Megatron regained consciousness some time later, though still every bit as enraged as before.

"BLAST those Maximals!" he bellowed. A few birds quickly fluttered away, going off to safer grounds.

"And blast their stasis pods!" Megatron yelled, driving his fist in the destroyed pod. "When will they ever bring me something useful?!"

He growled for a moment, hit the pod again. Though this time, a small glittering object fell out, catching Megatron's attention. He frowned, picking it up.

"Now, whatever could this be?"

He held it up against the sun, the light streaming through it revealing a slight blue color and a fine network of circuitry running through it.

"It would appear," Megatron said slowly, relishing the words. "That a pod has brought me something useful after all... yess."

***

Chamelea looked around her and smiled. Before signing up with the Axalon research ship, she had never really bothered to check who the other crew members where. She almost wished she had. They seemed like an interesting bunch, some of which where present around her right now.

Their leader, Rhinox, and Rattrap. Rattrap... now he was certainly amusing. He watched her, clearly fascinated by her. Though Chamelea had to admit, he was fascinating himself. His manner was not unlike her own, and spoke with an attitude that she liked. Indeed, he would prove to be quite an interesting comrade.

The Maximal leader spoke. "Welcome to the Maximals, Chamelea. We're glad you arrived safely."

Chamelea nodded. "I'm glad I arrived safely too." She paused. "I guess that as a member of this crew, I should be honest. There's something about me that should be known." She glanced at Rhinox. He only nodded in encouragement. Chamelea continued. "Well, there you have it. I was formely known as Stormer. I was a Shadow Striker."

Chamelea stopped, looking around. Optimus shot an inquiring look at Rhinox. "It's true," he said. "But the war is over. The Shadows are over. She's part of this crew, now."

Finally, Optimus spoke to her again. "Well... Chamelea..." He smiled. "Then we could use someone of your skill here. Welcome to the Maximals."

Chamelea sighed in relief. It had been close. She had debated whether or not to reveal herself to their leader. If he knew, he might not have wanted as part of his crew. The Shadow Strikers were Maximals, but several people viewed them as mere cold-hearted enemies of the Predacons, without any real loyalty to either side, even hated by some Maximals for their ruthlessness. She was thankful these Maximals were at least understanding.

"Thank you," Chamelea said. "I will admit, I was worried. Hardly anyone was sympathetic towards us."

Optimus nodded slightly. "You have a right to be part of this crew. I couldn't hate you for what you once was, but for what you are now and will become."

Chamelea laughed. "That's inspirational. I just wish more people felt that way. The war may be over on paper, but it hardly is in most hearts."

She shook her head and smiled, contemplating the crew she was now a part of. This wouldn't be hard to get used to at all. She glanced at Rattrap. He caught himself staring at her and quickly looked away.

"Well," she started, grinning. "I suppose I should start being useful right away."

That said, she reached down and pulled a dagger out of her boot. Proudly, she held it up, turning it so that the blade caught the light and shone.

"This, was my best friend back during the war." she explained, almost nostalgically. "My trusty dagger. He was always ready to defend me."

Rattrap smirked. "Wasn't it the Strikers themselves that said 'A weapon is only as good as the hand that holds it'?"

Chamelea peered at him, turning her blade in her fingers. "I didn't know you studied us so much. It's true, but the hand can only do so much if the weapon is useless. No, this dagger had a spirit of its own."

She shook her head, smiling slightly. "Anyway, hiding information was something we were also good at. When the Strikers split up, we shared the technologies we had acquired throughout the years among ourselves. I got this. I thought this might prove useful."

Optimus frowned. "Your dagger?"

"Nope. Something better." Chamelea said. She turned it over again in her grasp, exposing a side of the handle. "Things aren't always what they seem."

In a quick move, she twisted the handle and roughly pulled a small slip off it. A tiny compartment showed up, about half the length of a finger and barely the depth of one. It was empty, and apparently not supposed to be. Chamelea stared at it, her eyes wide and confused, her mouth open in silent shock.

"It's... it's gone..." she said shakily. The dagger trembled in her hands. "It's gone!"

"Easy, Chamelea," Optimus said, leaning across the computer to get a better look at the handle. "What's gone?"

