II - Orion Pax, Part Two
00000
Regulon 4 - D.O. Gamma 7
Orion Pax blinked.
"Why did you call me Optimus Prime?"
Mirage looked profoundly dumbfounded.
"That's your name."
"I'm afraid you're mistaken. My name is Orion Pax, I am far from being a Prime."
Mirage was shocked beyond belief.
The new finish of black and silver was strange enough but the Decepticon markings on his armor?
What was going on?
"Ok…Orion, what do you remember?"
"I am sorry but I cannot discuss what I know with you."
Orion turned his back.
"You should leave."
"You know I'm not your enemy," Mirage protested.
"And how is that?" Orion said.
"You don't turn your back on someone you know is an enemy."
Orion Pax paused.
That was an interesting point.
Why was he regarding this Autobot, this Mirage, as though he weren't a threat?
The automatic doors opened.
And what followed was the sound of energy weapons charging.
Orion turned his head to see an acid-green seeker, also with a cone-shaped helm, scanning the room with his blaster, several Decepticon seekers flanking him too.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" Orion asked.
"Apologies sir," Acid Storm said, lowering his weapon and motioning his soldiers to do the same. "Our instruments detected a breach of security in this room."
Orion looked surprised. "What sort of breach?"
"An intruder."
Orion appeared thoughtful. "In the heart of this fortress?"
Acid Storm frowned. "And yet our instruments detected something. Did you see anything?"
"As a matter of fact I did, an Autobot spy appeared and then disappeared like a ghost. Right in this very room. I have never seen him before."
Acid Storm made an ugly look. "Smart aft."
He shut the door.
Orion resumed his work.
His fingers were on autopilot.
But his mind went to work elsewhere.
Who is Optimus Prime?
00000
Earth - Roswell, NM - November 5th, 2011 - 5:30 am
Breakdown emerged from the smoldering research facility with the recaptured power source over his shoulder, triumphant smile on his face.
"Can't believe they didn't bother to relocate this battery," he said smugly.
"Me neither," Knockout laughed. "Humans are so stupid."
"Not so fast!" commanded Bumblebee as he rushed forward, blasters and battle mask ready.
Bulkhead and Arcee flanked him.
Breakdown and Knockout smirked.
"Aren't you missing someone-?" Knockout paused, his mouth agape.
Breakdown was equally stunned. "So the kid did get his voice back."
A groundbridge came into existence.
"Time to go," Knockout said, snapping out of his momentary stupor.
The pair ran into the groundbridge.
"No!" Arcee screamed as she transformed and sped after the Cons.
"Arcee!" Bulkhead shouted.
"Arcee, no! Fall back!" Bumblebee called out. "It's too dangerous!"
Arcee bellowed. "I DON'T CARE!"
00000
Nemesis Warship
Arcee, in her vehicle form, sped path Knockout and Breakdown, just before the portal closes.
She disappeared around the corner of the first hallway.
"Scrap," Knockout said.
"At least the big O isn't on board," Breakdown said. "And no one on board knows where is or even how to find him since the spacebridge transport memory has been wiped."
Knockout shrugged. "She'll tear the ship apart to find that out."
00000
"Commander, we have an intruder."
Airachnid nonchalantly turned her head to stare at Stockade.
"Oh?"
Stockade pressed a key on the security console with his good hand.
The main screen showed several surveillance monitors showing a dark-blue motorcycle racing throughout the corridors of the ship.
Airachnid smiled ruefully.
"Arcee."
The eight-legger transformed into her arachnid form.
"Stockade, give all orders to not engage the intruder. I will engage her personally."
"You're going to fight her? By yourself?"
Airachnid glared at the young lieutenant.
Stockade cleared his throat. "As you wish ma'am."
00000
Montana, US - The Rocky Mountains - 6:00 am
Meanwhile, in a mountain valley not yet touched by humankind, the Decepticons were excavating a nearly undetectable Energon mine.
They were almost finished when they were disrupted by the presence of one of Optimus Prime's top lieutenants.
And now he was being engaged by one of Megatron's top lieutenants.
