Transformers Prime
Vehicon
Episode 11 Mother Knows Best Part 2
Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers as it is the property of Hasbro
Third Person POV Autobot Base.
"Prime! We got a Serious Problem!"
The Autobots and their human allies including Jack's Mom were gathered together to look at the leftmost monitor where Agent Fowler was scowling at them.
"What is it, Agent Fowler?" Optimus as usual took the lead and Fowler wasted no time and told them.
"The Rover on Mars was destroyed an hour ago and the reason I am telling you is because a Decepticon did it!"
This alarmed the group but Fowler didn't wait for them to speak before playing a video on the Center screen.
"This was captured by the Rover 10 minutes before it was destroyed."
The center Screen showed the desolate orange landscape of Mars, the rover's camera focused on the ground analyzing a rock when a low rumbling noise was heard drawing the Rovers gaze skyward and what it saw was mind-boggling.
"What is THAT!?" Miko Shouted while pushing on the rails on the platform the humans were standing on as a truly gigantic purple rocket with an equally large drill on the front entered the Atmosphere.
Bulkhead frowned. "That looks like a Mining platform. But I've never seen one flying before!"
The moment he said 'Mining Platform' everyone suddenly had the same thought and glanced at each other. Their faces mixed with both disbelief as well as exasperation.
"It can't be…..Can it?" Arcee asked with Jack responding with a shrug.
"Can't it? She did have a ship right?"
Ratchet shook his head in confused frustration banging down on the keyboard with open palms..
"That Can't be the Harbinger! The Harbinger was a Transport Ship NOT a mining Rig!"
Raphael looked to Ratchet and then to Prime.
"So? We know that Squawk Talk helps his Mistress make things so maybe they converted it into a Mining Platform? Right, Optimus? You talk to him the most so is it possible?"
Everyone turned to look at Optimus as surprising as it was he was the one most familiar with the Miner due to being friends with her Communications officer.
He and DJ Squawk communicated almost every Day usually in message format and rarely in audio due to the bird's…..chatty nature as well as the bird not wanting to spook the miner as her hearing Optimus's voice might make her panic(That alone made Team Prime sad as even hearing their voices could make her fear for her life)
Through constant communication, the group managed to learn some things about the Miner whom DJ Squawk called "Mistress" Though the name of the Misstress was unknown due to the bird's belief in not using real names Misstress was as close as they were going to get.
Before the Mistress ordered him to stop telling Optimus about her they learned that she loved human media, (Miko cheered when she learned that she liked the same obscure Bulgarian Shriek metal band as her.), was extremely shy preferring to let Squwk do most of the talking when it comes to interacting with others both human and Cybertronian
(Raphael empathized due to his own relationship with his introverted friend while Agent Fowler had an aneurism as he tried and failed to find out just which humans she had been apparently doing business with regularly enough that Squawk considered it one of his most important duties.),
enjoyed learning about and experimenting on anything that caught her interest (Ratchet both pitied the girl greatly as such a brilliant mind never getting the chance to shine and foaming at the mouth in Envy when he was informed that she not only had a fully stocked infirmary but an entire VAULT full of scientific and medical implements of the highest quality),
Preferred to earn her keep by paying for anything she wanted via the deals she regularly made with certain humans (Bulkhead laughed and again stated that even as a Con she was still a Laborer through and through.),
Didn't know how and was not interested in learning how to fight. (Arcee didn't like this at all and internally decided that the first chance she got she would fix this problem whether Mistress liked it or not) , firmly believed the War was pointless and both sides should have stopped fighting eons ago after the planet died.
(Which in Optimus's eyes raised his opinion of her….only for that opinion to come crashing down when Squawk asked him outright if it was true that he was actually in love with Megatron and the whole war was the mother of all lover's spats. Optimus made a point to NEVER bring this up and only through channeling the spirit of the All 'Every Teenager ever when their parents entered their room without permission while on the web.' did he manage to prevent anyone from figuring out why he shouted. "WHAT!? While gaping like a fish and blushing up a storm which due to the sheer shock of seeing THAT kind of reaction from their usually unflappable leader stunned the Autobots long enough for Optimus to delete that post before anyone saw and just to make sure he changed the password to his account just in case. A bit later he firmly informed the bird that NO he was not in love with Megatron and the war wasn't a lovers spat which made the bird respond with some nonsense about a ship sinking.),
and was experimenting with COOKING Energon when learned prompted Optimus himself to stick a finger dripping with pure Energon into his mouth shocking everyone at the strange gesture which then, in turn, prompted every bot to try it when he confirmed that yes, it did taste good. (The Kids wanted to try it but Jack's Mom proved crucial in keeping the children from getting poisoned much to their chagrin.)
As for the Minicon in question. He was basically an open book eagerly telling Optimus about his day, what new language he was working with, and recommending Music to Optimus (He personally enjoyed 80s 90's rock but kept it to himself not wanting to distract the others but tended to listen to it while on patrol at low volume.)
and asking Optimus for advice on how to better serve Misstress. Optimus for his part genuinely liked Squawk as he reminded Optimus of some of his old colleagues when he was a clerk at Iacon and took the bird under his wing. Teaching him philosophy, strategy, critical thinking, Cybertronian dialects, and anything else he thought the bird could benefit from.
However, when it came to Squawk he was more restrained in what he told his team as ever since the… incident he realized that though he was a leader it did not mean that he needed or should share everything he talked about with him just as he didn't expect his team to share everything they did with their human companions.
Nevertheless, Optimus frowned as he pondered the question, arms crossed and his eyes firmly on the screen showing the rover driving toward where the Ship was landing which was done by impaling its massive drill into the planet to the hilt before coming to rest. This took about 2 minutes due to the distance and the slow speed of the rover.
"From what I have gleaned from DJ Squawk-"
Miko stage whispered to Jack.
"He's using his internet handle?"
Jack looked about to answer but his Mom, who was standing right behind them hushed the pair.
"He and his Master are indeed capable of this kind of feat though how they did it is still unclear though I have my suspicions."
"Suspicions?" Jack's Mom was the one to ask, still getting used to all this alien robot nonsense.
Optimus opened his mouth to say something but that was interrupted by an anguished scream from the video cutting him off.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
*Russian Anthem playing*
"Squawk! One small step for Bot, One Giant leap for Squawk!"
"I'm sorry America. I failed you and now the Russians have claimed Mars!"
…
…
…..
The entire group stared in baffled silence as they saw Squawk Talk strutting around his Master like a peacock as she banged on the ground in apparent despair all while the Russian national Anthem was blaring loud almost muffling the words.
"Beep?" Bumble Bee asked in slight awe with Raphael responding.
"You're Right BB I didn't expect her to identify as American nor Squawk being Russian.
Fowler for his part had a conflicted look on his face as he gave his two cents.
"Personally I'm conflicted. If she considers herself a US Citizen then that implies that she cares for America and I'm always for another Patriot but at the same time that means the bird is Russian and they just won the Space Race to Mars."
Then as soon as it started it stopped with MIstress abruptly standing up while dusting her knees off.
"I'm bored now. Let's go find the Relay."
"Squawk! As you command! Are we close?"
This grabbed Ratchet's attention. "Relay? What Relay?"
"We should be. I made sure to land as close as I could without risking damaging it from our landing. Here are the coordinates. Go ahead and find it for me."
"Squawk! As you command!"
The Bird then blasted off, leaving Misstress alone who with her visor down which irked Miko as she was one of the people most curious about what her face was like alongside Bulkhead who would like to know the face of the bot who saved him.
As she apparently scanned around it gave the Autobots time to talk amongst themselves.
"A bit Mellow dramatic isn't she?" Miku tossed out with everyone nodding in agreement.
Optimus and Ratchet however kept their mind focused on what truly mattered.
"Ratchet, what do they mean about a Relay?" Optimus asked his second in command who was working on the computer but was growing frustrated at his lack of progress.
"I wish I could tell you Optimus but there are no records about any sort of Relay existing on Mars at all!"
"Then what are we supposed to do then?" Bulkhead scowled as he said this.
The Screen once again grabbed everyones attention when The Misstress made eye contact with the Rover, freezing in place for a tense moment before the rover tried to slowly retreat prompting her to shout.
"Oh no you don't!"
She then rushed the Rover while still in Robot mode and the Rover was now facing forward away from her as it tried to run away. But it was futile and soon enough.
She shouted 'A hah! Got you now!" and the rover was lifted into the air via her right shoulder claw and brought inches away from her faceplate allowing the team to get a very good look at the plate which then made BB beep in exclamation but before anyone could respond the Misstress said.
"Wow! The people who are controlling you must really be freaking out!"
She then froze, her body language and posture shifting from easy confidence to insecurity, and if this was a Japanese animation she would have slowly turned red starting from her toes and going up to the top of her head where steam shot out of her ears right before she yelled "EEP!" in a cute squeaky mouse-like voice as she dropped the rover and the last image shown was her stomping down on it like a cockroach.
