Chapter 3
"You know Skywarp, if anybody else had told me that story, I would have shot him first, before asking any other questions."
"I know Megatron, but this is exactly what happened."
"Ans you are telling me that this planet is haunted?" The Decepticon leader commented.
"Yes Megatron."
"Skywarp, can it be that you are developing a liking for practical jokes?" Megatron said ironically. But he turned serious again a moment later.
"Soundwave?" He asked his communication officer, who came with the same shuttle. The dark blue Decepticon performed a mind scan on both seekers.
"They told the truth Megatron", he said, " or at least what they think is the truth."
Soundwave´s voice was monotony and mechanical. Because of this, he seemed almost emotionless at the first look. The Decepticons around him however knew that this wasn´t true.
"Do you say that we were hallucinating?" Skywarp asked angrily.
"Possibility of mental manipulation", Soundwave answered simply.
"That wasn´t an illusion", Thundercracker stated.
"We will see. Soundwave, eject Ravage", Megatron ordered. "He shall find the energy and Starscream too if he is still alive. That way or another, our scans confirmed that the most resources of this planet are still intact, we will find them."
"What?" Skywarp called out.
"Megatron, we have to leave this planet." Thundercracker told him.
"Thundercracker, Skywarp, you are Decepticon warriors, act like it", Megatron reminded them forcefully.
"Yes Megatron." Both seekers answered.
"Soundwave, you come with us, the rest stay with the shuttle", the Decepticon leader ordered.
The group of Decepticons went on their way, back in the direction Skywarp and Thundercracker came from.
xxxxxxx
A shuttle was about to enter the planet´s atmosphere.
A large group of Autobots was on board. Under them were Optimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, Ironhide, Jazz, Kup and Grim-Side. And beside them several other soldiers.
"We followed the particle trail of the Decepticon ship to this planet", Kup stated.
Outside of the shuttles windows, they could see the form of the globe. The atmosphere was grey, contaminated, the surface down there was scarred, the biosphere itself damaged beyond repair and the cities were destroyed.
"This planet is lying in ruins, Kup, Optimus?" Ultra Magnus had red the scans from the computer.
"By the Matrix, could the Decepticons have done this too?" Jazz called out.
"No, this destruction happened centuries ago", Magnus told him. "The Decepticons have nothing to do with it."
"Are there signs of life left?" Optimus asked him.
"I am not sure, I think I can read a few signs, but they are somehow distorted."
On the console next to them, a light started to blink.
"Optimus, I am receiving a transmission", Ultra Magnus disbelievingly told him.
It seemed impossible that anything should have survived down there.
"Put it through", Optimus Prime finally told him.
"Help me." A voice was to hear. It was deep, hoarse and somehow hollows.
"I am lost here. Help me."
The Autobots looked at each other. It was a call for help, so somebody must have survived on this world.
"This is Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime of the Autobots. Do you hear me?"
"Yes", the voice replied, it sounded weak, "I hear you."
Optimus went to the comm. console himself.
"Here is Optimus Prime speaking. I am the leader of the Autobots."
"Leader? Will you help me?"
"Yes. As Autobots it is our duty to help everybody who would need our help."
"Good."
"Can you tell us your name?"
"No."
"Are you one of the natives?"
"No, I am, I was lost."
"Hello?" Optimus asked.
"Very strange", Kup commented.
"Who ever that is, we will help him." Optimus decided.
"It was our goal to follow the Decepticons anyway and they are down there."
Far below them, on the place were the voice originated, something was waiting for them.
xxxxxxx
Megatron, Skywarp and Thundercracker, Soundwave and Ravage were making their way back through rubble and ash.
"I is this way were we found the remains", Thundercracker pointed out.
They were being watched, by more than one.
It was a group of 20 natives. They all looked wretched and more dead when alive. Their clothes were hanging from their bodies in scrapes, they were all out-drained by hunger and first, their reptilian like skin was burned by radiation and many had open wounds. By all rights they should have dies in this environment a long time ago. But something was keeping them alive.
And through their eyes, another single intelligence was looking at the Decepticons.
Without a warning, the fire was opened at them.
A few of the natives were armed with laser weapons, others with blades and a few were completely unarmed, simply throwing stones.
It was an insane attack, suicidal and beyond that. A small group of half dead walking corpses were attacking five fighting machines in the size of houses.
But they didn´t seem to care. All they did was attacking rigorously without any sense of reasoning. Some were screaming to the brink of their voices. There was no telling if this creatures were in anger or in pain. Or if it was utter madness.
For a few moments, out of surprise, none of the Decepticons acted.
"What the hell are this fools thinking?" Thundercracker called out.
"Probably gone mad", Skywarp replied. "Does this surprise you after all we have seen here?" He said more quietly.
Finally Megatron gave the order. "Decepticons attack."
It was a slaughter that took only a few seconds. Thundercracker and Skywarp lifted their guns and killed a dozen attackers with a single salve.
Megatron fired his fusion gun and completely disintegrated three of them. Ravage killed two men with his claws. The three remaining were shot by Soundwave.
It was over. 20 corpses were lying on the ground before the Decepticons.
Thundercracker looked at the dead natives, his expression was unreadable. Skywarp was similar, but he looked at Megatron.
