Hunters
A Transformers: Armada Story
By William Rendfeld
"And you believe that my unit is capable of such a thing?"
"I think it's a strong possibility."
The brow of Barricade's holo-avatar furrowed as he considered this information. "A five-part Powerlink, consisting of all of us?"
"In my analysis of Skyfall and Landquake, I noticed a part that didn't seem to have any function, a sort of locking mechanism." Red Alert displayed his findings on a small computer pad as he resumed his explanation. "Their spark signatures allowed for the part and their related systems to be in place. The specific part of their signature which allowed for it is within you and the members of your team. Assuming you have the required parts, you may just be able to combine."
Barricade's avatar turned to another. "You've performed detailed scans of us in the past, Shockblast. Is such a thing possible?"
"I noticed the particular bit of code within your signature which Red Alert speaks of," the Decepticon logician's holo-avatar admitted. "However, I saw no reason to bring it up previously. It is possible, but I have no direct evidence for it. Were it connected to something concrete, had I proof that the system was online and active, I would have pursued it further."
"It's probably a wise thing that you kept this to yourself; had Megatron known about it, he would have exploited it," the carmine commander mused
"As you yourself are considering," Shockblast added and continued when Optimus glanced over at the purple tactician. "It is a logical decision; you have a potential resource, and it would be wise to exploit it as best you can. I simply wish to point out the connection."
"Noted." Optimus turned to Barricade and continued, "But unlike Megatron, I'm not going to force it on you. If your unit wishes to undergo the procedure, then we'll attempt to access it. If you refuse, then we'll let it go."
"Assuming this procedure works, what will be the outcome?"
The blue and white doctor keyed in a command on the computer pad, hoping to answer the Decepticon strategist's question. "Our theory is that five Transformers, properly outfitted with the necessary systems and equipment, will be able to combine in a manner similar to the Powerlinx process, forming one large robot. The larger robot's consciousness will be drawn from the five components, forming a gestalt both in body and mind."
"You mean my mind would be mixed with theirs?" The holo-avatar for Blackout spoke with disdain. "That's sick."
"Not mixed; drawn from," Red Alert elaborated. "Your individual minds and sparks would still be separate, but the larger form would draw on all of them, bridge them together, in order to form a cohesive whole."
"That doesn't do much to reassure me," the Decepticon warrior grunted in disgust.
"Still, this is a matter to be considered," Barricade decided, ignoring his subordinate's low griping.
"We're willing to offer something in return for your help." As both team members looked expectantly at Prime, he continued. "Should you agree to this procedure, your sentence will be reduced from stasis to probation. You'll be able to move and interact with society again and your commissions within the Decepticon military will be reactivated, but you'll answer to Starscream directly. Should you break the rules or disobey his orders, however, you'll return here."
"We'll also need technical assistance in performing the upgrades," the science officer was quick to point out. "And that will mean reduced sentences with similar conditions with you two as well."
"A generous offer," Shockblast said with a small glance to the holo-avatar of his sibling. "We will discuss it among ourselves."
The Autobot commander nodded. "Of course."
The skies over Rocky Mountain National Park were peaceful, quiet. Birds flew about, twittering as they went on their merry way, uncaring of intervention in their routine.
That tranquility faded as an orange helicopter bearing rescue markings flew through the air, the heavy 'whup-whup-whup' of its rotors ending the natural order around them as it flew towards a flattened area of Longs Peak.
The chopper hovered expectantly, as if waiting for something to occur. Silently, the flattened peak seemed to open, two panels sliding away above the surface as a silvery platform rose to take up the space they once occupied. After landing, its rotors began slowing down as the platform descended, the twin panels above it sliding back into place.
The platform's slow descent halted as it reached a large, well-lit hangar bay. Two large Transformers of similar stature stood waiting as the helicopter's lone passenger emerged and its cargo was dropped.
"Colonel Franklin, Evac, welcome back." Scavenger looked to the freight hopefully. "I take it you were successful."
Michael sighed as Evac transformed into his robot mode and picked up the cargo containers he had deposited. "Successful wasn't the word I had in mind. I had to call in a few favors to get these from the Mogul archives at Area 51. Frankly speaking, we got lucky."
"Still, we were successful," Sentinel Maximus was eager to point out. "And now perhaps we can answer a few questions regarding just what happened in 1947."
"And the sooner that's done, the better." Evac stepped towards one of the lifts, following his three companions as they went.
The lift began its descent as Franklin quickly recounted. "As all three of you know by now, in the late nineteen forties, high-altitude weather balloons were used as part of a monitoring program by the United States Air Force. One of the flights crashed in 1947 near Roswell, New Mexico. The wreckage retrieved was initially thought of as having come from an extraterrestrial craft. At the time, we thought that was the end of it."
"Until I came along and confirmed that a Cybertronian had come to Earth that year and dug up a Mini-Con pod." Evac eyed the containers in his hands. "There's some small hope that we might have a bit of Transformer wreckage in here and maybe get some answers about who left it."
The lift halted, and the four exited into a hallway in the Autobot base on Earth, the occasional resident or human ally passing them by as they went. After a few short minutes, the quartet entered a small science bay, five occupants awaiting them.
"Astroscope, Rhinox, we're ready when you are."
"Perfect timing," the Mini-Con scientist said happily as Evac handed off the containers to Rhinox. As the members of his team and Rhinox's Mini-Con partner removed their contents, he continued, "We'll begin scanning as soon as the fragments are fully loaded into the scanner."
"Assuming that we have something from Cybertron in there, do you think we'll be able to get anything from it?" the Air Force colonel asked after Evac placed him at the Mini-Cons' level.
"Easily," Rhinox stated matter-of-factly. "All Cybertronians have a spark signature, something which identifies us as easily as our make and model or coloration and determines what kind of enhancements we can receive. All our components, no matter how small, have them, and they stay even after the part is disconnected or the spark leaves the body."
"It's like fingerprints or DNA with humans," Payload explained as he laid out some debris on the scanner. "Only no identical twins complicating things."
"And when we find out who left the wreckage, we can track 'em down and find out how they knew we were on Earth," Sky Blast finished enthusiastically.
"Assuming we find something from Cybertron." Armorhide turned to face their human ally with an expression that was a mix of concern and minor irritation. "Last I checked, your people had a bad habit of destroying things they call 'trash'."
"Believe it or not, this was about to be destroyed before I retrieved it." Franklin turned at Scavenger's incredulous look and elaborated. "Like I said, luck."
"Let's hope that luck holds out," Rhinox muttered as the last of the debris was mounted on the scanner. He activated it and a greenish glow emerged from the device, washing over each of the bits of debris in turn. The techno-organic Transformer watched as results appeared on a monitor, his optics moving over the readout as it came up. A chime sounded, and he declared, "We've got something." Those gathered watched as he pointed to a small bit of black ceramic and said, "That bit right there has a spark signature attached to it."
