Phoenix Rising
A Transformers: Armada Story
By William Rendfeld
"…While the unexpected attack has been repelled by the timely intervention of Autobot and Decepticon military forces, little word has come from either Kaon or Iacon concerning the origins of the attack, or the mysterious energy wave which collapsed the warp gates hanging above five Cybertronian cities. What is known is that strike groups are currently working to track down any remaining drones across the planet, and the population is asked to remain indoors. Cybertron Interstellar News assures its viewers that we will provide information as it is made available and confirmed by government sources. Reporting live from Iacon, this is Headline." The recorder mounted atop her mobile broadcasting drone powered down, and the drone itself hover back towards its berth on her mobile platform. The Autobot journalist, meanwhile, looked about at the devastation before her. Remaining pieces of destroyed Scrapmetals were strewn about the landscape, a few bits sparking at random or twitching slightly. She shook her head in frustration at the sight. "How long am I going to be doing this?"
"Truthfully? No clue." Stepping forward and around some of the debris, Bumblebee approached from where he'd been stacking several storage bins filled with Scrapmetal parts. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not happy about you not giving full information either."
"Some trade-off for not being in the dark anymore." She slumped down and found a seat among a small pile of drone bits. "The entire planet gets attacked by Unicron's forces, and all I can do is tell everyone to stay in their homes until further notice. Better that than incite full-scale panic, but keeping a lid on information isn't exactly in my job description."
The little yellow Autobot looked downcast. "Somehow, I get the feeling you won't be doing that much longer. Once he's out of the CR Chamber and back on his feet, Optimus will probably call a meeting, and first thing on the agenda will probably be how we break the news to the civilian population. Of course, that assumes something else doesn't pop up."
The journalist rolled her optics. "After having four of the First Thirteen back on Cybertron since before the First Great War, the question isn't if something'll happen. The question is how long we have until it does."
"Aerialbots reporting in. We aren't picking up on any Scrapmetals out here." A klik went by before Storm Jet asked, "Why are we even bothering with this, Scattorshot? We scrapped all those things!"
:"Hey, I don't give the orders, fly-mechs. We need to make sure those things don't pop up again or, worse, cause more damage without us noticin' it. You want to risk one of those things taking out a communications tower?":
A groan from the jet. "No."
:"Neither do I. Just make another sweep, then head back in for debriefin' once you're done.":
The line cut off, and the Aerialbot leader groaned further. "Is it just me, or have his bearings gotten chromed since we came online?"
"Well, he did get that shiny new upgrade and fight off a spark-sucking Herald. Either one of those would count as a confidence booster."
"That was a rhetorical question, Windrazor." Another groan. "Alright, one more sweep. Anyone picking up anything? Okay, sweep's done, let's…"
"Hold it, I think I have something. It's a strange spark signature, not one I'm familiar with…"
A laugh from one of the two A-10s. "We've barely been online four mega-cycles, Treadshot! There's probably millions of spark signatures we aren't familiar with!"
"That's the thing though, it's… distorted. It's like whoever's putting it out is using some stealth tech, or has an energy source that's canceling out the signal the spark's generating."
"Well, we'd better check it out. Terradive, you and Treadshot head down and track this signal. Whatever it is, it's probably important and I don't want Jetfire chewing us out for not being thorough. The rest of us will stay up here and monitor just in case."
As two of the Aerialbots broke off from their comrades, far below in the alleyways of Polyhex, Soundwave kept to the shadows and seethed to himself. He had little recollection of what had happened over the last few cycles. The last thing he remembered was attempting to touch the Matrix to see for himself if it was destroyed, and then nothing. When he'd come back online, the Vector Sigma chamber was empty, and it was only after he'd managed to make it to the surface that he began to pick up on the planetary news reports.
He was still in disbelief. Iskaros Prime, one of the First Thirteen and the betrayer of his siblings, had been slain in combat against a healed and reformatted Optimus Prime, who now rested in a repair bay in Iacon, a CR Chamber healing his injuries and restoring his power reserves. While their mission had not totally been in vain, as another of the Thirteen, Vector Prime, was now dead, they had failed overall. Vector Sigma was still online. The six Artifacts of Primus gathered by the Autobots and their allies were still whole. And to make it worse, he couldn't leave this accursed planet.
He'd tried, several times, to open a warp gate and depart. Each time, however, it had failed. It was doubtful the Omega Lock was to blame, as the pulse it had sent out was only strong enough to destroy any portals currently active, not stop the creation of others. There had to be some explanation, some reason that was beyond his understanding.
Soundwave halted, and then rested a hand upon a waste disposal unit. He needed to calm himself, think rationally, and try to figure out exactly what the problem was. The simplest and easiest way was a self-diagnostic. He quickly started one up, but found no clear solution to his conundrum. His internal systems were functioning at peak efficiency, weapons at full strength, spark readings normal…
His optic shutters opened wide. "No. It can't be."
The panel on his chest opened, and the Laserbeak drone within emerged and transformed, landing softly upon the tip of one of his wings. Additional panels inside moved and shifted, until he finally caught sight of it. It pulsated softly, blue and gold light shifting and moving in an almost hypnotic manner.
Soundwave turned and found his face on a reflective surface, an expression totally alien to it now present. He'd seen it before, on countless beings, but never on himself. What he saw was fear. His internal scanners hadn't lied. He had a spark. He was one of them now.
The hatch to the CR Chamber hissed open as his optics came back online. His joints still a little sore but his injuries healed, Optimus stepped forward. As he watched his leader emerge, Red Alert turned and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Better, but not by much." The Autobot leader tentatively tested his joints as he turned to the medic. "What's our status?"
"Well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is that the Scrapmetals have been destroyed, so far as we know. We're doing planetary sweeps just to be sure, but right now it looks like all that's left is to clean up what's left and find a use for it. At the very least, Coby might have some raw materials for that pet project of his. The bad news is that we're still working on a casualty list. Whatever injured we've found are being looked after as we speak, but thankfully few so far are serious." He turned to an occupied bed and noted, "As for the dead…"
Resting upon the berth, his body now cold and grey, was Vector Prime. Gathered around him were his Mini-Con partner and two remaining siblings, the former sitting upon the table beside his partner while Accellas and Draco stood beside it. The younger Prime came forward, catching the femme's attention and prompting her to look up. "You'll have to forgive us, Optimus. This isn't…"
"There's nothing to forgive." The young leader looked upon his old mentor. "You have every right to grieve, especially considering the circumstances."
"What will be done with him?"
"There are hidden recesses within the Vector Sigma Chamber. After you left, Vector Prime entombed the fallen among the Thirteen there." Safeguard sat up, but refused to turn away from the corpse. "It's where we placed Methius after Atlantis returned. No doubt Vector would want to be left there, as well."
"Before or after the memorial service?" Optics turned as Prime explained, "I can't let his passing simply go by without recognition. If it weren't for Vector Prime, Cybertronian civilization may not even be here today. We need to recognize him and his actions, no matter the circumstances."
The two ancients looked to one another briefly before making their decision. "Before." Draco turned to the younger Prime as he noted, "We'd rather make one trip down than two."
Casting his optics towards the second corpse in the room, Red Alert asked, "What about him?"
Resting on another berth, similarly grey but unattended by mourners, was what remained of Iskaros Prime. His armor was broken and shattered from his battle with Optimus, and the grooves which formerly radiated intense heat from within were now cold and lifeless.
