"Fair enough," Prowl mumbled. The human sent to them would have been terribly agitating to play along with, but he figured he could avoid more commotion if he just ignored her. As they broke away and Wheeljack gave an excuse, he paused for a moment, remaining stone-faced. Still under his breath, he spoke again. "I didn't..." He trailed off after realizing what Wheeljack was doing, finishing off with a grunt of agreement and a nod. Wheeljack was always making things, so it seemed a decent cover. Of course, Optimus wasn't buying it for a second, but it was a nice thought and Prowl wouldn't mind getting some more armaments.<br/><br/>As the conversation between Optimus and the general went on, a gust of wind blew some sand around, and Prowl lowered his visor again to shield his optics from the grains. He really hated sand, he'd decided. It was hard to get traction on, blew around with every little provocation, and it got in his mechanics. Why anyone would decide to live out here, he couldn't begin to fathom. Earth was a strange world with strange environments, and clearly, strange people. He crossed his arms, paying enough attention to the conversation to pick up what was important, but turning his attention skyward again. He focused on the birds overhead, watching them fly around.<br/><br/>It was then he noticed the silhouette of one was...off. Not organic at all. The wings were too sharp, the body too large. It didn't travel with the other birds, either. In fact, they seemed to be almost avoiding it. Prowl felt a deep, sudden concern, and wasted no time in alerting the others. Turning away for a moment, he moved to Optimus, cutting in on the conversation. "Something's not right," He began. "One of the birds, it's not an organic. Look, it's-..." He stopped, trying to point out what he'd seen, but it was gone. Prowl lowered his hand, gritting his teeth. "We shouldn't stay here any longer, Optimus. I'm telling you, we are not alone out here."<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Megatron felt some amusement as the reports came in. The sight that Laserbeak's video feed had given him through the communication system was nothing short of pathetic. Three Autobots and a single human in an open, undefended space? It wasn't nearly what their last meeting with military officials had been. With some subdued laughter, he replied to Soundwave's appraisal of the situation. "It's almost like they<span style="font-style: italic">want</span>their general to die. Well, who are we to deny them that request?" He leaned into his throne, resting an elbow against the armrest, and his head against the arm's balled fist. His mouth was curled into an arrogant smile. "Soundwave. At your judgement, send the Seekers in to welcome Prime's new ally. Tear them to pieces."<br/><br/>After relaying his command, the Decepticon leader went over the scene of the meeting again in his mind. Not only were the Autobots woefully outmanned, but the ones there were far from who he would have expected for a first meeting. Optimus himself was a given; people looked up to him as a noble, fearless leader who fought for their freedom, someone worthy of idolization. But the others weren't who he'd anticipated seeing. Wheeljack, the eccentric inventor whose creations had foiled Megatron's plans on some occasions. Maybe not a front lines fighter compared to some of the other Autobots, but Megatron held something of a begrudging respect for the scientist's sheer inventive capability when it came to weaponry. And then there was Prowl, the aggressive lawman and former partner of Megatron's loyal ground tactics squad leader, Barricade. The warlord always felt a sort of dull pity for him, but he had chosen the wrong side in the war. There was no changing that, not after what had been done to him.<br/><br/>As he contemplated the situation, other Decepticons in the control room had looked away from their stations, optics locked on the display screen that Laserbeak's sights gave a feed to. When he came out of it and looked around, there was something of a panic among some of them as they swiftly returned to their stations, typing away at controls and making sure things ran smoothly. One of them attempted to apologize, but Megatron silenced him, raising an open palm to stop him mid-sentence. "Oh, calm down. There's a show about to begin. I don't blame you for taking an interest. In fact, why don't we all see where this goes? I'm sure it's going to be fun." His hand lowered, and the workers turned to the screen again, awaiting the attack eagerly.<br/><br/>The door to the command center made a tone of requested entry. Without diverting his gaze, he replied with a clear tone of voice. "Enter. You've made it just in time to watch the fun."