Transformers Version 2.0

Episode 1: Renewed Aggressions

Author comments: After watching He-Man do a ‘do-over’ I started thinking how a ‘do-over’ Transformers series might go. So, while bored at work I started writing and, well, came up with this.

A few things to note: Megatron is a tank. While I decided he should keep his original coloration (for the most part) I realize that there is no way to have him be a realistic handgun. Prime is a cab-over-engine semi truck again, but this time he had a large sleeper section overhead. Reflector is still a camera, but is only one robot, not three. Soundwave is a Bose Wave radio (still his blue coloration though). Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are camcorders (like with Armada), Ravage is a full sized television camera, Rumble is a portable CD player and Frenzy is a portable MP3 player. The Seekers have been upgraded to F-22 Raptors. Beyond that, everyone is pretty much the same, at least for this episode.

* * *

The footsteps could be heard all the way down the hall, indicating that the newcomer that would soon be turning the corner and coming into view was very large. They were also coming at a brisk pace, letting the two Autobot guards standing outside the control room know that whoever it was that was approaching was on more than just a leisurely stroll.

The guards readied themselves for potential hostilities, even though the chances of that were extremely unlikely. They were deep within the Iacon Command Center, and had the Decepticons attacked they probably would have known about it long before. But despite the improbability that it was a Decepticon approaching them, the guards prepared for the worst nonetheless.

Much to the relief, and surprise, of the guards, Optimus Prime turned the corner and continued his march toward them. His frame was riddled with scorches, dents, lacerations and missing chunks of armor, but if he were in any pain he showed no sign of it. In unison the guards saluted, to which Prime simply nodded. "At ease."

At his approach the door that was flanked by the guards hissed open, allowing the battle weary commander to enter the room. Sitting at a round table in the center of the room were Ultra Magnus, Prowl, Perceptor and Jazz, all of whom were startled to see their returning leader. Magnus quickly stood and addressed Prime. "Sir, we didn't expect you to be returning so soon. The preliminary reports from the southern walls of Iacon indicated that it would probably take you another few weeks to ward off Shockwave's invasion force."

Prime nodded as he made his way to the head of the table and took his seat. "Our defense held better than we could have hoped for, and Shockwave saw the futility of his efforts sooner than most Decepticon warlords would have. Megatron may have no problem wasting energon on a hopeless cause, but his second in command seems to be more frugal."

Prowl leaned forward. "It's funny that you should mention energon." Prowl slid a data pad that was laying in front of him across the table to Prime. "This pad has all of the details, but the long and the short of it is that roughly one hundred fifty vorns ago Sentinel Prime sent out high-speed, long range space probes in an attempt to locate a new supply of energy.

The hopes of finding an alternative source of energy on Cybertron had been all but exhausted, and the remaining supply would only be able to sustain the planet for a few thousand more vorns. That estimate was made before the war with the Decepticons. Needless to say, the amount of energon we have left will be exhausted much sooner than previously expected."

Prime lifted the data pad and punched a few keys. "Not quite soon enough to be considered proactive, but a very wise move by Sentinel Prime nonetheless."

Prowl continued. "It seems your predecessor’s wisdom has paid off. We received a signal from one of the probes nearly two weeks ago."

Prime put the datapad back on the table. "Another planet with energon?"

"Not exactly." Perceptor had never addressed Optimus Prime before, but despite his intimidation he continued. "Like most life-bearing planets, this one is made up exclusively by carbon-based life forms. So while it has no energon, it is loaded with fossil-fuels that can be refined and converted to energon."

Prime shook his head. "I will not bring our war to another world for it to wipe out other civilizations."

Prowl quickly responded. "That's what makes this planet perfect. While it's teaming with life, there is no civilization. No cities, no organized societies, in fact, the probe could not find any indication of a species capable of higher level thought. No sentient beings. For all intents and purposes it's uninhabited."

Prime nodded. "Where is this planet located?"

Magnus replied. "The outer rim of the galaxy. Fortunately Perceptor has been working on artificial worm-hole generation technology for some time now and has built a prototype generator into one of our cargo freighters…” Magnus touched some buttons on a data pad in front of him. “…The Ark."

Prime thought silently for a few moments, before finally addressing his companions. "Alright then. I will select a small crew to accompany me to this planet. We will need to procure enough energon to fuel the trip and the return trip. Energon, which we do not have."

Jazz grinned and spoke up. "We should have that problem covered in time for the launch."

Unseen by the Autobots, a small, winged shaped hid in the shadows.

***********************

Kup, Blurr, Gearstripper, Skidmark and Antilock sped through the catacombs toward subterranean Polyhex, leaving miles and miles of siphoning cable behind them. The plan, though nearly suicidal, was simple enough. Megatron kept millions of tons of energon beneath Darkmount. The idea was to break into the fuel reserves from underneath and siphon the energon directly into the Ark's fuel cells.

While the Decepticons considered an attack from beneath to be extremely unlikely, they still posted surveillance cameras in the tunnels leading to Darkmount. That was where Blurr came in. An Autobot created with an abnormal and seemingly unstable spark, Blurr was capable of moving faster than many Cybertronians could see. Rushing past each camera, Blurr would then re-wire the cameras to play looped footage of empty tunnels while the other Autobots carried the siphoning cable ever closer to Darkmount.

"Finally." Gearstripper looked at the hand-held energy reader. "We've got to be underneath, this thing's going haywire."

Antilock and Skidmark lifted a pair of energy-saws out from the back of Kup and turned them on. Taking one last look at each other they then set to cutting through the ceiling.

After nearly two hours Skidmark finally broke through. With extreme caution Antilock helped him cut a hole through the ceiling/floor, and silently lower the cut metal down to the ground.

All optics then turned to Blurr. Blurr lifted the intake valve of the siphoning cable out from the back of Kup and vanished into the bowels of Polyhex. The energon reserve chamber was thankfully devoid of Decepticons, and Blurr quickly attached the siphoning cable to one of the immense energon tanks. Some twists and a few punched buttons later energon was flowing freely through the cable.

Blurr turned to leave, only to be confronted by a tall, orange Seeker. "Prepare to die Autobot." The cone headed warrior lifted his arm-mounted rifles toward the sleek Autobot.

" Trustme,youdon'twanttodischargethatweapondownherewithallthisenergon. Imaginetheexplosion."

"See that ceiling overhead. It's forty feet of solid Cybertronium. Even this blast wouldn't do more than lightly rattle Darkmount."

"Butyouwouldbeincinerated!"

"All Decepticons would gladly die for Megatron.” The Seeker’s optics shifted toward the energon tanks. “But then again, the loss of so much energon would greatly hurt the Decepticon cause. And I have little doubt that I could kill you with my bare hands without any trouble." The Seeker smiled, lowered his rifles and started walking away. "Just let me sound the alarm first."

In a flash he was tackled to the floor. He whirled around and swung where the blue Autobot was, but he only hit emptiness. Blurr was standing several feet away. "Ican'tletyouhitthatalarmonthewall."

The orange Decepticon simply smiled and raised his wrist to his face. "Alright, I won't hit the alarm on the wall." His cheerful demeanor changed as he spoke into his wrist. "Autobot intruder in the subterranean energon chamber!"

Blurr gasped in terror. The grumpy old voice of Kup came from behind him. "I never thought that I'd be telling you to hurry uuuuhhhhh slag! We've been discovered."

Gearstripper, Antilock and Skidmark quickly followed Kup into the chamber. The Seeker scrambled to his feet and took a defensive posture. "Which Autobot dies first?"

Kup raised his gun, but Antilock, standing to Kup's left, pushed the gun down with his left hand. "We can't fire in here, but...." Antilock quickly spun his body around, and using the energy-saw that he had in his right hand sliced through the Seeker's shoulder-crests and head.

The lifeless orange form fell to the ground just as footsteps could be heard coming down a stairwell from across the room.

Skidmark looked at Kup. "How long do we need to hold them off for?"

Kup shook his head. "At least another fifteen minutes. That Ark's a big ship. But there's only one way for them to come in, so we might be able to do this." With that Kup charged toward the door that led to the stairwell the Decepticon reinforcements were coming down. "As long as they're not in this room we should be able to shoot at them without detonating the energon." At which point all five Autobots began firing up the stairwell, hope welling up in them that they might just complete their task and maybe make it out of there alive. Kup, however, couldn't help but wonder why there would only be one guard for the Decepticon energon cache, and why the reinforcements wouldn't be using the elevator to descend en mass. Those thoughts were pushed aside as the Decepticons began firing back.


********************


Prime looked over the crew that he had chosen to make this journey with him. With the exception of Ironhide, Prowl, Brawn and Ratchet it was a very young crew. But all had proven themselves in some way or another.

"Prime, the energon is loading into the Ark's fuel cells. Kup did it!" Prime nodded at Red Alert and tried to look happy. Kup seemed to have succeeded, but it was virtually impossible that he and his team would make it out of Darkmount alive. Prime only hoped that this journey would be worth their sacrifice.

Prime looked back at his crew. "Autobots, load up. We're taking off once the fuel cells are loaded." The Autobots quickly loaded up the ark with the necessary supplies and then strapped themselves in for the trip.

Ultra Magnus walked over to Prime. "The cells will be full in a few minutes. You should probably board yourself."

Prime nodded. "You're in charge while I'm gone Magnus. Fight well, fight bravely, but most importantly, stay alive. Once we return with the energy reserves we should then be able to take the war to the Decepticons, and eventually win. So just hold out until then."

"I'll do my best Prime."

Wheelie came running up to the two leaders. "Sirs, I've got Kup on the radio! He's in trouble!"

Prime and Magnus ran to the communications station. "Kup, this is Magnus, can you read me?"

"Loud and clear Magnus. You should be receiving the energon now."

"We are, Kup. Well done."

"Sir, we were discovered and some fighting broke out. Antilock, Gearstripper and Skidmark were all destroyed. I sent Blurr ahead to get word to you, as my earlier attempts to reach you were jammed. Hopefully you'll be seeing him shortly."

"Good thinking Kup, we'll keep an eye out for him. No lets concentrate on getting you home."

"That's not going to happen, at least not today. Blurr might be able to outrun the Con's, but I can't. I'm going deeper into the catacombs and hide out there until this blows over. It's my only option."

