FicWad

The rain fell fast and heavy as each and every drop splashed against his silver and gold armour, the six-foot nine-inch tall Grimlock looked down to the ground as he hung his head. The Dinobot Commander was on his knees and surrounded by Adjutants, the same creatures that had killed the rest of his team and all of Autobots around the colony of Eden Prime.

He looked ahead slightly when he heard footfalls approaching him from the horde that surrounded the bot, they then stopped directly in front of him. Grimlock looked up to see an Adjutant standing over him. Its blue optics staring down at him completely devoid of emotion, the Dinobot's eyes then noticed the red and silver armour that was still partly hanging from the creature. It's Autobot symbol barely recognizable from the gash going through it.

"Slug, it's me Grimlock." he said, hoping he could reawaken his old friend and comrade. But the Adjutant just stared at him.

"Slug, please brother? You have to remember."

The creature then raised its bio-cannon in the air and screamed out, the others following suit. Grimlock then felt the fluid coursing through his veins boil as his anger started to build up within him. It was this same anger that made him one of the most fiercest warriors of Cybertron, the same anger that when at boiling point would enable him to transform into a mechanised T-Rex in his original body. It was an ancient earth creature that would make most Decepticons turn and flee (except for Megatron of course).

He kept his eyes on the enemy as he slowly reached to his orange blade that was lying in the mud next to him, taking hold of it's hilt tightly. The creature then stepped closer until it opened its mouth and let its tendrils shake and hiss as it prepared to bite him. The Dinobot leader's eyes narrowed as his rising anger came close to exploding. He then gritted his teeth before swinging the blade up and slicing the Adjutant in half, it's blood spilling out as both parts of the Creature fell to the sides and landed in the mud, splashing muddy water into he air.

"You will not take me this day, I Grimlock will avenge my fallen comrades." he shouted as the rest of the Adjutants readied themselves to strike.

"Come on then you pieces of scrap, I will send you all to the pit." he added as he raised his sword and took a defensive stance, the Adjutants then launched themselves at him as he swung his blade at them.

Several hours earlier, only a few hundred light years away. The Defiant was flying through a binary star system towards the nearby space bridge. Jack walked into the science lab with Ravage following behind, he looked around to see Raf working closely with Tali at console with encrypted data scrolling down the large holo-screen in front of them.

"So any news?" the Prime asked as he joined the two, Tali looked back to him as Raf kept typing.

"Jack we are still attempting to decrypt some of the data from the MECH database we were given."

"Why is it encrypted, didn't Petrovsky decrypt it before downloading it into our computers?" the Commander replied.

"There are small parts that are protected, the rest was already transmitted to Admiral Bryce an hour ago." Raf said without looking away from the screen.

"Anything of interest?" Jack asked.

"Fleet movements, field reports and supply convoys. With this data, the Alliance can hurt MECH operations around the galaxy. But what ever is encrypted must be of real value, so we are focusing on that." Tali said as she turned back to the screen.

"Is it slow going?" Jack asked as he looked at the screen.

"It would have been if we didn't have the algorithms that Soundwave left in our system." Raf replied.

"So where have you been Jack?" Tali asked curiously.

"I just finished speaking with Admiral Bryce about the Omega situation, he is happy we have more allies against the Reapers, as well as possible Intel on MECH via General Petrovsky. He wants us to rendezvous with the 'Yorktown' and hand the General over, he will then be transported to the Admiral for interrogation." the Prime answered.

"Sounds unpleasant." the scientist said back.

"Not really because he will be treated as a prisoner of war and given comfortable living quarters until the end of the war, then he will be tried."

Tali shook her head in disbelief.

"I know Garrus wouldn't be happy to hear that, I mean I understand why we have taken the MECH General alive. He has offered us everything he knows and has to help us take down his employer, but I really for Garrus and can understand his need for vengeance."

"You mean because of your father Tali." Jack said back, gaining a nod from the Quarian.

"Yes, that hate for the Geth that killed him kept me going, I prayed everyday that I would finally catch up with it and end it's life."

"I am sorry Tali, but that Geth was Legion right?" Raf asked as he looked over to them.

"Yes, and even when I met 'him' that didn't change anything." she replied.

"I remember." Jack added as Tali looked over to him.

"But then I got to know Legion and found out what really happened, not just with my father. But what exactly happened between the Geth and my people, and then I realised that my need to get justice for my father was pointed toward the wrong person." she said as she looked over to Raf who was still listening intently, having stopped working and focused on the conversation.

"So you understand why I stopped Garrus from killing Petrovsky?" Jack asked, Tali nodded in return.

"Yes, he was not completely responsible but Jack, if we can't get this Saleon. You will have to let Garrus take his life, since he is second most responsible for what happened."

The Prime nodded as a serious expression appeared on his face.

" I know, and Admiral Bryce agrees. So if Petrovsky's intel doesn't help us or we don't find Saleon. Then the Admiral will let Garrus execute him."

"Wow, that will keep Petrovsky sweating for the time being then." Raf replied with a smile.

"Exactly." the Prime replied before beginning to turn away.

"Well you two are busy so I will let you carry on." he said before he started for the door.

"Jack." Tali called to the Commander who stopped and let her catch up.

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure, name it." Jack replied.

"Can you go and speak to Garrus, he has locked himself in the weapons battery and claims that he wants to be left alone to 'calibrate' the weapons systems." the Quarian said with a worried tone. Jack gave her a concerned look.

"Wait, he won't even let you in?" the Prime asked disbelievingly.

"Yes, I think he doesn't want me to see him in this state. but I know first hand what closing yourself from your friends and loved ones can do to a person. But since he won't speak to me..." she said back.

"I'll go talk to him"." Jack reassured her.

"Thanks Jack." Tali replied.

"Anytime." he said back before leaving the lab.

The Prime walked past Arcee's quarters on his way to the weapons battery, he knew she would be in there now. But he had to help his friend first, so he carried on towards the large door at the end of corridor and hit the door chime.

"Tali, I swear I am okay. I just want to work please." the Turian's voice replied over the intercom.

"Garrus it's me." Jack said back.

"Jack, sorry I thought you were Tali. Is there anything you need?" Garrus asked.

"yeah, I am here to talk. Open the door." the Prime said.

"Can we do this later? I am in The middle of some 'calibrations' right now." the Turian replied.

"Garrus, I am not leaving until you let me. Or do you want me to ask Teletraan to override the lock?"

"Okay, Okay. I am opening the door." came the reply. Then just as he said, the door opened and Jack walked in. He saw Garrus standing next to a console and he didn't look happy as he sighed in defeat.

He saw Garrus standing next to a console and he didn't look happy as he signed in defeat.

"I know what you are going to say Jack but I am alright." the Turian said.

"Really? Then why are you locking yourself in here and not talking to anyone, especially Tali?" the Prime replied as the door closed behind him.

"She's worried about you."

Garrus looked away for a moment as his expression changed to a look of guilt and remorse.

