Transformers

More Than Meets

The Eye:

Rebuilt

Part I:

To Start Anew

Iacon

Preceptor gazed out into the deepest quadrant of space from his observation tower in Iacon and sighed softly to himself. He glanced over to his desk and picked up the data pad on it. He then cross-checked the information that he had calculated cycles ago in order to ensure its accuracy, and without a doubt, it most certainly was. Out of frustration, he threw the data pad on the desk and rubbed his temple, desperately hoping to release some of the pressure that was building in his neural processor since the orn that he had made this discovery.

"It never fails," he said softly to himself. He rubbed the side of his face and then stood up to make his way to the door. He collected his composure before he left the room, and then opened the door that led to the hallway. Out in the corridor , Preceptor saw several other Transformers who were members of the Science Guild that had been frantically working to solve the energon crisis that Cybertron was inevitably headed toward, but he knew now that the energon issue was only a crisis if his race survived to see it come to its disastrous fruition.

"Any luck?" a voice from down the hall called to the Autobot scientist.

Preceptor turned around and saw his fellow coworker and smiled at him. "I highly doubt luck has anything to do with it, Astroscope," he said kindly. He held out his arm and shook his friend's hand. He then gazed at his comrade's optics. "A catastrophe of this magnitude would be enough to completely extinguish our species. None of us on Cybertron would be lucky, to say the least."

Astroscope shook his head at Preceptor's reaction. "So there's no mistake in the calculations then?" he asked as if to question Preceptor's skills at the mathematical trajectory.

Preceptor realized that his friend was only trying to comfort him, but he became disappointed at Astrocsope's comment. He then turned around and began walking down the hallway toward the elevator. "There is no question," he replied curtly. "The asteroid field will come in contact with Cybertron within the next vorn unless we do something about it."

Both Preceptor and Astroscope reached the elevator. Astroscope pressed the call button and looked at Preceptor who was still contemplating theories on how to avert the situation. "I suppose that you're off to tell Prime," he said.

Preceptor looked up and saw that the elevator reached his floor. He looked over his shoulder and nodded at Astroscope's comment. "Perhaps Optimus Prime can come up with a solution, because, quite frankly, I cannot." Once the elevator locked into the floor, the doors opened. The two Autobots stepped inside of the elevator and waited for the door to close. Preceptor pressed the button that would take them to the ground floor, and then he looked back at Astroscope. "This one is out of my reach, my friend."

Astroscope realized that the hint of desperation in Preceptor's voice was all too real. It also stated to him that his long time friend was at the end of his rope when it came to calculating an answer to the problem, which was uncharacteristic of Preceptor.

Astroscope understood that Preceptor was not a participant when it came to violence against the Decepticons. Preceptor felt that the true way to end this war would not come through the death of war, but rather through the scientific breakthrough that would unite all Transformers, and that was his goal. However, because of his refusal to fight, Preceptor felt that his scientific contributions meant more because many other Autobots were engaged in combat. To Preceptor, if he cold not contribute with his mind, then he felt as if he was not helping the Autobots by any means.

"So where to now, Preceptor?" Astroscope asked with compassion.

Preceptor turned and looked at his friend and smiled at him, realizing that he understood how he was feeling deep within his spark. "Autobot High Command," he said sharply.

Kaon, Southwestern Quadrant

Decepticon Control

Kup locked the siphoning pipe into place and looked over his shoulder at the two Transformers who were standing behind him. "Tell Brawn that she's locked!" he shouted. "And hurry up, will ya?"

The white and blue Autobot gave Kup the thumbs-up gesture and smiled at his commander. "You got it, boss-bot!" he replied. He then turned around and ran over to the hole in the ground. The Autobot kneeled down and peered into the depths of the hole. "Let her go, B!" he shouted.

Down in the dark tunnel, the small Autobot known as Brawn turned the rust covered wheel and freed the stored energon into the pipe that led to the storage tanker on the surface. There was a screeching of metal on metal as he continued to release the flow of liquid energy out of the vat. He grunted as he opened the valve up all the way.

"Alright Scrags!" Brawn shouted. "Tell Kup that it's workin'! No leaks on this end!" He paused for a moment and looked up at the Autobot who was gazing into the hole with wide optics. "And stop callin' me 'B' for the love of Primus!"

