Hunted Species - The Decepticons are far away from being the biggest threat in the Universe. They are even among the hunted creatures, like everything on Earth.

The idea of this fiction came when I was watching "Independence Day". I guess it is not too difficult to imagine what could happen …

To be more precise, this fic is set after the season 2, but I am going to ignore completely the events of the movie and the following seasons or series. I might make some OOC in next chapters as well.

Transformers G1 are copyright Hasbro and Co., I own none of the characters of TF G1 (unfortunately), only the original characters that I might introduce, and the plot of the story.

Hunted Species - Chapter 1: Threat

Earth, underwater Decepticon base, 2005

The Decepticon Communication Officer bent forward to have a better look at the green light glittering on the top right-hand corner of the screen. The signature of an aircraft, maybe? The area was not the favorite air traffic lane of the flesh pilots as wind was too strong and tricky, but some aircraft sometimes ventured flying over the base. The most interesting characteristics were the size of the issuer of the signal and the speed it was heading for the Decepticon headquarter. It had to be big and fast. Soundwave checked again the position on the screen and saw that the spot had already moved from the top to almost its middle.

Without warning, the screen flickered uncontrollably. Now, sure, the situation was not as usual as it should be. Soundwave stood up from his seat and without hesitation connected to Megatron's quarters through the emergency network.

"Sir, something is heading for the headquarter," he calmly explained, knowing that Megatron didn't like being called when he was resting in private. As expected, a growl first welcomed his explanations.

"And what the slag is this something?"

Soundwave looked back at the screen, which was now flickering as if somebody was playing with the switch.

"I don't know, Sir, but it's big… and fast."

O

Half a cycle later, all the communication systems of the Decepticon underwater base were inoperative. Annoyed and grumpy, Megatron stormed into the command room, sweeping his red optics over the place in search of his third in command.

"Can you explain me what it's going on here!" he yelled at Soundwave, who was carefully checking the settings of his computer.

"Negative… No answer can be given. Reason: origin of the communication breakdown still unknown. The emergency network crashed down as well. Something took control of the communication devices. No effect on Transformers reported."

"I know there is no effect on us!" Megatron snarled, irritated to the most. He had just heard the door of the Control Room open, followed by very familiar footsteps.

"What's happening, Oh mighty Megatron?" asked a screechy and almost female voice, sending unpleasant radio waves through the audio receptors of the Decepticon leader. "It looks like your communication network has given out."

Megatron looked dagger at his Air Commander, as if he wanted to shoot him on the spot by the simple glare of his optics.

"As far as I know, Starscream, this is the Communication System of OUR base that has broken down, not mine in particular!" he retorted angrily.

Starscream smirked and was to repost something nasty to his leader when a rumbling very similar to the thunder distracted him from his favorite task of spitting venomous comments.

"What is that, now?" he muttered, being more and more upset.

The noise grew louder and louder, soon followed by a wave very much comparable to the shockwave of an earthquake. The three mechs tensed up when they felt it was growing in intensity.

"That's too long for an earthquake!" Megatron noticed.

"It must be the thing that I've detected on the radar thirty Earth minutes ago!" Soundwave commented.

"What thing, at the end?"

Megatron had to shout to cover the rumbling. The whole structure of the room vibrated strongly, forcing the mechs to grip computers and desks to avoid tumbling to the ground. Starscream threw a horrified look at Megatron when one of the computer screens crashed at his feet in a spray of metal and glass.

Then it stopped without notice. The three mechs didn't move during few kliks, almost shocked by the silence that had settled after this taste of the end of the world.

"What… what was that?" Starscream whined. He stood up slowly, his wings quivering nervously.

"Don't know… System still down," Soundwave replied, quickly checking the nearest computer. "Visual and audio systems down as well."

"Not surprising. That was not functioning before this earthquake…" Megatron pointed out. His anger had somehow vanished since he had to catch one of the consoles to keep his balance. The wave had been strong, long, and harrowing, leaving him rather worried.

"I am not waiting here a new earthquake, or whatever it was!" Starscream declared, his voice trembling, "I am going to check what's going on out here!"

He was to storm out of the control room when night hands caught firmly one of his wrists.

"You're not going anywhere, little idiot!" Megatron warned, "We don't know what's "out here", as you say!"

Starscream tried to free himself from the iron grip of his leader, to no avail. Megatron shot him a glare clearly stating he wouldn't accept any further sign of contradiction. The Seeker stood still, a glimpse of fear tainting his optics.

"Don't tell me you're afraid I get injured or killed… I didn't know you did care of my security!" he hissed.

Megatron smirked, amused by the reply of his Seeker.

"Not the slightest! However, I know you… You can't get in trouble without making the whole Decepticon army enjoy the results of your foolish behavior!"

Starscream tensed up and glared at Soundwave, silent witness of this new squabble.

