Jack's gaze wandered as they journeyed through the wide city streets of Kaon. The key card continued to guide them as they turned another corner, traveling deeper into the heart of the Decepticon capital. The further Arcee and he traveled, the fewer open areas and buildings lined the streets. Massive walls now stood on either side of the pair, boxing them in to follow a path. The city began to feel more like a maze of gray walls and Jack couldn't help but feel paranoid as the key continued to guide him.
He turned back to watch his partner as she followed him. Arcee had relaxed only slightly since they crossed the City limits, but that didn't mean she had let her guard down. Her blaster was still out, ready to be used at a moment's notice as she scanned the tops of the walls above them. The chances of them running into anything in the devoid city may have been low, but they weren't zero.
But it was the quiet that unnerved him the most. The city, and the entire planet, had once been bustling with life. And now, all there was left were noiseless and empty roads that only remained as a reminder of what once was. It wasn't a thought that Jack liked to dwell on, to imagine how it would feel to return to his home and find it completely lifeless.
"Arcee?" Jack broke the silence as they continued following the key.
"What is it?"
"I'm sorry if this is a difficult topic for you, but what was Cybertron like before the war?"
Arcee released a sigh as she turned her head to face the sky. "Before the war, Sentinel Prime led the planet into the Golden Age as Cybertron began settling the galaxy."
"Sentinel Prime? Were they one of the original thirteen primes?" Jack asked.
"No. He was chosen by the High Council due to his involvement in driving the Quintessons off the planet."
"You've brought them up before-"
"Yes, I have, but that's a whole other story for another time." Arcee politely interrupted. "He was given the title of Prime to lead Cybertron. Sentinel Prime was the one who implemented the caste system and enforced its rule. It based someone's worth and place in society purely on their alt mode and frame."
"Ratchet mentioned something about an inequality among the masses."
"That's a light way to put it. It wasn't a fair system, and many were oppressed under it. But at least with the space bridges, bots had a chance. They could travel to different colonies; places that could give them better opportunities or aligned more with their lifestyle and ideals."
Arcee continued speaking as the key had them change direction around a corner. "Besides that, I'd say it was similar to life back on your planet. You worked for things you wanted or needed and lived your life. You were just limited in the type of work you could do."
"Well then, what did you do before the war?"
"If I tell you, I feel like you'd tell Miko and she'd somehow find a way to make fun of me for it."
"Come on Arcee, it can't be that bad."
Arcee remained quiet as they trekked through the ruined city. He was ready to drop the subject and continue the trip in silence when Arcee finally released a huff before answering.
"I was in law enforcement."
Jack didn't respond immediately to her answer. With how she had treated it, he was expecting her to admit to being a teacher, secretary, or something along those lines. A police officer was something he could easily imagine Arcee doing.
"That's it?" Jack questioned after a moment. "I could honestly see you doing that. What was that like?"
Arcee shrugged as she answered. "Patrols throughout the city, capturing the occasional low-life crook, gathering intel on illegal events. Nothing special. It was an easy transition to spy work during the war at least."
"I think it's neat to know that you were always this cool. Although, it's pretty ironic considering we break the speed limit every other day on our way to the base."
"If you don't want me to ever speed again, that's fine by me." Arcee replied smugly.
Jack whirled around to face her as he stopped in place and frantically began backtracking. "Whoa whoa whoa, I never said that."
Arcee stopped in place to look down at him, her smug still present.
"You're messing with me."
"It was just too easy to pass up the opportunity."
"Har har." Jack grumbled as he turned back around and resumed walking down the empty road. He thought back to what Arcee had said earlier about the space bridges. "You mentioned Cybertron had access to space bridges and used them to colonize different planets, but Ratchet talks about them as if they're a lost technology. What happened?"
"The Rust Plague. An abandoned space vessel was discovered by a deep space transport belonging to one of the colony worlds, not knowing that on board was a deadly disease. Within hours any metal it came into contact with turned into nothing but rust. It spread quickly across the colonies through the space bridges as people attempted to flee. Sentinel Prime made the decision to destroy the space bridge network, stopping the spread of the plague. It was successful, but Cybertron had been cut off from its colonies and left with dwindling resources, marking the end of the Golden Age." Arcee grimaced. "From there, the inequality only got worse, Sentinel's and the high council's power continued to grow at the expense of everybody else."
"And that must be around the time Megatron showed up huh?"
"Give or take a few centuries."
Jack silently continued down the ruined streets as the conversation ended, engrossed in his thoughts. Pot marks, debris, and the destruction surrounding him were all reminders of a war that had been raging on longer than the entire existence of the human race. A war that resulted in millions and their planet dead.
