Chapter 2: Two Deadly Weapons: Courage and Fear

Tranquility, home of the Autobot headquarters, was a lush planet located some 800 million parcycles from Rystolth in the Colossus Galaxy, and was filled with intelligent life that resembled dragons. When the planet was invaded by the Decepticons, the Autobots quickly came to their rescue and defeated the evil Cybertronians. Grateful, the leader of the dragons known as Hablano Primzahl granted the Autobots sanctuary on their planet, the first nation to do so for the Autobots. So Jazz established their headquarters on the planet and set up a Grid to communicate with all the Autobots across the Universe.

When Optimus Prime learned of the Decepticon invasion of Rystolth, he was quite alarmed and got prepared to dispatch reinforcements. And when word of all the Decepticons being captured come, he was worried even more; he knew that Megatron could not be so easily captured unless he wanted to be caught. Immediately he went to the Grid control room to contact Sideswipe.

"Sideswipe this Optimus Prime. Come in."

"Optimus Prime? Captain Sideswipe reporting, sir."

"It has come to my attention that your planet was attacked by Decepticons,"

"There's no need to worry about it, Prime. We have successfully destroyed one warship and forced a battlecrusier to land. All the Decepticons who were not killed were arrested."

"But I hear that among the Decepticons you have captured is Megatron along with his high-ranking officers to name a few: Blackout, Shockwave, Starscream, and Soundwave."

"Yes, that is correct. I require a prisoner transport to transfer them to Tranquility to stand trial for their crimes against the Universe and so-on-and-so-forth."

"But how much resistance did you receive when you captured them?"

"… minimal resistance, sir,"

"Just as I feared."

"What? You think that they "wanted" to get captured?"

"Affirmative."

"Oh no, what are we going to do?"

"For now, keep constant surveillance on the prison level. I am on my way so do not do anything rash until I arrive with the prisoner transport."

"If Megatron wanted to get captured, is it possible that he wanted to be locked in the base because he knows about the super soldier project?"

"I fear so, Sideswipe. Maintain maximum security for the prison level until I arrive. Optimus Prime, out."

For a while, Optimus Prime stared out of the large window that enabled a fantastic view of Tranquility for anyone who decided to gaze out of it. The beautiful, lush vegetated planet was truly a remarkable sight since there was nothing like it on Cybertron, his homeworld, nor had he seen it on any other planet they visited aside from Rystolth. Somehow he had a vision of Megatron's plans for accepting arrest on Rystolth; Optimus knew that Megatron planned on counteracting all the current work on the super soldier project and was interested into making it into a feared weapon to bring death and chaos. It all made sense now. Ultimately, Megatron's goal was to create an unstoppable weapon for purging all non-Cybertronian races from the Universe. And if he succeeded in his plan, Optimus Prime knew that the iridescent world of Tranquility would burn.

"Commander Jazz, report to the Grid command center immediately."

How did Megatron discover the secret operations occurring on Rystolth? All information being passed along was extremely decrypted into almost a brand new language, and all the Autobots present were sworn to high secrecy. The only logical answer was Soundwave. Spymaster extraordinaire, Soundwave was by far the most amazing Cybertronian alive, in Optimus Prime's point of view. He was well-aware that even if there were a couple Decepticons, as long as Megatron had Soundwave, he could continue his war. Secretly, Optimus envied Megatron for having possession over the communications expert; if the Autobots were to have Soundwave on strength, they could end the war. Mind-boggling amounts of information flowed in Soundwave's database and entire statistics of legitimately everything in the known Universe flooded his memory banks. By far as it seemed, the side that possessed the most intelligence would win the war… as of right now, the Decepticons were winning.

As he continued to view the landscape, his thoughts were disturbed by the thought of Autobots being slaughtered on Rystolth or a certain few siding with the Decepticons. What would become of his friend, Sideswipe? Would he be terminated? Would he be forced to join the Decepticon ranks? Time would tell, he finally decided and awaited the arrival of his second-in-command.

A sleek Cybertronian sports car sped into the centre and transformed with a stylish one-handstand, completed with a backflip into Commander Jazz.

"Ya wanted ta see meh, Prime?"

"Affirmative. I need you to assemble a crew for a prisoner transport along with our elite warriors present on Tranquility. Our destination is Rystolth."

"Rystolth, Prime? Wut good is out there? Reports o' the place say it contains undetermined life forms..."

"Are you contradicting orders?"

"Negative. I shall carry 'em out." With that the second-in-command transformed and drove away.

I apologize if I never informed you of what is actually out there, and if you feel deceived or betrayed in anyway, Jazz, Optimus Prime thought, but you would never understand such reasons for establishing a secret base.

"Lieutenant Sunstreaker, I require you presence in the Grid command centre."

A golden Cybertronian mech walked into the room, snapping to attention, "You have acquired my presence, sir."

"Good. I am leaving you in command of all the operations of Tranquility temporarily as my attention is needed elsewhere. Can I rely on you do so?"

"You can bet your life on it, Boss!"

Optimus Prime nodded and walked out of the Grid command centre, and transformed into alt-form once he reached the highway. A couple of reckless Autobots rushed down the path, almost cutting off their leader.

