Deep within the mantle of Cybertron, beneath the prying eyes of any Maximal, Galvatron and his band of Decepticons, save DarkStar, had gathered together in a large tunnel littered with debris that had gathered there since the beginnings of the Great War.

With a huge blast, the path ahead was cleared. Shockwave lead the way in his flying cannon mode, smoke wafting from the square end of his barrel. Galvatron, Megatron, and SkyScourge followed him in turn. In the rear followed Starscream, his arms tied by power bonds as he forcibly had to carry the salvaged components of Shockwave’s laboratory.

Blasting apart another piece of junked equipment that lay in his path, Shockwave called to Galvatron, asking, "Where are we headed, lord Galvatron?"

Trudging along behind Shockwave, Galvatron said, "To the old Decepticon command center, Shockwave. Once we’re there, it shall serve as our temporary base of operations…right beneath the Maximals’ own city!"

"Assuming," Megatron brought up, "That it still exists…and is operational."

Looking ahead, Galvatron replied resolutely, "It will be…once Shockwave repairs it."

Ahead of the group lay one final barrier. The Autobot icon, painted on a wall directly in front of them, blocked the way. Galvatron scowled at the marker, firing his blaster at it, but to no avail. Once the smoke cleared, the icon continued to stand unblemished. "NO!" he scowled, raising up an angry fist.

"Blast! The ancient Autobots must have known about this place…and sealed it in!" Megatron growled.

Shockwave transformed and felt the smooth wall with his hand. "Polarion steel," he said to Galvatron, "Nearly impenetrable. The Autobots knew what they were doing when they constructed this. But fortunately, I know how to breach such a barrier!" He transformed back into his cannon form, his barrel glowing red-hot as he charged it up. Then, just as it seemed he was about to overload, Shockwave blasted out a beam of deep red light.

The wall and its icon heated rapidly, first red-hot and then white-hot. Blue smoke hissed out of the polarion steel, bubbles forming right out of the metal. In a matter of seconds, the wall melted down, the Autobot icon reduced to foam.

Behind the barrier was a huge chamber roughly two hundred meters wide, nearly as big as the Plasma Energy Chamber itself. Various small structures and equipment sheds littered the place, donned with the symbols of both Autobots and Decepticons. At the heart of the chamber however, a sizeable dome dominated the scenery. It was chipped and cracked here and there, but largely the former headquarters of the ancient Decepticons remained intact.

"Yes…magnificent." Galvatron smiled proudly.

Shockwave, Megatron, and SkyScourge looked to Galvatron. "Now what do we do, Galvatron?" SkyScourge asked.

Galvatron hesitated, the glow of Omegracon intensifying in his chest. "The plan…" Galvatron muttered, stuttering as he spoke, "Is not yet in place. I…I must take leave to think." Turning back towards the tunnel, Galvatron told his troops, "Repair the spacebridge controls in my absence. I will return in twenty cycles…then you shall know what I have in mind." Galvatron then left, vanishing from sight.

As the Decepticons looked to one another and debated Galvatron’s motives, Megatron watched Galvatron’s shadow fade into the tunnel. "Hmmm…peculiar," the Predacon muttered to himself. He glanced at SkyScourge and Shockwave, making sure they were distracted, then dashed off after Galvatron.

About halfway down the tunnel, Megatron caught up with the Decepticon commander, but remained hidden from his sight behind boulders and crevasses. Still Galvatron moved onward, not suspecting a thing as turned left into a small chamber on the side of the tunnel.

"This must be it." Megatron quietly said to himself, glancing from behind a small boulder. Reaching down to his chest, he pressed a secret button built into his armor. His personal cloak engaged, rendering him invisible. His footprints left small impressions in the thin and loose dust as he maneuvered around to get a better look at his so-called commander.

As Megatron watched, Galvatron stood perfectly still for a solid minute. "We are alone now," he said, apparently talking to someone, "There is no one in listening distance…my master."

Megatron’s eyes widened a bit. Master?

The lower half of Galvatron’s torso glowed a bright and…strangely familiar shade of red in Megatron’s eyes. Out of nowhere a deep and dark voice spoke, addressing Galvatron personally. "You were careless, Galvatron. Already you’ve raised the suspicions of your fellow Decepticons…and that of the Predacon as well."

"Don’t insult me! You’re the one clinging like a parasite to my spark, not I!" Galvatron yelled to the voice, "Now…explain to me what you have in mind…now!" Suddenly, Galvatron fell to his knees, moaning weakly. A red light enveloped him for a moment, holding him it seemed.

"I am your master, Galvatron," the voice again spoke, "Were it not for me, your lifeless shell would still be drifting through space…remember that."

Gagging and coughing, Galvatron quickly apologized. "Of course…Omegracon!"

"Omegracon?" Megatron said aloud.

For a second, Galvatron glanced back, hearing Megatron’s voice. Fearing detection, Megatron silenced himself and bolted against the rock ledge. Galvatron stared for a moment, his eyes bright red…but turned back. Megatron remained frozen a cycle longer, but scooted closer still while his back remained against the wall, moving in to hear what the voice, Omegracon he presumed, had to say.

Omegracon said to Galvatron, "There is a place, not far from the core of the galaxy, where the Quintessons still dwell…a planet known as Photoneron. You must take from the Quintessons’ databanks the location of their original homeworld, and then journey to that place to obtain the remaining Vector megacomputers. That is your task…Galvatron."

Still on his knees, Galvatron spoke with an oddly respectful tone, "As you wish…Omegracon." The Decepticon then got up and walked back. Megatron decloaked himself, standing there in disbelief.

"It’s…impossible! Omegracon…alive?!" Megatron said to himself, "I…I must do something about this!" Megatron transformed, becoming a stealth fighter. He flew up, exiting through a sizeable crack in the tunnel’s ceiling.

A great distance away, in the space between Cybertron and Earth, the Perceptor2 science station floated. Inside, Optimus Primal, Rattrap, Botanica, and Red ‘Tek stood before the Holographic Interface Program’s control console. Rattrap rolled up to it and pressed a single button, activating the hologram of Perceptor2.

A minute later, the hologram awoke, gazing upon the Maximals with a sleepy look in his eyes. Yawning, he managed to say, "Oh…it’s you again. Forgive my rudeness…had I know you were coming, I’d have baked a cake!" Perceptor2’s head morphed, becoming a large, strawberry cake to mock them.

