As the Apple Blooms

by The FraudulentBrit

The Hamlet Massacre

As the Apple Blooms

Part 73; The Hamlet Massacre

Firebase Omega, Many Years Earlier…

Sitting on his simple bed, sergeant Ironhide held his trusty Scatter Blatter in his hand as he scrubbed the barrel with a rag. As he wiped away the muck and grime from his weapon’s constant use, the young sergeant allowed his eyes to drift to a picture of his girlfriend Chromia. Smiling, Ironhide gently caressed the photo as he reassured to an imaginary Chromia, “I’ll be home soon. I promise.”

After several minutes, Ironhide set his rag down and inspected his trusted shotgun. “Alright.” The young sergeant said to himself. “Weapon is perfectly clean.” He then pumped the empty weapon, taking a mental note of how smooth the action was as he muttered, “Pump works smoothly.” With that settled, he began to unfurl his weapon’s foldable stock as he remarked, “Stock folds perfectly.”

Satisfied with his weapon being in pristine condition, Ironhide chuckled to himself as he quipped, “I’d like to see those reds try and stop me now.”

The young sergeant was distracted by the sound of Wheeljack’s voice asking, “Everything alright Sarge?” Turning to face his friend, Ironhide replied, “Everything’s alright private. Just cleaning my weapon.” He then asked, “Shouldn’t you have cleaned yours already?”

Smugly nodding, Wheeljack replied, “Already have sir.” He then added, “Besides, if I didn’t, captain killjoy would try to rip my ass apart.” Ironhide sighed as he replied, “Honestly I’m surprised he hasn’t tried to do that already.” Both men began to giggle to themselves, almost failing to notice Roadblock and Huffer walking into the barracks.

Turning to face his fellow subordinates, Ironhide asked, “Gentlemen?” Roadblock strutted up to the sergeant as he smugly answered, “Not much, only that you and I are finally equals.” The puce man then pointed to the stripes on his uniform’s sleeve as he continued, “The captain promoted me to sergeant.”

Confused and surprised, Ironhide asked, “What? Why weren’t we informed about you getting promoted?” Roadblock shrugged as he replied, “Eh. Guess it means the captain just doesn’t like you anymore.” This answer was hardly surprising to Ironhide, who simply remarked, “I don’t think he ever liked me.”

It was only at this moment that Ironhide noticed something was off with Huffer. The younger blue man just seemed to be staring right through the rest of them and, if Ironhide’s eyes were not deceiving him, his hand was fidgeting rapidly. All in all, the young sergeant could tell something was wrong with his friend.

Snapping his finger, Ironhide asked, “Hey Huffer! You alright?” Unfortunately, Huffer didn’t seem to notice his friend’s attempt to snap him out of his trance. When that didn’t work, the young sergeant sighed as he found himself calling out, “At attention private!” The forceful approach seemed to work, as Huffer immediately snapped to attention, though not without letting out a panicked sigh.

Raising his hand to calm his subordinate down, Ironhide tried to reassure Huffer, “Whoa there, calm down buddy.” The younger private managed to calm himself down with a resigned, “Oh, sorry sarge. I... Uh…., I’ve not been feeling too well lately.” A worried Ironhide asked, “Primus. Your shell shock is getting worse. Why won’t Sentinel let you go on R&R?”

“Because sergeant….” Sentinel Prime’s voice growled from the barracks entrance. Everyone turned to face their commanding officer and stood at attention as the large blue man strutted inside and continued, “As I’ve said a hundred times, there’s no such thing as shell shock.” Walking up to Huffer, Sentinel finished, “Shellshock is nothing more than another term for cowardice, and I will not allow cowards in my squad.”

Once Sentinel Prime had finished trying to strike fear into his men’s hearts, Ironhide asked, “Sir, anything you need sir?” Smiling, the large-chinned captain answered, “Mission briefing. Five minutes.” He then turned around and began to walk out of the barracks, only to stop as he warned, “And Ironhide? If you challenge my command again, I’ll tear your fucking balls off!”

