Question Authority

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

"Well, if this doesn't make it official, nothing else will." A holographic readout of Velocitron flashed into existence beside Override's holo-avatar, a small flashing point indicated in brilliant orange. "A second reaction, same as the first and in the same place."

"We experienced much the same here," Scourge's avatar sourly admitted, a similar readout of Animatros popping in beside him. "The reaction's location isn't quite as narrow as that on Velocitron, but it exists nonetheless."

"And combined with the estimated course data from Atlantis, there's only one conclusion." Evac turned from the avatars to his two leaders. "Two of the Keys are on Velocitron and Animatros."

It took everything Optimus Prime had to keep himself restrained. After months of research, analysis and speculation, they finally had firm evidence to go on with the quest for the remaining Artifacts. Retrieving them was another matter, but one that would quickly be dealt with. "Any signs with the current search efforts?"

Both colonial governors shook their heads. "Even with the territory narrowed down, we've got a lot of ground to cover," the femme racer explained.

"Not to mention lack of specifics about what we seek." The Decepticon dragon's optics narrowed. "If you want us to find these Artifacts, we will need more information."

"You shall have it." Vector Prime was the image of calm but was every bit as eager as the younger Prime, just barely smiling. "We are transmitting specifications for Mu and Lemuria to each of you on encrypted sub-channels. The Keys should remain within those craft."

"And if Accellas and Draco were anything like Methius, they'll want 'em hidden out of sight, underwater or underground." The Earthen Autobot apologetically nodded to his two counterparts. "It's not much though."

"Some info is better than none, but we'll need more than intel, Optimus. We need people on the ground to search, especially given past experience," Override pressed.

"Agreed. We'll dispatch teams shortly. Until then, good luck and keep us posted."

The two holo-avatars blinked out of existence, leaving the three leaders to themselves, and Evac side-glanced the Autobot leader. "So, who are you sending?"

An uneasy pause. "We're still working on that."

The skies over London were surprisingly clear and pleasant, somewhat unusual for the capital given its penchant of having light rain throughout much of the year. The midsummer sunshine gave the city a beautiful glow, casting light over one of the oldest cities in Europe. Down in the busy streets, Londoners went about their business, shopping and eating and enjoying their daily lives. Many didn't even notice as a silver-white shuttlecraft descended from the skies above, making a beeline towards Canary Wharf.

"Director Hartman, we have the shuttle on radar."

"Allow landing clearance and roll out the red carpet." A confident smile grew upon the face of Yvonne Hartman as she peeked under her sunglasses and watched the shuttle's descent. "Company's coming, and I don't want this spoiled."

As she watched from atop the main roof of One Canada Square, the shuttle slowly descended into the opened pyramid of the building, its downwash sending what wasn't pinned down flying alongside the updrafts. A small landing ramp extended from the ship as a hatch slid open, five passengers disembarking.

"Dr. Masters, a pleasure seeing you again."

"Ms. Hartman," Diana curtly greeted her counterpart, shaking hands while hanging onto her hair from the wind. "I hope you're ready for the inspection tour."

"Certainly." Hartman looked over the four Mini-Cons accompanying the doctor. "Astroscope, Sky Blast, Payload, and...Caliburn, I believe?"

The fourth Mini-Con crossed obsidian arms as he regarded her. "Thoughtful of you to get our names right."

"There's no future in not being polite." She gestured towards a waiting freight elevator. "If you'll kindly accompany me, we can begin."

The five followed, Caliburn watching the woman with suspicious optics. -"Have I mentioned how much I disagree with all this?"-

-"You have, at length, and no one blames you."- Astroscope was glad that his team's 'bodyguard' had switched over to standard Iaconian instead of using English. -"However, I doubt they'll do anything. There is an agreement, after all."-

-"Yeah, well, agreements were made to be broken."-

"Is everything alright?" Hartman asked as they stepped into the elevator, trying and failing to comprehend the digital-sounding language.

"Yes, fine, just talking about the weather." The Mini-Con composed himself to keep a sense of neutrality. "Keep on expecting fog, that's all."

If Hartman had any suspicions of her own, she kept silent as the elevator doors closed, tucking away her eyewear. "Well, no fog today. Especially here at Canary Wharf at this time of the year." The elevator began to descend, and she began her presentation. "Now, any questions before we begin?"

"Just one – how much did the BBC get right?" A surprised look from the director, and Diana sheepishly admitted, "I've seen the new series on the Sci-Fi Channel, and more or less spoiled myself with Wikipedia."

Hartman gave an appreciative smirk. "A fair question. True, Torchwood was found in 1879 by Her Majesty Queen Victoria following an encounter with an extraterrestrial entity resembling a werewolf, but no Time Lords were involved. Almost a shame – the Captain and I would get along famously. Much to her credit, Her Majesty saved herself that night, but was quite convinced afterwards that Britain needed to defend itself against all threats, terrestrial or not. We couldn't be lucky all the time." The elevator doors slid open, indicating their stop. "And after more than a century, we don't need to be."

The six exited the elevator and walked through a massive storage hangar, stacks of crates piled about and various workmen and soldiers stationed throughout the room. Above them, held in place by numerous support pylons, was an extraterrestrial craft, in various stages of being dismantled.

"I'm guessing that's where you got that cannon of yours," Diana queried.

"A Jathar Sunglider," Yvonne clarified. "Violated our airspace back in the mid-nineties. We shot it down, salvaged it, and now we can keep Britain's skies clear."

The archaeologist diplomatically kept her mouth shut about their recent attempt at "keeping Britain's skies clear".

"Rather impressive that you were able to do all of that here."

"Who says we did?" Hartman countered Astroscope, her Manchester accent slipping in for a moment. "Torchwood One is merely primary operations and research. We've other facilities throughout the Isles and the Commonwealth – Torchwood Two's archives in Glasgow, field operations and storage at Cardiff's Torchwood Three, as well as numerous smaller research facilities... Why else do you think Britain bothered over the Falklands?"

"And Glasgow's probably where you moved that pod you found, isn't it?" Caliburn earned another look from the Torchwood director. "Where do you think they found me?"

"Pity we didn't get a chance to open it up and talk before hand – you would have liked it there." The group exited the hangar from the opposite end and proceeded down a staircase. "In fact, you may well have been able to assist us with something of a conundrum. Torchwood One is based above ground rather than below because we detected an unusual energy disturbance in the skies above London some time ago."

"Where exactly above London?" Diana's natural curiosity got the better of her.

"Three floors below us. We don't know much about the disturbance – it's putting out noticeable traces of some type of radiation, nothing harmful to us humans but roughly equivalent to Hawking radiation."

"The stuff a black hole emits," Sky Blast realized out loud. "You've got this thing behind a couple dozen barriers, right?"

"No need – what it's releasing is quite harmless, actually decreasing over time, but nothing's going into it. You can't even see it without specialized goggles." As they left the stairwell and entered a hallway, Hartman pulled out her ID pass. "We've several extra goggles inside the chamber."

Swiping the ID at the security scanner, the standard red LED switched over to green and the door slid open. Entering, the group found a trio of scientists hard at work with various instruments and displays. On the opposite end of the room, numerous sensors arrayed around it, was what appeared to be an empty wall. The lead scientist, a tall Indian man, noticed their arrival and approached with a pair of goggles in hand whereas one sat on his head. "Director, welcome. I didn't realize we were on the tour."

"Sorry Raj." Hartman introduced the scientist as she received one pair of the eyewear, Diana gaining one herself. "This is Dr. Ragesh Singh, head of our research division. He's been heading up our analysis personally. Ragesh, this is Dr. Diana Masters and her party."

"Interesting little... Whoa..." Diana slipped the viewing piece over her eyes, their coated lenses reminding her of a pair of 3D glasses, and immediately caught sight of the phenomenon: a lightly pulsating batch of color that rippled gently as if caught in the wind. "I can see why you're all so interested in it now. Any ideas guys?"

Astroscope quickly scanned over the eyepiece Diana wore, resetting his optics to match before looking at the odd disturbance. "By Primus... This is marvelous...!"

Singh stared at the Mini-Con in surprise. "Then...you know what this is?"

"Oh yes... This supports a lot of theories we have back on Cybertron." The other techs now giving him their full attention, the Mini-Con scientist decided to elaborate, "This is an interdimensional reaction front, a space-time echo effect. You see –"

"Boss, let me," Payload gently interrupted, forestalling a very long-winded explanation. His leader relented with some disgruntlement, and the black and blue Mini-Con took stage. "Basically, back on Cybertron we've theorized that our universe is one of a potentially infinite number of parallel universes, all a little bit different from each other."

"Like that TV show 'Sliders', or DC Comics before the first Crisis," Diana posed. And some people considered entertainment lacking foundation in the various series' numerous, not to mention fantastic, ideas. "People have talked about that here on Earth, quantum mechanics and all. But what does that have to do with this?"

"Well, it takes energy to move from one place to another – you burn calories walking, a car burns petroleum, a rocket burns fuel to get into space." Payload gestured towards the wall. "Traveling between universes, assuming it's even possible, would take a slagload of energy, and it'd have a noticeable effect."

"Then this is a sign of someone traveling between universes...perhaps coming here?" Singh asked, cupping his elbow in a thinking gesture.

"No – if it was, we'd see something and have no energy readings." Astroscope's optics adjusted on the effect, switching through various spectrums. "As I said, an echo effect. Someone's traveling from one universe to another, or merely swinging temporarily into the barrier between dimensions before coming out, and in a parallel world, this is where they'd be emerging. All we're seeing is an echo of their exit point."

"And the really annoying thing is, we can't even figure out where they're coming from or going to beyond what we have here." Payload gave Singh a polite nod. "All you really can do is monitor until the echo fades."

"Which will be in a little over one Earth year based on the readings you've gotten so far," Sky Blast added, glancing through the series of printouts and data. "Whatever storm is going on though, it isn't passing through here."

"Interdimensional travel... Fascinating." An anticipatory gleam entered the British's eyes at that notion.

