New Recruit
			Transformers Armada Fanfic

					By Charity Haney

Notes:  This fanfic, as should be obvious from above is based 
	off of the Transformers Armada series.  At the time I 
	first started writing on this fanfic, I had missed out 
	on seeing afew episodes of the cartoon (which I use for 
	my timeline basis).  I caught myself up on seeing the 
	episodes only to find out that Sideways left before 
	Wheeljack showed up.  Now I think both of them are 
	awesome villains (second only to Megatron himself =P ) 
	and not wanting to use just one of them and miss out on 
	the other, I decide to use my Author's creative licence 
	and keep both of them.  Consider this series of fanfics 
	as a sort of "what if Sideways was still around" 
	situation.  As for all of you avid Sideways fans that 
	don't like seeing him messed with, don't worry, I feel 
	the same way - he'll be played entirely true to his 
	character and will eventually have his falling out, but 
	the time and the events surrounding it are my secret for 
	the moment....   =D

***************************************************************************
*Timeline - Sometime at least a couple of episodes after Sideswipe arrived*
***************************************************************************

*	*	*	*
*  Ch.1 - Preparations	*
*	*	*	*


- {Location: Autobot Base} -


	Hotshot quickly turned a corner in the Autobot base, jogging down 
the corridor to the meeting room.  Following shortly behind him were the 
Earth kids, riding on their minicon, attempting to keep up with him.
	"Hey, what's going on?  What's with all the excitement?" Alexis 
asked.
	"Has another minicon been detected?" Rad asked.
	"There's never been his much excitement over a just a minicon 
before," Carlos noted.
	"A minicon's only half of it," Hotshot spoke between breaths.  
"There's something important that Optimus is calling a meeting for."
	"What's so important?  Is it something bad?" Rad asked.
	"No, it's something good, but he didn't say what.  He just wants 
us to get there immediately.  We'd better hurry up!" Hotshot told them, 
speeding up as fast as he could in robot mode.  He was excited to get to 
the conference room to learn what was going on.  Along the way, he 
passed by Scavanger.
	"Hurry up, slowpoke!" Hotshot taunted as he went by.
	"I'll get there at my own pace!" Scavanger called out, continuing 
to walk at his slow, steady pace.  "Optimus said it was important, not 
urgent." He said seriously.
	"Ah, come on Scavanger.  It's fun to race there!" Carlos called 
to him as the kids passed him in a similar fashion to Hotshot.
	"If it's not an emergency, then I'm not going to tire myself out 
over nothing!" He retorted.  Hotshot and the kids sped ahead, not 
bothering to listen to him.  As they disappeared around a corner, 
Scavanger couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.  "That bunch 
has far too much extra energy," He decided. "It's probably best if they 
do use it up before they get there."
	"HEY!  WAIT FOR ME!"
	Scavanger turned his head, seeing a late Sideswipe bolt 
past him, attempting to catch up to Hotshot an the others.  Scavanger 
sighed, shaking his head again.
	Hotshot finally turned the final corner, arriving in the 
conference room.  Optimus was working with one of the computers bringing 
up some information, probably for the meeting.  Red Alert was working 
inside the panel of one of the other computers.  The screen of the 
computer was blurred and covered with static; various lights on the 
panel were flashing, including one marked 'malfunction'.
	"Not that same consol again..." Smokescreen entered the room, 
stepping up beside Hotshot.  "Hasn't it been fixed five times already?"
	"Six, I think," Blur answered, entering just after the kids 
came in.  "The blast door in sector G was giving me a hard time as 
well," he mentioned.  At about this time, Sideswipe stumbled in, out of 
breath.
	"So you finally decided to show up," Hotshot joked.
	"Well...it's not like...waiting..a couple of..seconds...longer...
would have..killed ya'..." Sideswipe huffed.
	Red Alert stepped away from the consol, shutting the panel he 
had been working on.  "I give up.  The same circuit board keeps burning 
out.  It's easy enough to fix or replace, but I can't find what's causing 
it to happen in the first place.  We're probably better off replacing the 
whole consol."  
	"Perhaps not," Optimus said, finished with the info he had been 
working with. "We should wait to get a second opinion on that computer."
	"What do you mean?" Scavanger asked.
	"To call our meeting to order, as you all already know, there's 
been a minicon detected in the area," Optimus started.
	"Yeah," Hotshot interjected, "but the signal's so weak though 
we can't get a lock on it.  All we have is an extremely generalized area, 
and a very large one at that."
	"It'll take us forever to search an area that size, even without 
Decepticon interference," Blur added.
	"Things will go faster with some extra help," Optimus noted.  
The rest of the group looked at him confused.  Optimus chuckled. "We're 
getting a new member, a technician straight from Cybertron, and a really 
good one I hear, too.  He'll be able to help us look for the minicon and 
have a look at all the quirks we've been having with the base's 
electronics.  He's due to be arriving in the area of the minicon in a 
couple of hours."
	The group was stunned at first, but immediately became excited.  
Another hand to help out around the base was coming!
	"Oh wow, another Autobot!" Rad said excitedly.
	"Yeah, another guy to our side to fight against the Decepticons!" 
Carlos added.
	"Hey, wait a second. Where's Jetfire?" Alexis asked, just now 
realizing he was missing from the meeting.
	"Don't worry about him," Optimus answered.  "He's already gone 
ahead to the area where the new Autobot will be arriving to scout it out 
for any possibly problems.  The fact that there is still a minicon at large 
in that area means a possibility of Decepticons, and we want to make sure 
things are safe for our new arrival.  But for now, however, we need to 
prepare to leave."
	"You mean we get to come with you this time?" Rad asked.
	"Yes.  We're going to need all the help we can to search, and you 
kids seem to have a knack for finding the minicons.  Let's get going."




