Disclaimer: Happy Mother's Day, . I hope you'll gave your moms a big hug. I'd hug my mom but I'll have to settle for a prayer in her memory.
Anyway, the latest chapter is set for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.
Chapter III
Autobot City; Oregon Mountains
Earth
Hotrod had come a long way since those cycles of his youth. Back when Autobot City was being constructed, he'd spent his time shirking guard duties and never really knowing or caring what the future held for him. Then the Decepticons hit the city with the intent of stealing the Matrix of Leadership. When Hotrod first touched the Matrix that day, he had a vision of himself fighting Galvatron within the inner workings of Unicron, and then he eventually became Rodimus Prime. Fast forward to now, and Hotrod was his old self. But he was different now.
He'd grown into a wiser, more responsible Autobot who was less likely to take his duties for granted. If only Kup could've seen him now? Sadly, Hotrod felt like he was acting as a sort of babysitter for Highbrow and Crosshairs. The newest arrivals from Cybertron had been butting heads back and forth for Primus knows how long. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were of no help to Hotrod at all. They were sitting in a corner enjoying the verbal, and sometimes physical, clashing between Highbrow and Crosshairs.
"It's not going to last. The "cons are up to something, Highbrow, mark my words on that." Crosshairs bellowed.
"I would surmise that you want the Decepticons to be up to something at the moment, Crosshairs." Highbrow retorted.
"Or maybe you just yammering because you know I'm right about this." Crosshairs stated, even pointing the finger at the more intellectual Autobot.
"Of course," Highbrow chuckled aloud. "That would likely explain your ornery attitude just a little bit better."
"Who're you calling horny?"
"Ornery; it's a term to describe irrational behavior born of any number of physical of emotional stimuli. In your case, I'd think it's combat stress related." Highbrow recited almost in a mocking tone.
Crosshairs started to storm toward Highbrow, saying, "I'll show you combat stress."
Hotrod finally stepped in between the pair just before they came to blows. "Easy, guys. We finally got all those old dents out of the city walls and we don't need any new ones."
"Seriously, Hotrod? We're arguing about the Decepticon's next move and you're worried about dents." Crosshairs wondered.
"Our truce with the Decepticons is conditional with the self-imposed exile of Galvatron. We haven't seen him for the passed seven Earth months." Highbrow pointed out.
"That's probably means he's got some seriously big plans for us. For all we know, he's planning to slam Cybertron into Earth's Sun." Crosshairs argued.
"Right, and I am a headless Transformer." Highbrow quipped.
"I can make you one if you keep yapping."
"Will you two please knock it off," Hotrod asked, and Highbrow and Crosshairs finally backed away. "Look, we haven't seen or heard from Galvatron or the other Decepticons since Seattle. So, we're pretty much in the clear. Now, let's agree to disagree and drop the subject."
Highbrow and Crosshairs exchanged glares before turning away. But Crosshairs silently sneered, "No-it-all."
Highbrow replied, "Sparkling!"
Hotrod was too beleaguered to care while Sideswipe and Sunstreaker snickered to each other. "Really, guys? You couldn't be bothered to even lift one finger and help out?"
Sideswipe looked at his twin and then asked, "Help with what, Hotrod? You seemed like you the situation well under control."
"Oh, yeah definitely. Those two really took your advice to Spark. They really did." Sunstreaker added, and then he and Sideswipe started to laugh.
"I wish you two stayed on Cybertron." Hotrod snarled at the brothers while a female Autobot with a midnight blue color scheme approached.
"Don't waste your energies on them, Hotrod. Their brothers; they never did know any better."
Hotrod recognized the voice and looked at the female Autobot. "Arcee, is that you?"
"It's a new look. I figured it was past time to ditch the pink and try something a little more modern," the Autobot, confirmed to be Arcee, exclaimed. She even struck a pose. "What'd you think?"
Hotrod was speechless at the site of Arcee standing in front of him with her new appearance. "It's a good look." he managed.
