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Medical Bay

Prowl stirred again in his CR chamber as the repair cycle finally finished. The nanite-rich fluid that surrounded him slowly began to vacate the compartment as the military strategist’s optics flickered on. Letting out a slight grown, the black and white raised one hand to his cranial unit and found that the damage done to his helmet by that thug, Motormaster, had been fixed. No more dent and, more importantly, no more headache. The rest of the damage he had sustained during battle was also healed. Excellent. At least now he could get back to doing what he did best - strategizing and making the difficult, morally ambiguous decisions that no one else in high command had the ball bearings to make.

Once the liquid had fully exited the chamber the door to the CR unit slid open and the newly healed Prowl stepped out into the cold atmosphere of the frigate’s med bay. The resident prick-bot looked around to see numerous other injured ‘Bots receiving medical attention from drones and real doctors, alike. They had suffered a great deal at the hands of the Fallen, but at least the Decepticons had suffered even more. It had not gone unnoticed by him that the enemy had lost a good portion of their vehicon forces. Not all, but at least 75 - 80 percent had been damaged or destroyed. Of course, that did not count the ones that had remained on board the Thanatos. This was good news, but it was unfortunately overshadowed by the reveal of both Sixshot and Devastator. Even with a smaller vehicon army, the Decepticons still had an upper hand as both of those powerful beings could spell certain doom for the Autobots if something wasn’t done to counter them and soon.

As Prowl passed through the med bay, heading for the exit, he received a communique from Groove of all ‘Bots. The black and white’s presence was requested in the Observation Lounge by Ultra Magnus. It was interesting that the City Commander, himself, didn’t just relay the order directly. Why was that left up to one of the Protectobots to do? It mattered little as there were far more important things to be concerned about at the moment. Still, the military strategist wasn’t going to respond to Groove only and hope he passed along the message.

Instead, Prowl sent back a non-verbal acknowledgment to both the cycle-former and Ultra Magnus before leaving the med bay and traversing the corridors of the Guardian until he came to a turbo lift. Once inside, the strategist entered the proper commands into the wall terminal which then started his ascension towards the upper levels of the medical frigate.

Observation Lounge

The doors slid open to the lounge and Prowl swiftly stepped inside. It had only taken him approximately one breem to make it to his destination. Time was of the essence. The ‘Cons were hurting bad from the battle with the Fallen and the Autobots had to capitalize on that very fact before the enemy had time to regroup and mount an offensive against them. Even the mighty Devastator and Sixshot had suffered considerable damage from the demigod’s dark energies. While they may be out of commission for now, they were still a deadly concern for the military strategist. The threat could not be ignored for one more astrosecond.

“Commander Magnus, Hot Spot,” Prowl began as the doors closed behind him and he quickly approached the two officers at the center of the room. Beyond them were the expansive observation windows that revealed the blue and green planet known as Earth. How did such a backwater world become so important to the war efforts on both sides of the equation? It seemed almost unreal and yet here they all were, trying to figure out how best to prevent Sol-3 from falling into the Decepticons’ hands all the while trying to keep the native inhabitants from learning about the Cybertronian civil war that had been brought to their small planet.

“I’m sure you’ll both be thrilled to learn that my repairs are completed and I’m operating at full capacity,” Prowl continued with a smirk, knowing full well at how disliked he was amongst the rank and file and even some of the higher ups. The military strategist gazed around the lounge before returning his attention to Ultra Magnus. “I see that we’re the only ones here thus far. If the others don’t arrive shortly, I suggest we begin without them. There’s a lot we need to discuss and little time in which to do it if we are to gain any kind of advantage over the ‘Cons now that the battle with the Fallen has been won.”

Prowl then paused for a moment as his last memories before he blacked out flooded back into his processor. “Magnus, where is the Fallen’s spark now? Were you able to retrieve the containment pod after Motorbreath knocked me out? If so, has it been properly disposed of yet? Launching it directly into the sun is the best viable option and has the highest probability of successfully destroying it for good.”

Encrypted Transmission from Trion:

>>”Ark-22, Guardian, this Commander Grimlock, captain of Autobot Battleship Trion. We Dinobots have arrived back in Sol System with most advanced warship from shipyards to help defeat ‘Cons. Me also bring with us entire army of Autotroopers asleep in stasis pods. They add to your weak warriors and match enemy vehicons. We now on approach. Request permission to dock with either ship. Me no care which one. Grimlock out.”<<

Outside the Med Bay Doors

“Oh, Well, Tracer, that’s funny because *cough cough* that’s exactly when and where I met the right *cough* person, as well. I was just too dumb to realize it *cough* at the time."

For just a moment Tracer forgot about the pain and focused on Smokescreen’s words. And just for that moment things seemed normal. She was normal.

The feeling didn’t last nearly as long as she’d hoped. The pain had returned causing her to wince slightly. Of course she tried to hide it but the pang was simply too much. She let out a low groan as Wheeljack broke in.

“Okay, guys, you love each other. Great. I’m happy for the both of you, I truly am. But we need to get down to the med bay now so Smokey can get all fixed up. All right?" The engineer was mainly looking at Tracer, whose hand was still preventing the hover gurney from moving forward. “Please?"

As abrupt as he was Tracer knew the engineer was right. Smokescreen needed those repairs. And she needed to find a secluded place to take the synthetic Syk.

“Wheeljack’s right.” Tracer removed her hand from the slab and nodded to Jack. “You need repairs.”

She began moving again but she never bothered to remove her hand from Smokescreen’s. As they pressed on Tracer’s optics brightened slightly and a smile easily formed on her face. “Razr’s on his way. Which means Dex is as well.” She glanced over her shoulder at Wheeljack.

The med bay was within sight when the scout let out a low sigh but remained silent. Thoughts of the recent battle with the Fallen had worked their way to the forefront of her mind.

“Were all of the Decepticons down there fighting?” Tracer asked. The question was specifically aimed at Smokescreen since he had been in the battle since the start, but that didn’t mean she would disregard anything Wheeljack had to say.

Med Bay Proper

First Aid helped Axle affix Veneer’s slab into place and quickly exited the med bay. They had rushed out of the Longevity so quickly Axle hadn’t gotten the chance to make sure Hex was brought in. First Aid had offered to run back out to make sure the young mech was headed in the right direction.

While setting up one of the last energon drips Aid had commed him letting him know that Hex was already headed into the med bay; escorted by four medical drones. Axle sent him his tanks and finished his work.

The three life support machines hummed to life and the life giving fluids began to flow steadily into Veneer’s inert frame. The nurse was not dead….far from it…but he was dying. The last set of scans had revealed the mech’s new ailment.

Axle frowned as he watched the energon cycle to and from the instrument. “What am I going to tell Blindside?” He laid his head in his hands only to run them down slowly. The former surgeon looked over his shoulder when he heard the door slide open revealing First Aid, four drones and a medical slab.

The black and green medic carefully moved from Veneer’s slab and made his way over to where Hex’s berth was being locked down. Moving on instinct, Axle ran a quick scan and when there was nothing of note he visibly relaxed.

“Vee?” Aid stepped up beside him. Axle shook his head slowly. “The same. I’ve run the test twice and I keep coming up with the same results.” The former surgeon looked at the doctor. “I’ve done all I can, Aid. The rest is up to him.”

First Aid knew Axle was right, but to think they saved their friend’s life only for him to die and even slower death, well that was just….

“AGGHHHHH!”

The datapad Axle had in his hand dropped to the floor shattering into tiny splintered pieces when Hex suddenly sat bolt upright and screamed.

First Aid had jumped back and quickly drew his weapon when the young mech shot up and screamed. “What the hell?!” He pointed the gun at the former Herald.

“Aid! No!” Axle stepped between the Protectobot and his ward. “Put it down!” First Aid’s hand shook slightly as he tried to look beyond the older mech. “It’s okay. He’s just awake. That’s all.” Aid lowered his weapon and slowly holstered it. He then squinted and covered his audios. “We better get him to shut up!”

Axle turned around and grabbed a hold of Hex’s shoulders. “Hex?” He received no response just another series of screams. This time Axle shook the mech, “Hex! Look at me!” It seemed to work as Hex finally quieted down focused on his guardian.

The relieved smile on Axle’s face melted away when he realized something was wrong. Carefully he helped the young bot back down onto the slab. “Hex? Are you alright? Do you remember what happened?”

Hex slowly lowered onto his back, his optics focused on a point on the ceiling. He heard Axle but found it difficult to respond. For a moment his jaw moved up and down but no sound was produced from his vocalizer. And then… "No…nothing.” Hex turned his head away. “Don’t remember anything.”

Both medics looked at one another somewhat stunned. Axle then gestured for Aid to move in closer. “I’ll run a few tests. Including a deep processor scan.” He whispered.

“If you don’t need me for that I’d better go. I got called some time ago…” First Aid said as he looked to the doors.

“Go. I’ll be alright here. Besides, Ratchet should be back soon.” Axle smiled and watched as First Aid left.

Once he was alone Axle turned back to look over Hex. He placed his hand on the side of the young mech’s head and began to gently stroke. “You’re gonna need to talk to me.” There was no response.

Main Science Lab

As soon as Axle had given his blessing First Aid left the Medical Bay and head right for the main science lab. The entire journey gave him plenty of time to imagine just what Magnus had planned with this mysterious ‘Project Superior’. Of course whoever was already present had the opportunity to know just what this was all about before him.

Aid moan lowly. Hopefully he’d make it in time for all of them to be let in on the big project plans.

He picked up his pace.

Half a breem later and he was stepping though the science lab’s doors.

“Hello?” Aid worked his way deeper in and stopped when he spotted Chromedome and….wait, Rewind?

“Rewind? What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the med bay. I don’t remember Axle clearing you.” He stepped over to the small archivist. “Did you talk with Axle before you left?” He looked from Rewind to Chromedome.

Corridor outside Med Bay

Wheeljack gave a return nod to Tracer once she finally removed her hand from the hover gurney, allowing him to continue pushing Smokescreen towards the medical bay. While the mechanical engineer almost felt like purging his tanks at the overt display of affection between these two, the truth was that deep down he also felt a sense of envy for what they had. The mad scientist had never come close to finding a special someone during his entire life cycle whether it was before the war or during. It had never even entered his processor.

Of course, he had always spent the vast majority of the time focused on his numerous inventions to even bother considering the possibility that he could have a conjunx endura. Work always took precedence with ‘Jack especially once the war broke out and he needed to stay focused on making weapons and new tech for his fellow Autobots. Besides, most mechs didn’t want to get too close to him for fear of being blown up by one of his untested gizmos. That was a valid fear and one he never held against any ‘Bot over the vorns.

Yes, Wheeljack envied Smokescreen and Tracer, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see them swap oil right in front of him. Still, he wasn’t going to tell them to stop, not that either one would listen to him. Instead, he simply kept his attention directly ahead to avoid seeing any more affectionate displays as the doors of the med bay drew closer and closer. Tracer mentioned that Razr was now on his way, drawing the engineer’s gaze back towards her. He nodded, having received a silent response from his DX9000 drone, Dex.

“They should be here soon,” Wheeljack responded with a smile as Tracer then asked about the Decepticons who had been fighting against the Fallen. It was a strange question to ask as it mattered little at this point. Still, it had not been directed at him as the troubled femme was primarily looking down at the wounded diversion expert.

“I think most...if not all...*cough*...were down there, Tracer,” a weak-sounding Smokescreen replied as he squeezed her hand with whatever strength he still had left. “I saw Oil Slick early on, if that’s who *cough cough* you were wondering...about.” The rallybot began choking again but was able to quickly clear his throat. “I avoided him and he didn’t *cough* bother me any. After that, it was just *cough cough* Drag Strip and a couple Stunticons I...had to deal with.”

"Ahem," Wheeljack uttered in order to draw the former street racer’s attention to him. “Okay, Smokey, I think that’s enough talking for now. You’re still very weak and you need to rest. The IV line feeding you nanite-rich fluid and sedatives can only do so much. You still need additional repairs and a good stay in a CR chamber before you can get back to normal.”

