Traces of Atlantis

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

17,000 BC

The sun sat high in the sky as they moved across the wastes, their spears serving more as walking sticks at the moment than the weapons they were made to be. Each was a skilled hunter, the best of their tribe, and today, they would bring back a wealth of food for their kin. None was more eager than their leader, the greatest hunter of them all, the tooth of a great cat worn around his neck that marked his greatest kill.

They had been tracking great prey, and they had no trouble finding still-warm droppings from the beasts that roamed this area. They knew the movements of the herds, the behaviors of what they stalked. They would have a prize, and they and their people would eat well. The herd was nearing a water hole, and the hunters would take their pick of the slower and weaker among them.

Just as they crested the hill which separated them from the water hole, a great, thunderous sound rolled through the air. While the animals looked up, many scattering, the hunter-leader called to his men to keep low and hold their ground. He did not know what was causing that sound, but they would not flee when their prey were this close.

He soon found reason to think otherwise as the ground shook and a dull thud echoed through the air. He noticed that many of his tribesmen were looking up in amazement, and the hunter-leader soon found that which they saw. For all they knew, what they saw was a god. They were aware of many, such as the god of the earth which provided food, the god of the sky which brought rain, and the sun which gave light and warmth as he passed through the sky, but not a single one could prepare them for this new god.

It looked like a man, with a head, two arms, two legs. A spear not unlike theirs was in his right hand, suggesting this god was a warrior or hunter like they. Its body, gold as the setting sun, looked strong but battered, as if this god had fought many hard battles. It did not seem interested in fighting, however, merely turning its head about to look at its surroundings, finally finding them, its eyes shining blue like stars.

Instantly aware that they may be looking upon a god, the hunter-leader and his followers dropped to their knees and bowed deep in supplication. So close were their heads to the ground that they could hear the god's slow footsteps reverberate through the earth. One thought occurred to them, that god or no, this being had taken interest in them. And that could be very bad indeed, as a thing as large as it would have no trouble in destroying all of them. Their only hope was to continue to bow, hoping that the god would take mercy upon them.

They waited, but no death blow came, no spear point sent down upon them. The hunter-leader was not the greatest of thinkers, but some part of him wondered if they were indeed in danger. If this god meant to slay them, would he not have done so? Curiosity finally got the better of him, and he raised his head and looked up.

The sight that greeted him was the last he had expected. The god remained before him and his tribesmen, and while he had moved closer, he was still a small distance away. Not only that, but he was down on one knee before them, kneeling, his spear laid at his side. One hand rested upon his raised knee, the other flat on the ground. His eyes, meanwhile, were fixed upon the hunter-leader and his tribesman, but these were not the eyes of a monster or an animal. While unusual and alien, they were warm, looking like the eyes of a friend. The god's mouth curled into what was a clear smile, and he slowly raised his hand, turning it over and making slight movements with his fingers, gesturing them to come closer.

The hunter-leader was not quite sure what to do. This god, however, had not harmed him or his kin, and his weapon was put down. Had he interest in hurting them, he would have done so. While experience told him that he should be cautious, curiosity told him to discover more about this new god. Keeping his spear in hand, he rose to his feet, his tribesmen looking at him as if he had gone mad.

The new god smiled and nodded, beckoning him forward.

Slowly, the hunter-leader approached, an arm outstretched towards that of the new god. His fingertips touched its hand, finding it slightly cold like water from a stream, hard like stone but smoother than any he had known. He turned back to his kin and called. Some remained in supplication, but a brave few approached and stepped forward, laying their hands upon the god's fingers.

The god, for his part, continued to smile as he looked upon the tiny organic beings at his feet. Methius Prime had never seen such creatures before, and he was delighted by what he found. These bipedal creatures were intelligent enough to craft tools and weapons, but also curious and not ones to blindly attack whatever they found. Rudimentary language, but language nonetheless. While soft and made of flesh and bone rather than metal, they were fascinating.

He looked forward to finding out more about them.


November 22, 2005

Hector Mendoza rubbed the bridge of his nose, still somewhat uneasy about what he had been told and what he had relayed to his superiors. "What you have told me is a great deal to accept, Michael. I barely understood it, and were it not for the incident last week, I expect my superiors would have laughed it off as nonsense."

Col. Franklin sat opposite the dignitary, remembering his own initial difficulty at understanding what he'd been told. "It is, I won't deny it. But it is the truth."

Mendoza leaned back in his seat, shaking his head in disbelief. "A crashed spacecraft full of extraterrestrial mechanoids, in my own country. You should hear some of the reactions. Some want to attack the vessel right now, despite the fact that it's resting in a volcanic hotspot. Others want to seize the technology onboard, before any opportunistic drug lord does the same. Based on what you've told me of their technological capabilities, I can't blame either group for worrying about it."

"I've thought as much. Quite a few in my government were equally worried about Cybertronian presence in our territory." Franklin left out some of the details, particularly the protests about allowing them a base facility. He could still remember some of his higher-ups protesting that decision, even when the point was made that they would be welcome to tour and utilize the facility when needed. "Nonetheless, the Autobots were well aware that they'd be revealed to the world. Which is why they're willing to make an offer, in return for keeping their presence a secret."

"This treaty they've negotiated with your government, as well as Iceland. Free access to our airspace in return for advanced scientific and technological knowledge, with weapons research specifically forbidden." He'd read the reports and the general synopsis of the Cybertron Accord. "They have questions about that also. What guarantees are there that these Decepticons will not use the treaty to enter our sovereign territory?"

"We suspect the Decepticons have no interest in the Acheron at this point. They've retrieved the prisoners contained inside, so it's unlikely they'll be returning. The Autobots, by contrast, are going to be salvaging what they can from the ship for their base facility. While they are the original owners, the ship is in your country." Franklin hoped that his point about how the permission wasn't necessary, but was nonetheless being asked, was made clear. "Besides, they'd rather not be shot at by the Colombian Air Force."

The diplomat shook his head. "Given the furor that we'd generate if an artifact from our past was taken, I can understand how they would feel if we refused them. And they are the original owners." He quietly nodded. "My government will no doubt be debating signing the accord for some time. Concessions will be demanded, things asked for, all sorts of compromises made and so on. I wouldn't be optimistic about it. For now, however, they're prepared to allow for the ship to be salvaged, just as long as it is done quickly."

Grateful for what little they'd been given, the colonel smiled. "I expect that won't be a problem." He rose and extended a hand. "Thank you, Hector."

The diplomat rose and accepted the hand. "Don't thank me yet. Just pray that you won't have any more hassles like this in the future. My country is one thing, but if this had been Egypt, well, I'd hate to see how that would have gone."


Weapons fire burst through the air as Optimus Prime cried out, "Autobots, stand your ground!"

His confident laughter echoed through the air as Megatron couldn't help but respond. "Come now, Prime, you haven't a chance! Give up while you can, and perhaps we'll let you escape!"

As the sun set in the west, far distant from the gathered, warring Cybertronians in the Sahara Desert, wind swept through the air and sand swirled about them excitedly. The assembled Autobots maintained their positions, weapons firing at their Decepticon adversaries and concentrating upon the massive form of Tidal Wave. Both sides considered this a delaying action, a few members from each group having broken off. While one side only had one goal in mind, however, the other was concerned with much more.

As Overhaul smashed into Slugslinger and ripped off the Decepticon's shoulder cannon in the process, Prime radioed in, "Hot Shot, Blurr, status report!"


"We're coming up on the pod now, Optimus!" Hot Shot reported as he drove through the desert, Blurr flying overhead. "No sign of Decepticon activity yet!"

:"Good! We'll keep Megatron busy, but don't keep us waiting too long! We can't hold out forever!":

"Understood!" The line cut off, and the young Autobot returned his attention to his driving, the sand notably difficult to keep a grip on. The fact that he had passengers didn't make it any easier. "I hope for all our sakes that we find that pod without any problems. Otherwise, Optimus is gonna have all our heads."

"Well don't blame me for all this." Secured within the Aston Martin's interior, Alexis gave her male friend the hairy eyeball, not thrilled at having ended up in a combat zone.

Arms raised defensively, Rad protested, "Hey, you wanted to see all this up close!"

"It doesn't matter who decided to hide on the flight pod." Suddenly wondering if Scavenger had ever had cycles like this, the young Autobot continued sternly, "Look, the three of you are taking a terrible risk just being here. You're lucky you weren't hurt when Tidal Wave shot the pod down, and that's just the start of this whole mess." All too aware that the kids were convinced of the folly of their actions, he decided to drop his warnings and get back to the mission. "I just hope our luck holds out."

"You and me both." Glad to avoid the desert sands, Blurr kept his sensors fixed on the horizon, scanning for the pod's location, still mindful of his own passenger. "You doing alright, Carlos?"

"Yeah." While still securely strapped in, the young Hispanic nonetheless kept a tight grip on the armrests of his seat, hoping that Blurr wouldn't be going into combat. "But I am definitely gonna regret this."


"Megatron, we're at a tactical disadvantage!" Thrust declared as he poured laser fire into the Autobot lines, prompting them to dodge to one side or another in the sand. "The longer the Autobots hold us here, the sooner we will be forced to withdraw! We have to end this battle, and quickly!"

The Decepticon warlord grimaced, not at all pleased with the tactician's assessment. "Agreed. Perhaps it's time the Autobots learned why it is so foolish to strike against me. Tidal Wave, to me!" The titanic Decepticon nodded, then transformed, first into his massive sea craft mode, then separating into three unique sea-faring vehicles. One connected into Megatron's back as his weapons array swung forward onto his chest, the remaining two connecting directly to his arms. Massive engines roaring to life on his back, he took to the skies and proclaimed, "Let us see how Prime deals with true power!"

"Optimus, we've got a problem!" Beachcomber called, pointing towards the rising Megatron.

The Autobot leader's optics narrowed as he zoomed in on his counterpart. He'd been expecting this ever since Tidal Wave had been found, but that didn't make the problem any easier. "Then it's high time we solved it. Jetfire, Overload!"

While not at all eager to present one big target to their enemy, the shuttle didn't see many other options. "Right with ya!"

As the other Autobots increased their fire against the Decepticons, the three larger Autobots underwent a series of transformations. Jetfire tossed his shield and gun to Optimus, who deftly caught the gun and allowed the shield to latch onto his back. The Autobot leader, meanwhile, shifted into the familiar form of his Super Mode's arms and upper body. Overload shifted as well, Rollout disconnecting and allowing the large weapons frame to latch up to Optimus's back. Jetfire completed the combination, shifting into a lower body and a pair of legs and latching up with his commander's waist, Overlord's twin cannons swinging into place. Sparkplug and Over-Run linked up with ports on the combined form's shoulders as Comettor linked up with Jetfire's gun, both it and Optimus's own cannon in the combined form's hands. Powerful jets fired from his combined feet, and the Autobot leader rose above his subordinates in Magna Jet mode and charged towards his old adversary.

Unimpressed with his foe's combined mode, Megatron laughed and opened fire with missiles and shots from his fusion cannon. "Let's see if this new mode of yours is truly up to snuff!" Despite his heavy weight, Optimus avoided the barrage of weapons fire, and countered with shots from both his guns and Overload's cannons. The burst hit Megatron hard, tearing hard into his armor but not forcing the Decepticon to disconnect. "Most impressive, Prime, but you can't keep this up forever!"

As they continued to exchange fire, the semi was glad that he wouldn't have to keep it up forever. He just had to go long enough to finish his work.


"We're closing in on the target zone." Sensors zooming in, Blurr revved his engine uneasily. "Looks like we've got a sandstorm ahead."

"Kinda small to be a sandstorm." Peering forward, Carlos gazed upon the sand cloud ahead of them, noticing that it wasn't moving in any direction, remaining stationary despite the moving sand, and that two large shapes were barely visible inside. "Wait a second, I see something!"

"Sensors have a lock." The Autobot sniper suddenly regretted having the kids along even more as he realized who was waiting for them. "Decepticons."


"Right on cue," Skywarp noted as he circled and kept watch above the Mini-Con pod, Thunderclash and the Air Military Team buzzing around it and moving sand out of the way with their engines as they went. "You done down there yet, Starscream?!"

"Just a few more nanos!" His turbines blowing sand out and away from him, the red and grey Seeker continued his work of exposing the escape pod hidden away in the sand. While a vacuum device would no doubt have been far more effective, they lacked both the time and effort to utilize it. "Almost have it… Almost… There!" As the Seeker watched, the pod slowly began to reveal itself in the sand, its silver domed surface reflecting in the setting sun. Deploying a small laser-torch from his right forefinger, he then began cutting through the roof of the pod. "I'll only need a few micro-cycles to cut a hole into the pod! How soon until incoming?!"

Quick calculations formed, albeit based on generous estimates. "I'd say Hot Shot and Blurr'll be on us in less than two kliks!"

