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Research Bunker

Like the others in their group, Cipher followed Mindwipe down the remainder of the staircase. During his decent he occasionally took quick glances over his shoulder hoping that he would not see more of the remnants of the past…of those who once called this place a sanctuary. During his last few steps he took the time to pause and run his hands gently over the glyphs remained carved in the wall. They meant nothing…simple words nothing that would be of any interest or worth during their mission. But to Cipher these ancient writings were his own personal treasure trove. What he wouldn’t give to remain here just to study the whole of the bunker.

The scientist let out a low disappointed sigh as he descended the final step his hand gliding over the finally glyph. What remained of his depression drifted away as soon as his feet touched the ground. There along with his other companions were a set of doors. Cringing at the sound of a loud bang Cipher twisted around focused on Hun-Grrr who had just slammed his fist into the nearest wall. Whatever it was that angered the Terrorcon Commander, Cipher did not want to know.

The lithe mech tried to re-focus on what he had been assigned to do, decrypt everything within the complex. Tapping his chin in thought the scribe took to a wall on the opposite side of the chamber. The dirt and dust that lingered in the area had collected and clearing it was rather difficult. Caked on. Figures.

He paid no heed to the others’ actions as he put his full attention into figuring out just what his latest discovery would reveal. It was the soft exclamation from Mindwipe and the halt of Hun-Grrr’s rant that finally caught Cipher’s attention. Turning to see what the matter was he was greeted with a most wondrous sight.

Before him, through a pair of doors was a room so opulent it would certainly put the Celestial Spires to shame.

“Truly magnificent.”

His exclamation was low but still full of wonder. For the moment Cipher did not fear the visions that had plagued him for as long as he could remember.

Cipher slowly made his way to the center of the room, and spun around as his optics drew skyward taking in every bit of beauty that surrounded them all.

The small mech nearly jumped out of his armor at the sound of his name bellowing from none other than Hun-Grrr. Uninterested in angering the Terrorcon, the scientist jogged over to the terminal Mindwipe had settled before. He took a peek past Hun-Grrr’s shoulder but still could not make out what was displayed. As carefully as he could the little mech ducked past the hulking ‘Con and pressed in closer.

He cocked his head to the right slightly as he read over the glyphs and symbols that appeared on the screen. Taking the opportunity to show the others just why he had been assigned to this mission, Cipher gently nudged Mindwipe from the terminal and took his place. He spared no time and went straight to work trying to access any remaining files or data. He let out a low grumble when he was unable to pull up any information that would be of use, but he had come across several security files. Based on the dating they had been recorded hundreds of thousands of yours ago, long before the war had even broken out.

“Hmm. I can’t access any files pertaining to what the bunker was actually used for or who created it. However I have come across several security files. I just have to break the codes to…”

At the success of his attempts the scribe looked up and flashed the two mechs standing by him a broad smile. Satisfied that his point was made that he truly was an iatrical part of this expedition he went back to work. The images were clear as if they had been recorded only hours ago. The data slugs containing the video material however was cracked, which lead into repeated black outs and freezes, but there was still enough to tell just what was happening.

“It’s hard to make it all out, but if…”

He trailed off while he watched the feed clear. Although the images remained obscured to the others, Cipher had no trouble seeing every detail. The sight of mechs working and performing their day to day duties held no interest to him. With a few taps of the key the screen moved forward.

“A battle. There was an attack.”

Pushing the security file further along the battle progressed.

“This feed…it’s from outside the bunker. Here…” he gestured to several distorted figures whose frame color could still be determined. “…Primus. They were a battalion of Elite soldiers. They arrived with two Omegas. The largest…” another gesture to the clearer image of the gigantic orange, grey and yellow behemoth, “…That is Omega Supreme.”

The video revealed the start of the battle…the lone Omega within the bunker they were now occupying was released in order to stop both of the Elite soldiers’ battalion. The screen blurred just as two of the Omegas began their assault on one another. The view changed rapidly it made it difficult for Cipher to make out the next frame.

