Summary: 4 million years ago, the Autobots were preparing to leave Cybertron. Starscream's ambitions were failing and soon the Autobots would leave and Energon would be wasted in a pursuit of them. But an unexpected visitor meets Starscream and gives him the knowledge to defeat the Autobots and Megatron in one fell swoop. How is this possible? (An Alternate timeline story.)
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or anything of the transformers brand. All rights belong to Hasbro.
Hello Transfans, how is your day? Adequate? Terrible? brilliant?. oh wait i can't hold a conversation with you can I. CURSE YOU LAWS OF PHYSICS...
Anyway here s the latest chapter, now i know some of you might be wanting the Decepticons to fight the Autobots already. But hear me out, we have just a couple of chapters (not counting ones split into parts) till then. I have to make sure i know exactly what i want before then, i need to setup what major characters will be doing so the story can continue, it's hard to write this story. i am not a genius, even though my witty banter might say otherwise.
So yeah, this story had been delayed a bit. let me tell you. I thought this one was easy but i was struggling as you can probably tell by the title. Hopefull their isn't to much filler for you guys. Anyway im sure some of you are interested in what happened to a certain ship.
'Well you'll find out i'm about to summon it' ( ha you get it, it's a Yu Gi Oh reference... MY TALENTS ARE WASTED HERE'
Okay ill shut up now, please R&R. Like seriously Only Shadowwriter01 (yay my first shoutout) actually helps out. Not to be insulting to anyone, but it would be nice if someone out their gave an opinion once in a while. That is all now get reading.
Transformers: Reign of Starscream
Chapter 10
Where art Thy Nemesis
Pt. 1
Five days ago, Just after space bridge incident.
Location: The planet of Helios Prime, energy rich, little charted.
While plans and revelations, were being made. An overlooked variable of a strategy, might come back to bite them in the aft.
Five days ago, in a little known sector of space. There was a disturbance in the tranquillity of the local star system. What was once seven lifeless planets orbiting a large sun, were now receiving a phenomenon not witnessed in millions of years. Above the planet Helios prime a portal tore through space. From this barely functioning marvel, came a relatively large object. Something which should not have made it through in one piece, rather it was hoped by some to be mere particles of what it once was. But not even Shockwave can guarantee everything, space bridges haven't been used in over ten million stellar cycles.
The object of course was a ship. Not just any ship, it was 'The nemesis', the prized warship of the Decepticons. Its original mission was to explore this sector and plunder the energy rich planets. Perhaps, then using that energy to fuel trips to other solar systems. But mostly it was here to get the fuel to revitalise Cybertron and bring the war to its end, ensuring Decepticon rule forever. Outposts were also considered, to be made on these planets so energon trade could exist, and an empire could begin its conquest. And it would have started almost flawlessly, if not for an almost catastrophic start.
The last thing the crew saw was their apparent demise. The unstable vortex was pulling them in. All they experienced was the fear of their demise. Death littered this ship, whether from the fields produced, or explosions. Systems shut down leaving the ship, helpless as it was ridden on a, 'transport to oblivion' (anyone get the reference? =). With the betrayal done Starscream expected Megatron to be terminated. Did he think wrong? Funnily enough Shockwave was exactly right about one thing. In his false data he supplied to Megatron, he stated that the portal would lead to Helios prime and that was to be the destination the ship would go to. However even after the space bridge destabilised and closed, it still managed to barely bring the ship to exactly where to needed to be. Helios prime was greeted by a large warship tumbling out of control through its atmosphere. The flaming ship seemed to be trying to stop its decent, as it tried to pull up; assumedly this was one of the conscious crew. This stopped an almost certain obliteration of the ship on impact.
The ship still crashed however, but now it did it across the ground, its momentum and force almost tearing a 'gorge', through tons of rock on the planet's surface. (Okay authors note- will someone please tell how to effectively describe this form of crashing, it takes far too much effort, maybe one word to describe the action, anything please). When the ship finally stopped, it was a mess though still in one piece, huge parts came off during the exit of the portal and the crash, fires and explosions didn't help. The landscape was like a wasteland, now it was a bombsite.
Solar cycle's later things began to change. Before the wreckage was the only piece of action on this planet in centuries. Now the contents of the ship were going to shape this planet, and the fate of all cybertronians.
