The Warriors' Tale (Transformers)

[Imperial Overlord]

Deathstrike transformed was he went down, managing to orientate feet first. Scamper jumped free, landing easily on a score of mechanical feet. Metal tore and sparks flew as he skidded and bounced over the floor, before coming to a halt. He rose to his feet clumsily, almost missing his footing. His internal gyroscope had been damaged in the fall, damage control was already recalibrating while his body was adjusting to the erroneous input.

He had lost a good chunk of his wing, a major capacitor bank, had his main power trunk severed, was leaking fluids, and had his left engine and the primary motive system for his left leg knocked off line. His armour had taken a beating as well. Combat was inadvisable at this time. Fortunately the Autobots were some distance away. Unfortunately, the would be faster than he was on foot and even faster in vehicle mode.

"Boss!" said Scamper excitedly. "We've got to get out of here!"

Deathstrike's weapons were still operational and his armour, although damaged in some areas, was still made out of thick plates of maximum grade Cybertonian plate. He could still send Autobots to the slag pit, but that wouldn't deter Breakout. The Autobot's missile payload and heavy cannon were capable of ending him with only a few more hits. "Lead us out of here," Breakout commanded.

"Follow me!" said Scamper. He darted between machines and began running down part of the production line. "Hurry boss! Hurry!"


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The combination of limited speed and limited maneuverability had allowed me to score solid hits on Deathstrike. On a smaller or less heavily armoured Cybertronian the hits combined with the fall would have been crippling, but against Deathstrike I have no such assurance. "Overdrive, load up Scutter and head back to base. Clampdown, Glitch, let's track these 'Cons down and finish them."

I transformed into fighting vehicle mode and the other two Autobots followed suit. The damage to my tracks limited my speed, but it was still better than in robot mode. Clampdown's vehicle form is that of a truck equiped with rescue/manipulator arms. He rumbles along beside me in another lane.

"Don't get too close," I warn Glitch. "Deathstrike's cannon is an energy hog and prone to overheating, but it will burn through your armour. He's a good shot."

"Got it," said Glitch, weaving from ahead of me. "They've left the factory chamber and taken one of the tunnel routes. Heading towards Decepticon territory, of course."

"Which route?" Clampdown asked.

"C-17," Glitch replied.

"Uh oh," said Clampdown.

"What is it?"

"Leads to an old factory line, sort of like this one. We fought over it a hundred vorns or so ago before it got worked dry. There's some good firing positions and the Decepticons might have left some nasty things behind."

"Then we had better get them before they reach there."

"No problem boss," said Glitch, increasing speed."

A series of violet beams sears the air in front of the little Autobot. Deathstrike's x-ray laser could be fired at a very high rate. Other Decepticon fliers carried more guns, but Deathstrike's single cannon was lethal. Glitch slid in behind some machinery as I lurched into cover. The wrecked wheel was annoying. I make sure there's a lot of metal between me and the Decepticon. His cannon is an x-ray laser, it can still disrupt and burn out circuitry even if it doesn't slag through armour. He was built and armed to fight Guardian Robots. I will not underestimate him. I slide around the machine I'm using as cover, my turret with its cannons and missile launchers tracking the corridor the fire came through. He's not the only one packing heavy firepower.

He's gone. "He's moving up the corridor," piped in Glitch. "Not that fast."

"The tail section transforms into legs," I say as I move up to cover the length of the corridor. I don't see him, but there is a faint trail of mech fluids. "I hit him there. He's hurting." I accelerate to cruising speed, which is slower than I'd like. "But obviously still armed. Don't get sloppy."

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"They don't have discriminators," Deathstrike growled. "You're positive?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. We took a few apart and looked inside. But how's that going to help us?" Scamper asked as he zig-zagged ahead of the bigger Decepticon. "The proximity sensors see us and then blewey!"

"That's a problem I can handle," said Deathstrike.

"But they've probably got codes to override the blasting charge!" wailed Scamper.

"Doesn't matter," said Deathstrike. "Keep going." He checked behind him. The burst of laser fire had encouraged the Autobots to keep back, but it only bought them a little time. Even if he hadn't been wounded, the Autobots would have been able to run him down in vehicle form.

"Okay boss. I think you're more than a little crazy, but okay. There's one just ahead. We tried expanding into this area from Factory Plex Eighteen Ex, which we had a glitch of a time fighting with the Autobots over a while back, but they booby trapped this corridor and we decided not to bother."

"Just get me there," Deathstrike growled.

"Sure thing." The two Decepticons hurried through the narrow corridor as fast as they could. Ahead of them was a larger intersection. The walls were marked the blast marks and chunks of metal had fallen from the walls and ceiling. The floor was broken in a number of places ans half of it was strewn with rubble.

"This is as close as we got," said Scamper.

"Show it to me," said Deathstrike. "Then leave."

"What?"

"You heard me. Obey."

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"He's just ahead," said Glitch.

"I'll take the lead," I said. The little 'bot would get massacred trying to go head to head with Deathstrike. That was my job. With Clampdown and Glitch backing me up, he would go down if he didn't get lucky or we didn't make any mistakes. Bad luck and mistakes happen all the time in war.

There was a ruined corridor intersection ahead. Deathstrike was standing near a pile of rubble. My gun swiveled to track him. He lunged forward and kicked something. There was an explosion, not a powerful one. Small spheres bounced around and uncurled legs, sticking to the walls, floors and Deathstrike. What in Primus's name were they?

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The hive detonated. The attack 'bots clutched at anything within reach, which included Deathstrike as the Decepticon strike leader retreated up the side corridor and sunk his fingers into crevices he had sliced into the armour plate with his x-ray laser. He fired his thrusters at full power, which wasn't much for his left engine. The right still had plenty of kick.

The nuclear engines howled and blasted out streams of super heated air. The spheres, which had unfolded into eight legged mechanical monstrosities equipped with cutting saws, were picked up by the gust and thrown down the corridor towards the Autobots. Deathstrike cut power landed. A half dozen of the spheres were on him, slicing away. The hadn't penetrated his armour yet. Maximum grade Cybertronian plate had its uses. He grabbed them and crushed them as he hobbled away.

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I was just about to fire on Deathstrike when the spheres bounced on him and the Autobots behind him. The unfolded. "What in the Pit?" I yelled as he drove into reverse. The spheres sprouted eight legs and gripped my armour. Spinning mini buzzsaws joined the legs. Sparks flew as the attacked my armour. In vehicle mode I have no real way of fighting back. I transform.

One of the drones leaped at my knee joint as I transform, going for the exposed workings. I spit the critter in mid leap with my combat knife. The drone explodes as the energon field sheathing the weapon fries its innards. Two others are ripping at my chest plate, another at my right leg. I crush one of the ones on my chest with my left hand and reach for the other. I crush it as well, but it takes off my thumb before it dies.

