Thundercracker stood on the brink of nothing, watching jets streak across the sky. The atmosphere stretched out forever, making a smooth gradient from the dark blue above to the pale turquoise below. Some orns, you couldn't even see the ground. It was like it didn't exist—like Vos was a world unto itself.

A couple landed nearby, laughing, dragging Thundercracker out of his contemplations. The edge of the city had a beautiful view, but no privacy.

He got a comm, and answered it with a sigh. "Hey, Tealwing."

"Hey," she said. "Screamer's not answering his comm. Did you mechs…"

"We didn't get accepted," Thundercracker said.

"Yeah," Tealwing said. "Figured. If you all want to come over and drown your sorrows in some high grade at my place…"

"Sounds good," Thundercracker said. "Starscream's out flying, but I can bring 'Warp."

Tealwing huffed an annoyed-sounding sigh. "He's pretty upset isn't he?"

"Yep."

"Well, hopefully flying cools him off a little."

"One would hope. I'll see you soon." Thundercracker cut the comm. and turned to walk away from the edge. Skywarp leaned against a nearby pillar, scowling.

"Who was that?"

"Tealwing," Thundercracker said. "She invited us over."

Skywarp perked up a little. "Let's leave Screamer and head over then."

"He might not be too happy about that."

"Well, I kind of want to be overcharged already when we see him next," Skywarp said. "He's going to blame us for this, I can feel it."

Thundercracker wasn't so sure about that. He was pretty sure Starscream was more upset at the Council than at his trine brothers. He glanced over his shoulder at the open atmosphere, but couldn't pick out his brother among the many seekers in the sky.

"I don't know…"

"Last one there's a wingless sparkling!" Skywarp took off.

Thundercracker rolled his optics and transformed as well, soaring off after his brother. He dodged pillars as he flew through the delicate structure of the city, catching up with Skywarp. His brother cut him off, pushing him to the left. Thundercracker dodged, barely avoiding a slender metal pillar, and then shoved back, chasing Skywarp up into the open atmosphere above the city, then turning to fly straight toward the sector where Tealwing lived. The sun to his left shone off the many facets of the city, lighting it up like a low-flying moon.

Skywarp streaked past him, shouting something Thundercracker couldn't hear over the wind. He flew faster, trying to catch up, forgetting his problems in the chase, and the exhilaration of rushing through thin atmosphere.

By the time he landed on Tealwing's platform, just ahead of Skywarp, he no longer felt like the world was ending.

Tealwing had an open platform without a glass dome over it. It meant anyone could land in her home, but she probably didn't have too many problems. Skywarp was fond of saying that she could just talk any unwanted guests into a stupor and then push them over the edge.

She and Andromeda were perched on stools at the table, watching them.

"It took you mechs forever to get here," Tealwing said, waving them over with a white and green hand. "You seriously didn't get in?"

Thundercracker sat next to Andromeda. "Nope."

"But didn't you all get top scores? I mean," Tealwing leaned in. "I know for a fact Screamer cheated on the written test. Did they find out about that?"

"If they did, they didn't mention it," Thundercracker said. "They just said they couldn't accept us into the Armada. They didn't give us a reason."

"That's fragging stupid," Tealwing said. "I can't believe them. I bet it's because Screamer's lower class."

Skywarp snorted. "Yeah. Or maybe because he got into a shouting match with the mech he interviewed with."

"Yeah," Tealwing pouted. "Idiot."

"It still isn't fair," Andromeda said. "I'm so sorry."

"It's all right," Thundercracker said.

The five of them—the trine, and the two femmes—had become friends after Thundercracker had come back from Kalis. He'd been an outcast for a while because the other seekers had considered him tainted by his time on the surface. So he'd found another group of outcasts who had been willing to take him in.

"Stand up for yourself, mech," Tealwing said. "Honestly, you're hopeless. You deserve to be in the Seeker Armada, all three of you. You're the best fighters, the best navigators, the best… everything. And no one can fly better than Starscream."

Thundercracker sighed. "I don't know what we're going to do now."

"You'll think of something," Andromeda assured him. "This isn't the end, just a patch of rough atmosphere."

