Orion's sword fell from his hands and Elita held a blade to his neck with a smirk. "Any last words, Prime?"

"I haven't practiced much with actual weapons."

Elita shook her helm and backed away. "I'm going to get integrated weapons soon," she said. "You should too. Probably some decent guns, and a blade of some sort."

Orion picked up the practice sword and got into a ready stance. His balance was off when he was carrying the weapon, so he adjusted to compensate.

They engaged. This time, Orion knocked Elita over and won. He reached down to help her up. She was very good, though she wasn't as good as Chromia, or even Orion, after he started to get the hang of using the sword. They kept going. It was actually kind of nice, to spar with her. It made a good excuse to be with her. They'd had their bond back for a few decaorns now, but that didn't change the fact that they were both busy, and they had to be careful not to seem too close.

"Orion!" Ironhide shouted from across the training warehouse. "Don't hold your sword like that!" Orion looked up and Elita used his distraction to knock his pedes out from under him. Orion dropped his sword again as Ironhide came over. He bent to pick up Orion's practice sword by the blade and shoved the hilt back into Orion's hand. "It's a sword, not a shield. Don't use it to block an attack, turn the blade and deflect."

"Right," Orion said, and Ironhide stepped back.

Elita attacked him. He blocked and pushed her back. She danced away and came at him again. They engaged a few more times. Ironhide wandered away before Orion finally backed Elita up against a wall.

She smiled at him. They stood frozen for a few moments—probably too long—staring into each other's optics. Orion didn't want to push away. The only thing separating them was their swords.

"All right," Ironhide said. "What the pit are you doing?"

Orion pushed away from the wall, feeling a little foolish. Elita wasn't embarrassed, though.

"Sorry," she said calmly.

Ironhide shook his helm. He'd gotten a practice sword from the wall. "Okay," he said. "Orion, let me show you something. Attack me."

Orion took a deep vent and attacked. Ironhide defended easily, knocking Orion's sword out of the way again and again. "See," he said. "I'm not wasting any effort trying to push back, just deflecting. Your footwork is good."

"Thanks."

"Now, you defend." Ironhide went on the offensive, and Orion tried to copy what he'd been doing. "Good." Ironhide sped up. "That's better. When you're fighting someone Elita's size, you can just push them back, but I'm a lot bigger than she is." He sped up, and Orion only managed to fend off the next couple of blows before Ironhide knocked his sword out of his hand.

Ironhide lowered his blade, frowning. "Optimus, if you get an integrated blade, you won't be able to just drop it."

"Uh… that's a good thing, right?"

"Yes and no," Ironhide said. "It means you can't lose your sword, but if it's attached to you, and you let me hit it that hard, you're going to regret it a lot more than you would if you'd dropped it. Pick it up again. This time, don't drop it. Hold on to it as tightly as you can."

Orion retrieved his blade and Ironhide attacked him again, even more fiercely than before. Orion felt something give in his hand the second time he blocked, and he winced, but kept holding on.

"'Hide…" Elita said.

Ironhide swung hard at Orion's helm and Orion fell to one knee and brought up his own sword to block.

The swords collided.

Orion's blade shattered and he felt the shock reverberate painfully through his hands. He shuttered his optics for a few moments, and then stood up slowly.

"See?" Ironhide said. "Waste of a good sword."

Orion looked down at his stinging hand. He flexed it and felt things move in ways they shouldn't.

"Sorry," Ironhide said. "Are you all right?"

Orion nodded. He could tell Elita was worried about him, though.

Ironhide seemed to study him for a moment, then shook his helm and turned away. "You're not a fighter, Orion."

"No, I'm not."

"Keep practicing, though. You're already better than I thought you'd ever be."

"Master Yoketron's a good teacher," Orion said. "Though it seems I'm still lacking in some of the more practical fighting skills. I'd be honored if you'd teach me as well."

Ironhide nodded.

"Some orn, I might need to fight Megatron."

