//------------------------------//
// Awakening 
// Story: Equestria: Transformation 
// by Fairweather 
//------------------------------//

For the first time since it's long voyage through space began, the Hand of Primus ignited its three oversized engines, pushing it to greater speeds as it approached the alien planet and star in the distance. As it did so, the once dark ship lit up, several lines that crisscrossed its orange hull flashed in a golden light, a growing hum sounded within and without the ship as power coursed through its circuitry. The once dark halls now lit up as power surged into the various stasis pods, with most of the occupants stirring as the energon trickled into their systems. 

"Systems reactivating." Teletraan Six reported. "Awakening expedition crew from stasis."

With that, the energon was poured into the pods, jump-starting the occupants systems, many jolting awake from the surge and flexing their hands as power flowed through their circuitry. One of the pods hissed open, and out stepped a large red and white mechanical being, even more bulky and armoured then Prowl was, yet he too seemed to have no trouble moving. His head unit was also armoured like a combat helmet, and his optics, like Prowl's, were a single visor. Emblazoned boldly on both of his shoulders was the Mark of Primus, the symbol of the  Autobots.

"Welcome back online, Scattershot." Teletraan Six greeted the bot.

"Good to be back." Scattershot replied, grinning as he flexed his hands.

"Commander Prowl and Perceptor are waiting in the bridge, and shall debrief you when all are assembled."

Scattershot nodded. "Understood."

And so, the large Autobot transformed into a heavily armoured personnel carrier, based off of a human design he had taken during his time on Terra, and drove off down the now-lit hall way. A mere second after he departed, another pod opened up, and a silver and cyan blue Bot sped out. Unlike Scattershot and Prowl, this one was sleek and lightly armoured. The Mark of Primus adorned his chest in its usual red colour, contrasting somewhat with his other colours. His head was coned back, and a single metallic fin adorned the top, running back along with this head as his two optics quickly darted left and right. 

"Welcome ba-" The ship's computer began, but was halted when the smaller blue Bot very quickly shook his head.

"NotimetotalkImustreporttoCybertronIntelligence!!" He spoke at such a speed, his words seemed jumbled together, before quickly shifting into a small, two-wheeled bike that sped down the hall, leaving a bright light blue contrail as he went, nearly crashing into Scattershot as he passed by.

"Welp, Blurr's awake." He simply said, unphased as the blue speedster drove by.

Soon after, a red and silver Bot stumbled from his pod, dizzy from the stasis awakening. "Ugh... T-Teletraan Six?" He spoke hesitantly. Unlike his compatriots, he was far more soft spoken, and his face was covered by the protective visor and mouth guard he constantly wore.

"Please make for the bridge when you have recovered from stasis, First Aid. Commander Prowl and Perceptor will debrief you."

Nodding, the somewhat shaky Bot stood up, before transforming into an ambulance of Human design, the Mark of Primus next to the large red cross on his vehicle mode's sides. After taking another moment to recover, he soon drove down the hall.

Then, two pods opened up at once, where two small (by Cybertronian standards) Bots emerged. The only civilians aboard, they had no armour of their own to speak of. One, with a somewhat blocky body, had a light green head and torso and white arms. The other, with a far sleeker body, was blue on her chest and the sides and back of her head, her limbs being a shiny white, like her Spark-brother. Both wore the Marks of Primus on their chests and when both looked at each other, their blue optics shone brightly and the young siblings flashed each other wide smiles.

"Welcome back online Scope." Teletraan Six greeted, the green Bot looking up. "Distance," the blue Bot nodded. "Please head to the bridge."

Nodding, the two Bots, their alternate modes not being moving vehicles, ran down the hall in their main forms, their metal feet clacking on the metallic floor. Only two pods remained, and inside one of them, a comparatively tiny form slowly began to awaken as a minuscule amount of energon entered her systems and bloodstream. Blue circles at the palms of her metallic, golden hands began to glow brightly as she regained consciousness. Pixels of blue light shined in seemingly random places over the black visor that covered her robotic eyes, before coming together to form shaped orbs of blue eyes, which blinked a few times as the gigantic pod opened up, allowing her to step out, stretching her arms into the air and yawning as she did so, the sound carrying a slightly robotic inflection as it was voiced.

