Alliance issue 4

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Publisher	IDW Publishing
First published	March 25, 2009
Cover date	March 2009
Written by	Chris Mowry
Art by	Alex Milne
Colors by	Josh Perez & Kris Carter
Letters by	Chris Mowry
Edits by	Denton J. Tipton & Andy Schmidt
Continuity	Movie continuity

Everyone gets ready for the Revenge of the Fallen.

Synopsis

En route to San Francisco, the Autobots and NEST soldiers converse about their mission. Two Decepticons have been spotted in the city, but thankfully, there was no mention of robots, so they must be in their vehicle modes. Lennox wonders how their team can do this without drawing attention from bystanders, to which Ironhide told him to leave it to the Autobots, knowing that the two Decepticons will put up a fight. Once they land, Salani reminds them that this is for real. Team 3 is to serve as perimeter defense, Team 2 sets up the trap, and Team 1 (consisting of Lennox, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee) will flush them out. Lennox once again lays down the plans, with a chemical spill used as cover for their operations, as they need as much secrecy as possible.

In Downtown San Francisco, the area is cordoned off, and the civilians have been moved out, so Team 2 is cleared to go. Ratchet tells Ironhide that their appearance seems much suited for the mission, and that both them and the humans look stylish, but Ironhide tells him to stow it. Suddenly, Ratchet picks up energy readings, then Swindle and Deadend crash through a sliding wall and Team 2 picks up the chase. Swindle thinks that, if Barricade's intel is right, he and Deadend are chased by Ironhide and Ratchet, and not Prime. Then, Prime appears out of nowhere and runs over Deadend. Swindle runs off, but Bumblebee chases after him.

Prime is okay, but Deadend isn't, as noted by Ratchet. Salani calls Epps for a clean-up crew, while at the Golden Gate Bridge, Epps asks Lennox for his status. Lennox is pursuing Swindle, and Swindle is heading toward the Bridge fast. Lennox tells Epps to have the soldiers let Swindle get a bit of "clearance", then he and Bumbleee continue the pursuit. When they reach the bridge, Swindle transforms and is incredulous that Bumblebee came alone, but Lennox tells Swindle otherwise. Swindle blast at them, then beats up Bumblebee. Lennox fires at Swindle, but Swindle turns his attention to Lennox, but before he can do anything, he is blasted by Bumblebee. Dying, Swindle says that none of them are safe, but shuts down before he tells more. Lennox considers the mission a success, seeing as it wasn't as bad as Mission City was.

Hours later, during the trip back to base, Optimus Prime notes that Lennox looks tired, but Lennox says that he was wondering if things are about to get worse, and is worried about what Swindle said. Prime asks him is he's also worried about Sam Witwicky; Lennox says yes, but is more concerned about the "we'll" part, thinking that more Decepticons will arrive, and if so, why are they on Earth? Prime doesn't have the answer, but agrees with the safety of Sam. Prime thinks that Sam will be safe at the base, but Lennox doesn't agree, because he's just a kid, and they can't move him from the street, either. Prime thinks that, no matter what happens, with their own destinies being absolute and uncontrollable, Sam is going to be involved in this. Lennox tells Prime that they need someone to watch over him, but Prime knows just the one.

When the team lands back at the base, a refreshed Epps meets with the still-tired Lennox, who tells him that something's going on out there. Epps tells him that they're ready for anything, but Lennox questions this, saying that for all their training, they weren't clean during the day's mission. Epps thinks it could have been worse, but Lennox says that it might get worse, as well as saying that Bumblebee is leaving the team to once again guard Sam. Epps is upset, saying that they can't lose team members that came from another planet; Lennox agrees.

Later, Lennox is debriefed by the Army over the day's mission. Lennox tells them about the incident at the Golden Gate Bridge, but the commander debriefing the team isn't pleased with this, as they were given strict orders to not transform. If the Decepticons did so on their own accord, then so be it; however, the team was ordered not to, as the Army didn't want to risk disclosure in a major city again. Lennox said that they had no choice, as the Decepticons had engaged them and they took caution in how they responded. The battle at Mission City was in the past, and now is the time to move on. The commander says that civilians weren't used to seeing robots or jets flying in major cities. Lennox argues, saying that the jet was one of them. As for proof that the Autobots want to work for the army, it couldn't be helped, but their working on that. The mission was a success, despite the incident at the bridge.

