Transformers: Descent
Part 1-Defiance
Chapter 1-Law and Order
The Citadel was a relatively new addition to Iacon's governmental center. It was a tall tower that stood next to the Decagon, plated with stainless steel and chrome that would shine brilliantly in the midday sun, standing out of the regular gold alloy buildings that usually composed Iacon. It was the new seat of the reformed Senate, while the Decagon became the new headquarters of the Autobots-complete with the iconic red insignia that could be found in nearly every city that tolerated their presence.
Deep within the halls of the Decagon, inside the armory, Orion Pax was gearing for war. Not an ordinary war where ones' enemies were out in the open and in front of you-but a war against ideals and a way of life that had caused so many people pain and suffering. A war for personal independence and identity that de-evolved into a war on rampant crime that increased since the Uprising.
He placed his trusty energon axe into a hip compartment and folded his barrage cannon into his back compartment. He flexed his arms and legs, feeling the hyper coil shock absorbers in his limbs tense and relax with ease. Despite looking the same, he felt different, stronger even. The medics and technicians who rebuilt him after facing down Steelheart had done a miraculous job in making him more powerful without sacrificing his size.
Orion lost count of how many times he was nearly dismantled, but he could remember two notable instances-the first was when he stood up to the Senate, publicly spitting in their faces, and the second was fighting against Steelheart in the chaotic battle in the Badlands.
Both times he had been rebuilt by the powers that be to serve them once again-to protect the citizens of not just Iacon, but the entire world now. To fight a more endemic corruption –terror. Megatron may have let tragedy take him from his former path, but Orion would not make the same mistake. He couldn't afford to; not when so many looked up to him for protection, safety. He fought for the same cause Megatron had warped and abandoned, but he had changed. The events of the past two years had been rough on him, and his previous experiences in dealing with the hidden evils beneath Iacon's shining splendor made Orion a bit jaded. It felt as if something in his had dimmed.
Regardless, he was Orion Pax, an officer of the law-an Autobot. All that mattered to him was honoring the oath he took and upholding Cybertron's stability-and taking out anything or anyone that sought to undermine that.
When he was done prepping, he closed the weapons rack and looked at his reflection. Though he hadn't aged at all (a trait reserved for only the oldest of his species) it felt like he grew older. There was a darkness in his gaze that wasn't there when he was just a cop. His face looked harder, more defined. But his eyes were the same Matrix blue as the day he was forged. The eyes of a soldier.
Orion left the armory and marched toward the main hall. It was time to rollout.
XXXXXX
The Orbital Torus states were a group of city-states that were located around the equator. There were at least a dozen of them, but the most notable states that came to mind upon mention were Uraya, Polyhex and Altihex; major population centers with tons of history behind them. But there were also lesser known states that were known for their infamy. Cities that had a bad reputation shadowing them-like Nyon.
Orion led the Autobot strike team through the dank, dark streets of Nyon, a city that was so despondent that it made Kaon look like Iacon. The streets were oily and slippery from grime that built up over the centuries, the buildings looked like they were either about to fall apart or were on the verge of a major blackout, and the people who lived here looked depressed and sad. Some of them even looked like they were missing limbs and parts and only lumbered down the streets like zombies. Their eyes were dead, soulless, and they were devoid of life…devoid of hope.
It was a sight that was becoming increasingly familiar to Orion these days.
But sadly, he couldn't worry about them now. He was on a mission; an assault on a smuggling ring dealing weapons with the locals stolen from the Militia store. His ground team consisted of Hound, Prowl, Elita-1 and Ironhide. The smuggling operation was being run by a high profile target that had been giving authorizes a lot of grief for the past year, and Nyon was the perfect place to get lost in the crowd.
"Hound, sit rep." Orion said.
"We're zeroing in on our target, sir." Hound said. "I an almost smell him."
"Bout time! I was getting tired of all this camouflage and sneaking around." Ironhide grumbled.
"Primus, I knew Nyon was a bad place but…look at them. I've seen old recordings of Nyon and it was a shining city back then." Elita-1 said.