The video ended and there was a brief silence before Bulkhead chuckled with a goofy look on his face.
"Heh, She's cute when she's shy." Slowly everyone turned to look at him, Arcee in Disbelief, Ratchet exasperated, Optimus authoritative but kind, BB confused but supportive in the way most guys were when talking about girls with each other, Miko coy and teasing while all the other humans were in different stages of confused.
Seeing this he stammered out.
"I mean, She's uh Acute when she cries! Yeah! It was very loud."
"Surrrrreee." Miko practically purred, eyes lidded as her mind was already scheming on how to best tease Bulkhead over his slip-up.
Arcee groaned, her face skyward as she face-palmed.
"I swear this is Cliff Jumper all over again."
This prompted Raphael to ask
"What is like Cliff Jumper all over again?"
This time it was HER time to blush taking the heat off Bulkhead.
"Nothing happened!" Arcee glared as she stared everyone down.
Jack, when he saw that finally connected a few dots in how Arcee talked about her 'Partner' and felt sad for Arcee and decided to be a good partner(Not in that way!) and get the focus off her dead lover.
"So what are we going to do now? Can we Groundbridge to Mars?"
This shifted the mood back to business to the relief of 2 Autobots and the disappointment of the 2 female humans granted one was much better at hiding her disappointment.
"My bosses are nervous like an Abe Lincoln look-alike in a theatre. They want something done about this and fast."
Ratchet shook his head.
"Im sorry but it's impossible for the Groundbridge to reach Mars and we had to cannibalize our ship to make Teletran one. We can't do anything."
"My bosses won't like that. You really can't do anything!? Nothing at all?"
Optimus shook his head, looking into the eyes of the stressed-out Agent Fowler.
"Unfortunately, it seems that this is one matter that we cannot solve. All we can do is hope that their usual pattern holds and whatever they are doing is not a threat to humanity."
BumbleBee once again started beeping, drawing the attention of everyone.
Those who could understand him looked surprised and for those who couldn't their responses helped.
"What do you mean she's a Vehicon?" Arcee asked while BB began gesturing towards the screen, pointing to his face, then back all while beeping.
"Look at her Face Plate and compare it to the Vehicons?" Ratchet repeated hesitant. But did so by rewinding the footage till her face plate was taking up the whole screen, then it moved to the rightmost screen and the image of both Types of Vehicons appeared on the main screen. Once that happened BB beeped again, pointing to the Miner class, to her face plate, and then to their bodies in general.
Bulkhead blinked. "You're right! She has the exact faceplate and coloration as the Miner Class Vehicons!"
He had noticed her coloration already, not putting too much thought into it as plenty of Cons were purple but now when the main screen showed just the Miner VehiCon and the Mistress side by side it finally clicked. But that wasn't possible, right?
Lucky for him someone else voiced his denial.
"But that's not possible! All Vehicons are Clones of Burnout and MALE There aren't any female Vehicons!" Ratchet, the Scientist rebuked the suggestion as this was common knowledge.
"Wait, You're saying that she's one of the Flunkies?!" Miko exclaimed while the other humans shared similar sentiments.
Optimus gained a look of enlightenment, speaking softly as several pieces finally fell into place.
"So that is why she called them her brothers."
This silenced the room with Jack asking.
"What do you mean by that Optimus?"
Optimus nodded while he gestured for Ratchet to move letting him access the computer and soon pulled up his chat history with Squawk Talk on the center screen, going through them expanding certain ones, and highlighting dozens of the similar lines in yellow.
"DJ Squawk has told me time and time again that his Misstress cared deeply about her brothers, seeing herself as the big Sister and I had assumed she meant the Decepticons as a whole but at the same time showed great disdain for the leadership. But if she wasn't being figuratively but literally then it must be that she is indeed a Vehicon and not any Vehicon but a Miner Class. The lowest caste of them all."
"But HOW!?" Ratchet was beside himself, he was a Scientist, and he knew all about Vehicons as more than once during the war he had to salvage parts from them to give to wounded Autobots so this idea that there was a FEMALE Vehicon was as insane as Optimus joining the Decepticons!
"Wait, The Vehicons are clones?" Jack asked this, a troubled look on his face and Ratchet answered with rage.
"Affirmative! They were made by butchering the last Protoforms on Cybertron and the fragments of the Spark of the most loyal of all Decepticons Burnout! Their bodies are always the same with the only differences being the Castes and whether they were fliers or grounders giving any distinction.
"And what are Protoforms?" Raphael asked, worry in his voice.
This made all the Autobots sad, and Optimus answered gravely.
"They were the future of Cybertron. Every Cybetronian was once a Protoform. The Planet Cybertron would give birth to them. But when the Planet died the production of Protoforms ceased as well."
This made Jack's mom gasp with horror, her hand over her mouth.
"They butchered your children?!"
Optimus confirmed, his fist clenched in anger.
"Yes, they did and is one of the main reasons why many Autobots despise the Vehicons as they were made from what should have been the future of Cybertron and now there are none left in the galaxy." his hand slacked as he once again turned his gaze to the screen, his mind whirring with thoughts and theories.
"But back to the topic of the Misstress's identity There is one last comment that confirms that she is indeed a Vehicon."
He pulled up a specific Chat from some time ago where Optimus asked Squawk Talk.
Orion: I'm sorry, You got…' Drunk?' isn't that when an organic's brain is compromised via alcoholic substances?'
DJ Squawk: Yes! But my Mistress is the smartest in the world! She managed to make what she called. 'Energon Booze' and we drank quite a lot! It was a lot of fun especially when my Misstress when she staked her claim as Queen of the Vehicons!'
Orion: "Queen of the Vehicons?"
DJ Squawk: "Yep! Though she refuses to acknowledge it after we sobered up I would never forget my Misstress's bold declaration of her rightful title as the Queen of the Vehicons!"
Orion: And She called herself this because?"
DJ Squawk: "Cuz she's the only girl and therefore Queen by Default! But I'm not supposed to talk to you about her anymore So back to the translation of Azte-
The conversation then moved on but that wasn't important as Optimus closed the messages and returned to the previous screen comparing her to the Vehicon Miner.
"At the time this didn't make any sense as I had no idea how her being a Fembot made her Queen of the Vehicons since we all know that they are all Male so I just assumed that she meant that she was the only fembot Decepticon on Earth, unaware that Black Arachne is here as well. But when given the context that she WAS a Vehicon then the answer is clear."
Ratchet was no longer upset but now in awe, his eyes roaming over the footage of the Misstress with the excitement of a scientist who had discovered something incredible.
"A Female Vehicon. And not just a female but a miner class with a T Cog! I was not even aware it was possible!"
Miko was hyped, looking up to Bulkhead as she said. "She made Energon Booze?! We gotta try some Bulk!"
Jack's Mom frowned hard. "Absolutely not!"
"Awww, you're no fun."
"I am not going to let someone underage drink much less drink alien alcohol!"
Bulkhead briefly looked at Miko before he looked back at the screen frowning. "So she is a fembot Vehicon? But then, why is she not with her brothers? The one thing I know for a fact about Vehicons is that they are NEVER alone. Was quite a pain for me and the Wreckers as they always moved in pairs forcing us to take them both out simultaneously."
Raphael had the answer, his face solemn.
"Because she's just like the Vehicon who befriended the guy whose computer Overclock found Cycode on. She doesn't want to fight."
Jack grumbled.
"It feels like the more we learn about her the less we know."
Arcee agreed her, left hand on her hip. "I feel the same, Jack. Especially now we are back to square one about how she knew about an Iacon Relic if she was a Vehicon?"
Bumblebee beeped asking what she meant.
Arcee obliged while gesturing to Optimus and Ratchet with her free hand.
"The whole reason we assumed she knew about the Iacon Relic was that she was some librarian's kid sent to Earth to keep them out of the war but the Vehicons are CLONES! There is no way that someone at Iacon would tell a Vehicon of all bots about a relic. Especially since Iacon worked closely with the Guardians of the Protoforms!"
This drew the bots short as she was right! The very foundation of their understanding of the 'Queen of the Vehicons' was her being the child of one of the librarians in Iacon who was sent to Earth so she could protect herself with the relic but now that foundation was gone. The whole reason why the librarians in Iacon finally joined the war on the side of the Autobots was due to the butchering of the Protoforms and the extermination of their protectors!
"So we are back to square one then?" Raphael asked when Fowler, after being silent for several minutes talking to his bosses spoke up.
"I've just got an update from the Pentagon. They aren't happy that we can't do anything about the threat on Mars but there is something we can do."
The screen changed to show a desert with lava pouring out of a truly gigantic hole making a large, flat volcano as the magma turned to lava, cooled, and then was covered with fresh magma to repeat the process.
