"Hi! You must be Goannis," greeted Snake-Eyes.

"That's me... How did you know?" Goannis asked. She had not yet met this member of LONAC, despite the amount of time she had spent as a member herself, and found it odd that they knew her name.

"I like to know who is who among fellow civilians," Snake-Eyes said with a smile. "I'm Snake-Eyes, I own one of the gift shops on the Plaza."

"Oh, so you're the owner. I've seen your store many times as I pass by, but haven't yet checked it out. Obviously. Glad to have reopened, I guess?" Goannis asked.

"Definitely. Unfortunately I wasn't able to do much work for the store on Sabel. I've got to restock quite a bit of merchandise still. Computer, deck four," Snake-Eyes called. The console by the doors chimed and the lift began to move once more.

"So you came back with Opal? I heard about the various encounters the group had there on Cybertron from her just yesterday."

"Yes, it certainly isn't nice to know that Spectral Death will be stalking me for forever and a day."

"I can imagine..." Goannis said. She was glad she had been safely in her quarters during the attacks from Spectral Death those number of months ago. She hadn't liked what she had heard about the Raptors in particular. But she did feel safer, even if just slightly, knowing that the likes of the Tactibots and Dark Force were on board, as unruly as they were.

"So, Goannis, where are you headed today?"

"The sim rooms. Sabel is kinda dull after spending the last few weeks there. The sims seem like a good place to learn about other places much faster than actually visiting them," replied the goanna bot. "How about you?"

"Oh, Opal and I are going down to Sabel again, far side this time."

"To the natural side? It's strange, why would they cyber-form only most of the planet?"

"I guess they wanted to keep some nature close by to escape to now and then. Though I've heard it's rarely visited by anyone. I asked one of bridge staff, Slipstream, if she could locate some raw resources I could use. Got lucky, the scanners detected some metal deposits. Specific types that would be very handy for making more stock for my store. And Opal offered to help me dig some out."

"Slipstream... Not sure if I've met her yet. I'm afraid I don't know many of the duty crew very well, let alone their names."

"Heh, neither do I. Hey, if you wanted to learn some things, maybe you could come down with us to the planet?" Snake-Eyes offered. Goannis seemed somewhat reluctant.

"Well... I'm not sure, mining just reminds me of the slave world..."

"Hey, that's ok, Opal and I have the mining part covered. I'll tell you what, why don't I invite Autumn Beauty as well? She's always looking for new plants I hear. Maybe you could help her to find some new samples?"

"I don't think I've met her before... Ok." The idea became more appealing to Goannis now. She hadn't known anything other than a slave's life until LONAC rescued her.

"You're all clear Opal. The Freedom however, will be doing some test runs, so if you need anything there's plenty of crew still in the main city," Waitstate said over the comm. Opal, in a small shuttle, hit a few more buttons as she responded, preparing for launch.

"No problems Waitstate, Snake-Eyes thinks we'll only be a few hours, shuttle Zephyr out." Opal switched off the comm unit and pressed another button, which opened the flight bay doors. A red female bot sitting beside her was also preparing the shuttle for departure. She turned to Opal.

"Thanks for letting me come along, Opal," Diamond Fire said.

"No problem, Diamond. The more the merrier as they always say," Opal replied. Snake-Eyes entered the shuttle with Goannis and a reluctant Autumn Beauty.

"Hey, good to see you Autumn! How's it going?" Opal asked her, Autumn mumbled a nervous hello and sat to the rear of the shuttle.

"Hope you don't mind the extras, Opal..." Snake-Eyes said before acknowledging Diamond Fire with a smile. "Oh, well I guess you don't then."

"Heh, not at all," Opal said.

"The more the merrier," Diamond added with a slight chuckle.

"Very true. Let's go, girls!" Opal piloted the shuttle clear of the Freedom and set course for the near by planet. Goannis looked out the window and saw the Freedom enter interphase mode and disappear in the blackness of space, leaving only the twinkling stars and the planet below.

"That's kinda nifty..." she said to herself as the Freedom raced away.

The far side of Sabel was unpopulated, and covered with lush vegetation of all kinds, yet next to no animal life. Much of this side of the planet was covered with average sized mountains and grassy plains. The LONAC shuttle, Zephyr, passed by it on its way down to the planet. From behind the moon, another ship somewhat larger than the shuttle emerged and gave chase. Inside the Zephyr, Opal noticed a section of her console flash.

"That's odd, I'm detecting another ship behind us," she said.

"The Freedom?" Goannis asked, Opal shook her head.

"Nope, something not too much bigger than us. Unknown design." Opal brought a wireframe image of the other ship onto her screen.

