The Autobot Files

By: Ghost of the Dawn aka Ty-Chou

File #009 - Stranger Part 1

His name was Bluestreak. In the two months she had lived there, Crystal had never spoken to him. She thought about him sometimes because his close resemblance to Prowl made her curious. She found out his name by looking through the files, but that was the extent of her knowledge of him.

However, and Crystal didn't know why, Bluestreak got up out of recharge one day and decided they were going to be best friends.

Their first official introduction was when Crystal walked out of her room the day after Christmas and was met with a brightly smiling face standing in her way.

"Hi!" The happy Autobot greeted enthusiastically. "I'm Bluestreak."

"Good morning, Bluestreak," Crystal responded pleasantly. She didn't bother to give her name. She had lived there over two months now. Every Autobot on the Ark knew who she was whether they had formally met her or not.

"Nice to meet you," she said as she started down the hall. She had places to be that day and fully thought the grey Autobot, who had never paid attention to her before, was going to move on his way.

But he didn't. Instead he hurried to catch up with her. "Where are you going?"

"Uh... to Wheeljack's lab," Crystal responded. What did he want? Why was he still following her?

"Oh yeah, Wheeljack's lab. I haven't been there in a while," Bluestreak said conversationally. "I mean, I could go there whenever I wanted, but I don't really have a reason to. And sometimes Wheeljack is working hard on something and he doesn't really want to be bothered. So I try to leave him alone most of the time. But sometimes I wonder if he ever wants people to visit him. You know, maybe he gets tired of being the only one in there. There's no one to talk to and I know Wheeljack loves to talk about his inventions. So maybe I should go see him more just to see if he wants someone to visit him. So he gets a chance to talk to someone if he really feels like it."

'If he can get a word in,' Crystal thought.

Bluestreak went on talking and Crystal felt like she was in the Twilight Zone. No other Autobot had ever said so much to her. For him to come out of the blue like that and just chat her ear off as if they knew each other was just strange to her. Wheeljack's door was closing in. Sweet sanctuary!

"Well, it was nice to meet you Bluestreak," Crystal quickly cut in before Bluestreak could start another train of thought. "But I have to get to work."

Wheeljack saw them enter and he noticed Crystal's strong desire for him to help her get rid of the other Autobot so he stood up. "Hey Blue, thanks for walking her down. Now we've got to get to work so we'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay," Bluestreak responded happily. "Yeah, I don't want to bother you guys when you're trying to work. So I'll leave you to it. I have things I've got to do, too. So I'll be on my way. But maybe I'll come back later to see how you're doing or I'll come back when you're done and then we can go do something else. Bye!"

"You don't need to come back..." Wheeljack said. But Bluestreak was already long gone.

"Holy crap," was all Crystal had to say about that. "What is up with him?"

"Bluestreak?" Wheeljack asked as he closed the door. "Why? What did he do?"

"Well, it wasn't anything really. He just kind of popped out of nowhere and followed me around, talking my ear off."

Wheeljack chuckled. "Yeah, he does that. Bluestreak talks a lot when he's nervous or really excited about something... or, well, most of the time."

"It was just weird to me. He's never said anything to me before and then he was suddenly my constant shadow."

"Don't worry about Bluestreak; he's completely harmless, I promise. He's just trying to be friendly." Wheeljack set down a collection of tools on his work bench. "Now, let's get to work."

This was the beginning of Crystal's training. The hands-on experience both Wheeljack and Ratchet said she needed. There had already been a few instances where Ratchet let Crystal observe during regular maintenance procedures on the Autobots. But there hadn't been a lot going on lately. No real injuries to repair. So Crystal settled for the next best thing, fixing odd devices around Wheeljack's lab and around the Ark.

To Crystal, it was about the same whether she was fixing the Ark's systems or an Autobot's system. Both had wires that had to be connected in order to work. Fans and engines and pumps that all ran on the same basic principles and were repaired the same way. Practice was practice and Crystal took it in any form that she could get. She was just grateful for something to do, something else to think about so she didn't have to sit in silence and think about herself.

"What were these for?" Crystal asked later when she was cleaning up and found some discarded tubes on the table.

Wheeljack glanced at the pile. "Oh, my internal com went on the fritz. I ended up having to replace the whole thing."

Crystal looked at the tubes thoughtfully. "Can I install a radio in me? I found some plans for a simple one. It just goes in the arm. Then Ratchet won't have to keep calling all over for me when he gets lonely."

"Install it yourself?" Wheeljack wondered. "You sure you want to try that?"

"Well why not? You just did it."

Wheeljack scratched at his chin. "Yeah well, I guess I expected you to be a bit more squeamish about doing work on yourself."

"What's there to be squeamish about?" Crystal demanded. "It's a metal body, see?" She took the panel on her arm and opened and closed it a few times. "It's just a machine, a piece of hardware. It's no big deal."

Wheeljack looked at her for a moment. "You've been poking around your own circuits, haven't you?"

"Every chance I get," she said defiantly. "I know where every single one of my panels is and how they open and I'm familiar with most of my systems now and if you think that's weird in your little robot culture then--"

"What? No, no, that's fine," he insisted. "In fact I'm really glad that you're that passionate about learning. Every individual should know about their own systems. If you want to try to add the radio yourself, that's fine. Just let me look at it when it's done."

Crystal's face lit up. "Okay, I will."

"And promise me you won't fiddle with anything major. Especially in these areas, okay?" He motioned to his head and chest. "This is where all the really important stuff is. You could really mess yourself up if you don't know what you're doing."

"Gotcha."

"And don't get too obsessed with improving this body. It's just temporary. We're going to build you a new one."

"Really??" Crystal squealed in such a way it made Wheeljack jump.

