Harvest of Steel: Chapter 1: Expected Endings and Unexpected Beginnings
Disclaimer: I neither own Transformers or Mass Effect, both belonging to Hasbro and Bioware respectively.
Six Million years ago
Driving across the waste of this world, the car's tires kicked up mud and scattered it everywhere, as it made its way at breakneck speed under the gigantic orange sun. Heading towards a low series of hills, it made no attempt to slow down, even as it skidded and swerved uncontrollably as it traversed the alien landscape. The damp ground under its feet would splash violently, being thrown aside as it desperately tried to maintain its course, running down the few shrubs that lay scattered around the desolation, which encompassed the entirety of the observable life. The sound of thunder rolled across the land, and the sign of rain clouds could be seen, looming, in the far distance.
The car however pressed on, its driving becoming no less risky as it entered the rocky foothills of the slowly steepening heights. The desperation in its attempts to get through the mountains grew more obvious as it frantically tried to navigate the increasingly craggy terrain, jumping valleys, and taking narrow paths that it could barely fit down. It didn't take long for there to be an accident.
A mix of mud and a sharp turning on a cliff edge saw the white and blue vehicle tires to lose its grip, the car almost flipping, as it spiralled over and into the canyon bellow.
"Ouch! Oof! My aft!"
The noise, or rather words, from the car was clearly audible, its front window flashing with a yellow light with each grunt of pain that followed each painful thud as it crashed down the side of the cliff. A loud noise like the grinding of gears, or the grinding of pistons could be heard as it bounced off a final boulder and was thrown over a sizable drop. Yet the noise grew louder and quickly the car seemingly began to separate and unfold, its plates reforming, and parts reshaping to reveal a humanoid form of a gigantic woman made of metal, and the outer shell of her old vehicular form.
She hit the bottom of the canyon with a crunching of metal on stone. Her blue, white exterior was now dented and the visible window that formed the front of the car, and now the top of her back, had been clearly smashed open. Her metallic flesh seemed to move across what would be her face and formed into a painful wince as she pulled herself to her feet, which seemed to be composed of the back wheels she had been driving upon.
Once on her 'feet' she looked down at her waist her face stricken with panic. "N-no… No! No! No! No!" The female robot cried, reaching around the narrow canyon that she had chanced into and scrambled through the nearby rocks looking for 'it.' She said the word over and over again, "I cannot lose it," or "Nova Prime told us to protect it," and "We had a duty to protect it for the thirteen" and other lines that began to frightfully leave her mouth as panic took a hold. Yet as time dragged on, a unhappy calm came over her face as she looked down at the floor and let out what was clearly a sigh. "I promised Dent she would keep it safe," she said again, the personal nature of her tone leaking out, like the blue glowing substance now around the 'lids' of her camera like eyes. "I can't lose it. Not after everyone else has di…"
The robot stopped, a blue liquid forming around the edges of her yellow 'eyes' now dribbling down her face. Gently with the tips of her servos she wiped it away and composed herself, straightening up and seemingly breathing in. It was clear to anything that could see her that she was no mechanical robot.
She was a Cybertronian, an autonomous robotic organism, from the planet of Cybertron: a race of mechanical beings, as intelligent and alive as any other race in the galaxy, capable of emotion, reasoning and most of all the ability of choice. For the Cybertronians could always choose, 'change.' It was in their nature, their very epitaph, for their species was known as 'the Transformers.' Every single one of their race could change into two or more shapes, from a car to a jet, and beyond.
But right now this lone Cybertronian was in her standard mode, her basic humanoid shape, as she frantically scanned through the crater from her fall for the one thing she swore she would protect.
She couldn't lose it, not now, not after everything that had happened! If she failed to find it, save it, that would leave only… no she would find it.
"There it is!" The Cybertronian reached across the ground towards what looked like a small rock. She gently brushed off the mud that had covered it in the crash, allowing it to rest in her open blackened metallic palms. She stared down at its smooth black texture, like onyx. Cradling it, she allowed the light of the orange star to reflect off its edges, revealing a deeper greener hue: and yet within the crystal something seemed to swirl inside it.
"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggghhhhhhhhhh!" Clutching the side of her helmet the Cybertronian fell to her knees as a noise, like the shriek of the dammed pierced her skull, a loud klaxon drawing itself out as the whole sky was suddenly engulfed in a bright flash of red light. The noise and lights faded as soon as they came, leaving the frightened Cybertronian panting in terror.
"Okay… got to get to… somewhere," the female she said in a mad panic, as the box like metal around her arm seemed to fold away a long rifle folding out and fitting snugly into her palm.
Now rushing away, the lone Cybertronian considered how everything could have gone so wrong. Nova Prime had told them that this galaxy was safe for colonisation; he had told them that they would be guaranteed safety once he visited them; he had said so many things. And because he had invested so much into the expedition, so many Relics of their ancestors, she had believed him: she had felt what he had promised would come true.
And now everyone else was offline: dead.
She felt the tears return and wiped it away, spilling glowing substance again over a smattering of rocks. 'No I need to stay strong: Dent and the others may be gone but -"
The whole ground then shook and once again the ear piercing klaxon shrieked across the sky. Covering her audio receptors the Cybertronian wailed in pain as she felt it. Felt the same sensation that had creeped into her frame when her friends had been taken from her, that ever present scratching sensation inside her chest, like something was clawing at her spark: her very life force. Again the shriek shook the ground, her own voice screaming alongside it as she couldn't take the pain, whatever it was, it was in her mind, it wanted her to give up… it wanted…
"No, NO!"
Raising her rifle yellow energy bolts emerged from the barrel, as she fell onto her back, firin upwards into the red light that now illuminated the canyon floor. She screamed like a mad bot, wildly gripping the barrel of her rifle yelling in defiance that it would not have her.
