Time to Defrag
Decepticon Assembly
The sky over the state of Nevada was dark and lacking of any clouds. Parked along a deserted state highway with its engine and lights off, a black and white Saleen S281 police vehicle quietly waited. Sitting in the front seat of the vehicle was what appeared to be a middle-aged officer with short brown hair and moustache, his body occasional shifting between transparency and opaque. His eyes were glanced along the dark, dim landscape of the seemingly endless spread of sand. Sand was a substance that got into everything and this state was full of it. Too much as far as the officer was concerned but who was he to judge. After all, it wasn't his world to begin with.
The cruiser sat for what seemed like hours. The small electronic clock to the right side of the officer changed to 0300 hours earth time, and his cold gaze changed slightly as three red dots appeared in the distance. They disappeared near the horizon and approximately thirty minutes later, the sound of jets could be heard. Sounds of shifting gear and metal came from the Saleen as it transformed into a sixteen-foot tall black robot with red optics. Two F-22 Raptors came into view and transformed in mid-flight, landing several meters away from the former police cruiser. One of F-22 robots had what appeared to be gray alien markings all over its body. The other had the same markings present, only pale purple. Both towered over the Saleen but the smaller robot was far from intimidated.
"You're late," the black robot commented with a hint of sarcasm. He glanced between the two Seekers and smirked. "Is that all, Starscream? I was expecting an army."
"Id keep my voice box mute if I were you, Barricade or else you may lose your spark!" Starscream, the robot with the brown markings threatened, narrowing his crimson eyes.
"Yeah, we're not the only ones here, you know," Starscream's companion added. "Thundercracker is here. Soundwave, Shockwave and Swindle are on their way too. So are the Predacons. OW!"
Starscream had punched his companion roughly in the shoulder. "I was going to say that, Skywarp! You were supposed to keep your voicebox mute!"
"Well, you were taking too slaggin' long!" Skywarp countered.
Barricade made a gesture that suggested the human gesture of rolling his optics. "And where is Thundercracker now?"
"He has been sent to track down Scorponok," Starscream replied.
"Scorponok's barely alive," Barricade commented. "How is the abomination of any use to us now that Blackout is dead?"
A fourth, much deeper monotone voice became audible through the Decepticon comm link. "Blackout's deactivation is a minor detail. Shockwave will ensure Scorponok is no longer be a burden."
"Soundwave," Barricade commented with a rare genuine smile.
"Finally. Now we can actually get slag done," Skywarp said, earning another beating from Starscream.
"What is your status, Soundwave?" Starscream demanded.
"Location: approximately 1800 kilometers in earth orbit," Soundwave replied. "Alternate mode: Cybertronian satellite. Duties will commence immediately, Starscream."
Starscream felt a sudden surge of anger at the lack of the title "lord" when Soundwave said his name, but chose to let it slide. "What of Shockwave, Swindle and the Predacons?"
"Shockwave location: Moscow, Russia. Swindle location: Singapore. Alternate form selection in progress. Approximate arrival time for Predacons: twenty-four earth hours."
Barricade growled. "Swindle is a disgrace. Why do we have to put up with that slagging thief? I'd love to beat him into scrap metal."
"As amusing as it sounds, we will need Swindle," Starscream said with a smirk. "I'll give you the pleasure of offlining him once the Autobots are demolished."
"I highly doubt he'll be of any help," Barricade hissed in hatred. "He's most likely contemplating his next big steal."
"99.9% possibility. Swindle vocalized 'potential business opportunities' en route to this organic planet," Soundwave commented. "Overheating indicating anger development, Barricade. You do not think highly of the entrepreneur."
"Entrepreneur my aft! Damn sneaky slagger sticks his fingers where they don't belong!" the Saleen growled.
"It's okay as long as he steals from the squishies, right?" Skywarp piped up.
There was a moment of silence before the trio heard the sound of a jet. A third F-22 came into view, this one with markings matching those of Starscream and Skywarp, only pale blue. It spiraled overhead and Scorponok fell to the ground in the middle of the trio, who had to back up to evade the small Decepticon's landing. The F-22, Thundercracker, transformed in mid-air and landed at Starscream's side.
"Slagging parasite!" Thundercracker snarled, looking towards Scorponok with seething hatred. "Couldnt wait to get rid of him! Damn beast was consuming by energon supply like candy!"
"He wont need a partner once I make a few adjustments. I'll also have Scalpel repair whatever damage remains," Shockwave's voice came half-heartedly through the comm link. "In the meantime, well need you to take him to the new base."
"Theres no slagging way Im going to be food for this fragger again!" Thundercracker argued.
"You will do it or I will feed him your spark!" Starscream threatened.
There was a long silence between the Seekers before Thundercracker chose to respond. He knew better than to question his long-time partner in crime. They had worked hard since the war began to get Starscream into leadership of the Decepticons and now it seemed that power was already getting to his spark. Not that Starscream made him scared as Thundercracker was perfectly capable of taking on his old friend. It was Soundwave and Shockwave he was concerned about. "Yes, Lord Starscream."
"We will begin our search for the boy and any Allspark fragments that remain," Starscream began. "In the meantime, we must intercept and destroy any Autobots that interfere and be careful not to alert them of our plans. The Fallen wants the Matrix of Leadership and he won't tolerate failure!"
"The Fallen also wants Lord Megatron to be revived, in case that part of the plan was 'accidently' erased from your processors," Skywarp added, his optics narrowed slightly.
"Of course Megatron will be revived, you sorry excuse for a Seeker!" Starscream hissed, his optics flaring in anger. Barricade's optics pieced Starscream's and the Seeker found himself suddenly a little uncomfortable, though it didn't show.
"Potential intoxication on personal energon stores," came Soundwave's voice through Stascream's personal channel, indicating he did not trust the Seeker. "Do what is necessary to complete mission. The Fallen dictates tasks must be completed as instructed without fail. Failure defines possible punishment, including deactivation."
Starscream couldn't help but shiver slightly at the sound of the emotionless Decepticon. Soundwave and Shockwave were the only Decepticons who could successfully challenge Starscream for Decepticon leadership and they were both highly loyal to Megatron and The Fallen. At least that's what they claimed.
Scorponok screeched in pain as he thrashed around. Half of his tail was missing and there were holes both big and small in his body from the hot ammunition used by the military several months ago. The energon it consumed from Thundercracker had healed most of the small wounds, but it wasnt enough. The wounds were healing too slowly and it would take hours for Scalpel to repair most of the serious damage, longer to heal the rest on his own. He understood enough of what the other Decepticons were saying to understand Blackout was dead, killed by the humans. Not that he needed to hear them. He felt Blackout's spark extinguish and it had weakened him even more. He was enraged, but in too much pain to do anything about it.
That will change once he is fully repaired. He will fight with the Decepticons and kill every human he encounters. He will make the fleshlings pay for what they did to Blackout.
Note: I purposely waited until after I saw Revenge of the Fallen before rewriting and continuing with this story. Since it is based off the movie continuity, I wanted this story to be as accurate as possible while still being original. Please don't hesitate to let me know if I'm not portraying the Transformers properly, especially those that have not yet appeared in the films. I did my research but I think I may still messed up Skywarp and Soundwave a little.