Teachings . . .
Jedi Temple
Over the last few days, Optimus has been learning about the Clone Wars and he has successfully secured an alliance with the Republic. He sent a message into space to his Autobots telling them to meet him on Naboo where there is a suitable location for their base.
Ahsoka offered to give Optimus a tour of the Jedi Temple while her master and Obi-Wan went to investigate a disturbance on Pantora's moon, he obliged. After seeing the Temple, Ahsoka was eager to ask Optimus about something.
"Optimus," Ahsoka inquired.
"Yes, Ahsoka." the Prime replied.
"I was wondering if you would like to spar with me, I know I saw your combat skills on Maridun, but it would be interesting to see them while not in a life or death situation." She explained.
Optimus smiles at her. "Of course, Ahsoka, it's not everyday someone from the Unknown Regions comes to the galaxy, let alone them having combat skills." He replies before they make their way to the training room.
As they enter the training room they see other Jedi Masters training younglings and Knights practicing their forms. They are approached by what looked to be two padawans the same age as Ahsoka, a light purple-skinned Twi'lek and a teenage boy with brown and blonde hair and blue eyes like Anakin.
"Ahsoka!" They both say as they envelope her into a group hug.
"Nyla, Tom, it's so good to see you guys." She says as they pull away.
Nyla chuckles, "It's good to see you too after what we heard about what happened on Maridun."
"Speaking of which." Tom says, now noticing Optimus near them.
Nyla noticed Optimus as well and was surprised by this, she read the report on the Prime and since he was from the Unknown Regions, she was eager to meet him, and now that she's seeing him, she does her best to hide her excitement.
"Guys, this is Optimus Prime. Optimus, I'd like you to meet my best friends, Nyla Sonter and Tom Norton, they're padawans like me." She introduces them.
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance." The Prime replies with a polite smile.
Tom decided to speak up. "It's nice to meet you too. When Nyla and I read the Council's report on you, we were stunned to find out that you and your Autobots were going to help us with the Clone Wars." He says.
"And to be honest, I have been really interested in seeing you in action up close after what I saw in the report when you were on Maridun." Nyla says, slightly excited.
"Well, I believe you will have your chance." The Prime informs them.
The human and twi'lek look at each other in confusion before looking at Ahsoka giggling.
"Before we came, I was giving Optimus a tour of the Temple and I asked him if he wanted to spar. He said yes and we made our way here." Ahsoka explained.
"Oh, then shall we get started?" Tom suggests.
The three then show Optimus all the lightsaber forms and as well as their own skills. Optimus shows them his while combating against four reprogrammed magnaguards. The three padawans, as well as the other Jedi in the room see that the Prime easily stands his ground against them. Some are astonished by his combat skills. Optimus now faces off against the last magnaguard, its left optic broken after Optimus delivered an uppercut to it in the face.
The magnaguard decides to strike first, it lunges towards Optimus with intent to zap him. The Prime evades the strike and brings out his sword from his right bracer. Optimus ducks under a backhand swing from the droid and grabs its wrist as the droid tries to strike again. He then cuts the arm off at the shoulder before getting the magnaguard in a headlock. Grabbing the droid by the top of its head, Optimus drives his sword into the head then turns the blade before pulling it out. He then pulls his sword out and pushes the body away. It falls to the ground with the head bouncing along the floor, Optimus retracts his sword and looks around to see the many expressions of shock, surprise, and awe.
"That… was awesome." Tom said simply while he still has a look of awe.
Optimus retracts his faceplate and looks to Ahsoka and her friends as they recover from their stupor. "I trust that my combat skills have met your expectations?" He inquired.
"I'd say they exceeded our expectations, and I have to say Optimus, Cybertronian combat techniques are unlike anything we've ever seen." Ahsoka says with a smile.
"Indeed, Cybertronian techniques for combat are fierce and strong, yet refined and controlled." The Prime states. "One part of those techniques is to find a weak point in your opponent's stance and form." He added.
