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Autobot City Hangar

When Sandstorm hopped into the co-pilot's seat, he saw that broadside had essentially gotten everything ready to go. Course was set in. Weapons were ready and even Red Alert's tech protocols for covering Omega's tracks were all set up.

“Well Sandy, get the metal on the pedal!” Broadside said.

"Yeah yeah, just remember to save somethin' for me next time, heheh," Sandstorm chuckled as he engaged the ship's engine. "Since it's just us....don't think they'll mind if we put this thing through it's paces."

He grinned as he increased the acceleration.
___

Autobot City Site

”I understand. Thank you for the information, Grapple,” Prime said.

"Of course, sir," the architect responded dutifully.

Optimus Prime had taken to the challenge with his usual level of....Optimus-ness. No further words had been exchanged between them as the Autobots' leader sealed himself inside the cell.

Grapple kept a close eye on his datapad and brought up a couple of supplementary holoscreens so that he could thoroughly monitor what prime was doing and the cell's responses, just as they would in the event of a real Phase-Six incarceration.

To say that Prime was putting the cell to the test would be quite an understatement. Grapple couldn't help but wince at the intermittent, muffled thuds that he could hear coming from within the cell. It would be a shame if the cell came crashing down around them....but, better to know that now than when it could be tested later holding the likes of Sixshot or Overlord.

“Grapple. You can enable the restraints now,” the recording of Optimus on Grapple's monitor said. He opened the comm channel so that Optimus could hear him in return.

"Yes, sir. Enabling now."

[Shuttle]

Sandstorm wrote:"Yeah yeah, just remember to save somethin' for me next time, heheh," Sandstorm chuckled as he engaged the ship's engine. "Since it's just us....don't think they'll mind if we put this thing through it's paces."

”Say that to ol’ Reddie out there, he did most of it, hah.” Broadside said to the pilot of the ship. As Sandstorm began the take off process, the large grey wrecker smiled underneath his faceplate. Off they went into the upper atmosphere of the Earth, retracing the course that Omega had taken.

After a moment of quiet, he turned to his comrade. “Things are going wild right now,” he said, looking up ahead, “You heard them, right?”

[Autobot City Site - Phase Sixer Containment Cell]

The restraints kicked in almost immediately, which Optimus found was a surprise, but a welcome one. Grapple had ensured that there really was no way out of the cell without an easy fight. Prime moved and budged as best he could, trying his best to undo the tightness of the restraints, but the longer he fought them, the harder the punishment became.

It came to the point where the restraints had started to unload voltage for each attempt at escape, small jolts at first that kept increasing in magnitude. The pain was manageable at first, but became less reasonable than he had wanted after a certain point, so he dropped the fight and hung there, limbs and torso restricted from movement.

After a moment of peace, Optimus tried his hand at some methods that did not require brute force to escape. A little bit of finesse. Perhaps a bit of leaked coolant fluid around the arms might help loosen up the binds just enough. Perhaps angling the body in a particular direction might cause something to open.

None of the options seemed to work. It really was a masterwork of Grapple's.

Taking some time to rest, Optimus spoke back into the walls that could hear him. "Is there anything else, old friend?"

Autobot City--Phase Six Containment Cell

Watching the struggling Optimus Prime was one of the more...well, uncomfortable things that the chief architect had done in some time. His every instinct was to stop the process early and certainly to not do anything that would do harm to the Autobot that had been such an inspirational figurehead for so long, but he had to put all that aside and remain as professional as possible. This cell's ability to contain powerful mechs would--ideally--save a number of lives in the future.

After what seemed like an eternity, Optimus finally relented. Grapple wasn't sure if he was going to try yet another escape attempt when he finally spoke.

"Is there anything else, old friend?" Prime said, sending a wave of relief through the architect. No more of this torture for today. Hopefully forever. Grapple quickly went about disabling all of the locks and restraints that the cell employed.

"No. No, I think what you've done will give us plenty of invaluable, analytical data. I believe I may refine a couple of aspects of the cell based on what I've seen and I'll send the data to Red Alert for his feedback as well, but ...as for you, no, that was most helpful. I believe we'll have a solid tool here, should we need. Um...would you like me to call Ratchet or any other assistance?"

