FicWad

A Terracon stood at his post on the bridge of the Icarus while his brethren worked around him, manning the other stations such as engineering, security and helm. He himself was working at Communications and so far the Predacon soldier was having a busy day, since he had been relaying messages between the other ships in their growing armada as they were being sent to different coordinates in and around the Sol system, and even though their Lord Galvatron would not come out and say it. The troops could see that he was planning something big, and the Predacon Leader was barely holding back any of their forces from whatever it was. A loud beeping sound began ringing out from the communication station's holo-interface, so the Terracon tapped a finger against the flashing button titled 'Incoming transmission'.

"What is the safe word." the soldier spoke into his com-link.

Terrorise!" the female voice replied as the minion's holo-screen brought up an image and matching voice pattern, with the name Rip-Claw alongside it.

"That is confirmed Commander Rip-Claw." the Terracon said back.

"Put me through to Lord Galvatron immediately." the Femme snapped, gaining a fast and fearful movement from the minion as he went about contacting the Predacon Leader. But before he did so, Galvatron entered the bridge, gaining the attention of every Terracon there and immediately making them nervous. This was a usual reaction to the Predacon Leader but more recently, it has been because Galvatron has been acting a little erratic. He has been looking around and glaring at nothing in particular, almost like he can see something that the others can not. Galvatron then looked directly at the Comms-Terracon, his red eyes narrowing as the minion stared back like deer caught in car headlights.

"What are you staring at?" he barked, making the Terracon even more nervous and fearful.

"I...have Rip-Claw on the line...Lord Galvatron."

The Predacon Leader walked up behind the Comms-Terracon and looked at his screen.

"Rip-Claw report."

Galvatron's voice came through on the femme's com-link as she stood in front of the final blast door between herself and the Command Tower's CIC. She had calmed down since her fight with Quickstrike and had reverted to normal look.

"Rip-Claw report."

"Lord Galvatron, we are about to take the CIC and gain full control of the Communications Hub." Rip-Claw replied with the sounds of plasma torches burning could be heard around her.

"Excellent work Rip-Claw, keep me apprised on your progress." the Predacon Leader said back.

"Yes my Lord, Rip-Claw out." the femme replied before ending the transmission. Galvatron then looked at the Terracon in front of him, his shadow cast over the nervous minion.

"Inform me immediately when Rip-Claw is back online."

"Y..ye...yes lord Galvatron." the Terracon stammered, earning an eye roll from the Predacon Leader as he turned around, only for him to stop in his tracks with his eyes widening as Megatron stood in front of him, looking around the room before sighing.

"The more things change, the more they stay the same." he said while watching the Terracons working, not unlike the way the Vehicons used to, but there was something missing from their behavior. Galvatron though did not want to cause a scene that should make his troops question him, so he simply gritted his teeth as he attempted to ignore the hallucination and walk past him.

"Pity the Terracons do not fear you in the same way my troops feared me, perhaps they can sense that you are simply a copy of a greater Cybertronian." Megatron added with a sly grin, showing off his sharp teeth. But even though Galvatron could feel his spark burning with the desire to rip this ghost apart with his bare hands, he instead just took a deep breath and carried on walking to the exit while leaving a perplexed and disappointed Megatron standing there on his own.

"Come now Galvatron, it is no fun if you don't argue back." he jokingly pleaded, before following the Predacon Leader out of the room.

Meanwhile back in Omicron City, inside the soon to be breached CIC. Blaster and his men were preparing for what was likely to be their final fight, for they knew from what they had seen previously that all of their forces outside of the tower were now dead, and the city was now under their control. Blaster loaded up his rifle before turning his attention to his comms-officer.

"Still no luck breaking the jammers?" he asked, earning a worried look from the Krogan as he shook his head in return.

"No sir, everything I have tried just has not been enough to cut through all that noise that the enemy has been bombarding our comms with ever since they began their attack."

The Commander then joined the Krogan at his station and handed him a shotgun.

"Here, take this and help the others over there. I am going to try something that worked back during the War for Cybertron."

The Krogan nodded and went over to the makeshift cover that the others were preparing near the blast door that was currently being cut through by the enemy. Blaster then began typing onto the holo-keyboard as he looked at the Interface's screen, making the power levels for Hub's transmitter array go through the roof while one of his team noticed and watched him.

"Sir, why are you overloading the array?" the Salarian asked, gaining the Commander's attention.

"It's not what you think. During the Cybertronian War, the Decepticons would jam all of our comms during an attack so that we should be unable to call for backup or warn the others. But we found that if we gave the transmission a large enough boost of power, it could break through the jamming and be heard by the other Autobots."

"Well sir I hope it works because whoever this enemy is, they are nearly through the last blast door." the Salarian replied while pointing over to said door, which the Commander could see was beginning to come off it's hinges as they were being burnt away, so the Autobot returned his attention to the comms terminal.

Once he was happy with the level of power going into the array, Blaster then started to record his message.

"Jackson Prime do you read, an unknown force is blitzing Omicron City. We are really taking a pounding, don't know how much longer we can hold out."

Suddenly as he finished the message and pressed the send button, the blast door was suddenly broken off it's melted hinges and fell to the ground with a loud clang before weapons fire flooded the room and the Terracons moved in. Blaster shot two of them directly in their chests while taking cover behind the communication station, but as both sides exchanged fire, the Commander could see that his men really couldn't last long against this kind of pressure. Every time that an enemy soldier was killed, two of the Autobots were taken down in response.

After another moment of fighting passed, a Female soldier in light blue and red armour entered the fight alongside the enemy soldiers and she looked almost possessed in the way she fought. For it seemed she liked getting up close and cutting down Autobots with her holo-blades, a big smile on her face the whole time as she continued to slice and dice her way through their numbers while her soldiers supported her with covering fire.

