Reticence Saga
Divided Loyalties
Chapter 1: Return to Cybertron
Cynder crept through the ruined city, blaster in hand. Her enemy would be lurking anywhere...and be anything. A crack of wood made her spin to aim, only for a small tabby cat to hiss at her and run off.
The anthro dragoness sighed before looking around, turning her back as she leaned on a burnt-out tank...before making it shift. Cynder spun to see the tank shifting into a huge humanoid robot who lifted a foot...and it froze. Aria's voice said, "Well done, Miss Cynder...you're dead."
Cynder sighed and said, "You know, you could make this a little more fair."
"The Cybertronian conflict was anything but fair. We were fighting a species of cybernetic lifeform that could be anything. Literal robots in disguise if you will. The war may be over now but the Decepticon faction do not care and you may be in this situation," said Aria confidently, a hologram of the Decepticon symbol rotating in the air.
"I thought the point of this mission was to establish diplomatic relations with the Autobots," said Cynder.
"Which would put us directly in the Decepticons' crosshairs. Just because they lost the war and don't live on Cybertron doesn't mean they're still not dangerous. There is also the problem of hardliners in the colonies. Families of people lost in the Paradron massacre" said Aria calmly, a holo of a planet. "Autobots and Decepticons had a large-scale battle in orbit, though nobody knows how they got there or what drew them before the Autobots used a planet buster weapon on the planet," she said.
"Yeah, I can see why that would sour things," said Cynder.
"And yet, we still need this relation to work," said Aria, "Especially since the Dracobots are working for the Virk Empire." At that, a hologram of Ferrocus in robot mode appeared, easily standing taller than the tank bot that he chopped in half with his swords.
"Indeed. It is lucky that Matt is not going to be present. His presence would sour relations." said Aria, Cynder narrowing her eyes before Aria said, "Information is classified at his request."
"Aria..." started Cynder.
"Cynder, you have never even been to another planet before now," said Aria, "Perhaps this mission might be too complex for you to handle."
"I'm not planning hosting the entire diplomatic talks myself, but I'm still going. If the Autobots have some way of changing Spyrax back into Spyro, or at the very least finding him, then I have to go. And I'm not sending anyone in my place," said Cynder resolutely.
Aria appeared in her holo form, frowning at Cynder before she sighed, "I guess Commander Lynch is coming after all, at least in spirit." she sighed, making a hologram of Cynder's headshot appear, before a green tick appeared next to it. "If you end up with more cybernetics because of this, don't come crying to me," she warned, Cynder rubbing her metal arm on reflex uncomfortably.
"Ok, so how are we supposed to start diplomacy with them? Who's their leader?" asked Cynder.
"Well, the Autobot Commonwealth is led by the Autobot Council, most of the governing power and decision-making lies with the Civilian Guilds," said Aria.
She made two other holograms appear, one was an elderly-looking red robot with a cape and the other was a green female robot with no legs, but a stalk-like limb that ended in a hover platform.
"You'll need to curry favor with these two in particular. Alpha Trion is the Head of the Guilds Domesticus, effectively making him the most important leader besides the acting Magnus. And Botanica is the head of their Xeno Relations Ministry, which is essentially a galactic version of foreign relations," said Aria.
"Hmm," said Cynder before her cybernetic eye glowed red, she twitched and she said in a darker tone, "What about their acting Magnus?" before the glow faded and she shook her head.
Aria gave her a concerned look and said, "Well, the Magnus that led during the Great War and since then was Ultra Magnus." A hologram of a huge white and blue Autobot holding a large hammer appeared. Unlike the other two, he had wings around his insignia. "Ultra Magnus might have been rough around the edges and may have gotten his hands dirty on some occasions, but he never tried to hide behind excuses and only did what he needed to for Cybertron."
Cynder paused, before frowning, "Was? What happened to him? Did he not survive the war?"
"He did survive the war, but unfortunately a Decepticon double agent attacked him when he was on the verge of being discovered," said Aria, "As far as I know, he's still on spark support. And since then, Sentinel Prime has been acting Magnus." A hologram appeared of a shorter Autobot, mostly blue with orange shoulder guards and an enormous chin.
"Matt and his friends mentioned him with...colorful language," frowned Cynder.
"Yes, Sentinel has...several personality problems," said Aria, trying to be tactful but not beat about the bush, "Among them are an inflated ego, disregard for civilians, a constant hunger for glory, and a strong phobia of organics."
