FicWad

The group had just made it to their split-up location as the first of the morning light could be seen in the east, which has begun to make the night sky retreat over to the west. Orion looked at the time on his holo-tool, which stated four fifty AM local time.

'Sunrise is in another hour, so we have plenty of time to infiltrate the complex before we lose the cover of dark completely.' he thought while turning his attention to the others.

"Okay, this is where Alpha and Bravo part ways. We all know our targets and what's expected of us all."

"So I will see you when this is done." Ser-Ket said as she turned her attention to Quickstrike, who smiled back at her.

"I'll be back before you know it, just be sure to watch your back because once your former comrades realise your not dead, they will be gunning for you even more." he said back as he placed a hand on her shoulder affectionately, to which she placed her own over it.

"I will and the same goes for you." she replied before kissing his cheek, which made the blonde Bot blush in return. Meanwhile Liara stood in front of Orion and gave him a concerned look.

"Liara, what's wrong?" he asked in return.

"I see you didn't bring it with you." the Asari said back, earning a knowing look from the Bot who simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah...we were in a rush to prepare for the mission, and I guess I just left it behind in my quarters." he replied with a slightly sheepish tone.

"Orion if you had the Star-Saber with you, then I don't believe you would have let that Stalker get as close as it did." Liara said with a slight shake of her head.

"And the fact that no one other than myself knows that you brought it on board. Why have you not told anyone...especially Rodimus?" she added, which made Orion turn them both away from the others who were still talking amongst themselves.

"...Because I am still getting used to the idea that I can even use it, and I don't want to go round giving anyone any false hope. Since that is what will happen when everyone starts seeing me in action with the legendary Star-Saber."

Liara looked the young Darby in the eyes and nodded reluctantly in return, for she knew he spoke the truth.

"Well I know how skilled you are as a Spectre Orion, but after seeing you in action with the Star-Saber, I guess I would just feel that much better knowing that you had it with you." she replied, earning a smile from the Bot.

"Hey, I have managed all these years without it before now. This won't be any different, trust me." he said back with a smile before turning back to the others.

"Okay Quickstrike, lets go." The XO said to his cousin, who nodded back before pulling out of a hug with Ser-Ket. He then stood beside Orion while the Predacon joined Liara and Nightracer who looked back at the pair of Bots.

"We'll see you at the rendezvous, good luck." The Femme said back earning a nod from the cousins.

"You too." the young Darby replied before the two groups split up and headed off in different directions though both still heading toward the complex.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Back on the Achilles bridge, Rip-Claw was browsing through the numerous reports that had been sent to her from all sectors of the colony and it was starting to grind down what little patience she had. She knew as Commander of not only the Achilles but now of an entire colony, that everything came to her doorstep now.

Even things that she did not care for or want to know about, like status of the civilians or the colony's weather patterns. Now usually she should have directed all this nonsense to Ser-Ket and washed her hands free of it, but since the traitorous Femme had now switched sides, that meant that she had no choice but to take it. The Predacon could not even delegate it to any of the Terracons, since they would have no idea how to deal with it. And so here she was, reading one boring report after another, her spark slowly burning with anger at each and ever line of words on the holo-screen directly in front of her.

The Femme sighed as her eyes drifted away from the influx of pointless information as she looked around the room, hoping to find something which she could fix her attention too. And as if some great unknown power had heard her silent prayer, Rip-Claw's eyes fell upon a Terracon that looked uneasy while sitting at it's station. In fact the Femme recognised this particular soldier as the one that had mentioned the breach in the sensors an hour or so ago.

"Soldier, what is the matter?" she asked in a commanding tone that almost made the Terracon jump out of his seat as he turned to face her.

"Commander...Rip-Claw...sir!" he said with a nervous salute, which the Femme ignored as she looked back at him, quietly thankful for the distraction.

"Soldier, I said what is the matter?"

"..Sir...the group of Stalkers, the ones you had me investigate the sensor breach earlier. I have yet to hear back from them." the Terracon replied, earning a curious expression from the Femme.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I have yet to receive any data from the Stalkers and they should have reached the area well before now." he replied hesitantly. Rip-Claw got up and walked over to his station and looked at his terminal.

"Show me the communication screen for that particular group of Stalkers." She then said as she stood behind the Terracon, who nervously typed on his holo-interface until another screen appeared, making the Femme focus as she looked at it.

"Well you are right, they haven't sent you any..." Rip-Claw began to say before her eyes spotted something.

"What is that?" she asked while pointing over to an active small data window in the bottom right-hand corner of the holo-screen.

"That is the failed comms section, where corrupted messages are stored before deletion. We never take any notice of them, since we receive so many corrupted messages from the Stalkers on a daily basis." the Terracon replied, making the Predacon point at the last message.

"Activate that one will you." she said back.

"But sir, it is corrupted. There is nothing we can..." he began to reply, only for the Femme to cut him off.

"Do it anyway, indulge me."

The soldier reluctantly nodded and began the message which filled the screen, but the image was highly distorted with the only sound they could hear was static.

"See if you can clean it up." Rip-Claw ordered, gaining a nod from the Terracon who activated a cleansing program which began to defrag the message. And slowly the visual started to become clear, earning a wide-eyed look from the Femme.

"It's not a message but a single frame image, something the Stalker had seen. Keep at it." she stated, while the Soldier continued to work with the program which continued to go through every single bit of the message and clear it up, until the photo was completely repaired and visible before the pair. Rip-Claw just blinked as her eyes widened even more at the single frame on the screen before her.

"That's impossible..." she said in a shocked tone, as the image showed her Sister Ser-Ket readying herself for combat against the Stalker whose visual data the pair were now viewing.

