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Chapter Text

Chapter 7: Plots in Shadows Pt. 2

UNS. Jasper

“The enemy is making another run on the Axalon.”

“Follow them,” Commander Raymond ordered. “Maximum thrust on the engines. Full spread on the frontal turrets. Fire on my command.”

“Aye, Captain,” Helm said.

“Aye, Captain,” Tactical said. “Forward turrets ready.

Raymond nodded. He looked at the tactical display showing the battle. One moment, Omega-1 had been holding position above the ruined colony. Then, without warning, swarms of unknown contacts appeared and started to attack them. There were no capital ships among the attackers, all appearing to be the size of fighter craft.

Not much of a threat, except when one considered that there were a lot of them, and each one packed a decent punch. “Order Cobalt Squadron to form up on us,” Raymond ordered.

In space, the UNS corvette and a dozen UNS fighters chased after a swarm of attacking ships. The attackers attempted an attack run on the Autobot cruiser Axalon. Most of them would be vaporized by the weapons of the Jasper and its supporting fighters. The rest would be taken out by the cruiser or break off from the attack.

“Enemy attack unsuccessful, Captain,” Aiden said at his station. “The Axalon reports minimum damage.”

Raymond nodded. “Good,” he said. “Keep us close to the Autobot cruiser. Have our fighter squadrons stay close to our capital ships. The enemy appears to be focusing on us and not the colony. Speaking of, has the ground team reported contact with Prime?”

The crewmember at communications shook her head. “Negative, Captain,” she reported. “Elita said she has yet to establish contact with Prime and his team.”

“Tell her to hurry up,” Raymond said. “I don’t know how much longer we can hold out.”

“Captain, more enemy fighters coming in,” Aiden said.

Raymond slammed his fist on the armrest of his chair. “Damnit,” he muttered. “Just where are these guys coming from?”

Autre Lyon

In the ruins of Autre Lyon, Elita-One was wondering about the same thing. She fired her crossbows, downing an approaching attacker. Then, she ducked into cover as energon fire came her way.

“Bee,” she shouted into a comm channel to the autobot scout. “How’s your position?”

“Not good, Elita,” Bee said. “We’re about to be overrun here.”

Elita kept herself from cursing under her breath. “Fall back,” she told the scout. “Get to the next defensive position and try to hold out.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Bumblebee said.

By her feet, a UNS marine made a startling report. “Ma’am, more enemy troops coming down the streets.”

Elita looked out from her cover and frowned. Behind the numerous enemy forces was another wave of attackers marching down the street. “Not good,” she said. “We can’t hold this position for much longer. Everyone pull back to the next defense position!”

“Yes, Ma’am,” humans and autobots alike chorused.

“Fire teams seventeen and eighteen lay down suppressive fire under the rest of the unit withdraws,” Elita commanded the UNS Marines. “Stingray and Springer give them some support.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” the two autobots replied.

“Move,” Elita shouted. She pulled back from her cover. She fired her crossbows at the enemy as she started to run back. The rest of the combined Autobot and UNS force began to pull out from their position, laying down heavy weapons fire on the enemy.

“Orion,” Elita said under her breath. “You better be okay. If something happens to you, I’ll never forgive you.” She continued to retreat.

Deep with the Mine

The first thing Hotrod noticed when he came to was the persistent ringing in his head. He sat up, putting a hand to the side of his head, feeling a dull pain. “What hit me?”

“Probably about ten tons of rock,” a voice responded.

“Who?” Hotrod asked, looking around. A noise that sounded like someone clearing their throat brought his optics down. Hatsuko was looking at him with a mixed expression of relief and worry.

“You okay, big guy?” Hatsuko asked. “You took a pretty bad hit in the head back there.”

“I’m fine,” Hotrod said. He stood up, wincing at the pain he felt through his body, but he powered through. “What happened? I last remember fighting the cons when those things showed up. After that, everything is kind of.” He trailed off, trying to look for the right word.

“Blurry?” Hatsuko helpfully supplied. Hotrod nodded at her. “I know the feeling. A lot happened so quickly. But I think I can give the gist. I believe some of those things started firing on the mine’s ceiling, causing it to collapse.”

“And bury everyone,” Hotrod concluded. “Just what were those things?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing,” Hatsuko said. “It might have been my imagination, but those things looked like cybertronians.”

“Yeah, they sort of did. Did they?” Hotrod responded. “And those blasts they were firing were definitely energon. But they’re not any cybertronian I recognize, not with all of them looking the same. Reminds of the Vehicons.”

Hatsuko nodded. “I was thinking the same thing,” she said.

“What about you, Hatsuko?” Hotrod asked after looking the Marine Commander over. She looked like she had seen better days. “You, okay?”

The female human nodded. “Yeah, thanks to you,” she replied. The questioning expression from Hotrod prompted her to explain. “When the ceiling came down on us, you threw yourself over me and a few others.”

Hotrod nodded, now remembering the event in question. He had seen the rocks tumbling down on the humans, and his body had moved independently. He looked around, noticing for the first time the small handful of humans searching the small chamber the group was in.

“How many of us are there?” Hotrod asked. He didn’t see any of the other bots around.

“Hard to tell,” Hatsuko said. “We manage to dig a couple of the others out from the rubble. And we’ve tried raising anyone on the comms, but we’re getting static.”

“Interference?” Hotrod suggested.

“That or all of this rubble,” Hatsuko replied. “Either way, we need to work on a way out of here.”

Hotrod nodded and looked around the area he and the others were trapped in. “Any luck so far?”

“I’ve got my people on it,” she said.

“Commander!” A voice called out.

Hatsuko smiled. “And that might be our luck there,” she said. She turned to face a marine running up to her. “Report.”

“We found a tunnel leading out of here,” the marine said. “Don’t know where it leads or how far it goes, but it might be our way out.”

“Well, then, let’s have a look,” Hatsuko said. Half a minute later, they were looking at a small tunnel. “It does look like it could lead somewhere. But I think it might be small for our friend here.”

She looked over at Hotrod, who had to lean over to peer into the tunnel. “Not if I do this,” he said. He transformed into his vehicular form. His engines reeved telling the others he was ready to move.

Hatsuko nodded. “All right then,” she said. “Time to see where this leads.”

Elsewhere

“Uhh, what happened?” Wheeljack asked as he sat up.

“It’s good to see you up, Wheeljack,” Optimus said. “I was worried that the collapse of the mine might have done more damage.”

Wheeljack smiled while he scoffed. “It’s going to take a lot more than just some falling rocks to do me in,” he said. With a helping hand, the former wrecker was back on his feet. “So, any idea how we can get out of here?” Wheeljack was looking over what remained of the collapsed chamber.

“I found a tunnel a short distance from here,” Optimus said, pointing toward the tunnel. “It is big enough for us to walk through.”

Wheeljack nodded. “Then let’s get to it.” Shortly after, the pair were walking through the tunnel. “So, any word from the others? You did try to contact them, right?”

“I have received no word of the others,” Optimus said. “Our comms appear to be down.”

“So, we’re on our own then,” Wheeljack said. “Hopefully, the others made it out okay. The kid I’m not so much worried about.”

Optimus nodded, knowing what Wheeljack was implying. “Our human allies may be small,” he said. “But they are resilient. I choose to believe that they are okay and are doing what we are now. Looking for a way out.”

Wheeljack nodded. “Then I’ll take your word for it, boss,” he said. “Speaking of improbable survival. What of Megatron and his goons?”

Optimus frowned. “I cannot say anything about his soldiers,” Optimus replied. “But we both know that Megatron is not so easily dealt with. I have no doubt he is alive and well.”

Wheeljack sighed. “Figures,” he muttered. “I suppose it was too much to ask that several tons of rock could finally ride the universe of that meche.”

“If only that were true,” Optimus said, uncertain how much he believed that.

“Now, unto our next question,” Wheeljack said. “Just what were those things? They looked like cybertronians, but they weren’t bots of cons. Though they did remind me of the Vehicons.”

Optimus nodded. He had made the connection shortly after regaining consciousness and digging himself out of the rubble. “I believe they are something very similar,” he replied.

“Figures an old bookworm like you would know,” Wheeljack said. “So, what are they?”

“The details are sparse,” Optimus said. “But I believe they are sentinels.”

“Sentinels?” Wheeljack said.

“You mentioned how they were similar to the vehicons,” Optimus said. “It is more accurate to say that the Vehicons are similar to the sentinels. For they were based on them.”

Wheeljack snorted. “That also tracks,” he said. “Why be original when the cons can just rip someone else off? So, what are these sentinels?”

“A creation from the Gold Age,” Optimus answered. “Much like the vehicons, they are autonomous drones. Often, they were employed to defend key positions in the Cybertronian empire of old. Or guard relics that had been sent out or lost.”

Now, Wheeljack was starting to connect the dots. “And we just came upon one of those relics. But why attack us? I can see with the humans since these were probably made to guard against aliens. But why attack cybertronians?”

