EDIT: As of 10-7-15 chapters 1 - 20 have been severely edited. Please scroll to the bottom to see why.
This fic will be heavily based off of the G1 universe following the cartoon premise that the Cybertronian race was created by the Quintessons. Vector Sigma and other semi-deities will come into play as I see fit. Not everything will be cannon; this is fan-fiction after all. :p In fact, this story may turn out quite AU.
This is my first fanfic and I have big plans for an epic trilogy/ universe following this story-line and its theories. I appreciate any advice or suggestions that you may have on characters, cannon lore, whatnot and etc.
Please read and review; constructive criticism is very much welcomed. Flamers will be fed to sharkticons. Earth time translations are available on my profile page.
Chapter One
A Scheme, a Plot, and a Plan
Beta read by the amazing Cairistona.
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers or the Quintessons. I own only my oc's and my imagination. Credit goes to AequitasOnAZipdisk for certain ideas on Quintesson culture and etiquette.
A small group of four quintesson scientists levitated awkwardly with their thin, whip-like tentacles knotting themselves nervously, some twitching in impatience as they waited.
They were in the conference hall by the request of the Judges to report on the recent progress, or lack thereof, within the mining facilities located on the rogue planetoid that now orbited their home world. The quintessons in question had little to do with the actual mining facilities, but they were the main force behind the design and function of the drones used in the operation.
"There must be another way to go about such a plan!" the smallest quintesson, and the most squeamish of the four, hissed urgently to his companions. "I do not feel comfortable with such a direct confrontation; if we're suspected in even the slightest..."
Alchana, the ranking scientist of the group, and leader if you will, could feel her patience waning as an argument was already starting to break out between her lesser colleagues. She had waited far too long for this audience with the judges to have it ruined by her foolish accomplices. Requesting a hearing with the triad of rulers was no easy task; Alchana was extremely lucky that they had summoned them in response to her 'request'.
If these fools she worked with didn't start pulling themselves together then there would be pit to pay. Failure would mean nothing, but the cost of success was too great for them to afford such needless bickering. Alchana was thankful that Tiron was with her and was able to keep them silent for the most part.
"Your opinions are meaningless to us, Slovak!" came the angry replies of the two quintessons beside her. These two in particular shared similar qualities in their appearance, suggesting a brotherly kinship.
"Our proposal is soundly based and will offer the desired results. They have no grounds on which to deny progress of this caliber." One of the brothers stated calmly, standing as the voice of reason.
The other brother, slightly bulkier and darker skinned in comparison, snorted, "Of course, Tiron, other than the fact that we plan to forcefully usurp the tyrants." This was Bithon, the older brother out of the two pod mates, and his remark was pointedly ignored by the other three.
"I must agree with Tiron; his reasoning has a valid point which they cannot ignore." The female scientist paused before smirking slightly, "Although I have since learned that you are often blind to logic," She stated with a pointed look towards the programmer.
Slovak paled even as his face contorted in fury at the underlying insult, but the normally submissive quint refused to back down. "You fail to understand me, Alchana; the Judges are not blind. They will see right through your little scheme."
"That is Professor Alchana to you, Slovak. Your idle fears accomplish nothing. If the Judges wish to stop us, then they will, but I am counting on their foolish trust in their positions to allow us to continue. By the time they realize their mistake, it will be too late for them to stop us." She responded evenly; she could not afford to be riled up before the Judges.
"I still don't see how the likes of you will be any different, much less better." Slovak retorted sharply.
Bithon, the larger brother, flared his levitation device and snarled in the smaller quint's face, "You would do well to watch your glossa if I were you." He pulled back when passing civilians started giving the group suspicious glances.
Alchana merely grinned, her steel-blue eyes flashing dangerously as she watched her companions bicker. Because she was the only three-faced quintesson out of her group, she outranked them all; that on top of being a femme made them hesitant to indulge in their typically more... creative arguments. They had every right to be cautious within her presence; her three faces knew only logic, anger, and ambition. She would not stand this endless stupidity for long though.
"Listen you fools! I don't necessarily like any of you, but our plans will only work if you pull yourselves together. That also means refraining from telling the public our entire agenda." She glared sharply at Bithon, whose voice had begun to rise as the argument progressed, drawing the attentions of several ears that she did not want to deal with at that moment.
Tiron hurriedly pulled his brother away in an attempt to calm him before something or someone snapped. Bithon shook his tentacles off with a shrug, but proceeded to hold his glossa. Showing up before the judges in a foul temper was never wise, especially when one was planning to deceive them.