Blaster then spotted the Salarian from a few minutes ago, as he was cowering behind one of the terminals. He looked like he had just given up as he sat there, his expression one of fear while his gun lied on the floor next to him. Unbeknownst to the scared Salarian, the female soldier was almost upon him. So Blaster got up from his cover and fired at the Female as his men continued to die around him, the enemy soldier dived behind cover herself as the Terracons began firing at the Autobot. Blaster though kept his cool and shot a number of the enemies as he moved between cover, making his way to the Salarian who seemed oblivious to the whole situation as he sat their with his head in his hands. Blaster continued to fire at the enemies and the female soldier, ensuring that she stayed where she was as he made it to the Salarian.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god." he kept whispering frantically as the Commander knelt next to him before shooting one enemy in the face who was getting to close.

"Come on soldier, we need to move." Blaster said, but the scared Salarian just ignored him.

"I know your scared, but you did sign up for this. So get it together and fight." the Commander continued, but it still fell on deaf ears. So the Autobot then slapped the Salarian's face, making the soldier look back at him in shock.

"Pull yourself together because I need your help, now follow my lead." Blaster said back in a firm and commanding tone, one that the Salarian quickly nodded at him and started to get up into a kneeling position as he picked up his gun, when suddenly he jerked as the tip of a holo-blade burst through his chest. The bot's eyes widened as the Salarian looked at him in horror before dying there and then, as blood began to pour out of the wound. Before Blaster could do anything, the blade was pulled back out of the now dead soldier and the Female enemy stood up from behind the station and smiled at the Autobot.

"I don't know why I am wasting my time asking this, perhaps it is my Sister's constant nagging. But I suppose it might be too much for you to surrender now, since your men are all dead...please tell your not considering it?" she asked as she raised her arm and showed him the still active holo-blade, with the Salarian's blood dripping of it's tip. Blaster's eyes narrowed as he stared at the blade and then back at then Female, who looked at him with an evil smirk.

"I take that as a no then, good." she replied before the Bot lunged at her with the butt of his rifle. But the Female was far quicker than he and dodged Blaster's attack before slicing into his back with her blade, not too deeply but just enough to cut through his armour and draw blood. He grimaced in pain before turning back to his opponent, who's smile was even bigger now that she had his blood staining her holo-blade. She was definitely taking pleasure out of this and this only made the Autobot even more angry and determined to take her down, though what had not gone unnoticed by the Bot was the fact that the other soldiers had not engaged him at all since the Female got involved physically with him, so she must be their Leader.

'So all I have to do is beat this bitch and that should give me the upper hand against these assholes.' Blaster thought as he raised his hand to the female Fnd beckoned her over to him in a sarcastic way.

"Come on sweetheart, lets dance." he said, earning a dagger like stare from his opponent. She then swung her blade at him and he stepped to the side, leaving her exposed to attack and he replied by punching the female in the side, making Rip-Claw grunt as she staggered to the left slightly.

"How'd you like that?" Blaster asked as the Predacon looked up at him, making the Bot look down at the emblem on her armour which made his eyes widen in disbelief.

'Impossible, that just can't be.' he thought as he recognised the symbol from his understanding of his former home world's history.

"You're a Predacon, but…." the Autobot said, earning a knowing look from the Femme who took this as an opportunity and attacked him while he was distracted. Rip-Claw lunged at him with an uppercut that knocked him backwards as it connected with his jaw, making him stagger backwards as she recovered and then swung her holo-blade which made contact with Blaster's chest plate and cut right through it, spurting out blood over his armour as he fell back onto his back with the Femme now standing over him. The Autobot then caught sight of his rifle just to his left as Rip-Claw moved closer to him, her shadow slowing covering his entire body. So he tried to reach for it, his fingers straining to touch at it's metal grip, but then he screamed out loud as the Predacon drove her blade right through his wrist, his blood spilling out into a puddle around his hand and arm.

"Now, now. I am not using a gun so why should you be allowed to, Autobot." she said with a smile while looking down at Blaster, who then rolled onto his side and held on to his arm which continued to bleed out. The Femme just chuckled before looking around the room to see only dead Autobots of varying species laying at the feet of her Terracons, so she tapped her com-link.

"Get me Lord Galvatron." she said, waiting a few seconds before the commanding voice of her Leader could be heard.

"Rip-Claw, report." he replied.

"Omircon City and the Autobot Communications Hub is ours my Lord, just waiting on Shockblast's program to be downloaded to my holo-tool so we can disable the Autobot's galaxy wide communication network. Which will allow you to attack any world in the Federation." she then said coldly, making Blaster's eyes widen as he heard her speak those words and so desperately grabbed at her legs.

"NO!" he shouted, gaining her attention.

"You still not dead yet?" she asked sarcastically before pulling her pistol out of it's holster and aiming it at the Bot's head.

"I can correct that." she added before firing three shots into Blaster's face, killing the Autobot once and for all as the bullets went clean through, leaving a splatter of blood on the ground underneath.

"What was that?" Galvatron asked, wondering what had just happened.

"Just executing an Autobot my Lord, so when can we expect the program?" Rip-Claw replied casually.

"I will get Shockblast to send it now, good work Rip-Claw. I am certainly proud of your accomplishments this day, because you and the crew of the Achilles have ensured that our plans now have more than a sliver's chance of success."

"Thank you Lord Galvatron. Also I thought you would like to know that we should have a number of Autobot Prisoners too, I'll have Ser-Ket see to their imprisonment after she has dealt with an Autobot we captured." the Femme replied with a sense of pride in her voice.

