Original Sins

A Transformers: Armada Story

By William Rendfeld

Space; vast, empty, and a constant symbol of the unknown. No one person knew everything that was out there; to catalogue everything would take millennia, and remained a daunting task to even someone as long-lived as a Transformer.

But the Transformers didn't need to know everything that was out there. Hundreds of explorer vessels charted the galaxy on a daily basis, visiting worlds near and far from Cybertron seeking resources, trade, and knowledge from throughout the galaxy. They knew full well that this was a risky business, but one thing they knew full well was this; risk was their business.

Many went to serve. Most went to do a job. A few here and there went for adventure.

The trouble with adventure, however, is that more often than not, those who seek it get more than they bargained for.

"Begin recording primary log, Autobot vessel Axalon. Commanding officer, Rodimus."

The computer chime alerting him that the recording was underway, Rodimus groaned lightly and said, "Prime Log. It's been nearly a quarter solar-cycle since we've left Cybertron and in all that time, we've encountered nothing. At least, nothing of serious interest. Each system that we've visited for the purposes of close analysis has turned up dry; no Energon deposits, few lifeforms, nothing of major consequence. The Omnicons are getting restless; frankly, so am I. If we don't find something in the next system...I don't know. End log."

The computer chimed, and Rodimus fell back into his seat. "They said everything about adventure, excitement, the final frontier...they said nothing about the long periods of boredom." A chime sounding from his door, he answered, "Come in."

The doors slid open, and a small, feminine form with the Autobot symbol on her chest entered and said, "You sound like you're not having fun."

"You think?" Rodimus asked sarcastically. "Arcee, I never signed up for this to be bored out of my wits."

Arcee smirked, then leaned against a wall with her arms crossed and said, "Word of advice, Rodimus? Never start complaining about boredom. When you start complaining..." She snapped her fingers for emphasis, and said, "The universe just hits you, like that, right out of the blue."

With a smirk of his own, Rodimus replied, "You think it'll be fun?"

Arcee gave him a hard look and replied, "You wish," seconds before an alarm klaxon sounded.

"Rodimus, we've picked up something ahead," a voice said from the comm.-line. "You may want to get up here."

"See what I mean?" Arcee quickly asked.

With a boyish smile crossing his face, Rodimus quickly answered the line, "On my way, Tow-Line," then turned to Arcee and said, "Hey, at least it's something interesting."

"No offense, Tow-Line, but I think you're being a little paranoid about all this," a white and olive colored Transformer noted to his seated superior. "I mean, this could be anything."

"Downshift, a word of advice," a taller, green Transformer noted as he stepped up to the pair, "if one of your elders thinks there's reason to worry, you'd best listen to 'em."

"Bulkhead's right kid," Tow-Line tersely said. "If this is what I think it is, then we've got ourselves one big slagging problem."

Rodimus and Arcee then stepped onto the command deck, the former asking, "Someone care to tell me what's up?"

"We've picked up a faint energy signature on the long-range sensors," Tow-Line explained.

"Can you identify it?" Rodimus asked again as he stepped up to the console.

"About as easy as Optimus Prime," Tow-Line replied, bringing up an entry in the computer archives. "And the computer and I agree. It's them."

Arcee looked at the entry in surprise, then said, "The Quintessons? You're kidding."

"I wish I was," Tow-Line replied. "Unfortunately, it's them. The energy signature matches those of the ships they left behind on Cybertron after the Rebellion."

"How distant?" Rodimus asked.

"Less than a sub-parsec," Tow-Line replied. "What do you plan to do about it?"

"I say we get a confirmation," Rodimus said with a cocky grin.

"Rodimus," Bulkhead warned, "We're better off contacting Cybertron about this, calling in some support."

"I don't want the Wreckers rolling out after us just for a wild kremzeek chase," Rodimus explained. "I also don't want anyone back at Autobot Command frying my chassis over some false lead. We're getting confirmation for this thing first; if it's a bit of space junk, we collect it and analyze it. Otherwise, we call in the cavalry."

The four Autobots looked among themselves, unease on their faces, as Rodimus walked up to the helmsman and said, "Wing Saber, lock onto those coordinates and lay in a course."

"Just so you all know, I've got a bad feeling about this," Arcee noted as the ship shifted course.

"I want all our forces put on full alert," Ultra Magnus said to his gathered subordinates. "After what happened to Nebulos, I don't want to take any chances."

"Assuming that information correct, anyway," Grimlock said derisively. "Overcast not exactly have stellar track record, and me seriously think Skyfall missing a few bolts."

"For once, I agree with Grimlock," King Atlas added. "We have no reason to believe their claims."

Ultra Magnus turned to face Atlas and said, "You might just be right. Then again, you could be wrong. Optimus wouldn't take that risk, and neither will I." He turned to face another Autobot and said, "Checkpoint, I need your security unit prepped and ready regardless; Unicron or no, we've still got Megatron's forces here on Cybertron left to deal with."

"I won't promise miracles," Checkpoint replied, "but we'll keep our optics out. But are you expecting trouble?"

"Expecting it?" Magnus countered. "No, but that doesn't mean it won't come. Dismissed."

Checkpoint quietly departed, followed by Atlas with a foul expression on his face. Grimlock, however, remained, a glare fixed on his face. "Me still have misgivings," he explained.

"Grimlock, can we really risk it otherwise?" Magnus replied. "Nebulos is gone, simple as that. Can you think of any explanation for its destruction? One that accounts for all those eyewitness reports, and that flight record?"

"Flight records can be falsified," Grimlock reasoned. "And eyewitness testimony not always reliable."

"Do you honestly think Overcast or Skyfall would do something like this?" Magnus asked. "Overcast had charges of insubordination, not falsifying records. And that's a sin that all of us have been guilty of at one time or another."

"Me not saying we shouldn't be on guard," Grimlock replied, "but me not exactly quick to trust Overcast."

Worry growing on his face, Magnus noted, "For what it's worth, Grimlock, I almost hope he's wrong."

Within a secluded room on the Axalon, a slender Autobot femme sat with her legs crossed, her optics dimmed in meditation.

"Trying to destroy me?" a voice asked.

"If I could do that, I would have done it long ago," the femme answered.

"I'm hurt," the voice replied. "It's only thanks to me that you're still alive. Or don't you remember."

"I remember," the femme answered. "And that's why you can't get out. Not again."

