Chapter 1

Prowl groaned to himself as he made his way into the training yard of the outpost Epsilon. He seemed to be wearing his age more and more these days judging from the chipping black and white paint job, as well as the near unintelligible word POLICE that was printed on his wing-like doors. He also appeared to be a bit sand blasted, perhaps because of the terrible sandstorm from the night before. However, it was neither age nor was it the sand. No, it was simply time for roll call, something he had come to dread. So, there he was in the training yard walking in front of a string of young Autobots, staring down on his holographic notepad as he read off the names inscribed upon it.

"Shock?"

"Here!"

"Ore?"

"Present!"

"Gridlock?"

"Raring to go!"

"Livewire?"

"I'm pumped!"

"Padlock?"

Silence. Prowl took a deep breath, and he went to the next name.

"Quicksilver?

Silence. An uneasy shudder rippled through the group of young cybertronians as they watched their superior's hands begin to shake.

"Let me guess. Wing Dagger isn't here either, is he?"

The silence prevailed, and Prowl cut loose with an aggravated growl.

"For Primus' sake! Where are they this time?!"

…

"Can I just point out that this is a bad, stupid idea?! We're gonna get caught!"

"Don't be such a sparkling, Paddy."

"I'VE TOLD YOU NOT TO CALL ME THAT!"

Padlock was a green mech with a rising feeling that he should have his primary processor examined. He was a normally quiet autoboot, and his idea of fun was kicking back in his bunk and reading a good autopedia article. However, ever since he had come to planet Rillick, his quiet life had been shattered. He had come here strictly to become a communications officer, but instead he was being taught how to disable bombs and safe ways to drive over mines. Prowl proved to be a difficult task master, but he wasn't the worst thing he had to put up with here. It was, in truth, these two cross-wired idiots that had insisted on dragging him along to have some "fun".

The first was Quicksilver, a red and silver femme whom was probably the most book smart of the three. She had graduated with high honors from the Cybertronian Academy of Higher Learning, and she was always ready to learn something new. She loved learning about Cybertron's history in particular, and she would always become lost in her own little world whenever she found anything from primeval Cybertron. She was also an avid believer in the Path of Primus, a religious movement that decreed that all Cybertronians possessed a destiny handed down by Primus himself. Padlock often found himself at odds with her in that regard, but she was a decent person and someone he could get along with under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, such circumstances didn't exist when Wing Dagger was involved.

Standing out with a brilliant color scheme of red, white, and blue, Wing Dagger was a boisterous young mech with a nose for trouble. He was often the first to call Prowl out on his unorthodox training methods, and, quite often, he would skip out on class in favor of something more exciting. For some reason, he couldn't seem to do these things alone and would insist on dragging Padlock and Quicksilver along. It didn't help that Quicksilver was perfectly fine with this, and it was her that normally convinced Padlock to come along.

Thus, here they were among the sand dunes. Wing Dagger had brought with them three MARB, Mobile Autobot Repair Bay, rovers, and it appeared that he wanted the three of them to, as he said, "ski" down the sandy slope with the hover vehicles. As usual, Padlock was skeptical.

"Dag, court martial aside, can you imagine how much trouble we'll be in if something were to happen to these things. These are seriously the only MARBs the outpost has, and if we break them…"

"We won't break them." Wing Dagger assured him. "You have any idea how tough these things are? I once heard that Chief Medical Officer Ratchet used one of these things to chase after Grimlock of the Dino Bots through a swamp. A little sand won't hurt anything."

He peeked down over the slope, and a smile broke out on his faceplate.

"Ah, yeah! This is gonna be great! I'll bet they don't have ski slopes like this back on earth. Gridlock told me about them, and I knew I had to try it."

"Remind me to pour kerosene in his oil rations next time." Padlock grumbled. "Look, before we do anything crazy, I would just like to say…"

"Too late, Paddy!" Wing Dagger hollered. "LET'S SAY GO!"

With that, he went sailing down the slope at high speeds. Padlock could hear Quicksilver giggle beside him, and she jetted over the slope right after him. Padlock remained still for a long time, and a sinking feeling took hold of him in the pit of his spark.

"I must be out of my scrapping mind."

He took a deep breath, and then he went screaming down the hill at much greater speed than he had expected. He pulled back on the accelerator and switched on the break, but it did little to slow him down. By the time he reached the bottom, it was everything he could do to hold on to the hovercraft as gravity and inertia propelled him forward. It wasn't long before he was neck and neck with his two friends once again, and he momentarily forgot his fear when he heard Wing Dagger laugh.

"Ok! We've had our fun!" he shouted over the roar of the MARBs. "Let's stop and return to base before Prowl finds us out here."

"Don't be such a worry wart, Padlock!" Quicksilver called back. She was grinning broadly. "This is the most fun I've had since we got here. Come on! I'll race ya to that big rock in the distance!"

"Oh, you're on!" Wing Dagger chuckled.

