Chapter 20
Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers, they're the property of Hasbro. Any other copyrighted material found in this story is the property of its respected owner. Good reading.
It has been two days since the catastrophe in the Middle East. Billions around the world glued themselves to TVs, computers, and whatever other sort of media they could find, hoping to get any new development from that region. The scale of the nuclear assault has been total; capital cities, primary production fields, and primary refineries, along with their hubs, and major ports, all destroyed. It wasn't just the material loss that was devastating, but the human cost was much worse, as all the government officials, skilled workers, and labourers that were needed to operate these areas have been completely wiped out. Those few nations that were not hit by the nuclear missiles face a new crisis, the mass influx of refugees.
In the midst of Riyadh, the...well, former capital city of Saudi Arabia, an Autobot shuttle slowly circled around the destroyed city, as it looked for a proper place to land. The task was a difficult one, since debris of all shapes, and sizes littered the now dead city. Once a suitable area was found, the shuttle touched down, and lowered its rear ramp. What came out was a very unlikely group of volunteers.
"Man, what a sh-t hole." Exclaimed a low toned Springer with a sharp quip. "Hey, Twin-Twist, looks like you've been through here." He then said with a more upbeat voice.
The aggressive, and destruction loving Twin-Twist looked around, and smirked. "I'd lay down, and have a cigarette after this amount of...indulgence."
"Hey Springer." Called Hot Rod as he descended the ramp. "Prime's on the commlink, he wants to speak to you."
The Wreckers leader exhaled in a annoyed way, and responded. "The bloody hell does he want now."
He sat at the communications station, and looked at the holoscreen before him. "Go ahead Optimus."
"What have you found out so far Springer?" Asked a somewhat stern Optimus Prime.
"Same thing as earlier." Replied the green/grey Autobot as he leaned back in the chair. "Total destruction. Minimal amount of survivors. Radiological readings are extremely high, especially in the impacted areas. Ash still continues to fall from the sky. Air and wind temperature is higher than usual for this time of year in this part of the region. Various fires burn throughout the area, and no sight of emergency or government services. Some military units have moved to give some sign of law, and order. But that's pretty much it."
"What is the status of the those survivors, and the countries that haven't been nuked?" Further inquired the Autobot master.
"The survivors are all in a state of shock, and have begun to show signs of radiation sickness. Israel, and Jordan have seen an influx of survivors so great that their health care systems can't handle them, neither can they feed them. It's a catastrophe waiting to happen. Egypt, and Turkey have suffered one missile impact each, but only to their primary oil production sites. Their capitals and government have remained intact, so they won't collapse." Retorted Springer, and added. "Many have regressed back to the tribal, and nomadic way of life. With the exception of Israel, Jordan,Lebanon, Egypt, and Turkey, the Middle Eastern nations no longer exist."
"Alright. When you're done return to Autobot City, and I'll give your report to the UN."
"If the humans want to know the after effects of the nuclear catastrophe, then why don't they do it themselves?" Queried the Wrecker.
"....It'll take too long for for the UN to send teams with full radiation equipment. They need the research information quick so they can properly prepare the proper response to this." Retorted the imposing mech.
"Are we going to be part of this...response?" Asked an annoyed sounding Springer.
"Perhaps." Came Prime's response.
"So in short, we're gonna clean up the sh-t they left over this region." He retorted with one of his usual quips.
The humour was ill received. "After what you, and your teammates did. You have no right to say anything about the humans or anyone else for that matter. You took matters into your own hands and clearly diosbeyed my orders. You think my authority is a joke just because I don't see the humans as you and others do!? Consider yourselves lucky I didn't chose the method of punishment some others wanted me to take." Angrily retorted the big red machine.
"When are you gonna let the humans deal with their own problems, and stop putting us in the crossfire. We help them, and they f-cking shoot us..." Shot back Springer but got cut off.
"ENOUGH!" Prime quickly snapped. "I'm not gonna get into an ethics debate with the likes of YOU." He then calmed, and regained his composure. "Now get back to work. The humans depend on your assistance in this matter." He ended in a sarcastic tone.
