"-consider what to do when it comes to the energon reserves," Strikedown said with a shake of his head. Light was shining down through the windows, though unfortunately there hadn't been time to replace the stained glass that filled them and thus a crude form of Seintel Prime was shining down on all those gathered in the Council Chambers. "We are in dangerous times."

"How, exactly, are we in dangerous times?" Voltage asked, the top of his clear head sparking for several moments. "The energon rivers are running again! We all have full tanks! This is a blessed day."

"We do not know how long the energon will remain flowing though," Strikedown replied, staring at Voltage with a cool glare. He was a tall bot, taller than even Orion was now, with reedy arms and a drown out face that was capped with a copper beard and mustache. He had small light blue eyes that bordered on white and his helm was smooth yet also had ripples in it that reminded Orion of some of the government agents he'd seen his counterparts forced to deal with,

He had hated him the moment he saw him and when he'd opened his mouth the bot had only made Orion hate him all the more.

"Hundreds of cycles ago the mere idea that energon would become a rare thing was seen as a blasphemy," Strikedown stated. "Primus would never let his creations suffer."

Scalpel huffed at that. "Primus," the large bot, more in terms of width than height, muttered to himself. Orion thought about mentioning that he had SEEN Primus' spark but knew that would only lead to more debate amongst the councilors. Of course all they wanted to do was debate but he wasn't about to give them an excuse to do more of it. "It wasn't Primus that caused them to stop flowing and it wasn't Primus that caused them to return to what they once were. We know that there was seismic activity around the time of the rivers going dry. And Optimus here-" Orion would give Scalpel that at least: he was polite enough to use his official name, "-will surely attest that seismic activity has increased recently. If we send a team to examine the source of the energon we will find that there was a blockage that caused the lack of energon."

"Except where did it go while it was plugged up?" Downvote demanded. The smallest bot, who would have been small compared to Bee before he got his cog, reached over and picked up a large cube of energon, swirling it a touch while holding out a smaller cube that he had been sipping on. "Energon is not a finite resource. We worried it was but the return of the energon reserves proves that wasn't the case. It grows and replenishes itself. Now, you could argue that it was behind the plug but do you realize just how much energon flows each day? I do. My caretaker might not have been the most caring but I do owe him in having me work out such figures, based on records and measurement. If we were to plug up every river the planet would explode within half a cycle due to the pressure. Yet we know the Energon was not sitting around. It was looked for after all."

"By Sentinel," Goldeye said. One of the few femmes to be part of the councilors, she was strikingly beautiful… and also harsh and cold. She was like the best made recharging slab if its cord had been completely cut. "We can't trust a word that traitor said. Its possible on the other side of the planet there were oceans of energon."

"There was no plug!" Agro Dais roared, getting to his feet even as his joints groans in protest. He was the eldest of the councilors and had, according to what some of the councilors had whispered to Orion before the meeting, a terrible fear of doctors. That was why he'd never had the work done to replace his joints and struts. Some whispered he'd never even had an oil change. "Primus removed the energon due to Sentinel's actions and it has returned because of the new Prime! He may not be an heir but he is a Prime and the energon flows freely because of him! And him alone!"

"I think we have gotten off of the topic at hand," Strikedown continued on, and while Orion hated the slimy bot at least he was moving on with things. "We simply do not know if this is something that will continue on OR if it will stop in a solar cycle. We must make plans to collect every drop of energon we can, to ensure that no matter what happens we will have reserves."

"That seems like a waste of energy," Goldeye commented.

Orion spoke up. "The miners have little to do now… they don't need to mine for energon. And it would be wise to have reserves, in case something did happen." He held up his hand to stop Argo Dais from complaining. "I'm not saying the energon will stop flowing. But what if we needed extra? We may need to take the fight to the Quintessons and it would save time to have the energon ready, just in case."

Voltage nodded quickly. "Yeah… yeah I like that. Be ready when the slaggers return so we can chase them all right into black holes."

Orion nodded. "I will meet with the administrators for the mines and begin planning out how to collect the energon."

"There is no need for that," Wildshot stated. He reminded Orion of Kup and Ironhide: an old warhorse. He wondered if he had a counterpart in those other worlds and, if so, what had happened to him. "You are the Prime… let us take care of that."