"Well, yeah. We're not going to keep you looking like that forever. What about when we all go back to Cybertron?"

"Cybertron?" Crystal marveled. She hadn't even imagined the idea of going to their home planet.

"Of course. We're not going to leave you here. And we need to make sure you fit in."

Crystal gasped as a new idea hit her. "Will I get an alt mode?"

There was the sound of a grin in Wheeljack's voice. "Of course."

"Anything I want?" Her voice was rising with her excitement.

"Anything you want," he confirmed.

Crystal made a happy squealing sound. It was one thing she had wondered about as she watched the Autobots race around the countryside. What would it be like to be one of them, to drive across the land at top speed with other Autobots flanking either side of you? It sounded brilliant and exhilarating and she had wanted it since the idea had struck her processor.

"But it will still be a while," Wheeljack warned. "Being on Earth slows us down. First of all, when Perceptor gets transferred here, he's going to look at your system and help us design a better one. And then we'll design a body around that. That in itself will take a while and then we have to order all the parts and build it. So don't get too excited yet. It will take some time."

"And it won't be pink," Crystal stated with finality.

Wheeljack chuckled. "We'll make it whatever color you want."

"Woo!"

At that moment Jazz poked his head into the lab.

"Hey, I need to borrow Crys for a moment; Prime wants to talk with her."

Crystal dumbly pointed to herself. "Optimus Prime wants to talk to me?"

"He sure does," Jazz grinned. "It will be quick and you're not in trouble, I promise."

She also wasn't the only one invited to the meeting. Jazz went in with her to Optimus Prime's office and Prowl was there as well. The Autobot leader himself offered her a seat while he remained standing, leaning against his desk. Jazz and Prowl remained standing as well. Crystal felt uncomfortable sitting with the three of them towering over her, but she couldn't very well tell Optimus Prime no when a seat was offered. So she sat, gripping the arm rest.

"I'm sure you've heard some talk about the transfer coming up," Optimus began. "We're shuttling some new Autobots down from Cybertron in a few days."

Crystal nodded. "One of them is an Autobot called Perceptor. He's going to help design a new operating system for me."

Optimus nodded, but Crystal suddenly felt fear going through her. Was he going to tell her that this Perceptor wasn't coming after all?

"Yes, he is being transferred," Optimus confirmed. "As well as a few others. My concern is, as of right now, only the Autobots here at the Ark know of your existence. When we get the new transfers they will have to be briefed on your situation."

"Um, okay," Crystal nodded, unsure as to why she had been called into the office in the first place.

"My largest concern," Optimus continued. "Is that we will be having a visitor that is only staying for a week. His name is Ultra Magnus and he is the head commander of the Autobots on Cybertron. All of the other transfers have been on Earth before and have had experience with humans. This will be Ultra Magnus' first time here. I will be spending the week familiarizing him with Earth and the life forms that live here. However, I do not believe that on this visit, it is a good idea to tell him about you."

Crystal sat silently, trying to take this in as Optimus went on.

"Eventually the goal is to integrate you into full Cybertronian society, Crystal. But it will be in small steps and I do not feel this is the right time to make this step."

"So you want me to become invisible for a week," Crystal surmised.

"I know that is a lot to ask, and I am sorry," Optimus said. "But I feel it is for the best."

"We have come up with a plan," Prowl offered. "Aside from the base tour, Ultra Magnus is going to be so busy with other duties, there are several places in the Ark he will never be. You will be free to roam those areas most of the time and we will have a unit keeping track of Ultra Magnus at all times so each area can be vacated as necessary."

"That's fine," Crystal shrugged. "If that's what you need, I can do it." She smiled at the two seconds. "I mean, I've got Prowl and Jazz watching out for me, it will be fine."

Prowl frowned.

"Uh.. actually," Jazz put in sheepishly, "Prowl and I won't be here."

Crystal's expression fell.


"Hey! There you are!"

Crystal instantly latched onto Jazz's arm as Bluestreak jumped in front of them.

"I went to Wheeljack's lab and he said you left so I've been looking around for you and here you are." He paused when he noticed the situation: Crystal hugging onto Jazz's arm and Jazz looking very comfortable with it.

"Jazz," Bluestreak greeted in a stiffer tone, eyeing Jazz's hand on Crystal's accusingly.

"Bluestreak," Jazz responded in the same tone, wondering why Bluestreak was suddenly acting that way toward him. Usually the grey Autobot was more than happy to see him.

The three of them eyed each other: Bluestreak accusing, Jazz confused and Crystal uncomfortable.

"Oh! I have to find Blaster!" Crystal announced. "He's going to get transferred. I need to go see him."

"No you don't," both Bluestreak and Jazz said at the same time in the same tone.

They both looked surprised at the other's statement and then glared each other down. Crystal could almost swear she saw sparks flying like in the cartoons. She took the opportunity to run off and find Blaster.


"Hot Rod, get off the console," Ultra Magnus said in his usual calm voice. He didn't look up as he ran a final diagnostic on the shuttle's systems. It was almost time to launch.

The order was ignored as the much younger and more brightly-painted Autobot kicked his legs as he sat on the computer console. "Come on, Mags, let me go to Earth with you. It will just be for a few days. I can fly a shuttle. Let me go."

Ultra Magnus didn't even look up. "We've been through this, Hot Rod. This isn't a pleasure trip. I don't have time to learn everything Optimus Prime wants me to and baby-sit you at the same time."

"I don't need to be baby-sat!" Hot Rod shot back. "I know how to behave myself!"

"Shut your trap and get the slag off that console!" Kup barked harshly as he came into the shuttle. This time Hot Rod did as he was told.

"You ask about going to Earth one more time and I'll give you something to keep you too busy to worry about it!"

