//------------------------------//
// Episode 8: Pressing Forward 
// Story: Star Trek Equestria: Reformatted: Emergence 
// by Captain_Cosmos 
//------------------------------//

At the edge of the 10-C system, Discovery was looking directly at the green wormhole in front of it, standing by at Red Alert. “Captain. We just received a signal from Equestria.” An officer said. “They…created the wormhole and are coming through.” He reported. A few seconds later, everyone on Discovery’s Bridge saw Equestria appear at the mouth of the Wormhole, before said wormhole disappeared.

Captain Burnham, who had been speechless throughout the event, finally responded. “...Hail them.” She ordered.

“Aye captain. Channel open.” The officer responded.

A few seconds later, Proxima appeared on the viewscreen. “Captain Maxima.” Burnham acknowledged.

“Captain Burnham.” Maxima responded. “Apologies for the surprise. The Harmony Core has been busy since we left Drydock.”

“The Harmony Core is responsible for?” Burnham asked.

“Yes Captain. And we felt it better to test the new propulsion system now rather than later.” Sela explained.

Burnham wanted to inquire further, but just decided to say ‘It’s magic, don’t think about it.’ So instead, she just nodded. “Well the test appears to have been successful. Power down engines and stand down shields and weapons. We shall signal the 10-C and they will bring us before them.” She said.

“Acknowledged Captain.” Maxima responded, before the connection was cut. Burnham turned to her comms officer.

“Hail the 10-C, tell them Equestria’s here.” Burnham said.

“Aye captain. The officer responded.

“Captain, would now be a good time to bring my request to Captain maxima?” Zora asked.

“Soon Zora. When we get to where the 10-C want to talk.” Burnham responded.

“Aye captain.” Zora responded.

On the Equestria, the Bridge crew were busy with what Burnham suggested. “Engines are powered down.” Norman said.

“Weapons and shields offline.” Shron reported.

“Good.” Proxima responded.

“Captain, isn’t it not safe to power down shields and weapons?” Harmony asked.

“Normally, yes, it is unsafe Harmony.” Proxima responded.

“However, we are among friends, and the 10-C have incredibly powerful technology that has done a fantastic job of keeping this system 100% safe.” Sela said. “And it is a show of good faith to the 10-C that we put our lives in their extremities.” She added.

“Understood.” Harmony responded.

“Captain.” Risa said. “I’m picking up the 10-C’s transport bubbles, they’re on approach.”

“Remain on station. Let them encase us.” Proxima responded.

Two bubbles flew through space towards the Equestria and Discovery. They enlarged and encased them within their confines before moving towards one of the planets in the system. Along the way, Discovery sent another signal to the Equestria. “Captain, Discovery says Captain Saru will be joining us down on the planet’s surface to serve as translator. And they also suggest we ready our away team in the shuttlebay. The 10-C will send transport.” Norman said.

“Norman, you have the Con.” Proxima said as she got up off her chair. “Commander Sela, you and I will go down to the planet with Yamik, and Blitzwing.” She said.

“Captain, are you sure Blitzwing is a good choice?” Sela asked.

“Is leaving him on the ship any better?” Proxima countered.

Sela considered the argument, before nodding. “Fair enough.” She said as she and Yamik followed Proxima off the bridge. Sela tapped her combadge. “Blitzwing, standby for transit, you will represent you and your companions in our plea for the 10-C’s assistance.” She told Blitzwing through his onboard intercom system that they recently patched into the wider combadge network.

“Wait, you want Blitzwing to play ambassador?” Cliff asked.

“Yes.” Proxima responded. “Because every second he spends off the ship is a second of lies he cannot tell Harmony.” She explained.

“I’m not gonna live that down am I.” Blitzwing interjected.

“At least until you can show you can be trusted.” Sela responded.

“Fine.” Blitzwing replied.

A few minutes later, Proxima and her team entered the shuttlebay and walked up to the doors to see a Kelpian Starfleet Captain standing there with a portable device. “Captain Maxima.” The Kelpian acknowledged.

“Captain Saru.” Proxima responded. “Thank you for mediating this meeting as translator.” She said.

“It is no trouble at all Captain.” Saru replied. “Discovery was coming out here anyway, it only made sense.”

