FicWad

Transformers Titan: Awakening

Chapter 1-Activation

Circling the star Hadeen was a planet unlike anything in the heavens-Cybertron. No rock, soil or sand contributed to its bizarre geography. Its content was entirely mechanical, and it existed as a vast Saturn-sized world of labyrinthine intricacy with its origins lost to the mists of time. Here, life existed, but not life as we know it. Cybertron was populated by monumental robotic beings that could shift their forms into secondary modes of differing configurations and functions. These metal giants were the Cybertronians, but to their galactic neighbors, they were known as the Transformers.

Cybertron was once a paradise, a metallic marvel that was the prime example of just how diverse the universe could be, with its people seen by other races as evolutionary miracles, their names synonymous with culture and intellectual vigor. But what was once a glittering jewel in the cosmos was now a barren globe of scorched metal and tarnished cities littered with bodies. Civil war raged on Cybertron, a war that threatened to tear the planet asunder as it escalated to heights that no one-not even the combatants themselves-had foreseen.

It was a war started by the ruthless Megatron of Tarn, leader of the Decepticons, who spread across the planet like a plague, conquering Cybertron’s many city-states and killing all who dared opposed his “rightful” destiny as ruler of Cybertron. The only force capable of stopping the advancing Decepticons were the Autobots, led by the legendary and peaceful Optimus Prime, who forged the Autobots into a benevolent counterforce dedicated to the preservation of life, equality and freedom. For thousands of years, the two armies, led by charismatic leaders, fought for control of the planet, neither side giving in.

But as the war grew in intensity, the hazardous effect it had on the planet was becoming more evident. The war’s demand for more resources was more than what the planet could provide and its people took more than it could produce. With production of natural resources slowing to a crawl, the warring Cybertronians looked to the stars to continue their growing conflict. The war then spread to other worlds, many harboring life that was eventually snuffed out by the large scale conflict that massacred thousands of Cybertronians. Millions died. Billions more will follow.

4 million years have passed and the war continues, now having slowed to a stalemate. But the sudden inclusion of one lone planet in the distant Sol System will forever change the lives of those involved, both mechanical and organic.

XXXXXX

Autobot Orbital Command Hub was the central base of operations for the Autobots in the war. Orbiting the gas giant Opulus, the Hub was a massive space station almost as large as Opulus’ only moon, lying in orbit alongside a network of hidden sensor drones constantly monitoring the territory from the LaGrange point onwards. Here’ Autobots constantly monitored the war effort, remaining in contact with outposts across the galaxy. Tactical response units were often deployed from here on long term mission, while many other mechanoids were on standby aboard the station.

In the central command center stood a strong, powerful looking red and blue mech who stood taller than most of the Autobots on the station. Bright blue eyes shined behind crystalline optical lens as they stared out into the vast black expanse of outer space, past the gaseous orange hue of the planet Opulus; eyes that have seen friend and foe alike die in the midst of battle over the past 4 million years. His most defining feature was a silver face plate in place of an actual mouth, which was almost as much of his personal symbol as the ancient relic he held within his chest. He displayed a serenity rarely exhibited by seasoned military commanders, though his thoughts were anything but serene, and he emanated a presence that was both regal and strong, a subtle aura that demanded respect from his peers, but also drew them in.

“Optimus Prime, sir.”

Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, looked away from the window to give his full attention to his second in command, Ultra Magnus. The Autobot first lieutenant was a head taller than Prime; red, white and blue with even taller shoulder extensions. Crisp and formal as ever, Ultra Magnus gave Optimus a strict salute.

“Yes, Ultra Magnus?”

“I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but we just got word from the response team on Terra.” Ultra Magnus reported. “That planet from the Sol System in the uncharted region.”

“Terra,” Optimus muttered. “That’s Prowl’s post, isn’t it?”

“Yes, sir. He sent us an update on the situation on the planet. There’s been confirmed Decepticon activity on Terra, an infiltration unit lead by Starscream.”

“Starscream. I imagine Megatron’s keeping a close eye on him.” Optimus said. Ultra Magnus handed him a datapad and he read it over. Its contents caused him to narrow his eyes. “High levels of energon on a planetary scale…evidence suggests it was produced locally? Has Wheeljack verified this information?”

“Ratchet and Wheeljack had done extensive research into it. The planet itself is, apparently, producing its own energon.” Ultra Magnus replied. “Furthermore, it appears that Starscream has not initiated the infiltration procedure yet. The Decepticons are already behind schedule in that regard, which is strange considering they’ve spent a stellar cycle on that planet.”

This deeply concerned Optimus. Starscream was often overlooked by his enemies and allies as an overeager mech who had more bark than bite, and even Megatron and his high command disregarded Starscream as a threat. But what made the Aerospace commander so dangerous was how unpredictable he was. The average Decepticon unit would’ve been into phase 2 of their infiltration plan, but Starscream seemed to be more concerned with this planet’s energon.

“Tell Prowl to monitor the situation for any new updates. Make sure to have his team stay alert at all times.” Optimus said, handing the datapad back to Ultra Magnus. “You can never be too careful when Starscream is involved.”

“I’ll be sure to emphasize that fact to Prowl, sir.” Ultra Magnus said and walked away. Optimus watched him go and turned back to the window with a sigh.

Four million years of war and both sides were still locked in the same song and dance routine. Starscream’s erratic actions on that planet was probably the most action taken these days, save for the eradication of the Grindcore prison camp. From what he read from Prowl’s reports, Terra was home to a native species with its own problems that war easily exploitable by the Decepticons. Primus only knew what Starscream had in store for those people.

Optimus hoped the situation wasn’t as bad as Ultra Magnus made it out to be, but deep down he knew that his hopes were in vain. His instincts told him that something was going to happen soon and that little planet on everyone’s radar was going to be dragged into the middle of it.

XXXXXX

Tranquility was a city located in the dense forests of south Dakote, in Osea’s northeastern region. Situated in the middle of a large forest, Tranquility was named for its tranquil and serene atmosphere that most cities lacked due to noise and overpopulation aside from the large lake just a few miles from the city and the perfect view of the mountains in the distance, Tranquility didn’t have much else to offer visitors. All in all, it was just one big, boring town.

But to Darren Radcliffe, it was home.

The thirteen year old boy with short black hair and bright green eyes sat at his desk, rotating four medicine balls over the palm of his hand. Using his telekinesis was like breathing for him, and he barely had to think about levitating the balls in the air like small planets around him while he did other things. As he did this little “exercise”, he was reading a news report on his laptop about a very controversial topic plaguing the country right now.

Today’s Top Story: Esper Response Division uncovers and neutralizes esper nest with no civilian casualties.


“Wonderful, more news about indiscriminate killing.” Darren muttered and scrolled the page down. He saw several pictures of destroyed vehicles, and terrified people running to escape the violence between the rabid espers and the ERD soldiers fighting them. Large purple and white mecha, talos, loomed over them firing automatic weapons as the espers, who were fighting and losing terribly.

Were these esper terrorists behind the recent anti-human bombings in New York and Washington? Police say the evidence is undeniable, but human rights Amnesty International have condemned the recent unprovoked ERD raids as “inhumane and unconstitutional”, provoking a stern response from Kati Mannequin of the Department of Superhuman Defense…

The article cut to a photo of a rather pretty brunette woman in a crisp blue suit with thin glasses over her hawk-like eyes as she addressed the public at a press conference. “How can anyone question the ERD’s actions after the Washington Annihilation is beyond me. Our job is to protect the country from superhuman threats and the president, as well as myself, believe that is exactly what we’re doing. The president wishes to reaffirm his support for the project and offers his most sincere congratulations to the federal employees behind it. ”

The DSD chairwoman was of course referring to Karaba’s devastating bomb blast on Capitol Hill only seven days ago, and the recent broadcasts from Dreyas Lehnsherr, the death cult’s self-proclaimed leader…

There was a video showing the blurry image of a figure clad in ivory armor sitting regally on a throne. He was a young-looking man with dark skin and long wavy purple hair, but even just from looking at his picture, Darren could tell that this man was very powerful and had no problem showing that power off.

“This is only the beginning. Some would say that I’m a terrorist, but I like to think of myself as a savior, a savior who looks out for man’s successor, esper. No longer will we live in fear of those inferior homo-sapiens-soon, it will be the naturals who will know fear. Naturally, our attacks on this cesspool of a country will continue until you cede this land to its rightful owners. But your gods grow impatient, and you don’t want to know what happens when our patience runs out.”

Former NASA engineer and designer of the Paladin talos Professor Henri Arkeville was pleased with the performance of his mech and is excited about future potential dealings with the ERD for more advanced models.

The next photo showed an old man with graying hair and a gaunt figure standing next to a Paladin talos. He barely reached the knee of the 4 meter tall robot and looked comically small next to it, but his expression showed no mirth, not even a smile.

