-Chapter 2: Rookies-

Las Vegas, Nevada

Days passed and word began to spread. Autobots and Decepticons alike realized something was happening on this small, fragile planet called Earth and began mobilizing their forces on the overlooked pale blue dot. The Autobots dispatched an Alpha Squad to join their scarce few comrades on the planet, while Decepticon high command opted for a different approach.

With a Beta Company already on the planet, all that was required was for someone to command the operation and gather the troops…

Vegas was always a busy city, with something going on at all times of day. Late at night Vegas was a hubbub of constant people activity, with lights and sounds and smells permeating the air so thickly like a haze that settled over the city districts. People generally stuck to the goings-on; the abstract street performers, the flashing sideshows, restaurants, casinos…

In the alleyway of one particular casino strip, a blazing meteorite came crashing down between the high-rise buildings, one of several to fall from the atmosphere. Leaving a crater in the blacktop, the metallic orb-like object began to change shape, sprouting limbs to the tune of hard mechanical clanking. A head appeared as a metallic figure stood up and cautiously approached the edge of the alleyway.

"Blueshift to Ironhide, come in. We've arrived at the planet you specified… What is this place, anyway?" The being inquired.

"The native inhabitants call it 'Earth'."

Blueshift approached a palm tree planted in a sidewalk planter, his optic sensors scanning the materials and density within the thing. "Ugh, talk about low-tech. What are we doing here?" The young Autobot complained.

"Patience, kid. We'll get to that later." Ironhide gruffly responded.

"Hey, just 'cause you're the old war veteran doesn't mean you can talk down to me." Blueshift rudely retorted. Ironhide just chuckled.

"No need to take offence. I know you'll do us proud." The veteran Autobot replied. "Y'all just had a long trip, so you better do a basic systems check. Rendezvous with your squad members."

"Roger that." Blueshift affirmed. The protoform promptly changed comm-frequencies. "Blueshift to Alpha Squad, report in."

"Wideload reporting in. Looks like I'm less than half a mega-mile from your position, Blueshift." His fellow squad member chimed in.

"Evac reporting in."

"Skyburst reporting in. Geosync-radar suggests Evac and I went off course. We're between two and three mega-miles from your position, Blueshift."

"Understood. Get yourselves some alternate modes and we'll send you our location as soon as possible." Blueshift quickly told them. Evac and Skyburst signed off as Blueshift adjusted his focus. "Wideload, I'm sending you my coordinates. Find an alternate form and then come and meet me." Signing off, Blueshift switched back to his senior liaison. "Ironhide, any suggestions for alternate modes on this planet?"

"There's a common Earth transport vehicle called a 'car' that's pretty well everywhere. Four wheels on 'em for the most part. It'll allow you to get around quickly and not be noticed by the natives." The veteran described. Poking his head around the corner of the alleyway, Blueshift noticed a line of vehicle left parked and unattended by their owners. He looked them over with disgust. None of them were as sleek or as capable as his former Cybertronian alt mode.

"What? One of these things?" He asked incredulously. "You've got to be kidding me! I'm not wearing a piece of junk like that!"

"Relax, kid. You can scan a different form later. We just need to get you something to transform into. Otherwise, you stick out like a petro-rabbit in the Hydrax swamps." Ironhide stated. Rolling his optics with a huff, the recruit stepped out into the street to analyze his options.

Going unnoticed by the natives had been a priority straight from Optimus Prime ever since the exodus from Cybertron. "Our war is not their war," the Autobot leader had said, "let us not draw innocents into our conflict." Other Autobots who had spent time on various other worlds had opted for non-Cybertronian shapes before and Blueshift had even seen what some of those vehicles looked like. These Earthen 'cars' lacked any of the power, presence, or even the panache those other vehicles possessed. If only there was one here that at the very least looked appealing to the optics…

A flash of light caught his optic. A reflective glimmer off a sparkling surface. Blueshift turned and offered a hum of approval as he looked over a new vehicle.

It was a metallic blue-fleck painted Saturn Sky roadster, sleek and svelte in design with enough engine horsepower to give the young Autobot something to work with. Primitive, yes. Stylish? Also yes.

Why wait for later… when the here and now is calling me? Blueshift thought with a grin as he activated his optical trans-scanners. Thin beams of blue light raked over the Sky as every component and compound was analyzed and added to Blueshift's internal databank. Once the scan was complete, his chassis moved to adapt. Metal turned liquid as gears and pistons reconfigured to match the inner-workings of the Sky. A pair of tires appeared, one on each forearm, as the rear bumped and lights of the Sky solidified into place across Blueshift's back. The windshield, split into two halves, clung to his pectoral plates as the remainder of his chassis turned from slate gray to metallic fleck-blue.

