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The hot desert sand shined like a sea of yellow under the hot African summer sun. Fresh water was scarce in these parts, with the Nile being hundreds of miles to the east and the nearest ocean being a solid 4 miles to the north. Though water was scarce, it didn't stop a couple of desert based flora to grow near the edge of the sandy dune. There was a slight wind that breezed through the dry stalks of long African grass.

____

Desert

Springer materialized from the beam of light the Bounce Chamber created and landed softly into the hot desert sand. The triple changer repositioned his pain receptors out of his feet and into his abdominal area of his chassis, just until he got used to the heat of Earth's desert.

"Alright boys; we aren't down here to go sight seeing now," he began as he lifted the ion cannon he got from the Ark-22's weapon facility up onto his shoulder pauldron, "Magnus wants us to get going on a temporary outpost." Springer looked down at his arm mounted display system. A tiny red arrowed pointed northwest of his crew's current location.

"C'mon, the structure Magnus had a optic on is just up ahead a ways. Shouldn't take us too long to get there."

Cliffjumper repositioned his glass gas cannon as he began to follow in the footsteps of the triple changer. Hopefully this structure Springer talked about wasn't built in the sands of this miserable desert, the minibot was aching to get his car axles spinning again.

Desert

Hot Spot and the Protectobots bounced down a few feet away from Springer and his team.

"Alright, let us get a move on. This heat isn't pleasant but we will be able to deal with it easily enough. Springer, what sort of complex are we looking for exactly? Blades, I want an aerial view of the area but be careful not get this silicone based sand stuck in your rotor blades or engine. First Aid, I hope you have your lubricant and wrench handy if we do get too much of this minute particles stuck in us. Everyone move out and watch your step. This isn't exactly the most solid of ground."

Blades walks a few feet away and transforms into his helicopter mode. He then flies off towards the direction Springer is heading.

Desert

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Springer exclaimed as he noticed the Protectobot Helicopter begin to change shape and lift up from the sands of the desert. "Blades, listen, buddy... Magnus and I chose this location specifically because it's one of the most remote areas in this part of the continent. Scouting ahead is just unnecessary." The triple changer spoke with a soft tone, trying not to go off being too stern and end up sounding like Ultra Magnus Jr. Instead tried for a more gentle approach to being a leading figure. "Trust me, my rotors are itching to take off too, but we still need to try and keep as low of a profile as we can out here. C'mon back down, we gotta walk this thing out."

Springer then turned his head back to address Hot Spot while still marching forward through the rugged sands of Africa's Desert. "Magnus and I were checking out this old, abandoned war shelter the humans built around 60 or so Earth years ago. It's not in the most prestigious shape, but it'll work for a temporary outpost."

He continued his pace at leading his motley crew across the desert sands, checking his arm-mounted display every few seconds or so just to keep an eye on the progress they were making.

"Hell, I bet we bring in a couple of engies in to rebuild a few of the walls... Get Roadbuster to set up a few Weapon Systems... Call in Atomizer to spruce the interior up a little... Hell, we could make one kickass Autobot outpost down here!"

Desert

Blades listen to Springer and as quickly as he was in the air, he was back on the sand in robot mode. A look of disappointment was on his face but fell back in line with the other Protectobots.

"I have to question if this would be a good location for an Autobot base unless it was a look out site. The terrain doesn't suit most of our alt modes but I think your fellow triple changer Sandstorm might do well here. Maybe one or two of our aquatic units could be here with the large sea being close by especially if we created an artificial channel to it. The channel would probably serve better if it was underground though. The main thing we have to remember is resources. Would we have the resources to spare with the eventual construction of our semi-permanent base? I haven't seen the plans for the base so hard to say. Having multiple locations may be a wise idea but all in due time. We barely have enough troops to run both ships. Remember, more locations we are at, more we have to worry about being found out by the local inhabitants of this planet."

Desert - Sand Hell

The initial disorientation of the bounce wore off swiftly for the blue speedster as much of everything did. Blurr craned his neck about to take stock of the surrounding area. Sand. So much sand. As far as the optic could see, there was sand. Blurr hated sand. Somehow, Blurr had entered into a sand hell. That was the only explanation. The courier had a very good reason for hating sand. It got everywhere. Into your gears, and internal mechanisms, jamming them up or damaging them with its abrasive surface. And...it. Slowed. Him. Down. Nothing could possibly be as horrid.