“We have lived in fear of amalgams for as long as I can remember, but today goes down in history as a turning point where ordinary people started fighting back.” Arkeville said. “Los Angles was only the first step; my colleagues and I seek to produce two thousand more units to distribute to all fifty states in the country to aid the brave men and women of the ERD in detaining these monstrous terrorists once and for all. Espers may have their powers, but we have technology on our side!”


Espers, that was the name of humanity’s off-shoot subspecies of superhumans who started appearing near the end of the Belkan War in 1945. They (mostly) looked like humans, but had powers, abilities and mutations that set them apart from baseline humans. In the 20th century, more and more espers were appearing every day, most were just regular people who suddenly manifested their powers, while others were born espers. As the number of espers grew, so did the people’s fear of them, and violent pro-esper groups like Karaba only made put them more on edge. Violent espers certainly gave some governments a clear conscious when declaring them a public menace and ordering them to be arrested on sight…or killed on the spot.

Darren was born an esper, a telekinetic, so he knew more than anyone else the dangers espers faced in the world. The internet was full of horror stories of espers being taken by governments to be experimented on or turned into living weapons. Darren paid them no mind, but he didn’t put it past some organizations to weaponize espers. It was an esper’s number one fear, to be captured, tortured, cut open like some lab rat and turned inside out…

“HEY!”

“Ah!” Darren nearly jumped out of his chair in surprise, and sent his marbles flying in different directions with a startled telekinetic burst. He took a second to calm himself before glaring at his intruder. “Damn it, Annie, have you ever heard of knocking?”

Annie, his sister, merely grinned in response. She was his twin, born five minutes before him, and thus shared his features like his bright green eyes and black hair that fell down her back. She was dressed in a black T-shirt and a matching skirt with combat boots.

“You’re my twin, Darren. You’re supposed to know when I’m close by instinct.” Annie said smirking. “So, what’cha doin’?”

“If you really want to know, I was just web surfing and stuff. Nothing you should worry about.” Darren answered. Annie raised a delicate eyebrow, frowning at the computer screen. When she gave him a look, he asked, “What?”

“You shouldn’t be watching stuff like that, bro. you know how Debbie worries about you after that last anxiety attack.” She scolded and pointed at the article he was reading. “Reading that isn’t helping at all.”

“I can’t help it.” He sighed, shutting down his computer. “I’m an esper, I have to know about this stuff. Those ERD yahoos don’t see us as good or bad. Gaia help me if any come sniffing around out neck of the woods.”

“But they won’t, because no one gives a shit about Tranquility. No one important anyway. And why are you so worried? You’re an amalgam, even without your telekinesis, you’re as strong as a grown man. And when you get older, you can probably tear a few men in half with your bare hands.” Annie said. Darren glared at her and she waved it off. “What? I’m just saying that with your powers, you could probably take those ERD assholes out no problem. That is, if you actually bothered to train and not back out like a wuss-“

“Why are you here, Annie?” Darren groaned. He really didn’t want to have that conversation again, especially not this early in the morning.

“Well, aside from informing you that Debbie has breakfast ready, I’m also here to tell you that we’ll be doing a little activity in the forest after school today.” Annie said.

“Who’s we?”

“You, me and Gina.”

“Dear lord, you brought Gina into your crazy schemes?”

“It was her idea genius.” Annie huffed. “She said that it had something to do with a little “discovery” she chanced upon over the weekend.”

Darren cocked a brow at that. “And what exactly did she find?”

“No clue, she was very hush hush about it.” She replied. “She’s not gonna snitch until you’re there with us, so you better say yes.”

By all rights he should’ve listened to the warning bells in his head, but his innate curiosity won out. “Fine, I’ll come with you.”

Annie’s eyes lit up. “Really? You’ll actually come? You’re not just saying that to get me out of the room, are you? Because if you are, I’m kicking your ass.”

“GO!” Darren yelled. He telekinetically shoved Annie out the door, and slammed it shut behind her.

“I’m guessing that’s a yes then.” Her muffled voice said through the door.

‘How are we related?’ Darren thought as he went to gather his clothes. It was just another day in the Radcliffe household.

XXXXXX

Bumblebee weaved through the trees, his metal feet only making light thumps against the soft forested ground. The sun was covered by the tall trees that surrounded the dormant volcano of Mount Saint Hilary, with narrow beams of light seeping through the canopy. He kept his external sensors pointed outwards in all directions as he kept his hand on his blaster, finger near the trigger but not on it.

He moved to find cover, so as to get rid of that nagging feeling of being watched. But as he moved under the shade of a tree, his sensors beeped and he leapt to the side as a laser bolt shot past his shoulder. He rolled to his feet and fired a few shots in the direction where the attack came from, then stopped. No one was shooting back. Bumblebee relaxed his guard a bit, but then he heard rustling branches above him. He looked up and saw someone descending upon him.

Bumblebee jumped aside to avoid getting used a landing pad and spun around to aim his blaster at his assailant, who also pointed their weapon at his face. They took a moment to properly study each other before lowering their weapons.

“I thought we were supposed to be training together, Arcee. You nearly scared me half to death.” The yellow Autobot sighed.

“Sorry, I had to make sure you weren’t the enemy.” Arcee said, not taking her eyes off the surroundings. Bumblebee had to admire how she could hold a conversation and stay focused on the environment at the same time, but considering who they were up against, such concentration was necessary. “That light show probably gave away our position, so we better relocate before he gets the jump on us.”

“You mean like this?”

A silver Autobot, Jazz, fell down between them and performed a fluid spin-kick that knocked Arcee and Bumblebee apart. Arcee tried to shoot him, but he crouched under her blasts and kicked the gun from her hand. She back-flipped away from him and took out her melee weapons-two orange energo-rapiers and slashed at Jazz with quick, wide reaching strikes and slashes that he nimbly dodged. Jazz took out a pair of laser nun-chucks and spun them around his body at speeds only a master of such a weapon could achieve. He used them to block and deflect her swords with enough force to send vibrations up her arms.

Bumblebee rushed at Jazz from behind and fired his blaster, but Jazz flipped over Arcee, using her as a shield to block the bolts (they were set on stun, thankfully) and he kicked her at the scout. Both Autobots tumbled to the ground, but Arcee jumped back up to face Jazz…only to find him gone.

“Scrap!” She muttered. She felt something behind her and turned around, only to get bonked on the head by one of Jazz’s nunchaku, and she tumbled to the ground in a daze.

Bumblebee tried to grab Jazz, but the silver mech grabbed his arm and twisted it, using the scout’s weight and momentum to spin Bumblebee in the air and kicked him into a tree. Jazz spun his nunchucks and pointed them at his face, lightly poking him in the nose.

“And that’s game.” Jazz grinned. He put his weapons away and helped Bumblebee up. “You guys did good, better than yesterday at least.”

“That doesn’t help my self-esteem.” Bumblebee grumbled. As if to add insult to injury, a branch broke off and fell on his head, breaking on his little yellow horns. “Why did I agree to this again?”

“Because you needed some help with your close combat skills. That’s why.” Jazz replied. He reached down and helped Arcee to her feet, keeping her steady. “You okay, Cee?”

“I’m fine, but did you have to hit me so hard? My head’s ringing like a church bell.” She groaned.

“Sorry ‘bout that. I had to make sure you were out for the count. You’re a hard girl to keep down.” He said. Jazz stood before the two Autobots to give them their lesson for the day. “Now tell me, what did you two do wrong?”

Bumblebee struggled for an answer, but Arcee was quick on the draw. “We weren’t working as a team.”

“Exactly. When going up against a strong opponent, always have someone with you for an assist, and to watch your back. Working as a coherent unit increases your chances of survival and success.”

So if we do a better job of working together next time, does that mean we might stand a chance of beating you?” Bumblebee asked hopefully.

“Nah, it’ll be a long time before that happens.” Jazz snorted. “But it will make fighting a dysfunctional Decepticon unit easier. Primus knows they’re teamwork is garbage.”

“Modest, isn’t he?” Bumblebee whispered to Arcee as Jazz walked back to their ship.

“No, just telling it as it is.” Arcee smirked and nudged his shoulder. “Come on, we’ve got recon in five.”

Bumblebee groaned. “Oh joy.”

XXXXXX

Darren sat in his history class taking notes diligently as his teacher read out the current subject they were doing. While he was no brain child like his best friend, the subject his homeroom teacher was lecturing the class on was one of his favorite subjects to hear about.

