Sun Cheng and the others had been lying low with Onslaught at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base for two days, but they still hadn't heard a thing from Starscream. They had no idea what was going on.
Laserbeak, on the other hand, had sent him four long-distance transmissions over those two days.
Because of Starscream's earlier instructions, Sun Cheng had refused to meet him. He had even encrypted his own communication coordinates to keep Laserbeak from finding out where he was.
He did, however, keep his options open. He sent Laserbeak a reply, telling him he was being watched by Barricade and would have a hard time finding an opportunity to leave.
Of course, he sent that message right in front of Onslaught.
After a long wait, Barricade finally sent a long-distance transmission on the third day.
He and Bonecrusher had arrived, and to everyone's surprise, Beam Splitter had come along too. It seemed Starscream was determined to get the nuclear warheads at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base!
"...You idiots. I told you not to get so close to the base..."
Sun Cheng left the hideout tunnel with Onslaught. Once the two of them reached the meeting point, Onslaught transformed into his robot mode, grabbed Barricade, and hauled him in front of himself. His face twisted with fury as he glared at him.
"So you're the one leading this operation..."
Bonecrusher had clearly recognized Onslaught. He looked displeased.
Sun Cheng could understand why.
He'd spent two days with Onslaught. At first, he'd thought the guy would be easy to get along with. He hadn't realized he was a typical Decepticon.
Onslaught was something of a perfectionist and took his plans very seriously. Once he'd made a plan, he expected not only himself to follow it, but everyone else as well.
As a result, when Sun Cheng tried several times over those two days to sneak around inside the base, Onslaught had flatly refused to let him. Sun Cheng could only sit around with him in the tunnel near the base, bored out of his mind.
Barricade was rough-handled, and his temper flared. He pulled a spiked weapon from inside his body and swung it hard into Onslaught, knocking him back several steps. Then he glared at Onslaught, his face twisted with anger, and growled, "Do you want to fight me before the operation even starts?"
"Hmph!"
Onslaught really did have a short fuse. He went straight into battle mode.
It looked like the two of them were about to fight before the operation had even begun.
Sun Cheng glanced at Bonecrusher and saw him standing off to one side, watching with interest. He showed no sign of wanting to intervene.
Beam Splitter, meanwhile, made no effort to hide the glee in his eyes. He might as well have been shouting, "Go on, fight! Better yet, kill each other!"
Seeing this, Sun Cheng had no choice but to step in. "Lord Barricade, Lord Onslaught, Lord Starscream's mission is what matters..."
At this point, all he could do was invoke Starscream's name.
Fortunately, Starscream's name still carried weight with both Barricade and Onslaught. At the mention of him, they each snorted and turned away.
Sun Cheng had put an end to the farce. Beam Splitter made no effort to hide his disappointment, while Bonecrusher looked from Barricade to Onslaught and said, "Lord Starscream saved me. I'll help him complete this mission. Since you two aren't fighting, let's assign everyone's roles."
Onslaught was about to speak, but Bonecrusher impatiently cut him off. "I'd had enough of you back on Cybertron. Let him explain the plan. I don't want to hear another word from you!"
With that, he pointed at Sun Cheng.
"Agreed. Let Frenzy handle it!" Barricade immediately chimed in, sneering at Onslaught. "The plan was Frenzy's idea anyway. Let him make the arrangements!"
Beam Splitter looked thoroughly opposed. "I object..."
He pointed at Sun Cheng, nearly jumping in place. "There's no way I'm letting a grunt give me orders!"
"Get lost..."
Onslaught kicked him flying, then glared at Bonecrusher and Barricade for a moment before snorting. "Fine. If the mission fails, you can explain it to Starscream yourselves..."
He immediately transformed into a heavy-duty truck. From the rumble, it sounded as if he'd even started the engine.
With several pairs of eyes fixed on him, Sun Cheng had no choice but to step forward. "I did come up with today's plan. We'll split into two teams: one will attack Davis-Monthan Air Force Base directly, while the other will attack a nearby base. Since none of you object, I'll assign the roles!"
"Lord Barricade is the fastest. I'd like you to go with Beam Splitter to the other base nearby. Destroy its ability to provide support, then come here and back us up!"
He looked at Onslaught and Bonecrusher, then continued, "Lord Bonecrusher isn't as fast as Lord Barricade. I'd like you to come with Lord Onslaught and me. The three of us will attack Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. As soon as the operation starts, I'll disable the base's communications and destroy some of the aircraft's electronic systems. I'll send you the coordinates of several ammunition depots in the base shortly. Please destroy all the aircraft immediately. Once that's done, Lord Bonecrusher will keep causing damage inside the base and tie down the defenders, while Lord Onslaught and I go after the nuclear warheads!"
This was probably the most reasonable arrangement under the circumstances, so Onslaught nodded at once, seemingly satisfied with the plan.
But the other two powerful warriors weren't happy with it at all.
Barricade glared at Sun Cheng and was the first to object. "I'm staying here to make sure nothing goes wrong!"
"I don't want to go with Onslaught either..." Bonecrusher calmly rejected the assignment too.
Onslaught snorted, looking at Sun Cheng with growing hostility.
Sun Cheng could only shrug. "All right, then. We'll swap your assignments. Lord Barricade, Lord Onslaught, and I will handle this base. Lord Bonecrusher and Beam Splitter will destroy the other one!"
"I object..."
Beam Splitter jumped in to complain again, but Sun Cheng didn't even look at him. Barricade, Bonecrusher, and Onslaught ignored him too, all nodding their agreement.
"Then, to make sure the operation succeeds, we'll have to strike at the same time. Lord Barricade, send them the coordinates of their target base. Lord Bonecrusher and Beam Splitter, set out immediately. Once you reach your destination and launch the attack, send us a long-distance transmission to warn us, so both teams can move at the same time!"
"Fine!"
Bonecrusher readily agreed. He got the coordinates from Barricade, then set off for the nearby military base with Beam Splitter.
ps:
Thanks to the great "Fallen in This Small Era" for the support!
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