"Don't get too interested – it's more trouble than its worth, and Earth doesn't even have the materials necessary to make an interdimensional transport, let alone fuel it." Payload reset his optics back to their normal settings, letting the image fade. "Besides, it's not worth it. We've got enough demons in this universe to deal with."

A quick chime sounded off, prompting Diana to move a hand to her pocket. "Sorry, that's me."

"We've got it too." Astroscope turned away from the object of his interest with a wistful sigh. "Ah... If only more time and equipment…"

"We're going to need to cut the tour short." Diana slipped off her goggles and handed them back to Singh. "We've just gotten contacted by Autobase Earth – something's come up."

An eyebrow arched on the Torchwood director's face. "Anything we need to know?"

"Only that it's not on Earth and can't hurt any of you." Caliburn gave a curt wave as he followed his comrades out.

"That message couldn't have come at a better time." Nightcruz leaned back in his seat, giving his fellow Mini-Con a relieved glance. "I don't know what's worse, Nightscream – being here with the guns ready to fire on us, or being out on the field with real dangers waiting."

"I know what our partner would say," his copilot answered. "Better to know where the fire's coming so you can get out of the way. Though the sooner we get away from this place the better. With friends like Torchwood, who needs Unicron?"

"I hear that." The embarkation ramp descended, allowing Diana and her fellow visitors to reenter the shuttle. The purple and charcoal grey Mini-Con looked back as they strapped into their seats. "How was the tour?"

"'Interesting' about sums it up," Diana answered, strapping in. "Thanks for getting us over here so fast, by the way."

"Better this than an orbital bounce any cycle, I say." The shuttle hatch closed and Nightscream began keying in commands. "Hang tight, beginning ascent. ETA to Autobase Earth one hour ten minutes."

Payload leaned forward with a critical look. "Any idea what that thing we saw in there was all about?"

"Well, let's assume for a moment that the fictional Torchwood from this aforementioned television program exists in a parallel world mirroring said program." Astroscope turned to Diana as he added, "Whatever happens on that program...will most likely happen there."

With several expectant optics leveled on her, the young woman couldn't help but grin. "What, you want me to spoil you? Look it up yourselves."

Caliburn gave an annoyed grunt. "Well, whatever it is, they'll probably have it coming to 'em. Between Sector Seven and Torchwood wanting their hands on our tech and all the other trouble we've had on this planet, small wonder that anyone likes us."

"...it's been announced that the Transformer-backed Solar Tower project in New Mexico is moving forward, despite opposition from not only political circles, but also within assorted religious groups. Several evangelical ministries have protested the presence of the Transformers, claiming that they are an 'affront towards God' and an 'attack on religion'–"

The radio cut off abruptly as a sharp turn was made towards the base entrance. "'Affront towards God' my shiny silver skidplate."

Kicker gave his fellow passenger an exasperated look, one the young woman shared. Misha shook her head and tried to put on a comforting smile. "It'll take time for them to get used to all of you, Camshaft. You need to be patient."

"Awful hard to be patient when you see something so predictable." The display that would normally show the radio station or music's track number flashed in sync with the mech's voice. "I've seen it a hundred times on a hundred worlds, and Earth's no different from any of them. No offense, but you've got way too many people caught up in way too many religious beliefs."

"You think religion is a bad thing then?" asked the young woman.

"No, but blind faith and devotion to it is. Here on Earth, various religious sects have caused more pain and suffering in the name of righteous ideals than anything else. Wars have been fought over belief systems, people needlessly persecuted. And now these evangelicals are convinced they have to press their system on us, because we worship the 'wrong' God."

"Are you saying Primus is the 'right' God?" Kicker couldn't help but quip.

"No, just that there's more supporting evidence. You can't see a soul, but you can see a Spark. Legendary artifacts are well and good, but where the Ark of the Covenant is a myth at best, the Matrix of Leadership is a reality. We don't even worship Primus – we just acknowledge that he exists and go about our business. Should we force you to believe our God breathed life into your people just because he did so with us? No, but people still want us to do that with Christianity or Islam. It's like they forgot Vector Prime's appearance at the Vatican right after Christmas and what he said."

"'Primus gave life to myself and my brothers, but someone else gave life to Primus,'" the eldest Jones child quoted. "I don't think they forgot it so much as they twisted it around."

"Going right back to my earlier point – you can't get them to compromise. According to Judaism, a Messiah will be born unto man. According to Christianity, that Messiah was Jesus of Nazareth. According to Islam, Jesus wasn't the Messiah, just another Prophet. Don't get me wrong, he said a lot of good and nice things, but a lot of terrible and nasty things were done in his name. But even if Christ turned out to be the Messiah, came back to set the record straight, you'd still have people misinterpreting his words or complaining one way or another."

As they approached a rock wall on Longs Peak, the mountainside split open, sliding into the rest of the mountain and allowing them entrance. Camshaft slowed to a halt as the gates closed behind them, his own doors opening to allow the two teens to exit his cabin before he transformed and looked at Misha with a single unchanging lens-like face.

"I'm not saying that people shouldn't believe in something, just that they should be willing to grasp others' beliefs, accept them and move on, and not be afraid to adapt their beliefs to fit new facts."

"And what about all those groups we've been hearing about that believes the Transformers are the saviors of humanity? I can't help but keep thinking that they're starting to be as bad as the originals." As if to support her statement, she pulled out a slightly crumpled brochure that one of said Transformers-worshipping group members had shoved into her hands, the cover's image juxtaposing the Autobot and Mini-Con symbols next to each other.

"Now that's crazy." Kicker punctuated his point with a raised finger as the three walked along the entrance hall, the Autobot at a deliberately slower pace. "We're the only ones who can save ourselves, Misha. All the Transformers can do, especially the Autobots and Mini-Cons, is give us a little help now and then."

"And it's better that way. Ancient humans used to think of Evac, Minerva and Hightail as gods, and we don't want that happening again." Familiar footfalls heralded Scavenger's approach, the green and purple mech purposefully marching towards the trio. "Glad you three could make it."

"And miss the news from Cybertron? No chance." The young man gave a quick look about, scratching his head in puzzlement. "Where's the rest of the command staff?"

"Thundercracker's in Operations with Sideswipe waiting to hear back, and Smokescreen's helping with a presentation outside. Everyone else is running security detail – we don't want anyone sneaking up on us."

Franklin politely saluted his superior. "I appreciate your presence, Mr. Secretary."

"Michael, whenever you mention something related to these friends of yours, it's all but a given that I sit up and take notice." Keller took in the surroundings of the forest around him, paying careful mind of the clearing around the rock face in front of them before turning to the mech beside him. "Now, Smokescreen, what have the Autobots cooked up for me to see?"

"It's not our show, sir. We just helped out a little." The blue and red Veyron activated his comm.-line. "We're ready Coby. Roll out."

A portion of the cliff face slid away, exposing a small maintenance hangar to the light. Keller slipped off his sunglasses to get a better look at the presentation as several light, steady footfalls issued from within, inching closer to him and the others. Despite the lack of reaction from their larger host, his security detail fidgeted minutely, as if wanting to drag him back into the waiting Lincoln. As it entered the light, Keller started in surprise. "Is that thing what I think it is?"

"Yes and no, Mr. Secretary." Franklin gave a proud and amused smile. "You'll remember during the Battle of Longs Peak, a number of Scrapmetal drones were mobilized against the Autobots, albeit all destroyed with no casualties on our side. Someone got the brilliant idea to try salvaging them, maybe doing something with them. With Autobot assistance, we now have ourselves a prototype."

The device was a Scrapmetal drone, predominantly red and black but with clear accents of bright blue around its cockpit-like front and custom markings along its legs and on its back, an Autobot emblem over a pair of wrenches on prominent display. It walked forward, fully emerging from the service hangar and into the sunlight before coming to a short stop after it approached the group.

"You rebuilt one. What's keeping it from attacking?"

"We took out the control systems it had and replaced them with a cockpit made for a human pilot," Smokescreen explained to the older man.

Keller raised an eyebrow. "And who's piloting it?"

"That'd be me, sir," a voice answered from the Scrapmetal's speakers. The spider tank seemed to kneel to the ground until its main body touched it, a portion of its front flipping up like a cockpit's canopy.

As the young pilot jumped out and removed his helmet, the colonel gave another smile. "Mr. Secretary, this is Coby Hansen. He suggested the idea of building a piloted mech and did quite a bit of the work himself."

"Not all of it, sir," Coby protested modestly, ducking his head. "I had help with the construction and programming."

Keller looked in amazement from the teenager to the Scrapmetal and then back while shaking the middle Hansen's hand. "How old are you son?"

"Just turned fifteen."

The Secretary of Defense laughed in astonishment. "Fifteen years old and cooking up this. I'd never see my grandchildren with this much initiative." He turned back to Franklin, reigning in his amusement. "It's an impressive science project colonel, but I don't see much use for a walking tank when the rolling ones work just fine."

"It's not just a walking tank sir." Franklin nodded to Coby, who quickly re-donned his helmet and climbed back into the cockpit. "These things were made by the same race that built many of the Transformers. It can pull off some of the same things the Autobots can."

The Scrapmetal rose to its feet and stepped back a few short steps, then shifted in place. Its forelegs remained legs, but now straightened out to a more bipedal form. Its rear legs shifted to form arms ending in five-fingered hands, while the large cannon atop its back shifted to its right shoulder. The cockpit moved to its chest while a bright blue human-like head with green optics topped its shoulders. The Air Force colonel could barely hear the sharp intake from the agents at the demonstration.

"We modified a flight simulator to work as an operating system," Coby's voice explained from the robot's mouth as it flexed its arms. "Everything works fine except for the cannon – we disabled it, but we've got specs if you want to mass-produce."

"And how exactly are you talking through that thing?" Keller asked. "Some clever part with the helmet?"

