Chapter 5: Training for the Pup
Dawn broke in the sky above the airbase. Ledra was sitting in the Autobots hangar, contemplating what he saw on his moonlit flight. "Was that soldier really the last she would kill?" He said to himself. It wasn't like the Autobots were listening. They never listened to him when he talked to himself, but you couldn't blame them. His survival was due to his lack of trust in most people. It took him a full week before he could trust the Autobots or other NEST personnel. It's just not how he was built. He got up and left the hangar looking for Alira and to see if she remembered what she did. He walked over to the Hangar where he caught Alira's scent. He peeked inside and saw Alira sitting and talking. She was fully dressed in her usual clothing that consisted of those striped pants and the Search and Rescue jacket that was made for her. Ethan was talking while repainting Barricade with Autobot markings over his previous emblems.
"Alira, do you remember anything from last night?" Ethan asked. "I know you got yourself together in the end, but do you remember anything before that?" he continued with the paint gun, Wheelie was there and worked on replacing the phrase 'to punish and enslave' with 'sworn to protect'
"I never thought I'd see the day. Barricade was pretty high in the ranks." said the tiny defector with a strong Brooklyn accent.
"Stow it, wheelie!" Alira Shouted. Out of all the Cybertronians she knew and lived with, she hated Wheelie the most. "I remember the pain. It was absolutely brutal and no human words could describe it. I remember a flood of instincts and blood of a human."
"I had a similar experience. The trick is that when you turn, you must focus on who you really are. This keeps your mind human while your body changes." Wheelie finished painting over the phrase in black on both rear fenders.
"Done back here. Hows about handin' over the stencils?" Ethan had only been with NEST for two days, but he already hated Wheelie. He handed over the stencils and finished changing the insignias.
"Just a few more seconds and you're ready to go." Ethan said. Wheelie finished up and the paint gun stopped. He tried again, and the pressure sent him across the room when it was released.
Alira got up and walked over to Ethan. Ethan picked up the paint gun and finished the job that had sent the little monster truck across the room. Finished. "Ethan, how long did it take you to learn to control yourself?" she asked.
"It took me two days, but that's because I had Raze teach me the basics." Ethan knew it would take longer for Alira, seeing as how she was still living among those who can't teach her the ways to stay in control. "After a while, it becomes subconscious." Wheelie got back up and transformed into a little blue monster truck and drove off. "Thankfully, you can do this with daily meditation and it doesn't require a transformation." Ethan heard the sound of Wheelie's bumper hitting something. Ethan turned around and saw a bat-like wing jutting from the corner. "Stealth isn't your strong suit, John."
John retracted his wings into his body and walked in. he looked like a smaller first-generation lycan with a tail. "It was easier in the fifteenth century."
"You worked in Italy as a death dealer, right?" Alira asked.
"Sort of. My job back then required stealth. Quite a contrast to working with NEST." John scoffed a bit. "We need to get her trained. I don't want to watch any more soldiers die tonight."
"I can teach her what I know." Ethan answered. He quickly looked at the mustang with its new coat of paint. "Alright, Barricade. Paint's dry. You can transform now." Barricade quickly transformed and stood up. He looked at the panels with the new motto. "I had Ratchet modify your weapons with galvanized silver."
"Time to kick some ass." Barricade said.
The hybrid approached the Mustang. "Not so fast. First we need orders from Lennox before you can 'kick ass'." John was firm in this. He follows orders to the letter.
Ethan walked over to Alira and sat across from her. "Just relax and close your eyes. Focus on who you are as a human and on your past."
Alira closed her eyes. Her mind entering a world all it's own. She saw her childhood, how she met Selene and Michael and how her parents died at Cyclonus's hand in Johannesburg.
"Ethan, I saw my past. Will that help?" Alira asked softly. Ethan took her hand and helped her to her feet.
"It'll be all you need tonight. While you were zoned out we just got called into the briefing room. Optimus is supposed to give us the info on our mission" he said. "Let's go. Ledra's already there." They ran to the briefing room. It was still pretty early. When they arrived, they saw many NEST soldiers, soldiers from the newly founded Poleepkwa collective, and what looked like a human-poleepkwa halfbreed dressed in combat pants and boots with nothing else. Alira recognized the halfbreed as her cousin Hunter. The same halfbreed that fought Ethan in the eighth district of Mission City. Everyone was seated as Optimus readied the briefing.
"We have an important task ahead of us. Wolfen Aerospace UAVs have detected telltale energy signatures in a remote part of Transylvania. Reports and photos show that First-generation Lycans are in the area. As such, the Poleepkwa collective has given us use of their soldiers. These units will carry the Poleepkwa State arms flamethrower to cleanse any bodies left by First-Generation Lycans and serving as anti personnel units. Lucian has also been seen in the area along with a dangerous new Decepticon." The screen behind him showed an SU-47 with MNU markings. Ethan stood up from his seat.
