Chapter 3: Infiltration.
The Decepticon, or "Downfall", as he had introduced himself, looked in wonder at what stood before him.
The commander had transformed himself within just a few simple minutes, turning from a bulky and stationary quadruped tank to a much nimbler machine of war. It had incorporated multiple joint points in different parts of its body, and what had simply been a rocket arm, was now a hand with a rocket launcher on its forearm, and he could safely wager it could scan and quite possibly transform just as easily as him... if he could find something of similar or slightly smaller size to compress to.
Sadly, for the Decepticon's sanity, that was merely the beginning.
Numerous of what the commander called extractors were built, supplying metal from the depths of the moon, as the massive factory came online. Builders started popping out, heading towards his broken form and quickly grabbing him. Downfall didn't bother struggling, he knew he could do nothing anyway.
Within seconds he could feel his arms again, but he could also feel something else, crawling all over the inside of his frame.
["THE NANITES INSIDE YOUR BODY ALLOW FOR SURVEILLANCE, COMMUNICATION, AND A LIMITED DEGREE OF REPAIRS, CAPABLE OF SAVING YOU FROM DEACTIVATION AND PLACING YOU IN A FORM OF FORCED STASSIS, RELOCATING YOUR SPARK WITHIN THE CONFINES OF YOUR UNIT FOR LATER REACTIVATION."]
["UPGRADING YOU AT THIS POINT WOULD BE DETRIMENTAL FOR THE PURPOSE OF INFILTRATION. ANY CHANGE IN WEAPONRY OR HARDWARE WOULD BE HIGHLY DETRIMENTAL. AN OPENING HOWEVER HAS PROVIDED ITSELF. PRIOR TO THE ARRIVAL OF FIVE CYBERTRONIAN SIGNATURES IN THE PLANET, A TRANSMISSION WAS SENT OUT. IT IS HIGHLY POSSIBLE IT WAS WHAT CALLED THEM HERE... THERE IS A HIGH POSSIBILITY THAT SOMETHING HAS BEEN FOUND. REINFORCEMENTS ARE INBOUND TO EITHER PROTECT, EXTRACT OR IN PREPARATION TO USE IT."]
["THIS SIGNAL WILL BE THE PRETEXT OF YOUR AWAKENING AND SUBSEQUENT TRAVEL TO THE PLANET BELOW."]
["I understand... If I could know who sent the message, or who is arriving to the planet, perhaps I can guess the importance of whatever is happening down there."]
["THEY ARE OUT OF RANGE AND HAVE MADE LANDFALL... BUT BASED ON THE INFORMATION PROVIDED BY YOUR UNIT, I CAN REVIEW THE LOGS AND DECRYPT ACCORDINGLY IN TIME... COMPLETED. SENDER: UNIT BUMBLEBEE. RECEIVER: UNIT PRIME."]
Even Downfall's optical receivers widened slightly as he heard the names.
["Prime is the designation of the Autobot's leader. If he's here, then whatever is down on that planet could change the tides of war, and we are talking about a near-concluded war."]
[War Objective: Planetary Body Cybertron. Autobot forces amount to a few squads of heavily trained veterans. Decepticon forces of at least a thousand cybertronians ranging from trained veterans to recruits. Conclusion --->Unknown asset: Equipment of unknown specific function capable of planetary siege/]
Under the current circumstances, it might be all that the commander needed. While he didn't know what it was exactly, it would instantly elevate his military standing... if what the bot said proved to be true.
[PRIORITY OBJECTIVE: OBTAIN THE ASSET.]
[SECONDARY OBJECTIVE: OCCUPY CYBERTRON AND SECURE ITS RESOURCES.]
[OPTIONAL OBJECTIVE: PREPARE UNITS TO PROTECT/OCCUPY/SECURE/DESTROY THE ASSET.]
The commander was not blind to the possibility of being unable to secure the asset... but he could damn well make sure to destroy it if it became clear he could not secure it.
An asset was of no worth if it could not be obtained.
["IS THIS UNIT CAPABLE OF MAKING LANDFALL?"]
["Yes, I am capable of flight, though individual cons don't have enough energon to endure interplanetary travel. Still, judging the distance, I can do it, we still have some energon supplies from Shockwave, so I can reach the planet with enough energon for a few years if I replenish it before attempting to enter the atmosphere."]
["NEGATIVE. TRANSPORTATION IS TO BE SECURED IN A MAXIMUM PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS. IF NOT, REINFORCMENTS SHALL PROVIDE YOU WITH ENERGON AFTER THEY MAKE LANDFALL. USE THE ENERGON TO EARN THE FAVORIBILITY OF THE CURRENT DECEPTICON LEADER ON THE PLANET BELOW."]
