Chapter 6

Scrapper crossed his arms in satisfaction, his optics focused on the drone. It had been a simple enough task to transfer the monster from the net into a dedicated force field inside the lab, though the feat could not have been accomplished without the help of every member of his team. The drone was violent, not to mention irrational and very unpredictable in its behaviour. "Well, I'll be in the next room if you need me again," he said to Shockwave, who had already begun studying the creature.

"Thank you," the guardian replied simply, and with that Scrapper left the purple Decepticon to contend with his live specimen; other than Mixmaster and Scavenger, the other Constructicons soon followed him out.

The two of them remained where they were, mesmerized by the specimen as they stared at it in fascination. Shockwave did not mind them being there, and seemed almost unaware of them as he went about his work. They continued to watch as Shockwave scanned, probed and analysed the abomination with a calm indifference that the two Constructicons found equally as fascinating.

Scavenger tentatively inched closer to the captive drone until he stood only a few feet away from it, his curiosity too great for him to resist. "I've never seen anything like it before. I mean, is it even alive?" he asked finally, glancing over at Shockwave.

After several moments, the large Decepticon answered him, though he did not pause from his work. "That is something that I hope to determine."

Scavenger continued to examine the drone for several moments longer. "Aren't you–" Then he recoiled suddenly in fright, as the drone turned its attention towards him in a sudden display of rage, snapping its head around and roaring loudly before bashing its face repeatedly against the energy field. Even though it posed no real danger, the drone's mere presence was, nevertheless, unnerving. "Ah, don't you find it a little creepy… having to work so closely to it all by yourself?" he said, once he'd regained his composure.

Mixmaster chuckled, walking closer to stand beside his friend. "Perhaps, perhaps we should stay and help him?"

Shockwave glanced up at the two of them briefly, considering his response. "If the two of you would like to offer your assistance, I will not have to be alone with it," he said, his tone rather casual.

"Oh… oh, okay. Sure," Scavenger replied, a little uncertainly.

Mixmaster could not help but find the situation quite amusing; he was almost certain that Shockwave had meant for his remark to be humorous. "Heh, that's – that's a great idea."

Deluge did not stop running until he stumbled into the sealed door that led into his secure storage room, fumbling to input the encryption code on the wall panel. He rushed forwards into the ante-chamber as the sliding door slowly retracted, before making his way to the center terminal without stopping to reseal the door. He input a control sequence on the terminal and waited with trepidation as a hidden compartment beneath the console extended outward.

The scientist reached down to grab the item from the compartment space, and hugged it close to his chest.

While Sentinel himself was expendable, the very thing that made him a Prime was not.

Blaster watched Hot Rod play idly with the control panel, and shook his head. "I swear, soon as I graduate I'm going to be running this place."

Hot Rod smirked. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. And you know what else?"

The red and orange cadet leaned back in his seat to look over at the cassette-bot expectantly. "What?"

"I'm never going to let you in here. Ever," Blaster emphasized.

Hot Rod laughed amicably; it was just his kind of puerile charm and overconfidence that had made him instantly popular amongst his fellow cadets. "Whatever you say, Blastbox."

"Hey–"

Before Blaster could get any more riled on Hot Rod's account, the relay station indicated an urgent incoming signal. Hot Rod sat up, swinging his body around quickly, his attention now on the control panel in front of him. "Uh… hello? This is Iacon Command. Go ahead." He paused uncertainly for a moment, as Magnus extended a finger towards a switch on the console. Hot Rod pushed the offending finger away in annoyance, and flicked the switch himself.

"Iacon Command, this is Skyfire. We have Sentinel Prime. He requires urgent medical attention. Requesting clearance status," the voice came over the com.

Hot Rod looked back at his two friends in alarm. "Did you hear that? They have Sentinel Prime!"

"Uh, hello? This is Skyfire. Requesting urgent clearance status," the voice said again.

"Oops–" Hot Rod leaned over the console. "Uh, yeah, hello, this is Hot Rod." He paused, trying to recall the basic communication protocols he'd learned at the Academy. "Please stand by for clearance status," he said, and then turned to Magnus. "We need Prowl in here."

"I'll go," Magnus said, nodding curtly, before getting up from his seat and rushing out of the communications center in search of the second in charge.

"I hope Sentinel's all right," Blaster said, breaking the awkward silence that had been left behind as a result of the unexpected news.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Hot Rod replied, although he sounded a little hesitant.

The two of them sat in silence, and hoped that whoever was currently in charge would soon find a way to defeat the drone army that was threatening their city-state. Then, after a breem, Magnus returned with Prowl.

Hot Rod quickly stood up from his chair to offer his seat, but Prowl remained standing. He spoke over the com link as all three cadets watched and listened in anticipation.

"This is Prowl. Clearance denied. I repeat, clearance is denied. You are advised to seek alternative shelter immediately."

There was a long pause before the response from Skyfire came through. "Sir, Sentinel is insisting."

"Please inform Sentinel that we simply have no other option but to deny all access to the Command Center, without exception. We are under lockdown, and must maintain our defenses. To attempt to do otherwise will compromise the safety of the entire–"

Prowl was cut off by a second voice over the com link. It was Sentinel Prime's; he sounded unusually distressed. "Prowl, listen to me. I am ordering you to allow us entry. Do you understand?"

The awkward silence that followed among those who were gathered around the relay station was unmistakeable. "Sir–"

"Do you understand?" Sentinel repeated, now impatient.

