A/N: *Insert witty "still alive" quote here.
Now, before I go any further, I should lay down what each first-season character sounds like (will contain spoilers as to what's coming, though several of these characters will debut this chapter):
AUTOBOTS
Optimus Prime: Peter Cullen
Ironhide: Peter Cullen
Jazz: Scatman Crothers
Prowl: Michael Bell
Wheeljack: Chris Latta
Ratchet: Don Messick
Trailbreaker: Frank Welker
Sideswipe: Michael Bell
Sunstreaker: Corey Burton
Mirage: Frank Welker
Bluestreak: Casey Kasem
Hound: Ken Sansom
Skids: Sylvester McCoy as the Seventh Doctor
Grapple: Peter Renaday
Hauler: The USA Dozer in Command & Conquer: Generals
Tracks: Michael McConnohie
Road Rage: Jane Lynch
Hoist: Michael Chain
Inferno: Walker Edmiston
Red Alert: Michael Chain
Smokescreen: Jack Angel
Clamp Down: Jackcepticeye
Deep Cover: Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade
Cordon: A typical rookie cop
Tigertrack: Joe Exotic (because I can)
Crosscut: Henry Kissinger (get it, because they're both diplomats?)
Bumblebee: Dan Gilvezan
Hornet: Wendee Lee with a tomboyish voice
Cliffjumper: Casey Kasem
Gears: Don Messick
Brawn: Corey Burton
Windcharger: John Stephenson
Huffer: John Stephenson
Bumper: Justin Briner as Izuku Midoriya
Powerglide: Michael Chain
Cosmos: Michael McConnohie
Beachcomber: Alan Oppenheimer
Warpath: Alan Oppenheimer
Seapsray: Alan Oppenheimer
Glyph: Shelby Lindley as Mugi Kotobuki
Tap-Out: John Cena
Cromar: Tom Cruise as Maverick
Zetar: A typical coal miner
Aragon: A hotshot racecar driver
Camshaft: A paranoid spy
Downshift: An excitable security agent
Overdrive: J. Michael Tatum as Erwin Smith
Blaster: Buster Jones
Eject: silent (but still READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL!)
Rewind: Townsend Coleman
Steeljaw: A lion
Ramhorn: John Hostetter
Dile: KaiserNeko as Future Trunks
Saur: Remix as Kami
Legout: Frank Welker as Runt
Graphy: Lanipator as Vegeta
Noise: Takahata1010 as Nappa
Decibel: A guy yelling through a megaphone
Grand Slam: silent
Raindance: silent
Nightstalker: Frank Welker (creature sounds)
Rosanna: Cassandra Lee Morris as Ritsu Tainaka
Flip Sides: Christine Marie Cabanos as Azusa Nakano
Stripes: Tiger sounds
Sundor: Gilbert Gottfried as Iago
Perceptor: Paul Eiding
Roadbuster: Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo
Whirl: Trevor Philips
Grimlock: Gregg Berger
Slag: Neil Ross
Sludge: Frank Welker
Snarl: Hal Rayle
Swoop: Michael Bell
Jetfire: Gregg Berger
Omega Supreme: Jack Angel
Ultra Magnus: Robert Stack
Kup: Lionel Stander
Hot Rod: Judd Nelson
Delta Magnus: Elsie Lovelock
Mainframe: Billy West as Professor Farnsworth
Autotroopers: Any voice you can imagine
DECEPTICONS
Megatron: Frank Welker
Starscream: Steve Blum
Thundercracker: John Stephenson
Skywarp: Frank Welker
Sunstorm: Frank Welker as Ralph the Security Guard
Hotlink: Mel Brooks
Bitstream: A condescending hacker
Nacelle: Dan Gilvezan (based on the Decepticon that says "Autobots! Stop Them!" in the first episode of the G1 cartoon)
Ramjet: Jack Angel
Thrust: Ed Gilbert
Dirge: Bud Davis
Soundwave: Frank Welker
Rumble: Frank Welker
Frenzy: Frank Welker
Ravage: Frank Welker (creature sounds)
Laserbeak: Chris Latta (creature sounds)
Buzzsaw: Chris Latta (creature sounds)
Ratbat: A fusspot
Slugfest: Stegosaurus sounds from Jurassic World Evolution
Overkill: Ceratosaurus sounds from Jurassic World Evolution
Squawktalk: An angry parrot
Beastbox: An angry gorilla
Squawkbox: Freddie Mercury
Glit: Hugh Laurie as Dr. House
Garboil: Chris Latta (creature sounds)
Howlback: Cristina Valenzuela as Mio Akiyama (if she was constantly angry instead of a coward)
Wingthing: A cruel torturer
Enemy: Frank Welker
Reflector (Spectro is silent, a whiny teen for Spyglass, and Chris Latta for Viewfinder)
Shockwave: Corey Burton
Astrotrain: Jack Angel
Blitzwing: Ed Gilbert
Constructicons
Scrapper: Michael Bell
Bonecrusher: Neil Ross
Scavenger: Don Messick
Mixmaster: Frank Welker
Hook: Neil Ross
Long Haul: Gregg Berger
Devastator: Arthur Burghardt
Kiloton: John Wayne
Dialman: An overworked security guard
Pulse: A guy on a perpetual sugar high
Treadshot: Clint Eastwood as the Man with No Name
Kickback: Clive Revill
Shrapnel: Hal Rayle
Bombshell: Michael Bell
Chop Shop: Robin Atkin Downes as Brynjolf from Skyrim
Barrage: Jack Angel
Venom: Matt Frewer as Panic from Disney's Hercules
Ransack: A guy who just doesn't care
Seekers: Whatever voice you want
Tanks: Again, whatever voice you want
HUMANS
Spike Witwicky: Corey Burton
Sparkplug Witwicky: Chris Latta
Chip Chase: Michael Horton
Carly Spencer: Arlene Banas
Ronald Reagan: What do you think?
So, there you go. What each character introduced this season sounds like. Finally, don't read into the interactions between Megatron and Starscream. There is NOTHING homoerotic going on, and this is NOT a Megatron x Starscream fic. I'm serious.
Finally, if you are reading this after July 5, 2023, this is the second edition of this chapter. The first chapter had several grammatical errors, and made Road Rage look too emotionally vulnerable.
Now, to get this chapter started.
TRANSFORMERS: THE GREAT WAR
Episode 2: More Than Meets The Eye, Part 2
The first rays of the morning sun peeked through the towering Redwoods. All was peaceful as diurnal animals woke up and nocturnal animals went to sleep. A soft breeze made the branches move a little, but otherwise, the forest was looking at another typical day.
That is, until loud hammering echoed througout the forest. A day after awakening from stasis, the Decepticons were now beginning construction on their new underground base. Most of the work was being done by Soundwave's minions, and they complained ENDLESSLY.
"Man, why do WE have to do all the grunt work?" whined Rumble.
"Man, you said it, brother." agreed Frenzy, "This is work for the Seekers!"
"Hey, you two!" snapped a voice. It was Enemy, who had the same body-type as Rumble and Frenzy, but was red-and-blue instead of either/or. "Get back to work or I'll tell Megatron that you're questioning his orders!"
Not wanting to incur Megatron's wrath, the two quickly and quietly resumed welding. Nearby, Starscream was helping Beastbox and Howlback assemble the main command center. Beasbox was lowering a computer terminal into place while Starscream and Howlback guided it into position.
"Keep going...keep going...aaaaaaand, down!" With the terminal in place, Starscream began welding it into place, a job that was done in minutes.
"A fine piece of work, Starscream." He turned to find Megatron had walked up, and was smiling with approval. "Nice to see at least ONE SEEKER WORKING!" He looked over at Thundercracker and Skywarp, who were just standing around barking orders at the Mini-Cassettes.
"Oh, were you talking to us?" Skywarp absentmindedly asked. Megatron just growled in frustration and glared at them.
"GET TO WORK, YOU TWO!" he barked, pointing his Fusion Cannon at them. That was enough to get them carrying newly-refined materials to where they were needed. Megatron put his cannon down and sighed.
"This hasn't been going as smoothly as I expected." he said sadly.
"It's times like this I wished the Constructicons were here." added Starscream.
"Ah, yes." agreed Megatron, "If anyone could build this base in a day, it's Scrapper and his boys. But...I guess we'll just have to make do."
"If you'll not be needing me, Beastbox and Howlback are ready to begin installing the next terminal."
"I actually do need you, Starscream. Reflector can handle that job, CAN YOU?!"