"This was found in the Arizona Desert just minutes ago. This happened quite recently according to satellite scans and they would like to know if this is related to our miner friend on Mars."
Ratchet did so, using the base's advanced scanners on the place mentioned, and quickly exclaimed.
"So this is how she hid!"
"So it is related?" Fowler asked, eager for something to tell his bosses other than 'nothing we can do.'
"Yes! We were wondering why we couldn't find her no matter where we looked while also managing to avoid the Decepticon's main fleet at the same time. But the answer is now obvious."
The screen changed to show a 3d representation of the hole showing that it went DEEP, so deep that the display had to zoom out to a view of the planet itself and ended just past the first layer of the planet, a glowing red dot showing this endpoint.
Bulkhead caught on. "She went underground! Leave it to a Miner to stay under the radar..literally."
Raphael added while looking up to Ratchet.
"That would explain why she was flying in a mining Rig. she's been living underground the whole time."
"And this helps us how?" Arcee asked with her hands on her hips.
Ratchet frowned at her and explained with vigor.
"It matters because we now know how she was hiding and if she intends to return to Earth, which I am certain she will due to how attached she is to the planet she will have to either go down the same way or create a new entry point! And while we can't track the Harbinger itself we CAN track the hole she will make! And if we can track that…"
Optimus finished. "Then we can ground bridge to the bottom of the hole, allowing us to solve this mystery once and for all. The only question now is."
The screen switched to show Mars.
"When will she return? And if she does, what will she be bringing back with her?".
POV Change Overclock: Location: Mars.
"Achoo!" I sneezed as Squawk Talk and I stared up at the large even for me, red Pyramid Structure half buried in Martian sand.
"Squawk! You okay Misstress?" My bird asked and I shook my head while rubbing my nose.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Now, how do we get in?"
This had to be the relay station but as I suspected it was inactive. Whether this was intentional to save Energon or it was really damaged I didn't know.
We had traveled a good distance away from the ship as I didn't dare risk my ship's docking damaging the relay even further and now all we had to do was get inside, find the Control Room, Take over the Relay, trace where the Project Predacon data was, use said relay to steal the data, then leave after making it so that this relay granted internet access to the entire solar System. I already had plans of monetizing the slag out of this! I would be rolling in the dough!
But first, we had to get in.
I flipped down my visor to scan the structure as I walked all along its length, trying to find the door, and lucky me I found it in 5 minutes!
It was buried under a small dune but the entrance was at the northernmost tip of the structure and with the ease of my profession it was exposed to the open air,.
It was big, of course it was. The tip of the pyramid tapered off into an overhang engraved with the Decepticon Emblem looking down on anyone who tried to enter the circular shutter door into the facility.
If there was any doubt of who this belonged to the purple symbol dismissed them.
"Now then, let's get inside."
I went to the door and it only took a minute of hacking via the access panel to let us inside, revealing a downward descending staircase leading into the dark abyss below but I just turned on my lights and began my expedition into the Tomb of Mommy Shockwave!
POV Change Third Person.
In her eagerness to get inside Overclock didn't question how easy it was to get into the pyramid when compared to the encryption on the skull and due to that she also didn't notice how the emblem opened a few minutes later releasing from its stasis the Scarab Guardian of the tomb, it's mandibles already clicking as with its thermal metal sense detected footsteps leading into the tomb and soon it's bulky form descended down following its prey, eager to eat it's first meal in a long time.
POV Overclock.
"YES! I was right I win! Suck it Russia! USA USA USA!" I crowed in victory fist pumping as we arrived at the control room without much issue, The stairway went straight to it with several doors leading into other parts of the relay which is when me and Squawk made bets to where the control room would be with me betting it was at the bottom while he bet it would be the dead center.
I, of course, was right meaning that Squawk and I were now 1 to one! Squawk grumbled, not happy he lost but he cheered up pretty quickly when I went to the farthest wall and found a powered-down interface that I promptly pierced with my claw drill's needles making the entire station roar to life!
BANG!
The light turned on, being in the center of the ceiling allowing us to see clearly the shape of the room and the contents within.
The room was a rusty orange in the shape of a pyramid, the light being the 'capstone' of the pyramid and though the walls were flat for about half of the height of the room it then began to slant to meet up with the capstone.
If I were human-sized then this room would be of a college classroom, meaning that while not small wasn't exactly massive either. The room was mostly barren with the only thing inside being the interface and the large screen that was the furthest wall from the door.
All in all? Not that impressive.
"This place is dull. Let's get this over with and back to the ship."
"Squawk! As you command!"
I retracted my needles so that i could plug my left arm drill into the conveniently placed square interface slot which I guess was for Shockwave himself since his left arm was a massive arm cannon and I was then faced with the levels of security I saw with the skull but instead of being worried I just smirked and looked to Squawk.
"You wanted to use the Harbinger to hack the skull so how about we use it here?"
He preened as he sat on my left shoulder.
"Squawk! I am eager to see how fast it works compared to you!" He then realized that sounded rude and elaborated while flapping his wings anxiously.
"Squawk! Not that I am insulting you Misstress! You are far smarter than me and-"
I cut him off with a laugh and patted his head with my claw calming him down.
"Don't worry! I'm curious about it too! Now that I got to do it myself I want to see what a Tool-assisted Speed run is for this puzzle box."
I then connected to the Harbinger, using myself as a relay so that it could begin the process of using the chainsaw on the wooden puzzle box that I was too lazy to try and solve again.
"WALLLOUUUUUGH!"
"EEP!"
What in the name of the Allspark was that!? I screamed as I heard some kind of warbling Howl from behind me and as I was turning around I yanked my left drill out of the slot, causing some damage to it in the process, and had all three of my drills ready to fight.
But what I saw chilled me to my core.
Because standing in the only exit was an Insecticon! For you who aren't aware Insecticons are super big super scary bug-based Decepticons that scavenged the dead for food and were notoriously hard to kill.
And now one is lunging right at me!?
I screamed in terror as I clumsily dodged to the right, barely avoiding the clawed hand that pierced right through the interface, breaking it and plunging the room into darkness!
"OH no, Oh no Oh no, Where is it WHERE IS IT!?" I was panicking as I turned back on my visor lights while Squawk Talk flew above, trying to find it.
"We gotta get out of here!" I had no chance of winning! I needed to escape! Lucky for me I'm a genius and prepared an escape plan beforehand!
I had never faced such a direct, up close and personal threat to my life before so forgive me if my mental self floundered, arms shaking as it pulled up one of my many Groundbridges and opened the first one on the list.
The Groundbridge opened right in front of me and Squawk wasted no time flying in and I ran inside. When I did I found myself in the Arcade, bursting through the large television as I gasped for air that I didn't need, arms on my knees and hunched over.
"Yes! Now to close it and-
WHAM!
GAH! I gasped as something huge slammed into me, making me land face-first onto the couch which broke beneath me as I once again heard that warbling roar and felt something biting into my backpack!
"GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!"
"GET OFF MY MISSTRESS! SQUAWK!"
My faithful friend shot his sonic attacks at the Insecticon making it hiss and swing at him but it stayed firmly on top of me, its left arm gripping my pincer arm and I felt sharp pain as it ripped it off me!
"AUGH!" It hurts! It hurt so bad! Tears of optic fluid pooled in my eyes as I struggled to get the monster off me!
"Munch Munch Munch!" Oh, Primus it's eating my claw!
"You will pay for your sins! Squawk!" He looped around above me before dive-bombing onto the insecticon's face, pecking and clawing while wreathed in blue lightning making the monster screech as it got off me and batted at its face.
I took the chance to turn into Vehicle mode, tires squealing as I booked it away from the bug towards the door and activated every defense I had. I had to get away!
The Ground Bridge closed then opened again unleashing 100 of my Skeletons who wasted no time rushing the Insecticon. I was almost to the door, it was already opening to let me through when I heard Squawk Shriek in pain!
"SQUWA!"
Oh no, no no no! I forgot about Squawk! "Squawk!" I spun in a donut and then drove back towards my friend.
I turned around to see that the monster had managed to grab Squawk and bit off his right wing!
When skeletons started attacking it it tossed Squawk aside to tear into them instead which let me get to him, transform back to robot mode, and grab Squawk who crowed weakly.
"Squawk! This hurts a lot. Sorry misstress."
This idiot!
"Don't be stupid! We need to get out of here!"
I turned back into vehicle mode, having Squawk stay in my partially chewed bin, and headed towards the door. Once we were there I put the ship on high alert and activated the defenses in the Arcade.
Several of the arcade Cabinets all unfolded, transforming to reveal that every third cabinet was a directional energy turret resembling the turrets of MasterChief's preferred vehicle of choice that then let loose a blinding barrage of fire that tore into not just the Insecticon but also my drones but that didn't matter as I booked it out of the room, sealed the entrance, and headed to the infirmary.
