Chapter Text
Planet: Cybertron
Location: Kaon, Decepticon stronghold
Earth Year: 1977-five years before first contact
The centuries-long civil war between the Autobots and the Decepticons was coming to an end. Under the leadership of their general, Megatron, the Decepticons had swayed many sparks and minds to his cause. Megatron preached of a future Cybertron freed from the rigid caste system. He inspired an idea that each Cybertronian would be free to choose their own path in life. Empowered by a tide of support, the Decepticon rebellion had almost seized total victory; until The Prime appeared. Legends spoke of The Prime as the herald of the Cybertronians creator and god, Primus. The Herald was said to be bestowed with the fabled and powerful artifact - the Matrix of Leadership. Under this new leader, who swore to end the war and restore stability and peace, the Autobot ranks swelled. Many among the Deceptions defected to serve the Chosen of Primus. With a renewed zeal and bolstered forces the Autobots successfully pushed the Decepticons to their final stronghold at Kaon.
Before the war, Kaon had been an industrial center. The now dormant spires of smelting pits and forges still rose proudly into the air. Rail tracks that had once brought energon and ore for refinement were empty, ruined, or littered with debris. Among the towering spires of what had been a prosperous space operation, Megatron stood and watched the final siege unfold from atop the last secure launching platform. Smoke filled the sky as fires burned in the distance. Flashes of light and eruptions of flame tracked the progress of the invading Autobots. Megatron folded his arms behind his back and watched. The sound of heavy footsteps approaching caused him to look over his shoulder. A thin smile crossed his face.
“What is it, Shockwave?” he asked. His head turned back to watch the unfolding battle. An explosion ripped into the air and his optics narrowed in focus on the smoke as another defensive line collapsed. Shockwave was slightly shorter than Megatron. The scientist's body was forged in a perfect match for his personality. Blunt, almost brutal angles made up his robotic form. A powerful plasma cannon composed his left arm, and tank treads folded neatly along the back of his calves and across his broad back. The dying sunlight seemed to be absorbed into his dark purple and teal coloration.
“General,” Shockwave spoke with little emotion as he stood next to his commander, “it is illogical that you should remain.” He turned his cylindrical head, fitted with a faceted red mono-optic, up to his general's dull grey and purple form.
Stroking his chin Megatron let out a musing sound before speaking, “How much time is left?”
“I calculate,” Shockwave spoke with a deep voice, “that Kaon will fall in two mega-cycles. If they manage to breach the Arena, it will take them one. Most of our non-combat units have managed to get off-world,” the general nodded as his lieutenant continued, “but this war is lost, general. Your movement may survive, but only if you evacuate.” Megatron let out a dry humorless laugh.
“And that's what it's come down to? Survival?” Megatron asked. A tired grimace twisted his face while watching the flashes of light growing closer. He was about to say something when movement in the sky drew his attention. Behind him another set of footsteps approached as the object grew closer.
Lazerbeak, swooped down with a spiral before landing gracefully on the offered perch of Megatron's arm. The mechanical flying creature was clad in purple with black and dark blue streaks. Eagerly, she leaned into the finger that stretched out to scratch under her golden beak. Megatron turned his back on the battle as Lazerbeak bristled and then preened her black metallic wings Soundwave had joined them at the edge of the platform. The communication and intel officer was a quiet bot with a faceplate and a red visored optic. His body, painted in greys and dark blues, reflected his alternative mode's heavy all-terrain nature. The three mechs stood silently as the sound of battle reached them. On each body, small parts and features undulated, rolled, clicked, or whirred softly independently. Megatron finally spoke.
