Chapter 10-Gods Among Us
The first thing one would think upon hearing the name Swindle was thief. The mech was a weapons dealer, though Swindle considered himself more of a trader in "questionable goods". He didn't care what people said about his profession; there was money to be held in selling valuable tech to other races. Wonderful goodies that he would graciously offer his team, the Combaticons…for a price.
Unfortunately, his profession also brought about a number of unsavory characters to the forefront. Many of them were past clients and buyers he'd made business with and swindled on many occasions. Such people were also the same population that wanted his head on a spike for such swindling after they realized what he did. Now, Swindle could care less about those bozos, many were interplanetary crime bosses and blowhards who were too afraid of stepping foot outside their respective star systems, and he could usually handle those guys with clever thinking and his own stash of top grade weaponry he carried on hand. Sure, there were many individuals he was personally afraid of, he had a list of such people actually, but there was only one at the top of the list who garnered his true fear.
"Of Primus, he's gonna get me." Swindle mumbled as another tremor shook the fortress that was harboring him. "He's gonna find me and he's gonna-"
"Silence your mumblings, coward!" Lorcha, warlord of the planet Zull, growled up at the taller mech. The yellow skinned brute with two curved tusk extending from his mouth glared at the Decepticon. "You call yourself a Decepticon and act like this? Pathetic!"
"Lorcha, you've never fought him before!" Swindle flinched as another explosion rattled outside. That was probably one of Lorcha's tanks going up in flames. "He's come for me, and he won't stop until he has me!"
"And what if he has?" Lorcha pointed a claw at Swindle. "Remember why you sought me out in the first place-this whole planet is one, vast, impregnable fortress. No one can get in unless I permit it."
Swindle shook his head. "You don't know him, Lorcha, you've never seen him on the field. He'll find a way, he's-"
There was a groan behind the reinforced titanium doors behind him and Swindle cursed. A plasma beam tore through the metal like fire on ice and were blasted open, sending debris everywhere. A tall blue and white mech walked in, broad white shoulders making look even taller than he already was as he stomped into the bunker and set his blue eyes on Swindle. He pointed his gun at the criminal.
"Ultra Magnus!" Swindle gasped.
"All of you stand down! I am a duly appointed enforcer of the Tyrest Accord. We can do this my way…or the hard way." Ultra Magnus walked deeper into the room and glared at Swindle. "Swindle, you are coming with me."
Swindle looked terrified, but Lorcha and his personal guard were unaffected by Ultra Magnus's dramatic entrance. His warriors rolled into formation in hover tanks armed with ion cannons designed to take down anything from armored carriers to giant battlesuits.
"You have no authority here, cybertronian!" Lorcha hissed and slashed his hand. "Execute him!"
Ultra Magnus's tactical processor quickly marked each tank as a target and in a second his arm was up in a flash, firing grenades from the launcher on his blaster. Each tank was tagged and each grenade exploded one after the other, disabling the vehicles with strong EMP charges that shorted out their systems.
Lorcha made to draw his own gun, but stopped when Ultra Magnus glared at him with his large, icy blue eyes. "Don't."
"Hey, Magnus!" The Autobot looked up and saw Swindle standing atop one of the catwalks, hefting a large, six-chambered energy cannon on his shoulder that was glowing dangerously bright. "You know what this is? An R-infinity generator with a fusion reactor as a power source. A lot of Autobots got slagged by this baby. You wanna demo?"
The mech pulled the trigger and fired six large beams of energy that intertwined upon discharge into a larger blast. Ultra Magnus jumped to the side to avoid getting blown apart by the powerful attack and fired a rocket from his left shoulder. The projectile hit the bridge Swindle was standing on and he fell to the ground under a pile of debris. He gave a loud "slag!" as he landed head first and was dazed for a moment before finding the barrel of a very large rifle pointed in his face.
"Just give me an excuse!" Ultra Magnus grumbled. Swindle whined and wordlessly surrendered. Ultra Magnus cuffed him and dragged him over to the doors. Before he left, Ultra Magnus gave Lorcha one more warning. "As for you, Lorcha! You have a bad habit of offering miscreants safe harbor in return for, shall we say, utilization of their violent or criminal proclivities. Do so again for another wanted cybertronians and I'll bring the walls of Zull tumbling down!"
