Disclaimer: I don't own Mass Effect or Transformers
I also hope the update didn't come too late, hope everyone enjoys it
Transform Effect 1: Rise a Prime
Chapter 21: Junk and ice
Tali kept a firm and futile hold on her shotgun. Unsure of whether she had saved the Autobots or doomed them. She looked down at Bumblebee, weakly clutching Jazz's hand and realised that it didn't matter. If they didn't get help soon, whether from captors or allies, Bee would die. But even the oldest ship in the Migrant fleet looked more stable than the drill ship. It was a patch work vessel, bits of the hull were falling off, it couldn't even land gracefully because the tracks at the bottom had fallen off.
"Defensive formation, around the wounded," Jetfire commanded.
Prowl and Warpath both took positions with their blasters ready. They raised the weapons as a hatch on the side of the ship slammed onto the ground.
"How many times do we tell ya, the right tool for the right job?" a voice said from inside the ship.
They couldn't get a decent view of whatever was coming out of the ship, but between the gaps Tali could see metallic feet.
"Mix the contents and it becomes an effective adhesive, guaranteed to be more effective than household models," another voice spoke.
They spoke with the metallic tone and echo Tali recognised from most Cybertronians. But there was a higher pitch to it, and like Blaster's voice seemed to be coming out of speakers.
"But not guaranteed to hold for more than forty eight hours, or under hot conditions," the other voice said.
A third figure stepped out of the hatch, kneeling down to feel the dirt.
"The distress signal was here, why can't we find them?" the first voice asked.
"Should have gone with Elkoss Combine sensors, current cameras are outdated but the S-79 model is guaranteed to locate communication signals whilst maintaining high quality images," the second explained.
"Or perhaps we could take a walk outside, explore, use your damned optics," said the third.
He walked around the ship, turning to face and reveal himself to the Autobots. His body was a patchwork of different parts. Cannons from a Turian fighter were attached to his right shoulder. Tracks ran up the sides of his legs, both of which were green and brown respectively and taken from different tank models. He was bigger than his other crew mates, about the size of Optimus, in fact he even had a rusty helmet that seemed to resemble Optimus's. The plate however was hanging off, and the bot would occasionally fix it back to his face.
"Damn, this is a potentially awkward situation," the bot said.
"Damn? What does that mean?" Warpath asked.
"Swear word commonly used by organics," Jetfire said.
"Oooh," said the first bot as he joined his leader, like him his body consisted of different vehicle parts to replace Cybertronian armour.
"They have broken things with them," said the second bot.
"Can we use them, especially that big one there, we could build a new ship from him," the first robot said.
"I think he's talking about you Sky Lynx," Arcee said.
"If they get close I'll rip them apart!"
"It talks, a talking ship would be great, just like Andromeda."
"Except Andromeda sounds nicer."
"What on Rannoch are they talking about?" Tali asked.
The smaller robot, the one who had been the first to speak immediately perked up. The bolts on his neck began to spark as he walked around his leader in excitement.
"Rannoch, he said Rannoch, do you think he knows it? Maybe he know where we can get more Geth-Cons," he said.
"Poor lonely Geth-Cons, don't know why they get thrown away, they're nice to talk to," the second bot said.
"I don't know how they can mistake you for a man Tali," Jazz muttered.
"These bots must have rusty processors, or they're overcharged on Energon," Prowl said.
"Energon, Energon," the two bots whispered in high pitched voices. "ENERGON!"
"ENOUGH!" the leader yelled.
Both bots calmed down, scurrying back slightly as he walked towards the crew. He wiped the dust off of his chest plate, revealing the Autobot symbol.
"You were an Autobot?" Tali asked.
"Yes, but then the Autobots threw me away, the bastards," the Autobot said.
"Why do you talk like that?" Arcee asked.
"Because little femme-bot years wandering space and watching twenty first century Earth broadcasts has taught me how to talk TV," he said.
"Talk TV?" Jazz looked at the bot in confusion.