"Enough of this," Primal bluntly said, "We came back because we need your help in analyzing this!" In his hand he held out the sliver of green glass he found in the Plasma Energy Chamber.

The image of the cake dissolved away as Perceptor2’s head reformed, looking closely at the crystal. "Hmm…most intriguing: transphasic-crystalline structure." Beside Perceptor2’s head appeared a molecular model of the crystal, the atoms literally pulsing in the same manner the crystal sliver did. "It is an extremely rare state…obtainable only when a crystal is passed through a field of immeasurable magnitude and power, and in all my memory files there is only one known gem that possessed this structure…."

The hologram dissolved away, and in his place formed a large holographic crystal. The Maximals gasped and stepped back, amazed at its appearance. "The Heart of Cybertron," Perceptor2’s voice spoke, "A crystal capable of magnifying energy a thousand-fold. In the Great War the Decepticons used it to power the Nemesis in pursuit of the Autobots…and Megatron himself used it as a weapon."

"A weapon?" Red ‘Tek blurted out, stepping heavily as he neared Peceptor2’s console, "Than that means the Decepticons could be using it…."

"TO TRY AND SLAG US ALL!" Rattrap exclaimed, "OH THIS IS BIG…BIG…B-B-BIG SLAG THIS TIME!"

Botanica grabbed her love by the arm and held him down. "Calm down! There is always a scientific, logical way out of a situation."

"But it could be possible to create a super-weapon from it, couldn’t it?" Optimus Primal asked, looking to the hologram.

"Negative," Perceptor2 said, his head reappearing as the crystal dissolved, "Even if it were somehow…reforged, the Heart of Cybertron is capable of amplifying power, not creating it. A power source must exist for the crystal to be used as such a weapon, and there is no known source of energy capable of channeling the Heart of Cybertron."

Red ‘Tek put his hand on his chin. "But what else could the Decepticons use it for?"

At the newly discovered command center, SkyScourge forced Starscream into a primitive-looking cell. "There! This should hold you!" SkyScourge said. He then pulled out a small power pack and stuck it into an outlet. A moment later, energy bars shot down, sealing the traitorous Decepticon inside. SkyScourge laughed, then left down the nearest corridor to assist the others in the repairs.

Starscream smiled as he sat all alone. "Heh…the moronic fool didn’t even think to search me!" Starscream sneered. From behind his back he pulled out the broken tip of an electro-prod. With ease, Starscream used it to decouple the power bonds holding his arms back. "Ah…free at last. Well," he muttered, glancing at the energy bonds, "Almost free."

The Decepticon touched the bars lightly, his finger shocked slightly. He thought for a minute, and then looked down at the prod. "Now…if I do this just right," Starscream said to himself, putting the prod up to the bars. Once in contact, the prod sparked as current flowed through it. Starscream quickly backed off as a fireworks display of electricity and light flashed, the bars finally burning out with smoke hissing.

Chuckling, Starscream bolted out, but before completely running off, he turned back. He unplugged the power pack SkyScourge left behind, flipping it into the air once and catching it in his palm. "Thanks, ‘Scourge! You’ve just given me the ticket out of here!"

Starscream slinked off to a different part of the base, and nearly got caught. He jumped back when he discovered Shockwave carrying a large green ball in his hands. The larger Decepticon missed Starscream, carrying the sphere to a large circular platform where he set it down. Shockwave then walked away, unaware of Starscream’s presence.

It didn’t take a nano-click for Starscream to realize just what the sphere was. "Vector Delta! Of course! With it I can create my own armies! My own forces! Heh heh…now I’ll have to thank both Shockwave and ‘Scourge for this day!" Starscream picked up the large spheroid computer, but it proved heavier than he anticipated. "Agh! This thing…weighs a ton! But I’ve gotta get it…to…."

Minutes later, Shockwave and SkyScourge entered the room adjacent to Starscream’s cell. As Shockwave set down a heavy box, he noticed the empty cell and the charred circuits where energy bars should have been emanating. "SKYSCOURGE! YOU SAID STARSCREAM WAS IN HERE!" Shockwave shouted.

SkyScourge dropped what he was doing and checked by Shockwave, noticing Starscream’s absence as well. "What? But how?" SkyScourge asked. Shockwave looked into the cell and picked up a bent electro-prod. SkyScourge took it…then crushed it in his bare hand. "Starscream…."

"Quickly! We’ve got to find him!" Shockwave said, he and SkyScourge dashing out of the detention cell to find the Decepticon in question.

Near the center of the complex, Starscream was shoving Vector Delta into the hollow transporter cell. "Come on…get in there!" he grunted, pushing harder and harder. Finally, the sphere squeezed in, bouncing on the floor with a thud. Starscream next took the power pack from his cell and plugged it into an outlet on the outside of the cell. Instantly the spacebridge controls came online, awaiting orders.

Typing in a random set of coordinates, Starscream said aloud, "Now to get out of this slaggn’ place before those two lug-nuts find me!"

"TOO LATE, STARSCREAM!" Shockwave yelled, his blaster already pointed at Starscream. Without hesitating Shockwave fired, quickly joined by SkyScourge behind him. Starscream jumped, the blasts missing him by mere inches. He moved like a grasshopper, jolting from one console to the next as laser blasts hounded him.

Quickly Starscream jumped into the transport cell, and then aimed one of his own weapons at the spacebridge controls. "See you next century!" Starscream yelled to the Decepticons, blasting the console and initiating the spacebridge.

The entire Decepticon command center started to shake, bits and pieces of the ceiling falling down. Outside, a tower at the apex of the dome extended upwards, busting through hundreds of meters of rock, metal, pipes, and wiring until it reached the surface of the planet itself. A street was suddenly broken into two sections as the tower continued to rise higher, Maximals looking up and gasping in disbelief. A beam of blue-violet light blasted from the tower, sending with it Starscream and Vector Delta into deep space.

Starscream screamed in horror as he was flung further than he had ever traveled, beyond both Earth and Cybertron and past the outer planets of the Solar System. A myriad of stars and nebulae flew by at unconceivable speeds as Starscream headed toward the galaxy’s very core. The beam of light transporting him flew past the planet Photoneron, where over a million Quintessons looked up and saw what appeared to be a purple comet streaking by.

At the Central Control Center of the planet, Maral watched the strange phenomenon. "Strange. What could it be?" she said aloud.

