A new, ambitious Decepticon leader declares war on the Galactic Council. Optimus Prime teams up with Garrus Vakarian, Rodimus and Megatron to stop the invasion, but the Illusive Man, Shockwave and the Quintessons have other plans.
The Illusive Man and Gale Prime's holomatter avatar were measuring each other up as the latter had entered his headquarters as a hologram. The former lit up a cigarette while observing the beautiful blue-eyed blonde woman wearing a suit made of red leather; Gale's avatar stared back at him with a steely gaze.
"This is fascinating", the Illusive Man said, spotting the small yellow logo in her costume under the Decepticon insignia, "I see you're a Ferrari fan."
Gale gave him a cold smile. "Yes, in fact I scanned one of their models as my alt mode; a vehicle that looks like it runs on human blood."
The Illusive Man laughed, waving his cigarette in the air. "Oh, I don't mind that, Empress. I'm mainly interested in my Return of Investment. Cerberus has very generously funded your pangalactic expedition, as you well know. I understand the embargo set by the Galactic Council has considerably strained the Decepticon economy."
Soundwave stopped the recording which he projected on the wall in front of an astonished ensemble of Autobots.
"Not to mention the Tyrest Accord which bans the export of our technology", Orion growled. "You said this was old, from several megacycles ago?"
"Accurate." Soundwave found another recording on his database and pushed the play button on his hip. He could hear the Autobots' engines rumbling in the background and felt curiosity skyrocketing in their EM fields.
The Illusive Man and Empress Gale's avatar were having yet another discussion, but this time the stakes seemed higher; Gale's stance appeared even more confrontational, and the Illusive Man didn't flinch. Instead, he poured himself a drink.
"Empress, I'm aware you enlisted the Batarians as auxiliaries due to perceiving them as desperate but useful as allies. Likewise, you knew I sought Cybertronian technology and thought you could use Cerberus the same way. However, you greatly underestimate us humans. Using human desires against us - qualities such as greed and lust for power - is clever but you know what? When we signed that contract, I bought most of the Decepticon Conglomerate's stocks and am now the major shareholder."
"I remember that." Gale's avatar was glaring at the man.
"It means I own the Decepticons. You're just the CEO." The Illusive Man grinned. "That is, unless I decide to replace you."
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The recording was cut off. Soundwave turned to look at the Autobots.
"Now that was unexpected", said Jazz.
"It's like there's nothing about this entire mission that isn't awkward", Wheeljack pointed out. Everyone was waiting for Orion's reaction, but the Autobot leader sat in silence, just frowning. His EM field emitted considerable fury.