Reflector was in the corner, also standing around barking orders.
"Stop telling me what to do, Megatron!" whined Spyglass.
"DO AS HE COMMANDS!" shouted Starscream, pointing a null-ray at them, "OR YOU'LL BE PART OF THE WALLS OF THIS BASE BY THE TIME IT'S DONE!"
In fear, Reflector's three components walked over to start helping Beastbox and Howlback. Megatron chuckled.
"Now THAT was a good display of authority, Starscream!"
"Well, I did learn from the best. Painfully."
It was really a sign that they had put their past behind them when Megatron and Starscream could laugh it off.
"Anyway," continued Starscream, "what did you need me for?"
"Ah, right. Well, once all of the materials are inside, I want you, Thundercracker, and Skywarp to reconnoiter the area, see exactly where we are and who, if anyone, may be the dominant species."
"Very good, Megatron. If it makes things go faster, I'll help those two bookends bring the materials down."
"Good thinking. Sooner we get this base up and running, sooner we can start thinking about military operations. And perhaps contacting Cybertron, if possible."
Starscream then set to work bringing the materials down. Thundercracker and Skywarp barely carried anything, leaving Starscream to do most of the heavy-lifting. He didn't complain, though, but he eventually got on the other two Seekers.
"I don't see Megatron helping!" sassed Skywarp.
"Megatron is supervising the operation." replied Starscream sternly, "Without a supervisor, nothing gets done. Either that, or fools like you bungle everything up! NOW MOVE!"
"Geez, sorry I asked..." Thundercracker said nothing. He felt it best not to say anything and keep his head down as much as possible.
At last, all of the refined materials were in the base. Soundwave set to work refining the materials with the help of Rumble's piledrivers and Overkill's stomping.
"Well, that's finally done." said Starscream, and he turned to his two subordinates, "Now, I think you two will like this next task. Megatron wants the three of us to reconnoiter the surrounding area and search for any signs of civilization."
"Finally, some flying!" Skywarp exclaimed excitedly.
"Better safe than sorry, I guess." said Thundercracker, "If there are any sapients on this planet, it wouldn't hurt to get a feel for the terrain."
"Exactly what I was thinking, Thundercracker."
Ascending to the top, the three Seekers transformed into their alt-modes.
"Let's fly!" called Starscream. And with a loud roar, they were up and away.
MEANWHILE...
Back at the Ark, the Autobots were conducting further work to get their new base up and running. Everywhere you looked, there was a flurry of activity.
"Now, be careful, Sunstreaker!" called Huffer. He was overseeing an operation involving lowering a steel beam with a crane. "Don't lower it too quickly!"
"Relax, Huffer! I'm a qualified crane operator!"
"No, you're not." called his brother Sideswipe.
"Sideswipe!" Gears and Windcharger, who were helping with the operation, could only laugh.
"Dont get distracted, you too!" exclaimed Huffer, "That beam needs to be guided into place!"
"Oh, lighten up, Huffer!" said Windcharger, "We're all just trying to cope with being far from home."
"Yeah, well, cope on your own time. This job needs to be done before the Decepticons find out we're back online!"
While Huffer was fussing over everything and anything, Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Ratchet were looking in a section of the Ark nobody had been in since they were repaired. This was the armory, which had taken a good portion of the attack.
"Get a light on." said Prowl, "There may be survivors in here."
Ratchet turned on the light on his head usually used for procedures, and began looking around. Autobots and Decepticons were strewn about.
"Most of these Autobots are dead." said Ratchet gravely. Then, he saw a three Autobots that didn't have any holes in them. He walked up, and began scanning them.
"Any luck, Ratchet?" asked Optimus Prime.
"We have three live ones!" exclaimed Ratchet excitedly, "They're in stasis lock, but I think Teletraan I can bring them back online and give them new bodies in the process!"
Optimus looked at the Autobots in question. "These...these are rare breed of Mini-Con. The most common name for this type is...Kronoform. Bring them to Teletraan I."
Arriving back at the bridge, Ratchet and Prowl laid the three Kronoforms down, and Optimus pushed a button to activate Teletraan I.
"TELETRAAN I ONLINE. AWAITING INPUT."
Looking at the options, Optimus pushed the button on the touchscreen that said "REPAIR". It then brought up more options. He clicked on "CYBERTRONIAN DIAGNOSTICS", which brought up even more options.
"Ugh, this OS was always confusing." Optimus grumbled. "What was this called, Vista?"
"That's the option you want right there." said Ratchet, pointing to the option that said "BEGIN DIAGNOSTICS".
"Ah, I see-OH, VECTOR SIGMA! The blasted thing froze!"
The screen had gone all white, and the cursor was now a spinning pinwheel. Optimus, Ratchet, and Prowl sighed.
"Who's our IT guy?" asked Prowl.
"It WOULD be Perceptor," said Ratchet, "but he's still M.I.A."
"Well, who else is qualified to diagnose this issue?"
"Only others I can think of are Blaster, Brainstorm, Mainframe, and any one of the Technobots, but Mainframe was on Cybertron when we left, Brainstorm's been missing since the Rust Plague forced us to destroy the Space Bridge network, Blaster was aboard the Ark before the crash, and who knows where Scattershot and his boys are?"
"Need some IT?" said a voice. All three turned to see Wheeljack.
"You know how to fix an Autobot military computer running the Vista operating system?" asked Prowl.
"Do I know—you're talking to the guy who made the prototype for that model!"
"I keep forgetting he's the only reason we were able to have computers at all..." muttered Ratchet, remembering when Megatron unleashed an EMP missile on Iacon and fried every computer in the city. They would've lost the war there and then had Wheeljack not been crazy-prepared and made new computer terminals hardened against any type of EMP.
"So, what seems to be the problem?"
"We were trying to get these Kronoform Mini-Cons repaired when the computer completely froze." said Optimus. Wheeljack looked at the screen, which was still completely white and showing a spinning pinwheel.
"Yeah, this'll happen when the OS hasn't been updated in a while."
"But," said Prowl, "we can't! Those come from Cybertron, and Cybertron's too far to send us any signals without a Space Bridge!"
"Prowl, the Teletraan Network can't function unless the main servers on Cybertron are active. Tell me: is the Teletraan Network active?"
"But...if the network is online...then-"
"Then Ultra Magnus still functions." Optimus finished, impressively. Every Autobot in audioreceptorshot stopped what they were doing.
"If Ultra Magnus lives, then Cybertron is still there, too."
"Then we gotta make contact!" exclaimed Ironhide.
"As soon as this error is cleared up and the Kronoforms are repaired, that will be our first priority."
Soon, Wheeljack had downloaded the update, the first one made to the Vista operating system in six million stellar cycles.
In no time at all, Wheeljack had had the computer put right again, and started the repair sequence.
"REPAIR. REPAIR."
In seconds, the three Kronoforms were repaired. Now, Kronoforms are an interesting breed of Mini-Con. Technically considered Triple Changers, they transform into either vehicles or some innocuous object, the latter achieved via mass-shifting. The first Kronoform, Autoceptor, now transformed into a Chevrolet Camaro and a five-function wristwatch. The second, Deceptor (yes, that's his real name) also transformed into a five-function wristwatch, but instead of a car, he transformed into a jet with a robotic bird-head. The final one, Kaltor, didn't transform into a vehicle, but he did transform into a calculator.
As with most Mini-Cons who weren't Deployers/Mini-Cassettes, none of them were able to speak.
After getting their bearings, the three Kronoforms set to work helping to get the base up and running.
"NOW we can contact Cybertron." said Optimus. He touched the "TELECOMMUNICATIONS" option, and selected "IACON COMMAND CENTER".
"Here goes nothing..."
MEANWHILE...
Iacon Command Center was in a tizzy. Somebody had downloaded the newest patch made for the Vista OS, though the update renamed it to Autobot System 7, a much more stable OS than the disastrous Vista.
Just as Ultra Magnus was about to quiet everyone down, they quieted themselves when the words "INCOMING TRANSMISSION" appeared on the big board. Ultra Magnus slowly turned, and walked apprehensively to the terminal to receive the call.
"Put it through, Hubcap." he said, his voice a bit shaky.
"Y-yes, sir."
After a few seconds, Magnus saw a face on the screen he thought he'd never see again.
"Optimus Prime?!" he exclaimed.
"Ultra Magnus! Old friend!" Optimus exclaimed happily, "So Cybertron still endures..."
