Convoy of War

Six million years ago, Cybertron stood as the gleaming capital of the Cybertronian Commonwealth, a collective of Cybertronian colonies forged during the Age of the Firstforged, growing and evolving with every subsequent Convoy that took on the Matrix of Light. Though it faced threats from the galaxy beyond, the Commonwealth stood strong, repelling any incursion it faced. Eventually, Arch Convoy brought the Commonwealth into its golden age, before removing the matrix to help expand Cybertron’s reach as Nova Prime.

But then came the Combatrons. Announcing their name and their intentions, invasion born from the ravaging of their own colony, the Combatrons destroyed Nova Prime and his ship, the Proudstar, in front of the watching masses. Under the leadership of the vicious warlord Overlord, the Combatron Legions surged across the Commonwealth, indoctrinating other colonies into their empire, and destroying those that would resist. So began the Age of Invasion.

Space Station Defiant, Cybertronian Held Space
Ginrai, Peritus, Quickshadow and Groundshaker stood around the central holoprojector, said holoprojector displaying map of the sector, several red marks appearing around a number of planets.

“This makes seven cases” Peritus said. “Devastating attacks with no survivors to be found. We can only say whatever new stratagem they’ve devised is frighteningly efficient.”

Ginrai looked at the holographic map, looking between the various attack sites.

“You see the pattern too?” he asked.

“Yes” said Quickshadow, stroking her chin. “From the first recorded one at Myre to the destruction of our station at Xenagra, they all seem to line up.”

“With this station along the same line” Groundshaker said, his eyes widening. “They’re going to attack here.”

“Yes” said Ginrai. “Which means we need to prepare.”

“But we don’t know what we’re up against” Groundshaker said.

“Then all we can do is pool what resources we can here” Peritus replied. “This station is too critical for the war effort to lose.”

At this point, a hologram of an Autotrooper appeared in command room. The Autotrooper gave a salute, as soon as he appeared.

“Autotrooper Phi-224 reporting in, sirs, ma’am!” the Autotrooper stated.

“At ease” said Ginrai. “What do you have to report?”

“It took some time, but we found the remains of a Combatronian starfighter” the autotrooper reported. “It’s only scraps, but we managed to find that it was one commandeered by one of our spies. One called Clouder.”

“I’m afraid we heard the message” said Quickshadow. “He told us about Colivox, but was cut off before he got anything else out.”

“Well, ma’am, we recovered the ship’s memory core from what remained. We were able to repair it, and it seems he anticipated not being able to make it. He left a message in the databanks. Only one word, and we’re not sure what it means.”

“Well soldier?” asked Peritus. “What is it?”

“Warworld” said the Autotrooper.

Command Centre, The Warworld
The command centre was of the Warworld was not what most people would expect. For a planet-sized war cruiser, one'd expect a grand, sweeping facility full of space and ostentatious decorations. Indeed, for a ship this size, the bridge was... surprisingly underwhelming - almost identical to a basic command building filled with the equipment from a Sledgehammer-Class Battlecruiser, though with a roof made of reinforced glass. Whirr sat at his control panel the command centre of the Warworld, a building built on its surface to control it. Whirr himself had the job of actually steering the warworld, and considered it the peak of his career. As he kept the Warworld enroute, every so often, he would let out an audibly excited squeal. On the other side of the room, Gutcruncher and Brawl were guarding the room, and constantly gave an annoyed look at Whirr whenever he made a noise.

“Someone shut him up” growled Brawl.

“Oh come on, can’t you celebrate a little?” asked Whirr. “We’ve just devastated another world for the glory of Combatron! Live a little!”

“That’s enough” came a voice from behind Whirr.

Standing behind Whirr was a taller femme with a tank mode going by the name of Blitzshot, this had grown to be the routine - pop out of nowhere with the hyperdrive, devastate the planet, throw what amounted to some sort of celebration for their unit as their enemy burned.

"Lieutenant, you don't seem chipper," Whirr noted, a little surprised as Blitzshot’s lack of enjoyment of their victory, "Does our recent string of success not work out for us?"

"I was born in the great Combatronian fleet, the product of a standard coupling, and for most of my life, I have lived the role of a soldier," Blitzshot noted, "If you had told me I would be in charge of a planet-sized warship designed to burn the enemy's greatest strongholds to ash, I would have kissed you full on the mouth and given you the opportunity to..." She trailed off, shaking her head, "...anyway, this ship represents the culmination of my career as a commander... and I, frankly, find this victory unsatisfactory."

"Oh, you're disappointed?" Whirr said, raising his optic ridge., "Guess we can't really blame you. We have been winning a lot lately."

"The widest plains of Vykta Five, laid to waste. The tallest towers of Edibarous toppled to the ground. Aronusa eradicated, Degerax obliterated," Blitzshot sighed, "And now, even Atleran is smashed to smithereens. In the past, such strongholds would have been a joy to crush... but now I feel like we're getting these victories too easy."

As they talked, their commanding officer, a tall Cybertronian known as Grimstorm who seemed to have treads across his body.

“STAND TO ATTENTION!” announced Grimstorm. “YOU LORD AND MASTER HAS ARRIVED!”

Grimstorm stood to the side of the door as those who were sitting at their stations stood up. First in was a slim purple Cybertronian known as Forestock with a faceplate and kibble resembling the parts of a sniper rifle. Then came a large blue Cybertronian known as Crucible with two pairs of arms, and a personal smelting pool in a chamber on his chest. Third in was an equally large tan Cybertronian known as Scissorsaw with a cross over his face and a cavity in his chest containing numerous sawblades. Finally, as the three stepped aside, a large blue Cybertronian stepped in and looked around the room.

“Excellent” he grinned to himself.

“ALL HAIL OVERLORD!!!” his underlings yelled, giving him a salute.

“Indeed” smirked Overlord. “Admiral Grimstorm, report. How is my glorious nightmare of a ship?

“Power levels are as hoped, my lord” Grimstorm replied. “The constant injection of Energon into the planet’s core keeps its size constant, meaning it acts as a perfect fusion reactor to move this warship. Save for the occasional flickering of lights in sectors of the Warworld where we have cannons clustered together, no real malfunctions of any systems.”

Overlord began to stroll around the room, observing goings ons as the crew returned to their posts and continued working. Grimstorm followed Overlord, as Overlord’s personal guards stood at opposite edges of the room.

“And defenses?” asked Overlord. “Do we see any detriment to the use of planetary shields?”

“Save for the obvious weakness of requiring nodes throughout the shield to produce one so large, nothing” Grimstorm said. “Though we should be able to spread our defense fleet to cover those points in particular.”

“Good” said Overlord. “Good! More of these, and the war will be ours! I’ve alright got several of my generals scouting for appropriate planets for cyberforming, and ordered them to begin purging any native species in preparation. Tell me, Scissorsaw, did Skyquake identify any potential minor colonies we can melt down for the raw cyberforming materials?”

“Enough for two and a half planets, sir” said Scissorsaw, not moving from his position beside Whirr’s workplace.

“Oh, excellent” cackled Overlord. “Now then, I couldn’t help but overhear someone was bored of winning.”

Overlord looked at Blitzshot as he said this, causing her face to white.

“Well, sir, umm…” stuttered Blitzshot, trying to regain her exposure.

“No, no, I quite understand” Overlord said. “Destruction can get quite boring without any challenge. That’s why our next destination is going to put our new toy through its paces.”

“Where are we heading, sir?” Blitzshot asked.

“Why Ginrai’s own control pad” Overlord grinned. “Set a course for Space Station Defiant!”

“Yes sir!” saluted Blitzshot as she gestured Whirr to get to work.

“As you command, sir” Grimstorm added. “We’ll soon rout the enemy!”

“Wonderful smiled Overlord, before looking at Grimstorm with a serious face. “Now then, I was told there would be a throne room.”

The Longbow, Space Station Defiant Refuelling Sector
Heading through the corridors of the Longbow, Ginrai, Quickshadow and Rocket Plume strided with haste to the bridge.

“How much of our forces were we able to requisition?” asked Quickshadow as they walked.

“We were able to get a number of ships of various sizes that had recently refueled at refuelling stations Kappa and Omega” said Ginrai. “We were also able to get recently constructed ships from the Excarz Shipyards, and some reinforcements from the recently liberated Castor Forges.”

“What about the League of Heroes?” Quickshadow suggested.

“We tried, but they’re currently pinned down on Shryc by Killmaster and her lot” sighed Ginrai.

The trio stepped into an elevator, and Ginrai pressed a button to go up to the bridge. As the elevator began to move upwards, it was suffice to say all three of them were on edge for the coming battle.

“What about the Wreckers?” pointed out Rocket Plume. “Didn’t they recently report a victory destroying a major Combatronian Energon facility on Draak?”

“They did, but they got caught up in a skirmish with a patrol fleet on the way back” Ginrai replied. “So for now we assume we won’t be getting their help.”

The elevator stopped moving, and the doors opened. Ginrai, Rocket Plume and Quickshadow stepped out onto the bridge, where they found Tailpipe, Crumble and Thunderhead busying themselves around the ship’s crew, much to the crew’s annoyance. A slender red and white Cybertronian walked up to Ginrai and extended her hand to shake.

“Captain Warpdrive, sir!” she said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir!”

“Thank you” said Ginrai, shaking her hand. “Pleasure to meet you too. So you’re in command of this ship, then?”

“Umm, under you, sir” Warpdrive answered.

“I, uh, what?” asked Ginrai, confused.

“This is your flagship” pointed out Quickshadow. “It’s been your flagship for the last few months. How have you missed commanding your own ship?”

“Oh you know me, always on the ground, in the thick of it” Ginrai shrugged.

“Well things are likely to get thick here, sir” said Warpdrive. “Given whatever we’re up against has wiped out space stations.”

“So what’s our plan of attack, then?” asked Ginrai. “Has Peritus given a tactics briefing?”

“We’ll be sending in vanguard fighter and flier squadrons in first to analyse what we’re up against while the bulk of the fleet holds a defensive line, sir” answered Warpdrive.

“No jumping into the fray for us just yet” smirked Rocket Plume, giving Ginrai a nudge.

“Well what exactly are we meant to do in the meantime?” yelled Thunderhead from across the bridge.

“Well, you could get to know the battalion that’s hanging about in a hangar three” suggested Warpdrive. “Depending on what we’re up against, we may need boarding parties at the ready.”

“That sounds more like it!” grinned Thunderhead, walking past Rocket Plume. “You comin’ Rocket?”

“If only to stop you blowing up the hangar” Rocket Plume smirked back. “Comm us if you need us, boss.”

“Right” said Ginrai, giving the pair a wave as they entered the elevator, before turning back to Warpdrive. “So how many strong are we now?”

Warpdrive lead Ginrai and Quickshadow to a table with a built in holoprojector, where several of her officers, alongside Tailpipe, were standing around. One of her officers tapped a button, and a hologram of their fleets formation.

“We have approximately 37 battleships at our disposal” she said, gesturing to the large fleet of ships, before pointing to smaller ships flanked in between them. “And 46 smaller frigates and corvettes to run interference. As of now, we have 67 fighter and flier squadrons, twenty of which will form our vanguard unit.”

“I must say, I’m not easily impressed, but this is a very well organised formation” said Tailpipe, stroking his chin.

“Well, Peritus knows a thing or two about these sort of things” replied Warpdrive. “We just have to hope it’s enough.”

As the discussion continued, an alarm began to blare across the ship. One of Warpdrive’s officers swivelled around from her position.

“Ma’am, we’re detecting a large object coming into our range!” the officer said in a panic. “It’s larger than any ship in recorded history!”

As if on cue, Peritus Maximus’ hologram appeared on the bridge, startling several of those on board.

“This is Peritus Maximus to all ships! Combatron forces have arrived. We’re reading numerous ships, including The Revenge and numerous Immolator-class Warships!” Peritus announced all Vanguard ships. “Forward units engage, all other ships, defensive formations!”

With that, Peritus’ holographic form dissipated.

“Overlord’s here” Ginrai said to himself. “I want as much data as possible. Warpdrive, can you provide me a real-time projection of the battle, and any way of hearing the squadrons out there.”

“You’re the Convoy” Warpdrive answered.

Crumble, meanwhile stood at the window, staring at the battle as squadrons of fighters and small corvettes darted towards the Combatronian fleet.

“Ginrai…. You need to take a look at what we’re up again” Crumble stuttered.

“That’s okay, the projection’s generating” said Warpdrive. “We should get a good look at the whole battle.”

“I mean it” Crumble retorted. “Look out the window.”

Ginrai walked up to the window and stopped when he saw what they were up against. Warpdrive soon followed over, and audibly gasped. At the back of the fleet, seemingly blotting out the star behind it was a metallic planetoid, protected by a large energy shield. Large, metal spires protruded from the surface, piercing the shield.

“What on Cybertron is that?” asked Tailpipe as he walked up behind them.

“I think…” started Ginrai, before composing himself. “I think that’s our mysterious Warworld.”

“But what exactly is it?” asked Crumble. “There’s no way they could build a warship of that size. The resources they’d need to build it would far outstretch was either side would be able to utilise.”

“I don’t think they did” Ginrai said. “I think they Cyberformed a planet and built around that. There have been records of other species developing planetary engines to move an entire planet, though to fully turn it into a warship… it’s unbelievable.”

A bleep emitted from the console, and Warpdrive rushed over.

“We’ve patched in, you should get a good feed of the battle” she said.

Ginrai returned to the holoprojector, standing next to Quickshadow as holographic images of the Combatron ships appeared, and the battle began. The bridge filled with noise as the various comms patched through. Various voices could be heard, all from different parts of the battle.

“All squadrons, target that cruiser!”

“Lambor, you’ve got two on your tail!”

“Skyfast is down! Repeat, the Skyfast is down!”

“The shield’s too strong!”

Ginrai tried to focus, but found himself distracted by the cacophony of messages. He knew just listening to everything wasn’t going to find the answers he needed. He needed to focus on one thing in particular.

“Warpdrive, do we have any squadrons probing the Warworld’s shields?” he asked.

The Longbow shook and the bridge briefly went dark. The enemy fleet had started firing on the ships holding back.

“Emerald Squadron was given that task, though Scimitar Squadron has been pushed quite close to the shield’s surface as well” answered Warpdrive. “I’ll see if I can get you their data.”

“Even if we break through that shield, we don’t know how to bring it down” pointed out Quickshadow. “We need to be able to identify a weak point.”

“Well…” said Crumble, walking over. “I can’t make any promises, but to be able to move and power something that big takes more than Energon. They’ll need to have tapped into the planet’s core as an engine. And to install anything to connect to the core, they’ll need to have dug straight into it.”

“So what, we drop bombs down the hole, destroy the core?” asked Ginrai.

“You sound like Thunderhead now” smirked Quickshadow.

“Well, if only it were that simple” sighed Crumble. “This isn’t a game or a film. They’d have built over it. But they would never be able to fill in that big of a hole. We’d need a handheld explosive, but with the same level of power as a planet cracker. Destroy the core, it should destroy its gravitational sphere, causing it to break up. Now, provided we pull the fleet back, we should be safe from the immediate effect, though with debris drifting through space, we will need to relocate Defiant.”

“That would’ve been inevitable, given that Overlord knows where we are” sighed Ginrai. “But there’s still the question of the shields.”

After tapping her ear, Warpdrive tapped the console to produce a hologram of what appeared to be a large metal spire.

“Emerald Squadron reported these large spires protruding through the shield” Warpdrive stated, pointing at the spikes coming from the Warworld’s surface. “From the scans they’ve made, they’re creating massive energy spikes.

“So those would logically be generating the shield” Quickshadow said, moving in for a closer look.

“Yes, but there would be multiple of them across the Warworld” informed Warpdrive.

“Can the squadrons destroy it?” Ginrai asked.

“They’ve attempted bombing runs, but it seems that the spires themselves are also covered in a separate shield powered on the surface” Warpdrive sighed “And even then, the sheer number of spires will mean if we destroy one, the others will compensate for the shield.”

“So there’s no way through?”

“There might be a way…” mused Tailpipe. “It’s an old method, only really used for blockade runners, but it could work here.”

“Oh?”

“When Arch Convoy was in charge, I was controlling a corvette to provide relief to citizens on Krozz. However, hostile forces had deployed shields generated by a satellite network. Like here, if one was destroyed, the rest would compensate. But it took a few seconds for the shield to fully do so. We were able to use a Cudgel IV-Class Frigate to smash into the satellite. The reinforced front meant we could destroy it, but also punch through the hole before the other satellites could fill the hole.”

“What about the overshields?” asked Quickshadow.

“They’re designed for lasers and bombs, not an entire frigate slamming into it” Tailpipe pointed out. “Provided the front is reinforced, we’ll be able to punch through with relative ease.”

Ginrai mused for a few seconds, then turned to look at Warpdrive.

“Do you have any ships that can fit the criteria of what Tailpipe’s describing” Ginrai asked.

“Well the Cudgel-line got discontinued before the war even got started” said Warpdrive, stroking her chin. “Though we do have a few Anx-Class Corvettes. They have been known to soak up a lot of damage due to the reinforced bridge.”

“Good, see if you can get one” said Ginrai. “Crumble, can you rig up that explosive?”

“I can, but to do that I would need a neutron core, used as power cores for ships like this. You got any lying around?” asked Crumble.

“One… but I don’t like being without a spare” said Warpdrive, scratching the back of her head. “I’ll have some engineers bring it to your lab.”

“Bring it to the hangar, it’ll have to be assembled on the way, Crumble” said Ginrai. “Grab what you mean and meet us there. Quickshadow, can you comm Thunderhead and Rocket Plume, get them to assemble a battalion meet us in the hangar?”

“Can do” said Quickshadow, giving Ginrai a two-finger salute.

“Alright, Tailpipe, Quickshadow, let’s head down” said Ginrai, leading the way out.

Bridge of Prima’s Soul, Anx-Class Corvette, Inside Hangar 7 of the Longbow
Ginrai stood inside the bridge of the ship, his hands holding onto the backs of each of the pilot’s seats. Sitting in the chairs in front of him, Tailpipe and an Autotrooper pilot were busy making their pre-flight checks. From the console, small projections of Peritus Maximus, Groundshaker and Warpdrive appeared.

“Ginrai, we’ll do our best to keep the enemies' attention on us while you proceed with the mission” said Peritus.

“Thank you” said Ginrai. “We’re almost prepared to launch, though once we’re down and the shield reseals, we’ll likely lose communications.”

“Indeed” said Warpdrive. “Naginata Squadron will cover you as you make your approach, and try to keep enemy fighters off you.”

“Ginrai, if you can demolish any towers once you make planetfall, do so” said Groundshaker. “You might be able to create a permanent hole in the shield, and that’ll allow us to more easily get reinforcements to you.”

“We’ll do what we can, but we’ll probably come under heavy fire as soon as we’re through the shield” Ginrai replied.

“Well, we wish you the best of luck” said Groundshaker.

“And to all of you” nodded Ginrai. “I’ll see you when the battle’s over.”

With that, the three holograms disappeared. Tailpipe pressed a few more buttons, then turned to look at Ginrai.

“We’re all ready, engines are warm, and our escort is waiting” said Tailpipe. “Shall we set off?”

“Yes” said Ginrai. “I’ll go and brief the soldiers.”

“Right, sir.”

Ginrai exited the room, and Tailpipe pressed a few buttons. He then grabbed the control sticks, and turned to look at his co-pilot.

“We all set, Hawk?” Tailpipe asked.

“Yes sir” said his Autotrooper co-pilot.

“Then let’s launch.”

The ship hovered upwards, steadily rising above the hangar floor, before flying out of the hangar at speed. Once it got clear of The Longbow, a number of Vanguard starfighters flew into positions alongside, and the group of ships began their journey towards their objective.

Ginrai, meanwhile, entered the cargo hold, which had been emptied to act as a briefing hall for the battalion Ginrai would be leading once on the surface. Once there, Rocket Plume and Thunderhead greeted him, and a gold and blue Cybertronian walked up to him and saluted.

“Ginrai Convoy, sir!” he shouted.

“”At ease” replied Ginrai.“I take it you're the commanding officer of this battalion?”

“Yes sir!” said the Cybertronian, taking his hand away from his head. “Lieutenant Goldbug of the 23rd Attack Legion, sir!”

“Pleasure to meet you, Goldbug” Ginrai replied with a smile. “How’re you feeling, Lieutenant?”

“Ready to do my part, sir!” he announced, before pausing. “But a little nervous.”

“Don’t worry, we all get it” said Ginrai. “Nervous keeps up watchful, and that’ll keep us alive.”

“The troops are ready for you, sir. Just say when.”

“I think now’s as good a time as any.”

“Right away, sir!”

Giving another salute to Ginrai, Goldbug walked to face his battalion, and cleared his throat.

“STAND TO ATTENTION!” Goldbug shouted. “YOUR CONVOY WILL BRIEF YOU FOR YOUR MISSION.”

Everyone in the room stood up straight, and turned to face Goldbug. Ginrai stepped beside Goldbug.

“Soldiers! You are here for a mission of the utmost importance! We will descend onto the Combatronian’s new warship! Once we land, we will be fighting our way to the shaft they used to reach its core, and attempting to destroy it! I can’t promise any of us a ride home, but I can promise that if we succeed, this mission will likely cripple the Combatron war machine! Am I understood?”

“SIR, YES, SIR!” answered the entire battalion in unison.

“Good” said Ginrai. “We will inform you when we’re about to land.”

Ginrai proceeded to head out of the room, back towards the bridge, Rocket Plume and Thunderhead following him.

“DISMISSED!” yelled Goldbug “AND ENSURE YOU ARE FULLY PREPARED FOR BATTLE!”

The soldiers began to mill about the cargo, talking, prepping their weapons, checking their equipment and whatever else kept their minds off the imminent battle. Goldbug followed Ginrai back to the bridge, just to make sure if any further orders came in. As he entered, he saw the battle taking place outside. Starfighters rushing between warships, Vanguard and Combatronian fliers among them. Explosions filled the space around the ship. A burning starfighter streaked over them, making a loud screeching noise as it scraped across the top of Prima’s Spirit.

“Dammit” said Hawk. “That fighter just took out one of our point defense cannons.”

“Keep our heading” replied Tailpipe, flicking several switched. “We can’t deviate, else we’ll lose forward moment when we hit the spire.

“This is Naginata Leader to Prima’s Spirit” came a voice over the intercom. “We’ve got a squadron of bombers coming right at you. We’ll do our best to take them out before they get close, but you need to prepare for them attempting to fly straight into you if we don’t completely finish them.”

“You need to destroy them as much as possible” said Tailpipe. “We need to reserve shield power for impact.”

“We’ll do our best” said the voice, before cutting out.

At the corner of windows, Tailpipe spotted the trio of bombers coming at them. On cue, four of the fighter escort passed and turned to face the enemies. There were a series of explosions as the two sides exchanged shots. One of the bombers, it’s engines spewing flames, dived past the bridge, narrowly missing before impacting a Combatronian corvette.

“Way too close” said Tailpipe.

“This is Naginata leader” came the same voice as before. “We’ve taken out the bomber squadron, but we lost Naginata Two and Seven in the process.”

“Understood” said Tailpipe. “Do what you can. We need to get to the surface without losing any momentum.”

“Sir, a Combatronian ship is moving to intercept our course!” stated Hawk, pointing at one of the screens on the console in front of him.”

“Dammit, evasive maneuvers!” yelled Tailpipe. “Everyone hold onto something.”

Instinctively, Rocket Plume, Thunderhead and Goldbug grabbed onto metal bars that had been installed in the room for such an eventuality. Ginrai, meanwhile, kept a firm grip on the chairs in front of him. The entire ship flipped upside down and tilted upwards to narrowly avoid the hull of Combatronian dreadnought. Lasers fired all around them as the ship’s ventral weapons fired at them and their escort. One starfighter in their escort took a bad shot at its engine, spiralling into Prima’s Spirit and ricocheting off the side, before finally crashing into one of the Combatronian dreadnought’s heavy cannons. The bridge rocked from side to side as the ship took a pounding from Combatronian firepowers.

“Sir, we won’t last long with the shields as they are” said Hawk. “We need to increase power.”

“But we need to guarantee enough shield power to smash through the blockade” replied Tailpipe, annoyed.

“Tailpipe, listen to your co-pilot!” shouted Ginrai as the ship shook again. “We can’t do anything if we don’t even make it to the shield.”

There was a boom, followed by another shake, violenter than before. Hawk quickly turned to consult one of his screens.

“They just took out one of the secondary thrusters!” Hawk said. “Sir, we need to increase power to the shields!”

Tailpipe gave a heavyy sigh.

“Increasing powers to shields” Tailpipe relented, proceeding to fiddle with a few dials.

The rocking seemed to lessen, though didn’t completely cease. Though Prima’s Spirit continued to soak up fire from the dreadnought, the ship finally managed to get through the worst of it, though losing several more members of the fighter escort along the way. Tailpipe activated the commlink again to his escort.

“This Prima’s Spirit to Naginata Leader” he said over the comms. “Are you holding up?”

“This is Naginata Leader” replied the voice through the comms. “We’ve taken big losses. We’ve lost everyone but Naginata Eight, Naginata Eleven, Naginata Twelve and myself. It gets worse. We’ve got a squadron of Trident Starfighters closing in on us. We’ll do our best to best hold.”

“Do what you can. We’re almost then.”

“Best of luck. Over and out.”

The four remaining fighters flew ahead of Prima’s Spirit and turned to the right. Goldbug peered from behind at the side of the window, seeing the four fighters go up against a squadron of twelve. Laser fire flew everywhere, and though they managed to take out several of the squadron, the remaining fighters of Naginata squadron were slowly whittled down. First down to three, then two, then finally just down to Naginata Leader. As the enemies started firing on him, he flew right at them, taking out two of them before spiralling out of control and rocketing in flames towards the shield. There was an explosion as it hit the shield, followed by a few small ripples along the shields surface. Goldbug sighed as he watched this.