"That was then, this is now. This place went to the dogs after the Functionists started cleaning this place for Shanix during Nominus's early years." Hound said. "I heard that they've been purging certain types of bots with alt modes that they saw as useless and starved the people for their "heretical" actions. Since then, this place started declining and the senate thought it was useless to fix what they thought was already broken."
"This isn't right." She muttered.
"Locals here feel the government failed them, Elita-1. That we left all left them to rust." Prowl said apathetically. "Anyone could be an enemy."
"So the citizens we're supposed to protect are guilty until proven innocent?" She growled.
"If they're dissidents, there's only one way to deal with them- line 'em up and blow 'em to sweet smithereenes!" Ironhide laughed.
"Well, I certainly see you aren't one of the smarter bots on the force, Ironide." Elita-1 muttered. "The least you could do is act civilized, you brute."
They turned down a few more streets before pulling to a stop outside a building that was said to be where the smuggling was going down. Orion signaled his Autobots to transform and asked Hound about their quarry.
"This is it, sir!" Hound confirmed. "Transponder's signal is just inside."
Orion nodded and turned to his team, pulling out his barrage cannon. "Remember, out target is a known Decepticon arms dealer. He's been moving stolen munitions through Nyon's sleeper cells. Prowl, Elita-tactical positions. Cover all exits. Ironhide and Hound, you're with me." He cocked his gun and walked towards the door. "Let's bag him and cuff him."
XXXXXX
Swindle was first and foremost a mech of action. He was no warrior or ruler, and certainly no politician, but he was a businessman at heart and he put business before everything, and let the money do the talking. The various deals he had been running with the Decepticon cells across the planet for high grade weapons was probably the best deal he had in a long time. Those mindless grunts were making him millions by the week!
"Like I said, these are grade-A, state of the art phase charges!" Swindle waved an arm at the large crates full of guns and bombs. "Nothin' better than blowin' up the government with its own ordnance!"
The Nyonian buyer grunted at the weapons. "Look, we hate Prime and her flunkies just as much as you, but those prices, Swindle…"
"Revolutions aren't cheap, friend. But if you boys cause enough-"
The sales pictch was cut short when the wall exploded and Orion stormed into the room with Ironhide and Hound. The mere sight of the most famous mech in the northern hemisphere sent the criminals scattering in panic at the surprise raid.
"Aw slag. Autobots!" Swindle cried.
"Damn fool Decepticon! You led them right to us!" The Nyonian shouted and took up a phase charger. "You'll never take us alive, Autobot scum!"
Orion pointed his gun at the mech while calling Elita-1. "Do you have the shot, Elita?"
"Roget that, Pax."
"Take him out."
Swindle gave the least manliest scream as his client's head exploded from a bullet ripping is skull open like a tin can. That little display of gore sparked the fight between the Autobots and criminals. Ironhide and Elita-1 flooded in from the other exists, and she telekinetically blocked the exits with psi-shields.
"Give it up, Swindle!" Orion yelled. "There's no way out of here!"
"Wanna bet?" Swindle grinned. He sprinted from his cover and ran past Ironhide and Hound, transformed and jumping out the hole he made in the wall. He fell almost a story from the middle floor of the building, but his large tires took the brunt of his impact on the ground and sped down the street.
"Damn! Silverbolt, are you in position?" Orion asked, shooting down a gunman.
"I got him, sir." Silverbolt of the Aerialbots said from his position above Nyon's skyline. His radar quickly spotted Swindle driving like a mad man through the streets.
He swooped in low and fired his proton cannons at Swindle. The dealer swerved through the street, even driving on the sidewalk to escape Silverbolt's assault. It was effective, as Silverbolt was forced to cut off his attack to avoid hitting bystanders. Thinking fast, he fired a heat seeking missile at Swindle and cheered when he saw his projectile hit Swindle in the rear, knocking him out of his alt mode and sent him into a steel curb. Silverbolt reported his position to the team, who were already on ground and driving toward him.
Swindle looked up and saw Orion's team coming down the street. "That all you got Autobots?" swindle spat and took out two path blasters, shooting wildly in the Autobots general direction. "Bring it!"
Elita-1 changed forms and formed a tk barrier in front of the civilians to protect them from Swindle's wild blasts. "He's blind firing! Watch yourselves!"
