The first thing Impact realized when he silently powered back on was that he had made a mistake. No, he had made several of them; mistakes that would have been inexcusable, even for a protoform. That, compounded by the fact that he had reminded himself to exercise additional caution in this area-due to its proximity to the natives and the supposed predator-and promptly disregarded his own forethought. The monotony of his task had lulled him into a false sense of security and jeopardized one of the primary directives of his mission.
Ultra Magnus would not have been pleased, to say the least.
His first mistake was his location. Little forethought was put into finding a place with adequate cover to, even partially, hide his rather immense alt-mode. Though the impenetrable canopy overhead would have made him virtually invisible to anyone or anything flying overhead, the lack of heavy brush on the ground made him stand out like a gold-plated chassis in the middle of the Sea of Rust. Though he had partially sunk himself into a natural ditch, it only covered him up to his wheels. That was only the first part, though. In his haste to power down, he had mis-transformed. The rear entrance of his vehicle mode was left partially open-a fault akin to a certain Earth species committing what is known to them as "enuresis"-as made evident by the invasion of the two creatures into his interior.
Oh, and they were sentient. So much for the Autobot Exploration Directive: Section 5, Article A.
Or, perhaps not. The creatures, as Impact observed them through his hidden interior optics, did not seem recognize him as a living being. They seemed to be simply curious, their own organic optics dancing around the Cybertronian's metallic inner-chassis, speaking to each other via a language Impact did understand. Not yet, at least, as his translator function-a biological operation Cybertronians have yet to fully understand-kicked in and began to pick apart their speech, gestures, and tone and process it for his understanding. So far, their conversation seemed to be idle observations made while they poked around in the cramped space. Impact did his best not to move or make a sound. He predicted the creatures would soon get bored and leave, giving him ample opportunity to relocate.
While he waited, though, he took this opportunity to catalog their physical appearance. They were bipedal, standing only 1.5 meters in height. give or take. Their upper and lower limbs had elbows and knees, wrists and ankles. At each extremity, they had five phalanges, though the fingers were longer and more dexterous than their toes. They almost looked like Humans in their rough shape, but that is where the similarities ended. Their skin appeared to be smooth and membranous, kept moist, likely, by the intense humidity of the atmosphere. The color of their skin was nothing short of bizarre; one of them being yellow with countless thin black stripes that snaked and wove about, the other a muted cyan with oblong spots dotted randomly throughout that carried nearly every color of the visible light spectrum. The clothes they wore were scarce: flaps of leather-like material secured with strings and straps and adorned with all manner of baubles and small bones. Their eyes were large and glittery in appearance, with horizontal, "squished" obsidian pupils. Their mouths looked normal enough, until Impact caught a flash of dagger-like teeth, which indicated that they were carnivorous, and added a unnerving, predatory look to their otherwise innocent and harmless appearance. The nostrils were long slits that ran vertically between their gratuitous eyes. They dilated and contracted sporadically as they ferreted around the cabin. Hair-like tentacles ran down from the top and back of their heads to their shoulders. Subtle movements from them that didn't match the sway of their bodies told him that they could be moved like a limb. This seemed to be the full extent of their exterior physiology, until one of them bumped into the other-likely by accident-and their skin involuntarily flashed a different color before returning to the previous pattern.
"Interesting," though Impact. "Their pigmentation can change near-instantaneously."
After they apologized to each other for the minor collision, the two stood there, nearly toe-to-toe, looking into each other's alien eyes. This confused the Cybertronian, as they did not move for at least ten seconds. Then, the blue-skinned one slowly grasped the yellow one's waist and pushed them both onto the cabin's rigid seats. They both breathed heavily as their faces came together. Their head-tentacles wriggled and locked together as the two began pawing off each other's clothes-
Impact switched his interior optics off. There were only a few things in the universe that he couldn't tolerate. Several solar cycles of grueling training he could handle. Charging straight into enemy fire he could handle. The mating habits of the various organic species known to Cyber-kind he could not handle, and it was happening inside his alt-mode. Had he been capable of relinquishing the contents of a hypothetical stomach, he would have done so with great enthusiasm. Try as he might, his training and his duty to remain perceptive disallowed him to turn off his audio receivers. Because of his enhanced senses, he could hear every single... squish. Perhaps this was his punishment for being so careless, handed down directly from Primus on a grand, tungsten platter. With no knowing of how long this will carry out, he had no choice but to wait until they leave.
