~{ Beast Wars Chronicles }~
~{ Question of Loyalty }~
By Eliot Lefebvre

As the glowing sphere descended below the horizon, the sky was 
ignited with a fire of purple and red.  The glow covered the sky, 
its thin fingers seeming to grasp the world and preparing to crush 
it.

"Now THAT is a sunset," said Cybershark to no-one in paticular, 
sitting cross-legged and admiring the beautiful display playing 
across the sky.

"Signifigantly more impressive than the ones on Cybertron," 
commented Cavewing, emerging from the shadows.

Most Maximals would have been suprised by the oddity of 
Cavewing's arrivals and departures, but by this point Cybershark 
was used to it.  "There WEREN'T sunsets on Cybertron, 
excluding the occasional time we drifted close enough to a star."

"Meaning that this planet had very little work to do to reach 'very 
impressive'," observed Cavewing.  "Now, Orcanis IV - THAT was 
a sunset.  You should have been there."

Cybershark laughed somewhat bitterly.  "I was there.  Or rather, 
Landshark was there."

"You're the same person.  I went through the same changes that 
you did, and I'm still the same old Cavewing."

"I appreciate the attempt to cheer me up - but it isn't working."

"I doubted it would," said Cavewing with a shrug.  "It's Vixen's 
job, anyways.  I'm a poor substitute.  Come to think of it, I'm not 
even a substitute.  I just happened to think that you might need 
some cheering up."

"I do," replied Cybershark.  He turned to Cavewing.  "Cavewing - 
do you ever think that we made the wrong choice?  That maybe 
we'd be better off back with the Decepticons?"

Cavewing laughed.  "Well, our current position doesn't make the 
Decepticons a viable option, for one thing.  But even besides 
that, what reason would I have to go back there?  Predacons 
included."

"I know I have a reason," sighed Cybershark wistfully.

Shrugging, Cavewing transformed.  "Well, I can't make choices 
for you, Cybershark.  But if you have a good reason... really, it's 
entirely up to you."  He glanced into the sky.  "However, it is 
night, and that means it's time for my organic mode to feed and 
get a little exercise.  So... until next time."

Cybershark nodded.  "Happy hunting."

"Is there any other kind?" asked Cavewing as he flew off.

Gazing wistfully into the sunset, Cybershark thought back...

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

[begin flashback]

As Landshark stepped into the bar, Seaskimmer slung herself 
around him.  "Welcome back, my love," she said, kissing him.

"Hello to you as well," said Landshark.  "What's new on the home 
front?"

Seaskimmer grinned, and led him over to the bar.  "We'll talk 
about that later.  Right now I want to hear all about the attack."

Landshark shrugged.  He turned towards the black female 
behind the bar.  "Barkeep, your finest energon."

She nodded, and brought him a pair of cubes.  "I take it the raid 
went well, then?" said the female, smiling at Seaskimmer and 
Landshark.

"Wonderfully," replied Landshark, handing the female a fistful of 
energon credits.  "That should more than cover it."

Seaskimmer's eyes widened.  "It went THAT well?"

"Yes," replied Landshark.  "The Autobots never saw us coming, 
and we destroyed their base without resistance!"

The barkeep grinned.  "I can't wait to take place myself.  With a 
little help from Trion, my comission with the Cybertronian War 
College went through."  She gave a slight salute.  "Cadet 
Nightground is now enrolled."

"Really?" asked Seaskimmer.  "That's wonderful!  What are you 
majoring in?"

"Tactics and Science," replied Nightground.  "I might change my 
name, too, but I haven't made up my mind just yet."

Landshark smiled.  "Wonderful, Nightground.  I -"

There was a beep on Landshark and Seaskimmer's comms.  
"Landshark here," said Landshark, his tone becoming serious.

~This is Hook at the Battle Technology Research Center.  One of 
the Shadows has gone beserk - we need immediate backup!~

Landshark and Seaskimmer both lept to their feet.  Transforming 
to their hovercraft modes, they shot out of the bar.

"Wait!" yelled Nightground after them.  "This energon comes out 
of my paycheck!"

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Landshark transformed outside of the door, drawing his scissor 
weapon out of subspace and arming his chest launcher.  "Do you 
think they'll let us in?"

The door blasted outward as Seaskimmer transformed and 
brought her electro-cannon to hand.  "At this point, I don't think 
it's really an issue," she replied, slipping in the door.  Landshark 
followed.

A small, grey-blue triangle jet roared into the room, then flipped 
over and transformed into a rather dimminutive grey-blue robot.  
Glancing at Seaskimmer and Landshark, he asked, "I am correct 
in assuming you are the 'backup' that the technicians insisted we 
so sorely needed?"

"That would be us," snarled Seaskimmer.

The small robot glanced down the corridor.  "Aha.  If my 
calculations are correct, you'll have twenty-five point six seconds 
to formulate an explanation as to why you did not shoot the 
beserk Shadow when he was standing there, phased in and 
defenseless."

Landshark and Seaskimmer trained their weapons on him and 
fired.  He gave the weapons fire a slightly bemused glance as it 
flew through him, then drew his swords and flipped backwards.

A black-gold and fir green-navy blue pair of triangle jets, identical 
to the last one, transformed and drew similar swords.  "You might 
as well stand down," said the green-blue one.  "Your abilities are 
useless against a Shadow."

"And who are you?" snapped Landshark.

"Gravespawn," he replied, brandishing his swords.  "The other 
one is Onyx.  Our quarry is Cavewing.  And you are superfluous."

Several other triangle jets flew into the room, and transformed.  
"Why has the renegade not been taken down yet?" asked a blue-
gold one.

"We were waiting for Swampflame, Cyclops," replied 
Gravespawn.  He gestured towards Seaskimmer and Landshark.  
"Besides, these two had to be dealt with."

A beige-red robot stepped forward, and fired a small handgun, 
hitting the fleeing Cavewing.  "His abilities are disabled," 
announced the beige-red one.  "We can dispatch with him 
without using our own abilities."

The group of robots advanced towards Cavewing, and 
Seaskimmer charged her weapons and advanced as well.  
Landshark stayed put, however.  Somehow, he just didn't feel 
right about destroying this single Shadow, when so many of his 
companions were against him.  What in the world had he done, 
anyhow?  Made a choice of faction?  What was so wrong with 
freedom of choice...

Cavewing was doing poorly, as far as Landshark could tell.  A 
pair of Shadows lunged forward, and he sprang to one side, the 
slashed down with his twin swords, gouging a hole in one of the 
Shadows.  The other blade harmlessly whistled through the other 
Shadow, and he drew his own blades and hurled one at 
Cavewing.  Leaping upwards, he dodged a pair of slashes and 
hurled one of his own blades at a Shadow, then lept forward and 
tackled Gravespawn.  Gravespawn phased out, and Cyclops and 
Onyx pulled Cavewing to his feet, holding him out to destroy.  
*This isn't right...* thought Landshark.

