Disclaimer: Not that many reviews so far, but it is still relatively early in the story. So, I have to believe that many more will come. Anyway, here's the next chapter.
Like always, I don't not the rights to Transformers.
Chapter IV
Deep Space
The Harbinger
Sentinel Prime wasn't sure if Thunderwing was serious or just borderline delusional. Maybe it was both considering the Harbinger's captain was talking about a relic long lost by the Original Primes, whose existence even up to now Sentinel didn't fully believe. Yet, the evidence in the vault spoke for itself; everything in the vault was tied to the Thirteen Primes in a certain capacity, but the Star Saber; no way in the flaming Pit did Sentinel believe it was as real as these other relics. Thunderwing thought otherwise.
"You're staring at me as though you don't believe me, Sentinel." Thunderwing said with a wry smirk.
"I don't believe you, Thunderwing," Sentinel replied and backed away toward the relics. "The Star Saber is a myth passed down by malfunctioning zealots on Cybertron."
"And yet, the relics you see here prove otherwise." Thunderwing pointed out.
"Forgeries, all of them." Sentinel declared.
Thunderwing smiled as if he was on the verge of laughter, while Dark Steel remained silent and ever watching Sentinel Prime's every move. Convinced of the validity of the vault's contents or not, Sentinel likely could've used any one of them. But Dark Steel already had her weapon deployed. Thunderwing was still sauntering around the vault near the closest of the relic; the massive gun he called the Requiem Blaster. He glanced at Sentinel for a split second before slamming a switch on the pedestal. The light blue beam surrounding the Requiem Blaster disappeared and the Blaster dipped before being caught by Thunderwing.
Sentinel made a move but was held at bay by the tip of the Requiem Blaster held by Thunderwing. "The Requiem Blaster was created the Prime's smith, Solus Prime and it was specifically made for Megatronus. You would know him the Fallen."
"It still looks like a forgery to me, Thunderwing." Sentinel declared. Then he heard a low humming sound coming from the Blaster.
"Still think it's a forgery? Do you still think any of these relics are forgeries," Thunderwing pulled the Requiem Blaster back and returned it to its pedestal. "You even held the Matrix of Leadership at one point. Did you think that was a forgery as well?"
"How would you even know about the Matrix when we've never even met before on Cybertron?" Sentinel asked.
"Who ever said I was from Cybertron? In fact, who said I was even Cybertronian?" Thunderwing cryptically asked.
Then Thunderwing departed the relic vault with Dark Steel close behind, leaving Sentinel alone with his thoughts and the relics around him. Sentinel glanced around the relics with an unbelieving stare that he couldn't shake. He wasn't about to admit that he was convinced of the authenticity of the relics, especially the Requiem Blaster that Thunderwing had pointed in his face. Thunderwing could've blown Sentinel head's clean off if he wanted to, but he didn't. There was something else; Thunderwing seemed to hint that he wasn't Cybertronian.
Sentinel wasn't buying it. Maybe Thunderwing was telling truth since Sentinel hadn't met hit before now. Conversely, maybe Thunderwing was Cybertronian and had simply renowned his species. Most likely, Thunderwing was a raving lunatic. Anyone who'd spent their lives searching for old relics of the Primes was likely a raving lunatic. As soon as Sentinel thought this, Thunderwing returned to the vault.
"Are you coming, Sentinel?" Then he was gone as quickly as he appeared.
Sentinel thought, Definitely a lunatic!
"There is no need for this, Triage. I am perfectly fine and able." Optimus Prime claimed while was clearly lying on an operating table being check on.
"As you attending doctor, I would suggest that I'm the one to decide if you're fine and able, Optimus," declared Triage, the new Autobot medical officer and another of the new additions to Earth. "Miss Carlo, what's the status of Optimus' vital signs?"
Off to the near side of the operating table, Verity Carlo was monitoring Optimus Prime's vitals. "Readings appear normal, Triage. Aside from your far less than stellar bedside manner, Optimus is relatively healthy."
Triage spun around and glared at Verity. "Let me remind you that my bedside manner is not the purpose of this operation."
"Let me remind you that I'm you're medical assistant and I'm doing more than you are now." Verity snapped back.
"You're only my assistant due to being assigned to me by Optimus Prime himself. It would behoove you to show a little bit of respect." Triage declared.
"Doctor, Verity is doing an exceptional job with her assistance. Insulting her will not change anything." Optimus declared.
"It'll piss me off." Verity mumbled to herself.