"No," Ironhide said. "He'd offline you faster than you could get your sword up."

"I'm not going to seek him out to fight him, but it's a possibility that he'll hunt me down. I think… If he wants me dead, he probably wants to kill me personally."

"We won't let him get close enough," Ironhide said. "It doesn't matter how hard you practice. You can learn to fight, but you can't learn to be a fighter. You're an archivist. He's a gladiator."

Orion looked down.

"Prime!" Prowl's voice came over the comm. At the same time, Ironhide straightened, looking alert and wary. "The Decepticons are attacking Iacon! We need you at base."

Alarm sirens went off in the distance.

Ironhide held a hand up to his external comm. "Copy that," he said. "Come on," He beckoned to Orion, then shouted to the other mecha practicing in the warehouse that they all needed to make sure their comms were on and get to their assigned positions.

"You need to lead the—" Orion said, but Ironhide cut him off.

"First I need to get you safely back to the tower."

Orion spoke to Prowl over the comm. "I'm coming back to the tower. I'll be there in a few breems."

"No," Prowl said. "We can get you a two-way bridge. Send Mainspring your coordinates."

That was illegal, but Orion didn't want to contest it. He sent Mainspring coordinates of an empty spot at the front of the training warehouse. "Ironhide, they said they'll get me a bridge."

Ironhide nodded, just as the glowing blue portal formed in the atmosphere in front of them. Orion and Elita jogged through it and out to the other side. Mecha were scrambling to set up the command center. Orion looked around for Prowl as the groundbridge closed behind them, but the mech didn't seem to be here.

"Prowl?" Orion said.

"I'm in my office. Sorry, there wasn't time to get to the main room, and it really doesn't matter." He sounded frustrated.

"What's happening?" Orion asked. "Are they attacking our soldiers? Can we fend them off?"

"No, and that's not the question," Prowl said. "They've bridged into a few neighborhoods nearby, and they're just attacking civilians."

"What?" Orion demanded.

"This isn't a full-scale attack. I think they're trying to capture mecha for some reason. We could prevent that by asking the Council to put up the bridge shield around the sector. That would trap the Decepticon forces here and we'd be able to overwhelm them. But you'd have to talk to the Council, and that will probably take too long… frag it…"

Orion looked to Elita. "Would you let Councilor Halogen know I want to talk to him immediately?"

Elita nodded and Orion accepted a chair and sat down, looking up as mecha set up holoscreens around the room. It struck him as he joined the group comm. Red Alert had invited him to that it would be better if they had some sort of permanent command center. The process of putting things up cost them time and effort.

Or maybe they didn't need a command center, since they mostly spoke over the group comm. anyway. They might not always have a lot of warning before the Decepticons attacked and Prowl could probably work from his office just as well as here.

"Prowl?" he said over the comm.

"They're taking mecha," Prowl said. "Our soldiers can't be everywhere at once and we don't have access to the Council's surveillance system like we did in Slaughter City. I can't respond quickly enough. I need the Council to put up a groundbridge shield."

"Elita?"

"I'm working on it." He could feel her frustration over the bond. "They aren't answering yet."

"Surely they know what's going on."

A rumbling sound like distant thunder penetrated the atmosphere.

"What the frag was that?" Ratchet's voice demanded over the comm. "Who's blowing things up?"

It took a few astroseconds for anyone to answer him. "Someone—not our mecha—set off a detonation in a building."

"Fragging Decepticons!" Ratchet growled.

"That must have been fairly close," Mainspring said. "We heard it all the way up here."

Optimus got up from his chair and walked toward the balcony. Ignoring Red Alert's protests that it wasn't safe, he walked outside.

Sure enough, he could see a cloud of smoke rising from a nearby neighborhood below. There was another mech standing at the railing, looking thoughtfully down at it. Orion joined him, grabbing the railing, and wincing as pain flared in his damaged hand. He'd have to have Ratchet look at that later.

