Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Cummings was in her office two weeks later when the call came from Hunter. It was very cryptic, but told her that all was ready. She quickly left her office, leaving a message with her secretary that an executive from CBN had called for an interview with Shale and that she had to go take care of it personally. Then she left the office and went to the airport. Hunter had a two-seat fighter there, which took her to the Prometheus. In less than an hour she had gone from a typical day in her office to boarding the Confederation flagship to defect.

“Welcome aboard,” Hunter said as she stepped onto the bridge. “I trust your ride was comfortable?”

“Not exactly first class, but it will do,” Cummings replied. “When do we leave?”

“In just a couple of minutes. I sent covert messages to most of the fleet, ships all over will be defecting to Cybertronian space. I estimate about fifty in all, which is a third of the fleet.”

“What about those who got the message and didn’t respond?”

“No one turned us down, I only sent the message to those I knew I could trust and I knew were tired of Shale and the anti-Cybertronian policies.”

“Won’t the other ships fire on us when we try to leave?”

“We’ll be too fast for them and get outside Confederation space in about a week. They shouldn’t be able to find us, and if they want a fight then we’ll give it to them.” Hunter looked around the bridge and then barked, “Ready the hyperdrive and prepare to take us out of here at maximum speed.”

The bridge crew went to work and Cummings took an empty chair. It took only seconds for everything to be ready for the jump to hyperspace. Hunter took a last look around and then commanded, “Engage.” The Prometheus and eight other ships had edged away from any nondefectors and leapt into hyperspace before anyone could react. Cummings saw Hunter relax a little at the clean getaway and two hours later they had cleared the Solar System.

On the border with Cybertronian space, another thirty ships suddenly went into hyperspace and crossed the border, sending a message over the comlink to Cybertronian ships that it was not an attack, but a defection to protest the Confederation’s anti-Transformer policies. After eight hours all the defectors were safely away and while some were already across the border, others would not make it for some time. Huge gaps had been made in the Confederation’s defenses, a display which Cummings and Hunter knew Shale and the rest of the government would have to notice.

Omitron smiled as she checked the sensor logs. The Home Fleet was at just over half strength now, which would make her plan go that much more smoothly. The rogue ship and the Imperium were at maximum speed, but invisible from the cloaking devices. They would reach Io in just hours, where the rogues would split off. The plan called for the rogues to orbit the area until all three teams were set up, then all three attacks would commence at once.

Scrapper’s transport would be the last to get in position and would be stationed near Venus to receive the energy from the solar collectors on Mercury. The energy was usually transmitted through a string of satellites directly to Earth, but Omitron had come up with a way to divert it directly to the transport. Once all three groups were ready, the attack would begin. Omitron knew that the human space fleet would be caught off-guard and since it had been weakened by the mass defection it would be harder for them to interfere with the two spacefaring groups. The attack on Earth would face more opposition since Earth air and land forces would be brought to bear as well as those primitive machines around the factory itself.

Omitron hoped she had enough firepower for the mission. From her calculations she did, but things could go wrong. At any given time three units would have to be taking apart and moving the machinery while the others manned the frigate and dealt with human resistance. For that reason she had borrowed three Autobots from the rogues who would take apart the machines and load them while the Decepticons worried about defending the factory.

Omitron wished she had more troops, then she would have launched diversionary raids across Earth to confuse their defenses, but that was not possible. She also wished Bugly were with her to help supervise, but she had needed someone to tail Jetfire and the others were not trustworthy or clever enough to pull it off. She would just have to hope that she could deal with problems as they arose and that she had enough firepower to accomplish her mission. She sat in the command chair and rubbed the fusion cannon on her arm.

She had to congratulate the humans on their stupidity. By forcing the Autobots out and a large number of their ships to defect, the humans had severely weakened themselves. Cocky fleshlings, she thought. They believe they are invincible, even after their last capital was brutally destroyed and their planet occupied for eight years by Decepticon forces. She had studied human history and noticed the xenophobic trend throughout their existence. They were always fighting amongst themselves when there was no one else to fight, usually because one group believed it was superior to another. The humans feared anything that was different and usually resorted to violence to try and eliminate it. Several times early in the war humans had tried to destroy Autobots and Decepticons alike. It wasn’t until about ten years into the war that all humans understood the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. They had simply feared all Cybertronians, and were doing so again. This time it would lead to their destruction.

“How long until we reach Earth?” Omitron asked.

“Four hours,” Nighthawk replied.

Omitron sighed and relaxed in her chair. “Excellent.”

*

It was nearly five hours later that Scrapper got into position. The Imperium had easily cruised through the atmosphere of Earth’s southern pole and made its way quietly to the South American continent. It was hanging silently over the Atlantic Ocean, able to get to the factory in only five minutes using its powerful thrusters. Omitron got to her feet as Scrapper checked in. She smiled and turned to Dreadwind, at the communications station. “Signal all units to begin the attack,” she commanded calmly.

“Attack!” Dreadwind screamed into the comlink. The signal was sent through space quickly to Scrapper and the rogues. The Imperium decloaked and shot forward on its thrusters. Within five minutes it landed near the factory Koromi had built in the jungle. The Decepticons and three rogues left the ship, except for Onslaught, who had been ordered to guard the ship.

Omitron and the other fighters formed up and streaked towards the factory at low level. Omitron suspected that calls were already being made to report the invaders, but she knew that the factory would still be taken by surprise. As expected, the defenses of several anti-aircraft guns and ATWVs were unprepared. “Fire!” Omitron commanded the fighters.