“Sorry, Doctor Jackie,” Smokescreen replied with a smirk. “I’ll try to keep it down. *cough cough cough*”

“You’ll do more than that,” Wheeljack said as he finally reached the medical bay doors, which quickly parted right down the middle, allowing the mad scientist to push the hover gurney across the threshold with Tracer still walking right beside it.

Medical Bay - Private Area

Once inside, Wheeljack pushed the hover gurney to the back most corner of the facility where he pulled the privacy curtains around the space to provide at least some isolation from the rest of the room. The white mech then entered a few commands on a control panel which activated a cylinder-shaped base that rose out of the floor and connected to the bottom of the gurney, turning it into a stationary med berth. ‘Jack then positioned the IV bag off to one side while at the same time checking to see if the levels were still adequate.

“Okay, looking good,” Wheeljack muttered out loud before then hooking the rallybot up to a spark monitor to keep an optic on his pulse rate. “All right, now just stay calm and relax, Smokes, while I prepare for Dex’s arrival. Got it?” Smokescreen gave the engineer a nod of understanding before ‘Jack turned his attention to a nearby work space, which he quickly began to clear to make room for what he had to do.

A half breem later, the DX9000 drone hovered into the med bay proper and swiftly floated towards the back where it popped itself into the draped off area at the rear of the chamber. “Dex, there you are!” Wheeljack exclaimed, turning around at the sound of a series of beeps. “You made good time. I take it bouncing over here was not a problem?” The drone let off another round of beeps and chirps before presenting the mechanical engineer with his trusty toolkit. “Good, good. Thank you, Dex. What would I do without you?”

Taking the toolkit, Wheeljack placed in onto the work station and immediately opened it. Reaching into subspace, the mad scientist found the needed spare parts it would take to build Smokescreen a new forearm and carefully arranged them on the counter top. “Looks like I got everything here I need to fix that arm of yours, Smokey,” the engineer said as he looked back over his shoulder at the rallybot. “They’re standard parts for an arm like yours. Now, they’re not painted but a CR chamber will take care of that. Just hang on a little longer, bud.”

“Don’t sweat it, Jackie,” Smokescreen replied, tiredly. “I ain’t going anywhere.” The rallybot smiled again as he looked back at Tracer. “I’ve got an angel *cough cough* watching over me here.”

“Oh, dear Primus,” Wheeljack said, turning back around and rolling his optics. The sedatives were really kicking in now as the rallybot sounded more drunk on high grade than being in love. The inventor let a slight chuckle escape his vocalizer as Dex then bumped into Jackie’s right side. The engineer glanced over and saw that his personal drone was holding the six vials of Syk that he had requested. “Slaggit! I almost forgot!”

Wheeljack quickly took the vials from Dex’s claw-like appendage and then walked over to Tracer’s side, making sure that the curtains were still blocking any possible onlookers from the rest of the med bay. He then opened a private channel to the troubled femme:

>>”Here, Tracer, these are the vials of Syk. Take three of them now and save the others for later like we previously discussed. I would take them here where I can keep an optic on you. Between these curtains and little Razr, no one will see you take them. Okay?”<<

Wheeljack cut the secured comm line as he handed the six vials over to the drug-addled scout. The mad scientist then moved back over to his work station where he retrieved the tools that he needed from his kit before promptly going to work on assembling Smokescreen’s new forearm.

Bounce Chamber

Bluestreak followed Kup into the bounce chamber as he listened to everything the old warhorse had to say. There really wasn’t anything the gunner could argue with as Kup made as much sense as anyone could under the current circumstances. The old timer was probably correct on everything even the parts that were mere conjecture such as the state of the Decepticons’ power structure. Kup was right on the money with that one. Autobots would always be able to handle such things much better than a bunch of back stabbing lowlifes. As for this settlement the higher ups had begun to establish down on the surface, that was news to the chatterbot.

“Peru, huh? Never heard of the place,” Bluestreak began again as he moved with Kup towards the bounce pad. “Except for the Australian desert, I don’t think I’ve been down to anywhere else on Earth since I arrived here in the Sol System. I just hope this Peru isn’t as hot or dry or sandy as Uluru. I’m still trying to get all those little particles of sand out of my joints. It’s a real pain in the aft, you know. Even a stay in the CR chamber didn’t get rid of them all.”

The chatterbox paused as he stepped up onto the bounce pad. “As for what you said about losing Optimus and us doing better than the ‘Cons, yeah, you’re absolutely right. I’m sure they’ve been fighting with one another ever since they lost Megatron. I mean I seriously doubt Razorclaw was their first choice as leader. I’m actually a little surprised he took the job. I would’ve thought someone like Shockwave or even Starscream would’ve grabbed the throne as quickly as possible. Screamer's wanted that for ages. Razorclaw had to fight for it I’m sure, which hopefully wasted a lot of their energy and resources in the process. But that’s the nature of our enemy. They’re more power hungry and self-centered then us.”

Kup’s comments regarding Magnus and Prowl and some of the other high ranking ‘Bots rang true to the gunner, as well. “And I’m also sure those guys have things covered. Prowl’s probably already got big plans to build us our own combiner knowing him. I mean, didn’t he use a spark extractor to defeat the Fallen? I wasn’t there to see it, myself, but that’s what I heard. I didn’t even know we had one of those, not a weaponized version anyway. Sure, there are ones used for medical purposes, transplants and such, but never a portable weapon to be used on a mech against their will. Must of been something Prowl was keeping secret. Lucky for us, huh? Otherwise, we'd all be slagged by now. Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t say a thing to ol’ Ironhide. Heh.”

Bluestreak let out a sigh as he repositioned himself on the bounce pad. “Well, I’m already to go when you are, Kup. I hate bouncing around. It really messes with my equilibrium and whatnot. Wish we could always take a shuttle, but I know this is faster. Anyway, I’m all set. Let’s do this.”

Observation Lounge

Ultra Magnus was alone for only a few moments, alone in the briefing lounge and isolated from the external grind of the universe that seemingly conspired to consume him. The hustle and bustle of a ship undergoing major repairs and in progress refit had clogged many corridors and left much of the Guardian's systems on standby or off line altogether. Though judging by the looks of the bridge before he entered the conference room, the repairs and refit was well underway. The senior officer of all Autobot Forces, had assumed a prominent position to the left of the dominant view screen embedded in the wall at the far end of the Lounge.

Not for the first time he quietly lamented to himself the agreement he had made with Prowl to assume the role for which he presently filled. Magnus knew full well he was no leader, a simple soldier who did what was necessary to win a war... within reason. But there were reasons as to why he had accepted this position, was not based on pride or confidence in his abilities, no it was decidedly more simple. Optimus was his brother, a legacy that had to be preserved in the ideals he cherished and championed. To preserve the innocence of all sentient life forms from the chaos that was the Cybertronian Civil War. Magnus knew full well the capabilities of other officers within the Autobot ranks, Prowl for one, was a brilliant tactician and general strategist. But he lacked the one thing that made him the ideal successor to Optimus, outside of a connection with the people he commanded, and that as simply put as boundaries. Unfortunately, Magnus aligned some of his own philosophy towards the tactician's direction, but even he had set boundaries that he would never cross. Deployment of Trilithium Weapons was one such line in the thermocrete.

The infinity passed in moments and Ultra Magnus forcibly pulled gaze away from the picturesque view of the orbited Earth. He reached up and tapped a command panel to establish a link between the Guardian and the main archival computers. The computer accessed the requisite file and uploaded the video recorded components onto the main viewer as well as the central holographic projector built into the obsidian colored table that dominated the center of the lounge. "Freeze playback." He ordered as the recording came to the clash between Motormaster and Hot Spot, the smaller delivering a rather nasty and impressive hey maker to the Con Officer.

As the sparks slowed and stopped, the knuckles of Hot Spot sending a nice yet still minor shockwave reverberating through Motormaster's torso, the doors to the Lounge opened to admit the commander of that battle. The Protectobot wasted little time to greetings or asking as to the reasons for his inclusion to this briefing, and instead propelled himself into a litany of displeasure as to the recent conduct of higher officials of the Autobot Ranks. Ultra Magnus could not blame him on several levels, though it seemed a touch out of sorts... Perhaps Magnus was beginning to feel what his mentor had coined as 'the Hardening of Command.' He quickly swept away the memory of his countless lectures with Sentinel Prime.

Ultra Magnus shook his head ever so slightly as he assumed the chair at the head of the conference table. He allowed his massive bulk to sink ever so slightly before he leaned forward and let his elbows rest at the table's edge. Slowly his index fingers touched followed by the rest as his optics studied the Protectobot Commander. Magus respected the special forces officer, as a soldier and a commander. Instinct typically carried the day with him, and that alone had brought his team through some of the harshest events the war had to offer. But like many in the Autobot Ranks, there were boundaries even he could not quietly stand to see crossed. "Let me begin by telling you Hot Spot that I commend you and your concerns..." He paused and simply waved his left hand in a silent order to the officer to take a seat.

"At present I would like to wait till the majority of the summoned officers are present to address a few key points to your protests. But given that the universe is fraught with a dread sense of humor, I doubt that your assessment of rest can be truly addressed. As far as your initial complaint stands, I tend to agree with you in principle regarding the actions of Prowl and Wheeljack. The construction of a Spark Extractor does trouble me, however it cannot be looked passed that it... while morally inappropriate was the only instrument left at our disposal to defeat an entity far beyond anything encountered before." Magnus slowly inhaled and allowed the new influx of atmospheric gases to cool his intakes and heat syncs. "As far as disciplinary actions are concerned, I will take them under advisement. But I warn you now Hot Spot, do not dwell on this event for too long. In spite of your personal feelings as to the matters that have taken place, I suggest you get over it and leave it to my directive. You're going to have your hands full soon enough and you had best be able to set those personal feelings aside. Because you and Prowl will be working a lot together in the next assignment, and I will need you both at the top of your performance quotients for this dangerous mission to succeed..."

He paused again to reflect on his tone and found that his voice had not been threatening or dismissive. He had remained matter of fact and direct with the Protectobot Commander. Taking his concerns seriously and filing them away for future contemplation... Just add it to the growing list of legal matters I have to deal with since returning here, first Grimlock stealing the 19 and now this. It was enough to give him a processor ache.

Magnus genuinely agreed with the legality or potential lack there of with regards to the development and construction of a Spark Extraction Device. There was a legal gray area that had to be considered. If the device had been constructed before the treaties that banned their creation, then its existence was legal so long as it had not been used against Cybertronians. Secondly the device itself had never been technically used against a Decepticon, and instead used against a corrupting virus. It was an issue that would have to be thrown to the Autobot JAG Office, which at present was not exactly well suited for any tasks beyond settling on a name. Of course Ultra Magnus had already begun establishing a concrete desire to create a small place where the Autobots could finally set down roots and perhaps one day rebuild their lives.

Before he continued the doors hissed open again to reveal Prowl. "Welcome back to the land of the functional Prowl."

Magnus waved his hand again this time directing Prowl to assume the seat directly across from viewer to get a full view of the primary view screen behind him. Once the two officers were settled and before the others were due to arrive, Magnus returned to a more comfortable restful position. "I concur, as the others do not have direct impact with the first part of this briefing I shall begin. First off, the Fallen's Spark has been safely secured and once the Guardian is cleared by the engineering staff, it will be taken to the orbit of the first planet in this system and launched directly into the solar mass. I doubt it will destroy the cursed eternal spark, but I am sure the intense pressures will keep that bastard locked away for a rather long period of time. An operation I expect to over see personally." Hot Spot would probably protest, given that the indication had been left that Ultra Magnus would be directly giving the necessary commands for the duration of that brief voyage. The serious furrow of his brow would silence those protests immediately, informing them both that he was not in the mood to discuss such trivial points.