Humanity was no stranger to wars, they'd been fighting in them for as long as recorded history could go back. But until relatively recently, they never had the power to destroy themselves. Mutually assured destruction was the only thing that stopped a few nations from outright fighting each other, and destroying the world several times over. Jack couldn't imagine how a war could continue for this long after so many dead.
Assuming they weren't psychotic and just looking for a reason to kill, people were joining the cause they believed in. The Autobots were fighting for freedom, while the Decepticons were fighting for control of everything. But Jack knew the lines weren't that clear from one another in the beginning.
He could understand the Decepticons' reasons for fighting. Optimus had, after all, worked with Megatron in the beginning to change their society. But whether or not he had lost his way, or had always been a master at deception, Megatron only wanted the destruction of everyone that opposed him and the power all to himself.
Jack continued to roll the thoughts around in his head as they continued to follow the key, turning around another corner leading into an open area. Directly in front of them, the dark gray walls of metal stood tall and formed an arena. The key card guided them toward an archway that cut directly through to the other side of the stadium. Right on top of the arch, Megatron stood triumphantly, fist held high above his head as he watched the Autobot and human pass underneath.
"He really couldn't help himself could he?" Jack asked as he tried not to roll his eyes at the display of power tripping.
"Demanding to be named the next Prime should have told you he wasn't very humble." Arcee lightly joked.
Jack searched around the walls of the open courtyard for anything that may have stood out. But, it was just an open space surrounded by walls, it didn't look like anything important could be there. The key card was probably just having them walk through the arena to continue on their journey toward Vector Sigma.
And immediately proving him wrong, the ground shook violently with a loud crash of metal. Jack and Arcee stepped back as the floor began cracking. Chasms spread across the stadium and its walls, an entire section collapsing. Columns that lined the walls toppled over as the key flared to life once again, emitting its familiar hum and blazing with greater intensity than it ever had before. Jack shielded his eyes from the key as the ground in front of him ruptured with groaning metal. Something large began rising from the surface, pushing debris out of the way as it clawed its way out. The screeching of metal rubbing against one another finally stopped and Jack stepped forward as the dust settled. The building jutted out from the ground like a ramp and featured a massive door intricately adorned with glyphs he had no hope of understanding. Near the center of the door, it glowed the familiar blue that Jack had grown accustomed to as the light spread quickly throughout the door along its markings. The door swiftly pulled away with a deep hiss revealing a large tunnel cloaked in darkness the further it went beneath the surface.
"Vector Simga's down here?" Jack questioned uneasily.
"Kaon didn't always belong to the Decepticons. Megatron took it as their capital, and apparently without ever realizing what lay beneath their feet."
Loose rubble fell from above and Jack looked up to see a brown creature with a red visor look down on him before it released a terrible scream as it leaped.
The Autobot suppressed a groan as his systems powered on and his optics adjusted to the dim lighting of his captor's laboratory. How long had he been here now? He had no clue; it could've been demi or deca cycles since he was first introduced to the one-eyed freak while on the operating table. Being taken apart and put back together while falling in and out of consciousness didn't make for a great sense of time. Each time he hoped that it would be the last he ever opened his optics.
He shuddered as he tried to repress those memories and groaned when his shoulders ached in protest at the movement. He found the source of his displeasure as he realized he was no longer lying flat on his back like the many other times he'd awoken from stasis. Instead, he was now hanging from the ceiling of the decrepit lab by his arms. Chains coiled themselves around his forearms and became tighter the more he struggled with them. His entire weight must've been pulling down on his arms for a long time now.
"You've awakened."
Primus, that voice. Monotone and devoid of any emotion and yet it still managed to put him on edge. What he wouldn't do to finally be rid of that of the piece of scrap.
"Believe me, I wish I hadn't." He replied spitefully.
"Your opinion has been noted, Autobot."
"Ugh. The name's Crankshaft. If you're going to rip me apart just to put me back together over and over again for your sick experiments, the least you could do is use my name." He replied spitefully.
It unnerved him as he watched the Decepticon continue to work silently on his monitor. Nothing new there. He'd spent mega cycles beforehand watching as the cyclops drooled over the data from his torture sessions and came up with new ways to make him wish he was already one with the Allspark.
What were the results saying this time? Energon running too hot? Was his T-cog looking a little fried after having it tampered with for the millionth time this stellar cycle? Was his body rejecting the new additions to his frame again? Everything about his frame had changed. His pedes had been completely replaced, bulkier than before, and the addition of an engine in each leg. The chest armor had been reformatted along with his arms; not replaced but no longer the same. It felt wrong, everything was out of place inside him.
