Disclaimer: So, the last couple of reviews I've received made me think. Ouch! Apparently, I didn't give a detail background on a number of characters, (Slipstream, Breakaway, etc.) I can't just go back and add stuff because I don't want to interfere with the flow of the story. However, I'm considering writing a detailed interlude at some point regarding the origins of, well, you-know-who. Again, it's just a consideration.

Anyway, I don't own Transformers and I never will.

Chapter XV

The crew of the Equinox was uneasy as it traveled with the Odyssey through Earth's solar system. In fact, they were just passing Neptune. Daniel looked through the view port at the gas giant. Most of the Autobots didn't notice the young human's awestruck gaze except for Springer. He couldn't help but be somewhat amused.

"Nice huh?" he said.

Daniel could only glance briefly at the bright green Autobot. "Yeah, it's pretty cool. You were joking about making me walk home, right?"

Springer shrugged. "Maybe!"

"Stop playing with him, Springer." Arcee laughed.

"What?"

Ultra Magnus was listening to the banter and smiled, and then hit a switch. "Equinox to Odyssey. Kup, what's your status?"

"This is Hotrod. Kup's kind of busy right now."

"What's he doing?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Um… telling war stories to the Dinobots," Hotrod said. "Anyway, all systems check out good and so far, there's no sign of the Decepticons."

"Let's hope it stays that way. Keep me posted. Ultra Magnus out."

"Am I the only one getting a bad sizzle in his circuits," Outback asked aloud. No one answered. "Guess so!"

"Ultra Magnus, I'm picking up some unusual readings. Very unusual and yet, almost…" Perceptor trailed off and unwittingly left the other Autobots in suspense.

"Almost what, Perceptor?" Ultra Magnus asked.

"Familiar. Some trace readings of energon. Very faint."

"On screen."

Perceptor flipped a few switches and pressed a couple buttons until the view port showed an image. Stunned silence washed over the Equinox crew as they looked at the image of… something. It wasn't a Decepticon cruiser or even a single Seeker. It wasn't the monster planet that threatened Cybertron, come to the Sol System. Yet, it was something both familiar and unfamiliar. It appeared to resemble a giant ring, but composed of an unknown metal.

On the Odyssey, the crew there had seen the same image. The only one to be able to recognize the object was Kup, and he too was in awe. "You've got to be kidding me."

"What is it?" Breakaway asked.

"Believe it or not, it's a Space Bridge," Kup finally revealed. "Orbital style!"

Breakaway and Hotrod looked Kup in shock. "You can't be serious; that's a Space Bridge?" Hotrod asked, pointing at the image.

"That thing's gotta be millennia old." Breakaway said.

"Older," Kup stated. "That machine goes all the way back to the last Golden Age, long before the start of the Great War."

Over on the Equinox, Ultra Magnus was discussing the ancient machine with Perceptor. "Any chance we'll be able to use this thing? Maybe get to Cybertron through it?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Perceptor said. "Based on preliminary readings, there's barely enough energon to transport even half of one shuttle, let alone two whole ones."

"So there's no point in using this Space Bridge?" Arcee added.

"This particular Space Bridge and others like it if they exist at all, is a relic from a time when the dinosaurs still walked the Earth," Perceptor explained. "So yes, Arcee; using this Space Bridge in its current state of inactivity would be a fatal mistake."

Hearing Perceptor's final judgment caused Ultra Magnus to sigh in frustration. "Let's keep going."

The two Autobot shuttles continued on passed the defunct Space Bridge, a relic now of a long lost time. It was now nothing more that the ancestor of the current Earth based Space Bridge that lead into Shockwave's laboratory on Cybertron. Even that was danger of no longer being of use. So many Eons passed since the Transformer race made use of such technology to get to long forgotten, far-flung planets like Gigantion and Velocitron. A question arose among the minds of certain shuttle crew members, Ultra Magnus and Kup in particular. Where those planets, once part of a greater Cybertronian culture, still inhabited? The only Autobot that Magnus or Kup could reasonably assume would know the answer was the late Alpha Trion. And perhaps maybe, Optimus Prime. As the keeper of the Matrix however, Ultra Magnus might have known for sure. But he didn't know. He could only speculate as the shuttles approached the boarder separating the Sol system from the rest of the galaxy.