"Good, make sure to gain as much Intel as you can from them, but as of right now I want you to not only disable the Communications Hub, but also to strike out at the other cities on the planet and make Omicron Colony an 'Alpha site' for our forces. Just on the off chance that the Autobots attempt to come to Cybertron again." the Predacon leader said, earning a nod from the Femme.

"Don't want to keep all your energon in one tank?"

"Yes, so I will not hold you back from your duties any further Rip-Claw. Galvatron out."

As the com-link deactivated, Rip-Claw turned to the other Terracons and gave them a stern look.

"Alright, lets get to work."

PRIME EFFECT 4

Meanwhile the Normandy was flying at hyper-speed as it flew towards the nearest Space-bridge, so that that Liara T'Soni could be returned to her mother on Thessia. On board the Autobot frigate, inside the briefing room, Rodimus, Orion, Liara, Nightracer, Shen and Red-Alert were sitting around the large table as holo-orb of blue light was being emitted from it's center. The Asari had been going through what had happened when the Icarus had landed on Cybertron a month previously, and everyone listened intently as she spoke.

Liara had recollected her team's finding of the labs that belonged to the Decepticon Shockwave, how they found and awakened the one who called himself Galvatron and how he killed everyone around her. And also how he had changed and brainwashed her then-boyfriend Shockblast and his brother Six-shot and with their help took control of the Icarus and slaughtered everyone else. When the Asari had finished speaking, she went quiet and just stared down at the table in front of her, before taking a sip from her glass of water. Orion hadn't taken his eyes off of her for the entirety of her debriefing and now seeing her sink back into her chair like this, he guessed that having to remember such stained memories had been a lot for her to process. The Bot wanted nothing more than to place a hand on her shoulder and tell her it would be alright, but then again that would have been a lie. For how could it be alright for Liara who had watched as the man she had loved being 'reformatted' and made to believe that she and everyone around her were now his enemies.

During her description of those events, Nightracer had asked if it was at all possible that what had been done to the brothers could very well be reversed. But Liara simply replied that she thought it would not be possible, since she believed that there was no longer any part of her Lover left in his spark, because for one thing…Shockblast certainly had no qualms about killing her, for he did not remember or even recognise her. And as she spoke those words, Orion could see how much that had hurt Liara inside, even if she did try to hide it behind a professionalism that the Asari were well known for having due to their long life-spans.

But this also confused the Bot because since he had met the Asari, he had sworn that there was a slither of a connection between them. And now, having found out about her relationship with Shockblast, had felt guilty for slowly pushing that connection further. But the Spectre was brought out of his thoughts as Rodimus began to speak.

"Liara, thank you for telling us everything that had happened on Cybertron. And I am very sorry for your loss, I believe everyone here will agree with me that this 'Galvatron' will be made to pay for what he did to Shockblast, his Brother and the entire crew of the Icarus."

Everyone around the Asari nodded in agreement as Liara looked back at Commander with a curious look.

"So when do we go back?" she asked suddenly with a rather resolute expression that gained a confused stare from Rodimus.

"Go back?"

"To Cybertron of course, Galvatron and the 'others' have had the run of place for over a month now. Who knows what they are up too." Liara replied, and honestly what she just said did make a lot of sense with Orion right now, because with what he had just learnt about this Man during this debriefing. It certainly felt like something that they needed to get on with right away.

"I have to second that, we should check this out." the Bot said, earning a slight smile from the Asari at his backing of her idea. Orion returned the smile and then looked around at his friends and they too looked like they would be in favor, but Rodimus was not going for it as he looked between both Orion and Liara with a stern expression.

"Well while I can appreciate your opinion on this Orion, but perhaps you are forgetting that we have orders that we must complete first, which is to return Dr T'Soni to her mother back on Thessia…" the Commander said before Orion cut him off.

"But we are Autobot Spectres, I thought that gave us some leeway in the 'orders' department?"

"I think you have this version of the Spectres confused with the originals. You know, the chaotic ones that did whatever they wanted to get the job done. Making the need for a more controlled Spectres not only a requirement…..but a necessity."

"So we are to just sit here with our backsides firmly on our hands and wait, as Galvatron carries on with whatever the hell it is that he is doing. I mean what about the Autobot/Federation ships that have been going missing this past month, I somehow doubt having heard what Liara has just told us makes those events just a big coincidence."

As Orion and Rodimus carried on arguing, Liara turned to Shen with a curious expression.

"What does he mean 'missing ships'?"

The Turian managed to look away from his best friend clashing heads with their Leader and turn his attention to the Asari sitting to his left.

"Over the past month a large number of light cruisers, transports and civilian ships have gone missing in the sector that borders with the Terminus systems that we all know are controlled by the Omega Syndicate. And with what you said to us, I do have to agree with Orion as that sector does also border with the one that Cybertron is located in."

As they talked, Nightracer looked over to them.

"What you guys talking about?" she asked and just as the Turian was about to answer, the argument between Orion and Rodimus heated up.

"It's not your place to tell me what our job is Orion." Rodimus spat.

The young Bot crossed his arms at that response.

"Really, is that so. Because I thought that as I am now your XO, that it is in my job description to give you my view and advise you."

Rodimus felt a smile trying to break through the stern expression he was trying to keep in front of his team, for the Commander knew Orion was right about that and it gave him a proud feeling to see the young Bot taking the role he had been given seriously. So the older Bot took a deep breath before speaking.

"Alright, you have me there. Look the best I can do is talk to Command and see what they want to do first. So while I am doing that, if you Orion could handle Liara's accommodations while she is on board as it will still be several hours until we reach the space bridge. That should be enough time for us to know what to do next."

Orion nodded back with a slight smile, knowing that was the best that they could get with the current situation as the Commander looked at Shen, Nightracer and Red-Alert who had been quiet and observing during the whole debriefing.

