Author's Notes: This is an idea that's been loafing around my plot bunny farm for quite some time. I wasn't entirely sure I was going to publish this one since it's kind of a high concept idea, but after letting it stew for months I decided I still like this story so I'm doing it. The basic idea of the story came from me realizing that TF Prime never really explored the concept of trines, and that if trines were a thing in this continuity it would mean Skyquake and Dreadwing had a brother. The rest of the story just kind of spiraled from there. This one probably won't be long, maybe 5 or 6 chapters. Anyway, thank you all for checking out "Richter Scale", and I hope you like it and review it :)
Chapter 1
The Pod
The ground bridge opened to a remote location in a forested area. The Autobots and their three young human allies surveyed the region in search of an Iaconian relic. The decoded information gave no information on whether the ancient artifact was an Autobot relic or a Decepticon WMD. Either way they just hoped the Decepticons didn't find whatever this was before they did.
The group started walking around the area, with Bulkhead taking smaller strides than the rest of the group. His injury during the previous relic hunt was flaring up again, and he was silently praying that whatever they found wasn't another packet of toxic energon. This time there was no volcano to dump it in.
"Hey guys," Smokescreen spoke up after several minutes of silent searching, "How will we know when we find this thing? We don't even know what we're looking for."
"We'll know it because it won't look like anything else around here," Arcee wryly retorted, "Unless the relic happens to be a pine tree or a rock."
While the Autobots trekked through the woods the kids did their best to keep up. Well, Jack and Raf did their best to keep up. Miko was easily distracted by the scenery and kept wandering off only to be pulled back to the group by Jack. Sometimes Jack felt more like Miko's babysitter than her peer.
Everything seemed calm for a few precious minutes as they walked behind the Autobots in search of the hidden treasure. After a few more minutes, however, Jack noticed that Miko was running off yet again.
"Miko, come back!" Jack ran after her, with Raf struggling to keep up with the older teens.
"Look Jack, it's a cave!" Miko exclaimed as she pointed to a small hole in the distance.
"Yeah, remember what happened last time we went into a cave?" Jack asked as he ran faster to catch up to the energetic girl.
"Oh come on, it's not like Megatron and Starscream are going to be in this one," Miko scoffed as she stopped in the middle of a clearing, "They couldn't be. It's too small. Let's check it out!"
"No way," Jack replied firmly, "We could get seriously hurt, and besides, we- Hey, Miko!"
Miko of course was no longer listening. Instead she had already taken off running toward the hole again. Jack groaned in frustration but went after her anyway. He figured he should be there to bail Miko out in case she got in trouble. Raf debated whether or not to go with the other two, but once he noticed the Autobots had moved on without them he quickly followed; not wanting to be left alone in the dark scary woods.
Miko squirmed through the hole and quickly found herself tumbling down to the dark moist ground below. She landed on her butt with a hard thud, but quickly recovered and got up, only to then be crushed under Jack's weight when he fell down after her. Raf fell last and landed on top of both of them.
"Oh no, is my laptop okay?" Raf asked as he quickly looked over his backpack and the computer inside.
"We're fine, thank you!" Miko barked irritably as she struggled to get up a second time.
"I think I have a flashlight in my pocket," Jack stated as he rooted around his jean pocket looking for said flashlight, "Oh, here it is."
Jack then turned on the light and waved it around to see how far they'd fallen. His heart sank when he realized it was probably fifteen feet straight up to get back to the entrance. Either they would have to count on the Autobots finding them or they would have to find another exit.
"Um, Jack? Could you shine the light over there?" Raf requested as he pointed to something reflective he'd seen for a split second.
Jack complied with the request, and gasped when he saw what Raf had found.
It was a large stasis pod! This was most likely the relic that the Iacon database was pointing them toward. The pod was at least as tall as Optimus Prime, and fairly wide. Whatever was in there was big.
"Cool! We found it!" Miko cheered, "Wait 'till Bulk sees this!"
"Who do you think is in there?" Raf asked apprehensively.
"No way to tell," Jack shrugged, "I guess we'll just have to wait for the others."
Miko, meanwhile, was already running up to check out the pod. She rubbed the exterior to know what the material felt like.
"Cool, it's still warm," Miko commented, "I bet whatever this is, it's-"
Before she could finish what she was saying they heard a beeping noise coming from the pod. Miko slapped herself in the forehead when she realized what she'd just done. She was an alien to this thing, so it considered her a threat. It was the data cylinder incident all over again.
"Oh, scrap! Is this thing gonna hurt us?" Miko asked in a rare moment of panic.
"I don't think so," Jack replied even as he and Raf backed against the rocky walls of the cave, "I think it's opening."
"Then we better hope whoever's in there is friendly," Raf whimpered as he hugged his laptop like a security blanket.
Miko ran up to join the boys in watching from afar as the pod hissed open. Condensation buildup had caused steam to form inside the container, and it billowed out like an ominous fog. When the smoke cleared, the kids could barely make out the form of a large winged mech.
