AN: I do not own Transformers nor Halo.

Guess what guys and girls, we've only got 6 more chapters (give or take) until we start on Revenge of The Fallen. I'm pretty excited to start writing on it and I hope you are just as excited to read it. I've got a lot of stuff planned for those chapters dealing with the second Transformers movie including a lot of heartbreak. I'm not sure if I'm completely prepared for all this heartbreak myself, but I'm going to trudge on through it for you guys.

Now, let's get into this chapter.

Storm jolted up from the warm comfort of her bed, startled awake by loud noises originating from just outside of her quarters. It was an un-welcome surprise.

She groaned out in annoyance, rubbing the sleep from her eyes before standing up from her bed. Storm proceeded to walk over to the empty dresser of her bare, monochromatic room, grabbing her hairbrush from off it's surface. The small, plastic, human-made object was the only possession of her's that resided at NEST.

She took her long hair down from it's bun, brushing it thoroughly. Her hair was a mess frankly and it was her fault. It's what she had earned herself in forgetting to brush through it before falling asleep thanks to her severely exhausted state.

Once finished, she placed her hairbrush back in it's former spot as she phased on her personal armor, doing so minus her protective mask before setting off towards the door to her quarters. As she placed her armored left hand on her doorknob, she could only think of how much she still wished to be asleep. She was still very much exhausted from the day prior.

However, she pushed back her thoughts, opening the door door to her quarters with much reluctance. What she saw when she opened the door was equal parts unexpected and surprising. Lennox was standing before her, seemingly just as surprised as she with his hand raised out in-front of him in preperation to knock on her door.

Storm tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes at Lennox with confusion. What was he doing at her quarters so early? "Uh, hello to you too, Lennox."

The NEST Major laughed nervously in response to Storm's greeting, backing away from her door in order to allow her room to exit from her quarters.

Storm exited now having the space to do so, shutting the door behind her before turning back around to face Lennox whom had begun to speak to her. "Hey, Stormy."

Storm crossed her arms over her chest. She was suspicious. The NEST Major seemed to have something he wished to say and she assumed it was associated with his unexpected early arrival to her quarters in order to wake her. "What are doing here so early, Will?"

Lennox smiled at Storm as he answered her question. "Important buisness. Walk with me and I'll explain on the way."

Storm glanced back towards The Warden whom was standing in the hangar and he nodded to her, a silent gesture which she understood completely. He had heard her coversation with the NEST Major. She had wished to spend her day with the Promethean hive-mind due to her busy schedule which had kept her from doing so but it seemed fate had other plans. She nodded back towards The Warden before walking off beside Lennox.

The pair walked for a few moments before Lennox spoke up, explaining to her what he had confinscated her for as promised. "I know you probably had other plans, but we have new recruits arriving to base within a few hours. Ironhide has agreed to train them against the Decepticons and I was wondering if you wouldn't want to help him."

Storm turned her head to face Lennox, scoffing to him in a joking manner as they continued to walk. "Yeah, as if that egotistical aft-pipe would want my help. He'll probably just want me out of the spotlight so that he can impress the new recruits."

Lennox barked out a laugh upon hearing Storm's insults that were aimed towards the Autobot weapon's specialist. In some ways, he felt she was right in that aspect. "Well, there's another thing I need to mention...the recruits have no idea about you, the Autobots, or The Prometheans."

What Lennox had said caused Storm to stop abruptly in her place, looking to Lennox with an expression of disbelief. This was a disaster in the making. "What do you mean they have no idea? If they are coming here then I think it'd make sense for them to know of our existence."

Lennox felt as Storm did. It wasn't the most desired situation, but unfortunately it was the way things currently were. "Thanks to the government, they don't have the clearance to know that you guy's exist until their feet touch the tarmac."

Storm sighed heavily whilst rolling her eyes. While she did not agree with with the humans in this aspect, seeing no point in lying, she understood their point of view. If the recruits blew the metaphorical whistle before arriving then it would cause an issue of national security. "Well, I can kind of understand the government's point of view. We wouldn't want any excited humans letting it slip that aliens exist. It would cause an uproar of epic proportions."

Lennox nodded to Storm in agreement with her statements as he waved a hand at her, a gesture for her to continue following him to which she obliged. The existence of the Autobots along with Storm and The Warden Eternal was of the highest level clearance and as of right now, the new recruits were at the lowest end of this spectrum until they stepped foot on base.

The NEST Major led Storm over into a storage hangar and she glanced around it's entirety. It was a wreck. It looked as if the inside of the hangar had been torn apart by a tornado in the attempt to clean it, most likely for the new recruits and their arrival. "Well, at least I know what all that noise was that had woken me up."

