Maelstrom Chapter 37
Pilgrimage 1 Part A

Author's note: This story is part of a LONG series called Maelstrom. It is strictly Gen. 1 - sorry, but that was all that was out when I started writing back in the late 1980's. It began as a fan-publication so the first chapters are in the form of a comic book! If you have not read the nine original Maelstrom Comics and the preceding text stories, I strongly suggest you do. This is a complex universe. They can be found at http// illmatar. deviantart. com (I have put double spaces between the URL here or FF . Net eats the link.) The comics and art which accompanies this series are there.

Most chapters of this series contain strong language and violence. Rated M for adult themes! Really! Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Critiques adored! This scene contains strong language, violence, and sex. Rated M for adult themes!


Transformers characters belong to Hasbro. Story and OC characters are mine. Critiques adored!

Maelstrom Chapter 37
Pilgrimage 1

Part B

Continued from Part A

Spike knew he was playing with fire, and wasn't of a state of mind to care much...but...Carly's words came back at him. Not his own Carly's, but still. A version of his wife from an alternate reality had seen fit to try very hard to reach him. Spike suddenly realized he was in position to push Rodimus right over the edge and it was tempting, really it was...to see the being that drove his wife insane go down the same path...

Spike shook himself. No one would thank him for it, certainly his wife wouldn't, and whether or not Rodimus deserved it, the Autobots didn't. Edana and Alex certainly didn't.

Spike also suddenly realized he made himself sick. Was he really the sort of man who would pursue vengeance at any cost?

"So...basically you want to use me because I'm psychotic? Is that it?" Rodimus asked. "Do you really think that side of me makes sound decisions Spike? Which part of me do you think decided to kill your son in front of his mother?"

Spike grimaced and tried to back-pedal. "I didn't come here to fight with you. I'm not here to argue over what happened with Daniel. Someday, I need to hear your side of it...from you. Right now, we just want you to come work with us, and you owe me Rodimus! You owe me enough to pull yourself together and come help!"

"I owe you more than that," Rodimus told him. The assassin's voice was cold, tight, and very distant. "That doesn't mean I can give it to you."

"Well, you can give it a try," Spike said.

Rodi's eye's narrowed. "Fine. We will meet in Elita's hold in an hour."

"But..."

"I am not a one Bot show anymore Spike. I don't make these plans in a vacuum. Nothing we discuss can be acted on without the council so we might as well use the input of all those who are here. It will save us time," Rodimus said with finality.

Spike scowled, but nodded, and left the room, oddly disappointed. He had envisioned just the three of them, although he realized the council was a factor he had failed to take into account. Whatever the ranking Autobots did behind closed doors, Optimus Prime was still the only public mouthpiece. Spike was used to an Autobot army run by one, or at most two.

He also realized again with disgust that he had been looking forward to trapping Rodimus in a room between himself and Shellshock. This vindictiveness was an unpleasant side of himself he hadn't realized existed. He hoped no one else noticed.

Spike hoped in vain.

He stepped out of the observation deck, his mind already on turns and doorways, when he got shoved up against the wall by a demonic mutant.

Lancer grabbed him by the shirt collar and put her glowing eyes about an inch from his.

"Get this very clear, Ambassador Witwicky. I understand what you are going through and I sympathize, really I do, but you need to keep something very much in mind. I could tell you about everything that's at stake here with Earth, and the Autobots and all that, but none of it makes one fucking bit of difference. If you EVER do anything to deliberately drive my mate to the brink again, I will come after you. Your spouse is probably gone, but mine still has a chance, and I will defend him from anyone. Even you. Screw the Autobots. Screw the fate of our worlds. I'll defend him because I love him. Got that? I don't give a shit about how fucking defenseless you are. I'm no Autobot. I don't do noble. I am just a bitch with fangs where my family is concerned and I will tear you apart. Got it?"

Spike nodded, his eyes wide with surprise. He opened his mouth to apologize to her, but she didn't give him the chance. She growled, turned abruptly and walked into the observation deck. Spike shook his head, shaken. Not because she'd threatened him, but because he'd given her reason.

Carly's alternate's words came back to him. "Quit it! It isn't healthy! It isn't good for you!" He knew she was right. He knew hate was wrong, but he was just now starting to feel it, and see for himself how much damage it could do without him meaning it. Lancer had every right to defend her mate, and Spike knew she would, no matter what unsettled business there was between them.