He gestures for them to follow him as he walks over to one of the destroyed training droids. He bends down and picks one up and shows it to them.
"From what I've seen from these reprogrammed magnaguards, their weak points are under the torso and shoulders where the mechanics are." He says as he points to both areas. "I noticed that they leave these areas exposed as they strike, so I decided to use that to my advantage." He added.
"Wow, that's impressive perception, Optimus." Nyla compliments. "This knowledge will be very helpful when fighting droids. Even more so when your Autobots arrive." The twi'lek added.
Optimus smiles proudly at the twi'lek, admiring her positive thinking for future battles. The Prime then notices Tom looking away slightly with a thinking look on his face.
"Tom, is there something on your mind?" The Prime asked, causing the Twi'lek and Togruta to look at him.
The boy snaps out of his thoughts and realizes they were looking at him. He gave a sheepish smile with a chuckle. "Sorry, I was stuck in my own thoughts for the moment. I had an interesting question on my mind." He says. Optimus nods for him to continue. "Well, I remember from the report that you had blasters and I was wondering if we would be able to deflect the shots from your blasters, tha-that is if you're willing to find out?" He asks, but he wanted to give Optimus a choice.
Optimus thought about this for a few moments, he's never used his ion cannons against a lightsaber before, but there's only one way to find out.
Let us find out." He answered.
The Prime then closed his faceplate and brought out his gauntlets, he then brought out his ion cannon from his right bracer. Tom ignites his lightsaber, the blue blade humming as he readies himself for the shot. Optimus aims the cannon at Tom who stands ready. The thunderous sound of his cannon firing echoed throughout the room and Tom moves his lightsaber to deflect the shot, but when the blast hits Tom's lightsaber, he expects it to deflect it. Instead, the moment the blast hits the blade, Tom is blown back and slides halfway across the room. Ahsoka and Nyla gasp in shock with their eyes widened while Optimus looks on in horror. They run towards him to see if he's okay, but to their surprise, he coughs as he sits up with a surprised look on his face.
"Tom, are you alright?" Ahsoka asked, concerned for her friend.
"I'm fine," he said after a short moment. "It's just that I didn't expect that blast to have quite a punch." He joked as he stood.
Optimus gives a relieved sigh while Ahsoka deadpans at him with an amused smile and Nyla crosses her arms while shaking her head in amusement.
Ahsoka chuckles as she plants her hands on her hips. "At least your sense of humor is intact." She remarked.
Optimus retracts his faceplate and smiles at the boy. "While I am glad you are alright Tom, I believe we should get you to the medical center to make sure you are not hurt given that you were blown 20 feet across the room." The Prime stated.
The padawan was about to object, but given what Optimus just said, it would probably be best if he did. After all, like Optimus said, he was blown 20 feet across the room.
Tom chuckled in defeat. "I guess you're right. I am starting to feel a bit dizzy." He says.
As they brought Tom to the medical center to make sure he was alright, little do they know, a greater danger lurks in the galaxy.
Ryloth's Moon
On the moon's surface, an Autobot pod had crashed into the ground and looked as if it was ripped open. Suddenly, Brawn is thrown to the ground before getting kicked in the face by a hunchbacked Decepticon wearing a black combat shirt under bulky sand colored armor, beige knee pads, black belt with dark gray belt buckle, bulky sand colored armor on his thighs and shin guards, boots with four claws on each, and four fingered gauntlets. His helmet covers his whole face except for his red eyes. Bonecrusher then tosses the Autobot towards two others.
"Are you finally going to talk, Autobot?" a female voice asks.
Brawn looks up to see two Decepticons. The owner of the voice is a woman with an almond skin tone and a lean physique wearing a metallic gray combat bodysuit under a red chestplate with the Decepticon insignia under the collar, wheel shaped shoulder pads, thigh guards, and a red helmet that has two antennas on the right side. She also has red mechanical bracers, gray gauntlets with red knuckles, silver belt buckle on her belt, dark gray kneepads and black shin guards along with two-toed combat boots. Compared to a human she looks to be thirty years old.