"I think we can skip right to the burial for him." Accellas narrowed her optics bitterly. "And the sooner the better."
"You're telling me you can't hear that?"
"No, and as much as it doesn't surprise me, it still puzzles me." Starscream leaned back in his chair, rubbing his chin as he looked over the computer readout and the sensor data gathered with the Omega Lock's activation. "I'm just glad that Astroscope was able to pick it up and identify it. What did you call it again, the 'Omega Frequency'?"
Kicker nodded. "Yeah. Whenever one of the Artifacts was activated and I was in earshot, I could hear it. It's the same with others. We all heard it when the Lock went active, even Captain Lennox's team. I've never understood why an Autobot or Decepticon couldn't, and no one could really figure it out."
The Decepticon leader turned back to the readout, his optics going over it. "Our audio receptors might be able to pick up roughly the same range as yours, but there are subtle frequencies that we apparently can't pick up. I'll have to consult with Minerva over this. With her expertise, we might be able to come up with a workaround. Still, it seems a little odd that humans in general can hear the activation of an ancient Cybertronian artifact."
The boy shook his head. "I can't explain it any more than you can. I mean, it can't be a genetic thing. Everyone heard it, and I'm the only one with my level of sensitivity to energon radiation."
"Regardless, I won't complain. That old expression about looking gift horses in the mouth and whatever." The Seeker typed a few commands, then closed out the screen and rose from his chair. "Right now, we have other problems. With six of the seven Artifacts gathered, Unicron is going to be hastening his attacks, and seeing as he has a virus in our systems, Cybertron is vulnerable."
"And if Cybertron goes, Earth won't be far behind." A railed platform descended from the surface of the console to the room's floor, and Kicker followed the Decepticon out of the room, running to keep up with the slow-moving mech. "Way to remind me."
The hatch closed behind them as they entered the command center of the Decagon, various Cybertronians at work around them and numerous holographic displays giving up to date information concerning the damage sustained in the attack. As the two approached, Jetfire turned to face them. "Been wondering when you'd finish up in there. Good news from repair bay at least. Optimus is back on his feet."
"That I wasn't worried about. Have we managed to get word to Earth yet?"
"Actually, yeah. They've just gotten the systems on the space bridge checked out and put back together. Drone came through fine, so Sentinel Maximus should be here in a few kliks with the flash drive containing the virus source code and everything connected to it. After that, Wire should be able to get rid of the slagging thing once and for all."
"And the sooner the better."
A chime rang out from Scattorshot's console, prompting the newly-reformatted Autobot to key in and answer. "Heads up, boss bots. The Flash Frenzy just arrived in the system. They're askin' for landing clearance."
"Have them set down on Aegis, and then ask the crew to orbital jump to Iacon." The Autobot Vice Commander gave an uneasy sigh. "They aren't going to be happy to hear about all this. Vector was anything but forthcoming with everything about their origins."
Starscream nodded. "You don't suppose he confided in anyone about it, do you?"
"If anyone knows, it'll be Safeguard or Beta Maxx. But no way do I envy them for what they have to reveal."
"Well, I've got some good news at least. All of you have a clean bill of health."
The gathered soldiers and civilians relaxed, glad to have one less thing hanging over their heads. All of them returning home in one piece was good enough, but none of them wanted to spoil it by bringing back an alien bug. Diana looked upwards with a smile on her face towards the Autobot medical officer. "Glad to hear it. By the way, I like the new look. It suits you, Ratchet."
The old medic smiled at the compliment. While his new body was somewhat bulkier than his old one, it was far more streamlined and clean and far less complicated to repair. "Thanks. Mechs have been telling me to switch up for a while, and this seemed like as good a time as any. I probably won't be the only one before everything's said and done either, given the beating a few mechs here and there have taken."
"So, when we heading back?" Donnelly approached the medic nervously. "I mean, you guys have a ship ready for us, right?"
The Autobot shook his head. "No ships. All the ones we have equipped with TransWarp drives are docked on Aegis, our primary moon. And considering all ships on Cybertron are grounded and orbital jumps don't agree with organics, you'll have to wait for the space bridge to get cleared for use before you can head back to Earth."
The confused sergeant turned to the archaeologist and asked, "Orbital jump?"
"Transporter, basically. It's not quite as safe for organic life as it is for Cybertronians, however." She grew squeamish as she related, "Early on they tried testing it out on Earth with a batch of lab mice. The results weren't pretty."
Donnelly visibly turned pale with the explanation.
"So we're stuck here until they make sure the safe way home works." Sam shrugged. "No problem, that's fine. That can't take long, right?"
"Not long at all. You all should be back on Earth within a megacycle tops."
"Slightly less than four days." Franklin unconsciously straightened his field uniform. "I think we can wait that long, given the circumstances."
"Yeah, it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a little extra time with these babies." One of the Rangers appraisingly held aloft one of the Nebulan weapons the team had used in defense of the embassy. "Think we'll get a chance to take one of these back home with us?"
"Taking it might be a treaty violation, Burke." Lennox turned to the colonel hopefully. "Wouldn't hurt to ask though, right?"
The colonel answered with a thoughtful expression. "I'll see what I can do."
"Vector Prime… is dead?" Skyfall's expression was one of shock as he looked at Optimus. "That can't be–"
"I'm sorry, all of you." The Autobot leader looked among the gathered five, their expressions ranging from shock to outright anguish. "His loss is a great one, for the four of you perhaps the greatest."
"An understatement if I'd ever heard one." Landquake glared at Optimus, clearly the most unhappy at this news. "He didn't at least leave a recording behind for us, did he?"
"If he did, he never told me about it."
The Decepticon tank snarled, prompting the largest of their group to approach. "Easy. He still helped, didn't he? Thanks to him, we found Breakaway, and we were pointed in the right direction to find Topspin."
"That still doesn't aid us in finding the last of our group, or in understanding why we were separated in the first place." Landquake turned to the Mini-Con among them. "And the best resource we have to find them is so bogged down by age that he's of no help."
Beta Maxx met the Decepticon's glare with a neutral expression. "I have no excuse for my shortcomings. However, I'm certain there was a reason–"
"Reason?!" Landquake's outburst took all of those present off-guard, though few had trouble understanding it. "What possible reason could there be for leaving us in the dark for this long?! For your slagging speech difficulties?! For exiling Breakaway to Earth, or sending Topspin back in time to the exodus of the First Thirteen?! Why split us apart in the first place?!"
While the others were left speechless, the Mini-Con stood his ground. "As said, I have no explanation for occasionally speaking in the Language of the Primes. However, I doubt that Vector Sigma will prevent me from now telling you what I do know." He took in the four blue and red Cybertronians. "As you know by now, your construction is mirrored in the Combaticons, the Constructicons, and the Aerialbots. Like them, when the five of you are gathered together, you will be able to combine into a larger gestalt. Unlike them, however, all five of you have unique powers and abilities. Just the four of you have respectively demonstrated force field generation, Energon manipulation, healing, spark extraction and manipulation. The combined form will have all those powers as well as those of the fifth member."
"A combined form with all our powers…" Breakaway looked among his brethren. "A being such as that would have power unrivalled by any modern Transformer, perhaps even equal to one of the First Thirteen."