Hardly three nano-cycles passed after that thought ran through his head, he detected movement from behind. It was large, but silent. Its razor claws skimmed over the forest floor as it stepped closer towards him, the debris-ridden ground relenting under the immense weight of each footstep. A low, throaty growl cut through the air, easily audible to any within several meters, though any warning would have been utterly useless at this point. He could feel the organics' blood in his interior go ice cold. He didn't need his optics to know that they were both paralyzed with terror, their eyes wide and their breath trapped in their throats as they slowly peered out the door.
The beast came into view. A mere physical description in the Autobot's report would have done it no justice. It's bulging, glistening skin seemed to house more than just bone and tissue. Primal fury and an insatiable will to dominate exuded from every muscle contraction. Long, bony thorns covered its back, adding even more to its already imposing silhouette. Teeth capable of cleaving a large grazer in half with one bite. And the eyes, Primus, the eyes, they conjured an image of the Predacons of his home planet, vicious and indomitable. Four black, vertical slits, two in each glossy, bloodshot orb, pierced through his Spark. It was not looking at him, though. Rather, its attention was fixated upon the fragrant flesh that lay underneath his metal exterior. With a final, vicious growl, the beast dug its claws into the ground and shot forward like a mass slug out of a Rail Rifle. The sentients inside Impact began to scream.
There was no thought, no consideration, no second-guessing. Even with the heinous infraction of the Autobot Exploration Directive weight on his mind, and the consequences of breaking such regulations perfectly understood, Impact knew that inaction was a non-option.
Within a fraction of a moment, the back doors of his alt mode slammed shut, the engine roared to life, and all wheels began spinning. The beast seemed to be taken by complete surprise by the sudden motion of a previously-thought inanimate object. That, and the moist soil and dead vegetation that once resided on the forest floor spat from underneath the rugged tires, blinding the creature and causing it to shield its eyes. It slowed down to clean the debris from its face while the vehicle rolled off into the forest.
The two organics in the truck were no less surprised at the turn of events, but they did not have time to process it. From the moment the floor lurched underneath them, the terrified and semi-clothed aliens were tossed and thrown about the cabin. The path the vehicle took offered no mercy. The forest floor was uneven, and it was thick with trees and other obstructions, so it wove and bounced fiercely, and without restraints to hold them in place, they floundered on the cold steel surface. Impact tapped into his higher mental functions and charted out a path that would merit the least amount of damage to the soft and vulnerable sentients. He analyzing the geometry of the ground and plotted the most linear route through the thick trunks of the trees. As far as he could tell, they weren't seriously injured... yet.
His concentration was drawn away as an Energon-curdling roar came from behind. A glance through his rear optics revealed the beast, tearing its way towards the Autobot, bellowing primordial anger. It was fast, perhaps a bit faster than him. That wasn't giving it much credit, for Impact hadn't chosen his alt mode for its speed or agility. Rather, it was made for withstanding any munitions, short of an ion cannon, and traversing rugged terrain. While the turf played to the latter strength, it could not compete with the maneuvering capabilities of a native quadrupedal predator. Eventually, the Cybertronian surmised, it would catch up to him and decimate any chance of a clean escape.
But escaping was never Impact's plan.
