Chapter 34-On the Prowl
Director David Hollander of Skywatch sat at the round table with his inner circle of executives in an emergency meeting. Aron Jackson, Hermann Fredericks, Veronica Howard, military liaison General James Hamilton and the newcomer Laguna Harvey. These people were the driving force behind Skywatch's rise as humanity's defense against alien threats.
"People, we have an emergency on our hands." Hollander said. "I'm sure you've all heard about our recent visitor's attempts to terraform our planet."
"Yes sir. A large chunk of the Anean savanna had been changed into pure metal. Several miles of open grasslands were converted by that world engine and the Anean governments are in an uproar at the damage caused." Veronica said. "And that's not even counting the displaced or killed tribes and animals caught in the crossfire."
"Do we have a rough estimate on the damage caused by the machine?" Jackson asked.
"Well, the Autobots aren't letting any human authorities or scientific teams into the affected area until they deem it safe for humans, so all we have are satellite images." Veronica looked at the photos and bit her lip. "I can't make any concrete estimates, but let's just say you can see the area from space."
"Damn aliens." Fredericks growled. "Those bastards practically rolled out the red carpet for that psychopath. We have enough trouble with the Decepticons!"
"Nova Prime is dead, Fredericks. No sense in whining about it now." Howard said.
"But according to Prime, three members of Nova's crew are still unaccounted for, and may have escaped." Said Hamilton.
"We can't worry about that now, general. Right now, we must focus on this major attack on Terran soil and what it means for us." Hollander said. His subordinates, save for Harvey, looked at him confused.
"Sir?" Inquired Jackson.
"In light of this attack, I've commissioned Epsilon Holdings to build a new line of mobile weapons for Skywatch to use."
Hollander nodded to Pisces, who slid a large disc onto the table and pressed a button. A large hologram emerged from the disc and showed an image. It was of a humanoid machine that looked like a talos, but bigger. Its armor was black and red, but its head was steel grey and shaped like a horned skull with red eyes. The design of the machine looked rather similar to the Gigas used by the Atlantians.
"What is that?" Howard asked wide eyed.
"This is the Death's Head, a fully automated human-made golem that shall be the vanguard of our mobile armor forces as unmanned units." Pisces said. "Its frame is based off the Atlantian Gigas, mainly because it uses the same technology that we've…acquired from the ruined cities of Muria and Saba. We're still working on the operating system, but it's doing very well in the test trials. And our experimental direct energy weapons are also doing well too."
"The Death's Head drones will be the first of Skywatch's answer to facing the cybertronian forces raving our world." Hollander said.
"By cybertronian forces, I assume you're also talking about the Autobots, sir." Howard didn't even try to hide her distaste.
"You look like you have something to say, Howard." Pisces said with a grin.
"Yes, in fact I do." Howard looked at the director. "Sir, we need to stop antagonizing the Autobots like this. They're our allies, the first extraterrestrial species we've made contact with, and the only ones willing to help us against the Decepticons and any other threat out there!"
"They've done a wonderful job protecting us so far." Fredericks sneered, glaring at the photos of Anea's cyberformed savanna. "Don't be stupid, Howard. We can't rely on these things to protect our world anymore!"
"We certainly can't rely on ourselves to face every damn alien threat either!" Howard said. "Director, I am obligated to comment on your growing animosity towards the Autobots. We can't point our guns at the only aliens willing to risk our lives for us."
"Your opinion is noted, Howard, but this is the only way. We cannot hand over global security to aliens. Humanity needs to stand on its own two feet if we want to be taken seriously." Hollander replied. "If we rely on the Autobots to fight our battles for us, it will only lead to disaster."
"The Autobots aren't all powerful, Howard." Harvey said, still grinning. "Think about it. If the Autobots fall in battle, then who will defend the planet? Us? We can barely handle a couple of espers let alone anything strong enough to defeat a platoon of heavily armed aliens. We need weapons of our own to protect us in case the protectors are defeated."
"And to keep those things in line." General Hamilton grunted. "I'm not waiting for those metal bastards to stab us in the back when our goals no longer align. After what happened in Esper Town, I'm not taking any chances when they decide to shoot at us because they all have bleeding hearts."
"But—" Howard tried to say, but she was cut off.
"This may be their war, Agent Howard, but this is our world." Hollander looked at her with finality. "And Skywatch will be there to protect it by any means necessary."
Veronicaa sat back as she glared heatedly at the other men at the table, and then sent an even harsher one at Harvey. The man still grinned as if watching an amusing comedy. She growled and leaned back in her seat, knowing she had no allies here.
Skywatch was on a downward spiral out of control, and there was no one waiting to catch them at the bottom.
XXXXXX
As the sun rose above the cyberformed plains of the savanna, Optimus was reminded of the brilliant sunrises Cybertron would have. Miles upon miles of metallic landscapes reflecting the sunlight all at once. Iacon had a perfect angle of the spectacle and it was one of the most beautiful sights on the lanet.
But seeing this on Terra did not invoke nostalgic feelings of awe or wonder. It was a grim reminder of what one of Cybertron's greatest leaders attempted to do to an innocent world.
Looking out at the altered land before him, Optimus lamented the damaged caused by the world engine. It looked so much worse on the ground, and the affected area exceeded even Wheeljack's estimations. As it was they were still trying to calculate the amount of damage the world engine caused.
And just a couple miles behind Optimus was the giant hole in the ground left behind by the machine's conversion beam. A giant scar that can never be healed and would forever mar the once vibrant and lively savanna. A symbol of cybertronian conquest.