Orion though shook his head. "No offense… but you don't understand the miners." The group all stared at him and he fought back the urge to sigh. "Listen… you all have spent cycles up here, dealing with the big stuff. But you don't know what its like down there in the sublevels, wondering if today is the day the planet will shift and crush you. They aren't going to respond the way you think they will if you just go in there spouting orders. This needs to be done right and I will see to that. I know them. I understand them."

He could tell the councilors didn't like that. And not for the first time since the meeting had started he wondered if he could just get rid of them all.

They were elitists snobs, each and every one of them. He knew that if he didn't have the matrix in his chest they wouldn't give him the time of day, even if he had still beaten back Megatron after returning from communing with Primus. They'd see him as just someone who had been in the right place at the right time but that time was over… and his place was far, far, far away from them.

'But the Matrix belongs to me. I am the Last Prime. And all of Iacon loves me. They can't risk speaking against me now.'

He had gotten back from talking with Dee and had snuck in another quick recharge before he had been awaken by one of the aides that had been assigned to him. Thankfully not one of the gilded golden bots that had always followed Sentinel around but another one, Brightline. She hadn't realized he'd been out because, as a miner, he had been used to getting far less recharge time and with far less power being pumped into him; honestly, he was kind of understanding why Sentinel had been the way he was, so energetic and boisterous, if he had done a full recharge with that much juice pumped into his circuits. Brightline had told him that he needed to meet with the councilors, who were all eager to introduce themselves and get to work.

Each one represented one of the many guilds that ran Iacon. Some of them had been around for Sentinel's reign and others were just stepping into the job, their bosses killed during their attack on Sentinel's tower and Megatron's rampage.

'Of course the miners aren't represented at all,' he thought to himself, wondering which one of them actually had the miners under their sway. Perhaps none; there were hundreds of different guilds in Iacon and they weren't all granted a seat at the Table of the Prime. The Sports Guild, for example, didn't have a seat; Orion wondered how their head would have reacted to him, the bot that had messed up the last major race.

Thinking of the race though made him think of Sentinel and that led Orion to clearing his throat. "Now then, with that settled, I do have a final subject we must address."

"Of course, Prime," Argo Dais said with a dipped head… completely missing Scalpel roll his eyes and a cool look from Goldeye.

Orion nodded. "Sentinel's followers."

"Locked up," Strikedown said quickly. He was head of the Law Guild and it said much about the blatant bribery, corruption, and abuse of power by those in law enforcement that the slimy bugger was in charge. "Airachnid, along her Death Trackers, are all in lock up."

"Of course the Gold Trackers all died in Megatron's assault," Voltage said.

"Helpful, that," Downvote commented casually.

"Yes, I understand that," Orion said. "But there are still followers of Sentinel that must be dealt with."

Once more the table grew quiet.

"You aren't suggesting a total purge, are you?" Argo Dais stated.

'Nervous, aren't you?' Orion thought. 'Maybe because you are old enough to know its not natural for Cybertronians to be born without T-Cogs?' He glanced at each face, careful not to linger on a single one. 'What about you, Scalpel? Sentinel had to learn from someone how to remove T-Cogs. Did you have a hand in it? Or you Wildshot… didn't you think it odd that suddenly all the military pulled back and were left to be little more than guards?' He had kept his mouthplate up when he'd arrived at the meeting, knowing that he'd need it to hide his expressions. He was glad for that as at the moment he was glowering heavily at those that surrounded the table.

"I know that we all worked for Sentinel during his regime," Voltage said, his sparks growing low with his worry. "But Prime… we didn't know all he was doing."

"The Quintessons," Wildshot spat. "Disgusting that he would ever side with them. If I had known-"

"I am not suggesting a full purge," Orion told them, holding up a hand. "But… the people of Iacon will have questions. I have questions. There are bots that are old enough to remember what life was once like… and how our current lives don't match it." He looked about the room. "And then there is the question of what to do with these bots once they are found."

"Kill them all," Argo Dais declared. "They served the false prime!"

"So did we," Goldeye said dryly. "Are you volunteering?" She held up her hand and it turned into a rather nasty looking chainsaw. "If so, I would be happy to prove my loyalty."

"Which you really do need to do," Downvote said, taking a sip of his energon.

That caused Goldeye to glower at him. "And what, exactly, does that mean?"

"Only that I remember when the only things golden about you were your name and the eyes it references." He waved his hand at the tall femme's glimmering armor. "And then suddenly one day you are decked out in gold. Now, correct me if I am wrong, but what was Sentinel's favorite color?"

"You miserable little scraplet…" Goldeye hissed.