"I don't want her to see me like this, I just want to wait here until we get news on Saleon."

"Garrus, you should talk to Tali. She knows what it is like to live with the guilt of losing someone close, and the need to hunt down the one responsible."

The Turian then looked at Jack.

"Your one to talk Jack." Garrus replied surprising the Prime.

"What do you mean?" the Commander asked, a look of confusion written on his face.

"I overheard Arcee having a conversation with Airachnid not long back, and she was talking about how she was worried about you." the Turian replied as Jack remained quiet.

"She said you looked like you were going to open up just before the Citadel attack by MECH, but since then you have gone quiet again. I mean it isn't just Arcee that's noticed the change in you Jack, we all have. How can I take advice from someone who won't even take their own." Garrus added making the Prime feel uncomfortable.

"And here I as trying to get you to talk to Tali." Jack replied sheepishly.

"Well I'll tell you what, if you promise me that you will let Arcee help you. Then I will go and speak with Tali." the Turian said as he held out his hand.

"Okay I promise I will talk with Arcee when we get a free moment, which with this war is not often." Jack replied as he shook his friend's hand.

"No go up to the Science lab, your girlfriend's worried sick." the Prime continued with a slight smile.

"Oh you know I will get up back for that Jack." Garrus replied as they both walked out of the room and back to the science lab.

Tali and Raf were still neck-deep in hacking the MECH database when Jack and Garrus entered the room, the Quarian was bent over a worktop as she looked into a microscope like device, except this allowed her to look at the intricate details of the encryption. Garrus looked at Tali's rear and smiled.

"Nice." he said quietly, but he was not aware that Jack had heard him.

"What?" the Prime said in return, snapping the Turian out of his gaze.

"Uh... what?" he said aloud, gaining Tali's attention as she stood up And turned to them.

"Garrus, it's good to see you out and about." she said before the two embraced for a moment, the Turian then looked down at her.

"Want to join me for a drink in the common room."

"Sure, I need a break actually. We can talk." she answered back before kooky over to Raf who was still engrossed in his work.

"Just going for a break, want me to bring you anything back?"

"I'm okay thanks." the scientist replied, gaining a nod from the Quarian before she and Garrus headed for the door, passing Ravage on way as he was lying on his front watching everything from side. The screen in front of Raf then flashed before a part of the encrypted data revealed itself.

"Uh, Tali could you wait a sec." he said back, stopping he couple just short of the door. Jack looked at the screen.

"You've decrypted the database?"

"Well a small part of it." Raf replied as he read what was on the screen, then his eyes widened at what he saw.

"My god..." he said aloud.

"What is it" Tali asked as she and Garrus had turned around and heading back to the console. Rad then looked over to Jack with a serious look on his face.

"MECH are going to attack Eden Prime."

PRIME EFFECT 3

One of the Autobot archaeologist's looked up at the sky and saw the cloud build up approaching the colony.

"Looks like we might get rain today." a voice called over to her, making the bot look to the left. She saw a Caucasian woman (mid twenties) wearing purple armour with light blue neon lights approaching him.

"Chromia, didn't realise that predicting the weather was one of your skill sets" she replied, gaining a chuckle from the femme as she stopped next to her.

"You would be surprised glyph." she replied with a smile.

"Well if you wan help with anything then it will have to be quick, because we are about to bring the stasis pod from the catacombs." Glyph asked.

"Just wondering where Flareup is, that's all." Chromia replied.

"Flareup, she is with Tap-Out and Trailbreaker. They are part of the team who are bringing the stasis pod out." the blue bot replied, earning a sigh from the femme.

"She is hanging around Trailbreaker again, and I bet he hasn't realised why she is hanging round him either."

Glyph chuckled and nodded in return.

"Yeah, he may be getting good at deciphering Lithone writings. But reading the behaviour of a femme is completely alien to him."

The two femmes were to busy laughing to notice another bot walk up behind them.

"what are you two laughing about?" a deep voice asked.

They both turned and looked up to see Grimlock standing over them.

"Oh it's nothing Grimlock, just young love blossoming here on Eden Prime. Even though one of them hasn't realised it yet." glyph replied cheerfully.

"You mean Flareup and Trailbreaker?" the Dinobot leader answered.

"Wait you know too." Chromia said on surprise.

"Everybody knows... except Trailbreaker." Grimlock chuckled as another Caucasian man in red and silver armour approached him, carrying two swords on his back.

"Grimlock, Sludge and Snarl report everything is fine at the communication hub." he said, gaining the Dinobot's attention.

"Thank you Slug." the Dinobot leader replied, Chromia then looked at the three of them.

"Well I am going to go ahead and get a front seat to the Flareup/Trailbreaker show." she said before heading down into the excavation site. Grimlock then activated his com link.

"Swoop, can you hear me?"

A few miles outside the colony, a Mantis gunship flew low over the green terrain. An Autobot symbol was stuck on the side and in the pilot seat was Swoop, a Caucasian man with blond hair and wearing red and gold armour. He was just enjoying the flight when his com link activated.

"Swoop, can you hear me?" came a voice that he knew only too well.

"Sorry, your breaking up." he said back with a chuckle, gaining a grunt as the caller got angry.

"I said can you hear me?" his voice sounding annoyed.

"I'm kidding around with you Grimlock, of course I can hear you." Swoop replied, gaining a sigh from the Dinobot Commander.

"Status report."

The Dinobot pilot looked over his cockpit controls that were made up of many holo-controls and screens.

"My second patrol of the day and no new readings, still looks like we're the only ones here."

"Alright then, see you when you get back." Grimlock replied as Swoop noticed something peculiar on the horizon.

"Wait a sec, I just spotted something that wasn't there before."

"What is it?" Grimlock asked over the com. But before the Dinobot pilot could answer, alarms went off in the cockpit.

"Damn it, missile lock" he said before he pulled the gunship into a hard turn as a ground to air missile narrowly missed it.

Swoop, what's happening?" Grimlock said back.

The Dinobot fought to keep the ship in the air, as his sudden actions brought the gunship extremely close to the ground. He pulled the stick back and brought the ship to a safe distance from ground level. He then was about to head back found to see who had fired on him when alarms went off again, looking down at the sensors he could see a blip closing on his position again.

'Heat seeker, scrap!' he thought before the missile hit and exploded against the art of the gunship. The whole vessel shook from the impact as Swoop found the controls to me suddenly unresponsive. He just frantically pulled the stick back hard as he watched the ground rush up to meet him through the cockpit's canopy.

Having witnessed the gunship crashing in the distance, a group of MECH troopers returned to carrying equipment out of their shuttle as they nearly finished construction of what looked like an array of some kind. One trooper stood beside he ground to air missile emplacement as it returned to its shut down mode, he then put his hand to the side of his helmet.

"Beachhead secure, signal will be ready to broadcast in five minutes." he said into his com link before looking over to group building it, one looked back and nodded.

"I repeat five minutes. Begin phase two." the soldier then turned off the com link and walked over to the group.