"Good! Better they get whoever's in this pod than Megatron!" With those words, Starscream's torch cut all the way through the pod's roof, and the Decepticon gave a sigh of relief.

And then everything went straight to hell.


A massive explosion tore through the air, catching the attention of the warring Cybertronians in the distance. Quickly activating a communications line, Optimus called out, "Hot Shot, Blurr, report!"

:"Some sort of explosion directly under the Mini-Con pod!": Hot Shot reported. :"Blurr and some of the 'Cons over here have been knocked back but no one's hurt bad… Aw slag –!":

"Hot Shot?!" Not sure what was happening to his young subordinate, the Autobot leader called out. "Hot Shot, respond!"


Much to the surprise of Hot Shot and his passengers, sand was quickly collapsing beneath them, pouring underground like a whirlpool of silt and silica. Now truly regretting his actions, Rad gripped hard onto his armrest and yelled, "Hot Shot, get us out of here!"

"What do you think I'm trying to do?!" His wheels spun madly, but were unable to find purchase in the rapidly-shifting sands. "I can't get a good grip! Wherever this collapse is going, we won't be escaping it!"

Now terrified, Alexis put aside her anger at Rad and tried to keep calm. "Okay, so we can't get out! But that sand's going somewhere and filling some vacant space, right?!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Sealing up his windows and hoping that his doors would remain as tight as possible, Hot Shot did the only thing he could as they slipped deeper and deeper into the sand. "Hang tight and try to keep calm, kids!"

The pair did as told, both praying quietly that they'd survive as the sand slowly engulfed them.


It didn't take long for Skywarp to come back online, shifting to robot mode and working sand out of his joints. Whatever he didn't get would be worked out easy enough with a hot oil bath, but what Starscream had been through would no doubt make this a minor hindrance in comparison. Looking over the prone forms of the four Mini-Cons around him, the Seeker asked, "Everyone alright?"

"We'll live." Not pleased about being covered in sand but glad he'd survived, Gunbarrel looked about at the strewn wreckage around them. "What happened? Where are Starscream and the Autobots?"

"That's my question." His flight systems still needing time to cycle out, Skywarp knelt down and examined some of the wreckage. With relief, he realized they were parts from the Mini-Con pod, and not from his comrades. "Looks like someone planted a bomb in that thing. Probably got the Mini-Cons out before they did it, left the pod here as bait for us. Give you three guesses who, while I'm at it."

:"Starscream! Skywarp! Report!": Megatron's voice bellowed over the comm.-line.

"Skywarp here, Lord Megatron. The pod was rigged. There was a bomb planted within, and it detonated once Starscream penetrated the inside. No sign of him or if there were any Mini-Cons inside, but odds are there weren't."

A growl sounded from the other end. :"Withdraw immediately! We've wasted enough time here!":

The line closed, the Mini-Cons looking up at the Seeker and Terradive voicing their concerns. "So, we're just going to leave without looking for Starscream?"

"Not much choice." Shaking his head, the Seeker pointed out one bit of good news. "Besides, we didn't suffer much damage from the explosion. Chances are good that Starscream's in one piece. We'll see him again."

The four Mini-Cons looked amongst themselves uneasily before they linked up with the Decepticon. He dropped a small beacon near the fragments of wreckage he had found mere milliseconds before he jumped back to the Nemesis, hoping the Autobots would be able to find Starscream where he couldn't.


Protective airbags deflated and retracted to storage, allowing Carlos some breathing room as he heard Blurr's voice ask, "Carlos… Hey kid, you still with me?"

The boy groaned, feeling a little sore but otherwise fine. "Yeah, I'm okay. What happened?"

"We got caught in an explosion, took a while for my systems to reboot. Good news is that the 'Cons are gone, but there's no sign of Hot Shot, Jolt, Alexis or Rad." An impotent sputter went through the Autobot's turbines. "And I'm grounded, which will be the least of my problems once Optimus catches up to me. You want to climb out so I can transform?"

Not at all eager to find out what would happen if Blurr transformed with him inside, the boy freed himself from his harness, the Autobot opening his hatch and allowing for his egress. He moved over to Incinerator as his escort shifted to robot mode and tried to clear the sand from his joints. "What happened to Hot Shot?"

The Mini-Con pointed to the slowly-growing depression in the sand. "Down there, hopefully. Might take us a while to get to 'em, but we'll find 'em." He picked up a chunk of debris from the pod and continued, "I think this might be a little more important, however."

:"Blurr, report in!": Beachcomber's voice called out over the radio. :"You reading me kid?!":

"Loud and clear." Noticing the beacon left behind by Skywarp, the sniper reported, "The pod's blown, probably some kind of trap. No sign of the Decepticons who were here, and Hot Shot and Jolt are missing, possibly buried in the sand." Glancing at the depression, he added, "Looks like Dr. Masters was right. Something's out here, and that explosion's given us the location. Hopefully, they're down there already."

:"Let's hope. Overhaul and I are on the way. Just stay put and wait for us.":

"Copy that." As the line closed out, Blurr shook his head in self-irritation. They never should have let the kids come with them. They knew they were going into a potential battle zone, and yet, the kids were riding inside like they were driving down a suburban street. Optimus was going to have his aft for this. Still, he had other problems right now.

Looking over some of the wreckage and careful not to touch it, Carlos looked up and asked, "You don't think the Decepticons did this? Found the pod, picked up the Mini-Cons, left it to blow as a trap?"

"Megatron isn't quite that creative." Squatting down beside the human and his Mini-Con partner, the Autobot looked over the wreckage. "And while I wouldn't put it past him to sacrifice one or more of his troops, I doubt he'd go to this much effort. Someone rigged this pod to blow, but it wasn't the Decepticons."

A little surprised by this idea, the boy wondered aloud, "So, if they didn't do it, then who did?"


An icon flashed and disappeared on the small monitor screen, which prompted a pleased grin on Dualor's face. "Looks like the bulks took the bait. One of the rigged pods has been destroyed."

An unenthused laugh answered him. "Lucky that we weren't in it."

Dualor turned to the Mini-Con at his side, taller than him and blue. "That's no way to treat the ones who brought you back online, Armorhide. After all, we're all in this together."

With optic shutters narrowed, the blue Mini-Con regarded his savior suspiciously. While large and powerful, any who knew him knew full well that Armorhide was deceptively intelligent, more than able to figure things out where others of his kind, and even many bulks, could not. "You still haven't explained exactly what this is, Dualor. Or how you managed to get all this taken care of."

The Destruction Team's leader motioned for the larger Mini-Con to follow him out of the modified stasis pod. As his guest followed, he elaborated. "In the aftermath of the last war, I realized something. The bulks don't care about us. Megatron rebelled because he wanted us for power, as cannon fodder and weapons. Had anyone truly cared for our future, they would have wiped out him and every Decepticon who sided with him. But they didn't. Instead, the Autobots abandoned us, our leadership sent us into exile, and the Decepticons did nothing but keep spies on Megatron. I intend to rectify that bit of short-sightedness."

An optic ridge rose as they stepped onto the lunar soil. "By doing what exactly, eliminating Megatron? Something like that would take an army, and a lot more firepower than you have at your disposal."

A laugh. "The latter is coming. As for the former, well…" He gestured over the gathered Mini-Cons at their makeshift base camp. "I think this will make for a good start."

Armorhide followed Dualor's arm, looking over the camp. Gathered around were numerous Mini-Cons of varying make and model. Including himself and those Mini-Cons who'd shared his now-destroyed escape pod, but not including Dualor's team, he counted twenty-four.

"Since I and my team were recovered, I've taken the opportunity to gather information and resources. No one paid much heed to the reserve parts aboard the Nemesis, and I suspect that Megatron was more aware of the energon shortage to even notice the odd communication we've made to Earth." Continuing on his way through the camp, passing Cliffjumper and Ironhide as they went, Dualor continued, "Eventually, I managed to get in contact with a human arms merchant who was sympathetic to my goals. He helped me to retrieve you and many of our brethren in return for a few choice bits of Cybertronian technology, as well as some odd assistance with a project here and there. You, along with those in the pod with you, were among the most recent to be liberated. And unfortunately, the last for now."

"Unfortunately?"

Dualor looked less than pleased to admit this next part. "Plans have changed. Megatron has rescued the Eclipse Team, just as we rescued you. I'd hoped to use this makeshift base as the foundation for a subsurface fortress, consolidate our resources and eventually strike out, but unfortunately, that option is off the table, and we need to accelerate our timetable."

Armorhide crossed his arms, regarding the Mini-Con tank with suspicion. "Just what are you after?"

"A homeland, Armorhide. I want our people to be free of influence from either Autobot or Decepticon, and by taking out Megatron, we'll guarantee it."

Not at all convinced of his side, but nonetheless curious, the large Mini-Con decided to hear him out. "Tell me more."

Off in the distance, far out of sight of any of the gathered Mini-Cons, a single blue and white one who hadn't been part of their camp looked over the proceedings and shook his head. "Looks like it's time to call in the cavalry."


"The good news is that we've cleared out just about everything we can from the ship." Glad for the flight pod's communications systems, Rhinox continued his report. "We're loading the pod now, starting with the power core, so hopefully, we'll be able to get the base site powered shortly. The main problem beyond that is time. A single flight pod can only carry so much."

:"Unfortunately, you're going to have to make do for now.": Red Alert replied on the other end. :"Given the reports we've received from the battle in the Sahara, it could be some time before the second pod is available for cargo transit.":

The tech-org shook his head and groaned. "The heavy lifting's left to us again, huh?"

:"I doubt that Optimus is any happier about it than you are, Rhinox.": The medic looked less than pleased about delivering this news, particularly considering who was getting it. :"In any case, we'll let you know once the second pod is ready to contribute to transit. With any luck, it won't be too long.":

"I hope you're right. The sooner we get this equipment shipped out and delivered, the better for all of us. Rhinox out." The line cut off, and the Autobot rhino rose from the console and went back to work. The job wouldn't get done if he sat around and did nothing.


From her perch atop the Acheron's resting place, Crystal Widow looked out over the horizon and scanned the landscape with her green optics, her usual dour expression replaced with one of curiosity and wonder. It returned to her as she noticed the Colombian military perimeter in the distance, reminding her that while she was in a place that was a bit more welcoming of her mixed nature, the natives were not.

The sound of crashing rocks heralding his arrival, Longhorn climbed up to her perch in his alternate mode, that of a semi-mechanical ram. "Had a feeling you'd be up here." He shifted back to his robot mode and sat down beside her. "Something on your mind?"

"Just looking at where we ended up." Gesturing with a hand, the techno-organic spider elaborated, "Millions of stellar cycles, we've been here on this lush, green world. Long enough for all this life to develop."

Despite himself, the ram smiled. "Is kinda nice, isn't it?" Noticing the soldiers in the distance, he added, "Still, would be nice if we didn't have to worry about them."

"Bad enough our own people aren't used to us." A glum look on her face, Crystal continued, "Now we have a purely organic species to look at us with suspicion along with other Cybertronians."

Longhorn gave a frustrated grunt. "You're not on that kick again, are you? What happened to all of us, what the Quints did, it wasn't your fault. And as frustrated as I am with Prime about us being stranded out here for so slagging long, I know how mechs reacted to us wasn't his fault either." He calmed himself slightly, regaining what little composure he could. "Listen, I don't know what'll end up breaking you out of this funk of yours, but you need to remember that we're all in this with you. And we're here for you. Regardless of how we're treated by the natives or our own people, we've got each other."

A small smile crossed her face. "Thanks." Looking over her form, the femme added, "Still, I'll bet the rest of you will have an easier time being accepted than me. Big robot cats or sheep or birds, fine, but a big robot spider? Who likes them?"

A laugh as he remembered a small bit of cultural information that he'd managed to gain in the last week, snippets from a movie and how a giant mechanical spider had been forced into it. "You'd be surprised." The roar of engines caught their attention, and the pair watched as the flight pod rose into the air, rapidly ascending. "And there we go, the first shipment's on its way out. Primus knows how many more there are left, but they ain't gonna be ready unless we get 'em ready." He jumped down off his perch, landing with a heavy thud, and looked up. "You coming?"

Crystal soon joined him, the pair heading back inside to retrieve what little remained of the internal wiring and circuitry for transit. A small part of her hoped that she'd find some acceptance and enjoyment of this world, but she wondered how well its people would respond to finding someone where they didn't expect them to be in the first place.


Carlos nervously looked down at his feet before screwing up his resolve and turning back to his former teacher. "Look, I know we shouldn't have snuck onto the flight pod like we did. I know we made a big mistake, and we could've been hurt, and…"

"And I think you've more than learned this particular lesson." Not at all pleased with the actions of her former student or his peers, Diana was nonetheless not in a rush to further argue her point, as there were bigger problems. "We won't be telling your parents about this. I don't even want to think about how your mother will react, given the one time I met her. Right now, however, finding Rad and Alexis is our big priority. Just don't do this again, hmm? I don't want to be delivering bad news."