"Yeah, tell that to Starscream," Skywarp said.

"I will," Andromeda said. "Next time I see him. And even if you aren't going to be in the Armada, I'm sure things will get better."

"I guess," Thundercracker said.

The dark blue femme watched him thoughtfully with her striking white optics. She could sound ignorant and overly-optimistic sometimes, but Thundercracker occasionally got the unsettling impression that she could see right inside of mecha.

"Did you really want to be part of the Armada anyway?" she asked.

"Of course," Thundercracker said not exactly sure why the question made him uncomfortable. "Hang on, Starscream's trying to reach me."

He answered his brother's comm, putting a finger to his helm.

"Where are you?" Starscream snarled.

"Tealwing's. You want to join us?"

"How dare you leave without me!? Come back right now! I need to speak with you!"

Thundercracker raised an optic ridge. "Can you come talk to me at Tealwing's?"

Starscream just growled and cut the comm.

"Is he coming?" Tealwing asked.

"I think so."

"He's lost it, though," Skywarp said with a grin. "You should have seen the look on his faceplate when we left the recruitment office. He's going to be angry for vorns about this. You have some high grade?"

"Better believe it," Tealwing said, pulling several cubes out of subspace. "I swiped this from work."

"Really?" Andromeda said.

"Don't judge me," Tealwing said. "They sell it for way more than it's worth anyway."

Andromeda leaned back, folding her arms and smiling sadly.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"You're still judging me."

"No," Andromeda said. "I just realized. You got that to celebrate, didn't you?"

"I got it either way," Tealwing said. "No matter what happens, we'll always need good, strong high grade."

It was almost halfway through the orn when Orion got a comm. summoning him to the Council Hall. He had been hoping they'd forgotten about their deadline. But this was a good excuse to leave the meeting he was currently in.

"I'm sorry." He cut Prowl off mid-sentence and stood. "The Council wants to speak with me."

Prowl glared at him. "But we need you to make the final decision about this."

"I'll have to do it later."

Ironhide got up as well and followed Orion out of the room.

Mecha called out to him in the main room, asking him questions and requesting to talk to him, but Ironhide snapped at them to back off, and led Orion to the elevator.

The doors closed and Orion shuttered his optics as he felt the elevator start its descent.

"We should take a transport," Ironhide said.

"I would really rather walk."

"We'll have to find a different route then. I thought I saw some mecha following us last time."

Orion sighed. "Then we'll find another route." Walking helped work off some of his constantly mounting stress. Besides, he needed some time to think about what he was going to say to the Council.

The rest of the elevator ride was silent, and they didn't talk as they walked out into the city either. Normally Orion might have tried to make conversation but he was too busy thinking. It was nice to have a little time inside his own helm anyway.

What seemed like far too soon, they reached the Council Hall. Orion was admitted right away and announced before the Council

He stepped onto the stage and looked up at the councilors and senators in their seats, watching him.

"Optimus Prime," Halogen said. "Are you aware of the newest development in Kaon?"

"No, your honor."

"Megatron is establishing an organized government of sorts."

Oh. That. Yes, Orion had known. Whoever the Council had informing them wasn't as good as Jazz, that was for certain.

Orion hoped Jazz was doing all right. Prowl said it was certain that he'd be caught eventually, unless they could get Soundwave back on their side.

"What's more, this government of his has been recruiting and organizing an army," Halogen said. "Have you made any progress toward stopping him?"

"He still refuses to speak with us," Orion said. "We have been working on solidifying what remains of our following here in the hopes that… we can still push for some government reforms."

"No," Halogen said. "You lost that opportunity when you allowed your associate to start a war. You have more immediate, pressing matters to deal with."

"Megatronus is responsible for his own actions."

"Oh," Halogen's voice rang with scorn. "You think you can avoid this issue? That it doesn't concern you?"

Orion was tempted to argue that it didn't, that he was the leader of a peaceful reform movement. But the truth came out instead.

"I don't know what to do about it," he said. "I cannot stop him."

"Yes you can," Halogen said. "And you will. Since you haven't taken initiative on your own, we have developed a plan for you."