“Now, we can find out what's been going on behind the front lines.” Megatron ran his hand down Lazerbeak's head and neck before he shifted his arm. The deployer, a smaller robot linked to a larger command unit, soared over and transformed to fit within the chest of her master, Soundwave. He began projecting several videos and audio recordings. Images of Iacon, the capital city, being rebuilt hovered in front of the trio. Posters and holograms flashed, declaring the rule of The Prime and an end to the war. The final image caused Megatron to scowl, and his hands clenched into tight fists. Soundwave projected a building with a line of bots, all in shackles, being lead inside. The word “REPROGRAMMING” floated as a holographic projection. The prison line had not only warriors, but laborers and administrators as well - all those who had joined his cause.
“Then, it's true,” Megatron said. His words came through grounded teeth.
After a moment of silence Shockwave spoke, “Their actions are logical.” He turned his singular optic to Megatron, “What better way to instill order than to remove any undesirable trails from the populace?” A rare hint of anger growled low in the voice modulator of the scientist.
“They are the actions of a fanatic!” Megatron growled. He turned sharply to look out at the ever-approaching Autobot forces. The irony of his words was not lost on him. “Soundwave,” he looked back at his communications officer, “give the evacuation order. I want as many of our remaining forces off -world in the next cycle. And summon a hunter, I have a task for one of them.” Scowling as he turned back around, he issued another order, “After that, I need a strike team assembled, the three of us have one final mission on Cybertron.”
On the smoke and debris choked streets of Kaon, a single Autobot patrol pushed forward slowly. They had been a full fireteam when their mission began; now, there were only three of the eight remaining. The smoke and dust clogged the air, and the bots were jumping at shadows, firing randomly at shapes they thought they saw moving in the distance. Their advance halted at an intersection while they tried to plan their next move. Shatter, a Decepticon huntress crouched above them in the shadows of the overpass. Her body was colored in dark red and black with purple accents. The color scheme allowed her to blend in the smoky shadows. The huntress was an absolute femme beauty as if forged in the very image of Solus Prime herself. Primus had created Shatter as a warrior, which made her stockier and taller than most femmes, adding an exotic air to her beauty. The single flat antenna on the right of her head tilted as she listened to the panicking Autobots below.
“Air support, we need air support, dammit!” One of the bots was on the comms. “We've been cut off, and we can't see a damn thing in this Pit blasted smoke. We've lost five bots already. We need evac!” When static was the only response, his face dropped, and he whirled to look at one of the other survivors. One bot had the large, bulky body of a simple cargo flier who had converted for combat operations. “You can fly; why aren't you airborne?!” The mech in question gave the other bot a grim look as the swept wings along his back twitched
“That last ambush damaged my t-cog.” He said slowly, pulling a blue-white stained hand away from the wounded area. Fresh energon began to seep out, making him press his hand on it again. Heavy despair fell over the three as they tried to form a perimeter and wait out the storm. “It's almost over,” the flier said, “If we can hold here, if we can just wait, we'll be fine, just”- he paused as his hand shook slightly— “Just fine.”
Shatter allowed herself a small, thin smile as she picked up a palm-sized piece of metal from nearby debris and calculated her throw. The scrap metal soared from her charcoal grey fingers to clatter behind the patrol with a swift throw. The sound caused them to turn and blindly open fire, lighting up the smoke clogged road. The huntress seized the moment and fell on the one closest to her from her perch. A long, serrated blade slid from just above her wrist and impaled the Autobot through the spark chamber. The sound of bodies colliding and a dying groan drew the attention of the other two. Keeping the mech impaled on her weapon she pointed her free arm towards another bot as it shifted into a single-barreled automatic cannon and opened fire. Metal and sparks flew as the heavy bolts ripped past his energy shield and punched smoldering holes through the armored chest and head. The flier was the only one left. With a roar, the mech started shooting at her, but was hitting his comrade's sparkless body instead.
The heavy plasma bolts slammed into the corpse and pushed Shatter back. The huntress pulled her blade free and hurled her improvised shield at the flier, who shifted to dodge the attack. Shatter moved with a ruthless, predatory grace and leaped on the Autobot. A panicked scream became a groan of pain as her arm blade pierced his chest. The momentum caused them to fall back and land on the ground with a heavy clang. He was pinned under the femme, who twisted the blade slightly in his chest. The autocannon shifted back into a hand that gently stroked along the cheek of the pinned Autobot. The ruthless look on her face changed into a soft, almost caring smile directed at the downed mech.
