Chapter 9

To be gifted with the ability to tear through the air at incredible velocities and then let loose a succession of well aimed torpedoes upon a ground target was not something that Thundercracker got to do very often, though the feeling he derived from it was undeniably exhilarating.

He, along with Starscream, Skywarp and Dirge, concentrated their efforts in a group formation, circling around and then diving in to streak past overhead, mere mechano-meters above the top of the dome of Iacon's command post. Their bombs targeted and hit clusters of drones on the ground, the resulting shrapnel from blown up mech parts flung far and wide as smoke and sparks filled the air. Damage to nearby infrastructure could not be avoided, though the seekers did their best to keep their strafing attack focused on the scattering drones.

"Let's hit them again," Starscream said to his team, and they acknowledged instantly by following his lead, regrouping and falling into formation behind him once more. His idea was having the desired effect; many drones had been permanently deactivated by their sudden aerial assault, whilst the rest had become distracted from their single-minded goal of attacking the command post. There were still far too many of them for the team of four to handle alone, however, and they could only keep up their aerial strike for a little while longer before they would run low on energy.

As the first of the Autobots began to flee from the command post to the first safe place they could find, the Decepticon seekers continued their assault on the drones, driving them away from the immediate area and helping to clear a path for the escaping Autobots.

When Starscream was satisfied with their efforts, he circled back around to land, transforming into robot mode. He met up with Astrotrain and Megatron on the ground, and the other three jets soon followed suit. "Well, we've done all we can. It's up to Shockwave and the others now," he informed them, as he watched the last few Autobots desert the command post to join the group of fleeing survivors. They had found shelter inside an empty storage bay several blocks away, where they would be relatively safe for a short while – at least until the drone army regrouped and started to seek them out once more, relentlessly pursuing them down every street and around every corner until no place would be left unexplored.

"We can't keep running like this," Ironhide said as he ran from the command post towards the Decepticons. The drones that had not been hit by the aerial attack staggered around amongst the debris of their terminated relatives and demolished infrastructure in a daze. "We've got nowhere else to go."

Jazz, who had overheard, tried to offer him hope, but even he was finding it difficult to focus on a positive outcome. Still, he knew that if they lost hope now, all would be lost. "Hey, we'll find a way out of this mess, you'll see."

Straxus led his armada into Iaconian air space, accompanied by a small contingent of troops on the ground. The sight of the aftermath that had been left behind by his Nemesis Army and its assault upon the Command Center was a pleasure for the war lord to behold, as his fleet followed the trail of ruin that began from the Iacon border and ran all the way into the central part of the city-state.

Though the number of his loyal followers was relatively small, particularly in comparison to the Autobot army, the victory that his Nemesis Army had achieved in overpowering his enemy on their home turf had provided him with the confidence that he needed to conquer the Autobot regime once and for all and take Iacon for himself. It was something that he had dreamed of accomplishing his entire existence and now, thanks to the efforts of Deluge and the drones, his dream was about to become a reality.

He transformed from his blue and white space craft mode into robot mode as he landed in front of Iacon's command post, and took a moment to take in the surrounds. Deluge stood by him, as did his higher ranking officers, including Seizer.

A large number of non-functional drones lay strewn all about; they appeared to have been blown apart with heavy fire power, limbs and heads dislocated from their bodies, still writhing and jerking in a depraved manner where they lay. Straxus largely ignored them, unperturbed. They were expendable creatures and of no value to him, particularly when there were still many more functional drones to replace the ones that had been destroyed. "Grindcore, secure this outpost, and bring to me all Autobot prisoners that you can find!" he ordered, pointing to the command post.

Grindcore and several troops rushed into the structure through the damaged front entrance, as Deluge sent out a signal to the Nemesis Army to cease their activity and stand by. As expected, there were no functioning Autobots visible outside the command post; those who had survived the massacre would have fled, or would be hiding somewhere inside.

As the troops stormed the building, checking every possible room and hiding place for Autobots who were still intact, whether online or not, a small group of survivors were retrieved and dragged outside under force. Most of them did not struggle or put up a fight as the Destron invaders forced them to their knees, or dumped their motionless forms in front of Straxus. They had sustained too many injuries during their struggle against the drones and had not been able to escape. Only three of them appeared to be unharmed; they had been found huddled inside the communications center by the Destron soldiers and had been dragged outside to stand before the war lord, kicking and protesting as they went.

"It is done, my Lord," Grindcore reported, after the command post had been ransacked from top to bottom.

The tyrant growled menacingly, kicking at a deactivated Autobot in a show of dominance. "Where are the rest of them?" he said, surveying his newly acquired prisoners, who had been presented before him at gunpoint, before he set his sights on the red and orange Autobot. "Where are your Prime and the other Autobots?" he demanded of him.

"Slag off," was the response that came back, and Straxus wielded his glaive, positioning it threateningly against his victim's neck.

"Seizer, Clench: round up the rest of the Autobot cowards – they could not have gone far," he called out. As his two subordinates organized their teams into search parties, he continued his interrogation. "Tell me where the rest of your miserable kind are hiding, or I shall enjoy severing your head from your body and forcing you to watch as I throw you into my smelting pools, piece by piece," Straxus said.

"You'll never get away with this!" the foolhardy Autobot replied with a scowl upon his face as he allowed his anger the freedom of expression.

