Recalled to Life
A Transformers: Armada Story
By William Rendfeld
Colombia was a hot, humid place, better known for political infighting and drug trafficking than nice vacations and enjoyable visits. It wasn't a place that many wanted to go to just for some fun.
And Maxwell Roarke was among them.
"Max, do you know how long we've been down here?" his partner noted. "Three years, and nothing. Not so much as a clay pot. If there ever was a settlement out here, I doubt we'd find trace of it."
Roarke slapped at a mosquito, and noted, "For once, I agree with you Donald. Carter spent years looking for Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings, but even he had something firm to go on."
"Might've helped if you'd not picked this place to visit at random," a younger man noted.
Roarke and Donald both glared at the man, who quickly made for the entrance to their small tent after noticing their deadly stares. Seconds before he could complete his escape, however, one of the men from the dig rushed in and cried, "¡Sir,Hemos encontrado algo enorme!"
"Demuéstrenos, ahora," Roarke ordered.
The native quickly ushered them out towards the expansive dig site, where something immense and gold-colored was in the beginning stages of excavation from a chunk of the Andes Mountains.
"I've never seen anything like this before," Donald noted.
"Neither have I," Roarke replied. "But whatever it is, it's been here far longer than we have, and it's immense. We have to dig this out, now."
Blurr tentatively flexed his arm, testing the joint.
"How does it feel?" Incinerator asked from the Autobot's feet.
"Good as new," Blurr noted. "Why, were you worried?"
"That Red wouldn't be able to patch you back up?" Incinerator asked. "Nah. That I wouldn't have the chance to kick your sorry grey aft-plate in a race? A little."
Blurr chuckled, then said, "Tough talk, Incinerator. You're just lucky I won't have a chance to test you on that."
"Who said we'd be doing it now?" Incinerator replied. "Seriously though, I'm glad you're back to running on all cylinders. You had everyone worried, and not just because of the whole 'arm getting torn off' thing. You were working things way too hard."
"I was, wasn't I?" Blurr asked as he looked upon his right hand. "Maybe Hot Shot had a point."
"First time for everything," Incinerator noted.
A brief klaxon sounded off, and Optimus Prime's voice came over the intercom. "All Autobots and Mini-Cons to the command deck immediately."
Miranda Jones yawned as she walked into her kitchen, stretching her arms out and being careful not to hurt herself via the doorframe. She rubbed her eyes as a familiar voice said, "Still not a morning person, sis?"
"You and your sleep cycle," Miranda groaned to her sister, Diana Masters.
Diana sat fully dressed and prepped at the small kitchen counter, a warm mug of coffee in her right hand and the day's paper lay out in front of her with a pair of Pop Tarts. "You work as a schoolteacher for six years, and you figure out how to properly wake up in the mornings. Either that or teach grade school."
Miranda poured herself a mug of coffee, and then sat herself down. "If you're going to live here, you're either going to have to get up later, or be less chipper in the mornings." She took a sip of the coffee, and then said, "Anything in the news?"
"More bad news from abroad sadly," Diana replied. "Though what else is new?"
"Well, everyone else is going to be up soon anyway," Miranda noted, grabbing a remote and turning on a nearby television.
Diana silently sipped at her coffee and picked through the paper until she found the daily comics. She smiled to herself and laughed as she glanced at the day's comic for Dilbert before the newscast caught her attention.
"...What appears to be a massive metal device has been found at an archaeological dig in Columbia late yesterday evening," the news anchor reported. "Few details have been revealed at this time, but ABC News..."
"What's wrong?" Miranda asked of her sister as she got to her feet.
"I just remembered, I need to make a phone call," Diana explained, grabbing her communicator and quickly rushing outside.
"...ABC News has learned that the find may well be three million years old, long predating human civilization..."
The transmission halted on the photographs of the dig site, and Sideswipe asked, "So, does this mean what I think it means?"
Gathered in the Ark's command deck were Sideswipe, as well as Optimus Prime, Crosswise, and Red Alert.
"That we've found Atlantis?" Red Alert asked in reply. "No. Based on those photographs, this has to be one of the Explorer vessels like the Ark." He turned to his commander and asked, "Optimus, you don't suppose it's the Acheron?"