Time passed by slowly. The shuttle crews did what they could to pass the time before they reached Cybertronian Space. They had entered into an uncharted area of space not currently on the charts. On the Odyssey, Kup appeared distracted. He was still racking his head, trying to remember the last great fight he'd ever fought on his heyday. In the background, Kup could hear Hotrod and Breakaway sparring with each other. Each of them held an energon sword in one hand, and a shield in the other. The six Dinobots lazed about on the deck. Snarl and Sludge appeared to be asleep, while Slag, Swoop and Grimlock were keeping an optic on the irascible Raptor Quickstrike. There were rumors that Quickstrike's personality component once belonged to a Decepticon called Lugnut. Lugnut was a ruthless and quick-tempered but stupid soldier who was killed early in the Great War by a very young Optimus Prime. Hence the quick-tempered attitude that Quickstrike possessed, or so the rumors went. Rumors to which Hotrod and Breakaway paid no mind. They continued to spar, evenly match for most of the time. Breakaway however was faster than Hotrod, being built with a Seeker chassis and having taken the form of a next generation fighter jet, an F-35 Lightning. That made Breakaway faster than most of the Decepticon Seekers. But he was still young, younger than Hotrod, and he made mistakes. Mistakes like his latest, dropping his guard briefly for Hotrod to trip him up and to the floor. Hotrod then jabbed the point of his sword to Breakaway's neck, inches separating them. Hotrod nodded.

"Getting better, Breakaway," he said, holding his hand to Breakaway, who to it and was pulled up. Hotrod then turned to Kup. "Hey Kup, don't you think we've got better to do than just daydream?"

Kup turned around in his seat and glared at Hotrod. "Like what? I'm open to suggestions."

"Oh, I don't know," Breakaway said. "Maybe like, try to figure out how we're gonna rescue our friends and then save Cybertron."

"Like I hadn't though of that." Kup sarcastically said.

Then Grimlock lumbered up to Kup. "Grimlock bored. Grimlock want to hear Kup's war stories."

Kup smiled even as he had to push Grimlock away. "One of my war stories huh? Okay! I'll tell you about my last mission on Beta Four. I swear, the dust was so thick that me and my team had to use windshield wipers on our optic sensors."

Grimlock suddenly stomped and flailed his tiny T-Rex arms, knocking Swoop to the floor with a crash. "Grimlock, no care about wipers. Want to hear good part of story."

From the floor, Swoop, knocked loopy, flapped his wings and added, "Good part, Kup. Tell Swoop good part."

"Settle down. Good part huh? Okay then," Kup said with a wave of his hand. "Anyway…"

As Kup went right to the good part of his story, Hotrod shrugged at looked at Breakaway. "You just had to get him started."

"Yep! Rematch!" Breakaway shouted before hitting Hotrod in the back with his shield.

Hotrod retaliated and the two Autobots returned to their sparring session. For the next long stretch of time, the shuttles continued traversing through space. Nothing out of the ordinary drew much cause for concern. A cluster of stars here, a random comic there. All seemed relatively quiet. Another hour or so, the shuttles passed by a barren asteroid that would've appeared unremarkable to the naked eye. Except that something was lurking behind the asteroid, waiting. Then a series of flickers lit up and formed the outline of a large vessel. A vessel that was now emerging from hiding from hiding and began following the shuttles. With armaments at every portion of its structure, the greatest tell tale sign with the image of the Decepticon insignia on the hull. It soon fired on the shuttles, missing them by only a fraction. It was enough to get the Odyssey crew's attention, evident when Breakaway fell backward.

"What was that?" he asked.

Kup checked the monitor and recognized the vessel. "Scrap! It's a Nemesis-class battleship."

A response from Ultra Magnus came in through the intercom. "Equinox to Odyssey; take evasive action."

"Autobots in range, Galvatron." said Barricade from the helm of the Nemesis.

Sitting at either side of Barricade was Wreckage and Soundwave. "Heat seekers ready." Wreckage reported.

Pacing back and forth behind Wreckage and Barricade was Galvatron himself, backed by his elitists Cyclonus, Scourge, Tempest and Sideways. "Fire at will." Galvatron ordered.