"I wouldn't be surprised that it was overlooked." As the part was picked up by Astroscope, Franklin rubbed his chin. "Weather balloons need to be as light as possible; ceramics would be an easy alternative to heavier metals."
"Why ceramic?" the green bulldozer asked.
"To protect against the heat of atmospheric entry, same as human spacecraft," the Mini-Con scientist clarified as he scanned the shrapnel. "That's consistent with my scans of the debris at least."
"A Transformer designed for atmospheric entry and departure comes to Earth, finds a pod, recovers four Mini-Cons, and leaves, losing this and maybe knocking out a balloon." Evac turned to Rhinox. "Can you figure out who?"
"Checking that now." The rhinoceros keyed in a few commands. "Here, we've got him. Astrotrain; Decepticon, formerly with Megatron's faction. He's a bounty hunter now. Right alternate mode, and the four missing Mini-Cons worked with him in the past."
"The pieces fit," Scavenger noted. He activated his communicator. "Sideswipe, I need a channel to Cybertron. Also, have Crosswise report to the command center; we're going to need his services."
"So, enjoying the new you?"
Downshift gave his commander an uneasy glance. "It's still me, sir."
Rodimus chuckled as the two walked down a corridor aboard the Axalon, views of Earth in each window they passed. "I know it's still you, Downshift. I just want to make sure you're adjusting to the new body alright is all."
"Well, it has been six months. I guess I'm getting used to it. The tech is fairly impressive, though I don't see much use for this new Cyber Key ability of mine outside of vehicle mode." He gave a shrug. "I guess I'll come up with something." A thought crossed the young engineer's mind. "Rodimus, when Evac met with each of you, did he explain...?"
"The Key of Wisdom changed you, Downshift," the red and orange mech reassured. "Evac said he'd kept it with him most of the time. Lucky for you, he left it on Atlantis that day to help charge up the ship. Plus he figured it'd be safer there than with him in a combat situation. After he met with Optimus Prime, he went back and got it."
Relief in the younger mech's body. "Well, I won't complain; all those Scrapmetals did a number on me."
"You shouldn't. Besides, we've got it now, and once Atlantis is in full working condition, we'll have that thing connected to the Omega Lock and maybe get an idea of where the other Keys are."
"Do you think it's that easy?" the white and green sport cars inquired.
A pause from Axalon's captain. "Supposedly, odd energy spikes occurred all over the place when the Omega Lock was recovered and brought near the other artifacts. It'll probably repeat when the Key's added. If anything, that'll give a better idea of where to start looking for the last three."
"I hope so," Downshift said quietly. "I really do."
"Astrotrain?" The name escaped Prime's vocalizer in a way that conveyed clear surprise, even over a comm.-line. "I didn't expect to hear his name again."
"Neither did we." Scavenger's expression remained grave as he carried on. "But we've got definite proof he was here on Earth, not to mention a great deal of collaborative evidence that fits."
Optimus nodded slowly. His optics rested on the self-proclaimed "Monster Hunter". "Crosswise, you worked as a mercenary and bounty hunter for a time. Have you crossed paths with him?"
"I only know him by reputation," the shorter mech confessed, hands splayed open. "Never met him in person, never had much reason to research him. Everything I've heard is little more than rumor, so I can't confirm any of it."
"Let's hope not all of it is true then; you think you can find him?"
Crosswise shrugged. "Maybe, but if the rumors are true, he's upgraded his systems. Plus he'll have four Mini-Cons backing him up. I'll need help."
"I'll do what I can to get it. Anyone we can muster, I'll have waiting for you when you arrive."
"Understood."
The transmission cut off. The elder mech turned to the Autobot warrior and cast an uneasy look towards him. "You think you can find him?"
"I found the Eclipse Team, brought them in. This doesn't look to be as pleasant, but I'll get the job done." Crosswise turned to one of the other Autobots present. "What do you say kid; ready for another adventure?"
Sideswipe turned to him in surprise before giving a weak, nervous laugh. "Thanks but no thanks. I got enough when the base was attacked to last me a while."
"Suit yourself." Crosswise then made his way out of the command center, but cast his gaze back towards his two comrades. "Just wish me luck; I might need it."
"Well, it's nice to have that little mystery cleared up. I'd still like to know who told him about the Mini-Cons being on Earth."
"We'll have to find him before that can happen, Jetfire." Optimus keyed in a few commands, opening another comm.-line. "Bumblebee, do you have any ships available? We need to borrow one for an investigation."
The little yellow Autobot checked on something just out of range of his communications screen. "We've got one that's between assignments, the Firefly. Not a lot of crew space, but plenty of cargo room."
"That'll be fine; I want the pilot here for debriefing in two megacycles."
"Understood."
"Well, we've got a hunter and a pilot. That should do the trick," Jetfire commented as the line to Bumblebee's office cut out.
"It might be a wise idea to get a hold of someone who knows Astrotrain, worked with him in the past." Optimus turned to his second. "Now who do we know who fits that bill?"
"You want me to do WHAT?"
"Help Crosswise find Astrotrain and figure out how he knew the Mini-Cons were on Earth," Starscream quietly explained, optics glancing over at the patrons who had overheard the flight-capable mech's outburst. A fierce glare sent them back to minding their own affairs. "Is that going to be a problem?"
"Oh no, no problem," Sharkticon slurred with a derisive giggle. "It's just dandy, if you excuse the whole thing about him capturing me. It's thanks to him I was locked up you know, same as the rest of the Eclipse Team." He jabbed sharply at the Seeker with mug still in hand, spilling some oil. "And don't you dare mention that I got myself into that mess by siding with Megatron."
"I wasn't going to." Starscream took a small sip from his drink, this time something different from the last meeting he had with the former convict. "I'm not asking you to suddenly treat him like a brother, just to help him. How Astrotrain knew about the Mini-Cons could be vitally important, and I for one would rather tie up that loose end than leave it dangling."
The shark groaned, already feeling his processors protesting. "That is important, isn't it?" He cast a baleful glance at the Decepticon leader. "You realize, of course, I might just scrap him?"
Starscream frowned at his subordinate disapprovingly. "You're many things, but you aren't stupid. Doing that would put you right back where you don't want to be."
"It's still tempting." Sharkticon downed the last of his drink and gave an aggravated sigh, slamming down the mug onto the counter. "Fine, you've got yourself a stoolie. But I'm not gonna like it."
"We'll see," the blue and grey jet fighter spoke as he paid for their drinks and led the other out. "This might just surprise you."
"Well, this is a pleasant surprise."
"Surprise?" Stormcloud squeaked nervously as Red Alert finished scanning him and his teammates. "What do you mean?"