"Yes, humans have a very interesting way of talking, much better than Asari bitches, uptight and stuck up, then there's the Turians they have sticks shoved up their asses," he gestured to the area and looked towards the Protoform in the flames. "By the beard of Zeus, the spark of Primus, the power of gray skull and god, the Transform Effect," he gasped.
His two crew members awed very vocally, staring at the Protoform. Like a threatened animal it let out a brief snarl.
"You mean reformation right?" Blaster asked.
He cautiously approached the former Autobots, all three took a keen interest in the damage to his chest.
"Hmm, laser burn, damaged your T-cog right?" the captain asked.
"Yeah, I don't think I'll be transforming again, at all really," Blaster sighed.
"HA! So Autobots still abandon Cybertronians who can't transform," the captain shook his head as he looked at the other Autobots. "Legs melted, chassis damaged, energon reserve low, targeting matrix broken, flight systems crippled, you're one battle trodden team, is that civil war still going on?"
"Yeah, Decepticons have the advantage at the moment," Jazz said.
"Is Megatron still in charge?"
"He's dead, buried under the rubble of that cliff," Jetfire pointed to where Megatron had made his last stand.
"Impressive, you managed to defeat him."
"Actually he fell to betrayal, Rodimus and Starscream destroyed him," Warpath said.
"Starscream? I should have known that bihnuch would turn on Megatron, and very, very interesting...I assume Starscream then turned on Rodimus," again the captain looked at the Protoform.
"It's very complicated, a story best told in a ship," Prowl said.
"Ah yes, you are all in need of vast repairs, especially you, you and you," he pointed at Arcee, Bumblebee and Sky Lynx. "Don't worry, we'll focus on the little bot first, and we need to see to our new family member, welcome to the world little guy," the bot began walking over to the Protoform with his arms raised in a hug.
Suddenly, the Protoform struck, slamming his fist into the captain's jaw. The bot fell onto his back, looking up in fear as the Protoforms hands glowed red. His fiery eyes narrowed at the junked bot.
"Wait, stop," Tali said, raising her hands as the armed Autobots readied their weapons.
"She's right, he's basically a new being, we need to be careful around him," Blaster said.
Tali approached the Protoform, looking up at the giant as if he was a child. She took out a power cell and offered it to the Protoform, whom cautiously knelt to take it.
"Bah-weep-graaagnah wheep ni ni bong," Tali said.
"Oooh, the universal greeting I haven't heard that since 1986," the junk captain said.
"Uni...versal...greeting," the Protoform said.
"That's right, roughly translated as we come in peace," Tali said.
"It can also be used to start a dance, CREW HIT IT!"
"NO! NO, I love a good dance off as much as the next guy, but not when we have a crew member in need of a medic," Blaster explained.
"Oh true, all right, call in the ships," the captain said.
One of his lieutenants turned into a truck with a satellite dish attached to it. The Autobots saw the light flashing on the dish and looked to the clouds. Much to their shock more ships began descending from the atmosphere, all of them patch work vessels. Some even used parts from Turian and Asari ships, Sky Lynx recognised one ship as a twenty first century Earth shuttle. He crawled across the ground, bearing his fangs as several more 'junk bots' ran out of the drill ship.
"Sorry my new friends, but some of you will have to go on separate ships, we all have to go to the same destination though, so back home to planet Junk," the captain explained as he got off the floor.
Several of the junk bots picked up the wounded Autobots and began carrying them to separate ships. Tali jumped onto Bumblebee's face plate, looking at the sad shine in the little bots eyes.
"Who are you people anyway?" Tali asked.
"My name is Wreck-Gar, I am probably what you'd call the leader of these Junkions," the captain said.
Tali looked at the Protoform as he walked alongside the people carrying Bumblebee.
"What's your name?" she asked.
The Protoform tilted his head, as if thinking of what to say. He seemed to have chosen a name as he looked down at Tali.
"Hot Shot!"