“I…I can’t tell...see who or what that is.”

He froze the frame on a mech that seemed to be crouched down, gesturing to someone. Or was it giving an order?

“The vision. He seems to be the one who everyone else is taking orders from. However, I cannot discern whether he is crouched or hunched…” He moved in closer and adjusted his optics to filter out as much interference as he was able. “No. Not crouching. He’s hunchback. That’s all I can tell.”

From behind the hunchback mech several other Cybertronians emerged, a group of security bots moved out and tried to defend the location. Cipher’s optics watched intently as the small gathering of creatures that had gathered in the main hall where the bunker’s Omega was working to push back the two opposing Omegas. The bunker’s Omega destroyed. Cipher took a step back as the visions before him revealed a giant monstrosity begin to take on the Omega that destroyed the bunkers’.

“This creature combined under orders. But it was forced to separate when it took a blast from Omega Supreme. The Elite soldiers…Kup, Ironhide Sentinel…several others…they were able to secure this bunker and its occupants.”

Several more frames of damaged video frames flooded the screen. Cipher let out a growl as the picture cleared for him…leaving the others with a jumping picture.

“The battle is over. The residents of the bunker are being rounded up.” The scribe’s mouth fell open as he shook his head...unable to comprehend just who he was seeing. “Jhiaxus." He spoke the name in a whisper. "The hunchback. The combining Cybertronians…they were all taken..stasis cuffed and herded away.”

He quickly worked to advance the video footage only to see the entrance to the bunker collapse possibly due to an orbital blast. An attempt to keep anyone from entering again.

“That is all there is.” He stepped away from the terminal and moved past both mechs, he stared blankly at the far wall for a moment before he spoke. “Jhiaxus. I thought he was dead. He should be dead. No one has seen him in centuries. And now there is evidence that he had been here. I wonder now…is he still alive?”

Research Bunker

Hungrr's massive growl had jostled Mindwipe's attention away from his more ethereal searches. He was feeling so many things at once that it was difficult to describe. When Cipher had gently moved him away from his current position, Mindwipe did not release an utterance of protest. It felt...right. It was the natural thing to do in this situation.

As Cipher searched, Mindwipe simply stood there, taking in with sheer awe the images that he was witnessing before him. These individuals on the screen...surely....surely they were among the same number that had led them here in the first place. And to say that this structure had been fought over was an understatement of the highest order. Very powerful interests had sent an overwhelming number of resources to lay claim...or waste?...to this facility. A similarly powerful resources had been in place to defend it. What a battle that must have been. Mindwipe wished that he could have witnessed it firsthand.

Witnessed it. Not participated in it.

Coming out of his revelry, to some small degree, Mindwipe stepped away from the screen. Scorponok had told him to send a message if they found anything close to what they had hoped by coming here. Mindwipe was confidant that they had found a good deal more than that. Traditional communication methods were out of the question, but they had prepared for that eventuality. Pulsewave technology would get the core of the message to Scorponok. There could be no doubt as to its meaning: he needed to see this for himself.

"Rotted away in prison, I would think. Just as his possessions have done so here," Mindwipe said, looking around. "Just as interestingly, if this treasure still remains......what, then, did the Autobots take with them once they had won? Surely not prisoners alone."

Mysterious Bunker

Wheelie did not find any consolation in the fact that Mindwipe did not answer. He would just have to trust that he would be taken with them, as Mindwipe had been speaking of turning him into a scout.

It wasn't long until the Terrorcons beat and bashed their way into the room that Wheelie had not been in. Wheelie watched in awe as the doors opened to show an enormous room, filled with statues and computers obviously meant for one of a larger stature.

He followed Mindwipe to the controls of the machine, where he found that there was nothing interesting on the screen. He began to wander around the room, searching for something in particular. It was a power outlet. He looked on the bases of statues, behind the bases, looking near powered off computers when he finally found one. There was one near the door, where it was hooked up to a charging station meant for datapads. Wheelie pulled one of his prized possessions from his pocket: A photo viewer. He simply placed it on the charging pad and began to wait for it to charge.

