Transformers Galaxy Force: Thunder Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own Transformers.

Chapter 93

The crew of the Flying Dutchman quickly pressed their advantage. Defensive weapons and posts were quickly destroyed by the Dutchman's weapons, forcing Human and Transformer defenders to pull back into the nearby forest. The Dutchman's weapons continued to pound into the forest as the crew pursued, intent on wiping out all resistance.

Which meant that Coby was the only one left at Earthfall Airfield, having been trapped under a collapsed hanger earlier. He took advantage of the situation and changed into Rodimus before flying off.

"I've got to do something about those guns on the Dutchman," he mused aloud. In the distance, he could see the last two F-22-S/A's dog fighting Skywarp. He prayed that Lori would be all right.

As he neared it, some of the Flying Dutchman's weapons targeted him. That meant that there was still someone inside controlling the systems, as standard Auto-Defense systems that were discovered on all the Atlantis-class ships only targeted pre-specified targets or attackers. No time to worry about outside weapons, I need to get rid of the problem on the inside, he thought. He flew into the side of the ship, firing his missiles seconds before in order to open a hole for him to fly through. Once inside, he transformed and headed for the Bridge.

On the Bridge, Davy Jones/Cannonball smiled. "Come to me, Rodimus Convoy. Let's see if you are as dangerous as Chromia and Skywarp say you are."

"Skywarp to Flying Dutchman. Captain, can I stop playing with these Humans and shoot them already?"

"Permission granted, Skywarp. Wipe them out."

The second he heard that, Skywarp instantly turned on the plane he knew held the fleshling girl that was one of their primary targets. "You're mine!" he snickered, locking on.

Suddenly, a burst of flame struck him on the side, causing him to fly off course. He transformed and stabilized himself, turning to face this new threat.

Emission floated there, twin blade drawn, a ball of fire in her other hand. "Remember me?" she taunted.

"Bitch!" he growled, flying at her, and getting blasted back by flames as a result.

"Thunderwing, get out of here," Emission said. "I'll deal with Skywarp."

"Thanks, Emission," Lori said.

"Rookie, Tech, Big Bad Wolf, we're going to engage that ship," Thunderwing said. "Target the main weapon placements."

The two jets turned toward the Dutchman, and Lori relayed the informantion. "There are three main turrets on top, but those can't easily target the ground. Our main targets should be the six secondary turrets on the bottom. Tech, how many missiles do you have?"

"Three. How many do you have?"

"Three here as well," Lori said. "At our current course, we'll be attacking the starboard side. If we fire first, can you two get the three on the port side?"

"Will do," Big Bad Wolf reported, and their jet pealed off.

"I was wrong about you," Thunderwing said. "You're no rookie, but a real good tactician, Storm."

Lori smiled at her new nickname, "Thank you, Captain. Targeting range in thirty seconds." It was the longest thirty seconds of her life, however. The second she was able to, she targeted the weapons, setting each of her three missiles to hit a different turret. "Missiles locked and ready."

"Fire all three on my mark," Thunderwing said. As they began to get closer to the Dutchman, they began to be targeted. "Wait for it!" They were getting closer, and opposing fire was intensifying. "Now!" Lori pulled the trigger and the ship shook as each missile fired and struck their targets. Three more explosions occurred on the other side as they pealed away.

"Yeeeeehaaawww!" Tech hollered. "Take that you son of a bitch!"

The smoke cleared, revealing all six turrets to be intact. "Shit! We didn't even penetrate the shields!"

"Do you have a Plan B, Storm?" Thunderwing asked.

"Fly around the Dutchman and try to keep it busy, unless someone wants to be a kamikaze," Lori answered.

"No thanks," Big Bad Wolf and Tech both said.

"Then let's hope we get a break here soon," Lori said. She had no sooner said that when she saw a familiar rainbow of colors. "Space Bridge at two! Looks like reinforcements!"

"Can you make them out?" Thunderwing asked, flying closer.

Lori squinted, trying to focus, "I see… Galaxy Convoy, I think that's Guardshell, Demolisher, and…" her eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Soundwave and Super Starscream?"

Sure enough, the Titan Transformer flew in, opening fire on the Flying Dutchman, which began returning fire with all of it's weapons. The other Transformers and one Xian dropped down into the forest below to assist the ground forces.

"New plan!" Lori said. "Let's try and give Super Starscream some cover, seeing as he's the only one right now with the firepower to knock the Dutchman out of the sky."

"No kidding," Tech said as Super Starscream unleashed another volley.

On the Dutchman's Bridge, the captain frowned in annoyance as the two F-22-S/A's began flying around and disrupting the targeting of his turrets. "Annoying little Humans," he muttered.

"Annoying, or resourceful?" asked a voice.

He turned to great the newcomer, stepping out of his chair and smiling. "Well now, if it isn't Rodimus Convoy."

Rodimus scowled, "Davy Jones I presume?"

Jones laughed, "Correct. I am the infamous Davy Jones, Captain of the Flying Dutchman."

"Not much, is it," Rodimus said, glancing around.

"It's enough for my purposes," Jones said. "Your death."

"Not going to happen. Rodimus Convoy! SUPER MODE!"

Jones' only optic widened, "I'm impressed. Is that supposed to be a challenge?"

Rodimus summoned his sword, "This is."