Noveria was beyond cold, Shepard had no doubt that if she was to step out of Ratchet and walk then she would freeze to death. She had been to some cold worlds before, but Noveria was perhaps the coldest and deadliest of all. Upgrades would have had to have been made to the Mako to make it ride along the ice, but for the Cybertronians it was no problem. Simply altering the structure and shape of their vehicle tire forms was enough to ride semi-smoothly along the ice. Liara nervously held the handle bar above her as Optimus drifted slightly from the path.
"It could be worse, it could be Shepard driving," Kaidan said.
"I'll remember that Lieutenant," Shepard said.
Ashley and Wrex laughed as Ironhide drove past Ratchet.
"We've got movement in the tunnel ahead Prahm," Ironhide said.
"What's waiting for us Ironhide?" Ratchet asked.
"Geth heavies, and seeker mines!"
"Don't leave us in suspense, what are we in for?" Wrex asked.
"Once you trip the wire the mine paints you as a target and seeks you, if it was an old model we could outrun it but it looks pretty recent and modified too," Ironhide explained.
"All right then, let's try to avoid them but if one person gets painted whoever's behind needs to cover them," Optimus said.
"What happens if Ratchet gets painted, who covers him?" Liara asked.
"Then either Prahm or me falls behind and covers his rusty chasis," Ironhide said.
"Speak for yourself," Ratchet retorted.
"ROCKETS INCOMING!" Ironhide yelled.
He swerved to the right as the Geth began to open fire. The Autobots moved through the tunnel, dodging or intercepting rockets with their front mounted guns. Shepard and Garrus heard a crunching sound underneath Ratchet, feeling him crush one of the Geth. Optimus activated his rockets, driving around the range of a seeker mine, or at least what he thought was out of the seeker mines range. Like a centipede it crawled out of the ground, activated rockets over its body and flew after Optimus.
"The overall range has been modified Optimus," Ratchet said, before firing his front guns.
The seeker weaved between the blasts, getting closer and closer towards Optimus. Garrus put on his helmet and opened his door. He leant out of Ratchet, holding his sniper rifle steady.
"HURRY UP AND HIT IT RATCHET!" Ironhide yelled.
"I'M TRYING PRIMUS I'M TRYING!"
Garrus pulled the trigger, sending a shot flying into the Seeker. The armour piercing round drilled through its chassis, triggering an early explosion of its ordinance. Ratchet drove through the flames as Garrus slammed his door shut.
"Nice shooting Vakarian, okay what weren't we expecting here?" Shepard inquired, recognising Ratchet's earlier surprise.
"Well the Fallen's from an old era of Cybertron right? In that case he should have equipment that's older, old seekers had a minimum range of a few centimetres, these ones have a much better range and actually evade countermeasures, we're dealing with modern Cybertronian tech and modified for a bigger bang," Ratchet explained.
"Thank the goddess," Liara sighed in relief as they hit the end of the tunnel.
"Any more explosions like that and we may have been buried," Kaidan said.
"Ordinarily Seeker mines are used to maim, a lot like human bear traps," Ironhide noted as he dodged a blast fired by a colossus.
He slid across the ice, his wheels spinning as he regained control. Optimus again activated his afterburner and rammed straight through the colossus. Ratchet however shot another apart. The group drifted around several corners before hitting an open terrain.
"Looks like smooth driving," Ironhide said.
Suddenly, a rocket flew over Ironhide's roof.
"Nice work Hide, why don't you say something like the great destroyer doesn't exist?" Ratchet asked.
"He doesn't, unless that's another great secret you're keeping," the weapons expert retorted.
"Got any young bots killed recently, I'll take a guess and say you got them buried under an avalanche when you said 'no an avalanche couldn't possibly happen right now', its right up there with 'it can't get any worse'," Ratchet explained.
"Enough you two," Optimus snarled, driving ahead of Ironhide.
Kaidan looked through Optimus's window and saw what was shooting at them. Geth rocket troopers, alongside colossi and Geth Primes. The autobots rode side by side and pulled off a sharp turn to the left. Optimus hit the wall of ice and the rebound pushed both Ratchet and Ironhide forward. Ironhide fired a missile, hitting the ice underneath the Geth forces. The edge cracked and began to careen off of the mountain, burying the Geth.