The initial barrage devastated many of the defenders, tearing open Executioners and Barracudas like tin cans. The anti-aircraft guns were wiped out and the fighters split up to mop up the remaining defenses. Nighthawk followed her mother and strafed three Barracudas trying to target Dreadwind and Dirge with their missiles. All three ATWVs went down, their legs blown out from under them. Omitron had realized almost instantly that the legs were the weakest point for the scout machines, while the heads of the others were a better target. She and Nighthawk took out two Executioners before they even had a chance to fire. Another pair fired plasma cannons and ultrapulse lasers, but the mother and daughter team easily avoided the shots. Nighthawk blasted one Executioner in the chest and it toppled over. She finished off with another pass and saw that Omitron had taken care of her target.

Dreadwind howled with joy as he blasted a pair of Barracudas. Dirge was on his wing and took out an Executioner. Dreadwind saw two more Barracudas and transformed. He set down between them and gleefully punched through the pod of one and kicked the legs from under the other. He stepped on the second pod, crushing it and the pilot inside. He removed the human pilot from the other and saw the man trembling with fear. “Foolish fleshlings, your world will be ours again!” He cried and threw the human headlong into a tree. The man’s back and skull were broken on impact and he left a bloody streak after falling to the ground. Dirge transformed and came up beside him. They high-fived and looked for more targets.

Security Chief Abrams was in an Executioner with the last of the security forces in the forest. The Decepticon blitzkrieg had taken them by surprise and the ferocity of the attack had taken out most of the security forces right away. Abrams had ordered a withdraw to regroup, but he doubted it would do any good. There were at least five Decepticons in the area, all of them heavily armed. “They’ll probably end up leveling the entire place with a nuke,” he grumbled. Human ground and air forces would not be able to stop the Decepticons and the handful of ATWVs left wouldn’t have much of a chance, especially once the Decepticons entrenched themselves.

Nearby, Ambush heard explosions and knew that his worst fears had been realized. Someone was attacking Earth! He left his base, making sure his kinetic shotgun had a full load and that he had ammo to spare. He also took along a handful of grenades, knowing that this was it. He activated his stealth armor and began creeping through the forest. He neared the factory and saw a red jet fly overhead. Misfire! He thought. That meant it was a Decepticon raid. He didn’t know how many there were and would have to quickly reconnoiter the area to determine the exact number. Then he would launch his attack and save Earth or die trying.

“The factory is under attack,” Koromi said to James and Marshall. “The defenses were massacred in minutes and it’s likely that the Decepticons have already taken over the area. The Home Fleet is concentrated near Mars with only a couple of ships near Earth. There will be no way to stop the Decepticons short of nuclear weapons.”

James shot to his feet and looked over at Marshall. “How many Phoenixes are ready to go?”

Koromi replied, “The first two are ready, plus yours.”

“The only other pilot is that test pilot you recruited. I guess that means it will be you, him, and I,” Marshall pointed out.

“Then let’s not waste any more time. Those may be Earth’s only hope to end this without resorting to radiating a good portion of the South American continent.” Marshall and James dashed from the room towards the hangar where the three Phoenixes were being kept. Koromi called the test pilot James had used to test out the modified Barracuda in his experiments, named Jared Hastings, who joined the other two in the hangar. The three vehicles took off in fighter mode and headed for Earth, hoping that they weren’t too late.

*

Scrapper heard Dreadwind’s scream through the comlink and decloaked the transport. He could complete the mission cloaked, but there was no point to it and the transport’s cloaking device worked for only a limited time. The humans would be able to tell where he was by where the energy was going, so he couldn’t hide. He accessed the hundreds of solar panels on Mercury, specially designed to withstand the high temperatures. He commanded the system controlling them to reroute the energy from a course to the moon to his ship. Instantly the satellites that ferried the energy from the panels realigned themselves. Scrapper pushed a button that opened part of the transport where a collection tank for the energy was. Solar energy began spilling into the container and Scrapper sat back to wait, keeping an eye on the sensors.

“Attack!” Dreadwind screamed over the comlink

“I guess that means to attack,” Repugnus commented dryly on the bridge of the rogue ship. It had taken several minutes for the signal to reach them, so their attack was delayed.

Ultra Magnus smiled and shouted, “All right ‘Bots, let’s move!”

Hosehead asked, “How do we handle the humans if they interfere?”

“However you have to, kill them if you must. We can’t let anything stand in our way now, we’ve come too far and fought for too long to be stopped by some humans.” Hosehead nodded and Magnus lead the rogues to the hangar. It opened and the ship decloaked over Io. The power plants were on hovering platforms over the volcanic moon and only the geothermic one was tied down in any way.

Like in an old-time pirate movie the rogue ship pulled alongside the gravimetric power plant and Repugnus and a group of rogues jumped from the hangar and landed on the platform keeping the plant hovering over the surface. The ship quickly shot away to the geothermic plant where Ultra Magnus and the others bailed out and landed on the platform. Then the ship moved back to orbit the area and cloaked, waiting for both plants to be secured.

Repugnus and his contingent of eight Autobots landed on the platform and immediately found guns aiming for them. Repugnus pulled out his laser rifle and motioned for the Autobots to spread out. The defenses began firing and one rogue was hit in the chest and fell over the platform, landing in a volcanic area and being destroyed by a flow of lava. Repugnus nailed the gun that had killed his comrade and saw that others were doing the same. Human soldiers scurried outside in spacesuits, carrying missile launchers. Repugnus blasted a catwalk where six humans were setting up a heavy missile launcher and the launcher was lost to the depths of space.

The gravity in the area was terrible, slowing the Autobots down. Io was Jupiter’s closest moon and part of the reason for its volcanic action was the intense gravity exerted by the planet on the much smaller moon. Repugnus bashed his way through a flight of human-sized stairs and through part of the plant’s hull. Hosehead followed him and they began searching for the control room. The gravity was normal inside the plant, but both Autobots had to transform to make their way through the human-sized corridors. Repugnus led the way and devoured several humans with his large jaws when they tried to ambush the rogues.

