The Energon Pub

[1984forever]

PART 166

CARBOMYA.

Months later.

——Four Decepticons take refuge inside an abandoned aircraft assembly plant. Covered with dust, and in a state of disrepair, the fugitives were beginning to blend in with the decommissioned machinery around them until one of their number stirred.
——“He’s coming.”
——“Who’s—kaff—coming, Dirge?” coughed Ramjet.
——“Unicron. We’re all damned to burn in his belly.”
——“Ah, don’t listen to ‘im,” scoffs Rumble. “Your pal Dirge ain’t all there.”
——“That’s an understatement,” snickers Vortex.
——Ramjet rewinds back to the last time he saw his squad mate fully functional. Dirge foolishly engaged the Autobot ace, Powerglide, in a dogfight. He lost. The humans stripped his wreckage and sold the parts on the black market. Vortex managed to recover his head and torso before they were forced to go into hiding. One of Dirge’s essential components, his spark chamber, wasn’t recovered, but somehow the Seeker still functioned without it.
——“He gives me the creeps,” says Ramjet.
——“Yeah. You and me both,” shuddered Rumble.
——“Hey! Looks like Dirge was partly right!” shouted Vortex, pointing out of a broken window. “Someone IS coming! It’s Octane!”
——Rumble clanked over to the entrance. “Quick! Help me raise the gate or he’ll ram right through it! The guy’s paranoid! Always thinkin’ someone’s chasin’ ‘im!” he shouted, tugging on the chain to the shuttered gate. “Hurry!”
——Vortex looked on with glee. He secretly wanted the speeding tanker truck to crash through and suspend the monotony that was slowly deactivating him. Ramjet attempted to assist Rumble, but wound up falling flat on his face several feet short of his goal. At the last second, Rumble succeeded in raising the gate high enough for Octane to squeal under it, sparks cascading off the top of his fuel tank.
——Rumble wiped the lubricants leaking from his brow. “Whew! That was a close one!”
——“SPARK-tacular entrance, Octane!” cheered Vortex.
——Octane transformed and tossed Vortex an energon cube. “Lower the volume, Vortex!” he hissed. “You make enough racket to reactivate the dead! Speaking of which,” he continued, passing off cubes to Ramjet and Rumble. “I don’t think we should be refueling Dirge. I mean he’s dead, right?”
——“Uh, good question,” replied Ramjet.
——“Please…” pleaded Dirge. “It hurts to be dead. I can feel myself rusting. The energon… it makes the pain go away.”
——Octane bit into the glowing cube meant for the half-corpse. “You need a priest my friend, not fuel. Better to save the energon for the living. I for one, hadda shake two Autobots off my tail on the way over here… I’m starving!”
——“Which ones?” inquired Vortex.
——“I dunno,” munched Octane. “They were disguised as a black sports car and a red fire truck.”
——“Sounds like Sideswipe—the 2.0 version—and that big lump’a lead, Inferno!” sneered Vortex. “I could’a sworn Onslaught obliterated him!”
——“He didn’t look obliterated to me, pal. In fact he was pretty fired up! I changed into a plane and flew away from the big bozo the moment I turned the corner.”
——“Hey Octane,” interrupted Rumble. “Any word from Shockwave? When’s he gonna send a shuttle for us? I need ta get outta dis joint. I’m goin’ crazy in here!”
——“Rumor is Shockwave’s too busy working on something big to worry about us,” gushed Octane. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but he’s using all our resources to build it! Yeah… sorry guys, that’s all I know. See ya next month!”
——The Triple Changer turned to leave and the exit exploded. Sideswipe burst in spraying bullets before anyone could get their bearings. Inferno followed in alt-form behind him, hosing down the damaged Deceptions with a substance that shorted circuitry on contact. The gunfire continued, accompanied by the sounds of bodies hitting the floor.
——“Whoa!” yelled Inferno, grabbing Sideswipe’s arm. “Hold on there, chief! Jazz said he wanted one of these ‘Cons to interrogate! Now Ratchet’s gonna have to piece ‘em back together again ‘fore we can get a peep!”
——“Jazz can question the ‘Con I had in my sights before you threw off my aim!” fumed Sideswipe. “He escaped! Again, thanks to you! Right through the wall! Now he’s free to finish roaming around topping off his pals!”
——“You’re talkin’ about the fuel truck!? Dang it!” cursed Inferno. “How does that slimy sidewinder keep givin’ us the slip?”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 167