Almost involuntarily, Landshark's chest cannon lashed out, 
striking a group of the Shadows.  Unsure of where the blasts had 
come from, the Shadows glanced about frantically, and 
Landshark continued to fire on them, destroying one after 
another.

"Landshark!  What are you doing!" screamed Seaskimmer.

He turned to her, his optics a dim glow.  "I'm sorry," he said as he 
blasted her in the shoulder.  She flew across the room, and 
slammed into the wall.  Her head whipped backwards, and there 
was a snap.  Then, her body slumped to the floor.

The Shadows began to turn towards Landshark, but Cavewing 
cut through a pair of them and dashed over to Landshark.  "I'm 
suprised," said Cavewing, skidding to a halt next to Landshark.  
"You, who had no prior relations to me, and knew that helping me 
doomed you, were willing to sacrifice yourself for me?"

"As a friend," replied Landshark.

"Hm," said Cavewing.  "How incredibly moronic."

He turned back to the masses of Shadows.  "I'm afraid, however, 
that I must confess to only having half of a plan.  The first half 
was overloading the power core and prepping this place to self-
destruct, destroying all of the other Shadows.  Unfortunately, the 
'escape' half was still in the planning stages when I started the 
first half."

"Prime," sighed Landshark.  He glanced over towards 
Seaskimmer, and saw Onyx picking her up and phasing through 
the wall with her.  "It looks like Onyx has phased out, however, so 
I suppose the plan will not be absolute."

"I suppose we have other things to worry about at the moment," 
replied Cavewing.  "You wouldn't happen to have a Matrix handy, 
would you?"

"I must have left it in my other subspace pocket."

"Quite.  In that case, I propose we engage in the age-old tradition 
of igniting a combustion device without proper shielding on a 
large vertical surface that stands between us and our 
destination."

"Ahem?"

"We blow a hole in the wall."

"Aha," said Landshark, proceeding to do exactly that.  "But won't 
they get out before the power core blows?"

"I doubt it.  It already blew."

"Then how long is it before the blast reaches us?"

Cavewing glanced down the hallway at the wall of flame 
thundering towards them.  "I'd say no time at all," he said as he 
lept through the hole.  Landshark followed him.

The base was consumed in a massive explosion, and the 
shockwave slammed into Cavewing and Landshark.  The two of 
the were picked up and flung across the sky, slamming into the 
ground and skidding to a halt.

Landshark picked himself up off the ground.  "Cavewing... are 
you all right?"

Shaking his head, Cavewing staggered to his feet.  "I'm fine.  
Just one request - could you please put everything rightside-up 
again, please?"

[end flashback]

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

*Seems like so long ago,* thought Cybershark.  When the two of 
them decided to join the Maximals, it was the only real choice left 
available to them.  But now...

There was a beep at his comm.  "Cybershark here," he said, 
dutifully bringing his comm on-line.

~Optimus Primal here.  We're refreshing defense strategy soon... 
I figured that you might as well represent our aquatic units, since 
the other three members of the team are scouting for energon 
crystals.~

"Understood," said Cybershark.  "I'll be there soon."

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Cybershark wandered through the halls of the Axalon.  *Why 
have I thought about defecting lately?  Really, the cause hasn't 
changed any.  It's not as if the Maximals have denegrated 
themselves.*

He glanced over, seeing the Aeriomals walk through the hall.  
"I'm telling you, it would increase our offensive capabilities," said 
Skyfall.

"It WOULD do that," replied Skydive, "but it might add a degree 
of vulnerability, since it is unshielded."

"Aw, c'mon!" said Windrider.  "The new system would allow us to 
blow away the Preds in seconds, making a defensive problem 
become moot!"

"And if they get the first shot?" asked Cloudspin.  "Granted, they 
don't have sharpshooters like me, but in a hail of fire, they could 
probably hit us."

"You all have interesting points," noted Wingspan.  "That's why 
I'm going to run a few holo-sims to see which configuration will 
work best."

The Aeriomals disappeared down the hall, still talking 
incessantly.  *But then again, why did I join the Maximals in the 
first place?  Because I was pretty much thrown out of the 
Decepticons.  After all, I never really AGREED with the Maximal 
credo, I just knew that they'd let me in.*

Cybershark leaned over and glanced into one of the rooms of the 
Axalon.  Sitting there were Rattrap, Razorbeast, and Armordillo, 
goofing off as usual.  "All right..." said Razorbeast, barely able to 
contain his laughter, "So then, the Lawyercon thinks for a minute, 
then takes the two hundred credits and writes a three hundred 
credit IOU!"

Armordillo exploded in laughter.  "HA HA HA HA!  Woo he he he 
he!  Ha he he ha ha ha..."  He suddenly dropped silent.  "I don't 
get it."

Rattrap silently chuckled.  "That's not a first.  But seriously, the 
BEST Lawyercon joke I ever heard was one that Cheetor made 
up.  Here it goes: What's the difference between Ratbat and a 
Lawyercon?"

"I don't know," said Razorbeast.  "What?"

"One's a fluid-sucking parasite that won't stop attacking 'till you're 
dead... and the other one is a Decepticon cassette!"

Laughter erupted from the room.  Cybershark shook his head, 
then walked down the hall towards the confrence room.  *So 
what's keeping me away from the Predacons now?  Come to 
think of it, the real question is why I'm staying with the Maximals?  
What motivation do I have for that?*

Arm in arm, Nightpounce and Dinobot walked down the hall.  "All 
right," said Nightpounce.  "How about this one.  In the heat of 
battle, a comrade is sheared in two.  They're still alive, but only 
barely.  Thumbs up or thumbs down?"

"Thumbs down," replied Dinobot.  "At that point, a warrior has 
taken a blast for his side and has lived out his usefulness.  I 
would kill him and end his life honorably."

"I'm with you on that one," nodded Nightpounce.  "Your turn."

"Let me think," said Dinobot.  He was silent for a moment.  "Your 
leader has taken severe damage and has had his left arm 
sheared off.  He is at your mercy.  Thumbs up or thumbs down?"

"Thumbs up... although I'm betting that you'd kill him and seize 
power," replied Nightpounce, smiling slightly.

"Not at that point," replied Dinobot.  "You see, while it would 
provide an opening in the leadership, it would be before the 
leader had truly been given a chance to prove themselves 
worthy..."

