That morning on the Nemesis had been a calm one, a nice change of pace from the past week's events. First was Skywarp's strange new ghostly form, to which the medical staff of the ship had attributed the cause to a strange substance overcharging his warp-core. Then there was the rise in Autobot sightings and skirmishes, as they had gotten bold enough to start going after human facilities again.
But alas, for Megatron, the few moments of peace never seem to last long, as he was summoned to the bridge on call from Soundwave, about an urgent message from the Decepticon's government handlers.
Stepping onto the bridge, he saw his pale purple communications officer standing by.
"Put them on, Soundwave." Megatron said, as he stood before the large screen.
Within an instant, it flickered to life, revealing Agent Fowler and Silas, behind them sat a very injured looking Blackout, who Hook was repairing the wounds of.
"Greetings, Agent Fowler, Colonel Bishop. Would you care to explain to me how one of my troops came to be injured?" Megatron said, suppressing a hint of anger he felt swelling up.
"That's just the thing, Megatron. I doubt you'll like the answer," Fowler said, "But it was a group of humans that managed to take him down."
"The outfit known as MECH, to be specific. I used to head their operations, but more radical members went rouge and they broke off from the military. We've done our best to bring them in, but they are a persistent bunch." Silas said coldly.
Megatron scowled. The Autobots he could handle, but a rouge human faction? Unpredictable.
"So tell me, how exactly did you get to a point where you all would be at such a risk from this 'MECH'?" Megatron asked.
"They tried a smash and grab for the DINGUS. It's an experimental nuclear energy source we were transporting to a lab east of the Rockies for testing. And that's where we could use your help on this one, " said Fowler. "We were hoping to use that ground-bridge of yours to try and move it without worrying about another attack."
"Negative," Soundwave butted in, "Observation; DINGUS is highly volatile. Taking it through a ground bridge could distort the portal, causing a deadly outcome."
"Well, you got any better ideas?" Fowler asked.
It took Megatron a moment to think, but he didn't have to for long, as only one team was equipped for the job.
"Yes, I think I have the perfect answer to your problem…"
. . . . .
With the swirling vortex of the groundbridge now closed behind them, after Hook escorted Blackout through, the Stunticons, along with Skyquake, who was along for aerial support, were left standing before Agent Fowler and Silas in a clearing off to the side of the road, tall trees and mountains as far as the eye could see.
Silas rolled his eyes at the sight stood before him. "When Megatron had said he was sending us a team, I wasn't expecting him to send us his stunt-performers, their medic, and a flier whos been asleep for a few millennia," he said roughly.
"Trust me, Colonel," Knockout said with a faux salute, "I may be a healer, but I'm not afraid to get my hands a little dirty."
"Yeah, and we're the best road-based mechs around. You can count on us to get this DINGUS all the way to the finish line." said Drag Strip, the black and chrome speedster was almost too enthusiastic about this mission.
"And your certain it's not because your leader turns into a very big truck?" Silas deadpanned.
"Fair enough, but I'm the only big truck the 'Cons have, so ya'd better not give me trouble." Motormaster said, as he surveyed the immediate surroundings, his optics coming to land on a crate that was covered in various warning labels.
"I take it that'll be the special cargo?" Motormaster asked, as he walked over to it.
"Yes it is, so be extremely careful with it," Fowler said.
The Stunticon leader got down and transformed, as Breakdown and Skyquake hefted his large trailer into position, and loaded the DINGUS inside.
"I hope you don't mind me riding cab?" Fowler asked, "Just want to make sure all goes well."
"Not a problem, but ya gonna be ridin' shotgun on this trip." Motormaster said, as in hs driver's seat, his holomatter avatar formed before them, a gruff looking, tanned skin older man in basic jeans and patterned gray shirt, with a cowboy hat and a bushy mustache. "Best to keep as incognito on this trip as we can be." he said.
"And I take it you shall be accompanying me in the air, seeing as my alternate mode is of your own aircraft?" Skyquake asked, looking down at Silas.
"Astute observation, Skyquake, was it?" Silas said, as he watched the large flightframe transform, and hopped up into the cockpit.
"Alrighty boys, let's get this show on the road!" Motormaster bellowed, as he started to roll away from the clearing they were in.
"Oh boy, I've sure been itching for some time out on the open road!" Wildrider exclaimed, as he transformed into his sleek red and white sports car mode. The rest of them followed suit, and they formed their convoy as they reached the open highway. In order, there was Dead End and Wildrider up in front, then Motormaster, followed by Dragstrip, Breakdown and Knockout taking up the rear. And flying up high, trying to stay hidden behind the ridgeline just above the road, was Skyquake and Silas, keeping a lookout for anybody looking to try and take on the convoy.
. . . . .
"Coordinates: Locked in. Observation: Should there be no further complications, they will arrive at their destination no later than sundown." Soundwave said.
"Excellent news. However, given what information has been given to us, I doubt that MECH would give up so easily."
"Do you think Breakdown and the others will be ok?" Miko asked from across the room, leaning against the railing in suspense.
