Nano cycle-Second
Cycle-Minute
Mega cycle-Hour
Solar cycle-Day
Deca cycle-Month
Stellar cycle-Year
Meta cycle-500 years
Vorn-83 years
Breem-8 minutes
Quickening his pace, Knockout rushed through the empty halls toward the command center. Studying the test results had taken longer than he thought, and now he was late for the meeting! The doors quickly withdrew and Knockout wasted no time, dashing in. Before he could profusely apologize for his tardiness, Soundwave barricaded Knockout's path with his arm. The silent con's visor displayed a muted microphone and tilted his helm toward the center of the room. Knockout slowly nodded in understanding and quietly stood next to Shockwave, watching their master berate the spider con.
"My patience is wearing thin, Airachnid. It has been solar cycles and I still don't know the location of the Autobot base or Vector Sigma! He's a pathetic fleshling, why has he not been broken?" Megatron growled out as he slowly approached his interrogator.
Airachnid took an uneasy step back as Megatron continued his advance. "Interrogation is an art, My Lord. It takes time to achieve results. Jack will break and his secrets will be ours."
"That may be true, but patience is not one of my virtues. Do not be fooled, Airachnid, your traitorous misdeeds have not been forgotten. I expect no further delays." Airachnid bristled as Megatron turned his attention past her and toward the new arrival. "Knockout, what is the status of our guest?"
"It's not looking good for ol' Jack I'm afraid. His health has taken a real nose dive over the last few days." Knockout answered as he mirrored his datapad screen onto a nearby terminal. Blood cells flowed across the screen, devoured and rapidly replaced by a strange new substance that didn't look organic. "His body has been introduced to something that has somehow caused some of his blood cells to mutate into a mix between cybertronian and organic living material. There's energon in his blood and I'm not sure whether it was the cause or the remedy. The boy isn't eating any food and he keeps throwing up his insides. My limited knowledge of human medicine isn't going to do much healing and I'm sure his sessions with Airachnid aren't doing him any favors. Within a few solar cycles, he'll have no healthy cells and succumb to his injuries. However, that still begs the question of why there's energon in his system and where he could've gotten it. I doubt the Autobots were the reason, they know energon is deadly to their pets."
Shockwave studied the images and data laid before him. "In none of my past experiments did the test subjects develop mutated cells when exposed to energon. Energon would destroy any organic matter it came into contact with, slowly destroying the body from the inside out. Most cases resulted in the experiment becoming a puddle of energon and organic fluid."
Megatron considered the situation. If Jack died, then the Autobot's secrets would go with him. Although, the boy dying would cripple the Autobot's morale, and the human government would likely grow to detest them. No reason not to accomplish both at the same time then. "I would have preferred to squish the human myself in front of Prime and his Autobots. Airachnid, redouble your efforts. Do not take my warning lightly, I want the location of the Autobot's base and vector sigma within the next solar cycle. Use whatever means you deem necessary, his health is no longer a constraint."
The corners of her lips turned upward into a grin as she bowed. "It will be done, My Lord."
Standing up, she turned to leave the room, but Knockout grabbed hold of her arm, halting her in her tracks. She looked at the doctor with disdain and was about to eviscerate him before he quickly released her and stepped back. He did not, however, step out of her way. He pleaded with her to listen to what he had to say.
"Please, wait! That isn't even the most interesting thing I've discovered! I'm sure Lord Megatron will be pleased with the news."
The leader of the Decepticons was skeptical for a moment, before motioning to the medic to continue his ramble. Knockout sighed in relief and returned to the station as Airachnid bore her optics into the back of his helm.
"The sensors in my lab kept giving me faint spark signatures. I thought the things were broken until I re-calibrated and even replaced a few of them. I realized the readings were coming from Jack." Swiping on the datapad, new information and images detailing Jack's body popped up. Major organs were highlighted, with notes placed next to them. The most prominent was his heart, used to pump blood throughout his body. The notes, however, suggested it'd been growing weaker, due to the protrusion that had recently formed below it. Every day it grew larger, drawing energy from the energon inside of him.