He sighed, straightened, and resolved to do better, but this time he didn't bother with the map. He just pushed the stupid wall panel any-old way and let Robert's laughter guide him back.

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Optimus Prime was feeling...irritable...or maybe rebellious. His partner and his mate had been gone for three days already and their absence couldn't have come at a worse time. He was being overrun with decisions that had to be made spur of the moment in terms of dealings with Earth's emissaries and his inter-galactic trading partners. It would have been overwhelming and confusing for anyone, even him, under the best of circumstances, but he wasn't exactly himself right now. Parts of his thought processes had been stripped away. Maybe the Sigma implants were never really his thoughts anyway, but they had been there, in many cases, for millions of years.

His mind was recovering, as if from surgery, and had not yet worked out how to function smoothly without the implants.

He also wanted to second guess everything.

Was that idea REALLY what he wanted to do, or was it a holdover from Sigma's influence?

Would the REAL Optimus Prime please stand up? We've got an imposter.

He spent more time than he could afford wondering what sort of leader Orion Pax would have made had he not been tampered with, and trying to decide what THAT Optimus Prime would have done.

He might never know...and felt a bit depressed about it, having decided that the Autobots deserved that un-hindered, fictional Optimus Prime, and the one they had wasn't ever going to be quite as good.

Was this how Rodimus had felt that first term? Competing with a ghost? At least now Rodi had a reality to get over awe of...and surely he had gotten over thinking Optimus was perfect a long time ago.

How was Optimus now going to accomplish that same feat comparing himself to...himself?

All he wanted was a few days to get his head in order and instead he had a hurricane of decisions and meetings and interviews which had to be handled immediately.

It was enough to make a 'Bot really, really cranky.

Should the first school be here in Iacon or somewhere less likely to be targeted?

Iacon. The school itself was probably going to be a target so put it where their defenses were already strongest.

Should medical facilities for new sparks be centralized or scattered throughout Cybertron?

Both. General medical training should be within reach at all times for Cybertronians of any age, but the specialists should be close to the major hubs. Starting with Iacon. Most new parents would want their youngsters close to the premier school, at least until there were more learning facilities open.

Make preparations for lots of Transformers moving their quarters around. Many would want to move into Iacon...others would want to move out to avoid the increased population...and the youngsters.

A surprising number of Transformers were expressing discomfort with the idea of young. They weren't opposed to it like Eclipse's gang had been, but it made them nervous and uncomfortable. Optimus assumed it was fear of the new. No one had a clue what to expect from young sparks. He suspected many would get over their jitters when younglings were more common-place.

After millions of years it was easy to get set in your ways.

Slag it.

He really couldn't concentrate very well and Kup had something he wanted to talk to Optimus about as well. Optimus groaned. He was tired, and the faint traces of headache still surfaced to bother him periodically, but at least he knew whatever Kup was worried about would be a legitimate concern.

x
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"Gossip?" Optimus growled. "You came to bug me right now about gossip?"

"That's right," Kup said grimly. "Have you been paying attention to what they've been saying about Rodimus this week? Or over the last few months even?"

"No. I don't listen to that kind of news. I did catch some the other day but it's all nonsense. No one puts any credit to that stuff," Optimus said.

"That's a slagging load of scrap Optimus. I've heard so much I half believed it myself and I know him and I know about Lancer. These Paradronian idiots are three-chips shy of a mother-board and they'll believe anything. They don't know Rodi very well Optimus, and even the enlisted Bots that do are starting to repeat stuff. They think he's gone all Hot Rod on 'em again since you're back to run things."

"Hot Rod never acted like that either!" Optimus protested.

Kup shrugged. "You know that, and I know that.... I just want you to see what's happening. It's almost like what he had to deal with after you died only in reverse. The mythological Hot Rod is a hundred times more reckless and irresponsible than the reality ever was. It's undermining his credibility and yours too since you 'let it go on.'"

"Let WHAT go on? I had to FORCE him to go on vacation!" Optimus roared.

Kup shrugged again, "They take your silence as acknowledgment for his exploits."

"Exploits?! Pulling double shifts is a light day for him. Most of the time he goes non-stop until it's either recharge or drop dead! This is just stupid Kup! I have more important things to worry about than a bunch of out-right lies," Optimus growled.