Grimlock had a worried expression on his face.

"What's wrong boss?" Slug asked as he and Glyph looked up to Dinobot Leader.

"Swoop's signal just stopped, I thought he said more but couldn't make it out.".

Grimlock then started walking away from the group as he looked at his holo-tool.

"I am heading out to Swoop's last known coordinates, your in charge until I return Slug."

The other Dinobot nodded in return.

"Alright Grimlock, though I am sure Swoop's okay, he can survive anything"

"I agree, but this... doesn't feel right." the big bot replied before walking away.

At the entrance to the catacombs, two Caucasian looking Autobots were pushing out a large black cylinder like object. One had green hair with silver highlights and armour of matching colour scheme. The other Autobot had silver hair with black armour and red plating around his joints. They were both bickering as a femme with fire-red hair and orange and red armour watched.

"Put your back into it Tap-Out, you're not going to let me do all the work here are you, especially with a femme watching us." the black armoured one asked as he pushed the object toward the entrance.

"Well if someone who will go unnamed (Trailbreaker) had remembered to bring the gravity loader instead of talking to said femme, then we wouldn't have had to push this fragging thing all the way from the catacombs to here... would we?" Tap-Out said with anger in his voice, between deep breaths as he slumped over the object. Flareup chuckled at the sight before her.

"Well Tap-Out, looks like Trailbreaker doesn't need a rest." she said playfully before nudging the black armoured bot, making him blush slightly.

"Uh... no, I am a fine. Thanks Flareup." he replied a little unsure, making the green bot roll his eyes in response. He couldn't believe how blind Trailbreaker could be, here was a femme who was showing all the signs that she liked him, and yet he couldn't see them.

"So once we're done here, do you want to get a bite to eat with us at the cafeteria Flareup?" Trailbreaker asked.

The femme's smile grew bigger as her blue eyes looked back to the bot.

"Sure, that would be great." she replied enthusiastically, but Tap-Out waved them on.

"You two can go on ahead, I want to stay and take some scans of this thing, make sure that all the pushing didn't damage anything." he said earning a bemused look from his colleague.

"You sure Tap-Out?" he asked.

"Yes, besides one of us shout remain and keep an eye on it. Go on, enjoy yourselves." the green bot replied, earning a silent thank you from the femme, before she and Trailbreaker started to leave. They didn't get far when Chromia appeared ahead of them with a knowing look on her face.

"Though I would find you here." she said with a slight smile that bemused the mech more, yet earned a scowl from Flareup.

"We were just heading off for something to eat...want to join us?" Trailbreaker asked, surprising both femmes.

"You know I would love to, but..." Chromia replied as The other femme looked at her pleadingly.

".. but I just came here to check if Flareup had finished her daily inventory report." she said before looking over to her friend, who activated her holo-tool.

"Yes I did, just transferring it to you now." the younger bot replied as Chromia's holo-tool signalled her to the file transfer.

"Okay then, carry on." the purple femme replied before motioning the to pass. But then as they moved away, a sound of thunder in the sky gained they attention as well as everyone else in the colony, even Grimlock who was at this moment was nearly a mile outside the colony's limits driving away in a medium sized four by four.

"What was that?" Flareup asked as she and the others looked up to see something in the sky. Chromia pulled a pair of binoculars from one of he pouches on her utility belt and looked at the object.

"It looks like a meteor, and..." she said before stopping abruptly.

"What's wrong?" Flareup asked nervously.

"It's heading for the colony." she said before the object crashed into the center of the complex, damaging the colony's market place. Cybertronians were flung in all directions along with debris and mud from the force of the impact as a dust cloud surrounded the area.

"Chromia to to anyone near the impact site, do you read?" the femme said into her com link as she looked over to the rising smoke from the crash site. After several seconds someone answered.

"Chromia, this is Skids. The smoke and dust is starting to settle and we have a many injured, but I can see the meteor….what the?" the Autobot on the other end said before going silent.

"Skids what is it?" she asked back hesitantly when he gave no answer.

"Sorry Chromia, but this isn't a meteor. It looks like a pod of some kind, I am going in for a closer look."

Trailbreaker and Flareup stood next to her as they tried to overhear the conversation, Tap-Out ran up to them from the Catacombs entrance.

"What the hell was that I just heard?" he said.

"Some object just crash landed in the middle of the colony." Trailbreaker said.

"Skids, sorry I didn't quite get that?" Chromia said aloud while giving the two Mechs an angry stare, one mirrored by Flareup.

"Keep it down, I am trying to listen." she said as the purple femme continued her conversation.

"Say that again Skids."

"I said it looks like a transport pod, but I do not recognise the configuration." the bot said. Suddenly a loud hiss could be heard like pressure was being released.

"Wait, something is happening. The pod is opening up." Skids added, as the sound of moving metal could be heard over the com link.

"Skids?" Chromia said again.

"Chromia, the pod is open. But it is too dark to see in there." the Autobot replied over the com.

"Wait….. I can see something, two blue lights. They look like opti…" Skids added before being cut off by the most inhuman scream any of them had ever heard, that was soon followed by the sound of people screaming and panicking.

"By Primus, everyone run. Chromia it….. Scrap, its seen me. Stay where you are Chromia, I repeat…AGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

Then all that could be heard was the sounds of biting and a body being flung around like a rag doll. Chromia could not help but listen to the sounds as the screaming and panic could now be heard around the colony, along with more of the inhuman screams. The four bots looked at each other, and remained quiet for a long moment before one of them broke the silence in the group.

"What the hell is happening out there?" Tap-Out asked with fear in his voice.

"I don't know, but Skids said that we shouldn't move from where we are." Chromia replied, earning an angry look from Flareup.

"What do you mean, something is attacking our friends and colleagues up there. We should fight it." she said defiantly, only then to feel a hand on her shoulder. She looked to see that it was Trailbreaker.

"Skids is senior officer here Flareup. If he says we stay, then we stay. Besides I can erect a force field in the entrance to the catacombs. Whatever is out there will not get through."

"That's the plan, we wait here and hide?" the younger femme answered back.

"Look Flareup, we don't know what is attacking us or what their motives are. All we do know is that Skids ordered us not leave this site. Obviously he thinks it has something to do with what we have found here. So that is what we are going to do." Chromia replied earning a angry but accepting look from the younger femme.

"Trailbreaker get that force field set up quickly." Chromia said to the bot, gaining a nod from him as he activated his holo-tool.

"What about the Dinobots, where are they? Tap-Out asked a little hesitantly.

"I don't know Tap-Out, but knowing them... I guess they will be in the thick of it."

The monsters kept coming as Slug sliced up another with his twin blades, he was trying to protect Glyph and two other bots as these creatures kept attacking while they found themselves backed into an alleyway. The blue femme fired her pistol at another as the other two cowered behind them.

"What in the matrix are these things?" Glyph asked as she shot another in the face, Slug sliced one in two before glancing over his shoulder to her.

"I have never anything like them before, but they do resemble husks somewhat."