Autobot City – Phase Six Containment Cell

"No. No, I think what you've done will give us plenty of invaluable, analytical data. I believe I may refine a couple of aspects of the cell based on what I've seen and I'll send the data to Red Alert for his feedback as well, but ...as for you, no, that was most helpful. I believe we'll have a solid tool here, should we need. Um...would you like me to call Ratchet or any other assistance?"

If not for the half-mask covering the lower half of his face, Optimus Prime would have smiled. “We can only hope we will never need to use this,” he replies, “but ‘better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it’, as the humans say. I have the distinct feeling that Red Alert would agree with that assessment.” A hint of self-deprecating humor slipping into his voice there.

Looking down at his wrists first, and then over the rest of himself, he finally looks back up towards the camera. “It might not hurt to have him on hand to give me a quick look-over,” he admits, more seriously now. “My diagnostics don’t seem to be detecting anything requiring immediate repairs, but given all that’s happened recently, I believe discretion is the better part of valor.”

He moves towards the cell door, waiting for it to slide open. "And Grapple? Well done, you and Red Alert both."

Shuttle

”Say that to ol’ Reddie out there, he did most of it, hah,” Broadside joked. Sandstorm chuckled too.

"Hah. True. I don't need to get myself on his radar. Provided I'm not already..." Sandstorm said as he increased the speed a little more. As they followed the path that Omega had taken, Sandstorm began to deploy the scrubbing tech that Red Alert had sent with them.

“Things are going wild right now. You heard them, right?”

"For sure," Sandstorm nodded. "Prime back. Megatron escaping. Omega being followed back here. There's gonna be a battle. You know me. Bring it on. But we got a lot more innocents to watch out for than we usually do. Gonna make it harder to do what we do."

He then looked at the screens.

"Am I doing this right? I'm no techhead. I just wanna make sure Scourge and co. don't find a way right to us."

Autobot City

“We can only hope we will never need to use this, but ‘better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it’, as the humans say. I have the distinct feeling that Red Alert would agree with that assessment,” Optimus said, displaying his characteristic wisdom. Grapple nodded approvingly.

"Absolutely, sir. I think many are in agreement on that front. Not least of which being Red Alert," Grapple said with a grin.

“It might not hurt to have him on hand to give me a quick look-over. My diagnostics don’t seem to be detecting anything requiring immediate repairs, but given all that’s happened recently, I believe discretion is the better part of valor.”

Again, Grapple nodded. Anything he could do to accommodate Optimus Prime and make his tremendous burden a little lighter, he was willing to do.

"Of course! Of course. Um, I believe he is still aboard one of the vessels...but!....if you'll just head for Omega Supreme, our on-site medical officers Pharma and Rung are there and they can conference with Ratchet to make sure you're good to go."

"And Grapple? Well done, you and Red Alert both."

"Absolutely," Grapple said, smiling. "It was my pleasure, sir. I look forward to seeing your full recovery."

Peruvian Valley – Southern/Western Perimeters

“Howlstrike, Sideswipe, let’s carry on and finish what has to be done, shall we? I think we can all agree on this being a rather monotonous job, leached entirely of the, uh, fun that some of us are craving. So the quicker we do this, the quicker we can move on to activities appealing to the characteristics of our, ah, respective fun natures. How about that?” Mirage suggested, trying to defuse the contentious situation between the former Predacon and the red Autobot twin.

“Sounds good to me,” Howlstrike agreed, looking over at Mirage before then glancing back at Sideswipe, who had uncharacteristically fallen silent. “Sorry, Siders, looks like you’ll have to wait for another time to became a mech-sized battering ram. Heh.”

Wasting no more time on the annoying twin, the teal and gray hunter reverted back into his timber wolf alt mode and continued along the southern perimeter until he reached the western border where he then turned and headed northward. He used his highly-tuned sniffer along with his external scanners to check each holo-shield emitter, along with the integrity of the shield, itself, as he went.

