Chapter 18: Six Pissed Off Soldiers (and a Prime)
"I am...a Prime?" Optimus asked, pausing at the sound of his own voice.
It was deeper now. Stronger. But it felt so unlike the one he had known.
He looked down at his more powerful, larger frame, and felt a sense of shame.
"These gifts...I...fear I am unworthy." He said with hesitation.
"It matters not. The actions of Orion Pax do not matter. What matters now, Optimus Prime, is what you do with these gifts. You will be the last Cybertronian to ever wear the mantle of Prime. The first true Prime in centuries. You must redeem the damage done to our legacy."
A vision appeared in front of him. A femme. Standing proudly, in ornate armor.
"You are a Prime?" Optimus asked, looking at the femme, as her ethereal form approached him. "I know that armor, from historical archives..."
"I was once known as Solus Prime." The femme replied. "I was one of the thirteen Primes that led Cybertron when the planet was young. We laid the foundation for the world you know. But our time came to an end, and our line was corrupted." She said, a sad look on her face, as she looked around at the chamber walls.
"And now, Cybertron has never been in more danger. The corruption of the primes threatens to doom our home. It has created this great enemy. Given him the righteous fury needed to do the unthinkable." She said, running a hand along an ancient etching of old Cybertronian. She turned her attention swiftly to Optimus.
"It is to you now, Optimus Prime. You must light our darkest hour. You must redeem us. Please."
Optimus looked down at his hands again.
"But...I am one mech. One Prime. Megatron has an army."
"So do you." Solus replied. "And they are strong. But they are afraid. They need a leader. Go. Save them. Rally them. As a Prime should."
Optimus clenched his fists. And nodded firmly.
"I won't fail you." He stated with determination. "I will save Cybertron."
"You must." Solus replied, a look of worry in her clear, ghostly optics. "You are our final hope."
Megatron stood on the balcony as the citizens cleared out beneath him.
"How was it?" He asked Soundwave.
"It was adequate. Your charisma came across well enough. You seemed to evoke a positive response."
Megatron nodded.
"I appreciate the honesty." He said, as he entered the elevator, with Soundwave, and made his way down toward the main hangar bay.
"Shockwave wishes to discuss the rust cannon." Soundwave stated as the lift made its way down.
"There is nothing to discuss. I want it dismantled." Megatron replied sternly. "My orders were clear."
"Indeed. He surely wishes to change your mind." Soundwave droned.
The doors hissed open, and the two mechs stepped out into the main hangar.
And were greeted with raucous applause by their army.
The decepticons stood in the bay below them, cheering, chanting, and celebrating.
"ALL HAIL MEGATRON! ALL HAIL MEGATRON!" They boomed.
Megatron grinned as he stepped ahead of Soundwave, to stand before them.
"Yes, my brothers..." He began, smiling down at them. "YES!"
He took another moment to feel the love wash over him, from his adoring troops.
"The day we fought for, bled for, and killed for, has finally come!" He shouted, lifting up his fusion cannon. "Cybertron is free at last! The decepticons rule supreme! We need not fear persecution, arrest, imprisonment!"
"HELL YEAH!!" Brawl shouted, as the decepticons cheered around him.
"The last remnants of bureaucracy, of functionism, they have fallen! The autobots are no more! Their palace is OUR palace!"
Barricade smirked as he stood beside the crowd, arms crossed.
"Soon, the remaining rebel autobots will be hunted down, and our rule shall never be questioned again!" Megatron continued.
"We will make sure not to waste the noble sacrifice the citizens of Altihex made." His tone softened as he mentioned it. "We will ensure that their deaths had meaning, that their sacrifice is honored in these halls. We will honor them, by ensuring that the autobots never return to power. By ensuring that their sacrifice, is the last sacrifice our great world must endure!" He shouted.
The crowd, which had gone somber, and quiet, erupted once again.
"Chase the autobot cowards into their holes, finish them off, and we will secure the future of Cybertron! Our great planet will reach heights only dreamed of!"
The crowd returned to chanting, and Megatron smirked, as he turned, and walked back toward the hallway.
He had their loyalty. He had inspired them. Motivated them.
And he'd barely cobbled together a speech to do it. Charisma oozed from the mech, as he headed toward the elevator, past Shockwave.
"Meet me in the office, Shockwave." Megatron said, nodding to the one eyed mech. "We'll discuss the cannon."
"Such firm talk." Starscream commented.
Megatron turned and glared at him.
"Excuse me?"
Starscream walked up to him, with confidence he surely hadn't earned.
"Your actions and your talk do not line up, Megatron. You speak as though you are both benevolent ruler, and stern dictator. You almost sound like a Prime."
Megatron narrowed his optics.
"I could have you executed for words such as this." He warned.
"Oh? You could?" Starscream asked mockingly. "Why Megatron, you could barely execute Orion Pax."
Megatron's optics widened, as rage courses through him.
"What?"
"You thought no one saw?" Starscream continued. "My goodness Megatron, those tears you tried to hide..."