Patiently, Knockout waited for the rest to realize what they were looking at. Judging by Shockwave's piqued interest, he recognized what he was looking at, but remained silent as the others studied the screen. Soundwave had audibly shifted from his position, unusual unless he was taken by surprise. Megatron stood still and whether or not he realized what he was looking at, he didn't express it.
Airachnid turned toward Knockout and hesitated for a moment before asking the question she was sure she already had the answer to. "Is that really what I think it is?"
Knockout nodded solemnly. "It is. Though I have no actual images of it, the readings don't lie. He has a spark, pulsing just like the very ones in our frames. It's small right now, but it's quickly growing."
The room was silent as the words left Knockout's mouth. Not even the vehicons dared to make a sound upon hearing the discovery, in fear of potentially aggravating their master. Megatron studied the monitor for a moment again, then turned away and walked down the aisle of the command center. He stopped at the foot of the bridge and watched the Earth travel beneath him as he gathered his thoughts. Sparks only came from one place, and the well had been dry since the war with the Allspark gone and their planet dead. It should have been impossible for new sparks to form. Yet, the first spark to be born in meta cycles was onboard his ship, and growing inside the human he loathed.
Too many questions were going through his processor, he wanted answers to all of them, but he settled on one. "After all this time… How is this possible?"
"With the current technology we possess, sparks are not something that can just be created. The aforementioned foreign object in his blood that caused the mutation must have played a part in this." Shockwave answered.
"That's most likely true, but it could take meta-cycles of research to discover the exact cause and conditions that allowed this to happen. Who knows, maybe it was some kind of divine intervention from Primus himself?" Knockout quipped.
Megatron huffed in annoyance at the medic's joke and went back to his thoughts. A new spark meant a new life, and Megatron hadn't kidnapped Jack with the intent of keeping him alive for long. He would soon perish, victim to his own body and failure of the Autobots; but Megatron couldn't help but see a new opportunity. A chance to bring Optimus to his knees and show him the consequences of bringing the boy into their war.
"Shockwave, how successful were your experiments on spark transfers?" Asked Megatron.
"The health of the spark factors heavily into their chances. Though, on average, test subjects had a forty-seven percent chance of surviving the operation." Shockwave answered.
"A risk we will have to take." Mused Megatron. "Shockwave, prep your laboratory for operation. Knockout, you will accompany him. And Airachnid," The Decepticon raised her helm in piqued interest. "Fetch the boy and deliver him to Shockwave."
With a bow, she scurried away while the rest of his followers fulfilled their tasks. Only Soundwave remained, tacking away at one of the ship's terminals, monitoring for strong energon signals. They'd lost their advantage over the Autobots with the death of Project Iacon, and so, they would have to rely on old methods. The energon race was not one the Autobots could win.
He controlled the energon on this planet. Whatever the Autobots took from him were merely scraps. Let them keep it for all the good it would do them. He would run the dry, fighting pointless battles to exhaust their resources until they withered out. With the Autobots gone, the planet would be his.
His new warrior would simply, as the humans say, "Rub salt in the wound."
Megatron gleamed in anticipation as he imagined his plans coming to fruition. Optimus' face as he watched the boy he had trusted with the key to Vector Sigma, betray them all.
Airachnid's pedesteps echoed through the bare hallway, lost in her thoughts as she marched toward her destination. She paid no attention to the route she was taking or the vehicons that stumbled out of her way as she brushed past. Airachnid had never imagined this is what would happen when she poisoned Jack. In the past, she had hunted down organic life across the galaxy and it had never formed a spark or become mutated when poisoned by her venom. It was almost always reserved for her most slippery prey; the clever ones who thought they could escape from her claws. She took pleasure in following them over the next few weeks, observing the pain and slow death it brought them. She toyed with them, letting them they had escaped her clutches, driving them paranoid as her venom worked its way through their system. The way they clutched onto their last strings of life and continued to push through as their organs slowly failed, warmed her demented spark.
But, as much as it irritated her, that's not what happened. Jack was still alive and the situation had become more complex than she originally intended. Airachnid had been counting on him dying not long after she kidnapped his mother. Instead, her venom had created something new, giving life instead of taking it. Shockwave and Knockout weren't sure what could have caused the energon to mutate in Jack's blood, but she knew.