"I'll say. Hey Arcee, how 'bout you and I take a drive around the mountains?" Sunstreaker asked.
"I'd rather crash head-on into the side of a building, Sunstreaker." Arcee retorted.
"You got burned, bro." Sideswipe mocked.
"Shut up, Sideswipe."
Arcee tapped Hotrod on the shoulder to draw him away from the bickering brothers. Soon, the two Autobots started into the city at each other's side with not a word spoken between. Along the way, they caught a glimpse of Highbrow and Crosshairs once again bickering over something trivial. Hotrod had no intentions of breaking it up this time. They could've scrapped each other for all he cared.
Hotrod and Arcee continued to walk through the halls of the city before they came to a stop by the memorial wall. Hotrod studied the wall and the names that were listed on it, including the names of Springer, Sandstorm and Chromedome. Then his optics rested on the name of Kup, his former mentor and friend. It dawned on Hotrod that his earlier interactions with Highbrow and Crosshairs reminded him of all the times Kup had grilled him repeatedly. Hotrod never liked to listen, but Kup was still his friend.
"You okay, Hotrod?" Arcee asked.
"Just thinking about what Kup would've said to Highbrow and Crosshairs and how he would've put them to through ringer like he did me." Hotrod said with a smile.
"Knowing Kup as well we did, he probably would've regaled them with one of his many war stories." Arcee stated while shaking her head.
Hotrod had a pained expression on his face, not unlike the look of a soldier with Survivor's Guilt. "I wish he was still here to grill me some more. I miss him, Arcee. Springer, Tempest, Sandstorm… I miss all of them."
Arcee took Hotrod's hand in hers and drew herself closer to Hotrod. "I miss them, too."
Elsewhere in the city, Ultra Magnus was engaged in a conversation with Jazz and Elita One. "Nothing out of the ordinary's been reported for far from the Lunar Base?" Magnus asked.
"Everything's been relatively quiet up there, according to Marissa and William." Elita confirmed.
I'm a little bit on the jealous side. The humans are up there on the surface of their Moon all thanks to us Autobots giving them a home." Jazz exclaimed, though neither Magnus nor Elita were sure if he was joking or not.
"Jazz, the Lunar Base was jointing built by humans and Autobots as a means of proper cooperation." Elita was quick to point out.
"I'm not saying anything, I'm just saying. At least they got Breakaway up there to keep them company. Again, just saying." Jazz said defensively.
"I wasn't aware that Breakaway was up on the Moon with Marissa and Will." Ultra Magnus stated.
"He requested it as a matter of fact," Elita One replied. "Optimus granted the request, seeing as Breakaway's been pretty moody since Seattle."
"I suppose I can understand why. We lost a lot of friends, but losing Tempest was especially hard on the kid." Ultra Magnus said.
"I still can't believe that it was Prowl that killed Tempest. I thought I knew him." Jazz mused grimly.
"That wasn't our Prowl, Jazz. The real Prowl died along with the rest of our friends." Ultra Magnus stated.
"At least we don't have to worry about losing more friends," Elita added just the trio reached an opening automatic door. Then they stopped at an unexpected sight. "Optimus…"
Optimus Prime was down on one knee near a console, holding his free hand against his head. Elita One was the first to rush to the aid of her Spark mate with Jazz and Ultra Magnus following. Optimus was unresponsive to the presence of his friends when Elita knelt down beside him. Jazz instinctively armed up and covered the room while Ultra Magnus joined Elita beside Optimus. Optimus was still unresponsive but he was at least functioning on his own. But Elita could tell something wasn't right. She cupped his face with her hand.
"Optimus, look at me. Look at me." she said.
Optimus finally shook his head and replied, "I'm… I'm alright, Elita. I seemed to have become a little bit dizzy."
"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" Elita said.
Optimus looked at Elita knowing she was right and he stood up with aid from Ultra Magnus. "You read me like scripture."
Jazz disarmed while Magnus asked, "What happened, Optimus?"