"Remember what I said about you and your teammates needing specific hardware to combine?" Red pulled up the data from his scan and noted, "Skyfall and Landquake had one half of the needed mechanism. It looks as if the four of you hold similar hardware, with Barricade possessing the other half."
"Then why haven't we gone 'super 'bot' and smashed stuff up yet?" Kickback snarled irritably.
"Looks like lack of power." Sixshot looked over the scans and nodded to himself. "Based on what I'm seeing here, you guys need an infusion of Energon in order to bring the systems online. Really high-grade Energon too, and I'm not sure how we'll get some of that."
The door to Red Alert's lab slid open, and a familiar voice filtered in. "I surmised that you may be planning to capitalize on this." Those gathered looked to find Skyfall standing at the door, Landquake in tow. With reassurance, the Autobot researcher said quietly, "I think I may have a way to help."
The soft glow from an open space bridge portal illuminated the large chamber within Autobot Command on Cybertron. Crosswise stepped through, and the portal closed behind him.
"I'm glad no one objected to having that there," Crosswise stated to his commanding officer.
"I think the space bridge line was probably one of the few things no one on Earth objected to; a lot easier to hide than a ship taking off." Optimus led him to a lift, and then explained as he keyed in a destination, "I've managed to get a ship and pilot for you in case you need to go off-world."
"That'll help." The Bugatti had a curious look as the lift stopped moments after it started. "Who's the lucky pilot?"
"One very happy old friend," a feminine voice replied.
Crosswise turned and said in pleasant surprise, "Chromia."
"Crosswise," the blue Autobot femme answered, a smile crossing her face. "I heard you were back in the militia. About time you regained whatever processor you lost."
The Autobot mercenary smirked. "Had a good reason to come back." He nodded at Starscream and greeted their third with a curt "Sharkticon."
"Crosswise," the Decepticon responded in a similar tone.
Optimus gave off a small sound not unlike someone clearing their throat. "Let's begin, shall we?" He activated a holographic display. "As you all know by now, we've recently recovered evidence that Astrotrain was on Earth a little over fifty stellar cycles ago, and recovered a quartet of Mini-Cons." A projection of the aforementioned Decepticon appeared, and was quickly joined by projections of the Mini-Cons as they were named. "Starcatcher, Astro-Hook, Astro-Line, and Astro-Sinker."
"His partners back in the old days," Sharkticon mused. "I remember them."
"Care to illuminate us?" Crosswise asked.
The Decepticon shot him an annoyed glance before collecting his thoughts. "Astrotrain used to be part of the regular Decepticon forces, back before the Second War. He was a troop transport and courier; he moved Decepticons, equipment, all sorts of things around. He helped lug me and my team about back then more than once; he was good at what he did. But he wanted to be a warrior, take part in the fighting. When Megatron gave him the chance to do just that, he took it. Then Jhiaxus was slagged and Megatron's rebellion was put down; after that, he turned himself in."
"I've checked the internment records," Starscream added, pulling up a scrolling window alongside the profile. "He was released some thirty stellar cycles later, his full sentence. He left Cybertron after that. Since then he's made regular appearances up on Brasta, mostly for system upgrades; new armor, advanced engines, et cetera."
"That tracks with the rumors I've heard about him," the black car rounded out. "He took odd jobs over the years, probably used the payments from them to pay for the upgrades. He's been getting a lot of results over the last few years; now we know why."
"The Mini-Cons," Optimus observed. "How he knew about them sixty years before the rest of us is the question now."
"So we're chasing down a Decepticon bounty hunter with an untold number of upgrades," Chromia summarized dryly. "Sounds like fun. When do we leave?"
"As soon as your ship's ready." The red mech turned to the ebony Autobot. "I won't appoint a commander, but the three of you don't have free reign. Do what you need to do, just keep the pyrotechnics to a minimum. Find Astrotrain, convince him to come back if you can, but find out what we need to know."
"Simple enough," Sharkticon exhaled, rising to his feet. "Let's get this over with."
"Come on...come on...aw scrap, where is..."
THUNK.
"Damn cannon-arm..." The Transformer continued to gripe as he asked, "Why couldn't I have just ended up a Starscream clone as usual?"
A soft chime sounded on the door to Thundercracker's quarters. The Decepticon jet groaned. "Come in."
The door softly opened. "You okay in here, TC?"
"Sort of." The blue and gray jet sighed. "You mind giving me a hand with all this, RR?"
"Oh, sure." Rapid Run knelt down and collected a few of the small datacubes that had been dropped on the ground. "What are these things for, anyway?"
Thundercracker gave the yellow and black Decepticon a nervous glance. "Promise you won't laugh?" With a confirming look from Rapid Run, he explained, "They're Earth music."
"All of them?" The motorcycle shook his head. "I knew you liked Earth songs, but I didn't think you were this serious about it. How much can this planet have, anyway?"
Thundercracker could barely contain his enthusiasm. "You'd be surprised."
As he continued cleaning up the mess, comprehension grew on the Decepticon infiltrator's face. "You're really into this, aren't you?"
The Seeker nodded eagerly. "We'd been picking up transmissions from this planet for decades, but this planet didn't really become important until we found out about the Mini-Cons. They're the entire reason why Megatron came, why the Autobots came. If we hadn't picked up that signal, you and I would still be hiding out in that resistance cell, and our partners would still be in pods."
"Except Nightscream; he'd still be running around on Atlantis with Knock Out," Rapid Run corrected, putting away several datacubes.
"Except for that, yeah," he amended mid-cleaning. "But we'd be missing out on so much, especially with music. Back on Cybertron, we don't really have famous composers or symphonies or anything like that. What music we have is composed on a synthesizer, or done with percussion. Here on Earth, they've got all sorts of instruments, all manner of ways to use them. Music is a part of their lives here, it shows up in practically every media they have; television, movies, radio. Not only that, but it's not the same music everywhere you go; every corner of the planet has its own songs, its own beats. You can tell something about a culture just by the way their music sounds; jazz speaks for America, j-pop for modern Japan, and so on. Music's everywhere, and I can't help but enjoy it."
Light moved along yellow motorcycle's optic bar, giving the impression that he was rolling his optics. "You saying you like all of it? There's a lot of this music that even the Earthers aren't too fond of."
"Didn't say I liked everything," Thundercracker conceded, Picking up a datacube marked with the image of a man with a cowboy hat and guitar. "But there are some forms that I like more than others."
"Not a bad piece of work."
Chromia smiled proudly as Crosswise took a seat in her ship's command module. "The Firefly isn't much, but she's my sparkling. Fastest ship that Autobot Intelligence has; you'd have to time travel to keep up."
Sharkticon remained silent as he strapped himself in, casting the occasional wary look at Crosswise.
The Autobot mercenary couldn't help but notice. "Something bothering you?"