"Like what's being used on Air Force craft with built-in cameras," the teen confirmed. "I move my head, the robot's head moves with it. And with the built-in headset, I can talk through it pretty easily."

"And even if the military decides it's impractical, you can still find civilian uses for it," Smokescreen suggested. "Swap out the cannon for a construction crane, for one."

Keller rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "A compelling argument. Now, why use the red? I thought these things came in different colors."

"We used a red one as a prototype because it's a more basic version – the blue and yellow ones are specialized for stealth and hazardous environments, respectively."

"Make sure the idea works before trying it with the custom jobs." The elder man nodded with understanding towards the colonel's explanation. "What's the cost of manufacturing?"

"We've already retrieved the wreckage from here on Earth, and the Autobots are willing to put together several of these for our use. About the only cost is in the power system, a type of Energon battery."

"Basic little thing, easily swapped out and replaced, we make about as many of them as you do regular batteries." The operations officer turned to the secretary. "Your opinion so far?"

Keller studied the prototype, impressed with what he saw but considering other various scenarios. "It seems even a science project can be remarkable. But I'll need a field test before I can show this to the Joint Chiefs or the President for approval, much less the military contractors."

"I thought as much." Franklin turned to his superior. "Mr. Secretary, there's a small issue that's come to our attention..."

When you think you've heard all sides, listen for another. That was the creed that Headline lived by, both as an Autobot and as a journalist. In order to solve a problem, you needed to understand all sides of it, get as much information as you could get and look at it from every available perspective. A full grasp of the facts could solve the greatest disputes, or at least reduce them in severity. It was her job to get those facts, present them to her fellow Cybertronians in an objective perspective, and keep them informed.

Said facts, however, were not always in the open. More often than not, she had to seek them out, find them, get information from those involved, even if it was like hammering out deep dents. It took time, but it was worth it. And she enjoyed every nanoklik of it...save when she reached a dead end.

Which is precisely where she was now as she sat in the Crystal Gardens of Nova Cronum, trying her best to wrap her processor around what she knew and had gathered so far. Big things were going on, she could feel it in her Spark – rumors had been flying for some time about efforts towards off-world missions, the lack of word from Nebulos, and the unusual energy surges, the most recent being less than a mega-cycle ago. Something was up... but she didn't know what, and she wasn't sure who she should go to about it.

She leaned back on the bench, resting on her hands and looking up into the early evening sky, Cybertron's moons visible on the horizon. There wasn't many she could talk to about this – most of them were dead or missing, and the only one left who didn't fit into either category wasn't being talkative at the moment... Which was a surprise, given it was Bumblebee. And if he was keeping quiet, that could only mean...

Her proximity sensors quickly flared – one advantage of being connected to a satellite network, she always knew when someone was approaching. Normally this wasn't a problem, as Cybertron was a big planet with many inhabitants...but in this case, the approaching signal wasn't exactly a friendly.

She jumped to her feet and withdrew the only weapon she had, a small pistol, and on automatic checked its energy charge.

"You aren't going to need that. I'm not stupid enough to try anything."

The femme turned cautiously towards the source of the voice, her optics landing on a tall mech with a Decepticon emblem on his chest, purple and black and bright yellow. She recognized him easily, having seen him long ago. "Astrotrain."

"Headline," the bounty hunter returned. "You remember me. Good – we can skip introductions."

"Why are you here?"

Astrotrain pulled his ionic blaster from behind his back and placed it upon the ground, lightly pushing it away with one broad foot. "To talk."

An optic ridge rose slightly on the femme's face. "Suppose I don't believe you."

"Suppose I point out that I served my time, avoided as many of my old cohorts as possible, and that were I still supporting Megatron, I would have heeded his more recent calls to arms. The odds are against me sticking with him." He gestured towards his gun. "Plus I'm unarmed and you are. What Autobot, particularly a pacifist, would shoot first?"

The mech raised a good point. She relaxed marginally, but kept her pistol ready just in case. "Okay. Why are you talking to me?"

"You've been making inquiries lately about some rather interesting things. Those two energy pulses that hit Cybertron recently, the lack of information about Nebulos, and a few bits of activity in Autobot Command. I'm curious about all that myself."

"And why would a Decepticon bounty hunter be interested in all that?"

"Because I somehow got involved, and I've got some information you might find useful for your investigation."

Headline kept her optics upon him for a few short seconds before storing her sidearm away. "Alright. What is it?"

"Not with me – I don't keep anything valuable with me unless I need it." He took a slow step and retrieved his gun. "However, I'll tell you this right now. While I was on a job, I had a team sent by Autobot Command come after me for information about someone I met a while back. You come with me to my safe house, and I'll fill you in on the details."

The reporter studied him for a few short kliks, thinking over her options before deciding that this was probably worth the risks. "Alright. Lead the way."

"And thanks to Nebulos suddenly going missing and all the recent carnage on Cybertron, we don't have many mechs to spare." Scavenger's holo-avatar grimaced thoughtfully. "I'm starting to see the problem here. You need the Wreckers, the Dinobots and Checkpoint's unit guarding the ports and Vector Sigma until we can get them patched up."

"That's about it, yeah," Jetfire admitted. "Not to mention potential overkill, considering who we're talking about."

"It's all but a given Megatron knows about the Keys, and probably picked up on their signal just as we did, and that's ignoring our other dance partners. And if Grimlock encountered the Terrorcons... Well, you see the problem."

The bulldozer nodded at his commander's words. "So, just like chasing after the Mini-Cons then. How big do you need the teams to be?"

"We're thinking three Autobots, any partners they have, and a team of Mini-Cons for the first team, a mixed group as backup." Starscream seemed to shift uncomfortably. "No offense meant to anyone, but we can't spare as many mechs as you can."

Scavenger nodded. "You'll be there when we need the help. I suppose you need recommendations?"

"Either that or someone to compare notes with," the Autobot 2IC offered. "Velocitron's not a big problem – we just need a few good 'Bots who can keep up with the crowds, preferably with a scientist or two in tow."

"Agreed. See if Magnus can spare Swerve and Roadhandler. But what about Animatros? That place is unstable on a good day, and Scourge isn't the most cooperative."

"No argument. I'm afraid we're going to need a few tough ones there." Optimus leaned back slightly in his seat. "You think Overhaul's up for a command run?"

"Probably, but he's an unorthodox choice." A smirk crossed Scavenger's face. "Though if Magnus has taught us anything, sometimes unorthodox works. I'll make a suggestion of my own to go with him."

"Knowing you, it'll be a good one. Send word when you're ready to send them over – we'll be ready by then."

"Understood. Autobase Earth out."

The transmission cut off, and the three commanders turned about to exit the communications chamber. Jetfire tilted his head. "I'm assuming you've considered who else might've picked that up."

"Vector Prime was kind enough to remind me before he and Evac left." The Autobot leader turned grim. "Which is why I have someone specific in mind to go to Animatros, someone neither of you will be happy with."

"You aren't thinking of sending who I think you're thinking of sending, are you?" The Decepticon leader looked at Optimus in shock. "He's dangerous at best, unstable at worst."

The carmine semi's optics dimmed. "I know, which is why we'll need him. If anything can trash a servant of Unicron, it'll be him."

Jetfire shook his head. "For the record, I've got a bad feeling about this."

"All three of us do, Jetfire," Optimus admitted as they left the communications chamber. "Doesn't make it any easier."

Rushed footfalls sounded off down the corridor, followed by a shout. "Jetfire, sir!" The trio turned to find a familiar hacker rushing towards them before skidding to a halt. "Optimus Prime, Starscream, sirs, there's a problem."

"What is it, Wirejack?" the Autobot commander questioned gently.

"You remember I've been building on and improving some of the internal security on the computer systems?" the young Autobot explained. Unfolding the screen on his gauntlet, the F-14 projected a small snippet of computer code running real-time. "I found something while I was installing a new one – this was nestled in the communications network. The code doesn't fit in anywhere, and I've analyzed it every way I can think of."

"Any ideas what it is?" Starscream asked, scanning the data.

"Only a few possibilities. I'm still checking and double-checking...but something tells me this isn't some bit of junk data on our servers." Wirejack looked at them nervously, fighting to keep his wings still. "Based on its behavior when I found it however, I'm betting it's some kind of virus."

All three instantly looked at the hacker with alarm, Optimus immediately asking, "Can you wipe it?"

"It's adapted to everything I've tried so far, but I'm still working on it."

"Keep us informed," the Autobot leader ordered.

Just as the trio turned to depart, Wirejack timidly added, "There's one more thing." They turned to face him again. "I do know how it got into the system – it piggy-backed on a communications signal, to use a human term. Part of the code matched up with an IDC from an Explorer vessel, probably picked up by the virus as part of the transmission. And the ship was the Ark."

The three once more shared a worried glance before Jetfire turned back to his young protégé. "Has it done anything?"

"It's only semi-active – all it's done for the time being is copy itself. Considering the number of transmissions sent out by the Decagon on a regular basis, it could be in every communications system in the Cybertron Alliance by now. I'm still analyzing it to see just what it'll do when it goes active."

"And we can't isolate it without cutting communications off for the rest of the planet or the colonies," Starscream snarled slightly. "We need to deal with this, now."

"Agreed." Optimus turned to the hacker. "Excellent work finding this, Wirejack. Keep your analysis going and see if you can isolate this thing." He looked to his brothers. "Anyone good with...?"

"Scattorshot's our number two when it comes to programming on Cybertron," Jetfire immediately sounded off.

"And Flamewar knows a thing or two about codes," added the Seeker.

"Get them, but keep this quiet." He nodded at Wirejack. "As I said, keep us posted."

"Yessir." The hacker saluted as the three quickly departed. He turned about, replacing his gauntlet and continued with his analysis, hoping that he could figure this thing out...

As the transmission closed on his end, Scavenger turned towards the smaller Autobot he'd spoken of. "So, you in?"

"Poking around on Animatros?" Overhaul crossed his arms, a hint of apprehension on his face. "Yeah, I can manage that just fine. In command of a team poking around on Animatros though... That's something else."

