Growing steadily impatient, Prowl shook his leg, his tire-heel repeatedly bumping against the ground. What was taking them so long? From his experience with the American military, when they made an entrance, it was one hell of an entrance. Helicopters, planes, vehicles with more armament than a developing nation, and lots of gung-ho soldiers ready to fight and protect their people. It was a bit of a garish display, but it proved that they were prepared, and he appreciated that. As Wheeljack spoke up, Prowl looked towards him, half-interestedly looking towards the insects as they flew around the much larger machine looking at them. "You know, we've got a Bumblebee." It wasn't meant as a joke, but it could easily be taken as one. Out of sheer boredom, he was about to go look at the hive himself, but he stopped when he heard the growling of an engine coming closer.
"Guess that's them." Prowl sort-of grumbled, looking toward the uncoming vehicle. Immediately, he was displeased. A single vehicle, not even one with armaments, that was moving rather erratically down a very straightforward path. His optics narrowed as he turned himself further toward the oncoming car, standing back up to join the others in the meeting. While he approached, he dusted some sand off his leg, then revved his wheels to knock anything that still clung on away. When the car parked and the general emerged, Prowl retracted his visor, looking her over with a quite judgemental glare. Their last meeting with a human had been very professional, with a fully armed convoy ready to protect the person of interest and fight back on the occasion of a Decepticon ambush. Not...this. She was on her own, seemingly unarmed, looked like she wasn't even all there, and worst of all, late.
He made a noise of blatant disapproval, something between a grunt and a low growl. Whoever this general was, Prowl had never heard of her, and despite whatever resume had been shown to Optimus, she sure didn't seem to live up to the hype. With crossed arms, he took a half-step forward upon being introduced, but said nothing to the human. Next to the Autobot leader, Prowl looked quite small, but still held an intimidating mass to him. After Optimus spoke to Williams, Prowl cut in with his own comments. "Yeah, better circumstances. For instance, even pretending to have a shred of military professionalism, and not coming to us under the influence of some chemical. Especially not while driving." He turned around, and started to step away, but paused and rose a couple fingers. "Which is illegal." Even on Earth, Prowl was ever the lawman.
This meeting was already a mess, he could tell. As he neared Wheeljack, Prowl put a hand on the other Autobot's shoulder, and leaned over to speak more quietly. "I got a bad feeling about this one. Something about her I just don't like. Once we get back to base, we're looking up everything we can find about her." Prowl certainly didn't wish to impede on Optimus's plans, but if he found anything of concern, he would definitely be sharing it with the others. For now, he watched and listened to see what the two leaders discussed.
-----
The roof of a command center within Megatron's tower opened, and the throne he sat upon lowered into place. Multiple communication and observation terminals were manned by Decepticon workers, keeping contact with various mining teams, ship captains, and other important people out on jobs. Megatron himself had someone he wished to contact, one of his closest agents, currently out on an extremely important job.
As the screen drew nearer to him, he pressed a few buttons on the armrest of the throne, about to initiate conversation with his top spy. "Soundwave, report. Is there any news about the-" His sentence was cut off by commotion, the all-too familiar sounds of Starscream living up to the second half of his name and the crashing sound of a Cybertronian body hitting the floor. Agitated, Megatron closed his eyes for a moment. "Hold that thought," He said to the screen, moving it away as he stood and began to approach the source of chaos to investigate. And if need be, to dish out some discipline.
Standing in the frame of the now-ruined door, he addressed the sky commander, a low growl of annoyance announcing his presence. "Starscream, what is the meaning of this noise? You were given an assignment, and I expected you to start, not sit around and cause chaos with your squadron." His hand was placed on the door, and he emphasized his next point by squeezing the metal until it began to bend. "And you've caused property damage to our own base of operations. Is this the kind of result I should expect of you once you've left?!" The dictator's voice rose to a shout, backed by the shrill sounds of mechanics working in his throat. "Enough of your fooling around, all of you!"
He entered the room, ducking his head to fit into the seeker barracks, and stood at full height on the other side. "Since you refuse to behave for your commander, then maybe you'll listen to me." Strolling past Starscream, he approached Skywarp, leaning forward so that he was still above the seeker, but uncomfortably close. "You are to cease this foolishness immediately. There is important work to be done, and no room for this idiocy. If you compromise your mission, I will have your spark." A clawed finger was run along Skywarp's chest-mounted cockpit, and the uncomfortable squealing sound of contacting Cybertronian material left a surface scratch in the wake of Megatron's clawed finger.
After a few more moments to emphasize his threats to Skywarp, Megatron turned and straightened himself up again, linking his hands behind his back as he addressed Starscream. "Your mission is to provide fire support to Soundwave after he contacts us with information about the ongoing Autobot meeting. You will remain hidden until he gives you the order to strike. Use a ground bridge to go to his coordinates, and wait. I will remain here to direct the bridge and send further backup if needed." Waving his arm across the lineup of seekers and toward the door, he finished his orders. "I trust you won't need it. Now go!"
He left, and made his way back to the command room, taking a seat once again. There, he relayed orders to a nearby Decepticon worker. "Prepare the ground bridge for transport. And send someone to repair the seeker barracks." His hand positioned the communication screen nearer again, and he established contact with Soundwave once more. "The seeker fleet is on its way. None of them are to attack without your command. Establish a live feed of Laserbeak's sights with this communication channel."
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