"You could exercise a bit more control," he scolded the young Autobot cars who transformed into protoform and apologized for their misconduct. They were acknowledged and waved off as he continued on his way down to the Spaceship Docks.

"Well, if it ain't Optimus Prime!" the aged Autobot known as Ironhide accredited the Autobot leader as he exited off the highway, "I hear we have Decepticon trouble down in Rystolth."

"That is affirmative, my old friend. Sideswipe has managed to secure the base but Megatron and his soldiers accompanying him accepted arrest. I have a feeling that Megatron wants to be inside the base."

"An' you got a feelin' that they ain't gonna be friendly once they bust out…"

"Frankly, yes."

"Well, I got some news fer you, Prime, we have received a distress beacon from Rystolth… it seems the Decepti-creeps weren't gonna wait fer us to arrive."

"Seriously?"

"Would I lie to you?"

Hearing this, Optimus Prime issued strict orders to get airborne ASAP. At once the crew began powering up the transport and the elite soldiers, one of them being Ironhide, boarded the vessel.

"Ready ta go, Prime!" Jazz reported as Optimus walked into the bridge of the ship.

"Good. Let's roll!"

The engines roared to life as the prisoner transport lifted off the ground and exited out of the atmosphere of Tranquility, destination: Rystolth.

"Primus, I hope we're not too late…" Optimus Prime muttered to himself as the ship entered a space bridge located fifty miles from Exodus, the planet's satellite.

"Prime, uh, if ya don't mind meh asking, but why do we need a prisoner transport if there's nuthin' out there in that region o' space? Ah mean, that's wut it looks like as far as it came across ta meh…" Jazz enquired, feeling rather curious about the mission to Rystolth.

"No one except for Ironhide, all the Autobots stationed on that planet, and I actually know of what operations occur on Rystolth, Jazz. Since our mission demands us to go there, I will now inform you of what has actually been blinded from your knowledge. The planet of Rystolth is one of our top essential bases to our survival in this war, as it is utterly confidential in the operations that occur there. Some of the finest scientists in the known Universe are there right now ask we speak, working on creating new weapons for us, researching chemicals for new sources of energy, and building a super soldier for us. A little while ago, the planet, although all information about it was confidential, was invaded by two Decepticon warships. The first one contained Megatron, most of his top-ranking officers, and a few soldiers while the other that came later was commanded by Starscream and carried about two hundred enemy soldiers. They were all contained when I last contacted Captain Sideswipe who is in charge of the base, but Ironhide recently informed me that they sent a distress beacon… I fear the worst…"

Jazz was taken aback, "Ya never told meh about this, Optimus? Why? Ah've always bin yer loyal friend an' subordinate officer… why would ya keep a secret from meh?"

"My deepest apologies if you feel betrayed, Jazz… but I told them that I would only inform Ironhide because he's in charge of the weapons, and I did not want him to be all suspicious about where all the weaponry was coming from. If there was no one in charge of the weapons, I swear that I would have been the only one who knew of this."

His second-in-command did feel betrayed; Optimus Prime knew it. He could see the look in the mech's optics and his continuous perky smile was vanquished, "Ya have told meh things that no one else has ever known about ya, but ya would not tell meh this cuz ya thought that Ah would be too irresponsible to hold onto such information."

"I solemnly promise that I will no longer harbour secrets from you, not as your leader but as your friend." The Autobot commander extended his hand forward, "Do you accept my apology?"

Knowing that he was sincere, Jazz shook hands with him and nodded his response, but he did make a mental note to be wary of his commander's trust. Apparently as leader over the Autobots, Optimus was losing sight of their friendship that they had shared for the past hundred stellar-spans, and he was well aware that he was only being seen as a soldier under Prime's authority.

It just was not like Optimus to do that to him. Jazz recalled when his friend told him about a time when he was just a Sparkling and got lost on another world all alone until the Cybertronian Adventure Squad rescued him and returned to Cybertron. No other mech knew of that tale and Optimus had asked Jazz to keep it a secret from all others, which he obliged. To make certain that it remained a secret, Jazz had erased all databases, records, Archives, and chronicles that contained information about the planet that he too forgot the name of. Due to this, the planet remained hidden from all Cybertronians, including the malevolent Decepticons because it did not exist in any documented records. After doing so, Optimus thanked his friend and told him that he would always trust Jazz no matter the case… or was it so?

Now that he thought of it, Jazz began to ponder and dwell on it. That planet… Optimus had said that he felt that it was perhaps the most vital planet in existence for Cybertronians, because it produced Energon naturally. Not a single planet, either than Cybertron, that they visited, had a single trace of the essential liquid that kept them all alive. Despite all the Energon that they had salvaged from their dying world, Jazz was alerted by the fact that it was depleting faster than they had anticipated. Even the Decepticons were running out of it, which made their attacks seem more desperate. Megatron was in search of Energon and every time he and his soldiers invaded Autobot bases, they were certain to steal the valuable necessity. Could this planet be their salvation… or would it be their destruction?