Shockwave would likely devise a new method to 'help' with that feeling in the most sadistic way possible. Perhaps by forcing the Autobot to watch as he rewired his circuits again. Or maybe he'll paralyze him during the next operation but leave his pain receptors active so he could feel the mad scientist rummage through his insides.
"What are you even working on there?" Silence followed as Shockwave continued to ignore him. "I'm sure you have enough data from your experiments to satisfy you for the next few deca cycles. If so, could you kindly release me so I could rip out your spark?"
"Highly unlikely you'd succeed. Stronger Autobots than you have tried."
Crankshaft growled as he pulled against his restraints. "You want to put that to the test?"
"Illogical," Shockwave replied. "You likely cannot even stand on your own after the recent procedures."
The Autobot scowled in frustration at those words. Though he loathed to admit it, they were true. He had been running on empty for deca cycles before he ran into Shockwave, and time had moved forward since then. His gracious host only allotted him enough Energon to keep him functioning. He wasn't strong enough to be a threat to anyone in this state, and there was no doubt that was the scientist's intention.
"And the precious data you've collected and currently looking over says that?"
"No. These are not your test results, though the information I've gathered suggests your T-cog will need further adjusting. My scanners have picked up an energy signature thirty kliks from here. Its signature has remained active for the past mega cycle and resembles that of a ground bridge. However, it is far more powerful. I never considered the possibility of the Decepticons constructing another space bridge in my absence."
"Why would they bother to come back? The planet's dead, the only Energon is deep below the surface. The only ones still here are the ones who couldn't make it off the planet during the exodus. We've been left here to rust, nobody with their processor installed right would come back." Crankshaft finished with a grumble.
"Resources would not be spent on such a large project without an objective in mind." Shockwave answered as he shut down his workstation and walked toward the exit of his small laboratory.
"Where are you heading off to now?"
"Knowledge of the space bridge and its purpose will require an on-site investigation."
The door quickly shut as Shockwave exited. The lights swiftly followed, bathing him in darkness to await his tormentor's return.
Jack kept running, ignoring the cramps in his chest and the burning in his legs as he continued to push himself further. Arcee bought him time and he couldn't waste it. He'd been hesitant to leave her to deal with the Insecticon on her own, not that he'd been able to help much, but he'd wasted time just staying still. As his mom had reminded him, Optimus was counting on him.
He finally slowed down when his breaths became too ragged, and it felt like he was going to paint the insides of the suit with whatever was left in his stomach. Jack slowly trudged on, fogging the visor momentarily with each heavy breath he took. The path of the Primes was an eerie tunnel that stretched on for what felt like miles. His feet felt like lead with every step he took, but if he was being rational, it was likely due to his body finally feeling the effects of the planet's stronger gravity.
The darkness cloaked the tunnel in both directions and with no external lights included in his suit, there was no end in sight. He'd have Fowler pass that note along to the development team when he got back. Jack couldn't see as far as he would like, but the key card was using in substitution illuminated the area around him quite well. The deep lines that marked every surface concerned him, however. He'd only seen marks like those one time when the base had become infested with scraplets after accidentally opening a Decepticon trap.
Jack did not want to test whether the scraplets would find his suit appetizing. Jack walked up to the collapsed support column, spotting a loose piece of rebar. With a hard tug, it easily came loose. He gave it an experimental swing before continuing down the path, deeper into the abyss.
Megatron stood at the foot of the bridge aboard the Nemesis as Soundwave finished playing the audio recording of a communications log that occurred over a mega cycle ago.
"Order Breakdown to the bridge immediately."
Soundwave simply nodded in response.
Megatron snarled as he clenched his fists. Oh how badly he wanted to grab the vehicon that had the misfortune of being the one closest to him and pound them into scrap. Fortunately for them, Megatron would restrain himself; that time would come later.
The Autobots were in control of his space bridge. At least that was the most probable explanation as to why he had heard the voice of the Autobot's liaison speak in place of the troops that were supposed to be guarding the space bridge. If the Autobots had seized control of it, instead of simply destroying his tactical advantage like the last time, then it must mean that they intended to use it. The possibilities on where they'd go were limited, but they weren't options Megatron enjoyed.
The first option likely dealt with Optimus. Somehow the space bridge would aid them in recovering their leader, but the how was an unknown. The second possibility was a far graver option for his remaining Decepticon forces. Though unlikely, the Autobots could have reestablished contact with the Ark. With access to his space bridge, a portal could be brought to their location, bringing reinforcements that could turn the tide of the war on this mothball of a planet in their favor.
But the activation of the sentry on Cybertron and the commandeering of his space bridge was too big of a coincidence to ignore. The two events had to be linked. If the Autobots did return to Cybertron, it was only for one thing. His suspicions needed to be confirmed.