Scrags nodded back at the elder Autobot and stood up. "Sure thing, old timer," he replied with heavy sarcasm. He then walked over to Kup and smiled at him. "Brawn says that we're running free and clear."

Kup smiled and grabbed his laser musket. "Great," he replied. He then started walking to the cockpit of the tanker, and the two Autobots started following him. "Scrags, I want you to contact Jazz back at Iacon. Tell him that we'll be en route shortly!"

Scrags smiled and opened his video communicator imbedded within his left forearm. "Anything else?" he asked as he began logging onto the Autobot security network.

"Yeah," Kup started. "I want some protection once we leave Kaon. Hauling this much energon ain't going to be easy, especially once Ratbat discovers that it came from here!"

Scrags nodded at Kup and completed the encryption process for him to start the communication with Autobot Command in Iacon. "Well do, Kup!"

Kup looked over at the other Autobot who was standing next to Scrags. "Nightbeat, I want you to get the scanner running; I don't want to have any Decepti-goons sneaking up on us!"

Nightbeat nodded at Kup and started walking to the opposite end of the cockpit. "That wouldn't be pleasant," he replied as he climbed into the cockpit. He switched the equipment on and started scanning for Decepticon energy signatures. He then turned to Kup and looked at him inquisitively. "Just what the slag do we need with all of this energon anyway?" he asked.

Kup shook his head and stepped out of the cockpit. "Magnus says that it's for something urgent," he replied. He turned around and saw Brawn making his way over toward the tanker. Kup could tell that Brawn was mumbling to himself in annoyance as he was wiping off black lubricant from his shoulders. "The High Command is keeping things tight on this one, kid." He then looked back at Nightbeat who was still actively scanning the vicinity for Decepticons. "But something tells me that pulling slag like this on the fly means that things are not looking so polished for us right now."

Northern Pole

Neutral Territory

The explosion rocked the ground around the small group of Autobots as they continued to hold their position. Debris rained down on the huddled Transformers as they covered themselves with their arms to protect them frrm it. Each of them ducked down further to avoid the continuous laser fire from the Decepticon warriors who sought their own coverage off in the distance.

When the last of the metal debris hit the ground, a red Autobot turned to look at his commander. "Bang-Zow Grimlock!" he stated with enthusiasm. "These Decepticons are holed up better than a rust-mite on Sludge!"

The massive Autobot reached for another energon power cell and slapped it into his rifle. He then gazed over at the Autobot with a stern look in his red optics. "Me think you right, Warpath!" he said in his deep voice. Some of the gathered Transformers were not sure if it was his voice or the shells slamming into the surface that shook the ground. He then looked over at a green and orange Autobot who was loading more ammunition into his own set of weapons. "Roadblock!" Grimlock shouted.

The Autobot known as Roadblock quickly turned his head and looked at Grimlock with heavy concern. "Yes boss," he replied promptly.

Grimlock placed his back along the broken wall and peered around the edge. "This take too long! We need out of here now!" He then looked at the Autobot who was finishing up re-supplying his weapons. "Any suggestions?" he asked.

Roadblock nodded at Grimlock. "Yeah," he replied as he activated his weapon and stood up along the edge of the wall. "Blow straight through them and shove hot slag up their tailpipes!"

Grimlock laughed at his soldier's remark. "Me like that, but maybe that not best way today." He opened up his wrist communicator and looked at the video monitor. "Swoop!" he shouted. "What your situation?"

There was a crackle as the video feed was interrupted by the Decepticons' attempt to jam their transmission. Finally, a face appeared on the screen and smiled at Grimlock. "Probably the same as you, boss!" the Transformer replied. "I'd say that it's time to cut our losses and beat it!"

Grimlock immediately shook his head in disagreement with Swoop's suggestion. "No!" he shouted. "We not work this hard to just give up!" He then looked over at Roadblock and nodded at him. "Perhaps it time to get up close with Decepticons!" He looked back at the monitor and squinted at Swoop's image. "Have your group hold their ground until me give you signal."

Swoop looked back at Grimlock with heavy concern. "What's the signal, boss?' he asked.

Grimlock gazed back at Swoop's image. "Me think you will figure it out!" He then shut the screen and looked at the Autobots who were huddled around Grimlock. He grabbed his rifle with both hands and made sure that it was fully charged. "Me and Roadblock take the front," he began. He then looked over at Warpath. "You and Bombard lay down suppressive cover from here!"