"She is dead, Ser-Ket is dead. Skystalker killed her and that Autobot scum." the Femme stated before activating her holo-tool and connected it to the colony's internal sensors, searching for the beacon that Galvatron had given her the frequency for. But nothing appeared, which left the Femme even more confused. The Terracn meanwhile had noticed something else about the image and zoomed in on an area just behind the supposedly dead Predacon, which showed what looked like another female that neither of them had seen before.

"Who is that?" the soldier asked, making Rip-Claw shake her head in response.

"I have no idea, but I can tell what it is." she replied as she pointed at the red emblem that could be seen on the figure's armour.

"Autobot!"

PRIME EFFECT 4

The blade cut right threw the flesh, spilling blood-like fluid down the Terracon's chest before Ser-Ket removed her holo-blade from the now dead enemy's throat and dropped the body to the floor. She then turned around to see both Liara and Nightracer disposing of their respective Terracons as the Asari merely flickered her hand to the right, sending the Con smashing into the corridor's wall. Nightracer meanwhile had kicked the back of one of her target's legs, causing him to fall to his knees before she aimed her gun at is head and pulled the trigger, spilling more fluid upon the wall next to her.

"There are no more Terracons in the immediate vircinity." Ser-Ket said after taking a sniff of the air.

"You can tell that by just sniffing?" Nightracer asked curiously.

"Yes, all Predacons have this ability, though we have to concentrate when doing so, or else we smell nothing."

"It is very impressive." Liara added, earning a head-shake from the Predacon.

"It's not as impressive as your biotics, believe me. I would rather have that over this." Ser-Ket replied with a smile as she gestured to her nose.

"So which way now?" the Asari asked, looking over to Nightracer who was consulting the map on her holo-tool.

"We have to keep heading down this corridor until we reach a cross section, then take the right turn and continue for a hundred yards until we reach this T-junction. Then we take the left turn and move four hundred yards, and then we reach the target." the Femme said back as she showed them the holo-image, earning a nod from her team mates.

"Well we better keep moving, especially if we want to capitalise on the lack of security that this plac..." Ser-Ket began to say before sirens blared out along with a voice on the inter-com.

"Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert. Autobots have breaches the complex, all Terracons to combat, I repeat all Terracons to combat!"

"Well that didn't last long." Liara replied, earning defiant looks from both Nightracer and Ser-Ket.

"Let's move." the former replied as the two other women followed down the corridor.

"Intruder Alert, Intruder Alert. Autobots have breaches the complex, all Terracons to combat, I repeat all Terracons to combat!"

"Well that didn't last long." Liara replied, earning defiant looks from both Nightracer and Ser-Ket.

"Let's move." the former replied as the others followed her down the corridor.

Meanwhile Orion and Quickstrike exited an elevator into a massive tunnel that made it look like they were in a mine, due to the rocky walls and support arch-ways that kept the area stable. Their infiltration had gone off without a hitch since they had yet to come across any patrols, but the pair knew that their luck couldn't last forever.

"We are now on the lowest level of the colony, the geo-thermal reactor is ten miles in that direction." the blonde Bot said while pointing behind them.

"Not that I am against a good trek, but our target much closer." the Spectre replied, gaining a nod from his cousin.

"Yeah, its a couple hundred metres in the opposite direction." he said back with a smile, while Orion readied his weapon.

"Come on, we..." he started to say before suddenly their ears were bombarded with the same siren and intruder alert that was now being heard around the entire colony.

"Looks like we will have to fight our way to the room." Quickstrike states as he points over to the Terracon patrol that appears from a connecting tunnel ahead of them.

"Good." was all Orion said in return before opening fire on the enemy troops, causing them to take cover behind the nearby arch-way and fire back. Both Bots mirrored their foes as they shielded themselves with the arch-way nearest them, making both cousins smirk at each other from across the width of the corridor while bullets either flew past or ricocheted off the metal support beams.

"You actually preferred a straight fight to sneaking in, didn't you?" Quickstrike shouted to his cousin over the gunfire, as the young Darby took out two of the Terracons, one with a clean head shot as he peeked out from his cover and the other with two shots in his chest. The Bot then looked over to bis blonde friend, who was firing back at the soldiers.

"I wouldn't usually say this, but...yes I do." Orion replied honestly, before noticing another Terracon stepping out of cover to fire upon them, and so killing him first with several bullets to his chest.

"I am really sorry Orion, for your parents." Quickstrike said back, gaining a glance from the other Bot.

"Mom and Dad are still out there, they can still be saved." the Darby said back in a hopeful tone, earning a knowing look from the blonde Bot as he dropped two more Terracons with head shots.

"Yes...they are, and I know that we can save them...as long as we keep clear heads.

The last of the Predacon soldiers dived out of cover before spray his bullets at both Bots in a vain last effort to kill them, but Orion simply shot three bullets at him which impacted twice in his chest and the other in his head, sending him to the ground to join the remainder of his dead comrades. The blue haired Bot then got to his feet and looked at his cousin with a confused expression.

"What do you mean?" he asked with an uncertain tone.

"How you were towards Ser-Ket earlier, that was the sort of behaviour you would expect to see from a lynch mob. You were letting your anger towards the Predacons cloud your better judgement and that will end up getting the rest of us killed, the mission comes first." Quickstrike replied with a calm expression and honest tone, earning a wide eyed look from the young Darby.

"Your kidding right, after what they have taken from us both. Your the last person I would expect to say that."

"Perhaps, but I haven't lost perspective. And there is no way I can ever blame Ser-Ket for what happened to my parents, for one I know that she was not responsible or even present to the events that killed my Father and put my Mother in a Coma . That responsibility rests solely on the Predacons in general and helping to defeat them is all I feel I need to get by, you know what I am saying don't you Orion?"

The blue haired Bot nodded in return as he looked down at the ground for a moment and thought on Quickstrike's words, met his cousin's eyes.