Continuing her stride down the hall, Airachnid latched onto the feeling of her heels striking the ground to bring her mind back to the present. She remained focused on her surroundings, the route perfectly memorized. If she had still been lost in her thoughts, she would've walked right past the door.
The Decepticon made her entrance known as she entered the room, scraping her numerous limbs along the floor. She loved the way Jack's head suddenly perked up as he went on alert and his body became rigid. Fear was something Airachnid had mastered; how to recognize it, and how to exploit it.
"Tsk, tsk. I thought you were braver than that, Jack. Don't tell me just being here has you all rattled?"
Jack shifted in his chains, struggling against them as Airachnid observed him.
"You know there's no point in trying that. Even if you somehow broke free with your pitiful strength, you're not getting past me."
He sighed and slowly lowered his head, defeated. The room became silent apart from the slight sway of the chains as Jack hung from the ceiling."Just get on with it already." He mumbled.
"Hmm? What was that?"
"Just do what you came here to do!" Jack shouted.
Airachnid chuckled. "And what do you think that is?"
"Why do you keep doing this? You barely ask me any questions."
"Simple. I enjoy watching you suffer, Jack. It warms my spark to see you suffer for what you've done to me." Airachnid answered as she circled Jack. A clawed digit trailed along his face before nicking him on the chin, leaving a small trail of blood. "If I recall correctly, you were stuck in a similar position after you destroyed my ship and years of work."
Venom oozed from her fangs and onto her finger as she raised it toward Jack, who instinctively flinched away. She grasped his head and caressed her venom-covered finger over his bruise. He thrashed against the chains and tried in vain to move himself away. It burned, making the skin raw, and made his blood boil with irritation. The tiny drop wouldn't maim or kill him, but he knew that at any moment Airachnid could increase the dosage and have her acid eat his entire arm off.
Jack knew the Autobots weren't coming for him, he accepted it long ago. He knew of course they would try, but they'd never find him. They got lucky the one time they sent Bee here to go inside Megatron's head for a cure, but that's what it was; luck. He just wanted it to end, for it all to be some sick dream. He wanted to wake up in his bed back home, to be with his mom and all of his friends. He missed the rides through the desert with Arcee; hell, he even missed his arguments with Miko. But it didn't matter, he wasn't getting out of here, he wasn't going to be rescued. There was no mercy here.
Airachnid circled him, stopping behind him. Jack felt awful. The simple action of lifting his head earlier left him feeling dizzy. His shoulders ached from supporting all of his weight for what felt like days now. It was a struggle to even breathe, and Jack could feel the dried blood that covered his back, torn and scratched as if he crawled underneath a maze of barbed wire. He didn't want to think too much about his missing toes.
Jack tried to prepare himself for another flash of pain, another day of trying to just push through. He wasn't going to ever give up the Autobots secrets willingly, he'd die before doing that. He closed his eyes and tried to hold back the tears as Airachnid trailed her digits across his body.
"Don't be such a sparkling, Jack. I haven't even interfered with any of your vital organs that are keeping you alive." Airachnid sneered. "Besides, I'm not here to uncover your secrets."
A look of confusion swept across Jack's face "Then why-"
"I'm taking you to Shockwave's laboratory." Airachnid interrupted, while she loosened him from his chains.
He dropped with a yell and a solid thud. The back of his head felt wet and sticky, and he couldn't breathe, fluid filling his lungs. Rolling over, he pushed himself to his hands and knees, feeling the liquid clogging his airways. He hacked until he threw up at Airachnid's feet. The room spun as crimson-red chunks and fluid pooled around him, staining his hands. Jack tried to control his breathing and stop the pounding in his head before he was suddenly picked up and jostled around. The loud whines of the doors parting, clued him in that they were on the move.
The halls of the Nemesis were a blur as Airachnid crawled along the ceiling quickly, holding Jack tightly against her chest. He steadied his breathing and croaked out a question. "Why am I being moved?"
"You're dying. Lord Megatron would like to prevent that." Airachnid replied curtly.
The first bit came as no surprise to him but the second half threw him off. He would've thought the leader of the Decepticons wanted him dead. He tried to push through the pulsing pain in his head, trying to understand why Megatron would do this. What would that new Decepticon even be able to do?