Orion met the High Councilmech's optics and felt a chill down his back plating.

"Before you protest, I want to point something out," Halogen said. "You can't truly believe that Megatron's overthrow of an entire city-state does not concern you. You are the Prime, in designation at least, and you have a sworn duty to protect the mecha of Cybertron. That includes the mecha of Kaon, does it not?"

Orion looked down. "It… does."

"Then you will hear us out."

"Very well." Orion didn't know what else to say.

"Megatron must be stopped before it is too late. Before he spreads to other places. We must organize an army to combat his," Halogen said. "With the turmoil from your recent rebellions, and the immediate need, we expect some difficulty in the process of enlistment. But if we use your influence, we should be able to bypass our own current… lack of support from the general populace."

Orion stared. No. Not this.

"We expect your full cooperation on the matter."

"Wait," Orion said. "What?"

"Do not make me repeat myself. We need you to raise an army for us."

"I… how can I do that?" Violence. They wanted violence. "I still think we should try to discuss this with Megatronus before…"

"And we have said that it is too late for that."

"Besides, we can't use what remains of my following. They are the ones who didn't want war."

"It's not a matter of wanting, it's a matter of necessity." Halogen said. "If we play up the horror and violence of what is happening in Kaon, they will see they must take up arms against the Decepticons in order to prevent that violence from spreading."

Orion shook his helm. The way they spoke, openly and without even trying to hide the fact that they were planning on lying to the public. "After all you've done, all they know you've done, do you really expect them to believe you?"

"No," Halogen said.

Orion was taken aback.

"We expect them to believe you."

His spark sank.

"You will exhort your mecha to join the ranks. You will tell them that Megatron is nothing more than a maniac and a tyrant. You will insist that the last thing you want is violence, but that we have no choice in the matter."

No.

"We will call our army 'The Autobots.'"

"No!"

"Excuse me?"

"No! I will not use my influence to raise an army so that you can bring about more killing."

"We expect your full cooperation on the matter."

Orion looked down.

"If you do not cooperate, you and your followers will be arrested and we will find a way to get our army using less pleasant methods."

"Do you think you can threaten me?" Orion asked. He had to contact Ironhide somehow, let him know they might need to evacuate the base. Mirage would be happy about getting his home back. Or would the Council arrest Mirage? Would the Council arrest Orion before he could even talk to Ironhide?

"You still don't seem to understand this situation," Halogen said.

"I'm not afraid of you." Orion was terrified. But this was a point he would not give on. He had worked so hard to avoid violence. He was not going to turn around and demand that his followers take up arms.

"Be careful not to count us altogether as your enemies," Halogen said. "We don't want war either, but it is no longer an inevitability—It is an actuality. It is happening right now. Unless you would like to see another government—worse than we are—flood this globe, you will do as we say."

Orion looked down again.

"You cannot always tell the truth. If there were only good mecha, perhaps that would work. But there is always someone to take advantage of your honesty and honorability. It weakens you."

Orion looked up again. That wasn't true.

"We would advise you very strongly not to argue with us any more on this matter," Halogen said. "In one orn, you will begin your campaign."

He paused as if waiting for another protest of some kind. Orion gave none.

"You are dismissed."

Dismissed? Already?

Very well then. Orion turned and walked toward the doors, listening to his own footsteps echo in the quiet, cavernous room.

What was he going to do? He could imagine bringing it up to everyone else, and all of them… encouraging him to follow the Council's advice. They were all so angry at Megatronus, and some of them had already brought up the idea of violent retaliation.

But he couldn't do that. He couldn't start a war.

Ironhide looked surprised when Orion came out of the building.

"Hey," he said. "That was quick. What's wrong?"

"Let's go."

"What happened? You didn't make them mad, did you?"

Orion shook his helm. "That's not the problem."

"What's wrong?"

"I'll tell you when we get back to base."

Orion walked purposefully and didn't slow down until they got to a quieter street.

"All right," Ironhide said again. "Can you talk now?"

Orion took in a deep vent. "They want me to raise an army for them."

Ironhide seemed a little taken aback. "An army? To fight Megatron?"