"Scrap Scrap Scrap!" I cursed as I navigated the hallways, triggering the defenses as I did so resulting in the hallways changing from their previous, homely appearance into a recreation of the Maze Breakdown went through. Carpeting turning into pitfalls, spike traps, electroconductive ooze pits, painted walls now gun metal grey opening and closing to create a labyrinth to confuse and delay foes, revealing swinging rotary saws, dart shooters loaded with acid, and the ceiling lights unveiling turrets of 3 with only 2 deployed and the center one hidden in case the first two are destroyed.
Throughout all of this there were doors and other entrances lwith complex opening mechanisms just obvious enough to be noticed to prompt intruders to waste time-solving them instead of just blasting through and lastly, the entire structure was plunged into pure darkness.
In Truth, only about 40% of my ship is designed to live in, 20% was for critical systems and the remaining 40% was my defense systems. If I wasn't so panicked I would have probably boasted about my 'Maze of Minos' but I needed to make sure to get me and Squawk Medical treatment!
"WALLLOUUUUUGH!"
Gulp, How is it not dead yet!?
Thanks to the cameras in the arcade located in all 4 corners, I was able to see that the Insecticon, while heavily damaged from constant turret fire had managed to not only wipe out my Skeletons but also destroy everything in the Arcade. What was once a haven for the nerd was now a scrapyard.
It was missing one of its front claws, err, face mandible things, was covered in burns and holes that to my frustration didn't bleed too much Energon, and its left arm was gone. But that didn't seem to matter to it as it continued to devour my Skeletons, seemingly content to just stay where there was food. I would have sent in more skeletons but I was out! I had only 100 on reserve as I didn't even think I would need more! Worst still the infrastructure needed to make more and possibly rebuild Squawk's Wing was in the Sandbox aka on Earth and thus out of reach!
I soon arrived at the lab, transforming as I entered and triggering the defenses to seal off the entrance, the tesla coils all flared with stronger than usual lightning, ready to become the galaxy's largest bug zapper as I put Squawk onto the operation table and after a few awkward, painful moments where I was reminded of my lack of a claw I managed to get the needed tools from the vault and began treating my bird.
It wasn't looking good. If the wing had just a chunk torn out of it then maybe I could have fixed it but he's missing the entire wing! What am I supposed to do!? I was so used to being able to just swing him to fix or make anything but now I can't do that!
"What do I do!?" I was panicking. Of course, I was! How could I remain calm after all of that happened!? And worse the monster is still alive!
"Squawk. Mistress, I can't feel my wing. Can you fix that?"
He weakly asked and I shook my head, my visor hiding my pale and tearful face as I tried to at least stop the bleeding of Energon.
"I can't! Your wing is gone! All I can do is patch it so that you don't bleed out."
"Squawk. Tis just a Fleshwound."
Despite myself, I chuckled at his joke as my trembling hands slowly closed the wound.
This seemed to be his goal as he smiled, the corner of his beak turning up.
"Squawk. I am glad to make up for my failure at protecting you."
This soured my mood and I resisted the urge to bonk his head, my voice a little choked and very much angry.
"Don't talk like that you feather duster! You got it off me and it's my fault for not backing you up."
I didn't even think about him. For those few seconds between me running and him crying out in pain, I was only thinking of my own survival.
I felt guilty. It wasn't an emotion I dealt with much but now it felt like my spark was being choked.
But I didn't know what to do! Even if I got him patched up there was no guarantee that he would be able to transform meaning that not only would I not be able to repair him but also Myself or anything else that might break. I had taken for granted his power to make anything instantly so I never planned for the eventuality where he was out of commission.
I shook my head, I had stopped the leakage but that now left fixing him and I didn't feel that optimistic. Sure, I had some supplies put to the side for other projects but that didn't mean that I would be able to repair him easily as I didn't even have a means to make parts! I was mentally kicking myself as I opened the Vault, grabbing whatever parts and doodads I could either use or salvage for parts tossing them into my bin, wincing as I was reminded once again that I WAS MISSING MY ARM! I returned to the work table, not even bothering to close the safe as I hurried to his side to try and fix him.
Blast! It was harder to retrieve things from my backpack without my claw! It also didn't help that sometimes things fell out from the holes chewed through it wasting precious time.
"This isn't gonna be pretty but I'm gonna try and make you a temporary prosthetic until we can manage to get you to transform and fix this mess."
He didn't respond as he had closed his eyes and went limp, he was unconscious.
Perhaps that was a good thing. It meant that he didn't have to watch his mistress have no clue on how to fix this.
Maybe I can retrieve his Wing? My mental self took another peek with the cameras, having them zoom in and out to try and find that gold amongst the wreck but to my immense frustration I found that the bug had just finished eating it judging from the small amount of gold alloy still in it's mouth.
"Now that's just Prime! there goes that idea! Now what?"
Well, lets make sure that it has no reason to search for food. I made sure to pull up some Energon cubes from reserves so that I could toss them in if it ran out of stuff to eat since until further notice the Arcade was now its terrarium.
But back to the problem at hand. What am I supposed to do now?
The only thing I can think of is to repair the Relay and take control over it, get the data I need, and then go back to Earth where I can then take advantage of the Sandbox's resources to both kill the Insecticon as well as cannibalize the stuff there into something I can use to make Squawk a good enough wing that he can then transform and fix everything.
Because I did not lose an arm and Squawk a wing just to leave empty-handed!
After a tense 20 to 30 minutes I managed to scrounge together a rudimentary prosthetic, It wasn't a pretty thing, made from several other devices with each piece contrasting sharply in shape and color as they were made to look good in one piece not torn apart for resources.
The overall shape was a featherless turkey wing, resembling something made from mismatched Lego boxset bricks and though ugly it did the job of stabilizing him well enough.
I carefully took him into the infirmary and put him on one of the beds, opening the locker behind the bed to retrieve the Energon IV and Spark monitor held within and attached them to Squawk. Once his vitals showed up in the medical bay's system thus letting me keep an optic on him if his condition took an unexpected turn for the worse.
Once that was done I patched myself the best I could focusing mainly on my bin so I could safely transport the tools and the other scraps I didn't use for his wing to help me fix the interface and complete the mission.
I used a ground bridge to arrive back in the interface room as since I opened a bridge there already it was child's play to open it there again.
I got to work, my mental self was stress playing video games as I desperately tried to keep my cool as I once again lamented my dependence on Squawk for all my work. It was like playing Minecraft in Creative Mode only to wake up one day in hardcore mode! I Swear on the All Spark that once we get through this I am going to not only stock up on raw materials and build some manufacturing systems but also stop using Squawk for everything so that I won't struggle so much if this happens ever again!
It took another 30 minutes to repair the interface enough to get it working and I wasted no time restarting it and figuring out why it wasn't receiving.
The screen displays a purple background with bold red lettering.
Energon Depleted. Backup power at 0.01%
I sighed in relief as my worry about having to fix more of the structure was assuaged and I wasted no time retrieving some Energon Cubes from Storage via a ground bridge and opening the access hatch located beneath the interface where I plugged in 3 cubes and with a final button press the system booted out of safe mode and I was once again faced with the login screen but I was in no mood for screwing around and I shoved my left drill in there. In less than 5 minutes My Orion had torn the firewall into confetti and I was finally into the Relay's control system.
"Finally! Now, let's figure out where that data is stored."
The giant screen began flickering with different reams of code until at last I had it!
The screen settled on an green image of Cybertron, a single orange dot blinking as it triangulated the location of my prize.
"So it's a lab on Cybertron? No wonder it failed to transmit as it was basically dead in the water before. Hmm. It seems that the lab is still functional but hold on, its long-range communications are down. I'll have to boost the signal if I want to make the connection work but that will dramatically drain the Energon reserves and put a strain on these already worn-down parts…Oh well, I only need it to work long enough to get my data so it only being able to transmit for…..1 hour is just fine I'll be done in 20 minutes. Now, Come to Momma!"
With a final mental keystroke, the top half of the relay opened like a flower without affecting the capstone transforming it into a radio dish that shifted and adjusted until it was facing Cybertron. Once it did the capstone erupted in bright blue light and arcs of lightning shot out to strike the edges of the dish as I heh OVERCLOCKED it. (Nailed it) and soon I found myself trying to access Lab 'SB 3.' But I hit a snag.
"Geez, this is even more encrypted than both the skull and this relay combined! No matter I'll just brute force it again and-"
The screen suddenly flashed green saying.
"Connection Established, incoming transmission received. Displaying transmission."
"Wait, what? I was let in so easily? Why would it."
An orange video call window opened.
0_0! No way No way! That's impossible!
The screen showed a lab that had seen better days, pipes, tubes, and wiring drooped from the walls and ceiling, and mountains of scrap sat in piles but that didn't matter!