"Gee, whatever gave you that idea?" the shark countered back a bit snappishly. "Aside from the whole 'I'm blasting off into space chasing after an old friend with the Autobot who brought me in' thing, I'm right dandy."
"I was doing my job," Crosswise retorted in defense. "You and the Eclipse Team sided with Megatron. All I did was bring you in. It was business."
"Was it suddenly business that I got stuck in stasis on Earth for a couple million stellar cycles?" Sharkticon shot back.
"You sided with Megatron; what happened after I brought you in wasn't my choice."
"Hey, you Autobots are always harping about how we should be free to choose our own paths. We chose ours, and you locked us up."
"After enslaving Mini-Cons, conspiring against your rightfully-elected government and causing destruction and death? There's self-determination and there's stupidity."
"Is it suddenly stupid to think that we needed to do something to make certain we didn't get conquered by the Quints again?"
"Well that's a moot..."
Chromia whistled sharply, something rarely performed among Transformers. "As much as I enjoy seeing a couple 'bots rip themselves apart, we've got a job here, okay? Now, let's focus on the job and not on our personal histories. Where do we start?"
Crosswise kept silent but sent an expectant gaze towards Sharkticon. The Decepticon grumbled low curses before finally relenting. "We know he's popped up on Brasta every once in a while. I say we start there."
"Seconded," the blue femme agreed as she activated the engines. The ship slowly rose from the ground, the three occupants feeling increased pressure as it lifted off. "Now here's hoping our little trip doesn't turn into a three-hour tour."
A bit of Sharkticon's optic brow rose in reaction to that phrase, but he said nothing. Didn't matter much anyway.
In orbit high above Cybertron were two moons, dubbed Aegis and Brasta by the planet's population. The former had been utilized as forward defense for Cybertron ever since the Outsider Wars; bristling with sensors and weaponry, and supported by an array of satellites, it was the sort of thing meant to discourage the smarter invaders and eliminate the more aggressive ones.
The second was quite different. Where its sister moon was meant for defense, Brasta had been populated for commerce. Offworlders tended to go there instead of Cybertron to conduct business, make trade negotiations, or simply to have their ships repaired. Because of its status as a free port, it attracted some of the more dramatic travelers along the space ways and trade routes, and was all but officially considered a hive of scum and villainy. The fact that Aegis was always in sight, however, encouraged these more unsavory visitors to keep out of trouble lest they were forcibly removed and their ships blasted out from behind them.
The trip there was short, the Firefly landing at the main port without incident and docking fees paid. With Chromia staying behind to keep an eye on her ship, Crosswise and Sharkticon made their way to the outskirts of one of Brasta's primary ports.
"Any reason we're heading this way in particular?" the Decepticon warrior asked, sidestepping several merchants.
"I have a friend I occasionally run into out here," Crosswise explained as they approached a local cantina. "He may have something we can use."
The two entered the establishment, a general ruckus greeting them as they found the standard troop of bar patrons greeting them.
Sharkticon was swiftly losing what little confidence he had and hesitated. "Well, assuming your friend shows up, you probably don't want me getting in the middle of things. I'll float around near the bar; fair?"
"I think we can both handle that," the Bugatti acquiesced confidently.
The two went their separate ways, the Autobot gravitating towards one corner while the shark-shaped warrior planted himself near the bar. The barkeep shot the newcomer a wary look and Sharkticon did likewise. "What'll it be?"
Green optics danced over the bottles of liquid and various graded Energon. He was tempted, but he was also feeling the beginnings of a hangover coming on. "Aegis stunner, no ice."
The barkeep began mixing his brew as a boisterous group entered the establishment. Sharkticon turned to face the gloating and guffaws, and then quietly turned away. The new arrivals were also Decepticons, decked out in various body decals and designs, all custom jobs. 'Pirates,' he figured as he received his drink, 'nothing more to them than that.'
As he took a sip from his beverage, an oily voice greeted him. "Well, look whose come to our little pub."
Two forms took seats to either side of him, the second one booming, "Didn't realize they let sunbleached scrapheaps in now."
"Overbite...Blastcharge..." Sharkticon said quietly, slowly sipping his drink to keep his wits.
"He remembers us," Overbite chortled, his squinted yellow eyes glinting with malicious glee.
"Right personable of him," Blastcharge added, his bulky frame and mechanical face making him look all the more sinister. "Especially given the old days."
"As I recall, the two of you were stupid enough to storm right into the Wreckers." The calmer shark took another sip. "I'm surprised you lived through that, even more so that the two of you got out."
"Well, we were on good behavior," the tech-org declared in an innocent tone. He pulled out a wicked blue blade as he continued, "O' course, we ain't quite that bound anymore."
Sharkticon considered his options; blasting Overbite was hardly a bad idea, and he could get away with it, the whole self-defense deal. A precision strike would be just enough.
Fortunately for him, he didn't need to.
"Now mates, d'ye really want'a be picking a fight with one of the Eclipse Team?" Sharkticon turned his head to take note of the new arrival, a black and gold Transformer resembling Red Alert but carrying the Decepticon emblem. "'Specially with the company he be keepin'."
A familiar blaster finding itself pointing at Overbite's head, Crosswise smiling grimly. "I'd be pretty put out by it."
The two Decepticons looked at their initial prey, then at their leader before deciding to reluctantly back off. The dark-armored pirate motioned towards a private room in the back, to which the unlikely duo hastily followed, the Autobot stowing away his gun.
As the door sealed behind them, the pirate groaned and then spoke in an entirely different voice with a slight drawl. "If I had known ye'd be crossin' paths with me 'gain, Crosswise, I'd been sure ta meet with ye privately."
"Couldn't be helped, we're in something of a rush." The bounty hunter quickly turned to his confused partner. "Sharkticon, this is Magnum, better known as Cannonball."
"The Dread Pirate Cannonball?" the water-based Decepticon echoed in surprise. "I thought he was taller."
"That was the last one mate. Long story." Cannonball settled into a seat, shooting the pair a speculative look. "Now, 'fore me crew gets suspicious, I suggest ye make with the short version 'bout why ye came lookin' for me."
"Information," Crosswise immediately spoke. "We're looking for Astrotrain. I thought you might have run into him out there."
The dark colored pirate nodded. "You've thought right lad; he's gotten us out of a few scrapes here and there, we've done the same. Me an' me crew ran into 'im half a stellar cycle back, helped him out near Sandokan. Seems that dead planet still had a workin' defense grid."
"What was he doing there?" Sharkticon inquired, wanting to get this over with and avoid another confrontation.
"Dinna ask. All I know is that he was worried 'bout somethin', took off fer Ceti Alpha Seven like he 'ad Unicron 'imself after him." Here, Cannonball leaned forward. "The way I'm hearin' things lately, that might just be the case."
Crosswise's optics dimmed, the memory of recent events flashing in his mind. "Let's hope it isn't."