The blue bot shot another in the legs, making it fall to the ground as more toppled over it.

"Husks, you think it's the Reapers who are attacking. I thought that they do not attack colonies that are Cybertronians only?"

"I am just guessing Glyph" the Dinobot replied.

"Well what I want to know is that if only one of those things was in the pod that crash landed. Then how is there more of them now." she asked as she kicked punched another creature in the face when it got too close.

"Glyph just concentrate on fighting right now, we need to protect the civilians." Slug said back as us decapitated another.

"We are pretty much trapped in here Slug." she said back as the only exit they had was now blocked off by more creatures.

"That may be so, but it also has a choke point that makes it easier for us to defend against." the Dinobot replied. He then sliced through two more enemies as Glyph shot another two of them.

"My pistol can only slow them down." she said again as the Mech sliced up the two that she had shot at.

"Not a problem, you slow them down. And I finish them." he said as he tore up another.

"We need help here Slug, we can't hold out too long on our own." the femme said before shooting the legs of another before the Dinobot impaled it with one sword before decapitating it with his other. He then threw one weapon to Glygh.

"Here use this too." he said before activating his com link.

"Snarl, Sludge. This is Slug, I am with Glyph and two civilians. We need help, can you hear me?" he said as the two of them kept the monsters at bay.

"We read you loud and clear Slug." a voice came through the other end of the com.

"Sludge, what's your situation. Any chance you can help us out?" Slug asked.

"We have tried to send a distress signal out, but those damn 'things' have destroyed the dish." Sludge replied as another voice joined in.

"Also, no word from Swoop or Grimlock."

"You know better than to worry about the big guy Snarl." Slug said back as he witnessed Glyph slice off the arms of a creature before kicking it back into another.

"And Swoop will be fine too, you'll see." Sludge added.

"Anyway, just hold tight. We are on our way."

The com link then deactivated as the two bots continued to fight, meanwhile the two civilians hurdled close together and watched. At the back of the alleyway, a ventilation shaft grill suddenly came undone and it fell to the ground revealing another creature as it slowly climbed out.

"Did you hear something?" the female said to the male before looking back.

"AAGGGGGHHHH!"

The scream made both the bots fighting stop and look back, Glyph gasped at the sight before her. The civilian femme took a step back in fear as the mech was held up by the creature, it's tendrils burrowing deep into his neck as his body flinched constantly.

"Help them, I'll stay and keep the others at bay." Slug said before Glyph ran back and grabbed the civilian femme.

"Get back here now." she said while looking back to the blue femme.

"Help my spark mate please?" she begged Glyph who looked back at the civilian mech who was now starting to change as blue fluid passed through the creatures tendrils and into his body.

"I'll try." Glyph replied before she fired her pistol at the abomination, which continued to ignore the impacts the bullets made into it's body as it held the civilian and concentrated on it. Glyph then got in close and readied Slug's sword. The monster then dropped him to the ground and turned to the blue femme as she started to swing the blade at it, it raised it's bio-cannon to block the attack which then sliced through it, spilling the blue fluid all over the floor.

But before Glyph could attack again, the creature grabbed her with its other arm and slammed the femme into the wall. The force of the impact made her drop her weapons as it left her dazed. And then it looked at her for a second before opening it's mouth and biting down into her neck with it's tendrils. Glyph screamed out in pain as she felt the pressure of it's jaws around her neck and the fluid being pumped into her system.

The civilian femme while in complete shock, looked down to see her spark mate getting up and looking at her while completely transformed into an abomination.

"Clocker… by Primus." she said before it leapt at her and bit down into the femme. Slug heard another scream as he killed another creature and turned to see Glyph up against the wall, her body flinching erratically as the enemy continued to hold onto her, and the newest creature changing the civilian as it clung to the femme's neck on the floor. He felt his anger rage as he gritted his teeth and raise his sword up to attack, but before he could move he felt something grasp at his arm and yank him back.

Another grabbed at his free arm and restrained him before the sharpest pain the Bot had ever felt erupted from his neck, making him grimace in response. He then felt the worm-like tendrils of the creature slither into his body and pump out a fluid, a fluid that suddenly made him resist less as he stood there in the grip of one of the creatures, dropping his sword to the ground as it began to change him. The alleyway then went quiet for a long time before nothing but Adjutants walked out of it.

Grimlock had turned his vehicle around and was on his way back as he pushed the throttle down hard and sped back toward the colony. It didn't take long for him to enter the city-limits as he started to hear the monstrous screams echoing around him as he brought the vehicle to a halt, climbed out and readied his sword. He didn't like turning around and leaving Swoop out there, but the colony comes first, that was his orders... his team's orders. He knew Swoop would understand, so he stood there and activated his com link.

"Grimlock to Dinobots, come in. Anyone?" he said as he looked around at the buildings that surrounded him, noting that it had gone deathly quiet. So he moved toward an archway and hid there for a second, as he was to visible to whatever was attacking the colony from where he stood.

"Grimlock, it's Snarl." a voice came back through the com.

"Snarl, what's the situation?" the Dinobot leader asked back.

"The object that landed in the colony let loose some creature and it began infecting the other Cybertronians." Snarl replied.

"Infecting…..what do you mean?"

"I don't know, but it changed them into more of it's kind. I mean…I." Snarl replied with sadness and regret in his voice which Grimlock recognised.

"What is it, what has happened?"

"Sludge, we were on our way to help Snarl and some civvies when we were jumped by a number of those monsters. They got Sludge and…(winces).., almost got me." Snarl replied.

"I…. see, what do you mean almost got you?" Grimlock asked as he looked down to the ground and remembered his fallen friend.

"One of them bit me, but I managed to free myself before it could do anything else… I think." the other bot answered.

"Okay then, what about Snarl? Have you heard from him since?"

"No, I was on my way to his last coördinates." the voice replied. Grimlock activated his holo-tool.

"Alright, I have turned on my locator beacon, do the same and I will meet up with you." the leader replied.

"Done, I'll meet up with you then. If you come across any of the creatures, just don't let them touch you."

"Will do." Grimlock replied before heading out into the streets while tracking his friend on his holo-tool.

The Dinobot leader had quietly moved through the colony for some time as he closed the distance between himself and Snarl, but had not come across any of the creatures that the citizens of Eden Prime had been turned into. Sure he heard some noises coming from the distance, but he had not yet seen one.

This confused the bot as he kept his grip on his sword tight before coming across the alleyway that Snarl had mentioned. He looked down the alley, but saw nothing but a broken vent grill and some fluid on the floor. There was signs of a fight, but no clues to where Slug or the others with him had gone. Grimlock then felt eyes upon him from behind and swung round with his blade ready.

"Boss, its me!" Snarl replied with his hands in the air, the Dinobot leader looked down at his friend and pulled back.

"It's good to see you Snarl." he said before seeing the wound on the other Dinobot's neck.

"That looks painful."

Snarl reached up to the wound and scratched at it, making him wince in return.

