Chapter 6
A Less Fortunate Freedom
Cybertron: Deca Cycles after Nominus' Death
Megatronus and two mechs by the name of Starscream and Soundwave were arrested and put on trial. The judge demanded them to be executed as the citizens of Cybertropolis shouted at them and threw whatever garbage they had.
At the center of Crystal City, a service was held for Nominus Prime. His pod held a holographic image of him for every Cybertronian in the crowd to see. Individuals who personally knew him talked about their memories with the leader while others stood in the crowd to hear the speeches. Everyone knew the real Nominus though. Power hungry, unfair, cared about nothing but himself, but he was still respectful, he was still the leader of Cybertron. He was still a Prime.
After the service ended, his funerary pod was sent to the Primal Basilica where he and the Matrix would be heavily guarded. Everyone decided to go to their homes and back to work as the rain from the Cybertronian sky started to fall. Orion and Ariel had their arms wrapped around each other as Dion looked at where the previous Prime was sat. "Without Nominus, who else is there going to be?" Ariel asked with a dejected tone. For a while, Orion and Dion didn't know what to say as they all stared off into the rain. "The elders and the Council will eventually come to a conclusion as to who will be the new Prime. For now, we'll pray to Primus that the new one isn't the same as Nominus was." The three of them started to walk off as the rain soaked their protoforms.
Garrus-1, of course, held a mini-memorial for Nominus as all the prisoners were set in cuffs to watch the holo-tv broadcasting the service. Whirl and Impactor sat by each other all the way in the back of the holo-vid room. Impactor looked down at the jail's floor as Whirl scratched his own miniature art into the room's table.
"I hope you know that everyone is glad he's finally dead." Whirl suddenly uttered as Impactor laughed quietly and dryly. "I'm pretty surprised it took 'em longer than I expected to wipe 'em out." After many arguments and fights and knocking Whirl comatose for a few days, Impactor began to agree with Whirl more than he could admit. To be honest, he was pretty glad that Whirl was his cellmate other than the other fools who wanted to do nothing but to kill their new occupants. "They should make this a national holiday. Don't you agree?" The two mechs turned to a blue and white mech who's ghostly and pale faceplate made him look pretty … frightening. His bright red optics were just there to prove the point. Impactor shook his head in humor as Whirl agreed. "Could you imagine how many people would celebrate?" The mech's deep and dried out voice made him sound as if he had shouted his entire life and finally got his voice back. "The Masses. I think most of the inmates here would agree. Speaking for myself, it is of great importance to my kind that the fool has been blown to bits." Impactor picked up a slightly uncomfortable vibe from the mech, but Whirl felt as if he wanted to get to know him.
"What are you two in for?" Something in the mech's voice made Impactor answer without much hesitation. "Murder, robbery, and-" He didn't want to say the other part of his wrongdoings, just in case it triggered someone to try to fight him. "-and uh, speedin'." Whirl looked at Impactor with a wide optic and then gave him an attitude glare. "So, you decide to tell a mech you just met what you did but refused to tell me after solar cycles of being here? Wow." Impactor rolled his optics as the mech seemed to sneer. "You've done quite much I see. I've actually been here for many cycles. For murder." Impactor didn't mean to sound like a smart-aft, but he answered back, "Murder or murders?" This made the mech smirk as if he was in a competition of who committed the most crimes. "I am sorry. Let me paraphrase myself. Murders. I meant murders." The three of them looked at each other, the mech smirking cockily towards Impactor as Whirl looked at them both mean-mugging each other. "So, uh, what did you mean by your "type"?"
"Well, not exactly a type, more so of a group of individuals. You see, I'm from Kaon. I was actually a gladiator who worked alongside the well-known Megatronus. Soon after, my habits-" Impactor noticed that the mech's arm started to move as if his servo was twitching. "-I mean, my anger, made me make a few mistakes. The criminal catchers finally caught me in the act of almost stabbing someone to death. I was arrested and put here of course."
"Wait wait wait! You fought beside Megatronus? The mech who killed Nominus?"
"Yes. Yes, I did." Impactor's optic started to twitch. For some odd reason, this mech got on his last nerves. He seemed so confident. The guards had told everyone that the service had ended and that everybody could return to their cells and occupations. The inmates started to walk back to their cells while the three mechs stayed at the table watching the crowd go away. "Jeez, I thought my life was more difficult than everyone's on this planet. Guess not eh?" Whirl exclaimed. "Good luck for us. They say the ones who've lived the hardest life get a better life in the end." Impactor cringed at his voice.