"Prime, Sir," the light blue noblemech mech nodded.

"Blurr," Orion said.

They stood in silence for a few astroseconds, as Orion listened to the desperate chatter over the comm. channel. Apparently groups of Decepticons were still showing up, and others had already captured groups of civilians and had taken them through groundbridges. There wasn't much Prowl could do about it.

"It's a little terrifying to think they're that close," Blurr said. "Groundbridges make it so difficult to set up defenses."

"Yes."

"They couldn't groundbridge up here, could they?"

Orion shook his helm, spark sinking as he saw another explosion in the buildings below, and heard its rumbling. "Red Alert had a small shield installed."

"Orion, the Council's responded. They'll speak with you now."

Thank Primus. Orion accepted the comm.

"Optimus Prime," Halogen's voice spoke over the comm. "If you want to speak with us, you should appear in person at the Council Hall You have no right to contact us—"

"You know the city is under attack, don't you?" Orion said. "We don't have time for your political games, Halogen. The Decepticons are kidnapping civilians. You have to put up the city-wide groundbridge shield to prevent them from leaving with our mecha."

"Is that so?" Halogen's voice said. "We have to? And if we don't, I suppose you'll attack the defense building like you did the groundbridge stations?"

"Mecha are being kidnapped," Orion said, trying to stay patient. "If you don't put up a shield, you will be responsible—"

"But isn't defending against the Decepticons your responsibility? Besides, you're in no position to make demands."

He really really didn't have time for this. "I know," he said, trying not to let his frustration seep into his simulated voice. "This isn't a demand. It's a request. A plea even. On behalf of the mecha of this city, Lord Halogen, please have the groundbridge shield activated."

"We would like to meet with you later this orn or next orn," Councilor Halogen said. "If you will agree to come to the Council Hall for an audience with us, we will fulfill your request to put up the shield."

Well that didn't sound like a trap.

But he didn't have much of a choice here. "Very well," he said.

"Thank you, Optimus," Halogen said. "We'll send the orders to activate the shield."

"Prime," Prowl said. "They're all retreating now. Have you talked to the Council yet? If we act quickly we might be able to stop them, but they'd have to put up the shield within the next half a breem."

Orion frowned. "What will happen if the Decepticons have bridges open when the shield goes up."

"The bridges will short out,"

"And anyone in the bridges?"

Prowl hesitated.

Mainspring spoke for him. "There's a risk they could be hurt or killed. Some might end up on this side of the bridge, others on the other side. There's no way to tell for certain."

"Then we let them go," Orion said, and spoke over the other comm. to Halogen. "Don't turn on the shield. It's too late—they're retreating already, and I don't want to risk the lives of our civilians by shorting out the Decepticon groundbridges."

He waited a few astroseconds for an answer.

"Very well," Halogen said. "But we still expect you to meet with us."

Orion sighed. "I'll make time next orn," he said, and cut the comm. with them. Then he pushed away from the railing and went back inside, feeling defeated.

Jazz tapped his pede on the ground under the table. This was one reason it was more convenient to show up to meetings a breem or two late. Then he didn't have to wait for anyone else.

The others around the table looked generally unhappy. They hadn't lost as many mecha this time, according to Chromia, but they hadn't won the fight either.

Still, there was no reason to be so gloomy.

Ratchet came in and took the empty chair at the table.

Orion stood. "Thank you all for being here," he said, looking down at the table with a troubled expression. "And thank you for your hard work and your quick response this orn."

Jazz saw Prowl's doorwings dip down slightly. He probably blamed himself for the outcome. That mech was ridiculous. All of them were—this wasn't really that bad.

Though the fact that the Decepticons had showed up and kidnapped a few hundred Iaconian civilians certainly wasn't good.

"Chromia, do we have the final numbers?"