“The Age of Wonders was a designated era in human history where we believe mankind once had access to science and technology more advanced than even our modern society.” Diana Masters, history teacher at Heartsgrace Middle School, said to the class. After making sure that her students were paying attention and not just scribbling doodles or sleeping, she continued with her lecture. “It is hard to accurately calculate when exactly this time period was, but experts say that the Age of Wonders began at least 3000 BVC. During this age many regions of the world where today’s countries are located harbored great cities and advanced machinery that all share common designs despite being thousands of miles apart. Any ideas on how this was possible?”

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gina raise her hand. “Yes, Gina?”

“It was the Arian Empire?” Gina answered.

“Correct,” Diana nodded. “The Arian Empire was the most powerful nation in the world during the Age of Wonders and records suggest that they were the reason for such advanced technology being so widespread around the globe. They were only conquerors in name, and many regions under their control were allowed to maintain their customs and general authority under their rule. This is why tech such as the ancient Vimana aircraft and the golem automatons can be found in almost every part of the world. How these machines worked and most details of the Age of Wonders was presumably lost when the Void Century came about, though we can still find numerous settlements and structures all over the world today.” The bell rang as she finished up and clapped her hands. “Class dismissed, and remember to read pages 28-31 in your textbooks for Monday’s quiz.”

Darren quickly made his way to his locker as hundreds of students filed out of the
classroom. Annie met up with him at their lockers, which were conveniently right next to
each other as well. “So how was your day, bro?”

“It went about as well as it could without Billy and Fred trying to shoot spitball.” Darren remarked.

“And failing horribly.” Annie smirked. She pictured Darren’s tormentors trying to shoot spitballs at him in class, only for Darren to telekinetically flick them away before they could even touch him. She could only imagine the dumb looks on their faces.

“Did you run into Gina yet?” He asked. “I haven’t seen her all morning and she was hush-hush when I texted her at homeroom.”

“We had gym together. Gina was bouncing off the walls, but she didn’t explain any further, only that she had something to show us.” Annie grumbled and crossed her arms. “It’s not like Gina to be so secretive.”

“Eh, that’s just how she works. Trying to figure out her thought process gives me a headache, so I stopped a long time ago.” Darren said, and chuckled when Annie punched his shoulder with a grin.

“Be nice.” She laughed.

“Darren! Annie!” They turned to see a familiar golden haired girl running down the hall, nearly knocking over a teacher who was passing by and continuing without so much as a quick apology. Gina Harkins what many would consider a child genius, a girl with high grades and a strong love for all things historical, the result of being the child of an archaeologist father and a martial artist mother. She was a cute girl, with long blonde hair, blue eyes hidden behind a pair of round glasses and a rather developed body for her age. She was the twins’ best friend since kindergarten and was their resident Einstein whenever she made something out the many scraps in her so-called “workshop”. “Annie, did you tell Darren about our plans later?”

“Yeah, I gave him the rundown.” Annie said. “Now are you going to give us a hint as to what has you looking like you found the secret to immortality?”

“That’s something I’m saving for afterschool.” Gina had that cheeky grin she had when she knew something juicy that no one else knew. “Meet me at the caves around the place you two went hiking with Debbie. I’m going to be a little late since I need to get a few things from home, but I’ll be there!” She gave Darren a wary glance. “You…are coming right, Darren?”

“Of course I am,” Darren smiled, unknowingly setting Gina’s fears at ease. “Someone has to make sure that you stay out of trouble.”

“Great! Remember, go to the caves straight after school, no detours, no excuses. I’ll see you two later!” Gina skipped off with a bright smile on her face, leaving the twins behind.

Once she was gone, Darren ran a hand down his face. “I really hope this doesn’t blow up in our faces.”

Annie swung an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t worry, Darren, you won’t get into any trouble with me around!”

“That’s because I’ll be too busy keeping an eye on you girls instead.” Darren said. He laughed at the cross look his twin sent him.

XXXXXX

The Decepticon command bunker in Tennessee was the nexus point where the Decepticon infiltration unit would use as their base of operations on Terra, conducting any and all operations from within the bunker, protected from any human radar waves and hidden from Autobot sensors. Most bunkers were made from the very ships the unit used to get to that planet, for better mobility and utility.

Starscream’s unit had built the bunker into the side of a mountain in Tennessee, far from civilization and made using materials locally procured (stolen) or transported from the off-world factories across the galaxy near that region of space. It was a good thing the bunker was constructed away from human habitation, as the base was far from covert-its silver metallic appearance and alien design contrasted the natural brown shades of rock it sat against. While it was far from tactical to have such a crucial location stand out like that, other would argue that its presence alone would instill fear in those who gazed upon it-a belief continually proposed by Starscream, Aerospace Commander of the Seeker armada. The red and silver flyer shot over the nearby forest like a bullet, slowing down as he got to the base and transformed in an ostentatious flurry of shifting parts and landing on the outstretched landing deck.

“You certainly took your time getting back.” A deep red mech said, standing in front of the entry way. His very stance shouted flawlessness and extravagance, with armor that was smoothly and polished from many hours of arduous waxing and buffing to ensure that his finish was as new as the day he was forged. “Off to hoard more energon for yourself, are we?”

“Don’t start with me, Knockout.” Starscream grumbled. “I was just scouting for any deposits that we haven’t discovered yet. It’s a big continent after all.”

“Starscream, far be it from me to try and tell you to straighten up, but this is a dangerous game you’re playing.” Knockout, the unit’s field medic, crossed his arms and raised his metal eyebrow. “We should have started Phase 1 by now. Megatron won’t like us screwing around under his nose.”

Starscream held up a hand to quiet Knockout. There was a reason he chose the medic to be his personal confidant on this team, and it was because he was both a skilled medic and scientist, but also because Knockout had a mind that worked like his. He didn’t have to worry about him taking his position so long as he buttered Knockout up, which was better than some of the alternatives on this team. Though his nagging was getting a bit repetitive.

“Thank for your concern, Knockout,” Starscream said, knowing full well that it was out of self-preservation, not loyalty, that made the medic cautious. “But I am in command here. Megatron is too busy leading this dull war of attrition against the Autobots. I’m simply taking the initiative and setting the stage for a major Decepticon victory.”

Knockout gave a skeptical “Mhmm.”

Starscream threw an arm around his shoulders as they walked back into the bunker. “Knockout, this planet is a gold mine. Its natural resources alone make this the perfect staging ground for my-our ambitions. And all this energon growing on it is a bonus.”

“If we actually figure out why is energon growing here in the first place.”

We’ll figure that out along the way.” Starscream waved away Knockout’s concerns. “Now come, Knockout. We have a war to win.”

XXXXXXX

“A whole stellar cycle and a half on this planet and we still haven’t seen any sign of the Decepticons aside from Starscream back in Kokomo.” Prowl sighed as he looked at Ironhide and Jazz across the meeting table. The trio sat in the command center of their ship, the Antlion, in a debriefing. “Not to mention we have yet to see any signs of the infiltration protocol.”

“Aside from a few local hot spots on the planet, which is painfully common with the humans,” Jazz said dully, tapping his stylus on the table. “It’s not like Screamer to be so quiet for this long.”

“Probably doesn’t want to catch Megatron’s attention.” Ironhide, a big, burly red mech with two cannons on his forearms, grumbled. “It’s obvious Starscream is breaking the rules here. But aside from the energon, what else is making him break protocol like this?”

“I don’t know.” Prowl admitted after a pause, and he hated not knowing all the answers in
a battlefield theatre.

His tactical response unit had been stationed on Terra for a little more than a year now in based on intel of Starscream setting up shop on the planet. Since landing on Terra, the first thing that caught the Autobots off guard was the high levels of energon that seemed to have been locally produced instead of imported off-world. That alone merited further study.

Furthermore, the planet’s native inhabitants, humans, were another anomaly. On Terra, the human race was divided into two categories-regular humans called naturals, and super powered individuals called espers. At the turn of the century, the previously clandestine espers had risen in numbers, numbering in the millions, and the world was now trying to find ways to deal with espers; some nations treated them as people, others were hunted down, many discriminated against. Delpoi, the continent they were stationed in, was somewhat in the middle, though its people leaned more towards the discriminatory side. The levels of violence committed against espers and their families was appalling.

In addition to that, much of the First World nations’ militaries employed giant 4 meter tall robots called talos, which humans piloted in a division of the military called the Mobile Armor Division. These mecha were supposedly based in design off the golems-automatons that were once used by the ancient Arian empire that existed millions of years ago. They pelted in comparison to the average cybertronian in technological terms, though Prowl wasn’t taking any chances.

So many wild cards to take note of should this operation go south. Prowl wasn’t counting on the humans getting involved, but Starscream’s erratic behavior was something that worried him.

“We need to force the Cons into action. Spool a little to force them into tipping their hands.” Jazz said.

“How do we do that? Lure ‘em out with energon like shock-rats?” Ironhide asked.