"My parents would be ashamed if they found out that I went full-on revenge against anyone, especially my Mom who had told me all about how wanting to avenge fallen friends had nearly cost the lives of herself and others many times in the past."

"Exactly because I also know that Stalker earlier would never have got the jump on you, not if you were completely focused on the mission. Now let's get moving because I swore I heard more enemies approaching from the way we came in." Quickstrike replied, gaining another nod from Orion before both Bots carried on down the tunnel towards their target.

PRIME EFFECT 4

Rip-Claw felt like she was climbing the walls as the Femme sat in the Captain's chair on the Achilles bridge and watched the Terracons frantically working around her, trying to get on top of the Autobot infiltration that was currently in motion somewhere in the colony.

"Report! Someone tell me they know where the Autobots are?" she spat, gaining scared and worried looks from the soldiers. None of them would say a word, for fear that the wrong one could cost them their lives.

"Come on! We don't have all day!" the Femme continued, earning an uncertain expression from the soldier as he typed on his holo-interface and brought up several com-links and camera feeds.

"Sir.., here are the Terracon comma chatter from across the entire colony." the soldier stated, earning a focused stare from the Femme as she looked at all the data feeds.

"They are in this one, the Eastern complex which is not far from the area where we lost contact with the Stalkers." Rip-Claw said aloud while pointing at the one window showing a straight line, not unlike a flat line on a heart-beat monitor.

"Sir?" the Terracon replied with a questionable tone.

"Have a group of Terracons meet me in that area of the complex now." the Predacon ordered as she got up out of her seat and started for the door, earning a nod from the soldier as he turned back round and worked his terminal. But as the Femme reached the exit, another Terracon gained her attention.

"Commander Rip-Claw, a patrol has reported in from one of the underground tunnels right below that area of the complex. They have found several dead troops and suspect that more Autobots are there."

"Have another squad of Terracons head down there, and send in Skystalker. Those tunnels are large enough for him to flush out the enemy." Rip-Claw replied before exiting the room and heading toward the shuttle-bay, leaving the Terracons to return to their duties.

Meanwhile Nightracer, Liara and Ser-Ket took cover in a doorway, as the Autobot Femme took a peek and saw three Terracons walking into an open door just away from them.

"Okay, our computer access is through that door...which just had three Terracons walk through." she stated as she looked back at her companions.

"And who knows how many more are in there." Liara replied, gaining a knowing look from the Predacon.

"Well I have an idea that might give us an advantage."

This made both the Asari and the other Femme look at her curiously as she gave them a smirk.

Inside the room, several Terracons were scattered around the room which was filled with large servers and terminals. A few of them were manned while the other soldiers merely stood guard with rifles in hand, ready for any trouble to come their way. They were so focused on their duty that when the door to the room opened, they immediately aimed the weapons at whoever would be standing in the now open doorway. But everyone suddenly stopped and looked wide-eyed at the person who entered the room and stood before them, shock took over as they lowered their weapons, it was if they had seen a ghost.

"C..Commander...Ser-Ket!" one of the Terracons stammered as the Femme looked back at them with her weapon holstered, seemingly defenceless but they knew better.

"...You are dead!" another Con said with shock evident in her voice, gaining a stare from the Predacon.

"And yet here I am." she said back, as two of the several Terracons re-aimed their weapons at her.

"Commander Rip-Claw had branded you a traitor to our cause, so dead or not...I am afraid we have to take you to her."

"Well that certainly is not going to happen...Now!" the Femme exclaimed before both Liara and Nightracer burst into the room and began taking down the Terracons, with either gunfire or biotic blasts. The Asari even lifted one off the ground and threw him into some of the other Terracons that were gathered on one side of the room. Once they were done, the three women were the only ones standing as all the enemy soldiers were lying dead on the floor.

"Well, that was too easy." Liara said with an unconvinced tone, earning a shoulder shrug from Nightracer.

"I am not going to complain about it."

"The Terracons are a subgroup of us Predacons and while they are sentient and think for themselves...to a point, they are easily distracted and surprised." Ser-Ket explained.

"Not to mention that I think we have killed a few of these guys already." Nightracer said back while looking down at one of the corpses.

"The footage and reports that Orion and I studied, about what happened at New Iacon showed that many of the Terracons engaged in that battle were identical to each other. They are probably clones of merely a handful of the original Terracons, and then were multiplied hundreds...possibly thousands of times. To created the army that Galvatron required." Liara replied, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"The footage and reports that Orion and I studied, about what happened at New Iacon showed that many of the Terracons engaged in that battle were identical to each other. They are probably clones of merely a handful of the original Terracons, and then were multiplied hundreds...possibly thousands of times to create the army that Galvatron required." Liara replied, earning a nod from Ser-Ket.

"That sounds about right."

"Wouldn't you know about that already? I mean you were one of his lieutenants." Nightracer asked in a slightly disbelieving tone as she looked at the Femme.

"No I wouldn't because out of all us Predacons, only Six-Shot and Shockblast have been known to converse with Galvatron privately. I have only seen him with the others all together or in the presence of the Terracons, but the brothers have definitely seen him behind closed doors. If Galvatron shared any information with his lieutenants, then it was those two."

The Asari gave the Femme a supportive look as she observed the pair of Cybertronains.

"I would have to agree with Ser-Ket, since I saw what Galvatron was like around both Shockblast and his brother." Liara said back as she remembered her time on Cybertron.

"But maybe we can discuss this after we have completed our mission." she added, gaining a nod from Nightracer and Ser-Ket. The former then looked back at the Predacon with a regretful expression.

"I'm sorry, I didn't what I said to sound distrustful."

"I know and I didn't take it that way." Ser-Ket replied before moving over to the nearest terminal and typing on it's holo-interface.