All Ironhide could do was sigh and grit his teeth as he replied, “Sir, yes sir.” Smirking, Sentinel finally disappeared through the barracks doors, followed by the smug now sergeant Roadblock. Once they were gone, Ironhide confessed, “I don’t know how much longer I can stomach that monster bossing us around.” Wheeljack nodded as he added, “Same here. I just hope he doesn’t suffer an unfortunate accident.” Turning to face his friend, Ironhide warned, “I hope that wasn’t a threat. Just because we hate him doesn’t mean we can do anything to him.”

Still, the three men knew they had a briefing to attend, so Ironhide stood up and informed his men, “Come on boys. Let’s see what the captain has in store for us all this time.”

The Briefing Room…

Entering the darkened room, Ironhide found that the rest of the Wreckers, or rather, what was left of them, were already waiting for him and the others. Taking everything in, the young sergeant couldn’t help but lament the fact that so many of the Wreckers were gone. ‘Mirage, Trailbreaker, Firefly, Crosshairs…’ He thought to himself. ‘I wish I could’ve gotten you guys home without a fucking box.’

Sitting down next to Hound, Ironhide asked, “Any idea what today’s target is?” The large green man shook his head and replied, “Nope, but my money’s on another supply depot.” The young sergeant let out a gentle chuckle as he remarked, “Supply depots are my favorite. Best chance to hit these guys while minimizing the risk to civilians.”

Once everyone was seated, Optimus walked up to a projector and powered it on as he informed, “Ok boys, here’s the situation. Command thinks several villages in the area may be sympathetic to the insurgents, so we’re gonna comb through them to see if it’s true.” Once the projector was fully powered on, Optimus inserted a slide revealing a map of the area around the firebase.

At that moment, Sentinel rose up from his seat and made his way towards the projected image of the map as he gleefully explained, “We will turn these villages upside down for proof of cooperation with the enemy. If we find anything at all, they will die.” Before Ironhide could say anything in protest to his captain’s sadism, Roadblock let out an enthusiastic, “Hell yeah!” Sentinel smiled as he asked, “So, any questions?”

Ironhide immediately asked, “What if we don’t find anything?” When the rest of the Wreckers turned to face him, the young sergeant continued, “Clearly there seems to be room for doubt, so I’m curious what do we do in the event we don’t find any evidence of collusion with the insurgents?”

Sentinel let out a terrifying chuckle as he answered, “Oh, they’ll have evidence alright.” He then took a deep breath as he added, “Every single one of these pathetic creatures are the bad guys, and for that they must die.” The large-chinned officer then finished, “Now load up ladies. We leave five minutes ago!”

As Ironhide and the others took everything in, Optimus turned off the projector as he added, “Come on boys. Let’s get this over with.” Springer was the first to stand up as he remarked, “Doesn’t sound too bad. Besides, I’ve got better things to do tonight than die.” Everyone chuckled as they departed to gather their weapons and equipment, with Ironhide pausing only for a moment to take a mental note of the furious scowl Sentinel was giving Optimus, a clear sign that the former despised the latter.

Still, Ironhide had a duty to perform, and so he departed, hoping this mission would go down just like every other he’d performed so far.

The Jungles, a Short While Later…

As the natural ambience of the jungle carried on as it always had, the Wreckers walked through the green undergrowth. Ironhide stood right in the middle of his squad, sandwiched in between Huffer and Ratchet. The squad’s medic asked, “Hey sarge? You think our captain might have a few loose screws?”

Curious, Ironhide asked, “What do you mean by that?” Ratchet hesitated for a few moments, making sure Sentinel wasn’t paying attention, the squad medic elaborated, “Well, ever since he took over from Optimus, I’ve noticed Sentinel seems to have a bit of a bloodlust.”

