Generation’s End: Part 1
A fanfic by Bill T. Taylor
a.k.a. RedStreak
“This is it, Autobots,” Optimus Prime uttered, “What we’ve been waiting for over nine million years now.”
Optimus Prime stood over a large, flat holographic map table. Three others, each standing on one side of the great square table, were with Prime. Ultra Magnus, Prime’s second-in-command, was across from him. To his right, Perceptor, and to his left, Wrek-Gar, stood respectively.
“This is a risky move Prime,” warned Ultra Magnus, “We’ve been waging war against the Decepticons for…who knows how long now.”
“Long enough I’d say,” Prime stated frankly, “It’s time to end it for good.”
Ultra Magnus was still cautious. “But Prime, this isn’t the first such strike we’ve lead against them. There’s been times when we thought we wiped them out…but they keep popping back up time and time again!”
“Yes, like Earth cockroaches to draw a human-biased comparison,” Perceptor stated.
Wrek-Gar slammed his fist into his open palm. “Cockroaches a problem? Use RAID! Kills bugs dead! Once-in-a-life opportunity! Supplies going fast!” the Junkion said in his bizarre language.
As Ultra Magnus and Perceptor were left with blank stares, Prime gave a rough translation of Wrek-Gar’s words. “What Wrek-Gar means is we need a whole new approach, and we have a limited chance to stop them once and for all. We could drag this war out for another millennium, but I won’t have it.” He glanced toward Perceptor specifically. “Perceptor, is the fleet prepped?”
Perceptor glanced down at the holographic map. He clicked on a few icons, a large gold sphere representing Cybertron materializing with a few moons beside it. Several moving triangular icons littered the scene, many grouped in one sector. “They’re ready Prime, but this is a grave risk,” Perceptor cited Ultra Magnus’ warning, “We’ve pulled in over half the patrol ships and a significant portion of our Iacon guard. Cybertron’s defenses are drawn thin.”
Prime stepped away from the battle hologram and up toward a large, single seat before a large screen. The great Autobot leader, his back to his men, said, “It is a risk we must take…if we wish to end this meaningless cycle of war.” He took his seat at the bridge. “Let’s do it.”
Optimus Prime’s huge command carrier glided away from Cybertron into dark space. Both beside and behind, tens of Autobot ships flew. A wide variety of ships there were, large cruisers to small scouts, each with a wide range of armaments. All bore the Autobots’ insignia prominently on their bronze and gold hulls.
Rocket engines revved, energon-fueled fires burning bright. Ahead of the command carrier, a ripple formed, the beginnings of a transwarp portal. Each vessel moved in upon it, one by one appearing to vanish. Prime’s carrier, the last of the fleet, then moved in, joining what would become the last battle of the Great War itself.
“You seein’ what I’m seeing?” Chip softly whispered.
Rewind’s optics perceived it as well. “Yeah,” he replied to the Headmaster human, “Prime’s not gonna believe this alright.”
Behind the narrow slits of the vent, Motormaster, Dragstrip, and Runamok were carrying large canisters. They dropped them beside a large transparent cylinder, at the heart of which was a hovering, glowing green crystal, lightning of the same color flickering off it. Other Decepticons took the canisters and inserted them into slots within the large cylinder.
“Looks like an antimatter generator. Man…Galvatron must have some bearings to install one of those. Looks like Perceptor was right…he’s planning to revitalize Char and turn it into a working fortress, just like Galvinok,” Rewind further said.
“Let’s get going,” advised Chip, “No telling how much longer our signature dampers will last before the Decepticons become aware of us….”
The duo rumbled through the air ducts as stealthily as possible. At a junction, they encountered Eject and Steeljaw. Eject, pointing toward the duct he and his feline counterpart came from, said, “Managed to get a partial download of Galvatron’s military computer; had to eject outta there before Six-shot and Octane walked in. How did your mission go?”
“More than we feared,” Chip stated, “Galvatron’s trying to bring the whole planet back online once again.”