"Maybe we should try hailing them," Diamond Fire suggested. The shuttle suddenly rocked violently, and a console spat out sparks. Goannis and Snake-Eyes were thrown from their seats and slammed into a wall. Snake-Eyes lay on the floor semi conscious, while Goannis tried to get herself upright. Autumn Beauty was in a terrified panic, but made little noise. Opal flew the shuttle in an evasive pattern.

"I guess they aren't in the mood for a chat!" Opal called out. "Why in the slag are they firing on us?" she asked.

"Beats me, we aren't violating any Sabel laws," Diamond Fire replied, trying to maintain the ship's power levels. The shuttle was shaken from another blast, thrusting Diamond forward, slamming her head into the console in front of her before rapidly being forced back into her seat.

"Are you all right?" Opal called as she tried to twist the shuttle into another manoeuvre.

"Ugh... I.. I think so. If we aren't breaking any laws... Decepticons and or leftover bounty hunters maybe?" Diamond Fire answered and asked.

"That's my bet! See if you can get us some shields, I'm guessing we're in for a bumpy ride," Opal said without turning. Goannis approached Snake-Eyes and helped her to her feet.

"Wh... what's happening?" the cobra asked somewhat sluggishly.

"We're under attack! Are you ok!?" Goannis said, the panic evident in her voice. The shuttle again was shaken by a powerful blast, and both Goannis and Snake-Eyes were sent into Autumn Beauty's lap. The trio tumbled to the floor. Autumn was totally overcome with fear.

"What's going on?! Do something! Help me!" she cried.

"Slag!" Diamond called out,

"What?" Opal said while madly trying to control the ship.

"That last blast took out main power, all systems failing!" yelled the Dark Force member as a shower of sparks erupted from the panels all around her. A fire broke out from loose wiring on another panel, filling the shuttle with more smoke. With flight control lost, Opal aimed her arm mounted weapons on the fire and sprayed a coolant over it. The shuttle rocked from another blast, Autumn cowered in a corner in fear. Goannis did her best to calm to Autumn, but she was almost as frightened as she was. Snake-Eyes staggered to Opal and Diamond Fire, visibly shaking from pain as well as fear.

"What do we do!?" She almost screeched.

"We get to the rear of the shuttle and hold on tight!" Diamond called out, standing from her seat.

"What are you talking about? We have to stabilise this thing!" Opal said, not turning from her console.

"That's what I'm talking about!" Diamond pointed to the veiwscreen, Opal looked up and saw Sabel looming closer by the second.

"Oh slag..." Opal got up from her chair, helping the others to the rear of the shuttle. When they arrived, they could see flames stretching across a window.

"We're burning!" Goannis screamed. The group huddled close together in a corner.

"Hold on! This is not going to be a soft landing!" Snake-Eyes yelled above the noise. The shuttle began to vibrate as the speed of its descent increased. After what seemed like an eternity, the five robots were suddenly flung across the room, and a loud crashing sound erupted.

It was relatively quiet in the shuttle. The sounds of a small fire could be heard, but otherwise it was silent. But not for too much longer. Everything swirled before Opal, twisted images gradually taking their proper form. She winced slightly as pain registered through her left arm. Looking down, a large piece of metal had buried itself deep and close to her elbow joint. She torn it out and gave a low, audible gasp, dropping the intrusion to the floor. She heard muffled sounds from behind her, but could not see further than herself. Smoke had filled the shuttle, and made visibility near impossible. Guessing the shuttle had landed right way up, she raised her good arm, firing her arm laser and creating a hole in the top of the shuttle. Loud clangs came from behind her, obviously she had got someone's attention. The smoke began to vent out of the hole, and the breeze outside howled eerily through it.

"Who's there!? What's that noise?!" a panicked voice called out, it was Snake-Eyes.

"Just me. Are you all right?" Opal replied, turning to face Snake-Eyes. The smoke had cleared enough to allow decent vision.

"I... Yes, I think so... No major damage, just, just a few dents. Your arm..." she replied, calming down somewhat.

"Stiff as hell, rather painful, but I'll survive. Where are the others?" Opal asked. The pair looked around and saw Autumn's leg under some strewn metal in another segment of the shuttle. Autumn, Diamond and Goannis had seemingly been thrown through a wall. Removing the wreckage, they found Autumn to be out cold.

"She's out. Don't see any damage other than some dents," Snake-Eyes said. Opal sighed and looked up at the hole she made. Goannis and Diamond Fire began to stir, Goannis sat up and tried to make sense of her thoughts. Diamond Fire dragged herself to her feet, groaning loudly,

"Err, I hurt to much to be dead... Is everyone ok?" She asked.

"For now it seems." Opal said, observing her arm's large gaping hole.

"Who... who attacked us?" Goannis asked, visibly shaking.