The pair of them passed him, and Cybershark continued on.  
*With the Decepticons, it was always the force of Galvatron's 
cannon.  You followed him or you had every Decepticon on the 
planet chasing after you.  But here... they just assume you don't 
WANT to defect.  Except that maybe, I DO want to defect.*

Glancing in another room, Cybershark saw Prowl, Ironhide, and 
Silverbolt sitting at a table, apparently reminiscing.

"And remember that time that Stormcloud showed up?" asked 
Prowl, leaning back.

Ironhide nodded, laughing.  "Mahn, when Ah met him, Ah thought 
he was insane or somethin'.  Talkin' 'bout the Maximals... ahnd 
now, look at me, three hundred yeahs latah, jest lahke he said!"

"I wasn't there for that," said Silverbolt, "but I do remember the 
time where I had to save Springer, Magnus, Arcee, Kup, 
Rodimus, and Grimlock from the Quintessons.  Oh yeah, and 
Spike was there too.  The Quintessons called us Aerialbots 'the 
Autobot fleet'... for Primus's sake, there were FIVE of us!  Never 
heard such a gross overstatement in my life!"

"Wish I had been there then," said Prowl.  "Those must have 
been good times."

"Oh yeah," said Silverbolt.  "For instance, one time..."

Cybershark shrugged, then plodded on.  *So what's stopping 
me?  Loyalty?  I have never really felt much loyalty towards 
Primal or any of the others.  Maybe... it's time I took that leap.  It 
might even help me.  After all, when it comes right down to it, I 
just want to be with Seaskimmer, and if that means leaving the 
Maximals...*

The door to the confrence room slid open.  "Ah, Cybershark," 
said Grimlock, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  "How nice of you 
to join us."

"Grimlock, cool it," snapped Primal.  "Any idea where the rest of 
our staff is?"

"Right here," announced Nightpounce as she and Dinobot swept 
into the room.  Behind them, Skyfall and Skydive, in bird mode, 
flew in through the door, then transformed and landed in their 
respective seats.  Cybershark glanced around for a moment, 
unsure of where to sit.

"Maybe you need this explained," said Bandit slowly and 
patronizingly.  "These things around the table are called chairs.  
You sit in them.  Pick one.  Then we'll work on teaching you to 
eat with a fork."

"Shut up, Bandit!" snapped Cybershark, bringing up his arm to 
draw his scissor weapon from subspace.  "You want to die 
young?  I'm happy to comply!"

"Both of you, be quiet!" snapped Primal.  "Cybershark, take a 
seat.  Bandit, I have given you a GREAT deal of leeway when it 
comes to your behavior, but you are beginning to cross over the 
line of tolerance."

Bandit nodded, and remained silent.  Snarling, Cybershark 
practically hurled himself into his chair.

"All right," said Primal.  "First order of business.  Bandit, what has 
intelligence gathered since our last meeting?"

In traditional Cybertronian procedure, Bandit stood before she 
began speaking.  "Well, lately the Predacons have been pretty 
quiet.  Stratosfire has been keeping an eye out in space, but so 
far, aside from Vixen and Stormcloud's shuttle, there hasn't been 
anything up there.  I've been running missions around the 
Soundwave's perimeter, but they still seem to be taking their time 
to sit and wait.  That is all."

Bandit sat back down.  "I'm not sure whether that makes me 
happy or worried," sighed Primal.  "Next?"

Skydive stood up, and began to give his report.  Cybershark 
failed to listen, as each officer gave their reports.  He was lost in 
thought.  He had never really even thought about defection since 
he joined the Maximals, but he suddenly felt as if there might be 
a real reason to go back to the Predacons.

"Cybershark!" snapped Primal angrily.

Cybershark looked up.  "Sorry.  What?"

Primal gave a low growl.  "I asked for your report."

"Oh, yeah.  Right."  Cybershark stood.  "Right now, the biggest 
thing we're working on is being able to use our beast modes on 
land, in case we suffer sudden energon overload.  Claw Jaw is 
already capable of movement on land, so Dolphonoch is working 
on a system to keep his skin moist enough for survival.  Other 
than that, we haven't been doing much... there's still a little 
energon here and there, so we've got a bit to add to the reserves.  
That is all."

Cybershark began to sit down, but stopped himself halfway.  "If 
you would not mind, sir, I would like to return to the water."

Primal nodded.  "You might as well.  Dissmissed."

Cybershark turned, and walked out of the confrence room.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

With a mighty flip, Cybershark transformed and landed in the 
depressurization chamber.  He felt the water slowly drain around 
him, and the scanner quickly sweep over him to check for bugs.  
As the base's energon neutralizer activated, the door into the 
base opened, and Cybershark stepped in.

Dolphonoch looked up at Cybershark.  "Hey!  How are you?" he 
asked with his usual entusiasm, dropping the small objects he 
was working with and walking over to Cybershark.  "Sorry we 
couldn't get to the confrence, but we were busy mining that small 
energon outcropping.  Did it go well?"

Cybershark ignored Dolphonoch's attempt at conversation and 
stalked off into his personal quarters.

"Is everything okay?" asked Orcanoch, walking into the main 
room.

"Aside from Cybershark, yeah," said Dolphonoch, staring at 
Cybershark's door.  "I fail to see what his problem is lately."

The two Maximals turned their attention towards the door, which 
was opening again.  Out stepped Claw Jaw, still in squid mode, 
dripping wet and carrying a bunch of energon crystals.  "Great 
news, guys.  Found a brand new outcropping of energon crystals.  
I doubt the Preds will pick it up for a couple of days, so we're free 
to take it."

Orcanoch nodded.  "Sounds good," he said, taking the energon 
crystals and placing them in the storage chamber.  "Dolphonoch, 
I want you and Cybershark to go and mine the outcropping."  He 
looked at Claw Jaw.  "You DID mark the coordinates, didn't you?"

Claw Jaw transformed and put his hand behind his head as he 
grinned somewhat sheepishly.  "Would this be a good time to be 
honest?" he asked.

Orcanoch sighed.  "Then we'll all have to go.  Dolphonoch, get 
Cybershark.  I'll convert to whale/base mode and wait for the 
three of you."

Orcanoch walked into the depressurization chamber and exited 
the base.  Claw Jaw waited for the chamber to resest, then 
entered the chamber and exited the base.  Dolphonoch 
shrugged, then walked over to the door to Cybershark's chamber 
and beeped for entrance.

"Come in," said Cybershark in a dark, menacing voice.  
Dolphonoch gulped, then stepped forward as the door slid open.

The room was pitch-black.  "What do you want?" growled 
Cybershark, only barely visible from where Dolphonoch stood.

