Transformers Titan
New Developments
A week had passed since the end of what became known as the headmaster war. With the OZ invasion thwarted and their headmaster army deactivated, all that was left was the hard task of rebuilding. The combined assault of three airships and an army of mechanoids had seriously damaged the outside hull of the Ark, and the surrounding forest was burnt away by the wreckage of the two ships.
Ironhide also had to lead a recovery team to collect the bodies of the Sunstreaker clones and their dead headmasters, who all suffered a cardiac arrest from Darren severing the link they shared with Sunstreaker's head. There were 200 headmasters in all, only 150 remained before the link was cut. That was 150 human bodies they had to cremate. No one wanted to do the job, but it had to be done. As for the transectors, they could be used to repair Sunstreaker, who was still recovering from his ordeal.
"With all due respect, Prime, have you lost your damn mind?!"
Prowl's yell could be heard all over the second deck of the Ark, but Optimus remained impassive in the face of his tactician's fury. "I can assure you, Prowl that I am of a sound mind. My sanity has no impact on my decision."
"Prime, we can't just announce our presence to the world. We have enough to deal with Oz and this Skywatch outfit. The last thing we need is the entire world getting involved in our business and making an already complicated situation a nightmare." Prowl said.
Optimus calmly turned on his monitor, showing news reports of the Dynobots' rampage in Fallon. A switch of the channel showed another news report covering a battle between a Sunstreaker clone and three BuQue talos, with a following report covering the massive battle that went on in Epsilon Holdings. Prowl was quiet, knowing what Optimus wanted him to see, before the Prime switched his monitor off and stared Prowl in the eyes.
"Prowl, we can no longer rely on secrecy in this war. Oz's actions have forced us into the open and we need to make sure this comes out on our terms before the government comes to the wrong conclusion about us." Optimus said seriously. "If this goes against us, it will be the perfect opportunity for OZ to take advantage of the public and have all of humanity declaring war against us. We need to make a move before things get out of hand."
Prowl frowned and crossed his arms, not liking the decision, but seeing the logic in it. You can't hide a group of giant robot dinosaurs duking it out in the middle of a town, or an assault on the headquarters of a popular manufacturer. He was always one to follow protocol, but this issue required a more flexible way of dealing with things.
"How do you propose we do this?" Prowl asked. "I don't recall any of us having the President on speed dial."
"I'm…working on a plan. Right now, let's focus on the recovery of the scraps outside and the healing of our friends." Optimus said wearily.
Prowl nodded and left the room. Things were going to get more hectic around here, and Prowl knew he wasn't going to like any of it.
XXXXXX
"They're ready for you, sir." A secretary announced after opening the door.
"Thank you." Nervously straightening his blue service uniform, Colonel Walter Barnett was more than a little anxious. He had little knowledge of why he was at the Hexagon, lesser knowledge of why a senior official in Special Operations Command would want to see him in the first place. Nevertheless, orders were orders, and he quietly entered the office.
Waiting for him inside were two people; one familiar, one not the unfamiliar one was a young woman in thin-rimmed glasses, early thirties at oldest, chestnut hair carefully held in a tight bun, the black suit giving her an air of authority despite her youth. The more familiar person was a tall man with golden hair tinged with gray at the temples, his uniform denoting him as a lieutenant general in the Army and his black name badge lettered "Abernathy".
"Colonel Barnett, welcome." The general gestured to an empty chair. "At ease. I hope the flight over from Lockland wasn't too much trouble."
"Considering it was either a trip to Washington or a court-martial, I think I was better off coming, sir." The colonel nodded politely.
The general chuckled. "Good for both of us that you did." He indicated the suited woman as she rose to her feet. "This is Agent Lyn Graves with the NSA; she's our new liaison."
A hand was offered with a curt nod. "Colonel."
The general sat down, the agent and colonel following shortly. "With all due respect, sir, I'm a little surprised to be here. I'm with Intelligence-if you need information for a Special Forces operation, I'm sure it would be easier to simply get it from a report or my commanding officer." Barnett said.
Abernathy waved it off. "Unfortunately, a report or your commanding officer can't give us what you or your interests can. We couldn't give you the full information until you arrived, but by the end of this meeting, you should know exactly why you're here. I'm assuming you're aware of what happened in Fallon?"
"I assume you mean the sudden appearance of a giant robot T-rex. I've already been appraised, sir. The entire town was leveled by a chaotic battle between robotic dinosaurs and an out of control inferno, leaving most of the town in rubble and hundreds of people homeless. That's the story from what I heard before there was a communications blackout."
"The cover story is that those were experimental talos drones that went rogue and were hijacked by terrorists. We're lucky that cover story is still holding, because it wasn't a terrorist attack at all." Barnett looked at Graves with a raise eyebrow. "No one has taken credit for it, and it was sloppy in comparison; most attacks would hit places of major importance, with small devices meant to go after maximum civilian casualties. This was out of control, pure and simple, not done to instill terror, but merely to cause destruction at random." She handed him a file and as Barnett reviewed its contents, she continued, "Those images were taken from another incident. This one occurred over in the main headquarters of Epsilon Holdings two weeks ago. A large aircraft designated as a UFO by the Air Force was seen hovering over the facility before the fighting began. It was seen by numerous eyewitnesses, many of whom we've convinced to keep quiet. The FBI's already subpoenaed any recording devices they may have available, as well the main building's security footage, which was mostly erased from the hard drives. It showed a massive battle going on between giant humanoid robots."
