Chapter 10
Mission
The Autobots stood in fear. Their worst nightmare had materialized in front of them. "Unicron," Prowl gasped.
"It's not him," Optimus said. "He's just a drone. Autobots attack!"
But no one moved. Unicron looked at his hands and smiled. "So this is the power she spoke of," he chuckled. "I have the ability to do anything my heart desires." Unicron looked at Optimus and grew serious. Blades deployed from his forearms as Unicron charged in for an attack. Prowl stood in his way. Unicron strike Prowl across his chest and moved around him. Optimus transformed his hand and an energon sword deployed. Optimus readied himself and crossed blades with Unicron.
...
At (blank company) Tracie was studying a culture she was working on. She hoped that the culture could reveal an antibiotic that can act as a super agent to cure one or many heredity disease. She stared into the microscope for a long time. "Ugh!" she groaned. "Why this isn't working? I thought I procure the perfect specimen."
A scientist approached Tracie and stared over her shoulder. "You do know that what you are doing is not going to work," she commented.
"Zip it, Liz," Tracie sighed.
"Tracie, you've been working on this side project for months," Liz said. "What is it you're trying to do?"
"I'm trying to make the world a better place," Tracie answered.
"Seriously, what are you doing?"
Tracie covered her face with her hands and let out a groan. "You can always see right through me," she said. "I'm trying to have a child."
Liz looked at the dish and raised her eyebrow. "Not like that," she said.
"I'm trying to fix Eric's genes so he can give me a child."
"You do know that's playing god. And things always fail when we try to play god."
"I know," Tracie groaned.
"If you are so desperate, adopt," Liz suggested.
"We are planning to do that," Tracie said. "But I want to carry my child. I want to be pregnant. I want to feel the baby inside of me."
"Trust me, you don't want to be pregnant," Liz said. "After childbirth, your body is never the same."
"Not everyone have the same body."
"Okay," Liz shrugged. "I'm speaking from experience. Having a child is life changing. Think about it."
"I have and I want a child. And I am willing to do whatever it takes to conceive one."
"What about Eric?" Liz wondered. "How do you know that he's not doing everything in his power to fulfill that wish?"
Tracie had no answer. "People do stupid things when we are desperate," Liz said. "Some even go as far as renouncing their faith. It won't surprise me if Eric sold his soul to give you a child."
"He wouldn't," Tracie said.
"We'll see," Liz said. With that, Liz left.
"Eric isn't that stupid," Tracie muttered. She looked at her phone that was lying on the table and thought about calling him. "He might be busy."
Elsewhere…
Unicron was on the defense as he was being pushed back by the Autobots' assault. Hound armed himself with a missile launcher and fired a missile. Unicron held up his left arm in defense. An energon shield materialized and protected Unicron. "What? That's impossible," Hound said.
"A shield?" Eric said to himself. "So it seems that this body has more surprises in store."
Hotshot, Prowl, Jazz, and Bumblebee rushed in. The blade on Unicron's right arm retracted as a cannon replaced his hand. Unicron moved in. He shield bash Prowl out of the way and struck Jazz with the shield. Unicron fired his cannon at Hotshot and struck him. Unicron fired his cannon as Bumblebee but he dodged it to return fire. Unicron protected him with the shield while the Aeiralbots approached from behind and fired. Unicron was struck in the back and forced to take a knee. Unicron looked down and saw that his chest was glowing. This gave him an idea. The Autobots moved in to pin Unicron to the ground. Unicron got on his back and spun around while firing to ward off the Autobots. Unicron got back up on his feet and threw his shield at Ultra Magnus. Ultra Magnus rolled underneath the shield rammed Unicron. Bulkhead came from behind and held him. Unicron struggled to get free.
"Hurry Optimus," Ultra Magnus said.
"I don't think I can hold him for long," Bulkhead struggled.
Optimus readied his cannon when he noticed Unicron was glowing. Unicron let out a yell as he emitted a pulse of energy that blew Ultra Magnus and Bulkhead off of him. Unicron grabbed his chest and opened it to reveal a cannon. The barrel glowed with energy as he fired it. Unicron rotated his body as he struck every single Autobot. Unicron looked around and noticed that someone was missing. He turned around and saw Optimus mere feet from him with his cannon ready. "Shit!" Eric said. "I can't charge the cannon fast enough."
