Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime
Chapter 14: Confrontation with the Thorian
Tarantulas had eyes throughout the entire colony. Exo-Geni were not the only ones studying the effects of the Thorian spores. Tarantulas lived for his science and the progress it could bring, it had all stemmed from his curiosity. He was curious about humans, Krogan, Turians, he wanted to know everything there was to know about the species of the new cycle. So he observed the ruthless nature of those in power, the day to day activities of the masses, and the daily pushes the Thorian gave its puppets. He began to think that they were all fragile, until he saw Commander Shepard. In between packing his things, Tarantulas looked through the eyes of his spider drones and saw the ferocity the human female fought with, her determination and how that would pass to her men. Then there were the Autobots, at first Tarantulas was not impressed. But then he saw him, the red and blue armoured warrior they referred to as Optimus. Before his arrival the Autobots were decimating his Insecticon prototypes, with Optimus heading towards Zhu's Hope, carrying the three organic females in his truck form, the fighting skills of the Autobots and the Spectre's forces seemed to increase.
"Such curious power this Optimus wields, such skill and ferocity, yet the respect he commands, it is like that of Nominus Prime or the Fallen before he…well fell," Tarantulas mussed, clicking his talons together.
The Thorean growled, causing the very ceiling to shake. Tarantulas ignored the creature and hummed, continuing his rant.
"He may be the Prime, but no, no, no, no Primes are grand commanders, the admirals of fleets, the leaders of entire cities, what is he?" the hybrid wondered. "But alas I may have no time to sate my curiosity, I bid you farewell Thorean, you gave me good results but unfortunately if I am to perfect the Insecticon program I must gain a better facility," the scientist explained as he transformed to his beast mode.
The Thorean yelled, but Tarantulas cackled, climbing into his transport. A drill slid out of the nosecone and it began tunnelling through the catacombs, carrying a web bag filled with the data discs Tarantulas had gathered. He kept on watching his video feeds, watching the great warrior Optimus squash his precious Blackarachnias.
"Note to self, make the next Blackarachnia bigger," he said.
Optimus drove fast, faster than Ashley thought it was possible for a truck to drive. He squashed any Blackarachnia unfortunate enough to get in his way. Ashley couldn't even fire a shot from his window, not that she needed to anyway. As well as his bulky armour, Optimus had rocket launchers mounted underneath his headlights that he used to blow away the hybrids. Liara tightened her grip on her pistol as Optimus drew closer to the sounds of battle. She then heard the screams and gasped, recognising Arcee's voice. Her shock was nothing in comparison to Tali's, before the Quarian believed they were incapable of humour, she was proven wrong by the younger Autobots, before she believed they were incapable of loyalty or even disloyalty, Jetfire had proven her wrong, she believed they were incapable of rage and Optimus had proven her wrong, once again she had been proven wrong, Arcee was in pain and Tali actually felt sympathy for her. But then she felt awe as she saw the Autobot shooting the hybrid creatures as Ratchet checked her over.
"You'd best take cover now," Optimus told his passengers as they disembarked.
"I'm a soldier Optimus," Ashley said.
That was all Optimus needed to hear to know that he could count on them to fight. He transformed into robot mode, immediately firing his path blaster and knocking several hybrids away from Ironhide and Bumblebee. Optimus fired multiple shots, destroying his enemies in waves and cutting a path for Ashley and her squad. They fired their pistols, killing another wave of Blackarachnias as they came out of the tunnel. Optimus kicked a clone into the wall and then flicked another towards Bumblebee. The scout jumped and kicked the hybrid, sending it flying across the colony.
"Good to see you back sir," Bumblebee said.
"Autobots, evacuate our wounded and the humans," Optimus commanded.
"YES SIR!" the Autobots yelled.
Optimus drew his axe and much to the shock of the Autobots shifted it into a sword form. The blade glowed orange as he jumped off of a hut, slicing through an aerial hybrid. He then fired his path blaster, knocking back several clones. The barrel of his weapon expanded as he raised it to the sky. A gigantic blast wave flew out of the cannon, disintegrating several of the winged hybrids. Bumblebee looked at his commander in awe, only to be slapped by Arcee.
"A little less gawking and more walking," she said.
"We get the wounded out like Optimus said soldier," Jetfire said.
Ratchet and Ironhide ran to either side of the hut they had imprisoned the colonists in. They ripped the hut off of the ground, carrying it like a box out of range of Optimus's battle. Jazz provided cover fire for his fleeing allies before jumping to Optimus's side. He swung his neutron assault rifle, shooting apart several clones.
"Like the young bot said boss, its good to see you back," Jazz said.
"Grappling hook," Optimus sheathed his sword and raised his hand.
