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Brig

Ratchet kept one audio sensor partially tuned in to the goings-on of the meeting, but he was still primarily focused on Optimus Prime, and when he began to unshakily get to his feet, the Chief Medical Officer let out a little huff of annoyance but did not do anything to intervene. Instead, he traded a quick glance with Smokescreen who was also ready to lend support if Optimus' body or mind should suddenly fail him.

When he spoke, he certainly sounded like the Optimus Prime that they all knew and respected. It didn't sound artificial. That gave Ratchet hope that they could indeed purge whatever affliction had caused Prime's earlier outburst. But Cybertron? The majority of the others in the command conference room laid out the concerns that were running through the Chief Medical Officer's mind.

"Tell me you're not thinking of going back there, Prime," Ratchet said quietly. "You heard them. It's a dead world. You said you believe that whatever is afflicting you is there. Why?"

The rest of proceedings of the meeting were largely not his concern, but he did overhear one more component where he felt his feedback was necessary. When Ultra Magnus brought up the disposal of the Fallen's spark, Ratchet could not agree more.

"By all that is functional in this universe, yes! Be done with that thing. Launch it. I would like nothing more than to be able to definitively rule it out as one of the possible causes of Prime's malady."
___

“Yah. Optimus needs all the support he can get, even in the simplest way,” Bumblebee said.

"Absolutely. Every little bit," Kup agreed as the yellow 'Bot and the others entered the brig cell. Kup would do his part to ensure the brig cell comings and goings stayed secure, affirming as much when he returned Smokescreen's curt nod with one of his own.

Ideally that meant no more comings, but they were dealing with Optimus Prime. It wasn't easy to make mechs that had followed him into the jaws of death over countless vorns stand idly by when he so obviously needed all of their support.

>>”That would be the best course to right now, sir. Say, would you know where Swerve is at the moment? I don’t think I’ve seen him around here on my way to the lab. I’ll get everything I need and I’ll meet you outside the area.”<<

>>"Last time I saw him, he was on the Ark-22,"<< said Streetwise in response to Anomaly, >>"But I can just call him and see for sure. Gimme a second."<<

Streetwise then opened a comm to Swerve.

>>"Swerve, Anomaly and I have just obtained a sample from Optimus' whole.. thing. Same in appearance as the sample from the Ark-22. Anomaly did some scans and nothing came up. He has the sample if you need it.. or he might have dropped it off in the lab. I believe it's the latter. But anyway, where are you exactly for a meetup?"<<

((OOC: stole Warpath’s background from TFwiki, haha)

[Training Room]

Arbalest wrote:“Say, what do you two gentlemechs think about sticking around for a little while longer? We could get started by… knowing each other better.”

Arbalest had decided to take a break halfway and invited them to sit down and relax. Warpath was especially excited about telling the other two about himself. “Oh yeah! Definitely! Why don’t I start with the time when I went KAPOW on those Decepticons! That showed them, those little runts!” The red tank laughed with his volume constantly set to maximum.

Overclock sighed. “I used to be a road security check at the Memnon Overpass. I didn’t do much before that, I guess I was sort of forced into that corner. There wasn’t anything much to do, just the same routine day in, day out. Aside from that, I remember this one old mech I met at an Oil House, I think… maybe his name was Macro, or something along those lines. He was nice, but I don’t know what happened to him after the war started.”

“Maybe he went and did some KABOOMing around!” The tankformer said, rather insensitively, “But let’s be real, if anyone was going to be shooting things it’d rather be me. I’ll just show up at their gate and go all KERPUNK! WAZOW!”

“Warpath, please.” The spy said, trying to calm him down.

“Alright, alright, I heard ya. As for the history textbook stuff, I worked with Prowl as part of his unit. We sure did some exciting stuff, but none of it is as cool as seeing a Decepticon go BOOM!”

Incoming distress signal on all frequencies, including Decepticon secured channels with a Decepticon transmitter signature.

>>"This is Decepticon Shuttle Delta-372."<< Feedback said giving out the shuttle's official designation. >>"We have crashed on the fourth planet of the Solar System with Autobot stowaways. Please assist. Exact coordinates on subfrequency 019."<<

Med Bay

”Jazz? We’re done with you. Can you walk? I can help you to a CR Chamber if you need.”

“It’s all good ‘Lotty!” Jazz exclaimed with his usual enthusiasm returning to his vocalizer. He grunted a little as he threw his legs over the edge of the berth and hopped off. He wobbled a bit but managed to hold himself from falling over. He gave the medics a quick thumbs up and his famous smirk despite the recent circumstances to show he was alright. “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Need to check something real quick, but I’ll take up that CR offer when I get back.”

The black and white Special Operations director started to take a few steps towards the med bay doors, nearly tripping over himself as he made his leave. When he regained his composure, he chuckled a bit to himself as he imagined how bad he looked right now. Despite his outward appearance, inside Jazz’s feeling of uneasiness was hard to suppress. Something was happening to his old friend and he needed to know what. Why would he have turned on them like that? Was this some kind of Decepticon plot? Was Optimus even Optimus? The Optimus he knew since the start of both of their career cycles?

He buried these questions for now, but when he reaches his destination maybe he can get the answers.

-

”Either they were out on a mission or they were hit during Prime’s rampage,” said Hoist. He shoved in the new hip joint, rewiring what was necessary. “This’ll feel a little funny, but just relax and don’t move.” He proceeded to install the thighs, the knees, the shins and calves and finally the feet. He unhooked some of the wires that he had plugged into Swoop and said, “Try moving it a little bit. If you can’t feel some part of your leg, let me know.”

“Whoa! A rampage? Did you just say an Optimus rampage?!” Swoop excitedly began to badger at the mechanic, trying to stretch out the new leg while doing so. The news of both Optimus’ return and the fact that this mess was his fault had the bombardier practically forget he was suppose to be testing out the new limb. “Why’d he do it? He come back and get upset at Magnus and Prowl for their thick-headedness? Heh.” Now that would be a sight to see, and almost something straight of Grimlock’s playbook.

