Chapter 44

In the old laboratory far below, lights exploded and instrumentation went crazy. The lab went black, but only for a moment until battery backup power kicked in. Lennox didn't know about the others, but he for one was not about to wait around toothless for the next strike. Terrorists or Decepticons, he was not about to go naked into the good day. Turning, he put himself right in Simmons's face and demanded: "Where's your security armory?"

Meanwhile, in another room that was much larger but not very far away, power to a special cooling system failed. Emergency backup immediately came online. Initial panic among the technicians began to subside. It resumed full-bore when backup power, too, suddenly vanished. Essential readouts were frantically checked, vital monitors scanned. The junction where the flow of backup power had been cut could be located, but could the key failure be repaired in time?

Some of the technicians began to flee the observation deck, running like mad for the elevators.

Banachek ordered everyone."Get everyone to the NBE-One chamber now!"

S7 Announcer."16502. We're losing pressure."

S7 Technician checking Megatron yelled."Stand by! Set!"

S7 Announcer."We're losing pressure! The cryogenic system is failing! We're losing NBE-One!"

With the power to them now cut off, clamps and cables holding the huge mechanoid steady and stable in the center of the room began to retract. Some of the technicians began to flee the observation deck, running like mad for the elevators.

Lennox and the others had no time to flee. But the security armory was close by.

Simmons led them to Security armory and yelled."Forty millimeter sabot rounds on that table!"

The captain felt much better as soon as he was cradling one of the high-tech handheld rocket launchers in his arms. Together with the few Sector Seven agents Banachek had been able to round up, Lennox and his men began feeding the weapons dozens of recently arrived compact sabot rounds. As loading continued, everyone present spun possible options.

While Nest soldiers gathered around started loading there guns, Simmons joined in as Alexander came up and said."Let's take Bumblebee to the Cube, he knows it better than you guys. Maybe he has way to transport it from here."

Simmons was not sure, but Lennox added."Give kid a chance, I mean if the Cube gets in there hands we are dead anyway. I got a baby I've never even seen -- now I promised my wife I'm coming home."

Simmons nodded."Okay, I guess we have no other options." and gestured them to follow. While Megatrons eye's with an electronic whir, his microchip mtn~tarts to wake up. The irises widen, like black holes expands.

Bumblebee was waiting for Alexander come back, he then spotted Alexander followed by Mikaela and Maggie running towards him. The song that emerged from within the metal body was perfectly appropriate to their reunion.

"Yeah, yeah," Alexander responded, "it's great to see you, too, but listen to me. The Cube's here, so is Megatron, and we're pretty sure the Decepticons are coming for both of them!" Instantly the yellow-and-black robot was on its—on his—feet and racing for the access door.

With shorter strides and considerably more apprehension, the grow-t ing knot of humans followed. Fresh shocks passing through the surrounding concrete knocked lines and supports, old plaster and paneling from the ceiling as they ran.

It was much harder to convince the technicians charged with monitoring the Cube to step back from what for many of them had been their life's work and let an alien robot take control. Lennox and his men felt no such restraints. Having been witness to the deaths of many of their comrades at the hands of malevolent versions of such machines, they were eager to have one on their side for a change. Another explosion shook their surroundings. Shielding his head from falling debris, Epps shouted at the advancing Bumblebee, "Do your alien thing fast, big guy. I don't like enclosed places. Remind me too much of coffins."

Bumblebee reached the Cube. For an instant he hesitated and simply stared. The artifact before him was, after all, the original source of all life energy for his kind.

It was not quite like a human confronting God. More akin, Mikaela found herself thinking as she looked on, to a sentient laptop being offered a battery that would never run down. No one asked Bumblebee what he was thinking.

Lennox to Bumblebee."Whatever you're gonna do, Big Guy, do it fast."

As the robot extended both hands toward the Cube, the ceaseless hum that emanated from it began to rise and fall, to stutter rapidly as it responded to the proximity of a Transformer. Tendrils of energy suddenly arced between the Cube and Bumblebee's fingers.

Some type of contact had definitely been made, Alexander and Mikaela was sure as they raised a hand to shield there eyes from the flashing, flaring lights, but it was contact of a kind that could never be known to mere humans. The robot and the Cube were talking with light.

Epps seeing this muttered."Big Guy is doing something alright."

Responsively, its hums mutates into electric bursts. Tendrils of energy are between Bumblebee's hands and the cube -- they're communicating in a language beyond our comprehension. And the cube transforms, folding in on itself --a pattern of geometric shapes unlocking, like a chiid's click-clack toy, shrinking smaller and smaller. It collapsed from an enormous monolith into an object less than half a meter across, and accordingly lesser in mass as well as volume until it's become size of a football.

Everyone looked at scene in disbelief, Mikaela in awe muttered."Ohh God."

Alexander smiled and muttered."What a amazing piece of tech."

Bumblebee holding the Cube said."Message from Starfleet, Captain. Let's get to it."

Alexander spoke up."With the power down. Megatron will be awakening any second."

Lennox nodded and looking at everyone

"He's right. We stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hangar. Mission City is twenty two miles away. We're gonna sneak that Cube out of here and we're gonna hide it somewhere in the city."

Keller nodded and replied."Good! Right!"

Lennox added."But we cannot make a stand without the Air Force."

Keller turned to Simmons."This place must have some kind of radio link!"

Simmons was thinking and muttered."Yes!"

Keller added."Shortwave, CB!"

Simmons remembered something and replied."Right! Yes!"

Lennox added."Sir, you got to figure out some way to get word out to them. Let's move!"

Simmons now remembering spoke up."In the alien archive, sir!"

Keller questioned."In the alien archive."

Simmons cut in."There's an old army radio console."

Keller questioned."Will it work?"

Simmons was not sure and said."I don't k- Anything's possible!"he did comic gestures of explosion."Did you see that? Poof!"

Lennox nodded and looking at Alexander."Alright, Alexander, get it in the car!"then turning back to Keller."Mister Secretary! Get our birds in the air. When we get to the city, we're gonna find a radio, and I'll have Epps vector them in, okay?"

Keller agrees."Affirmative!"

Alexander and Mikaela exchanged a glance. Looking back, Alexander saw that the army captain was waiting for him to take the lead, to issue an order—to do something. Well, why not? he thought. It was his car. He got behind the wheel while Mikaela climbed in on the other side. In the backseat, something a lot bigger than it looked lay snugged up against the brandnew upholstery. Before either of them could say anything they were thrown back in their own seats as the Camaro peeled out, heading for the exit tunnel.

Joining the recently arrived security troops in their compact vehicles, Lennox and his men followed.