'These things… They got Dent…. They got everyone. Turned them, changed them, offlined them all.' Again the scratching within her brain module grew steadily like a bad case of data corruption, her thoughts becoming muddled and confused. Yet she concentrated, focused. Deep within her she knew, she had to get back, back to the base: that now was so far away. 'The protoforms' she thought to herself as a groundswell of anger sprung forth. She had to save them!
"YOU WON'T TAKE ME!"
The suddenly a wiring sound began to slowly grow, reaching an almost fever pitch eclypisng the roar of the beast attacking her mind body and soul. Yet all the Cybertronian could do was stare up in horror. She had barely any time to say anything before the red light now engulfed her and then – she was gone.
Only the blackened relic, the stone remained, falling away in the chaos and still seemingly pristine, unmarred by the blackened torched ground that surrounded it. It now sat at the bottom of the canyon; its green sheen only marred by the scorched earth and dried mud that coated it.
It was alone, alone in the galaxy: only the silence of the canyon surrounded it.
And that was how it would remain.
Five Million years later
"Bumblebee!"
"What a waste of Energon!"
The sound of the almighty battle engulfed everything, the noise of Cybertronian fighting Cybertronian was a deafening roar that echoed throughout the blackness of space: indeed the warcry of the two sides could almost be said to eclipse the rage of Megatron: almost. The war between the Autobots and Deceticons, two sides to an epic conflict that had lasted for millions of years raged around them, the orange deck of the spacecraft the ark, littered with the destroyed wrecks and offline bodies of fallen warriors, who belonged to a feud so ancient, whole worlds had died before either side would even give an inch of ground.
And amongst this battle two figures stood, representing both sides of this long endless onslaught, staring one another down, yet again, as they waited before once more throwing themselves into the fray
. Megatron; ruler of all Decepticons, conqueror of Cybertron and self-proclaimed tyrant of peace, stood at the ready atop the engine deck, ready to strike down those who would defy his quest for 'peace.'
On the other side, cradling the metallic body of small yellow horned warrior known as Bumblebee, knelt Optimus Prime: the last Prime. He was a final bastion of Freedom, and the reluctant leader of all Autobots, a bot who stood for peace and integrity when no one else would.
Optimus closed his hand around those of the warrior who had taken a shot for him, his eyes closing as he nodded at the wounded warrior who began to slip away into stasis lock. Slowly Bumbleebee's glowing blue eyes, began to fade and close, as Optimus set him down to rest by his side. Yet that left only he and Meatron, and immediately the robotic warriors eyes locked across the deck, Megatron's sadistic grin meeting the unmoving faceplate of Optimus Prime.
They began to walk towards one another, a gigantic purple warship, the Nemesis loomed overhead, firing down long snaking boarding claws that cut deeply in the golden brown hull of the ark: keeping it from fleeing. Optimus blue eyes closed solemnly, as he marched once more off to war, his large bulky chest that formed the front of his second form, sighing as he heard Megatron throw the massive cannon he had shot his friend, Bumblebee with, aside. A shot he had intended for Optimus.
A large explosion shook the deck of the engine room peeling away more of the roof, and walls, fully exposing the combatants to the vacuum of space. The final hiss as the last of the contained gasses dissipated caused Optimus Prime to look right into Megatron's cold red eyes, who sneered back in contempt.
'All we wanted to do was leave,' he recited to himself, the memory of the words he had told Megatron flowing back to him, as he recalled meeting his fallen friend for the first time in centuries. Yet now he was staring not into the face of the idealist he had once known, but into the face of a tyrant whose only aim was to destroy.
"After so many years I finally see the truth of your words Megatron," he replied firmly recalling his opponent's last comment about his friend. The tone in his voice carrying an undeniable weight behind it as he spoke with strength and power of a Leader undaunted by the larger metallic silver who stood before him.
Indeed it was times like this that showed how different the two of them now were. Optimus was bulkier, but yet smaller overall, with a moreprominent chest and larger shoulders, emblazoned in red and blue, his Autobot symbol resting upon both his shoulders. Yet Megatron b comparison was extremely Spartan, his simple grey blockish design contrasting Optimus's, yet his size dwarfing the compact mech, the only colour being from the purple emblem of the Decepticons taking the centre stage upon his chest.
"And what do you mean by 'that'?" Megatrons asked? His voice was crisp and secure, almost refined and eloquent like a public speaker, but yet it carried heavy edge almost mocking Optimus as he glowered down at the smaller Autobot, a faint purple glow emanating from the Fusion canon on his arm.
"The truth of the matter - " Optimus said heavily, barely moving, even while a wing of flying seekers flew overhead, dropping bombs along the hull of the ark, exploding like bright purple suns. " - That this universe. No matter how vast it may be, will never be room enough for you and I to coexist!"
Megatron's arm flew forward, raising the attached fusion canon to optic level with Prime, intending to blow his rivals face away. Yet Optimus was quick, his hands to grabbing the barrel and forcing its beam above his head: the energy flying off and colliding with a nearby seeker. Megatron roared, his red eyes enraged as he watched his attack be deflected, only to them catch a glimpse of his opponents spare fist and feeling the red host stinging sensation as sparks flied and the sound of metal against meal as the servo collided with his face.
Yet the tyrant only took one step backwards.
He watched with a small but cold smile as Optimus held out an open palm and his box like forearm opened, the metal moving aside as a small rod flew out into his palm. The pole seemingly extending and folding out, growing longer and longer, lights appearing as more metal slid out into flat sharp plate like an axe, which glowed red hot with a net of fearsome energy. Megatron didn't try to stop him, if anything his expression seemed to relish his opponent's actions, as his own forearm opened and a similar pole fell out. Instead extending and shifting into spherical mace with jagged sharp purple crystals forming along the edges. A savage weapon only eclipsed by the savage smile of its owner.