"I don't know, Goannis, but I think we should get out of this wreck as soon as possible. Chances are whoever forced us down will come along to finish the job," Diamond Fire said as she lifted Autumn Beauty to carry, Snake-Eyes assisting her. The group made their way to the main door, and it simply fell open as they approached. Outside, it appeared to be late afternoon, and a rather pleasant one at that.

"I'll be slagged... This is practically where we were going to set down anyway," Snake-Eyes said, looking around.

"Is.. Is that a good thing?" Goannis said nervously.

"It just might be, there should be a few cave systems near by. That's where we were going to dig... The caves could provide shelter until help arrives," the cobra informed the group.

"I've already tried to call, but something is jamming the signal..." Opal added.

"Probably whoever shot us down. Lets hope they don't find us before the rest of LONAC decides to come looking," Diamond Fire said. "And let's make this a little easier..." Diamond set down Autumn, and transformed to her hover car form. Snake-Eyes and Goannis sat Autumn Beauty on top of Diamond before transforming to their respective cobra and goanna modes. Opal, staying in robot form, led the group towards the caves.

Some distance away, hidden in shadows, something was watching. It had been patiently watching the crashed shuttle for the past twenty minutes, hoping there would be one survivor at least. It was delighted at the prospect of five, and the stalking could now commence. It stepped forward out into the light slightly, and had anyone seen it, they'd have seen a snake like head with large fangs and narrow eyes glaring at the group of LONAC some distance away.

"Thank the maker, we're nearly there," Goannis said, still in beast mode. The cobra beside her sighed.

"Looks like we're were further out than I thought."

"Doesn't matter, we're here now at least. We're not due back at the Freedom for another few hours yet, any luck with the comm yet?" Diamond Fire asked.

"No. I've set my comm unit to try every few minutes, but something is still jamming the signal," Opal said. Some bushes not far from them suddenly rustled rather obviously, causing the group to stop. They turned to the bushes.

"What was that?" Goannis asked nervously.

"I'll go see," Opal said,

"No," Diamond said, "I'll check it out, you're wounded. The rest of you get to the cave." There was no argument. If something was there, only Diamond had the firepower to handle to it. Snake-Eyes and Goannis shifted to robot mode and took Autumn over their shoulders before they and Opal moved quickly for the cave. Diamond Fire transformed to robot mode, taking out her large cannon. Moving towards the bushes cautiously, she peered through but could see nothing. Pushing them aside, she saw nothing. Her eyes narrowed, and she moved into the scrubland to search out anything that may be a threat to her and her friends.

"It's been too long," Goannis said. Snake-Eyes finished work on Opal's arm and put her tools away.

"There, done. Not great, I'm no medic after all, but you should be able to use it to some extent," she said. Opal nodded.

"It'll do, thanks, hon," she said with a smile. "Diamond's probably just keeping watch, Goannis," Opal added.

"But for an hour?" asked Goannis. She had been pacing around the cave since they got there. Autumn Beauty had by this time come to, and was sitting further in the cave than the others, scared witless. Night was in full swing, and LONAC would not notice them overdue for another hour yet.

"I'm sure nothing is wrong, we'd know by now wouldn't we?" Snake-Eyes said, as she and Opal got to their feet. The others shrugged however. Snake-Eyes sighed and looked out the cave's entrance to see a large grassy plain, with bushland surrounding it.

"Well, I'm going to go out and see if I can see her," Snake-Eyes said, moving outside. Goannis quickly moved out with her.

"Not alone, if something happens at least one of us can try to get back here."

"Ok, let's go," agreed Snake-Eyes, the pair heading out. Opal sighed and hoped nothing truly was wrong.

Diamond Fire walked slowly through the area, keeping her guard up, even though by now she was convinced it was just some sort of animal in the bushes. She heard a branch snap from behind, as if something had stood on it. She whirled around with a slight gasp, and was met with a large robotic creature of some kind mere feet from her. Before she could react in any form, it swung one of its large arms, with a spiked mace on its end. It slammed Diamond Fire in the chest with a good deal of force, puncturing her armour and sending her crashing to the ground on her back. She grunted with pain, and now had a better view of the thing before her. It was large, with three legs, each with sharp claws on their ends. One arm was ended with the spiked mace, the other with two long curved blades. Its head was in an odd place given its body structure, and on its top was a gun of some sort. The creature moved for her with its bladed arm, but Diamond moved quicker, shifting to car form and racing backwards.

Snake-Eyes and Goannis could not see Diamond anywhere as they nervously walked along the edge of the grassy plain.

"I really think we should have stayed at the cave, Snake-Eyes..." Goannis said shakily. Snake-Eyes nodded, clearly feeling the same.

