Chapter 5: Stow Away

Once the new visitors of the planet had finished speaking with their leaders on how things would be working, the majority of them wished to get back to their home planet as quickly as possible. However, there were some that wished to stay a bit longer to learn about the planet. One of which was the scientist, Perceptor.

After learning that more would be coming back to this planet to help with the study that Optimus proposed, he volunteered to stay behind with Cliffjumper. However, this was shot down by both Optimus and Megatron. Optimus for the fact that Perceptor would need to report back to Cybertron and give his findings to them, and Megatron for the fact that he had no intention of having one of his Decepticons outnumbered by Autobots.

Even if Optimus tried to reason with him, Perceptor knew that there was no arguing with the Decepticon leader. However, that didn't mean that he wouldn't make the appeal again when he got back to Cybertron. This planet was a veritable gold mine of information and strange things, and he would not miss out on it.

"Your kind is so strangely unique." Perceptor said to Peridot, managing to get some information after a short while of talking to her, "Most other beings that we have seen in our travels of the cosmos have typically been that of a singular form. How is it possible that your kind is able to shift mass and change your outer appearance without any outside aid?"

Peridot was more than happy to talk to the fellow scientist. While it was nice to have an intelligent conversation, the bigger reason was that she needed to keep both him and the other bots distracted from what was happening with the others.

Unbeknownst to any of the Cybertronians, Steven and the Gems had seen the whole conversation that they had with their leaders. Knowing that they would not only be staying here, but also bringing more back. Something that did not instill much confidence in any of them.

Yes, a hand full of them had proven to pretty be friendly, but there was still the matter of what happened with the ones that were hostile towards them. If this was just a small group of them, then who knew what was going to happen if even more showed up.

Inside of the beach house, the four were busy discussing things, trying to figure out just what they should do.

"We can't just let them leave." Pearl said, "I mean, as much as I would want them to just go, you heard what they said over that call. There are going to be more coming here, and we don't know anything about them other than what little information they gave us."

"No duh, Pearl. We all heard the same thing." Amethyst said, "But I'd be lying if I said you didn't have a point. Sure, Steven met a few good ones, but the ones we ran into were anything but friendly. I don't want them constantly hovering over us, even if they mean well."

"Somehow, I don't think that they're going to listen to us." Garnet said, "No matter how many times that I've tried to run through this in my head, I can't see any possible scenario that doesn't involve them not coming back."

"Well, maybe we're looking at this the wrong way, guys." Steven said, "I mean, I know we just met them and some of them are far less than what you would call… uh… nice, but the ones that I met are ones that I think we can trust. Hot Rod and the Autobots are really here to make sure nothing bad happens. They saved you three, didn't they?"

"Even if that is the case, Steven, we have bigger things to worry about." Pearl went on, "If they come back with more here, who's to stop them from trying to take over the planet? We were barely able to hold them off in our normal forms. Even when we were all fused, we could only just barely hold them back. If all of them can fuse like us, they will roll us over if they want to."

"Well complaining about it sure ain't gonna do anything." Amethyst said, "We need to do something. If they just leave, there's no chance for us to find ways to keep them in line. They know more about us, so were at a big disadvantage. What should we do?"

At first, there was nothing but dead silence as the group scratched their heads in thought. None of them really knew what to do with the situation that was presented to them. It wasn't like they could just force their visitors to give them information or leave for good. Even if they could, they still knew where they were and could easily come back with an army to wipe them out. They had to solve this as peacefully as possible, but the question was; how?

While everyone had been thinking about what to do, there was an idea that was churning in Garnet's head. Weighing the possibilities of what could happen, she determined that it was worth the risk. If nothing else, they would be on equal terms with their visitors in that they would all know the lowdown on each other.

Getting up from her place on the couch, Garnet made her way to the temple. The three that were left behind simply looked at each other in question, only receiving shakes of the head, not knowing what it was that their leader could possibly have planned. It wasn't long before she came back, and they got a partial answer. She was holding a bubble filled with gem shards.

"Garnet, what are you doing with that?" Pearl asked.

"Trying to get us some more information, but it's going to require all of us playing a part." Garnet told Pearl, "Do you still have that space suit you were making for Steven?"

Outside, the Cybertronians were all waiting outside the ship, ready to get going and off of the planet. The only thing that was keeping them from getting out of there, was the fact that Perceptor still was not done talking with Peridot.