“Looks good so far, guys. I’m detecting no issues,” Howlstrike called back to both Mirage and Sideswipe, whom he assumed were not far behind him. “I'm continuing towards the Northern border.” And with that, the mechanical wolf proceeded along the wester perimeter. With any luck, they would be done with this monotonous job sooner rather than later.

Autobot City – Outer Hull of Omega Supreme

Bluestreak and the build-bots continued to make progress on the repairs to Omega Supreme’s severely damaged hull. They worked diligently as the massive guardian remained in recharge mode. Hopefully, Omega would be at full power soon and ultimately be ready to take on the combined forces of both Megatron and Scorponok if need be.

Another damaged panel had been removed and a new one put into position as the chatterbot and his team of builders began welding it into place. They had made great strides but there was still more work to be done as Omega’s damage had been extensive. Still, the bulk of the work was now behind them and they were entering the home stretch.

“Good work, everyone!” Bluestreak shouted to his team over the collective sounds of the blow torches securing the new metal panel into place. “Only about a half dozen more of these large panels need to be replaced and Omega’s hull should be in tip top condition again. We’ll almost there, boys! Let’s do this!"

With that said, the black and silver gunner finished welding his section of the panel and shut off his torch before opening a comm line to the site manager:

>>”Grapple, this is Bluestreak. My build-bots and I are about eighty to ninety percent finished with repairs to Omega’s hull. It won’t be long now and the big guy will be good as new. Just FYI.”<<

Autobot City – Phase Six Containment Cell

Ironhide had watched Optimus struggle against Grapple’s new design with a more focused optic than he usually did for such things. Security was one thing, as was protecting the Autobot leader. But knowing he could be responsible for Optimus being confined to one of these prisons was… unnerving.

That thought burrowed into his processor deeper and triggered emotions the old warrior had been careful to keep buried since the war began. Ironhide had ben built to fight, or so he liked to think. The fact was, he’d been apart of this war for so long, remembering anything else was difficult. But seeing Optimus struggle against the structure, then the restraints brought back memories of the rumors the Decepticons had experimented on mechs on Cybertron.

The notion that something like that had been done to Optimus was disturbing enough, but knowing there was the possibility he could have a relapse at any point was beyond painful.

Still, he kept his optics on Optimus for most of his test, looking for any flicker of him changing back into the mech that nearly killed so many of their friends.

He also watched Grapple, taking note of the ‘Bot’s uncomfortable twitch here and there. Can he be relied on to keep Optimus detained? he thought. Will Ah be able to put him in one of these if Ah need to?

He didn’t think Grapple would. He wasn’t a true soldier though he did have his moments. He had no doubt about the second one. He’d do it by any means necessary. It was his duty and could be the only way to keep the others and Optimus safe from himself. But could he continue functioning afterwards and if there was no cure or treatment?

Ah’m thinkin’ too hard on this. Optimus hasn’t shown any sign of changing. Yet, he added, hoping it wouldn’t come to that.

“Well done, Optimus,” he called out, not sure if Grapple had kept the comm line open long enough. Getting’ slow in mah old age. A slight smile played across his faceplate as he continued watching Optimus over Grapple’s shoulder strut.

He was surprised the builder hadn’t complained. “There’s an emergency control station, right Grapple?” he asked, trying to sound as normal as possible.



Peruvian Valley

Sideswipe had been behaving himself since his idea had been shot down, and he found he was a little disappointed neither Mirage of Howstrike hadn’t seemed bothered by his silence. Or maybe his twin was right and he needed to focus less on antagonizing others and having a good time and more on improving his abilities.

Nah, Sideswipe thought, a slow mischievous smile forming. Let Streaker stay uptight.

What he was going to do hadn’t fully formed yet, but something was itching at the back of his processor. Something good. He’d just have to try not to force it.

Howlstrike wrote: “Sorry, Siders, looks like you’ll have to wait for another time to became a mech-sized battering ram. Heh.”

“I knew you two lacked any sense of adventure,” he said to Mirage and Howlstrike.

Howlstrike wrote:“Looks good so far, guys. I’m detecting no issues,” Howlstrike called back to both Mirage and Sideswipe, whom he assumed were not far behind him. “I'm continuing towards the Northern border.”