Jazz kicked Brawl hard in the chin in a reverse forward backflip.
"You gonna tell me where he is, Decepticon punk!"
Brawl stood his ground, laughing from every hit he took.
"That's right! Get personal! I can take it!"
Brawl threw a solid right hook.
With acrobatic brilliance, Jazz twirled around that fist with a twirl, and slammed his foot into Brawl's face.
Brawl didn't falter, even though he started seeing double.
"Where is he, Brawl?!" Jazz roared. "Where is Optimus?!"
"I…don't…know," Brawl slurred. "Wouldn't tell…me. Didn't…tell…anyone."
Jazz looked apprehensive. "So Megatron did leave earth."
"Didn't say that."
Brawl shook himself out of his stupor and then grabbed Jazz by the arm.
With a roar, he tossed Jazz into the air.
Jazz, while midair, used his Energon grappler to reel himself back in and with the force of the reeling line, launched himself straight into Brawl like a rocket.
The collision caused both of them to fall over a cliff.
They plummeted over a thousand feet to the ravine below.
00000
Jazz laid there on the rocky ravine ground, twisted in a heap, leaking Energon.
He groaned as he tried to pick himself up.
Brawl was on his hands and knees, visor cracked, dents in his armor, growling upon seeing his adversary.
"I'm gonna crush you, punk," he wheezed and he spat out a glob of Energon.
Then he noticed movement in his peripheral vision.
What followed was a painful shock.
And then blackout.
00000
Nemesis Warship - 6:30 am
Arcee kicked Airachnid hard in the stomach.
Airachnid doubled over.
Arcee roared in rage, blades at the ready to cut her most bitter enemy down.
Using her spider legs, Airachnid leapt out of Arcee's reach.
"Where is he?!" Arcee bellowed.
Airachnid smirked. "Where is who?"
Arcee screamed as she brandished her blasters and fired with abandon.
Airachnid dodged one blaster bolt after another.
She found herself barely able from getting grazed by one of them.
They came so close she could smell the ozone.
Knockout and Breakdown watched from far down the hall, around a corner, using a piece of mirror to watch so as to not get hit by a stray blast.
"This is nuts!" Breakdown said.
"No kidding," Knockout said with a nod.
The ferocity of the battle became so intense, that both Arcee and Airachnid fought their way into another room.
Knockout's medical chambers.
Knockout's optics shot open in horror. "NO! SOUNDWAVE IS IN THERE!"
Breakdown's mouth dropped open so wide, the filling where his missing tooth was, could be seen.
"What?!"
The pair rushed down the hall, but it was too late, the door was shut and locked down.
00000
Airachnid slumped to the floor, smoke rising from her body.
Arcee stood over, shock prod in hand.
The exit was locked and the keypad fried.
Arcee turned her head to see a comatose Soundwave on the medical slab.
"So it's true then," Arcee said. "Soundwave has been incapacitated. That would explain why Decepticon communications have been so easy to track."
Airachnid snarled, trying to get to her feet.
But she was too weak.
She stiffened upon hearing the sound of a blaster charging.
But not close enough to be aimed at her.
It was aimed at Soundwave's head.
Arcee's eyes were cold and without mercy. "Where is Optimus?"
Airachnid's eyes widened in raw fear.
Megatron will kill me if he dies.
"I don't know where he is! Megatron didn't tell me where he was taking him when they left earth! He didn't tell anyone!"
Arcee grimaced in dissatisfaction.
"I don't believe you."
"It's the truth, Arcee, I swear it!"
Arcee smiled a cruel smile. "Like I swore when I told you I didn't know the attack coordinates? Right before you killed Tailgate?"
Airachnid said nothing.
"I don't know where your leader is or even how to find him. Megatron ordered us to wipe all memory from the space bridge logs."
"You're lying! If your space bridge is operational, then why did you steal that power source?"
"The space bridge lacks the power to remain active constantly. Lacking suitable tech to keep it running to be useful, we had to steal that massive experimental battery."
"Where is the spacebridge?"
Airachnid grit her teeth.