——High above Carbomya, five Aerialbots streak toward the orange glow of a setting sun.
——“Hey fellas!” laughs Slingshot. “Check out the chatter on the Autobot comlink. Sideswipe and Inferno managed to lose a whole fuel truck!”
——“What—?” said Air Raid, in disbelief. “That’s like the second time this week!”
——“Now that might be a clue to why the war’s still going strong,” sighed Skydive. “Incompetence.”
——“Y’know guys, instead of harping on the Autobots’ inadequacies, how about we lend them a hand tracking down these Decepticons?” suggested Silverbolt.
——“We’re the strike team, not the search team!” protested Air Raid.
——“Uh, yeah…” agreed Fireflight. “About that. I was just admiring the scenery and uh, I think I just spotted one.”
——“You did…? Where?” inquired Silverbolt.
——“Right above that human settlement.”
——Air Raid surged toward a speck on the horizon above Tobruk. The others turn on their afterburners when they see their squad mate engage an airbus. This is no false alarm. This is the real deal. Finally, after so many months without an enemy in the skies there was a Decepticon in Carbomyan airspace. The Aerialbots were on him like Scraplets on sheet metal.
——Octane made a U-turn around a triangle-shaped spire with four Aerialbots in tow. A quick transformation to robot-mode altered his trajectory and left his pursuers stunned as he skydived out of their crosshairs.
——Slingshot, unable to keep pace with his teammates, saw an opportunity to pass off his inadequacy as strategy. He dropped down vertically, intercepting Octane’s diagonal descent in the opening between two mirrored skyscrapers. Before Slingshot could target lock, Octane transformed back into a passenger jet and rushed him head on. Bullied out of the space between two buildings by the bigger plane, Slingshot was forced to make an emergency landing on the street.
——“This ‘Con’s got moves!” conceded Air Raid.
——Admiration aside, Octane was still an enemy combatant that needed to be brought down. Skydive fired a missile from the tip of his wing. It rocketed past a row of office windows into open sky as Octane banked around another building. Skydive recorded Octane’s maneuver and prepared to duplicate it. He tensed in the half second before the turn, ready to fire upon the tail fin of his target the moment he cleared the corner.
——“I lost him! Nothing but clear skies!”
——“That isn’t possible,” radioed Silverbolt.
——Skydive checked his radar. The Decepticon had disappeared. The only movement was an avenue filled with bustling traffic below.
——The Aerialbots’ comms lit up.
——“I see ‘im.”
——“Jazz…?” inquired Silverbolt. “You’ve got optics on the target? Where is he?”
——“Down here. With me.”
——On the avenue, onlookers are shocked as a Porsche reconfigures itself into a fifteen foot tall robot.
——“A metal monster!” a man shouts.
——“Run for your life!” screamed another.
——The car that transformed into a robot slaps a device on top of a truck as it passes in the opposite lane. Sections of the truck separate as it attempts to change form. The parts shudder, then stall, before finally snapping back into place.
——“I can’t transform!” groaned Octane. Everything was unresponsive, from his wheels to his steering wheel.
——“Mode lock,” smirks Jazz. “Your driving privileges have been revoked, AND you’re on the No Fly List!”
——The Aerialbots swoop down in their true forms. They stand in a circle, surrounding the struggling Decepticon and his captor.
——“He’s a Triple Changer!?” exclaimed Air Raid. “No wonder everyone’s been having trouble tracking this joker!”
——“Yep,” replied Jazz. “Triple Changers cause a lotta confusion on the battlefield. I figured it was only a matter of time before Shockwave turned another sorry Genericon into the flavor of the week.”
——Jazz lifted his communicator to his lips. “Hey Inferno, we caught that cat you and Sideswipe been after. Come tow ‘im back to Omega so we can find out what his friends are cookin’ up.”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 168

——A fire engine tows a fuel truck towards a rocket ship in the desert.
——Beachcomber transforms and flashes the peace sign. “Hey way to go, Inferno! Thanks for keeping this planet clean of Decepti-trash!”
——A door opens on the side of the rocket and a ramp descends diagonally into the sand. Octane struggles to override his mode lock, turning into a mix of something between a truck and a jumbo jet.
——Inferno drags the mishmash of vehicular modes up the ramp, pulling taut the heavy chain attached to his bumper. “Hey, quit fidgeting! You’re gonna break the chain!” he hollers. “Did you just get heavier!? Darn mass shifters!”
——Jazz awaits the prisoner’s arrival just inside the entrance. “Okay, drop ‘im, Inferno. Thanks. I’ll take it from here. I need ya to go back and help Sideswipe take care of the mess y’all made when you two shot up that assembly plant.”
——“Will do, chief.” sighed Inferno.
——“Mess?” Octane inquired, as soon as Inferno was gone. “Did you Auto-bozos terminate the guys back at the hideout!?”
——“Beats me. My boys are playin’ by different rules nowadays. I can’t always control ‘em. But what I am sure of is that I saved you a lotta hurt by slappin’ that mode lock on you that you keep tryna break, so hows about showin’ your appreciation by givin’ me some info?”
——“I’ll never talk! You’ll have to torture me!”
——“That’s not how I get my kicks, man! But what I could do is leave you here all jumbled up until you drift into stasis lock.”
——“No, please! Not that! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
——“Alright. Where’s Onslaught, Blast Off, and Brawl?”
——“They split! I don’t know where… maybe they joined Starscream’s forces on Cybertron. They’re definitely NOT on the Nemesis.”
——“What’s goin’ on aboard the Nemesis? Why’s Shockwave so quiet? What’s he up to?”
——“Crazy as it sounds, the rumor is that he’s working on a device to communicate with the Devil.”
——“The Devil…? You mean Unicron!?”



