Chapter 10
It had been one week ago that the group of new Decepticons had joined their ranks. Despite Galvatron´s warning, that nobody really had expected him to follow, Megatron had started from the beginning to try to undermine Galvatron´s leadership and sway troops to his side.
His attempts had however been very subtle and his success limited so far. Despite that, the effect was obvious, over short or long the Decepticon army was being divided into two factions.
xxx
Cybertron, the sector polyhex was the capital of the Decepticons.
If there had ever been a part of the planet that was a typical representation of their culture culture, then it was this sector. Polyhex was and would probably ever be of the Decepticons. Even in the years the Autobots had been in complete control of the planet, they had never much of presence established. In fact the sector had been to a great part abandoned during that time. But now, the Decepticons were back and polyhex was once again a thriving metropolis.
In one of the many energon bars in polyhex city, a few Combaticons and Stunticons, sitting around a table were sitting together and discussing the latest developments.
"Hey, what do you think about all this?" Breakdown asked the Combaticons.
"As far as it comes to me, Galvatron has proofed himself", Blast Off told them. "Don´t misunderstand me, a few years ago he had been completely nuts, but now he had truly made it."
"Galvatron had reconquered Cybertron and he had helped the Autobots to cure this damned hate plaque", Onslaught pointed out. "Why should we try to replace him with somebody who is probably only an impostor?"
"Galvatron was also the one who had lost Cybertron in the first place", a seeker on the neighboring table, who had heard their conversation, claimed.
"Yes, against Unicron", Wildrider replied. "I would like to see what you would do if you were facing that monster. Oh wait, we couldn´t because back then you had been running away faster as a laser bolt."
"What do you say?" The seeker yelled and stood up angrily.
"He is right you know", Motormaster interrupted him, "during the Unicron battle you simply run away. So sit down and shut up unless you want to cross me."
For a moment the seeker stared at the dangerous Stunticon leader before he finally backed down and turned back to his comrades on their table who threw a few smart comments at him for his retreat from the much more powerful Stunticon.
"But this newcomers, they had said that Galvatron was the impostor", Breakdown said insecure.
"Yes and that primate Primacron had said that he had created Unicron", Vortex commented sarcastically, "long time before I believe it."
"I say we should put both of them in the arena and let the fight it out", Brawl claimed.
"Yes, that would be fun", Vortex replied. "There would we all have something from it.."
"Yeah that would be great." Swindle laughed.
"What do you think about this Dead End?" Wildrider asked his fellow Stunticon, who had so far not said anything to this topic.
"We should just wait how it will turn out", he answered, "we will not be able to do something about it anyway."
"Typical", Motormaster murmured.
xxxxxxx
Autobot flagship, in space somewhere between Cybertron and earth
Optimus Prime was waiting at the command bridge of the flagship of the Autobot fleet. He had just returned from earth with Omega Supreme and one thing was clear, the situation was bad.
Autobot city was gone. It was a major loss. The damage to the Autobot army was immense. And Optimus knew they had a new dangerous enemy.
He was meeting with his officers Fortress Maximus, Springer and Jazz and with the humans Spike Witwicky, who had been working with the headmasters for the last weeks and Marissa Fairbourne, who had just arrived from earth. They were just entering the room.
Optimus looked at the three Autobots and the two human beings. He and them had now to discuse the situation, as much as he disliked it. The last battle had one of the most crushing defeats of his life. He had been practically beaten without his enemy firing a single shot at him, alone through threats.
"Optimus", Spike greeted him.
"Hallo Spike", Optimus replied in a flat tone. Then he addressed all of them. "I think you all know the reason of this meeting", he said to them.
"Hotrod, Ultra Magnus and the others are still on their special mission?" Spike asked him.
"They are", Optimus confirmed. "I wish they were here. We could need their advice. As you all know, the Autobot army has taken a great blow, the second one after the loss of Cybertron. I admit, I am not sure if we will ever recover."
"You did the right thing Optimus", Marissa told him.
"I know, it may however have cost us the war. But I couldn´t simply let millions die."
"Marissa is right", Springer said, "Nobody would have expected anything different from you."
"Thank you, but that doesn´t change the consequences. We have lost Autobot city, our most important base. It was also our main supply of energon and material. We need improvements and we need them fast", Optimus stated. "Right now I am really open for suggestions", he stated with a hint of irony.
Fortress Maximus and Spike looked at each other.
"I think there is something you should see", Fortress told Optimus. "We have been working on something recently. It is not much, but maybe it will be a beginning.
"And what is it?"
"We have been working on a new form of binary bonding, we call it the powermasters."
xxxxxxx
Cybertron
"He is lying", Galvatron said. "I don´t care what he claims, this so called Megatron is nothing but an impostor."
"Oh, I am sure of that", Skorponok replied casually. "I have learned a long time ago not to simply trust what somebody tells me or who he seems to be."
