A/N: This is a rewrite of my first-ever posted fanfiction, which I ended up reposting because by the time I'd gone through and edited it, I'd added another seven chapters and almost doubled the story length, not to mention changing half the plot and drastically altering the characterization. (That probably says a lot about how bad the original was…) It took a good five months and put everything else on hold, but as far as I'm concerned it's worth it to have my best writing up. This is how I originally envisioned the story, but I didn't have the experience or the ability to make it happen when I first wrote it. If you're curious as to what that looked like, check out The Test. I left it unedited so I could see how far I've come (and the original version of this will stay up until I finish posting this one).

Usual disclaimers: Riella belongs to me, Prowl's a composite of (canon) G1, IDW, and Animated Prowl, and everybody else is Hasbro-canon, although I did name a background human or two.

Warnings: Nothing out of the ordinary for my writing. There's a few additional swear words besides some from the original movie, violence from the POV of giant robots, and the odd sexual reference or hint. Plus, the plot basically revolves around a sort-of canon character who wasn't in the movie originally and a female OC, with hints of a Star Trek crossover later on. Avoid if that's not your cup of tea. If it is, enjoy!

Transformers: Technorganic

Chapter 1: Message

Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That was how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony, but like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war - a war that ravaged our planet until it was consumed by death, and the Cube was lost to the far reaches of space. We scattered across the galaxy, hoping to find it and rebuild our home, searching every star, every world. And just when all hope seemed lost, message of a new discovery drew us to an unknown planet called Earth. But we were already too late…

Present Day: Earth

For once, Tranquility, Nevada was living up to its name. The nighttime silence was broken only by crickets and the occasional car engine on main roads. It was, to the relief of the two figures in a shadowy back alley, almost the perfect night for stealth activity.

Stepping carefully out of the shadows, the woman made her way quickly away from the buildings and up a slight hill, pausing to glance back toward the dark alley occasionally. She was alone, but even in a crowd, she would have stood out, if only because she was significantly taller than the average woman (and, for that matter, man). At the moment, with the darkness highlighting the fact that her eyes all but glowed bright blue, and wearing a leather jacket despite the warm weather, she would attract immediate attention if anyone saw her.

When she reached the top of the hill, she stepped out of the dim glow of the streetlights again, checking around once again for anyone watching. Flicking a few stray blond hairs back toward her ponytail, she touched one finger to the comm activator on her temple, muttering, "Blasted signal. Do you read?" She tilted her head to listen, remaining perfectly still otherwise, until the message came through. "Acknowledged. What is your location?"

Rather than an audible response, she received a set of coordinates, and nodded reflexively. "Copy that. These are the coordinates of a junkyard approximately halfway between our locations. Meet us there in half a standard hour."

Without waiting for a response, she walked back down the hill briskly, ducking back into the shadows and rejoining the all-but-invisible black and gold motorcycle parked around the corner. Its engine rumbled to life the second she settled onto the seat, the sound abnormally muted, and pulled out of the shadows into a narrow back alley.

The rider didn't speak again, or appear to react to anything other than the motorcycle's movements, until they came to a stop just outside of the local junkyard's fence. After a quick moment of looking around and fiddling with a small scanner, she slid off the bike and tapped a fingernail on the scratched windshield. "Clear."

The motorcycle's engine clicked and growled softly, and the entire vehicle shifted and reformed, straightening up until it was visibly no longer a motorcycle but a black and gold robot who stood slightly over sixteen feet tall. Reaching down with one dent-scarred hand, it lifted the woman onto its shoulder, carefully stepped over the fence, and set her down on the other side. It only took the robot a few steps to reach the center of the junkyard, where it settled into a sitting position, almost hidden by nearby piles of scrap metal. The woman climbed up onto its knee, curling in close to the robot's chest and glancing back the way they'd come again.

Touching her back with one hand, the robot spoke quietly in a metallic but distinctly masculine voice. "Riella. Talk to me. What's wrong? You seem…uncomfortable with this planet."

Riella responded just as quietly. "Prowl, I told you that I have this under control. I am as capable of completing this mission as any 'bot – more so, most likely."

"Of course." Prowl nodded and let his hand rest on her shoulder, almost covering her back and arm entirely. "I didn't mean to imply that you were incapable. You are on edge; I wondered why."

"I understand." Riella relaxed into the touch. "I can honestly say the discomfort comes mostly from unfamiliarity. Being in organic mode exclusively is quite an adjustment. For both of us, I've noticed."

"And here I thought I was being subtle." Prowl smiled faintly before straightening up at the sound of a car engine. Incoming, he added over the bond. Riella shook her head, hiding her own smile. She'd always preferred bond communication to verbal, and after the three years they'd spent almost entirely out of contact from the rest of the Autobots, speaking out loud felt like relearning a second language.

Reluctantly, she slid off Prowl's knee so he could stand up, watching the battered yellow Camaro rattle through the junkyard gates and transform into a robot close to Prowl's height. Riella allowed herself to smile openly, reaching up to brush her hand against his. "Good to see you again, Bee."

Bumblebee looked down at her, faceplates curving into a smile, and a response played softly from his radio. Been a long, long time. Riella didn't recognize the sound clip, but appreciated the creativity.

"You've made contact with the human and located the coordinates to the AllSpark?" Prowl half-smiled at Bumblebee, but didn't waste time on greetings.

Bumblebee made a slight chirping noise, and nodded.

"Good. Message transmission activating in five." Riella, can you keep your scanners running? This is an open comm and I would rather not be caught off guard.

"Affirmative," Riella said calmly, adding Remember Bee can't hear you this way. Long-range communication units hummed above her head, lights glowing on the clouds above, as the message activated. AllSpark located. Autobots follow coordinates to planet Earth.

Trying not to worry about how obvious the message was, Riella adjusted her local scan to register organic life-forms as well as robotic. It picked up two dogs, several humans too far away to be a threat - and then one human, far closer.

"Bumblebee!" she snapped quietly. "Did you remember to locate your human before rendezvous?"

The message flickered and died as both mechs followed her line of sight to the young human male crouched behind a half-crushed car, whispering frantically into a cellphone. Riella sighed. Oh, this is exactly what we need... As if that wasn't enough, the moment he saw them, he bolted, sprinting out of the junkyard toward the guard dogs Riella had sensed earlier.

Oh, wonderful. Prowl shook his head in frustration. "Bumblebee, divide and conquer. Holoform time. Bring him home if you can, but do not break cover. Contact us again after you do that. Riella, help me with the message. That wasn't enough transmission time."

Bumblebee acknowledged and sped off. Riella moved over to Prowl's side and placed a hand on his leg, channeling the message into her comm system and taking Bumblebee's place in the message transferal. How much do you think the human understands?

Hopefully, very little. Prowl looked up at the clouds, watching the symbol reflect back down toward them. We can only hope it won't matter.