Pain receptors signal its loss. I ignore them and slit the one on my leg on the blade of my knife. There are more, leaping toward us. My armour is breached in two spots, although the internal damage is insignificant. "Fall back!" I order. I transform and roll back, outrunning the attack drones. I fire an area effect explosive missile at them. It cratered the floor and blew most of them to pieces. The survivors scuttle under cover, undoubtedly awaiting to attack anyone that comes close.

"Great Maker, what were those things?"

Glitch is pretty shaken and in bad shape. His sensor disc has been sliced to pieces. "Some kind of attack drone," said Clampdown. "We've found one like that before. Must be new Decepticon weapon."

Maybe. Maybe not. Deathstrike hadn't handled it like a weapon under Decepticon control and he would have some kind of control on any attack drones he deployed. He was too smart not to. Maybe the Decepticons had dreamed it up before he arrived and deployed it. If so, why hadn't we seen more of them? There was a piece of the puzzle missing.

At least I knew what to do next. "Fall back to base for repairs," I order.

[White Haven]

Several name problems between Scutter and Scamper and Deathstrike and Breakout early on.

[Imperial Overlord]

Several name problems between Scutter and Scamper and Deathstrike and Breakout early on.

Should be fine now.

[Sidewinder]

I noticed some errors, e.g., using "the" when "they" is more appropriate, and apparently, "spit" when "split" is more appropriate, as in "split the critter in mid leap with my combat knife." Overall, it's still a good chapter.

[Imperial Overlord]

I noticed some errors, e.g., using "the" when "they" is more appropriate, and apparently, "spit" when "split" is more appropriate, as in "split the critter in mid leap with my combat knife." Overall, it's still a good chapter.

The "spit" is correct, as in impaling something on a spit.

[Imperial Overlord]

One of the bugs lies in front of me, its casing removed and its internals spread around on the table as I sit and watch. Glitch removes armour plate from my left arm. One of the drones had cut all the way through the armour and would have done severe internal damage if it had had the time. Glitch puts a new piece of armour in place and begins welding. The little 'bot has a deft touch.

"Good thing you got torn up here," said the little 'bot cheerfully. "Not exactly short of metal."

"Or tools," rumbles Overdrive. He has a surprisingly delicate touch as he prods the remains of the drone with a long, thin probe.

"Could this have been made locally?" I ask.

"It probably was," rumbles Overdrive. "Lot of these components can be found in store rooms. Plenty of raw materials for the rest. There's nothing fancy about them. Sensor cluster, legs, power train, and saw. Simple programming and a tough shell. Not much of a power source. Easy to make in considerable quantity, energon cheap too."

"Decepticreeps," growled Glitch. He was putting the finishing touches on the weld job. "We'll do the paint job at the end," he said. He looked over at the attack drone. "Just like them to make something like that. Cheap and nasty." .

I didn't disagree with the sentiment. The weapon was unwarriorly, indiscriminent and dangerous to innocent bystanders as well as the intended target. What was surprising was that Deathstrike would use a weapon he didn't have much control over. It didn't fit his profile and it did bite him in the chassis this time. "I'm surprised there is no off code," I said. "That's not like Deathstrike."

Overdrive grunted. "Yeah. Well, there might be one." He separated a circuit board from the rest of the parts. "Have to go through the code to be sure. Maybe they made them before he arrived. This is the first we've seen of him and we've seen these suckers before."

"Not like Blades either," piped in Glitch. "Those Decepticreeps like their paint jobs unscratched. They're packing a lot of fire power and aggressive as hell as long as things are going their way, but as soon as it starts getting tough they start looking for an exit."

"You're right about that," said Overdrive. "You know, it's odd. It isn't like them not to be holding the reins on their nasty little toys."

"How long have they been around?" I asked. "When did you first notice them?"

"About eight hundred megacycles ago," said Glitch.

"Fairly recent then," I replied. The door to the lab opened and Clampdown came in.

"What's the word?" asked Overdrive.

"Scutter will make it," said Clampdown. "Deathstrike sliced him up pretty good, but he didn't hit his laser core. His spark is okay. Main power trunk, actuator systems, and just about every line and wire that runs through his torso were cut and that is a big job. Missed his transformation cog by less than a centimeter. Crippling damage, but all to repairable systems. He'll be up in running after say twenty 'bot megacycles of labor."

"Good to hear," said Overdrive. "I worried about that little fella when he took that hit. Damn 'Con nearly sliced him in half."

"Deathstrike's laser has good penetration," I said, "but it's a narrow beam not an explosive blast or shell. It's not like Megatron's fusion cannon where if he breaches your armour, you're slag."

"Yeah," said Overdrive, "but that 'Con piece of junk can shoot. Hit you in the right place and its over."

"Yes," I agreed. Deathstrike had killed more than a few Autobots. Killing him would be a serve the Autobot cause and I would do so without hesitation. Still, he was a loyal soldier in Megatron's service and I was not without a feeling of kinship and respect towards him. We were both good soldiers. Damn Megatron for making me kill 'bots who should have been my comrades.

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Deathstrike stood patiently as Scamper pulled off the armour panel on his leg. Smoke drifted out. "Oh Pits, it's a mess in there," said Scamper.

"Then get a better look," the big Decepticon commanded.

"Okay. If this triggers some pain signals, remember you asked for it."

"Just do it," ordered Deathstrike.

"Okay," said Scamper. The little Decepticon pulled burned wiring and hoses out of the way. "Hey! The engine is intact! A little scorched, but intact. The feeds and leads are all fried, but this is going to be easier than I thought."

"The thruster housing was designed to handle plasma exhaust," said Deathstrike. "The only tougher internal component is my laser core."

"Huh. Really built you to take punishment I guess. All that armour and stuff."

"Deep space interceptor and ground attack. You need powerful engines for the first and eventually some Guardian Robot will hit you on the second. Being able to survive that is important."

"Got a point there. Well, it shouldn't take too long to do this stuff. We have replacements for most of this stuff and combined with your own internal repair systems you should be back up in fighting shape in a dozen megacycles or so."

"Good," said Deathstrike. "What about Gunstorm?"

"He took it worse, from what I heard. He'll be out of action for a while. Scutter might not have the biggest gun, but it got the job done. And speaking of Scutter, Great Maker you really did a job on him."

"Hit him too low," said Deathstrike. "He might have survived."

"If you say so," said Scamper. "That was a nice trick you played with the hive bomb. Guess that's one advantage of having a non AG based flight system eh?"

"Yes," said Deathstrike. "I also noticed I took Breakout completely by surprise. I don't think he knew about them."

"Well, he's probably new here."

"He would have been briefed," said Deathstrike. "He's a military 'bot and he's not sloppy."

"Maybe someone forgot to tell him?"

