"Do you know how to get to the reactor?" Starscream asked the small miner, who was called Drillbit.
"If you follow the disused tunnels under the primary reserves–" Drillbit answered, pointing, but was interrupted by the Decepticon Air Commander's impatient voice.
"Good. Take us to it." Starscream surveyed his team. "Soundwave, you're with me. Dirge, you're in charge whilst we're gone. The rest of you; wait for us here and keep an optic out for company. If it arrives before we return, do whatever you have to, to hold them off. Don't let them near the cybertonium."
And so, with the help of their Destron guides, Drillbit, and his bulky partner, Heavy Load, Starscream and Soundwave experienced little trouble accessing the tunnel network. They moved quickly through the subterranean route and were largely unnoticed by the bulk of the workers, who were all but preoccupied with the pending arrival of their new foreign partners.
"Heavy Load here's a genius. If there's any mech who knows how to rig up a bomb, it's him," Drillbit said proudly, glancing up at his partner, whose expression was obscured by a full face mask.
"We'll see," Starscream replied simply.
The fusion reactor was housed in a disused control room that had long since been disconnected from the planetary power distribution grid. The underground chamber was dark, and a stillness that was devoid of any sign of life permeated the space all around them. As they stepped inside, they switched on their helm lights to compensate for the lack of lighting.
"The reactor itself is shielded within that capsule right over there. If you just release the locking mechanisms–" Drillbit started, pointing, but Starscream had already pushed past him with a casual wave of his hand.
"I know where it is," the Decepticon second-in-charge said simply. He stopped in front of the reactor and studied it for a brief moment, before proceeding to remove the lid of the covering that housed it with surprising speed and adeptness. "How many others know about this reactor?" he asked, without turning to face Drillbit.
"Oh, not that many – mostly just the long-time workers here." Drillbit paused in thought. "Like I said, it was abandoned generations ago – most of us have forgotten that it's still here." He watched as Starscream ejected the reactor core from the rest of the assembly and then carefully lifted it out, examining its state. It was an unnecessarily bulky object, but it appeared to be in better condition than he'd expected.
"A little antiquated," Starscream commented, "but it will do." He placed the core down onto a raised surface nearby, and looked over at Heavy Load. "Do you know anything about cold fusion plasma cores?"
The hulking frame of Heavy Load stepped towards him earnestly. "Do I ever!" he exclaimed, his deep voice laced with excitement.
"Good, then you can assist me," Starscream declared, and the two of them set to work.
When Starscream had still not returned after twenty minutes, Dirge began to worry. There had been an increase in activity around the cybertonium mines, accompanied by a growing sense of excitement amongst the Kalis workers, but just as the conehead was about to go and investigate, the lights emanating from the streets and buildings in the distance flickered and dimmed. Nearby, the whirring made by various machinery and equipment gradually but surely ground to a halt, and the dim glow from the lights that lined the entrances and walkways to the mines glitched before fading into nothingness. Several of the workers nearby stopped momentarily to look around, as the din of excitement quickly turned into a mix of confusion and irritation.
"Hey, who killed the main switch?" Skywarp quipped, before he heard renewed shouting in the distance.
"If you'll all just please remain calm!" the voice called out. "The Autobots are due to arrive any moment now, with some extra supplies. Please stay exactly where you are until we can organize some sort of backup power–" but then he was cut off as the crowd began to cheer and protest all at once, drowning out his voice. If the situation was not kept sufficiently under control at this point, it would quickly spiral into chaos.
In the distance, along the main highway that bordered the Sea of Rust and connected Kalis to Tagon Heights, a convoy of vehicles travelled towards their location in a flurry of bright lights. Thundercracker pointed towards it. "Looks like they've arrived just in time," he said.
Once Onslaught was satisfied that he and his assigned team had come up with a suitable plan, he led the way out of the mine and looked across the flat expanse of the Oilplains, which were dotted sporadically with built-up clusters of buildings and industrial complexes. He could make out the Kolkular fortress in the distance, a looming castle on the western horizon against the backdrop of the Alpha Centauri star system. "Is it just me, or do things seem a little quieter than usual?"
Blast Off stood beside him, taking in the surrounding landscape. It was difficult to say what the situation was with any amount of certainty without moving closer to the cities. "Things certainly do seem much quieter. If I didn't have to conserve fuel, I'd be inclined to investigate."
Then, the faint sound of an aircraft approaching from the north broke the stillness, and they all looked towards the sky. As it got closer, they realized that the craft was of alien design, and that it was headed for their location.
Hook walked up to stand beside Onslaught. "I hope our team back at the lab is making progress on the experimental source of energon, because I'd hate to think what might happen if a shutdown were to occur right about now." He watched as the aircraft began its descent to land, only a few mechano-meters away. "We'd be left defenseless."
Onslaught nodded in acknowledgement. "Don't worry, it won't come to that," he replied, and then added in a lowered voice, "I hope."