"Umm... Orcanoch needs us to go run an energon mining 
mission," said Dolphonoch uneasily.

Cybershark sighed and stood up, then walked out the door 
towards the chamber.  Dolphonoch wiped his brow.  *Whew!  
This isn't going very well.*

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

A massive killer whale swept through the sea.  Fish saw the 
massive whale cruising through the water, and scattered, hoping 
to avoid becoming a meal.  They were suprised when the whale 
didn't even seem to notice them, swimming on.  Then again, they 
were fish.  Within a few moments, several larger concerns came 
to mind, such as eating, swimming, and avoiding other whales 
that were not quite so unconcerned.

As you probably guessed, this was no ordinary whale.

Claw Jaw peered onto the small viewport.  "Yeah, this is the 
place.  You two ready?"

Dolphonoch tightened one last strap on Cybershark's energon 
canister.  The equipment looked slightly odd on the shark's body, 
but Cybershark was used to it by now.  "He's all set."  
Dolphonoch handed Claw Jaw another small bit of equipment.  
"Strap this onto my beast mode.  And remember - hook the 
BUCKLES together, not the manipulator arms.  You remember 
what happened last time."

"That was an accident!" squawked Claw Jaw indignantly.

Dolphonoch shook his head and transformed to dolphin mode.  
Claw Jaw leaned over and fastened the small manipulator array 
onto Dolphonoch's back.

~You guys ready to go?~ asked Orcanoch over the ship's 
onboard comm.

Cybershark and Dolphonoch eased themselves into a pair of 
modified torpedo tubes.  "We're ready," said Cybershark.

The tubes were closed, and two spots of skin on the whale raised 
and slid away.  There was a brief burst of bubbles, then 
Cybershark and Dolphonoch were swimming under their own 
power, towards the glowing bank of crystals.

With a small push, Dolphonoch brought himself closer to the 
outcropping, and activated the small manipulator arms, bringing 
them around a paticularly large energon crystal.  The group of 
arms gently wedged the crystal loose, and another large arm 
grabbed the freed crystal and brought it towards Cybershark's 
canister.  The canister slid open, and the large arm dropped the 
crystal into it, then Dolphonoch began looking for another good 
target.

"Dolphonoch?" asked Cybershark as Dolphonoch dropped 
another crystal into the canister.

"What?" asked Dolphonoch in reply.

"I was wondering... do you ever question being with the 
Maximals?"

Dolphonoch stopped wedging a crystal free and turned to face 
Cybershark.  "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean, it's not like they've done a lot for any of us.  Even less 
for a protoform like you.  They've gotten us stranded on the 
planet, and now we're working our hardest just to get energon."

"Are you talking about desertation?" asked Dolphonoch 
suspiciously.

"No.  I'm talking about defection."

Dolphonoch jerked backwards in shock.  "Cybershark - you can't 
MEAN that!  You're as loyal a Maximal as the next guy!"

"I wasn't always a Maximal, Dolphonoch," sighed Cybershark.  "I 
joined the Maximals after leaving the Decepticons.  I only 
defected then because I had disgraced myself.  Maybe it's time I 
went back..."

Dolphonoch whirled around and slapped Cybershark with his tail.  
"Cyber, you don't know what you're talking about.  The 
Predacons are likely to destroy each other any day.  Why in the 
world would you want to join them?"

"I've got my reasons!" snapped Cybershark.  "Why am I even 
bothering to talk to you about this?  You call yourself a scientist?  
If a colorful species of fish drifts nearby, then you'll drop what 
you're doing and stare at it for a few hours!"

"Don't go there, pal," growled Dolphonoch, turning back to the 
crystal outcropping and prying loose another crystal.  "I ought to 
report this."

"You won't."

"Why?" asked Dolphonoch bitterly.  "You think I'm your friend?"

"No, I just know you won't.  You're predictable that way."

Fuming, Dolphonoch moved on to another crystal.  "I'm not 
reporting you because I think you'll be fine with a little counseling.  
When Vixen gets back, she'll hear about this."

"I doubt it."

Unable to contain himself any longer, Dolphonoch turned full 
around and grabbed Cybershark with the large arm.  "I'll choose 
to ignore that remark, Cybershark, but you'd better get some rest 
and lose the attitude!"

Dolphonoch released Cybershark with a slight shove.  He then 
turned back to the outcropping again.

Something inside Cybershark snapped.  He was sick of waiting 
around here.  If he was in the Predacons, Dolphonoch would be 
scrap by now.  With a roar, he transformed, snapping the buckles 
on the canister.

Tearing his scissor weapon out of subspace, Cybershark's chest 
launcher flipped up, and Cybershark launched himself towards 
Dolphonoch.  Caught off gaurd by the sudden assault, 
Dolphonoch, still in beast mode, was pinned aagainst the stone 
surrounding the energon.  Cybershark brought down his scissor 
weapon, trying to slash through Dolphonoch, but Dolphonoch 
managed to wriggle free and swim away a little.  Transforming 
and snapping the buckles on the manipuplator array, Dolphonoch 
drew his concussion cannon out of subspace and his scissor 
weapon, of similar design to Cybershark's.

Dolphonoch flipped on his comm.  "This is Dolphonoch to 
Orcanoch.  I am under attack by Cybershark!  Repeat, I am 
under attack by -"  He was cut short as Cybershark sent a volley 
of chest blasts his way.  Dolphonoch twirled away, then fired the 
concussion cannon at Cybershark.  With a slight thrust, 
Cybershark avoided the blast, then launched himself at 
Dolphonoch again, knocking him off-balance.  Cybershark 
slashed his scissor weapon at Dolphonoch, but Dolphonoch 
brought up his own weapon, blocking the slash.  He kneed 
Cybershark in the groin, then horizontally slashed at Cybershark.

The slash cut a gouge into Cybershark's chest, and he snarled in 
pain.  Grabbing Dolphonoch's arm, Cybershark gave a quick 
chop to Dolphonoch's arm, and Dolphonoch released the scissor 
weapon with a slight spasm.  Grunting from effort, Dolphonoch 
tried to aim his concussion cannon at Cybershark, but 
Cybershark whirled around and slashed through Dolphonoch's 
shoulder, snapping the power relays and motor controls.  
Cybershark grinned maliciously, and shoved Dolphonoch against 
the stone again.  Grabbing Dolphonoch's scissor weapon, he 
prepared to stab Dolphonoch.

Thick, writhing tentacles engulfed Cybershark, and he growled as 
a sharp beak pierced his back armor.  Dolphonoch recovered, 
then drew a tranquilizer gun out of subspace.  Claw Jaw shoved 
Cybershark towards the energon outcropping.  The energon 
buildup forced Cybershark to transform, and Dolphonoch shot a 
dart towards Cybershark.

