The Energon Pub

Training Room

Snarl was only focused on getting away from Grimlock, he couldn't stand even being in the same place as the Dinobot leader anymore. However, the Dessert Warriors plans on storming out was disrupted when Grimlock latched onto his arm with his fist, keeping him from going anywhere. He spun on his heals, ready to try and lay him out like Slag had done before in the medical bay, but was stopped by Grimlock's speech. Or at least it was as close to a speech that the Dinobot leader gave.

"Alright." He growled after listening. He still wasn't to keen on Grimlock, he wouldn't put it past him to just flat out lie to make sure things went his way in the long run. "I'll stay. But from now on we are a team. IF we are going to lay it all on the line and die we decide to do it as a team. We can only trust each other, and no one else."

He locked optics with Grimlock and then turned his gaze to the other Dinobots in the room.

Training Room / Simulation

Smokescreen continued driving up the hill’s flank, firing his headlight lasers at any drone target that presented itself. When he reached a certain distance, Smokey transformed to robot mode and quickly ducked down into a shallow trench. Bringing his rifle to bare, he took careful aim and fired several more shots at the faux Decepticons, knocking several out of commission.

Looking to his left across the hill, Smokey noticed that more Autobots had entered the fray. Ironhide was taking out some ‘con drones at the opposite end of the simulation while none other than Springer, himself, had also charged in, destroying a couple drones within astroseconds. Before the diversion expert knew it, the game was over and the emerald triplechanger stood victorious with the flag in his hand. Springer had beaten Hot Rod to the punch and won the contest.

Smokescreen stood up from his position as the simulation disappeared around him. He casually walked over to Springer, but not before Arcee got to the green mech first and stuck her finger in his chest plate. “But that’s what Springer does, Arcee,” Smokey replied to her berating of the triplechanger. “He shows us what he’s capable of, which is quite a bit I must say.” Smokey then turned his attention to Springer. The diversion expert had served with him on past missions and considered him to be a friend. “How’s it going, Springer? It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

*********

Sludge watched as Grimlock swiftly laid out Slag with a powerful uppercut to the face plate and then forcefully pulled Snarl back into the training room. The Dinobot Commander then made his speech, apologizing for his actions, which was something Sludge had never seen him do before. It was not in Grimlock’s nature to say he’s sorry for something or to admit he’s wrong. He normally didn’t care what anyone else thought. Grimlock just did what he felt was necessary whether it was a popular decision or not. Perhaps he was simply trying to keep the Dinobots together and didn’t really mean what he was saying. Sludge didn’t really care which was the case. Just as long as they remained a unit, that’s all that mattered to the Jungle Warrior at this point.

Sludge then listened as Grimlock explained the current state of the war. Sludge was surprised at how very different it was now then when they had last been in the fight. Too much time had passed. Were the Dinobots even relevent anymore? It seemed as though their way of doing things wouldn’t fit on this new covert-style battlefield Grimlock spoke of. Leaving this backwater world was the only viable option. Even to a simple-minded mech like Sludge, this made the most sense.

“Me with you, boss,” Sludge replied to Grimlock. “You lead, me follow.”

Medical Bay

Howlstrike hung his head slightly as Kup spoke to him. The old mech was right as always. Howl needed to keep control of his anger and not let it control him. The Autobot hunter knew this all too well. It was just very difficult for him to shake that Predacon aggression from the old days of being on the wrong side of the war. It hung with him like a foul stench in the air that he just couldn’t seem to shake.

“I know, Kup. You’re right, of course,” Howlstrike replied to his friend, bringing his head back up to look at him. “I will try harder to keep my anger in check. I promise.” Howl then felt Kup’s hand on his shoulder as the old timer smiled at him. Howl managed a faint smile in return. “Agreed. I’ll meditate while you have a cup of energon.”

Command Center

Optimus Prime was always so sure of himself and his men. Every so often he needed to turn to them for support just as they turned to him. Ultra Magnus was often called upon for that support, and as always he held, not only himself up, but Prime as well.

Prime nodded in agreement to everything Ultra Magnus was telling him. Megatron did have an ultimate goal and now that Cybertorn is back in the game that goal has now grown ten fold. Prime rubbed his chin in thought once Magnus finished his statement.

“I agree, Magnus and I want you to assemble a team and get to Cybertron. Whatever Megatron is up to we have to stop it.”

Prime placed a hand on his brother’s shoulder as he continued.

“The Dinobots shall act as your tactical squad. However keep Grimlock and his men on a tight leash. They are effective, but their methods leave a lot to be desired.”

Prime moved to a console and punched in a few commands.

“The Ark 22 is in orbit, as you know. I have just turned over the command of her to you. You are to gather your team ASAP and be on your way.” Prime turned to face the field commander and held out his hand. “Good luck, old friend.”