Jazz shrugged. “It’s just a thought. Better than sitting here twiddling our thumbs.”

“Right now, we just need to secure the planet’s energon supply.” Prowl said. “If I know Starscream, and I’m sure we all do, then the energon is going to attract his attention. Until then, we keep our ears to the ground and eyes to the sky for anything that might seem unusual.”

“Better than nothing.” Jazz grinned and stood up. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna spend my afternoon listenin’ to some good ole J-pop.”

“God damn it.” Ironhide groaned. Another afternoon of Jazz blasting that damn human music right next door. Just his damn luck.”

XXXXXX

Annie took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, a large smile on her face. “Smell that Darren? That’s the smell of the great outdoors! The smell of adventure and excitement!”

“And broken bones if you’re not careful.” Darren grumbled. “Stop trying to make this seem like something other than a bunch of kids screwing around in the forest.”

Annie gave her brother a grin as she set her skateboard next to his bike alongside a
prominent outcropping. “”Come on, this’ll be fun! When was the last time we did something like this together?”

“Early this summer, in June, before I broke my leg after you pushed me off a damn cliff into a lake.” Darren replied. Annie winced and rubbed the back of her head.

“In my defense, I thought that lake would’ve been deeper. But come on, have an open mind about it. This might be the perfect chance to test out your powers.”

Darren sighed, but decided to humor Annie. “All right, if you really want me to enjoy this, then I won’t complain too much. But if we die, I’m whooping your ass on the other side.”

“Deal.”

Gina arrived five minutes later on a pristine white moped, a custom model she rebuilt
from an old moped that she dug up from the local junkyard where she got her materials. “Howdy fellow explorers! Gina Harkins is here!”

“You rode here on your moped?” Annie blinked. “On this terrain?”

“Yup, it’s a special model I outfitted with some alterations I made. It has an adjustable
axis that allows it to balance itself on uneven terrain.” Gina patted her little ride with
a biker’s pride. “Just another invention from your neighborhood genius.”

Darren gave a little smiled and studied their surroundings. Rising out of the landscape before them was a small mountain, one of many that dotted the region outside Tranquility, just east of the downtown area and being within an hour’s bike ride of the suburbs the three lived in. the area was safe enough for the kids to visit, albeit unattended and unsupervised.

“So we’re all here, Gina. Now what’s this little surprise you wanted to show us?”

Gina smiled and reached into her backpack, pulling out a large crystal shard. Darren and Annie were immediately awestruck by the strange mineral; it was almost as long as a pencil, and a bright blue, glowing faintly in the shade of the trees overhead. Gina looked smug at the soft “wow” the twins made.

“Oh my god,” Darren whispered. “What is it?”

“No idea,” Gina shrugged. “I found this sticking out of the ground while I was looking
for some quartz around here last Sunday.”

“Hold up, you’ve been lugging this thing around for three days and you don’t know what it
is?”

“Well, originally I thought it was just some kind of discolored mineral, but when I took it to Kelly-you know, that slightly crazy geologist lady who lives down the street from me?-and she said that it wasn’t hephaestium. In fact, it was like nothing she had ever seen before. All she could tell me was that it was crystalline, like diamond.”

“Do you think you discovered a new mineral?” Darren asked.

“That would be so cool if you did!” Annie grinned. “Can you imagine all the money you’ll make if you sell that?”

“Forget the money, Annie!” Gina exclaimed. “This could be a new power source that could potentially rival, or maybe even surpass, fossil fuels! Junkies, just thinking of its applications gets me all fired up!”

“I wanted to check out this cave, since I found the crystal not too far from the entrance. But I figured it would be unfair to go in without taking you two with me.” Gina rocked on her heels as she made her request. “So…are you in?”

“Oh you know it, Gina! How can I pass up this wonderful opportunity to make some green?” Annie gushed, dollar signs flashing in her eyes.

Gina shyly turned to Darren, making sure she had her trademarked Puppy Dog Eyes activated for maximum effect. “Darren?”

“Yeah, count me in.” Darren smiled. “I’m not just going to leave my best friend hanging.”

“Great! Let’s get this expedition started!” The blonde cheered.

“We’re exploring for hidden treasure!” Annie yelled.

“Girls, please be careful.” Darren warned then, but the girls paid him no heed as they
entered the cave.


“Jinkies, this is so exciting!” Gina squealed.

“I know, right?” Annie giggled.

“And they ignore me.” Darren sighed and followed them into the cave. This afternoon was going to be a long one.

The next couple of minutes passed in silence. None of the three children making much noise, before tremors went through the tunnel. Immediately they crouched low to the ground for better stability.

“I thought you said there weren’t any volcanoes in this area, Annie!” Darren yelled.

“There aren’t!” Reflecting on her sources, Annie admitted, “At least, Wikipedia said this area’s clean.”

Before Darren could give further protest, Gina chimed in for him. “This is what you get for not checking proper sources! You should’ve stuck with the National Geological Survey site!”

Another few minutes passed before the shaking finally stopped, and the kids took notice of an opening within the rock wall. It was revealed when chunks of rock were dislodged from the shaking.

“What do we have here?” Gina’s glasses glinted in the dark as she took in this new discovery.

“Don’t know, don’t care,” Darren said. “I don’t know about you guys, but I say we leave before another earthquake starts up.”

And miss out on being the first to explore a new tunnel system? No way!” Pulling out a flashlight from her bag, Gina stood up and scrambled in. “C’mon guys, this is great!”

Both Darren and Annie reluctantly followed, their flashlights helping to illuminate the cave they found themselves in. it wasn’t particularly large; barely enough for them to stretch their arms up above their heads and touch the ceiling or the opposite walls, but it was comfortable enough for them to move around easily. As they went deeper into the tunnels, flashlights keeping them aware of their surroundings in front of them, the trio remained cautious-while there was much chance of another earthquake, there was still the possibility of an aftershock (rare as they may be), and none of the three liked the idea of being stuck in their newly discovered cave.

As his flashlight’s beam went over a nearby wall, a glint caught Darren’s eye. “Hey guys,
look at this!”

“Where?” Annie asked.

“Right where my beam ends. Do you see that?”

At the end of the light, there was an exposed bit of something metallic, grayish blue in color.

“Some kind of crystal?” Annie implored as Gina walked over to study it.

“Wait, this isn’t rock. It’s…some kind of metal.” She said.

“Metal?” Annie snorted. “What, you think it could be some UFO?”

“Let’s not jump to any conclusions.” Gina cautioned. She felt along the surface and, feeling something akin to a door, then added, “Okay, on second thought, maybe you’re right.”

Placing her bag down and setting her flashlight on it so its light was on her, Gina reached in and pulled out a crowbar. The twins stared at it, confused.

“Why do you have a crowbar?” Darren asked. Gina smirked cattily at him.

“An explorer is always prepared. Annie, help me with this.” Gina and Annie put the crowbar against the hatch and pushed down as hard as possible, but the doors would not budge with such meager strength. Grunt in exertion, Annie glanced at Darren.

“A little help would be nice.” She grunted.

Darren nodded and the girls stepped back as he worked his magic. As a telekinetic, his powers had practically no limits, but he rarely used them for more than picking up objects no heavier than a chair. Reaching out with his senses, he visualized two invisible hands pulling the hatch open. The girls watched entranced as the hatch shook and groaned before slowly pulling it apart in tandem with Darren’s hand movements. Another minute passed before the hatch was split open with a loud metallic clang.

“There, easy as pie.” Darren breathed. That was a little more difficult than he thought. He knew amalgams who could do things like this in his sleep, but he was slightly out of practice.

“Great job, bro.” Annie said, patting him on the back.

“Okay, Annie, looks like you actually shot straight for once,” Gina gulped as she view
their handiwork. “It might actually be a UFO.”

“Sweet.” Annie said. “So…what do we do now?”

“We go inside, of course.” Gina answered. “For all we know, this could be a first contact situation. And I am definitely hype enough to be one of the first humans to meet an alien.”

She picked up her crowbar from underneath the hatch. As Darren’s raised eyebrow, she blushed and shrugged. “For protection.”

The kids looked at each other, and then Darren decided to lead the way through the hatch.
The moment he stepped through, however, the small structure suddenly became illuminated, strong artificial lights blinking into existence.

“Must be automatic.” Darren noted.

“Wow,” Gina breathed. “This place is amazing.”

The pod was large, about the size of a small dining room in a modern home. It was circular, with a few computer displays made near the hatch and a collection of size pods in the center of a support column.

“Well this isn’t so bad.” Darren said as he moved towards the center column. “No way this was made by human hands. Just look at this writing! We better not-“

A high-pitched alarm suddenly went off, forcing them to cover their ears. Darren looked over at Annie as she pressed a button and shut the alarm off. She gave a weak laugh at her companions’ glares. “Oops, sorry.”