Eject kicked open a large vent behind them. “Terrific,” he muttered. The four of them jumped through, landing outside. Just a few yards away lay RedStreak in starfighter mode, waiting impatiently in his inert state.
“About time you four showed up! You know how disconcerting it is to think you might have lost your head?” the Autobot griped.
Chip laughed a little, opening Red’s canopy. “I imagine it is,” he said to RedStreak. Hopping in, he opened a small cassette-track built into RedStreak’s controls. “Alright Cassetticons,” Chip said to Eject, Rewind, and Steeljaw, “Time to transform and get the heck out of here!”
Eject and Rewind leaped into the air, their arms and legs folding and heads retracting as they shrank down into gray and blue cassettes, landing one after another into the tape deck. Steeljaw cringed and growled a little, never fond of the camp space in there.
“Come on Steeljaw!” Chip said to the cat-bot.
The feline finally submitted, bolting up and transforming like his humanoid counterparts before. Once inside the tape deck, Chip closed it as well as the canopy above him. Strapping himself in, he said to RedStreak, “Alright ‘bots, let’s hit the sky.”
Confidently, RedStreak said as his transwarp engines began to power up, “Heh, they won’t even know we’ve been here!” A series of VTOL thrusters slowly hoisted RedStreak up, then arced him up. In the next moment, RedStreak vanished with a trail of red fire that briefly lit the sky.
On the ground, Soundwave watched as the Autobot vanished as a short-lived red star. He looked to his hand, holding a tracking device. Even at three billion kilometers distance, RedStreak’s position was noted. Soundwave clicked on his com-link, reporting in, “Soundwave to Galvatron…tracking device on Autobot reconnaissance force functional. Location of Autobot fleet shall be known within a megacycle.”
Over the ragged, crescent-shaped planet Junkion, a transwarp gate opened. In the next instant, it sealed back up into the void. Behind it was Prime’s great fleet, fully assembled and nearly prepared. Prime’s massive carrier lead the way toward Junkion, the collective of ships entering orbit above the trash-heap of a world.
“Optimus Prime to Springer,” Prime radioed to one of the larger ships. When Springer’s image appeared on the monitor before him, he said to the triple-changer, “Maintain the fleet in an orbital perimeter around Junkion, Springer. I need to confirm with preparations planet-side.”
Springer nodded, then the monitor switched off. Wrek-Gar, approaching Prime’s seat, said, “Ah…returnin’ to da home on da’ range?”
“Yes Wrek-Gar,” Prime replied, his gaze fixed ahead, “We need every Autobot’s aid in this matter, from Cybertron, Kaon, and Junkion. This is also where Redstreak is scheduled to return once his recon of Char is complete.”
The massive carrier descended, the bulk of the fleet slowly circling above. It soared over the broad expanses of rusted scrap piles and mountains of garbage. Below, at one of the tribal gatherings, numerous Junkions, and among their numbers Blaster and Quickswitch, glanced up as the great warship landed in the midst of their village.
A ramp deployed; Prime, Perceptor, and Wrek-Gar walking down and mingling with the native Junkion population, who were excited by the arrival from Cybertron. As Wrek-Gar spoke with his friends and family, Prime immediately went to Blaster and Quickswitch. “How are preparations here going?” he asked.
“A bit hard to understand the locals with all that TV static in their throats,” Blaster frankly said, “But everyone’s going a-okay!”
“And what of RedStreak? Has he returned yet?” Prime said, looking to Quickswitch.
The six-changer shook his head. “Negative. He hasn’t returned from Char just yet….”
Suddenly a flash of red light streaked across the sky. In a sharp sweep, a familiar starfighter flew straight into the gathering of transformers, its skids deploying and scrapping through the littered ground like some giant snowmobile. As the Junkions parted around it, the craft slowed to a halt, its forward half splitting into two legs and the rear shifting, forming into a more robotic shape.