He watched as as Howlstrike transformed and headed off. “Yeah! Get the stick, boy. Get the stick!” Turning to Mirage, he said, “Last one to keep up buys the engergon, Mirage?” Without waiting for a reply, Sideswipe transformed and headed after Howlstrike. He fact his tires dug into the soft soil and sent clumps of it in Mirage’s direction as he peeled out may have been an accident.

Autobot City

As Grapple was walking, a flash of white appeared just a few meters away. Now standing in front of him was the Autobots' chief medical officer, Ratchet, who didn't appear to be at all affected by the orbital bounce.

"Grapple, where's Prime?" Ratchet said, clearly wasting no time and getting right to what had brought him here.

"Oh, well, um, he's just over there," Grapple said, pointing to the large red and blue mech who was essentially unmistakable within their ranks.

"Ah, I see. And how is he? Any curious behaviors since he's been down here?" Ratchet asked, rubbing his chin structure.

"Um, hmmm...no? No. He's been very Prime-ish, if that's a word," Grapple said. "In fact, he just finished testing our containment cell. The results were encouraging and Prime seemed none the worse for wear."

Ratchet stood there for a moment, taking this all in before walking off. A few paces away, he realized he hadn't said anything to the architect.

"Oh, ah, thank you, Grapple. That was very insightful."

"Anytime!" Grapple said pleasantly just as a new set of transmissions began to come in.

>>”Grapple, this is Bluestreak. My build-bots and I are about eighty to ninety percent finished with repairs to Omega’s hull. It won’t be long now and the big guy will be good as new. Just FYI.”<<

>>"Excellent news, Bluestreak! Thank you for that update. I'll forward it right to Magnus and Prowl,"<< he replied to Smokescreen before doing just what he said.

Ironhide also had well wishes for Optimus before he, too, seemed to want a word with the architect.

“There’s an emergency control station, right Grapple?” Ironhide asked. Grapple's expression took on a hint of befuddlement. What did he mean exactly? An emergency control station on the containment cell? The one that would eventually be a part of the command center of Autobot City? Something else entirely.

"Forgive my denseness, what sort of emergency control station? I would say yes, naturally, but I'd rather be sure of what exactly you mean."

Autobot City

Ironhide wasn’t sure how he felt about things at the moment as he was torn between Optimus’ well being and that of his fellow Autobots, as well as what could go wrong further down the line. Optimus was himself at the moment, and Ironhide was certain he could managed him if something went… awry. But if they had a phase sixer or other dangerous mech as powerful and resourceful s Optimus, or more so, and the system failed…

"Forgive my denseness, what sort of emergency control station? I would say yes, naturally, but I'd rather be sure of what exactly you mean," Grapple said, looking as frustrated and confused as he was overworked.

Ironhide thought how to best word his thoughts so the architect couldn’t misunderstand him. He was well aware of Grapple’s abilities, but at the moment he wasn’t sure what bases had been covered.

Ah feel like an idiot for bein’ so paranoid. I owe Red an apology next time Ah see him, he thought, but pushed ahead with his question. “Ah mean, does the containment cell have an emergency controls station with a separate power source if our power grid is hit when we’re attacked?” Especially if Optimus chooses then to turn on us, he didn’t add.

He purposely said when and not if, hoping the word choice would help motivate Grapple’s processor to see this as the dire threat he did. If he didn't, he'd have to make Grapple see it.

Autobot City Site

“Ah mean, does the containment cell have an emergency controls station with a separate power source if our power grid is hit when we’re attacked?”

Grapple's optics brightened. Now he understood. He quickly put away the datapad he was holding and whipped out another.

"Ah! Absolutely! There are a whole list of specifications I received from Red Alert, Prowl and high command in general. I wouldn't presume myself to be aware of everything needed to contain a Decepticon as powerful as one of Megatron's modified, um, 'super-warriors'. This cell incporates all of their insight combined with my designs and our best materials."

Autobot City Site

Springer dusted off his actuators, looking over his handy work feeing accomplished. Everyone here had their own task, big or small and it was nice to see everything finally shaping up. It’s been a long while since anyone here as a whole we’re able to really “settle down” and colonize somewhat without the Decepticons coming in and reminding them they were still at war. The green and yellow bot shook the thought from his processor, they should be looking forward to the future now, especially with Prime back again.