"They had not the slightest chance", Thundercracker murmured.
"Something had influenced the minds of this creatures and driven them insane", Megatron exclaimed.
"Maybe there are even more deranged natives here." Megatron took a last look around.
"We put these creatures out of their misery. Come on."
Then they saw that one native was still there. It was a female, by what they could say. But in opposite to the others, which one just stood there and watched.
And then it spoke.
"Megatron, I have been waiting for you."
"Who are you and how do you know my name?" The Decepticon leader growled, "and why are you not in the same state as the rest of your kind?"
If any of the Decepticons was surprised by this, they didn´t show a reaction anymore. They had already seen too much to truly be impressed by something now.
"I will explain everything to you very soon. I am here to give you an offer."
"What kind of an offer?" Megatron asked.
"An invitation from my master", the female said smiling. "All you have to do is come with me and hear what he has to say."
"And why should I agree to this?"
"First of because I can explain to you what exactly is happening on this planet and my master can lead you to your missing soldiers."
It shouldn´t surprise Megatron that this creature knew about this too and it didn´t.
"Good, we will come with you, but any tricks and we will kill you."
"I understand perfectly lord Megatron", she assured him. "Come, follow me."
The Decepticon followed the way, the female native showed them.
xxxxxxx
Hundreds of miles away from them, another seeker was straying through the wasteland.
He couldn´t remember how exactly he got there. The last clear memories he had were eradicating this colony of irritating little organics and landing on this planet. After this, it became a grey mist.
All he remembered from there was walking through destroyed land, running, fighting, killing, tearing metal apart, crunching organic matter, shooting and burning.
The pain in his head, the memories, the voices.
And of course the being who was always on his side, the voice that was always in his mind, the other seeker next to him.
"Starscream", he heard the voice. He saw the other seeker appearing next to him, looking like he always did. A seeker from a different model line than himself, but very similar built, his armour was mostly blue, brown and black, with a few silver parts. His optics looked angrily at him.
Starscream would recognise this robot always and everywhere, it was the former air commander Skylord, the dead formers air commander.
"I have a surprise for you", the phantom told him mockingly. "Megatron had arrived on this planet. He had come for you. What do you think, should we let him find you or not?"
"Why can´t you simply let me alone?" Starscream screamed at the dead seeker.
"Let you alone? Wait, Starscream, let me see.
Were you not the one who had killed me? Have you not murdered me when I was shot down and wounded?
Why, why in the world should I let you alone?" The visitation was now yelling at him.
The Air Commander Skylord was lying on the side of the battlefield. He was able to transform back into robot mode. He had been defeated. As Megatron´s order to retreat came, everybody who was able followed it. Skylord had told his seekers before the battle that they could not expect anybody to help them…
Skylord noticed that someone was standing next to him. A hand was offered to him and after a moment he took it. As he looked up he saw the face of Starscream. The young seeker was smiling at him. This young talented recruit had come to help him, Skylord realised. While it wasn´t a good thing that one of his warriors, especially a so new one, would see him in this state. He was glad that someone saw him and came to help. And he was glad that Starscream showed his loyalty in this way. He knew that this robot had great potential and could be one of the best fliers of all times. Skylord would be more than happy to help this young seeker with his carrier.
In this moment he realised that he was looking in Starscream´s gun. The young seeker was still smiling. The discharge of his weapon was the last thing Skylord ever saw. 1
"You have killed me like a coward, when I was down and couldn´t fight back."
Yes, but that is the point. I did kill you. You are long gone, so vanish out of my life.
You had been shot down in battle, you had your chance and failed."
"Starscream, Starscream, do you remember how all this started? Then you were still a innocent mech.
A scene appeared before Starscream´s eyes. It was a long time ago. The scene actually appeared before him. It wasn´t the first time he saw his memories since he came to this planet.
He saw a younger version of himself and with him two other he knew all too well, a femme, who was standing next to him and a large white mech.
Both were gone by now. The femme was a seeker like him, very much like him actually and the mech was a very large shuttle, a scientist, a prominent and respected citizen and for some reason, he knew the seeker femme.
"Please Skyfire, take him in", the femme pleaded, "you know who is after me. You can protect him, offer him a better life, give him a chance."
The large mech looked uneasy at her. The femme had tried for some time to convince him.
"I will do what I can Starfall", he finally assured her.
"This is Starscream, he is my youngest creation", the femme introduced him.
"I am on the run Skyfire. He is better of with you. But nobody can know where he comes from."
"I will take him as my pupil", the large mech told her, "he could become a scientist like me."
"Thank you Skyfire."
Starscream was back in the present.
"But we both know how that ended", the being next to him told him.
xxxxxxx
The Autobots had landed. Two of them had staid behind to guard the shuttle. The rest of them were gone with Optimus to search for the Decepticon troop and the source of the help call. The had seperated in small groups to search more effective.
Ironhide was walking through a line of destroyed buildings. Since he had arrived, he had a strange feeling and it only became worse. It was nearly as if he could hear voices in the air, calling for him.
As he had came to this building, he could actually hear it.
"Ironhide."
And now, he could see a figure coming out from one of the ruins.
XXCCCC
(1: Scene from „Time circle" chapter 8)
The character Starfall was created by 9aza. I am using it with permission, including several changes in backstory.
