Starscream's form was shaking with giddiness.  He couldn't control
his laughter at the thought of the boasting, backward, oaf of Roadbuster
meeting his fate against the acid-spitting aliens.
        Light over darkness.  The entrance to the cave now apppeared.  The
broad plane across the fifth planet of the Ska system stood out before
them.  It was strangely quiet now, compared to the screaming carnage on
the inside of the cave.
        "Astrotrain, transform, load up!"
        Astrotrain complied as constructicons loaded up the shuttle form with
ingots of adamantum, almost three hundred tons worth.
        Astrotrain realized that he would burn fuel all day and never get off
the ground with this much weight.  He turned over, and transformed into
his locomotive form and began to lurch forward.
        "Quickly, decepticons," shouted Starscream, "we must leave this place
with the adamantum intact!"
        Rumble scratched at his metallic head, "uh, boss, what about us?  how
're we gonna leave if Astrotrain is full of that metal stuff?"
        Starscream was visibly annoyed.  "Astrotrain will come back to pick
you up after the adamantum is safely aboard the Decepticon mother ship."
        Rumble said nothing, aware that Starscream was apt to "forget" about
him and the other Decepticons stranded on the planet when the adamantum
was far more important.
        Rumble, Ratbat, Soundwave, Frenzy, and the constructicons remained.
Soundwave sat on a rock, cradling the remains of Ravage.
        "Hook!" he barked.  "Get over here and fix my faceplate."
        Hook was about to follow his order when he was suddenly toppled by
an arcing streak of light that shot out of the cave.
        
        Blur had wrestled the title of the fastest Autobot on the ground from
Windcharger and Tracks many a time, and now he had all the responsibility
that came with it.  As Rumble was closing the entrance to the cave, he
managed to slip by the rockfall quick enough to avoid being sealed in.
Realizing he would now have to test that title, in order to catch Astrotrain
before he gained enough momentum to transform into a shuttle and take
off.
        The plain was rolling away now.  Faster and faster Blur accelerated,
heading towards the bulk of Astrotrain barreling towards the horizon.
Above the Decepticon booty, flew Starscream, Dirge, Skywarp, Slugslinger, and
Blitzwing in low altitude.
        Blur was now close enough to count the rivets in the side of
Astrotrain's hull.
        "Somethin's closing in on Astrotrain, there!" shouted Dirge.
        "Skywarp," said Starscream, "take care of him."
        Skywarp giggled and opened a wormhole in the space before him,
emerging directly behind and above Blur.
        
        Blur was a dedicated Autobot, and was quite willing to die for his
cause, but was also prone to excitement in such situations.  He began
swerving back and forth nervously, being unable to shake off Skywarp.
        "THISUCKSTHISUCKSTHISUCKSTHISUCKSTHISUCKSTHISUCKS!!!!!!!!!"

        A beep in Blur's guidance equipment informed him that Skywarp
had locked in on him.  Skywarp tensed as he released his missiles.  He loved
the feeling, and loved it even more when he witnessed their target explode.
        Skywarp suddenly felt a hot pain in his left tailfin.  It was gone!
Disintegrated by gunfire from...
        It was then that the sleek red and white form of Jetfire buzzed in
front of Skywarp's nosecone at Mach2.
        The Decepticon screamed and dove, but finding that he no longer had
the stability of both tails, began to spin wildly out of control, heading for
the surface, transforming and sliding, spinning along the ground, trying to
slow his descent.  Both missiles went careening off harmlessly into the
distance.
        "It's that throwback, Jetfire!," growled Starscream.  "I'll take care
of this, PERSONALLY!"
        Jetfire too now seemed to be closing in on Astrotrain.  The other
Decepticons pulled low and fell behind, with Starscream in the lead.
As Starscream was gaining a bead on the Autobot's form, he noticed
something moving on his back.  It was Optimus Prime.
        Optimus had hitched a ride on the back of Jetfire, concealing himself
as low to the surface as he possibly could.  Now he stood up, raising the
"special" gatling gun he had brought from the Autobot shuttle and raised it
into the Decepticon flock.
        Despite the attempts to scatter, Prime releashed a blanket of gunfire
that enveloped all of the Decepticons without mercy.
        "I'm hit!"
        "We're all hit, Blitzwing!"
        
        Prime was not finished yet, however, with the great effort of his
powerful legs he launched himself into the air, slinging the great gun on
his back.  Now for a brief moment he floated silently in midair, until his
velocity brought him down directly on the back of his quarry.  Starscream.