"That seems the only likely explanation," Optimus replied.
A quick chime came up. Optimus reached over to the communications console and said, "Yes Doctor Masters, we have you."
"I'm guessing you guys are paying attention to the news," Diana said.
"We are," Optimus replied. "The ship isn't Atlantis..."
"The Acheron," Megatron said in surprise. "All this time, that ship has been here, on Earth."
"The ship was reported missing ages ago," Starscream noted. "I just never imagined that it would be here of all places."
"It seems this mud ball is filled with surprises," Megatron said with an eager grin. "We need to find that ship before the Autobots decide to meddle. We have old friends left on that hunk of scrap metal, and I fully intend to make certain they have a warm reception."
"Wait a second, this is a prison transport?" Diana asked.
"The Acheron was launched to deposit several captured Decepticons in stasis at a penal facility at the edge of our home system," Optimus explained over the comm.-line. "There was a disturbance with the TransWarp drive, and it dropped off the scopes. We sent out search teams to every planet within twenty light cycles, but we didn't have any luck."
"About the only thing that got accomplished out of that was the Dinobots' getting those bestial alternate modes of theirs," Crosswise explained.
"Dinobots?" Diana asked. "Never mind, you can tell me later. Look, we're going to need to convince whoever's at that dig to vacate the area, or at least let us in."
"Agreed," Optimus noted. "We've already contacted Colonel Franklin; he'll be providing us as much intel as possible."
"Good luck," Diana replied. "Last I checked, Colombia wasn't the safest of vacation spots."
"We'll be careful, and thanks," Optimus assured her before the line was cut off.
Mysteries were something that Ultra Magnus hated with a passion. When he had a problem, he preferred to solve it, simple as that. Some of Megatron's troops attacking an Energon refinery? Easily dealt with. A building destroyed? Simple enough to fix.
But have an entire planet effectively drop off the scopes, and you had a problem.
It had been a long time since any communication was made with Nebulos; neither the civilian government nor the Cybertronian settlement was responding. Space bridge lines were down, and the last ship sent to investigate, the Ravager, had disappeared. It was as if the planet itself had simply vanished into nothingness.
And considering recent events, that was not a promising sign.
A chime sounded in his office, and Magnus groaned lightly as his visitor entered. "Is there something I can help you with, Atlas?"
King Atlas stepped forward and said, "I've just gotten word of our intel on Megatron's forces here on Cybertron. Are the reports true?"
"That Shockblast is attempting to convince the others to surrender?" Magnus replied. "So far as I'm aware, yes. I'm assuming you have something to say about it."
"I do," Atlas replied. "We shouldn't trust them, Magnus. For all we know, this is just some ploy to lure us into an ambush at some point."
"You could be right," Magnus replied. "That thought's occurred to me more than once since hearing word from Lord Straxus. Even with confirmation thanks to Swerve and Roulette, I'm still not assured of his intentions."
"However?" Atlas asked, his gaze oozing irritation.
"However, if all of this is legitimate, if Shockblast wants to surrender and some Decepticons want to come with him, then I'd say it's the best we can ask for," Magnus noted. "Megatron's forces will be weakened. And if Shockblast breaks away, more might follow. Aside from the die-hards, the only major reason why so many have stayed with Megatron is out of fear. Give them less reason to fear Megatron, and they'll leave him, maybe even aid us against them. This isn't a chance that we should just ignore."
"They're terrorists, Magnus," Atlas countered. "They're a threat to everyone on this planet, perhaps even the universe if Megatron finds the Mini-Cons."
"Terrorists or no, they're still subject to Cybertronian law," Magnus countered, rising to his feet. "If they're giving themselves up, as they claim, they'll be properly tried."
"That isn't the kind of justice they deserve," Atlas noted with a grim expression.
"It's the only justice that we'll give them, Atlas," Magnus replied firmly.
Atlas narrowed his optics. Before he could say anything else, however, a chime rang out from the intercom. "Magnus, we've got a transmission coming in!"
Magnus answered the line and said, "Scattorshot, this isn't a good time."