The adaptation complete, Blueshift transformed into his new vehicle mode. He let the engine idle for a moment before peeling rubber and taking off down the street, tracking the location coordinates he'd sent to Wideload…

Elsewhere on the same casino strip, another protoform in entry-mode came crashing down beside a highway overpass, crushing several parked cars and a bus stop in the process. The meteor-like shape lay in the crater of crushed blacktop and mangled car parts before it too transformed into a bipedal mechanoid, who stepped out with heavy footfalls that crushed the remains of the fragile human-made constructs under his feet.

"Lord Starscream, this is Tailwhip. I've arrived at the planet you've specified. Why have I been sent here?" He queried. His Master was prompt to respond.

"We received a faint Decepticon signal which originated from this 'Earth'. Only recently has its presence been confirmed and we need to track it down before the Autobots do." Starscream informed him. "I need you to investigate the matter. Barricade is there now; you will assist him."

"I won't let you down, Lord Starscream." Tailwhip responded crisply. He switched frequencies to a short-range local feed and called up the Decepticon's resident information-acquisitions expert. "Barricade, this is Tailwhip, come in. Lord Starscream has sent me to assist you in the investigation." The 'Con interrogator responded promptly… and none too cordially.

"I didn't ask for any help. You're just going to slow me down, rookie."

Taken aback by his abrasive attitude, Tailwhip decided to press his authority. "Well if you're ever Decepticon enough to overthrow Starscream, then you can call the shots. 'Til then, you're going to have to do what he wants."

"I see. So you think you know what it means to be a Decepticon, huh? Is that what Starscream has been teaching you?" Barricade wondered coldly. Tailwhip said nothing, waiting to see if Barricade had anything more to go on a tirade about. Instead, Barricade seemingly changed his tone. "Okay, fine, I'll play nice." He decided.

"That's more like it." Tailwhip grunted. "Where are you, anyway? I'm at the last coordinates you sent us."

"Yeah, and that's why I'm not at them. Right now you're a liability. While a protoform you don't blend in for squat here on Earth." Barricade said derisively. "Scan a vehicle form, then we'll talk." Grunting in response, Tailwhip clicked off comms and started looking around.

He had been engineered to be a flier, much like his Master Starscream. The Lord Commander of the Decepticons had been seeking a protege in order to make his rule more cemented in the minds of his followers; the start of a new dynasty of leadership that began with Starscream and continued with his chosen protege: Tailwhip. The necessity of flight was both a blessing and a curse upon his protoform. It gave him a distinct edge in combat but his chassis was also incapable of adapting to anything not flight-based.

Tailwhip turned his gaze higher and spotted a vehicle perched atop the landing platform of a towering high-rise complex. Intrigued by its distant shape, the Decepticon began to climb, hands and feet digging into concrete and class like they were nothing as he scaled towards the top of the tower. Pulling himself up to the rooftop level, Tailwhip quickly discovered the vehicle had NEWS written across its white chassis in blue lettering.

It was a Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin a medium-weight multipurpose twin-engine helicopter, primarily white with a pale red underbelly. As far as helicopters went it was civilian and standard issue but it was also an airborne vehicle and that suited Tailwhip's purposes just fine.

Engaging his trans-scanners, rays from his optics swept across the helicopter from nose to tail, taking in very part and component piece as his internal database built a schematic that would allow Tailwhip to reconfigure into a perfect replica. The scanning process complete, his skeletal protoform body began to chance. His chassis turned to liquid metal and grew in size to compensate for the number of components involved. Two halves of the rear tail rotor assembly appeared over his shoulders, the brightly coloured NEWS logo appeared as a single plate on his forearm, the cowling around the engine split in two to cover his pectoral plates, panels of glass from the cockpit appeared in sections around each of his feet.

The adaptation complete, Tailwhip lept off the rooftop and transformed in freefall, quickly assuming his new alternate mode and taking flight long before he hit the ground. The Decepticon hovered in place, checking his alternate mode's new systems and functions. It was incredibly crude compared to Cybertronian technology but it would get the job done.

"Alright, Barricade, I've scanned a form. Now will you tell me your position?" He asked into his comms.

"Oh, sure. I just sent coordinates to your radar." The interrogator responded obligingly. Smiling to himself, Tailwhip charted a course to a small enclosure created by towering hotel buildings. The network of alleys behind them was the perfect place for a rendezvous.