That was information that would warrant her execution forthwith and Megatron would undoubtedly have Blackout do the deed.
She said nothing.
Arcee glared murderously at her.
"Fine."
Arcee prepared to fire, not taking her eyes off Airachnid.
"NO!" Airachnid screamed.
"Now you know how I felt when I watched you kill my partner."
"I didn't kill him!"
Arcee blinked, not sure she heard correctly.
"What did you say?" she said in a dangerous voice.
Airachnid was out of breath, her fear and frustration overcoming her reason.
"I didn't kill your partner. That wasn't Tailgate you saw die."
Arcee looked insane with fury. "Do you take me for a fool?!"
"It was a shifter called Enigma. He took Tailgate's form so that we could use him as leverage to get that information from you. We never caught your partner. We failed to capture him when he fell down a deep ravine."
Arcee paused, taking this story in. "You killed one of your own just to get to me?"
"He was sentenced to death anyway. This deal was to grant him a stay of execution if it worked."
Arcee paused for a long moment, shook her head and then she lowered her blaster. "Why should I believe you?"
"The console behind you," Airachnid pointed. "Search under 'Enigma' and look up file D-0715. You'll find his certification of execution. It will coincide with Tailgate's time and place of death."
Arcee didn't turn her head.
In the corner of her eye, she saw a pair of cuffs, no doubt for the purpose of restraining hostile patients.
She took them and placed them on Airachnid's wrists and locked them around a metal beam to keep her from attacking her once she turned her back.
Airachnid was too weak to resist.
Arcee accessed the console and looked through the files that Airachnid named.
Arcee frowned. "The file is locked."
"The password is 'onyx.'"
Arcee typed the word and the file opened.
She read through the log, ignoring the slamming at the door to the medical lab.
Arcee's eyes were intense and focused.
Shock and horror grew on her face as she kept reading.
She gasped when she saw images of what appeared to be a deceased Tailgate on an examination table.
There was the slash across his throat where Airachnid inflicted a killing blow.
And then the visual went into motion as Tailgate's features shifted and converted in an instant to take on the form of a bot she didn't recognize.
The Decepticon shifter, Enigma.
Executed for murder.
"Do you believe me now?" Airachnid said.
00000
Regulon 4 - D.O. Gamma 7
Megatron entered Orion's workstation.
"Orion, I apologize for Acid Storm's conduct. He's a loyal soldier but he can be wound up rather tightly."
Orion nodded in understanding. "Thank you Lord Megatron."
"Now…Acid Storm mentioned something very interesting. He said that you saw an Autobot enter your quarters. Is this true?"
Orion paused before answering. "It is."
Megatron looked troubled. "I see. Did he menace you in any way?"
"No, Megatron."
Megatron frowned. "Did he say anything to you?"
Orion was prepared for this. "He claimed that he was not my enemy. He referred to me by a name that wasn't mine."
Megatron furrowed his brow, clearly irritated. "And what name would that be?"
Orion showed no sign that he was taken aback by his old friend's uncharacteristic show of hostility.
"Optimus Prime."
Megatron's face didn't change but his spark burned with fury.
Curses! He hasn't been here for a day and already the Autobots have fouled up everything!
"The Autobot leader?" Megatron said, trying to feign puzzlement.
"Indeed," Orion said. "Perhaps he confused me for someone else."
"Perhaps."
Orion remembered the green Autobot in that place on earth referring to him as 'Optimus.'
Optimus, you ok?
The Autobot knew him and the sound of his voice sounded like that of a friend who was concerned for another.
What did it all mean?
Orion chose not to voice those questions.
Not yet anyway.
"If it pleases you, Megatron, I would continue my progress on Project Iacon."
Megatron waved an affirmative hand. "Very well. We shall discuss this later. But one last question: how did the Autobot access your quarters and how did he escape undetected?"
Orion smiled. "That's two questions."
Megatron chuckled. "That question was a two-parter."
Orion chuckled as well, an action that stunned Megatron for a moment.
He hadn't heard the Prime laugh in eons.