"Me too, I really don't know what I was thinking. I'm sure she's fine, let's get out of here," she said. Before either of them could take a step, the bushes deeper in the scrub rustled violently, throwing debris in all directions. The cause of which was unseen to both Goannis and Snake-Eyes in the dark of night. The disturbance was rushing rapidly towards the pair, giving them little time to react. Diamond Fire burst through the bush, clipping Snake-Eyes, forcing her to the ground. Goannis had stepped back with surprise, barely avoiding being struck as well. Less than a second went by before the large creature pursuing Diamond Fire came crashing through the bush after her, landing on the ground with a thud. Goannis was paralysed with sudden fear. The creature eyed her almost instantly, and just as quickly, swung out its clawed arm and backhanded the much smaller female far away. Goannis cried out, more from fear than anything else, and crashed harshly on the ground, rolling several times.

"Snake-Eyes, run!" yelled Diamond Fire, shifting to robot mode and taking out her cannon. The creature fired its gun, knocking Diamond's cannon to the ground before shifting his attention to the fleeing Snake-Eyes, who had run into the bushes, chasing after her.

"Damn!" cursed Diamond. "Goannis, get back to the others!" she called to her now distant comrade, before shifting back to hovercar form and pursuing the creature.

"Ugh..." grunted Goannis, slowly getting to her feet.

"Good evening, my dear," called a voice from behind. Goannis whipped around to see a much larger form.

"Oh, I'm being rude, I do apologise. Allow me to introduce myself... I am Jupitor, and I shall be your escort for this marvellous evening," announced the large Huntercon, in robot form. Goannis backed away, clearly shaking.

"I... I'm not going anywhere with you!" she called, turning about and running off. Jupitor transformed to his tyrannosaur mode and casually jogged after her, easily keeping pace.

"You are a sporting lass, it really does feel better with a chase, doesn't it? Well, for one of us, I suppose."

Opal sat with Autumn, comforting her.

"Don't worry, Autumn, everything will be fine. We'll get out of here, no troubles," she said, though she doubted it really helped any. A section of the cave's ceiling began to glow red hot deeper in the cave, but still in clear view of both Opal and Autumn Beauty.

"W-w-what's that?" Autumn said, with some panic. Both she and Opal quickly got to their feet and backed away. The segment of cave gave way, kicking up dirt and dust. For a few seconds, Opal and Autumn could not see anything. Once the dust settled, Computerscream stood under the hole in the roof of the cave. Opal opened fire with her lasers, more on fear and instinct, but Computerscream dodged the blasts easily. Three disks ejected from his body.

"Bytes, Long Drop, Teh'Ja, destroy them," called Computerscream, in an eerie monotone and heartless voice. The three disks transformed, becoming a bat, bomber jet and female robot respectively. The three opened fire, and Opal and Autumn ran out of the cave.

"They're too fast! Autumn, transform and get out of here! Hide!" Opal called, the panic evident in her own voice. Autumn shifted to car form without a second thought and sped off as fast as she could, fear her only guide.

"She ain't gonna get far! And neither are you!" screamed Konggra. Opal noted her, and Guardor, both in beast modes and on either side of her. The pair leapt at her, but Opal shifted to jet form and blasted into the sky, leaving them to crash into each other. She had no chance to process a sigh before laser fire raced past her on all sides. Hirog stood atop the cave's entrance in robot form, firing after her. He shifted into eagle mode and gave chase, with Long Drop and Bytes joining him. The trio fired relentlessly at Opal, who struggled to keep clear with a few shots singeing her.

"You're going down, fly girl! I'll see to that!" Hirog yelled.

Snake-Eyes ran. She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, but even she knew she couldn't out run whatever it was that was after her. The creature was easily keeping pace, not evening having to rush. The creature knew his prey couldn't run forever, and the red female was no longer pursuing him. The blue and purple female would be an easy kill. Snake-Eyes continued to run, she glanced behind her as she had done many times now. Each time she saw the creature not far away, and did so again. This time however, it proved to be bad timing, as she didn't see the rotting tree log before her, and tripped over it.

"No!" she screamed, the feeling of certain death sapping her of strength. She desperately tried to scramble to her feet, but with the creature looming so close, it was too much. She turned to face the beast as she sat on the ground, pushing herself back with her arms and legs. The creature was just a few meters away, with its mace arm raised, ready to strike. Snake-Eyes looked around for a saviour, but found none. With little choice left, Snake-Eyes transformed to her cobra mode, and her eyes immediately began glowing. The creature stopped, seemingly somewhat confused for moment. Another moment later, and it was in a complete daze. A large cannon pierced the surrounding bush, almost resting against the creature. With this surprising her, Snake-Eyes jerked back, ending whatever hold she had on the creature. The beast came to its sense almost immediately, but not quick enough.