“Shh, I missed your spark chamber on purpose.” She whispered. “Now, be a good mech, and tell me where Silverbolt is.” Her glowing red optics softened a little as her hand moved to the back of his neck. The weakened flier put his hand around the blade and tried to pull it out, but only got another twist of the weapon for his effort. With a grunt, he answered her.
“To the Pit with you, heretic. The war's over; you've lost. I won't tell you—” he screamed in pain as the blade twisted sharply in his chest.
“Where. Is. Silverbolt?” She punctuated each word with another twist of her weapon, and her voice had become harsher while her eyes narrowed as she grabbed the back of his head. The mech’s optics flared as his body began to shake.
“I— I don't know! Primus, help me, I don't know!” His voice cracked with panic and sobs. Shatter patted his cheek lightly and made a few soft tutting noises at him.
“That's too bad. And here I was going to reward you for being a good little mech.” She teased, brushing her thumb along his lips before pulling the blade from his chest. He gasped in pain and relief as the impalement was over. The huntress shifted the angle of her weapon, and with a swift and brutal stroke, she gutted his spark chamber. Shatter watched with glaring optics as the Autobot's body turned a dull color as his spark went out. She stood and swept her arm, clearing the blade of energon, before it retracted. “Well, another wasted interrogation.” Shatter mused to herself. Briefly she wondered if there was time to hit another patrol. The choice was made for her when Soundwave's modulated voice buzzed in her audio receptor.
The general evacuation order was going out, but she had orders to meet with Megatron. Shatter didn't waste time thinking about what her general wanted. She took off in a sprint as her body began transforming into a car mode - panels, tires, doors, and other components shifted in a smooth mechanical dance as the femme changed into a sleek, powerful muscle car. The huntress' wheels hit the ground, already spinning, making a loud squeal as she peeled out and raced to her destination.
Several Autobot patrols slowed her progress to the lift. She was forced to dodge, kill or find other ways to avoid her enemies to reach the elevator door. After a smooth transformation back into her robot form, the huntress pressed the button calling the elevator down. Both of her arms changed into cannons while she put her back to the lift's wall. A tactical display overlayed her vision as she waited. The elevator arrived with a whisper before the doors slid open. As she stepped inside, the femme's arms changed back to hands, and one almost smashed the console in frustration.
The world outside was silenced in the lift tube, giving Shatter a moment alone with her thoughts and feelings. She hugged herself and closed her optics as bitterness began to well in her spark. She thought of what would happen under the restored Senate. Cybertron would be thrown back into an even more rigid caste system. If the rumors were true, dissidents would be reprogrammed and likely suffer empurata and have limbs cut off and replaced. Her body shuddered at the thought as her mind drifted to the comrades lost in the war. A hollow, lonely feeling began to grow with her resentment.
“After everything, we've fought for, and everything I”—she paused— “we lost, this is how it ends.” As the elevator neared the top, the muffled sounds of a pitched battle reached her audio receptors. After the lift came to a stop and the doors opened, she saw chaotic and frantic aerial action. Seekers were engaged in intense dogfights to maintain control of the skies. She saw either Acidstorm or Thundercracker take down two Autobot ships; it was hard to tell color patterns from where she stood. Smiling at the two fresh Autobot losses, she stepped onto the launch pad and stopped. The imposing form of Megatron stood in front of her. He towered over the huntress. The general was a flier, but his body had been forged with such seamless perfection it was impossible to determine the vehicular parts of his alternate mode Deep red optics looked down at her. At the same time, the handsome, predatory, and scar-marked face softened into a smile. She dropped to a knee and placed a hand over her spark chamber while bowing her head. “General.” The rank and title of her leader was spoken with respect.
