Chapter One: Choices

Orion couldn't believe his optics as he walked out into the open, ruined, city square. Citizens were running around in shock and panic. He was in shock. Eons of architecture and city landmarks destroyed.

At his feet scraps of metal, the crunch of wire and mangled mains of Energon pouring the precious liquid. It must have been loud. There must have been screams of agony, calls for loved ones, and sirens. But Orion couldn't hear any of them. His mind was an endless stream of confusion, denial.

A few moments ago he had been nervously practicing the statements that he had prepared for the council. Megatron, as he had shortened his name to, was silently contemplating the city from the window, staring down at the very square that now laid in ruins before his feet. Megatron didn't believe in the Counsel. He was sure that they would be arrested or killed in a suspicious accident.

Orion didn't believe that the Council would try anything. At least not today. Not when a whole planet was tuning in to hear their revolutionary ideas. Some of their supporters, however, made Orion uneasy. Mainly, Starscream, a seeker from Vos, a military captain.

Orion's face unconsciously pulled down into a frown as he continued to autopilot the mess the square had become. Starscream was a power-hungry bot, always advocating violence, and throwing himself at Megatron's feet.

Could he compete with him? The seeker from Vos. With all his sharp angles and graceful power of flight. Orion could not fly. He consoled himself by reminding himself that he was a high-class bot from Iacaon. Something that he never had prided himself in before.

But his insecurities were soon resolved when Megatron confided in him that he detested the seekers' advancements. He was infatuated with another bot. A bot with cerulean optics and a quiet disposition. Orion remembered how hot his faceplates had felt.

"Orion I will put Cybertron at your feet. If anyone deserves this planet, it is you. You are the person who had a comfortable deposition and still left the status, left that security to fight and believe in bots who society had decided weren't worth the ground they walked on. Like me."

Orion remembered being so happy he felt his spark would burst. They had sat there gazing down at the city of Iacon. His home. Their home, he hoped. Now the square was burning. Rumor was that Megatron had ordered the strike. He didn't believe it. But when Megatron had left him staring at the counsel, when the guards had rushed to protect them, when the ground trembled beneath his feet, when he felt the heat of the fires…

The powerful sound waves that swept above him broke his stupor and he watched Starscream and his trine sweep over the city eliciting screams from the terrified citizenry below. The evidence was overwhelming.

"Orion!"

Orion turned to see Alpha Trion running toward him, his arms outstretched.

"Orion, my son, thank Primus you're alright!" Alpha Trion pulled Orion to him, hugging him and sending a quiet thank you to his grandfather. The Covenant had warned him of this, he had warned Orion, but Orion…

Pushing Orion back from him so he could examine him he quickly scanned his son's body for signs of harm. He looked fine.

"Are you ok Orion?" he asked, noticing the emptiness of Orion's optics. Orion's optics were windows to his spark. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"Who? Megatron?" Orion sputtered, seeming to break out of his trance.

" No, of course not. He would never harm me."

"Let's go, home. We can take shelter there and work out a plan before the Decepticons find you."

"Decepticons?" Orion asked not moving from his spot. Alpha Trion looked back at him wearily.

"Orion, we have talked about this. You knew it was going to happen."

"He didn't do this Alpha. Megatron, he wouldn't do this. We had a mission. A plan, we had an understanding." Orion was becoming more agitated. Alpha Trion reached out and grabbed his hands. Orion had always been a quiet and noble spark. Why did he have to love the bad ones?

"Orion, please, listen to yourself! Look around you! Was Megatron with you when the attack happened? No, so please don't kid yourself. We need to keep moving."

The sound of transforming gears cut their conversation short. Alpha Trion turned to see Megatron towering over him. This was the mech that had his son all confused. Alpha Trion conjured his sword and put an arm defensively out in front of Orion.

"Stay away from my son!"

Megatron ignored the elder mech and addressed Orion, his face expressing concern and tenderness.

"Orion, I was worried about you. Were you harmed in any way?"

Orion looked up at his lover's optics, they seemed sincere. Maybe it was as he thought, maybe Megatron wasn't responsible for the carnage that lay before them.

"What is going on, Megatron?" he finally asked him.

" Currently, we have no idea what is going on-"

"Liar!" Alpha Trion spat out.

Megatron looked down at Alpha Trion. He had tried to get more background information on the bot that had raised Orion, but Soundwave had hit a firewall he couldn't crack. There seemed to be a disconnect with reality. Mythical almost. Soundwave had concluded that Alpha Trion may be one of the eldest bots alive. Perhaps, even to the time, the Primes were believed to rule.

Megatron did not believe in myths. He believed in cold hard data. Orion was an asset. A member of the elite in Iacon would gain him more followers. Access to locations that only Orion could get. And knowledge. To lose him may cost him the cause. So he needed him.

He had sent his most trusted sycophant to kill Alpha Trion. Then Orion would come running to him, be cut off his moral compass, and even easier to manipulate. But Starscream, the elite military seeker from Vos, had failed. It seemed the older timer was a master with a sword.

But Megatron had noticed how flustered Orion had become around him. How those optics had changed the way they sparkled. How Starscream inspired a silent rage in his optics. The archivist and friend had fallen in love with him! It was too easy. How lucky he was! Orion would be loyal. And once Orion has completely wavered over, he would be a perfect companion. He was beautiful of course, as all Iaconians were. But he was also smart and refined. Certainly a better pick than the seeker. Perfect for the new order. Yes, love would come, but for now, he had to get Orion to believe this brand of love. And now he was going to test it. Orion would choose between Alpha Trion and him.

" I have sent Starscream and his trine to get an aerial picture of the scene. It seems that the council was sent to kill us and frame us."

Alpha Trion laughed.

" Sure, and you didn't send that pathetic excuse of a military Captain to kill me, right? Orion, let's go. I don't want you to have anything to do with him!"

"Starscream tried to kill you?!" Orion exclaimed as Alpha Trion started to pull him away.

"I didn't want to alarm you, Orion. I am fine. Not even a scratch. I didn't want to tell you since you are so enamored with Megatron. But this is a new level of madness. Look at the carnage around you, I raised you to be smarter than this. Don't fall for this mockery of love!"

Orion pulled away. Orion was hurt. Alpha had never truly approved of Megatron and he had made that clear to Orion many times over.

"Is that what this really is about?"

"Orion. Don't be silly, use that processor for a minute, please. I know you are intelligent, top of your class! I raised you to be better than this!"

"No! Alpha Trion, I love you. I always will." Orion took his adoptive father's hands in his.

"You raised me well, but I will not go and hide! I've worked so hard to improve the lives of all Cybertronians. I will not stop until that is accomplished. We can do this Alpha!"

Orion let go of Alpha Trion's hands and walked over to Megatron.

"He will be well taken care of," Megatron promised and with that, they were gone.

Alpha Trion's spark felt cold. Dread began to spread through his circuits. This was new. In all his existence he had never felt this type of pain gripped him. One hand on his shoulder and then another on his other shoulder.

" I failed."

"No, Alpha Trion. You didn't fail. You've raised my son to be a strong champion of justice and to have a big spark. He now has to learn from life." Solus smiled.

"Love is a powerful emotion that makes even the most even headed to lose their processors. But Orion is who he is, and I do not doubt that in the end, that will shine through."

" It's almost time for him to learn the truth about his origins. " Alpha Trion sighed. I never imagined that it would be like this."