"About their new, uncontrolled swarm drone hive mines? Would you forget something like that?" asked Deathstrike. "Besides, the Autobots like tricks over fighting when they can, at least most of them do, but this isn't quite to their style. To indiscriminate and hazardous to leave lying around."

"But if the Autobots didn't leave it that would mean there's someone else down there. And we would have seen them."

"Maybe," said Deathstrike. "Maybe."

[Imperial Overlord]

The door to the command room opened and Deathstrike stepped in. The colour of the Decepticon warrior's replacement armour plates didn't quite match up to the old ones, resulting in a somewhat patched look, but he moved smoothly and the plates were solid. "Blades," said Deathstrike coldly. "You abandoned me."

"Wait," said Blades holding up his hands. "I gave you covering fire, just liked you asked for and then an Autobot drew a bead on me. I took cover then, but by the time I maneuvered around the fighting had moved away. Maybe I made a bad call, but I was under fire."

"You didn't get hit," said Deathstrike. "I did."

"Yeah. Sorry. I made a mistake. It won't happen again."

There was silence for a moment, which stretched uncomfortably long. "Good," said Deathstrike. "Now I need your opinion on something else."

"What is it?" Blades asked.

"I'm considering the possibility that another group is operating around here and they are responsible for the booby-traps and some of the looting."

Blades thought for a moment. "Well, it isn't impossible, I guess, but I don't think so. We haven't seen anything but tricks that an Autobot tech 'bot could pull off and Breakout. They've only got so many soldiers to spare so they're cranking out some traps to increase their strength. That's all."

"Makes sense," replied Deathstrike. "You're probably right. I'm going to need your help for something else."

"Name it."

"I want to go into one of the mined off areas and clear a path, somewhere they haven't cleared out yet. Since they don't have remote control over their traps, they won't know that we've made a hole. We wait inside their perimeter and ambush them."

Blades smiled. "I like it. When do you want to get started?"

"Immediately. Pull up the map and pick a likely region. You and me will scout it since we're both in good shape and if we find Autobots we can finish it."

"Right." Blades pulled up a holographic map. He stuck his finger into the the maze of light beams. "Here's where I would start."

"Excellent," replied Deathstrike.

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"Glitch," I called out when I spotted the scout 'bot racing down the corridor.

Glitch stopped and turned around. He craned his neck and looked up at me. "What do you need big 'bot?"

"I need you to take me to where Burndown disappeared."

"Okay. Now?"

"Right now."

"Alright then," he said and transformed. "Follow me." I transformed and took off after him. Glitch wasn't going full speed, so I could keep up with the little scout. The dish at the end of his car form twitched and scanned the area as we left the base and headed off into a cramped tunnel. The tunnel curved gently to the left and exit tubes were found on regular intervals at both sides. Glitch pulled a hard right and ducked into one. I followed.

He lead me through a maze of passages, going deeper and deeper beneath Cybertron's surface. After half a megacycle he stopped and transformed. "Just ahead," he said. I transformed and followed him into a short side passage. It didn't go very far before it was choked with rubble. There was a small gap near the bottom of the rubble pile.

"This is where it happened," he said uncomfortably. "Scutter went through the gap and crawled for a while. He made a few decent finds and came back to find Burndown gone."

I paced the narrow enclosure. Not much room to maneuver. A bad place for a medium sized 'bot to face a stronger one in hand to hand. "There was no signal from Burndown?"

"Not that anyone heard. He must have been caught by surprise." And how would that have happened? There were only two ways out of this space and one was too small for anything but a small 'bot and Scutter had already gone that direction. Burndown would have watched the other way, the only logical direction for an attack to originate from.

"There was some kind of energy beam scar," I said. "Where is it?"

Glitch walked up to the rubble pile and pointed out a gash about shoulder level on me. I took a closer look. A suspicion was forming in my mind.

"Get me a scan and a magnified view," I ordered.

"Sure," said Glitch. A holo image formed in the air. "Can't tell you what exactly caused it though."

"I don't need to know that. Deathstrike is the only Decepticon warrior here with a weapon that can fire in continuous beam mode."

"So?"

"The angle of the cut is upward. Someone was aiming high and hit around here." I raised my hand and tapped my shoulder. "The positioning to make that shot would have been awkward for Deathstrike."

"What if he was diving for cover and then fired."

"No cover to dive for. And it would have spoiled his shot. He wouldn't have panicked. He would have take the hit and sliced his target down. The situation doesn't match up."

"So what happened?"

"Someone shorter than Burndown fired and they fired high. Burndown didn't get a shot off, despite being able to cover the only direction of approach. Which means he wasn't looking. He was distracted. The killer shot high to miss his accomplice, who was distracting Burndown."

"Oh no. You're not saying-"

"I'm saying the best explanation for this evidence is that Scutter stopped before going through the rubble and said something to Burndown. Burndown turns and the killer steps into the corridor and shoots him with a continuous beam weapon in the back. He's sloppy, but aiming high enough that he doesn't hit Scutter. The body then gets disappeared and stripped and Scutter comes back with his sob story."

"But Scutter got hit by Deathstrike."

"Deathstrike didn't leave those mines. Deathstrike didn't make this kill. Scutter lead us right into a heavy firefight with the Decepticons and they tried very hard to kill him and visa versa. He isn't working with the Decepticons. He's working with someone else."

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Blades and Deathstrike approached a rubble strewn intersection. "Let me move ahead," said Deathstrike. "My armour's tougher."

The smaller orange and black 'bot nodded. "Better you than me boss, but I owe you. I should go ahead."

Deathstrike considered the proposition for a moment. "Alright." Blades stepped forward, slowly approaching the rubble. He swept his gaze over it and then moved over.

"Watch it," said Blades. He floated up on his A-Gs. "The footing is tricky." He disappeared over the top of a rubble mound. Deathstrike followed slowly over the debris.

Blades was nowhere to be seen as he crested the mound. "Blades?" he signaled.

"Just around the corner," came the reply. "Just making sure a side tunnel was clear." He stepped back into view.

"Good," said Deathstrike and raised his x-ray laser cannon to point at the other Decepticon's face. "Now who were you signaling?"

"I don't-"

"Don't bother lying. Scamper beat us here and set up. Being in that tunnel concealed that data burst from me, not him. That's how you signaled them back during the patrol, when we coincidentally found a large number of warrior-Autobots. And then there is your abandoning me in the field, the traps, and your adamant rejection of a third party's involvement. You've sold out to someone who has been looting this place."

"You're smarter than you look," said Blades. Deathstrike heard the sound footsteps approaching, "but you've overplayed your hand. You want to know about my new friends? Get ready to meet them."

[LadyTevar]

If Deathstrike saves Breakout's chasis (or vice-versa), I'm going to laugh.