He heard some more talking near the first computer. Wheelie turned on his heel and strode back to the area where now Cipher was at the helm of the computer, revealing footage of a large battle with enormous fighting machines, revealed to be Omegas. It would have been shocking, or even frightening to anyone else but Wheelie.

Cool. Was the only word Wheelie could think of as he moved closer to the computer and the flashes of laser-fire.

Though he heard another name he didn't recognize: Jhiaxus. Something to do with combining Cybertronians? Wheelie did not know, nor did he care all that much, who this person was, but he was a bit put off by the fact that Cybertronians were combining and such.

He did not interrupt the larger mech's trains of thought as he moved closer to gain even more glimpses of the screen.

Semper Tyrannis

A blink in the corner of his optic. A signal he had been waiting ever since sending Mindwipe down to planet with the Terrorcons as the security measure against the untamed world shrouded in mystery. A simple pulse wave code worthless to anyone who had not been expecting it - proving that Mindwipe knew better than sending important information in a form that allowed little encoding.

"Finback, keep the Tyrannis position in paraller with the pulsewave. The bridge is yours until my return." The enormous black, crimson and gold warlord addressed the grizzled war veteran in charge of piloting the Decepticon dreadnaught.

"Lord Scorponok." Finback wheezed, adding a slight nod to his simple reply to acknowledge the orders of his commander. The partially disabled navigator was residing within a life support tank filled with nanites that kept his continiously detoriating body from falling apart. It had been a shame to lose a soldier of Finback's capabilities but even Scorponok's vast scientific experience had failed yet to fully counter the metal-wasting disease Finback had contacted during a failed raid on a chemical-polluted world vorns ago. Then again, a Decepticon warlord did not have the time to spare to research for a cure for just one soldier, no matter how good.

Radiation belt around the planet was still making an orbital bounce impossible. They were also lacking an opening to be able to fly through belt until another opening would present itself. Given how the radiation belt was interfering with even the Tyrannis' sensory suite, Scorponok had little faith in his own sensors being able to guide him through it. And the belt was a death trap. And invasive scan made with a series of drones had detected enough hidden mines inside the belt to potentially severely damage even a ship like the Tyrannis were it to attempt to land. But get to surface he had to. In a way or another.

Having left the command bridge sometime ago, Scorponok finally arrived into an area of the ship where number of his experiments were being performed. This particular one he was after appeared as if it was scaled down model of the ancient space bridges surrounding Cybertron. It had orginally been one of Shockwave's many projects but handed down to Scorponok by Megatron himself after the one-eyed scientist had gone missing. Shockwave had been after creating a true space bridge, revitalizing the ancient spacebridge network of Cybertron. It was a grand goal, capable of ultimately allowing instant transportation between vast distances. It was also something completely unpractical with the energy resources currently available to the Decepticons. Opening a rift through space required enormous amounts of energon and while Scorponok had had limited success with his experiments, he had been forced to put them on hold.

However, the subjugation of Nebulos had changed everything.

For the first time in hundreds of vorns Scorponok had an access to enough energy to continue his research of spacebridge technology. And before he had been forced to place his research on hold, he had been able to create alternative way of ship to ground travel to the orbital bounce. One that held potential of moving vast amounts of troops from orbital warship to planetside and back faster and more safely than orbital bouncing allowed. Even when used in this manner, the high power demand of this 'ground bridge' had stopped the Decepticons utilizing it during the energy shortage they had been suffering from last several hundreds of vorns. But if he only could prove the technology's usefulness to Megatron now that they had a steady supply of energy on Nebulos, then perhaps the Decepticon Leader would be willing to allow him to make a true space bridge a reality first time in hundreds of thousands of vorns.

And due to Mindwipe's pulse wave, he knew where to open a rift.