"Soundwave, bring up the space bridge activity log."
Soundwave wordlessly obliged as he searched through multiple records and brought up the requested information.
"The log indicates my space bridge was set for Cybertron and remains open." Said Megatron as he studied Soundwave's visor and confirmed his theory. "There aren't reinforcements or resources left for them back on our dead world. The only possible reason the Autobots would take such a risk to return home would be to restore their precious Optimus Prime."
'But how could they accomplish such a task?' Megatron thought to himself. If they intended to bring back their leader, they would need to restore his memories. Such a task was not possible without the memories being previously stored somewhere for transfer, and even then it was a difficult task to accomplish with modern science. To return Optimus to his prime state, however, would also bring back the Matrix.
For eons during the war, he had searched for it, to prove his claim to the title of Prime after Orion had betrayed their cause. But Orion had found it first and taken it for himself. Megatron had been all too eager to bring Optimus aboard and take the Matrix for himself when given the chance, but the Matrix was dead. Knockout's medical evaluation of Orion confirmed it. If the Autobots had a way to bring both the legendary Cybertronian artifact and Optimus back, then it would mean that Megatron had greatly underestimated his enemies.
The sound of a door quickly opening and familiar heavy pedesteps pulled Megatron's attention from thinking about the topic any further.
"Lord Megatron, you wanted to see me?"
"Yes, I did." Megatron replied irritably. He turned around to see the Decepticon kneeling before him. "Would you mind explaining to me why the Autobots are currently in command of my space bridge?"
Confusion swept across Breakdown's face as he cautiously stood back up. "What do you mean?"
Megatron chuckled in fake amusement. "Oh, I'm sorry. Perhaps Soundwave can refresh your memory?" He finished, gesturing to the communications specialist.
Soundwave's visor displayed an equalizer that moved with the recording that began playing.
"Space bridge control, this is Breakdown. Your status report is overdue."
For nano cycles, no response followed.
"Come in space bridge control. Don't make me come down there and dent some engine blocks."
Silence remained once again as Breakdown's patience wore thin.
"You have one nano cycle to respond or-"
The new voice cut in, sounding unsure about its answer. "This is space bridge control… situation normal."
"Normal? You're sure about that?"
"We were just calibrating the subsystems… and we uh, had a surge. But it's fine now. How are you?"
The question took the Con off guard for a moment as he attempted to formulate a response. "Um, never better. I know it's thankless down there. Keep up the good work."
"Will do. Control out."
With the recording finished Megatron impatiently waited for Breakdown's useless apology once he realized his mistake, but confusion was still plastered on the Con's face. Megatron's irritation only grew once Breakdown finally responded.
"I… don't understand what the issue is. I included a note about the surge for Soundwave in the report. Is there something here that I'm missing?"
SLAM!
In one quick motion, Megatron closed the distance between the two of them and rammed his fist into Breakdown's torso. Falling to his knees, Breakdown felt the Energon lurch in his tanks as he suppressed his groan. Back on his feet as fast as possible, Breakdown thought he could prepare himself for the next attack, but a much stronger force than before slammed into his back and forced him to the ground. Breakdown struggled to regain his bearings as his body continued to ache. Slowly pushing himself up, a swift kick to his leg brought him back to the floor. Then, a large weight, compressed to a single point on his back made sure there would be no more attempts at standing for the moment. Breakdown finally allowed himself to groan in pain as the knee dug further into his back and a large servo forcefully grabbed his head and held it off the ground. He could barely make out the image of a scathing Megatron in his peripherals as the warlord began to speak.
"You are indeed missing something Breakdown. That was not one of our Vehicon troops that you were talking to. That was one of the Autobot's human allies, William Fowler. Their liaison for one of the human governments of this world."
With Breakdown's helm still in his grasp, Megatron slammed it against the ground. Pained moans informed him that his victim was still conscious.
"Your incompetence has led to the Autobots having full control of the space bridge to do with as they please. Starscream should've left you to rust in the hands of those wretched humans."
"You know about that?" Breakdown weakly asked.
A sinister laugh echoed through the bridge before Megatron answered. "Of course, I know. Soundwave is my communications officer and most trusted follower for a reason. Let this be another lesson for you. The only reason you aren't being turned into scrap right at this moment is because you have given me no reason to doubt your loyalty. That however will only get you so far if you do not produce results. Do not fail me again, or you'll be missing more than just an optic."
He released his hold on Breakdown's helm and removed his knee from his back as he stood and addressed his Third in Command. "See to it that Breakdown arrives at Knockout's med bay, and prepare a ground bridge for my departure."