"No cage can hold a beast forever," the voice taunted.

The femme sighed, and her optics came alive as she said solemnly, "I know." She turned and asked, "What do you think I should do, Nightwise?"

Standing atop her recharge unit was a small robotic owl, its large blue optics looking at her inquisitively. The owl turned its head to the right, blinked, then chirruped.

The Autobot sighed, and then said, "Like answers were going to come that easily." A second chime started up, and the femme answered her comm.-link.

"Talon, you in?" Downshift asked via comm.-link. "We're coming in on a target; Rodimus wants you on the command deck."

"On my way," Talon replied. She rose to her feet and said, "Come on, Nightwise, let's see what the big boss is up to."

With a chirrup, the robotic owl jumped into the air and landed on Talon's shoulder as she exited her quarters and went off, her own mind more than anxious about current events.

"We're coming up on the signal's origin point now," Wing Saber reported. He looked up from his console and noted, "And I'm starting to see why we aren't too fond of these guys."

"There's a lot of reasons why we aren't fond of the Quints, Wing Saber," Bulkhead was quick to note. "But this...this is definitely going on the list."

Hanging in space before their ship was a large planetoid, impossibly proportioned and shaped. Odd, wave-like projections branched out from the planet's egg-shaped emerald core, sticking out in space like incomplete rings. Impact points and blast marks dotted the planetoid's surface, giving the entire form a look that immediately made one think of a scorched and tarnished ball.

"Can you get sensor readings from that thing?" Rodimus asked.

Tow-Line's hands danced across his console, and he answered, "Minimal energy readings, and little if any sign of life. It's almost like the planet's dead."

"There's still an energy reading, though," Rodimus noted. "And I'd like to know just what caused all that damage myself."

"And go in there?" Tow-Line objected, concern in his voice.

"Aren't you at least a little interested in what's happened here?" Rodimus asked.

"Frankly, no," Tow-Line replied. "In fact, I'd be happy to go ahead and finish for whoever started this job. One spread of torpedoes and we can call this thing space junk like it deserves."

"I'd prefer we know what caused all that damage myself," Bulkhead quickly noted. Tow-Line turned to face him, and the elder Autobot explained, "If something can put that much of a dent into Quintessa, what do you think it could do to Cybertron?"

"Agreed," Rodimus said. "Wing Saber, plot a landing vector somewhere on the central core. Maybe we can find out what happened here."

"Just as long as whatever happened to them doesn't happen to us," Wing Saber noted as he began plotting the ship's course.

"When we land, we'll send out landing parties and start surveying the planet," Rodimus decided. "Arcee, you'd better get your team together."

"Sounds like I don't have much choice," Arcee noted as she stepped up to the lift.

"Just for the record Arcee?" Tow-Line said, catching the Omnicon's attention. "I've got a bad feeling about this too."

"So, what now?" Overcast asked of his traveling companion.

Skyfall turned away, and walked onto the balcony of the Tower of Pion, one of Iacon's landmarks. "I do not know. On Nebulos there was meant to be information, a clue to what I seek. It appears, however, that we arrived far too late to make use of it."

Overcast walked up to the smaller Autobot and asked, "You really think there was something there, Skyfall?"

"I am positive," Skyfall replied. "You know as well as I that I've long thought that I possessed a great destiny, a role yet to be followed in the grand scheme. I know that it is connected to Cybertron, to the battle which has yet to be fought between Primus and Unicron...but beyond that, I remain in the dark. And I have no idea where to go from here."

The two Autobots looked down towards the pavilions below, lost in their own thoughts, until an unfamiliar voice said to them, "I think I might be able to help you." They turned, and found themselves in the company of a Transformer roughly Skyfall's size, colored primarily red and white with a Decepticon emblem on his chest.

"Who are supposed to be?" Overcast asked warily.

"My name is Landquake," the Decepticon answered. "At one point, I worked in an Energon refinery at Kalis. I've since left, and been trying to see about some answers of my own."

"What do you mean?" Skyfall asked.

"Your reputation precedes you, Skyfall," Landquake answered. "Like you, I also suspect myself of having a great destiny awaiting me. Unlike you, however, I was content to search Cybertron for my answers. With my Energon-shaping abilities, I naturally started with this planet's own Energon reserves. In my search, I found something that could prove vitally important; liquid Energon."

"Liquid?" Overcast asked. "That's almost impossible; liquid Energon is the rarest form known."

"Yet I've found it, in a cavern deep beneath the surface of Cybertron," Landquake replied. "I believe we may have a connection to it."

"Can you lead us there?" Skyfall asked.

"Yes," Landquake answered. He turned towards one of the central lifts and said, "Follow me."

The two Autobots looked to one another, then did as they were asked and followed.

"After some heavy sensor scans, I've found the source of the transmission at a point within the planet itself," Tow-Line explained as he brought up sensor scans of Quintessa for viewing by the other Autobots. "Beyond this, there's minimal energy readings. The planet's all but dead."

"Sounds boring," a tall, green and brown Autobot noted with a smug look. "Where's the fun in poking around somewhere half-dead."

"I wouldn't get so smug, Cliffjumper," Bulkhead chided him. "You can't always judge something by its looks. The Quints had a lot of tricks up their sleeves back in the old days; for all we know, this might be one of 'em."

"Tricks or not, the Quintessons are probably one of the oldest threats Cybertron's had," Rodimus noted. "We've found their homeworld; I say we make certain that they're incapacitated, or at least that they won't be bothering us for a while." He shut off the scans and said, "We'll split into three groups; one will consist of myself, Downshift, Bulkhead and Talon. The second will be the Omnicons. We'll depart from the ship and start looking for some means to enter the planet's depths. Tow-Line, Wing Saber and Cliffjumper will remain here on the ship to coordinate the other teams and serve as backup, just in case."

"Assuming one of us actually finds something, what do we do then?" Downshift asked.

"Contact the ship," Rodimus replied. "Then the two groups gather wherever the 'something' is found and examine it." A soft thud went through the ship, and Rodimus said, "That's our cue, 'Bots. Everyone remember where we parked."

The group of Autobots broke up into their appointed groups, then made their way towards the lifts.

"Talon, wait a second," Rodimus said, walking up to her. "Listen, before we left, Scavenger..."

"It's alright, Rodimus," Talon assured him. "I'll be okay. I have to work through this myself. If she surfaces, I'll deal with it. Promise."