That had been on Optimus’s mind when he realized what they had been facing. He had a few working ideas, but none could be confirmed until he had more information. “That I do not know for certain,” he responded. “But we will find out, and if possible, stop them.”

“Safe to assume they’re responsible for what happened to this colony,” Wheeljack said.

“Indeed,” Optimus said with a heavy frown. It pained him to know that the deaths of so many had been caused by beings of cybertronian origin. “The people must have come upon the relic while digging through the mine. And in the process triggered a response from the sentinels.”

“What is something like that even doing here?” Wheeljack asked. The pair come to another chamber with a tunnel to its side. “I thought relics like whatever we’re dealing with would be on one of the old colonies.”

“Perhaps not,” Optimus said. “As I told Hatsuko earlier, the people of Cybertron were once spread out across the galaxy. We had many colonies but also many outposts and holdings. This may not be the first time our kind has visited the Sol system.”

“Right, the Golden Age,” Wheeljack said. “Despite it being so mythical, we don’t know much about that time. Just how much have we lost?”

That was a question Optimus would have liked to have an answer to. “We may never know,” he said. “But I do know one thing for certain. We must find this relic and ensure it can never be used to harm others again.”

“Agreed,” Wheeljack said. “But first things first, we must find a way out of here.”

Megatron pulled his fist back, then he shot forward, smashing through a wall of fall rocks. The rocks immediately gave way under the force of his punching, creating an opening for him to walk through.

A small smile creased across his face as he walked through the makeshift exit, coming into what was left of the chamber. As he did, he ready his cannon, anticipating a fight against the Sentinels.

Optimus had not been the only one to realize what had attacked the two groups. Like him, Megatron had realized the implications of the Sentinels being here. Megatron was the tiniest bit disappointed when no sentinels attacked him—a shame he would have loved to face down such ancient warriors.

Then again, perhaps he would have been disappointed either way. As far as he had seen, the sentinels were just a step or two above the Vehicons. Speaking of.

“My, lord,” a vehicon trapped under a pile of rocks called out to him. “Please help me.”

Megatron frowned as he walked up to the trapped drone. Half of its body was buried under the rubble. Megatron stopped in front of the soldier, looking down at it.

The Vehicon looked up at him. It reached its hand out for him. “Thank you, my lord,” it said. “If you could just help me out of here. Wait, what are you?”

Megatron fires his cannon, obliterating the head of the vehicon. “If you cannot help yourself,” he said, turning away from the body. “Then you are of no use to me.”

Now to find a way out of here.

Another dead-end, Hotrod thought with a sigh. He looked around to see if there was any other way out, but he could not find any other way out of the tunnel.

“Looks like we’ll have to turn back,” Hatsuko said with a frown. “We could try the other tunnel we found.”

“And then what?” Hotrod said with frustration. “Run into another dead end or more tunnels. Why are there so many tunnels down here? And why do so many of them end in dead ends?”

“What did you expect from a mine?” Hatsuko said. “One straight line? We go where the minerals are, Hotshot.”

“It’s Hotrod,” Hotrod said. “Come on, we have more to look at.”

“Whatever you say,” Hatsuko said with a grin. “But I do get that you’re itching for some action. Believe me, I feel the same way. But right now, we need to focus on the objective rather than fighting the enemy.”

If it were possible, Hotrod would have frowned. He was thankful he was in his alternate form, even if his body was getting a little cramped right now. Though thinking about it, it didn’t seem to matter either way. Humans were strangely good at picking up things just from the sound of a voice.

“And what is our objective?” Hotrod asked.

“Getting out of here,” Hatsuko said from inside of Hotrod. “And if possible, try to hook up with other survivors.”

“Optimus and Wheeljack,” Hotrod said.

“And any of the other marines,” Hatsuko said. It went unsaid that the latter part was doubtful. Hatsuko and the dozen other survivors with her were likely the only humans left alive in this mine now.

“After that, we can figure out our next course of action,” Hatsuko continued. “Maybe we can try returning to the surface and report what’s happening.”

Hotrod frowned as an idea occurred to him. “What if those things made it to the surface?” He asked.

Inside his alternate form, he could see the marine commander frowning. “That’s what I’m afraid of,” she said. “I hope that isn’t the case. But considering our luck right now, I would bet on it. We’ve already seen what they can do.”

“In the mine?” Hotrod asked. He already knew what Hatsuko was leading to.

“No,” she answered flatly. “What they did to the colony.”

“You think they’re the ones responsible?” Hotrode replied.

Hatsuko nodded. “More than likely,” she answered. “In which case, our people will need all the help they can get. From what we’ve already seen, those things are relentless.”

Hotrod made a mental nod. “Then there’s our other problem,” he said. “Megatron.”

Hotrod saw the narrowing in Hatsuko’s eyes. “Yeah, that,” she said. “What was he doing here? Couldn’t have been for a causal stroll.”

“My best guess, investigating like we were,” Hotrod responded. “That or he was after Optimus. That ambush was well set up. We might have been in trouble there if it weren’t for the uninvited guest.”

Hatsuko hummed as she put a hand to her chin. “If that is the case,” she spoke. “Then how did he know we would bet there?”

Hotrod didn’t like the implication of that question. “You don’t think we have spies in our ranks? Do we?” He asked.

“Or in our ranks,” Hatsuko said. “It’s not unusual. We have spies in the League, and they have some in the UNS.”

“And cons have sent spies into the Autobot army before,” Hotrod continued the train of thought.”

“We’ll have to report this back to command,” Hatsuko said. “That is if we get out of here.”

In his alternate form, Hotrod smirked. “Trust me, we will,” he said. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m the best bot the autobots have around.”

Hatsuko returned the smirk. “Oh, is that the case?” She questioned.

Hotrod was about to respond to her disbelief when a sound caught his attention. “You hear that?” He stopped, signaling for the UNS marines to stop as well.

Hatsuko stepped out from Hotrod, letting her listen to the noise. “That sounds like,”

“Weapons fire.” Hotrod finished.

“Back!” Starscream shouted, firing his energon cannon. “I said stay back.”

Bolts of energon slammed into his attacker, striking two of them down. But two more took their place, and a third followed.

“Scrap,” Starscream muttered, firing a missile at the Vehicon-like enemies. “Just where are these pits-damn things coming from?” Starscream was starting to regret killing that Vehicon a moment ago. He could have used the help. They may be poor soldiers, but the Vehicons made for convenient body shields.

The missile slammed into one of the attackers, exploding on contact. Pieces of the attack went everywhere in a flurry of sparks. Starscream then swiftly transformed his free hand into a cannon and proceeded to gun down the other attackers.

When their bodies hit the ground, Starscream smirked to himself. He had gotten through that, and not a scratch on him. “I wonder how lord Megatron fairs,” he mused to himself. A truly happy thought crossed his mind at the possibility that these creatures had fallen Megatron or the collapse of a part of the mine had buried him.

Starscream would not be able to dwell on the happy thought for long. “A good question,” someone answered, followed by an energon cannon charging up behind Starscream’s head. Starscream went rigid. Slowly, he turned around. “But a better question is, how am I doing?” The Autobot Hotrod said.

To answer the question, Starscream let out a pathetic whimper.

“I think we’re coming to the end of this tunnel,” Wheeljack said.

“Hopefully, it will be a way out,” Optimus said. The pair walked out to what looked like a ledge overlooking a chamber in the mine.

“Not what I was hoping for,” Wheeljack said. “But it might give us a good view of where we are.”

Both bots crawled down on the ledge so the sentinels would not spot them. They had yet to run into any of the ancient drones; neither Optimus nor Wheeljack wanted to risk it.

“Boss,” Wheeljack said after a second. “I think you might want to have a look at that.” He pointed down into the chamber.

Optimus’s optics followed the direction where Wheeljack was pointing. His optics then widened in surprise when he saw what Wheeljack was seeing. “I do believe we just found the source of our problems,” Optimus said.

Down at the bottom of the chamber, the two autobots spotted dozens of sentinels walking about and standing guard at different exit points. Many were walking in neat rows into the tunnels. Optimus could hazard a guess where they were heading.

Aerial, please hold on a little longer. However, the sentinels were the center of attention for the pair. Towards the back of the chamber, guarded on all sides, was a large machine, cybertronian in origin, going off the bright blue glow of its power reactor on the right side. On the left were several circular pads, all of which were occupied by a sentinel.

Or rather parts of a sentinel. In each pad, mechanical arms were extended, moving in all directions, and a sentinel was assembled. There were no materials as far as either bot could see; the arms seemingly created the sentinels out of thin air. The central machine was what had caught Optimus’s full attention.

“Some kind of fabricator?” Wheeljack asked. “But I don’t see any materials it could be using.”

Optimus nodded. “Remember, the ancient’s knowledge far suppressed our own,” he said. “Some of it was even described as being like magic.” What they were seeing would suit that description. Though he suspected it may not be such, Optimus had come upon a human saying about magic and technology.

