Chapter 6

Guess what? I just broke my own record! At 4,500 words, this is the longest chapter I have ever written so far in my career! :D As such, this is a very special chapter. One thing to be glad about is, there are no deaths here! Hurray! You can finally put away your tissues now. xD

Another thing, this takes place... away from Earth. But you have to read it in order to understand what I mean.

So, I hope you will enjoy as I'm dedicating this to all my readers out there!

Planet Junkion, Autobot Galactic Expedition Excavation Site

1900 hours, 500 years before the Battle of Chicago

Optimus sighed as he read the long list of reports in his data-pad.

Ever since arriving at this planet, things haven't been going well as it should. Due to its rather isolated location, the High Council hasn't been able to properly maintain its presence on Junkion. As such, it was poorly guarded and a good hiding place of brigands and outlaws, something that his brother, Megatron, is not too fond of.

Optimus chuckled softly as he remembered how the Lord Protector persistently offered him his three best warriors, Brawl, Demolishor and Lugnut, as his own personal bodyguard. The former gladiator has stated that the planet is much too dangerous for an expidition without proper security. However, the young Science Division leader humbly declined as he fears that those three would not let anyone near him. After all, they are some of his brother's most loyal servants. Anything he says, they will do without hesitation. As the head of his division, he needs to always be available for those under him, something he can't do if three hulking warriors were beside him all the time. Fortunately though, Junkion's leader Wreck-Gar has offered some of his bots as extra guards, which greatly eases his mind. Along with Prowl and Ironhide, they provided an ample amount of protection against raiders and pirates. However, sometimes it's not always smooth, as most of Wreck-Gar's bots were constantly picking fights with Ironhide.

And so, Optimus found himself sighing once more as he read the various complaints from his team. They were currently situated on a rocky plataeu, surrounded on all sides by hills and mountains. Comprising of at least 30 mechs, his team have been digging here for over a month already.

At this point, we'll never be able to find that ship in time. He thought.

Suddenly, he was interrupted by Jazz bursting through the door.

"Optimus! They're at it again!" Jazz said frantically.

Rubbing his temples as he sighed for the third time that day, Optimus asked in his soft baritone voice. "Where is it this time?"

"Mess Hall. They've been quarelling for 30 minutes now! Scavenger and his excavation team are already complaining about the ruckus. They said they wouldn't be able to continue the dig if they can't concentrate!" The young Autobot said in exasperation.

"I'll go talk to them." Optimus answered as he sets his data-pad on the table and followed Jazz outside.

When they arrived at the scene, the Mess Hall was indeed... a mess. Broken tables and chairs were tossed everywhere, spilt energon were all over the floor, and a small crowd of mechs watched Ironhide beat somebody to submission.

"Call me weak, you afthole? I'll show you who's weak!" He snarled as he punched the poor mech in the face.

Suddenly, a wrench sailed through the air and hit Ironhide right in his forehead. All the mechs around them backed away in terror as they realized who owns the projectile.

"What in Primus' name is happening here?" Ratchet demanded as he stepped inside. At this, Ironhide and his opponent stumbled back in fear. The medic's wrench-throwing skill, aside from his healing abilities, was widely known throughout the system as one of the deadliest. Any sane bot knew that whenever Ratchet was angry, it's best to stay away.

"I-I-I was just t-teaching him how to f-fight properly!" Ironhide stuttered while the Junkion beside him nodded his head quickly.

"And I'm suppose to believe your excuse?" He asked, narrowing his optics to both of them.

"Y-Yes, Senator Ratchet." The Junkion replied stupidly, making the other mechs groan.

"Do not call me that!" He snapped. As soon as he said this, the bot finally short circuited in pure terror and collapsed on the floor.

"Oh great." Ratchet muttered while Ironhide snickered silently. However, one look from the medic and he immediately clamped his mouth shut.

"Alright, that's enough." Optimus said as he strode forwards. Behind him, Jazz was trying hard not to laugh at the scene they just saw.

"Optimus." Ratchet and Ironhide nodded in greeting.