"Optimus, we thought you and the Ark were destroyed by the Decepticons!"
"Not at all! We entered the atmosphere of a continental-class planet and planted in the side of a volcano. Most aboard perished, but a sizable portion of us were on the bridge and were knocked into stasis lock. We were repaired and awoken just yesterday, in fact."
"We repaired the server four stellar cycles ago, so it must have taken the Sky Spy satellite that long to scan alternate modes on that planet! Mainframe was finally able to put System 7 out, and then just a few cycles ago, somebody downloaded the update!"
"That was us, Ultra Magnus. We were trying to repair a trio of Kronoform Mini-Cons, but the computer froze up, and Wheeljack rebooted it and updated it to...wait, System 7?! That project's been stalled since before the war!"
"Mainframe was slowly working on it on a closed network since the war largely ended. Speaking of which, what became of the Decepticons?"
"Some of them were on the bridge when we crashed, and were most likely repaired first. And the worst part is that Megatron was one of them. We can only assume they are at large."
"Then...you won't be returning to Cybertron anytime soon?"
"The planet is still in shutdown, I believe."
"It is, but we've been able to repair some of the solar farms and even build a few new ones. There hasn't been any report of Dark Energon in Iacon for 2.6 million stellar cycles."
"Even so, the planet we're on is rich in life and resources, and inhabited by a primitive-yet-rapidly-advancing society of hairless bipeds who have advanced far enough to create vast transportation and telecommunications networks, and seem to have a basic grasp of space travel, given that we spotted a very small space station and countless satellites, each with very rudimentary intelligence. If the Decepticons are out there-"
"No need to say more, Prime. But, if you need any help, our astronomers did some investigations, and we believe the planet you described isn't too far from Cybertron."
"Can you describe the surrounding system?"
"One is a terrestrial planet that appears to be entirely red. The other is a gas giant with a large red spot."
"...Cybertron and...this planet are in the same star system. Home is closer than I thought."
"Keep doing what you've been doing, Prime. We've got Cybertron under control. As long as we're here, Shockwave won't dare come near Iacon."
"Very good, old friend. Till All Are One."
"Till All Are One."
With that, the transmission ended. Everyone in the Ark had seen the call, and a newfound sense of ease washed over them.
Ultra Magnus was alive. And so was Cybertron. Kind of.
MEANWHILE...
It had been several mega-cycles since they had taken to the sky, and already, Starscream, Thundercracker, and Skywarp had collected a wealth of information on the surrounding area. Their surroundings were mountainous and forested, and teeming with sub-sapient life.
"No real threats so far." said Skywarp.
"There's bound to be something..." cautioned Thundercracker.
"Hey...what's that?" Starscream was referring to a location off to the northwest.
"It's...civilization!" exclaimed Thundercracker.
"Let's trash it!" cried Skywarp.
"NO!" barked Starscream, "Our mission is reconnaissance, not mindless mayhem!"
"Aw, you're no fun!"
"The time to attack will come. But it will be on Megatron's orders, not mine or yours."
"What happened to ya, Screamer? It used to be 'I, the great Starscream' this and 'Megatron has fallen, I'm the new leader' that! Now you've become a suck-up!"
"Not a suck-up, Skywarp. Enlightened. That knock into the wall I got from Shockwave's experiment set my logic circuits right."
"Well, that explains everything." admitted Skywarp.
"It really does." agreed Thundercracker, "I mean, spending a thousand stellar-cycles cooped up aboard a space station would make my logic circuits go haywire, too."
"And that's exactly what happened, Thundercracker. Now, let's go see what that built-up area is over there."
The three Seekers banked left towards civilization. To them, it was a built-up area, but to us, it's Eureka, California. Their new alt-modes came in very handy at disguising their presence to the humans on the ground.
MEANWHILE...
He could do nothing but stare at his food. It was his favorite dish from his favorite restaurant, but he just couldn't eat.
It had been a day since the funeral. His mother had been killed by a man who was jealous that she had married the man he bullied in high school, and decided that, if he couldn't have her, no one could. The details of the murder are too gruesome to be described here.
"Hey, Spike?" A voice shook him from his thoughts.
"Huh?"
"You haven't touched your food since it came."
"I-I know."
He put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey...I miss her, too, kiddo. At least the man who killed her will soon be burning in Hell." He was of course referring to his bully, whose name he couldn't bear to speak. All of a sudden, Spike perked up.
"Hey...what's that noise?"
He and his father, Sparkplug, looked up at the sky and saw three F-15 fighters flying over.
"Ah, probably just another patrol from Beale." remarked Sparkplug, "Wouldn't worry about it unless the sirens started going off."
His mind sufficiently taken off his mother, Spike began eating.
MEANWHILE...
It was now afternoon at the Ark. Much of the work had been completed, and the new base, Outpost Alpha, was 98% operational. There was just one part that hadn't been accessed yet, and it was sealed.
"So, how do we get through?" asked Mirage.
"Stand back!" said Brawn, "I've got this!" And he pulled a demo charge out of his subspace pocket on his waist.
"Oh, here we go..." whined Huffer, "It'll take ages to repair that door!"
"You got any better ideas, Huffer?" asked Sideswipe.
"We'll...we'll use Prowl's—no, acid will do more damage. Oh! What about...no, glass gas will damage whatever's on the other side. We could...oh, that's right, Cromar's drill can't get through that, and who knows what became of Twin Twist...I've got nothing."
"If you're done whining, Huffer," huffed Brawn, "you'd do well to get clear. The charge is hot."
Everyone stepped back, ready for the blast.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" called Brawn. And the charge went off, blasting a clean hole in the door.
"That...went better than I thought it would." Huffer remarked. He hated to admit it, but he always liked being pleasantly surprised.
With the door gone, the Autobots entered into this unknown section, which was nothing more than a small room. What was important was its contents.
Immediately, Mirage tripped on something and fell. Getting up and dusting himself off, he turned on his light to find...
"Topspin and Twin Twist..."
It was indeed the two Autobot Jumpstarters, named so because they literally jumped and flipped into robot mode. Ratchet began scanning them both to see if they were in stasis lock.
"Well, Ratchet?" asked Optimus Prime.
"...they're dead, Prime."
Every Autobot hung their heads in sadness. But this was tempered by the other discovery.
"Oh, Primus! Look at that!"
Everyone shined their lights in the direction of Bumblebee's voice. There, on the wall...was a Vector Sigma Conduit. This conduit is capable of creating sparks out of thin air, a late-war innovation to make up for fact spark hot spots had stopped appearing, nothing was coming out of the Well of AllSparks, and there was a severe shortage of sparks that had been created by Nova Prime for cold construction.
"Even in the shadow of death..." Optimus mused, "new life shines."
At that moment, Trailbreaker ran in. "I've picked up an escape pod signal two kliks to the west!"
"Well," said Optimus, "I guess our first mission begins now. Before that, though, Jazz, have you finished compiling the list of crew members positively confirmed as missing?"
"Got it right here, Prime." replied Jazz, holding up a touchpad, "The confirmed missing are: Tracks, Grapple, Smokescreen, Red Alert, Hoist, Inferno, Powerglide, Cosmos, Beachcomber, Seaspray, Warpath, Glyph, Tap-Out, Road Rage, Crosscut, Skids, Roadbuster, Whirl, Blaster and his Deployers, Perceptor, Clamp Down, Deep Cover, Cordon, Tigertrack, Hauler, and Jetfire. And I just marked Topspin and Twin Twist as deceased..."
"Really could use Jetfire right about now..." moaned Cliffjumper.
"I hope she's okay..." sighed Bumblebee, referring to Glyph, who was his Conjunx Endura (the Cybertronian term for "married couple"). Hornet put a comforting hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. Optimus kneeled down in front of Bumblebee.
"She may be in the pod near here." He stood up and turned. "Jazz, assemble a team to investigate and recover the pod. I'm coming along. Seems my new form came with a trailer that opens up into a Combat Deck, and also has a drone named Roller. We can use it to carry the pod back."
A few minutes later, all of the Autobots were assembled outside the Ark, waiting (and hoping) for their name to be called by Jazz.
"Ironhide!"
Ironhide transformed into his new altmode for the first time, a Nissan Sunny-Vanette Coach SGL.
"Ratchet!"
Ratchet also transformed for the first time since awakening. His mode was identical to Ironhide's, though he was clearly an ambulance, even having the Red Cross on his side.
"Sideswipe! Sunstreaker!"