Unfortunately, Sentinel Prime heard his subordinate talking about him and raised his fist as he called out, “Halt!” When the team stopped moving, the cruel captain turned around as he continued, “Since you seem to enjoy talking about me behind my back, why don’t you go ahead and tell me all the problems you have with me.”

While Ironhide found himself nervously gulping, Ratchet stepped forward as he began, “Since you put it that way, you’re a narcissist, you’re a sociopath, I’m fairly certain you’re a psychopath, you’re a sadist, you don’t seem to have any understanding of the importance of mercy, you’re….”

Ten Minutes Later…

“You’re a misogynist, you’re an ableist, you’re an advocate for national exceptionalism, and you make fun of the elderly.” Ratchet said as he finished pointing out every character flaw and potential problem with Sentinel Prime. While the rest of the Wreckers found themselves struggling to contain their own laughter, Sentinel Prime walked up to the team’s medic as he asked, “So you’re telling me you don’t respect me?”

Realizing he’d probably sealed his own fate, Ratchet raised his hand as he tried to explain, “Well, I mean… I respect your authority as our captain and follow your orders, but as an individual, I fear you are rather unstable and….”

Ratchet was interrupted when Sentinel punched the young medic in the face before throwing him to the ground and trying to wring his hands around his neck while furiously bellowing, “You listen here you little shit! I am your captain, and you will obey me and respect me!”

It didn’t take long for Ironhide to get over his shock and tried to tackle his vile captain as he called out, “Get off of him right now!” Sadly, Sentinel was too strong and withstood his sergeant’s desperate attempt to save Ratchet. However, this attempt did lead to Sentinel releasing Ratchet as he turned to Ironhide and bellowed, “You dare disrespect your commanding officer?!” Crossing his arms, Ironhide replied, “You want our respect? Earn it!”

Before either man could make the next move, Optimus placed himself in between his sergeant and captain as he was forced to shout, “That’s enough!” Turning to Ironhide, the former captain scolded, “You will NOT step out of line sergeant!” The young sergeant sighed as he simply replied, “Sir yes sir.” Satisfied, Optimus turned to Sentinel as he politely warned, “All due respect captain, but tensions are running high, so I politely suggest that you try to earn their respect.”

Instead of taking Optimus’s advice, Sentinel Prime rolled his eyes as he remarked, “These boys have grown soft under you, and I have failed to give them proper motivation to improve.” He then glared at the rest of the Wreckers as he continued, “So listen up ladies! From now on, you will obey every order I give! If you don’t…” He then reached for his weapon as he finished, “You will have a very bad time.”

As the team resumed their march, Huffer walked up to Ironhide and nervously asked, “Sarge? Did the captain threaten to kill us?” Though part of him wanted to tell the truth, Ironhide couldn’t will himself to say so to his friend, especially with his growing shell shock. Instead, the young sergeant reassured him, “He’s just angry. Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

Feeling a little better, Huffer asked, “You promise?” Ironhide realized just what he was about to promise, especially since he’d made a similar one to Mirage when they were prisoners. However, the young sergeant knew his friend needed some reassurance, so he gently replied, “I promise Huffer.”

Both men were interrupted when Springer called out, “Hey sarge? We gotta keep moving!" Smiling, Ironhide called back, "Alright Springer.” Turning back to his Huffer, the young sergeant calmly continued, “Come on. Let’s finish this little scavenger hunt and go home.”

The Village, a Short While Later…

After what seemed like an eternity, the Wreckers arrived at their destination. Just within their sight at the edge of the endless greenery was a clearing that housed several simple wooden houses. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Ironhide remarked, “Finally. Let’s get this over with.”

As the team of soldiers made their way towards the village, Optimus warned, “Now remember men, be on best behavior. We don’t want to risk setting these people off." Sentinel immediately retorted, “Pah! Ignore him boys. The moment we find anything, we burn this place to the ground.” Shaking his head, Optimus warned, “If we find anything, we take it back to base.”