- {Location: Decepticon Base} -

	"How long are we going to wait here?!  I want some action!!"
	"Pipe down Cyclonis!" Starscream growled, pointed his sword at the 
copter in agitation for probably about the fifth time today.  Demolisher 
looked on worriedly, but also ready to break the two up if they started 
brawling . . . Again . . .  Sideways and Wheeljack were off to the side, 
leaning against the wall, just staying out of it...
	Megatron sat on his throne in the central chamber of the base, head 
in his hand, his elbow on the arm rest.  They had been at it like this for 
a while, but it didn't look like he was going to do anything about it.  
With his hand covering the majority of his face, it was hard to tell 
whether he was mad, annoyed, put-out, or maybe even bored. It was probably 
a mixture of all...
	"Megatron, Sir," Demolisher started. "Why are we waiting here so 
long?  We've known there's a minicon out there for days..."
	"And all of you should remember that the signal is too weak for us 
to pinpoint its location!" Megatron snapped, straightening up.  Annoyance 
seemed to have won out.
	"If I might point out, Sir," Sideways started cautiously, "But the 
longer we wait here, the more time the Autobots have to get a head start 
and find the minicon before us." Sideways paused a moment.  "Even if they 
have just as little information as we do, they might luck out and find it 
without searching very long, like they've done on more than one 
occasion..." 
	"I am quite aware of that, Sideways.  The reason we are waiting is 
for Thrust to return.  He said he may know of something that will help us 
locate this minicon faster and has gone to retrieve it."  Megatron 
informed all of them.
	"What could he possibly have that's more accurate than the tracking 
computer?  If the computer couldn't pinpoint it, nothing can." Starscream 
answered.
	"Well the computer isn't very good about pinpointing things to 
begin with," Demolisher reminded.
	"Quiet you.  I work the computer myself," Starscream countered.
	"Maybe THAT's the problem," Cyclonis suggested with a chuckle.
	"Why you..!"
	"SILENCE!!  All of you!!" Megatron snapped before they could start 
up again, getting very agitated with the bickering.  Everyone quieted down 
immediately.  It was at that moment that Thrust entered the room.  
Megatron turned his attention to the grey jet.  "Did you find what you 
were looking for, Thrust?"
	"No.  It's been misplaced. It'll take far too long to locate it 
again.  We're best off searching for the minicon the old fashioned way." 
Thrust responded.  
	Starscream chuckled quietly from over by the tracking computer.  
He didn't say it, but it was obvious that he thought Thrust had been 
bluffing, and still was.  He brought up the information on the computer.  
It pictured a familiar large canyon with many large boulders and ledges 
with very little plant life.  They had located minicon in this general 
area before.
	"Seems like this is an awful popular place for them to pop up," 
Wheeljack noted.
	"Most likely this is the place their spaceship initially crashed." 
Megatron suggested.  "Now enough talk.  It's time to move out."
	As Decepticons began to head towards the warp gate, Sideways stole 
a cautious glance at Thrust.  He couldn't put his finger on it, but Thrust 
seemed agitated, more than usual, anyways.  He hadn't been in such a mood 
before he'd gone to search for his mystery item, and he didn't give a very 
clear answer for coming back empty handed.  It made the motorcycle wonder 
what had really gone on...