"Alright then, everyone dismissed." Rodimus said before everyone left the room, leaving the Commander there on his own. Orion and Liara walked towards the elevator while the others decided to stay in the CIC and talk, so he opened the elevator's door and let the Asari enter first before following her in and pressed for their desired floor on the control panel. And as the elevator descended to the floor below, both Bot and Asari said nothing as the atmosphere felt somewhat tense. Liara looked over to Orion and was about to say something when the elevator stopped at the crew deck, it's doors sliding open to reveal crewmen walking about the corridors.

"If you will follow me." the Bot said back as he walked onto the deck, followed closely by Liara as they walked down the corridor and stopped outside one of the connecting doors.

"Here we are." he added as he opened the door, which allowed the pair to enter the room which had basic furniture, cupboards and a large bed. The Asari looked around the room as Orion stood by and watched her.

"I hope this is alright?" he asked with a distracted tone, making Liara look back at him and nod in return.

"Yes, this will be fine."

So the Bot nodded back and was about to leave when his name was called.

"Orion, what's wrong?" the Asari asked, earning his attention as be stopped and looked back at her.

"Liara...I am really sorry about your 'friends'." he replied, which made the blue woman look at him in surprise and confusion.

"What this Galvatron did to them was beyond terrible." he added as she remained quiet and listened.

'Well this is now awkward.' he thought as it went very quiet between them both. But now that he knew that Liara had somebody else who was special to her, the Bot wanted to know more. Though he knew going down this path was as far from the one that he thought the two of them were heading originally.

"Yes, it truly was." Liara replied as she looked down to the floor, a sombre expression on her face.

"So Shockblast must have been a hell of a guy?" Orion asked, catching her off guard again.

"What do you mean?"

The blue haired Bot gave her a slight smile in return.

"Because you chose him, that's why. I doubt there are many men that could be that lucky."

The Asari smiled on the inside as she looked back to the ground.

'Orion, your quite the smooth talker.' she thought.

"Thank you, he was too." the Asari replied with a smile which then soon faded as she continued.

"But he is gone now."

"Are you sure? I mean like Nightracer said..." Orion started to say, but only for Liara to cut him off.

"He is gone Orion, Galvatron killed him. So the Shockblast that I knew died that day, but I will always remember him. But I am not going to let his death dictate my life from here on in."

Orion looked at her with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious to find out her meaning.

"You remember what I said about me being solitary and how the Reaper War changed that when I made friends with those I served with."

The Bot nodded as he listened intently.

"Well I also lost them to the Reapers, I mean who didn't. But unlike many who would let such losses cripple them, I decided that I would honor their memory by remembering the good in them while in turn, not allowing the grief of their loss control my life and it's direction." Liara added before looking Orion in the eye.

"And so I will do the same with Shockblast."

"Do you love him?" the Bot then asked.

"I thought I did but considering everything that happened, I guess I was wrong." the Asari replied as she looked away from Orion.

"I see." he said back, as he thought on everything she had just told him. The Bot had felt that there was a connection between the two of them since meeting the Asari back on Illium, but then hearing about Shockblast had made Orion feel guilty with how their new friendship was progressing. And though hearing Liara talk like this had helped, the Bot started to feel that he should give her some space, so he began to move back to the door when the Asari looked over to him.

"Your going,? I thought we could talk more." she asked with a look of surprise.

"I would like that." he said back, gaining a smile from Liara.

"As would I." she replied as she sat down on the couch, so Orion turned away from the door and was about to sit with her when suddenly the intercom activated.

"Orion Darby, I need you in the Comms room now." Rodimus's voice spoke, earning a sigh from the Bot.

"I have to go and see what he wants." Orion said while looking down at Liara before he then turned around and headed for the door, but she simply gave him a slight smile in return as he got to the door and looked back.

"I know, can I see you after?" she asked with a slither of hope in her voice, earning a smile from the Bot as he opened the door.

"Definitely." he said before walking out of the room, feeling much better as he thought to himself.

'Yeah, the connection is still there.'

A minute or so later and Orion entered the Comms room to find the Commander standing next to the holo-emitter and typing on control terminal.

"What's wrong Rodimus?" the bot asked as he stood beside the Commander who looked up at him with a worried expression.

"I was just about to transmit the information that Dr T'Soni had given us to Jackson Prime, when I found that our connection to the comms network is down. We can't contact any Autobot Ship, Outpost or Colony in the Galaxy."

Orion's eyes widened at that comment as the repercussions of this dawned on both Men.

Meanwhile on board the Icarus, one of the Terracons activated the comms terminal and the face of Galvatron appeared on the screen.

"Lord Galvatron, all ships are in position and Commander Rip-Claw reports that Shockblast's program has disabled all parts of the Autobot Communication Network. No one on their side will be able to notice that anything is wrong until it is too late, and so we have the all clear to proceed."

An evil smile grew on the Predacon Leader's face as he listened to the minion.

"Excellent, then lets get on with it."

PRIME EFFECT 4

It had been a bright sunny day, with barely a cloud in the sky over the ISF capital of New Iacon as the celebrations that began first thing in the morning had yet to let up. And now as a blue sky had given way to that of dusk with the sun descending to the horizon. The entire city was still buzzing with a happy and excited atmosphere as everyone was enjoying the countless firework displays and other festivities that had been organised, not only in New Iacon but all over the Earth and the rest of the Federation.

In Iacon's city centre, which on a normal day was a busy hub of commerce for the whole ISF had become even more busy now due to the celebrations as Arcee, Chromia and Ironhide walked down the main street and looked at the numerous food stands and stalls that were on site for the festivities. The three of them came across a stall that had several funny mirrors of which had kids laughing at their altered images as they stood in front of them, Arcee walked over to one of the normal ones and looked at the image of herself which was reflected back at her.