Chamelea opened her mouth and closed it again, working to form the words. "The chip... the programming chip... we spent years on it.... it's gone..."

She looked up, saw everyone staring at her worriedly. She swallowed hard and forced herself to speak despite her shock. "I had it -- hidden in my dagger-- a chip. It... it was small, kind of a crystal-like blue chip. It held the programming information for phase shielding.... we used to call them stealth shields."

She paused, caught her breath. "It's what we used to sneak in and out of places.... the phase shields altered our molecular structures and... well, phased us out of normal space. Simply put, we were invisible."

"And... you had this information on a computer chip?" Rhinox asked.

Chamelea nodded grimly. "I took my dagger with me to the stasis transfer. I... I thought it wouldn't make a difference, that after I was re-formed, the chip would also re-form in the handle... ooh, and the stasis pod's been destroyed! The chip must also be gone!"

Rhinox moved over and sat down at a console. "Well, chips are sturdy. It might have survived. Is there any way we can track it?"

Chamelea frowned, then looked up sharply. "Yes. YES! Of course! It has a small energy signature we pre-programmed all our chips with! Their purpose was to make sure we could identify our own chips and prevent their theft, but I'm sure we could use it to track it down. Try...." She leaned over to the console. "Try scanning with a delta wave frequency."

Rhinox glanced at her, though he began the scan. "Delta wave? That's a little complicated for a computer chip."

Chamelea straightened proudly. "We were very precise in our coding. The chip itself is encoded."

"Quadruple-encrypted, I'll bet?" Rattrap asked from behind her. "There's almost no way of breakin' that code."

"Actually, no," Chamelea said. "The best place to hide something is in plain sight. The code is very simple to decipher. It's just practically impossible to find out what the code is."

"Is this it?" Rhinox indicated a small blinking dot on the screen. It was blue, and apparently moving.... towards the Predacon base.

Chamelea hissed and drove her fist in the wall. "Slag! That's the enemy base, isn't it? The Predacons have it! It must have fallen out of the pod. We need to get it back!"

Optimus approached the screen. "Is there any way the Predacons could decipher the code?"

Chamelea scowled. "Not that bunch of mechanoids, no. But they could destroy it to prevent us from taking it! If I have to slip into that scum base and snatch it from that slithering tyrant's own filthy claws, then so be it!"

Optimus sighed, considering their newest crew member. She was looking at him, asking silent permission. He certainly didn't doubt she was able-- so why was he feeling reluctant to let her go? Was it worth it, such a seemingly capable crew member, to risk her life for a chip?

Or was it his own doubtfulness? He had said so himself, the past was long past and things would not matter. She was starting anew. Past things would not, could not matter. He weighted the decision in his mind and finally agreed with himself.

"Chamelea," he said slowly. "I wouldn't normally let a member of my team endanger their lives for a piece of equipment... but I'd say this is different. I trust in your capabilities, and even if it's against my better judgment, go ahead and get your chip."

Chamelea smiled gratefully. "You show more trust that I was ever given," she said softly. "You have my loyalty."

Chamelea moved to leave, but stopped and turned back. Her eyes fell on Rattrap. Instincts were something she had long learned to trust, and was not about to ignore them now.

"Would you like to tag along? I'd say you would be more than capable to help me out. Besides, I am going to need someone to show me the way."

Rattrap stepped back, thoughts debating as to whether or not he should follow her. He admitted to himself that she was indeed a lovely creature, but would that be good?

Well... if anything, I'll be there to keep an eye on her.

Nodding assuredly, Rattrap took a step forward, then another, until he was standing next to her.

"Right behind ya... Cham."

Chamelea smiled, placed her dagger back in her boot and hopped on the lift. "We'll see how good the hand that holds your weapon is."

Rattrap shook his head. "Man, I just don't get you."

"Thank you."

Rhinox watched the two go down the lift, smiling to himself.

"So, you knew her?" Optimus asked.

"Sure did. Let's just say we go way, way back."

"Tell me... is she trustworthy?"

Rhinox turned his eyes back to the lift. "You'd be surprised," he said. "At the things you never knew about the Strikers. So, in a word-- yes."