This represents the first two chapters for a 100% TF continuity I cooked up. I would appreciate it if someone could give me some feedback on what they think so far, plus some ideas for a title. I'll get tech specs up as I can.

1.

Cybertron.

Its gleaming metal skin serves to notify the casual observer as to the nature of life on the planet - machines. Machines capable of independent thought, mechanical transformation, and a naturally lengthy lifespan.

All three of these traits are being put to use by the inhabitants of the planet. In the past, these traits were used to establish upon the planet a glorious peace, where only the occasional pirate interfered. But those days are gone now, and instead the inhabitants put their traits to use in warfare with each other. What was once a political dispute has long since turned violent, with the two main parties - the Autobots and the Decepticons - forming the primary armies. Every being on the planet and its moons is touched by this warfare; "neutral" and "civilian" are now terms regarded as ironies.

*****

"We have a situation, Optimus," the female Autobot said as she walked into the office.

"Explain, Clipper," the inhabitant of the office said as he stood up. His desk was covered with several stacks of reports and other paperwork, a hallmark of his position as leader of the Autobots. He looked at the red and pink female impatiently, as every second she spent talking was another second's worth of work he would have to compensate for.

"A Decepticon party has left Cybertron."

"Are they headed for the moon bases?"

"No."

"The asteroid belts?"

"No."

"Then where are they headed?"

"Based on the data I have retrieved, the inhabitants call it Earth."

Optimus Prime was taken aback at the news. From his days as a young student, he recalled that Earth was a very distant planet. The level of technology and knowledge on the planet was low, and the carbon-based life forms there had a finite lifespan. Aside from the territory, there was no point in conquering the planet.

"Why are they there?"

"Apparently," Clipper began, "a lot has changed on the planet since our last survey. The inhabitants of the planet have learned to exploit its natural resources for their own ends - including weapons which could conceiveably threaten even us."

Optimus scowled at the news. "Inform Ultra Magnus that he is in command. I shall organize a team and see to this personally."

"Um, sir," Clipper said sheepishly, "Firebolt has already organized a team; they'll be leaving as soon as the shuttle is fully supplied."

"He what?! How did he find out about this?"

"It was one of his probes that discovered the mission."

"He has over-stepped his bounds for the last time." Angry, Optimus marched past Clipper and into the corridor. Once the corridor widened enough, he transformed into his vehicle mode and raced towards the main shuttle bay at full speed.

Firebolt may be a fine soldier, he thought, but he was getting tired of the mech constantly defying his authority. It was his understanding that many of his troops were questioning him as a leader, and he had every reason to believe that Firebolt was the cause. Well, it was going to stop. Now.

"What took you so long?" he heard a voice ask as he rolled into the shuttle bay. Optimus transformed, then ran up to the orange and black robot who asked him the question.

"How dare you?!" Optimus demanded.

"Maybe if you'd get out of your office a little more," Firebolt began, "you'd be on top of these things." Firebolt stopped speaking as he saw something from the corner of his optics. "Be careful with that container, Stakeout. I don't want those munitions going off."

"Understood."

Optimus stood aghast at the site of his chief security officer willingly assisting his disobedient lieutenant. "He's in on it, too?!"

"Considering how important this mission is," Firebolt said, "I selected the best we have. Fixit, Red Hot, Jetfire, Whirl, Cheetor, and even Clipper herself. I figure that as soon as she gets back, we'll be ready to leave."

"You have no authorization to do this!"

"Nor did I have the time to wait for you to give it to me! Now, are you going to allow this mission to continue or not?"

Prime scowled, but in the end he knew that his sniper was correct. This mission needed to carry forward.

*****

He put his jacket on, then stepped onto his back porch, the early summer breeze hitting his face. Ogden had been his home all of his life. Although a fairly large metroplex, it was still isolated and quiet enough to be relatively peaceful. Considering the career he was in, he needed that peace.

He caught a glimpse of himself in one of the windows and stopped to look. Although his family had been in country for over 200 years, his stocky frame betrayed his German heritage. His well-muscled body and the strip of grey in his hair were side-effects of his job. He was dressed all in black - boots, pants, shirt, jacket, and his trademark sunglasses. It was not only functional, but it was a perfect match for his hair and goatee.

He heard the sound of someone approaching him, then turned his gaze back inside of his house. "My husband," a gentle voice asked in Japanese, "what are you doing at this hour of the morning?"

He took a second to look at the speaker. He had six years on her, but her light Asian frame made it look like ten or more. If this were Japan, her lithe frame would be the image of beauty..... a frame accented by the soft pink night gown she wore.

"I have a feeling that I need to check something out," he replied in Japanese.

"When will you be back?"

"I don't know. Don't wait up for me."

"I understand, my husband." She paused, then walked up towards him. "Why is it that I have never seen my husband's eyes?"

"Junko, you have had much grief in your life. Doing so would only give you more."

"I understand." He gently held her, kissed her on the lips, then walked off towards the driveway.

Junko stepped back inside, locked the door, then made her way back towards their bedroom. She turned off the lights, laid back down in bed, pulled the covers back over her, then cuddled the Ryo-Ohki doll he had made for her. She then cried herself back to sleep.

*****

Optimus slowly walked towards the gantry, uneasy about the situation. Literally hundreds of languages had developed on this planet, yet the course of their flight only offered them enough time to learn a handful. If they encountered an inhabitant and said or did the wrong thing, it could spark a major incident. Thankfully, they had landed out in the desert. It was a little too close to a major inhabitant center for his tastes, but it would work.

"Get down!" he heard Firebolt yell. Before Optimus could react, Firebolt had shoved Optimus down against the metal and had drawn his weapons. Optimus watched as Firebolt scanned the terrain in front of them, nervously.

"I must commend you," a voice said. "I've been at this for almost half of my life and yet you are the only one who has even come close to finding me." With apparent ease, the human who the voice belonged to climbed the edge of the gantry, bringing himself face to face with Optimus. Optimus paused, not knowing what to do. The human before him was dressed all in black; he himself would have been unable to detect him.

Firebolt secured his weapons, then stood up. "I see we understand each other, then."

"Huh?" Optimus asked as he tried to get up.

"Another party, most likely of your kind, landed about an hour and a half ago," the human said.

"Where are they?!" Optimus demanded.

"Based on your vehicle components," the human replied, "I would imagine that you can assume vehicle forms. Most likely, your opponents are in the process of doing so. This will give them the edge unless you do the same."

"Agreed," Firebolt replied. "The shuttle has a mechanism that can alter our vehicle forms. It's inside."

"Just a minute!" Optimus yelled.

"We don't have a minute," the human said as he and Firebolt walked past. In anger, Optimus followed the two into the medical bay. "Activate the machine," the human said to the Autobot awaiting inside. "I can figure out how to work it from there."

"Excuse me?" Fixit said. "How is it that someone who has never seen this technology can work it?"

"I have my ways. Now get everyone in here and activate the equipment."

"Just who are you, anyway?" Optimus asked.

"Gerhardt Brinkerhoff, agent of the United States government. I can make things very easy for you, or I can make them very difficult. You decide."

*****

Starscream looked over his new mechanical body. The scanning machine identified it as a MiG-29, a fighter aircraft native to this planet. It was not the most advanced fighter available, but Megatron had restricted the rights to those for himself. The fighter design Megatron used was identified as a MiG-31.

He looked around the bay, stopping to watch what the others had. Thundercracker and the femme Whisper both had fighter designs known as the F/A-18 Hornet; it was the most common fighter in the nation they were in, which fit in with their being disposeable soldiers. Quake was a T80 main battle tank, also in line with his being disposeable. And the ever-disgusting Landfil had appropriately become a sanitation and refuse vehicle.

According to their maps, they had landed in the human region known as Quebec. It was in the continent of North America, but was near the northern portion - a relatively poor location to project power from. He would have preferred something closer to the middle of the continent, but as usual it was Megatron who made all of the decisions; they simply had to follow them.

This was supposed to have been a simple land grab, a mere political move. Instead, when they arrived they found a civilization that had advanced rapidly while they weren't paying attention. Starscream tried hard to suppress his concerns about this mission, concerns that he wasn't supposed to have as the second in command. But try as he might, he couldn't.

*****

"It's operational," Fixit said.

"Very well then," Gerhardt replied. "Give me your name and function. With those two and your physical type, I shall select a vehicle mode that is appropriate for this planet."

"Firebolt. Commando."

Gerhardt slowly imputted some data into the system, then the mechanism activated and went to work. "Ford F-150 truck," he said. "Popular, yet utilitarian. Next."

"Optimus Prime, commander of the Autobots."

Once Firebolt moved and Optimus took his spot, Gerhardt activated the mechanism. "M-923 military cargo truck. Let's move, people. As soon as the person in front of you is done, get in place."

"Jetfire. Air assault."

"F-16 Falcon."

"Whirl. Fire support."

"AH-64D Longbow Apache."

"Cheetor. Ground reconnassaince."

Gerhardt paused. "Based on this your alternate mode is a mechanical animal. Such things do not exist, so I shall have to improvise."

"Not a problem," Cheetor replied. "Do you have something?"

"Lamborghini Cheetah. It was intended as a recon and utility vehicle. I'll modify your design so that you'll have more power."

"So I guess they're pretty common, eh?"

"To the contrary; the only existing prototype blew up during field trials." Cheetor attempted to protest, but was too late.

"Stakeout. Security."

"Ford Crown Victoria, police model."

"Red Hot. Fire and hazardous materials."

"Pumper engine."

"Fixit. Surgeon."

"Ambulance."

"Clipper. Administration and diplomacy."

"Dodge Magnum." Gerhardt paused, then looked over the group. "There's plenty of desert outside, and you have about an hour of darkness left. Go ahead and adjust yourselves to your new forms."

"Understood," everyone replied.

2

Junko stepped out of the rear bathroom, her sweat suit clinging to her still damp body. She always started her day with a shower. Not only was it a way to ensure she was able to do it, but it also gave her a chance to clear her head.

Whatever Gerhardt was up to, it had to be important for him to leave so early in the morning. She hated to think what the problem might be, but knew that a part of his job was that he had to be ready to leave at all hours. Either way, she knew that he probably didn't take anything to eat with him; she knew he would be hungry whenever he finally returned.

By the time she finished her thought, she was all the way up to the front door.
Whenever he left early in the morning, he usually set the newspaper just outside the door. She went to check, and found the paper sitting in its usual spot. She took it, stepped back inside, and shut the door.

She unfolded the newspaper and set it down on the table. She then walked over to the kitchen, and pulled a random box of cereal down from on top of the refrigerator. She then got herself the milk, a spoon, a vitamin, and a bowl. With everything ready, she sat down to read the paper.

It always amazed her how much time she had to eat breakfast. As a girl in Japan, she usually only had enough time for some toast before she had to run off to school. Here, she usually had at least an hour to enjoy herself.

And as a teacher, she had summers off; she could take all day to eat if she wanted to. Instead, she wanted to look over her lessons from the past year to see what had and hadn't worked. She found herself disappointed that her little charges hadn't gotten as much in the way of civics as she wanted them to have, and so wanted to find a way to insert more.

But first, breakfast.

*****

Starscream stepped outside the ship, trying to get a feel for the planet. The gravity was comparable to Cybertron, but the atmosphere was much different. The nitrogen / oxygen ratio here on Earth was much more favorable to organic life, and so organics thrived in most places. As evidence, there was a forest surrounding the ship's landing point.

He found himself a clearing and pulled out his two swords. He rehearsed a number of different strikes he had learned, listening wihle the wind whistled across them. Based on the air resistance he was feeling, he estimated that the gravity here was actually a little lighter.

"What do you want?" he said as he heard a figure approach.

"Megatron is looking for you," he heard a female voice reply in a matter-of-fact fashion.

"Tell me, Whisper, what do you think of our mission?"

"It can only be another glorious victory for the cause."

"What does Megatron want me for?"

"Apparently he wants to explore the town nearby. The maps list it as Quebec City."

"Very well then," he said as he put his swords away. "Let us go."

*****

"I have a trace," Gerhardt said as he looked at the read-out. "The satelites are picking up what appears to be a landing point in Quebec, near Quebec City."

"That's most likely them," Optimus said. "Autobots, let's......"

"Belay that order," Firebolt said. "Whirl, I want you and Cheetor to do a perimiter sweep of the base. We need to know who, how many, and what firepower they have before we attempt to make a move."

"I'm on it," Whirl said.

"No you aren't!" Optimus shot back.

"You may have the title," Whirl said, "but as far as I'm concerned you haven't earned it. Let's go."

"But Optimus......!" Cheetor protested.

"Let's go!"

"Actually," Gerhardt interjected, "it looks like they're making the first move."

*****

Megatron scanned the city beneath him. The inhabitants were all staring up at him, unsure as to who or what he was. He felt a sense of power surge thorugh him as he realized that he could conquer the city if he wanted to.

He used his sensors to examine the formation. Starscream was on his rear, with Whisper and Thundercracker on the flanks. Quake was on the ground, with Landfill right behind him. So far, so good.

Without warning, he heard an explosion. He banked upwards, trying to avoid the shockwave. "I'm hit!" he heard Thundercracker yell.

"Break and attack!" Megatron barked. "Whoever fired at us must pay for their insolence!"

"Is that really a nice thing to say?" he heard someone say. Megatron looked, and spotted another jet race past him. The jet began to mix it up with Thundercracker, who was growing more frightened by the moment. Before Megatron could say anything, he saw a large helicopter emerge from behind a building and start firing its cannon at Whisper.

"Autobots!" Starscream shouted.

"Preposterous!" Megatron yelled back.

"Then how would you explain it?!"

*****

Thundercracker tried to bank hard to the right, hoping to shake off his attacker. He had already taken one shot, and it had been enough to disable his fire-control systems. He could still fire his weapons, but he would have no targeting assistance; he'd have to do it all on his own. And in a dogfight, that wasn't very good.

"Get away from me!" he shouted as he did a sharp bank up.

"Not likely!" the pursuing jet replied. "I'm not letting you get away!"

"What the..... Jetfire?! Oh, Primus.....!"

"Like he's gonna help you," Jetfire said as he fired off another missile.

*****

"Attention!" Clipper yelled over her loudspeaker system as she drove along the streets. "The city is under attack by hostile forces! Go back inside of your buildings! Go back inside of your buildings!"

She slammed on her brakes as she saw the large vehicle sitting in the intersection. It was facing her, yet refusing to move. "Citizen!" she said. "It is not safe!"

"Oh, I know it isn't safe, sweet cheeks," she heard a voice reply. "That's because I'm around!"

Clipper threw herself in reverse and shot backwards at full speed. The large vehicle attempted to chase after her, but was caught broadside by a massive stream of water that caused it to roll several times.

She breathed a sigh of relief as Red Hot drove into the intersection. "Fixit's got this section taken care of," he said. "Let's go help Optimus."

*****

Quake cursed as he tried to get a lock on his target. The jeep was darting back and forth between the buildings, and using a machine gun to fire on him. The machine gun rounds weren't breaching his armor, but they were annoying. To make matters worse, the jeep had the edge in this terrain.

Without warning, he saw a police car race towards him. He fired off his main gun, but before the round connected the car transformed into a robot and leapt into the air. Quake tried to get a shot off with his machine gun, but before he could the robot landed on top of his turret. Quake was unable to react before the robot slammed an electro-stunner hard against his plating. He screamed in pain as the electricity shot through his systems, blowing out several components.

Satisfied with Quake's situation, the robot got off of him, then transformed and raced off. Quake sat there for a few moments, attempting to stabilize himself.

He wasn't having a very good day.

*****

Starscream rolled to the left as the missile flew past him. Detecting another one, he rolled to the right and let that one pass him as well. He cursed as he realized that the Autobots must have a missile launcher hidden somewhere. But no matter; he would find it as soon as he destroyed the other two missiles.

Without warning, a large blast of energy slammed into his fusilage. He screamed as the shot proved sufficient to knock him out of the air. He spiraled as he fell to the ground, but managed to regain control and pulled out. That hadn't been a missile launcher - that had been a sniper using missiles to lead him into a shot. Not many Autobots were cunning enough to do such a thing, and if one of them was on the planet then they were going to have some trouble. Either way, his doubts were starting to be proven.

*****

Whisper banked sharply several times. By virtue of her being a jet fighter, she had the advantage in regards to maneuverability. However, her opponent had the ability to weave in and around the buildings. In this particular type of terrain, they had a stalemate.

She knew that if she was going to win the fight, she would have to get on the
helicopter's flanks and get a good missile lock. But before she could do that, she had a problem to overcome. The helicopter had a large-caliber machine gun in a turret mount just below the cockpit. The turret could rotate just enough to be a threat to her - and the shots stung. If the helicopter was able to get a good line-of-fire on her, she was done for.

In desperation, she decided to dive in among the buildings themselves. If she was right, the helicopter would be too concerned about property damage to fire on her and so she could get a good shot on him. All she had to do was bank up at just the right time.

She flew between the buildings, but instantly regretted her decision as their material components hampered her sensors. The upshot, she figured, was that unless he had optical sensors trained on her then then he was just as blind too. It would be a gamble, but one that she was sure of.

