The Guard, The Scout, and The Wrecker

Planning for the War

It had been several years since Nightshard and Hot Rod had become sparkmates when they finished their respective academies which at the start bugged both Ratchet and Ironhide because they didn't expect their only niece to fall in love and mate with an Elite Guardsmen even if the mech in question is her true sparkmate. Hot Rod loved how Nightshard had always put herself in the line of fire to protect others and it was the same for him but it comes out as two different things. Nightshard had become one of the best rescue bots of her generation while Hot Rod had raised in the Elite Guard ranks to become one of the highest-ranking guardsmen being two ranks underneath the Commander. Megatron had presented his plan to better Cybertron but when he spoke it came out as violence and war. Orion Pax on the other hand spoke with passion that hasn't been seen in eons which resulted in him being chosen to be the new prime. 

"We all know that Megatron is going to lead his forces into a war but how long is it going to take for him to start it?" Hot Rod asked the group of bots around the table. "Then we are going to be there to fight against him," Orion said answering the young mech. The group around the table at Orion and Elita-one's house is the founding unit of the Autobots even though they are only a handful of bots doesn't mean that they couldn't do something about it. "Fair but how are we going to get the support of the Council and the Elite Guard if war breaks out?" Ironhide asked pointing out an obvious concern. Hot Rod said that he could bring in the Elite Guard and Orion mentioned that the council would side with them but how he didn't know. Nightshard asked about the chain of command to which Orion surprised her along with everyone else by asking her to be his second-in-command. "Me?! Wouldn't Hot Rod, Ironhide, or anyone else be a better pick over me?" Nightshard asked which concern was valid considering that she was the 'last' rescue bot left on Cybertron. Everyone in the room, from Hot Rod and Prowl to Orion, knew that Nightshard was one of the most experienced in the room when it came to being life and death situations in war-like conditions.

"You have a fresh point of view that could bring a fresh view that we need in different situations," Ironhide said pointing out how his niece brought out new solutions to problems within the family. Nightshard knew that her family had a point so she agreed and told Orion that she was willing to share the position with someone else when the time came. Orion knew that this was something that he had planned to do at a later point but he wanted to find that other bot. As the days went on, Megatron went back to Kaon to start planning a siege of Iacon to force the council to give him the Matrix of  Leadership over Orion. Though unbeknownst to him, the Autobots had been gaining new members in Iacon and they have been spreading out over time through family members. The founding unit started making plans in case Megatron decided to do something so they had something in place. Nightshard had been nominated to be the one to come up with a way to let everyone know when it was time. 

Little did anyone know that war was starting sooner than they thought.