Less than a minute later, the beam headed straight for a Quintesson space station orbiting near a huge and fragmented asteroid field. Inside, several Quintessons glanced out their windows just moments before the beam penetrated them. For the longest time the light blinded the Quintessons, making them shriek in pain as two objects materialized within the station. Starscream and Vector Delta hovered above them in the dining room for a moment, but then, after the beam faded away, they fell right on top of a table laden with green mush the Quintessons had been dining on.

"Ugh…what a trip," Starscream groaned, his face almost completely covered by gunk. As he started to get up, the sounds of a dozen weapons clicked all around him. The Quintessons held in their tentacles ray guns and saw blades, all pointed at the Decepticon. Starscream chuckled despite his predicament. "Hey…how quaint! But you haven’t seen what I can do…YET!"

Outside, the windows of the Quintesson outpost lit up like a Christmas tree, blasts going off all over the place as a single diabolical transformer laid siege to the place. At the climax of the battle, massive explosions went off, tearing the station to bits as a single triangular pod escaped. Inside, Starscream manned the controls with Vector Delta sitting in his lap as he flew toward a large and jagged asteroid.

Near Earth, the Maximals were unaware of events elsewhere in the galaxy as they received unusual communication from Cybertron. "It was weird, Optimus," Nightscream explained the situation, "After blasting something into space, the tower just…vanished back into the ground!"

Staring at the acting military commander of Cybertron via a view screen, Primal asked, "Didn’t you try to track where the beam was headed?"

Nightscream moaned, then replied, "Not possible. The defense systems are still getting static feedback from when you last opened the Plasma Energy Chamber, and that includes the long-range sensors I’m afraid. And as for the tower…all the debris around and beneath the site makes it impossible to locate its base."

Primal sighed a bit, and then looked to Nightscream on the monitor. "Just do what you can," Primal told him.

"Roger that Primal, I’ll…wait a second…" Nightscream glanced down at something on his console, his pupils dilating with interest. "I’m receiving a pair of long-range transmissions; one is hailing from Photoneron, and the other…."

"Photoneron? The Quintessons?" Primal interrupted, "Quick! Transfer it to my station!"

Inside one of Perceptor2’s command stations, Optimus Primal and the rest of the Maximals watched as a blurry and static-filled image focused on one of the monitors. Though a bit choppy, it was clearly the Quintesson known as Maral, the last remaining member of the council of Quinton. She gazed at the Maximals with an unhappy grimace.

"Attention Maximals," she distinctly said despite the transmission’s disruption, "The attack on one of our strategic outposts is a direct violation of the Cybertronian-Photoneron truce we established with you! As acting imperial magistrate, I demand an explanation or the truce shall be broken!"

"Wait magistrate!" Primal spoke up, "What do you mean attack? If there was such an attack, then the Maximals…."

Maral was becoming rather displeased, her soft and gentle face frowning with a wrinkled and heavy brow. "Do not try to deny it!" she yelled, "A transport beam was directed at the station in quadrant alpha-prime-three, after which the station was destroyed while your agent escaped in a single pod! Believe me Primal…such an action tries even my patience!"

Botanica approached, donned in her robotic form. "Magistrate," she said as politely as possible, "We earnestly did not attack your station, nor did we send the transport beam…although it did emanate from Cybertron…."

"I do not have time for this," Maral said sternly, "You confess that the beam emanated from Cybertron, and yet you did not send it. My sense of logic dictates that you must be lying and that Cybertron must be planning an attack on our sovereignty!"

"Wait! We didn’t send the beam," Primal tried to explain, "But I am willing to take responsibility for its damage! Please…allow us to investigate and we’ll clear this incident up to preserve the peace between our races!"

Maral shook her head as she spoke with a firm voice. "Negative. That region is restricted; even to outsiders we are supposedly at peace with. We will investigate for ourselves…and any vessel or being that enters that portion of our space will be considered a direct enemy of the Quintesson Imperium, so be warned!" With that, the transmission dissolved away.

Rattrap shrugged his shoulders, saying, "Sheesh! And I thought they had a mean streak as big as the galaxy before!"

"And that was one of the nicer Quintessons too!" RazorLeaf pointed out.

"This is even more puzzling than before," Red ‘Tek stated, looming over his friends, "A giant tower shoots a teleportation beam directed at Quintesson space, making it seem from the Quintessons’ point of view that we attacked them."

"It’s got the Decepticons written all over it," Primal frowned, "All right, we’d better get to work on tracing that beam before…."

Red ‘Tek stopped Primal with one of his large hands. "Wait! What about the second transmission Nightscream reported in? Could that be a mere coincidence?" Shaking the floor plates as he walked toward the monitor, Red ‘Tek reestablished the link with Cybertron command and typed in some commands.

Numbers started flashing across the screen, all written in Cybertronian text. "A download sequence, written in Predacon code," Red ‘Tek surmised, "Somebody transmitted this to us on purpose."

Primal looked at the screen and then at Red ‘Tek. "How could you identify all that so quickly?" he asked.

Chuckling slightly as he glanced at Optimus Primal, Red ‘Tek simply said, "Well…I do have the combined intelligence and processing speed of two particularly bright Maximals." Focusing back on the screen, the large Autobot told the Maximals, "I’m decrypting the program now," and he pressed a final key.

In just a few seconds, a flat map materialized on the screen, with several locations marked with stars and encircled in red. As several of the Maximals "oohed" and "awed", Gold Blade studied the map and stated, "By Primus, it’s a map of the very region that was attacked…including the station and what appears to be an asteroid field near-by."

"No coincidence it seems. Looks like you called it right after all, Red ’Tek." Primal said.

"Naturally," Red ‘Tek beamed. The large ‘bot put his fist up to a disk drive built into the console. A floppy disk attached to a thin robotic arm extended out from his knuckles, inserting itself into the drive and copying the map.

"What are you doing?" RazorLeaf asked.

Red ‘Tek replied, "Downloading this into Coyotek’s auxiliary databanks for safe-keeping. No doubt we’ll be needing it soon." The disk retracted, sealing itself back inside of Red ‘Tek’s left hand. "Now Maximals…."

The giant Autobot transformed, splitting into two bodies that transformed into two canines with metallic backpacks on their shoulders. Coyotek looked to his friends, finishing Red ‘Tek’s statement. "Let’s make like an Autobot: transform and roll out!"

RedStreak and Coyotek quickly ran out the door. Rattrap looked to Optimus with a weary face. "Awe man…but didn’t ya hear the five-faced freak on the monitor? No outsiders?"

"Like I told her," Optimus said, following the canines out the door, "It’s our responsibility to find out what happened and what’s going on."