Time seemed to slow down, the battle around them dared not move forward but at a snail's pace, as explosions seemed to become trapped in a motionless standstill. Decepticon boarders fired their weapons with aggressive screams of fury, trapped in a perpetual freeze frame, as the Autobot defenders sheltered behind the split and blasted bulkheads of the cargo freighter they had made their ark, their steadfast determination trapped in the cold unmoving time. Above them, the Nemisis, seemed to pull itself closer and closer, its boarding tendrils hauling the two vessels within a few yards of one another at most, Bots and Cons leaping between the two ships, energon blades and blasters firing.
Yet behind it all, seemingly separating Optimus and Megatron as they stared each other down across the engine deck, was the round black darkness shaped like a circle that was burned into the starry sky. A bright yellow light glowing around them, Autobots, and Decepticons, that grew closer and closer as the two vessels were pulled further and further in, towards the collapsing spacebridge. Formed in the fires of desperation the last gambit to save themselves, the two ships were charging straight long into it. Seemingly ignoring the powerful currents of gravity sucking scrap, wreckage and even soldiers away and dragging them into its event horizon, taking them to who knows where. Indeed as they neared whole sections of the ship began to snap off and fly towards the swirling vortex. It was their last hope to escape their dying world, their last hope for their kind to spread out into the stars one last time. And yet in the rush to get away first, the bridge had become damage and was slowly beginning to crumble.
But despite this Optimus Prime and Megatron ignored all of what transpired around them, even as the horizon of Space Bridge began to twist out of view as both ships began to spiral out of control from the unseen pull of the great blackness they were bring drawn into.
And as the battle raged on with renewed vigour born of desperation, Megatron struck first.
With an almighty yell he raised his energon mace over his head and charged, bringing his arm up and around swinging it up in a faint, that veered away but came back around, and then down. Scraping the attack across the floor, before dragging it up, Megatron swung an almighty blow of purple crystals and sparks towards Optimus Prime chest. But the red Autobot steered clear and grabbed his opponents forearm. Keeping a firm grip he stepped back brining his axe along the side to strike Megatron under the arm, but the tyrant's free hand snatched the upper pole of the axe holding its energy rich blade back. Both bots optics now met, but all pretence of calm was lost from Megatron who glared madly into Optimus eyes like a deranged mad man. The two grappled both hands trapped holding back the other weapon.
And all the while the ships began to tumble and burn.
"Get those Moleculon fuses rerouted Wheeljack! Huffer go fetch First Aid, I need him to reroute Hound's brain module. I can't do that and keep his spark online." A stray energy bolt flew across the room and collided with a nearby white computer bank, blasting the fuzzing blue screen into a pile of scrap, wires and semi-melted glass. "And for Primus sake Arcee you and Cliffjumper get those dam Decepticons out of my ward!"
For the Autobot medic Ratchet, this cycle was turning out to not be one of his better ones. For one assisting in such a rapid evacuation of the planet had meant that he had to scuttle most of their more sophisticated medical equipment to save it from looters. To top it off the amount of wounded from the final attack on the ark had forced him to make the tough call and place the most severely injured or non-critical personal they could find into stasis vaults for later recovery. But the final oil residue on the energon cake was that their desperate escape attempt had resulted in a less than clean getaway. Although calling Meatron chasing down their retrofitted cargo hauler they had called an 'ark' and then pounding it too pieces was an understatement and a half. And now he had Decepticons in his ward trying to kill his patients… truly this cycle was just filled with the wonders of the galaxy.
"Ratchet get down," ordered a female voice, giving the white and red Autobot enough time to register the form of a thin blue transformer reaching out to him as he watched her be unceremoniously knocked to the ground by a huge Decepticon. Who then charged past her his hands cradling a large cylinder shaped bomb that he lobbed overhead.
Landing with a series of clunks the heavy object rolled up to Ratchet beeping louder and louder as it slid across the deck. However whatever the laughing Decepticon had thought Ratchet would do he obviously wasn't prepared for the old red and white bot to leap to his feet and grab the bomb running straight back at him. With the sound of metal pounding into metal the huge Decpticon felt his cooling fans force an immediate dump as his main strut was painfully slammed into by the small Autobot Medic. Ratchet expression though was far more frightening then whatever the now angry Decepticon could muster as he felt himself stumble backwards from the attack. Ratchet glowered at the Decepticon, his battened and fading painted white face, twisted into a look of pure venom as he head-butted the Decepticon against his two small decorative horn like head crest, sending his attacker now into the doorframe. In his dazed state the Decepticon could just register Ratchet using both his hands to throw the heavy explosive towards him which he seemed to instinctively catch out of fear it would explode against him. But before he could muster enough sense he felt his feet get knocked out from under him by the small blue warrior he had knocked down, who leapt up off the floor with supernatural grace to strike away his feet away.
"I said get out of my ward," the voice of Ratchet could be heard roaring. As the Decepticon looked up having just that small split second to hear the beeping growing to an inaudible crescendo and spot the medic close the doors on the explosive and the would be scum that would dare to harm his patients.
The door was blown off its hinges. Ratchet though didn't give it a backwards look. With a gentle hand he helped Arcee to her feet and quickly returned to Hound, applying pressure to a large wound on his frontal plate, a small flying drone with a single eye zoominf towards him and handing him a small tool with its tiny mechanical pincers.
"Right now I can…"
A series of blast could be heard coming from a nearby corridor out of which came the small form of First aid, pulling what looked like the wounded form of Huffer, who had somehow had gotten one of his pipe like arms blown off. Still the autobot managed to fire one or two shots back with his remaining limb and blaster.
"Oh for the…" Ratchet was with First Aid immediately and assisted in picking up and lowering the wounded autobot into a medical berth. "Easy Huffer, I will get to you when I can," although First Aid frantically pulled at the senior medics arm.
"Ratchet we - "
"Hey Doc we got a whole squad of Decepticons heading up this way," a voice cried from the Red Autobot, with grey horns, that was Cliffjumper, cutting the nervous medic off with his own cry of fright.
"You're not one to be scared by Decepticons Cliff? Usually your pleased when that happens," commented Arcee with a small quip as she ran to join her partner at the back entrance, taking cover beside the frame.
