Chapter 3 To Speed Planet

Oriona gave the screen in front of her a questioning look. It seemed too easy and too soon to have located the location of the first Cyber Planet Key. Sure, the map had been a huge help, but to find the coordinates of a planet that had an orbit they were unsure of and pinpoint them was another matter. Even with Vector Prime's reassurance that they had found the planet they were looking for did not soothe her worries or her suspicion.

She had observed Starscream playing around with his copy of the map. He would mumble to himself while making minor adjustments, pointing to certain spots on the three-dimensional map before shaking his head. He always realized when she was watching and would carefully put the map away before asking if she needed anything. His gentle, loyal smile always struck her hard in the fuel tank and she would smile back. Starscream, even after ten years, was still more loyal to her than most of her followers.

She had to fight to get anyone to follow her orders, not that she really blamed them. She did not look like a leader. She was too small, she lacked any sort of impressive upgrade, and most importantly she did not even sound like someone to follow. She had to look up to meet most mechs or femmes' optics and her voice would quiver if they shot her a filthy look. Ten years was all it had taken to rob her of her dignity and courage and return her to the meek little femme that hated to hurt anyone's feelings. That femme could never lead anyone either.

All the worry and anxiety around her spark was having an effect on her mate. Megatron was twice as surly as normal, snapping at anyone that was not doing some form of work. He butted heads almost daily with Jetfire, demanding to know why he was failing to follow orders. The Seekers had deemed the shuttle as one of "clipped wings" and ignored him whenever he tried to get them to help him with his case. Megatron had taken the Seekers' dislike for Jetfire as a sign that he was unwelcome and attacked him steadily.

Jetfire did not help himself to begin with. He refused to follow anyone's orders and generally tried to sabotage any of the projects underway to stop the black hole. Oriona's patience for the mech were wearing thin and he was not helping with his constant flirting and insistence to join him in her berth at night. No matter how many times Megatron beat him senseless for attempting to steal her away, the green shuttle; or rather cargo plane after he scanned a new Earth mode; just continued with his antics.

"Hey, Oriona, you awake in there?" Flamewar asked before knocking gently on the top of her head. "Hello?"

"I'm quite awake," she replied a little coldly before stepping away from the other femme. "Forgive me for spacing out."

"No problem, boss," Scattershot replied before blinking shyly at her. "We were all just wondering who would be going."

Oriona tilted her head, ignoring the shouts of fighting mechs as they tried to decide for themselves who was going. She wanted someone with a level head to go, as well as continue to follow orders when they arrived. Her first choice was Red Alert without a moment's hesitation. He knew how to behave on foreign planets better than anyone else in the group and he would not question her orders. She would also need someone who was a good warrior to go with him. They had no idea what sort of civilization existed on this planet and the locals could be hostile. Hot Shot was the first mech that came to mind, but she knew if she sent him the others would think the choice was made just because he was her son. However, none of the others were as qualified as Hot Shot; they would just have to deal with it.

"Red Alert," she stated as she turned to face the medic, "you and Hot Shot will go to this planet in search of the Cyber Planet Key."

"Alright," Hot Shot laughed as he clapped the other mech's shoulder. "Just like old times, right, Red?"

Red Alert nodded before looking at her. She told him to keep a low profile and to avoid contacts with the natives. She did not need an intergalactic incident because they somehow managed to insult someone. Hot Shot asked if they were allowed to interact when they learnt the culture. She replied that he could only when he was positive that he would not insult anyone.

"Why does he get to go?" Jetfire demanded, storming over and looming over her. "Hot Shot is hardly a capable fighter!"

"Hey!"

"Hot Shot is qualified for his part in the mission," Oriona replied. "I hope you were not expecting me to send you when you fail to acknowledge the chain of command."

He glared at her before snarling and pulling his fist back. She braced herself for the attack, knowing full well that even flinching would make her look inferior. He barely had time to even throw his fist forward before Megatron had him by the wings and pulling him backwards with a vicious glint in his optics. The pair snarled at each other before they tumbled to the ground and started exchanging blows. Oriona watched with narrowed optics as Megatron proceeded to beat Jetfire senseless.

