A/N: Hey there guys and good morning! Yes, this latest chapter is launching in the morning. Wanted to get this one out pretty soon because this in particular is a pretty special chapter. We'll probably be going back to noon uploads next week, but for now, let's address the elephant in the room; the title isn't as I advertised last week. Namely because the more I wrote this chapter out, the more I realized it's not JUST about the Seekers in space, but the characters that we'll be seeing debut in this chapter as well.

Speaking of, you may recognize some events in this chapter if you're familiar with another franchise. Rest assured, that's completely intentional. Think of this as a tribute of sorts that also furthers the story. But with that said, considering that the two new Seekers WILL be debuting here, I thought I'd give you their voices right up here like I did Springer.

Thundercracker will be voiced by Roger Craig Smith (Batman)

And Skywarp will be voiced by Keith Ferguson (Reaper… you'll see why soon)

Also, as an added bonus, another one of the new characters in this chapter will be voiced… by J.K. Simmons. Trust me, you'll figure out who pretty quick. Hehehe… so pick up a mouse and scroll down that page. You'll know when the fic starts. This is…

Chapter 16: Conflict in Deep Space

…..

Deep within the void of space, you would never expect to see anything huge aside from your typical asteroid or meteor floating through the vast sea of stars. Planets, moons and suns were common place, but nothing too out of the ordinary. However, if you knew exactly where to look at a certain angle, you'd be able to make out a faint ripple that was moving past these planets, the surest of signs that something was being cloaked.

That something would be the Autobot Kimia Science Colony, or simply "Kimia Science" for short. An absolutely gargantuan starship that had to be the size of a city… namely because it WAS essentially a city. And on board this vessel lived several different alien races, ranging from organics to carbon-based life forms and many, many more. Chief among them, though, were the Cybertronian scientists that ran the entire facility, Autobots that enjoyed their jobs more than anything else in the galaxy.

One of these bots, who happened to be the youngest among them, was currently in his quarters working on a project, his bright yellow eyes concentrated completely on it. He was a mostly red bot who was a rather large individual for his age, and upon first glance, you'd never think he was a scientist. He had rippling pectoral and abdominal areas that were accented by green paint, and they almost seemed organic in a way, though they were completely metal. His arms meanwhile were without question completely metal, painted white while his hands were red. He had black shoulder pads and feet, along with chromed knee pads as well.

His helm was also mostly red, again with black accents on his head crest and on the horns that pointed up near the back. And, in the middle of his crest, he had a green symbol that was almost feline-like, one with long ears and huge, sharp teeth. Oddly enough, the helm also very closely resembled that of a certain Autobot leader, but the young bot had always written it off as a coincidence. His dark brown face scrunched up on concentration as he held his invention in his hands, eyeballing it to make sure that everything was in the correct place.

"Shield Generator test, ready to go!" A happy, feminine voice spoke up. "Whenever you're ready, Apelinq."

This young bot's name was Apelinq, and he was in the final phase of testing his portable forcefield generator. 'If this works, the force dome should shoot right up from the center envelope it.' He set his invention into the very middle of the table and pressed down on its center with his thumbs, its lens glowing bright as it began to charge up.

Before long, the forcefield was actually up and doing what it was supposed to do… but then, the generator made a buzzing sound and four holographic ERROR screens popped up from it, leaving Apelinq confused. He narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to it, scratching his chin as he pondered what could've gone wrong. The young bot would soon come to regret this decision. BLAM! "AAUGH!"

…..

As that was happening, a rather tall Autobot was walking through the hallway not too far from Apelinq's quarters. He was mostly cyan in color, mainly on his torso, knees and painted on the vents in his shoulders. This bot also had some beige on him, mainly on his arms and lower legs, while his upper legs, feet, and hands were all grey. He also had two sets of grey wings as well; one set that were in front of his shoulders while a bigger pair stuck right out of them. He had a cockpit on his chest and the nose of his alternate mode was flipped onto his back, with a pair of silver guns sticking up over his shoulders. His head was somewhat blocky and he had an orange faceplate and yellow eyes that stood out prominently.

He had a confident, managerial stride, accented by the yellow, metal briefcase that he had in his right hand. It was obvious that this bot was ready to start a brand-new day on the science colony. …Or rather, HIS science colony.

"Welcome, colonists and test subjects, to Kimia Science. Astronauts, aliens, cosmic beings, you're here because we want the best of the best! And you are it! So, who's ready to make some science? Now, you already met one another on the hyperdrive over, so let me introduce myself; I'm Brainstorm. I own the place."

Brainstorm grinned to himself as he heard his signature pre-recorded message play over the intercom. It could mean only one thing; more colonists had arrived from Centuros, the planet that they had just been on. They had just transformed Kimia back into starship mode after making a supply run on the nearby planet and, as always, several of the inhabitants were intent on coming with them. Anything to escape a potential Decepticon invasion.

It had been a constant sequence since they had initially launched the once peaceful Autobot city dedicated to science near the final days of the War for Cybertron, and in all honesty, Brainstorm himself was still stunned he had even pulled something like this off. The day he discovered that the Decepticons were intent on capturing the City of Kimia to plunder its scientific discoveries, he knew he had to do something. He wasn't just about to let his home get destroyed, no sir! At first, though, it seemed hopeless… nothing he could do or think up seemed good enough to prevent the inevitable…

…But then he discovered something amazing. Kimia itself was, in reality, a slumbering Titan. How he had stumbled across her massive T-Cog, he didn't know. Be it fate or a stroke of luck, he didn't care, but the fact of the matter is that it was a miracle. He managed to reprogram that sucker so the city could transform into a starship and they got the FRAG off of Cybertron. And the best part? The ship's new thrusters took out the Decepticon fleet that were coming to get them.

"Ah, STILL the best day ever in my book." Brainstorm said to himself as he reflected on that memory. He stopped in the hallway and moved his head from side to side, getting all of the kinks out of his gears. "But all the same, today's gonna be a great day for some science! Heh, but then again, when ISN'T it a good time for science?" At that moment, though, a nagging feeling began eating at the scientist, leading him to scratch his cheek. "…Though why does it feel like I'm missing something?"

"You mean like your morning cup of oil?"

"AGH!" Brainstorm jumped at least a good ten feet into the air as he spun around, his briefcase raised in self-defense. But the moment he was met with a big grin and a bright yellow visor, he became slightly more at ease with an exasperated sigh. It was his lead scientist and personal assistant. "Proxima… hah, it's just you."

Standing opposite of him was a female bot who was primarily white, though her body was practically riddled with cyan, navy and purple detailing all throughout. Her upper chest was smooth and very cylindrical in shape, with shoulders that were basically shaped like circles. Her midsection was a violet color, as were her biceps and face, while her thighs, forearms, and arm sockets were all painted navy. Her legs were navy as well, though she had white paneling on the sides as well, and her feet were mainly a bright cyan and resembled upward-facing toed boots. On her back, she also had two solar panels and a pair of telescopes; one that pointed up and another that came down over her right shoulder.

Her helm got wider as it went to the top of her head, mainly due to her uniquely shaped, navy forehead crest that had three additional yellow optics; one in the very center and two near either temple. She also had some cyan near the top of the helm as well as on the circular "lobes" on either side of it. Her main optics were covered by a yellow visor, and she smiled up to her boss as she held up his cup of oil. "Hm, what can I say, sir? You need to be kept on your stabilizers this early."

"Haha! Ah, I suppose you're right. Thank you, by the way." Brainstorm reached for the oil and retracted his faceplate, exposing his mouth so that he could take a swig. "Ah, now THAT is some high-quality oil. Now, walk and talk with me, what's on the docket today?"

The duo started down the hall again as Proxima activated a holographic list from her palm, scrolling through it with her finger. "Well, first we have that meeting with Glyph and Botanica in the intergalactic greenhouse. They wanted to talk to you about how the plant spores are being utilized for out tests."

"If it has anything to do with the mushroom incident that ruptured that one Andalite's stomach, I swear, that was NOT planned." Brainstorm assured. "How were the lab bots supposed to know that electro-stimulation would actually speed fungal growth by several decacycles?"

