by Old Man Prime » Wed Nov 30, 2016 12:52 am
CHAPTER 4
From out of the wreckage of Echo Base, Scourge and his huntsmen emerged, their alt modes covered in suet. From them, Energon ropes held the captured Cybertronians in tow, as they dangled air born below. They were bound with their arms behind them and their arms tied to their sides, helpless and immobile although each one struggled against their bonds. In turn, Jazz, Inferno, Thrust, Screech, Leadfoot, Bonecrusher and Mainframe were cut from their tethers and dropped to the ground, their clanging bodies delivered to the waiting feet of Unicron. The dark titan smiled.
“Excellent work my Sweeps!” Galvatron spoke with glee as he landed in front of them. “A fine group of recruits, they shall be fine warriors in the Unicronian armada.”
A Sweep in behind the prisoners whistled a signal and shouted “HUP! HUP!”
Hunters sprang out from all parts of the ruined base. They ran on all fours, tails flailing behind them and teeth barren as if to attack. Again the Sweep handler shouted “HUP!” and the monsters stopped and sat down, just short of the prisoners. “HOME!” the handler yelled to the pack. They turned and went to their landing pods and one by one, stacked themselves back into a hellish egg shape of writhing bodies. Once loaded, the pods lifted into the air and several Sweeps transformed into their ship modes and accompanied them on their journey back to whatever hell such creatures come.
While attention was focused on the hunters, Jazz opened comms on Headnet, the Autobots’ secret cranium to cranium broadcast channel that linked all autobots in a battlefield situation as a way to communicate silently and instantaneously. Headnet was a technology the Autobots shared with the Decepticons once a truce was struck in the wake of Unicrons’ assault on Cybertron. Although the range was limited, it would be sufficient to communicate with the others held prisoner with him.
“We need a plan, like now.” Jazz thought.
“I can’t transform.” Offered Thrust.
“There’s no bargaining with them, that’s for sure.” Broadcast Bonecrusher.
“We can’t flee and we can’t fight, I’d say we are screwed.” Screech added.
“Not like this, man.” Despair came from Leadfoot. “Not like this.”
Jazz quickly checked his surroundings. Behind then were Sweeps guards, but their attention was focused to the left, as they watched the Hunters slithering onto their pods. In front was Galvatron, Scourge and Unicron. To the right, only Cyclonus blocked a path to a Turbo Tube and quite possibly, a route to freedom and a few automated defense systems, if they could reach it and if they were still operating. It was a lot of ifs.
“Don’t give up hope yet, boys. Look to your right.” Jazz offered.
“We’ll never make it” thought Mainframe. “The statistical probability is…”
Jazz cut him off. “Never tell me the odds! We need a distraction.”
“I got this.” Inferno answered.
The silent conversation went undetected by their captors. As the pods lifted off, attention returned to the matter at hand.
“Fine beasts my lord.” Cyclonus spoke.
“Fine indeed.” Added Galvatron.
Inferno’s face was splattered with leaking Energon. His chassis was dented and cracked with several blast holes still smoking in his chest. His eyes blazed with a fury and anger that was his namesake. “You can take those fine beasts and shove them right up your recharge socket.” Inferno said in defiance.
His words were met with a swift response from Galvatron. A right fist landed across his already damaged face. The blow caught him flush, shattering his nose. Energon flowed freely from the wound. Inferno spit out a tooth.
“LOWLY DOG!” Galvatron screamed at his victim. “Is that anyway to speak to Lord Unicron, your new master? I admire your spirit but you will need to learn OBEDIANCE!”
Galvatron looked down at his broken plaything. Inferno began struggling with his bonds and swelling with rage.
Amused, Galvatron commanded his troops. “Sweeps! Hold him!”
Two of the Sweeps guarding the seven reached down to pick a struggling Inferno from the ground and drug him to his feet. They each hooked one of Inferno’s arms and pulled him backwards away from the other prisoners, his heels dug into the metal surface causing sparks.
“Get ready.” Inferno broadcast to his fellow captives.
“No, you…you can’t do this. There has to be another way.” Pleaded Jazz. “We can all get out of this.”
“Not this time.” Inferno answered. “ Say goodbye to Chromia for me.”
Galvatron approached the restrained Inferno whom was still fighting against his captors. His hands snapped out at Inferno and found themselves around his throat. They began to tighten as Galvatron’s eyes burned as red as flame. “You will be a great warrior in my army. Such courage! Such anger!” Galvatron gloated.
Inferno knew the moment was now. He disengaged all self preservation and internal safety protocols. He overclocked his spark chamber field, drawing energy from every system in his body. His internal temperature began to rise at an alarming rate. “The more energy, the bigger the bang.” Inferno thought to himself. “Keep talking loudmouth.”