From the cockpit bolted out three cassettes that grew and took the forms of Steeljaw, Rewind, and Eject. Chip also jumped out but transformed to merge into the full form of RedStreak, who stood over the trio of Autobot Cassetticons. Saluting Prime, RedStreak smiled proudly as he said, “RedStreak and recon force reporting in, Prime!”
“Looks like you spoke too soon, Quickswitch, welcome back, RedStreak,” congratulated Prime as he stretched out a hand to shake. He next looked to the Cassetticons, asking, “Well, were you and Chip able to find anything on Char?”
“More than we feared, Prime,” Rewind stated forthright, “Galvatron’s not only restoring his base there, but trying to revitalize the planet itself.”
Perceptor, standing behind Prime, put a hand on his shoulder. “There’s a good chance at least part of those ruins from the extinct indigenous civilization are still functional, Prime. The Decepticons might be trying to make use of them.”
“Only Galvatron would find a way to turn a dead planet into a war machine; still, this doesn’t change our plans for engaging him there. Blaster, download the data from Rewind, Eject, and Steeljaw and get to work analyzing a strategy with Ultra Magnus and Perceptor,” Prime ordered.
As RedStreak stood there, the Junkions seemed to stare at him with amazement and bewilderment. “Wow…waxed and finished surfaces!” one said, looking at RedStreak’s wings. Another gently grabbed an arm. “Polished and refined to custom styling!”
“Hey! What the heck?” RedStreak muttered, feeling rather uncomfortable.
Blaster laughed. “Heh! Looks like being the latest off the assembly-line makes you the most popular ‘bot on Junkion RedStreak! They probably haven’t seen a piece of metal as shiny as you for decacycles!”
As the curious Junkions looked over RedStreak closely, one found something on the back of his head. “Bewwo!” the Junkion said, popping off a small, beeping chip, “Whatcha suppose diz eez…eh?” More and more Junkions crowed about, wondering what the strange device could be.
Wrek-Gar plucked the device from them and held it out before the other Autobots. “Holy slag! A Decepticon beacon!” Blaster said in disbelief. Snatching it, he further said, ready to crush it in his palm, “They must have pinned it on Red during his mission! They’ve probably tracked its beam halfway here already! I’m crush it before those Decepti-goons can….”
Optimus Prime grabbed Blaster’s wrist. “Wait Blaster,” Prime stopped him, “This just might be what we need.”
“But Prime! We can’t let them find us here!” protested Perceptor.
“Oh yes we can,” Prime countered. Holding the chip in his fingers, the Autobot leader further said, “This just might be the diversion we need to stop Galvatron and the Decepticons for good.” He glanced to Wrek-Gar, gazing eye-to-eye with the Junkion. “However, we’ll need the Junkions’ help…and for them to take a grave risk I must say.”
Back in Decepticon space, within the veils of the Karicon Nebula enveloping Char, Galvatron’s command ship Kaon hovered in place, Char itself distantly visible as a dark speck against the nebula’s vibrant clouds.
On the bridge, Soundwave emerged and stepped forward to Galvatron on his throne. He ejected Frenzy, Rumble, Ravage, and Lazerbeak, who all humbly bowed before the lord of all Decepticons. Soundwave then looked to his commander, telling him, “Decepticon beacon tagged to Autobot spy has been confirmed, Galvatron. The Autobot armada is gathering near planet of junk. Situation…in our favor. Preemptive strike suggested.”
“Excellent,” Galvatron said, swiveling his chair away from Soundwave’s direction. Gazing at Char through his window, he said, “Soundwave, I wish for you to return to Char with Six-shot. Ensure that…all goes according to my plan.”
Standing upright, Soundwave assured his lord, “All shall go to your plan, Galvatron. Restoration of ancient planetary power grid will be completed. Construction and launch of antimatter missiles to Cybertron shall be undertaken.”
Galvatron, still fixated upon Char, muttered, “You have no idea how important it is to prepare Char. I know what Prime is thinking…as I’ve known him for so long.” Recalling the ancient days long past, as Megatron, Galvatron uttered, “His spark grows tired of war…and ironically, so has mine. He plans to strike us down…fully and permanently. Ironically…my plan for the Autobots as well.”