"It's a ship! It's got news from Nebulos!" Scattorshot cried. "They're requesting landing clearance!"
Quickly picking up on those choice words, Magnus answered, "Granted. I'm heading to the landing sector now, have security and repair crews standing by."
"Nebulos?" Atlas asked. "It's taken them this long to get word to us?"
"Better late than never," Magnus quickly noted, making his way out of the office.
"Red Alert, Sideswipe, Longarm, Nightbeat, the Emergency, Street Speed and Super Stunt Teams will remain here on the Ark," Optimus Prime stated. "Both retrieval teams will take part in this mission, as will myself, Overload and Vector Prime. I ask that the Air Defense, Race, Hazard, Sky Defense, Sonic Assault and SWAT teams, as well as our respective partners, join us. This mission is more vital than any that's been attempted by us here on Earth, and more unexpected. The Acheron and her crew have been lost for millions of stellar cycles; it's time we brought them home."
A murmur of agreement rose among the gathered Autobots and Mini-Cons.
"Proceed to the flight pods immediately," Optimus declared. "Autobots, Mini-Cons, roll out!"
With those words, the gathered Transformers rushed about, Autobots Powerlinking with their partners and readying their weapons.
As Optimus prepped his own cannon, a small voice spoke up beside him. "Optimus, can I ask a favor?"
The larger Transformer looked towards his inquisitor and asked, "Yes, Nightscream?"
The small purple Mini-Con stood firm, and asked, "I want in. I want to be part of the mission."
Optimus looked at him, and said, "I had a feeling you'd want to be a part of this mission. Request granted. Stick close."
Nightscream nodded and said gratefully, "Thanks," before rushing off towards the pod.
"You sure that's a wise idea?" Jetfire asked, stepping up to his commander.
"He has a personal stake in this Jetfire," Optimus replied. "Not letting him come would be a worse idea."
"I hope you're right," Jetfire replied. "I also hope he's not wasting his time."
"No matter what happens, he'll get answers," Optimus said firmly. "But I'd rather we be the first ones to get them."
"Can you imagine it?" Roarke asked of Donald. "A ship, of all things, here in these mountains. What brought it here? Why come to this corner of the world?"
"I'm more worried about whether or not it had anyone aboard," Donald noted.
"This is an ancient ship, Donald," Roarke noted. "It's at least three million years old, perhaps older. Whoever had it is long dead."
"Even if that's true, who's going to end up with it?" Donald asked. "The Columbian government? Britain?"
A loud rumbling came forth from the jungle. Trees were knocked down, animals were stirred away from their homes, and the native workers quickly yelled out in panic.
Much to Roarke's surprise, a massive tank, flanked by a construction crane, a black sports car, and a mobile artillery unit emerged from the jungle, four jets of varying varieties and colors and a large helicopter flying overhead. The tank trundled towards them and fired off a volley from its cannon, tearing through the mountainside and prompting the two to run to a nearby jeep.
"I think at this point, they'll be the ones to lay claim," Roarke noted as he desperately started the Jeep and drove off, Donald climbing in with a panic-stricken expression on his face.
As the humans got out of sight, Megatron and his troops transformed to robot mode, and the massive Transformer stepped forward. "After all this time, it's found at last."
"Sediment and erosion must've trapped it underneath the rocks and rubble," Starscream reasoned, stepping forward and examining the rocks, careful not to step on any tents.
"I don't care how it got into the mountain, Starscream," Megatron noted. "I'm more concerned with digging it out and retrieving whoever is inside, yes."
"Well then, let's dig this sucker out!" Cyclonus cried out, Buzzsaw and Drill Bit linked to his arms.
"Start with where the fleshlings have begun digging, and don't stop until you find a side hatch," Megatron ordered. "Knowing Prime, he'll be on his way as we speak, and I fully intend to have a warm reception waiting for him."
"I've gotten in touch with some friends at the American Embassy in Colombia," Colonel Franklin explained via comm.-line. "According to them, the archaeological team recently left the dig site after an attack from immense vehicles."
"Most likely the Decepticons," Optimus noted. "If you can, ask your friends to advise local officials to quarantine the area. Knowing Megatron, this is going to get messy very quickly."