"It is, and it itches too. But I am okay." he said before looking down the alleyway.

"So since this place is a burst what next?"

Grimlock then looked up at the sky as his audio receptors picked up a faint noise.

"Can you hear that?" he asked as Snarl mirrored him by looking up too.

"Yeah, sounds like a…." he replied before a shuttle flew over them both.

"….a shuttle, did you see any insignias on it?"

"No, but it is heading for the catacombs entrance. Come on." the Dinobot leader said as he started to run in that direction. Snarl started to follow but did not notice the shadow of something looming over him. Grimlock had moved several meters before….

"Arrrrggh, get the frag off me!" Snarl cried out, making Grimlock look back to see a creature on top of the Dinobot. Snarl was holding it's head back as it's tendrils whipped around in a frenzy, trying to get at the open wound on the Cybertronian's neck.

"Snarl!" Grimlock called back as he stormed over to his friend, but the creature saw him and instead hit the bot in the face, putting him in a daze before grabbing his foot and dragging him in the opposite direction. Grimlock chased after his friend as he was dragged down the street and round a corner, but when the big bot ran round the same corner, he saw that his friend and the beast were gone.

He looked around frantically before hearing a familiar voice scream out in pain before suddenly going silent. Grimlock closed his eyes as he felt his rage building up at the thought that at this moment, his entire team could well be dead. Sludge and Snarl were both gone, Slug was nowhere to be found and as for Swoop. He shook his head as he tried to fight away those thoughts.

'No, until I see a body, Swoop and Slug could still be alive.' he thought, but then he heard the sound of movement around him and he opened his eyes to see several creatures in front of him, he then heard more noises from behind and guessed that he was surrounded. His anger was at boiling point as one of the monsters rushed at him and jumped, but then in the blink of an eye it was sliced in two by the orange blade of the Dinobot leader as he swung his weapon at it. He then took a stance and looked at the creatures.

PRIME EFFECT 3

The Defiant jumped out of hyperspace and flew toward the planet of Eden Prime, Hotrod was in the pilot seat with Airachnid to his left, controlling the weapon systems. He looked at the sensor screen before activating his com link.

"Prime, we are approaching the planet. I am reading just one ship in orbit, it's IFF says MECH cruiser. It has spotted us and is heading out to intercept us."

"Roger that Hotrod, disable the MECH vessel and then head down to the planet's surface. More Alliance vessels are on their way and can take care of the cruiser. But we will be using the MAKO so need to be at least a hundred feet above the ground before launching, clear?" Jack's voice said over the com.

"Aye, aye." the pilot replied as they neared the enemy ship. The enemy cruiser charged up it's main beam weapon as the smaller frigate got closer, but before it could fire, Airachnid launched two torpedoes which impacted against the MECH vessel, the explosion knocked the vessel off course as it lost power and started to drift. The Defiant then flew past and down into the planet's atmosphere.

The Alliance vessel flew down to the green landscape as the rain fell from the clouds above before levelling off at the distance that the Prime had said, it then opened it's shuttle bay doors and the MAKO drove off the landing ramp and fell from the Defiant, which began it's ascent back into orbit. The ground vehicle began plummeting towards the surface, but then thrusters fired from under the MAKO, slowing it's decent before it gently landed with a bump on the grassy hill overlooking the colony.

Jack was sitting in the driver's seat in the cramped interior as he controlled the vehicle, Arcee and Smokescreen sat in the rear and were watching him. They could hear the rain as it landed on the roof of the vehicle, making a continuous tapping sound.

"Okay, we are less than a mile from the colony. Should reach it in twenty minutes." the Prime said before looking back to see the worried expression on his partner's face.

"Arcee, I am sure Chromia is alright." he said with an encouraging tone, gaining a nod from the femme.

"I know Jack, but I guess I wont feel better until I see her." she replied. Jack nodded before turning back and putting his foot down on the throttle as the MAKO began making it's way to the colony.

It wasn't long before the MAKO was traversing the streets as it made it's way between the buildings.

"It's too quiet, where is everyone?" Arcee asked as she looked out the small porthole on her side of the vehicle.

"We haven't seen or heard anything since we entered the colony." Smokescreen added as Jack noticed something on the holo-sreen to his right.

"Wait a second, sensors are picking up a large amount of movement from the west of our location, changing course."

The Prime then turned the MAKO in that direction and moved down the street until it came to a stop in front or a large horde of the creatures, which Jack recognised immediately.

"Adjutants…. Damn it."

Both Autobots stood behind Jack and looked out of the glass canopy at the monsters, who had not noticed the MAKO yet.

"Those things are Adjutants…. Nasty." Smokescreen said as he observed the creatures.

"And that is what Shen was…." Arcee asked gaining a nod from the Prime, she then looked down at the ground.

"… I see, poor Garrus."

The femme then looked up when a realization came over her.

"That means that out there, that horde may have been Cybertronians once. But I thought that Reaper tech has no effect on us."

"Well maybe MECH managed to alter the coding of the Adjutant virus, I mean they have had enough experience with Cybertronian physiology over the years." Jack replied.

"But that means one of them could be…" Arcee said back as her mind became overwhelmed with thoughts of her sister. Jack though looked back at her, his blue eyes meeting her own.

"Don't think like that Arcee, that line of thinking won't help anyone, especially yourself."

The femme nodded back and sighed.

"Your right Jack."

Smokescreen though leaned more forward as he watched the Adjutants.

"Why haven't they attacked us yet, I mean we are in a tank of all things and yet they don't seem bothered."

"It looks like they have their attention elsewhere." Jack replied, as Arcee focused her eyes and noticed the hint of an orange blade being swung in the distance. She then pointed in the direction.

"There, someone is fighting them."

The Prime then changed gears and revved the engine, which finally made a number of the creatures turn and look at them.

"Smokescreen, get on the turret. I want suppressive fire." the Commander said, earning a nod from the young bot as he opened the top hatch and climbed up to the turret that was positioned on top of the main cannon.

"Arcee be ready to open the aft hatch, the moment Smokescreen has given us enough room."

She nodded before heading to the back of the MAKO.

"What are you going to do?" she asked looking back at her partner. But Jack just smirked as he glanced back at her.

"I'm going to see what this thing can do." he replied before looking forward at the approaching Adjutants and hit the accelerator hard, making the MAKO move forward and gain momentum as it started to speed toward the monsters. One of the Adjutants jumped for the roof of the MAKO, but was knocked down by Smokescreen who fired a burst of rounds into the creature.

"How do you like that?" he shouted over the weapons fire as the MAKO then rammed into the outer edges of the horde, sending some of the creatures into the air while others got caught under the large wheels of the vehicle, splattering their blue fluids everywhere.

Meanwhile Grimlock swung his blade through one Adjutant before grabbing the torso of it and then swinging that into another creature, knocking it to the ground. He then dropped the body part and grabbed the hilt of his sword with both hands and then sliced through two more enemies as he created a small amount of space between himself and the horde. He then heard weapons fire and the sound of a vehicle approaching, so he looked up to see the MAKO mowing down more of the Adjutants as it approached him.

