07.July.06
Beast Wars Symmetries:
Ghost in the Machine
By: Everblue
Dr. Thomas
Drake was once one of the world’s leading figures in robotics. He had created
machines capable of life-like movements. The joints on his creations were as
flexible and as sturdy as actual bones. His resume spanned so far and wide that
governments all over the world had asked for his help regarding their military
defense programs.
Now,
however, he was ruined. Several months ago, due to no fault of his own, one of
his creations had gone rogue owing to faulty wiring and destroyed nearly an
entire city block with its rapid-fire laser rifles.
Since that
incident, the Canadian government had pulled the plug on his funding and now, he
had been forced to enter into early retirement at the age of 49.
While he did
not mean for his robot to go maverick, Dr. Drake was still proud of how powerful
his creation had been. He did not consider himself an evil or amoral man but the
absolute devastation that M-26 had wrought brought out a primal side of himself
that he had never felt before.
As Dr. Drake
sat in his small abode in Vancouver, British Columbia, he sighed. He was now
forced to rely on the kindness of strangers.
A few days
ago, an anonymous caller had contacted him, asking for his assistance in
something vaguely referred to as a hunting trip.
Judging from
his tone of voice, the man had to have been an American.
“He sounds
like a Southerner to boot,” Dr. Drake grumbled as he took another sip of tea.
--------------------------------------------------------
“So, uh,
what’s with that new armband?” Rattrap asked.
“It’s
the new supercomputer that I programmed recently,” Rhinox told his friend.
“His name is Sentinel.”
The two of
them were hiking across the vast Canadian wilderness. Their goal was to document
as many indigenous species as possible before reporting back to base. Right now,
Optimus, Cheetor, and Airazor back at base scouting the surrounding areas to
study its environments.
“How do ya
fit a supercomputer inside an arm band?” Rattrap asked.
“Trust me,
it can be done,” Rhinox explained. “He’s powered by an advanced micro-chip
that’s basically similar to our sparks.”
“So ‘dis
makes him more than some kinda drone?”
“Something
like that,” Rhinox continued. “Unlike most other sparkless robots, Sentinel
here has free will.”
Rattrap
immediately stared at Rhinox with a startled look.
“You sure
givin’ him free will was the right thing to do?”
“This is
the first time an experiment like this has ever been done,” Rhinox told him.
“Rest assured that under our watch, Sentinel will get on the right path.”
“Yeah,
but…” Rattrap began nervously. “Oh heck, you know the kind of risks ‘dat
I’m worried about.”
“In our
galaxy, there are other sentient robots out there without sparks,” Rhinox
said. “That doesn’t give us the right to judge them as lesser beings, even
though many Maximals and Predacons do it anyways.”
“Yeah, but
suppose one day Megatron gets a hold of him and turns him haywire,” Rattrap
protested. “We’re gonna have one whacked out monitor screen on our hands!”
“I also
have a failsafe installed within Sentinel,” Rhinox reassured him. “We’ll
be sure to know when something’s wrong with him.”
“Whew,”
Rattrap grinned. “And you had me worried there for a nano-klik.”
“You’ve
seen too many bad science fiction movies, Rattrap,” Rhinox chuckled.
“Sentinel’s not going to go rogue on us, rest assured.”
--------------------------------------------------------
“You’re
delusional,” Dr. Drake pointed accusingly. “I’m a roboticist, not a
cryptozoologist!”
“But
you’re the only one with the high-tech weaponry capable of capturing them!”
his guest, a short, bald man by the name of Steven Knox pleaded.
“I, my
friend, am a scientist,” came Dr. Drake’s reply. “What you are asking me
to do extends into the realms of pseudo-science.”
“I’ll
pay you five million!”
“And I’m
telling you right now that flesh and blood animals that transform into sentient
robots is beyond the realm of probability, even for a roboticist such as
myself.”
“What if I
paid you one million up front?”
“You’ve
lost it, my friend.”
“Have
I?” Steven Knox smiled as he opened his briefcase to reveal the exchange
within.
Dr.
Drake’s eyes widened. He had clearly not expected to be paid this much all at
once.
“Do we
have a deal?” Knox asked.
“I have a
specially designed battle suit within my basement,” Dr. Drake beamed.
“I’ll have it operational as soon as possible.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Once out
into the distant woodlands, the hologram of Steven Knox disappeared. In his
place was a diminutive, thick-skinned Predacon known only to a select few as
Scorponok.
Ever since
Rhinox and Rattrap had gone on their expedition into the Canadian wilderness,
Scorponok had been the first to trace them down with special help from his Cyber
Bee. For the past few days, he had tracked them across the wilderness. Several
times he had been attacked and nearly mauled by frenzied grizzly bears and
fallen down two waterfalls out of pure carelessness and bad luck.
Recently,
however, he had witnessed a very curious site through the lens of his Cyber Bee.
It seemed that Rhinox had developed a bizarre sentient supercomputer named
Sentinel. From the green Maximal’s descriptions, the drone held free will of
its own, a concept that was alien to most Cybertronians.