"Another tunnel ahead Prahm, try not to trip another mine," Ironhide said.
The red truck drove over a Geth rocket trooper and swerved to the left to avoid a colossus's blast. A green light ran across Ironhide's body before a Seeker mine popped out of the ground.
"You really need to stop tempting fate today Hide," Ashley said.
"If I die I'm killing you Ironhide," Wrex growled.
Ashley slid the face shield across her helmet and opened her door. She caught sight of the Seeker mine pursuing Ironhide. Ashley was just about to pull out her pistol when she saw a green light sweep over Ratchet's body.
"Damn it, Ratchet you tripped a mine," she said over her radio.
"HA, knew your massive car form would trip one," Ironhide laughed.
"Our vehicle forms are the same size Ironhide," Ratchet countered.
Ashley kept an eye on both seekers, taking note as they both simultaneously moved to the right.
"Wrex its approaching from your side, Shepard so is yours," she said.
The Krogan didn't even bother with his helmet, he rolled is window down and fired his shotgun multiple times. He grit his teeth together as the seeker continuously dodged. The pincers on its head expanded as it lunged towards him.
"BUZZ OFF!" he yelled, his body glowing blue as he lifted the Seeker to the ceiling.
The Seeker blew up, bringing rubble down on the right side of the tunnel. Ratchet drove around the rocks and ice, 'slagging' the seeker as it kept up its pursuit. Shepard activated her face shield and rolled her window down. Her Omni-tool flashed as she attempted to hack the mine.
"Should have known, let's see how your circuits are little guy," Shepard grinned, using her overload tech.
Electricity swept through the seeker's body, causing it to flail and screech before blowing up.
"How is it you put it T'Soni? Thank the goddess," Ashley said as the group left the tunnel.
"That may be the last of the tunnels, the last stretch towards Peak 15 is a network of sharp corners, and the roads shrinking," Shepard said.
"Barely big enough for us to fit, and they have turrets," Optimus said.
"Then how's about we make it easy for ourselves, stop and snipe the turrets from a distance so that we don't have to rush across under fire," Ironhide explained.
The members of the team froze as a screech boomed through the snow. They remained silent and for a moment Garrus swore he heard a flapping sound over Ratchet's engine. Suddenly, Ratchet's body shook, causing Garrus and Shepard to grip their handle bars for support. The team widened their eyes as Ratchet was lifted off of the ground. Claws dragged against Ratchet's armour and this time, Shepard and Garrus heard the screech of the monster and the flap of his wings up close.
"RATCHET!" Optimus yelled, coming to a halt at a turning.
"SHEPARD!" Kaidan opened the door and rushed to the edge of the cliff.
"Lieutenant Alenko get back inside now," Liara said.
"But Shepard and Garrus, Ratchet too," Kaidan looked over the edge as he heard a crashing sound.
"THEY'RE DOWN THERE!" he yelled.
"Lieutenant, get back inside now," Optimus commanded.
Kaidan's hands shook as he climbed back inside Optimus. He shut the door and removed his helmet. His hair was a mess and his eyes were bloodshot. He suddenly punched the dashboard and let out an agonising yell. Liara lowered her head and rubbed Kaidan's shoulder, comforting him was the only thing keeping her from crying. Wrex remained as quiet as Ironhide, their reactions barely readable. Ashley however kept looking back out of her window, for some sign that Ratchet was climbing back up. She saw something else however through the storm. It had gigantic wings much like a bats, but the 'arms' of the wings were metallic and had glowing yellow orbs on them. The creature was massive as well, bigger than the Mako, its neck stretched outwards from the front and consisted of numerous brown plates that matched its armoured hide. She looked at its face and saw as well as a great maw a set of fangs and pincers. Its eyes glowed yellow as it dived towards them.
"MOVE NOW!" Ashley yelled.
"What, we can't drive our way through this," Ironhide said.
"If you don't want what got Ratchet then you'll damn well get out of this choking point as fast as you can," the chief explained.