Elita One entered the medical area and asked, "What's the prognosis, Triage?"
Triage backed away from the table, allowing Optimus Prime to rise. "All the initial readings appear to be good. From a physical standpoint, Optimus is perfectly healthy."
"What about psychologically?" Elita asked.
"I did pick up some unusual patterns in Optimus' meta-processor, signs typically associated with intense dreaming." Verity stated, and she showed a recording of the patterns on the medical screen.
"Dreaming has an association with humans, not Transformers. When a Transformer is extensively damaged, they go into stasis lock." Triage argued.
"Yeah that's true, except Optimus was wide awake and standing when he, uh, went still." Verity said.
"Such a keen observation, and from a human. What has the universe come to." Triage sarcastically spat.
"I could same the same about your brutal sarcasm, Triage." Verity bit back.
Optimus Prime was already upright and started to leave the med bay. "Thank you all for your concern, but I am fine now. If you'll excuse me…" Then he walked out of the med bay.
"See what you did, Triage?" Verity snapped, finally getting the last word.
Triage tried to argue the need to run more tests, but Optimus Prime was already gone. Elita One was unconvinced of Optimus Prime's assurance of his wellbeing, and she even noted he was being surprisingly tightlipped about it. She ran out of the med bay after Optimus, who was halfway down the corridor seemingly going nowhere.
"Optimus," Elita called out, but Optimus didn't stop. "Optimus," she called out again, but still he didn't stop. "ORION!" Elita finally shouted.
Optimus finally stopped to the calling of his former identity. Without turning, he said, "You haven't called addressed me by than name since the Great War, Elita."
"I figured it was best possible way to get your attention for our more personal moments," Elita said as she approached Optimus and stood in front of him. "Plus I can usually tell when something is bothering you, and something is definitely bothering you."
Optimus knew he wasn't going to be able to dissuade Elita whenever she was getting to the heart of the matter. "We must keep this confidential, at least for the time being."
"What's with you, Optimus? You haven't been the same since you returned. Does this have anything to do with what you think you may have seen?"
"If you mean Alpha Trion, I believe it does. I understand the strangeness of it all, but I saw him and I heard him speak to me." Optimus said.
"What did he say?" Elita asked.
"He said, find his legacy. I have yet to determine the meaning behind his words, but I believe there is some broader purpose behind them."
"But that's not all you experienced is it?" Elita said, and Optimus shook his head.
"It is not. I've seen moments of the past; my death, Unicron's attack on Cybertron, the Quintessons, my rebirth…"
"And…"
"And… I've also seen events that may or may not come to pass," Optimus continued, and it sounded more and more odd to Elita. "I believe that something is going to happen."
"A Decepticon attack?" Elita theorized.
"That, I can not answer."
In the communications tower, Cerebros, Carly and Daniel Witwicky were busy monitoring the goings on throughout the city. Spike and Bumblebee had only recently arrived and offered to assist, although Carly claimed to have everything under control even though Bumblebee insisted on helping her. So, Spike focused his energies on assisting Cerebros and Daniel. Daniel had matured a great deal since Seattle, becoming a more serious and responsible person since he and Carly got together. Maybe the newfound of Hotrod had an effect on Daniel, since they were as close as brother. Seeing his son take on new responsibilities filled Spike with a sense of pride, but it also reminded him that he wasn't going to be around forever. Spike wasn't sure if Carly had come to the same conclusion, but she'd no doubt also be proud of their son.
"Lunar Base to Spike. Hello!" The somewhat humorous chiming of William Lennox brought Spike out of his stupor.
"What, I'm sorry, Will…"
"I was saying that the ceremony at the White House didn't go as well." Lennox claimed through a monitor and reporting from the Lunar Base on the Moon.
"Oh, well it was a lot less than ideal when you factor in that Josie Beller lady. I've never met anybody who hated the Transformers that much since Doctor Archeville." Spike said.
"I've heard of him but never met him. I've met Beller a couple of times, though. Based on my personal experiences, it's seems like she was a total bitch from the day she was born." Lennox implied.
"It gets worse than that, William." Carly chimed in and drew Spike's attention.
"How do you figure that?" Lennox asked.
"This Josie Beller woman had a fiancé that was killed in Seattle the day of the invasion. That's according to Chip's statement." Carly explained.
"That' would be another of the many reason why I detest conflict." Cerebros added.
"That's kind of why you don't fight." Bumblebee stated.