"Er...that sounds like someone who should be nowhere near power. How's he even gotten considered?" said Cynder, the city flickering into a silvery room
"Probably because he's the only Prime in the current Elite Guard," said Aria, "The other suitable Primes are indisposed. Optimus Prime has a greater concern with Earth, as well as still being blacklisted from the Elite Guard. And Rodimus Prime is still recovering from a bad exposure to cosmic rust."
"Great. I assume we'll be negotiating with that idiot," said Cynder.
"Fortunately, the Autobot military answers to the guilds instead of the other way around," said Aria, "That severely checks Sentinel's ability to act unilaterally. Not that he won't try."
"Great...just great. Do you know where Ferrocus and his...second is?" asked Cynder with a twitch.
"Currently unknown," said Aria, "But I presume they might be wherever your daughter is."
Cynder shuddered at that. To think her daughter was leading one of the most evil armies out there...felt a little too close to home.
"C'mon, it's my ship. I should be coming too," protested Matt.
"First of all, you're still considered a wanted criminal on Cybertron," said Chloe, "Secondly, you're starting to wane again. Do you really want to have another fit on a planet where organic biology is unknown?"
"We're not even going to Cybertron. We're going to the NSC colonies to convince em to side with us after they told McNiel to get stuffed," said Matt, before coughing.
"You're in no state to travel," said Chloe firmly.
"It's my ship. I'm the captain and-" snarled Matt.
Chloe interrupted him to snap, "And you're ill. The Atlantean docs need you close to keep you alive."
Chris poked his head in and asked, "Is he still making a fuss?"
"Andersoooon" snarled Matt, his eyes starting to glow before Chloe flicked his ear, Matt looking more confused than anything.
"He's still insisting that he's captain of the ship," said Chloe.
"He is aware that we aren't taking the Bladestorm, right?" asked Chris.
"What?" said Matt darkly.
"Do you really think they'd let us take something that big to a place where political tensions are that high?" asked Chris, "Just showing up with the Bladestorm could start an interplanetary incident."
"Ok, what ship are you taking?" asked Matt calmly.
"Your new frigate," said Chris.
One thing the dragons of New Atlantis had gotten used to was Matt, his quirks, his foibles...and the fact even looking nastily at his ship was a recipe for pain. So when an explosion came from the window of the healer room he was in, most dragons just shrugged.
Chris, blackened, said weakly, "He's taking it well." as Chloe tried to hold Matt down.
"Matt, you're acting as if he's going to crash it the first chance he gets," snapped Chloe.
"Stop encouraging him!" snapped Chris.
"No! I'm not letting you take the North Star anywhere!" snapped Matt.
"Hey, we need something big enough to carry all those Constructicons," said Chris.
"And why are you bringing them along?" snapped Matt.
"Because, other than Dune Runner, they're the only Cybertronians we have and some of those Autobots won't want to interact with organics," said Chris.
"I don't trust those oil suckers anywhere near my baby!" yelled Matt, before coughing again, this time more violently.
"Ok, that's enough," said a healer, coming into the room, "He's had enough aggravation for one day."
"Clearly you haven't spent much time with our crewmembers," said Chloe flatly.
The healer growled before flickering into a deep pink dragoness who growled. "I...said...OUT!" she roared, Chris and Chloe were blown through the hole Matt had made, landing in the small river below.
"Still not as bad as NSC medics," said Chris once they'd surfaced.
Chloe sighed before tossing Chris up onto the bank. "I'm worried those outbursts are shortening his lifespan," she said.
"Don't think like that. Your brother's survived worse," said Chris, before frowning, noticing dragonians and humans suddenly taking no interest in them before a voice said "So this is what evil looks like."
"Seriously? More of this?" muttered Chloe.
"Your stupid war took the chosen one from us," snapped the green humanoid dragon in front of them, a blaster in hand, a red fire and blue ice with him.
"I keep forgetting how stubbornly backwards these dragons are when it comes to grudges," said Chloe.
"I am here to pass judgment on you...are you taking us seriously?" the green dragon snapped.
"Not in the least," said Chloe, "Perhaps you require a less sophisticated language to get the message. Get ye to your caves, ye ignorant villagers."
"You little-" began the green before he yelped, dropping the blaster which crackled with electricity, more static around the trio.