Warpath looked over at the yellow mech who was standing next to him. "Blam!" Warpath shouted. "Just stay out of the way!"

The yellow Autobot known as Bombard smiled at Warpath's comments. "Yeah. I like da sound of that!" He grabbed the rifle from his shoulder and activated it. He looked over at Grimlock and nodded at him. "Ready when you are!"

Grimlock then looked at the last Transformer standing there. He was blue and black and looked completely out of place amongst the warrior Transformers that he was with. Grimlock looked into his optics and nodded at him. He then placed his hulking hand on the smaller Autobot's shoulder in an attempt to comfort him. "Flatout, once me and Roadblock engage Decepticons, you make your way to power nexus."

The smaller Autobot nodded back at Grimlock. "Gotcha big guy," he replied.

Grimlock knelt down next to Flatout and looked deeply into his blue optics. Grimlock saw a terrified mech who was desperately trying to be brave, and Grimlock respected that completely. "When you reach power nexus, you find the net-line and blow that bitch!"

Flatout looked up at Grimlock and nodded. "Understood," he said with complete seriousness.

Grimlock then slapped Flatout on the shoulder and stood up. He looked at the gathered Autobots and nodded at them. "Let's make them go crawling back to Megatron!"

Warpath immediately transformed into his tank mode and threw himself into reverse. He then rotated his turret and loaded several shells into the barrel. He revved his engine and prepared to enter the shower of laser fire from the Decepticons.

Bombard grabbed his rifle with both hands and made his way to the opposite end of the wall. "Ready when you are, Warpath."

The red Autobot chuckled and revved his engine a final time. "Bang-Zow!" he cried. "Let's do it!"

On the opposite end of the battlefield, Thrust reloaded his power cell in order to continue to keep the Autobots at bay. He closed the grid-link and watched the gauge as it ran to full capacity. He grinned at the sight of a fully recharged weapon and he looked over at his two partners.

"How's it look, Skullgrin?" he shouted.

The white and blue Decepticons continued to lay down a shower of laser fire at the Autobots who were trapped behind the broken wall. "They don't seem to be headed anywhere!" he shouted over the noise of the blasts from his weapon. He glanced over at the purple Decepticon who was loading another rocket into his own weapon. "Ready over there, Squeezeplay?" he asked.

The purple mech closed the cap on the missile launcher and heaved it on to his shoulder. "Sad to see these pukes die so quickly, eh Thrust?" he said. "But them's the breaks!" He walked over to the wall and leaned over to get support for firing his rocket.

"Just make sure that Grimlock dies!" Thrust exclaimed. "He's the one who's the pain in the chassis!"

Squeezeplay activated the targeting mechanism in the optic-viewfinder. He switched the imaging to normal view, and caught the sight of the wall where the Autobots were pinned down. He slowly turned the targeting dial and waited for the cross-hairs to line up correctly to get the best possible shot. "Just a few more astro-seconds," he said softly.

Just then, he caught a flash from behind the wall which blinded him for a split moment. He took the weapon and placed it on the ground. He adjusted his optics and saw several shots being fired from behind the wall. He turned to Thrust and Skullgrin and threw himself on the ground. "INCOMING!" he shouted.

Without any more warning, there was a massive explosion in between the three Decepticons. Skullgrin went flying against a wall and was immediately knocked into stasis lock due to the trauma that his central neural processor encountered due to the concussion wave from the blast. Thrust fell backward and covered his optics from the falling debris. He looked for his two partners and quickly stood up.

"What the slag was that?" he asked.

There were four additional explosions that rocked the immediate vicinity, sending Thrust tumbling to the ground.

Squeezeplay got up to his knees and saw Skullgrin on the ground. "Warpath got off a few shots!" he shouted. "Old Skully is out!"

Thrust stood up and ran over to the wall. He peered out and saw both Grimlock and Roadblock making their way towards them. "We've got bigger problems headed this way, Squeeze!" he shouted. He then began firing at the two charging Autobots as they zig-zagged across the battlefield.

Squeezeplay ignored the two Autobots and picked up his rocket launcher. He placed it on his shoulders and fired it without even activating the targeting computer within it. The rocket streaked toward the wall and slammed into it with ferocity. The wall exploded into pieces and smoke went everywhere. He turned to Thrust and smiled. "That should take care of Warpath!"