Jazz unravelled his hook and gave it to Optimus. The Autobot commander, he could truly call himself that now with confidence, ran his hand across the ground, lightly tapping it.
"Hollow," he said.
"The smaller organics wouldn't notice it but there's definitely space under there," Jazz said.
"Do you have an energon pack to spare?" Optimus asked.
Jazz nodded his head and gave his leader his energy pack. Optimus connected the pack to his path blaster and aimed at the ground. He fired his gun and span in a circle, cutting a circle into the ground. Jazz widened his eyes and braced himself. He locked his feet to the ground as Optimus dropped into the catacombs below. Optimus kept a hold of his line, blasting the clones beneath him before he let it go. He landed on the ground, which nearly collapsed under his weight. Then he raised his head and looked upon the disgusting sight of the Thorean.
"So all we have to do is pluck out this Thorean thing and the clones will stop appearing?" Ashley asked as she and her squad moved into the Thorean's lair.
"Doesn't sound…too…difficult," Tali looked up at the Thorean and gasped.
"Shepard, you said this thing was a plant, what I'm looking at is not a plant," Ashley said.
"By the goddess," Liara muttered.
The creature they looked at was a chunk of flesh, with tendrils poking out of what accounted for a mouth. Optimus immediately spotted the roots sticking the Thorean to the walls. It was inside a circular space, a drop that would shatter even a Cybertronian's legs. The Thorean seemed to gag as liquid spewed from its mouth. An object squeezed through the tendrils and the disgust of the crew grew rose at what they saw. The Thorean regurgitated an Asari, dressed in commando gear. But the Asari's skin was a strange green colour. She looked up at Optimus as if he was a minor annoyance before speaking.
"Invaders, your every step is a transgression against us, know that no trade will be made between us ever again," the Asari clone stated.
"Between us? What are you talking about?" Optimus asked.
"Your kind, we have traded with the natives of this growth and of the old growth, the one you refer to as the Fallen one," the Thorean explained.
Optimus narrowed his optics, he had finally found what the Fallen had been looking for. The Geth had stayed on Feros to get rid of the Thorean and keep the information it possessed away from any pursuers, they had probably learnt of Optimus and Rodimus's crew and no desire for either group to learn of their actions or what they were after.
"What did you give the Fallen?" Optimus asked.
"The Fallen could not access certain levels of Prothean knowledge, his experience with the Protheans was not as in depth as yours, he had never fought them, had never even seen a Prothean, thus he could not completely understand them. Saren on the other hand, he had seen the Prothean warning through the beacons, to understand such knowledge he required something only the Thorean could offer," the clone explained.
"What was it?" Liara asked.
"There will be no more trades, you have attacked the old growth, freed thralls fairly given," the clone said.
"What is she talking about?" Tali asked.
"Slaves, she means we freed her slaves, the colonists of Zhu's Hope," Optimus snarled.
The clone remained impassive, even as Optimus's grip on his blaster visibly tightened.
"They were freely given," the clone repeated her words.
There was a yell that could be heard across Therum. A yell of such fury that upon hearing it one could hardly believe one was capable of such anger. Starscream however knew for a fact that his master was capable of it. He closed his optics as Megatron yelled at him again.
"YOU ARE FAILING!"
Megatron's holographic image shook; the Decepticons saw his fists tense, even as Starscream kneeled.
"It wasn't my fault my lord, the Autobots have found a new ally, a gigantic Autobot by the name of Sky Lynx," the air commander explained.
"A records clerk, a medic, three green soldiers, a former racer, a disgraced weapons expert, a mediocre radio operator and a seeker unsure of his loyalties, how is it that you are finding your enemies so difficult to kill?" Megatron asked.
"More to Autobots than it seems," Soundwave said, even his holographic form was close by Megatron's side.
"Where is Rodimus?"
The former Autobot leader walked down the hill, with Warpath and Prowl following close behind. Whilst Rodimus remained as firm as ever, Warpath and Prowl hesitated. More and more Optimus had proven himself to be the leader of the stronger force, but also the force that was in the right. They remembered his skill and determination at the battle of Iacon, he had a shuttle capable of getting him to safety but he instead flew straight into the battle. More and more the two bots hoped that they would meet Optimus again.
"It was Rodimus's fault my lord, he tried to extend invitations to the Autobots as opposed to simply destroying them," Starscream said as Rodimus drew closer.
"First it was their organic rivals, then it was the arrival of the energon thief and now you are blaming Rodimus, are you incapable of taking responsibility for your failures air commander?" Megatron asked.
"Starscream inferior."