Optimus' target was Unicron's cannon. "This is for Cybertron!" Optimus shouted.
Just as Optimus was about to connect, he saw a light from his left. "What the…," he said. Then there was a blast that sent him and Unicorn to the ground.
"Optimus!" Elita cried. Then Elita noticed a fembot walking towards Unicron. "Who is she?" she wondered.
Arcee looked up and saw pink boots walking in front her. Arcee followed the legs and saw who it was. "So I wasn't losing it," she said.
Optimus was temporarily blinded from the flash. When his vision returned, he saw a white fembot looked at him. She was tall and slim. Pink Valkyrie armor covered her body. A light green visor shields her optics. The fembot had a quizzical look on her face. "Hmm," she huff in a soft tone. "So this is Optimus Prime. Interesting."
The fembot walked away and head for Unicron. Optimus quickly stood up and noticed that the fembot had two swords on her hips. Optimus narrowed his optics in suspicion. "Who are you?" Optimus asked.
The fembot stopped and turned around. She placed her left hand on her abdomen and bowed. "The name is Valkyrian, Paladin warrior of Justice," she said.
"Whose side are you on?" Optimus wondered.
"No one," Valkyrian said. "I do whatever my master says."
"Master?" Optimus questioned. "Look, I appreciate that you took Unicron down but I had him."
Valkyrian said nothing. Optimus saw this as a good thing and started to head over to Unicron. Valkyrian held out her arm and stopped Optimus. Optimus looked at Valkyrian and Valkyrian return the gesture. "Sorry, I can't let you kill him," she said.
"Why not?" Optimus wondered. "I thought you were neutral."
Valkyrian let out a small laugh. She wrapped her arm around Optimus' shoulder and performs a hip toss. The Autobots were surprised. "She flipped Optimus," Bulkhead said.
"Well I'll be damned," Bumblebee said.
Optimus started to get up when he saw a blade in front of him. "If you value your life, you'll back off," Valkyrian warned. "I may not look like it but I can and will take down a Prime."
Optimus didn't move. Valkyrian sheathed her sword and head over to Unicron. With Eric out cold, Unicron was unresponsive. Valkyrian took a knee and punched into Unicron's chest. She grabbed something and yanked it out. She opened her hand and Eric was seen in her hand. "Such a pity that you were dragged into this," Valkyrian said. "But you didn't heed his warning."
Valkyrian stood up and faced the Autobots. "I couldn't let you kill this man for he is innocent," Valkyrian said.
"Innocent?" Arcee said. "He's killed thousands of our people. Believe me, that man is not innocent."
"If you say so," Valkyrian said. "Anyways, head back to your ship. He will be visiting you shortly after talking to this man right here."
"He who?" Ultra Magnus wondered.
"My master of course," Valkyrian smiled before vanishing in a tower flames.
Optimus rose to his feet and looked around. "Blaster, bridge us back," he requested.
"Standby," Blaster radioed.
A ground bridge opened as the Autobots slowly retreated back to their ship. "Optimus," Ultra Magnus called.
Optimus looked over his shoulder and acknowledged his lieutenant. With questions in his mind, Optimus headed back to the ship.
Plantation
Eric woke up and saw that he was in his room. "So I guess that was all a dream," he said.
"No it wasn't," a male voice spoke.
Eric quickly sat up and saw a familiar face sitting in the room. "You're that cyclist that almost ran me over," Eric said.
"Yeah, and I told you not to go outside but someone decided not to listen."
"Be nice to him," a female voice spoke.
"Oh shut up Deirdre, he has to learn."
Eric turned around and saw a young woman leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. The woman has light brown hair that draped across her shoulders. Her peach skin is covered with light freckles. Her light green eyes are constantly studying, never losing focus. Her face is always cheery and smiling but today she was judgmental, wondering whatever to trust Eric.
"I am flatter that you recognize my womanly curves," Deirdre boasted. "After all, guys do like girls who are tight and fit." Deidre slowly lift up her shirt to show her tightly toned stomach. Eric was speechless.