Throwing his legs over the side of the berth, the Dinobot flier began to shake the new leg about looking like an athlete beginning their routine stretches. He admired the ease of flow and the performance of the newly installed limb.

“Damn, Doc-bot! Not bad!”

Brig

When Jazz finally reaches the brig where Optimus was being held, he was somewhat surprised at the gathering his old friend had managed to acquire outside his cell. Shouldn’t be too shocked however, hearing of Optimus’ return would always draw attention from his closest friends or advisers and those who wished to witness the possible rumor with their own optics. Hell, news mustn’t have gotten too far out otherwise the entire brig would’ve been absolutely stormed with big red’s friends trying to welcome him back.

The black and white Porsche took a few easy steps closer to the group standing outside Prime’s cell. Kup, Smokes’, ‘Bee, among others. Quite the crowd none the less. Jazz looked into the cell and saw Ratchet working on the big guy, also while trying to deal with what sounded like Ultra Magnus and the other ranking officials in the system. Well, despite everything it was good to see was okay. The incident in the med bay left certain details kinda hazy and he didn’t remember Ratch’s condition was the last time he saw him before offlining.

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Jazz finally spoke up, his blue visor looking more towards Prime’s inhabited cell.

Brig

Bumblebee sighed, listening more to the channel on which the meeting was being held between Prowl, Grimlock, Ultra Magnus, Jetfire, Blaster, and the various others who were team leaders and such. He clicked off that channel for now, as his focus was on Prime and his condition and the Command Meeting thus, was beginning to sound a lot like the teacher from the old Peanuts cartoon, especially Prowl's voice. It was nearly monotone.

'Sheesh.', Bumblebee thought to himself, frowning slightly. He let the frustration of the 'debate and dispute department' fade away, as he looked back at Optimus and Ratchet, and then to his side to Kup. And that's when he had the notion to ask the old timer a question concerning the situation at hand here.

"Kup...have you seen anything like this before? Ya know...like this condition Optimus has?"

As he waited for an answer, Bee was suddenly surprised to see Jazz walk into the room. He could guess just by looking at him that he'd skipped out completely on the CR chamber. He should be up there resting and recovering in one, but really, the yellow beetle-former couldn't blame his Porsche buddy. Like him and everyone else down here, Jazz was concerned about Prime. Bee gave him a little smile.

Brig

"Kup...have you seen anything like this before? Ya know...like this condition Optimus has?"

Kup rubbed his chin structure, contemplating Bumblebee's question.

"Yeh. I have, actually. One'a those bugs the 'Cons got workin' for 'em. He can take over a bot's mind, make 'em do whatever he wants. This looks like that, but I've seen he uses these little chip things. No way Prime has one'a those on 'im or Ratchet woulda found it by now. And that doesn't explain that black garbage I saw comin' outta Megatron over on the Ark. Somethin' deeper is wrong here."

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” a new voice entered the conversation. Kup recognized it immediately, turning and grinning at the Autobot Chief Special Operations Officer.

"Jazz m'boy! Lookin' fresh outta the CR chamber, heh. Figured you'd be laid up for another orn."

Brig

"Yeh. I have, actually. One'a those bugs the 'Cons got workin' for 'em. He can take over a bot's mind, make 'em do whatever he wants. This looks like that, but I've seen he uses these little chip things. No way Prime has one's those on 'im or Ratchet woulda found it by now. And that doesn't explain that black garbage I saw comin' outta Megatron over on the Ark. Somethin' deeper is wrong here."

Bumblebee listened to Kup's reply. He only found it more worrying, and frowned more after the explanation. He'd then reply calmly but obviously with concern in his voice, "That's REALLY bad then. And yah, I've heard of one of the Insecticons being able to do that...Bombshell I think is the one. It's a pretty scary thing, mind control....but like you said, Ratchet would have found any chips by now. I just hope that whatever happened won't happen again. Optimus said something about the answer being on Cybertron. Maybe we have to go against better judgement and check it out.....for Optimus' sake."

He was quiet after that and he looked back concernedly towards the cell that held Optimus. Ratchet was the best doctor the Autobots had. Surely he hadn't missed something. No, Bumblebee was certain Ratchet had done everything he possibly could to locate the source of the anomaly. The small yellow bot sighed and tried to smile. After all, he came down here to show Optimus Prime some support, not to be wish-washy in front of him. At that thought, of the need to show his full support, Bumblebee's smile grew more as he looked towards their leader.

>>I'm so glad you're back. Whatever the problem is, I'm right here for you. We'll figure it out together.<<, Bumblebee sent his thought privately to Optimus.

Bridge – Command Conference Room

Ultra Mangus wrote:“Prowl, that would be for the best at the moment. Get in touch with Springer and the rest of the mechs down at Grapple’s site for the Ark, and try to find out what’s going on. I would like it if you worked with Red Alert here with the security protocols. Try seeing if you can link both of your plans together, because the added synergy could give us a potential edge.”

“I doubt Scorponok would wait long until he sends more troops in. Round up as many warriors as you can, and prepare them for any surprises. With what all has happened recently, we don’t know when or where something like that might happen.”

“Of course. I’ll contact Springer once we return to Sol-3 and confer with Red Alert on the new security ideas he has,” Prowl replied with a respectful nod at Ultra Magnus. “Furthermore, I’ll put my autotroopers on high alert for any potential incursions into the Sol System by Scorponok’s forces. Many of them have already been reassigned from the Trion to both the Guardian and the Ark-22. I’ll assign an entire regiment to the Autobot City site, as well. You can never be too careful.”