"Well, it was nice knowing you both. Hopefully, in time, you both will understand his death's importance. I hope that you-" He paused a little and looked at Impactor, a glint in his optic which made him want to get up from his seat and punch him, "-you both join in the real fight. Oh, by the way, you can call me Gigatron." He got up from the table as Impactor and Whirl both looked at his impressive height. He exited the room leaving Impactor's optic twitching heavily and Whirl staring confusingly. "What's with the optic?"
"Just a habit when I'm annoyed."
"The more time I spend with you, the more I learn about you."
They were both at her home as she sat on her berth looking through her berth room window. Her light green faceplate showed an unfortunate look as her bright blue optics looked at the rainy sky. His light brown faceplate shown as he kept taking small peers at her, making sure that she was alright. "Are you that sad that you can't talk to me?" She kept staring out the window and didn't answer for quite a while. But he was her mech-friend, she loved him with her spark and would possibly put herself on the line for him if she had to. "I-I don't know what to talk about. Our Prime, our leader, possibly the last prime to ever earn the Matrix, just got killed by the same bots that I hope would see change. Even though Nominus was a complete aft-hole, he didn't deserve to die. If he was still alive, he probably would've found it in himself to change for the better good. What if there's a new Prime and he's just like Nominus? Or worse than Nominus?"
His reddish-orange colored protoform shuffled as he grabbed her by her shoulders. Bright blue optics looking into dark blue ones. "Moon, I know this is hard for you, but you can't let this get you all the way down." She nodded as a glob welled in her throat. "It's crazy because I made that stupid speech for nothing. I feel as if my whole speech went down the gutter. Maybe, maybe, those rumors are right. Maybe, the lower caste is terrible." She looked down as he took her chin. "Moonracer. Get over it. He's dead. Things are gonna change. Things are gonna get better. Stop worryin' your pretty self about it."
"But Powerglide,"
"But Moonie, stop worryin' so much."
"Stop telling me to stop worrying so much. I'm worried about my planet and that's all you can say? 'Stop worrying so much.' You always say that you say that when you're out doing something you're not supposed to like, like, cheating. Yeah, you do that constantly, and you constantly tell me to stop worrying blah this, and worrying blah blah this when you tell me you'll stop!"
Powerglide could only stare at her like the truth had hurt. Her protoform started to heat up, her light green faceplate turning a tinge of red. "This is my cue to go huh? I'll just leave." He got up and walked to the berth room door looking back as if he was expecting her to magically forgive him for what she said. Which was the most of the time. Instead, she kept looking out of the window, arms and pedes crossed. This time, she was serious. "I'll comm you when I get home safely." Then he exited himself from her berth room. She waited to hear her room door shut as she buried her helm in her arms and started feel coolant in her optics. Something in her spark told her to call Firestar, which was what she did.
"Hey Moonie! What's up?" The little green femme couldn't help herself from crying, she just couldn't speak. "Moon? Moon? What's wrong?" She wiped her optics as she realized that Firestar was probably worried. "Hey Firestar. Everything's-everything's fine. I just," She looked up to her room's door as her pink lips started to tremble, "I don't think he's coming back. I had to tell him how I felt, how what he was doing was affecting me. He just left without apologizing for what he's been doing. I just don't wanna be spark-broken anymore."
"Moon, I'm sad that you're sad but, but I'm happy that you let him go. He deserved it." It made Moonracer lighten up a bit hearing her friend's voice. "Yeah. I'm glad too."
"Do you want to meet up somewhere so we can talk?" Moonracer didn't have much energy to get up from her berth. The rain was too calming. "Nah I'll just stay here. Thanks for this little talk. I'm just gonna lay down."
"Okay. Comm me if you need anything. Love 'ya." The call ended and she laid her helm on her berth as she stared out of her window.
Penal Facility H-3:
The purple mech walked in the middle of the prison guards as they led him to the prison visitation room, his emotionless frame made everyone in the cells look up from whatever they were doing. They knew who he was. They knew what his plan was. The guards unlocked the door to the room pointing to which box to go to. He walked to the third visitation box, luckily he was the only one there. He sat on the chair as he waited for Megatronus to arrive, his one yellow optic intent on getting the big event prepared. A buzz was heard from the door behind the holographic window and the guards sat a cuffed Megatronus down on a chair. "Remember, you have fifteen cycles to talk with him, so make it as coolant-jerking as possible." The purple mech stayed eerily quiet as the guard gave him an uncomfortable look and walked out. "Shockwave. How delightful to see you. I am ashamed for you to see me in, bonds, but I trust that you will fix that."
"I am glad that you have appointed me as your successor, Megatronus. I am grateful to announce that I have more explosive energon created. Just enough to destroy facilities as humongous as this." Megatronus' smirk didn't frighten Shockwave, but if he was in front of any normal Cybertronian with feelings, a sight would have been difficult to look at. "I must know, Shockwave, how Cybertron has been doing since after our last plan."