Alchana's face momentarily swapped to a brightly colored red and midnight blue accented persona, expressing her anger at the two scientists. Slovak had conveniently slunk into a corner, hoping to stay out of the others' way. A wise decision, Alchana noted subconsciously.
Just as Alchana prepared to remind them of their positions, a large brute-like quintesson body guard motioned that they were to follow him into the auditorium. Alchana instantly returned to her cool, icy blue colored default, and her more logical self took the lead while the other three quints trailed behind, grateful that they had escaped one of her renowned verbal lashings.
The auditorium was huge, and although they made no footsteps, every little rustle seemed to echo as they made their way across the long entrance way. The hall itself was richly adorned with regal colors and highly accented with gold, causing Alchana's focus to wander in awe. The three judges floated on extravagant thrones laid out in a pyramid formation before a great pit which was said to have no bottom. Each of the five-faced quintesson judges bore the five faces of death as their default, resulting in the terrible combination that earned their dictatorship its title.
The judges looked over the scientists scathingly before one of them spoke, "Honored Professor Alchana-Duani -head of Robotic AI Research and Development, Betois wing, second division of Yarxtan; make your report." Lord Kledji stated; his voice was factual and emotionless even as he nearly spat out her title. When death was one's default there was little need for pleasantries.
Alchana swallowed quickly and maneuvered forward to distinguish herself what little she could.
"As you know from earlier reports, we have had some difficulties in the mining operations on the rogue planetoid." She paused briefly before continuing; her voice sounding firmly throughout the room as she gained more confidence. Hesitation was not an option.
"The current drones in operation have been found insufficient in several ways when it comes to the finer details of the project. To illustrate, I have taken the liberty of sending several datas worth of incident reports from the last orn and a half." Alchana looked up and repressed a smug smile as the judges began accessing the data on their personal view screens. She waited several moments before continuing in order for them to scan through what she had sent them.
"As you can see, the drones clearly lack the necessary, how shall I put it, know-how to properly mine this particularly volatile element. If you take notice of the time-stamps, you will see that these are all very recent incidents." Alchana maneuvered backwards with a formal half bow and a carefully hidden smirk as she began the delicate campaign of lies. True, the drones were clumsy and had caused a substantial amount of losses, but many of the lesser incidents had been created merely to make a more convincing report. "I will allow my colleague, Slovak-Anur, to elaborate further details on the actual damage reports."
The smaller quintesson levitated forward with only a moment's hesitance. Alchana sent him a long look as he moved past her, warning him not to mess around.
"The latest incidents have been mostly minor, with the exception of the catastrophe in sector F-13 beta." He was forced to halt his presentation when the judges accessed the information given them. Their outrage was understandable. The accident had been quite costly as they had lost several dozen drones and the cavern had collapsed in a large explosion. It did not help that that particular mine shaft contained the largest deposit of the raw crystal they had yet to see.
"As you can see in the reports, the cave-in was caused because the drones failed to sense the highly concentrated pocket of methane plasma. In part, this was the fault of the programmer in question," Slovak looked up and quickly went on after seeing the hard looks the judges gave him. As if it were their fault; the drones in question were manufactured in Klavion. "The second half of the equation, so to speak, is energy efficiency. The drones is question were partly unable to function at full capacity because their energy reserves do not hold a big enough charge."
"And what do you propose to solve this energy problem?" The maroon and scarlet adorned Judge known as Derodomontatus drawled, a dark questioning in his eyes. The other two judges shared this curiosity with brief murmurs among themselves.
Tiron maneuvered forward at this point, dipping his head ever so slightly as he hovered before the Judges.
"In the latest report from mining Overseer Remin," Tiron paused for an astrosecond, just long enough to allow the Judges to recognize the name, "he reported the discovery of an unidentified ore in the same general district as the energon crystal was first discovered."
"Explain." The green and golden gilded Judge, Heirodyus, if Tiron remembered correctly, interrupted[RH2] curiously.
Tiron was very aware of Alchana's presence behind him as he continued making his proposal. He could feel her gaze on the back of his head, watching and waiting –analyzing every word he said and the reactions the Judges had to them.
"What we propose is that we are granted sole unrestricted access to all samples of this ore, which we believe to be an untapped energy source far beyond anything we have ever seen before. According to preliminary readings taken by the drones before their systems burnt out, this ore is over 10,000 hilyons more potent than the energon ore[RH3] ."