Her form was golden and yellow, an armoured helmet around her head and mouth guard covering her face, save for the black visor over her eyes. Her torso and shoulders was covered in a set of sleek, golden metallic armour, while a slightly lighter golden covering flowed like fabric, despite being metal in nature, down to just below her waist. Her robotic arms and legs were unarmoured, save for the heavy boots that covered her feet. Finally, the symbol of the Autobots adorned her shoulders, proudly on display.

"Welcome back, Miss Sumdac." Teletraan Six greeted. "How do you feel?"

"Like waking up from a long nap." Sari Sumdac replied, yawning again as her pixelated eyes closed partially to show her tired state, before opening up again. "So, what's going on, Six? We find an Energon source?"

"Commander Prowl and Perceptor will explain on the bridge." The ship's computer answered.

Nodding, Sari looked down the hallway. "Long way to the bridge..." She muttered, before turning as the final pod opened up.

The Bot that slowly stepped out was a dark grey, the paint chipped in several places and, while they may have once been white, a dull, dull gray. Looking a mix between the bulky and sleekness of his other compatriots, the Mark of Primus adorned the center of his chest.

"And of course the old Bot is the last to wake." Sari said, her right hand resting on her hip while her left waved up at the Bot that towered over her.

"Good day, Kup." Teletraan Six said, Kup merely grumbled in response. "Commander Prowl has ordered that all personnel be-"

"Yeah, yeah, I figured that." Kup interjected, before looking down at the tiny being at his feet. "What're you looking at?"

"You're tired old face." Sari said with a smile, her pixelated eyes closing up a little to show it. 

"Hmph," was all Kup responded to, looking away from Sari.

"Aw, don't be like that, ya big grump!" Sari said cheerfully, rapping her hand on Kup's shin, which was level with her head, the sound clanging across the hall. "Cheer up! We're all awake and we may have found a new source of Energon, that should brighten even you up."

"Yeah, well, it's hard to be cheerful about anything when waking from stasis." Kup grumbled, before raising a hand. "And before you brag about how well you handled it, let me remind you, Sari, that you're young! Try going to stasis when you're a few eons older and see how well you do then!" 

"Sorry Kup, sheesh." The teenager turned away with a shrug, before crossing her arms. "Old Bot's grumpy when he wakes up, seems some traits are the same across species."

Kup sighed, shaking his head but allowing himself a small smile while Sari's back was turned. The young Techno-organic's antics always did cheer up him, but he'd be damned if he'd let her find out she'd grown on that old spark of his (she'd never let him hear the end of it). His smile immediately dropped as she turned to face him again.

"So, uh, heh." She chuckled, rubbing the back of her armoured head. "Bit of an awkward question, but, uh, they wouldn't let me bring my jet pack to the stasis pod, mind if I hitch a ride with you to the bridge?"

Sighing greatly, Kup shifted into his vehicle form, even the mechanical sounds of his transformation sounded somewhat slow and sluggish. Nevertheless, in only a few seconds, a worn, old gray green pickup truck lay where Kup stood, Sari flipping over to the back.

"Ah, thanks Old Bot!" She said, sitting across the back of the truck, before pointing dramatically forward. "Roll out!"

"Yeah, yeah..." Kup replied dismissively, though truthfully he was always happy to help his friend from Terra. Engines revving, wheels rolling, the Old Bot and Techno-organic being drove through the halls of the now awakened ship.

"Power at 100%." Teletraan Six reported. "All ship systems are now online."

"All of them?" Kup asked. "What's Prowl doing? We don't have the Energon to keep the ship going like this for long."

"Unless we found a new source of Energon." Sari countered.

"Oh please," Kup replied. "Like there would actually be Energon all the way out here. This whole expedition is a waste of time and energy."

Sari blinked, and looked at the hood of the vehicle questioningly. "So, if you hate stasis trips and think this whole thing is a waste, why did you volunteer for it?"

"Because Cybertron's too noisy and is no place for an Old Bot like me." Kup answered grumpily. "What about you? Why'd you volunteer for this?"