"No, I wasn't his favorite color."

"We should show some mercy," Strikedown stated. "Many believed in Sentinel. Saw him as a kind and just ruler. Didn't know what he was doing and truly believed in what he preached. After all, he had known the Primes… who were we to question him if he told us to do this or that? And then there was the crisis with the Energon..." He trailed off.

"Someone sounds anxious," Scalpel commented low and soft.

But Strikedown heard him. "What exactly was that?"

Scalpel didn't back down. "I said you sound anxious. You are in charge of law and order in Iacon… and yet you don't want to punish criminals? Trying to get the Prime to agree to terms before admitting your own leanings?"

"I am trying to make sure we don't make the same mistakes that happened before with Sentinel, that is all." Strikedown held out his hands in a gesture of 'what else would you expect?' It was a move someone made when they felt that the bot they were speaking to was asking them to do the illogical. "Perhaps you wish to have things remain as they were under Sentinel but I look forward to moving beyond him. Especially if I am finally able to look into the corruption of others…"

"Then perhaps you should start with your own department," Goldeye replied, reaching a delicate looking hand out to grasp a cube of energon that Downvote had just poured for himself. Of course Orion had just seen her turn her hand into a chainsaw so he knew those longer sharp fingers weren't just for show and decoration. "And before you begin huffing about me implying things let me be clear: I imply nothing. Your entire department is corrupt. You take bribes, you turn the other way when crimes are committed by those that have power over you-"

"Speaking from experience?" Wildshot grunted.

"Excuse me?"

"I believe," Downvote said as he snatched the cube from Goldeye's hand, "that he is referring to that little mess you and your Crystal Shapers got into two cycles ago. They never did find Lighttouch, did they?"

"Enough," Orion said, cutting them all off. They all looked at him, clearly surprised that he had spoken up. He didn't know if it was because Sentinel had liked to listen to them bicker or if they thought him too weak to say a word. Honestly he didn't care either way. Orion was done with their squabbling. They were worse than sparklings, all of them. "There are going to be things that remain the same and there are going to be changes. The important thing is that we know how much of each to have so that we ensure that all of Iacon benefits. I won't cause them undo stress worrying that I am going to change everything but I refuse to allow the old system to remain in place.

"I want each of you to look into your people and make sure they are ready to bring up reforms. If they can't go along with that determine who needs to be replaced." He let his optics sweep over them all, making it clear he would be more than willing to do the same with any of them.

In his visions he had been struck by how many times Optimus Prime allowed himself to be walked all over. Countless Autobots who should have been relieved of duties were allowed to remain in place due to friendship or past deeds or simply a worry about upsetting the current order of thing. Orion would not make the same mistake. He wouldn't allow these Councilors to remain in place for even a second if he thought that they weren't working for the betterment of Cybertron.

'I'm willing to allow some that worked with Sentinel, even perhaps knew of some of his corruption, to remain in place. I know that there are plenty of bots who understood what was happening was wrong but were too scared to speak up. They had caretakers or sparklings they had to worry about, or friends that might suffer because of their actions.' He curled his right hand into a fist. 'But… I will not accept those that actively worked to oppress and enslave our kind… and any that knew of the Quintessons and the deal Sentinel made with them will need to be dealt with.'

As if sensing where his thoughts were going Voltage spoke up. "And… should we find any Sentinel Sympathizers… what will happen to them?"

He almost said, 'That is for the courts to decide' but at once knew that wasn't the right answer. It bothered him greatly that Tyrest was not there; he was head of the Judges Guild and should have had a seat amongst the council. Him either being refused a seat or refusing it… well, that was worrisome.

"They will be held until we can ensure that proper trials are arranged," Orion finally stated. "I am not Megatron. I will not slaughter them purely to satisfy the braying cries of the upset masses. But I also will not allow them to continue on, thinking that my reign can be twisted until it resembles Sentinel's." With that he rose up. "This meeting is adjourned."

"You are learning quickly," an aide said as Orion moved out of the Council Chamber and moved towards his new office. "They won't respect you if you don't make it clear they must. You can't earn their respect… you have to force it."

Orion frowned. He recognized that voice from the visions. He looked at the bot, trying to gauge him without making it too obvious. He had a mouthplate on which hindered Orion a bit in identifying him; bots didn't realize just how much of the lower face helped in being able to tell who was who when it came to some Cybertronians.