The sound of metal striking metal was almost music. No one spoke up to stop the fight, but the look in many optics was horror as energon started leaking across the floor from a ruptured fuel line in Jetfire's abdomen. He clawed at Megatron's armor, tearing his fingers open on the sharp spikes that adorned him. There was a momentary pause where Megatron's hand stayed almost affectionately on Jetfire's shoulder, before there was a soft crackle of electricity and Jetfire started screaming in pain. Blue veins of electricity erupted from Megatron's hand and coursed their way down Jetfire's body.

He withered in agony, his visor starting to turn white as his pain receptors started to overwhelm him. Megatron's dark laugh rang throughout the command center, effectively drowning out the screams from the shuttle below him. Megatron's electrically covered hand pulled back into a fist and he prepared to ram it into Jetfire's face, a vicious smile on his face. Oriona decided that he had gone far enough and stepped forward to rest a hand on his shoulder.

"That's enough," she stated softly.

"You're too soft," he growled in reply but stood up anyways.

She gave him an even look before regarding the beaten mech on the ground. She cast Ratchet a glance and he moved forward without the need of orders to drag Jetfire's aft to the medbay. He snapped at Demolisher to give him a hand and whipped a wrench at him the second the green mech moved to clap his hands. The green mech was quick to scuttle over after that, grumbling that he didn't need to be so violent.

Megatron snorted as the two mechs hoisted Jetfire over their shoulders and headed for the medbay. He was obviously unimpressed with having to let him live. Oriona sighed before asking Vector Prime to open the space bridge. He gave her a cautious look before slicing his sword through the very fabric of time and space. She stared at the green portal in fascination before she and Megatron gripped each other's hand tightly. She inhaled deeply before focusing on the Matrix within her spark, feeling the power that resided there. The ancient artefact reacted slowly at first, almost as if it was asking why it was being awakened.

The moment it sensed the half in Megatron's spark reacting, however, it immediately filled her with power. She could almost feel the fire flickering across her armor as she and Megatron both focused on the coordinates of the planet. The others gasped softly and she onlined her optics without realizing she had offlined them and watched the green space bridge widen. The image of a long road that was suspended above miles of sand took shape and Hot Shot whistled in admiration.

She wished both of them good luck as the power fell dormant again. Hot Shot nodded before he and Red Alert walked through, shouting over his shoulder that he'd bring Side Swipe back a souvenir. Side Swipe let out a fake cheer, his lips pursed in annoyance. No doubt he was not happy at being left behind while his brother went out to do the hard work. Oriona turned to speak to him and the floor rushed up to meet her.

Megatron's arms wrapped around her before she connected with the solid surface and hoisted her up against his chest. He gave her a worried look and she smiled back before reassuring him that she was alright. He gave her a sour look before leaving the command center, shouting over his shoulder that the first person to disturb her was going to regret it. She grumbled that he was being a little harsh and he snorted before replying that her recharge was more important than a few problems around the base.

"Megatron, I'm fine," she sighed as they entered their quarters. "Really."

"You're resting," he stated gently as he set her down. "You need it."

"I'm fine," she repeated before relaxing into the berth. "But it does feel good to lie here."

Megatron smiled before leaning over and kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Oriona."

She smiled up at him before yawning and rolling onto her side. She felt his presence leave the room and she slipped into recharge wondering where he went. Megatron, to the ignorance of the rest of the base, was not on Earth anymore. He knew the coordinates of the new planet and he had plans of his own, but first, he needed to recruit some of the locals.

He had at his disposal his own space bridge system. He wasn't sure how or why, but he could enter a dimension all his own. It resembled that of a volcano, with craggy rocks reaching out into a dark sky and a molten lava floor with patches of bare rock to walk on. There were also monstrous flames that leapt around the dimension, making the entire place almost unbearably hot. Yet, somehow, he was never burnt or melted when he came in contact with the flames. He had seen Starscream reel away with a howl of agony when he had strayed too close to a tongue of flame, but he could walk through them and not even start having condensation build on his frame. Though this dimension, he could go anywhere so long as he had the right coordinates.

He stepped out into a dark tunnel and looked around curiously. He could hear the wind howling by outside and he wondered vaguely about how bad the flying conditions were. Not that it mattered really, he reflected before he heard voices heading for him. He smirked before shifting into his dragster mode, marvelling at how streamline he was; he was so use to having bulky alt modes that the swiftness of both his jet-mode and car-mode astonished him.