O

"Go back to your duties! We don't need ten warriors having a look outside!" Megatron yelled, a little annoyed to see that his men were showing signs of panics. The fliers were the most aggravated, which didn't surprise him much. As creatures of the sky, they were prone to a kind of claustrophobia under the sea. The most unpredictable subject was certainly Starscream and Megatron already detected signs of extreme nervousness in the behavior of the Air Commander. His face was expressing ten feelings at the same time, ranging from surprise to fear. Megatron couldn't help thinking he had been right to trail the little Seeker behind him. If he was to blow a circuit or throw a tantrum, it would be better that the Decepticon leader was there to shut him up.

"Bring me this drone!" Megatron ordered Skywarp, pointing his finger at the robot.

The black and purple Seeker obediently pushed the small bot in the cabin of the lift, which stopped next to the Decepticon leader.

"Don't stay around! I don't know what can happen," Megatron warned before closing the door. He glanced at Starscream when the Seeker welcomed the move of the cabin by a nervous sigh. "And now, Starscream, try to keep your self-control. Something tells me we might dislike what is "out here"… No real time for your usual circuit dysfunctions!"

The Air Commander shot him a murderous look and muttered "Yes, leader!" through gritted teethes.

O

Few kliks later, the doors hissed open on the departure ramp. Megatron pushed Starscream out of his way, beckoning him to stay carefully hidden behind the doors of the lift. Leaning on the doorframe, he scanned the ocean and the sky. He immediately understood what was wrong; the gray and black metal of a gigantic spaceship replaced the blue of the sky, no longer in sight.

"Have you seen that!" Starscream squealed. He left the darkness of the lift and stepped on the threshold, staring, bewildered, at the incredible scene.

"Step back and don't show yourself, you fool!" Megatron barked, catching Starscream by a shoulder and shoving him back to the cover of the lift, "You want to be shot and have me shot on the same process?"

This time, Starscream was too shocked, both by the presence of the gigantic ship and the reaction of his leader, to protest or say anything. Megatron was right: no one could say for what reason this ship was stationing above their base.

'And by the way, how did this ship managed to find the exact location of the base?' Megatron wondered, more and more worried. "Send the drone, and let see what happens!" he shrieked to Starscream.

Without a word, the flier pushed the small bot outside the lift, taking care of staying hidden behind the doors. The drone scurried to the edge of the ramp and then took flight; with the help of the wind, it quickly climbed in the sky. At 300 meters above sea level, it was only a small green spot marring the black and mechanical background.

Then, it disappeared in a swirl of smokes and shards of metal, making a small "bang" as it exploded.

"There's… a shield around the ship!" Starscream stuttered, visibly shocked.

Megatron looked at him and easily read fear in the optics of his second in command. What surprised him was the intensity of this feeling, at least as powerful as the terror he could feel when he was getting angry against the Seeker. He couldn't blame him: the situation was freaking, even for him.

"We've seen enough for now! It's useless to make us spotted by our visitors," he stated as calmly as possible, pressing the switch of the lift. The doors closed at the same pace that it had opened and Megatron gave out a sigh of relief.

This feeling didn't last long.

'I guess that "our visitors" didn't choose to station just above our base by chance. They know we're here... Besides, they didn't shut down our communication system without a reason. I don't like that at all'!

O

"How can you ask me to stay calm?" Starscream burst out, jumping outside the lift, "You've seen this ship like me! It measures at least thirty kilometers in circumference! Maybe more! I've… I've never seen that before! NEVER!"

"Shut up, Starscream!" answered Megatron, more bored than threatening.

"And it has a shield! You've seen it also! I'm sure it can destroy anything!"

"I said… Shut up, Starscream!"

Now, Megatron was threatening, but the Seeker alongside him was too aggravated to take notice of the change in the voice of his leader.

"Oh mighty one, I repeat: we have a spaceship stationed above our base, which shut down all our communication systems for whatever reasons and the only thing you can say, it's "SHUT UP"!"

Megatron decided it was time to lose his temper; he had been dealing with Starscream for a long time and knew very well that only threat could shut up his vocal processor when the Seeker got angry or panicked. His hand snapped around the neck of the Seeker in a split second and squeezed it as strong as he could. The flier gave out a strangled cry and seized the silver wrist as he was lifted from the ground.

"Now, listen, you little stupid and emotional Seeker. Stop whining, yelling, and if possible, speaking! I don't want you to spread panic in our ranks… Got it?" Megatron threatened.

Starscream nodded as well as he could, his neck being now painfully squeezed by the titanium grip.

"Excellent."

The pressure around the obsidian neck loosened and then faded. Starscream's body shivered as he massaged the painful area and then almost collapsed to his knees. This time, Megatron had really put all his strength and Starscream feared that some sensors governing his balance had been crushed. A black hand gripped his arm, preventing him from falling, and lifted him up to restore his balance.

"Don't forget, Starscream. Keep your self-control, and I will keep mine".