"That, I cannot be sure of," Megatron said. "MECH is an unknown enemy to us, and the Stunticons have a history of being too head-strong in their operations."
. . . . .
"Come one, move it rustheap!" Dead End shouted out, as he blared his horn loudly. For the past 30 odd minutes, the convoy had been stuck behind an old and rusty pickup truck, that showed no sign of speeding up anytime soon. And without a shoulder or passing lane on the winding mountain road, they just had to wait it out.
The Stunticon in question went so far as to activate his holomatter avatar, that being a young looking lighter skinned man in a purple racing jumpsuit that had similar decals to his paint job and a red headband, and leaned out his window to extend his middle finger, a rude gesture he had picked up from the busy streets of bigger cities he had patrolled in.
From Motormatster's cab, all agent Fowler could do was facepalm, whilst the truck let out a sigh at the sight of what his teammate was doing out in front.
"So much for a low profile," Fowler lamented.
"Eh, ya' just gotta get used to their antics." Motormaster said, giving the agent a friendly slap on the shoulder.
Thankfully, they didn't have to keep their pace down, as after a few more infuriating minutes, that felt like an eternity to the speeders of the group, the old truck pulled over the moment there was a shoulder in sight. Whilst Dead End and Wildrider instantly sped up, Mototmaster just honked his horn in thanks, and the convoy carried onwards.
Suddenly, Agent Fowler's walkie-talkie crackled to life.
"Hate to rain on your parade, Fowler. But I've got eyes on bogeys inbound, the same ones who came after us before." Silas said, as he peered down from above.
Sure enough, a loud revving of engines was heard, and pulling up next to the convoy was four identical dull green cars with black markings. Before the Decepticons could react, the MECH agents broke off, and moved to varying positions surrounding the group.
/Dead End, Wildrider, reel your sorry afts in and close the gap, I don't want these jokers gettin' in between our defenses./ Motormaster said over comms. /Knockout, how ya' holding up back there?/
/Not good. Two more MECH vehicles just pulled up behind me, and one of those sports cars is trying to run me into the mountain./ came the Medic's response.
With one behind, and one to his left, Knockout kept getting bashed about by the rival drivers, trying to take him off the road. "Hey, watch the finish!" he shouted at them, as he swerved, and bashed into the car on his left. However, this left an opening on his right side, and the two remainers on his tail drove up alongside, continuing the routine.
Thinking fast, Knockout slammed his brakes on hard, and let the two MECH drivers ram right into each other. While they were disoriented, Breakdown took the opportunity to activate his roof-mounted canon, and blasted at them, forcing them to break off from their attack.
"Thanks for the save, dear."
"Not a problem, Knock. Let's just keep it up."
Meanwhile, Dead End and Wildrider pulled back, and tightened the gaps to make sure they couldn't get cut off from each other. But, coming barreling down from the hillside, a heavily armored off-roader slammed right into Wildrider, sending him into a spinout.
"Ahh, frag!" he cried, as he slammed into the roadside barrier, feeling the metal boundary buckle under his weight, and couldn't stop himself from looking over and seeing just how far of a drop that would have been.
"Ah, slaggit." Motormaster said, as the offroader moved into position between Dead End and himself. Then, he shifted his cab, and from both sides of the truck's grill, two blasters appeared. Without warning, he started firing away at the MECH vehicle in front of him. Luckily, he got in a few good shots, as it began smoking, and they veered off the side of the road into a tree.
"One down, too many more to go," he grumbled.
"Fowler, look out! They have a chopper coming in over you." Silas yelled out over the open comms.
Peering out the window, Fowler watched as an all black military-grade attack helicopter descended over Motormaster. From up above, five MECH operatives dropped down on top of the trailer, all in combat armor, full face-masks, and packing serious firepower.
Fowler first reached for his pistol, and after patting himself down, realised he didn't have it on him.
"Damnit, I must have left my sidearm with Blackout." he said.
"Glovebox, that's where I keep mine." Motormaster said, as he started veering back and forth, trying to shake the unwanted guests from atop him.
Fowler opened it up, and found a human-sized handgun, but still clearly Cybertronian in origin.
"How is it-"
"Small? That's the wonders of subspace tech, just don't lose the thing."
Thankfully, agent Fowler had years of special ops training, so his next move might have been dangerous, but it was nothing he couldn't handle. He opened up the cab door, and shimmied his way down the side of the tuck, where he found another masked MECH troop trying to unhitch the trailer with some sort of advanced laser cutter.
"Drop it now, faceless." Fowler said.
The MECH operative jolted up, and made a dash for Fowler,attempting to use the cutter to take out the seasoned agent. Fowler reacted fast, putting a blaster shot into the operative's shoulder, and pushed the laser cutter upwards to smack him in the face, and then grabbed him by the collar, and held him out over the side of Motormaster.
"Info. Now. Who are you working for?" Fowler demanded of the MECH agent whose life he held in his hands.
The operative only let out a short but sinister laugh, "Uncle Sam won't get anything out of me," they said, as he pulled out a knife from behind his back, and stabbed at Fowler's hands. Recoiling in pain, he accidentally let go of the MECH operative, and he watched as he hit the road one last time.