Ultra Magnus had tried to calm the situation between Grimlock and Prowl down with the rex-former largely ignoring the City Commander’s pleas as he went to leave the room. It wasn’t until the image of Optimus Prime appeared that the Dinobot leader stopped and returned to the table.

Ultra Magnus wrote:“I agree with Grimlock here, for once. What is it that we must look into on Cybertron? Might it have something to do with Omega Supreme? Prowl, when you’re overseeing his repairs, ask him if he knows anything of the sort with Cybertron.”

The military strategist nodded. “It’ll be the first thing I do once I get down to the Autobot City site,” Prowl confirmed before Magnus became distracted by something on his display interface.

Ultra Magnus wrote:“I believe it is time to launch that accursed thing away. Your call, Prowl.”

The black and white checked his own display interface to see that the dark spark of the Fallen was securely loaded into one of the Guardian’s torpedo tubes. Prowl leaned forward and activated the intercom with the autotroopers. “Launch it.” With those words spoken, the autotroopers down in the torpedo bay entered the appropriate launch codes and shot the Fallen’s spark out into space. The prick-bot then brought the image up on the primary display in the conference room so that everyone could watch as the Fallen’s spark entered the sun’s corona. It wasn’t long before it disappeared entirely into the star where it finally met with oblivion.

“Good riddance,” Prowl said as the image of the sun faded away. “Well, now that that’s finally been taken care of, I suggest we get the Guardian back to Sol-3 ASAP. There’s much that needs to be done.” The military strategist’s display interface then began to beep, drawing his attention back to the screen. “Wait, what’s this?” Prowl asked rhetorically. “Commander Magnus, we seem to be picking up a distress signal. I’ll put it on speakers.”

>>”This is Decepticon Shuttle Delta-372. We have crashed on the third planet of the Solar System with Autobot stowaways. Please assist. Exact coordinates on subfrequency 019.”<<

“It continues to repeat on a loop and it’s being broadcast on all frequencies, including both Autobot and Decepticon ones, which I find to be very strange to say the least,” Prowl added as he attempted to trace the signal to its origin. “Curious, though, the message says they crash landed on the third planet but the exact coordinates show that it's coming from the fourth planet, designation: Mars.”

The black and white then looked up from his personal console. “Magnus, this is likely a trap of some kind. Why send a signal over Autobot frequencies for help and also mention that there are Autobot stowaways? It’s like they want us to respond. It doesn’t make sense. Are there any Autobots currently missing that could account for these stowaways?”
_______________

Grimlock had managed to finally calm down at Ultra Magnus’ insistence. The Dinobot Commander simply stood there near the head of the table with his arms crossed over his massive chest plate. He listened to the discussions taking place before receiving a private communication from Jetfire:

Jetfire wrote:>>Grimlock, while you and your team were on your mission, my research team was using the main science lab on the Trion. It made me consider transferring over there permanently to continue my research on gestalts and other connected projects. I don't need ones like Prowl overlooking what I do every few cycles to question if it is worth it. Would you allow me to transfer? Hopefully Magnus or Prime will allow it.<<

The Dinobot commander glared over at the jet-former with his red optics blazing.”No. Stay off my ship with your projects, Jetfire. Me don’t need unstable combiner running amok on Trion. You want to play mad scientist, do it on another ship or, better still, do it on that mud ball planet you puny Autobots are so concerned with.”

Grimlock didn’t use the comm line with Jetfire as he wanted to make his wishes known to everyone in the room. The fact that the aerial scientist had already used the labs on the Trion to conduct his gestalt experiments while the Dinobots had been away fighting made Grimlock more than a bit angry. Still, there were more pressing matters to be concerned about now and with his response given, the rex-former returned his attention to the image of Optimus Prime as well as the others seated around the table.

Grimlock watched as the Fallen's spark was launched into the sun. He felt no real emotion at seeing it consumed by the fires of the star and destroyed forever. The Dinobot Commander and his team had been absent from the battle. Instead, they were off stealing the Trion from the Alpha Shipyards. If Grimlock felt anything it was regret for not being around to face the fiery demigod, himself. That would've been one hell of a fight to remember.

It was then that the distress call from Mars came in and Grimlock listened to it as Prowl amplified the sound over the speakers. The black and white felt it was a trap and he was probably correct but that mattered little to the rex-former. “Send me and Dinobots to Mars,” Grimlock stated in no uncertain terms. “We take Trion and find whatever ‘Cons are there and we smash them!” The Dinobot leader slammed his right hand into his left palm to emphasize his point. “And we also bring back any stowaway ‘Bots that we may find.”

“That’s big of you,” Prowl interjected as he rolled his optics. “It’s still likely a trap. You want to just walk into a trap?”

“Can’t trap Dinobots, Prowl,” Grimlock insisted. “And you can’t trap Trion, either.”

“Except in lava,” Prowl added, referring to when the Dinobots had been encased in a lava flow on Earth for countless vorns thanks to the recklessness of one Dinobot Commander.

“That not happen again. Me be more careful,” Grimlock replied, turning his attention to both Ultra Magnus and the image of Optimus Prime. “Send me and Dinobots. We find out what going on and crush whatever ‘Cons are there and bring back puny Autobots if there are any.”

In all actuality, Grimlock wanted to see more action. Even more so, he wanted to destroy more Decepticons. The more dead ‘Cons the better. Whether he would get his wish was another story.

“This one’s your call, Magnus,” Prowl said, looking over at the City Commander with a slight smirk.

Brig

“It’s.. nothing. Just.. feeling lucky is all. After you know,” Rosanna replied before heading for the brig door. Smokescreen watched as she walked away, but said nothing more. Regardless of what the little pink cassettebot said, she still seemed bothered by something. The diversion expert decided not to press it further and instead kept his focus on Optimus Prime.

