Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot.

TRUE SELF

Epilogue

Washington DC, 10:34pm EST:

"So they finally know our name..." General Hallo sighed as he leaned back in the chair.

"Well it's not like we weren't expecting this" one of the other gentleman chipped in, "They were bound to find out sooner or later"

"True: but now we're going to have to tread more carefully, and a be a little more discreet in deploying Broadsword for low-key ops" another gentleman added

"Oh I don't think we need to start panicking just yet," The senator smiled from where she sat at the head of the table: "Broadsword is now at full fighting capacity; and it won't matter if they come across one of our sleeper cells, we'll just shut it down and activate another one"

"I wouldn't get ahead of yourself if I were you, Senator," general Hallo frowned at her: "We've kept up our end of the agreement: now it's time for you to deliver on your promise"

With a discreet nod, she politely obliged: "But of course; I'm nothing if not a woman of my word. Though it is going to take time of course"

"Once the Autobots are neutralized time won't be an issue: it's just everyone else we'll have to contend with; we just need to know who goes for what price" another gentleman s shrugged.

"Senator: not that it's a pressing issue per se; but what are you going to do about your Grand-daughters?" the first gentleman asked

"Ah yes," the senator remembered, "I haven't forgotten them. And I've no doubt their aware of the situation"

"But would they present a problem? That's what I'm asking" the gentleman pressed her.

Regarding him with a subtly sly look, the Senator nonchalantly replied: "...It's only a problem if they discover my connection to this organization: they may be young and naive, but they have their loyalties to their 'friends'. And besides, now that he's President, Lawrence will discover the truth for himself: however he chooses to handle it will be his decision...After that: we'll simply make it our decision"

"And what about you're 'other' son?" the second gentleman asked,

The senator glared at him coldly: "...As far I'm concerned, he can do whatever he damn well pleases. He's not been part of our family for over twenty years, and I see no reason why he'd want to get involved now, or ever" she stated: the tone of her voice made it clear the subject was not up for further discussion.

"Well? Getting back to the subject at hand..." general Hallo addressed the whole room, "Now that we have our sleeper in the White House, we can proceed with the last of the details; I trust everyone here has the necessary arrangements in order?"

A ripple of affirmative nods and discreet yes's resounded around the table.

"Then in that case, we can proceed: Silas, are you still there? ..." the general glanced down at the speaker phone

: I'm still here general: the voice on the other end replied,

"Have Project Circuit Breaker put on stand-by, and make sure Barricade and the other Decepticons are processed as soon as possible. I have one last loose end to tie up here, before we can begin..."

Meanwhile, deep inside the Pentagon:

The flurry of activity and high tension within the building was almost electric: as the newly sworn-in President of the United States and his entourage of advisers, body guards, and other necessary personnel made their way deep into the Pentagon; guided by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, with the other military leaders following close behind.

Lawrence Waineright was a somewhat mediocre man, quiet and reserved: nothing about him in particular stood out, other than the fact he was now in charge of running one of the biggest democratic nations in the world. And although he kept his cool well, on the inside he was both nervous and uncertain. But who could blame him? With the burden of responsibility now sitting squarely on his shoulders, he knew he had some very large shoes to fill.

The day had been a busy one to say the least: after the president's death was confirmed by the coroner, and his body removed from the White House to be sent for autopsy; the necessary paperwork had been drafted and signed by the necessary officials: in preparation for the new vice-president (as well as other important things). After that, the swearing-in ceremony took place in the Oval office: witnessed by the media, certain members of the Senate, the Pentagon, and all the other officials who were connected to the presidential office. All the while, the media hype accentuated the country's grief, as echoes of Kennedy's own death bought back haunting memories for those who still remembered that awful day back in 1963. Now, with history repeating itself in a more passive sense: the amateur conspiracy experts wasted no time in offering speculations of something shady going on behind closed doors...

After being bought up to speed on all the information that was privy only to his predecessor: the new President had only to be briefed on the US military's more classified operations and undertakings; thus far, he'd been told of their movements abroad, and here at home...

...But there was one military operation that called for his briefing to be held in the most secure room of the Pentagon; well away from prying eyes and ears; even those of the most trusted personnel. After a ten minute walk and one long elevator ride down to the lower levels of the complex, they finally arrived at their destination.

"This way Mr President," General Moshower took point, as he led the way to a reinforced door at the end of the corridor: "I'm afraid the rest of you will have to wait here" he told the others.

As the entourage stayed where they were, only the body guards bought up the rear, and stood guard at the entrance as the president followed Moshower and the other Joint Chiefs of Staff into the room. Inside, there was a long table with a large a monitor on the wall at one end, and seated at the nearest end was a plain-looking gentleman with glasses. As the president approached, he stood up and offered his hand.