Lorcha hissed obscenities at the Autobot as Ultra Magnus and Swindle left his ruined fortress. Ultra Magnus paid him no mid. It was all in a day's work for an officer of the Tyrest Accord and he heard a lot worse than angry grunts from a backwater warlord.
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Even in war, there are rules-codes of practice and conduct that must be abided by, and it was the duty of Ultra Magnus to enforce those rules.
His job went all the way back to the middle stages of the War for Cybertron, back when the war began spreading across the Hadeen system. Chief Justice Tyrest, one of the most prominent Autobots who was also a highly regarded political figure by both Autobots and Decepticons, and a key member in Nova Prime's regime, had sought to find ways to end the war before planetary society broke down even further. The Autobots fully supported this goal, but he had little luck with the Decepticons, who were not the least bit interested in any kind of ceasefire or truce with the Autobots, let alone a Prime. He held numerous peace talks with Optimus and Megatron to bring about a truce, but as expected, no compromise could be met.
Only one thing had come from these talks and that was the Code of Interplanetary Conflict-the only law both sides agreed to uphold. Basically, the Tyrest Accord, as it was named, was a law forbidden the sharing of Cybertronian science and technology to other species. Both sides didn't want some alien military with a hatred for mechanoids swooping in torching both sides with weapons made by cybertronian hands. Not even the Galactic Council was above that scrutiny, given their penchant for "accidentally" firing on cybertronian vessels, non-combatants or not.
The mech chosen to enforce this law was none other than Prime's own second in command, Ultra Magnus, who had close ties to Tyrest in the first place. It made sense, given that he was a stern mech who followed the rules to the letter, though was more flexible than Prowl in certain situations, and his no-nonsense demeanor made him perfect for the position as liaison to the Galactic Council and Tyrest. His job, apprehending violators of the Tyrest Accord, was something he willingly volunteered for. But it took him off the battlefield and there was no shortage of Autobots who were less than pleased that he was catering to the GC instead of helping with the war effort.
There was no love lost for the Galactic Council; many Autobot vessels had been "accidentally" fired upon fired by GC patrol ships and Ultra Magnus had to negate the fallout caused by such incidents to avoid some of the more aggressive Autobots from declaring war on them. This has led many; Springer included, to view him as a "dog" of the GC, a traitor who'd stick his neck out for a bunch of alien politicians instead of siding with his comrades in arms.
He would've been lying (and he never lied, only told half-truths) if he said that their comments didn't sting. He valued his position among the Autobots, the role he played, the goals he vowed to uphold. Optimus Prime respected his decision and choices, placing a tremendous amount of trust in him. Prime entrusted the safety of the Autobot cause to him. But that was easier said than done.
"So…let's deal."
Swindle said it with his signature smirk, like he was offering a once in a lifetime deal. Like he wasn't stuck behind laser bars inside the Accord officer's personal shuttle, the Steelhaven. Ultra Magnus himself wasn't the least bit impressed by Swindle's gall.
"You're going back to the regional Decepticon command hub, Swindle," Ultra Magnus said, staring straight into Swindle's big purple eyes. "No doubt to face a military tribunal and court material. I imagine even your team is sick of pulling your aft out of the fire. And just to make it clear, I don't deal."
"Well. See. I'm not so sure. In my experience, everyone-no matter how unbending they may seem-wants something. Even you, Magnus."
"No. nothing you have to offer would make me compromise my sworn duty."
Swindle the played his trump card. "Oh yeah? Not even Kopesh?"
Ultra Magnus scowled, and Swindle grinned, knowing he caught a big one. The law officer wordlessly left the mech to his solitude and headed to his quarters, his personal sanctuary where he brooded on the deep slag that plagued his mind. His computer held files on all the criminals he captured and those he was still pursuing. He pressed a button and a profile image of one of his top ten most wanted popped up on the monitor.
It was a bright golden mech with the ebony colored head of a jackal, and a matching beast mode that was similar to the animal of the same name. He was an old mech, forged in the waning days of Nova Prime's rule, though his actions until the Uprising were still a mystery. His name was Kopesh.