"Which is specifically why the five of you were separated from one another, in order to grow and develop as individuals. A single being might risk permanent combination, but one whose mind is formed from five different Transformers can, given a strong enough will, be broken apart and reformed when needed. Each of you was given life at different times, lived unique lives, in some cases given specific tasks in order to help you become different people. Skyfall, the curious adventurer. Landquake, the restless seeker. Breakaway, the dutiful healer. Topspin, the loyal aid." Turning to the last of the four, the Mini-Con amended, "Granted, your travel through time has given you a much longer life than the rest of us, but that carried the needed caveat of maintaining the flow of history. We're only fortunate that you remained hidden for so long."
The helicopter nodded. "Agreed. However, this still leaves us with a fifth member to find. Can you at least tell us his identity?"
"The good news is that I can at last." Beta Maxx looked among them, glad for their relieved expressions. "His name is Heatwave. Unfortunately, I cannot tell you his location. When last I checked…"
"He was on Nebulos, before Unicron attacked." Optics turned to Optimus. "He's still listed as MIA."
"All this time…" Skyfall turned to Overcast. "Had we only gotten to Nebulos sooner…"
"Hey, didn't you catch that? MIA, as in 'missing in action'. He's not dead."
"But he wasn't among the wounded we managed to get off Nebulos before its destruction. And for now, we have nowhere to turn in order to find him."
An ominous silence hung over the room until Optimus spoke up. "Maybe not. I think I have an idea."
The space bridge terminal roared to life, giving Grimlock some measure of relief. The fact that the system was back online was comforting, between the obvious tactical implications if it was cut off and the loss to overall morale. As their arrival strode through, the Dinobot leader managed a small grunt. "Nice to see you in one piece. Got the data?"
Sentinel Maximus held up a large black device, easily recognized as an external data drive. "As promised. I only hope this can help."
"You, me, and everyone else. Sooner techs get hold of this…" Blaring warning sirens and the activation chime of another of the many space bridge terminals surrounding them prompted Grimlock to cancel his statement. "Computer, report status!"
:"Unauthorized space bridge transit in progress. Origin point unknown. Unable to delay or redirect transit.":
"Of course." Bad enough his unit was down two mechs, now they had another possible incursion to worry about. He readied his rifle and prompted the time traveler to move behind him. "Backup on the way. Something bad comes through, you leave, me handle it, no arguments."
Sentinel wasn't inclined to argue considering his cargo and who he was talking to, having seen how ferocious Grimlock could be on the field. Despite his desire to remain and assist, however, he quickly departed as reinforcements arrived, Slapper and Skydive taking up positions alongside their leader.
Within nano-kliks, a large form emerged from the portal and skidded to a halt on the ground at their feet, the portal dissipating shortly thereafter. He was easily taller than Grimlock and slightly leaner, with a similar color scheme to Optimus and Sentinel. By all appearances, however, his alternate mode was that of a mechanized lion. He steadied himself with one hand, the other held close to his chest, and looked up at them with a face that anyone would link to a Prime, blue optics bright with surprise and recognition. "Grimlock?"
The Tyrannosaur regarded the newcomer with suspicion, and kept his weapon trained on him. "You have me at disadvantage." He slowly moved his rifle towards the newcomer's arm, bayonet barely touching it. "You want show what you've got there?"
"Grimlock, we can at least let him get to his feet." Skydive stepped forward and offered a hand. "You aren't injured, are you?"
"As far as I'm able to tell, no. Thank you." The newcomer accepted the offered hand and rose to his full height. "We're both fine."
"Yeah, thanks for asking!" The newcomer moved his arm slightly to reveal a small human clad in armor identical to that used by Kicker Jones. She pulled off her helmet to reveal a mop of strawberry blonde hair and bright green eyes, her tone indicating that she wasn't happy about being ignored. "Seriously, what am I, chopped liver?! Just because I'm so small doesn't mean you can just–!"
A loud growl, and the two turned to a very impatient and unimpressed Grimlock. "Explanations. Now."
"Forgive me. My name is Leo Prime. My friend is Sally Jones of Earth." He looked about and asked, "This is the Hub, isn't it? But how? Cybertron was destroyed, Unicron devoured it."
"Not yet he hasn't." Slapper looked to his commander and asked, "Should we tell the higher-ups about this?"
"Later, after medics look at them." Grimlock was fully aware of the possible future that they'd been warned about, but he saw little reason to believe a large mech just because he shared a color scheme with Optimus Prime. "Get them to repair bay and make sure they're examined thoroughly." Sally looked as if she wanted to protest, but a glance from her larger escort convinced her otherwise, and the two were led out by the trio of Dinobots, their leader hoping this wasn't the only strange thing to happen this cycle.
The black and blue jet gave a frustrated groan. "I can't believe this! One nano-klik I have the signature on my scanners, the next it's gone!"
"Treads, relax. I'm sure there's a reason for whatever we're looking for to wink on and off your scanners like this." Terradive of course had no good idea of what the reason was, but he certainly didn't mind. Any reason to stay on the ground was a good one by his reckoning. "Think it might be interference from the power grid?"
"No, I've adjusted my scanners to compensate for the power grid, for background radiation, radio waves, the whole mess. Either that stealth tech of theirs is a lot more powerful up close, or something I didn't account for is interfering with my sensors."
The A-10 raised his twin-barreled cannon, turning his own sensors up as he looked about. "Well, good thing we're both here then. You keep looking, and I'll radio back to–" A loud ZAP rang out through the air, a growing cry of terror from above prompting the two Aerialbots to look up. High above, a bulky blue and bright red Cybertronian was descending rapidly, what looked like a diagnostics drone falling beside him. "Okay, new priority! Aerialbots, we've got an incoming Transformer, falling fast!"
:"We see 'em, Terradive! Moving to intercept! Any luck with that anomaly?!":
Before the A-10 could answer, Treadshot's optics lit up as a form darted among the shadows. "There!" He drew his Energon batons and charged after the offender, then his brother followed.
Terradive fired and knocked the unknown to the ground before a smaller form emerged from the shadows and screeched as it dive-bombed the F-22, only to be struck with one end of a baton and sent to the ground beside its master.
Treadshot only had a second to appreciate his efforts before he recognized their captive. "Holy slag… Terradive, that's…!"
"Soundwave." The blue and white jet approached carefully as the former herald righted himself, rolling over to face the two Autobot jets. "Care to explain why you're still here on Cybertron?"
His optics went dim, and Soundwave turned his head in saddened and confused defeat as Treadshot approached. "Irony, child of Primus. Irony."
High above, the remaining three Aerialbots turned their attention to the falling mech. They transformed as they ascended in the hopes of catching him. "We're going to have to do this carefully! Based on his size and rate of descend, the impact…!"
"I remember my physics, Windrazor! Heads up!" Their engines kicked to the max as they made contact with the falling mechanoid, Storm Jet taking hold of him at his back while his subordinates grabbed hold by his arms. "You alright?! What the slag are you thinking, dropping out of the sky like this?!"
"It wasn't my choice, believe me!" They slowly descended, their flight engines firing less and less as they landed atop a warehouse. As the three Aerialbots released him, the mech sighed in relief. "Thanks, whoever you are. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
"Wait, hold on a nano-klik! We want some answers first!" Pointing towards the still-descending drone as its antigravity systems helped it to descend, Sky Shadow elaborated, "For starters, what were you doing suddenly popping up in the sky with that thing?" He then noticed the fact that the mech was marked by a red Decepticon symbol and added, "And what the slag is that supposed to be?"