"Relay Station M4 this is Shockwave. I am requesting immediate extraction.
He's dead! He's supposed to be dead!
The Purple Cyclops with a rectangular head shaped like a router with several antenae and a glowing red eye somehow managed to convey confusion without a face.
"I know our connection is stable so I know you heard me. I am requesting rescue and delivery to Lord Megatron."
I was so glad that my visor was down because I was NOT ready for me to meet my supposed-to-be dead anime Mom!
Shockwave, creator of the Vehicons and Scientific Officer of the Decepticon forces, and my Mommy was alive. And I had managed to find him!
What am I going to do!? I can't give him to Megatron as that would be revealing my existence most likely getting me killed but I also can't just cut the connection because me and Squawk did not get mauled just to leave without that data!
The Silence stretched for several, uncomfortable minutes before Shockwave nodded as if he had confirmed something.
"I see. Judging from your silence you are not only shocked to see me alive but you are also of an introverted emotional spectrum. A rarity among Decepticons."
I tensed at this but that seemingly ALSO confirmed something.
"You are not with lord Megatron. No Decepticon under his command would hesitate like you do but you also aren't cutting the connection meaning that either you don't see me as an enemy or you are after something in my lab. Thus, I can conclude that you will answer my questions.
So I would like to ask you why you tried to hack my lab systems and why you are not obeying Lord Megatron. It is the most logical decision after all."
Following Megatron was the Logical decision? The one who cares nothing about his soldier's lives and left one of his only medics to die for no other reason than his twisted sense of pride was logical? HIM!?
Something snapped in my head as the stress of this entire situation boiled over and just like with Squawk Talk I became angry enough to overcome my shyness and detonated with the force that would make any Tsundere proud!
"HAH!? You call working for Megatron the most logical option!? Don't make me laugh!" I then did so, harshly laughing in his face, and yet he didn't get angry but just asked.
"Why do you believe that is not logical? He is a very effective leader."
I looked at him flabbergasted was he serious? What kind of bubble was he living in? Well Mother, Time to show you that I know best! I leaned forward, my visor glowing brightly
"Efffecti-? You call leaving one of the fleet's only 2 medics to die refusing to do a simple rescue Mission for no other reason than Megatron's hypocritical belief that the weak should die and the strong survive? Which I might add is funny coming from the bot that was in a coma for a month! How was that 'logical?'
Or how the moment he came back to Earth we started suffering more losses against the Autobots in the last 6 months than we lost in YEARS of being on Earth? How is that effective?
Is blowing up mines full of Energon fullys staffed by my Brothers and me on the slight chance of destroying the Autobots even though he knew the Autobots entered said mine through a Groundbridge 'Effective'?"
I glared at Shockwave as I finished.
"I was loyal to him once but that time has passed as he left me for dead! And not once did he think to look for me or any other survivors of my mine's destruction just writing us off! I would think you would understand since everyone has written you off as well!"
I huffed and heaved as I stared at the silent Shockwave, my mental self still trying to figure out how to get the data without alerting him.
He started to speak.
"Your reasoning is-"
Great, here it comes. He's gonna admonish me saying some nonsense about his long record of success on Cybertron or something. He preaches about being logical but when it comes to Megatron he'll just bend over backward to justify his oh-so-precious leader's actions just like everyone else!
"Logical."
I blinked, my visor light flickering in response alongside a soft beep.
"Huh?"
I was taken aback. He….agreed?
"Wait, what did you say?"
He typed something onto the console on his end.
"I said that your reasoning is logical. Though my loyalty to Lord Megatron remains as steady as ever I am painfully aware of what you experienced as both of us have been left for scrap. Not only that, I find it hard to believe that our leader would do the things you described without some kind of outside factor influencing him. As you know he had led to cause for eons and as you said wasting resources and personnel is not something an effective leader would do so then my hypothesis is that something influenced him between the time he set out on his own and his arrival on Earth. Do you happen to know anything that could have caused this regression?"
Something instantly came to mind. He DID bring something with him to Earth and Mother had a good point. How on earth did the Decepticons last so long if their leader acted like this?
I then had another thought that made me smile behind my visor. I came for the data but perhaps I can gain something more valuable here! Besides, you can never have too many internet friends, right? He's far away enough that it should count right?
I'm a genius! Now how to phrase this.
My pause only lasted a few seconds before I let my proud Decepticon brand silver tongue do its thing.
I grabbed my chin, as if in thought before saying.
"Actually, yeah, there is something."
He typed some more but his gaze was still on me.
"Explain."
"You see, when he came to Earth he had brought with him something known as the Blood of Unicron AKA Dark Energon. Nasty stuff, you can use it to resurrect the dead as mindless Zombies and according to rumors, he shoved a giant chunk of that stuff into his Spark chamber!"
He nodded. "Interesting. I had assumed that was a myth. Do you know for a fact that Dark Energon exposure can damage the psyche of the user?"
I nodded. Time for a little lie mixed with truth. "Yes. I do. He was able to control the Zombies and again, according to rumors he spoke about 'hearing' the voice of Unicron speaking to him.
That was a lie. I had no idea if it actually did that but Shockwave didn't know that and it DID let him control the zombies so it wouldn't be too much of a leap in logic that if he could control the zombies perhaps something was in turn controlling him. It was a common enough trope either way.
Shockwave clicked twice on the interface, making me deeply curious about what he was doing when he spoke.
"Anything else?"
Yeah, I do! I just remembered something.
"When the Space bridge we had in Earth Orbit blew up he was in a coma for some time and then he was resurrected using Dark Energon."
He paused his movements, looking stiff for 3 seconds before he did some more urgent typing.
Once that was done he addressed me.
"Though most of your info is rumors making their validity suspect it is still more information than I had prior to our meeting and unfortunately, I may have found the very proof I needed to believe you."
"Huh? Proof? What do you mean?"
The screen shifted so he was on the right side while several old Cybertronian murals and texts scrolled down on the left.
"In my solitude and harvesting of parts and Energon, I have stumbled across many old museums and other higher places of learning including Iacon and though the Iacon Database is on the Nemesis and useless without someone from Iacon to decrypt it some things weren't so heavily protected including old myths of the substance referenced as the blood of Unicron that you call Dark Energon."
Wait! The Iacon Database in on the Nemesis!? I need to steal that! Squawk Loves languages so giving him something like the database would probably send him to the moon! What better 'I'm sorry for leaving you to die' apology gift for a language nut like him is there!?
I looked at the files he sent me….and my spark grew cold as I read the 'myths'
Oi! Oi Oi Oi! I had made that up, I had lied about him hearing voices but if what I was reading was true then!
"And according to those legends, though normally toxic the longer one is exposed to it the more they are drawn towards it which if not stopped will always end with those affected shoving Dark Energon into the Spark Chamber. Once they have done this they would gain the power to command the dead and even rise again from the grave upon going offline. But, in being revived they would become the Necross, the Servants of Unicron,
"The Necross are his heralds seeking to destroy all that exists. It starts slow but they begin to lose their ability to see other Cybertronians as nothing more than literal tools to fulfill their ambitions alongside a dramatic increase in egotism and a decrease in long-term planning driving them to act recklessly but even their ambitions will wither away being replaced with only a fevered need to obey their dark progenitor. And while Lord Megatron does indeed have a well-justified pride in himself and is willing to do what is needed to be done to win what you are describing with his actions that I know for a fact he would not have done when he left Cybertron leads to only one logical conclusion."
Scrap! Scrap Scrap Scrap! He's right! I always wondered how on Cybertron the other Decepticons could follow a leader who doesn't care about them but what if that wasn't the case? What if Megatron used to care more about his troops even as he sent them into battle? Granted, I might be giving him too much credit but it fits! But wait!
"But! I was exposed to Dark Energon too! Does that mean that I'm going to turn into a Necross as well!?"
Is that why I revived!? Am I secretly a Necross this entire time!?
This was news to Shockwave judging from his freezing for a moment even as he asked.
"How bad was the exposure?"
I scratched my face plate in anxiety. I no longer cared about manipulating him what I cared about was finding out if I was some kind of Robot Necromancer and never knew it!
"Um, It was right after the mine blew. I had thought I died in the explosion. Still, I woke up in the rubble with my body changed which now that I think about it makes no sense but I escaped and using my scanners found a powerful source of Energon. When I dug it up it was the reanimated head of the Autobot Cliff Jumper who was turned into a zombie with Dark Energon!"
"Cliff Jumper you say? So he is offline?" Oh yeah, I heard that Cliff Jumper was partly responsible for his supposed death.
"Yeah, Starscream killed him, Megatron Revived him, and then he killed XL 333 and XL334 all while the pair watched. What remained of him survived the mine's destruction and it bit my finger off!"
I showed him said finger.
"And what happened next?"