“How’re things going over here, Gentlemechs?” Springer inquired as he approached a group of bots surrounded by Grapple, “Need any help at the moment? Just point me in a direction!”

Autobot City Site

Work around the city had been going excellently. With much of Prowl and Red Alert’s ideas being set into motion, Grapple’s design masterpiece was going to be even further enhanced. This site was going to be ground zero for them, the safehaven, the stronghold for all local Autobot forces.

Now it was time to prepare for war.

Springer wrote:“Need any help at the moment? Just point me in a direction!”

”Springer, you are here at a good time,” Magnus said, taking a few steps in the direction of the Wrecker, “We need to discuss matters, immediately. Preferably somewhere less high-profile.” The city commander gestured for him to follow to a private meeting room. On the way, he sent out a summon for all other key players in the ranks, calling them to the meeting.

“I am unsure when Optimus is going to resume his position, but we cannot afford to spare any time at the moment. We need to start preparing for this planet’s defense. I anticipate that Megatron will not hesitate to use anything, especially not if Garrus has been lost.” The city commander took a seat, thinking carefully. “It would be wise to have the Wreckers reunited as soon as possible. Handling mechs the like of phase sixers needs a squad like yours. All of our warriors will be carrying their own weight, but the Wreckers are our last stand.”

Magnus paused for a moment, to let Springer give his thoughts.

“Do you have any ideas of your own that you would like to contribute?”

Priority Communication to Prowl and Ultra Magnus

>>”Magnus, Prowl, the Dinobots have left the Trion with a shuttle and headed for the surface. It is on the same continent as the research outpost, just further south. I’m trying to pinpoint their exact location, but if they’ve gone down to the surface, they’ve likely gone with a reason. What would you advise right now?”<<

Priorty Communication to Blaster and Ultra Magnus:

>>”Blaster, this is Prowl. Find out the Dinobots’ exact location ASAP! I’m sure they’ve already gotten themselves into some kind of trouble. Grimlock was hellbent on finding Decepticons to smash as he would say. Find them and inform Commander Magnus and myself of the situation at once!”<<

Autobot City Site - Private Meeting Room

The green and yellow Autobot followed Ultra Magnus to the meeting area the heavily armored mech had in mind. As he laid out what was on his processor, Springer rubbed idly at his chin strut with an inquisitive actuator.

“Getting the band back up and running wouldn’t be a bad start.” Springer added following the suggestion of reforming the Wreckers, “It would give you and the rest of command a suitable strike force for any sort of small, yet highly risky operations you had in mind. After all, that tends to be our M.O.”

Autobot City Site

Optimus rubbed at his wrists following the testing of the containment cell. Grapple’s latest project was an excellent development and will be quite beneficial in the event they can subdue an actual phase sixer. The red and blue mech still could not comprehend how much he had missed. One day he had the weight of the war bearing on his shoulders and the next it feels as through her had missed wins away from it. And to make matters worse he still wasn’t sure if he was himself having attacked his fellow Autobots like he had done. It was a lingering thought that continued to dwell in his processor, but he had to focus on the tasks at hand now.

The former Autobot Commander’s attention was soon drawn to the sight of Ultra Magnus and Springer entering a small private room along the city site. He figured the two of them together were mostly likely setting out to discuss the next course of action. There was a moment of hesitation if he should hold back from following them both in. No, if he wanted to regain some of this lost trust and prove he was still the same Optimus they knew before he disappeared it was time to earn it back.

“Well it looks like we’re all wrapped up here, Ironhide. Let’s go check with Ultra Magnus to see if he has something else for us to help along with.” Optimus stated to his old friend before shifting off his heel strut and moving towards the private room.

Autobot City Site - Private Meeting Room

The red and blue mech strolled into the room which immediately drew Springer’s optics away from his discussion with Ultra Magnus.