The world went black.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Cybershark slowly came to.

"He's awake now, Primal," said Skydive, stepping away from 
Cybershark.  "You can speak with him."

Vision returned, and Cybershark saw himself lying in the 
confrence room.  Standing over him was Optimus, and he 
sensed Skydive off to one side.

"What were you THINKING?" shouted Primal at him, frowning.  
"You brazenly attack a teammate, without provocation - what in 
the world is your problem?  I've given all of my officers a LOT of 
liberty since we landed on this planet.  But I will not have my 
troops running around, attacking each other like Predacons!"

"I was sick and tired of listening to Dolphonoch insult my 
personal opinions!" he snarled.

"Ah, yes, thoughts of defection."  Primal seemed ready to spit at 
Cybershark.  "Listen, Cybershark.  I don't know WHAT your 
problem is.  I don't know WHY it's resurfaced all of a sudden.  
But I'm not going to stand by and let it interfere with this team's 
operation!  We've had more than enough to deal with lately!"

He turned to one side.  "Grimlock, take him down to the brig.  
Maybe that'll give him time to cool off."

Cybershark felt the restraints deactivate, and his arms were 
brought behind his back and restrained again.  "Let's go," said 
Grimlock, grabbing Cybershark's arm and dragging him behind 
him.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Cybershark punched the wall in anger.  For over two days, he 
had been sitting in this pitiful hole, when he could be back in the 
sea, where he belonged!  But instead, for the third day, he awoke 
in this cage.

"Watch it!" snapped a voice from the next-door cell.  "Some of us 
are trying to do something productive!"

Slightly suprised, Cybershark stopped himself.  "I didn't know any 
other Maximals got thrown down here."

"They didn't.  I was brought up here after the temporary holding 
area was dismantled.  Now, if you don't mind, I just recently 
started reading a human novel, 'A Tale of Two Cities', and I 
would LIKE to finish it!"

"Aren't you that Predacon, Arachnid?" asked Cybershark.

There was a sigh.  "OBVIOUSLY.  Look, if you want something to 
do, call up the novel on the cell's viewscreen and read it.  
Otherwise, stop wasting my time."

Cybershark shrugged, and called up the novel on the viewscreen 
as Arachnid suggested.  "'It was the best of times, it was the 
worst of times...'"  He flipped the viewscreen off.  "I'm not going 
to read a book if the author can't make up his mind in the first 
sentence."

Arachnid sighed.  "Apparently, I'm just not going to read a book.  
Why do you keep bugging me?"

Clenching his teeth, Cybershark inhaled deeply, then exhaled 
slowly.  "I want to join the Predacons," he said.

"I doubt it," sighed Arachnid.  "All of you Maximals are far too 
'noble' to ever even consider betraying their allegiance."

"I wasn't always a Maximal!" snapped Cybershark.  "I used to be 
a Decepticon.  I'm sick and tired of all of the 'noble' crap."

There was a brief silence.  "Repulsive, isn't it?" asked Arachnid.

"What?"

"Nobility."

"Oh, that.  Quite."  Cybershark shuddered.  "To be honest, I'm 
suprised I put up with it for this long."

There was a long silence.  "Exactly how do we get out of these 
things?" asked Arachnid.  "Don't you have some sort of security 
code for that kind of thing?"

"Yes, but it's been temporarily disabled."  Cybershark sat and 
thought for a moment.  "Can you immitate voices?"

"Why?"

"I know a couple of higher security codes... but the computer 
requires both a code recognition and a voice recognition."

"Oh.  No problem.  My internal computer has a voice recording 
and sythesis device.  As long as I've heard the person speak, I 
can immitate them."

Cybershark raised the closest thing he had to an eyebrow.  "Why 
in the world do you have that in you?"

"Let's just say I was doing things that required command-level 
clearence that command wouldn't want to clear."

Cybershark shrugged.  It wasn't really his business, anyways.  
"All right... can you do Nightpounce?"

"Who?"

"The black female that is structured like Cheetor."

"Oh, her," said Nightpounce's voice from the other cell.  "What's 
the authorization code?"

"O57J618I9."

"All right," said Arachnid in his normal voice.  He then switched 
back to Nightpounce's voice.  "Computer, deactivate brig force 
fields, authorization code O57J618I9."

There was a crackle, and the field in front of Cybershark 
dissapated.  He stepped out into the corridor, and saw Arachnid 
cautiously stepping out of his own cell.  "How did you get that 
code, anyhow?" asked Arachnid.

Cybershark smiled.  "I have to keep SOME secrets, don't I?"

Arachnid shrugged.  "Whatever.  How do we get out of here?"

"Now THAT'S a tough one.  Most of the entrances and exits are 
gaurded.  The only ones that aren't are the ones in the personal 
quarters, which are locked most of the time."

"Could Nightpounce's code force us in?"

"No, she's on Tactical, not Security.  We'll need another way out."

"What about contacting the Soundwave?"

"Not really an option.  All of the comm transmissions are either 
inter-crew or long-range, and the long-range ones are monitored 
by the computer.  The only people who could authorize 
transmission to the Soundwave would be Optimus, Rhinox, or 
Polar Claw."

"And my inter-crew communicator to the Soundwave was 
disabled."  Arachnid sighed.  "So how did Dinobot contact the 
Soundwave?"

Cybershark snapped his fingers together.  "Of course!  We can 
recalibrate my internal communicator to broadcast on a 
Predacon bandwidth!"  He looked at Arachnid.  "Can you do it?"

"I'll feel like I'm in a bad Star Trek episode... but yeah, I can do 
it."

There was an utterly blank expression on Cybershark's face.  
"Star Trek?"

"Never mind.  Where do you house your comm?"

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Grimlock looked up from his security console.  "Sir?" he said to 
Optimus.  "Did you deactivate the force fields in the brig?"

Optimus glanced back at him.  "No.  They've been deactivated?"

"Apparently," replied Grimlock.  He flipped on his comm.  
"Skyvine, Wolfang, Ironhide, report to the brig ASAP."  
Transforming to velociraptor mode, he headed down towards the 
brig area of the ship.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Arachnid shut the comm maintainence panel.  "That ought to do 
it," he said.  "Try to get through."

Cybershark nodded, then activated his comm.  "Megatron, this is 
Cybershark.  Come in."

There were rather confused noises coming from the other end of 
the commlink.  ~Cybershark?  A Maximal?  How did you get your 
comm to broadcast on this wavelength?~

Arachnid leaned over Cybershark's comm.  "I modified his 
communicator appropriately," he said.  "He wants to join us."