Command Center

Ultra Magnus nodded to Optimus Prime after receiving his instructions. Once more he was being given the lives of fellow Autobots placed into his hands, to lead into battle to ensure that the Decepticons did not secure their recovering home world. He just hoped the battles that were to come would dash those faintly growing glimmers of hope. However, he would strive his hardest to do his very best to ensure the 'Cons did not gain the advantages they sought.

"I will do my best, Optimus. Cybertron will never fall into Decepticon hands. I just hope reinforcements won't be long in coming. I can see this turning into something larger and more important once we engage the Decepticons." He extended his hand and Magnus and Prime grasped each others armoued wrists in a warriors farewell. "Take care Optimus, I prey that our struggles both on Earth and Cybertron will help bring this war closer to its resolution."

With a grim look of determination on his face Magnus turned from his leader and began to make his way to the orbital bounce pad so he could take command of the Ark-22/ However, befor he did that he accessed the internal communications system for the Ark-19.

"Attention Autobots, this is Ultra Magnus. I have been tasked by Optimus Prime to lead a special team for a mission of the highest importance. Mission specifcs will not be discloused due to matters of security until we are on board the Ark-22. Autobots Kup, Hot Rod, Arcee, Wheeljack, Howlstrike, Springerand all Dinobots are to report to the Ark-22 for immediate reassignment. Ultra Magnus out."

Magnus then switched off his com link and was transported up to the Ark-22.

* * *

Wheeljack was still in the medical bay when he heard the announcement from Ultra Magnus calling him and several others to report to the Ark-22. He didn't even hesitate to see if the others were responded and immediately went to the computer lab. He gathered up all of the equipment he needed, and headed for the bounce pad. He materialized on the pad and made his way to the ships lab to set up.

* * *

Sitting at the station Bumblebee listened to the exchange between Optimus Prime and Ultra Mganus, amazed at how quickly things were developing. After Magnus left the smaller Autobot looked up at Prime.

"This is pretty heavy stuff Optimus. I never thought Cybertron would be alive again in my life cycle. But, I can't help but worry that if Cybertron is back in the picture then we might return to the style of warfare not seen since the war began. Do you think Ultra Magnus can stop the 'Cons before that happens?"

Training room

"M-mission accomplished," Ironhide muttered.

He tossed a drone's head to the ground and looked around. Springer, Arcee, and the others were gathered together. He walked over to join them, rifle still smoking. On the way, he leaned down and picked up a small chunk of metal.

"This was part of a drone," he muttered.

The metal was now unrecognizable. Was he really that intense?

"Hey guys," he said. "What should we do now? Want to get some oil?"

He smiled. The teamwork had been amazing. He hoped they could go out on the battlefield and work together like that someday.

Training Room

Springer’s trademark grin faltered a bit as Arcee began yelling at him. He hadn’t realized that the whole scenario had hinged on the flag. But now with the femme yelling at him and the training room deactivating around him he realized that he might have made a mistake. “Hey, Hot Rod just told me we were after the flag so I snagged it. I didn’t know you guys were doing a whole team thing. I can put it back if you want.”

His grin returned as Arcee’s words softened. “I’ve been on base for a while; I came here with Prime and the others. I got left behind to mind the store while you guys had fun out there. I’ve been bored out of my mind here though. I heard you guys were in the training room and I thought I’d pop in and see what’s up. Felt good to see some action, even just training. I don’t know how you guys put up with this infiltration stuff.”

The triplechanger looked over at Smokescreen, clapping the other Autobot on the shoulder. “Good to see you Smokey, it’s been far too long. We need to get all of you guys off of this planet sometime. I’ve barely been able to contain myself stuck in this base for just a little while, don’t know how guys handle such a long assignment on these infiltration worlds.”

Springer looked up at Ironhide and his grin grew even bigger. “Now that’s the best idea I’ve heard all day Ironhide. How about I pick up a round for everyone to make up for ending the training too early? We can catch up, swap some stories and find out what kind of trouble you can get it on this mudball.” He chuckled quietly as he began to make his way to the door.

The green Autobot stopped in his tracks when he got the message from Magnus. “Aw scrap, looks like duty calls guys. Go ahead and have a round for me though.” He motioned at Hot Rodand Arcee. “Come one guys, Magnus sounds like he’s in full official mode so he isn’t going to like being kept waiting.

*

Grimlock grunted. “Good. Now we on same page, maybe we can figure out how to get off this planet and get back in war.”

Before the Dinobot could suggest a plan Magnus came over the intercom with new orders. “Hnn, well that helps things. At least gives us reason to be on ship. Not wild about taking orders from ‘Little Prime’ though. Only leader worse than Optimus. Hopefully it mean ticket it out of here. Me say we listen to what he say, then decide what to do next. We like what he say, we go with it. We not like it, we decide what to do next.”