Onboard Prime’s carrier, Prime conferred with Ultra Magnus, Perceptor, and Blaster on the implementation of his plan. Once more they gathered around the holographic projector, displaying in three-dimensional form Junkion and Char. He focused first on the image of Char, selecting and enlarging its diagram first.
“Our primary target, Autobots, is the antimatter production facility on Char,” Prime stated, the sphere representing Char rotating with a blinking Decepticon icon on it representing the facility, “If we can detonate the main reactor, it should not only destroy the base housing it but emit an electrostatic discharge that will spread over the entire planet.”
A simulated wave of energy spread out from the icon, engulfing the sphere of Char before expanding further out. “Such a discharge would wipe out all electromechanical life both on Char and in near-orbit. The Decepticons would be terminated where they stood, but…such a blast would prove…equally fatal to Autobots,” Perceptor further said.
Ultra Magnus overlooked the battle map. “Surely Galvatron would realize this too. His defense forces alone would be….”
“Taken into account as well,” Perceptor said, pushing another button. In a great ring about the sphere, violet-colored wedges encircled Char, representing ships and defense platforms, with a few crisscrossing at different angles and altitudes. “We’ve learned from the military files gathered that Galvatron’s keeping Char under lock and key. A great deal of his troops and resources have been diverted to Char, primarily for defense.”
“Great and all, but shouldn’t we be worried about them heading for us right now?” Blaster pointed out, “Prime, you’ve still got that beacon switched on! The Decepticons should be heading this way any nano-click!”
“They are, Blaster,” stated Prime, “and that’s the second half of my strategy.” The projector switched to a simulation of Junkion, with a sizeable fleet of Decepticons approaching it. “From what we’ve gathered, the Decepticons already have a strike force en route. With the native Junkions’ help, we shall keep them preoccupied here, while our own fleet distracts Galvatron’s defenses at Char…allowing a single infiltration unit to penetrate the targeted facility and detonate the antimatter.”
“Say, not bad!” Blaster applauded the plan, but further asked, “But whose going to Char? Must be someone with some brass bearings alright.” Optimus Prime looked to Blaster silently for a moment, as did Perceptor and Ultra Magnus. Blaster’s eyes widened a little in surprise. “Me?”
“This job fits you to a T, Blaster,” Ultra Magnus told the communications Autobot.
“You won’t be going alone though on this risky mission,” Prime assured Blaster, “Skylynx will transport you, and Eject and Rewind will accompany and assist you in placing the charge for remote detonation. It won’t be a piece of basic programming, but with a little luck…we just might bring this war to an end at last.”
The fateful moment came. Barely half a megacycle after the meeting, Blaster stood before Skylynx’s open ramp. Behind him gleamed the golden finish of Prime’s carrier, and before him were Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus themselves, standing resolute. To his right were Eject, Rewind, Steeljaw, and Ramhorn. Steeljaw gave a weary growl, to which Blaster reached down and patted the loyal cat-bot’s head.
“Sorry Steel-boy, this is one mission I have to do myself. I’ll be back for you,” Blaster said, petting Steeljaw’s head. Steeljaw purred, but still looked on wearily as Blaster, Eject, and Rewind began to ascend the ramp.
Perceptor halted Blaster a moment. “Here Blaster, this is…what you will need.” He presented him an oblong device with a small, built-in timer on one side. With a long face, Perceptor said, “If…things do not go quite as planned, I’ve added a thirty-nano-click timer as a last resort that you can trigger. Also, be warned, the casing is fragile. A single targeted shot will cause the device to explode.” The scientist then shook Blaster’s hand. “Take care, friend. Our fates depend on you now.”
Blaster nodded…but then drew a smile on his face. “Hey, take it easy with the sad goodbyes, man!” he told his comrades, “It’s not like I won’t be coming back!” With that, Blaster opened his chest, Eject and Rewind transforming and stowing within. He then marched inside Skylynx, the ramp sealing up as Skylynx’s engines powered up.
