Four stellar-cycles.
Great War Three has raged on for four stellar-cycles. In such a time, countless planets have become outposts, bunkers, frontlines, and graveyards for infinite Cybertronian lives. As for Cybertron itself, it was torn in half for the third time. The northern half of the planet was Autobot grounds; the lower half was Decepticon territory. Kaon was the Decepticon capital, and Iacon, the Autobots'. Though both forces fought their hardest against the opposing side, neither faction could gain the upper hand. It were as if history was yet again repeating itself.
Except this time, the Autobots had no leader.
For four stellar-cycles, the Autobot Elders had held onto the Creation Matrix, an ancient item given only to those deemed worthy of the title 'Prime'. It's power was known of by few, and witnessed by even fewer. The last Autobot to carry it was the first one to be killed in Great War Three—Macht Prime. Now, the Creation Matrix lay in the hands of the Autobot Elders, awaiting the day for a new Prime to rise, and for him to light the darkest hour.
Varas Centralus. In the Kol System.
The sky was red, as was the dirt covering patches of the ground. Black clouds coated small parts of the carbon monoxide atmosphere above. Had a human stepped foot onto the planet, the look of the area would strike dread into them before suffocating to death. But to the local life forms, this was the textbook definition of a beautiful day.
On a plant that somewhat resembled a tree, resided an animal that somewhat resembled a bird, making sounds that somewhat resembled chirping. It looked around quickly, and briefly, as if noticing something out of the ordinary. Deciding that everything was alright, it went back to minding its own business.
Before it was crushed by a Decepticon tank, which promptly turned its turret, and fired into the battle behind it. The warzone continued to rage on; ground troops, air fighters, dead bodies, moving soldiers, destroyed buildings, and fire blasts covered all in sight.
"Quickshot is down!" A generic Autobot over the explosions as the said mech fell lifelessly to the ground. "Commander Groundbreaker, wha'do we do?"
Groundbreaker growled lowly. He was the commander of the squad he and Speedfreak were apart of, and the team was currently on a mission. The objective: infiltrate a Decepticon bunker and obtain information. Currently, Speedfreak and two other soldiers were inside, while Groundbreaker and the rest of the squad were outside, covering the exit. "Stand your ground!" He ordered. "We're not leaving without that data!" He turned towards a large, brown and white Autobot firing at airborne Decepticons behind them. "Reload, we need some extra firepower!"
The mech named Reload nodded. "Yes sir!" He sheathed his gun, and cracked his knuckles; collapsing onto the ground, his body twisted and shifted into that of a quad-barrel gun emplacement. Groundbreaker quickly leaped into the pilot seat, and gripped the controls. Pointing towards the sky, the duo of Autobots fired countless energy blasts towards a squadron of five Decepticon seekers; the flashes and booming sounds of the shots were nearly deafening and blinding, but they didn't relent. Three of them were stricken, and two of the three sailed violently to the ground with smoking tails.
The remaining seekers swooped down towards Reload and Groundbreaker. Swiftly, they shifted into robot modes, and pulled out their weapons.
'Breaker took quick notice of the types of guns the seekers pulled out. "Explosive shells!" He exclaimed. Leaping off of the gun emplacement, he motioned for his soldier to follow. "MOVE IT!"
Reload transformed back into his mech mode, but before one step could be taken towards safety, he was stricken by the explosives; his body was violently torn apart, and the Decepticons had taken another Autobot life.
"Slag!" Groundbreaker swore, scrambling away from the smoking crater where his comrade stood only a moment ago. "Where's Speedfreak? We're being slaughtered out here!"
As if by coincidental magic, the squad commander looked over to the bunker entrance, and spotted the said Autobot rushing out of the doors, followed by three large, angular, and silver tanks. Groundbreaker sighed. "He just had to bring out the Sentinels with him, didn' he?"
"'Breaker!" Speedfreak cried out. "I got it! Let's get out of here!"