The brothers transformed into their new forms, both being the Lamborghini Countach LP500S (Sunstreaker had an exposed rear engine block).
"Trailbreaker!"
Having expected his name to be called so he could lead the team to the pod, Trailbreaker transformed into a Toyota 4WD Hi-Lux Camper.
"Bumblebee! Hornet!"
Of all the Autobots, only Bumblebee and Hornet had transformed since awakening.
"Brawn!"
His new form was a Suzuki Jimny SJ20.
"Huffer!"
Huffer's new form wasn't any specific model. Teletraan I had scanned multiple terminal tractors during the Sky Spy's four-year global trek, and had combined the best elements of each to create the perfect "yard mule".
"Rest of you, keep to your patrol patterns and complete the last of the construction work!"
The rest of the Autobots nodded in compliance. While the team was gone, Prowl had command.
Optimus Prime stepped forward to transform into his new form. It was a White Freightliner WFT-8664T cab-over semi.
"Autobots, transform and roll out!"
And with a deafening roar, the Autobot search team drove off as the rest cheered. The search for the missing Autobots had begun!
HALF AN HOUR LATER...
"Signal's coming from this direction." announced Trailbreaker, "Another vun or so."
The Autobot team followed Trailbreaker single-file so as to cover their numbers and make it look like it was just a ranger's vehicle that came through here.
At last... "Eureka! We've found it!" The team all transformed at once, and their eyes widened. The signal had indeed come from an object ejected from the Ark, but it wasn't what they were expecting.
"That's no pod..." mused Huffer, "it's a shuttle."
"Too big to be a shuttle." said Sunstreaker, dismissively.
"No, it's a shuttle." said Optimus. "Upon reaching a suitable planet, we would have used shuttles like these to go down to the surface and create a colony, while the Ark would be converted and expanded into a space station. There were four such shuttles aboard the Ark, and the slots they were in would have been expansion ports."
"So much hard work gone to waste..." moaned Huffer.
"So, what do we do now?" asked Hornet.
"We'll have to take it back to base." answered Optimus. "Brawn, Huffer, you two will have to carry it. It's too big to fit inside my trailer."
The trip back to base was uneventful aside from Huffer's constant complaining about the shuttle's weight. Soon enough, they were pulling inside.
"Gain way!" called Prowl as the shuttle was brought in. Every Autobot not with the team looked in awe. Optimus Prime held up a hand to speak.
"We left in search of an escape pod, and got more than we bargained for. We'll need everyone's help to get the Autobots aboard this shuttle acquainted with the situation."
"That's assuming any of them are salvageable!" said Gears.
"Judging by the condition we found it in," countered Sideswipe, "I'd say it came in at an angle. The crash was probably hard enough to put them in stasis lock."
"Only one way to find out." said Optimus. "So...how to get in?"
"Not with one of Brawn's detpacks, that's for sure!" exclaimed Huffer, "That could've damaged the Vector Sigma Conduit!"
"But it didn't, did it?" retorted Brawn.
"I say we cut through with a blowtorch." suggested Overdrive. "After all, we're probably just gonna cut this thing up for materials, so why worry about how much we damage it?"
"Lucky my new form has a laser scalpel!" beamed Ratchet, "This thing can double as a blowtorch!"
The crowd parted to let Ratchet walk up to the shuttle, his right hand disappearing into his arm and being replaced by the laser scalpel. Immediately, he set to work cutting the door on the port side open. Ten minutes later, the door fell off and landed on the floor with a loud thud.
"I'm in!" Ratchet exclaimed.
"Let's just hope there's no more doors to open today..." quipped Mirage.
Shining a light inside, Ratchet quickly discovered that the shuttle was indeed occupied. He began taking a headcount, eventually getting a clear picture of what they were dealing with.
"Ten Autobots inside!" he called, holding up all of his fingers, "We'll need to cut the cockpit section off to get them out!"
Wielding handheld blowtorches, Hound and Windcharger had the front-end of the shuttle completely cut off, ready for recycling. Placing a metal plate down to act as a ramp, the extraction began. Cliffjumper and Bumper were the first up.
"Ready?" asked Cliffjumper.
"Ready!" replied Bumper.
"Right, one, two, lift!"
The first Autobot to come out looked like Sideswipe's Cybertronian form, but with police colors.
"That'd be Clamp Down, leader of the Autotroopers." announced Jazz, as he marked him "FOUND" on his touchpad.
Next, Wheeljack and Ironhide brought the second Autobot out. He had the same shape as Clamp Down, but more black.
"There's Deep Cover, police sergeant." Jazz marked him "FOUND" as well.
Hound and Mirage came out with the third Autobot. He, too, had the same shape as Clamp Down and Deep Cover, but he was all-yellow.
"Tigertrack, game warden drafted into the Autobot military."
Fourth was a black-and-white Autobot who shared Sunstreaker's Cybertronian form. Sideswipe and Bluestreak brought him out.
"Police reservist Cordon." announced Jazz.
Next up was a boxy-looking Autobot carried out by Prowl and Ratchet.
"I was wondering where Skids disappeared to." Skids was a theoretician at Iacon University.
Sixth up was an Autobot similar to Skids.
"I can't get a grip on him!" Huffer whined. "He's too angular!"
"Oh, stop your whinging!" replied Brawn, "Put him down right here." And he and Huffer set the Autobot down next to the others.
"If Crosscut is still functioning, we could really use him for smoothing things over with this planet's nation-states."
Now it was Trailbreaker and Gears' turn. Their Autobot was red and sleek.
"Hoo, boy. How are we gonna break it to Road Rage that her Conjunx Endura is missing?" Jazz was referring to Tracks.
"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it," said Ratchet, "And that's assuming she's still functional."
Cliffjumper and Bumper went back in to get the eighth Autobot. He was a large, green 'bot with a crane.
"Haha, it's Hauler!" cheered Huffer, "This'll make any construction project mere sparklings play!"
Brawn just stared at Huffer. "Where did THAT come from?"
"Do you know how much time it takes to erect and disassemble a crane? A LONG time. Hauler takes a few nanoseconds to set down and limber up, thus increasing efficiency. And between you and me, I don't trust Sunstreaker to operate a crane."
"I heard that!"
"Good, you were supposed to!"
It was now time for Bumblebee and Hornet to go inside. The last two were located way in the back of the shuttle, and were in a rather dark area.
"Gonna need a light for this one..." remarked Bumblebee, as he shined a light...and froze.
There, slumped over, was the one Autobot he had hoped to see again besides Hornet.
"...Glyph."
"'Bee..." Hornet placed a hand on Bumblebee's shoulder. As mentioned before, Glyph was Bumblebee's Conjunx Endura. Aside from that, she was an archaeometrist who studied at Iacon University with Bumblebee and Hornet, and it was there she and Bumblebee fell in love.
"Please be okay, please be okay, please be okay..." Bumblebee said over and over, as he hugged Glyph close to him.
"Come on, Bee. We gotta get her out."
Rather than Bumblebee and Hornet carrying Glyph together, Bumblebee carried her bridal-style. A knowing glimmer was in Optimus' eye.
"What did I tell you, Bumblebee?" he said warmly. Bumblebee didn't answer. He just kept saying "Please be okay" as a sort of Madness Mantra.
At last, Windcharger and Jazz went aboard to get the last Autobot. What they carried out had Cliffjumper's Cybertronian form, but green.
"Cousin Tap-Out!" exclaimed Cliffjumper.
With all ten Autobots out, the metal plate was removed. They were all laid on their backs, side-by-side, like a morgue. Ratchet was scanning each of them to see if they were in stasis lock or dead. At last, he turned to the assembled Autobots with a big smile.
"They're all in stasis lock!" he announced happily. The Autobots cheered, as Bumblebee breathed a sigh of relief.
"Commence the repairs at once!" ordered Optimus. One-by-one, each was brought over to Teletraan I to be repaired and reformatted. Clamp Down was up first.
"This should go more smoothly than Bumper's repairs." said Wheeljack. In seconds, Clamp Down had been repaired and given his new form. It looked identical to Sideswipe's new form, but with a lightbar on top.
Upon reactivating, Clamp Down yawned, stretched, and stood up.
"Ah, that was a nice nap. Now, WHERE THE SCRAP AM I?"
"On a continental-class planet, Clamp Down."
Clamp Down turned to see Optimus Prime.
"Oh, Optimus Prime! I didn't see y'there, boyo! Last I remember, the shuttle me and the others were on crash-landed! Must've banged us all up!"