The other Decepticon is wearing a metallic gray combat bodysuit under dark blue armor, silver bicep guards and shoulder pads, dark blue and gray mechanical bracers, gray belt buckle on his belt, dark blue armor on his thighs with black shin guards along with combat boots with blue armor over them. He has two wing-like to the backs of his shoulder blades and his blue helmet has a faceplate that covers his mouth, only showing his red eyes and then bridge of his nose. Compared to a human he looks to be 29 years old.
These Decepticons were known as Shatter and Dropkick: two elite special ops Decepticons and are brother and sister.
Brawn spits out some blood. "I'm not telling you anything, Decepticon scum." He declared while sending a glare at the woman.
She frowns in frustration, this Autobot was starting to get on her nerves. She nods to her brother, silently telling him what to do. Dropkick smiles behind his faceplate, knowing what she wants him to do. He then walks towards Brawn and grabs his right arm by the bicep and the Autobot screams loudly in pain as he violently rips arm off.
Brawn tries to crawl away, but he winces in pain as he remembers his arm getting ripped off. Dropkick holds the arm by its wrist.
"Where is Optimus Prime?" Shatter asks as her brother tosses the arm away. "He survived the Fall of Cybertron and no rebellion is truly dead until the leader is vanquished." She stated as the Autobot rolled onto his back to face them. "So where is he?" She demands as she narrows her eyes.
"My name is Brawn: Corporal to the Autobot resistance. My safe return will be considered-!" He says before Dropkick stabs the end of his dagger through Brawn's chestplate.
"Wrong an-swer~" Shatter says in a sing-song voice. We know he's planning to establish a base. Tell us where it is and we'll let you live." She says, trying to bargain with him. But Brawn knows if he divulges the Autobots location, especially Optimus', they will destroy everything they're working towards.
He glares at the Decepticon. "My name is Brawn: Corpo-ahh!" He says but Dropkick sends a shock of electricity through the blade while turning the blade and making the blade go slightly deeper. The electrical shock activated his transponder, they then hear binary code coming from it. The three Decepticons share a glance.
"No." Brawn dreads as his eyes widened in horror realizing what that is.
"Is that what I think it is?" Bonecrusher asks.
"That's Bumblebee's signal." Shatter states as she steps forward.
"Can you trace it?" Her brother asks.
"Already did." She says casually.
Dropkick looks back to the Autobot with a sinister look in his eyes. Brawn exclaims in pain as Dropkick pulls his dagger out, pulling him forward as Shatter walks behind him.
"If you won't tell us where Prime is, perhaps your young friend will." She says.
"Never." Brawn declared. Knowing Bee, he would never talk no matter how much torture they would make him endure.
"You're a brave warrior, you deserve a better death." Shatter says as she grabs him by the top of his helmet, she then catches what she said. "Then again…" she trails off before letting go of his helmet. Dropkick grunts in exertion as he slams his dagger down on Brawn, slicing him in half. Shatter chuckles sinisterly as she watches both halves fall to the ground.
"Set course for Takodana." She says as she stands up putting her hands behind her back.
As they walk towards their ship, Bonecrusher notices something out of the corner of his eye. He sees a blockade over the planet. From what the three of them learned from the native "holonet" as they called it upon their arrival to this galaxy, they learned that they're at war, the Republic and the Separatists as he recalled. He wondered if the Decepticons could benefit from them, but that would be something he would have to address to Megatron. For now, they have to find the Autobot's base.
After Optimus and the others brought Tom to the medical center, relieved that he was just a bit dizzy from the hit, the trio remembered that he came with his ship and asked the Prime if they could see it. He obliged them and they went to the hangar and found his fully repaired ship, it was still undergoing some small maintenance. The three padawans were amazed by the design.