“Ah, Shatter, Soundwave made a good choice.” She heard the weariness in Megatron's voice. “I have a mission for you.” The femme stood up and folded her hands behind her back while looking at the general. His face was grim, his optics narrowed, and his brows were knit together. The broad shoulders looked weighed down by some unseen burden. Shatter's optics turned as she heard someone approach. Soundwave joined them and gave Megatron a salute, who responded with a nod before speaking to the huntress. “Soundwave will brief you on the details. This is an important mission, Shatter, and it will be vital to our survival away from Cybertron. You have an impressive record, I trust you will not fail me.” He gave the femme a nod before moving away.
Shatter gave her general a salute and watched him walk away. His back was straight and proud, but she swore there was a heavy weight on his spiky shoulders. It must simply be battle fatigue, she thought, and then turned to look at Soundwave. The blue and grey color bot was the same height as her, but the faceplate and visor like optic gave him an eerie, silent quality. Her gears shivered as that optic swept over her before Soundwave turned and walked away.
“Come with me.” He ordered with his unusual, electronic, and monotone voice. Lazerbeak rested on his shoulder and looked at the femme with silent, watchful golden optics. Shatter simply rolled her optics and followed him over to a raised pedestal. She knew that Soundwave was still reeling from a series of betrayals he should have been able to stop, betrayals that helped lead the Decepticons to such deplorable state. Had it not been for Megatron, the communications officer would have been killed already. The mech was trying to atone, or at least, not screw things up again.
The pedestal he stopped at had been shaped from the launching platform itself, and soft blinking lights were spread across the surface. A hologram of Kaon was projected along the flat top part of the projector. Spots of red dotted the hologram, showing where various battles were still taking place. Soundwave's hands began to change as the terminal responded to him. Two ports rose from the pedestal to accept his hands as the mech directly interfaced with the projector. The hologram of Kaon was suddenly replaced with a planet. Shatter picked out the different landmasses as the projection rotated slowly.
“This world is called Earth,” Soundwave began, “it's a quiet, unassuming planet that Megatron believes can serve as a rallying point. The world is rich in energon to almost absurd amounts.” The projection shifted, and data points of known energon deposits began to flash across the hologram. The world spun again as Soundwave started to pile more data on top of it. The speed and scale of the information he was building up made Shatter's optics twitch, and she looked away. “Your mission is to establish an outpost and send communications for any Decepticons to gather on the planet. Megatron will follow when his mission on Cybertron is complete. You are to remain as discreet as possible. Do not make contact unless you think any of the local life can be helpful” The bot droned on until the projection was replaced with Kaon once again. Soundwave pulled his hands free from the interface holding two thumb-sized data drives in his hand.
Picking one up, Soundwave gave it to the huntress. “This,” he began, “contains schematics for basic survival. Energon extractors, refineries, and, if needed, how to convert the native tools and materials to fulfill your mission.” Shatter took the drive and examined it. The device was made of exposed circuitry with a blunt end. A plate on her opposite wrist opened up, and she stored the data drive in there before she took the second one and placed it with the other. “This drive,” Soundwave continued, “contains xeno-biological data on flora and fauna, as well as several known languages and possible linguistic changes from when the last expedition was there.” One of Soundwave's hands changed to interface with the terminal again, and a spacecraft was lifted into a launch-ready position. “Supplies are already loaded for you huntress.”
Soundwave turned his full attention back to the display of Kaon. Questions ran through Shatter's mind, but she knew better. The mech had said all he was going to say. She had been briefed, she had her mission, and now she was expected to carry it out. Out of respect, she saluted his back before turning and running to the raised vessel. The ship was a small one-seater and looked like a massive arrow with wings. The femme checked the small cargo hold and inventoried what had been loaded. Nodding to herself, she sealed the hatch and climbed into the cockpit.