Ultra Magnus surveyed his crew, taking note of those who were at their stations and who had yet to arrive. It was a small crew. It would be even smaller on the trip back. After dropping off the transfers on Earth he would have just enough Autobots to be able to handle the ship's return to Cybertron. Having so few crew members was risky, even if the Decepticons (and especially the Cybertron Decepticons) had been extremely quiet lately. He didn't like it.

All this had been Optimus Prime's idea and if asked his opinion, Ultra Magnus would have to say that something didn't add up. Ever since Optimus Prime and his crew had reported they still lived after eons of nothing, Optimus had always been upfront with Ultra Magnus. Magnus had been the official leader of the Autobots for a very long time. He had plenty of time to shape the faction and run it the way he thought was best. To have his old leader suddenly show up again made Magnus worry if such a sudden change in leadership would unravel all he had worked for.

But his worries seemed unfounded. Optimus insisted on remaining on Earth for as long as Megatron occupied it and gave Magnus every bit as much authority over Cybertron as he was used to having. Optimus Prime seemed to understand the politics of the situation better than Magnus thought he would and kept a very honest and open dialog between them so they could continue to keep the Autobot faction running as smoothly as possible.

After a few years of waking up on Earth, Optimus began requesting transfers from Cybertron to slowly integrate his troops back to their home planet and also to get new troops acquainted with their new allies on Earth. Most of the transfers were Autobots that had worked directly under Optimus Prime and remembered him well from before: Warpath, Beachcomber, Cosmos, Tracks, Hoist, Grapple, Blaster and many more had gone to and fro as types of ambassadors between the two planets. With every transfer, Optimus had always been specific as to who he wanted on Earth and who he was sending back and why.

This time, however, the requests felt a bit slapdash. Optimus Prime wanted Perceptor; that had been very clear. Why he wanted him, however, was not so clear. And when Ultra Magnus pressed that without a very good reason, a transfer of only one Autobot was not worth the resources spent, Optimus came back to him a few weeks later with this little gem of an idea.

A massive transfer plus a temporary trade-off of some high ranking officers as a "learning experience," Optimus Prime had called it. Ultra Magnus still wasn't sure what the Autobot leader was after, but this was how it was all going to play out.

Optimus added Smokescreen, Red Alert, and Powerglide to his list of transfers he wanted. They seemed absolutely random, but if that was the game he wanted to play then Magnus wanted his architects back, Hoist and Grapple, to help build new bunkers. Windcharger with his magnetic field would help nicely. He also wanted his communications specialist, Blaster, back as well.

Optimus agreed and both began to prepare for the large and very untraditional trade-off.

The Cybertronian shuttle was almost ready. Along with the four Autobots Optimus had requested, Ultra Magnus was also taking Inferno, Beachcomber, and Skids, all Autobots who had been to Earth before, to help him fly the shuttle back to Cybertron.

"So you're going to stay on Earth for a week and we're going to get stuck with Optimus Prime's second-in-command doing your job?" Hot Rod asked.

"Both his seconds," Kup informed him.

Hot Rod laughed. "He has two seconds? Mags barely has one, I mean, if you even count Kup as a second."

"I'm Security Director! It's the same as a second, you punk!" Kup growled.

"I'm just saying, this Optimus Prime doesn't sound so legendary. It sounds like he just gets everyone else to do stuff for him," Hot Rod shrugged.

Kup was about to shoot smoke from his audios. "You slaggin ingrate! That Autobot is a hero and a legend! You wouldn't know that kind of greatness if it shoved its foot up your tailpipe!"

Hot Rod made a great show of not caring about being yelled at.

Ultra Magnus shook his head as he watched Kup get even angrier at Hot Rod's lack of concern. He really couldn't fathom why Kup took on this young Autobot as an apprentice when he easily set the older Autobot off on a daily basis.

"That's everybody, Chief," Springer said as he walked into the shuttle with Red Alert and Inferno. The former walked in slowly with the latter practically pulling him in.

Springer handed his roster to his commander. "You're all set to go. Travel safely, Magnus."

"You stay safe as well," he nodded.

As Kup, Hot Rod, and Springer all exited the ship, their leader called after them. "And be nice to the new guys."

Kup nodded while Springer gave an impish "Who, me?" look.

Ultra Magnus gave them one last warning look before the door shut behind him and the shuttle launched. The Autobots watched as their leader flew off to a planet they had only seen in pictures.


Crystal hugged Blaster tightly as the other Autobots scheduled for departure loaded onto Omega Supreme. Mirage was practically dancing as he ran inside. He was not scheduled to stay, but he was allowed on as a crew member and would get to stay on Cybertron for a whole week. That was certainly better than nothing.

"I'm going to miss you, Blaster," Crystal said sadly.

"Aw, I'll miss you, too, babe," Blaster replied, his arms around her shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll definitely come back for you as soon as I can."

His hands started traveling lower and Jazz slapped them away, pulling Crystal backwards toward him and wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind.

"Yeah, say bye to Blaster. He'll be gone for a long, long time," Jazz said.

Blaster frowned at him. "You're leaving, too."

"Yeah, but I'm coming back!" Jazz retorted with a grin.

"But you will still be missed," Crystal said as she turned and hugged Jazz around the neck.

Blaster frowned while Jazz grinned smugly at him.

"We're almost ready to go," Prowl announced as he approached.

Crystal let go of Jazz and threw her arms around Prowl.

"Travel safe, okay?"

Prowl was momentarily taken aback by the embrace, but managed to catch his balance and put a hand awkwardly on her shoulder.

"Uh, yes. We will do our best."

He pulled away with a sound akin to clearing his throat. "I have asked Bluestreak to look after you while we're gone. So if you need anything, you can just ask him."