Cliffjumper smirked at the smaller feminine Autobot's white face, "yeah! That's how you know there's a lot of them!"
A series of blast erupted through the empty door as shouts of "hail Megatron," and "Die Autobots," could be heard as the purple energy hit a nearby white wall cutting into another computer blank causing sirens to wail.
Ratchet looked in horror at the damage and then down at Hound who had been wired into that particular station. "By Primus! First Aid you'll need to work fast I will join you when - "
"Argh," Cliffjumper had attempted to jump out and fire at the oncoming attackers only to be hit three times across the chest and blown backwards across the room by the resulting superheating of his squat chassis. Ratchet and First Aid stared in horror as the Red Autobot tried to pick himself up off the ground as his partner now started to fire blindly around the corner of the doorframe that was beginning to physically melt away under the intense fire that was coming their way.
"First Aid, help Hound," Ratchet ordered trying to keep a cool head as he reached for his own blaster.
Arcee peeled away from the door heading to her partner and dragging him into cover. "Heads up their coming through," she stated seriously as she took cover with her partner behind a an overturned berth. "Ratchet we are going to get overrun! We need to pull back!"
"This ships the size of a city," the winey voice of Huffer cried rolling off the table he had been left on and trying to aim at the door with his bad hand. "How the heck is it being overrun?"
Ratchet however fired at the first Decepticon through the door, his chest taking the first hit but stunning him, the second, third and fourth melting his optics and then cracking open his chest in quick succession. He dared not look at Arcee but nodded. "Agreed, take the entrance you two just cleared and evacuate the as many wounded as you can."
"What about you?"
"I have still got to patch up Hound," Ratchet checked for a new Energon clip and inserted it into his gun his next shot flying wide and punching a hole through the now semi melted wall beside the door. "Plus a good Doctor never abandons his patients!"
Acree did not waste time trying to talk down Ratchet, and simply helped Cliffjumper to his feet who tried to protest only for Arcee to slap him across the face and push him towards the door. "Hey I wanted to shoot more of them Decptic-jerks," he cried as Acree reached across to another two berths and activated the slabs hover function and began to push the wounded unconscious forms of the Autobot seeker Air Raid and the construction teams member Hoist out as fast as she could.
Ratchet fired again as he pushed Huffer to leave, but the tiny bot protested. "Hey if I run out there I will get shot." He nonetheless fired a few well-placed bolts back towards the door.
Ratchet was about to yell at him for his stupidity when a sound of screams could suddenly be heard from the other side of the door, two more Decepticons running and straight into Ratchet and Huffer's fire.
"Man they just do not care about tactics do they," Huffer commented, somehow making it sound like he was whining.
Still the shouts and screams from the other side of the door grew louder and louder: and then silence. A lone severed arm flew through the door which had finally cooled; it slid across the polished bronze floor with a dull screech and sat their motionless.
"Aww looks like I broke it."
"And made quite a mess in the process."
"Oh shut it Sunstreaker."
Both Ratchet and the small purple Huffer looked up at the door and saw three bots standing in it, the Autobot symbols emblazoned on their chests. Two of their bots were almost identical, one being yellow and black the other being red and white, the former possessing huge almost fan like fins attached to his helm, while the latter had a large white gun mounted to his right shoulder. The last and owner to the first voice was a taller bot sporting light blue and aqua colours. His form looked odd and misshapen, his legs bending backwards and his thin arms ended in fans, with three long misshapen pincer like claws extending from them; all leading from his large forward blue chest that formed the front of his Ariel alt mode. His head however wasn't vaguely humanoid, looking like a ornate box with a single yellow eye.
"Whirl… Sunstreaker, Sideswipe what are you?"
"Excuse me," Whirl said rather indigently as he pulled up a still functioning Decepticon soldier and raised him up to his side at an almost right angle, while not looking at him. "I am playing here!" Huffer and Ratchet looked at each other in confusion as to the nature of this odd display they heard a single whimper as the Decepticon tried to move. Whirl however seemed to snap. "What did you say!" The Decepticon soon felt Whirl's pincer like hands pierce his torso, almost severing him in two.
Still as things were starting to take a turn for the better this cycle Ratchet and the rest of the Autobots were sent flying as the whole room seemed to jerk suddenly, sending them, berths and even Ratchet who hadn't gotten a chance to reply.
Red Alert was the first to speak, "Ratchet I need you," he cried suddenly causing the old bot to sit upright.
"I will be right there he cried," only to hear the sirens to renew their roar overhead and red warning lights begin to flash.
"This is the Bridge to all Autobot's on-board." The familiar voice of Ironhide could be heard. "We are being pulled into the event horizon of the spacebridge… I repeat we are being pulled into the spacebridge: I cannot hold her!"
Ratchet frown only deepened as he pushed Whirl off him, the slightly made Cybertronian slightly dazed from slamming his head into a piece of medical equipment. "Whirl I… urgh…" Pulling himself to his feet Ratchet went straight to First Aid, his mind already prioritising Hound as the most serious case: crashing ship or none. 'I just wish something would go right today!'
"Hey Ratchet," came the whizz of Wheeljacks voice as his head seemed to poke out of a maintenance shaft he had disappeared into minutes before. "I fixed those circuits."
'Well at least that something.'
There was a sudden eruption of noise and smoke emerging from the hatch and obscuring the fins attached to the head of Wheeljack. "Umm scratch that."
"You call yourself a Prime! You were a policeman when I worked with you! A records clerk when I found you - !"
Megatron wrestled with Optimus Prime, both of their weapons locked down by the others free grip, as the two Cybertronian's tried to break their opponents hold. They glared into each other's eyes, Megatron's red optics boring into his opponents blue ones, and as Megatron watched he saw Prime blink: he had his opening.
