TRANSFORMERS: RESOLUTE
Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2016 8:16 pm
CYBERTRON
Bumper lay hidden in a dust filled decommissioned exhaust vent facing Decepticon headquarters. His assignment was to observe enemy troop movements and report back to Prowl. Several times during the mission he had to jolt himself in the arm to prevent from drifting involuntarily offline. There was so little activity there that he wondered if the big rustbuckets had all run out of Energon and gone into stasis lock. The thought barely had time to leave his mind before he found himself staring down the barrel of a hunting rifle.
"If I were a Decepticon you'd be scrap metal by now.” Mirage sneered.
Bumper climbed out slowly. Three Autobots had just rolled up to his position and transformed out of alt-mode without him hearing a thing. He was too embarrassed for words.
"Aw, lay off the rookie, Mirage." Wheeljack said.
Hound laughed. "Yeah, give him a break. He just rolled off the assembly line a few Deca-cycles ago."
That wasn't entirely true. Bumper had been built about ten thousand vorns ago. The factory he was constructed in was destroyed by Decepticons moments after Vector Sigma gave him life, and the link to the super computer had been severed before it could activate his cerebral circuitry. He wasn't found until recently when Bumblebee and Gears stumbled upon him in the wreckage while scavenging for parts to bring back to Ratchet. Upon activation, Gears complaining about how he had to transport him on his back through enemy territory were the first words Bumper's audio receptors ever received.
The quartet’s attentions quickly turned to two other Autobots approaching in sleek vehicular modes.
"That Seeker was right where Starscream said he would be! He didn't even know what hit him!" boasted Sideswipe, as he and his brother Sunstreaker, shifted out of their alternate forms.
Wheeljack held out his hand. "Did you get the optics?"
Sunstreaker handed over an optic sensor still dripping with Energon.
"Yeah, I used a vibro-blade to carve it out of the ‘Con’s faceplate."
"What happened to the other one?" Wheeljack inquired.
Sunstreaker pointed to Sideswipe and said, "Idiot-bot here damaged it with a pile-driver punch to the side of the Decepti-creep’s face. Smashed it to bits."
"Hey, sometimes I don't know my own strength." Sideswipe shrugged, feeling the need to defend himself.
Wheeljack held the optic up to a sensor on the wall. "Well ah, hopefully this ‘Con had a matching set!”
PING
“That’s a good sound,” smirked Hound.
Wheeljack nodded toward Mirage. “You’re on,” he said.
The door hissed open and the Autobot spy ran in, his cloaking ability rendering him nearly invisible. Mirage’s mission was to find a computer and use the access codes Prowl gave him. Codes he suspected were provided by Starscream.
Mirage had worked with Decepticons before. The expensive cloaking technology he was using at this very moment came from a Decepticon arms dealer named Swindle—purchased with more Shanix than he cared to recall. Still, this entire operation made him feel uneasy. He'd rather it be anyone else but him running through these halls right now.
Finally, Mirage found a computer terminal and used the codes. Then he watched and waited as data streamed into his storage device.
"Commander Starscream!" Bitstream beckoned from his seated position at his workstation. "Take a look at this… someone is using your passcode to access a terminal right below us!"
Starscream walked over and pretended to understand the wavy lines and symbols displayed on the screen. "So? It's probably just Soundwave snooping around... as usual."
"Negative,” Bitstream persisted. "Soundwave is with Shockwave in the main control room!"
Starscream bent down and whispered into Bitstream's audio receptor.
"Tell no one of this. Do you hear?”
Bitstream stiffened in his chair. He didn't want to get caught up in one of Starscream's schemes, but he didn't want to risk the Air Commander's wrath either.
“U-understood, Starscream,” he stammered.
Megatron walked past rows of Decepticons standing motionless in stasis lock. Energon reserves were at a critical low and he simply would not permit it to be wasted on non-essential personnel. As far as Megatron was concerned, he had already won the war. Most of the remaining Autobot army were holed up in Iacon, hiding like retro-rats. Once a source of Energon plentiful enough to re-energize his troops was found, he would have them take the city by force.