"Hey, Marilyn Monroe."
"Yes," Deirdre answered sweetly.
"Take your ass outside. I prefer that Eric have some blood in his brain to think."
"Whatever," Deirdre said and left.
"I do apologize. She's never this flirty unless she finds herself a prey."
"I'm not a cougar!" Deirdre shouted.
"Her name is Deirdre and I'm Wilson. You're very lucky that I was watching you, otherwise you would've been killed."
"Thank you," Eric thanked. "But why would they want to kill me?"
"Misconception," Wilson answered.
"By who?"
"The one who you made a deal with, Eve."
"But she's the guardian of the Universe," Eric said.
"So she says," Wilson said as he stood up. "Remain indoors and I mean it. I'll see if I can clear things up."
"May I ask one question?" Eric wondered.
"Ask away," Wilson granted.
"How you know I made a deal with Eve?"
Wilson looked at Eric and smiled. "Think about it," Wilson said.
Wilson left Eric's bedroom as Eric pondered about Wilson's answer. "Think about it?" Eric wondered.
Eric thought about it then it finally sunk in. "He's like me," Eric said.
Eric quickly left his room and towards outside. Eric looked in the courtyard and couldn't find him. Eric ran downstairs and towards the sidewalk. He looked around and nothing.
"Eric?" a woman called. Eric looked back and saw Tracie in the courtyard. "What are you doing?" Tracie wondered.
"Nothing," Eric said. "Nothing at all."
Rocky Mountains
In the Vanguard, the Autobots were nursing their wounds. Elita entered the bridge where Optimus was pondering. "Optimus, everyone is talking about what happened," Elita said. "There are some who are wondering if they should respect you."
Optimus looked at Elita. Elita took a step back. "I heard that you seen her before," Optimus said. "Why haven't you reported it?"
"I thought I was seeing things," Elita answered. "I only had a glimpse of her. But I'm more surprised that Blaster didn't pick her up."
"Blaster scanned the planet, if she is real, she's not cybertronian," Optimus said.
"Ding ding ding ding," a voice sang.
Elita looked behind Optimus and saw Valkyrian. She didn't hesitate and aimed her gun at Valkyrian. "Easy, easy, I'm unarmed," Valkyrian said as she vanished.
Elita scanned the room to find Valkyrian. She looked at Optimus and he had a concern look on his face. Elita saw that Optimus was staring on top of her head. "Shh, I'm not here," Deirdre whispered.
Elita quickly reach for Deirdre but she missed.
"This is a nice ship," a voice said.
Optimus and Elita looked at the console and saw Wilson admiring the controls. "It seems that you don't have any shields," Wilson pointed out.
Elita aimed her gun but Optimus stood in the way. "Who are you?" he wondered.
"The name is Wilson and my associate sitting on your chair is Deirdre."
Optimus and Elita turned around and saw Deirdre spread out on the chair. "Hi," she waved.
"What are you doing on my ship?" Optimus wondered.
"I'm here to talk," Wilson said. "Or didn't Deirdre deliver the message?"
"If they choose not to listen, it's on them," Deirdre said.
"What is it do you wish to talk about?" Optimus asked.
"It's about your current mission," Wilson answered. "You intend to find Unicron and destroy him. But you're going at this all wrong."
"How you know our mission?" Elita wondered.
"Hacking is one of many traits I have," Wilson smiled. "Along with surveillance, I know almost everything that takes place if my interest desires."
"So why protect the human?" Optimus wondered.
"I said that he was innocent," Deirdre interjected. "What part of my statement didn't you understand?"
Elita grew annoyed. "All of it," she said while hiding her sass. "Saying that someone is innocent is one thing but proving it makes a big difference. What proof do you and that human have to show that he is innocent?"
"Simple," Wilson answered. "He never left the planet."
Optimus was confused. "If he never left the planet, then who attacked Cybertron?" he wondered.
"Mostly likely it was drones sent by a woman named Eve."
"Eve?" Optimus said.
"Impossible," Elita said. "She's the guardian of the universe. There is no way she will inflict harm on innocent beings."