"He wants more from you than just the Autobot's secrets, Jack." Said Airachnid, slightly startling the teen. "Underneath all of that puny flesh and bone, is a growing spark."
Jack's jaw dropped as the words left her mouth. It seemed as if the world had stood still, the throbbing pain pounding in his ears. He was at a loss for words as he tried to wrap his mind around the bombshell. Sparks were the life force of all the transformers. It was their soul, their heart and mind. He wasn't cybertronian, how could he possibly have one? How long had this been inside of him? Ratchet would have noticed this, not just his mutated blood cells. "A sp-spark? How?"
The pattering suddenly stopped, and Jack waited with bated breath as silence followed. Tense moments ticked by as Jack waited uncomfortably in her grasp. When she finally answered, she turned to him with a sinister grin as her venom dripped from her fangs. "The others don't have a clue, but I know."
He wasn't surprised by that bit of information. He knew she was the catalyst, but it couldn't have only been her acid that was responsible for the newly discovered spark. There would've been signs earlier if the spark had been growing all this time. For Ratchet to have missed this, its creation had to have been recent. Jack rummaged through his brain trying to think of what could have caused this. Nothing on Earth could've done this he reasoned. He wasn't exposed to anything on Cybertron. He and Arcee hadn't wasted any time sightseeing potentially toxic areas. It was straight from the ground bridge to… Vector Sigma.
His face froze in realization as he connected the dots. The flash of light…. the jolt of electricity he felt… his memories… the increased chest pain. But Airachnid didn't know about Vector Sigma, she thought she was the reason for the spark's creation. It was just another piece of information that Jack would never reveal to the Decepticons.
The two of them still hadn't moved from their spot on the ceiling, and Jack didn't dare make a sound as Airachnid studied his reaction. "It was supposed to kill you and make your death agonizing. Instead, it's somehow created life. Ironic I know, but if you think about it, I'm the creator of your spark. What does that make me to you? What do you humans call them?" Airachnid pondered as she tapped her clawed finger against her chin. "Your mother?"
"You're sick." Replied Jack, appalled by the notion that he could ever share any relation with the Decepticon.
"It's what I strive for," Airachnid replied smugly, caressing the wound on his chin.
Jack shuddered and flinched away from her touch. On the move again, no other words were spoken, the halls of the Nemesis a blur as Jack closed his eyes.
Crankshaft lay motionless on the table in the center of the room as the two Decepticons finished their preparations for the long operation ahead of them. Another berth stood next to him; empty and waiting for its patient to arrive.
With little time to prepare Knockout did not have the highest confidence in their chances of success. He turned toward the hulking scientist, who was busy overlooking notes.
"What exactly is your plan here? We just going to open him up, take out the spark, and plop it into sleeping beauty here?" Asked Knockout, gesturing toward the Autobot on the nearby medical berth. "What are we even going to do with the old spark, and how can you be sure this will even work? You may have invented the procedure, but this has never been done before!"
Slowly, Shockwave lifted his helm and stepped away from the terminal. Knockout stepped back cautiously as Shockwave approached, but stopped at the foot of the berth that held Hijack. The scientist stood still, silent as he reflected upon the frame that housed deca-cycles of research. His vision for a merciless and powerful beast had slipped his grasp with the escape of the dinobots back on Cybertron, but his work right here laid the foundation for what would come next. An army of beasts, more powerful and innovative than anything he had ever created before; the culmination of his life's work. The predacons, the dinobots, the forged, and the autobot, all worked toward this goal. They each tested a hypothesis, providing Shockwave with invaluable data and the blocks upon which to build something greater.
But the greatness wouldn't be achieved if his final experiment failed. It'd yet to see a field trial with the T cog and his mind was nearly erased. Having it end here would be a waste of resources and time, setting him back, and forcing him to retest and rebuild just to get back to where he already was. He'd accomplish Megatron's orders, and complete his objectives.
Wordlessly, Shockwave grabbed a saw and began cutting into Crankshaft's frame. Sparks flew and the scream of metal tearing apart echoed across the room as Knockout watched in shock. Shockwave kept his optic focused on the task at hand, cutting through the frame until a soft blue hue illuminated his frame. He placed the tool back on its shelf and reached into the chest cavity, pulling out the Autobot's spark.
"Because I will make certain of it."
