Autobot Outpost Omega One

It was a quiet day at the Autobot base. It had been almost a week since Starscream had awakened Skyquake, the Decpeticon sleeper agent. The powerful seeker had been sent to Earth eons ago to protect the Energon that was buried on the planet. Since the Autobots had reasoned that there might be other Decepticons hidden on Earth in a similar manner, they had asked their human liaison, Agent William Fowler, to have the human governments that were aware of Cybertronian technology alert them if another stasis capsule was found. Now Fowler was calling with the results.

"Prime!" Fowler yelled over the communications system in his customary manner of introduction.

"Yes Agent Fowler?" Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, answered patiently. He had long ago become accustomed to Fowler's ways. "To what do we owe your call?"

"After the warning you gave us about 'Con sleepers, the big boys did some digging and found a record of an alien artifact that is similar to the stasis pod you recovered from the canyon. It's not an exact match, but it's definitely something from your planet."

Arcee, a blue two-wheeler femme, stepped up so that Fowler would be able to hear her. "So why weren't we informed about this before? We've all been on this planet for over three years now."

"I know, and I would have told you if I had know about it before. The thing was dug up over four decades ago, and pretty much forgotten about after a couple years of the scientists failing to learn much about it."

"We may be able to learn more after it is opened Agent Fowler," Optimus replied. "I believe that we should awaken whoever may be inside the pod, and I hope to gain a new ally in our fight against the Decepticons."

"Even after Skyquake refused to join us, you still think that any Decepticon would be willing to change sides?" Ratchet asked from his place at the controls of the computer system. Ratchet was one of Optimus' oldest friends, and served as the team's medic.

"One can always hope. And it is in our best interest to discover this sleeper's allegiance now, rather then give Starscream another chance to recruit a warrior to his cause."

"Alright then. I'll get the thing moved into one of the hangers at the Air Force base where it's being stored," Fowler acknowledged. "And I'll make sure that there aren't any vehicles in sight of the thing in case whatever is in there isn't friendly. I'll call you when everything is ready for you to come over." With that, the agent signed off the line.

Optimus turned to his SIC. "Arcee, go with Bumblebee and Bulkhead to gather our human friends from their school. You should return in time to accompany Ratchet and myself to Agent Fowler's location."

Arcee gave a quick nod before leaving to find the other Autobots, while Ratchet gave his leader a surprised look upon hearing that he would be going on this mission. "Optimus, wouldn't Bulkhead be better suited to provide you with backup?"

"While Bulkhead is a capable warrior, he tends to cause unnecessary amounts of damage to his surroundings. Inside a human base, this is something that should be avoided. And your medical skills may be needed."

A little less then an hour later, all of Team Prime was assembled in the centre of their base, with the Ground-bridge ready to transport them to the coordinates that Fowler had provided. Bumblebee stood by the control console, and activated the wormhole for the away team. In seconds Optimus, Arcee, and Ratchet transformed into a red and blue big rig, a blue motorcycle, and a red and white ambulance respectively, before driving through the Ground-bridge's event horizon.

As they left, Jack, who was the oldest of the teenagers there, looked over at Raf. "So exactly where is this military base that hides alien artifacts?"

The young tech genius looked up the GPS coordinates that Fowler had provided, then started laughing.

"What's so funny?" Miko, the lone girl of the group asked. She and Jack looked over Raf's shoulder at the screen. "Oh! I guess all those conspiracy nuts were right after all!"


USAF Base Area 51

"It's right over here," Fowler said as he led the three Autobots towards a corner of the nearly empty hanger. During the time he had before he signalled for the Autobots to arrive, Fowler had ordered the men on duty to move all of the aircraft to another hanger. The stasis pod had been placed in the corner facing outwards, guaranteeing that the occupant would have to face all three Autobots at the same time.

The pod was massive, much larger then even Optimus, as it had been designed to be able to fit a Cybertronian of any size. Ratchet ran a scan over it with the scanner built into his arm. "The good news is that I am picking up life signs in there. The bad news is that there is no way to determine whether this pod is Autobot or Decepticon."

Fowler frowned. "So we'll have to open it to find out if it's one of your men. Shame, I would have liked to know if we were dealing with a Con. Then we could have blown the pod before it could cause any problems."

"I would prefer to offer a Decepticon an opportunity to surrender first Agent Fowler. In any case, destroying a stasis pod of this kind from the outside is beyond our capabilities," Optimus replied solemnly. "Ratchet, begin the Energon infusion."

The medic nodded before drawing a (relatively) small cube of Energon out of the trunk on his back, and carefully placed it in the slot in the front of the stasis pod. The glowing cube was sucked into the slot, and the blue light spread throughout channels in the machinery before becoming too bright for even the optics of the Transformers. Then the glow quickly faded, and the large circular lock on the near-black obelisk spun apart. Dramatically, the pod's doors slowly opened wide, revealing...

Nothing.

"Huh?" Arcee exclaimed, stepping forward to look inside better while holding her blaster-arm at the ready. "Was it empty after all that?"

"No, my scanner wouldn't give me a false reading in this circumstance. Besides, the pod wouldn't have accepted the Energon in that case. There was someone in there." Ratchet responded.

Everyone winced as a high-pitched, whining sound filled the air, and the occupant of the seemingly empty pod faded into view.

"A cloaking device," Ratchet said in slight awe as the mech stepped into the light, causing Arcee to back away while still keeping her gun trained on him. Personal cloaking devices that could turn the user completely invisible were rather rare, even on Cybertron during the machine-planet's Golden Age. The medic knew of only a few Cybertronians with such a device, and this certainly wasn't the Autobot Mirage.