"Mr President: good to see you sir," he smiled awkwardly

"You must be Mr Galloway," the president politely shook his hand, before sitting himself down opposite him "I'd like to say the feelings mutual, but given the circumstances, I'm more concerned with what I'm about to hear,"

"Indeed; you might want to brace yourself for a slight shock, sir..." Galloway stated as he sat back down, and reached for his briefcase.

Lawrence frowned in concern: "A slight shock?"

After sitting down opposite him, Moshower looked the president in the eye with a serious look: "I'll get straight to the point...Mr President, do you recall the incident that took place in Mission City, in Nevada two years ago?"

"How could anyone forget?" he shrugged with a small smile, "It was all over the news: some nonsense about 'giant robots' fighting one another in the middle of the streets"

"Well I hate to break it to you sir, but it was anything but nonsense..." Moshower stated,

Galloway produced a large file with the words: above classified, stamped in red on the cover, out of his briefcase, and placed it in front of the president. Opening it up, Lawrence's confusion turned into disbelief as he scanned his eyes over the pages.

"The robots in question, call themselves the Autobots: they're an autonomous robotic alien species from a planet called Cybertron; they each landed on our planet a number of years ago, in pursuit of their enemies, the Decepticons. For a while they kept their heads down: hiding in plain sight, but it was only in recent years that they showed up on our radar. All the details are in that file" one of the Joint's Chiefs stated.

"In the years following the Mission City incident, we negotiated a truce with them, and formed the Non-biological Extraterrestrial Species Treaty, or NEST for short," Moshower explained: "Ever since then we've worked closely together to better prepare for if and when the Decepticons return. Mr Galloway here is the director of the unit"

"It is quite a clandestine organization: we've spared no expense in keeping it out of the public eye. But recently we've been incurring a number of problems with the unit," Galloway stated in a somewhat snarky tone: Moshower frowned in vexation (of all the times for him to bring that issue up, this was not it), but didn't say anything as the bureaucrat continued: "The Autobots have been less than cooperative in keeping their troops in line: I'm afraid it's become a bit of a concern"

"-But for the most part, they have proven to be highly effective in improving our tactical knowledge" one of the other Joint Chiefs was quick to point out: "And since their transforming capability's enables them to hide in plain sight, undercover missions in civilian areas are not an issue either"

As he read through the file some more: Lawrence came across a series of photographs depicting the Autobot guardian's with their human charges; though the bots were impressive, it was the youngsters that got his attention, and as he read the details, he was blown away at what the information said...

"...There're children living on this base? With them?" he exclaimed in dismay,

"Technically yes" Galloway sighed in frustration, "But it's rather complicated"

"The children are a rather 'special' acceptation to the rules. For one thing, each of the Autobots who've had first hand contact with each of them, have taken it upon themselves to serve as their guardians: their 'protectors', out of their code of honor to take responsibility for their safety, least the Decepticons might use them as bait, or as a means to procure vital information on NEST. Secondly, the Autobots are adamant that having a human partner helps give a tactical advantage; and vice versa, many of the NEST troops get on well with the Autobots: their fighting dynamic as a team has vastly improved as a result" Moshower explained

"But if you ask me, their starting to become much too blase about it" Galloway interjected rudely, "And the children are starting to become too much of a distraction; this is a military operation, not a day-care center"

Turning another page in the file: Lawrence read through the information on each of the 'guardian team-ups': but when he spotted Hailey, Becca and Becky's pictures, his eyes went wide in amazement. "...These girls, did you know about this?!" he exclaimed,

"Uh? Excuse me?" Galloway blinked in surprise,

"These girls: Hailey, Becca and Becky Waineright, did you know about them?!"

"Um? Should I have?" Galloway shrugged in confusion, not having a clue what he was talking about,

"I'm afraid I did..." Moshower admitted frankly, "But considering all knowledge of NEST is above classified, and all the personnel involved have to be included on the classified access list in order to know. There's no way you'd have been privy to this information as Vice-President...However, the circumstances being what they are: now you know,"

Considering the general was only following the rules, Lawrence knew he couldn't blame him for carrying out the mandate of his duty; "...I can respect that" Lawrence admitted in an apologetic tone,

"I'm sorry Mr President, but what is this about?" Galloway frowned in concern.

Passing an awkwardly sheepish sigh, Lawrence explained: "...My brother Jason moved out to California about twenty years ago. These are his daughters; my nieces...Does he know about this too?"

"Yes he does" Moshower nodded frankly,

Staring off into space, the dazed look of astonishment on Lawrence's face told most of the military leaders that something about this had struck a personal note with him: and he didn't seem all too positive about it. As his features morphed from astonished to determined, he glanced over at the general with a sense of resoluteness about him: "Tell me, is it possible to visit NEST in person?"