"Yeah," Chromia said. "Four hundred and eighty-one civilians captured, along with thirty of our soldiers. We captured seventy-one Decepticon soldiers. There are about fifty of our mecha injured but only twelve offline, eighteen offline and seventy-five injured civilians, and one hundred eighty-eight Decepticons offline."

"What?" Prowl said. "How did we get two hundred Decepticon casualties? We didn't kill that many."

"Yeah," Chromia said. "Remember those explosions?"

Prowl frowned. "Yes. Did we find out what those were?"

"Yes," Mainspring said. "Apparently a group of civilians decided to take matters into their own hands. From reports, they evacuated buildings, then lured Decepticon soldiers inside and set off detonations, killing them, and the few civilians who hadn't evacuated."

Orion frowned. "Those explosions were set off by civilians?"

"Yes," Mainspring said.

"Well…" Jazz put in, leaning back in his chair. "Can't fault mecha for defending their own territory."

"Except that no one we've talked to recognized them," Chromia said. "Whoever they are, they aren't from around here."

That was interesting. "Huh. Sounds like that could be trouble." He turned to Mainspring "Want me ta look into it?"

Mainspring glanced at Orion, who nodded. "Thank you, Jazz. We would appreciate that. Prowl, is there anything you would like to say about the battle?"

Prowl took in a deep vent and looked up from the table. "We weren't prepared for this," he said. "And I have no idea why Megatron attacked here of all places and kidnapped civilians. You'd think he'd have enough prisoners from Kaon and Tarn."

"Maybe those ones all joined his army," Jazz said, grinning in response to Prowl's glare. "It's probably some sort of scare tactic, but if ya want I can look inta that too—try and figure it out." He was already on top of that. He'd sent Mirage to follow the Decepticons through one of their groundbridges back to Kaon. He didn't want to announce that in the meeting, though, just in case. He trusted these mecha, but he didn't trust them to be careful who they talked around. Maybe that made him almost as paranoid as Red Alert, but he'd rather be paranoid if it meant keeping his mecha safe. He'd tell Orion about Mirage's mission privately later on.

"Do you think rescuing them would be possible?" Orion asked.

"Don't know," Jazz said. "Once we have more information I might be able ta come up with something." Rescuing one or two mecha was usually not too hard, but large numbers were trickier—especially large numbers of normal, working-class mecha.

"Please try," Orion said, then turned back to Prowl. "Is there any way to prevent this from happening in the future?"

"Of course," Prowl said. "If city-states were more prepared and put up groundbridge shields as soon as the attacks started, that would force the Decepticons to bridge outside city limits and attack from there. The only catch is that—unless we have soldiers in the city already—we would also have to bridge outside the city-state."

"The city-states would also have to be prepared to shut their groundbridge stations down," Mainspring said. "Any open groundbridges would be disrupted when the shield went up. It would be quite a hassle."

Orion nodded. "We should get in contact with Councils around Cybertron and suggest they prepare."

"Prime, Sir?"

"Yes, Prowl."

"I do feel I must apologize. I was prepared for a large number of situations, but the Decepticons showing up to kidnap civilians wasn't one of them."

Jazz stared at the Praxian, who had somehow lost all of his hubris and looked honestly apologetic. Interesting.

"You couldn't have predicted this would happen," Orion said. "We have no way of knowing the Decepticons' plans."

Jazz crossed his arms, feeling suddenly guilty. If he was still in Kaon, they might have been able to prepare. His mission hadn't been a failure, exactly, but he could have helped more if he'd found a way to stay.

Frag, something had to be done about Soundwave. Jazz wasn't sure what, though. The mech was very well guarded, on top of being impossible to sneak up on and a dangerous fighter.

"We've talked about the battle," Ratchet said. "Can I leave now?"

Orion nodded. "We will update you if there is anything else—"

"Wait," Red Alert said. "I have something important to say."

Ratchet snorted.

"Go ahead, Red Alert," Orion said.

"We need to move," the head of security said. "This tower is too easy a target. They can't bridge in here while we have our shield up, but all they have to do is set off a big enough bomb at the base and we come crashing to the ground. We need a more defensible position."