Optimus still looked dazed when he replied, "It would be difficult for me to explain, but I'm certain that… I believe I may have seen Alpha Trion."
"Alpha Trion? No offense Optimus, but that doesn't seem possible," Jazz exclaimed. "You said yourself that Alpha Trion merged with Vector Sigma back on Cybertron."
"There's more to it than that, Jazz. I…" Optimus suddenly stopped speaking when he saw Alpha Trion by the entrance.
Optimus pushed passed his fellow Autobots without even saying a word. Alpha Trion didn't react once as Optimus approached at rapid pace. Optimus was outside in the halls looked for some sign of his former mentor. But Alpha Trion was nowhere to be found, and Optimus began to wonder if Alpha Trion was even there in front of him at all. But Optimus was as certain as he could be that Alpha Trion was present despite evidence to the contrary. Then he heard a voice in the back of his mind. It was Alpha Trion's voice in a hushed whisper…
Find his legacy.
Optimus couldn't fathom what the meaning was behind those cryptic words before his entire body went rigid. All at once, Optimus started to experience something bizarre. Images began flooding his mind at breakneck speeds, coming far too quickly for Optimus to process them. But somehow, Optimus was able to make out bits and pieces of the images, and they weren't quite images but visions. They were visual references of a time long passed. Optimus was seeing into the past.
He could briefly glimpse the birth of the universe, and of Primus engaging Unicron in near endless conflict. He could see Unicron adopting his planet form while Primus became Cybertron. The creation of the Thirteen Primes was shown to Optimus before everything moved to the final moments of his own life. From there, Optimus saw Hotrod become Rodimus Prime, destroy Unicron, defeat the Quintessons and lead the Autobots against the Fallen. He then saw himself fighting alongside Sentinel Prime and then reclaiming the Matrix of Leadership.
Then things became even stranger; there were moments that hadn't happened. Optimus saw friends dying, killed by a being he'd never seen before. He saw wanton destruction in various places and then, Optimus saw into the red eyes of someone… familiar. The image seemed to whisper his name in a cold, menacing tone before everything fell away, and Optimus was snapped back into reality. Elita One was standing in front of him.
"Optimus…"
"Elita?"
"What happened, Optimus? You completely blacked out on us." Elita stated with a concerned expression on her face.
Optimus looked at Elita, then at Ultra Magnus and Jazz before going back to Elita. "I… I don't know."
"There were go; good as new," said Tarantulas, who then stepped back to allow Sentinel Prime to rise. Then he added, "Well, mostly good anyway."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sentinel asked suspiciously.
Before Tarantulas could reply, Thunderwing entered the room. "How's our guest, Tarantulas?"
"His vital functions are restored to working orders and he should be able to walk a straight line. There were still certain… complications."
"Complications? What did you do?" Sentinel asked plain.
"You're conversion cog was sadly beyond repair, Sentinel, and we have no spare cogs on board to replace it. What that means is; you can no longer transform nor can you activate your weapons." Tarantulas explained to a startled Sentinel Prime.
"I suppose it's for the best, Tarantulas." Thunderwing smugly stated.
"For the best? Without my C-cog, I can't transform and I can get out off this ship." Sentinel complained.
"Even if you could transform, Sentinel, we're in space. You'd have nowhere to go and you know it. Plus, your vehicle form was ground-based, and ground-based vehicles don't so well in zero gravity environments." Thunderwing explained and approached Sentinel.
Sentinel was dejected but dared not to show it. "So, I'm a prisoner on this ship."
"You could leave anytime you want, Sentinel. We won't stop you, but the situation is what it is. There's no world for light years around so for the time being, you're our guest. Now, I believe I own you a tour of the Harbinger."
With a flick of his finger, Thunderwing guided Sentinel to the exit. Sentinel reluctantly followed and just missed the sly smirk from Tarantulas.
