Corporate executive Geoff Cooper pulled his black Ford pickup to the front of
his estate.  As one hand toggled the controls to open the automated gates, the
other was used to roll down the truck's window.  A chilly blast of the
Colorado air greeted him -- <Winter's coming early this year,> he noted.

With both hands, he reached into the mailbox and pulled out a thick pile of
envelopes.  Though there was the obligatory sprinkling of junk mail, Cooper
was delighted at the number of personal envelopes that were present.  Though
his talk with Optimus Prime was disappointing, his television appearance also
allowed him to share his views with a wider audience.  That, in turn, led to
more interest in SECT, which translated into more potential recruits.  If the
growth trend continued, he estimated that they could have 200,000 members in
another six months and begin petitioning Congress in earnest.

As he placed the pile into the seat beside him, one item caught his eye.
"What's this?"  It was an unmarked, unlabelled audio cassette; Cooper wondered
who would send such a thing as he wheeled the truck past the gates.  By the
time he reached the front of his manor, his curiosity was fully aroused.  He
gracelessly let himself into the warm house, clutching the mail as he hung up
his coat.  Envelopes in one hand, tape in the other, he briskly stepped
through the living room and popped the tape into the stereo.

A gravelly voice greeted him when he pressed PLAY.  "Greetings, Mr. Cooper.  I
am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons.  It's come to my attention that you
are looking to acquire some of our advanced Cybertron technology.  I'm very
interested in this exchange -- if you want to discuss this, let Laserbeak
know, and we'll meet tomorrow."

The tape stopped with a sharp click.  Cooper popped it out and stared at it
even as he considered the offer.  Without warning, the cassette wiggled loose
from his fingers.  It grew and expanded as it fell, to land as a vulture-like
robot two feet tall.  Cooper could only stare in amazement.  He had never seen
a Decepticon before, but was absolutely certain this was the one Megatron
mentioned.

Laserbeak waddled on metal talons, turning at Cooper with a piercing glare.
He stretched lazily, showing off an impressive eight-foot wingspan, then
looked at Cooper again, who finally realized that he was waiting for an
answer.  Swallowing his courage, Cooper tried to look composed when he
replied, "Yes.  Tell Megatron I'll see him."

Laserbeak nodded in acknowledgment then hopped to the front door.  He stared
at it until Cooper got the hint.  Once the door was open, Laserbeak walked out
and flew off on silent jets, quickly shrinking to a black dot that vanished
against the twilight sky.  Cooper stared for long minutes afterwards,
wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Fortunately, the week was over; he only needed to make a few phone calls to
postpone his usual Saturday rounds.  The rest of the evening passed without
incident, dreadfully dull in comparison to the visit.  By the time Cooper went
to bed, he had managed to convince himself that Megatron was not a danger to
him.  <What could he gain from hurting me?>  Lacking any reasonable answer, he
soon drifted into a dreamless sleep.

                                    * * *

The view outside continued to show nothing but white.  Cooper stirred
restlessly in the pilot's chair while he mused over his predicament.  After
washing, dressing, and descending the stairs, he had found a gray military
helicopter sitting in front of his home.  With only a blueberry muffin for
breakfast, he introduced himself to the Decepticon named Vortex who was here
to take him to Megatron.  The flight was long and tedious -- Vortex had spent
the entire time either in the clouds or over the cloud layer, and Cooper had
no idea where they were going.  The Decepticon didn't help matters any; aside
from his name, Vortex refused to answer any questions or even engaged in idle
conversation.

Vortex dipped suddenly, shaking Cooper out of his musings.  The cockpit view
suddenly cleared, showing them to be diving deep inside a mountain range with
jagged peaks all around.  Vortex didn't stop as he barreled for a sheer rock
wall straight ahead; before Cooper could yell, they were inside.

They flew down a gigantic metal cavern, dimly glowing with lines of amber
light.  It opened into a larger landing bay flooded with florescent lamps in
the ceiling.  Vortex touched down abruptly, and the buckles on Cooper's chair
unsnapped themselves as the propeller slowly wound down.  With silent
understanding, Cooper climbed out of the chair, straightened out his white
sweatshirt, and shakily made his way outside.

Vortex transformed into his robot mode after Cooper exited, then led him down
a maze of corridors to a computer chamber of some kind.  Exotic machinery,
video screens, and flashing lights impressively filled the walls of the
gigantic room.  Seated in the middle was Megatron, his fingers steeped in
front of his face.  The same gravelly voice from yesterday greeted him now,
sounding more impressive with the Decepticon leader's bemused grin behind it.
"Welcome, Mr. Cooper.  I'm glad you could join us."

Cooper was suddenly lifted into the air by Vortex and deposited on a console
opposite Megatron.  Giant switches and buttons surrounded him, and images of
Gulliver lost in the land of the Brobdingnag came to mind.  When neither
Megatron nor Vortex made any further movement, Cooper awkwardly seated himself
on the smooth metal surface.  "Ahhh-- I'm glad to meet you too, Megatron..."

If he sensed the worry in Cooper's voice, Megatron didn't show it.  He glanced
warningly at Vortex as he continued, "I trust you had a pleasant trip?"

"It was all right," Cooper replied, afraid to offend his hosts.  "Quiet."

"Vortex is not much of a speaker.  Let's dispense with the pleasantries.  I
think our situation is simple enough -- you want me to give you Cybertron's
technology, so that you can use it to solve your planet's problems."