Starscream stood with Shockwave and Soundwave to greet Megatron as he reached the main control room.
"Nemesis fueled and ready for launch, Megatron. Destination: Earth".
"Excellent Soundwave,” Megatron said. “Shockwave, you shall oversee military operations until I return.”
"But Megatron…!” Starscream protested. "Shockwave is a scientist! I am much more qualified to lead the Decepticons in your absence!"
"No Starscream, I need you in the skies leading my warriors to victory. The Autobots haven't made a move in deca-cycles, nor are they expected to. Your talents are wasted here."
Starscream nodded slowly in agreement. "This is a disaster,” he thought.
At this very moment the Autobots were stealing all the information they needed to strike against Megatron. Starscream had planned to be sitting on his throne while Megatron and his most loyal followers were being ambushed in space. The Seeker had no intention of perishing in a trap of his own making, so he walked over to a terminal and changed the passcode he had provided to the Autobots. Damage control would have to suffice until he could come up with a better plan.
Mirage's device immediately began communicating to him that the system had suddenly booted it out. He grabbed the data receptacle and ran—because if Soundwave was in the building he knew what was going to happen next.
"Enemy transmission detected. Intruder Alert." Soundwave droned, as he opened a channel linking his superiors to every Decepticon in the vicinity.
"Decepticons! Find that Autobot!" bellowed Megatron.
Still invisible to the untrained optic, Mirage looked ahead to see two Seekers blocking the corridor before him. Their wingspans were wide enough to prevent him from passing between them, so he dropped one with an armor piercing rocket-dart to the chest at point blank range. The other yelled "Cloaker!" and lashed out at his invisible opponent. Mirage easily avoided the Decepticon's swings, and then countered by using the butt of his rifle to cave in his cranial casing. Starscream, flanked by Skywarp and Thundercracker, arrived just as Mirage's cloaking device reached it's limit—rendering him as visible as any other Cybertronian.
Mirage put his hands up. "I guess this means the deals off,” he said.
Starscream aimed his null-ray rifle and smiled. "What was your first clue?"
(To be continued)
Bumper lay hidden in a dust filled decommissioned exhaust vent facing Decepticon headquarters. His assignment was to observe enemy troop movements and report back to Prowl. Several times during the mission he had to jolt himself in the arm to prevent from drifting involuntarily offline. There was so little activity there that he wondered if the big rustbuckets had all run out of Energon and gone into stasis lock. The thought barely had time to leave his mind before he found himself staring down the barrel of a hunting rifle.
"If I were a Decepticon you'd be scrap metal by now.” Mirage sneered.
Bumper climbed out slowly. Three Autobots had just rolled up to his position and transformed out of alt-mode without him hearing a thing. He was too embarrassed for words.
"Aw, lay off the rookie, Mirage." Wheeljack said.
Hound laughed. "Yeah, give him a break. He just rolled off the assembly line a few Deca-cycles ago."
That wasn't entirely true. Bumper had been built about ten thousand vorns ago. The factory he was constructed in was destroyed by Decepticons moments after Vector Sigma gave him life, and the link to the super computer had been severed before it could activate his cerebral circuitry. He wasn't found until recently when Bumblebee and Gears stumbled upon him in the wreckage while scavenging for parts to bring back to Ratchet. Upon activation, Gears complaining about how he had to transport him on his back through enemy territory were the first words Bumper's audio receptors ever received.
The quartet’s attentions quickly turned to two other Autobots approaching in sleek vehicular modes.
"That Seeker was right where Starscream said he would be! He didn't even know what hit him!" boasted Sideswipe, as he and his brother Sunstreaker, shifted out of their alternate forms.
Wheeljack held out his hand. "Did you get the optics?"
Sunstreaker handed over an optic sensor still dripping with Energon.
"Yeah, I used a vibro-blade to carve it out of the ‘Con’s faceplate."
"What happened to the other one?" Wheeljack inquired.
Sunstreaker pointed to Sideswipe and said, "Idiot-bot here damaged it with a pile-driver punch to the side of the Decepti-creep’s face. Smashed it to bits."
