The Silver Age
This story has 9 chapters, they turned out shorter than expected so I will upload 3 per day. Please review, I love reviews!
There are no pairings but you may make of it what you will. T rating is for death theme which is minor.
The first two chapters are set during Season 2 of Transformers G1, shortly after episode 43 where the Aerialbots are sent back in time by the Decepticons and end up saving Orion Pax/Optimus Prime.
Chapter 1 – Preparation
Decepticon Headquarters, Planet Earth
"Blast those accursed Aerialbots," Megatron growled. The Decepticon leader had felt sure that the Autobot jets had been sent back to the beginning of time forever, but no, the Autobots had come to the aid of their comrades and brought them back to the present. Unbeknownst to Megatron, it was his act of sending the Aerialbots into the past that saved Orion Pax, and allowed his transformation into Optimus Prime by Alpha Trion. Had he known, he would never have used the time machine which had been destroyed back on Cybertron. At least that's what he wanted the Autobots to think. Megatron smirked as he glanced up at the screen beside the one displaying the Decepticon spacebridge. In a sizeable cave in the canyon that housed said spacebridge, Soundwave and Starscream were busy rebuilding the time machine while the cassettes guarded the area.
Yes, it was the perfect plan. Megatron would send some of the Decepticons back in time to take out prominent Autobots one by one, before they were properly trained for combat. As Megatron did not know of the pasts of the Autobots he had in mind, he planned to send both Ravage and Frenzy back for the task of gathering intelligence. Megatron had also considered sending Rumble and Laserbeak, but he required their talents on Earth, and if they did not return their abilities would be missed. Buzzsaw would also be part of the time travelling group, and his job would be to record as much as possible. When he returned, Soundwave could go through the recordings and pick out useful information. Along with the cassettes, Reflector would be useful for both his recording abilities and espionage abilities. For doing the dastardly deeds and defending the cassettes, Megatron would still unsure about which Decepticons to send. He needed to send capable Decepticons, but ones that wouldn't be missed too easily while they were away.
Soundwave and Starscream were both out of the question, their disappearances would be easily noticed, and Megatron didn't quite trust that Starscream wouldn't go and try to kill him in the past either. As much as he hated to admit it, Megatron knew that the Decepticons would miss the abilities of both Soundwave and Starscream if they did not return. There was a reason they were his highest ranking officers. The coneheads could not be trusted with such a delicate mission, and the triplechangers were not loyal or level-headed enough. Thundercracker and Skywarp would be appropriate choices, but Starscream flying into battle alone would highlight the fact that his wing mates were absent, and that was exactly what Megatron did not want. While Frenzy, Buzzsaw and Reflector were more behind-the-scenes Decepticons and their disappearances would not be noticed by the Autobots, Thundercracker and Skywarp were not. As long as Soundwave ejected Rumble during most battles, Ravage's disappearance might be missed.
Megatron placed and hand on his head, gritting his teeth as the irritating sound of the coneheads squabbling about something painfully unimportant continued to assault his audios. He had half a mind to send them on the mission just to have them away from him, but this mission was too important for them. No, it would have to be Thundercracker and Skywarp. If he left one of the coneheads at base during the battles and had Starscream fly with the other two, the Autobots might think he was attempting to further integrate his new aerial force members.
The Constructicons were too useful to add to the time travelling team, and the Stunticons too important in the present. With all the trouble the team had caused the Autobots, their absent would scream louder than Starscream did. And the Insecticons? Megatron didn't even consider them. It was apparent that Thundercracker and Skywarp would be the only two warriors sent on this mission.
"Soundwave to Megatron," the cassette player's digital voice brought Megatron out of his musings.
"Go ahead Soundwave."
"Stage two of Operation 2T is complete."
"Excellent work Soundwave, have Starscream return to base. I'll brief the team on their mission then send them to you for stage three. Megatron out."