Grimlock wasn’t wild about this whole leading by committee thing, but he could go along with it. He just needed to steer the group. He knew his team, even if they were upset at him. They wouldn’t like this ‘infiltration’ nonsense anymore than he did. They were built to blend in and hide. Even Snarl knew that. It was either sit here waiting for something to happen, relegated to relics or redefine the war on their terms. Grimlock knew what he preferred and he knew his team would go along with it. They were all warriors and they’d been out of action for far too long.

“Well, lets go see what Little Prime have to say.” With that Grimlock started towards the door assuming the other Dinobots would follow.

Command Center

Optimus sighed heavily as he turned away from Magnus’ retreating form to face Bumblebee. He knew the minibot was concerned about what would happen to their precious home planet. Prime placed a reassuring hand on the smaller mech’s shoulder. However before he could say anything to Bumblebee Prowl chimed in. For all intents purposes Prowl was right, except Prime knew that they would be successful.

“Don’t worry Bumblebee; I have full faith that Ultra Magnus and his team will be successful.”

Prime looked to Prowl as the strategist went to work at his terminal. The Autobot leader made his way to his aid’s side.

“Prowl, I need you to find a pattern before it exists. The Decepticons are desperate they need energon as much as we do, the only difference is they’ll more than likely strike the humans in areas where they have already placed a facsimile. We need to know if any high ranking officials have gone missing for any length of time and then abruptly returned.”

Training Room

Slag wasn’t surprised when he was slugged in the lower jaw by Grimlock, it was only a matter of time. As he sat on the floor he brought his hand to his jaw and made sure it was still in workable condition. A slight smile made its way to his face, but he quickly caught himself as he stood back up. With a low growl, Slag spoke directly to the Dinobot Commander.

“You’re lucky I have nothing better to do than follow you. At least I’ll be able to keep an optic on your fraggin aft.”

The flame thrower moved past the others as he began to make his way out of the training room. He stopped dead in his tracks as he heard the announcement to meet Ultra Magnus for a mission. He let out a sigh as he looked back to Grimlock. The Dinobot Commander was right. Slag then followed Grimlock out of the training room.

*********

Hot Rod couldn’t believe what Springer had done. In everything the young mech had to do Springer was always there to do it better and faster. He looked somewhat downtrodden, but perked back up when Arcee began to yell at him. Hot Rod felt bad for his friend. He moved in next to Springer and placed a hand on his broad shoulder.

“It is good to see you, Springer.”

He smiled when Iron Hide mentioned getting a drink and swiftly fell in behind Springer, but stopped in his tracks as he heard the message from Ultra Magnus. He looked to his friends and shrugged shoulders.

“Maybe the Cons are up to something and they need the best team to go after them right Springer?”

At that he began to make his way to the meeting point.

Medical Bay

“Don’t worry too much about it, Howl. The twins can really get under your armor when they’re on each other’s side. We just happen to catch them on one of their bad days.”

Kup smiled at his friend as they moved out of the Medical Bay and into the corridor. It was then that he heard the message from Ultra Magnus.

The old warrior looked back to Howlstrike and smiled once more.

“Looks like that drink’ll have to wait along with your meditation. Come on.”

Command Center

Skids looked over as Optimus Prime gave Prowl his assignment. While part of Skids' spark ached a little to see Cybertron again, he knew he was better off staying here where his expertise might be useful. Ironic, he supposed... he'd barely spent any time on Cybertron back before the war and during the early stages of it, but he had to admit he missed it once it was no longer habitable. Just knowing it was there if he ever wanted to go back had been comforting somehow.

He shook his head a little, forcing himself to focus on the here and now, and addressed Prowl. "If you like, sir, I could give you access to my newsfeeds and other signal archives from my studies. Surely any prominent human having gone missing would be something that the human communications networks would have covered."

Outside Medical Bay / Corridors

Howlstrike chuckled as he exited the Med Bay with Kup. “It must have been a really bad day for them,” the Autobot hunter commented in regards to the way the twins had acted. He had never seen two brothers go at each other like Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had done. They were literally at each other’s throats. At least, that is, until Howl came along and gave them a reason to stop their aggression towards one another and redirect it at him, instead. It was probably easy for the twins to do so since Howl used to be a Predacon and many Autobots still have a problem seeing the hunter as one of their own. Hopefully, that would change one day. Until then, Howl would have to continue to deal with those like Sunny and Siders.

The message from Ultra Magnus then came in over the comm. Howlstrike looked to Kup and nodded. “I’m right behind you.” He then followed the old timer through the corridors of the ship until he reached the orbital bounce pad. “I’ll see you up there, Kup.” Astroseconds later, Howl was transported to the Ark-22.

Training Room

Sludge was happy to see that the other Dinobots were still willing to follow Grimlock even if they were very reluctant to do so. The Jungle Warrior had to admit that he was disappointed with his commander’s actions as of late. And while Sludge understood Grimlock’s motivations, those motives had put the team in jeopardy of falling apart and that was something Sludge could not accept. The Dinobots were all Sludge had known for so long. Without the group, he would surely be lost amongst the regular Autobot rank and file.