*	*	*	*
*  Ch.2 - Minicon Hunt	*
*	*	*	*


	Jetfire lazily circled the area, flying his aerial patrol.  So far 
no Decepticons had shown up, but he was keeping his eyes peeled for any 
possible activity.  As he continued his circling, his sensors detected a 
warp signal. "Well, here we go..."
	Jetfire circled closer to the area where the warp signal seemed to 
be coming from, but not too close.  If it was the Autobots, he wanted them 
to see him so they wouldn't get lost looking for him.  But if it wound up 
to be the Decepticons, he wanted some room to make a getaway before they 
realized he was in the area.
	Optimus came out of the warp, followed shortly from the rest of 
the Autobots.  He slowly pulled to a stop, opening his door for the kids.  
"Here we are."
	Once the kids were out, Optimus transformed into robot mode along 
with the rest of the group.  He looked up, hearing the sound of a aircraft 
engine.  Jetfire flew in for a landing, transforming to robot mode as well.  
"Anything to report, Jetfire?" Optimus asked.
	"No Decepty activity, but I had plenty of time to do a lot of 
scanning.  I think the reason the minicon signal is so weak is because of 
the signal from the Cybertron warp gate," Jetfire said.  "They configure 
it so the Decepticons aren't aware of anyone coming so they can't ambush 
them or any other kind of nasty surprise, but it at the same time seems to 
be interfearing with the minicon's signal."
	"So once the new guy arrives, we should be able to get a clearer 
signal from the minicon?" Red Alert noted.
	"That's about the size of it," Jetfire responded.
	"That's good," Hotshot answered. "I'd rather not spend two days 
looking for just one minicon."
	"So when's the guy going to get here?" Sideswipe asked.
	"Still not due for a few minutes," Optimus told him.
	"Well that leaves us with some free time.  What do you say we look 
around for the minicon?" Carlos suggested.
	"I don't know," Alexis started.  "The Decepticons could be showing 
up any moment now."
	"The signal's been going for days now, and the Decepticons still 
haven't checked it out.  Why would they show up now?" Carlos noted.
	"Maybe he's right," Rad answered.  "We barely detected the signal.  
Maybe with all the interfearance it's too weak for it to reach all the way 
to the moon."
	"Those are all good points, but I think Alexis is right on this 
one," Optimus interrupted.  "Even if the Decepticons haven't detected it 
yet, like Jetfire said, once the warp gate closes, the Decepticons will 
definitely pick up on the signal then.  You guys can investigate the 
immediate area, but I want you to stay with Hotshot."
	"Well I guess that isn't so bad," Carlos admitted.  As he said 
that, though, a bright light began to appear.  It started as a small 
sphere, but it began to grow into a larger, glowing circle.
	"Cancel that," Optimus told the kids.  "He's already arrived."
	Rad watched with a little amazement growing.  The warp gate from 
Cybertron was very different from the warp gate in the base.  Then again, 
though, it wasn't very surprising.  This gate had to cross several galaxies 
to reach Earth, not just a couple of continents to reach its destination.  
He continued to look on, waiting for the Autobot to emerge.
	Out of the swirling portal of light came the familiar white 
outline created by the Autobot warp gate, followed by the streaking form of 
the transformer, still hidden mostly by the bright light of the warp gate.  
After a moment, the rest of the transformer 'caught up' with the first part 
of it's body, successfully exiting the warp gate.  The swirling portal 
slowly shrunk and faded, returning the landscape to its original 
appearance.
	Hovering in front of the group was a red helicopter with various 
short yellow bars painted across some areas of it's body.  Like the other 
Autobots, while in vehicle mode he didn't seem to have any obvious weapons 
aside from two small cannon/blaster like weapons on either side of its 
body, and those didn't look very powerful either.  The helicopter's design 
(excluding the paint job) wasn't too spectacular either, and it looked 
very plain, especially considering that they were used to seeing Cyclonis, 