Just the name made Ultra Magnus scowl. Though the two largest factions in the civil war were the Autobots and Decepticons, there were still a number of smaller factions running around, but none were as mysterious and dangerous as the Order.
They were once a clandestine religious organization that existed all the way back to the golden age, an organization composed of mechs and femmes who worship a pantheon of stone gods, beings said to have forged cybertronians from cosmic fire. This worship bordered on fanatical, but no one really paid them any mind before and after the war began. That is, until the Order's leader, Ember, instigated the invasion of Iacon, tried killing Alpha Trion and Elita-1 and brought about the Fall through Thunderwing. And later evidence pointed to them having a hand in Tarn's Great Fire.
It honestly baffled Ultra Magnus at how much influence the Order had in cybertronian political and social affairs. They were divided into separate cells, each one maintaining limited contact with the other and rarely conversing with each other unless it was for special gatherings or to work on operations. The highest ranking members were Ember's inner circle, and they were the ones he had to look out for.
Kopesh was one such member. Personal records showed that he was a headmaster with a beast mode; forged in the Manganese Mountains, under the shadow of Mount Novus, Koepsh had a bad habit if selling himself as a god to primitive races, forcing them to worship him and gifting them common, if a bit outdated, cybertronian technology to improve their lives. It doesn't sound bad, until you get to the part where said primitives commit unholy acts of violence against themselves and each other to appease him.
Sacrifices, gladiator fights, orgies, blood baths…each act more debasing and disgusting than the last. When everything was said and done, a number of things would happen to those races; Kopesh would drive them to commit genocide and eventually extinction, leave them to their own sinful activities and vanish entirely, or bestow a paradise on them forever, grant these people "eternal pleasure". It depended on his mood. To these poor souls, Kopesh appeared as a benevolent god, or a horrid demon of retribution,
Ultra Magnus had no idea why Kopesh did this, but the mech had a lot of blood on his hands. This was no top of illegally sharing cybertronian technology with primitive races barely out of their medieval ages. It was like giving a MKII fusion cannon to a child. They play around with it until they either kill themselves or someone else. This maniac needed to be taken out, and Swindle probably had a lead on his whereabouts.
He frowned and switched the computer off. Swindle was right. If he knows about Kopesh's whereabouts, and if that knowledge means he can take him unawares before he has a chance to cut on run…then the weasel does have what he wants.
'But is it enough for to make me bend?' Ultra Magnus thought. To him, one compromise leads to another, and another, and pretty soon you've crossed the line you're supposed to be holding. Thinking back on all the times Kopesh had eluded him, and left behind a mountain range of corpses, Ultra Magnus, made his decision.
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He cut Swindle loose. The bastard was overwhelmingly smug about succeeding to convince the great, unshakable Ultra Magnus to set him free. Which was why he was proud of leaving the mech on a remote planet in the least savory trading post in the quadrant, with nothing of any worth to his name. The place was populated by some of the galaxy's most vile scum, many no big fans of cybertronians, but Ultra Magnus had no illusions that Swindle won't survive. Hell, he might even thrive there.
Ultra Magnus left Swindle along knowing full well that the nano-tag he planted on the mech without his knowledge will lead him straight back to the Combaticon. In the mean time, after rigorously verifying it, Ultra Magnus followed Swindle's info to the planet Runera.
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Vanadiel was a distant planet in the lower half of the third quadrant of GC territory. It wasn't a charter planet of the Galactic Coalition, but it had enough influence to garner cover protection from unsavory off-world elements, namely the Decepticons. It was home to a moderately advanced race of bipedal feline humanoids called the Mithra, who had reached high levels of technological and political heights for a pre-space age society, but such progress was hampered by the Mithras' constant struggle against an invading swarm of insectoids known as the Wasters.