“Apologies for my intrusion,” Optimus began slowly approaching the two other bots in the room, preparing how he wished to approach with his current idea, “I don’t wish to overstep my bounds here, but if you’ll allow me Ultra Magnus, I would like to help however I can in active field duty. I believe some sort of, ‘Return to Form’ as it were might just be what I need to catch myself back up to speed and see if I’m still fit to carry on fighting.”

Autobot City Site

In a flash of white, Kup had bounced from the Guardian down to the developing Autobot City site. Frag he hated bouncing. You'd think he would've gotten used to it over the vorns. He didn't let it show, but that fraggin' momentary queasiness had never left.

He looked around and was actually pretty impressed. With all of the buildbot activity and other command supports, this place was looking less and less like a "site" and more and more like a "city".

Not bad, Grapple. Not too shabby, he mused to himself. He then reached out to grab a younger bot passing by. "Where's the big wig meetin' lad?"
___

Ratchet knew it wouldn't be long before they had another command meeting. There was a lot happening that needed to be addressed and they couldn't afford to be caught off guard again like they had when Megatron escaped and Optimus....well...had his incident.

As the Chief Medical Officer walked into the private meeting room, he could overhear the discussion of the Wreckers.

Ratchet had no opinion on that one way or the other. The Wreckers did what the Wreckers did. It was war. When Optimus entered, however, he had garnered Ratchet's full attention. He watched his movements and listened to his words, keenly attuned to any possible abnormalities. He so much wanted Prime to be back to his standard self. But the unexplained phenomena that had afflicted both he and Megatron was highly unlikely to have simply resolved itself. Whatever had caused it in the first was still there--still somewhere--and Ratchet was determined to discover it and eliminate it. For now, though, he simply had to support Optimus in whatever way necessary.

“Apologies for my intrusion. I don’t wish to overstep my bounds here, but if you’ll allow me Ultra Magnus, I would like to help however I can in active field duty. I believe some sort of, ‘Return to Form’ as it were might just be what I need to catch myself back up to speed and see if I’m still fit to carry on fighting,” Optimus said.

"Medically, I have to say for the record that whatever caused the incident with Prime and Megatron could recur at any time. That said, we have determined that we cannot in good conscience simply lock Optimus away indefinitely until we find the solution to that particular problem. So, a 'return to form', as he said, is likely our best option. With the caveat that we have someone with the physical power sufficient enough to....um...diffuse any future situations like the last one. I can't help but wonder what the 'Cons have done with Megatron, or what he did to them."

Priority Communication to Prowl and Ultra Magnus

>>”Prowl, Magnus, the Dinobots are at a major volcano in the Congo region of Africa. I’m attaching the coordinates. There’s no logged messages from any of the Dinobots, but I think we all know what they went for.”<<

Autobot City - Meeting Room

Springer wrote:“It would give you and the rest of command a suitable strike force for any sort of small, yet highly risky operations you had in mind. After all, that tends to be our M.O.”

”I am sure there will be plenty of those. I doubt Megatron will be holding back, so we will need the Wreckers in full form.” Magnus nodded in agreement with Springer, only to notice some familiar figures step through the door. At first, it was Ratchet, but eventually he was followed by Ironhide, and by his side, Optimus Prime.

Optimus Prime wrote:“Apologies for my intrusion, I don’t wish to overstep my bounds here, but if you’ll allow me Ultra Magnus, I would like to help however I can in active field duty. I believe some sort of, ‘Return to Form’ as it were might just be what I need to catch myself back up to speed and see if I’m still fit to carry on fighting.”

”Optimus,” the city commander said as his optics lit up from admiration. It was clear that Prime had taken a little bit of a beating, likely so from the testing of the containment cell. But to show this level of initiative and respect for his role was one of the reasons why pretty much every Autobot admired his presence. Ultra Magnus nodded, gesturing for Optimus and Ironhide to take a seat. “You are overstepping no bounds at all, Prime. If anything, your presence is welcome here. It would be good for you to be in the know.”

Ratchet’s diagnosis of Optimus was accurate - it was worth having Prime around, but with cautious eyes. Thankfully, now everyone in the room was well aware of the situation, and though Optimus was certainly a formidable warrior in his own right, so were many of those who were present in this room. With the preparations for war and the generally heightened sense of danger, everyone was on high alert. And speaking of alert, a familiar red mech barged through the doors.