Orion nodded.

"Did you tell those glitches to raise their own army?"

"In effect," Orion said. "But we might have to go undercover again, because they've only given me one orn to put off doing what they asked."

"Which is what exactly?"

"Using what influence I have left to get mecha to enlist. They want to name the army after us as well."

Ironhide frowned. "Well…"

"That's a perversion of our purpose," Orion said. "If I do that, I'll be going against everything I promised. But if I don't then we'll just divide mecha further and then if Megatronus does come back and try to conquer Iacon… I don't know." He didn't know what would happen. He didn't want a repeat of Kaon. He didn't want any of that. But if it was going to happen, wasn't it his duty as a Prime to do everything he could to protect the mecha here?

All of this was his fault. All of that killing in Kaon was on his helm. It was too late.

He had already started a war.

Suddenly, there was a flash of light and a loud bang, and Orion was knocked from his pedes. He heard Ironhide cry out, and started trying to get up.

By the time he was standing again, they were surrounded by mecha on all sides.

"Orion, run!" Ironhide gasped, pressing a hand to his leaking side. Orion backed toward the nearest building, but there was nowhere to go. He took a step toward his injured friend instead, who let go of his side and shifted his hands into plasma cannons.

"Weapons off," A mech stepped forward. "Or both of you offline."

Ironhide growled and activated the cannons.

"No," Orion said. "Put them away. We can talk."

His friend didn't move.

"Please."

Ironhide sighed and lowered his cannons. The other mecha came at him from either side and shoved him down to his knees. One of them put a powered-up gun to his helm.

"Hold on," Orion said. "We can talk."

"Sure," the mech who seemed to be in charge said. "Soon as we're somewhere safer."

Two mecha grabbed Orion as well.

"No!" Ironhide said.

"Offline the bodyguard."

"Wait!" Orion tried to pull free of the mecha restraining him.

And then the mech holding a gun to Ironhide's helm collapsed, dropping his weapon.

"What the…!" the mech in charge said.

Then he dropped to the ground as well.

What?

Ironhide used everyone's surprise to pull free of the mecha holding him down and power up his guns again.

But he didn't need to use them.

There was a flash of metal and another one of the attackers dropped. Then the two holding Orion released him and slid to the ground as well.

The two remaining looked around in fear. Then Orion caught another glimpse of something flashing through the atmosphere and one of the mecha screamed. Both of them sank to the ground.

"What in Primus's name…" Ironhide said.

"Ironhide!" Orion rushed over to his friend. "Oh, Primus, I thought they were going to kill you. You're hurt. We need to get you back to Ratchet…"

"Shut up!" Ironhide said, peering down the street. "There's something dangerous here."

"I mean no harm," a quiet voice from the left said. Ironhide spun toward the sound. "Please put your weapons away."

A mech stepped out of a nearby alleyway. He was small and his build was reminiscent of a Praxian but without doorwings.

Orion recognized him. "Ironhide, put your cannons away."

"Last time you said that…"

"I know this mech."

Ironhide grumbled, but transformed his cannons back into hands nonetheless.

"Optimus Prime," Master Yoketron nodded. "Or as we were introduced, Orion Pax."

"You…" Orion connected the dots. "You're the one Alpha Trion sent, aren't you?"

"Yes."

"I am so sorry about Red Alert. He is overly paranoid. I hope he didn't cause you too much trouble."

"You are forgiven. There was no harm done."

Orion vented a sigh of relief.

"What happened to them?" Ironhide limped over to one of the mecha on the ground.

Yoketron joined him and reached down to pull a small throwing star out of the mech's neck plating. "They're just recharging. They'll come online in a joor or so. No damage done. You, on the other hand, need a medic."

"I can walk back to base fine."

Yoketron looked mildly amused. "If you must. It might be safer to use my transport, though. He'll be just down the street in a few breems." Yoketron went around, collecting throwing stars and subspacing them.

"So…" Orion said.

"Can questions wait? I'm not sure of the security of this area," Yoketron said.

"Of course," Orion said.

"Come," Yoketron said, waving with a hand full of throwing stars.