The blue speedster plodded along in Springer's wake, trying to avoid getting to much sand in his circuits and failing miserably. When Blades took to the skies, it blew a massive amount of sand onto Blurr and the rest of the land locked Autobots. He gave up. It was useless to try and avoid it. Might as well make the best of things.

Zipping ahead of the main group, Blurr raced to the top of a particularly tall sand dune and strained his optics as he looked out onto the horizon. The air shimmered with the heat mirage, making it hard to pick out anything definite from the overwhelming expanse of white, which the reflected the sun's rays back at him from the ground. They must all be glowing like beacons.

Finally, Blurr picked out something that might be the structure Springer had mentioned before. It was a bit hard to see through the shimmering heat mirage, but something was definitely there. Turning around to look at the Springer and crew as well as the Protectobots, Blurr pointed toward the object.

"Hey, Ifoundsomething!" Blurr called out, "Don't know if it's what we're lookin' for, but..."

Desert

Like an ocean with its oscillating surface frozen, the desert was an impressive sight – a rolling expanse of golden yellow sand stretching as far as Groove's advanced optical sensors could see. Absorbing every detail that surrounded him, the Protectobot lifted his cranial unit to admire another expanse situated above: the unblemished blue of the sky, appearing as endless as the desert itself.

The sky. The desert. Both so open. Both so... free. So unbound by limitations.

He smiled, even though he knew he was not here simply to enjoy himself. The Autobots had a mission to complete, and Groove, of course, was still committed enough to their cause to put aside his greatest desires and wishes and aid them in whatever way possible. Whatever way would quickly extinguish the ferocity of their war that refused to subside even after all these vorns.

Vanquishing the urge to transform and conduct his own leisurely exploration of this magnificent location, Groove followed Hot Spot and the rest of the Protectobots as they trekked across the shifting tides of sand, keeping pace with Springer and the others. Springer, acting leader of this mission, had informed the Autobot team of a particular structure of interest to them, and the need to find it.

“Hey! Ifoundsomething!”

Which, evidently, hadn't taken long, if Blurr had spotted the right one.

Though Groove functioned as a scout, it was quite appropriate for Blurr, the fastest Transformer he had ever known, to find what they were looking for. None could compete with his speed – and sometimes that could prove superior to the skills Groove possessed in relation to his role.

No harm done, because now Groove could spend a moment or two appreciating the enormous majesty of the desert while Springer confirmed whether or not Blurr had discovered their objective.

Sand Hell

"Found something? What do ya mean Blurr? What's it look li-" The triple-changer began to ask as he rolled over the sandy hill Blurr stood upon, pointing out to something out in the distance. Springer squinted his optics together as he tried to identify the strange shape the blue speedster was pointing out.

"I can't distinguish what it is from this far...Not with this damn heat messing with my optics like it's doing." The green mech stated as he lowered the ion cannon off of his shoulder to rub his optics out. "Let's keep going, maybe things'll clear up as we get closer to it."

-

As he continued onward, the black blobish shape in the distance began to shape itself into the structure Magnus and Springer had chosen back aboard the Ark-22.

"Primus be praised, It isn't a mirage!" Springer cheered with a sigh of relief. "C'mon! Let's get things set up A-SAP! Surprised Magnus hasn't bugged us yet with a status update or something already."

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

"Would you look at that." Cliffjumper stated with a slight sense of surprise. "It isn't a total rust bucket like I thought it would be."

The crimson minibot lifted up a metallic sheet of what used to be a part of the ceiling up off the floor. A vast number of African rats scurried out and away from the little red mech.

"It could use some fixing up though."

"Alright, first things first;" Springer started as he lowered the weapons he'd been carrying once again on the sand covered flooring, "We need to spiffy this place up a little for Magnus' team to arrive. So, Blurr; Gonna need you to scout the place out. Check all the rooms for anything suspicious. Protectobots; Let's get going on sprucing up the damage the desert has done to this place. Sideswipe, Cliffjumper; How about you two get started on setting these weapon systems up. I'm thinking the rooftop or any highly positioned windows would serve as an excellent spot for the big guns. I'll help the Protectobots out. Everyone got it?"

Abandoned Military Facility - "Fort Serenity" 

"Oh ho ho... This is niiice" Cliffjumper boasted as he finished installing the base of his designated turret emplacement. He stroked the left side of his weapon as he laid his head over the barrel of the massive cannon. "Sideswipe, aren't they just BEAUTIFUL?" He rose from the weapon and looked over the railing of the scaffolding and down towards Springer who was busy riveting panels back into the walling of his pseudo-fortress.