Just then, the red tank crashed through the fallen wall and charged toward the Decepticon. On top of Warpath sat Bombard who was continuously firing off rounds at Squeezeplay. The two Autobots were laughing at the sight of Squeezeplay who was dumbfounded by the sight of them.

Just behind Warpath was a small hover car who was waiting for the right opportunity to leave the area. Once he saw that the Decepticons were distracted, Flatout streaked around the corner of what was left of the wall and headed past the Decepticons' location. He skimmed the surface and monitored the situation of his friends taking care of the Decepticon.

Flatout threw himself into high gear and passed the three Decepticons without even being noticed by them. He slowed down a little when he realized that he was clear of any danger, and then he saw exactly what he was looking for.

The power nexus was controlled by the Decepticons for a substantial period of time since the fall of Overlord Titus over eleven vorns ago. Megatron knew that controlling the Northern Pole power supply was essential to claiming the upper half of Cybertron. The Decepticons have been siphoning energy from the Northern Pole and rerouting it to Darkmount where they were amassing weapons that were created for their operations across Cybertron and its moons. If the Autobots could just stop the siphoning momentarily, then they would have a slight advantage over the Decepticons.

Flatout opened up his rear compartment and began to ride along the side of the main pipeline. He then ejected several magnetic grenades that leached on the to metal pipe. He then swerved away from the pipe and headed away from it. Once Flatout reached a safe distance, he activated the detonation sequence and watched as the pipeline exploded violently.

Flames went everywhere and the ground beneath Flatout started to crack. He then transformed and shook his head at the sight of the destruction that he had caused.

"Maybe that was the signal Grimlock told Swoop to look for," he said to himself. Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around with a smile. "Not to shabby, if I say so myself, Grimlock." However, the smiled quickly disappeared as he saw the figure that stood over him.

The large Decepticon was grinning at the sight of the smaller Autobot. He squeezed down on Flatout's shoulder, creating a crunching sound as he crushed it. "Not too bad at all," he replied.

"Motormaster!" Flatout winced in pain. He reached for his shoulder and placed his hand on top of Motormaster's powerful grasp. Flatout felt Motormaster squeeze his shoulder until he lost all feeling in his left arm. The smaller Transformer fell to his knees and cried out in pain, causing Motormaster to smile with pleasure.

"Don't worry, scrapling," the Decepticon said with a smile. "It'll all be over for you soon." Motormaster then grabbed Flatout with his other arm and picked the young Autobot up over his head. He then threw Flatout against a wall and watched as he slid down in into a crumpled heap. Motormaster strolled over to Flatout and stood above him, feeling a sensation of superiority, something that he had not felt in a long time.

Motormaster then smiled at Flatout and kicked him in the abdomen, causing Flatout to cough up pink energon onto Motormaster's foot. The massive Decepticon stepped back and watched as Flatout vomited more energon. "Disgusting," the Decepticon said as he wiped his foot off on the ground.

Motormaster then reached for his energy sword and activated it. The blade began to give off a red and orange glow as he stared down at the Autobot. He held the blade over Flatout's head and grinned. "This is where you pay for you defiance, my dear Auto-brat!" He lifted the blade up over his head, and prepared to swing down, severing Flatout's head from his shoulders.

However, when he went to bring the blade down, he was not able to do so. He felt a slight tug on the sword, and Motormaster let go of the weapon. He then turned around and smiled at the sight of his new opponent.

"Ah, Grimlock," Motormaster said. "I was wondering if you were going to show!"

Grimlock took the sword and snapped the blade in half, as if it were nothing more than a dried out twig. He threw the two pieces to the ground and stepped menacingly toward the Decepticon known as Motormaster. "Me make sure that this sick game you play ends now!" he exclaimed.

Grimlock swung with his right arm and hit Motormaster squarely in the jaw, sending the Decepticon toppling backwards. The overpowered Decepticon landed on his back and watched as Grimlock charged at him with a ferocity that seemed to go unmatched. Motormaster quickly rolled out of the way in a last ditch effort as the Autobot leapt into the air and landed heel first where Motormaster's head was, creating a hole that told Motormaster that he was lucky. Motormaster then sprang to his feet and jumped on top of the Autobot hoping to catch Grimlock off balance.