"SILENCE YOU DRONE!" Starscream yelled and then bowed lower as Megatron glared at him. "My lord I…I was able to bring down the Autobot ship and recover some of their weapons and Energon, it was not a complete loss. That and I have been fighting with unreliable information, Optimus Prime is not a records clerk, his skill is too great for such a demeaning role," he explained.
"Prime?" Megatron narrowed his eyes in fury and Starscream lowered his head.
"Perhaps he is worthy of being called a Prime my lord," Thundercracker said, bowing beside Starscream.
"The soldier who failed, are you going to make excuses for Starscream?" Megatron asked.
"No my lord, he was completely ineffective as a leader," Starscream glared, but Thundercracker continued. "We as the soldiers also failed my lord, but Starscream was correct in his recounting of Optimus's skill in battle, he is as ferocious and strong a warrior as you," the seeker then looked up into Megatron's red eyes. "I believe what ever instinct you had about him was correct sir, Optimus is no simple records clerk," he kept on his calm barrier as Megatron stood at ease.
"Soundwave, send a message to Sixshot, tell him to take command of the fleet until he reaches the capital of the Prothean successors," he said.
"As you command lord Megatron," the communications officer bowed his head and tapped the buttons on his gauntlet.
"Megatron?" Rodimus looked at his ally with a questioning look.
"Thundercracker, activate the pillars, open a space bridge," Megatron said.
"What are you doing Megatron?" Rodimus asked.
"There is a saying the organics use, one of the few things I agree with them on," Megatron explained as Thundercracker and Skywarp began placing the portable space bridge pillars on the ground.
A blue field appeared between the pillars and Starscream widened his eyes as his master walked through the portal. Soundwave followed, both Decepticons appeared as if their holograms had turned into corporeal forms. Megatron rubbed his arm cannon and huffed, the barren wasteland of Therum did little to impress his view on organic worlds.
"If you want something done right, do it yourself," he said.
Rodimus narrowed his eyes slightly; he hoped Megatron wouldn't get involved.
'Damn you Orion, for bringing things to this point,' he thought as Megatron led his Decepticons to the rebuilt Astrotrain.
"Scrapper how goes the repairs to Astrotrain?" Megatron asked.
"Fortunately the destruction of the Autobot ship gave us enough parts to repair the fool," the Constructicon leader said.
"Good, now Astrotrain what have you learned?"
Upon meeting Megatron's gaze, the giant Decepticon transformed to his shuttle mode.
"I am a disgrace as a warrior, I should leave fighting to my betters," he said.
"Transport is your primary role until I say otherwise, we can not afford to lose you Astrotrain, do not mistake me pulling you from battle as a kindness, you are the fastest of us in vehicle form, you are transport that can not be wasted. Soundwave once we reach orbit you will hack one of the mass relays, utilise the communication network, begin gathering as much intelligence on this galaxy and the Prothean successors as you can, I want their troop numbers, their military legislation, their book work, any rumours surrounding any off the book military units they have, I don't care how benign the rumour is whether it is a black ops unit or a politicians relationship with their family, information is power and we will hold all of the information. Rodimus you and your men will no longer act independently or leave my side, think of betraying me and I will kill you," Megatron kept his threatening and commanding gaze even as he turned away from the former Autobots. "We will remain in disguise mode for as long as necessary, once we have all that we need we will unleash a fleet on this galaxy and show them our might, dominate them with fear as the Protheans tried to with us. Constructicons you will convert what materials remaining from the G1 into flight units, use them to reach key military installations, scout them and report what you know to me in two weeks…I do not need to make clear that you must not be seen," Megatron snarled as he turned to the Seekers. "Thundercracker correct?"
"Yes lord Megatron?" the blue seeker raised his head inquisitively.
"The remaining Seekers will fall under your command," Megatron said.
"WHAT!? BUT LORD MEGATRON I AM…" Starscream's opposition was cut short as Megatron punched him in the face.
"Silence Starscream, you will remain with my unit as we track the movements of Optimus's team," Megatron stated.
"Yes lord Megatron, I promise I will not fail you," Starscream bowed his head, nursing his jaw.
"What will you have us do lord Megatron?" Thundercracker asked.
"Go to what the organics call the Terminus system, scout it out and tell me of its military forces," Megatron said.
Thundercracker bowed his head and transformed to jet form, flying into the atmosphere with his surviving comrades. The Constructicons began their work whilst Astrotrain opened his main hatch. Megatron was first onto the ship, followed by his other men. He stopped Starscream however and turned to the air commander, gripping his shoulder tightly.
"Your recent failures will be forgiven Starscream, if you turn all of your data on the battle, particularly visual data over to me," he said.
"Yes lord Megatron, at once," Starscream tapped the side of his head and a thin red line ran between him and his lord, downloading his memories of his one sided fight with Optimus.