“Take care, Blaster,” Prime said, saluting the departing Autobot. Optimus stood there until Skylynx’s visage became indiscernible in the black distance. Returning his full attention to the situation at hand, Prime said aloud, “Alright Autobots…this is it.”
Springer caught sight of Skylynx just before he entered transwarp. “There, Blaster and Skylynx are on the way.” He radioed to the rest of the fleet, “Alright Autobots, that’s the signal to form up! Prepare for transwarp jump to Char in two cycles! Charge all guns to maximum…ready all missiles.” Reaching for the thrust controls, Springer cranked it up to full throttle. “We’re going into this battle with lasers blazing alright….”
A transwarp portal took form, and without haste all the Autobot vessels, save Optimus Prime’s carrier on Junkion, flew straight into it and certain battle. Then, barely an instant after it sealed back up…over a dozen more ships arrived…Decepticon ships.
Cyclonus, Galvatron’s lieutenant, lead the strike force himself. Flying in space plane form, he scanned the region around Junkion, his battle computer analyzing and downloading tactical data onto his interior cockpit monitor. There was the planet of junk and what debris native to its vicinity, but nary a sign of the Autobots…save for the beacon Soundwave had managed to plant on that spying Autobot.
“What is this? That beacon should be leading us dead to the Autobot fleet, not this husk of a planetoid! Err,” growled Cyclonus, “Perhaps Galvatron’s suspicions were correc…wait a moment….”
He magnified a hilly section of the crescent-shaped planet. There, amid the fields of endless rubbish and metal scrap, was a large Autobot carrier. “Prime’s ship! Heh…perhaps there shall be a battle after all!” Cyclonus swept down, the swarm of ships following like a great swarm of steel hornets.
Prime was onboard his carrier, watching from his command chair. The Decepticons were now within four clicks of the planet and approaching fast, like wolves upon a dying moose. “Alright, this is it men!”
Before him, Ultra Magnus, RedStreak, and Quickswitch were manning the gun turret controls. Stealthily, from hidden ports in the armored gold hull, blasters deployed and took aim. Ultra Magnus, eyeing his monitor closely, had his crosshairs dead-center upon one Decepticon ship. “Ready Prime,” he uttered to his commander.
Outside, Wrek-Gar and one of his general Junkions stood out in the open, watching the sky with steely eyes. He briefly clicked the com-link within his chest on, saying to Prime, “Looks like eh storm’s brewing into town! All de children strapped and tucked in!”
Optimus’ eyes were on the central monitor, the enemy fleet now within two clicks of Junkion, within his carrier’s firing range. “Wait for it…” he told his soldiers. On the screen, the proximity alarm started beeping, the distance counter growing ever narrower.
1.8 clicks…1.7 clicks…1.6 clicks…1.5 clicks…1.4 clicks…1.3 clicks…1.2 clicks…1.1 clicks….
“NOW!” yelled Prime at the top of his resounding voice.
All around Prime’s carrier the neighboring hills and fields of trash seemed to erupt. Massive anti-spacecraft guns literally sprang from the ground, Junkions already at the controls and targeting the Decepticons. The massive ground battery fired into the musty sky, immediately joined by the barrels of the carrier’s turrets. “Let’s give them hell!” Wrek-Gar blared as the sound of laser fire filled the air.
Explosions went off in the atmosphere. One by one the myriad Decepticon ships exploded like fireworks. Prime watched the monitor with surprise. “What the…no, there’s something amiss here.”
RedStreak, daring to glance back at Prime while the battle still loomed, asked, “What do you mean? We’re trashing the Pit out of them! I thought that was a good thing!”
Optimus Prime stood up from his chair. “No! Even a dead-on shot can’t disintegrate an entire armored and shielded Decepticon warship! Perceptor…those can’t be Decepticon ships!”