Five days later (parallel to Cybertrons current situation- aka last chapter)
The ship was pretty much lifeless, aside from the few small fires or falling debris nothing really stirred. The lifeless bodies of the crew littered the room and floors of the ship. However given that they are robotic organisms, what the organic eye sees is often beyond their comprehension. For though, plenty Decepticons didn't survive the events that led to this. There were those who were perhaps quite functional. Even in the face of death, the original Decepticon order won't stay down.
In the ships bridge the cons laid on the floor, immobile. Ramjet, Scrapper, Soundwave, even Megatron hasn't moved an inch for solar cycles. Did the events which transpired finally take their toll?
Then came the first twitch, it was just a servo, and it wasn't really a sign of recovery, but over time the body started to stir. Finally the con struggled to his knees, a wave of pain consuming him. The only sign of life on the expressionless face was the fact, that once his system started rebooting, his conjoined visor flashed red every now and then. Finally, the memories began returning, the processor began working, analysing and taking in all the visual data, along with providing status reports on his system damage, energon level and weapons capability. Only then could he begin to think, feel and move easier. 'Race: Cybertronian, faction... Decepticon, Designation: Soundwave' he recollected.
Soundwave observed the room, weakly. The portal and the crash took their toll. He had extensive damage, to his motor functions and internal circuitry had become disconnected or damaged. But he had started to function as he would normally. 'Situation: critical, Damage levels: show little chance of becoming fatal. Current situation: unclear, all fellow Decepticons status, including Megatron's situation, unknown. It is unclear in my current status, whether they are offline or in stasis lock. Current operation: unknown, Megatron is incapacitated no orders given. Conclusion: finding out Decepticon operational status, imperative' he analysed. He weakly and slowly tried to stand upright. Pain and external/internal damage meant the task was very difficult.
Soundwave Finally managed it, barely managing to remain upright. He limped towards Megatron's immobile body. Standing over him, Soundwave hesitated for a moment. He realised that he existed to serve Megatron, and the Decepticon cause. If Megatron wasn't functional, what would happen then? Who would lead? Would anyone be able to lead, without it becoming survival of the fittest?
Soundwave knelt down and turned Megatron over, attempting to find out his status. Given that stasis lock is designed to be a Cybertronians last resort, before succumbing to deactivation, it was likely that stasis was activated before the crash. Therefore it was possible for at least one other con to have survived in this protective state. He analysed Megatron's body. 'Megatron's functionality: possible. Internal damage: impossible to know at this time. Conclusion: Perhaps attempting an examination or better yet repairs, can give me a final judgement on his condition' Soundwave pondered. 'It is unclear whether any other Decepticons have survived, I was perhaps lucky. But the fact remains, it is both illogical and impossible to carry such a cause by myself. Especially in the nemesis's condition' he concluded.
After about a mega cycle of work, Soundwave had done all he could. He had opened up Megatron's chest compartment checking for damage. He discovered that Megatron was indeed functional. His Spark had not been extinguished, as it carried the aura/appearance it has during stasis. However that would depend on maintaining this condition. Without repairs there could be a possibility that Megatron could go offline, though it could take solar cycles, natural stasis is not as effective using a stasis pod, though it did depend on the Bot/Con. Soundwave used his own knowledge, and any tools/medical supplies he could find to try and patch Megatron up. Reconnecting wires and circuits, he soldered severed parts. Replaced what he could, to the best of his ability. However this was less than normal in his current state. 'Excellent, now all I can do is wait and hope' he thought.
While waiting to see if Megatron would reboot, Soundwave decided to see if the ship was functional, aside from the structural damage of course. Checking his communication systems/station, he discovered that the long range transmitter was gone, as in located nowhere in or outside the ship. It could be in the planets orbit for all he knew. 'That is extremely unfortunate, without the transmitter long range communications are impossible. That especially concerns Cybertron' he realised. On the subject of Cybertron he froze. Something happened before the portal, something that he could not remember at this time, perhaps he was still recovering. All Soundwave would need is time, he would access those memories soon enough. 'With no contact with Cybertron, and access to only rumoured Cybertronian outpost locations, it appears we are left to our own devises. However until at least one Decepticon restarts their systems, it appears I am even more isolated for the foreseeable future' he thought.