"Springer! I've got one of guns up now! Need any help down there?"

The green triple changer did not break focus from his riveting process as the crimson minibot hollered down at him. 

"Yeah, think it's about time I gave a report to ol' shoulder pads up in the '22. Come down here and finish riveting these panels back into place." 

The minibot warrior hopped over the human railing and landed a couple meters from where Springer stood. He squeezed himself in between the metallic wall and the green warrior and placed his hands up against the panel. Springer riveted two bolts into the higher end of metallic wall and handed his river gun to Cliffjumper as he turned and stretched his servos out. He placed his left actuator over his left side audio receptor and opened his long range comm systems to hail the Ark-22.

>>"Springer to Blaster, I have a field report for Magnus. Mind patching me to him or you can just tell him that we got our little meeting place all up to at least a halfway decent state of repair, whatever you feel like doing."<< 

Springer closed the comm line and began hoisting panels back up against the wall for Cliffjumper to river in for him.

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

Trudging along behind Springer and Cliffjumper was the morose red half of the twin terrors. Sideswipe had signed on to this little mission hoping he’d be doing something less…boring. Yet here he was with a group of mechs who seemed to be content to do the jobs that simple drones could do. “Guess I should have dragged Sunny along. At least he would’ve made this fun.” He mumbled lowly.

With overly exaggerated sigh Sideswipe shuffled in and stopped beside Cliffjumper. The crimson warrior glanced down at his mini-cohort and then took a quick uninterested scan of the facility they had just entered. “Yeah. Look at it. Quite a sight.” Sideswipe lolled his head to one side and then the other until he was looking at Springer.

“Sure thing, Springer!” Sideswipe hopped happily and clapped his hands. “Why, Cliff and I’ll get right on that!” Sideswipe flashed the green mech a wide smile before looking down at the minibot. “Come on Cliff! I bet if we work real hard we’ll get a treat when you’re done!” And just as quickly as it came the sarcasm vanished. The broad smile was replaced by a deep set frown.

“This is complete slag! I’m a front line soldier not a…a …” His voice faded as he turned his head to look at Cliffjumper, who had just finished installing the base of one of the turrets. The distraction worked. Sideswipe turned fully and slowly approached the red mech who was now stroking and ogling the weapon in his hand. “Oh wow. That is sa-weet! Can I touch it? I wanna touch it.”

First Aid had followed in after the rest of the Protectobots and began to unload his medical kit. He looked up when he heard Sideswipe begin his little tirade. He debated whether it could be wise to try and settle him down, but he thought better of it.

Once the red twin was distracted the doctor made his way to stand just to the side of Springer.

"Primus can he complain. Heh." He said nervously.

Transmission from Ark 22 Ultra Magnus to Expeditionary Force Commander - Springer

“I see… It would have been an appropriate place to develop our base for a possible body of cooperation and possibly a lasting peace. Unfortunately, I have to say that our obstacle has decided to intercede before our foundations could be cast. Springer, you are to prepare for redeployment. I will be dispatching the Serenity to pick you and your team up. Before you ask, our bounce systems are off line due to power issues… at least the coordinate package was never dispatched to the Decepticons before the transmission was cut. Take inventory of the region until pick up, I want to know strategic advantages and disadvantages for that site as well."

Pause with static flare as power strains from source.

“The Serenity will be stocked with appropriate munitions and supplies your expeditionary force, as well as a set of rally coordinates, dubbed specifically ‘Point K’. In addition to the supplies, the data tracks will contain a file of the region you are to be deployed to… but be forewarned, it isn’t much with the primary computer core still underpowered and in diagnostic mode. Topographical data as well as local aboriginal mythos and mysticisms will be included. Review these immediately before our rendezvous at ‘Point K.' Expect the Serenity in 3 breems. Magnus Out."

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

Oh thank Primus! The Guiding Hand! The Thirteen Primes! Well. Maaaaaybe not the Fallen. But thank anyone for this beautiful sanctuary from sand hell out there. Oh, he could hug the solid ground. It was sweet relief.

"So, Blurr; Gonna need you to scout the place out. Check all the rooms for anything suspicious."

"Ayeayesiryou got it!" Blurr quipped as he zipped into the different rooms of the facility only pausing in them for an astrosecond to make sure that they were clear. As Blurr zipped into one room, he paused, kneeling down to pick up a metallic object from the ground. As he looked at it, it took him a few moments to piece together what it was. It looked like a little toy gun for a being half the cassettes' size. But it was a human armament. Lost and forgotten here in sand hell.