“S-sorry about the lateness,” Red Alert said, timidly making his way over to a seat, giving a nod of respect to everyone in the room, “I was just, uh, finishing up some things.” The paranoid bot hastily pulled out a datapad and quickly started running through its contents, ready to give a status report.

Suddenly, a rapid series of messages between Blaster and Prowl came through Magnus’s comms. And, of course, it was about Grimlock and his Dinobots. Magnus let out a hefty sigh as he listened to all of them.

Blaster wrote:>>”Magnus, Prowl, the Dinobots have left the Trion with a shuttle and headed for the surface. It is on the same continent as the research outpost, just further south. I’m trying to pinpoint their exact location, but if they’ve gone down to the surface, they’ve likely gone with a reason. What would you advise right now?”<<

Prowl wrote:>>”Blaster, this is Prowl. Find out the Dinobots’ exact location ASAP! I’m sure they’ve already gotten themselves into some kind of trouble. Grimlock was hellbent on finding Decepticons to smash as he would say. Find them and inform Commander Magnus and myself of the situation at once!”<<

Blaster wrote:>>”Prowl, Magnus, the Dinobots are at a major volcano in the Congo region of Africa. I’m attaching the coordinates. There’s no logged messages from any of the Dinobots, but I think we all know what they went for.”<<

Prowl had given adequate instructions. But now Magnus was going to bring in his command authority as well. Briefly informing everyone in the meeting room of the situation at hand, Magnus commed back, speaking out loud.

>>”Prowl, you are the closest to the location by land distance. Make sure that there are reinforcements being sent. If there are Decepticons there, I seriously doubt the Decepticons will let the Dinobots slip away like they did back in Korea. Blaster, mobilise the reserve strike team that Red Alert had prepared earlier, send them down to location, now!”<<

Blaster sent acknowledgement, and entered the meeting room via a hologram. >>”I’m on it, chief.”<<

Magnus stood up from his chair and addressed everyone in the room. “Small scale battles like this are going to cost us time, resources and much else. We cannot afford to drop things at this rate. Autobot City is mostly complete in its construction - I have commissioned the additional high-energy force barriers to further defend the city in the event that we are attacked directly by multiple starship-grade artillery platforms.”

Clenching his fist, he looked around at the rest of them. “It is better to make crucial decisions to be safer now, than to be sorry in the afterspark. We will need every resource we have at our disposal this time. If Garrus is gone, then we likely lack immediate reinforcements. I am aware that we have contacted others, but we will need to further diversify our options and be creative with our resources.”

“I highly doubt Megatron will hesitate at anything to raze this planet to ashes. Whatever Decepticons the Dinobots have found will allow us to try and throw a wrench into any crucial plans. But we need to make sure that we win in that sector - we cannot afford to lose. If any of you are willing, assemble a squadron and head over to the coordinates that Blaster has given, ASAP. Go reinforce the Dinobots. Grimlock may be reckless, but he is not a fool.”

He finally turned to Red Alert. “Status report?”

Red Alert nodded, clearly in shock and awe at the situation. “U-uh, yes, uh, status report. The Detroit and Kashmir teams have returned safely - and we’ve unearthed an additional source of Ore-13 in Kashmir. The Detroit power supply will be good if we need additional power reserves for equipment - it’s highly active in generating for, uh, half of the day here on Sol-3. And als-”

Blaster spoke up. >>“Sorry to interrupt ya there, Red, I just got a transmission from the Antarctica team. And… woah, they’ve found not just Ore-13, but also the Unitrex-1... with a sparkeater inside.”<<

“They found WHAT?” Red Alert’s optics went wide open.

Blaster paused for a moment, but it seemed that another transmission had come through now, this time from Cosmos. >>“Yeah, it looks like they had a sparkeater on their trail. Apparently they got it sorted out, at the expense of a few Autotroopers and their shuttle. But scrap, they found the Unitrex?!”<<

Magnus listened closely to the report and saw the information that Blaster had beamed up onto the screen. “That ship was… is legendary. How did it end up here?” the city commander said as he put a digit to his chinplate. “Either way, if we can unearth the Unitrex-1, it would be a valuable asset for us, though whether or not it has any fuel or resources in it will be the deciding factor for whether or not it is a liability to us.”