"Personal preference, long story. Listen, it's important that I speak to Optimus Prime immediately. I've got information that he needs to hear about Nebulos and the Key of Unity and…"
"Whoa, slow down, mech." From what little he'd heard from the newcomer, Storm Jet found himself thinking that either he was very crazy, or he genuinely had important information to impart. Either way, he knew where the strange mech needed to go. "Let's get you to the medics first." He then activated his radio. "Terradive, you and Treadshot had better have tracked down whatever it is he picked up by now, because we just got something weird dropped in our laps."
:"Storm Jet, you don't know the half of it.":
"While we were able to successfully prevent serious property damage or loss of life, we've still got a whole mess of problems." Checkpoint looked over the gathered Autobot, Decepticon and Mini-Con leaders with discomfort. "Besides that, we may have stopped this attack, but there's nothing stopping another one."
A grim atmosphere was present in the conference room, a somewhat ironic circumstance given the fact that Grimlock wasn't present and was overseeing efforts outside with Skywarp and most of the main Decepticon staff. The remaining members of Autobot Command as well as the assorted Mini-Con leaders, Starscream, Flamewar, Col. Franklin and Diana, meanwhile, were gathered to assess the situation following the Scrapmetal attack.
A growl sounded from one corner of the conference room, and Scourge clenched a fist in frustration. "Then why don't we simply deal with the problem at its source? Find Unicron and wipe him out, simple as that!" He turned to the two remaining members of the First Thirteen. "It can be done, can't it?"
The two Primes looked to one another, before the larger of the two turned back to the dragon. "Perhaps, but the only way to do it properly is with the Seven Artifacts. Otherwise, remnants of Unicron will remain to threaten all of existence. Or worse, will only create graver problems." Draco gave a sagely nod. "Still, you are correct. Something needs to be done."
"We know Unicron's destroyed Nebulos. That puts him within twenty parsecs of Cybertron. Redirecting some of the fleet could at least give us some warning, right?"
"Assuming he isn't moving through TransWarp space or using some sort of exotic propulsion system." Starscream turned to the governor of Velocitron. "And even if he is staying in normal space, he could still bypass our ships, or worse, simply destroy them as he passes near them. It's not a bad idea, Override, just not one that we can implement without any additional information."
Having remained silent, Optimus turned to face their recent arrival. "Sentinel, do you have any advice you can give related to this? I realize your chain of events may be invalid here, but any information would be helpful."
The time-traveler shook his head. "What little I can tell you is that once he was assured of an easy victory, Unicron struck swiftly and destroyed Cybertron. After that, he kept to normal space. We watched for over four and a half meta-cycles as he simply floated towards Earth." He turned to Col. Franklin and Diana. "Six years, in Earth time." He turned back to Optimus and elaborated, "After that he was on his way to Velocitron, still in normal space. He didn't need to rely upon stealth after Cybertron was gone, seeing as nothing could stop him once Primus's body was destroyed."
"Considering we only fought what remained of his Heralds and a number of Scrapmetals this time around, odds are this wasn't the big attack, but given that we have six of the seven Artifacts collected, we may just be seeing him sooner than we'd like." Magnus turned to his commander. "We know he's coming, Optimus. The question now is when, and we should assume sooner rather than later."
"Which goes to another question. Should we inform the civilian population, or keep them in the dark?" Eye and optic alike turned to Bumblebee. "As much panic as it may cause, I'm all for giving people fair warning. Besides, after this megacycle, I don't think it's an option anymore. At least with a public admission, we can devote more resources towards finding the last Key."
"I wouldn't be too quick to assume a panic, either." Override gave an encouraging grin. "We've kept our cool through planetary invasions and insurrections. After all that, going to war with a god'll be easy. At least there we'll know exactly what we're shooting at."
A small chuckle went through the room, the Animatros governor especially glad for the show of confidence. Even Optimus smiled as he looked to their two human allies. "Care to make suggestions of your own?"
Despite the brevity, Franklin remained grave. "Only that Bumblebee has a point. For all the panic it may cause, you'll be better off informing the population now before anything worse happens." He shook his head uneasily. "Senator Beller's going to have a field day over this. I can hear the speeches now, not to mention some of the demands from higher up."
The archaeologist gave a reassuring smile. "We'll cross those bridges when we get to them. And if we're lucky, we'll never get to the nasty ones." Diana turned from her friend and looked about, taking in everyone present. "It might be a good idea to brief the signatories of the Cybertron Accord on the situation as well. I'm not saying release this info to the public, but we should definitely inform the various world governments, have some plans in place in case we can't settle things."
"No argument from me." Evac leaned back in his chair. "So, what do we do for now? We know the last key's somewhere, just not in Alliance territory."
"Isn't it obvious?" Her tone indicating slight annoyance, Flamewar leaned forward. "We have the source code for the Unicron virus. For now, we study it and figure out a way of neutralizing it. Wirejack's already working on it, and once this is done and Scattorshot has the time, the Seeker will have some help. Seven Artifacts or six, I'll feel a lot better once the end of the world comes with working communications systems."
"Agreed. That aside, finding the remaining artifact is our main priority." The younger Prime looked to his two older fellows. "If there's anything the two of you can contribute to help in that department, I'd welcome it."
"Wish we could help, but we're as much in the dark as you are." Accellas raised her hands to help illustrate her point. "The three of us went in one direction and ended up at Earth before splitting up again. Gaeus went in the opposite aboard Pangaea with the Key of Unity, and that's a much bigger distance to cover. The most we can give is a general heading."
"It's a start. I'll contact the stellar cartography units and have them send up what information they can. At the very least, it'll give us a foundation to build on." He looked down towards the gathered Mini-Cons on the conference table. "Now, about funeral arrangements."
"We can get something together easily enough for the Speed Chaser and Aqua Raider teams, let their sparks rest peacefully. We should be done before megacycle's end." Sparkplug gave Safeguard a small glance, his brother looking anything but pleased in his thoughts. "After that, we can settle what's left."
"Agreed. Now, unless there's further business, I…" His communicator chirped. "Yes Grimlock?"
:"Aerialbots coming in with prisoner. They found Soundwave while sweeping through Polyhex. Herald actually surrendered without much fight. Me put him in holding cell. Repugnus keeping optics on him.":
"They captured him?"
:"Me surprised too, but that not end of it. They also foundCybertronian anddiagnostic dronefalling out of the sky. Identified himself as Decepticon named Heatwave. No damage, but Red, Ratchet and Minerva lookinghimover. Hewant speak with you, mentioned Nebulos and the last key. Not sure he worth listening to. Also have other visitors; they waiting for you in repair bay too. One of them claims he Autobot named 'Leo Prime', but no match for him in records. Other human girl named Sally Jones.":
The Autobot leader had an easy time noticing surprised expressions from both Diana and Sentinel Maximus. Even if those names hadn't caught their attention, he would have taken an interest. "I'm on my way."
"Well, I can't say this was the best trip I've ever had, but it might be the most memorable." Misha turned to the young man at her side. "Kicker, are you still with me?"