The spark violently flickered in his palm as Shockwave walked to a table on the other side of the room. He placed the dying spark in a container filled with energon, stabilizing the spark to a steady pulse. Returning to his terminal, Shockwave drove Knockout out of his stupor. "The human's spark is small and weak, it will not survive the transfer on its own at the moment, and waiting for it to grow will take the time we do not possess. Therefore, a portion of the Autobot's spark will suffice to keep the human's spark alive for the operation."
"You're merging the sparks? But that's a completely different hazardous operation on its own!" Knockout asked incredulously.
"Not doing so invites a near one hundred percent chance of failure. Merging the two will increase the odds in our favor. A necessary risk to ensure the success of the project." Shockwave explained.
When the scientist offered no further explanations, Knockout took that as his cue to continue the preparations. Tools were neatly organized on prep tables around the two berths, while equipment was hooked up to Crankshaft. Currently, the monitors reported him as dead for obvious reasons. Assuming the operation was a success, the screens would come to life and begin reporting the bot's vitals once the spark was in place. All that was needed now, was the human.
Soon after, the door to the laboratory opened with a hiss, and Airachnid stepped through. Without care, she strolled forward and dropped Jack onto the unused berth.
Knockout rushed forward and inspected the boy. "Careful! I know we're about to cut him up but we still need him alive until then. Why is he unconscious?"
"He passed out on the way here." Replied Airachnid, unconcerned.
He may have had the greatest understanding of human culture and biology onboard the ship, but he was still by no means an expert. Knockout's limited knowledge only (unhelpfully) told him that the bleeding coming from Jack's head was a bad thing. The boy's breathing didn't sound too good either come to think of it.
"We're going to need to get started soon." Said Knockout as he restrained Jack to the operating table. "I don't want to run the risk of losing him and the spark before we even begin and incite the rage of Megatron."
"The health of the human is of no concern to me. His spark is what matters most, we do not require the body." Said Shockwave as he reached for a scalpel and held it out toward the stylish red con. "Regardless, he is unlikely to survive the surgery. Knockout, you are the most familiar with human biology. It is only logical for you to begin the operation on the human."
Shocked, Knockout remained still and hesitated for a moment before uneasily reaching for the scalpel.
Standing by in the med bay, Megatron watched as mega-cycles of work slowly came to a close. Shockwave worked diligently, finishing the welds surrounding the spark chamber while Knockout completed the finishing touches of the new Decepticon emblems adorning the once Autobot frame. The leader of the Decepticons moved forward, standing triumphant over his achievement. Medical equipment around the room beeped rhythmically, mirroring the new spark.
Soon, he would be ready. And soon the Prime would discover the consequences of entrusting his pet with his secrets.
"Shockwave, status report."
"The operation has been a success. Spark readings are nominal and the processor is showcasing brainwave activity." Said Shockwave, placing down the arc welder and picking up a data pad. "The Autobot's memory cells have already been dealt with. Only basic information required to operate will remain, with no memory of either of his previous lives. I recommend that he undergo testing when he awakens for further analysis of his capabilities. Field tests afterward will also provide excellent data. I am certain he will make a fine addition to your forces when fully ready."
Megatron chuckled lightly. "Excellent. When will he be ready?"
"The stasis protocols have already been shut down. He should awaken shortly." Shockwave answered.
The shifting noise of metal caught the room's attention. Restrained to the berth, Project Metamorphosis awakened.
Darkness enveloped him. Everything was wrong, but yet somehow, it all felt right. He struggled to make sense of his surroundings, his audio receptors were picking up multiple voices in the vicinity. Wait.. audio receptors? The word was familiar to him, he knew what they were and yet it seemed wrong to refer to them as such. He rummaged through his processor, ignoring the way that also felt wrong.
He searched through the files, trying to find the source of his confusion and hopefully answer a few burning questions. Who was he? Where was he? If he could remember where he last was, that'd help a great deal but almost nothing came up. Odd.
Speech, movement, and combat functions were some of the only files that remained. His memories were completely gone. That was not a comforting thought.
Attempting to move, he quickly realized how impossible it was, his arms and struts restrained. Bringing his optics online, he tried his best to make sense of his surroundings. He was lying on a berth, surrounded by three mechs and a lone femme lurking in a dark corner of the room. There was another berth in the room, and laying on it was the body of some kind of organic life form.