"Then you're saying you won't do it?"

"Never said I won't, just that you'd be better off having someone else in command. I'm a brawler, not a leader."

A smirk from the bulldozer. "They said the same thing about me a lot of the time. Besides, I think Optimus has something else in mind. If we picked up those signals, then Megatron probably did as well. So who else do you think is on that list?"

The smaller mech grimly narrowed his optics. "Starting to see his logic. Who's your recommendation?"

"Talon. She can use the experience, as Rodimus can spare her for the time being, and there's someone there I want her to meet. Beyond her and Optimus's pick, go with whoever you want."

The grim expression turned confident with a grin. "I think I know just the mechs."

"Mirage? Hey, bro, you with me?"

The black and yellow Mini-Con's optics flashed to life. "Sorry Downshift. Lost in my thoughts."

His teammate gave him a sympathetic look. "Let me guess – thinking about the Speed Chasers, huh?" Met with a quirked optic ridge from the other race car, he patted him on the shoulder. "We all are."

"Speak for yourself," came their third from his workstation. "I'm trying not to. Bad enough we have rogue Decepticons to worry about, now we've got Mini-Con... What's that word humans use for walking corpses?"

"Zombies," Downshift supplied.

"Thank you, zombies." Dirt Boss shuddered, as if a chill ran through his body. "Don't even want to know what happened to them. When a Transformer loses their Spark, they should stop moving, period. No walking around, no transforming, no fighting, no combining..."

"Dirt Boss," came his commander's rebuke, "we're all fully aware of how unnatural that was. No need to explain it in depth."

Downshift slumped against the wall next to his commander. "I'm stuck on that too... They can't really be dead, because otherwise we'd be less effective combined and stuff. Their Sparks are still online, just obviously not in their bodies."

"Then where are they?" Mirage grimly asked. His tone softened as he added, "And what can we do to bring them back?"

Their resident scientist turned away from his work towards his teammates, not wanting to admit it but knowing that there was no denying reality. "I don't think we can."

The three remained silent for a few moments before their communicators beeped. Mirage answered, "Race Team here."

"Overhaul – need you guys for a mission to Animatros. You up for it?"

A single glance went between the trio before their leader answered. "We're in. What's the mission?"

Of all the things that John Keller ever expected to do while in office, this was the one thing that had been furthest from his mind, even after the existence of the Transformers became common knowledge. "Let me see if I understand all of this correctly, Michael. You want me to ask the President to authorize the dispatch of American citizens and soldiers to not just one, but two alien worlds?"

Disbelief was almost clear in Franklin's voice as well. "That's exactly what we're asking for, Mr. Secretary."

Keller shook his head as he sank into his seat, glad for some small comfort in the human areas of Autobase Earth. He glanced to the third among them. "Well doctor, you're our resident expert and liaison. What can you tell me about these places?"

The flat screen monitor upon the wall flashed to life and began displaying images as the archaeologist cleared her throat. "Velocitron and Animatros are Cybertronian colony worlds, settled a little over 11,000 to 15,000 years ago. We have strong evidence to believe that they are where two of Atlantis's sister ships, Mu and Lemuria, landed after they left Earth but before the planets became fully inhabited. The Autobots are sending search teams to both planets, and we think it's in our best interests to take part and assist."

The secretary gave her an incredulous look. "You honestly assume that we can do more towards finding two spaceships than a space-faring race can?"

"Dr. Masters provided a great deal of assistance towards the Autobots in locating Atlantis in the first place, and gave them some leads regarding the other ships. There may be some other insight that she can provide."

"Which is why you want to go to both planets?"

"No, I don't need to go to both." The screen shifted with Diana's words, displays of Velocitron and recent sensor data overlaying several maps. Keller was immediately reminded of the desert in the southwestern states, especially the Valley of Fire in Nevada. "The authorities there have been very good at keeping an eye on what goes on in their skies. They've got the location of the ship down to a small area; thus, I wouldn't be able to provide much there."

"Velocitron is where we'd like to conduct field tests on the Scrapmetal prototype. It's well-populated, and the colonial government there is more than willing to provide supervision and field assistance for the tests." The monitor shifted again to show ground images of the planet at Franklin's words, the colonel momentarily taking over the presentation. "Velocitron itself is mostly a desert world, covered in a number of motorways and racetracks. There's plenty of space for a field test, plus an extensive monitor network to keep an eye on it."

"Then I assume you want to go to this...Animatros place?"

She nodded, images changing once more, this time to something out of the Amazon or one of the Hawaiian Islands. "Unfortunately, it's not nearly as safe as Velocitron. It's mainly dense jungle, heavy seismic and volcanic activity that makes our Ring of Fire look like Kilauea on a calm day, recorded vicious plant-based life forms, and other things I believe biologists and geologists would seriously debate the merits of long-term studying. In addition to that, the government there isn't quite as welcoming, nor quite as on the ball about finding their ship." Diana gave a rueful smile. "Which is why I need to go there unfortunately – the survey team will need all the help it can get, as well in the liaison area."

"And we can't send one person to one planet and a lone archaeologist to another." The Air Force colonel produced two files and handed them over to his superior. "Dr. Masters is going to need at least two assistants for the search on Animatros, as well as a security detail. As for the people we're sending to Velocitron, Coby is one of the only few who can operate it effectively, and we'll need more mechanics or engineers than soldiers out there."

"Not to mention a custodian, parental consent, and at least one man on the ground to oversee everything." Keller glanced over the two files, and stopped for a moment when he caught sight of one of Franklin's recommendations. "Colonel, are you sure about this?"

"I helped get the program this far, I want to see it through. And as for the rest of our recommendations..."

The older man held up a hand, stalling the younger man's explanation. "Them I'm not protesting." He sighed and continued to study over both before looking up. "I'll talk to the President. If he signs off on it and there aren't any major complaints from anyone else, you two have your field trips. In any case, you may as well start packing."

The two nodded their consent (Franklin saluting) and exited, a door sliding shut behind them. As they got out of earshot, Diana let loose with a small snicker. "Beller's going to hate this."

Her military counterpart barely kept himself restrained. "Her and most of our friends at Sector Seven. Do you think they'll be ready for it?"

"The kids? They'll go nuts." Considering the remaining hurdles, she sobered up. "Though that leaves the parents to deal with for Coby and Lori. That won't be easy."

"We'll figure something out. As long as we don't have any unexpected surprises, we should be just fine."

"Thrust, I assume we have properly analyzed that signal."

The tactician quickly brought up the requested information on one of the Nemesis's display screens. "We have, Lord Galvatron. The signal came from Cybertron and had two responding signals, to which we've traced to the colony worlds, Velocitron and Animatros."

"Just as Terrorsaur suggested." Galvatron leaned back in his seat and steepled his fingers. "Remind me, what are our numbers?"

"Twenty-four, with the addition of the Constructicons." Thrust looked at his leader carefully. "Shall we be dispatching teams then?"

"We shall." The warlord thumbed a few buttons on his command chair, calling up several of his subordinates. "Blastcharge, have repairs been completed upon your vessel?"

"We should be finished pretty soon, so yeah." The black and silver tank gave a confident chuckle. "These new guys know a thing or two about repair work, let me tell you."

"Excellent. The Sea Slug will set course to Animatros. Command Ravage, are your subordinates fully healed?"

"We are ready to be dispatched sir."

"Good. Your unit and Terrorsaur shall head to Animatros and locate whatever the Autobots are seeking."

"What, why me? I–"

"You have done almost nothing to contribute to the cause, Terrorsaur. You shall serve as support on Animatros, or you shall be left on this ship, with me." A simple tilt of his head, light gleaming off his optics in a dangerous glint. "Is that clear?"

The green and orange Decepticon gulped a small squawk. "Yes boss."

The screens flashed off and Galvatron turned his attention back to his second. "The rest of us shall go to Velocitron. Have the ship ready for deployment, and woe be to the Autobots who cross our path."

"Yessir."

Hot Shot remembered this all too well, the maze of roads and crossways all too familiar in his processor. He was a different 'bot when he first stepped onto this course, young and brash and all but going it alone. This time was a different matter.

"We've got incoming!" a familiar voice sounded via radio link.

The young Autobot readied his rifle and ducked to one side as the familiar training drone appeared, firing off one shot and scoring a direct hit. Several more appeared, the majority of them with laser cannons mounted upon their shoulders and others with stun batons in place.

Exactly what he was expecting.

"And, go!"

A black and yellow sports car burst into view before transforming into robot mode, twin batons of his own popping from their hiding places and landing in his ready hands. With practiced skill and ease, Wheeljack engaged the close-range drones, while Hot Shot covered him, shooting each of the oncoming laser-armed attackers before they could hit his partner.

"Aerial units inbound!" Jolt piped in from above.

"Jolt, tag 'em! Windsheer, Whisper, back him up! I'll take 'em down!"

Out of the corner of his optics, the yellow and blue Autobot took quick note of his other partner, Blurr's familiar black and yellow sniper rifle lancing off bits of fire at oncoming aerial targets. He suppressed a smile as he continued firing, bringing down one drone just as Wheeljack took out another one.

The last few cycles since Longs Peak, especially since Wheeljack had patched up his long-scarred Autobot emblem, had been some of the best the young Autobot had known. He and Blurr had been an excellent team already, but now, with the added boost of Wheeljack, the Street Speed Team and their individual Mini-Con partners, they were practically unbeatable.

After a few short kliks, the last drone fell, leaving the two brothers to relax. Wheeljack chuckled, a smile on his face. "Just like old times, eh, Hot Shot?"

"Better," countered Hot Shot as Blurr jumped down to meet them, his drop slowed by the two familiar Mini-Cons emerging from his back. "Barely saw you in there. Where'd you plant yourself?"

"In the upper levels, right under one of the crossways," Blurr explained as the Street Speed Team and Incinerator disconnected from his ports. "All but invisible from above."

