe? Was she fighting up on Cybertron for the Maximal Reformists? Topazor would have liked to see Miratron again.

Just then Ben rushed in the room. “We gotta situation,” he said quickly. “I sent a couple guys to look for survivors in the burned town nearby. They brought back a robot—definitely Cybertronian. He’s a little singed. When he wakes up, we’ll have to question him.”

Chris got up and went quickly out the door. Topazor and Springer watched. “Chris sure has got things in his own hands,” remarked Springer. “I guess I was wrong about him being a helpless little shrimp.”

“Maybe you were wrong about humans in general,” said Topazor.

When the new robot woke up, Topazor and Springer came in to see him. To their surprise, the bot was known to them. He was a young, slim, blue-and-brown Maximal with a bat for a beast mode.

“Nightscream!” said Chris, astounded. Nightscream, Chris’ mercenary friend, was back!

“Where’s Miratron?” asked Springer and Topazor in unison. Both were eager for news of her.
But Nightscream was badly damaged and could not speak. Ben ordered that Nightscream be put in the CR-chamber.

“It won’t work!” growled Chris, frustrated. “The air-raid blew the power to the Chamber. Ben, isn’t there a spare mecho-battery?”

Ben shook his head. “No. We’ll have to find another way to power the Chamber. How about energon? I’ll send a couple guys to find some. Supposedly there’s energon up in the canyons, but it’s raw.”

“You want us to look for raw energon?” asked Topazor. “I’ll go, sir. Springer had better stay; he doesn’t have a beast-mode.”

Topazor took off flying in beast mode. Although he was thinner, more metallic, and more of a blue color, Topazor looked like his father Silverbolt as he soared above the canyons. The wind rose up under his wings and blew wildly between his outstretched talons. With his extremely good _ circuitry, Topazor could detect energon by smelling it. Very soon, the avian wolf had found the energon in a cliff-side cavern.

As he stooped to pick up some of the crystals, Topazor heard a noise and simultaneously felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned around and saw a troop of men, all holding guns. Topazor had been hit in the back; but the bullet, which could not penetrate his robot armor, did no mortal damage.

The leader of the men, a brawny man with red-brown hair, brandished his gun. “Hey wolfy, this is OUR energon.”

“But I need this energon—” began Topazor.

“However,” interrupted the man, “I might be willing to negotiate. How much will you give for some of this crystal?”

Topazor was puzzled. “You want to trade? Well, before I do any trading, tell me who you are.”

“We’re survivalists,” answered the man. “I’m Russell, and these are my men. We’ve become aware of the desperation which has stricken this area of Australia—so we’re doing what we’re best at. Business. We’re staking out these canyons and selling supplies and energon.”

“And where do you get these…wares from?” asked Topazor.

Russell’s unshaven face broke out into an amused smile. “Where did we get our booty? Well, we get it from anybody who carries it. Rob the rich to feed the poor and all that.”

But Topazor had a suspicion that Russell would steal from anybody, not just a hoarder. Russell and his gang were road thieves. “What do you want in exchange for the energon?” asked Topazor, trying to avoid a fight.

“Depends on what’chya got,” Russell rejoined. “I’ll have to talk to my guys. Excuse me for a sec.”
Topazor watched as Russell and his gang huddled. If Topazor had heard what they were saying, he would have been alarmed, but he could not hear them.

“That wolf says he knows some humans,” Russell whispered. “I’ll wager they have some pretty important stuff…like ships. Where there’s a robot, there’s a ship. And ships will fetch millions! Here, I’ll go with this wolf back to Walden and make him think I’m picking up bullets in exchange for the energon. You guys follow me quietly. Then the whole place—and the ship—is ours.”
“Have you decided what you want?” inquired Topazor.

“Yup,” answered Russell. “I want you to take me back to where you come from, and there I can pick up some bullets. Deal? Then crystals are all yours.”

Topazor agreed, and soon he and the thief were in Walden again. As Topazor and Russell approached Ben’s Café, they were surprised to see Cheetor. He had returned from a big city and Topazor hoped he had a spacecraft.

“Yo,” said Cheetor, gruffly. “I got the ship. It’s around back in the locked garage. I hear that I lot of things happened since I was gone.”

“Yeah, there was an air-raid that destroyed the next town over,” explained Topazor. “Chris and Ben saved Walden from being burnt to a crisp. Oh, and a friend of Chris showed up. His name is Nightscream, and he’s a Crowe Mercenary.”

Cheetor’s face suddenly became deadly serious. “Crowe Mercenary? I need to talk to him.”

Topazor asked, “Why? Cheetor, I’ve heard that you do studies here on Earth. What have you been studying? Are you interested in Crowe Mercenaries? Do you know Nightscream?”

“I don’t know anything,” answered Cheetor. “I…just want to be sure Nightscream is a friend.”
“And I just want to be sure that YOU are a friend,” countered Topazor. He knew Cheetor was lying. “It’s hard to trust anybody, with this infernal War.”

Just then Topazor realized that Russell had vanished. “Russell’s gone! Cheetor, Russell is a thief. And he’ll want to steal the ship!” Topazor took off running, pursuing Russell’s gang.

“I’ll tell Springer that you need backup,” shouted Cheetor.

In a few moments, Topazor and Springer and Ben and Chris surrounded Russell’s gang. But the gang was large, and ready to fight. The battle began.

While Topazor’s group and Russell’s gang fought over the spacecraft, Cheetor was back inside the café. Cheetor looked down at the unconscious mercenary, Nightscream. The bat-bot slowly opened his eyes, and when he saw Cheetor, he gasped in fear, “It’s…it’s you…!”

“Where is Rattrap?” demanded Cheetor roughly. “You know that I’ve been studying Crowe Mercenaries and their link with the aliens. And here’s what I know—that you had Chris and Rattrap thrown out so they wouldn’t turn you in! Where is Rattrap now?! Answer me!”

Nightscream shook his head frantically. “No! …Get…away…”

“It’s just you and me in here,” snarled Cheetor. “Chris isn’t coming to save you. Tell me!”

“Cybertropilas,” gasped Nightscream. “Rattrap…is in…Cybertropilas.”

Cheetor thought, “Good; I have the information I need. It’s time to leave Earth. Although, I guess I should help Nightscream fist.” But Before Cheetor could put him into the CR-chamber, Nightscream’s circuits overloaded from the energon waves which engulfed this area of Australia. Nightscream’s body was not energon-resistant, and he went offline. Cheetor stood there in grave silence.

Nightscream was dead.

Cheetor knew Russell’s gang would have to be defeated before he could look fro Rattrap on Cybertron. But before leaving the room, Cheetor carefully removed Nightscream’s data tracks and kept them for himself. Then he left the room. Perhaps Topazor was right to question Cheetor’s real identity…