She screamed in horror as the helicopter came out from in front of her. Not only had the helicopter known where she was, but it had flown *sideways* out from cover. It stitched her with a solid line of fire, cutting her from nose to tail. She shrieked in pain, then banked up sharply and fled.

*****

Optimus raced along on the ground, attempting to follow the fighter jet that was circling over the city. He had a small turret over his cab section, which sported a light machine gun. It had the range and speed to hit the jet, but apparently the rounds weren't effective enough to actually shoot it down.

Without warning, the jet surged forward, then turned around for a strafing run. Realizing that he didn't have any other choice, Optimus opened up his cargo section and elevated his weapons platform into position. The twin cannons filled the air with shrapnel, while the twin machine guns exploited the breaches the shrapnel left. The jet pulled up, trailing smoke along the way.

"Decepticons," he heard the jet say, "Fall back!"

"Autobots," Optimus ordered, "Go after them!"

"Negative," Gerhardt said over the comms. "The Canadian military is on its way. Pull back."

*****

"I told you they were Autobots!" Starscream barked. "They must have spotted us on the way to this planet!"

"A miscalculation," Megatron said cooly. "We shall not be as careless next time."

*****

Junko sat at the table, her papers spread all over. She had finished going over the math and sciences, and found herself satisfied with her efforts in those areas. She wanted to start on the grammar, but was unable to focus. Instead, she was worried. It was almost time for lunch, and yet he hadn't returned.

She was about to pick up the phone when she heard his van pull into the driveway. She quickly packed up her papers, and walked to the door just in time to see him come through. "How has my husband been?" she asked.

"Nothing to worry about," Gerhardt replied as he shut the door.

"I shall make you lunch."

"I have some students to introduce you to."

"Students?"

"Yes."

"I shall get ready." Junko raced off towards the back bedroom, and in a few minutes emerged wearing one of her work dresses. "I am ready," she said. "Let us eat lunch first."

"No problem," he said as he pulled some frozen dinners out of the freezer.

She looked at him, a smile beginning to creep over her face. "When did my husband get those?"

"Last time I was at the store."

"Does my husband know I think those are a way of cheating against good home cooking?"

*****

Junko stepped out of the van, completely transfixed by what was before her. "Is this.....?"

"They're waiting inside," Gerhardt said as he stepped out. He walked over towards her, and offered his hand. She stepped forward, then wrapped herself around his left arm. With his help, she made it up the gantry.

"They should be over there," he said.

"I shall follow." They walked for a distance, then came upon the Autobots. She stood there in complete awe for a few seconds, then bowed. Not sure of what to do, the Autobots bowed in return.

"They shall be guests on this planet for some time," Gerhardt said.

"It is nice to meet you," Clipper said, stepping forward. "I assume that you are our teacher?"

"Yes," Junko said. "I am."

I've read worse.

Autobot tech specs:

Optimus Prime

Allegience: Autobot

Function: Commander

Alt Mode: M-923 Five-Ton Truck

Stats:
Strength 10, Intelligence 10, Speed 5, Endurance 10, Rank 10, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 7

Before the start of the war, Optimus Prime was not only the head of the Autobot party but the elected head of Cybertron. As such, when the war broke out he automatically became their military leader. Although Optimus was once in charge of Cybertron's anti-pirate forces, the leadership skills he acquired were actually very limited; he's a far better soldier than commander, and some feel that the Autobots have suffered as a result. Had there been a clear threat to Cybertron at the time of his election, Optimus would have most likely lost the nomination.

In both modes, Optimus has an assortment of weapons. His main weapon is a hand-held machine gun, which in vehicle mode mounts to a small turret. In addition, the cargo portion of his alt mode contains twin shrapnel cannons and twin machine gunes; this portion can detatch to form a weapons platform in robot mode.

Firebolt

Allegience: Autobot

Function: Commando

Alt Mode: Ford F-150

Stats:
Strength 10, Intelligence 11, Speed 7, Endurance 10, Rank 8, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 11

When Optimus left the anti-pirate forces to assume political office, Firebolt took command. A soldier's soldier, Firebolt made a radical decision once he took command - instead of waiting for the pirates to come to them, they would go to the pirates. It is estimated that during his tenure, he eradicated 80% of the pirate groups that operated in and around the solar system. However, his rather brutal methods earned him the disdain of many civilians and politicians.

Despite this, Firebolt has a strong following among the military and civil service mechs who allied with the Autobots. As their dissatisfaction with Optimus grows, they are increasingly turning to Firebolt as a potential replacement. Firebolt has not specified whether or not he will accept the position of Prime if it is offered to him.

Firebolt's main weapon is a custom-built heavy sniping laser. It is believed that no one other than Firebolt knows what it is completely capable of. Firebolt also has a pair of shoulder-mounted rocket launchers.

Jetfire

Allegience: Autobot (Optimus)

Function: Air Assault

Alt Mode: F-16 Falcon

Stats:
Strength 8, Intelligence 9, Speed 10, Endurance 9, Rank 9, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 9

Jetfire's position as second in command is due more to politics than anything else. Although a skilled and practical soldier, Jetfire lacks the command persona. As such, in spite of his position he will often allow junior officers to take command. None-the-less, Jetfire is one of the best soldiers in the Autobot ranks.

Jetfire is armed with an assortment of missiles and machine guns.

Stakeout

Allegience: Autobot (Firebolt)

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Ford Crown Victoria - police version

Stats:
Strength 7, Intelligence 8, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 8, Courage 10, Firepower 8, Skill 10

Before the war, Stakeout was the commander of Iaacon City's police department. He took his job seriously, and everyone on both sides of the law respected him for it. He expected 100% from his officers, and gave 100% to fighting crime in all of its forms.

Although he is loyal to the ideals of the Autobots, Stakeout is consistently disappointed with what he sees as Optimus' idealistic approach to the war.

Stakeout's primary armament is a shotgun capable of firing either solid slug rounds or cluster sub-munitions; either load is incredibly powerful. He also has an electrode baton which can overload the electrical systems of an opponent.

Red Hot

Allegience: Autobot (Optimus)

Function: Fire / Hazardous Materials

Alt Mode: Pumper Engine

Stats:
Strength 7, Intelligence 8, Speed 9, Endurance 8, Rank 7, Courage 10, Firepower 6, Skill 10

Red Hot is the stereotypical "real man." He's brave, intelligent, physically attractive, and refuses to boast of his accomplishments. He is also an idealist, and gives himself over completely to whaatever he happens to believe in.

Red Hot's fire suppression cannon sprays water at such a high rate of pressure that it can be used as a weapon.

Fixit

Allegience: Autonot

Function: Surgeon

Alt Mode: Ambulance

Stats:
Strength 7, Intelligence 9, Speed 7, Endurance 8, Rank 8, Courage 10, Firepower 4, Skill 10

Fixit was once the chief surgeon for the anti-pirate forces until he resigned and went into private practice. He eventually took a position as head instructor at Cybertron's finest medical academy, a position he held until the war broke out. Upon learning that most of his former colleagues in the forces had sided with the Autobots, he enlisted in order to assist them once more.

Fixit posesses a variety of sharp surgical tools, which could be used as wepons if the need arose.

Cheetor

Allegience: Autobot (Optimus)

Function: Reconassaince

Alt Mode: Lamborghini Cheetah

Stats:
Strength 6, Intelligence 6, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 3, Courage 10, Firepower 6, Skill 10

Although one of the youngest Autobots in the ranks, Cheetor has consistently proven himself as a reliable soldier. His has no qualms about getting close to enemy positions, and as such always manages to bring back accurate and timely data. Unfortunately, he is not one of the brightest Autobots, and so this makes him even more likely to be the victim of pranks and other harrasment.

Cheetor is armed with a standard-issue assault rifle, which mounts onto his turret in vehicle mode.

Whirl

Allegience: Autobot (Firebolt)

Function: Fire Support

Alt Mode: AH-64D Longbow Apache

Stats:
Strength 7, Intelligence 8, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 7, Courage 10, Firepower 9, Skill 10

Whirl is a warrior. No more, no less. Although it makes him a model soldier, it will also serve to prevent him from functioning in "civilian" society should the war ever end. But given how little he thinks of anything other than the soldier's way of life, there is little chance of his ever leaving the services, He feels that Firebolt is far more understanding of the soldier's lot than Optimus, and openly resents the fact that Optimus spends far more time in his office than in the field.

Whirl's main armament is a heavy gatling cannon, which he can use as a rifle in robot mode. He also has an assortment of missiles and rockets at his disposal. In helicopter mode, he can use the mast-mounted optic and sensor array to effectively spot targets.

Clipper

Allegience: Autobot (Optimus)

Function: Administration / Diplomat

Alt Mode: Dodge Magnum

Stats:
Strength 4, Intelligence 8, Speed 6, Endurance 6, Rank 5, Courage 6, Firepower 3, Skill 10

Unlike most of those who eventually became Autobots, Clipper was always a civilian. She graduated the academy with a business degree, then went to work filing reports for a number of different companies. Her constant bouncing around ultimately led to a job as a clerk for the Autobots, during which time she effectively became Optimus' senior aide. She respects the amount of work Optimus has to do, and is one of his staunchest defenders. She is also conflicted, as she harbors romantic feelings towards Stakeout - one of the main leaders in the movement to oust Optimus from his position as Prime.

As Clipper was a civilian, she never had any formal weapons training. She carries a small stun pistol with her, but is otherwise incapable of fighting.

Decepticon tech specs:

Megatron

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Commander

Alt Mode: MiG-31

Stats:
Strength 10, Intelligence 10, Speed 10, Endurance 10, Rank 10, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 10

At one point in time, Megatron was on top of the world. His raw strength and stamina made him a star athlete, and his high intelligence and charisma made him a celebrity. However, Megatron learned the hard way that fame is fleeting. With the cameras gone, he had no choice but to re-invent himself. What happened during the following period of time is unknown, but when it was over he emerged as the leader of the second most powerful political party on Cybertron - a party that was quickly turning into a military.

Megatron is armed with an assortment of machine guns and missiles.

Starscream

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: MiG-29

Stats:
Strength 9, Intelligence 9, Speed 9, Endurance 9, Rank 9, Courage 11, Firepower 9, Skill 10

Starscream was not only a member of the anti-pirate force, but he was also the next in line to take command should Firebolt leave the position. However, he found himself horrified by the sheer brutality Firebolt used in eradicating the pirates. When he was unable to convince the other force members to drive Firebolt from his position, Starscream resigned in disgust and disgrace. He fell in with the Decepticons shortly after, feeling them to be more in line with his views. He objected to their militaristic transformation, but remained a member in the hopes of reforming the
organization from the inside.

Starscream has twin laser rifles and twin swords; all four items mount beneath his wings in jet mode. His jet mode also has a pair of machine guns.

Thundercracker

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: F/A-18 Hornet

Stats:
Strength 7, Intelligence 6, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 5, Courage 8, Firepower 7, Skill 7

Despite his opinion of himself, Thundercracker actually has little going for him. After failing out of the academy and being denied a position as a security officer, Thundercracker was left drifting until he was approached by a Decepticon office manager who needed additional manpower. With no other prospects, Thundercracker accepted the job. When the Decepticons began to become militaristic, he leapt at the chance to become a soldier.

Thundercracker is armed with an assortment of machine guns and missiles.

Whisper

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: F/A-18 Hornet

Stats:
Strength 4, Intelligence 9, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 4, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

A member of an affluent family, Whisper had no real ambitions in life beyond taking over the family business. A Decepticon recruiter convinced her that politics was actually her real calling, and she soon found herself apprenticed to a number of local politicians. When the Decepticons began to militarize, she saw it as a chance to prove to everyone that she could be just as good as everyone else. Whisper is alarmingly intelligent compared to the rest of the Seeker corps, and may one day be in line for a field command position..... assuming that she isn't killed in combat or
terminated as a rival by someone else.

Whisper is armed with an assortment of machine guns and missiles.

Landfill

Allegience; Decepticon

Function: Demolitions

Alt Mode: Dump Truck

Stats:
Strength 8, Intelligence 3, Speed 6, Endurance 6, Rank 5, Courage 8, Firepower 6, Skill 10

As a youth, Landfill was a juvenile delinquent. He constantly missed class, and as such still hasn't completed his lower academic requirements. His lack of education, coupled with his obnoxious behaviour left him unable to find work elsewhere and so he took a job working at a refuse facility. Always amused by explosives, he would secretly go among the refuse piles at night and test out new devices. The end result is an ignorant, crude soldier with a frightening degree of knowledge in regards to explosives.

Landfill carries a standard issue Decepticon assault rifle. In addition, he frequently carries an assortment of explosive devices.

Quake

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: T-80 MBT

Stats:
Strength 9, Intelligence 6, Speed 6, Endurance 10, Rank 5, Courage 10, Firepower 9, Skill 10

Before the war, Quake was a security guard at the Decepticon headquarters building. He earned a reputation for excessive force, and was nearly fired after an incident involving himself and a reporter. Instead, Megatron overrode the orders of the local officials and made him a soldier on the spot.

Quake's main weapon is a heavy cannon; a machine gun serves as a back-up weapon. In robot mode, he can use the cannon as a rifle; when used in this fashion, the machine gun attatches as an undersling accessory.

Anyone think I should keep going on this?

Thanks.

I do.

3.

Firebolt and Gerhardt watched as Whirl gently steered the ship. In order to hide and protect the ship, Gehrardt had made arrangements for an isolated spot at Hill Air Force Base to be set aside for the Autobots' use. However, in order to move the ship in secret they had to do so at night; to make matters worse, they were going low, slow, and without any lights. But in spite of the odds, Whirl wasn't having a single problem.

"Are you sure this is OK?" Whirl asked.

"So long as it's legal," Gerhardt replied, "only one person has the authority to countermand an order I give. This ship is going to Hill whether people like it or not."

"About how much longer will we be?" Firebolt asked.

"At this speed, I'd say two hours. We'll be there around six in the morning, local time."

"I bet you'll be glad to go home, eh? You've been with us what - over twenty-four of your hours?"

"Hardly. As soon as we land, I need to go get a few things. Then it's home for a change of clothes, and into town for a few things. And since I let Junko take the van back, I'll need one of you to give me a lift."

"Not a problem," Firebolt said. "I can do that."

"And I want to go with," Whirl replied. "I hate staying on board these things."

"Is Junko coming again today?" Firebolt asked.

"She'll be here around ten," Gerhardt replied.

"Hate to miss her, but I guess that's what happens."

*****

"I caught him prowling outside the ship," Quake said. "Should I just blast him?"

"Go ahead," Megatron replied. "He could very well be a spy."

"I have a better idea," Starscream interjected. "Let's hear him out. Our translators should be able to understand his language."

"Oh, all right then," Megatron said. "Just make it quick."

Starscream quickly sized up the human. His systems identified the man's physical features and the cut of his business suit as being Japanese, but his bearing suggested that he had been in this particular region for some time. And although the man appeared young, there was something about him that suggested danger. "What do you want, human?"

"My name is Akira Kose. What I propose is a deal."

"I am Starscream. What kind of deal do you propose?"

"My family owns Kose Manufacturing. Obtaining spare parts and upgrades for you would be a trifle for me to do."

"And in return?"

"Revenge. A rival stole something that rightfully belongs to me, and I want it back."

"Why do you need our help?"

"He is a powerful rival."

"I take it that he has already bested you."

"Unfortuantely, yes."

"And what is in it for us?"

"As a goodwill token, I have for you a complete fighter jet that has been fitted with a prototype stealth device my family has been working on. Agree to help me, and it's yours."

"Agreed," Megatron said. "I need some bodies for a few sparks I have, and your deal sounds intriguing."

"What's this about sparks?" Starscream asked.

"I have a few dis-embodied sparks. I figured that it would be easier than calling back for more re-inforcements."

"Hmm....."

*****

Gerhardt walked towards the hangar, then unlocked the door. This particular hangar was too far from the main base to be of use housing aircraft. However, the number of electrical and utility lines connected to it showed that it was still in use.

He quietly opened the door and looked inside. Although designed to be a hangar, it was currently being used as an over-sized dormitory - a dormitory that housed three young men and a horde of computer equipment and entertainment gear. As was normal for this time of day, all three were asleep in various parts of the hanger, which was filthy..... as was also normal.

Gerhardt detatched a small device from his belt buckle and pressed a button on it. All three bolted upright as a small jolt of electricity went through their bodies. "Allright, kids," he said without giving them a chance to recover. "You have thirty minutes to get yourselves cleaned up, and get enough gear packed for a day-long excursion."

"And if we don't?!" one of the youths, now enraged, asked.

"Currently, you still have another two years left on your sentence. I can easily make it three. *And* I can also revoke your pizza rights."

"You're sick."

"I know."

*****

Junko stepped outside, her wet hair coming into contact with the morning chill. It wasn't the first night she had spent without him, but she still didn’t like having to do so. She was his wife, and a dutiful wife was always there to support her husband. She hated not being with him, as it went against everything she had been brought up to do.

She retrieved the newspaper and then walked back inside the house. She set the paper down, then went over to the stove. He would most likely come home for an hour or two, and so the least she could do was leave him breakfast.