"Secondly, as this directly involves several members of the Guardian's Crew, a new project to counter this Devastator has been commissioned. Details are not available at this time, Hot Spot, but they will be updated to your personnel files Prowl when they are updated and logged. Code Delta Five Epsilon Li will be affixed to the Projects." He allowed the words to sink in. Code Delta Five Epsilon was a classified designation to priority research and development programs. It was enough to inform anyone interested to turn their attention elsewhere. Adding the suffix 'Li' indicated to those of appropriate rank that the research and development was to trump all others concurrently on the scientific or engineering dockets and thus showed how important such a project was. Needless to say, Magnus rarely used such a designation and rarer still had he seen it be employed. "If you have any questions so far, now is the time to ask them. Our stragglers will soon be arriving and I rather not have to explain to them the context of our current discussions."

He waited briefly and allowed them to ask for classifications, though the very fact he had involved the Delta Five Epsilon restricted his answers to brief snippets. He held little information himself at present, only a brief summary and theory from the project head, Jetfire. The fact was, the team he had assembled would be given the fullest support that command could offer, from resources to space to personnel if necessary. Everything that wasn't being directed to the construction of Autobot City was going to be diverted to counter this new threat.

Finally when the responses were delivered to the satisfaction of the other two, Magnus shifted the subject to more immediate concerns. "To bring you up to speed Prowl, I have dispatched Kup and Ironhide to oversee the preparation of the new construction site of Autobot City. They will be taking as many idle Autobots as they can locate in order to hasten the process... though I doubt they will enjoy meeting that site's current chief construction engineer." The comment elicited a slight smirk of knowing, Huffer's presence on the planet's surface was not entirely a secret but it had not been advertised to the two officers either. Magnus expected that most of those headed to the planet surface would take the time to heal wounds, both physical and mental, away from the constant rigors of battle. "Resources will be allocated appropriately to the site you and your team surveyed before this recent battle, and should prove every bit as beneficial in the future as it will serve as a rehabilitation in the present. I intend to land the Ark 22 there and use it as a primary hub until more permanent structures can be completed... A recommendation from Kup, one I have come to see the experienced wisdom in."

Again he paused and allowed the two officers to offer their own recommendations and desires in adding input to the construction of this new colony site. Magnus himself had turned the issue over and over in his processors, again and again. And thrice more after reading the after action reports from Hound, Rewind and the Ranger/Scout Nova Strike. The site had plenty of untapped resources, from Coal to small reserves of Oil and Natural Methane seeps. Its mountainous terrain offered opportunity for wind turbines while giving plenty of locations for solar towers and radiation collection spires. What concerned Magnus was the amounts of rare metals, Platinum, Copper, Silver and Gold, all of which had drawn a single human expedition to the valley which he designated for colonization.

For all of Prowl's careful planning and the brilliant execution of Rewind and the hologram master Hound, the encounter itself had turned violent and chaotic. From the sensor reports, no humans were killed though there had been several seriously injured. A rebuke of the tactics employed was unnecessary, as with most intelligent beings, events and reactions were impossible to predict. Greed was a terribly effective motivator and one that Ultra Magnus was completely familiar with as it had been the deciding factor in leading his own species down the downward spiral of never ending war.

But also in reviewing the data retrieved and the scans that had been made by Bumblebee and Nova Strike, along with the observations of Freeway, Magnus had also learned that there were slight veins of the rare mineral that had been so coveted by Shockwave. While it was unprocessed, unrefined and still within the living rock, Magnus knew that there was value in studying the mysterious ore further. It was a project he would encourage Perceptor to resume as soon as cybertronianly possible.

Ultra Magnus added a few of his own remarks about why the Ark 22 had been designated for the role of Colony Hub rather than that of the Guardian, pointing out the larger ship's greater capacity for power generation as well as the greater fuel consumption necessary to keep the vessel in orbit. He also left the hints that the ship's larger complement of weapons would be far better to protect the base should the cons detect the city. Of course there were other reasons for the landing of the Ark, first and foremost was the necessity of the ship's need of direct maintenance which typically took place at an orbital dry dock.

As he began to maneuver the meeting towards the reason as to why he had summoned them and the others who were now reaching the bridge levels, the communications terminal located beneath his right arm began to flash. He depressed the toggle and activated the link to the bridge. "Go ahead Streetwise... A communiqué from the Trion? I was unaware of its launch... and you say its in system? Curious. Alright, run a diagnostic of the repaired sensors and try to compensate for the dark energies that currently saturate the sector magnetosphere. In the meantime, patch the line directly to the Observation Lounge." The link with the bridge was severed with an abrupt acknowledgement of orders and Magnus tapped a few keys just below the flashing toggles. Immediately the frozen holographic still of Hot Spot laying a devastating blow into Motormaster was reduced in the center of the table.

The image flickered again as the pneumatic hiss of the observation lounge doors announced their parting. Slowly the fourth member of the summoned members of the briefing arrived. "My apologies Commander, I had to..." Nova Strike was forced to stall his explanation as Magnus delivered a stern glance in the ranger's direction. The blue Autobot was simply forced to nod an acknowledgement and proceeded to take a seat to the left of Prowl and the right of Hot Spot.

Another burst of static flickered across hologram before it finalized its morph into the recognized features of a towering behemoth of an Autobot General. "Grimlock." Ultra Magnus' let his tone remain neutral or at least as neutral as could be expected. The events that had lead to the Dinobot Commander's departure were as notorious as the personality itself, albeit it had been largely kept under wraps until Ultra Magnus had a chance to speak with the warrior himself.

Optics were locked on the holographic image of Grimlock that now stood guard over the center of the conference table, though his sensitive sensors caught the uncomfortable fidgets of the young former athlete. He had known of missions where Rangers had been forced to work with the Dinobots in major assaults or preludes to assaults, rarely did they end well for the pathfinders. Magnus made a note to see if there had been such a mission that involved the lone ranger in this particular system, as well as its possible outcome. If Nova Strike was nervous around the Dinobots, he was probably smarter than other mechanoids gave him credit, but if he was terrified of them... it could prove a problem down the road.

Finally after a moment of silent contemplation about links between various troops and how best to handle the larger rift between Grimlock and Prowl, that would have to be addressed as well... oh how he wished he could summon an officer from the JAG Office and let them sort this mess out, Magnus leaned back in his chair. "Nice to see you, Grimlock. Have to admit, I am rather disappointed I seemed to miss you on my arrival. I can't wait to read your reports when we link up later. In the meantime, now that we have a combined attention I would like you to remain connected for this briefing."

Main Science Lab

With the arrival of First Aid, the team was almost complete. Blaster's input will be better suited once the details of the basic project is underway. The process will need to be easy enough to be able to be duplicated and improved on once it was completed.

"Good to see you, First Aid. I was a bit concerned you were up to your shoulder joints in surgeries. If you need to head to an emergency surgery, feel free to. I don't want to lose any of our comrades for this research project."

Jetfire then stepped back enough to get a good look at all who were present. This is going to be something for the record data tracks. Things have already changed with the appearance of Devestator. It is time for the Autobots to step it up a notch. The only thing he wished is that the Bots were in front instead of playing catch up.

"I won't go into great speech about this project or the future it will behold. That is more for the likes of Optimus Prime. You all have either seen or heard about the Con's new gestalt Devestator. What you see before yourselves above the main table is a compilation of the scans of each of the Autobots from our recent battle. The Constructicons have somehow recreated what the mad scientist Jhilaxus had done with Monstructor. Ultra Magnus has unlocked all of the known files of the beast for us to use along with what we got on Devestator. Our job is to decipher what they had done and see if we can improve on it."

Jetfire walked over to a terminal and brought up a visual of Monstructor and all the files related to it next to the Devestator image.

"First task is to reverse engineer the process. Once we have the basic idea, we'll need to select the right group of Autobots to go under the process. I wish we knew why the Monstercons and Constructicons were able to create their respective beasts but all we got is what you see. Each of you here who were summon have something of value to add. Blaster's role will be in helping to select the right members once the theory and models been ran and tested. Please leave any aversions you have to this idea aside since we are assigned to this great project. Are there any questions before we get started in earnest?"

Bounce Chamber

“Peru, huh? Never heard of the place. Except for the Australian desert, I don’t think I’ve been down to anywhere else on Earth since I arrived here in the Sol System. I just hope this Peru isn’t as hot or dry or sandy as Uluru. I’m still trying to get all those little particles of sand out of my joints. It’s a real pain in the aft, you know. Even a stay in the CR chamber didn’t get rid of them all."

"Ohhh, you ain''t kiddin', kid. I got sand in crevices where I didn't know I had crevices. Ain't nothin' short of a full electron bath gonna clean all that stuff out of my servos. Of course, I'm not one to complain..."

Kup smirked and nodded at Bluestreak's assessment of his earlier remark about 'Con command politics and the chaos they were probably in. With the head of the snake cut off, it was only a matter of time before the rest of the body collapsed on itself. And they could help it right along, too.

"Yeh. Prowl. He's got a lot on his plate. But at the end of the day, he wants us to win, so I don't got too many problems with him. He might come close to that line...that line that none of us should cross...but you fight in this war long enough you're gonna come close to it once in a while. We've even lost a few who've crossed and never come back, but I don't think Prowl'll be one of 'em."

“Well, I’m already to go when you are, Kup. I hate bouncing around. It really messes with my equilibrium and whatnot. Wish we could always take a shuttle, but I know this is faster. Anyway, I’m all set. Let’s do this."

"Hah, right? Stuff's never set well with my pumps and processors, but I guess I've adapted. Nice shuttle ride would probably do me good, but...eh...do what we gotta do," Kup said, activating the bounce chamber controls. "See ya down there."

OOC-I'll continue from here in the Autobot City thread. Other players with Autobots who have nothing to do and want a different place to interact are welcome to join Kup and Bluestreak.

Observation Lounge

The doors to the observation lounge hissed open as the security officer bustled through them with all due haste.

”…have a combined attention I would like you to remain connected for this briefing."

“Ultra Magnus, sir, I apolo-“ Red Alert stopped cold as he noticed the presence of both Prowl and Grimlock in the room. The Dinobots’ disappearance had caused him great grief in the past. Prowl was one of the usual suspects. In this particular case, he was the prime suspect. Red Alert’s optics narrowed. “-gize for my tardiness. I…was…indisposed. What happened to the Fallen? Why is Grimlock on the screen there?”

Observation Lounge

Prowl’s question regarding the whereabouts of the spark extractor was not immediately answered. Instead, Ultra Magnus welcomed him back to the land of the functional and motioned for him to take a seat at the conference table. The military strategist gave a curt nod before moving over to the table and sitting down across from the primary view screen. The City Commander then wasted no time in continuing the debriefing that had previously begun before the black and white had entered the room.

Magnus confirmed that the Fallen’s spark was safe and securely in their possession and would be disposed of once the Guardian’s repairs were completed. Prowl was about to make an alternative suggestion in that regard but was prevented from doing so as the Autobot leader left no room for protest and continued on to his next bullet point. The strategist knew better than to interrupt a superior officer and thus he bit his tongue while Magnus made mention of a new science project that would counter the new threat of Devastator. At least someone else was finally thinking along the same lines as the black and white for a change. Details might not be available yet, but even a protoform would be able to guess that this new project involved some kind of Autobot combiner. After all, what else could it possibly be?

Ultra Magnus finally opened the floor to questions regarding what had just been said. Prowl wasted no time in offering his two energon chips on the matters at hand. “Commander Magnus, if I may, it is good that we have the Fallen’s dark spark secured with us. I was afraid for a moment that it might have, no pun intended, fallen into the Decepticons’ hands. That being said, I don’t feel it is necessary to wait until the Guardian is fit for space flight to get rid of it. I strongly recommend just taking a shuttle craft to Sol-1 as quickly as possible and launching that wretched spark into the sun all the sooner. There’s no need to dislodge an entire medical frigate to accomplish this task, sir.”

