A/N -

Another new fic? This is what, my third Transformers fic alone? Ugh. I know. I wish I could stick with any story, but my ADHD is kicking my ass…

I had a good idea for a Sonic fic that should be coming soon. I'll try to write the both of these fics in unison so one doesn't overshadow the other, but- god only know what's going to happen.

Okay! So, about this fic. So, I've been really getting back into Transformers again. One of my favorite things about the brand is that it's so vast there's always something new to learn, and- I found myself particularly drawn to Alternators.

Alternators are so singular, so unique that I just fell in love with them. But, the thing is that it has no accompanying fiction.

Well, apparently the spinoff line Binaltech Asterisk had some stories, and- we don't even talk about the series that shall not be named. But, anyway, those are both part of the cluttered web that is the JPG1 continuity.

So, I'm doing my own thing. Like the toyline, G1 inspired but doing a thing all it's own.

I hope you enjoy.

It had been approximately one hundred twenty five billion, six hundred fifty two million, one hundred ninety-six thousand, five hundred and nine Stellar Cycles since the creation of the universe. While trillions of stars, meteorites, and planets occupied the galaxy's vast expanses - most of them were barren husks. In the bulk of scenarios, the celestial bodies were simply unsuited to housing even the simplest and most resilient of lifeforms. But, other times… Life had found a way to survive. No, not just to survive, to thrive. Progress so far that eventually, that success would result in their downfall.

History frequently repeats, and indeed - this was a story that played out many times before. Undoubtedly, it would repeat until the universe's heat death. In fact, one particular planet was on the brink of another such case. It was called Cybertron by its inhabitants, who were appropriately called Cybertronians. This planet was quite the cosmological wonder, where the dominant life forms weren't carbon-based - but instead made of a unique metal like alloy.

But, unfortunately, these Cybertronians were on the edge of extinction due to their own hubris. Inequality amongst the ruling and working classes simmered for a very long time, eventually resulting in a violent revolution. One of the few concrete rules of the universe was that fighting only begets more fighting, so- what started as a singular skirmish eventually evolved into a full out war between the old guard and the new. Calling themselves the 'Autobots' and 'Decepticons', respectively.

Unfortunately, these two factions were so evenly matched that neither was able to gain the upper hand - and were resilient enough that this fighting went on for a billion stellar cycles. After this long, even the longest-serving soldiers had completely forgotten what they were actually fighting for. A side-effect of this constant all-out warfare and many attempts at that final reach for victory, the planet had been drained of resources. This resulted in what used to be hundreds of thousands of individuals dwindling to merely a few dozen survivors in either faction. Continuing the war solely because it was all they knew how to do anymore.

The Autobots had made the difficult choice to abandon Cybertron after many years subsisting on what meager resources they could find while scavenging. It was a long shot, with a cold solder joint's chance of working properly, but the hope was to try and find another habitable planet and attempt to restart there.

Instead of putting the small amount of resources they had in reserve to attempt to rebuild Cybertron, the Decepticons made the choice to give chase. The logic being, if they could destroy the Autobots' ship then the war would finally be won in one fell swoop. Then, they could put their full attention towards reconstruction. However, in case of emergency - the Decepticons had decided to leave a small handful of troops back on Cybertron. Primarily lowly grunts, but one high-ranking general. His name was Shockwave.

Ultimately, in a peculiar twist of fate, he hadn't gotten a single transmission from either the Autobots nor Decepticons in the last few billion stellar cycles. The working theory was that both of their ships had crashed, as he'd noticed a particularly heavy meteor shower right on the edge of his radar's detectable range just after takeoff.

Well, that was until today. Out the corner of his eye, a small LED in the corner of a computer console lit for the first time - almost a beacon of light in a field of darkness. It's purpose was to indicate an incoming message. Said message was very simple, merely two words long - 'REQUESTING BACKUP.' Encoded in the message's metadata was the sender… Megatron. The leader of the Decepticons.

What a sight for a sore eye. Even better, there was almost no probability that this message was a false alarm. There only existed a single unit of the device used to send. Said device, the 'Astro Magnum' had enough range to make it to Cybertron in a reasonable amount of time. The small file size was an unfortunate but necessary trade off for any functionality at all.

Shockwave stood still for a moment, trying to think up an appropriate next course of action. It was extremely difficult to admit, but Cybertron was a lost cause. He was so naive when he was first left in charge, he'd just assumed that he would be able to invent a revolutionary new energy source if given enough time and allowed to run free with experiments. However, all that he'd managed to accomplish was to burn though his meager supplies at a rapid pace.

Most the rest of the planet's residents had perished due to this lack of supplies. It was an all too common story, someone went out to scavenge for supplies and simply never returned. The Planet was so drained, it wasn't even able to accommodate the few remaining residents.

However, if Megatron was still alive… that must mean that the Decepticons had developed an alternative energy source. The Autobots' moon shot had somehow landed. Improbable, but, not impossible. Miracles didn't just happen, they were the work of many brilliant minds pushed to their absolute limits.

Shockwave put a finger to the side of his head, opening up a communication channel with the sole other Decepticon left on the planet. "Gather our resources, we're heading to earth." This other bot was a doctor named Glit. His frame was one that was small and nimble, made for fast movement and able to perform precision repairs. Certainly not intended for the battlefield, no - a singular laser-blast would be enough to permanently take him offline.

Normally, he was quite the snarker. But, this lack of energy, thousands of stellar cycles running at bare-minimum operation left him very little spare to think up clever quips. So, the two got to work - gathering all the resources they had to construct a two-bot vessel to the source of Megatron's signal.

This was a big gamble. If Shockwave's calculations were correct, if they stayed on Cybertron - they could last roughly a hundred more stellar cycles before their supplies ran out for good. However, if they instead used those resources to build the ship and make the journey… they would only last a mere thirty solar cycles further. It was tight, extremely tight, but… ultimately, the logical decision.