Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers: just my OC's & the plot

Epilogue

Somewhere in Washington DC, 10:13pm:

"So, would you care to tell me how this happened?" The senator asked in a dry sarcastic tone

"Without stating the already-obvious? No thank you. And furthermore, I do not appreciate sarcasm, Senator" the masked stranger replied through the screen. The senator bristled with annoyance as she glared daggers at the man, but kept her composure and said nothing in return.

"Look, I don't see what all the fuss is about?" one of the General's interjected, "The Autobots that spotted Broadsword's scouts didn't get close enough to make out what they were; they didn't detect the cerebro-shell's control signal, and nobody was none the wiser during or after the mission review. So what's to worry about?"

"Plenty, if they get too close next time!" one of the gentlemen snapped

"On the contrary Mr Beller" the masked man smoothly replied, "I need to get up close and personal"

"Care to enlighten us on what you mean by that, Silas?" the Senator raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"The Autobots are now aware there is a mole amid their ranks; we all know this was anticipated, and as long as there are no clues or circumstantial evidence to suggest otherwise, I remain under their radar. The next step of the plan requires their main forces to be diverted and distracted, long enough for an effective data-purge to be conducted. To that effect, I have taken the liberty of hiring a third party to exact the role of the 'rabbit in the hat'. I wave my hand one way, while the other, slip's past their guard"

"We're all well aware of your plan, and it's got more holes in it than Swiss cheese!" Beller retorted

"Seriously Silas, I expected you to have more brains than this. Even if 'Chumley' manages to capture one of the bots, there's no way he'll be able to hold them for long, before the others come running to the rescue. How do you expect this plan to succeed?" the senator frowned in disappointment.

"Senator, I'm well aware the plan will fail, and that's exactly what I want..." Silas replied

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Okay you lost me. What the hell do you mean, 'that's exactly what I want?'" Beller frowned in confusion.

"Sorry, but I cannot divulge anything further at this present time. You asked me to do the impossible: so please, let me do my job and take care of things as you want them to be" Silas replied in a respective manner.

"...Okay..." the senator replied reluctantly, "But 'Chumley' won't be enough, you're going to need a lot more fire-power if you intend to draw the Autobots out into a fight"

"That's where our new arrivals come in," Silas replied: despite the mask covering his face, she knew he was smiling, "CaerusTech satellites picked them up passing Mars orbit less than a week ago; they should be making planet-fall in less than a month. Considering the nature of these 'particular' Decepticons, the Autobots are going to have their hands full: Chumley will take advantage of the chaos, as will we, when we make our move"

"And the other 'loose ends'?" the senator asked

"Still looking for them: but now, they're running out of options. With every road and highway under close satellite surveillance: Barricade is going to have to pull off one hell of a smoke-and-mirrors act to try and get past us" Silas assured her.

"It's a small assurance, I suppose? ..." she replied offhand, "But still, you better be certain Chumley sticks to the script: this is the blind spot of the whole operation; one wrong move and we lose everything" she glared at him

"Like I said before, you asked me to do the impossible; so let me do it. Over and out-" Silas replied before his webcam signal went offline. Everyone looked at one another for a moment, not quite sure as to what just happened, or if they heard Silas correctly.

"What the hell's he up to now?" Beller bitterly frowned

"Hell if I know," one of the General's sighed, "But if there's one thing you can be sure of: Silas always delivers on his promises. True he's fairly unorthodox to say the least, be that's how all the best one's work"

"And suffice to say, it's not like we had many other choices to choose from; none that could commit to the kind of work that we're asking for, and not have an attack of conscience" Another General replied, "Besides, no one knows cybertronian technology like he does; he's been closer to them than anyone we know"

"That still creep's me out" one of the other gentleman admitted, "Where the hell did you find him anyway?"

A cold silence fell over the room, as everyone glanced at one another with a level of reluctance.

"...Trust me: you really don't want to know..." the Senator frowned before getting up from the table, and changing her demeanor from cold to approachable: "Now, if you gentlemen will excuse me: my son's celebration party will be kicking off soon, and I don't want to miss the champagne. Let me know when Silas get's back with an update" she waved as she left the room. As soon as the doors closed behind her, Beller turned to his partners and frowned"...She seriously thinks she has the right to bust our chops? Just waltzing in here like she owns all of us?"

"Careful Beller, that's the kind of talk that'll get your balls ripped off; and believe me, she's made a fine art of it," one gentleman pointed out in a concerning tone.