"Back off!" Diamond Fire yelled, in tank form. She fired, blowing the creature out of sight. Both Diamond and Snake-Eyes transformed back to their robot modes, Snake-Eyes considerably shaken.

"You ok?" asked Diamond. Snake-Eyes could only shake her head. "We'll be ok, but we better get back to the others," Diamond said, reassuringly.

Goannis was tiring fast, and she knew her attacker was not. She turned to see he was still keeping good pace.

"Yes, my dear, I am still with you. You need not be concerned, for I shall not leave you," he called to her. Goannis was also tiring of Jupitor's endless babble. The t-rex stopped, allowing Goannis to continue alone.

"I really must apologise, for I'm afraid I've not been completely honest with you," he called. Goannis stopped, turning to face him.

"Great, now what is he going to say?" she thought to herself, glad to have stopped for now at least. Jupitor continued.

"I'm afraid I will have to be leaving you now, but fear not! A good friend of mine will be taking over," he said, and Goannis instantly knew she should not have stopped. A hand grabbed her neck from behind and she screamed with terror. It turned her around, allowing her to see that Kaybajip had gotten hold of her. His blank stare was enough to send a surge through her system. He said nothing, and merely threw her into the near by river. Diving in after her, Kaybajip transformed to shark form, and taunted Goannis by swimming past her while just barely touching her with his fins and tail. Goannis struggled to keep afloat, and keep watch on the shark, but the night made it almost impossible. She was certain her death would be soon.

Autumn Beauty sat in car mode, parked deep in the bushes around the grass plain. She sat there alone, in a terrifying silence. The only thought going through her mind was they others had left her behind, stranded all alone for Spectral Death to find her. Something deep inside her told her this couldn't be true, but the fear that gripped her so tight preventing her from thinking clearly. Why did she ever have to leave the ship? Guardor dropped onto her in gorilla form, beating at her senselessly while screaming in much the same fashion. Autumn screamed, starting her engine and driving madly away, but her attacker held tight. Konggra appeared ahead of her target and pounced, but Autumn was driving too erratically and she missed, slamming into a large rock, knocking herself out. Guardor had stopped beating on Autumn, purely so he could hang on.

Computerscream stood in the clearing, but nearby the bushes in case he needed cover. Teh'Ja was with him, keeping guard. They both heard a noise coming from inside the bushland. Teh'Ja moved closer to the bushes to see what may be coming through. However as it came closer, she could not see it until it was too late. Autumn Beauty crashed through the bushes, with Guardor still hanging on and screaming. Teh'Ja was knocked away, and she grunted as the impact knocked her out. The instant Autumn noticed Computerscream ahead of her, she slammed on the brakes and Guardor was sent hurtling forward. Computerscream had no time to react, and was pinned under Guardor's weight. Autumn Beauty found that she was too scared to continue, and just sat there in a frozen panic. Diamond Fire and Snake-Eyes rushed over to her.

"Autumn! Are you ok?" Snake-Eyes asked, still rather terrified herself. Autumn transformed back to robot mode, though with some difficulty, her fear obviously interfering. Snake-Eyes tried to comfort her as best she could.

"What's Spectral Death doing here? I thought we'd heard the last of them after they killed Artifice?" she asked. Diamond Fire shook her head.

"I don't know, but I'll bet that thing that was after us is a part of them."

"How true," Computerscream said, regaining his feet alongside Guardor, who shifted to robot form. The creature stepped out of the bushes, ready to take on Diamond Fire. Diamond, Snake-Eyes and Autumn watched it, its cold stare a frightening sight. It transformed, its side legs becoming arms, and upper body becoming legs. The mace and bladed arms disconnected, and reconnected at opposing ends of a long staff like device. The gun must have taken its place in subspace, but the three LONAC members were not concerned with that, more so the robot's face. It was completely featureless. This being had no visible eyes, mouth or nose. Nothing. And in the darkness of the night, it made him appear even more haunting.

"Nightmare, destroy them." Computerscream said. Guardor seemed to be twitching, as if being unable to wait for permission to also attack.

"Nightmare? He doesn't look that scary," Diamond Fire said.

"Does to me..." Snake-Eyes said shakily. A blank expression, if it could be an expression at all, was all that appeared on Nightmare's face. He leapt into action, twirling his staff above his head with one hand before swinging it down on Diamond Fire. The red Dark Force member held up her large cannon, blocking the attack, and the pair engaged in a duel.

"You two get to cover!" Diamond yelled at her friends, ducking under Nightmare's attack and firing on Computerscream and Guardor, sending them both to the ground. Snake-Eyes and Autumn ran back for the cave while Diamond continued to battle.