"Oh come on!" Sari exclaimed. "Exploring the final frontier, seeing new planets and star systems? It's a girl's dream come true!"

She blinked, "well, my dream, anyways... I've always been a bit of an odd one back on Terra, and that was before realizing I was half robot-alien."

"Uh-huh..." Kup simply replied as they reached the bridge, where all the Autobots aboard stood. Most of them were lined up before Prowl and Perceptor, with the exception of Blurr, who was zooming to different consoles across the bridge, typing furiously as the various keys.

The Autobot commander looked at the two approaching Bots and smiled, nodding approvingly. "Good, everyone's here."

As soon as Kup stopped next to the others, Sari jumped off, flipping several times into the air, before landing on her feet.

"Hmph, show off." Kup said as he transformed back to his main robotic form. 

Sari grinned, giving Kup a thumb's up, before turning her attention to Prowl. "Sup, Prowl?"

Prowl smiled, nodding. "Glad to see stasis wasn't difficult for you, Sari."

"Indeed." Perceptor acknowledged. "Despite being mostly Cybertronian, I was unsure if your unique biology would be fully compatible with the stasis pods. Some Bots, even experienced users, have trouble adapting to stasis and back again."

"Like I said before, guys," Sari replied confidently. "No sweat! So, how long have we been in stasis?"

"Twenty Stellar Cycles." Perceptor answered, causing Sari's pixelated eyes to widened.

"Woah! That's like, about twenty Human years right?" Sari exclaimed, doing the math in her head as she compared the two time keeping methods of Cybertron and Terra.

Perceptor nodded. "A little over twenty Human years, yes."

"Woah..." The teenager exclaimed again, her mind spinning. "Yikes, so much time has passed. I wonder what things on Cybertron are like now?"

Prowl shrugged. "For us, that's hardly any time, Sari. I doubt much has changed on Cybertron, repairs on the planet have likely progressed and Command is probably still hunting down the Decepticon remnants."

"True," Perceptor said. "But relations for the Humans could have changed, they've always been a wild card since the war ended."

First Aid nodded. "If things continued the way they have when we left, then they may have barred all Energon shipments from Terra to Cybertron."

"Or things could have improved there." Scattershot countered. "Their remaining governments have always been so erratic, what with the constant elections for new leaders." He shook his head. "I never understood why they don't just elect one leader and keep that one for life. It would make things more stable and simpler for them, as well as for us."

Sari groaned. "Ugh, why are we talking about Terra? Why should we even care about it unless the Cons are causing trouble there?"

Prowl frowned, the dismissive attitude that Sari had for her home planet not sitting well with him. "Because Terra's supply of Energon is the only lifeline Cybertron has. If the Humans cut off our supply lines there, as they have threatened to do before, we would be unable to maintain Cybertron's repairs and defenses, leaving it vulnerable to Decepticon attack, and that's the best case scenario."

"What about the Energon Farms on other nearby planets?" Sari asked, but Perceptor shook his head.

"The output of the Farms are too low, they'd prevent us from starving outright if we lose our lifeline on Terra, but only barely." The Autobot scientist then smiled. "Fortunately, we may have found a new source that would make us far less dependent on Terra, perhaps nullify our reliance on the Human planet entirely."

Sari blinked, and the others looked up at that. "Oh?"

Prowl shook his head. "Don't get your hopes up quite yet, there is a complication to that."

"Cons?" Scattershot immediately asked and Prowl nodded, turning to Perceptor.

"Show them the footage."

Perceptor turned, making for the main console at the head of the bridge and tapping several keys. The main viewscreen blinked, before showing the short amount of footage the probe had recorded up to its destruction, the recording freezing at the oncoming fighter jets. The Autobots stared at the image with grim expressions, Distance and Scope, having never encountered Decepticons but hearing of their brutal tales, held each other out of fear. Even Blurr stopped his manic typing and moving from console to console, pausing to look at the image, though only briefly.

"The Decepticon Seekers?" Sari blinked. "Were they following us the whole time?"

Perceptor shook his head. "I highly doubt that, not only would they be at risk of detection, but they simply wouldn't have the Energon to make such a trip."