Liara held on for dear life as Optimus activated his afterburners and began driving as fast as he could. He and Ratchet drove so fast that they drove over the surface of the wall as they turned the corner, getting a look at the dragon like creature that threw Ratchet. It hit the wall and then jumped away, roaring at the fleeing Autobots in anger.
"What the hell is that thing?" Ash asked.
"If it was a hybrid it would look more fleshy and it definitely wouldn't survive in this storm," Wrex said.
"I may be wrong but, I think it's a Predacon," Optimus said.
"Impossible, they went extinct billions of cycles before the time of the council of Primes," Ironhide said.
"Yeah? Tell that to him," Wrex retorted.
The Predacon roared, spewing fire from its mouth at the Autobots. The road behind them melted and some of the ice began falling to the ground. Optimus and Ratchet turned another corner, nearly going off the cliff. The Predacon flew away from the cliff before coming back around for another strike. It reared its head back and released a cloud of fire across the top of the cliff.
"It appears to be intelligent," Liara said.
Rocks began to rain down on the road ahead, altering the road in a manner that made it unfit for driving across. Optimus fired his frontal cannon, shaping the ramp out of the rocks.
"Ironhide hit your afterburner and do not slow down for anything," Optimus commanded.
"By Primus we are not race bots like Bumblebee and Jazz Prahm," Ironhide said.
"JUST HIT THE DAMN AFTERBURNER!" Ashley yelled.
Both Optimus and Ironhide flew up the ramp and over the ice. Ironhide landed on his front and bounced until he slid across the ice, lying on his side. Optimus's front head lights smashed as he hit the ground, his suspension nearly broke but his landing was overall smoother. He drove into Ironhide, knocking him back onto his wheels.
"Thank you Optimus, and thank Primus we're on actual open ice again," Ironhide let out a sigh of relief.
"Keep going, we're nearly at the facility garage," Optimus said.
"Primus please make it, Primus please make it Primus please make it," Ironhide screamed as he felt the Predacon get closer and closer towards him.
Optimus pulled off a 180 turn, firing his cannon and hitting the Predacon's shoulder. It was enough to make him alter his course away from Ironhide, when the Predacon was gone Optimus turned and drove forward. The Predacon flew upwards before swooping down.
"Great more Geth," Kaidan cursed.
"Rocket troopers, " Liara said.
Optimus fired his cannon, knocking the troopers off of the garage roof. He came to a halt at the door and turned into his robot form, allowing Liara and Kaidan to step out.
"Get the door open quickly," he said.
He switched his path finder to an assault rifle and began firing rounds up at the Predacon, covering Ironhide's drive. Ironhide switched to robot form as well, sending Wrex and Ashley running to the garage door. He and Optimus began shooting at the Predacon, which pulled off fast manoeuvres to dodge the blasts. Liara linked her Omni-tool with the door and cycled through the various locks.
"What's taking so long T'Soni?" Wrex asked.
"This electronic lock is much more advanced than what most corporations use, it's no problem for me though," Liara said.
"Why?"
"Because the program was written by my mother, and I cracked it when I was thirteen," Liara smiled as the doors began to open.
The team and the Autobots hastily entered the garage, just as the Predacon dived towards them. Liara hastily closed the door, jumping back in surprise as the hatch shook. Outside, the Predacon continually slashed at the door and roared before taking off into the sky.
"Hopefully we won't be seeing him on the way back, what now?" Ashley asked.
"Ratchet, can you hear me, SLAG IT!" Ironhide yelled, slamming his fist into the wall.
"If they are alive Ironhide we won't reach them through the storm," Optimus said.
"Primus I hope there's a chance Prahm, for Garrus and Shepard, even for Ratchet I pray that Primus is looking out for them," Ironhide sighed as he walked ahead.
He widened his optics, pointing the team to a section of the wall ahead that had been ripped off. Many of the vehicles had also been destroyed, along with the security drones. Scorch marks left on the walls matched the kind left by Cybertronian weaponry.
