The world was scared after the battle of Chicago. The true destructive capabilities of Cybertronians were on full display and this had caused doubts and fear to grow in the hearts of the people. Information about the war was made known to the public, including the names of the Autobots who fought for them and the major Decepticons that wanted them exterminated. Although government leaders try to play down rising tensions by assuring people that the Autobots would never turn against them, but fears had already spread and now one of them was going to come back at them.
After the war and the end of the Autobot and NEST alliance, the bots had been placed under the care of the CIA to work with their operatives in taking down the Decepticons spread all over the world. A lot of change had happened; Lennox had been drafted back into the military, Brian had retired, Mearing also retired from her position and the bots were now under the command of Harold Attinger (You can see where this is headed).
The once open line of communication the bots shared with their NEST comrades was shrouded in secrecy. The CIA weren't as open or as trusting as Lennox and his men. Something that didn't really sit well with the bots but they had to make do. They were also split up into two groups. Now that they didn't have one particular building to house them all, one group was sent to the southern hemisphere while one remained in the north. The team in the North comprised of Jetstream, Sideswipe, Dino, Wheeljack, Crosshairs and Drift. The team in the South was made up of Optimus, Ironhide, Ratchet, Bumblebee, Hound and the Wreckers. Jet was tasked with leading the team up in the North, working under Optimus and his first leadership role among the Autobots since his Decepticon days.
Now, among the secrets and dealings kept hidden away from the Autobots, the new head of the CIA began making moves of his own. One that would benefit himself as he looked to usher the world into an era of peace in his own way. One dominated by the human race alone. He met a young entrepreneur, Joshua Joyce, with an idea about what the transformers could give the human race. How their technology could revolutionize the world but he needed access to them, what was in their mind. To make things more interesting, Attinger was then contacted by a bounty hunter and a date had been set for them to meet.
In the cold weather of northern Canada, a place with no human life. The sound beating blades of helicopters echoed as they made their way across the open ground covered in ice. Polar bears lifted their head to the heavens as the machines made their way overhead. What could possibly bring a fleet of helicopters this far out into a frozen wilderness?
"Set her down there" Attinger said.
He was within the aircraft as they came upon an alien ship. It was a small vessel set in the middle of the wilderness. It was easily noticeable by its metallic colorings easily standing out from the white snow. Two out of the five helicopters landed as Mr Attinger walked out. He was accompanied by James Savoy and multiple CIA operatives in tactical gear ready for combat. The three helicopters that remained in the air were gunships, just in case things went wrong.
Attinger and Savoy walked towards the ship confidently as the tactical team followed behind loosely. They stayed about ten feet behind them watching and waiting. The two humans stopped about thirty feet from the ship before it's haul opened. Loud metal footsteps were heard coming down the loading ramp as the Cybertronians revealed themselves. A bot with a green mask, he walked towards them exuding confidence, strength and authority. He was accompanied by two robot organic dogs, if they were to classify them and two more bots holding rifles.
The party approached Attinger and his group as nerves tensed up. The operatives held their ground but kept their fingers above their triggers, ready to fire when called upon. The gunships had their sights locked on the robots and their fingers hovering above their triggers, ready to obliterate them. The Cybertronian stopped his approach, leaving about ten feet between himself and humans, he believed his presence was intimidating enough.
"Bringing this much firepower to a meeting?" he asked.
"Well, you can never be certain about the types of people or aliens you are dealing with. I had to bring extra protection" Attinger answered with a forward tone.
The bot scoffed at his response.
"No matter. You said you have a proposal for me after I contacted your human intelligence to hand over the location of Optimus Prime to me"
"Yes I did. But what you must understand is that I can't just give him to you that way"
"And why is that?"
"Right now, he and his fellow refugees are seen as allies of the human race. Our governments wouldn't allow that happen without bringing forces to back him up if you attack. I also want to avoid casualties to the minimum" Attinger explained.
The hounds growled fiercely as saliva dripped from their mouths.
"So what do you propose?" questioned the bot.
"I want to offer an alliance between you and a special group of soldiers I have created"
His proposition intrigued him.
"I'm listening"
"You see, I don't just want Optimus Prime gone. I want all of them gone. I want this world rid of this alien species camping on this planet as if we have a refugee in-take program. I want them all gone and you working with my men can help with that. We can lure them out with Decepticon activity and then you and my men can attack and kill them. That way their deaths wouldn't be seriously investigated if it happens when fighting a Decepticon"
"Hmmmmm" he hummed. "The rest of the Autobot scum aren't part of my mission, but I do enjoy a good hunt. I will agree to this, provided that you give me the intelligence I need when required" he answered.
"Human intelligence is the best of the best. We will keep you informed and updated about everything" Attinger said.
"Understood" he answered.
"And this is the man you would be working with. His name is James Savoy, he's the head of my secret military group code named, Cemetery Wind"
The bot nodded and turned around ready to leave when Attinger called his attention back.
"And what about what we discussed?"
"You will get your Seed when I have Optimus. One Prime for one Seed" he answered, he didn't even bother to turn around to face him.
