Disclaimer: What the f*** happened to the reviews? I getting hits but no reviews, either good or bad. This is just me talking, but I believe this story has the potential to be great. That's just my opinion, but your opinions matter just as much if not more. Well anyway, here's another chapter for the story, and hopefully it'll garner some sort of response. I'd really, really hate to delete because of a lack of response. All I'm saying.

As with everything else, I don't own Transformers. If I did, I'd likely wanna kick Michael Bay's ass too. All I'm saying!

Chapter II

Sol System
Destination – Autobot City; Oregon, Earth
ETA – 8 hrs. 72 min. 22 sec.

Ironhide didn't know which was worse; staring at a monitor or a radar screen. At least with a monitor, he could keep his optics open for any Decepticon incursions. With a radar screen though, he had to stare at blips. Sometimes, it almost made him want to blow his head off. Prowl noticed the edginess in his Autobot brethren's body language. It almost made him laugh, despite his no nonsense attitude. Brawn noticed it too, and he wasn't above chuckling audibly so the shuttle crew heard it. Of course, Ironhide heard it.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

Brawn put up his arms defensively as if he was the victim. "What, I didn't say nothing!"

"Is there a problem, Ironhide?" asked Ratchet.

Ironhide quickly glanced at the Autobot Medic and explained, "I just want to get this trip over with. I ain't no courier, Ratchet. I'm a fighter. I belong out on the field."

"I hate to rain acid on your parade, but you're not as young as you used to be." Ratchet pointed out.

"Still young enough to kick your tailpipe, Ratchet!" Ironhide snapped.

"Gentlemen, the scuffle will have to wait," Skids informed. "I'm picking something on our long range scanners."

"Probably just a stray asteroid, Skids." Prowl reasoned.

"No, it's much too small to be an asteroid," Skids said. "Wait a moment; the object is on an intercept trajectory for the shuttle."

The object Skids detected was most definitely too small be some random asteroid. If fact, it was too small to be another shuttle. It was a shuttle, or at least it resembled one. But no human made shuttle could get this deep into space on its own. Unless it was a Decepticon named Astrotrain. Pulling up to the starboard side of the larger shuttle, Astrotrain opened a side hatch and Megatron appeared from within. Taking careful aim with his arm mounted fusion cannon, Megatron opened fire on the shuttle. The resultant explosion blew a gaping hole in the side, and the rumble threw the Autobots inside to the floor.

"What in the Pit was that?" Gears demanded to know.

Then he received his answer in the form of a horde of Decepticons, with Megatron at the head of the pack. He was followed swiftly by Starscream, Soundwave, the Seekers, the Insecticons, the Constructicons and the Triple Changer Blitzwing. Other Decepticons followed suit, all of them new recruits to the war. Among the new recruit were the hulking Blackout, the ultra quick Barricade, and the brutish Wreckage and Demolisher. Astrotrain quickly transformed and entered the shuttle through the hull breach, rounding out the pack of intruders. It was very quickly did the Autobots realize that the Decepticons had the immediate numbers advantage.

"Time to die, Autobot scum!" Megatron declared.

On instinct, Gears fired the first shot, catching Megatron right in the shoulder. "Not today, Megatron!"

Any other Decepticon would've cringed after being shot in the shoulder. Not Megatron! In fact, he was more annoyed than hurt. Gears didn't flinch and opened fire again, this time just missing Starscream but striking Shrapnel of the Insecticons in the leg. Shrapnel fell to a knee but fired back, missing Gears completely. But it left Megatron with an opening and he fired on the unsuspecting Autobot. The result left Gears standing still with a gaping hole through his abdomen. The other Autobots could only watch as Gears tumbled to the floor, his blue optics flicking before going dark. Enraged at the loss of his comrade in arms, Brawn charged right for the Decepticons, specifically Megatron. The other Autobots provided cover for Brawn, forcing most of the Decepticon to take up a defensive position. Starscream and the Seekers, Skywarp and Thundercracker, fired on Brawn, but the shots barely slowed him down.

"Starscream!" called out Megatron.