Rattrap moaned loudly. "Awe man…not another suicidal adventure!" Before the rodent knew it, he was strapped inside of Ironwood along with the others. The flying guardian decoupled and pushed away from the Perceptor2 with the puff of thrusters. Rattrap glanced at Botanica, sitting at his side. "Here we go again it seems…."

Botanica smiled and put her hand on his lap, calming him. Rattrap gave her a warm smile and held her hand with his own.

Coyotek attached a wire to one side of his head as he sat in robot mode near the front of the cabin. "Ok Ironwood," he said to the guardian, sticking the other end into an outlet in Ironwood’s console, "Lock onto the following coordinates and engage the transwarp engines at maximum thrust!"

On the forward screens, the map appeared with the asteroid field locked onto. "Coordinates…locked! Engines…engaged!"

Scaleblade, sitting near the back of the cabin, moaned wearily. "What can’t we go anywhere nice, like the Bahamas?" she asked. Then, with a rude jerk, Ironwood blasted off into transwarp space, headed toward Quintesson territory.

In Ironwood’s wake, DarkStar decloaked momentarily. Inside, Galvatron, Shockwave, and SkyScourge watched with interest as the Maximal vessel departed. Galvatron muttered with a grin, "Good, they’re trying to follow Starscream’s path as well…excellent. This will make tracking him down all the more easy. DarkStar, reengage the cloak and follow…carefully." A second later, DarkStar vanished from view, blasting off in a flash of light to pursue Ironwood in stealth.

For the better part of a megacycle the Maximals traveled toward the edge of the galaxy’s core, passing by all manner of stellar phenomenon along the way. As they passed through a large nebula, Ironwood reported in his usual impassive tone, "Within ten parsecs of destination. Entering…Quintesson territory."

"Keep your sensors on full sweep and maximum resolution, Ironwood," Optimus Primal suggested, "Given their advanced technology, the Quintessons will have detected our presence already."

Directly behind Ironwood, gas parted around DarkStar’s form, pushing her way through as she followed Ironwood. An alarm went off inside of Ironwood, his lights turning red and flashing on and off. "Alert! Alert! Enemy presence detected!"

"What?" Coyotek blurted out, "Here?" Interfacing with Ironwood’s sensor grid, Coyotek scanned their surroundings, finding nothing. "There’s no one out here! Quintesson or Decepticon!"

"Eh," Rattrap shrugged it off, "Iron-boy must be having a glitch!"

Scaleblade chuckled, but then glanced out her portside window. Looking at the nebula, she saw distinct patterns…an outline even. Her eyes widened. "GUYS! GUYS! SOMEONE IS OUT HERE! THE NEBULA!"

Even as DarkStar began to decloak, Coyotek muttered, "Na…there’s nothing out there! I’m taking control of Ironwood’s guidance systems as of this nano-click!" DarkStar aimed her cannons squarely at Ironwood’s engines, taking precise aim. A moment later, she fired one massive volley at the Maximal vessel, making it shutter with a huge explosion.

"WHOA!" everyone hollered, Ironwood tumbling uncontrollably. More blasts were directed at the guardian, further damaging him.

Scaleblade growled with a reptilian sound, "Nothing out there, eh? JUST ANOTHER RANDOM BIT OF SPACE TURBULANCE, ISN’T IT?!"

"OK! OK! BLAME THE DUMB COYOTE!" Coyotek whined a bit, "COME ON IRONWOOD, GET WITH THE PROGRAM ALREADY!" The lights dimmed significantly, power fluctuating all over.

"Awe man, you broke him!" RazorLeaf yelled at Coyotek.

Grunting as the ship shook, Primal muttered, "That blast must of knocked his core consciousness offline! Coyotek…you’ve got to pilot Ironwood manually! You already have control of his guidance systems!"

Coyotek readjusted the cable still linked to his head, panting excitedly, "Ok! Ok! I’ll just reinitialize the primary systems and…."

A beep went off in Coyotek’s head. His internal computer stated Ironwood’s read-outs. "Guidance: offline. Propulsion: offline. Weapons: offline. Main power: offline. Have a nice day." Everyone glanced at Coyotek with wide eyes, RedStreak included.

Moaning nervously, Coyotek said, "OH SLAG!"

Beyond the one-sided battle, a large vessel waited in the backdrop of the nebula like a cougar watching two bucks duking it out, waiting for just the right moment. Then, when Ironwood tumbled just close enough, the massive vessel moved out. On one side, it opened a large bay, swallowing up the Maximal craft as a shark would a minnow. With its next move, it targeted the Decepticon ship with three long and massive cannons. The resulting blast knocked DarkStar away, flinging it back into the depths of the nebula. The alien vessel then moved on, leaving behind the Decepticons and taking with it the Maximals.

Inside the giant craft, the hatch on Ironwood’s side was forced open. Coyotek stepped out, followed shortly after by Optimus Primal and Botanica. Surrounding Ironwood’s tormented frame was a squadron of short Quintessons with blasters pointed at them. Obediently, they followed, as did the other remaining Maximals. They were led halfway across the loading bay, stopping at the tentacles of Maral herself.

"Maral!" Optimus Primal gasped.

Gazing at Primal with narrow eyes, she sharply said, "Don’t act so surprised, Maximal. We detected your vessel approaching us even from beyond our borders. Your audio receptors heard my warning and you went against it anyway."

"But Maral, if we are your enemies, why did you save us from the Decepticons?" Botanica asked.

Maral waved one of her arms, and her Quintesson minions backed away from her and the Maximals. Addressing the Maximals, Maral stated, "The transmission was a…test…to determine if the Maximals were truly behind the attack. Fortunately, you passed."

"Test?" RedStreak spoke up, cocking his head slightly, "What do you mean…test?"

"The transmission," Maral explained, "Was a deception on my behalf. I no more wish to break the truce than I’m sure your kind did. But we had to make sure." Just as the Maximals started to feel relieved, Maral brought up one other point. "However…during the course of this mission, you must not unveil to anyone else what you’re about to see. It is the greatest secret we Quintessons have kept for countless millennia…."

The Maximals looked at one another in bewilderment, uncertain of what Maral meant. A minute later, a single Quintesson rushed up, panting slightly. "Your magistrate! Your magistrate! We have entered the asteroid field of Quinton…per your orders my divine ruler!"

