Prologue

The Rust Desert; a seemingly never ending expanse of reddish orange that stretched for miles and miles, dunes rolling and bending, famous for the rust storms strong enough to tear Cybertronian metal to shreds. It was for this very reason that Sensor was grateful for the safety provided by the Motor-Lab's shield. The lab essentially, was an oblong building on wheels, one of many that had been constructed for the express purpose of exploring harsh environments such as these. It rolled across the unforgiving landscape, its gigantic tank treads flattening dunes, rust blades smacking uselessly on its metal hide, the blue light emanating from its reinforced windows.

Near the bottom of the vehicle, was the cargo and engineering bay. In the mid decks, were the crew and scientists living quarters, navigational hard drives and the bridge. On top were the communications array (now retracted) and the captain's nest.

Sensor, in question, was in one of the lab's many well lit chambers, bent over his work. He was relatively young, mid-twenties in human years, yet hiding vorns of experience behind his wide optics. Sensor muttered to himself as he picked up a transparent tube, peering at the specimen inside. An insecticon; twenty legs, serpentine body, stinger on its tail, digging and hacking tools for mouthparts, thrashed around in the tube madly, purple optics seething with rage. This specimen wasn't alone; hundreds upon hundreds of species adorned the shelves, in all manner of shapes, sizes, and number of limbs.

Sensor noted a hitherto unseen detail, and tapped it onto a data pad on his desk. An entomologist by trade, Sensor had eagerly volunteered on a scientific project to document new species of insecticon in the Rust Desert, the insecticons being the only Cybertronians equipped to survive in a harsh environment such as this. Their resilience fascinated Sensor; the rust storms usually made short work of a bot's chassis. Sensor completed his input, replaced the tube, and sighed. He picked up another tube, this time an insecticon with six legs arranged in a helical pattern, and two overly large pincers.

There was a chime from the doorway, and Sensor uttered an oath. "What is it?" he demanded. The door whooshed upwards, and Wheeljack entered, carrying a small crate in his arms. Sensor cringed. He didn't say it out loud, but he disliked the Warrior Class. Immensely. To him, they possessed tact that amounted to zero. No, below that. And he was sure they had the processing power of a brick on a hot day.

"They said you needed these new specimens up here," said Wheeljack, smiling good naturedly. Sensor nodded, relieved that the brute had at least the sense to handle the crate carefully; he didn't want to think what would happen to the delicate little things of he had done otherwise.

"Just put them over there," said Sensor, gesturing to a nearby desk, strewn with holo-pads and diagrams. He turned back to his own work, intending to ignore the soldier.

"Just so you know," said Wheeljack, "We're hitting some pretty shaky territory. Rumor has it that the last few teams that came 'round here were slaughtered."

Sensor rolled his optics, thankful that Wheeljack couldn't see his face. "I'll keep that in mind, Wheeljack."

He heard the crate touch the desk, and Wheeljack's pede-steps heading for the door. "I'm sure you will." The door opened and closed, signaling Wheeljack's departure.

Relieved that the oaf was gone, Sensor eagerly strode over to the crate and tapped its touch screen. The locks popped open, and Sensor lifted the lid, peering inside. He gaped in awe at the insecticon inside the first tube he picked up. A thin body, two pairs of moderately sized front legs, and two overly large rear ones.

That was when the Motor-Lab's engines ground to a shuddering halt. Sensor swore at the sudden inertia, as he nearly dropped the tube, and he held on to the edge of the desk to steady himself. Thankfully, none of the other specimens were harmed. "What now…?" he muttered, as an emergency strobe flashed. The door hissed open, and a bot stuck his head through. "Breach alert! Stay at your post!" Sensor stared stupidly as the bot withdrew, and the door hissed closed, this time with seals clamped over it. Sensor's servos shook as he replaced the tube. A breach was serious, which was why the transport had been modified to seal off exposed compartments should one occur. Nevertheless, it still spawned uneasiness in him anyway.

A lengthy and uncomfortable silence followed. Sensor paced back and forth, his jaw clenched in worry. Occasionally, he would scold himself for being so anxious, and he would sit down, only to start pacing again. He was worried because a breach was highly unlikely in a large vessel like this. He fervently wondered what the captain was doing about this.