“We’ve lost Naginata Squadron” sighed Hawk.

“They’ve done what they could for us, and we’re almost there” said Tailpipe, pointing ahead at the spire protruding out of the shield. “Tell everyone to hold on to something, then on my word, transfer all shield power to the forward shields.

“Yes, sir” said Hawk, activating the intercomm. “All units, we are about to make impact. Hold onto something.”

Once again Goldbug grabbed back onto his bar tightly. Tailpipe gripped his control stick tightly as the spire quickly got closer to them.

“On my mark in three…” began Tailpipe. “Two… ONE!”

Hawk flicked a switch, and the front of the ship glowed a bright blue as the forward shields maximised. The ship slammed straight into the spire, causing it to shatter. Large fragments of metal flew off in all directions as the machinery inside it began to explode. The shield around the planet began to pulsate as the collapsing spire gave way for a small hole in the shield. Continuing to smash its way through the spire, Prima’s Spirit rocketed through the hole, pulling up as soon it was through.

“We’re through!” said Tailpipe. “Hawk, maximise all shields as much as possible. We’re need to be ready for-”

The ship began shaking as the sky filled with explosions, laser fire and missiles. Hawk looked at his scanners to assess their attackers.

“-surface weapons.”

“I’m picking up AA Guns, Rocket Pods, Pulse Cannons, Thermite Missiles, Electro-Ballistas” said Hawk, as he read the scanner. “Essentially whatever they have that they can throw at us.”

“Get those shields up!” yelled Taipipe.

The ship shook again as Hawk flicked some switches. The bridge then began to shake more violently.

“Shields are up, but they hit one of our primary engines!” yelled Hawk. “We’re going down!”

“Can you set us down?” asked Ginrai.

“Not so much set us down as scrape, but I should be able to” answered Tailpipe. “We’ll have to get out quickly though. They’re probably already getting a team of bombers ready to destroy the ship as soon as we land.”

“I can see the target from here” Hawk said, pointing to a building on the surface. “If we manage to land, we should be two, maybe three miles out.”

“Then we’ll have to push forward immediately, and fight our way there” mused Ginrai. “See if we can ram into another spire on the way down.”

“We can try” said Tailpipe. “But that still won’t be enough for us to create a permanent hole in the shield.”

“Then we’ll have to do it by hand” said Ginrai. “We’ll head down to the cargo hold and join the troops. Goldbug, can you establish teams with rocket launchers to bring down any more spires?”

“Can do, sir” said Goldbug, giving a salute.

“Then let’s prep up and make sure we’re holding onto something” said Ginrai.

The Workshop, Prima’s Spirit
Somewhere else within the ship, Crumble had taken his supplies and parts into one of the rooms inside the corvette, and was tinkering away, making the explosive they would be using to destroy the Warworld’s core. Tools and parts were littered everywhere. Quickshadow, meanwhile, leant against one of the walls, watching him work.

“How close are you to finishing?” asked Quickshadow.

Crumble looked closely at the device, and began containing the core in a silver casing, twisting two pieces of casing to seal. Once it clicked, he attached a small control device to it, clipping it to a pair of wires protruding from either side of the casing. The console blinked red as it activated.

“Done!” he said. “One home-made bomb, big enough to blow up a planet’s core.”

“You sound way too happy about that” Quickshadow said.

“I’m not happy about building a bomb specifically” Crumble shrugged. “But gotta be happy to have created something while the ship we’re in smashes through a metal spike.”

“Let’s just head into the hold. It’s reinforced, so it’ll be safest when we inevitably crash land.”

“How do you know it’ll be a crash landing and not a, you know, regular landing?”

“How often do we get to normally land?”

Quickshadow turned to leave, and looked back to see Crumble scrambling amongst the mess to grab his tools.

“Hurry” she said, annoyed.

“Alright, alright, I’ve almost got it” Crumble said as he stuffed the last of his tools into his compartments. “I’m ready!”

Outside
Prima’s Spirit continued on a straight path, only slightly diverging it’s course to avoid areas of heavy fire, all the while losing altitude. Another explosion came from the back as another engine exploded, and the ship began to dip further forward. The ground came up fast, and Prima’s Spirit streaked over it, scraping over metal and smashing through another of the spires, before finally coming to a stop in an area relatively unpopulated by batteries and other turrets.The transport ship's less-then-soft landing had lead to much chaos, but that did not mean the landing was unsuccessful.

"Okay, how many survived?" Goldbug shouted out.

The air was briefly filled with returning shouts of confirmation from the survivors.

"Good, we got a good percentage of the battalion," Goldbug sighed.

"How big a percentage?" Thunderhead asked.

"75%," Goldbug answered.

"You got that from a bunch of people groaning?" Rocket Plume asked.

"It's a rough estimate, admittedly," Goldbug noted. “But I know my entire battalion.”

“ALRIGHT THEN, EVERYONE OUT!” yelled Ginrai, activating the shutters on one side of the cargo hold.

The shutters slid open, and a ramp attempted to descend, only to get stuck when it hit the ground. Ginrai ran out and checked around, then signalled for everyone to exit. Goldbug led his troops out, alongside Ginrai’s team. Tailpipe came out last, carrying the injured Hawk.

“You sure we can do this after losing a quarter of our forces already?” asked Thunderhead

"It’s as good as one can get, considering the circumstances," Ginrai pointed out, "Now, soldiers, be ready for anything."

Suddenly, from right near their position, three imposing shapes lumbered over.

"Including that?" Goldbug asked for clarification.

"Including that," Ginrai answered.

Laserfire began blasting from all directions, as the three shapes moved towards their position.

“Ah frag!” yelled Thunderhead. “We’ve got Gigantions!”

One of the gigantions, a brown and silver Cybertronian with a chest cannon and large shoulder towers known as Diveplane, began firing explosive shells at battalion.

“DISPERSE!” yelled Goldbug, trying to get his men to avoid the heavy fire.

Explosions began pounding the surface, sending Cybertronians flying. Thunderhead switched to his alt-mode, and returned fire, attempting to blast the shells while they were in the air.

“Like shooting Cyberducks in a barrel, eh Airlift?” smirked Diveplane beneath her faceplate.

“Your shellin’ them, course you're gonna be gettin’ all the easy kills” retorted a grey Cybertronian with two massive rockets underslung beneath his forearms.

“You’re saying that with those two massive rockets?” asked an orange Cybertronian with a pair of massive crushing claws in place of standard arms.

“Oh, go swing those lanky arms around, Reachout” Airlift huffed, before firing one of his rockets at Prima’s Spirit.

The rear of the ship exploded in a massive fireball, debris flying everywhere. Vanguard troops scrambled, and continued to fire back. A trio of bombers, escorted by a pair of gunships flew overhead. The gunships descended and began firing on the force, while the bombers began bombing the wreckage of the ship.

“Overkill, isn’t it?” asked Rocket Plume.

“I’m guessing they ordered them without realising there were three Gigantions already in the area we landed” suggested Crumble.

“Rocket squad 2, take out the nearest gunship!” ordered Goldbug, gesturing to a team of Autotroopers carrying rocket launchers.

The team fired a barrage of four rockets that pounded against the gunship’s shields. Though it didn’t cause any damage to the ship itself, the force was enough to slam into the other gunship, sending it crashing into the ground.

“Squad 4, clear out that gunship!” Goldbug then ordered.

A group of Cybertronians proceeded towards the downed gunship, firing on Combatronians trying to crawl out. Spotting this, Tailpipe handed Hawk off to another Autotrooper, and followed them towards the downed gunship. Goldbug, meanwhile, turned to a red Cybertronian standing next to him.

“Salvage, can you get us some cover?” Goldbug asked.

“I’ll do what I can” Salvage replied.

“Cover?” asked Ginrai. “How are you going to make cover?”

Salvage turned to face the wrecked ship and outstretched his arm. On his command, hunks of metal were lifted into the air and dug themselves in the ground between the Primal Vanguard forces and the Combatronians.

“Ohhhhhh, Magnetokinesis” said Ginrai. “That’d do it.”

“Yeah… never really got the best look, being a talented” sighed Salvage.

“Never really got on well with functionism myself” replied Ginrai.

“ALRIGHT, WE’VE GOT COVER, NOW MOVE UP!” yelled Goldbug. “ROCKET TEAMS, TAKE OUT THAT REMAINING GUNSHIP!”

The battalion began moving up to metal debris that Salvage had formed into cover, while more Autotroopers fired their rocket launchers at the remaining gunship, rocking it about as the shields on it failed. Ginrai slid up against a piece of metal debris with Rocket Plume, Salvage and Crumble.

“We won’t make much progress with that gunship still behind us” said Ginrai.

“They’ve taken out the shields, at least” muses Quickshadow. “Salvage, now they’re gone, can you bring it down?”

“Not quite that strong” replied Salvage. “But I can pull off an engine.”

“That’ll do nicely” smiled Quickshadow.

Salvage once again concentrated, and ripped the engines off of the gunship. The gunship spiralled to the ground, it’s other engine snapping off.

“Do us a favour” said Rocket Plume, pulling a sniper rifle off her back and peering through the scope. “Sling that engine at the big guys.”

Salvage used his powers to throw the engine at Diveplane, Airlift and Reachout. Lining up her rifle, Rocket Plume fired. As soon as the shot hit the engine, it exploded in front of the three. Reachout managed to shield himself with his arms, while Diveplane and Airlife toppled backwards onto the ground.

“Ahhhh, that smarts” groaned Diveplane, sitting back up. “I’m gonna blast ‘em all to hell.”

“You might not have to” points out Reachout. “Those bombers are coming back around for another strike.”

“Oh come on, I wanted to finish ‘em” moaned Airlift.

Holding their positions, Ginrai and Rocket Plume stood up and fired on the oncoming forces. The force, a mix of Combatronians and Vehicons, were almost at their barricades. At another piece of cover, Goldbug, Quickshadow and a pair of Autotroopers were firing everything they had, when Goldbug stopped and pointed.

“LEAPERS, INCOMING!” he yelled as several large cycloptic Vehicons with large spikes on their arms leapt overhead and crashed down the Vanguard forces.

“DESTROY THEM ALL!” yelled the lead Leaper, swinging his arm at Thunderhead and flipping him over.

“Oh, that hurt!” Thunderhead yelled as he instinctively reverted to robot mode.

Thunderhead charged at the Leaper, only to be sent flying by another blow. Spotting this, Ginrai darted back from his cover, and leapt onto the Leapers back. Aiming one of his exhaust cannons down the Leaper’s massive back thrusters, he fired a volley of shots into it. Leaping off, he turned around to watch the Leaper writhe in agony as it was blown apart by an explosion from within.

“CONCENTRATE YOUR FIRE ON THEIR BACKS!” he yelled as he ran over to pull Thunderhead up. “You okay, Thunderhead?”

“Yeah, boss, but I don’t know for how long…” Thunderhead said pointing upwards.

The Combatronian bombers were closing fast for a second run, their bays reloaded for the next strike.

“EVERYONE MOVE” Ginrai yelled as explosions ripped through the battlefield, sending Vanguard soldiers and Leapers alike flying.

This time, however, the bombers did not hesitate to turn around and start yet another run, looping around the three Gigantions for their next strike.

“Dammit, they’ll tear us to pieces in no time!” Goldbug sighed.

The bombers began their approach, lining up for maximum damage. As they approached the Vanguard forces, laser fire sprayed upwards. The blasts caught one of the bombers, causing it to lose control and smash into one of its fellow bombers. Ginrai turned around in shock.

“Who was that?” he asked, looking around.

Ginrai spotted the gunship they had knocked to the ground hovering above them. However, this time, it’s guns were not trained on them, but instead skyward, firing on the bombers.

“How you doing down there?” came Tailpipe’s voice through the comms.

“Tailpipe, is that you in the gunship?” Ginrai asked.

“It is indeed. I- Hold on”

The gunship fired several more shots at the remaining bombers, blasting it’s engine and sending it crashing into the ground beyond them.

“Thanks for that” Thunderhead shouted into Ginrai’s communicator.

“Someone’s gotta save your sorry asses” Tailpipe replied. “Now, I should be able to get us straight to our destination with this, but I can only carry… about three passengers?”

“Only three?” questioned Ginrai.

“Afraid so. There’s only the side and rear gunner seats in here. Besides, someone’ll have to keep these guys busy.”

“It’s okay boss” said Thunderhead. “Rocket and I’ll support Goldbug.”

“You sure?” Ginrai asked.”You are my bodyguards.”

“Look, you need Crumble for the bomb and you’ll need Quickshadow to bypass any locks” Thunderhead explained. “We’re better off getting our hands dirty in the battle.”

“If you’re sure” said Ginrai, switching between comm channels. “Tailpipe, bring the ship down so we can get on board. Crumble, Quickshadow, I need you on me.”

Ginrai then switched over to Goldbug.

“Goldbug, I’m taking a small team straight to our destination” Ginrai said. “I need you to hold the enemy here as long as possible.”

“We’ll do what we can, sir” Goldbug replied. “Over and out.”

The gunship descended as Crumble and Quickshadow arrived. Ginrai climbed into the port gunner seat, while Quickshadow sat in the starboard gunner seat. Crumble, then climbed into the rear gunner seat.

“Alright, ladies and gentlemen, here we go” came Tailpipe’s voice through the ship’s internal radio.

The gunship once again lifted into the sky, flying over the battle and between the Gigantions.

“I hope they’ll be okay” Ginrai sighed.

“They will” reassured Quickshadow. “They know what they have to do.”

As the ship travelled, the battle got gradually smaller and smaller, while the building ahead of them got closer and closer. The occasional fighter flew past them, either patrolling or heading join the battle, unaware of the gunship’s occupants.

“There’s a landing platform on the west side of the building” said Tailpipe. “It looks quiet, so we should be able to use this ship’s weapons to clear any enemies from it as we land.”

As the gunship came in close, several Combatronians walked forward to greet the gunship. Before they had any idea what was happening, Ginrai and Quickshadow sprayed lasers, blasting the group. Landing, Tailpipe shut down the ship while Ginrai, Quickshadow and Crumble climbed out. Quickshadow ran to a nearby terminal, attaching a datapad to it.

“This should get us a map of the facility” she said, before waiting a few moments. “Done. Our destination is bottom floor, sector 21-A.”

“Then let’s go” Ginrai.

Quickshadow disconnected her datapad, and the four Cybertronians entered the facility, unaware of who they would be up against. Charging through the building, the team of Autobots blasted their way through security patrols, demolishing any doors that obstructed their way. Coming to the lift, Ginrai turned around and took up a firing position, using some.

“Tailpipe, take a position, just in case another patrol comes by” Ginrai ordered.

Tailpipe sighed and pulled out a small pistol from a compartment in the side of his leg, before pointing it at the hallway. As Crumble checked the bomb was still intact, Quickshadow called the elevator up. As they waited, a pair of Combatronian soldiers wandered around the corner.

“What the-?” said one. “INTRUDERS!”

In a moment, Ginrai fired a blast from one of his arm mounted cannons. The blast carried the Combatronian soldier as it struck him, slamming him into a wall.

“OH SHIT!” yelled the other, trying to flee.

Tailpipe fired a few shots, missing the Combatronian. After several missed shots, Tailpipe managed to hit the Combatronian in the leg, sending him crashing to the ground. Ginrai then fired a shot at the Combatronian’s back, sparks flying off as it hit.

“Was that necessary?” asked Tailpipe.

“We can’t let the alarm be set off” replied Ginrai. “So I’m afraid it is.”

Behind them, the elevator made a loud ding, and the doors slowly opened. Quickshadow quickly stepped dead centre in front of them, and pointed her gun ahead. The door opened, revealing a pair of Tankor Vehicons inside. The two Vehicons jumped back in surprise at Quickshadow pointing a gun at them, before she fired off two shots at them. The pair of vehicons dropped limply to the floor as Quickshadow stepped in.

“Time to head down” she said, gesturing the other three to enter.

Entering the lift after Quickshadow, Ginrai silently nudged the Vehicons to the side with his foot. Crumble and Tailpipe then entered the lift and stood silently as the doors closed, and the lift began to descend. After several minutes of waiting, the doors opened. In front of them were a number of catwalks, suspended over a large, seemingly endless pit. Pipes ran along the edges of the wall, pumping what seemed to be energon downwards. At the other end of the room, there was another doorway, likely a second lift down, while to their right was a large platform with a number of controls.

“Empty” said Ginrai Convoy, looking around. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

“Let’s not look a gift equinoid in the mouth and set up the bomb” said Tailpipe, slowly shuffling forward.

The four bots spread out, Quickshadow covering the door, while Tailpipe and Crumble walked over to the control platform. Crumble unloaded the bomb, and began priming it. Ginrai, meanwhile, walked towards the door on the opposite side.

“Be on your guard” he said. “You never know when our luck will run out.”

The door in front of him slid open. Standing in front of Ginrai was the imposing form of Overlord, flanked by Scissorsaw, Forestock and Crucible.

“Oh Ginrai” grinned Overlord. “You really should learn to know when to keep your mouth shut.”

Overlord uppercutted Ginrai, sending the Convoy flying backwards across the catwalk. Sitting up, Ginrai wiped off some Energon from his lip. He grabbed the railing of the catwalk and pulled himself up.

“Overlord…” Ginrai said with a scowl.

“In the metal, at last” Overlord said with a chuckle. “Honestly, 342 years of war and we haven’t had a proper brawl in all that time.”

Ginrai levelled his blaster at Overlord, immediately firing off a volley of shots. As the blasts struck his chest, Overlord shrugged them off and charged forward. Grabbing for his tank barrel, Overlord pulled it out from his back and swung it like a polearm, striking Ginrai across the chest. Ginrai responded by kicking Overlord’s shin.

“What, no sword?” asked Overlord, wincing as Ginrai struck his shin. “You Convoys have a fondness for those.”

“What can I say?” retorted Ginrai, throwing a punch at Overlord’s jaw. “I’m trying to break the mold.”

As the two leads fought, Overlord’s guard slowly spread out across the platform, slowly closing in on Crumble and Tailpipe.

“We are very outmatched here!” Tailpipe said in a panicked voice. “You almost done?”

“I need a bit longer!” replied Crumble as he tapped on the control pad.

Scissorsaw lunged at the pair, only to receive a swift kick to the head from Quickshadow. Backing up a few steps across the catwalk, Scissorsaw quickly recovered, switching hands out for a pair of sawblades and swinging them at Quickshadow. On the next catwalk, Forestock had transformed into a small turret mode and was already targeting Quickshadow.

“Oh, that’s not gonna be good!” exclaimed Tailpipe, pointing his pistol at Forestock.

Tailpipe fired a single shot at Forestock. The blast dinged off Forestock’s barrel, knocking his aim askew as he fired. The shot intended for Quickshadow instead struck Scissorsaw’s left saw, ripping through the hinge and sending the blade off the edge.

“FORESTOCK YOU IDIOT!” Scissorsaw yelled, still swinging his remaining blade around.

Forestock quickly swivelled to face Tailpipe, firing off a high energy laser bolt straight at him. Tailpipe barely ducked in time behind a console as the laser soared over his head and struck a screen on the wall behind.

“This is incredibly stressful!” Tailpipe yelled at Crumble.

“You don’t know the half of it yet” came a voice from behind.

A giant blue hand tore the console Tailpipe was hiding behind out from its base. Tailpipe turned around to find Crucible’s face staring straight into his own, grinning. Crucible threw the console off the platform to fall into the pit below, and grabbed Tailpipe by the throat.

“Now it’s time for a dip” smirked Crucible as the glass tank on his chest opened up.

“TAILPIPE!” yelled Crumble, looking up from the bomb and scrambling to his feet, only to be put down by another shot from Forestock, this one ripping through his leg.

Seeing what was going on, Quickshadow kicked Scissorsaw away to help her comrades. As she turned around to tackle Forestock, she felt a sharp pain in her back. Scissorsaw swung his sawblade up her back, sending Quickshadow flying across the catwalk.

“Never turn around from a fight” Scissorsaw grinned, closing in to finish her.

As this was going, Overlord swung his barrel at Ginrai. Ginrai grabbed it, staring Overlord right in the eyes as he did so. He pulled the barrel forward, landing a direct punch on Overlord’s head.

“How does it feel to meet your match!” Ginrai yelled.

“My match?” asked Overlord, still holding the barrel towards Ginrai. “When you’ve given me a point blank shot?”

Before Ginrai knew what Overlord meant, a powerful blast of energy shot out of the barrel, tearing a hole through Ginrai’s abdomen. Metal flew everywhere as Ginrai dropped to his knees, clutching the hole. Overlord smugly stood over him, admiring his barrel.

“Lucky, you know” Overlord said “Any higher than that would’ve blasted through your spark or transformation cog. Though it probably still hurts.”

Overlord knelt down and looked Ginrai right in the eyes, a wide smile over his face.

“Honestly, it was fun” Overlord said. “I expected more from a Convoy, but it’s better than any of your underlings could hope for. Now, while your friends are brutally torn apart by my guard, what’s say you and I…”

Overlord thrusted his arm at Ginrai’s throat and grasped it. Standing up, he held Ginrai off his feet and turned to dangle him over the edge of the catwalk.

“...say our last goodbyes.”

The Crash Site, The Warworld
Thunderhead back up towards the makeshift barriers, firing back on the massing Combatronian forces. Thousands of Combatronians and Vehicons were forming up around them, with the Three Gigantions still firing on them from the back of their forces. They were completely surrounded.

“FALL BACK TO THE SHIP!” Thunderhead yelled at the remaining soldiers around him. “FORM A CIRCLE AROUND IT AND HOLD THE POSITION!”

“We’re not making our way out this time, it seems” sighed Rocket Plume.

“Not like you to be defeatist” replied Thunderhead.

“Well, look at the odds! Normally I’d revel in them, but this time… well, how many of us are there actually left?”

“Thirty seven, ma’am!” replied Goldbug, firing a spray of lasers into the swarm of enemies. “Not nearly enough to form a circle.”

“Then we make one hell of a last stand” stated Thunderhead. “If we’re going down, we’re taking as many down with us as possible.”

Rocket Plume sighed and nodded. Resuming firing, she unloaded what few rockets she had left into the enemy army, sending groups of them flying. Thunderhead stood alongside her, making sure to not waste any of his shots. As they fired, none of them noticed the grenade land beneath them. The blast sent Thunderhead, Rocketplume and Goldbug flying in different directions. As Thunderhead slammed back into the ground, an Autotrooper rushed to pick him up.

“Well… I guess this is it” Thunderhead said.

The Autotrooper nodded sadly at Thunderhead, before his attention was distracted by something else.

“Sir, do you see that!” the Autotrooper said excitedly, pointing.

“What is it, soldier?” Thunderhead asked, trying to see what exactly the Autotrooper was talking about.

“The spire in the distance, sir!” the Autotrooper said, standing up with Thunderhead. “It’s collapsing.”

Thunderhead squinted, and sure enough, in the distance, one of the spires generating the shield began to collapse. And flying from the spire was the glint of a ship. No, not a ship. Several ships. Several ships coming towards them.

“Do you guys hear something?” asked Reachout, turning around.

“No, what are you talking about?” snapped Airlift. “Focus on finishing these idiots!”

“Sounds like…”

Before Reachout finished his sentence, a laserblast tore through his head, sending the Gigantion toppling to the ground. Airlift and Diveplane spun around in shock as a silver Cybertron Carrier Plane transformed into robot form in front of them, grabbing both of their heads and slamming them both to the ground.

“Allying with Overlord…” Stratosphere, the Silver Cybertronian muttered. “Brings the name Gigantion to shame.”

As he slammed them into the ground, a large red ship descended close to the surviving Vanguard soldiers, its turrets clearing out the Combatronians and Vehicons. An orange, green and brown hulking Cybertronian charges out, shifting into the form of a massive armoured vehicle and began mowing through Combatronians, all weapons firing.

“WRECKERS! KILL ‘EM ALL!” yelled the Cybertronian.

As he gunned down various Combatronians, a white motorcycle shot past, transforming into a robot form and swinging a pair of blades through several soldiers.

“Roadbuster, there’s survivors around the wreckage!” yelled the white Cybertronian known as Valve. “We need to push forward to them!”

“Right” Roadbuster said, charging straight through the enemy line.

Roadbuster fought his way through foes, blasting a Tankor here, punching an Afterburn there, before he had single handedly created a distinctive gap in the enemy forces. Overhead, a silver and red jet flew overhead, spraying fire at the Vehicons lines.

“GET EVERYONE ABOARD THE XANTHIUM!” announced the silver flier, shifting robot mode. “I’ll burn them if they try to disrupt the evac!”

“YOU HEARD HOT HOUSE!” yelled Roadbuster. “ROLL ON OUT!”

Rocket Plume looked back at the rest of their force, and signalled for them to press towards the Xanthium. She began firing at the Combatronians, pushing forward to the Xanthium. Thunderhead and Salvage followed close behind, then Goldbug and the remaining force. As they boarded, the Stratosphere fired rockets at Diveplane, bringing her down and leaving only Airlift to face him.

“YOU’LL PAY FOR KILLING THEM!” yelled Airlift, charging at Stratosphere.

“Their fate was sealed the moment they joined Combatron” retorted Stratosphere, preparing to counter Airlift. “And so was yours!”

As Airlift charged at him, Stratosphere managed to wrap his arms around his fellow Gigantion’s waist. Picking him up, he slammed Airlift into the wreckage of the crashed Prima’s Soul. Stratosphere jumped back and fired another volley at rockets, both at the downed ship and Airlift. Airlift was consumed by multiple explosions, setting off his arm rockets in the process.

“You’re clear to go” Stratosphere said, looking down at Valve.

Valve headed back into the ship, followed by Roadbuster and Hot House. He ran to the bridge, where a black, white and orange bot was sitting at the controls.

“Time to go, Sprocket” Valve said as he sat down in the copilot’s seat.

“I hear ya” said Sprocket, flipping several switches.