"Well, I punted it of course!" I pantomimed said action.
"Some of the Dark Energon got on my foot and though it burned at first it evaporated while I felt my energon Reserves increase I then thought 'Hey, I want more so I crushed his head and absorbed the rest."
More typing. I was pretty sure he was documenting all of this.
"What happened after that?"
"That's the strange thing. I suddenly lost Energon, far more than I gained from absorbing it and I found myself holding a little blue gem that wasn't Energon."
"Do you still have the gem?"
I winced. Rubbing my left shoulder with my right hand. My anger had faded so I was starting to get self-conscious again.
"Um, no. I don't I buried it with XL 253 after Starscream murdered him with an Energon Harvester."
A pause.
"It seems there is much I need to be debriefed about but for now we have limited time before the relay burns out so I will give you the simply answer that no, you are not a Necross.
I sighed in relief, That's good. My relief was short lived however as he continued.
The bigger issue is that we have to figure out a new means for further communication."
"Further Communications?"
Even though I was planning on being on good terms with Mom I had this sinking feeling that I was about to be dragged into something I wanted no part of but had no choice BUT to get involved.
No! I don't want that! I gotta stop him before he says anything!
But I was too slow.
"Yes, Because if Lord Megatron has truly been compromised then you and I may be the only Cons able to save not just him but the Decepticon Cause itself."
No! Not a quest! I refuse! I'm not gonna become the 'Last Hope' of anything!
I shook my head while fanning away the quest with my right hand.
"No way! What can I do!? I'm just a Miner! I'm not qualified for that kind of thing!"
Shockwave shook his head. "Your previous station is irrelevant. You are the only Decepticon who is unattached to the power structure of the Main force and who also has the means to travel to the red planet and defeat my Insecticon Experiment. Decepticons have always had their ranks decided based on their merits and their merits alone as to prevent the corruption seen in the Cybertronian elite and so-"
I cut him off! I saw a way out and I would take it!
"But I didn't defeat it!"
This threw him off a little I think? But he adjusted quickly enough I wasn't sure.
"Then how did you gain access to the facility?"
I growled as I was reminded of what I was upset about!
"Because we trapped it in my ship! Me and my Minicon both lost a limb trapping that thing and due to that I can't fix this Relay therefore The only thing I want from you is the data from Project Predacon!"
Scrap, I still hadn't found a way to subtly get the data even with Orion! And did his eye flicker? It went brighter for a moment.
"How did you learn about Project Predacon?" was that a hint of interest?
Ahah! Time for negotiations!
I sent him a picture of a certain skull.
"Me and Squawk Talk found this skull in the Arctic and after an enjoyable couple of hours cracking your code I discovered the data and I wanted it to perfect my own Project Project Cadmus!"
His little antennae things shifted upward, perking like a cat. Maybe that was how he expressed himself?
"You broke through my code? Granted the firewalls on the relay and the Predacon's data logs are archaic but beyond what most Cybertronians could bypass. Did you use some kind of supercomputer?"
I pointed to myself with my right thumb cockily as I confidently shared my 3 133t hacking skillz!
"Heheheheh Yes I did! I used my Iacon Rank Supercomputer which I built myself to crack the Relay's firewall but I only did that cuz I was in no mood to waste time but I hacked the skull all on my own!"
True I used Squawk for the Skull but I still put in some hard work dang it! I'm allowed to be proud of my work!
"And what is Project Cadmus?"
I sent him a few of my notes for my Skeletons but ONLY a summary that he wasted no time going through them, There was no way I was giving him my work for free!
"Project Cadmus is an Autonomous swarm of combat drones all controlled by my dear, precious Iacon Supercomputer Orion! (I wriggled in joy as I bragged about my boy!) Since I'm just a widdle little Vehicon. (I did a cutsie baby tone while also poking my visor's cheek with my short index while turning it as if I had a dimple.) (He in turn didn't stop typing even an instant.)
"I needed a way to keep myself safe as it's just me and my bird in my Mining Rig and so when I found Project Predacon I realized I could use it to make more powerful drones and since Velociraptors, Oh, those are what humans called this type of Predacon by the way. were already pack hunters so I thought-"
He cut me off? How rude!
"That you could use the hivemind created by the Orion Super Computer to create the perfect disposable force. An intriguing concept though one I also considered and discarded when designing you Vehicons as if they ever lost connection with the server they would shut down as they lack the ability to compute for themselves and even if you did have an override then their fighting ability would be so limited that they would be worthless.
I humphed as he stole my thunder! Screw you my idea is awesome! I won't let you talk down on it!
"That's only if you intend them to work autonomously 24/7 as an Attack force, not a defense force! If they are restricted to the Harbinger which is the ship my Orion is the command center for by the way, then being disconnected is practically impossible!"
I purposely didn't mention that I could use my mental self as a sort of jury-rigged hivemind letting them work at a much-reduced capacity.
He nodded.
"A logical solution as if they really are intended for defense then what you described would be sufficient as if the core was compromised then the ship would be destroyed anyway so It wouldn't matter anymore. Unless you have the Neural Node Network then those problems would disappear. That IS why you contacted me correct? To get a hold of the Neural Node Network?"
How did he know!?
I stiffened as I gaped behind my mask and he nodded again.
"I suspected that you were after that the moment you mentioned Project Predicon since I made a point to not include any notes or details on it in the data storage of the Microchips so as to not allow our enemies to turn my work against us. Which is also why I have long since disconnected the server holding all data pertaining to Project Predacon from the main network. while we were talking. It is now impossible for you to get it even if you took over my entire network.
Primus's Piston! He played me! He was so blunt that I forgot he was a Decepticon too!
Fine then, No more smoke and mirrors then. Let's get what I need and never talk to him again. Screw trying to be on good terms with Mommy Shockwave! I want to be emancipated and never see them again!
I leaned forward and said with as serious of a voice as I could.
"Then let's cut to the chase Shockwave. I want the Neural Node Network and I know for a fact that you want the data I retrieved from the skull. So we do a trade. You give me the Neural Node Network and I give you the data. Deal?"
He stared for a moment before asking.
"What is your Name?"
"Why?"
"I am not one to make agreements with a bot I don't even know the name of."
Fair enough.
"I am Overclock."
"Noted."
He typed something.
My patience was thinning!
"So!? Deal or no Deal?!
He didn't even hesitate to shatter my dream.
"No." Wha!?
"WHY NOT!?" I thought he was all for science and stuff so why did he say no? Did he not care about the project? No, that can't be it or he wouldn't have kept them away from me or pushed me about how I knew about the data. So what is it!?
"Because if I do then you will have no reason to keep in contact with me and while the data is extremely tempting as I am still working on Project Predacon even as we speak the situation outside my lab is simply too severe to ignore it. It is simply not logical to give you the data."
He saw right through me!
He then went on.
"If your point was to dissuade me of your capabilities then you have failed. In fact, I am even more certain that you meet the Criteria for promotion as not only are you capable of breaking my code, it being eons out of date does not diminish the feat, but you also began your own projects and even understood my work to the point where you were confident that you could replicate and integrate it if you had the last piece of data you need. Those able to understand my work could be counted on my hand and Jury Rig has been dead for some time."
Oh no. I biffed! I forgot I was trying to not impress him and started bragging and boasting about my own mad Sciencing!
"I am not sure how a Vehicon transformed as you did but to me it is obvious that you have inherited my intellect and my brother's lack of interest in politics making you the perfect lab assistant as you have no interest in the powerplays that plague our ranks."
No! It's even worse! The Energon Apple didn't fall far from the tree! But wait! How could I?
"Wait! How could I inherit your intellect!?"
Shockwave responded.
"Because while my Brother's Spark was used alongside the protoforms to make your body and spark I used a scan of my own Neural Net to help build your minds and reasoning."
You What!? Is that why I am so much better at science stuff since I got my new body? Did my rebirth trigger some kind of system restore to make me more like Shockwave?
"We are running out of time as only 40 cycles remain before the relay is destroyed so I will be skipping the formalities. Congratulations Overclock The Vehicon Miner, you have been promoted to Decepticon Second Lieutenant of Scientific Endeavors."
Before I could do anything something was sent to the Relay and I of course opened it and what I saw shocked me in more ways than one!
"A-Adminstrator Clearance!?" I was just given the codes needed to access basically everything! On one hand, I am excited as I can do whatever I want now and not get caught by Megatron but horrified as the condition to USE this was to update the records with BOTH MY NAME, MY PHOTO, and a declaration of my new station!?
"And before you think about bypassing the identifier to use the access without taking your official station the code is designed to instantly encrypt to the point where it would be useless if you so much as glimpse at the code within. Of course, you could delete it but you are not an idiot and know just how powerful that Access Code is.