He turned to her, startled out of his thoughts. "Sorry Misha. Everything that's happened is just bringing up some bad memories is all." He leaned forward on the balcony, his gaze going over the landscape of Iacon. "You never asked me why I ended up coming back in time like this."
"Given the way you talked about your past, I figured it was something you weren't eager to elaborate on. Why? Did something like this happen?"
"Yeah…" He stepped back from the balcony and leaned against a nearby wall. "Only it was worse. And I've got a bad feeling it's not going to get any easier."
"Well, we have a fighting chance this time, don't we?" She smiled. "You told me how things were in your version of events. Cybertron and Earth were both destroyed. Optimus was dead, the Matrix of Leadership lost, and humanity reduced to interstellar refugees, and that ignores what you went through personally. Considering everything that's still here thanks to you changing history, I think you've done a lot of good. If anything else, the other you may not be going out scouting for Energon in the asteroid belt."
"For now, anyway." He uncomfortably looked into the skies, the first stars of the evening beginning to become visible. "I just hope it stays that way."
The young woman took up a place beside him. "It will." She then followed his gaze upwards and changed the subject. "I wonder which one of those stars is our sun."
Kicker pointed towards a bright light towards the horizon. "That one right there. From here, it looks like an extra star in Cassiopeia. The five we see from Earth won't be visible for a while, though."
"Truthfully, I think you get the better view. Our equivalent constellations are a little messier, not quite as neat." The two turned as an Autobot walked up, a number of other Cybertronians following. "Chad Jones, right? Sorry to interrupt, but my friends have a few questions for you."
Kicker looked over the gathered group, Overcast and the assorted group of Autobots and Decepticons who'd been chasing after each other across time and space. "Had a feeling this was coming. I'm sorry, but I don't know who the last member of your group is."
"We know who he is, and we know that he was on Nebulos." Skyfall approached. "What we need to know is, aside from us and everyone I managed to get on my ship, if anyone managed to escape from that planet in your timeline before it was destroyed."
The young man shook his head. "Sorry. If they did, I don't know anything about it. Sentinel would probably know more, but if he had anything to contribute, he would've told Optimus, and Optimus…"
"Would have told us." Landquake barely stifled his frustration. "More dead ends."
A light chirrup rang over the balcony. Misha looked around briefly, and then found the source of the noise. "Kicker, your helmet's ringing."
The young man turned and slipped on the helmet, activating its communicator with a flex of his jaw. "What's up, Auntie Di?" Those gathered paid close attention before Kicker slipped off the helmet. "I think I might be able to help after all. Mind giving us a lift?"
"Kicker, what's happened?" Misha's eyes were wide with both surprise and curiosity. "What did Doctor Masters say?"
The boy gave a surprised smile. "I just had a blast from the past. And for once, it's a good one."
"Is all this really necessary? I mean, you can tell I'm me, can't you?"
Longarm turned to the girl, a small clear tube containing a thin swab held in one hand. "Right now, I can tell you're a female human adolescent. Without this genetic sample for comparison, I can't verify anything else. Now, if you'll be so kind."
Sally huffed, and then opened her mouth wide as the Mini-Con used the swab to collect a sampling of cells from the inside of her cheek. As he moved the sample into a nearby scanner, she hopped to her feet, glad that she'd had the chance to change out of her armored suit and into more comfortable clothes. She unconsciously smoothed out the folds on her skirt and blouse as she looked around. "At least you can tell us what's going on. Why all this fuss over security anyway?"
Minerva turned away from the monitor as results started to come in from the human girl and her fellow new arrivals. "Don't worry Sally, we'll get this sorted out soon enough." She then looked to another of her patients and added, "Thankfully, we're done with you. Records match, you're definitely Heatwave. But they have you being on Nebulos when it was attacked by Unicron."
"They aren't far off."Heatwave stepped down from the scanner unit, urgency still clear in his voice. "It's a long story, and I'd rather not explain it twice, but trust me, the sooner I speak with Optimus or someone in charge, the better."
"You'll see him soon enough, don't worry." As important as the Decepticon's information was, a barrage of tests were necessary before he could be cleared. Given recent events, extra security was essential, and Ratchet wasn't about to let something slip past him in his own domain. He looked to the remaining of the three newcomers and added, "Trouble of course is that we don't have any records for you. Your construction's familiar, obviously, and we're picking up components matching the Matrix in your body frame, but aside from confirming that you have a spark, we can't confirm anything about your story."
"There's an easy way to settle that. Do you have records of anyone named Sentinel Maximus? If I could see him, or at least speak to him, we'll be able to clear this matter up immediately. And if you don't, then I need to see Optimus Prime or whoever is currently in charge concerning a matter of great importance. Sally and I…"
"Are refugees of an alternate timeline where Cybertron was destroyed."Optics turned as Optimus entered, Sentinel and the two senior human allies following. "Needless to say, we've heard the story before."
The alternate Prime's optics lit up with surprise and joy as he looked upon the Autobot leader, and joyful laughs escaped his vocalizer as he approached the mech beside him. "Sentinel! You made it!"
The time-displaced Autobot laughed gleefully as the two clasped hands. "With plenty of time to spare! It's good to see you again, brother! We have a lot of catching up to do!"
"Obviously!" Leo turned to Optimus and offered another hand, now far calmer than before. "Optimus Prime, my name is Leo Prime. Sentinel and I were among the last Transformers given life by Vector Sigma in our home timeline, shortly before Cybertron was destroyed. I remained to lead what was left of our people and safeguard humanity when he and Kicker made their attempt at changing history. Obviously they were successful."
"And we're all the better for it." The Air Force colonel and the archaeologist finally caught up. "Colonel Michael Franklin, USAF. This is Doctor Diana…"
"Auntie Di!" Diana turned in time to catch Sally as she grabbed hold in a tight embrace. "What are you doing here? Is Kicker with you? Is he…?"
"Whoa, whoa!" The older woman gently took hold of her niece, looking her over with a growing smile. "Easy, Sally, relax. Let's let them sort things out before we take care of family business, alright?" At the colonel's bemused glance, she explained, "I know my niece when I see her."
"And the results agree with her." The Earth-born femme turned away as a monitor screen flashed a set of test results. "DNA is a match to samples we have on file for both Diana and Kicker, and telomere length suggests an approximate age of thirteen years, give or take a few months."
"Sally's birthday is December fourth, she turned three last year, so the numbers work out." Diana turned towards the newcomers. "That still leaves how you three got here."
"It does, and I'm nothing but eager to debrief." One Prime turned to another."However, it's my understanding that Heatwave has more important information to give you. You should speak to him first, then us."
"Right now, the three of you are my main priority. Follow me."
The group filtered out of repair bay, the humans bringing up the rear. "So, is Kicker…?"
"He's fine, and he's on his way. Now, you want to explain why you're wearing a skirt that short?"
"Herald of Unicron, huh?" An amused expression on his face clear as day through the force field, Repugnus leaned back and crossed both pairs of arms. "So, how's the gig pay?"
Soundwave groaned. Annoyance was a new sensation for him, but one he was quickly becoming accustomed to. "You already know I have a spark by now. Put me out of my misery and get it over with."
The tech-org shook his head. "Not gonna happen. You try busting out of there and yeah, your newfound life will be cut short. Otherwise, well, you're staying online." The hatch to the holding cells slid open in the distance. "And now the real fun starts."