She was wearing a light blue dress that hung off her still athletic figure, her blue hair which now had a small amount of silver mixed in had been cut into a smart pixie cut style. For a Femme who was now approaching her sixties, Arcee still had the look of a Woman in her late forties….which was damn good for someone of her age. If anything that the eons of fighting had taught her, it was how to take care of her body.

But as she stood there with everyone else around her caught up in the happy and fun atmosphere of the Anniversary celebrations, she felt somewhat apart from it. Meanwhile Chromia was nearly choking on her drink as she laughed at Ironhide who was posing in front of one of the funny mirrors, which showed him with a massive pear shaped gut which was in the complete opposite of his bulked up frame. But then the younger Femme noticed her Sister just staring blankly at herself in the other mirror and walked over to her, placing a hand on her shoulder which brought the blue haired older Woman out of her thoughts.

"Sis, what's wrong? You've been quiet nearly all day."

Arcee sighed as she looked back to her younger sister and gave her a half-hearted smile.

"I'm alright, I just thought Jack would have been here by now."

"I guess he has been held back by work again?" Chromia replied.

"Looks that way, we don't get to see each other as much as we like anymore." the older Femme said as Ironhide joined them.

"Everything alright?" he asked as Chromia turned to him and smiled.

"Yeah honey, could you do me a favor and get us both one of those sea salt ice creams from the vendor over there?" she asked while pointing over to the ice-cream seller across the way from them. The Bot shook his head gently before giving his spark-mate a loving smile.

"You and your sweet tooth, okay I'll be back in a moment love." he replied before heading over to join the queue leading to the vendor. Chromia then took this moment for Arcee and herself to sit down at one of the tables that were outside one of the many coffee shops that could be found in the city.

"How are things between you and Jack? No troubles other than the obvious?" she asked.

"Other than the fact that we hardly see each other...no, everything else has been great between us. We still love each other as much as we did over two decades ago, there is no problem there. Its just I thought that as we are now getting older and Orion is doing his own things, that we would get more time for each other..." Arcee replied while looking ahead and seeing another couple walking down the street hand in hand, admiring the attractions.

"...But it seems Jack's work wont give us that time." she added.

"Still no sign of someone new to take over the Matrix, sure is taking it's time huh." Chromia replied, but the older Sister did not respond to this, instead just looking away and thinking some more. Because if what Jack had told Arcee several years ago was true, there was someone who could bear that mantle. But that person was still not ready apparently, though she could not blame that person if it was true, because to be a Prime was a huge responsibility.

"Well I am glad that there are no other problems between you and Jack, so how is Orion doing?" Chromia asked, snapping Arcee out of her thoughts again.

"Orion? Last I heard from him, he had been doing well with his work as a Spectre."

"Orion...a Spectre, wow. You and Jack must be proud of him." the younger Femme replied.

"Yes I certainly am, but Jack though..." Arcee began to say before looking away, earning a surprised expression from Chromia.

"Don't tell me the pair of them are still not talking, how many years has it been?"

"It's been several years Chromia, and it is complicated." the blue haired Woman replied.

"Well if something like this happened between Ironhide and Quickstrike, then I would just lock both of them in a room and not let either out until they buried the hatchet." her Sister replied, gaining a knowing look from Arcee.

"It's not that simple Chromia, the most important men in my life are both very stubborn when it comes to this."

This earned a slight smile from Chromia.

"Well Orion gets that stubbornness from you Sis, but when did Jack become that way. I always thought it would be Jack playing intermediate between you and Orion. I remember you telling me about the time Optimus lost his memories and thought he was Decepticon, the rest of you had become argumentative and disgruntled with the loss of the Prime. But Jack kept a cool head and stopped the rest of you from losing yourselves completely."

As she remembered that time, a smile grew on Arcee's face.

"I remember." she replied, earning a supportive smile from Chromia.

"Everything does work out in the end Arcee, believe me." she said back, gaining a nod from her older Sister. Then as both Femmes began to relax and look around as the festivities continued, Ironhide returned with a pair of ice creams.

"Now that is what I am talking about." the big Bot said as he saw Arcee smiling.

"Thought I would never see you smile today Cee. And yours is one that should always be around." he said while passing a ice creams to the pair, earning a scowl from Chromia.

"And what about mine?" she asked while trying to sound hurt, thus making the Bot feel guilty.

"Yours is beautiful love, I am just saying that Arcee shouldn't hide hers...that's all." Ironhide replied.

"Don't 'that's all' me." the younger Femme said back as she hit him on the arm, earning a chuckle from Arcee which gained both their attention.

"What?" they asked in unison.

"Nothing...it's just you two are 'cute' when you argue." the older Femme replied while still slightly chuckling. The couple then looked back at each other and smiled as Chromia placed her hand affectionately in Ironhide's on the table.

"Well, Ironhide is really a big softy at spark." The younger Sister said affectionately, making the big Bot spit out the drink he was just taking a sip of.

"Don't say that out loud..." he said before wiping his mouth.

"...I have a rep to maintain." he finished as both Femmes burst out laughing. Then as things calmed down, the three of them just enjoyed the cool evening breeze that was passing through the streets of the Capital as celebrations continued around them. Suddenly Arcee's holo-tool activated and the Femme opened up a message on it's interface and read it, with a big smile appearing on her face as she did.

"Looks like someone got some good news." Ironhide observed, earning a smile from Chromia as she smiled back.

"Jack has finished and is on his way." the older Sister replied as she sent back a reply.

"So how long till he is here?" the big Bot replied.

"Should be about fifteen minutes, so how is everything with Quickstrike?" Arcee asked as they sat there, enjoying the ice cream and drinks.