"While we're busy repairing the others, there's a Vector Sigma Conduit over there." Optimus pointed to the conduit in a nearby corner. "Even has a Replicator."
"Ooh, yes, of course! Autotroopers! Will do!" And Clamp Down walked over and immediately began cranking out clones of himself with the Replicator so the sparks from the Vector Sigma Conduit could be put to good use. Autotroopers were the equivalent of the SWAT Team. Here, though, they would suffice as frontline infantry.
Clamp Down was next to be repaired and reformatted. His new form was basically a black version of Sideswipe's. Upon awakening, he was immediately alert and saw Optimus Prime.
"Thanks for the save, Prime." he drawled, "Must've been quite the crash."
"Not enough to take you out, thankfully." Deep Cover then noticed Clamp Down nearby.
"Clamp Down!" His brother turned and smiled. "Deep Cover! Top o' the mornin' to ya! I'm makin' Autotroopers, care to help?"
"You know it!" replied Deep Cover, as he walked over to help get the sparks in the newly-minted Autotroopers.
Cordon's repairs went smoothly enough, his new form looking like Sunstreaker with a police paintjob and a lightbar, and he jumped to his feet upon awakening.
"Welcome back, Cordon." said Optimus.
"Thanks, Prime! How long was I out for? And...did the Ark plant itself into a mountain?"
"It's a volcano." said Hound, "I think it erupted recently and that's what awoke us. And the Decepticons."
"The Decepticons are loose?!" spluttered Cordon, "We gotta go find them!"
"Not so fast, Cordon." calmed Optimus, "We're still setting up our operation on this planet. Once that's done, I'll go over the plan with you all."
"Very good, Prime." Cordon saluted.
Tigertrack was much of the same, being a yellow version of Sideswipe's altmode. He awoke disoriented.
"Ugh, my head. Must've been one crazy night—wait a minute, this doesn't look like Maccadam's!"
"Maccadam's been missing for ages, Tigertrack." said Jazz.
"Wait...now I remember. I was on the Ark, and the Ark was being attacked by Decepticons, and me and a bunch of other Autobots decided to bail when we saw a continental-class planet and take a shuttle down, but we crashed because Cordon doesn't know how to fly."
"Hey, flying's not an exact science! Who do I look like, Jetfire?!"
Skids was up next. His new form was a Honda City Turbo. He awoke with a start.
"WE'RE ALL GONNA—oh, it's over. Right, now that we're planetside, I wanted to investigate those large rodents. Wait, this isn't the shuttle, it looks like the Ark's bridge."
"Welcome back, Skids." He turned to see Optimus Prime.
"Oh, Prime, you landed the Ark safely?"
"I wouldn't say that. We've all been in stasis lock for four million stellar cycles."
"In that time, I fear many of the specimens I wanted to study went extinct, but I'm sure there's still plenty to see and study here..."
As he was droning on about future studies and experiments, Crosscut was repaired and reformatted. His new form was a Honda City R hatchback. He sat up and looked around, immediately making his own conclusions as to what happened.
"I'm gonna hazard a guess and say the Ark crashed and we've been out for a long time."
"On point as usual, Crosscut."
"Well, Prime, have we made contact with this planet's dominant species yet?"
"Not yet. According to Bumblebee and Hornet, the dominant species is a hairless biped that has advanced enough to possess vast transportation and telecommunications networks, and have a basic understanding of spaceflight. We can only assume they're still splintered into nations and haven't moved beyond the use of nuclear weaponry."
"Just give me the go-ahead, Prime, and I'll set up a dialogue with this planet's leaders. But, NOT without Road Rage to back me up."
Speaking of whom, she had just been repaired. Her new form was a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
"Well, thanks for the repair job." she said, "How much do I owe ya, doc?"
"You don't owe me anything, Road Rage..." said Ratchet. He could never tell when Road Rage was being sarcastic.
"Wait, where's—oh, there you are, Crosscut!"
"Road Rage! Thank Primus you're alive! I wouldn't feel secure going out there without an able bodyguard."
"Now that I know you're in one piece and haven't had to resort to Clutch, where's my big, strong robot?" She was referring to her Conjunx Endura, Tracks.
"I was afraid of this..." muttered Jazz.
"Afraid of what?" asked Road Rage. "Come on, Jazz, where's Tracks? He's around, isn't he? W-wasn't he on the bridge when the Ark crashed?"
Nobody knew what to say.
"Tracks is..." Jazz began, before Huffer cut him off.
"He's still missing."
"Huffer!" scolded Brawn.
"Look, I'm sorry, Brawn, but we'd be here all day trying to break it to her softly otherwise!"
Road Rage was silent for a minute or two. Then she silently walked over to Huffer, and grabbed him by the neck.
"For your sake," she spat, "he'd better still be alive. Otherwise you're gonna be my new training dummy, you dummy."
Huffer gulped. He knew he had overstepped his bounds this time.
"Oh, put him down, Road Rage," said Ironhide, "he ain't worth it."
Crosscut took Road Rage to another room to calm her down while Hauler was repaired. He was green, still wearing his Constructicon livery (as he himself was a Constructicon who defected), his new form being a Mitsubishi Fuso crane-truck. He stood up and looked around, before scrunching his face up.
"You guys need a maid. Lucky that I'm here now."
"And not a moment too soon!" exclaimed Huffer happily.
"Huffer, buddy! Good to see you in one piece!"
"Same to you, Hauler! Hey, what's say we finish up the remaining work?"
"Just show me the plans and it'll be done sooner than you can say 'Bah-weep-Graaaaagnah wheep ni ni bong'!"
Bumblebee stepped forward carrying Glyph's limp form.
"Please remember me, please remember me, please remember me..." he kept saying.
"'Bee, if these other 'bots still remember," assured Hornet, "then Glyph will remember you, too."
Bumblebee set Glyph down very gently, and only took a few steps back. He wanted the first face she saw to be his. In seconds, her repairs had been complete. Her new form was, fittingly, the exact same as Bumblebee and Hornet's, a Volkswagen Beetle.
The light returned to her eyes, and she held her head up.
"Ugh, get some flying lessons, Cordon...wait...this isn't the shuttle. When did I get to the Ark's bridge? And...why are my chronal circuits indicating the passage of four million stellar cycles? Has it really been that long since the crash?" She sat up, and saw a yellow Autobot in front of her. "Oh, hello! Are you a fellow Autobot? My name's Glyph, and you are?"
"No..." said Bumblebee in a small voice. Just as he had feared, Glyph had lost-
"Oh no, we are NOT doing this!" shouted Hornet all of a sudden, and she gave Glyph a hard right hook. Glyph shook her head, and blinked a few times. Then she looked at Hornet.
"Thanks, Hornet, I needed that."
"Anything for my in-law. Now, I think you should tend to 'Bee, he looks about ready to shoot himself."
Glyph looked over at Bumblebee. The blow she had taken from Hornet had made her remember.
"Bumblebee..." she said, softly. Bumblebee looked up.
"Y...you remember me?"
"Of course I do. You're the kind of 'bot who's unforgettable. Plus a whack to the head by Hornet was enough to get my memory circuits back in order."
"I'll want to have a look at those later." said Ratchet.
"But...you said, and I-" Bumblebee was stumbling over his own words, not able to comprehend how his Conjunx Endura had gone from being amnesiac to now remembering him, and Glyph decided to stop him with a kiss. A deep, passionate kiss.
"Wait, we can do that?" asked Sunstreaker. This comment earned him a swift slug in the shoulder from Sideswipe.
"Don't ruin the moment!"
As the "Volkswagen" family reunion moved to another part of the bridge, the tenth and final Autobot, Glyph's bodyguard Tap-Out, was put under the beam and repaired. His new form was identical to Cliffjumper's. The first thing he did was jump to his feet.
"Alright, Decepticreeps, let's tussle! Come on! Who's first?" He looked around to see he wasn't surrounded by Decepticons, but his fellow Autobots.
"Calm down, Tap-Out!" said Cliffjumper, "None of us are Decepticons. At least I think..." He glared in Mirage's general direction.
"What? Why are you looking at me?"
"Oh, Cousin Cliffjumper, it's just you and the others. So, where are the Decepticons?"
"Currently missing." said Optimus, "But now that we're all as present and accounted for as we can be at this time, it's time we began scouting the area in earnest. Autobots, assemble at Teletraan I!"
MEANWHILE...