"And the kid finally picks up on the value of stealth." The remaining Mini-Cons transformed, a black and green one landing softly alongside them. "Keep that in mind and you'll go places."

"Starting to dabble in prophecy, Whisper?" The simulated roads disappeared, prompting them to turn around and stand to attention as Starscream walked in softly. "Or did I just time things right?"

"More of the latter." Wheeljack relaxed to a casual pose, as did his teammates. "Something wrong, Starscream?"

"No, we just need Hot Shot, Blurr and the Street Speed Team for an assignment." The Seeker nodded at said mechs. "We're putting together retrieval teams for the remaining Artifacts. You're going to Velocitron."

"The Speed Planet?" It took everything the young warrior had to keep himself in check at that thought. All those race tracks...! He noticed Wheeljack's expression a nano-klik later and realized that his sibling's name wasn't mentioned. "Why isn't Wheeljack coming?"

"I need my people here. Wheeljack may have started as an Autobot, but he's a registered member of the Decepticon Militia, and ruled out of any Autobot military activity. He'll be part of the backup team in case you need it, but he won't be with you two."

"Then who's going in his place?" asked the sniper.

"Swerve, from the Wreckers. You need a scientist with you, and he's the first on the list we can spare; any more than three will attract attention." As Hot Shot moved to protest, Starscream held up a hand. "I've talked this over with Optimus – he and I agree. Wheeljack stays here unless there's trouble...which I hope doesn't happen."

The former Autobot turned downcast. "Not much we can do about it then, huh?"

Hot Shot gave him a comforting nudge. "Where do we report?"

"The Hub, two cycles from now. You'll be fully briefed then." Starscream turned to depart before pausing. "For what it's worth, you three work well together. If something does go wrong, you'll get out just fine."

The doors to the practice room closed softly behind him just as Windsheer spoke up in protest. "He can't do that!"

"He can and has." Spiral turned to the black and yellow Mini-Con with sympathetic optics. "Not a lot we can do."

Wheeljack rocked softly on his feet, and then tried his best to look cheerful. "Well, there's a bright side to all this." With a surprised look from the other two, he grinned weakly. "If something does go wrong, I'll get to pull your afts out of the fire."

"I'd say he's about due," Blurr noted with a chuckle.

Despite himself, Hot Shot joined in. "Yeah, you're right." He laid a hand upon his brother's shoulder. "Wish us luck."

Wheeljack replied by playfully sending a fist into his sibling's chest. "You'll need it."

"You want me to go to Animatros?" Talon gawked. "I'm not complaining, but why? I don't see what I can contribute to finding an Artifact of Primus."

"It's not just that," Scavenger explained. "There's something else."

The young femme's optics went wide for a second as she understood. "Oh. That's why. But what's there that can help with that?"

"Not what, who. The former colonial governor on Animatros is an Autobot, Backstop. I think he can help you."

The Harrier blinked at the bulldozer in surprise. "Where you couldn't?"

"He taught me every trick I know, just not every trick he knew. Besides, what he can do goes deeper than what I can do." With a puzzled look from his protégé, he simply smiled secretively. "You'll find out."

Talon cracked a small grin in reply, not entirely certain what her mentor was thinking but willing to trust him regardless. "I'd better get my stuff together. If I'm going to be with a team on the Jungle Planet, I'm gonna need all the plant killer bombs I can get."

She turned and departed as Scavenger heard a chuckle from near his feet. "You mentioned those weeds to her, haven't you?"

"Most of 'em." He gravely looked at Rollbar. "But a few giant plants are the least of her worries."

"No kidding," came the Mini-Con's reply as the doors slid shut behind Talon. He took quick note of the human who entered just as the femme left. "What's bugging you?"

"Just an idea," Diana replied, voice sounding as if she was running through an idea mentally. "Scavenger, feel free to debate this with me, but Earth's an active partner in this alliance, right?"

"Last I checked, yes."

"Well, forgive me on a little presumption, but a human presence on the teams heading after the Keys might be a good idea. I mean, Overhaul's team will need someone who can help with translations – if any – and can help pinpoint the location of the ship..."

Scavenger and Rollbar shared a quick glance before turning back to the archaeologist. "You've already discussed this with a few people, haven't you?"

"Colonel Franklin's already talked it over with the State and Defense Departments. Between concern for planetary security, foreign affairs, and a little eagerness to test out the new toy, they want to give it a shot."

"That's one advantage to having the Secretary of Defense on site to attend the demonstration, isn't it?" Rollbar quipped in an amused tone.

Scavenger nodded, having expected this somewhat. "Well, since you've got all of this set up and done with, we may as well go ahead. Get whatever you need ready for the trip to Animatros, and tell Coby to prep for Velocitron if he hasn't already."

"All I need is a couple hours." Diana turned and departed, more than a little eagerness clear on her face as she grabbed her communicator on her way out. An adventure was waiting for her, and she was more than ready to begin.

"Watch where you're walking, I've got a lot of stuff stored here."

Headline did as asked, keeping one optic on her path and another on her surroundings. "Wow... No offense, but I wasn't expecting this place to be this...cozy."

Astrotrain's safe house was small, the main entrance sliding back into place behind the Decepticon as he followed the femme in. Twin hatches stood on her left, both presumably leading to other rooms, while on her right were shelves packed with assorted bits of equipment – power units for assorted weapons, additional munitions, data storage units and so forth filled them to the brim. By themselves in one corner were a number of holo-emitters, most leaned carefully against the wall or still stored but one laid out, a data chip plugged in. On the opposite end of the room was a computer terminal, several screens flashing with newsfeeds and list of information on potential targets.

"'Cozy' she calls it." Headline halted in surprise as she looked down, a dull yellow and black Mini-Con walking towards her with three following. "A lot more cozy than our old accommodations."

As one of the other Mini-Cons tried to calm his friend down, waiving his grey and white arms lightly as he did so, a second looked up to his partner. "Didn't tell us we'd be expecting company, Astro."

"Treat her nice, Sinker, she's a journalist." The Decepticon walked forward and leaned against his computer desk, regarding his guest carefully. "You know who they are?"

"Starcatcher and the Astro Recon Team. You found them."

"On Earth, a little over ninety-four stellar cycles ago." Astrotrain retrieved the holo-emitter and turned it on. "He's how."

From the tiny projector came the image of an angular Transformer, its body a series of sharp angles, looking to have some sort of stealth aircraft as its alternate mode. Her optics widened in surprise as she took the emitter to better examine its projection. "I've never seen this mech before. Who is he?"

"He didn't give a name when I met him, just information. He knew where the Mini-Cons were, on Earth at that, and pointed me right at the pod where these four were in stasis."

The question escaped her synthesizer before she could stop herself. "How did he know they were on Earth?"

A shrug. "Don't know, didn't care at the time. But after Autobot Command found some debris from my shielding where I'd been, they chased me down. Gotta be a reason for that." Headline handed back the emitter as he continued, "I'm betting they know who he is, and that it's got something to do with the disappearance of Nebulos."

The femme looked at him in surprise. "And what makes you think some mystery mech who knew where the Mini-Cons were has something to do with Nebulos being lost?"

"I checked with a friend on the outpost I met this guy on, the kind of paranoid security officer who copies all the records he can. Everywhere this guy went on the outpost, including where I met him, there was strong interference, some kind of jamming technology."

"And other friends have reported similar interference in the neighborhood of Nebulos about a stellar cycle ago." Astro-Line flew up onto the console, bringing up a readout of both types of interference. "Same stuff, but the second one was way stronger."

Headline moved forward, optics focused on the display while running through various scenarios with what she was able to gather so far. "That means there's a connection… But what?"

"That's my question, one that I think you can help me with." Astrotrain's words regained her attention. "You're connected to Cybertron's satellite communications network, meaning you can remotely log in to determine if any ships managed to make it here from Nebulos in that time. We find that ship and its crew, we can find out what happened there. I get some answers, you get a story, everyone leaves happy."

"Assuming someone doesn't notice my getting into the network..." the journalist noted worriedly. "Still...this does sound important." An uplink port extended from her right forefinger, and Headline plugged into the computer console. "I'm accessing the network, checking all ships that came from or went to Nebulos around that time. If anything pops up, you'll see it on your screen."

The previous lists of information disappeared, and were quickly replaced by a rapidly scrolling list of names and manifests.

"Several ships were scheduled to leave Cybertron for Nebulos around that time, but all of them had cancelled flights after a certain point... Right when..." A blaring klaxon sounded off from the computer as a warning flashed on the screen. "Slag! Some of them are restricted, high access – I can't get in!"

"Leave that to me." Astrotrain reached over and quickly keyed in a command sequence on the terminal. "I've had this hacking program for ages, but never had a good enough connection to try it out with."

"You could've told me about that," Headline muttered, a little put out.

The Decepticon smirked. "You'll forgive me in a klik."

The warnings disappeared, and a single manifest appeared for a large cargo ship, deep red with twin pylons extending from its bow.

"Here we go, the Flash Frenzy. Registered out of Velocitron to an Autobot, Skyfall, crewed by another Autobot, Overcast. It departed Deep Space Outpost Six, arrived here on Cybertron about a deca-cycle later. That's the official record – unofficially, it made a pit stop on Nebulos. That's what was restricted."

"Any more records for this ship?"

"A few – it departed Cybertron again and returned about a mega-cycle afterwards. It's docked on Brasta right now, set to depart in the next twelve cycles for Animatros."

"Which means we don't have much time." Astrotrain's four Mini-Cons gathered at his feet as he bid his newfound partner in crime, "Better log out quick – we've got a ship to catch."

"Are you absolutely certain you want to do this, Optimus?" Clear worry flashed from Bumblebee's face as he led his commander down the steel-grey passageway. "You and I both know the kind of missions he goes on."

"Which is precisely why I need him on this mission. It's all but a given that this mission is dangerous, and we need someone capable of handling their own and getting the job done." Strong regret was clear in the Autobot leader's next words. "And I can't think of anyone better for the job."