[Imperial Overlord]

We hurried back to base. Scutter was conscious and thus capable of doing all kinds of damage, despite the severity of his injuries. There was no telling how much he had already done.

The gate lifted for us. "Hey," said Overdrive. "Why the hurry?" I transformed back into bipedal mode.

"Where is Scutter?"

"Still in the repair bay, I think. He was hurt pretty bad." I was already running away from him.

"Hey!" said Glitch. "Not all of us have long legs!"

"Lock down base communications!" I order. I hadn't given it earlier to avoid tipping my hand. Scutter might not be the only one who had betrayed us. The door to the repair bay was in front of me. It slid open.

Scutter was lying on his back on a repair slab. The plates on the front part of his chassis had been removed, exposing his innards. Cables lead to support systems mounted in the walls as Clampdown inserted a new circuit board. "Breakout?" he asked. "What's so urgent?"

I leveled my arm cannon. "Step away from him."

"Has your cerebrocircuitry fried? He's one of us!"

"No, he isn't," I growled. "He set Burndown up to be killed."

"He shot Gunstorm. Deathstrike nearly cut him in half! He can't be a 'Con."

"Not all the scum in the universe are Decepticons," I said. "Now step aside or you'll be occupying the slab next to him."

Clampdown stepped aside. He was thinking about jumping me. He was a big strong 'bot, he probably thought if he could get in close he could overpower me. He was wrong, but the only way I was going to convince him of that was to trash him and that wasn't part of the plan.

I kept my cannon on him and addressed Scutter. "I saw the beam scar. It wasn't Deathstrike. Angle and height are wrong. He was taken by surprise and the only way that was possible is if you were distracting him. It's over."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Scutter. "Clampdown, he's crazy."

"You have two choices," I continued. "One I scrap you here and now. The other is you start talking in which case Prime will judge you. He is just and compassionate 'bot. For your cooperation you might only get exile. I, on the other hand, will slag your treacherous, murderous chassis. Choose."

"You're crazy."

"Die then."

"Wait! Wait! I'll talk! I'll talk."

"Scutter," said Clampdown, disappointment dripping from his voice.

"Don't look at me like that," said Scutter. "We got this post out into the boonies to drag up enough junk to fuel this endless war? Do you know when its going to be over? When we're all scrap! I didn't like giving you guys up, but you're walking scrap, you just didn't know it!"

"Tell me about them," I said calmly. I did a good job of keeping my disgust out of my voice.

"They're Cybertronians like us. They're hear to load up their cruiser with raw materials and return it to their base off world. That this place had a lot of energon was just a bonus."

"They're renegades."

"Yeah. Its been a long time since they fought on anyone's side. They just want to sit out the war and takeover when its all over. They caught me scouting and I joined up. They're behind the booby traps. We put them mostly on the Decepticon side, making it hard to get to places they were plundering. All the real good caches I reported to them.

"How many are there?"

"Five, not counting me and Blades."

"Blades is in on it?"

"Tired of being on Megatron's junk list. He moves the 'Cons away from any good finds while we clear them out."

"Why Burndown?"

"Clamps starting pushing us harder to find stuff when I hid the good stashes. 'We couldn't let Prime down' and all that good 'bot junk. He needed to be backed off. So, we, you know, set it up."

"You set your comrade up to be murdered." I didn't bother trying to keep the disgust out of my voice. "Tell me about them and their ship. Tell me everything you know."

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The two renegades turn the corner and Deathstrike gets a good look at them. One is medium sized, dark blue and grey, with a long barreled pistol. The other matches Deathstrike's height, but is even broader. His armour is rust red and dark brown. He has a double-barreled carbine in his right hand. Both 'bots have an angular and spikey look to their construction.

"Deathstrike right?" says the big one. "I've heard of you. Good fighter. Tough. Space capable. Not stupid. We have you three to one. It's over. But you have a choice. You don't have to die for Megatron's never-going-to-be-empire."

Deathstrike froze. "I will consider your offer."

"Make it quick." A port slid open on Deathstrike's left forearm and a missile shot out. A second one fired immediately afterward. The big 'bot shot the first missile with his carbine. The second struck him in the chest and blew him down. He took the smaller 'bot with him. "Offer rejected."

Blades rushed towards Deathstrike, energon blades in his hands. The Decepticon coolly fired his x-ray laser cannon at high power, medium appeture. The beam lasted half a second. It carved a large gash in the right side of Blades's chest, slagging circuits, wires, and actuators beneath. Ionization effects disrupted more circuitry. Blades fell back.

Deathstrike ran, heading for the corridor junction. He hadn't expected Blades to have his allies so close by, but he had planned for contingencies. It was too bad he wasn't carrying his usual missile load. A heavy duty armour piercer would have really hurt the big 'bot and evened up the odds. Behind Deathstrike the big 'bot got up and raised his gun. He fired twice. One double bolt missed and the other stuck Deathstrike in the left shoulder, ionizing his circuits. Deathstrike turned the corner and exited the line of fire.

"Scamper!" he called. The centipede 'bot jumped from the shadows. Deathstrike raised his right arm and launched a missile at the ceiling ahead. Shockwaves from the explosion hammered Deathstrike and fragments of metal pelted him. He weathered the storm and fired his thrusters, rising up through the hole.

Starlight was visible above. Deathstrike rose from the bottom of a half kilometer wide and two kilometer deep pit. The Decepticon transformed, transferring Scamper to his cockpit, and rose on nuclear thrusters into the night sky.

Shatterpoint walked to gap in the ceiling, smoke trailing from the hole in his chassis. "What do we do now?" asked Dicer.

"We finish the operation and leave," said Shatterpoint. "We're almost done. No percentage in killing walking dead 'bots."

[Imperial Overlord]

I clipped the last of Scutter's servomotor relays and put the down the clippers on the table beside me. "Repair systems are offlined, movement and communication systems disabled."

"The repair systems will reboot themselves eventually," said Glitch.

"Eventually is more time than we need. Overdrive, lock this piece of junk in a secure cell. Prime will have him when we're done."

"Okay," said the big red Autobot. He picked up Scutter's body as if it weighed nothing. "We have a plan?"

"Yes," I replied. I activated my comm system. "Everyone meet me in the briefing room." I headed to the lift, Glitch trailing behind me.

The rest of the Autobots followed us in, Overdrive being the last to arrive. "What do we do?" asked Clampdown.

I pulled up the holomap. "Scutter has given us the location of the renegades. We hit them hard and fast while we still have surprise on our side."

"What about the Decepticons?" asked Glitch.

"We tell them nothing," I replied. "They're still our enemy. They'll try and take advantage of this situation if they knew about. Questions?"

"What exactly is the plan?" asked Clampdown warily.

"Hit them hard and fast. They have a ship concealed there and it will be loaded with energon and valuable materials. We force access and place an explosive and then retreat."