"Thanks to our discoveries on Earth, we've confirmed the existence of the Four Keys. We've already retrieved one; now we need to find the others."
Scourge scoffed over the comm.-line. "And you're convinced that these keys are on the colony worlds?"
"It's logical, given these new abilities that have been cropping up since the Omega Lock was found," Override conjectured from her side. "What I don't get is why we haven't worried about this earlier."
"With Galvatron's attack on the Council and our efforts on Earth, I thought that we had other priorities." Optimus sat up in his seat. "Now, however, I think it's time that we began looking for them in earnest. And I need your help to do it."
"We know that each of the Keys was contained upon a starship," Vector Prime followed, picking up the explanation. "One is on Earth aboard Atlantis. Once repairs are complete there, we should be able to calculate the courses taken by two of the remaining three using its computer records. Accounting for stellar drift, we stand a fair chance of locating the remaining artifacts."
"Even assuming this works, we're still left with one key missing," Scourge reminded them. "And besides that, we have no easy means of finding them."
"That's why I'm asking for both of you to give us something to go on," Optimus detailed. "When the Omega Lock was brought in the presence of the Matrix and the ChronoSaber, it sent out a wave of energy. That wave traveled outward, activating dormant Cyber Key abilities. It had to react with something on your worlds. That something could be the two keys, and anything the two of you can find will help."
Override smiled. "Lucky for you, I got a bit curious on my own; the satellite network over Velocitron was recording when the wave hit. It reacted with something in the Southern Dunes. Unfortunately, that's a wide area to cover, and the search teams haven't come up with anything since then."
Animatros' leader stifled a growl before giving into reluctant acknowledgement. "We haven't been quite as fortunate. However, I'll have the orbitals here programmed to monitor for any such energy frequencies. If it appears again, we will be ready."
"The question is not 'if', Scourge, it is 'when'," Vector Prime insisted. "Once Atlantis is repaired, the Key of Wisdom will be added to the Omega Lock. More than likely, it will have a similar reaction. If so, it will confirm our suspicions."
"And in the likely event that it signals our adversaries, I'll have teams prepped to head for each of your worlds," the Autobot commander promised. "We've made good strides, but I'm not going to get overconfident."
"We'll be glad for the help Optimus," Velocitron's leader promised.
The Decepticon dragon furrowed his optic ridges. "Very well. Just make certain your warriors are capable of the task at hand. I won't be blamed for their incompetence."
The two lines closed. Optimus turned to Vector Prime and noted, "Any thoughts on this, old friend?"
"Only one," the ancient Transformer replied. "We must move cautiously."
"So, how'd it go?" Chromia asked as her two associates strapped themselves in.
"We've got a lead," Crosswise reported. "Astrotrain was last headed for Ceti Alpha Seven." The femme sharply looked at him. "I take it you've been there."
"Once," she admitted. "Strap in, 'bots, I'm about to request clearance for lift-off."
As Chromia went about her business, Sharkticon turned to Crosswise. "How'd you do it? Cross paths with Cannonball, or whoever he is?"
"It's a long story." The ebony Bugatti sighed, memory fragments drifting to the fore. "A while back, Magnum was a suspect in an investigation; someone had attacked a museum on Velocitron, stole an artifact they'd uncovered on the planet from before the colony was founded. I went after him, realized along the way that he wasn't the one they were looking for. The previous Cannonball was an Autobot friend of mine; he owed me a favor, so he took him in. Eventually, I caught the culprit, but by that time, Magnum had taken up the reigns. He was happy where he was, so I didn't drag him away."
A glimmer of respect formed in the shark's optics. "Guess you're worth something after all, Monster Hunter."
Crosswise smiled as the ship lifted off. "I'll take that as a compliment."
"I was wondering where you'd gotten to."
Minerva turned in surprise. "Oh. Sorry Ratchet, I was just...preoccupied, I guess."
"With all this?" Ratchet gestured outwards with his right arm over the skyline of Iacon. "It's nothing special."
The Autobot femme gave her fellow medic a smirk. "Maybe to you, but to me...all this is amazing. I've seen mountains, auroras, more sunrises and sunsets in more places on Earth than I can count. But being here on Cybertron, the homeworld of legend...it's new to me."
Ratchet's optics reflected affection. "I guess it would be." He leaned against the railing separating them from a long and painful fall. "Cybertron's always been a wonderful world, for all of us. We're lucky I suppose; if things had gone worse, if the wars had been bigger, it probably wouldn't be like this. I hate to think about it sometimes; darkened skies, destroyed buildings."
"I don't have to think about it." Minerva's optics dimmed. "For all of humanity's good qualities, they have a bad tendency to kill each other with great efficiency. I've seen it firsthand. They aren't quite as good at it as we are, but any lost life is terrible." A smile grew on her lips. "But every time I think of something like that, I think of flowers growing out of the rubble, of rains washing away the dust and debris. It's a comfort, thinking of all that."
"Signs that life goes on?" The Autobot medic cast his gaze towards the skyline, pondering her words. "That is a comfort."
"And it's the only thing I don't like about Cybertron." The smile became a slight grimace when Ratchet glanced over. "No flowers."
The CMO shrugged. "Nothing's perfect."
With a flash of light, the Firefly emerged from TransWarp, slowing as it approached the greenish-brown planet that was Ceti Alpha Seven.
"I'll say this for the place, you can definitely get away from it all here." Chromia checked over her readouts. "It's mostly swamplands towards the equator, some forested areas separating the swamps from the arctic regions. No signs of civilization, but I am picking up some power readings in the swamp regions."
"Probably what Astrotrain came here for," Sharkticon reasoned. "You know anything more about this place?"
The Autobot mercenary shook his head.
"You know who Brushguard is, right?" the blue femme posed and continued when they nodded. "He had a lab here a while ago, trying to splice plant DNA for biomechanical weapons applications. I was part of the team that brought him in. What he cooked up down there... it still sends shivers up my shocks."
"Doesn't sound like somewhere that I'd want to vacation either," the Decepticon declared, edginess in his voice as he took in the greenery.
"We won't be staying long," Crosswise said firmly. "We're going down."
"Don't say I didn't warn you," the pilot muttered under her breath as she activated the ship's autopilot.
A few minutes later, the trio found themselves teleported down to the surface of the planet, their feet resting on soft, muddy ground. Crosswise activated his headlights as Chromia made a quick scan. "Can't find anything on the sensors, but the comm.-link to the ship's still good. That power source is .4 kils south."
"Through dense jungle and wetlands," Sharkticon groused. "Swell."
The Bugatti pulled out his gun, a dour look settling over his features. "We'd better get started, or we'll never find him."
The trio then moved forward, their weapons at the ready and their sensors on the max. As they went, the only sounds they heard were the constant squelches and splashes of their steps through the swamp, an occasional sound from the local wildlife catching their notice.