Barnett pursed his lips. "Talos?"
"No, something more advanced. Based on the eyewitness accounts, these robots were fielding weapons more powerful than anything we currently have but within the realm of believability in several decades' time. Examining the damages left by the weapons shows that some of the damages were caused by some sort of high-powered laser weapon as the places where it struck were cut through with high heat and intensity. We've had a dozen people come forward so far to report seeing these things, not just in Delpoi, but also in Yuktobania, during the Brasnya incident. There were multiple mechanoids on the scene, but the sightings in Fallen and Tampa showed armies of identical robots combating the more differently shaped ones."
"How can any of this be happening under our noses and we're just finding this out?"
"This is where things get interesting." Graves said. "More fanciful reports say that the robot dinosaurs that appeared in Fallon could…change form. Their bodies transformed from the dinosaur forms you saw into humanoid robot forms. The car robots also displayed this ability, though personally, I think they're different in how they operate and fight."
"It should also be noted that these incidents have only been revealed to us in the months following the medium to heavy interference in radio and television signals throughout the state of Dakote on Friday, September 9 last year. In the following months, there have been sightings of giant robots fighting in various places around the world, though such incidents vary in terms of length and we're sure there's more to them that we're not seeing. Among those incidents was the attack on the military base in Zona Arida."
Barnett's expression darkened at the mention of that tragedy. So many brave men and women killed, and no one knew what caused it. It was all over the news and his department has been looking into the attack for months without any solid leads. "It'd be a stretch to say this was some mass hallucination, wouldn't it?"
"If it is, it's a damn consistent one." She smiled wryly. "Which bring us to you."
"Walter, you're one of the best that Air Force intelligence has to offer. You've seen action in Emmeria, the Middle East, and the Central Islands. Your recent service in Azadistan is only a sampling of what you can do. You've probably done more behind the scenes to save lives than anyone else, and you get results. Considering the possibility that we may be dealing with something not made by human hands, you seem the best choice. We need you to find out the details concerning these things, and evaluate if these beings are a threat."
"And what do we do if they are a threat?" Barnett asked, looking between the two. "No offense, sir, but if these beings have mastered matter transportation, energy weaponry and have immense physical power, I doubt we can defend against them, especially considering our military is currently engaged with one foreign conflict and another domestic threat."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, colonel." Abernathy said and rose to his feet, the younger adults following. "Dismissed."
XXXXXX
Nightshade entered the medibay of the Nemesis on Decepticon Island, her expression as cold and hard as always. She hadn't been in a good mood lately, with the island's only beach being littered with the corpses of Barricade clones and their ship and base trashed…again. The damages incurred from the headmasters, as they would soon learn from in-depth examinations of the clones' bodies, were severe, not counting the storm brought about by the Zodiac Aquarius.
Then there was the matter with Starscream. The former Seeker commander was thrown in the brig, along with Skywarp and Thundercracker in a separate cell for going against orders and reviving the mech. Starscream didn't put up a fight; he actually turned himself in after the island was secure again. Nightshade couldn't read his expression, as for once, it was actually difficult to ascertain what he was thinking following his revival from stasis. She assumed he was far from happy, but so far he made no moves to lash out at Megatron for what he did. Megatron made it clear he was going to handle Starscream personally, while she would deal with Thundercracker and Skywarp.
'I know Skywarp was dumb enough to pull that with Starscream, but I never expected Thundercracker to risk it. He knows the consequences.' Nightshade thought. Thundercracker was always the loyal sort, though she knew his loyalties were always torn between Starscream's foolish Seeker patriotism and the greater Decepticon cause. Hopefully with Dreadwing at the helm, this split in loyalties would be remedied.
She found Knockout standing in front of the diagnostics screen monitoring the conditions of Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak, all three mechs having undergone intense physical examination by the medic. They got word from Soundwave after he and his proxies were aided by Sprawl of all people in reversing the virus placed on him by Bludgeon. He didn't go into details on how that happened, as he was exhausted and hovering on the edge of stasis lock.
"How are they, Knockout?" She asked the doctor as he checked on Soundwave's vitals. The spymaster had been sitting in the CR chamber recovering alongside his proxies, who were also recovering from their harrowing ordeal at the hands of the humans.
"They're all stable, but are suffering from various levels of energy deprivation. Whatever they went through must've put their bodies through the wringer." Knockout checked his datapad. "Ravage and Laserbeak, upon examination of their frames, show signs of their neural nets being tampered with and implanted with what I can only describe as primitive remote control interfaces."
"Remote as in…mind control?" Nightshade hissed.
"Possibly. Ravage was able to tell me that the humans who held him and Laserbeak captive implanted some master-slave system in his head to control them. Soundwave was doing everything he could to block the signal they were sending out." Knockout explained.
"Is it possible to track this signal back to its origin point?" She asked.
"Maybe, but it's been a while since we blocked the system. I wouldn't hold out hope for finding anything at the other end." He warned her.
"I'll be the judge of that." Nightshade said and gave the CR chambers one last look before marching back out the doors.