"Protect the civilians!" Prowl yelled, taking cover behind a sign post.
"That's a joke!" Swindle grinned, focusing his shots on Elita-1 and Ironhide. "You and Prime are the ones crushing these people under your heels every day!"
Swindle's wild shooting forced the Autobots to stay their hand or risk getting taken out by a lucky shot from the insane mech. Fortunately, Swindle never noticed that Orion wasn't with his team. He didn't see Orion jumping off a rooftop above him and didn't even notice the mech until the Autobot landed on top of him. His weight crushed Swindle underfoot and smashed him into the concrete.
"It's you who'll be crushed, Decepticon!" Pax growled. He turned Swindle onto his back and got a wad of fluid spat in his face, which earned Swindle a quick punch to the nose. "You're under arrest, Swindle, and you're going to tell us everything about Megatron and his terror cells!"
"You'll never find us all…for all your firepower, you can't fight what we represent!" Swindle cackled, smiling through bloodied teeth. "A new age! A new way for all cybertronians!"
"An age of murder and anarchy!" Orion snarled and punched Swindle in the jaw. "Your friends can't hide from justice forever!"
The onlookers watched in horror as Orion pummeling Swindle into the ground, bloodying the mech's face with each blow, shattering one of his optic lens and chipping off a piece of his teeth. Pax was consumed in a mad haze, punching and punching, not giving Swindle any mercy. Energon clung to his fists with each punch and despite the pain he was suffering from, Swindle was still grinning up at him.
Once he was done, Orion glared down at Swindle's bloody face. "I hope I made my point."
"You don't see it. You're so hell bent no stopping the Decepticons…take a look around you-you and your system made us what we are. All these people, they're Decepticons now." Swindle said weakly, giving a weak little laugh. "Face it, Autobot-You're not just part of the problem…you are the problem."
Orion sneered and took out his barrage cannon, pressing the barrel against Swindle's square optics. Even then, Swindle continued taunting him. "Go head…prove me right!"
Orion fully intended to pull the trigger and shut him up for good. But just as his finger made to pull the trigger, he felt his entire arm seize up by an invisible force. He was puzzled when he lost control of his arm and looked up at Elita-1, who was marching towards him, looking angry as hell. Orion wasn't in the right mind to be cowed by her female fury.
"Elita, are you out of your-"
"You bear an unarmed captive right in front of these people!" she shouted in his face. "It's no wonder they hate us!"
"I used what necessary force to-"
"No, you lost control." Elita-1 cut him off, glaring up at him. She wrenched the gun from him and cuffed Swindle. "We'll talk about this later. Now transform so we can load him up."
Ironhide whistled at the exchange as Orion transformed and attached the containment trailer to his fender. "Girls' got him by the bearings."
"With everything that's been going on with him, I don't blame her." Hound remarked.
"Enough chatter. Let's head back to Sky Lynx." Prowl said.
The Autobots reverted to their vehicle modes and drove down the street, away from the growing agitated crowd, fully aware of the scathing looks sent their way. As they left, they were unaware of the bird-like creature watching them from atop a building. Once they were out of view, he flew off his perch in the opposite direction. Megatron was going to like this.
XXXXXX
Torenia was starting to regret becoming a senator. The dark blue and indigo femme with a hovercraft alt mode sat in the council chamber of the Citadel where a high security meeting was taking place. She sat in the front row with Xaaron, Halogen and Golbax as Zeta Prime gave her speech to the "new" senate. Yet another impassioned speech about weeding out the "disease" that kept them from truly healing Cybertron from Sentinel's corruption.
"Gentlemen, Cybertron is on the brink." Zeta Prime declared. Her form was a bright ivory mixed with indigo, the same colors as Nova Prime, making her stand out in the darkness of the chamber. Her upgraded body was supposed to make her into a living symbol amongst her peers, have them marvel at her majesty, but the senators, Torenia included, only felt uncomfortable being near her. "As if the energon crisis isn't enough, Megatron and his Decepticons have spread terror and dissent across six Torus States. It's unfortunate that my predecessor Sentinel was too weak and inefficient to properly handle this upstart rebellion, but rest assured, I will break Megatron and restore order to this world!"