"Honestly, I'm just glad that man survived." The femme said with a shrug. "He's very lucky that the bots managed to sew him right back up."

"Oh, yes of course. Well, I suppose I'll have to take a few lumps for that one. What else?"

Proxima scrolled through the list again and continued reading off tasks; "After that, Chromedome wanted to see you about some readings he found after a neural net scan on one of our test subjects. And then Team Bullet Train wanted to go over some more of their findings after this latest round of security tests."

Brainstorm raised an eyeridge. "Are the test prisoners STILL trying to use that manner of escape?" However, his question didn't even need to be answered, because at that moment, the two of them heard clattering and banging from right above their heads, leading both of them to sigh. The taller bot went over to a nearby intercom and pressed an activation button before speaking into it loud and clear, his voice ringing through the whole ship;

"Attention test prisoners attempting their escape scenario through the air ducts. I don't know what nonsense you learned on GalacTV, but in real life, the air ducts just go to the air conditioning unit. It's also pretty dusty, so if you got asthma, chances are you're gonna die up there. And we'll be smelling it for weeks, because again, the air ducts AREN'T a secret escape hatch. They're how we VENTILATE the facility."

"I'm surprised that none of them have figured that out yet." Proxima said with a roll of her optics. "Anyway, after that, we—" BOOM! Her head snapped up and Brainstorm whipped around, their optics wide in shock. "What the pit was that?!"

"It came from down the hall!" Brainstorm went charging toward the direction of the explosion with Proxima right on his tail. Before long, they came upon a certain door that had been jostled ajar, and on the other side, they could hear someone coughing. "Oh, Primus, Apelinq!" The mech grabbed the sliding doors and forced them open, allowing both of them to enter Apelinq's quarters.

And there, on the ground, was Apelinq himself, the young bot sprawled out on his back with his forcefield generator having landed on his stomach. "Sweet Solus Prime!" Proxima exclaimed. "Apelinq, are you alright?"

The large bot groaned as Brainstorm crouched next to him, offering him his hand. "By the sound of that bang, I can only deduce you've hit another snag, eh kiddo?" He saw Apelinq's features contort into a light scowl before he shoved his invention off of him, and then…

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk!

Apelinq's entire back and shoulder pads detached and came flipping around to his chest on a pair of struts, all as his robot mode head pulled into his chest. The result of this exposed an entirely different chest underneath his back panel, which was entirely chromed out and somehow seemed even MORE muscular than his other chest. The shoulder pads flipped up to form the sides of his new abdomen while is waist spun around so that his feet were facing the opposite direction, only for his legs to bend in and come flush with his thighs. With his knee caps now forming a new set of feet, his hands then twisted around to the appropriate direction… and a new head came popping up from his chest. And it was then made VERY obvious where the name "Apelinq" came from. By the time he was done, he had transformed… into a large, metal gorilla. And within seconds, he had climbed up onto a nearby tire swing to get away from his troubles.

"Hmph, well, that's ONE way to treat your mentor." Brainstorm murmured as he watched the Maximal go swinging up to the upper level of his quarters.

"Now, now, no need to get in a huff, Apelinq." The same, chipper voice from before piped up in support. "Your stress levels are through the roof!"

This just made Apelinq roll his optics as he climbed up to the upper level. "I TOLD you to stop monitoring my vitals, TAI." he spoke in a deep, gruff, yet still somewhat young voice

He approached a computer console with a rather large screen, one that had the words "Tactical Artificial Intelligence" displayed on it. Or "TAI" for short, as indicated below the words. With a small sigh, TAI relented as Apelinq plopped down into another large tire. "Very well. But just so you know, it's been forty-seven solar cycles since your last tune up."

Proxima folded her arms and narrowed her optics at Apelinq. "Sounds about right since that's probably the last time we saw you. You've been working on this invention for WEEKS, Apelinq."

"She's got a point, young bot." Brainstorm concurred. "As much as I would LOVE to work on inventions non-stop, even I agree that keeping YOURSELF healthy is just as important."

"I know, I know." Apelinq's shoulders sagged, the Maximal reached up to grab an absurdly huge piece of alien fruit from his personal stash. "I just… I feel like I'm so close to getting it right, I can just taste it!" On that note, he took a big bite of the fruit, his metal teeth grinding it in his mouth without a problem.

Proxima and Brianstorm couldn't help but glance to one another at the sight. "You know, it still baffles me how Maximals and Preds are able to convert organic matter into energy like that." the former noted.

"Indeed, still looking into that." But Brianstorm waved his hand, getting back on topic. "The point is, Apelinq, that you should really get out of this room more." He activated the jet boosters on his back and flew up to the upper level, strolling up next to his student as the ape tuned into the Intergalactic News. "I commend your dedication, but science IS a delicate balance and—"

However, the head of Kimia Science stopped himself when he heard the news. "Decepticon attacks continue on the planet of Paradron, as well as several other Cybertronian colonies and organic worlds across the galaxy." the alien news woman spoke gravely. "Their hunt for Optimus Prime and the renegade Autobot forces continues at the cost of several innocent lives, of which at least fifteen thousand on Paradron have been recorded…"

The news made their sparks sink, their inner workings twisting at the thought of things only getting worse throughout the galaxy. Apelinq's metal brow furrowed and a determined chuff escaped his throat as he began typing in a command with his gorilla feet, bringing up a screen that said; "Autobot Recall", and it had buttons with the Cybertronian characters for "Y" and "N" with it. He went for the "Y" button… but then Brainstorm stopped him. "Apelinq… think before you act."

"He's right, you know." TAI piped up. "Every time you see news like this, we go through this. If we recall the Autobots here and now, we risk bringing the Decepticons here, a place where we strive to keep things peaceful for the sake of the colonists who are trying to ESCAPE the Decepticon's wrath."

Apelinq grumbled, spinning around in his seat to turn away from both of them. "…But it's just not right! We should be fighting the Decepticons, not trying to hide from them!"

"And we WILL fight them, when we're DAMN good and ready." Brainstorm assured. "The purpose of Kimia is to research and perfect our scientific findings so that when we DO find Optimus Prime, we can provide him and his bots with the resources they need to finally defeat the Decepticons." He thrust his hand to the monitor. "Believe me, this news disgusts me as much as anyone else, but we have a ship full of scientists and barely any warriors. Taking on an entire battalion of Cons just isn't in the books for us."

"Grrr… I KNOW." Apelinq hung his head low. "That's just the way things are… but I do miss the good ol' days." He craned his head up to his wall of pictures, ones that had been taken back on Cybertron way back when. One picture in particular was the day he had graduated and gotten his doctorate, and standing with him was Brainstorm and his entire platoon… his friends.

Hot Rod, Skids, Minerva, Drift, Nautica, Road Rage, Wild Wheel, and their leader; the Autobot war vet, Landmine. And, right next to him in the picture, jumping high into the air with a joyful smile, was his best friend; Flare-Up. They were some of the best bots he had ever had the privilege of knowing… but the evacuation of Cybertron had separated them all, and it just made him feel terrible. And Hot Rod… it still pained him to even think about what happened to him. Flare-Up had never been the same after that day.

Right next to that picture, though, was another small one. It was of himself, Brainstorm… and their respective teacher; a white Autobot with a cylindrical helm and a pair of yellow glasses. Apelinq reached up and pulled that one off the wall, with Brainstorm seeing it immediately as well. "…Yes, I miss them, too." the blue mech reassured.

After a small moment of silence, however, a blaring alarm suddenly began sounding off as a red light started flashing with it, taking all of them by surprise. "Ah! W-What's happening?!" Apelinq gasped.

"Intruder alert!" TAI exclaimed. "I'm picking up multiple Decepticon signals!"

"WHAT?!" The three bots exclaimed. "That has to be a malfunction!" Brainstorm asserted.