Once the dome closed and sealed with a soft hiss, Shatter quickly went through a pre-flight check as the shuttle powered up. The Seekers were holding the skies for now, but they had many ships to provide cover. As the engines began to activate, she thought about how to make it through the chaos above her. An Autobot fighter came screaming from the sky, engulfed in flames, and crashed below the landing pad. She shifted the throttle forward and felt the pressure as the ship rose swiftly into the skies. The ascent into orbit was rapid and tense as she dodged dogfighting Seekers, explosions, and showers of debris, but the femme made it safely into orbit. The darkness of space enveloped her, and she prepared the ship for a transwarp jump as Cybertron slowly faded behind her. Shatter took one last look at Cybertron from behind the cockpit's canopy before focusing on the task at hand.
A soft hum rang along the ship’s interior, indicating the transwarp drives were ready, and she activated them. Shatter leaned back and watched as the universe blurred into the vast, spinning array of colors of transwarp space. Sitting up, she looked over the ship computer's calculations about arrival time. “Almost a solar cycle.” She sighed and slumped back into the seat and sat in silence for a moment, just listening to the quiet sounds of the ship. “Time to learn in stasis, I guess.” Shatter programmed the ship to wake her from stasis once it dropped from transwarp space and then reclined in the chair. She reached for the stored data drives and selected the one with linguistic and biological data on it. For a moment, her optics looked over the softly glowing circuitry as her mind wandered. “Languages, some sort of intelligent life?” She wondered out loud before sighing. A slot opened at the base of her neck, and she slid the data drive into it. As her optics closed for a prolonged stasis sleep, her neural processors began to download the data.
A gentle surge passed through Shatter's system as her shuttle dropped out of transwarp space. Her optics slowly opened to the dim lights of the cockpit. She stretched, as much as she could, in the cabin and sat upright. The huntress had dropped out of transwarp in orbit around a pale silver-white moon. Ahead of her, the blue-green planet Earth was shining against the blackness of space. Her optics narrowed as she looked at the world.
“What an underwhelming planet,” she said. After a moment of observation she took control of the shuttle. Shatter broke orbit with the moon and began her approach to the planet. While the ship was plotting an approach vector, her long-range scanners picked up something that made her smile. A network of primitive satellites was in orbit. “Well,” she remarked, “it's never too early to get intel.” Her fingers danced over a console. The femme's hacking skills relied more on brute force than any finesse — something Soundwave would have corrected her on — but she got access to one and began to download information. Information, as the communications officer was fond of saying, was power. Shatter gripped the control stick with a hand and leaned back while looking over the incoming data. Much to her disappointment, it was useless images of land and buildings. “I might make some use of it, later.” Shatter dismissed the data as her mind drifted to Soundwave.
During the war, the Decepticon losses mounted in part to a traitor giving the Autobots intelligence reports. Soundwave, skilled in information warfare, should have prevented the entire debacle, she thought. Then again, she reminded herself, Starscream's ego was only matched by his cunning. Soundwave had rooted him out in the end. Shatter sighed as the planet grew larger in front of her.
“I suppose Starscream was a lesson in always being vigilant,” she said. She spoke the traitor’s name with a bitter anger.. A sudden alarm blared at her as her sensors detected a ship closing in on her. It was broadcasting an Autobot registration code. “Scrap!” She looked at the readout of the craft now chasing her. It was an interceptor class ship, and the weapons were already locking onto her. The huntress didn't have time to think about the irony of her situation as she prayed to Primus she could outfly the Autobot.
The interceptor closed in on her, and flashes of light filled the space in front of her. The Autobot pilot had fired simple warning shots, but she was not going to be intimidated. Shatter had gotten close enough that the earth's gravity began to pull on her ship. She pitched her shuttle into a steep and reckless dive. As the atmosphere closed around the ship, shutters closed as the heat shields came down. She was blind apart from her sensors. The turbulent descent caused the shuttle to shudder as bits of the hull were ripped away. The femme's gears rattled from the turbulence until she had finally cleared the upper atmosphere. The shields dropped to reveal a massive expanse of blue water and the coasts of two large landmasses. She eased her angle of descent and fired her engines, just as her alarms told her of a new weapons lock.