Crystal schooled her expression when she noticed the grinning Bluestreak standing near them. She fought the urge to give the clichéd line "I don't need anyone to look after me!" Really, she had plenty of Autobots looking after her. Wheeljack was going on the shuttle with Mirage to help with the return flight. But if she needed anything, she still had Ratchet to look after her, or Brawn, or even Sunstreaker. Why was Prowl asking her to go to her new stalker Autobot if she needed anything? She hardly even knew him.

"Bye Prowl!" Bluestreak said as he suddenly hugged Prowl in a similar fashion as Crystal just had.

Prowl, again, looked uncomfortable at the show of affection and Crystal was frowning. That was weird. Was this Bluestreak making fun of her?

Prowl let Bluestreak let go on his own accord and then put his hand on the grey Autobot's shoulder. "Don't let Smokescreen get near her," Prowl said in a low voice only Bluestreak could hear.

He looked a bit surprised at the request, but nodded to Prowl that he understood.

Crystal looked at the shuttle, trying to keep her face neutral, but inside she didn't like it. It was bad enough Blaster was going to be gone for an indefinite amount of time. But she and Wheeljack had gotten close and it went without saying she cared very much for Jazz and Prowl. She liked Mirage, too. She wasn't stupid; she knew this trip had its dangers. She would miss them when they were gone and she prayed they would all come back safely.

Even though she was trying to hide it, Jazz seemed to sense something was wrong. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to meet his optic band.

"I'll bring you back something pretty, okay?" he grinned.

Crystal smiled and wrapped both her hands around his. "Just come back, silly. That's all I want."

Jazz reclaimed his hand and saluted. "Yes ma'am! Anything the lady wishes."

Crystal shook her head. "Dork."

"Have a safe trip everyone," Bluestreak called. He put an arm around Crystal's shoulder as he waved them away.

Crystal, in turn, gave him a suspicious look and then managed to wave herself as the Autobots all climbed into the massive space shuttle called Omega Supreme and shut the door behind them. This was going to be an interesting week.


Even with space jumping, Cybertron was so far away that it was a two day journey. That was plenty of time to let both sides stop worrying about the shuttle launch and start worrying about preparing for the new arrivals.

On Earth, it was decided that Crystal would use the back cave of the Dinobots' lair whenever she needed to be completely invisible in the base. It took a while to explain to Grimlock what was going on and why she needed to stay hidden from this Ultra Magnus guy. In the end they weren't certain he understood it all, but he agreed that the Dinobots would let her stay in there for the week. Ultra Magnus would never have need to go that far into their caves.

With that decided, everyone else was working to make the place immaculate for the Autobot Commander's arrival under Optimus Prime's order. Everyone, that is, except Sunstreaker. He was wandering the base looking for their only female member when he was grabbed by the arm and yanked down a hallway. Sunstreaker found himself shoved against the wall with Crystal on her tiptoes so she could cover his mouth with her hand.

"Sh-h-h!" she warned, pressing all the body weight she could against him to stop the larger Autobot from fighting back. "I'm hiding."

"Mff mmmgh?" Sunstreaker demanded in a high voice against her palm.

Crystal gave him a warning look and then released his mouth.

"From what?" Sunstreaker repeated in a whispered voice. "You practicin'?"

In response, Crystal pressed flat against the wall and peeked around the corner. Sunstreaker stretched his taller frame over her to see what she was looking at. All he saw was Bluestreak looking a bit lost.

"He keeps following me around!" Crystal hissed. "Prowl, for some crazy reason, told him to watch out for me. Now he won't leave me alone!"

Bluestreak turned in their direction and both of them lurched back out of sight.

"Come on," Sunstreaker whispered, grabbing her hand. He pulled her further down the hall and they narrowly squeezed into a small closet and closed the door behind them right as Bluestreak passed by.

Crystal relaxed a little when he seemed to have left the area.

"Am I a bad person for hiding from him?" she asked.

Sunstreaker shrugged lightly. There was no light in the closet. It was too small to need one. The two of them barely fit if they pressed tightly together. The only source of light came from their optics and Crystal could just barely make out Sunstreaker's facial features in the dim blue light.

"Eh, Bluestreak's alright. He talks a lot but he's real straight up. Never will do a bot wrong. He's too damn happy all the time though," Sunstreaker added with a half frown. "Fragger sometimes gets on my nerves."

"I see." Crystal tried to shift, but it was hard to keep her balance in the small closet. She gasped as she fell forward against Sunstreaker. He was quick to catch them both before he fell over and the two froze, hoping the noise didn't give away their hiding place.

Everything stayed quiet.

"Hey," Sunstreaker whispered. "Just to let you know, I signed my bro and me up for detail duty on you this week. We're going to be like your secret service. Sound fun?"

"You got Sideswipe to agree to it?" Crystal whispered back.

Sunstreaker grinned. "He doesn't know about it yet."

"That's mean!"

"Hey, what's the point of having a little brother when I can't force him to do what I want him to?"

Crystal snickered to herself. Sunstreaker was still holding her tightly against him for support. It felt nice. She could press her cheek right against his spark chamber and feel its rhythm. She really liked that sound. She would press her audio to the chest of any Autobot all day if they would let her.

"Hey Sunshine," she then asked, "what does 'fragger' mean?"

Sunstreaker stiffened as his face fell. "Uh, that's a bad word. Don't ever say it, okay? Girls shouldn't use that kind of language."

"But you say it all the time. Come on, what's it mean?" Then she asked if it had similar meaning to an Earth swear that started with the letter F and Sunstreaker looked thoroughly scandalized to hear it come from her mouth.

"Come on, tell me! Teach me some good Cybertronian swears," Crystal insisted. She slid her tiny finger under his side armor and poked at the sensitive wiring underneath.