"What seems to be the problem now?" The red and blue mech sighed.

"Nothing. The problem have been already taken care of." The black warrior said casually, earning him another wrench from the medic.

"Can anyone else explain to me what happened here?" He asked the other bots while Ratchet was busy scolding Ironhide.

"It's our fault, sir." One Junkion answered. "Our friend here called Ironhide dumb. We didn't bother intervening because we thought he will eventually stop the name-calling, but we did told him to knock it off. Unfortunately though, he continued despite our warning. One thing led to another, and before we know it, they are already punching each other." He finished as he and his team bowed their heads in shame.

Optimus shook his head. "You don't have to say it's your fault. After all, you warned your friend about the consequences. And he already suffered for it. But please do not let this happen again." The Junkions quickly muttered another apology and nodded their heads in acknowledgement.

He then turned back to the others and spoke. "Autobots, you may returm to your duties now. Junkions, please start cleaning up the Mess Hall. Ratchet, please stop your assault on Ironhide and repair this poor bot on the floor. The rest of you, go back to your stations. Dismissed." He finished.

As the others dispersed and starts working on their assigned tasks, Wheeljack came through the door in a hurry.

"We found it! We found the ship!" He yelled triumphantly.

===LINEBREAK===

Optimus entered Wheeljack's work station, the scientist trailing behind.

"Those records you found were right, Optimus! The ship can be located here on this spot!" The bot said excitedly as he showed Optimus his newly found evidence.

"So, its inside a temple which we have to excavate." Optimus said as he looked at the map of a huge infrastructure, 500 yards below the surface.

"Yes. But we do not need to dig through all 500 yards to find an entrance nor do we have to use a driller to breach its walls." Wheeljack added as he pressed another button. "Based on our latest scans, there's a second entrance at its dome. Luckily, the dome is sort of potruding from the ground. In fact, it's just inside a cave on that mountain to our right." He pointed outside the window where a mountain can be seen.

Optimus nodded. "That means we can quickly reach the ship without much hassle. Good work, Wheeljack." He congratulated the mech.

"Nah, it was nothing. I'm sure there are other bots out there who could do it too. Besides, I had Beachcomber to help me." He answered, smiling embarassingly at his leader.

Chuckling softly, Optimus patted him on the shoulder. "I'll leave now to prepare our team for entering the temple. You can come with us if you want. After all, you're the one who technically discovered it."

"Why, of course! I'd be happy to join you." Wheeljack said.

"Good. Prepare what you need to bring, then come meet us at the entrance of the cave." He stated before leaving the room.

3 hours later...

Optimus and the rest of his team were standing outside the cave in preparation of entering it.

"Prowl, I'll leave you with most of our crew and the rest of Wreck-Gar's security force to guard our camp site. Scavenger, you and your team must remain here too. In case we get in a tight spot below, you're the only ones who can dig us out." Optimus said to the mechs around him. "Wait for us back at base. If we didn't return within 6 hours, send a search party. With the temple's thick walls we might not be able to use our comm links properly. However, we all have trackers installed so it will be easy for you to locate us. Let's hope to Primus it won't happen. Good luck, everyone." He nodded one last time before they entered the cavern.

===LINEBREAK===

"Remind me again why I'm here?" Ratchet said grumpily. They've been walking for an hour already and so far, they haven't seen any sign of the dome yet. Their team includes Beachcomber, a geologist, as well as Ironhide and Jazz for security and Wheeljack and Optimus.

"Because it's dangerous and we might get injured?" Ironhide suggested.

"'Hides, things only gets dangerous if you are using your cannons first instead of your processor." Jazz snorted.

"Are you suggesting I don't think before I fight?" The warrior glared at him.

The scout held up his hands defensively. "Hey, no need to get angry. I was just joking." He chuckled.

"Well, it's not a good joke." Ironhide growled.

"Shut up, both of you." Ratchet snapped, effectively silencing the two Autobots.

After a few more minutes of walking, Jazz spoke. "Are we there yet? I'm getting tired." He complained as they entered a large cavern with numerous rock formations.