Megatron's optics grew wide in shock, something Starscream had never seen from his lord before. Then he saw something that disturbed him even more, a smile, a true and genuine smile.
"Nemesis," the former gladiator muttered.
'What does his capital ship have to do with Optimus Prime?' Starscream wondered.
"Come Starscream, we must find out where Prime's team is going and intercept them," Megatron said, turning away from Starscream and walking to Soundwave's side. "Begin tracking Sky Lynx," he commanded.
"As you command lord Megatron!"
Tali looked between the Asari clone and Optimus. His hands were actually shaking. Clearly the thrall's words had sparked something inside Optimus. She had seen that the Cybertronians were capable of brutality, that they were capable of friendship and fear. But to know that they were capable anger, especially righteous anger frightened her even more. Her understanding of them had gotten better, but it had done little to ease her fear of them. Surprisingly however the first shot didn't come from Optimus. A round imbedded itself in the Asari's forehead, throwing her off of the ledge and down to the depths below.
"We are not your slaves," Ashley snarled, lowering her rifle.
The room shook as the Thorian roared. It began vomiting out more Blackarachnia clones, this time armed with biotics. Liara used her own biotics, pushing the clones aside as Tali and Ashley fired their guns. Optimus took aim at the Thorian, only to stop as Blackarachnias swarmed around him. He squashed one with his foot and then batted another aside with the barrel of his gun. The Blackarachnia's began shooting acid from their mouths, forcing Optimus to run and jump to another ledge. He fired his path blaster, blowing up the region the five clones were standing on.
"Interesting, it seems Optimus may have personal experience in slavery, that must be the only way to justify his anger," Liara said.
"Ha, you don't have to have experience in slavery to be disgusted by it," Ashley shot two Asari clones and dived for cover as one released a warp field.
Tali created a damping field with her Omni-tool, disabling the biotics of her enemies. Liara then unleashed her own biotics, creating singularities and then blowing them up with warp fields. Green bodies were sent smashing into the walls, breaking bones. The Thorian attempted to swat Optimus with one of its tentacles. Optimus however jumped, digging his fingers into the wall and climbing out of the Thorians range. He reduced the level of his blaster, not wanting to bring the place down on top of them; with each shot he took out a Blackarachnia climbing in beast mode towards him.
"Optimus what are you seeing down there?" Ratchet asked over the radio.
"The Thorean is organic but it seems to have gained Cybertronian implants, that may explain why the copies it produces are part machine," Optimus jumped onto another platform, kicking two clones before blasting a group into bits.
"How could it have gained Cybertronian technology?" Jetfire asked.
"It doesn't have the limbs to graft technology onto its self, and it also requires help and extensive knowledge of the implants too, the Fallen has been in exile for so long that he couldn't possibly gain access to the technology to create a hybrid, there are more Cybertronians in this galaxy, hiding just like the Fallen did," Optimus explained.
"Slag it, we're not the first Cybertronians to come here," Bumblebee said.
"It doesn't matter, our mission still stands, stop the Thorean then we move on to track the Fallen," Optimus said.
He crouched and swept his cannon across the floor, knocking Thorean husks off of the platform. Ashley and her team were also making short work of the husks the Thorean had created, dodging their showers of acid and returning fire. Tali weaved between targets, knocking them back with shots from her shotgun. She crouched and blew a Husk's head off, causing the acid inside to spray onto the Blacharachnia units. Her eyes narrowed underneath her visor as she watched the acid melt away the Cybertronian implants.
"Optimus, the Thorean Husks contain acid that can burn through your armour," she said over the radio.
"Thank you Tali Zorah Nar Rayya," Optimus shot two groups of husks and grabbed a survivor.
He threw the husk towards the Thorean, and fired a blast. The husk exploded, showering the Thorean in acid. It let out a scream as the liquid burned the implants Tarantulas had placed on it. The Thorean blurted out more clones and screamed, commanding its husks to converge on Optimus. A singularity appeared in the corridor they came out of, causing them to float off of the ground. Liara and Ashley stood on the lower platform opposite Optimus's, lifting and shooting the husks with their biotics and sniper rifle respectively. The two women ducked as the Thorean swept its tentacle over them. Optimus drew his axe and dragged it across the ground, throwing the husks and Asari clones aside.
"Shepard what is your status?" Optimus asked.
"We're having to take the long way back to the colony," Shepard said, leaning out of Cliff Jumper's window and shooting down more hybrids.
"Disgusting creatures," Cliff snarled, shooting Thorean husks on the road.