The vehicle continued to weave and bob with as much grace as a 4.3 metric ton hunk of metal on wheels could muster while the predator gradually closed the gap between them. The trees were beginning to thin out, and shafts of dim moonlight became larger and more apparent. The terrain became smoother, giving the dizzy and enervated organics along for the ride a chance to grab on to anything they could find-which happened to be the metal bars that served as seat restraints-and hold on for dear life. "Good," thought Impact, "That'll help." The two were still dazed, but they managed to shout a few panic-laden words to each other. Impact still couldn't quite understand what they were saying yet, but that was hardly relevant at this point. The beast was mere meters from his rear, panting haggardly through bared teeth. Its focus was utterly fixed upon his quarry, claws raking the earth, pushing itself to greater and longer bounds. Its muscles burned hot and its eyes' double pupils were slits, gleaning with hunger and madness. The claws nearly brushed the rear bumper of the truck
It was at this moment that Impact chose to execute his plan. Suddenly, cobalt-colored thrusters burst to life under the vehicle's chassis, lifting it from the ground in a blast of scorched dirt and searing energy. As it began to soar through the air, it rolled to the right, shifting it from its prior path. The bipeds inside let out a scream as weightlessness took hold. To their credit, they held fast to the bars through white-knuckled grips, eyes clenched tight. The Autobot's thrusters were silenced as he let inertia do the rest. Time seemed to slow down as the vehicle neared the completion of the roll and the ground came rushing up to meet him. It landed rather gracelessly, but the suspension absorbed most of the shock. The aliens inside, thankfully, were no worse for wear, though they seemed to have lost the strength to continue screaming. The predator, however, was busy blinking away burnt dirt from its eyes. Once its sight was restored, it began to search, again, for its quarry.
...Only to have its vision obscured by a fast-approaching tree.
Its reaction time, as nimble as it was, could not possibly save it at the velocity it was traveling. The beast tried to turn and dig its claws into the ground and ended up connecting with the thick mast with its side, sending the sound of a sickening crack reverberating through the forest. Avians for kilometers around took flight from their perches from the sudden noise. Impact swerved and came to a stop, looking on to the unmoving form that lay beside the tree, which now showed a clear sign of damage from the impact. He waited, his engine now quiet, and a tense silence took hold of the air.
The form twitched, and Impact's mind raced with disbelief. It seemed that the creature was much more tenacious than he would have ever given it credit for. Indeed, it slowly lifted itself from the ground, joints audibly popping back into place. Its eyes were practically crimson at this point and its mouth was dripping foam and spittle. It was weaker, but it was also angrier than ever before. It was clear that this beast was not going to be dissuaded from its task, no matter how much resistance it met, no matter how paltry its reward would be. Sluggishly, it fixed its gaze back on Impact and began to take its first steps towards its metallic opponent.
"Time to take care of him the old-fashioned way," the Autobot surmised. The organics in his alt-mode staggered to their feet, half-naked, clutching their heads and groaning in pain. The back doors clicked and swung open at once.
"Out!" Impact bellowed in Cybertronian, as his translator had not yet divined that word. Though there was no way the sentients could have understood it, they took the cue, scooped up their discarded clothes that were scattered about the interior, and stumbled out the back. As soon as they were clear, the doors, once again, slammed shut. An arcane noise emanated from the wheeled vehicle they had just exited, followed by more strange clanks and whirrs. After putting a fair amount of distance between them and it, the bipeds turned their heads to witness something that made them almost forget about the present danger and forced them to stare in awe.
The metal form began to change, dramatically. Panels split and shifted. Hinges bent and joints twisted. Segments detached and reattached themselves. A new shape began to take from as previously hidden parts were revealed. Something that resembled a leg and a foot swung into sight and planted itself on the ground, then another. The dark, silvery form stood up with a low groan, towering over the bewildered, fleshy duo, as a pair of arms folded out from a pair of bulky shoulders. Fingers snaked out, segment by segment, and curled into tightly-packed fists. A torso formed, shifting and flexing with the fluidity of a being of sinew and muscle, but with no sign of warm skin. A head revealed itself, and a face formed upon it. Thin cables protruded from the top of the skull like hair, tied back in a ponytail, swinging with his ponderous motion. Eyes glowed a harsh white and his expression was fixed in a neutral frown. The metal man brought his hand to his neck and flung out a clinking necklace to rest on his broad chest. Finally, with mechanical precision aberrant of his hulking figure, he withdrew a pair of circular, goggle-like shades and placed them upon his eyes, allowing them to clamp themselves to his face.