"Then we must hurry." Maral bluntly stated. A section of the floor beneath both Maximal and Quintesson rose up, taking them up to the ceiling. An opening into another room appeared, and the floor panel took them all into the nerve center of the entire ship. All the Quintesson guards departed, leaving just Maral, the Maximals, and several Quintesson pilots and technicians in the chamber.

On a large monitor appeared a broad collection of asteroids, many resembling broken daggers and fangs with their sharp edges. Scaleblade stared at the screen and asked, "This is it? An interstellar junkyard of rocks? What’s so important about this place?"

Maral sighed heavily. "It is more than that to us, transformer. This place is all that is left of our home world, Quinton."

The Maximals all turned to Maral with a look of disbelief in their eyes. "WHAT?! ARE YOU KIDDING?! THIS PLACE DOESN’T EVEN BEGIN TO RESSEMBLE A PLANET!" RazorLeaf exclaimed loudly.

Maral glanced at him bitterly, but a tear rolling down her gray cheek betrayed her true feelings for this place. "This is all that’s left after the monster, Unicron, destroyed our world over fifteen million years ago."

RedStreak’s eyes widened. "Unicron did this? Oh man…do I ever feel sorry for you."

Maral told the ancient-beyond-ancient tale of Quinton, the lost home of the Quintessons. She described a world as majestic and beautiful as both Cybertron and Earth combined, of a simple people little different than humans that came under the hungry eye of the same Unicron that attacked Cybertron and changed the original Megatron into the demented Galvatron. "Ever since it’s destruction, this place, though deserted, has remained sacred to us Quintessons for all time." Maral stated.

"Um…not to ruin this touching moment," Rattrap said, wheeling his way between Maral and Primal, "But what in the galaxy would make Galvatron interested in these ruins?"

"There is one possibility," Maral spoke up, "The remaining Vector computers."

"Vector computers?" Gold Blade mumbled, "You mean…like Vector Sigma and Vector Delta? There’s more?"

"Eight more…to be precise. Before the great disaster that obliterated Quinton and scattered my people to the depths of space…my ancestors created ten powerful devices capable of interfacing with what you call ‘the-all-spark’. To what end…I do not know, but it is possible they still exist within the remains of the Quintesson home world."

Optimus Primal narrowed his eyes as he thought of what Galvatron would do. "I think I know to what end Galvatron plans for them."

Deep within the asteroid field, Starscream explored a large ornate building on a sizeable planetoid with a thin atmosphere clinging to it. He shoved aside a pair of doors, his shadow appearing on the floor of a room that had not been disturbed since humans were not even monkeys but lemurs huddling in the primordial treetops.

The Decepticon peered into the darkened building, noticing a glimmer of red in one corner. "Hmmm…this might be the place, if the Quintesson data-tracks I hacked from that station gave any clue." With a grunt, he loaded Vector Delta over his shoulder. "Giant green load of scrap," he grumbled, moving wobbly with the heavy device on his shoulder, "Why couldn’t you be lighter than…."

Suddenly, Starscream tripped on a crack. As he yelled loudly, Vector Delta flew into the air and landed on the stone ground with a thud, bouncing like a basketball briefly as it started to roll away. "NO! WAIT! COME BACK!" Starscream yelled, desperately trying to chase it. The computer rolled on, seemingly headed someplace as if it had a mind of its own. Starscream quickly caught up, chucking, "I have you now!" as he lunged at Vector Delta. Surprisingly, the spheroid computer jumped into the air, letting Starscream slam into a solid wall with an "AGH!"

Roughly a minute later, Starscream came to and found Vector Delta hovering over a circular platform. "Why you stupid…." Without muttering another word, he grabbed the device and desperately tried to pull it off, but it remained fixed there as if it were bolted into place. Starscream pulled harder and harder until he fell backwards, landing on a diamond-shaped stone in the floor.

Under his weight, the stone sunk into the floor. It triggered something, unknown to Starscream, which started a chain reaction. A green light shot up from Vector Delta’s platform, illuminating it in a column of light. Then, just to its right, a red column shot up, illuminating an identical computer that was ruby-colored. A third lit up with a golden yellow, then a fourth in sapphire blue, both with Vector computers of respective colors hovering over them. Five additional platforms, each with a unique color, lit up one after another. Starscream stood up in wide wonder, beholding not one but nine spheroid computers right in front of him.

Rubbing his hands together greedily, Starscream muttered joyously, "Oh boy! Starscream, you’ve outdone yourself this time!" He reached for the red computer beside Vector Delta, muttering to himself, "Now to lug these things out of here before…."

"STARSCREAM!" a loud voice yelled from behind. Just as Starscream started to turn, a blast hit the floor beside his right foot, forming a small crater. The Decepticon turned, spying a Quintesson, eight Maximals, and a large silver-green guardian at the entrance behind him. The Quintesson held up a tentacle with a built-in disruptor aimed right at Starscream’s heart.

"Step away from the Vector computers, Decepticon." Maral ordered, charging up her weapon.

Starscream turned around, facing the united front. "You wouldn’t dare fire in here!" Starscream firmly shouted, taking a single step back, "These computers are more valuable than…."

Maral fired another blast, this time landing between Starscream’s legs. Her weapon clicking and charging up, she said to the Decepticon, "Try us."

The Decepticon gulped, nervously looking about for something to use, but found nothing. "Uh…Optimus! Maximals! Listen to me! M-Maybe we can work out a deal! There are more than enough Vectors for us to share here! I-I can be a reasonable ‘bot!" Starscream desperately tried to say.

Gold Blade took a gold arrow from the quiver on her back and placed it on a makeshift crossbow on her forearm, stretching it back and aiming for Starscream’s head. "Deal with a Decepticon? Dream on you twisted freak!" she replied.

As all the Maximals raised up their weapons, Starscream got all the more nervous. "NO! WAIT! PLEASE…" In the middle of his pathetic begging, Starscream backed right into one of the Vector computers. The instant his exostructure touched it, a zap of electricity ran through both Starscream and the computer. For a few seconds he yelled in pain, then fell backwards, his back sizzling as smoke wafted off his body.

At that same time, eight of the Vector computers started glowing brightly. They each spoke out commands that had been triggered. "Vector Alpha: online. Begin spark creation." "Vector Beta: online. Begin spark creation." "Vector Epsilon: online. Begin spark creation." "Vector Psi: online. Begin spark creation…."

The Maximals stepped back, amazed as each Vector computer gathered before it a ball of energy that began to turn into a spark. RedStreak blinked his eyes twice, muttering, "By the Matrix! What’s going on here?!"