        ***********************************************************************

        The cave was dark, devoid of sensation with the exception of the
scream and hiss of aliens and the report of Autobot weapons.
        Finally, Trailbreaker found the control to his emergency floodlight and
splashed the interior of the cave with brightness.
        It was a sight that few Autobots would want to see.  All, without
exception had chunks bitten out of them, and most were sloughing parts of
their metallic skins, corroded with acid.  Across the floor, piles of alien bon
es
were smoking and piling up.
        "A TEAM, B TEAM, REPORT!" Roadbuster shouted.
        "A team leader Blaster, Skids, Hound, accounted for,
Beachcomber terminated.
        "B team leader Jazz, Trailbreaker, Bluestreak, accounted for, Blur is
missing!"
        "Blur!" wondered Roadbuster aloud, as an alien came shrieking within
distance of his head.  Without moving excess limbs, Roadbuster brought up
his rifle and blasted it across the cavern.  He let out an excited whoop.
        "He must have gotten OUT, the son of a bitch!  He may be our last
chance to stop the Decepticons!"
        Blaster continued to throw the aliens back against the wall.  "Sir,
there may be another way to get out of here.  The creatures appear to have
acidic blood.  Perhaps....we can utilize it...to weaken the rocks blocking
our exit..."

        ******************************************************************

        Starscream was desperately trying to shake off Optimus Prime.  He
began to head straight up in the air, reaching the speed of sound.

        Then twice.

        Then three times.

        Prime could feel the seams of his body trying to split apart.  Body
vibrating unstopabbly, he held on.
        "Must.....buy.....Jetfire.....the time.....he....needs..."
        Starscream turned around and fell into a dive heading straight for the
ground.  Prime felt himself scream.  The Decepticon air commander
turned upside down.
        Optimus could see what Starscream's objective was.  Straight ahead
was a butte jutting straight out of the plateau.
        "NO!"
        Prime, his systems stimulated to maximum potential, punched his
fist into the hide of Starscream, and emerged on his underbelly.
        Starscream bellowed.  Prime tightened his grip just as his body
smacked into the rock wall, taking a good size chunk of Starsream with him.
        
        Astrotrain had reached a speed of almost 700 miles an hour, and
transformed into his shuttle form, and began to rise above the plateau.
Slugslinger and Blitzwing had caught up with Astrotrain and were now
providing him with an escort.
        Jetfire, however, had other ideas.  The Decepticons began to head
almost straight up with Jetfire directly behind.  Slugslinger veered left as
Blitzwing began to do a loop-de-loop, falling around and then behind Jetfire.
        Jetfire had taken the bait!  Blitwing couldn't believe it.  He was now
sandwiched between Slugslinger and Blitzwing.  Blitzwing giggled an evil
laugh as he launched two missiles straight for the center mass of Jetfire's
hull.
        But Jetfire was not the most sophisticated aircraft the Decepticons had
ever seen for simply nothing.  Banking hard, he fell towards the ground, and
surfaced again, coming straight up for the sky, directly between Blitzwing
and Slugslinger.
        "Look out!"  screamed Slugslinger, swerving against the clouds.  The
missiles catapulted harmlessly towards the sky as Slugslinger chuckled with
relief.  Before he realized it, however, his trajectory had sent him straight
into the side of Blitzwing.
        THUNK!
        
        Dizzy and reeling, the Decepticons attempted to steady themselves and
look for Jetfire for another pass, when consoles inside their radar equipment
began beeping wildly.
        "He must be behind us, he's got a lock on us, he's...."
        The air was split with the roar air to air missiles as they tore away
the steel skin of the Decepticon warriors.

        Astrotrain had the vacumn stretch of outer space coming up before
him.  He was desperate, he knew once he escaped the planet's gravity, he
would be free from any interference.  He could feel the moisture bead up all
across the surface of his hull as he began to leave the atmosphere behind.
        A monotone beep in a tiny sensor in his frame told him that there
was something behind him that had locked onto him with a weapons
system.  Astrotrain grew desperate, brought his engines up to 100%
efficiency, burning his fuel at a rapid rate, but the beeping didn't go away.
        Finally, on the verge of splitting apart from frayed nerve endings
alone, Astrotrain opened his cargo locker and dumped all of the remaining
Adamantum into the air.
        The ingots flashed and glittered in the light as they fell to the
surface, looking like pieces of glatter falling to the floor of a clear,
Earthen stream.  Astrotrain roared ahead and reached the boundary of space,
disappearing within the flash of an instant.
        Jetfire chuckled to himself.  His weapon systems were already empty,
the Decepticon had fallen for his bluff.
        
*******************************************************************************

        Smacking alien carcasses against the wall, Jazz had managed to burn a
hole barely large enough for a smaller transformer to squeeze through.
Skids pushed the remains of Beachcomber, encased in liquid nitrogen
through the hole.  The body slid out and fell against the floor on the other
side.
        "The time has come," Roadbuster murmurred, "for an orderly retreat."
        "Roadbuster," Jazz remarked, "there just ain't no way we're gonna fit
through that hole."
        Roadbuster looked around and quickly pointed towards Blaster.
        "You're our best hope, Blaster.  In your tranformed state you use less
space and will be able to fit throught the hole.  If you can contact the ship
and bounce the space bridge signal to Jazz, you will be able to pull us out of
here."
        The Autobots heaved the red and yellow boom box through the hole in
the wall, taking occassional time to blast a hissing alien over a shoulder.
Blaster slid through the hole, lubricated with acid and landed with a dull
thud on the other side.
        "Ya...ya...I'm through, I'll take Beachcomber and get to the surface."

