Author's Note: I'm taking the opportunity to update now because I have some time on my hands and because there's nothing else for me to do. Thank you the readers for sending me all those nice reviews.
Disclaimer: Ultra Rodimus is my character. Everyone else belongs to really rich people.
Boiling Point
Chapter 2: Delays in Transit
Several weeks had passed since Ultra Rodimus had cemented his position as Autobot leader against those who had doubted him. The fight had already become something of a legend in the ranks. Twin Twist was behaving himself, but the young Prime still kept a wary eye on him. The other three, a team known as the Omnibots, had settled in as an elite scout team and made no more trouble.
Ultra Rodimus looked up from his terminal as his second-in-command, Ultra Magnus, entered his office and moved to stand in front of his leader's massive desk. Leaning back in his chair, Ultra Rodimus lifted an eyebrow in a silent signal.
"We just received a communication from a distant world, asking for an alliance," the older Autobot reported.
"Another one? At this rate we'll be busy with negotiations for the next year."
A small smile touched Magnus's features, but he said nothing. Ultra Rodimus thought for a long moment, then returned his gaze to the city commander.
"So, where is this planet, and what is it called?"
"As far as we can tell, the planet is quite some distance from here," was the reply. Magnus produced a star chart from subspace and spread it out on the desk, pointing out the location. "The name is almost impossible to pronounce. The natives are a vaguely humanoid race, more reptilian in origin but basically humanoid in general build. They stand about twenty to twenty-five feet in height, scaled skin, no tails, very short claws. Fairly technologically advanced, not far behind Earth."
"Hmm." The young leader leaned forward to scan the chart, noting the route they'd have to take. Between Cybertron and the alien world was a sector full of radiation storms and rogue space debris, leftovers from some planet collision and known to be hideouts for pirates. He said as much.
"Perceptor has designed radiation screens to filter out the worst of the background radiation, and no pirate in his right mind would want to mess with several shiploads of veteran warriors. The ships are equipped with lasers that can handle any asteroids or other debris we come across."
"What about these worlds?" Ultra Rodimus indicated a handful of dots representing worlds, all of which were in or near their flight path.
Magnus consulted his notes. "According to our databanks most of them are uninhabited, airless balls of radiation-scoured rock. A few gas giants, a couple planets with atmospheres, all too toxic to support life, and a couple that are habitable but have no sentient life. These ones here" he pointed them out "have indiginous sentient races but they are either too primitive to be contacted or currently absorbed in their own conflicts. We shouldn't have any problems."
Ultra Rodimus tapped a thoughtful finger against his chin. Magnus waited patiently for him to make up his mind. Finally, the younger bot looked up. "Assemble a team."
Magnus nodded and left. Ultra Rodimus picked up the chart, taking a long look at the display. Then he accessed his terminal and called up all the data he could find on that part of space.
A day later, three shuttles lifted off from Cybertron's dark surface.
It took several days' travel to reach the outskirts of the hazard zone. The radiation was so thick and the storms so unpredictable that any ship passing through had to do so at a much slower pace than they normally would. A line of warning buoys advised all ships to slow down and proceed with caution.
"Radiation screens working," Perceptor reported.
"Good." Ultra Rodimus settled into what was loosely referred to as the command chair, set at the rear of the bridge with its own console, from which he could monitor all incoming data. "Take us in."
Roughly an hour later they approached the first of the few inhabited planets. Perceptor started a surface scan as soon as they were in range, eager to add new data to their admittedly sketchy database. As the results of the first scans came back, the scientist frowned.
"Prime."
Ultra Rodimus turned to look at him. "Yes?"
"I think you should take a look at this."
The tall bot turned back to his own console and called up the results of Perceptor's scan. A frown appeared on his face as he looked over the readouts.
According to the scans the planet showed signs of a fairly advanced race, with cities large enough to be visible from space. From all appearances the natives had been somewhat more advanced than Earth, but had apparently lacked space flight. The sensors detected a large amount of technology on the planet's surface.
What made it disturbing was the lack of any life forms larger than medium-sized predators.
"Something's not right here." Ultra Rodimus touched a key, changing the display. "Where are all the people?"
"Pirates or slavers, perhaps?" Jazz suggested from the navigator's station.
Perceptor shook his head. "There are no exhaust trails anywhere near this planet. It has never been visited by any spacefaring race."
"I don't like this," Ultra Rodimus muttered.
"Think we should check it out?" Springer asked, turning in his seat.
After a moment of thought, Ultra Rodimus nodded.
The trio of shuttles moved into orbit around the planet. Two held position. Ultra Rodimus's shuttle descended to the surface, the crew watchful for any sign of trouble. They landed near a small settlement without incident.
Ultra Rodimus poked his head out of the shuttle and took a quick look around. The landscape looked somewhat similar to Earth, but there was a strange reddish tint to the sky and an unnerving absence of sound. No birds or animals called in the forests. Very little grass grew from the dry ground. The air smelled of smoke and dust. A shiver ran down the tall Autobot's spine.
"This place is giving me the creeps," Skydive muttered, glancing around nervously. Next to him, Silverbolt grunted agreement.