"Well, based on our map, the entrance should be near." Wheeljack replied, then spoke to Beachcomber. "Can you do a scan to check if this map is right?"

The geologist nodded before activating his sensors. After a few moments, he spoke. "Umm... I think the map is somewhat inaccurate..." He mumbled.

"WHAT!?" Ironhide, Jazz and Ratchet all yelled at the same time. Wheeljack brought up the map in confusion while Optimus looked thoughtful.

"But that's impossible!" The scientist protested. "It says here that the entrance is just a hundred yards away from us." He said as the six of them huddled around looking at the projection.

"But my scans says otherwise." Beachcomber insisted. "In fact, it's in that spot over there." He pointed to a section of cave wall to their left. When Optimus shone his light on it, he thought he saw a very faint symbol carved into the rock. But when he looked again, it was gone.

"Are you sure?" Jazz looked doubtful. "It looks pretty ordinary to me."

"Positive." The blue and white geologist said. "It's there."

"How can that be? My scanners are always calibrated." Wheeljack muttered.

"Only one way to find out." Ironhide said gruffly. "We just need to look for a way to open that entrance. After all, it seems to be concealed as a part of this cave."

Jazz looked at him in surprise before turning to Ratchet. "Hey, Ratchet! Can you do a diagnostic scan on Ironhide? It seems he is acting weird. His proccessor suddenly got more active!" He joked.

"That's it! You're scrap metal!" The warrior yelled before he lunged at the smaller mech. Fortunately, the medic grabbed him by the shoulder and prevented him from assaulting the Autobot.

"That's enough!" Optimus said sternly. "Fighting each other will only hinder our progress. We must work together instead so we can finish our mission faster."

"Yes, sir." They murmured.

"Good. Now, let us start searching for a way to open this entrance." At once, the six Autobots begins to look at every part of the wall. Optimus approached the spot where he caught a glimpse of the symbol and brushed his hands slightly on it. Suddenly, a strange glyph appeared with a faint glow. He took a stepped back as he realized what he was looking at.

It looks very much like the Autobot insignia. The only differences was its color, which is silver instead of red, and 7 sets of swords crisscrossing behind it.

As his companions saw it, Wheeljack gasped in wonder.

"I-It can't be! It's the symbol for the Knights of Cybertron!" He said in awe.

"By Primus' name! The legend is true!" Ratchet exclaimed in amazement.

"No wonder Sentinel Prime wants us to find it badly. If it is indeed one of their ship, it could be the answer to our problem." Ironhide grunted while crossing his arms.

"Wait. What are you guys talking about? What Knights? And how is this related to our problem ?" Jazz asked in confusion. At this, Optimus answered him.

"There was once a legend, which only a few knows about. It was said that before the Thirteen Primes created our race in honor of Primus' sacrifice, they built seven guardians to protect Cybertron and the AllSpark if ever they themselves were to perish. They were called the Knights of Cybertron. It says in the records that they are so powerful, only one of them can be awake to guard the core at any given time. The other six would be in stasis lock. As such, only the thirteenth Prime, whose name hasn't been recorded, can fully command them to prevent their powers being abused by the other twelve." He explained.

"When our race flourished under the Primes' leadership," He continued. "They awoke all the Knights and gave them a new task; to explore the stars for new worlds to colonize while they, the Primes, together with the Seekers, built Sun Harvesters to collect Energon. Seven exploration ships were made for each of the Knights, every ship piloted by one of them along with their apprentices and exploration crew."

"Wait. The Knights had apprentices?" Beachcomber asked.

Optimus nodded. "Their leader, whoever he is, knew that though they are indeed powerful, they will eventually perish. Due to this, he devised a way for the Knights' legacy to continue even if they were no more. Through apprenticeship. Each Knight were given the chance to choose an apprentice based on their own standards. If the student passes the tests, he or she will be branded as a true Knight. In turn, he or she can do the same to another aspiring pupil. Through this tradition, the Knights' lineage will endure." He paused, then continued. "In fact, I... am a Knight myself." He showed them the same symbol branded on his left palm.

The other five Autobots looked stunned at his revelation.