The silence was unnerving. Jack knew he wasn't alone in the tunnel, the evidence was all around him, but each time he stopped to listen for the quiet patter of tiny metal legs or to look around for whatever moved outside his peripheral vision, he'd spot nothing. He silently hoped that the scraplets had simply moved on and weren't dwelling in the tunnel with him. With his luck though, that probably wasn't the case.
With everyone counting on him though, he couldn't afford to let his fear of what lay in the dark stop him from accomplishing the mission. Scraplets or not, he had to march on.
The key's light stopped shining further into the darkness, hitting a wall and revealing the structure as Jack got closer. It was another large door, similar to the one that stood at the entrance to the tunnel. And just like the one outside, it reacted to the key's presence. Bright, blue lines of energy flowed through the door's markings before smoothly pulling away. He had to shield his eyes from the sudden brightness the door hid on the other side.
Once his eyes adjusted, Jack eagerly walked past the doorway into the very large circular chamber and announced his arrival to the team back on Earth; met with a chorus of cheers. He's ninety percent sure his high school, with room for a parking lot and field could fit in here. He followed the path, now lined with lights embedded in the floor on each side as it slowly became a bridge. With no railings, Jack didn't feel comfortable peering over the edge to find out just how deep the chamber went. Connecting to the bridge, in the center of the room, a large circular platform stood. Directly above, a cylindrical structure hung from the ceiling with what looked like a blue orb.
In the center of the platform, it dipped below floor level a few feet, with a metal object resting on the floor closest to the bridge. Its design was eye-catching, and intricate as the metal flowed and separated from each other to form the small terrace. Following a pattern that's been going on that day, it reacted to the key's presence as Jack approached the center of the larger platform inside the chamber. A ring of blue appeared in the center, a smaller following soon after in the larger center. Jack examined the key in his hand, its shape a vague resemblance to the object and the center that he was standing on. The key card was meant to go here.
In the smaller blue ring of light, an alcove rests. It's much larger than the key in his hand, but before it was given to him to safekeep, it was much larger in Optimus' hand. The right size to sit perfectly in the middle of the blue ring.
Placing the key in its spot, a flash of light blinded him as what felt like a small electrical shock passed through him. Jack gasped for breath as the air was taken from his lungs and his vision turned white.
Images and sounds flashed in his mind, most of them too fast for him to make sense of. A handful stood out as important events that he could easily identify as his own.
His first day of school, and taking the training wheels off his bike. The memories were a blur as they continued to speed run his life. A courtroom, moving to Jasper, getting that helmet for his birthday. Then years later, that fateful day he noticed a blue motorcycle parked outside his job.
With all of that occurring, less than a second had actually passed.
Jack found himself on his knees as he hacked and tried to breathe in mouthfuls of air when his eyesight suddenly returned. He felt like he'd just been punched in the chest by Vince and he had no idea what to think about the other thing he just saw.
However, Jack has no time to ponder. The key immediately begins shifting, reformatting itself to fill the much larger space. Beneath him, blue light flowed throughout the platform, stopping at the edges. Jack is startled when a sudden clang rings out and the metal slab he's lying on begins moving backward.
It stops just short of the edge, and the whirring of machinery is the only warning Jack gets before the platform begins rising on one side. He tries to push himself up so he can jump down safely but he's too slow. The platform soon becomes a wall and he falls ungracefully on his side, onto the cold metal floor below.
"Ugh."
Jack's pretty sure he just bruised a rib, and he knows his mom is going to lose her mind about it when he gets back. She, however, didn't need to know about it right now though.
He pushed down the pain and picked himself up just in time to watch as a sphere of pure white light rose from the center of the platform that had now opened. Three rings of similar light follow quickly, orbiting the star-like orb in a captivating presentation that lights the entire chamber.
Vector Sigma exerted energy and wisdom as the wall of metal surrounding the key pulsed blue repeatedly. If his chest didn't hurt with every breath he took, he'd want to say something about how amazing this was. Regardless, the team needed a status update.
"Commencing download. I think."
Jack watched the key continue to pulse blue as the minutes passed. He knows Cybertronian history is much larger than human history, but their technology is also far superior. He imagined the download wouldn't take all that long, but there was no progress bar telling him how much longer he had to wait. For all he knew, the download might only be at two percent.
"This is taking a while."
"Of course it is. We are talking about the collective wisdom of the Primes after all." Ratchet scoffed.
Jack patiently waited and watched the download continue when the sound of whirring blades snapped his attention behind him.
Scraplets. Lots of them. And they were flying straight toward him.
"Whoa!"