Prowl paused for an astrosecond to let his words sink in before he continued. “As for this new project, I sincerely hope it involves the design and creation of our own gestalt. Like the Constructicons we too have specialty teams that might fit the criteria needed for a combiner to work well. The Aerialbots are one such possibility as are the Protectobots,” the strategist briefly glanced over at Hot Spot before returning his full attention to Ultra Magnus. “Furthermore, Devastator is not the only new menace we have to fear from the ‘Cons. The arrival of Sixshot in the Sol System is troubling on so many levels. He is normally only called in during Phase Six of Infiltration and we are still only in Phase One. So, one has to wonder, why is he here and what purpose, other than our destruction, will he serve the enemy? As a result, we need to develop our own ‘Phase Sixer’, for lack of a better term, to help counter Sixshot’s threat level. I was able to take detailed scans of the STAG during the battle with the Fallen before he discovered what I was doing. Therefore, I would like to commission ‘Project Hexabot’ to run alongside the gestalt initiative. Someone like Wheeljack would be very suited to lead such a project.”

Once Prowl had spoken his peace, he listened carefully as Ultra Magnus brought him up to speed regarding the status of Autobot City’s construction site. Apparently, only minimal work had been completed thus far but given that the battle with the Fallen was now over, that would soon change as more ‘Bots were allotted to the task. In addition, the Ark-22 would be landed and used as the primary hub for the city with additional structures built outward from it. The military strategist nodded in agreement. “Good good. I’m glad to hear it. The Ark ships were always designed to serve as bases for our various Infiltration teams on different planets. The 19 had served such a purpose here on Earth when it was submerged in Lake Michigan. That was before it was attacked by the 'Cons and subsequently stolen by the Dinobots, of course.”

The City Commander was then distracted by a communique from Streetwise and soon after an image of none other than Grimlock, himself, appeared on the table in front of them. What timing that was. A deep frown became etched across Prowl’s faceplate at the sight of the rebellious Dinobot Commander, who had taken the Ark-19 for his own purposes and without proper authorization. The rex-former was a disobedient punk and if it was up to the black and white, the speech impaired mech would be locked up in the brig for the foreseeable future. As it were, the decision would ultimately fall to Ultra Magnus.

At the same time, Nova Strike entered the room and quickly too a seat to Prowl's left. Soon afterwards, Red Alert also entered, apologizing for his tardiness and asking questions about the Fallen and why there was a hologram of Grimlock displayed over the table. The strategist paid neither mech any mind as his intense glare continued to bore holes in the holographic image of the Dinobot Commander. Magnus, of course, offered Grimlock a warm welcome, greeting him with pleasantries that almost made the prick-bot want to purge his tanks. The black and white had no intention of being friendly towards a mech that had shown him no respect back when he was still the acting Autobot Commander. Instead, Prowl got right to the point and asked the questions he wanted answers to.

“Where’s the Ark-19, Grimlock?” Prowl demanded as he leaned forward in his chair and rested his forearms on the table. “And where the frag have you been all this time? You know we’ve been battling the Fallen here on Earth while you and your Dinobots were off sight seeing across the galaxy. We could’ve used your team’s abilities during the fight!” The military strategist’s tone was harsh and direct, but he kept his volume level moderate, for now anyway.

The holographic image of Grimlock sitting in his command chair flickered slightly as the Dinobot Commander listened to Prowl’s little tirade. It had little affect on the rex-former as he had expected such a berating from the prick-bot. Grimlock let out a deep sigh and leaned forward in his seat to address everyone through the hologram link. “To answer questions, Ark-19 at Alpha Shipyards getting repaired from damage you Autobots allowed to happen. While there, we procured Trion and brought back to help defeat ‘Cons who have Thanatos on their side. We also have large contingent of sleeping Autotroopers with us.”

“So, in other words, you stole the Trion....” Prowl interjected abruptly. “...without authorization? Just like to stole the Ark-19 without authorization. Correct?”

“There no time for authorization, Prowl. We needed to...”

“Of course not! There’s never time for authorization when you’re concerned!” Prowl’s tone became louder as he gripped the edges of the large conference table, the anger on his visage clearly evident to all. If the table had been smaller he would’ve flipped it over. As it were, it was too heavy for such a feat. Not to mention it was also bolted to the floor. “You attacked fellow Autobots, you stole an Ark-class vessel, you deserted your post, disobeyed direct orders from your superior, namely me, and then you go and steal the newest and most advanced warship in the Autobot navy! Have I pretty much covered everything, Grimlock?”

The holographic rex-former now had a comparable frown etched on his own faceplate. “Me no like your tone, Prowl. We Dinobots did what we had to! If it up to you, you’d sit on aft plates and wait for ‘Cons to come knocking at door! Me took initiative to even odds in Sol System! Me might not play by rules, but neither do you!”

Prowl abruptly stood up, his chair knocked back against the wall behind him. “I don’t care if you like my tone you Dino-dolt! You’re lucky it’s not up to me or you and your brood would be sharing a cell together in Garrus-9 for your gross insubordination! “

“Hahahahahah!!!” Grimlock’s hologram laughed out loud at the very notion. “You not send us to Garrus-9, Prowl. You not even gonna put us in brig. You know why? Because you fraggin’ need us! That why! We best team you’ve got and you know it!”

“That’s up for debate right now,” Prowl replied, his tone lower as he leaned forward and placed his actuators on the surface of the conference table.

The shimmering image of Grimlock glared back at the military strategist, a deep growl emanating from his vocalizer. “There is no debate. Me see you soon, Prowl. Then we continue this discussion.” And with that said, the Dinobot Commander cut the communication link and his hologram disappeared from sight.

“That piece of slag,” Prowl uttered and he slammed his fist down onto the table. The black and white then turned and retrieved his chair, placing it back at the table before sitting down again. The strategist looked around at those present, ultimately settling his gaze on Ultra Magnus. “My apologies, sir. I allowed emotions to escape my control. It was uncalled for.”

Deep down, Prowl wasn’t sorry for anything. The rex-former was a major pain in the aft and more than deserved everything that was said. The thing that irked the prick-bot most was the fact that Grimlock was actually right. They did need him and his team and honestly they needed the Trion, as well. The Dinobots were one of the elite squads the Autobot war machine had to offer. Losing them at a time like this would be detrimental in the ongoing conflict with the Decepticons. As for the warship they stole, it would be put to good use. Returning it to the shipyards now that it was here would be foolish. Like the Dinobots, the Trion was sorely needed in order to counter the power of the Thanatos.

Prowl kept his optics fixated on the City Commander as he added one last thought to the proceedings. “Needless-to-say, Magnus, given the Dinobots’ inability to follow orders and penchant for doing whatever the frag they want, they should NOT be considered for the combiner project. No way!”

Observation Lounge

Final minutes of the fourth quarter... The quarterback sets and the players all finalize their positioning... The crowd roars in anticipation, excitement traveling through the stadium in a radiation that could be felt in the field below. Superstar wide receiver, Eject makes one final look towards the QB before he starts calling the huts. The ball is snapped, superstar wide receiver Eject jukes by the Defensive end and sprints down the side of the field before cutting in towards the middle. The QB throws the Hail Mary...

"ANNNNND ITS GOOOOOD!!! TOUCHDOWN !!!" Exclaimed the cassettebot as he burst into room, throwing a data pad in the air like it was a football. He held the device up above his head to taunt at the imaginary team he scored out, the sound of his made up crowd cheering hissing from his vocalized as he spun around and saw he wasn't alone.

"Ahhhhh- oh... I uh... He-here's the all the information I was able to get from Rewind before he... you know... Anyways. He mentioned a place called 'Pah-Roo' in there, didn't know if any of that data was important or not."

The tiny sports fanatic then glanced about at all the intendees gathered with the room, an unsure finger tapping against the area his chin hid behind his protective mouthplate.

"What's all going on in here? Pregame party or something?"

Corridors outside Bounce Chambers

Sideswipe held a thousand yard stare with the wall across from his, arms folded over his carhood-of-a-chestplate as he grimaced at the thought that Blades pretty much got off scottfree from their little "disagreement".

"Maybe we can- wait no..." Sideswipe pondered without breaking his glance, "Oh you know what, we could- nope, done that before..." He finally broke his state with the wall to look over towards his brother.

"C'mon Sunny, help me think of something here!"

Main Science Lab

Chromedome locked optical visor's with the Protectobot medical officer as the tried to formulate some sort of response for Rewind's premature leave from Axle's care. There wasn't a lie he could think of that First Aid wouldn't be able to quickly call him out on, all it would take is a phone call to the medic back in the Longevity's medical bay.

"Well, you see..." Chromedome stuttered, his index fingers rapidly tapping against each other not allowing any room for his conjunx endure to jump up and defend himself. "Jetfire had called me up to help with all... this here, and I just..." He froze in his thought, unsure of how to truly answer the next portion of words. He let out a sigh before he continued on.

"Okay, I was the one who pulled Rewind from his slab. He seemed well enough to get back into the fray of things that I just got too excited to see him okay. If Axle has an issue with this, don't let him punish Rewind for it, it was my fault..."

-

Getaway looked at the projection Jetfire had pulled up on what little information the Autobots had gathered on both the Devastator scans as well as the ancient records of Monstructor. He rubbed his chin plate thoughtfully, as Jetfire's words echoed in his processor.

"Well, I may not be a genius like the lot of you are, but you don't need the techie mumbo jumbo to see that Monstructor and Devvy both consist of six team members. Last I checked, none of our special teams have that many members. Mean, not unless any of you are planning on growing some ruddy wings and joining the Aerialbots any time soon."

Main Science Lab

"What we have seen so far the special teams do seem to be the better candidates. If this is true, the question then lies as to why they would work instead of random group of Cybertronians? What makes the Monstercons and Constructicons so special and do we have anyone who might share those qualities? One thing I will give you, Getaway, is the special teams have more time working together as a team which hopefully will help in the combination process physically and mentally. One could technically say I might fit in a gestalt with the Aerialbots since I'm a fellow flier. The only problem is I'm much larger than four of them and still a bit bigger than Silverbolt. However, I've flown a few missions with them in the past but often times I'm more of a solo pilot. Who says some of our ground based units couldn't work together to form a workable cohesion?"

Jetfire looked over at the tension of First Aid and Rewind.

"With all due respect, First Aid, as long as Rewind sits there and observe as is his main function than I don't see why he would have to leave. If he does have problems, you as well as a few of us here could help out even if we need to run and get some supplies."


Observation Lounge

Hot Spot listen to what Ultra Magnus had to say and Prowl's own input. He was amused with the outburst he shown when Grimlock's likeness appeared in the hologram. It seems it takes one to know one when it came to bending or forgetting the rules altogether. A smirk came across his face as he watched Prowl lose his cool. It did surprise him a bit when Prowl suggested the Aerialbots and even his Protectobots to be considered for a gestalt project. The mention of trying to duplicate the Phase Sixer process did bother him a bit.

"I appreciate the vote of confidence in my team, Prowl, but I would prefer waiting on what the tech guys come up with before of dreaming anything else. As for our own Phase Sixer, that would be a great project to undertake but I would agree with Magnus we need to focus on one major project at a time in the weapons department. I've got a personal project for Iron Fist which might prove useful down the space way but I've got no problems of putting it on hold until a better time."

Hot Spot noticed the new arrivals including one who wasn't invited. Times like these he wished he remembered to activate the security protocols on the doors but usually the observational lounge isn't used for meetings like this. They will probably get Grimlock in reality instead of hologram. This meeting is going to get interesting real quick.

"Before we get too lost in things, Ultra Magnus, what was the real reason for bringing us all here besides a debriefing of the future scientific programs?"

Corridors outside of Bounce Chambers

If an idle glance could melt a Cybertronian to a puddle of slag in mire nano seconds, the look Sunstreaker shot at his brother would have turned him into vapor in a swifter period of time. His optical ridges furrowed downwards in a brief scowl of disapproval before he leaned back against the wall directly across from the bounce chamber doors. The warrior shook his head slowly before he folded his arms across his chest and gave a mocking study of his twin. "Honestly," he finally began as he looked the red racer from head to toe and back again. "To get punk'd by a wannabe rescue bot... and then to let him off with out so much as a broken leg. Its like I don't even know you any more."

He shook his head again, further disappointed in his brother's decision to allow Blades to stare him down then walk away without reprisal. The very notion of what it would do to Sideswipe's reputation did not bother him, it was the damage that it would do to Sunstreaker's by association, that was what drove him to ire. "Sure he'd probably have kicked your aft plate from one end of the chamber to the next, but at least you'd have given him some rather interesting pointers on what it means to be a street fighter."