Jazz would have to let Mirage know about that as soon as the noblemech came back from Kaon. He would probably be happy to hear that the Autobots were moving out of his home. Jazz had heard him complain about it a hundred times.

"This place is more defensible than most other buildings in the city," Ironhide said. "Where exactly do you want us to move to?"

"We'll have to build a base." Red Alert said.

"Do I really need to be here for this?" Ratchet said.

"You may leave, Ratchet," Orion said.

Ratchet got up from his chair and left while the others kept talking.

"I think it's a good idea," Mainspring said. "We've already essentially outgrown Mirage's tower. On the other hand, this sounds like a big project. Do we have the credit for it?"

Everyone looked at Chromia.

"Doubt it," she said. "Unless we pull some strings and get the Council to help us. They have the credit. We could demand some tribute for trying to defend their city."

"I don't want to demand tribute from anyone," Orion said. "Not even the Council."

"With what we have, we could probably get started building a base," Chromia said. "But probably not one that meets Mr. Panic Attack's requirements. Who's going to design this thing anyway? You?"

"Well, I don't know anymech else who could," Red Alert said.

"You're not an architect," Chromia said. "And do you really have time…"

"I'm sure I can find a trustworthy architect or two," Mainspring said. "If we decide to move forward with this, then we can come up with some plans for the base."

"I think building a base is a good idea," Prowl said. "This is a mansion, not a military building. We will be more effective, more efficient, and better protected in a base that was built with our needs in mind."

It was true. Jazz always felt a little bit trapped up here so high above the ground anyway. There was really only one way out of this place, which was kind of dangerous.

"I will talk to the Council," Orion said. "I'll see if we can make some arrangement to use their funds to build a base. I'm meeting with them next orn…"

"Meeting with them?" Ironhide said. "Why?"

"I told them I would come in return for them putting up the groundbridge shield."

"You're going to the Council Hall to meet with them?" Ironhide said. "No. Absolutely not."

"They didn't put up the bridge," Prowl said. "So I don't see why—"

"They were going to, but it was too late," Orion said. "And I told them I would go. I'm not going to go back on my promise to them."

This mech was too honorable to be in charge of an army. Going personally to the Council was too much of a risk if you asked Jazz. It wasn't in the Council's best interest to get rid of Orion, but they did some really stupid things sometimes and he wouldn't chance it.

"You really think they would have put up a shield?" Ironhide said. "They're just trying to manipulate you."

"But I will not go back on my promise," Orion repeated. "Please, Ironhide, can we have this argument some other time?"

"Sure," Ironhide crossed his arms.

"Then that's settled," Orion said. "Red Alert and Mainspring, I'll leave it up to you two to find a good location and start working on plans for the base. When you have them ready, you can present them in a meeting."

Red Alert nodded.

Orion moved to the next subject, which was a report from Ironhide about recruit training, and then the topic turned to trying to predict what the Decepticons would do next and where they would attack. Jazz got to report that he and his mecha had now been to half of the major city-states on the planet and had scouted out defensible locations and ambush points. They were still working on it, but the project was coming along nicely.

When the meeting was finally over, Jazz slipped out of his seat and went to see if he could find the mecha who'd blown up those buildings.

Orion sat behind his desk with a sigh. He had a long list of mecha to talk to about the attack. Scale-wise, it hadn't been terrible, but they would probably get some negative publicity from it—especially since they'd lost.

Megatron should be the one who got negative publicity. And maybe he would, but it wouldn't stop everyone. Orion had heard there were still thousands of mecha flocking to join the gladiator's forces every decaorn.

He shuttered his optics, suddenly disappointed in himself. He was worrying about publicity. He was worrying about publicity when mecha had just been kidnapped and offlined.

He couldn't do this.

Elita commed him, and he answered. "Yes?"

"Are you all right?" she asked.

"Fine," he snapped.