"Anyway Liara's right, so lets get on with this." she added whilst a number of data feeds appeared on her holo-screen, gaining a nod from both Liara and Nightracer. The former stood beside her while the Femme stood in the doorway and kept a look out.

"How long do you think this will take?" she asked back while not taking her eyes from the corridor that was just beyond the doorway.

"I am already inside the system, seems one of the Terracons here did not log out before we arrived." the Predacon Femme replied.

"Well that is a stroke of luck for us, isn't it." Liara said back while watching Ser-Ket activate and link her holo-tool to the terminal.

"It certainly is, I am currently downloading all the Intel I can from the Predacon database while also gaining access to the Comms Network. I should be able to deactivate whatever changes were made silence the Autobots."

"Okay then, we won't trouble you any more then." Nightracer replied, earning a nod from Liara who stepped away from the Predacon, allowing her to work without distraction. And for the next several minutes, the team did not speak as Ser-Ket kept her focus completely on her task whilst Nightracer remained on guard, until Liara noticed a grin appear on the Predacon Femme's face.

"Done! I have managed to switch control of the Comms Network back to Autobot control."

This earned relieved and grateful looks of glee from both Nightracer and Liara from there respective locations near the Femme, the latter joining the Femme's side as she deactivated her holo-tool.

"That's great news." she exclaimed in return.

"I also downloaded Predacon fleet movements and Intel about the laboratories on Cybertron that are under enemy control and there exact locations." Ser-Ket added, gaining a nod from Nightracer before her face became serious as she aimed her weapon down the corridor before her.

"That's great, because we have a group of Terracons baring down on our position right..." she began to say before she suddenly felt a fist hit her directly in the face with such speed and strength, that it sent her flying through the air until she hit one of the servers and fell onto the floor unconscious.

"Nightracer!" Liara called out as both she and Ser-Ket looked on in shock at their friend who was on her front as a heavily armoured and very built person entered the room, it was someone that Ser-Ket knew only too well.

"Rip-Claw..." she stated,

Both females looked on in surprise as the Predacon Commander stood there in her Beast mode, her eyes narrowed as they stared back at the traitor.

"So you are alive, though surely you would be smarter than returning here. But then again you are hanging around with the Autobots so to the pit if I would know, since you have become nothing more than a stranger in my eyes."

"I will not act as if I care for what you think of me Rip-Claw, and I will no longer play a part to what the Predacons have planned. Such slaughter and destruction, it sickens me right down to my spark." Ser-Ket replied as she stepped away from the terminal and clenched her fists, knowing how this was going to turn out. She looked over to Liara as three Terracons entered the room behind Rip-Claw.

"Are you going to further disappoint me and surrender considering that we outnumber you, or are you going to fight and prove that there is still some Predacon in you?" the Commander asked as she stared daggers at the Femme while baring her sharp teeth. Liara looked down at the unconscious Nightracer before glancing over to Ser-Ket, who merely nodded back to her. And in that instant the Asari knew what her new friend wanted, and she clenched her fists until a blue glow appeared around them. The Terracons noticed this and aimed their weapons at her, unsure looks on their faces as Liara stared back.

"Commander Rip-Claw, what about her?" the soldier on her right asked, but this did not even get a reaction from the Predacon as she kept her eyes firmly on her Sister who activated her holo-blades.

"Deal with her, Ser-Ket is mine." she growled before launching herself through the air and tackling the former Predacon to the ground, leaving the Terracons where they were standing before they too opened fire on the Asari. But Liara instinctively erected a biotic shield directly in front of her, which the bullets harmlessly deflected off before she threw a biotic punch through the air, sending one of the soldiers on to his ass. She then launched herself into a biotic charge, moving as a blue blur as she smashed into another soldier before turning to the last one who activated his holo-dagger and swiped it at Liara's face.

Meanwhile Ser-Ket found herself pinned to the floor by her Sister who at this very moment was more powerful, considering she was using her Beast mode. If the Femme was going to win this, she knew that she would need to change too. But that was something Ser-Ket did not want to do, so instead she looked up at Rip-Claw who drooled a little as she lowered her head closer and bared her teeth. That was all the former Predacon needed as she then head butted her Sister who yelped in response as she pulled back, that freed the Femme's arms and she followed up by swiping her holo-blades across Rip-Claw's chest which cut deep enough through to reach the skin beneath.

This earned another howl of pain from the Predacon who got up off Ser-Ket, who followed suit and then attacked again with another swipe of her blades. Her adversary though managed to deflect the strikes with the armour of her gauntlets before reacting with an attack of her own with her sharp claws, Rip-Claw managed to get a hit on Ser-Ket across her face, which left a deep cut on her left cheek as she stumbled back a few steps. The Predacon Commander then smiled deviously before showing her blood covered claws and took a lick from one of their tips, showing pleasure in the act of making her enemy bleed.

"Is that all you can do Rip-Claw, just make a little scratch?" Ser-Ket asked with a sarcastic tone, which made the other Femme's blood boil as she gritted her teeth.

"I will bath in your blood you traitorous wretch." she roared as she lunged at her former Sister, who dodged the attack and sliced her holo-blade at her adversary's side, spilling blood out and earning another cry from her as she covered the wound with her arm and backed off slightly.

"Come on Rip-Claw, where is that killer instinct you claim is always on the burn in your spark? Or do you only have that when facing enemies that clearly can't beat you?" Ser-Ket said, making her Sister's eyes narrow even more as she looked back with pure hatred.

'That's it, keep pissing her of until she can't think straight and just goes berserk, then Rip-Claw is simply another wild animal who can be out-thought and defeated.' the former Predacon thought before she went into another attack and brought both her holo-blades down upon Rip-Claw, who this time stopped the attack instantly by blocking both blades with her right gauntlet which earned a look of surprise from Ser-Ket.