They found the control room, which was empty by now. Repugnus looked over the controls and used his claws to plant a device Omitron had given them. It scrambled the main computer’s systems so that no self-destruct or other security systems would operate. Thus the energy the plant harnassed from the intense gravity in the area could be transferred to the ship. He signaled to Hosehead and they made their way out. “Area secure,” Repugnus said over the comlink.

Ultra Magnus ran down a trio of humans in a corridor of the geothermic plant. He and Waverider were in a human-sized corridor, Waverider having to abandon his shell and go in via his water vehicle mode and Magnus in his truck mode. It was no problem to simply run over the humans that got in their way and keep moving. They soon found the control room, which was abandoned as in the other plant. Magnus suspected that the few human troops in the plant had simply been trying to buy time for the civilians to escape. Waverider, since he was shorter than Magnus, transformed and managed to crouch down to avoid hitting the ceiling. He planted a device like Repugnus had in the other plant and then the two Autobots left.

The fighting in the geothermic plant had been fierce, but brief. The sheer firepower of the Autobots had triumphed over the human defenses in minutes. Two Autobots had been killed by hyperpulse gun turrets, but there were no other casualties. The rogue ship decloaked and returned, placing itself between the two plants. Then equipment was unloaded and Autobots using jetpacks began setting up tubes from each plant to containers in the ship. Magnus supervised the construction and was glad to see how quickly it was completed. Within ten minutes energy began pumping into the containers from both plants.

*

Captain Heinrich Richmond was in command of the cruiser Attica. The Attica was the new flagship of the Home Fleet after Hunter and the others had defected. Richmond read the reports from Earth and Io with concern. He had only ten ships under his command, not much to repel three sets of invaders. His first officer looked over to him and Richmond knew he had to make a decision.

“Send the Boston to wherever that power from Mercury is being routed to. Send the Lexington, Columbus, and Saratoga to Io to deal with the invaders. Everyone else will go to Earth.” The first officer nodded and hurried to relay the orders and Richmond hoped that the invaders were able to be stopped. What concerned him is that it would take the fleet an forty minutes to reach Earth. How much damage would have been done by then?

*

The three rogue Autobots had entered the factory and were hurriedly taking apart the machines needed to build robotic machines. Omitron watched them and looked over at Nighthawk, who was standing next to her. “Give them a hand,” she told her daughter. “I’ll be up here, downloading the plans from the computer system.”

Nighthawk nodded and went down to the factory floor to give the three rogues whatever help she could. “What do you want me to do?” She asked.

“Unhook whatever machines you can and get them off the floor,” one replied. Nighthawk shrugged and grabbed a large machine. It took some straining, but she was able to get it loose and heft it off of the floor. She looked around and saw that the rogues had already gotten a good portion of the machines up. At this rate it would be less than an hour before the frigate was loaded and they could leave. Nighthawk just hoped that they could hold out that long.

Omitron was accessing the computer system for the factory and searching for blueprints. She found many useless files, including pictures of naked human females, but there were no blueprints yet. As she continued searching Dreadwind’s voice called over the comlink, “Have you seen Dirge? I can’t find him.”

Omitron stopped what she was doing and ran out of the factory. Something was wrong, she could feel it. Were there human defenses that hadn’t been neutralized yet? Or had Dirge simply gone AWOL? She found Dreadwind and together they began searching. They combed the forests nearby and stopped in shock when they found Dirge pinned to a tree, his chest ripped open. “There has to be an Autobot here,” Omitron said.

“All right, more fun,” Dreadwind replied. He hurried away and Omitron decided not to follow him. Whoever had killed Dirge would show themselves again soon and then she would be able to home in on them.

It had been a simple matter to kill Dirge. The Decepticon had been loitering near the forest and Ambush had simply grabbed him through the brush and hauled him to a secluded spot. There he had first destroyed the ‘Con’s vocal systems and then torn his chest open until Dirge’s spark was extinguished. Now Ambush was near the front of the base, still in his stealth armor mode. He had counted three rogue Autobots and five Decepticons, now four Decepticons, which meant that he was badly outnumbered.

Still, Ambush was a commando, trained to fight against terrible odds. He would do whatever it took to protect Earth, which had come to be his home. Even if it meant his life he would fight to the end. He planned his next move, but before he moved out he heard steps behind him. He spun around and saw Dreadwind beating through the brush. Obviously the Decepticons had found Dirge’s body and were hunting for him.

Ambush crouched down and waited for Dreadwind to approach. The Decepticon had his weapon ready, but was unprepared for Ambush to grab him from out of nowhere and throw him into the jungle. Dreadwind fired a shot that hit Ambush in the chest, but he barely noticed the pain. Dreadwind struggled and Ambush knocked his gun away. Ambush could hear another Decepticon approaching and knew he had no time for subtlety. He pulled out his kinetic shotgun and put a slug through Dreadwind’s neck. The Decepticon’s head was badly damaged, but not blown off, and he stopped moving. Ambush hurried away deeper into the jungle. Then he heard a deep rumble that he remembered well as the sound of a fusion cannon being fired. A volley of energy hit trees nearby and vaporized them. It also set the brush on fire, sending Ambush scurrying away for better cover. He heard fusion cannon blasts being fired all over the jungle and knew what the enemy was up to. They would burn the jungle to flush him out. So be it, he thought and readied himself for combat.