Primal stared with wide eyes, barely able to believe it himself. "They’re creating sparks!"

As the sparks became whole, the computers initiated another set of preprogrammed commands. "Vector Alpha: compiling structural form." "Vector Beta: compiling structural form." "Vector Epsilon: compiling structural form." "Vector Psi: compiling structural form…."

Out of each Vector computer shot out a broad beam that surrounded the newly created sparks. The beams hovered in place for a moment, then arced up just a foot above the sparks. Power swept from the computer through the beams, creating glowing matter that enveloped the sparks. The beams passed up and down, forming bodies from the energies gathered within the megacomputers.

Optimus Primal stared at the nine transformers being created before his eyes, marveling at the process. "Incredible," he muttered. A second later, he moaned, a potent migraine overwhelming him. As he fell to his knees, flashes from his memory came before him: Dinobot roaring as he swung his sword; Tigerhawk summoning a lightning storm; Depth Charge locked in combat with his mortal enemy, Rampage.

Botanica grabbed Primal’s arm, holding him up. "Primal, what’s wrong?" she asked.

Just as the new transformers were nearing completion, the opposite side of the building exploded. Galvatron and Shockwave stood there, both in cannon form. Starscream got to his knees and looked up, his eyes widening as his former leader transformed. "GALVATRON!"

Looking down at Starscream with a frown, Galvatron pointed his weapon at him. "You were a fool Starscream! Did you think I’d let you get away so easily?"

Maral quickly pointed her weapon at Galvatron and was about to fire, but Shockwave blasted off her tentacle in an instant. The Quintesson yelled as she grasped the stub that wiggled wildly. Shockwave transformed, pointing his blaster arm at the Maximals. "Anyone else care to try anything so bold?" he asked.

Coyotek balled up his fists and growled. "Yeah…try…ME!" The coyote transformer changed, his trailer linking up from behind to make him a large truck. Blowing his horn loudly, Coyotek charged straight at Shockwave. Shockwave pointed his weapon at the approaching vehicle, but a red sword flew through the air and sliced it in half. RedStreak grinned at Shockwave, his index finger pointed up as silently said, "I don’t think so." Less than a second later, Shockwave was plowed under; twin sets of tire tracks painted over his thick armor.

"Game’s over, Galvatron! You’re outnumbered nine to one now!" Optimus Primal shouted to the Decepticon.

Galvatron glanced at the glowing transformer bodies still standing before the Vector computers, a thought striking him. "We shall see, Maximal." His eyes began to glow a bloody shade of red, as did his chest. "Omegracon!" Galvatron shouted out, "Aid me! Turn these into my minions!"

Rumbling with an eerie voice, Omegracon replied from Galvatron’s chest, "As you wish, my minion…" Out of Galvatron himself blasted out a ray of red light that enveloped five of the eight transformers. For a brief moment, the trapped transformers writhed in pain, but then, slowly, stopped entirely. The deep red light vanished from all but their eyes, which retained its eerie glow.

Primal’s eyes widened as he gasped. "NO!"

The five tainted transformers stood before the Maximals, fists clenched in rage. Galvatron stared at the five and grinned. "Now…DECEPTICONS, ATTACK! DESTROY THE MAXIMALS!" Obediently…and with a bit of joy as well, the new Decepticons flung themselves at Galvatron’s enemies.

The first of the five, black with bits of gold and green in his armor, charged at Optimus Primal. "Vultor…attack!" he shouted. Wings stretched out from his back, his arms turning into talons and a mechanical bird head sprung up from his chest. Without mercy, he swooped down on Primal, clawing and pecking at his chest and arms as he cawed.

The second, a heavily plated red bot, growled as he stared at RazorLeaf and Gold Blade. The two plant-bots flung their weapons at him, but they merely bounced off his hide. "You’re no match for me! Triceradon…attack!" Roaring loudly, he transformed into a huge reptile, the skeletal head of a triceratops swinging around from his back. He charged himself at the two Maximals, butting them hard and sending them hundreds of feet away.

As two more Decepticons charged her, Scaleblade transformed and took to the air. Growling, she opened her dragon mouth and spewed fire at the two. Reacting quickly, the Decepticons transformed as well, taking to the sky as aerial forms too. "Is that all you got, lizard?! Ha! Afterburn…attack!" A purple F-22 slung itself at Scaleblade, his steel wing scratching a tear into one of Scaleblade’s.

The other flying ‘bot chuckled, flying as a black and devious bat. "Heh heh…Chibi-Bat shall feast upon your still pulsating spark! Attack!" The ambitious bat dove at Scaleblade, hoping to bite her long neck.

Scaleblade yelled to Chibi-Bat, "Think again, leather head! ROOOOAR!" Scaleblade blasted fire straight at Chibi-Bat, sending him flying into a wall.

The fifth Decepticon gazed at Rattrap and Botanica. A laser shot from his eye, burning a sizeable hole between them. Botanica reacted quickly, sinking her roots into the cement, then wrapping them around his feet. Detaching herself, she and Rattrap ran like there was no tomorrow.

The Decepticon tugged and pulled at the roots, freeing himself after several minutes. Ripping the roots away, he glanced up to see RedStreak transform into a car and rush him. The Decepticon grabbed him by the fender, stopping him square in his tracks. "You," he said, still holding the car back even as its engine roared, "Can’t defeat me that easily. Know me as…NOVA!" His fingers dug into RedStreak’s armor like it was tinfoil, flinging the car over to the Vector computers.

RedStreak landed upside-down with his wheels still rolling. With effort, he transformed, his armor falling away in his weakened condition. "Oh man…why can’t I ever get one of the easy guys?" he moaned. With that, his head fell to the floor as he passed out.

At the center of RedStreak’s chest, his spark began to glow brightly. At its peak brilliance, three beams of light shot out, hitting the three remaining transformers. The three looked at the bodies, then at one another.

"What the pit happened?" the blue-silver ‘bot asked his counterparts.

"The Matrix…has sent us back to help our comrades," the second, white transformer said.

The third snarled, his red eyes gazing at the battlefield surrounding him. "Matrix-shmatrix!" he snarled, withdrawing a double-edged battle ax from his back, "AT LAST! BATTLE! DINOBOT, ATTACK!"

Optimus Primal, still being attacked by Vultor, glanced to his right and saw an image he never though he’d see again. "D-Dinobot?!" The old lizard-bot roared with his weapon in his arms, charging for the Decepticon hovering over Primal’s body. With one powerful swing of his ax, Dinobot hit Vultor completely off, the bird-bot losing a few metal feathers. Dinobot glanced at Optimus, heaving as he reached down to his old commander.