Rocket Plume, Goldbug and Thunderhead entered the bridge, their plating scorched and dented by the battle.

“Thanks for the assist, but I thought you were held up on your way back from Draak?” asked Thunderhead.

“We were, but now we’re not” said Roadbuster, entering behind them. “It’s just going from fight to fight for us.”

“What about Ginrai and the others?” asked Rocket Plume. “They went ahead to finish the mission?”

“We figured they might” said Valve, looking back from his chair. “So Crest took a gunship and some escort fighters to the shaft building to back them up.”

Sprocket looked out the window and signalled to Stratosphere. The Xanthium launched from the ground, and Stratosphere and transformed and followed it as the scattered Combatron forces attempted to fire at them.

Fusion Core Shaft, The Warworld
Overlord held Ginrai tightly by the neck, dangling above the seemingly endless abyss below.

“Any last words?” he asked, grinning.

“Go to hell” choked Ginrai, struggling to get free.

“Oh, and I thought we were close” replied Overlord, feigning shock. “I like to imagine we were getting to know each other over the course of this brawl. Still, maybe your successor will have some manners.”

“Cry me a river.”

“I’ll miss the sass” sighs Overlord.

“Well, you might not have to worry after all” replied Ginrai, looking over at the door.

“WRECKERS, CLEAR THE ROOM!” yelled a voice.

Overlord turned to see four heavily armed Cybertronians standing in the doorway. The leader, a blue bot called Crest, pointed a large, barrel-like cannon forward.

“TAKE ‘EM!” yelled Crest, firing his cannon at Overlord.

The blast knocked Overlord back, causing him to drop Ginrai. As he dropped, Ginrai grabbed the edge of the catwalk. Crest charged at Overlord as his fellow Wreckers began firing on Overlord’s guards. Hardhead, a green Cybertronian, shifted into tank mode and blasted at Crucible as the latter attempted to place Tailpipe in his chest tank. The blast ripped through one of Crucible’s arms, dropping Tailpipe. As he landed, a red and white Afterburn Vehicon flew over, kicking Crucible backwards before helping up Tailpipe.

“You alright?” the Vehicon asked.

“Yeah…” groaned Tailpipe. “You’re… you’re a Vehicon.”

“A Wrecker first” said the Vehicon. “And the name’s Storm Jet.”

“Tailpipe…” Tailpipe replied in return. “Where’s Crumble?”

Tailpipe looked around for Crumble. After a few seconds, he spotted Crumble, missing a leg and curled around the bomb behind a control pan. Forestock, now in robot mode, was walking along the catwalk towards him.

“COVER ME!” yelled Tailpipe, running across the catwalk towards Crumble.

“FORTI, TAKE OUT THAT SKINNY MECH!” Storm Jet yelled.

Another Vehicon, this one a crimson Tankor, began blasting Forestock from his shoulder cannon, sending Forestock flying with his artillery rounds. In the midst of this Tailpipe ran over to Crumble.

“You alright?” asked Tailpipe, shaking Crumble’s shoulder.

“Well, I’m missing a leg” said Crumble, uncurling. “But besides that, fine.”

“And the bomb?”

“Intact and primed” answered Crumble. “We just need to throw it down.”

“NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO DO WITH IT!” yelled Scissorsaw, charging forward across the catwalk.

As he ran, Quickshadow had managed to pull herself up using one of the railings and fired on Scissorsaw’s leg. Though it didn’t do much damage, it was enough to cause him to lose his footing and fall to the ground.

“THROW THE BOMB OVER!” yelled Quickshadow, holding onto the railing.

“Do it” said Crumble as he held out the bomb to Tailpipe.

Tailpipe took the bomb and ran towards the edge of the control platform. As he did so, Overlord had taken notice of him, knocking Crest to the ground and raising his weapons at Tailpipe. Ginrai used the opportunity to climb back up and leap onto Overlord’s back.

“NO!” Overlord yelled as Ginrai held on tightly to his back.

“TILPIPE, NOW!” Ginrai shouted.

Reaching the edge, Tailpipe dropped the bomb over the edge and watched it disappear into the shaft. After a few minutes of silence, there was a flash of light accompanied by a low boom, then followed by rumbling. The entire room shook, which Overlord used to throw Ginrai off of himself.

“YOU HAD TO RUIN IT!” Overlord yelled, pointing at Ginrai.

“Well, it was a team effort” smirked Ginrai.

Overlord snarled at Ginrai, before turning to the lift and looking at his guards.

“Fall back to the Revenge” he ordered. “Tell them to warm the engine and leave as soon as I’m aboard.”

Heading through the door, Overlord was followed by Forestock, Crucible and the limping Scissorsaw. The room shook again, as Ginrai turned to Crest.

“Thanks for making it” Ginrai said.

“Pleasantries later” replied Crest. “We need to get out of here, before the planet breaks up.”

“Right. MOVE OUT!”

Storm Jet helped Quickshadow up as Tailpipe picked up Crumble. Slowly, the group made their way into the elevator, as the facility continued to shake. Progressing forward, they made it outside where a shuttle awaited them. Outside the facility, the ground was beginning to fracture, and magma was spurting out in large geysers. A pair of Autotroopers stood at the entrance to the shuttle, as a pair of Hurricane-fighters circled above. The group rushed aboard the shuttle, followed up by the two Autotroopers guards. Ginrai and Crest rushed into the cockpit, where a pair of Cybertronians were already preparing to take off.

“We waiting on anyone else?” asked one of the pilots. “Cos this planet is losing its gravitational field.”

“That’s everyone” said Ginrai. “Get us out of here.”

“You heard the Convoy!” ordered Crest. “Take off!”

The shuttle launched from the landing platform, the two Hurricanes following alongside. Below them, the ground was seemingly tearing itself apart while Combatronian ships and fliers fled for their lives. More and more magma was breaching the surface, and segments of terrain were beginning to rise as gravity failed. Soon the Xanthium and Stratosphere had caught up to the shuttle and were flying close behind.

“Put me through to command” requested Ginrai.

One of the pilots fiddled with a few of the controls, and holograms of Warpdrive, Peritus and Groundshaker appeared from the small projector on top.

“The core’s been destroyed and the planet’s coming apart” said Ginrai.

“So we noticed” replied Groundshaker. “Some of the debris has begun drifting into the rest of their fleet.”

“They’re in disarray” added Peritus. “Now that they’re panicked, we’re finally beginning to pick them off. Some have fled, and I’m sure once they get a grip of themselves they’ll retreat.”

“Alright, take as many down as you can before they leave” ordered Ginrai. “Any sign of Overlord’s ship?”

“We picked up The Revenge taking off before vanishing just beyond what was once the planetary shielding” relayed Groundshaker. “Though we’re fairly certain he’s Quantum Jumped away as opposed to his ship being destroyed by debris.”

“He lives to fight another day” sighed Ginrai.

“Chin up, Ginrai” replied Crest, patting Ginrai on the shoulder. “We just blew the hell out of the largest weapon in known Cybertronian history, and sent Overlord packing in tears. Feel proud.”

“We’ll be ready for your arrival” stated Warpdrive. “We’ll prep quarters for you to take it easy.”

“And don’t worry about the rest of the fleet” added Peritus. “We’ve got that well in hand.”

“Thank you, but-” started Ginrai.

“No buts, Convoy” said Crest. “And first brew’s on me.”

The Longbow, Cybertronian Held Space
Ginrai sat in the war room of the Longbow alone, studying a map of Cybertronian territories. A can of cold Engex sat on the console besides his faceplate, the beverage thrust upon him by Crest. The battle had long passed, and Peritus had already reported mopping up the Combatronian Ships that hadn’t fled. Yet despite the well earned rest, Ginrai was still working. Quietly Quickshadow entered the room, her back having now been repaired by the ship’s medical team.

“Wondered where you got to” said Quickshadow. “Rocket was worried you’d miss her shooting a can off of Thunderhead’s head.”

“Still celebrating, huh?” asked Ginrai. “It’s been hours.”

“Course they are” said Quickshadow. “We just gave Combatron one massive kick up the aft. We’ve earned it. You should come back up.”

“I’m not letting Rocket Plume shoot stuff off my head when she’s already had a drink” chuckled Ginrai. “Besides, I’m terrible at being social.”

“It’s a bar” said Quickshadow, rolling her eyes as she pulled Ginrai up. “You don’t get social. You’ve got no excuse.”

As Quickshadow pulled Ginrai away from the holotable in the middle, a light began blinking. Quickshadow looked surprised at Ginrai.

“I swear, I did nothing” Ginrai shrugged as he pressed a button.

“One day I’m gonna have you give Crumble the Matrix just to find out what exactly its properties are” sighed Quickshadow. “Convenient excuses should not be one of them.”

A hologram of Groundshaker appeared on the table.

“Ginra Convoy, sir!” saluted Groundshaker. “Exarchon’s legions are making moves towards Llystradd, and our force need immediately support, and your the nearest available forces.”

Ginrai looked back at Quickshadow, who simply sighed.

“The job never ends, does it?” she said, groaning.

“We’ll be on our way” nodded Ginrai.

Ashmar Citadel, Tuurok
Overlord sat in his chamber, alone. He mused the events of the battle, and the loss of what could’ve been his greatest weapons to date. Silently contemplating, none of his underlings dared enter for fear of facing his rage. Overlord sat up, and looked between some pillars.

“You can stop lurking in the shadows” he said.

A figure stepped out from between the pillars.

“Now, we may speak.”

Chapter 5: Trial of a Convoy

Chapter by Devaron9

Chapter Text

Drewstiss. A Colony on the fringe of the Vanguard/Combatron border. Now the site of one of thousands of battles that have taken place across the Combatron war. Its surfaces have been scoured, the majority of its cities bombed to oblivion. In one of the few remaining cities, brave Vanguard troops fend off wave after wave of attacks by the Seventh Vehicon Legion. Now, on the surviving main highway, yet another wave of Combatronians press forward, looking to take the city and push the enemy offworld. Hundreds of Vehicons were moving forward, with gigantic armoured walkers every few platoons. From their defensive position along the highway, a brave force of Cybertronians prepared to fend off another wave.

“Seventh attack this month” said Rocket Plume, looking through the scope of her rifle. “They’re exhausting our resources, yet they seem to be able to replenish their forces at a whim.”

“It won’t be an easy fight, that much is certain” added Quickshadow as she observed the enemy through her visor. “I make out at least three Behemoth-Class Armoured Transports in that force. Maybe a fourth one at the back. A number of Haemorrhage-Class Walkers, too.”

“It never was gonna be easy holding this planet” said Ginrai. “But it’s at the end of a Quantum Trail. One that leads further into our territory. They take this planet, they can quickly get troops to further planets along the trail and get a quick and easy path deep into our territory.”

“What are your orders, sir?” asked Goldbug.

“Have our troops line up behind cover and fight defensively till I give the word” Ginrai stated. “We hold the line until we get our advantage. Have Sergeant Pyrite get the anti-trooper turrets up, and have Corporal Lock-On get the heavy cannons recharged as soon as possible. The sooner they’re back, the easier time we’ll have.”

“Yes sir” nodded Goldbug, before turning to address two of his subordinates.

“You sure we can wait on the heavy cannons?” asked Rocket Plume.

“I’m not prepared to put all our eggs in one basket” replied Ginrai. “But not to worry, we’ve got plenty of tricks up our sleeve. Now, Tector Company will need to maintain this covering fire till Thunderhead gives us the signal.”

“And what signal is that?” asked Rocket Plume.

“Trust me, it’ll be hard to miss” said Ginrai, giving Rocket a pat on the shoulder as he progressed to the wall of debris that had been lined up on the highway.

Ginrai stepped onto the line, where a mix of Cybertronians and Autotroopers were lying on their fronts, their guns poking over the peak of the debris. Kneeling down, Ginrai pulled a pair of electrobinoculars out from his compartment and looked through them at the advancing walkers.

“What do you see?” asked Quickshadow, crawling up the debris from behind.

“All Vehicons, again” stated Ginrai, his optics staring through the binoculars. “This wave’s primarily composed of Tankors, with OverDrives flanking the sides. Three Behemoths tanks, and a number of Haemorrhage walkers taking over underneath. Nothing we haven’t handled before.”

“Yes but we’ve only got the heavy cannons, and if we don’t get them back to full charge those Behemoths will wipe us out” Quickshadow replied.

“The cannons aren’t our main plan” said Ginrai. “And… first line’s in range! ALL TROOPS, FIRING SPRAY!”

The line of Autotroopers began firing laser bolts into the oncoming platoons of Vehicons, some striking the various drones down in their tracks. One of the forward Tankors, his body marked by silver patterns, pointed forward, signaling the Vehicons to fire back at the Vanguard force. Without a word being uttered, the Tankor drones began firing artillery shells back as the OverDrive drones shifted motorcycle mode and sped towards the line of debris. Some shells struck the line, blowing debris and soldiers off, while others overshot and landed behind the Primal Vanguard’s lines.

“Pyrite, have the anti-infantry turrets pick off the bikers!” ordered Goldbug over his comms, before looking over at Ginrai. “Sir! Those tanks are getting dangerously close to firing range.”

“He’s right!” yelled Quickshadow over the sound of artillery shells flying overhead. “If you’ve got a plan, now’s the time!”

Ginrai watched the tanks through his electrobinoculars patiently, slowly passing one of the largest skyscrapers in the city. After a few more seconds, he put his electrobinoculars down and activated his comms.

“Thunderhead, they’re in position!” he yelled over the comms. “Bring it down!”

On the opposite side of the skyscraper, concealed on the rooftops of nearby buildings, Thunderhead stood with a number of Cybertronians of various shapes and sizes, all with large tank barrels pointed at the building in front of them. The bottom floors of the skyscraper had been partially demolished, leaving only the key support columns to keep the building up. Thunderhead tapped a button on his wrist, answering the comm call.

“Alright, we’re on it!” answered Thunderhead, turning around to the assembled tanks. “Fire at will!”

The tanks began firing down on the base of the building, their blasts slowly whittling away the remaining supports at its base. As more and more of the columns were destroyed by the onslaught of blasts, the building began keeling over. After a few more blasts, the skyscraper fell onto the frontmost Behemoth tank, causing its legs to give way and the body of it to slam against the ground, crushing the smaller walkers troops that were taking cover under it. From her position on the line of debris, Quickshadow looked in surprise as the building crushed the tank beneath it, then looked in disbelief at Ginrai.

“Don’t tell me that was your signal” she said, shaking her head.

Ginrai nodded before standing up, and looking around to address the Vanguard Forces.

“ALL UNITS, CHARGE!” he yelled, before leaping off the debris barricade and charging towards the Vehicons.

Autotroopers and Cybertronians leapt over the barricade and charged towards the enemy, their weapons firing. Both sides closed in on each other, till the two forces merged into a single mass of fighting. Ginrai grabbed one of the OverDrive units by the wheel and threw it as a pair of Tankor drones, while behind him Rocket Plume blasted several Vehicons with her rifle. Ahead of them, Quickshadow fired both pistols at a Tankor drone, bringing it down with ease. Ahead of them, the Behemoth-tank was trying to get back on its feet, slowly trying to push the toppled building off itself. Noticing this, Ginrai tapped his communicator.

“Lock-On, are those cannons recharged yet?” he asked over the comms.

“Just got them back online” said Lock-On’s voice over the comms.

“Target the first walker” ordered Ginrai. “Make sure that it’s not going anywhere, then the Combatronians won’t be able to get any more of their tanks forward!”

“Roger that, sir” replied Lock-On, ending the transmission.

Ginrai and his forces continued fighting through the Vehicon forces, cutting them down with ease. As they fought, spheres of red energy flew overhead, striking at the Behemoth ahead of them. Striking the walker at various points across its body, some blasted its weapons, while others broke through its legs, crippling the walker, each one striking with a loud boom. One particularly accurate shot struck the walker’s command deck dead on, finishing the Behemoth off for good. Watching the walker collapse for good, the silver decaled Tankor tapped the communicator on his wrist.

“This is Commander T-107 to General S-47” said the Tankor over the comms. “Our forward platoons have been almost pulverized by Vanguard forces, and they immobilized our lead tank, blocking the road. What are your orders?”

The Tankor waited, observing his fellow Vehicons being cut down. Finally, after a few seconds of silence, a cold, emotionless voice responded over the comms.

“Order ground forces to retreat” stated the voice. “Make them think they’ve won.”

“Acknowledged” stated T-107. “All units, fall back!”

The remaining Vehicon units turned around, and began scrambling through the debris of the downed Behemoth. Many were blasted or cut down before they made it over. Watching the fall back, Ginrai raised his hand up for the rest of the unit to cease fire, before activating his communicator again.

“Thunderhead, the remains of the forward platoons are falling back” he stated. “What are the rest of their forces doing on the other side of our newly improvised roadblock?”

Back at his positions, as his units of heavy artillery were packing up, Thunderhead squinted at the enemy forces. After a few minutes, he turned to a cyan bot with two large cannons on his back and a pair of electrobinoculars on his head.

“Potshot, without trying to blast ‘em, are they actually falling back or just trying something?” Thunderhead asked.

Sliding his electrobinoculars over his optics, Potshot walked to the edge of the building. Looking at the enemy force, he twiddled with some of the dials on the electrobinoculars to adjust his view. After a few more moments, he slid the binoculars back up and turned around.

“Aye, they’re definitely falling back” he said. “You sure we can’t take any shots at them?”

“Do you want one of the other Behemoth Walkers demolishing this building in return?” Thunderhead retorted, turning back to his comms. “Sir, they’re retreating. Not like the cannon fodder to know when to run.”

“Well, we have heard rumours of new ‘Thinktank’ Vehicons being deployed as commanders” Ginrai replied over the comms. “Brains rather than brawn.”

“I think I liked it better when they ran straight into our gunfire” chuckled Thunderhead.

“If you say so” Ginrai sighed, shaking his head. “Now get back here and we’ll figure out how we’re gonna use their retreat to start a push of our own.”

“Heh, finally bring the fight straight to them” grinned Thunderhead. “I love it. My boys’ll see you there.”

Finishing the call, Ginrai turned around to his troops, who were cheering their victory. He called Goldbug, Quickshadow and Rocket Plume over.

“Alright, Captain, I’ll need you to post patrol squads back around this outpost, then gather your lieutenants and meet us in the command centre for debriefing and strategy meeting” Ginrai ordered. “Tell anyone who’s injured to get patched up, and everyone else to recharge and get some rest.”

“Yes sir!” saluted Goldbug, heading off to talk to his troops. “Won’t get used to Captain, though…”

“Good soldier” said Ginrai, watching Goldbug walk off. “I hope other officers are like him.”

“Explains why you keep him around” chuckled Rocket Plume. “So got anything special planned for our push?”

“Well, it all depends on whether Warpdrive can bring us air support” Ginrai replied.

“Maybe a supply drop, too” added Quickshadow. “We’ve been rationing since we held off attack four, and we’re running dry on Energon.”

“Agreed. If we’re lucky we can get her in on the briefing” Ginrai stated.

As they were talking, a diminutive Cybertronian ran up to them, clutching a holoprojector in her hand.

“Sir, incoming transmission from Captain Warpdrive!” she stated. “Priority status.”

“Put us through” said Quickshadow.

The Cybertronian held out the holoprojector in her hand, and tapped a button on it. A translucent image of Warpdrive appeared from it, giving a salute to Ginrai.

“Sir, I’m sorry to call like this, but we have an emergency” Warpdrive stated. “Several minutes ago, five unidentified ships entered the system. They’re not Cybertronian.”

“Well, can you find out what they are?” asked Rocket Plume.

“I’m sorry, but they’re not the emergency” continued Warpdrive. “When they arrived, the Combatronians used the opportunity to destroy the battlecruiser “Hefty Soul”, and sent bombers and “Mother”-Vehicons through the gap created. They’re moving fast towards your position.”

“That’s not good” said Quickshadow.

“Mother?” asked Rocket Plume, unaware of this model.

“New Vehicons designed to act as dropships'' explained Quickshadow. “They’re as big as Gigantions, heavily armed, and one alone can deliver an entire platoon of soldiers into the battlefield. My spies have been trying to figure out who designed them, since we brought Magmatron into custody on Skimloch. Them and the Thinktanks”

“Point is they’re bad news” said Ginrai, quickly turning his comms back on. “Goldbug, change of plans, we’ve got incoming bombers and Vehicon Dropships coming in fast. Get everyone you can ready to fight, and have cannons point upwards.”

“I think it’s too late for cannons” Rocket Plume said, pointing upwards. “We’ve got Infernal Bombers, coming in fast!”

In the sky above, waves of bombers dived down through pink-tinted clouds in flights of three, pulling up as they began dropping bombs on the Vanguard outpost. As the bombs hit the ground, massive explosions tore through the Cybertronians, soldiers being sent flying.

“GET DOWN!” yelled Ginrai, gesturing for everyone to take cover.

As he tried to get their forces to safety, Rocket Plume pulled out her rifle and tried picking off the bombers. As several nearby soldiers also began firing on them, the majority of the shots dinging off the bombers’ armour. Focusing her aim on one in particular, Rocket Plume managed to fire a shot through one of the ships’ engines. As it entered a death spiral, the ship maintained its heading, spiraling downwards towards the heavy cannons. It crashed into them, exploding in an almighty fireball, its remaining payload scattering everywhere and detonating across the line of cannons. As the smoke cleared, only three of the cannons remained.

“DAMMIT!” yelled Rocket Plume, as she watched flames rise.

“Keep your composure” ordered Ginrai. “We’ve got ground troops incoming!”

Following the route taken by the bombers, four gigantic ships descended. A number of containers were held under them, and instead of a cockpit lay a massive, featureless head, save for two glowing optics. The first of them landed, its containers opening up to reveal groups of Vehicons inside, charging out to fight the scattered Autobot forces. Once its forces had entered the battlefield, the ship changed into a massive bipedal form, its containers becoming arms and legs for it.

“Terminate resistance” stated the gigantic Vehicon as its three fellow ‘Mother’-Vehicons began descending and deploying their own forces.

“HOLD THIS POSITION!” yelled Ginrai, firing his arm cannons at the closest Vehicon.

As the fighting broke out once more, the four giant ‘Mothers’ turned their attention to the remaining heavy cannons and fired intense beams of energy at the nearest one.

“Terminate heavy cannons” stated the lead Mother-Vehicon as the cannon exploded.

“Understurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh-” stated another of the Mother-Vehicons as a beam tore through its head.

The titanic vehicon slowly slumped to the side, knocking over its compatriot as it fell. The other two units turned around, trying to identify their assailant.

“Alert!” yelled one of the two remaining Mother-Vehicons. “Ambush! Locate and termi-”

The Vehicon was cut off as rockets began blasting its limbs apart, the giant arms crashing to the ground as its magnetic joints dropped to the ground. It too soon toppled, crushing several of the Vehicons it had deployed beneath it.

“Did Warpdrive send down air support?” asked Quickshadow as she blasted an Afterburn-Vehicon.

“It ain’t any Vanguard ordinance I recognise” pointed out Rocket Plume as she fired on the advancing Vehicons. “Hell, doesn’t even look Cybertronian. But whoever they are, thank the maker they’re on our side.”

“Don’t bet on it just yet” Ginrai stated, fighting through Vehicons.

Behind the final Mother-Vehicon, several silver objects darted out of the cloudline. Clawlike in shape, they fired several concentrated beams of energy straight at the colossus, piercing straight through its body. The Vehicon collapsed to the ground while the three silver ships passed overhead, likely giving chase to the bombers, should they return.

“Sir!” yelled Goldbug. “Was that who I think it was?”

“With those chrome-coated, gaudy looking ships?” stated Ginrai, a scowl forming on his face. “Who else would it be, besides the Galactic council?”

“Then that answers the question of the mystery ships Warpdrive alerted us to” stated Quickshadow. “I suppose we’ll be expecting a transmission from whoever’s commanding the fleet, likely making his intentions obvious.”

“Any guesses?” asked Rocket Plume, as she fired a few shots at the remaining Vehicons.

“Likely to denounce the war” sighed Ginrai. “The lines are pretty clearly drawn between good and bad, but the Council’s anti-mech prejudices require them to have the high ground over Cybertronians as a whole, instead of actually helping us stem the Combatronian forces’ expansion.”

“I mean, the Alliance and the Proclamation aren’t exactly quick to help us” pointed out Rocket Plume.

“True, but they’re dealing with the Cyberiad, the Vaal Uprising and other threats” said Quickshadow. “The Galactic Council just hate our mechanisms.”

While the remaining Vanguard forces finished mopping up the Vehicons, an Autotrooper ran up to Ginrai.

“Sir, you’ve got an urgent communication from-”

“The Galactic Council” Ginrai said. “I’ll take it in the command centre. Well, what’s left of it.”

Ginrai entered the commander centre. Relatively intact, there was only some debris where pieces of the ceiling had broken off and dropped to the ground. Though some Cybertronians were busy clearing out the debris, most were at their usual stations. Ginrai walked up to the central holotable, with Quickshadow and Rocket Plume behind him.

“Put through the transmission” Ginrai said to one of the operators, who tapped a few buttons on the table.

A hologram of a skinny four armed organic, wearing blue armour, a blue beret, and a metal rebreather over his mouth. He gave Ginrai a steely, unflinching gaze.

“And who might I have the honour of speaking to?” Ginrai asked after a few awkward seconds of silence.

“I am Captain N’rok of the Galactic Council’s space corps” the organic said in a gruff, throaty voice.

“Well, I’m Ginrai Convoy, chosen Convoy of Cybertron” Ginrai replied.

“Yes, I know” stated N’rok. “You’re who I’m here to collect.”

“Collect?” asked Ginrai, confused.

A second alien appeared into view on the hologram, one with a more serpentine body shape, clutching a datapad. They handed the datapad to N’rok, before slithering out of view. N’rok looked down at the datapad for a few moments, his eyes scanning over the words, then looked straight at Ginrai.

