Shockwave has completed the construction of his space bridge on Cybertron and has successfully bridged himself and six of his top engineers to Earth. With Megatron almost ready to begin the assault on Kansas city, final preparations are being made, including the construction of a space bridge receiver to allow Megatron to bring across vast legions of Decepticons and finally defeat Optimus Prime. However, the Autobots, now in contact with Cybertron, prepare to launch an assault of their own on the Decepticons as they prepare to build a space bridge receiver, but an unforeseen threat looms before Optimus Prime...
Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron and Shockwave were in contact with Straxus over the subspace communicator. "Lord Megatron, we are beginning final assembly of the prefabricated components in Polyhex and will begin transporting them to Kaon." Straxus reported.
"Excellent, Straxus. There can be no delays in the completion of this project." Megatron said, urgently. "The longer we wait, the longer the Autobots can be preparing a preemptive strike."
"I will see to it that the Autobots do not interfere with the delivery of the space bridge components to Kaon, Lord Megatron." Straxus replied.
"I would definitely hope so, for your sake, Governor." Megatron growled as he then signed off of the subspace communicator. Meanwhile, light years away, their transmission was being monitored by Blaster and his scouts. At a Decepticon communications relay post somewhere in Polyhex, Blaster was tapping into the Decepticon communications network, while Ramhorn, in his audio mixing board mode, was amplifying the signal and transmitting it back to Autobase Iacon. In the command center, Nightbeat and Ultra Magnus were analyzing the transmission.
"Hmm. The Decepticons are going for it. I'll mobilize a strike force to intercept." Ultra Magnus told Blaster.
"Right O, I'll stay here and keep monitoring Decepticon transmissions." Blaster replied and he signed off his communicator. Back at Autobase Iacon, Ultra Magnus assembled Nightbeat, Hosehead, Siren, Kup, Perceptor, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Mirage, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker, Red Alert, Brawn, Gears, Pipes, Flak, Sidetrack, Sunrunner, Big Shot, Silverbolt, Skydive, Air Raid, Fireflight, and Slingshot and soon were on their way out of Iacon in the Autobot flier Powerglide's drop ship. From Iacon, Ultra Magnus' plan was to intercept the Decepticons in an ambush on their way from Polyhex to Kaon in the Kaon Highlands, a rugged area of terrain through which the main road between Polyhex and Kaon passes through, which would be a tremendous, but no doubt a calculated risk. The dropship landed on a rugged cliff overlooking the road and Ultra Magnus and his Autobots disembarked.
"Powerglide, keep the ship on standby."
"Roger that, Magnus." Powerglide replied. Ultra Magnus then turned to Silverbolt.
"Silverbolt, help Kup and a team of Autobots over to the other side of the pass." He told him.
"Sure thing!" Silverbolt replied, enthusiastically as he changed to jet mode, then Kup and a few of the Autobots jumped onto their wings as they quickly flew over to the other side of pass, where there they hid, only occasionally peeking up from their hiding spots to look for signs of the Decepticon convoy. Several hours passed until Kup looked into his binoculars and he saw heading towards them a convoy of Decepticon transports with air support. It was roughly ten hover transports long with defensive gun batteries on both ends of the train, while armored gun carriers flanked it.
"Magnus, I see them. The convoy is coming!" He radioed Ultra Magnus. An air of suspense descended on the Autobots as they anticipated the battle to come. They knew that if the convoy reached Kaon, their friends on Earth would have no chance of defeating Megatron.
"On my signal, Kup..." Ultra Magnus replied. "Get ready, Autobots. Flak, take out their air support." The Autobots on both sides of the pass prepared to ambush the Decepticons. The convoy drew ever closer to the Autobots, waiting to pounce on them, until it was right beneath them. Flak took aim and the air Vehicons providing top cover were all blown out of the sky with a salvo of rockets. "ATTACK!" Ultra Magnus roared to the Autobots, and from both sides of the pass Ultra Magnus, Kup, and the Autobots leaped off of the cliffs overlooking the pass and began their attack on the convoy.