Something needed to be done. They couldn't just write off the humans as mere pests anymore. OZ had crossed a line after turning Barricade into their guinea pig and has proven their worth as serious threats after invading their own island. What happened to Ravage and Laserbeak must also be addressed, atop the concerns of repairing the ark and man base. Thankfully, they have much in the way of raw materials in the form of the headmasters that dared step onto their island.
XXXXXX
Walter Barnett sat aboard one of the Air Force's C-40B aircraft looking over the less-sensitive files given to him at the Haxagon. It was hard to believe that what he just learned was possible, but the evidence was all here. Humanity was no longer alone in the universe, and the aliens had come to them, in some form or another. There had been sightings of these mysterious robots all over the world to varying degrees, but Fallon and Tampa was the first time these beings had gone public. And he had a feeling it wasn't by choice.
Growing up, he dreamed of fighting aliens like his space heroes on tv. It was a common dream of any boy in that time, being some super strong space hero and defending the planet from alien invaders. His wife and son were huge sci-fi buffs compared to him, and every Friday night they would spend their time watching those alien invasion movies that involved the world uniting to defeat the extraterrestrial menace.
'It's a nice thought, but I doubt even an alien invasion could unite the world. If there's even a world left at the end of it all.' Walter thought with a sigh. 'I hope this doesn't end badly for us, because we're already stuck fighting terrorists in the Middle East and Karaba on our home soil. If they wanted to, they could just wait for us to blow ourselves up before reaping the spoils.'
"Excuse me, Colonel Barnett?"
He looked up to find himself staring into the face of a woman slightly younger than himself, with short brown hair and worn glasses over dark blue eyes, dressed rather casually for someone who was riding in a military aircraft. "I'm Veronica Howards, with Skywatch."
"Never heard of it."
"There's a reason for that. May I?" The colonel gestured to the seat opposite himself and the woman sat down. "Skywatch is a classified paramilitary agency independent of the Osean Army, convened in secret under President Hoover almost eighty years ago. Our mandate is to investigate, study, and if possible, combat non-terrestrial threats."
"Aliens." Barnett said, making sure to keep his voice low.
Veronica Howards knew she was playing with fire meeting the Air Force colonel like this, especially with Skywatch under the intense scrutiny it was getting right now, but she felt it was prudent to at least warn one member of the armed forces should anything truly catastrophic occur. One thing she could count on was that, contrast to Adams and Fredericks, Howards could negotiate things through with more finesse and a lower chance of having weapons being pulled out. Another plus was that the colonel had a flexible mind, thanks to his actions in dealing with espers, particularly Karaba. It had taken quick planning and luck to catch up with Barnett onto the plane bound for Dakote.
"Exactly. And despite what you might suspect, we actually have rather dull lives. Aside from the grossly exaggerated incident at Roswell, we've had little if any activity. That chanced last year with the radio disruptions in Dakote." She opened the case and turned it around to display the contents, using the case's lid as a shield against prying eyes and making sure to avoid having anything reflected against the window. "After the chaotic situation with the NBEs in Fallon and Tampa, I thought it necessary to at least warn someone in the armed forces about what we're dealing with here."
"NBE?" Barnett raised a brow. And people poked fun at the military's usage of acronyms.
"Non-Biological Extraterrestrial." Veronica's full lips seemed to twitch at the acronym, as if reading the colonel's thoughts. "Skywatch has learned that these aliens are entirely mechanical, and have been visiting Terra for quite some time."
Barnett pulled a few photographs from the case, and after studying them, his eyes went wide. "What…?"
"Those images were taken from security footage from a Skywatch base I was working at. It was attacked by hostile NBEs and most of the personnel on site were killed." Veronica's expression went dark as she remembered that horrific day. "That marked my first encounter with the aliens, and Skywatch officially got on the case of finding these beings before they could deal another blow to us."
She pointed to another photo of a bright red and orange robot grappling with a dark green robot that was much larger than it. "That was from a cave in Atilla, Elladas. I went with a strike team investigating sightings of NBEs in the countryside and we ran into four of them fighting in a cave, two on opposing sides."
She then showed him images taken from the massive robot brawl that occurred right in the middle of a battlefield in Brasnya between the two armies. Walter's eyes took in every detail he could, knowing that this was more than what he could ever hope for. "How did this escape our attention? Why wasn't this-"
"Skywatch has developed a bit of a no-interference policy in regards to these incidents. They seem to think that it's our sole duty to defend the planet from these beings, not anyone else. Such news that possibly could've avoided incidents like Fallon was kept secret from the greater military and governmental organizations." She looked bitterer as she talked about this. Walter couldn't help but think that she possibly had her fair share of arguments on this subject. "Honestly, it's a matter of pride than maintaining Skywatch's jurisdiction over these matters. There are other organizations all over the world just like ours, but we're the only ones better equipped to handle these beings."
"These…NBEs…they all look different. Have you ever gotten a glimpse of the same one?"
"Only the red one appeared in Brasyna and Atilla, but if you look closely, you'll see that some of them having matching symbols somewhere on their bodies. These aliens are factionalized, and they're at war…with our world as the battleground."
"How many are there?"
"We don't know for sure, but a rough estimate puts their total numbers at twenty or less." Veronica said. "If it weren't for the fact that they were fighting among themselves in these sightings, I'd suspect an invasion."