Optimus pointed his finger at the center of the machine. Attached to the bulky mass of the central machine was a cylinder-shaped object, about as big as Optimus’s hand.

Optimus looked over at Wheeljack to see his optics widening. “Is that what I think it is?” He said in a hushed voice.

Optimus nodded his head as he looked back at the machine and the cylinder attached to it. “A data storage device,” Optimus said. “One very likely created during the Golden Age of Cybertron.” The implications of that could not be understated. The wealth of knowledge it could have stored. Schematics for advanced technology long since lost, and new fields of science his people could only dream about. Perhaps even the knowledge needed to construct more PFF chambers.

The cylinder’s value was incalculable, and so was the danger it presented. Optimus shuddered to think what Megatron could do if he got his hands on the knowledge stored within the device. “We cannot allow it to fall into the wrong hands,” Optimus said after a moment of reflection. “Least of all Megatron’s.”

Wheeljack nodded his head. “I could not agree more with you, boss,” he said. “But that’s going to be easier said than done. Not with those guys around.”

“Then we will simply have to find a way,” Optimus said. He looked around the chamber for any way he and Wheeljack could approach the device. Optimus pointed to what looked like a pathway. “There.”

Wheeljack looked where Optimus was pointing to his optics following the path. After a moment, he nodded. “Looks good to me. Now the question is, how do we get there with those guys seeing us? Do we head back and hope to find a tunnel to the ground level? Or?”

Optimus looked to the side, right at the chamber wall. “We climb down.”

“Well, Starscream?” Hotrod said. “Are you going to answer the question? Or am I supposed to take your pathetic whimpering as an answer?” To empathize with his growing impatience, Hotrod charged his cannon, keeping it pointed at the decepticon’s head.

Around them, the UNS marines did the same thing, pointing their plasma weapons at Starscream. This prompted the con to act at last. “Now, hold on, there is no need to act so hasty,” Starscream said in a shaky voice. “Not when we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement.”

“Beneficial to you, you mean?” One of the UNS marines cuts in.

“No, to both of our groups,” Starscream corrected. “Surely, you must have realized what is happening here. Both of our groups are stuck here and with an unknown enemy after us.”

Hotrod sent a glance at Hatsuko to see what she thought. The woman seemed to think about the situation for a couple of seconds, then she sighed and nodded. “I say we hear him out,” she said. “But if you make one wrong move. So much as a twitch, we light you up. Understood?”

Starscream nodded. “Very,” he said.

Hotrod nodded at the marine commander and turned his attention to the Decepticon SIC. “So out with it,” he said. “Before we change our minds.”

Starscream nodded and cleared his throat. “Simply put, I propose a temporary truce and an alliance,” he said. “We share a common enemy and goal, so why not work together?”

“I see,” Hotrod said. “And tell me, what happens after we’ve reached our shared goal? Do you backstab us while we are not looking? Or do you honestly expect us to believe you’ll walk away once all this is over?”

“And what about your boss?” Hatsuko interjected. “Can we trust he won’t turn on us after we’re done here? Or even before that?”

Starscream chuckled. “Come now,” he said. “Surely somewhere in your err? Sparks? You can find it to trust me just a little.”

Hotrod and the humans were unimpressed by Starscream’s reasoning. “Starscream, you’re the second in command of the Decepticons,” Hotrod said. “That alone makes you untrustworthy.”

Starscream sputtered. “You can’t mean something as trivial as my allegiance makes me untrustworthy,” he argued, only to get deadpanned stares from his captors. “Besides, what have I done to earn such hostility from you?”

“How about your attack on the Ark, and pursuit after?” Hotrod immediately brought.

“Which led to your first meeting with my people,” Hatsuko added. “Whereupon you insulted us and attacked us.”

“I’ll admit I was a little overzealous at the time,” Starscream responded. “You have to understand I was under a lot of pressure then.”

“Later on, you then held Earth at gunpoint,” Hatsuko said. “While an invasion of our moon was being carried out.”

“Orders from Megatron,” Starscream quickly said. “He’s the villain here, not me. It’s him you should be persecuting.”

“Oh, we’ll get to him in good time,” Hotrod said. “But you haven’t said anything that’ll make us trust you.”

Starscream growled. Hotrod saw the con extending his claws from the corners of his optics. Hotrod readied himself for an underhanded attack from the con and heard UNS plasma weapons charging. Starscream wisely chose not to act in that moment.

“Look here,” Starscream said, pointing his finger at Hotrod. “We are wasting time down here arguing when we should find a way out of these tunnels. Those things that attacked us could find us at any moment and swarm in. Can you trust that it is at least in my best interest to work with you until we can get out and away from those things?”

Hotrod and Hatsuko shared a look and held a quick silent conversation. Both sighed and looked at Starscream. “Fine,” Hotrod said. “But you’re staying where we can see you at all times. If you make one wrong move, give us one reason to shoot you, even for a second,” Hotrod charged his cannon to make his point clear. “We will. Do we have an understanding?

Starscream nodded slowly. “Clearly,” he said.

Once again, Hotrod and Hatsuko exchange glances. The two of them were uncomfortable with the current arrangement and knew it. However, they knew that it was the best option at the moment. They had no means of restraining Starscream and could not afford a fight with the con.

Not with an unknown enemy stalking them in the mines, not to mention the mines themselves could be unstable right now. As much as Hotrod and Hatsuko hated it, working with Starscream was the best course of action.

That did not mean they trusted the meche, however. Both of them knew the other would always keep an eye on the con. They would be ready for any treachery from the Decepticon SIC. Hotrod turned his weapons back to his hands and crossed his arms. “So where do we go from here?”

Starscream smiled at them and gestured to a tunnel a short distance from him. “There were some tunnels back where I came from,” he explained. “Seeing as this way will not be of much use. I say we trail back and try another of the tunnels.”

Hotrod frowned but nodded. “Lead the way, then.”
Titian

 League Battleship

“What is taking him so long?” Tejas asked himself. He had been waiting for some time to hear back from his associate. He could understand the lack of communication once Starscream and Megatron had arrived at the lost colony. Silence would be key for an operation like this.

But surely by now Tejas should have heard something from the current Second-in-command of the Decepticons (preferably soon-to-be leader). It could not have been that hard to cut down the leader of the Decepticons, not with the element of surprise and being separated from most of his forces.

Tejas bit at the inside of his cheek and shook his head. No, he needed to be more patient than this. He was better than this. He could not expect the plan to work perfectly, not with unknowns like whatever was going on with Autre Lyon. And even if the plan failed, if Starscream was careful, he could come out alive with Megatron none the wiser. Then, they could try again. Or even switch to another target.

Speaking of. “Do you have the field reports I requested Tejas?” Fleet Yuda asked, sitting behind his desk.

Tejas suppressed his disgust for the man and smiled at him. “Yes, my lord,” he said. It grated to him to have referred to him as a lord. It should be the other way around. He should be behind the desk asking for field reports, not Yuda.

The 4th armada should be Tejas’s to command by all rights. He had come from a long line of naval commanders, going back to the founding of the League. He had been bred for this. What did Yuda have? Nothing; he was a low-born upstart who had somehow managed to make it into the Navy.

Every day Tejas had to report to that man was an insult to his pedigree and the naval traditions of the League.

Yuda took the reports from Tejas”s hands. He nodded. “Good, you have been a most faithful Second,” he said, unknowingly insulting the man (or perhaps he did know. It was hard to tell with him sometimes). “Megatron’s SIC could learn a thing or two from you. Speaking of.” He looked up from his desk, staring directly at Tejas. “I noticed you talking to him the other day.”

Pushing down his rising worry, Tejas responded to the Fleet Lord’s observation. “Is something wrong with that?” He asked. “We are allies.”

Lord Yuda nodded. “For the time being,” he said. “It is good to keep up appearances. But I would advise you to be careful with that one. From what I have seen of that meche, he is conniving.”

Tejas smiled at Yuda. Didn’t he know? “I thank you for your worry, Fleet Lord,” he said. “But I believe I will be fine. Besides,” Tejas” ’s smile grew as he looked out at the door behind him like he was worried that someone would overhear the conversation. “Isn’t it just a bit disingenuous to say that when we, too, are conniving?”

Yuda nodded at the man. “Perhaps,” he admits. “This alliance is one of necessity and convenience. Once it has run its course, we must be ready to cut ties with the Decepticons.”

“Or at the first sign of treachery. After all, it is in their name, the Decepticons,” Tejas said.

“You know as well as I do that was a craven scare tactic on behalf of the autobots,” he said. “We should not put so much stock in names and titles. Now, if that is everything, I would like for you to let the 12th and 14th Assault wings to begin tactical drills tomorrow. They must be at their best if and when we go into battle.”

Tejas nodded and bowed to the Fleet Lord, he stopped himself from baring his teeth in the process. “Yes, my lord, I will get to it at once,” he said, raising to look at the fleet lord.