"Not so animalistic as you thought, huh?" she spat back, leaving Ser-Ket completely gob smacked.

'She was playing me?' she thought before Rip-Claw with her free hand punched the Femme so hard in the chest, that it felt like a sledge hammer had hit her as it sent her flying into one of the serves behind her. As she hit the ground Ser-Ket's back and chest both ached, earning a grunt from her as she saw her Sister walking over to her slowly.

As this happened, Liara had just disarmed the Terracon of his knife and punched him in the face with another biotic attack, one that knocked him unconscious. She then saw Rip-Claw standing over Ser-Ket and was about to move to assist when suddenly the Asari stopped and raised her glowing hand in the air, which immediately made the other two Terracons, who had recovered and were attacking her from behind.

This made them stop and float in the air as blue energy covered their bodies, and then Liara snapped her fingers and made both men slam into each other, taking themselves out as they fell to the ground unconscious. Liara then returned her attention to Ser-Ket and saw Rip-Claw preparing to give the killing blow and so reached her hand out at one of the servers and concentrated, which made the object glow with energy before it was ripped off it's hinges and made to float in the air. As this was happening, the Predacon Commander knelt down beside her traitorous Sister and held her sharp claws up, ready to strike.

"I have looked forward to this Sister, so very much. I will be sure to send your Autobot friends to join you in the Allspark….. Farewell." she said with a finality to her voice before bringing the claws down upon Ser-Ket, when suddenly she stopped just short as someone interrupted her.

"Rip-Claw." a voice shouted, making the Femme turn round just in time to see a server hit he square in the face, knocking the Predacon to the floor hard. Liara stood there and maintained control of the broken server with her biotics, Ser-Ket could only lie there and watch as Rip-Claw tried to get back to her feet but was stopped in her tracks as the server was slammed down upon her, knocking the Femme unconscious.

"Are you alright?" Liara then asked as she released the server, which fell to the ground with a loud bang and rushed over to Ser-Ket's side.

"I will be, thank you Liara." the former Predacon replied, earning a smile from the Asari as she helped her to her feet.

"Your welcome." she replied before turning her attention to Nightracer who was just coming too, heading over to the Autobot and leaving Ser-Ket by herself, who then felt a strange but familiar sensation in her chest.

'It can't be.' she thought as the feeling was from something she had thought gone as a look of worry appeared on her face, as both Liara and Nightracer looked over to her and noticed this.

"What's wrong?" Nightracer asked, making the former Predacon shake her head in return.

"Nothing, I am alright." she lied as she tried to push her fears aside and focus on the task at hand.

"We should get moving back to the rendezvous." she added while walking over to join her friends, Liara meanwhile looked over at Rip-Claw who as still unconscious.

"What about her?"

"Leave her, we don't have time to waste." Ser-Ket replied, gaining a nod of agreement from Nightracer.

"Ser-Ket's right, lets go." the Autobot said in return, as the trio rushed out of the room and back into the corridor. Nightracer then tapped her com-link as they ran back the way they came.

"Bravo to Alpha, do you read? We have achieved the mission objectives and are returning to the rendezvous point."

"We read you loud and clear Nightracer, good job." Orion replied into his com-link as both he and Quickstrike shot down two more Terracons who stood in their path, as the pair continued down the large tunnel.

"We are almost at our target, see you at the rendezvous." he added before ending the call, just as Quickstrike pointed at a doorway just ahead of them.

"There it is." he stated as the pair approached the door with weapons ready, taking positions on both sides of the doors.

"So how many Terracons do you think are in there?" Orion asked, as his cousin reloaded his rifle in preparation.

"Considering it usually takes around four Engineers to man a sub-station like this, I would say there would have to be the same number of Terracons in there."

"Well, only one way to find out." Orion replied as he pressed the door activation panel and opened the door, then his cousin went in first and immediately took note that there were exactly four enemy soldiers in the room, just like he said there would be. They all had their backs turned to the pair who managed to enter quietly enough, Quickstrike moved over to the closest of the group first and grabbed him via the throat to strangle him.

Orion kept his rifle trained on the other three, but the struggling Terracon managed to kick the terminal as he fought back which alerted the others. They turned round and looked at the Autobots in surprise as they began to equip their weapons, but Orion fired a shot directly into the spark of one of them, making him fall to the ground in a heap. And followed through and shot the second in the head, earning a splat of blood-like liquid on the wall behind him as he fell to the ground.

But the third managed to get his weapon ready and began aiming it at Quickstrike who was still strangling the first Terracon, but before Orion could do anything his cousin kept hold of his target with one arm, while equipping his hand-gun with the other and then shot the third Terracon in the face in one quick smooth action. Then as that corpse fell to the ground, he re-holstered his gun and then killed the Terracon in his hands by snapping his neck.

"Why didn't you do that to start with?" Orion asked as the blonde Bot dropped the body to the ground and looked around the room.

"Didn't think of that one at first." he replied, earning a surprised expression from his cousin.

"What?...I'm only Cybertronian. Come on, you use that terminal while I man this one." he added as he gestured to the blood splattered terminal next to the blue haired Bot, as he began typing on the holo-interface of the one next to him.

"Orion, you activate the diagnostic while I begin to overload the reactor." Quickstrike said, gaining a nod from his cousin who typed on the holo-pad in front of him. The pair then spent several minutes looking on the system until Orion smiled as a data window appeared on his terminal's holo-screen.

"I have found the diagnostic Quickstrike, and I am running it now." Orion replied, earning a smile from the blonde Autobot.

"That's good timing, because I have found the program that controls the reactor and it sub-stations. I am overloading one of them as we speak, hopefully the diagnostic you activated should keep the power build-up hidden until it's too late."