He drifted around the corner, dodging the fire breaths of several winged reptilians. Garrus rolled down the rear window and fired his sniper rifle, bringing each hybrid down with headshots. The Mako was doing just as well, running down Thorean husks at Zhu's hopes garage. Bullets bounced off of the Mako's armour and the employees of Exo-Geni looked through the outer cameras. What they saw was enough to make Jeong scramble for the turret controls. Lizbeth slammed her elbow into his face, keeping him from shooting at the Thorean possessed colonists.
"They cant help themselves, this is because of our experiments," she said.
"They can't do any damage anyway," Juliana said.
Cliff drove into the garage, skidding to a slow halt as Shepard stepped out. She threw a grenade against the wall behind the colonists. With a flash of her Omni-tool, the grenades released a green gas that knocked the colonists unconscious.
"Joker, what's the Normandy's status?" she bought her hand to her ear and contacted the pilot.
"Too close up here commander, we've got readings of winged lizards coming towards us from behind," Joker said.
He braced himself as the hybrids flew towards the Normandy. Suddenly, a metallic red tail smacked the hybrids, breaking their bodies with the simple swat. Sky Lynx lowered his tail and sent a message with a smiley face on it to Joker's terminal. The Alliance pilot eased his posture and looked towards the hanger's cargo entrance. Bumblebee and Jazz were carrying Arcee by her arms, her legs having been melted from acid. It reminded Joker of the images of human soldiers carrying wounded comrades from battle, the sentiment applied to Cybertronians as well.
"Sky Lynx, have the Minicons prep the medical bay, Arcee's taken a bad hit," Jazz said.
"Understatement of the century," Joker winced as Arcee yelled, her left hand was suddenly ripped from Bumblebee's grasp.
"ARCEE!" he yelled, kneeling down to pick her up.
"Put her arm over your shoulder little bot, Sky Lynx open the hatch now," Jazz ordered.
The huge transformer didn't need to be told twice. He opened his belly hatch, where the Minicons were waiting with a hover stretcher. Bumblebee and Jazz set their comrade onto the stretcher as gently as they could. The scout held Arcee's wrist firmly, not wanting to let go even as the stretcher began to float away. Jazz yanked him away, but Bumblebee kept his eyes on Arcee. She raised her head, putting an uneasy smile on her face.
"Get back to the slagging fight soldier," she said.
Once Bumblebee and Jazz were outside the scout broke down, slamming his fist into the dirt.
"PRIMUS! PRIMUS! Her legs, her hand, what is Arcee supposed to do now?" he swung around, looking at Jazz for an answer the older bot couldn't give.
"Get back to the fight," he could only repeat Arcee's words.
They both transformed and began making their way back to the colony, shooting any husk or Blackarachnia that got past their allies defences. That defensive line consisted of those whom were left behind and those whom had arrived. It was a sight Ratchet was sure would bring a smile to Optimus's face, if he hasn't already been driven into a rage in the Thorean's lair. The medic imagined his leader smiling because of what was happening, organics and Cybertronians were working together to fight hybrids. Cliff Jumper transformed to robot mode and slid a blade out of his wrist. He dragged it across the ground, creating a trench for Shepard's squad to use as cover. The four organics set up in the trench, their rifles blazing a trail through the husks and clones that came out of the tunnels. Shepard jumped out of cover and ordered her squad mates into individual positions. Kaidan headed towards the bunker containing the unconscious colonists, making biotic traps to ensnare the hybrids. Garrus took position on the roof of the prefabs, sniping one hostile after another. Wrex lifted two husks into the air and then rampaged through the rest, Krogan tackles were lethal. His blood rage took over, his charges and shotgun blasts were as devastating to the Thorean ranks as Ironhide's cannon fire. Both veterans laughed as they fought back to back, Ironhide shot targets from the sky and Wrex crushed the enemies on the ground.
"Incredible," Bumblebee muttered as he and Jazz entered the fight.
Jazz and Bumblebee fired their rifles, cutting apart the spiders and hybrids. They jumped, landing either side of Garrus's position. He nodded to them, accepting the protection they offered before he killed a hybrid with a headshot. Wrex bashed a husk aside and pushed seven back with a single biotic throw. He cocked his shotgun, causing the light on the barrel to glow red. The Krogan fired a carnage rocket, hitting a winged turtle in the eye. The shot bought the turtle down, right at Ratchet's feet. He stabbed his blades into its chest and ripped the shell open, exposing guts infected with cyber matter. Another stab was all it took to finish it off. Ironhide jumped into the tunnel and squashed several Asari clones.
"Prahmus that is one ugly organic," he whistled as he looked upon the Thorean.
He turned and narrowed his optics at the organic lumps on the wall, fused to those lumps were roots of some kind, connecting the Thorean to the wall.
"Hmm, this looks important," he grinned as he looked over the ledge.
The Thorean was rooted to the walls, and it was a very big drop. He turned to the first root and fired his cannon, cutting it off the wall.