Shatter turned her shuttle into a hard bank as a missile shot past her. A glance at her radar showed the interceptor was closing quickly. The sudden rattle of heavy bolts pelting into the hull told her she was in canon range. Damage reports began to flash across the controls as she struggled to maintain the ship's stability. The Autobot interceptor passed over her with a whoosh and turned in a wide, almost lazy, bank to dive right at her. Whoever the pilot was, they didn't bother with missiles as the cannon ripped into the side and hull of her ship. The huntress screamed as searing pain lanced through her leg. “SCRAP!” She cursed when the shuttle began to spiral out of control towards the ground.
The space between the ocean and the land blurred as her vessel spun wildly towards the earth. Shatter grit her teeth and fought hard with the control stick to get the ship back under control. She managed to stabilize the shuttle and quickly checked her consoles. The Autobot closed on her before she could react, and her gears felt like they rose into her throat as an engine was blown away. Her ship went into a steep, unstoppable dive. The ground rose to meet her in a brutal impact that made her blackout.
The wailing alarms of the craft turned into ghostly, otherworldly sounding moans as their power slowly faded away. The sound was enough to bring Shatter back to the waking world. With a groan, she shook her head and took stock of her situation. The crash had ruined the cockpit. Consoles sparked and sputtered from damage, and smoke was beginning to fill the area as the power ebbed away from it. Sudden lancing pain caused her to double over in the chair as she pressed her hand to the new injury. Shatter felt energon leaking from the wound, and a quick tactical display over her vision laid out the damage, shrapnel was lodged in her torso, and internal repair couldn't take place until it was removed. She felt that Primus must have blessed her since the wound in her thigh was clean and could be ignored for now. Bracing herself, she kicked the canopy open and climbed out of the wrecked spacecraft.
Shatter took a moment to get familiar with the alien landscape that surrounded her. Almost everything around her was minuscule. The strange spires covered with odd needles or other foliage were the only things as tall or taller than her. The crackling sound of the impact fire burned behind her as multiple organic forms ran from the sound and the smoke. She hated this world already. The ground was soft and covered in some green hair or fur that felt uncomfortable to walk on. The femme ran through the information Soundwave had given her. She was in a 'forest'. The tall structures were 'trees'. She caught sight of several 'deer', a 'raccoon', and 'birds' all fleeing the scene. Her lip turned up in a sneer as her optics looked over the land around her. “Disgusting,” she muttered. With a grimace she began to limp away from the wreck. A noise in the distance made her stop. Her audio sensors focused to identify it. Faintly the huntress could make out the whine of jet engines. It could merely be an earthling craft, but her spark told her better. She turned back to her damaged ship to get a little welcome ready.
Shatter managed to pry open the cargo hatch and frowned. Almost everything had been destroyed in the crash. The spare energon cubes were cracked and leaking Nothing would be of much use apart from a small repair kit. Taking the kit, Shatter pulled the foam sealant from it. She pressed the tip of the dispenser into the hole at her thigh. and put her hand on the other side of before pulling the trigger. A sudden, disorienting sensation of the wound being filled made the huntress hiss a little. The medical foam quickly hardened as it closed the wound. That should aid her internal repair systems; the wound at her side was a different matter. The repair kit had a self adhesive band for a large wound. That would stop any more energon from leaking; but would not help with the healing process. Having patched herself as best she could with what was available, the huntress went to the fuel cells of the craft.