"You're sure you've picked up a Cybertronian signal?" asked Skywarp.
"It's definitely the same kind of encoded signal used by downed corvettes." replied Thundercracker. The three Seekers were now over Yosemite National Park, and had just detected a distress signal.
"We're getting closer. It's down in that wooded area."
"There's nothing down there except more trees and-"
"Hold on," interrupted Starscream, "I'm detecting it, too."
"Huh, now I'm hearing it. But why couldn't I hear it when Thundercracker first did?"
"Perhaps your sensors aren't as finely-tuned as his."
Going down to the ground, the trio transformed into their robot modes, and touched down on their feet softly. Thundercracker held up a hand, and pointed to the south.
"It's coming from over here." The area he was pointing to was a small glen surrounded by pine trees. A soft purple glow came from underneath some brush.
"A purple light...this is definitely Decepticon hardware." remarked Starscream. The trio walked over to the glow, and began digging through the brush, until...
"It's an escape pod!" exclaimed Skywarp.
"I know this design." said Thundercracker, "It definitely came from the Nemesis. So...any idea how to open it?"
"Let's blast it open!" shouted Skywarp.
"You are off your flight path, as usual, Skywarp." Starscream snarked, "Pods like these have a quick-release mechanism. Problem is...it was designed to be as inconspicuous as possible so the Autobots couldn't take prisoners."
"Well, no need for those anymore." said Skywarp, "The Autobots are all dead."
"STASIS LOCK." corrected Starscream, "We left them in STASIS LOCK. With the amount of rock Reflector shot loose when we left...hmm...I should bring this up to Megatron. It could become a major issue."
"For right now, though," said Thundercracker, "I know how to work the mechanism."
"How?" asked Skywarp.
"Watch..." And Thundercracker pressed down firmly on the pod door. With a click and a whir, the door opened.
"Get a light on." ordered Starscream. Thundercracker turned a light on his "helmet" on, and shone it inside the pod. Starscream peered in, searching for anything of value.
"Anything inside?" asked Thundercracker.
"Well...there are a few Seekers in here. Looks like there's also...a Vector Sigma Conduit!"
"A Vector Sigma Conduit?!" spluttered Skywarp. "We could build an entire army with that!"
"We've got to find a way to get this back to base without looking conspicuous..." mused Thundercracker.
"I've got just the thing." said Starscream. And he pulled a chip out of his chest. "This is a cloaker. I used it to infiltrate Shockwave's lab a solar cycle before launch. We can use this to cloak the pod and then take it back to base."
"Sounds good to me." said Thundercracker. Skywarp wasn't so sure, though.
"How ARE we gonna carry it?"
A FEW MINUTES LATER...
"Oh, sure! Leave ME to do all the heavy lifting!" By now, the three Seekers were airborne. Starscream and Thundercracker were holding the pod aloft with their wings, while Skywarp was on top strapped to the pod, carrying most of the weight.
"Would you shut up?!" cried Thundercracker, "We're ALL suffering, you idiot!"
"Say that again!"
"I don't take orders from you, ya idiot!"
"THAT DOES-"
"ENOUGH, ALRIGHT?! ENOUGH!" roared Starscream. His underlings said no more the rest of the way.
Ravage and Howlback were prowling the base perimeter, patrolling for intruders. They heard a noise, and turned their heads to see the three Seekers come in for a landing. Starscream walked up to the still-invisible pod and took the cloaker off, revealing it.
"That looks like an escape pod from the Nemesis." commented Howlback. Ravage growled in agreement. "We really gotta work on your linguistics..."
While Skywarp collapsed to the ground in exhaustion from hauling the pod, Starscream entered the base. He found Megatron speaking with Beastbox.
"And that, in a nutshell," said Megatron, "is why trickle-down economics was a contributing factor to the Age of Rust."
Beastbox didn't look like he comprehended anything Megatron just said.
"Kiloton would understand..."
"Lord Megatron."
Megatron turned to see Starscream saluting.
"Ah, Starscream! How went the reconnaissance mission?"
"Very, very well. We made quite a few discoveries. Among them were signs of civilization. We didn't investigate so as to keep ourselves concealed. Our new alternate modes masked our presence quite well."
"Civilization, you say?" pondered Megatron, "Seems this planet is more advanced than we once thought. Anything else to report?"
"We discovered an escape pod from the Nemesis and brought it back here. So as not to appear conspicuous, I used my cloaker from when I infiltrated Shockwave's lab to conceal it. And had to put up with Skywarp's endless complaining."
"Did you happen to open it? It should've had a quick-release mechanism."
"Thundercracker opened it. We found a few items of note, including four Seekers in stasis lock and a Vector Sigma Conduit."
"A Vector Sigma Conduit?!" cried Megatron, "Excellent! You have done well, Starscream!"
"All in service to you, my lord."
"You say you found four Seekers inside?"
"Yes, I believe I know them."
"Bring them out. We just finished fully powering up the base."
Starscream went back up and, with Thundercracker and Skywarp's help, brought the pod down. They then reopened it, and brought the four Seekers and the Vector Sigma Conduit out. Starscream looked at the four Seekers, and nodded.
"Yes...I do indeed know these four. They were in the same dorm as me at the academy."
Megatron took a look at the newcomers. They all had Cybertronian forms. One was all-yellow, one was all-purple, one was all-light blue, and one was all-dark blue.
"Did they ever receive names?" asked Megatron.
"They were forged before the war, so yes. Their names are Sunstorm, Hotlink, Bitstream, and Nacelle. Now...how will we bring them back? Do we have a Teletraan system in this base?"
"We do, actually." replied Megatron, pointing at the large computer around where Starscream had helped install the terminals. "Soundwave just got it up and running."
"And reformatting?"
"We'll copy your bodystyle into the system. I'll have Soundwave send Laserbeak out later to scan for new forms. Or we could go back to the Ark and steal the Sky Spy."
"Yes...about that...that may be impossible now."
"How so? The Autobots are all in stasis lock."
"Exactly. But you remember what Reflector did before we left, yes?"
"He was blasting the Ark as a way of saying goodbye."
"He most likely shot some rock off the cliff face and caused vibrations inside. One of the Autobots could've been jolted into the beam that repaired us. It's just a theory, though..."
Megatron contemplated what Starscream said. Finally, he spoke. "It's a very plausible theory, Starscream."
"I only bring it up because it could be a problem."
"And it's a very valid concern. If the Autobots have been repaired, their first course of action after setting up a base will be to hunt us down. But that's not my biggest concern."
"The biggest concern is that we're outnumbered." said Starscream.
"Exactly!" replied Megatron, "They have numbers on their side!"
"And if they've found a Vector Sigma Conduit, there's a good chance they're creating Autotroopers as we speak."
"Good thing you found this Conduit, then." Megatron motioned to the Conduit that had been in the escape pod. "With this, we can create more troops."
"Best start with Seekers, then."
"Good idea. We already have seven Seekers here. The Replicator on this Conduit will have an easy time directly creating Seekers. At some point, I will want tanks."
"That shouldn't be a problem. If this planet's technological level is where I think it is, finding a suitable model will be easy."
Soon, the Decepticons began reformatting the four newly-discovered Seekers. Initially, they were hostile towards Starscream, until Megatron explained the situation. Sunstorm, Hotlink, and Bitstream were satisfied by this explanation, but Nacelle wouldn't back down.
"He can't be trusted! He left you for dead in Iacon!" Nacelle roared, holding both of his guns up.
"He has learned much since then! If not for him, you'd still be rotting away in stasis lock!" replied Megatron angrily.
"He's nothing but a cowardly backstabber!"
"Stand down, Nacelle!" ordered Megatron.
"Not until this traitor is dead!"
"DO AS I COMMAND!"
Nacelle gawked in terror as he found himself staring into the barrel of Megatron's Fusion Cannon.
"I...yes...Lord Megatron..." Nacelle lowered his guns, and stood back in line with the other three reactivated Seekers.
"I will not say this again: nobody is to even THREATEN Starscream! He only acted the way he did because his logic circuits were faulty! MY logic circuits were faulty until Soundwave gave me a new body! I know what it's like to have multiple screws loose, and you have NO RIGHT AT ALL TO SAY THAT STARSCREAM IS A LIAR! All of you, ESPECIALLY Nacelle, WILL fall in line, and will NOT disobey me again, or else I will SLAG. YOU. ALL. DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"
The four Seekers nodded fearfully. Megatron then turned to Starscream.