"That's Cyclonus!" he shouted. "He was in Nome when Alira and I were trying to save the Poleepkwa refugees."
"Who is this?" Optimus asked. Alira stood up to address the large truck.
"This is Ethan Ketra. He's a defector from Lucians army. He saved my life in Nome when Cyclonus and Lucian attacked." Alira said in Ethan's defense.
Optimus was intrigued. This was the first time anyone defended a lycan. "If that is so, he may join us. We have to move out for Transylvania ASAP. All forces, load up." Optimus ordered. The soldiers all stood up, saluted Optimus, and left for the cargo jets.
Alira ran over to Hunter, who was preparing to enter a very lupine mech, painted in white with blue lines. The colors of the Israeli flag. He stepped inside and everything locked into place except the panels covering his face. Alira approached him before they closed.
"Hunter? What happened to you?" she asked upon seein the plating and other poleepkwa traits.
Hunter moved the arms of the mech to be sure they were working. He moved the hands and even the long bladed tail to make sure the cold air didn't leave the joints iced up. Everything checked out.
"Short story, MNU. They screwed with my genetics and made me a halfbreed. I would have gone fully over if not for my werewolf genetics." Hunter explained.
The panels around his face closed and the mech walked into one of the cargo aircraft that looked like it could reach supersonic speeds. Alira followed the mech until Ethan caught up with her. His black MNU armor was fitted with a detachable parachute for when the aircraft made it to Transylvania.
"who's the halfbreed?" Ethan asked.
"My cousin. Hunter Fairway. We're the only survivors of our bloodline." Alira shed a small tear.
"Listen, I need you to stay focused on who you are. When we arrive in Transylvania, it will be a full moon. Focus." Ethan said. John walked inside the aircraft and up to the cockpit. His seat was specially designed to allow his wings to be out and still let him fly the aircraft. He sat in and strapped up. Michael sat next to him as the co-pilot. Michael started up the engines. The aircraft taxied out onto the runway and found itself next to a second aircraft of the same model. Both were very streamlined and had large delta wings near the back and two powerful Wolfen Aerospace Scimitar hybrid scramjet afterburning turbofans. The cockpit was streamlined to reduce drag. Michael got in on the intercom.
"All personnel secure your gear and weapons. Also, you might want to hold on to something 'cause these scimitar engines have a lot of kick." He warned. The first aircraft throttled up and great flames spewed out of the engines and the aircraft gained in speed.
That aircraft had autobot markings, so the autobots were clearly onboard. The "troop ship" was next up. Alira closed her eyes and the aircraft sped off for Transylvania.
When they crossed into European airspace, Alira began to turn. Her face elongated into a lupine muzzle while her ears changing shape and position. Her clean fingernails sharpened into wicked black claws. Her legs shifted to a more lupine configuration. Her clothes remained intact this time. Fur covered her body and her transformation was finished. Ethan looked on her. He never thought much of it, but her lycan form was just as beautiful as her human form.
Michael came in over the intercom. "We have slowed to subsonic speeds and dropped to an altitude of 10,000 feet. All units prepare for combat drop." John left his seat and ran to the cargo bay. The ramp opened up and he ran right out with his wings folded in against his back.
Selene underwent a bizarre transformation. Great leathery wings grew from her back, while her fingernails sharpened into wicked claws. Her face and ears took on a bat-like look whil her skin turned grey. She was a vampire-dominant hybrid. She folded her new wings against her body and jumped out the plane.
Hunter took his mech and leapt it out of the aircraft. Ethan fitted Alira with a parachute. All of the soldiers leapt out and landed with their parachutes. All of the parachutes were discarded and then burned by the Poleepkwa soldiers' flamethrowers. The cargo aircraft were at a nearby municipal airfield. The force of vampires, humans, and poleepkwa were all in the right place. There were bloodied bodies all over the place.
Hunter stood watch in the 12 foot lupine mech. The holographic scanners showed that none of the bodies had vital signs, but from first hand experience that first-gen lycans were infectious enough to turn the bodies of the dead. He pointed toward the village. "Burn this place to the ground. MNU remnant forces can take the blame." He said. The poleepkwa fanned out, torching everything in sight with green flames. Funny, Hunter thought, It sickened me when MNU did this, but now it's our last line of defense against first-gen shock troops.
Hunter never liked any of MNU's practices, especially when NEST was forced to adopt them. But this was a special case. The village was torched and the green flames definitely attracted the attention of something. In the distance. It was an SU-47 in MNU markings. Cyclonus was here. He descended on the charred remains of the village and transformed.