Hearing the message from Ultra Magnus made Sludge smile. Finally, they were going to leave this mudball of a world. They had been on it for far too long. He didn’t care where they were going, just as long as it was far away from their current location. After listening to Grimlock once more, Sludge nodded in agreement and laughed at his leader's nickname for Magnus. "Ha ha! Me like how you call him 'Little Prime'. Very funny." The Jungle Warrior then followed the Dinobot Commander out of the training room.

Training Room

They were leaving.

It had been bewildering once, when she had first joined the ranks of the Autobots, barely more than a Protoform, at how quickly the situation could change. After months of being undercover, of being connected to this world and immersed in its life forms, of coming to care for those who didn’t even know they were being protected, they were moving out. No word of warning, no preparation, just a summons, a rapid redeployment to accommodate a rapidly changing war.

Bewildering, once, frightening, perhaps, these days, she wasn’t sure how it made her feel. Regret, certainly, even sadness.

Not only for the world she was leaving behind, one that had become a second home, even if she had been forced to hide from it. A word so alien to her own, and yet so entirely fascinating, she could fully understand why the likes of Hound loved it so much. It wasn’t just that, it was the Mechs that were being left behind, the silent sentinels that would remain vigilant against Megatron and his lunatics, her friends.

Ones she might not see again.

It wouldn’t be the first time.

“Be careful”

Arcee asked before leaning over and quickly kissing Smokescreen on the cheek as she looked between him and Ironhide. There was no time for long goodbyes, there never was, not as the pink tinted Fem turned and quickened her step to catch up with Hot Rod and Springer.

Within moments she was keeping pace between the two, somehow feeling incredibly familiar in their company, possibly the two Mechs she had known longer than any other. The more things changed…

“So, Kup came with you?”

The pink tinted Fem asked Springer, more than a hint of hope in her tone, she had missed the old Mech almost more than anyone else, perhaps the closest thing she had to, what the humans would call, a father.

Cafeteria

Ironhide guzzled down the second barrel of oil and wiped his lips. As Springer had suggested, he had another oil for him. And Hot Rod and Arcee. So, that was four oil cans. Drinking down the third, he sat back contentedly.

Turning to a waiter droid, he said, "I'll take this one t' go."

The droid nodded and held out his hand. Dropping three small energon cubes into the robot's open palm, Ironhide took the barrel and walked away. He went to his quarters, opened the can, and sat on his bed. As he drank, he looked around. He was getting bored. He turned on his comm.

"Hey, Optimus, when you aren't busy, can you come to my quarters? I wanna talk. You know, bot to bot."

Training Room

If Smokescreen was capable of blushing, he probably would have when Arcee gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek. She told him to be careful before quickly turning and hurrying to catch up with Hot Rod and Springer. “You too, Arcee,” Smokescreen called after her, touching the place where she kissed his face plate. “Good luck to all of you!” And then they were gone. Ironhide had already left to get a drink of oil and the Dinobots had stomped out, as well, leaving Smokey the only mech in the training facility.

Well, I guess I should find something constructive to do, the diversion expert thought as he walked towards the door. Perhaps the command center would be a good place to start.

Corridors

Smokescreen exited the training room and made his way through the hallways of the ship. Things seemed quiet now unlike earlier when everyone was training. A lot of Autobots were being reassigned, which meant that something big was going down off planet. Smokey didn’t mind remaining behind. He had grown to like this little backwater world, and he actually preferred his Earthen alt mode over his original Cybertronian form. If the humans had one thing going for them it was style. Their automobiles were sleek-looking pieces of machinery, especially their race cars.

The diversion expert entered a turbo lift and rode it to the command level. He then stepped out and approached the door to the command center.

Command Center

The doors slid open and Smokescreen stepped onto the command deck. Peering around, he saw Prowl, Bumblebee and Skids all looking busy and working diligently on what they were currently doing. Optimus Prime was there as well, overseeing things as he always did. The Autobot leader was a calm if not imposing presence. A large mech and outstanding warrior with a good spark, who truly cared for all those under his command.

Smokey moved forward into the room and approached his commander. “Optimus, sir, Smokescreen reporting for duty," he said, standing at attention. "Is there anything you need me to do, sir?”

Bounce Pad

Grimlock was happy to see the rest of his team following him, even if they were grumbling about it. In fact the grumbling reassured him a bit. Sure, some of it was directed at him but more than a little was directed at Ultra Magnus. The Dinobots style was almost the direct opposite of Magnus’s. His team ignored rules, regulations and even orders to get the mission done. Achieving the goal was more important than how you achieved it. Magnus, while not as bad as Prowl, was more of an official type. He would want to do things by the book. Maybe having a new person they disagreed with could bring the team back together.