"If any of these four make an attempt on your life, Starscream, feel free to spare me the effort and destroy them yourself."
"If it comes to that, I shall take great pleasure in doing it."
"Now, then, you four, OUT OF MY SIGHT!"
The four Seekers scurried away in fear. Starscream turned back to Megatron.
"Now that this base is up-and-running, what is our next step?"
"I wanted to try contacting Cybertron, see if it's still there, and if so, if Shockwave still functions."
"I was thinking the same myself. If he's still functioning, we could use his help."
Before they could do anything else, though, they heard a beeping sound. Turning to the source, they saw it was an incoming transmission.
"Well, whaddaya know?" mused Megatron, "Perhaps he IS functional, after all."
Walking over to the computer, Megatron pressed a button to accept the call. A purple, single-eye robot appeared on the screen.
"Shockwave to Megatron. Do you read me?"
"Speak of the Devil-Z..." said Thundercracker.
"Shockwave? Is it really you?" asked Megatron.
"Lord Megatron!" exclaimed Shockwave, "You still function! How is this possible? I was certain the Space Bridge portal destroyed both you and the Autobots!"
"We are not so easily destroyed, Shockwave!" replied Megatron.
"There was a minor chance of survival, yes, but I digress. What planet are you on?"
"I don't know the name of the planet we're on, but it's definitely the continental-class planet you were researching. If you still function, then Cybertron still exists."
"Cybertron is as you left it, Lord Megatron. We haven't the resources to carry out an assault on Iacon, though. Ultra Magnus and the remaining Autobots are holed up there."
"Is the planet still in shutdown?"
"It is indeed, but there haven't been any reports of Dark Energon in Kaon for over 400,000 solar cycles. We've managed to repair some of the solar farms and even build a few new ones with the materials we have available to us. There is enough energon to sustain the population of Kaon."
"Have you tried reaching out to the other polities on Cybertron besides Iacon?"
"I've sent a few expeditions out. Only a few Decepticons came back. Outside of Iacon and Kaon, Cybertron is in anarchy. Autobots and Decepticons alike have deserted and formed gangs."
"So...Cybertron still stands...but has changed...and not for the better."
"Your behavior patterns do not match prior interactions."
"The new body Soundwave gave me included pristine logic circuits, though they took some time to activate. Now that they are active, though...I now realize corrupting Cybertron's core with Dark Energon was the worst decision I have ever made."
"What has become of the traitor Starscream?"
"Starscream's logic circuits were recalibrated by that blow to the head he received in your lab before we left. He and I have made amends for past squabbles. If not for him, we'd have never found a Vector Sigma Conduit."
"He cannot be trusted. He is leading you on."
"Both he and I have the shared experience of having our logic circuits degrade over the course of the war, as I just told a group of Seekers found in the same pod as the Conduit."
"The idea of frayed logic circuits driving one to make poor decisions is...logical."
"Have you ascertained Cybertron's current stellar coordinates?"
"According to information from Iacon's internal network, we are located in the same star system as the continental-class planet you are on. Your current location is within shuttling distance."
"Excellent! Make preparations to move your operations here. Sending you our coordinates now."
"Yes, Lord Megatron. But who shall keep watch over Kaon in my absence?"
"Is Skyquake still functioning?"
"He is."
"He has command of Kaon."
"I shall inform him immediately. And one more thing, Megatron: Optimus Prime has made contact with Ultra Magnus."
Megatron closed his optics. His worst fears had been confirmed.
"I see...Megatron out."
Megatron ended the transmission, and turned to face the other Decepticons. He opened his optics...and snarled.
"REFLECTOR!"
Reflector's three components tried to run, but Starscream blocked their exit.
"Keep them there, Starscream. A lesson is in order..."
Starscream watched as Megatron pummelled the three petulant Decepticons into submission, satisfied that the three smug little Photons were getting theirs.
MEANWHILE...
At the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton near San Jose, CA, the United States Air Force Space Command had commandeered the mighty telescope to keep tabs on an object that had recently caught their attention. Designated "Nibiru", it had been discovered when Voyager 2 encountered it by complete accident en route to Jupiter in 1978. The pictures were disturbing: it was made completely of metal, and showed signs of war damage. Energy discharges were detected on its surface, and a picture of what appeared to be a firefight between two opposing factions confirmed it was inhabited by...something.
Following this discovery, the army increased its cordon around Mount Saint Helens, believing this planet was the origin of the ship embedded in the side of the volcano.
Through it all, the existence of "Nibiru" was kept from the public. It was feared that the knowledge of its existence would result in the breakdown of social order. The United States government created an agency known only as "Sector Seven" in 1948 in the wake of the Roswell incident; what was officially a weather balloon was indeed an extraterrestrial spacecraft believed to have originated from Betelgeuse. The beings found within were described as "bird-like".
Sector Seven had been keeping tabs on any and all extraterrestrial activity on or around Earth. Numerous times, though, they overstepped their bounds and had to be reined in. For example, they wanted to launch nuclear missiles at Nibiru, but the Nixon administration vetoed this. Recently, they had managed to secure funding for a satellite defense network. As far as the public was concerned, this system was meant to defend the United States from any nuclear missile launched by the Soviets, but in truth, it was meant to defend Earth from alien spacecraft.
Since Operation: Sacrifice, Sector Seven had not been allowed anywhere near Mount Saint Helens. It was instead put in the hands of the army over Sector Seven's objections. After the eruption and the emergence of the Sky Spy, Sector Seven trailed the probe around the world, until the entire agency was shut down by an exasperated Reagan on May 3, 1984, months before the Autobots and Decepticons were repaired.
Instead of a bunch of gung-ho, triggerhappy idiots keeping tabs on Nibiru, Reagan tasked the Air Force Space Command with monitoring it. With the recent activity detected around the Mount Saint Helens crash site (known internally as "Camp Cullen"), all observatories in the United States were commandeered by the AFSC. Anytime tourists asked why they were closed, they got the same answer: routine maintenance. Nobody could accept the idea that every single observatory would be undergoing maintenance at the same time, especially conspiracy theorists. Day after day, the media began questioning exactly what was going on. Theories thrown around included observing rare stellar phenomenon undisturbed, monitoring Soviet military satellites, and tracking the coming of Halley's Comet. Fringe theories included tracking a sudden increase in alien spacecraft activity and monitoring a planet the government was hiding from the public, theories that, more and more, were being accept by the media.
Commander Budiansky was in charge of the garrison at Lick Observatory. He and his men had been cooling their heels at Moffett Field since Almaden Air Force Station had been shut down in 1980. Now they finally had an actual assignment, one that the commander had accepted eagerly. He and his men were tasked with monitoring Nibiru and reporting directly to the Pentagon if any activity was noticed on or around the planet.
He had been at this for a day, and didn't expect anything to change. Until...
"Commander!"
Commander Budiansky looked up from the book he was reading. "Yes, Corporal Macchio?"
"We have activity!"
Everyone stopped what they were doing, and rushed to their stations. Commander Budiansky looked through the mighty telescope. What he saw was worrying.
"I see it. There's some sort of shuttlecraft lifting off from the planet. Lance Corporal DeMulder, have you calculated its trajectory?"
"I have, sir. It's destination seems to be Earth."
"Get me the Pentagon!"
MEANWHILE...
"You're sure it's a shuttlecraft?" General Budiasnky had gotten in contact with the Pentagon, and was now speaking directly to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, namely General John William Vessey Jr., Chairman at the time.
"We've faxed the photos direct. They don't lie."
A few minutes later, an aide rushed in with the photos. General Vessey looked at them, and then looked up at the other generals.
"Those sons of bitches are finally coming for us. Put SAC to DEFCON 1."
"Should we warn the public?"
"It's an unarmed shuttle. Let the conspiracy nuts think what they want. If the media asks, say it was a live fire drill for Soviet bombers."
MEANWHILE...
"On final approach. Stand by for entry."
Shockwave sat in the command seat of the shuttle. It was the only functioning shuttle on Cybertron, and he had kept it hidden to avoid having Ultra Magnus come knocking. With him were three Seekers with bright, garish color schemes, colloquially known as the Rainmakers for their ability to create acid rain on demand. They were Acid Storm (green), Ion Storm (blue), and Nova Storm (yellow). Several other Seekers were aboard, as well, including an all-red one name Red Wing, and all-black one named Blackout, and a tan one named Sandstorm (no relation to the Triple Changer Autobot who had been missing since the Space Bridge Network collapsed; he was last seen on the colony of Paradron).