Abrams saw smoke rising and knew that soon his cover would be blown. “All units, attack,” he ordered. The four remaining ATWVs burst out of the brush and opened fire on the nearest Decepticons. Misfire and Savage were hit, but didn’t go down and transformed. From the air they blasted two Barracudas and an Executioner. Abrams’s Executioner was the last unit to survive and he knew that it was hopeless. He opened fire with everything as fire from the Decepticons destroyed the Executioner’s legs. It toppled over and in another pass the two fighters blew it up with Abrams inside. Misfire had taken a little damage and Savage was scratched a little, but otherwise the two Decepticons were in good shape.

Misfire’s sensors showed a large contingent of human fighters approaching and smiled. It was time to rack up some more kills. He and Savage moved out to deal with the invaders. The human fighters were small and poorly armed, older models that had been stocked in an area that had been thought to have little strategic importance. It was a turkey shoot, with the two Decepticons slaughtering the humans until they were forced to retreat. Neither suffered any damage.

Omitron finished firing into the forest, noticing that fires were beginning to rage. That would drive the unknown attacker out. She knelt down next to Dreadwind and noticed that his wound was bad, but not fatal. His central processor was still working, so that he would still function. She hefted them over her shoulder and took him to the factory. She kept a close eye out for the warrior who had killed Dirge, but saw nothing. Whoever it was was a formidable enemy and as soon as she had set Dreadwind down somewhere safe she would deal with him. She reached the factory and noticed that two of the rogues had transformed into transport vehicles and that the other rogue and Nighthawk were loading machines onto them. Good, she thought, soon we’ll be out of here.

*

Three ships were nearing Io and Ultra Magnus decided that it was time to evacuate the area. The rogue ship would be caught if it was still attached to the two plants and would most likely be destroyed. The equipment was hastily torn down and the rogues began piling into the ship. Most of the containers were filled, which would provide a lot of energon. Once everyone was inside, Magnus signaled for the ship to leave. Before it did, it fired barrages into the hover engines of both plants. They collapsed to the surface of Io and exploded, covering the rogue ship’s escape. As the platforms exploded it quickly left the area and cloaked, heading for Kortex. Magnus knew six ships were heading for Earth, but he knew it would be wiser to get the energy back to Kortex and let Omitron handle the humans. She was clever, she would take care of herself.

Scrapper’s container was filled and he began to head for Earth. Once he had finished collecting energy he had sent sabotaged the satellites by downloading a virus into the system. Part of Omitron’s strategy was to cripple the human targets once they were drained of energy. Scrapper cloaked the transport, anxious to get back to the Imperium and then out of the system.

*

The jungle was burning all around Ambush and he knew that he had to make his move soon. Misfire and Savage transformed and landed. They were heading for the front of the factory and Ambush readied two grenades. As the two Decepticons neared he hurled the grenades. They exploded when they hit the ground and both Decepticons were thrown off their feet, taking some damage. From the edge of the jungle to where the two Decepticons were was completely open ground, so his stealth armor would go off-line and he would be completely visible. Still, he had to take out the Decepticons, no matter the cost.

Ambush transformed and roared out of the jungle at full speed. Savage was getting to his feet and saw a green and black Hummer jeep shooting at him. He fired his gun, which took off the front grille of the Hummer, but it kept coming. It plowed into him, knocking the last Sweep backwards into the wall of the factory. The Hummer backed away as Misfire got up. It transformed and a large black and green Autobot stood before them, a shotgun cradled in its hands.

“Ambush, you traitor!” Misfire roared. He had been present when Ambush had nearly been killed by Megatron.

“Nice to see you again, Misfire,” Ambush growled and fired a shot. Misfire dove to the left and the shot went past him. As he hit the ground he rolled and pulled off a shot from his weapon. Ambush was hit on the right side of his chest and grunted in pain. Before he could fire again, another shot tore into him, this one from Savage. Ambush hit the ground, his shotgun falling from his hands.

He rolled over onto his back and the two Decepticons loomed over him. The scene was similar to when he had nearly been scrapped long ago. “This time we’ll make sure we kill you, traitor,” Misfire said and put his weapon to Ambush’s head.

As Misfire was going to fire, Ambush swung his legs to the left in a sweep that nearly knocked Misfire over. The gun went off and hit Ambush in the right arm, nearly severing it at the elbow. Ambush quickly got to his feet and kicked Misfire in the midsection. Misfire doubled over and Ambush punched him in the face with his left arm. Then he yanked Misfire around and hurled him at Savage, who was about to take a shot at Ambush. The two Decepticons were entangled with each other and Ambush picked his rifle. A shot into each of them took them out of the fight for good. He took Misfire’s weapon and hurried towards the entrance to the factory.

Omitron heard shots being traded outside and knew that the attacker was making its move. She had finally found blueprints for the factory machines and began downloading them. She tried to raise Misfire and Savage with no luck. “Nighthawk, deal with the intruder outside,” she commanded.

“Yes, Mother,” Nighthawk replied. The transports were loaded and she had loaded the third Autobot with whatever it could carry. All of the machines had been able to be loaded and now they had to be taken to the frigate. “The salvage operation is complete.”

“Excellent.” Nighthawk went outside and looked around. A shot whizzed past her and a green and black Autobot warrior stepped out from behind a corner of the building. Nighthawk fired her rifle and hit the Autobot in the chest. It stumbled back, but remained standing.

“Nighthawk, what are you doing?” Ambush demanded. She could tell that he had been badly damaged and was carrying his weapon and Misfire’s.

“I am a Decepticon now. It’s not too late for you, Ambush, you can join us. You were Decepticon once, you can be so again.” She had her hand on her weapon, waiting for Ambush to get careless.