"Kid, ya got no idea how much I've been wantin' to hear that. Let's go!" He pulled up the comlink installed into his forearm as he turned about face, and ran alongside Speedfreak. "Autobots, we've got the data, pull out and regroup at the rendezvous point!" Without waiting for a response, he closed the connection, and turned to his friend. "How in the pit did you get THREE Sentinels on your tail?"
"I didn't mean to!" Speedfreak exclaimed over the gunfire soaring overhead. "I just kinda ran into them on my way out."
Groundbreaker shook his head, giving off a soft laugh. "Whatever. Ya know what to do now, kid!" The commander exclaimed as he jumped upwards, front flipped, and landed on the ground in his alternate mode-- a Cybertronian armored car; the gun turret atop his frame turned to face their pursuers. "'Form and scatter!"
Upon the command, Speedfreak and the few remaining Autobots simultaneously shifted into their alternate forms. An army of cars, led by the dragster, Speedfreak, followed Groundbreaker and branched off in separate directions for their destination. 'Breaker and 'Speedy', however, continued to push forward, with the three Sentinel drones following.
The three silver tanks beeped accordingly, and all transformed concurrently. Still running on treads, the three drones now had hulking torsos, with massive chain guns for arms. The only thing on their perfectly spheroid heads were a black visor, with a single red optic, constantly moving from side to side, scanning the surrounding area.
"Looks like they got some upgrades…" Speedfreak muttered.
"Yer tellin' me, kid." Groundbreaker cursed. "Head up to the rendezvous point, I'll meet ya there."
"But-" Speedfreak's objection was cut short by 'Breaker's interjection.
"Go!" He ordered. "I can handle a couple Sentinels." A moment of hesitation passed, before the younger Autobot complied, and sped off. Groundbreaker gulped inwardly. "I hope." He uttered.
Autobot Bunker 859: Med Bay. Twenty-three cycles later.
"Owww…" Groundbreaker groaned as the medical drone repaired damages to his frame. Within Autobot Bunker 859 was perhaps one of the better-known medical bays, one of which Squad Three—Groundbreaker's detachment—was currently occupying.
"You actually took on three Sentinels, plus the Four Frenzies?" Speedfreak asked. He shook his head. "Suddenly I regret leaving you behind."
"'Ey, I made it out alive, didn' I?" He replied.
"Yeah… But you could've been seriously injured." Speedy replied.
"I, uh, was seriously injured." Groundbreaker said dryly. "Why d'you think I'm in the med- OW… bay." The blue and black commander winced as another spark came from the drone's tool.
Suddenly the main doors flew open, and two Autobots dashed into the room. One had a slender, feminine figure with what appeared to be four rotary blades on her back; several different shades of yellow, orange, and red covered her frame. The other was well-built for a mech, and large, thick wings reached for the sky on his back. Silver, red, and black covered his body. The latter Autobot folded his arms over his chest, and smirked.
"Seriously, 'Breaker." His cocky voice stated. "Battle damage isn't a good look for ya. Really ought to go for a more clean look."
Groundbreaker sighed. "One a' these days, Sonic Boom, I'm gonna kick your aft so hard, it'll be where your head is."
"Ya still should've told me and Fireflare that you two were going on a mission, we could've helped a lot!" The youth complained.
"It's not like we could've gone 'round, rounding up extra pairs of hands, it was an immediate order from the Autobot High Council." 'Breaker said. "Besides, you two were already on a mission."
"Scouting isn't a mission!" Sonic Boom retorted.
"Ah, quit your whining." Groundbreaker stood up the instant the medical drone completed his repairs.
"But-" 'Boomer's counter was cut off by Fireflare's fist crashing down onto his head.
"Listen to your commanding officer." She said firmly. As the medical drone made its way to begin repairs on Sonic Boom's head module, Fireflare walked over to Groundbreaker. "How ya feeling?"
"I've been better, kiddo. But I've also been worse." He replied.
"That's good." She turned to Speedfreak. "And how about you?"
Speedy gave her a smile. "A few nicks and dings, nothing major."
"I'm glad." Fireflare replied. "So how'd your mission go?"
