Published August 2nd, 2013
Chapter Twenty: Landfall
When they had returned inside, Dark Lance grouped everyone around the holo-table. He turned it on, and a map of the area came up.
"Alright, now that we know the situation with Bloodwing and his team, we can concentrate on the protoform. Here's where we are," he pointed to a spot near the south-east edge of the forest, "here's where the Decepticons are," he pointed to the side of a mountain to their north, "and here's where the protoform will be landing." He pointed to an area on the west side of the forest, near town. "We need to get over there, and secure the landing site as soon as the pod comes down. The locals are going to see, and they are going to investigate, but the princesses have already said that they will be coming down to keep them out, although Celestia wants the pod for study. She is the ruler here, and we don't particularly need the pod itself once the protoform is out, so I'm inclined to hand it over. There aren't any systems on it that I can think of that would cause any sort of conflict or catastrophe, so unless anyone here has a proper concern or complaint to do otherwise, I can't see any reason not to let them have it." None of the others brought up any ideas, so he continued. "Alright. The next problem is, as usual, the Decepticons. They'll be watching for the pod, and they'll come running as soon as they have a bead on it. Burnout, you'll be on activation duty. Chances are the princesses will have guards with them, so we shouldn't have to worry about the Changelings too much. That said, Bloodwing will be even more violent because of that. I'll try to keep him as far away as possible, but the rest of you will have to ensure that Burnout is undisturbed while she works. Sharpedge will probably be the biggest threat in that regard. As long as Fireburst is concentrating elsewhere, he's not a problem, but Sharpedge is focused. Skybreaker, you'll need to keep up with her step for step, or she'll use even the smallest opportunity to blow past you. Wingshift, you'll be fighting Fireburst. He knows most of your moves now, but I need Bunker to stay near Burnout and the protoform. If Crosswire gets to that pod, it's all over. And if Sharpedge does somehow manage to slip past Skybreaker, he'll need the extra firepower to help push her back again. Everyone got all that?" He was met with confident nods all around. "Good. Now, let's figure out our placement."
----------------------------------------
"What do you mean you didn't know!?!" Bloodwing roared at the Queen as Fireburst and Sharpedge flanked her, all three in their robot forms. She was truly afraid at this point, as they were all taller than her, and obviously unconcerned with her power or station. Normally, she would also have her army to call upon as well, but Crosswire had already proven his effectiveness at keeping the drones out of her throne room, as evidenced by the corpse up against the wall next to her bedroom door, laying in a growing pool of green blood. She shuddered, both at the sight of her dead minion as well as the thoughts of what the three angry Cybertronians in front of her were planning to do. Bloodwing suddenly grabbed her by the horn, pulling her face close to his. "How could you have possibly been unaware of his abilities? He's been here for millennia, surely you must have needed his power at some point!" Chrysalis took a breath to steel her nerves, and regained some semblance of a confident posture.
"The Hive has not operated with power as a priority for generations. We focus our efforts on stealth and deception, not combat and killing. The need for a truly powerful warrior has not arisen since my great grandmother's rule, when one of her drones was captured and interrogated. He revealed the location of the Hive, and they were forced to defend themselves. I am not such an incompetent leader as to repeat that sort of mistake." She glared at him, and he threw her back with a growl.
"Well, then what good are you? You don't have any powerful warriors, you don't have the resources to train one, and you can't spare enough troops to make any real difference in a fight." He paused, trying to think of some way he could use the Changelings. He glanced out the balcony door to the cavern beyond, and something he found rather creative occurred to him. "Ah. I know. You can dig up Energon for us." Chrysalis's jaw fell. "What? Too good to be miners? You've already shown that your species is fully capable of digging tunnels. Now you'll just be looking for something while you do it. And keeping us active means that you'll never starve. That seems fair, doesn't it?" The Queen bit her tongue lightly, thinking of what could happen to her hive if she didn't find a way out of this situation. Not finding any other ways to save her subjects, she bowed her head and nodded. "I knew you'd see it my way. Don't worry, with the amount of Energon crystals your horde will be able to dig up, and after some... recruiting, we should be able to provide ample sustenance for you from the way our bodies change the radiation. All you have to do is not let them explode." With that, he beckoned to the others and strode to the balcony. They all returned to their beast modes, and flew out.