"Have our people truly fallen so far?" Optimus asked himself. "Or have we always been like this, and I was just too blind to see it?"
It horrified Optimus at just how far Nova was willing to go to achieve his goals, and his final words to him stayed in his mind long after their battle ended.
'The purpose of the Primes is to protect Cybertron and its people. That is the sole purpose for which I was chosen. And every action I take, no matter how violent, or how cruel, is for the greater good of my people.'
Optimus wanted to pin Nova's rage and sorrow on madness brought about by the Heart of Darkness, but he knew that wasn't true. Nova set out to create a golden age for his people, and to see all his hard work and sacrifice be ruined by its own people made him snap.
Fighting Nova was one of the hardest things Optimus had ever done. He needed a lot of power from the Matrix to handle the power boost Nova got from the Heart of Darkness, and it left his entire body in excruciating pain that even a CR chamber couldn't properly heal until a few hours later. Ratchet had warned him several times that using the Matrix like this was dangerous, and Optimus was starting to feel the after effects more and more each time he did it.
Optimus rested a hand over his chest plate, where the Matrix lie dormant. If Nova Prime was like this, then what did that mean for the legacy of the Primes itself?
"Prime!"
He looked up and saw Tomahawk and Wheeljack walking toward him. Wheeljack had just gotten finished mapping the disaster zone with Tomahawk's help, though he didn't look very eager to report his findings for once.
"Wheeljack, Tomahawk," Optimus said. "Are things running smoothly?"
"Yes, Prime. Teletran's still mapping out the area, but so far the estimated area of effect is around ten miles." Tomahawk said. Optimus winced.
"Ten miles…how is that possible? The world engine wasn't even on for that long."
"It was the ore-13 they used. It supercharged the world engine and enabled it to fire a stronger conversion beam." Wheeljack said.
"Ore-13 that Jhiaxus must have been mining while Nova had our attention." Optimus growled. "Damn him."
"Speaking of Jhiaxus, I couldn't find any sign of him, Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge. All four of them are gone." Tomahawk said.
"Do you think they're dead?" Wheeljack asked.
"Without the Heart of Darkness, Nova and his crew would have died on the spot due to their tainted bodies. But if Galvatron and his ilk are still alive…then that means that the Heart of Darkness still exists within a new host." Optimus said.
"And they're probably off world by now." Tomahawk sighed.
"A problem we'll have to leave with our forces out in space. Right now we still need to figure out how extensive the damage is." Prime said.
"Well the change certainly reached a fair distance underground. The conversion beam had burrowed deep enough to almost reach the mantle. Everything you see here and under our feet is pure cybermatter." Wheeljack rubbed the back of his head. "Any longer and the cyberforming process would have been too far gone to stop. We'll have to look out for any geographic anomalies this might cause."
"Let's inform the League of Nations about this. Hopefully we can avoid any freak accidents if we're lucky." Optimus said. He was already dreading that conversation. "Where's Prowl?"
"He's investigating something." Tomahawk answered. "Though he was a bit vague on the details."
"It wouldn't be Prowl if it wasn't." Optimus shook his head. "Carry on with the survey and report and changes, no matter how small they are."
"Roger that Optimus." Wheeljack nodded.
The two Autobots hurried off, leaving Optimus alone again.
He turned back to the barren landscape one last time before calling for a ground bridge. No sense lingering here with only his depressing thoughts as company.
XXXXXX
Prowl hated dealing with the public. He knew it came with the job, but he really disliked dealing with the press and all their attempts to spin the story every which way to make a quick buck. He did his best work outside of the public eye, without everybody and their dead grandmother looking over his shoulder judging his every move.
This whole situation had been one big mess. One of Cybertron's greatest heroes attempting mass genocide, something that shocked everyone, even the Decepticons (though it was probably good propaganda material for a recruitment drive). Several miles of Anean grasslands and plains turning into a massive field of cybermatter, hundreds of people and animals either dead or displaced from their homes, and the entire area was most likely a new target for any yahoo who wanted to harness the cybermatter as raw material.
Obviously the human leaders weren't happy about this. The governments of Anea were roaring he loudest, with the people of the world wondering how the hell did they let things get this far, and the Osean government is using this opportunity to pin this on the Autobots to save face for basically driving every esper within their borders over to the Brotherhood. Basically it was just a bunch of humans screaming incoherently.
The fallout of this disaster would make their already rocky relationship with the humans shakier, which is something they didn't need right now. But for the moment, none of this was Prowl's problem.
While most of the Autobots were salvaging Nova Prime's mess, Prowl was investigating something that had been nagging him for a while now—Skywatch.
Ever since that mess caused by Admiral Maylander Prowl had his eyes on Skywatch. He knew that the remote base Dreadwing's group raided was a Skywatch facility with a lot of nasty things hidden deep within, Atlantian relics and dissected merfolk bodies among them.
As far as he was concerned, Skywatch was just another threat waiting to strike. He heard whispers of the friction between President Flagg and Director Hollander, and he wouldn't put it past that man to go behind the government's back for the "greater good". He had kept track of any suspected Skywatch locations and noticed some activity a few days after Nova's attack was thwarted.
"Hey, Prowler?" A knock came on the door. "You still kickin' bro?"
"Yes, Jazz." Prowl pressed a button on his desk and unlocked the door. Jazz walked in with a frown.
"Do you have to work in the dark like this, Prowler? It's bad for your optics." He said.
"We have bigger things to worry about than my love for dark places." Prowl said.
"Whatever you say." Jazz shrugged. "So what did you want to talk about?"