"NO! You don't! Did it ever occur to you that Vector Sigma might be helping this along? I know you were using rumors to hide his activities against the Slavers but it has snowballed Optimus! You two are out of touch! You've been holed up in your silver room and the bits that get through are just the tip of the iceberg. They are dragging a Prime's reputation through the mud and it is costing you support here at home and on Earth!"

"You can't be serious..." Optimus said.

"Optimus....Matrix forbid something happen to you in the near future, because until we can undo some of this damage Rodi is in no position to take over," Kup informed him.

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A few hours later:

"Yes of course we expect a small surge in population, but we feel our people will be responsible enough to use sound judgement on whether they are ready or not," Optimus Prime said, feigning patience he didn't feel. He had already answered the same question in various forms more times than he could count.

"Ah," Licity the reporter, a yellow, pink, and lime-green Paradronian femme, went on slyly. "So how much of that surge do you expect to attribute to your promiscuous partner? He's reported to have been seen at 3 different dance clubs last night."

Optimus went from bored to ballistic in .002 seconds without an instant's thought.

"That's IT! I've had it! I'm going to start pressing charges against anyone publishing unfounded gossip! This is NOT Earth! You do NOT get to insinuate anything you want! How could Rodimus be at night clubs all over Cybertron when he's not even ON Cybertron this week?"

Licity's smile suddenly looked a bit strained, but some of the others came to her rescue by asking Optimus where Rodimus was.

"That's classified," Optimus said grimly.

"How convenient," the candy-colored femme purred. "Are you sure you aren't just covering for a friend with too many 'dates'?"

"He is off-world," Optimus intoned ominously, "taking care of things which affect YOUR safety and livelihood. As for dates, he's already got a m...he's had one girlfriend for the last seven years, and he's damned serious about her, believe me."

As soon as he said it, Optimus knew Rodimus was going to kill him for yet another furor...but the senior Prime didn't care.

It was worth it to see that stupid candy-colored femme gasping and working her mouth like a stranded fish.

x
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Jazz was sitting in the temporary communications center with Blaster when the senior Prime finished that interview by simply walking off and leaving hordes of frantic reporters shouting questions.

Jazz had been spending a lot of time with Blaster the last few days. The Specialist had been relieved of duty for a few days on Optimus orders when confirmation of KC's death had come in from the Maelstrom. Jazz had taken to just sitting in the communications room while Blaster was on duty.

Partly it was guilt that he had neglected their friendship. Partly it was a need for a friend to distract him from his grief. Jazz caught Blaster throwing him worried looks from time to time, but the communication's officer didn't pry. Jazz didn't know if that was a skill Blaster had as communications specialist or if he was just a good friend, but either way Jazz was grateful Blaster knew when NOT to talk. Blaster just went about his job and let Jazz sit there.

Jazz needed the company, but he couldn't talk about it, and he was surprisingly grateful for the time off.

Watching Optimus rant at reporters made Jazz wonder if Optimus didn't need the break more.

Any hint of Rodi and Lancer's relationship was considered above top-secret. If the Jabez even suspected the Maelstrom was involved with Cybertron in any capacity Cybertron would simply be eliminated. Simple as that. The last thing the young Prime ever wanted was anyone checking into how he really spent his private life.

"Oh..." Blaster said out loud to himself. "Oh! She's classified!"

Jazz stiffened in his seat and Blaster whirled to look at him. They stared at each other.

"That...that strange femme the night of the riots...." Blaster whispered.

Jazz grimaced, but didn't say anything.

"You can't tell me I'm right, but I am, aren't I?" Blaster said.

The two friends just stared at each other some more.

"That was one scary lookin' lady," Blaster said. "Rodimus has some nerve."

Jazz felt that Lancer's appearance spoke for itself, so he nodded.

"She's not an Autobot, is she?" Blaster remarked.

Jazz sighed and shook his head.

"Are they really serious?"

The Specialist looked piercingly at his friend, "They are as serious as it gets, on a lot of levels."

"No! They're mated? Why is she a secret then?" Blaster asked, a big grin on his face. "Because she's not an Autobot?"

"Blaster...Man, you need to be careful," Jazz warned.

Blaster drew back and nodded. "I can keep my mouth shut, but ... Optimus said seven years. He's been with her since he got back...he must have met her while he was missing.... Seven years...that's when things started getting weird around here."

"Blaster....Man...please..." Jazz pleaded.