"Sexism aside. She's not the kind of person you want for an enemy. She has a lot of scary friends in high places, and she will call them to her side if she believes she's being backed into a corner. That, and don't forget, it's her son that's going to make the goal of the whole operation viable" another gentleman added

"Just like we're counting on your daughter to deliver the goods: when she's finally ready..." one of the generals pointed out

Somewhere on NEST base:

: It's me:

: About time! What took you so long?! :

: Don't take that tone with me, mech; I got held up longer than expected:

: Doesn't matter: we're all here now. Let's get to the business at hand:

: The hacker? :

: So it was a human (or humans) after all; very bold of them to try something like this, don't you think? :

: That's an understatement. But it's a good opportunity to move forward and start making some head way with the plan; while Prime and the others are busy chasing shadows I've been busy recruiting our newest addition to the fold:

: ...So you went ahead with it; wouldn't it have been prudent to discuss the matter with us first? :

: Yeah, how do you even know they're on the level? Or willing to dedicate their loyalty to us? :

: Loyalty is not the issue as far as our new addition is concerned: they are in this for a much more, 'personal' agenda:

: Revenge? :

: Something like that. In any case, they will provide us with what we require for the next phase of the plan; which, (suffice to say) is going to be quite a delicate operation:

: Which is where you two come in; what have you found? :

: A bunch of fraggin' slag that's so primitive it's painful to look at! :

: We managed to acquire access to some data that might prove useful for the plan's final phase; in addition we back-hacked several government agencies to assess the risk levels involved with phase three. As you suspected: the organics are not as foolish as they look; we're going to have a difficult time acquiring the necessary components, unless we come up with a plan to transport them safely here with no one being the wiser:

: So in other words we need a distraction:

: You let me worry about that. Good work with the intel: stay on it and inform me of any developments:

: So what now? With a human mole loose on the base, our movements will be greatly limited:

: Let Prime worry about it; I've already got things covered on this end, and it's going to take more than a human hacker to infiltrate my encryption. For now, I'll bring our new addition up to speed on what we're up to, and debrief them on their assignment. In the meantime, I need you to keep abreast of things with the rest of the base; the human younglings 'family issues' proved a good distraction to get some necessary work done, but we're going to need more than a few feuding siblings to keep everyone occupied. We need a means and opportunity to take advantage of the base's security system, if the next phase is to go ahead unhindered:

: Sure, you need us; but how're you gonna make that happen? :

: I'll inform you when I come up with something; however, beggars can't be choosers, and if an opportunity presents itself then we must take it without haste. That means you both must be on standby at all times from here on out. Understand? :

: Yes:

: Fine, whatever; just do me a favor and think fast, it's boring in here:

: Not my problem, get over it. Unless anyone else has any issues to voice, this meeting is adjourned:

: Over and out:

: Over and out:

: Over and out:

: Over and-:

:-Wait, I need a word with you, in private:

:... Fine. What is it? :

: The others, do they suspect anything? :

: Who-:

: You know perfectly well who I'm talking about. Do they suspect anything? :

: No, of course not. I've been expending all my mental energy just to keep them from reaching any deeper than they already have. They know something's not right with me, but I've been careful-:

:-Careful doesn't cut it; not when your family is concerned. All it takes is for one misplaced thought to be picked up, and the whole operation will over before it's had a chance to lift off:

: I know that:

: Then why do I get the feeling that you're starting to doubt this:

: I'm not doubting the plan! I want this as much as you! :

: ...That remains to be seen. Remember, you chose this; no matter what you do or what you say: you can't back out. You pledged your loyalty to me, and I intend to make sure you hold up your end of our 'agreement':

: ...I know...:

: So prove it; purge those useless sentiments from your processor, and keep you're optic on the task at hand...Over and out:

Elsewhere on the base:

As she sat on Bluestreak's knee with her sisters on his shoulders, Hailey watched the live news feed on the TV with a heavy sense of uncertainty. And as Becky, Becca and Bluestreak watched the current story unfold: they too couldn't help but feel they might become stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"So what does this mean? For us I mean?" Becca asked

"I don't know: I'm gonna call dad, see what he thinks" Hailey replied in a somewhat grave tone

"You do realize that, if he ever becomes president, he's gonna know about us"

"...I know" Hailey sighed, "But I guess that can't helped. It's the others I'm concerned about. How this'll look, and how this is gonna impact them if this comes out the wrong way"

"Hey, they're our friends: they'll understand" Bluestreak assured her as he placed his hand around her shoulder: Hailey couldn't help but smile at his soft, warm touch. "Besides, they know it won't mean anything. I mean come on, we haven't seen dad's side of the family in years, let alone engage in any conversation that carried on for more than a few minutes over the phone" Becky pointed to the TV, "Everyone knows who you are: it's not like you been in secret contact with him or anythin'"

"I know, but all the same; if something happens that call's our 'working relationship' in question because of him. I want to be the one to explain it, okay?" Hailey asked, gesturing to the TV.