But then, the screen suddenly changed, showing a large, white and blue Autobot with a sloped helm on their screens. The shape of his jawline also made it seem like he had a big, bushy beard, and uncharacteristically for an Autobot, he had red eyes instead of blue. Still, he had an Autobot symbol etched into the canopy on his chest, solidifying his allegiance. "Brainstorm, sir! We have an emergency situation! Hull breach!"

"Railspike! How did this happen?!" Brainstorm belted out. "And please tell me it's not another one of those adventuring conspiracy parties again! I KEEP telling everyone that we're in SPACE, for crying out loud!"

"Negative, sir. The hull breach came from OUTSIDE the ship." Railspike brought up a map of the whole starship and zoomed in on the place where the damage was dealt… and with it, there were several Decepticon signals beginning to move into the ship itself. "And… by Primus, by my count, there's about seven Decepticons entering through the breach."

The trio could feel their jaws drop in shock. Proxima brought her hands up over her mouth worriedly. "B-But how did they find us?!"

"Not sure, but right now, that's not important." Brainstorm furrowed his metal brow. "Right now, the most important thing is making sure Kimia's inhabitants stay safe. Railspike, where are these Decepticons going? And what's our position relative to them?"

After typing in a few commands, Railspike came up with his answer. "They're headed toward… wait, no, that can't be right!" He snapped his head back up toward the three. "Brainstorm, sir, they're headed toward YOUR location!"

A stunned silence set out through the entire room and Brainstorm narrowed his optics, his fist balling up while his other hand clenched his suitcase. "…Very well. If this small band of Decepticon stragglers want a fight on MY ship, then I'll certainly give it to them. Railspike, get Midnight Express and Rapid Run on locking down the science spheres should anything go wrong. We CANNOT have these Decepticons hurting our colonists." Railspike nodded to his boss before Brainstorm went to Proxima next. "And Proxima, it's probably best if you find a place to lay low. You're not armed in the slightest, so—"

"Don't worry, sir, I understand." Proxima nodded. "But if things get bad…"

"I know, but don't worry. We'll be sure to take care of these Cons ASAP." With that, Proxima rushed over to a dark corner of the room to hide, leaving Brainstorm and Apelinq to hold the line. "You ready?"

Apelinq nodded to him before ordering; "TAI… kill the lights." And thus, the lights went out, shrouding the entire ship in darkness.

…..

Meanwhile, several lightyears away in the Freezon system, a string of planets that were covered entirely by snow and ice, there was another Autobot outpost stationed in one of the warmer planets. This one had a climate that wasn't subzero, but still cold enough to be completely frozen over on its surface. A climate like this was rare for organic life to find inhabitable, but for the Autobots stationed there, it was just fine for their needs. …Which, by all appearances, included building giant war machines. Laser cannons, walking mechs, and massive mechanical arms were all being worked on by several Autobot engineers, a project that was many millennia in the making.

…And it was the goal of the visiting Decepticons to bring it all crumbling down. From inside the complex at one of its control panels, a female Decepticon appeared, one who was built quite strong by the look of her. In fact, her build appeared to resemble that of a certain Autobot police cadet rather closely. Her shoulders were broad and circular while her legs were angular, her vehicle mode doors propped up on her back like wings.

However, her color scheme was FAR from being considered law enforcement. Her main color was a dark magenta with dark purple highlights around her body, being broken up by bits of teal in her biceps, thighs, midsection and her face. Her helm was also a lot rounder near the top, coming down with faceguards near her cheeks like how a Roman helmet would.

She chuckled to herself as her hands lit up in a purplish pink glow, and with a flick of her wrist, the femme projected her own personally designed hardlight interface onto the control panel to start hacking into it. "Hehe, I told you guys that getting past the Autobot security systems would be a piece of oil cake." she spoke in a distinctly Hispanic accent.

"We don't have all day, Nightra. Hurry up." Another feminine voice pressed over her commlink, this one carrying a French accent.

Nightra rolled her yellow optics before another voice piped up, this one masculine and commanding. "Enough, Shadow Striker. Nightra, do you have the target?" he said in his dark, raspy tone.

"Psh, of course, Skywarp. Sending you coordinates now."

…..

Outside of the facility, two more Decepticons stood waiting for Nightra to let them in. One of them was another female who was mostly purple, with light blue details in her midsection, her biceps, her face and her shins. Her breastplate was formed out of the front of her alt mode and her front tires and vehicle spoiler were propped up on her shoulders, with her rear wheels in her heels. She also had one normal red optic, and one that was shaped like a lens of some sort, no doubt to help her aim with the assault rifle she was holding. But on her helm, she had three additional optics; two above her main one and one in the center of her forehead crest.

The bigger bot next to her… looked almost exactly like Starscream, though his chin wasn't pointed, it was much more squared off. Also, his color scheme was pretty much completely different, swapping out the red for silver and the white and blue for black and purple. Also, he didn't have any Null Rays on his arms, and instead, he carried a pair of black and purple shot guns in his hands.

"Are you certain zat ze target is on sight?" the femme, Shadow Striker, asked again.

"Oh, he's here alright." Nightra assured. "Okay, you're in."

At that moment, the door in front of them opened up and the two bots nodded to each other before proceeding with the plan. Shadow Striker rushed right in and went straight up a series of steps, making her way past an Autobot guard in the process. "W-Wha—HUH?! Hey, you—" ZWOM! After hearing a sound from behind him, the guard spun around just in time to see the black and purple Seeker literally teleport in behind him. His optics widened in fear immediately. "S-S-Skywarp—" Snap! In one swift movement, Skywarp, snapped the Autobot's neck, ending his life… before shoving him down the stairs.

"Heh, never gets old." Skywarp teleported to the next door in his sights next to Shadow Striker, the two waiting for a moment before it opened for them as well. From there, they came upon a large, open area with large construction equipment everywhere they saw, and Shadow Striker decided to get to higher ground. She activated her wrist-mounted grappling hook and went straight to the top of a crane apparatus, all while Skywarp ported to the next door. There was a short pause as he stood in front of it. "…The door." It opened and he was about to port through… but then it closed on him again. "Nightra."

He heard a soft giggle from the other end of his commlink. The hacker knew that he could only teleport to areas that he could see, so she got a kick out of messing with him from time to time. She opened the door slightly again and allowed Skywarp through, all while taking the defense mechanisms offline. "Turrets are down."

Skywarp affirmed what she said when he saw the large weapons suddenly sulk down, leading him to crane his head up to Shadow Striker's location. "I am in position." The Decepticon weapon specialist said before moving her head down, her assault rifle transforming into a sniper rifle almost seamlessly. She focused in on the area of interest, a section of the base where Autobots were waiting for someone's arrival. "Nightra, time to target."

"Coming in now."

Sure enough, in came the bot they had been hoping to see; the head of the entire facility. He was a somewhat tall bot with a mostly white color scheme, with dark blue and red highlights scattered across his person, mostly in his lower legs, chest and forearms. He also had a large, blue spoiler on his back and his helm was black in color, with a pair of horns sticking up either side and a forehead crest in the middle. Add an orange faceplate on top of that and one would say that this bot vaguely resembled a certain Autobot leader… and he would tell you that was no coincidence.

"Ah, Lieutenant Getaway!" One of the Autobot engineers piped up, a blue and white bot that appeared to have propellers on the back of his shoulders. "Always good to see you." he saluted.

"Indeed, Highbrow, the feeling is mutual." Getaway returned. "So, how are we looking? We still on schedule?"

"Hmhm, see for yourself." Highbrow gestured over to a nearby mech that was nearly complete, and in its cockpit sat a green and black Autobot with a tank cannon attached to his left shoulder and treads in his his arms and legs. "Hardhead, fire it up!" In his seat, Hardhead gave a salute and started up the controls, making the mech move while lifting up its arms. One arm was normal, but the other one had a huge energy cannon attached to it, and he raised it up so Getaway could see. "So, impressed?" Highbrow asked.

