Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Pandimala: Holy slag, you are alive!

Authoress: *rolls eyes* I kept people updated on my profile. Not my fault you couldn't be bothered to read it.

Panidmala: *glares* Frag off.

Authoress: *smirks* Are you sure you want that?

Chapter 5: Rising Threat

Paul's 1st P.O.V.

I felt tense. While the mission to retrieve the five had been successful, and I was grateful for that, that mission also proved that MECH's forces had infiltrated Unit E. Not only that, but they were already trying to get access to the others. And their leader was not someone to take lightly. Prometheus Black. The CEO of Biotech had been pretty popular as a military contractor. Anything to do with technology, he was their go-to guy. When I created my company here twenty stellars ago, I had come in swinging. I was outbidding the man in all of his contracts. He had sent numerous assassins and hitmen to try and take me out. However, they had been no match.

When Lizzie and I arrived in the dimension, Prometheus had gone underground, and I had blocked him from my mind. I had bigger things to worry about. It turned out that he had become one of Silas' supporters and was one of the companies that supplied his efforts. What I hadn't realized was just how close Silas and Prometheus were. With Prometheus in such a position, I was sure that he would come for me again. Now, he had even more resources to try and hurt me.

I shook my head out of those thoughts as General Bryce motioned to me. "Paul, you have to know something about Prometheus' movements, given your company is a rival to his. Will he try and take the five back by force?"

"Yes, he will. The man will plan it out, move us all just how he wants us to, and then attack. Given that they could turn the five of them, we should assume they will start using the procedure on their troops."

The General's eyes widened at my answer. "He could have an army that outnumbers ours in months."

Prowl shook his helm. "I don't think so, General." The mech then motioned to himself. "We cannot assume that our enemy is foolish; building that army for himself would be just that. Records from MECH prove that when Silas was turned into the monster he was, he took out a sizeable portion of their support. Prometheus wouldn't risk that sort of uprising again. So, he would only create a few."

"Even if he created a way to control those he turns," Soundwave continued, showing a display on his screen. "The main control relay for that control system would not be able to support many chips. The computing power he would need to control even thirty soldiers would be more than Earth can provide. Perhaps if he were on a mechano-based planet, he could create such an army."

"Exactly," I agreed with the mech. "We would need to worry about the few he would create for special operations. Infiltrations, assassinations, and other chaos that a handful of bots could cause us. Soundwave already has the other intelligence bots working with the saboteurs that came with us to prepare our defenses for any such infiltration from somebot their size." I then paused and glanced at the General. "What we need from you is a plan to beef up defenses on the human side. You would have to trust the men or women you pick for this assignment, given the reason for this meeting in the first place."

As Bryce seemed to mull over my words, I took a moment to return to my previous thoughts. Prometheus would come for me. And, if he hadn't already learned of my return here, it would only take a small amount of time for him to. And it would also be best to assume that he would learn of my godly nature. Given the complex that the human seemed to show, that would put me right in Prometheus' sights. However, the man was smart. He would realize it would be difficult to come after me directly once he learned of my godly side.

Thankfully, we hadn't mentioned Pandimala's past too much since our return, and given the information we got from the recovery mission, we knew he didn't know about her past…yet. Once he learned that his great accomplishment here had already been accomplished, Pandimala would be in danger. He would want to get at her. More than the others, even. I'd have Soundwave inform everyone to keep her past between us only. And I'd have to talk to Bryce later about making sure those who knew from before were given a gag order on the information.

The longer we could keep that from the man, the safer she would be.

"What were the opinions of the different squads after the last mission?" I focused again as General Bryce asked that.

Glances were shared between Prowl and Soundwave before the Autobot spoke. "Inconclusive for the most part. Surprisingly enough, the only squad fully cleared was Team Sigma." Right, because Thundercracker had been suspicious of them from the start. At least, that was what Pandimala said. "The bots watching Team Theta reported unusual behavior from a few of the squad's humans. Outside of them, though, there is nothing conclusive. We will let General Bryce and his troops work on that angle more for now. Our job will be keeping up our patrols here at the base and keeping our audios and optics open."

That sounded like the end of this meeting, so I nodded and started to make my way to the door. "That sounds like a plan. I'm going to go and check on the families. They are getting anxious about seeing the others. However, until we are sure they can completely control themselves, those meetings will have to wait." However, I felt worried as I let the door shut behind me. I wasn't sure how Prometheus would play his hand. He could use the families against the five, and if he tried that, we had to be ready to protect them. While they might not realize it, the families were vulnerable. I'd have to get with Prowl and Soundwave later to get protection details for them.