Once again, they accelerated off, and they left Padlock in a cloud of dust. The two raced at intense speed across the desert plain, both laughing and shooting playful insults at one another. The further along they went, Quicksilver finally found her opening to take the lead. She swerved her MARB in front of Wing Dagger, and then she switched off the back stabilizers of her rover, letting it drag in the sand. This kicked up a wave of dust that showered into Wing Dagger's optics, prompting him to pull to a complete stop. When he could see again, she had already built a hefty lead, and there was no way he could catch up with the MARB now. However, this didn't bother him.

"So that's how she wants to play it." he chuckled. "Ok, then. Let's see how you like this! Transform!"
He switched off his rover and then jumped into air. His T-cog whirred to life, and his body shifted and morphed into the form of a jet. With a roar of his engines, he blazed across the desert sand and quickly passed Quicksilver. Within moments, he had reached the finish line. He changed back into robot mode, and he leaned against the rock as his opponent pulled to a stop.

"Hey, no fair transforming!"

Wing Dagger chuckled. "Says the femme that sand blasted me. Besides, there's no rules and regulations out here."

At this time, Padlock pulled in next to the group, shutting down the MARB and sighing.

"You two satisfied now? I'm ready to get back and clean out the sand in my joints."

"Why rush?" Wing Dagger said as he relaxed his back against the rock. "We all know what Prowl's gonna say when we get back."

Quicksilver giggled, and then she struck an exaggerated pose.

"If you three trained as much as you slacked off," she said, trying to sound like Prowl, "then you would be able to beat Grimlock at arm-wrestling!"

She and Wing Dagger started laughing, and Padlock breathed a defeated sigh. Those two were hopeless. The three of them seated themselves in the shade of the large rock, and Wing Dagger started passing around some energon goodies he had swiped from the outpost commissary.

"Now this is more like it." he chuckled as he swallowed a goody. "Exploring a strange planet and hanging out with good friends: that's my idea of fun."

"Then why in blazes did you come here?" Padlock grumbled. "If all you want to do is explore, then why come to a training camp and just do it?"

Wing Dagger gave a mock gasp. "And deprive myself of your dry wit and wonderful sense of humor? Where's the fun in that?"

Padlock rolled his optics.

"But in all seriousness, I came here because I thought there would be classes on, well, I don't know. Survival training? Studies on different cultures? Visiting different planets? Not all this regimented stuff like early morning roll calls and target practice. Get this, Prowl has even been teaching me how to use a sword."

Padlock actually cocked his head at this. "Really? What for?"

"Scrap if I know. I guess it's because I'm a horrible shot. Seriously, I nearly shot Prowl three times last week." When he received looks from his friends, he quickly added, "It was an accident!"

"That aside," Padlock said, moving the conversation along, "I will admit you've got a point. I came here because there was promised a seminar by Blaster on communications. I've been here for three months, and he still hasn't shown."

"Why the interest in communications?" Quicksilver inquired.

"It's for my family." Padlock explained. "You see, due to several attacks by the Decepticons over the millennia, we all got split up and scattered throughout the universe. Now that the war is over and everyone is slowly finding their way back to cybertron, I'm hoping to find them through the many communication arrays we have set up around the galaxy."

Both Wing Dagger and Quicksilver adopted looks of pity, and the femme even went so far as to place a hand over the green mech's own. Wing Dagger followed suite by placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, bud. You'll find them." His eyes brightened. "Tell ya what! Once I'm done with this place, the first thing I'm gonna do as an explorer is look for them. Free of charge."

Padlock looked up at him and smiled. "Ya mean it?"

Wing Dagger chuckled, and he flashed his friend a thumbs-up. "You've got my word of honor. Let's say go!"

Padlock looked to his two friends, and he released a deep sigh.

"Thanks, Dag. Really, it means a lot."

Wing Dagger grinned a broad and happy smile, and he whopped Padlock on the back. He then looked over to Quicksilver.

"I guess that brings us to you, QS. Why did you come here? There weren't any courses on history scheduled. At least, not that I noticed."

To Wing Dagger and Padlock's confusion, the normally bubbly femme averted her gaze bashfully, and she cracked a tiny grin.

"I don't know. It's…It's kinda silly."

Wing Dagger's brows shot up at this. "Oh, that did it! Now I gotta know what it is."

"But you'll laugh." Quicksilver whined.

"Nah, we won't!" Wing Dagger promised urgently. "Come one, tell us!"

Quicksilver squirmed nervously under the heat of the two mechs' curious stares. She took a deep breath, and then released it quickly.

"I WANT TO FIND THE KNIGHTS OF CYBERTRON!"

Silence. Both Padlock and Wing Dagger just stared at her, neither quite sure how to respond. After a moment, it was Padlock that spoke.

"Do you care to repeat that?"

