Chapter 7

Jhiaxus stormed through the Kolkular fortress with his personal team of guards. He approached the throne room, and stopped short just outside the entrance. The Liege was looking out of the small, barred window, his back turned to the jet; he released a guttural sound that reminded Jhiaxus of a wild beast about to pounce upon its prey.

"My Liege," he began, and then waited for the large Destron ruler to interrupt him, as he had a habit of doing whenever something was bothering him; however, this time he remained silent, so Jhiaxus continued. "There are several Destrons approaching from Polyhex. It appears that Straxus has learned of our intended attack."

The Liege growled in anger, and slowly turned to face his second in command. "Starscream?"

Jhiaxus nodded in the affirmative. "It appears so, my Liege." The Air Commander and his seekers had disappeared from Kaon shortly after he had returned the unconscious seeker to his trine mates - they had most likely joined Straxus' forces in a deliberate act of rebellion.

"Assemble the troops." Maximus turned back to look out his window. "We will put an end to their little party before they even realize what has happened. Do not return until every last one of them is destroyed." He paused, clenching his fist.

The large Destron jet bowed his head, as he began to plan the total annihilation of their foes. "Yes, my Liege," he said in compliance, before leaving.

Shockwave led the Insecti-trons – now Insecticons, a group name change to reflect their new allegiance – along a little-known route that led directly into Kolkular's underground passageways. Their first task as Decepticons was to locate all of the base's subterranean escape routes, and block them. This was a pre-emptive manoeuvre, in case the Liege decided to make his escape through the underground tunnels, should he and his army be forced to flee, but it would also help prevent easy access to the fortress in future, in case he ever attempted to retake the base.

As soon as they found one of the passages, Shrapnel and his team mates set to work, processing and resynthesizing the raw material of the subterranean rock into neat reinforced blocks, which Shockwave was then able to seal using his laser gun.

"This is far more enjoyable than working for the Autobots," Kickback said. He and his friends were in their insect modes, as they worked much faster that way.

"Yes, Kickback," Shrapnel replied, "and much more appetizing, appetizing."

A half hour earlier, Soundwave had gained access to Liege Maximus' hijacked satellite and had uploaded a false data set. He had programmed it with information that would cause the Liege and his chain of command to believe that Straxus was leading an attack party from Polyhex when, in actuality, no such party existed.

Once this had been successfully achieved, he had set out with his fellow Decepticons towards Kolkular, approaching it from the opposite direction. This would give them ample time to work out their plan of attack, as the unsuspecting Liege would be focused upon deploying his troops in an effort to intercept the phantom party; he would eventually discover their ploy, but not before his forces could reassemble for a counterattack.

"Objective: successful," Soundwave reported from their position just outside the Kolkular base. "Jhiaxus is leading a party to intercept the illusory threat."

"Most excellent, Soundwave," Megatron commended the communications expert. Then, he turned to the Air Commander. "Starscream, is there a way inside the fortress without attracting too much attention?"

Starscream looked up towards the Central Tower that loomed directly above them. "It is possible, Megatron," he replied, "but it won't be easy. The Liege has guards posted along the perimeter at every turn. A few of us might be able to drop in through the top of that tower, but there could be more Destrons waiting for us just out of sight."

The Decepticon leader nodded in contemplation, and then turned back to the blue Transformer. "Soundwave, are you able to determine how many are guarding that tower?"

"Affirmative, Megatron," he replied, and opened his chest compartment, releasing one of his mini-cassette spies. "Laserbeak: ascertain enemy positions and report back." The spy resembled the form of a modified miniature jet; it transformed in mid-air and flew up towards the top of the tower.

After a minute or two he returned, unharmed, and landed on Megatron's shoulder. He did not utilize normal speech patterns, so Soundwave translated for him. "Laserbeak reports: two Destron spies are positioned behind the Central Tower, and four Destrons guard the topmost access way."

Megatron considered their options. "Blitzwing, you and Astrotrain will take out the two spies and then secure the tower from the ground level. Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp; we will take the four Destrons at the top." The Decepticons acknowledged their new instructions with eagerness. Finally, he turned again to the cassette's guardian. "Soundwave, as soon as we give the signal, I want you and the rest of the Decepticons to secure the perimeter." Soundwave nodded in acknowledgment.

Megatron and the seekers took to the air in their robot modes, towards the tower, while Blitzwing and Astrotrain ran ahead and leaped over the perimeter wall, heading for the base of the Central Tower. Just as Laserbeak had warned, two spies were waiting around the other side, but they were taken by surprise by the two Decepticons and did not have enough time to respond. Astrotrain's ionizing rifle quickly put the larger of the two spies out of action, while Blitzwing took care of the other one with his gyro-blaster.

"Easy as silicon slag," Blitzwing commented, following Astrotrain, who had already disappeared through the tower's main entrance.

