Lifesource.
Chapter Five.
"Hey wait, how do we know it's not dangerous?" Sam asked.
"I doubt it, Sam there might be a few glitch mice or rats, but I doubt there'll be much more. If you prefer, I can scan for energy readings, but I assure you, the Great Dome is not likely to have been booby-trapped. The AllSpark's movement was well-reported, even if its new location was not, and neither faction were interested in the Dome once the AllSpark was moved from it."
"Scan, please," Sam said, and he watched as a green scanning beam jumped out from Starscream's optics and played over the door.
"No, it reads as perfectly safe, but I shall exercise caution," Starscream promised. He waved his hand over the sensor panel at the side of the door, and the door split down the middle, began to open slowly, and then stopped. Starscream put Sam down, gripped one edge of the door, and pushed. The door halves retracted into the wall slowly and noisily, and Sam saw several silver forms, as high as his knee, dash out and run into the shadows near the wall. Sam flinched back but they did not seem at all interested in him.
"Glitch mice, they're harmless," Starscream said, coming back over to pick Sam up again. "It looks like these rooms are storage areas, and maybe rest places, for the AllSpark Guardians."
He took Sam in, and some sensors in the room must have still had some power, for lights in the ceiling came on. Sam could see what appeared to be benches, and hooks, with blue and gold and red and gold items hanging from them. In a corner were long metal objects of various lengths that Sam could not identify.
"Are those cloaks or coats?" Sam asked, pointing to the items hanging from the hooks. Starscream moved forwards so Sam could feel, and indeed it did seem to be some kind of material, though thicker and heavier than any Sam had felt on Earth.
"They are ceremonial cloaks, the fabric made from a plant that grows on a far-away planet that contains organic life, although only of the plant variety," Starscream told Sam. "Due to the distance involved to acquire the raw materials, fabric was mainly used for special attire for special occasions, usually for the wealthy, but also for the Guardians of our life source. Thankfully the fabric is fairly hard wearing, so the cloaks were often worn by more than one Guardian over time." He sighed. "This cloth has been hanging here for longer than your puny human race has existed."
Moving over to the pile of metal objects, Starscream pulled one free. It appeared to be some kind of staff, with a representation of the AllSpark on one end and a sharp point on the other. He put Sam down on a handy surface and brandished the staff in front of him.
"Guardian's staffs," Starscream told Sam. "Although they were ceremonial, that didn't stop them from being functional." Grabbing two handgrips cunningly worked into the pattern running the length of the staff, he thrust the pointed end at empty air as if stabbing, then reversed it and mimed bashing someone on the head with the AllSpark-shaped top. Sam thought he'd finished demonstrating its uses but then Starscream let the top grip go and swept the staff at ankle-level for an average-sized mech.
"So the Guardians could stab, bash or trip up anyone up to no good?" Sam said.
"Yes, but it was very rare indeed that they needed to," Starscream said, "but as things became more unsettled, two attempts by armed mechs to reach the Cube were made, which is why the Senators insisted that it be moved to a secret location for its own safety."
"The Senators didn't trust the Guardians?" Sam asked.
"The Senators did not trust anybody outside their own circle, Sam, least of all the Guardians. However, each Guardian candidate was vetted by another Guardian, trained under a full Guardian, and at the end of their training they were presented to the AllSpark for final approval. I don't know how, but I did hear that if the AllSpark disapproved of someone, it could indicate so to both the mentor of the trainee, and the would-be Guardian themselves."
Starscream paused, then spoke again.
"The Senators either didn't know this or didn't care. They feared someone with designs on the AllSpark could get to it by becoming a Guardian. So they decided the AllSpark would be hidden, with no Guardians accompanying it lest the retinue be seen and its' hiding place discovered."
"And you told me what happened to the Guardians," Sam said. "Basically, they were sacked."
"They were not exactly sacked, but were on standby for its return, but without pay," Starscream said, and Sam winced. "A few joined one group or the other early on, but most stayed around and stayed neutral in hope. Many died through random conflicts while finding other modes of survival, such as scavenging. Once the AllSpark was launched off the planet, the Guardian network fragmented. Some went off as a group to search for it themselves. Other joined one of the two sides, while still others fled the planet, but leaving the AllSpark to its own devices. It may well be that some of the Guardians are still alive, but where and who they are, I could not tell you."
Starscream put back the staff, picked Sam up, and headed out, sending a quiet com to the rest of his mechs.
"You must be hungry and thirsty," he said to the human boy. "If we make our way back to the others, I am sure that there will be another pizza ready for you." As Sam's stomach rumbled, Sam nodded.
"Yeah, that sounds great, although I hope there will be a bit of choice later on, pizza's great but I don't want it all the time."