“You may leave,” he said. “Tomorrow, we should get special reports from our agents in the belt. I expect to find them on my desk in the morning.”

“I will be done,” Tejas said, turning around and leaving the room. Only once he had left the office and was a fair distance away did a frown crease across his mouth. That low-born bastard would pay for talking to him like that.

Tejas wanted to scoff at the very notion that Yuda would warn of treachery from the Decepticon SIC. Like he couldn’t see that already, the meche was ambitious. It was what drew them together. No, it was Yuda who should be more wary of treachery in his ranks.

Tejas frown turned back to a smile, though this time it was genuine. “Poor, Lord Yuda,” he said in a low whisper. “Able to see everything without but cannot see what is going on right under his nose.”

Yuda chuckled. One day, he would have his due. Both of them would.

Autre Lyon mine, deep into the tunnels

The group, now accompanied by a certain decepticon SIC, moved through the tunnels. There was an air of tension around them as most kept an eye on their guest/prisoner.

To say everyone was a little on edge was like saying water was wet and the sun was bright. “I thought the idea was to get out of the mines,” Hotrod said.

“It is,” Starscream said, keeping an even face on.

“Then why are we going deeper into the mine?” Hotrod asked. He narrowed his optics. “You’re not trying to lead us into another trap again, are you?”

Starscream looked like he was stopping himself from growling. “Once again, I have to remind you that I am not leading you into a trap,” he said. “And I know just as much about these mines as you do. We are looking for a way out. Which may require going deeper to find a path out.”

“Right,” Hotrod said, half convinced by the con’s assertion.

Hatsuko rolled her eyes. She could understand why he was so distrustful of the con. In any other circumstance, she might have been doing the same thing. But given the situation they all found themselves in, it did not help. “Hotrod, please stop trying to provoke Starscream,” she said. “We already got enough trouble down here. We don’t need a pissed-off con to add to the list.”

Hotrod looked at her, surprised she would take Starscream’s side. “I’m just making sure he doesn’t have anything planned for us,” he said. “He’s a con, and they always got something in the works.”

Hatsuko nodded, acknowledging his point. “Perhaps,” she said. “But if he’s even half as smart as he looks, he won’t reveal his plans at the prodding you’ve been giving him.”

“Why did that sound like an insult?” She heard Starscream whispering. “You know I am not as bad as you all think I am.”

“Really now?” Hotrod said this time, Hatsuko shared his disdain. “Let me guess. You’re actually a really nice guy. And we can be the best of friends if we try.”

“Well, I won’t go that far,” Starscream said. “But I am not nearly the villain that others would make me out to be.”

“So, starting a shooting war with us was an accident?” One marine said. “You gave the order that destroyed the Resolute. A good friend of mine was serving on her when she went down.”

Starscream frowned. “Like I said before, I was under a lot of pressure from Megatron,” he defended. “It’s him you should be angry at, not me. He was the one who started this mess by insisting that I take the Ark. I was even threatened with dire consequences if I failed. I’ll let you fill in the blanks.”

“Then what about all the crimes you have committed throughout the war?” Hotrod said. “You’ve killed a lot of good meches and femmes over the centuries. Targeted civilians and unleashed weapons of mass destruction.”

“All at the insistence of my colleagues,” Starscream said. “And with Megatron’s endorsement. If I had been in charge of the Decepticon war effort, this war would have been much less blood. We would still have Cybertron if it were not for Megatron. His experiments with dark energon caused our world to go dark.”

Hatsuko raised an eyebrow at the mention of dark energon. But I refrained from asking any questions. “Like you wouldn’t have done any worse,” Hotrod said.

“Of course I wouldn’t,” Starscream protested. “I am not crazy like Megatron is. Believe me, I would have made a far better leader of the decepticons than he is now.”

“Then it is too bad you’re not the cons’ leader,” Hotrod said. “I’m sure everyone would sleep a little tighter if that were the case.

“See, you get it,” Starscream responded. “But as many of us here know, Megatron is not a figure we easily be ri-? Hold on, does anyone hear that?”

The group stopped to hear what the con was referring to. The echoes of footsteps vibrated through the mine. At once, everyone had their weapons ready. “Take positions,” Hatsuko said. She ran to the nearest piece of cover she could find. “Remember to focus your fire. Aim for center mass.”

Hotrod had run up to the tunnel from where the footsteps were coming from, pressing himself to the side of the entrance. One of his arms transformed into a cannon, and he lowered the barrel to where an attacker’s head would be.

Starscream held his arms out, missiles coming out, and pointed at the tunnel entrance. The footsteps got louder by the second. Judging by the sounds of the footsteps, Hatsuko could already tell multiple contacts were coming in.

She did a quick survey of where the rest of her unit. A few were hiding behind the same piece of cover she had found. While the rest had taken to cover behind pieces of rubble that had fallen. Even still, she could see they were held tightly together. It was not the ideal of positions, but it was much better than what they had when this whole fiasco started.

The footsteps got louder. Hatsuko turned her attention to the tunnel and pointed her rifle at it. It was hard to tell how long they had waited, but by the time the figures had emerged, they were ready.

Just as they had figured, one of the attackers emerged from the tunnel, with a second one right next to it. It never got the chance to identify its attackers. The thing had walked next to where Hotrod was waiting, his energon cannon pointed directly at its head.

A shot rang out across the mine. The attacker fell to the ground with its head completely gone. The second attacker barely had enough time to react before a missile slammed into its chest and exploded.

Then, more of the attackers came through, weapons drawn and firing. Hotrod swung out from his cover and fired his energon cannon, cutting down two more attackers. Then he ducked as an enemy with a transformed blade. Hotrod swept back, turning his free arm into a blade and stabbing the enemy in the chest.

He pulled out and jumped back as two opponents came at him. They aimed their weapons at the autobot. A hail of plasma fire stops them from pressing the attack. One attacker was cut down as their chest was melted away, exposing its spark chamber. At this point, Hatsuko was convinced they were some form of cybertronian life.

The second turned its attention. However, Hotrod swung at the thing with a fist, staggering it. A well-placed shot from Starscream ended its life.

More of the attackers poured into the chamber, and the fight continued.

Wheeljack and Optimus had just gotten their feet on the ground when the sounds of battle reached their audio receptors. “You hear that?” Wheeljack asked.

Optimus nodded. Then he pointed at the group of sentinels guarding the area. Several of them were now moving towards one of the tunnels. “It would seem that another group is fighting the sentinels,” he said.

“You think it could be some of our guys?” Wheeljack asked. “Or could it be Megatron?”

“Uncertain,” Optimus answered. “But it does give us an opportunity. We must move quickly.”

Wheeljack nodded. “Speaking of,” he said. He looked at Optimus. “So, what happens when we do reach that machine? Do we try to find a way to shut it off? Or?”

Optimus nodded grimly. “If we must, we will destroy the machine,” he said. “But we will endeavor to recover the data storage device. That by far is the most valuable part of the machine.”

“All right then,” Wheeljack replies. “I just hope there is some good stuff on it. That thing has already cost many good lives, even before we arrived.”

Optimus nodded as he started to move along a path out of sight of the sentinels. “You and me both.”

Megatron cut through a sentinel and blasted a hole through the chest of another. With the last of the enemy dealt with, the leader of the Decepticons took a moment to survey the area.

The bodies of multiple sentinels now litter the mining tunnel. Some had burned-out holes, while others had been cut into pieces. All had fallen by his hands.

Megatron snorted to himself, vaguely disappointed ancient guardians like them had been so easy to deal with. A part of him had looked forward to a good fight. But as it turned out, the sentinels were only a step or two above the vehicons.

“Such a waste,” Megatron said, retracting his blade. “Yet another reason the golden age had ended. Though I have to wonder what sort of prize they have been guarding.”

The distant sounds of battle caught his attention, and he turned to face the tunnel from which they were coming. “It seems I was not the only one to survive,” he said. He already knew that there were other survivors. He would be greatly disappointed in his old friend, Orion, if he had fallen so easily to the sentinels or the collapse of the mine.

He had a sneaking suspicion that Starscream had survived, too. His Second-In-Command had always been a slippery one. Speaking of, he would have to punish Starscream for not being there when the ambush with the autobots and for dragging him to this place to begin with.

Megatron shook his head. “Starscream, if you really think I did not suspect your true motives,” he said as he walked through the tunnel leading to the battle. “Then perhaps it is time I sought a new SIC.”

Hotrod grabbed an attacker by the head and slammed his free hand into its spark chamber. He transformed his hand into a cannon and fired. An energon bolt tore through the spark chamber and bore right through the back of the attacker.

A second later, Hotrod threw the lifeless body at a pair of attackers, knocking and pinning them to the ground. Bolts of plasma started to slam into them as Hotrod turned his attention to the next set of attackers.