"None of us do." Optimus had already privately discussed things with Blurr and, while he was less than thrilled about the children being present, he nonetheless could understand their decision to keep the kids with them rather than in the flight pod. Still, he was not pleased, and both the sniper and his partner would be seeing punishment once they were back at the Ark.

Grateful for little more than a stern lecture and his mind now back on Rad and Alexis, the boy looked up at the Autobot leader. "So, you guys can find 'em, right? I mean, there's only one place they can be. They're under the sand, wherever all of it ended up flowing."

"We will, once the flight pod's been repaired. We'll need its power supply to help move sand out of the way. Right now, however, Rad and Alexis are with Hot Shot and Jolt. Believe me, if anyone will go out of their way to keep them safe, it's them." Glancing back at the control console and their remaining human passenger, he sighed and shared a small glance with Diana. "Now if you two will excuse me, I think Vector Prime needs some assistance in dealing with Prof. Suzuki. So many questions…"

The archaeologist allowed herself a laugh as she glanced over at her old roomie, still in animated discussion with the elder Prime and Safeguard over everything she could think of. Granted, she was in the same situation not too long ago, but that didn't discourage her amusement.

Carlos' question broke her out of her reverie. "So, why are you guys looking for Atlantis out here in the desert? I thought it sunk out in the Atlantic somewhere."

"It probably did, but Lucy found a part of its hull out here, suggesting that something connected it to this area. Given Rad and Alexis found something underground, we might just be onto something." She sadly shook her head as she thought about the possibilities, and hoped that if they'd found some long-buried structure that the explosion hadn't damaged it, all sorts of knowledge potentially lost. "We won't find out for certain until we dig them out, however, and that's gonna take some time."

A chirp sounded from the flight pod's communications console, distracting everyone and prompting Optimus to answer. "Go ahead Sideswipe, we read you."

:"We're picking up this anomalous signal from Earth's moon,": the young Autobot answered. :"Similar wavelength to the ones from the Mini-Con pods, but varied slightly.":

"Wait, I thought all the Mini-Con pods crashed here on Earth." Turning to Sparkplug, Lucy asked, "What's a signal from them doing coming from the moon?"

"We started bailing out pretty far out. For all we know, some may have ended up remaining in orbit or ended up getting caught in the moon's gravity." The yellow Mini-Con looked up to his partner. "But if there are Mini-Cons up there, aside from the ones that have ended up with the Decepticons, how are we supposed to get to them? The only Autobot who can make the journey's Jetfire, and they'd pick him up in a spark-pulse."

As if summoned by his name being called, the Autobot second-in-command entered the flight pod. "Something tells me whoever's up there wouldn't be trying to contact us unless it was really important. Whatever's going on, I think this is just as important as finding Hot Shot and the kids." He looked to his commander and offered, "In any case, the fight's over out here, and repairs are mostly finished. I don't think you're going to need me out here."

"Agreed." Optimus turned back to the console. "Sideswipe, transmit coordinates. Jetfire's going to investigate."

More than a little bothered by what was going on, Diana stepped forward. "No offense Optimus, but this doesn't exactly sound like a walk in the park. Like Sparkplug said, the Decepticon ship'll pick up Jetfire in an instant. How's he supposed to evade them?"

"Who says I'll be evading them?" Amusement clear in his voice as it shifted in tone, and inflection, Jetfire continued, "The bigger question is, will they be able to recognoize me?"

It took a second for the archaeologist to process that the shuttle was now speaking in what sounded like an Australian accent. It took her slightly longer to process that his colors were shifting, going from the familiar red, black, grey and white to varying shades of purple, gold, olive and crimson, Autobot emblems shifting to Decepticon ones and his optics shifting color to complete the disguise. Optimus quietly laughed as he explained, "Diana, allow me to introduce you to one of the most mysterious Decepticons in existence. So mysterious, he doesn't even exist."

"For the time bein', Jetfire's out ta lunch." As if introducing himself for the first time, he gave a dramatic bow. "The name's Sky Shadow."


"You left Starscream behind?!" His optics fixed on the black Seeker in disbelief, Wheeljack was all but screaming. "How could you?!"

"Didn't have much choice," Skywarp curtly replied. "I didn't see any sign of him down there. It's likely he got caught up in the explosion, buried in the sand. If he's lucky, the Autobots'll find him soon enough."

While the various other Decepticons among Starscream's faction exchanged worried looks, the former Autobot was the most vocal in his concerns, no doubt spurred by his own memories of seeming abandonment. "You could have at least looked for him! Done something beyond leave that tracker beacon behind!"

"And waste how much time, go missing myself, not be able to give you and the rest of our bunch the details?" Before the younger mech could react, he raised a hand to silence him. "Kid, I know you have issues about all of this, but no one is less happy about Screamer getting left behind than me. He and I go way back, far enough that I think of him like a brother. Regardless, he's online, and the Autobots will find him and patch up whatever injuries he might have."

He calmed, and tried to explain himself. "I'm not saying they won't, I'm just saying…"

"That he's one of us." Thundercracker calmly approached, hoping that his words would help to cool the younger mech's temper. "We know."

"Don't get too worried. Starscream's a big mech, he can weld his own seams and everything." Not particularly worried about how his words were received, Sharkticon turned to Skywarp and asked, "Still, what do we do now? Did he have a plan in case something happened to him?"

"Aside from my taking over in his stead?" Skywarp looked over each of them. "We have exactly one directive, and that's looking after the Mini-Cons. First chance we get, we make sure they all get off the ship safely. Partners can stay if they want, but all the rest need to get to Earth. Big question is how, but we'll figure that out."

None of the mechs present were thrilled with this idea, but not one was willing to question it. As discussion began about how to accomplish their goal, Wheeljack looked out the window towards Earth, hoping that Starscream was indeed online and safe.


Hot Shot spun his wheels and attempted to get some traction in the large pile of sand he found himself trapped in. Finally, he managed to find purchase with the aid of gravity and rolled quickly onto level ground. With a quick burst of air from his valves, he slid to a halt. "You kids okay?"

"Yeah, I think." Looking out the window, Alexis had little trouble noticing the darkness surrounding them. "Where are we?"

"Not sure, but my sensors tell me the air's breathable. Probably more stale than megacycle-old oil, but safe." As his passengers hopped out and coughed slightly, he transformed and activated whatever lights he could, providing illumination where possible. "Wherever we are, we're probably the first ones down here in ages." Looking to his Mini-Con partner, he asked, "You alright Jolt?"

The red helicopter disconnected from his partner's gun, transformed and landed, shaking what sand loose that he could. "Ask me again after I've had an oil bath."

A clear grunt caught the quartet's attention, and they looked to find a large robotic form struggling to get out from the massive pile of sand. Both of the children pulled back, making the correct assumption that the form was a Decepticon. More than a little scared, Rad called out, "Hot Shot, make with the shooting already!"

The young Autobot, however, had different ideas, knowing full well what Decepticon was trying to dig himself out. "Jolt, stay with the kids." He stowed his weapon and started digging away at the sand with his hands, helping the Decepticon to unearth himself. "Hang on! You're almost out!"

Confused and surprised, the boy looked at the Mini-Con. "Jolt, what's going on?! Why isn't Hot Shot shooting him?!"

"Because he isn't the enemy here." The red helicopter motioned for the kids to keep calm. "It's a long story, but…"

Jolt was interrupted as Starscream emerged from the pile of sand, one hand firmly in Hot Shot's grip and the other attempting to steady him on the stone floor. Emerging from the sand and shaking as much of it loose as he could, the Seeker gave the young Autobot a smile. "Thanks, Hot Shot." He turned his head to his Mini-Con partner, still connected to his port. "Swindle?"

The red and black Mini-Con popped from his port and landed on the ground, working what little sand had gotten onto him out of his joints. "Still in one piece, no major harm done."

"Good." Relief turned to surprise as the darkened chamber suddenly grew far more lit, artificial lights coming online around them. "Hold still everyone." A couple tense seconds passed before the Seeker relaxed. "Automated lighting systems. They must have come online when they sensed you enter the chamber. I'm not sure why the delay, but given this place's age, well, things may well have gotten damaged over time."

Momentarily distracted from the Decepticon, the two children looked around them. It was obvious the place they were in wasn't natural, the stone walls looking to have been carved by hands much larger than theirs and the high domed ceiling tall enough that Optimus or Megatron could stand in it with plenty of room. It wasn't the size of a stadium, but it could easily fit the entire student body at their middle school. The only thing breaking the half-sphere was a doorway leading into a long hall, its destination unknown. "Where the heck did this come from?"

"A good question." Surprised at the humans' presence, Starscream slowly approached and knelt down to examine them. "And here's another one. Since when did Optimus allow for human children to go on missions?"

"He didn't exactly allow it," was Hot Shot's nervous explanation. "They tagged along, long story." Finally getting to introductions, he started, "Rad White, Alexis Romanov, this is Starscream and Swindle. They're part of our fifth column."

A little surprised by the term, Rad looked up at the Decepticon and asked, "Fifth column?"

"He's allied with the Autobots," Alexis realized aloud. "He's a spy in Megatron's ranks."

"More of a mole, but yes, that's the general idea." The Seeker looked at the pair with wide optics, as while he'd been more than prepared to be near an explosion, the last thing he'd expected was to be interacting with humans. However, he kept his curiosity in check and continued, "I've been working against Megatron for eons, but it's only recently that I've been able to make any serious progress, at least until the Acheron was found. The two of you were among the three who found the first escape pod from the Exodus, weren't you?"

"Well, yeah, but we didn't know about you!" Turning from the Seeker to the luxury car, Alexis called out, "Why didn't you tell us you had Decepticon allies?! I mean, this is big! Huge!"

"And if you'd known and been captured again, Megatron would have found out." Jolt apologetically turned to the kids as he explained. "We couldn't take the risk of exposure. The less you knew about Starscream and his allies, the better."

"But why are you working with him in the first place?" Still surprised, Rad continued, "I mean, I thought all the Decepticons were evil!"

Quirking an optic ridge at the boy, Starscream argued, "Four years ago, a group of Islamic militants rammed passenger jets into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Sixty years before that, the Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. Are you going to judge all of them evil simply because some of them did terrible things?"

A little more accepting of the Seeker given her heritage, Alexis grinned and noted, "He's got you there, Rad."

Said teen promptly snapped his mouth shut and and blushed on realizing the faux pas he had just committed.

"Which makes you Alexis." Optics fixed on the girl, the Decepticon continued, "Forgive my curiosity, but are you in any way related to Czar Nicholas II?"

"No, I have the same last name, but…" A little surprised, she looked up and asked, "Wait, how much about Earth do you know?"

"Enough that, were it not for our circumstances, I'd be very much enjoying this." Rising back to better address the other full-sized Cybertronian, Starscream looked about. "As it stands, wherever we are, however we got here, we're stuck here." Looking upwards, he noticed that sand was continuing to slowly pour in. "It's a miracle the entire roof didn't collapse. Just as much of one that we haven't all been totally buried in sand at this point."

Hoping to recover some lost ground with not only the Decepticon but also Alexis, Rad pointed out, "But we're alive, right? That's good, isn't it?"

"That it is." Turning to face Hot Shot, the Seeker explained, "I doubt the Decepticons have stayed behind, given the destruction of that pod, but if I know Optimus, he won't leave without locating you. We just need to find some way of getting a signal out."

The younger mech nodded in agreement. "Sounds good. What do we need?"

"My communication systems are online and working, but I doubt they'd penetrate this stone structure. We need some means of increasing the signal strength." He turned to the children and asked, "I don't suppose either of you has a cell phone?"

"We might have something better." Alexis pulled her communicator from her pocket and held it up. "The Autobots gave us these in case they needed to contact us, or vice versa."

The Seeker gave a triumphant laugh. "Perfect. When we get out of this, I'm going to thank Red personally." He extended his hand, and Alexis gently placed it upon his open palm. "For now, however, I'll have to thank you."

Still a little nervous, Rad turned to his friend and whispered, "You sure that's a good idea?"

Fully aware of her friend's concerns, Alexis nonetheless tried to calm him. "Rad, we can trust him. Hot Shot does, right?"

A quick scan of the device, and Starscream adapted his ports to match as small wires shot out from his palm and hooked into the phone. Its screen promptly flashed on as he explained, "It may take me some time to calibrate this. You'd best have a look around, see if there's any other means of entry to this place."

Checking over his rifle, Hot Shot nodded and turned towards the hall. "I'll let you know if I find anything interesting. C'mon kids, let's have a look around."

While Rad moved to follow him, Alexis stayed put. "Hot Shot, if you don't mind, I'd like to stay here and keep Starscream company."