Getaway's optics glowed in the light of the cannon, taken by awe. "Yes… yes, I certainly am. The Autobot's first batch of working War Mechs." He reached out to touched the cannon, he was so taken by it. "This will ensure the Decepticon's defeat…" In his mind, he added; 'And my ascension to my rightful place as the next Prime…'

Little did get away know though, that he was in the crosshairs of a certain crack shot. "Just a little… bit… further…" However, just as Shadow Striker was about to have him in her sights, a loud alarm suddenly started blaring through the entire base, taking everyone, including her, off guard. "Quoi?!" She decided to go for broke and took the shot when Getaway was just a hair's off from her center… and unfortunately, she missed. She was VERY upset about that, given the sneer on her lips.

"Shadow, hold position." Skywarp ordered as he warped in through the main door. "We'll take over." And just like that, he was in, and he started firing upon all of the Autobots in the room.

…..

Across the stars, a certain other Seeker was currently stalking through the halls of the Kimia Science Colony, keeping his optics peeled as he covered the rear of his Vehicon squadron. Like Skywarp, he was near identical to Starscream save for the paintjob and pointed chin. This time, he was mostly blue with black as a secondary color, with additional red and white pinstriping on his wings. He also held a heavy pulse rifle in his hands, one that matched his color scheme pretty well.

After a few minutes of walking, however, they came upon their destination, and Thundercracker nudged his head to the room. "Alright, we're all clear on the plan?" The Vehicons all nodded to him. "Good, now get in there."

Without question, the seven Vehicons slowly crept into the room… unaware that they were being watched from on high. However, just as they made it about ten feet in… the remnants of a half-eaten fruit fell in front of them, and their weapons aimed at that immediately. …Which distracted them from the fifteen-ton metal gorilla that came leaping down at them. "GRAAAHHH!" Without wasting a second, Apelinq grabbed one of the Con's legs and flung him across the room, before grabbing another and slamming his head down into the floor while roaring again.

One of the Vehicons started firing his weapon… but was cut off when Brainstorm came swooping down and grabbed him by the neck and arm. "Sorry, punk, NOT today!" He flung the Con across the room into another one and then rolled between the final two, smacking their heads together to send them staggering to the ground. "HA! You Vehicons aren't so tough, I—" SHWOOM! "AGH!"

Brainstorm had to duck the moment he heard a VERY loud set of jet engines come blasting into the room, a Cybertronian Tetra Jet flying right over their heads and transforming up onto the upper level. Their optics widened when they saw it was a Seeker… and not just any Seeker. "Thundercracker?!" Apelinq exclaimed.

"Gentlemechs." Thundercracker nodded. "Sorry to crash the party."

"How did you find us here, Decepticon?!" Brainstorm demanded, aiming his shoulder blasters at the blue Seeker.

Thundercracker couldn't help the small smirk on his features. "Hmph, a little birdy on Centuros informed me about your stay there, brainiac. And they were smart to do so, too. Because of them, their planet will be spared Megatron's wrath… maybe. …Hopefully." He pulled out something from his hip and turned toward the main computer. "Anyway, I've got my own work to do. Take care of 'em, boys!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Apelinq went to jump after Thundercracker, but was immediately stopped when one Vehicon fired tasers from its arm, hitting him right in the back and bringing him back to the floor.

"APELINQ!" Brainstorm went to help his former protégé, but quickly found himself being assaulted with tasers as well. Before long, all six Vehicons had launched their own tasers into the two, with three taking Brainstorm while four took Apelinq.

Thundercracker meanwhile had reached the main computer and hooked up some sort of device to it, one which glowed red the moment he activated it. And unfortunately, TAI knew exactly what it was. "AH! No! Security protocols failing! Brainstorm, Apelinq! Thundercracker is extracting the Autobot agent database!"

A brief chill went through both bots, but they were quickly overwhelmed when the electric shocks became more intense. However, at that moment, a certain bot decided that she couldn't stand by any longer. "HEY!" Thundercracker raised his head up and craned it around to see Proxima, the lead scientists coming at him with her fist raised and ready to strike. "Don't you DARE do thi—" BOOM! "AUGH!" What sounded like a shot blasting through the air was actually the sound of Thundercracker's powerful thrusters, the Seeker having used them to rush past Proxima and take her off guard. With a single strike to the back of her head with his rifle, she was out cold.

"Sorry, ma'am." Thundercracker caught Proxima and laid her down on the floor gently. "Nothing personal."

"NO! PROXIMA!" Brainstorm hollered in pain.

Apelinq tried to yank himself free from one of the tasers, fearing for Proxima's safety. Just then, though… something unexpected happened. One of the Vehicons actually slipped on the half-eaten fruit on the floor, taking his taser with him and freeing one of Apelinq's arms. The metal gorilla grinned and laughed victoriously before his eyes started glowing a bright orange with powerful energy. He belted out another roar before taking the taser wires of two other Vehicons and yanking them off their feet, spinning them around in the air to knock over all the others. Before he knew it, Brainstorm was freed as well.

"Extraction at—" CRASH! "…Thirty-two percent."

"GYAH!" The two Vehicons came hurdling through a window and past Thundercracker's head, making him grumble and pop a few struts in his neck. 'Time to get my hands dirty…' He blasted down to the bottom level just as Brainstorm and Apelinq were regrouping and open-fired on them with his pulse rifle, its blue energy blasts peppering them and forcing them to step back. With a small smirk, Thundercracker aimed his weapon up and, with a press of a button, launched three pulse rockets up at a statis pod that was hanging directly above the duo. And then… WHAM!

…..

Back at the base in the Freezon sector, Skywarp wasn't having as much good luck as his brother. One of those mechs had gotten right in his way the moment he had Getaway in his sights, blocking his shot with an energy shield on its arm. He glowered up to the Autobot in the mech, but was quickly met with a hard swing from the massive arm, careening into a nearby machine back-first. "That's as far as you go, Decepticon!" Hardhead bellowed, towering above Skywarp as he readied himself to defend Getaway.

Skywarp slowly got to his feet, quickly spying Getaway on the lift. "Yeah… not likely." Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! In a split second, Skywarp transformed into his Tetra Jet mode, flying straight up to the upper catwalks. "Nightra! Rendezvous with me, we need to cut off Getaway!"

"I'm all over it!" Nightra sounded off from the control panel she was at. She was on Skywarp's tail in seconds, running over to a nearby wall to scale it to an upper level. There, she spotted her commander shooting up after Getaway, who had just exited the lift and had transformed into his own vehicle mode to… well, get away. "Oh no, you don't!" Nightra rushed over to a smaller lift, one made for moving tools and other materials, and hacked into it with her special hands, jumping up onto it as it rushed straight up. The femme reached the top level and leapt off over to the catwalk, transforming into her Cybertronian truck mode as she hit the metal.

She could see Getaway on a different catwalk a bit further ahead, and before she knew it, Skywarp had flown over to her position… and he had Autobot fliers on his tail already. "Change of plans! I have to deal with these jokers, so don't let the target get away!"

"That probably won't be easy, you know!" Nightra pointed out. "It's kind of his NAME."

"Him escaping is NOT an option!" Skywarp pressed further. "But just in case, set up an escape route incase things go south. …Though they'd better not."

"Gotcha." Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Nightra transformed into her robot mode briefly when she ran into two Autobot soldiers running up to her on the catwalk, so she decided to kill two birds with one stone. She pulled out a triangular-shaped device from her storage compartment and tossed it at them, making them stop in their tracks. The device blinked and beeped rapidly, making them thing it was about to explode… but then it didn't. At first, they laughed victoriously… but were quickly shot dead when Nightra brought out her weapon, one that resembled an Uzi, and shot them dead.

It was then that she heard; "All mechs, fire on catwalk, level three!" Nightra's head snapped down to see Hardhead aim his mech's arm up and blast a concentrated beam up at the catwalk she was running across, cutting through the metal grating with ease.

"Oh, scrap!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! She was back in vehicle mode once again as the laser cut through the grating a second time, and with her gunning the gas, she blasted off of the falling catwalk, successfully avoiding falling to her doom. "Can't get rid of me THAT easy!" The moment she turned the next corner, she was met with several Autobots aiming their guns at her, so she transformed yet again… and then disappeared in a flash of purple light.

