Disclaimer: The Transformers belong to Hasbro, not to me.

Conquerors

Somewhere in space, far away from the Milky-Way Galaxy

Millions of light-years away from Earth and Cybertron, the Decepticon flagship `Revenge´, that had been constructed by Unicron years ago, was slowly moving through space.

Behind it was the rest of the Decepticon fleet that currently consisted of four other ships,

Trypticon in his space ship mode, closely followed by the last transwarp-shuttle that was still intact and not lost or purposely scrapped after the last battles of the war, a light battle-cruiser and a large transport-ship that was carrying hundreds of Decepticon warriors.

They were all alone in a large empty area, travelling though one remote star system after the other. Nothing was happening.

Until they finally had a contact, until they met other ships.

The battle had started. Laser blasts and missiles were shooting through space, metal bursted and explosions filled the room as oxygen was released burning into space.

The Decepticons didn´t hesitate a moment to get active as they saw the situation.

It were the conquerors against the defenders and the liberators.

Or at least that was what it seemed to be.

xxx

In fact this entire situation rooted in events that happened over a year before.

After the end of the war, the most Decepticons had left their home sector and traveled in a direction out of the local galaxy. Most of them had by now realized that the war had become senseless. Even if they hadn´t wanted to admit it to themselves, that their goals could not longer be achieved and were now trying to find something new.

Their fleet had been out here for months now, looking for something, anything. Even if they themselves didn´t exactly knew what this would be and what it would look like, a chance, a opportunity.

They spend their time, waiting and searching for anything that may turn out useful for them.

"We have reached the sector 11.883.190, the part of space the the humans call the Triangulum Galaxy," his Second in Command Cyclonus reported to Galvatron.

The Cybertronians themselves had never bothered to name this sector of the universe except through a number and so the most of them had just adopted the Earth terms.

It was kind of ironic that now, despite their supposed superiority, just like the Autobots, even the Decepticons often used human names and descriptions for various things.

Galvatron was sitting on the bridge of the flagship, surrounded by his command-staff and a number of Sweeps.

"I understand Cyclonus," the Decepticon leader answered. "Soundwave, we will scan this star system. If you find anything interesting, we will send out scouts to investigate, if not, we will continue with the next one."

"As you command Galvatron," the communication-officer replied in his typical, monotone voice.

"What are we doing out here anyway?" Scourge asked in Cyclonus direction "For months we have been traveling and searching every star system we came through, for what exactly?"

Despite that he kept his voice low, Galvatron had heard him.

There was a time, back then when he was still plagued with insanity, where he would have regarded such questions with the shot of a laser blast, but that time was long over.

"Scourge," he said, "you should realize that out here are hundreds of systems, ripe for the taking. Cyclonus and I came to that realization a short time before the war ended."

"When why have we not already started to conquer some of them?" the Sweep leader asked.

"You will see Scourge, you will see."

Galvatron and Cyclonus had indeed planned to take over other worlds, but they would do it in quite another way then expected.

"Several objects detected," Soundwave reported now, "moving fast across the fourth planet of the system."

"Well, that sounds interesting," the Decepticon leader replied. "Let us see what you have found. Tracker, bring us on course," he addressed one of the Sweeps.

"Yes Galvatron."

xxx

At the other side of the system two space-ships were flying at their full speed, closely followed by three larger arrow shaped ones that were firing on them without pause. The pursuers had obviously far more fire-power and were very dangerous in opposite to their barely armed prey.

This two vessels had been fleeing from their home-world several weeks ago and were now on the run from the aliens who had invaded their planet and killed millions of their people.

The crew was a race of purple skinned humanoids, two arms and two legs, in height and stature comparable to the people of Earth and Nebulos, with hair colors ranged from white to shades of grey. Their clothes consisted mostly of somewhat typical looking suits, that could have also easily been worn by any other space flying race in the galaxy.

On the first look, they were a typical race of organic `squishies´ that many Decepticons would often look down to.

The invaders came to their world months ago and attacked without warning. They bombed their towns into the ground, their troops landed and murdered or captured and enslaved counless people.