“Ginrai Convoy, in the name of the Galactic Council and all its subsidiary collections of worlds, you are under arrest for multiple crimes, including but not limited to-” began N’rok.

“You can’t do that” yelled Rocket Plume, stepping in front of Ginrai. “Where do you get off, threatening to arrest him?”

“-instigating a war” continued N’rok, ignoring Rocket Plume. “Responsibility for the deaths of Galactic Council personnel and destruction of Council Property.”

“Funny, I thought most of your tech was just stolen and reverse engineered from ours” said Quickshadow, rolling her eyes.

“As such, you will be transported to a Galactic Council court, where you will face trial for your crimes.”

With that, Ginrai disappeared in a flash of light, stunning everyone in the room. Quickshadow stepped forward to address N’Rok.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM?” she yelled angrily.

“Typical Cybertronians, never listening” scalded N’Rok. “End communication.”

The hologram of N’Rok disappeared, leaving those in the room to process what just happened.

Space Station “Hand of Judgement”, Galactic Council Controlled Space
Meanwhile, several systems away, Ginrai surveyed his new surroundings. He was now in a large room, with large metal pillars around the edges, and a pair of massive statues beside a doorway. In front of those were rows of various organic beings sitting down, all of them talking amongst themselves as camera drones buzzed around overhead. Ginrai himself was sitting at some sort of metal desk. An organic with crimson skin and multiple eyes sat on a stand in front of him, likely a judge of some sort. He was staring at a datapad through a pair of glasses. Putting them down, the judge looked down at a mantis-like organic standing in Galactic Council uniform, acting as bailiff.

“ORDER IN THE COURT!” the bailiff yelled.

A hush fell over the entire court as the judge looked straight at Ginrai.

“Ginrai of Cybertron, you are accused of numerous war crimes, chief among them instigating a major war between factions of your own kind that have spread into our territories” the judge said into what appeared to be a microphone. “How do you plead?”

Ginrai took a few seconds to take in what was going on before answering, trying to understand the situation he had just been placed in. Several of the camera drones flew around him, trying to get the best angles of him.

“Not guilty, your honour!” Ginrai yelled, standing up.

“In which case you will be taken to a private, guarded room where you will be given an hour to prepare your defence. Court adjourned.”

“I… what?” spluttered Ginrai, shocked. “Do you not provide defence counsel? Any sort of legal assistance?”

“This court is not required to provide non-residents of Galactic Council territory with legal assistance” the judge stated, no longer looking at Ginrai. “As such you should bring your own legal assistance prior to the beginning of court proceedings.”

“Well, how can I do that if you teleport me without permission, dump me in this court and immediately begin this trial?”

“That is not our concern” the judge stated, rapidly losing interest in the conversation. “Now may I remind you that the court is now adjourned. The guards will take you to your room to begin prepping your defence.”

A pair of guards, wearing a modified variant of the blue galactic council uniforms walked over to Ginrai. Both were armed with weapons that seemed to be based on the Primal Vanguard’s own Ion Blasters, just with the Galactic Council’s sigil emblazoned on the side. Ginrai stood up, and one of the guards started leading him out the room. Nudging him with his gun, the other guard prompted Ginrai to follow. The guards lead him to a room not far from the courtroom. One of them tapped a few buttons on the keypad to the door, which slid open. Inside was another metal desk, similar to the one Ginrai had just been sitting at, with a datapad lying on top, and a single chair. As he entered, Ginrai spied a security camera in the corner of the room, following his movements. Reaching the desk, he heard the door slam shut behind him, and the sound of electromagnetic locks activating. Sitting down, he sighed and began preparing a defense, all the while musing how else he could get out of the predicament.

Primal Vanguard Outpost, Drewstiss
Quickshadow paced in front of the holotable, musing their situation. The Vehicon legions had not attacked since the Galactic Council striked. After a few more minutes of pacing, a hologram of Groundshaker appeared on the screen.

“Apologies for the delay, we’ve been dealing with Defiant’s relocation” stated Groundshaker. “This is a bad situation we’re in.”

“We need to track them as quickly as possible” said Quickshadow with urgency in her voice.

“We’ll try our best, but we’ll be heavily impeded. They more than likely chain teleported Ginrai between ships, meaning we’d only be able to track him from here to where the ship was in orbit, and then if we’re lucky to the next ship in the chain. Beyond that, we won’t get much further without going into their territory and starting an incident. And we can’t send too many search drones into their territory without the same happening.”

“Well we can’t just sit around and do nothing” replied Quickshadow.

“I know” sighed Groundshaker. “But like I said, we can still deploy a small number of drones without arousing any suspicion. In the meantime, I’m seeing if I can provide reinforcement to Drewstiss to help you clear off the remainder of the Combatronian forces. Aside from that, I’ll try to keep you updated.”

“Thank you” said Quickshadow. “Quickshadow out.”

Room 246, Hand of Judgement
Ginrai sat in silence, chewing on the stylus that came with his datapad, trying to think of what he was going to say. The silence was deafening for him. Having always been one for a life of action, he wasn’t used to sitting around, especially after the war started. And if he had to make any sort of speech or statement, well, he’d just let it come to him in the moment.

“You know, if you want, we can just go straight back in there and get this trial over and done with” Ginrai said out loudly, hoping someone outside would hear him.

Ginrai waited a few seconds, but got no response. Clearly, the Galactic Council were sticklers for timings. He sat down and sighed. Looking to one of the walls, he eyed what appeared to be some sort of clock. Ginrai was familiar with their numerical systems, and sighed as he realised only approximately fifteen minutes had passed by. He lay back against the back of his chest and audibly sighed.

“You know, entertainment would be nice” Ginrai yelled out. “Maybe a ball, or a movie, or anything?”

Still no response came from outside. It looked like Ginrai would have to make do with his own company for the remainder of the time.

Combatronian Outpost 7-Alpha-5, Drewstiss
Inside the top floor of a large metal building, retrofitted with Combatronian tech, Vehicons busied around, preparing for their next move. In the centre of this command hub, a singular jade Vehicon sat on what appeared to be a mechanical chair. Unique in design, this Vehicon lacked any discernible vehicle kibble, and had a large metal cylinder strapped to its back, with several antennas and a number of flashing lights. This was a “Thinktank”-Vehicon, designed to think of new and advanced strategies to defeat the Primal Vanguard. Seemingly pondering, a singular Afterburn vehicon with black armour walked up to him.

“Sir, new reports have been received” said the Afterburn.

“Report, A-741/2” said the Thinktank-Vehicon, staring at the Afterburn with his three, emotionless optics.

“We have identified the third party forces that attacked our second wave as Galactic Council forces” stated the Afterburn. “Furthermore, our spies reported that before they departed the system, they utilised a chain teleport to abduct Ginrai. We believe he is in their territory to be tried for the outbreak of the war and its effects on them.”

“Curious” stated the Thinktank. “But this presents an opportunity.”

“To take the planet?”

“Incorrect. While the Convoy no longer being able to aid the battle is advantageous, it would not assert victory. No, a far bigger opportunity has presented itself. Ginrai Convoy is in Council Custody. While a surprise attack afforded them a small victory while we were occupied combatting the Primal Vanguard, they will be no match for a full scale invasion force.”

“What are your orders, General?”

“Contact Admiral Frigid. She is nearest, so she will suffice for this operation. Have her prepare her attack fleet for combat and to await my arrival. And prepare a shuttle and escort squadron. I will personally join the battle and provide strategy to her.”

“What of the battle here?” asked A-741/2.

“Continue with the planned phased sieges” stated the Thinktank, standing up from his chair. “Though the probability of victory is low, continued attack will weaken them. Vehicon Legions are dispensable. Once this legion falls, a new one will arrive to continue the attack.”

With that, the Thinktank left the command centre, making his way to the makeshift landing ground.

Courtroom, Hand of Judgement
Ginrai was brought back into the courtroom, escorted by the two council grounds, and was forcefully shoved back into his seat. The court was immediately silent as the judge returned to his place.

“COURT IS NOW BACK IN SESSION!” yelled the bailiff.

“We will first hear the prosecution” announced the judge. “Prosecutor, if you may.”

A skinny organic, with a large, insectoid head stood up, holding a briefcase. Putting the briefcase on the table, he opened it up and pulled out what appeared to be a small datastick.

“Thank you, your honour” the prosecutor said. “Your honour, I believe this will be an open and shut case. I intend to prove that this Cybertronian, as leader of his people, is responsible for numerous deaths, and the destruction of Council property, including numerous planets under our protection! Your honour, if I may present Exhibit A!”

The judge nodded, and the prosecutor placed the datastick into a holoprojector. Pressing a button, several datafiles appeared on screen, showing several images of planets.

“These are just some of the planets destroyed in the conflict within our territories” stated the prosecutor. “There are not only many more, planets, civilizations also razed, fleets destroyed, property stolen.”

“OBJECTION!” yelled Ginrai.

“Overruled” retorted the judge, his mind clearly made up before the trial had started.

“Now we move to Exhibit B!” exclaimed the prosecutor, exchanging the data stick for another. “A list of just a portion of the lives lost in this war of theirs. Just a trillion of the sextillions of lives lost in this war, each and every one of the killed by Cybertronian hands. I do not believe I even need to say anymore.”

“Has the list even been verified?” yelled Ginrai. “Are we just going based on what could simply be made-up names?”

“Despicable” said the prosecutor, shaking his head. “Now he mocks our dead.”

“Agreed, please sit down” asked the judge. “Do you have any more evidence, prosecutor?”

“No, your honour” replied the prosecutor.

“Well, while the evidence seems fairly damning, tradition dictates that we should hear the case for the defence. Please step forward, defendant.”

As the prosecutor went to sit down, Ginrai stood up, the two exchanging glances as they passed each other. Ginrai coughed, clearing his throat.

“Members of the jury, at first I was going to make a case about how we did not start this war” began Ginrai. “About how I and my fellow Cybertronian are doing our best to hold back the evil of Overlord, trying our best to prevent it from spreading out to the other territories. But it is clear to me that will not matter, given how much of a sham this trial is!”

The room was filled with gasps of shock, as Ginrai spun around and pointed directly at the judge.

“A judge whose mind was made up before I was even kidnapped” announced Ginrai. “Someone whose mind was clearly biased against my kind.”

Ginrai then turned to point at the prosecutor.

“A prosecutor who clearly makes up statistics and names just to add gravitas to his case. And I’m very sorry for all those who have actually died, but we didn’t kidnap your leaders and put them on trial for the destruction of our colonies.”

Ginrai then turned to look at the jury.

“But then again, what is the point of all this? We all know this is just a show. You’re too scared to join the war, but you want to look like you’re doing something. And since you’re too terrified of him to capture Overlord, you grab me to be your scapegoat. Put on a big trial, hold me “accountable” for “my crimes”. So let’s end this pointless charade and get to the sentencing!”

The judge took a few seconds to regain his composure following Ginrai’s accusations. He looked around at the other shocked faces, then at Ginrai.

“The court is adjourned while the jury makes their decision” states the judge. “Will the guards please take the accused back to their holding cel- excuse me, preparation room.”

The guards grabbed Ginrai roughly, who shakes their hands off. The pair lead Ginrai back to the same room as before, shutting the door behind him. Ginrai sat back down at the chair, resting his cheek on his hand, and sighed.

“Not my finest moment, is it?” Ginrai sighed. “Maybe shouting down the whole court wasn’t my finest move.”

Ginrai looked down at his chest.

“Maybe you’ve got some miracle up your sleeve” he said, tapping his chest.

Primal Vanguard Outpost, Drewstiss
Back at the outpost, Quickshadow was talking to a hologram of Goldbug at the central holoprojector, while Tailpipe, Rocket Plume, Thunderhead and Crumble stood around. Ginrai’s whereabouts were still on everyone’s minds.

“With the help of Scar Company and Typhoon Company, Tector Company was able to push back Combatronian forces from the seventh Delko Highway checkpoint back to Delko City itself” reported Goldbug.

“Way to go Goldy!” cheered Thunderhead. “You’ll be a major in no time.”

“Impressive efficiency” added Quickshadow.

“If I’m honest, they’ve lost all semblance of strategy” Goldbug stated. “Even when they outnumber us, we’ve been easily able to overwhelm them. Even made several clean captures of their tanks.”

“Maybe they’re trying to bait us in for a massive strike” suggested Rocket Plume.

“I might have an alternative suggestion” came Peritus’ voice as the images of Peritus Maximus and Groundshaker appeared alongside Goldbug’s.

“But we should first report with some good news” stated Groundshaker. “We were able to locate Ginrai thanks to Peritus.”

“Our drones picked up transmissions from Galactic Council news networks that seem to be broadcasting his trial” said Peritus. “Definitely want everyone to think that they’re making a statement against the war.”

“All show but none of the guts to do anything that truly means anything” said Tailpipe, rolling his eyes.

“We’ve located it within their space, on a space station named the ‘Hand of Judgement’” continues Peritus.

“And as for the answer as to why the forces on Drewstiss have been so scatterbrained” said Groundshaker. “Warpdrive informed us of a Combatronian shuttle leaving the atmosphere. We believe it was carrying a Thinktank-Vehicon, who was in charge of their forces. He joined up with a fleet in the next system.”

“Anyone want to guess where that fleet is going?” sarcastically asked Rocket Plume.

“Yes, quite” replied Groundshaker. “Point is, it is an attack fleet.”

“Which means we don’t need to restrain ourselves on what we can send after them” said Thunderhead.

“Who knows, they might be grateful?” added Crumble.

“And I’m the reincarnation of Prima” laughed Rocket Plume. “Come on, be serious Crumble.”

“I will be taking a fleet to counter them, once Strahlix Battalion joins us” Peritus continued.

“I’ll rendezvous with you” said Quickshadow. “Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and Goldbug can handle mopping up the enemy here, particularly with the new forces Groundshaker provided us.”

What, leaving us to have the fun?” joked Thunderhead.

“Just want to make sure our Convoy is safe” chuckled Quickshadow. “Next time he gets kidnapped, I’ll let you join the rescue team.”

“I should hope so!”

“Tailpipe, ready a shuttle to leave asap” Quickshadow said to her teammate. “We don’t want to keep Peritus waiting.”

“I wish you all the best of luck” said Groundshaker.

With that, the holograms of Groundshaker and Peritus vanished, while Quickshadow and Tailpipe left the room.

Courtroom, Hand of Justice
Ginrai was escorted back into the courtroom by the same pair of guards, yet again in front of the same judge. The entire room was silent with anticipation. Ginrai could tell that everyone in that room wanted the same verdict… well, except him. Ginrai sat in his seat once more, as the judge cleared his throat.

“Court is now in session” he said as he turned to the jury. “Jury, have you made a decision?”

A bird-like humanoid stood up from the jury, sitting closest to the judge.

“We have, your honour” the individual stated.

“And what is your verdict?”

“We, the jury, find the defendant guilty.”

Ginrai sighed, not surprised by the verdict. He slowly shook his head in disappointment.

“Ginrai Convoy of Cybertronian, you have been found guilty of-”

The entire room shook as a large boom echoed through the station. Everyone began looking at each other in a panic, as Ginrai rose from his seat, looking up. The judge frantically tapped on the controls of a small holoprojector in front of him. After several attempts, the image of Captain N’Rok finally formed.

“Captain N’Rok, what just happened?” exclaimed the panicked judge.

“Sir, a Cybertronian Fleet just jumped into our space and began firing at us!” reported N’Rok. “We’ll hold the line, but I suggest you perform a full evacuation!”

“Sir, they’ve hit the reactor!” came a shout from somewhere on the other side of the hologram.

“They’re sending boarding parties your way!” yelled N’Rok. “Again, you need to evacu-”

And with that the image of N’Rok vanished. Panicking, the judge stood up, and began descending from his podium.

“Everyone get to the escape craft!” he spluttered. “And guards, immediate execution of the accused!”

The guards nodded and shoved Ginrai to the ground, pointing their weapons at him while all others in attendance started pushing their way towards the doors. However, before they could fire, the roof above them exploded, showering debris everywhere. Several Combatronians fliers descended from the hole, and began spraying laserfire at the crowds.

“Kill them all!” yelled the lead, a crimson Cybertronian with six rotor blades descending from her back. “But especially the Convoy!”

Ginrai, seeing the opportunity, stood up and punched the nearest guard, then wrestled the rifle out of his hand and began firing on the nearest Combatronian.

“How dare you!” exclaimed the other guard, his rifle still trained on Ginrai.

“You wanna survive?” asked Ginrai. “Then point your rifle at the people trying to kill us all!”

Outside, the Combatronian fleet was tearing through the Galactic Council ships defending the station. Consisting of two Goliath-class Battlecruisers, four Deepvault-class Frigates and headed by a singular Sledgehammer-Class cruiser, the fleet fired an onslaught of lasers and missiles, easily dispatching their foes. Swarms of fliers and dropships flew from the hangars, flying towards the station for the chance to personally kill Ginrai.

However, behind them, several Primal Vanguard ships quantum jumped in, a combination of Warblocker’s, Vanguard-I’s and Anx’s. Aboard the bridge of the lead ship, The Shatterbolt, Peritus walked up to the glass windows of the cockpit.

“Typical, never watching their backs” Peritus smirked. “Launch all fighters! Have bombers go for their shield generators while our battlecruisers go for the engines.”

The ships unleashed a flurry of firepower at the backs of their Combatronian foes, slowly beginning to breach their foes' shields and rupture their engines. Aboard the Combatronian flagship, the same “Thinktank”-Vehicon stood beside a female Cybertronian with kibble resembling a snow plow.

“I warned you that an attack from behind was a logical assumption” stated the Vehicon.

“Oh, shut up” scowled the Cybertronian. “I only brought you along because you insisted on telling me of the Convoy’s situation personally. NOW ALL HANDS, TURN THE FLEET AROUND AND ENGAGE THE PRIMAL VANGUARD.”

“Admiral Frigid, that will leave us exposed to the remaining Galactic Council ships. I suggest-”

The “Thinktank” was silenced as his head was crushed by the Combatronian’s large hands, leaving the body to crumple to the floor.

“Never liked those know-it-all Vehicons anyway” stated the Combatronian. “THIS IS ADMIRAL FRIGID TO ALL SHIPS! TURN AROUND AND ENGAGE THE VANGUARD FLEET.”

The flagship rocked as one of the Deepvault frigates beside it exploded with huge force, flaming debris scattering around the explosion.

“NOW!”

Back on the Shatterbolt, Peritus stroked his chin, musing his next move.

“Aurum Squadron, Ferro Squadron, Argentum Squadron, knock out the command ship’s forward Atomizer weapon!” ordered Peritus, before activating his communicator. “Quickshadow, they’re turning, you’d better arrive quickly!”

As the Combatronian battleships turned to face their Vanguard foes, several Hammer-Class gunships appeared in a burst of light over it, zooming over the battleships and nimbly avoiding the few cannons that were aware enough to target them. Tailpipe sat at the controls of the lead gunship, with Quickshadow standing behind him.

“See Peritus, told you they’d be all over the place when they arrived” said Quickshadow.

“So cocky breaking the backs of those Council ships they aren’t prepared for when a real fight comes along” added Tailpipe.

“Indeed” replied Peritus over the comms. “We shouldn’t have too much trouble dispatching the fleet. I just hope you’re able to safely extract him.”

“The Hammers will clear out one of the hangar spaces, and which the strike force will hold till my commandos find Ginrai” Quickshadow explained. “Easy enough.”

“Well, I wish you luck. Peritus out.”

Quickshadow nodded, before peering out of the domed cockpit window. Looking around the station, she pointed to a spot ahead.

“Aim for that hangar” she said. “The rest of the squadron will follow us.”

“Understood” replied Tailpipe.

The gunships adjusted their course, firing a spray of lasers at the hangar to clear it of Combatronian hostiles. Quickly landing, their boarding ramps descended, and a number of Cybertronian poured out, firing on those still standing. Quickshadow stepped out, blasting an Afterburn vehicon with one of her dual pistols.

“Establish a perimeter!” she barked. “Danger Squad, follow me!”

With that, Quickshadow fought her way to one of the exits, followed by a small team of Cybertronians of various sizes.

Deep within the Council Station, Ginrai and his one remaining guard fought their way through the corridors, blasting down several Afterburn Vehicons.

“Keep moving!” Ginrai yelled back.

“I don’t take orders from you!” the guard shouted back.

“Then think of it as a friendly suggestion to help you not get killed” Ginrai replied, rolling his optics.

As they moved forward, the wall exploded as a Leaper-vehicon burrowed through, pinning down the guard. The Leaper began trying to stab the guard with its massive claws, though the guard was able to squirm out of the way of the blows. Turning back, Ginrai attempted to fire a few shots at Leaper, only for them to ping off the cyclops’ armour. Sighing, Ginrai leapt at the Leaper’s back, ramming his rifle into one of Leaper’s rear engines and holding down the trigger. A stream of blasts fired down the engine, and Ginrai jumped back as the Leaper writhed backwards, light bursting from the seams in his armour. The Council Guard crawled out of the way as the Leaper exploded. Ginrai held his hand out to pull the guard back to his feet.

“You’re welcome” Ginrai smirked as the guard took his hand.

The guard replied with a sigh as Ginrai pulled him up, and the pair continued on their way. Occasionally coming under attack by squads of Combatronians and Vehicons, the pair made no effort in dispatching them, quickly fighting their way forward. Exiting from the corridor into a large hall, where Vehicons and Combatronians were currently engaged with unseen forces across knocked over furniture and signs.

“I’m guessing we’re near the hangar” said Ginrai. “Would I be correct?”

“This is the customs room, given that we can get all sorts docking here for trials” explained the guard. “The hangars are down those corridors.”

The guard pointed to the end of the hall to a pair of large entrances, where several Cybertronians were engaged with the Combatronian forces, including a familiar silver mech.

“Well, it looks like my people have arrived to evacuate me” said Ginrai. “I suggest you borrow whatever ships remain. The station itself is lost. We can mop up the Combatronians.”

Ginrai charged forward, smashing his rifle over the head of a jade green flier, knocking the Cybertronian out and pulling their weapon off, before spraying the room with lasers. Ginrai then kicked up one of the chairs at a pair of Vehicons, before rolling under another’s laserfire. Uppercutting his foe, he grabbed them in midair and slung them at another Combatronian. Finally making it to the other end of the hall, he breathed in relief, having reached his comrades.

“Well, you’ve been busy” Ginrai said.

“And I’m guessing you’re a guilty man” joked Quickshadow.

“Yes, I’m all sorts these days” Ginrai sighed. “Shall we go?”

“Wait!” gasped the guard, catching up. “Your trial! You need to face the court’s punishment!”

Ginrai groaned, and walked over to the guard. Ginrai crouched, levelling his optics with the guard’s eyes.

“Do me a favour” he said. “Get them to wave it, and I’ll consider not dragging you into our war. After all, you did illegally pass into our territories. And you did kidnap the commonwealth’s head of state. Those could both be considered a declaration of your intent to join our war.”

“I can’t, I’m a guard!” spluttered the guard, before looking directly into Ginrai’s glare and shuddering. “I’ll, um, try my best.”

Ginrai stood back up, and turned to leave with Quickshadow and our team. Taking a few steps, he stopped and looked back.

“Oh, and by the way, Combatron has now made an open attack on you, which my forces saved you from” Ginrai stated. “I suggest you remember that. And that Overlord will likely not leave it at that. Good luck.”

And with that Ginrai and his fellow Cybertronian departed, leaving the guard both bewildered and terrified as he thought about what his people’s actions had wrought…

Chapter 6: Oblivious Souls

Chapter by Devaron9

Chapter Text

Shuttle SF-113, The Poltari System
In distant wilds of the Poltari System, Shuttle SF-113 burst into the system in a flash of light. Surrounded by a few amber coloured planets, the ship weaved through several drifting asteroids in its course. The shuttle was lightly manned, with only a skeleton crew of Autotroopers and their two passengers on board. Sitting in the passenger bay, Quickshadow and Crumble were on call to Ginrai via hologram.

“We have just entered the Poltari system, and are on schedule to rendezvous with the Fifth Defense Fleet, Ginrai” reported Quickshadow.

“Good to hear” said Ginrai. “I’m sorry I have to send you for the inspection, but the Probat Campaign has stepped up. Delirious has called in reinforcements from one of Exarchon’s fleets, and he’s been keeping us on our toes. I’ll try to-”

Ginrai was cut off by the sound of a loud explosion as Rocket Plume rushed into the hologram.

“They’re back!” Rocket Plume exclaimed. “And they’ve brought Marauders with them!”

“I’m sorry, I have to go” stated Ginai. “I wish you the best of luck.”

“You too, Ginrai” replied Quickshadow.

The hologram of Ginrai disappeared, and Quickshadow put away the communicator. Standing up, she walked to a door at the end of the room, and opened it into the ship’s cockpit. A pair of Autotrooper pilots were at the controls, one with green markings and painted yellow eyes above his visor, and the other with depictions of red bird-like creatures on the sides of his helmet.

“How are we looking, Goji?” asked Quickshadow as she entered.

“Well, we’re closing in on the fleet's position, and Rod’s sent our clearance codes to The Arbiter” said the Autotrooper with green markings, gesturing to his co-pilot as he spoke.

The ship's comms button started blinking, and Goji pressed it.

“This is command ship Arbiter to shuttle SF-113” came a voice over the comms. “Your clearance codes check out. We’ll provide you a course to Hangar 3, where we’ll meet you.”

“Understood, over and out” replied Goji, closing communications. “Rod, we got the path?”

“Putting it in the nav computer as we speak” replied Rod, tapping some controls on the console. “We’ll be there soon.”

“Nothing to worry about, ma’am” Goji said, turning to Quickshadow. “You can just sit down and relax for a bit while we make our approach.”

“Yes…” muttered Quickshadow, returning to the passenger section. “‘Relax’”

Crumble watched Quickshadow sit back down.

“You okay, Quickshadow?” Crumble asked. “You seem to have been on edge for this whole journey.”