"An answer to your question, the Autobot simply appeared and then disappeared."
Megatron nodded. "A cloaking device."
"My thoughts exactly."
"Hmm," Megatron said. "Thank you for the information. I shall leave you now."
He turned to leave.
"Megatron, there has been something that's been puzzling me: recently I've seen several historical references to Starscream being your Second-in Command, yet it is this Airachnid who's named as your second in command. I have not seen him on the ship or any official record of the transition of the office of Second-in-Command."
Megatron's jaw clenched with irritation.
His first thought was to tell Orion that Starscream had been terminated.
But what if he showed up? He had a bad habit of doing so.
"Starscream has long since deserted the Decepticon cause, Orion."
Orion looked sad. "Why?"
Megatron, deciding it was time to move on, waved a dismissive hand. "That's enough questions for now Orion. Please resume your work. You'll have your answers soon enough."
Orion nodded, albeit hesitantly.
He returned to his workstation and resumed Project Iacon.
Megatron walked out of the room and the door closed automatically.
And then all calmness went out the window as Megatron's face twisted with fury.
Orion has never been adept in the art of deception. And he has asked many questions. An excellent quality in an archivist but not a Decepticon. It will only be a matter of time before Orion sees through the fabrications and uncovers the deception.
00000
Orion tapped away at the keys of his computer, having decoded another section of the Iacon Database.
But even as he buried himself in his work, a thought continued to eat away at his mind.
Something wasn't right.
Megatron was different. He hid it well but not well enough for Orion to not see through him.
And this Mirage.
Orion could not for the life of him remember but somehow, deep down, there was something about him that he thought should know about him.
Like there was something in the back of his mind locked away he could not reach.
Orion decided to investigate.
He typed a command.
Query: Who is Optimus Prime?
00000
Earth - A.O. Omega 2 - 9:00 am
"Jazz? Jazz? Can you read me? Answer!"
Perceptor tapped at the keys of the Autobot mainframe, trying to get a hold of one of his oldest friends.
Blaster stood off to the side, his data tentacles at work in the main communication hub.
"I-I got him! I got him!"
"Lock on his coordinates!" Ratchet barked.
"On it," Perceptor said as he typed in a command, pulled a switch and the groundbridge opened.
Sideswipe and Sunstreaker charged in, weapons ready.
The Twins vanished into the portal.
Seconds later, they came back, carrying a battered and leaking Jazz.
The Autobots watched in horror.
"Man, Brawl really did a number on him," Blaster said in astonishment.
Jazz came to at that moment and his words came out in garbled wheezing.
"It…wasn't Brawl…that did this. We…both…fell off a cliff."
Ratchet stared at him. "Why didn't you use your grappler?"
"Damaged." Jazz raised his arm to show that the device had been smashed.
"Bring him into my lab," Ratchet said.
A voice called out from the console. "Ratchet! Ravage here!"
The good doctor did not take his eyes off Jazz as he laid him on the medical berth. "Ravage, what did you find?"
"It was MECH! They took Brawl!"
Ratchet looked grim. "Are you sure?"
"Silas was with them."
All Autobots raised their heads at that.
"Finally shown his ugly head huh?" Bulkhead said.
"Yes, but he's not leading these troops alone."
Ratchet cocked an eyebrow. "Meaning?"
"'Meaning' another commander besides him is leading them. This one is known to me. He can be identified by his mask design. It has a twisted, grotesque grin painted on it."
"Spooky," Blaster said. "How do you know him?"
"He paid a visit on several occasions when I was their guest."
Ratchet fought back waves of nausea as he remembered when he had Ravage on his medical table for a routine examination. This was after she agreed to aid the Autobots, as a trade for leniency. Examining Ravage and seeing the scar tissue that riddled her circuitry and armor was horrifying to say the least.
How could anyone be that cruel? Ratchet had thought.
Jazz groaned. "Why didn't they take me too?"
"Probably didn't have the resources to transport you too," Ravage said. "And MECH values strength and fortitude above all. A tank over a small sports car must've been a better choice for them."
Jazz scoffed. "I'm offended."