I almost deleted it out of spite but…..By the Pits of Kaon, I hate Mother so much! Trying to force me to work for her company as her assistant. Screw you I have my own life!...but that access and more importantly the STATUS that it would instantly give me is basically a guaranteed get out of Jail Free card if I am ever caught by the other Cons. I know that this is authentic as Shockwave wasn't going to go through all this just to punk me….or at least I hope not.
But that doesn't change the fact that without my permission I just got promoted to be one of the bigshots. I have become the very thing all workers despise! A Manager! *Shudders* I feel dirty.
I glared at him saying what I truly thought.
"I hate you so much."
"Noted. Now, we have only 35 Cycles till disconnect. You mentioned that you and your Miinicon could fix the relay to work perfectly if he was intact correct?"
He didn't even respond to my feelings as I nodded, begrudgingly acknowledging that my Mom just barged into my life and she had no intention of leaving to buy milk!
"Yes, He turns into a hammer that if I focus on what I want to make and hit something it will be transmuted into what I desire. As long as I have at least some understanding of what I am trying to make the Hammer will fill in the gaps with the quality of the result being based on how many 'gaps' had to be filled."
I learned that when I was making my own supercomputer. I would design a computer to the best of my ability, have the hammer fill the gaps in the creation process, then dissect the computer so I Learned what it did and did it over and over again until BAM! I bred my precious Orion like wolves were bred into Dogs!
He paused his typing again. Then began messing with his interface with a bit more speed.
"Any other limits?"
"None," I said as if I was commenting on the weather and didn't just dangle in front of a Scientist a means to make anything he could ever desire or want!
Sorry Mother Dear, but your Daughter is in her rebellious teenage phase and will do anything no matter how petty if it means getting back at you!
He actually stopped typing entirely. Like, moving his hand off the interface and even leaning against it so he could stare at me harder, his antennae all at attention.
"Before I make any conclusions I will ask one final time. Are you telling the truth here?"
I gulped at his undivided glare and sharp tone and my teenage rebelliousness folded like wet newspaper. I change my mind! I'll be a good girl just stop glaring at me like that!"
"Yes?" I half asked meekly, shrinking in on myself.I don't wanna play Scientist anymore! I wanna go home and play video games!
He studied me for an uncomfortable 60 seconds before he finally relented, his voice filled with an energy that was almost infectious regardless of the calm facade he so effortlessly maintained.
"Then the repair of your Minicon is of the highest importance. I assume you used him to make yourself a proper lab?"
Good, he isn't looking at me so hard but I just wanna get this over with now.
"Yeah, He is currently resting with a temporary prosthetic in my medbay. What about it?"
"Use the Relay for its original purpose and connect me to your lab and I will walk you through the process to get him to the point where he can transform and you can reinforce the Relay and guarantee communication."
I perked up at this. "Really? You know how to do that? Even if we only have scraps?"
I swear if he had a face he would have raised an eyebrow as he gestured around him.
"I am quite used to working with 'Scraps' but, that takes time we do not have so I will instead give you a resource of fresh parts to use instead."
He sent me another file but I didn't open it till he told me what it was.
Seeing this he answered my unasked question.
"I placed a kill switch inside the Stasis cell that contained my experimental Insecticon. This is the code to allow you to use it and it will detonate the bomb in its head and allow you access to it's many components and we will use those to rebuild your Minicon."
"You can do that!? And what do you mean by Experiment?" I asked this but I just connected the relay to my mental system and began running, no longer needing to man it manually since no hacking was needed and not wanting to waste a single second more. I made sure that my visor was down with my mental self before doing this as it served to give me some comfort in anonymity.
Instead of answering he just stared at my mental form and my mindscape for about 5 seconds where he asked
"Curious, what is this?"
I was running as fast I could in my physical body but my mental self could chat just fine. I was regaining some of my courage as there was no more distance than the split between a digital entity and a physical one!
I nonchalantly rubbed my chest with my right fist then examined my now extended right hand as if checking my nails.
"Not much, Just my MentalScape. My system actually has 2 operating systems that work independently from each other without. eating into the other. That way I can literally do 2 things at once. This has also resulted in me having 2 vehicle modes."
I then flexed on him by having dozens of screens open up, rotating around me as they displayed all sorts of things from scientific data to memes, cuz I knew he would be jealous! Yes, yes,. Be jealous! Be filled with Envy as I am superior to you from a literal hardware standpoint!
His response was far less satisfying than I expected.
"Fascinating. Instead of connecting me to your ship, it would be far more efficient if I just utilized your own sensors and displayed the data you need to your mental self. With this setup and some custom software, it should be possible to have you perfectly follow my movements allowing for collaborations on projects even if I am not there in person. I am detecting an extremely stable transwarp connection meaning that once the relay is restored there will be no way for our connection to be disrupted unless a jammer is used.
All in all, I am impressed. I am eager to see the work we can accomplish working together."
Drat! Cmon Mom. Give me at least one win!
I arrived at the entrance and saw the hole in the ceiling where it came from and asked again.
"You never answered my question about your experiment."
I entered the stasis pod looking for the kill switch as he answered.
"Yes, Project Inferno." He sent me a file that when I checked had the entire project and notes about it!
"In Summary, I artificially augmented that Insecticon with Scraplet components and tried to merge the parts on a CNA level. This was to grant the Insecticons the power to not only regenerate faster than they already did but also be able to convert anything they eat into either Energon or fresh material to fuel their regeneration. This was to create soldiers that could survive out in the wastes of Cybertron without worrying about running out of Energon.
The Experiment was a failure however as while Inferno showed some improvement in Regeneration and material conversion it was not significant enough to be worth the cost which was the loss of what little logic or reason it had left due to what I expected was fundamental incompatibility with Scraplet CNA and Insecticon CNA. I theorize that the only way this could of worked would have been if a Protoform was used in the process due to the incredible bonding properties of the nascent Cybermatter but those no longer exist."
I couldn't help but think about the 5 hiding in the Harbinger. I wasn't going to anyway but I reaffirmed that I would NEVER let him know about them. They would not be dragged into this stupid war. Not if I had any say in it.
I shook off those thoughts and found the kill switch, used the codes Shockwave gave me and pulled up in my mental space the camera footage, and yep, the holes in that Insecticon were gone and its damaged limbs were slowly regrowing. And it's been just over an hour! You call THAT Not significant?! What do you want Wolverine? No wonder the head is where the bomb is, you gotta completely destroy its brain and its ability to eat.
Oh well. Time for revenge!
I created a digital version of a cartoony TNT plunger(TNT text included) and Cheerfully exclaimed as I counted down.
"3"
"2"
"1"
"Kaboom!"
I pushed it down.
SPLAT!
On the camera, the Insecticons entire head detonated staining the room blue with its head juice. The body for its part fell down, and I cheered with both my bodiesl
"TAKE THAT ROACH! Whose bad? I am! Uh huh uh huh!"
I did a little celebratory dance as the extermination of my bug problem via the classic Disco moves only to hear the bland tone of Mother killing my groove.
"We are running out of time. You can celebrate after we repair your bird."
EEP! I forgot he was there for a second! I'm not used to bots being in my mental space! I don't like it!
I shook it off and opened a groundbridge to the Arcade.
It doesn't matter. Right now I have a bird to save!
POV Change Shockwave: Location: Cybertron
"Good, now adjust the Energon tube to connect to the scapula so it redirects the Energon back to the Spark chamber's Main Energon pump."
"Like this right?"
"Adjust to the right 3 micrometers."
"Now?"
"Correct, now let us move on to clearing the TCog of any debris and enabling the full range of motion regardless of loss of body mass."
"And how would I do that?"
Shockwave walked it through with her as he stared into the small terminal in his ruins of a lab at what appeared to be a first-person view of a far better-equipped lab working on a blue and gold avian Minicon currently missing its right wing. The right hand was lacking its front index knuckle but that didn't diminish its articulation in any meaningful way. Next to that were 2 more smaller windows with the right one being filled with text and images while the left was a writing page partially full of notes that he continued to add to.
'Subject Overclock's rate of learning and applying said information has exceeded expectations by at least 150% She has refused to elaborate about certain parts of Subject Squawk Talk. It is obvious that those parts have importance. Once I have time I will seek to enquire about them though the likability of her telling me is less than 5%'
When Shockwave powered on today he could of never calculated the series of events that have taken place in the last 55 Cycles.
He had been busy perfecting the Neocyte of Project Predacon as the next day he intended to start the growing process when there was an alert on his terminal that he hadn't heard in many stellar cycles.
The alert of somebot trying to contact him.
He logically stopped what he was doing immediately and checked the transmission than was surprised as it was from the Relay of M4 just outside of what he knew as 'Earth' which shouldn't have been possible as his long and medium-ranged communications were offline until he figured that they must have overloaded the Relay to contact him.
So, he let the call through and found himself looking into the faceplate of a large purple and silver fembot Decepticon withl bite marks on her body an missing a right shoulder appendage.