Wilson started to laugh. "I don't get the joke," Optimus said.
"Of course you don't," Deirdre said. "You don't know Eve like we do. We've dealt with her for over a century."
"Over a century?" Elita gasped. "But an average lifespan for a human is..."
"Between 70 - 90 years but if they live a healthy life, they can live beyond a century," Wilson explained.
"But you don't look old."
"Because I'm not human," Wilson said. "Because of Eve, I am what I am. I was lead to believe what she said is right. But now I see that the words she speaks is true individually but altogether, she's lying."
"I don't get it," Elita said.
"She cannot lie for she doesn't know the art of deception," Wilson said. "What she says is true but she can lie right in front of your face and you'll believe it."
"I don't get it," Optimus said.
"Eve is unable to tell a lie directly," Wilson explained. "But what she says is true, all of it. If she says something, it will happen. And if you think that it can't happen, she will make it so one way or another. Whether she will create the situation or you will. Her words are absolute."
"And how does it pertain to this situation?" Elita wondered.
"Think about what she told you and you'll see what I mean. I'll await your answer."
"You better think about it very carefully, because if you choose wrong, I won't hold back," Deirdre smiled.
Optimus stared at Deirdre and replied, "I can assure you that you getting rid of me will be no easy task."
"Are you sure?" Deirdre pointed.
Optimus looked back and saw that Wilson was gone. He turned his attention to Deirdre and she was gone as well.
"Well?" Elita wondered.
Optimus started to think about what Eve had said to them. Like Wilson had suggested, Optimus started to break Eve's words apart.
"The less the universe knows about our existence, the better." "We have rules to follow." "I have a crisis to deal with across the universe that needs my full attention." "I'm entrusting the Autobots with the task of eliminating Unicron." "To handle Unicron will involve some rule infraction that will result in a cosmic imbalance."
"I see," Optimus said to himself. "Ultra Magnus, report to the bridge."
"Yes sir," Ultra Magnus radioed.
"What's going on?" Elita wondered.
"We've been deceived."
The door opened as Ultra Magnus walked. "You called?" he said.
"I need your opinion," Optimus said. "Do you think that it's odd that someone is willing to pass on their burden to someone else?"
"Not really," Ultra Magnus said. "Depending on the circumstances, it can be view as heroic or foolish."
"What if a supreme being passed their task to a lesser being to complete even though they know that the lesser being can't do it?"
"Meaning?" Ultra Magnus wondered.
"What I'm suggesting that the task given to us by Eve is false."
"On what grounds?"
"Think about it," Optimus said. "The attack on Cybertron. The sudden appearance of Eve on our ship. She states that she can't handle the situation with Unicron but she has other task elsewhere. Plus she has the identity of our 'target'."
"Don't forget Valkyrian," Elita added.
"That doesn't mean anything," Ultra Magnus said.
"But we receive information that the human never left the planet," Optimus said. "If he never left, why was he so surprised to see us? How come he was uncertain when we surrounded him? And the way he fought was as if he never fought as Unicron before."
"But the Unicron that attacked Unicron was fully aware of his abilities," Ultra Magnus said.
"Believe it or not, we came here for nothing," Optimus admitted. "The last of the energon we had is wasted."
"Can we go home?" Elita wondered.
"We'll be lucky if we reach the halfway mark and that's with shutting down all non essential systems."
"What are we going to tell everyone?" Ultra Magnus said.
"The truth," Optimus said.
….
"WHAT!?" Air Raid exclaimed. "We came here for nothing?!"
"That can't be true," Wheeljack said. "Say isn't so Optimus."
"I'm afraid that's the truth," Optimus said. "Apparently the attacks on Cybertron were a way to get us off the planet."
"Why?" Prowl wondered.
"I'm afraid that I don't have that answer," Optimus said in a somber tone.
"So that's it?" Prowl said.
"I knew it was too good to be true," Bulkhead said. "I'm out."
"Let's go guys," Hot Spot said to his team.