Sunstreaker took in a breath of atmosphere and held it. His mind began to wander ever so slightly as he contemplated what could be done to reestablish some of his own credibility. As he slowly exhaled, the first port docking port opened up and allowed for the ranger departure from the confines of Ultra Magnus's shuttle craft, the Longevity. The golden warrior did not offer so much as a nod of acknowledgement to Nova Strike as the soldier sharply turned down the corridor towards the primary lift that would take him to the bridge. He did, however, allow his mind to replay memories of the trio's all to brief display of combat techniques during the fight on the surface. Sunstreaker had to admit, albeit reluctantly, the kid had some flare for the dramatic... course he was in dire need of refinement before Nova Strike ever came to Sunstreaker's personal level of competence.

He looked back towards Sideswipe, expecting his younger brother to begin an active protest about the brief exchange. Instead the air between them had fallen silent as the two began pondering what their next move would be. To be frank almost anything was better than another breem being cooped up in this sterile titanium can. Well almost anything, Kup's announcement for deploying any and all active and unassigned Autobots Earth side had proven tempting... until Sunstreaker realized exactly what a duty would entail. Physical labor and increased damage to his newest paint job. Still it was better than doing nothing, waiting for an assignment worthy of satisfying his own personal lust for brutal face to face combat.

Slowly the golden poster protoform for Cybertronian Turtler Brand wax, released his held atmospheric intake. "Well, we could always go down to the mud ball with ole Kup. Probably going to put us to work, but its better than sitting up here rusting for no reason." Just as he was about to offer his second suggestion, the hallway shook ever so slightly as if the ship itself had been struck by a larger object. Sunstreaker did not break his stance or lose his balance as the vibrations began to subside after the inertial dampening field finally took hold to restore control.

He looked over to his left again. Directly opposite of the airlock that lead down the docking boon to the Longevity, was the Guardian's secondary docking port. It was most recently used when the frigate had been linked with the Ark 22 only a day or two ago. But some how Sunstreaker doubted Ultra Magnus would have reconstituted that status quo so soon after a major battle that had rendered both ships damaged, although neither had seen direct combat themselves. The risks alone for having them linked made such an option inadvisable... if a power surge struck the 22, and passed through the boon to the Guardian, it would take weeks to repair the access damage... at least that was the most logical reasons and examples.

Pushing off the wall, Sunstreaker unfolded his arms and let them fall to his sides as he watched the iris of the airlock rotate into the thresholds that surrounded it. A flare of green light soon followed as the telltale mists of pressurized gases soon crawled along the floor. There was a small mote of silence as time seemed to slow down in a brief bout of anticipation.

Lost amidst slowing of time, a quartet of quartermasters and munition transports turned down their corridor towards the first airlock. Sunstreaker paid them little heed as they pushed large carts of cylindrical materials down into the heart of the combat shuttle. At least five carts, each with two ovoid cylinders that looked much like traditional torpedoes though their true forms obscured by opaque fabric covers. The light above the second airlock flashed green and a larger burst of pressurized gases emerged as the main lock on the approaching boon finally reached equilibrium. The quartermasters evacuated the Longevity as rapidly as they had appeared only to reappear with a cart of energon rations and fuel cells being pushed with great haste down the docking boon back into the cargo hold.

Finally the shadowed figure of the second boon emerged, large, towering and decidedly irritated. His silver fins that highlighted his shoulders in prominence were steeled back as if their owner was ready for a straight knuckle dragging brawl. Sunstreaker looked back at Sideswipe with a knowing nod. If Grimlock was here, after all that had gone down, then it did not bode well for Prowl or a great many in the Dinobot's path. Typically Sunstreaker did not mind the idea of getting into a rather deep scrape, so long as he could enjoy it to the fullest. The problem was, when Grimlock was involved, there were rare opportunities for enjoyment, and besides he had just gotten a new wax and really wasn't in the mood for another seven hours with a hydraulic polisher.

Instead, Sunstreaker got a more interesting idea to preserve his current vernier. He turned his optics once again to the newly restocked and loaded Longevity and cocked a satisfied smirk. "You want to do something different 'Swipes? Then lets get a better view point of the show that's about to erupt on the bridge... From the outside. Up close yet out of the way of stray shrapnel." He reached over and slapped his brother on the shoulder. "Besides you're scraping fender owes me for that last embarrassment with Blades. Lets board now while there's still a ship left to board."

Med Bay Proper

For a brief moment Hex offlined his optics, the gentle stroke calming his somewhat overworked processor, but they powered back up before he got too comfortable. Without saying a word the young mech shrugged and easily pushed Axle’s hand away.

The former surgeon didn’t protest when his had was moved. Instead he let out a heavy sigh and moved away from the slab. He scooped up a scanner and several other tools and laid them down on a tray beside the berth. “You weren’t supposed to be awake for another couple of hours.” Axle said softly as he prepared his equipment. “Aid nearly had a heart attack….well, not really a heart attack.”

Hex shifted slightly, but still made attempt to respond.

“Do you remember why you woke up screaming?” He questioned gently. Axle waited for a moment but the youngling refused to speak. “I’m going to run a few tests. Nothing bad just routine.” The black and green medic placed a hand lightly on Hex’s upraised shoulder and carefully guided him back onto his back. For the most part Hex did not resist.

Axle held out the scanner in his hand in front of Hex’s optics. “It’s just a flow scanner. Won’t even need to touch you. Although I will need you to lie still for a few minutes. Other than that it won’t even hurt.” He flashed a reassuring smile, but when Hex didn’t even move to look the smile faded. “Right. Okay, let’s get started.”

The former surgeon hesitated for moment before he gathered himself and started his work. Only seconds into it and Hex’s hand shot up gripping him by the wrist. “Hex? What is it? What’s wrong?” Axle grew worried when his ward just stared up at the ceiling.

“Ship.” Hex whispered. Axle leaned down hoping it would be repeated. “What was that?”

Axle started to worry since Hex hadn’t moved or spoken again for another few moments. He tried to tug his wrist free but it was held tight. And finally, “He’s awake.”

Confused Axle waved a hand before Hex’ optics catching the young bot’s attention. “Who’s awake, Hex? What’s going on? Talk to me, please.”

Hex looked at his guardian, face void of expression and in a low solemn voice he spoke. “Rodimus. He’s awake.”

Axle stepped away from the berthside and accessed the closest terminal. He quickly ran through the established links via The Ark 22’s and the Guardian’s medical bays and brought up the monitors that were connected to Hot Rod and his medical slab. Sure enough Hot Rod had woken up. In fact he and Hex had woken up at the exact same time.

“How did you know…” Axle slowly stepped back beside Hex and stared down at his deadpan visage.

“I don’t wanna talk about it.” Was the only response the young mech gave.

Medical Bay – Private Area

While in the corridor outside of the med bay Smokescreen had mentioned that he assumed that of the Decepticon forces were present during the battle with the Fallen. And his mention of seeing Oil Slick did not go unnoticed by the scout. In fact it was the chemist in whom she was interested in. However, she never gave any indication that that was the case. Instead she simply squeezed Smokescreen’s hand and nodded.

But now that they were finally inside and were behind a privacy screen, Tracer felt slightly more at ease. But only slightly. She stepped back and watched and waited while Wheeljack set Smokescreen and his slab up.

Once Jack stepped aside Tracer moved in beside the slab and took up her original position gently taking hold of Smokescreen’s hand once more. And just as she looked down at the red and blue racer in popped Dex and following close behind was Razr.

Tracer smiled and motioned for her pet to come with a small jerk of her head. Razr happily trotted over. He rose up on his hind legs and placed both front paws on the slab’s edge. “I think Razr wants to say hi.” With her free hand she stroked the turbofox’s head. “He missed you.” She scratched behind his ear.

While she doled her affection on her little pet she watched Wheeljack with Dex. Tracer half listened to the engineer and the rallybot’s exchange until Smokescreen looked back at her.

“I ain’t going anywhere. I’ve got an angel *cough cough* watching over me here."

If it were possible Tracer would have blushed.

“Oh, dear Primus,"

Tracer peered over at the scientist and smiled before she turned her attention back to Smokescreen’s dopey expression. “Yeah. I think those sedatives are kicking in big time.” She chuckled as she leaned down and kissed his forehead.

>>”Here, Tracer, these are the vials of Syk. Take three of them now and save the others for later like we previously discussed. I would take them here where I can keep an optic on you. Between these curtains and little Razr, no one will see you take them. Okay?"<<

She tried so hard to keep the smile on her face as she refused to worry Smokescreen. He had so much more to be concerned about. Making him worry about her would seem too cruel.

Tracer stood back up and gave Smokey’s hand a light squeeze before she let it go and stepped over to Jack. The scout took the vials in her hand and nodded. With her opposite hand she signaled Razr to place himself between her and the curtain.

She then stepped toward the back of the secluded area and found a syringe. After combining the contents of three of the vials inserted then and then Tracer turned her back to Smokescreen. She took a deep breath placed the device in position and slowly pressed the plunger. The blue and white femme let out a hiss of pain before she jerked the syringe out and let it drop to the floor.

The three doses of the synthetic Syk worked quickly this time. Before she knew it she had dropped to her knees. Her optics brightened as her head dropped back. Her body grew slack as she stared up at nothing. This was what happened to anyone who had taken a large dose of the narcotic. Although not life threatening anyone witnessing it would find it rather terrifying. But after several breems the paralysis wears of and a degree of normalcy begins….at least it will be a sense of normalcy for the scout.

Science Laboratory

Ironfist took a position behind one of the auxiliary scientific analysis terminals located towards the far left corner of the laboratory. He turned the terminal on with a flip of the energizing toggle and immediately entered a combination of security codes. Moments later an amber light appeared on the bottom of his monitor indicating a secured triple encryption link had been established between the console terminal, with his off grid computer core and server. It seemed to him that he had spent much of his time behind computers lately rather than working on the latest ammunition development projects that were backing logging.

Finally the amber light turned a sickly green as the triple encryption link was secured. A few commands later and the Chief Engineer of the Guardian, opened several partially completed research files. Immediately he transferred the first file set to the holographic projector at the heart of the laboratory. "I hate to quash your theory Jetfire," he began as the image of twelve individuals. He arranged them into two tiers, the top six included the known members of the Monstercons. Each of them were then leveled up once more, giving an image of their robotic forms as well as their transformed alternate modes.

He then used the second level and accomplished the same feet with the six presumed Constructicons, their robotic forms on top and their vehicles below them. After a few more commands, Ironfist added a segregated third to the projection, this time showing confirmed members of the Constructicon legion. Those of past incarnations of the unit as well as other known squadrons... and a few who had deserted their ranks in favor of the Autobots.

As the images were set to slow rotation, he activated a small laser projection and pointed it towards the Monstercon robot forms. "I do not believe time served is even a remote factor in this discussion. From what is known, the Monstercons were simply volunteers for a scientific program for the energon credits. They had no direct connection, or if they had it was nothing if not minimal. In fact I would not be remiss to surmise that their initial interviews were probably their first time laying optical units upon one another." He lowered the laser pointer and activated the last recorded transformation and merger sequence they had on record and forced them to combine into Monstructor.

"I do not believe alternative forms matter in this function either." He issued a command and attempted to repeat the process, the amalgam immediately fell apart. The mound of holographic monster forms laid motionlessly as the Monstructor form slowly began to rotate. "From what studies and research I've read, the one thing the Monstructor Six had in common were similar robot mold forms. More specifically they were nearly identical body types." He recreated the six robot forms surrounding the rotating gestalt. He then removed their distinctive armor additions to display nearly identical forms.

"The same can be said for the Constructicon Six," he repeated the processes for the newest threat Devastator. Each robot form was nearly identical to the next, differences only width which were due to functions and necessities to handle larger loads. "These six have served together for eons, but their body types have always been along the same lines... However, if we substitute one of the other forms to this model." Ironfist pulled the figure of Bonecrusher from the Combiner and replaced it with a slightly modified version of Scoop. Immediately the model had the combiner itself destabilize and come apart.

