Transformers Regenerated: Unicron Saga IV, Chapter Six

CHAPTER SIX

   Sandstorm sputtered as he got to his feet, still stinging from the hard, yet thankfully non-fatal hit the mysterious ship had scored on him. Nearby, he could see the Predator known as Fearswoop recovering from the crash as well. Upon noticing Sandstorm, Fearswoop's green eyes widened and he brought out a large blaster cannon, fumbling with it slightly as he took aim.

   "Surrender if you wish to live, Autobot!" the Predator said loudly. "I am the Propagator of Infinite Sin! The Eternal Nightmare! The Baleful-"

   A well-aimed shot from Sandstorm's rifle silenced Fearswoop for good. As he started to walk away from their crash site, hearing the sounds of battle raging on from afar, Sandstorm's comlink buzzed and he answered it to hear Rotorstorm's voice on the other end.

   "Sandstorm? You there?"

   "Yeah, I'm here. A little beat up, but still kicking."

   "Wow, when I saw you plummeting towards the ground, I thought you were done for. Anyway, we could use some help; the Vehicon and Predator corpses are piling up, but there's this big, green, killing machine wreaking havoc here."

   "Big, green...?" Recalling the appearance of the ship that had attacked him earlier, Sandstorm frowned. "Frag."

*  *  *

   Some Decepticons were driven by bloodlust. Others were driven by the desire to see Cybertron restored to its glory days. Even some simply fought for the heck of it. Then there was Sixshot.

   True, the sight of destruction and death appealed to him, but that was merely a bonus. No, he was doing this- massacring Autobots and creating havoc- because Lord Megatron had ordered it. If Megatron had told him to tear apart the speedways of Velocitron, he would have done so. If Megatron had ordered him to jump into the volcano pits of Vulcanus Minor, he would have done so. If Megatron had ordered to kill him, or kill himself, or do absolutely nothing for the rest of his life, then he would have done so.

   Because he was, quite literally, a chained beast.

   When Megatron had approached him, promising a life of grandeur and prominence, Sixshot had expected just that. But he had mistaken it as a life granted to him; instead, he realized that Megatron was merely using him- and a handful of others- to win the war and achieve such a life for himself. Then, when all was said and done, Megatron would find no further use of his weapons of mass destruction and dispose of them, Sixshot included.

   Until that day, all Sixshot could do was follow orders, regardless of what they entailed. For this was his reckoning. And he was here to bring about the Autobots' retribution.

*  *  *

   "Hurricane!"

   The name had barely passed Thunderclash's lips as the giant green terror known as Sixshot dropped his fellow Turbmaster's lifeless husk, joining the ones that already lied at his feet. 

   In the course of barely half an hour, he had lost nearly half of his Autobots, and this Decepticon was showing no intention of stopping. He had no choice; he had to give the order, lest there would be a lot less Autobots returning to Cybertron.

   Turning to Paddox, Thunderclash gave the word: "Retreat."

   And in response, Paddox shot him point-blank in the face.

   As the revered Autobot commander fell to the ground, Vehicon and Predator troopers began to surround him while the Decepticon war machine's shadow fell over him.

   "There are only two outcomes for this battle," Sixshot said. "Your destruction or your surrender. There will be no retreat; I despise cowards."

   He looked down at Thunderclash and aimed one of his two blasters at his face.

   "I have heard of you, Thunderclash. You are one of the oldest Autobots alive today. Forged during the Age of Nova Prime and going on to serve in the Primal Vanguard and then the Elite Guard, you have made a name for yourself among Autobots and Decepticons alike; respected and feared at the same time."

   He leaned forward menacingly. "Are you truly that willing to give the order to retreat? Has age finally caught up with you? Have your glory days finally ended? Has the legend finally fallen?"

   Thunderclash met the Decepticon's baleful gaze but did not respond to him, Instead, he turned to Paddox, who was standing just behind Sixshot.

   "Why, Paddox?" the legendary Autobot asked. "Why have you betrayed me? You have served me for years- nearly a decade- and I've saved your life on fourteen separate occasions... and yet all this time you've been a Decepticon?"

   Paddox grinned. "We are not a Decepticon."

   Both Thunderclash and Sixshot gave the former Autobot quizzical looks. "'We?'"

   "We are Ammonites."

   Suddenly, light began to pour out of Paddox's body as it began to break apart, parts of it shifting and morphing at the same time. Soon, three, diminutive robots stood before them, rather than one large one.

   "I am 11613/9, general of the Ammonite Army," the lead bot said. "And we are here to take Vehicon for ourselves."

   "What for?" Thunderclash asked. "And why disguise as one of my troops- as my first officer?"

   11613/9 grinned. "My men and I have been at war with our enemies, the Terradores, for sixteen million years, locked in an eternal stalemate. I, among others, was tasked with spying on other races in the hopes of finding a mean to win our war."

   "Then why did you shoot me in the face?"

   "Because you were ordering a retreat, and we didn't want to leave." 11613/9 spread his arms to indicate Vehicon's mechanical landscape. "This world has factories beyond our comprehension. It can construct a dozen troopers in little over a cycle. With it, we could build an army that can crush the Terradores and bring order to our homeworld."

   Thunderclash glanced at Sixshot. "Sounds like you guys would get along quite well."

   "There is a point in that," 11613/9 said, turning to the large Decepticon. "Since the Decepticons are still in control of Vehicon, we were hoping that you would grant us access to this world's factories."

   Sixshot gave the Ammonites a skeptical look. "No less than a minute ago, you were talking about conquering Vehicon for yourselves."

   11613/9 smiled. "Don't worry, I'm flexible. We'll get what we need here, and then neither of us speak of this encounter again."

   It only took a moment's hesitation for the Decepticon to reply. "Deal."

-

   Author's note/Trivia: Paddox's true designation- 11613/9- is unofficial, derived from the release date of Paddox's debut issue in More Than Meets the Eye (which is October 16, 2013 or 10/16/13. The "9" comes from its iBooks release date, October 9.)