Orion walked with Ironhide, ready to catch him if he stumbled, all the way to the corner. A transport pulled up and opened his door.

"I don't…" Ironhide stared mistrustfully into the vehicle.

"It's ok," Orion said. "Get in."

They climbed into the transport with Yoketron bringing up the rear.

"Thank you," Orion said when the door closed and they were seated. "That was good timing."

"I had been following you before that," Yoketron said. "Since you left the noblemech's home, in fact."

"Oh… why didn't you come talk to me?"

"I wanted to observe. I still do."

"Alpha Trion said you're going to… teach me something. Or prepare me for…"

"Yes. I will do my best."

"How long… How long ago did Alpha Trion ask you to do it?"

"Oh, Alpha Trion didn't ask me," Yoketron said. "That's another story. But do you remember the last time we met?"

Orion nodded.

"Alpha Trion wanted me to begin training you then, but I refused," Yoketron sighed. "Perhaps I shouldn't have. But you didn't seem ready."

Orion opened his lip plates, but closed them again, unsure of what to say.

"So I apologize," Yoketron said. "I hope I can make up for the lost time."

"But you… you train mecha how to fight."

"I do."

"Primes… Primes are spiritual leaders. They don't need to know how to fight."

"Primes are more than that," Master Yoketron said. "And at certain times, they are called on to learn warfare, even lead in it. And surely in light of events a few breems ago, you can see the wisdom in learning to defend yourself."

Orion looked down.

"I'm with this mech," Ironhide said. "You should at least get some weapons."

"I don't have time to learn," Orion said. "I barely have time to recharge."

He expected Yoketron to insist that learning from him was more important than running Autobot. But he nodded in acceptance. "That is all right. May I be permitted, at least for now, to simply observe you?"

Orion was taken aback. "Observe?"

"Listen in on meetings, watch you work with other mecha, perhaps talk with you in spare moments."

"Uh… of course."

"Thank you."

Orion vented a sigh. "I'm sorry I've been so rude."

"Rude?"

"You're a wise and well-known mech, and I've almost been arguing with you. Please forgive me."

"You are very much forgiven, Prime."

Orion nodded. "Thank you."

They didn't speak for the rest of the transport ride, or in the elevator up to base. Orion felt like he ought to have more questions, but at the moment, he couldn't think of any.

As soon as the door opened, though, it seemed like everyone was there, remarking on Ironhide's injuries and asking if they were alright. Orion found himself dragged to Ratchet's office so the medic could 'make sure' nothing was wrong with him before going to work on Ironhide. Then Prowl wanted to talk to him and know what it was that had happened on the way here and what the Council had wanted this time. Orion didn't want to tell him, because he didn't want to know Prowl's opinion on the matter yet, either way.

Yoketron followed Orion to meetings and interviews and then finally, late in the off-cycle, to his office, where Orion read through the memos on his desk until the silence was too much.

"So…" he said.

"So."

"What do you think?"

Yoketron was quiet for a few astroseconds. "I think what I thought when I first met you. You are a good mech and I wish that fate had dealt you a kindlier hand."

Orion looked down and shook his helm.

"Optimus Prime."

"I started a war." It came out. "I started a war and now I don't know what to do. The Council wants me to raise an army but I don't want an army. I don't want that."

Yoketron was silent.

"What do I do?"

Another long silence. "What do you want to do?"

"I don't know."

"No, what do you really want to do?"

Orion looked down at his desk. "I want to hide. I want to go back to being an archivist."

"You could do that," Yoketron said. "You could run away and hide somewhere and get a job as an archivist in another city.

Orion looked up.

"Will you?"

"No."

"Then you must make a different decision," Yoketron said. "You have it in you to know what is right, and the courage to follow through on that knowledge, and the power to lead the mecha around you. That is why you are a Prime. I can't tell you what you should do because I don't know what you should do. But I am confident that if you make a choice, it will be the right one, because you are the mech Primus chose to make this choice."

Orion took in a deep vent and let it out.

"I must leave now. I will return next orn to visit you."

Orion nodded. "I will see you then."

"Primus be with you."