----------------------------------------
Two hours later, Ponyville Outskirts
Dark Lance looked around at the guards Luna and Celestia had brought with them. All were on full alert, and the Princesses themselves were overseeing the operation. With the combined threat of the Decepticons and the Changelings, Equestria's rulers obviously weren't taking any chances. Celestia had even brought her pet pheonix, and the town had already been warned to stay away, so all they had to do was make sure Burnout had time to activate the protoform's systems without being interrupted. Lance brought up his internal map, making sure everyone was in position. Satisfied they were ready, he turned his attention skyward, and activated his long-range sensors to detect the stasis pod when it entered the atmosphere. A few short minutes later, and the first flashes of the meteor shower began to appear. Before long, the sky was streaked with light, and Dark Lance opened his comm link to the others.
"Alright, everyone, get ready. The pod will be coming down soon, and Bloodwing will be right behind it. Stick to the plan, and stay on your target. Ready?" A chorus of affirmation came back through his link, and he turned to nod to Luna. She lit her horn, and searched for the meteor that she had marked as the collider. She found it in short time, and started a countdown to contact. At zero, everyone looked up, and searched the streaking lights for the one that stayed lit. It was noticed quickly, and all present followed its descent as it turned and started heading towards them. The Autobots all activated their internal targeting systems, estimating further trajectory of the falling pod. When they had it, they started running and flying towards the landing zone, with the ponies following close behind. The pod's impact made a large opening through the forest's canopy, and dug a long furrow in the ground below. Burnout was next to it almost immediately, using a spare coolant tank she had brought to allow her to activate it sooner. Skybreaker, Wingshift, and Dark Lance hovered above, watching in all directions for the imminent threat of the Decepticons. Bunker, meanwhile, took up a defensive position near Burnout, with the guards that had followed them fanning out to provide extra protection from Changeling attacks. Several unicorns, including Shining Armor himself, erected a magical barrier around the pod, ensuring that no one would be able to access the pod with any semblance of ease. Moments later, Wingshift spotted a rapidly-approaching dot above the treeline.
"There! It's not a pony, it's too large! It looks like Sharpedge!" Skybreaker grinned.
"Well then that's my cue!" He took off toward the Decepticon as Dark Lance tried to stop him.
"Skybreaker, wait! There's something wrong!" The overeager scout was already out of hearing range, though. "Blast it! Wingshift, go after him! I have a bad feeling about this. Celestia! Keep back for now. We can handle the 'cons, so don't get involved unless the Changelings show up." Wingshift nodded, and took off after the younger 'bot as Celestia ordered her troops appropriately. Sure enough, Skybreaker was just getting within attack range when the forest below erupted with fire, nearly engulfing him as he was thrown off-balance, and had to swerve to one side to avoid Sharpedge's opportunistic swipe at him as she passed. He managed to dodge quickly enough, but she didn't stop to try again. Instead, she simply kept flying as Fireburst revealed himself from the burnt area of foliage that used to be tree branches. Wingshift intercepted the Decepticon scout soon enough, though, and used his larger bulk and better maneuverability to prevent her from advancing further. Dark Lance looked around, waiting for the impending attack he knew would come.
"Come on, where are you?" He turned all of his sensors up to maximum sensitivity, turning quickly in midair to watch as much of his surroundings as possible. As he turned again, he heard branches crack behind him, and spun around just in time to dodge Bloodwing's horn as he flew up out of the canopy. The two leaders circled each other in midair, Lance with a look of determination, Bloodwing with one of confidence.
Down on the ground, Burnout worked furiously at the pod's control panel to try and liberate the protoform inside before Crosswire showed up. The unicorns holding the shield up stood stoically around the pod, watching for movement as Bunker paced around the outside. He could hear the fights that had already broken out, and waiting for his opponent to show up was sending his circuits into a frenzy of signals in anticipation of the combat that was soon to come. He heard a rustle in the brush, and spun to face where it came from. After some more rustling, a squirrel jumped into view, then looked at him before running off. He watched it scurry away, then returned his attention to the area it had come from. He switched his vision to detect Cybertronians, and saw a large signal through the bushes. He dropped into a defensive stance just in time to counter the lunge Crosswire made through the bushes. He spun around and onto his back, catching the Decepticon with all four hooves before launching him to one side and into a tree. He returned to a standing position as Crosswire recovered. The scientist glanced to Burnout, weighing his options. He knew that as long as Bunker was still able to fight, he wouldn't be able to reach the pod and complete his task without being intercepted. So obviously, there was only one option for solving the problem.
His back, tail, and head all rose up and away from his body, twisting as he transformed to reveal his robot mode. The guards watching were startled by his grotesque appearance, but held their shield. They had already been told of the Autobots abilities, and been sworn to silence by both the princesses and their captain, but this was not something they had been prepared for. As he finished his transformation, the segments of Crosswire's tail started clicking. The entire appendage split lengthwise down the middle, allowing the halves of each section to switch places with its neighbor. The pieces clicked faster and faster, and he grinned maliciously.