Though Soundwave can't really express emotions, he does have them on the inside. He would analyse the situation to himself in a different way to how he speaks. This ensures his opinions are kept to himself and he can provide his services immediately and efficiently. Megatron or anyone else need know of how he feels in periods between orders/missions. Right now he has time to do just that. Though being perhaps the only one the ship functional or at least, wasn't the best experience to be honest. Suddenly he received a personal message on his private comm. Few had access to it. 'If it's not Megatron, or anyone else on it then it must be...' 'HEY boss you gonna let us out yet or wot' a familiar voice came.
'Rumble?' Soundwave replied.
'Yeah Boss we've been online for mega cycles' the cassette moaned.
'Excellent' Soundwave thought.
'Well hurry up then' Rumble moaned.
'Be silent' Soundwave replied.
'Oh c'mon you aven't let us done nowt in weeks' Rumble moaned in his intriguing vocabulary.
'Be silent... and what does ''aven't let us done nowt' mean?' Soundwave asked, clearly taking a jab at Rumble's impulsiveness & impatience.
'Well yuh na I haven't given some Autobots a taste of the good old pile driver. You haven't let any of us out either' he continued.
'I have been preoccupied' Soundwave stated.
'OH yeah? What's so important that we have to stay in here?' Rumble questioned.
'RAWRRR RARRUH' stated a voice, butting into their argument.
'STAY OUT OF THIS RAVAGE!' Soundwave and Rumble shouted.
Ravage made noises that would he interpreted as mumbling under his breath, before he kept quiet. However that did not stop the other casseticons whining.
'Very well if you wish to know, you impatient little cretins, then come see for yourself' he told them frustratingly. He reached for the ejection button located on his right shoulder area. Then he gave his commands. 'Rumble, Laserbeak, Ravage, Frenzy, Buzzsaw, Ratbat... EJECT. Operation: Stop your endless prattling' he ordered. A sigh of relief came when his chest compartment released his minions. Hopefully he could get some peace to do real work. The cassettes transformed once the reached the floor. Even though they were bickering like scraplets, even the sight of the ship and all it's, inhabitants immobile was enough to quieten the minicons. This was much to Soundwave's relief.
The casseticons checked a few of the bodies. The situation had come at a shock to them. The jabbering stopped, for now at least. 'Frag, looks like these guys over energised a bit, eh bro? Eh you get what I mean' Frenzy stated, jokingly. Rumble grinned 'man you don't get troops like ya used to do ya bro?' Rumble replied.
Soundwave sighed again 'be silent, this is not a situation for incessant joking'. The two minicons nodded, but them staying quiet wasn't likely anytime soon. Buzzsaw and Ratbat found their perches. While lazerbeak found his place on Soundwave's shoulder. Rumble like the genius he was, decided to check on Megatron's body. He first proceeded to wave his servo in front of Megatron's face. Soundwave didn't even want to make comment on the stupidity of the action. Rumble then proceeded to poke Megatron repeatedly. 'EY... Ey! Megatron get up Bucket head' Rumble shouted. Clearly forgetting he was talking to Megatron here.
'RUMBLE be silent, do you seek self deactivation?' Soundwave exclaimed at his disrespectful action. He was growing tired of their antics. At least ravage and the others knew to be silent for now. 'Um no boss' Rumble sulked. He quickly recovered and tried to get a response, this time by either tapping his head or talking. 'Rumble cease and desist' Soundwave said with a hint of frustration. Rumble clearly in a world of his own decided to kick Megatron, multiple times in fact. The other simply sighed; Soundwave covered his optics in disgust. This was hardly giving his lord the respect he deserves, but anything was better than having to endure his cassettes ramblings without anyone else there. As rumble continued kicking. Frenzy started chuckling a bit, it seemed like fun. Of course as he walked towards Megatron Soundwave sent him a message ordering him to desist. Frenzy obeyed reluctantly, 'Oh frenzy gets all the fun' he sulked like a sparkling.