"Fowler, come in." Silas said on open comms. It was painful, but Fowler managed to hold his walkie steady. "I'm here. What's the situation looking like from up top?" he said, the pain apparent in his voice.
"We can't shoot down that helicopter until it's cleared away from the DINGUS. I would much rather not be responsible for turning half the Rockies into a nuclear hellsite."
"Leave that to me." Fowler said, as he aimed upwards at the helicopter, and sent off a few wayward shots, hoping to be able to hit somebody. And sure enough, he managed to get one as they were on their descent, their limp body falling onto the roof of the trailer.
With the pain becoming ever more intolerable by the minute, Fowler thought it best to get out of the line of fire. And with a few well placed shots up at the helicopter, he lumbered his way back into Motormaster's cab, blood staining everything he touched.
"Ah Primus," Motormaster said, "What happened to ya'?"
"You see that guy who fell off the back of you?"
"Yeah, he did all that, huh? Sorry to say, I don't got bandages on me, but I'd bet Knockout does."
Then, over the sound of screeching tyres and gunfire, the low rumble of a jet engine was heard. Looking up, they saw Skyquake making his descent towards them.
/We cannot risk waiting any longer for them to break away, I'll do my best to drive them off./ came the flyer's message. Skyquake, much to the protest of Silas, flew in low, fitting himself in between the trailer and the helicopter. This bought them some time, as flying in so low knocked off the MECH operatives still on top of Motormaster. The dark magenta fighter jet than rolled upwards, clipping the bottom of the helicopter with the tips of his wing.
"Just what the hell do you think your doing?" Silas cried.
"Trust me, Colonel. I'm sure I have plenty more flight experience than you," came Skyquake's reply.
Whoever was piloting the helicopter quickly came to their senses, and finally broke off from the convoy, flying out over the edge of the cliffs. With the Stunticons having taken care of MECH's drivers, they were almost home free. However, MECH wasn't done just yet, as the helicopter let loose a few missiles in a last act of desperation. Before anyone could even see what they had aimed for, Skyquake pelted them with a few bursts of flak, making the enemy helicopter start to smoke, and they watched as it descended down the mountains, clearly desperate to find a place to land.
"Ha ha, yes!" Motormaster hollered, and blared his horn in victory. But, they wouldn't be celebrating for long.
/Everyone, brakes on! Those missiles took out the bridge up ahead./ Silas shouted out over comms. And sure enough, looking out across the ridge, a column of smoke was coming up from where there should have been a bridge. Needless to say, the expert drivers managed to slow to a halt in no time. It also gave Knockout a chance to switch over to his holoform, a young man in a white doctor's coat with basic red medical symbols, combat boots, military-style garb under his coat, and short, jet black hair, and dashed over to where Fowler sat leaned against Motormaster's cab, looking back at all the carnage left behind.
"Gonna be a helluva report back to General Bryce for this one…" he muttered.
"You can worry about reports later, agent Fowler," Knockout said as he went about treating the special agent's wounds. He hadn't had much practice with human medicine so far, but the basics were similar to that of a Transformer, so he managed. "Right now, you need a good long rest. Doctor's orders."
"So, how are we gonna get the cargo to the dropzone now?" Drag Strip asked.
"I'll contact base, let them know to send the Constructicons. They should have this fixed up in no time." Knockout said.
Far down in the valley below, the remains of the downed helicopter lied a smoking wreck. When they were first hit, they knew they had to land, but what they hadn't realised just how much damage had been done to them, as the ride became a lot more bumpy on the way down.
"MECH-1 to base, come in,"
/Go for base, MECH-1. You'd better have some good news for me./
"Unfortunately not, Doctor. However, we have discovered something else."
/Oh? Well, go on then./
"The convoy protecting the DINGUS was certainly not civilian drivers as we first expected, and they showed very combative driving tactics when we tried to take them out. However, the most unexpected incident was when the big rig… transformed, for a lack of better terms. Its front flipped open, revealing twin sets of high-powered machine guns. And the government agent, most likely one of the same ones from our previous attempt to capture the DINGUS, had what appeared to be a laser pistol of all things."
/Hmm… very interesting. I'll send a pickup to the nearest roadway to you. Burn whatever is left behind, we cant let people get onto out trail./
"Of course, Doctor. Over and out."
And after loading the corpses of other operatives onto the wreckages of the helicopter, they dosed it in gasoline, and made haste in their disappearance.
After the few hours it took for the Contstructicons to finish building a new bridge, that seemed to be just as good as the old one, the Stunticons and Skyquake managed to get on their way to their destination, albeit later than expected, without any more interference from MECH, and were especially thankful that no civilians had been present to witness said events. And, after their long, grueling day, the Decepticons were enjoying a return to relaxation that evening.
All, that is, except for Megatron. He had spent many hours of the night, along with Soundwave, pouring over the case files that agent Fowler and Silas had provided them with on MECH. He had a lot to learn about this new enemy, for he feared that this would not be the last time they fought.