Quicksilver sighed. "I'm not surprised that you two don't know. Much of ancient Cybertron's history was destroyed by the ruling elite of old in an attempt to maintain control. Fortunately, I and my brothers and sisters within the Path of Primus are resourceful. You see, according to my research, the Knights of Cybertrons were the ultimate failsafe for the original thirteen primes. Apparently, there was enormous war amongst the primes, and in the end Prima, the first prime and Primus' chosen, was the last one standing. He had also suffered severe injuries, and thus he knew his time was short. Therefore, he traveled to a planet far away from Cybertron with a group of his most trusted warriors, and, using the last of his spark energy, he created something called the Codex of Knighthood. According to lore, any cybertronian, be they worthy, could obtain the power of Prima himself. These brave few became known as the Knights of Cybertron. Their job was to govern the people, kinda acting like judges, lawyers and prosecutors. If a cybertronian was ever convicted of a terrible crime, they had the option to be taken before the knights for judgement. Since they didn't live on Cybertron, they were truly impartial, and the wisdom of Prima granted them the understanding they needed to pass fair sentences upon the accused. Also, they were peacekeepers. At times of great peril, they would descend upon Cybertron with unimaginable power. It was said that their strength could even rival that of the primes themselves."

Quicksilver suddenly cut herself short when she realized that Padlock was shaking his head and rolling his optics. She glared at him.

"You got something you want to say, Paddy?"

Padlock looked at her, and he fixed her with a steady gaze. "Don't take it the wrong way, Quicksilver, but I find this information to be kinda incredible."

"That's for sure."

"I don't mean in that way, Dag! I mean, sure, I'm no historian or archivist by any measure, but I was educated by Perceptor himself, and never once has anything like this come up in his lessons."

Quicksilver's glare deepened into a scowl. "Oh yeah! Well, did your precious Perceptor have this?!"

She lifted an arm, and a compartment opened, a cylindrically shaped object falling out. Quicksilver then took it in her hands, and she pulled on a section of the cylinder. It pulled apart into two pieces, and a hard-light hologram formed between the two halves, revealing a planet and a set of coordinates. Beneath the planet, there was a word, but neither of the two mechs could read it.

"Uh, what are we looking at, exactly?"

"This, Mr. Skeptic, is a true blue, honest to goodness map to Planet Victory, the homeworld of the Knights of Cybertron."

Wing Dagger's optics glowed brightly, and he pushed passed Padlock for a closer look.

"Sweet Primus!" he exclaimed excitedly. "You can't get any better proof than this!"

Quicksilver tossed a smug look towards Padlock, and he rolled his optics.

"I wouldn't quite say that, exactly." Padlock muttered stubbornly. "But say that this is an accurate map. Why in the name of the progenitors did you come here instead of turning it in to someone at Autobot high command? Even Perceptor would be somewhat interest at the prospect."

Quicksilver scoffed, snapping the map back into the compartment of her arm.

"As if! I do that, and he would just steal the credit like always."

Padlock flinched at that.

"Excuse me?"

Quicksilver looked away. "You should know better than anyone that those who follow the Path of Primus are looked down upon as lunatics and zealots. I show this to the higher ups, and they'll just take the glory for themselves and my brothers and sisters will just be pushed further into the dark. Well I think not! Primus deigned that it would be me that found this map, thus it is my path to find the Knights and discover why they disappeared in the first place, and all of the credit will go to my brothers and sisters in the Path of Primus covenant."

Padlock was stunned into silence, and for once he was without an answer. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to feel offended by that outburst, or to be impressed by the young femme's fortitude. In the end, it was Wing Dagger that broke the silence.

"So…what you're saying is you're looking for somebody that can take you to this planet, or, more likely, learn how to find it on your own without the higher-ups finding out about it?"

Quicksilver nodded.

"Well, that settles it!" Wing Dagger said as he bolted to his feet. "C'mon, let's go!"

They looked at him.

"Go? Wait! You mean right now?"

Wing Dagger nodded. "You betcha. We're not getting anything done here, so let's just go now and find the place."

Padlock looked like he was about to overload. "Are you kidding me? We can't just up and leave! On top of making Prowl even angrier than he probably already is at us, we don't even have a means of getting there. Unless you were planning on stealing one of the ships docked at the outpost."

Padlock suddenly slapped a hand over his mouth, but by then the damage had already been done. Wing Dagger's smile had become even wider, and his optics sparkled with devious thoughts.

"Hey, now there's some good thinking there, Paddy."

"No!" Padlock interjected pleadingly. "It's not! It's bad thinking! Bad! Bad! Bad!"

"Stealing a ship will be hard." Quicksilver mused openly. "Prowl's a stickler for protocol. We'll have to watch him carefully and look for any sort of opportunities we could take."
"DON'T ENCOURAGE HIM!"

"Oh, don't blow a gasket, Paddy." Wing Dagger chuckled as he wound his arm around his shoulder. "This is gonna be fun. Besides, this'll be an awesome chance for you to find your folks. Think about it: you, me, and Quicksilver floating through the cosmos looking for family and adventure. It'll be great!"

Padlock just lowered his gaze, and he placed a hand over his face in defeat.

"Me and my big mouth."