Rumble stopped to cool down. 'Boy he sure likes stasis, hey Soundwave while he's like this, you wanna use your fancy mind reading thingy majigy on him. It might help pass the time' Rumble smiled Soundwave's audio receptors couldn't take any more. 'Rumble, first it is not mind reading. It is the scanning and decoding of electrical impulses. Secondly, it is an invasion of privacy and in my mind a betrayal' Soundwave stated. Rumble sighed at this 'No fair I never get anything I want' Rumble moaned and in frustration kicked Megatron. But something stopped him in his tracks.
'I will assume there is a good reason for what you we're going to do their' a familiar voice boomed.
Rumble immediately jumped back and saluted 'oh uh sorry lord Megatron I um... well ya see' he quivered, unable to find words to form a good answer. Megatron was still on the floor. He had only gained motor function in his right arm and head. He moved it from side to side, up, down, looking around the room sluggishly. He had only just restarted his systems. Now he was slowly observing the situation and trying to remember what happened. But that did not mean he couldn't enforce some discipline on his soldiers, he was Megatron, soon to be ruler of the galaxy, perhaps even the universe of course.
'Ah yes' Megatron thought 'I am on the nemesis, but it appears that all Decepticons on the bridge are immobile. How did this happen...and more importantly, why are my warriors so weak' he thought clearly not grasping the situation in his arrogance. He slowly got to his knees, he started 'breathing' air to cool his vents, it also highlighted his pain/exhaustion but no con would dare admit such a thing. He first acknowledged that the ship indeed was in a sorry state. View screens were cracked, panels missing or broken, wires and cables spooled from the once functioning equipment. Consoles had seen better solar cycles, and of course the crew. They were immobile, though some did have external damage, minor to major. On the inside Megatron was somewhat grateful to be functional, although he would never admit such a thing. He couldn't remember what happened just yet, but it was obvious the nemesis had run into trouble. And the fact that they were clearly not in space, or the fact that the crew had not followed basic landing procedures, suggested a crash landing.
'But how long have I been here, where are we?' Megatron wondered. He looked at sound wave and the other functioning casseticons. 'Soundwave... excellent you still function. Now what has happened?' he questioned. Soundwave hid his relief, but answered almost immediately. 'Indeed lord Megatron. Situation: near critical, long range communication systems damaged, weapon systems damaged. Nemesis structural integrity 72%, all crew in stasis or offline. Engine functionality, 68%, thruster's functionality 43%...' he reported. He was about to go on before Megatron stopped him. 'Well it appears we have received a major setback, but he question remains, what are we doing here, where are we and how have we crashed' he asked him, his memories were yet to return.
Soundwave knew not as much as he should but over time he had figured most of it out.
'Lord Megatron... the ship logs, charts and files along with visual evidence and my own recovered memories so far, indicate some of what our intentions were and what happened to create our current predicament. Therefore what I have discovered is this; our original mission was to use the Nemesis, to traverse the star systems to Helios prime, a planet in this system, this planet has energy resources, resources that we could acquire to fuel our return trip to Cybertron, and perhaps other energy rich worlds, but our ultimate goal as always to revitalise Cybertron, and build up our empire' Soundwave revealed.
'Yes... yes I remember, we changed plans before we left Cybertron. We had a final assault planned, and yet Shockwave, he had been busy. He gave me details on how to revitalize Cybertron, but also how to do this while conserving our dwindling energy supply, giving control of the war to him and Starscream. That explains why we are on the ship, and where they are' Megatron recollected. He struggles to his knees, though quite battered, and clearly not his usual self after the previous incidents, he still was Megatron. Megatron thought hard, he had to remember what happened to them. 'Okay' he thought, 'we launched the nemesis, about a thousand troops are aboard, we took the ship to Helios prime...'.
'Soundwave, which planet are we on? He asked with a small glimmer of hope.
'We have landed, correction crash landed on Helios prime exactly what operation; Ascension required.
Megatron held a small smirk; at least something had gone according to plan. 'Soundwave, what were the exact requirements for operation: Ascension to be achieved?'
'From what I've acquired as well as memory serves, we were to arrive here and plunder the resources for Cybertrons revitalisation, and create a outpost with only our most recommended warriors' he reported.
'Yes, it's all returning now... wait recommended warriors? Something about that is intriguing' he wondered.
'Please elaborate my lord' Soundwave asked innocently.
'Who gave us the recommended crew list?' Megatron asked.