Grimlock briefly checked the controls. They were already locked on to the orbiting ship. Nodding to himself Grimlock activated the time delay on the device and he and the Dinobots bounced back up to the Ark-22

Ark-22

The Dinobots materialized onboard the Autobot ship. Grimlock immediately made for the door. “Lets go to bridge. Magnus probably there waiting to order us around. We see what he have to say.” The Dinobot leader began to make his way to the bridge.

Command Center

Optimus stood by while Bumblebee and Prowl commenced their searches. Prime crossed his arms over his broad chest and sighed. The news of Cybertron was incredible, but he could not dwell on the miraculous recover of their home world; Megatron was surely up to something and now the war grew on a new front.

Prime turned to face Smokescreen when the diversionary strategist made himself known. Prime nodded and looked down on the smaller mech.

“Yes Smokescreen, I could use your help. I’d like you to perform a search for any and all potential targets the Decepticons might attack. Focus on liquid fuels, jet fuel, gasoline any liquids that can be easily converted to energon.”

Once Prime was finished giving his order he received a comm. from Ironhide. Although he was very close to the older mech, he really could not spare the time to have a heart to heart with him. Prime opened a link to his old friend.

>>”I can’t spare a moment, but if you really would like to talk come to the Command Center and I’ll try to find some time to talk.”<<

Hanger Bay – Orbital Bounce Pad

Kup and the rest of the group called to the Ark 22 made their way to the hanger bay and onto the orbital bounce pad. The elder mech noticed that the coordinates were already set. Kup imagined they were put in by the Dinobots and went ahead and commenced the bounce. In moments Kup, Hot Rod, Springer, Arcee and Howlstrike were on board the Ark 22.

Command Center

Skids grinned back in response to Prowl's smirk, then got to work on sharing access to the feeds. "The feeds stream, record, and are tagged as they come in, so you should be able to listen in, rewind and play-back, and search by keyword as you need to. It's limited to publicly-available broadcasts, unfortunately, but there still might be some useful information in there."

His fingers played over his console as he continued, "I also have some lists of sources on the internet with potentially related news. Somewhat... off-kilter sources, but that's because the idea of aliens visiting Earth is generally considered to be off-kilter by the humans." Skids gave Prowl a wry grin at that. "You work with what you can get."

Entering Ark-19

The mud-covered jeep trundled over the grassy fields with ease, sped through one of the holocloaked entrances near the shore of Lake Erie, drove through the underwater tunnel and entered the Ark, tranforming into the long-absent but still familiar shape of Hound. The scout walked smartly through the corridors of the Autobot base, trailing flakes of dried mud, gathered from all across the US and Canada, as he went.

Command Center

Hound entered the command center and looked around, seeing a large group of mechs clustered around Bumblebee's console, including Optimus himself. It seemed that something was afoot.

"Er, hello all. I'm back from my scouting trip, don't have much to report in terms of Decepticon activity, but I've gathered the usual data."

Hound pulled out a data crystal, thinking of handing it to one of the operators and leaving the command centre to its business. Then he heard something from the conversation.

"Actually, Smokescreen, some of this data would be what you're looking for. I gathered data on some likely-looking Decepticon targets across a big swathe of the subcontinent while I was out, it might give you a starting point at least."

Ark 22

Once he had received confirmation of the last of his team arrived Ultra Magnus summoned them to the ships command center. He knew most of them personally or by reputation. The only member of the team he did not know well was Howlstrike, but he was certain he would get to know the new face over the course of their new mission. Looking around the room he was confident in seeing the familiar face of his old drill instructor Kup, any doubts that Magnus had were always easily dispelled by the venerable old 'Bot. Arcee, Hot Rod, and Springer all trustful, reliable Autobots even if together they could behave like a trio of freshly formatted protoforms. Then there were the Dinobots, by their very concept they were loose canons, Grimlock was the worst of the bunch, fitting that he was their leader. Magnus and the Dinobot Commander rarely saw optic to optic, and the field commander knew he would have his hands full just trying to ensure that Grimlock even obeyed his orders half the time. Compared to that the Decepticons would probably be easy to deal with.

"Alright, I have summoned you hear on the request of Optimus Prime for a mission of the highest importance. From an intercepted Decepticon transmission that Cybertron is now capable of supporting life and is in the early stages of recovery." He paused for an astrosecond to let that news sink in. "As you can expect we have concluded that the Decepticons are assembling a team of their own to secure the planet. We can't let that happen. I have been placed in command of this team to lead an expeditionary force to establish a beach head for the Autobots. To that end I am going to split us into two teams. The Dinobots are going to be our tactical arm, our line fighters and our advanced recon. Team two will be lead by Kup, and will be comprised of the rest of the team. Your purpose will be to establish a base of operations as well as to locate abandoned caches of supplies and weapons that were left behind during the planets initial evacuation."