Knockout's 1st P.O.V.

"Alright, everybot, you know why we are here," I told the gathered medics. "We need to review what we discovered the other night with the five." We should have had this meeting that same night, but given all that happened, we had pushed it back to now. While we had all seen the reports we made, details were always left out for various reasons. Given the trauma those five had just gone through, there was bound to be some information not on the record.

Joe nodded and pulled out a data pad. "Miko is going to be a servo-full. Between her weapons and mods, she will need intense training. On the positive side, though, she seems willing to train." He then hesitated for a nano before he let out a vent. "She wasn't too happy to hear about Bulkhead supporting Prime, though."

"I don't blame her," Pandimala said, "I was shocked when you all said they agreed to keep Paul locked up. Honestly, I still find it hard to believe at times. He was a rock during a lot of difficult times during the fighting."

When we were staying at Darkmount, Pandimala had been so confused about Prime and Bumblebee choosing to side with the Council. I figured it was due to the newness of the Council. Prime needed to show those returning to Cybertron that our new ruling Council cooperated with those who fought on Earth, heroes, and vice versa. The Council had done their side when they allowed us to have our village, as reluctant as they were. From rumors I heard, they used that agreement to strongarm Prime into agreeing to lock up Paul.

Maybe he thought that it would only be temporary. It didn't excuse Prime, but that was the only way I saw this madness making sense. But I hadn't been able to ask the mech. When I tried to set up meetings between us, those secretaries always said he was loaded down with meetings.

I always thought that was slag, but I couldn't say much. The Council didn't like us as it was, and for a previous Decepticon to start trouble with some secretaries wouldn't be good.

So, for now, we were in the dark about why Prime was doing this. Maybe we would find out the answer one solar?

When Prime agreed to imprison Paul, there was a noticeable split in the Autobots. Those here with us were some of the most vocal against this decision. There were others on Cybertron, Blaster being one of those, who were on our side but keeping low profiles to keep an optic on everything around us. Then, there were those like old Ratchet. I never saw the old mech look so fired up. From what I heard, the old medic barged into a meeting between the Council and Prime to demand that they release Paul, that they had no right to lock him up like that. They tried to arrest the old mech, but he responded by socking that fragger Dragstrip right in the faceplate.

When he refused to apologize, the Council banished the mech from Cybertron. Last I heard, the mech was staying on one of the Autobot strategic planets, Acetamin Beta. Rumors said there were a bunch of outlier Autobots on that planet.

Shaking my helm, I brought out my report on Fowler. "Fowler is doing fine, all things considered. Given his military background, I shouldn't be too surprised he is taking everything in stride. He seemed only to struggle when I got too technical in describing his new systems. As long as his training isn't too complicated, I don't see him having problems with it. That electrical mod of his will be interesting to see in action."

I honestly thought it would be funny if the mech ever ran into 'Screamer out in the cosmos and gave the cowardly seeker a taste.

"If only we were that lucky." I smiled as Pandimala said that over our bond. I guess I was projecting my thoughts more than I thought I was.

"Don't worry, dear, that slagger will get what is coming to him one way or another."

She smiled but didn't say anything as she took out her datapad. "Raf is doing better than he was when he first woke up. But, he is going to struggle for a little. While I know he will be considered a fresh adult frame, he was still a young kid in human terms. This situation is going to be overwhelming. Add in the information about Bumblebee supporting Prime, and Raf will need our time and patience. If he seems hesitant about anything, give him time." She then scrolled down her datapad some. "And that includes his systems. Don't overwhelm him with information about what he can do. I've already given him basic explanations about what he can do, including his symbiote ports. Unless he asks for more, make sure all of his trainers know this as well. We can't push him."

The guilt almost radiated off my femme, let alone what she was letting through the bond. "'Mala, we'll make sure to be careful," I comforted her.

In return, she gave me a nod and focused as Red Alert gave her report. "June Darby seems to be ready to move forward with her training. I imagine she is helped by her past profession as a human medic as she took most of what I was saying in stride. Her mods will make giving her specialized training as a medic easy. The medical grade emp will be especially potent with the proper training." Red Alert then paused after she scrolled down her report. "Her creation, on the other servo, is going to be a problem training."

While her initial report said she had difficulties with Jack Darby, she hadn't written down any specifics. "What happened?" Joe asked.