Magnus looked at Prime, who nodded in return. Magnus turned back to the speaker. "That's a good idea Kup. Just get here when you can. Over and out."

Prime walked toward the ship, Magnus jogging behind him to catch up. "I sent them on a suicide mission. I'm no better than Megatron."

"Sir, you're a military leader. There's no way to fight a war without losing some of your soldiers."

"No Magnus, it was a suicide mission. The fact that they succeeded and two Autobots made it out alive means that I guessed right and Megatron knew they were coming."

Magnus was confused. "Sir, I don't understand."

Prime turned to his second. "After our initial discussion concerning this expedition there was a small 'blip' detected on the radar traveling away from the base."

Magnus nodded. "I remember. So?"

"While defending the southern wall of Iacon I noted the Decepticons using small flying robots primarily for espionage. When I saw the 'blip' I had a hunch that it could be one of these small Decepticons. Our security isn't as tight as it should be."

Magnus, still confused, nodded. "So you think that Megatron is aware of this mission?"

"Yes. Megatron allowed Kup's team to siphon the energon and fill our ship."

"But why?"

Prime turned to Magnus. "He may have enough energon to conquer Cybertron, but his ambition is greater than that. He has aspirations of a galactic empire, and he needs more fuel to achieve that than his vault contains. He wants us to find this fossil-rich planet." Prime stepped onto the boarding ramp of the Ark. "He will either wait until we return and try to steal our bounty, or he'll follow us there. Either way he needs us to launch."

Magnus was stunned. "But if he's on to us, why are you still going?"

Prime looked up at the Ark. "This trip has to be made Magnus. Without this energon we have little hope of defeating the Decepticons, and this planet-wide famine will only get worse and worse until Cybertron can no longer support life." Prime then turned back to Magnus and put his hand on his shoulder. "Besides, the Ark is more heavily armed than any transport vessel should be. We may just catch Megatron off guard."

Prime started walking up the ramp. "But none of that changes the fact that I sent Skidmark, Gearstripper, Antilock and probably Kup to their deaths."

Magnus nodded, but realizing more so than Prime that not only was the sacrifice necessary, it was gladly accepted by those that had made it.

Red Alert called out to Magnus. "Sir, the energy cells are full. We can take off whenever you're ready."

Magnus nodded. "Clear the area and begin ignition sequence."

* * *


"Clearing Cyberton's atmosphere now sir." Jazz called out to Prime. The launch was uneventful. No Decepticon attack, no equipment malfunctions, nothing but smooth sailing. This of course worried the Autobot leader to no end.

They would be far enough away from Cybertron to generate a wormhole within a few minutes. Hopefully Wheeljack had managed to figure out how to use Perceptor’s latest masterpiece by now. Prime looked over to the resident tinkerer. "Wheeljack, is that thing ready."

"Yes sir, just give the word."

Megatron had several space-faring attack cruisers capable of making short work of the Ark, but Prime knew that the Decepticons would refrain from attacking at least until the worm hole was created. Once that happened all bets were off. Prime hesitantly called out to Jazz. "How much longer until we reach a safe distance?"

"Riiiiigggggghhhhhttttt.............now. We've cleared the required distance. Go ahead and use that worm-hole digger."

Prime nodded to Wheeljack. Wheeljack hit some buttons and pulled some levers. Suddenly three blue beams shot out from the front of the ship and connected several miles in front of it. The three beams then separated again, leaving a 'hole' in their wake. It was now or never. "Punch it Jazz."

The gold colored craft shot into the 'hole' and disappeared. Seconds later a larger, black craft streaked into the now collapsing 'hole' and disappeared as well.

* * *


"I don't know about you Prahme, but that thing don't appear to be teaming with life to me."

Prime smiled beneath his mask. "No Ironhide, this is the planet's solitary moon. The planet is behind it."

"And it looks like we've got something behind us, Prime." Prime quickly looked over to Sideswipe at the radar screen. He turned and met Prime's gaze. "It's a ship, definitely Cybertronian in origin. Permission to man the weapons consol?"

Prime nodded. Sideswipe leapt from the radar station and sprinted to the weapons consol, tossing Bumblebee, who was sitting there aside. Bumblebee started to protest, but realized that even he preferred to have Sideswipe there instead of him.

The firefight commenced as the two ships cleared the moon and headed toward their large blue destination. Despite Sideswipe's skill, the never-ending Decepticon volleys soon overwhelmed the Ark. Prime, knowing that they could neither out-run nor out-fight the Decepticon ship stood and prepared his Autobots as best he could. "Autobots, prepared for close range combat. The Decepticons are going to be boarding momentarily."

With that an enormous metal tube burst into the Autobot vessel. Prime took one last look at the view screen before charging against the Decepticon onslaught that would be coming through that tube any second now. The view screen showed him that they were entering the planet's atmosphere at an alarming rate.

The tube door opened, unleashing a torrent of Decepticons. Thundercracker and Mixmaster charged in, batting aside Bluestreak and Prowl. They looked up to see who was next, and unfortunately for them saw Sideswipe and Sunstreaker charging at them. The two Decepticons found themselves face down and getting pummeled almost instantly.

The other Decepticons were having and easier go of it. Starscream blasted away at Jazz, Hound and Brawn as they took cover behind the navigation consol. Soundwave was confronted by Trailbreaker, Hoist, Cliffjumper and Mirage, but a mental command later and Rumble, Frenzy, Lazerbeak and Buzzsaw were attacking the Autobots. Ravage ejected as well, but charged the front and leapt onto Ironhide.

Sideswipe and Sunstreaker tossed aside the limp frames of Thundercracker and Mixmaster and turned back to the control room to see whom to attack next. Unfortunately for them, a hulking chrome frame walked up behind them, grabbed them, and proceeded to smash them together until they were unconscious. Megatron had joined the fray.

Prime charged through the chaos, throwing aside a couple of Constructicons to get to the Decepticon leader. Megatron caught sight of his opposite number and hurled Sideswipe's inert form at him. Prime dodged the red projectile and continued his charge.

Sideswipe's body slammed hard into the navigation panel, causing the Ark to lurch upward and alter its vertical descent to the planet to a nearly horizontal trajectory. The tube connecting the two ships was unable to withstand the strain and the Decepticon warship tore free and careened off into the distance.

The combatants onboard the Ark were all thrown off balance momentarily as the Ark's computer, Teletran 1, attempted to make the necessary adjustments to the ship's interior gravity to account for the sudden change in direction. Megatron and Prime, both having been thrown to the ground, rose to their feet and prepared to tear each other to pieces. The moment didn't arrive, as the Ark slammed head first into the side of a mountain.

* * *

The new planet has circled the star that it is bound to four million times, and though the world around them has changed significantly, for the occupants of the Ark time has stopped. Until now. The mountain rumbled. Then louder.

Suddenly the peak exploded, sending rock, ash and other debris in every direction for miles. The violent shaking caused a rockslide, revealing the aft portion of the immense spacecraft.

Inside the Ark, bodies, debris and equipment were thrown about the control room. The infirmary was in a similar state, but only two bodies bounced against the medical equipment. Those of Ratchet and Skywarp, who four million years ago had found themselves in this room after the latter had teleported into the infirmary to attack the Autobots from another direction, and to his sadistic delight found the Autobot physician.

The tremors subsided, allowing the formerly dynamic bodies to settle into place. In Skywarp’s case he settled in a repair chamber. The control panel for the chamber buzzed to life. Screens popped on displaying Skywarp’s inner physiology, and assessing how best to repair it. Though not self aware, Teletran 1 did comprehend the alien environment and amount of time that had passed and came to the conclusion that the patient would more than likely require an alternate form that was better suited for the current situation.

A probe was dispatched to discover an appropriate alternative mode for the injured Cybertronian. Within a few minutes the probe came upon and scanned a F-22 Raptor flying overhead. The data was instantly transmitted back to Teletran 1 and the repairs to Skywarp commenced.

Within a few minutes Skywarp was repaired, altered, and conscious. Disoriented, he stumbled out of the repair chamber, threw Ratchet's inert body aside and slowly made his way to the control room. Even under ideal conditions Skywarp was not very bright. So in his confused stupor he completely failed to realize that he had tossed Ratchet's body in such a way that the Autobot Medic's legs and waist were laying in the repair chamber. As Skywarp left the room metal probes emerged from the repair chamber and hoisted the rest of Ratchet's frame into it.

* * *


Skywarp needed to sit down a couple of times before finally reaching the control room of the Ark. There he found Megatron, and proceeded to drag his unconscious leader back to the infirmary. Skywarp watched as the repair chamber reconfigured the mighty Megatron into a robotic form that would be compatible with his new Terran form, an M1 Abrams Tank. Though still retaining his primarily chrome coloration, Megatron now had darkly colored camouflage markings over much of his body. His fusion cannon, which was formerly forearm-mounted, now rested on his shoulder. Though different, he was still Megatron.

It took nearly two hours for all of the Decepticons to be rebuilt and revived. Megatron addressed them in the Ark's control room. "Fate has decided to bring us back from death's clutches, while allowing our hated enemies to continue rusting into oblivion. If there were any doubts of our destiny to rule the universe, they are gone now."

The Decepticons let out a cheer.

Megatron smiled and nodded. "While many of you were being repaired I took the opportunity to study up on this planet. All of the life is carbon based," snickers could be heard. "Yes, that means nothing but squishy flesh-bags. There is only one life form that has any level of intelligence. In the language most common in this region of the planet they are called human beings, or humans for short. These humans inhabit virtually every section of this planet, having divided it into different regional sections called countries. The most powerful and influential of these countries is the one that we reside in currently, The United States of America. Though considered the planets one great super-power, it's military might would fall within a matter of weeks to a significant Decepticon onslaught." Megatron paused and smiled again. "In short, this world is ours for the taking."

The other Decepticons cheered again. Megatron raised his hand to silence them. "I almost forgot the most important part. These humans are not completely without value. When we first followed the Autobots to this planet, before these humans even existed, we expected there to be vast amounts of unrefined fossil fuels, where there was and still is. But these humans have come and refined much of this raw fuel for their own needs. It's not to the level of energon, but they've saved us a few steps. One of these 'refineries' is only a few miles away." Megatron's smile took and evil curl. "Now lets refuel ourselves, return and grind the Autobots to powder, and then renew our conquest of the universe." More cheers were elicited from the Decepticons as Megatron led them out of the wrecked spacecraft.