who was loaded down with so many weapons it was a wonder he could even fly.  
This guy looked more like a news or small transport helicopter.  Nice, 
plain, and aerodynamic; probably more highly maneuverable than the 
Decepticon copter, too.
	The red helicopter hovered closer to the ground, then transformed 
into robot mode.  The two side weapons detached; middle part of the 
helicopter was the main body, the propeller side being the back; the front 
part unfolded (similar to Jolt) to form the legs; the tail split long-ways 
and slid apart, making room for his head to pop out, then middle section 
of armor on the two sides slid down over the ends, allowing for movement 
of the arms, leaving the top piece as the shoulders; the rudder detached 
and reattached on the side of his left arm (his hands came out where the 
rudder used to be attached), and the weapons that had detached earlier 
reattached to the top of his arms on each respective side; three almost 
box-like panels detached from his chest and reattached one on the side of 
each leg, just above the ankle, and one on his left arm.
	"Nice transformation," Carlos commented, breaking the silence.  
Grindor chirped an agreement.  Once the transformation was finished, he 
landed on his feet with a light metallic thud, standing up straight.
	"Aero Blade, Cybertron Technician, reporting for duty Optimus, 
sir," The copter said with a calm voice.
	"We've been waiting for your arrival, Aero Blade.  I'm glad to see 
you've reached Earth safely," Optimus responded.
	"Aero Blade...hmm.." Rad pondered the name to himself, looking over 
the red transformer.  Now that they weren't in motion, he was able to get a 
good look at the propeller.  Each of the propeller blades looked really 
sturdy and were made of what looked to be a very strong metal.  The were 
also reinforced at certain points with strips of metal and rivets. The 
edges though looked also very sharp, like they were actual blades that 
could cut.
	"You must be able to do some mean combat with those," Carlos said 
to Aero Blade, pointing out his propeller.
	"Well..I..don't really like fighting..I'm not too good..." Aero 
Blade started to respond, stumbling over his words.  Optimus chuckled a 
bit.  He seemed a little shy.  Optimus didn't blame him, though.  All the 
suddenly being transferred here, far from Cybertron with no-one he knew, it 
would take some time to adjust.
	"Aw, don't worry about it," Jetfire said, stepping up to him.  "We 
hope to avoid fighting, but should it happen, I'm sure you'll do alright.  
We can also see about getting you some tutoring from Scavanger," He 
suggested.
	"Well, I..." Aero Blade couldn't seem to find any words to say, but 
he didn't look to eager about learning how to fight either.  Optimus took 
the time to step forward.
	"Our next stop would have been to bring you back to the base, but 
it'll have to be held off for awhile, I'm afraid.  Ironically, you've just 
arrived at the right time and area to help us on a mission.  We're going 
to be searching for a minicon, and you'll be a much needed help,"  Optimus 
turned back to the rest of the group.  "We'll split up and search the area, 
but stay in small groups.  The Decepticons haven't shown up yet, but they 
could at any time, so I don't want anyone going off alone if possible.  
Also if you run into trouble, be sure to radio in.  Red Alert and Blur, 
you search the north sector; Jetfire, you take the east sector -it's 
mostly unscaleble land by foot, but you should have no problem in vehicle 
mode,"
	"Understood," Jetfire said, transforming and taking off.  Red Alert 
and Blur started towards the north sector for searching.
	"Alright.  Hotshot, Sideswipe, and Smokescreen, you guys will 
search southward with Aero Blade, show him the ropes a little.  Scavanger, 
you're with me.  We'll be in the East sector.  Kids, you should probably 
go along with Hotshot and the others."
	"Okay Optimus," Rad answered.  Highwire nodded and transformed into 
the bicycle, letting Rad on.  Sureshock and Grindor did the same for Carlos 
and Alexis.
	"Roger that," Hotshot called to Optimus as he started in the 
direction they were assigned.  "Let's move out guys!" Hotshot said with a 
smile to the others.