"A growing pain in our asses," Prowl pointed to his computer screen. "Skywatch."
"Not this again." Jazz groaned. "We already have Skywatch under watch, as does the president. He put one of his own guys in there to run the show, remember?"
"President Flagg doesn't know everything about Skywatch, or else their little secret facility in Alaska wouldn't have caught him so off guard." Prowl said. "I've noticed some odd activity from a couple of military contractors affiliated with the organization after things settled down after Nova's assault, so I did some digging around."
"I assume you found something?"
"Yes, these companies are also the same groups who provide Skywatch with their talos on the side."
"And how do you know that?"
"I had Wheeljack and Mirage swipe some talos parts from the facility before the Osean military moved in." prowl answered, as if it were a perfectly normal thing to do. "He studied the armor material and told me it was a the same composite armor used in talos construction in the country's top talos manufacturers, notable Linear Train Industries."
"Okay, and what's strange about that?"
"These groups are also transporting materials off-site somewhere following the attack." Prowl revealed. "They're mobilizing, Jazz."
Jazz tensed up and his expression hardened. "You think they're gearing up for something big."
"Possibly. Director Hollander has no love for us, and according to Barnett, he's been pressuring the president to put Skywatch on the front lines of planetary defense."
Jazz crossed his arms and thought about what he just learned. "So Skywatch is arming themselves in secret without Senate approval. I think I see where you're going with this, but boss bot isn't going to make any major moves without solid proof. He wants to avoid riling up the government if he can."
"Understandable." Prowl nodded. "But it's only a matter of time. Skywatch is another factor that we cannot leave unattended any longer."
"You got a game plan?" Jazz asked.
"Yes, I'm going to do some snooping around these manufacturing plants to see what they might turn up. If I can track where their shipping those materials and link it to Skywatch, then we can get the jump on them before they shoot us in the back." Prowl looked up at Jazz. 'I'll need your help if this plan is going to go smoothly."
"Really? OK, I'm down." Jazz smirked. "Just like old times, eh?"
"Only without the fireworks and collapsing buildings." Prowl remarked.
XXXXXX
"You know, I thought taking over this place would be more difficult." Scorpio said within the confines of his partner's office. "Skywatch is pretty well-secured, even by our standards."
"Chalk it up to their arrogance and overzealousness in being Terra's defenders. All I have to do is use threat and cybertronian in the same sentence and they chase after the bone like the dogs they are." Pisces said. "It's sad really."
Scorpio chuckled. "How's the assimilation going?"
"Swimmingly. I have people slowly seeping into Skywatch's R and D department. The more we give, the more we take." Pisces smirked. "What about you? Any luck acquiring their files?"
"No, much of Skywatch's older documents are physical copies. Lots and lots of dusty old files that only Hollander and his trusted associates are allowed to access." He sighed. "Most of their digital files are about their recent finds like the Thunder-Lizard project and Sprawl's capture and study. At best they have some rudimentary knowledge on the cybertronian neural system."
"Well, we can't always hit gold on the first try. All we can do is point them at the cybertronians until they've outlived their usefulness. It's just a good thing that Hollander is good at his job." Pisces muttered.
"Yes, we're lucky that they are incredibly gullible." Scorpio agreed, but then added, "Save for one person."
Pisces looked at him.
"Veronica Howard. I hear she's a white sheep in Skywatch. The only agent to have had an interaction with the Autobots and their human friends in the field." He said. "And one of the sole advocators for Autobot cooperation."
"Yes, I've noticed that she and the rest of Skywatch's chain of command don't see eye to eye." Pisces muttered. "She might be a problem."
"Want me to take care of her?"
"No, not yet. But we might have to keep an eye on her." He said. "She's already suspicious of us, and it wouldn't do to have her snooping around and making things harder for us."
"Got it." Scorpio nodded.
"Now that that's out of the way, let's talk about the transportation for the armor material for the Death's Head drones…"
As the two men talked about their latest project neither of them noticed the tiny little spider-like drone hidden in a corner recording everything they said.
XXXXXX
"This feels good!" Penny sighed in bliss. "Feels good to have one day to ourselves without the fear of sudden death. Right, Gina?"
Penny looked across the table at Gina, who didn't look as happy as her. She sighed and flicked the girl on the forehead to get her attention. Unexpectedly, Penny did more damage to her finger than Gina.
"Ow! Damn girl, you have some tough skin." Penny rubbed her aching finger. It felt like she was flicking a piece of hard leather!
"You should've known that wasn't going to work." Gina remarked. "Did you want something, Penny?"
"I was trying to get your attention. You've been moping around all morning and you're still doing it even after I brought you here." Penny frowned at her. "Come on, girl, don't bring down the mood."
"I'm sorry, Penny. I'm just…not in the mood." Gina said. "That whole thing with Darren and Annie has left me more than a little depressed at the moment."
"I told you, Gina, there's nothing you can do for them at this point. Just give them space and some time to cool off." Penny said. Then she cautiously asked, "How are things…between you and Darren?"
"Terrible. After that mess back in the Ark he hasn't spoken to me or returned any of my calls." Gina said despondently. "Annie said he barely looks her way anymore, and according to High Wire, he makes regular trips back to Tranquility to visit Justine's grave…with Brianna."
"Oh, the other girl." Penny winced. "Honestly I wouldn't be too worried if that girl didn't look so damn fine. Aren't you worried?"
"I doubt anything will come from it, Penny. But…I have noticed that Brianna's been getting closer to Darren lately." Gina frowned. "There's something about her, but I just can't put a finger on it."