Dropping the human gun, Blurr continued his sweep of the facility until he found that all was clear and zipped back to Springer's side.

"All clear, Springer!"

Blurr managed to avoid most of Sideswipe's little tirade, only catching the tail end of it as he returned. The blue speedster wondered what was biting his aft plate. They weren't in sand hell anymore. He caught some of the commentary from the Protectobots as well, but finding he had little to add, stayed put near Springer waiting for further orders.

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

"That he does First-Aid," The green triple-changer stated as he placed his actuators over the plating of his hip servos and examined the quaint little fortification his team were lucky to find. "But he means well, and he's a capable soldier." Springer said with a slight shrug in his shoulders. His team was making marvelous progress, with Cliffjumper already getting the turret basing up and the Protectobots beginning to set up shop.

Before he could even usher up his next thought to the Protectobot doctor, Blurr whizzed right by the green mech. It was no surprise the blue messenger was able to scout out the facility in such a small amount of time, but it still surprised Springer at how soon he returned.

"Wonderful! Now we can get back to fortifying this place! Alright Blurr, why don't you take over for Cliffjumper in bolting in the panels and let him go back to helping Sideswipe setting up the guns."

Just as Springer was about to address First Aid once more, his comm link began to buzz as a transmission from the Ark-22 came through to him. The triple-changer opened back up the comm link between him and the Ark-22's bridge.

"Blaster! I was just wondering when you'd call me back! Did you let Magnus-"

>>“I see… It would have been an appropriate place to develop our base for a possible body of cooperation and possibly a lasting peace. Unfortunately, I have to say that our obstacle has decided to intercede before our foundations could be cast. Springer, you are to prepare for redeployment. I will be dispatching the Serenity to pick you and your team up. Before you ask, our bounce systems are off line due to power issues… at least the coordinate package was never dispatched to the Decepticons before the transmission was cut. Take inventory of the region until pick up, I want to know strategic advantages and disadvantages for that site as well." <<

Redeployment? What was Magnus getting at? Wasn't the whole idea of his team venturing out into this sandy hell to find a location for this meeting Magnus wishes to hold with the Decepticons?

>>“The Serenity will be stocked with appropriate munitions and supplies your expeditionary force, as well as a set of rally coordinates, dubbed specifically ‘Point K’. In addition to the supplies, the data tracks will contain a file of the region you are to be deployed to… but be forewarned, it isn’t much with the primary computer core still underpowered and in diagnostic mode. Topographical data as well as local aboriginal mythos and mysticisms will be included. Review these immediately before our rendezvous at ‘Point K.' Expect the Serenity in 3 breems. Magnus Out."<<

"Magnus, wait!" Springer exclaimed back just as the comm line was shut. Something's up, and Magnus wasn't telling him anything about it. He just seemed to relay orders to him, not cluing him in on any specific details. Then that must mean...

"We're moving a head of schedule..." Springer muttered aloud. He quickly gazed back up and around at his crew. Of course! Magnus isn't one to waste resources, so he wouldn't have sent them down here for nothing! Calling off the meeting must mean that something had happened back aboard the Ark-22, or the Con ship for all he knew.

"Change of plans boyos!" Springer exclaimed as his voice echoed throughout the facility, "Got some new orders from Magnus. It appears that he plans to go ahead and move his plan forward. SO! Here's what we're gonna do. Blurr; Need ya to go and wait outside, and try to signal for the Serentity. It should be here in a few breems or so. Sideswipe, Cliffjumper; get a tactical survey of this place before we go. Magnus wants to know strategic advantages and disadvantages of this place. First-Aid, you and Groove handle inventory, we need to know what all we got while we await for our pick up. Everyone else, let's start hauling our stuff back outside."

After his orders, Springer turned grabbed the Ion Cannon he had brought from the Ark-22's weapon facility and began carrying the weapon back out into the sands of the Egyptian desert.

Abandoned Military Facility - "Fort Serenity"

Hot Spot worked on cleaning up the area by moving some of the fallen wall parts and support beams. As he worked, he realized how much work it will be to make this structure half way workable for their needs.

"Springer, too bad we couldn't get some of our construction engineers down here to help out. I do appreciate and I'm fairly certain my team does about getting away from the Guardian and Ark-22."

Springer then spouted out new orders. Something doesn't sit right with the sudden change.

"These new orders seem a bit odd. Do we have any more information on what is going on?"

Usually Hot Spot doesn't question orders but he also knows how important these future talks will be and everything needs to be in order for things to work out properly.