Light footfalls heralding his arrival, Starscream approached the cell. "Soundwave, yes? You'll forgive me if I skip introductions." The Seeker looked over the herald and asked, "You have a spark. Our scans confirm it. How, I'm not concerned about. I'm only wondering why you're still here."
Soundwave remained silent. As much as he was annoyed by Repugnus' banter, he was less than eager to answer any questions from the current Decepticon leader.
Unfortunately for him, his interrogator was in no mood for silence. "Well, I'm here anyway, so I'd best give you a few important details. One, you have a spark now, so by our laws, that counts you as a full-fledged living Cybertronian. Two, you present a very interesting legal quandary. Before getting a spark, you were created by the Quintessons and actively served Unicron. However, you weren't legally alive when all of that happened. Which means we can't simply kill you."
"Unless he tries escaping."
One raised digit and a nod in agreement. "That doesn't stop your former employer from including you as part of the main course once he reaches Cybertron. And we all know he's heading our way." He leaned back and crossed his arms as Repugnus had done, but refrained from taking on the Autobot's jovial tone. "Which leaves you in the same situation as the rest of us."
The herald kept his optics upon the Seeker, and then turned away. "Do you know what happened to us, each time we were destroyed? Our memories would be remotely downloaded, a new body generated for us. It happened to Sideways when he was destroyed in Alaska, to Nemesis Prime the first time he was defeated by Optimus Prime. No doubt it's happened again to not only Sideways, but also Dreadwing and Nemesis Breaker." He turned back to them. "It never happened to me, however. Before, it didn't matter much, but now, it means something." His voice seemed to quiver as he asked, "What's happening to me?"
As little reason as he had to feel sympathy for him, and as suspicious as he felt, Starscream couldn't help but feel something for the newly-sparked herald. While odds were he was simply an excellent actor, he could very well be genuinely confused, and perhaps a little terrified. He could certainly empathize; he'd feel the same way if his entire life had changed.
"The Quintessons made my model in high numbers, one of two communications units, the other a stealth variant. Sideways was meant to be a strike unit, meant to strafe and disorient. The Scrapmetals were ground troops, some standard, some stealth, some for high-radiation environments. We were meant to retake Cybertron, programmed to attack and destroy their earlier models, given a mobile weapons platform in order to aid us and wipe out your fledgling fleet. They built and programmed us all too well. We left Quintessa a dying world, only the Alpha Quintesson remaining and hordes of Scrapmetals roaming its surface, but still guided by our programming, we left for Cybertron."
"But Unicron found you first."
"No." To the Seeker's surprise, Soundwave continued, "We were delayed by a quirk of time and space. We wandered into a wormhole, and emerged at the other side of the galactic core, our platform damaged. We needed to repair it, and fortunately for us, there was a planet nearby with the needed materials. Inhabited, industrialized, it was a convenient target, and we thought an easy one. We were incorrect. The inhabitants were like us. Like you."
Starscream's optics widened and Repugnus finally turned away from the prisoner. "I don't remember us having a colony that far back."
"We didn't." The Seeker stepped forward. "I'll worry about the wormhole later. Right now, however, tell me about this planet."
"It was not Cybertron, nor either was it one of your colony worlds or Earth. Organic life had never developed beyond plant life, and an artificial crust had been constructed over the planet's surface. The inhabitants were immense, most taking forms suited for construction or excavation, and while not warriors were more than able to defend themselves. None of our attacks were effective. They repelled our ground invasions, halted our orbital bombardments, and stopped every conventional attack. Eventually, we attempted to use our ultimate weapon to finally devastate the external crust, a powerful cannon designed to tear through a planet's surface and devastate its ecosystem. A lone Cybertronian, equipped with a power source that we could not identify and casting a bright purple glow, managed to prevent the weapon's energies from hitting the planet with a planetary shield until the weapon overloaded, destroying the platform and most of us." He rubbed his left arm, remembering the damage. It hadn't hurt then, but now it felt all the more painful. "Again, I was fortunate. A few of us drifted through space for some time, until Unicron found us. He restored us, repaired us, gave us new purpose and new directives, and in some cases the semblance of life." He turned back to the Seeker. "It was after that incident that the long game began, that the sparks were drawn from the Speed Chaser and Aqua Raider Teams and the Exodus sabotaged. All part of my former master's plan."
"One that still may succeed." A thought occurred to the Seeker. "Former master?"
"As you've said, as I figured out for myself, I have a spark now. I could not open a warp gate to return to Unicron. Whatever the reason, I am no longer worth keeping." He stepped close to the force field. "You said so yourself, Starscream. My fate is now the same as yours if Unicron is not defeated. I only have one life now, and I'm in no rush to lose it. If I want to live, then Unicron must be destroyed. And if you are to defeat Unicron, then you will need my help."
"And what sort of help can you offer? We've already recovered six of the seven Artifacts, and the way you talk, you know the location of the seventh. All we have to do is take you offline and comb through your databanks for its coordinates, then adjust for stellar drift."
"There is a virus in your communications systems. Sideways planted it when the Autobots allowed him access…"
"To the Ark. We already know about the virus and how it's coded."
"But I have first-hand knowledge of its creation and implementation. I can help you to neutralize it."
Starscream's optics narrowed, then he turned and marched out. "I'll think about it. Repugnus, you know what to do."
The doors slid shut behind him, and the tech-org returned his attention back to Soundwave. "Got blown up by your own Death Star, huh?"
If the former herald had a mouth, he would have frowned in annoyance. "Yes. I'm well aware of the irony."
Between the larger meeting that had been held earlier and the ongoing need to coordinate repair crews, much of the Autobot and Decepticon command were left to other duties. As such, the only ones present for this second meeting when Starscream reached the conference room were the assorted Primes both young and old, Sentinel Maximus, the two colonial governors, Heatwave, Overcast, Skyfall's group, and their assorted human allies. Noticing the last bits of gleeful looks among both the Jones siblings and the crew of the Flash Frenzy, he shook his head. "I missed the reunions, didn't I?"
"We understand." As those gathered took their seats, the smallest among them standing upon the conference table, Optimus continued, "Heatwave was about to explain his story to us, starting with the escape from Nebulos."
"Thankfully, there isn't much to tell." The Decepticon tilted his head towards Overcast and Skyfall and explained, "They've already told you about what happened, Unicron attacking and all."
"Yeah, but we thought that aside from those we got onto our ship, everyone else had been lost." Overcast looked at him curiously. "What happened? Were you just a fluke, or did others make it out?"
"Trust me, I wasn't a fluke." Heatwave turned back to Optimus and explained, "Perceptor came up with an interlink module. We used it to connect all the ships that took part in the evacuation so that all of them could make a single, combined TransWarp jump. Unfortunately, something caused our destination coordinates to get scrambled, and we ended up several thousand parsecs away from here, on the other side of the galactic core and stuck in uncharted space. On the plus side, all of the ships made it out, so at least we could struggle together rather than separately."
"How many ships?"
"Thirty." The new arrival grew downcast. "Most of our population on Nebulos managed to escape, but plenty were still lost. That we got all the prisoners we were holding evacuated just makes that all the more galling, but that was small change compared to the real losses. We only managed to safely evacuate something like fifty thousand Nebulans."