"That's fine. C'mon Rad, let's get moving." While the boy looked reluctant, he followed, the Autobot moving slowly down the hall with his Mini-Con partner in tow. "Just keep your eyes open. No telling what's waiting for us down here."


"Ye best watch yerself, land-lubber," Waterlog threatened menacingly, a massive cannon on one arm loaded and ready.

"You think you can take me, you glorified buoy?!" Fetch readied the missile launchers on both arms, more than ready to blow away the seafaring Mini-Con before him after he and his teammates had looked at him the wrong way. "Do you?!"

While the pirate's teammates on the Sea Team attempted to get him to back down, the remaining two members of the Night Attack Team were content to sit back and watch, not particularly concerned with their fellow Mini-Cons' fates and more interested in their own entertainment. It took the intervention of Drill Bit, his main weapon spinning dangerously, to give the two pause. "Now mechs, we won't be having any fights amongst ourselves. It's uncivilized."

Taking that as a challenge, Fetch shifted targets. "I'll give you –!"

A quick strike of the drill, and the Destruction Team's enforcer destroyed the closest warhead, causing a small explosion and knocking the black and blue Mini-Con onto his aft. Gazing dangerously down upon his comrade, he asked, "Have I made my point, Fetch?"

The short-tempered Mini-Con answered with a growl as he regained his footing. His two teammates watched a small distance away with disappointment, neither pleased with his actions.

Drill Bit caught sight of Fetch's teammates and locked his optics on the pair. "Keep your team in line, Broadside!" He then turned to Waterlog's comrades and warned, "The same to you, Oceanglide!"

Watching from nearby and just out of sight, Ironhide shook her head, trying to keep her tone down. "Can you believe we're stuck with these mad-mechs? Some of 'em are little better than criminals." Her optics shifting towards Clench as he and Ramjet spoke with Dualor, she added, "And the rest are even worse."

"I don't like it much myself, Ironhide." His optics swept over the gathered Mini-Con army, and Armorhide couldn't help but note the number of mechs present who'd ended up working with the Decepticons back in the day. Whether it was due to force or choice, he didn't know, but many of the mechs he saw didn't fill him with confidence. "Unfortunately, we don't have too many options. As much as I don't trust Dualor, I don't see how we can get away from him."

"Don't suppose we could try reaching out for help?" Looking uneasily at his fellows, Nightcruz was hardly willing to engage in a fight, being geared more for espionage than combat. "I mean, someone's gotta pick it up."

The bulky blue Mini-Con shot him a critical look. "Like the Decepticons?" He shook his head. "Sorry. It's a good idea, but it's not worth the risk."

"Well, what are we supposed to do?" More scientist than fighter, Cliffjumper was the last femme one could expect to live up to her name, but she was amazingly perceptive under even the worst of circumstances. "We aren't fighters, Armorhide, not all of us. And I wouldn't be surprised if Dualor's plan ended up backfiring spectacularly. We need a plan of our own, some way out of this insane mess."

"Don't suppose you mechs and femmes would feel too bad about getting an outside opinion then." The four turned in surprise to find a yellow Mini-Con head looking up at them from a small distance away, similar to Drill Bit's but infinitely more approachable. "Hey Armorhide. Long time, no download."

The large Mini-Con couldn't help but be surprised. "Monocle? What are you doing here? You and your teams would be the last mechs Dualor would bring in."

"Who said we did? My team and I just ended up sharing a pod with the Lunar Assault Team is all." Along with his partners in the Exploration Team, Monocle was more inclined to philosophy than anything. While they could fight, they preferred not to. Climbing out of his hole, the yellow Mini-Con elaborated, "Still, we don't mind. We've been contemplating the universe, and I've been digging tunnels. Not the best soil to do it with, between the dust and the hard rock, but I manage well enough." Gesturing back, he indicated the tunnel he'd dug. "Care to explore this one? It's quite pleasant, and there's a very nice light at the end of it."

A laugh, and a thankful smile. "I think we'll take you up on that."

"Excellent." Jumping back in and shifting to vehicle mode, the digger urged them onward. "Better move fast before they notice."

Armorhide gestured for the others to go ahead, Ironhide and Cliffjumper transforming and following while Nightcruz crawled after them. Certain that they hadn't been noticed, he brought up the rear and disappeared into the lunar soil.


:"Power core is in place. You want to go ahead and start getting everything hooked up?":

"We've already got the wiring in place and made sure the circuits were tested, so why not?" Glad for the core being in place along with all the extra parts from the Acheron finally having been delivered, Ironhide smiled with some well-deserved joy. "Just let me know when you guys are all done, Hoist."

While full construction and installation were still far from completion, the Autobots' new Colorado facility was well on its way towards completion, the wiring in place and the new power core fully installed, some of the Energon discovered closed off from the main base for later extraction and mining once a dedicated team could be brought in. While he'd been more than a little afraid that the base would be delayed, the young Autobot architect now felt confident that it would be brought online well ahead of schedule. The Acheron's discovery, while restoring Tidal Wave to his concerns, had nonetheless been a blessing in terms of available materials and workers.

"Hey, Ironhide?"

He just hoped that everything else that had come up would be equally helpful. Hoping that the human teen wasn't coming to him with a complaint, he asked, "Yeah Lori? What's up?"

Looking up at the architect with a paper copy of the base blueprints in hand, the young woman rolled them up. Despite having gotten the offer to be taken home, she as well as the two Hansen brothers had opted to stay for a while, more than eager to spend time with their new alien visitors and watch the base get finished. "I've been looking over the designs for this base of yours, and I've noticed a few things."

Ironhide readied himself. He was used to criticism, albeit from mechs his size and with much more experience rather than from a teenaged human female. He doubted that it'd be anything good. "Such as?"

"Such as the fact that this is an awesome design!" Practically beaming at him, she continued while unfurling the designs and pointing out what she approved of. "Look at this! You've got great work flow, excellent ventilation, and at least a dozen bathrooms per block! You did great work here!"

Pleasantly surprised, he laughed and humbly answered. "Thanks! I can't really claim credit for all of it, though. We got in touch with a few members of the Army Corps of Engineers about some of the requirements, and I just tried to work 'em in where I could. Humans being in this base is an eventuality, and the more comfortable you guys are with the facility, the more comfortable you'll be with us, right?"

"Are you kidding?! It's not even finished, and I feel right at home!" Bud rushed up and excitedly added, "I saw all those launch systems and ramps and elevators and stuff, and man, it looked great! Just like Thunderbirds or Batman or…!"

"Wait, Thunderbirds?" Looking at the boy strangely, Ironhide wondered aloud, "Wasn't that the show with the puppets and the models? From the sixties? How do you know about it, anyway?"

"DVDs." Coby came up and nervously admitted, "Between me and Bud, we've got a small library of old action and sci-fi stuff, including some really badly dubbed ninja flicks."

"Hey, the bad dubs make it better!" the younger sibling protested. A thought occurring to him, the boy looked up and asked, "Wait, how do you guys know about Earth TV?"

"We started picking up anomalous radio transmissions from Earth right around the time radio got popular around here." More than a little amused at the kids' questions, Scavenger stepped forward to elaborate. "We planted some relay satellites to help boost the signals, and we've been recording everything ever since. Aside from letting us have a look at your culture as it developed, it's also part of how we managed to pick up the basics for your languages. The Internet filled in the gaps once we made it here to Earth. Being right in the neighborhood helped, though there were times when we had trouble figuring out what was real and what wasn't."

A little amused, Lori joked, "Don't tell me there's a Cybertronian or two who thought that Star Trek was a documentary or something."

"Nah, we could tell that was fiction right away based on the science alone. No offense, but you guys got a lot of stuff wrong when it came to interstellar travel back then. It and some of the other soft sci-fi stuff your planet's produced tends to get treated like a cult classic at best, and used as fodder for our equivalents of Mystery Science Theater 3000 at worst." A thought occurring to him, Ironhide wondered aloud, "Hey, you think the BBC might be interested in having copies of all those old Doctor Who episodes?"

A laugh from the old bulldozer. "Let's save that for after we get the base finished, hm?" His tone becoming more serious, he asked, "Speaking of, given the salvage from the Acheron, how much of an acceleration can we expect on the timetable?"

"You kidding? Getting that power core in alone is going to get us a couple days ahead of schedule as is. Once the rest arrives with the crew of the Acheron to help out, we might even get finished before Christmas." Ironhide switched back to Cybertronian in a low voice as the kids began to talk excitedly about what that would mean, including a Christmas tree or three. "Any word about the operation in Egypt?"

"Not much, but I'd keep the kids out of the loop as much as you can until we get the full details." Glancing down at them, he added, "Speaking of, make certain they get home safe, hmm?"

"Not a problem. Hoist can definitely pick up where I leave off, and we'll be waiting on the next salvage delivery anyway."

Scavenger moved off with a satisfied nod, heading to oversee another bit of installation and leaving the young Autobot alone with the kids. Having noticed small bits of their discussion, Lori looked up and asked, "What was that about?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," Ironhide casually noted. "Anyway, while you've brought it up, this 'Christmas' holiday of yours. What does a fat guy in a red suit who goes down chimneys have to do with the offspring of your deity? Is Jesus why the reindeer are able to fly or something?" Noticing the kids suppressing small laughs, he asked, "What, did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's just…" The girl shook her head. "It's complicated."


Given the silence, it wasn't hard for the Autobot racer to take note of his surroundings. The hallway was lined with a number of sealed archways, suggesting additional rooms, one no doubt leading to the main entrance but no doubt buried long ago by sand and silt. As much awareness as he had of the structure he found himself in, however, he had less difficulty in noticing something was troubling his young friend. "Something bugging you, Rad?"

The boy looked up at the Autobot in surprise, trying to get the uneasy expression off his face. "What? Why do you think something's bugging me?"

"Well, for one thing, you aren't your usual exuberant self." Gesturing at the area around them, Hot Shot elaborated, "I mean, let's face it, our way out may be blocked, but we're still stuck down in tunnels that haven't been disturbed in thousands of years, easily. I'd think most kids would get excited by something like that, but here you are, being all quiet."

A small grin formed on Rad's face. "I'll admit, this is pretty cool. It's just Starscream back there. I mean, you never said anything about some of the Decepticons actually being good guys."

"If it makes you feel any better, not all us Autobots are good guys either." Opting not to elaborate on his experiences with King Atlas, the racer joked, "Though truthfully, here I was thinking you were just jealous of all the attention he was giving Alexis."

"And vice versa," quipped the Mini-Con.

Rad fought down a blush at their remarks, prompting the two to laugh. "Maybe a little."

"Seriously though, this is as big an event for Starscream as it is for the two of you." The boy turned to Jolt as he elaborated, "This is his first time actually interacting with humans in a situation where he didn't have to fight them. And knowing him, he's probably been actively pouring over every resource he can find to learn about your people and still not been satisfied. He probably views meeting the two of you the same way you did us, with Alexis reciprocating." Grinning again, he continued, "But I wouldn't worry. You've still got a shot at her."

"Jolt!" Before the boy could protest further, a blue glow formed around the three and distracted him. "Whoa, what's…?"

Hot Shot mentioned for him to keep still, the glow fading immediately. "Scanners." A door at the far end of the hall opened, soft white light coming from within. The three made for it, Rad rushing to keep up with the Autobot's footsteps before gently being scooped up, and entered the newly-opened chamber. While still mostly dark, the trio's presence increased the lights in the room, allowing them to make out more details.

The chamber they found themselves in was almost as vast as the one they'd first found inside the structure, domed and with dim lights providing lamination. This one, however, was different, a circular light resting in the middle of the room and with a bit of the floor nearby casting brilliant blue light itself, intermingling with the normal white lights to give the entire chamber a somewhat foreboding aura. Glancing at the walls, all three could make out a long line of glyphs, but none were able to read them. Finally finding his voice again as Hot Shot set him down, Rad asked, "What is all this?"

The Autobot shook his head in amazement. "I'm not sure, but offhand, I'd say we've found something big."


As he continued his calibration work, Starscream couldn't help but note that the young human was keeping her eyes on him. He didn't mind so much as he recognized the sight of curiosity and wonder, often having shown it himself, but still, it needed to be acknowledged. "Is something bothering you?"

The girl shook her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't stare, but…well, this is my first time with a Decepticon. At least, my first time without one shooting at me."

The Seeker smiled back. "Don't be sorry, Alexis. This is my first time with a human, so we're both on unfamiliar ground. It's not something I'm pleased with either. Were it my choice, I'd be interacting with your people more often."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Really? I'd have thought you guys would want to leave us alone, considering the way we are."

