Author's Note

Well I'm away again at sea. I'm currently sitting in the sun in Pusan, South Korea and I can safely say no war has started yet. The ship changes route so I don't know when I will have an opportunity to upload more chapters in the near future. But anyhow I'm alive and well and enjoying myself.

So for now... enjoy

Barnaby put the phone back down after lengthy talks between the Home Office, the prison service, the members of the tribunal panel in the dead of night. It took a lot of convicting just to get people to even talk, let alone discuss reconvening the tribunal under what Barnaby said was special circumstances. But in the end he put the phone back down and sighed.

"Okay" He started to talk and fill the Autobots and the rest in with what the news was "Well it's been decided that the tribunal will be set up again" Sounds of joy erupted from the base "However" Barnaby cut the celebrations short "They don't want to release Michael from the prison because they still believe he is a dangerous person, plus it is not essential that he be present at first. So until the whole thing comes to an end, he will stay where he is"

The general mood had suddenly shot up then a moment later ebbed. Things were happening but a member of the team was still to be kept from them for a further amount of time.

"Now if you'll excuse me, my brain is still working on British time and back home it's well into the night. So I'm going to see my girls and be with them at this time" Barnaby walked away from the desks next to the main base computer, past the human recreation area on the raised platform, walked down the steps and down the corridor where Elita took the young children to where they could sleep.

"So he's not coming back just yet" June thought aloud.

"Best not tell Elita" Miko butted in "She'd go mad when she finds out"

Optimus gave the young Japanese girl a look that made her regret saying that remark. Miko looked down in shame, she know she had overstepped a sensitive line.

"For the time being we will go back as to how we were before. We will monitor for any Decepticon activity and will patrol for any new energon deposits. There is nothing more we can do for our friend at this time" Optimus told the team before walking off down another corridor for reasons that were unknown to the others.

The team broke away from the area immediately around the main computer and went to other places around the control room.

Fowler looked at the Admiral to guess what he would do next. He looked dejected which surprised the federal agent, surely Baines should be at least happy. They were nearly there.

"Something playing in your mind?" Fowler asked.

"There are still too many unanswered questions in all this" Baines said.

"What questions?"

"For starters. If Megatron was behind all this, why bring up Shmelev? What possible reason would there be for Megatron to bring up something from my past? How does Megatron even know about that? But the biggest question of all is how did Megatron even get the tribunal set up at all? It couldn't be Barnaby, he couldn't set it up. He was there to make sure Michael was sent down. So who else is on Megatron's payroll?"

Fowler considered the questions and he too found it all troubling, but he had no answers right then "We'll deal with that on another day. For now lets just focus on getting Michael out of jail"

"Yeah, your probably right"

Barnaby walked down the corridor where his children were sleeping under the guard of Elita. He felt a great deal better as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders. For weeks he lived in fear of the Decepticons threatening the lives of his children and now he knew he could escape and breakaway from the Decepticons knowing his children would be protected. He only wanted to provide for his family, not put them in mortal danger. He had never intended to let things get so bad for him. So after weeks of deep anxiety he could now relax and it made him feel so much better.

He smiled when he saw how Elita was protecting his little girls. She physically encircled them with her body making sure no one got to them. Making as little noise as possible he set up another bed nearby and got in and got some sleep himself safe in the knowledge him and his family were safe from danger.

It was the next day and in Southwalk prison Michael was lined up waiting to get breakfast. He had a light blue plastic tray and matching cup as the line moved along the canteen set-up where the inmates would help themselves to whatever was on offer. Michael had picked up a plastic plate and put on bacon, fried eggs, sausages, baked beans and hash browns. He picked up two slices of toast and a small packet of butter to go with it. From the hot drinks machine he pressed for tea ansd the machine dispensed his portion of the drink. He took his tray over to a table and sat by himself and began to eat his breakfast.

He hadn't been in the remand wing for long but already he was getting an idea of who were the dominant ones. Sat at another table across from him was a gang of five and the identifying of the group leader was unmistakable. Michael had glanced across in their direction a few times and it was immediately apparent they were looking at him. Sometimes having the stature that Michael had was useful but sometimes it was his biggest weakness. Being six foot eight made him stand out anywhere and no more so than in prison. Michael was quite obviously a strong person so anyone in the wing who was the top dog would not take too kindly to a small giant coming into their domain.