One of his men placed a communication device in front of Attinger and Savoy. It was tiny in their hands, very fragile, but to a human, it was bigger than a 10 inch tablet. It had a glass like circle in the middle with three metal arms extending away from the circle.
"That device is a communicator. I believe while we work together, it would be important to keep in touch. It has a direct line to me, to relay information and recent developments"
Attinger nodded as the Cybertronian and his hounds walked away. His guards stood their ground waiting for the humans to leave before moving. Attinger picked it up and inspected it, right before it transformed in his grasp into a small metal circle that could fit in his pocket.
The men returned to their helicopters and began to fly to an airport in Canada to begin the trip home. While on the chopper, Attinger placed a phone call to a partner of his.
"Hello Joshua. I just finished the meeting with Lockdown. The deal is secure, one Prime for one Seed. Let us begin"
"Well, well, well. We're about to make a whole lot of money my friend"
"We are. We will go over the details and start the hunt. Time is of the essence"
****************
Months had passed since the meeting Lockdown and pieces of the puzzle were being put in place. For starters, the bots had been cooked up in warehouses for months and weren't allowed anywhere. It was like they were under house arrest or something. They didn't have a clue on what was going on anymore, they were restricted from certain things and anytime they asked about Decepticons, they always replied with 'We are checking' (Ferrari moment. Iykyk).
Jetstream was having a private audience with Optimus, briefing him about what was going on up North and the progress they had made. That's if they had made any at all.
"Greetings Jetstream. How are you and your team doing?" he asked.
The two were communicating over a private comm link, keeping the meeting away from the others and within themselves.
"Optimus. Well we could be doing better. We're tired of being cooped up in this warehouse. I think it's starting to take its toll on them" he replied.
"In what way?"
"There have been some incidents, in fighting between the bots. Most of them were sparked by Crosshairs. I'm not calling him a bad egg but his way of releasing his frustration isn't exactly the best. I find myself mediating and settling quarrels rather than actually leading"
"It is to be expected young Captain. I can say the same thing has happened between us here but not exactly what you are experiencing" he said before sighing at the end. "The lack of information and missions has taken its toll on us both"
"Agreed and the humans aren't making things better. They have been so secretive, and with the amount of Decepticons that came through when Sentinel betrayed us, we ought to be getting pinged left, right and center"
"It is worrying. Nevertheless, we must exercise patience. When they find something, they would let us know. With the relationship we have built over the years, I don't think they would be hiding things intentionally from us"
"I hope so. Or maybe the Decepticons have gotten better at blending in"
"It could be. Stay sharp soldier; try to maintain the peace in your squad. I wouldn't have picked you for this task if I didn't see the potential in you"
"Thank you Optimus. You see something that I don't even see in myself"
"You will see in due time. Optimus out"
Seconds after Jetstream got off the line with Optimus, another argument broke out between Sideswipe and Drift and he had to settle it. The bot rolled his eyes tired of all the separation btu he knew it had to be done.
"I take your chat with Jetstream went well" Ratchet said as he inspected his machine gun.
"Indeed. They are in similar situations to us here. Tired of being stuck in a warehouse for months on end" Prime replied.
"How's he handling the team? You did give him a bunch of tough characters to handle" Ironhide added.
"From the way he sounded, better than most"
"That's good. He's coming into the leadership roll better than expected. If it was me, someone would've been shot by now" Ironhide said with a little smirk at the end.
"Ironhide" Prime warned.
"I was only joking" He said walking off to meet Hound.
"You see, I'm tired of staying in here all the damn time" Roadbuster whined.
"You and me both" Leadfoot supported.
"We all are" Topspin added.
"We should blow this place up. Maybe they'll finally let us out" Roadbuster suggested.
"You know what? You could be on to something. I've got a few grenades that could be pulled" Hound added.
"There they go again" Ratchet sighed.
Back in the northern outpost, Jetstream had received some minor improvements. He retained the same vehicle and aircraft bot the improvements were made to his bot mode. He returned to his Seeker-like design like he used on Cybertron when he worked with the Decepticons. He had grown to 24 feet in height, a lot more metal around his chest and more jet features in his bot mode like horizontal stabilizers on his back that come into play when he's in flight. He also improved his weapons systems, increasing his ability to carry a heavier payload. Six missiles now resided in his chest, spanning two rows and three columns, hence the need for thicker armor there. The rate of fire of his machine gun and the types of rounds he used had gone up, he possessed four short range ballistic missiles residing in his back and four missiles, two on each side, within his torso.
Now that they had everything in place, Attinger was ready to initiate the cleansing.
"Mr. Savoy, it is time. Have men on ground in both CIA facilities. I will give the order to have Prime move to Colorado. There's a possibility that he might be accompanied by a few Autobots. I trust you to handle them all" he spoke through his phone.
"You have nothing to worry about" he replied.
"Good"
He ended the call and picked up his landline to get his secretary.
"Patch me through to the director of our southern Autobot CIA facility. We have news about Decepticon activity in Colorado"
"Yes sir"
"It's time to get these things off our planet once and for all"