Half a cycle later and she was ready as she sat down against a tree not far from the now smoldering wreckage. The bark felt rough and rubbed against her metal skin. Everything on this planet was an irritation. Her leg pain, even patched, was getting hard to ignore, and the wound in her side felt like it was getting worse under the patch. An internal warning went off, informing her that internal damage would prevent a successful transformation; her Cybertronian form was too damaged and needed a reformatting. Without scanning some kind of compatible earth vehicle she would be unable to transform, but transforming would let most of her internal systems deal with all but the most serious injury she had sustained. Shatter would have laughed at the absurdity of her situation; if her spark were not in risk of going offline.
The sound of jet engines coming closer drew her attention and the huntress smirked. As she had guessed, the Autobot who followed her was coming to either confirm the kill or capture the prisoner. Her audio sensors picked up the sound of transformation and a heavy impact as the Autobot landed. The dull thudding of footsteps drew closer to her through the woods. From the other side of the wreckage, she saw his bulky body come into view, a cannon aimed at her head. Hate boiled up inside of her when she saw who it was. The silver and gold color scheme, the “heroic” way in which the mech walked made her want to scream.
“Decepticon Shatter,” Silverbolt said. His usual calm and valiant tone of voice was just as insufferable to her as ever. “You are wanted for high crimes against the Republic of Cybertron. You stand guilty of your crimes. Surrender, and you will be sent to a reprogramming center, resist and…” he trailed off as he got closer. Shatter could not hide the hatred and anger on her face as the Autobot flier stood in front of her. His golden eyes softened, and he lowered his weapon slightly while she slumped over a little. “Shatter,” he said, “please surrender. You're a skilled bot, and Cybertron needs someone like you to help rebuild. Don't throw your life away as Dropkick did.”
Shatter's head snapped up as her emotions went to someplace that was beyond fury, beyond hate. She offered him a fake smile as she sat back up and revealed the detonator in her hand.
“Burn.” She ordered. Her voice lacked any emotion as she pressed the trigger, and time seemed to slow down. Silverbolt's eyes widened when he realized what was happening, and he moved, then stopped, not sure which way to go. It was perfect. The wrecked escape craft and the area around it suddenly erupted into a blue-white flare of heat and pressure as energon tanks ruptured with spectacular violence. Flare compensators dimmed her vision as the fireball blossomed in front of her. The pressure wave slammed into her body and tore the patch off her side. The heat and pressure caused her injured side to rupture slightly. She gritted her teeth through the pain, and as the explosion died out, the smoking, charred torso of Silverbolt landed with a dull sound not far from her.
Smiling despite the pain, Shatter stood up and limped over to the lifeless body of the Autobot. She glared at his corpse for a moment before she raised her foot and slammed it down on his cranium to crush it. Pain from the bolt wound shot through her body, but she endured it to make sure Silverbolt was terminated “Until all are one, you slagging pile of scrap.” She cursed his name and moved away from the carnage. Energon leaked from under her hand that was pressed hard to her side. The internal alarm sounded like a dull, distant echo. She didn't care what happened now. Let the primitive little earthlings discover this place. They could do whatever their perverse backward minds could come up with to Silverbolt. He was dead, and she likely would be soon as well. The huntress only cared that she had failed the general. All Megatron would find would be a pair of corpses; if even that. But, she could die with her revenge in hand; however hollow that was now. Her vision began to fade into fuzzy images as she trudged onwards. Her body began to feel heavy, and her legs were growing stiff every time she tried to move them. Her vision blurred on her just as she missed the edge of the cliff and stepped off into nothing.
Shatter tumbled over and barely registered the first impact on the ground under her. She bounced off of it and felt the second impact even less. After a third dull impact, she rolled to a stop on the ground. A bright red WARNING was flashing across her vision, and she didn't care. A sound reached her receptors and with an effort she turned her head towards it. Her vision had become obscured with warning signs of her imminent death when something caught her optic. The word ACCEPTED flashed before her vision. Her t-cog and transformation matrix worked to alter the femme's body to the chosen form. Shatter felt the change taking place just as the darkness claimed her.