Michael kept to himself and tried to ignore the stares from the gang on the other table. The tea was as he imagined, it tasted awful. The gang got up from their seats and walked slowly across to Michael. He ignored them even more by spreading butter on his toast and ripping a piece off and getting some tomato sauce on it from the baked beans. The five sat around Michael without making a word. Three sat on the other remaining chairs while the other two sat on each end on the table.

"So you're in for murder I hear?" The one sat next to Michael said. Michael didn't look at him and drank more of the tea "So you think your a tough guy huh?"

Michael put the cup back on the table and shifted in his seat to look at the gang leader "So you must be the brains then, that's right I'm being charged for murder and yes I suppose that would make a tough guy. Got a problem with that?" Michael asked bluntly.

The lead guy's slim jaw line face changed to the place between shock and amusement. He hadn't been challenged in the wing before, a chance to prove this superiority. He slowly stood up from the seat trying to taller than Michael "You think your a joker huh? You think you can make fun of me?"

Michael just shrugged.

The gang leader shoved Michael hard in the shoulder "I said don't make fun of me. I run this place, what I say goes"

Michael just sat there for a moment and decided his next action. Trying to be nice wasn't going to work, this was a prison full of not nice people. If they couldn't be nice outside then they sure as hell wouldn't be nice inside.

"Touch me again... I dare you"

The gang jeered the threat. The gang leader looked at his crew and then at Michael. It was five against one. The odds were stacked against Michael massively. He was up for a fight, he liked fighting. Him and his whole gang liked fighting and it was why they were prison. He grinned then for a laugh went to poke Michael again. Then all hell broke loose.

Michael's right hand shot out and slammed the poking hand hard on to the table. The other hand formed a fist and reached across and punched the gang leader square in the face and broke his nose. Then the hand that had first grabbed the poking hand let go then formed a fist and Michael drove that straight in to the guy sitting on the end of the table to his left and used all the power in his arm and the weight of his body into it. The guy was thrown off the table. As Michael stood up the left hand went for the next victim, the guy on the end of the table to Michael's right. Again a big swooping motion using muscle power and momentum that too threw the other guy off the table. Then with one last motion Michael grabbed his tray throwing his breakfast off it and swung it across the last two sat across from him. The tray hit the left guy's head that careered into the right guy's head like dominoes and the two were thrown unconscious. The impact to the sides of there skulls caused massive concussion which resulted in the two going down like lead balloons.

The whole thing happened so fast the five man gang had no chance to fight back. It was if they were all hit by a speeding car. From the first grab of the poking hand right up to the domino effect of the last two heads all took just under a fraction of two seconds. Start to finish.

After he was done he inspected what has around him. Five men who were attempting to put Michael in his place were now strewn out on the floor. Two knocked out, two recovering and slowly climbing to feet and the leader curled up on the floor with his hands over his face covered with blood.

But it didn't end there. It's like in the playground in school that if a fight breaks out then everyone wants to see it and some perhaps want a piece of the action themselves. So before Michael could get himself away from the scene he was swamped by more and more wanting to pick a fight.

One prisoner charged at him, hands out ready to do whatever damage this one could. Michael bent down and lunged with his shoulder and using it to throw the charging prisoner over his shoulder and flat on his back on the floor. As Michael straightened up he failed to notice the fist flying towards his face. It collided with his left eye with tremendous force. With the unmistakeable sound of a bone cracking. He instinctively put his hands over his face and roared out in pain. Then he felt another fist contacting his abdomen and he fell over backwards with the back of his head smacking the floor. Then a moment later a foot kicked his head like a football and he blacked out.

Baines was slouched on the sofa sleeping snoring loudly. The base was dark and quiet and only he was present in the main control room. Everyone was getting needed sleep after the day they all had. But Baines' beauty sleep was harshly interrupted my the ringing of his mobile phone from within his jacket pocket. His head twitched at first, his conscience mind just registering the terribly mashed up tune. Then reality hit him as his eyes shot open and he sat up in the sofa. He stretched his arms and wiped the sleep from his eyes and only then did he really hear his phone ringing. He reached into his pocket, pulled it out, then check the caller ID but didn't recognize the number and then he answered it.

"Admiral Colin Baines" He answered, the tiredness in his voice was evident. He listened to the reply.

"Sorry, who?... What?" Baines said loudly in surprise as he got to his feet.

"What happened and when?" He asked and then listened for a whole minute.