"The Colombian military is already heading into the area and establishing a perimeter, but don't expect them to be of much help," Franklin advised. "And watch yourselves. Colombia isn't known for political stability."
"Understood, and thanks," Optimus replied before the line was cut off. He called back to his passengers in the flight pod, "Autobots, we go in and do this by the book. I'll find a suitable landing site, then drop you in teams of three; Jetfire's group first, followed by Hot Shot's. I'll land, then follow with Overload and Vector Prime."
"Looks like we've got a good landing site coming up now," Hot Shot noted from the forward windows. "The Decepticons even blazed a trail for us."
"Then let's make sure it gets properly beaten down," Overhaul said decisively, pounding a fist into his open palm.
Optimus opened the flight pod's rear hatch, then called, "Go!"
The door slid open with an audible screech due to years without use. Megatron was the first to enter as light flooded into the darkened cargo bay. "Starscream, access the computer systems, and find our dear old friends."
"Shouldn't be too difficult, assuming there's still power in this ship," Starscream noted as he walked in and activated a light in his chest, illuminating his path. He found a console and quickly activated it, soft light coming on in the cargo bay as the console lit up. "They're in stasis units; the main chamber is just past that door." He pointed towards a hatch on the other side of the room.
"Excellent," Megatron noted as he walked forward towards the hatch. He opened it, then stepped through and found eleven stasis tubes, ten on one end of the room, and the last laid out long-ways on the ground. He walked over to the last tube and smiled as he looked upon its occupant, then said, "Excellent indeed, yessss..."
"The ship's called the Flash Frenzy," Scattorshot explained via comm.-line. "It's a personal transport registered out of Velocitron."
"Any information on the owner?" Ultra Magnus asked as he walked onto the main landing bay, flanked by King Atlas, Grimlock and two other Autobots; one small with dull colors, the other taller and mostly blue and pearl.
"An Autobot by the name of Skyfall," Scattorshot replied. "Sort of a wandering archivist, based on the travel records for the ship. He's checked in at just about every port we have free access to. He might just have information about what happened to Nebulos."
"Better some information than none," Atlas noted. "All the same, I'd prefer better security."
"What better security than the Wreckers and the Dinobots?" the small, dull colored Autobot asked curtly.
"Well said," Magnus noted with a smile. "Stockade, Whirl, take positions on either end of the landing platform." He opened another comm.-line and asked, "Fireflight, are you and Air Raid in position?"
"Roger that, Magnus," a voice chirped from his radio. "We're keeping watch from the skies; the ship's coming in as we speak, landing in five cycles."
"Check," Magnus noted.
"Me hope this not waste of resources," Grimlock noted gruffly. "Was in middle of training scenario when you called."
"With any luck Grimlock, this is anything but a waste," Magnus noted as the ship began its descent.
The Flash Frenzy had a ramshackle appearance about it, its faded grey hull giving off an air of age and experience. Around its central arrowhead-shaped hull were twin wings, wrapping about the central portion like a protective layer of armor. Landing struts extended from its hull as the ship landed, setting down softly. A landing ramp slowly dropped from the ship's central hull, and a single Transformer quickly exited.
It wasn't who Ultra Magnus was expecting.
"Overcast," Magnus said in surprise.
"Magnus," the Autobot said curtly in greeting. "Get some medics; we've got wounded here."
"You've got some bearings ordering us..." Atlas began before he saw another pair of Transformers exiting the ship. One was missing most of his right leg and arm. He opened a comm.-line and said, "Ratchet, get up here."
"What happened?" Magnus asked.
"Nebulos was attacked," Overcast explained. "Something came, tore up the place. We're the only ones who got out. Skyfall's inside with the wounded; he and I will explain once they're taken care of."
"Explain what, that colony was attacked?" Grimlock asked.
"It wasn't just the colony," Overcast said. "It attacked...destroyed the entire planet."
Magnus's optics went wide with alarm as he repeated, "It?"
Skywarp darted his gaze to the south, noting a loud rumble coming from the horizon. "Look alive," he called out to the other Decepticons, "we've got company."