Much more worrying was that the mech had a seeker's build, as most Cybertronians capable of flight were Decepticons. Rather small for a flier, he was slightly shorter then Ratchet in height, as well as being quite a bit more slender. Mostly coloured a dark grey with deep red lines as accents, his helm was shaped similarly to the hood of a cloak, keeping the upper half of his face in shadow. The large wings that jutted upwards on his back were clearly his most distinctive feature, while the bright red optics that gazed out from his shadowed face coming in a close second. There were no obvious weapons on him, though the three fingers on each hand did end in claws. All in all, he had a menacing look about him, and his size did nothing to detract from it.

"Stay back 'Con, and put up your hands!" Arcee ordered as he took another step. The seeker stopped moving, but otherwise ignored her. Then he spoke for the second time, directing his Cybertronian words to the Autobot leader in front of him.

"Autobots. It figures that you would be the ones to find me, considering how the Harbinger was destroyed. Although going by my internal chronometer, you are several eons behind schedule."

Optimus raised an eyebrow before replying in the same language. "You are a Decepticon? State your name and intentions," he commanded, arming his left sword and right cannons.

"I am Ex-21/s, otherwise known as Warhawk. My current intentions are to receive an update on the war, my location, your own identification and intentions, and then form an appropriate response."

Upon the admission that he was a Con, Ratchet gestured for Agent Fowler to clear the area before readying his blades, while Arcee adjusted her aim to focus on Warhawk's head.

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. Cybertron has been rendered uninhabitable by the war, and both factions are in exile on this planet, Earth," Optimus replied truthfully, realizing that this Decepticon had been away from battle for a very long time. Perhaps he would recognize that joining the Autobots would be a wise decision. "The Autobots are currently fighting to protect this planet's natives from the Decepticons, and secure Energon for our own use. Recently Megatron was destroyed by a Space-bridge explosion, and the Decepticons are lead by Starscream."

Warhawk's eyes narrowed to red slits. "That is disheartening news for my cause if it is true. However, you did not mention your intentions towards myself, although I doubt you will simply allow me to leave."

This was the pivotal moment. Would the seeker accept his offer? "While I cannot allow you to rejoin the Decepticons, I do offer something more then a choice between surrender and destruction. Join the Autobots, and help us put an end to this war forever," Optimus proposed, disarming and offering a hand to the other mech.


The moments seemed to drag on as Warhawk considered the Prime's words. On one servo, the Autobots have the advantage over myself in this situation, he pondered. On the other, I don't know if the Prime's words about Cybertron and Megatron are true. Even if they are, I might stand to gain more by staying true to my current allegiance. This calls for further research.

Without any other conversation, the seeker leaped into the air and activated the jump-jets on his back, startling Arcee into opening fire. Even at close range, the speed and abruptness of Warhawk's movement prevented her from scoring more then a few glancing hits on upper legs as he soared over her head. Landing in a crouch and emitting the same high-pitched noise as before, he disappeared from the visible spectrum while running unseen to the hanger's entrance.

However, he could not remain silent while moving at that speed, and the two Autobot warriors were in hot pursuit, firing in his general direction in the hopes of getting a lucky shot in. Fortunately for Warhawk, his small frame prevented any of the wild blasts from striking him during the short time he was exposed to their aim. Ducking around the hanger's corner, he searched for a place to hide and deactivate his cloak. The one weakness to it's design was that while it could hide him from both sight and sensor, the amount of time it could be used without suffering an overheat was restrictively short. Spotting another building similar to the one he had just escaped, he reached the inside only a few seconds before the Autobots made it out onto the tarmac.

Primary Problem: Autobot forces intent on my capture.

Possible Primary Solution: Destruction of Autobots – Last resort due to lack of tactical advantage

Possible Primary Solution: Receive Decepticon reinforcements. Would provide tactical advantage and provide opportunity to destroy Autobot leadership.

Sub-Problem: Requires communication with Decepticon forces and time for them to arrive.

Possible Primary Solution: Escape area. Preferable. Safe. Maintains current non-aggressive stance towards Autobots.

Sub-Problem: Autobot vehicle modes render escape by ground impossible.

Sub-Solution: Acquire aerial alt-mode. In-Progress...


Optimus and Arcee walked slowly as they spread out from the entrance of the hanger, keeping both audio sensors and optics alert for any signs of the invisible Decepticon. Without any idea of the limitations of Warhawk's abilities, they would have to remain on guard for him trying to sneak by if he hadn't already escaped their reach.

"Bumblebee, Bulkhead, bridge to our location. We require your assistance to search for the Decepticon. Raf, close the Ground-bridge behind them," Optimus ordered.

"Is there any use trying at this point?" Ratchet asked pessimally as he caught up to them. "He is probably long gone by now."

"While that may be true, without a vehicle mode Warhawk is still vulnerable. If we can keep him on the ground, there is still a chance to catch him," Optimus explained.

"In that case, we need to make sure he doesn't find where Fowler stashed all of the planes," Arcee reasoned as their reinforcements arrived. "Bumblebee, you're with me. We'll check the hangers."

As they approached the closest building, a sudden explosion erupted from it's roof. As the grounded Cybertronians watched, a dark jet took off out of the hole, going straight up with extreme speed. It was far too quick for them to draw a bead on, and was quickly out of sight.

Coming out of his hiding place, William Fowler rubbed his forehead in annoyance when he saw the smoking roof. "Well isn't this just perfect."