Despite his coldness Barricade sure knows how to do his job. Tailwhip mused internally as he approached the enclosure. Transforming in midair so the chop-chop-chop of his rotor blades would not attract too much attention, he crashed feet-first into the ground and started looking around for Barricade. His comms crackled to life. "There. Was that so hard?" Said-Decepticon wondered with a sneer. Tailwhip turned all the way around, scanning his surroundings entirely for some sign of Barricade. "Maybe you're not completely useless after all." He mused. Tailwhip realized he was all alone still.

"You're not here, are you?" Tailwhip surmised with a grumble. On the other end of the comms, Barricade snickered.

"I can just see the circuits lighting up in your brain module. I gotta say I'm impressed, rookie. I'll agree to meet you after you perform one simple task for me." He decided. Tailwhip sighed.

"Fine… and what would that be?" He wondered in a disgruntled voice.

"Eliminate all Autobot forces in the area." Barricade stated. His optics blinking, Tailwhip shook his head.

"Autobots? What are they doing here on Earth?"

"Because their leader, Optimus Prime, has made his his mission to stick his sensors into everything we do." Barricade replied, malice in his voice. "Both Autobots and Decepticons picked up the signal that came from Earth. The do-gooders couldn't just let us find one of our own. They had to get in our way."

"Well… how the scrap do you propose I do that? You know how good they are at hiding." Tailwhip demanded.

"Nothing like a little senseless mass destruction to lure out Autobots. Attacking the native population should flush them out." Barricade proposed.

Blueshift managed to rendezvous with Wideload, who had assumed the alternate mode of a half-ton moving truck. The two Autobots maintained a low profile utilizing their new alt modes as well as the spacious backalleys found in those corner of Vegas. Both of them assumed they would wait around for their squadmates, Evac and Skyburst, to come and make contact. But a sudden transmission from Ironhide changed all that…

"Ironhide to Alpha Squad! We're detecting a Decepticon attacking a large structure near your position! Respond immediately!" The Autobot veteran gruffly announced.

"Alpha Squad here, Ironhide… er, kind of." Blueshift reported. "It's just me and Wideload for now… What are the Decepticons doing here on Earth?"

"You're in the field now, soldiers. You'll have to adapt and overcome." Ironhide said simply. "Let's hope your combat systems are working. Get over there double-quick and take 'em out!"

"You heard him, let's roll out!" Wideload urged, firing up his throaty Diesel engine and leading the way with Blueshift hot on his heels. The Decepticon signature was close at hand, as was evidence by the sounds of cannonfire, explosive destruction, and screaming humans fleeing for their lives. Peeling rubber, Blueshift and Wideload raced to respond…

Tailwhip had to admit, he liked the way human objects disintegrated under his sheer power. This world was entirely too fragile for Cybertronians to interact with and he didn't have to do much to damage buildings or destroy human property. These pathetic insects will learn to fear their superiors. He surmised.

The squeal of tires drew his attention to the end of the street, where a half-ton truck and a blue roadster skidded out into the open before making their way towards him. Given the eclectic nature of the two vehicles (they seemed unrelated and hardly coordinated to be a human effort) Tailwhip made a correct deduction.

"That got their attention. I may need assistance, Barricade." He stated into his comms.

"Oh, I'm sure you're Decepticon enough to handle a few Autobots on your own. Your master taught you all about servo-to-servo combat, right?" The interrogator replied dismissively.

"It's two on one." Tailwhip stated.

"Not so cushy once you're in the field, is it, rookie? Put that central processor of yours to use for once, quit whining, and destroy them." Barricade gruffly retorted, cutting the transmission on his end. Loosing a grumble of annoyance, Tailwhip rolled his shoulders as Blueshift and Wideload transformed into robot mode.

"You Decepticons don't know when to quit! Time to teach you that the bad guys always lose!" Blueshift announced, his voice full of a pride that Tailwhip deemed misguided.

"You Autobots are no better than we Decepticons." He retorted, priming his weapons. "We might be on opposite sides, but we're both playing the same game."

Snapping up his right arm, Tailwhip's electron-laser repeater discharged rapid-fire energy bolts that riddled both Autobots as they dove out of his line of fire. Blueshift responded with his proton cannon, rounds striking the plating of Tailwhip's raised arm. The Decepticon turned, spying Wideload attempting to cross fire, and unleashed a barrage of rockets from his shoulder launchers. Explosions riddled building behind Wideload as the Autobot rolled across the ground, popping up and firing a few rounds from his plasma-pulse cannon.

Blueshift ripped a lamppost out of the ground and swung it like a club, the metallic rod bending around Tailwhip's arm as the Decepticon blocked and swung with a left hook that clobbered Bluseshift across the face before an uppercut put him flat on his back. More rounds riddled Tailwhip's back as Wideload closed in to compensate, the Decepticon transforming and taking flight as he hovered out of Wideload's immediate reach and maneuvered back down the street. Wideload gave chase as Tailwhip transformed back into robot mode and reached down for a parked car near his feet. Hoisting it over his head, the Decepticon hurled the vehicle at Wideload, car smashing into robot and bowling him over.