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as a I can... No, no. Thanks very much. Bye now" He hung up. He looked at his mobile for a brief moment and quietly muttered to himself "Shit"

"Is something wrong" Optimus said having seemingly appeared from nowhere.

Baines turned around and stared at the prime, how did something so large be so stealthy?

"I need to get back to London right now" Baines replied.

Optimus considered the Admiral for a moment and took a guess that the urgency revolved around the nature of his job so he didn't ask why assuming it would be classified.

"It's Michael" Baines said knowing what the prime was thinking. "There was a riot in the prison and he's in hospital. Sounds bad"

"I will bridge you there now" Optimus stepped over to the ground bridge control. Baines climbed down the stairs and walked over to his car and opened the driver side door.

"I'll call you as soon as I know anything. Don't tell the the others just yet. Let them get their rest" Baines told Optimus then climbed into his car and started up the engine. He put his seat belt on. Pressed down on the clutch pedal and pulled the gear stick towards him and back into reverse. Took the hand brake off as he eased the clutch back up and reversed the car out of its parking space. He stopped the car engage first gear and slowly lined up to the ground bridge.

Opitmus pulled down the lever and fired up the ground bridge filling the space with bright light. Baines drove the car towards the event horizon of the ground bridge portal and disappear from view from the base.

"Where is he off to?" Elita asked Optimus as she emerged from a corridor.

Optimus shut down the ground bridge after confirming a successful transport.

"He was requested back in London for operational reasons" The prime lied, he didn't want to cause his spark mate unnecessary pain if she find out Michael was in hospital.

"Such a busy man" She said in returned.

The two shared a smile which each other.

Baines had driven from the ground bridge point from which they had been using before and had driven into the heart of the city yet again. Crossing Vauxhall bridge over the river Thames to the South bank. Then driving up Albert Embankment and getting stuck in traffic for the roundabout at the Lambeth bridge then it was slow going up Lambeth Palace Road all the way past the Westminster Bridge junction and past the London Eye, Waterloo station and through South Bank and Southwalk. The time it took to drive the distance from the ground bridge point to Guy's Hospital in Southwalk had taken an hour. Would have taken Baines twenty minutes had he taken the tube.

He parked up in the car park outside and headed for the outpatients entrance. He had gone to the information desk and asked for directions to the ward where Michael was at. Another fifteen minutes of walking down corridors and up lifts he finally reached the ward. He approached the nurses station and waited while the nurse finished writing up a note of which Baines had no idea what is was. The nurse then put her pen down and looked up and saw the Admiral standing there.

"Michael Rickers?" Baines asked.

The nurse looked him up and down, most likely trying to understand what the uniform was. Without saying a word she point to Baines left.

"Thank you" Baines said and slowly walked down the male wing of the ward. He walked past the many beds and saw various patients in for all sorts of reasons. But none of them was Michael. At the end of the wing was three isolated rooms two facing each other and the third facing down the length of the wing. Sat outside was a prison officer on a chair looking rather bored.

Baines quicken his pace and proceeded to the isolated rooms and stopped short at the door of the third room. The prison officer got up from his seat and stood in front of the door. He didn't say anything but it was a simple way of saying 'you're not going in'.

"Step aside" Baines told the officer in his authoritative tone.

The prison officer stood there for a moment as he considered what to do and decided to let him in, so he stepped aside and let Baines past.

Baines pushed the door open and stepped in. He saw Michael lying in the bed and the first thing he noticed was a cotton wadding taped over Michael's left eye. Then the second thing he noticed was another prison officer sat on the visitors chair with a extended hand cuff which kept the prison officer and Michael together.

The ECG monitor was beeping steadily in the background and displayed good statistics. Michael was awake and saw the admiral enter the room.

"How you feeling?" Baines asked.

Michael grinned slightly "Never better"

The two shared a quiet laugh.

"So what's the damage then? And how?"

"Some guys tried to put me in my place as it were. So I took a pre-emptive strike and took then all out before they struck me. I didn't consider that others would get involved and I got a fist to my left eye and the rest I don't remember. It looks worse than it is. They sent me for some x ray scans. They said something about slight fractures to the skull around my eye but not enough to be considered dangerous. But they want to keep me in for observation. For the moment I'm blind in my left eye but the doctors are ninety five percent sure I'll get my full vision back in a few days. So nothing serious"

"A walk in the park then?" Baines joked.