Once they had left a boxy white form quietly made it's way into the control room. "This isn't good." Ratchet took Prime by the wrists and dragged him toward the infirmary.

* * *


Spike Witwicky jogged along side the stretcher that was carrying his father. "You're gonna be O.K., Pop. Just stay strong." Having finished school for the summer just a few weeks before, Spike was now finding himself more and more bored with each passing day. So much so that this morning he had decided to accompany his father to work at the oil refinery and try to help out. Today had been anything but boring.

Sparkplug Witwicky had had enough of his son’s dramatics. "I know Spike. Leave me alone and see to some of the others. I've just got some broken ribs is all." Though not life threatening, the injuries were very painful. "Now get outta here!"

Many of the other rig workers hadn't fared nearly as well. Sparkplug had heard a comment from one of the Paramedics that the Morticians would be putting a heck of a lot more overtime in than the Doctors. Though a thoughtless statement, it was accurate. The attack was savage, and dozens of men were killed in the first few seconds alone.

Initially it seemed like a terrorist attack, then a military assault from a foreign invader. Then Sparkplug saw the impossible. A fighter jet speeding toward them, decelerating to an impossibly slow speed, changing shape to a nearly thirty-foot robot, and then landing gracefully on the platform. The other vehicles transformed to giant robots as well, including a silver tank that introduced itself as the new leader of Earth. That was when the floor under Sparkplugs feet shook enough to send him flying and slamming into a ladder, breaking some ribs and knocking him out. Fortunately his son Spike had managed to get out of the fray with only bumps and bruises.

Spike watched, as his father was loaded into the ambulance. He had seen the day's events unfold, but he still had no idea of what had happened.

* * *

The new form was growing on Megatron. The design was archaic, but that mattered little in term of his overall power and performance. And it was a breath of fresh air, as he had been in his previous form since his inception eons ago.

He led his freshly charged Decepticons up the mountainside to the Ark, where they would eliminate Optimus Prime and his lackeys once and for all. Starscream and the other Seekers streaked overhead, rounded the still-smoking mountain, transformed and landed a few feet ahead. One of the many benefits to Prime's upcoming demise would be that Megatron would no longer have any use for Starscream. A treacherous back stabber, the only thing that had kept him alive thus far was his effectiveness in battle. But without the great Autobot leader to stand in the Decepticon's way, Starscream was no longer essential.

Megatron transformed as he reached the Seekers, and all other Decepticons followed suit with the exception of Long Haul, who was carrying a heaping load of energon cubes in his bed. Starscream strutted over to Megatron. "I suppose you're going to call dibs on killing Prime."

"I think I've earned the right, Starscream." Megatron replied tersely. He was already imagining the incineration of Prime's head with his first shot, and then turning on Starscream and incinerating his conniving head with the second shot.

"Of course you have Megatron. I only wish to watch you as you do it."

A voice boomed from above them. "Sorry to disappoint you Starscream, but that's one show that you're going to miss." The Decepticons turned to see Prime and the Autobots exiting the Ark.

Megatron snarled, but slowly the snarl worked its way into a wicked grin. "I see you've managed to pull yourself out of the slumber, eh Prime? Well no matter. You and your troops are pitifully low on energon, while my Decepticons are fully charged and loaded to bear."

Prime nodded. "Perhaps, Megatron. But I'm pretty sure I have enough power for one shot." With that Prime leveled his rifle at Megatron, then shifted his aim to Long Haul. The shot burst forth and buried itself in the large pile of energon cubes, creating a massive explosion a moment later.

Long Haul was reduced to an unrecognizable pile of metal, barely clinging to life. The other Decepticons had also been caught in the blast, a half dozen of which appeared to be injured to the point of incapacitation. Megatron growled. "Well played Prime, but it won't be enough to save you!" With that he began marching toward the Autobots with his remaining Decepticons following closely behind.

Prime, still holding his rifle, simply crossed his arms. "I guess not, but THIS might be enough to stop you." With that the Ark's aft cannons lowered into view and began spitting forth a deadly barrage of laser fire. All of the Decepticons except Megatron scattered to avoid the blasts. Fearlessly, Megatron continued marching toward his ancient enemy, but was sent flying backward as a laser caught him in the chest.

Only slightly damaged, but realizing the futility of his advance, Megatron growled again and dusted himself off. "This is far from over Prime! I will be back to finish this!" Megatron turned and barked at his troops. "Decepticons, retreat!" The remaining Constructicons scraped up what was left of Long Haul and various healthy Decepticons aided the other injured in the retreat.

Prime watched them as they left. "Well Prahme, that worked out about as well as we coulda hoped." Prime looked at the old warrior Ironhide.

"Yes, but they'll be back. And unless we can find a fuel source I doubt that we'll be able to repel them again."

Jazz walked out and joined them. "Well, there was a fossil fuel refinery not far from here, but the Decepticons raided it and now the local populace is swarming around it with emergency and military vehicles." Jazz scratched his head. "Prime, just so you know, I was sure that there were no intelligent species on this planet. The probe must have malfunctioned."

Prime shook his head. "No Jazz, organic life often undergoes a process of evolution. It involves genetic mutation and natural selection. The four million of this planet's years was more than enough time to give rise to this species." He turned to Jazz. "The probe didn't malfunction, we just slept through some major changes."

* * *


General Allen Peterson looked over the destroyed oil refinery. The eyewitness reports seemed so absurd, but the degree and type of damage would corroborate them were they not impossible. Vehicles turning into robots were briefly considered in the eighties for space and deep-sea exploration purposes. The technology was way too far off for even minor consideration for practical military applications. And if the U.S. Armed Forces couldn't effectively create such mechanisms, there was no way some other piss-ant nation could do it.

Lieutenant James Ambrose came trotting over to the General. "Sir, there's a report coming in that you may be interested in."

"What is it Lieutenant?"

"Sir, some geologists monitoring the Mt. Saint Hillary eruption reported..."

"What! You pull me away from investigating a probable invasion do discuss some hippies studying an extremely minor eruption!?!"

"No, sir. They've reported seeing military and construction vehicles advancing on the mountain, and then shifting shape to what appeared to them to be humanoid robots, sir. There was also a series of explosions according to their reports, sir." The Lieutenant hesitated. "Oh, and sir, they also claim to have seen what appeared to them to be a large craft embedded in the mountain."

General Peterson was stunned. He hadn't even considered the extraterrestrial possibility. "I want surveillance photos now! And get everything we have ready to attack that mountain!"

Episode 2: Diplomatic Warfare

Cybertronians had been a space-faring race for many centuries prior to the launch of the Ark, but they had never bothered to put together a formal set of procedures for making first contact with an alien species. Not that it mattered now, thought Optimus Prime, now that Megatron had savagely committed an act of war against the inhabitants of what those in this region called Earth. "Prowl, in your opinion, what method should I use to contact the President of the United States?"

Prowl looked up at Prime. "It's doubtful that we would get through to him with a telephone call. And simply arriving at his place of residence might be construed as an attack, especially after what the Decepticons did to that 'oil' refinery. Might I suggest appearing before the United Nations? There would be less chance of it being construed as an attack as it's strategically insignificant and the delegates do not hold as much importance as a President or Prime Minister would."

"Yes, I plan to address the United Nations as soon as I can, but we are on American land, and therefore I feel we need to resolve matters with the American's first."

Suddenly the entire ship shuddered. Alarms went off. "Attack. Attack. Attack."

"Silence that thing!" Prime yelled to Prowl as he grabbed his rifle and ran to the entrance. He hadn't thought it possible for the Decepticons to recover so quickly. He charged outside ready for battle, Sunstreaker and Hound following quickly behind him.

General Peterson grabbed the twelve-year-old Witwicky boy by the back of his collar and dragged him out from behind the rearmost tank. "Are those them, son?" Peterson had found the nest, but he needed to know how many of the aliens might be on the loose.

Spike looked at the three giant robots that had exited the ship. The red one was about thirty feet tall and immensely built, as large as the tank-guy that led the group that had attacked the refinery. The sleek yellow guy and bulky green guy were each about twenty-three feet tall.

As confusing as the day had been, he knew that he had not seen these three robots in the refinery attack. "I don't recognize them specifically sir, but they're the same type of things that attacked us."

"Well, maybe the ones you saw are inside kid."

Prime instantly realized what was going on and slowly lowered to one knee and placed his rifle on the ground. Sunstreaker hissed behind him. "Really bad idea Prime."

Without taking his optics off of the humans Prime slowly raised his hands in the air and responded to Sunstreaker. "Slowly walk back in the Ark Sunstreaker. That's an order."

"Prime, you need me out here."

"Hound, escort Sunstreaker back to his quarters."

"If this peacenik so much as touches me I'll shove his green carcass under fifty feet of rock."

"I GAVE YOU AN ORDER SUNSTREAKER! Now get inside!" Sunstreaker reluctantly walked back up the entrance ramp into the Ark. Prime relaxed immensely. This was a very delicate situation, and someone with Sunstreaker's temperament could only make it worse. He approached the humans very slowly; his arms still raised in the manner that they considered submissive on Earth. "Hound, under no circumstances are we to retaliate. Understood?"

"Hold it right there!" The amplified human voice called out.

Prime stopped. Teletran 1 had programmed each Cybertronian that it had repaired with knowledge of all of the languages that were floating around via radio waves. English was easily the most common one that the probe had encountered, and the Transformers now had a nearly complete vocabulary for this language. Though, even without this programming Prime would have had no problem knowing was the soldier meant with this simple phrase. But he did silently thank Teletran 1 for the ability to respond. "I mean you no harm. I am not a member of the group that attacked your oil refinery earlier today. I wish only for an opportunity to reveal the truth to you and clear up any confusion."

General Peterson glared at the red giant. It's torso made it obvious that this thing turned into a cab-over-engine semi truck. The green one that remained by the entrance was obviously a jeep. The yellow one that went back into the ship looked to be a sports car of some type. Maybe one of the other soldiers might have been able to identify exactly which type, but the General had not interest in such frivolous toys. "That sounds lovely. Of course, a great way to commence an attack is with promises of friendship."