Having programmed the computer terminal to open the bridge again after receiving a specific pulsewave, Scorponok activated the ground bridge, creating a vortex before him with no clear end in sight - a pathway between his current position and the grand chamber in Jhiaxus' former base of operations on LV-117. Hesitating for a moment, Scorponok stepped into the vortex and began walking towards the light appearing in the far end of the whirling corridor through folds of space and time.



Research Bunker

"Isn't that Sentinel Prime? Before he even was a Prime? And Omega slagging Supreme too? Who the slag is Jhiaxus? And what in the abyss did those six just do?" Hun-Grrr kept growling out questions as he stared at the footage Cipher had managed to pull out from the ancient data slugs. Sentinel. Oddly young looking Kup before the Autobot had decided to avoid upgrades to his form for who knows how long. Ironhide as if he had stepped out of the well of Allsparks only cycles ago. This footage was seriously ancient, likely older than anyone currently inside the research bunker with possible exemption of Cipher.

The number of his questions Cipher or Mindwipe answered was lost to Hun-Grrr as a sudden crackling of energies behind their position drew his attention. True to his battle instincts, Hun-Grrr turned on the spot before any of the others had had a chance to react and found himself aiming his sonic stun rifle at an opening energy vortex in the exact position where Mindwipe had earlier used a pulse wave transmitter.

"What the frag?"

The leader of the Terrorcons could only stare at the growing energy vortex, confused but ready to open fire. The whole spectacle before him reminded him oddly off the rift torn to space by a spacecraft engaging a transwarp jump. Hun-Grrr didn't have to wait for an answer for long. The rift had grown to size large enough allow someone twice his own size to enter through - and staring back at him in the other end of the tunnel was a form of a gargantuan Cybertronian. The shape of the approaching figure was unmistakeable.

Scorponok.

Research Bunker--Halls

Sinnertwin had launched himself down this latest hallway, padding across stone and metal, each of his heads attempting to absorb even the slightest trace of a trail. It was, for the most part, a vain effort: as what he was attempting to follow did not leave a scent trail like most organic and inorganic beings.

But there was something. Sinnertwin could feel it with every fiber of his core. Something had shown them the way. Something else, perhaps, was attempting to thwart their progress.

One of the Terrorcon's heads raised up, sending a blast of flames against one of the nearest walls, searing the metal and charring the stone.

"Show yourself!" the dual-headed Terrorcon bellowed, praying that something, anything, would answer.

Research Bunker

He had to admit this discovery was a most interesting one. Finding the last known whereabouts of a Cybertronian who should have been dead for an untold amount of centuries was a fantastical find. To think Jhiaxus was the one who had been here. The mentor to Shockwave’s pupil…simply staggering.

A satisfying smile worked onto Cipher’s face as he finally broke off his attention from the far wall and returned his optics to the blank screen in front of him. There had to be more…something…anything to determine just where the Elite soldiers had taken their prisoners.

From the possible dating of the footage it could have been assumed that they were transported to one of the more notable maximum security penal colonies. But which one? And if they were able to figure that out then one then how where they to be sure that Jhiaxus himself was still even functioning.

Cipher went back to work trying to muddle through some of the more obscure scenes in the hopes of coming up with anything that would give him a lead. As he pushed on Hun-Grrr began to spew forth a ceaseless string of questions concerning just about everything that had been shown on the recorded security feed. It wasn’t quite as annoying as it was disruptive.

Wanting nothing more than to keep his head attached to his body for as long as was possible, Cipher tried to offer as much information as he possibly could to the confused Terrorcon Commander.

“Yes, that is Sentinel. Much younger of course. And that Omega is in fact Omega Supreme. He is quite old after all. But to be here…it’s just…”

Cipher let out a sigh as he straightened up to his full height. The only other information he could find was a definitive color scheme of the mech who he realized was Jhiaxus. Unable to do anymore the scribe turned around to face the Terrorcon Commander.