"Optimus, despite how this thing looks its clearly a plant, it has roots on the walls," Ironhide said over the radio.
Optimus pounded a spider hybrid into the floor and looked towards the platform Shepard's teammates were moving on.
"Chief Williams, did you get that?" he asked.
"Loud and clear Optimus, lets pull out some weeds," Ashley primed a grenade and threw it against the wall, blowing off the root attached to it.
The chamber shook as the Thorean roared. Its tentacles latched out at Optimus, grabbing him and slamming him against the wall. Asari clones began crawling around the tentacles, charging biotic attacks in their arms. Rounds suddenly slammed into them, knocking them off of Optimus. Tali stood a short distance from the Autobot leader, firing her pistol to protect him from the Asari monsters. Blackarachnias then crawled onto the ledge she stood on, changing to their spider forms. She turned, firing continuous shots from her pistol, shooting out the eyes of one spider enough to blind it, and sent it stumbling off of the ledge. The second thrust its leg towards Tali, but a shot from her pistol pierced its eye. The pain was enough to divert the spiked legs course, but not enough to protect Tali. It shredded the fabric on her arm, causing her to cry out in pain. The third spider stabbed its wounded comrade in the head, crawling over its body to get to Tali. Optimus looked between the Thorean and the helpless Quarian. Her gun had over heated and she was trying to ward the spider off with a shock from her tool.
Then he looked at his axe, knowing that a throw would be enough to crack the Thorean's head open. But there was no guarantee that all of the spiders and clones would shut down upon its death. He looked at the Quarian again as she crawled back towards a wall. Casting aside his doubt, Optimus threw his axe at the spider, hitting it in the chest and sending it flying away from Tali. He then grabbed the tentacles around him and began pulling, ripping the appendages apart. Optimus lost himself in the savagery, ignoring the Thorean's pained whimpers. It enslaved others and wasn't making any sign of changing, that made in unworthy of mercy or even the life it was living in Optimus's optics. He tore at the tentacles and walked towards the Thorean. As he moved forward, Liara ripped roots off of the walls with her biotics and Ashley blew them off with explosives. Tali got off the floor and took a grenade from her belt. She threw the disc into a nearby root, blowing it off of the wall. The Thorean squealed as if begging for mercy, hanging off of the ceiling of the chamber. Optimus jumped and tackled the monster, his weight tore the rest of the roots away and sent both he and the Thorean plummeting through several platforms in the chamber.
"Prahm are you okay?" Ironhide asked.
"STOP! CALLING! ME! PRIME!" Optimus yelled with every punch he crashed down on the Thorean.
He continued beating the creature, even as it stopped twitching. Optimus placed his foot on the Thorean and held onto its maw. He ripped the creature apart and threw what was left into the chasm below. Optimus looked up at saw that the coordination of the Asari clones had began to fall apart. They were easy pickings for Ashley and Liara. Shepard and her teammates added their own guns to the mix, sending a flurry of rounds flying into the chamber, killing any green skinned Asari or Blackarchnia spider in sight. The Autobot leader began climbing up the platforms until he reached where Tali was.
"Thank you for saving me Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya," he said.
Tali was astounded by how calm Optimus's voice was. One moment he was a savage beast consumed by battle, and the next he was his calm self.
"Likewise Optimus," she said.
They turned to a pod on the wall as it began to pulge. Tali held her pistol at the ready whilst Optimus raised his axe. An Asari in black combat gear suddenly fell out of the pod, yellow ooze had stained her suit and made her blue skin glisten in the light of the flames. She raised her head, examining her surroundings with a bewildered expression. Then her eyes fell on Optimus and Tali and she lowered her gaze in a sudden realisation. They too noted something, that she resembled the tame Asari clones the Thorean had created. Tali put a finger to her helmet, establishing a link with Shepard's team.
"Commander, we've found someone you might want to see," she said.
Tarantulas had to cackle, the drones he had left behind had given him a good view of the Thorean's demise. He leant back on his chair, tapping his talons together as the servants of the Tripredacus council began prepping the ship for a warp flight. The creatures, standing at eight feet tall with lanky limbs were covered in black armour with turning gears and holographic computers on, Cybertronian and Reaper technology had been grafted over them. Tarantulas couldn't recall what they were called, only that they were a race older than the Protheans.
"The council will be pleased over the results of our little experiment, the Thorean is obsolete, and I've have enough data to perfect project Insecticons," the scientist grinned, looking at the surveillance feed of Optimus.
As the hybrids began to flee the battle and return to their ship, Tarantulas opened a new file on his personal computer. Holographic displays appeared around him, data swirled, constructing an image of Tarantulas's next grand idea.