Gina let out an exasperated sigh. “Nice going, Annie. ‘Oh, a shiny red button, let’s press it and see what it does!’ You’re lucky we’re still talking to each other!”

“Hey, I said I was-“ Another beeping sound went off and all eyes turned to Annie, who held up her hands. “Wasn’t me.”

A small portion of the console extended outwards, a bright orange object rising from it. It looked like a digital camcorder, but then it sprouted a head, legs and wing-like appendages. The small robotic bird tested its joints, and looked around with its camera-like lens, its head bobbing up and down. The children stared at it in silence until Darren asked what was on all their minds. “What is it?”

“Some kind of robot.” Just as Gina said those words, the robot bird activated tiny jets on its wings, leapt off the console and flew out of the pod, back through the way they came from.

XXXXXX

Several quick beeps roused the attention of a large, charcoal black Decepticon as he was began to drift off, prompting to return his full attention to the computer screen before him. Boredom from hiding and no action had become so unsatisfying that Blackout had hoped none of the higher-ups minded him resting his eyes before the console gave him a wake-up call.

Just as he began to check over the signal, it suddenly stopped. “Okay, that’s weird.”

“Something wrong, Blackout?” An elegant voice asked.

Blackout quickly straightened up as he was addressed by the Decepticon’s first lieutenant, Nightshade. She was a tall, lithe, black and white femme with curved extensions on her head and narrow dark purple eyes. Her frame was adorned with parts of her beast mode-the most visible being the black avian head on her chest and the large black wings on her back that were folded in to allow her clearance. Nightshade was a deadly warrior, one of the best, who was Megatron’s second in command and his “shadow” as some dubbed her. Few bots in the Cons had such strong loyalty as hers, and it was one of reasons she was so high up the food chain.

Blackout cleared his throat. “Nothing serious, Nightshade, just an old Cybertronian signal, extremely powerful. Strange thing is, it wasn’t coming from any of our territories or the Autobots’-it was coming from the uncharted region.”

“Where specifically?” A raspy, commanding voice thundered. Both Nightshade and Blackout immediately stood at attention as the speaker entered the comm-station, heavy footfalls in his wake.

“A little over a parsec away, Lord Megatron. I’ll replay it for you.”

Cueing up the necessary program, Blackout replayed the transmission. A quick burst of
information, displayed on the screen via a rapidly shifting series of bars and lines, flashed before them until the playback ended. Nightshade’s eyes narrowed into slits when she noticed some of the numbers after freezing the playback.

“That signal’s coming from a small part of the uncharted region, near its borders.” She said. She not-so-gently nudged the helo aside to re-read the data to compare its position to a set of coordinates. “The direction it came from was the planet Starscream’s team is stationed.”

Megatron frowned at the mention of Starscream, but he considered the transmission thoughtfully. Starscream’s location and this sudden pulsewave was no coincidence. “Computer, pen communications channel 3-22-200.”

A few seconds later, a monotone voice answered back. “Megatron, you wish to inquire about the unusual transmission?”

“Correct, Soundwave. Can you verify its origins?”

“I can do more than that-I can identify its source.” Soundwave said. “That specific frequency was used for the wavelength of the Exodus.”

Nightshade looked up sharply from the monitor, eyes widening in surprise. “It can’t be.”

“But it can…and most likely is,” A smile on his face, the Decepticon warlord turned to the monitor. “Soundwave, have the Nemesis lock onto that signal’s origin point and ready our crew for a fold.”

“Megatron?” Nightshade inquired

“Nightshade, if we detected that signal, then chances are high that the Autobots have as well. That ship belonged to the Minicons, and if we can get to them first, then it will grant us a massive strategic advantage.” Megatron stared out at the sea of stars before him. “We have been given a rare opportunity, one I do not intend to squander.”

XXXXXX

As soon as he received the call, Ironhide left skid marks on the floor in his haste by
the time he reached the bridge. “You sure you’ve got the right signal, Wheeljack?”

“Something this important and you’re asking me that?” Wheeljack, the team’s mechanical engineer, said. He was frantically running his fingers over the terminal, the monitor giving him a positive match for the signal. “No way was that anything else-it’s the Exodus!”

“You sure?” Ironhide asked, earning him a wrench thrown at his head that he ducked under. “Okay, I’ll stop asking!”

“The Exodus, of all places?” Prowl frowned. To think it would end up on this planet, it was a powder keg waiting to happen. “This will certainly light the fuse on this whole operation.”

“We need to call in boss-bot.” Jazz said, but Prowl stopped him with a hard glare.

“No, we don’t need to drag Optimus into this.” Prowl said firmly. He pressed a button on the computer. “Teletran, have any Autobots we have on recon ground bridged to the signal’s origin point. The rest of you are on standby. Time is of the essence and we don’t have a moment to spare!”

XXXXXX

“Prime, Magnus, we’ve just picked up a distress beacon. Frequency matches what’s in our records, and I hate to say it, but…it’s the Exodus!”

Interrupted just as he and Ultra Magnus began to enter his office, the Autobot leader exchanged a brief glance with his second in command before answering his comm-link. “Have you verified it?”

“Checked and double-checked them, sir. It’s them.”
Ultra Magnus frowned, his large, blue eyes dimming with stress. “I knew it was only a matter of time. Do you think anyone else picked up on it?”

“As powerful as the transmitters were on that ship, I’m not taking any chances.” Returning to his vid-monitor, Optimus gave his orders. “Smokescreen, contact Perceptor and Leadshot. I want my ship prepped and ready to depart as soon as possible.”

“Understood, Prime.”

XXXXXX

“What the hell was that, Barricade?!” Starscream yelled. Just seconds ago, he got news of
an unknown Cybertronian signal that lasted only a few seconds before cutting off. “Where did it come from?”

“Yell in my face again, Starscream, and I’ll punch your denta out!” Barricade growled.

“Don’t talk to your superior officer like that, you plebian!” Starscream replied with
equal ferocity. “Tell me what that signal was, now!”

“That’s what we’re trying to find out, Starscream.” Knockout said, looking the data over. “It wasn’t of Autobot origin, but it was definitely Cybertronian. Really old, too.
Almost…oh my.”

“What?”

“It says the signal came from the Exodus, that lost Minicon starship.”

Starscream stared at Knockout for almost a minute before a smile spread across his lips and his eyes brightened with greed. “This is it, Knockout! My opportunity!” He laughed. “Those Minicons are my ticket to rising to the position as overlord of the Decepticons! Just their power boost alone could allow me to kill Megatron a thousand times over!”

His elation was popped like a bubble when Barricade gave another bit of unexpected news. “We’re getting an incoming Decepticon signal from orbit.”

“Huh?” Starscream pushed Barricade aside and read the message. “No…”

“Hmm. Looks like your plans might have to be put on hold, Starscream.” Knockout grinned
after looking at the screen.

“No, no, no…”

“I believe the humans call this karma.” Barricade cackled.

“Shut up, both of you!” Starscream shoved a finger in Barricade’s face. “Call them back
and tell them to get the hell away from my planet! This world is under my jurisdiction!”

“Too late,” Knockout pointed outside. “He’s already here.”

“He…frag!” If Starscream had any blood, his face would be deathly pale by now. He ran out of the bunker onto the landing pad and was greeted with the sight of a massive Decepticon warship descending upon the forest.

The dark purple ship was stretched nearly two miles long, with a dagger-like beak at the front and red stripes glowing from the shard-shaped wings. Armed to the teeth with some of the most advanced and devastating weaponry in the galaxy, and equipped with heavily encrypted stealth cloaking, this vessel was the crown jewel of the Decepticon Space Fleet.

It was the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon Empire and the personal vessel of Megatron, founder and leader of this mighty war engine called the Decepticons.

XXXXXX

Annie peered out of the room, searching for the small drone, but seeing no sign of it in
the tunnel. “What do you think that was all about?”

“Maybe it was some kind of UAV.” Darren said. “You know, like unmanned drones the
military uses.”

“Possibly,” Gina began to pack her things, making sure to have her crowbar on hand. “Whatever it is, I don’t think we should be here when it comes back. Let’s just take a quick look around, make sure there aren’t any more surprises and leave.”

“Okay, just whatever you do, don’t-“

“Touch anything. Got it.” Annie said.

The small drone soon returned, swooping past the kids before hooking itself back into its
slot. The trio looked from the small robot to the screen above it, fragments of unrecognizable alien text and wire frame scans flashing across the monitor.

“Guess I was right about that thing being a UAV.” Darren said and took a closer look at some of some of the scans. “Look, it scanned out stuff and more!”

The wire frame scans quickly took the shape of familiar objects. The kids recognized designs similar to Darren’s bike, Annie’s skateboard, Gina’s moped as well as a sports car, helicopter and fire truck.