["...understood... but... reinforcements? May I ask what type of reinforcements exactly?"]
The Decepticon asked as he looked at the units of workers and the now still factory being slowly... undone...
["PRIMARY ROLE: FIREPOWER SUPREMACY. CAPABLE OF SECURING A LANDING SITE FOR FURTHER REINFORCEMENTS AND PROVIDING YOU WITH OVERWHELMING FIREPOWER IN EMERGENCY CASES. DETAILS DEPEND ON INFORMATION YOU ARE ABLE TO OBTAIN."]
As the silent conversation continued, Downfall watched in wonder as from the workers and the constructors, clouds of nanites burst and combined, forming into something quite different from before.
It didn't take long for the construction to finish, though even downfall noticed how it noticeably slowed down to a near standstill a few moments before finishing.
The new construction climbed quickly, leaving the moon as it soon disappeared from sight.
["DEPARTING AT ONCE IS ADVISED. YOUR UNIT IS CURRENTLY PENDING..."]
Meaning useless... As the commander turned to 'look' at the Decepticon, Downfall suppressed a shudder. Though who wouldn't if a simple look constituted to having one of the biggest cannons you'd ever seen aimed straight at your head.
["As you command my lord."]
Downfall jumped and transformed, a quick burst later, he was heading towards the energon supplies.
As the circumstances stood, he had nothing to do. Limiting his operational system to the communication array to maximize his energy production, he stood at the furthest edge of the dark side of the moon, having his engineers cover his frame and themselves as they slowly burrowed themselves below the surface.
On the other side, Downfall quickly arrived at his previous location, transforming as he landed with a soft thud, looking around quickly only to find depleted energon containers...
["... no,no,no..."]
He quickly scanned the area around, but it appeared that all 4 of them had consumed the energon shortly before emerging to combat the commander... and he had forgotten in his eagerness to prove his usefulness.
Slowly turning his head, Downfall looked at the nearby resting place of another of his Decepticon 'brothers'.
Leaping the distance in a few steps, Downfall stopped before raising his arm, bringing it down with force as he grabbed hold of the Decepticon hidden beneath the surface.
A quick pull and he brought to surface the Decepticon by its neck.
His other hand turned into a blade as it tore through the con's face before it could act. Throwing the body aside, he looked around before finding another energon container.
["Perfect."]
Jumping once more he took flight, heading directly for the planet below. As he increased his speed, he could no longer locate the Commander, but instead saw the unit sent into space minutes before... and now there were 4 of them.
[Orbital constructors?]
Before he could think anymore, a transmission connected.
["I HAVE DETECTED TECHNOLOGY BELONGING TO ANOTHER RACE ORBITING THE PLANET. A BRIEF VISUAL INSPECTION REVEALS IT TO BE FAR INFERIOR TO YOUR OWN. THEIR NUMBER AND SIGNALS SUGGEST A NETWORK AND/OR SURVEILLANCE GRID. CLOSER INSPECTION COULD TRIGGER ALARMS WITHOUT PRIOR KNOWLEDGE. FIND OUT THE EXACT LEVEL OF CIVILISATION."]
["Yes, my lord. I am observing unnatural lighting on the planet, quite possibly the urban area of the native population. Taking appropriate precautions and keeping my distance... preparing to make landfall."]
Downfall accelerated through the atmosphere, piercing through the clouds and heading right for the ocean. Moments before making contact, his engines blasted at full power, keeping him above water.
His figure pierced through the air as he reported to the Commander.
["My lord, I have reached the surface. I'm doing a recon run by the coast, getting an approximate reading on their equipment, using it to approximate their level of technology."]
["NO NEED, SINCE YOUR ATMOSPHERIC ENTRY, MY NANITES HAVE DETECTED A LARGE AMOUNT OF UNPROTECTED NETWORK MOVEMENT, I AM ALREADY INFILTRATING. I AM INSIDE. I HAVE ALREADY LOCATED THE AUTOBOTS, TRACKING... SEARCHING FOR DECEPTICONS, SORTING... FOUND THEM... TRACKING... REVERSING AUDIO, FINDING RECORDING... IMAGE NOT FOUND, AUDIO SECURED, PLAYING BACK. 'COORDINATES... MEGATRON... CRASHLANDED... LOCATION... WITWICKY... ENGRAVED... GLASSES...' THAT IS ALL I COULD PUT TOGETHER WITH THE HIGHEST LIEKLYHOOD OF BEING CORRECT. THE AUTOBOTS HAVE JUST ENCOUNTERED THE LOCAL MILITARY FORCES. DESIGNATION BUMBLEE HAS BEEN CAPTURED. I HAVE TAKEN OVER THE SATELLITE GRID. REINFORCMENTS ARE BEING PREPARED. THEY MAKE LANDFALL IN 2 DAYS."]