The very annoyed Springer struggled, but kept his mouth shut as getting into a yelling match with his master would lead to a pointless verbal fight, and accomplish nothing. Instead he leaned over to shut off the commlink, but stopped at the sound of Optimus Prime's voice.
"One more thing Springer." Announced Prime with a cynical smile. "Thank you for volunteering for this assignment. Glad to see you and the Wreckers are turning around." Then the holoscreen disappeared.
"F-ck you." Springer said under his breath.
He turned around at the sound footsteps, and saw that it was only Hot Rod.
"We're waiting for ya Springer." Said the young Autobot.
"Just last minute instructions from our glorious leader. That's all." He stood up and slowly approached red mech. "Hey, me and the rest of the team really appreciate what you did for us during the whole Lita thing. The guys told me you did a good job leading the team while I was on Trall."
"It was really good at being part of a real team, and leading them, if only for a short time. Thanks for the opportunity, I really appreciate it." Happily replied Hot Rod.
"No problem." Returned Springer. "The guys and I were talking, and wonder if you'd like to be a member of our ranks."
Hot Rod's optics opened their widest at hearing the proposal. "Me? Umm, yeah sure. Great."
The team leader walked forward with a grateful smirk, and placed an arm on Rod's shoulder. "Welcome aboard, brother Wrecker."
Standing in the primary communications center with Blaster, and Elita-One, Optimus Prime got a little chuckle from his closing remarks. Blaster looked at the boss bot, and just simply can't figure out how the Wreckers, and Hot Rod readily volunteered to help the humans, especially since their insurrection a couple of weeks back. Whatever Optimus said to them surely worked. Even the other more militant, and so called anti-human bots were shocked.
As Prime, and Elita rode the elevator, she decided to finnaly break the ice, and ask him how he did it.
"Just what did you say that made them do that?" Spat out Elita.
After he stopped chuckling, Prime answered. "It's part of their punishment, my dear." He said, and continued. "Whenever the humans require our assistance for humanitarian efforts, the Wreckers and Hot Rod automatically volunteer for it, and they are to make it known that they volunteered. They are also to be completely un-armed at all times, even on missions in...hot spots."
Elita interrupts. "Un-armed in violent regions? Just how can they defend themselves?"
"They will have no choice but to get back into the shuttle and leave the area."
The pink coloured femme smirked and chuckled at the explanation. "Turn tail and run. Oooooo, they're gonna love that." She ended the sentence with a sarcastic tone. "You said this was part of their punishment. Whats the rest?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"What if they refused to go through with this disciplinary action? Or even if they tell you they won't do it anymore?" She queries.
"I have Ratchet, Wheeljack, and Perceptor do a complete re-format on them." Answered a serious toned Prime.
Elita looked up at him, her jaw slightly dropped. "A mind wipe? You'd erase all their personalities, memories, behavioural traits, emotions. Making them into simple drones."
"Yes."
She gave a cynical smirk, and wrapped an arm around his. "I like it when you get tough with others."
Inside the Decepticon base, Starscream angrily walked his way to Megatron's quarters. The sudden change in the command structure came as a shock to the Seeker once he returned from an air patrol with a group of newly arrived Seekers. The meeting was held while he was out, and without his knowledge. Starscream only found out when he crossed paths with Rumble and Frenzy in the mess hall. Upon reaching his destination, he slammed his fist on the door panel.
"What the hell is this, Megatron!?" Bellowed the Seeker as he entered the room.
The silver mech closed his optics, and lowered the sensitivity of his audio receptors upon hearing the loud, screechy voice.
"I take it you heard of the changes to the command structure." Replied the Decepticon master.
"You removed me as Air Commander!" Again bellowed the angry Seeker. "And put Ramjet in charge!"
"Yes I did." Answered the smirking Megatron. "Yours wasn't the only change I made. The new second in command of the Decepticon armed forces is Shockwave. He will still retain his position as operations commander. Soundwave will be third in command, as well as retaining the role as commander of communications."