*******************************************************************************
        Mixmaster shielded his eyes from the gleaming sun attempting to
focus on the humanoid figure emerging from the cave entrance.  It was
the Autobot, Blaster, carrying Beachcomber.
        Mixmaster yelped, fell backwards and began to run towards the other
Decepticons.
        
        "Cease, Decepticons," bellowed Blaster.  "It looks like you've been
betrayed by your masters.  But with your assistance we can all get off this
rock today."
        Soundwave came forward, blind, but recognizing the voice.
        "Autobot, you and I, with our combined powers we can bounce the
space bridge signal and bring ourselves to our respective ships."
        
        "Agreed, Soundwave.  But of course, you will be our prisoner."

        Soundwave bellowed in a sound that seemed to be half laughter and
half tears.  The dust from the Ska planet formed a plume around his form.
        "I have no desire to spend the rest of my days as a prisoner, Autobot.
I am a Decepticon, blinded and betrayed, but I and my brethen will die with
dignity if die we must.  Either we shall be transported to our own ship, or no
deal."

        Blaster was silent for a second, but only a second.  "Then so be it,
Decepticon.  It would be useless to waste our lives for something as pale
and bleak as dishonor, so you will be granted access to your own kind.
When we meet again, though, I will show you no mercy."
        His eyes brightened for a second.  He felt a tinge of respect in his
form for these transformers.  Perhaps there was no real difference between
them, but only in who they served.

*******************************************************************************

        Perceptor tuned the coordinates into the space bridge.  A shriek of
electricity exploded as a hole opened before him on the command bridge.
Out poured Blaster, Roadbuster, Beachcomber, Hound, and Skids.
        "Success!"  He chirped.
        "Yes, but only part success," Roadbuster growled, getting up and
dusting himself off.
        "Jazz, Bluestreak, and Trailbreaker had to stay behind.  There wasn't
enough energy in the bridge.  Blaster, get ready to bounce the signal back to
Jazz, assuming you won't need the assistance of that Decepticon slime this
time."
        "No, no..." Blaster stammered, "not from this angle in space, besides,
he should be safely within the confines of his own ship by now.
        Roadbuster gazed from the porthole to the surface below.
        "The Decepticons took a load of adamantum with them, but not the
only load.  All those bones lying at the feet of our brothers below are
laced with adamantum.  When we bring them all aboard, we shall balance
the scales."

****************************************************************************

        Per Blaster's deal, after helping relay the bridge signal, the
Decepticons were sent back to their mother ship.  Megatron looked up from
his throne upon the bridge as the constructicons and the communicator
appeared before him.
        Megatron's form was still and deathly silent.  "Starscream has failed,
Soundwave."  My Decepticons now approach this ship with no booty to
show."
        Soundwave came before Megatron and bowed deeply in subservience.
It was then that Megatron launched a beam towards the sun, all within the
control of his mind which was cybernetically attached to the controls of the
ship.


*******************************************************************************
        
        The sun burst like bubble of light.  It had gone nova, triggered by an
atomic bombardment by the Decepticons.
        "Roadbuster," shouted Perceptor above the roar on the sensors, "we
have very limited energon supplies.  I will not be able to transport the
entire mass aboard with Jazz, Trailbreaker, and Bluestreak.  And we must
leave now!  The nova will burn us all within moments."
        Roadbuster approached the viewscreen.
        "Then we shall make a sacrifice, Autobots.  The lives of those three
will always be held as heroes, but we shall have our adamantum!  Relay the
signal to Jazz, tell him to send up the bones!"

        "NO!"
        The Autobots turned.  Standing in the doorway stood the image of
Optimus Prime, Jetfire, and Blur.  The right half of Prime's form was almost
entirely burned away, leaving a naked faceplate staring into Roadbuster.
        "The Decepticon supply of adamantum has been destroyed.  We shall
not leave our kind behind.  That it is not our way.  That it is not the Autobot
way."
        Roadbuster was flustered.  He wished to rebel against this order, but
complied.  "Yes....commander...."
        Then it was complete.  There was a shriek of electricity as the space
split open and poured out Jazz, Trailbreaker, and Bluestreak.  The ship went
dim with a power surge and began to lurch.  Wheeljack was aware of all
controls and parts of the ship at the same time, and bagan to pull it away,
slipping into hyperspace, as the Ska system behind became engulfed in
the fire of its sun.
        The slick-skinned creatures were reduced to ash. The adamantum
became liquid, and then gas.  Then they became merely scattered atomic
particles in space.  Five billion years of formation was undone-in an instant.
                                
                                END

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