"Hey, tell him to quit with the analyzing and get in the ship. Megatron will have my head if we take too long." Onslaught told Hot Rod.

"Seems to me like that would be the more preferable of the options, but I do agree that we have to get going." Hot Rod said, walking up behind Perceptor, "Hey, we need to get going, wrap it up. I'm sure you'll have more time to chat if Optimus says you can come back."

"Oh I know, Hot Rod," Perceptor said, "but we will need to bring back all the information that we can if we're going to make the case of this being a viable source of information. With everything I'm learning now, I'm sure that it will be an easy feat but, even then, one can never learn too much."

"Unless you overload your drive." Cliffjumper said, "Come on, we're burning energon just sitting here."

"Hey guys, wait a second!" Amethyst called out, running up to the group, "We want to give you something for the trip. A little way of saying; Welcome!" Amethyst was wearing a big grin on her face as she handed a bubble off to Perceptor. "Just don't pop it."

Taking the Orb into his massive hand, Perceptor looked it over. While he was doing that, Peridot couldn't help but wonder what it was that Amethyst was doing. She was just handing over the shards of gems to a stranger. Before she could ask, she heard a 'psst' coming from behind her. Looking back, she saw Steven and the rest hiding close to the ship. Waving for her to come over, she silently sidestepped in their direction.

"What is going on?" Peridot asked, "Why is she giving them a bubble of shards? Why aren't you doing anything to stop her? And what is Steven wearing?"

The thing that Peridot was questioning was the suit that Garnet had mentioned earlier. It was a patched together thing that looked just barely able to pass as a space suit. Steven was even wearing a fishbowl on his head in lieu of a helmet.

"Listen closely, because this is very important." Garnet told her, "We need you to keep an eye on them while we're away. We don't want them getting into anything-"

"Away? What are you talking about?" Peridot asked.

"We're going to sneak on the ship and find out what it is our new friends are keeping from us." Pearl said, "we just need you to make sure that they don't find out that we're on there."

"I cannot even begin to tell you the list of everything wrong with what you just said." Peridot told them, "But I think I'll start with just a simple question; How?!"

"Just keep them busy long enough that we can sneak on." Steven told her, "Come on Peridot, we need to figure out what's going on, and they're not going to tell us. If they plan on coming back and even staying here, we need to know everything that we can. Please, we just need to get there and figure this out. We promise that will be as quick as we can, but we need your help."

"Again, there is a large list of problems with that." Peridot said, "You do not have any idea how long they'll be gone. What if they're gone far longer than you expect? How do you intend to get back after you have what it is you're looking for? What are you going to do if you get discovered?"

"They had to have gotten here somehow." Garnet said, "Even if they go off somewhere far, they said that they're coming back. Though, your tinkering will help ensure that we don't spend that long there."

Giving a quizzical look to the fusion, Peridot at first didn't know what it was that Garnet was talking about. That was until Steven presented a device that looked very familiar to her.

Now that she was no longer stressed for materials, Peridot had been doing a lot of experiments with some of the technology that she was at her disposal. This ranged from horrible malfunctions that literally blew up in her face, to things that somewhat worked. One of these devices, the one that Steven was holding, was a prototype teleporter. It was meant to be a way to have a mobile teleportation pad wherever you were, but Peridot success with the thing had only been with a few select tests.

"Are you nuts!?" Peridot shouted in a whisper, "I haven't tested that thing on anything other than inanimate objects. There's no telling what could happen yet."

"You're saying you doubt your own work?" Garnet asked.

"What? Don't be absurd. I built it, so why wouldn't it wor-" Stopping herself, Peridot realized that she had argued against her initial statement. Wrinkling her face, she knew that this part of the argument couldn't be won, as it would simply result in her doing little more than belittling her own work.

"Alright… but what about him?" Peridot asked, pointing at Steven, "Are you seriously going to tell me that your okay with him going? Especially given everything that could happen?"

"Believe me, this was not my idea, and I heavily disapproved of it." Pearl said, rolling her eyes slightly, "Given that this is very dangerous, I didn't want him to come, but Garnet was quick to point out that every time we have told him not to go, he does anyway. It was a bit of back and forth, but he's coming. I'm not happy about this, but it might be for the best. He seems to have already figured out how to get on their good side."