"Before the Mini-Cons were rediscovered, that was the general plan. We could still observe, however." Sitting down so as to help close the distance between them, Starscream continued. "We Cybertronians have been aware of human civilization ever since we first picked up your world's radio broadcasts, well over a century ago. Many of us, myself included, couldn't help but be fascinated. The foundations for our society and technological achievement were practically given to us by the Quintessons, save for a few bits of creative thought here and there. Your people, on the other hand, crawled and scraped and struggled to get where you are now, and that's something to be admired."

Somewhat modestly, Alexis countered, "Well, we aren't exactly perfect. I mean, we've done some terrible things to ourselves. Probably worse than what Cybertronians have done to each other, if you consider the scale of it all."

Swindle laughed. "Hate to break it to you, kid, but us Mini-Cons aren't exactly where we used to be in terms of numbers. Thanks to Megatron, we're effectively an endangered species. There's less than two hundred of us left. What he's done would make guys like Hitler envious."

"Regardless, not all of your people are destructive and monstrous. The fact that you're still alive, after having experienced all the terrors of the last century, proves my point. Your people have kept moving forward despite tragedy and setbacks and all sorts of pains, showing so much great potential. One day, you'll all realize it." A small smile crossed the Seeker's face. "I only hope I'm able to see it, maybe even help it along."

A sad smile crossed her face. "You and the rest of us." A soft beep sounded from the communicator, prompting her to ask, "Was that you or something around us?"

"Me. The signal's been sent. And knowing Optimus, he'll receive it very shortly and have us out of here soon afterwards." Glancing over the domed chamber, Starscream added, "Now that this is done, we can have a look around, figure out more about this structure. If we're lucky, Hot Shot has found something to help explain this place's origins."

As if on cue, the Decepticon's comm.-link sounded. :"Starscream, I don't know far along you are on the signal, but we've found something big on the opposite end of the structure. Not certain what, but it looks like it might be some kind of projection room.":

"We'll be along shortly." Disconnecting the link, Starscream leaned over and offered a hand to Alexis. She obliged, climbing on as he rose to his full height. "Now, let's see if we can get some answers."


"My fellow Mini-Cons, our time has come at last!" Gazing over the assembled forces with pride, Dualor continued to address them. "Blastcharge's team has given us some excellent news! Starscream has been left behind on Earth, presumed lost! The only competent means of defense against us is gone! It is now time for us to strike back against Megatron once and for all!"

Loud cheers and cries of agreement rose up among the gathered Mini-Cons, giving the Destruction Team's leader greater confidence in his scheme. The fact that he'd managed to gain the support of many Mini-Cons who had freely aided Megatron's faction only bolstered his resolve. Buzzsaw's soft words interrupted his reverie. "Dualor, are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, we haven't gathered everyone together yet. There are still plenty of pods left on Earth."

The tank turned to his less-aggressive subordinate. "Starscream made the foolish decision not to finish off Megatron when he had the chance, and now he's stuck on Earth, and the mechs who are no doubt aiding him have the Eclipse Team to deal with. I won't repeat his mistakes." Another Mini-Con approached, black and grey with a design suggesting an Earth stealth bomber, and prompted Dualor's attention. "Yes, Razorclaw?"

"We're missing a few," the Sky Attack Team member reported. "Armorhide and his bunch. You want my team to go after them?"

Dualor shook his head. "We need all of us for the success of this mission. Once we've dealt with the Decepticons, then we'll handle the remaining loose ends."


"Femmes and gentle-mechs, welcome to your new rest stop." Shifting back to robot mode, Monocle gave a cheery wave to the other Mini-Cons present in the makeshift base. "I'm home everyone!"

"Welcome back, Monocle." His right optic rotating as he approached, Astroscope quickly offered Armorhide a hand as the bulky blue Mini-Con transformed. "It's good to see you again, old friends."

"Likewise, Astroscope." Shaking the offered hand, the arctic trawler nonetheless managed a quick, surprised glance at the various Mini-Cons gathered. "Looks like Dualor isn't the only one who's been busy."

Dominating the site was an opened escape pod from the Exodus, various wires and bits of equipment strewn about and constructed into makeshift devices. It gave Armorhide and his companions a little comfort to note that, aside from the Space and Exploration Teams, the members of the Energon Team were present as well, Skyboom already approaching and offering his own greetings to the others.

"In a sense, we have him to thank for all of this." The Energon Team's leader turned to address the newcomers before continuing, "He found us, got us back online, asked us to help him out. All our teams refused, but the ones we bunked with were a little more cooperative. We've gotten by, but we had to scavenge what we could from human probes and such. I'm just glad we got all of you out before the fireworks started."

"Fireworks?" A surprised look on his face, Nightcruz looked to their unofficial leader. "What's going on?"

"All I know is that Dualor's planning on taking out Megatron, then turning his attention to Earth if the Autobots don't play ball with him." Turning back to the Space Team's leader, the bulky Mini-Con noted, "You probably know more than I do."

The scientist gave a sad nod. "Unfortunately, yes. We've been keeping watch on Dualor's group since our reactivation, formulated a theory for his strategy."

Sensing a long and overly-detailed explanation coming, Payload stepped in. "We think Dualor's planning on knocking off Megatron using his own troops."

Disbelief in her optics, Cliffjumper looked between the various Mini-Cons and asked, "How? A Mini-Con can't take control of a larger Transformer."

"One alone, no." Her head turned to Landslide, before this point in quiet meditation, as he looked up and elaborated. "Several together, however, could conceivably control a larger Transformer via a group Powerlink."

Starting to see the logic, the scientist nodded and worked it out in her processor. "That does make more sense. Part of the Powerlinx process is an increase in energy output for the larger Cybertronian. The more Mini-Cons involved, the greater the power, and with the proper modifications, a group of four or more Mini-Cons could override the motor controls of a standard-sized Autobot or Decepticon. The bulk would be a prisoner in their own body, effectively in stasis lock, and the Mini-Cons would be in control of a larger, significantly enhanced Cybertronian loaded for bear. Multiply the number needed, and they could potentially take over Tidal Wave, or Megatron himself."

"Though something tells me Dualor isn't quite as arrogant to try and control Megatron like that." Working from one corner, Wreckage looked up and continued, "Odds are he'd just take over Tidal Wave and frag him. Myself, I say we let him do it. Old antler-head's never been particularly popular with us, after all."

"You're forgetting what could happen afterwards, Wreckage. Remember what I said about Earth?" Turning to the three team leaders, Armorhide argued, "Look, I don't know about you, but something tells me Megatron's more than aware of what Dualor's been up to, and full details or no, he's probably got a plan in place to stop it. Him having some of the guys who opted to join up with Megatron on his side is another thing against him."

"Something that we've also surmised." Astroscope led the group inside of the pod towards its lone console, the monitor taking note of a broadcast signal from the pod's communications array. "We've sent a small carrier signal out. Based on our sensor scans, we should expect assistance very shortly."

Armorhide looked at him with a quirked optic ridge. "A little risky, isn't it?"

"Nothing is without some risk, I fear."


Manning the consoles within the Nemesis' command center, it took very little time for Thrust to notice an anomalous signal on the ship's sensors. "Lord Megatron, I've detected something on our short-range sensors." As the warlord stepped forward, the tactician elaborated, "It looks to be a Decepticon spark signature, but it's not one that the sensors recognize."

"An unexpected guest, hm?" Megatron was intrigued. A small part of him suspected Starscream using some clever ruse to mask his signature, but he doubted that the Seeker would be able to make orbital velocity. Aside from that, why would the Seeker bother? "Calculate flight path."

Commands were typed into the computer, the sensor screen shrinking to display a projected flight path for the incoming Decepticon. "It looks like whatever's coming is headed toward a small area on this moon, some ways distant from the ship. Origin point is Earth, roughly the same area as the battle earlier this cycle."

"Then perhaps the Autobots have received more reinforcements than we initially believed." The tyrant shook his head. "No matter. This is easily dealt with." He opened a communications line and declared, "Thunderblast, Shortround, Slugslinger, we have a visitor coming. I want you to roll out the welcome mat."


"I do not envy Blurr right now." Shaking his head as he looked over the area where Hot Shot had gone missing, Beachcomber quietly picked up a piece of debris. "I won't envy Hot Shot either. After he's found, you can bet he and Optimus will have a nice, private talk."

"Eh, the boss-bot won't be too hard on him. He'll get off with a warning this time, if anything." Looking over the area, Overhaul noted, "Still, what made the kids think it'd be a good idea to stow along anyway?"

"No offense to humanity, but let's face it, their processors don't quite work the same ways ours do." The dune buggy gestured over the area around them before elaborating. "I mean, think about it. Sahara's Arabic for 'desert'. Not exactly a creative name, is it?"

The brawler laughed. "Got the point across, didn't it?" His sensors registering something, the brawler asked, "Hey, you read that?"

The larger Autobot's optics brightened. "Yeah, and I know exactly what it is, too." He activated his comm. system and asked, "This is Autobot Beachcomber, do you read me?!"

A slightly garbled signal replied, :"I read you, Beachcomber! This is Starscream! You can tell Optimus that Hot Shot and his two passengers are safe, along with Jolt and Swindle! The six of us are in some sort of artificial structure underneath the sand, hundreds of vorns old based on the cyberglyphics I'm seeing!":

Never happier to hear the Seeker's voice, the buggy laughed. "Guess it's a good thing we've got a couple experts along with us! Sit tight, we'll have all of you out in a little bit!" He closed that line, and then opened another. "Optimus, we've got a fix on our missing mechs! they're in an underground structure with Starscream! No injuries, but they've found some interesting stuff inside!"

:"That's the best news I've heard all day.": The Autobot leader answered over the line. :"The flight pod's repaired. We're heading for your position now.":

"Understood." The second line closed out, Beachcomber looking down at the sand with surprise. Of all the things he'd thought he'd find this cycle, this was furthest from the top of his list. Looking to Overhaul eagerly, he wondered aloud, "You don't think they may have found a clue to Atlantis down there, do you?"

A small laugh from the brawler. "If they have, then Hot Shot'll definitely only get off with a warning this time."

Lowering themselves down from a cargo bay hatch, Slugslinger turned to his two comrades curiously. "Now who do ya suppose would be coming to pay us a visit?"

"Who cares?" Thunderblast asked dismissively in reply. "Megatron's sending us to handle them, and I for one wouldn't dream of disappointing him." She swooned on the spot. "He's so… Oh I can't begin to describe how perfect he is! So big, so powerful!"

Rolling his optics, the sharpshooter could barely restrain his displeasure at his femme comrade. "If you were into size and power, I'd think you'd be all over Tidal Wave. Mechs don't get much bigger than him."

A dismissive snort. "That brute? He doesn't have the brains to use his power effectively. Megatron's another matter."

A groan as he transformed to vehicle mode. "Fine, whatever. Come on, let's get going before I blow a turbine."

As Slugslinger jetted off, Thunderblast gave an irritated grunt. "Mechs." Her wings took on a brilliant red glow as she gestured to the third member of their team. "Come on, Shortround!" She then took off, a brilliant red tail lancing forth behind her.

Shaken out of his fantasies, Shortround transformed to his hovercraft mode and followed behind, small jets propelling him along and a trail of lunar dust left in his wake. "Coming!" His own infatuation with Thunderblast was obvious to anyone who bothered to pay attention, especially among his own teammates. While she didn't seem willing to give him the time, he knew that, if he hedged his bets, she'd eventually give up on Megatron and move on to one who appreciated her talents. Namely, him.

As the trio of Decepticons departed, a large grouping of Mini-Cons entered the ship, moving slowly and silently onto the cargo lift before it rose up and sealed behind them.


Taking note of the trio's departure through a window, Mudflap turned to Thundercracker and asked, "Where do you think the three of them are going?"

The blue Seeker shrugged as they continued down the hall. "Not sure, though I'm a little more worried about why. Something tells me we'll find out soon enough, though."

Before the Decepticon crane could ask him to elaborate, the two were interrupted by a terrible clamor, Cyclonus rushing towards them excitedly. "Guys, you won't believe this! We just picked up this Decepticon signature heading towards an area here on the moon, coming from Earth!"

The crane turned to the Seeker. "That explains where they went off to. Starscream, maybe?"

"Doubtful. He wouldn't have enough Energon in his reserves to make escape velocity." Shaking his head, Thundercracker turned back to the berserker and noted, "Whoever that is, I doubt he's interested in a fight. Now if you'll excuse the two of us."

The pair of conspirators made their way along, leaving Cyclonus behind. "Yeah, well, whoever it is, I wish I was going out there to meet 'em! If he was coming for a fight, I'd tear him apart in a nano-click!" Finding himself ignored, the chopper heaved a frustrated groan and shook his head, heading back down the corridor. Since the arrival of reinforcements and especially with the Eclipse Team's revival, he'd felt more and more marginalized, held back and overlooked in favor of other mechs. He had as much to contribute as them, didn't he? He was the mech that chased down the kids! He'd fought in every battle thus far, given his all, shown the Autobots what for! And what did he have to show for it except being ignored. "Nobody appreciates me around here anymore."