"Good Skorponok, I hope you keep remembering who your true allies are", Galvatron stated.
"Of course, my leader", Skorponok and Zarak replied with one voice.
He could feel Galvatron´s glance at him as he and Mindwipe walked out of the room.
"What do you think we should do now Zarak?" Mindwipe or rather Zarak´s ally Vorath out of his body, asked him after they had left the building.
Skorponok smiled. "As you know, we have already made a bid for power and failed."
"Yes", Mindwiped said sourly.
"But the only reason why it failed was the base programming that placed Galvatron into my super form to keep me from killing him. I think with Megatron we won´t have the same problem"
"I understand." Mindwipe was smiling now too.
"Yes, I think we should pay a visit to this "Megatron" and hear what he has to say."
"And if Galvatron is right about him, what if he is truly only a dangerous impostor?"
"If he turns out to be a threat, we can easily get rid of him anyway with the power we have under our control." Skorponok laughed.
xxxxxxx
Cyclonus and Scourge were on a patrol flight over the night side of Cybertron. Such high ranked Decepticons normally didn´t have to go on patrols, but it was a good oppunity to talk undisturbed.
"It is like in old time right Scourge?" Cyclonus asked.
"Yes Cyclonus, like in old times", Scourge replied far less enthusiastic. The old time, when they were someone else, had different names, like the Decepticons who had showed up a short time ago.
"We need to get prepared Scourge", Cyclonus said.
"I understand", his friend replied.
"Despite what he said, this Megatron impersonator is already trying to bring troops to his side, exactly as everyone expected him to. We need to make sure that the Decepticons stay loyal to Galvatron and we have to prepare for the confrontation."
"Yes Cyclonus, I understand", Scourge replied again, even more frustrated than before. He couldn´t help it, but the meeting with his old self had set him off.
"Do you have to repeat that the entire time?"
"Sorry, I think I am a bit distracted."
Cyclonus frowned.
"What is with you Nightstick?" He asked his nebulon partner. "Would you turn against your leader if he decides to side with the usurpers?"
"Zarak may be my leader, but I have originally decided to work for Zarak against money. And", he hesitated for a moment, "he had already made an takeover attempt against Galvatron. I have to say, since he is bonded to Skorponok, he is not longer the same. The old Zarak would have never broken his word like this."
"I understand", Cyclonus replied.
xxxxxxx
The five seekers had met in an abandoned hangar at one of the space ports in the Kaon sector. They all shared the same base design, the typical, first pyramid flier and now F15 form. Two of them however were elite warriors, while the others were only regular troops.
Thundercracker and Skywarp were in a conversation with the three other jets.
Skywing, Counterstrike and phantom were one of the many seeker trines who had been ranked behind Starscream´s former aerial elite, like they were now ranked after Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps. In their skill however, they were not far behind the elites. Their trine leader Skywing had actually once been considered one of the best air warriors on Cybertron. Megatron knew this. If this three were anything like their versions from their world they were more than worth to bring them to their side.
"You have to see that your abilities are not being appreciated", Skywarp said to them.
"Our abilities have never been appreciated, never under Megatron and not now", Skywing replied.
"You are right and Megatron knows that he had never recognized your group as you deserved. But now he offers you a important role if he would become leader again, as part of his now elite."
For a few moments, the three other seekers were visible taken aback. Then Skywing grinned.
"And why Skywarp, if you are really who you claim to be, is your leader then not here and tells us that himself? Let me guess, he is right now busy to talk with some more important group right?"
The two elites were now starring at him with open mouths.
xxxxxxx
In another part of the sector
"Astrotrain, Blitzwing and Octane, my old comrades, I remember the time we have fought together", the robot who seemed to be Megatron greeted them. "How Soundwave and Thundercracker have reactivated you after we had finally found the wreck of the nemesis, how we had discovered the island of…"
"You are not the only one who knows this old stories Megatron", Astrotrain cut him off. "Galvatron, Cyclonus and Scourge know all that too. So don´t try that to convince us, it won´t work."
"I see", he replied.
"What do you have to tell us?" Blitzwing asked him.
Megatron and Sideways were standing before Blitzwing, Astrotrain and Octane. The triple changers had agreed to a secret meeting with them, to at least hear what they had to say.
"I will tell it to you in short words, I plan to take back command of the Decepticon army. Galvatron can not be allowed to stay in charge", Megatron said.
"And why exactly?" Octane asked him. "Because that would mean that you would be not in charge?"
"Because Galvatron is a creation of Unicron, they can not be trusted", Megatron stated.
"And how do you know this? I thought you had been lost in space for the last seven years", Astrotrain asked him.
"As they had found us in space, Sideways here and his followers had informed us about everything what had happened in our absence. But that wasn´t even necessary", he pointed out. You know that I am right.
Remember how he had treated you from the beginning. Blitzwing, he had banished you from the Decepticons because you had teamed up with the Autobots to safe the planet and only accepted you back after an humiliating apology."