Springer then stepped forward and said, “I can handle communicating with these people. I’ve been working on my interpretation skills.” Ironhide then added, “It’s better than nothing sir.” Sentinel groaned as he relented, “Fine. You can talk to these people in their mumbo jumbo language.”

Entering the village, Ironhide was surprised to see the locals exiting their homes and starting to gather around. As all the eyes began to focus on him, the young sergeant couldn’t help but meekly waive, “Uh, hello there.” Though the villagers muttered to each other in words he couldn’t understand, a few of them did waive back at him. Smiling, he gave a polite bow as he replied, “It’s nice to meet you.”

One of the villagers walked up to Ironhide and gave him a polite bow as he said, “Chao nguoi la.” Ironhide gave a polite bow in return as he apologized, “Forgive me, but I don’t understand you.” Thankfully for Ironhide, Springer walked up to the two men and introduced himself, “Xin chao. Chung toi den trong hoa binh”

As Springer and the village elder spoke with each other, Optimus walked up to Ironhide and asked, “Any chances we’ll find anything?” Shrugging, the young sergeant answered, “I don’t know.” Sighing, he asked, “You mind if I speak frankly?” Nodding, Optimus answered, “Speak freely sergeant.”

Taking a deep breath, Ironhide began, “I…. I don’t even know what’s going on anymore. I mean, when we first got here, we were going into bases, setting up ambushes, but now…” Extending his arm, the young sergeant motioned to Huffer and Ratchet, who were walking around the edge of the village, their weapons ready in the event something could possibly happen. Sighing, he asked, “How’d we end up here? Inspecting villages for insurgents?”

Optimus shook his head as he dejectedly answered, “I wish I had an answer.” Pausing for a moment, he continued, “I know things are going badly. Every time we strike at these guys, they keep popping back up. There’s no strategy anymore, the brass just want blood.”

From behind them, both men heard Sentinel Prime interrupted, “That’s the only way we’re gonna win this war.” They turned around to see their captain approach them, his rifle slung across his back as he jovially continued, “These monkeys need to learn to respect our authority.” He then took a deep breath as he added, “Besides, they don’t wear uniforms, so we must assume they could be anywhere and everywhere.”

Before Ironhide could say anything in response to Sentinel’s blatant and open cruelty and bloodlust, Springer ran up to the group and informed them, “Sirs? I’ve learned two things from the old geezer.” Sentinel immediately demanded, “Any of these people insurgents?” Springer immediately answered, “That’s one of the issues sir. I asked if any of the villagers were involved with the insurgents. Turns out a young man left to join up with them about a year ago.”

Cracking his knuckles, Sentinel Prime allowed a terrifying smirk to form on his face as he began, “Alright. Let’s light this place up.” Springer immediately pointed out, “Two problems with that sir. One, the locals tried to stop him, but he escaped. Two, kid was killed about nine months ago. Eight months ago, the guerillas bring his body back.”

Ironhide then asked, “What’s the second issue?” Springer answered, “The old coot says they have a few weapons for defense. He wanted to tell us so that if we find a few old rifles, we won’t be surprised?” Optimus immediately asked, “Would he mind showing us what they have?” Nodding, Springer replied, “I’ll ask him.”

As Springer returned to the village elder, Sentinel groaned as he complained, “This is a waste of time! We should just kill these bastards.” Ironhide, absolutely flabbergasted, inquired, “What the fuck are you talking about? We just got here and you’re already saying we should kill them?” He then pointed to some of the other villagers as he added, “Do these people look like they could be insurgents? They’re rice farmers!”

Sentinel immediately got right into Ironhide’s nose as he scolded, “These people are not with us, and if one of them was willing to join the insurgents then we can’t take any chances. They are the enemy, and they must die!” When Ironhide didn’t back down, the large-chinned captain bellowed, “ALL OF THEM MUST DIE!”