The convoy of Autobots, accompanied by an alien shuttle in the air, came to a stop amidst all the growing panic and confusion among the workers of Kalis, but it wasn't until the party of Autobots transformed into their robot modes to deliver the news to the large crowd that everyone's worst fears were confirmed. The shutdown had officially begun – the city-states that were most affected were Kaon, Polyhex, Kalis, Antihex, Tarn, Vos, and most of the neutral zones. The progressive blackout would continue to spread like a virus throughout the rest of the city-states and territories, until they would no longer be able to support life. While the shutdown was expected to take full effect within the next twenty hours, the last remaining safe place was Iacon. However, there was still hope.
"Please, all of you quieten down!" one of the Autobots shouted above the mayhem, his voice barely audible. "We will shortly have the situation under control! We expect our supply of crystals to be delivered well before then!"
Dirge recognized the Autobot to be Prowl, Sentinel's advisor. With him were Trailbreaker, Ironhide, and several other Autobots he did not know, as well as a small number of alien mechanoids. The Autobots all held active weapons. Emerging from the shuttle, which hovered slightly above the ground, several more of the aliens began to form a wide semi-circle just behind the Autobots, and numbered about a hundred or so altogether.
One of the alien mechs exchanged a few words with Prowl, before the Autobot addressed the crowd once more. "The Jarrians are willing to send us the shipment ahead of schedule!" he declared suddenly, and the gathered workers reacted with cheers of elation and relief, even while the shouts of protests slowly began to diminish, becoming fewer and farther between. "In the meantime, we trust that you will all do your best to assist our new allies and make them feel at home as much as possible. They will be overseeing our cybertonium extraction and processing operations from now on." There was a momentary pause as one of the Jarrians, who appeared to be a supervisor, conversed briefly with the Autobots before indicating to the large group of his alien kin behind them with a wave of his hand, and then they all began to move forward through the crowd, heading straight for the cybertonium mine.
Amidst all the activity and chaos due to the shutdown, followed by the arrival of the convoy, none of them were aware that the Decepticons had been standing in front of the entrance to the cybertonium mine the entire time, watching and waiting, essentially forming a physical blockade. If anything, it had been assumed that they were just more Destron workers, but when the Jarrians attempted to pass throughinto the mine, they were surprised to find the Decepticons standing their ground, weapons drawn. A formidable crowd of Destrons also stood with them, in an act of support and defiance. That's when Prowl and his crew of Autobots suddenly realized who they actually were.
"Oh, it's the Decepticons!" Ironhide exclaimed in both surprise and irritation. "Now what in Pit's sake could they possibly be doing here?"
The head Jarrian turned to him and uttered something in his native language, waving his arms furiously in the air. As he did so, Prowl walked over and reached out to place a hand on the alien mech's shoulder in order to reassure him. "I'm sure this is all just a minor misunderstanding. I'll take care of it," he said, exchanging glances with Ironhide before he began to make his way over to the party of Decepticons.
As Prowl came to a stop in front of Dirge, the conehead regarded him with an impassive expression. "What do you all think you're doing?" the Autobot army's second-in-charge asked, as if he were an instructor admonishing his students for bad behavior. "You all need to clear the area, right now."
But Dirge and the rest of his accomplices remained where they were, as Prowl was joined by a handful of other Autobots. "We're not going anywhere. Not until they leave," Dirge told him, indicating towards the Jarrians. "We won't allow them to take control of our cybertonium."
"You can't be serious?" Ironhide replied incredulously, eyeing the weapons the Decepticons were holding and wondering whether or not they actually intended on using them. Despite their show of fearlessness, they'd be no match against the Jarrians, who had a plentiful supply of energy to power up their weapons; the Decepticons' firepower would run out long before they'd be able to win any battle. "Well, what about that shipment of energon crystals they're giving us in return, haven't you even considered that?"
"They can keep it," Dirge responded. Behind them, the Jarrians were becoming more and more agitated with the unexpected delay. "You might not have a problem handing over control of our resources to them, but we certainly do."
"Now you look here – that's not your call to make!" Ironhide rebuked him angrily, his fists clenching into balls.
Prowl did not want to use force, but neither did he want to get into an argument with the Decepticons in front of their new allies. "If you don't all clear out of here immediately, I'll have to arrest you all under the latest emergency directive and have you placed in stasis until the energy crisis is over," Prowl threatened in a harsh whisper. However, it didn't look like the Decepticons would heed his warning. He turned to one of the other Autobot officers. "Trailbreaker, contact Prime and inform him of the situation. And call for reinforcements while you're at it." As Trailbreaker nodded and stepped away to do as he was asked, Prowl turned back to Dirge. "If you don't want this little situation to get any uglier, I suggest you all back down now. This is your last chance; otherwise, I will have to declare you all outlaws and treat you as such." He hesitated, and then added in a strained voice, "Is that what you really want?"
Dirge did not give him an answer. Instead, he held Prowl's gaze in unspoken defiance until the Autobot, shaking his head in frustration and disbelief, turned and walked away. Dirge exchanged glances with Thundercracker and then looked back towards the tunnels, hoping against hope that Starscream knew what he was doing. "C'mon, where the slag are you?" he muttered under his breath.