The Steelhaven easily bypassed Vanadiel's orbital satellites and flew towards the larger of the two continents in the east. Setting his ship in the heart of a dense forest, Ultra Magnus scanned an alt mode from one of the larger vehicles and generate his Holomatter-a young, brown furred female Mithra with short bright red hair and black eyes with pupiless gold irises, common features found in most Mithra. One little quirk about the Mithra was that the majority of their society was dominated by women. Male Mithra birthrates were low enough that males were regulated to housework and child rearing while the females took care of political, military and space affairs.
There were a lot of places to look, but Swindle was able to narrow down his choices with some inside information on where Kopesh would most likely be operating. On Vanadiel, there was a religious organization called the Circle, which was growing in popularity lately. Kopesh, acting as a sun god, recruited many followers within months of arriving on the planet, focusing on men and women who had their lives destroyed by the Wasters that were tearing apart everything from the west to the east like a force of nature. He contacted these people via his circle of priests that were managed by two people; High Priestess Rana Mihgo and her daughter, the Priestess Nanaa Mihgo. Both hailed from the House of Ianoi, the last of the noble families after the Wasters' initial attack on the planet. It was no surprise that such high profile figures in Runeran society were his eyes and ears to the outside world. One needs honey to attract bees.
Kopesh's modus operandi during these lengthy operations was to disappear into the background, appearing irregularly to his followers to showcase some awesome feat of divinity or smite an innocent blasphemer who asked too questions. He operated through priests and priestesses, spokespeople to spread his word. Rana and Nanaa fit that bill perfectly, and their status as nobles only increased the Circle's popularity. It would seem odd that a highly advanced technological civilization would be so caught up in a religious fraud like this, but with the Wasters slowly decimating their world each year, and hope becoming little more than a dream, it's no wonder that many would look to a divine being for help. It was easy for those predators to use gods and demons as a way to control the masses via a symbol of hope.
Ultra Magnus spent a few days covertly scouting the city where his targets were operating in, mainly spotting Nanaa in the middle of a relief effort helping refugees. He took his time to learn who had the most influence in this sect, where they got their money from and where their main temple was located, but he paid most of his attention to Nanaa.
The young woman often spent her time helping refugees settle down, healing the sick and wounded, hosting prayer sessions and playing with the children. Though she was a high ranking member of the Circle, it was clear that her role was to be the group's public face; she lacked her mother's experience, though her faith was genuine, as was her belief in the god of light. She only sought to bring peace to those whose lives were ruined, and done so however she could. A far cry from her standoffish mother and fellow priestesses.
Ultra Magnus pulled up in front of the camp and cleared his throat to get her attention. "Hello? Lady Priestess?"
"Yes?" Nanaa looked up at him. It wasn't hard to see that she was young, well into her teenage years. Her youthful looks were enhanced by her smooth, clean brown fur and a lithe figure clothed in a turquoise dress and ivory beaded headdress over a head of spiky red hair. Her eyes were dark brown and wide, full of kindness rarely seen in moth beings. Ultra Magnus now knew why so many suitors asked to court her. "Good morning, traveler! Is there something you need?"
"Yes, Lady Priestess. I'm sorry to bother you like this, but…" Magnus' holomatter was female, but he looked tall, muscular and had a deep voice that made her look slightly intimidating to look at, like a feral cat. He hoped his appearance didn't put her off. "I would like to seek the presence of your god. I seek the wisdom of the High Father."
"I see." Nanaa nodded. "May I ask why do you want to meet with Her?"
He feigned a look of sadness and despair, drawing on some unpleasant memories to make the act more genuine. "My home…I lived on a farm with my brother when those monsters came. They overran my home town and killed…" He choked and shook his head, feline ears pointing down in sadness.
"It's okay. You're in safe hands now." Nanaa said soothingly. She heard enough horror stories to ascertain his current situation. Ultra Magnus had to admire the sheer compassion she treated people with. If only she wasn't embroiled in some mad mech's schemes.
'If Sky Lynx could see me now.' He thought. "Thank you for your kind words, my lady. I…just needed some advice from our lord. I need to know what I can do with what's left of my life. I must know what path I should take."
"Dear Madam, you do not need to speak to God to find hope and happiness. All you need to do is open your heart and allow yourself to heal naturally. Use this tragedy to come back stronger, for there are many hardships in the eternal journey that is Life." Nanaa said kindly. Her hands were soft as silk as she ran them down his back in a comforting manner. "But I will speak with my mother and see if she will allow you an audience. Only she can grant you access to the High Father."