But as he then turned and focused on an enemy that had gotten to close to his person by impaling it with his sword and then swinging it into three more enemies, he failed to see one pounce at his back. But before it got within an inch of him, it was shot down by Smokescreen as the MAKO hit the breaks and slid into a large number of Adjutants, leaving a blue liquid like mess in it's wake. Smokescreen while firing continuously into the horde looked down at the Dinobot leader.

"Get round the back." he shouted, earning a nod back as Grimlock then ran to the aft of MAKO. One of the creatures was there to greet him, but instead received a beheading before the hatch opened and revealed Arcee to him. She held her hand out to the Dinobot.

"Grimlock, come on." she said before he took her hand and climbed into hatch, the femme sealing it behind them right after.

"We got him, go!" she called back to Jack who then hit the accelerator again and flipped a switch next to him.

"Dropping the package." he stated, gaining a confused look from his partner.

"What?" she replied. But as the MAKO then drove off and through the rest of the Adjutants in front of it. Back where it once stood was an explosive device which after a few seconds exploded, engulfing the horde of Adjutants in fire. The force of the blast then hit the back of the MAKO, shaking it around slightly as the vehicle made it's escape. Smokescreen then looked back to see the Adjutants running around on fire as their bodies burned, he smiled before he deactivated the turret and climbed back down into the MAKO's interior. He then nodded to Grimlock who smiled back at him.

"Nice shooting kid." he said before looking at Arcee.

"It's been a while Arcee."

"It sure has Grimlock." she replied with a pat to his shoulder, he then looked toward the driver's seat.

"So I guess that's Jack up front then?" he asked before walking over (hunched, due to limited height of MAKO) to the Prime.

"Good to see your in one piece Grimlock." Jack said back a slight smile.

"Thanks for the rescue, didn't think that our distress call got through." the Dinobot replied.

"We didn't receive a distress call, we got Intel that MECH were about to attack and headed straight here." the Prime said, earning a shocked look from the big bot.

"MECH, but those creatures look like Reaper forces."

"Silas has been using Reaper tech for his own purposes, but I don't know why they would attack Eden Prime."

"I heard that the expedition here has uncovered a stasis pod down in the Lithone catacombs." Grimlock said before his eyes widened as something dawned on him.

"That shuttle that I and Snarl saw earlier, that must have been a MECH force heading for the catacombs."

"Ok, I taking us there now." Jack replied as he turned the MAKO sharply around a corner and down another street as it headed for that location.

"You mentioned Snarl, where is the rest of the Dinobots?" the Prime asked, making Grimlock look to the ground with a sullen face.

"They are dead Jack, those creatures turned them into more of themselves." he said as Jack just kept his eyes on the road and sighed, both Arcee and Smokescreen looked to the ground as they mourned the deaths of their comrades.

"I am sorry Grimlock." Arcee said before looking up to him, the femme was about to say something else but the Dinobot leader cut her off, as he knew what she was about to ask.

"Chromia wasn't among any of them Arcee, that I know of. She was heading for the catacombs the last time I saw her." he replied. The femme just hung her head and sighed.

"I just hope she is alright, I don't want to lose another sister." she said before she felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Grimlock looking down to her.

"Chromia is strong, she will make it." he replied with an encouraging tone.

"I hope your right." Arcee said back as the MAKO drove closer to the catacombs site.

Meanwhile a number of MECH soldiers were firing their rifles at the force field that Trailbreaker was projecting from his holo-tool, all while an engineer was trying to deactivate it with his own tool from behind his troops.

"These MECH guys really want to get in here." the bot said while looking across to Flareup who was waiting with her SMG ready.

"Maybe you should just lower it then and let us fight already." she replied eagerly. But Chromia gave her protege a harsh look as she stood behind the stasis pod that the femme and Tap-Out were using as cover.

"No Flareup, we hold out as long as we can. We will only engage them the moment that field comes down. Help is on the way, I know it is. So we just need to hold on."

The younger femme shrugged and then looked back at the enemy troops as the engineer suddenly pointed toward them, which made the Autobots look back with concern.

"I think we will need to fight soon." Trailbreaker stated as he readied his pistol, his holo-tool started to bleep continuously as the field started to fluctuate.

"Finally." Flareup said with relief. But just as the force field began to fail, the MECH soldiers all turned around when they heard something approaching them. The engineer ignored it as he concentrated on the catacombs defence, while the rest looked down the street. Suddenly a MAKO turned around the corner fast and sped up towards the MECH soldiers who started firing on the vehicle.

"Everyone get ready." Chromia said as they watched the action on the other side of the force field. The enemy fire did nothing against the vehicle's heavy armour as it ran through the soldiers, killing them all instantly. Only the engineer was left and he turned to see the MAKO break hard and swing it's aft around, which collided with the MECH trooper. Sending him flying into the wall nearby, the sound of his bones shattering on impact before he fell to the ground in heap. Chromia looked at the MAKO and saw the Alliance symbol on it's side.

"Deactivate the force field." she said to Trail breaker, who nodded and did as he was ordered. The orange field came down just before Chromia reached it and she walked up to the back of the vehicle as the hatch opened and Arcee and Grimlock stepped out. Chromia's eyes widened and a large smile graced her lips as she looked over to her older sister.

"Sis, thank Primus." she said aloud as she ran over to the blue femme and the two hugged each other tightly.

"I was so worried." Arcee said before the two pulled back and smiled at each other.

"I knew you would come Arcee." the purple femme replied as Jack and Smokescreen showed themselves, the Prime looked over to the black object.

"Is that the stasis pod?" he asked, gaining Chromia's attention.

"Yes it is Jack. We need to get this out of here before MECH come back."

Smokescreen looked back towards the driver's controls and saw a large amount of movement heading their way.

"We have company." he replied as Jack looked over to Grimlock.

"Think you can lift that?" he asked.

"No problem Jack." the Dinobot leader replied as he walked over and picked up the pod with ease.

"Okay everyone, get on board now." the Prime said before Chromia, Arcee, Tap-Out, Flareup and Trailbreaker all boarded the MAKO. Jack then helped Grimlock load the pod into the vehicle before closing the hatch behind them and taking the driver's seat again. He then hit then changed gears and hit the accelerator as the MAKO started to head away from the catacombs.

"Jackson Prime to Defiant, do you read?" he asked as he drove up the empty streets of the colony.

"Hotrod here, you ready for pickup?" the pilot replied over the com.

"Yes, meet us at the EZ coordinates." the Prime replied, but then suddenly the MAKO started to slow down, earning a worried look from him.

"Why are we slowing?" Grimlock asked as Jack began to look at the diagnostic screen next to him, the wheels of the MAKO were flashing red.

"It says the wheels are damaged, but I don't see…." the Commander replied before he saw and Adjutant on the monitor showing the aft of the vehicle. It had fired it's bio-cannon at the wheels and it's acid had eaten through them. Then on the monitor for each side of the Alliance vehicle, more creatures appeared as they started to surround and climb on top of it.