"Regardless of how they got there before us," Commander Prowl said, stepping forward. "The Seekers are there, probably already in a fortified position, on a world holding an as-of-yet undetermined amount of Energon. The Seekers are never without some kind of support, and whoever they're in allegiance with now likely already knows about this planet, which means more and more Cons will be coming to the planet to secure the Energon."

"So, we should probably contact Cybertron and inform them the situation." Kup said, to which Prowl nodded, before turning to Blurr.

"Speaking of which, Blurr, what's taking so long?"

Blurr continued to tap furiously at the keys, his own robotic fingers unseen, despite this he forcefully slowed his own speech in order to be more comprehensible to his compatriots. "Communications Array has accumulated too much debris and dust over the course of the journey, it will need to be cleared if we are to establish contact with Cybertron."

Prowl sighed. "Alright, Perceptor, I'm gonna need you-"

"Noneed!" Blurr said, turning around and saluting. "I'malreadyonit!"

Prowl opened his mouth to protest, but already Blurr had zoomed off from the bridge, so instead he groaned and turned to face the other Autobots. "Alright, while Blurr's off to fix our communication problems, we're going to need to figure out a plan of attack."

"Easy," Scattershot said, grinning. "We go down there, find the Seekers and take them out!"

Sari shook her head. "If the Seekers have access to Energon, they're gonna be at full strength, and they won't hesitate to throw everything they've got at us. If we're not careful, and they get the drop on us..."

Kup frowned. "Hate to say it, but the kid's right. The Seekers are masters of ambushes, we charge down there in the open, we'll be giving them all the advantages."

Prowl nodded. "True, but at the same time, they've never handled well in defensive situations..."

"Well, if you ask me," Sari said. "We need to be the ones to surprise 'em!" 

The teenager then pointed a thumb to herself. "I can scout down on the planet and see if I can spot them."

"You?" Kup said incredulously. "What makes you think the Seekers won't blast you out of the sky?"

Sari looked up at the Old Bot. "Because I've sneaked past the Cons before?"

Scattershot nodded, chuckling. "That's true, even got the drop on Starscream, heheh."

Sari chuckled at the memory herself. "Besides, it's not like I'll be alone or doing the searching, I'll be the backup to the one who will actually find the Seekers."

The Autobots looked down at Sari with confused expressions. "Who?"

Sari blinked, before raising her arms in exasperation. "Are you kidding me?"

Sighing, the young Techno-organic girl turned around, before whistling loudly, clapping her hands on her knees. "Beakie! Come here, boy!"

Kup blinked, before shaking his head vehemently. "Ohh no! No no no! Not him!"

Suddenly, a loud screech filled the bridge of the ship as black and red bird-like robotic being flew in from a hidden compartment above the bridge, metal wings flapping enthusiastically toward the golden girl, who opened her arms to greet her friend. The other Autobots were less cordial, either jumping away in surprise, or stepping into a combat stance.

"Oh Primus!" Scattershot cursed, clenching his fists as Laserbeak flew past. "That thing came with us!? Why wasn't it left on Cybertron!?"

"It was supposed to have." Prowl said through grit teeth, his focus entirely on the robotic bird, ready to draw out his blasters and blow the bird to pieces on a moments notice. Laserbeak paid them no heed, instead squawking happily as it landed in front of Sari, who eager wrapped her arms around its beak in a tight hug. 

"There's my Laserbeak!" She happily greeted, giggling as the bird gently pressed back to her in greeting. "Oh, who's a good boy? You're a good boy! Yes you are!"

Kup groaned in disgust. "For crying out loud Sari! That thing is a Decepticon, stop being so.... Cuddly with it!"

"Was a Decepticon!" Sari corrected with a glare at Kup, before pointing to the robot bird's sides, where the shape of the Decepticon symbol was, having been all but surgically removed. "But not anymore! Not since I rescued this poor, abandoned bird. Now, he's an Autobot like us."

Indeed, the back of Laserbeak held the Mark of Primus, painted on only because of Sari's constant protests.

"My dead chassis, he is, mark or no!" Kup exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how many operations that blasted piece of scrap has sabotaged or revealed to the Cons throughout the war!?"