"It's probably your girlfriend senses tingling. Darren's in a vulnerable position right now and she's moving in for the kill. Before you know it, one moment they're watching movies together, the next they're making out in a fit of passion that they'll regret in the morning." Penny said.
Gina rolled her eyes. "Penny, they're thirteen."
"Doesn't mean they aren't thinking it." Penny shot back. "Looks, just sneak at peak on them to make sure she doesn't put the moves on him."
"Easier said than done." Gina sighed.
There was an email alert on Gina's phone (which was custom made to her specs, as per usual) and when she checked it, her eyes narrowed. "I'm sorry, Penny, but I have to cut this lunch date short. Something's come up."
"What's wrong?" Penny asked.
"A little issue that's been nagging us for a while."
XXXXXX
Prowl had not been expecting Gina to visit him of her own free will. His relationship with the children was lukewarm at best. They saw him with suspicion and wariness while he saw them as liabilities (though his opinion of them had improved over time). Things had improved a little since D-Va's defection, but that hardly changed their overall dynamic.
But when it got down to business, they worked together to help the Autobots face any threat that came their way, like right now.
Prowl's keen eyes ran over the encoded email several times, not finding any hidden messages or viruses that were harmful. He turned to Gina, who stood on his desk.
"And you've met this woman before?" He asked. Gina nodded.
"And so has Penny and Kevin. Veronica was the woman who pointed Colonel Barnett to me." She said. "She might be the only trustworthy member of Skywatch I know."
Prowl narrowed his eyes at the screen. The email itself was a clever diversion, a distraction to hide the real message encoded within. It was short and brief, suggesting a secret meeting while also asking specifically for Prowl.
"What are you going to do?" Gina asked.
Prowl thought about it. "If she is who you say she is, then I'll check out her story. This might be just the chance I need to know what is really going on with Skywatch."
"Are you going to tell the others?"
"No, I want this to be as covert as possible. I don't want to alert any unwanted parties." Prowl said. After a second, he gave her a little smirk. "But I could use an extra pair of eyes to watch my back."
XXXXXX
'This is insane.' Veronica thought, tapping her food on the arid, dust ridden ground.
It was a stroke of luck that she had visited another facility to oversee the development of the new talos. That provided a great cover for what she was about to do.
Suspicious of Harvey and his partners, she spied on them with a little drone she made using Skywatch assets. It was by pure chance that she managed to catch their conversation. Veronica had no idea what they wanted, but it was clear that part of their goal was to take over Skywatch. Why they were doing it was another question entirely. Talking to Hollander was impossible, as he was more concerned with strengthening Skywatch into a shadow army. She couldn't trust anyone else not to rat her out as soon as she turned her back and she still wanted answers. That left only one option.
"You look tense."
Veronica jumped and looked up to see a man standing by her table. He looked ordinary, with no particular features standing out, though his eyes were obscured by a pair of shades.
"It's rude to sneak up on people." She snapped.
"Apologies. I wasn't expecting you to be so jumpy." He said and sat down across from her.
Veronica blinked at him. Wait, what are you…" She cautiously glanced around and leaned forward. "Are you…you know who?"
The nameless man reached into his pocket and took out a badge flipping it open to reveal a golden Autobot symbol, next to an ID picture that simply said "Prowl of Praxis".
"Oh thank heavens." Veronica sighed. "You had me worried there for a moment."
"I figured meeting you in my true form would be unwise. I know you're taking a big risk talking to me." Prowl said.
"I am. Director Hollander has been working hard to arm Skywatch with everything under the sun to better combat the cybertronians…all cybertronians." She handed him a palm pilot, which he began sifting through.
Prowl frowned at the images of rows of new weapons and talos being made. "How are they able to do this without anyone knowing?"
"Skywatch is affiliated with many military contractors who support us on the side. One of our biggest contractors is Linear Train Industries." Her face curled up as if she smelled something bad.
"That explains the rapid militarization. I take it Hollander and the President no longer see eye to eye?
"That's putting it lightly. Truthfully, they never really had a cordial relationship to start with. Hollander became director through some pretty shady means when the President had more trustworthy people who were also perfect for the position. Even I don't know much about Hollander, but something tells me that he was also affiliated with Skywatch and used his influence to weasel his way into the position without looking too suspicious. President Flagg has an idea, but doesn't have concrete evidence to support taking action against him." veronica sighed. "Right now, the president's faith in us is shot and Hollander is going the "ends justify the means" route to get things done."
She pressed a button and switched files to the new machines that were announced. Prowl's eyes narrowed at the weird looking robots unleashing havoc on the faux tanks and automated talos.
"Those are Skywatch's newest units. They're Death's Head drones, built with anti-cybertronian combat in mind." She explained. "Take a look at how fluidly they move. Do they remind you of anything?"
Prowl watched the test videos and his eyes widened. "They move just like the Gigas. This is Atlantian technology. How did you people get this?"
"One of Skywatch's branches were studying the Atlantians before the One Day War. The base the Autobots rescued was where they were experimented and studied anything they got their hands on." She said. "And they also stole pieces of tech and weapons from the ruined cities of Miura and Saba."
"In turn reverse-engineering this technology for human use." Prowl finished.
Veronica wilted under his glare and looked away in shame. He paid her no mind and looked her in the eye.
"I can understand how your people got the tech to make the drones, but I can tell just from seeing how they move and fight that their AI is far too advanced to have been made by humans, even for Skywatch."