Turning to the rest of the room, Ultra Magnus narrowed his optics. “Any further thoughts or ideas, gentlemechs?”

Encrypted Communication from Prowl to Ultra Magnus:

>>”Understood, Commander Magnus. I will send an entire squadron of Autotroopers down from the Trion to the Congo immediately. I will also check on the status of our own combiner program to see if the Aerialbots are battle ready. I will keep you advised.”<<

Autobot City Site

Just as Red Alert was ready to provide an update, Magnus' attention had clearly shifted to some form of incoming communique. Ratchet, for his part, kept his optics on his own datapads, continuing to examine scans they had taken of both Prime and Megatron during the short time he had been in custody, along with reviewing captured footage of the escape incident and Optimus' "turn" on his fellow Autobots. If meetings were good for anything, it was multitasking.

>>”Prowl, you are the closest to the location by land distance. Make sure that there are reinforcements being sent. If there are Decepticons there, I seriously doubt the Decepticons will let the Dinobots slip away like they did back in Korea. Blaster, mobilise the reserve strike team that Red Alert had prepared earlier, send them down to location, now!”<< Magnus responded to the comm out loud, prompting Ratchet to look up from his own set of playbacks.

"A battle? The Dinobots? Again?" Ratchet huffed, letting out a hefty sigh.

Magnus addressed the situation the way a trained soldier and commander would, but Ratchet knew there were going to be casualties and he needed to be ready for their arrival.

“Any further thoughts or ideas, gentlemechs?” Magnus queried the group.

"As you said, Magnus, these small skirmishes are going to cost us time and resources. I'm no military strategist. I don't know which ones you think are going to be the most beneficial to our continued survival here. Let me just say that Grimlock or any other would-be one-mech heroes need to be a little more careful in their picking of fights until this base has a fully-functional med bay."

Priority-2 transmission from Autobot shuttle to Autobot command

>>"Hey guys, I dunno who's listening, but I think Broady and I have scoured and scraped every possible particle emission that could possibly lead back to Autobot City. We're going to start creating false trails now. Blaster, if you could wipe this comm every time we use it, that'd be great buddy. Thanks in advance! Sandstorm out."<<

Autobot City - Meeting Room

Ratchet was correct. Pointless skirmishes like these were such a drag on their resources, and they were already hard pressed enough as they were. They really could not afford to have any more of these. If all the information they had was accurate enough, then they really could not afford any more mistakes. It was either now or never. Magnus’s optics scanned around the room, first to Ratchet, then to Red Alert, then to the others, and finally to Optimus.

“We need to put an end to this, and quickly too. The sooner the Antarctic team extracts, the better. The sooner Prowl finishes his projects, the more ready we will be.” Though his next words didn’t come out of Magnus’s vocaliser, everyone in the room could feel his thoughts. I highly doubt that we are anywhere near ready. It’s likely that we will never be good enough to be ready. Is it right for us to keep going, expending resource after resource, soldier after soldier?

Red Alert responded to Sandstorm’s incoming message. >>”Oh, uh, g-good work both of you. Red Alert out.”<< It was a small safety net for them, but a safety net nonetheless. Anything to throw off Scourge and his cronies.

Then came Blaster’s message.

Blaster wrote:>>”Commanders,”<< he said, pausing, >>”I’m afraid we’ve got something on our hands.”<<

It was almost a sorry harbinger of doom when Blaster said what he had to say. A foreign communication. Directly to them. Magnus could only look back silently at Prime, for this was now his call. The Autobots needed their true leader.

Priory-1 transmissions from the Semper Tyrannis

>>”Autobots...I would have words with Optimus Prime. Have your lieutenant, Blaster, coordinate with Soundwave to establish whatever security measures you feel are necessary and transmit a clear visual and auditory signal back to my origin point. I will have Soundwave provide you the exact coordinates of this ship for relay purposes. I await your response, Prime. You’ll remember that I’ve never been one to be kept waiting.”<<