Quickshadow sighed as she looked at Crumble.

“The C.O. we’re visiting, Impactus Major… let’s say we don’t see eye to eye” Quickshadow said.

“Really?” questioned Crumble, curiously. “How come?”

Before Quickshadow could continue, Goji’s voice sounded over the shuttle’s intercom.

“Alright, we’re making our approach, fasten your belts ready to enter the ship’s gravity field and make our landing” Goji’s voice stated.

The two did as ordered, as did their Autotrooper guards. They felt the ship gently rumble for a few seconds as it passed into the gravity field of the larger cruiser, before briefly shaking with the clang of the landing legs made contact with the hangar floor. The group of passengers waited for the announcement to say they could remove their belts.

“Alright, we’ve arrived” Goji announced over the intercom. “ You can now remove your belts and disembark once the ramp lowers.”

Quickshadow was the first to unbuckle and stand up. As Crumble did the same, Quickshadow walked over to the end of the shuttle, watching as the ramp began to lower with a quiet whirring noise. Once the ramp touched the metal floor with a slight clang, Quickshadow walked down the ramp, where she found her greeted by two lines of Cybertronians in formation, one on either side. At the end of the path formed by the two lines were a pair of Cybertronians. One was purple and orange femme with a tall, bulky frame, massive cannons mounted on her shoulders, and an energon saber clipped to her back, while the other was a scrawny, grey femme with a hunched body posture, with two slim wings protruding from her back. As Quickshadow and Crumble approached, the purple and orange femme extended her hand out to greet them.

“Quickshadow, it has been… a while” said the orange femme. “I had assumed Ginrai would be coming.”

“Yes, well Ginrai’s busy, so you’re stuck with me and Crumble” Quickshadow stated, ignoring the outstretched arm.

“Right, and this ‘Crumble’ being here in what sort of capacity?” questioned the femme, gesturing to Crumble as she mentioned his name.

“I’m, uh, Ginrai’s chief engineer, here to see the weapon for him in that capacity” Crumble answered, stepping forward and shaking the femme’s hand. “And you must be Impactus, correct?”

“Impactus Major” corrected Impactus with a scowl. “Commanding officer of the Scarred Fist Fleet, Brigadier of the Twelfth Rupture Corps, and overseer of Project Theta Two Nine.”

“And I am Logixx” stated the scrawnier Cybertronian, stepping forward to join the conversation. “Project Theta Two Nine is my contribution to the war effort.”

“Professor Logixx was behind the project, one that I hope will put the Combatronians in their place” Impactus continued. “Now come, we’ll need to equip radsuits before we head down to the surface.”

“Surface?” questioned Crumble, as Impactus turned around to lead them out of the hangar.

“Yes. We’re nearing completion of the testing phase on a nearby moon. Inhabited by a small colony of non-Cybertronian Mechanoids. Insignificant, but close enough to our own species biology wise that they would yield accurate results.”

Upon hearing this, Quickshadow’s face turned red with anger. She stormed after Impactus down the corridor, followed by Crumble and Logixx, who ran to keep up.

“You’ve been using non-aligned species as test subjects?” scowled Quickshadow. “You know full well that’s against what we’re fighting for.”

“I didn’t realise the protection of the Cybertronian Commonwealth entailed lesser non-aligned species” sighed Impactus. “Besides, it’s not like they notice. Then again, that rather is the point.”

“What does that mean?” Quickshadow said as she shot Impactus a glare.

“Logixx, if you would be so kind as to fill in Quickshadow.”

“Well, we, that is to say I, have developed a microparticle capable of creating magnetic frequencies capable of dulling the senses of a Cybertronian or similar species” started Logixx. “That is to say, it makes them less alert to sudden changes in their environment. We hope that by dispelling it over Combatronian installations, they’ll ignore alarms and any sensors that indicate our forces approaching.”

“It doesn’t sound like you have an ethical way of testing it” pointed out Crumble.

“This is a war, engineer” replied Impactus. “There isn’t time for Ethics.”

“Well that’s something you and I disagree on” retorted Quickshadow.

“Really, ‘Spymaster’? I forgot how ethical espionage and assassination is.”

“Well unlike you, we’re not targeting innocents with no part in this war!” yelled Quickshadow.

“We’re, umm, at our destination” stated Logixx, pointing a long finger towards one of the doors. “You’ll need to put on the radsuits, then you’ll be orbitally bounced down to the surface. When you return, you’ll have to take a decontamination shower, just to ensure you haven’t brought it up with you. I need to return to my lab. I have other projects that need my attention. Good luck.”

“Good luck? Will we need it?” asked Crumble.

“You might if you keep questioning everything” groaned Impactus. “Now let’s suit up.”

The trio entered the room, and began equipping their gear. Logixx turned around, heading back to her lab, unaware of a blue and red Cybertronian observing them.

Moon of Colsik, Poltari System
Three beams of light descended from the atmosphere, striking the grey rocky surface. In the beams, a trio of figures appeared, stepping out as the light vanished. The figures wore matching suits of armour, with numerous pipes and wires attached to them. One of them stepped forward with a heavy footstep.

“So where are we going?” came Crumble’s voice from the facial grill of one of the armoured individuals.

Another of the figures pointed ahead to a plateau littered with crater. In the centre was a collection of metal pyramids sticking out. Though Crumble couldn’t be sure, it seemed like this might be that native species equivalent to a village.

“We’ll pass through their village towards our outpost” stated the voice of Impactus from another of the suits of armour. “I wouldn’t recommend removing your suit at any point, lest our ‘Diversion Compound’ afflict you.”

“‘Diversion Compound’?” asked the voice of Quickshadow from the third suit of armour. “Did you think of that yourself?”

“As it happens, yes” replied Impactus, an air of smugness in her voice.

“I don’t like it” snarked Quickshadow.

Impactus shook her head within her armour, before stomping on ahead. Quickshadow and Crumble look at each other through their suits' optic windows, then followed Impactus along the crater-filled terrain. After less than an hour of walking, the trio entered the village. It was filled with various mechanical lifeforms, busying themselves with tasks. They were spindly wireframe beings, circuitry concealed within their frames None of them seemed to look at the trio of Cybertronians, especially not at their strange and very different appearance.

“These are our test subjects” stated Impactus, gesturing at the various civilians.

“I don’t recognise them” stated Crumble. “Do you know what species they are?”

“No idea” stated Impactus without a hint of interest. “It was more important to ensure their processor was similar enough to ours to ensure that testing will be accurate.”

“You’re despicable” Quickshadow scowled beneath her armour.

“No, I’m pragmatic” replied Impactus. “Now, let’s move on.”

Impactus walked onwards, as Crumble and Quickshadow stayed a little longer, watching the locals. One of them knocked over a bucket, yet seemed unphased by it, not even picking it back up. Sighing, Quickshadow turned, before she and Crumble began to catch up with Impactus.

Goliath-Class Battlecruiser “Savage Wing”, Delfa Nebula
Aboard the bridge of the Savage Wing, Firecore waited impatiently in her captain’s chair. She tapped the controls in front of her, waiting for something to happen. A tall crimson and orange Cybertronian with rotor blades draped over her torso, almost like robes, she was not used to waiting. Then, at long last, a light started flashing on her console. She quickly pressed a button, and a hologram of a Cybertronian appeared in front of her.

“Agent T-723, you’re late!” exclaimed Firecore. “What do you have to report?”

“Apologies, general” stated the Cybertronian. “I struggled to get a minute alone. Brigadier Impactus Major has led two envoys of Ginrai down to the surface. It seems that they’re nearing the end of their project’s testing phases, and seem ready to begin using it in the field.”

“Do you have any idea what the project is?” questioned Firecore.

“No, general, but I have my theories based on what I’ve overheard. It seems to be a way to deal with our early warning sensors in our territories, but I can’t say for sure.”

“Hmm…” thinks Firecore. “Return to your duties. Continue monitoring, and inform us of any changes. It’s time we dealt with these Vanguard projects ourselves.”

The Cybertronian saluted as his hologram vanished. Firecore sat upright in her chair, a fire in her spark.

“ALL SHIPS, WE MOVE TO THE POLTARI SYSTEM!” Firecore yelled over her fleet’s comms. “WE’LL USE ONE OF THE NEARBY SUNS FOR COVER, AND SNEAK UP ON THEM BEFORE THEY REALISE WE’RE THERE! RECYCLE ALL LASER WEAPONS AND RELOAD ALL ARTILLERY AND ROCKETS!!”

The engines of the Savage Wing and its fellow ships roared to life as the fleet moved out. Firecore grinned, the prospect of a battle perking her up. She would destroy these Vanguard fools, and leave their silly project in ruins.

Moon of Colsik
The trio of armoured Cybertronians approached a large structure, different from the pyramidal buildings they had passed earlier. This structure was more akin to Cybertronian architecture, with a large satellite dish attached to the top. Impactus led them towards the entrance to the base, then pressed several buttons in quick succession. The door slid open, and the trio entered.

“It’s quiet” said Crumble. “Where is everyone?”

They’re probably just busy” replied Impactus. “Likely on the command deck.”

The trio walked through the empty corridors, still filled with light despite no-one being present. Eventually, they came across the command hubs, where a number of Cybertronians were busy at their stations. As they entered, Impactus loudly coughed, drawing the attention of one of the Cybertronians. The Cybertronian, a dark green copterbot, with rotorblades sitting on his hips, turned and stood to attention.

“Sir!” saluted the bot. ”We were unaware you had arrived. You didn’t send any forewarning.”

“At ease, Captain” replied Impactus, her arms behind her back. “We’re here to inspect the experiment.”

“Of course, sir” stated the captain. “Might I ask who you have with you?”

“Of course” stated Impactus. “Allow me to introduce Quickshadow and Crumble. They have been sent by Ginrai Convoy to join in my inspection… admittedly, not by choice. Now, how is our research coming on?”

“I can’t say there’s been much happening” the captain answered. “We haven’t been receiving updates from our observation drones.”

“Are you sure?” asked Crumble. “I’m kind of a jack of trades when it comes to tech, so I can take a look at your system. If that’s okay with everyone, of course.”

“Fine with me” said Quickshadow.

“Impactus Major, sir?” asked the captain.

“If he must” Impactus replied. “It might prove enlightening.”

“Then by all means” said the captain, leading Crumble to a console, and getting one of his colleagues to move out of the seat. “It might help if you get the gauntlets of the Rad suit off. They do make it hard to use the console.”

“That will be unnecessary” Impactus scolded. “He is quite capable of utilising the console with his Rad suit on.”

“Seeing why Quickshadow doesn’t like you” Crumble muttered under his breath, before sitting down and accessing the console. “Right, let’s see what we’ve got.”

Quickshadow stood behind Crumble as he accessed the system, before noticing that Impactus had not come over to see the results. She simply stood where she was, waiting.

“Do you not want to see what’s happening with the results of your project, Impactus?” questioned Quickshadow. “You’re the one backing it, after all.”

“Oh, I think I can take a guess” Impactus replied, not even turning her head.

Quickshadow looked back at a perplexed Crumble, who was looking confused at a screen, while the captain stared blankly at it.

“I don’t get it” said Crumble. “You said you’d been getting no updates from the observation drones, right?”

“That is correct?” responded the captain.

“Well I can clearly see dozens, hundreds of updates from them” Crumble said, gesturing to the screen. “All time stamped at regular intervals, without fail. Numerous updates of the citizens of the village we passed and how they responded to the release of the microparticle. A success, if we’re going purely by the result you wanted, Impactus.”

“That’s impossible” said the captain. “Perhaps they were backlogged by some glitch, and you fixed it?”

“I only accessed it. There’s no way that could have fixed any issues. I’ll run a scan just to make sure that the time stamped marked by the drones match up with the times your systems received.”

“Oh that won’t be necessary” said Impactus, a smile creeping over her face. “I think it’s obvious what’s happened.”

“What is it?” asked Quickshadow, concerned. “What have you done, Impactus?”

“It’s simple” she replied. “Project Theta Two Nine is a success.”

Warblocker-Class Battlecruiser “The Arbiter”, Moon of Colsik Orbit
Aboard Impactus’s Flagship, the crew of the ship were at work on the bridge, keeping a close eye. A burgundy Cybertronian with massive skis on her back stood on the bridge, awaiting any news from her commanding officer. As she waited, she heard a beep from one of the consoles.

“Ma’am, one of our quantum tripwires has been set off” said the officer at the console. “Looks to be a Combatronian signature.”

“Do we have any information on how many ships, or composition?” asked the burgundy Cybertronian.

“We’re just getting them through… now. One Immolator-Class, two Goliath-Class, five Fellstrike-Class. Scans show they’re moving close to this systems’ sun.”

“Good. Inform Impactus Major of this development, and find out what he wants to do.”

“Understood, ma’am.”

The burgundy bot returned to her post, awaiting further orders from her commanding officer.

Moon of Colsik
Quickshadow glared at Impactus, trying to figure out what she meant.

“The test is over, and there is no need for us to stay here any longer” Impactus stated, turning around. “Once we return to the ship, we can begin mass production of the microparticle, and begin dispersing it into Combatronian targets.”

“Of course sir!” saluted the captain. “We shall begin packing our equipment up and await the evacuation transports.”

There were excited mutters among those in the room, many of whom looking forward to potential respite, or being circulated to a much more interesting station.

“You misunderstand” replied Impactus as she headed to the door. “Quickshadow, Crumble and I are leaving. I’m afraid you’re not going anywhere.”

“I… I don’t understand, sir” the captain stuttered as the rest of his crew went silent.

“Neither do I” growled Quickshadow.

Impactus stopped, then loudly sighed.

“Do I have to explain the obvious?” Impactus asked in an exasperated tone, looking back. “Captain, you and your unit have been contaminated by the microparticle. We cannot allow the microparticle to contaminate the rest of the Primal Vanguard.”

“That… that can’t be true” said the captain. “We were careful.”

“Not careful enough” retorted Impactus. “You stated we never gave you any warning of our arrival, yet if the engineer Quickshadow brought along looked, he’d find that we sent several alerts to you ahead of time, unnoticed. And again with all the reports from your observation drones, it’s simply because you did not notice them due to the microparticle.”

“So… so what happens now?”

“Simple. You will remain here so as not to pass on the microparticle to others. Do not worry, captain. You and your comrades' sacrifices will not be forgotten. Cybertron and its colonies will recognise you as heroes, and many lives will be saved through this project.”

“I… I understand, sir.”

There was quiet whispering among the crew, some of it turning angry, even the odd curse word being thrown about.

“We ALL understand” the captain firmly stated, silencing the room.

“Very good” replied Impactus. “Thank you, captain. We shall take our leave now.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Impactus exited the room, heading outside. Crumble sat in shock, unsure what to make of this revelation. He looked to Quickshadow, who had her fists clenched. Though concealed beneath her rad suit, Crumble could tell that she was seething with armour. After a few seconds of silence, she turned around to face the captain.

“I’m sorry, captain…” said Quickshadow. “Sorry, I don’t believe I caught your name.”

“Captain Rotorslash, ma’am” replied the captain. “Don’t worry. We knew that we’d have to make sacrifices for this war.”

Quickshadow frowned beneath her helmet at how accepting the captain was of his fate.

“Rotorslash, Crumble and I will try to do everything in our power for you and your men” Quickshadow said.

“Thank you, ma’am” said Rotorslash. “Though I think Impactus Major is probably waiting for you.”

Quickshadow gave a salute to Rotorslash, and he responded in kind. She and Crumble headed out the door, following after Impactus. Impactus stood waiting outside the base, tapping her foot and tutting. Soon, Quickshadow came storming out, with Crumble behind her.

“About time” scalded Impactus. “My patience grows thin when you delay.”

“THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING?” Quickshadow yelled at Impactus. “You forced those people to observe, you got them infected by the microparticle, and now you’re just isolating them?”

“The concerns of the Combatronians finding this location and attempting to interrogate those here will be addressed, in the event they are able to do so before the microparticle afflicts them . Imminently, you might say.”

“What do you-?”

Quickshadow was cut off by the comms on Impactus’ suit beeping, indicating an incoming transmission. Impactus quickly tapped a button, and a hologram of burgundy bot appeared on his wrist.

“Impactus Major, sir, we’ve detected an incoming fleet, using the sun’s solar radiation to cover their signal” reported the bot. “What are your orders?”

“Orbital Bounce us back to the ship, and make preparations” answered Impactus. “And fetch the slimy little worm who thought we didn’t notice his encrypted communications to the enemy. He should see this.”

Impactus turned back to Quickshadow and Crumble, and folded her arms. Beneath her helmet, Impactus was smiling.

“Time for the show to begin.”

Before Quickshadow and Crumble could ask what he meant, the three of them disappeared in a beam of light, much like the one they arrived in.

The Arbiter, Exiting Moon of Colsik Orbit
Warped inside the decontamination room, the three Cybertronians were silent as they had various substances sprayed on their armour to ensure that they had not brought any traces of the microparticle with them. Once the sprays subsided, several beams passed over them, scanning them to ensure they were clean. Once it passed, a green light flashed, and a door on the far side of the room opened to a changing room for them to remove their armour. Heading through, Crumble was the first to remove his helmet, giving a deep breath as he did so.

“Phew!” he said. “Stuffy in there.”

He looked at Impactus and Quickshadow, both of whom were silently removing their armour. There was an aura of tension in the room, one that quickly silenced Crumble. Finally, after a long silence, Quickshadow spoke.

“You disgust me” she said, pointing at Impactus with an unarmoured hand.

“I disgust a lot of people” Impactus replied, not even looking at Quickshadow as she removed her chest armour. “But I get results. Repeatedly.”

“Results?” Quickshadow spluttered. “We’re trying to save lives in this war, and you’re just condemning them!”

“Focus on the word ‘war’” retorted Impactus. “There are casualties everyday. Sacrifices must be made for the greater good.”

“Not really the same when you’re the one sacrificing others!”

“They’re willing to make the sacrifice, regardless. When duty called they answered. Now, enough of your complaining. There’s still matters to attend to on the bridge.”

Removing the last of her armour, Impactus placed the rad suit in a containment unit, before departing out the room. Quickshadow glared at Impactus as she left, before removing the last of her rad suit and angrily shoving it into a different containment unit. She quickly stormed out, leaving Crumble alone in the room.

“Hang on, I’ve still got a boot!” shouted Crumble, hopping on one foot while trying to remove his boot from the other. “Guys?”

Pulling the boot off, he looked between the door and the container, deciding whether he should pack the radsuit away, or simply go after them. Eventually making his mind up, he tossed the boot into the corner of the room, and ran out the door to catch up with Quickshadow.

Impactus stepped onto the bridge, and stood at the far window, staring outside. She tapped a few buttons, and it darkened, along with the other windows in the bridge. Not enough to obscure her view, but just to shield her optics from the intense sunlight. She quickly took notice of the faint shapes around the sun, slowly moving across it. Quickshadow angrily stormed onto the bridge.

“HEY!” she yelled. “WE’RE NOT DONE!”

Impactus simply ignored her, before turning to the burgundy Cybertronian who had taken command of her ship in her absence.

“Are the Combatronian Fleet on schedule?” Impactus asked.

“As estimated” the Cybertronian said.

“Combatronian fleet?” questioned Quickshadow. “How shoddy an operation are you running here? Not only have you no regard for your own troops, but you’ve also let a Combatronian fleet into the system?”

“And our guest of honour?” Impactus continued, still ignoring Quickshadow.

“Should be here now” replied the burgundy bot.

At the sound of the door opening, Quickshadow turned around to see a pair of Autotroopers dragging the blue and red Cybertronian who had been spying on them prior. Impactus walked up to the Cybertronian, looking down on him.

“Let me go!” said the blue and red Cybertronian. “I haven’t done anything!”

“Is that so...Shackle, was it?” asked Impactus. “Or would you prefer Agent T-723?”

Shackle went silent as his face turned pale, a look of panic forming on his face.

“Yes, we’ve been very aware of your treachery. It’s worked well in our favour. It’s why we 've been allowing you to keep up this charade for so long.”

“Impactus, what is going on?” questioned Quickshadow. “What have you done?”

“When we began testing our microparticle, we felt you would call in a fleet to try to either capture or destroy our work. However, we ourselves misled you. We aren’t here to test one project - we’re here to test two. And you’ve just provided the subjects.”

“What in The Pit is going on, Impactus?” demanded Quickshadow.

“All crew, engage Project Fireball!” commanding Impactus in a loud voice.

The crew quickly began work at their consoles, engaging the beginning of this ‘Project Fireball’. The large weapon atop the front of the Arbiter swivelled around, taking aim at the approaching fleet. The weapon began to change form, as plates shifted, forming some kind of launcher, with a single missile loaded in. The missile fired from the launcher with speed, a white trail following it. It flew towards the fleet, yet missed every single ship, instead plunging into the sun behind them.

For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then a wave of solar radiation burst out of the star, encompassing the Combatronian ships. Electricity sparked across the hulls of the ships as the solar energies ravaged their systems, leaving scorch marks behind. The ships began drifting out of position and biolights began going out across them.

But this was not the worst that these ships would be subject to, as behind the fleet, the star slowly began to swell.

“The Savage Wing”
Aboard the bridge of the Savage Wing, Combatronians were panicking left, right and centre. Bathed in the red emergency light, some were desperately trying to get their consoles working, while others simply fled from the bridge, hoping they could flee aboard an escape craft. The room was filled with yelling and screaming.

“STATUS REPORT!” Firecore yelled over the terrified crises. “I SAID STATUS REPORT!”

“None of our systems are working!” spouted one of the remaining officers. “The solar energies that just hit us have sent everything into a fritz!”

“THEN GET THEM REPAIRED!”

As she yelled at her crew to get the ship working again, one of her officers stared out the glass. The Combatronian looked back at Firecore, with a look of disbelief.

“Well, spit it out!” yelled Firecore, at her wits end. “What is it?”

“I…” started the Combatronian. “I think the sun’s getting larger.”

‘The Arbiter’, Poltari Space
Quickshadow watched in horror as the Combatronian Fleet vanished into the surface of the growing sun, consumed by its flames. She turned to Impactus, but couldn’t muster any words.

“New weapons” stated Impactus. “Nova Accelerators. They reduce the time taken for a sun to reach peak size to a matter of hours. Effective for both cleanly wiping out the enemy in non-essential sectors and covering our tracks if we need to evacuate a sector. It should clear all evidence of our operations and remove any potential microparticle traces or information leaks.”

As Quickshadow stood still, seething with rage, Impactus turned around to face Shackle and the two Autotroopers holding him in place.

“I think he’s seen what he needed to” stated Impactus. “Take him to the brig. We might be able to extract some information from him.”

The two Autotroopers complied, dragging a stunned Shackle out of the bridge. Impactus then turned to the rest of the bridge.

“Our work is done here” announced Impactus. “All ships, jump to rendezvous point kappa two.”

And with that, the Vanguard ships disappeared in bursts of light, leaving the system to be consumed by its ever expanding sun.

Having spent some time trying to get to grips with what Impactus had done, Quickshadow stayed silent for the rest of time aboard the Arbiter. Now, as she and Crumble walked to their shuttle, they weren’t given farewell by quite the same committee of Cybertronians, as standard hangar protocols continued.

“Going without saying goodbye?” came the unwelcome voice of Impactus from behind them.

Quickshadow silently stopped in her tracks. She remained silent for a few seconds, before turning around and storming up to Impactus.

“You disgust me” Quickshadow coldly stated. “If you think that Ginrai will ever allow these projects to go ahead, you have another thing coming.”

“Ginrai?” asked Impactus, folding her arms. “Ginrai’s an idealist who has no idea what has to be done. I will be reporting my success to the senate. They understand that we need to do anything we can to win this war.”

“There are certain lines that we do not cross!”

“The Combatrons will cross those lines any day, and that is why they will win this war if we do not follow them over the lines! Now, your precious Ginrai is probably waiting for you.”

Quickshadow snarled and turned around. After walking a few steps towards the shuttle, she stopped.

---

Elsewhere, arriving at their quarters, Ginrai arrived to find a large living area, complete with seating, a holoscreen, energon stores, and a pair of doorways leading into habitation suites, one on either side. The far wall was missing, instead finding a balcony looking out onto the endless forest beyond.

“WOAH!” yelled Ignitor, running towards the balcony. “Is that all biological?”

“Yup” Ginrai said. “Few Cybertronians colonies share such a symbiotic relationship with organic vegetation, but Eukaris considers it as much a part of their society as the cyberformed population centres. It all makes quite the view.”

“You’re not kidding!” Ignitor said. “Just another reason to stop Overlord and Yharon having their way with this world. So what’s the plan, sneak over to the Animatrons and see what they’re really up to?”

“Ignitor…” Ginrai frowned, folding his arms. “We are here as guests on a diplomatic mission. If we attempt any sort of subterfuge, no matter how sure we are, it could jeopardize our potential alliance with Eukaris.”

“Seriously, you really think they’re just sitting in the room twiddling their thumbs?” Ignitor asked in disbelief.

“No, I don’t” Ginrai sighed. “If they try something, we will respond appropriately to defend this world. But until then, we have to respect Eukaris’ wish for us to remain peaceful. And who knows, hopefully optimism, an incident won’t happen.”

Before they could continue, a knock came from the door. Ginrai opened the door, and Steelbane entered.

“Steelbane!” Ginrai said. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“Oh, I had simply wished to catch up with my friend” Steelbane said. “Perhaps you would care to see the Great River and catch up on old times.”

“Of course” Ginrai said. “Ignitor, would you come with us?”

“Nah…” sighed Ignitor, flopping onto a chair. “I’ll just let the other know how it’s going.”

“Okay” Ginrai said, giving a hard stare. “Just don’t find any trouble.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll just let it come to me.”

Ginrai sighed, before giving a wave and heading out the door with Steelbane. After waiting a few minutes to be sure Ginrai was gone, she crept towards the door, her hand hovering above the controls.