Peridot didn't answer immediately, given what was presented to her some very strong thought. While the points they were presenting were all valid, she really didn't think that what they were trying to do was a good idea. Like they had said, the information they had on these visitors was limited at best. For all they knew, their new acquaintances could have a ship that destroyed alien life forms on first detection.

Yet in that same regard, she couldn't deny her own curiosity about them. It was very likely that others were coming to this planet, and they were at a distinct disadvantage to them. Not only with the obvious physical aspect, but with knowledge as well. As much as Steven had learned with his questions, there still was only so much they knew about these creatures.

Their time was short. Their visitors would be departing soon, and they wouldn't be able to follow in any way on their own. Peridot knew she had to make a choice now, or risk letting their one opportunity slip by.

"Oh… alright." Peridot finally conceded, "Like you said, just be as quick as possible. I don't know how long I can keep them busy, and I have no idea how those other two will react once they figure out what happened."

"Thanks, Peridot." Steven said, patting his friend on the back.

With all of them now having the okay to get going, Steven, Garnet, and Pearl got themselves into a better position so that they could sneak aboard the ship. While they were doing that, Peridot went back to Perceptor so that she could take Amethyst's place.

"Peri, there you are." Amethyst said, the fake smile still plastered on her face. "I was just telling about all the things they'll need to know about properly keeping this bubble safe. But I think that you would be far better at this kinda thing than me."

"I'd be happy to explain." Peridot said, putting on an equally fake grin before turning her attention to Perceptor.

As Peridot took attention away from her, Amethyst very quietly stepped away from the conversation, getting back over to the rest of her friends. Trying to sneak past ten pairs of eyes was easier said than done, but she managed it nonetheless.

"Alright, everything's set." Amethyst said, looking back over at Peridot, "You think she'll be okay?"

"We don't have many options, so let's just hope she keeps her cool long enough for us to get on board." Garnet said, not liking their options. Even still, they needed this information. She could only hope that the risk would be worth the reward.

While all the robots had their back turned, the four began to make their way to the opening of the loading platform, watching as Peridot continued to try and hold their attention. They could tell the Decepticons were getting impatient, but if she could just hold them for a little longer, they could get on.

"So that's the basics of things, but like Amethyst said, don't let the thing pop." Peridot reiterated to Perceptor, "Nothing invasive, right?"

"Of course not." Perceptor said, barely able to have the orb float on his fingertip, "I'm well aware of the respect that must be had when handling things of this nature. I promise you that the utmost care will be taken with the handling of-"

"Hey, slap a muffler on it!" Brawl shouted at the scientist, his patience finally at its end, "You can run your crazy experiments back on Cybertron, but right now we gotta go."

"Watch the attitude, Brawl." Cliffjumper warned, "Bolts for brains does have a point though, Perceptor. You need to get going."

"Yeah, let's wrap this up and get headed." Hot Rod said, getting ready to turn towards the ship.

Seeing this, the Gems froze in place, knowing that if they were seen now, their would be all for not. They were nearly there, and Hot Rod was about to expose them. All of them took in a quiet gasp until he stopped himself and looked back down at Peridot.

"Oh Peridot," he said, kneeling down to her, "Do you know where Steven is? I wanted to talk to him."

"Uh, he's… he's… he's sleeping, yeah that's it, sleeping." Peridot lied, "Humans need to sleep. I guess for you guys, it would be like powering down to recharge."

"Oh, I see." Hot Rod, "Well, when you see him again, can you tell him that I'm going to try and come back here. I really want to get to know more about this place, and… maybe get to know you all better."

Steven couldn't help but smile a slight bit upon hearing that. Knowing that Hot Rod was going to try and come back was a bit of a comforting thought. If nothing else, it meant that he would have someone that he was already acquainted with. That meant that he would at least be able to have someone willing to listen and ensure that no one would get hurt.

"Yeah, sure, no problem." Peridot blurted out, her eyes shifting over to Steven, silently trying to convey that they needed to get moving.

Quickly understanding what Peridot was trying to get to them, Steven and the Gems began moving again and were able to get onto the ship without issue this time. Once inside, they found a small area inside of the ship used for storage of parts that they could easily stash themselves into that the Cybertronians would hopefully not look.

"Thanks, hopefully, I'll see all of you guys again soon." Hot Rod said, standing back up and turning to face everyone, "Alright, let's load up."

"About time." Onslaught said, before turning to the comms officer, "Soundwave, keep the relay open. Provided nothing else happens on this return trip, there should be replacements here soon enough."