Elsewhere...

	The Decepticons arrived via their own unique warp gate.  Megatron 
looked around, not readily spotting any Autobots in the area.  Either 
they still hadn't yet arrived, or they were searching in a different spot.  
Megatron turned to his troops.
	"Split up and find the minicon!" He ordered.  "We must find it 
before the Autobots, no matter how long we have to look!"
	"Megatron, Sir!  The minicon's signal has gotten stronger!" 
Starscream announced.
	"Hm?" Megatron checked his own scanners.  It was as Starscream had 
said, the signal was now broadcasting like a normal minicon.  "How odd..." 
He said to himself, pondering it for a moment.  He shook his head.  "No 
matter.  Find the minicon!" He ordered once more, sending them of in their 
searching direction.






*	*	*	*
*  Ch.3 - Canyon Chaos	*
*	*	*	*



	The Autobots searching the South area were taking things slow.  
With the minicon signal strengthened they were able to narrow down the 
search area, but it was still rather big as usual, and the signal this 
time still seemed kind of distorted.  They were taking their time to look 
inside crevices, on top of ledges, underneath rocks; basically any place 
the minicon could possibly be.
	"Could it be buried inside the rock somewhere?" Rad suggested.
	"I can't be sure, but I don't think so," Alexis answered.  
"Minicon have been buried before and not had this kind of signal.  I 
still might just be disrupted a little from the warp gate," She surmised.
	"Well I certainly hope it's not buried," Smokescreen answered 
back.  "I'd rather not dig up this entire canyon.  There's gotta be a 
more accurate way to locate the minicon," He suggested.
	"Well I guess we have to keep looking the old fashioned way until 
someone figures something out," Sideswipe said, looking inside a shallow 
crack in the wall.  "Nothing here."
	Hotshot looked over at Aero Blade.  The new guy had been rather 
quiet.  "Hey, what do you think?" He called over to him.  Aero Blade 
looked back at him, appearing to be still shy and possibly a little 
confused.
	"I'm still not entirely sure what we're looking for.  Pentagon 
with an 'M', right?" Aero Blade asked.
	"Yeah," Hotshot answered.  "And it'll be mostly green in color, 
usually."  Hotshot walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.  
"Hey, take it easy.  No-one's gonna bite.  Relax a little."
	"I'm sorry..." Aero Blade responded.  "This...it's all a bit much 
to get used to.  I'm afraid I'm not too used to unfamiliar people...I 
just finished training, and I didn't have too great a time with others 
back on Cybertron..."
	"What, did you get picked on a lot or something?" Hotshot asked.  
	"You...could say that..." Aero Blade answered.  The way Aero Blade 
answered seemed a little odd to Hotshot, but he let it drop.
	"Well if we get to know each other then we won't be unfamiliar," 
He said with a smile.  He pointed a thumb at himself. "The name's Hotshot!  
Master warrior, and fastest thing on the road!"
	" 'Master warrior' ?" Smokescreen started laughing.
	"Hey!  I'm trying to get him to loosen up.  What do you want from 
me?" Hotshot said with a smile.
	"How about an honest description?" Smokescreen answered, still 
laughing.
	"Bah..." Hotshot turned from Smokescreen and back to Aero Blade, 
still smiling.  "So, how about a little about yourself?"
	"Well..um..I don't know...what do you want to know?" He asked 
timidly.
	"Aw come on, you can think of something." Hotshot answered.  "How 
about your construction?  What's with all the yellow stripes?  Making a 
fashion statement?" He asked.
	"They're vents..." 
	"What, do you overheat easy or something?" Hotshot asked again, 
looking him over.  All of the 'vents' seemed to be closed.  He wondered 
what they were for.