——Jazz sat hunched over a console. Optimus Prime spoke calmly on the monitor in front of him.
——“Unicron’s dead. The Thirteen killed him. Velocitron revolves around his wreckage. The dark side of Velocitron forever faces that monster. You know this, Jazz. You’ve been to the nighttime races.”
——“Yeah, it’s Velecitron’s ONLY other attraction other than racing. I still say we send a recon team out to the Nemesis, though.”
——“I won’t risk Autobot lives over rumors… and gossip.”
——Prowl’s face appeared on a monitor next to Prime’s. How long he’d been eavesdropping was anyone’s guess. It was just one of his annoying habits that both Autobots had gotten used to.
“Let me look into it, Prime.” he said. “It’ll be my pet project. I know just the two Autobots for the job. No lives lost. Trust me.”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 169

Rewind

——Seaspray isn’t fast enough to outrun a Decepticon jet. Our pursuer’s bullets plunge into the waves around his alt-form—an SR.N6 hovercraft. Seaspray retaliates with a surface-to-air laser that divides the Seeker down the middle. His halves fall into the water on our starboard side, descending into the deep… detonating in its depths!
——The explosion is akin to an underwater eruption. We’re thrust high into the air. Seaspray lands right side up, seawater pelting his roof like rain.
——“What was that!?”
——I imagine Prowl’s screen spinning before it’s obscured by water. I’m live streaming. Prowl can see everything in real time on Teletraan-1.
——“That was a Decepiconnn dyyyinng.”
——Seaspray always sounds like his vocoder is waterlogged.
——“Be careful out there! I promised Prime no casualties!”
——“Then youuu should’ve hopped on yourrr boogie board and come out here yourrrself, Prrrowl!”
——“Seaspray! Rewind! Decepticon radio says there’s more Seekers comin’ to rock your boat!”
——That was Blaster intercepting enemy transmissions. We submerge before the enemy is sighted.
——“Goinnng underrr!”
——The Nemesis lies in the darkness before us. This vessel was the flagship of the Decepticon fleet. It is 2.5 miles in length. Its wingspan is 1.75 miles. Height: 1.25… No! That antenna attached to its hull actually increases its height to 1.7 miles.
——Prowl reaches the same conclusion. “Seaspray…! Target that transmitter! Destroy it!”
——“I’ll give it my bessst shottt!”
——Seaspray transforms armed with an energo harpoon gun. The Nemesis recognizes him as a threat and responds. I’ll provide Seaspray with some information that he’ll find helpful.
——”The Nemesis was the most powerful warship the Decepticons ever built. It possesses a fusion cannon, a massive array of blades, drills, missiles, and a rotating photon cannon!”
——“How do we cut powerrr to that photonnn cannon?”
——Primus. Those photon beams are as big as Seaspray.
——“I… I don’t know! I DON’T know!”
——“Scrrrap! I’m gonna have to withdraw before I get blown to smitherrreens!”
——I watch as Seaspray outmaneuvers a swarm of rockets. Then he’s gone. Time for plan B.
——As far as the Decepticons are concerned, the lone Autobot who attacked the ship retreated. But unbeknownst to them, he left something behind. I hide in cassette form as the Constructicons emerge to inspect the antenna. Don’t mind me, I’m just another piece of refuse littering the ocean floor.
——“No damage,” reports Scrapper. “There’s nothing to repair.”
——The Constructicons return to the ship. I’m drawn inside along with some seaweed and a plastic bottle.
——“Don’t transform yet.” radios Prowl. “Bide your time.”
——Hours later, when the activity on the ship dies down a bit, I transform and take a look around.
——The crew seems listless, but well maintained. Sandstorm and Cloudcover use steel slabs for target practice. They’re Coneheads now. The Stunticons gamble. Drag Strip is winning. Motormaster accuses him of cheating. A teal and purple Breakdown clone is so nervous that Motormaster is about to point the finger at him next that he’s shaking himself to pieces.
——”So the Stunticons can form Menasor again.”
——That’s right! How did I completely miss that?
——”The real Breakdown is rusting in a cell. According to his memory banks, Shockwave’s lab should be down the hall on your left.”
——I can already see that the door is open. I hesitate before stepping in.
——“What are you waiting for…? An invitation? Go inside!”
——“But Prowl… from the size of that antenna, we already know Shockwave is attempting to communicate with someone in another galaxy.”
——“What’s your motto again, Rewind?”
——“Too much information is never enough.”
——“Exactly! Y’know ‘Bots joke that you have this amazing capacity to store data that is of virtually no use to anyone. Now’s your chance to change their opinions.”
——Follow orders? Or return in disgrace? You decide! Why are those “Find Your Fate Junior” books I scanned randomly popping into my mind?