Optimus smiled and accepted Dinobot’s help. "Welcome back into the fold…Dinobot." Primal welcomed him.

Snarling a bit, Dinobot said to Optimus Primal, "Forget the greetings for the moment, Primal! There is a war going on around us!" He snarled, transforming into a Velociraptor and charging at the next nearest Decepticon.

RedStreak awoke, his vision blurry. Above he saw two strange Maximals, one white and the other blue. They helped him to his feet with surprising strength. The silver-blue one asked, "Are you feeling all right, foxy?"

"Ugh…yeah, I think. But Optimus and the others are in big trouble! We’ve gotta help!" RedStreak said.

"That’s why we’re here," the white transformer said, glancing at his counterpart, "You ready, Depth Charge?"

Pulling out a silver trident, Depth Charge replied, "I was born ready, whiskers! Let’s rock!"

The moment Depth Charge and Tigatron joined, the battle’s tide changed. The new Decepticons and even Galvatron couldn’t withstand the combined forces of the new Maximals, and gradually backed towards the Vector computers, taking cover behind them except for Nova and Vultor, who used their firepower extensively.

Near the battle’s end, Galvatron’s eye caught Starscream slinking off behind his back. "Starscream! You traitor! I’m not finished with you!" he yelled to him, but Starscream transformed, becoming his old fighter plane form. "Decepticons! Forget the Maximals and capture Starscream! That’s a direct order!" Galvatron hollered angrily.

With no argument or resentment, the new Decepticons fled from the battlefield and pursued Starscream instead. The Maximals were left bewildered, but that didn’t weigh on any of the Decepticons’ minds. Chibi-Bat, Vultor, and Afterburn chased Starscream, finally catching up to him and latching onto the fleeing Decepticon.

"AGH! GET OFF ME YOU MISWIRED GLITCHES! YOU’RE…AGH! YOU’RE BURNING ME!" Starscream shouted. As the new Decepticons touched Starscream, the energy Omegracon gave them soaked into Starscream, burning his very spark. Soon a strange glow enveloped them all as Starscream crashed into the far side of the asteroid.

Just as Nova and Triceradon caught up with the others, they too were enveloped by the red power. Almost magnetically, they were pulled toward the four wrestling Decepticons. Starscream, now surrounded by five Decepticons, screamed and hollered in pain. Vultor grabbed him from behind, wrapping his arms around him. Suddenly, the bird-bot became glued to Starscream, bonding with his very body. Afterburn latched onto his left arm, his own body changing into a long purple arm extending from Starscream. Chibi-Bat snapped onto his right arm, while Nova and Triceradon merged with Starscream’s legs.

"NO! NO! THE PAIN! THE PAIN!" Starscream yelled, feeling his very spark become corrupted. Then, under the control of another, his larger body rose up, larger arms and larger legs moving as a pair of wings flexed from behind his back. From behind him, a large head swung over and trapped Starscream fully, changing him into an entirely new transformer.

Breathing in deeply, the new giant’s eyes glowed bright red. As the Maximals, Galvatron, and Shockwave gathered around him, the giant began to speak in a deep, rumbling voice. "Oblivion…awakens. Oblivion…prepared…for battle…"

Galvatron laughed immensely, gazing at his new soldier. "HA! HA! HA! Such a fortunate turn of events! HA! HA!"

Rattrap gulped as he stared up at all ninety feet of the Decepticon. "We’re…we’re…"

RazorLeaf put his hand in front of Rattrap’s mouth, shutting him up for a moment. "Don’t even bother to tell us this time, because we already know it Rattrap," RazorLeaf put it simply.

Dinobot, Depth Charge, and Tigatron also looked up, unable to believe it. The giant proclaiming itself ‘Oblivion’ stepped forward, the ground shaking beneath its feet. It took another step, its eyes focused squarely on the Maximals. "Oblivion…destroy!"

Ironwood stepped up, holding up his fists in readiness. "Ironwood…protect! Ironwood…save friends!" the guardian swore. Without further thought, Ironwood charged at Oblivion with his fists held up to pound the giant Decepticon. Before he could lay a fist on him however, Oblivion grabbed him by the neck, tossing the guardian aside. Ironwood quickly got back up, frowning at Oblivion. He deployed his weapons, firing everything he had at the giant, but to no avail.

As Galvatron laughed and the others stood in disbelief, RedStreak and Coyotek looked to each other. "We’ve gotta help the big guy!" RedStreak suggested.

"I don’t think even Red ‘Tek will stand a chance against that," Coyotek bluntly stated, "But we’ve got no choice. Let’s get big, Streak…."

RedStreak and Coyotek once again merged, the Autobot Red ‘Tek rising in their place. He ran up to Oblivion, grabbing him by the thigh and grunting as he struggled to throw him. Oblivion looked down, snarled, and grabbed Red ‘Tek in his hands. He held up the combiner in his hands, using him as a shield against Ironwood’s potent attacks. Red ‘Tek yelled and groaned in pain, Ironwood stopping when he realized he was hurting a friend. Taking advantage of the situation, Oblivion threw Red ‘Tek at Ironwood, knocking down the guardian like a bowling pin in an alley.

Galvatron laughed and stood beside Oblivion, barely able to contain his joy. "HA! HA! HA! HA! THIS IS ALMOST TOO MUCH TO BELIEVE! YOUR GUARDIAN HAS FAILED, AS HAD YOUR TWO-HEADED FRIEND! NOTHING CAN STAND AGAINST ME NOW! HA! HA!"

Inside the Quintesson structure, the Vector computers began to glow brightly again. Their colors grew brighter, more intense, until they were all brilliant white. At the asteroid’s edge, Oblivion and Galvatron looked toward the structure, now shining like a lighthouse beacon. In a single burst of light, the Vector computers discharged their energy, hitting both Galvatron and Oblivion hard, sending the two off the asteroid completely.

Shockwave quickly followed, flying after his precious leader. "We’ll have to abandon this futile assignment," he mumbled to himself as he activated his com-link, "SkyScourge…is the photon charge ready?"

At the opposite side of the asteroid, on the side of the parked Quintesson ship, SkyScourge clicked on a few buttons, then threw a bomb into a vent he pried open. "Charge set!" he replied to Shockwave, "I’ll summon DarkStar before the fireworks start!" Quickly, SkyScourge flew out of sight, the photon charge still ticking as it clunked its way down the reactor ventilator shaft.

