At had been nearly a month since the murder of bulkhead and slipstream. Since primes visit to the ark, no further leads had presented themselves. Though investigation continued, the case had hit a regrettable dead end. Under the circumstances, snowstorm had been forced to return to her post and usual duties as life in the city returned to relative normal.
Nightbird, who had been tasked with following the prime, had, unknown to all, vanished after her first week of the task, having been seized by two unknown assailants in the shadows in which she usually took solace. Astrotrain and riptide had both chosen to remain as part of primes entourage, the former out of boredom and the latter for lack of better career options.
The prime had, in her failure to find justice for the dead, fell into an even more disheartened embrace of her position. She rarely attended the council meetings and when she did, she paid little attention. The most resent one she had barely kept her attention to hear the latest population reports. According to the most recent census, the City was occupied by roughly 6'000 colonists, 130 autoboots, 102 decepticons and was estimated to have between 150-200 unregistered or illegal bots flying under the radar.
She no longer took part in her training exercises. She could no longer even take solitude in labor any longer, even as the city was gripped in an intense winter. For a time she thought only of the investigation and what may have been missed or overlooked. When nothing could be deduced, depression began to set in the prime. The only fact that seemed out of the ordinary but otherwise unimportant was perceptors diagnosis that slipstream was in fact a clone. His autopsy revealed that she was in fact a clone sparked from the CNA and diagnostics of the decepticon starscream. She imagined that was one of the details she had left before hearing after nightbeats death.
An occasion soon arose that snowstorm could not avoid and needed to put on her best face for; as prime she was expected to make an appearance. She arrived at the mid-town function hall with her entourage. As an added safety precaution, given recent events, the council had added their special security detail to watch over the occasion. As such, the six-changers Quickswitch and Sixknight acted as guards at the halls entrance. Through the door, they met the large beast-bot Grimwing, who acted as the usher and directed them in. One other virtue the cybetronians had learned from the humans was the act of creating a ceremony and celebration built around the union of two beings. The humans knew this as a marriage, while in transformer society is was known as making one your Conjunx Endura. They were attending the ceremony to commemorate the union of Firestar and Flareup. The latter was much younger and had been the subordinate and trainee of the former during the war.
Prime looked over a program that detailed the pairs Conjunx Ritus; four acts of affection and mutual kindness which typically cement the bond between the two individuals and precede the actual partnership. The four acts were also described; firestar rescuing the rookie firestar during a battle, her taking flareup as her squad trainee, flareup saving a critically wounded firestar by donating her energon and a moment of passion when the two opened their spark chambers to each other. The affection and tenderness of the whole affair gave snowstorm some piece of mind and something to finally be happy about. She walked about and mingled, nodding to those who noticed her and made small talk with others. She took note of the other council members scattered about, as they did her. Conjunx Enduras were still not a very common things so such an occasion was a celebrated one. Other similarly bonded couples were also in attendance for support; the popular autobot couple of chromedome and rewind, colonist lightbright and decepticon sparkstalker and autobot downshift and the refuge joyride. She remembered also hearing while at the security HQ that barricade and swift, both decepticons, were in a relationship and considering the ceremony.
Pyra Magna, a colonist and a figure well known in the religious circles, acted as the officiator of the rites and ceremony itself. Snowstorm enjoyed it all until it reminded her of bulkhead and slipstream. Would they have done the same; had their own happy and celebrated day. No one would know now; that future was stolen from them, and she failed to avenge them. Falling into her depression again, she planned to slip away unnoticed during the after party. before she could she was interrupted by someone calling her name.
"good to see you ice inferno" the aged femme said
She was shocked to see Tempora; the elder, leader and her mentor from her home colony. She maintained a detached tone and look. Snowstorm frowned, sensing a tension that had existed since she took office.
"tempora, it is so very good to see you. You are a fresh light in a dark time"
"politics not what you thought" she said dismissively
Despite it not being her choice to become a leader, tempora always seemed to hold snowstorm becoming prime against her like it was. She seemed somehow disappointed in her for some reason. Seeing as the conversation would be no less awkward or uncomfortable as those with her other former friends and family, she quickly excused herself. Giving her entourage the slip, she left the party. She walked the street with nothing but her failures, responsibilities and insecurities to keep her company. Her concerns were not helped by witnessing a crowd flock to the pontificating of the vagrant Quillfire. The squat, spiked bot was a notorious anarchist who often spouted his anti-establishment rhetoric to those willing, and unwilling, to listen. The fact that he was currently denouncing her failed leadership was not a spirit lifter. Seeking someway to alleviate her mood, she made for the city's grand archive. The front desk was currently manned by a hovering diagnostic drone, and she realized she could not recall what bot actually was the head of the archive.
"welcome to the little cybertron grand archive, where knowledge is but the click of a button away" the drone recited with courtesy and artificial happiness.
