Chapter 2: Alliances Pt.2

Blood of Unicorn

"Are you certain it's him?" Starscream asked. "It could be background radiation. Or perhaps an Autobot trick."

The Vehicon shook its head. "Negative lord Starscream," it said. "The transmission has been authenticated. It is coming from Lord Megatron."

Starscream frowned and resisted the urge to let his displeasure be known. Blast that Megatron. Just when Starscream thought he finally had his chance to take command of the Decepticons, it got taken away from him. Why couldn't he have been a good meche and died when the spacebridge vortex collapsed around him?

Starscream let a frustrated sigh out. He really shouldn't have been surprised that Megatron survived something like that. He had a habit of returning from things that no other being could. Nor would Starscream be surprised if Megatron survived to spite him.

"Very well," he said in a bored tone. "Let us not make our Lord and Master wait any longer. We know how his patience is sometimes." The seeker repressed a shudder at the memories of when he tested the decepticon leader's patience.

The Vehicon wordless bowed and went to work. A moment later, the visage of Megatron appeared on the bridge of Unicron's Blood.

Megatron did not look pleased, even if he was hiding it. Starscream knows the decepticon leader well enough to know when he was hiding his displeasure, especially when it was directed at him. It was a good thing that Starscream was so good at bootlicking.

"Lord Megatron," Starscream said with joy in his voice. "I am so pleased that you are alive. When the space bridge vortex collapsed around your vessel, I had feared the worst."

Megatron's expression remained impassive as he spoke. "Yes, I am sure you are. I can only assume the reason why it took you so long to respond is because you were busy with something else."

Starscream chuckled. "We did have to make sure it was you, my lord," he explained. "But now that I see your wonderful visage. I am convinced this is no trick from the autobots or a delusion." Then, under his breath, he added. "Unfortunately."

Megatron rolled his optics. "Enough with the groveling, Starscream," he said. "I know for a fact you have been assembling what remains of the decepticon fleet during my absence. No doubt to proclaim yourself as leader in my place."

Starscream gulped. "Well, I could not simply leave our noble cause without a leader," he tried to explain. "Think of the consequences that would have occurred if you truly had died and I had not acted. The Autobots would have."

"Enough!" Megatron said, taking a step forward. On instinct, Starscream stepped back and raised his arms to protect himself. "We will discuss this later. But for now, I have an assignment for you."

Starscream relaxed a little, remembering he was talking to a hologram. "Yes, my lord," he said, straightening up and putting his arms to his side. "What shall I do for you, lord Megatron?"

Megatron nodded at him. "First off, you are to continue to gather what is left of our forces," he said. "Then have them meet my flagship at the following coordinates."

Starscream walked up to a nearby terminal. He examined the coordinates as Megatron sent them in. A look of surprise flashed across the seeker's face. They are set in the outer regions of the human home system. "My lord?" Starscream questioned as he turned to face Megatron.

Megatron glared at him. "I will explain later," he said with a low growl in his voice. "For now, do not question me."

Starscream slowly nodded. "Y-yes, my lord," he said, bowing to the decepticon leader. For the moment, he knew it was best to give in to the meche's whims. "I shall endeavor to follow your will, lord Megatron."

There was a slight curve of a smile on Megatron's face. Starscream hid his frown at the subtle display of arrogance. Like always, Starscream kept his cool by reminding himself that he would make Megatron pay one day. One day, he would be the ruler of the Decepticons and so much more. All Starscream had to do was be patient.

"Very good," Megatron said. "Perhaps you will prove yourself useful yet. Now then, I have something else I want you to do."

Starscream bowed. "What you command, my lord."

Nemesis

Megatron was stroking his chin as the hologram of Starscream vanished. "I do not get why you keep that one around," a small voice said. Megatron turned his head to the side and looked down. "Anyone with half a brain can see he's plotting against you."

The voice was coming from a human male standing next to him. He appeared to be young by the standards of the species, about a decade or two from the middle stage of his life. He wore layers of black and red clothing with several medal objects adorning his chest. The human male looked at him with blood eyes. Fleet Lord Yuda one of the highest-ranking military officials in the League and the man Megatron would be working with for the foreseeable future.

"Be that as it may," Megatron said with a grin. "I do find him useful. And keeping him as my second in command does allow me to. What do you humans say? "Keep him at arm's length."

Yuda nodded. "I can see the benefit there," he said evenly. "But remember, keeping him at arm's length makes it easier for him to plunge the dagger into your back."

Megatron smiled. He liked this human's style. "Perhaps," he said, looking outside the bridge of the Nemesis. Outside, he could see the world the humans called Titian and the gas giant it orbited. "But I have dealt with Starscream's treachery before. I know how to handle him."

He looked back at Yuda, seeing he had an unconvinced expression on his face. "I still say it would be best to get rid of him now," he said, turning around and walking away. Megatron followed him.

"Perhaps one day," Megatron said. "But for now, he is more useful to me alive than dead." Megatron tapped at some controls on a terminal. An image of a cylindrical object appeared over the terminal. "Now then, let us discuss this plan of yours."

Armstrong, Jack's quarters

Morale through the task force was low when they escaped the battle with Megatron's flagship. The arrival of the League fleet had caught the Allied fleet by complete surprise. As a result, a battleship and a cruiser were lost, and several other ships suffered varying levels of damage. Even the Enterprise had taken a glancing blow from a league cruiser. The Autobots had lost one of their three ships sent into the battle.

It was no wonder that a somber mood had fallen over the fleet. Thankfully, the damage suffered to what remained of the task force could be repaired, and the fleet was mostly intact. But Jack realized that was a small comfort for everyone else.

"So, just who are these League jokers?" Hotrod asked. Understandably, he looked more than a bit displeased by the whole situation. His holo-image paced through Jack's quarters. Bumble and Jix stood wherever they were and watched as the red and orange autobot made his displeasure known.

"We were this close," Hotrod gestured to emphasize his point. "Optimus had Megatron on the ropes. Just a little bit longer, we could have had him; we could have taken the Nemesis." Hotrod stopped in his tracks and looked Jack directly in the eyes. Being at the same height as the normally towering cybertronians was a little weird. Then again, scaled-up holograms would not have fit in Jack's quarters. "We could have ended this war. What gave these League fraggers the right to interfere?"

Jack shifted uncomfortably on his bunk bed. "Honestly, I don't know," Jack admitted. "I'm not privy to how the League thinks. Not unless you want me to believe their propaganda broadcasts."

Bumblebee looked at Jack. "So, who or what is this, League?" He asked. "I've heard them mentioned several times, and you said you were at war with them."

Jack nodded. "We are," he said. "For the last seven years. But really, our conflict goes way back." At this time, Hotrod had calmed down and was now sitting down. "The League of Independence, or simply the League, is a separatist movement."

"Separatist?" Hotrod asked.

"Basically, they're a group that wants to break off from the whole," Jack explained. "In this case, a group of colonies that want independence from the United Nations of Sol. For the most part, the League comprises of worlds in the outer solar system. Though you will find supporters in the belt and in the inner solar system."

"The belt?" Jix questioned. "I've heard that term brought up several times. What is it?"

"The asteroid belt," Jack answered. "It's a long stretch of asteroids that separates the inner and outer solar systems."

"I'm guessing a lot of fighting occurs there between the UNS and the League," Bumblebee said.

Jack nodded. "It's where the front lines have been in the war," he said. "And the previous wars."

"Wait," Hotrod said. "This isn't the first time you fought these guys? How many wars have you had?"

"Including this one?" Jack asked. He got a nod from Hotrod. "Three, the League was founded about hundred-fifty years ago. Though if what the historians believe to be true, its roots stretch back to the Martian Rebellions. That was about four hundred years ago."

"Martian Rebellions?" Hotrod asked.

Jack waved him off. "That's not important right now," he said. "I'll tell you later, or you know you could just look it up yourself." Like they could have done with the League. "I'm guessing the historical context isn't what you want. But rather, why are they around?"

The autobots nodded. Jack took a breath, collected his thoughts, and tried to recall what he learned in school. "On the face of it, the League wants to break away from the UNS and ensure the independence of all its members. They claim to be fighting against the tyranny of the United Nations of Sol, or be exact, the tyranny of Earth."

"This," Jix said, drawing the word out. "This sounds familiar." Bumblebee nodded while Hotrod looked between them cluelessly. Jack was not the only one to draw certain parallels between the histories of humanity and the Cybertronians.

"The League believes that Earth has been exploiting all of the colonies in the solar system," he continued to explain. "They say that they fight for the freedom and independence of all the colonies from the oppressive rule of Earth."

Bumblebee raised an… eyebrow? "Do they?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "It's what their propaganda transmissions say. And what I read in the history books."

"Okay, this is interesting and all," Hotrod said with a frown. "But that doesn't answer why these guys would be helping the cons. Don't they know that Megatron will turn on them?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "I wouldn't know," he said. At Hotrod's pointed stare, Jack throws him a bone. "My best guess is that they might have felt threatened by you guys."

"How have we threatened the League?" Jix asked. "We haven't done anything to them, have we?" He looked at Hotrod, who shook his head.

Bumblebee, though, appeared to be connecting the dots. "But we have been interacting with the UNS," he said. "Pits, we have our whole fleet around what the humans call Luna. I don't think that's something you just overlook."

Jack nodded. Knowledge of the Autobots was rapidly becoming common throughout the UNS. No doubt, even before the battle with Megatron's flagship, the League had learned of the Cybertronians.

Hotrod looked at his brother in disbelief. "So, what?" He said. "Do they think since we're all buddy-buddy with UNS, they have to get along with the cons? Megatron would never go for something like that. He'd betray them at the first chance he got. Wouldn't he?"

Before anyone could answer, Jack heard a chime at his door. "Come in," he said.

The door opens, revealing a young woman in a pilot's uniform. "Jack," she said. "You got to see this," she gestured for him to follow her.

Jack looked at his autobot friends. "I think this might be something important."

Jack would be more than he would have liked. Throughout the solar system, a transmission was sent out by the League of Independence. The image of High Chancellor Gallen Bhalla is on screens and holo-terminals through both the UNS and League.

"My fellow humans. Today is a momentous occasion in our history, one that shall be long remembered for countless generations to come. For we have met starfarers from another world. But not out there." He gestured to the skies above. "But within our own home. Fair citizens of the League of Independence, you have undoubtedly heard the rumors circulating from the inner solar system. Of battles held around Luna, of strange beings of living metal. Today, I shall lay those rumors to rest. In fact," he gestured his arms out to the side. Allowing for an imposing figure to step up and take his place. "One of them is here now. My fellow citizens of the League of Independence, allow me to introduce you to Megatron, a member of the Cybertronian race and leader of the Decepticon cause."

Megatron steps up, allowing all eyes to be on him. He had a smile on his face, which, for many, was unsettling. "Greetings, people of the League of Independence and to the rest of humanity. I am Megatron, leader of the noble Decepticon cause. But do not let that name frighten you, for it is a name given to us by our enemies to sow fear and distrust of us. But we wear it as a badge of honor. For if speaking the truth is deception, then we are gladly guilty."

"I think that answers your question," Bumblebee said dryly.

Hotrod barely acknowledged his brother as Megatron explained that it was the Autobots that were responsible for the Great War. How they destroyed Cybertron, and how they stole the PFC. Then he got to the battle over Luna.

"Then we arrived at the celestial body you call Luna. There, I opened a dialog with the United Nations of Sol. I desperately pleaded with them to hand over the autobots. I told them of their crimes and the future they had stolen away from Cybertron. I had hoped to find a spark of nobility among the leaders of the UNS. But alas, I found to my horror that the same rot of corruption that infested the autobot ranks also festered among the UNS."