"Why didn't you mention this to us?" Ratchet demanded, somewhat irritated that his best friend harbored a secret from him. "And how were you appointed as one of them?"

Optimus shook his head. "I'm deeply sorry, Ratchet. But it was imperative that no one except my teacher knows aboout this. Our order has too many enemies and it will endanger our planet if they learned that the legacy continues." Then he smiled. "As for who appointed me, it is none other than Sentinel Prime."

"Sentinel is a Knight?" Wheeljack asked in shock.

"Indeed." Optimus nodded. "Just like me, he was once a student. And his mentor passed the story and teachings to him."

"Wait. Hold up." Jazz interrupted. "How are all of this related to our problem?"

The Knight turned to him and said. "As I have said a while ago, the Knights explored the galaxy for worlds in which we could thrive in. With the Rust Plague reducing our numbers by half and making most of our colonies uninhabitable for centuries, Sentinel hopes that by finding even one of their ships, we could take a look at their archive and get a coordinate on some planet we could populate. This will reduce the risk of sending an expedition, as we do not need to search anymore. And we might also be able to reactivate the ship if we're lucky and use it as one of our own." He finished.

"Well, what the pit are we still waiting for? Let's open the door and find that ship." Ironhide said impatiently.

"Always the impatient one." Jazz snorted.

Optimus merely chuckled before turning back towards the symbol. Brushing his left hand against it, the insignia glowed a bit brighter.

"I wonder..." He murmured to himself before pressing his left palm on its center. As if reacting to his touch, the symbol glowed very brightly and an outline of a large door suddenly appeared. It slowly opened to reveal a long and dark hallway leading inside the temple.

Jazz whistled as he saw how far they will have to walk.

"So... Who wants to go first?"

"Beachcomber, can you do another scan to see how far we still have to go?" Optimus requested. They've been walking for half an hour already and yet, they couldn't see any signs of a ship. They already checked most of the rooms they came across, but none of it seems to provide a clue as to where they should go.

Beachcomber nodded and did another scan. When he finished, he turned to Optimus and spoke.

"It shouldn't be long now before we reach a door. Beyond it is empty space. But there seems to be something large inside. Unfortunately, my sensors cannot provide an exact image as to what it is." He said, somewhat disappointed.

"It must be the ship then." Ironhide concluded. Jazz was about to retort, but thought better of it when he saw a wrench from Ratchet. They continued on in silence when the medic broke it.

"Optimus, I have a question." He said.

"What is it?" The young Knight replied.

"What happened to the first seven? Did they die?" Ratchet asked.

Optimus shook his head sadly. "Not even Sentinel's mentor knows. From what we could learn from the records, they didn't returned one day from an expedition. Not even a trace of their ships were found until a hundred years ago. Some say they were killed by an unknown race. Others, they said that for some reason, the Thirteenth Prime journeyed into the stars followed by his loyal knights."

"So, there's a chance it's really here? One of the ships, I mean." The medic said.

"We will soon find out." Optimus answered as they finally stood in front of a door. As if it was already expecting them, the door slowly opened to reveal a large and spacious room. Right in the middle, resting atop a launch pad, was the unmistakable form of a ship.

"By Primus' name..." Ratchet said in an awestruck voice.

The craft was huge. At least twice the size of Sentinel Prime's flagship, the Ark. It was indeed made for deep space travel, as can be seen by its large sized engines at the rear. An inscription was carved on its side.

"Knights Terminus"

"Do you think it's still functional?" Ironhide asked doubtfully.

"Who knows?" Jazz shrugged. "We should've brought Jolt though. He's an expert on these kind of situations."

"We could just bring him after. Right now, we need to look inside and see if there's enough power to activate some of its basic functions. With any luck, we might be able to access its mainframe and gather information about the planets it visited during the last millenium." Optimus said as they along the steel catwalks and approached the door leading inside. When they opened it, Jazz groaned.

"Oh great, another hallway." He whined, much to Ironhide's annoyance.

"You could just stay here and guard while we proceed." The warrior snapped irritably.