As the gathered seven Decepticons took defensive positions, a pair of quick bursts of energy lanced forward and struck Thrust and Cyclonus, sending a massive energy burst through their bodies and knocking them to the ground. As the two collapsed and their optics grew dim, the familiar sight of a group of Autobots armed to bear, Optimus Prime in the lead. The arrivals slowed, and Optimus transformed to robot mode as Skywarp noted, "Neat trick."
"Something new we've cooked up," Optimus explained. "They'll wake up in a few hours. Where's Megatron?"
"Inside," Skywarp explained. "He's probably already found the stasis hold."
"Wonderful," Crosswise noted as he drove up and transformed. "Who do you suppose he'll wake up first?"
A loud rumble tore through the ground like a jackhammer, immediately catching the attention of those gathered.
"Sounds like he decided to start with the big guns," Mudflap noted, his eyes firmly on the mountainside.
"We'd better start playing our part," Skywarp called. He turned to Optimus and said, "Stand back and take cover, 'bots."
Optimus nodded and motioned to his team, prompting them to step back into the woods. The remaining conscious Decepticons readied their weapons as a corner of the mountainside burst apart, sending rocks and dust flying everywhere. Something massive flew out from the mountainside, and landed with a massive thud on the ground, leaving the Autobots to gape in awe and shock.
"Well, look who's here," Tidal Wave noted malevolently as he looked down upon the gathered Autobot forces. "Time for some long-deserved payback."
"Autobots, open fire!" Optimus yelled.
Within seconds, the scream of blaster fire tore through the air, rounds from both sides widely bursting through the air, heavy fire concentrating on the massive form of Tidal Wave as he stepped forward with a malevolent grin. His guns opened fire on the Autobots below, prompting them to take cover.
"Tidal Wave," Crosswise growled. "I hoped that I'd never see his face again."
"You've met?" Blurr asked of the experienced Autobot.
"It's thanks to me he was imprisoned," Crosswise explained as he charged his gun. "The last time, I got lucky."
With a manic chuckle, Megatron emerged from the hatch and noted, "I see you had the foresight to bring reinforcements, Prime. It's only natural that I balance the playing field."
"By releasing this monster?" Optimus replied, still firing his cannon at Tidal Wave.
"You think him monster?" Megatron asked, bemused by his foe's choice of words. "Well, prepare yourself for a true terror!"
More forms jumped from the shattered hull of the ship, landing upon the mountainside and standing out from it like beacons. Cast in predominantly dark colors, purple and black with areas of blue, grey and gold, stood a pair of Transformers; one short with massive claw-like limbs, the other tall and lithe with a feminine frame. With bright flashes of blue light, the two took aim with their weapons and opened fire.
"Autobots, look out!" Optimus called, prompting the Autobots gathered to get to cover as massive blasts rocketed towards them. Many, however, were unable to safety, found themselves blasted to the ground, bits of landscape rocketing into them from every angle only adding to the damage. The gathered Autobots found themselves knocked to the ground, unconscious.
Megatron surveyed the damage and laughed, then proclaimed, "Well done, my Decepticons, well done."
"We did it," the shorter Decepticon said in disbelief. "We really did it! I can't believe we did it!"
"Oh of course we did it, Shortround," the Decepticon femme noted with an annoyed voice. "What else can you expect when Thunderblast is on duty?"
"Please tell me they aren't who I think they are," Spiral said in shock.
"Who are they?" Colonel Franklin noted as he watched the screen.
"An old memory," Spiral explained. "Back in the old days, Megatron had an elite team of Decepticons at his beck and call; the Eclipse Team. They were monsters; it's thanks to them that many of us were captured, and many more slain. I was hoping we wouldn't have to see them again."
"They've been taken down before, haven't they?" Franklin asked.
"Fortunately for us, yes," Red Alert replied as he stepped forward. "But I doubt they'll go down easy...and they aren't the only Decepticons on that ship."
Franklin turned to Red Alert and asked, "That ship has a crew, doesn't it?"
"Yes," Red Alert answered. "But even if the stasis chambers have held for this long, I doubt they'd be able to help at this point."