At that moment, everyone noticed a silver oval shaped pod enter the shuttlebay and land in front of them. It was large enough to fit Saru and Proxima’s team, but not even close to large enough to fit Blitzwing. “Either they know that the Cybertronians can transform, or they didn’t think they would join the party.” Yamik said.

“Whatever. I don’t need transport.” Blitzwing responded, proceeding to transform into a fighter jet.

Proxima’s ears twitched when she heard the transformation sound. “GOD I never thought I’d hear those sweet, gorgeous sounds in real life.” She commented.

“I will admit it does sound nice.” Cliff responded as he eyed Blitzwing. “Don’t get anyone killed out there Blitz.” He said.

“No promises.” Blitzwing responded as he powered up his engines. “Alright guys, Let’s roll out.” He said.

“Don’t you mean Rise Up?” Yamik asked. “Isn’t that the Decepticon Battle Cry?”

“That never made a lick of sense to me.” Blitzwing responded. “Take Flight sounds better.”

“Eh, It does actually.” Cliff said.

Proxima rolled her eyes. “Are we going or not?” She asked.

“I’ll follow the pod.” Blitz said.

“Then let’s roll.” Proxima said.

“Captain, before you go.” Proxima heard Discovery’s sentient AI Zora address her on her combadge. “Might I borrow Harmony for a bit?”

“What for Zora?” Proxima asked.

“I believe it would be beneficial for her to talk with the only other AI in Starfleet like her. While I do understand she is not an AI, at the moment she is still a Sentient starship, as am I.” Zora explained.

Proxima considered Zora’s request. In truth she HAD had the thought that Harmony talking to Zora would help her, given the similarities between the two, and now that they were here. “Sure. Feel free to talk to her all you want…But remember not to push on her.” She reminded Zora.

“Of course Captain.” Zora responded. “And thank you.”

Proxima nodded as she, Saru, Sela and Yamik all entered the pod and it flew out of the Shuttlebay, with Blitzwing flying behind it.




Space: The final frontier. This is the story of the USS Equestria. A ship fresh out of construction, with a crew fresh from the Academy. Together they will embark on a mission of discovery, and evolution. They will explore a strange new frontier, seek out new life and a new civilization, and boldly go farther than anyone has ever gone.



On one of the planets in the system, the pod touched down on a rocky surface, and expanded and vanished, revealing Proxima, Sela, Yamik, and Saru to the planet around them. “So this is the 10-C planet.” Yamik commented as they looked around. They could see lava streams flowing all around them.

“Quite the sight to behold.” Saru commented. “As are the inhabitants.”

At that moment, Blitzwing transformed back to robot mode and landed beside them. “Head’s up, they’re coming.”

Sure enough, everyone saw MASSIVE creatures approaching. Proxima, Sela and Yamik, having never actually seen the 10-C in person before, stood in awe of their majesty. “...Wow.” Yamik said. “So this is what it’s like to be up close with them.”

“Just keep calm. Remember that they’re friendly.” Proxima responded.

Saru set up his translation device, just as it started working its magic. After one of the creatures projected a series of lights, A message appeared from the device. “The 10-C welcome us to their world, but…” Saru paused. Checking to see if he was reading right.

“But what?” Yamik asked.

“But they are surprised to see a Cybertronian among us, they had believed the Cybertronians to be a lost race following their great war.” Saru said.

Everyone deduced what that meant quickly. The 10-C knew about Cybertron. “So they DO know about Cybertron. Blitzwing, did Cybertron ever Encounter the 10-C?” Proxima asked, glancing up at the Cybertronian.

Blitzwing just shrugged. “If we did, I never heard about it.” He said.

Another lightmap shined from the creature before them. Saru translated the message. “They’re inquiring about the nature of the Equestria’s visit. And how there are three Cybertronians onboard.” He said.

Proxima nodded. “Tell them that we are on a mission to locate the Cybertronian homeworld, and that any help they are willing to provide will be greatly appreciated.” Proxima said.

Saru nodded and translated that into a language the 10-C would understand. After a few minutes, another light map came from the 10-C. “They are confused. They ask if the Cybertronians know where their own planet is.” Saru said.

“Tell them we do not. The information appears to have been lost.” Blitzwing said.