Prime nodded. "What can I do to put you at ease?"

Peterson smiled. "You can die." He lifted the walky-talky to his mouth. "FIRE AT WILL!"

Three shells impacted Prime simultaneously on his chest, lifting him off the ground just as they detonated. Prime's back slammed the ground hard. His armor sustained some minor denting and scratching, but it held. These humans had teeth, but they wouldn't be able to fight off a full Decepticon invasion. Bullets were bouncing off his entire frame, and more explosives began erupting all over his body. Prime braced himself against the onslaught as he got to his feet. "Cease your attack. I mean you no harm."

General Peterson paid no heed to Prime's words and continued the barrage. He was amazed at how little effect his ordinance was having on the robot. The military was trying to contact and evacuate the geologists and other tourists in the vicinity, but only a tiny portion would get out before the carpet-bombing began on this mountain. It was a small price to pay to be rid of this threat. Each piece of ineffective ordinance was confirmation of this.

It was the General’s job to keep the robots pinned in here. As it was, he and his men were much too close and would have to back away at least another half-mile before the bombs were dropped. As the assault seemed to be having little to no effect on this monster, Peterson decided to withdraw from the area. "Fall back! Fall back to the safe zone!"

Prime noted the command and watched as the soldiers fell back while maintaining their attack on him. Though their weapons had little effect on him, he did have to admire their efficiency. Even with their numbers and archaic vehicles, they managed to withdraw very quickly without ever taking their attention off of him. Prime considered following them and continue his attempt at communicating with them, but realized that this group was not going to listen to anything that he had to say. He also started running through the possible reasons for why they were leaving the area. "Prowl, do what ever you can to reinforce the hull of the Ark."

"Huh, why are you speaking English?"

"I believe that we should make a practice of speaking the native tongue of the region that we find ourselves in. It might help improve our relationship with the humans."

"But there are many dozens of languages used on this planet."

"I was unaware of any memory limitations in our neural nets."

"Alright, I see your point. Anyway, it's funny you should mention reinforcing our hull. I was just about to notify you that one large and twelve smaller aircraft are headed our way. They should be here in roughly five minutes. Teletran 1 identifies the smaller ones as F-15 Eagles and the large one as a B-52 bomber. The F-15's are fighter jets probably there to protect the bomber. I've analyzed the ordinance frequently dropped from B-52's, and while they will undoubted cause a great deal of damage, the Ark should hold together and protect us."

Prime relaxed. If there was a real threat of his troops being destroyed, Prime would of had to do something to protect them; something that would undoubtedly be considered an act of aggression to the humans. This way he could sit tight and try diplomatic contact afterward. "That's good to hear. Alert everyone to brace themselves, but to take no retaliatory action. We must make the humans aware of the difference between the Decepticons and us. I'll be back on board within a couple of minutes." Prime looked over the landscape. Although there was already a great deal of devastation caused by the eruption, it still seemed such a waste that bombs would be destroying anything that had remained standing.

He turned and started to head back to the Ark, but as he turned something caught his eye, a slight movement from behind a rock. Prime started moving toward the movement. If it was an animal then perhaps Prime could scare it into fleeing far enough from the area to avoid the impending destruction. Prime did indeed frighten the creature that was hiding, but was shocked to see what it was.

***

Spike Witwicky was one of the few people at the refinery to avoid death or injury, and of those, one of the only ones that had remained calm enough to be seen as being a useful witness by General Peterson. When asked to be of assistance to his country in combating these things that had injured his father and killed many of he and his father's friends, Spike eagerly accepted. The only person that could have stopped him, his father, had already been whisked away to the hospital.

But when the guns started firing and the bombs started exploding, Spike lost his bravado and hid behind a large rock. He clenched his eyes tight and waited for the battle to end. The sounds of rockets and gunfire trailed off in the distance and finally ended a few minutes ago, signaling to Spike that it may finally be safe to look around. As his eyelids peeled open he realized that he was in more trouble than he had previously been in. The Army was gone, and the footsteps that he heard from behind the rock were from something that weighed many, many tons. Spike lifted himself to see if it was safe to make a run for it. The red giant turned his head quickly and saw him. Spike quickly sent a silent prayer off to God.

***

"Prowl, find the radio frequency that the humans were using and forward my following words through it!"

"Alright Prime. Done."

"Human military that is departing Mt. Saint Hillary, this is Optimus Prime, the alien robot that you just engaged. There is a human adolescent standing a few feet from me. Call off your bombing run, at least until the child is removed from the area!"

General Peterson heard Prime's message loud and clear, and silently cursed himself for leaving the Witwicky boy behind. He prided himself on his attention to detail, but the battle with the seemingly invincible robot caused him to forget the child.

Lieutenant Ambrose looked at the General. "Sir, should be call off the bomber?"

"No Lieutenant, there is too much at stake here. The child will be regarded as a hero and we'll send his family a medal in his honor. Ignore the message."

Ninety seconds and six unanswered messages later the planes were still en-route to the mountain. Prime concluded that either his message had not made it through or that the child was being sacrificed. Prime prayed it was the former. Either way, the boy needed to be brought into the Ark for his own safety. Prime knelt to one knee and addressed the boy. "Hello child, my name is Optimus Prime. I realize that this may be difficult to accept, but you need to come with me into my craft. Bombs will be dropping here soon, and your only chance of survival will be aboard my ship. I promise you that you will be unharmed and free to leave once the danger has passed." Prime transformed into a Freightliner Argosy and opened the passenger side door. "Please get in."

Spike didn't move. He realized that the robot was probably telling the truth about the bombing, why else would the Army take off? But how could he trust him? His kind had killed so many people that he had known his entire life, and had nearly killed his father. But he hadn't seen this one, or the other two that were with him, at the attack. And this thing could have wiped out the Army guys with ease, but didn't do anything to them.

Prowl's voice came over Prime's radio. "Prime, you need to get in here now! You've got less than a minute! I appreciate your concern for this human's life, but you will die out there! And if you're not around to lead us against Megatron, thousands of other human's will be killed! Not to mention every Autobot on both Earth and Cybertron! Now get your frame in here immediately!"

Something the voice said caught Spike's attention. "You...you fight Megatron?"

Prime was a little surprised by the child's question. "Yes."

"Megatron is the tank-guy. The leader. You fight him?" Spike was getting hopeful.

"Yes, Megatron leads the Decepticons. They are dedicated to the conquest of others, and we fight to stop them. And yes, it appears that he has taken the form of an Earth tank. Now please get in."

Spike re-evaluated his situation. He could stay, and almost certainly be killed by falling bombs. Or he could go with the truck-guy, and probably be killed by him. Neither option was good, but there was a slim chance that this Optimus Prime was telling him the truth.

Hesitantly, he climbed up through the open door and sat down. The door immediately slammed shut and the entire truck shot forward toward the spaceship. The seat belt magically looped around Spike's torso and clicked into the buckle. The jet engines could be heard as Prime rolled up the entrance ramp and into the ship. The ramp quickly sealed shut behind him just as the blasts began and the world started shaking violently.

Prime, still in truck mode, was thrown against the wall, then against the opposite wall, and back to the original wall. All the while Spike was held snuggly to the seat, unharmed.

The explosions lasted only a few seconds, but they had managed to clear away so much of the mountain that nearly two-thirds of the giant ship was now exposed. Prime address Prowl over the radio… "Has it stopped?"

"For now, but they'll probably send a second wave once they see we're still here."

"I'm on my way to the control room." With that, the seatbelt securing Spike disengaged and slid back to the side of the seat. Prime's door opened, allowing the youth to exit.

Spike slowly crawled out of the large, red truck and watched in awe as it reconfigured itself into the giant robot. This Optimus Prime looked to be about thirty feet at the head, with another five feet added on due to the 'hood' created by the flipped back sleeper section. Spike took a couple of steps back from the alien. "What do I do now?" He stared up at the blue eyes of his captor/savior.

"As I told you earlier, you are free to leave whenever you wish. But I feel it would be best for you to remain here until we can arrange a cease-fire with your people to ensure your safe return to them. The decision is yours."

"You guys aren't going to any weird experiments on me, or probe me or anything if I stay, will you?"

Prime looked at the human quizzically. "No. We have no interest in performing any experiments, and I don't see any benefit to be gained from probing you, uh…"

"Oh, Spike, my name is Spike Witwicky. And I guess it'd be O.K. for me to stick around for a while.” Spike glanced around the hallway and marveled at his surroundings. “So, what exactly are you guys? Remote controlled soldiers, battle suits, what?"

Prime was amused by this amazingly common misconception. Cybertronians had encountered only a few alien races in their time, but all of them were organic life forms, and all of them had difficulty comprehending the idea of living mechanisms. "No Spike, we are living creatures very much like yourself. Our bodies may be built and our basic personalities and values may be programmed into us, but we experience emotions and have the capacity to learn and to grow intellectually and emotionally."

Spike was skeptical. "Rrriiiiiggghhhhttttt. So, uh, what are you guys doing on Earth?"

"Come with me to the control room and I'll answer your questions along the way."


* * *

Megatron didn't like thinning out his already small raiding party, but the Nemesis had to be found, and even with all three of the Seekers dedicated to the search it would probably be a long while before it turned up. Laserbeak, Buzzsaw, Ravage, Rumble and Frenzy were on an energon run to replace the load that Prime had so thoughtlessly destroyed.

Which left Megatron, Soundwave, Reflector and the Constructicons at this commandeered construction site to repair the devastated Long Haul. The other injuries could wait until the Nemesis was found. Hook had just started on Long Haul, and was currently repairing his neural net and nervous system, which was true to form. The sadistic Hook just wasn't happy unless his patient was feeling every second of the reconstructive surgery. Megatron chuckled at the thought of what would undoubtedly be going through the minds of the nearby humans once Long Haul's screaming commenced.

Mixmaster was doing his best to use Earth metals to create an adequate alloy for his fallen teammate’s new skeleton and armor. His last few batches yielded some promising results, and Megatron was sure that Mixmaster would soon produce an alloy from this Terran garbage that would be comparable in durability to Cybertronium. With the exception of Scrapper, Megatron wasn't fond of these Constructicons. But there was little doubt as to their usefulness.

Megatron's wrist communicator crackled to life. "Lord Megatron, come in."