Smokey continued to stand close by his long time friend and leader of the Autobots. The red and blue racer was prepared for anything at this point, but he hoped that Prime would remain as himself and not regress back into a murderous maniac like before. Those two words, “murderous” and “maniac”, certainly did not describe the real Optimus Prime, but they did unfortunately describe the possessed one that had tried to kill them all not long ago. They needed to get to the bottom of this and Prime seemed to think the answers were on Cybertron.

“Cybertron…..Well Optimus, if you say something's on the home planet, I got you all the way,” Bumblebee spoke up in his usual cheerful voice. The yellow minibot was one of the most loyal mechs there was and his love for Optimus matched Smokescreen’s own feelings as well as most other Autobots. Even if what Prime was saying seemed unusual there had to be a good reason behind it.

Of course, Ratchet wasn’t keen on the idea of going back to Cybertron, citing Grimlock’s statement that the Transformer homeworld was a dead planet. The CMO wanted to know why Prime felt that the answer was there and so did Smokescreen. The diversion expert just didn’t want to question the Autobot leader out loud. Instead, Smokey echoed Bumblebee’s sentiments and Kup’s, as well.

“I’m with you, too, Optimus,” the rallybot interjected as he placed a firm hand on Prime’s shoulder to both steady him further and comfort him. “If you think there’s something on Cybertron that will explain all this then it’s worth checking out. I support you 100%.”

“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Jazz said as he entered the brig, too. It was quickly getting crowded in there as everyone wanted to see how Prime was doing.

“Not at all!” Smokescreen replied with a smile as he glanced over at the music-loving mech. “Glad to see you back on your feet, Jazz.” The rallybot then looked back at Prime. “See, Optimus, Jazz is doing fine. No worse for wear.” Smokey hoped that seeing Jazz alive and well would make Prime feel better especially considering the Autobot leader already blamed himself for everything that had happened.

As Bumblebee and Kup discussed Insecticons and mind control, Smokescreen's attention was drawn to the holo-feed from the command conference room as it showed an image of the Fallen's spark being launched into the sun. "There you go, Ratchet. That unholy spark is gone forever," the rallybot said with glee as he kept his optics fixated on Prime. "Optimus, do you feel any different now that the Fallen's spark is gone?"

Brig

Ratchet had kept the majority of his focus squarely on Prime. His well-being was far and away his preeminent concern. But he also kept an auditory sensor on the goings-on of the command staff meeting.

Ultra Magnus and Prowl had dispatched the Fallen's spark once and for all, a fact that was confirmed by Smokescreen.

"There you go, Ratchet. That unholy spark is gone forever," he said.

"And none too soon," the Chief Medical Officer, before Smokescreen continued and asked the very question that was running through his mind.

"Optimus, do you feel any different now that the Fallen's spark is gone?"

"Yes. Anything," Ratchet added. "No detail is too insignificant at this stage."

Bridge – Command Conference Room

Hot Spot wasn't shocked at the outburst of Grimlock and his desire to do this rescue mission with emphasize on wiping out the Cons and maybe consider rescuing whoever is on the shuttle with them. He probably had a point of it could be a trap but if there were truly Autobots on the craft, they had to be rescued. The Protectobots were designed for such missions.

"Prowl, Ultra Magnus, if there are Autobots on this shuttle craft sending out the signal than a rescue operation is needed. Grimlock might be right about it being a trap but my team is built for rescue operations. I won't turn down any additional muscle the Dinobots might provide but depending on how bad the craft is in, the passengers may be in pretty bad shape in general. With First Aid elbow deep into whatever Aerialbot with this Titan project I doubt he could come but still would like a medic."

Ignoring the talk about the shuttle, Jetfire was offended by Grimlock's response especially since it was done out loud instead of privately.

"I'm utterly shocked you would turn down my off, Grimlock. The Titan Project has a huge potential, no pun intended. We are recreating a process which was lost and the weapons which we are building can change the balance of this war. The Trion is the most sophisticated ship as you keep point out but this also include the labs. I'm not as much of a weapon designer as Ironfist but I still like to experiment with new weapons and technology. You never know, I could create something for you and your team. As far as I know only our special teams can combine but others in the Autobot army might be able to undergo the process once we get it perfected and if they are compatible with the process. I thought about asking Ultra Magnus first but I respected your claim to the ship."

Brig

Optimus listened and watched as their optics turned to him. All of them wanted to know the same thing. Why Cybertron. It was a fair question. More than fair really. He brought his hand to his chin thoughtfully as he mulled over how to explain it to them. It was more than just a hunch. As he did, the meeting went on and more and more new arrivals poured into the brig. Optimus cast them all back a glance and gave them a nod of acknowledgement.

>>I'm so glad you're back. Whatever the problem is, I'm right here for you. We'll figure it out together.<<

>>”Thank you, Bumblebee,”<< Optimus transmitted back to one of his dear friends. His attention shifted back to the meeting when Prowl spoke of the current goings on. Optimus was trying to piece together the current state of the war. Scorponok was invading the Sol System? He’d have come in force if he had heard that Megatron was indisposed for any amount of time…and he and Megatron had apparently been gone for some time. And something about Omega Supreme?

His musings were interrupted by the image of something being launched into the Sol system’s corona. Not only that, but a distress call by the Decepticons on all frequencies? The question came of who to deploy. Grimlock immediately volunteered to perhaps no one’s surprise. Optimus nodded to Magnus when Prowl said that it was his call. He trusted his judgement even if Magnus didn’t trust his own.

Bumblebee’s voice drew his attention back to those who had gather to see him. He turned partway, optics landing on Jazz and his injuries. He tensed a bit as a surge of guilt swept over him despite Smokescreen’s reassurances. His fist clenched a little as he called out to his friend.

“Forgive me, Jazz,” Optimus managed before relaxing a little and looking to Smokescreen and Ratchet as they asked about his state. He hadn’t noticed any significant change. He looked to his hands, opening and closing them cursorily. “No, I-“

Optimus jerked as his vision flickered. He reached out a hand to steady himself as he looked around. This was Iacon. The Senate’s old council chambers. Mechs wreathed in shadow sat in the balcony. A slow, exaggerated applause brought his attention to a mech sitting in a throne. Their form was strange. He couldn’t make it out.