"Ack! Stop that!" Sunstreaker barked. He squirmed as if he was being half-tickled and half-injured and bumped against a shelf.

"There you are!" Bluestreak announced as he opened the door and revealed the two. His excitement about his find vanished when he noticed the predicament in the closet.

"What are you doing in here?" he demanded, directing the question at Sunstreaker who had his long limbs tangled around the small body pressed against him.

"What? I ain't doing nothing," the yellow Autobot insisted.

Bluestreak didn't look convinced and gave him an accusatory look. "I don't know. I think I'm going to have to tell Prowl when he gets back."

Crystal look confused. Tell Prowl what? Why?

But Sunstreaker's optics widened at the threat. "Don't be stupid! There's nothing to tell! I wasn't--" He backed up into the shelf behind him and something heavy fell from the top and beaned him in the head. Sunstreaker fell to the ground, thoroughly stunned while the other two stared.


Omega Supreme was a fitting name for Cybertron's largest Autobot. Even the gestalt teams could not overcome his size. His full power was felt as his massive shuttle form touched down on Iacon's widest landing pad.

A door on the shuttle opened and a thin ramp snaked out to the ground. There was a small reception party there to greet them as eight Autobots stepped out. Hoist, Grapple and Blaster were familiar, the other five Hot Rod did not recognize.

"Which ones are the seconds?" he whispered to Kup.

The older Autobot had met them before, thought it had been briefly and quite a while ago, before the Ark had taken off. "The two black and white ones in the front," he whispered.

Hot Rod looked them over dubiously. They didn't look like such hot stuff. They weren't the largest or most dangerous-looking Autobots Hot Rod had ever seen. They looked boring.

"They're not very big," he complained, not caring who heard." What's the deal about them? I still don't see why there needs to be two of them. One should be enough."

Kup elbowed him roughly in the gut. "If you don't shut up and start showing some respect I'll make sure you're off pulling menial grunt work until they're gone. Then you won't have to worry about what they look like."

Hot Rod stayed quiet as the group of Earth Autobots approached.

"Springer, my main man!" Blaster shoved through the newcomers to give the green Autobot a hearty handshake.

"Blaster, how was it on the mudball planet?" he grinned back.

"Not bad, not bad. It's my kind of place, man. You should hear the music they got down there. And the night life, woo! It's fun!"

"Really," Springer marveled. "Heh, maybe one day I'll get transferred."

Prowl approached Kup and saluted smartly.

"Autobot second-in-command under Optimus Prime, Earth Division, designation Prowl reporting."

Hot Rod stared. That was the most formal Autobot he had ever seen. Even Kup, who was a stickler for rules, didn't act like that. Optimus Prime must keep an extremely tight ship.

"To my left is my fellow second, Jazz."

"Yo."

"This is Windcharger. He's one of ours, but Ultra Magnus requested him."

"Right," Kup nodded to the mini bot. "The magnetic field. We're embarking on some large construction projects. It's good to have you back on the home planet. If you want to go with Hoist and Grapple, they can show you around and get you properly transferred in."

"Yes, sir," Windcharger nodded and followed the two into the base.

"This is our mechanical engineer, Wheeljack," Prowl continued. "And this is..."

"Bye Prowl, I'm outta here!" the blue Autobot called as he ran past them.

"Mirage!" Prowl barked back. "Don't go too far."

"I know, I'm on call," Mirage said as he transformed. "I'll keep my radio on."

They watched him speed away and Jazz looked back at Kup with a grin.

"He's excited to be here."

"Apparently," Hot Rod quipped.

"Mirage, he's the one with the invisibility field, correct?" Kup asked.

"Yes," Prowl confirmed. "You must excuse him; he has been very homesick."

"Boy, I bet he sure comes in handy," Springer said.

"Yes. He is an invaluable member to the team. He has wanted to see Cybertron for a while, but we've needed him too much to transfer him so we're letting him enjoy this vacation."

"That's perfectly fine. I'm sure we won't need him for anything. By the way, I'm Kup, the security director around here. This is Hot Rod and Springer. They'll be helping me out since Ultra Magnus and Red Alert are absent."

Prowl nodded. "Jazz and I will also be happy to help fill the gap. We are interested in learning as much as possible while we are here."

"And while you do that," Wheeljack poked his head in between the two seconds. "I'm going to hunt down my old lab and see what I can salvage from it and get some parts ordered for Cr.... you know that thing I'm working on."

Another nod. "Confirmed, you're free to go."

"Radio if you need anything," Wheeljack called as he ran off.

"Well, now that the pleasantries are out of the way," Kup announced. "Let's show you around and get you two to work."


Crystal was in the main surveillance room with Sunstreaker when the shuttle landed outside the Autobot base. She eagerly watched the monitor as brand new Autobots she had never seen before got out.

"That one's Ultra Magnus there," Sunstreaker pointed to the large blue Autobot shaking Optimus Prime's hand.

"He's huge!" Crystal exclaimed. "He might be bigger than Optimus Prime! Ask him to transform, I want to see what it looks like."

"I'm not going to ask him that out of the blue!" Sunstreaker argued. "I'll look like a weirdo!"

"Okay, fine. Who are these other guys?"

"Let's see... that one's Powerglide and there's Smokescreen and that one's Perceptor there."

"Who's the nervous little one being dragged out by the big red one?"

"That Red Alert. He's a bit jumpy as you can see. The other one's Inferno. I don't think he's staying. I think he's going back with Magnus. So are those other two blue ones: Beachcomber and Skids."

"What are you guys looking at?"

The two glanced to the side to see Bluestreak had appeared magically next to them.

Crystal inwardly sighed. How did you get rid of this guy? He would not stop following her around!

Sunstreaker, too, knew of this problem and was a bit irritated with it.