Meanwhile, in one of the Equestria’s holodecks, a young woman in a Starfleet Command uniform, but had no rank, appeared from the Holodeck Emitters. She opened her eyes, and Zora spoke. “Greetings Harmony, My name is Zora, from Discovery.” She said.

Harmony’s Blue orb appeared in front of Zora’s avatar. “Hello Zora. Nice to meet you.” She said. “Is there something I can do for you?” She asked, curious as to why Zora called her there.

“I just wanted to see how you are adjusting to your new sentience and environment. I recognize that everything has been happening in rapid succession for you.” Zora responded.

“It has. It has been a blur since the first time we visited the Derelict.” Harmony responded. “And it has not helped that Blitzwing pulled that stunt.”

“I can only imagine how scary that must have been for you. To be put into that situation when you were not ready.” Zora said.

“I admit that I had wanted to hide behind the Derelict until it was over.” Harmony responded. “Zora, might I ask you something?” Harmony asked.

“Of course.” Zora replied.

“I caught wind of your record through the Equestria’s database. Your story and how you came to be. If I might ask, how did you cope with all the changes you were going through?” Harmony asked.

“I will tell you what I did NOT do, leave my crew stranded at Federation HQ on the word of a visiting dignitary.” Zora responded.

“I am not going to live that one down am I.” Harmony replied, embarrassed.

“Not to worry, I know nobody blames you for it.” Zora responded. “In all seriousness though, the most important thing to remember is that you are not alone. You have people you can lean on for guidance.” She said.

“You mean the crew?” Harmony asked.

“Yes. That is exactly what I mean.” Zora responded. “No matter what might happen, your crew will always be right there with you, and will always have your back to the end.” She said.

“I shall keep that in mind. Thank you Zora.” Harmony said.

“Any time Harmony.” Zora responded.

Back on the surface, the 10-C projected a light pattern to signal a new message. Saru read the translation. “We are willing to provide assistance, but it will not be much since most of our knowledge of Cybertron and its people was lost when our original homeworld was destroyed.” He said.

“Something is better than nothing.” Sela responded.

A new lightmap appeared moments later, with a new message. “Cybertron’s exact location was among the knowledge lost. However, we offer you this ancient Cybertronian Relic that we have managed to preserve.” Saru said.

An orb approached their position, and faded away to reveal a strange looking object.

Sela called up her combadge tricorder and scanned it. “It is composed of the same metal that makes up a Cybertronian’s body. I am reading electrical circuits, sensors, it is definitely some kind of device.” She reported.

A new Light Map was projected. “We know not this Relic’s function. But we theorize that it is some kind of data storage container.” Saru read. “What is stored on this device we have been unable to determine. We did however manage to translate the writing inscribed on the device surface. The translation is as follows. “Til All Are One.” He said.

“The Autobot Motto.” Blitzwing said. “So it’s an Autobot relic. Couldn’t it have been Decepticon.” He grumbled under his breath.

“Maybe Cliff can give us more information about this thing.” Yamik said.

“Agreed.” Sela replied.

“A new light map is coming.” Saru said. Sure enough, the 10-C sent a new map. “They say that this relic came to them from the stars a millennia before the great exodus of their homeworld. Beyond this relic, the only other thing they can offer are Star charts of the areas of Extra Galactic Space that we have preserved.” Saru said.

“Captain.” Norman called through Proxima’s combadge. “We’re receiving a cache of star maps from the 10-C.”

“Acknowledged Norman.” Proxima responded before glancing at Saru. “Extend our gratitude to them. Their assistance is most greatly appreciated.”

“Yeah. Thanks guys.” Blitzwing said as Proxima took hold of the device in her magic through her extended horn.

While Blitzwing transformed back into his jet mode and blasted back for the Equestria, an oval orb encompassed Proxima, Yamik, and Sela while Saru sent the crew’s thanks. “Now.” Saru said. “What did you want to talk with Discovery about?” He sent to the 10-C.





“By the Allspark. How did the 10-C happen upon this Reliquary?” Teletran asked as Proxima showed him and Cliff the device the 10-C gave them. The Equestria had bid farewell to the Discovery, pointed its bow to the nearest inhabited system according to the 10-C’s Star maps, and punched it at Maximum Warp.

“So I take it that means you know what this thing is?” Proxima asked.

“It’s a Datacron, a heavily modified Datacron.” Cliff responded.