"Who is going to force the breach?" asked Clampdown. "That'll be dangerous work."

"If the ambush works well, they'll be in pieces and unable to stop us. In that case, we fly the ship back to base and plunder it. We probably won't get that lucky. In that case, I'll force the breach with your support." I wouldn't ask another 'bot to do a job I should be doing. Besides, it was what Prime would do. "Any other questions?"

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"What now?" asked Hellfire. The orange and black robot came up to Shatterpoint's chest. "The Decepticon got away. He knows we exist."

"That's all he knows," replied Blades. "He's just one of Megatron's enforcers."

"Smart enough to catch you out," said Dicer. He addressed Shatterpoint. "Shatter, what if his trace was good enough to find us? He was in the right general area and too close."

"Agreed," rumbled Crusher. The huge brown and black robot was even taller than Shatterpoint. "He'll be a problem."

"That's why we're leaving after the last haul," said Shatterpoint. "The Decepticons are down one of their most heavily armed warriors and now Blades is with us. They can't afford to attack at less than full strength. We'll be gone by the time they strike."

"Maybe," said Blacklight. The all black robot was of medium height and had a blue eyevisor. "Deathstrike didn't get that name by being a coward."

"Enough," said Shatterpoint. "We take the last haul. We'll be ready. We'll break the Decepticons if they attack. Scutter will keep the Autobots away and we'll give him the recall signal the moment he's in contact again. We'll be well away from this dying scrapheap by the time they figure out what's happened."

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"We attack," said Deathstrike. "They're located right here," he said inserting his finger into the holomap display. "We hit them with everything and bring their burned and shattered carcasses before Lord Megatron for his judgment. Question?"

"What if they're are too many of them?" asked Scrapiron.

"Then we cut their numbers down and pull back when we have to. We are Decepticon warriors. We ended the Autobot Council, their Primes and Guardians, and countless numbers of Autobot Warriors. These bandit scum are nothing compared to the soldiers of Ultra Magnus or the followers of Optimus Prime. They have what is ours. We're taking it back."

"Plan?" asked Scamper.

"You're scouting ahead so we can avoid the traps," said Deathstrike. "We'll be leaving almost immediately. Draw full arsenals and energon supplies from the stores. Questions?"

"Just us?" asked Scrapiron. "No offense, but Scamper isn't much of a warrior and their are at least three of them, including Blades."

"No," said Deathstrike. "There are four of us. Gunstorm will be ready within a thousand astroseconds."

"The Autobots?" asked Scamper.

"Probably wouldn't believe us if I told them and certainly wouldn't trust us if I did. These scum are a diversion. The Autobots are the true enemy. No, we won't show them our weakness. Breakout will exploit it. We finish the renegades and the traitor and reclaim Megatron's rightful spoils. Then we worry about the Autobots."

[LadyTevar]

Hehehehe... so will we get to see DeathStrike and BreakOut fighting side by side for a moment?

[Imperial Overlord]

Dicer drew the longsword attached to his back and a blazing corona of red energy appeared along the blade. He slashed down, high across, and down again. Then he kicked. The cut-out section of the door toppled inward. He killed the energon flow to his sword. "That's how you handle stuck doors."

Blacklight looked away. The renegades were in a huge, dark chamber, filled with debris and lined with storage rooms. Three out of four of the storage chambers were empty and most of the full ones contained little of value. But with nearly a hundred chambers, that meant they had some good finds.

"Hurry it up," grumbled Crusher. The big 'bot had transformed into his vehicle mode, a massive tracked vehicle equipped with a plow and a wrecking ball arm, to pull the trailer full of loot. "Some of us don't want to spend megacycles waiting."

A door on the far side of the chamber exploded. Breakout, in fighting vehicle mode, raced through hole. Behind him were Overdrive and Clampdown. "Oh slag!" shouted Crusher. A missile streaked towards the big 'bot from Breakout's turret launcher as Glitch practically flew into the room, skidding behind cover.

Dicer and Blacklight headed for cover. Crusher disengaged the trailer and transformed, leaping up to try and dodge the missile. The missile adjusted its flight plan and struck the renegade in the chest. The explosion smashed him to the ground. Breakout fired again, his turret turning to engage the renegades as he sped around into cover.

Dicer ducked and then fired back with his laser pistol. Overdrive and Clampdown reached cover and transformed, firing back. High energy beam strikes cratered the walls and blew large holes in pieces of junk. Breakout transformed and crouched down as Crusher got up and lumbered into cover.

Blacklight ducked down and activated his stealth abilities. Electronic emissions ceased and heat baffles killed his IR. Chameleon systems matched the colour to that of the debris he was hiding behind. His stealth wasn't perfect, of course. If he was he was out in the open or trying to blend into a flat surface at close range he wouldn't fool anybody.

Poor lighting, distance, and the cover of junk piles made his situation considerably different. Especially since he was going away from the battle, not towards it. He crouched down and slid back, leaving Crusher and Dicer to their fates.

Breakout dashed closer, firing from his arm cannon to keep the renegades' heads down. Clampdown and Glitch added their guns to the barrage as Overdrive also broke into a sprint towards another pocket of cover.

Dicer fired quickly and ducked down. "Where the Pit is Blacklight?" he shouted.

"Gone," grunted Crusher. He activated his com. "Crusher to Shatterpoint! We're under Autobot attack and Blacklight ran!"

Shatterpoint couldn't believe what he was hearing. A surprise Autobot attack? That didn't make any sense at all. The renegade leader was standing in a large, subsurface bay watching drone modules load the belly of cruiser with energon and rare metals. Everything was going smoothly. Now this.

He replied over the general frequency. "Hold position. Blacklight, if you don't come back with an Autobot head, I'm leaving you behind. Reinforcements are on the way."

He shouted. "Hellfire! You're coming with me! Blades, stay behind to secure the ship. Roll out!" The renegade leader transformed, turning into an ugly tank with a heavy cannon and mortar tubes. Hellfire turned into a small tank with two flamethrower nozzles.

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Scamper stopped and the front part of his centipede body reared up. "Another mine. Just ahead. Under that plate."

Deathstrike came up behind the smaller Decepticon and raised his x-ray laser. It flashed briefly. "Done."

Scamper wriggled ahead. "Deathstrike, I'm detecting significant energy discharges. Fighting. Seventeen degrees off our travel path."

"Maybe the Autobots decided to crash our party," rumbled Scrapiron.

"Yeah," said Gunstorm. "Maybe we should join them." Scrapiron chuckled.

Deathstrike consulted his memory for the map display. "We're near some large storage and landing bays, from before the war. Cargo loading." He pointed. "Scamper, clear that area and then you and the others go check in on the fighting."

"What will you be doing boss?" asked Gunstorm.

"Taking advantage of the room to fly."

