Author's Note: I apologize for the delay, but I have tests coming every which way, and another essay due in at some point. I'm hoping to make up for the delay by updating both of my active fics in one day, so I'll see what I can do. Thank you for not hunting me down and ripping my head off.

Disclaimer: Previous disclaimers apply.

Encounters of the Weird Kind

Chapter 6: Threat

"What are Quintessons?" Liam asked.

The Autobot Prime looked down at them. "A most despised race in the galaxy. They were responsible for the creation of my entire race, and thousands of horrible things."

"You mean they built you?" Sandoval, who'd just joined them, cut in.

"Yes. The Autobots were built as slave robots, the Decepticons as military hardware. Millions were sold off-world. They turned Cybertron into a factory. Those of us they didn't sell they used for entertainment, torturing and killing hundreds of thousands, forcing them to kill each other for amusement."

"So why did they leave?"

"They made the mistake of giving us intelligence, the reason being that we would make better slaves if we understood what we were being told to do. But the plan backfired. We gained sentience. For a while, nothing changed. Then we got fed up of being tortured and sold and killed. We rebelled, driving the Quints off the planet. That was over one hundred million years ago. Now they try to regain control of us. But they never succeed." Ultra Rodimus began bellowing orders, and Autobots scattered in all directions. Then he looked at Spike. "Take them inside. If the Quints get hold of you, they'll take you for their sick experiments."

Spike nodded. He led the quartet inside. They joined a flow of other humans and aliens toward the underground shelters, where they could wait out the fighting.

"Major, did you notice that Falcon has one metal tendril?" Sandoval asked.

Liam frowned thoughtfully. He had noticed, but it hadn't registered. "Yes, I noticed. When we get out of here I'll ask Ultra Rodimus about that."

"Ask him about what?" Spike asked.

"About why Falcon has a replacement tentacle."

Spike sighed. "You don't have to ask him. I can tell you about that. About a year ago, a woman named Jennifer Murdoch captured him. Using a device she built, she turned him human. And she tortured him."

"Why?"

"Back in the 80's, she and her family were caught in the middle of a battle between the Autobots and the Decepticons. A 'Con named Starscream shot them. Her family died instantly, but her boyfriend, also hit, lived for three days before succumbing to his injuries. She swore that she would kill every Transformer for the death of her family and boyfriend. So she caught Ultra Rodimus."

"What about Falcon?"

"She'd rounded up a group of doctor wanna-be's and let them loose on him. His injuries were horrible. Skin cut off, the top of his skull cut away, entire organs and muscles cut out, both legs not only broken but smashed, and one of them cut Falcon's tentacle off. It was Perceptor who built the bio-mech limb."

"And what happened to the woman?" Zo'or asked.

"She's dead. After Ultra Rodimus escaped, she came after him, taking my father, my wife, and my son hostage. When she confronted the Autobots, she was distracted, and they escaped. She shot my father. He died." Spike's voice became choked. He had to pause for a long moment before continuing. "By that time, she'd pushed Ultra Rodimus way beyond his limit. He snapped. In one blow he killed her."

The two humans winced.

Something rumbled overhead. One of the other humans looked up. "It's starting."

Then the noise became too loud for speech. Everyone clumped together and waited for the fighting to end.

There was too much racket to be heard aloud, so Ultra Rodimus had resorted to using his internal comlink to relay orders. Three Quint ships had landed, and their swarms of Sharkticon soldiers were flooding out. The air was thick with smoke, and reeked of burning metal and mech fluids. The Quints were hiding in their ships, letting their minions do all of the work. The flying Autobots had brought another ship crashing down, engulfed in flames, and were in the process of making a second look like Swiss cheese. Then one scored a direct hit on the engines, and the ship exploded in flame.

Ultra Rodimus batted away a piece of debris and took aim at another enemy. The brainless Sharkticons were too stupid to take cover. They were falling by the hundreds, but there were thousands more still coming.

"There's too many!" Jazz yelled.

"We'll be overrun if we don't do something soon!" Bumblebee screamed.

The young Prime spat a curse and transformed to his dinosaur mode. Bracing his legs, he opened fire with all of the laser cannons and missile launchers he had. Autobots dodged the shots, getting as far away from the shock zone as their legs, wheels, and wings could take them. None of them wanted to be caught in the blast. Most of them had found cover before the first missiles hit.

The dark Cybertronian sky was bright with fire.

To be continued...

Another chapter down. That should hold you for a while, at least until I get the next chapter done. And now, the reviewer responses:

Gromia: Even if you did explain it, I wouldn't understand it. And the Quints want the same thing they always want: to regain control of the Transformers.

Fenestrae: You saw the movie? Good. And yeah, Quints. I wasn't using them enough, and the Decepticons need a break for serious repairs. So I had to find another villain.

Thank you for the reviews! Please send more!