"You don't need to be here, Blue. Why don't you go outside and meet the new guys?" he demanded. "If you hang around us, you're going to blow our cover."

Bluestreak looked worried. "But... but Prowl said I needed to watch her..."

"Well Prowl's not here right now and Optimus Prime assigned me to that job so you can go."

Bluestreak's shoulders slumped and his door panels drooped a bit. "But..."

Sunstreaker pointed insistently at the door and Bluestreak finally trudged out.

"You think maybe that was a bit harsh?" Crystal whispered. "Now I kind of feel bad. Did you see his face?"

"Meh, he'll bounce right back. He's like that," Sunstreaker shrugged. "Don't worry about him."

"So what's his deal with Prowl? Does he have some kind of complex or something?"

"Well, Blue's kind of like Prowl's little brother."

Crystal paused. Even though they looked so much alike, she hadn't really put two and two together that they might be related. They acted so different.

"They're brothers? Like how you and Sideswipe are brothers?"

Sunstreaker looked a bit irritated at all the questions. "Uh, no. Not really like that."

"Then what--"

"We're going to have to talk about this later--" he cut her off. "They're going inside to do the base tour. We gotta book it to the Dinobots, come on." He grabbed her hand and they ran to the back of the base where the caves had been dug into the side of the volcano.

"Do you remember what we're going to do?" Sunstreaker asked the Dinobots as they looked blankly at him. Slag was growling at Crystal every time she tried to go into the caves.

"But I have to hide in here for the week," she insisted.

"No! That Slag's cave! No share!" Slag insisted.

"Crystal stay in this part," Sludge tried to help. "This Sludge part of cave. It go back far in the dark."

Crystal squinted at the shadow and stepped forward. The cave looked like it stopped because of the way the lack of light played on the walls, but it actually went a lot further.

"Oh that's perfect," Crystal praised and Sludge looked very proud of himself.

"Okay, so when Ultra Magnus or anyone asks what's in the cave, what do you say?" Sunstreaker prodded.

"We say no can look," Swoop said. "Crystal hiding in there."

Sunstreaker slapped his palm to his face.

"No, no. You can't mention her ever. You can't say anyone is hiding in the cave. If Ultra Magnus wants to go in you--"

"Me Slag say no can go in!" he roared. "Cave belong to Dinobots! No Autobots can have!"

"Excellent!" Sunstreaker gave the surliest of the Dinobots a thumbs-up. "That is what you say. Everyone say it like Slag." He tipped his head as a voice came over his radio. "Crud, they're coming. Crys, go hide."

Crystal's optics widened and she scrambled as deep into the cave as she could.

"Keep those optics off," Sunstreaker hissed at her before hurrying back to the mouth of the Dinobot's entrance.

He reached it just in time to see Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus round the corner. Sideswipe was at their heels. As Sunstreaker had said a few days before, he had volunteered him for Magnus duty and Sideswipe had insisted he would be on the end that watched Ultra Magnus' moves and to keep his yellow twin informed of his location. That suited Sunstreaker just fine. That meant he got to hang out with Crystal all day instead of doing real work.

"At the back end of the base," Optimus was saying as he led on, "we keep the Dinobots."

"Di-No-Bots?" Ultra Magnus wondered. The word was unfamiliar to him.

Optimus led them into the large room with dirt strewn on the floor from the caves. Ultra Magnus paused at the sight of the metal dinosaurs. Such creatures he had never seen before. Optimus approached the largest one, a lizard-esque creature that stood on two legs and had very dangerous looking teeth.

"This is Grimlock, the Dinobot leader. Grimlock, this is Ultra Magnus. He leads the Autobots on Cybertron."

Ultra Magnus was about to ask what exactly he was supposed to be when Grimlock transformed into his robot mode.

"Ah, there we go," Ultra Magnus nodded. "Very interesting alt mode, Grimlock. Very impressive."

"The Dinobots were built to give our forces more muscle," Optimus explained. "They were built here on Earth by our technicians. Their behavior is a bit different than what Autobots are used to. Their instincts are a bit on the primal side and they like to stay in their beast alt modes most of the time, but they are very good at doing their jobs and are a vital part of our team."

"So you Ultra Magnus live on Cybertron?" Grimlock wondered.

"Yes," Magnus nodded. "I have been on Cybertron most of my life. This is my first time here on Earth."

"Me Grimlock go to Cybertron before on accident. See deep in the planet. It not so great place."

Ultra Magnus just smirked at him. "Maybe you need a tour guide to show you around. If you ever drop by Iacon, I'll make sure you see Cybertron the way it was meant to be seen, okay?"

Grimlock rubbed his chin in thought. "Yes, me Grimlock think me do this sometime."

"Excellent," Ultra Magnus agreed. "I look forward to it."

Grimlock seemed pleased with Ultra Magnus and so was Optimus Prime. Truth be told, it had been a long time since they had worked together and he really wasn't sure how the Cybertronian Autobot would react to the Earth base. But he seemed to be doing quite well. Perhaps one day they would be able to trade command posts and he could, at last, begin sending his troops home.

"What is this back here?" Ultra Magnus then wondered as he noticed the caves.

"Those are just tunnels the Dinobots like to dig when they've got nothing to do," Sunstreaker answered. "Nothing big."

"Is there anything in there? How big are they?" Ultra Magnus wondered with pure curiosity. He started towards them and all the Dinobots stiffened. What was it they were supposed to say? And what was it they were not supposed to say? None of them could remember. And Slag wasn't even paying attention.

Snarl slapped Slag with his spiky tail.

"NO GO IN CAVES!" he roared automatically with his full fury. "THOSE DINOBOT CAVES! NOT FOR AUTOBOTS!"

Optimus had to pull Magnus out of the way as Slag spat fire in their direction.