"And you."

Yoketron left. The door closed behind him. Orion sat back in his chair. What was right? Who could he trust? What should he do? If, as Halogen had said, this war was too late to avoid, was it his responsibility to fight in it? Was it his responsibility to raise an army for the Council?

No.

If he gave the Council an army, he would be betraying everything he'd worked for. He could not put more power into their corrupt hands.

But it was his responsibility to stop Megatronus.

He commed Prowl. "I need to talk to you."

Prowl's response was prompt. "Oh good, I knew there was something you weren't telling me."

If they had to have an army—if they had to have a war—then it was going to be Orion's army and Orion's war, not the Council's.

That was why he was a Prime.

Master Yoketron sat down across from his old ally. They were silent for a few breems.

"You are still upset with me about something," Alpha Trion said.

"I am still considering," Yoketron replied. "I think that if there is a way to stop this war before it begins in earnest, then we should be concentrating our efforts on that."

"There is no way."

"But I do not want to facilitate… I don't want to be part of this war. I do not want to teach that mech how to kill."

Alpha Trion frowned. "Have you spoken to him yet?"

"Yes, and I've followed him around all orn."

"And?"

"He is doing admirably under the circumstances, but he is stretched to the breaking point. He cringes every time anymech addresses him by his title, and he is surrounded by mecha making demands without offering to help."

"Hmph," Alpha Trion said. "Sounds familiar."

"He's a sparkling, Alpha Trion," Yoketron said.

"No." Alpha Trion replied. "He may be young, but he's no sparkling, and he bears his responsibility well."

"He does not know how to delegate." Yoketron said. "And he does not trust himself."

"The Primal Trials will help him learn those things. And you can teach him as well, while you teach him to fight."

Yoketron sighed. "I know. But I cannot teach him as quickly as you want me to."

"You must," Alpha Trion said. "You have a quarter of a vorn to prepare him."

"It takes a vorn, even two, to prepare to be a Prime," Yoketron said. "To rush it is very dangerous."

Alpha Trion shook his helm. "Perhaps he would be prepared if you had been willing to teach him when I asked the first time."

But he hadn't even been ready to know who he was. And Yoketron hadn't been ready either.

"And," Alpha Trion added, "to address your reluctance to get involved, I suggest you watch the recordings of that gladiator fighting."

Yoketron raised an optic ridge. "Why?"

"It is very clear to me, Master Yoketron, that you have been involved in this conflict for quite some time. You've already trained the champion for the other side."

Yoketron froze.

Alpha Trion got up. "Good off-cycle. I will speak to you here at this same time in one decaorn, and I expect you to be making some progress with our new Prime by then."

He left.

Yoketron sat for a few breems, deeply troubled. Trained Megatron? He had done no such thing, nor had he trained anyone in Kaon for decavorns.

He could not possibly have trained Megatron.

But now he had to see.

He searched public databases for any videos of the Kaonian gladiator fighting. It didn't take very long for him to see what Alpha Trion had been talking about.

And it didn't take much longer for him to recognize the now much-changed mech.

Searchlight.

Things that he hadn't understood clicked into place. Soundwave's betrayal, Megatron's talent for leadership. Searchlight.

Primus, what had he done? That mech had been nearly unstoppable as a youngling. Now he had power and had somehow lost his innocence and integrity.

"Why didn't you warn me?" Yoketron whispered. "I did this, didn't I? Primus, why didn't you stop me?"

But he knew what he had promised. And it was no longer a question. He had to do his best to even the playing field, despite the destruction he knew his involvement would facilitate. He knew Searchlight. He knew what Orion was up against. Rash, but powerfully charismatic, Megatron would allow things to get out of hand, to go too far, to destroy more fully than the Quintessons ever had or ever would have.

He needed to be stopped.

Perhaps, Yoketron could go to Kaon and stop him.

No.

He had made a vow to Primus. He would keep that promise. He had one more student to teach, and he couldn't do that if he risked his own life trying to sneak into Kaon to offline what was left of Searchlight.

One more student to teach.

Or maybe two. Primus knew Orion wasn't the only one who had things to learn.