"As the president you're automatically included on the classified access list, so yes," Moshower replied, "Why? What're you thinking sir?"

"Call Air Force One, and tell them to be ready for take-off as soon as possible; Galloway, you're with me..." the president stood up, and took the file with him, "...I'm going to be paying my family a visit"

Meanwhile, NEST Base 7:46pm PST:

The constant thrum of the stasis-field generators echoed around the walls of the brig, covering the sound of Blackshot's soft footfalls quite adequately, as she invisibly slipped past the guard, and made her way over to the cell at the very far end of the block.

Inside the cell in question, Velocity lay on her berth staring aimlessly up at the ceiling; when she sensed that familiar cold presence loom around the side of the cell, her mouth curved into a sly smile. "You know? It's funny: they finished rebuilding this place only a few weeks ago, but they weren't in any hurry to throw Longrange and Coldbore back in here..." she thought aloud as Blackshot approached closer, "...I guess their good behavior is paying off?"

"How could you be so reckless?" Blackshot demanded; turning to gaze over at her, Velocity saw the dark threatening look in her optics, and her smile grew even more disturbing...

Now that everyone had gotten a look at her true colours, the sweet innocent mask had been done away with, and in its place, the madness she'd been hiding all these years had settled upon her features. Though she was now truly comfortable inside her frame, it made for a disturbing sight: seeing that twisted smile, and those unpredictable optics... It was enough to unnerve even the hardest Autobot.

But not Blackshot: this kind of insanity was nothing new to her...

Getting up off the berth and approaching the stasis-force field that confined her to the cell, Velocity looked her in the optic, and merely smirked: "...Was I? True I did sort of loose it a little bit; but do you think I'd really be so stupid as to try and run with him in tow? Knowing full well that you'd be the one to chase after me first?"

Blackshot flinched in alarm, as she suddenly realized what she was implying: seeing the look on her face only delighted Velocity even more. "Do you really think I wouldn't take any precautions, after that little 'talk' we had? The other night in the rec-room?" she grinned, "I have you by the brass bearings: and if those bots feel like interrogating me again? I think I might just oblige them with a few 'tit-bits'..."

Blackshot's anger began to boil up: "Why are you doing this?!" she seethed, "After all this time, you choose now to tear the plan apart?!"

"Hey, it was your plan to start with: I didn't want anything to do with it, remember?" Velocity scoffed in her usual sultry voice; "I'm not doing this out of some 'moral obligation' to try and stop you: I gave up on morality a lifetime ago. I just love seeing you squirm..." she grinned maniacally, "...Always so cool and calm and collected: it's refreshing to see you 'sweating bullets' for once. And now I hear your favorite lackey has decided to grow a conscience? That must have sent you right up the wall. And of course, you can't kill her: knowing what her mother will do to you when she eventually finds out...Oh, you must be sooo wound up right now..." she teased mockingly and unashamedly.

Wound up? That didn't even come close to describing Blackshot's inner rage: "I swear, the second nobody is looking: I will kill you with my bare hands" she growled: her cool exterior slipping a little...

"Well good luck with that!" Velocity chuckled, "Considering what almost happened, they're not taking any chances with me; ...And just in case you were wondering? I still have you're little 'secret' stashed away on me somewhere, so even if you do kill me? You still have to look for it"

"I am so close to succeeding; you can't do this to me!"

"You did this to yourself," Velocity taunted, "...And anyway, who do you think you're kidding? Maybe a lifetime ago you actually had some good intentions: but now? You're as insane as Megatron was. The irony alone is just too sweet, but knowing what you did to your sister? Primus, I didn't think you'd go that far"

"And you will join her if you don't give it back to me!"

"Oh come on," Velocity waved off in mild annoyance, "I'm not scared of you remember? You might as well try threatening a rock..." she went back to her berth, and lay down again: "And besides, it doesn't matter if I'm the one who lets the drone out of the bag: you've already taken too many risks as it is; it's a matter of time before you trip up. And then everyone will see exactly what you are..."

At the same time, on the second level of the base:

As he placed his cube of energon down on the one clear space of the cluttered desk: Que sat down in his chair, and took a moment to rest. Glancing over at each of the dead cerebro-shells, sitting in their test tubes on the far end of the main counter-top; he turned in the bot-sized office chair to face them. And tried not to think too hard about the task that lay ahead...

"...Cerebro-shells..." he through aloud in a tired voice, "...Never thought they'd would come back to haunt us..."

*Beep-beep-beep*

The scientist sat bolt upright: something about that alarm rang a bell...

*Beep-beep-beep*

Looking around the lab, he searched desperately for the source of the sound,

*Beep-beep-beep*

Suddenly, he spotted it...