"Now then, I will thwart my own proposal with this next example." Ironfist repeated the process, restoring Bonecrusher to the matrix but replacing Hook with the known defector Hauler, who had a similar build. The results were the same, Devastator collapsed or failed to form. "So if proximity or time served do not fill even the most basic necessities of Combining, at least through these computer models, and only in certain cases can similar body types be an influencing factor, perhaps there is a quality that is much deeper."

He ordered the images of the Constructions, both past and present, to shrink to the lower portion of the projection. He then pulled the robotic forms of the Monstercons and again arranged them in an orbiting circle around Monstructor. "Skids, First Aid, I hope you two have had a chance to study the medical reports on these six. Perhaps you can offer some... theories as to why they were capable of this procedure."

Medical Bay -- Private Area

Smokescreen had found his happy place. The sedatives coursing through his systems were working very well now, numbing not only the pain in his broken right arm but everywhere else on his damaged frame, as well. Tracer and 'Jack probably thought it was funny, but Smokey didn’t mind. At least he wasn’t suffering the way he had been. Sure the sedatives would eventually wear off, but hopefully by then he’d have his new forearm attached and be resting comfortably in a CR chamber. The rallybot would be good as new in no time. He just needed to be patient and hang on just a little while longer.

Smokescreen’s attention was drawn from Tracer’s angelic visage to the small turbofox that now had its front paws perched up on the edge of the medical berth. The little pet looked happy to see him and Smokey couldn’t help but smile widely in return. “Hey there, Razr, how you doing *cough cough* little fella? You being good?” The red and blue mech glanced up at Tracer and nodded. “I missed him *cough* too.”

The rallybot then laid his head back down and stared up at the ceiling as Tracer made mention of the drugs taking good affect now. “Yeah, they sure are! Weeeeeee!!” The dopey expression on Smokescreen’s faceplate only got worse at that point. Thankfully, he was hidden behind a privacy screen so no one other than Tracer and Wheeljack could see his ridiculous reactions. “Hey, guys, you think if my door wings were made bigger I could fly around like a seeker? *cough cough* Maybe I could have a jet pack like Side- *cough* -swipe. That would be nice. Don’t ya think? I think so. heh.”

The diversion expert’s ramblings subsided as Tracer let go of his hand and moved away from him, approaching Wheeljack. “Hey, where are you going? I thought we were *cough* having a tender moment.” Smokescreen then looked over at Razr and chuckled. “Femmes. Heh.”

Seemingly ignoring Smokescreen’s silly question and comments, Tracer focused on ‘Jack, taking the six vials of Syk from the inventor and stepping to the back of the private area where she quickly found a syringe. Once three of the vials were combined, she administered the Syk and had an immediate reaction to it. Falling to her knees, the troubled femme’s body went completely slack as her cranium tilted backwards, giving the impression that she was looking up at the ceiling.

The huge smile on Smokescreen’s faceplate began to fade as he noticed Tracer sitting motionless on the floor. “Hey, Tracer! You okay?” The rallybot’s overt happiness quickly began to disappear as intense fear crept in to take its place. “Tracer! Tracer!!! Wheeljack, something’s wrong! Help her!” The rallybot cried out as he managed to force himself up slightly using his left arm as support.

Wheeljack had gotten very little work done on building Smokescreen’s new arm when he heard the rallybot’s pleas for help. His previous drug-induced silliness was gone as genuine panic had set in. The mad scientist spun around to look at the diversion expert before quickly turning to see Tracer on the floor. “Fraggit!” The inventor exclaimed, rushing to the troubled femme’s side and kneeling down next to her. ‘Jack immediately scanned her vitals and found that she was, for the most part, okay. Her systems were simply reacting to such a high dosage of Syk.

>>“She’s all right, Smokes,”<< Wheeljack confirmed over a private comm line, glancing back at the rallybot before returning his attention to the drug-addled scout. >>“Her body’s in temporary paralysis, but it will wear off in a few breems. It’s just a reaction to such a high dosage of Syk. She’ll be fine. I promise.”<<

Smokescreen let out a relieved gasp of air as he laid his head back down onto the med birth. >>“You could’ve warned me,”<< the former street racer replied back through the private channel as a few more coughs emanated from his vocalizer.

>>“My apologies, Smokes. I should have foreseen this,”<< Wheeljack conceded as he carefully picked Tracer up in his arms and laid her down on a second med berth situated at the rear of the secluded area. After one more scan, the engineer moved away from the troubled femme and back to his work station, glancing at Smokescreen once more. >>”Try not to worry. She’ll be awake again soon, and I think you’ll see that she’ll be back to normal, at least for a little while.”<<

Wheeljack then cut the private comm link between them before continuing. “As for your new forearm, I should have this put together and ready for transplant within a cycle or two. Assuming, that is, there’s no further interruptions.” After one last reassuring smile, the inventor turned back towards his work station and continued toiling away on the new arm.

All the while, Smokescreen couldn’t help but worry about Tracer, whose prone form was now lying motionless on another med berth not far from him. No matter what Wheeljack said or promised, the rallybot would always worry about the blue scout. As long as she suffered from her condition and was addicted to Syk, he would be concerned for her well-being. Somehow, some way, the diversion expert needed to find a cure, even if it meant traveling to the farthest reaches of the universe in order to do so.

Whatever it takes, no matter the cost, Smokey thought as his optics remained fixated on Tracer's paralyzed body.

Corridors

Sideswipe's optics rolled as Sunstreaker teased him about the situation with Blades. It's not like he wanted to let him off so easily, it's the fact that the Protectobot had a guardian angel in the form of Hot Spot to break up their little disagreement. All the more reason he wanted to think of a way to get back at him for not sticking to his guns and letting his boss call off the fight.

"You want to do something different 'Swipes? Then lets get a better view point of the show that's about to erupt on the bridge... From the outside. Up close yet out of the way of stray shrapnel. Besides your scraping fender owes me for that last embarrassment with Blades. Lets board now while there's still a ship left to board."

The Crimson warrior looked over to his brother, his facial expression changing from his former scowl to one that displayed a mild curiosity. What was he referring to? Better view? Better view of what exact-

Oh... Oh ho ho.

"Oh, now we're talking!" Sideswipe exclaimed excitedly as he stood straight up from leaning against the wall, returning his brother's little jab to the shoulder with one of his own. "Let's go then, if i don't see Prowl get tossed through a windscreen because of you, I'm replacing your Turtler Wax with black paint."

Longevity

Stepping through the airlock, Sideswipe was met only with the silence that filled the cabin. He peered around the corner to find the pilot's cabin devoid of any personnel.

"Like taking the energon from a protoform." He smirked as he worked his way to the empty cabin of the ship. Once inside, he made a bee-line for the primary control console and looked over all the shiny keys and constructs. "I wonder what this one does!" The crimson warrior joyfully announced as he pressed against the command console, the ship beginning to hum with life once more. Just had to wait till the engines were warmed up once again.

Bounce Chamber

The room filled with an intense light once again as Springer's frame materialized within the Guardian's bounce chamber. The sheen faded in his blue optics as his vision adjusted back to the more natural light. Not wasting any time, he made his exit towards Magnus' prized shuttle while Arclight and Sandstorm hopefully keeping up with his determined pace.

Longevity

Shortly after his first few steps inside the main cabin of the combat shuttle, the Longevity swayed as the screech of the boarding tube and docking clamps disengaged from the hull of the ship.

"Well I see Magnus is in a hurry then." Springer quipped, finally stabilizing himself as he could feel the gentle pull of the shuttle beginning to distance itself from the Guardian. "Not like him to get antsy like this..."

The green and yellow triplechanger soon stood before the doorway that led to the command cabin of the shuttle. He hit the key to open the blast door which retreated into the bulkheads with a sharp and short hiss.

"Oh you've got to be joking." Springer commented, causing Sideswipe to spin around in his chair and face the new arrivals.

Huh... I thought we would've made it further away before they sent for security after us...

"Springer! Welcome aboard!" The Crimson warrior exclaimed, his arms shooting out in a grand gesture to help his performance. "What brings you over here?"

"Ultra Magnus sent me... Says we should test out some new weapon system... He didn't mention anything about you two joining us though."

"He didn't?! See 'Streaker, I told you there was something weird about the instructions he gave us! Always forgetting to tell the others about us again..."

"Riiiiight... Well, let's not waste any more time." Springer said as he approached the command chair Ultra Magnus previously occupied. "Set a course for the Kupier Belt, just beyond Sol 8."

"Right away!" Sideswipe confirmed with false excitement once more, spinning around to the enter the destination into the flight computer. His cheerful grin was soon replaced with a dissatisfied scowl as the Longevity coasted past the Autobot frigate. The idea was to spin the ship around and watch Prowl get thrown through a table or two by an angered Grimlock, not tag along with Springer. First his fight with Blades was denied and shoved aside, and now this?

Sideswipe rubbed the upper bridge of his nose where it met with his brow. He better get to shoot something out here or else he'll probably just put a bullet through his own processor.

Observation Lounge

Sentinel Prime had once told him there would be situations such as this, subordinates of similar rank would go above or around one another's authority to accomplish some vain stroke to their ego or to better their situations as a whole. Unfortunately, Sentinel's advice was not even remotely helpful. Grabbing a case of the highest grade possible and sit back to enjoy the show really did not solve any problems... so much as it ended up with a five alarm hangover and a rather slick mess on one's deck afterwards. Though he had also warned him that if one was a complete hot head, and the other a cold fueled killer, put your credits on the hot head as they were often unpredictable and pretty much specialized in pulling victories out of their exhaust ports.

Ultra Magnus was not a gambling mechanism, but even he could see that this situation between two officers with eons of experience and egos as vast as the gulf between galaxies, was toxic and almost ready to devolve to something less than savory. He wanted to admonish the strategist, to break the cycle before it had ever devolved to the likely storm front.

Unconsciously his figures had intertwined and rested in a meditative posture before him. Slowly and now deliberately he released them to fall palms down upon the table. "Indeed, It is not like you Prowl. However the situation between yourself and Grimlock in particular is not usual either." Magnus paused a moment as he read the optics of those who were present, Red Alert, Eject and Nova Strike had joined them by now, each of them witnessing the lost composure of the present second in command of the sector. Quietly he shook his head. "Knowing the situation as it stands, I will put it to bed after these proceedings."

He leaned back and turned the holographic display back to the original frozen still of Hot Spot delivering a powerful hey maker on Motormaster. As the computer worked to restore the original briefing files, Magnus took the moment to address another contention Prowl had made upon entering. "As far as the Capsule goes Prowl, the shuttles on board the 22 lack the necessary delivery systems, and the Longevity is currently on assignment as of now. And, thanks to Hot Spot's eager leadership, the Guardian is only a handful of breems or less from being able to make the trek without issue. I also have other reasons... I will leave it at that for now."

Ultra Magnus turned ever so slightly to catch Hot Spot's optic and gave a nod of agreement. "Indeed, we have other more pressing matters to address. Particularly given its very necessity is part in parcel is the result of a lack of actual discipline and failure to follow proper protocols." The Autobot commander reached over to the controlling pad of the holographic projector and ordered the frozen frame to slowly begin rotating before enlarging to double its original size, nearly a third the size of a full sized Cybertronian. He then activated the play back codes and watched the events unfold as he had a dozen times before.

The results were the same as Hot Spot's fist cracked into the flank of Motormaster before shifting to various other portions of the battlefield. As the battle played out, the recorded images shifted from various engagements to another, flickers of long distant shelling from the Decepticon Brawl to the source of his targeting acumen and traditional optic in the sky, Vortex. The battle recording shifted again back to the two unit commanders as they dueled it out before finally settling on Vortex again. This time the Combaticon Interrogator had broken off his stationary position and began firing his own weapons down upon the Autobot positions, covering the withdrawal of the rest of the Decepticon units.