Ultra Magnus straightened up and looked over his troops, arms behind his back.

"We will be taking up positions in the ruins of Iacon. We will land the ship and Kup's team will begin to bring the old Autobot headquarters in the city back on line. As well as searching out for any of the supply caches that remain in the city. I will have the Dinobots deployed outside of Iacon and begin to sweep the surrounding sectors for any Decepticon activity, as well as trying to find further supplies, and establishing automated listening posts. I don't think I need to tell any of you how important this mission is. If we let the Decepticon's take Cybertron it could shift the war in their favour. We must ensure that we can prevent that from happening. I have no idea when Optimus Prime will send reinforcemtns to us, we have a lot of troops spread over dozens of sectors right now, so finding the forces to spare may be difficult."

Ultra Magnus walked over to the ships command chair and looked back at his troops.

"Take up your positions, we are departing for Cybertron immediately. Arcee, inform Bumblebee on the Ark-19 that we are leaving for Cybertron."

With his orders given Magnus sat in the command chair.

30 min Outside Cleveland

Cruising down the I-90, Jazz relished these moments when he could open up the throttle and listen to the variety of music that satellite radio had to offer. He had to remember to thank Wheeljack for the slick new radio receiver when he got back to base. These kinds of reconnaissance mission were non-existent on Cybertron. This planet had much to offer in culture, the music was just what Jazz liked best.

Through his exposure to human culture, particularly of North America, Jazz had already begun using some more colloquial terms in his regular speech. It was not by choice he did this. The sights and sounds of Earth were just so fascinating, it occupied his processors on a continual basis. The colors seemed brighter; the sounds ethereal; and the smells more pervasive, at least compared to Cybertron which now seemed almost sterile in comparison.

Sure there were things to miss about Cybertron, but it was easy to put behind him with so much to discover right in front of him. It was a shame that the war with the Decepticons had carried over to this world. He would much rather spend time chilling out, as the humans say. But, his commitment to the Autobot cause was absolute. He knew that his skills were needed for the war effort. Not being built for war, the Autobots needed bots that could go up against the Decepticons and win. Jazz had done it plenty of times in the past, despite not being as strong or carrying as much firepower. Jazz liked to use the new term he’d learned to describe the creative application of his abilities, ‘Mad skillz’.

Just then, a billboard on the edge of the highway caught his attention. He pulled over to the side of the highway, screeching to a halt. He threw his transmission into reverse so he could get a good look at what it said. Sweet! This is exactly what I need. With great urgency, Jazz opened a comm-link to Skids. <<Skids my man. I need you to do me a solid. Find out what you can about this Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.>>

Ark 22 – The Bridge

Despite her ability to maintain her composure, Arcee had to admit, she was stunned by the news that Ultra Magnus had collectively dropped on all of them, the impossible had occurred.

Cybertron was habitable again.

It almost seemed like another lifetime now, the day both sides had been forced into exodus from their home world. It was something that none of them had wanted to do, to leave behind the birthplace of their Race, but the cost of the never ending conflict had perhaps been inevitable. The truth had been revealed to them, in the face of an eternal conflict, there could be no victor.

Now things had changed, Cybertron was alive, it was recovering, it could sustain life once more. The Autobots knew this, and so did the Decepticons, and as much as it pained her to realise it, there was only one response they could take. They would have to fight for it.

The Decepticons must be stopped, even if they must again pay that same cost.

“Yes Sir”

Arcee nodded curtly as Ultra Magnus gave the order to fall in and assume their respective stations, there was no time to waste. The pink tinted fem opened a com link almost from the moment she took her seat, encrypting the channel as securely as the Ark could manage.

>> “Ark 22 too Ark 19, we are on our way…I’m expecting some souvenirs by the time you catch up with us” <<

Command Center

Smokescreen listened intently to every word Optimus Prime said and maintained optics contact with his leader as the larger mech gave his orders to the diversion expert. Once Prime had finished speaking, Smokey nodded immediately. “Of course, Optimus. I’ll get right on it, sir!” He then turned and began making his way to a nearby station.

Smokescreen felt a sense of pride that the supreme leader of the Autobots had seen fit to give him such an important assignment. He also felt a sense of nervousness. Smokey knew that he couldn’t let his commander down. Knowing the locations of potential Decepticon targets was critical if they were to gain any kind of advantage over the enemy and protect the inhabitants of this blue world from eventual annihilation.

As Smokescreen approached his station, he heard Hound’s voice coming from behind him. He turned and faced the green mech. “Thank you, Hound. I really appreciate the time and effort you must've spent gathering this data.” Smokey smiled and reached out his hand, taking the data crystal from Hound. “I’m sure it’ll be of great help to me. Thanks again.”