Straxus laughed mockingly at him. Then, without warning, he swung his blade in a wide arc, taking it behind his back and then swinging it forwards, throwing and releasing the deadly weapon from his hand. He did this with such force and speed that even the Destrons standing nearby felt the need to take a step back and shield their faces with their arms for fear that they might be struck by the weapon.

The glaive was propelled through the air until it hit the Autobot standing right behind Hot Rod. The blade buried itself deep inside his chest, and the Autobot bent forwards, his face contorted in shock as energon spurted from his wound and pooled on the ground.

"Magnus, no!" Hot Rod moved to grab his stricken class mate before he collapsed, and he was quickly helped by Blaster. Neither of them noticed Straxus watching them, enjoying their pain and anguish.

Then the war lord stepped forwards, grabbed the handle of his glaive and pulled it out of the Autobot's chest.

The light from Magnus' optics dimmed, and he slumped in his friend's arms. "No… what have you done? Magnus…" Hot Rod uttered weakly, as he gently lay him down on the ground. He passed a hand over the gaping hole that had been left in Magnus' chest, staring in shock at the large amount of fluid that leaked from the wound.

Straxus ignored his turmoil, and was about to gloat when laser blasts suddenly hit him from behind, and he spun around to see who had attacked. It was a small team of Autobot warriors, spread out in many different directions, one of them attacking from the air. They were shooting at him and his army in an attempt to stop his takeover of Iacon and free the prisoners, but they would be no match against his might. Turning and charging towards his adversaries, he bellowed to his group of Destrons to follow him. "Attack!"

Deluge, who was not an efficient warrior, ran for cover as the two opposing sides fought it out on the ground and in the air. He could not allow himself to be captured or killed by the Autobots; after all, he was in possession of their Matrix, a precious artefact that he would undoubtedly use to Straxus' advantage as soon as he found it a suitable host.

He watched a dogfight as the lone Autobot jet battled against three Destron counterparts in the sky above, but then was soon shot down. On the ground, firepower and grenades were exchanged, though the Autobots were outnumbered. If they did not surrender soon, they would succumb to the might of Straxus' army and suffer a devastating defeat.

"Let them go, Straxus!" he heard a voice call out. It was one of the Autobots, in a foolish show of bravery. And then, just as he had expected, the same Autobot was shot down by a soldier from one of Straxus' returning search parties, led by Clench, as they quickly surrounded the rebels and closed in on their position.

The battle was over almost as quickly as it had begun. Clench's team rounded up the new prisoners and brought them before Straxus.

Hot Rod tried to push his way past the guards, but was roughly shoved back down again. "Optronix… Optronix!" he managed to call out, recognizing the recently captured Autobot who had taken a hit.

But it was no use. Even if Prowl and the Autobots who had managed to escape the command center were able to rescue them and defeat Straxus' soldiers in battle, they would have no chance as long as the enemy had the Nemesis Army at their disposal.

It wasn't long after this latest defeat that Hot Rod finally came to the bitter realization that the Autobots had lost Iacon.

"Straxus's party is already here," Starscream informed the Autobot refugees who were gathered inside the empty storage bay. He had just returned from a brief survey of the area after several Destron jets were spotted circling overhead. "And it looks like they're scouring the place for Autobots."

The one called Ironhide stepped forward, speaking for his kind. "Well, what about those creepy drones?"

"I didn't see any heading this way. It looks like you're safe, for now," the Decepticon Air Commander told him.

Ironhide clenched his fists, his temper surfacing. "How can you tell us we're safe? We've got friends still out there! We've got to go and help them before they all get their chassis ripped apart by Straxus and his party of Destron scum!"

"Hey, take it easy," Thundercracker rebuked him. "No one was suggesting–"

But Ironhide's anger at the entire situation was not easily allayed; if anything, it grew worse. "If it wasn't for the likes of you, we wouldn't be in this mess right now."

"What do you mean, if it wasn't for the likes of us?" Dirge questioned him, not too happy with what the Autobot may have implied by his statement.

Ironhide was quick to elucidate. "Well, you're all Destrons, too, just like they are!" he said, pointing to the sky outside where Straxus' search party had last been seen. "The truth is there's never been a place for your kind in Iacon, and there never will be."

This time, Starscream spoke up against the Autobot's misplaced wrath. "How dare you suggest that we are anything like the other Destrons, you ungrateful Autobot!"

Before the situation could get out of hand, Jazz stepped between them, though his reproach was directed at Ironhide. "Hey, now – we can't afford to start a war with these guys when we've got a much bigger problem to deal with right now. Our afts would have been scrap metal if it weren't for their help," Jazz said, indicating towards the Decepticon seekers with a thumb. His intervention had the desired effect, and Ironhide took a step back in an effort to keep his anger and frustration in check. "And, besides, they're Decepticons, not Destrons," the smaller black and white Autobot told him.

"Eh, Decepti-con, Destron – it's all the same to me," Ironhide replied under his breath, as he turned and walked back to join the other Autobots, though his comment fell within Jazz's audio receptor range.

Jazz gave up trying to convince him otherwise and instead turned to address the small group of Decepticons. "Sorry about that. We're all angry about what's happening. I'm sure he didn't mean any of what he said," Jazz explained, making sure that Ironhide could overhear.

Then the sounds of battle erupted in the distance, reminding them all of the stark reality of their situation: the existence of a common foe that they had yet to conquer, if they did not want to be conquered themselves.