“It’s not a matter of who Jhiaxus was but more what he was. He was one of the premiere…”

Cipher’s explanation was cut off when Hun-Grrr turned his attention to a strange crackling of energy that seemed to be emanating from the rear of their position. Hun-Grrr quickly drew his weapon and took steady aim at the location of the noise while Cipher quickly backed away and behind the hulking Terrorcon. If anything decided to arrive and attack Hun-Grrr was best to handle it.

The crackling did not seem to dissipate, instead it grew in volume and where the noise originated a swirling vortex appeared. The sight only proved to frighten the smaller Decepticon making him back step even further away from whatever it was that he was witnessing. This is no vision. None like I have ever seen before.

“By the Sacred Spires...what is…”

Cipher’s question went unfinished as the form emerging from the bright void became clearer. Enormous in stature…a physical form unmistakable to those who knew him. The scientist cracked a small smile as he relaxed and stepped forward coming to stand beside the Terrorcon.

“High Commander Scorponok.”

Cipher offered the Decepticon a slight bow before looking back to the terminal he had been working on.

“Sir, I believe there is something you should see.”

Research Bunker

Scorponok had responded far more quickly than he could have hoped. Clearly he truly did recognize the importance of what they might find here. They had discussed it enough prior to coming to this backwater little world. And now that they had found more than they could have hoped for, Mindwipe was only too eager for Scorponok to see what he had seen. To divine its real meaning and perhaps utilize the information contained within this place to win this war.

“Sir, I believe there is something you should see,” Cipher had said, offering the massive Decepticon a respectful bow. Mindwipe quickly followed suit before motioning Scorponok forward.

"Indeed, mighty Scorponok. We enlisted the aid of...a native. But not! He's one of us!" Mindwipe said, indicating Wheelie before closing the distance between himself and the ancient technology in front of them that had shown them so much already.

"Look around you, mighty Scorponok. This planet was used as a refuge by Jhiaxus. It was, from what we have seen, perhaps his primary base of operations. I could not speak to that, as I have never seen his facilities on Cybertron or what became of them. But this! Look!"

Mindwipe's excitement was practically spilling over as his hands accessed the material that Cipher had brought up previously, replaying the battle that they had witnessed for Scorponok's benefit. "Sentinel Prime. Jhiaxus. Omegas...and this...they combined! Like the myths of Nexus Prime! But for real!"

Mindwipe moved the playback forward.

"And they weren't destroyed. They were captured." Mindwipe looked back to Scorponok. "That combiner's component parts are alive somewhere. They have to be. By Primus himself...what a weapon that would be!"

OoC: Stop editing my post.

Mysterious Base of doom

Wheelie watched the monitor with utmost curiosity. Questions soared through his mind as he watched the screen. Who were these Combiners? How are they combining? Why were they fighting? Wheelie had always read old war stories on the datapad he recovered, but those were corrupted and very few words could be made out.

This was a question best left unasked. He didn't know the repercussions for asking such an obvious, and probably mundane, question. And if he disagreed with what they stood for...?

Better to not worry about it until he can access a computer on their ship.

Suddenly, movement caught his optic from across the room. A bright green glowing vortex suddenly formed at the base of one of the statues. Wheelie's eyes widened as he saw the form of a large unknown mech come from the churning vortex.

"What is that?" Wheelie said, quickly loading, drawing and pointing his Slingshot at this new enemy, "A new enemy to combat?"

Wheelie did a quick check on the other Decepticons. They regarded this large Transformer as a superior. He was probably the captain of their vessel. Wheelie quickly released the tension from the elastics and aimed at the floor.

Scorponok? Apparently this new guy was in charge, and Wheelie still felt rattled. It was like someone had snuck up on him and surprised him. He didn't like that feeling.

Wheelie simply waved as a greeting in his usual childish way at Scorponok. He grinned at the fact that Mindwipe said "One of us" when he referred to Wheelie. He fell in beside Scorponok and measured the titanic mech with his peripheral vision.

Chaosteros was bigger.