The Nemesis opened a series of compartments around its hull and what looked like a thousand missiles launched into space. The missiles, heat seekers, trailed after the shuttles and closed fast. The shuttles collectively and narrowly avoid the heat seekers and let them pass by, but the heat seekers turned around sharply. They then went for the nearest target, the Odyssey and seemed to ignore the Equinox. That was until some broke off and headed for the Equinox.

"Heat-seekers-incoming-heat-seekers-incoming." Blur chattered away.

"Launch countermeasures!" Ultra Magnus said.

It was Outback who was taking the order as he slammed a switch on the console. The Equinox veered sharply to starboard and as it did, a cascade of flares rained down from the rear. The heat seekers homed in immediately on the flares and ignored the shuttle. Seconds later, an explosion followed and based on its proximity to the Equinox, rocked the shuttle and everyone inside. Sparks flew out of various systems before Springer and Ultra Magnus could right the shuttle. Meanwhile, the Odyssey was still being pursued by the remained heat seekers, most of which were steadily closing. Hotrod checked the readout and didn't like the look of it.

"Those heat seekers are closing on us and fast." he said.

A though occurred to Kup. "Yeah, kind of like the Shrike Bats of Dramodon."

"The what?" Breakaway asked in confusion.

Ignoring the younger Autobot, Hotrod asked, "How'd you beat them?"

With his hand under his chin, Kup thought and said, "I'm trying to remember. There were an awful lot of casualties that day."

"There's gonna be some casualties here too," Breakaway said worriedly. "Better hurry up, old timer."

"Gimme a minute," Kup bellowed. "Of course, we rewrote and corrupted the polarities of the Bats' scenery outputs."

"What'd you do?" Hotrod asked.

"We blinded them." Kup simplified.

Hotrod got the idea and piloted the shuttle accordingly. It was just a question of whether or not Kup's advice would be useful. The Odyssey's underside thrusters ignited and elevated the shuttle straight up just as the heat seekers closed in. Then a flash of electromagnetic energy pulsated and bathed the missiles as the passed by. The heat seekers continued onward toward the front of the shuttle where Kup, Hotrod and Breakaway could clearly see them. The missiles began to bank around and appeared to be heading straight for the Odyssey, but then they banked again directly into each other. A giant cloud of fire and smoke appeared, and the Odyssey was headed right for it. Hotrod piloted and pulled the shuttle up to starboard as hard as his gyros would allow. The Odyssey ultimately avoided taking any heavy damage though the hull was burned significantly, and the shuttle was righted. Hotrod and Breakaway breathed a sigh of relief, but Kup was wary.

"Alright, we survived that." Hotrod said.

"Yeah, but will we survive this?" Kup asked when he saw the image of the Nemesis closing in from behind.

Inside the bridge of the Nemesis, Galvatron was still pacing back and forth and making everyone nervous except for Soundwave. "Soundwave, damage assessment on that shuttle."

"Analyzing: shuttle integrity compromised, thrusters offline, countermeasures offline." Soundwave said.

All the info I needed. Galvatron thought and turned to his most loyal elitists, Cyclonus and Tempest. "Cyclonus, Tempest, transform and finish off that shuttle."

"As you command, Galvatron." Cyclonus said with a bow.

Galvatron then turned and pointed to Soundwave. "And once they've launched, Soundwave, continue pursuit of the other shuttle."

"I don't understand," Tempest suddenly said, gaining Galvatron's undivided (and angered) attention. "Is it not wiser to commandeer the shuttle? Take the crew hostage?"

"Are you questioning my command, Tempest?" Galvatron asked with his face inches from Tempest's.

Tempest was having trouble meeting Galvatron optic-to-optic. "No, Galvatron. I'm simply stated the alternatives."

Galvatron leaned in so close to Tempest's face than Tempest could almost hear the gears turning. "I'm starting to think you feel compassion for the Autobots, Tempest," And then Galvatron seize Tempest by the neck. "Compassion is the surest sign of weakness and it is something I will not tolerate from you or anyone under my command," Then Galvatron released his grip and let Tempest fall to the floor. "Do I make myself clear?"

Tempest struggled to collect herself. "Yes Galvatron." she panted.

Slipstream had been listening in and muttered to herself, "Amateur."