"Okay… well, let me know if you need anything."

Red Alert commed him.

"Excuse me, I have to talk to Red Alert."

"All right." She cut the comm. before he could and he took in a deep vent and answered Red Alert's comm.

"Yes? What is it?"

"You… have some visitors…" Red Alert sounded hesitant. "I… I let them in and they're headed for your room."

"Who is it?"

"I... you'll see."

There was a knock at his door, and he called for whoever it was to come in.

The door opened, and Orion got to his pedes as Alpha Trion stepped into the room.

"Good orn, Optimus Prime," the old archivist said.

Orion came around the desk, but Alpha Trion waved him back. "Please, sit down."

Two mechs and a femme came in behind him. Orion recognized one of the mechs, and froze. It was one thing to speak with Alpha Trion and Maccadam, who he had known for vorns before he knew they were members of the Original Thirteen.

It was another thing entirely to be staring Logos Prime in the optics.

He tore his gaze away. The silver and lavender femme with hard, yellow-white optics must be Solus, and the other mech seemed familiar too, but Orion wasn't sure which Prime he was.

"Optimus, this is my sister Solus, and my brothers Quintus and Logos. Do you mind if we speak with you for a few breems?"

"Of course—I mean, of course you can," Orion got up again. There were only three other chairs in the room.

"I don't need to sit," Solus said, and her voice was nearly as hard as her gaze, but not cold or unfriendly. "And don't be so flustered. It's an honor to meet you."

Orion sat down again, feeling embarrassed.

Alpha Trion sat across from him, and Quintus pulled over a chair as well, but Logos crossed his arms and took up a position across the room from Solus, who was leaning on the wall, staring watchfully at the door.

Orion waited.

"Well?" Quintus said, nudging Alpha Trion. "Do you want to start the conversation or do you want one of the rest of us to talk? We're endangering them by being here. We shouldn't take up too much of his time anyway."

Alpha Trion sighed, and Orion had never seen him look so old and tired. "Very well," he said. "First of all… I do want to apologize for… to apologize that I didn't tell you who you were until you were appointed."

Orion blinked.

"Personally, I still think you weren't ready before that… but… well, I suppose it may have been a mistake anyway."

Solus shifted, and Orion glanced up to see her rolling her optics at Logos.

Logos smiled slightly.

He seemed older than the Logos in the trial. And hadn't Yoketron suggested he was talkative? So far he hadn't said a word.

"Orion?"

"Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry. It's all right—I know you were doing what you felt was best. I suppose some warning would have been helpful, but…"

He would have broken his bond with Elita beforehand, or maybe refrained from bonding with her in the first place. If Alpha Trion had warned him, they might not have a bond now. Then again, he still wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that Elita would die if he did.

"I think…" he said. "I'm sure Primus's hand is in this, one way or another."

Alpha Trion nodded, but looked troubled. "I certainly hope so."

"Alpha Trion?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for coming to speak with me. I hesitate to ask, but… we could use your help with the war. You and your siblings."

"Help you with the war?" Alpha Trion shook his helm. "I'm afraid that's out of the question."

Logos Prime spoke up from the side of the room. "We haven't participated in Cybertronian politics for millennia. I think we'd be willing to make an excuse to help with the current situation, but there are other things we have to see to first."

Orion nodded for him to continue.

"Our brother Megatronus is at large on Cybertron—"

"Wait…" Orion said. "But… wasn't he killed? I know Primus can bring you back, but why would he…"

"Megatronus is cursed," Quintus explained, optics lighting up. "He can't return to the Allspark, so his spark hangs around for a while after he's offline. He's like a parasite… When he's killed, he floats around, invisible, until he finds a new host, and then he overtakes that mech's frame, destroying the spark that was there. It's actually quite—"

"Horrifying," Logos cut him off. "And irrelevant."

Quintus pouted. Orion was so surprised to see a member of the Original Thirteen Primes look so sulky that what the mech had just said almost didn't register.