'Lord Megatron, it was Shockwave who gave us the detailed plans for operation: Ascension, I used my knowledge along with my spy master skills to finalise the list and ensure we had the warriors, engineers etc. For the Nemesis' Soundwave reported. 'I hope he does not suspect me of something, surely he knows of my loyalty. Surely he remembers how hard I have worked, to maintain my position as Communications officer, spymaster... friend?' he thought hopefully.
Though Soundwave was indeed loyal, he had his own reasons for doing so, very personal indeed.
'I see... wait how could we possibly get here, even though we effectively managed energon conservation, we might not even have made it here... unless... we used the space bridge? Yes... yes I remember we did, we used it, to get here that was part of Shockwaves original message, this save on the amount of energon needed to only use the ship.
'Indeed lord Megatron.
'Yeah but, we crashed, somehow the ship was destroyed, wot happend then' rumble butted in.
'BE SILENT RUMBLE... though you do make a valid point, everything was perfect, the execution, the exact steps to take the right Decepticons to have as the crew, everything. There is simply no way we crashed, without a serious flaw or worse'. Megatron realised. 'Soundwave' check the ships audio logs, files, security footage. Anything that can tell us what happened between entering the bridge and our current predicament' he ordered.
'Yes lord Megatron' he obeyed instantly. The casseticons worked also, bringing up functioning systems, checking files. Some entered the systems in cassette form, hoping to get some info that they might miss otherwise. Soundwave now had multiple minions finding info along with him. This ensured that they could find at least some small detail. The minicons were glad to finally get to do something, listening to Cons talk was not their strong suit, ironically that was part of their job, as they work for the Decepticons spymaster. After a few cycles the mini cons were told to return to Soundwave's chest compartment, much to their disproval, although much to everyone else's approval. With this, the cassettes could message Soundwave with their opinions or transmit data, giving Soundwave the adequate info to help provide an effective report.
While this was going on, a change was unnoticed in the crew as well; small twitches indicated that indeed the others were in stasis. Now they were beginning to recover. Now Megatron was almost fully mobile, able to move around pacing a bit in impatience, waiting for a full report on the events that transpired before the crash was taxing, but worth it. There was something important, really important about learning the events between reaching the vortex and going through it, to this planet. He could feel it; it was something that felt personnel, like he had been stabbed in the spark. 'Soundwave I assume everything will be ready for a report. There is something that will change the face of the war within the data you will provide, I can feel it' he urged. Soundwave acknowledged this, he realised how important this was to Megatron, and if it was important it must be done to the best of his ability.
'Lord Megatron, I have recovered what I can from multiple sources, i am ready to provide details now if you wish' Soundwave informed. Megatron acknowledged. Soundwave looked through the data onscreen, and within his processor. Processing what was there and what he could interpret to provide stats, facts and opinions on the matter. Till what he discovered was quite unsettling, it triggered quite an internal reaction, though he still kept the same demeanour. 'This sees impossible, but it's their Shockwave... Starscream they...'. He stopped thinking about it he had to report to Megatron about what he had discovered. No matter how unsettling it was...
Continued in part 2.
Well thank you if you made it this far. Yep unfortunately i will be away for a couple of weeks so i had to get something out. I'm working on part two as you finish this, hopefully i can get it out by Saturday. If not sorry but hey at least you are not waiting months for content. Once part two is out, i ill be taking a break from this and working on my other stories. mostly Combaticons Rising and primitive calling. as i've said before they are set in this alternate timeline I've created here, so yeah check them out. They are probably refreshing compared to this character driven, exposition story. lol i admit this might not be for everyone, but if you are interested in that kind of thing, thanks for sticking with my story.
Oops before i forget, Reviews-
(chapter 9) guest- IT'S UPDATED WITH MORE CHAPTERS, NOW SHUT UP MYSTERIOUS STRANGER (jk lol 2k15 thingy)
(ch. 10) Shadowwriter01- thank you i'm glad you think so. Given how much i love TC, i wanted his inability to fit in, to be major part of this story. And considering IDW have done everything with the character, i needed something fresh. thus the detective stuff.
Oh and shhhh spoilers for that other thing you mentioned (no body look... unless you've already figured it out then that was pointless saying not to look).
I'll see you next time
Till all are one