"Changing the subject, how're things doing between you and Marissa?" Spike asked.
"Things are good up here; Marissa's busy, but I think she likes it that way," Lennox said. "Breakaway is at least trying to keep busy, anything to get his mind off things, I guess."
"He's still broken up about Tempest, isn't he? I suppose I can understand that, but he'll have to come to terms with it at some point." Carly stated.
"Survivor's Guilt is a terrible thing, but that's kid's tougher than he looks. Other than that, back to my report; nothing unusual up here. We shot down a couple small meteors; nothing serious and no damage done."
"No Decepticon activity?" Spike asked.
"All quiet."
"Alright, keep us posted." Spike said before the screen went black.
"Hey Dad, is Breakaway doing okay up on the Moon?" Daniel asked.
"It's hard to say, Daniel. Losing Tempest was hard on all of us, but she and Breakaway shared a connection that ran deeper than friendship."
"Breakaway told me that he had to kill Tempest when she was reanimated as a Darkened creature. There no way that could've been easy." Daniel said about the Darkened that invaded Seattle.
"He knew that thing wasn't Tempest, but it still ripped away at him after he had destroyed it," Bumblebee added. "Still can't believe that Prowl killed her, but I keep reminding myself that Prowl was possessed by the Fallen."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd like to continue working here." Cerebros said, and everyone went back to work.
Optimus Prime was in the war room and at Talatraan II where he was typing away on the console as if in search of something. That was precisely what he was doing; in particular, he was searching for records of the Great War that led to Cybertron becoming the barren world it had been for so long. Even more specifically, Optimus was searching for any records of Alpha Trion; anything of significance prior to his mentor's merging with Vector Sigma. So far, nothing stood out aside from Alpha Trion's instrumental role in rebuilding Orion Pax into Optimus Prime and Ariel into Elita One. Optimus couldn't help but think that even in death, Alpha Trion was still trying to teach him things. At the same time, Optimus believed there were thing Alpha Trion hadn't told him.
He continued to work diligently with Talatraan II when he heard his name spoken like a faint whisper. Optimus stopped briefly to look around for the location, but he saw nothing. Hotrod had spoken of similar instances like this to Optimus, and it made Optimus wonder if it was now happening to him. He chose to dismiss it for the moment and return to his work. Then his name was whispered again, and Optimus stopped what was doing completely. He spun around and scanned the war room.
He found nothing once more, but he maintained his composer without snapping once. "Whoever you are, I order you to show yourself at once."
"Optimus…" the voice whispered, and Optimus reacted by looking around for the source. "Optimus Prime…" the voice whispered again.
"I will not say it again; reveal yourself." Optimus said.
Then everything around Optimus Prime seemed to melt away into nothing, leaving Optimus standing in total darkness. A faint light began to form, growing brighter with every second that passed by. Optimus wasn't sure if it was real or if it was all in his mind, but he felt at peace as the light brightened around him. It occurred to Optimus the light was similar to what he first witnessed when joined the Matrix of Leadership after his supposed death. In that moment, he communed briefly with Alpha Trion. Optimus knew however that he wasn't dead this time.
"Hello, Optimus Prime." the voice greeted, and Optimus knew it was Alpha Trion's voice. He turned and Alpha Trion was standing right in front of him.
"Alpha Trion," Optimus greeted his former mentor and friend. "How is this possible? I was on Cybertron when you merged with Vector Sigma."
"And yet, here I stand before you. I have to say, it is good to see you again, Optimus Prime."
Optimus felt at ease with Alpha Trion standing before him, although he was sure it wasn't really Alpha Trion. "It is good to see you too, but why have you come back?"
Alpha Trion, or the image of him at least, stepped to the side as if in thought before he spoke out. "I've come to warn you, Optimus. There are dark times approaching; an unexpected enemy will threaten the world you've sworn to protect. If you are not ready, those you hold most dear will suffer."
"The Decepticons?"
"In truth, I am unsure of this threat's identity. I cannot say for certain if it represents the Decepticons… or even the Autobots. But I do know that it seeks a relic of a time long passed. The legacy of our kind, our forefathers."
"The Thirteen Primes," Optimus deduced, and then he was quick to deduced something else that, in the recesses of his thoughts, he'd suspected all along. "You are one of them, aren't you?"
"I am. I was, just as was Vector Prime, Solus Prime, Alchemist Prime, and Onyx Prime… Megatronus… and the first true leader of us all; Prima."