"I understand you've got a reason to be upset, but I am not tolerating your way of expressing it," snapped Chloe, lightning dancing around her, "So hear me now: my crew is off-limits, especially my brother. If you try messing with him, don't expect to live long afterwards."
"You can't protect him while you're off wor-" began the green before vanishing under a lightning bolt as thick as a redwood, falling backwards a second later, gibbering.
"DID I FUCKING STUTTER?" snapped Chloe.
"Um, Chloe, maybe you should dial it down a bit," said Chris nervously.
"They had it coming!" snarled Chloe, the green's friends jumping aside, one giving a nervous bow.
"We should get go- OW!" yelped Chris, the last part from when he touched Chloe's shoulder and got a shock.
Chloe jumped, before concentrating. "Sorry...all these idiots..." she said, not noticing the ice dragon form a dagger of ice in his claws .
"It's not that bad," said Chris, rubbing his hand, "Just a little jarring."
"DIE!" yelled the ice dragon before a shadow blast sent him into the canal.
Cynder walked up to them. "These idiots are still after you?" she asked.
"Afraid so," said Chloe.
Cynder sighed and said, "It's behavior like this that shows that us Avalarians weren't ready for becoming galactic citizens."
"You're defending them? Your mate's gone because of them!" snapped the fire dragon.
"Do you even know the whole story?" asked Cynder.
"Something they found took Spyro and turned him into some metal fre-aaak." the fire dragon said, before yelping as Cynder's robotic hand grabbed his neck, her optic glowing red.
"You don't know the details, you don't get to pass judgment. AND STOP PUTTING SPYRO ON A PEDESTAL!" snapped Cynder.
"Cynder...you're choking him," said Chris carefully, the red glow in Cynder's optic vanishing.
"Right, sorry," said Cynder before dropping the dragon, "I'm just so tired of people treating Spyro like a demigod and think everything he's against is sacrilege."
The fire dragon just ran for it at that, screaming. Chloe said carefully, "Maybe we'll also have Chip look at the programming on that arm."
"It's not likely to turn on me, will it?" asked Cynder.
"...Probably not," said Chloe, a little unconvincingly. Chloe looked at her wristcomp. "And Aria gave you a pass on the training," she said suspiciously. After a few seconds, Chloe said, "You know what, I've had too much to deal with right now. You're in."
Cynder, despite everything, actually found herself feeling a little excited. It reminded her of the first adventures with Matt when they'd first met. So few dragons have left Avalar to venture into outer space, if you didn't count the Shar hybrids. Cynder felt the exhilaration of heading into the unknown. She just wished that Spyro or Matt would be going with her.
She walked out into the docking bay, seeing the North Star sitting in its berth, marines driving an APC backwards into the hold. "That's a rather unusually-shaped ship," said Cynder.
"It was copied after the designs of another ship," said Chloe, "There have been some modifications to it to better suit our tech."
Then Cynder noticed some futuristic-looking construction vehicles waiting behind the APC. There was already some honking and shouting over there. "Are they...your special diplomatic team?" asked Cynder.
"Not if we can avoid it," said Chloe, "We're hoping to get some more levelheaded bots to do the talking for us."
Just then, a red dune buggy drove over to them, Chip behind the wheel. "The Constructicons want to know how much oil we're bringing along," said Chip.
"They can't keep just downing oil. It doesn't come out of the ground," Chloe snapped before pausing, "Ok, it does, but we don't use it."
"I know that, but they've got a strong taste for it," said Chip.
"Do they even have tongues?" asked Cynder.
"Of course we do," said the dune buggy, "How do ya tink we can talk as clear ya do?"
Cynder jumped back at that, Chloe saying, "Yeah, expect the weird on trips with us...and if you see a pink crystal bird, call security."
"Anything else I should know?" asked Cynder.
"Don't scratch the ship," said everyone else within earshot in unison.
"What if-" started Cynder.
"Don't scratch the ship," said everyone a little louder.
"You've seen what happens when someone damages his 'baby'," sighed Chloe.
"Yeah, Matt guards his ships as much as a dragon guards... Uh, wrong analogy," said Chip.
Cynder rolled her eyes before heading for the boarding ramp, Chloe following. "So...anyone to worry about where we're going?" Cynder asked.
Chloe said, "Most of the groundwork's been done by Neillson but there's a couple of colony leaders who wanna finish their littler war with the bots."
"How many colonies do you have over there?" asked Cynder.