Tom whistles in awe. "I gotta say Optimus, your people's technology is very advanced." He compliments. The others nod in agreement.
"I appreciate your compliment Tom, there is more to my ship than meets the eye." The Prime says.
They look at him with confused expressions on their faces. Before they could ask what he meant, Optimus goes inside his ship and a few minutes later, he comes out with a large case in his hands and sets it down near the trio.
"What's this?" Nyla inquired curiously.
"This is a case containing some of the items I have brought from my homeworld and from my travels in the Unknown Regions." Optimus says as he taps a few buttons on the case, opening it. Inside the case were a variety of objects.
Optimus takes hold of a cube with markings all over it. The three padawans feel the Force radiate as pure energy from it.
"This item, I found in the Unknown Regions, on Earth." The Prime says.
"Optimus, might I ask what this is?" Ahsoka asked.
"You may Ahsoka. This is the Cube, one of Cybertron's most sacred relics, which I found during my short time on Earth." The Leader of the Autobots stated.
Tom was a little confused about that statement, so he decided to speak his mind. "Optimus, I don't mean to judge, but what was a relic from your world doing in the Unknown Regions?" He inquired, the question gaining the curiosity of the other two padawans.
"A fair question, Tom. During the War for Cybertron, artifacts of cultural significance and weapons made during the War were jettisoned off world to keep them from Decepticon hands." He explains.
"Oh, I guess that makes sense. You'd probably want to keep them safe until you and the Autobots can find them later." Tom theorized.
Nyla decided to speak up. "Optimus?" "Yes Nyla?" "Um, no offense and I don't mean to be rude or anything, but how is this "Cube" considered one of your world's most sacred relics?" The Twi'lek asked confusingly.
Optimus smiles at the Twi'lek's curiosity. "There is no offense taken, Nyla." He replies, causing the padawan to give a sigh of relief. "And to answer your question, the reason why the Cube is considered one of Cybertron's most sacred relics is because it is responsible for the creation of our civilization 4 eons ago." The Last Prime states.
"'Eons?!'" Nyla quotes dumbfoundedly, putting her hands on the sides of her head. The other two have the same expressions of stupor on their faces.
"That was during the time when most of the species in this galaxy today were in their primitive ages. That's when your civilization began?" Ahsoka asked with a mix of shock and surprise.
"Yes Ahsoka." The Prime answers. "What my ancestors learned from the Cube gave us something unimaginable. The knowledge it gave us allowed us to create technology more advanced than any other race." Optimus added.
"So, that means your civilization is older than another in this galaxy." Tom realized.
"You are correct Tom. That and so much more." The Autobot leader stated.
Optimus then notices something in the case that he doesn't remember bringing with him.
He sets down the Cube and picks up the object. It was sky blue and it had a rectangular-oval shape. Optimus then recognizes the device, "Sawback?" He asks. Before the trio could ask why he said that name, the device flies out of his hands and it then transforms into a 2 ½ foot tall, animal-like droid that resembles a canine of some sorts with sky blue armor on most of its body with a silver underbelly, silver three and yellow fan-like blades on its elbows, shoulders, thighs, and tail. Along with black pieces of metal that served as eyebrows over his yellow eyes, pointed ears, and cloud white teeth. And finally, with the Autobot insignia on the sides of his shoulders.
The three padawans move their hands to their lightsabers, ready for a confrontation. The canine droid reels his head as if he were taking a deep breath, but what came next totally surprised them.
"Oy!" He groans dramatically with an exasperated expression on his face. "2 weeks in standby mode will give you such a crick in the joints." He states as he gives himself a much needed stretch.
The trio are completely gobsmacked by this, they thought this small canine-like droid was going to attack them, but instead it was speaking its mind about its discomfort.