"Affirmative." Soundwave replied, going back to satellite to ensure it was still coordinated correctly.

"Jazz, I swear if you leave me stranded here with tin voice, I will hunt you down." Cliffjumper told his friend.

"Good luck getting off of here to do it." Jazz said, giving Cliffjumper a light push before heading to the ship. "Let's go."

As the robots all loaded up into the ship, their hidden away passengers tucked themselves further into the dark crevices of the cargo bay, hoping that they would go unseen for the duration of the flight.

Thankfully, none of them seemed to notice them, as they all began to go up to the flight deck. Once the last Decepticon got onto the ship, the bay doors closed behind them, making their choice to go only that much more final.

Getting into the cockpit, both Blastoff and Vortex took their seats, starting the engines up. Getting prepped for take off, the rest of the ship's crew strapped themselves in to get ready for the sudden acceleration that was about to ensue. With preparations taken care of, Vortex opened up the communications link with Soundwave

"Keep comms open with Cybertron." Vortex said, "As soon as we're out of the atmosphere, be sure that we have a space bridge ready. I don't want us hanging out in space any longer than we need to."

"Like you've ever had a problem with flying, Vortex." Swindle commented.

"Hardly the point. We only brought enough energon for here and back." Vortex said, doing one final check of the controls, "So we can't afford to waste time."

"Also don't want to disappoint bucket head either." Jazz commented, "Or maybe you want to go back to that holding cell you were broken out of?"

"Can it, manifold-mouth." Blastoff said, turning his attention to the controls. "Set for take off. Strap in and hold on."

Outside the ship, the ones that remained stood back as the takeoff procedure commenced. The engines kicked up a lot of sand, but it wasn't long before they were off the ground and headed for the sky.

Once the ship was out of sight, Soundwave went back to the console of the communication tower. Wasting no time, he started to get in contact with Cybertron.

"Scouting party Gamma to Cybertron; requesting space bridge back at the following coordinates." Soundwave said, punching in the grids into the console.

"Granted." a voice from the console said.

With that taken care of, the two remaining bots were left with little to do until the ship came back to get them. With neither side wanting to interact with the other, Soundwave simply went back to monitoring the communication relay. But not before sending out one of his minions for a little work.

"Laserbeak, eject." Sound said, his chest opening to eject his most used minicon, "Operation: information. Gather further data on the planet."

As the bird looking robot flew off from the group, Peridot could barely contain her nervousness about this whole situation that they had gotten themselves into. Cliffjumper was quick to pick up on this and knelt down to be more at her level.

"Don't worry Peridot, I'm not gonna let anything happen while we're here." Cliffjumper said, before turning to Soundwave, "And for your sake, you and your little scraplets had better not cause anything while we're here."

Soundwave didn't even look up from his console to acknowledge what Cliffjumper said, simply keeping his optics glued to his work. That was one thing about him that Cliff always hated. For a communication officer, Soundwave could be incredibly quiet, thus making him very difficult to read.

"Anyway," Cliffjumper said, focusing his attention back to Peridot, "When more of us get here, we'll make sure that things go as smooth as possible. Now, where are your other friends? I wouldn't mind doing a little scouting before the others get here."

"Uhhhhh…." was all Peridot could muster.

Back on the scouting ship, the stowaways were having something of a rough ride in their nonexistent seats. Taking off put a lot of pressure on them, seeing as how the ship seemed to go far faster than anything they had been in before. The thought that they might pop crossed their minds on more than one occasion.

In no time at all, they were out of Earth's atmosphere and were now already getting close to the moon. Thankfully, they managed to catch a reprieve when the ship slowed down. Up in the cockpit area, both pilots and the passengers waited for the transportation back to the home planet to appear.

They didn't wait long, as the sight of a large portal appeared not far off from where they were. While the pilots plotted a course straight for it, their extra cargo couldn't help but wonder what was going on. They had no way of seeing what was going, and they had no idea where these beings came from. For all they knew this could take a good while. Thank goodness they brought a fail-safe.

However, none of them were ready for what happened.

Entering the space bridge, the ship was immediately transported far across to cosmos. While the cybertronians were fully used to this, the same could not be said for Steven and the Gems. As they went through, all of them were struck with strange feelings that seemed to engulf their entire bodies.