“Before I join your little gang, Galvatron, there’s something you should know about me.” Inferno fought to form words through his broken jaw. “It’s how I got my name…”
He began to count via Headnet.
“5…”
“Inferno..”
“4…”
“It’s not just my temper…”
“3…”
“It’s also got to do with my temperature.”
Enraged, Galvaton drove his face towards the autobot and smashed Inferno’s face plate with a vicious headbutt, shattering his optics and cracking his cranial compartment.
“2…”
Inferno began to glow red at his chassis reached critical mass. Almost nose to nose, it was easy for Inferno to spit into the face of Galvatron. The super hot liquid sizzled on Galvatron’s cheek, and for an instant, puzzled the grand commander of Unicron’ s forces. In that instant, the Sweeps holding Inferno’s arms realized their hands were burning.
“1…”
Galvatron’s face changed to panic as the realization of what was about to happen formed in his cerebro circuits. He had just enough time to shield his face with his left arm and rotate his body a half turn away from the erupting Inferno.
As Inferno’s spark chamber ignited, his final thought was “I got you, you sonofa…” The darkness that overtook Inferno’s mind was replaced with the explosion that tore apart his body. The two unfortunate Sweeps that had been holding him were torn to pieces, adding more shrapnel to the shockwave that came from where the three were standing.
Galvatron was blown back from the epicenter of the blast. His body was torn asunder as time seemed to slow to an instant for the doomed warrior. In slow motion, he watch as his arms flew from his shattered torso. He realized his head had sheered from his body as it tumbled forward in a spin, and watched his spark chamber pull free from his chest and out his neck where his head used to attach.
As his head hit the ground, Galvatron realized this was perhaps the only reason he still functioned. His spark chamber was still attached to his head.
The Autobots and Decepticons made their break for freedom. Jazz was the first to his feet, in the confusion, he landed a round house kick to the face of Cyclonus and knocked the purple warrior face first onto the ground. He landed with a clank and bounced onto the severed head of Galvatron.
The six ran towards the Turbo Tube. Slow to react, the Sweeps were taken by surprise. As the escaping prisoners neared the tunnel, a slow stream of laser blast began to shoot past them, increasing in intensity as they got nearer to freedom.
“Enough!” bellowed Unicron. The evil titan transformed with a swiftness unheard of. He appeared much as his former self, though a much smaller ball instead of a giant, planet eating world. The demonic orb opened itself and terrible waves of red energy spewed forth from him towards the escaping Cybertronians.
Incredible pain shot though their circuits as they fell to the ground. Each bot writhed in agony as the energy continued to pour out of Unicron.
As Unicron spoke, his great maw opened and a bright light was cast out onto the fallen Cybertronians. “You will be given new bodies and a new purpose, so that you’re lives may have meaning. That purpose is a lifetime of servitude to me. You will join the ranks of my army and you will find those who would fight back against us as we claim this world and take our vengeance against my hated rival, Primus.”
Jazz, rolling on the ground in pain and clutching his chest, weakly managed to speak. “Nooo… We… will never… serve… you!” The agony intensified.
“Then you are fools.” Stated Unicron. “You belong to me now.”
The rings around Unicron began to glow green as they powered up with dark energy. From six points around them, rays of dark matter shot forth, enveloping the six fallen Cybertronians where they still lay. Their color turned to grey as the light turned to purple. Their bodies began some sort of digitizing process as their forms were broken down into basic building blocks, reverting to a protoform like state.
“Fascinating.” It was the last thought Mainframe had.
Slowly, new forms began to take shape. A final wave of purple and green energy washed over them. Metal hardened. Wires and cables ran to connect extremities. Components attached and activated.
Their eyes flickered to life. Unlike Sweeps of past reformatting, these were outfitted with Earth based war plane alt modes.
“Behold,” Unicron said. “You will be a new breed of Sweeps. I will not be content in the conquest of Cybertron any longer. You will be the first of my minions to prepare for the further quest of the Autobots new home of Earth!”
The newly reformatted Sweeps stood before Unicron.
“AHHHHH!” screamed Cyclonus. “Master! Galvatron!”
Cyclonus was sitting on the ground, seemingly cradling the severed head of the fallen Galvatron. This was not the case. Galvatron’s head was actually tunneling into the chassis of Cyclonus. Claws and cables, sprouting from Galvatron’s bare spark chamber and head, had almost completely buried themselves into his chest. In seconds, only his face remained recognizable.
Unicron turned to the shouting warrior. “So, Galvatron still lives. Excellent.”