*****

"What do you want now?!" Fixit bellowed. "I'm trying to re-calibrate my equipment."

"I have some new apprentices for you," Gerhardt replied.

"Huh?"

Fixit turned around, and immediately found himself having to resist the urge to do violence. The three young men with Gerhardt looked like nothing more than slackers and punks.. And he would *not* have such degenerates working for him.

"They might not look it," Gerhardt said, "but each of these three is an expert at
computers."

"How do you know this?"

"All three of them are currently serving time for computer-related crimes."

"Really."

"The one on the left is Paul Holland, who was caught attempting to hack into the security systems at Fort Knox. Next to him is Jack Weems, who thought it would be funny to try and send the space shuttle into orbit half an hour early. And the last one is Adam Dice, who attempted to breach NATO's systems. Respectively, they call themselves Plug, Jack, and Dice."

"And why should I trust them?"

Gerhardt tossed a controller at Fixit, who caught the comparatively tiny device. "As a part of their punishment, all three have been implanted with an electrode device. Press that button, and they each get a jolt. Just give them a food and bathroom break every few hours and they'll be fine."

Fixit slowly grinned. "I see. Very well then."

*****

"Do you have the spark?" Akira asked. "The body is almost ready."

"I have it right here," Megatron answered.

"And who praytell is it?" Starscream replied.

"Skywarp."

"Him?!"

"Yes."

Furious, Starscream stalked away.

"All you have to do," Akira said, "is implant the spark in the body as soon as everything is finished."

"Good."

"As soon as he is operational, I ask that I personally take him for a few hours."

"That eager to get revenge? Very well."

*****

"I thought you said you were going to change clothes," Firebolt said as Gerhardt climbed back inside the cab. "Only thing different is that you have that headset now."

"I did," Gerhardt said.

"So am I to assume that your entire wardrobe consists of black?"

"I have some white shirts for church, and some blue shirts for when company arrives."

"But otherwise.....?"

"It's formal, yet it serves as good camoflague and hides stains."

"Whatever."

*****

"May I ask where you’re going?" Whisper said.

"Out," Starscream replied. "I don't trust that human."

"And I don't trust you."

"A common complaint, from what I understand."

"If you go out, then I go with."

"If anything happens to you, I'm not responsible."

*****

Firebolt said in the parking lot, biding his time.

"Whirl here," a voice came over his comms.

"Boring, eh?"

"Completely."

"Not even a police chase to keep you busy?"

"Nope. How about you?"

"He's been to three electronics stores so far, and right now I'm waiting for him to come out of a Wal-Mart."

"What's he been buying?"

"The stuff from the electronics stores looks like a random assortment of small parts - lights, diodes, and wiring."

"Anything else?"

"Well, he's coming out now. Looks like a bolt of grey fabric, a bolt of white fabric, and some cotton stuffing."

"Eh?"

"Don't ask me."

Gerhardt quietly walked towards Firebolt, then set his bags in the cab. He then got in and closed the door. "I think we have an inbound," he said.

"Say what?"

"Here's the plan. I'm going to drive you until I find a convenient spot to hide you. At which time, I'll ditch you and make my way over to the tallest building I can find. When I give the signal, you take your rifle out of sub-space. Whirl, I want you in the air but at a safe distance. Both of you need to stay in vehicle mode."

"Understood."

"Understood."

*****

Skywarp found himself board. He had spent all that time stuck as a spark, then once he did get a new body he had nothing to do. Sure, he carried a human all the way here and would carry him back, but aside from that there was nothing. At least he had that new cloaking device, which would allow him to remain invisible.

A glint from atop a building caught his eye. Curious, he decided to check it out. If nothing else, it would occupy some of his time.

*****

Gerhardt knelt, then raised his revolver. His Colt .50 only had five shots, so he had to make all five count. He had gotten his target's attention; now he had to make use of it. He steadied the revolver, and slowly fired.

Shot after shot tore through the open sky, The first four shots suddenly disappered, but the fifth one resulted in the explosion of a canopy and the exposure of an empty seat. Caught by surprise, the aircraft screamed.

"Open fire!" Gerhardt yelled over his headset. The empty aircraft tried to pull up, but it was too late. Whirl swooped in and used his cannon to stitch a line of fire in the space behind the seat. The hot lead was strong enough to attract Firebolt's heat-seeking missiles, which exploded on contact. The outline of the explosions then provided enough of a target for Firebolt's cannon.

Gerhardt ejected the spent casings, then used his speedloader to reload. He picked up the casings, then climbed off of the building. He then walked several blocks in a seemingly random fashion.

He and an oncoming pedestrian paused as they started to walk past each other.

"I see your family's new toy failed."

"It made it this far," Akira said. "I'd say it worked as well as it needed to."

"If you're hiring outside help, the Kose family must truly be in a bad spot."

"I still intend to take what's mine. They are just my pawns."

"Take what's yours? You should consider yourself lucky that you still have all of your fingers."

"I see you've done your homework."

"I'm not the only one."

"Does she know?"

"No."

"I guess I should thank you for that much."

Without another word, the two walked past each other.

*****

"I see the stealth system failed," Whisper said.

"No, it worked," Starscream replied. "It drew out whoever it was that human intended to draw out. Hmm..... I see now why that human needs our help. His rival truly is a worthy opponent."

"And Skywarp?"

"We can take our time recovering him."

Thoughts thus far?

Thanks.

Probably my last chapter for a while, as I need to work on my other series.

4.

Junko let out a relieved sigh as she read the newspaper. This was the first time in two days that they had been..... together with each other in the morning. She had no idea that she was already starting to miss that sensation.

To make matters even better, all he had to do today was make a few phone calls and put in an hour on one of his projects. After that, once they finished up with the Autobots then the day was theirs. She already found herself blushing at the prospect.

"It's burning," Gerhardt said.

Junko darted over to the counter just in time to see the blackened pieces of toast eject from the toaster. She reached for a hot pad, then grabbed the pieces and set them on a plate. She set the plate down, and then bowed in front of him. "I am sorry, my husband," she said, frightened.

She was surprised to find her face pressing against his shirt. Whenever they embraced, she felt herself completely swallowed up in his sheer physical size. And yet she knew that, despite what she had been instructed to believe, he would never do anything to cause her to despair.

"That toaster is older than you are," he said. "I've fixed that heating mechanism so many times now that I don't think there’s a single original part left."

"So what are you saying?"

"I'll have to pull it apart again, but I think this time is the end of the road for it."

"I understand." She stood there for a few moments, allowing herself to be lost in his size. "So I am not at fault?"

"No."

*****

"Absolutely devious!" Megatron said. "I can't believe he would use you as bait!"

"Tell me about it," Skywarp said as the repair units went about their business. "What a creep."

"A creep? He's a genius!"

"Bwah?!" he said, raising his head.

"Those two Autobots weren't able to detect you! The device works!"

"What about that human?"

"One human out of an entire city. What are the odds? If nothing else, we know some more about that human as well. I'd say that your sacrifice was worth it."

Stunned, Skywarp let his head slam back against the table.

*****

"How are those humans working out?" Jetfire asked as he walked into the medcial bay.

"Surprisingly well," Fixit said. "With their small size, they can get into the machines and do the finite maintenance for me. It used to take me a long time to re-calibrate everything, but with their help I'm almost finished. All I have left to do is adjust this main console here."

"That's good to hear."

"We're finished re-connecting the diodes," Plug said as he emerged from an opening in the panels.

"Good," Fixit said. "Where are the others?"

"Standing by."

"Tell them to hold the diodes in place while I run a diagnostic."

"I'm on it." With that, Plug disappeared back into the console.

"How do you run the diagnostic?" Jetfire asked.

"I shoot a burst of electricity through and see what happens."

"That sounds simple enough, and..... wait..... those humans are still inside there!"

"That's the point." Fixit leaned over the console. "Get ready in there!"

"Are you.....?!" Jetfire yelled.

"Please God, no!" the shout came from inside the console.

Fixit gently pressed the button on the device, causing the console to light up for a few seconds.

"You sadistic bastard!" Jetfire yelled.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

*****

Normally, Richard Olson was a very busy man. After all, it came with being the President of the United States. He estimated that he spent ten out of every twenty-four hours on the job. And of the remaining fourteen, had had maybe four to himself. And he needed that four to sleep things off.

As such, it was no surprise when the doctors diagnosed him with exhaustion and a two-inch ulcer. Their orders were clear: he was to take a week off. And so, that's what he was attempting to do. He had done all of the routine paperwork for the next several days, and now all he had left to do was to sign the papers that would give his Vice President the executive power while he was away. After that, he would grab his suitcase and join his family for a stay at Camp David.

His daydreaming was interrupted by a phone call. Slightly startled, he picked up the phone. "Sorry to disturb you, sir," the operator said, "but you have a phone call."

"Can it wait?"

"No sir. It's priority."

"And who may I ask is it?"

"Prime Minister Kiyoshi Tsuraba of Japan."

Richard paused for a few seconds. He had learned that "Kiyoshi" means "Quiet Child" in Japanese. Prime Minister Tsuraba was indeed a quiet man, but when he spoke everyone knew to pay attention. "Put him through," he said, thoughts of vacation slipping away. He waited for a few more seconds until the distinct series of clicks that told him the switchboard had finished its job.

"Greetings, President Olson," the quiet voice said.

"Is this about the people who I think this is about?"

"Yes."

Richard opened a drawer in his desk and pulled out a bottle of liquid antacid. He shook it, then opened it up. If this went as it usually did, he would be needing it.

*****

"You wanted to see me, sir?" Cosmos asked as he walked into Ultra Magnus' office.

"That's correct," Magnus said as he and Seawatch - his field commander - looked up from a map. "Optimus made contact with me, and informed us that his team had taken some new alternate modes based on those vehicles that exist on Earth. I want you to fly down there and bring back their scans. Plus, get a few additional scans on top of that."

"Yessir."

*****

"May I ask what has occupied you for so long?" Whisper asked as she stepped inside Starscream's quarters.

"Haven't you ever learned to knock?" he asked as she closed the door.

"I still want to know what's going on."

"So you can report it back to Megatron? What are you - his snoop? Or are you his lover?"

He recoiled slightly as she slapped him. "How dare you?!" she demanded. "What gives you the right to ask such a thing?"

"What gives *you* the right to barge into my quarters?"

"Very well then," she said, attempting to regain herself. "I shall ask again - what are you working on."

"Numbers."

"Eh?"

"The statistical probability that the human we witnessed could have detected Skywarp by normal means is so low that I find it impossible to accept."

"What makes it so impossible to accept?"

"Personal experience is that if any set of odds has to be computed using advanced mathematics, then it's either never going to happen or is going to happen as soon as you write the numbers down. Nothing happened when I wrote those numbers down, so therefore it must be impossible."

"Whatever."

"Now do you intend to leave, or do you intend to keep me company?" As he predicted, she slapped him again and then walked off.

*****

Landfill grunted as he made another trip back up to the shuttle. The human had provided three more chassis for them, but had left it up to them for retrieval. And so Landfill found himself volunteered to go get them as he had the closest thing to a cargo bay. Of course, given his design he didn't have very much room and so could only carry a limited amount. He had spent all morning going back and forth, and still had a ways to go.

He resolved that the next time they got new alt modes, he'd pick something that had no cargo room at all.

I like it. I look forward to seeing more of Cosmos. I think Fixit is my favorite character, so far. You just got to love his personality. Starscream is a close second.

I look forward to reading more.

Thanks.

Suffice to say that the three hackers are going to be the comedy relief for the series.

5.
Junko slowly crept through her family's house. She knew that she would be in trouble for being up at this hour, but there was so much noise coming from the living room for her little ten-year-old mind to rest.

"So they have made an offer," her grandfather said.

"Yes," her father replied. "They want Junko to marry their youngest son as soon as they both finish high school."

"I have my suspicions about that family."

"But this is also something that we cannot pass up. They are a powerful family. We will be helped by associating with them."

"Yet if they are too powerful, we could be hurt."

"As your eldest son, I ask you to think of our family's future!"

"And as head of the clan, I'm asking you to think of Junko's future! She's our only grand-daughter."

"What is the matter, sister?" she heard a voice ask.

"You must be quiet," she whispered to her little brother. "Father and grandfather are arguing."

"Over what?"

"Nothing you need to worry about. Let us go to bed." She grabbed her little brother by the arm and led him back to his room. As soon as he was in bed, she went back into her own room. She closed the door, then knelt by her bed and prayed to whatever deity would listen that she would be a model wife for whatever husband she would have.

*****

Junko opened her eyes, and found herself staring into Gerhardt's chest. She realized that he must have known she was dreaming, and turned her to face him. She looked down, and saw that she had curled herself around her little Ryo-Ohki doll - something she always did when she had a bad dream.

He gently ran his hand through her hair, then kissed her on the forehead. She nestled her head against his chest, then closed her eyes. Morning was still a few hours away, and she needed her sleep. Yet she found herself puzzled as to why she would be remembering that particular moment of her life. Yes, she had indeed been raised so that she could be married off to someone for the sake of the family. But if something had been arranged, it had never taken place; instead, her grandfather had given consent for a gaijin - a foreigner - to marry her. It was possible that no arrangement was ever made, but it was just as possible that her grandfather cancelled the arrangement. It would have meant a loss of honor, but it would have been even more dishonorable to ignore the man who saved the life of his grand-daughter.

But even then, it was she who had wanted to be with him. He had saved her life; the least she could do was repay the deed by giving her life over to him. It took two years of her life to even find him, and another three to actually become his bride. Those years had been agonizing for her, but in the end she prevailed.

As she started to drift off, another thought crossed her mind. As he wore his dark glasses even in bed, she had no way to know if he had been awake the entire time. For that matter, she didn't even know if he ever slept at all. But it was not her place to pry, so she left it alone.

*****

Optimus and Jetfire watched as the space craft landed next to the shuttle. A robot emerged from the craft, then the craft transformed. Both robots then walked up to Optimus.

"I've been expecting you," Optimus said.

"I am Cosmos," the first one replied. "My friend here is Perceptor."

"The mechanism is this way," Optimus said. "But before you leave, you'll need to be given new alternate modes so as not to arouse suspicion."

The four mechs walked into the ship, and made their way towards the medical bay. "Here we are," Optimus said as the four of them walked in.

"I take it that these are the ones Magnus sent?" Fixit asked. "I've got a pair of alt modes selected for the two of you. All you have to do is-"

Fixit was cut off by the sudden arrival of Firebolt. "Excuse me," he said as he stepped in. "I just need to borrow your fuses real quick."

"Eh?" Optimus asked.

Firebolt walked over to one of the consoles, then removed a panel. He reached inside, grabbed something, then pulled his hand back out.

"Thank you, God!" Plug said as he popped his head out from Firebolt's hand. With that, Firebolt left with the same speed in which he arrived.

Angry, Optimus looked at his surgeon. "I think we need to talk."

*****

Plug, Jack, and Dice each took their time stretching their legs, grateful to be free.

"Are you ready now?" Firebolt asked as he, Stakeout, and Whirl knelt down next to the humans.

"All right," Jack said. "We'll tell you what we know about that Brinkerhoff guy."

"And remember," Whirl said, "if it's not any good then we'll hand you back over to Fixit."

"Here goes," Dice said. "Just about everything in regards to his life before the age of eighteen has been scrubbed. All known documents in civilian hands have been confiscated. The only way to get at it is to go through some major government security protocols."

"Then how do you know it was before he became eighteen?" Stakeout asked.

"The earliest document we can find," Plug said, "is his application to Brigham Young University. Based on the information given, he was eighteen when he applied."

"Anything else?" Firebolt asked.

"For starters," Plug continued, "according to the dates on the form there was a two-year gap between the time he graduated high school and the time he enrolled."

"Problem solved," Whirl said. "Two years in the military. Had his stuff sanitized for security reasons, and someone forgot to let it go again."

"Not quite," Jack said. "You can't enlist unless you're eighteen. Your theory would have had him going in at sixteen; unless he lied about his age, that's impossible. And it would take something major to do that type of scrubbing, so it had to have happened *after* enlistment and not before."

"Is it normal for a person to graduate at sixteen?" Firebolt asked.

"No," Dice replied. "Eighteen to nineteen. We're thinking that he was on some sort of accelerated system, which would mean that he's insanely smart."

"That would fit if he was a tech guy," Stakeout said as he looked at the other two mechs. "Right? I mean, he was able to work Fixit's equipment."

"Except he didn't major in anything technical-related," Dice said. "The application is for their business college. Granted, some aspects of business require a lot of math, but still....."

"Did he do anything technical at all?"

"No. He dabbled in theology and sociology for a while, but everything else was business."

Firebolt paused. "Something isn't adding up. When I first met him, he said that he had been doing whatever it was for about half of his life. That means he might have started around sixteen or seventeen. And since you said it wasn't legal to do so, whoever his employer is might have had things covered up to hide his age. But the question is - what is it that he's doing for them?"

"Why the curiosity?" Stakeout asked. "We've confirmed most of what we need to know."

"No, we haven't. Whirl, remember how he spotted that Seeker even when we didn't? Our sensors should have picked the Seeker up well before he did. Now think - is there anything else you can think of about him?"