As Quickstrike typed in the last command, his holo-screen flashed red with a warning and a timer that began counting down.

'Warning, if the final key entry is given, the reactor will overload in five minutes. Warning, reactor will overload in five minutes.'

The Bot then activated his holo-tool and typed on it's interface until another timer appeared on it's screen, this one said ten minutes which confused Orion a little as he looked at his cousin.

"Why the extra timer?"

"It will only take five minutes for the reactor to begin an overload, but it will take a further five minutes for the overload to destroy the reactor so.." the Bot explained before turning back to the terminal and pressing the key on it's interface, which began the countdown.

"Alright, time to haul ass." Quickstrike stated before both he and Orion ran out of the room and back into the corridor.

"It's this way to the exit, that should take us back to the surface." The blonde Bot added as the pair ran down the tunnel, with Orion tapping his com-link as they did so.

"This is Alpha team, objective complete, I repeat objective complete. On way to rendezvous point."

The Bot then ended the transmission and readied his weapon, as both Bots spotted three more Terracons approaching ahead of them.

PRIME EFFECT 4

"On way to rendezvous point."

That was what Nightracer heard from her com-link as she, Liara and Ser-Ket ran through the grass field on the way back to the rendezvous. They had exited the complex just a few minutes ago and luckily had not come across any more Terracons, hence the good time they were making.

"Alpha team is on their way out." she said back to Liara and Ser-Ket, gaining looks of relief from the pair.

"That's just what I wanted to hear." the Asari replied with a smile, with the Predacon Femme nodding in agreement.

"Same here."

"Well we should see them back at the rendezvous..." Nightracer said, before the sound of grass being crunched underfoot caught her's and the others attention. The trio stopped and raised their weapons in the direction the sound was heard.

"You think its more Stalkers?" Liara asked, earning a shrug of the shoulders from Ser-Ket.

"I'm not sure, but..."

But before she could finish her sentence, Shen suddenly appeared from under the long grass with his sniper rifle aimed at them.

"Freeze!" he exclaimed, surprising the women before they realised who it was.

"Shen? What the hell! Stop pointing that gun at us." Nightracer spat back, gaining an embarrassed expression from the Turian before he lowered the sniper rifle.

"Sorry, I thought you might have been more Terracons."

"What do you mean, and why are you not at the rendezvous?" the Autobot Femme replied with a confused look, one that was shared by both Liara and Ser-Ket.

"I am sorry but the rendezvous is lost, there are Predacon troops all over the site. I first noticed them scouting out the areas nearby, sort of like searching the perimeter around the city. Then when they got to close, that's why I decided to move. Didn't think it would be good for them to find me, plus I was outnumbered so I made my way down here knowing that I would probably run into you guys." Shen said back.

"So why did you think we were Terracons?" Ser-Ket asked in return, still wanting that particular detail to be explained.

"I have been evading these enemies ever since you guys headed off for the complex, so I have been a bit on edge." the Turian replied.

"Okay, well I better let Bravo team know that we have a change of plan." Nightracer said before tapping her com-link.

"Alpha this is Bravo, do you read?"

Meanwhile Orion and Quickstrike had just fought through the third team of Terracons as they made their way through the tunnel system, when the XO's com-link went off.

"Alpha this is Bravo, do you read?" the Femme's voice came though, gaining a nod from Orion as he saw the last Terracon fall to the ground with smoke emanating from bullet holes in his chest.

"Read you loud and clear Bravo, what's the sit-rep?"

"We are clear of the complex, but our rendezvous has been lost. So we should regroup at current coordinates?" the Femme replied.

"Why? What's happened to the rendezvous?"

"The Predacon patrols nearly found Shen as he awaited our return, he is with us now. But their patrols are apparently watching the perimeter around the city, so I think we should regroup here." Nightracer said back.

"Alright, well we are nearly out of here..." the Bot replied before turning to Quickstrike.

"How long until the reactor goes?"

This made the blonde Bot look at the timer on his holo-tool which just crossed the three and a half-minute mark, which was met by a tremor shook the entire area.

"Well since my timer is down to nearly two minutes and the tremors are now starting, I would say its close." he said back, gaining a nod from Orion as rocks and dust began to fall from the rocky ceiling due to the quake.

"Did you guys feel that?" he said back into his com-link.

"Yes we did, so it's started. Better hurry up and get up here." the Autobot Femme replied.

"We are on our way, ETA one minute." Orion said back as suddenly he and Quickstrike felt another tremor, though this one felt different.

"What in the All-spark was that?" the Bot asked as both looked at each other confused.

"I don't think that was the reactor, that felt too close." Quickstrike said back, before they felt another tremor followed by another.

"That feels more like foot steps." the young Darby replied as the Blonde Bot went quiet and his face looked worried.

"Oh crap." was all he said as the tremors got even closer and he pointed ahead of himself and Orion, towards the way they needed to go. His cousin looked too just in time to see a large white and blue metallic dragon turn a corner several hundred meters ahead and enter the tunnel that they were currently in, it's yellow eyes narrowing as it spotted them and growled.

"What the..."

"It's Skystalker." Quickstrike exclaimed before grabbing Orion's shoulder and yanking him back.

"Run!" he shouted just as the beast roared and began charging at them, the ground shaking with every foot fall from them Predacon.

"what's going on?" Nightracer asked frantically down the com-link.

"Our exit is blocked, by something called Skystalker." Orion shouted back while running as fast as he could.

"Nightracer?" the Femme replied before Ser-Ket's voice could be heard in the back ground.

"By the Allspark."

The pair of Bots continued to sprint through the tunnel as the beast gained on them with every stride, getting that much closer to killing them.