“No, too obvious” Ignitor said, before turning to look towards the balcony. “What the frag, who needs doors anyway?”

Getting a running start from the door, Ignitor ran towards the balcony, vaulting over the railing and falling towards the ground. Quickly, she used her pyrokinetic powers to produce a stream of flame beneath her from her arm cannons, slowing her descent. Landing, she looked around to make sure nobody was around.

“Alright” she smirked. “Snooping time.”

Ignitor crept around the edge of the golden citadel. First thing she had to do was figure out where Yharon’s group was situated. The obvious place was wherever their quarters were in this mighty structure, though that could take some time. Perhaps if she could follow one.

“THESE ARE THE MIGHTIEST WARRIORS EUKARIS HAS TO OFFER?” came a louding, snarling voice from across the field.

“Perfect” Ignitor grinned as she crept towards the foliage, hoping to use it as cover.

Creeping through the trees and bushes, Ignitor saw a number of beastformers training, practicing their drills against dummies, and even themselves. Ignitor couldn’t really see what the voices had an issue with. These Cybertronians seemed like handy allies to have in a scrap.

“I DON’T SEE WHY WE’RE ALLYING WITH THEM?” the voice continued. “SEEMS MORE LIKE THEY’D SLOW US DOWN.”

Ignitor homed in on the voices, pinning them down to a pair of beastformers watching the warriors train from afar. They seemed to be Yharon’s entourage, Hydrax and Overboard, seeming to occupy themselves by taunting their potential allies - well, at least Overboard was. As she got closer to them, she began to make out Hydrax’s voice.

“You know you really shouldn’t yell insults at ‘em if you want ‘em to join our side” Hydrax pointed out.

“WHY NOT?” Overboard yelled. “IT MIGHT ENCOURAGE THEM TO TRY. ELSE THAT’S WHY WE GOT THE BOMB.”

Ignitor watched Hydrax elbow Overboard in the chest, hard. The white and blue con keeled forward, clutching his chest. These guys were about as subtle as their method of attack.

“Noted” wheezed Overboard breathlessly.

“Come on, let’s go check on that project the boss ordered” Hydrax said.

“Project?” asked Overboard. “Oh, the-”

This time, Hydrax elbowed Overboard before he could finish his sentence again. The pair walked off, and Ignitor once more followed them from afar, shuffling through the trees. She watched the pair approach a set of stairs that seemed to descend to a room beneath the Golden Citadel. Waiting till they were out of sight, Ignitor took a step out of cover.

“Not yet” came a voice above her.

Backing into the forest, Ignitor looked up and saw a red and white flier sitting on one of the branches.

“I’ve been scoping them out for a while” the flier said. “Watch.”

Ignitor looked back at the stairs, and Hydrax seemed to poke his head out. Looking around, he pressed a button, and a door shut in front of him, sealing them out. Ignitor looked back up at the flier.

“They tend to forget about the door whenever they head in” the flier said. “Someone in there has to remind them.”

“Right…” said Ignitor. “Who are you again?”

The figure dropped down from his perch, landing beside Ignitor. Now clearly visible, Ignitor could make out a great sword clipped onto the flier’s back.

“Name’s Wing” the flier said.

“Ignitor” Ignitor said, staring at Wing’s Great Sword. “You’re a member of the Circle of Light.”

“Sword gives it away, doesn’t it?” Wing chuckled. “Though doesn’t mean I agree with them on everything.”

“So… you’re not on board with Eukaris being neutral?” Ignitor asked.

“I didn’t say that” Wing said. “Eukaris’ stance in the war is their business. But I’m not a fan of the Circle’s stance on non-intervention. And those guys, I really want to intervene on whatever they’ve got planned.”

“They said it was a bomb?”

“They said? Out loud? Septimus, Yharon really does scrape the bottom of the barrel for his underlings.”

“So… are we safe to approach?” Ignitor asked.

“Should be” Wing said. “Let’s go!”

Wing and Ignitor stepped out of the trees, approaching the door Hydrax and Overboard had entered through. The pair stopped on either side of the door. Wing pressed his audio receptor to the door, moving it up and down the seam.

“I could just melt through it” Ignitor said, lighting a small flame on one of her arm cannons.

“No, we need to be subtle about this” Wing said. “As much as they may have outright admitted, we can’t cause a ruckus till we’re sure. This requires subtlety.”

“And that involves listening to a door?” Ignitor asked.

“I’m listening for the hum of the magnetic lock” Wing said. “Ahah!”

Moving away from the door, Wing pulled out his Great Sword and slightly wedged it into the seam. He slid the sword down, and the pair heard a clicking noise. Wing slowly prised the door open, trying to avoid any noise.

“Quietly” Wing said, to which Ignitor nodded.

As the pair crept down the stairs, they could hear raised voices. Two of them were definitely Hydrax and Overboard, but the third was new. Far more high pitched and raspier.

“HE YELLED OUT WHAT?” the new voice yelped.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think they took him seriously” came Hydrax’s voice.

“They should’ve” retorted Overboard. “Why do we even need the bomb, Lazerback? We could wipe them out by hand.”

“We’re trying to get them on side” Lazerback retorted. “The bomb is so our retribution doesn’t jeopardize our chances of an alliance before they’ve decided.”

“Well can I at least be the one to set it off?”

“No!” snapped Lazerback. “I’m the munitions specialist, and I have been tasked with everything regarding the bomb, hence my concealed presence on this world. You’d probably accidentally reveal the trigger, anyway.”

“Be more fun that way.”

Ignitor peaked her head round the corner. She could certainly see Hydrax and Overboard, standing in front of a bomb. On the other side, a crimson… well, Ignitor wasn’t sure what it was. It was mechanical, for sure, but its form seemed to resemble some strange cross between a bird, a lizard and monkey. This was assuredly Lazerback.

“We don’t do this because it’s fun, we do this for Yharon’s victory!” Lazerback said, before standing up and pointing with one of his claws. “So are you going to do anything about our intruder?”

Hydrax and Overboard whipped around to see Ignitor’s head duck around the corner. The pair transformed, Hydrax into his double headed dragon mode and Overboard into his wyvern mode. The pair stormed towards the corner, as Lazerback returned to working on his bomb.

“Hide” Ignitor hissed at Wing, before lowering her visor and rushing out the door.

Wing complied, shifting into jet mode and hovering close to the ceiling. The two dragoncons ran under him, oblivious to his presence as they chased Ignitor. Wing dropped down once the coast was clear, progressing to confront Lazerback.

Outside, Hydrax charged after Ignitor as Overboard took to the skies. Ignitor stopped and turned around to face her foes, heat emanating from her arm cannons.

“Sorry, can’t let you set off that bomb!” Ignitor said. “So stand off before someone gets hurt.”

“Only one of us is getting hurt” yelled Hydrax, opening both mouths. “And it ain’t gonna be us!”

From Hydrax’ mouths, jets of flames spewed out, flying straight at Ignitor. As they came close, however, Ignitor outstretched her hand, putting her palm against the flames. The flames simply rolled off her hands, leaving her unharmed.

“What the- how?” Hydrax questioned. “My flamethrowers shoulda toasted you!”

“Sorry, fire’s kinda my thing” Ignitor said.

Thrusting her palm forward, she shoved the flames back at Hydrax, blasting him into the air. Hydrax slammed against the walls of the Golden Citadel, before dropping to the ground with a loud crash.

“That all you got, then?” Ignitor taunted.

“I got way more than either of you!” Overboard snapped. “Like this!”

Opening his mouth, Overboard deployed an energy repeater. Lasers streamed from it, peppering the area with burn marks. Ignitor rolled out of the way as the lasers cut holes through the trees behind her, before running towards the citadel.

“Where you going?” Overboard asked. “We were having fun.”

Overboard continued spraying lasers at Ignitor as he leapt at the wall. As Ignitor’s foot made contact with the walls, she shifted into robot mode. As soon as her wheels made contact with the metal surface, she shot up the wall, aided by large plumes of fire emitting from her exhausts. Watching her drive up, Overboard gave chase.

“Hah, got you running scared, haven’t I?” Overboard chuckled as he followed up with a few more lasers.

“Nope, just needed the high ground” Ignitor replied. “Well, high wall, if you will.”

Returning to her robot mode, Ignitor leapt off the wall and dropped on Overboard, hitting him with a fiery wall as she descended. Overboard was knocked downwards, hitting the ground and whipping up a plume of dust while Ignitor slowly descended with the help of her flames.

“Sorry about that, but you kinda forced my hand there” Ignitor said, looking back.

From the dust cloud, Ignitor could hear the sounds of transformation. From the dust, a blue and white Monolophosaurus beast mode let out a mighty roar, before setting its eyes on Ignitor.

“Oh Ijrok” Ignitor cursed to herself.

Meanwhile, inside, Wing approached Lazerback and his bomb. As soon as Lazerback spotted Wing, he grabbed his Twin-Rocket Launcher and pointed it at the Circle of Lighter.

“On more move and I blast you” Lazerback said.

“Honestly, you really think you’re that quick?” Wing said, standing on the opposite side of the bomb. “I could slice your weapon in half before you get the chance to pull the trigger. Even with it sheathed, I’d beat you to the punch.”

“Maybe” Lazerback mused, briefly considering putting his gun down. “But you probably couldn’t do that and stop me from blowing this bomb now.”

“Ah, now you got me there” said Wing. “So what do you want me to do?”

“How about you put the sword down on the ground and kick it over, and I don’t blast you into shrapnel” Lazerback answered.

“Okay, okay” Wing said. “I’ll put it down.”

Wing took his sword from his back and held it in both hands. Leaning down, he placed his sword on the ground, but as he leant down, he let loose a powerful gusts of air, travelling towards Lazerback. The gust of air knocked Lazerback against the wall, before dropping to the floor. As Lazerback regained his wits, attempting to point his guns, but quickly found that Wing had already made his way around to him, knocking him out with a swift punch.

“Right” Wing said, returning to pick up his sword. “Let’s have a look at that bomb.”

Sitting himself down where Lazerback had been working, Wing glanced over the controls. While the device had been partially armed, its countdown had yet to activate. Wing flexed his fingers, before getting to work.

“Let’s ruin somebody's day” he smirked to himself.

Back outside, Ignitor was doing her level best to steer clear of the rampaging Overboard, who was using his colossal dino mode to cause some havoc. Hydrax, meanwhile, had managed to recover and watched the fight.

“Gonna have to do better than that!” Ignitor yelled, dodging Overboard’s attempt to bite her with his large jaws.

“Oh really?” Overboard asked, whipping his large tail at her.

Ignitor was not so luck this time, being struck by the full force of the tail. Sent flying, she flew straight through a nearby tree, breaking it in half, before landing in the dirt behind it.

“Now to finish you off!” Overboard said, opening his mouth to deploy a flamethrower of his own.

“NO, OVERBOARD, DON’T!” Hydrax yelled, trying to warn his comrade.

Hydrax’s warning landed on deaf audio receptors as Overboard spewed a stream of flames out of his mouth. Sitting up, Ignitor raised her hands, stopping the flames in their tracks, before pushing them right back at Overboard. The flames flew back into his flamethrower, destroying it completely and stunning Overboard. As he was dazed, Ignitor used the opportunity to stand up, run at him and jump kick him, knocking him into Hydrax.

“That all you got?” Ignitor asked, grinning.

“Foolish child” came a voice from above. “By defeating them, you have only wrought my wrath upon you.”

Ignitor looked up and saw Yharon’s colossal dragon form descending towards her. Shiting into robot mode, Yharon hit the ground with a mighty shockwave, sending both Ignitor and his two comrades flying. The shockwave rippled across the citadel and the forest, tearing up trees and plating.

Electrum Springs, Whitewood Outlands, Several Minutes Earlier
Steelbane and Ginrai walked through the small clearing, Ginrai taking in the surroundings. Around them, several small pools of Electrum rippled in the wind, also stemming from a small craggy spring. Ginrai approached one of the pools, dipping his finger into the Electrum.

“Natural Electrum” Ginrai said, observing the molten metal. “How intriguing.”

“A byproduct of when sectors of the planet were partially cyberformed” Steelbane explained. “Unfortunately, the other elements involved in the cyberforming process have rather diluted its reflective capabilities, so its not viable for a protective coating. That being said, it does make a rather nice spot for contemplation.”

“Yes, I can agree with that” Ginrai said. “If I’m honest, I’ve been lacking in time for contemplation, save when I need to commune with the matrix.”

“War can consume a lot of time” Steelbane replied.

“So tell me” Ginrai said, turning to Steelbane. “What’s your opinion on this? Where do you stand on Eukaris’ stance in this war?”

“To be honest, I’m more of a soldier, so I wouldn’t know where our people would be best served” Steelbane said. “I don’t know whether or not neutrality would be best, or standing with the Vanguard. What I do know is that I wouldn’t trust Yharon as far as I could throw. In my eyes, an alliance with him was off the cards as soon as soon as he showed up. But then, that’s why Storm Reign’s the one who leads this sort of decision making. She can see past the biases.”

“Perhaps if things go right, I’ll get to see that more” Ginrai said. “A level head is always welcome.”

The two’s conversation was interrupted by a powerful shockwave, throwing the liquid electrum at the two.

“That did not feel good” Ginrai said.

“No it did not” replied Steelbane, transforming into his dragon mode and getting airborne. “It came from the citadel!”

Then we need to get there fast!” Ginrai replied, taking on his own truck mode. “Let’s roll!”

---

Grand Balcony, Golden Citadel Spires
Upon one of the balconies near the top of the mighty golden citadel, Dragonicus, Storm Reign and Dai Atlas looked out upon the landscape, taking in the serenity.

“Such a serene view” Atlas remarked. “It reminds me what our mission accomplishes. What I strive to protect.”

“Indeed” said Dragonicus. “I would not like to see it come to harm.”

“It’s why I advise against an alliance with either side” Atlas said. “Choosing one side will only invite retribution from the other.”

“Forgive me if this sounds like a crass question” Storm Reign started. “But why do you advocate neutrality? Why do you not pick a side?”

“No, that’s a fair question” Atlas replied. “To be perfectly honest, it saddens me when Cybertronians battle each other. To turn against one another, so violently. Even when they think it’s over, conflict always leaves those with a grudge to bear, allowing more conflict to propagate. It’s a cycle, and the only way to avoid is not be a part of it.”

“What if the conflict finds you?” Dragonicus asked.

“I would get my people, my allies, my friends to safety” Atlas said. “I would try to get us through without conflict.”

“And if they gave you no choice?”

“I hope that day would never come” Atlas frowned.

Before they could continue their conversation, a shockwave ripple across the building, knocking the three back. Quickly getting to their feet, Storm Reign rushed over to the edge of the balcony and looked over.

“I see flames…” Storm Reign observed. “I think someone’s fighting down there!”

“Fighting!” scowled Dragonicus. “They have brought their war here.”

“We must halt it” Storm Reign sternly said, holding out her stave. “Are you with me, sister.”

“Of course, sister” Dragonicus replied, grasping the stave with Storm Reign.

The two were consumed in a flash of light, prompting Atlas to shield his eyes. In their place, a colossal triple headed dragon stood. The dragon dove off the balcony, flapping its colossal wings and flying towards the conflict below. Watching the beast fly off for a few moments, Atlas shifted into his drill-jet mode and flew after it.

Golden Citadel Ground
Yharon threw Ignitor across the open space, before drawing his crimson bladed sword. Approaching Ignitor, Hydrax and Overboard joined their master.

“You imbecile” Yharon scowled. “You had to get curious. Now, because of you, none of us get an alliance, and we have to assume control of this planet the hard way. So many deaths that could’ve been avoided, all your fault. Hydrax, tell Lazerback to activate the bomb.”

“Yes, Lord Yharon” Hydrax replied, activating the comms. “Lazerback, activate the bomb. Hello? Lazerback?”

Hydrax’s response was only static. Enraged, Yharon slammed his sword against the floor, before looking at Ignitor.

“You will pay for this” Yharon snarled, stomping towards Ignitor with his sword pointed at her. “First with energon, then with your allies.”

Standing over her, Yharon raised his sword, before swinging down. However, before he made contact with her, a pair of claws slashed at him from above, throwing him off. Stumbling about, Yharon looked at his attacker. Above him, Steelbane hovered over him in his dragon form. Switching to his robot mode, a sword and shield formed in Steelbane’s hands as he stared off with Yharon.

“Hydrax, Overboard, destroy him!” Yharon ordered.

From behind, Hydrax and Overboard leapt at Steelbane in their draconic forms. Steelbane was able to bounce Hydrax over him with his shield, before clashing knocking Overboard’s jaws away with his sword. As the trio fought, Yharon turned his attention back to Ignitor.

“Where were we?” Yharon asked.

Before he got an answer, Yharon found himself flung forward by Ginrai’s alt-mode driving into the back of him. His sword flying out of his hand, Yharon was forced to slow himself down by digging his claws into ground. As he stood up, Ginrai quickly hit him with a punch to face, causing him to stumble back.

“YOU DARE ATTACK MY PROTÉGÉ?” Ginrai yelled.

“YOU DARE ATTACK ME?” Yharon yelled back, slashing across Ginrai’s chest.

As the two fought, Ignitor managed to pick herself up. Spotting Steelbane shielding himself from Hydrax’s beast mode flamethrowers as Overboard attempted to approach from behind. Deciding to help out, waving her hands to control the flames. The stream of flames circled around Steelbane, before curving round to blast Overboard back. As Overboard tried to stumble about, Ignitor leapt up at him, knocking him down with a kick. Meanwhile, Steelbane charged Hydrax with his sword.

Ginrai and Yharon continued brawling, Ginrai knocking his foes down to the ground. Yharon attempted to grab for his sword, but Ginrai kicked away before he could reach. Yharon whipped around, deploying his beast tail slash at Ginrai. Standing up, the two faced off, only for Ginrai to be blasted back by a stream of lightning. Though Yharon wanted to use the opportunity to finish his foe off, he too was knocked down, in his case by a stream of flames.

“CEASE” came a booming voice from above.

Above them, a colossal three-headed dragon descended, pinning the two leaders down with streams of fire and lightning respectively emitting from its side-most heads.

“The Dragonstorm…” Yharon growled, struggling to resist the barrage of flames.

“WE ASKED YOU TO NOT BRING CONFLICT TO OUR WORLD!” Dragonstorm yelled. “WE ASKED THAT ONE, SIMPLE THING OF YOU!”

The fighting ceased as hordes of Eukarian warriors emerged from the building and surrounded them. Ignitor, Steelbane, Hydrax and Overboard raised their hands, with Steelbane dropping his weapons to the floor.

“BY BREAKING THIS RULE, YOU HAVE DESTROYED HOPES OF ANY ALLIANCE WITH EITHER PARTIES!” Dragonstorm yelled. “YOU WILL LEAVE, AND TAKE YOUR WAR WITH YOU, OR YOU WILL BE FORCED OFF OUR HOME!”

“We… understand” GInrai said, under the pelting of lightning.

“If… we… must!” Yharon wheezed.

Dragonstorm ceased her attack, allowing the two combatants to stand up. After several moments of silence, Ginrai walked towards the building. Gesturing, for Ignitor to follow, the pair left, several armed Eukarians closely following. Sighing, Ginrai activated his comms.

“Lieutenant Rook… tell the pilots to ready the ship for launch” Ginrai sadly said. “We’re going. And tell Olterhex to get Groundshaker on the line. It’s not good news.”

Meanwhile, Yharon began walking towards another entrance of the building, heading towards his own ship.

“Hydrax, Overboard, come” Yharon ordered.

The two hurried up to Yharon, before walking with him to their ship.

“We will have to inform Overlord” Yharon scowled. “He’d better give me permission to raze this planet to the ground first chance we get.”

“What about Lazerback?” Hydrax asked.

“What about him?” Yharon snapped. “If they capture him, there’s no information he can give that they won’t be able to figure out for themselves. For now, we leave.”

Back outside, Dai Atlas descended besides Dragonstorm and Steelbane, landing in robot mode. Dragonstorm, meanwhile, decombined into her components. Dragonicus immediately approached Steelbane.

“I’m disappointed in you, helping propagate conflict between the two sides” Dragonicus scowled.

“I… I’m sorry, my lady” Steelbane said, kneeling. “My only intent was to bring an end to the fighting as quickly possible and prevent it from spreading.”

Dragonicus sighed as Steelbane looked up towards the Vanguard’s parked ship.

“I should make sure they depart without any more conflict, my lady” Steelbane said.

“If you must” Dragonicus frowned. “But return to our chambers immediately, so that we may discuss this incident further.”

“Yes, my lady” Steelbane replied, bowing, before transforming and flying towards the Vanguard ship.

“How disappointing” Atlas said. “My apologies that they brought this war to your world.”

“Why should you apologise, Atlas?” Dragonicus asked. “You were the only party who has respected our request.”

“It seems given events, there is only one course for Eukaris clear” Storm Reign said. “We shall inform the council to meet in the morning to finalize things. We would be pleased if you would attend.”

“Of course” Atlas said. “You are making the right choice, as much as I don’t relish how you were forced to come to the decision.”

“Come” Dragonicus said. “We should talk more in our chambers.”

With that, Dragonicus, Storm Reign and Atlas headed back inside the Golden Citadel. Unbeknownst to them, Wing emerged from the underlevel, holding the unconscious Lazerback under his arm and dragging the disarmed bomb behind him.

“Oh no…” Wing muttered to himself. “What happened?”

The Nomad, Landing Pad Phraea
Ginrai and Ignitor walked towards their ship, the Nomad, where Rook waited for them on the ramp.

“What happened, sir?” Rook asked as they approached.

“Yharon decided a bomb would be the best fallback if Eukaris didn’t ally with them” Ignitor said. “Some guy called Wing and I went to intervene, and… well, the Eukarians didn’t like us fighting.

“Well, we did promise no battle on their planet” Ginrai added. “Unfortunately, Yharon forced our ha- wait, did you say Wing?”

“I’m so sorry for what happened” the group were interrupted by someone from behind.

Turning around, the trio saw Steelbane land on the platform behind them. Landing on the ground, Steelbane shifted into his robot mode, approaching them.

“You have nothing to apologise for” Ginrai said. “If anything, I should apologise for dragging you into the fight. I shouldn’t have let you get involved and compromise your position.”

“No, no, I should’ve seen Yharon’s attack coming” Steelbane said. “I failed both in my duties as a Knight of Eukaris and a friend.”

“I won’t hear of it” Ginrai said, putting his hand on Steelbane’s shoulder. “You acted nobly and in the best of interests. If I were in the same position, I’d have done the same. It’s not your fault. Nor is it yours, Ignitor.”

“I mean, maybe shouldn’t have snuck off against your orders” Ignitor said.

“Look, we can look back at what could’ve done” Ginrai said, looking at them both. “But could any of us have lived with ourselves if we’d allowed Yharon to tear down the Golden Citadel?”

Both Ignitor and Steelbane shook their heads in response to the question.

“I’ll do what I can to get the council to reconsider their decision” Steelbane said. “I can’t leave my place on Eukaris, but I’ll do what I can.”

“Thank you” Ginrai said. “And, if you can do one more thing for me?”

“Name it” Steelbane said.

“Keep in touch” Ginrai requested. “It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of friends.”

“Oh, I can certainly do that” Steelbane responded. “Farewell, Ginrai.”

“Farewell, my friend” Ginrai replied.

With that, Ginrai, Ignitor and Rook boarded The Nomad. Waiting on the platform, Steelbane watched the ship take off, before departing the platform back to Vanguard territory. Once they left, Steelbane returned to the Citadel, ready to talk to Dragonicus and Storm Reign.

Chamber 7, Golden Citadel
“I’m sorry, my ladies, for my part in it, but we were simply trying to contain Yharon and his cohort’s actions.”

It was sometime after Ginrai and Yharon had left, and Steelbane had been trying his best to convince Dragonicus and Storm Reign to give Ginrai a second chance to make his case.

“I’m sorry, but we laid out the terms of these discussions, and he broke it” Storm Reign said.

“And besides, if Yharon’s group were acting against our rules, he should’ve informed us” added Dragonicus. “Though I can’t imagine what started the fight.”

“That would be this” came a voice from behind.

The three turned to the door, where Wing was entering, dragging the Lazerback’s now inert bomb.

“And who are you?” asked Dragonicus, reaching for one of her swords.

“My name is Wing” he said, struggling to pull the bomb along. “A member of the Circle of Light. And I’ll have you know, I was one of the first ones involved in that fight.”

“We did not see you down there” Storm Reign said.

“Neither did I” added Steelbane.

“That’s because I was dealing with their cohort under the citadel” Wing explained. “A cohort who was planting a bomb beneath your golden citadel. I rendered it inert, and did you the favour of dropping the guy off in your cells.”

“Well, thank you-” started Storm Reign.

“Hang on, I’m not finished” Wing interrupted. “I worked with the Vanguard representative known as Ignitor to stop this bomb. She drew the Yharon’s cohorts away from the bomb so I could deal with the last one and disarm their explosive, resulting in the fight you witnessed outside. The one you sent Ginrai and Yharon’s groups away for.”

Dragonicus and Storm Reign look at each other, unsure of what to make of this.

“Look, the point is this” Wing continued. “You decided against allying with both Ginrai and Overlord’s forces as a result of that fight. But you now know I, a member of the Circle of Light was involved. This means that you now have to send us away, as well. This means neutrality should be off the table, meaning you have to decide from scratch. Now I know you’re respectable leaders, and I know that now that you have the truth, you will debate it from every angle. Especially given that both members of the Circle and the Vanguard saved this place.”

“But why tell us this?” Storm Reign questions. “Surely this would be going behind Atlas’ back.”

“Look, I respect Dai like hell, but Ginrai’s a good guy. He deserves as much of a chance to give his argument as Atlas does. Look, I don’t know what the right thing for Eukaris, but I’ll be damned if I let you decide without the full story.”

“Well… thank you for informing us of the full picture” Storm Reign said. “It unfortunately took a lot of time and effort to agree to today’s discussions, and it will take some work to get them to agree to it again, but rest assured, we will do this the right way.”