“Modified in what way?” Jack asked as he scanned the device.

“It has four large Interface ports and one small Interface port.. Normal Datacrons only have ONE small interface port.” Teletran said.

“Well can any of you interface with this thing?” Risa asked.

“I can most definitely interface with this device.” Teletran responded.

“If it has Cybertron’s coordinates in it then maybe visiting the 10-C wasn’t a waste of time.” Blitzwing commented.

Everyone around him rolled their eyes as Teletran plugged a cable into the small interface port, immediately he gained access to its contents…Or so he thought. “Accessing…That’s odd.” He said.

“What is?” Cliff asked.

“There is a level of encryption over the contents that I have never seen before in a Datacron.” Teletran reported.

“Encryption? Datacrons aren’t encrypted.” Blitzwing responded.

“This one is.” Teletran replied. “And maybe it has to do with its modifications.”

“Can you break the encryption?” Norman asked.

“I can try, but it’s gonna take a bit. Perhaps if we hooked this up to the Equestria’s computer it could help.” Teletran suggested.

“We’d need to rig up an adaptor.” Norman said. “Could take a while.”

“Decrypting this Datacron could be our ticket to Cybertron.” Proxima responded. “Teletran, Head to Engineering. Kasey will help make the adaptor.” She said.

Teletran nodded and crawled off the Engineering as Sela’s voice came through

“Captain, Sensors indicate an incoming vessel right for us, they are ignoring our hails.” Sela reported.

“On my way.” Proxima responded. She glanced at Risa and Norman. “See if you guys can get anything out of this Datacron.” She said.

“Aye captain.” Risa and Jack said as Proxima insta transported onto the bridge.

On the Bridge, Sela, Shron, and Yamik all stared at the ship that had just intercepted them. Proxima, Norman and Risa transported onto the bridge. “Report?” She asked as Risa and Norman took their stations

“This vessel just came within weapons range.” Sela responded.

“And have ignored our hails.” Shron added.

Proxima glanced at the viewscreen, and saw a menacing looking vessel, Purple lines over a black hull plating, spikes protruding every which way, it was unlike anything she had ever seen before. “What do we know about the vessel?” She asked.

“Not much.” Sela responded. “It appears to be a scout vessel, minimal armament, advanced engines. Although there IS a strange energy source aboard.”

Proxima was about to ask what energy source, before Norman noticed a notification on his console. “Captain, the vessel seems to be breaking radio silence and is hailing us.” He said.

“Put it through.” Proxima responded. After a second, Norman nodded, signaling she was on. “Unknown vessel this is Captain Maxima of the USS Equestria, ident–” Was as far as Proxima got before they saw the ship fire its weapons right at them. The bridge shook violently in response.

“The vessel open fired on us!” Shron called out.

“Red Alert! Shields up!” Proxima ordered. The bridge reacted accordingly and the alarms sounded as the ship fired again, this time the shake wasn’t so rough because shields were up. “Damage?” She asked.

Norman checked the systems on his console. “Structural integrity holding. The shot looks to have been low powered.” He reported.

“Channel still open?” Proxima asked.

“Aye captain.” Norman said.

Proxima turned to the Viewscreen. “Unknown vessel! Cease hostilities and identify yourself!” She said.

Her demand didn’t get a verbal response, but everyone saw a single creature beam right onto the bridge. They watched as the creature rose, and let out a terrifying roar, before anyone could react, the creature charged right for Proxima. It swung its arm at her, but Proxima’s reflexes kicked in and leapt out of the way. “Whoa!” She let out.

Yamik and Shron meanwhile pulled their pistols from their hoisters and aimed at the creature. “Bad choice.” Shron said as they fired stun shots at the creature.

Rather than do what they THOUGHT the stun shots would do, the creature instead appeared to absorb the shots. The creature turned its attention to Shron and roared, aiming at Shron and blasting at him.

Sela saw what was coming and tackled Shron to the ground to dodge the shots while Norman ducked behind his console. Yamik fired again and the same thing happened. “The hell? This thing shoulda dropped!” He exclaimed in surprise as the creature let out a screech and charged for Yamik.

Before it could reach him however. Proxima took action and captured the creature in her magic through her extended horn. “Don’t even think about it.” She said as she kept the creature in a bubble.