Two of them charged at Hotrod, and both sets of arms transformed into blades. Hotrod smiled to himself, turned his hands into blades, and charged right back at the attackers. One attacker swung at Hotrod, going high for his head, while the second went for a low swing.

Hotrod blocked the first attack, locking blades with his opponent. He used his other arm blade to parry the second swing. The second opponent attempted to swing back up, aiming to take one of Hotrod’s arms off.

Hotrod, though, saw the attack coming. The young autobot pulled away from the blade lock, causing his first opponent to stumble forward. As a result, the upward swing from his other opponent missed Hotrod and ended up slicing through the shoulder of the first.

Not giving his enemies any chance to react, Hotrod swung one of his blades at the enemy. The second of the attackers blocked the attack with its blade. However, it was too slow for the second attack from Hotrod.

Hotrod pulled his blade out from the spark chamber of his opponent and quickly parried a strike from his remaining enemy, catching them off guard. The swing from his second blade took its head off.

Both attackers fell to the ground lifelessly. Turning his blades back to his arms, Hotrod started to look around for more enemies to fight. The sound of an energon cannon charging right behind him had Hotrod cursing and twisting around.

He faced the attacker just as it was about to fire point-blank at him. Hotrod knew this was going to hurt. The sound of metal tearing into metal reached his audio receptors just as the attacker stiffened. Its arm cannon fell to the side.

The attacker fell to its knees and fell over to the ground. Behind it, Starscream flicked energon off his fingers, and an odd smile appeared. “You should watch your back a little more carefully, autobot,” he said smugly, walking past Hotrod.

“Thank you?” Hotrod said to the con. Then he looked at Hatsuko. “That is something I never thought I would say to Starscream of all people.”

Hatsuko shrugged her shoulders. “It has been a strange day,” she replied.

“Are you done lazing around?” Starscream called out to them. “In case you forgot, the enemy can be upon us at any moment. We need to keep moving.”

Hotrod sighed. “One has to wonder how Megatron hasn’t sniffed his spark out yet,” he said. “With how annoying he is, I would have done it on day one.”

Hatsuko nodded. “Mood,” she replied. “But he is right. We need to keep moving.”

“Which only makes it worse,” Hotrod muttered. “All right, people, let’s move.”

And moved, they did. The group would encounter and fight more groups of attackers before they reached a large chamber filled with the attackers.

“Scrap,” Hotrod said, diving into cover as a hail of energon fire came down on him, Starscream, and the humans. Hotrod looked around to see if the others had made it out alight. He was happy to see that the UNS marines, including Hatsuko, were alright and safe behind cover.

He was not as happy to see Starscream alive and well next to him. “I think we might have gone the wrong way,” Starscream said.

Hotrod glared at the con. “To quote the humans, no shit,” he said. He transformed his hand into an energon cannon and began to fire at the enemy. As he did so, he caught sight of a large machine in the center of the chamber. He went back into cover and looked at Starscream. “Actually, I think we are where exactly we need to be.”

“What are you blathering about?” Starscream said. “We just walked right into the den of the enemy.”

“Exactly,” Hotrod said with a smile. “Just look.” He gestured to where the machine was.

Starscream frowned at him but nonetheless crawled to where Hotrod was and looked over their shared cover. When Starscream pulled back, he had a calculating look on his face.

“Yes, I see your point,” he said. “Whatever that machine is. It is the source of these attackers and all our troubles right now.”

“Which means we need to destroy that thing,” Hotrod said. “Or disable it somehow.”

“Disabling would be the preferable option,” Starscream responded. “Even you must realize that machine’s origins and how valuable it could be.”

“Valuable to the Decepticons, you mean?” Hotrod said, already regretting pointing the machine out to Starscream.

“To you as well, Autobot,” Starscream replied. “That machine is clearly some form of fabricator from the golden age of Cybertron.”

“Yes, and right now, it’s making kill machines,” Hotrod pointed out. “Not very useful to either of us right now.”

”True,” Starscream admitted. “But once disabled, we can find a way for it to make other things. If that machine can make full-blown war machines, what else could it make.”

“Perhaps a nice new weapon for you,” Hatsuko said, running up to the pair of cybertronians. “As interesting as this speculation is. It’ll do us no good if it gets us killed. Focus on the objective. Then, we can decide what to do with the machine.”

Starscream made a low growling noise; however, he nodded at the UNS marine. “She is right,” he said. “We’ll need to focus on defeating the enemy. Then we can decide what happens after.”

Hotrod nodded. “Then fight our way up the machine and find a way to shut it off,” he said. He transformed his other arm into a cannon. “I always did like the simple plans. Let’s move.”

On the other side of the chamber, moving along a path out of sight, Wheeljack looked on as the battle started. “Well, it looks like we got some more company, boss,” he said, pointing over to the battle. “And I can see some familiar faces.”

Optimus looked away from the path and at the battle. “Hotrod,” Optimus said, relief coming out from his voice. “And Hatsuko and her marines.”

“What’s left of them,” Wheeljack muttered. They had brought two squads worth of UNS marines with them. Now, he could see less than a dozen remaining. “And they picked up a stray.” He stared directly at Starscream, fighting alongside Starscream.

“Starscream,” Optimus said in a low tone. “If Megatron is here, it stands to reason that he is too.”

“What is Hotrod doing working with that guy?” Wheeljack asked.

“Unknown,” Optimus answered. “But it is possible that both of our interests align. For the moment.”

Wheeljack suppressed the urge to growl. “Yeah, well, don’t expect me to get all buddy-buddy with Megatron,” he replied. He pulled his swords out. “Optimus you think you can manage that machine yourself?”

Optimus nodded. “I believe I can, yes,” he responded. “I studied the ancient technologies and their operations. I believe I can figure it out.”

Wheeljack nodded. “Good,” he said, swinging one of his blades. “I’m going down there to help them. Between me and them, it should keep the sentinels busy long enough for you to shut that thing down.”

“Just be careful, Wheeljack,” Optimus said. “There are many sentinels here, and we are fighting in the heart of their territory.”

Wheeljack gave Optimus a sideways look with a smirk. “You know us wreckers, boss,” he said. “Careful isn’t in our vocabulary.” Then he jumped down to join the fight.

Landing on the ground with a loud thud, Wheeljack charged right into the fray. With a blade swing, one of the sentinels ran through. A second had turned around to face Wheeljack. He sliced it across the chestplate, breaching the spark chamber.

A third went down before it could turn its weapon on Wheeljack. By this point, Wheeljack could no longer expect any easy kills on the enemy. Several of them had now turned to face him and with their weapons.

Bolts of energon came at him from all directions, and the closer sentinels came at him with melee weapons. Wheeljack just smiled, enjoying the thrill of battle as he dodged, weaved, and cut through enemy after enemy.

He didn’t know how long it took him, perhaps a few minutes. However, Wheeljack was soon approaching Hotrod. The young Autobot was fighting against a sentinel in close quarters with its back turned against Wheeljack.

The former wrecker wasted no time in exploiting that mistake. Within a second, he was right behind the ancient war machine and thrust one of his swords into its back, stabbing into where the spark chamber should be.

Wheeljack pulled his weapon away, allowing the lifeless body to fall over. Wheeljack smiled at a surprised Hotrod. “Wheeljack?” The young bot asked.

Wheeljack smirked at Hotrod, twirling one of his blades. “Miss me, kid?” He asked. Then he went into action as a sentinel charged at him, swinging a blade at the former wrecker. Wheeljack paired that attack and used his free sword to slash it across the abdomen. The Sentinel staggered back from the attack, and a second later, a second slash across its head put it down. A second sentinel charged at him from the side. Wheeljack dealt with it with a simple sidestep, followed by his sword cutting into its side.

From the corner of his optics, he saw Hotrod gunning down a pair of the sentinels with his energon cannons. Wheeljack was forced to jump back as a sentinel swiped at him with a melee weapon.

Soon enough, Wheeljack found himself back-to-back-with Hotrod. He blocked an attack from a sentinel. “So, kid,” Wheeljack said, pushing the attack back. “What’s with the partnership with Starscream? Did the sentinels prove to be too much for you?”

“Sentinels?” Hotrod asked. He fired his energon cannon several times. In a single breath, the two autobots switched places, taking down multiple sentinels. “Is that what these things are called?”

“Yeah,” Wheeljack confirmed, gunning down one of the sentinels in question. “Ancient guardians built during the golden age. Probably protecting important outposts or artifacts.”

“Which is what we’re dealing with here,” Hotrod gestured his head towards the machine. At the same time, a sentinel tried to charge him and Wheeljack. The thing had gotten a swift blade to its chest.

“You still haven’t answered my question,” Wheeljack said. “What’s with the team-up with Starscream?”

“Long story short,” Hotrod explained, ducking behind some cover. Wheeljack meanwhile cuts a sentinel in half and charges at the next enemy. “We were looking for a way out when we came upon the Decepticon SIC. The guy were fighting some of these sentinels.”