"Um, doesn't that mech kind of look like...?" Raf asked without finishing his question.
"Dreadwing," Jack confirmed the unspoken suspicion, "That mech looks like Dreadwing and Skyquake."
"Is he a 'Con?" Miko asked apprehensively.
Jack shone his flashlight over the mech. He could make out that the mech was brown with some thin white piping and a cockpit with orange glass. His face was a light polished silver. Possibly platinum or a Cybertronian equivalent. The mech also had the exact build of Dreadwing and Skyquake, from his top-heavy chassis up to his horns. When Jack aimed the flashlight at the mech's left chest plate he could clearly see a silver Decepticon insignia.
"Scrap," Jack quietly cursed.
As if on cue, the mech's optics quickly onlined; bathing the area in red light.
"Aaahh!" Miko screamed before she could stop herself.
Her scream was enough to cause the mech to look down at them. The mech took a look at his surroundings, and then looked back down at the children. They scrambled for a place to go, but this wasn't so much a cave with tunnels as it was just a deep rocky hole with a Decepticon life pod inside. They were trapped with the enemy, and didn't even know if the Autobots knew they were missing yet.
"W-What are you?" The mech stammered; his voice deep but not as menacing as Jack thought it would be.
"We're humans," Jack reluctantly answered, "My name is Jack, and this is Miko and Rafael."
"Strange names," The mech commented, "My designation is Richter. Do you know why I am down here?"
"No, why are you down here?" Jack asked; afraid of what the answer might be.
"I don't know," Richter admitted, "That's why I asked. I was supposed to go on a picnic with my brothers. I was just there a moment ago. We were at the oil springs in Tyger Pax and Skyquake had made cobalt cake. Um, Jack, was it? Why am I here?"
The way the Decepticon asked that question sounded so small and lost. Jack knew now that this mech was not only a Decepticon, but also the brother of Skyquake and Dreadwing. If Dreadwing found out about this guy the two of them would surely join forces against the Autobots.
Richter gingerly stepped out of the pod, careful to not step on the kids, but then had to stop when some cables in the back of his helm snagged. He pulled them out, and then grabbed the device where the cables had come from.
"What is this thing?" Richter asked pensively, "It kind of looks familiar...Jack, Miko, Rafael? Do any of you know what this does?"
"Um, no sir," Raf replied politely, "Do you know?"
"No," Richter shook his helm in bewilderment, "I don't understand any of this. One breem I am eating cobalt cake with my trine, and the next moment I am in a dark hole with organic creatures and hooked up to a strange device in a life pod. Is this even Cybertron?"
"Uh, no!" Miko rudely replied in a no-duh voice, "This is earth. You don't even remember where you were supposed to be going?"
"But...why?" Richter asked pitifully; the small voice a stark contrast to his imposing appearance, "I am not a space explorer. I am merely a surgeon."
"You're a medic? Like Ratchet?" Jack asked curiously.
"I am a specialist," Richter corrected, "I study processor mapping and diseases that affect how the processor functions. I am very close to curing proto-processor calcification common among mine workers. I was just telling my colleagues about the wonders of the 0.04 point laser scalpel."
"Boring!" Miko heckled; making the others instantly nervous that she could be offending a dangerous 'Con, "I don't see what any of that has to do with you being down here."
"Neither do I," Richter replied, "Perhaps I was kidnapped by an extremist group. No, no, that's ridiculous. Hm...Maybe this is all a strange dream and none of you are real. No, I can clearly feel my stiff joints. Perhaps I hit my helm while treating an off-world patient. That seems plausible."
"Um, sir?" Raf spoke up while Richter was busy talking to himself, "Can you help us get out? My friends and I fell from up there, and we can't get back up to the surface. Please?"
"Well, I suppose I can dig us out," Richter replied agreeably.
Richter then walked over to start digging, but as he lifted his arm he stopped dead in his tracks to stare at the appendage as if he had never seen it before.
"What is this?" Richter asked in shock.
"What is what?" Jack asked in return.
"This arm! It's outfitted with a missile launcher!" Richter exclaimed as if the limb was offending him, "Holy pit, so is this one! What's going on? What's happened to me!? Is this some sort of cruel joke!?"
"Cuckoo," Miko muttered near Jack's ear as she twirled a finger around her head to indicate Richter was crazy.
"What's happening to me?" Richter asked more to himself than the teenagers, "I'm outfitted with weapons. A surgeon has no use for weapons. I have to get back to Cybertron and fix this."
"Um, sir?" Jack spoke up despite knowing this was probably a bad idea, "You can't go back to Cybertron. It was destroyed, probably while you were in stasis. The entire planet is dead. I'm sorry."
"Jack, why are you apologizing to him?" Miko whispered harshly.
"I know he's a 'Con, but it was still his home," Jack whispered back, "How would you feel if it was earth?"
Richter meanwhile had sat down below the hole he was supposed to dig his way out of for the group. He felt so lost and confused. He was hooked up to a life pod by his helm, he was on a strange world with tiny organic creatures, he was outfitted with weapons, Cybertron was gone, and he had no idea how any of this happened. Wait, if Cybertron was gone...