Brining his head forward, the dull flat top of his helm slammed into the Autobots faceplate stunning and sending him flying back across the bronze deck. Megatron roared with fury malice as he then charged, swinging his mace overhead and brining it down on his stunned opponent. "- And you will be dust when I am through with you!"
Optimus tilted his body back to allow the swipe to glide past, only a single tip of a lone energon shard of the mace creating the tiniest scratch the outer paint of his torso. Indeed he was more damaged by an explosion of a nearby turbine which ignited and ruptured as the stress of the battle and portal took its toll upon the Ark. Yet despite the damage Optimus used the distraction to move to the side where he now saw his opening, and brought his free hand up to punch Megatron across the jaw. He watched cautiously as he studied his opponents next move, surveying a the dictator as he stumble back, to which Prime lowered his stance to await his opponents next strike. Using his free servo Megatron rubbed the dent the last blow had left across his voice box. He could feel the dribble of energon leaving his own mouth and smiled, swinging his mace around as he began to march towards Optimus. Optimus smiled as he watched the Decepticon leader smile and spit out the loosened purple fuel. Prime gripped his axe with two hands as the despot began to slowly advance on his position, Megatrn firing a single fusion blast at an unfortunate Autobot jet.
"Defensive as always Prime!" Megatron jeered, suddenly rushing his opponent again, but this time leading with his mace in his left hand and finding his blow now locked under the tip of the energon axe: to which he smiled. 'Excellent.' Waiting for the Prime to use both his hands to throw the mace from his grasp he brought his right fist around and slammed it into his opponents gut, allowing the massive fusion canon to charge up and bring an inevitable conclusion to the fight.
"Time to die Prime," he whispered with a soft confidence.
However Optimus willed his axe to extend and its pole extended downwards into the deck, which he then brought up, slamming the bottom of the pole and scrap and metal into the extended fist of Megatron, knocking and the canons blast of energy over his head.
"You going to talk," Optimus decreed, fiercely standing up and now charging back at Megatron who swatted his blow aside only for the Autobot commander to bring his axe back around in a wide sweep and slash him across his armoured wrists. Or fight, Megatron?!"
Megatron yelled, his agony filled screams drowned out by the warcries of his Decepticon hordes. Yet he barely flinched, as the fury within his eyes flashed, its glow and crackle visible from the Decepticon's warship overhead. Turning his cries of pain into bellows of righteous anger he transformed into his tank mode and raised the Fusion barrel upwards firing it straight into Optimus chest. Blow after blow hit Optimus at point blank range, and while at first he stumbled back, but the continues blasting to his shoulder and chest in quick succession, left not only deep melted hole across his bulky chest plate, but sent him crashing to the ground. This didn't leave Optimus any time to respond as the sudden roar of an engine was all he could catch before he felt Megatron's tank like body slam what was left of him standing up straight back to the ground. Hearing the sudden grinding of gears and whir of a transformation cog Optimus could now feel Megatron's hands pinning him to the bronze deck of the Ark. Trapped, Optimus turned his head as he watched the reaming roof and walls of the engine room finally peel away, revealing the darkness of the portal. Yet all he could do, as he felt Megatron's fist slam into his face plate, was withhold the cries of pain as he felt his lower jaw beneath his face plate crumbed beneath each denting blow.
"Ha you're as soft as those traitors you fight for!"
Optimus felt another punishing crunch as he felt a sudden rush from his fuel pump in response to the damage. His systems soaring he felt a surge of power and used his free hand to swipe away the next blow, gripping the hem of Megatron's chest plate and pulling his head to collide his own helm, the spiked ear piece puncturing through the despots eyes.
Transforming his legs Optimus used his wheels and skidded out from under the despot, leaving his opponent to roar in pain as he himself cried with a warped and sparking voice, "O-On the contrary M-Megatron my-y friends are the source of my strength."
Instinctively Optimus allowed his right leg hatch to open and a long barrelled pistol appeared that he quickly gripped striding towards his opponent. Megatron however wasn't listening, his left arm attempting to push himself onto his knee, only for Optimus to fire a single shot into the wrist sending him crashing back to the deck with a titanic thud: his mace being sent rolling across the deck and into a whirring turbine which exploded with purple energy.
Looking out across the battlefield, the Autobot Commander took in the carnage as the two sides began to tear each other apart: all because it was the will of a tyrant he had once called a friend.
Optimus raised his pistol and pulled the trigger. "Your through Megatron!"
"Through?" Megatron considered those words and turned his body, to bring his fusion canon arm forward and allowing the blast to slam into his own shoulder, missing his head as another blast of fusion energy from his canon flew forth forcing Prime back. "I am just warming up!"
First crawling, then stumbling and finally charging once more, Megatron tanked several more shots and let out another almost feral roar, his main mode charging for the third time. However this time he predicted Optimus would reach for his gun rather than the axe, and he was right. Megatron swatted the energon blaster away as he then dived into Optimus waits, tackling him once more to the floor. Suddenly another explosion wracked the deck, the two Cybertronian's rolling across the deck as gravity began to warp around them. The deck became the walls, the missing and damaged walls the floor and roof, as the pair of them began to slide towards the engines. And above them all the battle and space bridge them was spiralling in and out of view as the ship tumbled towards the empty black wormhole between space.
"Pathetic." Megatron dug his arm into the plate that had once been the floor, causing a flash of sparks as he slowed his descent as the pair began to slide towards the spinning blades of a turbine that had once lined the walls turned floor. Furiously Megaton kicked at Optimus who slowly began to climb back up the inverted room, screaming in fury at his rival's stubbornness. "Why won't you – fall!"
Optimus felt another kick across his face, his voice box cracking alongside his shattered mouth plate. "I-It'll t-take more - zxxeptt - than you've got Megatron."
"On the contrary!" the self-proclaimed ruler of Cybertron called his fusion canon charging as he dangled over his opponent as he clung of for the sake of his spark. Optimus however leapt up, drawing forward his axe once more and digging it into the lower leg plate of Megatron, the energon enhanced metal slicing through the alloy like a mining laser through high grade plastic. "Arrrgh!" The dictator roared his blast thrown far off course.
