Author's Note: Yes, that's right: new Update! Sadly, no Autobots in this Chapter, or Scourge and Cyclonus; but rather, you're going to meet my human OCs that work for NASA. Yeah...they're kinda limited to this Chapter...for now *evil grin*. Plus, just a little insight on ol' Thunderwing. Wonder how well it will go once the big guy reaches Earth...that should be quite Chapter to write when the time comes ;). Well, hope you enjoy and please R&R to let me know what you think! :)

Oh, and before I forget:

Vorn: 83 years or one Cybertronian year

Breem: 8.3 minutes

Solar Cycle: one day or when Cybertron's sun complete's its cycle across the sky

/Unicron is in your mind/

::Comm. link:: -Designation of speaker

Reply to Reviews:

Galem: I know...evil Thunderwing. He isn't really my favorite either, but he makes a great servant for Unicron considering how Cyclonus and Optimus broke their hold. But don't worry, Thunderwing won't get away with much ;).

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers in any shape or form; I only love to write about them. However, the OCs John, Alex, and Greg are my own as well as the plot.

Chapter 14

"Sir, I believe you need to see this," a man in his mid-twenties, with a ruddy hair color and chocolate brown eyes, called over his shoulder before returning to the computer screen. The screen's light reflected off said young man's wire-framed glasses while he studied the data that was being fed into the computer. Everything was off the charts. Readings spiked, info streamed into the computer's HUB at a rather rapid rate, occasional alerts interrupted his thorough study of the data. What was going on up there to make Cassini fritz so?

The thought barely formed in his mind before a firm hand was placed on his shoulder and a head appeared in the corner of his vision. The young man didn't even have to turn his head to know that it was his 'boss.' "Whatcha got there, Wilkins?" the middle-aged man asked in a shallow baritone voice while he too studied the computer screen.

John Wilkins snapped back into his attentive state as he pointed to the information appearing rapidly. "Cassini is sending data that is off the charts. The RAD scales are blowing through the roof, not to mention the geometric ratings it's calculating and transferring through the data line," he explained quickly, frowning as he swiveled his head to face his 'boss.' "What do you suggest, sir?"

"Erase the files and reboot Cassini's main HUD. Must be a glitch in her mainframe," the middle-aged man said with a shrug as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"But…shouldn't we dig into this? Sir, it's calculating a new mass. Not Saturn or any of its moons, a new body," John protested, his eyes practically pleading behind the glass of his glasses.

"Like I said: probably just a glitch. Just erase the data line and-"

"Aw, come on, Alex. It won't hurt anything to let the kid poke around for fun, let him discover for himself how machines like that can make simple mistakes and need to be reprogrammed," another man piped up as he strode casually to the middle-aged man's (apparently known as Alex) side. Alex gave the visitor a withering look before letting his gaze drop back down to the expectant young man staring back up at him. Poke around for fun…honestly, Gregory, this is NASA; we do not 'poke around for fun' for a single kid's sake, Alex groaned to himself, tempted to tell the other man the same. However, he only gave huff before gruffly saying "Fine" and walking off. The man, known as Gregory or 'Greg', smiled triumphantly before pulling over a chair and plopping down next to John. "Well, kid. Let's see what ya' got," Greg stated joyfully as he leaned a bit closer to the screen. John smiled enthusiastically before he began madly typing on the keyboard.

"Well, since Cassini is calculating a new mass, let's see what it looks like. Maybe I can pull up a live video feed too!" John practically cheered, not even looking up from his work. Greg once again smiled in victory. He really made this kid's day and he stopped Alex from obliterating all the fun like he normally did. Besides, Greg had to admit, what the kid was telling him sounded pretty interesting; if it was true, of course. However, Greg kept reminding himself that the satellite could possibly be glitching, like Alex said. Man, that would be a disappointment. "Greg, I got it!" John exclaimed, yanking Greg from his thoughts and back to the computer screen. Sure enough, the kid was able to pull up a live video feed of what Cassini was observing.

And the air practically whooshed out of him.

Slowly, but surely, the video spread across the computer screen and began to play Cassini's observations. Saturn's orangey looking surface was easily distinguishable to the far right, but Greg was focusing on the huge mass (which vaguely reminded him of a planet for some reason) that stood out like a sore thumb on the rest of the screen. Twisted, jagged, spiked metal jutted out in spirals and odd formations on the planet's surface, highlighted by the faint glow of the orange ring that circled the strange place. An indent on the planet's surface was obvious and much smoother compared to the rest of the planet's surface. And, even through the static that filtered through the video feed, Greg could make out the deep rumbles that seemed to be emitting from the planet.

"Dear God…" Greg muttered as he stared in a mixture of shock, fear, and admiration; mostly fear, though. He ignored John's pestering questions and turned back towards Alex's general direction. "Alex, you need to get over here ASAP." Alex paused his conversation with some tall, lanky man and briskly walked over to Greg and John, the lanky man following in pure curiosity.

"What's going on? Are you still tampering with Cassini?" Alex asked, anger flaring on the last sentence. Greg pursed his lips and a grim expression dawned on his face.