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 170

——“R-Rewind…! Is that you…? I can’t see clearly… my optics are fuzzy.”
——“Groove. Shackled to a wall. Elevated, presumably so he can be the same height as his interrogator,” thought Rewind, as he began to deduce what happened to the Protectobot. “Groove was listed as M.I.A., presumed dead. Scavenger must’ve gathered what parts he could find on the sea floor. Hook reassembled him as best he could. Then Shockwave tortured him.”
——“What happened to the rest of my team? Are they still functioning?”
——“Some. Shhh! We are not alone!”
——“Why didn’t they come back for me? WHY?”
——“Groove’s not in his right mind,” radios Prowl. “This mission takes precedence over one damaged soldier. Leave him.”
——“Rewind…! Get me down! I want to go home!”
——“I’ll come back for you, Groove, I promise. Now be quiet before you get us killed!”
——“No…! You can’t leave me here!”
——“Pull the lever on your right. It’ll deactivate him. Do it, Rewind!”
——“Okay, Prowl. Okay.”
——Rewind records the light as it fades from Groove’s optics. The Protectobot’s head falls to one side. His mouth drops open. A string of black drool descends to the floor.
——A voice echoes in the chamber of horrors. Spooked, Rewind draws his gun and spins around. The lights go dim. He can see energy being drawn to the center of the massive laboratory through translucent conduits.
——”WHY HAVE YOU REAWAKENED ME, CHILD OF PRIMUS?”
——The voice burns like acid in Rewind’s audio receptors.
——Shockwave stands in front of a monitor, unfazed.
——“I have recalibrated the Broadcast Energon Transmitter, my Lord. Ninety-eight percent of my initial offering of energon dissipated into interstellar space during transmission. This time, my second tribute will accomplish more than just freeing your mind from stasis lock. It will initiate your self-repair systems.”
——“Rewind… my cerebral circuits feel like they’re on fire! Is Shockwave talking to Unicron!?”
——“As chronicled in the Convenant—“The most minuscule of the dark god’s modulations are capable of incinerating the receivers of mortal constructs.” So my guess is YES!”
——”MY QUESTION REMAINS UNANSWERED.”
——“I have reawakened you so that you may destroy Cybertron, my Lord. In its current state, Cybertron isn’t worth expending the resources it would take to effect repairs. It would be far more efficient to terraform another planet, such as this one—Earth.”
——“YOU REQUIRE THE KEY TO VECTOR SIGMA.”
——“Yes. There are connections extending from factories on the surface to the core that still remain, but Vector Sigma itself is unreachable. As the planet is ingested, the core will be exposed, allowing access to the artifact I seek.”
——“Rewind. Terminate Shockwave! He doesn’t see you. A shot to the back of the head will do the job. We can’t allow that maniac to mobilize Unicron! Billions of lives are at stake!”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 171

PROWL

——Events began occurring rapidly, one crisis after another. I analyzed the situation aboard the Nemesis and went to advise Prime on the optimal course of action. He’d already left with a squad to deal with a Stunticon attack at the Harrison Nuclear Power Plant.
——With the inclusion of a second generation Breakdown, the Stunticons were able to merge into Menasor. Rook was torn to pieces in the fight. Wheeljack fashioned a de-combiner gun from his parts. The good news is that Wheeljack’s invention actually worked—the Stunticons were split up and driven away. The downside is that the gun might only work on Menasor—something about he and Defensor sharing the same engineering.
——The Constructicons began building a second energon transmitting antenna at Sherman Dam. I deployed the Dinobots to destroy it immediately. The Constructicons formed Devastator. There were casualties. Not Cybertronian… human. The Dam burst. The death toll is still mounting.
——Two energon collection attempts by our enemies thwarted in as many hours… but not without a price. In addition to the lives lost, four states are now without power. In response, President Shawn Berger decreed that all aliens must self-deport within 72 hours or face forcible removal.
——Months ago I wouldn’t have taken the human’s threat seriously. But after being put out of commission by just ONE of them, my perspective has changed. I lost valuable time while incapacitated… and in that time Autobots died—friends that I’ll never see again. I’m forced to consider our options.