"Did you see where they took him?" Ratchet asked.
"Afraid not. They took him by helicopter and they went through a crevice in between mountains. They disappeared after that. And that's not a figure of speech. It was like they evaporated into the mountain."
Ratchet and Perceptor looked at one another.
"Do you think..?" Perceptor said.
Ratchet nodded inquisitively. "I do."
Bulkhead grumbled. "We're rescuing him aren't we?"
Bumblebee nodded. "Yup."
Another incoming call came through the console.
"Arcee to base. I need a groundbridge."
She sounded terribly weary.
00000
Undisclosed Location - 5:00 pm
Brawl groaned in discomfort as he came to.
His head was buzzing and his vision was swimming.
All was dark and dreary.
Brawl tried to sit up but then he found he couldn't move.
His spark went cold when he remembered what Breakdown had told him.
He had been captured and dissected by the human black chapter group known as MECH.
He had lost an eye in the process.
A smooth and silky voice spoke which made Brawl's blood turn cold.
"Ah good, you're awake. Now we can begin."
Brawl's vision sharpened as he saw that he was in some type of science research facility.
But it was a dank and depressing place.
Chains hung from the rafters.
Massive cylindrical tanks were unwashed and stood in a massive hanger.
But in the small area where Brawl was chained to a massive table, there were numerous men in masks and leather lab coats.
They were hooking cables and tubes into several soft areas of Brawl's body, in between and in openings of his armor.
"Get off me you filthy sacks of meat!" Brawl roared, struggling in his bonds but he couldn't move an inch.
"There's no use struggling," said the smooth voice that spoke earlier. "These locks have been specially designed to hold you."
Bulkhead had broken free after much struggling and MECH had improved their craft since then.
Brawl looked up and saw a man in a long black coat.
His mask was different.
It had a ghastly and grotesque design of a grin painted on it.
It was unsettling, even for a hardened soldier like Brawl.
"You've killed many of our soldiers, soulless machine. And that we cannot have."
Brawl snarled. "Insect! You're so dead, you don't even know it!"
"Dead am I?" The smiling MECH said with feigned surprise and concern. "You are the one who will be dead and you're going to be dying for a long time as we disassemble you."
"You're already being hunted. Whatever you do to me, you'll only dig your graves deeper and deeper. There will be no end and you'd better get used to crawling in the dark for the rest of your life like the worm vomit you are!"
If the smiling MECH was furious by Brawl's defiance, he showed no sign.
"Then you'll die screaming. Just so you know who your dismantler is, you can call me Joker."
Brawl's spark was racing.
That was the only sign that he was afraid but he refused to show it.
00000
Regulon 4 - D.O. Gamma 7
Orion typed away at his station.
Whatever sources he found on Optimus Prime was troubling to say the least.
00000
Rocky Mountains, Montana - 6:00 pm
Bulkhead, Bumblebee, Arcee, Wheeljack, and the Twins climbed down the rock wall of the adjoining mountains where Ravage last saw the MECH transport carrying Brawl.
"You know he's probably gonna turn on us like Breakdown did right?" Bulkhead said.
"He's not Breakdown," Bumblebee said. "And Starscream isn't here to make it easier to be a Decepticon."
Sideswipe swallowed. "What do you think they're doing to him?"
"What do you care?" Wheeljack asked.
"Probably just as bad as what they did to Breakdown," Sunstreaker said grimly.
Arcee shuddered. "And what they would've done to me when they took Jack's mom."
"And from the way Ravage described this 'smiley,' he's probably just as mean as Silas," Bumblebee said.
"Which means Brawl is in even deeper trouble," Sunstreaker said.
"You think the Cons will actually try to rescue him sooner?" Bulkhead asked skeptically.
"We'll see," Bumblebee said.
They were inching closer to what looked like a narrow gap in between the mountains.
An insurmountable gap.
Bulkhead gulped. "That's a big jump. I don't think we can make it."
"We'll just have to climb down," Bumblebee said.
Sunstreaker stared at the gap.
Something wasn't quite right with it.