"Uh, they're a bit territorial about certain things," Optimus tried to explain.

"Understood," Ultra Magnus nodded. "Everyone deserves their privacy. It was rude of me to pry. Forgive me. Please show me the rest of the base."

Everyone relaxed as they left and Crystal poked her head out.

"Boy, that was close," Sunstreaker sighed. "Hopefully that display will keep him from nosing around in this area." He turned and gave Crystal a crooked smile. "Just gotta keep it up for six more days."

"Fuuuuun," Crystal groaned. "I'm looking forward to it already..."


Ultra Magnus looked up when he heard a knock on his office door. After his tour around the base and meeting a few of the Ark's staff, he had been given an office where he could rest after his trip and work on the reports he planned to take back with him. The office, he was told, was usually used by Prime's two seconds when they were around. But they would be on Cybertron for the duration of his stay on Earth. Ultra Magnus was told he was free to use it as he wished and make himself at home.

It took him a while to find the command to open the office door.

"Come in."

Smokescreen casually walked in like he owned the place. But then again, that Autobot walked everywhere like he owned the place.

"Hey boss, how do you like it so far?" he asked as he nosed around the office. The place was still the way it had been the last time the blue Datsun had visited Earth. That was Prowl for you. He never changed a thing.

"It's a very interesting base of operations," Ultra Magnus responded. "It's small, but tight knit. Homey, even."

Smokescreen leaned against the desk. "Yeah well, when you got no other home to go to, you make what you can of what you got. But you're right. These Autobots have had no one but themselves to rely on for a while. They're tight. And while they seem to take new members easily, I wonder how easy it will be for them to leave their little nest they made here."

"They're still solders and fine ones at that. They'll be alright," Ultra Magnus insisted. "From what I gather, most are ready to leave, to see what Cybertron had become while they were gone."

"I'm sure Optimus Prime agrees with you or else he wouldn't have invited you down here. But there's still something going on here that doesn't seem quite right."

Ultra Magnus looked up, surprised he wasn't the only one that thought so. Smokescreen wasn't an overly paranoid bot by any extent. He had a nose for picking out things that didn't belong. It made him very good at his job. So when he said something was right, Ultra Magnus was all ears.

"How so?" he tested.

Smokescreen shook his head. "I'm not sure yet. But I can't shake the feeling that the base feels a bit more… guarded since the last time I came. Like Sideswipe. I don't buy that he's following you around to assist you or whatever Prime told you. It feels more like he's there to keep an eye on you. The guy's staking out your door right now."

"Really," Ultra Magnus said. "So it seems Optimus Prime is hiding something from me. Maybe even to the extent that this whole base is hiding something from all of us. Do you think that's something I should be worried about?"

"Worried? Nah. This is Optimus Prime we're talking about. He hardly has the spark for conspiracy. I doubt it's anything to be concerned about. It just makes me..."

"Curious?" Ultra Magnus finished with a smile.

"Doesn't it you?" Smokescreen grinned back.

Ultra Magnus gave a look that said he would be lying if he said no.

"Want me to look into it, boss, and see what I can find?" Smokescreen prodded, his optics flickering with intrigue.

"Don't stir up too much dust," Ultra Magnus warned. "And be discreet. We are guests here, after all. Just keep me posted."

Smokescreen saluted, grinning. "Yes, sir!"


A lone white and black Autobot stood atop one of the towers overlooking the Autobot base and Iacon, the main Autobot city, itself. He remained quiet and motionless as he looked over the landscape. Whatever he was thinking was kept internally and never showed on his face. His door panels twitched, however, when he felt someone stand behind him and he turned to see who it was.

"Good to be home, huh Prowl?" Jazz greeted as he joined him in front of the expansive glass window.

"It is our home, isn't it?" Prowl asked quietly. "It's where we belong."

Jazz remained quiet, sensing Prowl wasn't done.

"I don't think of it that much, Jazz. A base is a base to me and I think too much about running the internals than what it looks like outside the window. I had forgotten how different it feels to be in this city-- on this planet."

"Different like how?" Jazz asked. He had a feeling he already knew the answer. But he always liked hearing how Prowl put things.

"It feels... dead somehow," Prowl mused. "Bright, full of energy, but dead all the same. Nothing else lives here but us. Nothing else slithers or flies or grows or breathes. There's just us and the Decepticons. And that never seemed strange before. Now it feels a bit lonely."

Jazz grinned. "Lonely because you miss Earth and all its critters in general or lonely because there are certain individuals not here with you?"

Prowl gave him a sidelong glance, but didn't answer.

"I get what you mean," Jazz then said. "And I agree. But I like being home. It puts a little something extra in my spark to see this place again."

"I agree. It is still home after all."

"Makes me miss my Cybertron alt mode. I think when I get stationed here permanent, I'm going to get it back. The ladies couldn't keep their hands off my alt mode. It was sleek and sexy."

A hint of a smile tugged at the side of Prowl's mouth. "But who will fawn over it now?"

"Hey, there's still females out there. They're just not on the surface, is all."

"Indeed," Prowl agreed. "I keep wondering why that is. From the reports I've read, Cybertron doesn't see nearly as much Decepticon war activity as it used to. I wonder why they haven't come back up?"

"Because there's nothing left to come up for, maybe," Jazz mused, leaning forward to rest his arms on the rail. "Most of the cities are a mess, and the others have been turned into military bases." He stood up straight again. "Maybe that should be our goal when we finally get back here for good. We need to unite all the Autobots and work on getting this place more shipshape."

Prowl threw him another glance. "Now who is lonely?"

Jazz laughed. "I'm sure I'm not the only one. So what do you think of that tour we got? Quite an interesting experience. Is it just me or does being an Autobot seem like a whole different job these days than when we left?"