A strange feeling of sadness overcame him, frustrating him. What and who were they? Were they someone important to him somehow? Why did he remember nothing?
"Hijack, a pleasure to see you again."
Was that him? It seemed so, the large silver mech was looking right at him. The name didn't feel complete though, as if there was a second part that was missing. More questions floated through his processor and he desperately wanted answers.
He pushed those feelings down and focused on the silver mech that had spoken to him. Intimidating would be putting it lightly. His large frame makes him tower over everyone and in the center of his chassis, a purple emblem rests. Red optics and his sharp denta twist into a feral grin that makes him feel uneasy. He doesn't know this mech and yet, he gets the feeling that he should be wary of him and everyone else in the room.
He struggled to activate his vocalizer, brushing aside how it also felt off. "W-who are you? Where a-am I?"
"I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. You are in Shockwave's laboratory," Megatron as it turned out, gestured to the large violet mech with one optic. "Onboard the Nemesis. We found you, injured from a battle against the Autobots. You're in good health now, but Shockwave tells me that your memory cells have been damaged."
"Autobots?"
"Our sworn enemy. We have been locked in a war with them for eons, spanning across the galaxy."
"Our? Why are we fighting?"
The silver mech laughed, and Hijack couldn't help but feel unnerved by it. "You are one of us." Megatron gestured to his chest and looking down, he noticed the very same emblem. He was a Decepticon, meaning these were his allies. He relaxed slightly, but only so. He did not fully trust them, he barely knew them.
"We fought to end the oppressive regime of the Autobots and their false Prime. For millennia, we have battled Optimus and his forces. And now we continue the fight on this backwater planet. Energon is a rarity to find across the galaxy, especially this far from home." Megatron continued. "The exodus has left most of us scattered across the universe, but the Prime and I battle over this planet's resources."
So, they weren't on Cybertron then. Wait, he remembered something. Gleaming cities of metal. He could remember their home, it was beautiful.
Hijack was lost in remembrance until he realized the full extent of his leader's words."Exodus? Why are we not home?"
"Cybertron has long been lost. After rendering our planet inhospitable and dooming our species by sending the All Spark into deep space, the coward tried to flee, but I pursued. Optimus and his small team are stranded on this mothball. Having you to fight alongside us will only make their defeat more swift."
Rage filled him upon hearing those words. Their home was dead. Those responsible would pay. "How can I help?"
A fanatical grin spread across the Decepticon leader's faceplate as the restraints binding him suddenly released. Cautiously, Hijack stepped off the berth and dropped to the floor as his legs gave out. He struggled to pick himself back up and even as he steadied himself against the berth, his legs continued to shake.
"Follow me."
Hijack struggled to keep pace with Megatron through the halls of the Decepticon warship. Twice already he's lost sight of the silver mech's back plate around a corner. He could hear the others following shortly behind him for a bit, but they split off a while ago. Where they were going he did not know.
He'd learned the red one's name was Knockout, and the femme was Airachnid. Even if they were technically allies, Hijack couldn't help but feel put off by her. She hadn't said a word to him, but every time he looked in her direction, her magenta optics were always there to meet his own.
After nearly losing him around another corner, Megatron stopped outside one of the many doors lining the hallway. When Hijack caught up, Megatron simply gestured for him to step through the open door. The roof itself was sparse, with an open layout and a lone terminal in a corner.
"Familiarize yourself with the layout of the ship," Megatron instructed him. "The terminal also contains whatever information we have on the Autobots marooned on this planet and their allies. Do make good use of your time here."
Hijack obliged and spent the next few cycles learning what he could about the Autobots, committing their faces to memory. He wouldn't forget them now. Optimus Prime, their leader. Bulkhead, a former wrecker. Bumblebee, the team's scout. Arcee, the team's second in command. And finally, Ratchet, the team's medic, who rarely left their base of operations. He likely wouldn't see him often.
Then, there were the natives of the planet and the Autobot's ally. They called themselves humans and they were tiny in size compared to cybertronians. Hijack couldn't see how they could be useful allies but he supposed they may have their own unique talents.