"And yet your Autobots fail to find him!" Golbax said. "The local populace hides their terror cells!"
"Then we shall root them out." Zeta said, turning her gleaming gaze onto the senator. "Consorting with terrorists is against the law, the highest form of treason. We're sacrificing everything to preserve their freedom and ideals, and this is how they pay us? Those fools down there either help the Decepticons or hide in their homes hoping this will blow over. The people are either with us…or against us."
"You were chosen as Prime to serve the people of Cybertron-not oppress them! They're afraid of you, Zeta. Don't think I don't see what you're doing here, using intimidation to cow the people into supporting you." Halogen shook his head. "Honestly, such actions make you no better than Proteus. This isn't leadership, its dominance!"
Zeta looked at her like she was some protoforms who said something stupid and didn't realize it. Torenia hated that look in her eyes; the look that said everyone but her was wrong and didn't know how to do their jobs. She chuckled and shook her head.
"Come now, senator. The time for naiveté has passed. Thanks to the last council of fools, the common cybertronian despises you and your effete influence," Zeta pointed to the southern hemisphere of the planetary holo-display. "Especially here, Nyon. The Decepticons recruit freely from its population and they openly speak of rebellion and terrorism as if we won't do a damn thing to them. They thought they were safe in that useless slum of theirs. But they're wrong; at long last we have prepared a weapon that can eradicate this disease once and for all!"
The holo-display changed to show a long, spiky grey cannon that was almost as long as Zeta's arm. "The Vamparc Ribbon. Designed long ago by one of Cybertron's greatest minds, Jhiaxus, its primary drawback is that it requires a tremendous amount of power."
Xarron narrowed his eyes. "Where are we to find this power, then?"
"It lies within us, senator."
The doors slammed open and Starscream entered the chamber with a cocky smile on his face. "I'm sorry, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"
Zeta frowned at the Seeker commander/ liason. "Delegate Starscream. Still fond of your dramatic overtones, I see."
Starscream shrugged. "Not all of us have your natural commanding presence, great Prime. But please, don't let me interrupt."
"Watch your tone with me, delegate." Zeta said firmly. "While politics dictates that these senators tolerate your presence, I am under no such constraint."
Starscream grinned but said no more as he quickly took his seat, placing a blue audio device on the desk next to him. "I am here only to observe, Prime. In these dangerous times, information is of the highest equity."
"Agreed. That is why I've chosen the demonstrate the vamparc's effectiveness." Zeta pressed a button and the floor opened up to allow a platform to rise up, with a battered mech restrained to a chair sitting in place. "On our new Decepticon informant."
Starscream blinked at this unexpected surprise. "Swindle."
"Do you know this terrorist, Starscream?" zeta asked sharply.
Starscream remained calm under her piercing gaze and replied, "I am familiar with his…illegal dealings. But like all enemies of the state-he must be dealt with in kind."
XXXXXX
Orion's mood hadn't improved since returning to Iacon. Elita-1 was beyond angry with him, again, and he was still seething from Swindle's verbal jabs. He need to vent his frustration in a productive way, she the second best option was sparring in the gym. And that involved fighting Ultra Magnus.
Ultra Magnus was a veteran of the Quintesson wars, a member of the elite guard who
"Come on, Magnus-is that the best you've got?" Orion grunted, grappling with the larger mech. Orion had a few upgrades to his frame thanks to Zeta, but it was nothing too drastic to his appearance, just enough to increase his physical abilities. Granted, one needed to be really sturdy to take on a heavyset mech like Ultra Magnus.
"You're the ranking officer here, Pax. I don't want to hurt you." Ultra Magnus said, pushing against Orion.
"If I've learned anything from fighting Decepticons these past mega-cycles," Orion said, throwing a punch at Magnus's head before leaping back to avoid his grab. He grabbed his arm and threw Ultra Magnus into the ground. "It's that holding back will only get you killed."
"You asked for it, then!"
Ultra Magnus pushed himself up and rushed at Orion. Orion knew better than to try to outclass Ultra Magnus in terms of raw strength, instead choosing to avoid the punches sent at him and waited for the right moment to strike. When Ultra Magnus threw a right hook at his face, Orion grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing Magnus to his knees and subduing him.