"Those seeker mines definitely belonged to Decepticons, they're on this rock," Ironhide said.
Optimus nodded his head as he analysed the section of the wall torn off.
"The passageway is big enough for us to fit through, we'll take this way, Lieutenant Alenko you take your group the usual way," Optimus said.
He and Kaidan exchanged glances, both acknowledging the other.
"This way, Wrex and Liara stay at the back for biotic support, Chief Williams you taken point," he said.
The team moved down their respective paths, directly into the peak 15 facility and the mysteries and threats that awaited them.
"Primus my audio receptors, make it stop," Arcee snarled.
"Oh I don't know, it's pretty frigging cute," Blaster said.
"Please don't start talking like them Blaster," Jazz said.
The Junkions had long since left the planet, leaving behind a two man salvage ship to check for additional scrap. Wreck-Garr stood at the piloting seat, or what he called the helm, he had repurposed the old controls to resemble and old Earth boat, controlling the speed with a lever and turning the ship with a helm. His crew also played through a stereo system a song that Tali was revelling in.
"Now unmasked, I feel your skin on MIIIIINE!"
"It's so beautiful," one of the crew members said, literally polishing his eyes and sticking them back into his sockets.
"Fleet and Flotilla, I loved that vid as a girl, I can't believe anyone would throw away the soundtrack," Tali said.
"Yeah, that became our new favourite after the Lion King," Wreck-Gar said.
"Take that back captain, nothing beats Lion King," said one of the Junkions.
"Actually I prefer anime songs, they can pop up at any random moment and they make the episodes even more entertaining, like Gurren Lagann's soundtrack," another crew member explained.
"I'd hate to interrupt an awesome conversation but what about Bumblebee and the Protoform?" Jazz asked.
"You mean Hot spot?"
"No its Hot Pot you idiot!"
"Hot Shot," Tali corrected both crew members.
"Your friend without the voice box is stable unfortunately we won't be able to replace his pipes, by the beard of Zeus he picked a bad place to get damaged," Wreck-Garr shivered as he recalled the damage done to the scout. "As for Hot Shot well why don't you go and talk to him yourself?"
Jazz turned to the Protoform, who shuffled away slightly.
"Do you know whom you were originally based on?" Jazz asked.
"I do, but I'm not him," Hot Shot said, looking up at Jazz.
"I can accept that," Jazz smiled.
"Oh by Primus you have to be joking ," Arcee snarled, turning on the gurney to face Jazz."That thing is the spark spawn of a traitor and an insane one at that," she said.
"Arcee that isn't fair, I was briefly part of the all spark, I got a good look at what Indoctrination does first hand," Blaster explained.
"Rodimus regretted everything he did, he said he couldn't help himself but he knows it's hardly an excuse, Cliff Jumper forgave him," Hot Shot explained.
Arcee remained silent, turning away from the Protoform and looking ahead at the path Wreck-Garr was taking. He was taking them to a planet small enough to be considered a moon. From orbit Arcee could see the masses of junk that had been collected and stored on it. Hot Shot walked towards the front end and looked at the planet in awe.
"So that's what a planet looks like from orbit," he said.
"Wait until you see a life giving planet little bot," Jazz smiled, slapping Hot Shot's back.
The attack had come without warning. Ratchet replayed it over and over in his head and knew that it had to be some kind of miracle he had survived. The creature let him to in midair, slamming him against the slope down the cliff. Quickly transforming to robot form, Ratchet dragged his arm blade against the ice to slow his fall, every metre he told Garrus and Shepard to hold on tight. When he was confident that his legs would hold together he jumped and landed on the ground, cracking it beneath him.
"By the all spark," he muttered, setting both Shepard and Garrus on the ground.
"This isn't a good place to be right now," Garrus muttered, rubbing his arms.
"Wait one moment, Optimus, Ironhide do you hear me?" he asked over the radio.
He then heard the creature screech again, quickly looking up to see the monster in all its glory diving at the mountain path. Transforming to vehicle mode, Ratchet instead opened his back doors.