Suddenly, Optimus was back in the brig, holding onto Smokescreen’s shoulder tightly. Releasing Smokescreen, he raised up his hands to reassure them that he was himself. “I was just…affected again,” he turned to the screen that projected him into the command meeting.

“Wherever Megatron and I were during our absence, only one thing has been constant. All of my experiences there and visions having since returned…they have all taken place on Cybertron. I believe that we might find some clue as to how to remedy my condition there.”

[Bridge - Command Conference Room]

Prowl wrote:“Furthermore, I’ll put my autotroopers on high alert for any potential incursions into the Sol System by Scorponok’s forces. Many of them have already been reassigned from the Trion to both the Guardian and the Ark-22. I’ll assign an entire regiment to the Autobot City site, as well. You can never be too careful.”

“Very well, Prowl. You are right, we can never be too careful in these times. I will leave that portion of command to you.” Magnus nodded as he heard the black and white ‘bot confirm his decisions about Autobot City and all.

Grimlock seemed to be having an issue with another ‘bot now, this time, Jetfire. Magnus put his hand to his forehead in mild frustration. As much of a useful asset the Dinobot commander was, he was also a bit tough to deal with at times.

Suddenly, a transmission appeared on the screen. Prowl quickly received it.

??? wrote:>>”This is Decepticon Shuttle Delta-372. We have crashed on the third planet of the Solar System with Autobot stowaways. Please assist. Exact coordinates on subfrequency 019.”<<

Prowl wrote:“Magnus, this is likely a trap of some kind. Why send a signal over Autobot frequencies for help and also mention that there are Autobot stowaways? It’s like they want us to respond. It doesn’t make sense. Are there any Autobots currently missing that could account for these stowaways?”

“It does look suspicious. But we should first-” Magnus was interrupted when Grimlock firmly stated that he wanted to take the Dinobots on an expedition to the planet. “Hold on, Grimlock. Before you go, we need to make sure that this truly isn’t a trap. You never know what might happen while you’re there. We don’t want to have the Trion and your team to be put into an unnecessary situation.”

Turning to the red communications officer, Magnus said, “Blaster, can you index all the Autobots to see whether anyone is missing?”

The energetic red ‘bot replied quickly. “Already on it, sir! Just a few more to run through… aha! We’re missing… Pipes, some minor recruits and… Ironhide!” Blaster ran through all of the personnel in the Sol System as well as on Sol-3. He wasn’t able to find anything, so he shook his head at Magnus.

“Very well then. In this case, Grimlock, I want you to take some other mechs along as well. Try and get some that have a decent amount of firepower. You never know how many Decepticons are there with these… “stowaways”. You and your Dinobots may be strong, but you aren’t an army. Gather a squad with whatever suitable mechs you can find. Blaster, I want you to coordinate their mission. If anything happens, you report to Prowl and I first. Everyone clear?”

“Yessir!” Blaster grinned.

Hot Spot spoke about offering his Protectobots to go along. “Hot Spot, I appreciate the offer. However, half of your team, as you said before, aren’t hardcore fighters. Blades could be sent, but I’m unsure on the rest. It would be better for them to stay back, unless Grimlock has other plans.”

Optimus Prime wrote:“Wherever Megatron and I were during our absence, only one thing has been constant. All of my experiences there and visions having since returned…they have all taken place on Cybertron. I believe that we might find some clue as to how to remedy my condition there.”

"Prime... If you truly believe that this solution lies on Cybertron... we would need to prepare. I would suggest that you recover a bit more, so that you yourself can show us the way."

Brig

“No, I-", Optimus began, before pausing suddenly, prompting a quizzical expression from the Chief Medical Officer. As he was reaching for a newly-calibrated scanner, Optimus seemed to find the words he was looking for.

But it turned out to be more than that.

"I was just…affected again,” Optimus said, prompting a surprised reaction from Ratchet. He adjusted two of the dials on the scanner and ran it over Optimus' frame once more, as he'd done a dozen times since they had managed to subdue him. Fortunately--for all of them--the effect of Optimus' affliction was not so devastating. It was in his mind. The Fallen was most certainly an afterthought now. This was something altogether different.

“Wherever Megatron and I were during our absence, only one thing has been constant. All of my experiences there and visions having since returned…they have all taken place on Cybertron. I believe that we might find some clue as to how to remedy my condition there,” Optimus continued, explaining his rationale for how Cybertron fit into all of this mess.

"Prime. I-I don't know what you need to get you the answers you want, but whatever I can do to help, I'll make it happen," Kup said.

"Yes, of course," Ratchet relented, accepting the fact that Prime's affliction could possibly...possibly...be beyond his ability to treat. But he wasn't going to accept that just yet. "Even so, you said it just affected you again? Is that right? What happened? What did you see? You know what? Never mind. Maybe it doesn't matter."

Ratchet continued his scans, but nothing out of the ordinary was turning up on the readings. He wanted to throw the scanner across the room.

"I have no idea how we'd get ahold of the information, but it'd be helpful to know if Megatron went straight back to the Decepticons after his escape and--if so--what happened and how they're dealing with it."

Training Room

Arbalest was amused by his fellow bots. "Memnon Overpass, you say? I think a good friend of mine from back in the day travelled through that route a lot. Maybe you met him once! His name wasn't Macro, per se, but he was a silver truck, with gold markings on the sides. Ring any bells?"

Warpath probably had some verbal tic or something, but it was actually quite funny to the skirmisher. "Working under Prowl, I see. That is quite a prestigious position. Very interesting."

"As for myself, I simply worked as an errand runner for some of the... higher class lot. You know, the wealthy, the luxury-living sort. I mostly picked up hunting from watching them go after Turbofoxes. While it was nice, nothing lasted forever, of course."