Barnett studied the young woman with skepticism. "Forgive my suspicions, Agent Howards, but there has to be a reason behind you being so candid with me. I'd think an organization like yours would want to combat these entities."
"You think we haven't?" Veronica said harshly and ripped a photo from the case. It was of Skywatch agents excavating the Dynobots. "We've dug up six NBEs trapped in the heart of an archeological sight, and two more from a volcano. Skywatch planned on using the first two, dubbed Seekers 1-2, to hunt down these elusive NBEs, but we lost them and they went rogue thanks to outside interference. Then we've awakened another one in response to Brasnya, who also went rogue, smashed his way out of the holding facility and vanished. I imagine you can guess which one that was?"
"The T-rex that appeared in the middle of Fallon?" Walter said.
"Correct. You'd think we'd learn, but Red was more concerned with obtaining an asset and set the others, designated Thunder Lizards 2-4 to capture him. They went rogue the same way the other three went as well, and Fallon was torched while an outside party just swooped in and tried to take them all out." Veronica looked positively livid right now. "And that lightshow in Tampa? We sent our last NBE prisoner equipped with a kill switch to neutralize the aliens there. Haven't seen him since things settled down and he's possibly still alive and free in the world. So yes, Colonel Barnett, we did try to combat these entities, and we've failed spectacularly. I'm done trying to convince those trigger happy morons to try another approach, and I hope you'll be able to do what we couldn't."
"That's…a lot of pent up aggression you have there." Barnett commented.
Veronica laughed and sagged back in her seat. "Our military is fighting two wars on two fronts, colonel; one in the Middle East, the other on the homefront. While there are elements in Skywatch and in similar organizations across the globe who would welcome the chance to capture or destroy an NBE, I'd sooner we'd avoid picking a fighting with potentially hostile alien lifeforms. And if they are factionalized, we may be able to negotiate with one or more groups."
She thumbed the picture of the red robot she encountered in that cave. "This one saved me and my team. Went out of his way to keep us safe and away from the fighting. If at least one of these dies is benevolent, then a diplomatic solution can be reached. And I know who can help you."
"There's more?"
Veronica smirked a bit and took out a photo of three children, two girls and one boy. "When our base was attacked, the security team had apprehended four children beforehand. These children know more than they seem, and I'm sure they've had contact with the NBEs. For the sake of privacy, I won't go into detail about their identities, but there is one girl I want you to meet. Her name is Gina Harkins, and she's the daughter of the famous Theodore Harkins of archaeological fame."
Barnett looked at the girl's picture, memorizing her face. Veronica shut her briefcase closed and leaned forward with an intense expression on her face. "Find this girl, see what she knows. There may be an alien war on our world, but can at least see if one side cares enough to leave us alive."
XXXXXX
"Don't think that swooping in to save the day during the OZ invasion changes anything." Megatron growled into Starscream's face.
"It never crossed my mind, Lord Megatron." Starscream said, not backing down.
It was a tense moment between the two Cons as they faced off in the brig, where Starscream was stashed down the hall from his two subordinates. Normally, Starscream would've thrown some witty remark at Megatron or something, but he knew that he was skating on thin ice at the moment.
"You tried to kill me." Megatron said. "Bury me alive, that was you plan, yes? You didn't even have the spine to kill me in person even when empowered by ore-13."
"Couldn't risk getting waylaid by Soundwave and Nightshade. I'm not stupid, you know." Starscream said.
"You're stupid enough to attempt a coup in broad daylight and expect the Decepticons to follow you." Megatron spat.
"And what exactly are you going to do to me? I know I'm to be punished, but it won't do to execute me after saving the island from that mad bitch and her zombie horde. It won't look good to the other Seekers if you kill their commander!" Starscream warned.
"You think I don't have your precious Seekers held at gunpoint at a moment's notice if they try anything? Your arrogance truly knows no bounds, Starscream!" Megatron backhanded him into the wall without another word. "Would you like another, Starscream? I'm happy to remind you how I put you into stasis the last time we fought."
"Don't worry, I remember it all very clearly." Starscream grumbled, wiping his split lip.
"Then you know that you're not getting out of this situation unscathed. As of today, you are relieved of your command over the Seeker armada and are regulated to the same status as Thundercracker and Skywarp. The Seekers will be placed under the command of Dreadwing."
"Dreadwing?! That honor-bound dullard? He's no Seeker!" Starscream raged.
"Hence why I'm making him commander. He's more trustworthy than you and knows where his priorities lie; with fighting the Autobots, not causing dissent among the ranks!" Megatron grabbed Starscream by the neck and slammed him up against the wall. "We're fighting a war and you think it's a good time to try to take control when our enemies have us bent over the table?! You call yourself a warrior but your recent actions have proven that you're less than even a cage fighter!"
He threw his former aerospace commander to the floor and marched to the doors, where he stopped and glanced back at Starscream.
"What happened, Starscream? There was a time when you were among my most loyal followers, and here you are, doing your best to usurp me. Why all the treachery and stupidity? What have I don't to earn your ire in our conquest of the galaxy?" Megatron asked.
Starscream's expression morphed into one of loathing as he addressed the question. "Take a good, long look at Cybertron, then at this accursed four million year long war, and you'll have your answer."