“The guy then proceeded to beg for his life when we got the drop on him,” Hatsuko added on a comm link. “Got the body cams to prove it if you want to see.”

Wheeljack smirked. “I’ll keep that in mind for later,” he said.

A short distance away, Starscream screamed at them. “I’m right here, you know. I can hear everything you’re saying.” He was comfortably hiding behind cover, taking shots at the enemy.

The autobots and their allies pointedly ignored the decepticon. “I hope you know what you’re in for,” Wheeljack said in a quieter tone. “Starscream isn’t a meche I would put under the word trustworthy.”

Hotrod ducked under a swing from a sentinel. “Trust me, I know what Starscream is like,” he said. He fired his energon at point blank into the abdomen of his opponent. “I fully expect scream to betray us at some point. But we couldn’t leave him wondering the place.”

Wheeljack nodded. “And Prime wouldn’t like the idea of just executing him on the spot,” he said. As enduring as it could be, sometimes Optimus’s softer spots grated on Wheeljack’s nerves. “Better to keep him in eyesight.”

“Well, it could be worse,” Hotrod said. “It could be Megatron here and not Starscream.”

“Kid, we really need to talk to you about this tempting fate thing,” Wheeljack said with a frown.

“Why is that?” Hotrod asked, not liking where this was going.

“Because of that.” Wheeljack pointed to a tunnel far from them. A tunnel from which Megatron emerged.

Megatron smiled to himself as he cut down a sentinel with ease. Within sight was the prize of his endeavors here. And as it were, Primus was smiling at him. Approaching the device from a side path, Megatron saw Optimus.

“A day of surprises indeed,” Megatron said. He turned his attention to the battle. There, he saw a pair of autobots and a handful of humans fighting a swarm of sentinels. They appeared to be holding their own against the ancient warriors.

However, what brought a frown to his face was seeing Starscream cowering behind cover, taking sporadic shots at the sentinels. Starscream looked over in his direction, apparently having sensed his gaze on him.

The look of fear and surprise on Starscream almost brought a smile to Megatron’s face. But he frowned as he continued to glare at his insubordinate SIC.

The fear and surprise remained on Starscream’s face for a few more seconds before the SIC schooled his features and nodded at him. He turned his cannons on one of the autobots.

Megatron turned his attention away. He would deal with Starscream later. He walked towards the ancient machine. He had more important matters to deal with.

Optimus had just jumped down from the side path when he got a call from Wheeljack. “Boss, we got a problem,” the former wrecker said.

Being careful to make sure he was hidden from sight, Optimus responded. “What is it, Wheeljack?” He asked, looking at where his Autobots and UNS allies were fighting.

“Take a look at the main entrance to this place,” Wheeljack replied.

Optimus looked over to what would be the main tunnel leading into or out of the chamber. Optimus’s optics narrowed at the familiar figure approaching. “Megatron.” He said.

“Like I said, a problem,” Wheeljack replied. “You think you can handle it?”

A good question and one Optimus knew he would be getting an answer to soon. “I will do what I can,” he responded. Then, before Wheeljack responds, he cuts the link. Optimus looked at the machine, still guarded by half a dozen sentinels. The thing was still fabricating new sentinels.

How it was doing it and without any visible materials being used was a mystery to Optimus. But he knew that no matter how many sentinels were taken offline, more would join the battle. Given enough time, they would overwhelm everyone by attrition alone.

Optimus transformed his arms into weapons, one into a two-barreled cannon and the other into an axe. At this point, there was no need for the stealth approach. He had gotten as close as he needed.

Optimus raised his cannon at the fabrication portion of the machine. As much as he didn’t like the idea of damaging a machine like this. But as it were, it was the best option he had. Mainly to stem the tide of Sentinels joining the battle. He hoped his people could find a way of repairing the device.

Failing that, the date rod could give them a wealth of information. Optimus fired his energon, getting off several shots into the fabrication part of the machine. By the time the sentinels responded, the cables connecting the fabricators to the main machine had been severed, and several pods had been destroyed.

A good thing, too, as at a closer look, he saw many more cables going out from the fabricators to areas unseen. Most likely, it was to other fabricators, and he hoped he had managed to serve them from the machine with his actions.

The half dozen sentinels left behind to guard the machine turned their attention to Optimus. Most would charge at him, leaving behind two whose arms transformed into cannons, taking shots at the last of the Primes from a distance.

Optimus easily dodged the energon fire from the sentinels and charged right into the formation of sentinels coming for him. Before the ancient warriors could react, Optimus was right between two of them, and later, two of them were lying on the ground dead.

A sentinel swung a blade down on Optimus. Optimus parried the attack with his axe, swiftly brought his energon cannon to the Sentinel’s chest, and fired a bolt.

As the Sentinel fell, Optimus twisted around, bringing his axe across another sentinel, severing its head, and taking an arm off. Two sentinels charge at Optimus, catching him on either side. Optimus looked between the two.

He transformed his weapons into hands and curled them into fists. He swung at the Sentinel closest to him, catching it in the face plate. The Sentinel staggered back behind Optimus. He heard the downward swing of a sword behind him. Optimus’s arm appears behind him in a blur of motion, blocking the attack from the Sentinel. Optimus winced as the blade cut into his arm but did not go through.

Optimus swung around, clenching his fist, and delivering a powerful gut punch to the Sentinel. The Sentinel lurched back. Optimus would give it little chance to recover. He transformed his fist into an axe and swung up, cutting through the chest, the neck, and lastly, right through the face of the Sentinel.

Optimus spun back to face the other Sentinel, his other hand becoming a second axe. The Sentinel had recovered and had tried to come up behind him. Just as it would have attacked him, Optimus swung his axes in a cross shape.

The Sentinel stood there for a second, shocked by the sudden action. Then, with a twitch it fell to the ground in pieces. Optimus had only a second to catch his breath before bolts of energon flew past him.

Optimus twisted in the direction of the energon fire. The two remaining sentinels were firing at him in a last bid to protect the machine. It would be a fatal gesture.

Transforming one of his axes into an energon cannon, Optimus dashed for the pair. He dodged bolt after bolt as the two sentinels desperately tried to gun him down. Optimus reached one of the sentinels.

It tried to fire at him. But Optimus was quicker and buried his axe into its chest. Just as quickly, he turned his cannon on the second of the remaining sentinels. He fired off four bolts. Three bour into the chest, while the four burned through the abdomen. The lights of its optics flashed out.

Lastly, he turned his cannon to the Sentinel in front of him, his axe still buried in its body. He brought the barrel of his weapon to its head and fired.

Optimus transformed his weapons back to his hands and looked around to see if there were any more hostiles near him. There were none. What remained of the sentinels were heavily engaged with Wheeljack, Hotrod, and the remaining UNS marines.

Megatron was also quickly cutting through the sentinels, trying to reach him and the machine. Optimus gave his old friend a quick frown, then turned to face the machine.

He ran up to what looked like the main interface and began to work.

Starscream was smiling broadly. Sure, much of his plan had gone array with the arrival of the sentinels. He certainly had not counted on being buried alive today. But Starscream prided himself on being patient and a quick thinker.

Those two traits would pay off soon. Megatron was moving towards Optimus for yet another of their fights. The Autobots and their allies were now worn down from the constant attacks by the sentinels. The latter of which, whose numbers were now being cut down now that Optimus had destroyed the fabricators churning them out.

Everything was playing right in Starscream’s favor. Starscream had been careful to do the bare minimum, conserving his energy through the ordeal. All the while, his enemies were tiring themselves as they fought against each other.

With any luck, everyone, Megatron, Optimus, the Autobots, and the sentinels would destroy each other, leaving Starscream to claim the spoils. If not, whoever remained would be in a position where all Starscream had to do was swoop in and finish them.

Starscream’s smile grew. He would return to the Decepticons as their rightful ruler, carrying a prize of untold worth. Truly, his cunning and patience knew no bounds. As for his recent partnership, well it was the human’s idea that lured Megatron here.

The least Starscream could do was carry out a favor. Plus, having an ally like Tejas high up in the League’s ranks could be beneficial.

Carefully, Starscream aimed his cannon at the autobot Wheeljack. He waited for the right moment so that all it took was one shot to down the former wrecker. The younger bot, Hotrod, would be easily dealt with once the more experienced fighter was out of the picture. The human soldiers weren’t even worth considering.

Starscream’s moment came, and he took the shot.

Hotrod didn’t know why, but for the last couple of seconds, he got a nagging voice telling him to turn around. Even as he was fighting off Sentinel after Sentinel (their numbers finaly, thankfully going down), he felt the urgency of the feeling.

Hotrod had always been the one to follow his instinct. It came in handy many times, though admittedly, it landed him in trouble more than a few times. But that didn’t stop him then, and it didn’t stop him now.

Hotrod turned around, looking around for whatever was setting his internal alarms off. It took him a fraction of a second for his optics to land on a certain Decepticon. It took another fraction of time to notice the con was pointing at his energon cannon at Wheeljack, who had his back turned to him.