"Is that true?"

The voice caught the Decepticon off guard, causing him to look about uneasily. His optics finally made their way down to the deck, locking onto an unfamiliar dark blue and black Mini-Con. At first he was relieved, but then his sensors alerted him that this Mini-Con hadn't been brought in on a previous mission. "What are you doing here?"

Broadside looked up. "I came hidden in the darkness. It is my ally, and your nightmare." Those enigmatic words spoken, the Mini-Con leapt up and transformed, linking up with one of Cyclonus's Powerlinx ports. More familiar ones emerged from the shadows, linking on and sending further surges through his systems, ultimately forcing him to his knees as Dualor came into view. "Wha-what's hap–?!"

"You bulks have used us long enough as tools for your own ends." Transforming and Powerlinking at the Decepticon's remaining slot, the Mini-Con concluded, "I think it's time you got a taste of your own medicine."

The resulting power surge, unregulated thanks to the small adjustments that the Destruction Team had made to themselves and their allies, knocked the Decepticon unconscious. After a few short milliseconds, his body twitching, Cyclonus' systems rebooted and his optics came back online. He rose to his feet and flexed his fingers, an uncharacteristic smile curling on his face and his voice now a mix of his own and that of the Destruction Team leader. "Excellent."


"Well, I think we can say the signal got through." An incoming registering on the monitor, Payload reported. "I'm picking up two spark signatures inbound from high orbit, but one single mass. Thing is, the big one's registering as a Decepticon."

Turning to Astroscope in surprise, Armorhide asked, "A Decepticon coming in from Earth? I'd think an Autobot would be coming to our rescue first."

"Things may not be as simple as they appear, my friend. We put a lot of research into spark-masking technologies before the Second War, it may well be that our research was picked up on and continued. But whether that's a genuine Decepticon or merely an Autobot in disguise, the fact remains that someone has answered our call."

"More than one someone." Poking his head into the escape pod, Landslide reported, "Ascentor's given an early warning. We've more incoming, this time on the ground from the direction of the Decepticon ship."

"No way did they pick up this signal." Turning back, the heavy lifter of the Space Team suggested, "I'd bet they figured out our rescuer's landing zone before they found us."

"Regardless, they've no doubt picked up on us by now." The Space Team's leader turned to his counterparts. "Skyboom, Monocle, our teams had best get ready."

A few anxious looks were exchanged among the independent Mini-Cons as they joined the others outside, weapons fire impacting around them. Their own weapons at the ready as they moved for cover, the Mini-Cons quickly noticed the three Decepticons waiting for them.

"Well, look at this! Thirteen Mini-Cons!" His cannon primed and ready, Slugslinger noted, "You've got an unlucky number. That's one point against you already. Make it easy on yourselves and surrender."

Weapons fire peppered the three Decepticons immediately, forcing them to step back and turn their attention elsewhere. They looked up as a dark-colored space shuttle shifted course and transformed, slowing to a halt before landing between them and the gathered Mini-Cons. "No one's surrenderin' here, mate!" The new arrival then drew his weapon and offered, "Unless 'a course, you want to give it a go!"

More than frustrated at the new arrival's sheer audacity at shooting at her, Thunderblast practically screamed, "And who the slag are you supposed to be?!"

The mech answered with a cocky laugh. "Name's Sky Shadow. And you three are toast."


"He should've sent me, Brushguard." Feeling more than a little slighted, Tidal Wave carefully crawled along the halls of the Nemesis behind the xenobotanist, less than pleased with having been left behind. "Whoever that is heading towards us, I could tear 'em apart easy, no question. Probably a little faster than Slugslinger or Shortround could. If anything, I'd be able to get back in Thunderblast's good graces. You'd think me being able to link up with Megatron would count for anything with her, but no…" Getting the feeling that he was being ignored, the titanic Decepticon glanced at his much smaller comrade. "You aren't even listening to me, are you?"

"Yes, assuredly," His optics fixed on his data pad, the scientist continued going over information on Earth's native plants, hoping to find something to catch his interest. "Ah, Dionaea muscipula...interesting..."

The massive Decepticon groaned. "You're hopeless."

"The same could be said of you." A quick shot lanced through the air, hitting Brushguard and sending a massive burst of energy through his body. The small blue Decepticon collapsed to the ground in a heap as Tidal Wave turned to see one of his comrades standing nearby, one arm raised and a smirk on his face. "I must thank the Autobots for that wonderful little toy."

Surprise was clear on the titan's face. "Cyclonus? What's all that about?"

"Cyclonus is temporarily unavailable, I'm afraid," the possessed Decepticon said in a distorted, mixed voice. "And soon, you will be as well."

Tidal Wave looked down at Cyclonus in surprise seconds before he found a pair of dark blue and black Mini-Cons connecting with his legs. Fetch and Scattor were soon joined by the members of the Sea and Sky Terror Teams, the two groups connecting at points along the giant's arms and knees. A massive surge of energy poured through the massive Decepticon's frame, leaving him vulnerable for Ramjet to fly up and connect to his chest, finally silencing his cries of pain.

As a smile crept across Tidal Wave's face, Cyclonus asked, "Is everything set, Ramjet?"

In a distorted voice, the titan answered, "Indeed."

"Excellent. Now separate. You'll have better mobility as three small watercraft than one large robot." The controlled chopper nudged the offline Brushguard with one foot. "Counting this one, that's six Decepticons out of the way. I have a good idea of the ones who would be in Starscream's camp, but that still leaves Megatron and a few others. We need to deal with them now, and finally make certain that all the bulks know who's really in charge." A glance at the small Cybertronian while the much larger one broke apart, and he noted, "A shame you don't have Powerlinx ports. Oh well. We'll find someone for Clench and the other teams soon enough."

The two Mini-Con controlled Decepticons continued on their way, leaving the unconscious Brushguard crumpled on the floor. As they crept down the hall, a fourth Decepticon leaned in from the shadows, his emerald optics trained on the two and easily noticing the Mini-Cons hiding in the shadows. He'd paid attention enough to know this wasn't some random coup d'etat – Cyclonus and Tidal Wave were too loyal to break away from Megatron, and they wouldn't talk like that, the former especially. There was only one thing for him to do, and that was open a comm.-line and report it. "Skywarp, this is Sharkticon. We've got something interesting going on around here."


Thunderblast looked over the new arrival with an appraising optic, finally cooing in a sarcastic tone, "Well, aren't you tall, dark and mysterious." She then took aim with her cannon and declared, "Give me two astro-seconds, and I'll blast you down to size!"

With those defiant words the Decepticon femme opened fire, and her two comrades quickly followed suit. Sky Shadow countered by raising his shield and taking the blows, side-stepping away to cover and kicking up lunar dust as he went before returning fire. "Now that's right un-ladylike of ya!"

A malicious grin spread across Slugslinger's face as he kept up his cannon fire. "And that's no way to treat a lady!"

As the larger Cybertronians battled around them, Nightcruz was the first to ask of his fellow Mini-Cons, "Somebody mind telling me which one of these guys is on our side?!"

"The larger one with the wings on his back, and he could use our assistance!" Gesturing to the others, Astroscope called out. "Quickly!"

"On it!" Scattor replied as he and his team transformed to vehicle mode and took flight.

Looking to his teammates, Landslide nodded, and the trio transformed and began digging, swiftly tearing through the lunar soil and dust. Furrows were soon in place around and among the three Decepticons, forcing them to constantly shift their footing, as the Energon Team flew about in unison, raining down weapons fire from as many directions as they could. With a growl, Slugslinger kept his shoulder cannon on the newcomer while firing small bursts at the Mini-Cons with his arm cannon. They could be repaired easily enough once the battle was won. "Annoying little bugs! Stand still!"

"Keep your optics on the target, Slugslinger!" While her teammate diverted his attention in four different directions, the lone femme present kept her weapons primed on Sky Shadow, pelting him with rockets despite Mini-Con interference. Noticing that the third member of the trio had yet to land a successful shot despite firing in every direction he could, she yelled, "Shortround! Start blasting something that's actually blasting us!"

The smaller Decepticon gulped. That wasn't the sort of attention he wanted from the object of his affections. "Sorry!"

Glad for the limited cover he had, the newcomer looked to the gathered Mini-Cons as they rushed to his position, recognizing a number of familiar faces. "Nice ta see you're still in good shape, 'Scopes!"

The Space Team leader looked up at the familiar Cybertronian with joy, recognizing him despite the disguise. "Likewise, and it's nice to see that you're still charging to the rescue!"

"Well, I woulda brought back-up, but I was the only one who could make the trip!" An explosion sending debris flying towards them, Sky Shadow asked, "Speakin' of, you mechs mind lendin' a hand?!"

Payload grinned. "I thought you'd never ask! Come on, mechs! It's scrappin' time!"

Her frustration mounting, Thunderblast locked onto the larger Cybertronian's cover, her anger sparking the creation of an aura of blue light around her. She barely noticed as a key-shaped energy form locked into her rocket launcher, causing it to shift from four barrels to one, a single round firing and obliterating Sky Shadow's cover. She looked at her weapon in surprise before taking aim again. She had no idea how she'd done that, but she liked it. "Come on, big mech! Let's see what your answer is to that!"

The response of the Space Team was to transform themselves, shifting and combining into the recognizable form of a large, long-barreled cannon. Sky Shadow took this new weapon in hand and aimed it at the trio, Shortround visibly backing off. Another Mini-Con then popped from the Decepticon's back and connected to the large weapon, increasing its power further. "Gotta admit, that was a real beauty. This, however, ain't too bad either! You know what it is, right?"

The smallest of the three Decepticons quickly answered. "The Requiem Blaster! One of the five Core Weapons!"

Slugslinger and Thunderblast both looked at him in surprise, the former slightly more credulous than the latter, as the newcomer laughed, the various Mini-Cons gathering around him for protection. "Got it in one, mate! Now, you three've got two options! You can turn tail and make tracks, or get scrapped! Trust me, you don't want to be on the other side of this beauty!"

The Decepticon sharpshooter seemed to seriously consider his options as he looked down the barrel of the weapon. He knew what he was facing, and what its power was like. That legendary weapon had torn clean through a Quintesson starship during the First Great War, destroying it and damaging others with the resulting debris. But given how Megatron would react if he'd lost it, he only had one option. He charged his cannon and took aim.

A single low-powered shot sent the Decepticon flying, and Shortround joined him soon after. A third was fired on Thunderblast, but she took flight and sped upwards before it could make contact. "I'll say this much for you handsome, you certainly know how to treat a girl to a wonderful first date! Ciao!" With a blown kiss, she sped away, leaving a red-orange trail in her wake.

Shaking his head, the disguised Autobot could only note as he watched the femme depart, "Well, at least she knows when she's in over her head."


Shaking his head with some frustration, Thrust turned to his leader and reported the bad news. "Shortround and Slugslinger are down. Thunderblast is returning to base."

Megatron growled in dissatisfaction as he rose from his throne. He didn't care if he was dealing with Thunderwing himself. This was an intrusion which he simply would not allow. "I suppose I will have to settle this myself. Contact Cyclonus and Tidal Wave. This intruder will not be shown any mercy."

"Exactly our thoughts about you, Megatron." A massive electrical surge tore through the strategist, knocking him unconscious and prompting his commander to turn to the command deck's entrance, only to find the two named Decepticons waiting and fully loaded with Mini-Cons. "I hope you don't mind our intrusion. We just had to drop in."

A small smile crossed the tyrant's face. He'd long wondered what the Destruction Team had been planning, and now that they had made their move, he could make his. "Not at all, Dualor. In fact, I've been expecting you."

One split-second later, and Megatron took aim with his fusion cannon. An additional split-second after that, and Cyclonus fired a missile directly into the cannon, causing it to blast apart from within and knocking Megatron to the floor. Stepping forward, the controlled Decepticon chided, "None of that now." Gazing over the warlord's body through Cyclonus' optics, Dualor couldn't help but feel pride in his success. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this, Megatron? I'm not sure how long I spent, watching and waiting as you made your play, as you and the Autobots used us Mini-Cons as pawns. I don't know who was worse, you for wanting to use us as weapons in a bid for galactic conquest, or Prime for not having the wisdom to wipe you out when he had the chance during the Rebellion. Now I make certain that his mistake in judgment is properly rectified, and that we Mini-Cons never have to deal with insects like you again."

A groan escaped Megatron's vocalizer. "Tell me then, how exactly do you plan to do that? Prime won't exactly fault you for destroying me, but I suspect he won't be too pleased over the matter. You controlling Decepticons like puppets will hardly endear you to him either."