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My troops were doing well, fighting as a team and covering our advance. One of the renegades had disappeared, either bolting or trying to ambush one of my 'bots. "Keep alert," I said through my coms. "One of them is hiding."

A blast from my cannon forces the wounded one back into cover. I leap up and charge the spot where I know the other one is. I can cover the distance in less than four astroseconds. My left arm swings into position. If he rises up, I'll get the shot. If he doesn't, I'll be all over him.

My feet touch the junk pile he's hiding behind. I jump up, clearing the top, combat knife gripped in my right hand. He's surprised.

The grey and blue 'bot reacts quickly, smashing into me shoulder first. We hit the junkpile, me on the bottom. His hand clamps on my right wrist. I push him away with my left and get a foot on his torso. I push and he flies off.

We both get up. He draws a longsword from his back. Energon crackles along both of our blades. I lunge.

The sword comes down. I parry and force it to the side. We smash together and the impact forces him back. He tries to recover, but I'm quicker. I smash my knife into his left side.

Cybertronian plates runs like lead in blast furnace as my knife penetrates. I rip up, almost to his armpit. He staggers back. No vital systems destroyed, but his performance is badly compromised. The space he gives me is more than enough.

I stab him again, just above the hips and twists. Sparks and smoke come from the wounds as I tear out my knife. I stab him in the chest and push. Hard. I guess right. Coils of electricity climb my blade as the light dies in his eyes and all systems crash.

The laser core is buried in the depths of a Cybertronian's body and is the toughest component. It contains the spark, the personality engrams and memories that make a Cybertronian what he is. Some believe it is an eternal energy pattern, granted to each Cybertronian by Primus, the creator-god.

I don't know if that's true or not. Prime himself isn't sure, but he respects such beliefs. What I do know is that I have just killed another Cybertronian.

Explosions hammer me from either side and I fall back. Two more erupt near Glitch's and Overdrive's position. Two more renegades are driving towards us, both of them combat vehicles. One of them is Prime's size. The smaller one points his turret at me and my whole world becomes fire.

[Vehrec]

For some reason, I thought 'Hellhound' and 'Baneblade' when I first read those tank descriptions, even though they had nothing to do with either design.

[Sidewinder]

When the story went to first person narration, I thought it was Deathstrike speaking, and wondered what kind of history he had with Optimus. Then I remembered Breakout was the one doing the narration in previous chapters. The story gets confusing because you have so many original characters in it, which means I sometimes have difficulty telling who's a Decepticon, who's an Autobot, and who's a renegade.

The setting, character development, and action scenes are good, though. Keep up the good work.

[Imperial Overlord]

Deathstrike rushed down the corridor. The landing bay would give him room to fly. Room to fly, fight, and kill as he had not done in millennia. The constraints imposed upon him by Cybertron's every increasing energon depletion and the depopulation of both sides would be for a brief moment thrown off and he would once again live in glory, raining down missiles and high energy laser beams from above.

There was one door remaining in his path. He gripped the manual control. It didn't move. He pulled hard and it still didn't move. It had been sealed to prevent entry, or more correctly, delay entry. The Decepticon warrior stepped back and raised his arm.

A beam of violet light sliced through the metal as Deathstrike make quick, slashing cuts in the door. He shut down the laser, which had neared heat overload, and ran at the door shoulder first. The slab of metal flew out of the grooves and bounced on the walkway ahead of him before going over the edge and falling into the pit.

Before Deathstrike was a vast chamber, roughly cylindrical in shape. A compact arrowhead shaped space cruiser was parked on the landing pad in the center of the room. A large door was open on the side of the cruiser and a ramp allowed access to its interior. Four vast doors, three of them closed, allowed access to the landing bay. Deathstrike was on a catwalk that encircled the room thirty meters above the floor. Above him was a hatch that lead to Cybertron's surface.

The chamber had to date from before the war, a shipping point to distant points on the planet or perhaps to its moons now long abandoned. The long open spaces of the passages were perfect for launching an attack run. His sensors could pick up weapons discharges down the corridor. Battle had been joined. Now he would end it.

Or so he thought. Blades rose up from behind the renegade cruiser in helicopter mode. Rockets flew from Blades' weapon pods as the traitor ripple fired his arsenal at Deathstrike. Deathstrike fired his thrusters and leapt away and down, snap firing a laser bolt at Blades as the traitor dodged out of his line of fire. Behind Deathstrike there was a huge explosion as multiple rockets struck the area he had been a moment before. The blast twisted him in the air, disrupting his flight path. The Decepticon hit the deck. Hard.

Blades swept fired a pair of incendiary rockets at the stack of containers around Deathstrike, filling that whole section of the bay with fire. "Blades to Shatterpoint. Decepticons attacking the landing bay. I could use some backup."

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I don't panic easily, which saves me. Cybertronian plate doesn't melt easily, but the temperature increase will fry my circuits even it doesn't breach my armour. I have enough time, as long as I don't panic and use it wisely. I know the layout of this area. I sprint for cover.

The flamethrowers keep on me until I dive behind the junk pile. Fire is still clinging to my chassis, which is bad, but at least I'm no longer in the center of a firestorm. Puddles of fire are forming around me where some of the fuel has dripped or rubbed off. Sensor readouts and some systems are flickering on and off from heat related failure. No damage yet though, just impaired function while the heat lasts.

That's when the flame tank decides to angle his nozzles up and rain fire down on my general area. I run back behind another junk pile, my optics relaying mostly hash and my actuators failing as I fall down behind cover. "Someone rid me of that flame tank," I manage to commo.

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Blacklight grinned as Shatterpoint and Hellfire showed up and opened up on the Autobots. Hellfire set Breakout on fire and drove the Autobot back while Shatterpoint layed down mortar fire and dominated the field with his turret cannon. Crusher was giving fire support and all that meant very little attention was being paid to him. The stealthy renegade slipped forward.

Shatterpoint dropped a pair of mortar rounds practically on top of Glitch, forcing the little Autobot to move or be blown to pieces. Darting to another position left him open to Blacklight. It was an easy shot. He took it.

A violet trail was left as the particle beam ionized air. Blacklight slashed the beam at full power across Glitch's torso, just below his arm pits. Circuits exploded and lubricants caught fire. The blazing carcass of the little 'bot fell to the deck. Blacklight slid back into cover.

Then Shatterpoint switched into reverse, driving backwards, turning and racing back towards the ship. "Decepticon attack!" he growled over the com channel. "I'll back up Blades. Finish these wrecks and return to the ship."

Crusher smiled. "With pleasure boss. With pleasure."

[LadyTevar]

Imperial Overlord Great job!

But for the typos

he would once again live in glory,. raining down missiles and high energy laser beams from above.

Too much punctuation.

A large door was open on the side of the cruiser and ramp allowed access to its interior.

should it be "a ramp allowed access"?