It was here Magnus froze the playback. He entered a zoom command on two particular contrails of exhaust. "This is why I have called six of you. As you can see, some time before our battle in Australia, Hot Spot's unit had been dispatched to the North American Country known as The United States, and to be specific the region known as Kansas. This was done to thwart the Stunticons in their attempt to steal energon for whatever purpose they had at the time. However the battle was short lived, the appearance of the Combaticons clearly adding a complication. In particular Vortex."

He ordered the playback to continue but this time focusing on the two missiles that had been fired. The recording played on until the munitions disappeared into a corn field, without so much as an explosion. "Now I am sure I do not have to explain as to what the problem with this recording is." He slowly swept his optics to each member present, giving Hot Spot and Prowl an extra nano second before moving along.

After a moment the recording entered a loop, this time only showing the contrails of Vortex's missiles as they disappeared without detonation. "Now then, I am pretty sure that such a recovery operation of munitions by either side should have been an automatic response... regardless of situation. Especially given the current state of affairs with regard to Earth itself and the level of Infiltration we are currently in." He let his optics dim briefly before intertwined his fingers again and allowed his elbows to rest on the obsidian conference table. "However, I also understand that since that engagement, other more pressing matters arose... particularly dealing with the possession of our friends and the madness of the Fallen."

"Since our return from the surface, I have gone over the records and the reports... Reports that are not as meticulous as I would like. So far as it had been determined by passive sensors, no further bounce transmissions had been detected. Independent and localized scans failed to pick up radiation concurrent with bounce transmission processes." He let the thoughts sink in. If there had been no bounces, no emergency recovery from either side... then that meant something that breached every treaty constructed. But that was minor when compared to the potential implications with regards to the native population of the world they currently orbited.

A minute passed, small chatter was allowed but Magnus did not answer questions directly. Instead he collapsed the repeating projection on the monitors that lined the walls behind him. Immediately he replaced them with a global map with a several distorted points radiating across it, originating from Australia. The map lingered on the global setting before zooming in at rapid speed to a small speck of land in the Central Pacific. The image on the monitor was granted a higher resolution based on previous scans and taps into Google Maps. The spit of land became nearly a dozen smaller spots of land each one growing from west to east until the largest dominated the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

"By not confirming the battlefield had been scrubbed, we have made it possible for the American Government to secure evidence of our existence. Not to mention allowing them access to sensitive technology for either side." Ultra Magnus sighed briefly. "With regards to the first element, Humanity is clever and I doubt our presence would escape their notice for long. But we will reveal ourselves on our own terms, when the situation is more amicable. As for the second, this issue is why you six have been summoned."

He leaned back again to his chair and allowed the holographic image to switch to file images of the two missiles one on top of the other and in a counter rotation. "These Americans have recovered these devices, which even by Decepticon standards, are top of the line. If our sensor records are to be trusted, they have been removed from their primary continent to one of their outposts." The monitor flickered again, shrinking the isle chain to the lower right of the screen while scrolling through numerous pieces of data.

"All of this data is a tip of the proverbial asteroid... The last recorded location of these weapons was as they headed into port of the largest island." By now his optics settled on Prowl. His vision narrowed as he attempted to read the normally stoic and unemotional strategist. For a single atomic second Magnus doubted his choice for a team commander, not for the lack of capability but for sheer concern for Prowl's over all health. But as rapidly as the notion had appeared, he rejected it. If Prowl could not over come such hurdles, then would not be where he was now. And the choice of team members meant Magnus needed the tactician to reign them in and keep them on target.

"Prowl, you and your team are to head to this human outpost, you are to locate the two missiles and extract them before the humans can delve any deeper into our technology. Furthermore, you are to see to it that all data and findings are erased." He glanced briefly over towards Hot Spot. "You will serve as this operation's executive officer. Your drive will be valuable, but keep it tempered Hot Spot. This is a delicate situation, and we can ill afford to exacerbate it any further."

He returned his attention to Prowl. "Red Alert will go along as your security expert. I highly doubt the humans left their prize unguarded. His job will be to find ways in and out, without jeopardizing the humans or ourselves. Eject will serve as our counter electronics expert, which goes without saying." Magnus leaned forward again. "This is a heavily populated region of the island. Meaning incognito is an absolute. Given Nova Strike's prior experiences behind enemy lines, he will serve as your personal figure head Prowl."

"Wait figure.. .What?!" Nova Strike's head jerked back in surprise, almost hard enough to snap a support hydraulic. "Why am I serving as Prowl's personal pet?"

Ultra Magnus simply cocked a half smile. "Because, your lack of uniform is a benefit and your adaptability is a useful skill... And you have a propensity for talking yourself into and out of of trouble." He looked back to Prowl, taking note as the smaller ranger slumped in his chair. "One more thing before I open the floor for last minute questions... Rules of Engagement are absolute. You are NOT to engage the Decepticons... I highly doubt their little scrap up will stay forgotten for very long, and they will want their property back. Which means you will more than likely run into them. Avoid them at all costs, except at the cost of the mission itself. I cannot impress this enough. This is a population center, and if you entered into a fight there, any hopes of peacefully blending in... goes up in phosphorous smoke. Do I make my self absolutely clear?" Now his optics darted from Red Alert to Hot Spot and settling finally on the Ranger.

"Any questions?"

Bounce Chamber

Arclight had not been prepared for the bounce. As such, she felt utterly sick when she materialized on the Guardian. Springer bustled on ahead into the ship, leaving Arclight to stumble after him in a daze. She had to jog. Not the easiest feat with the strange mix of excitement and sick she felt.

Longevity

After following Springer into the main cabin of the shuttle, Arclight fell to her knees and leaned against one of the benches there. She just. Needed. To take five. Yeah. Oh Solus Prime help her. It hit her as she tried to prevent herself from purging her tanks. She was onboard for Springer’s adventure now. She could feel the shuttle pulling away. Point of no return come and gone.

“Well,” Arclight muttered to herself, “Welcome aboard, I guess…” Pushing herself back onto her feet, Arclight wearily trudged over to where Springer had disappeared to. She stood at the doorway to the command shuttle staring at its occupants. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Huh. Well. Those two…She’d heard many things about those two. Never had the…something…of meeting them in person really. Arclight wasn’t so sure she wanted to.

“Uh…Springer?” Arclight called from the door, “What, uh…where do you want me?” She glanced over to Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, giving them a little wave if they deigned to look back at her.

Main Science Lab

Almost immediately after Rewind asked for interviews, Jetfire and Ironfist burst through the doors. The archivist looked over to them as Jetfire called out his name.

”Blaster was already sent on a high priority mission which I do not know of the details. Rewind, you probably would have been here anyways but inside of Blaster. With your unique interest in ground breaking things, you would have an interest in being here.”

Blaster was off on some high priority mission? Rewind couldn’t help but wonder what. Though he wasn’t quite sure that he enjoyed Jetfire’s assumption that he lived inside of Blaster at all times. He and the rest of the cassettobots were still people. Rewind shrugged inwardly. Chalk it up to Jetfire being Jetfire. Looked like they were going to get down to business. Rewind activated his camera. Time to record this for posterity.

“Rewind? What’re you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the med bay. I don’t remember Axle clearing you.” He stepped over to the small archivist. “Did you talk with Axle before you left?” He looked from Rewind to Chromedome.

“Uh…” Rewind stuttered, taken aback by the sudden entrance of First Aid. Jetfire had said something about him coming…The tiny archivist raised his hands helplessly, not sure what to say. Before he could get anything out one way or the other, Chromedome stepped in again taking the blame.

"Okay, I was the one who pulled Rewind from his slab. He seemed well enough to get back into the fray of things that I just got too excited to see him okay. If Axle has an issue with this, don't let him punish Rewind for it, it was my fault..."

“Wait a second! Domey!”

While Chromedome and Rewind were preoccupied with the arrival of First Aid, Skids continued to be enraptured by the schematics before him, absorbing what Jetfire said with great interest. He glanced over to Getaway, listening to his input thoughtfully. “Hm…” Jetfire’s rebuttal went along with his line of thinking, but it relied on quite a few assumptions. Trying to reverse engineer this process…it would be tricky. Skids continued to glance through the information even as Jetfire’s attention shifted elsewhere.

"With all due respect, First Aid, as long as Rewind sits there and observe as is his main function than I don't see why he would have to leave. If he does have problems, you as well as a few of us here could help out even if we need to run and get some supplies."

“I feel alright, Aid. Really,” Rewind said, “Don’t be too hard on Domey.”

It was then that Ironfist intervened, drawing the attentions of both Rewind and Skids as he added his input on their working theory. Skids tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Perhaps it is something in the very CNA, or source code. Something that only certain individuals have? And perhaps psychological compatibility plays a role too, Jetfire. They perhaps instinctually group together. Perhaps. That is all I can say,” Skids muttered.

“Do we have any detailed scans of the Monstructor Six? I heard they went into Autobot custody sometime during the start of the war. Maybe we can try comparing their source code to one of the members of our special teams.”

Observation Deck

Red Alert was taken aback by the ferocity displayed by Prowl. Instead of having any of his asked questions answered, he got a lot of his unanswered ones answered. And more questions arose. Red Alert took a seat as he digested the answers to questions that had plagued him for quite some time. The disappearance of the Ark-19…The Dinobots’ disappearance. Prowl’s involvement. Red Alert clenched his fists.

If only he’d been told as it was all happening! Maybe then he wouldn’t have gotten so damn distracted by everything else. Maybe then he would have been able to see…see the Fallen coming. Prevented that battle for their survival entirely. As Red’s internal turmoil grew, the external turmoil in the room grew as Prowl practically exploded. Red had never seen the black and white strategist so upset. Well. Maybe he had. But not for a long while in any case.

“Combiner project?” Red Alert asked curiously. He’d have to look into that. And he meant to this time. He would be in the loop. So that nothing like the Fallen fiasco ever happened again. At that moment, Eject burst into the room shouting something about good and being down?! It made Red Alert start to his feet and whirl, looking down at the blue cassettobot.

Seeing now that there was no threat, the security officer relaxed slightly and turned his attention toward Ultra Magnus. From what he could gather, something about a capsule and delivering something somewhere? Prowl was clearly concerned about it, but he’d look up the reports later. For the time being, Magnus had something more pressing to share. An undetonated missile from an earlier combat. A violation to the Tyrest Accord.

The thought made Red Alert’s circuits run cold. If the humans got their hands on it…then…They would all be in serious trouble if they failed to retrieve it. It was then that Magnus got to the matter of teams. With Prowl. Red turned his head slightly to look at the black and white prick-bot. He had words for Prowl. His optics narrowed.

However…Ultra Magnus managed to pull his attention away with an imperative that they under no circumstances engage with the Decepticons. Red wasn’t sure how well this would go. This whole team sounded like a bad idea. As Ultra Magnus opened the floor up for questions, Red eagerly stepped forward.

“What happened to the Fallen? Hot Rod? And the mechs he brainwashed? I’m afraid I cannot undertake this mission until I know that, Ultra Magnus, sir,” Red Alert said with quite a bit of determination. To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure that the whole Fallen nightmare was over. Any one of them could still be a brainwashed flunky. But…it didn’t seem all that likely…anymore. There was a sense of normalcy to the goings on now…And really why bother to brainwash everyone instead of wipe them out?

Observation Deck

"Red Alert isn't the only one with questions, sir. I understand there should be no open combat with the Cons but what will we do with the missiles once we retrieve them? Hand them over to the Cons or keep them ourselves? I know our tech boys would probably have fun taking them apart and this is assuming the humans haven't already done it themselves. We can only hope they fear for their lives to keep them from tampering with it too far. Would it be safe to say detonation will be acceptable if no other alternative is found with safe perimeters from the native population? I'm also assuming we have some sort of computer virus in mind that will wipe itself out before being found and isolated. It would be unwise to take one thing and leave another."

Hot Spot takes a moment and turns to Red Alert.

"The Fallen's spark is inside a canister which Ultra Magnus will get rid of in the system's star. The ideal hope is the spark will be crushed and returned to the All Spark. The more likely scenario is it will be trapped within the magnetic field of the star. Hot Rod is being watched and carefully examined to make sure there is nothing left of the Fallen inside of him. As for his heralds, the two he used on our side are in safe locations but no clue about the Cons. Since one of them was Drag Strip, I would expect Motormaster to enjoy punishing his lackey for any betrayal. No one on either side would want their troops to be controlled by the Fallen any more."

