Lazy boy back here with another legit food yeah that meme's old now
CHAPTER ONE
--Outpost Two--
"I really hate organics."
Black hands held on tightly to the railing as baleful red optics glared out the window, watching the fleet of alien ships go at each other outside.
"They never fail to ruin things. Whenever you think you're safe from them, they just barge in on everything you've been working on and just... just...."
He couldn't bring himself to say what he wanted to say. Not because he was against using profanity, but because he had wiped out all vulgarities from his script in order to maintain an unemotional personality for better work ethic. So far, however, that hadn't done much. Perhaps he should have considered deleting all of his personality subroutines.
Alas, there would be a time for that later. Right now, he had more pressing matters to attend. As he turned away from the window, he saw a small black and teal mech running up to him from down the corridor, an urgent expression on his faceplate.
"Magnificus! Troobian Empire forces have jumped out of hyperspace and are battling the--"
"The Sirius Police Defense, yes, I know," Magnificus replied coldly. "I'm not blind, Wipe-Out."
"Okay, but there's more. The Troobian leader wishes to speak with you."
Magnificus' optics dilated slightly. He hoped he hadn't heard that right. "What did you say?"
"The Troobian leader wishes to speak with you," Wipe-Out repeated. "He didn't say why or--"
"That's impossible," Magnificus murmured, more to himself than the smaller Decepticon. "This base is protected by a cloaking shield. Not only should they not even know we're here, but they shouldn't even be able to contact us. All frequencies are supposed to be encrypted."
"Oh. Right, that." Wipe-Out rubbed the back of his head. "Well, either way, Bug Bite's got him on the line, so if you want...."
Without a word, Magnificus strode past Wipe-Out and went down the hall, counting up to somewhere in the triple digits to control his emotional subroutines.
* * *
"No. Not in a million years."
The skull-like visage of the Troobian Empire contorted into a rictus of rage. The red glass orbs that were his eyes flared with anger.
"You are making a grave mistake," he growled. "Emperor Trux does not offer deals often."
"Frankly, I can understand why," Magnificus replied, glaring at the viewscreen on which Trux's face was displayed. "You make a very vapid offer, Trux. Either that, or you take us for idiots."
"You must be, to refuse an offer such as mine!" the Emperor roared. "Without our aid, you will be destroyed by the Sirians when they discover you."
"See, Trux, that's the problem: they should not be able to discover us. Nor should have you. How were you even able to contact us when we have an encrypted signal?"
"My men are very skilled at bypassing encrypted radio waves--"
"But to even know we had an encrypted frequency, you had to know of our location, and with our cloaking shield up, you shouldn't have been able to have seen us. Which means...."
Magnificus trailed off as an unsettling realization gripped him. Without another word, he cut off the connection with the Troobian Emperor and whirled on Bug Bite, who was sitting at the main computer.
"Bring me Doubledealer. Now."
* * *
"All I'm saying is, maybe you should wait for things to actually turn for the worst rather than start panicking prematurely."
"I do admire your optimism, Oil Slick," Vivisector said as he secured a capsule within his ship's cargo hold. "That's a quality few Decepticons scientists -- heck, scientists in general -- have."
He then turned to walk down the lowered ramp to retrieve the last remaining capsule. "But I'm a realist. Expect the worst and never hope, is my motto. And I don't know about you, but I'm expecting this station to be blown to pieces very shortly."
"Say's who?" Oil Slick asked, rotating his monocle. "I hear it's the Troobian Empire that we're dealing with, and I know for a fact that they're more tolerant of Cybertronians than most organics."
"I don't care if their emperor is drinking pals with Straxus, organics always equal bad news," Vivisector grunted as he picked up the last capsule. "You can stay all you want, but I'm not about to let nearly seven months worth of work go to waste."
Oil Slick was about to say something but was cut off by a gray and blue tank barging into the hangar bay, transforming into a barrel-chested robot. Upon seeing the two scientists, the mech stopped walking and frowned.
"Oh. I... didn't realize there was someone already in here."
Halfway up the ramp, Vivisector looked over his shoulder at the mech. "Can we help you with anything, Doubledealer?"
"Oh no, I was just...." Doubledealer hesitated for a moment, before saying, "Actually, yes, you can. Are you two leaving?"
"Vivisector is, but I'm staying," Oil Slick replied, eyeing the Triple Changer carefully. "Why do you ask?"
"Magnificus has sent me on a recon mission to Tyros Seven. If it's not too much of an inconvenience, could you perhaps drop me off there?"
Oil Slick looked over to Vivisector, who simply kept his eyes on Doubledealer. "Tyros Seven?" the black-plated Decepticon asked.
"Yes, on the edge of the Malus Expanse--"
"I know where it is," Vivisector said tersely. "I was there, during the war."
Doubledealer shifted slightly at this. "Were you?"
"Yes. Cycle 9600. I was stationed there during the Dekkron Massacre and was one of the few left stranded on what remained of Tyros Seven after Dekkron destroyed the rest of it." Vivisector tilted his head at Doubledealer, his optics narrowing. "Do you care to explain to me what significance Magnificus sees in a continent-sized chunk of a planet?"
Before Doubledealer could answer, all three mechs heard a voice call from outside the hangar. "Doubledealer? Where the blazes are you? You've got a lot to answer for!"
For a moment, no one said anything, the three Decepticons all looking from one to another. Fixating his optics on Doubledealer, Oil Slick opened his mouth to say something but was cut off by a blast to the chest. A second one brought Vivisector and the capsule he had been carrying in his arms tumbling down the ramp.
As Doubledealer made his way onto the ship, a squad of Decepticons came rushing into the hangar. Upon seeing the fallen scientists, the lead mech raised his gun at Doubledealer.
"Freeze!" he ordered.
The double agent grinned as he held up a primed grenade. "Burn."
He then threw the grenade. Moments later, a Decepticon stealth ship was flying out of a smoking hangar bay and heading into the blackness of space.
ALL THAT GLITTERS
Part II: Who Needs Enemies?
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