The silver hunter stood up. "Say, would you two gentlemechs like to head down to the pub for some refreshments?"

Corridors

>>"Understood, sir. I will, uh, be there shortly."<<

Anomaly started making his way back towards Streetwise. He fumbled about with the equipment he was carrying and made sure that he had everything that he needed. He hadn't left anything behind but still felt that there was something more that he needed. With the strange substance safely stored within his containment cylinders, he arrived at the Protectobot's location.

"Good to see you again, sir. Did, uh, Swerve say anything yet?"

Autobot Frigate Guardian- Brig

And so the news came from Prowl and the rest of those in the Conference Room that the spark of The Fallen had successfully been destroyed. That news was a little loud off of everyone’s chest surely, including Bumblebee's. The little yellow mech looked towards Prime, wondering as Smokescreen and Ratchet had, if he felt any better now. He was happy though, that Smokescreen fully supported Optimus too about going to Cybertron. As strange as it may seem to go back to a dead planet, the universe held many strange mysteries, and over the long course of their adventures, Bumblebee and the others had witnessed first hand that legends all had some base in reality, and sometimes they were very frightening (as in the case with The Fallen).

>>”Thank you, Bumblebee,”<<

, came a reply from Optimus to Bee’s support message.

Bumblebee smiled sweetly and nodded, >>”Hey, don't mention it. I’m just doing what friends do, so if you ever need me big guy, you know who you can count on.”<<, he sent back.

From inside the cell, Optimus apologized to Jazz….and then the mighty big-rig former jerked and his vision flickered. “Optimus!”, Bumblebee cried out. He shoved his way through taller mechs to be directly in front of the bars to their leader’s precautionary holding cell. Seconds later, Optimus loosened his grip on Smokey’s shoulder and raised his arms, and reassured the others he was okay, but that he just had another vision….of Cybertron. Bumblebee wiped his forehead. He was sweating a bit of oil.

“Wherever Megatron and I were during our absence, only one thing has been constant. All of my experiences there and visions having since returned…they have all taken place on Cybertron. I believe that we might find some clue as to how to remedy my condition there.”

, Optimus explained. Bumblebee nodded. It seemed the sooner a team, including Optimus, embarked to Cybertron, the better.

Then came Ultra Magnus’ reply from the Conference Room over the public comm,

"Prime... If you truly believe that this solution lies on Cybertron... we would need to prepare. I would suggest that you recover a bit more, so that you yourself can show us the way."

Then came Kup’s scratchy old timey voice,

"Prime. I-I don't know what you need to get you the answers you want, but whatever I can do to help, I'll make it happen," Kup said.

And then came Doc Ratchet,

”Yes, of course," Ratchet relented, accepting the fact that Prime's affliction could possibly...possibly...be beyond his ability to treat. But he wasn't going to accept that just yet. "Even so, you said it just affected you again? Is that right? What happened? What did you see? You know what? Never mind. Maybe it doesn't matter."

Ratchet continued his scans, but nothing out of the ordinary was turning up on the readings. He wanted to throw the scanner across the room.

"I have no idea how we'd get ahold of the information, but it'd be helpful to know if Megatron went straight back to the Decepticons after his escape and--if so--what happened and how they're dealing with it."

Taking everything in, Bumblebee spoke up in response to Ratchet, saying seriously, “If we knew where the Decepticon flagship was, we could possibly try to get that information and I’d be willing to go, but in actuality we don't know where it is, let alone if we could board their ship undetected. We’d need a decoy or something. Also, maybe we don't even need to know how Megatron is or how they're handling him. If Optimus and Megatron are having the same episodic visions...it's safe to assume that the Decepticons will also be heading to Cybertron soon, and whatever is there….well….it’d be best if we tried to get there before them. However, that's just my view on it. I think….I need to go recuperate. If anyone needs me, call me.”, Bumblebee said. He then turned and left the room. He felt under a lot of pressure and needed to “decompress”. Still, despite all the recent turmoil and distress, Prime was back, and that in itself was a sign of hope and a good future to come.

Corridors-

In the hallways, leaving the brig behind, Bumblebee was lost in his train of thoughts trying to sort out things, when he bumped into a wall. No...not a wall. He nearly fell back but managed to catch his bearings and stood up straight, looking up at a white and orange mech….Alpha Bravo.

“Oh...hey Alpha. So...what're you up to?”, he asked and waited for a reply. He had guessed that Alpha Bravo had also recently left the brig, but so had Rosanna, and he didn't see her about. What made Alpha lag behind?

[Corridors]

Bumblebee wrote:“Oh...hey Alpha. So...what're you up to?”

Alpha hadn't noticed when he bumped into the smaller yellow 'bot, Bumblebee. Fearing that he may have accidentally hit him, he immediately broke into a series of apologies. "Oh my Primus, Bumblebee, I am so sorry for not having seen you there! It was my mistake, I'm so sorry!"

Feeling the rush of guilt again, he lowered his head in shame. "I'm really sorry... I just... I don't like disappointing other people." He looked like he was pigeon toed. But Bumblebee was a nice 'bot and surely he would understand.

"I, uh, was on my way to the brig, but I haven't been on the Guardian for a while so I got a bit lost..."

Corridors

The sunny colored minibot scratched his head and replied while looking up at the helicopter-bot, " Don't worry, I'm ok. I'm not hurt, so nothing to be sorry about. As for the brig, I just left there. If you keep going straight you'll get to the stairs that go down to the brig doors. It's awfully crowded though.", he said, and paused for a moment before adding. "Optimus is okay. He seems to have control of himself now, and he's not hurt otherwise. Ratchet and a bunch of others are down there helping him. Optimus has my full support too, as well as others. However, I just can't handle all that's going on at once right now. I'm gonna head to the mess hall. See ya.", Bumblebee said to Alpha Bravo, and he walked past him and continued on his way towards the upper decks.