The predator seemed unfazed by the transformation, even though Impact now stood at least twice its height. It continued to lumber forward, gradually picking up speed. The Autobot turned his head to glance back at the organics. They stood, partially concealed by the thick trunk of a nearby tree, looking on at the metal giant that stood before them with bewildered, alien eyes. Assured that they were relatively safe, he reared to face-
Impact was suddenly thrown backwards as the predator crashed into his side. Despite its injuries and the energy expended during its chase, the thing managed to close the distance faster than Impact could have imagined. No organic being known to Cyber-kind could push this hard and walk away without permanent injuries. It must be truly desperate for sustenance, or inflicted with some sort of killing madness, as the absence of grazers in the area indicated. The Autobot found his footing and began to push back, but not before his back hit the towering tree directly behind him, causing the trunk to groan and sway ominously and compelling the two smaller organics to find new cover. The beast snapped and snarled centimeters from his face, its teeth clacking together with audible sharpness. A super-reinforced bevor articulated itself into position along his collar and a steely faceguard clamped over his mouth. His neutral demeanor gave way to battlelust and Impact let loose a hellish roar. Thrusters fired from his back, blackening the tree at his back, and threw the beast off him. It recovered almost immediately, but by that time, the Autobot drew his hammer from his hip and took a swing.
The weapon connected with the face of the beast with the force of a meteor, shattering its jaw like glass. The creature stumbled backwards and gurgled out a howl of pain, but Impact offered it no mercy. The handle of his hammer suddenly lengthened to allow for a two-handed grip. Using the follow-up from his first swing, he struck his foe again, this time, even harder. Again, it attempted to recover, but each time it did, it was met with another collision from the hefty mallet. Over and over, Impact swung, and each hit was met with a meaty crunch. Hot anger continued to build in his skull, threatening to overtake his systems, but he barred it, captured it, and channeled into each vicious attack. This creature would soon know why the remaining Decepticons in the galaxy feared his name.
At once, the onslaught ceased. The predator battled to stay on its feet, its double-slit vision was a haze of blood and blackness. It lifted its head in a paltry attempt to renew its assault, only to witness the final blow. Impact shifted his footing, lifted the hammer high above his head, and tightened his grip. Abruptly, the head of the hammer erupted with three gouts of blue flame. They were powerful thrusters, the same kind installed along his body that acted on his neural input, and they gave the weapon the necessary propulsion for an apocalyptic underswing. The rocket-propelled mallet struck the beast square in the chest. With a yelp, it was sent soaring across the clearing, before bouncing once, twice, and finally rolling to a stop.
If the creature was still alive after that punishment, it gave no sign. The prone form lay there as the ever-present forest debris that was kicked up fell around it and settled. Even if it survived, Impact surmised, it could not feed with a broken jaw, and would soon die anyway. Either way, the threat was eliminated. The Autobot allow his body to relax and disperse the heat it built up during the hectic encounter. The shaft his hammer retracted, and he stored the weapon back on his hip. He then scanned his surroundings for any sign of the smaller organics, concerned for their safety. He had not controlled that battle as well as he should have, a failure on top of prior failures, of which he was acutely aware of. It seemed that today had been nothing but a string of deplorable events. If he had any belief in superstition, he would have taken this as a sign that such impalpable powers were displeased with him. But, he did not allow himself to muse on such things, and concluded that this ruinous day can only be indemnified by taking greater care in the future.
Thankfully, the organics were nearby, and they cautiously relinquished themselves from cover. They stared, wide eyed, at Impact's bipedal body with a mix of wonder and fear, their strange, alien skin subtly shifting colors. The cyan one was the first to speak. He-or she, Impact could not yet tell-stammered out something to the effect of, "You... saved us?"
"Yes," Impact said in their language as his faceguard and bevor retracted. The pair seemed shocked at the fact that this, what must have amounted to them, aberration could speak in their tongue. But, as he observed them, they seemed to be concerned with something else. Their gaze fell to the ground before the Cybertronian's feet, and the yellow one's hands clasped over his or her mouth in horror. Confused, Impact looked down.
Blue, glowing fluid streamed from four long, jagged gashes along his chest. The hot liquid lay in an alarmingly large pool on the ground around him, and it only grew larger with each passing moment.
"Frag..." Impact croaked before all feeling left his limbs and his knees crashed onto the Energon-soaked ground. Blackness, cold and bitter, stole his vision, and he knew no more.