"What is it Skywarp?"

"I have found the Nemesis. It is at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, about two hundred miles off the coast of San Diego, California."

Megatron smiled. "Well done Skywarp. I'm glad it was you that found the ship. Teleport down to it and prepare it for our arrival."

"But sir, I've wasted most of my energon flying over hundreds of miles of this vile liquid they call water, and the teleport might drain me to a dangerously low level."

"Do you know what's more dangerous than being low on energon Skywarp?"

"No sir."

"THE WRATH OF MEGATRON!!! NOW GET DOWN THERE AND PREPARE THE SHIP FOR OUR ARRIVAL, YOU OILSLICK!!!" Megatron switched off the communicator. Were he not so low on troops he would have made a black and purple scrap heap out of the idiotic twit.

"ATTENTION ROBOTS, THROW YOUR WEAPONS TO THE GROUND AND SUBMIT! ANY RESISTANCE WILL RESULT IN YOUR DESTRUCTION!"

Megatron sighed. The human military had arrived, and had the area surrounded with tanks and personnel. Chopper blades cut through the air, and Megatron counted twenty-eight assault helicopters. As much as he and his troops were looking for a fight, battling the humans just seemed like a waste of energon. But after his discussion with Skywarp, Megatron had a fair amount of frustration to work off. The humans were going to get the fight that they were asking for.

* * *


"Prime, the Decepticons have engaged the human Military about two hundred miles east of here."

Prime, who had been having an unexpectedly pleasant conversation with Spike, responded to Jazz. "Any word as to how many or whom?"

"I've heard the phrases 'tank guy', 'green construction robots', ‘camera-looking guy', and 'big blue guy'. No reports of any fliers or animals, so your guess is as good as mine as to who's at the party."

Megatron, Soundwave, Reflector and at least some of the Constructicons were definitely present, with maybe others. Prime needed to stop them, but he also needed an adequate force left behind to protect and maintain the Ark. The second wave of bombers was only a few minutes away and any repairs that would need to be made after it would have to be done quickly or the Ark might not survive the third wave. "The following Autobots are to follow me - Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Hound, Inferno, Brawn, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Bluestreak and Mirage. The rest of you stay here and keep the Ark in as good a condition as you can. And continue trying to talk with the humans." Prime looked down at Spike. "You should come with us. We'll drop you off in the first town that we get to."

"Maybe you should let me stay. Perhaps if I try and communicate to the Army they'll listen."

Prowl turned to Prime. "It's not a bad idea Prime. It's not like we're making any progress getting our case across."

Prime was hesitant. "I do not like the idea of keeping the boy away from his people.” He looked down and addressed Spike. “Just make it abundantly clear that you are free to leave whenever you want. And if you do get someone to respond, and they tell you to leave, do so. I will not allow even the remotest appearance of a hostage situation to exist. Is that understood Spike." Spike nodded. "Alright then. Autobots, let's roll out!"

* * *


Lieutenant Ambrose ran up the hill to General Peterson, who was watching the construction site battle with dismay through binoculars. "Sir, the transmissions from the alien craft calling for talks are now from someone claiming to be the Witwicky boy!" The General turned to him but winced from the thunderous sound of Bonecrusher slamming one Apache Helicopter into another. Peterson looked over his shoulder in the direction of the battle and cursed lightly. He turned his attention back to Ambrose. "So now they're claiming to be the boy, huh?"

"Well sir, I've got to say that if it's an impersonation, they've done an excellent job. It sounds just like the little twerp. Plus you would have to wonder how they would have even gotten the kid's name."

"It may very well be the Witwicky boy. I'm sure aliens are just as good at manipulating hostages as human terrorists are." Peterson pointed at the carnage down below. "They're slaughtering our boys down there, and you're telling me we should negotiate with them because they coerced some punk into taking their case!?! Heck, maybe it wasn't even coercion, maybe it's a genuine case of Stockholm Syndrome! In which case the little maggot is a faster sell-out than Patty Hearst and they can keep him!"

Ambrose understood the frustration of his superior officer, but certain things just didn't add up. "Sir, the boy claims that there are two different factions of these robots on the planet. The one's we’re fighting now and the one's back at Mt. Saint Hillary."

"And you believe that tripe!?!"

Ambrose gulped. The last thing he wanted to do was to debate with General Peterson, but the General was overlooking certain things. "Sir, look down at that battle. Any one of these robots could destroy one of our tank battalions with ease. In fact they are. Yet the one back at Mt. Saint Hillary refrained from fighting us, even though we both know he could have mopped the countryside with us. Then there are the reports from the geologist of them actually fighting each other."

"Poppycock!"

"Sir, we need to consider the possibility that they are telling the truth, because quite frankly, we're going to need them as allies."

"Now you listen to me you little...." Peterson looked past Ambrose's head and into the west. "...What the hell is that?" Several objects of various bright colors headed toward the city at such a velocity that they were impossible to make out. As they got to within a few miles of the town they slowed to about one hundred miles an hour, and Peterson could make out that they were sports cars, a couple of VW beetles, and a tractor-trailer. Behind them, just coming into view was a fire engine and a small sports utility vehicle.

In seconds the first wave of vehicles had gotten to the outer rung of tanks. A red and a yellow Lamborghini jumped the tanks and personnel and transformed mid-air, Peterson recognized the yellow one as one of the robots that was outside the spacecraft. They each landed on a green construction vehicle robot and proceeded to pound away on the larger robots. Though smaller, they quickly proved to be the superior combatants.

Sideswipe quickly landed five blows to Bonecrusher's head before leaping off the Constructicon, barely evading his grasp. Upon landing he swept the legs of the strongest Constructicon, sending the green powerhouse to the ground. He looked over at Sunstreaker, who had worked his way around to the back of Scavenger and was using his backhoe to lift the Constructicon and use him as a weapon against Soundwave. "Leave it to the conceited grandstander to one up me." Sideswipe's pride in his brother was obvious to anyone within earshot.

The other Autobots stopped just short of the battlefield and used their weapons to engage the Decepticons. Prime admired the fearlessness of the brothers, but wished that they exercised better judgment. Though young, or young prior to their four million year nap, they were two of Prime's most valuable troops. Their impetuousness might very well wind up getting them killed, but their savage and unexpected assaults could be an incredible asset on the battlefield.

Megatron watched the first few volleys from the Autobots rifles, and his spirit soared at what he saw. "Prime, you've sealed your doom. You still have yet to recharge, yet you come to face us nonetheless? Without your spacecraft to fall back to, how are you to survive my wrath?" With that Megatron's fusion cannon spit forth a glowing orb of death.

Prime dove to the left, narrowly avoiding the blast. He squeezed off two rounds at Megatron, who didn't even try to dodge them. The impact to Megatron caused him to merely take a couple of steps back and laugh. "Pathetic Prime. Utterly pathetic."

Peterson grabbed Ambrose by the lapels. "Get that kid on the horn!"

Ambrose quickly raised the phone that he was carrying. "All you need to do is talk."

Peterson stared at Ambrose for a couple of seconds before snatching the phone out of his hand and raising it to his own ear. "Spike, is that you son?"

"Yes General. You have to stop bombing the Autobots, sir. Please call off your planes."

Peterson turned his attention back to Ambrose. "Call off the second wave!"

Spike chimed in. "Sir, the second wave has already hit us."

Peterson barked at Ambrose again. "Then call off the third wave!" Ambrose nodded and ran to get another phone. "Spike, these Autobots that showed up here, they're definitely helping, but they seem to be less powerful than the other ones."

"Sir, they're low on fuel. They told me that if you bring gasoline to the battle station that was formed from the semi's trailer, it can convert it to energy that they can use."

Peterson looked to find the battle station. He found it immediately, but was annoyed to see it less than a block from a gas station. "The darn thing is already next to a gas station! Why doesn't it just take the stupid gas?!?"

"Sir, this is going to sound a little hokey, but they say that they need your permission."

"WHAT?!? They have my darn permission! Now tell them to gas up and maul these rustbuckets!"

"Yes sir."

* * *


Bumblebee got the word from Prowl to proceed with the fueling plan. He ran a suction tube from the gas station to Prime's battle platform. The platform did the rest. Within seconds energon cubes began to form. The platform, being the Autobots main source of firepower in this battle, retained much of the energon for itself. The blasts emanating from it were instantly more lethal, as reflector found out when his shoulder exploded to shrapnel.

Bumblebee couldn't remember the last time that he had been fully energized, and stared greedily at the growing pile of energon cubes. But he knew that he would have to wait, as the others, the ones more valuable in this battle, should be charged first. His optics immediately sought out Prime, who was desperately dodging blasts from Megatron's fusion cannon.

Bumblebee was too far away to assist Prime at that moment, but he saw that Sideswipe and Brawn were grappling with Soundwave only forty feet beyond Megatron. Bumblebee lifted his radio speaker to his mouth. "Sideswipe, Brawn, you need to occupy Megatron so that I can get Prime back to refuel. Over."

The two Autobots didn't bother to respond verbally to Bumblebee, but they clearly got the message as Sideswipe leapt away from Soundwave and emptied the last of his rifle's firepower into the Decepticon's chest, disabling the Communications Officer but leaving Sideswipe unarmed. But it was a predicament that Sideswipe had found himself in several times before.

Brawn released Soundwave, allowing him to slump to the ground, and charged straight for Megatron. The Minibot leapt, throwing his shoulder into the small of Megatron's back. The assault didn't budge the Decepticon leader, but it did get his attention. Megatron turned around with a smirk and addressed his undersized attacker. "Not bad for someone your size, but was that really meant to hurt me?"

Sideswipe's voice cut through the air. "No..." His flying sidekick caught Megatron squarely on the jaw. "Just get you to turn around."

Megatron stumbled back a couple of steps, not really hurt but surprised and infuriated. "YOU! I will enjoy killing you. And know that your cursed twin will be following quickly behind you and this runt!" With that Megatron took a quick step forward and kicked Brawn, sending the Minibot sailing through the air and into the sixth floor of a building across the street. He then turned to squarely face Sideswipe, who was crouching, ready for the fight of his life.

Bumblebee ran to Prime and helped him to his feet. "Prime, we got through to the humans. They're letting us use they're fossil fuels. We already have a small pile of energon back at your battle platform, so hurry and fuel up. I don't know how long Sideswipe will last."