Shatterpoint dropped a pair of mortar rounds practically on top of Glitch, forcing the little Autobot to move of be blown to pieces.

More -or- be blown to pieces? Poor Glitch...

[Imperial Overlord]

The rain of fire has ceased, at least temporarily. My heat exchangers are going full blast, which isn't doing that much since I am still coated with fuel. All my functions are impaired, but I can still fight. Then I get an idea.

I dump seeker parameters into a missile and launch it from the rack on my right shoulder. It goes up, detects Hellfire's electronic and heat emissions, and locks on to him. The missile alters course, coming down on top of the renegade. Hellfire stops firing and dodges, narrowly managing to get out of the way. Smoke billows up as missile craters the floor.

I'm still in bad shape, but Hellfire has been driven out of the fight for a few precious moments and I'm not alone. Time to regain the initiative. "Hit them!" I yell.

Clampdown and Overdrive pop up and begin shooting, driving Crusher back behind cover. I don't see Glitch or the stealthy renegade, Blacklight, around. Damn. That's trouble.

I rise up from behind the junk pile and fire the cannon on my left arm as I lurch forward. Targeting programs aren't working right, I miss my more than a meter and blast an ancient piece of garbage into junk. I stagger forward, my legs almost seizing on me. But they don't and I press ahead, covered by my comrades' fire. Close up I won't miss whether I'm using the cannon or my knife.

That's when I see Glitch. His body is lying just at the edge of my peripheral vision, smoke coming from a wound in his chassis. He's been hit bad. I can't stop. No time. I'll be on Crusher in a few astroseconds and then, then I will be able to do something about it.

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Blacklight rose from behind a junked starcruiser thruster as Breakout lumbered forward. His stealth systems had successfully hidden him from the Autobot, a feat made much easier by the less than ideal detection conditions. Blacklight swung his particle beam around to align with the charging Autobot. The data Scutter had sent back indicated that Breakout was well, but not heavily, armoured. One sweep of his beam at maximum power and the Autobot would be heavily damaged or crippled.

On the walkway above the fighting Gunstorm leveled both of double barreled particle beam rifles on Blacklight's back. The Decepticon fired. Violet beams smashed through Blacklight's armour, sending white hot armour fragments flying into the air. The renegade staggered forward, smoke rising from burning circuitry. Gunstorm fired again and the renegade's torso exploded.

"This is more like it," said the Decepticon with satisfaction.

"Stop gloating and start shooting the rest of them," said Scrapiron as he leveled his carbine at Crusher.

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Cargo containers toppled forward as Deathstrike pushed the rubble into the lake of flame before him. Patches of liquids fire dripped from his armour as he pointed his x-ray laser cannon right at Blades. It fired a single, brief beam of light. It holed Blades's body just beneath the rotor, blazing through the engine and counter grave units. The renegade fell from the air, transforming as he fell.

Blades managed a four point landing on hands and feet. He jerked up, drawing a short rifle with his right hand and one of his swords with his left. Deathstrike cut across his right arm with a narrow beam at maximum intensity. Most of the limb fell sparking to the floor. "Deathstrike-" Blades began.

A short, wider pulse hit him in the right side. Then another in the left. The traitor toppled. Deathstrike stalked forward. "This war has been pointless for milennia," said Blades as the crippled robot tried to pull himself up. He failed. "It does nothing but kill us. Why die for Megatron's ambition? It doesn't have to be like this. You can live."

"Live like you?" Deathstrike said with contempt. "Here is my answer." An intense violet beam sliced up from just above Blades's hips to his head, slicing through his front armour and leaving scars on the inside of his backplate. Main lines were destroyed. Actuators were cut through. Capacitors blew. And the lasercore, housing Blades's spark, was destroyed. Life left the Cybertonian's eyes.

A roaring sound from behind him sent Deathstrike flying into the air on pillars of nuclear fire. Shatterpoint burst into the chamber and transformed. "You'll pay for that Decepticon!" he shouted as he brought his ion rifle to bear. His tank form was poorly suited to dealing with flying Cybertronians, but in robot form he was more than capable.

Deathstrike launched a pair of missiles at the renegade leader. Shatterpoints blew one to pieces with a blast from his ion rifle and sidestepped the other at the last possible seconds. The shaped charged blew an respectable hole in the floor. Deathstrike half circled Shatterpoint, bringing his laser to bear. The finishing strike on Blades had overheated it and Shatterpoint's armour was clearly very thick. He wanted to use maximum power pulses against the renegade leader. Both robots fired.

Deathstrike's bolt hit Shatterpoint in the chest, burning through armour and destroying an energy storage module. Shatterpoint's blast struck the Decepticon dead center. Paint vaporized, armour melted around the impact point, and Deathstrike fell out of the air, striking the floor with a loud clang. "You were good," said Shatterpoint as he walked forward, "but not good enough. Now you die."

[Sidewinder]

Badass.

[Imperial Overlord]

Crusher rises in front of me. I shoot him in the face. My cannon blast shatters his face plate and destroys the circuitry behind it. He falls down, electricity arcing in the crater that used to be his face. Some mechanisms have their laser cores and the sparks they contain in their heads, but most don't. Sensors and the cerebral circuitry, the hardware that runs and regulates a Cybertronian's body, are usually placed in head modules. The laser core that contains the spark, the personality and some say the soul of Cybertronian, is usually located in the torso. But without the cerebral circuitry, the spark can't control the body.

The grey and blue renegade topples. I follow him over the junk pile and I shoot him in the chest. Vaporized armour explodes violently from the impact point on his chest. I fire again and the same spot and his internals are burning. A third shot and he's a blazing shell.

I notice the Decepticons now. The junk pile I'm behind gives me some cover from them. They're targeting the renegades, which means they've figured out what's happening. From their point of view we're the long term enermy, but the renegades are ones that can be permanently disposed of in the short term. Even if they kill us all, Prime will send more Autobots as long as this scavenging operation produces results.

Waiting for the Decepticons to decide when the best time to switch targets back to us is a bad idea. Gunstorm might not have the hardest hitting cannons on Cybertron, but he can lay down huge amount of fire and he isn't alone. I transform into vehicle mode and charge forward. "Hold of the 'Cons!" I order.

I get immediate covering fire from Clampdown and Overdrive, who plaster the walkway with shots and drive the 'Cons back into cover. My speed gives me further protection as a I traverse my turret. Hellfire is in retreat, backing away from the lost fight and back towards the cruiser and his boss Shatterpoint. But he's in reverse and not nearly as fast as I am. He traverses the turret housing his twin flame throwers towards me.

I'm still overheated. A direct hit by both those flamethrowers will probably cripple me instantly and the fires will definitely kill me within a hundred astroseconds. In vehicle mode, most combat vehicle Cybertronians have thicker front armour. He might be able to take a cannon hit or two before I inflict serious damage. The cold, analytical part of my mind gives him a significant advantage in the coming exchange.