It took less time than that for him to figure out what the con was doing and for his body to move on its own. A bolt of energon was fired from Starscream’s cannon, sailing right to the back of Wheeljack.

It took two seconds for Hotrod to reach Wheeljack, shouting his name and shoving him out of harm’s way. It took another second for Hotrod’s world to become a pain.

If Hatsuko had been any less of a marine, she might have frozen up in shock at seeing Hotrod shoving Wheeljack. Then she saw a red bolt of light slamming into his chest.

Had she frozen up, she might have seen Hotrod hitting the ground with a thud that would echo through the chamber. But Hatsuko had seen more firefights than she would have liked to count. Both training and experience kept her from freezing up, and later, upon reflection, she realized that instead of letting her shock freeze her, she channeled it to push her to act.

In a motion that would give any normal human whiplash, she turned to face the direction from where the enemy fire had come from. The Marine commander was not at all surprised, the culprit was one Starscream, Second-in-Command of the Decepticons. She, however, still cursed herself for trusting the meche even for half a second.

The con had a twisted smile as he took aim at Wheeljack again, who was getting up from the ground and stunned by what had happened.

Hatsuko pulls the trigger on her rifle, firing a burst of plasma bolts. Bolts that were quickly joined by three other plasma bolts, all fired from other marines. Most of the plasma bolts found their mark, striking Starscream in one of his wings, burning a deep hole in it.

Starscream recoiled in pain, causing him to fire his energon cannon. However, his shot missed by a wide margin, impacting harmlessly on a rock formation. More plasma bolts surged towards the con. However, Starscream quickly recovered and maneuvered himself out of the way.

The look he sent at them was fierce. He pointed his energon cannon right at the marines firing on him, including Hatsuko.

Hatsuko was moving long before Starscream fired a bolt. The bolt flies past Hatsuko as she charges at Starscream. She heard the bolt’s impact, hoping the others had escaped safely.

She didn’t look back to make sure. She was too focused on her objective.

Starscream saw her running up at him. His expression of rage morphed into a gleeful expression as he pointed his weapon at her. “So, eager to die, human?” He shouted at her, his cannon charging for a shot. “I’m more than happy to oblige.” He fired a shot, quickly followed by another.

Hatsuko weaved past every shot, putting all her focus on running as fast as she could and being able to react in time. Starscream’s sadistic glee quickly turned into frustration as more shots after shot failed to vaporize his target.

Hatsuko reaches the con’s feet. In a fit of frustration, Starscream raised his foot to stomp it down on Hatsuko. In response, Hatsuko jumped to the side, avoiding the descending metal foot.

Then she jumped again, this time throwing herself at Starscream’s other foot. She then bounced off his leg, allowing her to land on a rock formation the con had used for cover moments before. Starscream twisted to face her, swinging an arm out to catch her.

Hatsuko was ready to move by then. She jumped up, landed on his arm, and ran up its length. A look of surprise flashed across Starscream’s face as the marine ran up to his shoulder.

In a quick, fluid motion, Hatsuko pulled her combat knife out and, with a twist, she plunged it right into Starscream’s eye with all the strength she could throw behind it. A shrill shriek filled the air as Hatsuko leaped back across Starscream’s arm and then jumped down to the rock formation with a heave.

Starscream recoiled back, using one hand to grip the eye Hatsuko had just stabbed. Hatsuko smiled when she saw a trick of energon leak from the side of his head. Starscream stopped and sent a hateful glare at Hatsuko.

He pointed a rocket at Hatsuko. “You little scrap,” he shouted, still using one hand to grip his eye. “You’ll pay.” He didn’t get to finish his threat as a metallic fist sent him flying and hitting the ground with a satisfied thud.

Wheeljack gave Hatsuko a smile. “Nice work,” he said. Then, he turned his attention. “Old screamy won’t be able to live that one down.” Then, a tight frown formed on his face. “Of course, he won’t have long to do that.” He pulled his blades out and started to walk toward the recovering Starscream.

“What about Hotrod?” Hatsuko asked, worried about the downed Autobot.

“Check up on him,” Wheeljack replied. “In the meantime, I’ll handle this piece of scrap metal.”

Hatsuko nodded and jumped down from the rock formation. She runs towards Hotrod. “Hotrod, you, okay?” She asked. She was thankful to see that the bot was still moving.

With a groan of pain, Hotrod answered her. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a little scratch.” He sat up, groaning as he went.

Hatsuko got a good look at the autobot’s injury. It was definitely not a scratch, but fortunately, it did not look like anything fatal. The shot had missed his chestplate, sparing his spark chamber. But the shot had bored right into his shoulder, leaving a smoking hole. Hatsuko ducked her head behind Hotrod to see how far the shot had gone. To her relief, there was no matching hole on the back of his shoulder.

Hatsuko looked back at Hatsuko. “I would call that more than just a scratch,” she replied in an even tone.

“Doesn’t matter,” Hotrod said. He got back to his feet with a visible wince. “Not while we still got badies to deal with.” He pointed his finger.

Hatsuko looked over and saw what remained on the sentinels. They had taken advantage of the chaos to regroup and now marched on the allied position. Weapons, both ranged and bladed, drawn out. It was perhaps a good thing that there were not that many left. But the fight would still be tricky, especially because one of their heavy hitters was heavily injured.

Hatsuko drew her weapon, pointing the rifle at the group of sentinels. “You sure you’re up to this?” She asked. “You could just stand back and take shots at them from safety.”

Hotrod smiled at her, turning his free and uninjured hand into a blade. “You know me,” he said. “I like things up close and personal.”

Hatsuko nodded and turned her attention back to the enemy. “Then let’s do this.”

Optimus pushed his frustration as he tried to get into the machine’s primary system to shut it down. But it had become apparent very quickly that the machine was malfunctioning. More specifically, the operating systems of the machine were corrupted somehow.

He kept running into error messages and broken lines of code; the image on the monitor consistently flickered, and that was when the thing didn’t freeze up on him for a moment or two.

It would explain a lot, though like why the sentinels were attacking cybertronians. Optimus shook his head, having run into another problem on the machine. He activates a comm call to Wheeljack. “Wheeljack, it appears that shutting down the machine will be more of a problem than I thought,” he said. “The operation systems of the device appear to have been corrupted.”

“Corrupted, you say?” Wheeljack responded.

Optimus nodded. “Possibly because of a virus or the extended time without proper maintenance. Whatever the cause, the result is the same,” he explained. “It will take longer to shut the machine down.”

“Take your time, boss,” Wheeljack said. “You have already done well by taking those fabricators out. Most of the sentinels have been dealt with. We can handle the rest. You focus on making sure that thing can’t harm anyone else.”

Optimus nodded. “Well, do,” he said. He cuts the link and attempts to return to his work on the machine. He had a few rough ideas of what he could do to shut the thing down. Unfortunately, he will not be able to work on any of them.

“So, the machine is malfunctioning?” An all too familiar voice said from behind Optimus.

Optimus turned around, facing his oldest enemy. “Megatron.” An arm transformed into an axe.

Megatron smiled at him. “I heard something about a corrupted code,” he replied to his opposite. “Perhaps you should let me have a loo, old friend. You know how persuasive I can be.” A blade shot out from his arm.

Optimus narrowed his optics at the decepticon leader. “I doubt that form of maintenance will work here, Megatron.” He readied himself for a fight.

Megatron’s smile grew, never a good thing in Optimus’s recent experience. Back when they were still friends, it would be a bit more debatable. “Perhaps you were always the more knowledgeable about things like this, Orion,” he said. “But you were also the more optimistic. It should be clear that the machine is worthless, given its current state.” He raised his arm-mounted cannon, pointing it directly at Optimus.

Optimus realized exactly what Megatron was going to do. It pained him to know his old friend had fallen so far, and it pained him more to know there was no way to stop him.

Megatron fired three shots from his cannon. At the same moment, Optimus was forced to move out of the way and let the bolts fly past him. The bolts impacted and exploded. Optimus looked over at the smoking ruins of the ancient machine.

Optimus looked back at Megatron with a cold stare. “As always, your destructive ways show themselves,” he said.

Megatron looked unphased by Optimus’s assertion. “The machine was of no use to use as it was,” he said. “Or did you believe you could somehow fix it? Much of the golden age technology is beyond our understanding, Optimus. Even you, with your wealth of knowledge, can only begin to understand what they are. Did you honestly believe you could clear the corruption in that machine’s systems? Besides,” he pointed his finger to the side. “The most valuable treasure here is still within reach.”

Optimus looks to the side and sees that the data storage device attached to the machine is still intact. Optimus looked back at Megatron just in time to see him swing his blade down on him.

Optimus quickly stopped the attack with his axe. But was unprepared for Megatron’s next move. Megatron pulled his free arm back and curled his hand into a fist. He shot his arm out, connecting a powerful blow to Optimus just below his chestplate.

