Disclaimer: Hasbro and Takara-Tomy own The Transformers. I harass their giant robots for fun.
Warnings: Typical mayhem
"Blowout"
Ticks away on the outskirts of a city-state no one bothered to remember the name of the disgraced former co-commander of the Decepticons was hiding from his own forces in a drainage ditch.
The irony burned Orion Pax almost as badly as the parting shot Megatronus had left him with.
Deadlock cutting out Soundwave's voicebox had been the breaking point. The mech had stormed past him so quickly all he'd thought was that they'd had another falling out. Of all the things Pax been expecting to find, Soundwave draining out wasn't one of them. The spymaster's digits carefully staunched the energon flow at his throat while his cables carried out the work of coordinating attacks. Blackout and Ravage had come in and he'd been asked to leave.
Deadlock's behavior bothered Pax though, the mercenary was manic not stupid. Something had happened, but the spymaster couldn't speak and refused to talk to him. It was only while Soundwave was reporting to his half sibling he got the news from Ironhide: Uraya had gone terribly wrong.
Someone had moved before the signal turning what was supposed to be a demonstration into an all-out riot. He had to bridge his old friend back some joors later. Ironhide had returned with battle damage and no Overhaul. He explained the cadet had been assigned to a splinter team that had vanished and several Predas had turned on Bobtail. The felid's former pack was now under Decepticon command. Worse yet, Praxus had been bombed, Autobot strongholds were under siege, and the Decepticons were taking full responsibility for it.
They were supposed to be liberating Transformers not killing them. All they were doing was proving exactly what the Autobots said about them was right, or as his half-brother said what they'd been all along, a terror cell. Because he wanted to use the chaos to seize control of Cybertron.
So many vorns of working together in hopes of a brighter future for Cybertron all amounted to what was becoming the planet's most destructive faction in known history.
So much he'd forgiven or looked over... arming themselves, training Deadlock as a mercenary, a "demonstration", had he really been that blind? All of that sacrifice just to be given the same option that the Predacons had been assigned, join or die.
Ironhide had met that as he always did, with a cannon and it nearly cost him an optic. Megatron had attempted to shred him and Pax was given the choice of going along with a half-sibling he no longer recognized or the mech had known since sparklinghood—the same one who never really wanted to join the 'Cons in the first place.
He chose Ironhide.
The group they now had wasn't even a fraction of their former numbers but—they were loyal.
Chromia perched next to her mate, the hulking mech still pretending his optic hadn't nearly been clawed out. The blue femme sat taller, purposely speaking loud enough for the whole crew to hear, "So what now, Pax?"
That question drew interrogative looks from all shades of optics.
That was what made the femme a good ally. She coated nothing with silicone, called slag out, and was devoted. A good number of her crew had followed her when they'd left. She was also prone to staging arguments in front of crew to bolster confidence in leaders. A skill Megatronus and Starscream never caught on to. Between she and 'Hide they voiced the opinions of the crew.
Orion stood, he'd inherited Leviathan's booming vocals and he intended to put them to good use for a change. "We're joining the Autobots."
"Didn't take you for the type to order a suicide mission, Pax."
"It is not. In fact, it's the best thing we can do at the time. They'll need numbers and those who don't want to join the Decepticons will come to them. And we will help fix what we've torn apart."
She hummed, "And if they want no part of us?"
"They will. If they don't, then we'll just be another faction they'll have to worry about."