"He capitulated rather quickly when the Council of Sages chose to leave Cybertron, remember?" Leaning in close, Dualor continued speaking through Cyclonus' distorted voice, "And I've taken precautions to make sure that he does the same. After a week of researching through the human Internet, I managed to find a very like-minded individual, one more than happy to provide me with enough resources to hold that blue-green speck of dirt hostage. Once you and your troops are disposed of, I'll make certain that the Autobots are driven away, leaving this moon to us Mini-Cons." The possessed Decepticon stepped back and took aim with all his weapons, locking onto the fallen Decepticon leader. "Ah, but I've blathered too much. Farewell, Megatron."

A grin crossed Megatron's face. "Yes, farewell."

With one swift motion, the tyrant grabbed hold of Cyclonus' right leg with one hand, then deployed the small knife hidden within his free hand and jabbed it hard into his soldier's leg. He listened with satisfaction as Dualor cried out in pain, severing the connection and popping free from his soldier's port. He then regained his footing, letting Dualor's comrades sever themselves as Tidal Wave reassembled himself, then tossed the unconscious Decepticon to him with one hand, the last remaining Mini-Con disconnecting as Cyclonus regained consciousness. "Wha…? Megatron, what just…?"

"You were toyed with, Cyclonus. Used by one who fancied himself a master." Turning his optics upon the Destruction Team as they transformed, Megatron added, "He miscalculated."

Looking up at the Decepticon warlord in defiance, Dualor asked, "How?! Tidal Wave was…!"

A laugh. "You should have chosen your allies more carefully, Dualor. You forgot in your zeal that some Mini-Cons made the wise decision to stand beside me. Clench, for example."

As if on cue, Dualor was blown onto his face with a blast from behind, the rest of his team following. He regained his footing only to find the named Mini-Con stepping into the light, those who hadn't managed to take control of a Decepticon alongside him. "What are you doing?! We almost had everything, our freedom, power all our own, and you just throw it away for slavery?!"

The purple and black Mini-Con, looking so much like Leader-1 but so very different, gave a firm answer. "I serve Megatron, usurper. Nothing changes that."

"And besides, it was so much fun watching you and waiting for this." His teammates in the Sky Terror Team snickering beside him, Thrust added, "We all knew this was coming, but the anticipation made it all the sweeter."

His partners in the Lunar Assault team gathered with him, Payload added, "This was a perfect trap, and you fell for it hook, line, and sinker."

The various Mini-Cons connected to Tidal Wave disconnected from him, most landing on the deck while Ramjet flew up and perched himself upon the titanic Decepticon's shoulder like a gaudily-colored parrot. "Going for Cyclonus? Nice thinking. Going for me, and having my old partner be part of the bargain? Not so much. You'd have had better luck with one of the Seekers or their bunch. They don't have a private channel with the boss-mech." A smug grin appeared on his face. "A perk from the Powerlinx process."

"And now that I have shown you the full futility of your actions, it is long since time that I put you and your teammates out of my misery." Instantly, the Sky Terror Team jumped up and transformed, shifting and combining into a large sword, mostly black and red but with its tip a brilliant golden yellow. As the combined blade landed in one hand, the Deep Space Team followed their comrades' example, shifting and combining into a large weapon that, were it not for its colors, would have been easily mistaken for the Requiem Blaster. Holding the two weapons, Megatron smiled. "I'll admit, I would prefer the Star Saber and Requiem Blaster, but I'll gladly make do with the Dirge Saber and Umbral Blaster."

Not at all inclined towards dying without a fight, Drill Bit charged, his weapon arm spinning furiously, only to be skewered with the sword, the lights in his optics going out as his spark was extinguished. Not about to leave the job unfinished, Megatron shook off the dead Mini-Con's body and pointed the gun at the remaining two members of the Destruction Team. Resigned to his fate, Dualor closed his optic shutters. "Just get it over with."

The weapon charged, and while his leader stood in defeat, not even looking at what was coming, Buzzsaw opted to meet it with his optics opened, the weapon whining more and more with each passing nano-klik. "And here I was looking forward to seeing the Guggenheim."


With a massive burst of air and wind, sand was blown away from the opening, light slowly radiating into the chamber and the sounds of flight engines becoming more and more prominent. Rad and Alexis covered their ears on instinct, only releasing them as the sounds faded and easy access was achieved, the two barely able to catch sight of the flight pod through the opening. "Was all that really necessary?"

"Given how much sand piled up on and around this thing since it was built, probably." Glad that the kids were standing behind him and that he was a fair distance away from the opening, Hot Shot activated his communicator and called, "We've got clear sight of the hole, Optimus. Better be careful coming in, though, you've got a slippery landing waiting for you."

:"The warning's appreciated, Hot Shot, but don't worry about us. Just stand still and make sure the kids don't get hurt.": A grappling line descended down the opening, and Optimus followed shortly thereafter as he slid down the pile of sand and regained his footing at the bottom. As Beachcomber and Overhaul followed, the Autobot leader turned to his subordinate. "I'm glad to see you're all safe. No injuries?"

"We'll all need a bath when we get home, but we're fine otherwise, Optimus." Looking up at the Autobot leader, Alexis gave a pleading expression. "Please, don't be too hard on Hot Shot. It's our fault that we're out here."

"But he chose to bring you with him." Turning from the human girl to the Autobot racer, the younger Prime continued, "When we're done here, you and I are going to have a very long talk."

Hot Shot managed a nod as the elder Prime entered, softly gliding down into the hole with their three remaining human escorts in his arms. Looking up at the architecture, Lucy couldn't help but marvel at it. "This is fantastic!"

Smiling right alongside her old roomie, Diana noted, "In so many ways." As she was gently set down, she caught sight of her two former students and marched towards them. "And am I ever glad to see the two of you safe and sound! Honestly, what were you thinking, tagging along?! Staying in the flight pod would have been one thing, but riding Hot Shot into a potential combat zone?! You should've known better!" Her gaze turning to Alexis, she added, "Especially you!" Noticing that both looked sufficiently shamed, she laid hands on their shoulders and added, "I'm just glad I don't have to explain all this to your parents. Bad enough Carlos' mother probably sees me as a danger after what happened in Indianapolis, she'd tan my hide if any of you were hurt."

Both kids gave a nervous laugh, not particularly looking forward to their own mothers' reactions after being away from home so long. Glad that the matter was dropped, Rad called, "Anyway, you've got to see the rest of this place! There's this room at the other end of the building, like this one, but with some kind of glowing blue thing inside!"

"Starscream thinks it's some sort of hologram projector, but we haven't been able to activate it." Turning from the younger Prime to the elder, Hot Shot explained, "We figured we'd be safer waiting for you to show up then try to mess with it."

Vector nodded. "A wise precaution. Please, lead the way."

As bid, Hot Shot led the group into the long hall, Beachcomber and Overhaul taking a moment to scoop up the gathered humans before progressing. A whistle exited his vocalizer as he looked over the walls, and the dune buggy glanced down at the archaeologists in his arms. "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm impressed. How old do you think this thing is?"

"No way to know for sure without a close look, but odds are, this was here before the sand was." Diana looked over the walls with some curiosity. "Folks figure that the Sahara's existence is cyclical. Back during the last Ice Age, it was larger than it is now, extending further south than today, but just about as dry as it is currently. Melting glaciers led to more precipitation, but once the ice sheets were gone, the northern portions dried out, the southern parts following once the monsoons moved south around 3400 BC. Sand takes a long time to collect, however, and I'd bet this was standing around and just waiting, maybe as long as thirteen thousand years."

"And that falls nicely into the Atlantis timeframe, assuming Plato's accounts were right." A thought occurring to her, Lucy asked, "How do you think they got inside of this place? I mean, you don't build something without some means of getting in and out, not unless you're purposely trying to bury something."

"I suspect one of the closed archways may lead to the primary entrance." Turning back, Vector elaborated, "Given that, the builders may well have closed it off purposely. It may be some time before we're able to find the true entrance to this facility."

"We'll have to mark our entrance then, and make certain it doesn't get re-buried." As much as his troops were in awe of their surroundings, Optimus couldn't help but feel likewise, the sense that he was viewing something built ages ago inspired much curiosity in him. He doubted that humanity could have built this. Based on what he'd read or picked up from Diana, the human race had barely mastered agriculture by the time this structure was made. It suggested one thing, but he wasn't going to fix himself on that certainty quite yet. As they finally reached the chamber at the far end, his optics fell on an old friend. "And here I'd hoped our next face to face would be under different circumstances."

Looking up from the set of cyberglyphics that he had been examining, Starscream turned to his sibling and smiled. "Given events of late, I'll take what I can get." His optics soon found the elder Prime, and the Seeker gave a small, respectful bow of his head. "Vector Prime, it is an honor to see you again." Noticing the two adult humans, he gave a small laugh. "Forgive my manners. I'm Starscream, and one of you must be Diana Masters."

A little flattered the Decepticon knew her name, Diana gave a small wave. "That'd be me. This is Dr. Lucy Suzuki, my friend and colleague." Her friend looking like a deer caught in the headlights, the former teacher encouraged the current one. "Go on, he won't bite."

Embarrassed, Lucy looked up at the Decepticon and said, "I'm sorry, I'm still new to all this. It's a real honor to meet you." Noticing the glyphs, she asked, "Is that writing, or some sort of decoration?"

Turning back to it, the Decepticon explained, "It's writing alright. And, unless I'm wrong, this is the Language of the Primes." Glancing back at Vector, he asked, "I am correct, yes?"

"Indeed you are." Fully aware of the curious looks from the humans, he explained, "Just as your world has numerous languages, both spoken and written, so too does ours. The Language of the Primes was the written language utilized by I and my siblings, long before modern Cybertronian civilization existed. The nearest Earth equivalents would be Sumerian in terms of age and Latin in terms of cultural significance. Our holy texts were first transcribed in this language, before being translated into modern ones such as Cybertronix."

"Then this installation was built by one of the First Thirteen." The next logical question coming to mind, Lucy turned to Diana and asked, "How many of them were on Earth?"

"At least one, but no more than three. No telling when they made it here, though."

"Based on what little I can read of this, I'd say roughly twenty thousand Earth years ago." Gesturing towards a sequence of runes, Starscream elaborated further. "My guess is that this is some sort of archival outpost. The glowing blue part of the floor could very well be a hologram projector. I'm not sure how to activate it, however." Turning to the two Primes, the Decepticon asked, "I don't quite understand why I'm finding it here on Earth, however. The Mini-Cons were in stasis, and the Dinobots don't use this language, and before us, they were the only Cybertronians here." A quirked optic ridge, and he asked, "Or is there something I haven't been told?"

"Only that our worlds are tied together more than you know." With nods from the two Primes, Diana continued, "Here on Earth, we have myths of a sunken continent called Atlantis. And from what I've been told…"

"We have stories of an ancient starship by that name which carried the Key of Wisdom from Cybertron after the first battle with Unicron." Shaking his head in amazement, the Seeker realized aloud, "No wonder you never told me about this. If Megatron knew the Key of Wisdom was here, the Mini-Cons would be the least of our problems." Glancing over the chamber, he continued, "Still, I can believe Methius Prime building this place. I just can't think of why he'd do so."

"Maybe he just wanted to leave a record." Heads turned to Overhaul, who explained, "Hey, he's carrying an Artifact, right? He knew Unicron was gonna come back, he'd want to make sure that someone could find it again if something happened to him, wouldn't he?"

"And he would program the projector to only activate with key individuals, such as a fellow Artifact keeper, or another Prime." Before Vector could volunteer, Optimus stepped forward onto the glowing white patch near the projector. As he did so, the entire chamber came alive with light, prompting the humans to temporarily avert their gaze as a large projection came up from the floor, a hologram taking shape.

Cybertronian and human alike watched in awe as the form solidified into an ancient Cybertronian, roughly equal in height to either of the present Primes. His resemblance to the elder Prime was uncanny, at least to Diana, but his frame and detailing was more suggestive of Greco-Roman details than Vector's medieval design, with clear signs of age and wear present as well. She was about to ask if this was who she thought, but the ancient's near-whispered "Brother…" answered her question for her.

"Welcome, artifact keeper." The projected Cybertronian spoke in an aged voice that suggested wisdom and experience. "Those who view this come seeking the children of Atlantis. I am Methius Prime, their progenitor. Recorded here is their story and mine, our triumph, our tragedy." The wall behind the projection came alive, showing images from long ago. As those gathered watched and listened, the hologram continued to tell its story. "Countless ages ago, Atlantis departed from its home, forged from a moon by the creator, Primus. I was its lone custodian, its keeper and its captain. With Atlantis came two other vessels, Mu and Lemuria, crewed by Accellas Prime and Draco Prime, to this young, unnamed world. For countless millennia we traveled as life grew and evolved here. When we arrived, when I first stepped foot upon this world, I encountered some of them. Many feared me, some accepted me, but all saw me as something to be in awe of. My siblings, fearful of further interference, departed, striking a direction and continuing on their way, while I remained. The lifeforms I encountered were primitive, yes, but even then, I could tell they were full of potential. I resolved to help them as best I could, so that they could grow. They may well have seen me as a god, but at least they would see me as a benevolent one.