Meanwhile on the edge of the system, the Autobot cruiser 'Ultra Magnus' was on patrol around the space bridge which suddenly activated as a giant green vortex expanded in all directions from the device. On the Magnus's bridge, the Salarian Commander looked on as his crew worked around him at their respective stations.

"Unscheduled space bridge activation." one of crew spoke as the Commander kept his attention on the screen.

"Contact Jackson Prime and inform him of what..." he started to say before a star-ship flew out of the vortex and into the system, gaining the attention of the Commander and his crew. The star-ship looked like it had been in one hell of a fight, as the hull was covered in hull breaches and burns while smoke billowed out of the most heavily damaged sections. The damage was that heavy that the ship's name could not be identified, as the Ultra Magnus came up alongside the moving wreck.

"This is Commander Malarus of the Autobot cruiser 'Ultra Magnus', can we give you assistance?" the Salarian said, but the only response was static over the comms.

"Could their communications be out too?" he then asked the Turian to his left.

"It is possible sir, but the sensors are having a hard time with all the radiation that is being emitted from the ship's leaking reactor. The only thing I can pick up is the Autobot IFF." he replied before noticing something on the holo-screen in front of him.

"Sir, I am detecting a power build up from their Hyper-drive."

The Commander gave him a confused look as he looked between the Turian and the viewscreen.

"How is that possi..."

But before the Salarian could finish his words, the heavily damaged ship suddenly jumped to hyper-speed, leaving them alone on the edge of the system again. The bridge crew all looked completely dumbstruck before Malarus looked over to his comm officer.

"Have you managed to get through to Jackson Prime?"

"No sir..." the Human Female replied while inputting commands into the holo-interface of her station.

"...I have tried three times, but all I am getting is static..." she said before her eyes went wide in shock at what she saw."

"What is it Ensign?" the Commander replied after seeing her expression.

"Sir...if I am reading this right, the entire Communication network is offline. We can not contact any vessel unless we use our short range ship to ship transmitter." she said back, earning a worried look from the Commander who then turned his attention to the Asari piloting the cruiser.

"Get us to Earth now!"

Meanwhile Jackson Prime and his team mates were sent flying off their seats and onto the floor of the shuttle they were in, as the pilot was made to veer the small vessel to the right suddenly.

"What the hell was that?" Smokescreen asked as the Bot picked himself up from the floor and held on to the hand holds over head, while noticing Grunt and Garrus both doing the same.

"Sorry Smoke, I was too busy getting up close and personal with a bulkhead. So I can't answer that question." Garrus replied as he put a hand to the large bruise that was on his face right now.

"I hate shuttles, did everyone know that." the Krogan replied coldly as Jack was already at the pilot's side.

"Ensign report." he said as the young Man at the helm of the shuttle kept his attention on his flying.

"Sorry sir, but I didn't get a chance to warn you. Since this cruiser just jumped in directly behind us at high speed. I had to take evasive manoeuvres to ensure we didn't get crushed."

"No, that was good flying Ensign. But where did it come from?" Jack asked while looking out of the cockpit's canopu at the large ship that was directly between Earth and themselves.

"No idea sir, as far as I remember no ship is allowed to use their Hyper-drive while inside the Sol system, and certainly not this close to Earth." The Pilot said as they both watched it getting closer to the blue planet.

"Hail them." the Prime replied.

"I have been trying Sir, with no success."

"Well it looks like the ship is out of control, any idea where on the planet it will crash land?" Jack asked as Garrus and the others got up behind him and listened to the pair.

"According to it's trajectory and velocity, it will impact….oh my god!" the Pilot said with a wide eyed expression as the Prime looked down at the holo-screen and saw the coordinates on the planet, his expression matching the pilot's as Garrus looked at the screen from over his friend's shoulder.

"New Iacon…what about all the people down there?" he said while both Grunt and Smokescreen looked on in shock and worry as the damaged cruiser began to pull away from them. Jack immediately tapped his com-link.

"This is Jackson Prime to anyone in the Decagon, come in please….anyone?" he said in a panicked tone, but the only reply he received was static. The Pilot then tried his own comms terminal, but had the same response.

"Looks like the Autobot communication network is down." he replied, making the Prime look at him in an even more surprised expression.

"Impossible, the system was designed by Raf and Blaster with multiple fail-safes to ensure it never goes down. Switch to standard comms and get me Decagon control." he said, making the Pilot work extremely fast as he typed on the holo-controls in front of him.

"There you go sir, I have them." he replied before another voice could be heard on the speaker.

"Decagon control here."

"This is Jackson Prime, you have to begin evacuating the city immediately because there is an out of control ship on a collision course with the Capital." the Prime said in a commanding and alert tone, as the voice's tone on the speaker became more panicked.

"Yes sir, beginning evacuation procedures right away. How long do we have?" the Decagon control asked in a hurried way, making Jack and the Pilot look out of the shuttle's canopy at the ship which just began to enter Earth's atmosphere as it's very front started to heat up to white hot temperatures.

"A few minutes at best." the Prime replied grimly.

"Very well, Control out." the voice said before cutting out, which made Jack turn his attention to the Pilot once more.

"Get us down there as fast as you can."

PRIME EFFECT 4

Acree was finally starting to enjoy herself now as she sat with her Sister and her Sister's Spark-mate and watched as a parade was being marched down the street connected to the one they were currently residing. It had large balloon like animals which were roughly the same size as their old Cybertronian bodies used to be, with each one connected to a float that had performers standing on them in funny looking costumes. But even if the Femmes and Bot found this a little funny to watch, the families who there in the crowds around the parade, especially the children were loving it as they waved and cheered back to the costumed performers. But suddenly a deafening sound of an evacuation siren blared out around the city as shuttles began flying in and landing amongst the crows and multiple ground-bridge vortexs opened all over the city.