"Autobots!" Exclaimed a Vehicon before Brawn came crashing down on him, then Sideswipe landed next to him, deflecting fire from others and swiftly cutting them down, while Sunstreaker landed and fired a burst of lasers from his pistol. Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Nightbeat landed together and once the transport was cleared of Decepticons, they began to plan their strategy.
"They can rebuild more of the rest of these receiver components, but it'll take some time to replace the power core, and that's the part we'll destroy!" Perceptor then projected a diagram of the convoy's manifest, and on the last transport was the power core. "Kup, Nightbeat, put these charges on the core. We'll distract the Decepticons up front." Ultra Magnus quickly briefed the Autobots of the plan. On another transport, Flak and Trailbreaker landed and engaged the Vehicon security troops.
"Hey fellas, are you enjoying the ride?" Trailbreaker asked the guards, who then opened fire with their blasters, but the dark grey and red Autobot projected from his hands an amber energy shield, then Flak emerged from behind the shield whilst the Decepticons were busily firing at Trailbreaker and finished his question as he said,
"Because we're having a blast!" As he fired a precise blast of rockets which blew them to bits. Trailbreaker then turned to Flak and facepalmed at his quip.
"No, just...no." he muttered. Meanwhile, Silverbolt and his squad flew overhead, providing cover for their fellow Autobots as they attacked the defenses of the convoy. Silverbolt dropped strings of cluster bombs which blew apart one of the armored transports, while Fireflight shot a lick of flame which nearly melted through another's armor plating causing it to glow red hot.
"Hey Air Raid, now that this one's softened up, you wanna land the finishing blow?" He called to his friend.
"You know it!" Air Raid replied enthusiastically, then he fired a missile which punched straight through the red hot metal and detonated inside the transport, blasting it to pieces in a shower of sparks. Kup and Nightbeat saw this as they fought their way to the back of the convoy to the power core. They finally arrived on the last transport which housed the power core for the receiver.
"Autobots! Stop them!" Shouted a Vehicon sergeant as his squad opened fire, but Kup and Nightbeat quickly dispatched them. They then laid their receptors on the power core.
"A hypermatter reactor core. One little spark, and till all within a hundred megamile radius are one." Nightbeat said, grimly.
"Get your transmission in drive and help me set these charges, kid!" Kup barked, and the two Autobots quickly armed and set the charges. On the lead hover transport of the convoy, a Vehicon reported to Onslaught,
"Sir, Autobots are attacking! They came out of nowhere and are over running the convoy! They're splitting up, some are coming to the front, and the others are going to the back-to the power core. "
"Inform the rest of the security detail to disengage and fall back to the last two transports. The Mayhem Attack Squad and I will lure them into a trap. Perhaps the Autobots will surrender with their friends in danger." Onslaught replied.
"Yes sir!" The Vehicon said, obediently. Onslaught and his Mayhem Attack Squad had been tasked by Straxus to protect, the convoy of space bridge reciever components on their way to Kaon, which would be bridged over to Earth for Shockwave to assemble. Across the convoy, Vehicons fighting the Autobots were informed and they disengaged.
"What's happening?" Wondered Kup as he blasted one with his shotgun, sending it flying off the side of the transport and disintegrating.
"Autobots, regroup at my position. We've got to concentrate our attack on the command transport!" Ultra Magnus radioed the rest of the Autobots. Heeding his orders, the other Autobots spread out across the transports which compromised the convoy converged on Ultra Magnus' position on the fourth transport from the front, and while they were, Perceptor took his time to analyze the space bridge components for himself. The Autobots then regrouped with Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Nightbeat and they then continued to advance to the command transport, but Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad were waiting for them. The third transport was empty, but they reached the last two, the Decepticons launched a fierce counterattack. Vehicons jumped out from behind crates and boxes and opened fire on the Autobots as they were joined in the counterattack by Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad.