"What you propose is not something to be taken lightly. I am confident that you are aware of this, Professor Alchana-Duani." Lord Kledji spoke at Alchana specifically, his voice cold and unreadable.
"Of course your Excellencies. My partners are all aware of this and are willing to do whatever it takes to further the empire." Alchana spun her words silkily, knowing fully that the Judges were simply testing her. What they did not realize was the double meaning her words held for her and her companions.
Further the empire indeed, Alchana scoffed internally.
The judges considered this and began a quick whispered conversation among themselves in quiet tones before Judge Heirodyus spoke for the three of them, his face turning over to reflect a calculating expression.
"We will adjourn this meeting and give you our ruling in three breems. You are dismissed."
"Understood. May the Judges rule and the empire endure." Alchana stated respectfully, effortlessly disguising how bitter the words tasted on her glossa.
As they exited the Judges' chambers, Alchana took the opportunity to turn back to her colleagues for a moment to refocus.
The Judges seemed genuinely curious about their plans for the ore, if not the ore itself. Alchana felt that this was a good sign, as she could manipulate curiosity far better than animosity. This ore was unlike anything they had ever seen before, the same thing that they were saying when the energon crystals were first discovered nearly five vorns ago. But no matter how supposedly clean and efficient the crystal was, it was simply too unstable to fuel a drone without burning out its systems. Alchana had every intention of changing that.
"This was not a good idea, Alchana! We should have just smuggled a sample of the ore and been done with it." Slovak's tone was nearing a whine, and he cautiously lowered his voice.
"Impossible. Surely even you must realize that." Alchana said flatly. She didn't have the patience to deal with the nervous quint's whining just then. All they needed was the Judges to authorize the proposal so that she had their weight to throw around when the other departments started catching on to the still mostly unrecognized discovery. That and if they had the Judges' consent, then they had less vulnerability should there be any... accidents.
"Be silent, both of you." Tiron said darkly, and Slovak withered slightly under his gaze while Alchana fumed. Tiron ignored them and refocused on the judges' quiet argument through the chamber walls. He cocked his head slightly, and Alchana gave him a glare that said 'you better tell me what you're thinking or else.'
"Patience Duani, all in due time..." He broke off as he listened more carefully, pressing the side of his head to the vent near the wall. He frowned and refocused on the others. "They have reached their decision, but it would seem they are wary of your proposal." Tiron watched Alchana carefully, gauging her face before continuing. "I suggest you do something to ease their judgment."
Alchana remained silent; she knew she should do something, but her skills did not lie in flattery. Tiron of all people should know that. Alchana glanced over at Bithon and motioned him closer with a small flick of her tentacles. He nodded; they had rehearsed this possibility.
"We have reached a verdict." Lord Kledji spoke for all the Judges.
"You will be allowed this proposal of yours, and we will require a progress report every three rotations." Derodomontatus said with an edge of scorn in his voice.
Bithon levitated himself forward slightly and dipped his head in respect, "We thank you for your most gracious acceptance, your Excellencies. Rest assured that we shall do everything to the best of our abilities to suit the purpose of the Quintesson Empire. You will not be disappointed!" Even to him the words sounded mockingly respectful, for try as he might he could not keep his disdain completely hidden. The sickly sweet flattery did little to affect the judges, however, and they made no sign of even acknowledging his vain exaltations.
"Dismissed." Heirodyus said impassively, and their bulky escort ushered the scientists out of the chamber.
Alchana knew she would have to watch where to put her tentacles. Nothing could be hidden from the Judges, even if they chose to remain silent. She knew that before she even started this process. Seeing the judges face to face had reminded them all just how foreboding the future was should they not pay attention. For some it was a challenge to be accepted, for others it would cast a shadow on their minds.
The judges were not known for their mercy when it came to traitors of the empire.
Authors note:
Chapters 1-20 have been changed to reflect canon continuity by following the hotspot theory as seen in the MTMTE and RID comics.
I have done this because it has greatly broadened and improved the science of how the Quintessons built the Transformers. In this revised edition you will find that the Quintessons stumbled across a rogue planetiod that carried 13 samples of a strange ore that they came to know as Spark ore -hence combining the canon hotspot theory with the advent of the thirteen primes. Primus spawned their sparks, but the Quintessons built and controlled their frames.
I hope that some of my old readers might re-read these chapters to get a better grasp of my personal transformers universe, however, the recap above does sum up the majority of changes made.
As for new readers, keep reading! It gets better!