——Prime was in the repair bay when I finally got an audience with him.
——“Upon discovering Shockwave’s intent, I ordered Rewind to terminate him before he could reenergize Unicron.”
——“You did the right thing, Prowl. Though I sense things did not go as planned.”
——Blaster plays the footage. Rewind raises his gun to fire. A hand crushes the cassette-bot’s shoulder from behind. The camera begins moving erratically. We get a glimpse of a blue faceplate.
——“Freeze frame, Blaster.”
—— I want Prime to see this. The attacker’s identity is unmistakable. I can hear the disgust in Prime’s voice when he utters his name.
——“Megatron.”
——“He’s been redesigned.”
——“If that’s really him and not some twisted copy. Shockwave appears to be in command. The Megatron I know wouldn’t stand for being usurped by a scientist.”
——The screen goes white for a moment. Blaster explains that Rewind released all the light within his internal storage matrix. Megatron and Shockwave are blinded.
——With all of Rewind’s data dumped—including his memory—he disobeys orders. He doesn’t recognize the voice in his head telling him to take lives. He’s also clueless as to why two big mechs want to kill him, so he runs.
——“Rewind is an archivist,” says Prime. ”Not an assassin.”
——Rewind reactivates and frees Groove. He’s moving on pure instinct. After a few harrowing encounters in the halls, He rides Groove out of the ship and across the ocean floor. Seaspray brings them back to shore.
——“Blaster, have you been able to reach anyone on Velocitron?”
——“Not lately, Prime. I’ve been kickin’ it with Bluestreak every now and then. He’s doing his thing on the racing circuit. Mirage is makin’ money moves. Bluestreak mentioned that Skyfire set out to explore the universe weeks ago. No one’s heard from ‘im since.”
——“Are there any competitions scheduled for today?”
——“The races go all cycle, but it’s hard to tune into any of ‘em way out here in the boondocks. The signal’s too weak.”
——“Keep trying. We need to know if Shockwave succeeded in reactivating Unicron.”
——First Aid gasps. “If he did, then planet Velocitron would’ve been first on the menu.”
——“Velocitron is actually the moon,” I remind him. “Unicron became the celestial body Velocitron revolved around after the Thirteen defeated that monster in planet-mode.”
——“This is just… horrifying… all those ‘Bots staring up at the sky as they’re about to be eaten alive..!”
——The portrait First Aid paints unsettles everyone in the room. I continue with my report.
——“There’s a group out there killing Primes. Bodies are popping up all over Cybertron. This information comes from Goldbug himself.”
——“THE Primes!?” exclaims Blaster. “I thought they were all dead!”
——Prime sighs. The secret is out.
——”Not all, Blaster. After Solus’ death, the Primes went their separate ways. With the exception of Alpha Trion, they elected to exclude themselves from Cybertronian affairs. Do you have a description of the perpetrators, Prowl?”
——“They’re a crew of six. New designs. Four are identical models. All of them are said to be extremely powerful.”
——Prime can see it on my faceplate. Yes, there’s more.
——“Alpha Trion and Elita-1 have been captured… by Starscream.”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 172

Two hours ago

——”WELCOME, MEGATRON.”
——“Who… who said that…?” Inquired Megatron, as he tumbles through space toward Unicron.
——Months ago, Megatron had been cast adrift by Starscream. Critically damaged and low on fuel, he went into stasis lock. He awoke in an energon charged asteroid field that his Galactic Positioning System said was supposed to be Velocitron’s core.
——”IT IS I, UNICRON.”
——“Unicron!” exclaimed Megatron. “You live…! Repair me, so that I may have my revenge on the one responsible for my plight. Do this, and I swear that I will worship you!”
——”I HAVE NO NEED OF ADULATION. YOUR OBEDIENCE IS WHAT I REQUIRE.”
——“Grant me this boon and you shall have it!”
——“AGREED. YOUR SPARK BELONGS TO ME NOW.”
——The lights aligning Unicron’s ring lit up. Emerald green nanites swarmed out of the massive pit between his mandibles. They surrounded Megatron, eating away at his armor like voracious mini Insecticons.
——Megatron opened his mouth to scream and the nanites poured in, muffling the modulations of his vocoder. The tiny mechanoids devoured him until he was nothing but a Spark chamber and a smattering of cerebral circuits floating within the undulating outline of the being he once was. Then, the nanites excreted materials from their waste ports that they used to forge into a finished robot.
——”BEHOLD… GALVATRON!” announced Unicron, marveling at his own masterwork. Even in his damaged state, the dark god still possessed the ability to create beings powerful enough to contend with the champions of Primus.
——The nanites that remade the deposed Decepticon leader spread out among the asteroids to find his fallen troops. They alighted on their scattered remains, flying grayed, broken components forward even as they devoured them.
——After the nanites finished their meal, groups of them combined into five humanoid shells. Seconds later, busy, buzzing cocoons burst open to reveal a quintet of stillborn soldiers programmed for grim purpose.
——The new Decepticons floated in the void, their optics glossy and black. The Sparks of the damned—agonized faces etched on energy spheres—came screaming towards them from Unicron’s maw. They plunged into the chests of the freshly forged vessels, jerking them to life.
——When their convulsions ceased, Galvatron stared into their glowing red optics and came to a horrible realization—he had just sold his own soul. In retrospect, vengeance in exchange for eternal damnation didn’t seem like a fair deal.
——Oblivious to his lackey’s sudden feeling of regret, Unicron began to introduce Galvatron’s newly minted minions with a hint of pride in his voice.
——”MEET CYCLONUS. YOUR SECOND IN COMMAND.”
——The horned warrior bowed his head.
——“A lieutenant who might actually be loyal,” Galvatron surmised. “How refreshing.”
——“AND NOW SCOURGE, THE TRACKER… ALONG WITH HIS HUNTSMEN, THE SWEEPS.”
——The quartet in question were identical in color and design, but there was no confusion about who the alpha was among them. The Sweeps perched on the asteroids around Scourge, awaiting instruction.
——”THIS IS MY COMMAND. TRACK DOWN THE PRIMES. TERMINATE THEM. THEY ARE THE ONLY BEINGS THAT CAN STAND IN MY WAY.”
——“I hear, and obey… my master,” Galvatron said through gritted teeth.