It was impossible to determine, now that the planet was purely unknown to the Cybertronians. Jazz was starting to feel foolish for erasing such data. No. It was best that he did because even though they had no idea where it was, the Decepticons were just as blind. But something that made him uncertain was whether Soundwave had downloaded all the databases, records, Archives, and chronicles prior to that important data being eliminated. He hoped not… but then again if Soundwave did, the Decepticons would have the largest amount of stockpiled Energon and would have won the war already. The amount of Energon depletion on both sides was bad enough and due to this, Decepticon incursions had almost dwindled to none, except for on rare occasions. In fact, several enemy soldiers were lazing about on Tranquility and could actually be counted as comrades now.

Listening to some tunes he had stored in his databanks from Cybertron, Jazz began to imagine just what a planet could like if it produced Energon naturally. Images of a new Cybertron filled his processor and he smiled to himself, a new Cybertron to inhabit again for millenniums to come. Those phased into a primitive world, now that he remembered Optimus claiming it to be non-advanced in any way. But yet, even the slightest thought of such a planet brought joy to Jazz; they would not perish. Yes, maybe this planet would be their salvation.

"Ironhide callin' Jazz!" the aged Autobot shouted into his left audio receptor.

"Wut? Wut?"

"What were you doin'? Daydreamin' on the job, now?"

"No…"

"Prime wants to talk to you," Ironhide kicked Jazz in the foot in a friendly but bossy manner.

"Lucky meh," Jazz grumbled and walked over to his commander and saluted, "Yes Optimus?"

The Autobot leader looked away from him… he was hurting. This made the second-in-command hurt too; Optimus Prime may not have been untrustworthy at the current cycle, but that did not break their friendship at all.

"Optimus? Wut's eatin' yer circuits?"

"I just established contacted with a surviving Autobot from Rystolth. He says that aside from a few others, everyone else had been slaughtered. They demand immediate evacuation."

"Even Sideswipe?" Jazz's bright blue optics widened.

"It appears that Megatron got exactly what he wanted. The entire planet is under Decepticon control now; he warned me about heavy resistance."

"Wut's the mech's designation?"

"Dino."

"Like dee-no? That's a peculiar name,"

Optimus Prime nodded and sank back into his command seat, thinking about all the innocent lives that had been mercilessly vanquished.

"What are we fighting for, Jazz?"

"Wut do ya mean?"

"This war has been going on for far too long, Jazz. We're nearly out of Energon, Megatron has gotten his hands on perhaps the most powerful weapon in the Universe, and I can't do a slagging thing about it!"

"Whoa there, Optimus!" his second-in-command exclaimed, "Git a grip o' yerself, mech! Billions, if not trillions, of innocent lives will be eradicated if we don't oppose Megatron. They died defending wut is right; it is an honour to die for a cause like ours."

"I'm in distress, Jazz… I don't know if I can continue this anymore."

"Don't say that, Prime! There are thousands of Autobots across the stars who look up to ya for leadership and guidance; if ya start saying our cause is lost, they'll believe it!"

"They don't know any better! Primus, if it wasn't for me, none of them would be in this situation!"

Jazz smacked Prime's faceplate hard, "If it wasn't for ya, they would all be dead or servin' Megatron!"

At once, Optimus Prime's conscious returned and he felt very foolish for speaking in such a manner, "I… am… sorry… I don't know what came over me…"

"I'll tell ya wut came over ya; it was fear! Ya even said that fear can destroy entire militaries; now don't let it destroy ya."

"You're right. I over-reacted out of fear." Optimus looked over at all his soldiers who were staring at him, wondering if this was the Optimus Prime who spoke of freedom and deliverance, "And it shall have no power in my ranks! Fear is a device of Megatron that he uses to corrupt and destroy, and it is perhaps his most deadly weapon aside from the physical. There should be no need to seek it, when Courage is an alternative to it. Without Fear, we will be able to conquer the Decepticons and restore peace and security to the Universe! Take up Courage, my friends! Face the deadly sword with a bold spirit; face the enemy in the optic with a defiant Spark and watch Fear overtake them! Even if our enemy seems to have all the advantages, they lack one powerful weapon: Courage. Use it, my brothers, and let it restore a sound mind to all of you when you're not fighting. We will fight with it and we will triumph! Till all are one!"

TILL ALL ARE ONE! TILL ALL ARE ONE! Every Autobot aside from Optimus Prime chanted.

"That's the Optimus Prime Ah know!" Jazz smiled to himself as he watched the Autobots who were previously trembling now looking bold, steadfast, and proud. He secretly disconnected a direct line to all the Autobots across the stars; they all heard Optimus Prime's motivational speech and felt proud to wear the Autobot insignia. Even they began chanting "Till all are one" loudly, and when the Decepticons heard the chant, they backed away and retreated in fear.

"Autobots, we have brothers down on Rystolth who need rescue. Let us not forsaken them!"

"Full speed ahead to Rystolth!" an enthusiastic Autobot officer declared.

Every Autobot cheered loudly, feeling their courage increase drastically, and they began to anticipate their arrival onto Rystolth…