"What?! She's gone!"

"FIND HER!"

As the Autobots scrambled to find the rogue Con, Getaway was led into his quarters, flanked by two Autobot guards. The three bots transformed and Getaway went over to his desk, leaning on it as he breathed heavily. "How… did those CONS get here?!" he snapped.

"I'm uncertain, sir, but don't worry, we'll—huh?!" But the guard was cut off when Nightra suddenly reappeared out of nowhere between him and the other bot. He went to shoot her, but she dodged, making him shoot his compatriot in the head instead. Nightra then wrenched the gun out of the bot's hand and shot HIM dead as well, before then spinning around and aiming her own weapon between Getaway's optics.

"Lieutenant Getaway." A smirk lined Nightra's features as the two stared at one another, a clear tension in the air while her finger was on the trigger. But then… she laughed and pulled her weapon back. "Ha! You have NO idea what I had to do to get make meeting happen." From outside, she could hear multiple Autobots shouting for Getaway, so she had to make this quick. "Relajate, I'm not gonna kill you. I mean… I AM the one who set off the alarm."

"Nightra, it's Skywarp." The black and purple Seeker called in over the comms. "Do you have the—"

BEEP! With a simple touch to her head, Nighta deactivated her comms, all while waltzing over to Getaway with a knowing smile. "Okay, listen, I'm here to make a friend… and to show you something I found…" She put her fingers together in the shape of a picture frame and pulled her hands back, creating a screen with an interesting picture on it.

Getaway's optics widened immediately. It was of him… and a certain Decepticon arms dealer exchanging goods. In particular, it was the very technology that was powering HIS mechs. The bot was shorter than he was and had a smarmy look to him, with his yellow and purple color scheme, black, boxy helmet and a pair of purple optics that resembled shades. Add on the toothy smirk and it was obvious that this bot was a total schemer. "H-How… where did you—"

"The Extranet is a pretty big place, amigo." The hacker said with a shrug. "You'd be surprised what you can find if you go deep enough. Anyway, that's not what's important. What IS important is that Swindle's latest customer is quite the interesting one." Nightra sauntered over and ran a hand across Getaway's shoulder. "Tell me, what would happen if the Autobots learned that one of their top lieutenants… was actually getting their tech from the enemy?" And with a wave of her hand, Nightra brought up even MORE pictures of Getaway and Swindle together, all of them from separate occasions. "Think of what that could do… for your bid to be the next Prime."

"…What do you want?" Getaway said with narrowed optics.

"One of the highest-ranking lieutenants in the Autobot ranks? Ha! I always wanted a friend like that." Nightra brought all of the images together, leaving just the first one left. "So, I was thinking, I won't let these images appear on every holo-screen in the galaxy… and you help out your new friend every now and then. What do you say?" Just then, the door started lifting as the Autobots got to work cutting through it, calling out to Getaway from the other side. "Clock's ticking… amigo."

Getaway balled his fist in rage. On the one hand, he abhorred having to work with yet ANOTHER Decepticon… but on the other, he couldn't let his reputation be tarnished. Lest his rightful place as the next Prime be put into jeopardy. "…As if I HAD a choice. Now what, friend?"

Nightra smirked victoriously, closing the distance between her and her new "friend". "I'll be in touch." She touched her finger to his faceplate with a goodbye "Boop!" before disappearing with a wave of her hand, teleporting back to where she had set up her escape route device. She reactivated her commlink and spoke into it; "Sorry, boss, my comm got knocked off-line for a cycle. …Anyway, the mission failed. Target escaped."

She heard a dissatisfied growl from the other end. "Rrmph… get back to the ship." If anything, though, Skywarp's irritation made HER all the more pleased with herself. He'd be SO fun to annoy with when they get out of here.

…..

"Apelinq! …APELINQ!"

"Mmph, ugh…" Apelinq blinked his optics as he started coming to, his head still in immense pain after… he was pretty sure the stasis pod he used as his bed had been shot down and landed on his head. CHK-CHIK! The robotic ape's vision cleared as he heard Thundercracker cock his pulse rifle, the Seeker slowly closing in on him. He glanced to his left and saw Brainstorm… still knocked out. And to his right was his experimental forcefield generator, which was just in arm's reach.

"Apelinq!" TAI screamed out for him. "The download is nearly complete! Soon Thundercracker will have the location of EVERY Autobot in this galaxy!"

Thundercracker narrowed his optics down at Apelinq and aimed his weapon at him. "I'll be sure to send 'em your regards, monkey."

And that's all it took for Apelinq to grimace right back up at him, disgusted by the term he used. "I'm NOT a monkey…" He reached for the generator and activated it, sliding it across the ground till it stopped next to Thundercracker. It started working briefly… and then the ERROR signs came up.

"…What that supposed to do something?"

Instead of answering, though, Apelinq just finished his statement. "I'm a scientist!" BAM! Apelinq covered his face as another wave of energy blasted through the room, knocking the stasis pod off of both him and Brainstorm while also sending Thundercracker flying into a wall. "Apelinq, MAXIMIZE!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! With a powerful roar, Apelinq transformed into robot mode and leapt to a nearby wall, pulling down his own personal weapon; a Tesla Cannon. With a flick of a switch, he turned it on and sent a blast of electrical energy at Thundercracker, making the Seeker writhe in pain.

"GYAAAAH!" Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! Thundercracker forced himself to transform, hoping to escape… only for things to be made worse for him. BOOM! The lightning struck into his thrusters, inadvertently activating them and sending him straight through the door. It was all he could do to stay on course long enough before going straight through a window and into the vastness of space.

Within seconds, the Vehicons all regained consciousness as well… and were met with the rather angry face of Apelinq. "AH! Retreat!" The Cons all entered their jet modes simultaneously, blasting out the same window before it sealed shut, leaving Apelinq to beat his chest in victory.

"Ugh…" But then, the mighty Maximal spun around and rushed over to Brainstorm's side, his mentor holding his head. "What in blazes happened?"

"Long story, but right now, we need to check on—"

"Extraction… ninety… percent…" The duo felt their energon run cold at the sound of TAI's voice, now beginning to slow down as the virus continued its work. Apelinq and Brainstorm quickly got to the upper level of the room and the Maximal ripped out the hacking device, crushing it in his hands. However, that didn't help matters much. "System failure… ninety-eight… percent."

Brainstorm rapidly went over to the console and began typing commands. "Hang in there, TAI!" he exclaimed… only for the screen to glitch out and then go totally black. The two bots were in utter shock. "TAI? …T-TAI?!"

After a few seconds, thankfully, TAI's logo came back up on the screen, her voice filled with relief. "Hah, virus has been quarantined. I'm running diagnostics on the core database and restoring systems now."

The duo also sighed in relief as well, all while hearing a certain voice pipe up from behind them. "Ugh, that was NOT pleasant." Proxima muttered, rubbing her helm in pain.

"Proxima!" Brainstorm went right over and held her steady on her feet. "Are you alright?"

"I believe so, sir." The lead scientist affirmed. "Just a bit of neck ache." She went over to TAI's console to join the duo, still somewhat in disbelief over what happened. "I… I'm still kind of shell-shocked by all this, to be honest."

Brainstorm nodded solemnly. "Indeed. We've had run-ins with Decepticon forces in the past, but… none of them managed to find or even infiltrate Kimia." He balled his fist and smashed it against the wall. "They must be growing more confident."

Apelinq nodded as he leaned against a nearby table. "Agreed. Our safety in space may soon come into question…"

"Ah! Oh my goodness!" TAI gasped, bringing everyone's attention right to her. "I… I just received a signal on a secure Autobot frequency!"

"WHAT?!" The trio exclaimed.

"It's originating from a solar system in a rather isolated quadrant of the Milky Way." TAI elaborated further. "Seems like it's coming from the third planet of its sun and… oh my. You… you all are going to want to hear this." TAI patched the message through… and what the three bots heard next managed to shake them to their very sparks.

"After three hundred stellar cycles of waiting, our search for the Ark can finally get underway."