~A Maximal defector?  Unlikely, noooo.  Either he is a very bad 
spy or an absolute moron.~

"Look, if you really need proof, ask Seaskimmer," snapped 
Cybershark as he shoved Arachnid away.  "She used to know me 
fairly well."

~Aha, romantic intrests.  Now it makes far more sense, 
yesssss.~

"Enough of that.  Can you send back-up to help us escape?"

~Certainly.  I will send them close enough to meet you when you 
get clear of Sentinel's larger guns.~

*How incredibly generous of you,* thought Cybershark 
sarcastically.  Aloud, he said, "Alright.  We'll try to meet them out 
there."  He flipped off the comm, not waiting for any sort of 
dismissal from Megatron.

"Let me guess," said Arachnid, miserably.  "We're going solo."

"Yeah, that's it," sighed Cybershark.  He armed his chest cannon 
and tore his scythe out of subspace.

"We're going to die," moaned Arachnid.  "They're going to impale 
us, and tear us open, and shred our innards, and poke out our 
optics, and shred our limbs, and mash us into a pulp, and boil us 
in acid, and -"

"Shut up!" snapped Cybershark.  "Are your weapons disarmed?"

"Yeah.  Rend us through a metal press, and our bearings 
removed, and our hands cut off, and our legs torn off and used to 
beat us, and -"

"Cut that out!" snapped Cybershark.  "It's not helping."  He 
walked over to one of the walls of the brig area and opened it.  
He removed a rather large laser lance rifle and tossed it to 
Arachnid.  Arachnid caught it - sort of - and flew along with it, 
skidding across the floor.  *Primus,* thought Cybershark, shaking 
his head, and dashed over to help Arachnid up.

"Freeze!" shouted Wolfang, Ironhide a short distance behind him.  
The pair of them unleashed their firepower towards Cybershark 
and Arachnid.  Cybershark grabbed Arachnid, and the two of the 
slid behind a corner, blasts exploding against it.  Cybershark 
grabbed a pair of the lance rifles, and tossed another to 
Arachnid, who caught it normally this time.  The tow of them 
lashed out with their rifles towards the pair of Maximals, not 
defeating them, but driving them back slightly.  Continuing to lash 
out at the pair of Maximals, Arachnid and Cybershark dashed out 
into the corridor, then turned and ran towards the exit.

Wolfang and Ironhide dashed after the pair of fleeing - 
Predacons.  Cybershark knew now that, whatever happened, he 
was a Predacon.  The two of them sent intermittent blasts at 
Wolfang and Ironhide, but laser lances weren't much good in 
motion, and besides, weren't terribly difficult to dodge when you 
could see them coming.  As the two Predacons hurtled down the 
hallway, Skyvine and Grimlock stepped out in front of them, 
armed and firing.  Caught in the crossfire, Cybershark pulled 
Arachnid to the ground, then fired at Wolfang and Ironhide while 
Arachnid blasted at Skyvine and Grimlock.

Glancing up, Arachnid saw a small air vent.  Transforming to 
beast mode, Arachnid shot a web into the vent, then grabbed 
Cybershark with his eight legs and pulled the pair of them up into 
the vent.  Shots tore into the vent behind them, and they began 
running as the shots tore through the vent behind them.  
Cybershark aimed his two laser lances at the bottom of the vent, 
and tore through it, sending the two Predacons falling behind 
Grimlock and Skyvine.  Arachnid transformed as he fell, drawing 
his two lances out of subspace as he fell.  The two fired a few 
shots at the security personel, then dashed down the hallway.

Stratosfire and Trailblazer were talking and rounding a corner 
when Arachnid and Cybershark ran past them.  It didn't take a 
moron ten seconds to see what was going on, and Stratosfire 
and Trailblazer hardly fit into the "moron" catergory.  Bringing 
their weapons on-line, they fired at the two escaping Predacons.  
They dashed after them, leading the pack and firing relentlessly.  
Cybershark and Arachnid ducked into another hallway, and fired 
on the roof, forming and impromptu blockade.  Assuming that 
they were in the clear for a brief moment, the two Predacons 
continued to madly dash towards the exit.

The blockade shook for a few moments, then exploded in a hail 
of debris as the Maximals dashed after Cybershark and 
Arachnid.  Seeing the exit not far ahead, the two of them 
increased their pace, trying to outrun the shots.  Rounding a 
corner, they ducked behind it, lashing out with their laser lances.  
While Cybershark stayed, firing relentlessly at their pursuers, 
Arachnid lunged over to a computer panel.  Desperately working 
at the panel, he activated the security field lock-out.  A force field 
shimmered into place in between the Maximals and the 
Predacons, and the two Predacons dropped their lances to their 
sides, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Not so fast," snarled Dolphonoch as he deactivated his cloaking 
device.  He was armed now, a cannon in one hand and his 
scythe weapon in the other.  He walked towards the pair of 
Predacons.  "Drop your lances," he snapped.

The pair of them dropped their lances accordingly.

"I'm not going to bother to try and talk you out of this," snapped 
Dolphonoch.  "I'm not even going to try and understand it.  I just 
want to ask you: why?  What possesses you to do this?"

Cybershark was enraged.  "An old relationship, ended 
prematurely," he replied.  "And never having really been a 
Maximal at heart."

Slightly crouching, Cybershark sprang towards Dolphonoch.  
Dolphonoch fired once, smashing into Cybershark's shoulder, but 
Cybershark still tackled Dolphonoch, and the two of them toppled 
to the ground.  Arachnid leaned over and grabbed his pair of 
lances, and fired on Dolphonoch.  While lances were not useful 
in motion, from a stationary position they were deadly effective, 
and Dolphonoch was torn into by the blasts as Cybershark 
sprang off him.  Grabbing his own lances, Cybershark fired on 
Dolphonoch as well, until Dolphonoch was little more than a 
twitching mass of wires.

Arachnid leaned over and extended the entrance ramp.  He and 
Cybershark walked out of the Axalon, and saw several 
Predacons waiting for them, heavily armed.  "Sentinel, stand 
down," said Arachnid in Wolfang's voice, and the force field 
surrounding the ship shimmered out of existence.

The two Predacons dashed across the flat expanse of ground as 
Sentinel was reactivated, and the massive guns on the top 
rotated to fire on Arachnid and Cybershark.  The two of them 
stumbled as the blasts shredded through the soft earth, sending 
clumps flying.  One blast smashed into Arachnid, and the spider 
fell and began spinning across the ground, a smoking mass of 
metal.  Cybershark lunged over to carry him away, and gaped in 
horror as one of the guns took aim at him.