"Sure thing sis" the twins nodded

"Personally, I don't see how he's relevant to NEST (I'm not even sure if he has a high enough security clearance to know about us anyway?). But still, if anything does happen, I ain't leaving your side: even if it means having to leave the Autobots"

"Thanks Blue," Hailey smiled, but a look of uncertain worry came over her as she turned back to watch the TV, "...I just hope, nothing happens..." she thought aloud,

Bluestreak turned the volume up a little as the anchorman read out the headlines: "And today's top story: The new Vice President of the United States of America: Lawrence Waineright took his seat in the White House today. After an astonishing landslide in the polls, his popularity stats had soured in the last few weeks of his election campaign. Thanks in part to the dedicated effort and support of his mother, Senator Ruth Waineright, who helped spearhead his campaign from start to finish. In a speech addressed to the whole senate, the new Vice President outlined his plans for his term in office, as the President's new right hand man. The young rookie politician was well received by all, although some skeptics are still airing on the side of caution, as earlier accusations were made in regard to-

Hailey turned the TV off, and sat there a long while: pondering what to do.

Outside the base:

The night air was cool, and the wind had died right down; overhead, the stars glistened in their millions, lighting the sky in silver. Atop the western mountain, Alpha Trion steadily made his way up to the peak: where an old woman clothed in a long white flowing dress, sat on a tall craggy bolder, watching the base far down below.

"Optimus was curious, was he not?" she asked curiously

"He inquired as to whether I had anything to do with the girl's 'chance meetings'" the ancient white mech replied as he stood beside her perch.

"And?" she pressed him

"I told him, I didn't know anything about it..." he glanced down at her, to which she gazed up at him with a satisfied smile. They stayed there in silence for a long time, watching the base and its nocturnal activities; before Alpha Trion heaved a dubious sigh, and stated: "...You know, that was a dangerous gamble you took,"

"Preparing for the future usually is" the old woman replied nonchalantly

"...Now that this particular task is complete, what do you wish me to do?" he asked

"Do what you always do: remain vigilant, and help where you can...It's all we can do at this point..." she replied in a soft sombre voice.

"You do realize, when Sam and Morri discover the truth about their heritage; and their subsequent inheritance: there can be no going back" he stated

The old woman closed her eyes as she sighed, "...I know. But this was my choice, remember? ..." she gazed up at him, "I don't intend to let the past repeat itself, and I certainly don't intend to see this world fall into darkness, for the sake of my past sins...No, I may not be what I once was, but I still have my wisdom and my strength, and that is all that's required"

Heaving a sigh of his own: Alpha Trion nodded: "Very well, if that is your wish"

"But, you do realize, it's not just the children we need to rely on..." she said as she gazed out over the desert, and locked her weary eyes on the tiny figure standing atop the eastern mountain, several miles away: "Our fate is as much in his hands as it is theirs..."

Spotting the distant figure as well, Alpha Trion nodded in agreement: "...He has come so far: and now to be finally within sight of his goal, his journey is nearing its end"

"...I just hope, she, can forgive him..." the old woman replied offhand,

On the summit of the eastern mountain, high above the desert and the gorge down below; the old man watched the base, and the large white glistening figure standing atop the western mountain. As he breathed in the night air, a slight breeze ruffled the sleeves of his tatty old shirt, revealing the cybertronian glyphs that ran up and down his arm. As he breathed in another deep breath: the glyphs began to glow in a soft blue light, lighting up the blood and muscle and under his skin. Quickly, he patted his arm down, as if trying to put out a flame, and just as steadily as it started, the blue glow died down and disappeared, until the glyphs were black again.

"...Not yet..." he sighed to himself, "...Not yet"

Low lying clouds rolled over the mountains, cascading down into the valleys like giant waterfalls; one tiny wisp of cloud brushed over the top of the eastern mountain for barely half a minute...

...But once it passed and the air was clear, the old man was nowhere to be seen.

The End (?)

Well, that's your lot :) Hope you liked this chapter of the TIFC saga, & be sure to stay tuned for the next one :D

Sorry it took me a while uploading this one; I had intended to upload it last week, but I got caught up in stuff.

Anyway, let me know what you think, as always, so be sure to R&R before clicking off :)

Cheerio sweeties!