A collective gasp came from the trio, knowing full well who that voice belonged to. "No… i-it couldn't be…" Apelinq stammered.

"After all this time?" Proxima questioned. "Is… is that really…"

Brainstorm couldn't help but beam beneath his faceplate. It really, truly WAS him. "Optimus Prime."

They heard the Prime continue his message, continuing to be utterly stunned by what they were hearing; "And time and patience have yielded yet another reward: a new world to call… home. We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight. But watching over them in secret. Waiting… protecting. And, with the help of our new secretive allies, this world's greatest hero, and our four young friends, we may just be able to accomplish our mission."

Apelinq couldn't help but furrow his eyeridges at that last part. "Secretive allies? World's greatest hero? What in the world does that mean?"

"Can't say. Keep listening, young bot." Brainstorm urged.

"I have witnessed their capacity for courage, as well as how great their powers truly are compared to their size. In that sense, though we are worlds apart, like us, there is more to them than meets the eye." There was a brief pause before they heard Optimus conclude his message. "I am Optimus Prime. And I send this message to any surviving Autobots taking refuge among the stars; we are here… we are waiting."

And just like that, the message cut out, leaving Brainstorm, Proxima and Apelinq all completely astonished by what they just heard. "…Please tell me this isn't a dream." Proxima muttered, her voice wavering with emotion. "Could… could this be the moment we've been waiting for?"

"Optimus Prime… is alive." Apelinq smiled. "And he's found a new world where the Ark could potentially have landed."

Brainstorm broke out into an uproarious laugh. "HAHAHA! YES! Everyone, this HAS been the moment we've been waiting for!" He snapped his head back to the screen eagerly. "TAI, can you trace that message back to its point of origin?"

"Affirmative, sir!" TAI dutifully said before running the data through her systems again. "Hm… let's see… got it!" She displayed the universal coordinates on her screen before zooming in on them, showing an image of a small, blue planet with seven large landmasses on its surface. "This is it, an organic planet in Solar System D-84. The inhabitants supposedly call it "Earth"."

Proxima's optics widened beneath her visor. "Woah… well, we're actually near that system, so that's good news. But that planet is WAY out in the boonies if that's the case. I didn't think ANY intelligent life inhabited that sector of the Milky Way."

The head of Kimia Science couldn't help but raise an eyeridge at that. "…Seriously? "Earth"? THAT'S what they call it? Might as well call it "dirt" if that's the case." However, Brainstorm then waved his hand. "Bah, who cares? Better than nothing, I suppose." He clapped his hands together and rubbed them in anticipation. "Alright people, let's get this tub turned around and head right for that planet! Prime's waiting for us and we CANNOT let him down!"

"W-Wait, Brainstorm, sir." Apelinq interrupted, bringing his mentor's attention to him. "I… I think we should help Optimus Prime's message along, don't you think?" This made Brainstorm tilt his head, so Apelinq explained. "Think about it; this "Earth" place isn't exactly in a well-placed sector of the galaxy, so who's to say that Prime's message won't reach out all that far? B-But I know that this ship can boost the signal on the secure channel well enough to reach further out." He typed in a command on the console, bringing up the Autobot recall screen. "I know it's a risk… but shouldn't it be one we're willing to take?"

"Well…" Brainstorm placed a hand to his chin in thought.

Apelinq saw his mentor's hesitation, so he decided to pull out his winning card. He reached over to the wall and pulled off the picture of him, Brainstorm, and their respective teacher, handing it to him. "Do you remember the mantra that Quark lived by? The one he passed onto us so long ago?"

With a heavy spark at the memory resurfacing, Brainstorm took up the picture in his hand, his optics zooming in on the teacher he so highly respected. "…Don't accept the universe as it appears to be. Dare to see it… for what it could be." He took a deep intake of air and sighed heavily, nodding to Apelinq affirmably. "Right. Let's do it."

Apelinq and Proxima broke out into beaming smiles before the former pressed the "Y" button on the recall option, sending out Optimus' message out across the universe with a MASSIVE boost to it. The galaxy-wide map reappeared and, all at once, several Autobot signals came popping up on it, making all of them smile widely from lobe to lobe. "Establishing Autobot connections." TAI happily proclaimed.

Apelinq couldn't help the warm feeling in his spark as he watched several Autobot's names go by… including several of his old teammates. Drift, Landmine, Nautica, Minerva, Wild Wheel, Skids… and then the names stopped scrolling once they got to a certain face. It was a female Autobot with light yellow metallic features, but her lips were painted a striking orange color. Her helm was sterling silver, with parts of it painted brown and extending down past her cheeks and over her chin like a strap. The top was adorned with a prominent, yellow head crest that was sweapt back toward the rear of her helm, almost as if it were being blown through the wind. She also wore a playful smirk in her photo, and had a pair of orange aviator goggles over her blue optics. And before he knew it, Apelinq was graced with her voice as she called in.

"Apelinq? Is that you, luv?" Flare-Up piped up, her cockney accent reverberating through the room. "Haha! It's been too long!"

"Yes, Flare, hmhm… yes it has." Apelinq affirmed.

"By the Well of All Sparks, Flare-Up!" Brainstorm exclaimed.

Proxima smiled and laced her fingers together. "Is that really you, dear? Oh, it's so good to hear your voice after all this time!"

On the other end, the femme named Flare-Up gave a breathy laugh, still trying to comprehend that this was all happening. "Brianstorm?! Proxima?! You're there too? …Wait a tick, I just looked at what I'm contactin'. How the bloody pit am I callin' the City of Kimia?"

"Hehe, that you are, Flare-Up." Brainstorm confirmed. "Though it's not exactly a city anymore. Turns out you never know you're living on a Titan until you accidentally discover one of its most important components!" He tapped the side of his head. "Thankfully, yours truly had the know-how to rejigger that massive T-Cog so that Kimia could take on a starship form. Been bouncing around the galaxy ever since."

"…Brain, you never cease to amaze, ya know that?"

Apelinq approached the console, honestly a bit confused. "I'm actually a little surprised we didn't ever come across you, Flare-Up."

"Well, you know me. Always on the move!" Flare-Up said cheerfully. "Can never stay in one place for too long… though by the sounds of things, that might have to change." Her voice could only be described as "bubbly" as she giggled with glee. "Heehee! Can you believe it? Optimus Prime is BACK!"

With a single nod, Apelinq laughed along with her. "Haha, yes, it's pretty unbelievable. You've got the coordinates of that planet, right?"

"Sure do! An' it looks like I'm actually pretty close to that solar system! I've been tailin' a small Decepticon ship that I saw headed in that direction, so hopefully I can get there before IT does."

That got everyone's attention very quickly. "Was it a BIG ship?" Proxima asked.

"Not really, looked like it could only seat one." Flare-Up replied. "But believe me, I'm gonna make sure I run as fast as I can to get to that little planet. An' when I get there, I'll be sure to let Prime an' the others know that you blokes're on the way!"

"Much appreciated, Flare-Up. Safe journey." Brainstorm saluted.

Apelinq grinned one last time before signing off. "See you soon, Flare."

"Hmhm, right back at ya, big guy. Flare-Up out. Cheers!"

And with that, the transmission was cut, leaving the three to gather their thoughts. "Hah, well… I suppose we have some work to do, don't we?" Brianstorm asked, with Apelinq and Proxima both nodding back to him. "Well then… let's get this tub moved around and headed to Earth!" He reached up and activated his commlink. "Railspike, this is Brainstorm. Hope you and the rest of Team Bullet Train got that message, because we need to make a U-turn, STAT!"

…..

Back across the galaxy, Getaway was fuming in his office over what had just happened. Several Autobots were now dead… and for what? Just so that some Decepticon hacker could blackmail him?! But that wasn't even what irked him. No, rather, one of the highest-ranked Seekers had been among her infiltration team, more than likely the one in charge. This was bad. Not only would be the Autobots under his command be at an all-time morale low, but with all the damage the Cons caused, this whole attack could've set them back by MEGACYCLES.