Survivors were mostly sent to camps and prisons were they were forced to work for the invaders. Torture and summary executions were daily business at this places. Tens of thousands had already died in this installations and that was the state at the time they had left their planet. By what they knew it could by now already have become even worse.

The only reason that their attackers had ever given to them was that they were `an inferior race´ and should be removed to make place for their betters.

This aliens, as they had found out by other creatures they had met, had also attacked and invaded many other worlds in the entire sector.

Nobody in this part of space was strong enough to stand against them and so they saw it as their right to invade and destroy other species and take their worlds for themselves.

"They have found us father," a young female said in panic to an elder male who was apparently commanding the ship.

"Bring us closer to the planet," he said to a man and a woman who were sitting on the consoles.

As they spoke the hull was hit by a shot. The entire ship was shaking under their feet.

"They have us," a young man shouted.

"We can not escape," the commander stated. "Call the other ship. Tell them to escape by themselves. Maybe at least they can get to safety."

"They are approaching," the navigator told them.

They all looked at the nearing war ships through the windows. On they screens they saw that the weapon systems of the other ships were charged.

Then they saw the blaster fire.

But to their surprise it were not they who were being hit but one of the attacking ships.

They saw now another crowd of vessels that was closing in and that had fired at the invaders. It was a very large purple battle-ship of a sort that they had never seen before, flanked by a group of smaller, strange looking, fighters.

xxx

Cyclonus had just transformed into jet mode after leaving the hangar of the Revenge and he was being followed by a small group of Sweeps.

He targeted one of the three alien vessels and fired a salve of missiles. The entire front party of the ship exploded and it was left crippled hanging in space. One moment later the Sweeps continued what he had started by concentrating their fire and completely destroying the enemy.

While the technology of the invaders was frightening for this part of space, the Decepticons were still millennia ahead of them. Against their jet-modes and their battle-ships, they had absolutely no chance.

It was like the old human saying, there was always a bigger fish in the ocean.

One of the other ships of the attacking aliens was fired upon by the Revenge and literally ripped in half under only a few shots of the flagship.

The third enemy vessel, having seen the fate of the others, turned around and was flying away with top speed.

"The last enemy is retreating," Cyclonus called the flagship.

xxx

"Let them go," Galvatron ordered. "We will have time enough to deal with them later. Let us first find out what we have found here. Soundwave, hail the ships that were fleeing from them."

On a screen before him appeared the face of a small organic alien, purple skinned and white haired.

"I am Galvatron," he introduced himself, "Supreme Leader of the Decepticon Empire. We have seen that you were under attack and came to your help."

The computer of the Decepticon command-vessel had already accessed the systems of their ships and was now translating the cybertronian language into the one of this people.

"I," the organic hesitated for a moment, clearly in surprise about this entire situation.

They had just been rescued from, what they thought, was their clear doom and now they were confronted with this strange metallic aliens who had defeated the invaders seemingly without any effort.

"I thank you in the name of my people," he finally said. "My name is Cos Singe, the leader of this group. We are refugees from the planet Agania."

"Refugees?" Galvatron asked.

"Our world had been attacked and taken over by the species you have just met. They have destroyed our cities, killed countless millions of us, they enslaved us and forced our people into labor camps, they are planning to eradicate our entire species and take our world for their own."

"I understand," Galvatron replied. "This is really horrible. I feel truly sorry for what happened to your people. We will of course be glad to offer you any assistance that we can. That means of course as far as we can."

"Please," the small organic pleaded. "You have just defeated their forces, you are the only one we have ever met who can do that. We need your help and we are not the only ones. They had already done this to other worlds, they are planning to conquer this entire sector."

"The entire sector you say?" Galvatron asked curious. "This means you are asking me for military help?"

"Yes, please help us. You are our only hope."

"I see. We will maybe be able to help you. But you must understand this. We have lost our home-world ourselves lately, we are not many and low on resources.

If we decide to help you, we will take charge. We will command and direct your people in the coming battles, we will take your resources and decide how to use them the best against the enemy. Tell your leaders that."

"We have no leaders. Our entire ruling body had been killed by the invaders."