"The new Prime has inspired a new project," he said.
The data finished creating the image, an armoured being that resembled Optimus. Attached to its right shoulder however was an armoured pad that strangely resembled the head of a lion.
Fai-Dan and his fellow colonists emerged from their prison with the worst hangovers they had ever had. The Autobots remained at the colony, even as their new enemy began to retreat. They considered themselves lucky, they had beaten back a garrison of troops and protected the colonists. Even though Arcee had taken a hit, everyone was still on line, and Optimus's resolve was stronger than ever. Shepard could see that in the leader's eyes, he carried himself differently as if some of his doubt had been erased. The colonists and the survivors of Exo-Geni looked up at the Autobots in awe and fear. Most thought of the devastating power the Autobots had, but many more thought of how they had saved them.
"Thank you Shepard," Fai-Dan said.
"Thank them, that clearness in your head now is because of a formula Ratchet made, once your water's back online you can spread it throughout the entire colony, the Thorean's influence should be completely purged," Shepard explained.
"Although just to clarify there will be side effects, the link between the minds of the colonists may still exist but it'll hardly be noticeable, if anything it'll improve how well your people work together," Ratchet added.
"We could use every advantage we can find right now, especially since we wont have the help of a major corporation anymore," Fai-Dan said.
"What?" Jeong looked at the man in confusion.
"Everything that happened here, our minds being violated like that was because of your companies experiments, Exo-Geni isn't welcome here anymore, we don't need your help or want it," Fai-Dan and the other colonists looked at Jeong's group with total fury in their eyes.
The corporate man backed away slightly and then looked to the Autobots. Cliff Jumper and Jazz were burning the remaining hybrids in a pile, a pile Ironhide had just added the remains of the Thorean to.
"HEY! That's company property," he said.
"Go in and save it if you like," Ironhide shrugged as he turned away.
"The council will hear of this Shepard."
"They'll approve of my actions here today Jeong (somewhat) what they definitely wont approve of is your company hiding the discovery of an indigenous life form from them and then experimenting on people, people you had the responsibility to take care of, you should consider lucky I'm on an important mission Jeong because I can take your company to a tribunal, do you think your corporate bosses will protect you, no Jeong, the alliance will put what happened here on your company, and they in turn will hold you responsible," Shepard gripped the collar of the man's shirt and glared at him. "So don't try to act tough and threaten me or the people in my command you piece of shit, take whatever evac ship you have and leave before I turn you over to Arcee."
"Whose Arcee?" Jeong asked.
"She's the Autobot who heroically protected the colonists you abandoned, the Autobot who lost her legs to the creatures your experiment created, and she was still fighting before medics dragged her away," Shepard grinned slightly as Jeong stepped back in fear.
The survivors of Exo-Geni began making their way towards the exist. Juliana and Lizbeth however remained, looking at the colonists with pleading expressions in their faces.
"I'm as responsible for what happened as Jeong is, I kind of threw in my resignation when I hit him, please let me stay and undo some of the damage I've done," Lizbeth explained.
Fai-Dan placed his hand on the girl's shoulders and smiled.
"Consider yourself a citizen of Zhu's Hope, we stick together," he said.
Shepard watched the exchange and smiled; confident that Zhu's Hope would be fine. She turned to her teammates, whom all stood with the Autobots. They weren't separate anymore, battle had united them in a way peace and shore leave couldn't.
"What about this Asari?" Jetfire asked.
"Who are you?" Shepard looked down at the Asari, keeping her pistol out for good measure, just in case the Asari would try anything.
"She was the genetic template for the clones the Thorean used," Ratchet said.
"That is correct," the Asari said, looking up at Shepard as she kneeled. "My name is Shiala, I was a servant of Matriarch Benezia, I joined her when she went to Saren," she explained.
"Did my mother come here?" Liara asked.
"No, Matriarch Benezia was on another mission for the Fallen," Shiala said.
"Not Saren?" Shepard asked.
"Benezia joined Saren with the belief that she could guide him down a gentler path. Upon first joining the Spectre however it became truly apparent who was in charge, the one you call the Fallen," the Asari looked up at Optimus, noticing the frown across his eyebrows. "He has become quite angry with your recent successes, but he also fears you for a reason he hasn't fully shared with Saren and Benezia, both equally intrigued they began to pursue paths that may contradict the Fallen's will."
"So they're fighting each other now?" Bumblebee asked.
"No, to a degree they are still loyal to the Fallen's master, they have no choice in the matter really," Shiala said.
"Why not?" Ashley asked.
"The Fallen's vessel, it is a ship of unknown origin and power, when you are aboard it you become…indoctrinated I suppose would be a good term to use, you become loyal to the Fallen's word, you follow his will, almost without question, part of you remains awake knowing what you are doing, yet unable to truly fight it," the Asari explained.