“Tiny UAVs that make the military jealous? Now I’ve seen it all.” Gina whistled in appreciation. “But why scan all this stuff? A little low tech if you ask me.”

Several chirps sounded behind them, prompting Darren to turn back to the center column. “Um, girls? One of the pods is doing something.”

One of the pods came online. After a series of status displays flashed across the screen, the monitor became static and a hatch popped open with a hiss, flipping to the side. Within the pod lay a thin, deep blue robot slightly smaller than them, its limbs colored light silver blue with a white mouth plate, sporting parts resembling a bicycle on its form.

“What is it?” Darren questioned.

“It’s an alien obviously.” Gina said, stepping forward.

As if in response to her words, its eyes flashed on and the robot glanced over at the kids, speaking in a clearly male voice. “It has a name, thank you.”

The kids jumped, clearly not expecting the robot to speak, let alone do so in their
language. Giving the inwardly squealing Gina a wary glance, Darren stepped forward. “Yeah, sorry, we didn’t know you understood us, um…”

“High Wire.” The robot said, moving his shoulder joints to regain some feeling in them. “It’s okay. Given the circumstances, understand your ignorance. And who are the three of you?”

“I’m Darren; this is my sister Annie and our best friend Gina. Nice to meet you, I guess.” Darren said. When the little robot continued to stare unblinkingly at them, Darren grew nervous. “Um, is something wrong?”

High Wire shook his head to clear away the diagnostic filters across his vision. “I’m sorry, I just wasn’t expecting to encounter sentient life on this planet-at least, none as developed as you are. Clearly many things have changed since I was last online.”

Turning back to the contraption, Gina curiously poked it. “So this pod…is it some kind of
sleep chamber?”

“It’s actually a stasis pod, but yes Gina, that is an adequate analogy. We use them for long distance trips, emergency operations, or in my case, protect us from harm.” That was when High Wire noticed the switched on computer. Eyes wide, he jumped out of the pod and ran over to the console, reading the data on the screen, growing worried by the minute. “Who touched this console?”

Darren and Gina pointed at Annie, who had the decency to look shy at all the attention. “Yeah, sorry about that. My bad.” She said, but then she got a little scared. “Wait, I didn’t activate some self-destruct sequence or something, did I?”

“Nothing of the sort. What you did was activate the distress beacon that can only be activated on a Cybertronian wavelength.” High Wire explained.

“And why is that a bad thing?” Darren asked.

High Wire studied Darren for a moment before nodding. “Well, since you’ve found me, I should probably give you all the details.”

“Yes, that would be nice.” Gina remarked, crossing her arms.

“To begin, I and the others like me are called Minicons. We are members of a race of mechanical lifeforms native to the planet Cybertron, orbiting the star your people know as…Shaula, provided the star maps are correct. We had left our world to escape a civil war being fought between two major factions, the Autobots and Decepticons.” He explained. “It was a unanimous decision among the neutrals to leave the planet when it became clear resources were becoming scarce in the war, and to avoid the constant threat of slavery. You see, we Minicons have the power to enhance the abilities of our larger counterparts and that has gained us some unwanted attention from the Decepticons. Megatron, their leader, sought to…enlist as many Minicons as he could.”

The kids winced at the level of scorn used on the word enlist. “Some joined him willingly, eager for a taste of the power and glory he promised them, but the vast majority chose to remain neutral. With the war growing in scale and becoming more destructive, maintaining our neutrality became harder to do. In order to escape enslavement or death, the Autobots helped us build a ship, the Exodus, to carry us from Cybertron. With their help, we managed to escape the Decepticons and travel away from Cybertron’s star system. But…things didn’t go as planned.”

“What happened?” Gina asked.

“I don’t know. Something went wrong with the engines, and the ship was forced out of fold space near your planet. My companions and I acted as a skeleton crew; while the rest of the Minicons went into stasis panels and were ejected as well fell into orbit. We climbed into escape pods and ejected before the ship crashed. Presumably, the Exodus is somewhere on this planet, with the individual panels scattered across its surface.”

“And I’m guessing the signal I just activated will reactivate those panels?” Annie asked.

“Yes. That was the default frequency, any properly adjusted communications band would be
able to pick up without much difficulty. Odds are that any Cybertronian spacecraft or base near this region of space had already picked up on the frequency even the Decepticons.” High Wire turned to the console uneasily. “Which means that the war could spread to this world as well…and we’re back where we started.”

High Wire’s grim mood mirrored the seriousness of the situation. A whole ship of what were essentially wartime refuges scattered and stranded on an alien planet with no way to contact each other or their home planet. A worst case scenario for any alien.

“Hold on!” Annie jumped to her feet. “You can’t just give up! No matter how quick that transmission was, the Decepticons can’t just zip over here in five seconds notice!”

“They can’t but once they do, they’ll detect out biosignatures immediately.”

Then leave. Get your friends out of those pods and come with us, back to our hometown.” Gina said earnestly. “We can hide you.”

“Annie, Gina, what makes you think they’ll have a better chance there?” Darren asked. He was already starting to get nervous at the mention of these Decepticons and hoped that they didn’t suddenly pop up right in front of the mountain. “We can’t just take them home and hide them in the garage, hoping our families don’t find them.”

Well we can’t just leave them here to roam the forest alone, advanced aliens or not, they won’t last long out here.” Gina replied. She turned to the Minicon. “High Wire, will you let us help you hide on our planet?”

“Yes…yes, you may. Your plan might just work. There should be just enough electromagnetic interference to prevent Decepticon sensors from locking onto us fully. Sure, there may have been some advances in that area since our departure, but we don’t have time for new ideas.” High Wire’s eyes brightened with renewed hope. “Could you three lend me a hand, if you don’t mind? I must revive my friends as soon as possible.”

XXXXXX

As his systems rebooted, the yellow Minicon’s optics slowly came back online after who knows how long and a familiar form came into focus after the protective shutters opened.

“Sparkplug? How are you feeling?”

The Minicon flexed his fingers, trying to regain their feeling back. “A little stiff, but
I’ll be fine. How long have we been out?”

If he had a mouth, High Wire would’ve given him a wry smile. “A very long time.”

As Sparkplug shakily stepped from his pod with High Wire’s help, the kids were busy speaking to the other Minicons.

“Okay, so how do you guys know English?” Gina asked, quickly jotting down notes in her pad. “And how are you able to transform into our vehicles?”

One of the Minicons, a blue and black mech with yellow wing-like extensions on his
shoulders, chuckled and pointed to the small avian-like drone. “That drone is called a Sky Spy. All cybertronians can transform into vehicles they scan, but if we’re unable to, these guys scan them for us and download the information into our brains.” He explained. “As for the language barrier-automatic translators! Pretty cool, huh?”

Another Minicon, an orange femme with a gray, mouth less face and parts of a moped on her body crossed her arms. “I don’t see what temperature has to do with our technology, Grindor.”

“It’s an expression, Sureshock.” Grindor rolled his eyes. “Lighten up girl. You could use a sense of humor.”

“Now’s not the time for jokes.” Said Longarm, a dark brown Minicon with a crane on his back and a red patch of metal over his left eye. “You kids mind leading us out? The faster we get going, the better, and you don’t want to get left in the dust.”

“We’re coming, Longarm.” Darren said and looked over at the red mech with helicopter blades on his back. “You ready, Jolt?”

“Yup. All set.”

Seeing that his systems were running fine, Sparkplug offered his hand to Annie. “Annie, right? High Wire tells me we have you to thank for us in being such a hurry.”

The girl chuckled and accepted the offered hand. “Sorry about that.”

“I’m just glad you found us and not someone else.” Sparkplug smiled and beckoned to the hatch. “Now, it’s your world, lead the way.”

The kids retrieved their gear and, with the Minicons in tow, led them back out the cave. As they emerged from the cave, the Minicons partially closed their eyes, unused to such bright light after millennia of stasis. Finally adjusting their optics to the light, they marveled over the terrain that might be their new home.

“Well I’ll be damned,” Jolt exclaimed, laughing jubilantly. “Look at all this vegetation! And the sun! Primus, I never thought I would see a sun again!”

“This is going to take some getting used to.” Sureshock said. “I’ve never been on an alien planet before.”

“Well, you’ll have plenty of time to get used to it.” High Wire said.

As they made their way down the mountain, Sparkplug kept a close eye on their surroundings. “Everyone stick close and be on your guard. No telling what might-“

A loud crack went through the air, a rush of wind blowing hard against the group as a large green portal appeared a few feet from them. Annie gaped at the vortex, struggling to keep her hair out of her eyes.

“What the hell is that?!” She screamed.

“A ground bridge? But how…oh no.” High Wire said, eyes widening in terror. “It’s him!”