"We need to coordinate! This isn't working!" Blueshift exclaimed as he and Wideload clambered to their feet.

"Cover me! I'll close the gap!" Wideload stated, transforming and flooring his accelerator. Blueshift opened fire, proton rounds ricocheting off Tailwhip's chassis as the Decepticon shifted focus between the two targets. Firing his electron-laser several direct hits forced Blueshift to back down so Tailwhip could focus on the Autobot attempting to ram him. He grabbed Wideload by front of his alt mode, tires squealing as the Autobot attempt to break out with more speed. But, in an exercise of prodigious strength, Tailwhip flipped Wideload over onto his side and promptly took aim at his vehicular fuel tank.

A single rocket from his shoulder did the trick, igniting the fuel within and generating a fiery explosion that proved sufficient to propel Tailwhip across the street. Blueshift could only climb to his feet and watch in horror as Wideload's burnt-out chassis smouldered in a dead wreck. Now he looked just like the other ruined vehicles in the area. Perhaps that had been Tailwhip's intention. Or perhaps the Decepticon had merely adjusted better to Earthen technology and had already pinpointed the weaknesses that came with cars and trucks as alt modes.

Whatever the cause or reason, Blueshift was left enraged. "You'll pay for that!" He cried, opening fire with his cannon again. Tailwhip turned on him and unloaded a volley of four rockets from his shoulders that slammed into Blueshift and knocked him clean off his feet. The Decepticon advanced, grabbing another vehicle and lifting it high over his head.

"Two less Autobots to worry about." He scoffed, intending to crush Blueshift with his improvised weapon. But the young Autobot was thinking and reacting. The morbid demise of his friend had given him an idea and he acted on it.

Raising his cannon, he fired on the car in Tailwhip's hands, targeting the forward engine component as well as the underbelly. A few lucky hits caused a sudden detonation of the vehicle's fuel lines, the car exploding in Tailwhip's hands and blackening the Decepticon as he stumbled back with a wounded cry. Blueshift pressed his advantage, unloading a double missile salvo from his shoulder launchers that struck Tailwhip and blew the Decepticon off his feet. Now they were both wounded. The footing had been evened.

"This one's for Wideload, Decepticreep!" Blueshift growled, charging as rounds erupted from his proton cannon. Tailwhip was struggling to respond, his damage obvious as sparks erupted from between his chassis plates and warnings flashed before his optics. The wise words of his master, Starscream, came to mind about what to do in situations like this. "Self-preservation can always be paramount. Not to call you a coward, but, sometimes, cowards do survive."

Taking his words to spark, Tailwhip transformed and took off into the night air, abandoning the fight. One Autobot was dead, the other injured. That was good enough for him and it would have to be good enough for Barricade too.

"Barricade, come in. Autobots neutralized." He reported into his comms.

"Sounds like your intakes are heaving, rook. Give you some trouble, did they?" Barricade asked, sounding somewhat amused. Tailwhip loosed an indignant huff.

"Of course not. They got a few lucky hits, that's all." He lied. "Now please tell me where you are!"

"All you had to do was ask nicely." Barricade replied. The smugness in his voice made Tailwhip growl with irritation. "Start heading west until you hit a human settlement called 'Tranquility'. I'll be waiting." Tailwhip said nothing more but did change course and seek higher elevation, the lights of Las Vegas growing a little smaller as he began tracking Barricade's new coordinates.

Back on the street, Blueshift loosed a sigh as he powered down his weaponry. The Decepticon had ceased his assault and taken off, which was fine, but the fight had not gone the way he wanted it to.

"Ironhide, come in. We managed to drive off the Decepticon… but, Wideload… he's dead." He said sorrowfully into his comms, casting a mournful look at the burning remains of Wideload's alt mode.

"Another one the 'Cons'll have to answer for." Ironhide said with a sigh. "I know it hurts, kid. But you can't get too broken up over it. You're alive and you have to keep fighting." He insisted. "Now, you're being deployed to the human town of Tranquility for your next mission. You'll get your new orders when you arrive. Ironhide out." Blueshift signed off too but did not move right away. He lingered in place for a moment, gazing at the wreckage that had once been his squadmate.

"Sorry, pal. I'll get him for you. I promise." He whispered. Glancing up at the sound of sirens, Blueshift knew his time was up. Converting back into a Saturn Sky, he took off down the road and used his radar to track this 'Tranquility' town Ironhide had mentioned, leaving the carnage of a Cybertronian battlefield behind…