"H-hang on a second." He says before stretching to relieve the stress in his joints. "Wow-Ow-WOW! Does it feel good to be outta there!" He says excitedly. Optimus clears his throat and Sawback sees the Prime giving him a stern look with his arms crossed. The Mini-con's cheerful expression turns to a sheepish and nervous smile. "Hey Optimus." He greets as he sits down. "Small universe, huh?" He says with a nervous chuckle.
Optimus sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose. He then looks at the Mini-con and decides to ask why he was here. "Sawback, while I'm glad to see a friend, I question your choice to stow away on my ship." The Prime says, wanting to know why this Mini-con was aboard his ship.
"What, you think I was going to let you go alone to a new galaxy with all kinds of unknown dangers?" He says, trying to play it cool. Optimus gives him a deadpan look. He sags his shoulders and his expression deadpans, "Okay, Elita had me secretly accompany you so the Republic wouldn't try anything." He confessed.
Optimus sighs knowingly, he knew Elita was capable of a few things, but this one, he knew it was out of concern, but it would've helped if his sparkmate had told him about this. He smiled, knowing Elita, she would have kept this a secret until the mini-con revealed himself.
He hears someone clear their throat and Optimus then remembers the padawans behind him. He turns to them only to see their confused looks, and Ahsoka decides to address the situation.
"Um, Optimus, care to introduce us to your… friend." She asks.
"Of course." The Prime replied. "Ahsoka, Nyla, Tom, meet Sawback: a Mini-con trained in the art of stealth, a master escape artist, and an occasional jokester. Sawback, I would like to introduce you to some of the new friends I have made during my time here in this galaxy, Padawans Ahsoka Tano, Nyla Sonter, and Tom Norton." He introduced.
"Is he a droid?" Nyla asks curiously.
"'Droid?' I'll have you know that I am significantly more advanced than every single one of those Separatist dunderheaded doohickeys…combined." He lectures. "And FYI; I am not a droid and being called one is very insulting." The Mini-con clarified.
Ahsoka chuckles at the little guy's spunky attitude. "You're a spunky one, aren't you?" She says as she pets him.
"I think we should inform the Council about this." Tom says. "It might seem strange to have this guy around without invoking questions." He explains.
"I agree." Optimus replied.
They all then proceed to walk towards the exit and to the Council Chambers to explain the newcomer they found, but the Council is in for a real treat.
After introducing Sawback to the Council, some via hologram, they then asked what he was. Considering the fact that they thought he was a Separatist spy when he walked in.
"Optimus, I've been meaning to ask, what is he exactly?" Kit Fisto asked.
"I'm glad you asked, Master Fisto. Sawback is a Mini-con; a race of small, 2-3 foot tall Cybertronians who inhabit Cybertron's two moons. Descendants of Micronus Prime, the first Mini-Con, and they come in a great variety of shapes; though some adopt humanoid forms, others possess animalistic beast modes instead." Optimus explains. He then gestures to Sawback. "As you can see, Sawback adopts the form of a canine-like animal." He adds.
"But is he a threat?" Windu asks, wanting to know where this Mini-con's allegiance lies.
"I assure you, Master Windu, Sawback's loyalty is to the Autobots and has been since the start of the war as have many others." The Prime assured.
Sawback chuckles. "Besides, I'm guessing meeting someone that looks similar to the droids you're fighting can't be that easy." He rebuttes. "But let me tell you something, looks aren't everything." He adds.
"You must forgive our wariness. We were only curious to figure out if he was a threat or not, he is clearly the latter." Plo Koon states.
"And I'm still trying to figure out why he's so stone faced." Sawback retorts, pointing at Windu, causing the three padawans and some members of the Council to stifle their laughter, but quickly regain their composure.
"This meeting is not over until we know more about you." Windu firmly states.
The Mini-con gives him a deadpan look. "So because you're suspicious of me, you're going to take it out on perfectly innocent chairs. Chairs that have suffered enough already for how many millennia?" He remarks.
Optimus clears his throat to prevent them both from getting at each other's necks.