She let out a vent before she motioned to her notes. "While he has recovered well physically, and his mods are well enough for a typical bot, Jackson seems to have biased opinions about those around him. That is mainly in regards to the Decepticons currently on the planet. He has made it clear that he will not cooperate with trainers who are Decepticons. And while he hasn't said so, I feel that he will also have similar reactions to any neutrals among us. Given his size, having a regular rotation of trainers who can help him will be pressing."

Slag it all; that mech had to make things difficult. While I understood the previous human would struggle to adjust to his new species, as they all would, the fact that he was the only one who was showing to have this problem spoke to different influences than his transformation. Springer was the only Autobot around the mech's size, and he couldn't be the only one training the mech. Some of the other Autobots would be able to help train him, but not efficiently enough for the mech to fully grow as he would need to.

"That will have to be a problem we'll return to later." Pandimala let out with a vent. "For his beginning training, some of the other Autobots should be able to assist him. For any combat training, the mech will either have to suck up his insecurities and allow us neutrals and Decepticons to work with him, or he will just fall behind the others. We can't force him to do this, but that doesn't mean we have to push ourselves either."

"Hey 'Mala," We all glanced at Joe as he spoke. "How combat-ready are we going to train them?"

Pandimala let out a vent, and I felt her frustration over our bond. "Unfortunately, we will have to give them serious combat training. Between Cybertron, outliers like Starscream, MECH, and other problems the galaxy could stir up, we would be negligent to deny them that training. This is another reason Jack's stubbornness is going to cause problems. The Decepticons would have the best experience to help him train, yet we know he won't accept it." She then shook her helm. "For now, we work with them in the best way we can. Basic training for the first seven solars and checkups at the end of each solar for them. We will stay assigned to who we were before to help prevent any issues." My femme then glanced at us all. "Is there anything else that needs to be brought up?"

We all shook our helms as Red Alert vocalized our answer. "No, I believe that is all. We should get in contact with each of their trainers to make sure that they are ready for the struggles ahead."

Fanzone's 1st P.O.V.

I didn't like this. There were people here, at this base, who were working with those monsters. It didn't take a genius to realize why our squads were picked for this mission. They were looking for MECH infiltrators, and just from my squad, I knew they had suspicions about them. But, my squad was clean, as insane as they all made me at times. But that didn't change the fact that the other squads were still risks. The higher-ups believed that one of them, at the least, was feeding information to the enemy. It didn't sit right with me.

Of course, thinking back to the retrieval mission, some moments with the other teams caused me to hesitate. After we joined up with Team Theta, there were times when some of them were unaccounted for. It wasn't my business to investigate the teams, but it was something I brought up with command during my after-action report. That had been a high-risk operation, and for them to go off independently was irregular at best. Lafayette usually ran his troops better than that.

The stakes were even higher with the gag order we were under. Command didn't want the enemy to learn about Muskogee's godly nature for as long as they could help it, and they definitely didn't want them getting information on Pandimala. When I first learned that she had once been human, I didn't believe it. Obviously, it was possible, given the results of our raid, but I hadn't believed it when she first told my team. Since her transformation had been before MECH did this, they would want to learn how her transformation occurred once they heard of it.

"Deep in thought, human?" I glanced up and saw that Thundercracker was walking up to me.

Given that we were the only ones in this area, I shrugged. "Not much else to do right now. With everything going on with your lot, we are on standby. Got to say, though, that mission was strange."

He raised an optic ridge at my response. "So, you noticed something off as well." The mech then sat down and shook his helm. "They weren't ready for us, and that hasn't settled right."

Wait, what was he getting at? "What do you mean?"

The mech shook his helm. "They have been aware of our existence for some time, from what reports say. Even if they believed we had left the planet, not being prepared for some sort of involvement from us seems sloppy. That is especially for a group who, before, thrived on being cautious and rarely letting information slip. They had forty-eight cycles to learn of our arrival, yet they didn't have defenses against us."

"I didn't think about that," I admitted. "I saw that some of the people on the other teams were taking liberties that they knew wouldn't be acceptable on a mission like this. Even my team knew what was at stake and what needed to be done. I reported what happened to command, at least what I noticed, but it is still strange."

The look in his optics hardened. "I hadn't noticed that. Honestly, I was more concerned with keeping an optic on your team."

While it was obvious from the beginning that he was hesitant about us, it was jarring hearing him say that so bluntly. "Not holding anything back there, huh?"