Rodimus looked at her critically, then said, "Alright...just be careful."

With a smirk, Talon asked, "Aren't I always?"

From the surface of Quintessa, a single form watched from the shadows as the Axalon slowly descended, its black and blue armor glistening in the twilight. Several more gathered around it.

The swarm was gathering, and a feast was about to begin.

"Me convinced Magnus making big mistake," Grimlock said firmly. "Shouldn't have all that faith."

"Grimlock, what I'm about to recommend is difficult," a thin, angular Autobot with red, silver and orange armor said, "but step back a moment. Look at things from Magnus's perspective; if you were faced with the possibility that the oldest threat Cybertron has ever known is real and approaching the planet, would you take it lightly?"

"No," Grimlock admitted, somewhat begrudgingly. "But how we know they not lying?"

"We don't," the Autobot replied. "But 'better to err on caution's side, than to find oneself with a sore hide.'"

Grimlock groaned, then said, "Skydive, me value input, but please, stop with poetry." A comm.-line caught his attention, and Grimlock answered, "Here; what going on Swoop?"

"I've caught sight of something you might want to know about," came the answer from his communicator. "Looks like Skyfall and Overcast have found themselves with interesting company; a Decepticon by the name of Landquake."

"Record on him?" Grimlock asked.

"He's an Energon specialist, no known connection to Megatron," Swoop answered. "Still, it looks kinda strange. Want me to keep an eye on him?"

"Yes," Grimlock replied. "Me get rest of squad, meet up with you just in case."

As the line cut off, Skydive sighed, then said, "I suppose there's no way to convince you that you may be exaggerating things?" With a look from Grimlock, he shook his head. "Oh well. I needed some exercise anyway."

"Not that I don't mind the exercise, but what are we doing out here?" asked a small Omnicon, trundling along in his jeep-based alternate mode behind Arcee as they and the other three Omnicons made their way on the barren wastes of Quintessa. "There's little if any Energon radiation, nothing to mine...we might as well be running around on Junk."

"We're out here because we were ordered out here, Strongarm," Arcee replied. "And pray that all we run into is junk; I'm in less of a mood to get into a fight than you are."

The group halted as the lead Omnicon transformed to robot mode and said, "Well forgive me for going against the grain, Chief, but I'm looking forward to a scrap. Anything to keep from going out of my mind with boredom."

A fourth Omnicon, similar in design to the third, chucked and transformed before replying, "I'd be careful what I say, Offshoot. Otherwise, you might find yourself in trouble."

"Everyone, please," Arcee said, transforming to robot mode alongside Strongarm. "Let's save our bickering for later, hm? We've got a job to do. Offshoot, keep guard. Strongarm and I will handle debris analysis; Signal Flare, I want you and Skyblast to keep your sensors up. If something comes, I want to know about it." She clicked on her radio and asked, "You got that, hothead?"

"Yeah, I hear you," came Skyblast's answer over the comm.-line. "If something comes at us, I'll let you know."

"Good," Arcee said with a smirk. "And no wandering off this time, hm?" She switched to another line and said, "Rodimus, we're in position here. How are things at your end?"

"We're making our way towards the source of the energy emissions," Rodimus replied as he drove along, flanked by Downshift with Talon and Bulkhead flying above. "Keep me posted if you find anything really interesting, okay?"

"Trust me, you'll be the first to know," Arcee said as the line closed.

"I don't see what the big deal is," Downshift asked. "I mean, the planet's all but dead, right? No chance of anything coming after us, is there?"

"You keep on forgetting, lad," Bulkhead piped up from above, "the Quintessons are a tricky bunch. They made us, didn't they?"

"Besides, they've also got that bad habit of being stubborn," Rodimus noted. "I wasn't there, but I've known plenty of 'Bots and 'Cons who were, and they had plenty of stories to tell about how dangerous the Quints were at their peak. They threw a lot of surprises at us back on Cybertron, I wouldn't expect anything less on their own home turf."

Worry beginning to grow in his voice, Downshift suggested, "Maybe we'll get lucky."

"Wouldn't count on it," Bulkhead replied.

Talon slowed to a halt as she said, "Whoa, guys, I've got something. A small energy signature not to far away, closing in."

The other three Autobots halted and transformed to robot mode, Talon doing likewise. "Specific direction?" Rodimus asked.

"Thataway, due east," Talon replied, pointing in the indicated direction.

The four Autobots kept attention as they heard a low chattering sound, slowly growing in volume as it approached. After a couple seconds, the sound stopped, and a form burst out of the ground.

"What is that supposed to be?" Downshift asked.

Before them stood a strange form that looked like a cross between a machine and an insect, four long pointed legs emerging from a long, thin body, one end with a visored head, the other with a long, somewhat threatening cannon. Its black and yellow armor glistened in the light, making it stand out all the more.

"I don't know what it is, but don't act hostile," Bulkhead advised.

"Easy for you to say," Talon admitted. "That thing looks creepier than a Terrorcon with overbite."

With a chattering noise, the unknown machine charged towards them with a jump, prompting the four to lock weapons and fire on instinct. The drone burst apart in a second, its fragments falling to the ground.

"Okay, I'm starting to see what you mean by the Quints being tricky," Downshift said.

"Assuming this thing was from the Quints," Rodimus noted. "No doubt there's more of them."

"Well, let's make sure they don't come too quickly," Talon said, stepping forward and withdrawing a small explosive from one of her wings. As the other three Autobots backed away in surprise, she shouted, "Fire in the hole!" and threw the explosive into the hole from which the mech had emerged. As it entered, the explosive went off, and a burst of adhesive collected around the hole like a spider's web, effectively blocking it like a scab.

"What the slag was that?" Downshift cried out in surprise.

"Glue bomb," Talon explained with a small grin. "Nothing to worry about."

Rodimus looked at her a little warily, then said, "We'll talk about that later." He walked over to the wreckage and picked up a large chunk, then tossed it to Downshift. "Well? What do you think?"

Downshift looked over the wreckage, then said, "It's definitely similar tech to the stuff we have; a bit more simplistic, though. Somewhere between us and the Omega Sentinels; not much in the way of a complex transformation, but I'm betting it'd have a similar range of movement to what we have in our bipedal forms."

"And considering the Quints' fondness for mass production, there's probably more of these things," Bulkhead noted.