"Why would he come here?" Chromia voiced what was on their minds, brushing aside several vines. "To get some tech leftover from the labs?"
"The way we heard, he came here in a hurry," Crosswise supplied, stepping over a rock. "It probably wasn't to get some bit of software."
"Probably chasing someone who was here to get a bit of hardware," Sharkticon followed up. "But who?"
Crosswise was about to respond but his foot touched something hard in the waters, prompting him to look down upon the ground. Greeting him was a bulky Transformer, long deactivated, his blue armor blackened and his face a permanent fixture of terror and pain. Some parts had been eaten away, the decay brought on by time and the elements quite clear.
"I think we've answered that question," the ebon Autobot noted as he knelt down and inspected the corpse. "Look familiar to you?"
"Deathsaurus," the aquatic Decepticon grunted grimly upon recognition. "A tech-org, bit of a jerk. He kept a close eye on Brushguard, before and after the little glitch joined up with Megatron. Always had an interest in his experiments, probably knew almost as much about them as Brushguard does."
"That explains who Astrotrain was chasing," Chromia said nervously. "But why?"
An odd buzzing noise, like that of a thousand large insects, grew around them. The three turned away from the decayed corpse at their feet and looked about in all directions, their sensors peeled.
Suddenly, they came. A swarm of massive creatures, with massive compound eyes and long scythe-like claws, rushed towards them from all around. The three opened fire, blasting them apart and sending organic bits and mechanical parts flying around.
"What are these things?!" the femme yelled over their weapons.
"No spark readings!" Crosswise realized. "They're clones!"
"Virulent ones!" Sharkticon declared, his twin plasma cannons tearing apart their attackers.
As the attack continued, more and more of the insectoid clones rushed their position, many getting blasted apart in the process. But for every one that was destroyed, two more joined in the fray, their mandibles clicking eagerly and their cold, multifaceted eyes glittering in the limited light.
As their position became more and more overrun, the familiar sound of objects falling from the air caught their attention. A bang, and smoke sifted down onto them and their attackers. While the three Transformers were unaffected, the clones seemed to go crazy, stabbing at one another with their claws and mandibles.
The three only had a moment to marvel on the sight before them when a voice called out from above, "You three need a lift?" Grapple lines descended rapidly, and the trio took hold, rocketing back upwards as their rescuer zipped away towards the outskirts of the swamps.
"This is amazing," Red Alert said in awe. "I read the reports about all of this, but I never thought it would be so beautiful."
As the medic and his gathered aids gazed in awe at the pool of liquid Energon before them, its guardian cautioned firmly, "This is indeed a thing of beauty, a gift from Primus that we must cherish, and use wisely. Take only what you need for your experiment; no more, no less."
"We understand," the Autobot medic and scientist assured the massive Omega Supreme. He turned to Skyfall and Landquake, gently bidding them, "You're on."
Landquake stepped forward and raised his arms over the pool of Energon, his optics dimming as he went. A small amount rose up from the pool, between his hands, and seemed to harden and cool, taking solid form. After a few seconds, the Decepticon took hold of his creation, a blue, eight-pointed Energon star.
"The five of you each have an Energon port on your bodies," the Decepticon scientist explained. He turned to face Kickback as he continued, "That will help in absorbing the Energon itself into your systems. But it will only last so long; fifteen, maybe twenty cycles at most."
"A great deal can happen in a battle within fifteen cycles," Barricade noted as the chip was plugged onto the tank's port. "This at least gives us an asset."
"Assuming it works," Blight noted somberly.
Landquake continued his efforts, creating four more chips and placing them upon the rest of the Combaticons. As the power fed through their systems, Blackout was quick to note, "This is amazing; I've never felt such power before."
"Let's hope it's enough," Barricade declared. "Combaticons, combine!"
A surge of energy going through their systems, the five Decepticon warriors rose skyward, their bodies shifting. Blight and Stormcloud formed arms, while Kickback and Blackout formed legs, Energon-forged bits taking on the forms of hands and feet. Barricade formed the rest, a gunmetal grey and dark blue-green core with upper legs, and the five combined at the connection joints. The combined form's optics flashed for a brief second, and he looked upon those gathered, surveying them.
"The efforts were successful," the combined form spoke, his voice a deep rumble. "I am Bruticus Maximus; I know the thoughts of the five who make up my core, their memories, their viewpoints. I am the sum of my parts, and more. They agree, as well as I; this will take some getting used to."
Cleared of the swamplands, the Firefly's crew dropped from their rescuer's lines to the ground. They landed hard, their feet making solid indents into the grass-laden soil.
Chromia gave a relieved sigh. "That was lucky."
Sharkticon kept his optics skyward at their rescuer, who was slowly descending to the ground as he watched. "Luck had nothing to do with it. We came looking for someone; that someone found us."
Their rescuer finished his descent, then transformed and set foot before them. His purple, grey and gold armor stood in stark contrast to the greens and browns at his feet, but that, combined with his stern expression and Decepticon symbol, confirmed his identity. He was the one they were looking for.
"Astrotrain," Sharkticon said curtly in greeting.
"Sharkticon," the Decepticon bounty hunter replied. A small smile crept onto his face. "I heard you'd made parole."
"After a fashion," the smaller Decepticon noted with a chuckle. He pointed out the two Autobots accompanying him. "This is Chromia and Crosswise; we've been looking for you."
Astrotrain crossed his arms. "Any particular reason why?"
"We want to know how you found out about the Mini-Cons being on Earth," Crosswise explained.
If he experienced any surprise, the larger mech contained it. "How did you find out?"
"Part of your heat shielding fell off when you left Earth. The locals found it, kept it, gave it to us for analysis. Add to it that the last two Mini-Cons in the pod were kind enough to let us know what had happened."
Astrotrain remained silent, as if unsure on responding. A small voice answered for him.
"Hey, you think we wanted to leave Cybertron? Astrotrain did us a favor!"
Four Mini-Cons of similar coloring to the gray and purple Decepticon dislodged themselves from his frame, landing at their feet. The one that had spoken, a gold and black Mini-Con with hook-like hands, elaborated on his previous words. "He got us offa that mudball, which is more than you ever did."
"Astro-Hook, please," another said. "They clearly discovered that we were there, otherwise they wouldn't be looking for us." The Mini-Con, wheeled appendages in place of his feet, looked towards Crosswise and explained, "However, we aren't in a rush to leave our partner."
"And no one's forcing it," the black Autobot explained. "You can stay with him as long as you like." His optics turned to Astrotrain. "All we want is to know how you knew where to look."
Again, he didn't say a word.
Sharkticon decided to switch topics. "Astrotrain, why are you here?"