XXXXXX
"He's still having fits?" Gina Harkins said, holding the phone close to her ear with her shoulder as she worked on the latest version of her newly concocted EMP caster. One of her favorite anime was on the flat screen TV before her, but she paid it no mind as she checked up on her boyfriend's condition-which wasn't as good as she hoped.
"Yeah, it's really bad. Darren's been waking up in the middle of the night nonstop since he got back and it has Debbie in a fit." Annie said on the other line. "He won't go into detail about what happened, but all the killing and his mind meld with Sunstreaker…it's getting to him, Gina."
"Is there anything we can do?" Gina asked helplessly.
"Aside from sending him to a therapist? There's nothing we can do, at least, not yet. Ratchet said that Darren and Sunstreaker will still suffer echoes of each other's memories even after they're separated. He never said how long the side effects will last." Annie gave a shaky sigh. Gina knew the girl was trying to stay strong, but talking about her twin brother like this was hard. "I know I sounded optimistic when he came back, Gina, but I…"
"I know, Annie. I know." Gina sighed. "Just take care of him the best you can, okay?"
"Sure thing. Be sure to visit at our place sometime, go out eating or something. We could use a break."
"I'll keep that in mind." Gina paused when she heard the doorbell. "I got to go, Annie. Tell Darren and the others I said hi."
She hung up and went to get the door, since her mother was at her martial arts school and her father was planning a seminar at the local college. When she opened the door, she was greeted by a tall black man, around the same age as her mother, dressed in an Air Force uniform. Taking note of the eagle-shaped pins on his shoulders, the girl looked at him uneasily.
"I'm sorry, do I know you, Colonel…?"
"Walter Barnett, Air Force Intelligence." A flash of ID verified his identity. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, ma'am, but may I come in?"
Suspicions raised and her senses on guard, Gina opened the door a little wider. "Sure, have a seat. Sorry for the mess, I wasn't expecting company. Would you like anything to drink?"
"Just water please." Barnett studied Gina and noted the rather startling difference in appearance to the photo Howards gave him. This nerdy looking girl looked a bit older than 14, and was built as if she'd been doing exercises since childhood. No normal fourteen year old could get muscles like that from puzzles and programming. "Are you parents' home?"
"No, they're out today. I can give them a call if you want."
"No, that's not necessary. I'm here to talk to you." He opened his briefcase and removed a few files. "I've been assigned to clarify a few details concerning the recent robot attacks on Fallon and Tampa."
"Oh? And what brings you to the home of an archeologist and martial arts teacher? I doubt it's because of my dad's disappearance three years ago." Gina said as she pulled out two glasses. Barnett could see that her muscles were tense and her posture coiled like a snake ready to attack. He better get to the point quick.
"My superiors and I are looking into the string of strange activity that's been going on around the world since the radiowave interference last year. We have satellite images of large transforming mechanoids appearing around the globe, the number of sightings culminating in a massive battle in Brasnya a few months ago. We suspect that aside from the ones in these photos, there are more of them, and they're factionalized. I've also recently learned that these robots are living entities who may have been on Terra longer than we realize." As Gina set the tray down opposite him and gave the photos a critical eye, he watched her for any form of reaction. "In my line of work, we're taught not to trust coincidences. I suspect that you do know something about what's going on here and given the fact that one military base and two towns were assaulted by these things, I and everyone in the top brass are very much concerned."
"And I can't blame them." Gina put down the papers and photos and took off her glasses to give the colonel a hard stare, arms crossed under her chest. "I don't see what this has to do with me."
Walter leaned forward slightly, lightly tapping a fuzzy image of Optimus and Megatron grappling in the Brasnyan snow. "Ms. Harkins, I'm going to be frank about this. Deny it all you like, it's clear that you've had some measure of contact with these beings. Given recent events, there are individuals who would like to see us attack these things. I don't want to see that happen unless necessary and I think that you can help prevent such an occurrence."
Gina tapped her finger on the table as she weighed her options. It was only a matter of time before the government or military acted on the Dynobots' fight in Fallon and the massive OZ/Autobot battle in Tampa, but she wasn't expecting for an Air Force official to pop up on her doorstep. "If this were a movie, I'd be trying to beat around the bush, denying everything…but between everything I've been through and my own common sense, I know full well that would be pointless."
She walked over to her laptop case and shuffled around inside. "You're right-there ARE two main factions, with one far less interested in seeing human casualties than the other. I know that for a fact because I've met and spoken with them. In fact, they're my friends." Gina found a blue CD with a red polygon sketched on it. "The ones that attacked are called Decepticons and the ones who fought them are Autobots. They're from a race called cybertronians, native to the planet Cybertron and are in the middle of a civil war that's destroyed their world and spread to the greater galaxy. There is also another race of cybertronians called Minicons-they're about our size and they're also on this planet too. The distortions those documents mention was caused by a distress signal from an escape pod from the Minicons' ship, one that my boyfriend activated on accident. Everything I know is here."
The colonel scrutinized the disk, partly surprised at how cooperative Gina was being, but also glad for the lack of word dancing. "Thank you. I'd give the standard speech about serving your country, but I doubt you'd want to hear it." Walter made note of the red shape on the CD as he put back everything into the briefcase. "I'm going to need to review this before I speak with my superiors. For the time being, I suggest you inform the…Autobots, I'm assuming, about what's happened here."