"This ends now," Optimus boldly stated, his voice suddenly clearing as he used his new grip to clamber onto Megatron's back and grabbing him around the helmet.
But defiant as ever Megatron cried, "this ends when I say it ends!
"Woah…"
A lone Decepticon looked up in awe. He stared at Optimus Prime and his supreme leader Megatron, watching them wrestled against each other as they hung on for the sake of their sparks, above the grinding turbine.
He himself was holding on for dear life, his servos denting the surface metal as he tried to claw his way down to the 'new floor' of the engine room, that had used to be its shattered walls. But it was all in vain.
"Dam it Missfire! Plant that dam explosive," another agitated Decepticon trooper with a rounded faceplate and helmet screamed. Looking up at his team mate, Missfire felt his logic circuits tell it was suicide, but orders were orders, even if he hated them. His attempts at mag locking himself to the ground, was patchy at best, the gravitational pull of the spacebridge's caused his feet coming unstuck every few seconds. Still it was better that then falling into that swirling blackness Missfire thought as he made his way back up the wall: only to stop and stare at the two wrestling Leaders, his optics going wide with joy.
His team mate was not impressed. "Missfire!"
The light purple cybertronian however pointed at the fight and stammered, "but its Optimus and Megatron Krok; Optimus and Megatron!" only to feel both his feet suddenly get sucked away from the ship, forcing him to claw his fingers into the metallic plate to stop the gravitational pull from dragging him into space.
"I don't care you crankcase just get that bomb on the fuel lines!"
"What," A light blue Deceticon called as he struggled to pull himself over a walkway, struggling to get a firm enough grip on the railing that was slowly peeling away from the deck.
Krok was still not impressed. "Dam it Crankcase!"
'Right. Get the explosives on the fuel pipes,' Missfire thought to himself, as helooked down at the bomb strapped to his waist, That however was easier said than done.
As one of many squads, he Krok, Spinister and Flywheels, had been ordered to destroy one of the Arks many fuel stations in an attempt to slow the ship down. So far it had turned into one rusting disaster. Now he, holding their only remaining bomb, after their liberal use against the Autobot guards, and had to plant it on a fuel pipe that was only a few dozen Mechanometers away. "Yarrgh!," he yelled thrusting is arm out with the bomb trying in vain to get it onto the line.
He didn't. He felt his need for self-preservation kick in as he reached out and felt the pull of the dark black space bridge overhead.
"It's too far," he called in terror, turning back to Krok who had grabbed a hold of the snapped off railing Crankcase was still holding onto for dear life, regardless to the fact that it was no longer attached to the deck.
"Just do it you leaking Scraplet!" Crankcase yelled in rage as he was bounced up and down from the pull of the gravity storm.
Missifre shook his head and turned to look up at Prime and Megatron once more and felt a well of courage as he saw his leader elbow the shattered face of their sworn enemy again and again. Yelling he then threw the bomb towards the fuel pump, setting the explosion for five seconds, more than enough time for it to cross the distance and punch a hole in the energon reserves. 'Yes great plan Missfire!'
However it only got half way. Suddenly snatched up by the intense gravity of the spacebridge it spiralled about like a piece of rust in the wind bouncing against two nearby fuel lines before flying between the shrugging arms of Optimus and Megatron, who missed it entirely, as it was deflected by a chance piece of scrap into the turbine bellow them.
'Primus no…'
"Dam it Missfire!"
With barely any time to react Optimus and Megatron were blown against the surface of the ark, their perception of up and down skewed as the vessel lost all control. With the final engine surrendering to its extensive damage the Autobots ship and Megatron's orbiting vessel began to descend rapidly towards the event horizon of the collapsing space bridge.
Above the seekers flew down to the deck and held on for the sake of their sparks. The dozens of ground troops were swept up as pieces of the Ark and the Nemisis were hauled away by the intense forces of whatever was dragging them towards the swirling black mass of energy. Large burley cybertronians tried to grab a hold of friends pulled out into the perils of cold space, and the cables connecting the two ships began to split and snap as the two vessels were slowly forced apart by the unseen forces that were dooming them both.
And yet still Autobot fought Decepticon, and Megatron fought Optimus.
"The vortex is tearing this ship apart," Optimus roared as Megatron tried to kick at prime's hands. But Prime was too quick dodging the attack and using one hand to haul Megatron off the deck and into space: only for him to grab onto the dilapidated walls of the once broken engine deck.
"No I will not be denied," he roared as snatched away at the decaying wall, watching the space behind him give way to the pitch blackness of the portal. With one roar of defiance he glowered at Optimus as he, his opponent, their ships and their crews were engulfed by the portal.
And then with a sudden flash of light: they were gone.
2185 CE: Modern times
For Commander Shepard there few days off. For the last decade and a half he had had practically been almost zero time to himself, having been shuttled from combat zone to combat zone; mission to mission. He had not had a normal life for a long time, even by the standards of a Alliance Marine. Not since he had signed on the dotted line and handed his life away for humanity: and he had never regretted it for a second.
Commander Michael Shepard, N7 approved Special Forces, Alliance Marine and first human Spectre. Hero of the Citadel, Saviour of Eden Prime, Butcher of Torfan and now the only man who had lead a team through the Omega Four Mass Relay: and lived to tell the tale. And yet for the first time ever Shepard didn't want to get up.
Spread eagle across the white double bed, the covers thrown to the side as he basked in the cool air that seemed to fill the room shadowy room, the tanned commander yawned as he rolled onto his back stretching out his arms rising and then falling back into the plush bed. That brief motion caused the lights to suddenly come on, the rooms motion centres picking up that Shepard was awake and running through his list of 2130's pop music, carring out a prescripted program the commander had put in place. "Off," he grumbled, silencing the music as he turned onto his side and pulled a pillow over his head. As Shepard began to wrap himself under the pillows he felt his hand brush against a metallic handle, his fingers instinctively wrapping around the grip, as he enjoyed the hum of the air conditioning that had replaced the now silence tempo of 'Bikini party on Io.' Not one of his favourite songs, but a catchy tune at the least.