"This is gonna be fun," he said into Grimlock's left audio receptor. "Oh, if Dragstrip and the rest could see this now!"

Grimlock laughed at Motormaster who seemed to be hanging on for dear life. "Pitiful," Grimlock stated sternly. The Autobot then swung his elbow back and hit Motormaster in the gut, causing him to let go of the hulking transformer. Grimlock then turned around and punched Motormaster in the jaw again, but this time he did not fall down, which surprised both Grimlock and Motormaster.

Instead, Motormaster laughed at Grimlock. "I'm afraid that this has to end," he said calmly. He then pulled out his plasma sidearm and pointed it at Grimlock's head.

Grimlock laughed at the sight of Motormaster's weapon. "Go ahead," Grimlock replied. "Shoot me if you think that will kill me."

Motormaster laughed at Grimlock's comment. "Oh, Grimlock," Motormaster said sharply. "I don't plan on killing you."

Motormaster then quickly pointed his weapon at Flatout and shot him in directly in the throat. Flatout's optics shattered as pink energon exploded out from them. Red and yellow flames spewed out from the young mech's mouth, and the ensuing heat was so intense that part of his face melted as it did so. He grabbed at his throat and clawed at the wound, ripping out circuits and wires in a feeble attempt to stop the pain and suffering.

Grimlock ran toward Flatout in an attempt to save the young mech, and that was all the distraction that Motormaster needed. He began to laugh as he transformed and peeled out, throwing up dust and debris at both Grimlock and his fallen friend. Grimlock turned his head and watched as Motormaster streaked off into the distance, and he thought about following him, but deep down Grimlock knew that his place was beside his dying comrade.

Grimlock grabbed onto Flatout's hand and held it as the young Autobot's body convulsed from the trauma. He watched as his body writhed violently from the wound. Grimlock heard several snapping sounds from within Flatout's body as it twisted around on the ground. Then, slowly, Flatout's body stopped moving. Grimlock felt Flatout release his hand and went into terminal stasis lock.

Grimlock looked at his friends unrecognizable face, and there was only one word that he could say. "Damn."

Kaon

Megatron slammed his fist on the desk, causing several of the gathered Decepticons to jump as they were startled by his sudden outburst of anger. He stood up and walked over to the wall. He then punched it, creating a hole twice the size of his fist. Megatron then turned around and gazed at the Decepticons who were standing there. His optics seemed to glow a brighter red than they usually did, which meant that he was not pleased with the recent news.

"Damn!" he screamed. "Damn Prime and his Autobots in their persistent means!" he shouted. He then walked back to his desk and slammed both fists onto it again, causing the desk to collapse. "How dare they challenge me on my own territory!" he looked over at one of the Decepticons who reported the news to Megatron. "And what did Ratbat do about this?" he asked.

The silver Decepticon shook his head at his leader, afraid of saying the wrong answer. "Um, he supposedly sent and party after them, but it turns out that they lost the tanker after it reached the Helios freeway network."

Megatron stood straight and shook his head at the news. He gazed back at the Decepticon who was completely freighted for the safety of his very spark. Megatron clenched his fists tightly and brought his arms down to his side. "Now listen here, Distaste," Megatron said as he began to gather his composure. "Go back to the communication room and tell Ratbat to return home. I have a mission that is quite fitting for his talents."

All of the gathered Decepticons wondered what Megatron was talking about. They thought that he would surely recall Ratbat and have him recycled alive, but instead Megatron seemed to be showing some compassion. The Decepticon known as Distaste nodded in acknowledgment of his orders. "Yes. Megatron," Distaste replied. He then turned around and left the room, thanking Primus that he was still alive.

As the door shut, Megatron turned around and gazed out of the window. He sighed to himself and began to rub his temple. "Incompetence," he said softly. "Why am I cursed with incompetence?"

"Perhaps it's because you're not attacking the real threat," a voice stated from the crowd. "Why do we bother with all of this nonsense when we can extinguish the threat of the Autobots by attacking Iacon itself?"