"There's no point in doing so," Thundercracker shot back. "I'm not sure if you knew this, but Skywarp and I have a third brother. Starscream."

"I've heard his name in reports, but I didn't realize he was related to you," I answered honestly.

The mech nodded. "He fell into disgrace that tarnished our honor and loyalty—betrayed any and every being he could if he felt it would benefit him. I'm ashamed to admit it took us longer than it should have to confront him. Instead of listening to us, he disowned Skywarp and me and tried to offline us. Skywarp barely got me out of that situation online." He then shook his helm. "I swore that solar, I would never allow myself to be betrayed like that again. When we were assigned to your team, I read their personnel files and shared my concerns with them to Pandimala. While she did not seem as worried about them, she allowed me to keep an optic on you. It was to allow me to satisfy my worries. So, I did. I feel no shame in that, and so I don't feel shame in telling you that."

As he told me that, I remembered more from the reports and remembered more about the mech. With what happened to him, I didn't blame Thundercracker for being suspicious of my team. "No hard feelings, regardless."

Thundercracker smirked. "Same. I'll tell the others about your suspicions and see if the bots with those other teams noticed anything. The solars ahead will be difficult for all of us, for different reasons. The sooner we can route out these infestations, the sooner we can focus on other important matters." He then stood back up. "If anybot asks, I went to the training field you all have set up for us."

"If they ask, I'll let them know," I responded before we parted ways. However, as I moved away from him, I thought about his worry. He was right. The defenses that they had set up were negligible at best. And MECH, while a lot of things, was not that careless. Either we had an ally on the inside, or someone in MECH was trying to cause Black trouble. Next time I had a report, I'd bring it to the General.

General Bryce's 1st P.O.V.

"How the hell did Fowler not become an alcoholic after being their liaison for so long?" I asked the god in front of me as I stared at the bottle of whiskey I sat on the desk.

Even thinking of talking to a god, in general, was a belief that I hadn't been ready for. Between everything that had happened since the Cybertronians had made contact with our planet, that seemed to be the one revelation that I still found unbelievable. And that was taking into account that their arrival confirmed that aliens were real.

Speaking of the god, Paul let out a laugh as he poured himself a small glass. "He's a stronger being than I ever thought he could be. The amount of chaos that influences this planet alone makes life a miracle that should be celebrated. Yet, dealing with the chaos that affects life here is not easy. There are times here where even I feel its presence influencing me, and I'm the god of Order."

Shaking my head, I poured myself a glass and took a sip. "The fact that gods are real; I never thought it would be proven." Wait…were they all real? "Are there more out there, or are you and Unicron the only two?"

He took a sip before he shook his head. "No, there are hundreds of deities out there. Earth is an oddity in the sheer number of deities present on one planet. Most planets have only one."

If he was willing to tell me about them, he might as well get a lesson. "And how does that work? Gods out in the cosmos?"

Paul stared at his glass for a second before he set it down. "Let's start by saying that gods on Earth evolved much differently than the rest of the known universe. The gods here rule over elements and ideas, holding significant power, yet aren't more known among your people." He then seemed to get a far-off look in his eyes. "To the rest of the universe, religion has the same beginning. In the beginning, there was one being. From that being split two forces: Order and Chaos."

"You and Unicron."

"Correct," he agreed. "When we had our first major fight, the energies we expelled gave shape to other beings across the cosmos that would hold the same title. Gods. Any other planet you may visit understands that gods are created with order and chaos in their bodies or chassis. Those who hold more order influence are known as order-centric. In turn, those deities with more chaos influence are known as chaos-centric. To an extent, their powers give control over their subjects, and they can pull from the chaos and order that surrounds us all to increase their own power." He then smirked. "However, none are like those deities here on Earth. Watching as your gods control the forces of nature and laws of existence is something to behold. My brother certainly didn't hold back in letting his energies flow here." The god then took another drink. "I believe, overall, that has been for the best. The sheer amount of chaos energy has kept other entities away from Earth."

When a worried look crossed Paul's face, I knew I should be worried too. From the reports we received from Fowler, Unicron's influence has greatly diminished recently. If that energy had kept certain forces away from Earth, could that mean what I thought it did? "How soon should we expect trouble?" I'd have to report to my higher-ups about the possibility of more aliens coming to Earth, not all with good intentions.