Gina raised a delicate eyebrow. "You aren't taking me into custody? And you actually want me to contact them?"
"As you've confirmed, these beings are factionalized, and the faction you're interacting with is clearly more benign than the other. Besides, this is the start of something big for mankind. Better not to make enemies out of possible allies." Walter nodded to Gina and walked out the door. "Good day, Ms. Harkins. I hope this information proves helpful, for all our sakes."
XXXXXX
Soundwave wasted no time in giving a detail explanation as to his absence. Upon leaving the CR chamber and given a clean bill of health by Knockout, he went into detail about his confrontation with Bludgeon, getting trapped in his alt mode and being buried with Ravage and Laserbeak inside a volcano. Megatron was furious when he learned that there were members of his own army conspiring off world against him, but his fury reached fever pitch when Soundwave revealed that Ravage and Laserbeak were under the thrall of humans.
"What?! How did the humans achieve this?" Megatron demanded.
"I can only theorize that they aimed to use them as weapons against us. They implanted neural inhibitors to suppress their minds and gain control of their bodies and faculties." Soundwave said. "I was fortunate they did not realize my true nature. If they had, I most likely would be in pieces right now."
"Who did this?" Nightshade asked. "OZ?"
"No, Skywatch. According to the information in Ravage and Laserbeak's minds, they are a secret organization based in Delpoi with the goal of eliminating extraterrestrial threats-us. They were the ones who sent the Dynobots out."
"That explains those yahoos running around in broad daylight." Leader-1 muttered.
"Megatron, surely you're not going to let this slide. We have our hands full with OZ, and now we've got another organization trying to use us as weapons!" Nightshade said.
"I don't intend to let this insult pass, Nightshade. We may lack any credible resources on OZ, but we can certainly show this Skywatch who their dealing with." Megatron said. "Soundwave, find out where the humans were holding Ravage and Laserbeak. I want to send a message to those humans who think they can turn one of ours into slaves and avoid retribution!"
Soundwave bowed his head. "Your will shall be done, Lord Megatron."
XXXXXX
"As recent events have shown, it's clear this war of ours might not be as secret anymore." Optimus Prime looked among the assembled Autobots and Minicons. "OZ has dealt us a serious blow, and the Dynobots' battle in Fallon will cause the humans to start asking questions and looking into our activities on this planet."
"What I want to know is how those yahoos were able to find our location! I thought we were safe from detection from satellite surveillance." Ironhide grumbled.
"Darren said that they hooked into Sunstreaker's head and sifted through his memories. Basically, the headmasters knew everything about us, the Ark and our location from Sunstreaker's mind." Prowl said, his expression grim. "It's why they assaulted us with three airships; because they knew that even with their battleship, they wouldn't last long against the Ark's weapons."
"Well this is a fine mess." Jetfire rubbed the back of his head. "So what do we do now? Can't be robots in disguise when the whole world's gunning for us."
"That's what we're trying to figure out." Optimus said. "We won't be able to operate in secret anymore thanks to OZ, and we need to figure out how to go about this in a way that won't make us enemies of the entire country."
"Anyone got the President on speed-dial?"Rodimus quipped dryly, rotating his newly repaired legs.
"What about the Cons? Where do they fall into this clusterfrag?" Arcee asked.
"Darren told us that OZ also made clones of Barricade, since his head was found at their facility. Chances are OZ also led an assault on the Cons just like they did us." Jazz said. "Bucket head's probably in the same boat we are. Only problem is that he's gonna retaliate in force once he finds someone to point his gun at."
"And with our secrecy at risk, he might throw caution to the wind and start acting more openly." Bulkhead said.
"If that event comes to pass, we'll do all we can to stop further devastation and try to prevent Megatron from making this already bad situation worse." Optimus said.
"That's something we'll hold you to, Optimus." Everyone looked down and saw Gina and Sureshock enter the room, both girls looking deadly serious as they addressed the Autobots. "Sorry for interrupting, guys, but I have some bad news to give you all."
"As if we need more bad news." Rodimus muttered, earning an elbow from Tomahawk.
"Its okay, Gina, we're happy to have you here. Although I thought you would be resting with the others." Optimus said.
"Yeah, well, something big came up and it's why I needed to see you." Gina's expression turned into a grimace. "I had a visitor earlier today, a Colonel Barnett from Air Force Intelligence. I'm sorry, but the guys in the White House know all about you now."
Alarmed glances spread among those gathered, but Optimus raised a calming hand. "Gina, there's no need for apologies. Now please, tell us everything you can."
XXXXXX
"Are you certain her information is accurate?"
"I see little reason for her to lie to me, sir. The way she looked at me when she explained it all, it was a look no child her age should ever have." Glad for the teleconference capabilities and the privacy of the C-40B, Barnett still continued to make sure no one was eavesdropping on him. "Besides, it correlates with both my sources as well as the information we've been able to collect on our own. It looks to me like some of these 'cybertronians' may well be benign, or at least less interested in harming us than the others."
"Then we may well be walking a fine line." Abernathy remained thoughtful for a moment. "Colonel, if what you've gathered is accurate, then we're on the cusp of an actual first contact with an alien race. We need to tread carefully here, we have problems enough with our enemies on this planet-we don't need enemies on another one, especially if they're giant robots."