Megatron's face contorted, and he lashed out, grabbing the seeker's face, and slamming him against the hallway floor.
Then he shoved his fusion cannon under the mech's chin.
"Choose your next words carefully, Starscream." He warned through gritted teeth.
Starscream let out a chuckle, and Megatron found himself genuinely unsettled.
This wasn't like Starscream. At all.
"You think I'm afraid? I know you won't kill me, Megatron, because I am of too much use to you." He sneered. "If you had the bearings to kill me, you would have done it by now."
He continued to laugh, as Megatron's rage built. "You can hardly kill your enemies, you don't have it in you to kill your own. You're losing your edge."
Megatron felt his energon boiling, and he wanted nothing more than to rip the mech apart.
But Starscream was right.
Megatron needed the skies secure. Starscream was his seeker commander. And an irreplaceable one.
So Megatron tried to swallow his rage. It didn't work.
He was shaking as he let out a low growl, and punched the ground next to Starscream's face, leaving a massive dent in the hallway floor.
He stood up, and turned away from the seeker, radiating with rage as he stormed away.
Starscream smiled with satisfaction as he picked himself up off the ground and brushed himself off.
"You should be careful, Megatron. In times like these, we need a strong leader. And if someone is incapable of leading, well...then someone who is capable must take his place."
Prowl watched the readouts, as autobot casualty lists scrolled by. He let out a long vent, and hung his head.
Name after name.
Behind him, the other autobots sat and licked their wounds.
Ironhide was repairing a wound in his armor.
"Y'all want me to sing a song?" Jazz asked, half seriously. "Could lighten the mood."
"Lets not and say we didn't." Hound replied.
"Yeah I have a grenade in my belt, last thing I need is a reason to pull the pin." Ironhide drawled.
Jazz sighed, then jumped up off his berth.
"I get the gloominess guys, but this ain't over. And I don't know why y'all are actin like it is. We got some of the best soldiers on Cybertron, we got a livin legend leadin us." He said, gesturing to Ultra Magnus. "I know for a fact Arcee can wreck people, Ironhide, violence is basically a hobby for you."
"Hey." Ironhide warned. "Violence is my job, it ain't my hobby, let's be clear on that."
"Fair enough, point is, we could be in much worse shape right now." Jazz continued. "Prowl, you're good at tactics, Hound you're a kinda good medic..."
"Alright stop." Hound interrupted. "Stop. No. Alright, there are six of us down here Jazz. SIX! Every single one has been dinged up, blasted to hell, or injured in some way, and even with a fully stocked medibay I have no idea how to fix them! So stop with the cheerleader act and just accept that we're screwed!"
The green mech slammed his rifle against the floor.
"Three days ago, I came into the Citadel for work, and said hi to five of my friends on the way in. Every single one of those people is dead now. EVERY SINGLE ONE!" He shouted.
"Okay, that's enough." Ironhide said, standing up, and getting between Hound and Jazz. "Jazz is doin his job. He's tryin to keep us goin. Now calm down."
Hound stared up at Ironhide in disbelief.
"Of all the people I thought would understand..."
Ironhide grabbed Hound's shoulder and pulled him close.
"Oh i do." He replied, his voice cracking. "I lost about two dozen close friends today, when Altihex got wiped off the face of Cybertron. So I get what you're sayin, Hound. But do you think they would want you to fall apart right now?"
Hound looked away, wiping his optics.
"It's okay to be sad. But get over it quick. Cuz we're soldiers. You're allowed to be sad for fifteen minutes, and then you better get real pissed off." He looked at the others. "I'm angry as hell right now. You can see that. My circuits are sizzlin, and all of yours should be too. Bein sad ain't gonna win us this war. Think about the people you've lost. Orion. Outback. Quickmix. All of em. And then..." he walked over to the computer and slammed a directional button.
Megatron's picture appeared on screen.
"...you remember the face of the one who took em from you. Cuz that's how we win this war. It don't matter how many of us there are, two, three, six, who cares. We're all of us soldiers, and I know for a fact most of you can kick aft with the best of em. So that's what we're gonna do."
"We stay hidden." Arcee added. "Stay alive. Strike quickly, strike quietly. We'll make Megatron pay. We just have to be smart." She looked around the bunker, and at Ironhide. "I couldn't pick a better group of soldiers for this. You're all exemplary. Other than Prowl."
"Hey!" Prowl protested.
Arcee smirked. "Pick up a gun once in a while, Prowl. But seriously. This is a great group. We don't even need anyone else."
There was a knock on the wall. The autobots froze, turning to look at the bunker entrance.
Ultra Magnus, Jazz, Ironhide and Arcee all raised their guns.
"Cons?" Hound asked, reaching for his own pistol.
Prowl walked over to the monitor and activated the exterior camera.
"Um...no."
He walked past the armed autobots, and typed in the door code.
It slid open.
To reveal Mirage, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Standing uncomfortably next to the flowing sewer.
"Hey guys." Sideswipe said with a nervous wave. "We didn't get an invitation, but we really need a place to crash."