"Well done, Decepticons, well done," Megatron noted, a satisfied smile upon his face. "And now that the Autobots are disposed of for the moment, we'll make our exit."
"What, now?" a pearl, blue and green Decepticon asked. "Can't we just pick 'em off?"
"All in good time, Slugslinger," Megatron noted. "All in good time. For the time being, we retreat...and each of you will be properly acclimated to this new environment of ours."
"Well, guess we'll have to wait," Slugslinger noted. With a gentle nudge to the purple and yellow Decepticon beside him, he said, "No problem there, right Sharkticon?"
Sharkticon merely shrugged before the gathered Decepticons disappeared from view. One remained behind, a dark blue and pale blue mech that resembled Overhaul, and closely examined a small plant. "So many specimens," he noted as he departed. "If only I had the time."
As the battlefield cleared, Optimus Prime slowly rose to his feet. As he rose to full height, a strong arm helped him and a voice said, "To your feet, Prime. You do yourself no credit laying upon your back."
Optimus turned to the source of the voice and said in surprise, "Predacon."
"Starscream was kind enough to inform us of the particulars," Predacon noted as Optimus got to his full height. "Unfortunately, he had to leave with Megatron. Had he remained, he would most likely be aiding us."
Optimus looked about as three Decepticons helped to push away the debris and get the buried Autobots to their feet.
"Easy there fella," Frostbite said gently as he brushed away a rock and helped Crosswise to stand.
"Rise ancient one, rise," Reptilion urged with a mix of reverence and excitement, helping Vector Prime to his feet.
"Come on, Autobot," Terrorsaur grunted before Overhaul brushed him off coldly.
As Hot Shot got to his feet and retrieved his rifle, he said, "Thanks. Why help us?"
"I am a mystic, young one," Predacon explained. "I care not for Megatron's dreams of conquest, only to see our world become a better one. The techno-organic enhancements given to us by the Quintessons are but one possible means to that end, and the one I have chosen."
"Even after being trapped in that ship for all these stellar cycles?" Beachcomber asked, suspicion in his voice as Frostbite got him to his feet.
"I chose to be imprisoned, as did Reptilion and Frostbite," Predacon countered. "It was a sign of solidarity with Terrorsaur; his crimes were committed prior to joining us." He turned to Optimus and said, "And I believe that, under a technicality, his sentence has been filled."
"It has," Optimus noted. "What will you do now?"
"We will depart," Predacon said. "Starscream has promised to get Sideburn and Skid-Z to us as soon as possible, and Ironhide remains lost. We shall find them, and return them to the fold. But know this, Optimus Prime; we shall keep to ourselves, and not harm the people of this world. You have my word."
"Very well," Optimus said. "Good luck."
Predacon nodded. He turned to his followers and said, "We depart." His body shifted and changed forms, and he emerged as a towering Tyrannosaurus and declared, "We follow the sun, into the west!"
Reptilion, Terrorsaur and Frostbite did likewise, shifting into techno-organic forms similar to animals, and followed their leader as he activated a pair of turbines on his sides and took flight.
Jetfire stepped forward and asked, "We just going to let him go?"
"We don't have any reason to go after them," Optimus noted. "Besides, we've got bigger concerns." He turned to the assembled Autobots and said, "Beachcomber, Overhaul, head back to the flight pod and send a signal back to the Ark and the base site; make sure they're on alert. Crosswise, Blurr, Overload and the Mini-Cons take up defensive positions around the dig site. Jetfire, Hot Shot, Vector Prime, Nightscream, with me inside. We've got some Autobots to wake up."
The gathered Transformers went about their duties and quickly went to work. Optimus's trailer slowly unfolded into a battle station as he and his group entered the ship.
"Permission to speak frankly?" Hot Shot asked.
"Granted," Optimus replied.
"Predacon...I got an uneasy feeling around him," Hot Shot noted.
"Many of us do, Hot Shot," Jetfire assured the younger Transformer. "But uneasy feeling or no, he's not our enemy."
"Agreed," Optimus said. "As long as he keeps his word and doesn't threaten this world, I'm willing to let him do as he likes. And right now, I'm more concerned about the crew; if they're in the stasis chambers, they should be on the other side of the ship."
