Flint pulled up sharply as another ASP bracketed the Dragonfly with flak. The air defense screen was just too thick to defeat from the air. Something had to give.

A swarm of missiles solved that problem for him. The massive aircraft that was Skyfire raced through the air, laying down a hail of fire the Cobra forces couldn't keep up with. What he missed, Steeler's MOBAT crew or Brawn got. In the confusion, Snow Job skirted the flanks on his Polar Battle Bear. Between the groups, a wide open hole was torn for Breaker and the other troops in the APC.

*****

Buzzsaw didn't see the flying explosives in enough time to swerve. Assaulted by a series of bomblets, the wounded Decepticon flew straight into a wall, knocking himself out. Lazerbeak swerved back around, only to have his wing cut off expertly. Crashing, both birds went into unconsciousness.

In silence, the ninja and the saboteur rushed through the corridors.

*****

Frenzy hadn't been paying attention. Had he, Bumblebee wouldn't have shot him in the chest as often as he did. Staggering back, the wounded Decepticon signaled for Ravage to cover his escape.

Realizing that he was outmatched, the Autobot ducked back into a corridor, drawing Ravage farther away from the humans. Running blindly, he stared down a closed door. Risking it, he barged through-

-and straight into the main Decepticon computer room. Before Bumblebee knew what happened, Soundwave and Rumble had their weapons drawn and targeting him. "Explain mission,' Soundwave said.

"Believe it or not,' Bumblebee said, thinking fast. "It's to help you. We have reason to suspect that Cobra may have infiltrated some agents to steal your data. I was supposed to make sure that your computers were safe.'

"I don't trust him,' Rumble said. "Let's finish him.'

"No. We need him. Two humans were with you. Where are they?'

"I don't know. Somewhere near the armoury by now, I guess. I gave them a roundabout route to avoid your internal defenses.'

"Locate them and the other intruders. I will finish with the computer systems.'

"No need,' a voice said. "The name's Firefly. Don't expect help from your two bird friends. They're both out.' With this, he produced two handfuls of assorted grenades. "Have fun!' Throwing them, the three Transformers tried to dodge. Smoke, bright lights, and explosions filled the air as metal corrosive covered the robots. The three could not respond. "Now, Storm Shadow! Hold them off while I access the computer files!'

"As you wish,' Storm Shadow said, drawing his sword.

"I don't think so!' Scarlet shouted. Tackling the ninja, she watched as Snake-Eyes went to engage Storm Shadow. The two pairs of humans fought for several minutes as the Transformers struggled to be free of the corrosives.

"This is pointless,' Bumblebee said. "There must be something we can do!'

"There is,' Soundwave said, almost sad. Raising his pistol, he drew a bead on the main computer console. "I have all the data files stored within me. This will only be a setback.' Squeezing the trigger, he sent thousands of joules of energy into the computer banks. They exploded in one large burst of light. Alert sirens went off as the internal defenses and hazard controls kicked in. Foam and some sort of detergent solution washed the corrosive away and into a drain that appeared in the floor. Fire retardant covered the console and everything in the immediate area.

Bumblebee looked up and saw the resignation in Soundwave's face. What he had done had saved the Decepticons, and yet he would most likely be punished for it. Shaking his head, he called for Scarlet and Snake-Eyes to leave.

*****

Breaker picked over the computer files at the Cobra facility. They had been inside the Decepticon mainframe for a short period. He couldn't tell if they had taken any data or not; the fact that Flint and Lady J were still hunting for some Flight Pods that had escaped told him that they had. Hawk wasn't going to like this.

*****

Thundercracker hovered, away from the battle field. What they had done today was pointless. Humans were sacrificed by a leader who thought for little but his own prestige. The Decepticons were all heavily wounded. And Soundwave just admitted to having to destroy their own computer banks to keep them from being hacked in to. Nothing could come from continuing the battle aside from more destruction and waste. For once, Thundercracker wondered just what the ^^^^ he had been doing all along.

*****

Hawk looked up into the sky, still holding his shoulder. At best, he had dislocated it when his RAM was knocked over. Both Cobra and Decepticon were leaving. Looking around, Hawk could understand why. The Decepticons were all heavily damaged. Cobra had lost a significant number of personnel and machines. But they both would be back. Some might call this bravery. He just called it insanity.

Limping back a bit, he found Doc and Clutch in the back of an APC doing their best to treat the injured Joes. Next to it, Ratchet was bent over the damaged Autobots. The lines were long for both.

True, they had won a victory. Cobra was decimated, and the Decepticons wouldn't return for some time. In the process, they had stopped both parties from seizing the assets of the others. At least, that's what it looked like. If Breaker was right, Cobra had managed to get a little bit of data. But he had no way of even confirming that, let alone knowing what they stole. And according to Cliffjumper, the Decepticons had opened their Spacebridge and brought in some fresh soldiers. Soldiers who, no doubt, would strike the weakened Cobra forces. "This was no victory,' he said. "Just another senseless fight caused by two massive egos.'

"Isn't this how many wars start,' Prime asked.

"True. Anyway, Sparks just got a call in from my superiors. For your assistance, your men have been granted free access to all US military installations. Enjoy it while it lasts.'

*****

Megatron sat and mused. Ultimately, Soundwave had done the right thing in destroying their computer banks. There had been a breach. Soundwave had the data backed up in his own memory banks, and Shockwave was going to send a replacement computer system with the next batch of parts. Until then, he had three new warriors to train- Thrust, Dirge, and Ramjet. In the end, it was a pyrrhic victory.

But another victory to savor, nonetheless.