Purple prose on a red background.

The Decepticons under Megatron's command follow a strict infiltration protocol—a carefully staged process of destabilizing and conquering inhabited planets. The staged conquest is highly secretive, with soldiers under strict orders not to break cover till late in process. Though brutal in its later phases, this tactic is still constrained by the Code of Interplanetary Conflict. Breaking protocol is extremely rare.

The Decepticon infiltration protocol has six phases:

• Phase One presumably comprises the initial infiltration of a planet's society and gathering of intelligence.
• Phase Two involves the agitation of pre-existing conflicts and igniting "international hotspots". Frequently this is accomplished with facsimiles—artificial duplicates of key members of the planet's native population, equipped to duplicate the original's actions, memories and personalities, but programmed to serve the Decepticons' interests. The goal is to get the natives to obliterate themselves, without the Decepticons' direct involvement.
  • On occasion, the Decepticons will encounter unusual resistance, and see fit to use a special protocol known as mirror response mode. Whether this modus operandi is tied specifically to Phase Two is not known.
• Phase Three is not described. It presumably continues agitation of conflict, but may involve direct—albeit discreet—involvement of the Decepticons (such as dealing with people who suspect outside influences, etc.).
• Phase Four is not described. The Decepticons have presumably dropped cover to some extent by this point, possibly attacking the most destabilized areas of the planet directly.
• Phase Five is not described, but it appears that the Decepticon presence is now known at this point.
  • A special modus operandi known as Siege Mode is typically initiated during Phase Five. Military protection of assets appears to be the goal of Siege Mode, implying that the Autobots or the natives are now making efforts to stop the Decepticons through straightforward military force; a massive above-ground fortress (variously known as the siege armature or siege mode armature) is typically installed on the planet and used as a base of operations. Secrecy is no longer a concern.
• Phase Six, by all accounts, is pretty much the end of the world. Phase Six involves the invasion of destabilized planets on the brink of collapse and the elimination of any possible resistance. Three of the world-shatteringly powerful "Warriors Elite" were designated Phase Sixers and specifically chosen for this task when the infiltration protocol was formulated: Sixshot, Black Shadow and Overlord, though it is not uncommon for Sixshot to begin operations at Phase Five. All, or at least the vast majority of Decepticons specialized in this phase have fail-safes installed in their systems, to prevent their firepower and tactical acumen from being used against Megatron himself.

There is a legendary Phase Seven that would commence once the war is complete—repopulation.^[1]

Fiction

2005 IDW continuity

During the early years of the war, on Caldoon 4, Overlord slaughtered a battalion of Autobots before making his way to a meeting which involved Megatron, Sixshot, and Black Shadow. It was here he was informed that Megatron had finalized his infiltration protocol and that the assembled Decepticons would be his "Phase Sixers"; three extremely powerful warriors who would visit planets on the verge of collapse and wipe out any possible resistance. While Black Shadow and Sixshot merely declared "For the Decepticons", Overlord was less pleased at the idea of simply being a weapon to point and shoot. When he asked what if he aspired for something more, Megatron informed him of two options; either do as he was told or refuse, in which case Megatron would hunt him down and rend him limb from limb.

Overlord was sobered by this ultimatum, but only momentarily. Overlord returned to the battle outside, and messily dispatched every Autobot save one. Overlord held Kup's limp form, shattered but alive, and told him to let Megatron know that he'd chosen option two. Overlord transformed and left the planet, remarking that he'd be waiting for his former leader when the time came to make good on his ultimatum. Last Stand of the Wreckers #2 What he didn't know was that Megatron had instructed Shockwave to infect him with an Achilles virus. He found out after leaving Caldoon 4, when he realized he had a "tactical blind spot" and couldn't figure out how to hurt Megatron like he could everyone else. Last Stand of the Wreckers #3

Pyro's team on Hydrus 5 successfully beat back the Decepticon infiltration unit, the Tremorcons, that was on the brink of going to either Phase 4 or 5 (Pyro wasn't sure which). The planet suffered climate disruptions due to the weaponry used in the war and the Hydrusian temple was left smoldering, but Pyro considered that to be expected collateral damage. Bullets

Three years after the Decepticons began infiltrating Earth, the security of the Decepticons' Phase One protocol was breached when the Machination agent Stoker infiltrated the Decepticons' bunker in Nebraska. The Decepticons—acting under Starscream's local command—risked further revealing themselves by entering siege mode for the purpose of erasing evidence Stoker collected. They killed Stoker, then tried to retrieve his SM-40 computer from Verity Carlo, who had stolen it. When they failed at that because of Autobot interference, they made do with destroying Stoker's mobile home, the business where Verity hid out, and the bus Stoker traveled on.