Instead he fired both weapons. Nighthawk was hit in the chest and went down. Ambush jumped on top of her, putting his shotgun to her head. “You traitor, how can you join these murdering scum? They have killed millions of innocent creatures to satisfy their own goals. They will stop at nothing to succeed. I will never rejoin the Decepticons, I will never murder innocent beings,” Ambush hissed. Nighthawk struggled to free herself, but Ambush was larger and heavier, able to keep her pinned. Ambush was about to fire, but stopped. “I’m sure you have a reason to join these killers, but a part of you will always be Autobot as a part of me has always been Decepticon. Sooner or later you will see that they are wrong.”

Before Nighthawk could reply Ambush hit her in the head with the shotgun. She went unconscious and Nighthawk got to his feet. There should only be one more Decepticon and the three rogues. He could feel his systems starting to fail from the wounds he had taken, especially those to the chest. He moved towards the factory entrance again and saw a large shadow moving near the door. He dove back around a corner just as a fusion cannon blast streaked by. Misfire’s weapon had slipped from his hand and was lying yards away. Ambush stood up and could hear heavy footsteps approaching.

“Surrender, Autobot,” a female voice called out. “It is useless to resist further, I will destroy you.”

Ambush steeled himself and readied his last grenades. He leapt from behind the corner and tossed them. Two exploded harmlessly, but the third landed near Omitron, nearly knocking her off her feet. She steadied herself and fired a fusion cannon blast that clipped Ambush’s left leg and sent him sprawling. He rolled over onto his back and pumped round after round at Omitron while he struggled back to cover. The bottom of his left leg was nearly slag, but he managed to stand.

Omitron had taken a couple of shells to the chest, but her bioarmor was already beginning to heal the wounds. She knew where Ambush was and approached cautiously. He was a clever warrior and she bet he still had some tricks up his sleeve. She heard a rumbling sound and saw the three rogues hurrying out of the factory with the machines. She had the blueprints stored in her memory and so now there was no need for the factory. She turned towards it and fired a few shots from her fusion cannon at the roof. Debris was sent raining down into the factory as large portions of the roof buckled.

Ambush was hit with a large chunk of metal and sent crashing to the ground. It was obvious that the Decepticon was destroying the place in the hopes of catching him as well. He checked his weapons and saw that he was low on shotgun shells. It doesn’t matter, he thought. He forced his legs to work and charged out from cover. He saw the large black and purple Decepticon standing a short distance away, intent on taking out the building. He began firing his last shotgun rounds and Omitron’s fusion cannon was knocked away.

Ambush fired off his last shell, which just missed Omitron, and then wielded the gun like a club. He closed the distance between himself and Omitron and swung the gun. Omitron was hit in the chest and Ambush crashed into her, sending both of them to the ground. Ambush landed a flurry of blows to Omitron’s head, taking out one of her eyes. Omitron shrieked in anger and got her legs under Ambush, throwing him to the ground. Ambush got back up quickly, not caring about his damage any longer.

Omitron faced off with him and then lunged forward. Before Ambush could react she leapt into the air and landed behind Ambush. As he turned she smashed him in the face with her right fist. He stumbled backwards and she landed a kick to his midsection. He doubled over and she kicked him in the head with her left leg. Ambush stumbled back and smiled in grim appreciation of his opponent’s skills. He stepped forward and faked an uppercut. As Omitron moved to block the fake punch he came back with his other hand and caught her in the middle. She rocked backwards and Ambush took advantage of the situation to hit her in the face. Omitron managed to get her right arm up and shoved Ambush away.

Omitron knew that the fight could drag on for a while and so she ran and flipped herself over Ambush’s head. She didn’t pull out of the landing in time and hit the ground. She was able to reach forward and grabbed her fusion cannon. Ambush charged towards her, but before he could reach her she had it on her arm and fired. A blast hit Ambush squarely in the chest and he fell to the ground. He remained there and Omitron got to her feet. She limped over to him and saw that he was still alive. He looked up at her and saw her aiming the fusion cannon at his head. He waited and then moved his legs ever so slightly, sweeping Omitron’s legs from under her. She crashed to the ground and Ambush somehow managed to get to his feet again. He kicked the fusion cannon away from Omitron and kicked her. He reached down and grabbed her head in a headlock. He was about to savagely twist Omitron’s neck off, but a shot hit Ambush in the back.

Nighthawk had regained consciousness and had her weapon pointed at Ambush. Ambush fell over, his grip loosening on Omitron. She wriggled free and fixed her fusion cannon to her arm again. She aimed it at Ambush’s head and the Autobot commando turned to Nighthawk. There was no pleading in his eyes, only anger at her for betraying her people. “You will burn in the Inferno for your treachery, Nighthawk!” He shouted, coughing up fluids as he did so.

Omitron laughed and hissed, “You first.” Before she could fire, shots were raining down around them. Omitron looked up to see three Jetfires coming at her. They were different colors, all of them white but with different trim. One was gray, another was blue, and the last one was green. What in the Inferno are those? Omitron wondered. “Get Dreadwind, I’ll hold them off!” Omitron commanded. She fired her fusion cannon at the three Phoenixes and they broke formation.

Nighthawk quickly grabbed Dreadwind and hauled him over her shoulder in a fireman’s carry. She heard the sound of the frigate’s thrusters and knew that Onslaught must have sensed the danger and come to pick them up. Nighthawk saw Omitron get hit by a plasma cannon blast and lose her balance. Her mother ran and avoided more shots from the three fighters.

James was in the lead of the Phoenixes and narrowly avoided a fusion cannon shot. The female Decepticon was running across the open field, trying to draw their fire from the other Decepticons. “Jared, take out that other ‘Con, we’ll deal with the big one,” he said over the comlink.