"Thank you, Lady Priestess." Ultra Magnus said, briefly lamenting how few people in the galaxy could be this kind.
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Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Nanaa to get permission from her mother. A day later, she contacted him and informed him of her mother's decision.
"I'm surprised mother accepted your request so quickly. Usually, only acolytes of the Circle are allowed to commune with the High Father these days, since the number of displaced refugees are increasing and it's getting more difficult to support them all. We're forced to limit the number of audiences with the High Father since the last Waster incursion ravaged another metropolis." Nanaa said. She rode in Magnus' passenger seat next to his avatar as they talked. Nanaa had to convince her security detail to allow her to drive with Ultra Magnus, but her silver tongue managed that task just fine. In the eyes of the law, she was an adult who could take care of herself. "I guess she thinks that allowing people to see Him again will raise their hopes once more."
"Why has the High Priestess refused audiences with the High Father?" Ultra Magnus asked. He genuinely wanted to know.
"I don't know. I thought it was because there were too many people to take care of, but I think it might just be because mother is a bit overwhelmed." Nanaa didn't look particularly happy about that, but like any proper woman, she kept her opinions to herself to avoid giving away personal matters to someone she only knew for a day. "Anyway, by accepting your prayers, I hope this will change things for us. Maybe even assuage those baleful rumors being said about the Circle."
"You are a kind woman, Nanaa." Ultra Magnus said. "I believe gaining wisdom from you alone is enough to keep the people going, even without a god."
Nanaa blushed, smiling sweetly as she kept her eyes on the raindrops pelting the Autobot's windshield. "If only that were enough."
Ultra Magnus drove up to the temple. It was a large building built into the mountain behind it, with a pagoda-like roof and statues depicting a dog-headed figure along the perimeter of the temple's courtyard. It was a humanoid statue of his target-Kopesh. The tiles were pained gold and black, while the statues themselves were made of real gold. It seemed the group had more than enough money to give their benevolent god multiple idols.
The Autobot parked himself outside the front gates and had his avatar escort Nanaa through the light rain into the courtyard. Ultra Magnus took note of how ostentatious the place looked, as if they wanted the whole world to see the wealth and beauty their god brought to them.
'Kopesh didn't waste any time making these people build idols in his honor, did he?' He thought.
Women clothed in the same robes as Nanaa, though less lavish as the woman herself, passed them, giving the Priestess a bow. The rain did little to bother them or her, and they didn't try to take cover from it. Nanaa led him to the temple's entrance, where her mother was waiting.
"Mother." Nanaa greeted.
"Nanaa, I thought I told you to stay with your guards. They're there for a reason." Rana Mihgo said. She was just as beautiful as her daughter despite her advanced age, with some wrinkles around her eyes and faded red hair.
"I know mother, but I was in good hands." She motioned to Ultra Magnus. "This is Minimus, she's the woman who wants to speak to the High Father. His home was destroyed and she seeks His guidance."
"Her story is no different from the other refugees-they have no home, no livelihoods or families, so why should I allow you a moment of the High Father's time?" Rana asked, giving Ultra Magnus a glare that would cause most other people to back away. But Ultra Magnus had faced an angry Optimus, Elita-1 and Grimlock in his hayday, so this was nothing.
"Lady Rana, I merely seek guidance. My home is gone, along with everything I value. My brother, Dominus, is missing, but I know deep in my heart he is alive. I just need to know where to look, to know where he is. He's all I have left."
Rana thought it over, knowing that the possibility of rescuing a male mithra, a rare commodity among their kind, was too much to pass up. "Our High Father is willing to open our doors to all who seek his wisdom and prayers. Things have just been…difficult for all of us lately." She said. "Nanaa, you may go now. I will handle it from here."
"Yes, mother. May the High Father's light shine on you, Minimus Ambus." Nanaa said and walked away, leaving him with the High Priestess.