Hot Spot honestly didn't know exactly what was going on but if things went according to procedure, than what he said should be taking place or will be shortly. Red's interest in the gestalt project shouldn't be too surprised but considering how little Ultra Magnus, Prowl, and himself knew Hot Spot doubted Red would be getting too much more than them.

Docking Ring

Grimlock exited the docking tunnel, stepping across the threshold and into the medical frigate. He passed by several other Autobots along the way, but the rex-former just ignored them. Puny mechs were of no concern to him, except the minibot by his side who would soon give Prowl a cranial ache and the Dinobot Commander a much needed dose of comic relief.

Observation Lounge

As additional ‘Bots made their way into the lounge, Prowl remained focused on the situation at hand. Even Eject’s little sports-involved outburst didn’t distract the military strategist from the overall discussion. Hot Spot was the first to address the black and white, thanking him for considering the fire truck and his team for inclusion in the gestalt program before then giving his opinion of Project Hexabot. The Protectobot Commander felt it necessary to focus on one major project at a time, an opinion that the Autobot leader seemed to share.

“I suppose,” Prowl responded to Hot Spot before returning his attention to Ultra Magnus. “However, I strongly recommend that someone be assigned to at least begin analyzing the data from Sixshot that I collected. That way when the project is given the full green light, we can commence with haste. The Decepticons will not wait long to utilize their Phase Sixer against us. Likewise, we should not wait long, either. Having the ability to multi-task in various endeavors is imperative when we’re in the middle of a war and the opposing side has a distinct advantage over you.”

As for Prowl’s previous outburst, Magnus agreed that it was not like him, but the City Commander promised to put things to rest once the proceedings were over and that was good enough for the strategist. Let Magnus deal with the likes of Grimlock and his brood, which would allow Prowl to focus on more important details. At least they did have a new warship to help counter the Thanatos. The Trion would be put to good use as would that army of Autotroopers. The more men they had the better.

Magnus then addressed Prowl’s suggestion to use a shuttle to deliver the Fallen’s dark spark to its ultimate doom within the sun, stating that the shuttles lacked the necessary deliver system to achieve such a goal and that he had his own reasons for using the Guardian. The military strategist disagreed with that assessment, but he did not want to argue with the Autobot leader over it. Just as long as that dark spark was destroyed, Prowl would be satisfied.

The meeting then moved on to the real reason for which they were all there. Apparently, the Combaticon known as Vortex had fired two missiles during a previous conflict with the Protectobots down on the surface and the weapons failed to detonate. Prowl watched the holographic playback with great interest, letting out a deep sigh at what he was seeing. With all of the distractions that the Fallen had presented to both sides, the battlefield in Kansas had not been properly scrubbed as per Infiltration protocols. Thus, the humans had eventually recovered the missiles and taken them to a military outpost on an island in the Pacific Ocean. Now, it was up to the Autobots to somehow retrieve the Cybertronian missiles before the humans were able to delve any deeper into the alien technology.

“I see,” Prowl replied, rubbing his chin guard, shifting his optics back to Ultra Magnus, who then placed the military strategist in charge of the retrieval mission with Hot Spot serving as his executive officer (or 2nd-in-command), Red Alert as the security specialist and Eject as the team's counter electronics expert. Finally, Nova Strike would serve as Prowl’s figure head of sorts, given his previous experience behind enemy lines. Nova questioned the reasoning behind being Prowl’s pet as he put it. The black and white let a slight smile creep from his visage before it vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Magnus gave the ranger his reasons before making it perfectly clear that they were not to engage the Decepticons unless it was absolutely unavoidable. The island was heavily populated and thus the Autobots’ presence there needed to remain a secret from the natives. Ultra Magnus then opened the floor to questions.

Prowl sat back in his chair, lacing his actuators together in front of his faceplate. The strategist’s optics never broke from the Autobot leader at the head of the table as some of the others began asking their own questions. Red Alert wanted to know what happened to Hot Rod and the heralds, to which Hot Spot interjected an answer, but not before the Protectobot Commander had asked questions of his own regarding the two missiles once the Autobot team had retrieved them.

“Well, we’re not giving them to the ‘Cons that’s for sure,” Prowl replied with a brief glance over to Hot Spot. "I do like your virus idea, however. Not bad." The strategist gave the Protectobot leader a nod before returning his gaze to Ultra Magnus again. “My suggestion is to keep the rockets for study and eventual use in battle. I would like nothing more than to use their own weapons against them. However, if the retrieval team does encounter the enemy and they prevent us from taking the missiles then I suggest destroying them before the ‘Cons get their grubby little mitts on them.”

Prowl then leaned forward and placed his forearms on top of the table. “As for Infiltration protocols, they will be adhered to. We will do our best to avoid any unnecessary confrontations especially in front of the locals. However, I cannot guarantee what will happen if the Decepticons discover our presence and choose to attack us. A battle at that point may be unavoidable no matter what precautions we take. If a battle does erupt, we will endeavor to take it away from populated areas and hide our true forms as best as possible. Hopefully, it will not come down to that.”

The military strategist paused to let his words sink in. Prowl’s mind then drifted back to what Magnus had said in regards to revealing themselves to the humans on their own terms. While this would certainly be the ideal case, it was perhaps already too late as a prior excursion a while back had revealed that the American government not only had captured alien technology in their possession but actual Cybertronians trapped in stasis lock, as well. Those Cybertronians had since been freed during an intense battle, but it was one that preceded the City Commander’s arrival to Earth and was something he was apparently unaware of.

“Commander Magnus, you are correct in that Humanity is clever, and I understand the need to keep our existence from them a secret for as long as possible. However, as the natives would say, the cat may already be out of the bag. As you may know, the Dinobots’ reemergence into the war happened right here on Earth. They were found trapped in stasis lock deep inside the underground bunker of an American military installation referred to as Area 51. Along with a deactivated Shockwave, they were experimented on and studied by scientists of the United States government for an undetermined amount of time. After their discovery, a large battle both within and outside the base ensued. The Dinobots and Shockwave were recovered by their respective sides, the former of which awoke and took part in the battle, itself. “

Prowl took a deep intake of air before continuing. “Now, while Area 51 was devastated, I doubt our battle went unnoticed. There’s also no telling how much data the humans had culled from the Dinobots and Shockwave before they were freed. There is a 96 percent probability that back-ups were made and stored off-site. This means that the U.S. military is likely already aware of our existence and there’s also a 75 percent chance that they have some sort of contingency plan in place to deal with us if our kind is discovered on the surface again, especially near or inside one of their own bases.

“Now, this is not to say that we shouldn’t attempt to retrieve these two missiles. On the contrary, we need to limit exposure of our technology as much as possible. However, we should also not go down there into one of their bases assuming they might not be ready for us. They may only be human, but as you have already pointed out they are not stupid. Underestimating an enemy is never a good idea and doing so with the American military would also be a mistake. While we are here to protect the humans, I doubt they know the difference between an Autobot and a Decepticon. They will see us all as a threat. We have to be ready for that strong possibility.”
_______________

As Prowl sat back in his chair again, the doors to the lounge parted once more as the imposing form of Grimlock entered the room along with another much smaller red and white mech. Swerve? What’s he doing here? The black and white thought, letting out an audible groan as the Dinobot Commander approached the conference table at the center of the room. The rex-former looked around at everyone present before settling his optics on the military strategist.

“Prowl!” Grimlock bellowed as he folded his arms across his chest plate. “Me here now. Me bring Trion. Me bring Autotroopers. Me actually do something to help win war. You still want throw me in brig?” The Dinobot Commander then leaned forward towards the strategist, placing his large hands onto the surface of the table. “Me like to see you try, prick-bot.”

Grimlock’s optics blazed a brilliant red at the cop-former. Prowl was unimpressed. “Spare me, Grimlock. You’re lucky it’s not my call to make. Ultra Magnus is in charge now. Your fate is in his hands.”

“Really?” Grimlock groaned as he stood back up to full height again, turning his attention to the City Commander. “Been long time, Magnus. So, you agree with Prowl? You think me and Dinobots should be in brig?”

Shuttle Longevity: Bridge

"Try it Sideswipe and I promise you won't be able to fine all of your pieces for a mega stellar rotation." Sunstreaker scowled as he watched his slightly younger twin disappear down the gangplank that linked the heavily armed combat shuttle with the larger medical frigate. He made his point clear as crystal, mess with his favorite polishing product and your spark was forfeit. The golden warrior emerged from the claustrophobic boarding chute into the relatively spacious passenger cabin. Before him a trio of mechanisms, assigned to the Guardian's Quartermaster Unit, were unloading a pair of large crates positioned in the center of the cabin.

Sunstreaker paused briefly as he watched the nearest unit open one of the secured weapon lockers and extract a pair of large photon eliminator rifles. He resisted the urge to simply reach out and claim the weapons for his own, knowing full well who he would already have to answer to once their little party became widely known. But still he admired the speed and deftness of the supply unit as it removed spent power cells and slapped in fresh ones. Immediately afterwards it calibrated the weapons sights and alignments before restoring them both to their proper keeps.

The other pair of quartermaster units busied themselves unloading energon cubes and ration cells down towards the lone remaining cargo hold. They would disappear for a moment or so before returning carrying spent weapons and devices that would be recycled into newer incarnations of their former glory. The cycle continued as they deposited the spent devices into the lower portions of the crates and in turn pulled out fresh gear and parts to take into the back of the vessel.

A brief shake of his own head caught the attention of the lead quartermaster of the trio. It motioned to its partners to pick up the pace and soon were finished with their tasks. Weapon stores had been replenished as had been fuel supplies. Tools and replacement parts were safely stored in the lower cargo hold. Sunstreaker could have sworn the leader of the quartermaster unit had also announced the ship to ship guns had been recharged, calibrated and ready for potential encounter... it was enough to cause Sunstreaker pause.

Still as they departed the ship, he made his way to the bridge only to find Sideswipe already holding position at the Helm and Navigation station. "Wasn't your pilots credentials revoked after the Tran'Vada incident Sideswipe? Something about causing the Republic and the Democracy to spend three cycles in dry dock for repairs?" He teased his little brother only half jokingly. The incident had not been as serious as it sounded, the two ships were older warbirds that lacked the maneuverability necessary for high stress maneuvers. Course the details were more regarding Sideswipe commencing with a low altitude flyby on the bridges of the two ships causing them to collide.

Sunstreaker swatted the red and black wannabe pilot against the back of his head, hard enough to cause his brother to bang his head off the yolk if he were not prepared for it. It elicited a small smirk of satisfaction as he took a seat at the Tactical Station. He punched up a couple of commands to trick the computer to lock down the external link between the shuttle and the main frigate. Once it was done, he sent a false authorization command back along the bypass causing the Guardian to begin cycling through its own checks to release the docking clamps on the combat shuttle.

Only moments before he pressed the activation toggle, a familiar broad shadow loomed over his left shoulder in the doorway. Sunstreaker carefully and slowly turned to absorb the appearance of Springer, and the smaller shadows of Arclight and Sandstorm behind him. The gold warrior scowled as Sideswipe attempted to smooth talk Springer, in an attempt to explain their presence on board Ultra Magnus' personal shuttle.

"Remind me to write a strongly worded letter when we get back." Sunstreaker quipped before he turned to face the Tactical Terminal. He sent the order across the comm, forcing the docking clamps to release themselves and allow the shuttle to slowly breakaway.

He looked over his shoulder towards Sideswipe and scowled. His expression spoke volumes, while he didn't know how, didn't care how, Sunstreaker knew this change of plans was Sideswipe's fault. Be it karma or a source of sour luck, the evidence was undeniable.

Instead of continuing his stare down of his brother and risk being spotted, Sunstreaker returned his attention to the tactical display. "If you want to make yourself useful," he sharply spoke to Arclight without actually facing the weapons engineer. "You can man Sciences and Communications, or you can go check the weapon holds."