"To be honest Galvatron banished him because he was stupid enough to point a gun at him and force him to call a retreat and that after the entire problem was solved", Octane said mockingly.
"And you Octane, he put a bounty on your head and let his troops chase you through the entire sector."
"Oh, in my case it was something completely different, but let us not talk about me." he smiled.
Blitzwing glared at the other triple changer for a moment, then he answered Megatron.
"Galvatron was insane back then. Through his fall in a plasma sea, he received mental damage, but he had improved by far."
"And how do you know that he will stay like this?" Megatron asked all three of them. "How do you know if his mind won´t break and all this will start all over again? Are you even sure that it was an accident that caused Galvatron´s insanity or was it maybe a byproduct of his creation.
Are there any witnesses for his fall into a plasma sea?, only the other Unicron-designs. Don´t fool yourself, Galvatron had been corrupted by Unicron, he is unstable, dangerous."
Megatron saw that his words began to getting to them. Their conviction had visibly weakened.
"And why should we side with you instead?" Octane asked him. "Aside that two thirds of the army are thinking that you are a fake? What have you to offer to us?"
Sideways stepped for. They all looked at Megatron´s mysterious new right hand.
"I will show you what we have to offer", he said to them.
xxxxxxx
Autobot flagship
"This are our volunteers Optimus", Galen, the nebulon partner of Fortress Maximus, told him. "The Autobots Getaway, Joyride and Slapdash and three of our nebulon soldiers. They go by the code-names Rev, Hotwire and Lube."
While his nebulon partner had separated, Fortress Maximus headless body was waiting at the side of the room, a more than unsettling sight, even by the headmaster´s standards.
"And this is Hi Q, our head scientist. Galen introduced him to a bald, middle aged nebulon.
"Optimus Prime, it is an honor to meet you", the man greeted him.
"The honor is on my side Hi Q", Optimus answered the scientist. "And now tell me more about this new powermaster process you have developed."
"It is complicated", he replied", but to put it simple, in the new version of the binary bonding the humanoid partner replaces the engine of the Transformer. Aside from the usual benefits of the bonding, the greatest advantage is that the robot can function for a longer time without the need for energon."
"So warriors who can operate without a direct energy supply for some time. That would be indeed very useful, especially in our situation", Optimus pointed out.
"You are right Prime and like like the other forms of "masters", the reflexes and speed will be greatly improved."
"Optimus", Spike said now, "there is also something else we have to show you."
"And what is it?"
"We want you to become a powermaster Optimus", Hi Q told him, "and I am volunteering to become your partner."
xxxxxxx
The planet Scarvix
The shuttle with a handful of robots on board had just reached the star system. After the Quintesson attack on this world, the Autobots decided to send a small group to investigate and to offer help in the name of their leadership and the human government, as far as this was possible with the current critical situation in the war.
That was also the reason the group was very small. They were only four. But had Autobot city however already been lost when they had started, even this number would have probably been too great.
The Sparkler Minibots Fizzle, Sizzle and Guzzle had been send to do whatever they could with their limited possibilities and to try to find out about the background of this attack. Their "shuttle" was in fact one of their comrades, the fourth Autobot. Freeway was a triple changer who transformed into a black colored truck and into a space shuttle.
What they didn´t knew was that they weren´t the only ones. The Decepticons had also sent a team.
A group consisting of the Sweep Skyhound, the Battlechargers Runabout and Runamuck and the Duocons Flywheels and Battletrap had already landed on the surface.
"The Autobots are landing on this planet Galvatron", Skyhound reported to his leader per communicator.
"It was clear that they would also be curious. Such a attack is simply not typical for the Quintessons."
"Shall we destroy them mighty Galvatron?"
"No, we have problems to deal with right now. Find out everything you can and then come back as quick as possible."
xxxxxxx
New Quintessa
The judge, flanked by an two lines of guard robots, was approaching their new ally to discuss with him the last parts of their plan.
Several months back, he remembered, the Quintesson race had agreed to a partnership that was promising them not only the destruction of the Transformers and the control over Cybertron, but also a dominant position in the entire known universe.
Despite the new power they had achieved through the alliance and far more that it promised, he was filled with fear when coming close to that being.
"Ah, judge Quandriata", a deep voice greeted him, "you come to inform me about the success of our attack on Cavion city." It wasn´t an question.
"Yes, you already knew ?" the Quintesson asked.
"I do", the voice answered him, "and I can tell you that also the other factors are developing as planned."
"That is good to hear Unicron", Quandriata replied.
The Quintesson was looking right into the face of the chaos bringer. He was standing on a ramp, on top of a kilometers high framework. Unicron´s head was connected to the planet New Quintessa itself. It´s presence overshadowed the entire hemisphere.
"Soon I will be whole once more", Unicron said. "I will rise again and all our enemies, everybody, will be destroyed."