With her daughter gone, Rana led Ultra Magnus into the temple. The entrance hall had a large red carpet on the floor, leading to a chamber large enough to accommodate him in his robot mode. At the center of the room was another gold statue of Kopesh sitting cross-legged with two lotus plants in his hands. The walls were lined with blue crystals and murals depicted the "ascension" of the High Father, an enlightened being. From there, Rana escorted Ultra Magnus down another hall that sloped downward, possibly underground.
"Here we are." Rana said, bringing Ultra Magnus into another chamber with a large metal archway in front of two ornate doors. "This archway is how we measure one's sin. Those runes carved into it will glow, and how strongly they glow will be the measure of your sins. Pass through here and you will then meet our god."
"What happens if I fail the test?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"Then you will be struck down on the spot." Rana said, her slitted feline eyes staring into his like a predatory cat.
Ultra Magnus frowned, but he followed along anyway. He didn't have time to waste. It was either this or bust through the front door in his vehicle mode and expose himself. "Fine, I have committed no sins."
'That I'm willing to admit.' He added mentally.
He looked up at the archway, an uneasy feeling rising in the back of his mind. Something wasn't right here, but he was in no position to back out, lest Rana got suspicious. Ultra Magnus sighed and walked forward, each step leaving an ominous echo in the empty chamber. When he paused in front of the archway, he hesitantly took two steps under it.
Then there was pain.
As soon as he felt his faux body freeze in place, Ultra Magnus withdrew his cognitive functions from his holomatter's virtual nervous system. His real body shuddered as his holomatter disintegrated.
"Slag!" Ultra Magnus cursed. He lost the element of surprise. Kopesh would be the type of person to disguise a holomatter reader in plain sight. He didn't get this far by being stupid. "I'm not losing you this time!"
He drove through the gates of the courtyard, honking his horn loudly to get the people out of his way. He had to reach Kopesh before he stripped out all the essential data and hardware before slipping away through some back door.
But he had more things to worry about as the statues of Kopesh began to move. The one closest to him leaped off its place by the gates and slammed into him. Ultra Magnus converted to robot mode and got to his feet before his body even finished rearranging. He punched the attacking statue in the face and took out his photon rifle, firing at the other two statues approaching him.
"Come on out, Kopesh!" He yelled. "I'm here for you!"
"How dare you say a god's name in vain?" Kopesh's voice growled through the three statues. "You certainly live up to your family's legacy, Ambus. You've made Tyrest proud!"
"Just shut up!" Ultra Magnus fired two photon beams into the first statue's head as the other two rushed him. One grabbed his arm while the other threw punches at the back of his head.
Ultra Magnus wrenched his arm free and punched the drone in the face, caving its head in. He kicked the other one away and fired at its knees. Ripping the spear it thrust at him from its hands, he stabbed it through the head, severing its head from its body. He kicked it aside and tore the other one's head off.
"Kopesh, surrender and I won't tear your golden castle down!" He called out. "I am a duly appointed officer of the Tyrest Accord. We can do this the hard way, or the-"
"You have no place here, Autobot!" Rana Mihgo shouted as she ran outside, enraged and out for blood. "Your kind has no authority on Vanadiel!"
"That was before you started harboring cybertronian criminals, Rana." Ultra Magnus replied. "I'm sure the Galactic Coalition won't appreciate that."
"Since when have you or the Coalition given a damn about us? We have appealed for their assistance against the Wasters for decades and you've all turned us away out of fear of drawing the swarm's attention!" Rana snarled. "Kopesh has cared for us, given us more than you war mongering Autobots and hypocritical politicians. As far as I'm concerned, Magnus, you can burn with the rest of them!"
A lightning bolt hit the ground before Ultra Magnus, its loud boom masking the growl from the four legged beast that pounced on his back. Serrated titanium teeth tore into his shoulder and the Autobot hissed before grabbing the beast by the head and throwing it to the ground. The beast in question was a golden jackal with a black canine head and ruby eyes. It transformed into a taller bipedal mech with the same canine head.
"You insist on sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!" Kopesh growled. He drew two curved blades from his back and held them up in a challenge. "I should've killed you the moment you derailed my plans on Yavin!"