A massive being walked out of the portal. The Minicons immediate recognized the menacing robot approaching them, and the kids didn’t have to know who it was to know they were in trouble. He towered over them, a large, 35 foot tall gunmetal gray mech supported by large feet wide enough to crush a car (and already crushing the kids’ rides), a grim and dour expression on his face, and a long black fusion cannon mounted on his right arm.

“Megatron.” Grindor gasped. How was the Decepticon leader on this planet? He couldn’t have gotten here so fast from Cybertron after catching the signal.

“How nice to see you all here. I see the many vorns haven’t clouded your memory.” Megatron said in a low, deep voice. He turned his attention to the humans. “Fleshlings, you have found something that belongs to me. You have my thanks-depart and you may live to see another day. Remain and resist, and-“ His heel dug into the ground, further grinding the tiny vehicles underneath. “Well, you get the idea.”

The sic Minicons tensed up, ready to try to protect themselves and their human friends among them. This prompted a laugh from the warlord.

“How touching, if futile.” Megatron smirked. “Very well, it seems we’ll be doing this the hard way.”

He pointed his fusion cannon at the group. Gina huddled closer to Darren, who was holding her and Annie close and trying not to shake in fear. Seconds before Megatron willed his cannon to fire, a new voice rang out.

“Stand down, Megatron!”

Minicon, human and Decepticon alike were surprised as a blue energy blast hit Megatron in the chest, causing him to stumble back right as he fired his fusion cannon. It released a large purple beam that tore through the tree tops and blasted a hole in the mountainside, way off its intended course. Megatron growled and set his angry gaze on the newcomer.

“Prime!”

Standing nearby was another mech-he was just a little shorter than Megatron, with red and blue armor, and visibly armed with a large black ion cannon with steam rising from the recently used weapon. Optimus Prime turned to the children and Minicons. “Run!”

Longarm and Jolt fled, speeding away from the battle as quick as possible, soon disappearing into the forest in their alt modes. Exchanging a quick comm-burst themselves, the designated Street Action team also transformed-but not into the vehicle modes.

Instead, the three Minicons seemed to merge into a singular being, each bot forming a body part-Sureshock forming the legs, Grindor becoming the arms and torso, and High Wire forming the head and shoulders. Together, they combined into a larger mechanoid, reaching about 10 feet in height upon combination. The newly formed gestalt-Centurion-quickly picked up the surprised children, carrying the twins under his arms and flipping Gina onto his back, and sped away on wheel-like feet.

As his comrades and new friends fled to safety, Sparkplug raced towards Optimus, swerving around Megatron’s feet. The warlord made for the Minicon, but was held at bay by additional blasts from Optimus.

“Shooting first, Prime? How un-Autobot of you!” Megatron retaliated with a blast from his fusion cannon, blasting Prime’s ion cannon from his hand with a well placed shot. “And yet still ineffective.”

Optimus rolled aside to avoid another beam fired at him and held out his hand to
Sparkplug. “Sparkplug, do it now!”

Sparkplug flipped into the air, connecting himself to Optimus’s arm. As they connected, Optimus felt a jolt of energy surge through his arm, before the armor on his forearm shifted apart to allow a long, red hot blade to slide out. Raising his heated battle blade, Optimus gave Megatron a gladiator’s salute.

“Now, where were we?”

XXXXXX

Moving as fast as his motors could allow at his height, Jolt kept his sensors fixed in all directions and thanked Primus that Megatron was the only Con to appear so far. He was primarily trained in recon and wouldn’t last a nano-klik in combat. A fight was the last thing he needed.

“Look what crawled out of the service package!” A gravelly voice yelled. Jolt yelled as an unfamiliar black and white mech appeared and charged after him. He was barely able to keep up his current speed and avoid the sharp fingers reaching for him. “Come on you piece of scrap!”

Barricade snarled as the little red chopper weaved just out of his reach and above the braches. It was hard to keep up with all the vegetation in his way and the tiny creatures darting around his feet. Seeing that he wasn’t going to get his quarry like this, Barricade tried a different approach, grabbing onto a sturdy branch and lifting himself into the air to leap at Jolt. Before he could wrap his fingers around the red Minicon, an electrical blast hit him in the side and sent him crashing back to the ground.

“Back off, Con!” Bumblebee yelled, his wrist panels retracted to deploy his twin electrical dischargers-his “stingers”.

Barricade glared bloody murder at the scout. “Great, of all the bots on this stupid rock, I’m stuck fighting you. The Autobots’ mascot fresh out of his protoforms stage.”

“I’m still old enough to knock you on your aft!”

Bumblebee ran forward, jumping off a tree trunk to propel himself at Barricade, firing his stingers. Barricade rolled backwards, taking out his spinning gyro-blades and swinging them at Bumblebee, catching him in the arm. The scout hissed as the blades dug deep into the armor on his arm and landed on his back, hitting Barricade in the face with a spin-
kick.

Barricade stumbled back, but he recovered and grabbed Bumblebee’s arm, lifting him up and throwing him into a tree. The scout fired his stingers, but the agitating bolts did little to stop Barricade’s charge and he was forced to roll aside to avoid the deadly spinning blades that almost carved his chest out.

“Wow.” He whistled when he saw the tree trunk got shredded like paper by the gryo-blades. Getting hit by that death trap was not an option. A couple of direct hits from those could leave him a pile of shredded strips of metal.

“Kid, heads up!”

Bumblebee saw Jolt’s red form flying at him, spinning through the air and attaching himself to the Autobot’s arm. Bumblebee jumped when he felt energy surge through his body as the powerlinkage caused his arm to transform into a much more impressive weapon than his stingers-a compact solar accelerator.

“Oh yes!” He grinned. Barricade wasn’t impressed.

“A fancy new weapon isn’t going to help you against me!”

Barricade charged at Bumblebee and swung his blades, but a single shot from the scout’s weapon took off his arm at the elbow. Barricade stumbled back, looking at his smoking stump where his weapon arm used to be in shock.

Bumblebee couldn’t help but be smug. “I think it’s doing a great job helping me so far. Don’t you agree?”

He didn’t give Barricade time to answer as he fired another shot, the concussive blast hitting Barricade square in the chest and blasting off some pieces of his armor. One last shot blew him off his feet and sent him crashing headfirst into a large tree trunk.

“Wow, this thing packs a punch!” Bumblebee said. He looked at the red Minicon on his arm. “Hey, Jolt right? Thanks.”

“No need to thank me, Bumblebee,” Jolt said as he disconnected from Bee’s arm. “I should be thanking you.”

XXXXXX

Longarm tore through the bushes as he ran from his relentless pursuer-a giant, heavily armored dark green and purple Decepticon with a single red eye uprooting trees in his mad charge. A missile hit the ground near him and Longarm was knocked sideways into a tree. His vision swam for a bit before he recovered just in time to see the Con stomping up to him.

“Don’t try anything, Minicon!” Lugnut growled, aiming his integrated weapons at Longarm. “Surrender and pledge your loyalty to the mighty lord Megatron!”

“Go frag yourself.” Longarm tossed a sticky bomb onto Lugnut’s foot and dived for cover. It detonated and Lugnut howled in pain as the explosion tore into his lower leg, where he had less armor than his upper body.

“You little bastard!” Lugnut cursed and pointed his shoulder cannon at Longarm, only for a wrecking ball to slam into the side of his head, making him tip over like an oak tree in a storm. A big green Autobot came barreling out of the trees and ramming into Lugnut, knocking him to the ground.

“Bulkhead!” Longarm cheered, feeling elated that help finally arrived.

Bulkhead spared Longarm a passing grin before he charged at Lugnut. The one eyed Con, still dazed from that first blow, fired pulse blasts from his cannon. Unfortunately for him, his dizziness only made his already sub-par aim worse.

“Your aim sucks!” Bulkhead roared and clocked Lugnut in the face with his wrecking ball.

The blow was like being punched by Ultra Magnus hopped up on nucleon-grade Engex, and was strong enough to shatter the optical lens over his eye. Another punch to the jaw sent Lugnut spinning into a tree, his immense weight causing the entire tree to tip over and topple to the ground with the mech on top of it, out cold and out of the battle.

“Nice job,” Longarm praised as he jogged up to Bulkhead. “But you were cutting it a bit close there.”

Bulkhead shrugged. “Everyone’s a critic.”

XXXXXX

Twisting a bit more to get comfortable despite being held like a sack of potatoes, Darren struggled to get a better look at their new “friend”. Wait, High Wire, Grindor, er…what do we call you?”

“Centurion.” The Minicon gestalt answered, leaping over a fallen log with ease. The loud roar of high powered engines cut through the air and Centurion looked skywards to see a silver and red fighter jet flying overhead. “Slag, it’s Starscream!”