"Go easy, Pax!" Ultra Magnus grunted, wincing from the force being put on his arm. Orion wasn't usually this aggressive during training. "Calm down! No need to be so forceful."
Orion realized he was using more force in his moves than was necessary and quickly let Ultra Magnus go. "Sorry."
Ultra Magnus stood up and looked at his comrade and friend. "What's going on with you? Your temper has been more off key than usual and it's setting everyone on edge."
"I don't know. I…" Orion gave a tired sigh and rubbed the back of his head. "Swindle's interrogation didn't give us any real leads. We're no closer to finding any of the Decepticon leadership than we were two years ago. No leads on Megatron, Nightshade, not even Soundwave. I feel like I'm failing, Magnus."
Ultra Magnus placed a large hand on Orion's shoulder. "This Decepticon business has been rough on everyone. Once we take down Megatron, this whole thing will blow over."
"Or we'll make a martyr of him. Nightshade and Soundwave are no slouches when it comes to leading revolutions." Orion said bitterly. Talking about Megatron still left a bad taste in his mouth. Two years of fighting since the Decepticons annexed the Badlands and the nearby territories and all they got was a bitter populous that hates the senate, the Prime and anyone working with them.
There was a time where Orion worked with Zeta to reform the social system and abolish functionism and the Grand Cybertronian Taxonomy, reshaping the senate into a council full of representatives from the various castes in the city-states; but overtime, as the Decepticons grew in power and became a real threat, Zeta's attention went from making the planet a better, more equal place to annihilating any form of dissent in her society, ranging from the Decepticons to practically anyone who took up arms against the government.
Yes, the senate was composed of less corrupted individuals, but they were paper tigers compared to the Prime herself. Zeta inducted herself into the position with Orion's support and help, using a fake matrix to cement herself as having the Affinity. She sought to use her power to make the planet a more decent place to live, but her attitude took a sharp decline. She worked hard to make Cybertron great again, to fix the damage the old senate and Sentinel had caused, but the Decepticons had caused too many problems for her to ignore and eventually the stress of it all started getting to her head. She became obsessed with wiping out the Decepticons, and above all, hanging Megatron by his t-cog.
Zeta developed a short temper, became prone to fits of anger, wild outbursts and tangled with Orion on too many occasions on her aggressive policies regarding aiding the Decepticons and rebelling against the senate. Sometimes, Orion thought that if he pushed her hard enough, she'd kill him on the spot. There was nothing left of that patriotic femme who gave him a chance to defeat Steelheart and Sentinel.
"All this fighting and all we're getting is the hatred of the entire populace. No praise but scorn. Not even a simple thank you." Orion walked to the doorway. "Ultra Magnus, haven't you seriously asked yourself…if we're even on the right side?"
XXXXXX
The vamparc ribbon was a wicked looking weapon that looked even more menacing in person. It was long and sharp, fitting over Zeta's hand as she grabbed hold of it. She walked over to the barely conscious Swindle, who was still awake thanks to the circuit boosters injected into his systems.
"Swindle of Mytharc, you've given us useless information on your fellow Decepticons," Zeta activated the weapon and smirked behind her face plate as she felt it hum to life. A crimson glow emanated from the visible power lines along the ribbon, bathing her face in an eerie blood red hue. "Now…are you prepared to serve the Autobot cause?"
Swindle spat at her. "I ain't got nothin' left to say to you."
"Ah, that time has passed!" She said gleefully. She glanced back at the uncomfortable senators. "As I explained, the vamparc units require a great deal of power. Luckily they draw that power from the nearest available source."
The vamparc ribbon fired multiple bolts of dark red energy from its barrel and hit Swindle. The scream he gave as lanced of energy tore at his body made even Starscream wince and look away. The soft blue of the chamber was overrun by the crimson light of the ribbon and Zeta's eyes showed nothing but sadistic glee at the torture of the Decepticon. Once she was done a minute later, Zeta held up the weapon for all to see.
"You see? The weapon is primed, but its energy is somewhat volatile." Zeta pointed it at the ceiling and fired a powerful beam that tore a large hole in the roof, sending sparks raining down on the chamber. She grinned at their shock and awe…and fear.