Lennox chuckled at Storm's statements. "Yeah, we've been working all morning. Would you like to help us out? We could use all the help we can get right now, honestly."

Storm pondered the idea for several moments before shrugging her shoulders, phasing away her personal armor before activating the camouflage response of her combat skin to make her appear human. "Sure. It's not like I have anything better to do."

The Forerunner's actions perplexed the NEST Major. He looked to Storm with confusion, his voice betraying this emotion once he spoke. "Uh, Storm? Why did you remove your armor?"

She turned to face Lennox, crossing her arms over her chest as she spoke which caused the man to laugh. Her actions were amusing to him in how similar they were to Optimus', one that the alien leader's shared in common. "Because, I have a feeling I'm going to be here for awhile and if the new humans arrive before this hangar is cleared out then I don't want to scare them with my appearence."

Lennox sympathized with Storm as he understood her reasoning. She was considerate of the other humans and their emotions. It was something he admired. After all, it was quiet a shock for him when he had first saw Storm and her true appearance, something he would have preferred a cushioning blow from. It had taken him awhile for him to adjust to her two-toned eyes and grey skin, not to mention her elongated canines that made her appear animalistic in nature. "That makes sense. Anyways, I guess we'd better get this done. We only have an hour and a half to clear out this hangar."

Storm smirked to Lennox, one eyebrow raised playfully as she began to pick up boxes for removal from the hangar. "Well, get your scrawny-aft over here. I'm putting you to work, Major."

Lennox barked out a laugh, playing along with Storm's joking demands as he began picking up boxes alongside her. "As you order, my Queen."

Storm couldn't resist the laughter that bubbled up within her upon hearing the NEST Major's response. She belted out in laughter, struggling to continue cleaning out the hangar due to her overwhelming emotions. However, she pushed on, working dilligently with Lennox as well as the rest of the soldiers within the hangar.

The large group had worked fast, surprisingly, Storm proceeding to grab some of the last of the boxes around her before bringing them out of the hangar with her as a military transport flew overhead, landing on the runway of the NEST base before coming to a stop. It seemed that the recruits had arrived exactly on schedule, doing so at just the right moment as the hangar was now for the most part cleared out.

She set the boxes she held down at her feet, watching with curiousty as Lennox walked out to meet the new recruits whom were now filing out onto the tarmac from their transport plane. The NEST Major began yelling out orders to the surprisingly large group of humans, earning him a well-timed salute of respect from the lot of them.

Lennox barked out another order and the humans relaxed, listening intently to the man as he began to speak, presumably informing them as to why they were at NEST minus the most important details. Those involving her and the Autobots.

Storm reluctantly set off towards Lennox, suddenly feeling a rush of nervousness hit her. She had thought herself prepared for this. However, it seemed this was not the case. She breathed in deep, attempting to calm herself before she reached Lennox's side.

Once beside the NEST Major, she began wiping her hands against each other in order to remove the dust and grime from them she had accumulated from the many boxes. She ignored the many stares she was receiving, turning to face Lennox with a smile as she spoke to him. "The hangar is cleared out just as you asked, Major."

Storm was not oblivious to the look of confusion she had received from Lennox due to her calling him by his formal designation though she had done this for a reason, making note to show respect towards the man before the new recruits as an example.

She ignored the look of confusion, turning her gaze towards the humans before her. This only served to make her feel more anxious. They were all colectively staring at her and their expressions were all different. Some of them looks of confusion, others of anger. She looked down to herself, assuming that the stares she was receiving were for her seemingly civilian appearence as civilians were strictly prohibited on NEST.

However, this was not the worst of the situation. As she scanned the crowd, taking in their expressions, she recognized a face in the crowd. It was one she was less than pleased to see. The famiiar face belonged to that of Trent DeMarco. She sneered visibly at him and it seemed the man had taken notice of this as he was now giving her an infuriated look, his eyes filled with fire and emotion.

Lennox did not miss this interaction. He layed a hand on Storm's shoulder, drawing her attention to him. It was obvious by his expression that he was concerned for her though she did not need it. She had dealt with Trent once. It would not be impossible for her to do so again.

She simply waved off the NEST Major's concern and the man turned his gaze back towards the recruits, gesturing to them with his free hand as he spoke. "Alright everyone, follow me. We'll debrief you and then get you set up in your new quarters."

After saying this, Lennox turned around and walked off, bringing Storm with him. He kept his hand on her shoulder the whole walk back towards the hangar they had cleared out together as a gesture of comfort. He could only assume that this situation was a stressful one for her, especially given her reaction to one of the soldiers minutes earlier.

