CHAPTER THREE
--The W.A.P--
"So how do we want to approach this?" Misfire asked as he and the other Scavengers stood huddled by the entrance ramp. "Guns blazing? Or just surrender?"
"Quiet, I'm trying to think," Krok snapped, a clicking sound coming from his clenched fist. "We're grossly outnumbered by them, so attack would be suicide...."
"Feh," Crankcase grunted. "Never did want to live forever?"
"Our best bet is to probably just surrender," Fulcrum said. "Or, better yet, join them--"
"Are you crazy?!" Crankcase snapped, slapping Fulcrum upside the head. "Did you forget about that badge on your helmet? We're Decepticons, not petty pirates like them."
"We're not exactly all that dissimilar," Fulcrum retorted. "We raid, we steal, we loot... only difference is what insignia we wear."
"Except the Star Seeker are ruthless to each other when it comes to sharing," Krok said. "Those leg motors you need? They would've been gone before you could even lay your optics on them."
Fulcrum sighed. "So I guess it's death then."
"Well, fellas, it's been nice knowing you guys," Misfire said as he readied his gun. "Except you, Crankcase. And you, Spinister. And Krok... okay, I really don't give a slag about any of you, but it's been fun, yeah?"
"Forget you losers," Spinister said, moving to open the ramp. "I'm giving these blokes a piece of--"
"Spinister, no!" Krok hissed, grabbing the other Decepticon's hand. "You'll get us all killed if you go out there now."
"Weren't we gonna all die anyway?" Spinister asked.
"We're not going to die. Help is on the--"
Before Krok could finish, the ramp lowered itself and the Scavengers were faced with over a dozen Star Seekers, guns pointed at them.
"So much for that," Crankcase muttered.
"Relax, guys, I've got this." Misfire started to draw his weapon but Fulcrum stopped him.
"No, you don't! We have a better chance at escaping than you do of actually hitting them."
"There are, like, twenty of them," Misfire retorted. "How could I possibly miss?"
With that, he pulled the trigger of his gun and the shot bounced off of the floor and onto the ceiling, taking out a light fixture. In response, one of the Star Seekers fired a stun bolt, knocking out Misfire.
"As usual, it's up to me to get things done," Crankcase growled as he flipped out a pair of shoulder launchers. The same Star Seeker took him out before he could use them while another incapacitated Spinister and Krok. Left alone and defenseless, Fulcrum held up his hands as the pirates pointed their weapons at him.
"Don't shoot!" he pleaded. "I'm unarmed! I'm no threat to you!"
"You take us for idiots?" the first Star Seeker growled. "I know a K-class body type when I see one. You're literally a walking bomb."
"No, no, wait! Hear me out! I had my explosives removed--"
"Right, I'm sure." The pirate aimed his weapon at Fulcrum, smirking mirthlessly. "Nighty-night," he said as he fired the gun.
--The bridge--
"What did I miss?"
Stronghorn refrained from sighing as he tuned to the waking Cannonball. "Nothing, sir. Still no sign of the Harbinger."
"Nothing at all?" Cannonball asked.
"Well...." Stronghorn hesitated for a moment before continuing. "We did find a Decepticon ship--"
"You did?" Cannonball nearly launched from his seat, anger crossing his face. "Why didn't you wake me? I should have been informed!"
"It's of little importance," Stronghorn said. "We're simply raiding it for supplies."
Cannonball scowled as he sat back down. "If you say so," he grunted. "I'm growing rather tired of this lack of progress."
"I agree," Stronghorn said. "We could very well be spending eons scouring the galaxy for this ship. And for all we know, it could be crashed on some planet rather than still out in space."
"Yes," Cannonball muttered. "Decepticon ships do have a tendency to crash."
"Captain?" A crew member turned in her seat to address Cannonball. "I have Cruellock on the line. He says they've got five Decepticons in stasis lock. What do you want him to do with them?"
The Star Seeker captain rubbed his chin. He glanced at Stronghorn, who met his gaze, informing him that they were on the same level of thinking. Smirking, Cannonball turned back to the crew member.
"Tell him to bring them onto the bridge, Nightwing. I think a round of questioning is in order."
--Space--
"Any luck yet, Foldspace?"
"Of course not!" The old Mini-Con snapped at Spacewarp from within her alt mode. "How am I supposed to find a single Decepticon ship out of Primus knows how many?"
"Just keep scanning for Decepticon spark signals," Spacewarp said as she maneuvered through an asteroid belt. "Most of them would have gone back to Cybertron or New Kaon by now, so if there are any of them out here now--"
"Wait," Foldspace said. "I'm picking up a ship."
"Decepticon or Autobot?"
"Neither. It's alive."
Spacewarp came to a stop, morphing to her robot mode and landing on a large asteroid. Foldspace deployed from her and perched on her outstretched arm.
"What do you mean, 'it's alive?'" she asked.
"I mean it has a spark. The ship has a spark. I detected other spark signatures as well, but the ship has one of its own."
"Are you sure?"
The Mini-Con scowled. "You don't believe me?"
"Your processor has proven to be less than reliable in the past. Where is this ship?"
"Somes parsecs outside of the field. It's near some planet called... Hydrophena, I believe? Something like that."
"Well, unless they know where Krok's gone off to, we'll have to past on investigating that little--"
Before Spacewarp could finish, she heard a voice crackle in her audio sensors via intercom. It sounded gruff and commanding, a combination she found to be a bad sign.
"Attention, Decepticon! State your business now before I shoot you!"
Turning around, Spacewarp found three Cybertronians floating before her: an orange mech, from which the voice had originated from; a winged blue and red mech; and a slender red and orange femme. All three had their guns pointed at her.
"I repeat," the first one said. "State your--"
"What, is this Autobot turf?" Spacewarp said snappishly. "I don't see your logo anywhere on these rocks."
"We are not Autobots," the mech retorted. "Well, these two are, but we call ourselves the Cybertronian Knights, warriors of the reformed Circle of Light."
"The Circle of Light? Isn't that Dai Atlas' crazy lot? I thought you were all huddled on Theophany?"
"Our city fell to the undead legions of the Chaos Bringer. But we have since begun rebuilding our order, protecting the galaxy from those who seek to do ill will."
"Ah," Spacewarp said. "Well, luckily for you, I'm not here to do any 'ill-will.' Just going about my merry way through the stars."
"Decepticons aren't one for merry flights," the blue one grunted.
"Then you haven't met many Decepticons, hon."
"Regardless of what you claim your intentions are, we can't let you go until we've cleared you through intergalactic customs," the orange mech said. "All Decepticons not on Cybertron or New Kaon require a special identification chip. Unless you can provide one within the next five seconds...."
"Identification? Since when was that a thing?"
"Since the war ended six months ago." The mech and his companions all raised their guns. "And congratulations; you just bought yourself a holding cell on our ship."
Spacewarp's mind raced. Converting to her alt mode, she attempted to fly away from the trio, but one of them fired at her rear thrusters, sending her spinning in zero gravity. Before she could return to her robot mode, a stun bolt struck her back, sending her into stasis lock....
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