Before the kids could ask where Starscream was, they got their answer. A sleek fighter jet dived towards them, shifting into a giant mechanoid landing on the ground, kicking up dirt and grass as he skidded to a stop. Centurion held onto the kids protectively as Starscream stood in their path.

“Leave it to Megatron to lose track of a Minicon and a couple of fleshlings. Pathetic.” Starscream grinned and pointed his arm cannons at them.

Centurion let the children down. “Go. He’s only here for me, not you. You three need to run.”

“What? No!” Gina refused. “We’re not ditching you!”

“We’re going to get killed anyway. Might as well go down fighting for a cause.” Darren gulped. Centurion shook his head before preparing for a difficult battle against the Seeker.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to fight, as a pink convertible drove into the clearing and sped towards Starscream, transforming into a lithe pink and white femme. Arcee leapt at Starscream, kneeing him in the face and knocking him into a tree. He fired his cannons at her, but she dodged his attacks with the skill of a highly trained warrior. She slid to her knees and fired a couple of laser bolts from her pistols at his knees.

Starscream let out a curse and kicked the pistol from her hand, trying to get a shot on her. She grabbed his arm and twisted it into an obscene angle. She wasn’t going to give him the chance to transform and fight from the air. Putting the right amount of pressure on his arm, Arcee broke his limb, making the kids cringe at the sickening crack the joint gave before she delivered a hard kick to his head, pushing his face halfway through a tree trunk. He stumbled back, and Arcee slapped a tiny disc on his forehead.

“Wha-ack!” Starscream’s body seized up and crumpled to the ground as a quick, but painful shock jolted his systems and knocked him out.

“Holy shit, that was so one-sided.” Annie gasped. Her friends agreed.

Arcee walked over to them and knelt down to their level. “Are you all okay?”

“Yes, we’re fine. Thank you.” Centurion said and turned to the kids. “It’s okay. She’s an Autobot, one of the good guys.”

“Finally,” Darren sighed in relief. “I was beginning to think the big guy was by himself.”

“You mean Optimus Prime?” Arcee said, turning her sights back towards the mountain. “Don’t thank me yet. This battle is far from over.”

XXXXXX

The two leaders continued to duel at the foot of the mountain-the Prime having lost his ion cannon and the warlord’s fusion cannon having been damaged. Even with the added power boost provided by Sparkplug, both combatants remained evenly matched, with the two having gone into close quarters combat and were deadlocked with their blades.

“It seems we are at a stalemate, Prime!” Megatron smirked. “Even with your Minicon, you cannot defeat me!”

“Give it time, Megatron! I’m’ just getting warmed up!” Optimus grunted. He delivered a powerful uppercut to Megatron’s chin, just as a line came over his opponent’s comm-link. It was Soundwave.

“Megatron, the others have been rendered inoperative and have failed to retrieve the other Minicons. Enemy reinforcements imminent. Suggest tactical retreat.”

Megatron growled at the news, blocking a kick from Optimus. “Enjoy this victory, prime! But know that this battle is only the beginning!”

A ground bridge appeared behind him. Megatron kicked Optimus away and transformed to his silver tank mode, speed back into the portal. Optimus watched his mortal enemy vanish into the swirling green vortex and didn’t relax until it disappeared. Sparkplug disconnected from Prime’s arm and climbed up to his shoulder.

“Teletran-1, can you detect any Decepticon signals in the area?” Optimus asked.

“Negative, Optimus Prime.” The Ark’s supercomputer answered. “All Decepticons in the local area have retreated. Unable to track their ground bridge coordinates.”

“Of course.” Optimus sighed. It was never that easy.

“Optimus, what’s going on?” Sparkplug asked. “What is Megatron doing on this planet? As well as you for that matter? What about the war for Cybertron?”

“That is a long story, Sparkplug. One I will tell you and the others later. For now, let us regroup with your new friends.”

XXXXXXX

“YOU FOOLS!!!”

The bridge of the Nemesis trembled, along with the assembled Decepticons at Megatron’s rage. Starscream didn’t look as scared as the others, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut and refrain from any witty remarks. Even he wasn’t going to push Megatron in this state. Following their failed mission, they had regrouped at the Nemesis, which was hovering outside the command bunker. Having lost the initiative, it was time to plan their next course of action. After Megatron was done venting his rage on his terrified subordinates.

“B-but, my lord, the Autobots…” Barricade said, but was quickly cut off by Megatron.

“Are nothing! They are a handful of warriors that barely match up to a squad of those idiotic Wreckers! You are Decepticons, my fighting elite! They should have been no match for you!”

“They just caught us by surprise, mighty Megatron.” Lugnut said, still on his knees with his head bowed reverently. “Rest assured, we will be ready for them next time.”

“If there is a next time.” Starscream muttered. He quickly clamped up at Megatron’s glare.

“There is nothing to stress about, Megatron. Though the Autobots got a head start on the Minicons, keep in mind that there are hundreds more all over the world, most of them hidden within the depths of human myth and legend. If we stay on our toes, we can get them before the Autobots do, then we can take the fight to them.” Nightshade said, calming him down. She was always the voice of reason to Megatron, using her words to soothe his ever burning anger. Nightshade kept him calm and level-headed at times when losing his temper could damage his career at crucial moments.

“Knockout, is there any way to locate the stasis panels without waiting for an activation
signal?” Megatron asked.

“From what little I know about Minicon technology…no. those little brats will activate at random. Until the next one activates, all we can do is wait.” Knockout answered.

Megatron grunted but accepted this answer. “Fine then, as of today, I am taking operational control of this unit.”

“You can’t do that! This is my post! I was doing fine before you stuck your nose here!” Starscream yelled. His attitude earned him a swift backhand from Megatron that sent him into the wall with a bloody lip. When he looked up, his head was engulfed by Megatron’s large hand and was slammed to the floor, with a large foot pressing down on his wings.

“Because of you, we are over a year behind schedule on this planet. Our position is compromised by the Autobots, and you haven’t even made an attempt to begin the infiltration process. Thanks to your greed, we’ll have to improvise. I am in command now, and you will follow my orders to the letter.” Megatron growled. “Make any attempt to betray me and I will rip out your t-cog and make you swallow it whole! Do you understand me or do I need to have Skywarp draw you a damn picture?”

“C-crystal clear, Megatron.” Starscream grunted, still having the audacity to refrain from using “lord” in Megatron’s name.

Megatron kicked him away and turned to glare at the polarized glass on the front windshield. They had a once in a lifetime chance to achieve victory and he didn’t want anything to go wrong. This was the opportunity of a lifetime and Megatron planned to make good use of it.

XXXXXXX

The Autobots regrouped back at the cave opening where the escape pod was discovered. Introductions were made around with names (which would’ve ended sooner had Gina not been asking questions a mile a minute). Optimus knelt down to the kids’ level to better speak to them without looking intimidating. Thankfully, they had already calmed down from the chaos earlier.

“Children, on behalf of my people, I thank you for finding the Minicons and bringing them back online. The rest of my team is currently working to land my ship, so they should arriving within the next several minutes or so, once a decent course has been plotted.”

“Um, Optimus…what happens once your ship lands? Will you just take the Minicons and leave?” Darren hesitantly asked. He didn’t want High Wire to leave, despite having just met him.

The Autobot leader shook his head ruefully. “There are many more Minicons where these six came from, and Megatron is going to do everything in his power to find and enslave them all. Until he and his Decepticons can be located and defeated, we will be stationed on Terra for the time being.”

“Not to mention keeping an eye on these three.” Bulkhead nodded towards the kids. “Megatron and Starscream both saw them with the Minicons. And that’s not a good thing for them.”

“What do you mean?” Annie asked.

“He means that since Megatron saw you with the Minicons, he would target you in the future on the belief that you might possibly know more, if not use you all as hostages.” Arcee explained.

“As such, it is within your best interests to be watched over to ensure that you remain free of the danger the Decepticons now pose to you.” Optimus said. The Street Action team conversed among themselves before coming to an agreement and High Wire stepped forward.

“Optimus, is it all right if my team watch over the children ourselves?” High Wire requested. “In a way, it was kind of our fault that they’re being targeted by the Cons. We’re better suited to keeping them safe from any surprises.”

Optimus considered it for a moment before turning his gaze to the children. “Is this alright with you three? It’s your choice.”

The children looked at each other before Gina stepped forward and smiled. “Of course we’ll accept them. They’re more than welcome to stay with us!”

“That is more than enough, Gina.” High Wire said honestly, his eyes bright with gratitude. “Thank you.”

This single moment would mark the beginning of a new conflict that would change the face of the Great War forever. A conflict that would deeply affect those involved both good and evil. This was the beginning of the War for Terra.