"He's certainly putting up a good show," Admiral Colson commented.

"That he is," Cartwell said. "He's making me out to be the villain of this story." Megatron continued to tell his side of the story. Telling everyone how Cartwell and, by extension, the rest of the UNS had been the ones to fire the first shots.

"I think that hardly matters right now," President Blum said from across the table. His holo-gram flicked as he laced his fingers together. "What does matter now is what we will do going forward."

Cartwell was about to say something when he noticed that Colson seemed distracted by something. "Hold that thought," Colson said as his holo-gram flickered out of existence. Then, a minute later, he reappeared with a grim expression. "I just got word. One of our colonies in the belt has just been attacked."

"Then, just when all hope seemed lost. Just as I was about to issue a formal surrender in the hopes of saving my people, warships from the League of Independence bravely charged into the battle. They tore a hole through the lines of the UNS-Autobot armada surrounding my flagship. Without combined might, we drove the tyrants off, and my flagship was escorted into the safety of League space."

"That is why I am here today," Megatron said, holding his hands out in a grand display of gratitude. "And for I am grateful. But my joy is tempered by the sadness that burns at my spark. I have read much of your species and see great potential in humanity. Much like the Cybertronian people, humans have a vibrant and diverse culture. You have created grand displays of art and engineering. You have overcome the challenges of your homeworld and made a home on worlds far more hostile. Truly, I am impressed."

Not a complete fabrication, Megatron did find the humans to be interesting, and some of their feats were impressive. But to him, they would never compare to Cybertronians. But he knew the value of words and actions. On Cybertron, he learned how a few honeyed words could sway crowds to his cause. In that regard, the humans were no different.

"Which is why it breaks my spark to see so many of your kind under the rule of the so-called United Nations of Sol. Who claim to be the benevolent rulers of all humanity. But in reality, corruption burns at the very core of the UNS, and they exploit the colonies of Earth. All for their benefit. They have even made allegiance with the Autobots, the corrupt rulers of our dead world, Cybertron. They know not the dangers they have put all of humanity in."

Megatron spared a quick glance at the leader of the League. The man gave him a subtle nod. They both knew it was time to wrap things up. Megatron turned his attention back to the projectors and raised his arms into the air.

"But fear not," he said. "For a while, the UNS has aligned itself with the tyrannical Autobots. The people of the League of Independence have found a friend and an ally with the Decepticons. For we both speak the truth and fight for the freedom of all."

He turned to face the High Chancellor of the League. "May our alliance be a long and fruitful one," Megatron said, offering his hand to the Human leader.

High Chancellor Gallen Bhalla held his hand out and grabbed onto one of Megatron's fingers. "I welcome our newfound allies. May our enemies, the United Nations of Sol and the Autobots, tremble before our might. Their tyranny will end, and the chains that bind both of our peoples will be broken."

Together, they shook hands.

Back on the Armstrong, Jack and the rest of the Armstrong's crew assembled in the mess hall watched on in silence as the transmission ended.

"Well shit," someone next to Jack muttered.

Jack nodded, agreeing with the sentiment. Life had just gotten a lot more interesting.

"Attention," A voice called over the ship's intercoms. "All senior crew and pilots are to report to the war room for debriefing. New orders have been received."

Armstrong War Room

"Vanhalla-7 has fallen," Admiral Cartwell said. A ripple of conversation passed through the room.

Several senior personnel from the Armstrong had been assembled in the battleship's war room. This included the senior staff, their lieutenants, the squadron leaders of Armstrong's fighter compliment, and their wingmen. Jack was sitting in one of the middle rows. Other figures from the rest of the fleet were also present in holographic form, including Optimus Prime.

"Approximately seven hours ago, a combined League and Decepticon fleet assaulted the colony," Cartwell continued with the briefing. "The 23rd fleet under the command of Captain Marcus Anderson was forced to retreat. Last, they reported that the enemy was sending in wave after wave of shuttles to invade the colony. Our mission is to link up with the 23rd and attempt to retake the colony."

"Usm, sir?" One of the captains asked.

Cartwell nodded. "That's right," he said, then looked over at Optimus. "Since the autobot battleship Iacon Redeemed took minimum damage, their space bridge is still operational. We will use that to rendezvous with the 23rd in five hours. Until then, we will conduct additional repairs. Any questions?"

"Will the Autobots be joining us?" Captain Mendez asked.

Cartwell nodded. "They will be," he said. He looked over at the Autobot leader.

Optimus nodded and started to speak. "Now that the Decepticons have allied themselves with the League, we will do everything in our power to aid the UNS." Relief went through the room like a wave crashing down on them, though a few still seemed uneasy at the idea. "To this end, I've convinced Ultra Magnus to send us additional ships to rendezvous with the 23rd fleet. Cartwell, if I may ask," he turned to face the Admiral. "What are the specifications of this Vanahlla-7?"

Cartwell nodded and brought up a projection of a cylindrical object. "This is Valhalla-7," he said. "One of our colonies in the belt. Five kilometers in length and two and a half in diameter, it houses more than two and a half million people." Jack nodded along. That was pretty standard for a colony station. Some were, of course, bigger or smaller, but most fell in the same size as Valhalla-7. There were perhaps hundreds of them scattered throughout the solar system. Maybe even more, no one was quite sure about the numbers. Add that with asteroid colonies and the other types of stations, and humanity was spread far and wide across the solar system.

"However, unlike most other colony stations," Cartwell said. "Valhalla-7 was built as a military installation. Primarily, it acts as a supply station for UNS forces in the area and as a bastion against the League during wartime. As such, it and the other Valhalla stations were built with greater defenses than other colony stations."

"Not that it seemed to help," another ship captain commented. "Shouldn't the station's orbital defenses have helped with the battle?"

Cartwell stroked his chin. "That is one the particular things about the reports we've gotten," he said. "According to Captain Anderson, the station's orbital defense cannons failed to respond to the attack."

Looks of surprise were exchanged across the room. "You think it might have been sabotage?" Captain Mendez asked.

"That is our current speculation," Cartwell said. "But we won't know more until we've gotten more on the situation." He switched out the image of the colony to show three ships. "In addition to rallying with the 23rd fleet, three transport cruisers carrying over fifteen thousand troops will accompany us. We will escort them to Valhalla-7 and protect them long enough for them to disembark their troops and supplies. That way, if we fail to take the space around Valhalla-7, our people on the ground will still get their reinforcements. Hopefully, they can make a fight of it." He switched the holo-table off. "Now then, any questions?"

The debriefing lasted for about another hour as plans to retake Valhalla-7 were debated over.

Titian

"Well, that was quite the show we had," High Fleet Lord Ishank Laskar

Yuda nodded. "Certainly, must have entertained the masses," he said. "They live such dreary lives; a little entertainment doesn't hurt. We might even see a slight increase in productivity." Both men were walking down the halls of the Chancellor's Residence. A small group of aids trailed behind them.

Laskar nodded. "I take it our esteemed guest did not like that we have chosen to align ourselves with the Decepticons?"

Yuda smirked. "The former senator did have his complaints," he said. "But I reminded him that he is a guest here at our benevolence, and that could change very quickly."

"Is there a chance he might try to run from us?" Laskar asked. "He has done it with the UNS, he could do the same with us?"

Yuda scoffed. "And where would he run? Back to the UNS, they don't take kindly to traitors. No, I don't think he'll try running. Even if he does, he won't get far. Some of my best men are watching him, and he is locked in his room."

"Good," Laskar said. "I would like him to be questioned further. He has given us valuable information, and who knows what else he knows."

"I'll be sure to send someone later this day," Yuda said. "But I fear he may be reaching the end of his usefulness."

"Then we have to decide what to do with him when that comes," Laskar said.

"Uhh, excuse me sirs?" Both Fleet Lords looked behind to see an aid was looking at them nervously. "If I may be permitted to ask a question, my lords."

Both men exchanged glances, holding a quick and silent conversation. "You may ask." Laskar said with a kindly smile.

The aid still looked nervous but nodded his head. "Why are we aligning with the Decepticons? Didn't they try to wipe us out?"

Yuda raised an eyebrow. "Now, where did you hear that?" He asked.

The aid was biting his lip. "I've heard rumors, my lords," he said. "What they tried to do at Luna. They called us primitives, my lords. Can we honestly trust these people? They're not even human."

"Son, you should know better than to listen to the propaganda of our enemies," Laskar said in a stern voice. "Where do you think those rumors started?"

The aid did look ashamed. "My apologies, my lord," he said. "But can these Decepticons be trusted even if the rumors are false?"

Laskar nodded at the young man. "A fair question to ask," he said. "What we did was not for cooperation or some moral imperative. We did so for the survival of the League."

"The survival of the League?" The aide questioned. The other aids were listening closely as well. "I don't understand my lord."

"What is currently orbiting Luna?" Laskar asked the man.

The aide looked like he pondered the question for a moment. "The UNS Second Fleet, my lord," he said. "And a fleet of autobot warships."

"Exactly," Yuda cut into the conversation. "A fleet of alien warships that have advanced technologies. What would happen if the UNS were to gain access to that kind of technology? It would shift the fundamental balance of power in this solar system and not in our favor."

Yuda could see the gears running in the aid's mind. "That's why we saved the Decepticon leader," he said. "To counter the threat of the UNS acquiring advanced alien knowledge."

"And a possible UNS/Autobot alliance," Laskar stated. "I will not hide the truth from you, young man. The Decepticons might be untrustworthy, and we are prepared for the possibility they will betray us. But so as long as the threat of a UNS/Autobot alliance or some form of technological exchange remains, we must pursue this alliance with the Decepticons."

The aide bowed to the two Fleet Lords. "My apologies for questioning the wisdom of the League, my lords," he said. "I should have known better."

Laskar nodded. "It is understandable to have questions," he said. "Especially in times like we are living now. Now, if you are done with the questions, return to your work. Yuda, I believe we were going to discuss the situation in the belt."

Yuda nodded. "I was thinking of the best way our new allies could aid us in the frontlines."

Enroute to Valhalla-7

About four hours later, the task group using a spacebridge from the Autobot battleship Iacon Redeemed to rendezvous with the remains of the 23rd fleet. Further plans were discussed as the 23rd exchanged what they knew about the attack on Valhalla-7, and about three hours later, the combined force set out to take the colony back.

Altogether, UNS was fielding one carrier, six battleships, eleven cruisers, and ten other ships. The autobots had also gotten additional ships. They now had one battleship, two cruisers, and four frigates.

A formable force by any right, but this was tampered with by the knowledge that they would be facing a force of equal size. The battle of Valhalla-7 would be one of the larger battles fought in the war.

Enterprise

Captain Mendez puts down the Datapad in her hand on the armrest of her chair. The fleet would soon move out to reinforce Vahalla-7. "Is the Enterprise ready?" She asked her Xo.

The man nodded. "All departments report ready, captain," he said. "Our previous battle damage has been repaired, and fighters have been fully restocked and refueled. We're ready."

Mendez nodded. "Good, the rest of the fleet will need the fighter support. We don't know what the enemy has prepared for us. We'll need to be able to react quickly if something comes up."

Her Xo nodded his head. "You think we can handle this?" He asked. "Enterprise took a hit from that last battle. Had some fried nerves after that."

Mendez smiled. "I have faith in the crew, Commander," she said. "Besides, Enterprise isn't exactly a glass cannon. She can take a hit and give it back out if she has to."

"Captain," the comms officer said. "The Admiral has just given the order to move out."