“That’s all I can ask” Wing said, respectfully bowing.

The Infernal Roar, Outskirts of the Animos System
Yharon paced around the communication room of the Trilos-Class Frigate, impatiently awaiting the call for Tuurok. Finally, a hologram of Overlord appeared in front of him.

“Report, Yharon” Overlord said, arms behind his back. “We’re rather busy.”

“The damn Eukarians kicked us off the planet” Yharon complained. “Some nosy Vanguarders and a Circle of Lighter found the bomb we had in reserve before we were ready.”

“Hmm, we’ll just have to take Eukaris the fun way” Overlord said. “No matter, we’ve already got a fleet ready for your next objective.”

“I will gladly torch that planet” Yharon said, clenching his fist.

“I’m afraid Eukaris is not an immediate concern at the moment” Overlord said. “Current operations require us to stretch the Vanguard fleets out to breaking point with small fleets. Eukaris would not need to reach out for Vanguard aid with their own fleet of ships at their disposal.”

“Then how about the Circle of Light?” Yharon asked. “Those cowards wouldn’t even have a fleet to defend themselves.”

“As it happens, we recently came upon their current location” Overlord stated. “Though I already have someone on that.”

A second hologram appeared in the room, a bulky tankformers with a large cannon-forearm. The Cybertronian looked as Yharon.

“Turmoil…” Yharon stated.

“Ready for duty, Lord Overlord” Turmoil said, loading his cannon. “Soon, the Circle of Light and their Crystal City will be nothing but sand and ash!”

Chapter 18: Medical Breakthrough

Chapter by Devaron9

Chapter Text

Listening Post Delta-12, Luum
Luum. A lonely outpost on the edge of Vanguard space. Rarely finding anything of interest out here, it was generally quiet. Tonight, manning the sensor array, was Skan, an Autotrooper with a yellow marking of a Nitrotiger on his shoulder plate. Skimming through the channels, nothing of interest seemed to come up. No secret plots, no fleet movements, nothing.

“Stuck in the most boring listening post in the Commonwealth” Skan sighed. “Why do we even have this base?”

As he skimmed, through the channels again, something strange came up. Close to the planet, a strange repeating sequence of noises. He tried to run it through known Combatronian cyphers, but nothing. Confused, Skan decided to switch to planetary scanners. On the screen, something had passed through the atmosphere and falling fast.

“This is Skan to security team” Skan said over the comms. “We’ve got an unidentified object descending through the atmosphere with an unknown signal. Prepare to investigate.”

It didn’t take long for a response team to form and headed out into the wild to locate where the object would have impacted, while Skan kept in contact with them. After travelling a few kliks away from the outpost, the team soon found a smoking crater. The group spread out around it, making sure to form a perimeter around it.

“This Squad Leader Fulk to base” said the Autotroopers leading the squad. “We’ve arrived at the suspected impact zone. We’ve formed a perimeter and are about to investigate.”

“Understood, keep reporting in to me” Skan replied.

“Sir, something emerging!” said one of Fulk’s troopers.

“Weapons up” Fulk ordered.

In front of them, a bulky, rounded mech rose from the crater, covered in sterile white plating. The mech observed the Autotrooper team, before firing a red beam from one of its optic attachments. After seeming to use the beam to scan each of the targets, the mech stood up straight, before deploying strange needle like attachments.

“GE-NE-TIC A-NOM-A-LIES DE-TEC-TED” the mech coldly stated. “COM-MEN-CING NUL-LI-FI-CA-TION AND IN-VES-TI-GA-TION!”

Skan could only hear the sounds of laser fire, followed by loud, prolonged screams of pain.

“SUB-JECTS DE-CEA-SED” Skan heard over the comms. “LO-CA-TING MORE AF-FLIC-TED SUB-JECTS… SUB-JECTS LO-CA-TED. MO-BI-LI-SING.

Realising that the mech was coming for him next, Skan quickly tried to get a comm channel. He didn’t care who to, so long as they were Vanguard. Bringing up a channel, he turned on the speaker.

“This is listening post Delta-12, we are under attack by an unknown assailant!” Skan yelled. “An advanced squad has be slaughtered, and it’s coming to the base! Please, send help!”

Luum Orbit, 1 Day Later
Descending into the atmosphere of Luum, a single Vanguard shuttle flew down into the skies of the planet. Aboard it, Tailpipe was at the controls as Thunderhead monitored the scanners besides him. Quickshadow stood behind the pair, looking out the window ahead of them. Meanwhile, in the back of the ship, Crumble was busy fumbling about with Rocket Plume’s back.

“Is this really necessary, Crumble?” Rocket Plume asked. “I mean, couldn’t you wait till we got back to the Longbow?”

“You know I don’t do waiting, and it was a long flight here” Crumble said. “Besides, you’re the one who elected to have you jetpack built into you rather than be a detachable module.”

“And boy am I regretting it.”

“Oh, don’t be like that” Crumble said, twiddling with a screwdriver. “When I’m doing, your jetpack’ll have thrice the energon efficiency without the boosts. It’ll- oops.”

“What did you do?”

Energon started streaming out of the back of Rocket Plume’s jetpacking, forming a puddle on the floor.

“I might’ve accidentally nudged the jetpack’s energon storage open” Crumble replied as the energon sprayed onto his feet. “Hang on, hang on.”

Crumble frantically tried to rescrew the energon storage’s hatch closed as energon streamed from the tank. After a few seconds, he managed to reseal it, his hands covered in energon.

“Fixed” Crumble said, waving his hands to dry them. “You’re jetpack is now far more energon efficient.”

“Is there any energon left in it?” Rocket Plume asked.

“Ehhhh, there’s enough to make is usable.”

“So this little upgrade is a net loss, then?”

“Only until you refill it” Crumble said, closing the jetpack’s hatch. “Besides which, this is only a little excursion. Not like you’re gonna need it.”

“I think you’re underestimating how useful it is to be able to fly” Rocket Plume said, rolling her eyes.

“If you two are done in there, we’re approaching the listening post” Quickshadow said from the cockpit. “Fasten yourselves in while we land.”

As Quickshadow joined them in the back of the shuttle and buckled up, Thunderhead looked at his scanners.

“Sensors show we just passed over several Cybertronian bodies” Thunderhead said. “No spark signs, though.”

“Bodes well” replied Tailpipe.

Soon, the shape of the Vanguard listening post came into view, a Cybertronian base built into the bottom of a large communications dish. As they approached, Tailpipe could see that the bulkhead at the front of the base had been torn open. Tailpipe brought the ship down in front of the base, lowering the landing gear. Once safely down, a ramp lowered from the ship, and Quickshadow descended, followed by Thunderhead, Rocket Plume and finally Crumble.

“Keep the ship warm” Quickshadow commed to Tailpipe, approaching the bulkhead. “Whatever attacked this place could still be here.”

A number of greyed Cybertronian bodies lay around the entranceway, all of them offline. Approaching one, Thunderhead knelt down and looked over the body.

“Dead” he said.”But I’m not sure what did it. I don’t see any laser blasts, possible points of impact. Body’s surprisingly pristine for someone offlined.”

“Same for this one” Rocket Plume replied, looking down at another. “Really raises some questions.”

“It doesn’t look any better inside” Quickshadow said, standing in the torn doorway. “We should split up to cover more ground. Thunderhead, Rocket Plume, you two check the main hub, see what you can find. Crumble and I will check out the security room.”

Heading through the front hallway, Quickshadow and Crumble split off and headed up some stairs to the side. Soon, they found their way towards the security hub, where they found several more Cybertronian bodies. Crumble stepped around them, getting to the security console. As he began working on it, Quickshadow knelt down and looked over one of the bodies.

“Same as the others” Quickshadow said, looking at the body. “Barely damaged. Wait… hang on a second-“

Quickshadow turned the body to the side, getting in close. Upon closer inspection of the neck, she found a small pinprick hole, surrounded by minute splatters of energon.

“Scratch that… there appears to be some sort of wound inflicted by a needle.”

Quickshadow moved over to the other body. Much like the other one, this one had a pinprick hole in its neck, again with an energon splatter, but this time mixed with something else. Deploying a small swab from her finger, she wiped a sample from the victim, before pulling out a vial and placing the swab in it.

“There appears to be an unknown substance on this one” Quickshadow said. “Might’ve been the cause of death for all of them. Though given the lack of any other injuries on any of them, it’s hard to imagine how it got close enough to all of them to inject them.”

“I can tell you how” Crumble said, turning around. “A lot of bulk and a lot of armour.”

Crumble tapped a button on the console behind him, and a projector showed a hologram of a bulky white mech simply shrugging off the fire of several Autotroopers. The mech approached each of them, one by one, thrusting something at the neck. Sometimes the Autotroopers would convulse in pains, other times they would simply drop straight to the ground.

“I don’t recognise the mech” Quickshadow said, observing the hologram. “What do you think?”

“Not sure” mused Crumble. “Definitely not Vanguard, Combatronian or anything else in the Commonwealth. Council, Alliance and Solstar territories are too broad to really guess which one.”

“Any suggestions as to where it could’ve gone?” Quickshadow said.

“Nothing” Crumble replied.

“We might be able to help with that” came Thunderhead’s voice over the comms.

“What do you have?” Quickshadow asked.

“One of the listening arrays was tuned into a Combatronian supply post several systems over. Take a guess what the word is over there?”

“Let me guess, pleas for help in fending off a bulky white robot?”

“Got it in one.”

“Then that’s where we’re going. Lets get back to Tailpipe and get over there before the trail gets cold.”

Kalfa System, Later
The Vanguard ship jumped into the system, activating its cloaking systems as it arrived. Inside, Quickshadow was talking to a hologram of Groundshaker.

“We’ve just arrived in the Kalfa System, Groundshaker” Quickshadow informed. “We’re progressing towards the facility on Kalfa-Domos that sent the distress signal, and should be reaching its orbit soon.”

“Understood, though I wish you wait for us to send a Taskforce Fleet to aid you” Groundshaker said. “This is a Combatronian facility we’re talking about.”

“A supply depot” Rocket Plume chimed in from her seat. “Not exactly significant enough to warrant a Combatronian fleet to defend it. I mean, we wouldn’t exactly make this place a priority under normal circumstances. Plus they’ll have their hands full, from what I imagine.”

“Besides which, waiting for a taskforce to join us would delay us” Quickshadow said. “I don’t want the trail to go cold.”

“Understood” Groundshaker sighed. “I will still have a taskforce follow you there, just to be on the safe side.”

“Okay. Did you manage to get the data from the energon samples I sent you?”

“I’ve passed them on to Arcana. He and his scientific team are analysing it here on Olterhex as we speak.”

“Thanks. Let us know if they find anything out.”

“We will” Groundshaker replied. “Over and out.”

Groundshaker’s hologram vanished in front of Quickshadow and Rocket Plume.

Quickshadow progressed into the cockpit, where Thunderhead and Tailpipe were sat. In front of them, the planet Kalf-Domos grew larger and larger.

“Should be entering the planet soon” Tailpipe said. “Thunderhead, scanners showing anything we should worry about.”

“From what I can tell, there are several anti-air batteries surrounding the region” Thunderhead stated, reading the scanners.

“Is that going to pose a problem?” Quickshadow asked.

“With the ship’s cloaking tech, no” Tailpipe answered. “The Ais controlling those batteries aren’t advanced enough to pick us up.”

“Alright, take us down, Tailpipe” Quickshadow ordered.

A ghostly shape flying through the sky, the Vanguard shuttle dropped through the cloud belt. Below them, a large coral jungle stretched across the landscape, several rocky peaks standing over it. Atop these peaks stood several anti-aircraft batteries, slowly rotating around and surveying the surrounding area. The shuttle swerved between the peaks, the batteries unaware of its presence.

“That’s some serious heat” Thunderhead said. “I’d hate to be on the wrong side of them.”

“If we’re lucky, we won’t have to” Quickshadow said. “Any sign of the base.”

“We’re coming up on it now” Tailpipe said, pointing towards the window. “That large outcrop in the distance.”

Ahead of them was a large rock outcrop with several metallic structure sticking out of it, and several radar dishes attached to it. In front of the base was a large open area with several containers around the edges. As they came closer, it became apparent that they weren’t the first visitors. Several greyed Combatronian bodies lay around the area. Tailpipe brought the ship down, landing it in a clear section.

“I’m picking up an anomalous signal coming from the base” Thunderhead said, looking at the scanners. “Doesn’t match anything we know.”

“Looks like what we’re chasing is still here” Quickshadow said.

“Then we need to be locked and loaded” Rocket Plume said, slinging her rifle over shoulder. “Probably best keep the ships weapon systems warm, Tailpipe.”

“Is that necessary?” Tailpipe asked.

“From what we can tell, that thing’s pretty durable” Crumble said, entering the cockpit. “We don’t know what we’ll need to disable it.”

“If you say so” Tailpipe replied, before looking at the ship’s console. “Call from Olterhex.”

Tailpipe pressed a button, and holograms of Groundshaker and Arcana appeared in the shuttle with them.

“Groundshaker, Arcana, what have we got?” Quickshadow asked.

“Arcana’s made some developments” Groundshaker said. “We’ve think we’ve isolated some of the chemicals in the data from the sample you sent us.”

“We’ve already identified Kytoformaheldrox, Lutaranee and Demiscytoyonaphide in the sample you sent us” Arcana informed them. “Now, while these are relatively unknown to the Cybertronian Commonwealth, they are known in several areas, such as Galactic Council sectors.”

“Commonly used in medicinal serums” Quickshadow mused. “So it’s some sort of medicinal unit? Then why’s it attacking us?”

“We don’t think it is” Groundshaker said. “At least not intentionally.”

“We believe this could be some sort of experimental unit” Arcana explained. “Designed to identify possible new viruses and devise a cure for them. Except we think they may not be programmed to process mechanical beings. It’s mistaken our body structure for being the effect of a virus it can’t identify. It’s likely been experimented with various compounds to find a “cure”, only for the chemicals to prove fatal to Cybertronian systems.”

“So it thinks Cybertronians are just a plague?” Crumble asked.

“Eyup, that’s got Galactic Council written all over it” Thunderhead said.

“Well let’s get out there and check it out” Rocket Plume said, disembarking.

As she stepped out, Rocket Plume checked one of the bodies. Looking closely, she turned it over to find another puncture wound on the neck, just like the ones on Luum.

“Same deal with these guys” Rocket Plume said as Quickshadow, Thunderhead and Crumble descended the ramp. “Puncture wound in the neck. We definitely have the same mech.”

The group were distracted by a loud boom emanating from the building ahead of them.

“Looks like the Combatronians are still putting up a fight” Thunderhead said.

“If our own outpost is anything to look at, they won’t be able to so alone” Quickshadow replied. “We should get moving.”

With that, the group progressed into the base, heading into the opened loading entrance, several vehicles lying inert across it. Entering into a large loading bay, the group found more Combatronian bodies littering the ground. The bodies continued into a corridor on the far side of the room. Crossing over and heading through, the noise of laser fire echoed through it.

“I have a feeling it’s still here” Thunderhead said. “And the Combatrons are losing.”

The group progressed, exiting out onto a balcony overlooking a large hangar, like designed to refuel a larger cruiser. Looking down, they found the bulky mech fighting what remained of the Combatronians. The Combatronian laserfire simply bounced off the mech as it stood in the middle of the room.

“DIE, YOU STUPID ROBOT!” one of the Combatronians yelled, charging at the mech while swinging his blaster rifle.

“AG-GRES-SION SPIKE DE-TEC-TED” the mech responded. “NO-TED. AD-MIN-IS-TER-ING SED-A-TIVE.”

As soon as the Combatronian got close, the large mech grabbed him by the arm, before jabbing a needle on the end of its finger into the Cybertronian mech. Dropping the Combatronian, the Combatronian began writhing in pain, before dropping to the ground and turning grey.

“NO LIFE SIGNS DE-TEC-TED IN SUB-JECT” the mech stated, before turning to another Combatronian. “SED-A-TIVE MIX SE-VEN FIVE PRO-DU-CED FA-TAL RES-PONSE. REA-DY-ING SED-A-TIVE MIX SE-VEN SIX.”

Thunderhead and Rocket Plume looked over the balcony and watched the Combatronians one by one fall to the mech. Once the mech had dispatched them all, it stopped moving.

“HA-LO ONE SELF RE-PORT” the mech stated. “NO CURE FOR-MU-LA-TED FOR VI-RAL STRAIN TWO TWO THREE.

“Halo one?” asked Rocket Plume. “What’s a halo one?”

“I’m assuming that machine’s designation” Crumble said. “Doesn’t make it clear where it came from.”

“So lasers don’t work on it” Thunderhead said. “Any alternatives for taking it out?”

“I got one” Rocket Plume said, a pair of rockets deploying on her wrists. “Well, two actually.”

“And if concussive weapons don’t work, what then?” Crumble asked.

“We kite it back to the shuttle, and have Tailpipe fire the ship’s weapons on it” Quickshadow said.

The group looked down again, and the mech stopped moving. Slowly its head rotated around to look straight at them.

“MORE AF-FLIC-TED SUB-JECTS LO-CA-TED!” the mech said. “PRE-PA-RING FUR-THER CHE-MI-CAL COM-POUNDS FOR PO-TEN-TI-AL CURES.”

“Yeah?” asked Rocket Plume, pointing her rockets downwards. “Here’s my cure for you!”

Rocket Plume fired both of the small rockets straight at the mech. The projectiles exploded on impact, consuming the mech. However, when smoke dispersed, the mech was still standing there, the only hint of damage being black marks on its one pristine armour plating.

“HIGH AG-GRES-SION DE-TEC-TED IN SUB-JECT” Halo-1 stated. “REA-DY TO AD-MI-NIS-TER COM-POUNDS.”

“That didn’t work” Thunderhead said.

“Guess we give Tailpipe a call” Crumble said.

Below the, the Halo began to shake and rise from the ground, a plume of flames emanating from its feet.

“Oh great” said Thunderhead. “It can fly.”

“Well duh” replied Crumble. “How do you think it got from Luum to hear?”

“If you two could stop arguing, maybe we should get going!” Rocket Plume said, shifting into her motorbike form and driving off.

As Quickshadow followed her out in car mode, Crumble and Thunderhead took one last look at the mech, before shifting into their respective crane and assault vehicle modes and following them. Behind them, the mech gave us, keeping behind them with its rocket boosters. As they drove, Thunderhead rotated his turret around and began spraying lasers and the mech, to little avail.

“Tailpipe?” Quickshadow said over her comms as they drove through the hallways. “You’d better get the shuttle’s weapons warm, because we’re coming in hot with unfriendly company!”

“When don’t you?” came Tailpipe’s voice over the comms.

“Just get them ready.”

The group skidded into the loading bay, turning toward the exit. The mech continued to follow them close behind them. Getting outside, Quickshadow, Thunderhead and Crumble drove straight onto the shuttle, transforming and getting into the cockpit behind Tailpipe.

“You’d better have those weapons online” Quickshadow said. “Because that mech has taken all our fire without even wincing.”

“The weapons will take a few minutes to warm up” Tailpipe said, flicking switches.

“We don’t have a few minutes!” Thunderhead exclaimed. “That thing’s right outside.”

“Wait” said Crumble, looking around the shuttle interior. “Where’s Rocket Plume?”

“Wait, she was right with us?” Quickshadow answered.

The group looked outside and saw Rocket Plume standing on one of the containers as Halo-1 exited the Combatronian facility. As the mech turned to face her, she pointed her rifle at it.

“Hey, drone, you want us?” Rocket Plume asked, firing several rounds at it. “Then I’m right here!”

“HEIGH-TEN-ED AG-GRES-SI-ON DE-TEC-TED IN SUB-JECT!” Halo-1 stated. “IM-ME-DI-ATE SE-DA-TI-ON AND EX-AM-I-NA-TI-ON!”

The mech took to the air, flying at Rocket Plume. As it approached, Rocket Plume activated her jetpack and flew above it. Halo-1 slammed straight into the crate while Rocket Plume descended onto another behind it.

“Ooooh, nice try!” Rocket Plume taunted, firing a few more shots to get its attention.

Picking itself up, Halo-1 turned around and stared at her for a few seconds. The mech then flew straight at Rocket Plume again, only for her to fly over it, allowing it to slam into the container. Rocket Plume this time fired another missile at Halo-1, knocking its head back into the container as it tried to get up. As it turned around, it stared at Rocket Plume with cracked optics.

“VI-RAL STRAIN PRO-MO-TING RE-SIS-TANCE” Halo-1 stated. “NO-TED.”

“Hey, you should be flattered that I’m showing you all this attention!” Rocket Plume said. “Now come on, try again!”

The mech flew at the container, and Rocket Plume took off above it. However, as she passed over it, her jetpack began to splutter. She dropped the ground, facefirst into the dirt. Rocket Plume looked back, seeing Halo-1 stop and turned to face her.

“SUB-JECT RE-SIS-TANCE CEA-SED” Halo-1 stated. “COM-MEN-CING SE-DA-TI-ON AND CURE TES-TING.”

“Oh, if I die I’m gonna kill Crumble” Rocket Plume groaned, spitting out dirt.

The mech approached Rocket Plume, several needles deploying from its fingers. Halo-1 stood over, and lowered its hand to grab her… only to be knocked back towards the Combatronian depot by laser fire. Rocket Plume looked up, and saw lasers coming from the front of their shuttle.

“I suggest you get aboard!” came Tailpipe’s voice. “Even this doesn’t seem to keep it down!”

Rocket Plume looked back and saw Halo-1 slowly stand up, in spite of the shuttle’s powerful weapons. Switching to her motorbike, Rocket Plume drove between the lasers and up the shuttle’s ramp. The ramp rose once more once she was up, and Rocket Plume joined her compatriots in the cockpit.

“Thanks for that” Rocket Plume said.

“Now we get airborne before that thing gets close” Tailpipe said, bringing the shuttle up.

The shuttle took to the air, its weapons still firing. Halo-1’s optics tracked the shuttle, its head turning up. The mech took flight, before flying at the shuttle at speed. Tailpipe turned the shuttle around, flying away from the base.

“Cloaking field should be ready” Tailpipe said, reaching towards a switch. “I don’t want to deal with the Combatronian guns too.”

“Wait” Thunderhead said. “I have a terrible idea.”

“Oh you have to be kidding me.”

As the shuttle flew away from the Combatronian depot, Halo-1 gave chase, slowly closing the gap between them. Inside, Tailpipe was trying his best to keep ahead of it as Thunderhead looked at the scanners.

“Dammit Thunderhead, we could probably outrun this thing if you let us!” Tailpipe said.

“Ain’t solving the problem” Thunderhead said. “Since everything else has failed, gotta find the biggest weapon around.”

“I really hope you know what you’re doing” Quickshadow said.

“It’s Thunderhead, course he doesn’t!” Rocket Plume joked.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence” Thunderhead said. “Don’t make be bring up your performance out there.”

Ahead of them, several of the anti-air guns came into view. With the ship not cloaked, the guns slowly became aware of its approaching presence.

“There’s still time to cloak” Tailpipe said.

“No can do” Thunderhead replied.

The entire ship suddenly shuddered. Outside, Halo-1 had caught up to them and had managed to grab onto their ship. It grabbed onto the panelling, ripping it off to get to them. Ahead of them, the nearest anti-air battery rotated towards them. Inside the cockpit, the group looked up as Halo-1 tore a whole in the ceiling above them.

“For the record, Thunderhead, this was your fault!” Tailpipe yelled.

“Just brace” Thunderhead replied. “We’re going to go down hard.”

Rocket Plume, Quickshadow and Crumble ran into the passenger section of the ship and buckled themselves in. Halo-1 stuck one of of its arms into the cockpits, attempting to reach the nearest Cybertronian, as it tore the hole wider with its other hand.

“Artillery gun has a lock on us!” Thunderhead reported. “Tailpipe, tip us now!”

Tailpipe shunted the shuttle forwards, pointing the top of the ship directly at the cannon. The battery fired a single shot towards them, the brunt of the blast striking Halo-1. The shuttle was sent spiraling to the ground as Halo-1 was flung off. The shuttle’s crew held on for life as the shuttle hit the ground, bouncing a few times before coming to a stop. As the shuttle’s systems failed, the anti-air cannons returned to their default positions, no longer picking up the ship.

“Is everyone okay?” Quickshadow asked, unbuckling herself.

“Yeah…” said Crumble, a bit dazed. “Rocket?”

“I’m good” Rocket Plume answered, removing her belt and picking up her rifle. “Think the scope of my rifle’s shattered.”

“Priority is you’re okay” Quickshadow said. “Thunderhead? Tailpipe?”

The front of the shuttle had partially torn, separating the cockpit from the rest of the ship. After a few seconds silence, Tailpipe and Thunderhead emerged.

“Sorry” Thunderhead said. “I hate those belts.”

“Thunderhead needed help” Tailpipe said, rolling his eyes.

“What about the mech?” Quickshadow said.

At this, both Thunderhead and Rocket Plume pointed their weapons, slowly moving outside of the shuttle. Quickshadow followed them, her pair of pistols at the ready. Lying on the ground across from the ship, the inert body of Halo-1 lay face-first in the ground. Its back was torn wide open. The trio approached, weapons still pointed at it. As they got close, Thunderhead gave it a kick, receiving no response.

“It’s dead” Thunderhead said. “My idea worked.”

“It also took out our transport” Quickshadow sighed. “I’m gonna have to call us a ride.”

“Well, first you’ll probably have to takedown those artillery guns” Thunderhead said. “Doubt anyone would be happy if the rescue ships gets shot down.”

“Urgh…” Quickshadow groaned. “Come on, Rocket. You can keep me company.”

“If you want” Rocket Plume replied.

Quickshadow and Rocket Plume shifted into their vehicular modes, driving back towards the Combatronian depot. Thunderhead kept his gun trained on the mech, while behind him Crumble and Tailpipe entered the ship. Crumble approached the mech, and began twiddling with it.