The tour of the Harbinger had so far gone without incident, during which Thunderwing had proven to be, at least, a gracious host. Sentinel Prime followed throughout the tour, but he remained cautious of Thunderwing and whatever happened to be his true intentions. Despite obviously not being aligned with the Decepticons, Thunderwing was far too friendly to be considered an Autobot. Sentinel was certain that Thunderwing was hiding something. Regardless, Thunderwing continued the tour.
They'd traveled through the corridors of the Harbinger, which were large and wide enough for the supposed crew to traverse. Sentinel Prime hadn't seen any other crewmembers save for Tarantulas, the Terrorcons and Thunderwing himself. Thunderwing assured him that there were more crewmembers aboard the Harbinger. The next area was an armory loaded to the brim with weapons that Sentinel had never seen before. It was also there that he'd seen two other crewmembers.
Thunderwing addressed the apparent armorers by the names Apeface and Snapdragon. Apeface turned and leered at Sentinel as if attempting to intimidate the former Prime. Sentinel wasn't having that but he wasn't about to retaliate in any way without Thunderwing acting on it. As for Snapdragon, the only thing more offensive than his appearance was the foul stench coming from him. It seemed far were than the smell from Blot of the Terrorcons. Sentinel wasn't sure what to make of the pair and ignored them. He followed Thunderwing as they continued the tour.
They passed by a sealed off area that Thunderwing claimed would be explored later. Thunderwing continued to lead Sentinel until they entered what likely the largest part of the ship. Sentinel was quick to surmise that they were on the bridge of the Harbinger, and he saw several other crewmembers at varying stations. The Terrorcons were among those on the bridge but there were others as well. A crewmember turned in his chair revealing a white and green color scheme with black stripe on the white surface. He face was a pure green with red optics. Another helmsmen turned and this one appeared menacing with a green, black and purple color scheme.
Two others were at a hub working at an identical pace. Both shared the same silver purple and black scheme. In fact, they seemed to share the exact same appearance, leading Sentinel to believe they were twins. The chair at the center of the bridge turned to reveal yet another crewmember, female this time. She possessed a blue, gray and orange color scheme but at least appeared somewhat more attractive than the rest of the crew. Her stoic expression proved she didn't care for what anyone thought of her appearance.
"Well, I've given you grant tour of the Harbinger. How do you find it here?" Thunderwing asked.
Sentinel was still wary of the crew and of Thunderwing in particular. "It's… most impressive. I can't say the same of your crew."
"Apeface and Snapdragon tend to act without thinking as do the Terrorcon, but the rest of my crew know their position. Tigatron and Skullcrusher are my helmsmen. The twins Wingspan and Pounce serve as my communications officers and they also double as saboteurs."
"Impressive crew, Thunderwing." Sentinel said.
"Aren't they?" Thunderwing mused as the female approached him.
"Nothing to report as of yet, captain. All external sensors are quiet." She said.
Then Tigatron, the white and green helmsman, added, "We're still trying to see if the coordinates to our destination are accurate. It shouldn't take much longer."
"Well done, Tigatron. Keep me posted on any new developments."
The female then asked, "Is it wise to have the prisoner here the bridge, sir?"
Sentinel narrowed his optics while Thunderwing stated, "Sentinel Prime is a guest on my ship, Dark Steel. He's free to roam as much he pleases."
"Be that as it may, I think we should keep the armory and relic vault secured in the event of an escape attempt." Dark Steel stated.
"And where would I go," Sentinel asked. "As Thunderwing explained to me, we're in the middle of space."
"You'll have to forgive Dark Steel. As my First Officer, she takes her job very seriously." Thunderwing said.
"Captain, we've been successful in verifying the coordinates of the planet you've been seeking." Tigatron reported. "It's several light years away from our current position in a system called Sol."
"Sol?" Sentinel whispered.
"Are there any life bearing planet within this system?" Thunderwing asked, ignoring Sentinel.
"One world; made up of thirty percent landmass and seventy percent liquid with an oxygen based atmosphere. Its dominant species is organically-based humanoids."
It didn't take Sentinel long to determine the identity of the planet and he involuntarily whispered, "Earth!"