When the villagers began to stare at the group of soldiers, Optimus growled, “Keep it down. We don’t know if any of them understand us, and they might be able put two and two together.” Sentinel shook his head as he angrily muttered, “Ugh. As I said, waste of time.”

Springer then returned to the group as he informed, “The old guy says the weapons are in the far hut sir.” Nodding, Ironhide spoke up, Wheeljack and I can take a look.” After a few moments, Sentinel replied, “Fine, see what these animals have.” Nodding, the young sergeant departed to get Wheeljack.

The Far Hut…

Entering the hut, Ironhide and Wheeljack began to inspect every nook and cranny, trying to find where the weapons the elder spoke of. As he opened an old chest, Wheeljack asked, “What kind of weapons are looking for?” The young sergeant replied, “Springer says he didn’t say. Just said that they were in here.”

After a few more minutes of searching, Ironhide opened another chest and found what he was looking for. There, just as the old man had said, were several old bolt action rifles. Turning to face his friend, the sergeant called out, “Found them.” Walking up to his sergeant, he asked, “What do we have?” Ironhide reached into the chest and pulled out a rifle and replied, “Several bolt actions, and judging by the looks of them, pretty old ones at that.” Feeling just a little skeptical, Ironhide asked, “You sure they’re old.”

Wheeljack simply pulled out another bolt action rifle, one covered in rust as grime as he added, “Yeah, old. Not to mention poorly taken care of.” Just as he finished saying this, the rifle fell apart, it’s rusting barrel landing right in front of Ironhide’s feet. The young sergeant shook his head as he quipped, “These people are in no condition to hunt deer, let alone any of our doughboys.”

However, something else in the chest caught Wheeljack’s attention. Dropping the remains of the bolt action rifle, the maverick private reached into the chest as he quipped, “Well, what do we have here?” Ironhide asked, “What is it?”

Lifting his head out of the chest, Wheeljack revealed what he’d found, a mostly wooden semi-automatic rifle. Handing it to his sergeant, the gray private informed him, "Seems to be the only one they’ve got.” Ironhide accepted the rifle as he took note of just how rough the wood finishing was. Letting out another gentle chuckle, he added, “Better condition than the others, but not even the air force would tolerate a weapon in this condition.”

Handing the weapon back to his friend, Ironhide quipped, “These people aren’t a threat. Let’s tell the boss so we can all go home.” Wheeljack nodded as he rested the rifle back in the chest as both men exited the hut.

The Village…

As the two men exited the hut, they were greeted by Ratchet, a worried look on his face as he panted. Concerned, Ironhide asked, “What’s going on Ratchet?” Catching his breath, the team’s medic warned, “Something’s wrong. The captain asked the others to round up the villagers.” Wheeljack and Ironhide’s eyes widened as the former let out a worried, “Oh no.”

Not wasting any time, Ironhide barked, “We gotta make sure he doesn’t do something illegal!” The three men ran off towards the village square, hoping they weren’t too late.”

Once the trio had made it to the village square, they were horrified with what they found.

There, they found all the villagers cornered against one of the huts. Worse, they found Hound, Huffer, Roadblock, and Springer aiming their weapons at them. And behind their teammates stood Optimus and Sentinel, both men red in the face as they argued with each other.

Pointing his finger at his captain, Optimus bellowed, “I cannot allow this to happen! Captain Sentinel Prime, you are to stand down immediately!” The large-chinned marine pointed his finger back at the lieutenant and barked, “I will not tolerate mutiny soldier! These people aren’t on our side, so that means they’re on the enemy’s side!” Walking up to his superiors, Ironhide asked, “Sirs? What’s going on?” Optimus took a deep breath as he explained the situation, something that shook Ironhide to the core.

“Our glorious captain wants us to kill the villagers!”

For several moments, Ironhide stood there, frozen in shock of what he’d just heard. ‘What?’ He mentally asked himself. ‘Did he just say kill the villagers?’ After a few more moments, Ironhide asked out loud, “Sir? Did you say kill the villagers?”