He wasted no time as he knew that the relay would only last an hour and began demanding Evac only for her to go silent, not moving. And he figured thanks to his old introverted nature before he wiped his emotions that she was not expecting to find him nor work for Megatron beginning his communication with the Vehicon Miner named 'Overclock.'
At first, he figured her to just be another deserter who ran away to pursue their own selfish ambitions but when he tried to logically explain that serving Megatron was the best choice it was as if an Energon vein ignited and she detonated.
All that nervousness fell away and to his surprise, while she did shout she didn't just go off rambling and presented to him her reasoning to her abandonment of the cause and while she did so he had already opened the note document that he even now was recording in details about the transformed Vehicon Miner before him. If that was it he would still be interested as how did one of the lowest-ranked Vehicon turn into the Fembot he was currently conversing with?
By the end of it he acknowledged her logic and even as he spoke he was trying to figure out what could of caused such a worrisome deviation from the leader he swore loyalty to so long ago.
He also was trying to figure out a means to get into contact with Megatron or even better being sent to Earth but those plans fell away as Overclock surprised him with a theory of why his liege changed and by the Primes he wished she was just lying to manipulate him. Because the more she talked about the 'Dark Energon' (A far better name than the blood of Unicron in his scientific opinion) and his master's bringing it to Earth and the following contamination.
Which is when he discovered the legends of the Necross and the more he read the more everything fell into place and judging from her reaction she also was not prepared for the revelation that their Lord Megatron was even as they speak eroding away into nothing more than a being obsessed with destruction and only destruction.
He briefly felt a small surge of panic when he learned that she herself was in contact with DarkEnergon and asked if she was a Necross prompting him to request the exact details and just as the ancient legends were an unexpected reservoir of information for the Necross those very same texts gave an improbable but possible explanation to what she described.
But unlike with Megatron where there was no way to gain more data he could get more data so he hid his findings until he was certain they were correct. He then decided the most logical option when faced with someone strong enough to beat his failed experiment, seemingly immune to Dark Energon, and was an unknown to the compromised Megatron was to enlist them to help him save not just Megatron but the entire Decepticon cause itself.
He was unsurprised when she claimed she wasn't qualified for it but it just didn't matter. She was the only one able to do something about this and to aid in that he tried to promote her so if needed she could do what was needed alongside giving her a name officially promoting her from a Vehicon to a 'true' (And he used that term very loosely) Decepticon.
Only for her to claim she didn't defeat it.
If she didn't defeat it then how did she do this? There was no logical explanation based on the information he had so he asked how she entered the facility.
She tried to downplay herself at first, trying to look unqualified and avoid the task at hand. (Unaware that Shockwave honestly didn't care as she was the only option.) only to fail miserably as she brought up Project Predacon!
Now his scientific side was fully invested and demanded to know how she knew of that long-dormant and only recently renewed project and she did, which is when she failed her task successfully.
From that moment on everything she said or did only managed to uplift her value in his eye regardless of the other factors that already piqued his interest. Her intellect, her skill, and her Ingenuity changed his perception of her from a nameless Vehicon to something more valuable and precious than all the other Vehicons and some named Cons combined.
A lab Assistant. The last one he had was Jury Rig and in the end, he betrayed him taking his research, and most crucially, the last 5 Protoforms with him and vanishing never to be seen again.
He hadn't bothered with one ever since as he was not going to risk the event happening again which slowed down his research significantly. So even as he prevented her from getting access to the data she wanted to ensure her continued communications he was also studying her personality, her ambitions, as well as getting her name in case she already had one which he found out was Overclock.
The results of his prodding and observations confirmed his suspicion. Not only had she inherited his intellect that no other Vehicon had but also inherited his brother's utter lack of political ambition. Further, even though she didn't say it aloud and her face was hidden but every body movement, every change in tone they all spoke of somebot who didn't care for the political antics of the Con hierarchy or even direct social contact at all and would rather spend that time in seclusion pursuing her own interests. Just like him.
So he promptly used his Authority to promote her to the Second Lieutenant of Scientific Endeavors, avoiding all the pointless fanfare, and gave her her access code. This was the final test, how would she react when given so much power?
If he had a mouth he would have smirked when she reacted exactly as he calculated.
"I hate you so much."
"Noted." She had passed. As long as he cultivated her passion for Science and cemented himself as an Authority Figure he would gain an Assistant who wouldn't try to overthrow him to rise in the ranks like Jury Rig did.
There was still the 1% Chance she would betray him anyway but as long as he played along with her eccentricities he had the feeling that she wouldn't betray him until he himself did.
And when that risk was compared to the possible doubling his rate of progress in his research and Development he was willing to take those chances.
All said and done he had a very positive impression of her, his spark filled with a peculiar sensation he was not sure what it was as he had never felt it before but before he could focus on it more Overclock finished the Procedure and after a moment of confusion the bird transformed and Shockwave's final hypothesis was confirmed.
For even as he stared at the partly damaged yet unmistakable form of the Forge of Solus Prime as it erupted in blue lightning he made one more update to his notes.
'My Hypothesis was correct. Though the likelihood was trillion to one between the immunity to Dark Energon, her transformation into a new form, alongside being able to wield the Forge of Solus Prime the only solution is the most simple. According to the ancient texts, only one group was immune to Dark Energon, Only one group always changed when chosen, and only one group could wield a hammer that could create whatever the user desired.
It should be noted the mythology didn't speak of the draining of the Energon reserve to create Gems but it is expected some facts would be lost in the annals of history so for now will be written off as such. Therefore my conclusion is she is a Prime. I am certain she is unaware of it but that just makes this opportunity even more precious. For I, The Decepticon scientist Shockwave shall be the first to fully scientifically document and analyze the ascension of a Prime.'
Author's Note: Uh oh! Seems Mother Shockwave knows something no one else does! How will THAT turn out? Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed episode 11 as wow did a lot happen!
First is the exploration of Optimus Prime's relationship with Squawk Talk which is such a treat to write. So often Optimus Prime is seen as this unflappable, perfect leader so this relationship allows me to explore his character in more detail and make him more than just the 'leader'.
Second is the revelation to the Autobots that she is in fact a Vehicon as it isn't as if she is trying to hide the fact that she is a Vehicon. The only thing she hides is that she was Silent 8 so it makes sense that Squawk wouldn't have a problem bringing up her lineage as it isn't a secret. This was also fun to write as in the show all the time they have these 'leaps' of logic that always manage to be right so to have them be so utterly wrong is refreshing.
Third: Team Overclock VS Insecticon. She lost. Plain and simple. She isn't a fighter so she got folded like an omelette and the only reason she survived was a mix of her Groundbridge and the Squawk's sacrifice. She isn't a fighter, not in the slightest.
In fact, in a straight-up fight, every single one of the Named Cybetronians and maybe a few Vehicons will clean her clock 90% of the time. That is her flaw. She can make OP tech but take that away from her and she is helpless. And this is 100% her fault. She didn't bother training in any way and instead focused on having fun and goofing off. Perhaps this experience will convince her to learn some self-defense.
And last but certainly not least the introduction of Mommy dearest Shockwave! I had spent a lot of time thinking about how they would interact with each other and in the end, I felt that out of all the characters in the Prime Continuity, he would be the one who would actually listen to her criticism of Megatron's Leadership with an open mind. If Shockwave was willing to not once but TWICE forgive Starscream for leaving him for scrap just because he had a logical explanation behind it then he would definitely do the same with Overclock.
Sure, he is still loyal to Megatron and the Decepticon cause but now thanks to having an outsider's perspective and the foreknowledge that Megatron has been exposed to something that may be altering his mind has allowed him to recognize that something has gone horribly wrong on Earth and in a way it makes sense.
Starting Season 2 Megatron seems much better at manipulation and began having far more victories than he did in Season 1 and would you look at that! Season 2 is AFTER Unicron is destroyed! Huh, it's almost as if once free of Unicron's influence he became a competent leader again. At least that's my Theory. A SHOCKWAVE THEORY!
And poor, Poor Overclock. She didn't want to become Mommy's favorite (Sorry Scrap 7, you got replaced.) but she did! And now Momma is worried about her 'future' and won't let her squander her potential.
Now, for the Preview!
Next Time on Transformers Prime Vehicon:
At the same time Back on Earth the Cons discover that the Harbinger, a long-since thought lost transport vessel holding a prototype weapon used its access code for unknown reasons leading to Black Arachne and Starscream setting off to the ruins of the Harbinger to investigate. But when they fail to find what they were looking for Black Arachne betrays Starscream and leaves him behind with the Autobots to save her own skin. Learning this Counterpunch seizes the opportunity to get his revenge.
Will he get his vengeance? Or will an unexpected obstacle stop him dead in his tracks?
Transformers Prime:
Vehicon
Episode 12 Partners