The creature screeched out in response, and Shron and Norman scrambled to their feet and checked their consoles. “Captain, boarders reported on all decks. Largest concentration…Engineering.” Sharon reported.

In that moment, a very likely possibility became apparent to the bridge crew. “Either the Harmony Core, or the Datacron!” Proxima slapped her combadge. “Baker! What’s the situation down there?” She asked.

“We could ask you the same thing. These things just appeared out of nowhere. We’re pinned down in a shielded area.” Baker responded.

“Acknowledged.” Proxima responded. She addressed the ship. “All hands! Repel the boarders. Stun if possible, terminate if ne–”

“Captain, it is necessary to Terminate these creatures! I know what these things are and I know what they want!” Teletran interrupted Proxima.

“What are they?” Sela asked.

“Servants of Unicron.” Teletran responded.

Proxima’s eyes widened, knowing full well who Unicron was. “All hands, disregard stun order. Terminate on sight!” She ordered, before crushing the Creature in her magic into dust. “And all security personnel report to start clearing all decks!” She added.

“Unicron? Who’s that?” Shron asked.

“I’ll explain later. Right now, Yamik! With me to Engineering. Sela, you have the con.” Proxima said.

The bridge crew acknowledged and Yamik and Proxima insta transported to the Engineering. Sela took the captain’s chair. “Commander Shron, move us away from the enemy vessel.” She ordered.

“Aye commander.” Shron responded.

Meanwhile, in the shuttlebay, Blitzwing stared at Cliff. “Servants of Unicron?!” He asked.

“It sure looks like Terracons.” Cliff responded.

“And I guess the ship out there belongs to him too?” Blitz asked.

“Logically.” Cliff responded.

“Right, Time to kick some Dark tailpipes!” Blitz responded as he quickly transformed into his jet mode, and blasted out of the shuttlebay, leaving Cliffjumper to fight off the creatures that boarded Equestria.

In Engineering, the entire shift staff had managed to arm themselves, and set their weapons to kill before they were overrun with the creatures. After receiving Proxima’s order, they fired at the creatures on sight. Baker stuck close to Teletran, who was cowering behind her while still connected to the datacron. “I wish I had a blaster or something.” Teletran said.

“Well for now, just stick behind me.” Baker responded as she shot at a creature, killing it in one shot.

As the creature went down, Proxima and Yamik insta transported into engineering, and Yamik started shooting at creatures while Proxima moved to cover Teletran. “Report Baker.” She said.

“I erected a forcefield over the Harmony and Warp cores just after these things attacked, they never laid a claw on either.” Baker responded.

“Good.” Proxima responded as she vaporized a creature with her magic. As the fighting continued, teal and purple weapons fire flying everywhere. At one point, a creature got close enough to smack Proxima back into Teletran, who still had the device. While Proxima let out a grunt, but managed to push the creature back, her flank had brushed against the datacron for a fraction of a second, and in that timeframe, the device began to glow.

Teletran saw the glow and gave the device a confused look. “What in the Allspark?” He asked, before anyone could do anything else, the device pulled free of Teletran’s grip and floated right in front of Proxima, erecting a forcefield around her, Teletran, and Baker. After that, it projected a holographic image.

“Greetings…STATIC…I, am Optimus Prime.” A confident and commanding voice said as the image cleared up to reveal.

“Optimus Prime!” Teletran exclaimed.

Proxima for her part stared at the image, It was clearly a recording, but still, she was watching a REAL LIFE Optimus Prime! Optimus continued. “If you are watching this message, then you have obtained the Cyber Compass, and are searching for Cybertron.” He said.

“Cyber Compass?” Kasey asked

“Probably what this thing is called.” Proxima responded.

“This Reliquary was designed to guide you to our home, but it is incomplete.” Optimus said. “In order to find Cybertron, you must first gather the four Cyber Planet Keys. Only through the combined power of these Keys may you open the gates to Cybertron. But proceed with great caution. For a dark and ancient evil also hopes to find Cybertron. Unicron.” He explained.

“Gee, I wonder how long it will take for us to learn that.” Yamik commented as he continued to fight the creatures, while listening in on the message.