'Of course, its easier in this world where most don't wear their faceplates at all times,' he thought. Most miners had some form of protection but only put them on when working in areas where the air getting into the processors could cause problems. Only a few wore them at all times. 'And in those other worlds there were so many Autobots who wanted faceplates because their Optimus Primes wore them…'

He really hoped that wasn't the case with the one walking beside him. Orion really didn't know how he'd handle it if he were a 'trend setter'.

"The Council… they are always trying to wage their little verbal wars, hoping to get closer to the Prime. Airachnid was only the most recent to have Sentinel's favor. Goldeye had it… then Scalpel… then Blackwheel but he was banished from the Council…"

Orion merely continued on, puzzling over who the familiar bot was… until it hit him.

"And I suppose," he said casually as he stepped into the office, the aide following right beside him even though Orion was rather sure he should have waited to be allowed in, "there are bots that are trying to get in my good graces but don't want to be obvious about it. Perhaps not admit that they are high up as they are, to try and make a connection with me in other ways."

"…perhaps," the aide said.

Orion had been shown the office the previous evening and in the warm light of the new solar cycle he found it to be just as overly designed as he had considered it during the first tour. Covered from floor to ceiling with gold, with statues that Orion were sure had been based upon Sentinel himself even though they were supposed to be in the more vague form that he remembered seeing in some of the other lives. Faceless, featureless, but the basic form would allow those that looked carefully to be able to guess who they were supposed to depict. He was sure that there were other details he was missing but when everything was gold it all just blended into each other to create a mass of… nothing.

Which, when Orion thought about it, described Sentinel quite well.

Massive windows gave him a grand view of Iacon, different from the one he could see from his new chambers. He took a moment to look of out them, seeing the bots in robot and alt mode buzzing about. He wondered how many of them were former Cogless, celebrating their new freedom. Orion really did need to take a moment and meet with them; he had asked Bee and Elita to get with their friends, to ensure they knew that he hadn't forgotten them. That just because he was a Prime now didn't mean he'd forgotten the words he'd spoken to them when he had asked for their help.

"And perhaps these bots would assume that I, as someone who had been a miner only a day ago, might relate better with someone that is of a lower station?" He moved to sit behind Sentinel's old desk, which was so large that ten bots could have used it to drink energon together and still needed to raise their voices to be heard by the one on the opposite end.

The aide's crimson optics flashed at that and Orion forced himself not to react. Too many lives had seen Optimus Primes facing down death that looked at him with red eyes. "Well… if someone were to do that… would the Prime be forgiving? Understanding that they merely worried that after their interactions with the Council they might not be willing to hear them out?"

"I am willing to hear out every bot… Getaway."

Orion forced himself not to smirk as the bot before him actually started. In the end he was left just smirking slightly as the shock passed over his face.

He remembered seeing Getaway a few times in the alternate lives. He had been an escape artist and spy, getting into tricky areas that no one else could and then managing to escape with a cocky little wiggle of his fingers. An important Autobot who had helped the War in multiple lives.

He had also been willing to betray and backstab every single Autobot around him if it achieved his goal. Countless bots had died because he decided that their lives weren't worth as much as his mission.

'Disgusting,' Orion thought, though if that was towards Getaway or those other Optimus Primes, he couldn't say. 'And yet… is it right for me to judge this Getaway against what those ones did? Am I not trying to get everyone to see that Dee isn't like those Megatrons?'

Getaway let out a sigh. "Who told you?"

"That… is my secret," Orion said. "So… which Guild do you belong to exactly?"

"You don't know?" Getaway asked.

Orion thought it over and decided to take a guess. "Spies, right? Or is there another word for it?"

"…we prefer not to label ourselves. Makes it less messy when we get caught."

"Like Airachnid?" Orion asked.

"Well… you understand why I didn't just come right out and introduce myself. You didn't exactly have the best relationship with her, did you? Can you honestly say you would be willing to listen to what I had to saying, knowing that I worked for her?"

"I like to think I could separate bots from those they worked with." Orion looked at one of the data pads that were scattered on the desk. He honestly wondered if they actually mattered. Surely Sentinel wouldn't have left anything that was actually important, that meant something, out in the open. Even in his own office it would be a danger.

He tossed the thing aside and caught a flash of approval in Getaway's eyes.

"Well… I look forward to working with you, Prime. The Quintessons won't be happy that you aren't interested in continuing the deal that they had with Sentinel. You'll need all the knowledge I have."