That surprised Downfall to no small measure. The previous prediction was at six months... but it was shortened to 2 days.
["Pardon my interruption my lord, but wasn't your last approximation a few months?"]
["LOCAL PARAMATERS DISRUPTED. CONTROL OF THE SATELLITE GRID ALLOWS SAFE AND UNDETECTED LANDING AT MANY DESIRED SPOTS ACROSS THE PLANET. TWO DAYS ARE REQUIRED FOR CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNIT."]
As Downfall attempted to comprehend just how a single unit had managed to take control of the entire information and surveillance network of a world, albeit a rather primitive one, he received new information from his master, a set of coordinates... that were constantly changing.
["COORDINATES TO DESIGNATION BUMBLEEBEE HAS BEEN SENT AND ARE UPDATING IN REAL TIME. MAINTAIN APPROPRIATE DISTANCE WITHOUT RISK OF DISCOVERY."]
["Understood."]
As Downfall continued his mission, in orbit the commander was working through his constructors.
[Calculating threat level. Threat level below predetermined parameters... Disregarding... Maintaining war preparation levels.]
In the deep sea, hundreds of meters under the water, movement had started with no rest in sight.
Gaining access to the planet's, or earth's as the humans called it, information grid, the commander finalized his orders, sending multiple constructors deep below the sea. The access to resources shortened his plans by leaps and bounds.
A massive construction was under way as the commander was watching through the 'eyes' of a constructor bot at what stood in front of him. A perfect replica of Downfall... except for the small detail that it was not alive. It used rudimentary programming, as anything better seemed to have been lost before or during his deactivation. It was likely to lose against most cybertronians unless it was built with progenitor alloy, or he took direct control over it.
Otherwise, it had all the abilities of an average cybertronian, meaning the ability to scan and transform.
Starting the reclamation of the unit, he transferred his attention towards another constructor, one partaking in the bigger project.
Cloud of nanites pushed the immense volumes of water aside, making room for the construction little by little, and as work continued for almost the entire day, he finally received a report from Downfall.
["My Lord, the humans have entered a reinforced complex. Approaching further could alert them of my presence. What would you have me do?"]
Hoover Dam suddenly experienced something unprecedented. The firewall that protected the system wasn't made aware of any attempt of intrusion, it was overwritten and completely replaced by a replica under the commander's complete control before it could even notice a breach.
[Occupation successful. Microphones enabled. Adjusting cameras.]
As the humans spoke, they were unaware of the cameras slowly adjusting their angle, as the comms on some guards came to life unwillingly.
"…What is that?"
"Well, yeah, they came here looking for some sort of cube-looking thing."
[Topic Unclear. Searching recordings. Rolling back footage. No audio found... Matching lip and muscle movement... Incorporating... Decrypting... Subject: ALLSPARK. Possibility: 95%. Four percent loss on specific missing recording angle and quality. One percent loss on unknown variables.]
"Anyway, Mr. NBE One here, AKA Megatron, that's what they call him, who's pretty much the harbinger of death, wants to use the Cube to transform human technology to take over the universe. That's their plan."
As the teen spoke, a man in uniform stared at him before inquiring.
"And you're sure about that?"
"Yeah."
As the boy looked at the men in the room, he noticed something in the faces of some of them.
"You guys know where it is don't you?"
As they looked at each other before beckoning to move, the commander sent a transmission to Downfall.
["SUBJECT 'MEGATRON' HAS BEEN LOCATED INSIDE THE BASE. ASSET 'ALLSPARK' HAS BEEN LOCATED INSIDE THE BASE. PROBABILITY OF SUCCESS IS BENEATH ACCEPTABLE PARAMETERS. REINFORCEMENTS UNAVAILABLE. STAND BY FOR FURTHER ORDERS. PREPARE FOR RESCUE MISSION. RELEASING/RESCUING UNIT MEGATRON WILL PROLONG THE CONFLICT BETWEEN FACTIONS. IDEAL SCENARIO: PROLONGED CONFLICT WITH NO CLEAR VICTOR UNTIL REINFORCEMENTS ARE AVAILABLE."]
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