"Both of you inside now," he said.
Garrus and Shepard didn't need to be told twice, they clambered into the back, sighing in relief as hot air swept over them. Ratchet continued driving through the snow and the ice, keeping an optic on the flames streaming from the monsters mouth.
"A Predacon," he said, identifying the creature as Optimus had.
"What's a Predacon?" Shepard asked.
"Something that belongs in a museum," the medic huffed as he drove down a hill.
"Keep going around the mountain, we might hit a secondary entry point," Shepard said.
"What do you think we'll reach a disposal plant? If the scientists at this facility are smart they'll burn away all their lab waste," Ratchet said.
"Actually they might still have recycling and household garbage, you saying Cybertronians don't have like a recycle old parts system?" Shepard asked.
"Of course, to a point, but if something's broken there's no point in keeping it around, at least that's how it went when the old council ruled. Fortunately some people disagreed and the war has helped us to rethink out viewpoints," Ratchet explained.
"Like Megatron has rethought his?" Garrus asked.
"Well...almost all," the medic sighed as he continued to drive along the path.
'Wait, path, when did I hit a path?' Ratchet wondered.
Shepard and Garrus noticed it as well but remained silent. The ambulance was driving across a path formed by the tracks left by a heavier vehicle. Ratchet followed the makeshift road, looking up at the mountain as he did. He saw energy blasts fly into the clouds and heard the roar of the Predacon.
"Spooky tunnel up ahead, I wonder if the peak 15 workers knew about it," Garrus said.
"Probably just a few people who 'needed to know'," Shepard muttered bitterly.
Ratchet moved on ahead, transforming as they reached a door. Shepard and Garrus looked at the mechanism, it was of Cybertronian design but the opening mechanism was compatible with an Omni-tool. Garrus interfaced with the lock whilst Shepard and Ratchet stood guard.
"You were pretty hard on Ironhide earlier," Shepard said to the medic.
"Have you had this conversation with Ironhide?" Ratchet asked.
"I will, but I wanted to find out what your problem with him is, I already know that he had killed civilians during the first Decepticon uprising," Shepard explained.
"Oh I know that too, and no that isn't why I had a problem with him. My problem with him, with any bot, man or woman or transgendered and monogendered race is when one abandons their principles and gives up. When one chooses to work outside of the system instead of within it to change it for the better!"
"What are you talking about?" Garrus asked.
"After Kaon, Ironhide took another assignment, he didn't actually fight in the first uprising, he took a job guarding the city and instead the job of suppressing the people of Kaon went to Longarm Major. A close comparison would be to say he's Saren without the first hand battle experience and competence, but he knew how to be ruthless and cruel. Over the next few cycles he took aggressive stance after aggressive stance against the people of Kaon, Ironhide killed a few hundred, Longarm killed a few thousand but it suppressed the upstarts so he was rewarded for it. Longarm later became the head of the forces outside of the capital and a chief advisor in the council's defence strategy."
"Had Ironhide stayed, had he stayed the course and not abandoned his duty then he would have been the one to supress the rebellion, with less violent means. Then a hatred between the people of Kaon and the higher classes wouldn't have gotten worse, Ironhide would be the one in charge of defence and troop movements and not Longarm. Ironhide keeps on calling Optimus a Prime, but once upon a time he could have been one to, if he had been he would be the one deciding troop movements and Megatron would have received the help needed to save all of the sparklings that he protected. If it had been Ironhide and not Longarm advising the council then...everything would be different!"
Ratchet hung his head low, perhaps out of disappointment or shame, Shepard couldn't tell. Garrus however could see guilt, he'd seen it on the faces of people he had arrested and he saw it in Ratchet.
"Doors unlocked," he said as he opened the door.
The door slid open, revealing a dark icy cavern.
"Well who wants to go into the dark and spooky tunnel first, I vote the giant robot with a pair of big blades," Garrus said.
Shepard shook her head as she drew her pistol and walked down the tunnel.