O

Megatron walked hastily on the deserted hallway, followed by Starscream, still unsteady on his feet, who struggled to follow the quick pace of his leader. All the Decepticons had followed the order of their Supreme Commander, staying away from the access ramp. The silence was ruling in this place, usually extremely noisy due to the comings and goings of the soldiers and freights. At this hour of the day, there were always energon convoys carried from the arrival docks to the storage rooms, or raw materials on the way to repair bays. Since Megatron had decided to be subtler and more discreet in his raids, conflicts with Autobots had been fewer and fewer, while energy and materials collection had been more and more successful. Although the Earth base numbered fewer warriors than at the time of their reactivation, twenty Earth years before, it had become a true hive of activity.

However, at the time being, Megatron was very far away from thinking about the usual daily life of his base and the past successes of his army. The vision of the gigantic ship was clouding his mind and a disturbing feeling of insecurity gnawed at him.

'You, the fearless leader of the Decepticon, you're afraid without knowing exactly why!' he reproached himself. He peeped at Starscream over his shoulder; the Seeker was walking on his heels silently, but his face was still displaying concern and fear.

'Not good… It has been a so long time I haven't seen in that state of mind… He's panicking.'

Arrived at the door of the Command Room, the silver leader stopped, considering that he should regain some composure before coming in. The account of what they had seen would be shocking enough: no need to add any feeling of panic by displaying his concerns.

"Leader?" asked Starscream.

His voice was almost inaudible.

"Let's go! Beware… I don't want to hear you speak!" Megatron stated without looking at him. 'Primus, the fear of Starscream is almost contagious'

O

All the red optics shifted to the main door, which slid open on the first and second in command of the Decepticon army. Megatron looked strangely cold and Starscream frankly nervous if not afraid. The mechs tensed up as they guessed that the explanations regarding the earthquake-like phenomena wouldn't be that funny to listen to.

"Megatron?" Soundwave asked from the far corner of the room, while working at the mainframe of the emergency communication system computer.

The silver robot swept his audience with blazing red optics.

"The Earthquake that shook this base almost one Earth hour ago was not exactly what we assumed it was," he croaked, "Starscream and I discovered that a ship is currently stationed above our base, almost five hundred meters above sea level. The wave might have been caused by the power of its engines…"

As Megatron expected, the announcement caused a buzz of surprise spreading among his troops.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Leader," Thundercracker objected, "But what kind of engines can create such a tidal wave? We are some hundred meters beneath the sea surface! It must be huge! Weirdly huge—"

"Almost thirty kilometers in circumference… We couldn't see how high it is, though." Nobody made comments on this information and silence settled, deadly as the grave. "What's new with the communication system, Soundwave?" asked Megatron, noticing the change in the atmosphere.

"For outbound and inbound communications with the base, the system is down. Inside the base: there are some few areas where it is still operational… It looks like it had been blocked by something, but I can't identify what. It can be a virus or interferences, difficult to say. Anyway, it doesn't affect our embedded personal communication devices to function."

If Megatron had eyebrows, he would have given a frown.

"You mean we can communicate using our embedded call system?"

"Yes, but only inside the base… The communication is impossible outside," explained Soundwave, "I tried to contact Astrotrain and Blitzwing, using my embedded communicator, without success."

This time, Megatron frowned: was it uncertainty that he had just heard in the voice of his usually emotionless Communication Officer? He didn't have the time to analyze the voice frequency, disturbed by the sigh of the now very worried Starscream, who became instantly the center of convergence of all glances.

"I don't like that!" he snapped, "We have to leave the base!"

"Nobody is leaving the base right now, Starscream!" Megatron answered as coldly as he could.

"Oh! Why not, Mighty leader?"

Megatron couldn't suppress a smirk. 'No, Starscream, don't push me so far… Don't make me strangle you to prevent you from spreading panic here!' he thought, knowing already that his second in command was on the edge of throwing a tantrum.

"Forgot about the shield, Seeker?" he answered mockingly, "Nobody knows what area it really covers!"

Starscream recoiled to the wall, as soon as he saw the frightening light in the optics of his Commander. Megatron couldn't help smiling: his silent but supreme warning, saying 'I've told you… Now, knock it off if you don't want to be knocked down!' had reached the target.

"A shield?" whispered Thundercracker, aware of the growing tension.

"A shield, yes… It looks like there is a power shield protecting the ship, which destroys mechanical or electronic devices that enter in contact with," Megatron explained. "It blew up the drone we sent in reconnaissance. Altitude: around three hundred meters above sea level." A quick glance on his right and he noticed that Soundwave was now listening very carefully to his words, although his face expressed no particular feelings. "Something in mind, Soundwave?" he asked, eager to hear the output of an expert.

Unexpectedly, the dark blue robot took some time to reply, looking deep in his thoughts during several minutes.

"You're right, Megatron… We should send another drone to check if the shield covers a wider area or is confined around the ship."

The silver leader growled as sign of agreement, hiding his slight relief to have someone on board able to suggest pragmatic actions in this critical situation.

"Skywarp! Thundercraker!" he shouted at the two Seekers, "Bring two drones outside. Have them fly to the edge of the ship. One, altitude fifty meters, the other one, a hundred and fifty meters. Let's see what happens!"

"At your command, leader!"

The two fliers looked at each other, unable to hide how much this order embarrassed them.

To be continued…

Text modified on July 20, 2009.