NOW

——A light on Blaster’s chest began to blink. “Uh oh! This just in, folks. Galaxy News is reporting that Unicron ATE Velocitron!”
——Optimus Prime waited for the shouts of shock and awe on the Ark to die down.
——“Blaster, contact Sky Lynx. Tell him to report to me. We’re going to rescue Alpha Trion.”
——“But what about Unicron!?” sputtered Prowl. “He’s the bigger threat!”
——”Me Grimlock agree. Unicron need butt kicked.”
——“Alpha Trion has faced Unicron before. He knows how to beat him,” reasoned Optimus Prime. “With his help, we may be able to do it again. Perceptor, Hot Spot, and I will take Sky Lynx and meet up with Ultra Magnus’ squad on Moonbase Two. From there, our combined unit will travel to Cybertron to tackle Starscream’s forces head on.”
——Optimus Prime placed a hand on Prowl’s shoulder.
——“Prowl, you’re in charge. Keep Earth safe until I return.”
——“IF you return,” countered Perceptor. “We face insurmountable odds. Many of the artifacts wielded by the Thirteen in their battle against Unicron are unaccounted for.”
——“We still have SOME of those artifacts,” replied Optimus Prime. “That will have to be enough.”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 173

——Cybertron. Lower east quadrant. Sub-level six. Maccadam’s Old Oil House has been in operation since the Golden Age. It is a place where any Transformer, regardless of faction, can converse with others over the most intoxicating fuel sources on the planet. When Galvatron entered the bar with his troops in tow, he felt the rage inside of him boil over.
——Galvatron’s arm shot out from his side, pinning Sweep-2 against a wall. He hoisted him up with one hand by the throat, searching his faceplate for signs of madness or malfunction.
——“YOU led us here, Sweep! YOU said there was a member of the Thirteen hiding inside of this establishment! Tell me… who among these dozen or so drunkards looks like a Prime to you?”
——Sweep-2 scanned the collection of Autobots, Decepticons, Empties, and Nails, and came up with nothing.
——“I don’t understand,” Sweep-2 protested. “My sensors are never wrong!”
——“Put him down!” shouted Blast Off, from the table he shared with Goldbug. His new Autobot acquaintance tried to shush him, but the Combaticon would not be silenced.
——“There are no Primes to be found among these patrons! If you wish to continue squabbling about it, then take your disagreement outside. You are ruining the atmosphere for the rest of us!”
——“Traitor…! hissed Sweep-1.
——“Quite the contrary,” dismissed Blast Off. “I’m here to scout for new recruits.”
——“Then why are you sitting with the enemy!?” accused Scourge.
——“I er…,” Blast Off was at a loss for words. “That is an excellent question,” he conceded.
——“Simpleton,” sneered Cyclonus. “This bar is obviously an Autobot spy hub set up to compile the secrets that spill from intoxicated idiots like you! You forget yourself!”
——“I was considering switching sides,” interjected Goldbug.
——“Were you?” Blast Off asked wryly, drawing his gun on Goldbug. “Because that was not what we were discussing before these gentlemechs walked in. As I recall, you were inquiring about Iacon. Time to come clean “friend.” Is Maccadam’s really what this mech claims it is?”
——“It is,” concluded Galvatron, as he aimed his cannon at Blast Off’s head. “Goodbye, traitor!”
——“There will be no murder inside of Maccadam’s!” bellowed a burly robot from the back of the bar.
——“Ah, Alchemist,” grinned Galvatron. “Hiding in plain sight. How clever. For millennia I had you mistaken for a mere piano player. What a delightful surprise. You’re wrong, though. There WILL be a death inside this establishment tonight.”
——Galvatron’s particle beam struck Alchemist Prime squarely in the chest. The blast severed his spinal column, causing his head to eject from in between his shoulder struts. Alchemist Prime stumbles backwards into a wall, head dangling from damaged cables on his chest like a large medallion.
——Galvatron steadied Alchemist’s swaying noggin between his hands and elevated it nose to nose. The glow of the Prime’s exposed Spark illuminated the macabre scene for all to see.
——“Through my lenses,” gasped Alchemist. “I can see what you lot truly are… a six-pack of rusting offal!”
——“Is that so?” inquired Galvatron, as he placed his thumbs over the old Prime’s eyes. “Then allow me to spare you the sight!”
——“EEAAARRRGH…!” screamed Alchemist, as Galvatron’s pushed his optic sensors into his cerebral cluster.
——Scourge plucked Alchemist Prime’s Spark out of his open chest and bit into it like an apple. Then he tossed the shrinking ball of light to his huntsmen, who proceeded to scrap over it like Slaargs.