Perceptor, manning a sensor post toward the rear of the bridge, shook his head. “No…no, no, no! My instruments are telling me those ARE Decepticon ships! Decepticon power signatures, crew life-signs, engine exhaust….”
“Then why aren’t they FIRING BACK?” Ultra Magnus shouted, “I’ve shot down eleven ships in three cycles, and not one has shot back!”
Chip, inside RedStreak’s head, further added, “Yeah…not so much as a pea-shooter being fired! This is weird….”
“Or the biggest illusion Galvatron’s created. Autobots! Hold your fire!” Prime ordered.
“Are you offline? Every sensor I’ve got is reading….” Perceptor began to protest.
“THOSE READINGS ARE FALSE! IT’S A TRICK!” Prime hollered to Perceptor.
Suddenly, a sick laughter filled the cockpit. It was an incoming transmission! First one voice, then two voices laughing. Perceptor, Optimus Prime, RedStreak, Quickswitch, and Ultra Magnus gazed out the narrow window of the bridge. As the last of the Decepticon ships seemingly exploded, Cyclonus alone remained, transforming and hovering above the battlefield.
“Congratulations on a repeat of your first battle on Earth!” Galvatron declared. Beside Cyclonus, a giant image of Galvatron’s face was projected, an evil, broad smile on it.
“Your first battle on Earth?” Quickswitch muttered, he and the others looking to Optimus Prime. Suddenly, something shuttered just outside the carrier. Ultra Magnus and RedStreak glanced out, finding a burning Decepticon ship at their portside…or rather what appeared to be the hollowed-out shell of one.
“Drones!” Ultra Magnus said, “Decepticon drone ships!”
“Exactly like my first planned battle on Earth,” Prime uttered, gazing distantly at the burning husk outside, “We hoped to draw the Decepticons to us using a giant hologram…but Megatron sent cheap, robotic drones of his forces instead of fighting himself.”
“Oh Primus! You’re saying this…was all one big diversion…on US?!” RedStreak’s voice cracked.
“Now, Optimus Prime, the tables are turned, as I…anticipated this repeated strategy,” boldly spoke Galvatron, “But…I’ve learned from my mistakes, unlike you! Heh heh…hahahaha!”
The hologram of Galvatron faded, and in its place, a conical rocket was, a strange new drone ship. No…not a drone ship…a missile; a large and very armed missile.
Cyclonus, transforming back to his flight mode, said, “Farewell Optimus Prime! This shall be but a taste of what your Autobots, and Cybertron itself, shall soon feel of the weapons of Char!” As Cyclonus rocketed off, the missile rocketed toward the planet as hundreds of Junkions about the battlefield and Prime from his carrier watched.
“Perceptor, what is that thing?” Optimus insisted upon knowing as the warhead plummeted.
“Analyzing, analyzing,” Perceptor said, waiting for a reading from ship sensors, “Oh Primus…it’s an antimatter warhead…configured to blast out an electrostatic charge!”
“They’re going to wipe out all of us here!” Ultra Magnus realized.
On the horizon, the missile touched the ground. With a great rumble, a yellow-white plume erupted over the limb of Junkion. A shockwave tore through the planet, great waves literally rolling through the landscape, knocking everyone off their feet and away from the initial blast. However, mere seconds later, several Junkions, tossed from their turrets, watched as a dull blue and semi-transparent dome grew out from point-zero. They had no time to get up, for it passed over them like an immeasurable wave. For a split-second they screamed, and then sparked, twitching for a few seconds longer as their bodies and the very ground beneath them turned gray and crumbled apart.
The electrostatic wave was now sweeping across the landscape of Junkion in all directions. In the span of a minute, two-thirds of the planet and its natives was decimated, with Wrek-Gar and Prime’s carrier waiting on the far end…Galvatron’s weapon coming for them next.
An even larger battle was being raged in orbit around the burned-out world of Char. Several large Decepticon warships with an accompanying flotilla of Decepticon destroyers and fighters were instantly upon the Autobot fleet. They easily repelled the invaders, further backed by a few of the multiple defense platforms, each the size of asteroids that ringed around the planet.