Mendez nodded and looked at the tactical projection in front of her. The rest of the fleet was already moving out. "Helm, bring us with the rest of the fleet." She ordered. "We have work to do."

This time, she would make sure they would not be caught unaware again.

Iacon Redeemed

"How is she?" Optimus asked.

Autobot medic Ratchet looked at him with a sympathetic expression. "She is stable," he said. "It was fortunate that you got her to me when you did. Any later and," he looked over at the unconscious form of Elita-One. "I fear she might not have made it."

Optimus nodded, pleased by the good news from his old friend and not wanting to dwell on thoughts of what could have been. "May I speak to her?" He asked.

Ratchet looked like he had a retort on the edges of his mouth but stopped when he saw the expression on Optimus's face. Ratchet's expression softened, and he sighed. "I can rouse her to consciousness," he said. "But only for a short while. She needs her rest, Optimus. It's the best way she can recover."

Optimus nodded, knowing there was no room for argument with the Autobot medic. "Thank you, my old friend," he said.

Ratchet gave the Autobot leader a soft smile. "To use the human expression, don't mention it," he said. Then he walked over beside Elita One's body and tapped some controls on her life monitoring equipment. A soft hissing noise reached Optimus's audio receptors. "She'll be conscious in but a moment," Ratchet walked past Optimus. "I'll be outside monitoring her vitals. That will give the two of you some privacy."

Optimus was thankful for Ratchet's indiscretion. He nodded at the medic as he left the room. Optimus turned his attention back to Elita One.

She roused to consciousness. Her optics fluttered open, and she looked around the room in a drowsy state. "What?" She asked, trying to sit up. "What happened? Where am I?" she hissed in pain.

Optimus puts a hand on her shoulder and gently guides her back into the bed. "Easy there," he said. "You've only just woken up."

Elita looked at him, confused. "Optimus?" She said. "What are you?" She paused mid-sentence.

"Take it easy," Optimus said. "Take your time and try to gather your thoughts. What is the last thing you remember?"

Elita brought a hand up to her head, rubbing at the side. "I remember," she said. "We were fighting on a Decepticon warship. The Nemesis, I think." Optimus nodded and gestured for her to continue. "There were others there as well, not just us and the other Autobots. The humans, they were fighting with us."

Then, a frown appeared on her face. "And they were fighting each other," she said. "You turned to face them, and," she trailed off as her hand went for her shoulder. "And that's when Megatron."

She looked over at Optimus, who nodded at her. "That was when Megatron took a shot at me," he said. "During the fight, I hesitated, and he took advantage of that."

Elita One nodded. "I remember now," she said. "Another group of humans arrived and started to fight us. You turned to face them and had your cannon pointed at them. You didn't want to hurt them."

Optimus was silent for a moment. He had replayed the moment in his mind many times now. In his mind, he knew they were enemy combatants. Their weapons, while weak compared to their Cybertronian counterparts, were dangerous in concentrated fire. He could still remember the burning sting of plasma fire on his back. Had he fired his energon cannon at them, he would have been well within his right to do so.

But he hesitated. Because a part of him believed it wasn't his right to take a human life. "No, I didn't," he said. But now Megatron and the rest of the Decepticons had aligned themselves with a human faction. Now the two were attacking the UNS, humans who had offered him and the rest of the Autobots refuge. Optimus wondered how long he could cling to that belief with this change of events.

Elita One smiled at him and placed a hand on the side of his face. "You truly are a gentle one," she said softly. "It's one of the reasons why I love you."

Optimus smiled back at her and took her hand into his own. "Elita," he said. "Ariel."

Elita's smile grew. "Orion," she said. "I didn't know all that's happened since I blacked out. But I do know a decision is weighing heavily on your mind. And I can reasonably guess what it is."

Optimus tightens his grip around Elita's hand. They would be going into battle soon. But not just with the Decepticons but also against a force of humans. "Ariel," he said. "We are newcomers to this system. What right do we?"

Elita stopped him. "Orion, I know how you feel," she said. "Like you, I value the lives of these humans. No more than I would a cybertronian. I knew this decision was weighing heavily on your spark. But you don't have to shoulder the burden alone. I'm here for you."

Optimus smiled at his bound-mate. "I am uncertain as to what to do," he admitted.

Elita smiled back at him. "We don't always have to be certain," she said. "I believe that's part of being a leader. Dealing with the uncertainty, and that is something I know you can do." She slipped her hand out from Optimus's grip and placed it on his chest. "I don't think the Matrix of Leadership would have chosen you if you didn't." Her hand fell away from his chest. "Regardless of what choice you make, I'll support you, and so will the rest of the team. We'll find a way."

Optimus was silent for a long time. In his spark, he knew that his bound-mate was right, and she would be there to support him. "Thank you, Ariel," he said.

She smiled at him. "No need to thank me," she said.

Optimus heard a soft cough behind him. He turned his head to Ratchet standing by the door. "I think that will be enough," he said. "She needs her rest."

Optimus nodded at the medic. "Understood," he said. He turned back to face Elita. "I have to go now." He clasps his hands around Elita's. "You get some rest."

Elita smiled and nodded at him. "I well," she said. "Optimus, can you do me a favor before you go?"

"Anything for you," Optimus said.

"The next time you see Megatron. Give him a good hit for me, would you?" She said.

Optimus smiled. "I think I can do that," he promised. Then he left.

Space near Vanhalla-7, Armstrong

"Enemy strength," Cartwell said, looking over a projection of the colony.

"Data coming in now, Admiral," sensors said. "Reading three League Battleships, four Cruisers, one light, two mediums, and a heavy. I'm also reading eleven other smaller escort ships."

"What of the Decepticons?" Cartwell asked.

"Detecting seven of their cruisers, Admiral," sensors reported. "And five of their smaller ships. I don't see any of their battleships, Admiral."

Cartwell nodded. "Then let us be thankful for small miracles," he said. By the standards of the UNS, they were dealing with ten battleships at the center of the enemy fleet. That wasn't anything anyone in their right mind would want to contend with. Not without a force of equal or greater strength, preferably the latter.

But at this moment, the allied force was at a disadvantage in terms of firepower. Cartwell did not like it, but he had been dealt with worse before. What the Allied fleet needed was a good plan.

"Can we get in contact with our forces on the colony?" Cartwell asked.

"I believe so, Admiral," the communications officer said.

Cartwell nodded. "Good, then get me, General Sanders," he said. "Or whoever the highest-ranking officer that is still alive. Also, get Prime in on this."

"Yes, Admiral."

A few seconds later, the image of Optimus Prime appeared close to the projection of the colony and the enemy fleet. "Admiral Cartwell," Prime greeted him.

"Prime," Cartwell greeted back. "We're trying to contact the colony. See what the situation is like in there."

Optimus nodded. "A prudent course of action," he said.

The communication to the colony took about a minute to receive an answer. Cartwell was relieved when the image of a tall, lanky man appeared. "This is General Sanders, in command of the forces defending Valhalla-7," the man said. "To whom am I speaking?"

"General Sanders, it's good to see you're still alive," Cartwell said. "I'm Fleet Admiral Cartwell, commanding officer of the Lunar Defense fleet, temporarily in command of taskforce Delta-five."

"Cartwell?" Sanders said, surprised. "How did you get out here?" He shook his head. "Never mind, we have more pressing issues right now. I assume you want a status update?"

Cartwell nodded. "I need to see what kind of grinder I'm sending my people into here," he said.

"Understood," Sanders said. "Right now, we have the command bunker secure along with most of the Valhalla-7. The enemy has managed to capture several sections of the colony, and I'm receiving scattered reports of enemy contacts across the board."

The general crossed his arms. "I don't know how they did it. But one moment, we were receiving word that a league fleet and some unidentified vessels had engaged the 23rd fleet. Then, the next, I'm getting reports of League forces appearing across the colony, backed up by these giant robots. Cartwell, what's going on here? Did the League invent Gundams while we weren't looking?"

"I'm afraid not, General," Cartwell said. "Those are Decepticons, a faction of the cybertronians."

"Cybertronians?" The General repeated. "Ahh, the president's address and all the stuff we're hearing from Earth. So, it's true then we're not alone anymore."

"We never were," Cartwell said. He gestures over to Optimus Prime. "This is Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots. A faction that oppresses the Decepticons."

Sanders looked at the leader of the Autobots with a critical eye for several seconds. He nodded at him. "I see," he said. "I assume he's here to help then?"

"We are," Prime said. "And I am sorry that you have been caught up in this. Our fight with the Decepticons should have been ours alone. But now they have joined with your enemies."

General Sanders waved him off. "Don't apologize," he said. "The fact that you are here helps. Plus, I get the feeling that there's a lot more going on. But I don't have the time for a long-winded explanation."

"Agreed," Cartwell said. "General, can you tell us what happened after the enemy started appearing? Was the enemy somehow able to take control of the colony's orbital defenses? According to reports from the 23rd fleet, the defense cannons were never activated."

Sanders crossed his arms. "That's the thing," he said. "They would have taken the command bunker to take control of Valhalla-Seven's defense cannons. Seeing as I'm talking to you right now. I can confirm that they have not taken it. But they did try. In fact, right around the time the enemy started appearing, enemy contacts appeared within our perimeter."

"Appeared?" Cartwell questioned.

"Right out of thin air," Sanders confirmed. "Or rather out of these strange green portals."

"Ground bridges," Prime said.

General Sanders gave him a sideways glance. "It caused quite a bit of chaos in our ranks. But we got a handle on the situation and secured the command bunker. Took quite a few prisoners from the League but none from these Decepticons. Those tin-men all went down with a fight. I lost quite a few good people."

"So why then didn't the defense cannons activate?" Cartwell said. "With those, the 23rd may have never been forced to retreat."

"I think I might have an explanation for that," Sanders said. "If you would?"

Cartwell nodded. He knew what the man was asking for. "One moment," he said, working at his station. "Prime?"

"Already done, Admiral Cartwell," Prime said. "Link established."

"Same here," Cartwell said. "Go ahead, General. Show us what you got."

"Just a moment," the image of Sanders began to work on something.

The image of the colony shifted to show the interior. It then zoomed in on a highlighted area. "We believe the reason why the station's main defenses didn't respond is because the command signals are being intercepted," Sanders said. "Or rather being blocked."

"Blocked, you say?" Cartwell questioned, intrigued and unsettled by the notion.

Sanders nodded. "Yes, blocked," he confirmed. "Every time we tried to send a command for the station's defenses to activate, it gets blocked out. We believe the source of this interference is somewhere around here."

Cartwell turned his attention to Prime. "Prime, do you know something about this?" He asked.

Prime nodded. "I do, Admiral Cartwell," he said. "The decepticons have most likely deployed some form of signal jammer. They are frequently used to prevent us from using automated defenses such as AA towers and Artillery cannons. They could even be used to block out transmissions in their radius."

Sanders nodded. "That would explain some of the communication trouble in the area," he said. "I assume the only reason why we're having this conversation is because the main communications area is a fair bit stronger than the local comms."

Primed nodded. "The good news is that the signal jammers act as a double edge sword," he explained. "Their ability to use automated defenses and communications will also be hampered."

Cartwell was rubbing his chin. "General Sanders, have you been picking up heavy communications traffic beyond the League/Decepticon fleet and their ground forces?"

Sanders nodded. "A whole lot of it," he said. "Way more than you would expect. Why would you?" A look of realization appeared on the man's face. "Of course."

Prime looked between the two men with a perplexed expression. "Admiral Cartwell, would you enlighten me as to what you are implying?"

"I believe the enemy might be using communications from their fleet to coordinate the ground invasion of the colony," Cartwell said. "Like how we're having this conversation with General Sanders now, the League and the Decepticons must be using their ship communications to direct their forces on Vanhalla-7."