“Roger,” Hastings replied and broke formation, heading for Nighthawk. He lined up a shot, but before he could fire the Imperium’s weapons tore into the rear of the Phoenix. Hastings tried to pull up, but couldn’t. He transformed the fighter into robot mode and it landed face-down on the ground at Nighthawk’s feet. She gasped in horror when she saw that the fighter had transformed into a robot that looked just like her father. She ran as the Imperium opened fire again. The Phoenix was torn apart and a fireball leapt high into the air.

James saw the frigate and knew that it was hopeless. “Pull back, there’s nothing more we can do.”

Marshall hesitated, but knew James was right. Two fighters, even as advanced as the Phoenixes, would have no chance against that Decepticon female and the frigate. The two fighters pulled up and streaked away. The frigate landed and opened a hatch. Omitron stumbled inside as did Nighthawk. Nighthawk and Onslaught retrieved the others, all except for Dirge. Omitron was sitting in the command chair, damaged but not destroyed. “Get us out of here,” she told Onslaught. The Combaticon nodded and the Imperium leapt back into the air. Once it had reached orbit, Scrapper’s transport landed and then the frigate cloaked. Six human ships had arrived at Earth, but the Imperium slipped by them and was soon safely into hyperspace.

James and Marshall circled back to look for survivors, climbing down out of their fighters. They found Ambush lying on the ground, barely functional. “An Autobot? I thought they had all left?” Marshall said, puzzled.

James knelt down next to Ambush and asked, “Where did you come from? Why are you here?”

Ambush looked at the two humans, his face slicked with mech fluids and torn up from the battle. “Earth…is…my…home,” Ambush whispered. His eyes went completely black and James leapt back as a green glow began coming from Ambush’s chest. As the two humans watched, Ambush’s spark emerged from his body. It streaked away and disappeared over the horizion, not returning to the Matrix, but burying itself in the stump where Ambush had many times sat and thought, looking at the beautiful Earth sky. The stump suddenly came to life, growing into an enormous tree that would last for eons to come.

Tears came to Marshall’s eyes and James was surprised when she rushed into him. He wrapped his arms around her, unsure of what to do. He consoled her as best he could and both of them began to wonder about the things they had done to other Autobots. This one Autobot had sacrificed himself to help save Earth, an Earth whose people had forced the Autobots out, feeling that they were not welcome. Yet to that Autobot warrior Earth had been his home, where he felt he belonged. Tears stung James’s eyes as remorse flooded him.

He had thought of the Transformers as machines, robots with no real feelings. Even after he had seen their sparks, their souls, he had still not believed anything else. But watching Ambush die it had finally sunk in: these were more than machines. They were alive, just like humans. They were capable of destruction, but also of self-sacrifice. Some were evil, but others were good and noble, as this warrior had been. He pulled Marshall back and whispered, “The Anti-Transformer League is finished as of today, at least for me.”

“Me too,” Marshall replied. The sun was beginning to set and wearily the two humans searched the area for human survivors, but found none. Soldiers arrived to the factory, but by then the Phoenixes were long gone, fading away into the night.

*

Jetfire arrived at the coordinates Nighthawk had provided and looked around. He hadn’t detected anything unusual yet. Suddenly his sensors began going wild and he was detecting massive levels of neutrinos. That was the classic hypothesis for the presence of a wormhole. Jetfire was blinded by a bright green light and gravitational forces began pulling him into the wormhole.

Jetfire felt as though he were going to be torn apart, but he managed to survive and the light faded. He was left in deep space, a planet on his long-range sensors. He was also detecting high concentrations of energy from the direction of the planet. He lit his afterburners and head for the planet, wondering what he would find when he got there.

Bugly waited at the edge of the wormhole, hoping that Jetfire would leave the area where the wormhole came out so he could go through unnoticed. Omitron had tasked him with keeping an eye on Jetfire and reporting the coordinates after he had found out what was through the wormhole. He had managed to stay just far enough behind Jetfire to go unnoticed for two weeks now and didn’t want to blow his cover now. He continued to wait and hoped that soon he could go back to Kortex and rest inside his cool, comfortable shell once more.

After waiting for nearly an hour Bugly decided to go through the wormhole. He went to where Jetfire had disappeared and detected the neutrino build-up that was the signal of a wormhole opening. The gravitational forces pulled Bugly through the wormhole and for a few seconds he was certain that he wouldn’t survive. He eventually made it through and was grateful when his sensors told him that Jetfire had already gone. Bugly ran a long-range sweep and smiled internally. As Omitron had told him, there was a high concentration of nucleon in the area. Bugly turned and left through the wormhole to report his findings to his commander. As the wormhole opened again, Bugly picked up two Autobot ships approaching. He went to maximum speed and set a course that would keep him out of their sensor range. He knew that he would return soon with Omitron and the rest of the Decepticons then Jetfire and the Autobots would die and the nucleon would fuel the Decepticons to victory.

***
Shale rubbed his tired face and took a shot of whiskey from a flask. “What happened?” He asked Beckett.

“Decepticons penetrated our defenses and attacked Hoover’s factory in South America. We also believe Decepticons diverted power from the solar collectors on Mercury. However, it’s believed rogue Autobots hit the power plants on Io. We suffered heavy casualties. At least one wing of fighters was destroyed to try and reinforce the factory and all the power plant defenders were killed. We found one Decepticon corpse in the jungle outside the factory, but it looks like the others all made a clean getaway.”

“God, they slaughtered us,” Shale breathed and took a slug from the flask.

“It’s worse, sir. Nearly fifty ships defected to Cybertronian space. We received a message from former press secretary Cummings. She said that the defectors are protesting our ‘anti-Transformer’ policies.”

“Screw them. Anything else?”

“There were reports from people living nearby of three aircraft that looked Cybertronian. We don’t have a make on them yet, but we think they may have belonged to Hoover.”

