Author's Note: I apologize for the delay in updates to this fic, but I am running a little short on ideas. Thank you to Kakwat for the ideas, but I just read a fic by another author, and I now have an idea for the trouble they will run into. It's trouble with a capital "Q". Hint hint.

Disclaimer: All previous disclaimers apply.

Encounters of the Weird Kind

Chapter 5: Learning

Liam sat in Iacon's entrance plaza, watching the Autobots come and go. Da'an and Zo'or stayed with him, not wanting to stray too far for fear of getting lost or stepped on.

"Hey," a voice said, and Liam looked up to see the brown-haired man who'd coaxed him out of Ultra Rodimus's cab. He wore a white uniform of some kind. The man joined them. "My name's Spike. Spike Witwicky."

"Major Liam Kincaid," Liam told him, taking Spike's offered hand. "How long have you been with the Autobots?"

"Since I was a teenager. My father Sparkplug and I worked on the oil rigs out in the Pacific. One day in 1984, the rig was attacked by giant robots marked with a purple symbol, led by a huge silver robot with a black cannon on its arm. His name was Megatron, and he was the Decepticon leader."

"What happened?" Da'an asked, fixing his blue gaze on Spike.

"They started stealing the oil and using it to make what they call energon. It's the stuff they use for fuel. It comes in liquid and energy form. The Decepticons were piling up stacks of energon cubes when the Autobots arrived. In the battle that followed, the rig was destroyed and then burned. The Autobot leader, Optimus Prime, saved the lives of my father and me."

"I thought the leader was Ultra Rodimus," Liam commented, confused.

"Ultra Rodimus is a fairly young leader. He's only been in power for about two years. His predecessor was Optimus Prime. He led for more than nine million years. Two years ago, there was a terrible battle at Autobot City on Earth. Optimus was killed, but he took Megatron with him. Only several hours later, we got word that Cybertron was being attacked by what looked like a giant planet with jaws. Two of the moons were devoured. So the Autobots who'd survived the battle at Autobot City, led by Ultra Magnus, decided to go to Cybertron to see if they could do anything to save their homeworld from the same fate."

"Something tells me their plans went bad," Liam commented, and the two fascinated Taelons leaned forward to listen to the story.

"The planet creature, a monster named Unicron, had found the dying Megatron and changed him into Galvatron. Galvatron and his minions came after the Autobots. They were chased off the planet. In space, the Decepticons continued to hound them. Hot Rod, Kup, and the Dinobots were separated from the rest. They crashed on a strange and twisted world. The others had to separate their shuttle, letting the Decepticons think they'd been killed. They crashed on a planet made of scrap metal, named, appropriately enough, the planet of junk. There they met the Junkions. But they were followed. Galvatron shot and destroyed Magnus, then stole the Matrix."

"What is this Matrix?" Zo'or asked.

"I'm not really sure. You'll have to ask Ultra Rodimus. Anyway, when Hot Rod and the others got to Junk, they made friends with the Junkions, who rebuilt Magnus and followed the Autobots back to Cybertron. Autobot and Decepticon fought side by side against Unicron, and many warriors lost their lives in that terrible battle. But the real battle was raging inside Unicron, where Galvatron and Hot Rod fought. Galvatron was choking Ho Rod when Hot Rod grabbed hold of the Matrix. He broke free from Galvatron, and the Matrix transformed him into Rodimus Prime."

"And now where is Rodimus?" Da'an asked.

"A few months after he became leader, Rodimus was fatally wounded by Galvatron and his minions. The Matrix and the souls contained inside changed him, saving his life. He was rebuilt as Ultra Rodimus."

"And he remained as Ultra Rodimus?" Liam asked.

"Yes."

There was a flurry of running feet, and voices increased in volume on the far side of the courtyard. Spike looked over at the milling Autobots.

"I wonder what's gotten them so worked up," he commented.

"You can't tell? They're pretty loud," Liam pointed out.

"They're speaking their own language. I don't understand Autobot. No human has ever mastered it."

The Autobots milled about uncertainly. Liam frowned as he identified the emotion in their voices.

"Spike?"

"Yes?"

"What are they afraid of?"

Spike frowned thoughtfully. "I'm not sure."

A moment later, Ultra Rodimus appeared, shouting for order. The Autobots switched back to English.

"Now what is the problem here?" the young Prime demanded.

A bright yellow Autobot Spike identified as Sunstreaker pointed skyward. All eyes followed his pointing finger.

A fleet of strange corkscrew-shaped ships were rapidly dropping through Cybertron's thin atmosphere. None of them looked very friendly. Their presence felt hostile.

Liam, Spike, and the two Taelons ran over to Ultra Rodimus, dodging tree-trunk-sized legs. Spike whacked striped armor to get Ultra Rodimus's attention.

"Who are they?" he asked.

Ultra Rodimus's eyes blazed with rage. "Quintessons!"

To be continued...

Another short chapter. At least I'm getting somewhere. And now it's your turn to do the typing. Send me reviews if you want more chapters. And now, the reviewer responses:

Fenestrae: So that's what your real screen name is. I'd wondered. I still don't want to be in a car you're driving, though. And yes, Liam will do his Kimera thing. Just hold your horses!

KMM1128: I'm glad you like it. And I don't think I'm the only one who likes both fandoms. I'm just the only one who's dared to try and combine them.

Gromia: I really have no clue what a spreadsheet is, but I'll pretend I do. Ultra Rodimus gives a whole new meaning to the term "reckless driver" on his best days. You really don't want to be on the same road with his, especially if he's in a hurry.

Thank you for reviewing! Now review some more!