"Destroy them!" Onslaught roared to the Decepticons as a firefight broke out. Onslaught charged forward and tackled Ultra Magnus. "Ultra Magnus! You were...bothering me!" He murmured as the two hefty warriors slugged it out. Ultra Magus threw a quick sequence of punches, knocking Onslaught off of him so that he could get up, then he grabbed his hammer and prepared to strike, but the Decepticon general recovered and grappled with him, then Ultra Magnus headbutted Onslaught away. "Face it, Magnus, you've lost! When Lord Megatron gets this space bridge receiver on Earth, the Autobots are finished! Optimus Prime will stand no chance!" Onslaught taunted Ultra Magnus arrogantly.
"Not if I have anything to say about it! Kup, hit the charges!" Ultra Magnus smirked. Kup followed his commander's order and pressed a button on a remote detonator, but nothing happened. There was no explosion.
"Kup, what just happened?" Ultra Magnus asked, somewhat worried.
"I don't know!" Kup replied, frantically as he mashed the button multiple times.
"Stupid Autobots! Your puny little bombs won't stop us! Destroy them!" Onslaught shouted, then the Vehicons turned to the Autobots and opened fire. Ultra Magnus and the Autobots ran back across the convoy and quickly regrouped.
"Kup, Nightbeat, hold the Decepticons back. Trailbreaker, follow me." Ultra Magnus said. Trailbreaker followed Ultra Magnus as he ran to the back of the convoy.
"Stop them!" Onslaught called to the Decepticons, but Kup replied,
"Oh, no you don't! Take 'em!" The Autobots opened fire and a firefight ensued as the Autobots fought to keep the Decepticons at bay. In the chaos, Onslaught ran after Ultra Magnus and Trailbreaker to stop them. The two Autobots scrambled to the back of the convoy and onto the last transport. Ultra Magnus was about to blast the energy coupling between the two transports when Onslaught roared up to them in his tank mode with his turret guns blazing. Trailbreaker quickly projected a force field over himself and Ultra Magnus to stop the blasts, then he smashed into the shield, knocking him back. Trailbreaker then set to work as he tried to hack into the locks to the stabilizing clamps holding the power core down, but it was no good.
"Scrap!" He growled. Onslaught finally got up and he battled Ultra Magnus. Each opponent landed brutal punches against one another, until Ultra Magnus grabbed his hammer and swung it, smashing the Decepticon general away, buying him enough time to then blast the energy coupling and the transport floated away from the rest of the convoy. Then, Trailbreaker finally was able to unlock the clamps.
"Magnus, I got it!" He exclaimed. Ultra Magnus then took two missiles off his shoulder pods and attached them to the power core, then with a wrist control panel he activated the missiles' thrusters, which rocketed the power core into the air. The Autobots and Decepticons, in their fighting, paused as they saw it flying into the sky.
"No!" Onslaught shouted, and Ultra Magnus then pressed another button on his wrist, detonating the missiles. A blinding light burst in the sky as the power core exploded and a shower of sparks and debris twinkled down.
"Autobots, mission accomplished!" Ultra Magnus radioed all of the Autobots. The Autobots quickly retreated as they jumped off of the convoy and changed to vehicle mode, then drove to Ultra Magnus and Trailbreaker's position.
"We did it! WE DID IT!" Kup cheered as he transformed to robot mode. The Autobots then threw a party for their accomplishment, but had no idea that their troubles had only just begun...
The space bridge opened up aboard the Nemesis and through it came the space bridge receiver components, where Megatron and Shockwave came to oversee their delivery. Onslaught and the Mayhem Attack Squad carried them through.
"Onslaught, despite the loss of the receiver's power core, I trust the rest of the receiver components have arrived safely intact, have they not?" Megatron purred.
"Y-Y-Yes, Lord Megatron." Onslaught replied, sheepishly.
"Excellent. Shockwave, begin assembly of the space bridge receiver immediately." Megatron said as he turned to his special projects officer.
"As you command, Lord Megatron." Shockwave replied, obediently. He then sent a transmission on a private frequency to Archforce.
"Archforce, the protocol will activate in 72 hours." He murmured.
"Affirmative, commander." Archforce replied, signing off. However, the two's transmission was not as confidential as they thought as Soundwave monitored all transmissions on the ship...