“Damn her. Make sure that the Home Fleet is deployed around the system to prevent any future attacks. Then put security all over Confederation territory on full alert.”

Beckett nodded, and as he turned to leave, Shale’s secretary ran into the room, looking pale. “What is it?” Beckett asked her.

“I heard from one of the doctors that President Chandler is showing signs of coming out of his coma. They estimate he could be awake in a couple of days at the least.” All three of them knew what that meant for Shale. Chandler would take over again and Shale would be lost in the background once more. “What should we do?”

Shale gulped down the last of the whiskey and snorted, “Nothing. Everything’s a mess right now, let that bastard Chandler have it back.” Beckett was about to reply, but Shale waved them both out of the room. He closed the doors and threw the empty flask away. His brief tenure as president had been nearly catastrophic. He had alienated the Autobots and been raided by rogues and Decepticons. All because of one person: Robin Hoover. He vowed that she would pay for causing him so much trouble.

*

A day before the elections for the new leader of the United Cybertronian Government would be conducted, the funeral for Jazz was conducted. It began with a procession leading down the streets of Iacon, winding down to Memorial Park. Brainstorm led a Missing Man formation over the Park and Prowl wished Jetfire and the Aerialbots had been there to conduct it. Prowl, Kup, Bumblebee, and the rest of the command staff were seated on a stage in Memorial Park in front of the altar-like device which would consume Jazz’s body. The procession entered the park and the bier was laid to rest on top of the device.

Prowl stood up and looked at the rows of Autobots and even some neutrals, all standing at attention. On his signal, Hardhead and six others fired off a twenty-one gun salute. The last shot echoed over the still park and Prowl spoke. “We are here to say good-bye to our friend and leader, Jazz. He was a brave Autobot whose passion and caring for all creatures was rooted deep in his soul. Like all of us he lost many friends. Some to the war itself, but others to politics. I am sad to say that I fell into the latter category. I have missed him greatly over the last couple of weeks and found myself longing to hear his cheerful voice and even the loud rock music he liked to listen to.”

“With him goes a piece of ourselves and the reminder of what war can do to a people. The horrors of the war have left deep scars inside all of us and on our entire society. We must not lose sight of who we were before the war and what we accomplished. The music, writings, and architecture all still exist from that happier time. A time which we can never truly recapture, but we must do our best to usher in a new Golden Age to Cybertron and to all of the universe.”

“I have been privileged to know Jazz for millions of years and he was always a good friend. He was a great leader, an honorable warrior, and a noble being. I know that you will all miss him nearly as much as I do, but we must console ourselves with the knowledge that after so much strife and horror our friend has become one with the Matrix. I hope he finds the peace he never could regain here.”

Prowl took a step back and saluted his fallen comrade. Tears were coming to his eyes and with a sideways glance he could see that it was the same for Kup and Bumblebee. The rest of the crowd saluted and everyone held their hand to their foreheads as the altar-like device began to glow with blue light. The light spread throughout Jazz’s entire form and in a flash of light his body dematerialized. As one those assembled slowly moved their hands to their sides.

Brainstorm and three other fighters returned and from nowhere loud rock music blared. Fireworks erupted from the rear of each fighter and lit up the sky. From the ground harmless laser lights were activated and began a fantastic light show. Prowl laughed in spite of himself and knew that Jazz would not have wanted his funeral to end any other way. “Do it with style or don’t bother doin’ it,” Prowl remarked quietly.

Bumblebee patted Prowl on the back, never having seen the strategist so moved before. “Come on, let’s party. It’s what he would have wanted.” Prowl nodded and they went down to the park to join the party.

*

The Great Hall was packed a day later with tables and chairs, all of which were occupied. Commanders from all over Cybertronian territory had come to elect the new leader. The tables were arranged in a circle, with a large table at the front of the room. Prowl, Kup, and Blaster were seated at the table. Dextrum stood in the center of the room and motioned for everyone’s attention. “We will now elect a new leader for the United Cybertronian Government. Nominations will be taken and a short debate will be held. Then each Cybertronian present will cast one vote apiece. The winner of the vote will become the new president and may select a commander for the Autobot Army.” Dextrum took a seat with Prowl and Kup and the meeting began.

Kup got to his feet and said, “Before we begin nominations I’d like you all to welcome our new Intelligence director, Bumblebee. Bumblebee was part of the rogues years ago, but he has come back to us, and I have to say it’s about time. We’ve never had a better espianoge agent than our dear old friend.” Bumblebee was seated at a table to the left of Kup and smiled. He looked over at Prowl and Kup and saw them practically beaming with happiness for their friend. The gathered representatives applauded for a minute and then Kup motioned for them to stop so he could continue. “Now then, let’s get on with business. We will now take nominations for United Cybertronian Government president.”

Hardhead practically threw Over-Run to his feet and Over-Run stammered, “I nominate Hardhead for president.” Dextrum laid a computer on the desk and input the name into it. He nodded to Over-Run, who sat down, looking embarrassed.

The room was filled with quiet whisperings as others decided whether or not to run. Streetwise stood up and nominated Hot Spot, who looked surprised but grateful. Downshift got to his feet and Camshaft tried to haul him back into his chair. “I would like to nominate Camshaft for president.” Downshift sat down and absorbed Camshaft’s dirty look. Downshift glanced over at Prowl, who was smiling. The quiet conversations continued, but no one else decided to nominate anyone. Dextrum waited a full five minutes and signaled to Kup.

“All right, unless there are any more nominations, we will begin the debate.” No more nominations came and Prowl stepped to the center of the room.