"Intelligence?" Rodimus asked.

"Probably not much," Downshift noted. "I'll need to give it proper analysis on the Axalon."

"Then let's gather up the scraps and head back to the ship," Rodimus ordered. He activated a comm.-line and said, "Tow-Line, Arcee, my team's heading back to the barn. We've found an interesting bit of tech here and we're going to give it proper analysis. Keep on the lookout; there's probably more of these things scurrying around."

"Thanks for the hot tip, Rodimus," Tow-Line replied...

"Unfortunately, we've already met some of them!" Tow-Line finished as he feverishly punched in commands at his console as sirens blared all around him. "Wing Saber, get us airborne! Cliffjumper, I want autoguns online, stat!"

"Working as fast as I can, boss!" Wing Saber answered as he feverishly powered up the engines.

As Wing Saber and Tow-Line attempted to get the ship aloft, Cliffjumper took a seat at the weapons console, brought up the autogun controls, and said, "Okay you little buggers...come to daddy!"

As the Axalon began to slowly rise from the ground, small turrets moved into position, taking aim at the gathering swarms of drones below, a sea of red, blue and yellow robots. The guns opened fire, tearing into the drones like tinfoil. More still came, however, swarming around the ship despite the threat of the weapons raining down from above. Many even jumped onto the ship, tearing into the Axalon's outer hull and wearing it away with acidic bursts.

As they began their attack, however, many found themselves being blasted at by something other than the ships autoguns.

"Yah-hah!" Skyblast cried as he flew into the scene, bright red Energon weaponry forming at critical points on his frame. "I knew this'd be a fun day!"

As Skyblast continued to blast apart the gathering drones, the remaining Omnicons arrived on the scene, Arcee calling out, "Omnicons, hurt them!"

"Done and done!" Offshoot called, transforming to robot mode and leaping into action even as a massive Energon saw formed on his right arm.

The combat-enthused Omnicon was quickly joined by Arcee and Strongarm, the two transforming to robot mode even as Energon-based weapons formed around them. A massive bow formed on Arcee's arm as she charged an Energon arrow and lanced out, blasting apart a trio of drones. Strongarm, meanwhile, took hold of a massive Energon axe, smashing apart a set of gathering drones as they turned their attention towards the small squad of Energon miners.

As his fellow Omnicons continued against the rampaging drones, Signal Flare kept to vehicle mode, Energon-based enhancements forming on his cannon. He took aim and fired, blasting apart the drones stuck on the Axalon but not further damaging the ship itself. "Hang on up there; by the time we're done, these things'll be little more than scrap metal!"

"Arcee, this is Rodimus," a comm.-line quickly chimed to the Omnicon commander. "Please tell me you guys aren't in too far over your heads."

"We're holding them at bay for the time being, but we can't hold them off forever," Arcee replied, lancing off three more arrows before blasting a drone with one of her arm-mounted guns. "So feel free to drop in."

"Roger that," Rodimus said, leading his team in vehicle mode at full speed. "Bulkhead, you've got that combat pod; fly on ahead and give them what help you can. Talon, hold back."

"Rodimus, I can help," Talon pleaded.

"It's too much of a risk," Rodimus told her.

Talon gave a low moan in irritation, then said, "Alright. I'll stay back."

"Good," Rodimus replied. "Downshift, you're with me. Autobots, roll out!"

Boosters on Bulkhead's combat pod came alive, and the elder Transformer rocketed forward as Talon slowed and transformed, landing softly on the ground. She sighed as she watched the other Autobots depart, then said, "Probably better this way."

Suddenly, a low chattering sound caught her audio receptors, and her optics widened with worry. "Aw slag..."

As the gathering swarm of drones continued to converge on the Axalon, Bulkhead landed softly on the outskirts, transforming and combining with the engine pod mounted on his rear. Twin gun batteries dropped into position as two larger arms, each containing several smaller guns, moved in synch with his own arms. Without another word, he opened fire, blasting apart several drones and leaving them as little more than scrap.

Trailing behind the elderly Transformer, Rodimus asked Downshift, "You have Powerlinx capability, right?"

"Yes, but I don't think that'd really help," Downshift protested.

"It's not how much firepower you have," Rodimus corrected the younger officer, "it's how you use it. You ready?"

"Aye sir," Downshift said nervously.

With those words, the two transformed, first to robot mode, then to a secondary form before combining, Rodimus forming the upper part of the combined form, Downshift the lower. Taking hold of both their weapons, the combined form opened fire, blasting away at the gathered drones.

"No offense to your strategy lad, but I don't think this is helping much," Bulkhead quickly noted. "These things just keep coming."

"Well, I'm open to suggestions," Rodimus said, blasting away at a drone as it emerged from hiding.

As the other Autobots continued battling the drones, Talon looked about uneasily, her gun held firmly if worriedly in her left hand, a glue bomb in her right, her sensors strained. Despite her best efforts, her fluid pumps were beating faster and faster, only accenting her own worry.

Directly behind her, something burst from the wreckage; she turned, saw the drone, and opened fire, blasting it apart then tossing her glue bomb to prevent more from coming. More did come, squirming through the small spaces left in the lattice-like burst from the bomb but not getting through. They'd been stopped, for the time being.

But they weren't the only ones.

Additional drones burst through the ground, catching her attention as she opened fire again and again, not able to use her bombs against them due to their increasing numbers.

"I can handle this," she said to herself, "I can hold them back, I can stop them, I can...yaahh!"

Three drones jumped her at once, covering her beneath their black limbs. She couldn't help but panic...she wanted to run, wanted to retreat, wanted to fight back, but couldn't.

At that moment, Talon left...and another took over.

Two of the drones were grabbed, then ripped apart, the third finding itself torn in half. As Talon's body rose to its feet, its colors shifted from silver and lavender to midnight blue and bronze, the Autobot emblem on her wing fading almost to the point of nonexistence, and her optics taking on an eerie, cold purple glow.

In a cold, distant voice, she said, "Well, what have we here?" before withdrawing twin blades from her wings and charging into the fray.

"I don't get it," Cliffjumper said, the autoguns still firing on the gathering swarm of drones but miraculously avoiding the Autobots or Omnicons below. "These things just came out of nowhere, and they're still coming. How?"

"Something's attracting them," Tow-Line realized. "But it'd take something big, with an energy field that can be detected for kils...aw slag! Wing Saber, start engine cutoff, now!"