As they entered into a hangar, Storm took immediate notice of the Autobots that were already there waiting for them. The sight of them comforted her, easing her anxiety and anger if only slightly.

Lennox led her over towards the Autobots and they stopped a short distance away from them. She turned around with Lennox to face the recruits once he'd removed his hand from her shoulder. The NEST Major looked to Storm and she nodded to him in agreement, understanding that he was looking for her permission and if she was ready.

Once again, her anxiety began to surface as Lennox spoke. "Alright. I'm sure you're all curious as to why you're here given the lack of disclosure before your departure. I, as well as the woman beside me, are about to inform you why."

Lennox turned to Storm, nodding to her as implication for her to continue for him. She sucked in a deep breath, crossing her arms over her chest as she took a few steps forward towards the group. She pushed back her anxiety, taking on a stance of confidence as she spoke. "You have all been brought here to NEST for intensive training. We aim to give you the skills to help fight against a collective enemy to us all. The Decepticons."

Upon hearing this, the recruits collectively looked to Storm with confusion and suspicion. She could only think in that moment that perhaps her being truthful and blunt was not the way to go about this. However, it was already too late.

A male soldier raised their hand for permission to speak and Storm granted it, nodding to him in affirmation. "What are the Decepticons?"

Storm began to pace back and forth as she responded to the human male, her anxiousness far too much for her to stand still. "There is no way to put this simply, but we are not alone in the universe. The Decepticons are part of an alien race designated "Cybertronians"...Almost two years ago, they came to Earth, looking for an all-powerful ancient relic of their civilization which had crash landed on this planet. Their leader, Megatron, is dead. Their forces crumbled. However, they still reside here, now possessing a grudge against the entirety of the human population. This is why you-"

Trent spoke up suddenly, interrupting Storm in her explanation to berate her in a disrespectful manner. "You have got to be kidding me. Are you serious right now, Storm? There's no such thing as aliens and even if there was, how would you expect us to fight them? This is ridiculous!"

Storm sighed heavily. Of course Trent would try to cause a scene here. After all, he was not on the best terms with her after what she had done to him.

She didn't miss the sight of Lennox's expression shifting from one of composure to one of anger. The NEST Major began to walk forward, fully prepared to reprimand Trent for his disrespectful outburst but Storm stopped him with a hand to his chest. She shook her head to him in a "no" motion. She did not need his interventions. She was capable of handling this herself.

Reluctantly, Lennox backed down, allowing Storm to defend herself. "I am very serious, Trent. Aliens do indeed exist and if you had let me finish with my explanation, you would know how we will be training you to fight them."

Lennox was furious, this much Storm could tell from her peripheral. It was apparent to her that Trent would later end up punished for his disobedience. However, this was not of her fault. Trent would have to accept his consequences once they came.

Storm straightened her posture, continuing on with her explanation from where she was so rudely interrupted. "Now, with that being said, you are here to be trained by a group of Cybertronians who fight for good. For freedom. They call themselves "Autobots" for short. You are also here to be introduced to their allies, The Forerunner and the Prometheans."

A shy looking female raised her hand in question and Storm granted her permission to speak. "Are they here? Like-like right now? In this hangar?"

It was obvious to Storm by the woman's stuttering that she was nervous. She gave her a soft smile, hoping to reassure the woman in her worries. This was a stressful situation, one which she was sure must be hard on the group as humans had been under the consistent assumption that they were the only intelligent life within the universe for so long, not knowing that they were speaking to an alien in this moment which was Storm herself. "Indeed they are."

The group of recruits proceeded to glance around the hangar in a mixture of anticipation and fear causing Storm to speak up, snapping the group out of their search and directing their attention towards her. "You need not be afraid. I promise you this...Now, I will introduce all of you to the leader of the Autobots."

The group of humans backed away ever so slightly as Storm turned on the balls of her feet, walking over towards Optimus whom was waiting in his alt-mode patiently. She patted him gently on the front of his alt-mode, whispering to him softly as she did so. "Alright, big guy. Show 'em your stuff."

Storm removed her hand from Optimus' alt-mode and the Autobot leader slowly began to transform, hoping to delay his transformation to his bi-pedal mode so as to not scare the new humans. His body continued to shift until he was at his full height, looking down on the humans before him.

Storm turned around to face the group, leaning against the inside of his large metal leg whilst crossing her arms over her chest as she smirked to the humans with pride.

With his introduction complete, Lennox walked over to Storm's side as she spoke up to the recruits with the same pride her expression currently betrayed. "Is that cool or what?"