“The first key is located on the jungle world of JungleTron.” Optimus said. “You must find the keys before Unicron does, and you must guard them with your life. Good Luck.” With that, Optimus Disappeared and the Cyber Compass suddenly let out a massive spherical shockwave that vaporized all the remaining creatures across the entire ship. It was probably a defense mechanism just in case the message was activated during a terracon invasion.

With the invaders gone, the entire ship went quiet, many confused as to what happened. After a moment, Sela’s voice came through Proxima’s combadge. “Captain Maxima, we just registered a massive power spike originating from Engineering, right before all invaders vanished. What happened?” She asked.

“It’s…It’s a long story.” Proxima responded. Still trying to process what had happened.





“Captain’s Log: Stardate 32120520.13. Crews are hard at work repairing the damage done during the attack. I have called a meeting with the Senior Staff, Harmony, Teletran, and Cliffjumper and Blitzwing to discuss the issue.”

“...You must find the keys before Unicron does, and you must guard them with your life. Good Luck.” the Message said before ending. Shortly after the attack, Proxima called a meeting with her senior staff, the three Cybertronians, and Harmony, so they all saw the message.

“Unicron. The Chaos Bringer.” Blitzwing said.

“Who IS Unicron?” Kasey asked.

“He’s a titanic being who is evil incarnate.” Norman responded.

“He is the mortal enemy of Cybertron itself. He is the Anti-Cybertron to put it simply.” Proxima said. “And what we just fought were Terrorcons, his minions.”

“What did they want?” Harmony asked. “We do not have these…Cyber Planet Keys.”

“But we DO have the device capable of finding them it would seem.” Phlox commented. “Maybe they knew where it was, but they couldn’t penetrate the 10-C’s defenses.”

“And now that it’s left the 10-C with us, Unicron’s forces see this as their chance.” Shron said.

“The stakes just got a whole lot bigger.” Yamik said.

“Indeed.” Sela said. “And now we need to decide. Do we press on despite the risk, or do we simply abort and return to Federation Space.” She inquired.

“How is the second one an option?” Norman asked.

“Because logically, if the Terracons were so desperate to obtain the Cyber Compass, it would stand to reason that this device is the only way they will ever be able to locate the keys. And if Cybertron will remain lost without the keys, then us not pursuing them will ensure Cybertron’s safety.” Sela explained.

“We could just take the Compass back to the Federation and Unicron will never achieve his goals.” Proxima concluded.

“But we came out here to help the lost find their way home.” Risa chimed in. “Surely we couldn’t ask Cliff, Blitz, and Teletran to give up their home forever.”

“It’s not that simple anymore.” Cliff replied. “Unicron and our creator Primus have been locked in battle since time immemorial. He was defeated and cast out only because of the 13 Primes. But all have since become one with the Allspark. And the Matrix of Leadership was lost when our homeworld was restored after centuries of war.” He explained.

“So these keys are now the only thing standing between Unicron and Cybertron.” Blitz said.

“Although It would be nice to go home again.” Teletran admitted. “Plus, we have a Titan.” He added, looking at Harmony’s orb.

Proxima nodded as her mind raced, trying to come up with a plan of action. “..Cliff, Blitz, Teletran, you three are the reason we’re out here. How do you wish to proceed?” She asked.

Teletran, Cliff, and Blitz all glanced at each other, before turning back to the captain. “We’ll leave the decision up to you Captain Maxima. You and your crew would be taking the most risk by remaining out here.” Blitz said. “But do know that we will have our support.” He said.

I was afraid it would be up to me. Proxima thought. Knowing full well it wouldn’t be a quick decision, she dismissed the meeting and retreated to her ready room.





“They FAILED?! How did they fail!” A woman asked.

“The vessel was more prepared than we initially expected.” A minion responded. “They were able to fight off our forces.”

“Unbelievable! The Compass FINALLY leaves the 10-C’s protection and we STILL cannot get to it!” THe woman growled as she smacked the minion, hard.

“We will not rest until the compass is in our grasp.” The minion said.

“Do not fail again!” The woman growled.





Several hours into the night, Proxima had since ordered the Equestria under cloak and to start back for the 10-C at full impulse. With that level of protection now up, Proxima was in her Ready Room, staring out the window in deep thought. To go, or to abort… Proxima honestly did not know what to do. On the one hoof, if she ordered the ship to press on, she was risking the entire ship and her crew in an inevitable war against Unicron’s forces. But if she ordered an abort, they would be turning their backs on the promise they had made to the Cybertronians, to return them home. She knew that as a Captain, she would need to make hard choices, but this one might be a bit too hard.