"What?" Wing Saber asked. "You know what you're saying?"

"These things are being attracted to us by our energy output," Tow-Line explained. "If I don't shut down main and auxiliary power now, these things'll just keep coming until we're all overwhelmed. You want that?"

"Now that you mention it, no," Wing Saber replied, his fingers dancing over the console. "I'm shutting down engines, switching to thrusters; there should be just enough power for them to get us down without serious damage."

"Good," Tow-Line replied. "Deactivating main power now. And if we land on something, Primus help us if it's got a spark."

As Rodimus, Bulkhead and the Omnicons continued their efforts, they noticed as the Axalon's engines shifted down and the ship began to drop, small bursts of thruster fire slowing its descent and keeping it from smashing to the ground upon impact.

"What the slag are they doing?" Skyblast asked as he shot above the ship, blasting a group of drones in the process.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure Tow-Line's got a good reason for it," Arcee replied.

"And it's working," Signal Flare reported. "The drones aren't coming anymore."

"Then let's get the rest cleaned up!" Offshoot cried.

"Downshift, stay with Bulkhead and help the Omnicons," Rodimus ordered, disconnecting from the younger Autobot as he did so. "I'll meet up with Talon, get her back here before anything else happens."

"Should you go alone?" Downshift asked.

"Probably not," Rodimus replied, "but I don't think I have much choice." He transformed to vehicle mode and sped off, leaving Downshift alone with Bulkhead and the decreasing number of drones.

"Talon, do you read me?" Rodimus asked via comm.-line. "Talon, come-!"

Rodimus was interrupted as the twitching remnants of a drone crashed in front of him, prompting him to transform and flip over the wreckage. He looked up and watched the display before him, and silently said, "Aw frag."

Above him, what was Talon was flying high in the air, twin blades lancing from her body on chains biting deep into a pair of drones as she tossed them about like morning stars, smashing into other drones and tearing them apart in the bargain. She landed, and looked towards Rodimus with a cold glint in her optics.

Rodimus cast a glimpse over the numerous fallen drones and asked, "A bit excessive, isn't it Darkwing?"

"Got the job done," the Transformer replied coldly.

"So it did," Rodimus replied. "Now let her go. Go back wherever you came from; she doesn't need you now."

The Transformer looked at him coldly, then said, "Since you asked so nicely." Her optics fading, she collapsed to the ground, Rodimus rushing forward to take gentle hold of her as her body shifted back to its normal color scheme. As her Autobot emblem returned to normal, her optics restored themselves, back to a normal blue, and Talon groaned, "She got out, didn't she?"

"Yeah," Rodimus replied. "I'm sorry."

Her face growing downcast, she said, "Don't be."

"You sure you know where you're going?" Overcast asked, looking about uneasily as he and Skyfall were led down a massive tunnel.

"Certainly," Landquake assured them. "I knew I'd be coming down this way again, so I left some UV markers."

Overcast reset his optics, and took note of a small arrowhead marker on one of the sidewalls. "Convenient."

"I thought as much," Landquake replied. "Besides, if I didn't, I'd forget about it. One of the weaknesses of an overactive imagination."

"Or a curious mind," Skyfall noted. "I wonder Landquake; so much ties us together. Do you suppose there are others out there, who share our traits and abilities?"

"One would hope," Landquake said. "And with any luck, we'll manage to see them before the end." Taking note of a UV marker, he pointed and said, "This way."

"So what they saying?"

Swoop cringed and reached for his audio receptors, then slipped off the amplifier around his head. "Sludge, what did I tell you about speaking loudly while I'm listening in?"

"Sorry," Sludge said with a downcast expression.

"Me like to hear answer to that question," Grimlock said in a tone that implied a demand rather than a request.

"Landquake explained that he set up some UV markers to help him remember where to go, that's all," Swoop explained. "All we need to do is reset our optics, and we can see where they're going."

A large, gray-colored Dinobot grunted and said, "Wish we'd known that sooner."

"We know now," Grimlock said firmly. "Dinobots, reset optics. Snarl, Skydive, with me; we take point. Triceratron, Sludge, cover rear. Swoop, keep sensors ready. Slapper, stick with Swoop."

As the seven Dinobots continued on their way, Slapper turned to Swoop and asked in a whisper, "Why are we going after these guys? I mean, they haven't done anything, have they?"

"We don't know," Swoop explained. "But Grimlock's got reason to be suspicious, and I'm disinclined towards arguing with him. Trust me, you'd have an easier time gouging out your self portrait on an Energon coin."

"You two mind cutting the gossip and moving along?" Triceratron gruffly asked. "We've got a job to do."

The two small Dinobots silenced themselves, and the group continued on, Grimlock leading them down the tunnel towards their unknown objective.

A handheld palm light in his hand, Rodimus asked, "Damage report?"

Tow-Line sighed, barely visible in the dim emergency lights of the Axalon's command center. "The good news is we suffered little damage from the impact, between Wing Saber's thruster-firing and all. Bad news is we got pretty well dinged up from the attack. We'll be stuck here for a few more megacycles at least. But once we're done, I recommend we get off this misshapen rock and don't come back."

"I might take you up on that," Rodimus assured him. "Need any help?"

"You kidding?" Tow-Line asked. "We're set so far as manpower is concerned; the Omnicons are handling repairs pretty darn well. I'm more worried about what'll happen once we're done; soon as we start up main power again, we'll be right back in the middle of the swarm."

"I was thinking about that," Rodimus replied. "I asked Downshift to take a look at some of the wreckage from those drones. Maybe we'll get lucky and he'll find some information on them."

"Well, forgive me for not putting too much faith in luck," Tow-Line noted, going back to his diagnostics.

Rodimus exited the command deck, and found Talon waiting for him. "Thanks," she said, "for coming after me...and getting her to back off."

"Scavenger asked me to look after you," Rodimus replied. "Don't want to disappoint him. You and I both know that glare of his can stop a chronometer...tear it apart, too." Talon chuckled, and he said, "That's better. So...you mind filling me in?"

"He didn't tell you?" Talon asked.

"Not everything," Rodimus replied. "And if you're willing...I'd like to hear it from you."