	"No..." Aero Blade answered.  Aero Blade turned a little bit as 
Hotshot started to walk a circle around him, getting a better look.  "What 
now?" He asked, a little anxiety in his voice.
	"What's with the panels?" Hotshot asked, pointing at one of the 
ones attached to his leg.
	"They carry my tools," Aero Blade answered, opening it up so 
they could see inside.  Sure enough, there were several tools inside.
	"That's right, Optimus said you were a technician.  Very useful," 
Smokescreen commented.
	"Guys, shouldn't we get back to looking for the minicon?" 
Sideswipe asked, putting down a rock he had just turned over, finding 
nothing.
	"Right," Hotshot answered, smiling.  "Come on guys, we need to 
get busy."
	"WE'LL give you something to keep you BUSY!"
	Hotshot looked up in alarm, just in time to see Cyclonis swoop 
in and open fire.  The Autobots immediately scattered, getting clear of 
the shots.  Cyclonis gained altitude again, his sadistic laughter 
echoing through the canyon.
	"Man, don't these guys EVER stay away?" Smokescreen growled, 
snatching up the kids and their minicon, taking cover behind a boulder 
and arming his weapons and returning fire at the Decepticon copter.  
After a moment, Starscream swooped in, opening fire on the Autobots 
as well, forcing everyone else to take cover.
	Between being sheltered by Smokescreen and dust being kicked 
up from the firing back and forth, it was hard to see anything, but Rad 
strained to see where everyone was.  He spotted Hotshot, and Sideswipe 
after a few moments, but Aero Blade's location evaded him.  Soon, 
though, Rad spotted him.  He was quite far away from the group, ducked 
behind his own set of rocks.  When Starscream had opened fire, it had 
divided him from the group and forced Aero Blade to take cover in the 
opposite direction.
	"This doesn't look good at all..." Rad told the others, his 
voice filled with worry.
	"Look at those cowards!  A little shelling and they all start 
hiding," Starscream commented amused, easily gliding out of the way of 
the Autobot shelling, then returning fire, watching the Autobot duck 
behind their shelters.
	"Hey Starscream, check it out.  One of them's not firing back," 
Cyclonis called.  Starscream continued his attack on the Autobots, but 
made his way past where Cyclonis had indicated.  Sure enough, there was 
a Autobot ducked behind some rocks, not returning fire.
	"Don't recognize that one.  Must be a new recruit," Starscream 
surmised.  "We should report this to Megatron."
	"Nah, let's have some fun with him first.  Look, he's probably 
too scared to fire back!" Cyclonis began to close in on the red Autobot, 
followed shortly by Starscream.  "All cut off from you little friends.  
You must feel so alone!  Don't worry, we'll keep you company," Cyclonis 
taunted, followed one again by his characteristic laughing.
	When the Decepticons stopped firing and started to circle in 
towards him, Aero Blade backed out of his hiding spot.  He didn't want 
to be cornered with his back against the rocks by these two.  When 
Cyclonis landed in front of him and began to transform, Aero Blade 
tried to take advantage of the opportunity and head back towards where 
the others had been forced to take shelter, but Starscream landed as 
well, cutting him off.
	"Oh no!  Aero Blade!" Hotshot bolted from his shelter to go to 
his new comrade, but Starscream opened fire, forcing him back into 
hiding.  Hotshot growled loudly at the Decepticon, growing furious.  
He couldn't let Aero Blade get trashed by these two nuts on his first 
day here...
	Starscream chuckled, watching Hotshot take cover again.  "You 
Autobots just stay where you are.  You'll get your chance to have some 
'attention' soon enough..."
	Meanwhile, Cyclonis continued to approach, but Aero Blade stayed 