Springer shook his head before leaving. Slowly, one by one, the Autobots left the ship. The Aerialbots left along with Wheeljack, Skids, Blurr, Jazz, Prowl, Red Alert, Arcee and Bumblebee. The only one left in the room with Optimus was Elita, Ultra Magnus and Ratchet. "Kids these days don't appreciate what they have," Ratchet sighed. "Instead of making irrational decision on their own, they are guided by someone who makes the best decision for them thus extending their lifespan. If you need me, I'll be taking a nap." With that said, Ratchet went to search for a resting spot.
Elita saw the hurt in Optimus' optics. She reached out to him but Ultra Magnus stopped her. "Leave him be," he said.
"But he needs me," Elita said.
"Not right now," Ultra Magnus said. "Optimus has to sort things out on his own. Consoling him won't help him. Let's go."
Ultra Magnus guided Elita out the room and left Optimus alone with his thought.
"You! What did you do?"
Optimus closed his optics, hoping that his repressed memories won't surface.
"You lied to us!"
"Megatronus, please, you have to understand," Optimus said.
"Because of your folly, because your mistake, everyone is going to die," Megatronus said. "You sealed Cybertron's faith, traitor!"
"I am not a traitor," Optimus said to himself. "I didn't do it."
"Do what?" a small voice wondered.
Optimus snapped out of it and turned around. He saw a small fembot standing the room with curious optics. "Glyph," Optimus addressed. "It's nothing."
"Anyways, I have...data for you...regarding energon," Glyph presented as she avoided eye contact.
Optimus took the datapad Glyph presented and read it. "How reliable is the data?" Optimus wondered.
"With our current position and the geological interference, 48%."
"If I can boost the scanners, can you confirm the findings?"
"I can."
"Thank you," Optimus said. "This is the first good news I've heard all day."
Glyph saw that Optimus had a smile on his face. This made Glyph smile as well. "You're welcome," Glyph bowed and left.
One month later…
There was an explosion that launches Valkyrian into the air. She landed on her back as she gritted her teeth. "Damn," she said. "If there wasn't so many, I'll be fine."
Valkyrian got up as a hoard of Unicron drones slowly approached her. Valkyrian drew her swords and started to devise a plan. "My energy level is getting pretty low," she said. "I can't afford to get hit with strong attacks or the connection will be broken. And not only that, the Autobots are unreliable."
"Don't tell me that you're reciting your last prayer Val?" Eve teased. "Face it, you should've stay home with everyone else and don't even bother to follow me. But no, that's not the case."
"I can't let you go free and destroy countless lives," Valkyrian said. "Besides, I have a score to settle with you."
"Destroy her!" Eve ordered.
The drones armed themselves and begin firing. Valkyrian used her swords as shields to protect herself. It works for a minute but the fatigue was starting to get to her. Her slowing down as she was starting to get pelted by the blast. Then she was blasted in the head which cause her to fall. Her optics went dim as Valkyrian was out cold. Eve smiled at her victory. Then she noticed a portal opening up behind Valkyrian. Out came Optimus Prime. "Optimus, I'm so glad to see you!" Eve said. "Can you be a darling and end her miserable life for me please?"
Optimus transformed his left arm into a cannon and aimed it at Valkyrian's head. The cannon whined with power. Eve was giddy with excitement. She closed her eyes for a few seconds to savor the moment. She heard Optimus firing his cannon. Eve opened her eyes and saw that Valkyrian was untouched. Then she heard rocks crumbling next to her. Eve looked at Optimus and saw that he shot one of the drones. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"My job," Optimus answered as he donned on his face plate and transform his right hand into a blade.
Somewhere in space….
The Nemesis was orbiting a planet after the Decepticons had siphon the energon the planet had. Megatron was in one of the storage bay counting the blocks of energon he had amassed. Standing next to him was his second officer Dreadwing carrying a datapad. "10,000 blocks," Megatron announced.
"It's consistent to what Lockdown reported," Dreadwing said. "But to think that he, off all people, have an accurate map of where the energon is. Don't you think that it's a bit suspect?"
"You've read my mind," Megatron agreed. "I do wonder where Lockdown gets his information from. From what I remembered, Lockdown was a trades bot. He finds damaged goods, repairs them and sells them for other parts he needs. But what drove him into the arms game, I don't know."