"As time passed, however, a terrible realization loomed over me. With my siblings gone, heading for distant stars, I was alone, the only one of my kind on this world. I took no joy from this, and I knew full well that my appointed task would go much faster with the help of others. Despite the terrible risk, I gathered what materials I could and refined them aboard Atlantis as a protoform, and with the Artifact entrusted to me by Primus, I did what only he had done before. I created new life."

A sad, pained smile crossed Methius' face, forcing him to stop. Diana had little trouble noticing a much more saddened expression on that of the ancient's sibling, no doubt longing to see his brother again, but was interrupted from her thoughts as the story continued.

"As time wore on, I and my children watched as humanity grew. Wandering tribes became cities, civilizations, empires. I watched with joy, but some of my children watched greedily. I and all my children were seen as gods by the developing peoples, and more than a few asked why they could not simply rule over their worshipers rather than aid them. I take no joy from this realization. The stain of Iskaros had marked all of us, and he will not be the last to fall to darkness. My only fortune is that most support me, and willingly stand beside me. But war has come among us, with control of Atlantis as the ultimate prize. This is my folly, my fault, and I shall end it.

"I have left instructions to those who remain at my side. Should any survive, they will send Atlantis into the depths, away from the humans and unable to influence them any longer. I know not if my siblings fell to the same temptation as I, but I suspect that our kind will grow. We will watch, and wait, and perhaps one day, we shall be reunited with our brethren. Until that day, until all are one, we will be here. We will be waiting. If you seek us, for the war against Unicron, then we shall stand beside you. Farewell."

Those last words spoken, the image faded and the walls darkened once more, the artificial lights coming back on. Both Diana and Lucy shook their heads, only starting to wrap their heads around the ramifications of what they'd seen, the more experienced of the pair being the first to speak. "I think Methius Prime may have inspired more stories than just the myths of Prometheus and Atlantis. If what I'm thinking is true, he and the Earth-made Cybertronians he created could well have inspired almost every myth known to man, and maybe more."

"And if this got out, there could be massive panic on our hands." Suddenly a little fearful now that she had serious evidence of some of the more exotic theories she'd talked about, Lucy quickly recounted, "Tell someone that their entire culture could be inspired by an alien, and present them with clear proof…"

"You may be jumping to conclusions." Looking to the pair, Starscream noted, "The various pantheons are little more than myths now, yes? And there's nothing saying that Methius, or any of the Cybertronians he created, inspired any of Earth's dominant religions or did anything for them. And until we meet one of them, we can safely assume our kind didn't help you build any pyramids or Moai or whatever. And I suspect that even a thousand years ago, a human seeing a Cybertronian would consider it to be something like a god or a demon rather than a mechanical lifeform."

"Whether they did or not, we still have the problem of finding Atlantis' location, and thus far, I –" Optimus was interrupted as the walls lit up once more, a map of the globe forming before zooming in on an area of the Atlantic Ocean. "I stand corrected."

Putting aside the thought of ancient astronauts, Diana turned her attention to the map as it flashed a golden symbol, resembling a cross over a circle with the familiar marking of the Key of Wisdom in its bottom-left corner. "That's right along the Tropic of Cancer, just inside the traditional area of the Bermuda Triangle."

Overhaul facepalmed as he recognized the name. "Great. Now we're gonna get blamed for all those missing planes and ships too."

Despite themselves, the five humans present laughed, the gathered Cybertronians joining in despite only passing familiarity with the urban legend. Finally regaining himself, Optimus noted, "Well, regardless, we've got Atlantis' location. Once we're ready, we'll chase it down. It's only a matter of time."


"Let this serve as an abject lesson for everyone of the folly of betraying me." Tossing the shattered and charred remnants of the Destruction Team at the feet of his soldiers, Megatron surveyed them. "It is only a matter of time before those who do so become one with the Void. Loyalty means survival." With a smile, he turned to face his largest soldier. "Well done, Tidal Wave. You and your partner played your roles to the hilt."

A smug grin was present on the titanic Decepticon's face. "What can I say? Sometimes the role just works for you."

"Quite." That business done, the Decepticon leader turned to the gathered Mini-Con teams and asked, "Now, who do you serve?"

As one, they stood at attention and saluted. "Hail Lord Megatron, true leader of the Decepticons! We swear our loyalty to you!"

Skywarp had heard those words before, but where other Mini-Cons had been a bit more melodramatic about it, these were genuine. He was less than pleased about that detail, but there was little to be done. He just had to deal with them as best he could. Fortunately, one part of the plan had already been accomplished.

"Excellent. Now then…" The opening of the command deck hatch interrupted him, and Megatron turned to the late arrival. "Thunderblast, excellent timing. Report."

The femme looked nervously at her leader. "Well, Megatron…it's like this. That Decepticon who showed up? There was a bunch of Mini-Cons waiting for him, maybe three or four teams worth, and…"

What satisfaction the Decepticon tyrant had felt faded in an instant. "Which teams?"

Thunderblast tried to play it off as no big deal, hoping that would help restore her place in Megatron's good graces. "Oh, what does it matter? I mean, it was just a few little, unimportant Mini-Cons. So what if three of them combined into a big gun?"

His optics narrowed as he considered her words. Only two Mini-Con teams combined to form any sort of firearm, and one stood before him. Process of elimination left only one possible answer. "The Requiem Blaster. We cannot allow…!" He was interrupted as alarms rang throughout the ship, prompting him to bellow, "Thundercracker, sensors, now!"

The blue Seeker rushed to the sensor console and quickly punched in some commands. "One of the ship's escape pods has been jettisoned for the last three kliks. Something must've delayed the launch alert. I've got it, along with our guest. It's following him. Mech must have connected a tow cable…"

The hows and whys weren't important to Megatron. Whatever was on that pod, the intruder clearly considered it important, and connecting to it only made him a bigger target. "Lock weapons, open fire!"

"We can't. He's already out of effective weapons range, and we can't get a solid lock on the pod's coordinates." Before the tyrant could demand why, Thundercracker elaborated, "It's not broadcasting the automatic distress beacon, so we can't lock onto it with sensors. And once he hits Earth's atmosphere, we'll lose it entirely. Unless it manages to hit something on the way down, it's practically gone already."

Megatron growled, and then looked around at his subordinates. "All of you, I want a headcount! We will find out who is on that pod, and who launched it!"


Laughing right along with his comrades in the Land Military Team, Wreckage couldn't help but be impressed. "I'll say this for Skywarp, he knows how to get a job done in style!"

Where the Mini-Con quarters aboard the Nemesis had seemed cramped by even generous standards, the escape pod felt considerably less so, the nineteen Mini-Cons inside having more than enough space to move around if they could. Granted, they were strapped down inside to prevent injury during planetfall, but they still felt more liberated than they'd ever been aboard the Decepticon ship.

Managing to keep his temperament where his counterpart wasn't, Gunbarrel managed to ask the obvious question. "Assuming our friend doesn't collide with any debris, what's stopping the tow cable from burning up in the atmosphere?!"

"Absolutely nothing! We'll lose contact with him, and we'll effectively be in free fall!" Glancing over the pod's design, Astroscope suggested, "This design appears sturdy enough to survive a hard or soft landing, however!"

"Hitting the ground or the sea won't matter much!" Laughing right along with the Land Military Team at the thrill of it all, Terradive called out in approval, "Either way, this is gonna be fun!"


:"NORAD's tracking Jetfire and the Nemesis escape pod as we speak. Course estimates suggest impact in the mid-Atlantic, near the Azores Archipelago. Col. Franklin's seen to contacting local authorities to clear the potential landing zone.":

"Thanks for the update, Red. We'll pick them up on our way back to base. Flight Pod 1, out." As the comm.-line went off, he turned to Starscream with some amusement. "I'm assuming you have something to do with this."

The Seeker responded with a small, satisfied smirk. "A minor contingency plan. I didn't know exactly what Dualor was planning, but I expected that the resulting chaos would give us a chance to get at least some of the Mini-Cons I managed to gather for Megatron off that ship and to safety here on Earth. I doubt our various partners are among the rescued, and this will all but inevitably blow my cover and make only a small impact given Megatron's recent gains, but at least this is a small victory." The satisfaction fading, he then asked, "I don't suppose you'll have room for me aboard the Ark? Or has that base of yours gotten far enough along for it to not matter?"

"We should be able to arrange something easily enough." Turning back to the flight pod controls, the Autobot leader bid their pilot, "Crosswise, I think the beacon we left behind should be enough to find this place again. Let's head home, shall we?"

While the various Cybertronians strapped themselves in to seats within the pod or otherwise attempted to secure themselves, the five human passengers looked among themselves, the three kids especially to their former teacher. "So, what we found down there, does that really mean we owe our civilization to Cybertronians?"

Diana shook her head. "I don't know about that, Carlos. Methius and the mechs and femmes he created may well have inspired a number of myths and legends, but I doubt they're responsible for everything. Until I get reason to think otherwise, I won't believe that any extraterrestrial, Cybertronian or otherwise, helped build pyramids or ziggurats or whatever. At most, Methius and his creations probably just inspired the Greco-Roman pantheon, with other gods and legends being variations on those themes. Odds are that Starscream's right, and that the influence doesn't go beyond that, and odds are none of them would claim to be the foundation for Judaism, Christianity or Islam, let alone any other dominant religion left now." Some hesitation coming into her voice, she added, "Still, the story we heard shows up all over the place, just with different names and different outcomes. As frightened as I am to think about it, we might owe at least a little of our modern culture to Cybertron just by their presence."

A little afraid to ask, Rad nonetheless posed the obvious question. "So, did we just invalidate the Bible?"

"Hardly." His optics fixed upon them, Vector Prime elaborated further. "The stories told inside of holy texts are no less valid if they are revealed as fiction or as inspired by true events, regardless of the original participants. And while I do not know if the familiar Judeo-Christian God exists, or if my brother and his creations did more than inspire the odd story or three, I doubt that the revelation of one will cast doubt upon the existence of the other. Besides, even we Cybertronians are not so foolish as to think that Primus simply sprung out of nothingness. Perhaps our Creator was drawn from yours."

"In any case, we're probably better off keeping this under wraps." With a surprised look from her old roomie, Lucy elaborated, "I don't mind the idea of aliens visiting Earth and leaving things behind, maybe even inspiring a story or two, but I know a lot of people will definitely think differently. Expanding our knowledge is one thing, but I don't want to cause riots in the streets."

The former teacher flashed a smile. "You and the rest of us."


December 14, 2005

Doors slid aside as Optimus entered the command center, having given the Longs Peak facility his final examination. Gathered inside the large structure, many of them arrayed around consoles or otherwise gathered in groups, were the various Autobots under his command, their Mini-Con and human allies standing at their feet. Granted, there were a few exceptions, as Red Alert and Landmine had remained behind on the Ark to look after the ship and monitor in case something went wrong while Diana's three students and their Mini-Con guardians were also unable to attend. The vast majority, however, were present, with the oddest mech out being Starscream due to being the only Decepticon in a room full of Autobots, Mini-Cons and humans. Nonetheless, he looked just as pleased as everyone else.

Construction had been a long process, made faster by salvage from the Acheron and assistance from the US government, as well as the increased workforce from the Acheron crew and the rescued Mini-Cons. The subject of seeking Atlantis in earnest, had been discussed, now that its location was known, but between its location in international waters and the necessity of completing the base facility first, finding it had been delayed. The Autobot leader had every faith, however, that the vessel would be found, and every hope of meeting those who remained onboard.

Optics turned towards him as he glanced down at the floor, taking note of the insignia painted into the metal below. The familiar Autobot emblem was surrounded by the squared-off border from the Mini-Con one, the symbol for the Key of Wisdom placed on its northernmost point. He thought it a fitting enough symbol for Earth, and hoped that, once their presence became public, few would argue otherwise. Satisfied, he looked up and bid, "Well, light it up."

With those words and a great deal of enthusiasm, Coby reached over to a nearby switch and flipped it. Lights came on all around them, and within seconds, screens came online and began displaying information from throughout the globe, data streaming in courtesy of the US military and the base's connection to NORAD. Status monitors came alive, showing everything from power usage and system data to outbound communications, a few screens flashing with data from various television networks. As one final marker of the base's inauguration, the base's built-in AI spoke out in a feminine voice, "All systems functioning within standard parameters. Autobase Earth is online."

The gathered Cybertronians and their human allies celebrated, pleased that their biggest undertaking was done. Optimus himself knew that they weren't through yet – while the majority of the Mini-Cons had been found, not all of them were yet recovered, and Megatron's threat still loomed. Still, their base was online, and that was an accomplishment on its own. The day was won, and that was good enough for him.

The End