"Indeed?" Galvatron asked. That was all he had truly wanted to know. "As you say it you will have to completely rebuild your society, even if you win."

"That is true", Singe admitted.

"We also have another concern," Galvatron told him. "If we save your world, we want of course the right to settle there ourselves. And when this war is over we will together discuss the lines for a new society. Tell this to your people."

"I will Galvatron," the humanoid alien answered.

"Good, under this conditions, I am sure that we can help your people."

Then the transmission ended. Galvatron laid back in his chair and smiled.

xxx

As the transmission ended, Cos Singe was overcome by a cold feeling.

Was he just about to give control over his people to an outside force? Were they just trading one conqueror for another?

In the end it didn´t matter. Their species was facing slavery, death and finally extinction.

Whatever these `Decepticons´ offered them, it could only be better than the alternative.

xxxxxxx

"It has all worked far better than we had expected," Galvatron told Cyclonus.

"You are right Galvatron. We have searched half of the known space for a fitting conflict to get ourselves involved to. This one however is more promising than I had expected."

"We will crush this race of `conquerors´ and bring their worlds under our control," Galvatron said. "At the same time we will rally their former victims against them under our command. We will fight their war for them and save them all, but to our conditions."

"And that will be their total loyalty to us," Cyclonus stated. "The most of this worlds will probably ask us to stay anyway. If only to make sure that such attacks against them can never happen again.

That they have to give their governmental-control over to us will only be a small price for them. After all, it were their last governments who had completely failed to keep them save in the first place."

"Yes Cyclonus indeed, we protect them all from their enemies and in exchange they will become part of our Empire. Who had thought that these Autobot like tactics could work so well," Galvatron remarked. "It is ironic, isn´t it?"

It had been an idea, a improvised plan they both had come up with during the last days of the war. In the time Unicron had returned another time and Autobots and Decepticons had once again to work hand in hand to stop him. But piece by piece their idea had grown more complex and taken concrete form.

It was at that days, during the final confrontation with the being who was their (re)creator and their worst nightmare, when they both had realized how thin the line between conqueror and conquered could sometimes be.

"Like our `old friend´ Optimus Prime said so often, `Freedom is the right of all sentient beings´," Cyclonus quoted the Autobot leader. "The only thing Prime oversaw or not wanted to see, is that the ones who are not able to defend themselves will always be depending on others to do it for them. So in some sense they will always be in the hand of someone else.

This is a truth we Decepticons accept... no matter if we like it or not," he added grimly.

He remembered back how it had been to be in Unicron´s clutches and how he had once watched helplessly as the monstrous being had attacked Cybertron, as the Decepticons had been scattered, Galvatron driven to madness.

xxx

It wasn´t until last year and that Primus had revealed themselves to them that they finally had the chance to strike back, that they had the chance for revenge and in some strange sense earned their own freedom.

Strange is it what you can all be conquered, Cyclonus thought, subjugated by without even fully realizing it, monstrous planet-eating robots, insanity, desperation, a never ending circle of violence, even your own programming and many other things.

But now they had broken free of all of that. Like his leader had once said, being the master, not the slave.

The Decepticons had been stuck, in some sense just as much as everyone else. Even Galvatron admitted that by now, not in front of the troops though.

In nine million years they had conquered Cybertron twice, only to loose it a short time later through outside influences. The Autobots had a similar track record. Third parties were constantly appearing by now and threatening both of them. They had been fighting for eons and always ended up nearly in the same position as before.

They were running in circles. The was had become senseless. Their goals could not be reached, not in this way at least.

But now they had found another.

xxx

"Quite poetically put Cyclonus," Galvatron said, "but you are right of course. We saw this loophole in Prime´s philosophy and acted on it. We will take good care of our new citizens. We are now conquerors without being conquerors."

"I will prepare the troops for the coming battle," his Second in Command stated.

"Do that Cyclonus." A smile formed on Galvatron´s face.

xxx

It only took them two months.

They world of the `Conquerors´ was lying in ruins.

And the others had in this sector been `freed´. All of them were under control of the Decepticons.