Chapter 4:
"Soundwave, hail the Ark. Onslaught! Assemble your crew and make contact with the new world. Prepare it for my arrival."
"Yes, Lord Megatron!" Onslaught turned and sprinted for the door, hand on his ear. "Swindle, Brawl! Get off your afts and find Vortex! We take off immediately!"
Optimus and Jazz were watching the monitor. Jetfire was busy going over a few last minute details with Smokescreen, who in turn was relaying information to Arcee and Bluestreak in the utility rooms. Warpath and Cliffjumper, along with several of their crewmates, were now present on the bridge, waiting anxiously. Prowl crossed his arms. At last the familiar drone of Soundwave came over the comlink.
"Attention Ark. This is the Decepticon Military Vessel Nemesis."
"Okay here we go people," Jazz said snapping a finger for attention. "Soon as we get visual we're go, dig?"
"You are exceeding the minimum safe distance between a craft of our size and-"
Optimus cut in. "Cease these platitudes, Soundwave. Put on your master."
After a brief pause Megatron's face appeared, his features gigantic on the bridge's monitor. He wore a helmet with the same lines and angles as the Decepticon Insignia, a trophy he had forged from the wreckage of the Senate building nearly two centuries ago.
"These years have made you impatient," Megatron sneered in a mocking tone. "What can I do for you Optimus Prime? Surely you aren't planning on stopping me from flying through that space bridge, hmm?"
"Stopping you is my one function in life, Megatron. Such is the fate you have forced upon me. I will not allow your reach across the galaxy to grow unchecked. There is no species you can terrorize that I will not swear to protect. There is nowhere you can go that I will not follow."
"We will have to see about that another time. But I wish you luck finding me again, for you will not be passing through my space bridge."
Optimus took a step toward the screen. "I suspect it is you will need to find us, Megatron." Then the feed went black.
On the Nemesis a series of alarms went off across the bridge.
"Soundwave, Astrotrain, status report!" Megatron barked.
"We have no visual on radar."
"Communications signals: Negative."
Scrapper put two fingers to his brow, "An EMP?"
"No, our systems are fine, it's them. They just used some kind of cloaking! They vanished!"
In the shuttle bay, Vortex was packing the last of the Combaticon's personal effects into the Decimator. A loud yawn permeated the hangar, followed by a deep baritone. "ARE WE DEPLOYING?"
"Sorry Tidal Wave, just us this time. I'm sure Lord Megatron will let you stretch your legs when the ship lands. There's gonna be lots of work to clear the land."
"DISPLEASING. WELL, I WILL POWER DOWN AGAIN. FOR A WHILE. WAKE ME WHEN I CAN LEAVE THIS HANGAR."
Tidal Wave was too large to fit in the ship's corridors, so he only ever talked to bots when they came down to the shuttle bay. Vortex felt bad for him sometimes. It was amazing watching him work when he wasn't cooped up.
"Alright Onslaught, your tapes are loaded. We can leave at your command."
Blastoff fired up the engines and the ship took off. Onslaught began a quick debrief.
"Megatron tells me there are some primitive organics on this new planet. Our job is to clear out the buggers so that he can land without issue."
Brawl twitched with excitement. "Oh man, I can't wait. Haven't killed something in so long. Got the itch, ya know?"
"Am I to presume that I'm on orbital duty again?" Blastoff asked quietly.
"I don't expect a lot of strategy will be necessary here Blastoff. You want ground duty you can take it."
"Hn." Blastoff looked out the window aloofly, but smiled inwardly.
It was by chance that Brawl happened to look out the back window of the Decimator as they glided out from under the Nemesis.
"Uh, Onslaught? What's that?"
"What's what? Oh. Slag. Swindle?"
"Boss?"
"Call the bridge. Now!"
Attached to the bottom of the ship like some vast, sedentary, space-barnacle, was the Ark.
Prowl watched as the first plumes of transwarp began to envelop the now-joined ships. This was going pleasantly. While Optimus was distracting the Decepticons with one of his famed monologues, Jetfire had been working to mask the engines' energy signatures. Simultaneously, Arcee was disabling the radar equipment in the communications hub, and Bumblebee and Smokescreen were busy activating large electromagnets on the hull. When Jazz gave the signal, the ship went into full blackout mode, and the now "invisible" ship flew up and magnetized itself to the bottom of the Nemesis' hull, where no prying optics (or exterior weapons) could reach it.
Warpath was shouting in excitement. "It worked! Now we just let the 'Cons carry is across the bridge and BOOM! Welcome to... uh, whatever planet it is."
"Do not celebrate yet Warpath. Megatron has his fair share of great minds in board. I suspect they will discover our trick before long, and prepare a retaliation! But this respite will get us into the bridge itself."
Bluestreak came out from underneath the machinery in the ship's underbelly.
"We're all set 'Bee. We can monitor the magnets from the bridge and-"
***CRASH***
The ceiling caved in above the two scouts' heads. This should have been a problem because the space above the ceiling was the vacuum of space. It was a problem instead because of the tube full of Vehicons leading from the warship above. A captain leapt down and trained his guns on Smokescreen. The troopers behind him mimicked this action. "Autobots! Surrender immediately or be terminated!"