"Apart from his jovial personality, Sawback does not take the threats on the battlefield lightly and is a valuable ally. Especially since he has much experience in stealth operations." The Prime informs.
"What does that mean?" Saesee Tiin asks curiously.
"Means I can do this." Sawback says before cloaking himself, making him invisible as if he were never there in the first place.
Everyone, except Optimus, was surprised by this, one moment Sawback was here, and the next he was gone. Before anyone could do anything, they then hear laughter and see Sawback decloak in front of them while laughing.
"Oh man, you should've seen your faces!" He says while laughing. "Ooh, better yet, you should see your faces! Haha!" He added bringing up a picture he took of the Council's faces after he cloaked himself before laughing hysterically.
The Council looks at the picture of their looks of stupor and while most of them were chuckling at their own expressions, some others, namely Windu, were angry at this Mini-con for making a mockery of this Council and so he decided to take matters into his own hands.
After Sawback's laughter died down, Mace decided to speak up. "I still think we should have him examined to see if he is truly on our side." He says as he stands up and walks towards the Mini-con.
Sawback was gobsmacked by this, this Jedi still questions his loyalty and is willing to have him taken apart just to prove it. Well, this Jedi is about to learn one thing and it's that Sawback won't go down without a fight. He glares dangerously at Windu.
"Why you…!" He starts angrily before firing a dart from his mouth. Before Mace could react, the dart hits his neck and he then feels sleepy. After 2 seconds, he falls to the floor unconscious and the Council, along with the padawans and Optimus look at the Mini-con with shocked expressions.
"Sawback…Is he?... Did you?" Ahsoka asks incomplete questions.
Sawback waves it off. "Oh relax, he's fine. It was a tranquilizer dart, he'll be up in thirty minutes." He explains.
"Why did you tranq him?" Shaak Ti asks as Kit Fisto and Plo Koon pick up Windu and take him to the medical room.
"When he said "examined" I thought he would have me taken apart just to prove my allegiance. So I felt threatened and lashed out." He says. "And I'm not about to let him take twelve hundred years of my life away." He added.
Everyone, especially Yoda, was shocked that this Mini-con was older than even the Jedi Grandmaster, and most mechanical devices in the Republic didn't last that long.
"How are you that old and how have you not gotten rusted?" Tom asks, confused.
"Oh it's simple, if you keep yourself in good shape and get maintenance checks every 30 days you can look good as new." He explains. "Heck, Cybertronian lifespans are even longer than even his." He says, gesturing to Yoda.
"Optimus," Ahsoka started, "is what he says the truth?" She asks.
"Yes, Ahsoka." The Prime answers. He then looks towards the others. "I understand if you all are wondering about my age, then I don't blame you for being curious." He says.
"So how old are you exactly?" Adi Gallia asks.
"I am 4,036 years old." He states.
"You're…" Luminara started.
"Older than the Republic, you are." Yoda finishes. "And me as well, I suppose." He adds.
Before the Council could ask anymore questions, Shaak Ti's comlink went off. She checks it.
"It seems Kenobi and Skywalker have finished their mission on Pantora's moon. They are ready to debrief us." She says after a short moment. "You may join us, Optimus, if you want to." The older Togruta offered.
"I appreciate the offer, Master Ti, but I must decline." The Prime replied.
"Why, may I ask?" Yoda inquired.
"During the time Ahsoka gave me a tour of the Temple, I became intrigued by the vast archives and if I am to learn more about this galaxy and the Jedi, that would be a good place to start." Optimus replies.
"No reason, I see, for you to not read our archives, I do not. Dismissed, you are." Yoda says.
Optimus nods before he, Sawback and the padawans leave. Little do they know, a greater threat looms closer.
-Sorry for getting this chapter in so late. I was kind of sidetracked with school and et cetera.
-The next chapter will be published around next week, but in the meantime, enjoy this chapter.
-FYI: Sawback is a character from the Robots in Disguise (2015) toyline so he wasn't show in the series.