"Nothing grand. Nominus is nothing but a mere part of history for our planet. The upper class doesn't know who should bear the Matrix now." Megatronus hated to voice the foolish mech's name. He was curious to know about him. "What about Orion? How much has he changed?" Shockwave didn't know much about the young archivist, so he stayed quiet to show that he was clueless. "I figure that he's living luxury under that idiotic peace-monger Alpha Trion. That fool doesn't understand a true potential leader when he views it." The anger that welled up in Megatronus' protoform made his red optics shine with a sort of hateful glow.
"It is such a shame Shockwave. I really trusted him to make Cybertron, fair, for all. Do you know what he does instead when I tell him what I think we should do," He stopped and chuckled bitterly, "He told me that being power hungry will not solve anything. I was not power hungry, I was simply proposing to the Council that I should be a leader for Cybertron. They all laughed like I was some jester bot with twisted circuits." He stopped talking as he thought about that day he and Orion talked to the Council. Embarrassment would be the best way to describe the meeting. "I have told every low caste citizen with dreams of being feared and power magnetizing what exactly you were trying to do Megatronus. In better words, I have set up an army. No one knows about our intentions yet, but sooner or later, they will understand that it wise for them to join us in our cause."
Megatronus smiled and grasped his servos together. "I appreciate your loyalty to me Shockwave." The buzzer rang again signaling that it was time for the inmate and his visitor to part their ways. The guards grabbed Megatronus as Shockwave stood up and walked away to the exit.
Once back to his cell, Starscream and Soundwave waited for the notorious gladiator to arrive so they could talk about their intentions. "So Megatronus, I assume that you and Shockwave have figured out what to do next." Starscream exclaimed in his snarky voice. "Yes, Starscream. It won't be too long before the Council and the upper-class shrivel in fear beneath our pedes."
"Hey! Here's all of your datapads with the work you have to do today." The guard through a data pad under the cell's door as Megatronus picked it up earning a persistent glare from Starscream and a dull quietness from Soundwave. Angrily, Megatronus smashed the datapad into a mirror of the cell, where he looked at the shatter it made. He scowled interestingly as the shattered glass made a sort of symbol of a Cybertronian face, ends pointed and sharp. This sign would symbolize his shattered ambitions.
Jhiaxian Academy of Advanced Technology:
The young theoretician typed more information into his datapad about his last studies in his course, everybody had left the class by now and he was the only one sitting there. It became sort of a regular thing for him since of course, he didn't have that many friends. "Skids! I knew I could find your aft in here!"
"Oh hey Trailblazer, what's up? Need help with an upcoming test again?"
"Nah, I'm looking for Glitch though. Have you seen em'?" Skids was in a class with Glitch, but so far, he hadn't seen him for awhile. Probably came down with a protoform cold. "Nope, haven't seen him lately. You know who's really been missing here for a while? Shockwave. He was supposed to help me after this class on my studies." Trailblazer shrugged and frowned. "Everybody said that he's probably sad about you know who." Then, Skids remembered, this was around the time that Jhiaxus, Senator Shockwave's teacher, had passed away to the AllSpark. "You could be correct. I just wouldn't peg Shockwave as an emotional type."
"Welp. What are you staying around here for? Let's go grab something to munch." Skids didn't have much of an appetite, but it would be nice if he went outside for a bit. "Sure, let me just pack this stuff up." Trailblazer left out as Skids packed away his things.
"You know Thundercracker, I don't understand it. How come us, smart and special individuals who can do something specifically different from other Cybertronians, get treated second-class just 'cause we're flyers?" Skids knew that voice. Skywarp. They were both the only flyers in the academy, Skywarp with the ability to teleport, Thundercracker the ability to create sonic booms. That was what the academy was about, enrolling bots who were different. Skids was just enrolled because he had the ability to learn any skill, which was very difficult for the average Cybertronian.
"I don't care. Just as long as I graduate and find my way in the world. Besides, there's nothing we can do about it anyway." If there was such a bigger jealousy in the world, Skids felt that. Flying was the best thing that Primus could bless a Cybertronian with. Why would anyone be ashamed of that? "Skids right?" He didn't even seem to notice Glitch's red protoform and one blue optic behind him. "Oh, hey uh, Glitch. Where've you been?"
"Oh yeah, I have been absent for awhile, huh? Well, I just caught a simple sickness. It felt kind of good staying in my holo-suite and listening to "The Empyrean Suite". I know Trailblazer wanted me though, said he needed help with something."
"Yeah, he came in here looking for you. Me and him were going to get lunch. Wanna come?"
"I'd be happy to." Skids grabbed his stuff as they began to walk off as he realized he forgot his datapad. "Hold on, just leave without me." He ran back to grab his pad as the room's lights suddenly went off. "What the? The building's probably having electrical issues. Maybe I should check it out." He went over to the room's light switch and tried to flick it but it still didn't budge.