"Well, with the energon we harvested and the materials we collected, it should be enough to rebuild Kaon," Dreadwing stated.
"Once my city is rebuilt, we can move on to the next step."
The lights in the room started to dim then it turned bright red as alarms started to sound. "Report!" Megatron radioed.
"Lord Megatron, we received a distress call from Starscream," a soldier answered. "He's seriously wounded and being followed. He requested a bridge back to the ship."
"Deny it."
"It's too late. He's already here along with hostiles."
"Soldiers, to the flightdeck!" Megatron called. "You're with me."
"Yes sir," Dreadwing said.
On the flightdeck, soldiers lined with weapons ready. Megatron and Dreadwing walked onto the flightdeck and accessed the situation. Not far from the ship, Starscream was struggling to return to the ship with one engine. 5 hostiles were closing in on him.
"Shoot them down!" Megatron ordered.
"But Lord Megatron, Starscream is in need of assistance," Dreadwing said.
"If he is smart, he'll move," Megatron said.
"Open fire!" Dreadwing commanded.
Starscream quickly rolled to the right as the hostiles returned fire. As the hostiles returned fire, one of them broke off and pursued Starscream. "Scrap," he said. "I'm slagged for sure."
Starscream struggle to speed up but with his left engine operating at 49%, he couldn't go any faster. Starscream had no choice but to fight him off. Starscream switched to robot mode and turned around. He attempted to transform his right arm but it was damaged. "Scrap," Starscream groaned.
The hostile transform and struck Starscream, sending him adrift. The hostile charged his weapons and opened fire. Starscream try to dodge them but his thrusters had quit on him. Starscream was pelted as he was being pushed back closer to the ship. The hostile went in for a blitz. With his engines on full, Starscream was at the mercy of the hostile. Starscream was tackled into the side of the ship. The impact sent shockwaves that was felt on the flightdeck.
The force of the tackle had punctured the hull. Now in the ship, Starscream was out cold. The hostile transformed his right arm into a needle. The needle oozed a dark liquid that dripped onto the floor. The needle was ready but the hostile froze. The optics went dark then he collapsed to the floor. Starscream slowly came to as he saw a figure standing over him. "Soundwave?" he said.
Starscream looked at the floor and saw that the hostile was terminated with a bullet to the head. Starscream looked at Soundwave and saw that Soundwave was staring at him. "Thank you," Starscream said.
Soundwave said nothing and left.
Medic room
Megatron and Dreadwing walked into the room where Knockout was treating Starscream's wounds. Wires and tubes riddled Starscream's body as he was slowly recovering. "Ah, Lord Megatron," Knockout greeted. "I am happy to say that Starscream will make a full recovery. I am surprised that he was able to make back here with the damage he sustained."
"This is nothing," Starscream spoke softly.
Megatron walked up to the table and looked at Starscream with a neutral look. Then Megatron grabbed Starscream by the neck and threw him across the room. "Lord Megatron!" Knockout cried. "He's still recovering."
"You heard him, the damage is nothing," Megatron said as he approached Starscream.
Megatron grabbed Starscream by his neck once more and hoist him up in the air. Then Megatron slammed Starscream into the wall. "I've heard what happened on Cybertron," Megatron said.
"But what did I do to incur this wrath of yours Lord Megatron?" Starscream asked.
"Don't play coy with me Starscream," Megatron said in a dark tone. "Soundwave was monitoring your communication this entire time. So you think that you and Shockblast can overthrow me and take over the Decepticons?"
Starscream averted his optics and stayed silent. "It...it...it was his idea," Starscream said.
"Starscream, I do commend you for the size of your bearings to even thinks about overthrowing me," Megatron chuckled. "The reason why you are not dead because Shockblast didn't approve of your methods."
Megatron released Starscream as Starscream dropped to the ground. "But I have to thank you for providing me with a sample of the virus that Shockblast used," Megatron said. "Knockout, expedite his treatment. I want Starscream to be on his feet when we arrive at Cybertron. Shockblast will learn that no one and I mean no one cross paths with me and live. Soundwave, set a course. We're going home."