"Round and round the pieces go, where will they stop? Do you know? Well, Bunker?" Bunker, for his part, had been tracking the movements of the sections, and already figured out the pattern. He didn't like where it was going. Forgoing his own disguise, he kicked his rear legs off the ground, turning on his front legs as he, too, shifted to his natural form. He grabbed what was once his horn as it lengthened and compressed into its spear form, twirling it into position. The tail sections suddenly froze and reconnected themselves as Crosswire grinned maniacally. The Decepticon pointed his weapon straight at his foe, and Bunker barely managed to move out of the way before the extender frame buried its stinger into his body. The contraption folded again, returning to its original place and appearance before once more catapulting itself forward. This time, though, Bunker was ready. He leaned left, and jammed his spear between the sections. The spring-loaded weapon retracted automatically, and Bunker jumped off the ground, allowing himself to be pulled along at speed before slamming his feet into Crosswire's surprised face. The Decepticon was knocked onto his back in a daze, and Bunker extracted his spear from his opponent. He spun the weapon until it pointed straight down, but paused when he heard a war cry from his left. Charging him through the trees was Sharpedge, with Wingshift close behind. Bunker crouched, then launched himself into the air, backflipping away from the attack that sliced through the air where he was not a second before. As he landed, Wingshift came up next to him.
"Sorry. She managed to feint past me, and my wings aren't made for high-speed long distances." He fluttered them in example, and Bunker nodded.
"It's fine. Burnout should be almost-"
"BURNOUT! Double-time! Fireburst managed to get a clean shot on Skybreaker, and Bloodwing got past me while I was distracted. You need to finish. NOW!" The two Autobots looked at each other, then to Burnout, who had transformed to finish faster, before returning their attention to the problem at hand.
"Wingshift, stall for time. Keep Bloodwing and Fireburst as far away as long as possible. I'll deal with these two." He received an unsure glance from the mutant, but after a confident stare, Wingshift relented and took off. Returning his attention to the Decepticons in front of him, he considered his options while they recovered. ^My spear won't be enough to take on both of them, and my cannon isn't fast enough. I guess that only leaves one option.^ He widened his stance, and planted the butt of his spear in the ground so he could focus on his targeting system. He calculated every possible move his opponents could make, and locked onto where they would be in each case. By the time he finished, Sharpedge and Crosswire had finally managed to collect themselves enough to be on guard for what they expected to be singular attacks. Instead, a large panel on each of his shoulders flipped open, revealing two batteries of mini-missiles. A series of small *pop*s came from him as the missiles launched from their protective cases, and the Decepticons had no time to react properly. The area around them was engulfed with detonations, and both of them were knocked out by the collective force. Bunker turned around to find Burnout stepping away from the pod's console as the alt-mode scanner extended from it. Just as it began, Wingshift came sailing over the trees, landing in a heap near the base of the shield. Looking up, the white Autobot saw Bloodwing and Fireburst come to a sudden halt over the trees. Bloodwing saw the scanner, now fully extended from the pod, as it swept the area. His rage was immediately apparent.
"Crosswire, you fool! I told you to ignore the others! I guess if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself. No point in trying to reprogram the protoform now, though." They both landed and transformed, and Bunker immediately put himself between them and the pod, which had retracted the scanner and started the formatting process. "Ha! You think you can stop both of us? Fine, let's see if you can still take as much as I remember, shall we?" Bunker responded by repositioning himself, adopting a close-legged stance, with his spear held vertically in front of him. Bloodwing laughed again as he charged his railgun, and Fireburst charged his cannon. As they were about to fire, though, Bunker's shoulder capes suddenly began to float, right before he was completely obscured by the combined blasts of energy. Bloodwing sneered at what he thought would be nothing more than a mound of slag, while the princesses and their soldiers stared in horror at the wanton destruction they had witnessed. Just as Celestia was about to order her soldiers forward, something rocketed up and out from the cloud of dust, drawing the attention of all present. Just as suddenly, a beam of energy shot out towards Bloodwing, hitting him square in the chest and doing significant damage to him, visible even at a distance. Surprised by his commander's sudden incapacitation, Fireburst had to force himself to turn back to face the apparently functional Autobots. Sure enough, Bunker and Burnout were standing there, unharmed, in a brightening glow. Fireburst blinked a couple times, doing a minor reboot of his optics in the process.