"Oh!-" he flew up out of his chair and rushed over to the machine in question: "Ashley's nanite micro-dissection! I'd completely forgotten all about it!" he facepalmed as he pressed a button next to the keyboard: the beeping stopped, and a long list of data appeared on the screen. At first glance, the information didn't make any sense, but as he scrolled down and read over the details: Que stared at the screen in stunned silence...

Were he human, the colour would've drained from his face...

: Ratchet! Are you seeing any patients right now? :

: No, why? :

: Get over to the lab right now! Ashley's micro-dissection is complete; you've got to see this! :

: Hold tight, I'll be right over...:

"...Primus..." Que leaned against the counter-top as he tried to regain his bearings, "...This can't be right!" he glanced back at the screen, and still couldn't believe what the data was telling him...

Meanwhile, aboard the Black Solstus:

All was quiet as Majestrix took a little time to polish her wrist blades: a small noise drew her attention to the entrance of her quarters, where she noticed her eldest daughter step into the room, half concealed by the shadows...

"Eclipse," she smiled as she sheathed her blades, "To what do I own the pleasure of this visit?"

Stepping out of the shadows, Majestrix nearly gasped when she saw the dent in her daughter's cheek-plates: but the look of spark-ache in her dim optics piqued her maternal instincts all the more. Standing up and approaching her, she gently stroked the side of her cheek-plate while holding her hand with the other. The noticeable palm and finger marks within the dent told her right away this hadn't been an accident. And in an instant her outrage spiked...

"...What happened? Who did this to you?!" she demanded,

Gently taking her hand away from her face, and holding it with her own: Eclipse drew in a shaky breath through her vents, as she tried to find her courage, and brace herself for whatever was going to happen next...

"...Mother, I have a confession to make..." she anxiously stated; the fear in her voice alarmed her mother, but she didn't say as a word as she let her daughter continue: "...A long time ago, I made a choice: in the interest of the Autobots and Cybertron; a choice I thought-, I believed, was for the best; but now?-...It's all gone wrong, and turned into the very thing I wanted to prevent..." she sobbed as energon tears began streaming down her face: but she didn't stop, her determination outweighed everything else that was going through her mind: "...I don't care what happens to me: I am willing to accept whatever punishment you deem fit to serve me. But please, all I ask is for a chance to right the wrongs I have done..."

"..What are you talking about?" Majestrix frowned in anxious worry,

Eclipse sighed, and forwarded a large data-burst to her; it was a lot more than usual for a standard data-burst: and when Majestrix had decrypted and processed it all, she gasped in shock: gazing at her daughter is stunned astonishment. "...What have you done?!..." she exclaimed in utter dismay.

Eclipse merely dropped her gaze, too ashamed and too filled with guilt to look her in the optics; but when her mother gently put her finger under her chin, and bought her head up to meet her gaze; the look of determination in her mother's own optics took her aback...

"...Tell me everything..." Majestrix stated in a serious tone.

Meanwhile, several thousand feet above the surface of the earth, in mid-orbit:

: Report: urgent message to Shockwave, mandatory:

: What is the problem? :

: The cerebro-shells have been discovered, and Barricade and his unit were taken by Broadsword:

: ...Who discovered the cerebro-shells? The Autobots: or Prometheus? :

: Both: the latter some time ago:

: ...This is a disconcerting development:

: Observation: the situation is now critical; there are no Decepticon units left on earth. The invasion is now no longer possible:

: Maybe not from the planet-side, but the main invasion force hasn't left the main rendezvous point yet: the element of stealth may still be ours:

: Not possible: Prometheus has located the main rendezvous point, and is maintaining surveillance. It may only be a matter of time, before they find a way to neutralize them too:

:... A most disappointing development:

: Warning: tell Starscream to revaluate the invasion plan: certain tactical strongholds are no longer within Decepticon possession: and Prometheus poses far too great a risk for our limited numbers:

: ...What we lack in numbers now, we will soon make up for in fire-power: my current project may help to even the balance with Prometheus in that regard:

: Question: what do you have in mind? :

: My research into the new energon source has yielded some interesting results; one of which could bring our fallen leader back online; I am currently en route to earth with a small unit to locate his remains, at the bottom of the Laurentian Abyss:

: Observation: Megatron is offline indefinitely, and is beyond all repair:

: By conventional cybertronian medical science, yes; but the procedure that I have formulated, will, in essence, reverse that...Maintain your position and keep me informed of any developments: I will be running dark so as to avoid detection: Shockwave out:

"What is he up to?"

"I don't know for sure; but I have a very bad feeling about this..."

The End...For Now...

Well, there you have it...for now at least ;)

Please, do come again for the next installment: it's about to get kicked up a few notches ;)