put, taking a defensive stance and not moving from his spot.  Cyclonis 
chuckled.  This Autobot seemed to be as young as Hotshot was.  "So, 
we've got another young brat to deal with.  What's the matter?  The 
little baby Autobot can't work his weapons, so he's gonna go at it 
hand to hand?" he ask in a patronizing voice, then started laughing 
again.  "Go ahead and give me your best shot.  Fire off one of your 
weapons!" He taunted confident that he hadn't fired yet because he was 
a poor shooter.  He'd be able to dodge anything the Autobot fired of 
anyway.
	"How about a Pulse Laser?" Aero Blade asked, holding up his left 
arm and bracing it, aiming the weapon attached to it at Cyclonis.
	"A wha..?" was all Cyclonis had time to stutter before 
Aero Blade fired his weapon.  Pulse Lasers were unusual weapons that 
normally fired off small bursts, but could also be charged up almost 
infinitely, so long as they had enough energy going into them, and thus 
could fire off any sized shot, but the large the shot, the more the 
recoil, and Cyclonis was now seeing a large Pulse Laser shot heading 
right towards him.
	Cyclonis found himself on his back, staring up at the sky.  
His chest was hot from laser burn, and he felt very stupid right now.  
Of course the Autobot hadn't been firing earlier - he'd been charging 
up his weapon.  So much for having the upper-hand...
	When he heard the laser go off, Starscream looked away to see 
Cyclonis get nailed by Aero Blade.  This moment of distraction was all 
Hotshot, Smokescreen, and Sideswipe needed to all open fire on 
Starscream and lay into him heavily with shelling.  Starscream toppled 
to the ground easily from the force of the lasers.
	Cyclonis began to get to his feet.  "You'll pay for that!" he 
growled, but Aero Blade had already taken off back towards the others 
when Starscream had been fallen.  Safely behind the same rock shelter 
as the others, the Autobots started firing heavily at the Decepticons.  
Now it was the Starscream and Cyclonis's turn to take cover.
	After a few moments, the Autobots stopped firing.  Several long, 
tense moments after that, Cyclonis peeked his head around the corner, 
only to yank it back quickly to dodge more shots being fired.  
Starscream growled with irritation, but his com-unit beeped, dragging 
his attention away from the Autobots.
	-All Decepticons, Mission Aborted.  Retreat and return to base- 
Megatron's voice sounded over the com, along with the heavy background 
noise of laser fire.  Seemed he was having as much trouble as they 
were...  Starscream and Cyclonis grudgingly retreated, warping out of 
the area.
	The kids and minicon started cheering, seeing the Decepticons 
retreat.  "Aw man, that was awesome!  We beat them back and no-one on 
our side got hurt!" Carlos cheered excitedly.
	"Now we have all the time we need to search for the minicon," 
Rad added.
	"Yeah.  We better start searching again.  We may have a breather 
at the moment, but they could come back at any time, so we best get 
started," Smokescreen answered with a smile.
	"You okay, Aero Blade?" Hotshot asked.  Aero Blade nodded.  
"Alright then.  Let's start searching again."  Upon saying this, his 
own com-unit beeped as a transmition came in.
	-Hotshot. Is everyone alright in your area?  We had a run in 
with Megatron...- came Optimus's slightly staticy voice.
	"We had a confrontation with Starscream and Cyclonis, but 
everyone's a-okay," Hotshot responded.
	-Good to hear- Optimus answered. -Resume looking for the minicon 
as soon as possible.  The Decepticons might regroup and try another 
attack, so be ready-
	"We're already on it, sir.  Hotshot out," He responded, closing 
the com-link.  "Alright, you heard Optimus.  Back to work," Hotshot 
grinned.