Research Bunker

To say that travelling through an artificial wormhole without the protection from a spaceship's hull felt odd was an understatement. It didn't matter that transwarp technology had been proven safe both in theory and statistically. No Cybertronian ship had been lost during a transwarp jump since the prototype testing phase. And yet, even a mighty warrior like Scorponok had to accept his own insecurities in the face of the unknown. The idea of the portal generator failing during the transit phase was difficult to shake off. No amount of tests he had ran beforehand could completely remove the uneasiness that came with the potential risk to one's freedom, and life for that matter. Too much depended on him for him to be trapped in transit phase between the entrypoints. And yet, he had built a career by taking risks many other Decepticon officers had avoided - whether it had meant leading his troops from the frontlines or utilizing unorthodox strategies and technology to give him the edge over the enemy.

Such doubts proved to be unnecessary as Scorponok found himself facing familiar faces as he moved across the whirling void around him. There was Hun-Grrr, the leader of the Terrorcons, ready to take on a new challenge as always. The always reliable Mindwipe seemed to be no less prepared and most importantly - ready to protect Cipher and the console behind him. He could also see a fourth Cybertronian, a small orange bot whom he did not recognize.

Entering into the facility from the portal, Scorponok spared only a brief glance towards Wheelie as Mindwipe introduced the small Transformer. The survivalist was nothing more than a gear in a machine, unquestionably useful but beneath one's attention unless it broke down and required replacing. He would let Mindwipe to decide on Wheelie's future usefulness - for he had not come to this planet for the small Transformer who obviously was not a survivor of the original crew of this facility.

Scorponok's powerful sensory suite was also able to detect three more life signals. One more in the chamber he had found himself in and two far enough to be sentries set out by Hun-Grrr to cover their backs. It also meant that one Terrorcon was missing or outside his sensor range. Inconsequential. Hun-Grrr would provide a report if the Terrorcon felt it was necessary. The chamber the powerful Decepticon general had found himself in however, was impressive. And yet, it was nothing before the revelation Cipher and Mindwipe guided him through.

A legend from times long gone. Jhiaxus, the chief theorical adviser of another legendary figure from the ancient history of Cybertron - Nova Prime. And then there was the footage itself. The council's former lapdog, Sentinel - leading a strike force reinforced with the power of Omega Sentinels to raid the facility. Six Transformers combining into a giant more than the sum of its parts and able to challenge the Omegas. To make it even more interesting, Scorponok could recognize these six. They were all Decepticons. Two of them had even served under his command. And if these six had survived to fight in the Great War - it strongly suggested that Jhiaxus was alive as well.

It seemed Scorponok was not the only one to spot familiar faces in the feed as Hun-Grrr decided to add insight of his own to the table now that he had been able to view the feed with his attention on smaller details. "Wildfly. Nasty piece of work. Wanted to be a Terrorcon. Cutthroat proved to be more fierce. But this combining thing? Never knew he could do that."

"Yes. Wildfly, Birdbrain, Bristleback, Icepick, Slog and Scowl." Scorponok finally spoke. "These six are all Decepticons. Although their current assignments or even confirmation on their continued existance requires some searching through our databases."

"This. This changes everything. I have to get this weapon. And the mere chance of Jhiaxus being alive? We may have found the means to end this war." The enormous black and gold Decepticon warlord boomed and pointed one of his massive claws at the console. "Is there anything else? Is this footage all that you have been able to recover?"

Research Bunker

Proud of all the work he’d done thus far, Cipher moved aside giving Scorponok an unobstructed view of the security terminal giving a few moments to scrutinize the chamber they were standing in. It seemed, to the scribe, that as the room they were also stuck in the past. Even the terminals were ancient compared to the ones that were in use now. Although, he had to admit that they were rather sophisticated for their time.