"Hey, sometimes I don't know my own strength." Sideswipe shrugged, feeling the need to defend himself.
Wheeljack held the optic up to a sensor on the wall. "Well ah, hopefully this ‘Con had a matching set!”
PING
“That’s a good sound,” smirked Hound.
Wheeljack nodded toward Mirage. “You’re on,” he said.
The door hissed open and the Autobot spy ran in, his cloaking ability rendering him nearly invisible. Mirage’s mission was to find a computer and use the access codes Prowl gave him. Codes he suspected were provided by Starscream.
Mirage had worked with Decepticons before. The expensive cloaking technology he was using at this very moment came from a Decepticon arms dealer named Swindle—purchased with more Shanix than he cared to recall. Still, this entire operation made him feel uneasy. He'd rather it be anyone else but him running through these halls right now.
Finally, Mirage found a computer terminal and used the codes. Then he watched and waited as data streamed into his storage device.
"Commander Starscream!" Bitstream beckoned from his seated position at his workstation. "Take a look at this… someone is using your passcode to access a terminal right below us!"
Starscream walked over and pretended to understand the wavy lines and symbols displayed on the screen. "So? It's probably just Soundwave snooping around... as usual."
"Negative,” Bitstream persisted. "Soundwave is with Shockwave in the main control room!"
Starscream bent down and whispered into Bitstream's audio receptor.
"Tell no one of this. Do you hear?”
Bitstream stiffened in his chair. He didn't want to get caught up in one of Starscream's schemes, but he didn't want to risk the Air Commander's wrath either.
“U-understood, Starscream,” he stammered.
Megatron walked past rows of Decepticons standing motionless in stasis lock. Energon reserves were at a critical low and he simply would not permit it to be wasted on non-essential personnel. As far as Megatron was concerned, he had already won the war. Most of the remaining Autobot army were holed up in Iacon, hiding like retro-rats. Once a source of Energon plentiful enough to re-energize his troops was found, he would have them take the city by force.
Starscream stood with Shockwave and Soundwave to greet Megatron as he reached the main control room.
"Nemesis fueled and ready for launch, Megatron. Destination: Earth".
"Excellent Soundwave,” Megatron said. “Shockwave, you shall oversee military operations until I return.”
"But Megatron…!” Starscream protested. "Shockwave is a scientist! I am much more qualified to lead the Decepticons in your absence!"
"No Starscream, I need you in the skies leading my warriors to victory. The Autobots haven't made a move in deca-cycles, nor are they expected to. Your talents are wasted here."
Starscream nodded slowly in agreement. "This is a disaster,” he thought.
At this very moment the Autobots were stealing all the information they needed to strike against Megatron. Starscream had planned to be sitting on his throne while Megatron and his most loyal followers were being ambushed in space. The Seeker had no intention of perishing in a trap of his own making, so he walked over to a terminal and changed the passcode he had provided to the Autobots. Damage control would have to suffice until he could come up with a better plan.
Mirage's device immediately began communicating to him that the system had suddenly booted it out. He grabbed the data receptacle and ran—because if Soundwave was in the building he knew what was going to happen next.
"Enemy transmission detected. Intruder Alert." Soundwave droned, as he opened a channel linking his superiors to every Decepticon in the vicinity.
"Decepticons! Find that Autobot!" bellowed Megatron.
Still invisible to the untrained optic, Mirage looked ahead to see two Seekers blocking the corridor before him. Their wingspans were wide enough to prevent him from passing between them, so he dropped one with an armor piercing rocket-dart to the chest at point blank range. The other yelled "Cloaker!" and lashed out at his invisible opponent. Mirage easily avoided the Decepticon's swings, and then countered by using the butt of his rifle to cave in his cranial casing. Starscream, flanked by Skywarp and Thundercracker, arrived just as Mirage's cloaking device reached it's limit—rendering him as visible as any other Cybertronian.
Mirage put his hands up. "I guess this means the deals off,” he said.
Starscream aimed his null-ray rifle and smiled. "What was your first clue?"
(To be continued)