"We have to get out and fight." the Dinobot stated, earning a nod from Flareup who agreed with him.

"No, that Acid they are using won't breach the MAKO and there are too many out there to fight." Jack replied.

"Then what do you suggest?" Chromia asked, giving the Prime a concerned look as did everyone else. Jack though activated his com link.

"Raf how is it coming with the database, found anything on the Adjutants yet?"

In the science lab, Raf and Tali were still working on the database as Garrus watched them.

"Jack, we are still trying to decrypt the rest of it." the scientist said as he adjusted his glasses.

"How long, because we are running short on time here." the Prime answered back, gaining a worried look from Tali as she looked over to Raf. He shook his head in return.

"We are working as fast as we can, but…"

Garrus then sighed before activating his com link.

"Jack I have an idea, if you will let me?" he said.

"Do it." came the response, and the Turian then left the room leaving both Tali and Raf confused.

PRIME EFFECT 3

In the darkened quarters, with nothing but the dim light from outside of the room's window to illuminate it. Petrovsky was sitting on his bed, holding his head in his hands as he contemplated what he was going to do. But then the door opened and flooded the room with light, nearly blinding him as he looked over to see the silhouette of a Turian standing in the doorway.

"What, but my information is correct yes?" he asked as he recognised Garrus.

"That all depends on what you tell me right now." the Turian replied as he stepped into the room and stopped in front of the MECH prisoner.

"I don't understand."

"How do we stop the Adjutants?" Garrus asked back, anger tinged his voice.

"I told you I don't know." Petrovsky answered, before being knocked down on to the bed by the Turian's fist.

"Wrong answer."

The former General cowered in fear of the Turian who stood over him.

"But I don't know."

Garrus then grabbed the prisoner's collar and yanked him up, their faces only inches apart.

"I know you are holding something back, now tell me or I will kill you now."

Petrovsky's eyes widened as his face started to sweat.

"Okay, okay. I know the code to deactivate the encryption on the database."

Garrus gritted his teeth before throwing the prisoner out of his room.

"Move it!" he growled as he left the room and pushed Petrovsky.

A moment later, both Tali and Raf watched in shock as the Turian pushed the MECH general down on seat facing the main console.

"Get on with it." he said with force as Petrovsky started to type on the holo-keyboard in front of him, stopping a few moments later.

"Garrus, how is the plan of yours? Because I don't know how much more of this we can take down here?" Jack's voice said over the com, Garrus looked down at the General.

"Why have you stopped?"

"This will take some time…" Petrovksy started to say before the Turian equipped his pistol and fired it into the wall (it is reinforced, so no hull breach), making the former general jump, then he pressed the hot barrel of the pistol against the prisoner's head. The heat burning the skin as it touched.

"Stop delaying, or the next bullet goes through your head." Garrus snapped at him. Tali then heard what sounded like running water and looked down to the bottom the seat that Petrovsky was sitting and gasped in disgust.

"Oh Keelah." she said as they all looked down at the small puddle of urine that formed around the chair and realised that the prisoner had pissed him self.

"Alright." he said back, his voice full of cold dread as he turned around and typed a series of commands into the console. Several seconds later and the encryption disappeared to reveal the database.

"Jack we got it." Raf answered as he stepped around the prisoner (making sure not to step in the urine) and began searching for the information. Garrus pushed Petrovsky out of his seat and onto the floor before pointing his pistol at him.

"If my friends die down there, then so will you."

Raf and Tali then both smiled.

"We have found the data on the Adjutants, they are controlled from a mobile array that would have to be in close proximity to wherever the Adjutants are being deployed."

Tali then activated her com link.

"Hotrod, run a sensor sweep of the area around the colony. Are there any anomalies present?"

After a moment.

"Yes, Teletraan is picking up a transmission from about a kilometre and a half outside of the colony, to its west." the pilot answered.

"Set a course and arm weapons." the Quarian replied.

"Aye, aye." Hotrod replied.

The MECH soldiers just stood and watched the horizon as they guarded the transmitter array, all while an engineer maintained it with his holo-tool.

"We should have heard from the recovery team by now." one soldier said.

"Quiet, just focus on your duty." the engineer replied as one of the other soldiers looked up to the sky.

"Err, can any of you see that?" he said while pointing up to the speck that was quickly getting larger as it closed in on them. The engineer then pulled out a pair of binoculars and looked up to the sky before freezing in place at what he could see.

"What is it?" the soldier nearest to him asked. But suddenly the Defiant fired four torpedoes at the site, destroying the shuttle and the transmission array in one go as the whole area became a smoldering crater. The Alliance frigate then leveled out and flew past before turning around. Just as it did, a survivor climbed up from behind some charred debris from the shuttle and looked up at the enemy ship before tapping his com link.

"This unit zero four. We need help, I repeat we need…." he said before several bullets shot through his chest spilling out blood as he fell to his knees and then face down on the ground. Standing behind him was the beaten and bruised form of Swoop who had his assault rifle in hand, he smiled and took a deep breath.

"That's for shooting me down you fragging piece of scrap."

The Dinobot then looked up to the Defiant which was hovering above and waved at them before activating his com link.

"Any chance of a lift for a fellow bot?" he asked cheekily.

Meanwhile the MAKO was now completely covered by the Adjutants which were beating down on it's hull as they tried to get through to it's occupants. Inside everyone was just waiting for the signal that Raf said was coming, a signal that they wouldn't miss. Jack himself was wondering what Garrus had done, he knew that it would involve Petrovsky but he hoped that his friend would have kept his cool still.

He looked around the small interior of the MAKO, he saw his love Arcee sitting close with Chromia while Flareup was holding on to a very confused but also… kinda happy Trailbreaker. Smokescreen was sitting next to Tap-Out, both bots looking rather nervous. But then the Prime's gaze fell on Grimlock and the big bot looked almost ready to explode as he looked up at the ceiling, obviously wanting to go outside and smash up some Adjutants. The Dinobot leader then gritted his teeth as the sounds of the monsters beating the hull from the outside was now to much for him to bear.

"Right that's it, I am going out there." he said angrily as Jack got up to meet him.

"Stay where you are, that is an order." the Prime said firmly as he stared at the bot who was much taller and stronger than himself.

"You may be a Prime Jack, but as of this moment you remind me more of Optimus. That is not a smart thing to do around me." the Dinobot replied coldly.

"I know you and Optimus have had your disagreements over the eons Grimlock, but I will be damned if I will defied by one who's rank is below mine." Jack replied.

Grimlock clenched his fists as he gritted his teeth, the Prime could see the anger almost exploding out of the Dinobot's eyes, but knew that he had to stand his ground. Meanwhile Arcee had slipped her hand down to her SMG and took it's safety off before slowly equipping it, she did not like the idea of attacking a comrade.