"That's what worries me. I had listened in on some conversations from our newest member, Laguna Harvey, and from what I can gather, the drones operate on a hive mind, working in tandem and sharing information between each other so they're always adapting to the situation in real time. None of this stuff was shared with the government and I'm afraid that the people behind the project are more than meets the eye." Veronica said, before quickly adding, "In a bad way."
"You couldn't go to Colonel Barnett or even the President?" He inquired.
"Skywatch has several agents in the Osean government and even in the ARA. If it even looked like I was about to squeal, they'd make me disappear in a heartbeat." She hesitated for a moment, thinking about something. "Please, I'm taking a big risk coming to you about this, but I think Skywatch is on the verge of being taken over by someone far worse than any Decepticon. All these new weapons and talos…they're practically being given to us on a silver platter."
"You think it's only the start of something big." He stated.
"Yes," Veronica said seriously. "We're being raised as pigs for slaughter."
XXXXXX
With the investigation underway, Prowl used the info Veronica provided to search out the facilities making the drones. The first one on his list was a secret Skywatch manufacturing plant (funded by Linear Train) that constructed the baseline frames of the drones, which was located far enough from the nearest population centers with thousands of miles of privately owned land.
Obviously appearing at the facility in his robot mode was out of the question, as was arriving in a police car in the middle of the forest. Thankfully holomatters were a thing, and the humans hadn't invented holomatter detectors yet, so he was good. Once he was close enough without being detected, Prowl generated his holoform and entered the facility in a blind spot in its security net.
'Security is pretty lax if I was able to find a blind spot so easily.' Prowl thought. "Undertone, have you taken out the cameras?"
A white shape landed beside him, silent as a mouse. Was the only other person aside from Gina to know of this operation without telling anyone else, and if there was one thing Prowl appreciated above all else, it was silence. He had Undertone use specially made EMP devices to require the security cameras so they show some else entirely instead of transmitting live footage.
Invisible to the digital sensors and cameras, Prowl made his way through the factory with Undertone. It was a bit of a hassle avoiding the human personnel, but it wasn't too difficult. Prowl was more concerned about the size of the factory, which meant that they were producing a large amount of units every hour. His fears were realized when he got a good look at the heart of the factory, seeing hundreds of drones being assembled on automated assembly lines.
'How many of things are they planning on making? An army?' Prowl wondered. "Undertone, I need you to…" He paused when he saw that Undertone was already gone. "Of course."
He only looked away for a second before Undertone returned to him with a keycard in hand. It belonged to one of the senior officers and had a higher security clearance to the room Prowl was looking for.
He made his way down a couple of halls to the executive's office which was thankfully empty and slipped through the door without any trouble. He went over to the computer and hacked his way in to check out the delivery logs, namely where the frames were being sent to.
'Five other installations like this one producing drones in bulk. Looks like the AI and OS of the drones are composed in a sixth facility in Alaska—the main hub that connects all the drones.' Prowl read through what useful information he could find. 'No word on who commissioned these drones or what the hub is. Probably above this guy's pay grade.'
Having seen what he needed to see, Prowl copied and downloaded everything else that looked important and switched the computer off. "Undertone, let's go. I have what I came for."
XXXXXX
Back at the Ark, Prowl studied the information stolen from the Skywatch base. He had been at it for over an hour and so far what he already learned was troubling.
"How's it looking, Gina?" He asked.
"Not good, Prowl." Gina said. "I've checked the schematics for those drones and it looks like their frames were modeled after the average frame of a cybertronian. They've reverse-engineered the Atlantian Gigas and used cybertronian physiology as a baseline for the main design." Her fingers ran over the datapad like lightning. "And the weapons loadout were definitely not made by humans. They're mostly direct energy weapons!"
"Anything about the AI they use?"
"Nothing so far, but the drones' computer brain is being made in a centralized facility in Alaska, though you already know that." She said. "They install the OS into the brain and ship it out to be installed into the main body in another location. No word on the hub though."
"We have to find it. There's something familiar about the way these drones operate and it's getting on my nerves." Prowl read through the files. "And their level of technology also concerns me. It's far too sophisticated for Skywatch."
"Maybe there's a third party involved providing the advanced stuff." Gina suggested. Then a look of horror came over her face. "You don't think OZ might be behind this, do you?"
"I'm honestly hoping that isn't the case, Gina, but the universe has a habit of proving me wrong." Prowl replied. "Besides, OZ has numerous proxies and subsidiaries that operate in their stead. But if they've truly partnered up with Skywatch…"
An alert came up on Gina's computer. "Prowl, I've got another email from Veronica. She says she found something juicy."
"Then we better not keep her waiting." He said and went for the door.
XXXXXX
"Pisces, we have a problem." That was the first thing Scorpio said upon entering Pisces' office.
Pisces gave Scorpio a glare. "Did I not tell you to avoid blurting out our real names?"
"Shut up and listen." Scorpio growled. "I just got word that one of our production plants was just infiltrated by a cybertronian."
"What?!" Pisces exclaimed. "How?"
"No idea, but they tripped one of the energon detectors in the outer regions of the territory. We did a thorough sweep of the place and found that one of the facility's files were hacked into and possibly downloaded." Scorpio said. "ID confirmed that the Autobot was Prowl."
"Shit!" Pisces hissed. "If the Autobots get wind of our presence here, Skywatch is done for, and we'll all be fucked!"
"What do we do?"
"Wait for him to bite before reeling him in. this is Prowl we're talking about, so there's no doubt he'll find what he's looking for. What I want to know is how the hell did Prowl find the plant in the first place."
"That's obvious." Scorpio said. "He had inside help."