Jack braced himself, metal pole ready to use as a bat to defend himself. He swung wildly once the swarm was close enough. He's satisfied to hear a few pings as the scraplets fall to the ground, but it's nothing compared to the swarm that just flew past him. They avoided him, which is a plus, but that just meant he wasn't the target. Vector Sigma was being chewed on by a bunch of vermin.
"What is it, Jack?" Ratchet questioned through the comms.
"Scraplets!"
He doesn't bother listening to the questions and panic that passes through his headset. There's a big problem right in front of him, and if he doesn't fix it, then the mission is a failure.
He began smashing the scraplets as they gnawed on the supercomputer, but it was futile. There were far too many for him to handle by himself, and he could only attack the ones within his reach. A good chunk of the scraplets were already feasting at the top of the wall, safe from him and his metal stick. The pulsing blue of Vector Sigma began slowing down as the scraplets continued chewing throughout the metal surrounding the key.
"No, no, no! Don't quit now!"
Jack turned back around to the entrance when the sound of a motorcycle engine reached his ears. The glow of her tail lights encompassing the wall as she turned the corner and the engine growing louder meant she was near and would be able to help.
"Arcee!" Jack sighed in relief.
Relief that was immediately squashed as a giant bug flew through the entrance and transformed into the insecticon that attacked him and Arcee outside. It carelessly strolled toward him, clearly not perceiving him as a threat. He knew he didn't actually stand a chance against that thing, but it didn't mean he'd just let it do what it wanted unchallenged.
"Back off bug!" Jack shouted as he swung the pipe in warning.
He was momentarily surprised to see the hulking con actually stop and step back cautiously. It was afraid of what was behind him, and looking over his shoulder, it was obvious why. A smirk grew on his face as the solution to both his problems presented itself. Plucking a nearby scraplet, he steadied his aim at the Insecticon as it began running back in the direction it came from.
"Hey guys, here's the main course!"
The scraplet latched onto the con's arm, chewing through the plating as it desperately tried in vain to shake it off. The rest of the scraplets soon followed, swarming the insecticon. It screeched in pain, flailing around randomly as it was devoured alive. In its panic, the insecticon wandered close to the edge, just as the scraplets had finished eating enough of the con that it began falling apart, tipping over the edge and bringing the scraplets with it.
Jack precariously looked over the edge, listening as the yells faded away. A loud chime that echoed throughout the room brought his attention back to where the key was. The pulsing lights had stopped, the platform was lowering back down with the key and the white ball of light with its orbiting rings was retreating to its storage below the platform.
He rushed toward the key when the platform finished moving, swiftly picking it up as it reverted to its smaller size. Ignoring the pain in his side, Jack ran back toward the entrance, before stopping when the hum of an engine returned. This time, it was Arcee. Ecstatic, he rushed forward and met her in the middle as she quickly transformed.
Not wasting time, Jack held up the loaded key. "I have the matrix."
Arcee nodded, a grin plastered on her face. "Let's roll."
Orion struggled to crawl away from his attackers as they continued to smash their pedes into his sides ruthlessly. He didn't understand why they were doing this, he had done nothing to provoke a response of this caliber. The two guards simply watched in amusement as he pitifully attempted to put distance between himself and them.
"You have to admit, it's a privilege to stomp the former leader of the Autobots." Said one of the vehicons.
Why did they keep calling him that? He was no leader, and certainly not a Prime. The computer had his description and labeled him as their leader, but Megatron had already proved himself to be a liar. Orion couldn't see the line between deception, and truth.
A fist from one of the vehicons struck him across the face, sending him crashing into his workstation. Giving him no time to rest, the two cons continued to enjoy their beatdown as the former Prime meagerly attempted to shield himself from their blows.
"No, please, stop." Orion pleaded as the guards refused to let down their assault. He wanted them to stop, to just listen.
"Enough!" He shouted, pushing the cons away from him as the shifting of metal occurred. Orion was shocked to discover blasters in place of his hands. "I'm armed?"
The vehicons cautiously stepped back and shared a glance at one another. Quickly, their arms transformed and the pair opened fire on the data clerk.
Startled by the attack, Orion shut his optics and fired randomly in self-defense. The blaster fire stopped, followed shortly by the clang of two large objects falling to the ground. Opening his optics, Orion was surprised to find that all of their shots had missed their mark, and fortunately, his did not.
He looked at the blasters that now occupied his arms and at the two guards that now lay on the floor. He hadn't meant for this to happen, but they left him with no choice. Standing up and reverting back to his arms, Orion contemplated his next course of action.
Staying here wasn't an option. Megatron had proven himself to be untrustworthy. Then there was the matter of the Iacon relics. He could leave now and somehow contact the Autobots, and warn them of Megatron's plan to use them for destruction. However, there were problems with that. He could fail to make contact with the Autobots, or Megatron could simply retrieve the relics before the Autobots even had the chance.