"There is one thing," Jack said. "The rumor is that he never takes off those sunglasses."

"Enhanced optics?" Whirl asked.

"Stranger things have happened," Stakeout replied. "Look at those goofs."

"Think back," Firebolt said. "Is there anything that happened about fourteen years ago?"

"It's possible," Plug replied. "But that was a busy time. We're talking the end of Desert Storm, a presidential election year, the destruction of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and a number of other things. It's possible that if something did take place involving him, then it was quickly overshadowed."

"You've done enough," Firebolt finally said. "You three can go for the rest of the day."

*****

Megatron watched as three more of his warriors began to flex their new mechanical muscles. They were adapting to their new bodies, but the only way to be sure that they would truly adapt would be to have them conduct live-fire testing.

"I see the next batch is up and functional," Starscream said as he entered the bay. "Do you want me to taken them on a run?"

"No," Megatron said. "I want you to run the information on these new alt modes back to Cybertron."

"As you wish."

*****

"How are you taking to your new bodies?" Optimus asked.

"They're sufficient," Cosmos said, "but I really should be getting back to Cybertron with the information."

"I see. And what about Perceptor?"

"He was a last-minute change of plans. Apparently Magnus wanted someone to study the weapons systems in use on the planet."

"I understand."

"We've got trouble," Jetfire said as he and Perceptor rushed into the room. "It looks like the Decepticons are causing problems again; this time. We've spotted them near a dam."

"Not good," Prime said. "Tell Stakeout, Clipper, and Fixit to guard the ship. The rest of us will go engage."

"Understood."

*****

"Here's the plan," Jetfire said as he, Cosmos, Perceptor, and Whirl flew in formation. "As soon as we catch up with the airborne Decepticons, me and Whirl go weapons free. You two will serve to watch our backs."

"Actually?" Cosmos said. "Even though we're space shuttles, we still have firepower."

"And a few tricks," Perceptor said. "Observe." Without warning, Perceptor kicked in his afterburners and jolted forward. He quickly made up the distance between himself and the Decepticons, then got in position for a strafing run.

"He's insane!" Jetfire yelled.

"Just watch," Cosmos said.

Perceptor let loose a series of bomblets, then banked up sharply. The bombs exploded, blanketing the Decepticons in a powdery mist. The Decepticon jets scattered for a counter-attack, but Perceptor was well on his way back to the formation.

"You just made them all mad!" Jetfire yelled.

"Not all of them," Perceptor said. "The one you call Starscream isn't here!"

"What?"

"Decepticons!" Megatron bellowed. "Attack!"

*****

"I don't believe it!" Prime yelled as he and the others raced towards the dam. "Perceptor just ruined the whole mission!"

"To the contrary!" Firebolt said as he edged past Prime and activated his cannon and missiles. "I think he's a genius!"

"Say what?!"

"I think I know what he's getting at. Trust me."

"Why should I?"

"Cheetor - up front! I want you to run interference. Red Hot, get right behind him. Prime, I want you to pop out your cannon array. If I'm right, Perceptor just won us this battle!"

*****

"The name is Ramjet!" the Decepticon yelled as he kept darting towards Jetfire.

"I could have guessed that!"

"Oh! Am I going to fast for you!"

"You could say that!"

"Too bad!" Ramjet lined up for a head-on rush, only to have his port wing sliced off by a laser. The Seeker attempted to remain airborne, but instead crashed into the ground.

"You can thank me later!" Perceptor said as he shot past.

"Thank you?!" Jetfire yelled. "I wanna kill you!"

"Just switch your scanners over to magnetics!"

"What?!"

"Do it!"

Jetfire switched his scanners over, and to his surprise found that the Decepticons had incredibly large magnetic fields. "What is this?!"

"I hit them with magnetic dust!"

"Now that's a good idea!" Jetfire banked, then rushed off towards the largest target - Megatron.

*****

"Looks like they’re in trouble!" Quake said to the three vehicles behind him. "Divert and render aid!"

"I don’t think so!" Cheetor said as he raced in front of the Decepticons. He did two loops around them, firing his machine gun as he went. He then sped off.

"Thrust!" Quake commanded, "get him!"

One of the vehicles - a sports car - seperated from the group and began to chase after Cheetor. "Do you think you can get away from me?!" Thrust demanded. "I'm far too fast! I'll prove it!" Thrust kicked in his nitrous supply, screaming wildly as he began to rocket forward. "I'll get you now!"

"Not quite," Cheetor said, stopping short.

"Bwah?!" Thrust yelled. He tried to brake, but was going to fast. Even with his decreased speed, momentum was enough to carry him forward a good distance..... and straight off a small cliff.

*****

"Hey, sweetie!" Whirl shouted as he attempted to close. "Where's your boyfriend?"

"What are you talking about?!" Whisper demanded.

"Starscream."

"He's not my boyfriend!"

"Oh - so did you break up or something?"

"AAARRGH!" Whisper banked up sharply. She was hoping to throw him by climbing higher than he could, but to her horror found that he was also climbing by way of his rotor's upward pull. She went inverted, then attempted to dive on him. However, before she could he banked up sharply, placing her in his line of sight. She screamed as a swarm of missiles impacted her.

*****

Skywarp cloaked, then watched as Thundercracker came under fire from one of the Autobots. The Autobot's alt mode appeared to be some sort of shuttle craft; although fast, it had trouble maneuvering. In addition, its load-out of cluster missiles was ineffective against an individual target under atmospheric conditions; it did have a laser of some kind, but it was difficult to use. Despite this, the Autobot somehow managed to have Thundercracker on the run.

With his shielding in place, Skywarp knew that the Autobot had no way to detect him. All he had to do was get on the Autobot's flank, then open fire. He carefully got himself into position, then trailed the Autobot - so far, so good. To ensure that he would remain undetected, he couldn't use any targeting equipment; he'd have to do this manually. No bother.

The Autobot pulled up at the last second, causing the missiles to go straight into
Thundercracker. Skywarp watched as his fellow Seeker plunged towards the ground He vowed to make the Autobot pay dearly, then started to bank left. Unfortunately, before he could complete it he felt someone stitch a line of cannon fire across his back. He shrieked, then transformed and landed on the ground. He decloaked, then took a few fateful seconds to examine his injuries. While he was thus occupied, the Autobot shuttle was able to bombard him with several cluster missiles.

*****

"I want you to sweep our flanks!" Quake barked. "I don't want to take any chances about another ambush!"

"Do I have to?" Dirge asked. "I could get jumped, too."

"Better you than me."

Without warning, a pair of missiles streaked towards them. The missiles struck Quake, completely blowing his treads apart. Landfil swerved, trying not to collide with Quake.

Quake and Landfil transformed in time to see Firebolt rushing straight towards them. They opened fire, only to have Firebolt transform and jump out of the way. Not only did it mean they missed him, but to their horror they saw it gave Optimus Prime a clear line of fire with his cannan array. Both mechs were blasted, causing them to fly back. A high-pressure stream of water from Red Hot's cannon threw them back even furthur and took them out of the fight.

"Aw man," Dirge said as he raced off. "I knew this was gonna happen!"

"Going somewhere?" Firebolt said as he leapt on top of Dirge. Firebolt used his left hand to smash Dirge's windshield, then used his fingers to work Dirge's steering wheel.

"Get off me!"

"OK." Firebolt leapt off, then went into a roll as soon as he hit the ground.

"That's much better," Dirge said, blissfully unaware that he was now on a collision course with a large tree.

*****

Megatron uttered a series of curses as he watched his soldiers fall. He was the last Decepticon on the field, and that made the odds eight to one against. He knew that he could take a few of them down, but in doing so he would risk being seriously injured. In disgust, he gave the order to retreat.

*****

"Looks like we chased them off!" Jetfire said as he transformed and landed.

"That would appear to be the case," Optimus said as he also transformed.

"My apologies," Cosmos said as he circled above them, "but it is time for me to leave."

"Take care!" the two said as the shuttle flew off.

*****

"I think I got something," Jack said as he leaned in closer to his monitor.

"Let me see," Plug said as he and Dice looked over. "Could be, but what the hell would he doing in Abilene? That's way out of his neck of the woods."

"It's not like we have anything better," Dice said. "I say we leave this up to Firebolt to deal with."

"Agreed."


---

edited on June 18th, 2007, to fix some continuity errors.

(note: from here on out, the rate at which I update this thread will be tied to the rate at which I get my other fic done. In other words, a chapter of my other stuff before a chapter of this. Sorry, but otherwise I'd forget about everything.)

Skywarp

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Infiltration

Alt Mode: F-4EJ Phantom II

Strength 8, Intelligence 9, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 6, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

Whereas Optimus Prime had Firebolt, Megatron had Skywarp. It was Skywarp's mission to sneak into as many Autobot facilities as he could. Once inside, his activities would range from simple killings to complex acts of sabotage depending upon how important the base was. His successes left him with a sense of arrogance and superiority, which alienated many of his comerades; his lone-wolf attitude didn't help matters any.

In this mode, Skywarp’s main piece of equipment is a cloaking device developed by Kose Manufacturing. This device liteally makes Skywarp invisible to detection by optics and sensors, although he can still be detected by other means. Skywarp also boasts an assortment of missiles, plus a machine gun.

Ramjet

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Shock Trooper

Alt Mode: F-4EJ Phantom II

Strength 8, Intelligence 5, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 1, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

Ramjet represents the disposeable of the disposeable: a Seeker who functions as a shock trooper. It is believed that the only reason he has surivved thus far is because of his reckless, almost psychotic actions during battle; so many of his opponents usually wind up fearing him that they run away rather than fight.

Ramjet is armed with an assortment of missiles and machine guns. However, he's usually so busy attempting physical attacks that he almost never uses them.

Thrust

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Interceptor

Alt Mode: Mazda RX-8

Strength 7, Intelligence 5, Speed 9, Endurance 7, Rank 3, Courage 10, Firepower 5, Skill 5

If he were human, Thrust would embody the "witless teenaged speed demon" stereotype. He is constantly customizing and tinkering with his engines, and as a result he often moves far faster than he thinks. As he can fulfill most of his mission through sheer speed and firepower, this isn't a problem; however, a clever opponent can usually turn the tables against him.

Thrust is armed with a heavy laser rifle, which mounts to his roof in car mode. Thrust occasionally experiments with secondary devices (such as grappling hooks), but he rarely keeps any one device for long.

Dirge

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: Mazda RX-8

Strength 7, Intelligence 7, Speed 9, Endurance 7, Rank 2, Courage 2 / 10, Firepower 5, Skill 2 / 10

Dirge has two modes: "nihilist" and "pretty hate machine." When he's in his nihilistic mode (which is about 90% of the time), he has little urge to do anything other than what is absolutely necessary to survive..... that is, assuming that he actually even does anything to begin with. In stark contrast, when he's being the pretty hate machine, anyone and everyone is a fair target.

Dirge is armed with a heavy laser rifle, which mounts to his turret in car mode.

Squee!

Post more!

What do you like so far?

Another great chapter. I like how you give the Decepticons personality.

I have no blinking clue.

All I know is, this is VERY good stuff.

I really enjoy reading it.

But I can't tell you WHY for some reason.

Then what would you like to see in it?

progress update-

If I can beat this storm front and finish what I'm working on, then I can have Chapter 6 done some time on Saturday. If not, then I can't promise anything before Tuesday.

I haven't had very much sleep recently, so the tech specs will come once I've had a nap.

6.

"I must thank you," Bludgeon said as he walked towards Starscream. "These new alt modes are quite superb."

"So how far have you gotten with installing them?" Starscream asked.

"I and my three top operatives have already received the new modes. I am also using the F/A-18 and the RX-8 as generic modes for my front-line soldiers."

"I see. So what is you next idea?"

"I propose we make use of these new modes. Would you care to stay long enough to help out?"

"I have nothing better to do."

*****

"I'm assuming that you've found something?" Firebolt asked as he, Stakeout, and Whirl approached the humans.

"We're not sure," Plug said, "but we did indeed find something."

"Let's hear it."

Jack and Dice quickly fired up a laptop that had been hooked up to a projector. "These articles are about a bombing that took place at Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas. A speaker had come to the campus to look it over in advance of his presentation. However, someone somehow revealed the speaker's particular religion. Some of the people on campus didn't take too kindly to this discovery, and so a student decided that he'd rather blow up part of the campus than see it defiled. The speaker was critically injured, but was still able to walk up to the bomber and stab him to death."

"Why don't the articles mention any names?" Stakeout asked.

"The speaker's name was never mentioned, and the student's family asked the media to with-hold his name." Plug said. "And we have yet to determine if anyone on the campus aside from the involved staff even knew the speaker's name."

"Wait," Whirl said. "Do you mean to tell us that someone almost killed another person - a person who he most likely didn't even know - simply over religion?"

"Sadly," Jack said, "it happens. Religiously-motivated terror incidents happen with alarming frequency. In fact, the worst tragedy this nation ever faced involved 19 religious terrorists hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings. If you have time, look up September Eleventh."

"I believe you," Firebolt said. "I've seen murder happen over far less. How does Gerhardt tie into all of this?"

"He would have been sixteen when it took place."

"What do you think?" Stakeout asked. "That two year gap could have been spent recovering."

"But if he was so badly injured," Whirl replied, "then why would the government hire him on?"

"Either way," Stakeout said, "he's perfectly fine now."

"Why would he be speaking?" Firebolt asked. "That's what doesn't make sense. And how did they know?"

"All we know," Plug said, "is that it was supposed to be a demonstration of some new device. As far as his religion - there's a lot of jewelry and other items that have religious emblems. He was probably spotted wearing such an item."

"His invention?" Stakeout asked. "Could that be why the government hired him?"

"Looks like we now officially have more questions than answers," Firebolt said. "Keep at it."

*****

Ultra Magnus walked into the briefing room, looking around at the mechs in front of him. Each one, himself included, had volunteered to receive a new Earthen-based vehicle mode. Himself. Cosmos. Nightbeat. Minerva. Seawatch. Powerglide. Heatseeker. Aquablast. Wheeljack. All of them good soldiers.

"I can see that you are all well," he said. "How have you been adapting to your new modes?"

"Not quite what I expected," Seawatch said, "but I can't complain."

"Same here," Aquablast said.

"Anyone else?" Magnus asked.

Before he could get an answer, alarms rang out through the base. Magnus activated his comms, trying to figure out what was going on. "Looks like we're about to combat-test things!"

*****

Starscream used his lasers to blast a pair of Autobots out of the sky, then looked down at the battle below. He had to admit that Bludgeon's plan was rather daring, but this far it was working. Below him was the famous Grand Bridge. The bridge was part of an above-ground highway system designed to link together all of the main cities on Cybertron; the bridge itself spanned the Grand Chasm, where a meteor struck the planet sometime during the early part of its life. Due to the size of the chasm, the bridge had become the primary ground-based traffic artery in the area. A series of roads and rail did service the area as well, but none of them could handle the load as well as the Grand Bridge. If it was captured or destroyed, it would be a major blow to Autobot operations in the area.

And as things stood, that was going to happen. Bludgeon was leading a unit forward across the bridge itself, while his aide Rattrap and another unit were guarding the mouth that Bludgeon went through. In addition, sappers were at work in the structure, and a number of Seekers were working as an air screen. Everything was combining to overwhelm the defenders and stave off a counter-offensive. Unless the Autobots deployed a large number of shock troopers, the victory was theirs.

He spotted four new aircraft entering the battle. He scanned them, and to his chagrin discovered that one of them was an F-16. He knew that for a craft like that to be present, the Autobots must have shared alternate modes as well. This new development had the potential to change the tide of the battle. As much as he wanted to fight these new-comers, he knew that he had to warn the others.

*****

Ultra Magnus raced through the ranks of Autobots, shouting orders to them as he went past. He knew that unless he did something to rally everyone, his forces would be pushed back. In desperation, he raced up near the front and transformed, allowing his rear weapons section to detatch and convert into a fixed platform. Once it was in position, he used it and his hand-held machine gun to open fire at the front ranks of Decepticons. Not only would the platform chew them up, but they would also have to dislodge it to proceede. This would give them some precious seconds to re-group.

"Nightbeat!" he ordered. "Take care of those sappers! Wheeljack - take Minerva and evacuate the wounded! Heatseeker - cover them!"

He stole some glances out of the corners of his optics to see how things were going. Some of his troops had gotten their morale back, and were attempting to push forward again. It was still a losing battle, but now the odds were slowly shifting in their favor.

*****

Nightbeat leapt among the pieces of structure, using one hand to grip while the other held his machine gun. Thanks to his agility, going through the structure was easy. The real problem he had was in stopping the sappers. He realized that if he could take out their joints, they would be unable to grip the structure and would therefore fall to their deaths. However, they were firing back at him and so he couldn't simply pick his shots like he wanted to. Even though he actually was stopping some of them, he wasn't stopping nearly enough.

The sounds of additional gunfire told him that some new parties had joined the fight. He quickly looked around to see that some of the mechs who had been defending the bridge were also climbing down into the structure to help him out. He didn't know how much they could do, but at together they stood a better chance.