"What in the Allspark is going on?" Ironhide asked as he and the Sisters got up and watched as everyone around them began panicking, while Autobots stepped off the shuttles and began herding the frightened civilians into them and through the ground-bridges at a hurried pace.

But suddenly a sonic boom echoed throughout the sky like thunder during a storm, which gained the attention of all who were present. They looked up to see a dark looking object in the sky which was descending toward their location at a frightening speed, and for several seconds nobody moved as they simply watched in shock and fear as the object was getting closer. Ironhide started to move first, taking the hands of both Chromia and Arcee in his own.

"Lets go, have to get you to one the ground-bridges." he said as the femmes nodded as they began to move in the opposite direction to where everyone was looking, trying to push their way through the crowds.

"What you standing around for...move!" Arcee shouted at the rest, who simply stood still and stared up at the object.

'Why don't they move? Why do they just watch?' she thought as a few began to think like the Bot and Femmes, heading for the shuttles and vortexes as the Autobots there continued to move the civilians closest into them. Ironhide looked ahead to see that the closest vortex or shuttle was right down the street from their location, so he glanced back to see the large and heavily damaged cruiser very clearly in the sky as it plummeted towards them. In fact it was so close now that you could hear it's engines roaring as it closed in. And it was now that more and more civilians began to move away while some still watched, like deer caught in a car's headlights.

From where they were, the ship suddenly disappeared behind the many tall buildings and skyscrapers. But suddenly what felt like an earthquake shook the very foundations that Iacon was built on as the cruiser hit the ground and crashed into the first buildings before it, demolishing them in an instant while crushing anyone who were still in it's way. The cruiser though did not stop as it's momentum carried it on into the city as the shuttles began to take off with as many people as they could carry, but only a few managed to escape as others were destroyed by the cruiser as it ran into them.

The three Cybertronians ran as fast as they could, while hearing the destruction behind them getting closer and closer. But despite this disaster happening around them, the former Autobots kept themselves from falling into the abyss of panic and fear as they focused on one thing, the bright green vortex just ahead of them. But then the cruiser burst through the wall of buildings behind them and closed in on the trio and the others running around them, this made Ironhide look back as he felt the ship's shadow being cast on them and notice another alleyway on his left.

"This way!" he shouted as the group turned left and ran down the alleyway just in time to miss the cruiser which carried on past and continued to mow everyone else down. But the alleyway became unstable as the cruiser had clipped the tops of the skyscrapers currently around the trio, which rained down rubble on them as they ran down the narrow street. The sound of the cruiser's continuing crash landing sounded some ways away as it had cut a path of of destruction right across the busy Capital's centre, but it was replaced by the sounds of cracking and supports breaking and the big Bot realised that the buildings around the three of them were about to collapse. But he saw what looked like a reinforced archway just outside of the small street around them and pointed at it as they ran.

"Head for that archway!" ironhide said in a hurried tone, which made both Femmes nod back as they ran just ahead of him, who then saw that the buildings were going to give way at any moment.

Both Femmes ran out of the alleyway with Ironide right behind them and made their way towards the archway, which was part of the public transport network that ran through the city. But suddenly the Skyscrapers began to fall and a hundred thousand tones of concrete and steel descended upon on the trio, its shadow enveloping them as they ran.

"No!" Ironhide shouted as he flung himself at the Femmes and pushed them into the cover of the archway, surprising them as they fell into it's cover. Chromia immediately turned round to see her Spark-mate on his hands and knees while falling pieces of rubble came down around him as time suddenly seemed to slow down, as the Spark mates then looked into each others eyes. Chromia stared with wide eyed fear for her Ironhide, while he looked back with an expression of both acceptance and love.

"I love you." he managed to say before the entire mass of the skyscraper came down on him, the force of it sending both Sisters onto their backs as the rubble blocked off that side of the archway and the air became thick with dust. Both Femmes then coughed as they climbed back to their feet, Chromia had tears flowing freely down her face as the Femme stared at the last place she saw her Spark-mate.

"IRONHIDE!" she screamed before rushing back over to the rubble, starting to move what pieces of concrete and steel that she could.

"I'll get you out of there baby!" she said in a determined if mistaken tone while Arcee, who was still in shock of what had just happened simply stared back at that spot. A long moment had passed while Chromia continued to try and dig out her fallen lover, but her older Sister finally came to her senses and moved over to her Sibling and grabbed her arms to stop her. But Chromia didn't react to her and just kept digging.

"He's gone Chromia, I am sorry. I am so sorry, but you have to let him go." the older Femme said as she fought back the tears which made her sister suddenly stop and openly let her sorrow out, with the tears flowing freely down her face as she broke down right there. Arcee then pulled her into a hug and held onto her little Sister tightly while Chromia started shaking as she cried, until she let out a harrowing scream of anguish that if not for the confined space that the Siblings were in, would probably have been heard by the rest of the city. The younger Femme then rested her head on her Sister's shoulder as the tears kept coming, while Arcee just let her continue to sob.

"I am so sorry Chromia." the Femme repeated her self before hearing a crack-like sound coming from above and noticing a spec of dust appearing from a large fissure in the archway's ceiling. The older Femme than pulled away enough to look Chromia in the eyes, who was now sobbing quietly.

"Chromia, we can't stay here. The archway is becoming unstable due to the amount of rubble that is now on it, so we have to dig our way out. Ironhide didn't want you to die here, that's why he did what he did."

The Femme then looked around them to see that both sides of the archway were blocked off by the rubble and debris of the skyscraper, but light could be seen through the gaps in the blockage directly behind the Sisters. But Chromia just stayed on her knees and looked at the ground, so her older Sister took things into her own hands and went over to the other blocked entrance and started to dig her way out.