Using the work that Orion had started, Megatron had three sets of coordinates already decoded. And, there was a possibility that with time, the rest of the archives would also be decoded. Simply deleting everything he had done wasn't enough the first time. The files needed to be inaccessible and unusable. Megatron had put him in charge of Project Iacon because Orion knew the access codes, and the skills to begin decrypting the archive. His work as an archivist had taught him these skills, but his mentorship under Alpha Trion had taught him many more.
Therefore, the solution was simple. The files would stay, but the information inside them would be of no use to the Decepticons. Orion quickly began his work, corrupting every file that was connected to Project Iacon. Theoretically, the information stored could be recovered, but that would take a large amount of time and effort, unless you had the bot who corrupted the files in the first place, undo the damage. Orion would never willingly cooperate with the Decepticons again though. And unless the Autobots acquired access to the records and let him work, the knowledge the archives stored would be lost to both sides. A necessary sacrifice, however, to keep the weapons out of Megatron's servos.
His work finished, Orion destroyed his workstation with a shot from his blaster before silently exiting the room to find a way off the ship. The ground bridge control room would likely be his best choice, but once he was on the ground, he had no clue how he would contact the Autobots without also alerting Megatron to his location.
Loud scraping and pedesteps from around a corner startled Orion out of his thoughts. He desperately looked for a place he could hide, but he was much too big for any potential hiding spots there could be in the empty hallway.
The sound inched closer, and Orion took the chance and pressed himself against the wall near a support column, and hoped that whoever it was, wouldn't see him.
The Decepticon finally turned around the corner, awkwardly shuffling as it dragged its injured pede along the floor and rubbed its helm while releasing grunts of pain.
"Breakdown?" Orion asked in shock as he hesitantly stepped halfway out of his hiding place.
Startled, Breakdown looked around to find who called out to him, finding a large mech standing in front of him, near near one of the columns. "Opti- I mean Orion. What are you doing out here?"
"I was going to ask the same of you." Said Orion as he fully stepped into the hall.
"Just got scrapped up by lord Megatron. I'm on my way to Knockout's medical bay. But that's not important. What are you doing outside of your workstation?"
"I was looking for lord Megatron. There were some… findings about the archives that I recently discovered that I wanted to share with him."
"Oh. He's heading to the ground bridge control room to take back the space bridge. The Autobots have seized control of it."
'The Autobots? If I meet Megatron there, I could get off this ship and escape with the Autobots in one move.' Orion thought to himself.
"I see. And where is the ground bridge control room?"
Jack and Arcee raced through the streets back toward the space bridge portal, much faster than they were on their way toward Vector Sigma. They were so close now, they'd already left Kaon and were on the open roads in only a quarter of the time it originally took them. They'd be back on Earth soon and inside the base at the speed Arcee was going. All that was left would be to somehow get the key to Optimus.
Jack rubbed the side of the chest he fell on, even through the suit the skin felt tender. It probably didn't look good underneath it either. Breathing normally didn't hurt too much, but he really shouldn't have run earlier after the fall. An ice pack and rest for a few weeks would take care of it, maybe he didn't even need to tell his mom.
"You okay, Jack?" Arcee asked from underneath.
"Hmm? Oh, yeah I'm okay." Jack answered as he quickly put his hand back on the handlebars.
"You sure? Because you've checked that spot on your chest a few times. There was also this morning when you woke up earlier than you needed to and went outside."
Jack mentally scolded himself for that."You were awake for that?"
"Your clumsy steps through the kitchen brought me out of stasis." She joked.
"Oh." Jack simply responded at first. "It was just another bad dream. But they've been less common now thanks to your help!" He quickly added when he feared what Arcee would think about that. "They still just come up sometimes."
Arcee seemed to accept that answer as she hummed, but she still had another question."And your chest?"
"Took a fall, it's nothing serious though." Jack answered as he tried brushing it off.
"Jack…"
Jack sighed. "Alright, alright. I'll let my mom look at it. But it's just bruised ribs. They'll heal on their own."
"I just want you to remember that you can tell us things, Jack. You're the one that told me that."
Jack didn't respond as the rest of the journey continued in silence. The ruined towers and streets became a blur as they continued to make incredible time. Faster than he thought, they were turning a corner and the familiar sight of a space bridge vortex awaited them in the same spot as before.
"We're almost there." Jack called out.
"Ratchet, we have the Matrix. We're coming through." Arcee said through the comm link. She skidded to a stop as Jack jumped off midway through her transformation. She stood tall as she waited for a response, which she should've received by now. "Ratchet?"