"Of course I do!" Sari said. "He's a really good spy! Hell, he snuck aboard this ship and stayed hidden for over twenty years without any of you knowing, not even Six knew or she'd have reported it! He's perfect for this mission!"

Laserbeak gave a soft squawk, whether in agreement or appreciation to Sari, none of the nervous Bots could tell.

"I-You-" Kup stuttered, turning to a grim Prowl. "Commander! Help me out here!"

Prowl was silent for a moment as he stared at the former Decepticon spy, the spy who had born witness to so many of the most secret and seemingly secure Autobot meetings, reporting to its master, Soundwave, who would then in turn report to Megatron. He sighed greatly. "I hate to admit it, Kup. But she's right."

Kup stared in disbelief, before turning with a 'harrumph!' "Fine then! I'm going back to the stasis pod!"

Sari shook her head as she watched Kup stomp off, before turning to Prowl. "Thanks for giving him a chance, Commander."

"It's just a smart move, tactically speaking." Prowl said. "If he's genuine about this. Make sure he behaves."

Sari saluted enthusiastically. "Will do, Commander!"

Laserbeak lowered himself, allowing the teenager to hop on top of his back.

"Teletraan Six!" Prowl said as Laserbeak took off, flying away from the bridge, Sari's cheers echoing down the halls. "Have the shuttle ready to go in case our scouts need backup."

Perceptor looked at his Commander. "Prowl, are you sure this is a good idea?"

Prowl sighed. "Sari's vouched for that blasted bird for a long time now, and he's had plenty of opportunities to sabotage the ship while we were in stasis."

The Autobot scientist nodded. "True, but if Sari wasn't on board..."

"He'd probably be on Cybertron where he was supposed to be." Prowl countered, before shaking his head. "Honestly, I think that bird couldn't care less about the Autobots or Cybertron. But ever since Soundwave kicked the bucket, Sari was the only one who showed it kindness, so it's bonded with her now."

Perceptor looked at the main viewscreen, which now showed the approaching planet. "So, you don't trust Laserbeak..."

"I don't." Prowl acknowledged. "But I trust Sari with my life."


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Being a Techno-organic had its fair share of advantages and disadvantages. Sari still needed to breath oxygen, unlike her Autobot counterparts, but in her more robotic form, she was capable of temporarily forgoing the breathing of oxygen. Essentially, in space or underwater, or practically anywhere that didn't have air, Sari was capable of 'holding her breath' for hours at a time. More then enough for the time it took for Laserbeak to fly from the Hand to the planet ahead of them. As Laserbeak began to make the careful descent to the planet's atmosphere, Sari could see the number of clouds and oceans, as well as green from the planet's surface. She reached up, clicking a single key on the side of her helmet.

"Hey Prowl," She said. "It's Sari, do you read me?"

"We read you loud and clear, Sari." Prowl's reply came. "Perceptor's already scanning for Energon as well as Decepticon signals, so far though he hasn't found either."

"I am getting some very weird readings, however." Perceptor added, his voice coming through clearly.

"What kind of weird?" Sari asked as the edges of Laserbeaks wings began to glow as their descent quickened.

"Like nothing I've ever seen." Perceptor answered, almost giddy as his mind began to work on the puzzle before him. "It's almost as if there's some kind of link between this planet, the planet's single moon, and the local star."

"Ohh-kay then..." Sari said, not sure what to make of it. "Well, I can already tell this planet has life on it. Organic plant life from the looks of it. I'll know more when I break atmo."

Laserbeak was an expert at silently slipping into a planet's atmosphere, the fact that he was also carrying Sari hardly changed his procedure as he broke through the atmosphere without any harm to either him or his passenger.

"Nicely done, Laserbeak!" Sari commented as they descended into the layer of clouds, earning a happy squawk in response. She then went to work analyzing the planet's atmosphere as Laserbeak worked to smoothly break through the cloud cover. She nodded when her readings came in.

"Okay, guys." She said into her comm. "It looks like we've got a nitrogen/oxygen atmosphere, with gravity practically the same as that on Terra. Lots of water in the air here."