"You've had plenty of chances, Kopesh. All squandered when you ran like a coward!" ultra Magnus lifted his rifle. "Now lower your weapons and surrender immediately."
"Never!"
Kopesh charged at him, pushing his leg hydraulics to their limits as he leapt up to kick Ultra Magnus in the face. He fired his rifle, but Kopesh slashed his hand, cutting deep into his mesh and knocking the gun from his grasp. Ultra Magnus went to grapple him, wrapping his long arms around the mech's torso in an attempt to drag him to the ground, but Kopesh evaded his grasp and slashed his blades across his chest plate. Magnus quickly backed off before Kopesh could lop off his head with a following strike.
"You're lucky, Magnus. It's not often I get to fight a heathen such as yourself." Kopesh said. "In the past, I would've simply wound up my operations and moved on. But I'm on the verge of something quite breathtaking in scope here. So it is you who must go!"
He threw his blades at Ultra Magnus, who knocked them away, but it left him open for when Kopesh weaved behind him and slammed two fists into his back. Ultra Magnus grunted as he felt his body seize up, bolts of golden energy surging through his body as he was propelled forward, crashing into a wall. Acolytes fled the battlefield to avoid the falling debris, though a few unlucky women were crushed under the Autobot's large body.
"And by that, I mean dead and gone!" Kopesh fired an energy blast from his raised first that blew a chunk out of Magnus's shoulder. "You were a fool to fight me, Ambus. You should've made like your brother and chosen a less hazardous occupation!"
Kopesh charged up for another, stronger shot, but was interrupted when Rana ran forward.
"Kopesh, stop! You'll destroy everything we've built here!" Rana yelled. "Please, I beg of you!"
"Out of my way, mortal!" Kopesh snarled.
"Mother?" Nanaa ran into the courtyard and gaped at the destroyed courtyard caused by the two mechs. "Mother, what's going on?"
"No, Nanaa, stay back!" Rana shouted.
Ultra Magnus pushed himself up and ran over to Nanaa to shield her with his body just as Kopesh fired his energy blast. The attack missed Ultra Magnus, but it hurt the wall next to him, sending debris everywhere. Rana, who was standing only inches away from the explosion was engulfed by the blast wave, vanishing in a burst of flames before Nanaa's eyes.
"Mother!" Nanaa cried. Ultra Magnus covered her view with his hand to shield her from her mother's quick but gruesome death.
"Don't lool, Nanaa." Ultra Magnus grunted. "Don't look."
"Yes, look away, little one. You don't want to see what I have planned for your savior." Kopesh grinned, revealing a mouth full of crimson red teeth. Ultra Magnus scowled and stood up.
"Don't take another step." He warned.
"Oh? And what will you do to me if I refuse?" Kopesh laughed. "Read the Autobot code to me word for word?"
"No…this." Ultra Magnus quickly raised his arm, revealing that he retrieved his plasma rifle and fired a shot right at Kopesh's face. The searing hot burst of plasma hit Kopesh in the face, blasting apart his right eye and sent him reeling back in agony.
"You little bastard!" Kopesh snarled. He fell to his knees, clutching his ruined face in pain. Ultra Magnus placed Nanaa back down on the ground before walking over to his target.
"There's nothing little about me." He pointed his rifle at Kopesh's face. "Now surrender…or you'll lose the other eye."
Kopesh glared up at him with pure rage before yelling, "Ba!"
At his command, another four legged mechanoid pounced on Ultra Magnus' back, biting and scratching at his arm and shoulder, making him drop the gun. This cybertronian was a femme with a golden orange body sporting a feline body frame and a feminine face with red lips and redder eyes. Her steel gray wings flapped furiously as she leapt over to Kopesh.
"Until next time, Ambus." Kopesh growled. Placing a hand on his partner's, Ba's, head, their bodies glowed as they were taken away by an orbital bounce. They were already gone by the time Magnus went to stop them.
"Kopesh!" Ultra Magnus roared. His target was gone, again. And like before, he left a pile of bodies in his wake.