My cannon blast hits him in the turret ring and nearly blows off his turret. Flames blast from the wound and his turret locks, his flame throwers not quite in position to fire upon me. I launch a missile straight at the wound and the explosion blows his turret thirty meters in the air. I leave the burning wreck behind as I rush towards Shatterpoint.

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The renegade leader stomps down on Deathstrike's torso. A lesser mechanism would have suffered severe damage as armour would have crumpled and the structural frame would have collapsed, but Deathstrike was heavily armoured and built to withstand the stress of extreme accelerations. Armour plate deformed under Shatterpoint's strike, but Deathstrike's internal workings were undamaged.

Shatterpoint swung his foot back to launch a devastating kick at the downed Decepticon. Deathstrike's optics flared into life as his system finished rebooting. The Decepticon warrior lashed out, kicking Shatterpoint's leg. Off balance, the renegade leader fell and Deathstrike regained his feet. Shatterpoint was up in a flash and the two warrior's came together in a clash that was audible a kilometer away.

Both 'bots were big, but Shatterpoint was bulkier. Both were strong with a long list of hand to hand victories. Neither of them practiced any of the esoteric martial arts that had developed on Cybertron. Shatterpoint fought in a fast and brutal manner where he overpowered his enemies with brute force and rained powerful blows upon their vulnerable spots. Deathstrike followed the footsteps of his liege-lord, the might Megatron, and used the rough and ready combat proven tricks and techniques of Pit Fighting in hand to hand combat. For most Cybertronians it was tantamount to suicide to engage either of them in hand to hand combat.

The impact slowed neither of the warriors. Shatterpoint hauled back his fist to smash Deathstrike, but the Decepticon kept close and struck first, a short, sharp blow just above Shatterpoint's hip. Armour was dented, but the renegade leader ignored the blow, instead shoulder slamming Deathstrike back. The Decepticon kept his footing, but Shatterpoint was able to pull back and swing. Shatterpoint's fist slammed into the side of Deathstrike's head and he went down.

Shatterpoint followed up the blow with a kick that dented armour and rolled the Decepticon rolling. Another kick follow it and then another. "I'm going to enjoy taking you apart," growled Shatterpoint.

Deathstrike got his hands under him and double kicked the renegade, knocking Shatterpoint to the ground. The Decepticon regained his feet and Shatterpoint did likewise. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to last," said Shatterpoint.

Deathstrike swung at Shatterpoint's shoulder. The renegade leader caught his fist. "Not good enough." Shatterpoint's left forearm came down like an axe, smashing Deathstrike to the floor. "That's how I like you," said Shatterpoint. He kicked the Decepticon again, buckling more armour plate. "How much more can you take before your frame collapses?" mused Shatterpoint aloud. "Not much more, I don't think."

Deathstrike kicked at Shatterpoint's hips. The renegade leader caught Deathstrike's leg. He was quick for his size. "I saw that trick already." He yanked Deathstrike up, off the floor. Deathstrike's other leg bent, showing the bottom of his foot to Shatterpoint's face. Shatterpoint has just enough time to realize he was looking at an exhaust nozzle when a stream of plasma struck him in the face plate.

The stream of thrust yanked Deathstrike out of Shatterpoint's grasp and propelled him across the chamber. Deathstrike fired his other engine and his countergravs, repositioning himself so that he rose up instead of continuing his previous course and smashed into the wall. "My optics!" Shatterpoint shouted.

Deathstrike fired. A pair of brief, high intensity pulses sliced into Shatterpoint's shoulders. His arms fell limply to his sides as Deathstrike launched a pair of missiles. They were large and comparatively slow, a consequence of their heavy payloads. They used to make up the entirety of his arsenal, but now he carried only two. The days of the Guardian robots was over and the heavy ordinance needed to down them was now rarely necessary.

The missiles struck Shatterpoint in the chest. A titanic explosion annihilated everything between the renegade's hips and shoulders. Body parts rained down upon the floors as Breakout raced into the room.

The Autobot took a second to evaluate the situation. In retrospect it was logical that Deathstrike had gone this way. The other Decepticons could pin the renegades on the ground while Deathstrike could use the available space to make devastating attack runs. It appeared that the Decepticon had destroyed the remaining renegades. As things stood it was likely that the Decepticons would be able to take possession of the renegade's haul and add it to Megatron's war machine. That could not be allowed to happen.

Breakout threw his gears into reverse and launched a missile towards the cruiser's open bay. Their was enough energon in there to blow the cruiser and probably the whole chamber as well. Deathstrike screamed "no!" as he took to the sky, transforming as he rose. The ceiling hatch loomed ahead as he increased his speed. A pair of missiles blew it to scrap and Deathstrike rose up as a fireball chased him into Cybertron's sky.

For a brief moment he screamed towards the upper atmosphere, but then he remembered the need to conserve energy and he aborted his climb. He had won, solving the problem Megatron had meant him to solve. So too had Breakout, who had probably been sent here for the same reasons. His mission was over.

He sent out a signal. "All Decepticons, return to base. Its over." No point in fighting the Autobots now. No prize worth the loses and no advantage to help drive the victory home. He circled the site one last time. His mission was over. He would have to return to Kaon where he would plot and plan and devise stratagems and tactics but would not, save for emergencies and special occasions, fly.

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I slowed down and then transformed as I approached Glitch's body. "How is he?"

Clampdown was kneeling beside the burned body. He got up, holding a small black oval in his hands. "His body is a total right off, but his laser core is intact.

"Good," I replied. I liked the little 'bot. A new body was not something easy to come by in this day and age, but it could be managed.

"What now?" asked Overdrive. "Should we chase the 'Cons?"

"No," I said. The gun battle and Shatterpoint's mortar fire had battered every Autobot under my command. Chasing the Decepticons down their own tunnels in this state was asking to be scrapped. "We've accomplished out mission. I'll be returning to report to Prime."

"So you're leaving?" asked Overdrive.

"Yes," I said. "My mission is completed."

"What is next for you?" Clampdown asked.

"Whatever Prime asks," I reply as I transform. For a moment I think of Deathstrike and I wonder, how he would answer the question and I think I know the answer. I feel a sense of kinship with the Decepticon. He serves a bad cause and a tyrant, but like me he is a war machine who is faithful to his leader. In our laser cores, we are both warriors.

[Sidewinder]

Again, badass. However, I keep getting Hardhead (from 'Transformers: Escalation') in my mind when I try to picture Breakout. Hopefully, further details in the sequel will make him more distinct.

[Imperial Overlord]

Hopefully, further details in the sequel will make him more distinct.

Their appearance is similar, but Thundercracker and Starscream look a lot alike and are very different robots.

The sequel will be huge. Massive. Stupendous. Epic.