"Except for Saren and Benezia?" Shepard asked.
"No, they too may be indoctrinated, Saren has set up a lab to study the effects of indoctrination, but at the same time he came here to retrieve the Prothean cipher."
"What is the cipher?"
"The means for Protheans to completely rewrite the genetic code of their slave races," Optimus said.
Shepard and her team looked up at Optimus, disturbed by what he was implying. Sensing this however he elaborated, looking at the remains of the Thorean as they burned.
"In order to ensure that their enslaved races understood their language, the Protheans transferred via mental bonds the ciphers. Though a species would still keep its physical appearance and still produce offspring of their species, their genetic code would physically resemble the Protheans, leading to them being able to understand the Prothean language as if it was there own and being compatible with beacons…they said it was evolution but its just another form of enslavement, removing genetic diversity and then replacing the slave species over time with Prothean heirs," he explained.
"You mean that slave races would become sexually compatible with the Protheans, enabling them to have offspring with one another?" Liara asked.
"Yes, physical contact between their own species would be outlawed and pairings would be arranged, whether the partner was a female Prothean or male didn't matter, in a hundred percent of cases the offspring would always come out as pure blood Prothean," Ratchet's disgust with the process was clear as he threw a Thorean tentacle onto the fire.
"I thought they enslaved races," Kaidan said.
"Then wipe them out with sex, the reverse of the Salarian Genophage," Wrex snarled, finding the Prothean process to be an ironic reverse of his people's situation.
"They truly were monsters," Liara gasped.
"Asari however are different, as a Mono-gendered species the cipher would not have the same effect…or at least I hope," Shiala sighed.
"What makes you think you'll just go free?" Ashley asked, flashing her pistol at the Asari.
"I know, after all I have done I have no right, but if you will allow it I would like to help the colonists and reverse some of the damage I have done," she explained.
"Its your choice Shepard, but we do need more information from her," Optimus said.
Shepard knelt down by Shiala and put her pistol back on her hip.
"Tell us where Saren is and you can go," she said.
"I'm afraid I don't know where Saren is going, Benezia knows however, I believe she gave him the location…without the Fallen's consent," Shiala said.
"So there may be hope of my mother fighting the indoctrination?" Liara asked, her eyes bright with a deluded hope.
"Where is Benezia then?" Shepard asked.
"Noveria, what she seeks however I don't know, but if you want to find Saren and deal a blow to the Fallen then you must go there," Shiala said.
Shepard stood and turned away from Shiala.
"We have our next target team, lets go," she said.
Optimus nodded his head and walked with Shepard's team. The other Autobots followed, part of a new unit that Shepard and Optimus jointly led.
"Was it wise for Shiala to go free?" Cliff Jumper asked.
"Do you really think she's free? She'll carry the memories of what she's done forever," Jetfire said, lowering his head as he remembered all of the things he had done in Megatron's command.
He looked up with hope however, proud of the victory he had achieved as part of a new team. A team that was ready to show the galaxy that organics and Cybertronians could work together and accomplish wonders. The word had gone out across the galaxy, the Autobots had saved yet another colony. Even though the Cybertronians were coming to wage war with the Citadel, the organic species of the galaxy had allies that were ready to fight and even die for it.
Next Chapter 15: Divergences
Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I kind of changed what the Cipher was, or kind of added details on what it was. It was inspired of course by the Collectors and what Javik said, that all species called themselves Protheans, so I thought what if the Protheans effectively killed off their slave species through selective breeding.
Quick question to fans, other than people who have voiced Optimus in the past who do you think could voice the Autobot leader (one of my first choices was Jason O'Mara, but I also thought of Liam O'Brian, Troy Baker and recently Jamie Glover, he's voiced Thrask in Dragon Age 2 and Darth Malgus in Star Wars the Old Republic) a very good option I thought over all of those is George Newbern, he's certainly used to playing icons like Superman and Sephiroth.
Thundercracker has his first significant piece of dialoque, I imagine him being voiced by Sam Witwer (will be voicing Orm/Ocean Master in the upcoming Justice League Throne of Atlantis movie, played Davis Bloome/Doomsday in Smallville, voiced Darth Maul in the Clone Wars and provided the voice and face of the Force Unleashed Starkiller character, that and he does a hell of an Emperor impression :) I imagined him because Thundercracker will appear as the calm and loyal servant of Megatron, but he has the potential to be more. He'll play a more important role in the future of the series.
Next time Optimus reveals some secrets to Shepard's crew, but just when the bond between the team is at its strongest it is split again, plus the changed team responds to a distress signal and Optimus makes a decision that will have unexpected consequences.