"Is there any other way out?" Liara could be heard asking in a panic before Nightracer spoke up on the Com-link.

"You guys have another way out right?" she said with a growing worry in her voice.

"No we don't...wait thats it!" Orion said back as an idea hit him.

"Have to end the call here, calling the Normandy." the Bot said back before ending the call.

"Wait...what?..." was all Nightracer could say before her voice fizzled out, and the Bot tapped his com-link again while breathing heavily as he forces his muscles to keep going as he and Quickstrike continued to run.

"Orion to Normandy, come in Normandy."

"This is Rodimus, what can..." the Commander spoke before his XO jumped in.

"We need a ground-bridge to Bravo team's location now!"

"Orion, our ground-bridge mode has not been tested yet." the Commander replied while Quickstrike looked over his shoulder to see the Predacon beast getting even closer as it roared.

"Whatever your going to do, make it fast!" he shouted.

"There's no time like the present Rodimus, activate a ground-bridge portal in front of our signals."

"Roger that...get the ground-bridge operational...I don't care, just do it." Orion could hear his mentor and friend yell at the other end of the com-link as he spotted three Terracons as both he and Quickstrike ran past the them. The Cons quickly equipped their weapons, but then suddenly looked surprised at the sight of their enemies fleeing. But then the sound of a ear splitting roar from behind them made the Terracons look back, their eyes widened in horror at what they saw.

"Scrap!" one exclaimed as he tried to run before all three were then trampled on by the beast. Meanwhile Quickstrike took a glance at his holo-tool while he ran before looking over at his cousin.

"nine, eight, seven…!" he began to shout as the tremors from the reactor grew in strength, causing rocks to fall from the ceiling.

"Watch out!" Orion shouted back before looking over his shoulder to see the beast roar and then follow through by keeping it's mouth open as it began to charge its fire breath, Skystalker was now so close behind them that the young Darby could see right to the back of it's throat as the fire started to emerge.

So he bit his lip and looked back to the front, silently praying for some kind of miracle to stop the pair of them from being incinerated. And then suddenly as if someone had heard him, a green light appeared and reflected off Orion's eyes just as the timer hit zero.

And in that instant miles away, the geo-thermal reactor located right below the Communications Tower which was under so much pressure and strain exploded all of a sudden, sending a massive shockwave out in all directions and a fireball of superheated plasma upwards.

Bravo team fought to keep on their feet as the entire area around them was hit by an earthquake the likes of which they had not experienced.

"What the hell?" Shen exclaimed as Ser-Ket suddenly pointed towards the Tower that could be seen clearly from their location, as it was the tallest building in the entire city. The structure began to shake and crack as it was rattled with internal explosions across it's entire surface, gaining a smile from Nightracer.

"They did it." she said with relief in her voice, but she then looked back at both Liara and Ser-Ket who were watching the spectacle with worry written across their faces.

"Where are they?" the Asari asked out loud as if hoping for someone to answer her, but it was a question to which no one could. All they could do was watch as the tower began to collapse and fall like a deck of cards to the ground below, creating a massive dust cloud which glowed as the fire continued to burn brightly at the center of the city. Everyone saw the destruction, from the Terracons patrolling the streets to the civilians trapped in their homes as prisoners, looking out of their windows at the sight before them.

"Surely they got out?" Ser-Ket asked with a slight glimmer of hope, before suddenly a bright green vortex opened up just a few feet away from the group. Everyone knew what it was, but held their breath to see who would emerge from it's event horizon when in the blink of an eye, both Orion and Quickstrike dived through and hit the ground hard.

They rolled on their sides across the grass as a fireball exited the vortex right behind them and burnt out safely over the pair, earning dumbfounded looks from everyone there. Then just as it quickly as it appeared, the vortex closed and the pair of Bots slowly got to their feet and looked up at the others.

"Hey guys, mind if we drop in?" Orion asked, earning a big smile from Liara who rushed over and pulled the blue haired Bot into a embrace. Ser-Ket followed suit immediately and embraced Quickstrike who gave her a kiss in return, which made Shen smile at Nightracer coyly.

"Wanna give me a hug or a kiss?"

The Femme simply shook her head and chuckled before slapping his shoulder, and then began walking over to Orion who was still in the middle of an embrace with Liara.

"I was so worried you were…" she started to say before the Bot cut her off.

"It's alright, I did too…for a moment." he replied as he hugged her back, happy to see that she too was unhurt. Similar happenings were going on between Quickstrike and Ser-Ket as they had yet to let go of each other, but then both pair's attention was caught by Nightracer who approached them.

"So they got the ground-bridge mode of the space-bridge generator working?" she asked, gaining nods from the cousins who finally separated from Ser-Ket and Liara.

"Yeah, just in the nick of time too." the blonde Bot replied, as Orion looked back at the Femme.

"So I take it the Communications blackout has been lifted?".

"Yes, we managed to deactivate the block that was keeping all ISF forces from communicating with each other, and now with the destruction of the Hub complete, there is no way for the Predacons to do it again." Nightracer replied, earning a smile from the young Darby.

"That's great, and did you manage to get any Intel from their database?"

"I downloaded everything I could from their systems Orion, from fleet movements to intelligence reports. Plus there is something very interesting I found concerning Cybertron, I would suggest you look at that first." Ser-Ket replied as she activated her holo-tool and began transferring the Intel to the Autobot Spectre's, which made the Bot give the Femme an appreciative smile in return.

"Thank you Ser-Ket, I am glad you are on our side." he said back, earning a mirrored expression from the Femme.

"As am I Orion."

Quickstrike joined her side and placed held her hand in his own as he smiled at her and then the others.

"Yeah, go team! But I think we should be getting out of here now…right?" he said, which made everyone but Ser-Ket nod back in agreement. The former Predacon looked back at the city, pulling her hand out from the blonde Bot's grasp, earning a surprised expression from him.