Optimus rubbed at his chin plate. "I see," he said. "Then perhaps you are thinking that once we engage the enemy fleet, their ability to communicate with their ground forces will be hampered."

Cartwell nodded. "Close but not quite," he said. He worked at the terminal to bring up a display of the enemy fleet. "If they used every ship as a communications relay, then things would quickly get chaotic. No, what I'm thinking is they are using one ship as a communications hub."

That was when it dawned on the Autobot leader. "You're hoping to take it out," Prime said. "If the enemy loses that ship, it'll throw their ground forces into chaos."

Cartwell nodded. "That will give General Sanders a chance to go on the offensive," he said.

"That would be a nice change of pace," the General said. "But I'm unsure if I have the manpower to launch an offensive. Not a successful one."

"Not to worry, General," Cartwell said with a smile. A plan was rapidly forming in his mind. "We got transport ships with us carrying more than fifteen thousand soldiers. Plus, the Marine Regiments attached to my fleet. That should give you more than enough people to retake the colony. But we will need to take out that signal jammer first."

Cartwell zoomed back in on the highlight section of the colony. "Without them, we can't drive the enemy fleet off. Which means our main transport will be in danger. My plan will be as follows. First, my fleet will engage the League/Decepticon fleet occupying the space around Valhalla. Our main task will not be to drive them off, not yet, anyway. Instead, the objective will be to cover our Marine forces as they transport over to the colony. At the same time, we will attempt to identify and destroy the enemy communications ship."

"At which point I'll order my forces to launch a full offensive on the enemy," Sanders said. "Your Marine forces will join up with mine. What if the signal jammer?"

"I will handle that," Prime said. "I'm assuming Admiral Cartwell will have a strike team ready to take that signal jammer."

Cartwell nodded. "Three full squads," he said. He had been hoping the autobot leader would offer his services.

Prime nodded. "I would like permission for my team to join the strike force," he said. "I will lead the attack on the signal jammer." Cartwell raised an eyebrow at the meche. He had expected help from the autobots but not from the big man himself. Not with a member of his team down.

But Cartwell wasn't about to pass up an opportunity like this. "Permission granted," he said.

Prime nodded. "Autobot soldiers will also join the battle on other fronts," he said. "The Decepticons will have no qualms about targeting human forces. They will need autobot aid to make this battle less costly."

This brought them a question that had been burning in the back of Cartwell's mind. "What about you then?" he asked. Don't get him wrong; he appreciates that an alien could put more value into human life than most humans. But this was war. "Will you have any qualms about targeting human forces or ordering your people to do the same? Remember, we're not just facing your enemy, the Decepticons."

A long silence fell over the room as a pensive expression spread across the Autobot leader's face. Cartwell knew that look all too well. It was the look of a person who had a decision to make, which, no matter the choice, would bring endless pain to them. Cartwell had been forced to make such choices several times in his life, and they all still weighed on him.

He didn't envy the position Prime was in, but he did need a decision from him now. Something shifted on the meche's face. A resolve came over the autobot leader's face. Somehow, Cartwell could sense the pain hidden under it. A decision had been made, it would seem.

Optimus looked at Cartwell with a steely gaze. "We will do what we must," he said.

Cartwell looked at the Autobot leader for a long while. Then he nodded at him. He had gotten all the answers he needed for the moment. Time would tell how well that it would pan out. Cartwell turned his attention back to General Sanders. "We should be entering engagement range with the enemy soon. I suggest we get underway now."

Sanders nodded. "Agreed," he said. "I'll order my forces to attack as soon as your fleet engages the enemy. I'll try to see about having some of my people around the area of the signal jammer. Hopefully, they'll be of some help. Otherwise, we'll try to draw the enemy forces out."

Cartwell nodded at the man. "That would be appreciated," he said. "Good luck down there."

Sanders nodded at him. "Same to you, Admiral," he said. His image winked out as the communication was cut.

With the General gone, Cartwell turned his attention back to Prime. "I hope you're ready for this Prime," he said. "This battle will not be an easy one."

"I understand Admiral Cartwell," Prime said. "And I am prepared to face any obstacle that gets in our way." Then his image vanished.

"I hope so," Cartwell said. He straightened his uniform and returned the projector to an image of the colony and the enemy fleet. "Let's get things underway. Open a channel to the fleet."

"Channel open, Admiral."

"All ships engage the enemy."

Space

The counterattack from the UNS and the Autobots had been an expected move by the League forces and their Decepticon allies. Even before they detected the allied fleet approaching, they established lines to repulse any attack. The first line, consisting of three league frigates and a single Decepticon destroyer, armed their weapons as the first enemy waves came for them.

They were faced by two UNS corvettes and three frigates. All surrounded by a swarm of fighters. The UNS fighters would be the first to engage them. Carrying out slashing attacks on the league frigates and making a pass at the Decepticon warship. Several fighters would be vaporized by the combined laser fire of the frigates, but most would get through, doing some damage.

However, the most concerning thing was the Single Autobot cruiser at the center of the UNS attack group. Or rather, it should have been. The League forces had been assured by their Decepticon allies that the autobots would never fire on human targets. Even if they were active belligerents against them, the Autobots would never kill a human. Optimus Prime would never permit them to become a casualty in their war.

This thought would be proven wrong when the Autobot cruiser opened up its main weapons on a league frigate. Beams of energon tore through the frigate's shields and bore right into its hull. In a flash of light, the frigate was gone. Then, the Autobot cruiser moved on to its next target.

At the same time, UNS ships reached weapons range of the enemy ships and immediately opened fire. The UNS frigates focused their fusion beam fire on the Decepticon destroyer, while the corvettes made attack runs on the remaining League frigates with their fusion bolt cannons.

The League/Decepticon's first line of defense quickly fell apart under the assault of the Allied fleet.

League Flagship

Aboard his flagship Lower Fleet Lord Farrel frowned. He turned his gaze towards his decepticon counterpart. "I thought you said the Autobots would never attack a human target," he said.

The decepticon commander looked impassive as he spoke. "I did," he said. "I was under the impression that the Autobots would be too soft to commit to such an action. Or that their leader would never allow it to happen. Optimus Prime is known for his compassion, especially towards those smaller and weaker than him."

Farrel gritted his teeth at the subtle jab from the alien machine. He felt that this alliance with the Decepticons was a mistake. Surly, the High Chancellor had made a mistake by accepting the help of these Decepticons. Farrel shook his head and berated himself for thinking a treasonous thought like that. He was a loyal officer in the League Navy. It was not his place to question the actions of the High Chancellor.

The commander of the League fleet turned his attention back to the battle unfolding on the projection. "Does that look soft to you?" He said in an almost accusatory tone.

"My lord," an officer said. "The first line is crumbling." Farrel could see two League frigates were gone now, and the third was breaking off from the battle. The Decepticon destroyer was now a drifting hulk that only left a scant few fighters to hold the line. In exchange, all they managed to do was take out a single UNS corvette and a small handful of fighters.

Farrel had never expected the first line to hold out under an assault from the UNS or the Autobots. But he had expected them to hold longer and to do more damage to the enemy force. "Order the remaining fighters to fall back to the second line. I also want two more frigates to reinforce the second line," he turned to face the decepticon commander. "You think you could spare another ship to reinforce them? One of your frigates, perhaps?"

He would have liked to have asked for one of their cruisers. Those things were essential battleships compared to human warships. But he knew that was unlikely to happen. Their main battle line had all of the League battleships and all of the decepticon cruisers held together to create a powerful battle group. With the remaining two lines of defense, they would be able to shell the enemy fleet from a safe distance.

"I think a single frigate can be spared," the decepticon commander said. "But the rest must be kept around our main battle line. Any fewer and the enemy may find a hole they can exploit."

Farrel nodded. "That should suffice," he said. "So as long the second line holds, our main battle line can destroy or drive off the enemy fleet." On the projection, he saw the ships under his command reposition themselves, and the second line was reinforced.

Then, he saw a mass of several smaller contacts emerging from the enemy fleet. Missiles?

He got the confirmation from the sensors officer. "Fleet lord," she said. "The enemy fleet has deployed a swarm of transport shuttles."

Farrel frowned. He should have known the UNS and Autobot would try to reinforce the defenders of Vanhalla-7. Judging by the size of the fleet, he estimated that around a thousand or more marines could be deployed. Then he remembered that a carrier was in their group, which could easily up the number to two thousand.

"Belay my orders to the first line's remaining fighters," he said. "Order them to attack those shuttles. Then, send word to our ground forces. Tell them that enemy reinforcements are imminent." He knew there was no way for those fighters to take out every shuttle launch by the UNS/Autobot fleet. There were too many, and its fighter protection was too extensive.

But he did have to make sure that as few made it to the colony as he could. Valhalla-7 would fall.

Space

"Incoming enemy fighters," someone said.

The information came into Jack's HUD. A swarm of enemy fighters was accelerating at an attack vector. They were coming for the transport shuttles. Jack tightened his grip as new orders appeared on his HUD.

"Red leader here," his squadron leader said. "Red squad breaking off to engage the enemy."

Jack veered his fighter off to join up with the rest of his squadron. Another squadron of UNS fighters also broke off from the escort group.

"Indigo Leader here. Indigo Squadron also breaking off and joining Red Squadron."

Jack continued to look at his HUD, analyzing the information on the league fighter formation heading their way. He estimates the enemy force to be between three and four squadrons. His group would be outnumbered by about two to one.

Jack took a deep breath as the two formations of fighters closed in on each other. When he let his breath out, the order came down. "All birds fire your missiles," Red Leader said. "Then break formation and pick and choose your targets."

"Sir!" Jack said with everyone else. He pulled the trigger on his fighter's missile system. A moment later, two missiles flew from his fighter. Joining the barrage fired by the rest of the UNS formation.

In response, the League fighters fired their own barrage of missiles. Jack broke his fighter out of formation before one or more of the league missiles could get a lock on him. He pulled his bird to the side with a powerful blast from its thrusters.

A moment later, he got the warning on his HUD. "Missile lock detected."

He could see a missile heading right for him on his fighter's sensors. Jack kept calm and took his fighter into a sharp set of maneuvers to throw the missile off him. But the missile kept on him and was rapidly closing in on him.

Jack tapped at some controls, preparing a last-ditch effort to get rid of the missile. With the prep work done, Jack's hand went back to the flight controls. The missile closed on him, getting closer to his bird even as he tried to throw it off with more maneuvers.

Then, just as the missile was a second away from hitting his fighter, he pulled it into a sudden and sharp turn. For half a second, the fighter's initial dampeners lagged, so Jack felt several G's of gravity pushing down on him. But even with the pull of gravity hitting him, Jack reached his hand out and hit the controls to the countermeasure's system.

On the HUD, he saw everything happening. First, with so little time to react, the missile flew past his fighter and was about to correct its course. But before that could happen, his fighter fired off several clusters of junk. The missile then picked up the new contacts, and to Jack's relief, it locked onto the junk. A moment later, the missile was gone, and so was a sizeable portion of the junk ejected by his fighter, disappearing in a small fireball.

All of this happened in a span of about two or three seconds. Then the chatter reached his ears. "Red four and five are down," some said. "Red six has taken damage and breaking off from the battle."

"Indigo-three is gone," another voice said.

Jack looked at the HUD to confirm what was happening, and indeed, four UNS birds had been taken out of the fighting. Three were just gone, no signal or anything. A fourth was limping away from the battle.

Then Jack looked at the state of the League fighters and almost smiled when he saw they were in far worse shape. He estimated that about a squadron's worth of league fighters had met their end by UNS missile fire.