"Just look at the video. Now," Greg practically demanded as he stepped away, John following suit as he pushed his chair away from the desk to allow Alex more room. Alex cast both men a skeptical look before bending down to glance at the screen. He stared for a long time, taking in every bit of information from the video. It was a good five minutes until Greg finally cleared his throat, drawing Alex's attention. The middle-aged man showed little expression, only frowning deeply with concern. His voice was stern as he ordered his next command.

"Get Morshower on the line. I think he's gonna wanna see this."

General Morshower honestly did not know what the urgent call from NASA was all about, considering the man he spoke to, Alex Reynolds, wouldn't share much with him. Just that he needed to see this with his own eyes and that he needed to see it immediately. Morshower could think of several things he could be doing instead of walking into a secluded office room with three other men standing in the room. One man had reddish hair with deep brown eyes, wired-framed glasses shielding said eyes, while standing attentively and not meeting his gaze. The man next to him was shorter than the man before, with dark hair trimmed short and electric green eyes that stared into his own defiantly and seriously. And finally, there was the middle-aged man who also had black hair, which was beginning to gray. He had a authority-like demeanor to him and a pair of piercing black eyes that seemed to bore right into him. Well this was an interesting group he had before him.

"General Morshower," the middle-aged man greeted emotionlessly while proffering his right hand. "I am Alex Reynolds. I am the one who has called you here today to share something rather…disturbing, with you." Morshower accepted the hand with his own right hand, shaking it firmly before releasing his hold. So this was the man whom he spoke to. His voice certainly matched his demeanor: stern and demanding, with a slight graveness that implied that his life has not been the easiest.

"Well, Mr. Reynolds, I hope that you can offer me something worth my time," Morshower commented, adding a slight joking tone to it that apparently went unnoticed. The red-haired man winced while the dark-haired man frowned. That reminded him… "And who are these two?" Morshower asked, nodding in the general direction of the two men standing in the room. The dark-haired, green-eyed man spoke first.

"Gregory Finch, General, sir," Gregory introduced himself, trying to uphold his calm and somewhat intimidating stature, even though, he wasn't doing it to well. Morshower nodded his understanding before looking expectantly over at the red-haired, brown-eyed man. He nervously met his gaze.

"The n-name's John. John Wilkins…s-sir," John stuttered while holding out his right hand shakily. Morshower gripped it firmly and shook it before releasing and returning his attention back to Alex.

"So what is it that you have called me here for?" Morshower asked. Alex said nothing, but rather, set off to work as he started typing on a laptop that he just now realized was sitting on the table. Morshower walked over to his side, watching as Alex's fingers flew across the keyboard. Silently he wondered what this man was pulling up that he simply couldn't just tell him over the phone. Was it something truly serious or a minor problem that wasn't worth his time? He hoped it wasn't the latter, for everyone's sake.

Alex straightened from his stooped position and gestured towards the screen. Now it was Morshower's turn to stoop and watch as some video feed appeared on the laptop screen. Morshower, puzzled, stared at the hulk of metal that took up the majority of the screen, a single orange ring wrapping around it and glowing faintly. "And I am looking at…?" Morshower trailed off, unimpressed by the image and already figuring this was a waste of his time.

"This is a video image from Cassini's HUB!" John piped up, cowering slightly when Morshower directed his attention to him. "C-Cassini is the s-satellite that orbits Saturn, s-s-sir. But then Cassini started picking up RAD readings and calculating a-another mass besides Saturn and its moons. And that" - he pointed to the computer screen - "appeared when I p-pulled up the link. S-sir, I think its alive."

Extended silence followed John's nervous stuttering, increasing said young man's anxiety. Morshower stared at him for a moment, then to the screen, and back again. Alive? The General started to piece the information together in his head as he stood there. Hulking mass of metal, alive, disrupting a satellites orbit and possibly programming? The results didn't add up well. Immediately, Morshower started mentally rescheduling his day so he could make room for the call he was about to make to a very distressed Prime. That was not going to be a pleasant conversation.

Turning back to the men in the room, Morshower gave a single nod. "Thank you, gentlemen. I appreciate you reporting this to me, and I will take it out of your hands; and any copies of this video…I would highly appreciate if you deleted those files. If anything else pops up on the same matter, don't hesitate to contact me again," Morshower said in a 'farewell' manner while pulling out the flash drive from the laptop before turning towards the exit. However, he didn't make it far before a voice spoke up behind him.

"General, may I ask what this means?" Morshower turned his body slightly so he could see the speaker. It was Gregory, taking a step forward so he could be noticed. His electric green eyes stared defiantly into his own, almost demanding that he be given an answer. Morshower turned back towards the door giving a soft sigh.

"To be honest, I really don't know. But what I fear, gentlemen," - Morshower then turned completely around, giving a grim look to all three men - "is that war is upon us." And with that, General Morshower left, leaving the three men in utter silence. Greg didn't move an inch from his position, staring at the now open doorway that the General had just used for an exit. War? How could a metal, possibly alive, planet mean war? Was there something more to the video that he was missing but the General had seen? Obviously.