"About 18 systems last count...used to be 22 before the war," said Chloe,
"I see," said Cynder.
"I wouldn't ask too much about the lost systems, particularly Paradron," said Chloe, "That one has the ugliest scars from the whole conflict."
"Huh...scars...fucking bots warped in and blew the colony away," grumbled a marine stacking ammo boxes.
Chloe shared a meaningful look with Cynder at that. "Nobody was squeaky clean in that scrap. Kinda missed it...dunno why," said Chloe, mostly to herself .
"I see..." said Cynder before trying to change the subject, "Are we likely to encounter any Decepticons?"
"Not very likely, at least those who aren't currently imprisoned and awaiting trial," said Chip.
"Oh?" asked Chloe.
"I've done a bit of catching up. It's amazing how little has passed and yet so much has happened," said Chip, "Megatron and his Cons were captured by Optimus's team."
Cynder blinked before Chloe said, "Local big bad."
"So yeah, I might say the Decepticons are as good as beaten, but I'm sure someone's going to try to rise and take Megatron's place," said Chip.
"We're going nowhere near them, right?" asked Cynder.
Chloe smiled. "No chance, this is just an easy job," she said, before covering her mouth with wide eyes.
"I didn't hear that, I didn't hear that," muttered Chip before walking off quickly.
Cynder noted that before saying, "Let's just go." thinking that she needed to check these bots out. They might know where Spy...rax was.
The main colonized system was known as Tartarus. Cynder assumed that wasn't its original name. The main planet made it clear though to her. The images had shown something like Avalar before the shattering. Lush, verdant...now it was gray...a dustball, with tiny patches of green here and there with lights on them.
"This system is pretty close to the Decepticon Empire," said Chloe, "If it can be called an empire."
"The whole world..." said Cynder faintly.
"Neutronic pulse warheads...they switched to nukes later," said Chloe, before she pointed to the largest of the green spots, "Main and oldest cities had orbital defense shields...the others...not so much."
"So we're just going to speak to the military outpost here?" asked Cynder.
"We're over here to be sent where needed, show us rebels are useful," said Chloe.
"So...we're just here for a pitstop?" asked Cynder.
"We're gofers. Gofer this...gofer that...we're to make...wait..." said Chloe as the ship got closer, a white shuttle on a blue crawler-transporter was in one of the larger bays.
"Who could that be?" asked Cynder.
"Looks like it could be an Autobot ship," said Chloe.
"Identified...Autobot troop transport vessel, Sky Lynx," said the ever-listening VI.
"Well that explains the tanks," said Chloe suspiciously.
"Perhaps we should head over before a misunderstanding happens," said Cynder.
The ship was brought into the neighboring bay, Chloe and Cynder heading for the bots. Cynder herself found herself wishing she could go full dragon, given that these bots were alot bigger than the training room versions, till Chloe called to a smaller human figure arguing with an angry militia officer. "Sari?" she asked before waving
Sari turned and looked. "Chloe?" she asked, "Is that you?"
"Do I look that much different?" asked Chloe.
"Maybe...but I guess not that much," said Sari.
"What brings you to Tartarus 3? Last we saw of you, you were on Earth," said Chloe happily, growling at the guards who backed off.
"They kinda need me to be an ambassador," said Sari.
"But you're a teenager," said Chloe.
"Actually, I'm technically younger than that," muttered Sari, "How am I supposed to know how to 'ambass' or whatever?"
"Who are you ambassad-" began Chloe before pausing as she clicked "Wait...Cybertron?"
"Well, it makes sense," said Sari, "Half-human, half-Autobot. Except they threw me into the deep end with no idea of what I'm supposed to be doing."
"Believe me, I've been there," said Cynder.
"Sari, Cynder. Cynder, Sari," said Chloe.
Cynder waved. "A pleasure, Miss Sari," she said.
"Excuse me," snapped the militia officer, "We're in the middle of a negotiation for surrender."
"Who said anything about surrender?" asked Sari.
"I think Sari can take a recess," said Chloe.
"Shut the hell up, merc! Haven't you got some receptioning to do?" the trooper snapped before red ripples flowed over him.
"Haven;'t you got an island to walk off?" snarled Cynder.
The trooper looked around and asked, "Hey, where did everybody go? Hello? Hello? Where are you?" He headed off in increasing panic.
"What was that?" asked Chloe.