"Um, hi. Not sure exactly what I want to read" she thought aloud
"may I suggest some of our most popular readings; "Me and Optimus Prime", "Curse You Megatron: The Tragic Life of a Mistreated Seeker", "Ancient Cybetronian History", "The Necronimicon Unicronus", "Quintessons and How to Protect Your Family From Them", "Best Recipes for Cesium salami", "Earth Germs"…"
"uh…cloning" she interrupted
Slipstream had again popped into her mind and she thought to investigate the subject a bit to alleviate her boredom. The drone led her to a kiosk and away after he activated it for her. Various articles and descriptions on the science and history of the subject popped up on the screen which she scanned through. It was not fairly common but had seen its fair use during the war for a multitude of reasons; troop building, twisted experimentation, genuine science and other various causes. When she came to the part that described bots that had experience in the field, she realized she recognized two; the decepticons blackarachina and scorponok. Recalling that she had seen them at soundblasters place, together, and that they seemed even sketchier than the standard cons. Finding it more than a coincidence, she thought it may be worth looking into. Leaving and heading off for the decepticon bar, she chose not to contact the others, wanting them to enjoy the party. She arrived and gained entrance again with the password. This time the various cons that were there paid her less attention; blackout even gave her a respectful nod. She had made a few other brief visits during the investigation and was considered a regular. She sat at the bar beside her drinking buddy sky-byte though realized he was passed out drunk on the counter top. She waited for soundblaster to come out, though it took a long time, very unusual for the owner and bartender, as he always knew when she arrived via surveillance. He seemed shocked and caught off guard when he saw her there.
"prime, what are you doing here?"
"I actually had some questions about a pair of your patrons"
He composed himself and inquisited who she referred to.
"blackarachnia and scorponok"
"hm, an ambiguous pair. I admit they are decepticons that I do not know much about. They appear very rarely and are not open about their affairs. If I'm being honest I do not consider them trustworthy bots. What is your interest in them?
"I discovered that the pair had a history of work in the field of cloning"
"I see, I take it you know about slipstream then?"
"I do, and you do as well?"
"I was there when she was created, and no, neither scorponok nor blackarachnia were part of her genesis"
"and how did you feel about her?"
"I have no real opinion either way regarding clones. I was far from supportive of having another starscream in the universe, but she did prove to be a more valuable decepticon and to possess her own personality, independent from his. I valued her as a comrade"
Soundwave took pause and appeared to be in deep thought. He gestured for her to follow him to a back room. She saw a large tarp covering something and grew nervous when she noticed spats of energon.
"dark designs appear to be afoot and I fear they are all interconnected"
Igor took hold of the tarp and handed it to soundblaster and with a jerk of his arm he pulled it aside. Snowstorm gaped in horror at the scattered and mutilated remains of a black and green bot. Had sounblaster killed the bot and looked for her aid in hiding it or clearing any charge against him. She instinctively began reaching for her ion cannon when he spoke up.
"this was lockdown. He was a renowned mercenary and bounty hunter and one of the most skilled and deadly bots in the galaxy. My associates found him like this last night. I know no bot online today that could overcome him like this"
As she relaxed and examined the body, she took note of some features such as the hook appendage, a trait famously related to him that she knew of. She had no idea he was even in the city, recalling the earlier report of illegal bots present in the city.
"do you have any theories?" she asked
"unfortunately yes. He had arrived in the city over a year ago delivering apparently sensitive cargo on a job he had been hired for. Steeljaw, another decepticon he was close with, mentioned he had recently returned with more cargo for the one who originally hired him and was connected to the first job apparently"
"what was this cargo he was delivering?"
"He did not mention but it was implied to be of great importance"
"and did he mention who he was hired by?"
"Flamewar"
"I am not familiar with them"
"be glad you are not. I am a bot famous for my loyalty, and even I would have to call flamewar a fanatic. She was stealthy, intelligent and skilled, but also murderous, obsessive and zealously loyal to megatron. I believe in her own twisted way she may have even loved him"
"and this worries you?"
"Affirmative. I had no idea flamewar was even still functioning, more so on earth at all. That is a rather egregious gap in information by my standards"
"and her involvement in all this is your hypothesis?"
"it is unmistakable. She held such blind devotion to even the most ludicrous or severe of megatrons beliefs and took his death and the subsiding of the war, lets shall we say, badly"
"and you didn't?"
"I…moved on, accepted it in my own way. I hold the decepticon ideals and what megatron stood for in my spark still, but life still goes on. Regardless, the death of an inter faction couple seems very in character for her as well"
"so we may at last have our culprit, we just have to find her, and whatever lockdown retrieved for her must obviously be significant enough that she was willing to kill him to keep it secret"
"indeed. It would seem some pieces are finally coming together"
"thank you soundblaster"
She left the bar and made to meet with jazz and the others and move to investigate the new lead. She was nervous but exhilerated that she finally ahd a new direction in which to to look. Lost in thought, she rounded a corner and was suddenly tackled from behind. She rolled along the ground and heard a frenzied shout as she looked up. She saw that her attacker was a bot of grey and light blue; the wings and cockpit clearly indicated he was a flyer. He looked mad, unhinged; he had a crazed look about him to the point of not even looking focused. In his hand he clutched a sword tightly. She then recognized him as megaplex, the rookie officer that had gone missing. Before she could react or say anything he pounced on her, struggling and snarling madly as he scratched and banged at her armor. She got hold of her weapon but he was so close she could not use it. she cried out in pain as he managed to dig the tip of the blad epart way in her arm. Gaining brief movement in the midst of his frenzied assault, she got her legs up and kicked him away. He recovered quickly and charged at her again, snarling and with his bade posed for a stabbing strike. Aiming, she instinctively fired three shots into the attacker without thinking. The blasts echoed on forever in the quite city. All three shots pierced through his torso and with the momentum of his charge he fell hard, face first to the pavement. He lay there, unmoving and leaking energon. She felt overwhelmed, and was in utter shock; she was losing energon as well from his assault. She radioed for aid but in her daze couldn't recall who she called or what exactly she said. She began to black out, only remembering seeing the eyes of weary civilians investigating and the blurry image of soundblaster, blackout and sky-byte rushing to her aid before losing consciousness.