Prime looked at the little yellow Autobot. He turned to look at Megatron hovering over Sideswipe and was tempted to rush in, but realized that until he had adequate power, Megatron would be able to make short work with both of them. "Lead the way Bumblebee."

* * *


Megatron had personally killed thousands of Autobots in his life, and through his troops had caused the deaths of a few million more. But this kill would please him more than most. Sideswipe, like his twin, was a rare anomaly as an Autobot who could not only fight very well, but had a killer's instinct. Both of the brothers had caught Megatron's attention a few battles back, and Megatron had given them the generous offer to join his Decepticons. Autobots were inherently inferior creatures, and for Megatron to look past that and still offer an invitation to join his glorious army was an incredible honor. The sibling Autobots had the gall and audacity to not only reject, but to laugh at his offer. Megatron vowed to make them die a painful death.

He was finally getting the chance to honor half of the vow. He lunged at the smaller red Autobot, but barely missed as Sideswipe leapt to the side and threw a left cross as he retreated. The punch bounced off the side of Megatron's head, causing little impact. Megatron instinctively swung his right arm out at Sideswipe as the Autobot leapt back, catching him across the torso.

Sideswipe flew forty feet through the air and landed heavily on the pavement. He quickly scrambled to his feet, noting the large dent across his chest. He would consider it a badge of honor; at least until that killjoy Ratchet repaired it. That was, of course, if he survived this battle. Right now survival required him to evade the charge that Megatron was leveling at him. Sideswipe dove to the side, but despite his bulk, Megatron's reflexes were extremely fast, and he managed to catch the power-drained Autobot by the leg with his left hand.

Sideswipe twisted and sent a kick with his free leg to Megatron's head. It connected hard, but only resulted in increasing Megatron's rage. Megatron punched ferociously at the offending leg, sending his right fist straight through Sideswipe's large lower leg. Megatron freed his hand by tearing it out the side of the leg, sending circuitry, shards of metal, small amounts of liquid energon, and a tire flying in different directions.

The pain was excruciating, but Sideswipe was not going to give Megatron the pleasure of hearing him scream. Plus, any cries of pain on his part might result in Sunstreaker charging to his rescue, and as tough as Sunstreaker was, Megatron would wind up killing him as well. Plus, Sideswipe wasn't done yet. He swung himself toward Megatron and landed a punch against Megatron's side, but he had extremely limited leverage, and the punch was barely noticed.

"Still have fight in you, eh? Well, I'll take care of that." Megatron flung his left arm, still clutching Sideswipe, high into the air and savagely slammed the Autobot back to the ground, sending chunks of asphalt flying.

Sideswipe's right shoulder had absorbed the brunt of the impact, and was now crushed and useless. He looked up at Megatron with hatred in his eyes. Two limbs destroyed and one being controlled by his enemy left only Sideswipe's left arm to strike at Megatron with. But from his current position there was nothing he could do except to throw chunks of concrete at the Decepticon, which only caused Megatron to laugh.

Megatron decided it was time to end this. His left hand applied an unstoppable amount of pressure, and Sideswipe's remaining leg was crushed like an aluminum can. Megatron stared intently at the Autobot's face, seeking out any sign of pain. Sideswipe refused to show anything other than a hate-filled glare. "You would have made a fine Decepticon." Megatron released the useless leg and raised his own foot high over Sideswipe's head. "Now you will make a fine ditch."

Just as the foot began making it's descent a red truck slammed into Megatron's back, sending both Prime and Megatron a dozen yards from Sideswipe. Megatron skidded forward, and whirled around enraged. "PRIME! FINE! SO BE IT! I WOULD MUCH RATHER KILL YOU ANYWAY!" Megatron charged at the shape-shifting truck. Prime completed his transformation just as Megatron slammed into him. Prime hit the ground hard, Megatron on top of him struggling to get his hands wrapped around Prime's throat.

Prime's strength was slowly increasing, but he was still not at full strength. He had hastily absorbed four energon cubes before rushing back into battle with Megatron, hopefully in time to save Sideswipe. Prime felt Megatron's fingers wrapping around his neck in an attempt to cut energon flow to his neural circuitry and thereby causing an eventual loss of consciousness. Megatron's grip was too strong to overcome, but Prime struggled against the overwhelming force nonetheless.

Then Megatron's grip seemed to slowly seem less invincible. His hands were not accomplishing their task as easily as they had just moments before. Prime knew that the truth was that Megatron was as strong as he ever was, but the energon was finally powering up Prime's famished systems, finally leveling the playing field.

Megatron's face vividly displayed the shock that he was in as the formerly weakened Prime was now peeling Megatron's hands off of his neck. Prime quickly shifted his body, forcing Megatron off of him and on to the ground next to Prime. They both quickly got to their feet and prepared to lock up once again.

As they circled each other, looking for an opening to exploit, Megatron noticed that some of the other Autobots were fighting with renewed vigor. His Decepticons were holding their own, but the Autobots were definitely more aggressive. This might be a good fight after all.

Just as Megatron turned all of his attention back to Prime and was readying himself to lunge at his ancient enemy, a tank shell burst against his chest. The unexpected blow knocked him back and left him startled. It also left him open to two of Prime's punches, each of which was a lot more devastating than the tank's blast.

Momentarily dazed, Megatron found himself on the ground with Prime hovering over him. To either side he saw his Decepticons being pelted by human ordinance, which by itself was only doing minimal damage, but combined with the strikes that the Autobots were now able to land on his confused troops, his Decepticons were taking a beating and now on the defensive.

Megatron had rarely retreated in his life, and never while engaged in one-on-one combat with a worthy enemy, much less a Prime, but he found himself in the unique position where his sense was overpowering his rage. His forces were sustaining heavy damage, victory was looking doubtful, a complete withdrawal with every Decepticon accounted for - he himself could grab Long Haul - could be achieved, and this position was by no means worth defending. He snarled at his hated enemy one last time. "This isn't over Prime!" Engaging the thrusters in his feet Megatron skidded across the ground for a few feet before finally lifting into the air and reaching down to grab what was left of Long Haul. "Decepticons, retreat!"

The battle weary Decepticons eagerly followed their leader into the sky. The Autobots and humans cheered. Prime stared at the Decepticons as they flew away, noting that they were headed southwest. A jeep pulled up next to Prime's left leg. "Are you the one called Optimus Prime?"

Prime looked down at the human addressing him. "Yes, I am."

"My name is General Peterson, and there're some things we need to talk about."

Prime nodded. "That's quite an understatement."

Episode 3: Distant Glimmers of Hope


Shockwave had made this trip down the empty hallway to the Darkmount command center at the beginning of each day for nearly fifty thousand vorns without any changes to the routine. Always dark, always looking over the light-less city of Polyhex, always soundless until the sounds of his footsteps bounced off the walls. That was until today, when smaller, frantic footsteps could be heard overlapping Shockwave's slow and steady march.

A small Decepticon raced around the corner and continued running toward Shockwave. "Lord Shockwave, we've received a transmission that requires your attention!" Shockwave recognized the Decepticon as Shell Casing, a former warrior with a high-speed ground cruiser alternative mode, which had been stripped down to barely more than a four-wheeled shell to conserve on energon. He had undergone the alterations and been assigned to communications shortly after the final defeat of the Autobot army, forty-six thousand vorns ago. There were still small bands of guerrilla fighters loyal to the Autobot cause, but for all intents and purposes the Autobots had been crushed. Their leader, Ultra Magnus, had not been seen in over twenty vorns and was presumed dead. Shell Casing, along with thousands of other Decepticon warriors, was not needed to keep the remaining Autobots under control.

"Is this a time sensitive issue?" Shockwave's emotionless voice echoed through the hallway.

"Uh, I guess not sir, but it is very important." Shell Casing was worried. He had the most amazing news in fifty thousand vorns, but Shockwave was so analytical that he might not forgive Shell Casing's excitement, no matter what the news might be.

"This information can be found in the communications room, correct?"

"Yes, sir."

"And I can simply walk there at a reasonable pace to retrieve it, or it could have been transmitted to me, correct?"

Shell Casing was filling with dread as he started to see where Shockwave was going with this. "Well, I suppose so sir, but I felt that I should make sure you knew as soon as possible."

Shockwave held his right, and only, hand in the air to silence his subordinate. "We are in the midst of a planet-wide famine, yet you have needlessly wasted energon by running recklessly through the hallway. Your services are no longer required, Shell Casing." Shockwave's gun-barrel at the end of his left arm thrust forward with incredible force and embedded itself into Shell Casing's chest. A barely audible groan escaped the lips of the small communications technician. Shockwave reached forward and grasped the back of Shell Casing's head, and with a sudden, horrible movement, tore the head right off of the small Decepticon's neck.

Using his gun-barrel as a siphon, he absorbed the remaining energon from the dead robot's body. Nothing was to go to waste. The drained body and lifeless head dropped to the ground and Shockwave proceeded to the communications room, trying to determine which Decepticon should be taken out of long-term stasis to assume Shell Casing's duties as he walked the rest of the way down the quiet hallway.

His anger was raised another notch upon entering the communications room. The three remaining communications technicians were jabbering away like a bunch of organics. "Why have you chosen to waste vital energon on socializing? Even if I decide to let you live, you will have a reduction in rations. Is such nonsense worth the price?" Over eighty-five percent of the Decepticon forces had been put into long-term stasis lock to conserve the dwindling energon reserves for as long as possible. But even with a skeleton crew running the planet, the energon had to be used as sparingly as possible. Fortunately, Shockwave had two strike teams that did not require energon to handle most of the overly exerting tasks that came about. One of these teams being the most fearsome and efficient close-range combat team he had ever seen.

Echo, the team leader, lowered his head in shame and terror. "No, of course not sir. But we have received a transmission from a planet on the outer rim of the galaxy."

Shockwave considered the possibilities. Over the past tens of thousands of vorns he had dispatched several Decepticon warlords to raid energy resources from other planets and return them to Cybertron. Perhaps one of them had finally found something. Most likely Dreadwing, Overlord or Jhiaxus, the most competent and powerful of the warlords that were sent out. "Who sent the transmission, and why have I not heard it yet?"

"Oh, sorry sir." Echo hit the play button, deciding to let the transmission itself answer the question of who sent it.