There was one human, named William Fowler who operated as a liaison between the Autobots and the human government. There were also three younger humans, who seemed to be under the care of these Autobots. The Decepticons had been keeping tabs on these humans it seemed. The files detailed their most frequented destinations and personality traits, including photos of each of them.
Hijack froze when he reached the portfolio describing the oldest of the young humans, recognizing him as the one he saw when he woke up.
He dodged another weak blow from the vehicon and pummeled it into the ground. He felt satisfaction as its weak frame crumpled underneath his strength. They were easy to fight, they telegraphed their moves far too easily. Perfect for someone who had atrophied their limbs after not using them for deca cycles. No longer did his limbs take all of his strength just to simply move. These vehicons made for good practice.
Ironically, that was part of the problem, they weren't enough of a challenge. These drones might as well be a flimsy roadblock. If he could handle these cons with ease after being in a coma, then surely the Autobots would easily be able to handle any that stood in their way. They were nothing more than a speed bump, something to slow them down while the real heavy hitters did their work.
Hijack sidestepped the vehicon that attempted to sneak up behind him, grabbing its arm as it stumbled forward and throwing it across the room.
But there was also the other issue with sparing against the vehicons. They gave him too much to time think, they were too slow. He was hardly paying attention to this small batch as his processor lingered on other matters. In larger numbers was sure they'd become a problem for anybody, but this small group wasn't enough.
He couldn't keep his processor off of what he saw for too long. He'd always circle back to the memory of the lifeless husk that lay on the operating table, and the awkward smile of the human Jack that stared back at him from a terminal screen. Hijack readied himself into a defensive stance as the group of vehicons slowly picked themselves up for another round.
"That is enough."
Hijack stopped himself from dashing forward into the vehicons at those words. He looked back to see Shockwave standing in the corner, observing him with a datapad in his servos. For the past few solar cycles, the scientist had been a spectator at every single one of his training sessions, assessing him. Determining whether or not to clear him for field duty.
"Are we finally done here?" Hijack asked.
"Affirmative. Your motor skills and reaction time appear to be nominal. Strength and speed are above average. Your performance was acceptable, Lord Megatron will be pleased." Shockwave answered. "Follow me to the command bridge. It is time to put the plan into motion."
Hijack was confident he had correctly memorized the layout of the Nemesis but every single hallway looked nearly identical. If he followed the route he memorized he'd likely reach the command center all the same but he decided to continue to follow Shockwave.
Another turn and down another hallway, he found himself entering a room that looked like the bridge of the vessel. Multiple Decepticons stood at terminals that occupied the walls, their screens filled with various information Hijack didn't care to look at. A large walkway ran through the center of the room, where Megatron stood in front of large windows that provided an unobstructed view of the planet below.
Shockwave stepped forward, away from Hijack, and approached their leader. He handed the datapad over and said something though Hijack was unable to pick up their conversation.
Hijack felt a shiver run down his spine as Megatron looked back at him with a gleam in his optics and a sinister grin.
"Hijack, Shockwave tells me your recovery has progressed rapidly and has cleared you for field testing. Soundwave, order Knockout and Breakdown to the bridge, and begin your presentation."
Megatron directed him toward a Decepticon that was working alone. They were tall and lanky, with tentacle limbs that protruded from their frame and were attached to the terminal. They halted their work, retracting the spindly arms and turning to face them. Hijack noted that the con had no face plate, only a visor where one would normally be.
"This is Soundwave. Our Chief Communications Officer and my Third in Command," explained Megatron. The faceless con gave a slight nod in his direction. "Currently, we have been attempting to uncover the location of the Autobot's base, and our last lead… turned up empty. Fortunately, Soundwave may have discovered a solution. As you know, the Autobots have allied themselves with the indigenous population of this planet. They're little more than insects but they have proven to be quite troublesome." Megatron grumbled. "One particular sector of the planet works closely with the Autobots, and that is the weakness we will exploit."
Soundwave's visor quickly changed, depicting a continent of the planet before zooming in on a particular region near the coast of the continent. Wide open land surrounded by a forest and mountains on all sides. Large paved roads took up most of the open space, with infrastructure occupying the rest. All of it surrounded by some kind of perimeter fence. Hijack could see where this was going.