*****

"Load them inside!" Wheeljack ordered as he transformed into his ambulance mode. A pair of mechs who had only taken minor injuries complied, and loaded several of the more wounded mechs inside. Meanwhile, Minerva was tending to those whose injuries weren't as critical. The number of injured was beginning to pile up, and they knew they had to work quickly to keep up.

Thankfully, Heatseeker and some of the walking wounded had set up a defensive perimeter around their make-shift triage area. A handful of Seekers had probed out this far, and would have most likely killed everyone had the perimeter not been in place. With each Seeker taken down, the morale of the injured went up. Not only that, but the downed Seekers also yielded spare ammunition and energy that would help them out.

With the injured safely loaded, Wheeljack raced towards the other mouth of the bridge. A medical shuttle had landed there, and was currently serving as a field hospital. But the shuttle had limited firepower, and as such couldn't risk getting close to the battle - leaving it up to Wheeljack and the others to get the injured to the shuttle.

Wheeljack added "discuss the current status of the medical shuttles with Ultra Magnus" to his mental to-do list, then raced off.

*****

"I warned you!" Starscream said as he and Bludgeon took cover behind a pile of dead Decepticons. "Those new Earthen modes the Autobots have are turning this into a phyrric victory for us!"

"I can see your side of things now," Bludgeon said. "I can also see that actually taking the bridge will be impossible without serious casualties - casualties we cannot afford."

"So you intend to abandon the bridge?"

"No; I intend to blow it up. All we need to do is drop a single span, and our objective will have been met."

"A number of sappers were killed before setting their explosives. Will it be enough?"

"I have a way. Order the forces on the bridge to fall back; I shall set things in motion."

"As you insist."

*****

Ultra Magnus watched in stunned disbelief as the Decepticons on the bridge slowly pulled back. From all appearances, Bludgeon had ordered a retreat. It would simply be a matter of pushing forward and eliminating any Decepticons who remained.

However, something kept nagging at him. There was something wrong about the whole affair. "Nightbeat - report!"

"Those sappers just keep coming!" Nightbeat yelled over the comm. "Why?"

Ultra Magnus felt his mechanisms lock up for a precious second as the thought crossed his mind. "AUTOBOTS, FALL BACK!" he yelled into the master comm channel. "FALL BACK!"

*****

Starscream looked up as he heard the two aircraft approaching. Based on their color scheme and method of approach, he realized they could only be two mechs - Triggerhappy and Misfire. He quickly assessed the situation, then transformed into his jet mode and went airborne.

Most likely, the two were carrying heavy concussion bombs. Once those bombs dropped on the bridge, they would create shockwaves that would cause significant damage. On top of that, they would also detonate any bombs the sappers had planted. This would result in a chain reaction that was almost guaranteed to bring down one of the spans. It would mean sacrificing the sappers and any wounded Decepticons still on that part of the bridge, but it was far better than losing everyone.

"I am leaving now," he said over his comms.

"Don't you want to see the finale?" Bludgeon asked him.

"I can already tell how it is going to end. I will re-fuel, then return to Earth."

"Very well then. May you be safe on your journey."

*****

Ultra Magnus sat in silent horror as the damage reports came in. The most damning piece of news was that a large section of the bridge had been destroyed. Even under optimal circumstances, it would be a full earthen month before it could be repaired. But when the current state of war was factored in, that month stretched an incredibly long time. That right there was enough for the Decepticons to have done major damage.

To make matters worse, he estimated that almost a full battalion of soldiers had been taken out, with many of them killed. Some of the survivors would be returning to active duty in short order, but many others would be laid up for some time.

No matter how he looked at it, the Decepticons had won a major victory.

The Decepticon tech specs will be up by the end of the evening.

Ultra Magnus

Allegience: Autobot (Optimus)

Function: Field Artillery

Alt Mode: M923 five-ton cargo truck

Strength 9, Intelligence 9, Speed 6, Endurance 10, Rank 8, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 10

Before the war, Magnus was a humble engineer who specialized in designing and building heavy industrial equipment. Although he preferred to work alone, his natural intelligence allowed him a quick rise to prominence. Yet no matter how far he got, he always preferred to do as much work as possible - alongside everyone else. When the war broke out, Magnus turned his engineering knowledge towards military purposes. This proved insufficient for him, and so he used his intelligence and experience to become an artillery commander.

Ultra Magnus' primary weapons system is a combat platform that has twin canons and twin machine guns; in truck mode, this platform mounts on the cargo area. He also has a hand-held machine gun, which mounts on his turret in truck mode.

Cosmos

Allegience: Autobot (Firebolt)

Function: Explorer

Alt Mode: X-33

Strength 7, Intelligence 9, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 7, Courage 10, Firepower 6, Skill 10

In more peaceful times, Cosmos led the Cybertronian Exploration Division (CED). The CED's mission was to locate and map out star bodies, and explore any planets that orbited each star. They took great pride in their work, and Cosmos took great pride in his operatives. He initially desired to be neutral, hoping that his claims to neutrality would enable him to continue exploring and mapping in peace. When he realized that it was not to be, he decided to side with the faction he felt best fit his views.

Cosmos' primary weapons are a series of explosive devices that he can use in either mode. He also posesses a utility laser and a utility blade that can be used as weapons.

Perceptor

Allegience: Autobot (Firebolt)

Function: Technician

Alt Mode: X-33

Strength 6, Intelligence 10, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 5, Courage 10, Firepower 6, Skill 10

Although younger than many of his counterparts, Perceptor rose to prominence as one of the CED's best technical workers. He had the ability to fix almost any piece of equipment the CED used, and frequently invented new pieces when the old ones proved insufficient. He likewise wished to remain neutral, but signed on along with Cosmos.

Perceptor has all the equipment that Cosmos has.

Nightbeat

Allegience: Autobot

Function: Security

Alt Mode: Ford Crown Victoria, police mod

Strength 8, Intelligence 9, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 6, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

During the pre-war period, Nightbeat worked as a private detective and bounty hunter. Although he could be flashy at times, his 100% success rate was unprecedented and unmatched by anyone in the private sector. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite so good when it came to his finances; by the time the war approached, Nightbeat was heavily in debt and so would have had to enlist anyway.

Nightbeat uses a security-model machine gun as his primary weapon. He also has an electronic stun baton that he can use.

Minerva

Allegience: Autobot (Nightbeat)

Function: Medic

Alt Mode: Dodge Magnum

Strength 5, Intelligence 9, Speed 8, Endurance 7, Rank 1, Courage 10, Firepower 3, Skill 10

The only daughter of a wealthy merchant, Minerva was one of the few who could have actually avoided signing up to fight. Her family had retreated to the safety and comfort of a distant trading post, a post so far out that most of the factions left it alone. Instead, she began to feel guilty when all of her poorer friends began to enlist, and so she set her things in order and snuck off. No one knows how she encountered Nightbeat, but she's had a "big brother" complex ever since.

Minerva has a small stun laser that she can use for self-defense. No one knows if she's ever actually used it, but she has it.

Heatseeker

Allegience: Autobot (Firebolt)

Function: Emergency Response

Alt Mode: Pumper-Style Fire Truck

Strength 8, Intelligence 9, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 5, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

Once upon a time, Heatseeker was the commander of a small-town fire brigade. Tragically, the first act in the Great War involved a Decepticon unit leveling the town in retaliation for its constant opposition to them. As soon as the fires were out, Heatseeker enlisted and was placed in charge of a new unit. He still harbors a hatred for Decepticons, which grows stronger after each battle. It is generally believed that he is no longer suitable for life outside of the military.

Heatseeker has a water cannon which is capable of firing water with such high pressure that it can be used as a weapon.

Seawatch

Allegience: Autobot (Optimus)

Function: Security

Alt Mode: PY-3 Catalina

Strength 8, Intelligence 8, Speed 7, Endurance 8, Rank 7, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

Despite being a planet of metal, Cybertron still has its oceans; it's just that the oceans are metal as well. His pre-war job consisted mainly of rescuing those who became trapped, and interdicting smugglers who used the oceans for their own ends. When the war broke out, the Autobots initially had him continuing on with his old job. But due to the nature of the war, his role was expanded to include all forms of security.

In vehicle mode, his wings contain a series of hardpoints which can be used to mount a variety of missiles, cannons, or other devices. He also has a chin-mount machine gun, which he can use in robot mode.

Wheeljack

Allegience: Autobot

Function: Surgeon

Alt Mode: Ambulance

Strength 8, Intelligence 10, Speed 7, Endurance 8, Rank 6, Courage 10, Firepower 4, Skill 10

One of Fixit's top students, Wheeljack strives to be on par with his instructor. However, Wheeljack maintains a more laid-back personality in spite of his constant sarcasm and occasional sharp retorts. He is truly devoted to what he does, yet few get close enough to know him. He is personally overseeing Minerva's medical training.

Wheeljack has no weapons per se, but has a number of surgical tools which could easily double as weapons. He has a surprising level of proficiency with them as such, leading people to wonder whether or not he practices.

Powerglide

Allegience: Autobot

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: F-16 Falcon

Strength 6, Intelligence 7, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 4, Courage 10, Firepower 8, Skill 10

Before the war, Powerglide was a stunt pilot for what little entertainment industry Cybertron actually had. Although a soldier now, he's retained many of the traits that made him popular, such as a brash persona and a devil-may-care attitude. These traits frequently irritate and anger his colleagues, who have little respect for him once combat ends.

Powerglide is armed with a series of missiles and machine guns.

Aquablast

Allegience: Autobot

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: PY-3 Catalina

Strength 7, Intelligence 7, Speed 8, Endurance 8, Rank 4, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 8

Rude. Crude. Politically incorrect. These words are all one needs to describe Aquablast. Although a member of the same outfit as Seawatch, there were constant threats to ship him off to the anti-pirate units in order to keep him in line. When it was discovered that these threats only encouraged his behaviour, he was promptly situated behind a desk in the most isolated office his superiors could find. Supposedly, he still has a can of energon soda in the refridgeration unit there.

In vehicle mode, his wings contain a series of hardpoints which can be used to mount a variety of missiles, cannons, or other devices. He also has a chin-mount machine gun, which he can use in robot mode.

tech specs

Bludgeon

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Tactician

Alt Mode: T-80 MBT

Strength 10, Intelligence 10, Speed 7, Endurance 10, Rank 8, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 10

Bludgeon personifies the phrase "honor among thieves." He has a very complex moral code, which few (if any) comprehend. Although capable of great acts of cruelty and destruction, he will not tolerate such things as piracy and cruelty to prisoners. He serves as a counter-balance to Megatron, and it is believed that if Megatron is ever removed from power then Bludgeon will be named his replacement. This has left him in a precarious situation with Megatron.

Bludgeon is armed with a heavy cannon and a machine gun. In robot mode, he can carry the cannon like a rifle and have the machine gun mounted beneath the barrel.

Rattrap

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Warrior

Alt Mode: garbage truck

Strength 7, Intelligence 8, Speed 5, Endurance 10, Rank 6, Courage 10, Firepower 7, Skill 10

The first thing that people notice about Rattrap is his smell. If they can withstand it, they'll soon see his equally unpleasant manners. It's not that Rattrap is deliberately being unpersonable; he simply feels it to be unimportant compared to his duties. He has earned the respect of Bludgeon, but even Bludgeon occasionally orders him to wash up.

Rattrap is armed with twin machine guns.

Triggeryhappy / Misfire

Allegience: Decepticon

Function: Shock Trooper

Alt Mode: MiG-29

Strength 6, Intelligence 7, Speed 10, Endurance 8, Rank 3, Courage 10, Firepower 10, Skill 10

These twin brothers command Bludgeon's corps of shock troopers. Their mission is to go in and do whatever task is presented to them, no matter how hard or unpleasant it may be. As such, the lifespan of the usual shock trooper is even shorter than that of the average sapper. They are both skilled soldiers, although their methodology is highly unorthodox by even Decepticon standards.

Both have laser rifles and swords at their disposal, and both also have machine guns in fighter mode.

Actually, I can tell you now two things that I like about this series.

I like how you aren't very open about any of the human characters. It's all sort of inferred and half-shadowed. Don't give it all away until after the show's done.

And I also love to hate Firebolt, in a way. Not hate, perhaps: More dislike how he's muscled Prime out of the working command structure, leaving him as more of a figurehead. I also like how Prime's lost his pointy end, from sitting around pushing paper. Not how I like to see him, but I like how you're writing it.

7

Nightbeat awoke, his world a haze of pain. He remembered being on the bridge when the section blew, and then that was it. He looked at his right arm, and saw that his hand was just the bare metal. He realized that he most likely lost his hand in the fall, and had to get a replacement. Given the sheer number of mechs that could go through any one operating facility, replacement parts were rarely painted at the time they were installed.

He sat up and flexed his new hand. The actuators were a little stiff, but he'd adjust to them shortly. After all, it wasn't the first time he'd been badly injured. He'd lost both knees at one time or another, and had nearly lost an optic once.

He heard someone shifting right next to him. He looked over to see that Minerva was sleeping in a chair next to his berth. She was leaning on top of the berth, and so his moving must have caused her to shift in response. He leaned over just enough to kiss her on the forhead, then put his head back down.

*****

President Olson let out a sigh as he and some of the Secret Service agents went for a jog around Camp David. According to Prime Minister Tsuraba, there was evidence to suggest that a yakuza syndicate which had set up shop in Canada was now looking to expand into the Untied States. He had already notified the Vice President, who in turn had begun to circulate the news through the FBI, CIA, and every other group they could think of.

The Vice President had also attempted to contact the Canadian Prime Minister, but was thus far unsuccessful. Although it was possible that the Prime Minister was simply busy, it was also possible that they were being ignored. Either way, there was only one person he could think of who would know for sure.

Unfortunately, it was Sunday. And he hated to be disturbed on a Sunday without good reason. Although Olson resented the fact that his top agent was almost completely out-of-reach for an extended period, he also had to admit that the man had long since earned that luxury.

He quickly drew up a mental plan. If he made the arrangements this afternoon, then he and a few Secret Service agents could sneak off for a few hours tomorrow. It wouldn't be very long, but it would allow him and his agent to meet face-to-face. He didn't want to do that, but right now he had very little choice.

*****

Gerhardt held the door open as Junko walked through. As usual, they were well early for church. But the both of them had assignments as teachers, and so it gave them time to prepare their classrooms.

He took a few seconds to get a clear look at Junko. The dresses that she wore to church were the same that she wore for her teaching position. However, she always did two particular things different: she wore a light coat of make-up and a gold chain that he had given her. These two elements, coupled with her natural charm, left her so radiant that she appeared to glow. And that was before one considered the warmth and light that her innocence and pure love also supplied.

They set their bags down on their regular pew, then went to set up their respective rooms. With that done, they picked up some tithing slips and wrote out their respective checks. They then sat down, waiting for sacrament to begin. Junko leaned herself against him, placing her head on his chest. He responded by embracing her and gently kissing her. She purred a little, then closed her eyes until it was time to start.

He looked at her and smiled. No matter how hectic the previous week had been, once she was in church she seemed to let all her stress blow away. For her, it was her favorite day of the week. She had told him that as a girl, her family had always been so busy that they hadn't had time for religion outside of the normal observances and customs. But now, she found herself trying to use every excuse she could to attend the functions, read the scriptures, or anything else along those lines. She still had a long, long way to go before she could match him in knowledge, but she seemed to take that fact as a challenge.

It was almost ironic how much inner strength and determination could be found in so weak a frame.

*****

"Come on, guys," Cheetor said as he peered into the hangar. "I'm the one assigned to pick you three up."

"It's Sunday,” Jack said. "It's the one day of the week that we get left the hell alone."

"Besides," Dice added, "you have actually managed to put us through more in one week than he does in a month!"

"So you aren't coming in?" Cheetor asked.

"Nope," Dice said.

"Then what do you guys do?"

"We leave the TV on the first religious channel we can find, and then alternate between sleeping and messing around."

"I see. Where's Plug?"

"The curtains are still closed around his little area, so he's probably still asleep."

"I see. So what am I going to tell everyone?"

"The truth."

"That you're just sitting around doing nothing?"

"That's about it."

*****

Starscream sneered as he spotted an object approaching him.

"What kept you?" Whisper demanded as she flew towards him.

"Oh, were you worried? That's so sweet of you."

"WHY IS IT THAT EVERYONE THINKS I'M A SLUT?!"

Starscream contemplated a few comebacks, but decided not to say anything. Instead, he angled towards the shuttle and kept flying. He figured that Megatron would want to speak with him, and as much as he didn't want to deal with it he knew that he had put it off as long as possible.

He flew close to the shuttle, then transformed and landed. He was about to enter the ship when he saw Landfil sitting next to the entrance. The mech was guzzling down some energon, and it was spilling out the side of his mouth. "Clean yourself up!" Starscream barked. "You look disgusting."

"Whatever," the mech shot back before continuing to drink.