——A figure armed with a sword stood in the roadway as Galvatron and his band of killers exited Maccadam’s Old Oil House. The stranger, whose blue paintwork had long since flaked to reveal the silver metal beneath it, spoke with the confidence of a seasoned warrior.
——“I heard rumor that the spawn of Unicron was behind the slaughter of my brethren. I sincerely hope that you had your fill of carnage, villains… because your murder spree ends nigh!”
——“At last,” smirked Galvatron. “Prima has come out to play.”

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 174

——“Prima!” snarled Galvatron. “Leader of the Thirteen! A collection of cowards who stood idle as aliens digitized, then downloaded the Well of Sparks into a supercomputer for the purpose of producing slaves! MILLIONS slain in an intergalactic civil war fought over fuel resources, and still you don’t stir. Only now… because your brothers lie lifeless in the streets do you reactivate with righteous rage!”
——“Our race is resilient enough to overcome the yoke of slavery and the dysfunction of civil war,” dismissed Prima. “I was built to destroy Unicron. When he awoke, so did I. I will fulfill my function. Woe betide any who stand in my way.”
——“We shall see. Cyclonus! Scourge! Sweeps! Bring me his head!”
——The Sweeps transformed and streaked toward Prima, firing disintegrator rays with deadly accuracy. Prima deflected every shot with the Star Saber, then he surged forward, slicing the lead Sweep in half with a viscous downward arc that yielded explosions on both sides.
——The two smoking halves of the hunter reverted to robot-mode as they skidded on trails of sparks behind Prima. The side that retained the head retracted his hand, then scrambled to reattach the separated half of himself with the blowtorch that emerged from his wrist.
——The other Sweeps veered off in opposite directions at the moment of their brother’s bisection, leaving Scourge to face Prima in single combat.
——The leader of the Sweeps charged in, parrying Prima’s sword with his forearm and slashing the Prime’s throat with his claws. Prima retaliated with a roundhouse kick that sent Scourge to the street cheek first, broken teeth scattering over its steel surface.
——A short burst of light from the tip of Prima’s sword welded his leaking neck wound.
——“Don’t look so surprised,” he said, glaring down at Scourge. “In Prima you did not find a Prime past his prime!”
——Prima disappeared in deafening bursts of flame and fury dropped from above by Cyclonus in jet mode. When the smoke cleared, craters deep enough for a standard sized Cybertronian to stand in lined the path to Prima’s feet. Prima himself stood unscathed, holding the Star Saber broadside over his head like a shield.
——“THAT was the best your minion could muster!?” he asked Galvatron incredulously. “Come, maniac.” he beckoned. “You have achieved peak degeneracy in service to Unicron, so I have no recourse but to snuff your Spark before your sins become too plentiful for Primus to pardon!”
——Galvatron answered Prima’s call to arms with a clockwise whirl of shifting parts that saw him transformed into a space cannon. Prima blocked Galvatron’s particle beam with the Star Saber and charged before his opponent could fire another. The blade turned black and crumbled to the hilt in his hand. Prima stopped short, shocked at what he just witnessed. A tool of the Thirteen destroyed? Impossible!
——In anger, Prima flung the hilt at Galvatron. It struck him below the cannon barrel with force enough to upend his alt-form. Galvatron landed ignominiously on his rear as a fully formed robot. He ripped out the charred hilt embedded in his collar and rushed headlong at Prima, meeting him with frenetic fury. Prima responded in kind, with knees and knuckles retaliating against Unicronian aggression.
——The foundation of a derelict structure—weakened by Cyclonus’ air strike—gave way behind the two combatants. The building creaked toward them, casting a long shadow. As their arena darkened, Galvatron stomped down on the tip of Prima’s foot, compacting it underneath his heel. With his foe hobbled, Galvatron turned to flee, but Prima grabbed hold of the spire on his back, ensuring that they would share a tomb of steel together.



——Sweeps 1 and 2 landed atop the wreckage before the dust settled, removing it with mechanical swiftness.
——“We found him!” they shouted to Scourge, upon discovery of their leader. “He still functions!”
——Galvatron returned to online status blinded by the light pouring out of holes in Prima’s chest. His followers had Primus’ first forged chained to a column. Cyclonus stood in a pool of their captive’s energon, holding a rifle under his chin.
——“Look. The Prime is silent now,” grinned Sweep-2. “No more insults.”
——“We bled Prima, Lord Galvatron,” reported Cyclonus. “But the zealot remains energized by the power of his own Spark!”
——“I’m surprised you didn’t try to devour it, Scourge.” smirked Galvatron, as the Sweeps hoisted him to his feet.
——“I did, mighty Galvatron!” replied snaggletoothed Scourge. “The light burned my fingers!”
——Galvatron laughed when he saw the thick weld running from Sweep-3’s shoulder down to his crotch.
——“My… it is becoming easier to tell you all apart, isn’t it?”
——Suddenly, the Decepticon leader’s mood took an unexpected turn from mirth to mania. “MMRRAAAAHH!”
——Galvatron aimed, then fired upon Prima, extinguishing his glow with a single blast. Day turned to night as once living metallic components clanged away in the darkness.
——Sweep-1 peered through the gaping hole in Prima’s chest towards the Iacon skyline.
——“I’m detecting the energy signature of another Prime… Alpha Trion, I think.”
——“Lead the way,” grumbled Galvatron.