Still as his breathing began to slow, synchronising with the now audible low steady beat of some unknown component that whirred away in the depths of the walls, the Commander began to feel himself slipping away back into sleep.
The warm darkness of sleep enveloped him slowly, he sighed as he tried to slip off into silence.
Flashes of orange and red filled his mind. An opening mouth made of flesh and metal yawned open, letting out a deathly cry of pain or anger. Shepard could feel himselr recoil, looking down and finding himself strapped to a table. Then a family of some unknown race holding its hands up to the glowing sky yelled out in fear. A twisted image flashed before his eyes as a man was impaled on a spike, his body limply dangling as it was lifted off the ground. He screamed as a woman scratched at the glass of a pod, her own hands melting before her eyes, her bones scratching the material as she disintegrated into a black liquid: her scream, her deathly scream as Shepard pounded against the glass trying to free her.
Shepard shot up, his fingers tightening up around the grip, his arm wrenching it out and pointing the pistol outwards, his mind instantly analysing his surroundings, calculating any intruders. And… he instantly realised he was still in his room: he was still in 'the Loft.'
The Loft, as it was called, were the private quarters for his ship, the Normandy. A spacious and modern apartment all packaged into one single long room with a small living area, couches, personal desk and large double bed made up the entirety of what he could see. In addition a small door off to the side lead to his bathroom and collection of model ships, which were placed neatly on the shelf, separated his desk from his sofa. It was calm, it was safe, and it wasn't what many would expect when they imagined a Commanding Officers quarters on a military ship.
Letting out the breath he had not realised he had been holding in, Shepard lowered his pistol and climbed out of bed. Crossing the room in his underwear the Commander headed to the toilet, setting the pistol down on his desk as he walked past. He let automatic doors to the bathroom open and calmly reached towards the sink, and looked at his handsome but tired face in the mirror, while he let the tap run. The cold water was like a breath of clean, unrecycled air. As Shepard splashed it across his skin, rubbing his eyes as he allowed the haze of the sleep to leave him. But as he looked into the mirror, and at his rather broad chested frame he noticed the persistent tired bags under his eyes and sighed. 'The Nightmares are getting worse.'
Grumbling the commander heard the beep from the elevators door, the only way up to the Loft, and realised someone was here to see him. But all Shepard could do was roll his eyes. Barely five days after their mission to the Omega Four Relay and he presumed something had already gone wrong. He allowed his mind to consider the dozens of potential issues that might have transpired in the twelve hours he had been out. It could be anything from a distress signal, the Council finally noticing him after he had filed that report, or maybe Cerberus were doing something to take back control of 'his' ship?
Shepard laughed as he looked at himself in the mirror, considering the terms he had parted with Cerberus he would not be surprised if they were up to something. Destroying the Collector base, that horrible vile facility, even when their leader, the Illusive man, told him to save it had left a bitter taste in everyone's mouth: especially Shepard's. A flash: the memory of that girl, watching her liquefy as the Collectors broke her body down…
Shepard let out a deep breath, loosening his grip around the side of the sink as he tried to calm himself, he tried to forget. But that is never easy.
Just then the doorbell ringed and Shepard knew it was urgent, especially as a holographic blue avatar appeared on his desk through the open bathroom door. "Commander Shepard," the blue sphere addressed coolly, her digital avatar flashing as her clearly female she spoke. "Miranda Lawson and Tali Zorah are outside… they wish to speak with you."
Shepard sighed as he turned his head to face the ships A.I EDI. "Good morning to you EDI," he said seriously noting her calm and collected voice. "Not calling her XO or Chief Engineer anymore," he then asked straightening his back and rolling his wide shoulders?
EDI, or the Enhanced Defence Intelligence, was as usual direct and to the point. "No Shepard," she replied before needing to explain herself. "Due to modification in my program I have decided to drop some of Cerberus protocols regarding personal interaction. Given my unshackling and our departure from their organisation, Jeff suggested that I get 'friendly' with the crew."
"Of course he did," Shepard smirked wondering how his pilot had manged to get such a good relationship with a machine. 'No a person,' he reminded himself, as he tried to distract himself from the thought. "Interesting to see you do that EDI… I like it." Shepard wrinkled his nose as he said that, splashing more water into his face.
"Should I tell Lawson and Tali'Zorah to come again another time," EDI then asked officially, waiting for Shepard's response.
"No, no. I will just be a minute."
Pouring himself a cup of water from the tap Shepard quickly downed the contents and grabbed a towel, wiping down his face as he crossed the room to open the door. Segmenting into multiple pieces the automatic hatch whirred apart and opened to reveal Tali'Zorah Vas Normandy and his Executive Officer Miranda Lawson.
Miranda was a human with long lush black hair, that stretch down to her upper back. Standing at five foot eight, five foot eleven in heels, she could be considered very attractive, with every inch of her apparently being designed by her father through careful gene modification as part of his 'genetic legacy.' Her choice in wardrobe only accentuated her 'sculpted' beauty as the blue eyed woman chose to dress head to foot in a black leather cat suit, made military grade padding, which hugged her form. With the clothing occasionally being complimented by orange highlights, black thigh high boots of composite ceramic or more synthetically weaved cloth, and the black metal choker chain across her neck. Despite Shepard's misgivings though she was a professional, shown by how she carried herself with a determined and refined poise, marching into the cabin without a backwards glance, reading off a report that she had likely composed herself.