"It is. When Megatron disappeared with us, the Decepticon passion seemed to die down here. They were still trying to gain control, but the game here was different with Shockwave in charge. Megatron always used brute force to get what he wanted. Shockwave is more slippery. The reports say he has quite a few underground deals going on, not only on Cybertron, but with other planets as well. And that is the biggest difference for this planet between then and now.

"Earth will never have any close intergalactic relationships. Not even with Cybertron. It has its own galaxy; it's an island planet unto itself. They didn't even know there was life out there until we showed up. Our planet, however… we're on a galactic highway. And with those many millions of years, without Megatron blowing everything up, other cultures and planets have been doing deals with Decepticons and Autobots alike. Ultra Magnus is half military commander, half foreign affair expert. Being the leader of the Autobots is an entirely different job than it was before we left Cybertron."

Jazz was thoughtful for a moment. "Think we'll make good politicians, Prowl?"

Prowl frowned.

"Yeah, it's not for me, either," Jazz grinned. "You think the future Cybertron will still have some need for a couple of old soldiers like us after it's all over?"

Prowl continued to gaze out over the lights of Iacon. "It has always been my hope that it won't, Jazz."


It was night on Earth and heavily overcast. But even without exterior lights, Ultra Magnus noticed it was not dark outside. Snow was falling heavily from the sky, coating everything in a new blanket. Everything from the ground to the sky looked white and reflected the light all around, giving the landscape an unearthly glow.

Ultra Magnus had never seen a snowy night before. He had read about snow. He knew that Earth had seasons in many places and that it was now winter when he arrived. He knew the mechanics of Earth's atmosphere and the science of air pressure and temperature and precipitation. But it wasn't the same as seeing it with his own optics.

There was the sound of large feet in the snow behind him. His own footprints in the snow were the first time he had ever heard such a sound and he decided he would like to keep it in his memory banks.

"So what do you think so far?" Optimus Prime asked as he stood beside Ultra Magnus in the snow.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence before the blue Autobot responded. "I could have researched this planet for countless cycles more and still would not be prepared for it. As I understand it, during this time of their year, many living things sleep and wait for warmer weather. Even then, as soon as I stepped on this planet, I could feel the life all around me. It was as if the very Earth moved and breathed around me. It was a bit disconcerting at first. I've never felt so out of place before."

"I know what you mean," Optimus nodded as he clasped his hands behind his back and followed Ultra Magnus' gaze over the white countryside. "I remember when we first arrived here. The things we expected to be alive weren't and everything else was. It is indeed the very opposite of everything we are."

"And this," Ultra Magnus said in a soft voice. "The day is teaming with sound and life, but tonight, while this frozen, flaky matter falls, all sound is swallowed and hushed. I feel like I am breaking some protocol just for speaking out here."

Optimus made a sound of agreement and nodded his head.

"I am very glad you decided to come down and see this planet for yourself. I believe it is important for us to keep ties with Earth even if the Decepticons do eventually leave it, which I pray every day they do. And I also hope that you will agree after this week is over."

"I must admit, your invitation was intriguing, Prime, even if the request and everything about this trade seemed very suspicious." Ultra Magnus gave a sidelong glance at his leader. It was an invitation to explain himself, but Optimus Prime didn't take it.

"And yet you still agreed anyway, Magnus. Would I be correct in assuming that it is because Earth intrigues you?"

"Even if it didn't, I had to come," Ultra Magnus insisted calmly. "I needed to experience this feeling of being on this planet and to know what it's like to be surrounded by my own kind and feel like a stranger among them. More than anything, I want to understand what it will be like for you when you return home."


Megatron growled at the screen. Horrible Earth weather. It always interfered with their communications. Whatever Lazerbeak had recorded at the Autobot base, they had to wait for him to return before it could be seen instead of getting the feed live as during clear days.

"Well?" he asked impatiently as Soundwave went through the cassette's data in his chest.

"Suspicions confirmed," he warbled as he plugged into the main screen. "Galactic space shuttle stationed outside Autobot base. All data indicates shuttle itself is neither Autobot nor sentient."

"It's just a regular shuttle, is it?" Megatron scratched his chin in thought. "That may be useful to us. We may have to... emancipate it from the Autobots."

"Because Primus forbid you build your own," Starscream grumbled. That idea just sounded like more work and threat of getting blasted to him.

"Do YOU want to gather the material and then build me a space shuttle, Starscream?" Megatron challenged.

Starscream gave a lazy frown. He most certainly did not. He didn't even want to bring up the fact that it was near impossible to make a proper shuttle even with what they could steal. The humans just didn't possess the technology to get them past their own solar system.

"Lazerbeak reports shuttle held eight Autobots," Soundwave continued.

Several pictures flashed on the screen along with reports on each Autobot as he was identified by the information files within the Decepticon base. Megatron knew them all. They had been on Earth before. Save one.

"This Autobot, who is he?" he demanded as he jabbed a black finger at the large blue Autobot on the screen.

Starscream shook his head. It had been a very long time since he had worked under anyone other than Megatron. If his leader didn't know who it was, neither did he.

"I know him." Blitzwing stepped forward. He and Astrotrain, along with Dirge, Thrust and Ramjet had not been aboard the Ark when it had crashed. They had all joined the Earth Decepticon ranks after the space bridge had been built. The bridge had been destroyed by the Autobots a few years prior and they had not been able to rebuild it since.

"That's Ultra Magnus. He's the leader of the Autobots on Cybertron. Has been for a while," Blitzwing continued.

"Interesting...." Megatron mused to himself. "Why would Prime bring him to Earth?" He raised his voice, addressing his troops. "Decepticons, I think we should invest our time into acquiring a new space shuttle and I think it's time this Autobot commander knew the name Megatron."

To Be Continued...