"Even if we find them, how are we supposed to figure out why they were stuck here?" Hot Shot asked. "I mean, they should have sent a signal or something."
"Assuming they were able," Vector Prime noted. "More than likely the crash damaged the ship's communications array. As for not being able to find it, the main power systems were most likely placed at their lowest sustainable levels as a security measure, and the ship's burial would have further blocked it from sensor scans."
"Seems a little pat," Hot Shot said.
"At this point, I hope that's the extent of what happened," Optimus noted.
Lights came alive as Ultra Magnus noted, "Recorders online. Start whenever you're ready."
Overcast groaned, then noted, "Where do we begin?"
A smaller Transformer seated beside him, adorned with blue translucent wings, suggested, "We begin with the start. What else?"
Overcast glared at his friend, then noted, "Since my leave of absence began, I've been traveling around known space, trying to keep abreast of things. After a while, I ran into Skyfall; his ship needed repairs, and I ended up tagging along with him on his interstellar record hunt."
"I've been exploring Cybertronian territory and allied worlds for some time upon my ship," Skyfall explained. "For a long time, I've felt a calling to explore, learn, and understand. I had thought that I had a unique destiny, one that I could not easily achieve on Cybertron. Like an Omnicon, I can shape Energon; but I am not an Omnicon, despite sharing their abilities. I knew this was the key. In my researches, I found my way to an ancient repository; the information there led me to Nebulos. But all that was found at Nebulos was tragedy."
"When we arrived, communications systems had been shut down for several days," Overcast explained. "Magistrate Zarak had been doing his best to keep things calm, but people were panicking each day, even with the help of the Cybertronians there. Then things started falling apart; the planet began to display frightening levels of seismic activity; tidal shifts, earthquakes, you name it. Zarak finally gave the order to evacuate; ships were loaded with as many people as they could carry, and we loaded up as many Cybertronians as we could. Ours was the first ship out...and the only one."
"As we broke atmosphere with the first group of ships, we saw it," Skyfall noted. "A massive shape, like a rogue planet shaped like an egg, one single ring circling it and connected via pylons, twin mandibles extending from a core deeper than a black hole. Swarming around it like a black cloud were hundreds of thousands of forms, some black and red resembling birds, the rest grey and blue with sharp edges. And standing atop one of the mandibles was a dark shape, flame burning within it like a furnace."
"At the sight of that massive thing, word just managed to get back," Overcast said. "No more ships were launched. Then that armada of mechs around that thing surged forward, attacking every ship they could find. Thanks to the Flash Frenzy's engines and Skyfall's piloting, we just managed to scrape away without serious damage. The other ships weren't as lucky."
"And Nebulos?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"Have a look for yourself," Skyfall answered, pulling a small recorder disk from his arm. "This is the recorder data from the rear cameras on my ship."
Magnus took the disk, then inserted it into a viewer. As the data came online, he watched, shock growing on his face.
The massive form extended its mandibles, slowly inching towards the planet. As atmosphere began to seep away from the planet, the mandibles closed, digging deep into the planet itself. Rocks burst outwards, drifting out into space as light burst forth from within the planet-like attacker, sucking all within like a vacuum. Magnus watched as the planet was torn apart, its fragments sucked within the creature's maw. The recording cut off.
"This needs to get to Optimus Prime," Overcast said at last, urgency in his voice. "Where is he?"
"On Earth," Ultra Magnus said. "He and a select team of Autobots have been working to retrieve the Mini-Cons from that planet. But that's not all of it; they've come across two beings there, both nearly impervious to injury. Between this attack, and those two Transformers they've fought, I think they might be right." He closed his optics, as if hoping to hold back this knowledge, and said, "Unicron is coming."
Overcast and Skyfall both shuttered as if their very Sparks had been chilled. They looked to Ultra Magnus as he said, "Halt recording." He opened a communications line and said, "Scattorshot, get me the Ark, Velocitron, and Animatros. We have a bombshell on our hands."
"And that's the story so far," Optimus Prime finished as he surveyed the crew of the Acheron. "We've managed to retrieve most of the Mini-Cons; a few remain unaccounted for, but only a few stasis units remain to be recovered. That we know of."