But Grimlock's anger issues were always not just a threat to the Decepticons during the war, but to the Autobots as well. Jack noticed this and subtly gestured with his lowered hand for her to stand down, she gave him a concerned look but then slowly nodded and holstered her weapon. But then suddenly the banging on the hull stopped and everyone looked around.

"What happened?"

Smokescreen asked before Jack looked at the monitors and saw that the Adjutants were lying on the ground, not moving at all. He then looked back to Arcee.

"Open the hatch." he said and the femme nodded back before walking over to the back of the vehicle and activating the control panel there. Outside the hatch opened and Grimlock jumped down to the ground with his sword ready, but was met by the sight of the entire horde lying dead on the ground.

"What in Primus?" he said as everyone else climbed out of the MAKO and looked around. Jack then tapped his com link.

"Raf, what happened?" he asked while Arcee looked at him.

"Jack, we have destroyed a MECH mobile base just outside of the colony. There signal array was 'controlling' the Adjutants. Take away the control and they don't move." the scientist replied.

"Good work up there. Alright pick us up and send a signal to the Alliance ships that will arrive soon." the Prime said just as the Defiant appeared over the colony.

Thirty minutes later the Defiant was back in orbit of Eden Prime, as the disabled MECH cruiser was still drifting just away from them. In the shuttle bay everyone was disembarking from the MAKO as Alliance engineers started work on repairing the damage it sustained on the planet's surface. Smokescreen offered to show Flareup, Trailbreaker and Tap-Out the rest of the ship, but Chromia decided to star with her sister as Arcee and Jack looked over the stasis pod. Meanwhile Grimlock looked around, like he had no idea what to do with himself.

"Am I glad to see you." a familiar voice called from behind him, making the big bot look to see Swoop exiting the elevator.

"Swoop!" Grimlock exclaimed as he walked over to his team mate, a big smile on his face.

"I thought you were dead." he said gaining a smile from the smaller dinobot.

"Hey you should know that I have become an expert at crash landings over the years, so this latest one was no problem." he replied, Swoop then looked around.

"So where are the others?"

Grimlock's face then saddened as he looked away for a second, this was all the other Dinobot needed to see to know that something bad had happened.

"Wait, but not all of them... right?"

"Slug, Snarl and Sludge all died with honor Swoop. They are with the Allspark now." Grimlock replied.

As the two bots talked Jack was looking over the black stasis pod. Arcee watched as her partner suddenly placed his hand on a section of the object, revealing a hidden control panel.

"Jack, you know what you are doing right?" she asked, earning a nod from the Prime.

"Remember when I told you that I was hit by energy that was released from the beacon down on Eden Prime three years ago." he said while tapping the control interface which was made up of green and blue glyphs, the femme nodded in return.

"Yes I remember."

"Well, it must have done more than just show me a vision of the reapers. Because I also know how to use certain technology of their's too. I just looked at this stasis pod and knew immediately how to operate it." he continued as he tapped the final code sequence into the pod which came to life with a deep humming noise. He and Arcee then stood back for a second as the pod released nitrogen gas out and opened up to reveal someone lying inside still asleep.

The Prime and his XO then got closer once the gas had evaporated and looked inside at it's occupant. He looked like the Cybertronians in their original bodies except for the fact that he was a similar height to their pretender forms. He was of a red and light brown colour scheme and had a metallic beard on his face plate. The Lithone then opened it's optics revealing them to be green as he looked up at the two partners. His optics then narrowed and his body glowed bright green before knocking them both off their feet. The Lithone then stood up and looked around angrily at his surroundings.

"Was that biotics?" Arcee asked as she recovered.

"I guess, but how do the Lithone possess that ability?" Jack asked as he got back to his feet, meanwhile a number of the Defiant's security officers arrived and aimed their weapons at the Lithone, who just stared at them with narrowed optics as he started to charge the biotic power in his fist.

"Wait, hold your fire." Jack called back as he again approached the Lithone, who then looked back at the Prime. He then held out his glowing fist, but before he could unleash the energy he suddenly fell out of the pod to the floor. Jack then went over to him and put his hand around the Lithone's arm to help him up, but suddenly felt a bolt of electricity pass between them, pushing him back.

"Jack are you alright?" Arcee asked with a concerned tone as Jack shook it off.

"Yeah I am okay." he replied as he looked back down to the Lithone.

"Has it been that long?" it asked, which made everyone in the room look back in surprise.

"Wait that was English, how did it?" one of the security officers asked out loud, before Jack gestured for them to leave.

"You understand us?" the Prime asked, gaining a nod from the Lithone.

"Yes, when you touched me, I read your biology and your memories. Has it really been one hundred thousand years?"

"Yes and as far as we can tell, you are the last surviving member of your species...they were destroyed by the Reapers." the Prime replied before the Lithone got to his feet.

"And now they have returned, tell me what is your name?"

"My name is Commander Jack Darby of the Human/Autobot Alliance, but I am also called Jackson Prime."

The Lithone's optics widened at the mention of that name.

"A Prime, my people had heard legends of the Primes. Tell me, is that great war still being fought by the Cybertronians?"

Arcee stepped forward toward him.

"No, the war ended some time ago. We now live in peace with our former Decepticon foes." the femme answered, making the Lithone look her up and down.

"When I last saw one of your kind, they were taller than this room."

"We had to give up our old forms when our energon supply ran out." Arcee replied.

"I see." he said back before looking back to Jack.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Kranix. I am one of the Lithone Science Academy."

Both Jack and Arcee's eyes widened in surprise at the mention of his name.

"Wait, you are Kranix. Creater of the 'Kranix matrix'?" Jack asked back, earning a nod from the Lithone.

"Yes, I was part of the team that was building a super weapon that would destroy the Reapers, my VI program was to be the last addition that would have made it operational. Unfortunately indoctrinated members of my people sabotaged it and the last hope of the Lithone died with it."

"Is it on your person or down on the planet where we found your stasis pod?" Jack asked eagerly, but Kranix shook his head.

"I am afraid not, you see the Reapers attacked this planet in the last days of my cycle. So I entered stasis in our underground bunker, but not before transmitting my matrix program to a colleague on one of our colony worlds."

"Which colony, do you have the coördinates?" the Prime replied, earning a nod from Kranix. The Commander then gestured the Lithone to a wall terminal where he typed the coordinates into it's holo-screen. The Teletraan appeared in its holo-form.

"Jackson Prime, I have analysed the data and it matches a planet in our database."

Both Arcee and Jack looked at the AI.

"Well which planet is it?" Arcee asked, before the Prime had a chance to.

"The planet is Thessia." the AI replied as the entire room went quiet, as the realisation of where they had to go dawned on them.

"Teletraan, get me Admiral Bryce right away. We need to speak with Councillor Tevos immediately." Jack said before the intercom activated.

"Prime, we have just received a n urgent broadcast from Alliance intelligence." Hotrod said.

"What is it?" the Prime asked back as the pilot took a breath before answering.

"The Reapers are starting to attack the other races and they have begun with the Asari home world, 'Thessia'."