His mood soured, Starscream walked inside and made his way towards the bridge, which Megatron had taken over as an impromptu command center. He stole a quick glance at the corridor itself, then focused his attention straight ahead. There were no visible cameras or lasers guarding the path. The only way a person in the bridge would realize that someone was entering would be the noise the door made when it opened. Not only that, but the door opened up behind the command chair, meaning that its occupant would not be able to see who was entering in; without a mech to stand security at the entrance, someone could conceivably barge right on in and massacre all of the occupants. In fact, that's what he probably *should* do - take this opportunity to kill Megatron. He himself would most likely die in the process, but it would enable the other field commanders a chance to oust Megatron and take command. Granted, there would be a lot of in-fighting until the new chain of command was established, but he already had a pretty good idea who would come out on top.

But that wasn't the way he did things. He realized that Megatron was perverting the Decepticon cause, but if he did commit wanton slaughter then he wouldn't be any better. If Megatron was to fall, it would have to be in honorable combat.

"Who is it?!" he heard a panicked voice say as he walked into the bridge. He looked over to see a startled Dirge pointing a gun at him.

"Put it away," Starscream said.

"It's about time you showed up," Megatron said. "What kept you?"

"If I came in the same way I went out, someone might get suspicious." Starscream knew it was a lie, but figured that Megatron wouldn't pick up on it.

"And how is Bludgeon faring?"

"He dropped a span of the Great Bridge. We estimate that a battalion of Autobots was taken out in the process."

"He did WHAT?!" Megatron demanded as he stood up and looked at Starscream.

"He disrupted one of Cybertron's primary traffic arteries. The Autobots will have trouble operating in that region unless they rebuild the span. And if they do try to rebuild the span, then Bludgeon can pick off their engineers and laborers at his leisure. In other words, he won an important victory for us."

"He had NO authorization for such an attack! If it had failed, we'd be in an incredibly precarious situation!"

"But it didn't fail, so I'd say we came out ahead."

Megatron paused as he considered the words of his lieutenant. "Very well then. But I must ask - why didn't you intervene to stop him?"

"I was prepared to accept all responsibility if it failed."

Megatron scowled. "Oh? Really?"

"It's called 'honor.' I understand it's a dying phenomenon."

"You are dismissed."

*****

Optimus looked out at the mechs in the bridge, waiting for their respective emotions to die down. Even he had a hard time with the fact that the Grand Bridge had been rendered unuseable by a single attack. And understandably, everyone else was likewise in a state of disbelief.

"So it's just gone?" Red Hot asked. "Like that. Gone."

"That's right," Optimus said. "They blew one of the spans."

"It can just be fixed, right?" Clipper asked.

"No," Stakeout replied. "Thanks to the losses he took, Ultra Magnus doesn't have the manpower to protect the repair teams right now. The Decepticons would be able to pick them off at their leisure."

"But surely they don't have enough snipers and commandos, right?"

"They don't need them," Firebolt said grimly. "They have air superiority."

"I'll admit they have some good flyers," Jetfire said, "but I wouldn't call them superior."

"He means sheer numbers," Whirl replied. "We might have the edge in technology and medical staff, but they can fly in and blast it before we can use it."

"I will admit that the situation does leave us at a disadvantage," Optimus said.

"A disadvantage I've warned you about before," Firebolt shot back. "Repeatedly."

"Well then, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO?!"

The room went silent as everyone waited for Firebolt to answer the challenge. "I'm glad you finally asked," Firebolt said as he pulled a data disk from his storage. "It's a theory I've had for a while, and I think it's about time to put it in action." He inserted the disk into the main console, then dialed up some information. "My proposal is that since we cannot match their air power, we take steps to neutralize it. What you see in these schematics here is a multi-barrel, rapid-fire machine gun. We are currently using these as squad-based suppressive-fire weapons, and I believe the same characteristics which make it perfectly suited for that task - namely, its high rate of fire and low cost to build and operate - also make it suited for the task of air defense. Those mechs who currently make use of them should receive additional training for use against airborne targets. In addition, larger, more powerful units should be employed defensively around key structures."

"And may I ask how....." Optimus began.

"I see we are thinking along the same lines," Perceptor said as he stood up. He pulled a disk of his own from storage, then inserted it into an auxiliary console. "The inhabitants of this planet also make use of such a device. But whereas we have done little with it, they have elevated it to an art form."

"A rather perverse one, if you ask me," Clipper said.

"Hush," Stakeout quietly barked. Clipper responded by shooting him a dirty look, then turned her attention back to the presentation.

"Watch closely," Perceptor said. "This footage is of a system known as the Phalanx Close-In Weapons System. Its one such device that has been mated with an advanced targeting and tracking system. If I can obtain a device for study, then I should be able to replicate it. Fixit, I would appreciate it if you would help me out."

"Well," Fixit said, "I normally focus on *saving* lives, but I suppose that for this situation I can help with a device that will take them."

"That settles that," Firebolt said.

"Except for one detail," Optimus interjeced. "How do you even plan on getting one? We sure can't steal it."

"Our human friend," Firebolt asked. "Considering that he got us this hiding spot, something tells me that obtaining a Phalanx would be an easy feat for him to perform."

"Really?"

"Really."

*****

Akira sat at his desk, examining a piece of arkose. An entire room in his condo had been devoted to his geological collections. He had samples ranging from copper to platinum, limestone to llanite, and quartz to diamond. Had he been born into another family, he would have been free to pursue his hobby on a professional basis. Instead, he was a Kose; the family legacy had to be maintained, and that meant he had other matters to deal with.

But what hurt him the most was that he had been denied the one jewel he wanted for his collection. A jewel as fair and fragile as talc yet as beautiful and valuable as diamond. But his jewel was in the posession of another man. He could easily have his choice of replacements, but all were zirconia. He would not be satisfied until he had his jewel.

It was for the sake of this one jewel that his family had come into near ruin. They all had been shamed, but he had been scape-goated and sent into this exhile. But they had left him far too much leeway. Once his degree was in hand, control of this division had been given to him. In two short years, he had taken what was a failing branch of the family business and made it into the most succesful. In the process, he had lined his own pockets quite extensively. This had allowed him to buy sufficient influence to set his plan of revenge into action.

One man had brought all this calamity on him. And for the sake of his jewel, he would have his revenge.

Question-

Should I have Firebolt blast the Phelps compound?

It's something that he would do.....

Depends.

How hard would he get smacked down afterwards?

Unless the Phelps compound suddenly unfolded into a Metroplex-size behemoth that started pelting them with explosive bibles, just simply blowing away a bunch of very annoying but completely unarmed humans would DEFINATELY be the thing that either makes all his supporters step out from under him and let him fall, or fracture the Autobots into the Firebolters and the Primebots.

Also, I'm wondering just how LONG he was sitting on that Phalanx plan, and just how many people he let die until it was politically best to bring it out.

Also, I'm a little disappointed you didn't describe the footage of the Phalanx working its special brand of magic. =}

He said that he had tried to bring it up with Prime on a number of other occasions, but that Prime refused to listen.



Also, chain guns is, as Perceptor explained, a field in which humans are actually more advanced.




So you see, it's not that Firebolt was sitting on the idea. Rather, Prime refused to even hear him out; and even if Prime had heard him out, they didn't have the tech to actually follow through.

Ah. I read that as 'I've warned you that the decepticons had superior airpower! Even though that's bleedingly obvious!', not as in 'I've told you I have a solution but YEW JUS DON' LISSIN!'

And also, I read it as if the Autobots had the chainguns down, just not the CIWS-style autotracking.

Because humans DO have a number of different 'Blow crap outta the sky wit' lotsa bullets' systems that ARE very effective.

Perhaps I was focusing on the 'Oooh. CIWS' when you meant the 'Ooooh. Miniguns' part.

It's a package deal.

He was attempting to offer a solution for a problem that Prime wouldn't even recognize.


Anyway, I should have chapter 8 up by the end of the day tomorrow. And I'll tell you now - it has some big honkin' plot points, but only if you look.

Ah. Again, I read it as if Firebolt was needlessly reminding Prime of something he already knew. nag nag nag nag nag sort of thing.

"Are you sure about this, Skyfall?" Cosmos asked the mech in his cargo bay. "It's just one small outpost, and this is the most dangerous mission you've ever proposed."

"It's also deep behind Decepticon lines," Skyfall said. "This is the only way I'll be able to hit it. And small outpost or not, a strike this deep will be noticed."

"That's my point. How do you intend to get back to friendly territory?"

"I'll worry about that later. Anyway, I do believe that we are over the drop zone."

Cosmos let out a sigh as Skyfall picked up his gear. Cosmos opened up his bay doors, then tilted to let Skyfall dump out. This was quite possibly the most dangerous part of the mission. Cosmos had to go into the upper atmosphere to avoid detection, and at this height Skyfall would die instantly if he wasn't able to break his fall in time.

But then again, this was the type of mission Skyfall preferred - daring and dangerous.

On top of that, although he didn't admit it Skyfall was visibly upset by the Grand Bridge. He had been returning from a similar mission, and so had been unable to divert in time to help with the fighting. It was clear that he wanted revenge, and was going to do whatever it took. He volunteered to receive a new alt mode, then proposed this mission.

As soon as Skyfall was clear, he flew off. He did *not* want to be around to see what happened next.

*****

"Make it quick," Firebolt said. "We have guests coming today."

"Here goes," Plug said. "I put word out on some of my usual internet haunts, and someone managed to locate three photos from Gerhardt's final year in high school. I've printed them out," he said. "Turns out he went to a place that was in the area."

"Let me see," Firebolt said. Plug handed Firebolt the three pieces of paper. Firebolt held them carefully, then scanned the images into his memory banks. "Are you sure? This looks almost nothing like him."

"That’s what I thought, but it's his name and it fits the timeline."

"But by this, he was heavyset and wore his hair in a completely different fashion. The only two similarities are the style of glasses and the mustache. And he's in ROTC - whatever that means - but there's no indication of anything else."

"From what I understand," Plug said, "he didn't do anything else. He was always just kinda there. He got good grades, and everyone seemed to respect him, but otherwise he was a loner who never really participated in anything. He didn't even sign up for the ROTC teams."

"Then how could he have been in Abilene? What could he have done to attract that much interest?"

"I can't think of a single thing."

"Not only that, but it would have taken him those two years just to get muscle tone in place; he wouldn't have been able to do that if he was seriously injured."

"I know. It would have taken some radical reconstructive surgery."

"What do you think?"

"I'm thinking that one of the two pieces of data is a false lead. Either he wasn't in Abilene, or this is a case of mistaken identity."

"Do you think you can track down any of the other people who might have known him?"

"That would be a problem. Thanks to the electrode implant, I can't leave the base. If I do, it'll start shooting out a charge and won't stop until either the battery dies or I return. And quite frankly, none of us is in the mood to test it out."

"Understood. Good job."

*****

Skyfall remained in a spread-eagle position, allowing his increased surface area to slow his fall. Once he was at a specific altitude, he transformed. The wind resistance proved sufficient to start his rotors into motion, allowing him to conserve a little bit of energy. He provided a token amount of power to them, then slowly descended.

He landed, then immediately transformed and ducked for cover. If his navigation sensors were right, he wasn't that far from the target. The Autobots had been able to maintain a covert fleet of satelites in planetary orbit. Unfortunately, most of them had little in the way of firepower, and as such were only good for mapping. And even then, if a movement of Decepticons took place fast enough, they wouldn't be able to react in time. But he was simply attempting to navigate through some shattered buildings, so it was sufficient.

The sound of an approaching mech caught his attention. He used his new sensors to scan, and spotted a lone Decepticon. He took a quick look, and saw that it was a generic Seeker walking - yes, walking - a patrol. He scowled at the sheer stupidity of it all. Unless the base commander was under-staffed, logic would dictate that a mech with a ground-based alt mode work a surface patrol. And even in a rear area such as this one, any mech going more than a certain distance from their base needed to have at least one other mech assisting in the patrol. Anything else, and the mech would become victim to a commando such as himself.

He waited until the mech walked past his spot, then leapt out. He quickly snapped the mech's neck, then pulled the body under cover. He searched the corpse, and to his surprise found that it had cluster missiles. Their design was that they would break up into sub-munitions half-way to the target - perfect for use in a target-rich environment. He also obtained a machine gun, some additional ammunition, and some energon rations.

He checked his sensors, then started to move as soon as he realized there was no one else out there. He quickly darted between the shattered buildings, stopping when he found one that still had a half-way intact second floor. He scanned the building once more, double-checking to make sure that it was free of mechs or sensors. Satisfied that nothing was inside, he crawled in and made his way up the surviving stairs.

He once again scowled at the stupidity - one of the windows offered a clear shot of the base. At the very least, the commander should have set up a sensor network to detect infiltrators; he personally would have set up a permanent security detail to not only guard the building but also to provide cover fire in case someone did indeed attack the base. Either way, this window was his opportunity. He slowly walked over towards it, then pulled out the cluster missiles.

He sighted the missile on a Decepticon that was in the center of the facility and fired. The missile quickly burst into several submunitions, with one catching the mech in the face. A nervous reaction caused the mech to squeeze off a wild machine gun burst, which killed a second mech that was nearby. The others exploded all around the base; doing limited damage but causing significant confusion. The confusion caused several more mechs to come out into the open. He fired off another cluster missile, which cut them all down. Not only that, but one munition struck a container of ammo that one mech was carrying. The ammo exploded, causing a chain reaction as
the ammo cooked off and flew wildly. The rounds punched a number of holes in the
already-damaged structures, which caused additional explosions.

He fired off one last cluster missile. This time, the munitions all found good targets. Much of the base went up in a massive explosion, with secondary explosions soon consuming the rest. He pulled out the Seeker's machine gun, and scanned for survivors. Not seeing any, he took his gear and fled.

*****

President Olson got off the plane, a squad of Secret Service agents surrounding him. He then took a few seconds to speak with the base commander and the commander's staff. Once this was done, he and the agents stepped over to the waiting area.

He frowned as he saw an unusually-colored M923 drive up. The vehicle stopped, and Gerhardt got out of the driver's seat, leaving the vehicle idling in the process. Under normal circumstances, this would have prompted several questions such as how he obtained that vehicle and why it was that particular color. But knowing who he was dealing with, he decided to let the matter drop.

"There's enough room for one of your agents in the cab," Gerhardt said. "the rest will have to ride in the back."

"No 'hello' or 'sir?' Shouldn't I at least deserve that?" Olson asked, already knowing the answer.

"Be grateful I'm even speaking to you."

"I think I now understand why my predecessor chose not to accept a second term." Olson climbed into the cab, with an agent right behind him. Gerhardt waited until the other agents were in the back, then climbed into the driver's seat. He then buckled his seat belt, shut the door, and set the vehicle into motion.

"I have a question for you," Olson said.

"Edogawa Syndicate," Gerhardt said as he picked up a clipboard from off of the dashboard.

"Should I even bother asking how you know?"

"No."

"Was it you who contacted Prime Minister Tsuraba?"

"He contacted me. I confirmed it for myself." He handed Olson the clipboard.

"What's this?" Olson asked.

"My next requisition order. I assume that my expense account has not been touched by anyone else?"

"No. It's still in that same bank account, getting its monthly additions and collecting its five percent."

"Then it should be more than sufficient to handle this order."

Olson thumbed through. "Let's see here. Medical gear..... Looks like you've got enough listed to start a small clinic." He paused. "This is the fourth defibrillator you've requisitioned within the past two years. Is there anything I should know about?"

"Nothing that affects you."

"If you say so. Ammunition..... you can have all you want if that makes you happy. Miscellaneous equipment....." Olson paused, then looked at Gerhardt. "A Phalanx 1B unit? WHAT THE HELL DO YOU NEED ONE OF THOSE THINGS FOR?!"

"I have my reasons."

"Fine. Assuming we can locate one that isn't in use, how are you even going to transport it back here?"

"I have an X-33 at my disposal."

"SINCE WHEN?!"

"A few days ago."

Olson sat there, dumbfounded. "Eh?"

"If I may," Optimus said. "I believe I can answer a few of those questions."

Olson looked at the dashboard, then looked at Gerhardt. "Did this truck just talk?"

"Yes. And I recommend you listen, as he might actually say something useful for a change."

*****

"The Autobots have made some reprisals," Rattrap said.

"That was to be expected," Bludgeon said. "We hurt them badly, so now they desire to do what they can to hurt us in response. What are we looking at?"

"Most of the strikes were against squads on patrol or isolated outposts."

"Most?"

"I just received confirmation that a small barracks facility in sector J-4 was destroyed. The evidence suggests that it was a lone commando using ordinance stolen from a dead Seeker."

Bludgeon scowled. "That sector is a good distance behind our lines. It's not like the Autobots to authorize a suicide mission like that, especially one with so little overall potential. I could understand a factory or an ammo dump, but compared to their usual tactics it's ludicrous."

"I have been analyzing matters. Although Ultra Magnus has only been in charge for a short period, there's already been a shift in Autobot tactics. According to our field commanders, the Autobots have stepped up their general level of activity."

"I've seen those reports."

"Plus, there was already one other such action. A guard tower overlooking a harbor area was blown up recently. At first we all thought it to be a terrorist act, but now I have my doubts"

"Are you saying that this is all due to Magnus?"

"Most likely. There are rumors circulating that Optimus Prime has lost his edge and is now little more than a paper tiger."

"So what is your assessment?"