A massive door slid open before them after several locks pulled back, leading them into a long hallway lined with incarceration cells, transparent walls separating them from any guards. Unlike dangerous criminals and captured followers of Galvatron, whose bodies were placed in stasis, those incarcerated here were a light but general danger to society at large, kept locked away for both their own protection and that of the general populace. Some Decepticons were kept in places like this...but only one Autobot had that distinction.

"Bumblebee...wasn't expecting to see you any time soon. And Optimus Prime...I'm quite honored."

Icy blue optics looked back at them from a gold and ruby face, their owner casually reclining upon a recharge berth. His body was colored much the same way, red and gold with silvery-blue upon his chest and legs, the insectoid and lizard-like parts of his body making clear his techno-organic nature. The tips of his clawed fingers lightly touched each other, resting upon his chest. The mech was acting as if he was on a relaxing and all-expense paid vacation at the Xunil oil springs instead of being locked up behind enough barriers to discourage a Dinobot or Wrecker, even a Terrorcon.

"Repugnus."

The Autobot raised a finger. "Ah, don't tell me, let me guess. You've a mission for me. It's about time – I thought for a moment you'd forgotten all about me, all the contributions I've made to the cause and such. I almost considered the possibility that you'd taken advantage of King Atlas's recent passing to quietly retire me, leaving me to enjoy my...accommodations." He turned his head to face them and grew a vicious grin. "Of course, that isn't your style, no it isn't. Noble Optimus Prime – wise, brave, and virtuous. You've never condoned the things I've done, no matter how much good they've done for our cause or how many of Megatron's old flunkies I've taken out."

"Your success rate is commendable." Optimus kept his optics locked on his subordinate. "It's your methods we have a problem with."

"Oh yes, that marvelous little ethical quandary about killing your enemies." The operative sat up, but made no other motion. "Has it ever occurred to you that the reason so many conflicts continue for so long is because of the will of its leadership? Some enemies can't be negotiated with, Prime, and some are just too dangerous to keep alive. That's why mechs like myself exist – so those dangerous enemies stop being alive. I get rid of them, leave the bodies in the streets, and they never show up again. And if you get rid of enough of them," he snapped his fingers to emphasize his point, "either you run out of enemies, or the few that are left are willing to give up and go home. I end conflicts a lot better than some agreement, and you know that." He stood up, extending his arms to showcase his accommodations. "Why else am I in here, rather than locked away in stasis?" At his commanders' silence, he purred, "Did I strike a chord?"

"No...but you've made your point." As Bumblebee moved to open the cell, the Autobot leader maintained his neutral posture while keeping an open line to security. "You are good at what you do. And I do have a mission for you...one that could save Cybertron and all its people."

"Finally decided to let me scrap Megatron, then?" Repugnus asked hopefully.

"No. We need you for something much more important. You do this for us, and you won't be in here anymore."

The assassin hemmed, curiosity clear in his optics. "Not assassination then, but something with a rather generous reward. Tell me, what sort of mission are you sending me on?"

The transparent barrier between them descended into the ground, and numerous force fields shimmered out of existence.

"You're going to Animatros...and you aren't going alone."

"We weren't expecting another visit from you, Vector Prime. Fortunately, we don't have quite as much mess as last time."

"I remember, Skyfall." The ancient Transformer's gaze swept over the command deck of the Flash Frenzy, remembering the last time he had stepped inside it. Having the group's attention, he pressed on. "That last visit is, in part, why I've come now. I feel I owe you and your brothers an apology."

"At least that much." Landquake stood up, his optics fixed on the taller mech with a little hint of frustration. "You know more about what we're up to then you've let on."

Vector Prime gave a regretful nod. "I do. Your quest is important, perhaps as much as the search for the Artifacts. Unfortunately, unlike with them, I am not at liberty to help you in your efforts. However, I do know of one who can." He stepped to one side, revealing the one whom he referred to.

Before them was a Mini-Con, similar in design to the ancient's partner Safeguard but with a differing color scheme – purple, aged silver and bronze to the other's grey, black, and teal. He eagerly looked up towards the four and spoke in an aged but firm voice. "Hello, everyone. My name is Beta Maxx. I believe I can be of some use to you."

Across from his old partner, Overcast crossed his arms as he regarded the smaller mech. "No offense, but I don't see how a Mini-Con's going to help much."

"Oh, I'm much more than a Mini-Con." The diminutive Transformer jumped up onto the Autobot's console. "I have assisted Vector Prime and Safeguard in their custodianship of Vector Sigma for ages...except all the time I've been in stasis, of course. I've gleaned a great deal from it...and unlike Vector Prime, I have far more liberty to speak of what I've learned."

The last of them spoke up. "Then you can help us?"

Beta Maxx gestured at Breakaway. "At least enough to point you in the right direction, assuming you'll have me."

Skyfall glanced from the Mini-Con back to Vector Prime. "We'll take all the help we can get. Thank you."

"Find your remaining brothers," the ancient pressed them. "That will be more than enough."

With those words, Vector Prime departed with a poignant smile on his face. As he exited hearing distance, the Mini-Con spoke up again. "Now, if I recall the records correctly, you were planning on visiting Animatros next, correct?"

"You think we shouldn't?"

Beta Maxx gave Overcast a stern smile. "Far from it – that's exactly where you need to go next." He looked about the others and explained, "That's where the next one you're looking for is, and we need to hurry, lest the unthinkable happen."

"I can't believe this! They're planning a big mission to Animatros, and Scavenger doesn't even think to have us as volunteers! What are we, scrapped pneumatic actuators?!"

Airazor barely restrained an irritated sigh while shaking her head. "Cheetor, you're overreacting."

Thanks mostly to their animal-based alternate modes, the pair and their fellow tech-orgs had been confined to Autobase Earth and its surroundings for fear of causing undue panic, even with the area being deemed a military facility. It was necessary, but due to the limited activity for them in base beyond their duties assisting the Omnicons in Energon collection, there was more than a little cabin fever among them.

The young feline Transformer looked at his superior in surprise as they moved down the corridors of the base. "'Razor, we'd be perfect for that mission! Think about it – Animatros, the Jungle Planet, lots of animals and foliage, all that wilderness... They need us out there! It's not like we're doing any good staying here."

"You mean aside from helping the Omnicons harvest the Energon supply they found here, Rhinox taking over Red's duties, and all that?" The falcon femme gave her comrade a reassuring pat. "When we're needed, they'll call us in. We haven't been forgotten."

"I wouldn't tell that to Longhorn." The two gave startled jumps at the slightly gloomy voice before finding its source. "Sorry. I shouldn't have eaves-dropped."

"It's alright Crystal, we weren't exactly being quiet." Straightening himself up some, Cheetor approached the tech-org spider. "You feeling alright?"

"Some, yes." Crystal Widow rubbed one arm uneasily. "After what happened to Ironhide, I figured she needed something to reassure her. She wasn't at fault for what happened to Terrorsaur...unlike me."

"Now don't start that again." The falcon's optics focused on her fellow femme, partly firm but a gentle admonishment in her tone. "What happened to us wasn't your fault, and never has been. You can't help it any more than any of us, and no one blames you for any of it."

"Yeah, I mean, Longhorn's not bitter about it, right?" A glare from Airazor, and the young mech gulped. "Erhm...I'll go see if Arcee needs anything."

As Cheetor slumped away, Crystal Widow shook her head. "He's right...but it's still my fault all this happened, and it's not like I've really done anything to help."

A barely visible smirk curled on the elder femme's face. "I might be able to do something about that."

"I can't believe you actually managed to convince them to let you go." Kicker looked at his aunt in astonishment as she rummaged through her things, packing assorted bits of clothing and equipment into an old duffel bag. "Not to mention how excited you're getting."

"Can you blame her?" A bemused smile graced Misha's face, much like the one on Diana's as she continued packing. "All alone on an alien planet with a squad of Army Rangers keeping an eye on her...almost makes me wish I was going." A surprised look from the young man, and she shrugged. "Well..."

Diana paused packing, tapping her chin. "Now that you mention it, I am going to need some help."

The two teens looked at her in surprise. "Wait, you want us...?"

"It'll be good field experience for you, Misha. I've even talked it over with some of my new bosses and Lucy – they're willing to call it an internship. Assuming you don't mind having an MRE every meal, having to move at the occasional unreasonable speed and hours, and deal with jungle humidity, you're welcome to tag along."

Before the young student could answer one way or another, Kicker spoke first. "Why didn't you ask me about this?"

Diana eyed her nephew carefully. "Truthfully, I wasn't sure you'd want to come. You had to go through way too much to get here, and I didn't want to force you to go through more."

Kicker's face remained neutral for a second before softening into a small smirk. "Last time, I was stuck in space by myself chasing after Energon in asteroids. This time, I'll be on the ground with help looking for a spaceship. Not the same thing."

"Plus you don't want me running off with some rugged Army man," Misha teased, prompting her boyfriend to blush slightly and sputter indignantly.

The archaeologist barely stifled herself, covering it as a cough. "Well, I was hoping you'd want to come. I asked the colonel to get your armor back from whatever lab was examining it – it should arrive at the base the same time as my security detail and equipment."

"Hopefully in one piece." Noticing a familiar cat curling about his legs, Kicker scooped down and picked up his aunt's pet. "What about Abby?"

"Lucy volunteered to keep an eye on her, and she should have plenty of company." The older woman grabbed a large paper bag loaded with cat toys and canned food. "And this should keep her. We just need to get her packed up and ready now."

As if fully aware of what was coming, Abby gave a grumbling purr.

"Sorry Abby, but I can't take you along." Diana reached over and scratched behind the feline's ears, hoping to give her pet some small comfort. "It won't be long though. We'll be back."

Abby responded with a "mrrow" as Diana produced her carrier, but climbed in with little protest.

Diana smiled before turning back to Misha. "We'll be leaving in a few hours – you'd best get home and pack."