Alex stepped towards the table, closed the laptop, and shoved it into Greg's hands. "You heard the man: go delete the files from the systems and don't let anybody near Cassini's memory files or video feeds. I'm leaving this responsibility in your hands, as well as John's. Don't mess it up." And with that, Alex strode out of the room and left the remaining two men to themselves. Greg faced John and jerked his head towards the door.

"Ya' heard the boss. Let's get this done…" Greg ordered, a little disheartened. It was like they were left in the dark, after all of the work they did; after they had discovered this seemingly disturbing news. So didn't they have a right to know as well? Apparently Morshower saw differently and Alex could care less.

John hastily took the lead and led them back into the room where they had discovered the video feed and back to John's work station. They both sat down in front of the computer console and John began the process of retrieving and deleting selected information. Greg couldn't help but feel the sense of disappointment, dread, and odd sense of betrayal that ached in his heart. Part of him wanted to keep the information and study it, find out what this whole situation was about, but another part of him knew it was wrong. And as soon as Alex found out about what he was doing, nothing would go down well. He would just have to let it slide and move on in life…or…

"Hey Johnny. How about you go put this laptop back in storage and I'll finish up here," Greg suggested, not even waiting for John's reply before shoving the laptop in said young man's hands. John study the sleek black laptop for a moment before shrugging and walking off to do what he was told. Greg waited until John was out of sight before digging a spare flash drive out of his pocket and plugging it into the computer. Just a peek wouldn't hurt anyone; he just needed to satisfy his curiosity. An opportunity like this wouldn't come just any day. Greg just needed the comfort of knowing, that's all.

Just a peek.

/Thunderwing…/

He cherished the sound of his master's voice echoing in his mind; a dark, satisfying pleasure that he couldn't quite figure out. Maybe it was just the excitement of finally being summoned after all these vorns. To be needed again to complete a task that his master left solely for him to accomplish. Yes, that must be why he enjoyed hearing his master's calling. It was reasonable, and that was convincing enough for him.

The massive Decepticon began to online systems that had remained dormant for many vorns, stretching the old wires and letting the energon flow through his circuits. It felt so good to move again; vaguely he wondered how it would feel to fight again, to rejoin battle. Hopefully he would be able to accomplish this feat during whatever mission his master had in store for him.

/Yes my master…?/ Thunderwing rumbled back, even though, his deep tone was no match to that of his master. The words drifted into an echo in his mind, hanging unanswered. Thunderwing took this advantage to experiment with his now online and rebooted systems. Battle computers, logic centers, and motor relays were active and ready for use within his processor, and his transformation cog, which hadn't been used during his period of dormancy, whirred to life. His spark thrummed powerfully within his chassis and the energon moved easily through his entire frame, refreshing his systems with the life-giving source. Everything was running smoothly, despite the lack of use.

/Ah, Thunderwing, my humblest servant; you have awakened from your slumber. I have a task for you. Are you willing to comply?/ His master finally responded after the extended pause, again bringing Thunderwing strange glee. So it was a task that his master had called him to complete…his master never failed to excite him, strangely enough.

/I'm at your command, master. Whatever you wish for me to do, I will accomplish it with great success./ Thunderwing accepted. Already, the large Decepticon was observing and calculating his position; and judging by the decently strong connection he and his master had to each other, they were only a few solar cycles away at least. And as long as his alternative form was working properly, he had no doubts he could arrive at his master's side in half the time. A deep, slow chuckle interrupted his calculations.

/I know you will, Thunderwing. That is why I chose you to complete the task at hand. I need something of great importance to hold a rather…fragile artifact of mine…/ - briefly, an image of a silver dagger-looking object, encasing a ball of purple energy flashed through Thunderwing's processor - /and I need you to retrieve the one that will defend this artifact./

/And who might that be, master?/ Thunderwing asked as he transformed into an armored, powerful space jet mode. The engines sputtered a couple of times before flaring to life with a thunderous roar, making Thunderwing grin inwardly. His alternative mode still worked flawlessly despite the lack of use, thank the Destroyer. Just as he started to make his way through the endless dark void, his master spoke again, this time clipping the his words.

/Megatron./ His master rumbled. For some reason, Thunderwing felt a sense of disappoint to discover that the Decepticon leader would be guarding this…artifact…instead of himself. But he could not defy his master, and he did not know what the big picture to this plan was, so Thunderwing had no right to complain, only comply to the order.

/It will be done, my master. If you will provide me the coordinates, I will return to you with success./ Thunderwing replied, waiting for the information his master would more than likely send; and once again, he was correct. The coordinates downloaded into his central HUB and he began to calculate the location, the distance, and the time it would take to arrive there. In less than a breem, Thunderwing deciphered that the coordinates led to an inhabited organic planet called Earth. It would take him roughly two solar cycles to reach Earth if he maintained high speeds, but he knew it would deplete his energon levels rather quickly…however, it was a risk he would have to take for his master. He must reach Earth and retrieve Megatron with success. And nothing would stand in his way.

Nothing.

...Well, it appears that Greg didn't want to be temporary. Great... Ok, so we might see him again, the idiot who decided to take classified information...seriously, how does he think he will get away with it? Well, I guess we will find out soon enough...until next time, dear readers...