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

"I wasn't built for this kinda scrap..." Cliffjumper muttered aloud as he gazed out over the horizon of the cold, Egyptian night. "There isn't anything *tactical* about this hell-hole... The Sea of Rust is a cozier place than this."

***

As Springer unloaded another crate out unto the make-shift drop zone, he couldn't help but feel uneasy about Ultra Magnus' latest orders. What was the point of sending he and his crew down here if they weren't even going to have enough time to establish a decent-sized outpost?

"Springer, too bad we couldn't get some of our construction engineers down here to help out. I do appreciate and I'm fairly certain my team does about getting away from the Guardian and Ark-22."

"Yeah, I feel ya' Hot Spot. Sometimes it's nice to get out and stretch out the servos every once in awhile. Besides, it's nice to get out of all that stuffy political drama."

"These new orders seem a bit odd. Do we have any more information on what is going on?"

The green triplechanger folded his arms over his yellow-plated chest as he began to recall the orders Magnus issued. Something didn't add up right...First Magnus sends his team to construct and fortify and old human military base so that they would have a workable meeting place for strategic planning with the Decepticons, then cancels the plan only to send a shuttle and pick them up?

"Hot Spot..." Springer began as he began to start pacing back and forth in the sand, "I remember Magnus saying something about power failure aboard both ships. There wasn't any sign of that kinda stuff earlier was there? I don't recall seeing the lights ever flicker... That must mean something happened to the primary power generators up there..."

The triplechanger looked up into the night sky and tried to spot the Autobot shuttle that was supposedly en route to their location. No luck, no sign from the craft just yet.

>>"Shuttle Serentiy, this is Springer with the African ground team do you copy? We almost got everything ready for lift off down here, just wondering what our ETA is? Servos are itching and full of sand down here."<<

Shuttle Serenity - Earth Atmosphere

Chromedome continued his course as he piloted the Serentity further into the Earth atmosphere. The ship handled nicely, much to Chromedome's disbelief and lack of true piloting abilities. Still, the mnemosurgeon kept his grip tight at the controls as he gently coasted the Shuttle through the layers of gas surrounding the blue marble.

As Chromedome was ready to strike up another conversation with the Autobot Communications officer, the Serenity's own comms began to buzz as Springer's communication rang through. Without giving Blaster enough time to react and do his appointed duty, Chromedome immediately hit the switch to relay the comm throughout the pilot's cabin.

>>"Springer, it's Chromedome. We entered Earth's atmosphere about a few astroseconds ago and should be arriving at your location in about 2 breems."<<

"Sorry, didn't mean to steal your job there." The mnemosugeon apologized to Blaster, just now realizing the error of his action. He let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his processor. "Just got a little excited, ya know? All this talk of taking on the Fallen and getting off the ship for a while really gets the energon pumping. Hehehe..."

Shuttle Serenity

The blackness of space gave way to the blue sky of atmosphere his optics picking out landmass and what looked like a lot of water. Taking his optics off the newly revealed planet he looked around in the compartment Sandstorm had offlined his optics. Further back was gunrunner keeping himself to himself that suited Broadside fine the mech was as miserable to be around as Gears. The huge triplechanger yelled into the cockpit “Hey Blaster you got some tunes we need something to listen to other than Bluestreak’s yammering “

A thought occurred to Broadside ‘sandstorm’s offlined his optics’ pulling a fragile energon canister from his locker he peered around at his frequent battle companion. He threw the canister at Sandstorm hoping for the desired effect of leaving Sandstorm with Energon over his face.

Shuttle Serenity - Interior

As the comms feed buzzed and Springer's communications rang through, Blaster reached for the console to do his job, but the excitable mnemosurgeon beat him to the punch. Chromedome toggled it over to his and and answered Springer himself. The mnemosurgeon apologized to him hastily, letting out a rather nervous chuckle. Seemed like nerves were getting to everybody.

Blaster smiled at Chromedome and shook his head. "Nah, it's cool, Chromedome. Don't worry about it. Just let me handle it next time. Wouldn't want ya puttin' me out of a job, heh." Primus, what was wrong with him. His usual banter was generally much better than this. With the Fallen and everything else going down...well, he wouldn't let it get him down. These bots looked to him for encouragement, and far be it from the Voice of the Autobots to let them down.