"Commander. I have a list of things I need to go over considering our recent… parting from Cerberus, I was…" She stopped mid-sentence as she finally turned around and looked down at the half naked Commander. "Oh… I…" Miranda straightened up, averting her gaze from looking too far down, and nodded to the door, "I am sorry Commander I assumed that you were…"
Shepard smiled striding back towards his bed and taking her data pad as he went, "It's quite alright Miranda," he said casually. Scrolling through the 'very long' list of issues and concerns that Miranda had put together, which ranged from them leaving Cerberus, defecting to the Alliance and issues that related to their situation right now. Shepard managed a smirk as Miranda's normally controlled expression broke as she gave Tali a sideways glance. "Thank you, Miranda," Shepard managed to say with a straight face, as he used the towel round his neck to to hide his expression as he wiped down his cheeks. "I have to say I wasn't expecting this many bugs." Indeed checking the list he was amazed that their former employers would have no fewer than three hundred forms of surveillance throughout the ship.
"That we know of Commander," his XO making a sideways glance down at the article he was reading. "I had to ask for Tali's assistance with that particular bug… they had it hardwired into the fuel lines." Cautiously Miranda now looked towards Tali out the corner of her eye, her expression noting something underneath it, a hesitant tone that left something unsaid. "I will see you when you are… decent," she noted turning on her high heels and marching straight back out.
For a second the same tenseness that had radiated from Miranda seemed to cling to the air, Tali and Shepard left motionless unsure of how to react. It was Tali who broke the silence first.
"How are you feeling Shepard?"
Michael relaxed; her notable accent always brought a smile to his lips. Flattening the bedspread beside him he replied quietly, "better, I had a good night sleep." A lie.
Tali lowered herself down and nodded, looking straight into his eyes. "I am glad to hear that," her voice wavering slightly as she spoke.
Tali was a Quarian, a race aliens forced to live inside environmentally protected suits that shielded them and their vulnerable immune systems from the outside world. Like all Quarian's Tali was shorter than most council races, although could be considered above average for most her race at just over five foot five. Quarians were humanoid in shape, with her digitigrade legs that bent backwards below the knee and were gifted with powerful thighs and wide hips, sitting atop their otherwise frail or lithe frames. Tali herself was clad head to toe in a black and skin tight environment suit made of a hexagonal, synthetic mesh that hugged every inch of her, and was draped and decorated with bright purple cloth. Shepard smiled at her as she inched along a bit to get a better look at the tablet Miranda had left her, and he was very sad that all he could see was her silver eyes. Having to live in a sealed environment she was forced to wear a helmet with a large purple visor to keep her healthy: the pressurised environment refracting light and hiding her face from view. It was draped over by a large decorative purple hood, with, dotted with patterns of silver swirls, and possessed a small circular mouth piece that lit up whenever she spoke. Adding in the occasional dash of yellowish orange and plenty of belts and buckles Tali was a fairly unique sight to behold.
"Oh me and Mordin removed that bug yesterday while you were sleeping," Tali suddenly said pointing at the data files with one of her two fingers and cheerily began to talk away. "I mean, we had to get Donnelly to power down life support in the starboard observation deck as the camera was hard wired into it, and had to get Daniels to control vent the room. I mean Cerberus actually made the things so you would have to make the area unliveable before you could remove it. I mean it's funny if you think about it." Tali made an attempt at a nervous laugh as she turned her head away from the data to look at Shepard, her hand gripping his wrist firmly.
Shepard nodded and slid his hand down and tightly gripped hers with a warm smile, slowly turning back to the data.
"I guess… still it was helpful that Samara…" Shepard trailed off slowly rubbing his eyes as he took a deep breath.
Tali nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Samara called this morning and said she is already on her way back to Asari space, Thane too… well back to the Citadel at least."
Shepard sighed. "They were good friends," he remarked solemnly placing the data slate down on the bed beside him and fell back onto the covers.
A flash of orange appeared in his mind, pictures of pipes and tubing, screeching metal and angular hallways, and a scream, a single long scream.
"Shepard? Are you sure you're okay?"
Snapping back to reality Shepard sat up sharply trying to get his bearings. "Yeah… of course Tali, why wouldn't I be?" Another lie.
Tali nodded and squeezed his shoulder and stood up heading to the door, "okay," she replied calmly as she looked back from the door. "I just wanted to ask if you felt like stretching your legs that's all. Garrus and Grunt said they were heading out with Jacob who claimed he would be… 'Scouting for bars.' I have no idea what that means honestly." Tali shook her head, placing her two fingered hand on her mask as she let out a small sigh, before her voice picked up just a bit as Shepard swore he could see her raise an eyebrow through the visor that obscured her face. "What? What are you smiling at," she asked letting out a giggle?
Shepard blinked as he snapped out of a small haze over his mind, "I-I was smiling?" Shepard laughed and nodded at Tali, "alright I will come down in a few minutes… just ask the three of them to wait for me. Okay?"
"Of course," Tali told him as she left the room, the door resealing itself as she headed towards the elevator.
Now alone Shepard fell back on his bed and let out a long hard moan, and closed his eyes. And for the first time since the base, the nightmare was gone.
"Heh… what's the worst that can happen?"
Authors Notes
Hello, one and all. Hello, hello!
Welcome to my latest attempt at a fanfiction, another grand crossover I have been milling about for a while, and wanted to test the waters on. I have always loved both franchises so as per usual I am going to see if I can mesh them together.
I hope I did an okay job with a mix of 'show and don't tell' although I was forced to use some tell to at least get the basic foundation of the story laid out for people unfamiliar with either one of the franchises.
A small note though is that this particular variation on the Transformers is a collection of ideas from the Alligned universes, IDW universe and War/Fall of Cybertron games. I am not really sticking to any one universe due to Transformers tendency to recycle ideas frequently in their plot lines, although thus far the plot has followed a fairly consistent plot of Autobots and Decepticons fighting for dominance over Cybertron and across 'their galaxy.' If you have any questions about this please message me, as it will one hand motivate me, help me flesh out any kinks and also allay your concerns.
Either way have fun reading and leave our feedback even if its a 'thumbs up' as it really helps push me to make more ^^