"A concentrated burst of fear power," said Cynder, "It's making him see his worst fear, which is apparently being alone."
"That's not very dragon magicky," said Chloe calmly.
"Malefor gave me things that other dragons don't have," said Cynder darkly, "I don't like using it unless I have to."
Sari said, "Least someone more sensible might come to the ship. I only came to pass on an invite."
"You're not here all by yourself, are you?" asked Chloe.
"No..but Ratchet thought it was a good idea if I should come out first," said Sari.
"I'm...assuming they sent one of the wisest Autobots with the best people skills," said Chloe, a little nervously.
"Well, wise, yeah, but people skills..." said Sari hesitatingly.
The 'shuttle' spoke up at that, saying in a posh British accent, "I say, Sari, Master Ratchet's getting rather impatient. Oh, who might your charming friends be?"
"Sari, who else came with you?" asked Chloe.
"Oh, this is Sky Lynx," said Sari, "He transported troops during the Great War."
"Indeed I did...dodged many a starfury in my day, let me tell you..." began Sky Lynx cheerfully.
"Well, I'm sure he piloted his ship well," said Chloe.
"I should say so," said Sky Lynx. Suddenly, the crawler-transporter the shuttle was resting on extended its treads and rose up on four legs. The tail fin of the shuttle extended out on a long red tail. The wings stretched out blue extensions before folding against the body. The nose cone and cockpit of the shuttle extended out on a red neck as a toothy mouth opened. The end result was a large robot that looked like some sort of dragon or griffin.
"It's always dragons," muttered Chloe to herself, before seeing two Autobots coming up. They were pretty recognizable as Ratchet and Bumblebee. Chloe could definitely identify Ratchet's crotchety griping.
"Of all the assignments to stick me on," grumbled Ratchet, "Don't they have better uses for me than a protoform-sitter?"
"Well, it's not exactly great for me either," said Bumblebee, "One rusty old windbag was bad enough. Now I have to fly inside one too?"
Both the robo dragon and Ratchet snapped, "Respect your elders!"
"Whoa, what are you guys so edgy about?" asked Chloe, "You've captured Megatron. The war's all over."
"You'd think so, but I doubt the Decepticons are just gonna sit on their servos while Megatron goes on trial," said Bumblebee.
"Not to mention the organics here are preparing for a preemptive strike," said Sky Lynx.
"Preemptive what?" said Chloe disbelievingly.
"There are rumors on Cybertron that the organics in this sector are planning on attacking," said Ratchet, "Sounds more like fear mongering to me."
"Agreed...but who'd want the NSC to start Cybertronian War 2?" said Chloe.
"I can think of a few people," said Cynder darkly.
"Ok, but who among them would be able to spread rumors on an Autobot-occupied Cybertron?" asked Sari.
"Could be anyone. I assume the colonial council sent the welcoming committee in response to the invite," said Chloe.
"I believe our orders were to determine where the organic fleet is situated and how heavily armed-" started Sky Lynx.
"That's what Sentinel would say," said Bumblebee, "The right answer is seeing if there's any truth about this rumor at all."
"There is...technically...we heard the colonies are reactivating the C.D.F because of a Cybertronian military buildup," Chloe said.
"Why?" asked Sari, "You think the Decepticons are going to attack here?"
"They'd be dumb to. Even before the colonies went independent, they could wipe those jerks off the map," said Chloe smugly.
"I think you are severely underestimating the Decepticons," said Ratchet, "Even with Megatron and his closest lieutenants imprisoned and Starscream deceased, they are not to be taken lightly."
One of the militia chuckled at that "Yeah, right...who kept losing space battles against us?" before gulping as Cynder glared. Sky Lynx had seen him coming and switched back to shuttle mode before he could be seen.
Chloe would have preferred to deal with someone in a suit of power armor. The business suit this guy was wearing said he was a bureaucrat who had official authorization to act like a jumped-up twerp and hide behind regulations. "Ah...if I may ask, which one of you is the f...the robot in charge?" he asked, noticing the girls.
"That would be me," said Sari.
"Ah...the hybrid. I am Gerald Haroldson, current leader of the NSC regional colonies," said the man calmly, looking down at Sari.
"So, I hope we've cleared any confusion," said Sari.
"We're not harboring an invasion force if that's what you're prying for," said Haroldson rudely, "And we'll decline that 'invitation' you offered."
"Invitation?" asked Chloe.