“Hey Blaster you got some tunes we need something to listen to other than Bluestreak’s yammering "

The Autobot Communications officer glanced back at Broadside and gave the large mech a wave from his seat. "Yo, you got it Broadside, hang tight an astrosec, man," Blaster called back from the cockpit. Blaster scanned through the files of earth tunes that he had scored thus far. These humans sure as pit knew their music. After sorting through a few, Blaster landed on one that he thought particularly suited the situation. Hopefully, it would lay to rest some of the nerves and merely get the lads stoked for the battle to come.

"I'm on a highway to hell..."

The speakers of the ship sounded with the tunes of AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" as Blaster glanced back over to the mnemosurgeon. "Not bad, huh? These humans really know how to rock and roll out!" Blaster looked out down on the planet below where a huge field of sand awaited them. That looked painful for anyone with wheels to get around in. Blaster glanced over to Chromedome again.

"So, looking forward to hooking up with Rewind again? Last time I checked, he was doing just fine with Prowl's team in Peru," Blaster asked, mostly to make for some conversation.


Abandoned Military Facility - Back Out into Sand Hell

"Blurr; Need ya to go and wait outside, and try to signal for the Serentity. It should be here in a few breems or so."

"Yougotit Springer!" Blurr said as he zipped outside into the cold Egyptian night. Racing to the top of an adjacent sand dune, Blurr took out his proton pistol and fired off a few shots skyward into the night sky. The rounds soared into the sky like tiny flares. Hopefully, those aboard the Serenity would sight them and be able to land relatively close to their location without squishing any of them incidentally.

The speedster was suddenly made acutely aware of each and every granule of sand slipping into his pedal actuators mechanisms. Leaking their way into his internal mechanisms. Primus. He hated sand. The Serenity could not reach them soon enough. Blurr fired off another round from his photon pistol into the sky. Whatever it was, killing a god or whatever, it had to be better than spending an astrosecond longer here.

"C'monguys," Blurr muttered to himself.

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

"No, Springer, when I left the Guardian everything was in working order. I did leave your fellow triple changer Sandstorm in command but he could have been relieved as well. Something drastic like these possible attacks could have changed plans. I'm hoping we will get every single Autobot who isn't trying to repair the two ships nor staying as guards will join us. I don't mind being the front line but would prefer having back up even if it comes later. Did Magnus say anything about taking our placements and totally abandoning this operation?"

Hot Spot seen Blurr race outside at his usual speed and shoot up in the air. There shouldn't be too much concern with humans noticing and only possible casualties would be any wildlife flying by. The other concern is him hitting the shuttle but doubt the shuttle is close enough and even if it was, Blurr's weapon isn't that powerful.

"Protectobots, make sure you take care of what you need to do and then meet me behind Blurr."

Hot Spot loaded up what he needed and slowly walked up behind Blurr but remained several meters behind the mech in order not to spook the racer.

Shuttle Serenity-–Interior

Voices talking. Ammunition cartridges being checked and re-checked. The low din of the shuttle’s engines as they soared over the Earthen landscape. Sandstorm absorbed all of the surrounding clatter and allowed it to serve as the white noise that would focus his mind and make it more ready for the battle that was soon to come. No matter how much he thought about it, he couldn’t quite wrap his mind around the threat that they were facing. Just the idea of the Fallen went to the core of many of the myths and legends that were passed on to them as protoforms. It was no more real a threat than the legend of Unicron facing down Primus for control of the universe and Primus becoming one with Cybertron and dividing himself and…and…just so much stuff that Sandstorm had always relegated to the realm of “fun stories”.

Now one of those stories appeared to be only too real. And for all the outward calm he had presented to a longtime field partner like Broadside, not to mention the rest of the Autobots in general, on the inside it felt like his circuits were misfiring. He wasn’t scared, but he was “off”. Something was off. And the fact that he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was only threw him off his game even more.

That was why he had to focus. He had to make this a standard Decepticon threat just like any of the others he had faced over the vorns. This was Megatron. This was Shockwave. This was Scorponok or Sixshot. They could be defeated. They all had been, at one time or another. This was not “the Fallen”. Just another Decepticon.

Just another Decepticon…

In the din of his thoughts, Sandstorm could hear and feel something whooshing through the air in his direction. Sandstorm reflexively reached out and was actually a little surprised when an object flew right into the palm of his right actuator.

Heh, how ‘bout that? he thought to himself, onlining his optics and looking in the direction where the object—a canister of energon—had come from. Broadside. Of course.

He smirked at the larger mech.

“I don’t think so, grasshopper,” Sandstorm said, before examining the canister more closely, opening it, and ingesting its contents. “Mmm..not bad. Though a little on the cheap side, Broady. I thought they paid you better than this.”