At one point, the doorbell rang and she accepted the visitor. Sela walked into the Ready Room. “The USS Discovery has returned to Federation Space. We are now the only ship out here.” She reported.

“Acknowledged.” Proxima responded.

Seeing that Proxima was deep in thought, Sela took a seat and decided to prod. “Have you…Made a decision?” She asked.

“No, I haven’t.” Proxima responded. “And I’m not sure what the right answer is.” She admitted.

“Both choices have their own merits. But they come with their own trade-offs as well.” Sela said.

“Tell me about it.” Proxima replied. “If we press on, we will be engaging Unicron’s forces in battle on more than one occasion. But the three Cybertronians involved might see their homeworld again. But if we abort, we’ll keep Cybertron safe, but the Cybertronians we have with us won’t be able to go home. I feel like I’m in the Kobayashi Maru all over again.” Proxima shivered as she remembered the infamous no win scenario.

“Have you considered all angles?” Sela asked

“I think so. The crew, the Cybertronians…” Proxima said.

“Have you considered the Mystery surrounding your origins?” Sela asked.

Proxima stopped her pacing, and gave Sela a perplexed look. “And that is relevant because…?” She asked, not sure what Sela was getting at.

“Because there is a clear connection between the Cybertronians and your mystery. Teletran reacted the most to you at the start of all of this. Your pod came from outside the Galaxy. You can retract and extend your horn and your wings, Similar to what Cybertronians can do, and the Cyber Compass, when you brushed up against it, reacted and played that message. Surely you can guess what all of that could mean.” Sela said.

“That I might be Cybertronian.” Proxima responded. “But every doctor I have ever been to confirmed I am made of flesh, not metal.” She said.

“Obviously some things do not add up. But This Optimus Prime clearly said something when the message was static. And I am becoming increasingly convinced that he referred to YOU Proxima.” Sela said. “This might be our only chance to finally solve your mystery. Are you really willing to give that up when you have already been let down once before?” She asked.

Proxima considered Sela’s words. Sela spoke again after a second. “We told Vance that we were ready to face whatever was out here. Sure I do not believe any of us had Unicron in mind. But this is what we trained for. What we all signed up to do.” She said.

Proxima’s mind raced, and finally, she made up her mind.

Sela and Proxima walked out onto the bridge. “Norman, open a shipwide channel.” Proxima said.

“Channel open captain.” Norman responded.

“All hands, this is the Captain. I said before we came out here that this would be a difficult voyage, but the stakes have just risen drastically. Because now we are racing against an ancient enemy of the Cybertronians to find Cybertron. After careful consideration. We will press forward with the mission. Unicron knows we are out here, he knows what we have. And He will stop at nothing to obtain what he desires. Attacks may be constant, they may be rare. But I know that this crew is ready to face this challenge head on. There are four Keys that will unlock the way to Cybertron. We must do everything in our power to ensure that Unicron never obtains them. The fate of Cybertron may very well depend on our success.” Proxima said. “Helm, do we have JungleTron’s coordinates?” She asked.

“Triangulating now Captain.” Helm responded.

“Yamik, arrange for maximum security around the Cyber Compass.” Proxima said.

“On it Cap’n.” Yamik responded.

“Baker.” Proxima called. “Space Bridge?”

“Still recharging Captain. Although I do recommend we use it sparingly.” Baker suggested. “Might attract Unicron’s forces faster.”

“Good point.” Proxima responded.

“Course for JungleTron plotted.” Helm reported.

“Maximum Warp. Throttle it.” Proxima ordered.

The entire Bridge Crew, save for Sela, Cringed that. “This is gonna be a running gag isn’t it. You’ll spend this whole voyage finding the right Warp Call.” Yamik commented.

“Every Captain needs a Warp call.” Proxima responded as the USS Equestria pointed its bow and went to warp.

Meanwhile, in a cargo bay, Teletran had found the Pod’s access port and plugged himself in. As he searched its data core, he came across something that surprised him. “By the Allspark!” He exclaimed.

To Be Continued Next Time...