Getaway's hands clenched his table, his frustration growing by the second. But then… BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The lieutenant's head snapped up at the sound of his computer going off, perplexing him greatly. He reached up and typed a command into the holographic interface… and a message came up. One that he had not expected to ever hear.

"After three hundred stellar cycles of waiting, our search for the Ark can finally get underway." It was him. It was truly him. There was no mistaking his voice for anyone else's that was, without question, Optimus Prime.

'…Damn.' Getaway thought to himself. 'There goes easy street to be the next Prime.' However, the more he listened to Optimus' message, the more Getaway became intrigued. A new planet? With powerful beings that were aiding the team of Autobots that were there? 'Hm… how interesting. Wonder if these beings can take Decepticons in a fight?' By the time the message ended, Getaway was left with two things; coordinates to the planet that Prime was on… and a whole slew of cheering engineers, scientists and soldiers that he could hear outside his door. It was obvious then that they had all heard Prime's message, and to this, Getaway could only shrug.

"Well, at least their morale is back after that disastrous Decepticon attack." He stood up and went to gaze out his window, seeing all of his men celebrating in their own way. "Good, maybe THIS is the kind of boost they need. We might've suffered quite a few setbacks today, but if we get back to work, we may be able to finish at least a platoon-full of these mechs soon." He set his sights up toward the sky outside. "Optimus Prime, I welcome you back with open arms. But… when I win this war for you, I hope you will be quick to recognize ME as the next true Prime…"

…..

"Zat was a DISASTER!" Nightra rolled her optics as Shadow Striker sneered down at her, the Decepticon sniper clearly upset after that failed mission. The two of them, along with Skywarp, were currently flying through space at hyperspeed, headed to their rendezvous point where they'd pick up the rest of their squad. Though at the moment, Shadow Striker didn't care about that. "How in ze world could you have let him escape?! He was directly in your sights!"

"Hey, his NAME is GETAWAY, remember?" the hacker argued back. "His whole thing is that he's an escape artist. Honestly, it doesn't surprise me that he got outta there as quick as possible." However, it was then that Nightra put on a small smirk. "…You sure that you're NOT the one who's sore here, chica? The way you worded that as "had him in your sights" makes it sounds like you're beating YOURSELF up more than anything."

Shadow Striker's sneer turned into a full-on grimace and her hands balled up in rage. "Why you insolent, little—"

The femme was about to backhand her cohort, but then… ZWOM! From out of thin air, Skywarp appeared, holding his hands up between the two. "ENOUGH! You ladies need to slow the frag down and cease your pointless arguing." He glared at both of them to assert his authority. "What's done is done. We can't change the outcome of our mission, no matter who caused what. All we can do is move on with the next mission."

"Skywarp's right. All this arguing isn't getting us anywhere, mija." Nightra agreed endearingly. "Besides, with all the damage we did to that facility, those Autobots are gonna spend megacycles getting everything back online, hehe." All she got in response from Shadow Striker was a growl and a huff, the sniper crossing her arms in disgust. Nightra just rolled her optics right back. "So, boss, I assume we're at the rendezvous?"

"Yep. Thundercracker should be getting back any—" BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! "What the—what now?!"

The two femmes were a bit confused by the alarm as well… until they set their optics out the front window of the ship. And their features contorted in panic at the sight of a certain Seeker uncontrollably blasting right toward them. "…Merde." Shadow Striker rushed toward the pilot's seat and jerked the controls around, turning the craft around before Nightra opened up the rear hatch.

"GAH! What are you two—" CRASH! "GRAAAH!" Within seconds, Skywarp was slammed into by Thundercracker, the latter's booster engines finally being cut off after the collision.

Whrr-tschzz-tschzz-tschzz-chk! "Ugh… that didn't go well." Thundercracker rubbed his head, dazed and confused at what was going on… for all of five seconds before he was shoved right to the floor. "Augh! H-Hey, what's your—oh." The blue seeker cut himself off when he saw his brother glaring down at him, his optic twitching. "Skywarp, I… s-sorry about that."

"Sorry? What the pit were you even DOING?!" The two Seekers stood up as the rest of Thundercracker's Vehicon squadron entered the small transport ship as well. "Hurtling through space like an out-of-control meteor?!"

Thundercracker's circuits finally cleared up a bit and he grit his metal teeth as the memory came back. "Those damned Autobots… they managed to beat us back."

"…You let… a bunch of NERDS beat you?!"

"They had an APE MAXIMAL!" Thundercracker argued. "With a lightning gun!"

Skywarp facepalmed as Nightra gave a shrug. "Well, at least we're not the ONLY ones who failed their mission, eh?"

The blue Seeker didn't take too kindly to that. "Oh, so YOU failed your mission and your giving ME grief, Skywarp?! What the frag is that all about, huh?!"

"Because now we've ALL failed, Thundercracker!" Skywarp emphasized. "If we want to take down these Autobot settlements, then we CANNOT afford to lose to them!"

As they argued, a small blip sounded off from the ship's communicator, catching Shadow Striker's attention. "Ah… ahem?" she called back.

Thundercracker got right up in Skywarp's face and poked at his chest. "Well, now who's fault is that? Oh, I know, IT'S YOURS! If you had just gone with MY plan of having us ALL infiltrate the ship full of "nerds" like I suggested, maybe we wouldn't BE in this situation!"

The bickering continued on in an undiscernible jumble of shouting as Shadow Striker rolled her optic, getting up to head back and literally knock their heads together. "ENOUGH! You are BOTH imbeciles!" she derided as the two Seekers heads spun. "However, I believe zat our fruitless endeavors may yet be corrected." Skywarp and Thundercracker collected themselves and eyed Shadow Striker curiously. "For you see, we have just intercepted a transmission from deep space… and ze both of you may be interested in where it came from…"

The Seeker duo, along with Nightra, followed Shadow Striker up to the cockpit before she hit a single button, letting the transmission through. "Skywarp, Thundercracker! Do you copy?!"

"Ah!" The brothers gasped simultaneously. "S… Starscream?" Thundercracker asked.

"Haha! Excellent! My transmission got through." Starscream laughed. "Brothers! It's so good to hear your voices again."

Immediately, Skywarp was suspiscious. Starscream never said anything like that to them unless he needed something. "What do you want, Starscream? We're not in the best of moods right now after our latest mission failure."

"Hm… I see. In a bit of a slump, are we?" Starscream asked. "Well then, do I have good news for you! I have come across a planet where a small battalion of ten Autobots have been stations. My team and I have been stationed here for several solar cycles already, but we find ourselves outmatched." They could practically hear the air commander's insidious smirk as he spoke. "But… if we were to combine our forces, then I think that we'd immediately have a clear advantage over these Autobots."

Everyone glanced to one another before Nightra spoke up. "Wait… YOUR crew, the one with the high-ranking officers, the Shifter spy and the munitions expert… is having problems with ten Autobots?"

"Agreed." Shadow Striker nodded. "With a team ze size of yours, surely zey cannot be zat…"

"Optimus Prime is with them." A stunned silence overtook the four Decepticons at the news. Optimus Prime… was alive? After a few seconds, Starscream continued. "Yes, now you understand why they have been such a thorn in our sides lately. Makeshift has already been eliminated by a new Autobot arrival, so we need all the additional hands we can get on this one. So, what do you say? Are you in or out?"

There was another short silence throughout the ship as the four Cons eyed one another again, thinking it over in their heads. However, with knowing smiles, they all reached the same conclusion. Bringing down Optimus Prime? It would be what put them on the map as Decepticon war heroes. "Heh, alright Screamer, we're in." Skywarp accepted.

"Just give us your coordinates and we'll be there as soon as—" SCHOOWOM! Just then, a bright green glow started shining from out in the middle of space, and in front of their ship, a large SpaceBridge had appeared. "…Uh, never mind." Thundercracker shrugged.