"Ser-Ket?"

"Quickstrike is right, you should go. I can already tell that the others are coming." she replied in an ominous tone, one that caught the attention of everyone.

"Why did you say 'you' and not 'we' should go Ser-Ket?" the blond Bot asked as he stepped in front of the Femme who had turned her eyes to the ground.

"Yeah, your part of the team now Ser-Ket. I don't think Orion is going to say no to you now." Shen added, earning angry looks from Liara and Nightracer while the blue haired Bot did not know where to look. But they were all ignored by Quickstrike as he kept his focus completely on the woman who had come to be his lover.

"Ser-Ket, talk to me. What's going on?" he asked gently, but she still kept her eyes from him.

"You should go." was all she could say.

"Not with out you I'm not. You didn't think that I was going to leave you here did you. Getting the two of us off this planet has been all I can think about since you helped me escape that prison cell." he said as he reached down and took one of her hands in his own while with the other, he touched the Bottom of her chin and gently raised her face so that her eyes would meet his.

"..You're a part of my life now Ser-Ket, and I…" he started to say before she pressed a finger against his lips and stopped him mid sentence.

"I know Quickstrike, you mean exactly the same to me. Which is why this has been made even harder for myself." she replied as she looked into his eyes, those beautiful eyes that she could just lose herself in.

"What do you mean?"

"I can't go with you, I want to be with you more than anything Quickstrike. But you have to leave me behind.

The Bot's eyes widened at those words as he looked back at her in shock and disbelief.

"No, I won't leave you behind. Why do I have too?"

"Because if you don't, then you will risk the lives of everyone of your friends standing here now." Ser-Ket replied before taking a step back from the blonde Bot and opening the chest-plate of her armour slightly. Everyone including Quickstrike looked on silence as a small light could be seen blinking on and off brightly under the skin of her chest.

"What is that?" Nightracer asked, beating the others to the question.

"It's a tracking beacon, it's giving off my position to the Predacons." Ser-Ket replied, making the others suddenly look around themselves, while Quickstrike continued to look at the Femme.

"It's how they found us back at the escape shuttle hanger Quickstrike, I thought it had been broken during our fight with Skystalker…but…..I was wrong." she added as she closed up the chest-plate.

"That's why I can not go with you, because if I did then the Predacons would know exactly where your ship is and attack it. And I can't take that risk."

Quickstrike then responded by grabbing the Femme by her arms and looking at her desperately, not wanting to let go.

"No, you don't have to do this. We can cut it out, leave it here for them to find." he said back, but the Femme shook her head in response.

"It's too close to my spark, removing it would kill me."

"Then I am not going, I am staying here with you." the blonde Bot replied defiantly, earning shocked looks from the rest of the group.

"Quickstrike…" Nightracer said back, earning a calm and content look from the Bot as he came to terms with what he must do.

"You guys go without me, because I am not leaving Ser-Ket."

But as he turned his attention away from his love, the Femme clenched her fist and shook her head gently.

"I am so sorry Quickstrike, but I can't let you do this." she whispered, which made the Bot look back as he caught the end of her words.

"What did you sa….." he started to say as he looked back at her, but the last thing he saw was her fist hitting him straight in the center of his face.

"Whooooaaah!" Shen exclaimed as Quickstrike fell to the ground unconscious, earning shocked looks from everyone as Orion rushed to his cousin's side.

"Why did you?" he asked as he looked down at the Bot before looking up at Ser-Ket.

"You know why, I cannot let him risk his life for me. I care about him to much for that." she replied before looking back at the city, noticing lights moving toward their location.

"They are nearly here, you should go."

"Shen, give me a hand here." Orion said, gaining the Turian's attention who then came over and helped him pick up his unconscious cousin. He then tapped his com-link with his free hand.

"Normandy, we need a ground-bridge now." he said and a second later the green vortex opened up behind them all.

"Remember what I said Orion, be sure to look at the data on Cybertron first. And take care of him for me." Ser-Ket said, earning a nod from the Bot.

"I will….on both counts, and thank you." he said back before offering he Femme his free hand, who looked at it for a moment before smiling in return and accepting it.

"Alright everyone, lets go." Orion then said back, earning nods from Nightracer and Liara who took one last look at Ser-Ket before rushing into the vortex, disappearing in the green swirling light. Orion and Shen were about to move with the unconscious Quickstrike, but the Femme moved in close to the Bot and whispered in his ear.

"I hope you can forgive me, I love you Quickstrike….Goodbye."

And then suddenly the former Predacon equipped her rifle, turned round into a kneeling position and fired several shots into a Terracon as it was charging towards them.

"Go!" she shouted back before laying down covering fire, making the enemy troops scatter while Orion and Shen carried his cousin towards the portal. Ser-Ket just kept firing at the Terracons, not allowing them a second to catch their breath. But the Femme could see that she would be overrun in a matter of seconds, and so switched to her holo-blades and began cutting down the enemy troops one after another.

Both Orion and Shen watched in amazement at Ser-Ket, who fought the enemy single-handedly as they both began to enter the event horizon of the vortex. But that was when Quickstike started to come too, and the first thing his eyes laid on was the sight of his lover fighting off the Terracon hordes.

"Ser-Ket!" he exclaimed as both his cousin and his friend fought to keep him in their grips as they pulled him into the portal.

"Don't fight us Quickstrike." Shen pleaded with him.

"It's what she wants." Orion added with sympathy in his voice, but the last thing the blonde Bot would see, would be the Terracons surrounding Ser-Ket and tackling her to the ground before continually pummeling her, just as the portal closed around him and the others as they were surrounded by green light, but leaving his lover in the hands of the enemy as storm clouds gathered overhead.