Stepping towards his sergeant, Sentinel Prime looked Ironhide in the eyes as he elaborated, “I asked these people if they would join in our fight. They said they want to remain neutral, which means they’re working for the insurgents!” He then turned to the villagers as he cruelly added, “Which means they need to die.”

Ironhide was taken aback in shock as he asked, “What the fuck? You want us to shoot a bunch of civilians?!” Wheeljack stepped forward as he added, “You can’t just shoot civilians! That’s illegal, not to mention just wrong!” Unfortunately, their pleas fell on deaf ears as Sentinel Prime rolled his eyes, complaining, “Ugh. You three just don’t have the will to do what must be done.”

Shoving his way past Ironhide, Sentinel bellowed, “Alright boys! Take aim!” To Ironhide’s shock and horror, the four other wreckers aimed their weapons at the villagers, who were finally starting to realize just how dire their situation was.

It was at this moment, realizing what was going to happen, that Ironhide did something that, in hindsight, was the right thing.

Running past his teammates, Ironhide stood in between the wreckers and the villagers as he ordered, “Stand down men!” As his friends hesitated, the young sergeant pointed to the villagers as he angrily asked, “Do they look like they’re a threat? All they’ve got are a bunch of rusting rifles that are falling apart!”

While most of the Wreckers processed their sergeant’s words, Roadblock warned, “You heard the captain! We have orders to deal with these people, and that’s what we’re gonna do!” He then aimed his weapon at Ironhide as he angrily added, “And you better not be disobeying direct orders.”

Ratchet and Wheeljack made their way to Ironhide and, to his delight, stood proudly as the medic said, “The sarge is right! We can’t do this!” Wheeljack even added, “Yeah! We’re soldiers, not serial killers!” As the realization of what they were about to do hit him, Hound allowed his machine gun to fall to the ground as he admitted, “Ironhide’s right. We can’t do this.”

Sentinel Prime stomped up to his subordinates as he shouted, “This is not a damn democracy! You will open fire on these insurgents right fucking now!”

Turning his attention to Huffer, Ironhide pleaded, “Come on Huffer. Put the gun down.” However, the young man began to tremble as he nervously replied, “You don’t understand sarge. The captain said he’d kill me if I don’t…” Now hyperventilating, he finished, “I don’t wanna die sir.”

Sentinel Prime crossed his arms as he ordered, “This has gone on long enough. Kill them! KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF THESE SHIT FARMERS!” Roadblock asked, “But sir! We can’t shoot our own men!” Finally losing the last of his patience, Sentinel bellowed, “Then shoot everyone in front of you!” Before anyone could process what they’d just heard, Roadblock did something unthinkable.

He fired into the crowd.

As several of the villagers fell to the ground, the rest of them charged at the Wreckers. When one of them charged at Ironhide, the young sergeant was surprised when his assailant received several bullets to the chest. Turning around to see who it was, Ironhide found Huffer aiming his rifle in his direction, smoke rising from his weapon’s barrel. Taking everything in, Ironhide was overwhelmed by a sound that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

The sound of people screaming at the realization that they were going to die.

From in front of him, Ironhide found one of the villagers, a young girl who couldn’t have been older than eighteen, crawling towards him. Tears were streaming down her eyes as she clutched her stomach, an all too familiar red liquid staining her chest. The girl reached her hand out to Ironhide in a vain call for help. All the young sergeant could do as he bent down while trying to reassure her, “It’s alright! I’ll get you out of here!”

Sadly, the girl’s head was consumed in a cloud of red and white as she collapsed to the ground.

Jumping backwards, Ironhide turned to see Roadblock, holding his machine gun with a terrifying smirk on his face. The puce soldier walked up to his sergeant as he quipped, “Nothing like a mission accomplished, right sarge?”