Starscream immediately nodded as Megatron quickly transformed into his signature Walther P38 mode, landing in the Air Commander's waiting hand. Brawn was still coming hard and fast, until Starscream opened fire on him. He scored a direct hit on Brawn's shoulder. Smoke and sparks and circuits poured out of the wound, but Brawn refused to quit. Another shot impacted him on his chest, shredding away the Autobot insignia. Barricade quickly drew his gun and fired a rapid succession of shot, striking the still advancing Autobot in his knees. One more shot and Brawn finally went down. Ironhide and Prowl fired back on the Decepticons, while Ratchet quickly joined Skids at the console.

"Skids, send a distress signal to Moon Base One," he ordered. "Tell them we've run into a Decepticon ambush."

Slipstream quickly noticed the action and fired on the console. The resulting explosion blew Ratchet to the floor, but it did worse for Skids. His optics were shattered, rendering him totally blind and defenseless. The explosion distracted Prowl, allowing the enormous Blackout to get in a free shot. The shot blew off one of Prowl arm from the elbow down before a second shot followed. This one added insult to injury. Prowl's own gun was blown out of his hand and ended up shooting him in the back. Prowl's optics flickered much like Gears' earlier, only this was accompanied by a plume of smoke from his mouth. Ironhide and Ratchet quickly realized they were the only functional Autobots remaining, and although Skids was still alive, he was incapacitated. Ironhide and Ratchet opened fire on the Decepticons with everything in their arsenal. It seemed to be working, as several Decepticons were knocked to the floor, down but not out. The other Decepticons took cover among the debris left from the explosion. Obviously, Ironhide and Ratchet had no intension of going down without a fight. They sure as the Pit weren't about to let the Decepticons take over the shuttle. They would fight valiantly, taking down several Decepticons including Dirge, Thrust, Barricade and Wreckage but not killing them. Eventually, it was too much for the lone Autobots. Led by Starscream, the Decepticons handily defeated Ironhide and Ratchet. Starscream finished them with two more deadly blows, and Ironhide and Ratchet both collapsed to the floor. Only Skids remained, and he was in no kind condition to fight. Megatron returned to robot mode and surveyed the scene. Five Autobots offline and one incapacitated. Oddly, Megatron was disappointed. He expected better from some of Optimus Prime's best soldiers.

"Well, that was fun!" Barricade said with twisted glee and rubbing his elbow into the side of Blackout. "They don't make Autobots like they used to, huh Blackout," Blackout said nothing. "C'mon, big guy. Say something! Pretty please? I'll give you an energon goodie!"

"Enough, Barricade," Megatron ordered before turning over to Starscream. "This seemed almost too easy, Starscream."

"It was certainly far easier than focusing on the moon bases, Megatron," Starscream said. "They're the real threat. We should be focusing on them instead of gallivanting toward Earth."

"As usual, Starscream, you've further proven your utter lack of forethought," Megatron scalded his subordinate. "By hijacking one of the Autobots own shuttles, we can easily slip by their early warning system and destroy their city, all but guarantying a Decepticon victory."

Soundwave approached the two Decepticons and explained, "Likelihood of automated Identify Friend/Foe systems: nominal. Recommend data extraction of deactivation codes from Autobot survivor."

Megatron was never one to argue with Soundwave and slowly stalked toward Skids, the one remaining Autobot. Thundercracker and Skywarp took the helm while the Constructicons were busy patching up their wounded. Megatron knelt down in front of Skids, who obviously couldn't see the larger Decepticon in front of him. But he knew he was there, glaring at him with malice that was normally reserved for Optimus Prime.

"Now, Autobot, we can do this one of two ways," Megatron stated to the blind Autobot. "You can give me the deactivation codes for your city's IFF system, or I can have Soundwave extract the information. Or perhaps you'd prefer indoctrination, courtesy of Bombshell."

"I won't tell you a blasted thing, Megatron." Skids said in defiance.

"I can always beat the info out of him, Megatron," Wreckage added. "I need the workout anyway."

Demolisher complied with his brethren. "That makes two of us, Wreckage."

