What Have I Done?

Chapter 16: Only The Beginning

"THEY'RE HERE!"

"THE ELITE GUARD IS HERE!"

Orion's optics turned on and he jumped off of his chair, immediately looking to Megatronus, who was already in action. The former gladiator grabbed Orion's blaster and shoved it into the smaller mech's servoes.

"Take it, go upstairs, and stay with the symbiotes," he ordered. "Do not leave for any reason."

"Megatronus!" Soundwave charged into the room, "The crowd is fighting back, but I don't think we're enough. This was a planned and coordinated attack. They've got all the streets blocked off, there's no escape."

"Go," Megatronus pushed Orion toward the stairs and went outside with Soundwave, where the crowd was surging. Their cries of warning rose into the air as bots further back were hit with fire from the Guard.

"Everyone get back!" Megatronus yelled, "Get into the houses!"

The crowd seemed to disagree, instead roaring and pushing toward the guardsmen, their weapons raised. Megatronus sneered. Most bots here had street skills and short weapons, with the guard using blasters, their revolt would be crushed here and now.

He needed to get them inside, so that the Elite Guard would be forced to come through the doors, where they could then attack more efficiently. But how was he supposed to get this mob to listen to him? They were angry and they were scared. Listening to reason was not their strongsuit right now.

Megatronus climbed atop a foundation and raised his sword into the air, "YOU ARE ALL FOOLISH IDIOTS!"

His voice shocked the crowd, not enough to insult them, but enough to make them turn back, wondering what they'd done wrong.

"GET INTO THE HOUSES!" he bellowed, "AND ATTACK THEM ONE BY ONE!"

The blaster fire neared, and then, at first, only a few bots ran for cover, before the rest of the crowd followed suit, trampling over one another in an attempt to follow their leader's orders.

Megatronus jumped down. The streets were clearing fast, and he himself would need to get inside. As he headed back to Soundwave's house, the speakers began to squeal before his voice was heard again.

"GET INTO THE HOUSES!" the recording screamed at the people of Kaon, "AND ATTACK THEM ONE BY ONE!"

Megatronus pushed through the door, and found that several unfamiliar mechs were inside, holding an assortment of poles and pipes and knives. Megatronus looked to the side, and saw that Soundwave was wearing a visor, and the screen was showing rows and rows of data as he hacked into Kaon's control systems.

They were taking over on every front.

"You." Megatronus fixated his attention on one of the mechs, "Go make sure the Iaconian is still upstairs and then report back to me immediately."

"But–"

"Now!" Megatronus snapped, shoving the mech sideways, "Go!"

Clearly intimated by the large warrior, the mech nodded briskly ran upstairs. Megatronus stuck his helm out of the door and looked into the streets, where the Elite Guard was gathered in the center. Most of them held up blasters and surveyed the area, while a small group of officers were talking lowly.

They knew that the people of Kaon were waiting for them on the other side of every door. The only question was whether or not they were going to attack anyway. It seemed obvious to Megatronus that the most these soldiers had ever had to deal with was unruly civil disputes.

An ambush, an unsuccessful one, nonetheless, was new territory.

One of the men stepped forward and held a microphone up to his dermas, "We're going to give you, the good people of Kaon, a chance to stand down and surrender. You will be fairly processed and released. Please step out of the houses now, so we are not forced to hurt you when we detain the fugitive criminals."