Ironhide gave his answer when he slugged his fellow sergeant in the face as he screamed, “I’ll tear your fucking arms off you fucking animal!” Soon both men were at each other’s throats, requiring the rest of the Wreckers to pull them apart from each other. As Springer and Sentinel secured Roadblock, Optimus, Wheeljack, and Ratchet kept Ironhide at bay.

Once Roadblock calmed down, Sentinel Prime stomped up to the others as he angrily demanded, “You wanna explain to me why you saw it necessary to strike your fellow teammate?!” Ironhide immediately shot back, “You want to explain why you ordered us to fire on civilians?!” Shaking his head, Sentinel answered, “They were not our allies; therefore, they were our enemies!”

As Ironhide struggled to keep his anger from consuming him, Optimus stepped forward and informed his captain, “Don’t you dare think you can get away with this! I’m informing the brass of what you’ve done!” He then pointed to the many corpses as he continued, “I’ll see you hang for this!”

Unfortunately, Sentinel Prime crossed his arms as he replied, “Are you challenging my authority? That’s mutiny lieutenant.” Roadblock then added, “The army doesn’t take kindly to mutineers.”

“Neither do they take kindly to murderers!” Ironhide shouted back. “You were all too willing to do this. I ought to blow your brains out right now!” Everyone was so focused on each other and accusing each other of murder and mutiny that they barely noticed Springer tip toing away, his stoic expression morphing to one of shock and horror.

Walking up to his friend, Ratchet asked, “You alright there Springer?” Shaking his head, Springer answered, “Nope. In fact…” Pausing, he let out a small chuckle as he added, “Now that I think about it, I don’t have much planned for tonight after all.”

With that, Springer pulled out his service pistol, put the barrel in his mouth, and before anyone could do anything, pulled the trigger.

As Springer’s body fell to the ground, Ironhide and Optimus ran over to him as the former called out, “Springer!” Unfortunately, it was clear that their friend was no longer among the living, as his skin was already fading in color. From behind them, the two men heard Sentinel mock, “I should’ve known he’d crack.” The captain then ordered, “Ok ladies! We’re moving out, double time!”

As the other Wreckers departed, Ironhide turned to Optimus and asked, “What do we do?” Shaking his head, the former captain quietly answered, “For now, we keep our heads low and inform the MPs when we get back to base.” He then reached down to Springer’s body and removed the dead man’s dog tags as he apologized, “I’m sorry son.” Rising back up, the former captain said, “Come on sergeant. Let’s go.” Nodding, Ironhide slung his shotgun over his shoulders as he replied, “Sir, yes sir.”

Before they could move, Sentinel Prime raised his hand as he ordered, “Oh! One more thing. Everyone, give me your hand grenades.” A shocked Wheeljack asked, “What? You mean all our grenades?” The team’s captain glared at Ironhide as he answered, “Tensions are rising in this squad. I want to make sure nothing happens.”

Sure enough, everyone surrendered their hand grenades, even a very reluctant Ironhide. Satisfied, Sentinel pointed to the jungle as he called out, “Very good! Let’s move!” With that, the Wreckers departed into the endless jungle, all while Ironhide realized that the situation was going to go from bad to worse.

He just hoped he could save the rest of his team from Sentinel’s Wrath.

To be continued...

Author's Note:

Next Time; Ironhide finds that sometimes you have to choose between the right thing and the lawful thing.

Author's Note; If you think this chapter was pessimistic and nightmarish....

Comments

[LordOfCringe]

Ironhide was well within his rights to refuse an unlawful order, which that was.

[WarriorofFaith18]

This whole chapter is giving me goosebumps! Sentinel is so gonna get it!

[Theresa]

The head should always check on those below because you never know when they can start trouble. Unfortunately despite this easy-to-use solution for many management problems they just don't do it.

[Darksoul85]

It was well told and you did amazing job here

[Brian Sheil]

Drat that Sentinel Prime! He makes me sick! 🤢🤮