"For what it's worth I agree with you Ratchet, things would be different had Ironhide chosen to stay in the elite guard. But who's to say it would be better? Or that he even would have made a difference at all?" Garrus asked.
The Turian blinked in confusion as Ratchet too shook his head.
Though the main ship had left, a pair of Junkions and their shuttle remained, combing the planetoid for parts worth taking. Their shuttle was packed to the brim with what some may have called useless junk. But the Junkions wasted nothing and they lived free, answerable to no government. The only law amongst them was to have fun where possible and live only on what was free or abandoned. That included the corpses of the Cybertronian dead. There was no burial or funerals for the Cybertronians, there were memorials but no tombs. The bottom of the cliff had become the makeshift tomb of Cybertron's greatest warrior, a corpse the two Junkions were eager to pillage.
"Do you remember his fight with that spiky bot, what was his name?" one of the Junkions, a bot whose legs had been replaced with tank tracks
"I know who you mean, that was kind of quick though, not a good showcase of his fighting skills," the other Junkion said, he was as tall as Bumblebee and had gears exposed on his back.
"I think it showcased them perfectly, he's brutal, savage and merciless," the track bot chuckled.
"Yeah but what about his last fight, that was an awe inspiring spectacle, and a victor was never decided."
"Cause they both stopped fighting, triggering a war that cost me my legs, I think I'd rather they're both ripped one another apart," the track bot and his friend froze as they saw where the pile of rocks had formed.
Sticking out of the rocks was an arm, the grey paint on it scratched and the fingers lifeless. The bot with the gears let out a sigh of awe, as if he had come upon a sacred treasure. The need to take such a treasure overcame the bot with the tracks, who rolled towards the pile. He clapped his hands together and laughed in celebration.
"Once we strip this down and haul it home we'll be famous, I hope his legs are intact, cause I need a new pair, and I think this one owes me...what's that Megatron? You completely agree? Well consider it a deal," the bot grasped Megatron's hand with his own and shook it.
He and his friend laughed, an applause that was cut short when they saw the fingers move. The track bot gasped as the grip on his hand tightened. His fingers were suddenly crushed, causing the bot to yell out. He continued screaming as Cybertron's greatest warrior rose from his grave, lifting the scavenger over his head. Megatron savagely roared as he ripped the Junkions arms off and dropped him to the floor. The Junkion tried to reverse back, but Megatron squashed his left tracking.
"He chose poorly when he disrespected the dead," Megatron said as he walked towards the other Junkion.
"You've got a blaster Gears, he's damaged, you can take him," the Junkion said.
Megatron turned and grabbed the bot's head. The warlord yanked the scavengers head off and threw it into the desert. He then turned to the remaining scavenger, looking at the pistol strapped to the bot's hip. It was a home made one, put together quite elegantly with a grey chassis, a black barrel and a black scope.
"As I said he chose poorly, you however can still make the right choice, I have need of a ship, if you let me go on my way I will be willing to recruit you into..." Megatron never finished his sentence, as a purple beam flew into his chest.
The Junkion stood holding the pistol, and staring at the insignificant scorch he had put in Megatron's armour. Megatron looked at the scorch mark and then down at the bot. His stern expression of disappointment turned to one of annoyed fury. The Junkion let off a few more shots before his screams echoed through the air.
Next Chapter 22: Corporate projects
You all guessed it, Megatron's still ticking and he'll be out for revenge. Honestly this scene was my favourite part of the chapter, sometimes a villain's defeat can be bitterly disappointing and then boom, he makes a comeback.
Wreck-Garr voice actor: Will Ferrell, a man who needs no introduction, whenever Wreck-Gar speaks I just imagine the over the top humour that the Anchorman himself can portray, but still have his calm moments.
Hot Shot: Will Friedle (Terry McGinnis Batman Beyond, Bumblebee Transformers Prime and Robots in disguise, Lion-O Thundercats reboot) I thought he could best portray the youth and inexperience of Hotshot as well as his potential to be a jump first hot head or a capable leader.
Next time Shepard's team dive into the mysteries of peak 15.