Thunderwing heard it and looked to Sentinel with a sinister smirk. "You've been there before, haven't you?"
Sentinel was obviously made, so he steadied himself and replied, "I was there."
"I see," Thunderwing replied and returned to the helm. "Lock onto the coordinates and set course for the planet Earth. I believe that is where I finally find it."
"Find what? What aren't you telling me, Thunderwing?"
Before Thunderwing replied, Dark Steel quickly interjected. "Captain, you've already revealed too much about the relics as it stands now. If you reveal anymore…"
"That's enough, Dark Steel," Thunderwing snapped, and that was the first time Sentinel had seen anything beyond charm and charisma. Thunderwing continued with Sentinel, "Sentinel Prime asked a valid question and I am inclined to respond."
"What do you want with Earth, Thunderwing?" Sentinel asked.
Thunderwing mused and replied, "Maybe it's better if I were to show you."
Thunderwing then left the bridge the way he and Sentinel Prime came, but Dark Steel followed them this time. Sentinel was aware of Dark Steel's mistrust in him and the feeling was mutual, but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something… familiar about her. Regardless, Thunderwing led Sentinel down the corridor until they reached the locked the sealed off area. Thunderwing approached a console on the wall beside the door and pressed his hand against it. Within a moment, the console beeped and the door slid open leading into a large room full of containment apparatuses. Thunderwing and Dark Steel entered the room while Sentinel trailed behind them, in awe of what he was seeing within the room.
Numerous unusual looking devices were kept in stasis fields, levitated by a unseen force. Sentinel walked in front of Thunderwing and was heedless of Dark Steel trying to catch. Thunderwing stopped her and loud Sentinel to marvel at the devices. They all appeared ancient and yet, eerily similar to trinkets that could only be found in one place; Cybertron.
Sentinel confronted Thunderwing and asked, "What's is this place?"
"It's an interesting story, really. You see, I'm much more than a simple captain. I'm what you might call a collector." Thunderwing stated.
"A collector? A collector of what?"
Thunderwing walked by Sentinel with a cavalier strut. "Relics, of course, of a time long passed. I'm sure you've made of their shared design."
Sentinel did and he was shocked, "These relics are… Cybertronian. These are the relics of the Thirteen Primes."
Thunderwing continued his cavalier walk as he passed by each relic. "Yes. The first Transformers to exist, to stand together against Unicron and eventual, the first to splinter. And these are what remain of them. There's Apex Armor, the Sky Boom Shield, the Forge of Solus Prime, the Requiem Blaster, the Spark Extractor… my favorite, by the way…"
"All these relics were supposed to be lost after the fall of the Primes. How were you able to find them?" Sentinel asked.
"I have my ways, but there still one other relic I need to complete my collection. It's not so much a relic as it is a weapon and I have a hunch that Earth is where I'll find it." Thunderwing said.
"What are you after, Thunderwing?"
"To be blunt, it's the single most powerful weapon ever created or wielded by the leader of the Original Primes, and I'm sure you've heard of it," Thunderwing then closed the distance between his face and Sentinel's. "It's called… the Star Saber."
Author's Note: Uh oh, the plot thickens… a little bit anyway. Well, it's still early in the proceedings. Many happy returns for Hotrod, Jazz, Ultra Magnus, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Elita One and Arcee. Arcee debuts a new look inspired by her TFP appearance. We also get the first official appearance of Autobot newcomers Highbrow and Crosshairs.
Meanwhile, the Harbinger crew is further introduced, including; Apeface, Snapdragon, Skullcrusher, the twins Wingspan and Pounce, Tigatron and Dark Steel.
Regarding Optimus Prime, he is apparently experiencing vision of Alpha Trion as well as events that have happened and other that have not… at least not yet. What does it all mean?
Thunderwing's mysterious motivation are made a touch clearer as he is collecting relics of the Original Primes, and the Stat Saber is his next target. This could also mean we're getting a glimpse of his signature vice; obsession. We all have our little problems.
Check it out and review and sent a question my way and I'll be back soon.