(to be continued)

[1984forever]

PART 175

IACON

——Sky Lynx opened his mouth and regurgitated an entire Autobot convoy. First off his tongue rolled Autobot leader Optimus Prime, followed by Ultra Magnus, Blurr, Hot Spot, Hot Rod, Kup, Arcee, Springer, Rollbar, Chase, Freeway, and Wideload. Their most reluctant member, Perceptor, brought up the rear in the form of a half-track sport utility vehicle tailor-made for trundling over war torn Cybertronian streets.
——Searchlight stayed behind—parked by one of Sky Lynx’ paws as if it were a lamppost—illuminating the lane ahead. When the convoy snaked into an underground tunnel, Searchlight shut off all six headlights at once. The moonlit silhouette of the cat-bird amalgamation behind him folded into the form of a space shuttle as he sped off on patrol.



——Perceptor registered a slight decrease in Optimus Prime’s speed each time they passed an object on the road. Wideload transformed an arm and scooped up the object—this time it was Chromia’s head, last time it was Lancer’s leg—then the Throttlebot tosses it into the growing pile of parts in his truck bed.
——“The rumors are true folks,” deadpanned Freeway. “Elita’s squad has officially separated.”
——“I think there’s something wrong with your comedy chip, pal.” grumbled Wideload.
——“Comedy chip…? I don’t have a comedy chip!”
——“Exactly.”
——“What!? You rolling crate of rust! It was just a joke!”
——“A distasteful one, yes.” interrupted Perceptor. “But nonetheless, our enemies’ intent has been duly noted. Prime, Magnus, I suspect that we’re being baited into an unfavorable tactical situation.”
——“In other words,” concluded Springer, “we’re being led into a trap.”
——“We have a Bot in the Decepticons’ camp,” announces Ultra Magnus. “He went silent six breems ago, but lapses in communication are par for the course when Soundwave’s present. In his last report, our undercover agent gave no indication that Starscream intended to move the hostages out of the Hall of Records, or that additional troops were inbound.”
——“So it’s just Starscream, Soundwave, Trannis, and maybe a random guard or two,” deduced Hot Rod. “It’ll be a slaughter!”
——“Don’t count your robot chickens before they activate, lad.” cautions Kup.
——”TwoMorePrimesDeadAndTheirArtifactsDestroyed!”
——“Slow down, Blurr!” hollered Hot Spot.
——”That’sNotGoodNotGoodNotGoodAtAll!”
——”You sound like a high speed pulse in stereo!”
——“Oh Hot Spot, Blurr’s just a little high-strung,” giggled Arcee. “You’ll get used to him.”
——“Ay, Rollbar… I haven’t heard a peep outta Prime.” whispered Chase. “This reminds me of the time Megatron caught Sentinel slipping gears. We wound up with a new Prime at the end of that cycle.”
——“Hey, Starscream’s no Megatron! Even off his game Prime’s still primo. He’ll lead this unit straight up ‘Screamer’s afterburners, perforate every Deceptipunk present, then rescue his sensei AND his lady! We can’t lose!”
——“Famous last words,” ponders Ratbat, perched unnoticed in the shadows. The winged scout waits until the last vehicle in the convoy passes beneath him, then he sends a message to his master.



——Counterpunch sees the rapidly blinking light on Soundwave’s waist from across the room. In that moment, he knows what Starscream’s oft-silent second-in-command will say before he does.
——“Attention Lord Starscream. Autobots inbound.”
——Counterpunch heads in the direction of the Hall’s double doors. “Time to exit stage left.” he mumbles, quickening his pace.
——“And where are you rushing off to, guard?” inquires Trannis.
——“Soundwave just said some Autobozos are about to attack! I need to get a bigger gun!”
——“Don’t bother,” says Starscream. “I’ve got one for you right here… Punch.”
——Counterpunch pauses as nervous thoughts pile up in his processor.
——“He knows! How can he know? What gave me away? Nah, Starscream called me Punch for short. There’s nothing to worry about. Keep your composure. Accept the weapon from Starscream graciously, then figure a way out of the firefight with your friends later.”
——The shot that opens Counterpunch’s chest when he turns around sends him sliding backwards, optics focused on the null ray that floored him.
——Starscream rests his hands on his hips as he addresses the damaged Autobot spy.
——“To answer your many musings, Punch, we’ve known about you for a while. We were just waiting until the right moment when we could use that knowledge to our advantage. You see, Autobot… you can hide your faction, but you can’t hide your thoughts. Not from Soundwave.”
——“Yeah… well, I guess the show’s over. Roll end credits,” coughed Counterpunch. “My only regret is that I have to die playing a dirty Decepticreep!”

(to be continued)