By the time they were through, all of the gems had a hard time keeping their forms, and Steven felt like his bones were vibrating.

No sooner had the ship come out of the space bridge, did they receive a transmission from the planet.

"Scouting ship Gamma, this is Iacon ariel command." a voice said over the intercom of the cockpit, "You are cleared for landing at bay three. You are to immediately go to the Iacon gathering hall. Our leaders want to speak with you."

"Understood." Blastoff said, shutting the communication link off, "They must be really desperate for this information. Landing in the central operation point?"

"No joke." Hot Rod commented, "I wonder if things are really as desperate as they've made things sound?"

"With energon becoming harder to find every day, it's no surprise." Onslaught said, "The idea of something that could be just as effective, and may even lead to a substitute? Of course, they're going to be jumping on that."

"Even then, we only know so much about this stuff." Jazz said, "The idea of using other forms of fuel to make energon is one thing, but making a form of energon that is completely synthetic? Can that even be done?"

"That remains to be seen." Perceptor answered, "Even with the amount of research that we have put into it, there are still many pieces missing. Not to mention, the war has not been any help. But these fragments may be able to offer some form of insight. If energon signatures can be seen in other living beings, then perhaps it can be created."

While Steven and the Gems made sure to keep out of sight, the things being said by their new acquaintances were still within earshot. From the way things were sounding, their situation was far more desperate than they let on back at earth. So already, some of their suspicions had been proven correct.

The ship wasn't in the air much longer, soon slowing to a stop before touching down on what the Gems could only assume was the ground. It wasn't long before the cargo doors opened up again, the passengers of the craft all congregating there. Keeping quiet, the Gems all waited for them to leave so they could get to work with gathering information.

"Welcome back, Autobots." the Gems heard, this voice sound a bit more grizzled and hardened than any of the others before, "Where's Cliffjumper?"

"Good to see you, Ironhide." Jazz said, "Let's just say that things on that new planet have escalated a bit, and more attention is required. The rest we gotta discuss with Prime first."

"Then I suggest you Auto-brats get your hides upstairs." another voice said, this one sounding far less inviting, "Onslaught, you and your Combaticons do the same. Don't keep Megatron waiting."

"Don't overheat yourself, Barricade." Onslaught said, trying to keep lieutenant in line, "We're going. Just make sure that all the stuff gets unloaded."

"Yeah, we better be off too." Hot Rod said, "I have a feeling that this will be quite the lengthy meeting."

With that, there was a series of loud footsteps leading out of the ship, followed by a loud huff of displeasure from the one that the Gems now knew as Barricade.

"Kickback!" Barricade yelled, "You and the other Insecticons get over here and start unloading this stuff. Don't let any of these Autobots touch our supplies."

"We're the ones who should be worried, Barricade. Next time you try to swipe energon without approval, we're gonna have ourselves a scrap." Ironhide said, chastising the Decepticon. "Smokescreen, Bumblebee, let's get this stuff off the ship."

Hearing that, the Gems knew that they needed to act quickly, otherwise their stay here was going to be very short. Looking around, they were all trying to come up with something that could get them off the ship without being noticed.

Getting a slight bit nervous, Steven started to dart his head around the small space that they were in, the heavy breathing he was doing making a small bit of fog appear on the inside of his makeshift helmet. Thankfully, he didn't have to look long to find a solution.

Steven's eyes fell on a small opening in one of the boxes that they were near. Pointing it out to the other gems, they all looked and nodded in approval. If nothing else, they would at least be able to get off the ship and hopefully get closer to some answers.

Managing to climb inside of the empty box, they didn't have to wait long before their impromptu hiding spot was picked up and walked off the ship. All the while, the Gems all stayed quiet, merely listening to some of the conversations that were taking place between the two factions.

"Hey, Sharpshot, keep your claws off of that." a much younger voice said, "You know that's Autobot property."

"Mind your own business, Autobot." A very feral sounding voice said, "My hands only touch Decepticons things."

"I saw you eyeing it from back here. I know you and your bugs ways." the voice shot back.

As the arguing kept going, the box that they were in was set down. Going to the lid, Garnet just barely peeked herself out to see what was happening. All she saw was six more robots argue amongst each other, paying no attention to any of the boxes that surrounded them.

While her range of sight was fairly limited, she could see far enough away to make out where their friends had gone. They looked to be headed to a lift, no doubt going to wherever it was that meeting was supposed to take place.