"And let you have all the fun? I don't think so." He snorted, then added. "Besides, they need someone good at hacking. And you're obviously not that someone." He grinned at the black mech, who merely huffed in annoyance and said nothing.

As they walked along the corridors, they noticed that the entire place was full of dust.

"It's been clearly abandoned for many eons." Ratchet commented as he coughed.

"But why is it inside a temple?" Wheeljack asked curiously.

"What do you mean?" Optimus said as he stopped and looked at the scientist quizically.

"Well, consider this. If they were indeed following the Thirteenth, why leave one of their exploration craft at this planet? Wouldn't it be better if they left it at Cybertron where their apprentices could use it?" Wheeljack said to the other bots.

"Maybe they left it here as a gift to Junkion's natives?" Jazz suggested.

The scientist shook his head. "That's not it. For one, they would have use and maintain it in honor of the Knights. However, we found the ship in a state of unuse. This doesn't make any sense." He said.

"Whatever happened, this ship must surely have some sort of records of it. We could just take a look in it." Ironhide said as he continued further down the hall.

"Ironhide is right." Optimus agreed. "There's no use thinking about it if we have no evidences to back our theories. Let's just proceed with our search and hope we could find something to prove us correct." The rest of his nodded before following him.

Finally, they reached a door leading to the ship's bridge. As they entered, Jazz immediately approached the consoles and tried to activate it.

"No power." He announced after pressing several buttons and keys.

"Hmm... Ironhide, could you pull down that lever over there?" Wheeljack pointed at the far end of the room. As he pulls it down, the consoles suddenly hummed and glowed.

"Ah! Finally!" The hacker grinned as he began to type furiously against the keyboard. At once, the lights came on and a faint rumble can be heard as the engines start up. Jazz whooped victoriously while his team mates nodded in satisfaction.

"Good. It seems to be in working condition." Optimus said as he stood besides Jazz. "Have you looked upon the records yet?"

The bot shook his head. "I'm having a hard time cracking the codes. It's heavily encrypted." He said as he typed numerous passwords. Then he cried out in frustration. "Gah! It's no use, Optimus. I'm afraid we need Soundwave for this. I'm sorry." He said apologetically.

Optimus nodded in understanding. "It's alright. You've done a great job. We'll just call Megatron to send Soundwave." He then turned towards his team. "Autobots, time for us to head back to base!"

===LINEBREAK===

As they drove back to their camp site, Ironhide suddenly transformed and motioned for them to stop.

"What is it?" Optimus said to the warrior, who drew his cannons and looked around cautiously at the surrounding buildings.

"Something's not right." He muttered.

"I noticed it too, when we arrived." Optimus answered as he also glanced around. Suddenly, a tall black mech walked out from one of the corners and stood a hundred yards away.

"Who the frag are you?" Ironhide growled as Optimus and his team drew their weapons and pointed it at the intruder.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you. After all, you don't want twenty-four of your team mates without a head." He chuckled darkly as he waved his hand behind him. At once, a large group of heavily armed mechs strode forwards, dragging their friends and forcing them into a kneeling position before pointing their blasters at the back of their heads.

"What do you want from us?" Ratchet demanded. "We're just digging here for ancient relics."

The black mech looked at him and smiled. "Ah! Senator Ratchet. Fancy seeing you here. How's your sparkmate doing?" Then he chuckled once more. "Ah, I'm sorry. I forgot that she lost her head when I ripped it apart while you were at one of your meetings."

Ratchet's optics widened in realization. "Lockdown!" He snarled viciously. "You're the one who killed her!" He roared as he prepared to charge forward. Fortunately, Jazz and Beachcomber held him back.

Lockdown shrugged. "What can I say? One of you're political enemies hired me. And he payed well too."

"I'm going to tear you apart!" Ratchet roared again while he was now being restrained by Jazz, Wheeljack and Beachcomber.

"What do you want from us? As my medic have said, we can't give you anything valuable." Optimus stated in a surprisingly calm voice.