He watched a small red motorbike and a much large green three-wheeled car drive towards him. They were arguing about something and the motorbike kept swinging its back end around to smack the car's side. He revved his engine to get their attention and smirked when he heard the green car yelped in surprise.

"Hey, who's this guy?" the green one asked, his voice suggesting that he was a little on the dumb side. "Think he's friendly?"

Megatron fired at them, just to see how they would react. He was not disappointed.

"No! Not friendly!" the red motorbike squealed in fear.

"Maybe he's related to that cute scooter you tormented," the car suggested. "I told you, you should have been nicer to her."

"She was NOT cute," the motorbike snarled back. "And she called me stupid! Not to mention...! AW SLAG!"

Megatron had transformed and flown over top of the squabbling pair and now stood proud in the center of the road. The motorbike let out a small whine before transforming and attempting to tackle him. He knocked the small bike aside with a small movement of his arm, smirking at the sound of metal striking metal as he hit the wall. The massive car charged at him and transformed, the massive mech's fist pulled back to strike him. He rolled his optics in annoyance before grabbing the mech by the head and whipping him into the wall beside his companion.

"You both work for me now, understood?" he snorted.

"Sure thing, whatever you say boss," the larger of the pair replied with a cough.

The red motorbike winced before getting to his feet. He rubbed his back for a second before shaking himself out and commenting that he could have been a little softer. He shot the mech a look before he froze and blinked in surprise. The motorbike had curves and had softer features than others he had seen in his life. The bike gave his head a shake before smacking a delicate looking hand to her helmet.

"Are you a femme?" Megatron asked.

The bike looked up at him in horror before spinning around and glaring at the other mech. "You said I didn't look like a mech!" he accused.

"You don't!" the green mech squeaked. "You look very feminine, Ransack."

"Then why did he have to ask?" the mech who was actually a femme demanded.

"Forgive me," Megatron stated quickly. "I have not had many encounters with femmes with your style of alt mode. Most choose a much more...flashy type of motorcycle."

The femme turned to him and snorted. "Buncha prissies," she spat. "Those alt modes ain't no good for racing!" She paused and tilted her head before slumping her shoulders. "I...suppose I could forgive you for messing my sex up, but don't let it happen again!"

Megatron was impressed by this short femme's bravado. He had beaten her without even exerting any force yet she had just acted as if she was doing him favour. She had spunk, he'd give her that, and he enjoyed femmes with spunk; they made life a little more interesting. He chuckled at her statement before touching his chest and promising not to make the same mistake twice. She grinned in response before planting her hands on her hips and asking what he needed them for.

"I'm looking for something called the Cyber Planet Kay," he replied. "Have you any idea where it could be?"

"Cyber Planet Key?" she asked before scratching her helm. "Can't say I've ever heard of it; I mean, we use these keys to make us a little stronger, but I've never heard of a Cyber Planet Key."

Megatron frowned before crossing his arms. Was it possible that only high-ranking members of this planet knew about the Key? Did any of them know? He watched the green mech turn to his partner and tilt his head curiously.

"Think Override might know?" he asked.

"She probably does," the femme sighed.

"And who is Override?" Megatron asked curiously.

"Leader of Velocitron...sorta," the femme replied with a small shrug. "Here, whoever wins the Speed Planet Cup is considered the leader. She's the current champion so we follow what she says in racing matters."

"And she might know about where the Key is located?" he asked.

"Possibly," the femme replied. "I've never heard of it so maybe it's a leader thing, right?"

Megatron nodded. "See to it that you ask around about the Key; I want as much information as you can gather," he ordered.

"We'll get right on it!" the femme replied before saluting. "Oh, my name's Ransack, by the way. He's Crumplezone."

Megatron smirked and nodded as the two transformed and drove off. He had to admit that the pair were a little odd for each other; Ransack obviously had the CPU between them; but if they worked well together, he was not going to complain. He watched them leave before opening the dimension gate behind him; there would be time to see into this theory of Ransack's later. Right now he had to get back to his mate before she awoke.

Author's note: Gah! Why am I taking so long to write these chapters up? Oh well, here's the next instalment for all you wonderful people that have put up with these insanely long stories. Thank you greatly!