Ignoring the two brutes, Megatron continued tormenting Skids. "I strongly advice you to reconsider," he said, now more threateningly. "I can promise you that Soundwave will be gentle, while Bombshell… not so much!"

In the ultimate act of defiance, Skids spit lubricant in Megatron's face. "I won't betray my allies."

Megatron wiped the lubricant from his face and his red optics glowed fiercely. "Oh, so unwise! Soundwave, extract the information."

Soundwave stepped up and grabbed Skids' face. "Data extraction: commencing!"

Skids' attempts to break free fell through as Soundwave began the extraction. Even though Skids' optics were damaged, Soundwave could scan for what was needed. It would simply take longer than anticipated. Megatron could wait, and Skids would have to endure the torture. Soundwave was only more than halfway to completing his task when he was suddenly pulled off of Skids by a badly wounded but functional Ironhide. Despite the heavy damage suffered earlier, Ironhide tossed Soundwave into Blitzwing and Astrotrain. All three Decepticons went down in a heap. Wreckage and Demolisher fired on him, but Ironhide was slightly quicker. He fired and caught both of them dead on in random limbs. Before he could react further, Ironhide was blasted repeated by Starscream and Slipstream. He just kept trudging onward, taking the blasts to varying parts of his body. Finally, Starscream scored a direct hit to the knee, and Ironhide finally collapsed. Megatron glanced at Starscream, who simply shrugged.

Slipstream stood over the fallen Autobot and sneered. "Hmm, I'd heard you were one of Optimus Prime's toughest soldiers," Slipstream then crouched over Ironhide. "So far, I'm not impressed."

"That's big talk for a cheat Decepticon knock-off." Ironhide snarled, earning him a swift kick to his face.

"Pathetic scrapheap!" Slipstream snarled.

Megatron had been watching the display and mused that Slipstream was very much like Starscream in terms of arrogance. He'd have to watch his back. Looking to Soundwave, Megatron asked, "Soundwave, did you retrieve the data?"

Soundwave picked himself up, helped by the two Triple Changers. "Data extraction: seventy-three percent completed. Status of data: sufficient!"

"Then I guess we don't need you anymore!" Starscream stated before blasting Skids directly in the face.

"Starscream?" Megatron bellowed.

"What," Starscream asked in self defense. "He was of no further use to us anyway."

Megatron shook his head in annoyance before approaching Ironhide. He was still functional, albeit barely. Megatron admired the resolve of Ironhide. He simply refused to go offline. Ironhide desperately crawled toward Megatron, reaching to grab hold him in one last ditch effort. Slipstream simply watch with barely contained glee mixed with malice and Ironhide managed to grab the Decepticon leader's leg. Megatron cocked his head to the side. He couldn't decide on whether he should be thoroughly impressed or absolutely annoyed. Maybe both.

"Stay down, Ironhide," he ordered. "The Autobots are all but vanquished. Your city's fall will mark the end of the Great War, and it will spell ultimate victory for the Decepticons."

"No," Ironhide gasped in defiance. "As long as even one us functions, the Autobots won't ever stop fightin'!"

"Sadly," Megatron stated while pointing his cannon down on top of Ironhide. "That is a day you won't live long enough to see."

Ironhide wouldn't take his optics off of Megatron, even as the cannon was charging. Facing his fate like an Autobot should, Ironhide waited for the shot. He never flinched, never faltered and never stopped glaring at Megatron. Ironhide could see the purple hue of energy forming within the fusion cannon. It would be the last image he'd ever see. Ironhide didn't believe the notion of one's life flashing before their eyes, (or optics) but there was one image that flooded his mind. It was the image of a bright blue, female Transformer. His spark mate!

His last thought was, Chromia, I'm sorry.

Then there was a piercingly bright flash followed by a wall of static. Then nothing.

Author's note: Normally, my chapters aren't this short. Prologues maybe, but not my chapters. Regardless of the length, at least the Autobots managed to put up more of a fight than in the movie, and some of the Decepticons took a little more of a beating. Also, we've gotten some intros to some new Decepticons, though they didn't do much. Anyway, I hope for some reviews at some point, because I won't continue otherwise.