The group of recruits laughed nervously in response to Storm's comments as they all took fleeting glances towards each other, gauging each other's reactions. That was when Storm heard the unexpected sounds of metal shifting. She turned to face the sound, her expression changing to one of complete shock at what she saw. Sideswipe had begun to transform without first being given the signal by Optimus.

The silver mech stood up to his full height, puffing out his chest to make himself appear more masculine as he looked to the new humans, a smirk plastered on his face in a cocky manner. "Nice to meet you. The designation is Sideswipe."

Storm was infuriated. She grabbed the clipboard that was attached to the waistband of Lennox's pants, un-clipping it from it's place before throwing it with all the force she could muster at the silver mech, hitting him square in the face as she began yelling at him. "You giant aft-pipe! You should have waited for Optimus' signal! You've ruined everything!"

Sideswipe was not phased by Storm's actions in the slightest. He simply rubbed at the bridge of his nasal plating with large hand as he leaned down before Storm. "Aww, come on, Stormy! You know I don't have patience!"

The woman was obviously not amused with the mech's pleading. She placed a hand on her hip, using her free one to point into Sideswipe's face as she continued to berate him. "It's not a lack of patience, Sides! You just wanted to show off, you egotistical glitch!"

Much to her surprise, Storm was picked up by a large hand. She let out a girlish squeak as as Optimus raised her to his chest plating, stopping the woman in her tirade against Sideswipe though not calming her current emotions, this much was obvious once she spoke. "Put me down, Prime! I'm going to kick his silver-aft into next week!"

Optimus chuckled at the woman and her empty threats, holding her close to the area directly above his spark. The thrumming of his spark calmed her in ways she herself did not understand though the Autobot leader was refusing to put her down despite her demands for him to do so. Storm simply gave up, resigning herself to her fate.

With Storm now complaisant to an extent, Optimus turned his gaze to the equally as shocked as well as concerned humans, formally introducing himself as well as the rest of the Autobots.

Once this was out of the way, he explained to the group of humans in great detail their origins, the battle of Mission City, and the All-Spark as well as to how the battle had come to happen though he omitted the details involving Storm. It was not his place to reveal those details, it was her's alone and he would not betray her trust in such fashion.

The Autobot leader answered all of the recruits in their many questions, doing so until the humans were seemingly satisfied. Eventually, he pulled Storm away from his chest, setting her down in his palm as he spoke. It was now her turn. "I will now let Storm introduce you to the leader of the Prometheans."

Storm raised her head to look at Optimus. She was scared, this much was easy to see. This situation was new to her. She had never been forced to reveal her identity nor origins this way...At least, not since with S-7 where she was forced to do so in order to save Sam.

Upon her signal, Optimus lowered his hand to the ground, giving Storm access to the concrete ground below her. She gently stepped down from his palm, clearing the lump that had begun to form in her throat. She was nervous to reveal herself though she knew this was something she had to do. "Optimus is correct. I will now be introducing you to the leader of the Prometheans. As you have already seen with the Autobots, the Promethean leader has been here all along, hiding in plain sight alongside them."

Storm took in a deep breath to calm herself, glancing around the group of humans once more in order to gauge their reactions before dropping the camouflage response of her combat skin, thus abandoning her seemingly human appearence for her true, Forerunner one.

She did not miss the shocked looks and gasps from the recruits before her as she phased on her personal armor. Even Trent was shocked, his expression holding an underlying hint of understanding. The revelation had obviously dawned on him as to how Storm had dumped his food and drink on him almost two years ago without her ever physically touching his plate or glass.

It was because she wasn't human. Storm was an alien, not of this world.

She pushed back her emotions, continuing to speak with audible anxiety, a metal tinge to the sound as it escaped her protective mask. "It is I. I am the leader of the Prometheans, though I am not Promethean myself. I am the last of my kind..."Forerunner" is what we called ourselves."

After saying this, Storm summoned The Warden via her Ancilla. Two slip-space portal's opened up behind her and dropped her second-in-command out of them.

The Promethean titan walked to her side, placing a body at each side of his leader as she spoke, the woman gesturing to each of his bodies with an armored hand. "This, is The Warden Eternal. He is my second-in-command and guardian. He is also my longest friend. Eternal is a hive-mind, never knowing of death. He is one mind sharing an infinite number of bodies."

The humans before her shared fleeting, dumbstruck looks between each other. This was obviously a shock to them as such a thing did not exist within humanity nor their species.