But as Arcee was clearing debris, suddenly another pair of hands joined in and the Femme looked to her right to see that Chromia had begun to dig too. The younger Femme was quiet for several minutes as the pair cleared off the rest of the debris and made an exit for them, the light almost blinding them as it shone into the archway. But once their eyes had adjusted to the bright light, what they saw was just as horrifying as it had been earlier, but the image before them was almost like Déjà vu. As the city around them looked like what they had seen during both the Reaper War and the War for Cybertron, with all the damage that the ship had caused. But despite this, the Femmes could see there were survivors who were either slowly making their way out of danger zone, or helping to clear rubble and help more people like themselves.

"You were right, so let's go and help who we can out there. That's what Ironhide would do." Chromia then said, bringing a surprised expression to Arcee's face which quickly became serious.

"Look Chromia…" she began to say, but her Sister cut her off.

"Arcee, let's go." the Femme replied as she wiped a tear from her cheeks, still wet from the tears that she had shed as she walked out of the archway, her older sister following as both Femmes ventured out into the city just as emergency shuttles and transports began entering ground zero.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Jack looked in wide eyed disbelief at the destruction that one cruiser had brought to New Iacon, his shuttle was now out of the clouds with a clear view of the entire city as well as the path that had been cut through it. The others all looked with similar expressions at the horrifying image, Smokescreen even blinked his eyes in the hope that when he had, that the whole thing had been an illusion.

"By Primus, just think about the people down there. What about Arcee? Isn't she down there waiting for you Jack?" the Bot asked as the Prime looked at where the fallen cruiser had come to a stop, and saw that it was half buried inside the Decagon which was located at the other side of the city's centre.

"This wasn't an accident." Jack suddenly said as he narrowed his eyes at the horrifying image in front of him, gaining confused looks from his friends.

"Why is that Jack?" Grunt asked.

"It certainly looks that way." Smokescreen added, but Jack shook his head in response.

"So it's just a coincidence that the ship comes crashing down over the city during one of the biggest events of the ISF and ends up destroying half of the Decagon when it comes to a stop, the half that holds the offices of the majority of the senators."

Garrus nodded in return as the others listened intently at their Leader's reason.

"Your right Jack, that's way beyond coincidence."

"Garrus, get us all the weapons out of the mobile armory in the back." the Prime then said, earning a nod from the Turian who then went over to the large metal cabinet and started picking out the fire-arms. Jack then turned back to the Pilot as the others walked over to Garrus.

"Take us down to the Decagon, we need to secure the area and ensure the senators safety. Also give me control of your comms terminal and set it to standard mode."

The Pilot did so and Jack activated a com-channel.

"To all Autobots in range of this transmission, this is Jackson Prime and I am declaring an Alert level 1. New Iacon is under attack, I repeat New Iacon is under attack. I do not know who is attacking us, but I want us to make sure that whoever they are will wish they hadn't. Our priorities are defending the civilians until they are out of harms way, and then bringing the hurt to the enemy. Good luck, Prime Out.".

The Autobot leader then turned round and Garrus gave him an Avenger assault rifle and pistol.

"Here you go Jack." the Turian said before his face became pensive.

"So do you think Arcee is okay down there? I mean that is a lot of damage."

"I hope she is, I really do. But unfortunately that is all I can do, because my first priority is everyone else." Jack replied before checking the rifle.

"I don't envy you Jack, if our roles were reversed and Tali was down there, I don't think I could be so selfless." Garrus replied as Smokescreen and Grunt joined them.

"That's the reason why Jack is a Prime." The younger Bot added, earning a nod from them all.

"Prime, the emergency shuttles and transports are here." the Pilot called back, gaining their attention as the group turned back to the cockpit and saw the vessels flying around the ruined capital.

"Now that was fast." Garrus said with an unconvinced tone in his voice.

"Yeah, this doesn't smell right." Grunt replied, before suddenly the vessels began opening fire on the survivors who had come out into the open to be rescued and killing them instantly in a barrage of bullets. Everyone on the shuttle stared in wide eyed shock as this continued before Jack's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fist.

"Get us down there now!"

Meanwhile Arcee and Chromia had taken cover behind damaged sky-car as the emergency vessels carried on the slaughter around them.

"What in the Allspark!" Arcee said as they witnessed men, women and children being riddled with bullets by the cannons of the shuttles and transports as they flew overhead.

"This wasn't an accident." Chromia then said as her voice was tinged with a building anger. The Femmes then noticed that a few of the shuttles were making a real effort to clear up a particular area just aways from them, it was a wide open space that had been created when the cruiser had swept through, destroying all the buildings that had stood there. Suddenly a giant Space-bridge vortex opened up and scores upon scores of soldiers wearing black and purple armour exited it, followed by some wearing armour with a different color scheme. Though one really stood out amongst them, as he wore silver, black and purple armour. And with the way the others were acting towards him, Arcee and Chromia guessed that he was the Leader as they stayed quiet and tried to listen to the new arrivals.

Galvatron stood amongst his soldiers and marveled at the ruins around them that the 'Icarus' had caused to the city, a slight smile grew on the Predacon leader's face before he turned his attention to Lazerback who stood beside him.

"Lazerback, report."

"Our beachhead is secured and Shockblast reports that the last legion of Terracons are coming through now." the Con replied as they turned to see the remaining soldiers exit the vortex before it closed.

"Very good." Galvatron replied before activating his com-link so all his troops on the ground or in the air could hear him.

"My brothers, this is a glorious day. For it will be remembered as the day the Predacons returned to the galaxy and drowned the Autobots in their own blood."

All the Terracons and his Lieutenants beside him cheered before the Predacon leader threw his fist into the air.

"My Predacons, it is time to rise up and Terrorise!" he shouted before the Predacon army roared with approval and began spreading out in all directions and killing any and civilians in their path.