The roar of engine exhaust filled Headline's audio receptors as Astrotrain landed softly outside of the Brasta Dockyards. Grateful that the space shuttle was able to accommodate her vehicle mode in his cargo bay, the femme was infinitely more grateful that the trip was over – it had been an annoyingly tight fit.

As the cargo doors opened above her, Headline transformed and hopped out, taking stock of their surroundings. The two were on a rocky plateau overlooking the dockyards, not easily visible but with a clear view of the entire area. It wasn't hard for the Autobot to notice the recent damage incurred by the Terrorcons, or the numerous members of the Autobot Corps of Engineers working to repair the facility. Fighting back her memories, she continued to scan over the area until she found what she was looking for. "There! There's the Flash Frenzy, Dock 9!"

Astrotrain transformed and easily found the ship. "My going in there would raise too many alarms. Think you can get in alone without catching too much attention?"

"Shouldn't be too hard, considering I'm a member of the press." Already beginning to think of a good story to aid in her infiltration of the facility, Headline gave a small and eager smile. "Besides, I'm close to 'bots in Intelligence. They can vouch for me."

"Good, but keep a recorder going when you talk to them. Keeping a line open is too risky – I don't want to have slipped past the sensor net for nothing."

Already keying her onboard recording equipment to standby, the femme nodded. "I won't be long."

She turned to go, but found her optics resting on the end of an energy lance, a small and familiar black Autobot jet training the activated but uncharged weapon on her chestplate.

"Slipped past the sensor net fine." Ricochet kept his weapon ready even as Astrotrain turned to face him, his Mini-Cons disengaging from their ports and readying weapons. "But Checkpoint decided to beef up security on the ground some."

The telltale whine of a weapon being charged caught the duo's attention, and they found themselves looking at the familiar trio of the Night Rescue Team and another Autobot, this time a blue and white femme.

"Astrotrain."

The Decepticon raised his arms in surrender. "Chromia."

"We haven't done anything, you can't arrest us."

"We aren't arresting you." The femme motorcycle powered down and lowered her weapon. "No offense Headline, but you're far from the most subtle of investigators. Bumblebee figured you'd find something about this eventually. And Sharkticon was kind enough to warn us that Astrotrain wasn't one for leaving a mystery alone either." She signaled her comrade, and the ebon mech lowered his weapon. "We're escorting you to Iacon – you're getting answers from Prime himself."

The roar of engine fire caught the group's attention. They turned and watched as the Flash Frenzy lifted off from its berth and rose into the moon's atmosphere.

"Then why the secrecy about that ship and its crew?" Despite herself, Headline couldn't help but ask. "Are they the team being sent to Animatros?"

"They aren't. They're going for other reasons." The smaller femme stored her weapon. "Follow us – the space bridge line should only take a cycle to get to from here. You'll know everything when this is over...and hopefully you'll understand why Prime hasn't been totally forthcoming."

"You want to expand the team to Animatros?" Optimus looked at his old mentor in surprise. "I'm surprised. You suggested having them be three mech units in the first place. Why change that?"

"It's my fault, Optimus." The holo-avatar of Scavenger was quickly joined by one of Airazor. "Not much has been done around here since the battle last December, and we don't exactly get out."

Optimus nodded. "And any one of you would be helpful out there. Given the circumstances, I think we might be able to amend the plans. Besides, Overhaul could use your help."

"She's not the one we want to send." The bulldozer's optics took on a grave tone. "Crystal is."

The Autobot leader's optics widened in surprise as Starscream interjected. "Are you sure that's a wise idea? Crystal Widow is at best a liability. She's constantly depressed, morose, barely does much... If she were human, people might think her a suicide risk."

"And that didn't just happen over one cycle." The femme's optics were clearly pleading for her comrade. "Think about all she's been through, all we've been through. First the Quints did this to us, nearly killed her in the process, then we were lost on the Acheron for thousands of stellar cycles…She's never stopped blaming herself for any of it. She feels worthless and she needs something to get her spirits back up."

"And you think this can do it for her?" With a nod from the tech-org, Optimus vented a sigh. "Very well. If Crystal Widow wishes to take part in the survey mission to Animatros, she can do so. With any luck, this can help her."

A grateful smile grew on Airazor's face. "My thanks, Prime."

"Thank me when they return home in one piece. Citadel out." The holo-avatars flashed out of existence as Optimus turned to face his sibling. "You know what this means, of course."

"Yes, we have another potentially unstable Autobot heading into Scourge's territory." The Seeker shook his head. "If this doesn't blow up in our faces, it'll be a miracle."

Optimus tilted his head thoughtfully. "Yes, that. But I was also thinking that if we're sending four Autobots and a team of Mini-Cons to Animatros, we should send the same number to Velocitron. And last I checked, Wheeljack never officially resigned from the Autobot military."

Starscream stared at the Autobot leader in surprise before chuckling softly. "He did seem a bit put out about not taking part." Reaching onto Optimus's desk and pressing a button, he turned as the office door slid open. "Which leaves one question Wheeljack – are you in?"

The young mech, surprised that he'd even been noticed outside the office, gaped at the pair in astonishment. "You mean...I can go?"

"Get Windsheer and Whisper, meet up with Hot Shot before the briefing, and yes. Unless you'd rather stay with the backup team. Crosswise would probably enjoy..."

"Sirs, you can count me in!" Wheeljack saluted before quickly departing.

The two siblings shared a grin before Vector Prime and Jetfire approached the office door. "Looks like we got here just in time. Optimus, I think you've been expecting these two."

The Autobot leader rose from his desk as the two entered, escorting a familiar group of Transformers. "I had a feeling we'd be having this talk before too long."

"Real surprise there," Astro-Hook quipped from the feet of his partner.

As Starcatcher shushed his argumentative comrade, Headline stepped forward. "Optimus, before you say anything else, we know. We know that something big is going on, that the Transformer Astrotrain met has some connection to Nebulos going missing. You can't hide this."

Optimus hung his head, and answered in a soft, grave voice. "We weren't trying to hide anything, Headline. We were trying to avoid a panic." He looked upon the amazed journalist and the neutral bounty hunter and explained. "You're right. The one who led Astrotrain to Earth does have a connection to the loss of Nebulos...but the planet wasn't lost."

Before either of them could ask him to explain, Vector Prime did. "It was consumed. By the Chaos Bringer."

All six looked at the ancient Prime in disbelief as they began to hear the tale.

"Man, I can't believe all this. First we go to that crazy island with the giant robots, and now we're going to the giant robots' hangout. If Fig were here..."

Epps interrupted the sergeant's comments. "If Fig were here, Donnelly, he'd be telling us how his mama'd be sautéing gator meat and lecturing us on fine dining in Spanish. The big robots we can understand."

The bespectacled sergeant and many of the other soldiers laughed at their fellow team mate's comment, glad for a bit of levity before heading off into their next mission. Conspicuous by his silence was the youngest of the eight-man squad, who was watching the landscape go by from the window of the utility helicopter.

"Something eating you, Witwicky?" The young man gave a startled look to his commander, who amended, "Or are you just missing that girlfriend of yours already?"

The young man relaxed slightly. "Something like that, sir."

Lennox gave his subordinate a smile and a pat. "Don't worry about it, kid. You aren't the only one here who doesn't get nearly enough time with his girl."

"But why us? I mean, I'm not complaining or anything, orders are orders and all that…but why are we stuck with this?"

"Obviously we had a good-enough impression on them from last time." The Army captain gripped his rifle tighter unconsciously. "I'm still on the fence about that being a good thing."

The eight men quieted down fairly quickly as they felt the Twin Huey change altitude, the machinery shifting slightly in pitch as the chopper began its descent, sunlight from the outside decreasing and the mountains rising as if to swallow them up. With the blades still spinning and the all-clear from the pilot after finding the closest open area, Lennox slid the door open, allowing his team to exit while grabbing their gear as they went.

A quick salute from the Air Force colonel, tactical vest straps and combat uniform having replaced his dress uniform now flapping in the downwash. "Captain Lennox. My apologies for a lack of a proper briefing before now – we're in something of a rush."

The team returned the salute. "No apologies needed, colonel, but the sooner we find out what's going on, the sooner we'll feel ready to head out."

Franklin led the squad along the massive hangar towards a massive waiting elevator. "The Autobots are currently seeking a number of artifacts, ancient relics from their world. Two teams are being dispatched to two different planets to assist in the search, and one team is being accompanied by three-man archaeological team. Your squad is accompanying them as security."

Lennox blinked, shifting his MOLLE pack. "No offense, but isn't a group of giant robots enough security for three people?"

The group stepped onto the elevator and turned around as it began its descent. "As much as that's true, we can't expect them to watch the team's backs every second. That's where you come in. The archaeological team is going because its head has helped the Autobots on several occasions, and she feels that she'd be able to provide a great deal of assistance on this one. This same person happens to be part of the Liaison Council, making security even more important."

Epps raised an eyebrow as he adjusted the chin strap of his MICH. "Anything we should know about her?"

The elevator halted. "Only that she knows what she's doing."

The doors opened, and the colonel led the group into a massive room adorned by a large ring-like device with a ramp leading into it at one end and several large crates at the other. As the squad recognized several of the Transformers checking over the various crates, Franklin noted, "I think you remember a few of our hosts."

Turning away from the crates, Overhaul and Talon immediately caught sight of the new arrivals and a smile grew on the brawler's face. "Well, should've known we'd be running into you again."

"Considering we haven't worked with too many in the armed forces, it was kind of a given." Lennox took the offered hand of the Race Team's leader. "Good to see you again, captain. How's your man doing?"

"Sergeant Figueroa is still recovering from his injuries, but he'll be alright." He noticed a waiting four-legged black-and-red vehicle and several teens examining it, and quirked an eyebrow. "That part of the mission we're on?"