Streetwise was standing against the wall when Anomaly returned. Streetwise stood back to normal height as he saw the scientist on his way.

"Good to see you again, sir. Did, uh, Swerve say anything yet?"

Streetwise gave a respectful nod to Anomaly before responding, "Not yet. Busy as a scraplet he is no doubt, haha."

Streetwise then crossed his arms and looked down towards the floor of the ship's corridors, and took a deep breath as he thought.

"Well since our leads have pretty much halted temporarily with the substance, it would be prudent to ascertain where Optimus is as of current. I hope he's back to his original self or at least recovering by now."

The detective then rubbed his chin and thought for a bit, and then stated his thoughts, "My best bet would be that since he is not in the regular medical facilities, he would be in a place more secure and secluded. And, though it may feel horrible to say, the only place I can think of in this place such as that would be somewhere in the Brig. And that may be our best bet."

Bridge – Command Conference Room

Hot Spot started to get annoyed with how this meeting was going. The Dinobots only know how to destroy things instead of rescue things. Grimlock might keep his optics out for those they are supposed to rescue but only secondary to any Cons he can squash beneath his feet. Then somehow the plans to search for clues on Earth and the ships went away and instead heading to their dead home world on a wild ghost chase. After what humans would call a large sigh, Hot Spot spoke up again.

"Since my Protectobots were looked over to do a job we are designed to do and instead the Dinobots get it, I suggest the Guardian to head to Cybertron. I also suggest an idea I had in mind before the Fallen mess happen. I had mention to Ironfist for him to create suits to protect us from inhospitable worlds. Cybertronians can take a lot from planets but there are still some environments which will eat us alive. Last I knew the Ark was due to land on Sol-3 and become part of the new Autobot City. If time allows the Guardian is also way overdue on an overhaul at the shipyard Grimlock stole the Trion from."

Hot Spot started reconsidering his approval of Magnus' command but these will be decisions he will later regret. Other problem is there isn't anyone else who is qualified to lead the Autobot army until Prime is 100% normal.

Bridge – Command Conference Room

With the Fallen’s dark spark finally consumed within the fires of the sun, the Guardian had turned back towards Sol-3 while the meeting inside the command conference room just off the bridge continued. Things had briefly become a bit heated, especially with Grimlock and Prowl butting craniums constantly, but now tempers had simmered. How long that would last was anyone’s guess.

Ultra Magnus wrote:“Very well, Prowl. You are right, we can never be too careful in these times. I will leave that portion of command to you.”

Prowl nodded in understanding as Ultra Magnus turned his attention to the eager Dinobot Commander who wanted to be the one to head to Mars and rescue the supposed Autobot stowaways. Of course he did, but the military strategist doubted it was really to rescue anyone. On the contrary, Grimlock simply wanted to bust in some Decepticon heads. If rescuing some “puny Autobots” allowed him to do that then so be it.

Ultra Magnus wrote:“Hold on, Grimlock. Before you go, we need to make sure that this truly isn’t a trap. You never know what might happen while you’re there. We don’t want to have the Trion and your team to be put into an unnecessary situation.”

“Yes, Grimlock, slow it down some,” Prowl interjected. “Let’s actually think first before running off half-cocked.”

“Don’t tell me how to do things, Prowl,” Grimlock spat back at the prick-bot. “Me know what me doing.”

Jetfire wrote:"I'm utterly shocked you would turn down my offer, Grimlock. The Titan Project has a huge potential, no pun intended. We are recreating a process which was lost and the weapons which we are building can change the balance of this war. The Trion is the most sophisticated ship as you keep point out but this also include the labs. I'm not as much of a weapon designer as Ironfist but I still like to experiment with new weapons and technology. You never know, I could create something for you and your team. As far as I know only our special teams can combine but others in the Autobot army might be able to undergo the process once we get it perfected and if they are compatible with the process. I thought about asking Ultra Magnus first but I respected your claim to the ship.”

“Dinobots don’t need to combine, Jetfire,” Grimlock stated plainly, turning his attention to the white scientist. “We took down Devastator without turning into huge gestalt. We work just fine as team we already are.”

Meanwhile, Magnus had Blaster check for any Autobots that were currently unaccounted for. The revelation that both Ironhide and Pipes were missing was of great concern, but before Prowl could say anything, the City Commander gave the Dinobot Commander the go-ahead.

Ultra Magnus wrote:“Very well then. In this case, Grimlock, I want you to take some other mechs along as well. Try and get some that have a decent amount of firepower. You never know how many Decepticons are there with these… “stowaways”. You and your Dinobots may be strong, but you aren’t an army. Gather a squad with whatever suitable mechs you can find. Blaster, I want you to coordinate their mission. If anything happens, you report to Prowl and I first. Everyone clear?”

“Pfft!” Grimlock scoffed in response. “Me Dinobots may only be five in number, but we five can do what whole army of Autobots take to do!” The rex-former was unhappy that once again his squad would have to deal with Autobot tag-alongs. At least this time he had a say in which mechs to bring. “Fine. Me only bring toughest mechs. As for coordination, me Grimlock leader! Me coordinate and lead mission! Me not answer to music bot!”

Prowl smirked for a moment before leaning over towards Blaster. “I’m sure he meant ‘music bot’ in the nicest possible way. Heh.” The black and white then sat back in his seat as Ultra Magnus replied to Hot Spot’s offer to send his Protectobots to rescue the Autobot stowaways. The blue fire engine was none too pleased with the City Commander’s decision and made it known. Magnus certainly had a lot to deal with when it came to unhappy mechs. At least, Hot Spot didn’t turn into a mechanical dinosaur that could eat someone alive.