"Inside help. From who—" Pisces froe before his expression darkened. "Nevermind. I have a good idea who is aiding Prowl."
XXXXXX
Veronica's next meeting with Prowl took place as a little cruise through the semi-crowded streets of Arias, the City of Dreams. She was just wasting time staring out the window at the people moving by while Prowl decrypted the last of the files she smuggled from the regional Skywatch facility.
"How long will this take?" Veronica asked.
"Only a couple more minutes. Skywatch's encryption program is strong, but nothing Teletran-1 can't handle." Prowl said.
"Good." She said and leaned her head against the window.
"…You don't seem that hesitant to go this far to stop Skywatch. Aren't they your comrades?"
"I have no connections to that organization. I was recruited straight out of college for my technical expertise. It was amazing at first, but the I realized how single-minded my coworkers were in their pursuits." Veronica sighed. "It was bad enough that Hollander was doing all this crap behind the government's back, but now he's deeming all aliens as potential threats."
"And you chose now to act?"
"You don't into things with a man like Hollander at the helm. But at the rate he's going, he'll be doing more damage to all of us than good. I had to do something before Skywatch went too far and screwed everything up for this country."
Prowl was silent for a moment, though Veronica had a feeling that he was nodding at her goals.
"But you do realize that you might take some of the heat too. If not from the government, then from Skywatch."
"It's better than giving the Brotherhood more ammunition to beat our asses with." She replied.
A beep from the console on the dashboard signaled the end to their conversation.
"Decryption complete." Prowl announced. He downloaded the files directly into his processor. It only took a couple of seconds for him to process the information he absorbed. "I have it. Looks like these files deal with the delivery of the drones from the factories to the central hub where they have their AI installed. The facility's in Texas."
"The ass end of Osea." Veronica muttered. "All right, Prowl, let's get to it."
"You're coming along?" He asked.
"I'm a high ranking Skywatch agent. I can get you in fairly deep before you're on your own." Veronica said. "Let me do my part in this."
Prowl couldn't bring himself to say no to that. She had crucial information that helped him a lot so far, so it was only logical to bring her along. And he had experience with wanting to see unfinished business through to the end.
XXXXXX
The facility the hub was located in was larger than Prowl expected. It was an underground base similar to Area 51, but was heavily guarded by several talos units and soldiers, as well as a number of armored convoys and attack helicopters. It was a bit of a hassle snatching up an APC but he managed it, and drove the vehicle to the base using a masked holoform as a disguise. Veronica remained with his vehicle mode to direct him remotely.
Prowl's avatar drove the truck into the complex after a lengthy screening of their badges. Once they were through, he drove the APC into the garage and quickly slipped out of the vehicle, changing his holoform into a Skywatch level 4 scientist, just under Veronica's classifications, and made his way towards the isolated heart of the complex.
'It's amazing that they managed to build all of this in secret. They must have some pretty high connections to manage an operation like this in secret.' He thought.
"Prowl, how are you doing?" Veronica asked him.
"Good so far. I'm heading towards the research center right now. I got a security card so I should be able to get further in just fine." He said.
"Okay, just keep an eye out." Veronica warned him, sounding a bit uneasy. "I don't know what's going on, but I have a bad feeling about this."
Prowl didn't want to say that he was feeling just as uneasy as she was.
The research center was more heavily guarded than he thought. There were several cameras, security scanners, and armed guards. Prowl managed to get past each checkpoint and make it to the main hub of the lab. When he walked through those doors to the heart of the center, he discovered something he was honestly not expecting.
"By the Allspark," Prowl breathed. "Minicons?"
Sitting inside sealed containers were Minicon body parts. The limbs were connected to various pieces of machinery, though Prowl noted that the limbs looked like they were severely damaged, even burnt in some places. Then he recognized the color scheme of the deceased Minicons in question.
"Dualor, Drill Bit, Bonesaw…the Destruction Team?" Prowl muttered.
"Very astute of you, Prowl."
Prowl spun around and saw Pisces standing by the computers, wearing a scientist's uniform that helped him blend in with the other personnel. Prowl tensed up as the Zodiac general walked over to him.
"Pisces," Prowl growled. "What are you doing here?"
"This is my facility, Prowl. Nothing happens within it without me knowing. Something Nightshade and Soundwave learned the hard way trying to retrieve the remains of Barricade." Pisces said. "If you're here, then I assume you know of the Death's Head drones, yes?"
"The drones' hub network…you're using Minicons?"
"Specifically Minicon brainwaves. And it just so happens that the Minicons we're using have a serious grudge against the Autobots and Decepticons. Only two of them are alive, just barely, but even in their vegetative state their hatred for you still burns brightly. Their neural patterns are the perfect baseline for the AI of an anti-cybertronian drone soldier."
Prowl didn't need very long to realize what Pisces' presence meant for him. "So OZ really is allied with Skywatch."
"More like we're pulling their strings and making them dance. Luckily for me, Director Hollander is a dedicated man who puts more stock in the threat you pose than the threats of his fellow man." Pisces smirked. "Together, we'll forge Skywatch into a true global defense system protecting humanity's future…with OZ at the helm."
Prowl cursed and commanded his real body to drive away, startling Veronica in the driver's seat. As if reading his intentions, Pisces said, "Go ahead and run. I already have my friends coming after you…and Doctor Howard."
Prowl dispelled his holoform and his consciousness returned to his real body, increasing his speed away from the base. He heard Veronica shouting at him. "Prowl, what's going on? Were we found out?"