Static and squealing broke through the speakers, and then finally a familiar voice emanated throughout the room. "Attention Darkmount. This is Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. I realize that much time has passed and that there have undoubtedly been many changes since my departure fifty-thousand vorns ago, but I am confident that Shockwave is still in command of Polyhex, and has conquered the rest of Cybertron by now. I want a response immediately after this is received. I must say, it's a little disconcerting that no one is on duty to answer this now."

Shockwave was startled. This possibility was so unlikely that he had not even considered it. A 0.0001% possibility. Yet the voice was definitely that of Megatron. Shockwave did not like this turn of events. Megatron was the greatest warrior Shockwave had ever known, and a good commander. Just not as good as Shockwave was. But Megatron had always garnered the devotion of the troops, who saw him almost as a god. And now contacting Cybertron, most likely with the precious energon that could end the eternal famine, he would be regarded more highly than ever. Shockwave would step down from power to be remembered only as detail-oriented administrator that allowed a famine to bring Cybertron to the lowest reaches of depravity and nearly bring an end to all life on the metal world. But there was no way to stop these events from unfolding, at least not yet. “Contact Megatron.”

Echo nodded and punched in the coordinates. Several seconds passed before the audio link was established. “Yeah, who’s there.”

Shockwave recognized Rumble’s insubordinate voice. “Rumble, alert Megatron that Shockwave is returning his message!”

“Uhhhh, O.K.” Some bumps and knocks could be heard as Rumble scrambled to retrieve his commander.

Three minutes passed before another voice came through. “This is Megatron.”

The voice was just as imposing as the commander’s physical frame. “Lord Megatron, hearing your voice again pleases me.” That was as emotional as Shockwave could get. He wanted to let Megatron think that he was joyful at the commander still being alive, but even Megatron knew that Shockwave was virtually devoid of emotion.

“Skip the small talk Shockwave, and just give me a status report!”

“Yes Megatron. Since last you were here the Autobots have been defeated and Iacon is ours. There are still small groups that launch the occasional insurrection, but those are easily squashed. I have sent out two dozen warlords to expand the Decepticon Empire throughout the galaxy, but I have yet to hear from any of them. This is no doubt due to the distances involved, but I am certain that in time these expeditions will prove to be most fruitful.”

Shockwave was virtually without fear, having considered any sense of it beyond basic caution to be counterproductive and therefore to be ignored at all times. This trait was most beneficial now that it was now time to give Megatron the bad news, a task that would have reduced a lesser robot to panic. “Unfortunately, our energon reserves have been reduced to mere scraps. With the exception of the expeditions that I have just mentioned, no missions of discovery and exploration have been undertaken. Scientific advancement has taken only the smallest of steps forward, and nearly all progress that we have made consists solely of theory as we lack the energon to conduct actual experimentation. More than eighty-five percent of all Decepticons on Cybertron are now in stasis lock to conserve fuel, and, with few exceptions, those that are in operational condition have been stripped down to their most basic systems. Only enough to survive and perform their assigned tasks.”

Megatron was silent for a few seconds before finally responding angrily. “So you’re telling me that in fifty-thousand vorns you’ve accomplished next to nothing! Please tell me why I chose you to run the Empire in my absence?”

Shockwave ignored the insult and attempted to determine their situation and how best to make the most of it. “Lord Megatron, do you have access to energon?”

“Yes.” Megatron hissed back.

“And do you have access to the Autobot craft with the worm-hole generator?”

“No.”

“Unfortunate, but one of the things that I have been theorizing about is a smaller scale worm-hole generator. I’ve taken to referring to it as a space-bridge. With a specific location and a guarantee of energon at the destination I can finally justify consuming the required energon to create this bridge. I will need you to build one at your location for it to work. Will you be able to do this if I transmit the data for this project?”

Megatron’s anger had settled into annoyance. “Yes. I still have the Constructicons with me, so the construction of such a device will be no problem.”

“Excellent. I will begin transmitting the designs within the hour. I ask that once the space-bridge is complete that you send through as much energon as you can spare.”

Megatron snarled. “I will send what you need, but I’d better have my army back to fighting form. Otherwise I may need to find a new second in command.”

“I understand. Allow me to compile the data for the space-bridge for you, as well as a few other ideas that I have worked on over the eons. It has been a pleasure speaking with you again, Lord Megatron, and I am looking forward to your triumphant return to Cybertron.”

“Just send the data.” The audio link was severed.

* * *



Miles beneath the surface of Cybertron an eavesdropper to the conversation turned off his radio, a radio that had an undetectable tap to the Darkmount communications center. The seated robot stood, a difficult task for one in such disrepair. But the rickety figure had other things on his mind than his discomfort or bodily state. The message from Megatron brought feelings of both dread and hope. If Megatron had survived, then perhaps another had as well, or if not, at least a treasured instrument of hope still might exist.

Memorizing Megatron’s coordinates, the tall, slender robot walked over to a cylindrically shaped craft. The craft itself was only about three times the size of the robot himself, barely large enough for him to squeeze into. He quickly punched Megatron’s coordinates into a navigation computer, and a holographic image of a nine-planet solar system popped into view. The scene quickly zoomed in on the third planet. The scene then began to zoom into the eastern portion of the planet’s largest body of blue-tinted liquid, but the pilot deactivated the hologram before it pinpointed Megatron’s location. He had the information that he needed at that time.

Using the last of a hidden storage of energon, the pilot charged the engine and a worm-hole generator, one smaller but more advanced then the one Perceptor had invented millions of years prior. The small craft lifted off the ground, and using hover jets, proceeded to work its way through the catacombs to the planet’s surface. Finally freeing itself into the open air, the craft slowly began to lift high into the atmosphere. The pilot looked out over his left shoulder and saw the bio-pod, a micro-verse that Shockwave had created for the sole purpose of giving his non-energon-dependant secret police sustenance. From within the pod he could see a pair of mechanical optics embedded in organic hair and flesh. Shockwave would know of the launch soon, but hopefully it would be too late for him to stop it.


* * *


Shockwave had returned to the communications center and was sending the data to the Earth-based Decepticons. A message came through another radio and broke the silence. “This is Razorclaw. I have a time-sensitive message for Shockwave. I need to speak with him urgently.”

“I am here Razorclaw, speak.”

“Good. Rampage has witnessed a small craft exiting the planet’s surface. It is currently entering the atmosphere. It may already be too late to intercept, but it is something that you should definitely look into.”

Shockwave punched a few keys on the board in front of him, causing the view screen in front of him to reconfigure into a radar screen. Sure enough, a small blip was lifting higher above the planet, and would soon be entering the stratosphere. Shockwave dispatched three Seekers to intercept it and considered the ramifications of this development.

If it was an Autobot attack, then it seemed to be pointless. If it were a diversion, then again, it would be pointless. If it were a vessel containing a weapon of mass destruction, then why was it headed nowhere near a significant Decepticon compound? It could have been unleashed on the bio-pod, endangering a small, but extremely valuable, number of Shockwave’s troops. But it had lifted beyond the bio-pod as if not interested in it.

And the timing, could it have anything to do with the message from Megatron? All concerns that Shockwave would put to rest once he had an opportunity to interrogate the pilot of that ship.


* * *


“Shockwave, this is Thrust. Dirge, Ramjet and I will be intercepting the craft in three minutes.”

“Good. Record the events.”

“Yes sir.” Thrust sped toward the object at his top speed, Dirge and Ramjet following closely behind him. Two minutes later they got a visual of the craft.

The pilot noted the advancing Decepticons and calmly positioned his ship toward them. This was a dangerous course of action, but due to the fuel requirements of the trip he could not hit the primary thrusters until Cybertron’s atmosphere was cleared. And without the primary thrusters he was not going to out-run the Seekers.

Since ‘flight’ was not an option, only ‘fight’ was left. The odds were against the pilot for this option as well. A piloted craft never reacted as quickly as a living Transformer, and even if there were a way to compensate for this fact, this particular Cybertronian had reflexes that were far below average. These facts, combined with the numerical disadvantage, made it virtually impossible for the escaping pilot to defeat or evade the advancing Decepticons. At least it would have been impossible if not for the defensive systems being brought on-line.

Thrust saw the small craft and giggled with glee. Only with the odds this far in his favor could he charge into combat with confidence. Despite his boasting and bravado, he was easily backed down in most confrontations. A coward at heart, only an elimination of risk could get him to take charge in an actually fight. Increasing his speed toward the oncoming ship he prepared to blast away the wings. Shockwave would undoubtedly want the pilot brought to him alive, and would sadistically punish the Seeker that brought the pilot to him in any other condition.

Energy blasts spit from Thrust’s cannons, followed immediately by blasts from the cannons of Ramjet and Dirge. The shots were on target, but disappeared a split second prior to hitting the ship’s wings. Panic-stricken, Thrust broke off his collision course. Dirge slowed, but continued his attack. Ramjet actually increased velocity, and was pleased to do so. This was the type of combat that Ramjet enjoyed, no strategy, no weapons, no fancy moves, just a head-on collision, a true test of courage and power.

The cylindrical ship continued it’s heading, not intimidated by the reckless Seeker bearing down on it. Dirge slowed down further, not wanting to be anywhere near the explosion that would undoubtedly occur. Moments before impact a voice burst through the radio. “Ramjet you imbecile, I want him alive!” As crazy as Ramjet was, he was not foolhardy enough to purposefully incur Shockwave’s wrath. Pulling up a split second before the collision, Ramjet shot just above his intended target, missing it by inches.

Suddenly Ramjet’s internal systems started going haywire. “Energon levels depleted, energon levels depleted. Initiating emergency stasis lock.” The automated voice only gave the warning once before the process of shutting down Ramjets systems took place.

“What’s going on hee….” Ramjet was unable to finish his question as his consciousness dwindled away. The sleek, triangular fighter started drifting back to Cybertron, increasing velocity as he fell.

Unable to explain what had happened to Ramjet, and terrified by that, Thrust barked an order to Dirge. “Apprehend this fugitive, I’m going to rescue Ramjet!” With that Thrust hurriedly darted away from the unidentified craft and after Ramjet.