Talon took on a downcast look, then said, "When I was younger, I had a sister, Steelclaw. She and I lived together in one of the Border territories for a while...before Megatron came calling. Some of his troops came, and gave us an offer; join them, or die. I fought back; Steelclaw paid for it with her life. I tried to pay them back, avenge her...but I failed. Scavenger found me not long afterwards, took me in. Even with him, though, something happened back there...something took root, something dark and twisted."

"Darkwing," Rodimus reasoned.

"Yeah," Talon replied. "She comes out whenever I'm stressed, or terrified, or angry. It's like I slip into some deep, dark hole...and once I climb out, she's been there, and torn everything apart. I'm always afraid she'll come out and hurt someone...and there'll be nothing I can do."

"Doesn't sound like there's much to do," Rodimus replied. "But you're carrying on. Scavenger would be proud."

Talon gave a small smile, then said, "Thanks."

"Anytime, kid," Rodimus said gently before moving on down the hall towards his destination.

As he left, Talon watched, turning away silently with a light grin on her face. For the first time all day, she'd felt...contented. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

Downshift silently went over his scans as Rodimus entered. "Perfect timing; I've got good news."

"You've found something?" Rodimus asked.

"Yep," Downshift replied. "A whole mess of something. These 'Scrapmetals', like we thought, are little more than drones; limited intelligence, just barely enough AI to allow them to perform simple tasks and find targets, with a direct link to a central core to aid in coordinated strikes. Their sensors can find anything with a high enough energy signature, which explains why they went after the ship and not all of us individually."

"So they aren't that smart," Rodimus reasoned. "Anyone send them orders to attack us?"

"Nothing so specific," Downshift replied. "Based on their recorded data, they given something more like a general defense order; attack anything with a high enough energy reading and anything that's in its general vicinity. That was programmed into them a long ways ago, but it looks like there's an override system in place."

"Meaning?" Rodimus asked.

"That someone could access their signal and give them new orders on the spot," Downshift explained. "It has a limited range, however; whoever would do it would need to be nearby, like on the same planet or in orbit."

"So you think you can find this central core?" Rodimus asked.

"Already did," Downshift said, turning on a nearby display screen. "It's that same energy signature that led us here in the first place, based at a tower a couple kils away. I think two or three of us moving fast enough can get there and shut these things down permanently."

With a grin growing on his face, Rodimus said, "Then I say we roll out."

In order to understand a person's logic, one must understand their motivations. Know the person, know their motivations, know how to work with them, to guide them, to point them one way or another.

Rapid Run was an Autobot sympathizer, a clear spy. He had more than enough reason to see Megatron lose power.

Oil Slick was in business before siding with Megatron. Get Megatron out of power, and he'd have proper chance of succeeding in business again, perhaps regaining his older fortunes.

Sixshot supported his brother; where Shockblast went, he would go himself.

As for Shockblast himself, logic was his motivation. Megatron had promised a stronger Cybertron; he hadn't delivered. Megatron had promised the highest levels of achievement for his allies; they were outcasts. It was illogical to follow someone who didn't deliver on his word, especially if doing otherwise would guarantee safety for himself and those who went with him.

He had believed that others would follow their example; that they would stand beside him and those who stood with him. So far, however, his belief had gone unrewarded.

"Shockblast?"

His optic came alive, and he turned to his brother. "Yes, Sixshot."

"Look, I know things don't look so good right now," Sixshot said quietly. "But they'll come around."

"Fear is a strong motivator, brother," Shockblast noted. "Fear of destruction can motivate someone to change their views, their actions. But fear of change can prevent them from doing the same. We don't know what change will entail, and thus refuse to embrace it; the only time we accept it is when it strikes down upon us like a laser burst."

"But change can happen," Sixshot insisted.

"I believe we've done all that we can, brother," Shockblast said, rising to his feet. "We must leave it to them."

"We can still hope," Sixshot said.

Shockblast looked to him, and said, "Hope is illogical, brother."

Silence held them both for a few short seconds before a voice said, "That's a terrible thing, hope; it is quite illogical, no question. But it's the one thing that cannot be killed; it motivates armies, ordinary people, all sorts. Hope can make heroes out of monsters, saviors out of sinners, unite worlds under its banner, and give one strength when they have nothing else left. No wonder the humans value it so much."

Shockblast and Sixshot turned in surprise to find the familiar visage of Barricade standing before them, flanked by the other four members of his unit.

"Barricade," Shockblast stated, a hint of surprise in his voice.

A pale yellow Decepticon stepped up and said, "The end is coming, fair enough. But I'm willing to try and make my own fate."

A second Decepticon of similar make, but green in color, stood defiant and proud. "Megatron, schmegatron, I say bring it on."

A purple colored Decepticon casually brushed at the air and said, "As much as it would pain me to trouble with it, I think this is something worth taking part in."

The last of the five, similar in build to the purple-colored one but colored in orange, looked about uneasily before Barricade said to him encouragingly, "Go ahead."

With uneasiness, he stepped up and said, "I'm in too."

"Blight, Kickback, Blackout, Stormcloud, Barricade," Shockblast said, looking from one to another, "thank you."

Watching from a corner, Shadow Stalker gazed at the gathering uneasily, wondering just what she herself was to do in the end.

"Any sign of them?" Rodimus asked as he sped along, Downshift racing beside him and Bulkhead flying overhead.

"Nothing yet," Bulkhead replied. "Not a bad job so far, lad."

"Don't congratulate me until we make it through," Downshift replied. "I just hope I'm right and we aren't attracting too much attention."

As the three Autobots raced towards a tall tower in the distance, an ominous, darkly-colored figure stood watching, his light blue optics watching them proceed. He turned his attention towards the Axalon, and gave out a massive roar that reverberated throughout the night.

"Rodimus, Downshift and Bulkhead are closing in on the tower," Tow-Line reported. "Let's hope they make it back in one piece."

"At least they have a repaired ship to make it back to," Arcee replied via comm.-line. "We're almost finished replacing the damaged bits of hull. A couple more cycles, and we'll be done."

"That is good news," Tow-Line replied. "Get done when you can, Arcee."

"Not a problem," Arcee said with a smile, seconds before a second chime started up.

"Guys, we've got a problem," Wing Saber reported from a second line. "More of those drones are coming."

"After Rodimus?" Tow-Line asked.

"No, us!" Wing Saber called. "I'm heading after them!"