"Sort of – same job, different team. They're going with us part of the way, but they're headed in another direction." The captain turned as a woman roughly his age approached, clad in slightly worn and loose clothing that immediately reminded him of Indiana Jones, although lacking the signature fedora and whip. "Captain William Lennox – I've heard good things about you and your men."

"Captain, this is Dr. Diana Masters. She's been working with the Autobots since before I came along," Franklin introduced.

"Which would make you in charge." The captain considered the woman for a minute as they shook hands, respect going up a tiny notch at her firm and polite grip. "For the record, I already take orders from civilians, but-"

"One thing I've learned is valuing the advice of someone with experience. First sign of serious trouble and you say 'pull back', I won't argue." Diana regarded him for a moment, tilting her head. "Any more concerns you want to address, captain?"

The captain relaxed slightly. "Just don't interrupt me anymore and we'll get along just fine. Now, where's this team of yours?"

Headline slumped into a waiting seat, sheer disbelief on her face. "Unicron? You think Unicron ate Nebulos?"

"Skyfall's testimony and flight recordings didn't leave much doubt." Optimus closed the window that showed said footage before studying the journalist carefully. "It's also why we've tried to keep things quiet – we didn't want to create a panic."

"And you think the mech who met me is connected to him somehow?"

"His energy signature is similar to others we've met who have announced themselves as servants of the Chaos Bringer," Vector Prime explained at Astrotrain's question. "He is also why the Mini-Cons crashed on Earth in the first place – a deliberate act of sabotage."

"And leading me to the pod almost led to us heading to Earth." The Decepticon regarded the ancient for a moment, shaking his head. "Fine. Unicron's coming to eat us. Why doesn't he just come already?"

"Because the last time he tried, he encountered something that could hurt him." The bounty hunter turned to Starscream as the Seeker added, "He's being more careful this time. Stranding the Mini-Cons off-world and prompting our chase for them was meant as a diversion, as were Megatron's metamorphosis and his recent attack on Iacon. He knows that we know we can hurt him, perhaps even destroy him."

"Which is why we were putting together those off-world missions – we're getting stuff that can hurt him, and we're trying to do it without arousing too much suspicion." Jetfire shrugged. "Obviously that part didn't work."

"Obviously," murmured Headline in agreement, still trying to adjust to this new information. She collected herself slightly before sitting straight. "Optimus, I'm not saying what you did was right... but something like this can't be covered up forever. Even if there isn't a defense in place, the people need to know what's going on."

The Autobot leader nodded. "I know. We never planned to keep them in the dark forever, but we didn't want to cause a panic either, or tip anyone off about what was going on."

"Which kinda went out the window the instant that pulse went out," the Autobot 2IC sourly admitted, rubbing the back of his head subconsciously. "Part of the defense system, long story."

"That explains everything, I suppose." Headline turned back to the Autobot leader. "What now?"

"Once the off-world missions return with what they're looking for, we'll see about making this public knowledge. When that happens, you'll be the first to be notified. For now, however, we ask that you keep this quiet."

Headline nodded at Optimus's request, as did Astrotrain. "One question though… You guys know where you're going, Unicron probably does based on that signal. Does anyone else know?"

"It's a safe bet that Megatron knows, but we've no way of knowing where or when he'll appear. For now, it's a race."

Vector Prime nodded with Starscream's words. "One we cannot afford to lose."

"I still don't get why Bud couldn't come, or any of the kids from Oregon." Lori uncomfortably shifted on her feet with her luggage, slightly uneasy in her new flight suit.

"The colonel figured it was too risky – we're just lucky I built this thing and you know how to pilot it." Coby finished checking over his tools and asked, "Haven't forgotten anything, right?"

The young girl went over her supplies in her head. "Clothes that I won't mind getting dirty, food from Mom, those MRE things, sunscreen, cleaning stuff... I'm good. I just hope they have bathrooms on this Speed Planet of theirs."

"Yeah... me too." More than a little nervous about that particular possibility, the young man tossed his bag into his Scrapmetal's waiting cockpit, leaving it behind his chair and then bent down to take up Lori's things. It had taken a lot of convincing on Franklin and Diana's part to let his and Lori's parents agree into letting them go on this trip, with a little needling on the side. The mechanic and science-fiction fan part of him was excited at the numerous prospects, but the older sibling part of his mind cautioned on over exuberance after watching over Bud when their oldest brother Tim had left the family to live out his life. Coby had to admit that the truth in some ways WAS stranger than fiction, no matter how wild the human imagination could get.

"Attention – Space Bridge room sealing. Prepare to disembark."

"That's our cue." Franklin approached the two, hitching his pack. "Ready to go?"

"All set." Coby climbed into the Scrapmetal's cockpit and slipped on his helmet before going through all the checks.

Lennox's squad checked their weapons one last time while Kicker, more than a little self-conscious in his armor and pack, felt an affectionate squeeze from Misha on his right arm. "You look fine, Kicker. Nice and heroic."

The young man wished he had his helmet on when he blushed slightly. "Thanks...I guess."

"Forgive me a stupid question, ma'am, but how are we getting to this other planet?" Lennox asked as Diana slung on her backpack and duffel.

"Ever watched 'Stargate'?" the archaeologist replied with a cheeky grin.

Instantly catching everyone's attention, the ring at the opposite end of the room flashed brilliantly, leaving a puddle-like portal within it and several dropped jaws.

"The Transformer equivalent is the 'space bridge', an instantaneous link from one point in space to another. We'll be taking this one to the Central Hub on Cybertron, then another one to Animatros."

"Doc, I hope this thing works." Epps' grip tightened on his straps. "For the record though, I'm taking a space ship home."

"Don't leak lubricant on us – this is the safest way to travel." Overhaul slung a crate over one shoulder and with a loud "Alright 'bots – roll out!" marched forward, Talon and Crystal Widow following close behind.

"When we go through, we're going to feel a quick chill go through us, kinda like stepping into an industrial freezer after a long day in hot weather," Kicker spoke as he slipped on his helmet, the soldiers giving him their full attention. "You're gonna want to exhale before you go through – inhaling when you step out is a common reflex. And don't worry about air – Cybertron's got a nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere like Earth, so there's plenty to go around but it might take a while for our lungs to get used to it."

The soldiers looked amongst themselves, a little more relieved than before, and followed the archaeological team's lead through the portal.

As Diana passed through the bridge, she felt a pleasant chill go through her body for all of two seconds before stepping out the other end and looking around in admiration. Although glancing over her shoulder revealed some of the human passengers coughing to regain their breath, others looking a little pale but none worse for wear before awe took over again. Ringed around them were a number of additional space bridge portals, all inactive, with several Transformers going about and checking over them, and high above their heads was a gold-tinted transparent dome, light shining down upon them from above.

"This place is like an airport terminal." Lennox looked about, him and his team in as much bewilderment as Diana held. "So which one's our flight?"

"That one right there." The archaeologist pointed towards an inactive portal in the distance, marked with a set of Cybertronian glyphs. "Nothing stopping us from going."

"Except for the last mech on the team." The sound of gloom in Crystal Widow's voice was replaced by unease as the team's fourth Autobot arrived and approached Overhaul, who shared her unease and looked decidedly grim. "Repugnus."

"Crystal, always a pleasure." The assassin turned to Overhaul. "You must be Overhaul, and the second femme Talon." His glance briefly swept over the gathered humans. "Didn't expect us to be fleshy-sitting."

"Don't even think about it," the emerald Humvee growled, engine revving. The Rangers and Kicker instinctively took more defensive postures at the brawler's tone, not liking how the red and gold mech had looked at them.

The tech-org quickly held up a placating hand. "Wouldn't dream of it."

Across the chamber, Hot Shot knelt as Coby, Lori and Franklin approached. "Hey Coby – been way too long. Looking forward to the trip?"

The teen fist bumped the yellow mech excitedly. "You kidding? Of course!"

"Careful Coby, you're drooling," Lori laughed while running a hand through her hair. "Anything we need to know?"

"Just that you're in good hands with us." An unfamiliar red mech knelt down and offered a finger. "Swerve. It's a pleasure to meet you miss, sirs. I've met the current colonial governor, Override, and I think you'll like her."

"We just have to keep up – she's the fastest thing on wheels." Upon some looks at the young Autobot, he amended, "So I've heard, anyway."

Lori barely stifled a laugh and Wheeljack gave his brother a playful nudge before a chime sounded off from above. The gathered teams looked up quietly to see Optimus Prime, Starscream, and Vector Prime watching over them.

"Autobots, Mini-Cons, honored allies. My thanks to you for stepping forward to take part in this mission. Take care of yourselves, watch your backs, and above all else, everyone comes back alive. My friends, roll out."

Two space bridge terminals flashed online, leaving ready portals in their wake. Without much fanfare, the two teams split up, one heading towards Animatros, the other to Velocitron. As the last of the gathered teams stepped through, the portals flashed out of existence.

"I assume that the backup teams are ready for when they are needed," the elder Prime asked, albeit more of statement than a question.

"They are." The younger Prime kept his optics on the now offline terminals. "I just hope they aren't needed."

"The signals are indeed from the Artifacts of Primus." Sideways's face, while it betrayed no emotion, still seemed concerned. "No doubt they will be sought."

"Which leaves the question of who will go where." Soundwave looked up as he and his comrades received their assignments. "Ah. That's settled." He turned to their third. "It's all but a given you shall face Prime once more on the Jungle Planet."

Nemesis Prime stood confident. "The third time is the charm. Besides, I shall take the Beast with me this time. He will even the odds quite nicely."

A new form emerged from the walls around them, colored orange-yellow and bony grey. "The rest of you will head to Cybertron. The stage is set for us, and we've still a chance to take one of the Artifacts out of play. Also, I feel it is time for the prodigal son to return home. I shall go to the Speed Planet myself...it is long since time that I played an active role in our gambit."

The three Heralds bowed as one. "Yes, Master."

The being flexed his new fingers, his skull-like face casting a cruel smile as he did so. His Heralds had been defeated by his brother's children...now it was time they faced a shade of their true destiny.

The End