However, there was more for her to explain. Storm spoke up once again, drawing the group's attention from The Warden back to her. "My race, the Forerunner, went extinct due to a parasitic organism we called "The Flood". In response to this threat, my people created many devices known as "Halo Rings". Their function was to destroy all sentient life with enough bio-mass to support this parasite in order to starve it to death. It was a drastic measure which my people designed. This parasite invaded our home-world's, leaving my people no choice but to sacrifice themselves in the activation of their galaxies orbiting Halo to prevent the spreading of this parasite."

This time, instead of the humans sharing shocked looks, it was the Autobots. Not all of them knew Storm's origin nor the fate of her people. They had not known that Storm was the last of her kind up until this point.

They could not even begin to understand what she had went through nor the hell which she carried with her. In the Autobots case, they still had the chance to reproduce, to start their race anew. However, for Storm, this wasn't even an option. Upon her eventual death, the Forerunner would be completely extinct.

The shocked looks of the seven most recent Autobot arrival's went un-noticed by her as Storm continued to speak, detailing her origins to the humans. "Now, you all may be asking how I am here at this moment given what I told you. This is because I was not alive at the time of my people activating their orbiting Halo ring. I was created after the event by an exiled Forerunner using our people's advanced technology. He wished for me to continue our race, for me to continue the Forerunner's legacy. However, I chose more for myself. I chose to adopt my creator's legacy of protecting all sentient life. They called it "The Mantle of Responsibility". I came here, to Earth, long ago in order to protect your species. This I why I joined NEST with the Autobots and it is why you were brought here. To fight the Decepticons who wish to enslave your world."

The humans seemed to accept Storm's explanation though with much surprise. She had not originally wished to give away so many intimate details, but she had hoped that in being honest with them, it would make them trust not only her but the Autobots as well as humans were naturally mistrustful.

In her years of blending in with their population she had come to find that humans operated on a herd mentality. This was something which could be combatted, however, by oversharing. At least in her experience, this was the case. Humans seemed to be more trusting of those whom would bare their soul, who would willingly expose their vulnerabilities.

Lennox did not miss Storm's sudden sadness, knowing that she needed time to herself. The NEST Major drew in the recruits attention, directing them over to the hangar which the Autobots would normally use for training with Ironhide following out behind them along with his spark-mate, Chromia.

Optimus could feel the energy radiating off the small Forerunner as he approached her. He understood that it was a difficult subject for Storm to speak of her past and her people's demise. His spark ached in sympathy for her.

He kneeled down behind her, using a large finger to stroke down her armored back in a gesture of comfort as he spoke to her with a question. "Are you alright, Tempest?"

Storm looked up to Optimus, covering up her current emotions with a smile. "Yes, Optimus. I'm fine. It's just...it's very difficult for me to speak of what happened to my people sometimes. I'll be okay, though. I promise."

With her permission, Optimus gently picked Storm up, cradling her to his chest in the attempts to console her. "Everything will be fine, Tempest. I promise you this."

Storm buried her face into Optimus' chest plating. She knew everything would be fine just as he had said. However, it was still hard to know that you were the last of your kind. It warmed her heart to know that the Autobot leader cared for her mental well-being so much.

She returned his sentiment in the only way she knew how. Storm wiggled out of his grasp before raising herself to his face. She rested both of her hands on the metal plating of his face, touching the forehead of her protective mask to his metal one, the projected orange light of the eyes of her mask meeting cerulean optics as she spoke. "You know, I'd love to stay here with you Optimus, but I agreed to help Ironhide train the new recruits against the Decepticons. I'll see you later in our usual spot, okay?"

The Autobot leader nodded to Storm in understanding. "Of course, Tempest."

Storm traced a smile along the plating of her protective mask with a clawed index finger, knowing that the Autobot leader couldn't see her actual smile due to her mask. This action caused him to smile in response.

He set Storm down on the ground before him and she gave the Prime a two-fingered salute, walking backwards slowly out of the hangar as she spoke to him with a happy inflection. "I'll see you later, Optimus!"

The regal leader watched Storm as she made her exit from the hangar, feeling satisfied with the day and how their introduction to the new human soldiers had went.

He began to rub at his chest plating absent-mindedly, once again feeling the all too familiar fluctuations from his spark. The sensation was beginning to happen much too frequently for his liking.

He decided that while Storm was training the new recruits with Ironhide, he was going to visit Ratchet. It was time for him to finally get to the bottom of these strange and un-welcome sensations.

Uh-oh, a cliffhangar, haha.

I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out surprisingly though I'm still not satisfied with my previous chapter. I kind of want to re-do it but I unfortunately won't have the time this week nor the next one most likely. If I decide I still want to change it then I'll get around to it at some point. (I hope)

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and as always, thank you for reading.