Looking back to the other group again, she noticed that they were still arguing, and thus not paying attention to them. Signaling for the others to make their way up, Garnet hopped out of the box and ran over to another to keep out of sight.

By the time that all of them had gotten out of their former hiding spot, they not only got a good look at the new robots around them, but also a small glimpse of just what kind of world they were on.

Everything seemed to be composed entirely of metal or artificial material. Though they were just inside of a hanger, so maybe they were jumping to conclusions. In any case, they had to get moving before they lost sight of their already known robotic friends.

Thankfully, the other eight were still waiting on their elevator, so they were still on the right track. After managing to weave in and out of cover, the four finally made it to the lift, only to just make it in time as the elevator doors opened.

The eight had gotten caught up in a conversation about what they would say during the meeting, thus not seeing the Gems as they snuck past them. Sneaking past the ones waiting, the four quickly found a hiding spot within a vent on the elevator wall. After the robots boarded the elevator, their conversation continued.

"Megatron's going to have your head when he finds out what you three did." Brawl said, "It's against both sets of protocol, and Megatron-"

"Has no jurisdiction over us." Hot Rod said, "I just can't wait for what he does to you. I mean, nearly losing out to a local creature? Never thought a Con would be brought so low."

Amethyst had to hold back a snicker a Brawl let out a furried roar. Pearl gave her a warning glare, putting her finger to her lips to remind her to keep quiet. Amethyst simply rolled her eyes, knowing that staying sneaky was their best and only option right now. She didn't need Pearl to remind her of something so basic.

"Keep it up Auto-trash," Brawl warned, "At one point I'm not going to care about the consequences, and when I do, I'll-"

The doors to the elevator then opened, revealing to incredibly massive forms before it.

"You'll what, Brawl?" One of them asked the group, a very clear air of authority and power in his voice.

"Uh, n-nothing, Lord Megatron." Brawl said, immediately shrinking away upon seeing his leader.

At long last, the Gems finally got a glimpse of the Decepticon leader, and everything they had been hearing up until this point was truly accurate. He was far larger than any of the other robots, and his overall presence screamed menacing. A true form of a dictator if there ever was one.

"I hope, for your sake, that it was nothing, Brawl." Megatron threatened, "Because I would hate for all of this to be undone because of your stupidity."

Brawl didn't say anything this time, simply staying quiet out of fear of angering his leader once was then that the other form spoke up. Unlike the Decepticon leader, this one was far less malicious in his tone. His voice, although deep, sounded very controlled and calm.

"Welcome back, Autobots." Optimus said, "I'm sorry to say that we can't waste time with pleasantries. If the information you told us is true, we need to make a decision soon. Come, we'll speak in the great hall."

"Yes, Optimus." The Autobots said as they all exited the elevator. Just as they all left, the Gems scurried out of the vent before the elevator closed, taking cover in the architecture of the building to keep out of sight once again.

It wasn't a very long walk from the elevator to the aforementioned great hall that Optimus spoke of, and the Gems couldn't be more thankful for it. Having to constantly weave between pieces of the architecture, while simultaneously keeping quiet and out of sight of every robot that passed by was no easy feat. By the time they had got to where they were going, Steven was nearly out of breath.

Entering the great hall, the Gems took in the design of the whole place. It seemed that, despite all of them being machines, the beings of this planet seemed to have something of an artistic side. If this room was anything to go by, one couldn't help but wonder what the rest of this planet was like. Yet, as nice as it was, the real reason they were here was to learn more about these beings.

"Now then, let's get started." Optimus said, taking his place at the circular table. "What are your findings?"

"Yes, let's get to it." Perceptor said, using the device on his shoulder to display a holographic image while explaining everything about the planet. "Upon our arrival, it was clear that the planet was vastly different from the readings that Shockwave provided. Among the changes to the surface world, the planet's core seems to have taken on a different form altogether. Upon closer analysis of a sample, we have deduced that this is not energon. Rather, it is a form of crystallized life form. Yet the energy signature of these beings is, perplexingly, near identical to that of unrefined energon. Further tests will need to be run, but I do believe that this opens a vast number of possibilities for future research into alternative energy sources."

"Fascinating." Megatron commented, taking great note of all the images shown to them. "And what of the energon deposits that were said to have been hidden away on this planet? Were any discovered?"