"Wing Saber, hold-!" Tow-Line ordered before the line was cut off. "Arcee, finish repairs and keep the ship safe; looks like we've got a few more unexpected guests."

All around the Axalon, drones gathered, closing in on the downed vessel in rising numbers. As they approached, however, several were blasted apart from above.

Swooping through the air, Wing Saber continued to lay down fire, blasting apart multiple drones with relative ease. He didn't know why so many were coming, only that they were there and they'd probably attack again. That was good enough for him.

As Wing Saber continued his attack run, a blast of energy slammed into him from one side, knocking him off-balance before he transformed to robot mode and stabilized himself. "Where did that come from?" he asked rhetorically.

A massive, animalistic roar answered him, and Wing Saber barely dodged before a massive, darkly-colored aircraft darted past him, then swooped around and opened fire again. Wing Saber dodged again, barely missing the attacker as it darted past.

"Well, this just became a lot more problematic," he dryly noted.

As the attacker swooped around for another strike, it was blasted from the side as Skyblast zoomed in, his cannon lancing off additional bursts as he charged forward.

"Best leave this guy to me, Saber," Skyblast called. "I think you're a little better off with these drones."

"Just make sure this guy doesn't scrap you," Wing Saber retorted before he transformed back to vehicle mode and continued his efforts.

As they arrived at the tower, Rodimus's team transformed and looked up upon the corkscrew-like structure with neutral expressions on their faces.

"Well, I'll say this for them, they have an interesting design aesthetic," Downshift noted.

"We'll comment on the architecture later," Rodimus noted as he took aim and blasted down the door. "Let's get moving, 'bots."

The trio entered the tower, finding it dark and barren. They switched on their lights, and looked about carefully.

"I don't think anyone's home," Downshift suggested.

Noticing a body on the ground, Bulkhead walked up to it and nudged it over with his foot. "Someone was," he said, examining the body before him.

Laying at his feet was a burnt-out husk, charred and barely recognizable. Several tendrils, partially decayed, were strewn around it, and each of the five faces on the egg-shaped body was terribly damaged.

"A Quintesson," Rodimus realized. "So they're all dead. What killed them?"

"Not those drones," Bulkhead said, examining the body. "This thing's covered in high-intensity blast marks. They might have had cannons, but they didn't seem smart enough to use them."

"So someone else did this," Downshift realized. "But who?"

Much to their surprise, a door at the far corner of the room opened.

"Maybe we'll find out," Rodimus said.

"Come on, this all you got?" Cliffjumper asked with a cocky voice, firing his pistols and his shoulder cannons at the approaching masses of drones, blasting several of them apart in one go.

Tow-Line quickly took up a similar position in another area, Powerlinking with his secondary platform and opening fire with his own weapon, blasting the oncoming Scrapmetals to pieces in the bargain. "Hold them off, 'bots! If you go down, make sure you take a bunch of these things with you!"

Soft lights began to come online as Rodimus entered the chamber, Downshift and Bulkhead following him nervously.

"Visitors at last!" came a joyous cry.

"How lonesome we've been," said a saddened voice.

"Miserable and wretched!" yelled an angered growl.

"There is much that needs to be done," stated a calm voice.

All around them, lights came online, and a single being ascended from the floor. Two limbs, splitting into two smaller limbs, emerged from a central body that resembled a massive eel. Within a massive mouth rested a head, a calm blue face facing them.

"What are you?" Rodimus asked.

"I am the Alpha Quintesson, the first...and the last," the being answered. "And you are products of Factory One."

"Cybertron," Bulkhead corrected him. "And unless you want another reminder, I suggest you shut down those drones, now."

The head shifted to a different face, a red and orange one with fangs, and viciously declared, "Those drones are not the issue! You have much graver concerns!"

"Those drones are the immediate problem," Rodimus insisted. "We can't leave this planet with them online; the instant our ship powers up, they'll overrun us."

The Alpha Quintesson's face shifted again to a giddy-looking grey and green one, which said, "Yes, such marvelous creations! We took such joy in making them, such pleasure out of the knowledge that they would allow us to strike back against you all!" Its face shifted to a different one, gloomy in silver and gold, and said, "But then it all fell apart. History repeated itself, and we were damned by our own hand."

"Wait...what do you mean?" Rodimus asked.

Its face shifted again to the calm blue one, and it explained, "Long ago, you expelled us from Factory One. We vowed to strike back, retake what was ours. We paid smaller groups to attack your world, but you repulsed them. We encouraged attacks upon you, but you defended yourselves. At last, we decided to defeat you at your own game, and created these."

A set of screens came to life, flashing information on a set of robot designs. One Downshift recognized as the Scrapmetals; the others were unfamiliar, but shared a similar aesthetic and seemed frighteningly alien.

"Advanced war machines, equipped with artificial intelligence," the Alpha-Quintesson explained. "They were to be our vengeance against you for your defiance. Reconnaissance drones capable of interfacing with the command unit, optimized for stealth. Foot soldiers, meant to swarm the enemy and attack anything they found. Combat fliers, built to deal with multiple combat modes. And command units, made as the best strategists of any generation. With their battle moon, they were to be unstoppable. We made them well. We made them too well."

"They struck against you," Downshift realized. "Those drones out there are the only ones left, meant to eliminate the remaining Quintessons and hold you in check."

"The irony being that my connection to this world is what keeps them active," the Alpha Quintesson explained. "I am tethered to my world, keeping it operating and coordinating its activities, as well as the activities of everything on this planet. So long as I live, they will remain active. In order to deactivate them, to escape this dead world...you must kill its last occupant. Me."

All around the Axalon, the Autobots and Omnicons laid down a line of fire against their opponents, blasting apart drones left and right. In the air above them, however, Skyblast and Wing Saber found themselves trying to avoid fire from their anonymous, animalistic attacker.

"What the slag is this thing?" Wing Saber asked.

"No idea, but he's gonna be slag in a minute!" Skyblast declared, lancing off another burst of fire to emphasize his point.

The blast connected, and the animalistic form turned and directed his attention toward the flying Omnicon, firing off bursts of his own. Before any of them could hit, however, a blast issued forth, and the large animalistic aircraft found itself wrapped in wire and magnets, explosives tipped on the magnets going off seconds after contact was made.

As Skyblast and Wing Saber transformed to robot mode in surprise, they looked down towards the Axalon to find Talon standing atop its roof, a large cannon over one shoulder.