"Yes!" Opal exclaimed with relief, then slamming into a tree and falling to the ground. She shifted back to robot mode and fired with her good arm at her attackers. Her lack of combat experience was all too evident, and the three Spectral Death fliers avoided the attack with ease. Opal concentrated more on her comm unit.

"Opal to LONAC, is anyone there?" she called in a panicked rush as her attackers rained down fire on her.

"Lilwall here. What's wrong, Opal?"

"We're under Spectral Death attack! We're getting slaughtered!" she cried.

"Help is on the way, hang tight!" The comm unit closed off, and Opal continued to run from her attackers, only barely avoiding being hit.

"By the time anyone gets here, we're gonna be hung!" she said hopelessly to herself. Hirog swooped down and knocked Opal from her feet. The coloured seeker rolled across the ground before sitting upright to regain her thoughts. Bytes was suddenly upon her, screeching and clawing at her with his feet. Opal raised her good arm again, her laser resting against Bytes' chest, and fired. The bat was thrown back and crashed to the ground, landing in a twisted heap, his delicate wings broken and battered.

"Nice shot. That flying rodent is rather bothersome," Hirog called from behind, now in robot mode. He held his pistol at Opal's head. Long Drop shoved the eagle bot aside, wanting the kill for himself. Both he and Hirog immediately began fighting each other, and Opal made a quick dash to safety.

Computerscream cursed himself silently, having detected the transmission. Now he understood why Diamond Fire had fired on him as she engaged Nightmare, to disrupt the jamming field. She must have guessed he was the cause. Nightmare and Diamond Fire had been battling each other for the last few minutes, with Nightmare clearly gaining the advantage as it continued. Diamond Fire was flung harshly to the ground, and barely avoided the pair of blades Nightmare sliced at her.

"Enough games, Nightmare. Destroy her, before LONAC reinforcements arrive." Computerscream ordered. Nightmare raised his the mace end of his staff, ready to crush his opponent beneath it. Diamond transformed to hover car form once again, darting backwards before turning about and making for the cave once again. She may have been able to take Nightmare had his sudden blow to her chest not been so severe. Her systems ached, and her strength was failing due to both the wound and the added combat. She could hear periodic thumping on the ground some distance behind her, and guessed that both Guardor and Nightmare were giving chase in their creature modes once more.

"Thank primus, reinforcements!" she sighed with relief to herself. She was almost at the cave. Opal rushed inside, with Hirog and Long Drop right behind her. Luckily though, Diamond Fire was in time to knock Hirog down, causing Long Drop to move back. Stopping just inside the cave, Diamond Fire returned to robot mode, instinctively taking out her weapon, turning and firing, striking Long Drop. The bomber crashed to the ground, and Hirog dragged him clear of the entrance by Computerscream's order.

"Everyone ok?" Diamond Fire asked the others, seeing how shaken and frightened they were. Diamond knew that none of them were cut out for this. She guessed they'd never been in a fight before. She knew Opal was part of the Freedom's reserve infantry, but that didn't mean she was a fighter.

"Goannis is still out there!" Snake-Eyes said, alarmed.

"We've got to get to her!" Opal called. Autumn pointed out of the cave and scrambled to her feet in panic.

"They're coming for us! They're coming for us!" she screamed, running deeper into the cave, but she did not get far. The ceiling collapsed ahead of her, trapping them inside. Autumn furiously pounded at the debris, screaming frantically. Her comrades didn't know what to do. Spectral Death had all gathered a short distance from the cave, no doubt what Autumn was calling for.

"I think we've got help coming," Diamond said, thinking fast for a way to get out of the situation without her or her friends getting killed.

"I called them, I don't know how many are coming, but they're coming!" Opal said, more afraid than she'd even been before.

"Let's hope they get here really soon, or we're finished..." Diamond said, already believing it was over for them.

"Isn't one of them missing?" Snake-Eyes said absently, staring at the group of killers outside. Diamond Fire knew something was different.

"Yes, the shark. Where did he get to?" she said.

"Goannis..?" Opal said. Jupitor called out to the females.

"Good evening ladies! I trust you've had a pleasant evening? No? Then please allow us, then, to attempt to make to improve our effort! Huntercons, unite!" he called.

"But what about Kaybajip?" asked Hirog.

"No doubt still enjoying his new chew toy, we won't need him, for this won't require much effort. Now, transform!" Jupitor ordered, leaping into the air. Hirog, Guardor and Konggra followed suit and the four combined. The almost complete, yet no less hulking, form of Zrakkor landed on the ground and roared with rage.

"I've taken this guy before, I can do it again!" Diamond Fire said, raising her cannon and firing a powerful grenade at the giant's face. Zrakkor caught the grenade.