"Meaning...?" Prowl asked expectantly.

"Meaning it's got all the basic building blocks to support organic life." Sari answered. "Alright Laserbeak, let's see what we're looking at with this planet."

With an acknowledging squawk, the former Decepticon scout/spy took a brief dive, breaking through the layer of clouds and allowing Sari to see the planet's surface. She nodded as she took in the various sights. 

"Yep. Oceans, rivers, forests, grass covered hills and..." She paused and blinked at what she saw. "...and cities."

"Cities?" Prowl asked. 

Sari nodded as her robotic eyes narrowed, zooming in closely at the modern-looking buildings. "Yep, cities. This one I'm seeing here looks a lot like New York. It's kinda creepy, actually."

"T-that means that there's sentient organic life on this planet!" Perceptor said excitedly.

Prowl, however, was far less excited. "Great, that's going to complicate things."

"Sari, can you see any of the locals?" Perceptor asked, heedless of Prowl's grim tone.

"Not yet." Sari answered, looking down at Laserbeak. "Hey, Beakie, can you get us to an angle where we can see the locals?"

Laserbeak nodded, tilting upwards and boosting slightly closer to the metropolis ahead.

"Well, maybe we can at least assume the local vehicle forms and search the Cons in disguise." Perceptor suggested.

"Right, caused that turned out fantastically for Terra." Prowl deadpanned.

"But this time," Sari countered. "There's no big war being fought, we're only hunting for scavengers and rouges, not an army."

Soon, Laserbeak was above the city itself, and Sari looked down at the streets below. "Okay... getting a look at the sentients below and... They're..."

She paused as her zoomed-in vision followed a pair of Ponies, only cream coloured, the only a light pink, chatting happily with each other. Sari looked to another group, this one buying a hat from a hat stand, the merchant being another Pony. Then she saw a number of taxi-coloured carriages with Ponies paying with some kind of fare before getting on the vehicle. "...Uhh..."

"Sari?" Prowl asked.

"Horses." The teenager finally answered. 

"What?" Prowl and Perceptor both asked.

"The sentients." Sari explained, not quite believing what she was seeing. "They're horses. Pastel coloured horses."

"Are... Are you sure you're not just looking at some of the local creatures, like those on Terra?" Perceptor asked, but Sari shook her head.

"Laserbeak, connect to the Hand's viewscreen, show them what we're seeing."

Laserbeak nodded, before his sharp golden eyes flashed as he connected to the Autobot ship's systems. There was a few seconds of silence before Perceptor commented with a "huh."

"Yeah..." Sari agreed as she pondered her options, before settling for the idea that had the most risk, but also the most rewards. "So, uh, I'm gonna say hi to them!"

"Wait, what!?" Prowl exclaimed.

"They may know where the Cons went." The young woman explained. "I'm about the same size as them and they seem friendly enough, I'm sure if I ask nicely, then even if they don't know about the Cons, we'll at least make a good first impression with them."

"Sari," Prowl warned. "This entirely goes against standard protocol regarding sentients that are unaware of us!"

Sari sighed. "Prowl, with all due respect, but the Cons never had much use for our rules regarding organics and keeping them out of the fight, otherwise half of Terra wouldn't have gotten nuked!" Her eyes narrowed and her fists clenched briefly as she forcibly shut away the memories, taking a deep breath as she did so. "Besides, I don't think the whole 'robots in disguise' shtick is going to work on this planet, unless you all want to turn into different coloured carriages."

Prowl and Perceptor were silent for a moment at that. "She... does have a point, sir." The Autobot scientist eventually said.

Prowl sighed. "Fine. Just... Be careful, Sari, and try not to freak them out too much."

Sari smiled. "Hey, come on, I'm half organic, after all!" She tapped on Laserbeak's side, causing him to tilt down and begin the sharp descent toward the ground, squawking somewhat nervously.

"Well, technically," Perceptor commented. "You're only fifteen percent organic."

"Details, details." Sari replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, holding on tightly as Laserbeak descended past the taller buildings.

"Alright, beakie... Wish me luck!" Sari said, before jumping off of Laserbeak's back, flipping in mid air a few times before diving to the street below...