Dirge fired repeatedly on the craft, this time not caring whether the shots disabled or destroyed. Once again, the shots disappeared an instant before connecting with the target. The frustrated Dirge could not conceive of any new course of action, so he continued firing.

The pilot checked his energon levels, and noted that the energy-absorption field that had been generated around his ship had sucked away enough energon from Ramjet and the incoming volleys to ensure he would make it to his destination. There was also a little extra, enough to force this determined Seeker to reconsider his attack. Small cannons on either side of the craft’s nose came to life, hurtling forth a set of energy balls at the Decepticon.

Having not been fired on so far, Dirge was caught off guard by the sudden attack. The shots impacted on the left portion of his dorsal side. The blasts weren’t enough to cause major damage, but the slight damage that they did cause combined with his inability to harm the unidentified craft made Dirge decide to put an end to his attack. He veered off and headed after his two comrades.

The unknown pilot smiled at the Decepticon’s retreat and changed his heading away from Cybertron. Once clear of Cybertron’s atmosphere the primary thrusters exploded to life, sending the craft deeper into space. With the touch of a few buttons the pilot tore a small hole in space, and vanished.

Thrust, in robot mode and slowly lowering to Cybertron with Ramjet in his arms, noted Dirge’s failure to apprehend the craft and fearfully sent a message to Shockwave. “Shockwave, our weaponry had no effect on the craft and it has escaped us. I’m sorry sir.”

Shockwave considered disciplining the three unsuccessful Seekers, but decided that they had really not been that negligent. Even he had underestimated the defensive capabilities of the craft. No, there would be no punishment, at least no punishment beyond the physical labor of building the space-bridge. “Thrust, drop Ramjet off in the infirmary and proceed with Dirge to coordinates PX0482 immediately. The two of you are to clear away a one mile by one-half mile area. Once that is completed, you are to wait there for further instruction.”

* * *



Powerglide watched as the two Seekers were joined by a half dozen stripped down Decepticons and Shockwave himself. “What the heck could be so important to bring Shockwave out of Darkmount?” He whispered to himself.

Shockwave addressed the Decepticons in a voice that was both controlled, yet booming. “I have called you here to assist in the building of a space-bridge. There are Decepticons on a far off world that is rich in energy resources. Our brethren have converted much of this energy into energon, and will be ready to ship it to us once this bridge is complete. The sooner that this is completed, the sooner we will have the energon.” That was all the motivation that was required. The Decepticons set about their task with exceptional vigor and enthusiasm.

“This isn’t good.” Powerglide knew that the only thing that had kept the Decepticon war machine in check these past tens of thousands of vorns was the energon famine. With a fresh supply of energon the Decepticons could renew their efforts of eliminating the Autobots, and then spread their tyranny throughout the galaxy. “I’d better let Magnus know about this.” Powerglide slunk back into the shadows and disappeared into the catacombs beneath the surface.

In areas large enough to fly, he flew. In areas only large enough to run, he ran. In areas only large enough to crawl, he crawled. Through a maze of ancient metal he made his way, before finally popping into a large room. Guns that had been trained on him were lowered as the Autobots that surrounded him recognized their comrade.

“I was a hair away from greasing you.” Blades holstered his pistol and powered down his leg cannons.

“Good to see you again too, Blades.” Powerglide would have had a few more words for one of the only other flying Autobots left in their ranks, but he had to deliver his news to Magnus. “Where’s Ultra Magnus?”

“In the war-room with Hotspot. Rumor is that there’s going to be a civilian uprising in Melacon, and they’re trying to figure out if there’s a way to use it to our advantage.”

“Thanks.” Powerglide made his way to the war-room.

As Blades had mentioned, Hotspot and Magnus were hunched over a table discussing how best to capitalize on an impending uprising. Hotspot put his finger on a point on the map lying across the table. “According to Groove, there is a small cache of energon kept at the ‘Con compound on the outskirts of Melacon. I believe that the troops stationed at that compound will be called upon to quell the uprising, leaving the base under-manned and ripe for attack.”

Magnus considered this for a moment. “Perhaps, but I can’t help but think that Shockwave may leave those troops there and just squash the uprising with the Pre…. Can we help you Powerglide?”

“Yes sir. I was checking out the outskirts of Polyhex, and, well, Shockwave is instructing some Seekers and other ‘Cons to build something he calls a ‘space-bridge’. He said that other ‘Cons on another planet had energon and could send it to Cybertron through this bridge. I figured you’d want to know about it.”

Magnus thought about it for a few moments. “This is very bad. As it is now we can barely put a scratch in Shockwave’s empire, but once they’re powered up there will be nothing keeping them from hunting us down and wiping us out.”

Hotspot nodded. “You’re right. Our only course of action is to take out that ‘space-bridge’.”

Magnus gritted his metal teeth. “We’re in no condition to attack Polyhex, but we’ve got no other choice.” Magnus nodded to Hotspot. “Prepare what troops we have for the assault. It’s going to take everything we have, and I’m afraid it probably won’t be enough. But it’s what Prime would do, I hope.” Magnus had been second guessing himself for millions of years, and today was no different.



* * *

The pilot gasped in awe at the bluish orb in front of him. Not even Cybertron in its Golden Age was such a sight. The craft soon entered the atmosphere, and the pilot noted that like Cybertron, this planet had an atmosphere made primarily up of Nitrogen and Oxygen. He also noted that that his ship had located Autobot technology in the western part of the second largest landmass in the northern hemisphere. He locked in on the position and headed toward what was undoubtedly the Ark. He also noted that another large piece of Cybertronian technology was located several hundred miles to the southwest of the Ark’s position. An item to remember, but locating the Matrix took precedence.

* * *



Prime was slowly getting more accustomed to measuring his gate to allow humans to keep up, but it was still something that he needed to concentrate on. Fortunately, General Peterson walked more quickly than most humans. “General, I want you to know how much my troops and I appreciate your assistance. And I also wish to apologize for bringing this war to your planet.”

The General laughed. “Heck, I’m grateful for the opportunity to finally test my metal against a worthy foe. I got my promotion to General just as the Soviet Empire went down the drain, leaving me with nothing worthwhile to kick the tar out of.” He looked up at his new ally. “I just hope the combined efforts of your tech-boys and our tech-boys can eliminate some of the Decepticon’s air superiority.”

“Wheeljack seemed genuinely impressed with some of the designs your engineers brought us. It’s amazing what the bringing together of different perspectives can accomplish.” Suddenly an alarm went off. Prime instantly brought his wrist radio to his face. “What is it?”

Jazz replied. “Prime, we have an incoming craft. I can’t pinpoint the design, but it seems very Cybertronian.”

Prime mentally shifted his radio so that his voice would be heard throughout the ship. “Autobots, to battle stations!”

Autobots charged down the entrance ramp as the aft cannons lowered from the Ark. Human soldiers also made their way and positioned themselves to most effectively engage whatever threat was coming their way. Prime made his way out and walked to the front of the other Autobots, rifle in hand. “We have yet to make an identification of the incoming craft, so take no action until I say to.”

The Autobots agreed in unison. Off in the distant horizon a small dot came into view. The object gradually grew larger, until it’s wings and cylindrical shape could be made out. All weapons were trained on it as it came to a mid-air stop thirty yards from the Autobot and American soldiers. Slowly it lowered to the ground, eventually resting on the dirt and ceasing all movement and sounds.

For several tense moments there was no movement from either the apprehensive humans and Autobots or the ship. Then a quiet hissing noise became audible as the bubble-shaped dorsal section of the craft opened. Trigger-fingers tensed, as mechanical hands gripped either side of the cockpit, and then an odd looking robot lifted itself into view.

“STAND DOWN!” Prime’s command caught everyone but the newcomer off guard. Very little of Prime’s face was visible, but the portion that was registered a look of confused recognition. “You.”

“Hello Optimus Prime.”

Episode 4: Best Laid Plans


The space bridge had been completed for over an hour. According to Soundwave's last report, the one on Earth should be completed in a matter of minutes. Shockwave felt a wave of pride pass over him at having completed his bridge sooner than Megatron. He realized that he had an advantage in that the bridge was his invention and he knew exactly how to assemble it, but that advantage was offset by the fact that Shockwave was forced to use malnourished soldiers to undertake this process. Megatron and the Decepticons stranded on Earth were fully charged with ample reserves, a condition that no Transformer on Cybertron had experienced for over fifty thousand vorns. "Where are they?"

A thickly muscled quadruped walked up to Shockwave and stood by his side. "Who are you looking for?" The words eloquently slipped through the jagged, fang-lined maw that had caused death for hundreds of Autobots and neutral Cybertronians. The mode had been re-created from traces of genetic material found on the dried out husk of a dead planet that one of Shockwave’s probes had discovered four hundred vorns ago. This planet had also provided the genetic material for four other mammalian-type, and three insect-type bio-mechanical Decepticons. This particular beast was quadripedal, heavily muscled in the shoulders, hind-quarters and neck, had an epidermis that was so thick that it appeared to be armor, and had long, saber-like teeth sprouting from both the top and bottom of the jaw. But the deadly creature was a mere shadow of the warrior that it disguised. Razorclaw was one of Cyberton’s mightiest combatants, and was so much more savage and dangerous than any organic beast.

Shockwave answered the beast without taking his eyes away from the direction of the bio-pod. "Your flawed predecessors, Shrapnel, Bombshell and Kickback. They are to be the test subjects for whether or not the space bridge safely works."

The fearsome predator held his gaze on his creator. “And if the space bridge fails, you can accept their loss?”

“Yes.”

“I am fully aware of their failings and eccentricities, and that they are nowhere near as effective as my team, but they are formidable warriors that do not consume energon.”

"Wrong. They do not REQUIRE energon, but they do consume it. Despite my orders against it, I have found strong evidence that all three of my bio-mechanical prototypes have been absorbing the energon of their victims and even some from official Decepticon stockpiles. The sole purpose for their creation was to provide me with warriors that would not consume precious energon. I went to great pains to create the bio-pod and fill it with a virtual rain-forest just to give them ample food to convert to energon.”

Shockwave paused. “I gave them the gift of not being energon dependant, an extremely valuable gift on this depleted world, and they repay me with this treachery. This insubordination combined with their unstable personality traits was forcing me to contemplate feeding them to the you and your Predacons, but Megatron's resurgence and this device's need for a living test subject gave me a bette