"Yes, they figured out you were the mole and knew we were coming." Prowl checked his radar to see if they were being followed. So far there was no one coming, but Prowl knew Pisces wouldn't give up so easily. "What's worse, they're using the catatonic brain modules of half-dead Minicons as the baseline for the drones' AI network."
"What?!" She shouted.
"I'm calling for a ground bridge and getting you to the Ark." He replied. "Prime needs to know about this—"
"Lookout!" Veronica exclaimed.
Prowl only had enough time to detect something coming at them from above and transformed to robot mode, covering Veronica with his body. The ground right in front of them exploded, and the two were sent flying apart from the force of the blast.
Landing a few feet from Veronica, Prowl scrambled to his feet, looking for whoever attacked him. The something red and glowing lashed out at him from the dust cloud—a whip. It slammed into Prowl's chest and the temperature increased for a split second before an explosion went off in Prowl's face, blasting him right off his feet. He tumbled backwards, his head ringing and disoriented.
"My, for all your infamy of being a master schemer, you're really bad at fighting aren't you?" A voice taunted him from the smoke.
Prowl looked up and saw a tall, slender form emerge into view. He immediately recognized the gold and green armor of the newcomer, as well as the pharaoh-like faceplate and deep red eyes. It was Thornment, OZ's cybertronian agent.
"Thornment." Prowl growled. "Should've known they'd send you after me."
"Why not? You're Prowl of Praxis, of course they wouldn't take any chances with you." Thornment unfurled the glowing red thorn covered heat whips at her side. "Surrender, Autobot. Pisces already has a retrieval team heading to our location, and I've got you outmatched. And don't even think about calling your friends either."
"If you have to tell me to surrender, Thornment," Prowl said, eying the unconscious Veronica not too far from him. "Then clearly you don't know me as well as you think you do."
Faster than she could react, Prowl threw a flash grenade at her, which exploded right in her face. Thornment howled, stars exploding across her vision as she stumbled back from the intense light.
Prowl used this chance to make a run for Veronica, but just before he could reach her, a red energy blast hit him in the chest and knocked him back several feet. He rolled to his knees, but took a kick to the face from Thornment, who was glaring at him angrily.
"I'll rip you apart and send you to Pisces in pieces!" She hissed.
Prowl gritted his teeth and reached for his blaster, but Thornment cracked her heat whip against his shoulder, blasting off a chunk of armor and sending waves of pain rippling throughout the right side of his body. When she was close enough, Prowl drew his combat knife and stabbed it into her knee.
Thornment went down, but she managed to land a punch to his jaw that brought him down before wrapping her heat whip around his neck and squeezing. He struggled in her grip, not choking but still feeling the heat of the whip slowly burning into his mesh. Forcing his injured arm to move, Prowl pressed his Autobot symbol just as Thornment's fist slammed into the back of his head, knocking him unconscious.
XXXXXX
"Optimus! Optimus!"
Gina's panicked shouts were heard by Optimus and Ironhide before they saw her. The girl barreled into the command center and nearly ran into Ironhide's leg, which would have been painful for both him and her at the speed she was going.
"Gina, calm down. What's the problem?" Optimus asked.
"It's Prowl, he's in seriously trouble!" Gina said, catching everyone's attention.
"Prowl? What's that walking logistics textbook done now?" Ironhide asked.
"He's been captured by Skywatch!"
Upon hearing that, Optimus narrowed his eyes. "Explain."
Gina gave a quick summary into Prowl's covert investigation into Skywatch with Veronica Howard. He had uncovered Skywatch's development of a secret drone army and discovered that OZ was manipulating them (a conversation Prowl miraculously managed to record covertly). Gina revealed that he and Veronica were ambushed and captured while fleeing the facility.
"Prowl activated his emergency beacon before he was captured, so we're locating him now." Gina showed Optimus Prowl's coordinates, which was far from his original location. "His signal's faint, so I think they brought him underground."
"Say no more, Gina. We'll take it from here." Optimus said. "Ironhide, gather Jazz, Hound and Trailbreaker. We're going in hard and heavy."
"Let me come to, Optimus." Gina said. "I can locate Prowl for you."
Optimus shook his head. "Gina…"
"I can handle this, Optimus." Gina pleaded. "Please let me do this."
"Fine, you may come." Optimus said grudgingly. "Suit up and come to the ground bridge."
Gina nodded and ran off to prepare for the mission. Time was of the essence and she didn't know how long Prowl had before OZ got tired of him.
XXXXXX
Agonized screams filled the room as the metal giant strung up on the wall had several volts of electricity running through his body. After a few agonizing minutes the torture stopped and Prowl sagged in relief, his vocal and audio systems in total disarray from the electricity.
"For an advanced alien species, you Autobots aren't that smart, are you?" Chuckled Henry Arkeville. "Did you really think you could learn our secrets without alerting us? You underestimate human ingenuity."
Prowl groaned as his sense came back to him. "I would never underestimate OZ. But people like you never learn from your mistakes. That's what lost you the Dynobots and Sprawl." When Arkeville's smile went away, Prowl sent him a tired grin. "Yeah, I know all about that. Veronica was very forthcoming with what she was involved in at Skywatch. Shame that your pet project went up in flames."
Arkeville scowled. He was behind the design of the neural net Skywatch used in their attempts to control the Dynobots. It was no secret of the shame he felt that his work had been rendered completely ineffective from outside interference. The ribbing he got from Howard afterwards totally wasn't worth the trouble.
"It doesn't matter. Tell us about the files you stole from Skywatch, Autobot, and your pain will end." He said.