Orion though merely smiled. He had seen the Quintessons battle with the Cybertonians many times… and in nearly every world they failed. He would be careful not to get overconfident… but he also wasn't going into this blind like so many others thought. No… he knew exactly what they were capable of. The twisted creatures they could bring forth. Be the Quintessons their creators, oppressors, or invaders, he had seen them fall time and time again. He knew their methods and their weaknesses. It wouldn't be easy… but he was prepared.

'Let them bring forth our twisted cousins, the Sharkticons and the Alicons. Let them try to turn us into their canon fodder. We will be ready.' Out loud he said. "Yes… I suppose someone tricky like you would know all sorts of things. Gotten into places that no one else had."

Once more he sensed Getaway's surprise. But the spy was very quick to cover it up. Orion wondered how angry he would be with himself that he had so easily allowed his true emotions to come through.

"I live to serve the Prime… and hopefully now I serve one that is willing to act on what I can tell them."

"I'll be interested to hear what you have to say." Getaway understood that was a dismissal and turned to leave. Orion though waited till he was almost out the door before calling out, "And Getaway? I will be deciding upon my own aides. The ones that Sentinel had will most likely be dismissed."

"Of course."

"But," Orion continued on, "they are still Cybertronians, innocent until proven guilty. If I find out that you harmed anyone in order to get in this position today… the next talk we have will be me determining if you are merely exiled or offlined." He narrowed his eyes. "Do I make myself clear?"

"…very," Getaway said finally, keeping his tone light.

Orion merely nodded and went back to sorting through the data pads, trying to determine if any of them could be saved. He would have to find someone he trusted, someone that he knew not merely from the visions of the alternate lives but from his current one would be loyal to him, to dig in to find Sentinel's real records. He needed to know if there were any other secrets the son of a glitch had hidden away, waiting to surprise him.

'Knowing him he probably made a deal with Unicron,' he thought darkly. He made a mental note that he needed to also compile with the others a list of all the known issues that kept popping up in the other lives that they might have to deal with. Unicron. The Allspark. The Hate Plague or the Rust Virus. 'Water is the cure,' he thought with a scoff before returning to the issue of Sentinel's files. 'I'd have Elita or Bumblebee do it but they are working on trying to manage things with the regime change.'

Elita was handling the higher ups, having made some connections with them when she'd been foreman of the miners. He wanted to know just how many of the higher ups had been blind to Sentinel's actions and how many had been working with him. Bee had been sent to meet with the now former Cogless; his friend needed to make more friends that were actually, well, alive. Seeing how Bumblebee had been in those other lives, how open and friendly and loved… and knowing how lonely his friend was in this life? It hurt Orion greatly.

'I also need to talk to Elita about Bee,' he thought. 'I saw how she kept track of him… she's feeling what I'm feeling.'

He had been their son in several of those other lives. And the emotions he had experienced thanks to the visions… he wanted to find whoever had taken his boy and cast him down in the sublevels and rip them to shreds-

Orion caught himself. He needed to be careful. Not let his emotions get the better of him. Like with Getaway. Like with Dee. Like with… Elita.

Oh, that was going to be a mess.

~MC~MC~MC~

A few lunar cycles later Orion looked up when he got a notification ping that someone was requesting a meeting. Seeing that it was Scalpel of the Medical Guild he pressed a button on his desk, answering affirmative, and in walked the bot dipping his head. Orion wanted to wave him off, tell him that wasn't needed, but Getaway's warnings rang through his head and instead he allowed the bot to show supplication for a few seconds longer than needed before finally motioning for him to have a seat.

"You have been busy," Scalpel stated, looking at the neat pile of data pads stacked up on the corner of his desk.

"Sentinel liked to have things spread out. I think he just liked having pads all over so he looked busy. I actually am busy and don't have time to search for what I need. The rest of these have been wiped."

"I would suggest destroying them," Scalpel stated. "Information can be recovered. Voltage, for one, is quite good at that, even if he is part of the Lighting Guild."

'So, it will be THAT kind of meeting,' Orion thought to himself with a dry sigh. He had been wondering who would be the first to come to him; he had put money on Strikedown but apparently Scalpel had beat him to the punch. "Will you be okay working with me?" Orion said instead. "I mean… you were quite vocal about your annoyance at the mentions of Primus."

"Unless you believe you are Primus yourself?" Scalpel asked and when Orion shook his head and gave a half hearted smile of bemusement the medic nodded. "Then no, I have no problem working with you. In fact… I get the sense you are more… down to earth… than the others." He suddenly held out his hands. "What do you see here?"