"Draining combatants in this way, in addition to the ribbon's devastating effect, creates a perfect circuit of death. Senators, this is the weapon of our time," zeta explained. "Unfortunately, the larger industrial units-like those we've recently outfitted on the Omega Sentinels-require far greater power."
"Omega Sentinels? When did you outfit them with the vamparc weapons?" Halogen asked, surprised that Zeta even had thought this far ahead with the project.
"And who gave you authorization to mass produce the weapons in the first place?" Torenia scowled. Zeta glared at her.
"I didn't think that I needed permission to defend the well being and safety of our way of life, Torenia." She spat.
"What concerns me is where will you find the energy for such cost-effective weapons." Xaaron said, realizing what this might entail after seeing Swindle's energy get used to fuel the small-scale ribbon.
Zeta hummed in thought, tapping her chin coyly. "I thought we might borrow it from our erstwhile citizens."
"Surely you must be joking." Halogen scowled. "We can't just kill thousands to fuel a bunch of fancy guns! If the people weren't on the verge of rebelling against us already, then they will be once they learn about this unholy abomination!"
"Ahem," Starscream raised his hand. "I'm also curious as to how you'll convince the populace to volunteer their precious energon."
"Volunteer? I fear you misunderstand me." Zeta glared darkly at Starscream. "I propose we simply reach out and take it-after we've burned their wretched dissident enclaves to the ground. if those fools are willing to join terrorists, then they all must die for their treason!"
"Even still, they're civilians!" Halogen argued.
"Anyone who raises arms against the senate is an enemy of the state and will be dealt with accordingly. I won't let two years of work be destroyed by some Galvatron knock-off and his merry band of revolutionaries."
"This is unthinkable." Torenia shook her head. This was insane-Zeta was going too far. "The people will turn on you the moment you enact such a plan!"
The smile Torenia knew Zeta was giving her sent shivers up her spinal unit. "Ah, but it has already begun, senator. The sector-wide siphoning began six months ago-right under the dissidents' noses. And the test area we chose…was Nyon."
XXXXXX
Orion spent his afternoon in the shooting range on the third floor of the Citadel. He was alone and had some time to himself as he continued shooting his neutron assault rifle at a holographic bust of Megatron's face. Even now, just thinking about him sent Orion's biopulse skyrocketing.
Next week would mark two years since that fateful day, the day that forever haunted his life. The day he was forced to kill Elmeth as an act of mercy and robbed Megatron of the only person he loved. Pax still had wavering nightmares about that day. Since then, everything had gone downhill. Now it felt like everything he did was just making things worse. The people were fed up with the senate, with the lingering Functionists, and the Decepticons were taking advantage of this to increase their numbers.
'Zeta's not helping things either. She's so damn set on hunting down any threats to her position that she's willing to set the planet aflame just to make sure no more weeds sprout. I'm sure she'd have no problem sending me into the damn fire as well.' Orion thought. 'What do I do?'
He took up a photon rifle and pulled the trigger. When he felt something keeping the trigger from moving, he sighed and placed the rifle down. "What is it, Elita?"
Elita-1 walked into the room and stood next to him, within reaching distance of the guns. Orion made sure to keep those away from her in case things get…testy. "So, we going to talk about what you did earlier?"
"Elita…" He groaned.
"No, don't. You assaulted a suspect in full view of the public in a city where being affiliated with the senate is a death sentence. You were lucky they were too scared to riot on us when you pulled a gun on him." She said.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want to know what's going on with you." Her expression softened and she placed a hand on his face. "Orion, you've been short tempered lately, and it has me worried. You're tense all the time and you barely sleep in your spare time. Just tell me what's eating you."
"What is there to say, Elita? I'm fed up with being led around in circles. We raid a Decepticon cell, another sprout up half way around the world. We apprehend a key figure and get frag all for our efforts. The public hates us for protecting them, while the Decepticons are praised as heroes for bombing unsuspecting public areas and Megatron is sitting back laughing at us with a glass of Fulcrum!"