“Well, I'm afraid there’s no time to send the Guardian all the way to the Alpha Shipyards,” Prowl said to Hot Spot, matter-of-factly. “Whatever overhaul it requires can be done in orbit once we arrive back at Sol-3.”

From the Brig, Optimus Prime gave his reasoning for why he felt the answers he sought could be found on Cybertron. Ultra Magnus then spoke:

Ultra Magnus wrote:"Prime... If you truly believe that this solution lies on Cybertron... we would need to prepare. I would suggest that you recover a bit more, so that you yourself can show us the way.”

“Agreed,” Prowl interjected as his attention was drawn to the holo-image of the Autobot leader. “You need to heal, Optimus, and the necessary precautions need to be put into place to ensure that you do not suffer another violent episode, both for your own safety and for everyone else's.”

Brig

Smokescreen remained steadfast by Optimus Prime’s side as Ratchet reiterated if Optimus felt any different now that the Fallen’s spark was destroyed. Hopefully, with that fiery demigod now gone for good, it would have at least some positive affect on the Autobot leader.

“No, I-” Optimus began to say as he seemed to then space out. For a moment, the rallybot thought he had seen Prime’s optics go dark again, forcing the red and blue racer to clench his weapon tightly. However, before anything bad could happen, Optimus snapped out of whatever trance he had just found himself in. The truck-former clenched onto Smokescreen’s shoulder tightly before letting go and lifting up his hand to ensure everyone that he was all right and had not lost control again.

Optimus Prime wrote:“I was just…affected again. Wherever Megatron and I were during our absence, only one thing has been constant. All of my experiences there and visions having since returned…they have all taken place on Cybertron. I believe that we might find some clue as to how to remedy my condition there.”

“Well, if you’re still being affected by whatever this is then I guess the Fallen’s spark wasn’t the culprit,” Smokescreen concluded as his grip released from his rifle.

Kup wrote:"Prime. I-I don't know what you need to get you the answers you want, but whatever I can do to help, I'll make it happen."

"That goes for me, too, Optimus," Smokescreen added as he gently patted Prime on his shoulder plate.

Ratchet wrote:"Yes, of course. Even so, you said it just affected you again? Is that right? What happened? What did you see? You know what? Never mind. Maybe it doesn't matter. I have no idea how we'd get ahold of the information, but it'd be helpful to know if Megatron went straight back to the Decepticons after his escape and--if so--what happened and how they're dealing with it.”

“Well, how did Megatron escape the ship exactly?” Smokescreen asked anyone in the room who might have the answer. “If he bounced out couldn’t we check the logs to see where he went and then try and trace his movements from there? If he took a shuttle, isn’t there a way to track its movements? And even if we can’t do either, where else would Megatron go? Surely the Decepticons would be his first destination and he probably attacked them the same way Optimus attacked us. I hate to be the logical one here since that’s Prowl’s area, but it does make sense.”

Bumblebee then added his own views on the matter, making some valid points before acting strangely and excusing himself from the Brig. Smokescreen just shook his head slightly before turning his attention back to Optimus Prime and Ratchet. “I don’t think we could just sneak onto the Thanatos without being detected. It’s too much of a risk in my opinion. However, Bee made a good point about getting to Cybertron first. If the ‘Cons were able to ‘wake up’ Megatron the way we did with Prime then the slagmaker would likely tell them something similar about Cybertron being the place to find answers. Of course, if they were unable to ‘wake’ Megatron up then the Decepticons are probably all dead by now and, let’s face it, we’re not that lucky.”

Brig

“Well, how did Megatron escape the ship exactly? If he bounced out couldn’t we check the logs to see where he went and then try and trace his movements from there? If he took a shuttle, isn’t there a way to track its movements? And even if we can’t do either, where else would Megatron go? Surely the Decepticons would be his first destination and he probably attacked them the same way Optimus attacked us. I hate to be the logical one here since that’s Prowl’s area, but it does make sense.”

"Good thinkin', Rallybot," Kup said, walking over to one of the terminals outside the brig cell. "I was wonderin' the same thing back over on the 22."

He then proceeded to bring up the surveillance log files. They showed Megatron carving his straightforward exit through the ship as he stalked his way to the bounce chamber.

"Y'see? Didn't even seem interested in our guys over there. Just made bee-line straight for the bounce chamber. Like you, I figured he bounced somewhere specific like a 'Con ship nearby and -bam- we got 'im. Not quite. See those open space coordinates right there? That's where he bounced to. And the 22's scanners didn't pick up anything out of the ordinary. Fragginest thing I've seen in a while."

“I don’t think we could just sneak onto the Thanatos without being detected. It’s too much of a risk in my opinion. However, Bee made a good point about getting to Cybertron first. If the ‘Cons were able to ‘wake up’ Megatron the way we did with Prime then the slagmaker would likely tell them something similar about Cybertron being the place to find answers. Of course, if they were unable to ‘wake’ Megatron up then the Decepticons are probably all dead by now and, let’s face it, we’re not that lucky," Smokescreen continued.

"Yeah. Not a petrorabbit's chance in a cyberfox den. We ever find that ship and decide to board it, we better be sendin' a war party. But we can hope ol' Buckethead did enough damage to his own troops that we can find out where that ship is hidin'. More importantly though, after gettin' you back to prime shape, er, Prime...we gotta shut down the infiltration protocols and get the 'Cons away from this world. There's too many lives at stake down there and they have no idea how much danger they're in."

[Corridors]

The helicopter-bot was thankful that Bumblebee was so kind and understanding. "Thank you so much, Bee. I'm glad to hear that Optimus is doing okay and all... But I'm still kind of confused as to what happened. But if Ratchet is looking into it... then I think he'll be fine."

Alpha Bravo watched as Bumblebee started moving down the corridors. "Uh, wait!" He called out, "I don't wanna disturb them down there in the brig, so could I... come with you to... wherever you're going?"

He twiddled his fingers. "If you need someone to talk to... I'm happy to help."