*	*	*	*
*  Ch.4 - Back to Base	*
*	*	*	*



	Hotshot sighed heavily.  The Autobots had searched long and hard 
over every inch of the canyon, the Decepticons never having returned to 
bother them, yet the distorted blip of the minicon still showed on the 
base's tracking computer...
	"It's gotta be buried..." He said out loud, unenthusiastically.  
Unless they had a better idea of where this minicon was, digging was a 
futile act.
	"Well at the very least, the Decepticons don't have it yet, and 
if we weren't able to find it, they shouldn't be able to, either," Blur 
added.
	"The minicon is still out there, though, so we must be ready to 
move at any time to go reclaim it before the Decepticons, should 
something happen that we'll be able to find it, but today is by no means 
a loss," Optimus said, addressing the full group, then turned to Aero 
Blade.  "I'm sorry we didn't have the time earlier to greet you properly, 
but now's the time to do so.  Welcome to the team, Aero Blade."
	"Thank you," Aero Blade said, but he couldn't seem to find words 
again.  He was still as shy as earlier.  Smokescreen laughed.
	"Don't worry, you'll get used to things around here soon enough!" 
Smokescreen told him.  Hotshot walked up to Aero Blade.
	"Come on, I'll show you around the base," Hotshot said with a 
smile.



	"What happened..." Megatron growled, glaring at his troops.
	No-one answered.
	"They were split up into tiny little groups...no, pairs...and 
yet you couldn't handle them?!" Megatron asked, his anger growing.
	"We didn't fight a small group..." Cyclonis started to say, then 
squeaked and ducked when Megatron made a move to fire a weapon at him.  
Despite his better judgment, Starscream decided to interject.
	"Megatron, the group of Autobots we ran into outnumbered us two 
to one.  They had a new Autobot there that we've never seen before..." 
Starscream braced himself to get shot at, but when nothing happened, he 
looked up cautiously. Megatron seemed to have settled down.
	"A new Autobot, you say?  Seems Optimus can't stop adding to his 
forces... What did this Autobot look like?" Megatron asked in an 
inquisitive tone.
	"It was a red copter with blue optics," Starscream started.
	"Four propeller blades and not many weapons.  It looked like a 
tech-worker..." Cyclonis added.  Megatron seemed to be thinking deeply 
about the description.
	"Did he have a green visor?" Megatron asked after a moment.
	"Green visor?" Cyclonis couldn't remember.  He didn't recall 
seeing one.
	"The kind that slides in from the side.  If it was retracted it 
wouldn't have been very noticeable," Megatron explained.
	"I suppose so...I can't really say.  We never got a very good 
look at him..." Starscream looked at Megatron, confused.  "Do you know 
that Autobot?"
	"Possibly," Megatron answered, "But very vaguely..."  He seemed 
to be thinking again. "All of you are dismissed," Megatron said to his 
troops.  They all left the throne room, going about to do various 
things.  Megatron continued to think, remembering something from a long 
time ago...
	'So...after all this time...you finally show up...' Megatron 
thought to himself.  'And I had assumed you dead...' Megatron leaned 
back in his throne, settling in.  'That was my mistake.....It shall be 
interesting to see you again...'
	As Megatron continued to think to himself, a small smile formed 
at the corner of his mouth...


~End-------------

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