He ran a hand down his face. "Don't even get me started with Zeta. She starts implementing curfews and random searches on bots she thinks are Decepticons because they look scary, and I'm the one to blame for our lack of support? She offers no neutral ground to the civilians and has the gall to treat me like slag, despite being the one who put her in that damn chamber of hers."
"Orion, Zeta's unstable. We all know that. She's obsessed with hunting down Megatron and it's made her a little…antsy. The only thing we can do is…"
"Grit our teeth and bare with it, I know." He said. "It just feels like everything I've done up to this point was for nothing. Functionism and the caste system still exist, we're on the verge of a large scale civil conflict, and now we're facing an energon crisis. Everything's falling apart and I don't know what to do."
Elita-1 frowned and gave him some half-hearted encouragement when Ultra Magnus stepped into the room. "Pax, Zeta Prime has ordered all strike teams to be on ready alert."
"Already? But it's hardly been a day!" Elita-1 complained.
"I know," Ultra Magnus said apologetically. "But Zeta wants all teams to be deployed once she's done with the meeting. We might be heading back to Nyon as well."
"I'm not surprised. I'm hearing she's planning on something big." Orion said. "And it might involve deploying the Omega Sentinels."
"Primus, you don't think she'll actually let them loose on a city without provocation, do you?" She asked.
"Let's hope that isn't the case, Elita." Orion said grimly. "Magnus gather the team and be ready to roll out on my order."
"Yes sir." Ultra Magnus nodded.
XXXXXX
The senate was in an uproar as they heard Zeta Prime's declaration. Many senators were enraged, among them Torenia and Halogen.
"This is an outrage!" Halogen roared. "A Prime's authority cannot be-"
"I'm doing what I must to fix the mess you let Sentinel and his faction cause after usurping Nominus." Zeta said coldly. "A mess the senate had a hand in, and we fixed two years ago, Halogen. I'm just sending the message that if the populace is willing to side with a bunch of anarchic tyrants against me, then I will meet their treachery with retribution."
"You're no better than Megatron!" Halogen spat. That garnered agreeing murmurs from the other senators, but they were quickly silenced by the angry gleam in Zeta's eyes.
Starscream leaned in towards Halogen. "Easy, Halogen. What is the loss of a few dissident sectors compared to defeating these vile Decepticons?" He smirked.
Zeta's large form marched over to the podium and leaned down until she was staring into Starscream's eyes. "I must admit my surprise, Starscream. I didn't think you'd have the stomach for such an operation like your sister."
"Please," He snorted. "I've done worse in the name of-" Starscream cut himself off before he could say anything stupid, but Zeta caught his slipup.
"What did you say?" She growled, her hand catching his wrist in a bone crushing grip.
"Ah, what I meant to say was, um…" Starscream knew he was in a bad position, and did the first thing he could think of…snitch. "Look there, a Decepticon spy!"
The Decepticon Soundwave transformed from his data player into his bipedal mode and ran for the doors as his location was compromised. The other senators immediately scattered to avoid him as Zeta tried to fire the vamparc ribbon, but all it did was shoot out a few sparks.
"It's overheated!" Zeta snarled. "Stop him, you fools! Seal all access points and contain him within the Citadel!"
Soundwave flipped over Starscream, planting a foot on the Seeker's face as he sprinted for the doors, paying no heed to the frightened senators. His freedom was ironically assisted by Orion Pax, who ran into the room upon hearing the commotion.
"Zeta, is there a situation in here? The alarm's been sounded and I-whoa!" Orion grunted as Soundwave pushed him aside as he ran into the hallway and fired two rockets from his shoulder cannon at the window.
He jumped out the shattered window and fell two stories before deploying Laserbeak from his chest. The avian mech took hold of Soundwave's wrist and slowed his descent the rest of the way, allowing his master to land safely on the ground before returning to his chest cavity. Soundwave sprinted out of the courtyard as the security forces assembled behind him. Zeta and Orion watched him run with displeased looks.
"If the secrets that Decepticon stole wind up in the public's hands…" Zeta scowled and looked at Orion. "Orion, you're my best officer. Gather your team and retrieve that data! Let nothing stand in your way!"
"I'll bring him back, sir," Orion promised, cock his gun. "Dead or alive."