“Is that a good idea?” Thunderhead said. “That thing’s been trying to kill us and you wanna start fiddling about with it? What if it turns on?”

“It shouldn’t do, given it just had its back blown open” Tailpipe said, looking over the mech.

“Besides, I’m not looking to turn it on again” Crumble said, his arm inside the mech’s internals. “I’m looking for its datacore. Or memory drive. Or whatever it has.”

A click came, and Crumble removed his arm. A hologram projected from a box inside the mech, briefly showing a logo comprised of a Z and a C, before switching to an organic being.

“-latest model from the Zarak Consortium” the hologram said. “Physician. Researcher. Vaccine dispersal. The Halo-1 is the only medical machine you will ever need. You can-”

The hologram fizzled out as the box sparked, failing from the damage that it sustained. Crumble removed his arm from the mech.

“That was a Nebulon, right?” Tailpipe asked.

“Yup” replied Crumble. “Guess that solves the mystery of who built it.”

“You need anything else from it?” Thunderhead asked.

“No, the datacore just got fried” Crumble sighed.

“Good, cos I’ve got a charge in here I fancy setting off inside it” Thunderhead said. “Really make sure it’s done.”

“Wait, not the best idea” Crumble interrupted. “If we just destroy it, this mechs creators may rebuild it with the exact same inability to differentiate Cybertronians from organics suffering from unknown contagions”

“Well, then, what do we do?”

“Oh, I have an idea.”

Nebulos, Three Days Later
In his personal laboratory, Maxim Zarak strolled back and forth as he looked at the heavy damage Halo-1, a look of frustration on his face. One of his aides stood quietly to the side

“My beautiful creation” Maxim said. “How were you able to retrieve it?”

“We found it in the forest, Scientist-General” the aide said. “We believe it was dropped from orbit.”

“Was anything taken?”

“It’s been heavily damage, and some parts have been almost completely destroyed, but from we can tell, nothing was removed. We did, however, find a datapad within it.”

“And what did this datapad say?”

“Something regarding a fault in Halo-1’s symptom identification software” the aide said. “Apparently mistaking mechanical species for individuals affected by some sort of plague. They even included annotations and suggestions for the code.”

“Everyone criticises” Maxim growled. “Just, log it. This project is going to have to be placed on the back burner, anyway.”

“Why sir?”

“We need to focus on our discovery in the wilds” Maxim said. “I want as many available excavation teams to be focused on that as possible. This “black city” possesses incredibly sophisticated technology. Technology that will belong to the Zarak Consortium!”

Chapter 19: Kill the Light

Chapter by Devaron9

Chapter Text

Ashmar Citadel Ruins, Two Days after the Battle of Ashmar
The war was over. What had once been a packed and blistering battlefield was now a sea of blast marks, craters and debris, all surrounding the ruined mess that was once the Ashmar Citadel. On the ground, Cybertronian Bulldozer and Frontloader bots worked to move the debris, as more Cybertronians moved across the uneven terrain, looking to find any confirmation of Overlord’s demise.

Among them was Ginrai Convoy himself. Patched up, he was already moving broken fragments of metal where felt the throne room would’ve fallen. Behind him, Quickshadow and Groundshaker arrived with another Cybertroinan, an amber truckformer with a dark blue chestplate.

“Ginrai?” Quickshadow inquired. “It’s time to leave.”

“Rather busy” Ginrai said. “This area needs to be scoured so that we can find any bodies. So we can find his body, and confirm this hasn’t been for nothing again.”

“With respect, Ginrai, we’ve been scanning all signals belonging to transmat relocation methods and have been monitoring and scanning every ship coming in and out of Tuurok” Groundshaker replied. “More importantly, you’re needed back on Cybertron.”

“I’m sorry, it’s important that we verify Overlord’s demise.”

“You really think he survived this?” the orange truckbot said, surveying the area. “Looks like a hell of an orbital bombardment. And if he was in the building when it collapsed, not to mention that you saw him trapped in his throne room.”

“While Hotsteam could’ve put it better, she is right” Groundshaker continued. “His odds of survival are next to nothing.”

“Exactly, not zero” Ginrai huffed.

“Ginrai, there are still battles across the commonwealth, but many of the holdouts are already surrendering” Quickshadow explained. “More will surrender if we confirm the war is over. Tuurok has fallen, and with it the Combatronian War Engine.”

“But…”

“Sector-General Hotsteam and her forces will oversee the planet” Groundshaker reassured, gesturing to the orange bot. “She will have divisions continuing excavation of the Citadel as well decommissioning all strongholds and factories on the planet.”

“We’ll have fleets in constant orbit, retaining full scans of the planet on all spectrums” Hotsteam added. “Frequent patrols across all sectors. If Overlord did survive, we will know about it.”

“And without an army at his beck and no plans to fall back on, he wouldn’t stand long anyway.”

“I…” Ginrai mused, before sighing and turning around. “Okay.”

“The Orion has already been loaded and is ready for transit” Quickshadow state. “Omega will be anxious to get moving I imagine.”

Groundshaker and Hotsteam lead the way off the debris, and Quickshadow and Ginrai followed behind. It was strange for Ginrai. For so long he had heard the noise of gunshots and explosions and now? Now it was quiet. He wasn’t sure he would get use to it. After all, it had been so long since he had been on a peacetime Cybertron.

The Orion, Tuurok
Ginrai walked the corridors of the Orion as it prepared to launch. Those that he’d pass would cheer and celebrate around him, occasionally shouting his name in celebration. Ginrai briefly passed an open door where a number bots were resting away from the celebrations. Goldbug lay quietly sleeping as at the back of the room Thunderhead and Crumble quietly sat with their eyes closed, Thunderhead resting his head on Crumble’s shoulder.

In the next room, Rocket Plume was joining others in sharing engex, loudly yelling their celebrations as Tailpipe tried to remain hidden in the corner, hoping to avoid a drink. Ginrai continued until he made it to his quarters aboard the Orion. He silently opened the door, before letting it slide shut behind him. As he arrived, he heard the loud voice of Omega Supreme booming through the ship.

“ALL PERSONNEL” the voice echoed. “WE ARE NOW LAUNCHING TO CYBERTRON.”

Ginrai could feel a slight rumble as Omega’s ship mode left the ground. Pulling down his recharge slab to a horizontal angle, Ginrai sat on it and paused. Right now, he needed to figure things out. He opened his chestplate to expose the Matrix of Light.

“The war is over” Ginrai muttered to himself, laying back on the recharge slab. “What is the Convoy of War, as they call me, to do? Where does he go from there?”

Ginrai closed his eyes, and let himself drift off as the matrix flickered in his chest, hoping he would awaken with his mind clearer.

Tarr-Ferrum Shipyard, Iacon, Two Months After the Battle of Ashmar
Ginrai stood at a railing, watching from afar as a massive pyramidal ship was constructed. Smaller craft carried plates of metal as work crews welded similar to thes outer hull of the ship. The ship glimmered gold as Cybertron’s sun hung high in the sky.

“What’s going on?” a voice came from besides him.

“They’re working on the Autonomous Mausoleum, a memorial to all those we lost” Ginrai explained to the newcomer. We lost so many, this great ship will carry a log of all their names.”

“And when it’s launched?”

“Then it will take flight into and around the commonwealth, their names like stardust among the cosmos.”

“Poetic.”

“I suppose” Ginrai sighed. “After all I’ve seen, I’m not sure I can believe in an afterspark. This, I suppose, is the best way I can honour them instead.”

“So, Ginrai Convoy, what’s next?”

“That is a question, Ignitor.”

Ginrai turned from the railing to look at the bot he’d once taken as protege. She had now adopted a new body-type, and Ginrai could see she had matured. She was not the young bot Ginrai first met when he crashed on Caminus anymore.

“I honestly don’t know” Ginrai sighed. “The war is over. I should be relived. I should be happy.”

“But…?” inquired Ignitor.

“Do you know what they call me? The Convoy of War. And given my history, it’s hard not see why. What good is a Convoy of War in peacetime?”

“What will you do then?”

“I’m still figuring that out” Ginrai sighed. “What about you? What are you doing?”

“The war’s over” Ignitor replied. “Caminus is coming out of the shadows to join the Commonwealth. I figured I’d see Cybertron for myself not backlit by gunfire… and see some friends not the under the stress of fighting.”

“I’m not sure who that person is. Do you know what you’re going to do now? Where you’re going?”

“Well” Ignitor said, smiling. “I met someone. Well, not met, more reunited when I came back to Cybertron.”

“My congratulations. Anyone I met? Was it, what’s his name, Ennyn?”

“Enn- oh, wow, no, not the way I swing. No, you didn’t meet her. Her name’s Mantle. We’ve known each other since kids, and I guess distance makes the spark ache.”

“Will you be undergoing the rites?”

“In time. For now, when the dust settles, I’m planning to taken around the Commonwealth. See the places we never knew existed. Maybe pop the question along the way. And maybe, when we’re ready, maybe we go and take in a forged to raise.”

“I’m sure you’ll be very happy. Any names?”

“I dunno? Flamestrike? Firestar? Flare-Up? We’ve got plenty of time to figure that out.”

“You do indeed” Ginrai said. “It… is good to see you again. Good to know that you’ve made something of yourself in spite of my mentorship.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself” Ignitor replied. “I can see that the war is all you’ve known. I know what Overlord did. How much he took from everyone.”

Ginrai looked back towards the Mausoleum, before looking back.

“That building isn’t just a monument to the offline and lost. It’s also a monument of my failures. All the what if’s, could haves and should have beens that might’ve saved more lives.”

“There’s nothing you can do to change the past” Ignitor replied. “All you can do is move forward and learn from your mistakes.”

“Why weren’t you mentoring me?”

“Another what if.”

There was a moment of silent between the two. Ignitor stepped forward, giving Ginrai a hug.

“Take care of yourself, big guy” Ignitor said.

“You too…” Ginrai nodded.

Ignitor began to walk off, before stopping. She quickly turned around.

“And when I do pop the question to Mantle, I expect you to be at the ceremony when I send you an invitation” Ignitor declared.

“Consider it done” Ginrai smiled.

Senatorial Building, Iacon, One Year after the Battle of Ashmar
Ginrai paced around a room, a datapad in hand. He kept glancing at it, reading off it, before giving a sigh and looking up again. Occasionally, he would put the datapad on the table and scribble something, more often than not following up by scribbling back out. As he edited the text yet again, Quickshadow entered the room.

“Still working on your speech?” Quickshadow asked. “Isn’t it late for that?”

“Sorry, most of my speeches have been rallying people into battle” Ginrai explained. “I have to get this right. Are the others on their way up?”

“They should be on their way up. What’s this about?”

Before Ginrai could answer, the door to the room opened again. Thunderhead and Rocket Plume falled in, followed by Crumble and Tailpipe.

“You called?” Rocket Plume asked as she entered.

“Thought you had a speech to attend?” Tailpipe asked.

“I do, but first…” Ginrai began. “I want to thank you. All of you. Throughout the whole of my time as Convoy, you have been there and allowed me to push through. You have saved my life on many occasions, and have been a driving force keeping me going. Without any of you, I doubt I would be here today.”

“Says the Convoy who saved his bodyguards lives more times that they saved his?” Thunderhead replied. “We should be thanking you.”

“Mmm” Rocket Plume agreed. “Was a hell of a time running with you.”

“It has also been a privilege to present my works to you” Crumble added. “Shame I will never get to see you don that armour again.”

“And I hope to never have to give you flying lessons again” Tailpipe said. “But it has been an honour to work under you and serve as your pilot.”

“I’ve enjoyed working with you, even under the circumstances” Quickshadow said. “And I look forward to continuing working with you in this new era.”

Before Ginrai could reply, they were interrupted as a Cybertronian entered the room, clearly in a rush.

“I’m sorry, Ginrai Convoy, sir, but it’s time” the Cybertronian wheezed. “Your presence is requested to give your speech to the public at the Mausoleum Launch Site.”

“Of course” Ginrai replied. “I will be there momentarily.”

The Cybertronian left, and Ginrai turned to look at his allies… no, friends.

“Thank you everyone.”

“Give ‘em hell, boss” Thunderhead said.

“We’ll be watching” Tailpipe added.

As his friends left the room, Ginrai looked at the datapad in his hand. He sighed, before throwing the datapad on the table and leaving the room.

Launch Site Kolda, Rivet Fields
Ginrai peered out from behind a holoblind. A massive crowd had filled out the fields, stretching as far the optic could see. Ginrai took a moment to steel himself, before walking on stage. As he walked to a vocal amplifier, numerous camera drones hovered about in front of him. Ginrai tapped the amplifier, before giving a cough to clear this throat.

“THANK YOU ALL FOR COMING HERE!” Ginrai’s voice boomed over the crowd. “FOR SHARING A MOMENTOUS OCCASION! TONIGHT, WE SEND THOSE WE LOST TO A FINAL JOURNEY TO THE AFTERSPARK! TONIGHT, WE REMEMBER THEIR MEMORY AND THE SACRIFICES MADE TO MAKE THIS DAY POSSIBLE!”

Ginrai paused, and looked back at the colossal mausoleum ship towering behind him. He took a deep breath.

“TONIGHT, WE COMPLETE THE MISSION THAT NOVA PRIME BEGAN ON THIS FIELD! TO SET A SHIP AMONG THE STARS, ONE CARRYING OUR SPIRIT, AND WITH IT CAP THE AGE THAT BEGAN WITH PROUDSTAR’S DESTRUCTION!”

A cheer rose up among the crowd, many raising their arms in celebration. Ginrai gestured at the ship behind him.

“THIS GREAT MAUSOLEUM DOES NOT SIMPLY CARRY THOSE HEROES WE’VE LOST! IT HOLDS A RECORD OF EVERYONE WHO HAS FALLEN IN THIS TERRIBLE WAR, FROM NOVA PRIME, GALVATRON AND THOSE OTHER CREW OF THE PROUDSTAR AT ITS BEGINNING, TO THOSE WE LOST AT TUUROK AND THE SUBSEQUENT CLOSING BATTLES!”

Ginrai’s mind wandered to Peritus, as he was sure many in the crowds minds were wandering to their allies, their friends, their families.

“THIS SHIP WILL TRAVEL THE COSMOS, FERRYING THE LOST TO THE NEXT LIFE! ON A GREAT JOURNEY TO WHAT LIES NEXT! WITH ITS LAUNCH, WE SHALL NEVER FORGET ANYONE! NOT ONE SINGLE SPARK,I SWEAR UPON YOU!”

Ginrai from the stage, a plinth with a button rose. Ginrai knew it was simply a set up for theatrics, but walked to it anyway. As he stood, he held both hands firmly above the button.

“HEROES OF CYBERTRON, WE THANK YOU ETERNALLY!”

Ginrai pressed down on the button, and at first nothing happened. Then a massive roar echoed across the fields. A blue glow came from behind Ginrai as the thrusters of the Mausoleum came to life. The Autonomous Mausoleum began to rise into the air behind Ginrai as fireworks accompanied its launch.

“Good luck” Ginrai quietly said to himself. “For whatever lies beyond.”

Many of the crowd cheered as the Mausoleum ascended into Cybertron’s atmosphere. Other simply cried, as bots hugged, holding each other. Ginrai watched until the Mausoleum flew beyond view, before turning back to the crowd and walking towards vocal amplifier again.

“BUT I AM AFRAID I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!”

The crowd went silent, confused. Many of them looked to each other, wondering what Ginrai was on about.

“THROUGHOUT THIS TERRIBLE WAS I HAVE BEEN YOUR CONVOY! I HAVE FOUGHT ON THE FRONTLINES FOR PEACE! FOR AN END TO THIS CONFLICT! I HAVE BEEN KNOWN BY MANY AS THE CONVOY OF WAR!”

“BUT I HAVE BEEN A SOLDIER NOT JUST MY TENURE AS BEARER OF THE MATRIX OF LIGHT, BUT MOST OF MY LIFE! IN THIS TIME OF PEACE, CYBERTRON DOES NOT NEED A SOLDIER! IT NEEDS A HEALER! IT NEEDS SOMEONE WHO CAN LEAD THE REBUILDING EFFORT, TO FORGE STRONGER BONDS WITH NOT JUST OUR ALLIES, BUT THOSE BEYOND THE COMMONWEALTH! I AM NOT THAT BOT! I CANNOT BE THAT BOT!”

Ginrai moved his arms, holding his hands above his chest plate. He hesitated for a moment, before pressing on it. His grill slid open, as the windows on either side retreated away. From his chest, the Matrix of Light glimmered for all to see.

“WHICH IS WHY, WITH A HEAVY SPARK, I MUST RELINQUISH THE MATRIX OF LIGHT! I PRAY THAT MY SUCCESSOR CAN DO WHAT I CANNOT, AND RESTORE THE COMMONWEALTH TO WHAT IT WAS! I THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THERE WITH ME, FOR SUPPORTING ME, FOR FIGHTING ALONGSIDE ME! MAY THE MATRIX’S LIGHT ILLUMINATE THE PATH FORWARD, AND LEAD CYBERTRON BACK FROM THE DARK!”

Ginrai grabbed the matrix’s handles, before slowly removing it. As he took it from his chest, his body was enveloped in a blinding white light. The crowd looked away, shielding their eyes. When they looked back, the stage was empty. Nobody noticed the other side of the launch area, when a red and blue truck sped away.

Senatorial Building, Front Entrance, One Year and Two Months After the Battle of Tuurok
Once again, crowds were forming. This time, not in the Rivet Fields, but outside the Senate Building in Iacon’s central district. Before approaching a plinth, Senator Traachon, once a Sector-General of the Primal Vanguard, read through some cue points on a datapad. Stepping to the vocal amplifier, he looked around, before speaking.

“ESTEEMED CITIZENS OF CYBERTRON!” Traachon announced with a booming, deep voice. “IT HAS BEEN TWO MONTHS SINCE GINRAI CONVOY STEPPED DOWN AND THE MATRIX OF LIGHT WAS FOUND IN THE PRIMAL BASILICA! FOR TWO MONTHS, WE HAVE BEEN WITHOUT A CONVOY!”

“BUT FRET NOT! A WORTHY CANDIDATE HAS EMERGED! AT LAST THE MATRIX OF LIGHT HAS FOUND ITSELF A NEW HOME! AT LAST, A NEW CONVOY HAS ASCENDED! IT IS MY HONOUR TO INTRODUCE TO YOU OUR NEW CONVOY! ARBITER CONVOY!”

From the doors of the Senatorial Building, a hulking Cybertronian emerged. Donned with blue, orange and grey plating, he approached the plinth. The crowd cheered as Traachon stepped back, clapping.

“THANK YOU, THANK YOU!” Arbiter Convoy said. “IT PLEASES ME TO RECEIVE A WARM WELCOME FROM MY LOYAL PEOPLE! AND LET ME ASSURE YOU, AS YOUR NEW CONVOY, I PROMISE YOU, NEVER AGAIN WILL CYBERTRON SUFFER THROUGH A WAR AGAIN! CYBERTRON WILL BE FIRMLY DEFENDED UNDER MY WATCH!”

As Arbiter Convoy began yelling his plans to the crowd, Traachon slipped back into the senatorial hall where he was met by another senator, Tomaandi. The pair watched Arbiter Convoy through the doors.

“Zeta does realise this is only a temporary measure?” Tomaandi asked Traachon. “Only until we can find someone actually showing affinity to the Matrix. I mean, strictly speaking, he’s only a Prime.”

“Let him have his moment” Traachon replied. “His armour certainly gives him a Convoy-ly look. Besides, the public lap up a Convoy. We’ll just concoct a story when we do find someone.”

“Have you seen his proposals for the Undergrid though? The Vamparc Ribbon-”

“Shh” Traachon interrupted. “Not here.”

“But that’s Combatronian weaponry. Weaponry we were officially meant to dismantle, not attempt to reverse engineer and mass produce!”

“The process will take considerable time. Should viable concerns emerge, we’ll address when that happens. For now, he should keep the public placid while we begin to introduce our new mandates.”

“Getting the mines going again?” Tomaandi asked. “I believe several corporations have already been waiting for the go ahead to begin mining. I believe Messatine, Rykon and Lomoria Minor already have mass CC-ed work forces ready to go”

“Not to mention our new…peacekeeping protocols” Traachon replied. “Wouldn’t want any dissidents fancying themselves to be another Overlord, especially here of all places.”

“Oh, I quite agree.”

“Yes, I believe Zeta- excuse me, Arbiter Convoy is quite right about something. Cybertron will be certainly secure in our hands.”

The Helmsbot’s Bolthole, Polyhex, Two Years After the Battle of Tuurok
In a pub in Polyhex, Rocket Plume and Goldbug waited as a bartender placed their drinks on a tray. As soon as the tray was full, Goldbug picked it up as Rocket Plume placed a few shannix on the counter as a tip. The pair walked to a table, joining Thunderhead, Crumble, Quickshadow, Tailpipe and Ignitor at a table, where they placed the drinks down.

While most of them took their drinks, Ignitor was distracted cooing at a small Cybertronian sparkling in Thunderhead’s arms. Though only a few weeks old, they were considerably larger than most Cybertronians her age.

“She’s so adorable” Ignitor smiles as the baby happily gurgled.

“She’s also grown fast” Rocket Plume noted. “Crumble, anything you want to admit to?”

“I imagine she’s picked up my mother’s Gigantion CNA codes. Recessive CNA. I fear for our roof when she grows up.”

“Ah, who cares” Thunderhead said, looking down at the sparkling. “Pneumatix is our little girl. I can’t wait to stare down the other parents when she’s old enough to go to nursery.”

“So have you thought about it?” Quickshadow asked. “I know you were thinking about taking on the task of a raising a forgling?”

“I’ve gone back and forth on it” Rocket Plume replied. “I know people say it’s harder to raise a sparkling alone, but I think I can do it. I’m going to book a spot at the Velocitron Hot Spot in Navitas.”

“Well, there’ll be sleepless nights” Crumble said. “But you won’t regret it.”

“Yes, well, don’t think I’ll join the party anytime soon” Tailpipe replied. “I’ve got enough trouble with the cadets at the pilot’s academy. Haven’t got time for kids.”

“Suit yourself” Goldbug replied. “I think I’m going to wait a bit before I decide on raising a sparkling, but I can see it happening.”

“Ah well time will tell” Quickshadow replied. “Right now I’m just concerned with getting out of the spymaster gig.”

“Trouble in paradise?” Thunderhead asked.

“You could say. Our glorious “Convoy” is proving to be very difficult. He’s overstayed his welcome, in my opinion. At this point, retirement looks better than working with him.”

“No Ginrai Convoy then?” Tailpipe asked.

“Definitely not. But moving on from our glorious leader, Ignitor, how’s your tour of the commonwealth? Have you-?”

Ignitor smiled, before opening a comportment. She pulled out a set of glass vials, a hexagonal pattern across it.

“Custom vials for innermost Energon made for the Conjunx Ritus” Ignitor explained. “I had to find a glassblower on Cybertron to forge the pattern into Camien Phaseglass, and let me tell you, it was hard to hide the Phaseglass from Mantle on the journey here.”

“When’s the big day?” Rocket Plume asked.

“Three months tomorrow” Ignitor said. “Expect invites to all of you soon.”

“Happy for you” Goldbug said, patting Ignitor on the shoulder.

“Did you send one to-?” Crumble asked.

“I tried” Ignitor replied. “No idea if he got it. He’s hard to get a hold of.”

“Yup” Quickshadow added. “Hope he’s doing well.”

“Well, in honour of our absent friend” Rocket Plume said, raising her glass. “To Ginrai!”

“TO GINRAI!” they all said, raising their drinks as they did so.”

Heatcone’s Ship Sales, Lower Iacon
Heatcone, eponymous owner of his ship selling establishment, led his customer out into a yard of ships. Many had worn paint, but he had claimed they were in working order. He lead his customer, a red and blue truckformer, to a modified dropship.

“This is the ship” Heatcone said. “Accipitridae-Class Dropship. Modded the holding area with a recharge slab, storage bay. Had to take out the weapons systems per new laws. Basic Transwarp drive, should hop you system to system at least.”

“I know, I’ve already paid for it” the truckformer replied.

“Well, I like to tell people about the ship as I show them it. Not my fault my brother handled most of your order.”

“As long as it works, I’m happy.”

“Where are you going in such a hurry, anyway?” Heatcone asked.

“Away. Been getting affairs in order since the war ended, and now I’m looking to do some good in the galaxy. Make amends.”

“Whatever that means” Heatcone shrugged, before pulling out a datapad. “Now, just need you to sign here to show your happy with ship before you take it. What’s the name?”

“Apex” the truckformer replied. “Apex Pax.”

“Alright, Apex Pax, sign here.”

Apex signed the datapad, before Heatcone left him to take his ship. Apex boarded the dropship, slowly taking it in, leaving a bag of his possessions by the recharge pad. He walked into the cockpit, and began familiarising his controls. Placing a datapad on the console. He began pressing buttons, and the ship hummed to life.

“Alright galaxy I’ve got a lot to make up for. Let’s not waste any time setting things right.”

As Apex prepared to take the craft skyward, he noticed a notification from Ignitor appear on the datapad. An invitation. Apex smiled.

“Perhaps we can make one small diversion.”

Apex took the controls, and his new ship lifted into the air. He grasped the steering handles, and pulled. The ship shot forward, flying over Iacon before taking a sharp upwards turn. It breached the atmosphere with ease, and with a final flash of light, Apex transwarped his ship away from Cybertron, starting his new mission. A mission to make things right. To repair the damage the Combatron War had done. To, at last, truly do some good…

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Vaderp55111 on Chapter 37 Sun 29 Jan 2023 05:34PM UTC

Great story. Can't wait to see more of you and maybe more of Origin of a star story.

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Drcraih (Guest) on Chapter 37 Wed 31 May 2023 06:08PM UTC

Dino Aluminum

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