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Ultra Magnus did not enjoy explaining to the major mithra clans of Vanadiel why the chief of one of the largest clans in the northern hemisphere was dead along with a half destroyed prominent abode. He went into great deal of Kopesh and his crimes, as well as Rana's role in it all. He made sure to mention that none of them will be implicated for her crimes, as she was the only one aware of her "gods" true nature. Despite this, the other chiefs didn't seem all that distressed at the news. In fact, some discreetly celebrated her sacrifice.
To them, Rana only conspired with the cybertronian criminal because she was slowly helping her people gain the power to fight back the Waster infestation. They didn't say it aloud, but Ultra Magnus could see it in their eyes. Rana's cult looked like it wasn't going to disband, nor were their members brought to justice. No one was going to be condemned…but Ultra Magnus himself. In the eyes of the mithra, he was the murderer of their only chance at victory.
Ultra Magnus made sure they knew he didn't regret his actions. Kopesh had to be exposed before he turned Vanadiel's lush green land red with their blood. He couldn't be allowed to kill more people in his so-called crusade.
Later that day, Ultra Magnus returned to the Steelhaven, which sat outside the city cloaked and covered by trees. As he drove up to it in his alt mode, he saw a tiny figure standing near the clearing where his ship was. It was Nanaa Mihgo. He pulled to a stop and transformed to robot mode, standing to his full height of 38 feet, towering above her. She showed no fear, only anger in her once kind eyes.
"Why?" Nanaa asked.
"Why what?" Ultra Magnus questioned.
"Why did you have to interfere?" She cried. "I know what my mother did was wrong, but…look at us! We were happy! Our people had something to give them hope, a symbol to fight under against the Wasters! I thought the Autobots were supposed to help people, but all you've done was cause us more pain! We have no religion, no symbol, and no god to protect us. What do we have now?"
Ultra Magnus was silent as he watched the girl break down and cry, falling to her knees. After a minute, he asked, "What do you have on you right now?"
Nanaa blinked up at him with red, pussy eyes, her facial fur wet with tears. "W-What?"
"You have two hands, two feet, a pair of eyes and a brain. You have people who look up to you for hope and inspiration. Nanaa, you told me that we should find hope within ourselves, and through suffering we come back stronger, as long as we have the strength to withstand those hardships. Was that just the whimsical ramblings of a priestess, or were they the words of a woman who strived to make her world a better place?"
Nanaa couldn't find anything to say as Ultra Magnus knelt over her.
You don't need a god or a symbol to bring you miracles. You make your own. I'm sorry for what happened to your mother, but she was involved with some dangerous people. However, you're still alive and you can show your people how to stand on their own two feet and walk alongside you to a better future." He stood up and walked over to his ship. "I don't believe in miracles, but some good friends of mine say they come true when people make them a reality."
Ultra Magnus boarded his ship and the spacecraft slowly lifted off a few feet from the ground before its ignition boosters propelled it into the sky. Nanaa watched it go with a thoughtful expression, thinking on his last words.
"We make our own miracles…" She whispered. Oddly enough, those words actually made sense.
Up in Vanadiel's orbit, Ultra Magnus looked down at the planet; beautiful from above, but suffering down below. He tapped his finger on the arm rest of his pilot seat, deep in thought, weighing the potential consequences of his actions. Then he opened a link to regional command.
"Ultra Magnus to Regional Command," He said. "Requesting assault teams to aid local population in repelling insectoid invaders at my coordinates. I'll brief you on the specifics in person."
XXXXXX
In the end, Kopesh got away and Ultra Magnus lost his only lead on him. There was little else Ultra Magnus could do other than go back to his usual routine-hunting down war criminals.
Five years later, he found himself arresting Swindle again on the snow-covered planet Buras. He caught the sly bastard trying to augment the bulky bestial lifeforms with cybernetic implants to sell off-world as living weapons. Thankfully, Ultra Magnus caught him before any lives were lost or destroyed completely.
As he attached the cuffs to Swindle's wrists, Ultra Magnus thought back to the one time he let a criminal go to catch another. A risky gamble that ended in failure overall. Ultra Magnus knew he was dedicated to his job, to hid duty as an officer of the law. But sometimes he wondered…
"Hey, Magnus," Swindle grinned. "Let's deal!"
How far will he go to get the job done?