The numbers had been evened out a bit more; the UNS fighters were still outnumbered by their league counterparts. But with the display he had just seen, Jack suspected that wouldn't last long.

He pulled his fighter into a turn and went after the nearest League fighter he could see. The transport shuttles would reach their destination.

Valhalla-7

Bumblebee was amazed by what he was seeing. Almost all of the transport shuttles, human and autobot, had made it to the colony's docking bays. This included Team Prime's shuttle. From the docking bays, the combined force of UNS marines and Autobots made their way through a series of tunnels built between the shell of the colony and the habitual area.

That by itself had been impressive to the young autobot. The tunnels created a dense and complex network that Bee was reasonably sure only the creators would know how to navigate. Quite good for when the place was invaded. It gave the defenders an advantage. Some of the tunnels were big enough for the autobots to move through. Bumblebee figures were intended for human vehicles to move through, either to haul around freight or mobilize their mechanized units.

In a way, they reminded him of the tunnels he and his brother sometimes used to move through the ruined cityscapes on Cybertron.

Then Team Prime and their human escorts reached the surface. The young autobot had expected to see a vast city spread out as far as his optics could see. He expected to see the same in the skies above him.

He didn't expect to see so much green and blue. "Bee, are you seeing this?" Hotrod asked in an amazed voice.

Bumblebee nodded, unsure if he should believe what his optics were seeing. "I am," he said. "It's like," he trails off, uncertain how to explain it.

"Like the humans found a way to shrink a planet down and stuck it in here," Wheeljack said, looking just as impressed.

Bumblebee nodded. That summed up what he and the others were seeing. In addition to the city, they saw a whole landscape hanging over their heads. A vast plain of green and brown stretched out from one end of the colony to the other. Bumblebee could even see a large lake and several rivers crisscrossing the surface.

The sight had left the Autobots amazed. However, Optimus appeared to have better control over it, and his features were schooled to a natural expression. "It is most impressive," he said.

Some of the humans appeared to be amused by the Autobot's amazement. "What?" One of them asked. "What were you expecting? A whole city in space?"

Hotrod nodded. "Well, yeah?" he said. "What else would you build?"

The humans chuckled among themselves. "Well, there are some colonies that are like that," a marine said, rubbing his chin. "But most will be more like this one." He gestured to the surroundings.

Another marine spoke up. "Some don't have cities or any sign of modern habitation," he said. "They're more like massive preserves or try to emulate earlier periods in Earth's history."

"Earlier periods?" Bumblebee quired."

But before he could get an answer, Wheeljack interjected. "While this fascinating and all," he said in a dry tone. "We still have a mission to do."

It was then that Bumblebee heard the sounds of fighting across the colony. He felt his shoulders sag, feeling more than a bit embarrassed. He had gotten so wrapped up in the sights of the colony that he had forgotten why he and the others were here.

"Wheeljack is right," Optimus said. "Questions can come later. But for the moment, we have a fight to win."

The Autobots nodded at Optimus while the human marines saluted him. "Understood, Optimus," Bumblebee said.

Optimus turned his attention to one of the Human marines. "Corporal," he addressed the man by rank. "What is the status of our other forces? Have they arrived at their destinations safely?"

The Human Corporal nodded. "Yes, sir," he said. "All units have arrived at their designated points, and the defenders of Valhalla-7 have launched a full-scale assault on the enemy force. Our people are reinforcing them as we speak or hitting the enemy from behind their lines."

Optimus nodded, pleased by the answer he got. "Good," he said. "That will give us a chance to take the signal jammer. How close are we to it?"

"Difficult to tell Optimus Prime, sir," the Corporal said. "We went as far as the tunnels would get us without the enemy detecting us. No doubt they would have occupied or collapsed the tunnels under the area of the signal jammer. But we should be in the general area. In fact, the general said he had a guerilla force in the area. They were to rendezvous with us and lead to the location of the jammer?"

The Corporal looked around the surrounding city block. "However, it appears they have yet to arrive," he said.

As if on cue, the sounds of explosions roar across the air, and the sounds of battle, louder than the others, reach the ears and receptors of the strike force. "I think I can venture a guess what happened to them," Wheeljack commented, looking in the direction of the battle noises.

Optimus nodded. "I concur," he said. "Everyone, let's rendezvous with the guerilla force the general sent for us. They may need our help."

"Sir, yes, sir," the UNS marines choused as they set out to move.

Bumblebee, Hotrod, and Wheeljack nodded at the Autobot leader. "Autobots, roll out!"

"Get down!" Hatsuko threw herself at a nearby soldier, knocking him to the ground. Just as a stream of plasma sailed over their heads. Then, in one motion, Hatsuko rose to a kneeling position out of cover and fired her plasma rifle. A second later, a League soldier hit the concrete after two bolts tore through his chest.

Just as quickly, she ducked back down as a hail of plasma fire came her way. The soldier she had knocked over nodded at her. "Thank you, ma'am," he said, getting back to his feet in a crouching position.

"Don't thank me," Hatsuko said. "Just remember to pay attention. You'll stay alive longer that way." She poked out from cover and fired a quick burst from her rifle. She didn't bother to check if she hit anything or anyone as she pulled herself back into cover.

Hatsuko gritted her teeth as an explosion sent dust flying over her and the other soldiers around her. Hatsuko was not having a good day. Really, that could be applied to the whole colony. But at the moment, she was a little more concerned with herself and her unit.

Yesterday, she and the rest of her marine unit were enjoying their downtime on the colony. She was at a shop, maybe getting new clothes, or perhaps she was getting a drink. Hatsuko could not remember what her purpose at the shop was. Not that it mattered the next moment.

She got the alert that a League fleet had been detected alongside some strange ships. That was about when the enemy started to appear through green portals, and all hell broke loose.

Now, here she was, fighting against the League and their new giant robots. Hatsuko gritted her teeth as she saw one of the robots aiming for her position. Cursing under her breath, Hatsuko shoved the soldier next to her out of the way. "Move!" She shouted.

The soldier was quick to comply. Not even a second later, there was a crater right where the two had been. Both soldiers ran to cover, keeping their heads low and bodies tucked in to offer the League soldiers smaller targets.

Just before she dived into cover, Hatsuko fired her plasma rifle at the robot. She briefly glimpsed the plasma bolts burning into the thing's armor. Once behind cover, Hatsuko took a second to assess the situation. Her combat unit had been ordered to rendezvous with an allied unit. Reinforcements, it seemed, had arrived about bloody time, in her opinion.

But she had not seen any sign of new UNS forces entering the battle. Much less anything that could handle those transforming robots the League had. Decepticons was the name thrown around the com lines.

She had about twelve men and women under her command now, down from the sixteen she had before the fight. Two were on the ground, lifeless from the plasma bolts in their body; the other two were just gone.

Hatsuko repressed the urge to curse for the nth that day and failed. "Damnit, where are those reinforcements?"

It was like she had summoned them. A bolt of blue light flew through the air and tore through the chest plate of one of the robots. Then another, and another, four shots bore into the machine's chest until it exploded in a shower of sparks and metal.

Hatsuko was momentarily stunned as she watched the robot fall to the ground. It had taken her unit concentrated fire to achieve the same results. She barely registered that a heavy shower of plasma fire was now raining down on the enemy position.

She did, however, see a new soldier kneeling beside her. Not anyone she knew from this unit. "Who are you?" Hatsuko asked the newcomer.

"Corporal Thomas," the man said. "We're your reinforcements. We're here with the Autobots to retake the colony."

"The Auto-what?" Hatsuko asked.

She got her answer in the form of four giant robots running into battle. For a second, Hatsuko feared that the enemy had flanked them and was about to obliterate the UNS force. Then, the new robots started to fire on the League. Most specifically, focusing their fire on the robots on the League's side.

Two more of the purple machines went down under a hail of blue bolts of whatever it was they were firing. Two of them, one with yellow and black colors and the other red and orange, took cover behind buildings and started to fire at the enemy.

The other two continued to charge at the enemy. Hatsuko looked at Corporal Thomas. "The hell?" She said. "When did everyone get giant fighting robots?"

The man gave her a confused look. "You haven't been paying attention to the news lately, have you?" Hatsuko shook her head. She wasn't a fan of the news networks. Too much useless junk or propaganda for her taste. "Let's just say that it's a lot more complicated than that."

Hatsuko let out a frustrated sigh. "The Q and A can wait," she said. She looked back at the battle, seeing that the other two machines had gotten into a melee with the League robots. Their arm cannons apparently having been switched out for blades at some point.

She ignored them for the time being and focused on the human elements of the League attackers. You know, the people she could fight. Their lines were in chaos as the machines fought among themselves. They were dividing their plasma fire between the newcomer machines and the UNS lines. There was no coordinated effort between the two lines of fire.

"Let's focus on finishing this fight," Hatsuko said. "I trust those robots of ours can manage their League counterparts?"

Corporal Thomas nodded. "They're not robots exactly," he explained. "But yes."

"Good enough for me," Hatsuko said. "Everyone move forward! The League lines are in disarray; press in and crush them. Form two lines; one will advance on the League forces, while the other will provide cover fire. Move!"

Hatsuko moved out of cover, firing her plasma rifle. Corporal Thomas was close behind her, along with several others. A wall of plasma fire rained down on the league position. Taken by surprise at the sudden offensive, two, no three league soldiers were cut down. The ill-coordinated League soldiers started to return fire with their plasma weapons. Probably to halt the UNS advance, but their efforts lacked coordination as each soldier seemed to do their own thing.

The advancing force of UNS soldiers and marines weaved through the barrage of League plasma fire, taking cover where they could. They were covered by the second line as they fired their weapons from covered positions, preventing the League forces from cutting down the advancing first line.

The advance did not come cost-free, however. Two UNS soldiers had gotten unlucky and took a plasma bolt to the chest. Another took a shot to the shoulder and was being treated by their fellow soldier behind cover.

But despite this, the UNS kept advancing on the League position. More league soldiers fell under the fire on UNS plasma rifles. At the same time, the machines fighting for the UNS had finished their league counterparts and were turning their weapons on the human forces of the League.

It was all too much for the enemy. "Fall back!" Someone shouted. "Fall back!"

Hatsuko let a relieved sigh as the league soldiers turned their backs and ran from their positions. "Sir, the enemy is in retreat," a soldier beside her said. "Shall we pursue?"

Hatsuko shook her head. "Negative," she said. "Secure our position while I have a talk with the reinforcements." The soldier nodded and began to bark out orders to the others.

Hatsuko surveyed the area, looking for the Corporal she had met a moment earlier. She found him standing near one of the robots, this one being red and blue and bigger than the others. They were talking, which Hatsuko found odd.

Was someone piloting the thing? But then, why give it a face and make it so expressive? She walked up to Corporal, intending to get answers. The Corporal and the robot both noticed her approaching.

Corporal Thomas saluted her. "Corporal Johnathan Thomas, 807th mobile assault force," he said.

Hatsuko returned the salute. "Commander Nakama Hatsuko, 12th Valhalla Marine Defense Corps," she said. "Glad you arrived. We were about to be overrun by the League and their new war machines." Then she looked up at the war machine next to them. It was giving her a curious stare. But at the same time, under it, she could tell it hidden a noble and wise spirit, strange. "Speaking of, I guess we have our own now."

The Corporal gives her a knowing smile. "About that," he said. Then he looked up at the towering machine. "Prime, maybe you should introduce yourself."

Only having enough time to raise an eyebrow, Hatsuko saw the machine kneel and give a soft smile. "I am Optimus Prime," it said in a masculine voice. "Leader of the Autobots, and we are here to help."