The large warrior sighed before deciding to speak. "Cleanup duty. Deathsaurus had been my superior back before the Second War, but he was never a happy one. The whole tech-org thing set him on an outside track, kept him from getting any higher in the ranks. When Megatron came back to Cybertron and all that havoc started up, he figured it was his chance to make a grab for power. He knew about Brushguard's lab, so he made his way here. I was passing through near Sandokan when he showed up there to get something."
Crosswise furrowed his optic ridges behind his visor. "What would he need there?"
"A power core," Chromia reasoned, drawing the connecting lines. "When my unit came through here, we demolished Brushguard's lab by detonating its primary power source. Made a mess of the place."
Astrotrain nodded. "He'd been stopping in before he visited Sandokan, patching things up. He went there for the Dark Heart, a device with enough power to equal a couple dozen stars. I got there just in time for him to delay me with the planet's defense systems; lucky for him, they had a battery reserve. Cannonball helped bail me out; I'm guessing he told you I was here."
Also a nod from the Autobot mercenary. "He did. All that was half a stellar cycle ago; what have you been doing all that time?"
"Staying alive," the large mech said grimly, crossing his arms. "After he got back, Deathsaurus got to work; he'd somehow managed to get some scans and material from a Decepticon tech-org named Buzzclaw, used it to make those clones. They worked a little too well; I got here in time to see him get slagged by them. Since then, I've been trying to stop them."
"How many are there?" Chromia asked worriedly.
"Hundreds," Astrotrain explained. "The systems in the lab have been on autopilot; they've been cranking out more every ten megacycles since I got here. If it's going to stop, we'll have to blast the lab apart."
Crosswise's optics narrowed. "We have a ship; can we blast the lab from orbit?"
Astrotrain shook his head. "It's underground; you'd have to blow up the entire planet in order to get rid of the lab, and there's nothing in the Cybertronian arsenal that can do that. The only way to get to it is on the ground, through the swamps and the hordes of virulent clones. And that wasn't too easy for me; I kept on crashing into things in vehicle mode, and my ionic blaster doesn't do me much good against a tech-org, cloned or not. Starcatcher and Astro-Line have helped, but they can only do so much. And we can't leave those things here to run wild; what's stopping someone else from coming and doing the same?"
"I suppose that rules out turning tail and blasting home," the femme muttered under her breath.
Crosswise considered their options, then turned to Astrotrain. "How far away is the lab?"
"Twenty kils east," the purple and gray Decepticon replied. "Straight through the heart of that swamp and all those clones."
"Then we've got a long way to go." The black Bugatti readied his gun again. "We'll help you with pest control here. In return, you come back with us to Cybertron and tell us who tipped you off about the Mini-Cons."
Astrotrain looked at him for a hard second. "Deal."
Within his ship, Cannonball sat, his processors whirring as he considered what was going on. Astrotrain didn't just go someplace for the sheer fun of it; he had some reason to go to that backwater world. And bad enough that was the last he'd heard of him; now an older friend was heading there too.
The door to his chambers slid open. He gave the newcomer the slightest of gazes, and asked, "Yes?"
The newcomer stepped in, waited for the door to close and seal behind her, and looked at him firmly. "Something's bothering you."
Cannonball allowed himself a small grin. "A rather acute statement Strika."
The Decepticon strategist didn't change her expression as she stepped forward. "I've been with you as your first mate for the last forty stellar cycles, Magnum. I know the Sea Slug as well as her captain, and I know him even better. I know the real you, how you think. You're thinking of going after them. I won't argue with the reasoning; Crosswise and Astrotrain are both valued allies. But the crew won't want to go without a good reason behind it...besides being generous."
"I've considered that." Cannonball sighed. "The old 'bot never said bein' a pirate would be easy."
Strika studied her captain's posture and expression, then said quietly, "Astrotrain had to be after something on Sandokan and Ceti Alpha Seven...something important enough to chase after. Whatever it is would definitely be worth finding, and probably be worth a great deal to the right people."
Cannonball raised a single finger. "You've got a strong point there. 'Course, knowing Crosswise, he won't let me sell it off ta anyone. And I don't think Blastcharge or Overbite'll be too happy if the Autobots get it."
Strika smiled coyly. "Who said anything about selling it to the Autobots?"
Cannonball turned to face her, a smile on his face. "You're a treasure, Strika."
"Naturally," the Decepticon femme replied as Cannonball rose to his feet.
His voice shifted as he declared, "We pirates need to look after our own; we be seeking whatever treasure old Astrotrain be seekin', and Primus help us if we don't get it."
The swamps were still and quiet, a few chirps from native insects mixing into the noise but not betraying their presence. All remained peaceful and serene.
Then the explosions came.
Missiles and energy blasts tore through the swamps as the four Cybertronians made their way to the labs, the blasted corpses of several clones at their feet. They moved at a run, tearing through their opponents with their guns and occasionally with their bare hands.
"Still five kils to go before we reach the entrance!" Chromia called out, blasting apart a clone as she did so.
"Any way we can close the distance?!" Crosswise asked of Astrotrain.
The large Decepticon shook his head. "Deathsaurus expanded the labs, but they're about a kil deep! And there's no way we can dig through this mud!"
"Then we keep going!" the Autobot mercenary declared. He then activated his Cyber Key ability and fired off a round of missiles, blasting apart several drones in one go.
The four kept going, all the way to a small clearing within the swamp. Upon it rested the remnants of an entry point, the apparent entrance to the underground lab beneath.
"This is it! How do we get in?" One could almost hear the near relief in the femme's tones.
Her question was answered as the ground beneath them opened up, prompting the two Decepticons to take flight and carry their Autobot allies with them. As the entrance widened, however, more clones filed out, swarming around them with their wings buzzing in the air.
The four opened fire, blasting apart as many clones as they could, but some managed to escape the onslaught and continued to rush towards them, their mandibles clicking madly.
Sharkticon shrugged, making sure his grip on the Firefly's pilot was secure. "Well, they never said this would be easy!"
A blast from above rocketed down past them, vaporizing the clones and blowing a chunk out of the lab entrance. As the quartet looked up, they caught sight of a massive ship, resembling a cephalopod and marked with a Decepticon emblem over crossed internal struts.
The ship's guns rained plasma bursts down upon the attacking clone hoards, and Cannonball's voice called out, "Ahoy there Astrotrain! We be here to share in the prize!"
Crosswise and Astrotrain both smirked; it didn't hurt to have a friend or two in low places.
The Decepticon mercenary turned to his smaller Autobot counterpart. "Look out on the way down!" he hollared in warning before dropping Crosswise down the tunnel entrance.
Sharkticon deposited Chromia on the ground when she protested, "We can't let him go in there alone!"
"You think I'm going to?!" The shark immediately was already shooting for the entrance. "If something happens to him, I'm slagged!"