Primal sighed, watching as the Decepticons flew away. "Well, they left…and we still have the Vector computers."

Without warning, an explosion went off on the far side of the asteroid. A flare of plasma and metal debris shot up, shaking the entire asteroid in the process. Then, further complicating the situation, a wormhole formed from the transwarp energy stored within the ship, slowly sucking the asteroid into it. Through its open singularity, they saw the blue image of planet Earth.

"Primal," Depth Charge said, "I think we’re about to go for a little ride…."

In the span of five minutes, the asteroid was first pulled through the wormhole and then thrown across countless light years to the rim of the galaxy, where Earth and Cybertron awaited them. The asteroid fragment was accelerated, and when it emerged from the wormhole’s opposite aperture, it was gunning for planet Earth at a pace that made a bullet seem as slow as a snail.

Maral looked at the Earth and made a few calculations in her cybernetic brain. "By the lords of Quinton, at the speed we’re going not only will we be destroyed, but this asteroid will destroy half of this world’s surface!"

"Well…that won’t leave a good impression." Rattrap joked.

Red ‘Tek thudded up, gazing at the approaching Earth. "This is serious Rattrap. We’ve got to slow this thing down or else countless lives will be destroyed!"

"Eh, you may have twice my brainpower, ol’ Red," Rattrap said sarcastically, "BUT IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, WE DON’T HAVE A SHIP POWERFUL ENOUGH TO SLOW THIS STALE COOKIE DOWN!"

Red ‘Tek glanced at the Earth again, its blue surface growing wider, then at the Maximals. "I think I have a plan…but it’s going to take all our firepower to pull it off. Everyone…to the edge of this rock!"

All eleven Maximals, plus the Quintesson and guardian, stood at the asteroid’s approaching edge, the Earth looming ever larger. Maral made another calculation, saying, "In approximately another six cycles, we’ll be hitting the atmosphere!"

"What’s your plan, Red ‘Tek?" Optimus Primal asked, looking up at the large transformer.

The large Autobot pulled out his coyote blaster, clicking the safety off and adjusting its various settings. "I’m setting my sonic blaster to its maximum power and range," Red ‘Tek began to explain, "If I can sustain it for long enough, my weapon should create a counter-shockwave that will slow us down. Ironwood should be able to assist by firing his engines at full thrust to further break our speed."

"Well, what about the rest of us?" RazorLeaf asked.

His weapon set, Red ‘Tek replied, turning to RazorLeaf, "I need the rest of you to fire your weapons at the counter-shockwave’s focus. The combined force should be enough to resist the forces we’ll be experiencing, but we have to fire at the exact same instant!" Red ‘Tek pointed his blaster straight ahead, holding it tightly as he aimed it. "Maral, what’s our time?"

Maral replied nervously, "One point…two cycles."

"All right everyone," Primal said, "Unload everything you’ve got on Red ‘Tek’s command!"

The Earth grew larger still, the blue tint of its upper atmosphere growing in intensity. Maral started the countdown, sounding each nano-click as it passed. "Fifteen clicks, fourteen clicks, thirteen clicks, twelve…" The Maximals held their weapons steadily, preparing for the moment. "Ten clicks, nine clicks, eight…"

"Oh man, I hope this works," Rattrap gulped, his gun rattling in his hand.

"As do I…" Red ‘Tek also said.

The final nano-clicks came. "Four clicks, three clicks, two clicks, one…zero." With a mighty roar, Red ‘Tek’s blaster started to howl. The atmosphere rushed at them like a wave. The blast hit hard, Red ‘Tek digging his feet deep into the rocky ground as he struggled to stand. A shell formed around the asteroid, preventing it from vaporizing.

"EVERYONE! NOW!" Red ‘Tek yelled. Optimus Primal shot out his energy spheres in rapid succession, Botanica, Dinobot, Rattrap, and Depth Charge shooting lasers from their eyes and weapons. Scaleblade blasted out flames in her dragon mode while RazorLeaf and Gold Blade flung their explosive arrows and blades out. A wall of fire formed, further strengthening the protective shell surrounding them.

"IRONWOOD…FIRE YOUR THRUSTERS NOW!" Red ‘Tek yelled to the guardian.

The guardian grunted in compliance and jumped off. Grabbing onto the rock ledge, he clung to the asteroid as he stretched his legs out with his engines facing the planet. His engines fired, blue flames spewing out furiously. The asteroid slowed, but just barely. The Earth’s atmosphere fought them, throwing everything it had. Their power reserves dwindled rapidly, Ironwood’s rockets reaching critical temperature.

The largest meteor ever streaked across the Atlantic Ocean and most of Eurasia, turning light into day as it passed over various cities, roads, and farms. In the Far East, people looked up to see a huge fireball rising like a red sun over the horizon. People panicked, clearing out of the way as the fireball passed less than a hundred feet above the ground. It passed over the Sea of Japan, heading toward the island nation itself.

"HOLY SWISS CHEESE! WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE!" Rattrap screamed as he saw skyscrapers approaching.

"SHUTT UP RATTRAP!" everyone shouted.

The asteroid broke the sound barrier, slowing further down as it encountered resistance. It got lower and lower to the horizon, so low that it started skidding across the water as it entered Tokyo Bay. Red ‘Tek looked ahead, seeing the shore approaching still too rapidly. He yelled loudly, then aimed the blaster at the water dead ahead, firing into it.

A wall of water erupted from the bay, drenching both the speeding asteroid and the shore. Cars, trucks, and even a few swimmers from the beach found themselves floating down the streets in shallow water. When the water drained away, everybody looked to the bay, finding a huge rock sitting barely twenty feet away from shore. Ironwood emerged from the water, frightening a few locals as he hacked up some water. He glanced up at the asteroid, hoping his friends were alive.

The Maximals awoke, exhausted beyond belief. Coyotek and RedStreak crawled over the edge and looked down at the water. They glanced at each other and smiled. "It was a crazy idea…but it worked." Coyotek said. RedStreak chuckled, then collapsed on the rock.

Optimus Primal and Maral got up, looking over the bay and the asteroid itself. "It appears we…survived…despite the astronomical odds," Maral simply stated, "And both the planet and the asteroid are intact!"

Glancing at the central structure housing the Vector computers, the setting sun shinning behind them, Primal commented, "Yes…but now that we possess the remaining Vector computers, it’s only a matter of time before the Decepticons arrive here."