"Even though we scored a major victory, if this trend keeps up then Magnus might overthrow our gains. As it is, word of the J-4 incident has already begun to circulate. Apparently, some of the enlisted are getting agitated at the thought of an Autobot commando being so deep inside our territory."

"I can't change the entire face of the war simply because of one suicidal mech. Have Triggerhappy and Misfire organize a task force to locate that Autobot. Until then, tell the commanders to be more careful when sending out patrols."

"Understood."

*****

"Let me get this straight," Olson said as he looked around the room. "All of you are giant alien robots from some planet called Cybertron?"

"That is correct," Clipper said.

"And you're fighting some other robots who have also landed here?"

"Yes."

He paused. "And what specifically do you want from me?"

"Unofficial recognition and assistance."

"As in?"

"What she means," Firebolt said, "is that we need permission to operate feely and bust heads as we see fit."

"That's one way of putting it," Stakeout said. He looked over to see Optimus and Jetfire sporting very foul moods.

Olson looked over at Gerhardt. "And what if I said that stopping the syndicate had a higher priority than this?"

"And what if I said that the two matters are now related?" Gerhardt replied.

Olson took a few seconds to let the realization sink in. "And so what am I to tell Prime Minister Tsuraba?"

"I'll handle that."

"Good."

"And Germany's Chancellor."

"Eh?"

"My fifth cousin Rolf works in their diplomatic corps."

"I'm blaming *you* for my ulcer."

"So did the last guy."

*****

Skyfall watched from his position by the side of the road. His sensors had detected two ground-based mechs moving at speeds indicative of a vehicle mode, and so he decided to wait and see who it was. As soon as they got close, he flicked a piece of metal onto the roadway.

As he had predicted, the two stopped and transformed. It was a pair of femmes, each one sporting a clear Decepticon logo and a standard-issue machine gun. One stood watch while the other went to investigate the metal. He waited until the second one was bending down, then used his stolen machine gun to take out the first. The second one tried to get back up, but he got her as well.

He scanned again to make sure no one else was in the area and that no communications had been sent out. He then stood up, and shot both femmes in the head to confirm the kills. He stole their gear, and disappeared.

... Skyfall is a COLD badass.

Three guesses who's side he's on.

His own.

9.

Skyfall cursed as he slowly made his way through the underground. In ages past, the decision had been made to start hollowing out portions of the planet for differeing purposes. In time, many of the hollowed portions came to connect with each other, forming a massive underground area. He had decided to come down here in order to hide, but was starting to regret the decision. He was so far down that he wasn't able to get any sort of satelite navigation assistance. His chronometer was still functional however, and it told him that he had been in there a while.

He would have considered himself thouroughly lost were it not for the fact that he was starting to come across Decepticons running patrols. This told him that he was approaching something that the Decepticons wanted to keep secure. As near as he could figure, this meant one of two things. The first possible solution was that he was near a large city. The second possible solution was that he was near a large base. Either way, he was looking at a target of opportunity.

He checked his supplies. He still had three cluster missiles left, and plenty of machine guns and ammo. This was on top of the equipment that he had brought with himself. However, energon was becoming a problem. Even with him draining his last few victims dry, unless he hit a stockpile he would eventually run out. He decided that as soon as he hit this target, he would make his way back towards the nearest batch of friendlies he could find.

He cautiously rounded a corner, then immediately ducked back for cover. He peered around, and looked again to confirm what he had seen. Sure enough, at the end of this corridor was a large chamber filled with assorted crates. A number of mechs were at work in the facility, with several carrying weapons. He used his electronics to take a closer look, and spotted the Decepticon logo on all of the mechs.

He had to admit that this was actually rather brilliant. Not even satelites could penetrate, meaning that the only way for it to be discovered would be for a commando like him to come across it. Plus, it would take some major ordinance to hit it from above. But from where he was, it would be an easy kill.

He quickly readied one of his cluster missiles and fired. The missile burst into several sub-munitions, which exploded all throughout the facility. As soon as he confirmed the first explosions, he took off running. He had no idea what was in there, but he didn't want to be around when it went off. He surprised a mech in the process, and quickly dropped it with his stolen machine gun. He slung the body over his shoulders, and ran just as the secondary explosions chain-reacted and collapsed the section of tunnel behind him.

*****

Bludgeon fell to the ground as the blast shook the compound. "Report!" he demanded.

"That blast came from the direction of reserve ammo dump 5!" Rattrap shouted as he ran to Bludgeon. He helped Bludgeon up, then they both went to the closest window. To their horror, they saw a column of smoke rising up from a massive hole in the ground.

"What were those idiots doing in there?!" Rattrap yelled. "They could have blown up the entire compound!"

"Somehow," Bludgeon said, "I don't think it was them."

*****

"That was quick," Optimus said as Perceptor touched down. "Do you have everything?"

"I've got it!" Perceptor yelled. "The gear! The Phalanx! Everything!"

"I can't believe it only took two days," Jetfire said. "I guess Olson got a fire lit under him."

"Excuse me," Jack said as Perceptor opened up his cargo bay. "Can I get a lift inside real quick? I've got some things to look for." Jetfire picked him up, then set him down in the cargo bay. "Here they are," he said. "Could someone ask Fixit to give us a hand moving these? They need to go into the medical bay."

"If you insist," Jetfire said as he walked inside the shuttle. He soon returned, with Fixit, Plug, and Dice in tow. Jetfire and Optimus removed the containers from Perceptor’s bay, and then the humans quickly loaded them into the back of Fixit. As they drove off, Optimus and Jetfire were starting to unload everything else.

It only took a few seconds for them to arrive. As soon as they did, the humans got out and quickly began to unload and unpack the containers. "May I ask what all that is?" Fixit said as he got out.

"Enough stuff to set up a small medical facility," Plug said. "A certain someone gave us orders to set it up."

"And what if I refused?" Fixit asked.

"Our orders were to have everything in operational condition by the time Junko has finished her lesson for today. If not, we're in big trouble."

"I see. So what all are you setting up?"

"It's an entire examination room, complete with a small pharmacy. Not too terribly much in the grand scheme of things, but enough to service those of us who come and go. Based on the specifications we've been given, I'd say that it'll only take up one corner."

"Very well then. Anything else he wants you three to do?"

"We're to have a plumbing system put in place. by the end of the week. This includes a full bathroom with shower, plus a drinking fountain."

"Does Prime know about all of this?"

"Dunno. All I know is that we have our orders."

"Then I'll leave you to it."

*****

Junko let out a sigh as she put the phone back in its cradle. It was rare for someone to call so early in the morning, so she was a little surprised. But now,.....

She looked up as Gerhardt came in from the garage. "What did your dad have to say?" he asked.

She paused for a few seconds, then remembered that the phone in the garage had Caller ID. "Yukio is doing well at the academy," she said. "In a few years, he will become an officer aboard a ship."

"It sounds like your little brother is doing quite well then." He paused. "You are worried."

"Yes, my husband. But I do not know why."

"Was it his idea to join, or your father's?"

The stark nature of the question stunned her. "His. I remember that he was always fascinated whenever he went with my father to the naval revues. He would come home and spend up to a full hour talking about each one."

He walked over and embraced her. She offered no resistance, and instead chose to sink into him. "What does my husband think?" she asked, reverting back to Japanese.

"I think we need to speak with him," he said, also in Japanese. "I can easily arrange for us to go over there. Or, we could have him and your father come here. We have enough room for both of them."

"They hate you. Father is not only upset that you are a gaijin, but he is also upset that I am working and we have had no children yet. Yukio is upset because he feels that you took me away from him."

"I know all of this. That's the other reason why we need to talk with them."

"How will we even bring it up to them?"

"Your birthday is in a month. If we speak with your grandfather now, we can arrange for a meeting."

"Grandfather....."

".....would do anything for you. He has told me that himself."

Junko's eyes went wide as she looked up at him. "When?"

"When he left you in my care."

"He.....?"

"He said that he was too old, your father too prideful, and your brother too young."

Junko continued to gaze at him, tears beginning to form.

"'Young man,' he said. 'I am too old. My son's pride has led him to foolishness, and his son is too young. To you I must entrust the most precious treasure this family has.' That was our entire meeting." He kissed her on the forehead, then carried her into the bedroom. He set her down on the bed, then reached for the phone. He used one hand to dial the number, while his other hand was placed gently against her face.

*****

"If you're going to keep barging into my quarters," Starscream said without looking, "then you need to start bringing a meal with you."

"I don't cook," Whisper shot back. "Nor do I clean or do windows."

"I truly pity your future spouse."

"That's assuming I even have one."

"Are you going to do something, or are you going to just waste my time?"

"I'm just wondering what you're doing in here."

"Research. These humans - as they call themselves - are going to be a very important part of this conflict now. Logically, the more we know about them, the better."

"That human Kose is nothing more than a pawn as far as Megatron's concerned."

"That's what worries me. To that human, *we* are the pawns. He proved it when he allowed Skywarp to be shot down."

"And your point is?"

"If we are not careful, we could find ourselves in some very serious trouble."

"I doubt it. Megatron will surely take control before things can get too far."

Starscream stood up, walked over to her, and kissed her on the lips. "You have a good head on your shoulders; let's just hope it stays there."

She slapped him, then walked out.

*****

Ultra Magnus scanned the satelite photos, attempting to take in every last detail. Somehow, a major explosion took place near the Decepticon headquarters compound. It took an extended period to extinguish the the blaze, and when it was all over a massive crater was left.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"My guess?" Cosmos replied. "I'd say we need to show these to Nightbeat and Heatseeker. However, there's a pretty good chance that it was an underground ammo dump that cooked off."

"That big?"

"Given its proximity, I'd say it was the dump that serviced the compound itself."

"Which is doubly frustrating, considering that now would be the perfect time to strike yet I have no way of getting a large enough unit out there without risking massive casualties. Either way, I want to know how that blast happened."

"Skyfall?"

"If it was him, then that would mean he somehow got himself turned around. But considering the maze that is the underground, it wouldn't surprise me if he got in there and got lost."

Magnus paused, weighing his options. "How are our other commando strikes going?"

"The commandos are hitting their targets, but they're not doing very much damage."

"Go ahead and have Heatseeker and Nightbeat analyze these photos. I'll see about stepping up the commando attacks. If we're lucky, we'll chip at them enough to make them fall back a little."

*****

Skyfall cautiously climbed the ladder, using his sensors to scan the entire area. Satisfied that no one was there, he climbed to the top and opened the hatch. He crawled out, and found himself in the middle of what seemed to be yet another abandoned section of a bombed-out city. He checked with the satelites, and to his horror found that he had gotten severely turned around; he had actually been going *away* from the Autobot lines. In fact, he was somewhere near the Decepticon capital. That meant returning home would be a very long, difficult journey.

But it also meant a target-rich environment.

*****

Bludgeon cursed as the damage reports came in. The entire ammo dump had been obliterated, along with everything within a large radius of it. Not only that, but the blast collapsed several sections of underground, which in turn resulted in the collapse of whatever had been on top of it. The death toll and damage estimate was still rising, but it didn’t look good. All in all, they had been hurt on a scale comparable to how badly he hurt the Autobots by knocking out the Grand Bridge.

To make matters worse, there was evidence that this wasn't an accident. The security and recovery teams assigned to the matter had uncovered a handful of dead Decepticons who had been shot, stripped of their gear, and drained of what energon they had left. Based on this, at least one commando had been in the area. Even if it was a simple case of said commando getting lost, whoever it was had still done a tremendous amount of damage.

The only upshot to this was that if the commando was having to drain energon, then there was a good chance he was running low. All they would have to do is run him ragged enough and wait for him to keel over. Although, he had to ask himself what they would do it with since the commando had blown up the ammo reserve for an entire fifth of the Decepticon army. Supplies would be tight until the factories could catch up. If the Autobots struck now and kept on striking, then his forces would start running low on supplies. So in the end, this was as close to a worst-case scenario as possible.

Not only that, but he had to figure out how to bring this up to Megatron. No matter what he did, there was a very good chance he could end up dead for this. He would need to do something to show that he was recovering from the incident and was still capable of winning. He began to analyze his maps, and hit upon an idea. They had recently identified a number of pockets where members of the Freedom Coalition were holed up. They were fiercely independent, and so relied only on themselves for equipment; this left their military in very poor shape. He had initially
chosen to ignore them as they made no offensive actions, but he needed a quick series of victories and they would suffice. He summoned his staff, and began to formulate a plan.

10

Skyfall struggled to stay airborne in his helicopter mode. He had stolen too much in the way of weaponry; not only had it filled his storage area beyond capacity, it was also weighing him down. At this rate, he would have to transform back into robot mode and finish his trip on foot.

Based on the map, there was a Freedom Coalition pocket nearby. He figured that if he was lucky, he could trade some of his weapons for additional energon. But first, he had to get there.

His sensors detected a large ground-based convoy moving in the same direction he was. He dodged off to the side in order to view the convoy from a safe distance. Sure enough, it was a group of Decepticons. Based on their speed and apparent load-out, they were going out in an attempt to blast something. And the only target out this way was the Coalition.

He quickly made the decision to do an interception. First and foremost, it would allow him to expend munitions. This would not only make him lighter, but it would ease the bulk in his storage. Secondly, if he didn't stop them then there would be no pocket to re-fuel at. Third, it would give him a higher body count.

He rushed in as fast as possible, and fired off a number of missiles. The members of the convoy exploded, leaving a number of burning hulks littering the road. He took a few seconds to reload and count hulks, then flew off.

*****

Akira looked over the schematics his engineers had given him. It had only been a week since he had first encountered the Decepticons, yet his engineers had already started work on attempting to replicate their technology. The schematics showed a crude prototype, which had limited transformation capabilities. It had two vehicle modes - the normal vehicle mode, and a sort of combat vehicle mode. It was nowheres near Decepticon technology, but it would be a crucial first step.

However, actually constructing it would take time, money, and resources. There was not enough in the official budget to cover it, so he had to be careful. If a foolish accountant began to look over the numbers, they would discover that the books did not add up. Fortunately, he had been able to bribe a good third of the Parliament members here in Canada, along with a number of other government officials. They would help to keep investigators at bay long enough for him to scrub everything.

But he would still have to ultimately justify the expense. He had made contact with representatives from a few nations who he knew would pay a great sum for something like what he was developing - especially since it would appear to be a legitimate ground vehicle. He could then legitimately ship it to those nations that ordered it, and they could legitimately have them.

It was a win-win situation for him. He could easily recover the money spent on attempting to copy the technology, and in the process he would finally have a means to defeat his rival. And once that took place, his jewel could finally be his.

*****

Optimus looked over the reports. According to what the humans had told him, the United States, Japan, and Germany had nominally agreed to go along with them. He hated the thought of involving humans in any fashion, yet knew that he would need their help to stop the Decepticons. He only hoped that no irreperable damage would be done in the process.

He heard a banging noise from beneath him. He stood up, attempting to locate the sound. Finding it, he carefully pried open the floor panel.

"I told you we're going the wrong way!" he heard Jack yell.

"May I ask what you three think you're doing?" Optimus said.

"Gerhardt ordered us to install some plumbing," Jack replied.

"Eh?"

"Carbon-based life forms have certain biological functions to perform. One of them is waste elimination. Shall I go into details?"

"No. I just want to know what you're doing."

"We're attepting to run pipe so that things can be expelled from the ship. Unfortunately, we seem to have been running it in the wrong direction whilst attempting to avoid a power coupling."

"I see. And so that's how you came to be under my floor?"

"Pretty much."

"Anything else I should know about?"

"Unless you'll grant us permission to install a water treatment facility on board, we're gonna need two plugs - one for drainage, and the other for fresh water. Either way, we'll have to add a resevoiur."

"And the plugs will require putting holes in the hull?"

"By definition, yes."

Optimus paused, desperately attempting to come up with a response. "I'm just going to pretend this conversation never took place."

"You're not the only one who would rather be doing something else right about now."

Optimus put the panel back in place, then went to his quarters to go lie down.

*****

President Olson buried his face in his pillow, desperately trying to block out the world. He had decided to do one thing that had eluded him since he had assumed office: take an afternoon nap. Given the sheer amount of work that he had to deal with on a constant basis, he figured that he deserved it.

"It's Prime Minister Tsuraba," his wife said.

"What does he want?" Olson asked.

"He'd like to meet with you sometime between July third and July eigth."

"Where?"

"Salt Lake City."

"About what?"

"The level of friendship between our two nations."

"Pencil him in."

"Why not tell him that yourself?"

Olson rolled over, realizing that he would never be able to have another nap ever again.

*****

It was over in seconds. Skyfall had come across a group of Decepticons attempting to capture the ruins of a small town, and had blasted them to pieces. He did a quick body count, then landed and transformed.

One of the residents stepped forward and confronted him. "I supposed I should thank you," he said.

"I don't want your thanks," Skyfall replied. He quickly removed most of the captured machine guns and ammo from his storage, then set them on the ground. "I want to trade these for energon."

"Why should we?"

"Looks like the best you have as far as weaponry goes is some hand cannons, repeating rifles, and single-shot launchers. Those won't last you very long. And they *will* return."

"Why were they even here in the first place?"

"Based on the radio intercepts I've nabbed, one of their main ammo dumps was destroyed. They're looking to save face by way of some cheap victories. If you don't believe me, radio your other encampments and see what they say."