"Any recommendations, then?"
"I have a meeting with the President and the Joint Chiefs shortly. For now, see if you can locate wherever the cybertronians here on Terra are based. Once we have the go ahead from the president, make contact. Let's avoid a fight if we can."
"Yes, sir." The transmission ended and Barnett returned to his notes. Based on Rebecca's info, Skywatch had tried searching for any large unknown aircraft (or spacecraft in this case) but found nothing. This wasn't surprising, since he figured they'd have ways to avoid detection from satellites and such. This meant he had no idea where they were, and no way to contact them.
'But I may have a way around that.' Barnett thought. It was a good thing he memorized Gina Harkins' phone number.
XXXXXX
"Wait a nano-klik, your government's been keeping track of us?"
"Don't sound so surprised, Bee. We were bound to get their attention eventually." Ironhide looked at Gina. "Between the huge fight in Brasnya and our recent less than subtle battles with the Cons, I'm surprised we weren't noticed sooner."
"That might be because Skywatch was doing a little bit of information manipulation to keep this stuff under wraps so they could handle it." Sureshock said.
"But why go to you?" Rodimus scratched his head. "I mean, how could they know you had a connection to all this? I know they couldn't have connected the escape pod's distress signal to you kids."
Gina rubbed her chin. "Maybe…it wasn't the government specifically, but someone from the outside. Someone with more resources and information than the Helic military."
"Skywatch." Prowl said.
"I'm guessing someone from that group phoned in the Colonel and told him of our involvement thanks to our little get together with Soundwave back in that secret base. That's the only way they could've connected me to that. Add in the fact that my dad's rather high profile and suddenly the dots start connecting." Gina said.
"Sounds like we may need to prepare for an attack." Prowl said, looking at Optimus. "There's no guarantee they can tell the difference between us and the Decepticons."
"I don't think so. My mom served with the Marines during the Gulf War, and one thing she stressed was that the Helic military believes in honor and acting without provocation, despite what current events might tell you." Gina said, giving Rodimus a dry smile. "Odds are someone noticed your little show in Brasnya and putting water on a heated feud before shots could be fired. Besides, my impression of the colonel is that he won't recommend an attack unless he feels justified. And even if he does, he can't call up any local forces. There aren't any military installations in Acadia as far as I know." The last part was direct at Optimus, both as warning and reassurance.
"Nevertheless, we need to take precautions." The Autobot leader looked among his troops. "Assess local weather conditions and make certain our stealth capabilities are at full strength."
"Optimus," Jolt raised his hand. "It might be a good idea to look up this colonel that Gina met. If we can learn about his career, we might be able to better deal with him."
"An excellent idea. For now, here's hoping we can settle this peacefully. I don't want to create more enemies when we don't need to."
XXXXXX
It was dark in the office of Joshua Red, Director of Skywatch. Things were quiet, but that was just a façade to the chaos going on in the world right now. All because of those damn aliens.
It was a complete disaster to say the least. Losing every one of their captured alien assets and having them basically expose their existence to the public in a spectacular debacle, as well as ousting Skywatch to the wider government. It was easy to say that the Director was no happy at all. He was dreading the reports flooding in, as well as news of military and government officials up in arms at Skywatch's revealing.
One of their bases was completely demolished thanks to Thunder Lizard-1's escape and now that those aliens regrouped with their other friends, there was a chance that Skywatch's existence was known to a race of dangerous beings. It was only a matter of time before they retaliated in some form.
'I should've listened to my instincts.' Joshua Red thought despondently. 'I should have listened to Howards.'
She figured that what happened to Thunder Lizards 1-5 was an act of sabotage, though there were no signs of such a thing happening. When he thought about it, it was a plausible theory. Manipulating the neural inhibitors to make it seem like they were failing was an easy thing to do if you understood the technology. But things were so crazy right now that he had to do something.
Having lost their only countermeasures against the aliens, Red knew he had to change his plans. Among them was deal with the fallout from the president regarding Skywatch's existence outside the chain of command and the possibility of him losing his position.
"Director Red, you have a call on line one. I believe its Mr. Hollander." A woman's voice rang through his phone line.
Red sighed and picked up the phone. "Director Red here."
"It's Hollander. I saw the news." A gruff voice said on the other line. "What a fine mess you've gotten us in."
"I'm well aware of how things look for us, Alexander. No need to rub it in." Red said exasperated.
"We started this operation with over ten NBEs under our control, and now we have none with Congress breathing down our necks and a bunch of aliens using our planet as a breathing ground. I thought you had this under control, Red!"
"No more than you having things under control with Karaba. How did that go for you again? Working with military officials in experimenting on espers was going to go wrong in ways even a five year old can understand." Red spat and took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not calling you for that. I'm here to inform you that the way things are going, there's a high chance I'm going to be replaced and I want that replacement to be you."
"I'm not surprised. I'm the only other member of Project: Hot House that's still alive aside from Colton. Speaking of which, do you think it's time to use it against the aliens? We've already proven its capabilities against the NBEs."
"We still have yet to control the talisman. Until we're sure it's safe to use, we can't weaponize it. For now, just focus on keeping Skywatch on the job. Our fight to keep Terra from becoming a battleground is only going to be harder from here on out." Red told his associate.