^Wait a second. It was after dark just a few microcycles ago.^ He looked up, and reflexively took a defensive stance as a flaming object dived at him, leveling out enough after impact to shove him along the ground. His sensors maxed out, his joints locked up, and he could quickly feel himself weakening. His guard broke, and the flames flew past his fallen form before pulling up and letting out a high-pitched scream of triumph. Fireburst rose to one knee, attempting to make his body work again as the object landed in front of him and the flames dissipated, revealing what appeared to be a very large pheonix. But the downed Decepticon already knew what he was really looking at.
As he expected, the chest pulled down and twisted, splitting into legs while the talons moved away from each other and rose to shoulder positions. The wings moved further toward the spine to make room, and the mouth opened, the bottom falling into place on the chest while the rest of the beast mode's cranium turned into a protective hood. The new Autobot's head had three ridges, sweeping backwards and flaring out in the rear while the cheek guards curved into points on either side of the chin. Taking in the whole form, Fireburst could tell right away that this new enemy had a female personality. He never did understand why the Autobots had such a fascination with such a pointless distinction, but it wasn't like it mattered now. He had already been taken off guard too many times, and he didn't have the energy to fight this new opponent and the other Autobots by himself. He decided to cut his losses before anything else could go wrong. He transformed and blew a stream of flame at the new Autobot. He already assumed she wouldn't be damaged by it, but it gave him the distraction he needed to escape. The protoform, for her part, was sufficiently taken by surprise that she reflexively guarded against the fire as it harmlessly blew past her. She recovered quickly, though, and started to give chase before a loud voice called out behind her.
"Stand down, protoform!" She quickly regained her lost balance, and spun to face the voice's owner, who turned out to be Dark Lance. "Let him go, we have more important things to take care of." The protoform took a cursory glance of his body, before crossing her arms and tilting her whole body to one side.
"And why should I listen to you, huh? Who are you, even?" Dark Lance strode forward to stand face-to-face, easily a head and a half taller than the newly-activated femme.
"I am Dark Lance, and I am the commander of this team. As a new protoform, you are under my jurisdiction, and my command due to wartime laws." The other Autobot looked him over a bit more carefully, and narrowed her optics as they met his.
"Either you're stupid, or you seriously underestimate me. You expect me to believe you have command of anything when you don't even have the insignia?" She pointed to the one on her forehead to emphasize her point. "And what kind of leader lets his team fight without him?"
"Whether or not you believe me is your choice, but right now I have more pressing matters to attend to than forcing you to follow orders." This piqued her curiosity as he turned to walk away. "And I needed to keep Skybreaker and Wingshift from getting any more damaged before I felt comfortable leaving them alone. Bunker is a more than capable fighter, anyway. I didn't really need to be concerned." Now she was really interested. She followed him back, and was stunned to see Skybreaker leaning against a tree , his left arm hanging limply at his side with only half his shoulder attached. On the ground, Wingshift was lying on his back while Burnout mended several stab wounds in his abdomen. Bunker, meanwhile, was busy putting stasis cuffs on the Decepticons. She followed Dark Lance as he walked over to Skybreaker and stared at the wounds he had while they talked.
"How are your Energon levels?"
"High enough that I can wait my turn. Thanks for the catch back there, by the way."
"None needed. Can you transform? Maybe your alt-mode will help keep your parts inside you." Skybreaker shrugged slightly before standing up straight. His t-cog sounded, but a loud grinding noise, accompanied by a cry of pain, confirmed his inability to change forms as he fell forward, forcing Lance to help him stay standing.
"Guess that's a 'no', then. Sorry, boss, looks like we get to do this the old-fashioned way. By the way, is this our latest recruit?" He nodded to the protoform.
"Yes, although she's having trouble accepting that I'm the commanding officer here." Skybreaker let out a weak laugh as he resumed leaning against his tree.
"That's not hard to believe. You don't exactly look the part, and you certainly aren't the most strict Autobot ever. But anyway, what's your name, newbie?" The protoform started, having not expected to be addressed so suddenly.
"My name is Firefall. I was designed for stunt flying originally, although that doesn't seem to be what I'll be spending most of my time doing now." Skybreaker laughed again as Dark Lance stepped aside, allowing Burnout to access the wounded scout.
"Don't worry, there'll be plenty of that, no problem. And yes, Dark Lance is our commander. Just so you know." Firefall looked back to Lance, and bowed her head slightly.
"Sorry, then. I wasn't quite sure what to make of anything when I first came online. And immediately having to fight like that set me on edge a bit." Dark Lance waved it off.
"It's fine. I've had to deal with worse, and you'll learn as you go. For now, let's just get everyone back to the Star Runner, and put our new prisoners in holding cells."