Prowl sighed inwardly. He was only trying to do what was best for all, though Sentinel was pushing him into a very difficult position. If he denied his superior entry into the Command Complex, he would most certainly have to face the consequences of having disobeyed a direct order from a Prime – a serious breach of conduct that, in most cases, meant certain dismissal from Autobot Command. If he gave in to Sentinel's demand, however, the lives of everyone within the Command Center would be put further at risk; and, as a consequence, so would the lives of those who inhabited the outer regions of Central Iacon and beyond. The Command Center was only one of the few military outposts on Cybertron that was properly equipped to deal with the kind of threat presented by Straxus' drone army, and Prowl knew that it would be senseless to risk handing it over to the enemy.

Hot Rod's optics widened in anticipation of Prowl's response, as Blaster and Magnus remained absolutely still, relieved that they were not the ones who would have to make such a difficult decision. Then, to everyone's surprise, Hot Rod slammed a hand down upon the console, pressing down on the buttons, and the communication link was instantly severed. He quickly turned to face Prowl, his mouth agape. "I… the… link went dead," he managed to say after several tense moments, the expression on his face very much like that of a mech who had just been caught red-handed stealing top secret information. "I, uh… would you like me to, uh… re-establish the com?"

Prowl, of course, was well aware of the cadet's spontaneous ploy, and would have reprimanded him had his stunt not been done for the sole purpose of helping him to make his decision easier. "No, that will not be necessary. Keep the channels open," he replied simply, before making his way back out of the communications center. Before he left, he turned back to Hot Rod one last time. "It is a good thing that you are a cadet, or I would have had to make a note of your misdeed," he said, though it wasn't without a smile and a nod in his direction.

Once the three cadets were alone again, Blaster looked at Hot Rod in astonishment. "You're one crazy son-of-a-glitch, you know that?"

Hot Rod offered him a relieved, self-satisfied smile. "Hey it worked, didn't it?"

The best Mixmaster and Scavenger could do was stand by and watch as Shockwave subjected the drone to all manner of stimuli, now largely immobilized and connected up to some monitoring equipment. It had taken the three of them several minutes to securely position the drone, given its violent and erratic behaviour, and eventually they had to use a circuit dampener to subdue it, though it appeared to be partially resistant to the technology.

"Well – well?" Mixmaster finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity any longer. "What have you found?"

The purple Decepticon glanced at the two Constructicons, and then stopped what he was doing. He seemed slightly hesitant to answer the question, though it was probably due to the nature of his findings than any other reason. "It seems that whoever was responsible for this creature has gone to great lengths to ensure that its condition is completely irreversible. It must be destroyed." Shockwave walked around the containment pod that held the specimen in place with energy restraints, and stood beside Mixmaster. "I am unable to locate a power control module."

"You mean, you can't shut it down?" a voice said from behind them, near the entrance to the lab. It was Scrapper. He walked in to join the three of them, his gaze fixed upon the restrained drone. Its head strained to move from side to side as it emitted a low, continuous whine.

"Not easily," Shockwave replied. "Its energon converter appears to be completely non-functional, and its control systems are operating without its personality program. The drone is powered by a highly damaging, yet self-replicating form of energon – one that cannot be stored or processed through a standard converter."

"That's – that's crazy," Mixmaster commented. "That's just insane. Who would even think of doing something like that?"

"Well, there's only one kind of energon I can think of that comes close to that description," Scrapper continued, pausing momentarily to consider the unpleasant and downright dangerous implications of what Shockwave had discovered. "Ore-13".

"Ore-13?" Scavenger repeated incredulously. "But I thought the last of the deposits were destroyed eons ago."

Shockwave nodded solemnly. "As did I. However, it appears that Ore-13 not only still exists, but it exists in plentiful supply."

There was a pause as each of them thought of the ramifications of an entire army powered by the relatively rare and elusive Ore-13. "It would never need refuelling," Mixmaster surmised, "and it would explain its enhanced strength, plus how it's able to absorb energy from weapons."

"Exactly. They're all inherent properties of Ore-13," Scrapper said.

"Straxus must have gotten his hands on the stuff, but how?" Scavenger said.

"He must have access to an off-world supply," Shockwave responded, "as no such deposits exist on Cybertron."

"Off-world? Do you know of any place where Ore-13 can be acquired?" Scrapper asked, curious. "Shockwave?"

The three of them looked to him expectantly for a response, and Shockwave seemed to sigh, his head tilting slightly downwards. "I had heard that there exists a supply network operating out of Garrus-1, but could not confirm such a report…" he began, and then trailed off.

"Garrus-1," Scrapper repeated, glancing at his team mates. "That's not too far from Cybertron. Straxus must have made a connection."

"That's possible, very possible," Mixmaster added.

"Do you think… do you think that's where he's been getting a large number of the drones from as well?" Scavenger suggested, after a pause.

It took a few astro-seconds for Scrapper to comprehend what his friend had just said. "These were prisoners," Scrapper paced slowly towards the drone, realizing with revulsion that what Scavenger had suggested might very well be right. Garrus-1 was a maximum security prison that had the capacity to hold hundreds of thousands of condemned mechs from several neighbouring star systems, including Cybertron. If Straxus had, indeed, sourced living mechs for his drone army from amongst the inmates at Garrus-1, whether they had been recruited voluntarily or not those mechs were no longer alive, but only offered the mere semblance of being alive. Such inmates would have been condemned to serve Straxus in the only manner that would provide the war lord with ultimate pleasure: the gift of their complete sacrifice – to serve him in death.