Blaster looked sharply at his friend, hearing real fear in Jazz's voice. "That's when you went all X-Files on me too. I shoulda figured you weren't dissin' me."

Jazz hung his head, "I'm sorry."

"It's cool. I understand," Blaster said. Then he chuckled a bit. "So the Rodster hooked up with someone did he? Now that's amazing. She must be somethin' to keep his attention so long."

"Oh...she's something," Jazz muttered reluctantly. "Really Blaster, I can't..."

"I'm cool Jazz. I just feel like a sucker," Blaster said with something of a leer.

"A sucker? Why?" Jazz asked.

"Because I was starting to believe all those rumors about Rodi fooling around all the time. They surprised me, but not enough. I shoulda known better, but anyway there ain't no way he's cheating on that thing. I don't know who she is. I don't know WHAT she is...but you do not cheat on that and live."

"You have no idea," Jazz snickered.

x
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Maelstrom:

"I can't believe he gave me a hard time about it! I can't believe he even hesitated!" Spike raged at Shellshock.

The former Autobot merely sat in his over-sized swivel work chair and stared at Spike, expressionless. The golden fingers were steepled and stiff.

"You are surprised he is reluctant to be around you? Are you also surprised to find he is reluctant to be around me?" Shellshock asked.

"I'm surprised he didn't jump at a chance to make things right!" Spike complained.

Shellshock smirked bitterly.

"OK...poor choice of words, but at least he could help with less...Oh quite smirking Shock! You know what I mean!"

"Do I?" Shellshock asked sardonically. "I was once of the opinion that the Primes could take anything. I was wrong. They have limits like everyone else. Maybe being alone with you and me to talk about the slave trade and everything else is too much to ask."

"After the way he let my family down NOTHING should be too much to ask!" Spike roared.

Shellshock was on his feet and in Spike's face as quick and silent as Lancer, except that the enormous man picked Spike off the ground and brought the Ambassador to him so that they were nose to nose. Spike's toes cleared the floor by about two feet.

"HE? What about YOU Spike? Do you exclude yourself from blame? DO YOU? You are Earth's Ambassador. You have access to everything the Autobots have - they exclude you from nothing. You are part of the trade agreements and shipping regulations that let the slavers pass. You have eyes! You have a mind to think with...and you can't even blame Vector Sigma for blinding you! You are like Kup! Making up lies for yourself to keep from seeing the truth! All of us are responsible! You can not stand on the side-lines with your head up your ass and then criticize those who try...even if they fail!"

"Missing children's reports line the walls of Central! Do you stop and look? The space ports are wallpapered from floor to ceiling with faces. Does no one on Earth notice? Does no one ask where can they all be? The evidence is everywhere but no one is looking! The council bites off more than they can chew but at least they are biting! You are only whining because it was YOUR son...YOUR wife! Their blood flows over him like a river and you go one about one! He is drowning! We are all drowning! We can not save them all!"

Spike's eyes were gaping, but he couldn't find anything to say.

"You have always said you occupy a meaningless position - that if the governments of Earth could stand hearing what is needed from a robot that you wouldn't be needed. Whose fault is that? Is it Rodimus' fault you didn't take your own role seriously? Is it Optimus' fault you never did more than shuttle messages back and forth and give him a human voice to speak with? Your son is dead? Your wife is mad? JOIN THE FUCKING CLUB! There are thousands of families who don't even have the closure of knowing their lost ones are gone! Some go crazy living with walking corpses who seem fine but aren't...and no one believes them! No one helps them! YOU REPRESENT THESE PEOPLE! They are YOUR followers...and believe me, the Autobot you accuse has done much more to protect them than you have!"

x
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Char:

Viper came to very slowly. Her neural circuits struggled to connect what her optics perceived to the vocabulary which named it.

Face. That was a face.

More information laboriously worked its way together and she contemplated other words like "angry", "frustrated", "dangerous", and "superior".

This left her with just enough foundation to add consideration of a second face as well which coincidentally fit nicely with exactly the same descriptions as the first.

These faces were not the same though so she continued to struggle to classify them.

Eventually two more descriptive nouns came to mind. Cyclonus and Galvatron.

Well...that certainly warmed up her neural circuits a bit. Enough to speak maybe?

"Wha...what happened to me?" Viper asked.

"You need to tell us Viper! What did the Autobots want with you?" Cyclonus demanded.