"I'd hold off on any report yet," Paul cautioned, though I could hear hesitation in his voice. "The largest political force in the galaxies, the Galactic Alliance, has been struggling lately. Reports indicate that the in-fighting between the member planets has grown, and each planet seems to struggle with internal issues. With them in such a state of disarray, smaller powers won't risk causing intergalactic issues. Approaching a planet that has been isolated from the rest of life in the galaxies on a large scale would be political suicide. Now, you may see small ships of ambassadors come here, hoping for an alliance or political asylum."

"Any beings close to our planet who are a part of this Alliance?" Getting ahead on the intergalactic political stage would put us in a better place in the years to come. We could broaden our horizons if I could figure out which ones were close enough to feasibly travel to.

However, Paul's hesitant look told me that I was missing something. "There are a few, but I would be extremely cautious in trying to make political connections with them…with any planet, to be honest, without a Cybertronian with you."

"Do you think that we can't handle ourselves?" I had known Paul long enough to know that he wasn't trying to be insensitive, but he was sounding like we couldn't take care of ourselves.

"It's not Earth I'm worried about in that situation," Paul said as he took another sip. "For almost the entire universe, fifty stellars…fifty years old is the age of reason." Fifty? Honestly, at that age, most humans wouldn't be shocked to die. It was young to die but not unheard of by any stretch. And that was their age of reason? "While humans have evolved on other planets, and some who have been accidentally taken from this world have helped those populations, they haven't been able to convince the universe that you all mature at a much faster rate than the rest of existence. If you have a Cybertronian with you, they will at least realize that the Cybertronian is vouching for your statements." He then let out a huff. "Trust me, it has been one of my worries since we arrived. Pandimala and the five others are in a difficult position. If the universe were to discover their actual ages, it could make existence difficult for them."

It sounded like most of the universe was full of morons. I wouldn't say that out loud, but it was a thought I would keep until some being changed my mind. "Then I guess it is a good thing you all are here. If something pops up, you all can bail us out."

In return, Paul smirked, "True, and having one of the pinnacle gods among you will only work further in your favor." He then let his smirk fall into a small smile. "But, for now, we should be alright. Our main priorities must be getting those five trained and taking care of MECH. I wouldn't worry about galactic politics until they force us to worry about them."

That was fair. We had enough problems here to worry about without thinking about that. So, I put a little more alcohol into each of our glasses. "Then, let's figure out how to move our investigations along."

Pandimala: *glances at Authoress lying down* Are you okay?

Authoress: *nods* I've had some back pain lately, but it is slowly going away.

Pandimala: *nods* Good. I can't afford you to be out.

Authoress: *confused* Why?

Pandimala: *smirks* Reasons. *walks away*

AN: And here is the long-awaited next chapter! I'm sorry for the wait, but the transfer of stories to AO3 took much longer than I thought it would. But, for now, I am done transferring stories. Those that I have not transferred yet will get transferred once I fix what I want in their storylines.

But enough about that; you are here for this story! I had so much fun writing that part with Fanzone and Thundercracker. Honestly, I had a lot more fun than I thought I would. Every being is one edge, and they are worried about more than just MECH. Galactic interference could be a possibility, but Paul isn't worried about that right now.

Speaking of that, though, I want to say something. This collection of stories (the Power set, the Resolve set, the Valor set, and any future set in this group) have overlapping incidents. If the Pandimala of one universe is not present to stop a certain event from happening, then that unfortunate (or fortunate) event has a chance of happening and making that Pandimala live with the results. Power Pandimala, since she is on Earth, has not been interfering on the galactic stage as Resolve Pandimala has been. Of course, Valor Pandimala is changing all sorts of things since she is in the past. But, there are going to be changes that will be noticeable between the three stories. Another one I want to put you all onto is their interactions with MECH. While that won't be seen for a while with Valor Pandimala, both Power and Resolve have interacted with MECH in their own ways, and those ways have consequences, both good and bad.

And that is one last thing I want to point out to you all. Sometimes, events will take time to build in my stories. Certain points won't make sense until I am further in the story and certain influences start to come into play. Events on Cybertron during this story, for example, will more likely than not be seen by you all during this story. However, events are happening behind the scenes that will be hinted at. Once Cybertron tracks the refugees down and makes their move, however, answers will come. I promise you that.

Well, that's all for now. Take from that, as you will. Also, go ahead and take a peek at the names of the next chapters!

Chapter 6: Lessons

Chapter 7: Reflections

Chapter 8: (find out next time!)

Thank you all again so much for reading my works. I do appreciate each of you. Until next we meet, however, TTYL! *listening to Tell Me Ma by Sham Rock*