Optimus grew solemn. "Fifty thousand, out of a population in excess of five billion. Better some survivors than none, but…"
A reassuring hand found itself upon the Autobot leader's shoulder. "Even if we'd been there, I doubt there was much we could have done." Starscream then turned to Heatwave and asked, "What happened afterwards?"
"We did the sane thing and started looking for a star system with habitable planets that the Nebulans could settle down on. After that, we'd have started figuring out a way to get in touch. Trouble is that we didn't meet with a lot of success. Most of the star systems we found were generally uninhabitable to them for one reason or another. Eventually, however, we picked up a strange energy reading coming from a nearby system. It had a star similar to the one Nebulos orbited, so we made for it. Turned out the system had one inhabited planet. The residents call it Gigantion."
"They weren't freaked out by seeing you guys?"
"They didn't get a chance to see many Nebulans, but they weren't freaked out by us Cybertronians. They were sentient transforming machines, same as us." The two elder Primes shared surprised looks as Heatwave continued, "Easily the biggest ones I've ever seen, mostly with construction and excavation vehicles as alternate modes. Only exceptions were two smaller mechs about our size. One of them had a similar body frame to the one brought in with me."
"Sounds like that may be the planet Soundwave visited." Starscream turned to the elder Primes. "He volunteered some information concerning a planet matching that description. He also mentioned that they had a powerful energy source at their disposal which cast a purple glow."
"That's consistent with the Key of Unity." Accellas turned to her sibling. "You don't suppose Gaeus…?"
"Possibly." Draco turned to Heatwave. "We may have to thank you. Odds are that Gigantion is the planet that our sibling settled upon."
"That wouldn't shock me at all." He turned back to Optimus and explained, "I got here through the use of experimental technology derived from space bridge tech. I'm not entirely sure how, but another pulse similar to the one that led us to Gigantion in the first place fired off and caused the prototypes to send me and that diagnostic drone here instead of a high orbit there. My guess is that the Key of Unity boosted the power and redirected the transit here, but I've got no clue how."
"We've had energy pulses fire from the gathered Artifacts each time another was added. Considering we have six of them together now, it's no surprise that they were able to lock on." Possibilities opening up in his processor, Starscream asked, "I don't suppose you have the designs for these prototypes?"
"I'll get you a copy later for review. In any case, that's my story in a zip packet." He looked to Leo Prime and Sentinel Maximus and asked, "Now if I've got things right, you two are time travelers from a future where Unicron destroyed Cybertron?"
"And Earth, following the destruction of Nebulos." The leonine Autobot looked among them. "As all of you are no doubt aware by now, Sentinel and Kicker were sent back to prevent that future from occurring. Needless to say, they've been successful, but theirs wasn't the only attempt made to protect our race as well as humanity. Other attempts were put in motion."
"Even with the Matrix destroyed, we still had access to two of the remaining six Artifacts. It wasn't long after Megatron's attack that we were contacted by our reality's Evac and retrieved the Key of Wisdom." Sentinel gave a small nod in the direction of the Earth-born Autobot. "We hoped that with them and the remaining three, we could at least provide a measure of security. Unfortunately, it took us far longer to find the Keys of Velocity and Power, so much longer that by the time Kicker and I began our mission, they'd still not been found."
"A pity. We could have saved a great deal of time if we'd known." Scourge narrowed his optics at the time traveler. "As it stands, we're little more than two deca-cycles away from his anticipated arrival, assuming he hasn't accelerated his timetable. And if what Heatwave claims is true, then the last one is beyond known space, let alone our ability to easily reach it."
"Perhaps, but my very presence at that point in time changed things, and I've still little idea of the extent of the changes. Moving too fast may well have attracted unnecessary attention from Megatron or Unicron."
The dragon clearly wasn't satisfied, but let the matter drop. "Very well, but I suspect that things were far less optimistic in your original timeline."
Leo nodded solemnly. "The most we had concerning the fourth key's location were a few leads on distant worlds. Preparations were being made to mount a search from Velocitron, but by the time we were ready, we began noticing distortions. We thought it was a part of Unicron's work and the accelerated collapse of reality, but given his approach, we opted to go ahead into the space bridge and hope that we could survive as long as possible. And that was the last thing that happened before we arrived here." He looked among those gathered and admitted, "As glad as I am to have survived, I have no clue how we were redirected here. I expect Vector Prime would know, but from what you've said, that's no longer an option."
"There's one possibility." Sentinel looked to his sibling and explained, "We knew before we made the jump back in time that our actions would result in the creation of an alternate timeline rather than totally wipe out the existing one. However, Unicron was already in the process of destroying our reality. The creation of this new timeline may well have been overwriting what was left, and through some fluke of space bridge mechanics, your transit ended up sending you here rather than your original destination."
"So basically, we got lucky." Sally looked to her brother and asked, "But what about Mom and Dad? I mean, our Mom and Dad? Does all of this mean that they're, well, dead?"
Some discomfort was clear in his voice as Kicker admitted, "It's more like they didn't exist in the first place. Sorry Sally."
His sister quietly hugged him, the full extent of what had happened starting to hit her. "Man. The Mom and Dad I know are gone, my entire world is gone, and my brother has a girlfriend."
Diana looked at her niece with surprise. "Sally, I don't think you're grasping the ramifications here."
"I'm grasping them well enough, Auntie Di, it means I'm due a cute guy." She grinned as she realized the implications of this. "Ooh, ten years back, that means…"
"Okay, I don't think anyone else here needs to know where that sentence is leading." Diana definitely didn't want to know where it was leading, and planned to talk with her niece about her seemingly skewed priorities later. "Anyway, the last artifact's on a planet called Gigantion and you've got a number of refugees waiting there. We know where it is, and either of those reasons is perfect justification to go. I don't know about the rest of you, but I call that a positive. Let's get a ship ready."
"Under other circumstances, I'd agree, but considering the obstacles in our way, it's not as simple."Anticipating the questions of the humans, Starscream elaborated, "The core of our galaxy is home to a super-massive black hole. Humanity knows it as Sagittarius A*. Orbiting it is a number of stars of varying sizes and ages, tightly packed in a small area. Due to the high gravitational forces, TransWarp travel through the area is dangerous at best, outright suicide at worst."
"Our ships were designed to withstand any forces we may have encountered in deep space, including high tidal forces. No way could we get past a black hole on thrusters, but we could jump around it with enough of a charge on the engines." The femme Prime went over the information in her head. "Granted, there are other ways he could've gotten around it, but that's the easiest. We'd need to get there and do a proper survey to be sure, and that would just slow us down." She turned to Heatwave and asked, "That space bridge tech of yours could get a few of us there, but that still leaves the problem of getting back."
"And I wouldn't recommend it in the first place. I got out in one piece the first time, but I really don't like the idea of trying it again."
"Agreed, but our options are limited." Optimus turned to the elder Primes. "Accellas, Draco, how much difficulty is there in refurbishing your two ships?"
"Not much, but the big problem is with the drive systems. If we put too much of a charge in too soon, we could cause an overload and permanently damage them. Still, they sound like our best bet."
"Roadblock's team is already on its way to Animatros. We'll need to move quickly with Lemuria, but it shouldn't be a long process. And the sooner it's done, the sooner we can move on to Mu." Remembering an earlier discussion, Optimus turned. "Speaking of which, there's another matter concerning that ship. Diana, can you recommend a different name for it? Even we think it's a little silly."