Haroldson snapped, "I didn't pay for you to ask questions, mercenary." Chloe and Cynder filed him under idiot, given it was a known issue what anger currently did to Chloe, before what Chloe did to whoever made her angry.
"Well, it's only to be witness to the trial of the millennium," said Bumblebee sarcastically, "After all, it's only Megatron. Who'd want to see that?"
"What Bumblebee meant was, the colonies here suffered as much as Cybertron did from the war with Megatron and some bots managed to convince Sentinel that there should be some people here who would want to see him face justice," said Ratchet.
Haroldson snorted. "Yeah, sure." he muttered, Chloe growling a little, eyes glowing yellow before Cynder put a calming hand on her shoulder.
"Still, I should think some representation of the NSC should present for this historic occasion," said Chloe once she got a better handle on her temper.
Haroldson glared. "You were sent by those fools on Avalar...fine, you do it," he sneered.
"Fine by me," said Chloe, "There's certainly more to see on Cybertron than around here."
Haroldson nodded, "Very well. Just get off my planet before the Decepticons decide these three are targets."
Sky Lynx started to make a sound, only for Bumblebee to give him a zap with his stinger. "Thought I saw a space barnacle," said Bumblebee, "You have to get them off quick before they spread."
"We could come..." said Chloe after a bit.
Ratchet paused and said, "I don't think your brother will be too welcome at the trial."
Chloe hung her head, before muttering, "I need to tell the crew of our new location and clear it with that suited moron." before walking off.
Cynder winced. "Matt's...not too well," she explained.
"How bad?" asked Ratchet.
"As in he has a short time to live," said Cynder.
"Well-" started Ratchet.
"Short by organic terms." Cynder sighed, "I'm not sure what actually happened but he got exposed to something bad on his last adventure."
"We'll send him a wreath," said Haroldson bluntly, "At least he won't be around to bungle things up with these...robots." With that, he turned and walked off.
"You know, I think I can knock him over from a good distance," said Sari, her hand changing to blaster mode.
Cynder found herself considering it, and noting Haroldson had waited till Chloe was out of earshot, given he was currently still breathing. "They don't have bureaubots like that on Cybertron, do they?" asked Cynder.
"Unfortunately," said Ratchet.
"Yeah, including the one who thinks he's the next-" started Bumblebee until Sky Lynx extended his wing and smacked him.
"Sentinel," said Chloe behind the bots at that.
Bumblebee jumped at that. Ratchet was less startled. "When did you get back?" asked Ratchet.
"Oh, I didn't actually leave," said Chloe, "I just didn't want to be in the immediate vicinity before that jerk said something fatal."
"You just missed him," said Cynder innocently.
Chloe said calmly, "So...we're headed to Cybertron, yes?"
"I'm sure I can get you guys a couple of good seats at the trial," said Sari.
"I don't think I'd really want to see it," said Chloe, "It's probably going to be more about Sentinel garnering favoritism for himself than actually judging Megatron. Not that even Sentinel couldn't screw up getting him declared guilty."
"I'm sure he'll find a way," muttered Sari.
Not long after that, the North Star was following Sky Lynx into Cybertron's system. "Huh, so that's what Cybertron looks like," said Cynder, looking at the big metal ball, "I suppose I shouldn't have expected seas or anything."
"Not really..." said Chloe.
A crewman said, "Two Cybertron vessels on intercept. Class 3 corvettes."
"Uh, Sari, you did tell them we were coming, right?" asked Chloe.
"I did...urgh, Sentinel," grumbled Sari.
Chloe rolled her eyes before nodding to a crewman to open a channel. "Sentinel, you little cretin, I know you're listening," she snapped.
There was a bit of static before the screen showed an Autobot who looked a lot like a red version of Bumblebee, only with bigger horns and a bigger chin. "Sentinel Prime is busy right now," said the bot.
"And who are you supposed to be?" asked Chloe.
"Cliffjumper, acting head of Cybertron Intelligence," said the bot. "If you're head of Intelligence, shouldn't you know we've been invited here?" asked Chloe.
"All incoming alien ships are to be scanned for Decepticons," said Cliffjumper in a 'stating a fact' voice.
"You'd really think a Decepticon would be on a ship with organics?" asked Chloe.
"Can't take any chances," said Cliffjumper.
"Er...one moment, Cliffjumper," said Sari nervously, butting in, before pulling Chloe away. "Problem..." she said quietly.