Another set of alarms sounded, making Sensor jump. The strobe was red this time, which meant-

There was a sudden commotion outside the door. Sensor's optics widened as he heard a bot's muffled voice. "Freeze! Identify your-"

A sudden pained screech. Sensor gasped as the sound penetrated the door, and streamed through his audio.

"Oh, Primus, did he just-"

"Fire at will!"

Gunshots.

More yells and shrieks.

Sensor swallowed, and grabbed the closest thing that passed for a weapon; a dissection laser. He flicked it to its highest setting, a red light glowing from the needle like tip. A sudden impact buckled the door, and split it, a bot having been thrown against it. At the same time, the lights went out. Sensor blinked, as his optics' filters adjusted to the darkness. He reached forward, feeling the bot's spark-pulse. The bot groaned, as he sat up, and Sensor breathed a sigh of relief. That was when the bot glanced towards the door and yelled. He swatted Sensor's servo away, and scrabbled to his pedes. Sensor drew back, alarmed.

"What in the name of-"

"Get away!" yelled the bot, "He's sick in the head, I tell you!"

"Who is?" demanded Sensor, definitely scared now. He knew these military bots, even if he resented them; they were the tough, gung-ho type, not easily shaken.

"Indeed? Who is?"

Sensor whipped around, and came face to face with a series of poisonous green optics. The bot screamed again, and made to run, (His blasters had been torn off) but to no avail; a sharp projectile flew past Sensor's audio and skewered the bot's head. Sensor coughed as a foul stench hit his olfactory sensors; the stench of bodily energon. Sensor raised his laser to the intruder, and its crimson light illuminating the enemy's thin body. And the energon and mesh that covered it. Sensor choked as the gore encrusted intruder walked forward, green optics (all six of them) trained on Sensor. It was still too dark to see his face.

"What do we have here? A scientist? I see you've armed yourself," said the killer. Is voice was odd; a perfectly normal tone overlaying a buzzing and clicking.

His servo suddenly darted towards Sensor, and the entomologist grunted as he pulled the tool's trigger. A buzzing sound emanated from the laser, but the intruder was not intimidated. He grabbed the tool, even as the laser made an incision on his palm, plucked it from the scientist, and promptly crushed the device with his overly long fingers. "A dissection laser is hardly a weapon, my friend," said the intruder, as though he was discussing the weather. He dropped the damaged tool, and it made a clanging noise on the metal floor.

It echoed in the now silent room, and carried down the corridor. Sensor noticed the quietness and his optics widened in terror. He wasn't a military bot; he'd never even come within two clicks of a weapon in his life. He stumbled backwards, trying to find an avenue of escape, his servos grabbing at the wall, hitting shelves and instruments in the near darkness. All the while, the killer stalked forwards, almost leisurely, as if he was enjoying Sensor's panic.

"You're a shaky one…"

Sensor tried to block out the intruder's voice, as he drew ragged intakes. He felt something, and his digits fumbled with the wall-mounted object, hoping it would provide him with some defense. He pushed, pulled, and then sparks flew out of the device. The resulting flash illuminated the intruder briefly, enough for Sensor to see the long arms, dark grey coloration with red highlights, mandibles and spiky barbs.

The room was dark once more. Sensor was shaking like a rust flake now, optics dilated, intakes rising rapidly with his spark-beat. He somehow sensed that the killer was smiling.

And then he felt claws tear into his torso, buckling the metal hide. Sensor let out a ragged scream, and then he felt the appendage twist and twist and twist. It withdrew sharply, pulling out components, dripping with energon and hydraulic fluids. Sensor dropped to the floor, clutching the breaching wound, optics unfocused.

His vision was clouded, but he could still hear something. A clicking noise, superseded by tearing and crunching. Primus, he was eating! He was actually-

Sudden pede-steps, followed by the drawing of swords, and, "Stop right there, fragger."

The chewing stopped, and Sensor could just make out the killer, turning around sharply. A battle cry, the clang of metal on metal, and a loud bang and a series of crashes, and then silence. Wheeljack rushed over to Sensor, and his optics widened as he cursed.

"Wheeljack to bridge," he said, "I've got the intruder alive and unconscious, but we need a medic down here, now!"

But it was too late for Sensor. His optics were dull as he stared dumbly at the ceiling.

He'd offlined as soon as Wheeljack had gotten to him.