Smokescreen then turned back to his chair and sat down at his station. He plugged the data device into the computer terminal and the screen came alive in a series of endless data files. Hmmmm, this may take a little while to sift through all this, Smokey thought to himself, rubbing his chin. I need a quick way to isolate the data that I’m looking for. Smokey’s fingers then danced across the keyboard as he programmed the computer to search through the files for any major liquid fuel installations across the surrounding subcontinent.

At the same time, Smokescreen connected his terminal to the human internet and began running a secondary search across the rest of the planet for major fuel refineries outside of the area that Hound had travelled. He also made sure that the computer's firewalls were operating at full capacity before initiating the internet search. The last thing they needed was an outside intrusion into their systems. The diversion expert then sat back in his chair and waited for the results of both queries.

Ark-22

Standing on the command deck of the orbiting ship, Howlstrike’s optics lit up when Ultra Magnus mentioned that Cybertron was healing itself. After all this time, their homeworld was habitable again, if only somewhat. It had been many vorns since Howl had last been on Cybertron. Unfortunately, that last time his saw it the planet was in ruins. But he still remembered when it had been alive and bustling with cybertronic life. This, of course, was long before the war had ravaged it to the point of no return, or seemingly so at any rate. Now, returning to Cybertron was within reach and Howlstrike was excited at the prospect of going home and protecting it from the Decepticons.

When Magnus pointed out that the ‘cons would send in their own team, Howlstrike immediately knew that the Predacons would be among the warriors dispatched to retake Cybertron. Megatron would, of course, send his top tactical unit on such an important mission. The Decepticon leader would be stupid not to, and Megatron was anything but stupid.

Once Ultra Magnus was finished speaking, Howlstrike turned to Kup. “This is great news, my friend. Finally, we can reclaim our homeworld and hopefully keep the ‘cons from destroying it for good this time.” Howl spoke with excitement in his voice. “And the Predacons will be sent there, as well. I’m sure of it, Kup.” Howl smiled and then took a seat at his assigned station. Finally, the Autobot hunter would have a chance to confront his former teammates who had shunned him and then revenge would be his. Maybe then the other Autobots would accept him as one of their own. Maybe.

*********

Sludge listened along with the others to what Ultra Magnus had to say. He wasn’t a smart mech, but he knew the importance of reclaiming Cybertron and keeping the Decepticons from taking the planet as their own. The Autobots would surely lose the war if that were to happen. He also looked forward to returning home after being away for so long, even if it was still in ruins. Hopefully that would change in the coming stellar-cycles if the Autobots were able to keep the planet out of enemy hands.

Sludge then turned to Grimlock. The Dinobot Commander had said nothing as of yet, but the Jungle Warrior could tell that something was brewing inside his leader’s cranial unit. He wouldn’t remain silent for long. “What you thinking, boss bot?” Sludge asked Grimlock finally.

Corridors

Springer flashed a smile over at Arcee. “Yeah, Kup came over with Prime and the rest of us. He’s the same old cantankerous old grouch as he always was. I can’t tell you how often I’ve heard about how us,” Springer modulated his voice in an attempt to sound like the other Autobot, “‘young punks do everything the flashy way instead of just getting it done the right way right away.’” The triplechanger chuckled to himself. “Just don’t give him a chance to start one of his stories. I think I’ve heard them at least a million times at this point.”

Ark 22

Springer went along with the rest of the group up to Ark 22. He had to admit to some curiosity at this sudden call up and that Magnus was the one doing it. If it was him leading the way then it had to be important. He doubted if there was another Autobot around who Prime trusted more. Magnus would get the job done no matter what.

The Autobots assembled on the bridge of the vessel and listened to Ultra Magnus give his briefing. Springer had to admit that his optics widened a bit at the mention of Cybertron being habitable again. It looked like this mission was going to be even bigger than he thought it would be. Reclaiming their homeworld and being able to knock around some Decepticons was just about as far from the boring duty he’d been suffering on Earth as there was.

The green Autobot literally jumped into the helmsman’s position at the front of the bridge. In just a few seconds he was connected directly to the ships helm. He turned to look back at Ultra Magnus while also monitoring the various readouts scrolling across his optics from the ship’s systems. “Ready to break orbit at your command sir.”

****

Grimlock arrived on the bridge with the rest of his team. The Dinobot leader was quick to take up a stance of disinterest. He folded his arms over his chest and leaned back against one of the bridge walls. He wanted to send a clear message that he wasn’t happy with this assignment, being put under the command of Prime’s brother. It was insulting that he should be put under anyone. The record of he and his team would tell anyone that they did their best work when they weren’t weighed down with overbearing leadership or a meddling hierarchy. They got the job done their way, and sometimes that way wasn’t as clean or by the book as some other Autobots would like. It got done though, effectively and thoroughly.

