Loud, raucous laughter filled the air of the Rec Room. It reverberated down the hall and into the command center and Repair Bay. Those who weren't there sighed and shook their heads. If if hadn't been for the fact that they were at war and needed to be at their posts, they, too, would be in the Rec Room and living it up.

Well, most of them would have been, anyway. Some weren't so sure that they would participate. Their victory today had been a fluke and they knew it. They felt it.

Something had not gone right. Their enemy had been after something and it hadn't been the usual energy raid. The energy raid had been a cover. The Decepticons had been searching for something, and it had a far greater value than what the energy did. Whatever it had been, they had found it.

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Megatron paced the length of the command center, mulling over the information that Soundwave had acquired and had translated so far. There were still mounds of data that needed to processed yet, but he'd worry about it later. He wanted to go over it bit by bit first before he made any decisions.

'And there's also the Autobots to factor into this,' Megatron groused to himself. 'Not all of them are as stupid as they look. It won't be long before they figure out why we were there.'

He paused in the center of the room, staring at something he could only see. He had a decision to make. A snap decision. Chances were, if he did what he was thinking of doing, the team he sent would never be heard from again.

'I can't send them blindly into space . . . not without them knowing the risk.'

Of course, Megatron knew he couldn't really spare any troops for this venture. It had to be on a volunteer-basis only.

'Still, if it's a success, it'll be well worth the effort.'

He stood there for several minutes more, weighing both the advantages and disadvantages of this venture. On one hand, the troops would be lost. They'd never find what he wanted them to find. On the other hand, they'd find what they were seeking. It would inspire more to join his forces and he'd have the energy he needed to win the war. Finally, he had his decision.

'I'll do it. Volunteer-basis only. I didn't get to where I'm at by not taking any risks.'

Megatron whirled around to face his communications officer.

"Soundwave . . ."

"Yes, Megatron?"

"Gather everyone in the hangar bay. I've an announcement to make."

"As you command, Megatron."

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"Are you sure about this, Perceptor?" Optimus inquired. He'd wanted to know what the Decepticons had been after in their last energy raid and had told his top officers – Prowl, Ironhide, Wheeljack, Jazz, Perceptor, and Ratchet – to all report to him the moment any of them found anything. Perceptor had been the first.

The scientist nodded his head, his expression somber.

"Most definitely, Prime," he replied. "That was the information that had been contained on that asteroid. That was what Megatron was after. Granted, the information needs to be translated but I'm very certain that that's what he was after."

"And he's probably having Soundwave decipher it now," Optimus mused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Have Teletran One download the information. I want it decoded as quickly as possible."

"We're already on it, Prime," Prowl interjected.

"Parts have already been decoded," Ironhide added.

"And?" he prompted.

The two security officers glanced at each other, some sort of silent message being passed between them in that moment. Prime frowned underneath his facemask. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Finally, Ironhide nodded, his optics meeting Prime's.

"It talks about Eden," the red Mech stated.

"Eden? You mean the humans' Eden?"

"No. Our Eden. Where everything for us began. In theory, that is."

"We have no doubts that Megatron already knows this information," Prowl added. "The question is what he intends to do with this information . . ."

"And what we'll do once his decision is made," Perceptor finished.

"Keep monitoring their activity. Anything unusual happens, I want to know about it. And keep deciphering that information. Whatever Megatron knows, I want to know the moment you find out. That'll be all."

Slowly, they filed out of his office and Prime sank into his chair. He knew the tales that had been spoken in oral tradition, having heard them from Ironhide when the older Mech had run out of war stories to tell and there was nothing else to do. Where he'd heard the stories, Prime couldn't say, but he had to admit they were interesting to hear. But they couldn't be true . . . Could they?