Serenity interior

Broadside wasn’t surprised his colleague heard the canister flying towards him and proceeded to drain the contents of the canister. His optics lit in amusement as he watched his colleague’s smug smirk then came the quip.

“Mmm..not bad. Though a little on the cheap side, Broady. I thought they paid you better than this."

Broadside burst out laughing

“They do Sandy that’s Mirage’s pet turbofox last energon change”

Broadside placed his hands behind his head and interlinked his fingers still chuckling as started to chill before they reached their first pick up.

Shuttle Serenity--Interior

Sandstorm just sat there for a moment, staring daggers at Broadside. In the next moment, he spit the contents of the energon he had just ingested all over the walkway.

"Mmm mm mmm, you're gonna get it," Sandstorm said, tempted to engage in a little retribution right now. But while he had a good streak for appreciating the irreverent, he was not enough of a proto to cause some sort of real disturbance on the ship especially with the stakes as high as they were.

"Just you wait," Sandstorm said, perma-smirk still on his face as he turned back around, dropped the canister and offlined his optics again.

Focus...

Ruins of Abandoned Military Facility

Most of the Protectobots joined Hot Spot next to Blurr. They looked up and saw the shuttle quickly approaching. The wind was picking up with the shuttle getting closer and the natural windy landscape started to blow as well.

"Springer, by my estimates, the shuttle will be here within the cycle. Do you know who is in charge on it? I will like to know more about this urgent mission we are being pulled from but I guess we will have to wait until we get on the shuttle."

"Blurr, we might want to step back a few feet. With this wind picked up, the shuttle might have troubles seeing us."

Hot Spot signals his team to step back almost to the front section of the abandon base. Very rarely does Hot Spot leave a job half done so this isn't sitting well with him at all. Last he knew, the location of the permanent base was found and being scouted by Prowl and his team. With the Africa being recalled, it is totally possible Prowl's group got pulled as well.

"I was thinking, Springer, there was Prowl's team at where our future permanent base will be at. Do you believe they got pulled from their duties as well? Hopefully they got done because as much as I like to complete objectives, we both know Prowl is one hundred times worse unless it was under the most dire situations."

Shuttle Serenity

As Chromedome eased the controls at the helm, he couldn't help but think about how Rewind was gonna get his servos in a twist about this Fallen situation, the endless nagging that would follow shortly afterwards...No can't worry about that now, there are far more important things to worry about right now.

The mnemosurgeon yawed at the controls as he took notice of some laser-fire coming from the top of some hill in the middle of the Egyptian desert. There they were! Now all he had to do was land the shuttle.

>>"My fellow Autobots, welcome to Africa!"<< Chromedome announced over the cabin's comm system.

Abandoned Military Base

Springer stood idly by some supply crates as he watched Blurr fire off signal shots into the night sky. He could see the Serenity approaching even closer and closer as each Earth second passed.

"Springer, by my estimates, the shuttle will be here within the cycle. Do you know who is in charge on it? I will like to know more about this urgent mission we are being pulled from but I guess we will have to wait until we get on the shuttle."

"Well...Chromedome and Blaster answered the comms, so I'm going to assume that Blaster is the current CO up in that tin can." Springer answered as he crossed his arms over his chest plating. "And I'm gonna say it's safe to assume Prowl and his boys are being pulled too, no sense in Magnus to just pull us I suppose. But again, we'll find out when we get aboard!"

Just as Springer finished his thought, he could see the Silhouette of the Serenity gently land onto the hill acros from where Blurr was signalling from. This was it... Show time!

"Alright femmes, Shuttles here!" Springer announced excitedly bringing his actuators together to produce an energizing clap, "Let's load and head out! Sooner we leave, sooner we find out what's going on!"

The green mech then hoisted his weapon sling over his shoulder as he walked away from the former human outpost and towards the landing shuttle. He brought an arm up to shield his optical sensors from the cold desert sand from blowing deep into his circuitry. Last thing he needed is to visit Ratchet for an internal scrub down.

"Took you guys long enough!" The triple changer jokingly hollered into the cabin as Chromedome released the airlock and opened the main entry hatches on the back and port side areas of the Shuttle's hull. Chromedome spun himself in his chair to face the Autobots boarding the craft.

"You guys need any help loading things up?" asked the Mnemosurgeon.

"Nah, there's enough of us to grab everything we brought." Springer answered poking his head into the pilot cabin doorway, "No need to offload everyone just to have 'em all hop back in." With Springer's advise, Chromedome turned back to the controls to prepare for taking off again.