"I suggest you all come through the bridge as soon as possible. We cannot keep this open for very long. I will be waiting for you on the other side." With that, the transmission was cut and the four Decpticons took their seats, with Shadow Striker gunning the ship directly into the vortex. Within moments, they emerged on the other side… in a heavily wooded area on what appeared to be an organic planet. However, they could also see the Darksyde directly in front of them, so it had to have been the right place. They brought their small ship down for a landing and the back hatch opened up, allowing the four and their Vehicons to step out… and be met immediately by Starscream and Swift.

The latter placed her hands on her hips as Skywarp, Thundercracker, Shadow Striker and Nightra all came their way. "Well, well, look what the techno-cat dragged in." Swift winked toward the other femmes, earning her a set of grins from them as well.

Skywarp eyed the forest in revulsion. "Ugh, THIS is where the Autobots are hiding out? It's disgusting."

"It's no Cybertronian colony, I'll say that much." Thundercracker agreed as he broke off a tree branch. "Pretty frail, too."

"Believe me, it's much, MUCH worse than what's on the surface." Starscream assured before raising his arms in greeting. "My brothers! And fellow Decepticons! Welcome one and all." He gave a theatrical bow and an insidious grin. "Feel free to make yourselves at home on the Darksyde. I have a feeling we'll be working with one another for quite a while."

…..

Back in space, after having cleaned up the whole mess from the attempted intrusion, Brainstorm found himself back in his office. The head of Kimia Science had been going over what he wanted to say to his ship's passengers and inhabitants for about an hour at that point, and now, thankfully, he had gotten all his thoughts put together. This would probably be the biggest address he did so far… that wasn't pre-recorded. He went over to his desk, sat down, and reached over to activate the inter-comm.

"Greetings, test subjects, scientists, and colonists, Brainstorm here. As you are no doubt aware by now, not too long ago, we came under siege by an attempted Decepticon incursion. But don't worry, thanks to yours truly, my top students and my lead scientist, we were able to repel the Cons back into space." He laced his fingers together as he continued. "However, following this, it became apparent that we are no longer as safe as we once were. For the first time in over three-hundred stellar-cycles, we've found ourselves vulnerable to the Decepticon threat."

He paused for a moment to let that sink in before delivering the good news. "Now, before you all ask, it's not all doom and gloom. Because pretty much immediately after, we received a message from deep space that seems to be our salvation." He couldn't help but smile beneath his faceplate as he said these next words; "Start believing whatever rumors you've heard, people, because Optimus Prime IS alive, and he's sent us a message from a planet out in the middle of nowhere telling us to come and meet him there. Now, I don't know about you, but that sounds like a pretty good deal to me, so we're turning this big lady around and we're headed right for this "Earth" place."

He pointed a stern finger to the intercom as he finished his message. "Now, I expect testing and other related happenings to continue on the way there, but when we arrive, be prepared to make our normal landing. Science doesn't wait for no one, people, now let's get back to work! Brainstorm, we're done here."

…..

A/N: Well, that was quite the sequence of events, huh? Seems like Skywarp and Thundercracker aren't exactly much luck at the moment either. But will joining up with Screamer's crew work out to help them ALL step up their game? Well, we'll just have to wait and see. But with that said, we just got a sneak peek at a WHOLE bunch of characters that'll be important going forward, wether that be in the immediate future or a bit further on, so let's take a moment to go over their bios, shall we? Since they'll obviously be the more important ones here soon, let's take a gander at the Cons first…

First up, we have Thundercracker. Personally speaking, he is by far my FAVORITE Seeker, and not just because he's blue. But because he's one of the only Decepticons who actually sort of has a conscience. He recognizes that a lot of what the Decepticons are doing isn't exactly his speed, but he keeps telling himself to trust what Megatron has in mind for the future… though if evidence from a certain other continuity is anything to go by, his mindset COULD change given the right circumstances. I chose Roger Craig Smith as his voice because I wanted him to sound more sympathetic and less evil than his brothers.

And now, Skywarp. I'm gonna level with ya, this chapter pretty much was a big reference to Overwatch. I know that the game isn't as relevant in this day and age, but with the sequel FINALLY looking to gear up, I wanted to pay tribute to something I spent a LOT of time on back in the day. Skywarp is a combination of his canon self (a certified prankster who likes pushing people down stairs) and Reaper, which is why I cast Keith Ferguson in this role. Given how Reaper's ghosting and Skywarp's teleportation are kinda similar, I'd say it fits really well.

Of course, then we get to the two other femmes. You can thank Shadow Striker's TFWiki page for her now sporting a French accent, but other than that, she's pretty much exactly how you remember her from Cyberverse; vengeful, sadistic, and a weapon's expert. Only here, I also made her a sniper. I mean, with that telescopic eye, how could she NOT be, right? And of course, she is now voiced by Chloe Hollings, a.k.a. Widowmaker.

And finally, we've heard her name a few times before, but here we have this story's version of Nightra! Indeed, she's not as dead as Strongarm thought! Still a troublemaker like her RID2015 counterpart, but here, she's also a bit of a hacker who may be playing at a bigger game than anyone thinks. Still, she's with the Decepticons, so you know she's gonna be a big asset. And indeed, she is voice here by Carolina Ravassa, also known as Sombra.

Alright, now that we've covered the Cons, let's go over the Bots… and we start with an unsavory Autobot at that. Now, it'll still be quite some time before Getaway really gets into the spotlight, but just know that he and his squad will always be working in the background, building their mech army to try and measure up to the Decepticon's brand of firepower. Of course, though, his intentions aren't exactly what you'd call "good" by Autobot standards. Seems like someone's letting his resemblance to Optimus Prime go to his head. Delusions of grandeur are kind of Getaway's thing… as well as being a bit of a scumbag, though even he won't admit that. Oh, and he's been dealing with Swindle, too. Not good. Haven't come up with a voice for him yet, though, so feel free to make some suggestions for this aft-shaft.

Moving on to someone who HASN'T let his resemblance to Optimus go to his head, it's Apelinq! Man, I'm REALLY pulling out the obscure character book for this one! For those who don't know, Apelinq is a BotCon exclusive character who was repainted from the Transmetal Optimus Primal toy. And thusly, he is the FIRST Maximal that we've seen in this story! But he is indeed a scientist, but one who hasn't really been fleshed out all that much outside of convention exclusive comics. And that… is where HIS voice comes in. Crispin Freeman, A.K.A. Winston! What can I say? If I had a nickel for every time I've seen a scientist gorilla in media, I'd have two nickels… which isn't much, but it's weird that it happened twice.

Next up, we have Proxima! And heh, if you thought Apelinq was obscure, Proxima's probably even more so. But you know what? I love her design so much, and I just want more female Transformers in general, so she is an easy in. But of course, she also doesn't have much of a character, though apparently, she's a cinematographer, which is neat. With that said… I've cast Ellen McCain in her role. And given that, I think you know what's coming next…

BRAINSTORM! BEST character in More than Meets the Eye, DO NOT AT ME! The dude is a genius and he KNOWS it and I LOVE him for it. Also, in the case of casting, again, blame his IDW TFWiki page. Not my fault someone littered it with all those Cave Johnson quotes, but honestly? It just works! I can easily see Brainstorm with J.K. Simmons' voice, so for this story, I just straight up gave it to him. He's an awesome character who deserves to be voiced by an awesome actor, and I cannot WAIT until he brings his massive ship to Earth. You can bet that we're gonna see a LOT of tests, hehehe…

Of course, we also saw teases for several other Autobots as well, most prominently Flare-Up, her and Apelinq's squad, The other Headmasters, and of course… Team Bullet Train. But we're gonna save them for another day. Don't want to overload you guys with bios, ya know?

And now, THE PREVIEW! With the two Seekers and their squad now on Earth, we check back in with our main group of Autobots and our favorite group of students as Springer settles in. But the team is put on high alert once Red Alert deciphers the first set of coordinates for one of the Iacon relics. What will the team find? Well, for one thing… a whole heap of trouble. Next time; Team Bonding. Springer shows off a cool trick while the students get used to having Mini-Cons around the base! Thanks for reading everyone, and I'll see you all next time! Stay safe out there, and remember;

GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!