Cipher slowly took his leave from the High Commander’s side so that he might have a closer look at the remaining devices and equipment placed around the room. On a far left table the scientist found a pile of dataslates. Some of them were of no use due to their destroyed screens while others simply had no “life” left in them to even power up. The small mech let out a low grunt as he tossed the last of the pads back down on the table.

It was then he noticed an eerie gleam reflecting off the rear wall. Cipher tilted his head slightly to the right while magnifying his optics’ output. It was no use the…whatever it was…was too distorted in shape to make it out completely.

Curiosity got the better of him and the scientist carefully made his way to the illuminated location. In no time at all lithe mech traversed the room and stopped where the soft light met the wall. Tentatively he reached out to give the light a poke and then it was gone. Cipher’s face scrunched up in disgust as he let out a low growl. Why these visions tormented him he’d never know.

“Of course it would be one of them.”

He was ready to turn back around and head back the way he had come when he looked up and noticed the glyphs scrawled out on the wall in dried energon and other fluids. Cipher craned his neck and stepped back to take in the entirety of what he was decoding. Yes it was an ancient dialect of Cybertonian, but the meaning left him at a loss.

Perhaps it was the babblings of a lunatic, or maybe it was a desperate effort to let others know everything he knew. Either way the message was rather intriguing. Cipher narrowed his optics and stepped in close to the stain on the wall. It had definitely been here for quite some time but not as long as the other glyphs they had seen thus far. The scientist was at a loss and began to step back further than he had before when the back of his foot hit something solid and it was not the opposite wall.

Cipher stopped mid-step and slowly turned his head to look over his shoulder. There behind him was the corpse of the lone resident of the bunker. The scientist froze in place and visibly cringed at the sight of the long dead mech. He finally came to the realization that the mech had long been deactivated and relaxed and turned around to examine the corpse. He dated its death at some time after the bunker had been attacked and raided which meant this dead mech had evaded capture and wound up dying here…alone.

“So you were the one. At least you were able to get my attention by less ostentatious means."

The strange thing was there was no energon depletion. His tanks were still at 36%...still enough to keep his going for quite some time…especially if he was not exerting himself in battle and if he was getting plenty of recharge. So how did he…

“Ah. You poor slagger. Offlined yourself did you? So devoted that you chose the easy way out instead of finding a way to locate them. Pathetic.”

Cipher regarded the mech one last time before looking back at the wall that was written on. So that is how much influence he had on all under him. But what made you think he was still alive?

The optics of the scientist brightened as he finally realized what the dead mech had scrawled on the wall. There was some kind of communique between this mech and another that had been captured. How that communique had gotten through without the Elite Guard knowing was another mystery…but for another time. Right now what the scribe was reading on the wall…that was all that mattered now. The scientist quickly followed the black and gold mech’s query with a response.

“There was an information transfer between two mechs from this facility. One that had been taken into custody and the other here…” Cipher gestured to the corpse behind him.

“He used his own fluids to write this…” he looked up at the wall in front of him.

“He says that the six were the first successful experiment to combine several Transformers. The day of the attack…they were all taken. They were to be transferred from penitentiary to penitentiary to prevent them from ever being located.”

Cipher looked at the group still gathered around the security monitor.

“Thus far they never have. He says the six were often referred to as the Monstructor six not only by themselves but by the occupants of this bunker. I can only assume that gargantuan titan is what he is referring to.”

With less emotion then normal the scribe took another long look at the glyphs and shook his head.

“The attack. It was successful because of a traitor within their ranks. A plant. Or perhaps a true turncoat…I am unsure. He said the first location the prisoners were to be moved to was Garrus 1. It was located on Cybertron long before the war began.”

He stepped from the wall and came to a stop in the middle of the room where he looked up at the High Commander.

“It stands to reason, sir, that they were all moved off world once the planet became uninhabitable. Now…well…now they could be in any one of the many Autobot penal colonies.”

Cipher broke off his optic contact with the imposing form of Scorponok and focused on the floor before him. His pause lasted for a couple astroseconds before he looked back up and flashed the other a devilish grin.

“They are alive and well.”