A giant disruptor blast was fired from the orbiting defense platform, striking and utterly destroying one of two diving Autobot vessels. Springer piloted the surviving vessel, yelling madly as he dived and dropped a series of cluster bombs on the massive battle station. His attempt to avenge his wing-ship was futile, for only a few turrets out of dozens were taken down and mere scratches left in the otherwise impregnable Decepticon armor.
“SLAG! THIS IS PURE SLAUGHTER!” Springer yelled out as he steered his ship away from the main defenses, dodging turret fire, “Prime said it would be just the defenses, NOT THE ENTIRE DECEPTICON STAR FLEET! WE’RE GETTING OUR SKIDPLATES SERIOUSLY FRIED OUT HERE!” To himself Springer prayed, “Skylynx…get Blaster down there and blow that bomb PRONTO!”
In the distance, away from the battle, the warship Kaon waited perfectly still. Onboard, in the large observation deck, Scourge and Galvatron watched beneath a transparent dome as the Autobot fleet found itself overwhelmed and overpowered against the Decepticons.
“Look at it Scourge, isn’t it beautiful?” asked Galvatron, gazing with wonder-lust as the shining laser light and explosions, “More magnificent than the spires of Cybertron or the broad, ravaged mesas of Char. Magnificent….”
“It is,” Scourge agreed, equally pleased as Galvatron, “Before…I…I doubted you, thought you were but a madman. But now I see you are more brilliant and uncanny than ever.”
Galvatron gave a sinister chuckle. “Madness brings out the best in us all.” The overjoyed Decepticon lord sighed happily. Bringing his hands together with fingertips just touching, Galvatron spoke, “Prime and the Junkions gone…the Autobot fleet lost…and Cybertron weak and vulnerable.”
Scourge raised a clench fist and smiled. “Ours for the taking at last!”
“No,” Galvatron spoke, “I’m through with Cybertron. It’s a pitiful scrap of metal long past it’s time…or it will be after my engines of destruction finish with it.”
A soft beeping attracted the audio receptors of Galvatron. From the floor beside him rose a single rod, a flat-screen console unfolding and presenting itself before him. On it was a short-range map, at the edge of which was a single blip that slowly moved across the screen. Galvatron smiled.
“Ah…an Autobot intruder approaches us from our rear flanks. It gladdens me to think Prime at last accepts the need for…deception…but alas, I anticipated this maneuver from him as well,” Galvatron said, typing in a specific sequence on the console.
Blaster sat at Skylynx’s forward bridge. “You sure a bird like you can slip by unnoticed?” Blaster frankly asked, “I’m sure in no mood to be in a turkey shoot about now!”
“Relax Blaster, Skylynx is here!” assured the space shuttle Autobot, “I’m the best flyer in the entire Autobot fleet! I swear on my wings I’ll get you to and from Char safely….”
KA-BOOM!
A well-aimed shot from the Kaon hit Skylynx’s flank, exploding one of his crucial propellant tanks and sending him into a death spiral. He yelled and bucked, transforming to griffon form in hopes of steadying himself better. His right wing was damaged by the blast as well, barely able to flap or adjust itself.
Blaster gripped his seat as best as possible, but Skylynx shook and sharply swerved left and right in wide turns. “SLAG IT SKYLYNX! WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED TO SAFE AND SOUND?!” he yelled to his ride.
“Agh! My starboard side…blasted! Steering mechanisms and ailerons…locking up! Hang on! This is going to be…MUCH ROUGHER OF A LANDING THAN I THOUGHT! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
Galvatron and Scourge now watched as a tiny, flaming contrail streaked down toward a remote and deserted region of Char. There was a brilliant flash...a mere pin-point of light from their distant orbit but no doubt a glorious crash.
As Scourge laughed, Galvatron sinisterly said to himself, “Thus ends the reign of the Autobots and their new golden age on Cybertron; thus ends…the Great War of all transformers.”
To Be Continued...