Hatsuko's life had taken a turn for the strange.

Enterprise

"Captain," an officer shouted. "We think we might have identified the communication's ship."

Captain Mendez nodded. "Bring it up now," she ordered. A second later, the image of the battle shifted and zoomed in on a League cruiser.

The battle with the League/Decepticon fleet was at a standstill at the moment. The enemy's second line held firmly, keeping the allied fleet from advancing on their main battle line, which was firing their most powerful weapons at maximum range. Cartwell, for the most part, was smart enough to keep the bulk of the fleet at the most extreme edge of the enemy's main battle line, where their weapons had little effect.

Obviously, this had the same effect on the allied fleet. So much of the fighting was left between the enemy's second defense line and the ships the UNS/Autobots sent to break it. Swarms of fighters flew everywhere.

Mendez looked at that communications ship, noting it was held back behind the enemy's main battle line. Mendez rubbed her chin, a smart choice and one she would have made. Now, how would they destroy it without sacrificing half of the fleet?

Mendez examines the projection showing the ship, dozens of plans going through her mind and discarded just as quickly as they came. She pulled the image out, showing the rest of the fleet and the battle raging. Her eye caught notice of something. She focuses the image on the object of her attention.

"That could work," she said. A plan was forming in her mind. "Open a channel to the Armstong. Tell the Admiral I have an idea."

League Flagship

The enemy was up to something Farrel was sure of it. The battle was at a standstill. Their second line was holding out under the assault from the UNS and the Autobots. Their main battle line was firing fusion beams and energon beams at maximum range, keeping the bulk of the enemy fleet at a distance.

It was slow going, but Farrel was confident they would drive the UNS/Autobot fleet away. They just didn't have the firepower to defeat ten battleships. But something felt off to the man. Whoever was in command of the enemy fleet was planning something. Farrel could feel it in his bones.

The question was, what was that plan, and how could he counter it? A notification popped up on the terminal next to Farrel. He looked at it. The situation on the ground side was not as ideal. The defenders of Valhalla-7 had launched a massive assault, taking League/Decepticon forces by complete surprise. Worse yet, reinforcements for the defenders had joined the battle. A request for additional support was being sent to Farrel.

Farrel was about to respond when one of the bridge crew shouted. "Fleet Lord! New enemy contacts."

Farrel's head snapped up. "Where?" He shouted. Had an additional enemy force snuck up on them? But that was impossible. Long-range sensors would have detected more ships coming for the colony.

"They're coming from the colony itself, sir," the crewman said. "Bring them up now."

Farrel's eyes widened. That couldn't be. They had taken out the fighter force defending the colony. They shouldn't have anything left to throw at them. But his eyes couldn't be lying to him. On the projection, he saw new contacts coming from the colony.

No, not from it. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks from behind. The new contacts had used the colony as a cover to mask their approach. Farrel zoomed in on the projection to see what new threat he was dealing with now.

It didn't take him long to deduce what it was. A single squadron of fighters escorting a squadron of bombers. Farrel eyes narrowed, and that was hardly a threat to the main battle line. So, why send such a small force? At best, they could destroy one… Farrel shot out of his chair.

"Calculate their course and speed," he ordered. "Now! Quickly!"

Seconds passed as the Fleet Lord watched the strike craft flying away from the station heading for his fleet. "Trajectory calculated, my lord," a crewman said.

"Put it on the display, now!" Farrel barked. A blue line appeared in front of the cluster of contacts stretching to the main battle line of the fleet. His eyes narrowed where the line ended, right next to the communications cruiser.

Farrel cursed under his breath with the confirmation of his fears. Only a single fighter squadron had been left behind to defend the cruiser. The rest were engaged with the enemy or were in no position to intercept.

"Contact the Nahr Maksur," Farrel ordered. "Inform them of the danger and have dispatch their fighter escorts to intercept."

"Yes, my lord."

Farrel sat back in his chair. Staring at the projection was the only thing he could do now. Whoever was commanding the enemy fleet had played him.

Space

"Enemy fighters coming in."

Jack looked at his HUD, seeing a full squadron of fighters flying for them. Or rather, the bombers behind him and the rest of the Red Squadron.

"Confirmed," Jack said, tightening his grip around the controls of his bird.

"All fighters, tighten formation," Red Leader said. "Don't let those fighters through, or our bombers are through."

"Understood," Jack said. His acknowledgment was echoed by the rest of the squadron.

"As soon as we're in range, all fighters, fire your missiles," Red leader orders. "Full barrage. Then, accelerate into the attack range of your plasma cannons. Reds nine to twelve, you are to break off and engage the communications ship. Try to take out as much of their point defense grid as possible. Understood?"

"Acknowledged," everyone in red squadron said.

Jack ready his craft to fire a full barrage of missiles. The standard UNS fighter could fire a full barrage of four missiles, and each fighter typically carried a full arsenal of twelve missiles, making for three full barrage fires. This could vary for whatever payload they could be outfitted with.

Once his craft was prepped to fire, Jack waited for the order to come down. He didn't have to wait long.

"Fire!"

Jack pressed and released the trigger. Four missiles detached from the wings of his fighter, and a second later, their thrusters kicked in. Two seconds later, they were at full burn toward the League fighters.

The league fighters quickly reacted to the missile barrage fired from the red squadron. The League fighters broke apart their formation, but not before firing some missiles of their own. However, they were far fewer than their UNS counterparts. Most would collide with some of the UNS missiles. Leaving a few to fly straight for Red Squadron.

"Hold formation," Red leader said. "We can't risk any of those missiles locking onto the bombers. Fire Plasma cannons on my mark."

Jack put his fingers over the fire controls for the plasma cannons. "Mark!" Jack fired the plasma cannons.

On his HUD, he saw the League missiles race for his squadron's formation. A second later, all but one vanished from his HUD. "Single missile remains," Jack reported over the comm.

"Confirmed," Red-three said. "What should we do?"

"Let the missile come," Red Leader said. "Let it lock onto one of us."

Jack nodded, understanding what the squadron leader was getting at. Once the missile locked onto a fighter, the pilot would try to draw it away from the formation, away from the bombers. Ideally, the fighter would be able to throw off the missile once they were far away enough.

The missiles closed. No lock-on warning appeared on Jack's HUD. "This is Red-five. I have missile lock," she said. "Breaking away from formation and drawing it away."

On the HUD, Jack saw Red-Five's bird breaking away from the formation. Roughly at the same time, the remaining League missile changed course to intercept her.

Jack wished her good luck. He looked at the representations of the League fighters to see how they faired. Half of their fighters were gone.

Jack smiled a little once again. UNS fighters proved to be superior to their League Counterparts. Some of the UNS missiles had even gotten past the league fighters and were heading for the communications cruiser. They wouldn't do much, but it would give them something to focus on.

"Red Squadron break formation and engage the League fighters," Red Leader orders. "Reds nine through twelve, remember your orders."

"Acknowledged." Red Squadron said.

Jack took his fighter into a turn, going after the closest League fighter on his HUD. "Red-seven, here," he said. "Engaging the enemy."

The pilot of the League fighter quickly noticed they had someone on their tail. Jack got a lock-on on his HUD and fired the plasma cannons.

The League fighter banked sharply, avoiding the bolts of plasma. The pilot then took their craft into a series of sharp maneuvers to shake Jack off.

But Jack could see exactly where they were going. He kept on his prey, never losing sight of them. The League pilot was getting desperate now, as they took sharper and riskier maneuvers.

Jack got a lock-on confirmation on his HUD. He pressed the triggers for the plasma cannons and released them. A moment later, the League fighter vanished from his HUD.

KILL CONFIRMED.

The notification appeared on his HUD. Jack nodded and used the HUD to check on the status of the bombers. A smile spreads across his face at seeing they were nearly on top of the cruiser. Then he checked the statues of the League fighters and the rest of his squadron. The battle was going in favor of Red Squadron in a completely lopsided manner.

Then, the bombers came at the communications cruiser. Jack wished he could see the cruiser going up with his own eyes.

League flagship

Farrel watched on in silent horror as the communications cruiser was ripped apart by the bombs dropped on it. The UNS fighter squadron had torn apart the single defending squadron before they ever had a chance at the bombers.

"Not as good as you thought you were," the Decepticon commander commented.

Farrel gritted his teeth. He shot the con an intense glare; for half a second, he had been very tempted to order the destruction of the Decepticon Commander's ship. But Farrel reigned his anger in. "We can still win this battle," he said. "The UNS and the Autobots don't have the firepower. We'll repulse the fleet and then focus our efforts on securing the colony."

The Decepticon Commander looked at him for a moment before he nodded. "Very well," he said. "Be sure that there are no more failures like this." Before Farrel could respond, the Decepticon cut the link.

Farrel barred his teeth. What right did this xeno machine have to mock and order him about? Farrel closed his eyes and took a deep breath, recollecting himself. He was a loyal officer in the League Navy. He would follow his orders.

"Order the fleet to intensify forward firepower," Farrel said. "The UNS and their allies will not find victory this day." Of that, Farrel was certain.

Vanhalla-7

It quickly became evident that something had happened with the fleet battle near the colony. Optimus removed his axe from a dying vehicon soldier. They were nearing the signal, Jammer.

"Optimus Prime, sir," Corporal Thomas called for him. "We're getting reports that the enemy has become disorganized throughout the colony."

Optimus nodded. "Admiral Cartwell must have taken the communications cruiser out," he said. He looked on ahead, seeing the remaining enemy soldier, human and cybertronian, in full retreat. He gazed down at the ground, feeling his Spark ache at seeing the dead lying around. As always, he kept an impassive impression on.

He looked over at the newest addition to the strike team. A Corporal Hatsuko, "Corporal, how much farther to the signal jammer?"

The woman stiffened at being addressed by him. Understandable, Optimus imagined it wasn't every day that a human took orders from what was to them giant living robots. "Not much farther, sir," she said. "Once we round the corner here," she gestured down the road. "We'll be able to see it."

Optimus nodded and looked over at Wheeljack. "Wheeljack, are the charges ready?" He asked the demolition expert.

Wheeljack smiled at him and held out of his charges. "Primed and ready, Optimus," he said, tossing the charge and grabbing it mid-air. "That signal jammer will be a pile of scrap metal by the end of the day."

Optimus nodded. "Then let us see what we are dealing with," he said. "Everyone roll out."

The UNS/Autobot strike team moved down the street and went around the corner. Almost immediately coming under fire. The UNS soldiers and marines dove into cover behind abandoned vehicles, rubble, or inside the nearby buildings. Meanwhile, the Autobots took cover behind the buildings.

"Getting a little tired from all of these ambushes," Hotrod said. He fired an arm cannon out from cover and pulled himself back in.

An energon bolt grazed the corner of the building Optimus was behind. "Focus on the objective," he said. He transformed his arm into a cannon. He stepped from the cover of the building and fired random shots in the direction of the enemy fire. At the same time, he surveyed what they were up against.

He stepped back into cover as bolts of energon and plasma were fired at him. "I've identified the signal jammer," he said. "Can anyone else confirm?"

"If you mean the tall, thin, spire-like structure with antennae pointing out of it, then yes," Corporal Hatsuko said. She stood up from cover, firing a burst from her plasma rifle. Then she knelt, letting some rubble protect her from plasma bolts. "I also see a lot of bad guys protecting it."

"Can confirm," Bumblebee said. "I saw about two dozen vehicons between us and the signal jammer. Not to mention a lot of league soldiers, and it looks like a couple of their assault vehicles."