Arcee walked forward as Jack followed and stopped just at the edge of the portal, staring into the light that swirled around them. "Something's wrong."
"We can't not go through, can we?"
"No, we can't." Arcee stepped back and transformed, revving her engine loudly. "I'm going in. I'll be the distraction, you follow after me. Stay out of sight until we can regroup."
Arcee disappeared through the space bridge as Jack waited a few seconds before following her. The experience was the same as before, the tingly feeling of being briefly pulled apart prior to being reassembled flowed throughout his body. The brightness dimmed and the roaring stopped.
Jack hadn't expected to see Optimus kneeling in front of him as Megatron battled Arcee in the background. He didn't know why Optimus was even here, to begin with, but Jack wasn't going to turn down a golden opportunity like this.
He held up the loaded key as Optimus looked at the ancient relic with wonder.
Optimus' gaze turned somber as he looked at Jack. "Are you certain, I am worthy?"
Jack smiled in response as he fully held out the key. "You have no idea."
A stream of blue light streaked from the key toward Optimus' chest, opening up to reveal the Matrix of Leadership. The key hummed as the light continued to pour into the Matrix, hopefully transferring its knowledge didn't take as long as downloading it.
Jack's worries were dispelled immediately when the key levitated in the air and spun before landing in Optimus' hand as his chest returned to normal. Thundering pedesteps to his left alerted Jack to the silver titan that was running in their direction. With a furious shout, they leaped and brought their sword down where the Autobot leader was kneeling.
Optimus coolly turned and caught the sword in the palms of his hands, battle mask engaging.
"Megatron, begone!"
With a single punch, Megatron was sent stumbling back but still standing. Jack watched in amazement as Optimus did not falter, following through with hooks from each arm that continued to push the warlord back. Unsteadily the rest of the Autobots picked themselves up and watched the beat down. With a final, uppercut, Megatron was thrown across the cavern into a rocky column.
The Autobots regrouped around their leader, as Jack stood behind them all. With the space bridge to their back, the team readied themselves into defensive stances, preparing for a frontal attack from Megatron.
"Ratchet, how did we arrive here?" Optimus asked as he brought out his blaster and a sword.
Ratchet let out a light chuckle as he answered. "A long story old friend."
The voice of Agent Fowler cut through the comm links. "Base to Arcee, we're reading five Autobot life signals down there. Is Prime with you?"
"And Jack." Arcee replied.
The Autobots opened fire on Megatron as he climbed his way back onto the platform of the space bridge. Suddenly, a vortex of blue and green light opened to their right, as Megatron rushed toward them.
"It's ours!" Arcee called out. Jack thought he could hear the sound of someone stepping through a ground bridge. But it came from behind, in the direction of the space bridge…
"Autobots, fall back!" Optimus ordered.
Arcee took hold of him, aggravating his injury, and rushed toward the ground bridge. Without warning, he was thrown from Arcee's grasp as a powerful blast struck her from the side. Jack landed harshly, thrown far from the group. His head spun, his ribs felt worse than they did before, and he could faintly hear Optimus order Bulkhead to carry Arcee as he held back the two aggressors. First went in Ratchet, then Bulkhead with Arcee in his arms, third Bumblebee and quickly followed by Optimus as he jumped through.
The ground bridge shut, and Megatron released a guttural roar that echoed throughout the cave. Jack struggled to keep his eyes open as he looked at the Decepticon that surprised them. Kneeling before Megatron, the single red optic stood out to him as he slowly shut his eyes.
Ratchet rushed through the ground bridge, followed by Bulkhead hot on his heels as he carried Arcee to the medical bay. Bumblebee and Optimus stepped through and were bombarded with shouts and questions from the humans. What happened to Arcee, did Optimus remember them, if there would be a celebration party? All would receive answers in due time. Ratchet was quick to begin his work, but a voice caught all of their attention and stopped them in their tracks with a single question.
"Where's Jack?"
Review Responses
admiral809- Is it what you were expecting?
ProlapseAnoos- I had something like that in mind but not to that extent. More of a physiological thing Airachnid could use against him.
Irenia maria- Gracias!
And thanks to all of the rest of the kind reviews I've gotten! I'm glad y'all are enjoying the story so far. This one took quite a bit to complete but I hope the longer chapter makes up for it. This is the largest one so far! And just a heads up, I'll be starting a new job pretty soon so updates may be sparse for a few months, but don't worry, I'll still be working on this.
Thank you for reading. Please leave a review and any questions or comments you may have. Criticism is also greatly appreciated. Happy late turkey day to those of you who celebrate it!
11/24/23