The red and silver Autobot reached back into his subspace, and pulled out a small data disk. "It was a success."
Groundbreaker slapped Speedfreak on the back, and took the disk. "I knew I could count on ya." He motioned towards the door with his head. "You guys rest up, I'll get this data transferred to Commander Grimlock."
Autobot Bunker 859: Communications Hub. Five cycles later.
"Groundbreaker." The blue hologram of Grimlock flickered. The projector stretched from ceiling to floor, displaying a life-sized image of the Autobot. To say he had a commanding presence was an understatement. His build suggested that he could take on the entire Decepticon army, and his personality only enhanced that thought. "Your mission go well?" His deep, almost primitive voice asked.
"Yessir." Groundbreaker replied. He held up the disk, courtesy of Speedfreak. "Dis disk has all the information the Autobot High Council wanted."
"Good." Grimlock replied. "Send it over secure channel."
"Yessir." 'Breaker replied. As he punched in the code in a nearby console, he couldn't help but roll his optics at Grimlock's speech impediment. It made him sound far less intelligent than his rank said he actually was. Truth be told, Grimlock was among the most intelligent ranking officers in the entire army. Most Autobots believed that if Grimlock had more compassion, or any compassion for that matter, he would've been the perfect choice as Macht Prime's successor.
"Data sent." Groundbreaker replied.
A moment passed, before the hologram of Grimlock reached over, and pulled out a disk mirroring that of 'Breaker's. "Received." He replied.
The squad commander grinned inwardly; another mission accomplished. "Awaiting orders, sir." He stated to the hologram.
"Your squad being redeployed. You going to planet Nebulos, you set up bunker and secure planet." His optics narrowed through the transmission. "If you find Decepticons… Kill them."
There's that lack of compassion again.
"Yessir." Grounbreaker replied, saluting. "Squad Three Commander Groundbreaker, out." He cut the transmission with the click of a button, and headed out of the seclusion of the Communications Hub.
"Redeployed, huh?"
Groundbreaker leaped back, clutching his chest, as Sonic Boom doubled over from laughter. He gave the young mech a swift kick in the side, before regaining his composure. Fireflare and Speedfreak were with Sonic Boom, as well, and Groundbreaker gave them a puzzled look. "Didn' I say you could all rest up for a while?"
"Yeah, but we were kinda curious as to what Commander Grimlock had to say…" Speedfreak said, rubbing the back of his head.
"Well if ya were eavesdroppin' the whole time, then ya already know." He grinned. "So pack yer bags, kids. We're headin' out."
Unfortunately, before any response could be given, explosions sounded, followed by sirens and alarms.
"Attention Autobots! The Decepticons are attacking! This is not a drill. Repeat: This is not a drill!" The voice over the intercom stated.
"How in the slaggin'…" Groundbreaker sighed. "They must'a followed us here." He shook his head, and looked to the three soldiers before him. "We'll worry about Nebulos later. Now we gotta kick some Decepticon aft!" He immediately rushed to the Bunker Command Center, followed by Speedfreak, Sonic Boom, and Fireflare.
BCC: Bunker Command Center.
"What's the situation?" Groundbreaker ordered immediately as he made his way into the command center.
"Sir!" an Autobot sitting at the controls of a console. "We've got Decepticon air and ground units attacking us! Course of action?"
"Counterattack." He replied. "Fire up the auto-guns and the shields." He watched as the Autobot issue the command. "Oughtta buy us some prep time."
"Uhh… Groundbreaker?" Speedfreak called out. He was leaning over another Autobot controlling a different console on the opposing side of the room.
"What is it?" 'Breaker called back, peering over his shoulder.
"I think you better have a look at this."
The cobalt and blue Autobot made his way over towards Speedfreak, and hunched over with him to view the monitor. He blinked twice at the sight—four Decepticons standing a considerable distance away from the assault. All with their arms crossed, and all with smirks etched across their faces.
Groundbreaker sighed. "Dammit."
An attack by the Four Frenzies is just what they need right now.