"We've lost contact with the other encampments."

"Then that means you're next."

The resident paused. "We have a power farm in the center of town. You can recharge there."

Skyfall slowly started walking off. He stopped, then looked at the residents. They were staring at him as if he was some bizarre creature. He supposed that he could forgive them, considering how strange he must look compared to each other. But he also saw a degree of desperation in their eyes, coupled with a degree of hope.

He let out a sigh and turned to face the resident he had first encountered. "If you want, I can stay. Understand that it's nothing personal. My orders were to destroy any target of opportunity I found on my return home. I'd say the units of Decepticons who will be coming would count as such."

"And your commander?" the resident asked.

"If you can get me a satelite uplink, I can contact him."

"What if I said we had one?"

"I'd say we have a deal."

For some reason, I'm starting to think "Wolfwood" whenever I'm working with Skyfall now.

I just finished reading the fic as a whole: OMG! This fic rocks! I love Plug, Dice, and Jack! They're like the three stoodges!

Keep it coming!

So thus far, how does everyone like it?

Absolutly awsome!

I'm still loving it.

Anything people want to see? I'm working on the next chapter right now.

Well I want the Bathurst 1000, but that's just me being silly.

YOu just keep doin' what you're doin'. It's working and it shouldn't be a request line, but that's just me.

Personally I'd like to see more of the three stoodges (Dice, Jack and Plug). But that's me.

Actually, what I found so amusing about those three is that... They aren't on-camera when they're being stupid.

I especially love the bit when Prime finds them in the floorboards. There's no slapstick, there's no bad punchlines. It's just that they bizarrely show up in the most incongruous places possible, and they HONESTLY HAVE A REASON. So all you can do is put the panel back and go lie down for a while.

11.


"The matter has been settled, Yukio," the man said. "When Prime Minister Tsuraba goes to Utah next month, we will go with him."

Yukio sized up the man before him. He was from a prominent family, and was a career naval officer who had given over twenty years to the nation. It had cost him a lot - including his wife - but he had willingly paid the price. And his son was now following in his footsteps. "Why father?" Yukio asked. "Why must we go there?!"

"We have our orders. We will be a part of the guard detail."

"He will be there."

"And so will your sister. Do you not want to see her?"

"I want to see her with every part of my being. But I do not want to see the devil who stole her away!"

"What is done is done. We cannot undo it. It was your grandfather who gave his
permission; take it up with him."

"He is set in his ways. He will not budge."

"Then the matter must here."

"I will not let it."

"Then what do you want?"

"I want a duel with that devil."

"And if one of you dies?"

"If it means getting her back, I will."

"You are foolish. Just as foolish as your father."

*****

"He's where?!" Magnus demanded as he bolted up out of his chair.

"Here," Powerglide said as he pulled up a map. "According to him, it's the only Freedom Coalition pocket left in Decepticon territory."

Magnus slumped down in his chair, placing his hands over his face. "I don't believe it. He's gone even *deeper* into Decepticon territory! Does he *want* to die?"

"Actually, I think Skyfall might just have a good idea."

"Bwah?!"

"If Bludgeon decides to keep striking there, he'll divert forces away from elsewhere. Not only that, but they'll use up precious munitions and gear in the process."

"At least until Skyfall and his merry band run out of ammo."

"I say we help them out."

"How? We can't send any material items out their way or we'll risk having it be
intercepted."

"Skyfall asked that we beam him the schematics for the Earthen vehicle known as the Lamborghini Cheetah. My guess is that he intends to give it to the Coalitian militia."

Magnus paused, then sat up and set his hands on the desk. "That just might work. Based on the specs, it's a lot faster than the ground combat alt modes the Decepticons are using. They could easily do hit-and-fade missions like that."

"So should I beam it?"

"Go for it."

"I'm on it."

*****


Junko smiled as she walked through the study and gathered her assorted cookbooks - mementos of a time when she considered being a chef instead of a teacher. She had a month before her family came to visit, but she needed to get back into practice before they came. As with many other things, their cooking was an area that they had to compromise on. She had learned to do a wide variety of Japanese, while he could do a German and American dishes with ease. They learned recipes from each other, and the result was that they usually had a varied cuisine at any given time. However, for her family she would have to go back to traditional
Japanese cooking for the time they were here.....

..... Or she could show them the recipies that she had come up with. As a part of the compromise, the two of them had actually come up with a few items that fused different elements from each style. While most of their endeavours had been unsuccessful, they had managed to come up with a few meals that worked. If nothing else, it would be a perfect symbol of what went into their marraige.

Her smile began to fade as reality crept into her mind. Her grandfather and her husband would try anything she made, no matter how badly it turned out. But her father was big on tradition; she doubted that he would even allow his food to be different. And Yukio had always been good about eating what she made, but there was no telling how he would react to something such as this. She would have to carefully think things over first.

She set the cook books down, then walked into the bedroom. She located her Ryo-Ohki doll, then sat down on the bed. "What do you think?" she asked. "What should I cook for everyone?" She paused. "You don't care as long as it has plenty of carrots?" She gave the doll a hug, then set it down and went back into the study.

*****

Gerhardt carefully examined the stitches that he had put in. This was going to be a gift for Junko, so he wanted it to be as perfect as possible. Satisfied that the stitching was flawless, he set it down and stood up. He stretched briefly, but was interrupted by a chirping noise coming from the laptop he had situated next to the sewing machine.

He sat back down and pulled up the data. A few years ago he had identified a bank in France where a number of criminal organizations washed their money. Instead of having it shut down, he breached the security and inserted several data collectors. These collectors scanned the transactions to determine patterns of activity; if an account had an unusual level of activity, then it would notify him.

According to the data, a dummy account that Kose's Canadian operations used had undergone a repeated series of small transactions. The value of each transaction varied, but they equated to somewhere between fifty and one hundred dollars American each. Not only had this money been changing hands for the past few days, but several transactions had been made each day. Adding to the confusion was that some transactions represented cash flowing *outwards.*

He decided that the outflow could wait; he wanted to know where the inflow came from. He quickly set a number of other programs to work attempting to trace the account numbers. He had no doubt that the accounts represented additional dummy accounts; it would take analyzing the history of each account to determine what was and wasn't a dummy. It would take a while, but it would be worth it.

*****

Clipper softly hummed as she walked towards the gantry. She wasn't otherwise busy, so she decided to grab her digital canvas and do a landscape of the area. If nothing else, it would be an excuse for her to get off the ship for a little while.

Even before the war, the nature of her duties afforded her little time for any sort of perosnal life. As a side effect, it was a rare occasion when she could actually pursue her love of art. It would sometimes take her a year just to finish one single piece. However, due to being on Earth her duties were reduced to simply filling out paperwork and attending Junko's lessons. This left her with an unusual amount of free time, and she was looking to spend it.

She stepped onto the gantry, just in time to see Stakeout perform a flying tackle on Cheetor. Cheetor went down hard, dropping a metal ball in the process. Stakeout stood up, wiped the sand off of himself, then walked back over to Firebolt and Whirl. Jetfire and Red Hot went over to the downed mech and pulled him up.

"May I ask what's going on here?!" she demanded.

"North-American-Rules Football," Stakeout shot back. "The object is to get the ball past a pre-set distance in order to score points; the team with the most points wins."

"And the point of it all is?"

"It requires speed, dexterity, strength, and quick thinking all working together," Jetfire said.

"Plus it's a way to release agression without causing a lot of damage," Stakeout added.

Clipper screamed, then went back inside.

*****

Starscream stood, staff in hand. Thrust, Thundercracker, and Landfill were out there somewhere, waiting to get him. Of course, to make it fair to them he had temporarily switched off his optics; he would be going by audio alone. But somehow, he felt that even this was an insufficient handicap.

He heard rapid footsteps coming up from behind him. Based on the speed, he figured that it had to be Thrust. He twirled his staff around, then quickly spun. The twirling staff caught Thrust on the side of the head. Thrust let out an "oof" before collapsing.

Heavy footsteps came rushing out at him. Starscream knelt down at the last minute and thrust his staff back behind him. He caught his assailant in the abdomen, then used the momentum to spin around and stand up. This allowed him to throw the assailant a good distance.

He paused, going back into a defensive posture. Thrust and Landfill may be reckless, but Thundercracker wasn't. He stood motionless, listening for anything that would give away the mech's movement. After standing still for several minutes, he activated his optics and looked around.

His face went blank as he tried to suppress the conflicting emotions. Yes, he had thrown Landfill..... on top of Thundercracker. The Seeker lay pinned beneath the bulky mech, unable to move. "You three are pathetic," Starscream muttered.

"How about giving me a try?" he heard Whisper ask. "Same conditions as the others."

"If you insist," Starscream said as he shut off his optics.

He heard Whisper charge him, then brought up his staff to block. However, he heard a subtle shift in the wind current, telling him that she was moving to the side. Before she could finish, he spun himself around, catching her in the face with his right heel. He then thrust his staff at her, catching her in the abdomen and doubling her over. He heard the sound of her dropping her staff, then threw her down.

He turned his optics back on, and walked over to her. "You win," she said bitterly. "Now what?"

"Now I leave you to wallow in your defeat." He dropped his staff and then walked off.

LOL! TFs playing football.

I have had a hard week so I have not read about three of your chapters. I like what I have read, though. I will read the chapters I have not, soon.

12.

Bludgeon cursed as he read the reports. He had lost another squad attempting to take out that pocket. Someone, somehow, somwhere had taken the garrison and turned it into an actual fighting force. And to make matters worse, the reports were that they were using stolen Decepticon equipment. He hated to think it, but there was a good chance that he was dealing with the same commando who had destroyed the ammo dump.

But as troublesome as that commando was, he had an even bigger matter to contend with: how to tell Megatron about the losses he had sustained. Given Megatron's temper, there was a good chance that the mech would become so enraged as to be homicidal. And Bludgeon knew that he would most likely be the first target. He would have to take that pocket even if it meant doing something drastic.

*****

"Can we talk real quick?" Clipper asked as Junko approached the ship.

"Is there a problem?" Junko asked.

"Not really." She let out a sigh. "I just want some input on something."

"That's fine. What do you need help with?"

"There's a guy I think I like."

"Oh?"

"Problem is, I'm not sure what to make of him."

"How so?"

"He's rude, aggressive, demanding, and standoffish. However, he's also brave and intelligent."

"So you are having a problem reconciling the two different facets?"

"You could say that."

"Have you tried to speak with him about it?"

"Eh?"

"For starters, he might not be aware of how he comes across when dealing with others."

"Trust me - he knows."

"Then have you spoken with him about how you feel?"

"How I..... feel?"

"If you truly love him, then you will eventually find the courage to speak up. If not, then there are always others."

"Slow down! It's not like that!"

"Oh? How so?"

Clipper paused, caught off guard. "It's like....."

"The first time I saw my husband, he was wearing a gas mask. He had just killed the guards in front of the door to the room where I was being held, and so he had blood on him. Without saying one word to me, he cut my bindings, gave me a spare mask, and carried me out of there. His actions were what spoke to me. They said far more than his words ever could."

Clipper's jaw went slack as she tried to process what she had just been told.

Without missing a beat, Junko continued with her thought. "If he is worthy, then what he does will mean far more than what he says. You just need to find the courage to be honest with both him and yourself."

Clipper paused, struggling to come up with even a single coherent thought. "That's preposterous!" she finally blurted out. "It's almost like something out of a child's storybook!"

Junko looked up at her, eyes full of determination. "When I came into this world, I came with Orihime. In a way, I have been living a child's storybook my entire life."

*****

"You wanted to see me?" Gerhardt asked as he stepped into the bay. He found Optimus, Perceptor, and Fixit, waiting for him.

"It's about the Phalanx," Perceptor said. "We just got through talking with Ultra Magnus, and he has requested a unit of his own to study. He would prefer that it be soon, as Cosmos is coming down in a few of your days."

"No can do," Gerhardt replied. "I don't have enough left in my expense account."

"I see," Optimus said. "Would it be possible for us to purchase one?"

"You have no currency," Gerhardt replied. "What would you purchase it with? And more importantly, what would happen to whatever you use?"

Optimus paused. "I hadn't thought of that."

"I can get you the schematics and a copy of the computer program that operates it," Gerhardt said, "but that's it. Magnus will have work based on that unless you want to give him the one we already have."

"Magnus has more equipment at his disposal," Perceptor said. "The actual unit might be better off in his hands."

"We can work with the schematics and program," Fixit added.

"Very well then," Optimus replied. "It's decided. Also, Cosmos is going to have some components with him that will allow your little plumbing thing to be finished while still keeping the hull pressurized and secure."

"Then he'd better be quick about it," Gerhardt said. "The port-o-potty and the water truck parked beneath the ship are being charged to my account as well."

"There's *what* beneath the ship?" Optimus asked.

"They've been in place since Monday afternoon."

"They have?!"

"You don't get out much, do you?"

*****

Skyfall scowled as he looked over the available supplies. They had sufficient energon thanks to their power facility, and they had been able to salvage all the ammunition and parts they needed. However, they still had a marked shortage of missiles and rockets. Those Decepticons who had any usually blew up due to the ordinance cooking off, and so they hadn't been able to salvage very many. To make matters worse, the Decepticons were starting to send out units that had thicker armor; given enough time, the machine guns they had wouldn't be enough to breach. Once it got to that point, they would eventually be over-run.

"Something wrong?" one of the residents asked.

"We're running low on explosive weaponry. That could be a problem."

"We're working on that."

"How so?"

"A small-scale explosive device that can be launched from a hand-held weapon. The devices are so small that we can fit them into a clip."

"How powerful are they?"

"Nowheres near as powerful as a missile, but they'll do the job for now."

"Has it been tested yet?"

"No."

Skyfall paused. "The next time the Decepticons use armored mechs, I want to see the prototypes go into action."

"Understood."


*****

"Make it quick," Jack said as he set down his welding equipment.

"Earlier today," Clipper said, "Junko mentioned someone named 'Orihime.' Could you explain it to me?"

"It's known as 'Tanabata.' It's a Japanese festival with Chinese origins. It involves two lovers - Hikoboshi the herder and Orihime the weaver. Their love was such that they neglected their duties, and so they were forcibly seperated and allowed to meet only one day a year."

"I don't quite understand."

"Hikoboshi represents the star Altair, while Orihime represents the star Vega. They are normally seperated by the Milky Way, but once a year they meet."

"So it's a tradition based on an astronomical occurance?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. She said that she came with Orihime. What does that mean to you?"

"One of two things. The first option is that she was born during a Tanabata celebration. The second option is that her mother was named Orihime."

"It's possible. Thanks."

"No problem."

*****

Skywarp skimmed the tops of the trees, sending a number of birds flying. Due to his ability to cloak, he had been assigned to patrol the perimeter of the shuttle. It primarily consisted of using his sensors to scan for any would-be intruders or detection devices. Unfortunately, it made for some long and boring days. The set-up was that he would patrol for five hours, and then come back for three. During those three hours, he would recharge, reload, and get rest. This pattern would repeat three times a day.

This pattern meant that he got very little rest during a day, and rarely more than two hours' worth at a time. In addition to the wear and tear his body was going through by virtue of being out so often, it was becoming harder and harder to stay awake. Things like skimming the treeline was how he stayed alert during his patrols. It wasn't much, but it helped.

A series of alarms went off, alerting him to the fact that his engines were
beginning to malfunction. He immediately broke off his pattern and headed back towards the ship. He knew that he would get in trouble for it, but it was far better than letting his engines go out while in mid-air.

*****

"I wondered where I'd find you two," Whirl said. "Where's Jack?"

"He's securing the welding equipment," Plug said. "We won't be needing it until those parts arrive."

"I see. So I guess you’ll now have some time to get back to things?"

"Hopefully. I want to get this all figured out as much as the rest of you."

"Very well then. And you, Dice? What do you have to say about all of this?"

"Well, I alkjsfohwaeo;hgongowehoiewncheo;ihweonvweo;hoeo;aowheo;ance;oh but oaoweiaehfo;hweo;hwv awoehfvn oahvoew woehoshgfohewfr a owhef o;hwcvown cowehf oewfn os;h up with which I will not put!"

Whirl and Plug paused, attempting to make sense of it all. "How many cappuccinos did you have this morning?" Plug asked.

"Five or six," Dice replied. "Why?"

"Just wondering."

*****

Akira scowled at the corpse lying in front of him. His security had caught this person attempting to sneak into the weapons development compound. The person was little more than a minor thief trying to make a major score. Had this person broken into any other building, it would have been forgiveable; the cops would have been sent for and everything would be taken care of. But the weapons development compound was a different matter entirely. For that, this person had to die.

He ordered some of his men to clean up the scene, then used a cloth to wipe the blood from his uchigatana. He paused for a few seconds, savoring the irony of his blade. It was initially created to keep up with the pace of combat; battle had become so intense that the speed at which one drew their blade meant life or death. But when it first saw heavy use it was primarily in the hands of those of low status. In other words, it fit his current situation. He was the whipping boy now, and yet he was the quickest and deadliest. It was just a matter of time before they would all see how far he had come.

And if they didn't, he would make them.