Starscream's entering siege mode so early in the infiltration process led Megatron himself to come to Earth to put the Decepticons back in line. When he arrived, he discovered Starscream had further broken protocol by moving their base of operations from Nebraska. Megatron reasserted his authority by thrashing Skywarp, Blitzwing, and Starscream. He then moved the Decepticons up to Phase Two. Infiltration

The Decepticons initiated Phase Two operations by trying to spark a war between the Eastern European countries of Latveria and Symkaria. The operation was thwarted by an alliance of the Avengers and Autobots. New Avengers/Transformers

Bluestreak was leading the Autobot counterforce on Varas Centralus when the Decepticons went to Phase Six. The Wreckers were brought in to cause as much damage to the Decepticons as possible, even though the planet itself was likely a lost cause. The Wreckers were abruptly redeployed to Cybertron to take care of a situation developing there.

Darkwing's unit on Nebulos appeared to be in either Phase One or Two when Thunderwing attacked the planet. Stormbringer #2 Darkwing considered letting Thunderwing do the work of devastating the world for them, but decided that Thunderwing might not leave much left over for the Decepticons to strip down. So his unit attacked. After failing miserably to stop Thunderwing, Darkwing and Dreadwind abandoned the planet. Stormbringer #3

Megatron sent Skywarp in search of fragile governments in Africa that could be toppled. Spotlight: Ramjet The Decepticons attempted to covertly start a war between Russia and Brasnya, one of their breakaway republics. The Autobots successfully contained hostilities. Meanwhile, the Decepticons replaced a likely candidate for President of the United States, Senator Alexander Holt, with a facsimile. Escalation

This defeat caused Megatron to abandon the phase structure, and he called in Phase Six specialist Sixshot. The rest of the Earth-based Decepticons thought he had lost it and plotted against him to restore regular protocols; they awakened Starscream. Sixshot caused mayhem by shooting down the Ark-19 Devastation #1 Devastation #2 and tracking down Earth-based Autobots. Optimus Prime and a group of his Autobots confronted him and engaged him in battle. Meanwhile, Senator Holt's facsimile replacement and a four-star general facsimile lost contact with the Decepticons when infiltration protocols were abandoned. Unaware of the disorder amongst the Decepticons, they decided to proceed on their own and continued with Alpha-Scenario as planned. Devastation #3 Optimus Prime ordered a general retreat to the Ark-32 via orbital jump—effectively abandoning Earth. Devastation #4

A year or so later, Megatron effectively ordered the complete abandonment of the infiltration protocols for the entire Decepticon army, calling for an all-out assault on all major Autobot outposts, including Earth. All Hail Megatron #1 Bullets Last Stand of the Wreckers #1

After the war was over, the Decepticon comedian Skullcruncher lampshaded in his routine that seemingly no one knew exactly what Phases Three to Five entailed. Some Of My Best Friends Are Autobots

Beast Wars: Uprising

The infiltration protocol was devised by Shockwave during his tenure as Decepticon leader. The only known usage of it was on the planet Nebulos in the 21st century, where the Decepticon agent Zarak managed to get the nations of Nebulos at one another's throats, up until humanity arrived, throwing everything into disarray. A Brush With Infamy–Prologue

Notes

• The name and functions of the phases can be connected to Simon Furman's naming of the story arcs, although post-Devastation his original plans were truncated/dropped due to IDW's switch to All Hail Megatron. Thus, Phase One would be "Infiltration", Phase Two "Escalation", Phase Three "Devastation" and Phase Four is almost certainly "Revelation". The story arc Revelation was cut back upon orders from IDW and included elements from what would have been Phase Five, "Expansion".

References