Megatron chucked for a moment at the sound of the remarks. He knew all too well who was foolish enough to question him at a time like this. "You're an idiot Starscream," Megatron said softly. "Nothing more than an idiot." He then turned around and gazed back at the red and silver Decepticon. Megatron then walked around the heap that was once his desk and approached Starscream. "In fact, if your ariel combat prowess was second to none, I'd think that I would tear out your spark bit by bit just for fun right now."

Starscream took a step backward, but Megatron kept walking closer toward him. "But. . . but Megatron," he stuttered. "I think that. . ."

"Or perhaps I'd rip out your optics," Megatron interrupted. He gazed deeper into Starscream's red optics as he smiled at the thought. "I'd mount your head module for a trophy after I reached down your throat and dissected you alive!"

Starscream backed up against a corner and could go no further. He shook his head at Megatron and brought his hands up to his chest. "But Megatron," he began. His voice trembled as he struggled desperately to find the words that would save his spark. "I was just thinking. . ."

"That's the problem, Starscream!" Megatron shouted. "You don't think!" Megatron took his hand and slapped Starscream across the face, sending the Decepticon falling to the ground. He looked down at the cowering seeker and grinned at the sight of such a so-called warrior. "Question me again, Starscream, and I will end you insolence with strict finality that would make the bravest Transformer shudder with fear!"

Starscream wiped the pink energon off of the corner of his mouth. He looked up at Megatron and nodded at his leader. "Yes, mighty Megatron," he said. He looked for help in standing up, but all of the Decepticons turned their backs toward him, making sure to not acknowledge his request. He placed his right hand on his knee and stood up on his own power, gazing viciously at the gathered Decepticons.

They will all regret this, as will you, 'mighty' Megatron! Starscream thought to himself as he regained his calmness. There will come an orn when I will lead the Decepticons to victory over the Autobots, and the Decepticons will choose to follow me, not you in your arrogance!

The door leading to the hallway began to open. Megatron turned his attention away from Starscream and watched as the blue Decepticon entered the room. The Decepticon was tall and seemed to be slightly larger than some of the other warriors in the room. He was accompanied by a small, black beast-like mech who walked on all fours, which was unique amongst Transformers.

Megatron rubbed his hands together as he watched as the two Decepticons strode into the room. He smiled at the sight of the Decepticon and his small follower. "Soundwave," Megatron said. "Perhaps you and Ravage will bring me news that will serve to correct my disposition."

Soundwave looked around at the room. He noticed that the desk was destroyed, and that there was a large hole in the wall. He turned his head and saw Starscream cowering in the background, and he knew that he missed something interesting that he could share with his fellow Decepticons. He glared at Starscream for a moment, concentrated briefly, and knew exactly what he had missed.

"Tell me, Soundwave," Megatron began. "What have you discovered?"

Soundwave turned his attention toward his leader. He stood straight and respectfully nodded as he began to speak to Megatron. "It seems the Autobot High Command has sent out a communique for them to gather in the council room in Iacon," he said in his monotone fashion. "Reports are sketchy at this time, but information suggests that they are convening about the threat of the energon shortage."

Megatron laughed briefly at the message from his most loyal soldier. "Shortage indeed, Soundwave," Megatron said. He glanced out of the window and watched as several Decepticons returned home from a patrol. "They must be getting desperate if they are to steal energon from me under my sensors!" He then gazed back at the blue and white Decepticon. "Anything else?"

"Negative," Soundwave replied. "However, I have sent an operative to investigate the situation further."

Megatron smiled at Soundwave. "Excellent," he replied. "Your usefulness never seems to wear out, unlike some of my other so-called warriors." He glanced over at Starscream as he finished his sentence. Megatron then turned around and gazed out of the window again, smiling at the sight of Cybertron and what could be his. "You see, Starscream," Megatron said. "All you need is patience, and everything will be as it should."

Starscream was unsure what Megatron's comment was about. He stepped forward and looked at the leader of the Decepticons. "What do you mean?" he managed to ask Megatron.

"You squawk on endlessly about how we need to be more direct when dealing with the Autobots," Megatron said. He then turned around and smiled at Starscream. "Perhaps you forget that it was through deception and stealth that we were able to grow into such a massive army without the House of Republic ever knowing of our true existence." His smile then grew larger. "And that is exactly what we need now."

Megatron looked at Soundwave and smiled coldly at him. "Once the information has been delivered, bring it to me immediately," he ordered. "I want to see what Optimus has in store for us and his precious planet!"