Prologue
It was a normal weekend at Outpost Omega One. Jack and Arcee went out for a drive, Miko was working out with Bulkhead (who was recovering from his injuries), Bumblebee was watching Raf and Ratchet sort out some software issues, and Optimus was busy decoding the Iacon database. Today was pleasantly quiet, other than Bulkhead's slow recovery, today was a good day.
That was until Optimus' attention was drawn to an incoming message from a very unhappy Agent Fowler.
"Prime!" Fowler's voice sounded like a loud bang coming from the speakers. Despite Agent Fowler's angry tone, Optimus answered calm as ever.
"What is it, Agent Fowler?" He asked, turning his attention to the screen.
"I thought we actually had an agreement this time! No collateral damage! Right!?" Optimus remembered his first encounter with Dreadwing. At the time, he could safely say all his troops were accounted for. But now he worried that Jack and Arcee may have gotten themselves into trouble.
"Yes, Agent Fowler, that is what we agreed to." Optimus reluctantly replied.
"Then WHY in the Sam Hill did one of you make off with a C-RAM!?"
Now, this left the entire room flooded with confusion.
"What's a C-RAM?" Miko asked from the floor, where an exhausted Bulkhead was sitting.
"Counter-Rocket Artillery Mortar. It's an automated gatling turret made to shoot down what's listed in its name." Raf replied from the catwalk next to Ratchet.
"That's right!" Agent Fowler resumed. "Now, if I'm not mistaken, you already have plenty of guns. So, why is it missing!?"
"Agent Fowler, I can assure you that we had nothing to do with the weapons disappearance. But, may I ask why you believe we are responsible for it?" Optimus asked.
"Because of this!" Fowler displayed an image on screen which showed a Cybertronian clearly tampering with the missing C-RAM. "One of our boys at Nellis took this just before the bot ran off. But, the quality in the detail here is too low for us to tell who it is. I was hoping you could at least tell me if he's a 'Con or 'Bot." Immediately upon seeing the image, Optimus' worry for Arcee and Jack quickly went away, as the one depicted here was clearly not Arcee. "Well? Who is it!?"
The bot in the photo had blocky arms and legs, like Wheeljacks. The photo was taken at night, which made any attempt to see the colour of his body a waste of time. There was a large gatling gun slung over his back; it faced directly at the ground to make room for the two massive turbofan jet engines hanging over the back of his shoulders. "This is not one of ours, Agent Fowler. Neither does he appear similar to any of the Decepticons present on earth." Optimus replied.
"The heat is on me to provide an explanation, Prime! Find out who did this, or it'll be on me to blow 40 million for a new gun!" With that, Fowler ended the call.
"40 million? How is Agent Fowler supposed to pay for that?" Raf asked.
"He isn't," Ratchet said. "As it is, it's on us to save Fowler from crippling debt."