Michael cut to the chase and asked the question that was on his mind "So what's been happening? Have you made any progress?"

Baines inhaled and held it for a spell. He looked to the prison officer sat next to the bed.

"You, out" Baines ordered.

There was a confused look on the officers face "I'm sorry?" He asked, making sure he heard what thought he heard.

"Outside, now" Baines clarified for him.

"I'm sorry sir but you need to understand-"

"GET OUT! NOW!" Baines yelled.

"Alright, alright" the officer put his hands up as he stood up. He got his keys from his pocket and undid his end of the cuff and reattached it to the bedside and quickly left the room.

"I'll tell you when you can come back in" Baines told the officer before he closed the door.

Baines looked back to the bed and stared a Michael for a moment "You'll be a free man again very soon" Baines simply said.

Michael looked at Baines, then the door and back at Baines "You're planning on breaking me out I hope?"

"No" Baines answered, Michael nodding "No. We have discovered who is behind this and we have sorted things out. So you should be released in the next day or two"

"Let me guess it was that Shemlev guy? It's the Russians isn't it? It's payback against you. You said you had history with this man. Is that it?"

"No, it's not him, or the Russians. It's not even an internal plot from within Whitehall at all" Baines said and paused.

"So?" Michael said after a few seconds of silence "Who is it then?"

Baines looked away towards a blank bit of wall to his right and then looked back to Michael "It's Megatron" He finally said.

Michael said nothing, he didn't know how to even answer that.

Baines explained the what had transpired "As soon as you were sent away I got a coded message through GCHQ from Control saying he wanted to explain his actions. So myself along with Optimus, Arcee and Elita met up with him at an abandoned farm in Essex and spilled the lot. Megatron is the main reason behind this whole thing and he has made sure you were send down by having Mr Barnaby under his control"

"Barnaby?"

"Indeed. Seems that Megatron is aware of the method of carrot and stick. The carrot being a financial reward of wiring money to Barnaby's account using Cybertronian technology to keep it all under the radar. Though it would seem he more than willing to use the stick"

"The stick being?"

"Barnaby's family" Baines simple answered. Michael's eyebrows raised slightly realising what that meant.

"So how does Control fit into all this?"

"The Decepticons kidnapped him and forced him to change his statement. Just to prove how serious they were they hacked MI5 servers and realised the file on Sandfire"

"I knew that was to do with us somehow. But I didn't see that coming"

"The information from Control was what we needed and we have ensured the protection of Barnaby's family and now we have him on side. We are convening the tribunal soon. Maybe later today or tomorrow and we'll have this whole thing cleared up"

Michael studied the admiral's face and realised there was more "And?" He asked.

"And what?"

"And what else is there. Something tells me there is more"

Baines sighed and walked over and sat on the chair that was still warm. He sighed again and thought about his own doubts.

"There are too many unanswered questions still. The first being who within the Home Office started this tribunal anyway? It sure as hell wasn't Barnaby as he couldn't do so if he wanted to. But also why did Shemlev show up? I don't understand why he appeared. It certainly isn't to do with Megatron. So I want to know why he showed up?"

Baines stood up again and stood at the end of the bed "But for now, we'll work on getting you out and then we can find the answers to those questions"

"So what seemed complicated at first is even more complicated than we first imagined. Fantastic" Michael said.

"Well anyhow I'm going to head back outside now and call the base, let them know how your doing and I'll come back. You want me to get you anything? Bunch of grapes?"

"Grapes? Piss off. You can get me a decent cup of tea, the stuff on the ward is crap"

Baines grinned "Sure, not a problem"

The admiral turned for the door and reached for the door handle.

"Oh one more thing" Michael said, stopping Baines. "How is Elita?"

Baines kept his grip on the handle and looked over his shoulder "She's doing okay I guess. She misses you, though she won't say it publicly"

Michael smiled, his doubts and worries that had built up in his mind had melted away.

"I'll be back later with that cup of tea so don't go anywhere"

Michael raised his cuffed hand and tugged at the chain slightly "I'm quite happy here"

Baines grinned, opened the door and stepped through "You can go back in now" He told the prison officer as he walked past.

Baines got his mobile out and called the base in Nevada.

"Optimus? It's me... yes he's okay. All good" Baines said and went over the details as he walked down the ward and back towards the outpatients entrance to find a place to buy a cup of tea.