The army commander still isn't sold on Lennox's idea. They had been authorization on that mission, but now they expect that the rules to be followed in the missions that will be coming to them, and that the unit is used to fix problems, not make new ones. After making Lennox clear on this issue, the commander will pass this onto his superiors, and tells Lennox that he and his men need to look over the day's mission and learn from them. When the conversation ends, Lennox is upset at the commander, saying that he was impossible to work. Prime says that the team will have to work harder, but Lennox thinks that the problem is the army still doesn't get the difference between Autobots and Decepticons. Optimus Prime says that they have to succeed.

The next day, Bumblebee says his brief good-byes to the group. Ironhide tells him to stay out of trouble until he meets with Bumblebee, while Optimus Prime reminds Bumblebee that the protection of Sam is his first priority, then Bumblebee leaves. Later, the team is briefed by the army. There have been multiple Decepticon sightings all over the globe. Lennox lets Optimus Prime talk to the army, and Prime believes that, coming from Swindle's comments, the Decepticons are looking for something, be it Megatron's remains, Sam's house, or somewhere else. The commander asks if they aren't spreading for another attack, but Prime doesn't know. The Decepticons soldiers don't act like the ones Megatron commanded, but are more like scouts. The commander gives them new orders; they are to find these Decepticon scouts, engage, hunt down, and eliminate them.

And so, as Prime relates, with upgraded technology from Sector Seven installed by Ratchet, the Autobots found the Decepticons, and, when found, they were destroyed immediately (in Italy, Fracture gets smashed by Ironhide and falls to the ravine). With help from NEST, the war with the Decepticons continues. As weeks, then months went by, they trained and got better. Soldiers from all over the world signed up. Together, they celebrated triumph (in Europe, Overcast is shot down by NEST forces) and mourned those who made sacrifices (a mission in the Middle East resulted in the death of Salani). They grew as a team and learned from one another, becoming stronger allies in an ever-changing war. The Decepticons wouldn't give them info, but they never lasted long enough anyways (in Florida, they eliminated Dropkick and Incinerator), and others they couldn't get rid of (Barricade fled after the Florida battle).

Each mission was followed with an army debriefing. It was from there that they received judgment and new orders. It was in one briefing that they were given hope and joy. The next day, the Autobots head to a junkyard. Lennox says that the rad detector is going crazy, and that it's not them. Optimus reassures Lennox, then calls to the hiding Autobots. The new Autobots respond by appearing (in the guises of a silver sports car, three motorcycles, and an old ice cream truck), and saying that they got Optimus' call. However, the reunion is cut short by more sightings. The old Autobots catched up with the new ones through their training. The training ends as they are called to the briefing room, as Optimus wonders that if something is out there, friend or foe, they are the only ones who can deal with the situation, one which is threatening their new home, themselves, and their alliance with the humans.

Inside, Lennox briefs the team on a new assignment, which will involve the new Autobots to stick with their training and watching their backs. Their target location: Shanghai...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans
Ratchet (1) Ironhide (2) Optimus Prime (5) Bumblebee (6) Sideswipe (16) Arcee (17) Skids/Mudflap (combined) (18)	Dead End (7) Swindle (8) Fracture (11) Overcast (12) Jetstorm (13) Dropkick (14) Incinerator (15) Soundwave (19) Demolishor (20)	Robert Epps (3) William Lennox (4) Salani (9) Mystery Army guy (10)

Quotes

• TBD

Errors

• TBD

Items of note

Does Prime transform into a short bus?

• Much like the changes made to Josh Nizzi's cover for "Defiance issue 3", his cover for this issue went through several revisions. When it was previewed on ComicNewsi.com on December 13, 2008, the cover featured a much brighter background with only the Pyrimid of Giza behind the characters; Optimus Prime was more awkwardly posed; Ironhide & Ratchet were large and prominent; and Jolt could be (barely) seen on the cover behind the three bikes. On Nizzi's final version, the tone is much darker and more sombre; at least two pyrimids are visible; Optimus Prime has been given a different pose; Ironhide & Ratchet are less prominent and Jolt has been removed entirely, probably because he doesn't appear in the movie adaptation. The final published cover removes some forward window pillars that do not exist on Sideswipe's prop vehicle.
• Though they do not appear in this issue due to lack of space, Reverb and Gunbarrel are most likely to be been destroyed in Italy, judging by Ironhide's comment about Fracture being the last of the group there.

Covers (2)

• Cover A: The Autobots and their human allies, as well as a fallen Decepticon; art by Alex Milne, colors by Priscilla Tramontano.
• Cover B: The Autobots and their new Autobot allies; art and colors by Josh Nizzi.

• 
  Where's Waldo?
• 
  Here's the new toys to look for this summer!

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