The Decepticon then jumped in after the ebony Autobot, his cannons repositioning themselves to act as braking thrusters for when he made his way down to the bottom.
Caught in free-fall, Crosswise quickly took sight of the numerous support beams lining the earthen tunnel. He turned himself over, positioned his grapple launchers, and fired, magnetically latching onto one of the supports. was jerked from his descent, stopping after a few short seconds.
He huffed, and then took a quick glimpse down towards the bottom. "Well, this could've been planned better."
As he considered how to get to the bottom without being turned into a scrapheap, the familiar sound of heavy blasters firing caught his attention. The Autobot looked up to find Sharkticon descending towards him.
"How the mighty have fallen," the Decepticon quipped, his mirth barely contained.
Crosswise gave him an irritated glance. "I'm glad you're amused. Mind giving me a lift?"
The Decepticon shook his head, and then grabbed hold of the Autobot's back. Crosswise released his grapple and the two dropped, descending slowly towards the bottom.
After a few short minutes, they arrived, the Decepticon releasing his cargo onto the ground. He then cut off his makeshift engines, and then asked, "Now how do we blow this thing?"
Crosswise pulled out a small, baseball-shaped device from an internal compartment. "You'd be surprised by the number of occasions where high explosives are necessary." He tentatively stomped at the ground. "Firm ground. That'll make things easier."
Sharkticon checked his firearms. "Then let's get moving."
The two Transformers rushed down the tunnel, their optics peeled and Crosswise's scanners set to the max. After a short minute, they arrived in a massive dug-out chamber, gestation tubes lining the walls with the faint glow of a power core in the distance.
The Bugatti couldn't help but be impressed. "I'll say this; you can't call him an underachiever."
"All those reactants in those tubes..." Sharkticon gave the entire complex a once-over. "I'll bet you an Energon pool they'll make for an impressive explosion."
"No debating that." Crosswise pressed a button on his explosive, and then tossed it skyward towards a bit of power tubing connecting the tubes. The device locked onto the metal tubing with a metallic 'thunk'. "I can activate it remotely once we get back to the surface. Then it'll be point-five cycles, and this'll be little more than a depression in the ground."
"Then let's get out of here before something else happens."
A familiar clicking sound immediately caught the duo's attention. The two looked about as more of the clones made their presence known.
Sharkticon's expression said all that was needed. "Aw slag."
Back on the surface, the hordes of clones were thinning, thanks in no small part to the weapons fire from Cannonball's ship.
"Chromia, do you copy?!"
"I hear you Crosswise!" the Autobot femme replied as she blasted apart a clone. "What's up?!"
"Good news and bad! The bomb's set and we're good to go!"
"I'm guessing that's the good news!" A clone rushed towards her, prompting Chromia to stomp at one of its multifaceted eyes with her high-heeled foot. "What's the bad?!"
"We've got a mess of clones flying up after us!" the Autobot mercenary explained. "Prep for an orbital jump; we're getting out of here, now!"
"Roger that!" Chromia deactivated her comm.-link, and then turned to her newfound ally. "You catch all that?!"
Astrotrain nodded as he activated his own comm.-link. "Cannonball, move to safe distance; we're blowing this hive!"
The ship above them continued firing even as it ascended. Meanwhile, a series of explosions coupled with a flash of blue light signaled Crosswise and Sharkticon's exit from the lab facility. The two continued firing on the oncoming drones as Crosswise said, "Any time you're ready!"
"Teleport in five seconds!" Chromia yelled.
Crosswise activated his planted explosives just before he, his allies and their quarry disappeared in a flash of blue light. Mere seconds later, the ground where they'd stood rumbled, explosions sounding out from within the complex below. The ground crumbled and collapsed, creating a depression and burying what little remained of the labs beneath.
"Looks like whatever they were fighting on got blown up," Blastcharge observed. He turned to his commander, eagerness in his facial plates. "What now?"
"There be buried treasure there, lad," Cannonball declared with a wide grin. "That means we start digging."
"Techno organic clones." Optimus shook his head in amazement. "I'm surprised anyone would go through with it."
"I'm not." Starscream grimaced in anger. "Deathsaurus was many things, but ethical wasn't one of them."
"The lab's at least been destroyed, along with any genetic samples they may have had. Whatever's left is buried under a kil's worth of dirt." Crosswise crossed his arms confidently. "It wouldn't be worth going back and rebuilding."
"Let's hope everyone else thinks the same." Optimus turned to Astrotrain and said, "You have our thanks."
The Decepticon bounty hunter shrugged it off. "Don't get too sentimental on me, alright? All I want right now is to get my business finished and get going."
The Autobot commander nodded. "Now, how did you find out the Mini-Cons were on Earth?"
Astrotrain mulled through his memory banks for several moments. "I was on Regulon Four, between jobs. This mech approached me, told me about this planet called Earth. He gave me some computer records saying that the Mini-Con ship went there, what Mini-Cons were in what stasis pods and where. Naturally, I went. Not everyone liked the idea of them leaving Cybertron and all."
"Do you think you could identify him if you saw him again?" the Seeker asked.
Astrotrain nodded, and Optimus activated a holographic display. Four holograms appeared, showing the familiar forms of Soundwave, Nemesis Prime and Sideways's two incarnations. The Decepticon's optics widened, and he pointed to Soundwave's hologram. "That's him, the blue one."
The two leaders looked to one another, sharing the briefest of glances before turning back to their guests.
"Thank you Astrotrain," Starscream said quietly. "You can go now."
The Decepticon rose to his feet, turned and departed the room, his Mini-Con partners waiting outside. With his departure, the two leaders turned to the successful hunters.
"Well done," Optimus congratulated. "Get some R&R, 'bots; you've earned it."
Crosswise, Chromia and Sharkticon all saluted and departed. Both brothers turned to face one another.
"This can't be good," Starscream said quietly.
"We already knew that the Exodus had been sabotaged," Optimus consented, emotions conveyed through his voice and optics. "But I thought it had been done by someone loyal to Megatron. But if a herald of Unicron knew about the ship, where it was, what Mini-Cons landed where, then we may be dealing with something far worse."
"Well, I'll say this for the two of you, you sure know how to keep a lady entertained." Chromia cast a sly grin back at her two former passengers. "If you ever need me to lug your butts out of the fire again, you two know where to turn."
Sharkticon and Crosswise both gave her thankful nods, the shorter mech adding a grin.
As Chromia walked out of sight, Sharkticon shook his head. "I'll say this much; you Autobots have a bad habit of getting the job done right, even if you are a little stubborn."
"It's not something that goes away easily." Crosswise turned to the Decepticon, crossing his arms behind his head in a human gesture he had picked up. "So, up for celebrating our coming back alive? I know a good place just outside Iacon."
Sharkticon looked at him before smiling a bit. "You know, this might just be the beginning of a...useful partnership."
The End