The team stepped cautiously off the shuttle's boarding ramp onto ground that cracked slightly beneath their feet. Perceptor crouched to take a soil sample. Ultra Rodimus glanced at him, then began walking toward the settlement. The rest of the team gathered into a tight clump, following in his wake. He slowed his long stride to let them keep up with him.
A worn road, clearly unused for years, led through what was left of a forest. The trees were bare, without a single leaf or bit of moss clinging to their branches and trunks. They were a pale grey or white in color, reminding Jazz of pictures he'd seen, pictures of Cuban trees stripped bare by hurricane winds. The trunks glowed, casting a pale light in the dim light. Nothing moved. The only sounds were the footsteps of the team as they picked their way along the path.
"I don't like this silence," someone said in a whisper. "Where are all the animals?"
Finally they emerged from the silent forest and stepped out onto a plain. There was very little vegetation of any kind. The ground looked like it had been seared bare a very long time ago, and the settlement didn't look too much better. The buildings were in ruins, very few still standing and those that were standing were in a state of collapse. Some showed faint scorch marks, signs that something terrible had taken place there. Nothing moved in the rubble. The wind moaned hollowly as it blew over the ruins.
Ultra Rodimus blinked as he adjusted his optical systems, scanning the ruined structures. He found nothing. "Wasn't there a city close by?"
Perceptor nodded.
"Perhaps there we'll find some indication as to what happened here."
The team returned to the shuttle and flew to where the city stood. Or rather, where it had stood. Most of it was in heaps of shattered stone and blackened wood, only a few buildings still standing. The group spread out, going in different directions, all of them trying to find out where all of the people had gone.
As before, nothing moved. Unlike before, this time they found bones, the remains of a four-armed race about twice as tall as a human. The bones lay scattered in the streets or were piled on each other inside the remains of buildings. Some were clearly the bones of older beings, but many were just as clearly the skeletons of the very young. In some places charred outlines and piles of ash were all that remained of the residents. The ground around the bones was scorched and seared, the walls blackened and burned. Anything that had been made out of any kind of organic material had been reduced to charcoal.
"Do you think they burned to death?" Sideswipe asked.
"I don't think so. This fire damage looks more structural to me." Ultra Rodimus examined the burn marks. "It looks to me like the fire started after the dying was over. Hey, First Aid, come over here."
The Protectobot medic trotted over. His gaze followed his Prime's pointing finger to where several skeletons lay, untouched, in the same place they had been when they had died. The bodies were twisted, limbs flailing out in all directions.
"What does that look like to you?" Ultra Rodimus rumbled softly.
"It looks like they died of some disease."
Perceptor had found the local equivalent of a database, one that was, against all odds, still functional. He set about downloading all he could from it, putting his translation programs to work. Ultra Rodimus glanced briefly in his direction, then turned away and wandered over to another building, one that was surprisingly intact. He skirted several skeletons, picking his way deeper into the structure, following some sixth sense that led him through several rooms and to a staircase leading down. The ceiling had collapsed, leaving plenty of space for his towering frame. He walked down the steps, finding a closed steel door at the bottom, locked and apparently untouched by whatever had leveled the rest of the city. After inspecting the door for a moment, Ultra Rodimus pulverized the lock and pushed it open.
Behind the door was a storage area, only the thinnest layer of dust covering the floor. It was clearly been sealed before the people started dying. To his surprise, the ceiling was easily high enough for him to stand upright without hitting his head on something. Curious, he stepped inside, pulling a handlight out of subspace. Most of the room was empty. Then he spotted something against the far wall and went to investigate.
The object was a roll of fabric, woven from the look of it. The colors were barely visible under the dust. Wanting a closer look, he blew off as much as the dust as possible, waiting for it to settle before looking again.
The fabric was a carpet, or would be by the standards of its makers, its design a geometric pattern done in reds, golds, greens, blues, purples, and silver. The edges bore a fringe of gold yarnlike material. The lower surface was slightly rough, but when he unrolled a portion of what was a fairly large rug by his standards he found that the upper surface was as soft as velvet. After a moment's thought, he decided to take it with him, put it in his subspace pocket, and turned to leave.
"Find anything?" he asked when he rejoined the others.
"I managed to learn a great deal," Perceptor responded, holding up his datapad. "The name of the species does not translate, but I believe I have larned of their fate."
"Let's hear it."
"Apparently a neighboring state declared war on them. After many years of stalemate, their enemies unleashed a bioweapon, but they underestimated its deadliness. It was carried on the winds until it covered the whole planet, killing off almost all life on the surface. Very few plant or animal species survived it."
"How long ago?"
"Roughly six thousand years ago."
"They destroyed themselves," Ultra Rodimus mused. Then he glanced at the darkening plains outside the city. "Let's get going. There's nothing we can do here."
The silent group returned to their ship and rejoined the other two shuttles. With one last look back at the silent, almost dead world, they pulled out of orbit and continued toward their destination.
Tbc...
I apologize if this chapter seems a bit odd. I wasn't planning for it to turn out like that, but the plot bunny seemed to have other ideas. Now, send me some revews and I'll see about the next chapter. Remember, no more chapters until I get some reviews. No flames, please. Flames will be used to slow-roast Unicron on a spit.