Before he could go into detail on his plans, his aide burst through his door. "Sir, we have an emergency!"
"What is it? I'm having an important phone call!" Red hissed.
"It's urgent, sir! The base is-"
There was a loud rumble that shook the room and made the two go silent. Red's face paled and he quickly hung up on Hollander before sprinting out of his seat to head to the command center, where the security cameras were monitoring the area outside the disguised base. The rumbles grew as he ran into the center and saw agents and soldiers running about in a panic, many carrying weapons.
"What the hell is going on here?" He yelled. A soldier ran up to him and saluted.
"Director Red, the base is under attack by a group of NBEs! They're attacking the base in full force!"
"They're already attacking? How did they know where we're based?" Red asked, but no one had the time to think of an answer.
Up on the main monitor, and also on the dozens of smaller monitors, it showed the gigantic forms of the Decepticons tearing apart the abandoned town their base was located in, ruthlessly annihilating the opposing forces sent to hold them at bay. Red watched in horror as Skywatch talos units and armored vehicles were torn apart and blasted to atoms with horrific ease. Infantry wouldn't stand a chance against these mechanical monsters and he knew that.
Outside, Megatron looked at the main building where he knew the Skywatch base was located and grinned at the humans, knowing they could see him and his troops systematically tear apart their meager defenses.
"Humans!" He bellowed to the now terrified soldiers. "You wanted an alien specimen to play with, yes? Well here I am! Let's see how you fair against at conqueror!"
XXXXXX
Barnett was fortunate that President Flagg authorized making contact with the robotic aliens, as it turned out that the aliens were looking to make contact with him. Gina had called him up using the phone number he left her and he took the first flight back to Dakote. After getting a rental car from the airport, he took a long ride to the forests surrounding Tranquility where Gina told him to meet up with the Autobots, the aliens who wanted to meet with him.
It was the longest ride he had ever taken. What he was doing now would possibly make history, though he supposed the kids had already beat him to it. He followed the directions the girl gave him and drove along a bumpy dirt road, which took him to the foot of a dormant volcano. He idly noted the giant hole in the side of the mountain, as well as the deep trenches and uprooted trees that definitely did not look natural. Then he noticed three figures standing in the tattered clearing.
He pulled his car to a stop and got out. Barnett slipped off his glasses, quickly recognizing the lone human as Gina. The two mechanoids, meanwhile, were vastly different; one was a Minicon, small with yellow and crème-colored armor, the other an Autobot, large with red and blue armor. 'Sparkplug' and 'Optimus Prime', respectively, from the CD he read through. He waited for the three to approach him, and everything was silent until the Autobot leader spoke in his deep voice.
"Colonel Barnett, I presume."
"Optimus Prime." The colonel relaxed, though only slightly. "I wish that the circumstances of this meeting had been different, but I'm afraid current events prevent a better opportunity."
"As do we." The Autobot leader himself seemed to relax slightly, as did the Minicon and their human ally. "I assure you, we've meant no harm to this planet or any of the lifeforms or nations existing upon it. Under optimal circumstances, we would have remained unnoticed. You no doubt know why we're here by now."
"As do my superiors." Barnett looked to Gina. "Ms. Harkins was kind enough to provide us enough intelligence to realize that you mean us no harm. For that, we're all thankful. Unfortunately, now that we're aware of your presence on this world, we cannot stand by and allow you to act on your own. The conflict with Megatron's forces may be your war, but this is our world, and we are now party to it whether we wish to be or not. We also realize that you cannot simply leave-with your ship effectively useless, you lack the means to really leave on your own, and the plans the Decepticons have for Terra are threat enough by itself."
"Then you know why they can't leave." Gina looked at Sparkplug sadly. "There are at least two dozen stasis panels from the Minicon ship scattered over the planet. Megatron won't leave until he's either claimed them or until the Minicons themselves are found. Not to mention his plans to conquer Terra."
"Which is why I have a proposal to make. You need resources and assistance in locating the Minicons and defending against the Decepticons. We're prepared to offer that to you."
"Alliances tend to work both ways, colonel." Sparkplug said, staring at him carefully. "What do you want in return?"
"Whatever you can or are willing to give. Your race has existed for millions of years longer than ours. I'm certain we can find something to constitute a fair trade that works for both parties." Barnett suggested.
Optimus studied the human closely, analyzing his tone of voice and his expressions. He seemed earnest, and given his decision to come alone as well as unarmed, the Autobot leader was inclined to believe the colonel. He carefully knelt on one knee so as to be closer to eye level, mentally pleased that Barnett stood his ground. "I would like that. There are some things we cannot give your people, but I know there are many things we can do to help one another regardless. Contact your superiors. We can schedule negotiations at their leisure."
He raised his hand, his index finger almost fully extended. "I hope this is a good beginning."
A small smile cracked the colonel's face as he accepted the offered digit. "As do I. For both our peoples."
This is the first of this three-chapter story that takes place between books 2 and 3, setting the stage for the
plot of book 3. Things are changing for the Autobots, Decepticons and humans as each side must adapt to
changing conditions. Also, Distant Stars will have a sequel, called Transformers: Mosaic. Thanks for the
support and stay tuned for the next two chapters!