"Not a chance." Prowl spat. "I've suffered worse than this."
"Such arrogance. You think you're not expendable? Once the Death's Head drones are complete, humanity won't need the Autobots anymore." Arkeville said smiling. "We'll protect our planet our way, without alien interference! Humanity's voyage into the stars will be unmatched by any other species!"
"Your monologuing is worse than a Saturday morning cartoon villain." Prowl chuckled weakly.
Arkeville finally had enough of Prowl's back talk and switched the machine on again, electrocuting him once more. It didn't matter how hard the Autobot resisted, he'll break eventually—physically or mentally.
XXXXXX
Optimus assembled the team and was ready to move out. Hound, Ironhide, Jazz and Trailbreaker were with him at the ground bridge, with Skyfire coming along for air support. Gina was there with Sara, Sureshock and Undertone.
"We will be bridging right above the base where Prowl is being held. As soon as we're clear of the portal, open fire on anything shooting at you. We have to hit them hard enough that they can't mount a proper defense. Jazz, Hound, I'm counting on you two to locate Prowl with the girls. Undertone will be paired with Trailbreaker for extra firepower. As soon as you find him, call it in and we'll bridge you out."
Sara looked at Gina. "Are you ready, Gina?"
"Ready as I'll ever be, Sara." Gina said determined. "Let's go save Prowl!"
XXXXXX
The ground bridge opened up over the base and the Autobots came flooding out, firing at the front gates to the facility. The walls and doors of the checkpoint were blown apart in a volley of blaster fire, and the alarm sounded seconds later. Dozens of talos were running out into the courtyard and shooting back at the Autobots. A couple of Apache attack helicopters were also taking to the air.
"Skyfire, disable them!" Optimus shouted.
Skyfire was already on it, transforming and flying at the helicopters, dodging their missiles while shooting back with her own weapons. She took the time to lay some heat on the enemy ground defenses, shooting a missile down at the talos unit in the hole they made, driving them back.
"Go before more of them come!" She yelled.
"Follow me!" Hound led the way with Gina and Sara on his shoulders, followed by Jazz. "I already have Prowl's scent."
Optimus watched the infiltration team enter the base and vanish inside. He nodded to Ironhide and Trailbreaker. "Let's teach Skywatch that we Autobots are not to be pushed around!" He said and raise his ion rifle.
XXXXXX
Arkeville switched off the generator, cutting off the electrical flow to Prowl. The Autobot was half conscious, his systems frazzled from the constant electrical currents running through is body.
"I'll stoop when you tell me what I want to know." Arkeville said. "I don't have all day. My time is better spent creating new machines to put those uppity espers in their place."
Prowl groaned, his optics flashing on and off. It took him a minute, but he managed to form a coherent sentence. "Get…fragged."
"Hmph. Fine then. We can just rip the answers out of Howard. I'll take great pleasure in dissecting your corpse!" Arkeville reached for the controls, but stopped when he felt the room shake and tremble. "What the devil?"
The wall behind him suddenly exploded outward, revealing Jazz and Hound, powerlinked with Sureshock, covered in numerous burns and dents from fighting through the many talos defenders in their way. Arkeville cried out in shock and turned to his security detail.
"Kill them, you fools! Kill them!" He roared.
"You're not hurting anyone else!" Gina leapt out of the hole at Arkeville. She cocked her fist back and punched Arkeville in the face, sending him spinning across the room. He crashed into the wall with a sickening crack and fell to the floor, limp.
It was a rather undignified end to the mad doctor. If he wasn't dead, he would be soon from a severe concussion or brain hemorrhage. Gina honestly couldn't find it in herself to really care.
The security guards pointed their guns at Gina, but Sara flew in and swiftly took care of them, delivering a barrage of powerful blows that destroyed their weapons and sent them flying in different directions with injuries ranging from mild bruises to broken bones. Hound and Jazz ran over to Prowl and gently unlatched him from his adamantium bonds.
"Easy there, Prowl." Hound said. "We've got you."
"What the hell did they do you?" Jazz asked, staring at the severe burns Prowl had on his body. He wrapped one of Prowl's arms around his shoulders to help him maintain his balance. "I know Skywatch has some serious weaponry, but this…"
"It wasn't Skywatch," Prowl groaned. "It was…Thornment."
"That bitch." Gina growled. "So OZ really is involved."
"Let's worry about that back at base." Hound said and keyed his comm. "Prime, this is Hound. We've got Prowl and we're heading out."
Just as he said that, two explosions of blue energy went off near the group, one near the Autobots and the other near the girls. Jazz, Prowl and Hound were violently blasted back by the explosion back into the lab, while Gina and Sara slammed into the wall.
Gina quickly recovered and larded at her attacker with glowing eyes. She gasped when she saw who it was.
It was Katrina, Pisces' inhuman bodyguard and possibly one of the strongest inhumans in the world.
Happy New Years everybody! We're finally out of that god awful 2020. We're now in the final chapters of the Skywatch storyline, where shit gets crazy. Next chapter Gina goes round 2 with Katrina, Pisces' Uber inhuman soldier who beat her ass in New Developments, and the Autobots face off against the Throne team, as well as many more revelations. In case you're wondering about the scale of the damage Nova's world engine caused, imagine a Africa from above, but a third of the Savanna is covered in metal with a giant hole in the center. That's how bad it is. Also, I want some opinions on the new Beast Wars comic that was just announced. Any thoughts on that. Feel free to visit the official Transformers Titan website on WordPress. Thanks for reading, please leave a review, and Happy New Years for everyone!