“The debate will be simple, each Cybertronian who nominated a candidate will be given a minute to state that Cybertronian’s qualifications. First, let me give you a general overview of the candidates. Hardhead is the commander of the Wayward colony, which survived an attack by unknown forces and another shortly afterwards by rogue Autobots. Hardhead received several decorations for valor during the war. Hot Spot is the commander of the Hreda Prime colony, which was attacked by some unknown force. Hot Spot led the Protectobots during the war and was given many medals for bravery and for saving innocent lives. Finally, Camshaft is currently the commander of the Maximus, a cruiser of the border fleet. He was in charge of the Cleveland garrison when it fell under attack by a group of unruly humans. His quick thinking saved many human lives and minimized casualties. Those are the candidates. We’ll begin with Over-Run: why did you nominate Hardhead?”

Over-Run got to his feet and saw everyone staring at him. He shifted nervously and joked, “Well, Hardhead, ah, kind of forced me to. But he is a great leader and commander. He didn’t panic during the crisis on Wayward, even after we were attacked twice in one day and Topspin and Powerglide were both killed. He’s brave and dependable, even if he is a little stubborn.” Over-Run sat down and Hardhead looked satisfied.

Prowl motioned to Streetwise, who stood up. “Hot Spot has always been a great leader. He stays cool under pressure and knows how to handle any kind of situation. He cares about all life and his bravery is limitless. He’s the most intelligent commander I’ve ever served under, short of Optimus Prime himself, and I don’t think we could ask for anyone more qualified. Hot Spot deal with the situation on Hreda Prime maturely and rationally. He’s a good friend and an honorable leader.” Streetwise sat down and Hot Rod patted him on the back

Downshift stood up and Prowl could see that Camshaft looked mortified. “Camshaft doesn’t want to be your leader, he doesn’t think he’s good enough, but I think he is. He made certain that the Cleveland incident didn’t kill hundreds of humans and it is unlikely that anyone would have died if a weapon hadn’t accidentally discharged. Camshaft is a caring leader, smart loyal, dependable, and honorable. He fights with tenacity and courage, but prefers peace. He’s kind and diplomatic, always keeping a cool head. He is well-versed in nearly every style of combat and indulges himself in learning in his spare time so he can be a more valuable member of the Autobot team. He may not want to be your leader, but if we elect him, he will do the job to the best of his ability and maybe he’ll finally realize what I’ve known for a long time: that he is a great Autobot.” Downshift sat down and there were cheers and applause from all over the Great hall. Prowl let it go on for several minutes before motioning for it to stop. He had calculated that if Camshaft was nominated Downshift would make a stirring speech on his behalf. Even Hardhead and Hot Spot looked touched and it was obvious who would win the election.

Prowl took his seat and Dextrum went to the center of the room once again. “We will now vote. Each representative has one vote and will approach me one at a time to cast their ballot. After the last ballot is cast there will be a recess to tally the votes.” The Cybertronians formed up in single file and approached Dextrum, who was still standing in the center of the room. Kup cast the first vote, followed by Prowl. It took over an hour for all the votes to be cast, the Cybertronians gathering outside after voting.

Camshaft stood by himself, and not even Downshift dared disturb him. He didn’t want the job, even if it was only for a couple of months. Nearly a dozen humans had been killed, and it was his fault. If he had not ordered Flak’s team outside, nothing would have happened. The communications equipment would have been destroyed, but no lives would have been lost at all. Even if Prowl, Downshift, and the others didn’t think it was his fault, he did. He could not forgive himself for what had happened and contemplated if he should do as Jazz had done and just end it all. He shook his head. No, he couldn’t do that, not yet. Downshift’s speech had moved many of the Autobots, they were counting on him now.

A bell was rung to signal that the votes were tallied and everyone filed inside. Camshaft wearily sat down and noticed how jubilant Downshift looked. Dextrum once again stood in the center of the room and everyone quieted down, waiting anxiously for the results. “With seventy-three percent of the vote, the winner is Camshaft.” Hot Spot had come in second with eighteen percent and Hardhead had brought up the rear with nine percent. All eyes turned to Camshaft, who reluctantly got to his feet.

“I won’t let you down,” he said and then sat down. Everyone waited for more, but nothing else was forthcoming. The assembly broke up and soon the room was clear. Camshaft remained seated at his table and Kup, Prowl, and Bumblebee came over to congratulate him. They shook his hands and patted him on the back.

“I’ve talked to Dextrum,” Prowl began. “He said that you can run in the general election for president in Jazz’s stead.”

Camshaft looked as though someone had slapped him. “I don’t want to be president. Can’t you see that! Because of me innocent beings lost their lives. Hot Spot should be president, not I.”

Kup frowned and replied, “Lad, if you don’t run then Hot Rod will win for certain. He doesn’t have your wisdom or experience. You have to run, for the good of everyone concerned.”

Camshaft shook his head, “No, I won’t do it.”

Bumblebee looked at him pleadingly. “I was once a rogue like Hot Rod, but I can see that he’s too hotheaded and reckless to handle leadership. He has potential to be a great leader, but he’s moving too fast. You’re the only one who can stop him.”

Camshaft got to his feet. “No. Hot Rod may be young and inexperienced, but he will learn. He led the rogues brilliantly. With time and guidance he will unlock that potential.”

“And in that time the Decepticons could rebuild and sack Cybertron,” Prowl replied.

“That is the chance we have to take, but we must give him the benefit of the doubt. If you excuse me, I have to go catch up with Hot Spot. I’ve decided to name him commander of the Autobot army during my tenure.” Camshaft walked away slowly, bent over as though the weight of the world was on his shoulders.

Kup shook his head and voiced the thought on all of their minds forlornly, “There goes our last hope.”

Bumblebee nodded. “We’ll just have to hope Camshaft is right about Hot Rod.”

Prowl watched Camshaft go and said quietly, “All of Cybertron is counting on it.”