"This threat of which you speak; who is it? What does it want?" Optimus Prime asked.
"I am afraid that I can say no more at this moment, Optimus. All I can tell you is that you must find our legacy." Then Alpha Trion began to slowly fade away.
"I do not understand," Optimus said as Alpha Trion faded out of existence. "Alpha Trion, wait…"
But Alpha Trion was gone, and Optimus Prime was seemingly returned to the war room. Nothing was different by even a slight margin. Everything that was in the war room was in its rightful place. None of the other Autobots had entered. Optimus Prime was alone. But he didn't believe he actually was alone; he didn't feel alone. He was so certain that Alpha Trion was there speaker directly to him that Optimus couldn't physically interacted with him. But Alpha Trion, Optimus knew well enough, was dead, merged with Vector Sigma. But he was somehow on Earth as well.
Optimus Prime was also surprised to realize that Alpha Trion was one of the Thirteen Original Primes. It was notion that long suspected and even rumored, but Optimus never really gave it much thought. But he deduced it so easily, and now he'd been warned of a new threat to the Autobot's adopted home. The only way Optimus could possibly stop this mysterious new threat was, according to Alpha Trion, to find their legacy. Alpha Trion had to be talking about the legacy of the Original Primes. It wasn't much to go on.
But maybe there was something more he could find from Talatraan II, and Optimus returned to his post and started his search. This time, he searched for any available records regarding the Thirteen Original Primes. Thanks to Talatraan II being regularly updated, Optimus was able to find accounts of previous events like the Great War, the Siege of Autobot City or Invasion of Seattle. Then he found exactly what he was looking for; any available records of the Thirteen Primes, and there was plenty of it.
Optimus Prime studied each and every record of each one of the Original Primes, to determine if there was a connection with the mysterious threat. The first record displayed on the screen was referencing Prima, the leader of the Primes appearing in silver armor. The next image to follow was Vector Prime, described as an interdimensional traveler of time and space. Then there was an image Solus Prime, whom Optimus quickly noted was female. She was the weapon smith of the Primes.
Optimus Prime continued to study the records on each and every Original Prime. He noted them one by one; Micronus, Alchemist, Nexus, Onyx, Amalgamous, Quintus and Liege Maximo before it inexplicably ended. There was no mention of Megatronus, which was understandable considering what he had later become. There was nothing on Alpha Trion being one of the Primes either, further fueling Optimus Prime's many questions without answers. Something else was off; the records referenced thirteen Primes but only displayed ten of them. Alpha Trion and the Fallen were the other two, but the thirteenth and final Prime's identity was a mystery.
"What are you not telling me, Alpha Trion?" Optimus mused to himself.
Thinking more and more to himself regarding the cryptic nature of Alpha Trion's word, Optimus Prime gazed back up at the screen to study it. The Thirteenth Prime was still a mystery to Optimus and he knew trying to solve it now would be futile. He brought up the image of Prima and only now did he make note of the weapon in his hand. It was an ornate blade that displayed certain elegance but also commanded authority. It was called the Star Saber, though no Cybertronian, Autobot or Decepticon, had ever found it.
Then it struck Optimus Prime; the mysterious threat of which Alpha Trion spoke may be searching for the Star Saber, and the threat may have determined that it might be on Earth. But no had ever found it or knew of its location, and it filled Optimus Prime with dread that whoever is searching for the Star Saber would stop at nothing short of razing Earth into sunders to find it. Optimus Prime knew he had to prevent that from happening, but he also that he needed to learn more about the mysterious new threat… and that was information that was currently in very short supply.
Author's note: I'll stop right there for now and pick it up later. There isn't much going on here, but it is still early in the story. Sentinel is right to think that Thunderwing is a lunatic.
This chapter sees the return of Daniel, Verity, Carly and Cerebros. William Lennox also appears so expect Marissa Fairborne to pop up as well.
A brand new addition to the cast is Triage, a character from the shut down Transformers Universe MOTA game. Triage is the new Autobot medic, who I see as being model after TFP Ratchet, so I suggest looking him up.
Alpha Trion finally makes his first appearance along with references to the Thirteen Primes. Optimus is aware of the Star Saber, but the identity of the Thirteenth Prime is a mystery. If you spoil it, I'll find you! I WILL FIND YOU!
Please leave a few reviews and I'll return with more. And remember… I WILL LOOK FOR YOU, I WILL FIND YOU…. AND I WILL… oh, sorry!