Above them, the sounds of distant laser fire could be heard, as the four Decepticons fought against four Destrons, one of whom had fallen backwards from the tower and had come crashing down to the ground beside Blitzwing. "Ooh, that's gotta hurt," he said, wincing.

The three remaining Destrons were easily overpowered by Megatron and the three seekers, who then forced open the heavy door at the top of the tower to make their way inside.

The Central Tower was large, and the inside was dimly lit. There was a wide staircase near the access way, and Starscream led the Decepticons towards it. "This will take us to the Liege's private chambers," he said warily. "It will probably be well guarded."

"Then the sooner we find him, the better," Megatron said, and led the charge down the steps.

Just as Starscream had warned, they were greeted by four Destrons waiting for them on one of the platforms; however, the Liege did not appear to be in his chambers. Starscream recognized them; they were seekers who had been under his command. "No, wait," he indicated to the Decepticon leader, who was just about to disable them with his newly acquired fusion cannon, now mounted on his right forearm. From the bottom of the staircase, they could hear laser fire breaking out. "Let me speak to them."

A yellow seeker had his blaster pointed at them. "Starscream? Thundercracker? What the hell do you think you're doing?" His team mates, Acid Storm, Bitstream and Hotlink, were also ready to take defensive action at a moment's notice.

Starscream addressed the lead seeker by name, getting directly to the point. "Sunstorm, we have come to put an end to the Liege's tyranny." There was a pause, as the seeker fixed his gaze upon the Decepticons, not daring to move. "He plans to attack the Autobots, and overtake Cybertron. If we allow that to happen, there'll be no stopping him; he will plunder the planet's energy and resources until ruin and devastation is all that will remain."

The four seekers wavered, uncertain. "How do we know we can trust you, Starscream?" Acid Storm, the green colored one, asked, as he looked at the unfamiliar silver and black Transformer standing beside the Air Commander.

"I've never led you astray before," Starscream replied. "Why would I start now?"

Then Skywarp spoke to them. "Listen to him, Acid; he's telling the truth. Many Destrons from Iacon, and some from Polyhex, have already pledged their allegiance to the Decepticons," he explained, indicating their new group. "It's only a matter of time now before the Liege is defeated."

"Besides, if you don't join us," Starscream added, "we will have no choice but to destroy you."

Two other Decepticons appeared from the lower staircase; Blitzwing and Astrotrain. "The tower's been secured," Astrotrain informed his companions.

"So, what'll it be?" Starscream asked Sunstorm again, and the yellow seeker slowly retracted his weapon. A few moments later, his team mates followed his lead.

"Alright, we're in," he said, and Starscream smiled in approval. As the Decepticons began to head down the staircase, Sunstorm spoke again. "Wait – we can get the other seekers on board as well." He awaited the Air Commander's permission and, as soon as he received it, the four Destron seekers, now Decepticons, headed in the opposite direction up the staircase on their new mission.

"Where to now?" Starscream asked their leader. "The Liege seems to have fled," he added, making fun of the war lord. Maximus must have found out about their unexpected visit, and had probably attempted to relocate underground with the intention of setting a trap for the Decepticons. However, Starscream was usually able to pre-empt his tactics; a short while earlier, he had sent the Insecticons to secure the underground passageways, with Shockwave's assistance.

Megatron gave him an immediate answer. "Now we crash Jhiaxus' party. There'll be plenty of time to deal with the Liege later."

It did not take long for Sunstorm and his team mates to locate the trine of modified jet-formers. He knew that they would be easily persuaded to abandon the Liege's forces in favour of the new Decepticon cause.

Their names were Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust. They had been recruited by Starscream after having been condemned to the smelting pools of Darkmount by Straxus himself, as punishment after a failed coup against the Air Commander. Dirge had been grateful to him for saving his and his team mates' lives, and had only agreed to serve the Liege as long as Starscream remained loyal to the war lord. However, all that had now changed.

Sunstorm found the three of them heading back towards the Central Tower; they had just returned from a scouting mission to Polyhex. Landing on top of the tower, they transformed and greeted the four seekers.

Dirge, the leader of his trine, immediately sensed that something had happened. "Sunstorm?"

The yellow seeker proceeded to inform the Destron jets of the recent turn of events, and the intentions of the new Decepticon group. "We know how you feel about Starscream, and thought that you should know," he said, finally.

Dirge turned to his team mates, startled by the news. The Liege had remained in control of Kaon for so long now; it seemed almost too good to be true that a radical new group, these Decepticons, would be capable of finally putting an end to his reign. If it was true, it was nothing short of a miracle. His team mates looked back at him, stunned; however, Dirge knew that he had their full support, whatever his decision. "Count us in," he said decisively, turning back to Sunstorm.