"This is a human military base." continued Megatron. "The humans utilize a global intelligence database. Soundwave suspects that the location of the Autobot's base may be hidden somewhere within those files." The visor changed again as it focused on one particular structure. It was one of the largest and near the center of the facility. A diagram of the building appeared, showcasing its layout on every floor, with one room highlighted. "Get to the server room and Soundwave will be able to tap into their systems, and uncover the location of their base."
The door to the command center opened, and Breakdown and Knockout stepped in.
"Knockout and I will be accompanying you and Soundwave on this mission. We will serve as a distraction." Megatron explained as Soundwave's visor focused on another area of the facility. "The base also houses an experimental energy source the humans are testing. The humans will think we are after their tech while Soundwave retrieves the files. Breakdown, watch over Airachnid. I do not want her running amok the ship unchecked after last time. Soundwave, open a ground bridge."
Breakdown nodded and Knockout stepped toward Hijack as a swirling vortex appeared in the center of the room. "You ready for this big guy?"
"I suppose." Hijack shrugged his shoulders.
"Don't be! Everyone's nervous their first time." Knockout winked as he dashed toward the ground bridge.
Hijack stood there confused for a moment until Soundwave lightly prodded him and motioned him toward the portal. He nodded and walked forward.
Stepping through the ground bridge, Hijack opened his optics to find himself on the outskirts of the military base, temporarily hidden by the treeline. Primitive fixed-wing aircraft line the large paved roads that made up a majority of the base's area. A pair of aircraft took off to the skies, their obnoxiously loud means of propulsion grating on his audial receptors.
Hijack turned to Soundwave, finding that he had knocked down a section of the flimsy fence. The four of them stepped through and were immediately met with a deafening, wailing alarm. He could spot the humans running toward their machines, some ground-based ones already racing toward their position.
Megatron and Knockout began their destruction, opening fire on a few of the approaching vehicles. Hijack stood still unsure of what to do with himself.
"Go rampage – and create a distraction," Soundwave instructed him.
He hesitantly nodded and took off in the opposite direction from the silent con, toward his leader. The humans were firing on them, but their primitive weapon felt like nothing more than pings against his armor.
He kicked aside a few of the human vehicles that got too close to them and awkwardly stepped around the humans that bravely stood their ground against him. Most simply ran in fear once they realized their weapons and vehicles did nothing against him.
A loud bang sounded through the air and Hijack was knocked onto his aft as he clutched his mid-section in pain. He imagined this is what it would feel like to be on the receiving end of Breakdown's hammer. Hijack looked around for the source of the attack and noticed a human vehicle with tracks and a turret on top, aimed directly at him. He scrambled to his pedes and sprinted in its direction.
The human weapon fired again and Hijack rolled out of the way. Not keen on letting it get another lucky hit on him. The vehicle slowly started reversing as Hijack quickly closed the distance. It proved futile as he halted it in place and grabbed its cannon, bending it out of commission. Small doors around the vehicle opened as its human crew hastily climbed out and retreated.
He noticed Knockout and Megatron were not far from him and ran in their direction as they occupied themselves with destroying the human aircraft while avoiding heavy human fire.
"Lord Megatron, where is this energy source located?" Hijack asked as he flipped over one of the larger human vehicles for cover.
"On the outskirts of the facility, opposite of where we are now," Megatron answered while firing upon the position of the human combatants.
"Why didn't Soundwave bridge us on the other side then?" Knockout grumbled.
"So that we may cause as much destruction before he reaches the data center. It will ensure the Autobots target us, instead of him."
Seemingly on cue, hundreds of feet away, a ground bridge appeared, swirling green energy humming steadily. The Autobots quickly rushed out, immediately opening fire.
Hey everyone! I meant to get this chapter out last month for the one-year anniversary but I just kept adding more and more to the chapter. It's weird to think it's been a year already but it's been fun writing this. I just want to say thank you to everyone who's enjoyed reading my work. Whether you left a comment or just favorited, I appreciate it. I hope you continue to enjoy reading this work.
And also on a side note, the first three chapters have been edited. They're mostly just grammar fixes with some minor editing. I plan on eventually doing the same for the rest of the chapters. Thank you again!
5/24/24