"Guess I'll just go to the basement." Going over to the elevator and pressing its button the lower level, it opened to reveal that the whole basement's lights were shut out as well. He took a few handy repair tools out of his bag to fix the electrical box if it had a few loose wires, which was usually the problem in the building.
"Okay, let's see what we have here." He opened it to see that there were no loose wires whatsoever and that the switches weren't touched. He raised an optic ridge and scratched at his chin. "Odd." *Zrrr* He turned around suddenly and directed his flashlight to the sound. It sounded as if someone was down here building something. In all honesty, no one was permitted to be in the basement, unless it was a janitor. But Skids had a good reason to. "Hello? Hello? I don't think you're supposed to be down here, whoever you are." He peered in every corner of the dark hall until he spotted a bright, purple light in one of the rooms.
Slowly, his pedes walked until they found themselves in front of the room. "Oh my-" His bright yellow optics looked at the gallons and tons of bright purple energon which faced him. This wasn't regular energon. He turned of his flashlight and walked into the mysterious room and found himself looking around for any clue to what type of energon it was. He saw a few files stashed in a corner by a desk which he read with wide optics. "Datalog: These gallons of purple energon are enough to destroy a strong metal build. Use with extreme caution." Whoever was creating this stuff had to be making it for something important. The mech or femme had reformatted its chemical properties with explosive properties and bases. But who would want to create something like this? Maybe it was a project someone was working on. Skids tried to tell himself that, but he knew in his right processor that this was made for a more dangerous intent.
His blue protoform shined with purple as he walked over to the gallons of energon looking it over curiously. It was obvious that not only was it given explosive properties, but it took much electricity to use it, therefore the high power usage of it ended up shutting off the lights. A blue datapad sat by one of the gallons and he reached for it, starting to read it's Cybertronian language. "By developing the chemical properties of this energon-240 I have noticed that it is getting more powerful by each drop of toxic I add to it. For the time being, I will focus on explosive energon, but with the scientific advantages that I have discovered, maybe there will be a way to invent toxic energon that can burn through any material. Even metallic properties."
"Skids! Where are you!" Skids, in a panic, dropped the datapad and picked it up quickly answering his comm. "Sorry Glitch! I just had to come to the basement to check a fuse, that's all. I'll be there in a sec."
"Well hurry! Me and Trailblazer are starving." He closed the comm as Skids put the datapad in his bag, looking forward to reading it back in his holo-suite.
Perceptor sat in his laboratory along with Wheeljack at another desk, as they both worked on scientific assignments and did research on any new findings. Perceptor, who was supposed to work with Wheeljack on something, had directed his studies and optics elsewhere, to the purple energon they had found before during the bombings of the other cities.
"And what exactly are you trying to find Perceptor?" The red bot's blue optic looked back at the red, white, and green mech with a hint of annoyance. "I am trying to figure out who or what created this type of energon. The properties are so, new, that it scares me of what they might have in store. I know that Megatronus, Soundwave, and Starscream couldn't have created something like this. Someone made this for them, someone with a broad intelligence of science." Wheeljack rolled his optics and sat down on a chair beside him. "Do you 'Ceptor. I guess I'll try to make those data chips Prowl wanted so badly." Perceptor didn't give much care to reply as he looked over the energon with a microscope. He would have to report this chemical property to the Council immediately, let alone advise many people the dangers of it and to report it to the Council or law enforcement immediately. Who knows how much more is out there, and who exactly is creating it.
"Wheeljack, do you think you could get Chief Prowl on the line? I need to warn him about this. It would be safe for him to let his fellow authorities know about what we're dealing with here." Wheeljack nodded and commed Prowl on the lab's large computer where his white faceplate appeared on the screen. "Is there any reason why you're contacting me Perceptor, Wheeljack?"
"Yes, a very important reason indeed. I have done thorough studying of this energon and of course, it is highly explosive. This furthers my question about who is making it and has the chemical resources to create it. I want you to advise every police force of every city that they let their citizens know that if they do come into contact with this that everyone report it immediately."
"Got it. I'll let everyone know ASAP. By the way, I advise you to take a break from the research, you look older beyond your years." The computer went off as Perceptor ignored Prowl's backhanded comment. "There's a reason your voice sounds so troubled 'Ceptor? For Primus's sake, no one can get to this type of energon. If it's new, chances are it's very hard to find." Perceptor's suspicious thoughts still didn't falter even though he knew it was no reason to worry. "Just taking precaution. I think I'm going to head to my holo-suite and recharge. I'm feeling very exhausted." Wheeljack only gestured with his servo that he heard him as the scientist walked out the lab.