Lockdown raised an optic ridge at him. "Are you sure, Knight?" At this, Optimus stiffened. "What, you think I don't know about your secret?" He smirked. "I traveled the galaxy for too long. I know a Knight when I see one. And I also know that you found one of their ancient ships. That's what I want from you. In exchange, I'll be glad to release your bots."

"Don't listen to him. They'll kill us the sooner we gave in." Ironhide muttered beside him.

Optimus looked conflicted for a few minutes before he finally said, "What happens if we refuse?" He asked in a slightly amused tone.

"Well, for one, I get to kill all your bots here. As for you, there are others who would pay me well for bringing them a Knight like you." Lockdown said.

"And the High Council would reward us greatly for bringing your head to them." Someone with a dark voice said behind him. Lockdown spun around quickly and stepped back in shock as he saw who it was.

Megatron crossed his arms and smirked. "Brother, why is it that you always attract danger whenever I'm not around?"

"It's better to attract something rather than attract nothing at all. Especially with that fearsome look of yours." Optimus chuckled.

His brother grinned at him. "Nowadays, femmes prefer a dangerous looking mech like me. Makes them feel safer." Then he turned back to Lockdown. "I suggest you and your team leave this planet peacefully. After all, I have a meeting with the council and I need to look presentable. Something I won't be if I coated my claws with your energon."

Lockdown looked back and forth between his team and the former gladiator before he replied.

"We'll see each other again, Optimus. And the next time, it will be inside the Knights Terminus." He growled to the Knight before transforming and driving out fast away from their base, followed swiftly by his team.

"We should have killed him!" Ratchet screamed in fury as he tried to transform and follow the bounty hunter. Fortunately, Wheeljack fired a non-lethal EMP pulse, effectively shutting down the medic's systems.

"What's up with him?" Megatron asked Optimus in confusion.

His brother sighed in sadness as he looked at Rachet. "Lockdown seems to be the one who killed his sparkmate." Then he turned to Megatron. "What are you doing here anyway? I thought you are back at Iacon."

"I was. But the council has decided to send a small squad in here as additional troops. I led them here but that's not what I really came for." He looked at Optimus. "Sentinel Prime asked me to fetch you."

Optimus frowned at him. "We just found an ancient Knightship. I can't simply leave my work undone."

Megatron's optic grew wide. "So, it's true? The ship is here?"

His brother nodded. "Yes. So, I really can't leave this planet without making sure it's safe."

The Lord Protector shook his head. "I'll just send additional guards here. With what you just said, Sentinel would want to see you even more."

"But why? What's so important that he wants to see me?" Optimus asked curiously.

"The High Council, Optimus. They want to gather all of the leaders." Megatron answered.

"Why?" Optimus asked again.

Megatron looked at him straight in the optics.

"They are electing a new Prime."

Boom! I don't need to tell you guys what will happen next, right? :D

As some of you may have noticed, I used a few plot elements from Transformers Prime. A lot more will be used in the sequel, so stay tuned! :) Now, I think some of you can already guess who the Thirteenth Prime is. :D However, I'll be tweaking his story a bit to fit the Bayverse. Hopefully, it will turn out good.

As for the Knights of Cybertron, we already saw four of them in Age of Extinction. The other three... Well, you have to wait for my sequel to see them. One hint I could give though, they are also "Dinobots". Furthermore, their Cybertron's origin story will be much explored, but that's all I can say. :p

Now, to answer your reviews.

The Quarian behind the mask: I know how you feel, buddy. But don't worry, the Twins will be back in the sequel to kick some ass! :D

Answerthecall: Don't be sad. They will return. Of that, I can assure you. Thanks for your support and hope you'll like ths chapter! :D

centipedegirl: Um... I think you shouldn't let her read these kind of stories. xD

SamN5: Thanks. There are really only a few who wrote fanfics regarding the other Autobots' fates. Most are post-AoE. So, I decided to do this. As for Lockdown, he'll only appear in flashbacks as he's already dead. But that doesn't mean I can't make him interesting. :D

TheGhost129: Hands down, it was the best! :D

And that's it! Frankly, I enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as well! Please review!

Until next time!