"Alright, just let me me when you guys are all loaded up so we can go."

As Springer lifted a container into the back of the Shuttle, he took notice of his fellow Triplechangers sitting in the troop compartment. A faint smirked etched across his faceplating as he placed the container filled with ammunition into a more secure location.

"Well holy scrap! You spawns of glitches are finally awake!" Springer teased Sandstorm and Broadside as he worked his way into the troop compartment. "Did you two enjoy your beauty-sleep?"

Shuttle Serenity

After the stare of death and the inevitable spitting of energon from sandstorm. Broadside had settled into the chair and enjoyed the flight down to the mud ball planet. His optics made out huge fluffy white things floating in the atmosphere, he briefly considered how they stayed aloft without engines until the shuttle ploughed through one.

“Vapour should of guessed”

A short time passed from the entrance to the fluffy thing to the shuttle leaving it and landing softly on the planet he’d been observing from atmosphere. A few moments passed the triple changer heard things being placed into the back of the shuttle. Peering back he spotted another of his fellow triplechangers

"Did you two enjoy your beauty-sleep?"

Broadside chuckled as he heard Springer start with the quips oh it was on

“Yeah did you remember the face pack and the wax?”

Shuttle Serenity

Once the shuttle had landed, Sandstorm flicked his optics back on. he felt better already. He wasn't going to get into any of that trance-like religious mumbo-jumbo like some other Bots ascribed to, but he was definitely ready to kick an extra aft or two. Wherever they were, he didn't get eh impression that they were going to stay long, so he didn't bother to get up. A new but very familiar voice prompted him to turn around in his seat though. Holy slag. The wrecking crew was coming together all over again!

"Beauty sleep? Broady would need a vorn or two to iron out those dents, but I'm good," Sandstorm said, his previous grin spreading into a full-on cheese.

He continued to watch as Springer and his crew continued their loading up process.

"Y'sure you don't need any help, Springs? Those arms are looking like they haven't picked up anything heavier than a scatter blaster in a good long while."

Shuttle Serenity

Blurr was pleased to see that he hadn't accidentally hit the incoming shuttle with any of this photon rounds. Once it had landed, Springer boarded the craft to greet the occupants. This was all well and good for Blurr. He put away his pistol and zoomed over to grab one of the containers filled with the equipment that they had brought along on their little expedition.

Blurr zipped into the shuttle catching some of the chatter between Springer and the other former wreckers. Setting his load down, Blurr zipped back outside to pick up another container at mach pace. It took much less than a breem to load up the minimal supplies that they had brought with them. The blue speedster heaved a sigh as he set down the last of the crates and turned about to look at the shuttle's occupants.

There were Broadside and Sandstorm tearing it up with Springer still. Blurr grinned at the three former wreckers and their banter. Blurr took a seat next to Bluestreak. "Hey, Springer! Needmeto take that box foryou?" Blurr chimed with a grin.

Turning his head to look over to Bluestreak, Blurr gave the chatterbot a smile. "HeyBluehow're you doing? Readyfor whole Fallen thing? Heh...Gottasay, I sure wouldn'tmind Optimus pullingsomekindof miracle comeback atthelastsecond, yaknow? I'msurewe'll be ok though. Imean we've got UltraMagnusnow."

Blurr kicked his pedal actuators up on the seat in front of him and locked his actuators behind his head. Of course, the speedster did not keep this position for long, shifting it while trying to get comfortable. He never found one, however. The anticipation for the coming battle was beginning to get to Blurr. Having had a task had been a great distraction, but now...there was only waiting for the ride there and then the battle itself.

Unwittingly, Blurr drummed his fingers on his leg at mach speed, another outward expression of his inward anxiety. The blue speedster just wanted to get this over with.


Blaster was content to sit back and watch as Chromedome set them down. The first autobot to board was Springer who immediately decided to shoot the breeze with both Broadside and Sandstorm. That could only end a few ways. Springer was swiftly followed by Blurr who proceeded to load up the ground team's cargo. Sweet. It looked like they'd be off soon.

Blaster turned to Chromedome with a grin and set up the next tune on his playlist. "Better start setting course for Australia, Dome, my man. Doesn't look like we'll be here too long." Eject appeared at Blaster's side, having jumped down from his seat. "What about Steeljaw, coach? You can't go to the super bowl without the whole team! Help me out here, Chromedome," the blue sports fanatic asked, turning toward Chromedome.