"Well, not from YOU, exactly," Cooper stammered.  "And the information would
be given equally to everybody.  But yes, SECT wants to see your people's
knowledge used for the good of Earth."

Megatron waved one hand absently.  "Yes, yes.  The bottom line is, you want
our technology, right?"

"Right.  I suspect, though, that you're not going to give it out of charity."

Megatron leaned back and smiled.  "Very astute, Mr. Cooper.  You're right; I
won't give it for free.  But if you're willing to help me out a little, I'll
give you all of the diagrams and plans for our basic sciences.  Nothing
sophisticated by our standards, but certainly enough to satisfy your needs."

"I'm not looking for weapons--"

"--and you won't get them."

"That's fine."  Cooper was beginning to submerge his initial fear of Megatron;
the Decepticon leader was blunt and uncivil, but the human no longer sensed
that he was being led into a trap.  "What do you want from me, then?  Money?"

"Nothing so base.  I only need you to do me a little favor..."

Cooper swallowed the lump in his throat.  Sitting up straight, he said, "I'm
willing to do a lot of things for my cause, but I'm not going to do anything
illegal."

"Illegal?"  Megatron laughed as he grasped what Cooper was implying.  "No, Mr.
Cooper, I don't need you to commit treason for me.  I have no interest in your
nation's petty secrets, and if I did want them, I wouldn't need you to get
them.  No, I want you to help me against the Autobots."

"The Autobots...?"

"Yes, Mr. Cooper.  Surely you aren't feeling loyalty to them, are you?  Our
war has nothing to do with Earth or you humans; it's a difference in
philosophy between our own people.  I'm just asking you to help our side gain
information on our ... moral opposition.  In return, you'll have everything
you need to make your dream come true.  Do we have a deal?"

Cooper pondered long and hard.  Megatron was right; he had no loyalty to the
Autobots, especially after Optimus Prime's aloof implication that humanity
wasn't up to their level.  He didn't completely trust Megatron; he had heard
of some of the Decepticon actions before on the news, and knew they weren't
all pristine and innocent.  Still, Megatron never claimed otherwise, and his
concerns were with the Autobots, and not with Earth.

<Do you have the courage of your convictions?> he asked himself.  <Are you
really willing to do what it takes to save the human race?  Who are you
protecting if you refuse?>

Cooper spoke with a determination that surprised himself.  "All right,
Megatron.  We have a deal."

                                    * * *

The last flush of a toilet faded away, gasping a final gurgle before it fell
silent.  The slow drip of a leaking faucet filled the ensuing void, with
footsteps passing outside providing an occasional backbeat.

Two minutes passed.  The blue tape player on the toilet tank suddenly ejected
a cassette which transformed and grew to land in a man-sized humanoid form.

"Pew!" Rumble commented.  "What the shock am I steppin' in?"

"Silence," Soundwave reprimanded.

Muttering to himself, Rumble locked the stall door and climbed on top of the
toilet.  Two low-energy blasts from his laser pistol were enough to open the
air vent.  Holding the grill in one hand, he used the other to push Soundwave
into the dusty shaft beyond.  Rumble pulled himself in, then spot-welded the
cover back in place with a few more bursts.

The two sat still for several hours, silently indifferent to the personal
hygiene of assorted federal employees.  Rumble fidgeted slightly when the
janitorial staff finished their rounds, but it wasn't until Soundwave gave the
order that they moved again.

Cautious use of the pistol soon produced a Rumble-sized hole in the duct that
would not be found for months, maybe years.  Rumble slung Soundwave to his
side with shoulder and waist straps, then consulted the blueprints he had
downloaded earlier.  He squirmed through the hole and climbed through the
building's infrastructure, his powerful robot hands digging into concrete and
steel support columns.  Writhing like a monkey among the wires and pipes and
shafts, he soon made his way over a hallway on the fourth floor.

Re-entry was even easier; the offices on this floor were used for routine
clerical work, and the suspended ceiling provided decor, not protection.
Rumble slid a panel aside and poked his head through the opening, verifying
the absence of security systems.  Satisfied, he landed nimbly, then headed for
room 422.

Rumble stifled a laugh at the stupid humans as he closed the door behind him.
All of the "sensitive" material was in the sub-basement, where armed guards,
keycard access locks, and closed-circuit cameras protected everything on a 24-
hour basis.  What they didn't understood, however, was that a crafty foe could
turn even innocent information to his advantage.  He unbuckled Soundwave, who
transformed into his massive robot mode; the Decepticon communicator had to
kneel to avoid hitting the ten-foot ceiling.

Soundwave bent over the Apple Macintosh on the secretary's desk, his fingers
resting lightly on its case.  While Rumble stood guard, ultra-sensitive
receptors in Soundwave's fingertips began to sense the information on the hard
drive.  He had experience reading the electrical patterns in both Transformer
braincases and human minds; compared to those, it was childishly simple to
locate -- and modify -- the files he needed.

He was finished in under a minute and signaled completion by changing back
into a tape player.  Rumble ran over and strapped Soundwave to his side, then
darted out the door.  The uneventful trip to the roof was interrupted only by
the need to deactivate the alarms and blast open the door's lock.  Once there,
he dropped Soundwave and stepped back.  Soundwave calmly ordered, "Laserbeak.
Prepare for flight.  Operation: transport."  Laserbeak ejected and unfolded
into condor mode; Rumble transformed and took his place back inside.

With a sharp banking dive, Laserbeak snatched Soundwave in his talons, then
silently soared off into the night.

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