Hunter dashed backwards and pointed the arm of his mech to the large decepticon. "Open fire!" He shouted. Lennox took out a concussion grenade and hurled it at Cyclonus.
It detonated and knocked Cyclons to the ground. The Decepticon raised his arm to signal the lycans to charge. Hunter made a dash toward Cyclonus and, seeing the time to strike, shoved the blade of the mechs tail straight into the decepticons back.
Cyclonus let out a shrill tone, signaling drone aircraft and starscream. The Raptors energy signature registered for Hunter's holo-visor inside the mech. He opened a comm. channel to Ethan and Breakaway. "Ketra, Breakaway! Starscream's in the area. I need you two to take him out."
Ethan stood with Alira. Breakaway got the message and transformed. Ethan jumped into the cockpit and tossed Alira a black Vektor CR21 similar to what was in use by MNU. "It's loaded with silver nitrate rounds. Be careful." Breakaway switched to hover mode and took off after Strascream. As the F-35 got closer to the F/A-22, Ethan turned to his Lycan form and jumped out onto the raptor. He dug his claws deep into the fuselage. Right next to him on the underbelly, he found
He freed one arm and tore out a large panel of metal. A brilliant blue light revealed the spark chamber. Attatched to his vest was a small energy canister designed to overload the spark of a transformer. He shoved it into Starscreams spark. "Payback for Nome, Turkey" Ethan said. Breakaway was right beneath him. The lycan in the MNU vest jumped onto the back of the IAF-painted F-35 and held on for dear life. Blue light leaked out of cracks in starscreams body until it faded and the raptor dropped like a lead balloon.
Ethan jumped back into the cockpit. "Alright, Breakaway. Let's see how Hunter's doing." Ethan took manual control. Cyclonus had the Lupine mech on the ground. He let loose with Breakaways machine guns and Cyclonus backed off. He leapt up and transformed into his SU-47 altmode. Ethan wanted nothing to do with this. He found Raze alone on the battlefield and leapt out of the F-35 to deal with him. He landed flawlessly out took out his MP7s. "Raze."
"Ethan", Raze said, "What are you going to do?"
"I've decided that NEST is where I belong. Especially after Mission City." Ethan said.
Raze didn't look too surprised. "To be honest, I always thought you didn't belong with us, but this still really bugs me." Raze was irate by this time. "Something about this just stinks."
"I was a liability in Mission city. You don't need me."
"If NEST finds out what you are, they'll kill you!" Raze shouted. Ethan armed his MP-7s and took up arms against Raze.
"They know what I am. I will be the last face you see." Ethan transformed into his Lycan form and signaled for alira and barricade to be ready when he gave the signal. Alira got into barricades driver seat and held her head and left arm out holding the Vektor CR21.
Ethan jumped over Raze and let loose with his MP7s now modified with 50-round silver nitrate clips. Unfortunately, Raze was wearing a vest. Ethan holstered his guns and charged at Raze. His claws leaving a nasty mark on his face. Raze shed his vest and shirt and began to change to his own lycan form.
Ethan raised his arm with the weapon in hand. Barricade drove off toward Raze. Alira opened fire, the rounds reaching Raze and filling his blood with the lethal silver nitrate. He collapsed on the ground. Alira jumped out of Barricade and walked over to Raze. Ethan stood with his gun pointed at the lycans head. Ethan shifted back to human form.
"I told you. My face would be the last you see." He pulled the trigger and Razes head almost exploded. Alira quirked her wolven head to the left, a canine way to express confusion. "He's dead. And not a moment too soon." Ethan opened up a comm. channel to Breakawy by putting a finger to the earpiece attatched to the visors. "Breakaway, what's the story with Cyclonus?"
Ethan's comm. unit picked up a lot of sound from the engines. "I can't keep a bead on him. He's too agile" Breakaway said. Ethan looked to the sky and saw a portal opening through which all of the Decepticons retreated. It clearly came from Cyclonus. The MNU fighter broke the sound barrier going through and all surviving Decepticons found their own way back. Cyclonus had to be a Seeker. No other cybertronian can create a space bridge. He must have once served the fallen. None of that mattered now, though.
The mission had ended in success, but no one would admit that. Starscream fell by Ethan's hand. Everyone boarded their respective planes and they took off for the Airbase in New Jersey the next day, so Alira would not turn.
High above the earth, a dark presence lingers. Watching. Waiting. The Decepticon Soundwave had full view of the earth at his vantage point. Not that it was unknown to others. A plan has been in the works for a while to take him down. It would have to wait though. All in good time.