"We could've taken him!" Skyblast insisted.

"I'm sure," Talon replied with a smirk. Her optics growing wide, she realized, "Aw scrap, you might want to back that up!"

The two aerial Autobots looked in surprise as the animalistic jet regained altitude with a growl, and rammed into the two, causing them to plummet to the ground. The jet then shifted position, pointing its guns directly at Talon.

"Here we go again," she said, grabbing her machine gun and opening fire as she jumped into the air and took flight.

"Wait, kill you?" Downshift asked in shock.

"Doesn't sound like we have much choice," Bulkhead noted, arming his missile launchers.

"But this isn't much better than murder," Downshift insisted.

"We created your race for the purpose of slavery, destroyed hundreds of you in the older days," the Alpha Quintesson stated. "You have every reason to see us destroyed."

"For all we know, you weren't there," Downshift insisted. "And I'm not fond of the idea of being party to trial by association, even to a Quintesson."

Rodimus looked first at Downshift, then towards the Alpha Quintesson and asked, "Were you there?"

The Quintesson remained silent for a few short seconds, then closed the maw surrounding its face and said in a quiet voice, "Yes. I have always been here, connected to this world yet cut off from it. I coordinated the attacks, decided upon general policy. I was party to the decimation of your uprising, and indirectly responsible for that of my own kind. I am guilty, and alone."

Rodimus's optics dimmed, and he said to Downshift and Bulkhead, "Get out. I'll do it myself."

"But..." Downshift quickly said.

"That's an order, Downshift," Rodimus said firmly.

The two Transformers looked to one another, then turned and left. Rodimus primed his weapon and took aim. As the door closed behind his comrades, he said, "You're entitled to some final words."

The face opened, and what emerged was a human-like face, smooth and organic-looking. "I'm sorry," the Quintesson said. "I am sorry for what my people have done, for what we have done to your world. You are alive, and we had no right to do to you everything that we had done. Our sin was pride; pride that we could not be defeated by simple machines. Clearly, however, we were wrong; you are more than meets the eye. What I have shown you has been copied into computer records in this tower. Perhaps, by my end, you can undo our mistakes. If so, than I look forward to the next world."

A whine sounding from his weapon, Rodimus said, "I hope you find it," then fired.

All around the Axalon, the swarms of Scrapmetals simply ceased, and collapsed to the ground, deactivated and beaten.

Far above, the snarling jet saw this and growled before kicking on its engines and blasting away, a flaming portal opening before it and aiding its escape.

Watching it escape, Talon floated in the air, both relieved and perplexed by its exit. "What was that all about?" she asked, seconds before her comm.-link chirped.

"Autobots, this is Rodimus," the Axalon's commander explained. "Head back to the ship; the drones have been taken care of, and we've got a great deal to report back home."

"Here we are," Landquake announced as he led his two followers into a massive chamber, lit by a soft blue glow radiating out from a pool in the center of the chamber. All along its walls were sets of glyphs, many of which Overcast and Skyfall couldn't recognize. The glyphs, however, did not immediately grab their attention.

"Is that what I think it is?" Overcast asked in awe.

"Yes," Landquake said. "Liquid Energon, the purest source I've yet seen. I'm uncertain why it's here, however I'm convinced that it's connected to these glyphs along the chamber walls."

Skyfall walked up to them and noted, "You may be right. But it would take considerable time to analyze these glyphs. We need to inform others of this; Autobot Command, someone."

"Me think that already taken care of," a familiar voice noted. The three turned to the entrance as Grimlock stepped forward, his team arrayed behind him. "This all that down here? Just a pool of liquid Energon?"

"More like premium liquid Energon," Swoop noted. He stepped forward and knelt down beside the pool, lightly touching its surface with his forefinger. "We definitely need to tell Magnus about this."

Overcast gave his equivalent of a smirk to Swoop, then turned to Grimlock and asked, "There a reason why you followed us?"

"Me not exactly have much reason to trust you," Grimlock noted as Triceratron angrily punched at a nearby wall. "Or them."

"I didn't think you'd be that close to Atlas," Overcast said, irritation building in his voice.

"Me not," Grimlock said. "Why?"

"He's the reason I left Cybertron," Overcast explained. "He left a man behind, called it 'acceptable losses'. I disagreed, cut my commission and made tracks. Obviously, he's still bitter."

Grimlock looked at him uneasily, and asked, "Trooper left behind...what was his name?"

"Wheeljack," Overcast answered. "I had to shoot his brother on Atlas's orders to keep him from going back. It isn't something I'm proud of."

Grimlock looked toward the darkly-colored Autobot and said, "Not something to be proud of. Atlas made wrong call; you should have blasted him." With a stunned expression from Overcast, he explained, "Would have been understood."

Overcast looked at the Dinobot leader for a few short seconds, then said, "Thanks."

"You found Quintessa?" Ultra Magnus asked of Rodimus via comm.-line.

"What was left of it," Rodimus explained. "Sometime after they left Cybertron, the Quints attempted to build an army to use against us. The army rebelled, decimated the planet, and left in a planet buster."

"Any idea of what the specific units in the army look like?" Magnus asked.

"Yeah, the last Quintesson was kind enough to give us that information," Rodimus replied. "We're sending it on a sub-channel; should reach you about now."

A beep at Ultra Magnus's end signaled that the transmission was received, and Magnus turned away to view it. His optics widened in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Rodimus asked.

"We've seen these before," Ultra Magnus explained. "Rodimus, I'm giving you and your unit new marching orders. You know about Earth?"

"That little blue planet?" Rodimus asked. "What about it?"

"Things like these have shown up there, and at Nebulos," Ultra Magnus explained further. "And Nebulos isn't there anymore. They need to know this information there; Prime needs to know. Understood?"

"We'll haul skidplate," Rodimus promised.

"Thank you," Magnus replied, seconds before the signal cut off.

Rodimus deactivated his comm.-unit, then activated his recorder. "Begin recording primary log, Autobot vessel Axalon. Commanding officer, Rodimus." He sighed, and said, "I take back what I said before about excitement and adventure; if this is what it means to have that, then I prefer boredom. I might have saved my ship, gotten my crew to safety...but I still blasted someone to scrap in the bargain. It's not a proud moment, Quintesson or no. But I did what I had to do...and I have to make do." With a groan, "I just hope that nothing else happens. End log."

The End