"Jack, what about my species?" Richter asked worriedly, "Is there anyone besides myself left alive?"
"Um, yeah, there is," Jack replied; not sure how to handle the situation but trying to make the best of it, "There are both Autobots and Decepticons left."
"Autobots? Decepticons? I don't understand. What are those?" Richter asked, and it was then that Jack realized what was happening.
"You don't remember the war, do you?" Jack stated rather than asked.
"War?" Richter asked, looking at Jack as if he were speaking in riddles, "There has been no war on Cybertron since the time of The Ancients. Sure, there has been talk of a few protests, but nothing serious. It's a great thing to dream about though. The council has failed us for many vorns, and the majority of Vos is getting sick of it. My frame type is ignored by the senate and reviled by the grounders. If it weren't for my trine brothers I don't know what I would do. Oh wait...they might...be dead. You say there was a war that destroyed Cybertron?"
"Yes sir," Jack replied; wondering how much to give away, "Megatron caused Cybertron's destruction. The Decepticons also want to destroy earth, this planet. The Autobots are trying to stop them and save our people. Richter, you could be a great help to the Autobots. I'm sure Ratchet wouldn't mind having another skilled medic around to help him."
"A war medic? That sounds extreme," Richter replied uncertainly, "Then again...I don't know. I still can't believe Megatron was the one that destroyed Cybertron. He seemed so passionate and trustworthy. He said he wanted to help our people..."
"Maybe at one time he did," Jack offered so as not to upset the seeker worse than he already was, "But then power corrupted him. By the end of the war he couldn't see the harm he was doing anymore, and he didn't care. Whatever Decepticons might've stood for before is gone, leaving behind only bitterness and death."
"Skyquake...Dreadwing..." Richter breathed the names as he tried to avoid crying in front of the aliens, "I have no place anymore. What do I do?"
"Join the Autobots," Raf repeated for Jack, "It's not too late for the Cybertronian species, and it's not too late for earth. You could help Optimus Prime make everything better."
"The Prime's name is Optimus now? Wow, I have been out of it for a while," Richter shook his helm in bewilderment, "Well, I suppose there's no harm in asking. No council and a state of emergency means maybe the Prime won't be selfish for a change. Okay then, I will try."
Richter then went back to digging until the hole was large enough for him to fit through. He scooped the children up in his servos and allowed them to exit first so they wouldn't be trapped longer than necessary. After the kids gave him a wide berth he crawled out of the hole himself.
Richter lowered his servo down to allow the kids to climb on, but Jack was the only one who accepted the invitation. He wanted to be sure the new mech felt trusted and welcome. If they could convert a former 'Con to Team Prime, even a processor-damaged one, then it would be a victory for the Autobots.
Richter and the kids looked out at the forest ahead and saw that right on cue the Autobots were walking toward them. The Autobots got close enough to see the Decepticon insignia on the mech and then noticed that he had Jack in his servo. Bumblebee, Arcee, and Smokescreen drew their weapons, but nobody fired.
"It's alright!" Jack shouted, "He's not going to hurt anyone. He wants to join the Autobots."
"Really?" Arcee asked, unconvinced, "And just who is this 'Con?"
"Con? No, I'm on the level," Richter replied; misunderstanding what she meant by that, "My name is Richter, and I hail from Vos."
"Richter!?" Bulkhead exclaimed, "Miko, Raf, get over here now! Quickly!"
The kids didn't understand the reaction, but they could hear the panic in Bulkhead's voice and see the fear in his optics. They didn't know what they had stumbled across but they ran back to the Autobots anyway. Jack looked up at Richter in confusion, and Richter looked back down at him looking equally confused.
"Bulkhead, what's wrong?" Jack asked, though not sure if he wanted to know the answer.
"That's the brain butcher!" Bulkhead shouted accusingly as he pointed to Richter, "That guy was Megatron's go-to guy for interrogation before Shockwave joined the 'Cons. He killed hundreds of mechs with his 'Richter scale'. In fact, only one mech ever escaped this monster alive...Wheeljack."
"What are you talking about?" Richter asked offendedly, "I've never so much as harmed a scraplet!"
"Yeah right, you think I don't remember?" Bulkhead growled dangerously, "Your device was the prototype to what would later become the cortical psychic patch. You would drain a victim of their memories, of their entire life, and then once you had what you wanted you would snuff their sparks! You sicken me."
Richter backed up with his mouth agape, looking genuinely hurt and confused. Jack didn't doubt Bulkhead's story, but he couldn't really say so. Not only was Richter an amnesiac, but he was also holding Jack several feet in the air and could crush the boy if he so chose. Though Jack suspected Richter wouldn't do that. He seemed too appalled by the idea of murder for that, which must have been ironic given Bulkhead's claim that this seeker was a mass murderer and a mad scientist. What had happened to this mech, and was he still as dangerous as Bulkhead claimed?