"Those would be tanks, muscle cars," Hatsuko said. She poked her head up. "Battle tanks, by the looks of it."

"Battle tanks?" Wheeljack questioned.

"They're made to hunt other tanks," Corporal Hatsuko explained. "Grenade!" She and two other soldiers jumped out from their cover as a small object was thrown over the rubble. A moment later, it exploded, sending dust everywhere.

Hatsuko shook her head behind the vehicle she dived behind. She looked back at Wheeljack. "Be careful with them. Those tanks are fast and can turn on a dime."

Wheeljack nodded. "Noted," he said.

"So, what's the plan here, Optimus?" Hotrod asked. "The signal jammer is right there. Do we rush it, or do we take out time?"

Optimus pulled himself back to cover after firing a burst of energon that downed a vehicon. "We take the signal jammer," he said. "Hotrod and bumblebee, you draw their fire."

The two brothers nodded. "Can do," Hotrod said with a smile. Bumblebee nodded next to him.

"Corporals Hatsuko and Thomas," he addressed the humans. "You have your units advance on the enemy lines. Wheeljack, give them some cover fire."

Wheeljack nodded. "Gladly," he said. "What about you, boss?"

A mask slid shut over his mouth. "I'll handle the tanks," he said. "Charge!"

Not wasting any time, Bumblebee and Hotrod jumped out from their cover and ran out of Optimus's sight. Then, sounds of weapons fire picked up. "Advance!" Corporal Hatsuko shouted. The UNS soldiers and marines advanced from their cover, plasma rifles firing non-stop.

"That's my cue," Wheeljack said, transforming both hands into cannons. "Good luck out there, boss man." Then he came out from cover and fired his cannons.

Optimus appreciates the sentiment. Optimus shut his optics and counted down the moments. Mentally, he prepared himself for what he had to do. "Primus, forgive me for what I'm about to do," he said. He opened his Optics, and he transformed a hand into an ax.

With a final breath, Optimus dove out from the side of the building. With a roar, he charged at the nearest vehicon soldier in sight. The drone soldier froze, stunned by the sudden appearance of the Autobot leader.

Optimus did not waste the chance and fired his cannon, scoring a direct shot to the chestplate. The vehicon hit the ground before it ever had the chance to respond. Its partner, though, did a little better, as it got a shot off at Optimus.

Optimus easily dodged the attack and quickly closed the distance on the drone soldier. The vehicon tried to pull itself away from Optimus. But it was not fast enough, as Optimus swung his axe out.

Optimus moved on even as the two pieces of the decepticon soldier fell to the ground. More shots came at the Prime, both energon and plasma. Optimus tried his best to avoid the enemy fire coming his way and tank the ones he couldn't.

To everyone watching humans and cybertronians, it was quite a shock to see someone of his size and bulk moving around the battlefield so quickly and with as much agility as he had. Several vehicon soldiers tried to stop him or, at the very least, slow him down. They failed.

Optimus was halfway down the street in a matter of moments, and half a dozen vehicons had been off-lined. Around this point, the two league tanks aimed at him. Optimus was already in motion when the first one fired.

The large bolt of plasma with more power than the energon bolts being thrown around sailed through the air, aimed right at the chest plate of the last Prime. Optimus easily side-stepped that attack.

Another tank-sized bolt of plasma was fired at him. Optimus also dodged that one and then used his axe to deflect a third bolt. Optimus continued to charge at the League tanks. The one to the right was able to get off another shot before Optimus reached it. The bolt of plasma barely grazed the side of Optimus's arm as he reached the tank.

The tank prepared to fire another bolt, but Optimus transformed his arm cannon into a hand and grabbed the tank by its barrel. Maintaining his forward movement, he swung underneath the barrel, and his remaining momentum forced the cannon to rotate to the side.

Then he swung his axe down, cutting through the barrel of the tank's cannon. Then, he pointed his energon cannon at the other tank in that same motion. Its plasma cannon had swiveled around to face him.

Sending a final prayer out, Optimus fired. A bolt of blue energon tore through the air, and half a second later, it bore right into the armor of the league tank. The tank exploded. Then Optimus stood up and turned to face the other tank. He swung his axe down the middle of the assault vehicle. He was thankful that the human occupants had scrambled out of the tank.

The tank was cut in half. Optimus kicked one-half into the side of a nearby building for good measure. The two biggest threats on the field had been taken care of; Optimus and the rest of the strike team could turn their attention to the signal jammer.

But Optimus did not let his guard down, as he quickly turned to the side, avoiding a hail of plasma fired aimed at his way. Optimus looked toward the weapons fire, seeing several fire teams of League soldiers pointing their rifles at him. Behind them, two vehicon soldiers aimed their energon cannons at the last of the Primes.

Optimus transformed his axe into a second-arm cannon and pointed them at the enemy force. Optimus was not looking forward to taking more human life, but he knew he would have to. He could live with the guilt like he did with the others.

A small object was thrown at the feet of the League soldiers. One soldier looked then and almost jumped into the air. A fear reaction, one Optimus understood what the small object was. "Grenade!" An explosion ripped through the league soldiers.

When the explosion died down, most of the league soldiers were gone. Some were outright dead, while others were clinging to life with limbs missing. Some were crying out in pain. The lucky few had only been knocked back with singe marks on their bodies.

The sight reminded Optimus too much of what he had seen from the war on Cybertron. The Vehicons were looking at the sight with stunned silence. Then one of them got a sword plunged into its back, while the other was shot by bolts of energon. Both hit the ground in rapid succession.

At the same time, UNS soldiers and Marines swarmed the remaining league soldiers. Optimus heard Hatsuko shout. "Drop your weapons and put your arms into the air!" One league side obviously didn't listen and went for a sidearm. A plasma bolt to the chest dropped him. "Weapons down, arms up," Hatsuko growls. "I won't repeat myself.

This time, the rest of the league soldiers listened and dropped their weapons before they raised their arms.

Optimus tore his optics from the scene and looked towards the signal jammer. It was about a city block away from them. So, Optimus could see that the enemy had created a small perimeter around the towering spire. From within that perimeter, Optimus saw they had established an encampment.

"Just a little more to go," Wheeljack said, walking up beside Optimus. His blades were still in hand. "And it looks like the enemy is prepared to greet us.

Optimus nodded silently. The top of the walls around the signal jammer was now filled with league soldiers and weapons emplacements pointed at the strike force heading their way. What remained of the Vehicon soldiers were gathering outside the perimeter and around the signal jammer further in.

Bumblebee and Hotrod walked up beside Optimus. "So, what do we do now?" Hotrod asked.

Optimus looked at the signal jammer and at the enemy force protecting it. His battle mask closed around his mouth. "We finish this," he said, transforming one of his cannons into an axe. Then he pointed his axe at the enemy position. "Rollout!" He shouted and then charged at the enemy.

A hail of energon and plasma greeted the charging autobots. Optimus swung his axe, cutting into the chestplate of Vehicon that charged him. Another charged Optimus from the side but was knocked to the ground by a kick from Wheeljack; a blast from his cannon kept the drone down.

Optimus spun around and fired his cannon at another decepticon soldier. Its head exploded. From the corner of his optics, Optimus saw the brothers Hotrod and Bumblebee hopping over a human vehicle and firing their energon cannons at a group of vehicon soldiers.

Several League soldiers close by tried to fire their weapons at the brothers. But were quickly pinned down by plasma fire from UNS weapons. Optimus continued to charge at the signal jammer, tearing through any enemy that got in his way.

As he got close to the walls around the signal jammer, Optimus aimed and fired a cannon at the weapons emplacements along the tops. More weapons fire came at him as he got closer to the perimeter around the signal jammer.

Optimus shrugged them off. He was Prime, so he could take more punishment than other cybertronians, and he took full advantage of that. With a roar, Optimus closed his arms around and rammed into one of the walls.

He smashed right through the other side, leaving a large gaping hole in the enemy perimeter. Then he unfolded his arms and swung his axe out. He caught a vehicon soldier in the chest where the axe lodged itself. Using his momentum and the vehicon as an anchor, Optimus spun around, firing his energon cannon.

One. Two. Three vehicon soldiers went down as their spark chambers exploded. Optimus made a full one-eighty before he took his axe out and kicked the vehicon in the chest, sending it to the ground. Optimus ended its life with a swing of his axe.

Removing the axe, Optimus felt the burning sting of plasma fire on his side. Optimus swung his cannon and fired up at the walls, making up the perimeter. The plasma fire began to die down.

He heard footsteps approaching him. Transforming his axe into another energon cannon, Optimus turned to see a half dozen vehicon soldiers gathering between him and the signal jammer. They had their cannons pointed at him.

Optimus prepared himself for a fight. Bolts of energon sailed past Optimus hitting the vehicons. One of them went down in an instant as they returned fire. Optimus looked back, seeing the rest of his Autobot team coming through the breach. Followed by UNS soldiers and Marines.

Optimus turned his attention back to the battle, seeing another of the vehicon had been felled. Another was struggling as UNS soldiers swarmed it with plasma fire. Optimus charged at one of the remaining vehicons. The drone barely had enough time to notice him coming before Optimus punched it in the face.

The decepticon staggered back from the punch, allowing Optimus to get another hit on it. The con was sent fly into the signal jammer, where it fell over. Optimus moved his head a split second later to avoid a punch from another vehicon.

The soldier tried to regain its balance as it went past Optimus. But the Autobot leader grabbed the drone by the arm and spun it around, using its own momentum against it. In the same motion, Optimus transformed his free hand into a cannon and shot the vehicon in the side.

Then Optimus let the vehicon go, sending it stumbling forward. Optimus fired his energon cannon into its back, boring a deep hole. The Vehicon fell to its knees, then flat on its face.

Optimus heard an energon cannon charging behind him. He whirled around to see that the Vehicon he tossed into the signal jammer had propped itself on one hand and pointed an energon cannon at him.

Optimus braced himself for the shot. Then a hail of plasma rained down on the vehicon's face. Two fire teams of UNS soldiers led by Hatsuko slowly walked up to the drone as they fired their weapons. The Vehicon's hand gave away, and its body fell back to the ground. Its energon cannon fell silent.

Optimus looked down at Hatsuko. She looked up at him and nodded. Optimus nodded back at her and looked around more of the enemy. To his relief, he saw no more vehicons around, and what remained of the League forces had either retreated or were surrendering to their UNS counterparts.

He looked at Hatsuko. "Report," he said.

The Marine Corporal stood at attention. "Optimus Prime, sir," she said. "The site around the signal jammer has been taken. What remains of the enemy has either retreated or is in the process of surrendering to my people."

Optimus nodded. He transformed his weapons back into hands. "Very good," he said. "Secure the area and prepare to move out at a moment's notice."

"Sir, yes, sir," Hatsuko said. Then she started to shout out orders.

"Wheeljack," Optimus said, turning to face the wrecker. He was not surprised to see him already setting up the charges."

"Way ahead of you, boss," Wheeljack said.

Optimus nodded. He activates his commlink. "Optimus Prime to General Sanders," he said.

A moment later, he got a reply. "Sanders here," the General said. "Report."

"We have secured the signal jammer," Optimus replied. "And are in the process of placing charges. Inform Admiral Cartwell that he may soon press his attack."

"Copy that," Sanders said. "And thank you. The people of Vanhalla-7 will never forget what you did here today."

Optimus nodded solemnly. "You will know when the signal jammer has been destroyed," Optimus said. Then he cut the link. "Wheeljack, are we ready?"

Wheeljack looked over at Optimus, giving him a thumbs up. "Placing the last charge as we speak," he said. He turned his attention back to his work.