"Entry heat at expected levels." called out Red Wing.
"Pitch to 45 degrees." ordered Shockwave. Data flowed into the computers, picking up all sorts of readings about the planet's atmospheric conditions.
"Entry complete." said Ion Storm, "Ablator load nominal."
"Set course for nearest Decepticon Landing Beacon."
Before they could, though, the shuttle was rocked by explosions.
"Damage report!" ordered Shockwave.
"Serious damage to hull!" replied Blackout.
"I'm receiving a transmission of some sort." said Red Wing, "It's neither Autobot nor Decepticon."
"Put it through." replied Shockwave.
Red Wing pressed a button to allow the transmission through. What they heard next was something Shockwave hadn't anticipated.
"Attention unidentified flying object! You are trespassing on the planet Earth! Turn back immediately or be destroyed!"
"They're speaking the Universal Language!" cried Shockwave in an uncharacteristically-panicked tone, "This isn't logical at all!"
"What do we do, Shockwave?!" asked Sandstorm frantically.
"You and Red Wing disembark and take out whatever is attacking us!" One of the shuttles' attackers buzzed the front, revealing it to be a military aircraft.
"Shoot them down!" he ordered.
Opening a door on the side of the shuttle, Sandstorm and Red Wing leaped off and transformed into their vehicle forms. As they had just come from Cybertron, they still had their Cybertronian forms.
The fighter pilots were in awe.
"These things aren't just aliens," said one of the pilots, "they're...
"Transformers."
Before they could react, Sandstorm and Red Wing opened fire with their kinetic slugs.
"They're firing some kind of tracer rounds! Return fire!"
The two F-16 fighters began pulling off a series of evasive maneuvers, but the two Seekers just stopped in mid-air, as if the laws of physics didn't apply to them.
"They're hovering!"
"They're sitting ducks is what they are!" said the other pilot, "Lock onto 'em!"
Locking on their AIM-9 Sidewinders, the two fighters let them loose.
"That's cute." said Red Wing sarcastically, as he shot the missiles down. He and Sandstorm then poured their afterburners on and chased after the human fighters.
"What do we do, command?" asked one of the pilots desperately.
"Keep trying to throw them off!" replied their commander.
Try as they might, though, the Seekers responded to their every movement with precision. It was as if they were toying with their prey.
Finally, they decided to finish it, and let loose their guns once more. This time, the kinetic rounds tore through the jets. The pilots ejected, but Red Wing shot at them, instantly ripping them to bloody giblets.
"No witnesses!" he cried.
"Excellet work." said Shockwave over the comms, "Return to the shuttle. We're not too far from Megatron's position."
The triumphant Seekers flew back aboard the shuttle, leaving behind two flaming wrecks plummeting to the ground, and what was left of the pilots that once flew them.
A FEW MINUTES LATER...
"Ah, Shockwave! Welcome!"
Megatron was standing at the bottom of the ramp of the shuttle as Shockwave and his attachment of Seekers walked out.
"Hail Lord Megatron." Shockwave saluted.
"I trust your trip was uneventful?"
"Far from it. A pair of primitive-looking combat aircraft had the audacity to attack us. Sandstorm and Red Wing left no witnesses."
"So, the dominant species of this planet hasn't moved beyond war."
"This planet has a name."
"You know it?"
"One of the pilots communicated with us, telling us to turn back. The planet we are on is called Earth."
"Earth...a noble name."
"If I may, Lord Megatron, a download of this planet's information banks is in order."
"Very good, Shockwave. We need to know what we are dealing with on this planet."
The six Seekers, meanwhile, had entered the base and gotten reformatted. Unlike most Decepticons, these six were fanatically-loyal to Starscream, and were surpised to learn of his new disposition.
MEANWHILE...
Back at Outpost Alpha, the Autobots had assembled around Teletraan-I for a meeting. Optimus Prime raised his hand for silence.
"Autobots, as you know, we are marooned. Cybertron has settled into a stable orbit within this star system, but of all of us, only Cromar can reach it. Until we can construct a transport or find Cosmos, we are grounded. But that doesn't mean we are helpless. We have a stable supply of energon thanks to the solar farm, and our weapons have been remanufactured to be handheld and shoot lasers instead of kinetic or neutron rounds. We know the Decepticons, including Megatron, are active and at large, but we don't know their precise location. Until they turn up, these are our priorities: reconnoiter the surrounding area, search for more escape pods, conduct non-invasive research on the flora and fauna, and most importantly of all, remain hidden from the dominant species of this planet. They are a young species, still divided. They likely fear the unknown, destroying what they refuse to understand. Should the Decepticons attack, though, we will have no choice but to reveal ourselves, and hopefully, they will be able to distinguish between us and them. Meeting adjourned."
Slowly, the Autobots scattered, going about their duties. This was the new normal, and some were taking it better than others.
Mostly, though, they were just waiting.
Waiting for the Decepticons to strike.
MEANWHILE...
"This concludes my presentation."
The Decepticons were assembled in the briefing room, where Shockwave had just completed a presentation of all the information he had managed to download from Earth's computers. The most important things they learned where the name of the dominant species on Earth (humans, or homo sapiens), their long history of waging war over petty reasons (Megatron admitted that even he wouldn't force his religious beliefs on the Autobots), their wanton disregard for the environment in favor of profit, and, most importantly of all, their discovery of nuclear power.
And nuclear weaponry.
"So..." said Megatron, "the humans have access to nuclear weapons. Did you manage to find out how many warheads the nation-states of Earth possess?"
"The two so-called superpowers both have massive nuclear stockpiles." replied Shockwave, "The United States of America has 21,000 warheads, while their chief rival, the United Soviet Socialist Republic, or Soviet Union, has 39,000. China has 240, the United Kingdom has 420, France has 360, India has 3, same as South Africa, and Israel has 40. These are not exact figures."
Megatron was silent. The look on his face wasn't that of contemplation, but horror.
"The humans' capacity for warfare...far exceeds my expectations. They have enough nuclear weapons to destroy themselves several times over. And we'd go down with them."
"Lord Megatron," said Starscream, "I've been looking at our energon reserves. They're running dangerously low. I believe we can kill two electrobirds with one stone: taking out a nuclear power plant while harvesting more energon."
Megatron pondered. "Have you ascertained the pros and cons of such an operation?"
"I feel the pros outweigh the cons. On one hand, we'd be exposing our presence to the humans, and alerting the Autobots to our location. On the other, though, the human military is technologically-inferior to ours, and we can quickly send the energon back here using a Ground Bridge, not to mention instilling fear in the humans and forcing Optimus Prime to stretch his forces thin with patrols and garrisons at vulnerable locations. Finally, we'd be destroying nuclear power at its source. This wouldn't be a permanent occupation, but a raid. Should we be unable to hold out against an Autobot offensive, we can either Ground Bridge back to base or take to the skies, since none of the Autobots, to our knowledge, can fly."
"Well, you've certainly done your research, Starscream. What of the plant's location?"
Starscream pulled up a map on the screen in the briefing room. "Right here." He pointed to the plant. "San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Clemente. It's 1,136.20 kliks to the south. There are several nearby military bases, which will require preemptive strikes-"
"No, let's not waste energy trying to delay the inevitable human military response. Let them come to us."
"Alright, then we'll just have to factor in terrain. The plant sits next to an ocean, so the United States Navy will most certainly be brought to bear against us. And if what Shockwave said about aircraft carriers is true, those will have to be our first target, preferably before they can launch their fighters and send us behind cover." He then pulled out a datapad. "These are my estimates as to botpower requirements, as well as battlegroup composition and optimal positioning."
"Starscream, when did you find the time to put all this together?"
"Once Shockwave mentioned nuclear plants, I looked at the information and began planning a possible military operation for your approval. I ran all the simulations and possible outcomes while listening to Shockwave's presentation, and created the optimal plan of attack, with all possible variables."
"Starscream...this plan is genius! Gets us the energy we need to keep things running AND eliminates a source of nuclear power before a possible meltdown!"
Megatron turned to address the other Decepticons. "Decepticons, hear me! A source of energy has been located, and a plan to acquire it has been made! We depart in a Groon! Make preparations immediately!"
The Decepticons cheered. Finally, they would see battle! They filed out of the briefing room to get their weapons, load their combat routines, and make any last-minute diagnostics.
In a matter of hours, the course of human history would irrevocably change...
A/N: Was it worth the wait?