"Of course, Sam. Jetfire has gone back to Earth with Frenzy to get you more food and drink, I'll comm him to get more than just pizza," the Seeker promised.
Starscream took Sam back via the long way, for he had promised him a tour. He pointed out the shattered remains of Autobot Tower, where the senators had worked. He showed Sam what was left of the Towers, where the nobles of the city had lived. He took Sam into the ruins of the Iacon Concert Hall, where mechs had played music, acted, danced, and shown off other artistic forms for an adoring public. Sam was surprised when Starscream told him that the frontliner Barricade had played there.
"What? Barricade was a musician?" Sam asked, trying and failing to imagine the spiky mech delicately picking out music on a harp, or playing a violin.
Starscream laughed.
"You wouldn't think so given his appearance, but appearances can be deceiving. You must ask him to perform for you one day, I am sure that he would be honoured."
Sam was surprised to feel the Essence 'nudging' him: obviously it also thought that he should ask Barricade to play for him. Mentally agreeing, he also said verbally "Okay, if you think so, as long as he won't eviscerate me for impertinence."
"Of course he won't, Sam, you contain the AllSpark," Starscream said. Recalling the servile bow Barricade had given him back on Earth, Sam found himself less doubtful of the frontliner's reaction.
"Okay, I will," he said.
Starscream took him back to their camp, where Dr Syn and Frenzy were waiting for him with pizza and soda drinks. Sam was so busy eating and being waited on hand and foot that he didn't even notice the other Decepticons were absent. When Barricade did turn up at the camp, it was Starscream rather than Sam who asked the black and white frontliner if he would play the Bearer of the AllSpark an example of his music.
The two-tone Decepticon looked at Sam enquiringly and Sam nodded. Taking this as a request, Barricade removed from subspace an item with both graceful curves and sharp angles. The frontliner found a space to sit down, cradled the object in his arms, made a few adjustments, and then began moving his hands over it, and as he did, a haunting, unusual, but beautiful melody emerged. Sam sat transfixed and amazed that something so artistic could come from the hands of one who had previously only shown a talent for destruction. When the music slowed and then stopped, it was almost a shock.
"Th-thank you!" Sam said. "That was absolutely wonderful! What made you decide to stop being a musician and join the Decepticons?"
"When the war began, the music hall was closed, for after a while nobody dared to come out unless it was essential" Barricade explained. "While trying to flee Iacon to find somewhere safer, my instrument was dropped, and it was trodden on and broken by an Autobot. The damage could be repaired, but I can feel the break every time I play it. Although the Autobot paid with his life, the damage is still there."
Again, that 'nudge' from the Essence, and Sam heard himself ask "May I see it please?" For a moment Sam saw Barricade hold the instrument closer to him, but then he reluctantly lay it down in front of Sam.
"Don't damage it," Barricade said as he stepped back, and from the tone of voice Sam surmised it was as much a warning as a request. He stood and walked around the instrument, and pretty soon he found the damaged area. It was just a hairline crack, but even Sam could feel the slight roughness as he ran his finger over it. He didn't need the Essence to nudge him to move his hands over the damage, shut his eyes, and visualise it whole.
As Barricade, Starscream, Dr Syn and Frenzy watched, a blue glow spread from Sam's hands over the damaged part of the instrument. Perhaps fearing that Sam might be turning it into a living thing as he had with so many items on Earth, Barricade made an abortive move towards Sam, but the medic caught his wrist to stop him. As they watched, the glow faded, and as Sam moved away, Barricade snatched up the instrument, rubbing a thumb over the area of the break. He could no longer see the break, he realised, but he could no longer feel it either. It didn't feel as if Sam had repaired it, more as if he'd made the break go away as if it had never happened.
Turning and lowering the instrument, Barricade looked at Sam. Sam himself felt incredibly weary, and could only watch as Barricade knelt in front of him and bowed his head and body low. Nodding, he curled up on the ground hoping for a quick nap, and none of the Decepticons stopped him.
He was so deeply asleep that he did not feel Starscream pick him up from where he lay and cradle him carefully in his hands. He was oblivious as Starscream negotiated the rubble-strewn streets, and was still deeply asleep when Starscream reached his destination. He lay Sam down, and the human only mumbled something and sighed a little as he relaxed on the soft surface he had been placed upon.
When he awoke he was immediately aware that he had been moved. He could feel that although he was lying on a hard surface, he was lying on top of something that had been placed over the hard surface that made it softer and more comfortable. There was also some kind of thick, warm cover over him, he discovered as he tried to turn over.
"Hello?" he called as he pushed aside the heavy blue and gold thick material. As the echo of his voice came back to him, magnified yet still clear, he knew where he was even before he opened his eyes and looked around.
He was on the dais at the centre of the Great Dome of Iacon.