Optimus looked down at the Hatsuko. "Corporal," he addressed her. "Has the area been secured?"

The marine corporal nodded at him. "The area has been secured, Optimus Prime, Sir," she said. "Though I don't know what good that will do soon. We'll be ready to move out at a moment's notice. Along with our prisoners." She turned her head to face the League soldiers that had been rounded up.

Optimus nodded. "Will there be a means of transporting them to a secure sit?" He asks. He knew what a risk it was to carry war prisoners around.

Hatsuko nodded. "I've already called in a transport for pick up," she explained. "They'll meet us outside the perimeter around the signal jammer."

Optimus nodded and was about to ask her more questions when Wheeljack called out. "Charges ready, Optimus."

Optimus turned his attention to the wrecker. "Very good," he said. Then he called out to everyone. "Everyone rollout! We'll detonate the charges once we are a safe distance away."

He got a chorus of "Yes, sirs" from the UNS personnel. And affirmatives from his autobots.

About ten human minutes later, the strike force was far away from the signal jammer. Wheeljack walked up beside him and held out the detonator. "Would you like to do the honors?" He asked with a smile.

Optimus returned the smile and shook his head. "No, Wheeljack," he said. "You should be the one. You enjoy it more."

Wheeljack's smile grew. "Damn right I do," he said, pressing the detonator. Then he made a grand gesture of swinging his arms out. "This here goes out to our new human allies. I hope you all enjoy the show."

This got a round of chuckles from the humans. "We plan to," Hatsuko said.

A moment later, the signal jammer was consumed in a ball of flames that had the structure falling on itself.

Armstrong

"Admiral, we just got confirmation," the communications officer said. "The Signal jammer has been destroyed. General Sanders says he'll have the defense cannon firing any second now."

Cartwell did not waste any time. He stood up and gave the order. "All ships move forward and press the attack."

League Flagship

"My lord!" A crewman shouted.

"I see it," Farrel said, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. The entire enemy fleet was now pressing down on them. Farrel felt his eyes narrowing at the projection. The mass representing the UNS/Autobot fleet was now barreling towards the main battle line.

The second battle line was reacting quickly to the sudden boldness of the enemy. But Farrel knew no matter what they did, the second line would be instantly overwhelmed. But that would not matter. Soon enough, the enemy would be well within the sight of their main battle line.

"What are they thinking?" Farrel asked himself. At best, it would incur heavy losses on the League and its allies before being destroyed to the ship. They were going up against a formation of ten battleships, after all.

Farrel took a breath and shook his head. This was not the time to overthink things. The enemy had given him an opportunity, and he would take it. "Order our ships too," he started to give orders.

"My Lord!" A crewman cut him with a surprised shout. "Energy spike from the colony!"

Farrel shot out from his command chair. "What!?" He had the display zoom in on the colony. His eyes widened as he saw the power spike coming from the colony. It was almost like.

Realization dawned on Farrel. It was already too late when he started to shout out orders. The defense cannons of the colony had fired. A second later, a League battleship vanished from the display.

"All ships evasive maneuvers," Farrel said. A second ship was destroyed by weapons fire from the colony, this time a decepticon cruiser.

"My Lord," the communications officer shouted. Farrel winced as he saw that the fusion beam had narrowly missed his ship. "Incoming communication from the Decepticon commander."

Yet another ship vanished, one of the smaller escort ships they had. "Put him through," Farrel barks.

The image of the decepticon commander appeared before Farrel. "What is the meaning of this human," it shouted. "Why are the colony's main cannons firing at us?" Its voice dripped with accusation.

Farrel kept himself from barring his teeth. "You're asking me?" He shot back. "I thought your signal jammer was supposed to keep this from happening." That was when the two of them realized what had happened. The signal jammer must have been destroyed.

Farrel almost hit himself on the head. He should have sent reinforcements sooner. Two more ships were destroyed, a league battleship and a cruiser from the decepticons. Farrel also saw that the second line was on the verge of collapse. "Our position here is no longer tenable. We must withdraw."

The decepticon commander looked like it had been personally insulted. "Retreat?" It asked incredulously. "Never! "We will stand our ground and," the decepticon commander's image suddenly cut out.

Farrel knew what had happened before the report came in. "The Decepticon flagship has been destroyed."

Farrel paid the report no mind. He was more concerned with something else. The survival of his fleet, what was left of it. "Fleetwide order," he said. "All ships disengage from battle and withdraw from the colony."

"But, my lord," the communications officer protested. "What about our forces on the colony?"

A valid question, one Farrel, unfortunately, had an answer to. "Leave them," he said, feeling like something had just cut him open. "There is nothing we can do for them now. Now follow my order."

"Yes, my Lord."

Farrel let out a breath and slumped back into his chair. He watched as what remained of his fleet disengaged from the battle and retreated to deep space. He would have plenty of time to think about his failure on this day.

Valhalla-7

"The enemy fleet has withdrawn," General Sanders said over open comms. "Admiral Cartwell and his forces are now securing the space around Vanahall-7. Allied troop transport will be arriving soon.

Around the area, Optimus saw the UNS soldiers and Marines breaking out into loud cheers. That made him smile, and it grew more when he saw his autobots celebrating with the humans.

Optimus watched the youngest additions to his team chatting away with some of the younger UNS soldiers. Wheeljack walked up beside him. "Quite the victory today we had," he said.

Optimus nodded, but his smile faded as the sounds of battle continued to echo. They had died down some, but the fight was far from over. "There is still much to do," he said. "The decepticon soldiers left here are unlikely to surrender. I am not certain about the League, though."

"They'll surrender," another voice joined the conversation. Optimus and Wheeljack looked down to see Hatsuko walking up to them. "Unlike those, uhh, Vehicons, did you call them?" The two autobots nodded. "Unlike those Vehicons, League soldiers are not mindless drones. Granted, you get your fanatics, but most will surrender once they realize they are beaten."

Wheeljack shrugged. "Well, at least that's reassuring," he said. "So, all we have to worry about is moping up the remaining cons."

Optimus nodded and looked down at the Marine Corporal. "Thank you for that reassurance," he said. He was not looking forward to the prospect of engaging more human forces. "Is there anything else, Corporal?"

Hatsuko shook her head. "No," she said. "I just wanted to thank you for your help today. Because of you, a lot of lives have been saved today. The people of Valhalla-7 owe you a debt of gratitude."

Optimus nodded at the woman, smiling down at her. "We were only doing as our consciouses compelled us to," he said. Hatsuko looked at him and nodded. Then she turned away and walked towards the celebrating soldiers.

"Quite the people, aren't they?" Wheeljack said. "They remind me a bit of ourselves."

Optimus nodded. The same thought had crossed his mind. "There is much more to them than meets the eye," he said. He watched as UNS personnel continued celebrating their victory, with Hotrod and Bumblebee at the center of attention. "I just wish we had not dragged them into our war."

He saw Wheeljack shaking his head and rolling his optics. "Optimus," he said. "We didn't drag them into anything. It was the cons that chose to get them involved. And these League jokers," he pointed to the prisoners. "They're the ones that choose to team up with the cons. We have no one to blame but them. Least of all you."

Optimus nodded. He knew the wrecker was right. All Optimus had done was choose to leave Cybertron to use the Space Bridge to escape the battle. Everything after that was because of chance or the choices of others. But Optimus still could not help but feel partially responsible.

Optimus looked up at the artificial sky, gazing at the other parts of the colony. "The battle may be over," he said. "But this war continues on." The difference was that it had taken on a new life. What that meant for the Autobots, the decepticons, and the humans only Primus knew.

Titian

"Not the victory we had hoped for," Fleet Lord Yuda comments. The UNS broadcast systems were transmitting their victory over the League/Decepticon attack on what was known as Valhalla-7. "High Chancellor Bhalla will not be pleased."

Megatron hid his frown well. He was not particularly pleased by the recent defeat either. In silence, he watched on as the images of the Battle of Valhalla-7 played out. Optimus and his team were featured prominently, but other images of the battle were shown of Autobot forces and UNS forces fighting side by side to reclaim the human colony.

"This but one setback," Megatron finally said after a moment. "The war will wage on, and we will have ample opportunity to claim our final victory."

Fleet Lord Yuda looked up at him. His expression will be hidden. He nodded at him. "Then let us hope you are right," he said, turning around. "With the victory, the ties between the UNS and the Autobots will be stronger. In return, we must strengthen our own ties."

Megatron turned around to look at the human. "I agree," he said. "As we speak, my forces will join yours on the front. No doubt the Autobots will do the same for their new allies."

Yuda turned his head and nodded slightly. "Good," he said. "As you said, this was but one battle in a war that we, the League of Independence, and the Decepticon Cause, shall claim victory over. May the chains that bind us be broken." Then he was gone.

Megatron smiles and cackles. "And pray that they may never bind you again," he adds. He turned back around to look at the images transmitted by the UNS. His Optics settle on an image of Optimus Prime standing before the ruins of a Decepticon signal jammer

Megatron's smile grew. "Well, Orion Pax, my old friend," he said. "What will you do now that this war of ours has spread to new lands and new peoples? What will you do?"

So, a couple of things about this. Firstly, sorry about no update last month, somethings came up, so I couldn't get anything out. Again, sorry about that, hopefully it won't happen again. But I'm not making any promises, as that will be tempting fate.

Secondly, the chapter itself, autobots engaging human forces with deadly force (i.e., they kill humans now). I wasn't sure if I wanted to do that or not, especially in the case of Optimus. Aside from the Micheal Bay movies, I'm unsure if Optimus ever vowed never to kill a human. I could be wrong about that; I'll be the first to admit I'm not a great researcher, but I did try to look into it.

On the one hand, Optimus has always shown that he cares greatly about human life, all life, really. He's not a raging murdering machine, despite what the movies would have you believe. But at the same time, he is fighting a war, and while humans are still smaller and weaker than Cybertronians, they are still dangerous. Especially when they are bringing to bear the weight of numbers, and they do have tanks, gunships, and other vehicles with big guns ( not to mention weapons designed to take down heavily armored targets). So, he can't simply ignore them or try to incapacitate them.

I've already shown UNS forces to be able to take down Decepticons, especially when they have the aid of Autobots. The same thing should apply to the League. So, Optimus now has a choice, a human faction has allied with the Decepticons. The Decepticons still want the PF chambers on the Ark, which is now located on Luna, near the heart of UNS space. A smash-and-grab operation is now out of the cards, so the cons will have to settle for a grinding campaign to get what they want.

There will be more battles to come, and this time, Optimus now has another group of enemies to worry about. It's not something he can just ignore. So, I'm left with the choice, does he give himself a handicap and keep from killing human forces. An admirable trait, but he risks putting himself and his fellow autobot in danger.

I think he wouldn't put that restraint on himself in this case, especially after seeing how it got Elita hurt. He has had to make hard choices before, comes with the territory of being a Prime and leading his people in a war, and this is another one he has to make. Now, I'm not going to have him going around killing everyone and everything, shouting stuff like "I'll kill you" or "Give me your face," he's not a psychopath in this. If he's presented with a peaceful option to end a battle or can incapacitate without worrying about reprisal, he'll take it. But he will do what as to, to ensure his people come out alive and well on the other end. He will take no pleasure in taking life, any life, human or cybertronian.

Now, if any of you don't like that, then that's fine; there are other stories out there you can read. I'm open to suggestions, but at the end of the day, I'm the one writing this story. So, it's my choice to make. Hopefully, it'll be an interesting turn and lead to some good storytelling. I know it won't be the first contentious choice I'll make. But we can deal with those as they come.

With that spill out of the way, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and look forward to the next. See you next time.