Transformers: Retribution Read Online Free Page A

fist down in rage on his armrest. He should have known better than to think some ancient Cybertronian popgun would work.
    “We don’t need it!” he yelled. “We’ll destroy these fools with our bare hands!”
    The
Tidal Wave
jettisoned the Requiem Blaster, engaged its afterburners, and headed directly for the
Nemesis
. As the two ships charged each other, hundreds of Decepticons erupted from hatches on the
Nemesis
while the ship’s guns unleashed a withering covering fire. The swarms of pirates still in pursuit of the Seekers turned to rejoin the main force, which came as a welcome relieffor Starscream. Thundertron pressed a button on his command chair, which folded into the floor; hydraulic lifts carried him out of the bridge and up onto the ship’s top deck as the
Tidal Wave
veered toward the
Nemesis
. Forget the Requiem Blaster. He’d just have to resort to close encounters. Which would make the inevitable victory all the sweeter …
    A S THE BATTLE RAGED , W RECK -G AR WAS KEEPING BUSY . Now that Starscream had freed him from his restraints, he’d managed to get the podship running again. With everyone distracted, it was simple enough to plot a course back to the
Tidal Wave
; as the huge catamaran took fire from the
Nemesis
, Wreck-Gar flew his ship straight through one of the holes punched in the pirate hull. The crewmen in the vicinity were far too concerned with damage control to notice a single Junkion sneaking to the recently installed space bridge deep within the vessel. And when it came to tinkering with systems, Wreck-Gar was the best; it took him only a few moments to uncover the panels to the power relay systems and drain off just enough of the ship’s batteries for a single use of the bridge.
    “Easy peasy,” Wreck-Gar said to himself as he punched in Junkion’s coordinates. He’d almost managed to complete the sequence when the hard barrel of a laser pressed up against the back of his head.
    “And what might you be doing?” said a voice.
    Wreck-Gar turned to see Axer standing there, a self-satisfied expression on his gleaming blue face.
    “I’m making myself scarce,” Wreck-Gar replied. “You’d be wise to do the same before the Decepticons give these pirates what for.”
    “Not just yet.” The
Tidal Wave
shook as it absorbed more damage. “I have some unfinished business here.”
    “With me? Now that’s junk; I’m sure we can come to an arrangement—”
    “I’m not going to shoot you—
if
you show me how to operate this bridge. Is it true that they’re particularly sensitive to Cybertronian artifacts?”
    “Well, yes, but—”
    “Let’s say I was looking for one artifact in particular.”
    Wreck-Gar didn’t reply; instead, he suddenly closed the distance between them while pulling his shield and ax clear of their shoulder mountings. Axer switched his arm to a laser cannon, but Wreck-Gar had already spun past him like an orange steel tornado and slashed his ax through the two Star Seekers who had been creeping up from behind them. They fell to the ground, twitched, and lay still. Wreck-Gar turned back to Axer.
    “You were saying?” he asked.
    Axer recovered his poise and steadied himself as the ship changed heading suddenly. “If I was looking for a specific artifact, could you show me how to find it?”
    Wreck-Gar mulled this over. “Depends on the artifact, guv’nor. One that hasn’t been activated for years would be no joke to tease out.”
    “Say it gets used all the time.”
    “Then that shouldn’t be a problem.” Wreck-Gar suddenly realized what Axer was up to. “Wait a minute.”
    “Beginning to get the picture now?” Axer had to yell as the
Tidal Wave
’s backup drives suddenly came online, powering the ship through a particularly sharp turn. “Hurry up and dial more power into the system. We don’t have much time.”
    “I’d say we’re fresh out of it already,” Wreck-Gar told him.

Chapter Four
    C OMBAT RAGED ACROSS THE SYSTEM . V EHICONS AND