"Not this time, puny one!" he bellowed, throwing the grenade at the cave's entrance. The females ran into the cave as far as they could.

"Look out!" Diamond yelled. The grenade exploded and sent debris in all directions.

The sound of an explosion could be heard not far away, but it was the least of Goannis' worries. Kaybajip had been taunting her enough that she all she could do now was scream in terror. The shark poked his head out the water, right in front of his prey.

"Now you shall die," he said with his emotionless, chilling voice. Goannis was powerless to stop him from tearing her apart, and her life seemed to flash before her in an instant. Another explosion was heard, and this time, it was right before her. Kaybajip sank slowly to the bottom of the river, and Goannis could barely make out a vehicle of some sort further down stream. It quickly moved up to her.

"Goannis, are you ok? It's me, Splashback." Goannis seemed rather uncertain, until she noted the LONAC symbols.

"Thank primus!" she called, exhausted.

"Climb on and I'll get you out of here, help has arrived," Splashback said. Goannis wasted little time in taking up the offer, and in seconds, she was on land once more. Splashback transformed, taking out her weapon.

"Come on, the others should arriving at the main battle any second now, and they'll probably need all the help they can get!" she said, running off. Goannis, still clearly shaken, followed close behind.

"Are you armed?" Splashback asked.

"A..Armed?" Goannis replied, not sure if she wanted to know the response.

"Do you have a gun?"

"Yes, but I've never used it... I'm a civilian, it's.. it's only for self defence..." she said uneasily. Splashback stopped and turned to her smaller comrade.

"Ok. Goannis, I understand you may not want to, but we might need your help. You may have to use your weapon," She said. Goannis, though still shaky, nodded after a moment's thought, and took out her weapon.

"I don't know how to use it," she said. Splashback pointed out a small rod to the rear of Goannis' gun.

"Ok, this part here is the safety lock, pull down on the rod and slide it across quickly. When you hear it click into place, you're ready to fire. Just point and shoot, ok?" she explained, before heading off towards the battle again. Goannis gave a nervous nod, and ran off with her. She tried to shift the rod as explained, failing twice before clicking it into place on the third attempt. She mustered up as much courage as she could, hoping she could be of some help.

Diamond Fire and Opal fired hopelessly at the towering form of Zrakkor, but it had little effect. Zrakkor took out his own cannon, and leveled it to fire. Before he managed to pull the trigger however, a large missile slammed hard into his back with a massive explosion that light up the night. Zrakkor, and the rest of Spectral Death, turned with surprise. Recoil sat in tank form, with one missile missing from his hold. Lightning, Chameleon and Scope swooped down from the sky in vehicle modes, firing on the smaller enemies, while Recoil locked onto Zrakkor again.

"Boom time! Haha!" Recoil called, firing all three of his huge missiles. They slammed into Zrakkor with great force, tearing away at his armour with each explosion. The giant was forced to separate, and the Huntercons crashed to the ground.

"All right!" Diamond Fire called, shifting to tank mode and opening fire, moving outside the cave. Opal provided cover fire for her as best she could, while Snake-Eyes and Autumn Beauty fell to the ground with relief. Long Drop had taken back to the sky and trailed Lightning, firing his cannons. The LONAC seeker was fast to dodge, and lead the unwitting bomber higher into the sky. When Lightning was satisfied with his altitude, he began to charge the air around him. Second later, a bolt of lightning erupted from the sky and struck Long Drop, sending him spiralling out of control.

Computerscream traded fire with Chameleon, who had shifted to robot form and landed. Computerscream clipped his leg, forcing the Tactibot to one knee. Teh'Ja leapt onto Chameleon's back and fired on him with her pistol. Try as Chameleon might though, he couldn't manage to flick her off.

"Get off of me, you little slag!" he yelled out, clearly annoyed. Teh'Ja suddenly leapt off, and Chameleon turned to see her run off. He could tell something was now standing over him, and when he turned forward again, Nightmare was above him, about to strike. The creature was suddenly pummelled by weapons fire, and forced back. Chameleon noted Splashback and Goannis emerge from the bushes, still firing at the creature before him.

"Nice shooting hot shots, but watch the real hot shot take his turn!" he called, taking out both his meltas, and letting loose on Nightmare.

"Don't know what you are, freak boy, but you could do with a good slagging!" he called out. Nightmare made no sound as he felt his armour burn away, and shifted back to robot form. The Tactibot ceased fire.

"What the pit..." he said, noting the lack of a face on the robot in front of him. Nightmare took his chance and punched Chameleon across the face. Scope and his pretender shell wrestled with Guardor and Hirog respectively, while Lightning and Diamond Fire made short work of both Jupitor and Kongrra. Computerscream knew this was a battle they could not win.