"How about Ogygia? It's an island from the 'Odyssey' commonly associated with Atlantis. It seems fitting enough."
Eyes and optics turned to Accellas. "Hey, I don't mind. It's not a bad name."
"Then it's agreed." The Autobot leader leaned back in his seat. "That's one less problem to deal with at least. That just leaves Soundwave."
Starscream smiled. "Actually, I may have an idea concerning him…"
"Well, I've got good news. You've all been cleared to head home."
Coby and Lori both gave relieved sighs. Additional checks had been made on their results given their youth, and as much as they understood the security measure, they were nonetheless glad to hear they could return to Earth. "We don't need to be quarantined or anything?"
"No, the time you've spent here on Cybertron has been long enough." Turning away from the console, Minerva reminded them, "Just don't expect to be getting back quickly. We still have a lot of stuff to work out around here."
"Just as long as we aren't dropping out of the sky or skidding out of the space bridge at high speed when we get back home." Lori curiously looked up at the femme. "That girl with them, was she really Doctor Masters' niece?"
"According to her DNA she is, and that's the least of our concerns." Ratchet stepped over, a datapad in hand. "Minerva, doesn't this look familiar?"
The femme took the pad and examined it, her optics widening in surprise. "It does. Where'd…?"
"After I noticed the similarities between Leobreaker and Leo Prime, I got to thinking there might be other mechs out there with similar features." He turned aside and explained to the kids, "We Cybertronians come in all shapes and sizes, but that doesn't mean there isn't some overlap."
"Actually, that doesn't surprise me." Continuing with their chain of thought, Coby asked, "So, what about Leobreaker? Can he combine with the new guy, or what?"
"No, they're identical in construction. Odds are they can combine with someone else, maybe at the same time, just not with each other." An unfamiliar name falling into her sights, the femme medic asked her associate, "Who's 'Razorbeast'?"
"A Decepticon, one of a number of supporters Megatron had who's since been incarcerated. He was among the mechs interred on Nebulos; it wouldn't surprise me if we saw him again soon. In any case, he's got the same components, and I'd bet a deca-cycle's supply of Energon cubes the same goes for that black repaint Repugnus fought. But they aren't the only ones I've been looking at. Here, see for yourself." The information on the pad scrolled down, additional names and specs appearing. "Wing Saber's new body frame is almost identical to the mech I mentioned earlier, Wingblade."
"And they can combine with someone, just not each other." Coby thought on those facts for a moment before adding, "Something doesn't fit here. Why have two different designs with separate methods of combining with someone, but not have someone able to combine with them?"
"Who says they don't?" Optics and eyes turned as Red Alert approached, another pad in his hands. "I've been looking at scans of Optimus post-upgrade. My guess is that the components found in Leobreaker and Wing Saber are meant to allow them to combine with him, and if what you're all saying is correct, the same is true for those who share their individual constructions."
"Meaning Optimus has just managed to get himself a few more combining partners." The white and red medical SUV shook his head in frustration. "I ever mention how much I wish you and Starscream had never come up with the Powerlinx process, Red? Right now, it's causing nothing but processor-aches."
The senior medic chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind the next time I have a crazy idea in the works."
"After all this time, our quests for answers have ended. If Vector Prime had only been a bit more forthcoming…"
"He aided us where he could, brother." Breakaway looked downwards sadly. "I suspect he took no joy from keeping us in the dark, however."
Despite his frustration with the ancient Prime, Landquake nodded his agreement as the two continued out of the briefing room. Their assorted associates followed, Overcast and Skyfall being among the last. "So, everything's all wrapped up. Looks like you won't be needing me anymore."
"You sound so certain of that." The small A-10 looked up at his larger friend. "For all these long stellar cycles, you have aided me in my quest and helped me from one dead end to another. And more often than not, you have pointed me in the right direction. I may no longer need to seek my siblings, but I will always have need of a friend."
The aerospace fighter chuckled. "You just had to get all mushy on me, didn't you?"
They departed and left Optimus the last to exit the conference room, with his sibling and the survivor from Nebulos following close behind. "I won't be the first to say it, but I'm glad you've returned safe and sound. The MIA list had a few too many names on it for my liking."
"I'm just glad my name can be taken off that long and unpleasant list and not added to the other one. The sooner everyone else can join me, the better."He handed a small chip to the Autobot leader and explained, "That data module contains star charts and technical information from Gigantion, along with logs from each of the ships and the specs behind the prototypes. I think you know better where to send it than I do."
"And I'll make sure it gets there." Optimus stored away the chip. "For what it's worth, I owe you my thanks. You've given us some dire news, but a greater source of hope came with it. We know where we need to go to end our struggle. It's getting there that still eludes us, but we will find a way."
At their feet, Diana shook her head. "First one time-displaced relative, now two. Mir's gonna go nuts, and worse, I'm gonna need a bigger apartment."
"You sure about that, Auntie Di? I mean, we're gonna need to keep an eye on Kicker now that he has a girlfriend and all, otherwise…"
"Just what are you insinuating, Sally?" A giggle, and Kicker turned in shock. "Misha, you'll just encourage her!"
Despite herself, Diana couldn't help but join in. Odds are, her sister would take this in stride, and would definitely want to see about her 'second' daughter. Compared to the political headaches she'd be facing once back on Earth, this was going to be a cakewalk.
The hatch to the detention block opened once more, prompting Repugnus to turn as Optimus and Starscream entered, the lone prisoner looking up at them. "So, what's the verdict?"
Optimus turned from the tech-org to the prisoner, taking his first proper look at Soundwave since their meeting at Longs Peak. Looking at him now, whether it was his imagination or not, he could begin to notice a difference. And as wary as he was about this, they may not have been able to pass up this chance. "Starscream tells me you'd like to live a little longer."
"I would."
He looked sincere at least. "Well, so do the rest of us, which is why we have an offer for you. You have intelligence we need, concerning not only Unicron but also concerning this lost colony you've mentioned. And if we lose against Unicron, everyone dies, including you. Work with us to defeat Unicron, and your life and freedom are guaranteed."
"This comes with stipulations, however." The Decepticon leader regarded the former herald uneasily. "For starters, you will become a formal member of the Decepticon military, answerable to me and under my command. You'll be scanned regularly, to make certain that Unicron is not somehow gleaning information from us through you. You'll be escorted by at least one other Cybertronian wherever you go, and your travel will be restricted. Unless I accompany you, you'll be unable to leave the planet. Should Unicron be defeated, these restrictions will be lessened at least, removed entirely at most. If he isn't, well, you can figure that out for yourself."
"And should I attempt to escape or contact my former master, my existence is forfeit." Soundwave looked upon both of them. "At this point, I see no reason to try and rejoin Unicron. I lack any eagerness to do so, and have no need to travel elsewhere. Besides, I know the value in cooperation." His next words were uneasy, but clearly set. "I agree to your terms. I am yours."
The force field came down, and Starscream offered a hand. "Then welcome to the fight."
The former herald looked first to it, then to the Seeker in surprise, before finally accepting it. Optimus then placed a hand over theirs, while Repugnus rolled his optics, clearly unimpressed. If he'd wanted sap, he'd have stayed on Animatros.
The Autobot leader ignored his subordinate's silent protests. Despite his misgivings, this was still a beginning. And he had every intention of making the most of it.
The End