Orion resisted the urge to joke he saw fingers and instead actually looked at the digits before him. "Cut marks. A few scorch marks. Some wear on the joints of the left ring finger."

"I imagine your hands have similar injuries."

"Not anymore," Orion said. "When I was… rebuilt… much of it disappeared. But yes, a solar cycle or two ago you would have seen damage."

"I still go down and do clinic rounds," Scalpel stated. "I meet with the other doctors and assist with patients. And before I rose up in the medical guild I served the Primes, operating on them and their Guards and their heirs."

Orion blinked at that. "Heirs?" He had heard mention of that before during the council meeting.

"Sadly gone," Scalpel said with a sigh. "Killed along with them. Every Prime had an Heir, someone that was meant to rise up and take their place if they fell. That is how Sentinel was able to wrest control of Cybertron for just himself; he claimed that he had been made the heir of Prima Prime after the fall of Drainage, his heir."

"And you believe that?" Orion pressed.

"We had no reason not to. Sentinel direct aide to Prima and the Golden Guard, Prima's personal forces. It wasn't uncommon for heirs to come up from their ranks, though it didn't always happen. Scratchout was an energon cook before becoming Zeta's heir and Onyx selected Alpha Trion's brother Omega to be his heir. We were all in mourning, you must understand."

"Of course," Orion said, mind whirling at this new information. 'Is that what happened with all of us? Did Alpha Trion make us his heirs? And the Guards… there were more than one! The High Guard…' He looked at Scalpel. "And the High Guard?"

"Megatronus' guard… tragic that they fell in with the likes of Megatron. Once they were some of the most noble and self-sacrificing of all the guards…" Scalpel shook his head. "But I suppose you don't know who you can trust. Everyone has their secrets and their hidden agendas."

'Good, we're back to this,' Orion thought to himself.

When he didn't say anything Scalpel continued. "You must have seen it during the Council Meeting. Strikedown is desperate to hide the corruption in the Law Guild. Voltage plays the kind and friendly bot but he knows without his Guild we'd all be toiling in the dark… and the fear that we might not need him anymore if we retake the surface has him scrambling. Downvote knows he is going to get a lot of attention, what with you shuffling how things are run in Iacon, and sees this as either his time to shine or his time to fall. Goldeye is hiding her fear; the Artisan Guilds was favored by Sentinel because they… well, they kissed his aft whenever they could, pardon my language, but a more War-Minded Prime might push them aside. Do not be surprised if she tries to corner you for private meetings. Argo Dais… well, you saw that fanatic and how he is salivating to use you to be a buttress for him failing cult. And Wildshot is hungry to rebuild the forces."

"And you are worried that I am going to ask questions about the Cogless… and your role in that."

Scalpel didn't even react. "You will find that I achieved the role of head of the Medical Guild 10 cycles ago. Long after the Cogless began to appear."

'That didn't actually address my issue,' Orion thought but he nodded in feigned acceptance.

"You will need to determine who has your best interests in mind, Prime. There will be those that see this as a moment of upheaval, when they can seize power. It happened with Sentinel; his first two cycles were spent fighting off those that wished to claim power. To be done with the Primes. Wildshot remembers well how the Military Guild reacted to the pull back. Strikedown remembers the riots. And Sentinel, if he were here, would tell you how friends suddenly became mortal enemies."

"What exactly are you implying, Scalpel? Because you know I am a simple bot… I don't go in for these riddles."

"Elita-1 was on the fast track and it was known even to the Council she had set her eyes on being head of the Miner's Guild. And B-127… he wasn't merely exiled because he was clumsy. I know they went on the journey with you… but so did Megatron and you know how that turned out."

Orion knew that Scalpel was hoping to make him doubt his friends. To make him watch them a bit more closely, either to drive him to paranoia or keep him from noticing what he and the other Guild leaders were doing. But… he had miscalculated.

Orion knew of anyone on Cybertron he could trust Elita, Bee, and Dee. They were his closest friends and allies.

'And all you have done, in trying to drive us apart… is make sure I never trust you,' Orion thought as he ended the meeting. When Scalpel was gone he turned and looked out upon Iacon, seeing the lights begin to dim. 'But… we are only 4. We need more. We need an army that is loyal not to me… not even to the Autobots… but all of Cybertron. Loyal to us finally knowing peace.'

He filtered some air through his systems.

'I just have to find them.'