"What!? You stripped me of my rank of second in command too!?" Yelled Starscream at the worsening news. "Why!?"
Megatron approached the red/white Seeker, and calmly explained the method behind his madness. "I removed you from your previous positions because I've been concerned with your recent behaviour."
"What the hell are you talking about?" Demanded a calmed down Starscream.
"Ever since you brought that human femme here, you've been acting...well, not like yourself." Said the imposing tyrant. "Soundwave showed me video footage of the interrogation he and Shockwave have conducted. You refused to leave the room, and then at the end of the interrogation, you threatened to kill them if they harmed her. Over the week she was here, other Decepticons observed you being gentle, calm, and non-threatening toward the human. Then just before you left on your week long infiltration mission of Autobot City, you went to your brother Thundercracker, and asked him to watch over her while you were gone. And the most concerning of all, I told you to get rid of the insect, and did you do? You flew her out of here, and brought her back home to the Autobots, and her friends. Then just before you left, you gave her some parting words."
"You put Lita in my care, so I don't see how this concerns you." Replied the mellowed out Starscream.
"You actually gave a damn about her didn't you, Starscream. You cared about someone other than yourself." Accused the silver mech.
"What I do with others is MY business, so butt out!"
"That's not who you are, Starscream." Megatron stated with an oddly soft tone. "You're a self-centered, vicious killer. Now get out. I've got work to do."
"I'm not a monster."
"Yes you are. Give this good guy crap a rest." Shot back Megatron.
The American President looked over the latest findings of the destroyed Middle East. The Autobots were quite thorough in their scanning, and observation mission at the request of the United Nations. The information gathered will certainly help the international community in preparing a proper response to this catastrophe. Siting to his left and right, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reviewed the same data, but they couldn't stop thinking of all the Armed Forces personnel that were lost on that tragic day. The 144 000 strong U.S. contingent in Iraq has been virtually wiped out by the nuclear attacks, as well as their British, and other Allies. It is the worse single day loss in American military history.
The President put the papers down on the table and looked at his Joint Chiefs. "Gentlemen. What forces can we send to the Middle East?"
The Chairman leaned back in his chair and replied in disappointment. "None sir. As you ordered, the KITTY HAWK, and NIMITZ battle groups are retrieving what ever U.S. personnel survived the nuclear attacks. But those are few and very far between. I've discussed this with the rest of the Joint Chiefs, and we all agree that once the retrievals are complete, we should pull out of the region."
"Pull out." Repeated an equally disapointed President. "So we just pack up and leave just like that."
"We don't have a choice sir." Said the Army Chief of Staff. "We have lost virtually all of our forces in the Middle East because of this. With the ever growing trouble on the Mexican border we have no one left to send anywhere. As much as we want to deal with this catastrophe, we just don't have the manpower or the resources anymore. I'm sorry Mr. President, but for the foreseeable future the UN will have to go in it without us."
The President exhaled, and briefly rubbed his face. "As much as it pains me gentlemen. I agree with you all." Thus the subject of the Middle East died right there, and the President focused on another issue at hand. "Have we found anything new about the NEVADA, and ALASKA?"
The Navy Chief of Staff took off his glasses and replied. "No sir. We still have the same information as before. For some unknown reason both subs surfaced, fired their Trident missiles, then dived beyond their recommended depths. The pressure crushed both subs, no survivors. And we got that information from a British destroyer that was on picket duty just beyond their fleet."
"Who else knows of this?" Queried the President.
"Just us, the Brit destroyer, and a few British high brass. Nobody else." Answered the Chairman.
"Lets keep it that way. Last thing this country needs is the whole world knowing OUR subs nuked an entire region, and killed over sixty million people, including our own." Announced the Commander and Chief.
"People will eventually start asking about the missing subs, especially the families of the crews." Speculated the Chairman.
"When the time comes, I'll come up with something. Thank you gentlemen." Ended the President as he stood and went to the Oval Office.