"Then they ended up here, of all places," a Transformer noted, smooth lines and organic components making him and his crew a stark contrast to Optimus and his comrades. "If we'd known, we would have looked for them ourselves rather than go into stasis."
"You did what you thought was best, Rhinox," Jetfire assured the Autobot. "Not much choice otherwise."
"Yeah, that's nice and all," a blue and gray Autobot noted, sharp horns extending from his head. "But we still have a problem; twelve Decepticons on the loose, reunited with that whack-job they call a leader."
"No scrapes off our hides," a dark-colored Autobot said dismissively with a wave of his hand. "We caught 'em once, right? We can do it again."
"The last time we had an entire planet helping against them," a purple female Autobot noted, her long face expressing sadness and depression. "We don't have that anymore."
A reassuring hand found its place on her arm as a smaller Autobot, colored a regal pearl and gold, told her, "We shall persevere, Crystal. Only with that will we have victory."
"We have allies on this world, good friends," Vector Prime assured them. "They have pledged themselves to our aid."
"I apologize right now for what's happened to all of you," Optimus Prime said. "You never deserved to be sealed in stasis for millions of stellar cycles. I promise right now to do what I can to help you adjust to the changes that have occurred, but I must ask for your aid in dealing with Megatron, and the threat that he poses to both this planet and Cybertron. Rhinox, Longhorn, Cheetor, Crystal Widow, Magna Stampede, Airazor, please...aid us."
The six Autobots looked amongst themselves for a brief moment, shades of anger, eagerness, confidence and sorrow marked upon their faces. After a few short minutes, Airazor, a female Autobot with a dark color scheme, turned to Optimus and said, "You didn't even have to ask."
"We're with you, Prime," Rhinox said, extending his hand.
Optimus reciprocated, and said, "Thanks." They shook, and as they broke the handshake, "And I'm glad to say that not everything has changed."
"I'll say," Nightscream noted, stepping up at last. "You still have to put up with me."
Airazor smirked and said, "I knew that wouldn't change." She knelt down and said, "And I bet you didn't miss me at all."
"Not one bit," Nightscream noted. In a slightly more quiet voice, he said, "Welcome back."
Starscream groaned as he looked upon the landscape of the moon. "Well Thundercracker, it looks like you were right."
"Of all the things to be right about," Thundercracker grimly noted.
Gathered with the two within a cargo hold on the Nemesis were Demolishor, Wheeljack, Skywarp and Mudflap, as well as their allied Mini-Cons.
"Now that Megatron's revived the Eclipse Team, we'll have greater problems than before," Starscream noted.
"So what do we do?" Wheeljack asked. "Scrub the plan?"
"No," Starscream said. "We have to rethink it; Predacon may be willing to help us, but that won't give us much. We need to..."
The cargo hatch quickly opened, and two familiar forms stepped in. As the gathered Decepticons pointed their weapons and took aim, the two raised their arms.
"Hold," Sharkticon said gently. "We don't want a fight."
"Why are you here?" Starscream asked, his sword pointing directly at the Decepticon warrior.
"I'm not stupid, Starscream," Sharkticon explained. "You don't care for Megatron. Never have, never will. Me, I'm starting to see where you're coming from. You need help, and I want in."
Starscream narrowed his optics and asked, "Why?"
"Nearly three million stellar cycles trapped in stasis," Sharkticon explained. "No retrieval attempts, no rescues made. Last I checked, a leader was supposed to look after his troops. Frankly, I have better chances with you."
Starscream looked at the Decepticon warily, then cast a glance to his associate. "And you?"
The second one shrugged. "I go where the road takes me, y'know? Bein' with that cat Megatron was fun and all, but me and Dutch figure it's time for a change. 'Sides, it might be fun for ol' Lugnutz to hang out with you guys."
With glances between the newcomers and his old friend, Skywarp noted, "Screamer, your track record lately hasn't exactly been stellar...but you're still in charge here."
Starscream eyed Sharkticon and Lugnutz warily...then slowly lowered his blade. "We don't exactly have much choice." He replaced his blade, then said, "Welcome to the new resistance."
The End