The Dinobot leader listened silently as Ultra Magnus laid it all out to them. His face remained expressionless even as he mentioned the recovery of Cybertron. This was partially because Grimlock was trying to remain stone faced and partially because he had only just learned the planet had been uninhabitable. He hadn’t spent all of those years knowing his home was dead that the other Autobots had.

The mission Magnus described sounded fairly good, all things considered. It would put the Dinobots as close to the front lines as their seemed to exist in the war now and let them operate as a semi-autonomous unit. It wasn’t perfect though. The Dinobots were warriors, not scouts. They were used to being the first soldiers into battle, taking the hardest hits and dishing them out in return. Searching around a ruined and very empty planet for something to fight was a waste of their talents. Not as great a waste as being stuck on Earth, but a waste none the less.

Grimlock turned to Sludge as the other Dinobot addressed him. “Me thinking mission step up from being stuck on mudball, but just small step. We warriors, not scouts. Me think we go to Cybertron, see what its like then figure out what next move is. If mission worthwhile, then maybe we do it. If mission a waste...” Grimlock let the statement hang in the air. If the mission was a waste then they’d find a new one, or make a new one. He wasn’t above disobeying Ultra Magnus or even taking command himself if he had to. He’d play along for now though. He would let his team grow fed up with it a bit before making a move, solidify their support again. Nothing like an obnoxious commander to bring the troops together against him.

Command Center

Skids had gone back to his own monitoring after giving newsfeed access to Prowl, when Jazz's message came over his comm-link. He listened, then chuckled and shook his head a little. Well, he certainly knew where Jazz's priorities were...

He opened a comm-link back to his wayward compatriot, replying back with a friendly tone,

>> The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? Now, I know the humans think Elvis Presley is still alive, but I'm not sure he's being used as a Decepticon facsimile. Unless you just think the 'Cons work better while listening to Bob Dylan... Still, I have a few minutes, I'll see what I can dig up. I'm glad to see you're feeling better, at any rate! <<

Skids shook his head again before running a side search with some amusement. Once they had found some concrete places that might have Decepticon activity, his knowledge of Earth might come into the forefront again if they needed information on the best way to approach the area in question. For the moment, though, he was playing support anyway for whatever folks needed during their own immediate searches for information. He could probably spare a few extra moments to indulge Jazz, since he was just glad that the Autobot was up and running again.

Corridors

Sideswipe’s face was twisted in a scowl since he and Sunstreaker had left the training room. He turned his head to look at his brother when the other spoke. The smile on Sunstreaker’s face brought about one on Sideswipe’s. He stopped in his tracks and pointed his finger at his twin.

“Yeah right. You should have seen your mug when the old coot fired. Anyway I think we taught that Pred a lesson. He’ll think twice before he takes us on.”

With his last line Sideswipe pushed Sunstreaker’s shoulder with his fist. The crimson warrior began walking once more. There had to be something to do in this place. Now that they’re stand off was over he was bored. Having one of the twins bored was bad, but both of them bored was even worse. Since he was the brains of their duo, Sideswipe had to come up with something to do.

Sideswipe’s face lit up when he finally came up with something for the both of them to do. He was sure his brother would go for it; the trick was getting out of the base to do it. Stopping in his tracks once more he placed a hand on Sunstreaker’s chest to stop his advance. He leaned in close and whispered into his twin’s audio sensors.

“Hey Sunny. I have an idea. I know this stretch of road where these young humans hang out at and drag race. What say me and you go show ‘em how real racers do it?”

On Board the Ark 22

The group that arrived with Kup made it to the bridge of the Ark 22 where they were told of their mission. Kup was surprised to hear the news of their home world’s slow renewal, but he was in no way surprised by it. He knew deep in his diodes that Cybertron would revert back to its original state; it was only a matter of time. The old mech remained stoic and nodded once when Magnus gave the order to take up their positions. Kup made his way to the navigator’s station and began his interface with the ship’s computers.

Hot Rod’s optics widened at the mention of Cybertron’s renewal. He grew excited to see his home world once more just as he knew Springer and Arcee were. They were the youngest of the Autobots, and even thought they were protoforms on the planet, they were not there long enough to witness its beauty. To have it back was nothing less than a miracle.

Once he heard the command to take up their positions Hot Rod was surprised to see Springer already seated at the helm. It did not faze the cavalier; after all, Springer was obviously Prime’s helmsman when they arrived. Hot Rod made his way to the sensor array and took his seat. Now all they needed was the order to move out of orbit.

Slag was angry. He was angry with Grimlock. He was angry at Ultra Magnus, but most of all he was angry at Shockwave. He listened to Magnus’ announcement with little interest, anger was his top priority. He clenched and unclenched his fists the entire time. He found himself listening more intently to Grimlock when the Dinobot Commander answered Sludge’s query. Slag seemed to grow less and less angry with Grimlcock as the time went by. Perhaps what he did was in their best interest. He’d have to think on it, but not before he got to bash something in.