Galvatron nodded his sadistic approval before motioning for Tempest to take her leave with Cyclonus. On her way out, Tempest caught the mysterious Sideways standing by, stoic and emotionless. Something about him made Tempest more uneasy. She ultimately ignored it and moved on to where Cyclonus had opened a lower hatch leading out into space. Cyclonus leapt out first, assuming his reverse winged jet mode and rocketing toward the damaged Odyssey. Tempest followed and assumed alt mode. In mere moments, the two Decepticon flyers closed on the Odyssey. Cyclonus fired first, striking the shuttle's starboard side and then flying directly in front of the shuttle. Tempest approached from the port side but seemed to stall. This attack seemed wrong to her, but the threat of Galvatron made her fire anyway. She struck the port side hull causing fire to spill from the shuttle. Cyclonus made another pass, this time striking the underside while Tempest struck the topside. The final, crippling shot came from Cyclonus, who struck the primary fuselage. The hull of the shuttle erupted in a fireball, while inside it was shaking violently and throwing the crew to the floor, Autobots and Dinobots alike. Kup managed to reach the console and tried to get the Equinox through the intercom.

"This is the Odyssey, we've taken heavy damage. We're losing lateral control."

"Primary and secondary systems failing," Hotrod said. "We're going down…"

"Kup, come in," Springer said into the intercom and getting only static. "No response, Magnus. Sounds like the Odyssey crew just bought it."

"Can't deal with that now, Springer," Ultra Magnus said. "That warship is closing fast."

"We've gotta face facts; the Decepticons will keep dogging us until they see us dead." Springer said.

A thought occurred to Ultra Magnus and quickly became an idea. He began tapping on the console, and Outback asked, "What're you doing, Magnus?"

"The Decepticons want to see us dead. I say we give them what they want," Magnus explained. "All hands, prepare for emergency separation."

"What?" Outback shouted.

"That's too dangerous, Magnus." Perceptor said.

"We've got no choice." Magnus said.

"With-all-due-respect-Ultra-Magnus-ARE-YOU-CRAZY," Blur chattered. "You're-gonna-get-us-all-killed."

"Shut up, Blur!" Springer shouted.

Ultra Magnus made the final preparations, and then slammed the designated switch. The Equinox trembled. A small screen on the console showed the front portion of the shuttle separating from the remained. The crew was sent shaking and bracing themselves, several of them hoping that Magnus's plan would work. The Nemesis slowed its pursuit as Cyclonus and Tempest flanked it, and on Galvatron's orders, the warship fired the last on its armaments. The missiles rocketed off toward the shuttle. One by one, the missiles impacted the shuttle and tore it apart. Two or three missiles later, the shuttle detonated in a brilliant fireball. The Nemesis crew shielded their optics, except for Galvatron. He wanted to watch every moment of the Autobot's destruction. He did so with an evil smirk as the cloud of fire and smoke began to fade. Galvatron felt the smirk fade away.

"No energon signatures detected." Soundwave said.

Scourge stood next to Galvatron, who had his arms crossed. "Then the Autobots have been terminated."

"I want to be certain that they are dead, and the Matrix with them," Galvatron whispered. "Have Cyclonus search the debris and bring Tempest to me at once. I want to…" Galvatron suddenly grabbed his head and collapsed to his knees.

The crew looked on in confusion, with the exception of Sideways, as Galvatron flailed and rolled across the floor in agony. "What with him?" Barricade asked Wreckage.

"How should I know?" Wreckage responded.

"Keep it quiet, you morons." Slipstream said to them.

"What'd you care, Slipstream?" Barricade asked.

Slipstream glared at Barricade and stated, "Whoever said I cared?"

Meanwhile, Galvatron trembled, and he even scratched his head in vain attempt to stop the pain. He knew right then and there who was behind the torture. "Scourge, you have the bridge."

With that, Galvatron stumbled off. Of the crew, only Sideways stayed fixed on Galvatron, and his optics glowed a sickly green. For he also knew what, and who, was torturing the Decepticon leader.

Author's note: Oh my God, I killed the Autobots! YOU BASTARD! Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Anyway, I can't seem to pinpoint the differences between this and the movie, except for the sparring scene with Hotrod and Breakaway. Oh, and the really, really, really old orbital version of the Space Bridge. I figured a brief historical reference into the technology behind the Space Bridges would be cool. But that's totally up to you to decide. Let me know what you think.