"Autobots?" Viper asked. New word...it stirred up much too much. She slipped back into stasis for a moment.

When she came back on line they questioned her again, but her memory was hazy at best.

"What did Rodimus Prime take from you?" Galvatron demanded shrilly.

"He took something out of my chest!" Viper informed herself more than them. The memory was hazy, but extremely unpleasant and painful. She remembered the robot...the Autobot...Rodimus leaning his face close to hers while he hurt her.

She came up with a new word. Hate.

"We can see that!" Cyclonus said. "What did you have that was so important that they would come here after it?"

"I can't remember! What did he do to me? Why can't I remember?" Viper asked. Unconsciously, she hissed and venom spat across the room. It made a satisfying sizzle as it hit the wall. She liked it.

Someday Autobot. Someday.

"Are you sure you don't remember?" Cyclonus threatened. "You hid it from us all this time...."

Viper merely glared at him sullenly.

They ended up using Soundwave on her. The brush of his mind on hers was probing, violating...and hurt in a way that was almost familiar. In the end though, all he could tell his disappointed superiors was that the femme's mind was truly disjointed and that whatever information she'd had was gone.

At that point Viper witnessed Cyclonus carefully talking Galvatron out of killing her.

Viper was too disoriented to really be afraid, even though she understood her life was on the line. Instead she made careful notes on how Cyclonus handled his enraged commander with admiration. If she survived she would emulate the same techniques.

She also felt fury towards the Autobot who wounded her body and mind for making her vulnerable this way. The fury left no room for fear and she watched dispassionately while Cyclonus adroitly saved her life. They left her alone to put her mind back together.

x
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Cybertron:

Elita, Magnus, and Rodimus dragged their way into Central's restricted section. None of them were low on energon, but they all felt exhausted anyway. Grief was still weighing them down, and the sessions with Shellshock and Spike hadn't helped. Oh sure, they had plenty of effective notions, but given the caliber of viciousness.... If some of these ideas had come from Pagan or Lancer it probably would not have bothered them, but having it coming from Bumblebee and Spike gave Magnus and Rodi surges.

They were all glad to be back to the more routine stress of their positions, and looking forward to the not so routine challenge of preparing for Cybertron's future generations.

No one was in the command center when they trudged in.

Elita looked around for her mate, a bit disappointed but not surprised that he wasn't there to greet them. "Optimus must be out setting things up," she said with affectionate pride. "This project means so much to him."

"It gives us all the first real hope we've had," Magnus concurred. "I'm sure he's gotten more done than we imagined possible."

"Well, let's see what the old bastard's been up to," Rodimus said with forced cheerfulness. He was still in a foul mood, and nursing a bit of a headache again. Concentrating on Spike and Shellshock's proposals rather than the emotional baggage between them had taken as much will as fighting through his Jabez memories. Sometimes it actually hurt, physically as well as emotionally. He was starting to worry he wasn't as done with Vector Sigma's implants as he hoped. "At least we can count on Op to hold down Cybertron while we're away."

He turned on some of the monitors to run the news on different networks - hoping to get a quick snapshot of his partner's progress.

One network was discussing the fallout from Optimus' "insulting" comments on human society.

Another was running analysis on the economic impact of his tirades at their trading partners.

Yet another was holding a panel of psychological experts discussing whether Optimus Prime was sound of mind or showing signs of mental breakdown.

Three were doing a case by case investigation into all of the rumors surrounding Rodimus Prime and holding serious discussion panels about whether the gossip news casts were out of control and damaging Transformer society in general and the standing of the Primes in particular. The screens were full of nervous looking "witnesses" who were confessing to having made up their stories, and a few tearful femmes who were being badgered into admitting they had never even met the young Prime.

The last network was running a list of possible candidates for Rodimus' "alleged" girlfriend and speculating about why they were keeping her under wraps.

Kup came racing into the Command Center and cussed as he transformed. They had beaten him back before he could warn them. All three of the returning Autobots were standing in front of the monitors with their jaws agape. The networks had so much Optimus ranting material it was as if they couldn't cover it all fast enough...so they were creatively splicing the highlights together.

"He's lost his mind," Elita whispered.

Before Kup could say a word Optimus Prime's resounding footsteps pounded into the Command Center. All three of his aghast friends turned to stare at him in mute shock.

"WHAT?" he snapped.

Continued in Part C