"Unconfirmed, Lord Megatron." Onslaught said, "Due to the similarities in the energy signatures, we scouted out two of the largest residue sights to see if it would yield any results. Unfortunately, we were stopped by the local life forms."

"You mean you got your fenders kicked in by them." Jazz said, earning a snort from Hot Rod. Unfortunately, this also activated Brawl's hair-trigger temper once again. He was ready to vault his way over the table and deal with the Autobot his own way but was thankfully stopped by his leader.

"Enough!" Megatron shouted, "Optimus, I suggest that you restrain your subordinate. Unless you wish for this to end in disaster."

"I recommend you do the same." Optimus retorted.

Although he backed down from attacking, Brawl was still seething with anger. The Autobots were working his last nerve, and he needed a release if he was expected to continue on. So, with no other alternative, he slammed his fist into the closest thing he could find. That being one of the support pillars of the room. Hitting with such great force that he was able to take the thing down.

Unfortunately, this had been the place that Steven and the Gems had hidden. With the pillar knocked down, they were now in full view of several of the Decepticons. Namely, Megatron himself.

"What the?" Onslaught said, marching up to them, "Those are the vermin that we ran into on that planet. What are they doing here?!"

"A most valid question." Megatron added, causing Onslaught to recoil and spin around to face his master.

"Lord Megatron, I assure you that we had no idea that the aliens were aboard the ship." Onslaught tried to explain, before turning to the Autobots. "You were the ones that brought them, aren't you?"

"That doesn't make any sense, Onslaught." Hot Rod retorted, "Why would we bring them here?"

"While I wouldn't put it past an Autobot to do something like that, that is hardly the concern at the moment." Megatron interrupted, "What I am gathering from this is that neither of you did appropriate checks before leaving, and now we have outsiders on our planet."

Frozen by the fact that they had been discovered, the Gems knew that they were in way over their heads. Already the accusations were being thrown out, and the way that they were going to be dealt with could only be speculated. While they knew the Autobots were less likely to be violent, there was no telling what the Decepticons would do.

"Seeing as how none of you wish to follow my orders," Megatron said, approaching the Steven and the Gems, "I suppose I'll have to deal with this myself. Starting with you."

Megatron lifted his arm at Steven, pointing a cannon that was larger than he was at him. Steven's eyes went wide, letting out a quiet gasp as he looked down the barrel of the weapon. Fear paralyzed him, making him unable to move and try to get out of the way. Thankfully, the Gems were far quicker to react.

They were at his side without a moment's hesitation, their weapons brandished and ready as they surrounded him.

"If you want him, you'll have to go through us." Pearl threatened, to no avail.

"An acceptable proposal." Megatron said, his fusion cannon starting to power up.

"Poor choice of words, Pearl." Amethyst chastised, looking up at what was undoubtedly going to be their end.

Yet it would not be the end, as the Autobot leader intervened. Optimus came up to Megatron's side and brought out his own blaster, pressing it point blank at Megatron's head.

"I can not allow that, Megatron." Prime warned, only to be met with Onslaught doing much the same to him.

"Try it, and you'll land yourself in the same spot, Prime." Onslaught said, only to have Jazz do the same thing.

"Your head is gonna land about 20 Hics away if you don't put that down Onslaught." Jazz warned.

It soon resulted in everyone in the hall pulling weapons on each other. The atmosphere of the room was thick with tension, proving to the gems the fragility of the alliance that these two factions had. Even the smallest things could set them off.

"You would really risk endangering everything for the sake of these pathetic life forms, Prime?" Megatron asked, not lowering his arm.

"Aliens or not, I will not allow you to harm them. They are not part of this war, and you have no reason to destroy them." Optimus said.

"They know of the location of our planet, and possibly more." Megatron shot back, "It's too dangerous to keep them alive, Prime. Do some tactful thinking for once and lower that weapon, lest you make a mistake that Cybertron can't afford to pay for."

"You will lower your weapon, or it will be the last mistake you make." Optimus warned, not backing down from his stance.

There was a short period of silence, neither side backing down. The entire time it was happening, the Gems couldn't have been more thankful for the fact that they were somewhat acquainted with the Autobots. The only real question now was; what was going to happen to them?

The silence lasted for what felt like minutes before it was all interrupted by the loud blaring of an alarm. Both sides look up, waiting for the word on the nature of the warning.

"ALL UNITS, BATTLE STATIONS! INCOMING ATTACK FORCE!"