He reached outward into the gap and his hand disappeared into the gap as though it evaporated.
Sunstreaker gasped and pulled back.
His hand reappeared.
The Autobots watched in awe.
The gap was a holographic projection.
A projection concealing the entrance to one of MECH's secret mountain installations.
Sunstreaker turned to the Autobots, locked eyes with them, and put a finger to his lips.
They nodded slowly.
00000
Dozens and dozens of MECH soldiers, scientists and other staff members were either moving equipment, standing at attention in formations, or calibrating their weaponry.
Military choppers, anti-tank vehicles, hummers and others shrouded the hanger.
"Ok, there's no way we're sneaking past that," Bulkhead said.
"Agreed," Sunstreaker said as he pressed his commlink. "Blaster, initiate Operation Gravewalker."
Blaster's response was one of enthusiastic anticipation.
"Metal."
00000
6:20 pm
Steeljaw and Ravage, using their cloaking tech, infiltrated the ventilation system of the base, and in no time at all, reached the power grid, and cut its main cables, throwing the installation into total darkness.
"Eject. Rewind. Ramhorn. You're up."
00000
Eject and Rewind, with masterful dexterity and skill, either trapped or dispatched with the MECH soldiers.
Once the hangar was clear, Ramhorn would begin destroying any and all vehicles, airborne or otherwise, that could be used to escape.
MECH would not get away so easily this time.
00000
Little did the Autobots know, the Decepticons launched a rescue operation of their own.
Laserbeak, with the enormous collection of MECH codes and intel from the many successful operations done by him, Frenzy and Rumble, infiltrated the base from the opposite end.
Unbeknownst to them, their efforts to cut the power were successful, but not because they did so before the Autobots but rather they did so at the same time.
Their plans were much the same but neither party knew of the presence of the other.
It wasn't long before Frenzy and Rumble opened the doors from the inside.
And then Barricade, Blackout, and Breakdown entered the mountain installation.
"Just so you guys know," Breakdown said through clenched teeth. "Take any of these fleshlings you want, but Silas is mine."
"Whatever," Barricade said.
"Stay on task," Blackout said sternly. "Rescuing Brawl is our priority, not vengeance."
"Speak for yourself," Breakdown said.
In a massive ventilation shaft, just big enough for Bulkhead to squeeze through, the former wrecker crawled through.
"Team? Can you hear me?"
"Bulkhead? What are you doing? Where'd you go?"
Bulkhead groaned bashfully. "Sorry Jackie, this place is like a maze. And I'm pretty sure this place goes several levels down, maybe into the heart of the mountain."
"I know, this place is incredible. Must be decades and decades old."
Then Bulkhead froze stock still when he realized he wasn't alone.
"Bulk? Bulk, what's-?"
The former wrecker shut off his comm.
He kept his head down as a pair of massive feet passed by the screen of the ventilation shaft.
And an orange face with one yellow optic ducked down and stared right into the face of Bulkhead.
Bulkhead held his breath in his throat, all his nerves shooting up as he waited for Breakdown to shout out and give away his position.
Seconds passed and Breakdown didn't move or speak.
Bulkhead was stunned.
Breakdown didn't so much as move and he didn't look the least bit surprised to see him there.
He just looked angry and uncertain, as though considering things.
Why hasn't Breakdown ratted him out and told the other Cons where he is?
And then Breakdown broke the silence in a whisper.
"Take a left down the hall, Bulk, and then keep going until you reach a big door with an orange light above it. That's an exit you can drive out of. It's how we got in."
Bulkhead gawked. "What?"
"I'm telling you how to get outta here."
Bulkhead couldn't believe his ears. "What?"
Breakdown bared his teeth in irritation. "Just go, Bulk, before I regret this."
Breakdown took off without another word.
00000
Regulon 4 - D.O. Gamma 7
Orion continued to type away, searching, cross-referencing, decoding and deciphering, until he found what he was looking for.
His optics widened.
"How could I be..?"
Upon the screen was his very image, battle mask and all.
And underwrit…
"…Optimus Prime?"
…..