"You know we don't have any Cons," said Chloe.
"But the Constructicons are ex-Cons," said Sari.
"That wouldn't show, would it?" asked Chloe.
"Definitely," said Sari nervously.
"Ah, you think we can explain they're no longer Cons?" asked Chloe.
"Well...Cliffjumper's not Sentinel..." said Sari hopefully.
Chloe said to the comm officer, "See if you can isolate Cliffjumper's channel. If one of Sentinel's pals hears this..."
The Autobot vessels were getting closer. Soon, they were going to be in scanning range. "Cliffjumper, mind if we talk privately?" said Chloe calmly.
"Regarding what?" asked Cliffjumper.
"We have some ex-Decepticons on board. They haven't worked for those morons for several years," said Chloe.
Cliffjumper glared and said, "Cons don't change their insignias that easily."
"Frankly, they barely qualified as Cons before," said Chloe, "They only cared about being paid in oil."
Cliffjumper frowned at that, leaning closer to his screen. "I will want to meet these...ex-Cons for myself first," he said.
"Ok, but I gotta warn you, they've got poor manners," said Chloe.
"The ships will escort you to a pad near me. I believe it's in all our interests that our...current Magnus not know of why I am meeting you. Cliffjumper, out," said Cliffjumper, the line going dead.
Chloe gave a sigh of relief. At least there were some Autobots in power who weren't jerks.
There were good parts to the trip. Once the Constructicons had been left to their interview with Cliffjumper, the others had headed to meet Optimus Prime.
Chloe felt...very small here. Even the smallest Autobot were a few feet taller than her. Part of her wanted to go kaiju so she'd stop feeling so short. She could almost imagine, stomping on that pest, Senti...no...no.
"Man, it's been a long time since we've seen Optimus and his team," said NegaMorph conversationally, "I can barely remember what they look like."
"Hey, I think that's Bumblebee," said Draco, spotting a yellow and black bot. He walked over and said, "Hey, Bumblebee, how's it going?"
The bot gave Draco an annoyed look and said, "The name's not Bumblebee, it's Furão."
There was a short pause before Morph asked, "Are you Bumblebee now?"
"No...My name is Furao," said the bot in a rigidly calm voice.
"Ignore him, he's just a tourist with too little- where did he go?" asked Cynder, looking around.
…
Draco and Morph had wandered off, trying to find Bumblebee. Which wasn't easy as a lot of Autobots had similar body shells and some had color schemes close to Bumblebee's. "Are you Bumblebee?" asked Draco to one bot.
"No," said Bumper.
"Are you Bumblebee?" asked Draco to another bot.
"No," said Hubcap.
"Are you Bumblebee?" asked Morph to a lamppost. When the lamppost didn't reply, Morph said, "That's ok, take your time."
Draco paused before saying, "Er...Morph?"
Chip came over to them and said, "Guys, you can't just wander off like that. The locals tend to be...skittish about organics."
"I was trying to see if this guy was Bumblebee," said Morph.
"Morph, that's a lamppost," said Chip flatly, "No self-respecting Transformer would want a lamppost for their alt-mode."
Just then, the lamppost's sides extended out into arms, the pole split into two legs, and a head emerged from the top. "Well, excuse me for doing my job!" snapped the offended robot before stomping off.
Draco blinked before saying, "Ooookay...let's be careful where we sit."
"So that wasn't Bumblebee?" asked Morph. Chip sighed before picking up Morph.
"He wasn't even yellow," muttered Draco as he followed.
"He might have felt off-color," said Morph, Chip and Draco both facepalming.
And we're finally starting on another fic. Considering today it's been 40 years since the first episode of the Transformers cartoon has aired, I thought it would be appropriate to start posting this fic on this day. This is a sequel to Justice, Bolts, and Gears that I wrote years ago. I definitely not meant for such a big gap to be between them, but a lot of things have happened since then.
So anyways, this takes place in Transformers Animated, after the finale. The next few chapters is going to be about the final fallout of Megatron being captured. Also, we have a new character in Sky Lynx. And before anyone gets started with 'Animated Autobots don't fly', I plan on explaining why Sky Lynx exists, though it may take some time to get to it with everything else going on.
This is going to be a lengthy story with sporadic updates, but I hope to be getting through the first few chapters as soon as possible. Keep an eye out for the next chapter and please review.