“Scorponok
to Megatron,” he reported in the small video screen he had set up. “I have
help with me now.”
“Good,”
Megatron replied. “With the scientist and the spy out of the way, the
rest of the Maximals should be easy targets.”
“They’ve
also developed something interesting,” Scorponok told his leader. “I think
it’s some kinda semi-sentient super computer… called Sentinel.”
“Really
now?” Megatron stroked his chin. “This is most interesting. Make sure to
reprogram Sentinel once the Maximals are out of the way. Once that is complete,
bring it back to me.”
“Will do,
boss!”
“And
Scorponok,” Megatron said with a slight sneer. “Though I have absolute
confidence in your abilities, I have decided to send additional help your
way.”
“What?”
Scorponok almost shouted.
“I’ve
already given her your coordinates. Megatron out.”
“Her?!”
Scorponok did shout this time.
“That’s
right, shell head,” a breezy voice behind him replied. “Her.”
--------------------------------------------------------
Dr. Drake
stretched himself out comfortably within his exo-suit. It had been a long time
since he experimented with one of his prototype suits. While it was nothing like
controlling a robot through remote control, it still gave him a sense of power
and control.
So far, he
had seen nothing in the woods. There had been a few elk but quick heat scans
showed that they were nothing more than common flesh and blood animals.
He was
encased in a large, multi-layered battle suit called the V-26. It was the same
suit that he had designed for the United States Army years ago. Until now, he
never thought he would ever test it.
Slowly and
menacingly, as he maneuvered through the undergrowth with his V-26, he realized
the folly of what he was doing.
“Of
course,” he muttered. “With the amount of noise I’m making in this suit,
how am I supposed to find my quarry?”
After
activating the off switch, he opened the latch behind him and jumped out.
Compared to him, the V-26 stood several feet taller than Dr. Drake.
Dr. Drake
looked down at his own camouflaged clothing. “I’ll track them on foot.”
--------------------------------------------------------
“I can’t
believe Megatron sent you,” Scorponok grumbled as he and Blackarachnia crawled
through the woods in beast mode.
“No duh,
chrome dome,” Blackarachnia said sardonically. “The real reason Megatron
sent me is because you can’t get simple tasks done without the help of someone
more competent.”
“You
don’t know what I can do, spider!” Scorponok growled.
“Don’t
I?” asked Blackarachnia. “I seem to remember you getting so excited after
Megatron named you second in command that you carelessly destroyed the ceiling
with a missile while jumping up and down in joy.”
“Who told
you that!” Scorponok shouted.
“Terrorsaur
can be quite honest with the right kind of persuasion,” she replied slyly.
“He and Waspinator spent over a day gathering your body parts.”
“So, uh,
what does that have to do with this mission?” Scorponok demanded, hoping to
take away attention from his rather embarrassing incident that happened several
months ago.
“Everything,”
she told him. “It tells me you can’t do the job.”
“I’m a
Jack of all trades!” Scorponok insisted. “I built this Cyber Bee out of
scratch!”
“And I
have more than half a dozen spider drones in this forest all connected to my
neural interface,” Blackarachnia replied, unimpressed with Scorponok’s
accomplishments. “I can see through and control them all via mind control.”
Scorponok
stopped dead on his eight-legged tracks as he looked up at a small spider drone
planted carefully on a tree above him. It soon crawled away to another branch on
the tree.
“See what
I mean?” Blackarachnia chuckled. “You can’t hope to outdo me, claws.”
“I can and
I will!” Scorponok declared. “Megatron sent me on this mission! He’s
counting on ME to succeed!”
“Just
because you’re reliable doesn’t mean you’re actually competent,”
Blackarachnia groaned. “Why else would he have sent me?”
“Megatron
said I wasn’t… competent?” Scorponok whispered.
“Err, he
never phrased it like that,” Blackarachnia quickly cajoled. “The important
thing is that we get this done!”
“Why are
you acting so chummy all of a sudden when you were treating me like dirt a
nano-klik before?” Scorponok inquired. “What’re you playing me for?”
“Forget
it,” Blackarachnia insisted. “Just follow my lead and we’ll be fine.”
As she
crawled off, Scorponok glared at her angrily before following her once again.
The things she said were still fresh on his mind. Unfortunately for him, he
would have to wait until their mission was over for him to get all the answers
out of her.
--------------------------------------------------------
“Magnificent,”
Dr. Drake muttered. “I never thought that creatures like these would exist
even in my wildest dreams!”
Through his
binocular lens, he observed both Rattrap and Rhinox in robot mode collecting
fungal specimen. Everything he saw was overwhelming to him. Never before in his
life had he ever seen sentient robots from another planet. He would have to move
fast if he wanted to keep on their trail.
He opened
his cell phone and dialed the number he had been given.
“Mr. Knox,
I believe I’ve found your specimen.”
--------------------------------------------------------
“I do not
wish to be obtrusive, but why is it that you and your companion are studying
organic species that hold no relevance to technological units such as
ourselves?” Sentinel asked as a small light on Rhinox’s armband flashed.