"Spectral Death, return to the shuttle," he called, flying away just as Recoil attempted to grab him.

"Hey! Come back here!" called the tank. The remaining Spectral Death force made their escape relatively easily, LONAC letting them leave. The group moved to the cave, where Snake-Eyes, Opal and Autumn Beauty emerged, rather shaken from the whole experience.

"Do you have any serious injuries?" Scope asked. The trio shook their heads silently, Goannis joining them. Diamond Fire collapsed, Lightning catching her.

"Just me, I'm afraid... Time to go pester Restore and Lifeblood," she said, allowing her chest wound to win out now that the enemy had left.

"I'd say that is a good idea," Scope said. The sound of a shuttle was heard, and soon enough the Independence landed near by the group. The door opened and Admiral Lilwall stepped out with Deadlift, Backtrack and Roadkill.

"Well, looks like we missed the party." Deadlift said. Opal managed a slight chuckle.

"Heh, if that's what you call it these days."

"Everyone ok?" Asked Lilwall.

"Been better." Diamond replied.

"Waitstate's ordered everyone back to the ship, we're shipping out as soon as we arrive," Lilwall added.

"Suits us just fine." Snake-Eyes said. The group boarded the shuttle, and was soon on their way.

A brief time had passed, and the Independence had since returned to the newly refitted Freedom with the shuttle Zephyr in tow. Most of the occupants had gone their separate ways, while Diamond Fire and her recent crash mates gave Restore and Lifeblood enough work to keep them up all night. Admiral Lilwall entered the small reception area, noting Overwrite behind the only desk.

"Heh, he go all professional on us with this refit?" Lilwall asked with a chuckle. Overwrite looked at him with a perplexed expression.

"Never mind, heh. He in there?" Admiral said, pointing to the door ahead of him.

"Head right on in, sir," Overwrite said. Lilwall nodded and moved into Waitstate's office, taking out a data pad. Waitstate looked up from his finance overview.

"Hey, Lil. How are they?" he asked.

"Diamond Fire is fine, the others are still a little shaken, but otherwise ok. Autumn will probably never want to step outside her quarters again, of course."

"Hardly blame her. Every time she does, something terrible seems to happen." Waitstate said, moving the overview aside. Admiral Lilwall handed him a report on the attack.

"Not all good news though, unfortunately."

"No. So much for the whole 'end-of-the-Spectral-Death-menace' thing, huh?"

"Yeah. Not only that, they've got new bots."

"Slag. Anyone we know?"

"Not this time, Wait. One is some kind of creature, real weird lookin' according to the girls," Lilwall said.

"And the others?" asked Waitstate, skimming over the report.

"Stolen LONAC technology. Three disk bots."

"Heh, like it wasn't bad enough we had to worry about big bad guys. Now we have to worry about little ones as well."

Autumn Beauty finally felt as ease, as she wandered through her plant filled quarters. Since she had returned, she had been watering her plants, which easily helped her to forget what she had just been through. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she'd have nightmares for months, but at least for now, she was happy again. The whole trip had not been a torment though. She had grabbed a few seeds from an exotic looking flower while the others boarded the Independence. Looking around, she was quite content with the appearance of her quarters. In fact, they looked nothing like quarters at all, more like a large garden. She couldn't even see the ceiling through the vines that grew on it any more. Holding aside some of the vegetation, she opened a compartment in the wall, taking out a pot and high grade soil. She planted her seeds in the pot and sat it down on a table, which was also covered with plant life. She poured some water on the seeds, and smiled for a few moments.

"Computer, lights off," she said softly, moving to the recharge bunk in the next room to rest for the next few days. The seeds broke through the layer of soil, growing into small sprouts. As the night continued, the sprouts continued to grow...

"You fool! Your orders were to observe only! I explicitly told you not to engage any LONAC crew! And worse, you managed to get the new soldiers badly damaged!" Xaraxus bellowed over the speakers, clearly enraged.

"Return immediately! You've ruined everything! LONAC were not to know of our presence while we rebuilt our forces!" he screamed, shutting off the comm. Computerscream sat idle in the chair of the small shuttle he and a number of other Spectral Death units occupied, pondering what his fate may be upon his return to Xaraxus. Jupitor leaned in to him.

"Oh my, a spot of trouble? Now didn't I warn you not to press ahead with your plan?"

"It was logical. A small group of female civilians. It was an easy kill. Your group failed," the drone like Computerscream replied. Jupitor chuckled.

"Oh no, my dear Computerscream, you failed. It was you who allowed a message through to the rest of LONAC..." he said, walking away before turning in the doorway. "Not us." Jupitor left Computerscream to his thoughts.