"Wait… Megatronus…"

"The bottom line," Logos said from his position against the wall, "Is that he's hunting us. We have to capture him or he'll pick us off one by one, and then probably come after you."

Orion stared at him.

"And that would be very bad," Quintus said.

"Aside from Megatronus trying to kill us," Logos said. "Vector's missing, and we need to find him—or at least confirm that he's offline."

"We'd be a few steps closer to that if Mal hadn't lost my sparking samples." Quintus muttered.

"I am sorry we can't help more," Alpha Trion said. "But as you can see we have our own problems to worry about."

"It is understandable," Orion said.

"However," Solus said. "While we may not be able to take up positions in your army, don't hesitate to ask us for help."

"Thank you."

"Now," Alpha Trion said. "There are a few things I'd like to discuss. The first is a question. When you and Megatron were friends, how much did you tell him about the archives?"

Orion blinked. "I… well, we spoke extensively about history. The archives have a lot of important information and—"

"Specifically," Alpha Trion said. "Did you tell him anything about the artifacts in my possession? If he knows there are items stored there that could give him the power to defeat you, he may attack the Hall of Records."

Orion looked down, checking his memory files. "I… I don't think I ever talked to him about the artifacts."

"Good," Alpha Trion said. "Now, Yoketron tells me you completed the third trial?"

Orion nodded. "Did he… say anything about—"

"Yes, he did," Alpha Trion scowled. "I'm sure he's very pleased with himself for jeopardizing the wellbeing of the entire planet…" he shook his helm. "What's done is done."

Quintus looked up. "Did I miss something? What happened?"

"We'll discuss it later," Solus said. "I'm sure you'll have fun trying to figure out the science behind it, because I certainly can't. I'm just glad it worked and didn't kill anyone."

"In any case," Alpha Trion said. "You must not delay completing the next trial. Has Yoketron spoken to you about it?"

"Yes," Orion said. "Though he's only said that it sometimes takes decaorns to complete, so I'll need to plan time. He says he won't tell me more until I make time to attempt it."

Alpha Trion nodded. "Good. At least he's not explaining everything to you beforehand just to spite me."

"Honestly, Alph, I wouldn't blame him," Solus crossed her arms. "He probably hates administering the trials. Remind me why you aren't doing that part again?"

Alpha Trion shook his helm. "Beside the point."

"Oh," Orion said. "Before I forget, I was going to ask if you would be at the Council Hall next orn. I'm supposed to appear before the Council."

Alpha Trion shook his helm. "I quit the Council," he said. "And you shouldn't go—it's not safe to meet with them."

"I promised them I would," Orion said. "You… quit the Council?"

Alpha Trion nodded.

"Did they say you couldn't bring anyone?" Solus asked. "I'm a little curious to see if Trion is exaggerating about this government."

"Believe me, I've been understating it," Alpha Trion muttered.

"I can bring Logos, or maybe Liege with me," Solus said. "We'd make sure you got out of there in one piece if that's what you're worried about."

"That… would be very helpful," Orion said. "Thank you."

Solus nodded.

"Is there anything else?" Alpha Trion said. "I believe we've said what we came to say."

A thousand questions swirled in his mind, but what he really wanted to know… he took in a deep vent and let it out. "Am I… doing all right?"

Alpha Trion raised an optic ridge. "Excuse me?"

"I mean… as a Prime?"

"Don't sound so uncertain," Alpha Trion said.

"But…"

"You are the Last Prime from the Covenant of Primus. You were chosen by Primus himself. Have confidence in your calling."

"But… I don't," Orion said. "I'm not really… I still feel like just an archivist most of the time."

"There's nothing wrong with being an archivist," Alpha Trion told him. "But you have always been more than that. Remember that Primus chose you for a reason. Even if you don't trust anyone else, you have to trust Primus."

Orion nodded.