Cybershark felt himself lifted, and looked up to see Transquito 
carrying them out of the path of fire.  "Express flight to the 
Soundwave," he said, grinning in the only way a mosquito can.  
"I've got them, guys.  Time to head back."

The group of Predacons retreated, and Cybershark smiled 
broadly.

He was home.

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

"Does this hurt?" asked Skydive, poking a small welder into one 
of the many holes in Dolphonoch.

"GRAAAAAAGH!"

"Guess so," sighed Skydive, removing the instrument.  "I'm 
suprised, though.  I thought it would take a little longer for you to 
be able to form incoherent screams of pain."

"Very... funny..." rasped Dolphonoch.  "When... I... get... out... 
of... here... I'm... going... to... kill... Cybershark... with... my... 
bare... hands..."

"I wish that weren't an option," sighed Optimus.  "I'll have to make 
a note of his defection in the log."

"Do you think he's coming back?" asked Skydive, remembering 
Dinobot's temporary defection, or, as it was informally called, 
"The Dinobot Incident".

"I doubt it," Optimus replied.  "He seemed so happy about 
defecting..."  He shook his head.  "It's unlikely we'll ever meet him 
on friendly terms again."

Skydive shook his head as well.  He gave up on the repair effort, 
and placed Dolphonoch in the CR Chamber, adjusting the dials 
to activate it.  "I tell you, I'm not going to miss being the only 
medic around here."

"You won't have to be for much longer," replied Optimus, 
grinning.

"I won't?" asked Skydive.  "It's been a month already?"

"Not quite yet, but almost.  Stormcloud and Vixen should be back 
in the near future.  And, in all honesty... it'll be nice to have them 
back at their posts.  No offense, but I never felt quite right having 
you giving the medical reports."

"No offense taken," replied Skydive, grinning.  "In all honesty, I'd 
much rather be sitting in my quarters, or maybe in a holosuite - if 
Razorbeast ever gets them back on-line - then be in here doing 
something useful."

Optimus smiled.  "When we open a bar, trust me, you can 
change your name to Norm and move in there.  Until then, you're 
going to start giving Vixen a little more help around here."

"I'm not too happy about that," he sighed.  "Come to think of it, I 
doubt she will be, either."

"We work with what we have," sighed Optimus.  "Now, if you'll 
excuse me, I'm going down to engineering, to see if Skyfall and 
Razorbeast have finished repairing the holosystems.  I have a 
nasty idea on something to pull on the Predacons."

"We've fixed this ship up pretty well, haven't we?" asked Skydive, 
with a smile.

"Yeah," said Optimus, smiling.  "It's too bad that it's not 
flightworthy anymore."

"Since Primus Trion destroyed most of the flight components of 
the Starrunner, we couldn't use that," sighed Skydive.  "What 
ever happened to the Starrunner, anyway?"

"I told some of the troops to get rid of it," replied Optimus.  "I'm 
not entirely sure what they did with it, but it's gone now."

Skydive shrugged.  "I've got a few ideas to make up for the lack 
of repairions, by the way.  You see, if we set up a few matter-
enchanced holograms, that could serve for TEMPORARY 
medics, but if we get the right materials..."

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Cybershark strode towards Megatron's chamber.  *Is this really 
the right choice?* he thought to himself.  *I mean, at this point, 
there really is no turning back... but did I do the right thing?  What 
have I done?*

He glanced over as the five Reptilicons strode through the halls.  
"You are in error, Whiplash," said Fadeout softly.  "Komodo is 
quite well suited to his position."

"Shut up, moron!" snarled Whiplash.  "Komodo AND you are so 
loyal to Megatron that you have trouble transforming without HIS 
say-so!"

"Look, we really don't need to bicker about this," sighed Gilator.  
"Komodo is leader, and that's that.  Why bother changing it?"

"Because Whiplash has SKILL!" bellowed Thickskull.  "With him, 
we'll take those Maximals on in a second, bust a move, and 
BLAMMO!"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Komodo at his subordinates.  "I'm in charge 
of you incompotent morons, and that's that!  You don't like it?  
Well... SLAG OFF!"

The Reptilicons walked further down the hall, still bickering.  *I 
don't know why, but somehow, things like that seem so much 
kinder than all of the sweetness and frills of the Maximals.  I've 
gotten so used to the stupid cooperation of the Aeriomals and the 
Magnabosses that scenes like that feel so much better.*

Glancing in a room, Cybershark saw Snapper, Insecticon, and 
Powerpinch sitting around a table, talking.  "So then," said 
Powerpinch, already trying his hardest not to break out in 
laughter before he finished telling the joke, "all these human 
preppies are sitting around, and one of them gets hit by a tennis 
ball, and all this blood -"  Unable to maintain what little 
composure he had left, Powerpinch doubled over with laughter.  
Snapper followed suit.

"Insecticon... not comprehend... humor... of dismembermant," 
scratched Insecticon, sitting there with a semi-stoic expression 
on his face.

"Come on!  All these nice humans are just sittin' there, and then -
"  Snapper was also unable to finish his sentence.

"But... not make sense... to Insecticon."

Powerpinch looked like he was trying to produce a response, but 
failed and doubled over again.  Insecticon shrugged and gave an 
odd grinding noise - presumably his laugh.

Cybershark continued down the hall.  *Mindless violence?  Is that 
what I want?  Someone once said that life doesn't suck, it's just 
the morons that you have to coexist with that make it seem that 
way.  So was it the Maximals that was my problem, or was it just 
me?*

Blackarachnia and Tarantulas were walking down the hall.  "I'm 
telling you for that last time, Tarantulas - I am not interested in 
you!" Blackarachnia snapped.

"Oh, you're just playing hard to get," said Tarantulas, undaunted.

"No, I'm playing IMPOSSIBLE to get!"

"So you're telling me you're not the LEAST bit interested in me?"

"No!"

"But by no, you mean yes, right?"

"No!"

"And THAT no means yes too, right?"

"How many times do I have to tell you NO before it sinks in?!?!?"

"Well, you don't mean it!"

"YES I DO!!!"

"But what you MEAN is 'no I don't'!"

"No, that's not what I - GRAAGH!"

"Let's retire to me quarters, my love."

"REMOVE YOUR CLAW!!!"

"Are you lying and pretending you don't like it there?"

"No, I'm honestly telling you to remove your claw now or remove 
it from the trash disposal later!"

Tarantulas jerked his claw away as if bitten by a snake, and the 
two Predacons continued to walk.  *Now that was fun.  It's too 
bad you never saw Stormcloud and Vixen doing that sort of thing 
- it might have made them actually INTERESTING.  But the 
question remains - is this really what I want to live with?*

Cybershark glanced into another room, and saw the three 
Tripredacons engaged in... well, not gentle conversation.