His multitool sparking, Jones summoned his own energy blade, long and thin like a saber, springing forth where his left hand should have been. "Then let's begin," he said, and lunged forward.

Barely having enough time to block the thrusts coming his way, Rodimus was forced back. He mentally bashed himself for thinking he could win a sword fight against someone who obviously had centuries of experience. He took a swing at Jones' head, a swing easily blocked, but it allowed him to step back a second.

"FORCE CHIP! IGNITION! THUNDER CLAW!"

Catching the next thrust on his claw, Rodimus took a free swing at Jones using his sword in his left hand. Jones, however, was fast, so it only nicked the pirate's leg. It did cause the captain to back away, now more wary of his youthful, yet inventive opponent.

The Dutchman suddenly pitchedas Super Starscream fired on the engines. No one knew Rodimus was on board, least of all, Super Starscream. The Titan Transformer intended to bring the entire ship down. Alarms began to ring as the shields finally couldn't take any more.

"It's over, Jones," Rodimus said. "Your ship is going down."

"So are you," the pirate replied. The battle was joined once more, but it was now more awkward. The Dutchman began to rock and shudder as it took severe damage. In Super Mode, Rodimus was heavy enough to not be badly affected, but Jones was more lightweight and constantly loosing his balance. Rodimus pressed the advantage, scoring several hits on the older pirate. Finally, Jones managed to trip him. Rodimus fell hard and the pirate ran, laughing that this was only the beginning. Rodimus picked himself up and looked up at one of the monitors just in time to see Jones jump onto and stab the F-22-S/A that he knew Lori was on. He watched in horror as the pirate jumped clear and the jet fell into the forest, exploding.

"The Human boy and girl are dead," Jones said to his crew, but Rodimus could hear it over the Dutchman's comm. "Head for the city and destroy it!"

The city! His city! His home!

Outside, Super Starscream steadied himself. "FORCE CHIP! IGNITION! VORTEX CANNON!" The Flying Dutchman buckled and exploded, vaporizing in the air. "Soundwave, we're done here. Let's go."

"Affirmative," Soundwave replied. "This is where I take my leave, Galaxy Convoy Soushireikan-dono. Be aware, the captain of the Flying Dutchman has ordered his crew to attack the city. He believes Coby and Lori to be dead, but it is false."

As the Titan Transformer and Xian left, Galaxy Convoy, Guardshell, and Demolisher took off after Jones and his crew. They drove along the highway, and eventually met up with Emission, who was flying in the same direction.

"I hate to say it, Soushireikan, but I don't think we're going to make it," she said.

"We have to," Galaxy Convoy said, driving faster. "We don't have a choice."

They were gaining on the crew, but they were still a way off, and too close to the city. We're not going to make it, Galaxy Convoy realized, when suddenly a blue, electrical Warp Gate opened between the Dutchman's crew and the city. Rodimus Convoy emerged in Super Mode, and rather angry.

"Hold, Jones!" he roared. "You will go no further!"

"Well, well, well," Jones laughed, stopping. His crew stopped as well, also chuckling. "I see you survived the Dutchman's destruction. But do you honestly think you can stop me? The Humans you held in such high regard are dead. You failed. You couldn't protect them, and you can't protect the Humans in that city."

Rage. White hot rage coursed through his circuits. In his mind, Rodimus could see Lori's plane falling into the forest again and again. His rage fueled him. His optics narrowed into slits as blue energy swirled around him, crackling. "You. Will. Never. Hurt. Another. Ever! Again!" The energy was released, soaring skyward. The sky above warped, a familiar disk of blue light dropping out of it. Normally, it would have fallen into the slot on his back or right weapon prong, but this time it fell into the left weapon prong. "FORCE CHIP! IGNITION!" It opened up, a gun springing forth that he caught in his left hand. "THUNDER GATLING BLASTER!" He pointed it at the Flying Dutchman's crew and pulled the trigger, yelling, "Disappear!"

Not a single member of the crew was ready for the storm of laser pulses that flew toward them. Their armor was torn and shattered under the assault as they screamed in agony. Their circuitry was ripped through, vital systems shattered, and they fell, one by one, into death's embrace. Jones himself felt horrified at what was happening, before he too left the living world.

Rodimus couldn't see them fall, couldn't hear their screams. All he could see was Lori's plane falling out of the sky again and again, and it kept his finger on the trigger. Eventually, the weapon was ripped from his grasp, and a voice brought him back to reality as the speaker grabbed his shoulders.

"That's enough, Rodimus. Rodimus. They're dead already. That's enough."

He turned his optics online and looked. Galaxy Convoy was holding him by the shoulders. Emission was standing nearby, holding his blaster. Demolisher and Guardshell were also there, standing next to…

He collapsed to his knees, suddenly feeling very sick. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the scene next to Guardshell and Demolisher. The broken, charred, lifeless shells of every member of the Dutchman's former crew, each one with their face frozen in expressions of agony and horror.

"Rodimus?" Galaxy Convoy inquired, worried about the expression on his face.

Finally, he could hold it in no more. He collapsed to his hands and knees, retracting his faceplate. Something spewed out of his mouth and onto the ground below, but he couldn't see what because his optics had fogged up. He could feel the deaths weighing down on him.

I am…

…a Murderer.