"Trust your spark, as well," Alpha Trion said. "What you need to do is monumental, and you will not always have help. My siblings and I will do what we can, but depending on events in the future, we may not be around much. There are things in the Covenant that suggest most of us will not be present for your struggle against Megatron. In fact, many of us may be offline for most of it."

"W-wait," Orion said, looking around at the now somber Primes in his office. "Doesn't Primus bring you back when you offline?"

"Not anymore," Alpha Trion said.

Orion stared at him.

"You… may not have access to Primus's direct guidance forever either," Alpha Trion said.

"I think you're just scaring him more, Alph," Quintus said. "Young mech, you're doing fine, and you can win this war and defeat Megatron."

Orion wasn't so certain he wanted that.

"What?" Alpha Trion asked.

"I… perhaps this is foolishness, but…"

"But what?" Alpha Trion asked.

"I'm not sure I want to defeat Megatron. I still hope he can be reasoned with. We were friends—"

Alpha Trion snorted. "No. I doubt he is capable of having friends. It's not entirely his fault—fate dealt that one a difficult hand. But you cannot let your past stop you from fulfilling your destiny."

"I believe there's still good in him somewhere." It sounded silly to him now that Orion had said it out loud, but when he looked up, Solus nodded at him. "I don't want to kill him if I don't have to."

Alpha Trion shook his helm. "Read the Covenant of Primus, Optimus."

"I've read it."

"Read it again. One shall stand. One shall fall. No middle ground. You cannot reach a compromise."

"I don't know if I can beat him."

Silence fell.

Alpha Trion leaned in closer. "Read the Covenant again with new optics. Whenever you're not sure what to do next, refer to the words Primus gave me. Even I can barely decipher them, but when there's something I'm searching for, I often find it among them."

Orion met his brilliant white optics.

"Things will look very bad in the future. In fact, most of the time, you will probably feel like you're losing. But so long as you don't give up, you will not fail."

Despite the encouragement, fear crept into Orion's spark. "I didn't ask for any of this."

"Do you know why my siblings and I don't rule Cybertron?" Alpha Trion asked.

Orion shook his helm slightly, unable to look away from his old mentor.

"Primus, in his wisdom, rarely gives the greatest burdens to those who are foolish enough to ask for them. Instead, they are bestowed upon those who are humble enough to accept them."

But…

"Without complaining," Alpha Trion continued.

Orion shuttered his optics.

"Now," Alpha Trion said. "We must go."

"Thank you for coming," Orion said. "Is… everything going well with the Hall of Records?"

Alpha Trion's gaze softened. "Yes," he said. "As well as it can, I suppose. We all miss you there."

Orion smiled, though the comment had made him homesick. He shouldn't have brought the archives up.

Alpha Trion stood. "I hope we meet again soon, Optimus Prime," he said.

Orion wished his mentor would use his old designation.

"Take care," Alpha Trion said, and turned to leave.

"It was good to meet you," Quintus said, then followed Alpha Trion.

Logos tilted his helm to the side as his brothers walked past and met Orion's gaze. "How long did it take you to complete my trial?" he asked.

"Only a few orns," Orion said. "I tried six or seven times."

Logos shook his helm. "Yoketron told you what to do, didn't he?"

"No," Orion said. "I don't think he knew. I figured it out on my own."

Logos sighed, looking frustrated.

"Why is it so important?"

"I have a running competition…" Logos said, then deflated, looking down at the ground. "Not that it matters. Good luck, mechling." He slipped out the door after his brothers.

Solus approached the desk. "I will have Alchemist send you my contact information," she said. "Let me know when you're going to meet with the Council, and I'll arrive here to escort you safely there."

"Thank you," Orion said, and Solus nodded and followed the others, closing the office door behind her.

Orion sat back in his seat, trying to integrate everything he'd just been told.

Notes:

1. Sorry this update is a little later than normal. I'm at a family reunion, so I was busy this morning.

2. Thanks for reading and reviewing and all that!