The autobot leader was sent flying back and slammed into the wreckage of the gold age machine. Optimus groaned as he pulled himself from the wreckage.

He transformed his other hand into a cannon and pointed it at Megatron. Or where he had been. Optimus’s optics widened as it dawned on him what had happened.

Optimus twists around in time to see Megatron ripping the data storage device out of the ruined machine. Grasping the valuable relic in his hand, Megatron turned his head to look at Optimus, giving him a wide grin.

Using his free hand, the leader of the decepticons puts two fingers to the side of his head, activating his comm. “Soundwave, do you hear me?”

Aboard the Decepticon flagship, the Nemesis, hidden from the sight of the enemy and the battle raging on, Soundwave heard the words of his master. “Soundwave, can you hear me?”

“Affirmative, Lord Megatron,” the spymaster of the Decepticons intoned. It would appear the disruption of communication had ended. “What is thy command?”

“Send me a ground bridge to my coordinates,” Megatron ordered. “Starscream and I will be withdrawing. Oh, and prepare medbay for Starscream.”

“By your command,” Soundwave said, preparing the ground bridge. In anticipation of his master’s next orders, he commands the bridge crew to prep the ship for departure.

Megatron smiled at his old friend, Optimus. “This reunion of ours has been touching,” he said. “But I’m afraid I must cut this short. But I do thank you for this wonderful gift.” He grips his hand around the data storage device. He could only imagine the wonders it had inside. “The decepticon cause thanks you for your contribution. Fair well, my old friend, till we meet again.”

Optimus turned his cannon on Megatron. But the leader of the Decepticons was already on the move before the Prime could fire his weapon. Megatron leaped into the air and transformed into his alternate form, carefully nestling the relic within him as he did.

More shots came at Megatron, but all would miss as he flew across the chamber and straight for the newly opened ground bridge.

From his peripheral vision, he saw Starscream fighting an autobot wielding a pair of swords. “Starscream,” he opened the comm to his SIC, quickly. “Withdraw to the groundbridge, now!” Then, he vanishes through the ground bridge.

Starscream frowned when he got the message. “Starscream, withdraw to the groundbridge, now!” The tone in Megatron’s voice left no room for argument, lest he incurred the master of the Decepticons’ wrath.

Starscream parried an attack from Wheeljack. Then he leaped back, transforming both his arms into cannons, and started to fire away at the bot. The autobot was forced to jump back several times, avoiding the bolts of energon.

“Well, Autobot,” Starscream said. “I’m sorry to say that I’ll have to cut this short. But think I might have overstayed my welcome here.” He jumped and transformed into his jet mode. “But rest assured, things will go differently the next time we meet.”

“No, you don’t,” Wheeljack shouted, attempting to charge at him.

But it was already too late. Starscream had fired off his engine, flying straight for the ground bridge. The damage to his wing had not been enough to keep him from flying. Figuratively, Starscream gritted his teeth. His plan to eliminate Megatron had failed. He would not be returning as the leader of the Decepticons.

But no matter, Starscream was a patient meche. He would wait for the next moment. And the next, and the next. However long it took, Starscream would have his way. He would have what he wanted.

Starscream vanished through the ground bridge.

Optimus watched helplessly as the groundbridge vanished. His untransformed hand curled into a fist, his frustration briefly taking control before he pushed it down. With a sigh, he uncurled his fist and turned his attention to his allies. The last of the sentinels had been destroyed, leaving the chamber empty for the autobots and their allies.

From a distance, he saw Wheeljack sheathing his blades and turning around. The former wrecker looked up at him and gave him a curt nod.

Optimus nodded back and opened a com to the outside world. With the machine destroyed, he hoped communications would work.

“Optimus Prime to anyone that can hear me,” he said.

It took a moment for a response to come in. “Prime?” Commander Raymond’s surprised voice answered him. “Is that you?”

A wary smile spreads across Optimus’s face. “Yes, it is me, Commander,” he answered the UNS Commander.

He heard some swearing on Raymond’s end of the link. “Thank god, I’m glad to hear your voice,” Raymond said. “We don’t know what’s going on, but we’ve been attacked by these things. They just keep coming. Two of our ships have been destroyed, and another is badly damaged. Even your ship has taken a beating.”

Optimus frowned and nodded. “Those things are known as Sentinels, ancient warriors produced in the Golden Age of Cybertron,” Optimus explains. “But you need not worry about them anymore. The source of the sentinels has been destroyed. They can no longer bring in reinforcements. Moreover, the communication disruption has ended, and we can call in for aid if needed.”

“That’s good to hear,” Raymond said, with relief filtering into his voice. “We can use all of the help we can get.”

Optimus nodded, understanding what the man was getting at. He looked at what was left of the force that had come down into this mine with him. They all showed wariness, and he hated to throw them into another battle. But he knew the rest of Omega-One needed the help.

Wheeljack, Hotrod, Hatsuko, and the other UNS marines gathered around, giving him looks that said they were ready. “I understand, Commander,” Optimus said. “We will join the battle as soon as we can. Optimus out.” He cuts the link.

Wheeljack looked at him with his arms crossed. “So, what are your orders, boss?” He said with a smirk.

Optimus looked at the people under his command, knowing they were ready. “Everyone, roll out,” he said. “We have a battle to finish.”

Nemesis

Starscream was sent flying back from the blow from Megatron. He landed on the deck plating and scrambled to get up. He looked up at Megatron fearfully. “My lord? Why?” He asked.

Megatron was not amused by Starscream’s question. “You know why, Starscream,” Megatron said, walking up to his SIC. “Or did you believe I fell for your ‘simple curiosity’ excuse?”

Starscream started to crawl away from Megatron, putting as much distance as he could between them. “But. But. My lord,” he began to beg.

Megatron would have none of it. “Enough, Starscream,” he bellowed. “You failed to snuff out my spark and will pay the consequences for it. The only reason you have not joined the Allspark yet is because of the unexpected boon we came across today.”

Starscream trembled as Megatron took another step towards him. “Wait, my lord,” he cried, holding his hand out. “Please don’t!”

Sometime later, Megatron handed off the data storage device while Starscream was in the medbay, recovering from ‘injuries sustained in battle.’

“See to it that this is delivered to the Shockwave as soon as possible,” Megatron said. “The information on this device could very well prove useful.”

Soundwave nodded at him to take the ancient relic. “As you command, Lord Megatron,” he said.

Megatron grinned. “I can always count on you, Soundwave,” he said, walking past his spymaster. “Unlike my treacherous SIC. Keep me informed of any updates from Shockwave. I look forward to whatever secrets he can unravel from the relic.” Then he was gone.

UNS. Jasper, crew-quarters

Jack laid back into his bunk bed with a gasp of relief. It had been a long couple of days for him and the rest of Omega-One. Between the cleanup of the beings, the Autobots called the sentinels, and repairs; hardly anyone got any rest of late.

But now, reinforcements had arrived at the dead colony, allowing the battle-wary operations group to set course for the nearest base. Proper repairs and resupply of the fleet will be conducted there.

From what Jack had heard, the colony would remain quarantined until a full investigation could be conducted. If the fighter pilot had to guess, somebody must be hoping more cybertronian relics could be stashed away on the colony. Hidden in the depths of the mines, which had been its life source. Jack doubted that they would find anything else.

With all the fun having passed over them, the crewmembers of Omega-One were finally getting some well-deserved rest.

Jack let a tired sigh, rolling to his side on the bunk bed. Early on, he checked on Hotrod to see if he was doing okay. Their relationship may be on the uneasy side, but Jack thinks of the bot’s well-being. It seemed to cheer the hot-headed autobot up, and it was getting easier to be around him. Maybe one day they would be friends.

Jack closed his eyes, and sleep took him.

Flashes of a woman appear. Her face is blurred out and yet seems so familiar. She smiles. It is tender and almost motherly. She speaks to him.

“You must find him.”

More flashes. Worlds consumed in fire. Hellish figures walking across empty wastelands. Battles waging across the stars. Screams of terror. Every other flash shows a shadowy figure that sends chills down his spine.

He sees the woman and then a young child. “Dark times are coming, my child,” the woman spoke. It is soft and so warm, he felt like he was being wrapped up in a blanket. “You must find him. Protect him. He is in danger. He will help you.”

The woman vanishes, leaving only the child. More images of death, destruction, war, and so much screaming. Behind it, all was hungering laughter.

“My child. You must find him.”

Jack would toss and turn all that night.
S

Secret League research facility

Alarms blared as the facility went into lockdown. “Test subject S17-1984 has escaped from his cell. Find him.”

“Sir, we just got word that an unauthorized shuttle is leaving the facility. It’s a decepticon shuttle.”

“Stop it. Shoot it down if you must.”

“Too late. It’s already gone.”

Aboard the stolen decepticon shuttle, a lone child stood on its control panel. Watching as empty space flew past. He knew where he needed to go.

“Mother, guide me.”

The shuttle vanished from sight.