"Take back what you said about my sister!" snapped Cidacon, 
lunging at Sea Clamp.

"You don't HAVE a sister!" replied Sea Clamp, knocking Cidacon 
away.  "And besides, Ramhorn said that!"

"And YOU said something about MY sister!" bellowed Ramhorn 
at Sea Clamp, charging.

"You don't have a sister either!" snarled Cidacon, kicking 
Ramhorn.  "And I said that!"

Wordlessly, Sea Clamp launched himself at them.

"And YOU'RE just a MORON!" bellowed Ramhorn, punching Sea 
Clamp.

"YOU'RE a babbling idiot!" shouted Sea Clamp, smacking 
Cidacon.

"YOU'RE a braindead loser!" yelled Cidacon, kicking Ramhorn.

The trio continued to attack each other frenetically.

Cybershark shook his head and continued towards Megatron's 
chamber.  *All of this stupidity... all of this violence... all of this 
short-sightedness... it all feels so RIGHT!  I don't know why, but I 
just feel... at home here, unlike when I was with the Maximals.  
No, I made the right choice.*

With pride, Cybershark entered Megatron's chamber.  "Ah, our 
new recruit, Cybershark."  He stepped over to Cybershark, his 
eighteen-foot (okay, six meter) height towering over Cybershark's 
fifteen feet.  (All right, five meters!  Damn metric system.)

Megatron looked over Cybershark with a somewhat disdainful 
eye.  "You don't appear to be much of anything special," he said, 
somewhat disappointed.

"I'm not, really," replied Cybershark.  "What I am is a soldier.  
And a damn good one."

"That's not all you're good at," said Seaskimmer, standing 
nearby.

Cybershark turned to see her.  "Seaskimmer... I..."

Seaskimmer said nothing, only gave him a kiss.  "Just do your 
job this time."

"Hmm..."  Megatron smiled.  "An underwater warrior would be a 
welcome addition, yesss.  You will be assigned to the ranks with 
the rest of our underwater troops.  And... I hope you will not 
defect a third time."

"I will not," replied Cybershark.  After a moments deliberation, he 
added, "Sir."

Megatron grinned sinisterly.  He turned on the ship's onboard 
announcement system.  "Predacons!  Today we welcome a new 
Predacon into our ranks!  Let the addition of Cybershark help us 
triumph forever over the Maximal scum, and eliminate all our 
resistance!  Remember, mercy is weakness, and weakness 
means death!"

A chant surged through the ship.

"...mercy is weakness... weakness is death... mercy is 
weakness... weakness is death..."

The chant steadily grew in volume, Megatron and Seaskimmer 
joining in.

"...Mercy is weakness... Weakness is death... Mercy is 
weakness... Weakness is death..."

Almost involuntarily, Cybershark found himself chanting as well, 
his arm extending into the air in a salute to his faction.

"...MERCY IS WEAKNESS... WEAKNESS IS DEATH... MERCY 
IS WEAKNESS... WEAKNESS IS DEATH..."

The chant thundered through the Soundwave, almost as a 
strengthening mantra.

"MERCY IS WEAKNESS!  WEAKNESS IS DEATH!  MERCY IS 
WEAKNESS!  WEAKNESS IS DEATH!"

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

"...and the patrols will resume in enerst, starting at the end of the 
day."  Cyclonus bowed to his commander.  "As always, it is best 
to serve you, the true Decepticon leader."

Megatron sighed.  "Your pointless toadying will get you nowhere, 
Cyclonus," he sighed.  He saw the red light of an incoming 
transmission blinking.  "Now, if you'll excuse me, my search for 
the Golden Disk is continuing to bear fruit."

Cyclonus gave a slightly curt bow, then walked out of the room.  
Megatron spun in his chair, activating the long-range 
communicator.  The viewscreen activated, and a familiar, 
hexagonal head, with a single yellow eye, appeared, with a great 
deal of static surrounding the image.

"Shockwave," sighed Megatron, shaking his head and smiling.  
"How does it go on that boring little dirtball?"

~Not en<skrazzt>y well.  The lo<crackle>ge comm is up and 
r<hiss>ing, obviously... but this is far from <krazackt> an ideal 
Deceptibase.~

"It never is.  Has your Space Bridge been activated?"

~Affirmitive.~

"Glorious.  A crew has been assembled already.  They're 
properly outfitted with energon shields, and I think you'll be quite 
pleased with them.  They're only recently out of training, but 
they're some of the best material I've ever seen."

~I have co<pop>ce in your decisions, mighty <buzz>tron.  The 
Space <krackle> is activating, and ready for <hiss>port.  
Shockwave out.~

A badly broken-up Decepticon sigil flashed on before the 
transmission ended in a flurry of static.

Megatron turned again, and activated another comm.  "Astrotrain 
here," said the purple-black triplechanger.  "What do you need, 
Megatron?"

"Ready task force C for transport to Shockwave."

"Shockwave?  But - he doesn't have any transport coordinates!"

"He does now.  It'll be a stretch, but the two Bridges can connect 
the teleport and take the troops where they need to go."

Astrotrain fidgeted slightly.  He didn't really like orders like this.  
He had heard about all the improvision the damn humans used in 
their silly little "Federation", but he didn't really trust a lot of it.  
Still, he knew what Megatron's fusion cannon could do.  
"Understood, Megatron.  The crew will be transported within the 
hour."

"Excellent," said Megatron, a wide grin on his face.  "Megatron 
out."  The screen again flashed a brief Decepticon sigil before 
ending the transmission.

"The war, Prime," smiled Megatron, "is far from over."

	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*

Shockwave stood and turned from his communication screen.  
He was looking forward to his army arriving, ready to destroy the 
Maximals and the Predacons.

The Space Bridge came to life, and a pair of purple fields 
appeared, then solidifed into a pair of Decepticons.

Try as he might, Shockwave could never get used to the idea of 
transporters like the "Federation" used.  "I trust you are not the 
entire fleet?"

The female laughed lightly.  "No.  We're just the highest ranking 
of the fleet.  Shardwing -" she gestured towards herself "- and 
Twistout."  She gestured towards the other.

Shockwave would have smiled if he had a mouth.  "Excellent.  
You will be my unit commanders.  I look forward to seeing you in 
battle."

Twistout and Shardwing stepped down from the Bridge.  "We 
look forward to the opportunity," said Twistout, matching 
Shockwave's eighteen feet (six meters) with his own.

The Bridge hummed to life again, and Shockwave felt 
anticipation inside of him.  Soon... very soon... they would fall.