“It’s
science,” Rhinox explained. “We’re crew members to an exploration cruiser,
Sentinel. It’s our job to study life on new planets.”
“You are
correct,” Sentinel went on quickly. “However, would it not be more
beneficial to concern ourselves with more pertinent matters such as leaving this
planet to return to your home world of Cybertron?”
“Eh, that
would mean letting Megatron run wild on this Earth,” Rattrap shrugged. “We
can’t exactly let him and his Preds do that.”
“True, but
what if we were to eliminate Megatron?” Sentinel asked. “Would that not free
your time considerably?”
“It’s
complicated,” Rhinox answered as best he could. “We, as Maximals, have to
respect life and not be the aggressors. Destroying Megatron would be convenient,
but it still wouldn’t be the right thing to do.”
“I do not
comprehend this,” Sentinel said. “Unit Megatron presents a threat but he is
a threat that should be dealt with.”
“Since
when did you know this?” Rattrap asked.
“Since
Rhinox downloaded the statistics of all Maximal units within me,” Sentinel
replied indifferently. “I have effectively gauged their strengths and
weaknesses.”
“What you
suggest may be effective, Sentinel,” Rhinox said, “but we have protocol to
follow. We never attack an enemy unless he does something first. We Maximals
prefer to settle things through diplomacy and tact.”
“I see,”
Sentinel said. “If that is what we abide by, may I suggest neutralizing them
in one of their attacks against you and your companions?”
“Now the
line gets gray,” Rhinox told the supercomputer. “We believe in self-defense
but a lot of Maximals don’t exactly agree on how we should carry out that
self-defense.”
“Whoa!”
Rattrap interrupted and glared at Sentinel. “Hold on a sec! You’re supposed
‘ta be our main computer. Since when did you become so interested in 'da Beast
Wars?”
After an
uncomfortable moment of silence, Sentinel spoke again.
“Forgive
me, Rattrap. I merely thought it would be helpful of me to discuss such matters
during this expedition. After all, a trip such as this will span several more
days before completion.”
“No need
to get so shaky, Rattrap,” Rhinox assured. “Sentinel was only curious.”
Without
warning, an alarm on Sentinel sprung to life. “Warning! Incoming missile!”
Rattrap and
Rhinox looked up. Speeding towards their path was a small missile that struck
the ground beneath them just as they leaped out of the way. The explosion
managed to take several trees and shrubs with it, however.
As they got
up, a large, robotic battle suit towered over them. It was armed with numerous
capture claws and shoulder-mounted missile launchers. Green was its armor’s
principal color with shades of black. Immediately, Sentinel deduced its
weaknesses.
“That suit
is controlled by an organic creature within,” Sentinel analyzed at light
speed. “Its primary weakness lies in its left leg.”
“My V-26
has no weaknesses!” Dr. Drake announced through the speakers. “I’m
typically not a cruel man but I suggest that you stand down or I’ll be forced
to resort to violence!”
“What’re
our chances?” Rhinox asked Sentinel.
“Your
victory is assured by 90 percent,” Sentinel replied.
“Swell,”
Rattrap grinned. “That hunk a’ junk don’t stand a chance!”
The V-26
took aim and fired a missile at Rattrap who immediately leaped out of the way in
time. Unfortunately for Dr. Drake, Rhinox slammed into him with a crushing punch
that shattered his robot’s left leg. Now, the V-26 was left flailing on the
ground helplessly. Dr. Drake cried out in frustration as the controls around him
short-circuited.
With a low
grunt, Rhinox tore the V-26 open with his bare hands, exposing the wayward
scientist inside. Drake screamed as Rhinox grabbed him and lifted him out by the
collar of his shirt.
“Who are
you?” Rhinox demanded. “Why are you after us?”
Rattrap soon
joined him. “Yeah, what’s a low life like you doin’ here?”
Finally, Dr.
Drake smiled furtively. “To further the cause of science, of course.”
“What do
you mean?” Rhinox asked as he pulled the roboticist closer.
“What I
mean is that you and your little friend will make excellent trophies,” Dr.
Drake laughed as he pressed down on a remote hidden behind his sleeves.
Immediately,
a side gun appeared from the side of the fallen V-26 and blasted Rhinox in the
chest. Rhinox screamed as he fell down clutching his chest. The blast had
somehow contained traces of raw energon. Dr. Drake, on the other hand, was
uninjured.
Before
Rattrap could move, the gun shot him down swiftly. He also lay on the ground
convulsing as Dr. Drake stood over him cackling wildly.
“Drake
here,” he said through his cell phone. “I’ve found your specimen. I’ll
give you their exact coordinates. Your advice on powering my weapons with ‘raw
energon’ worked perfectly!”
After being
reassured that the rest of his payment would make it to his accounts by the
afternoon, Dr. Drake cracked a smile. Then he noticed the band wrapped around
the fallen Rhinox’s arm.
“What’s
this?” he mused.
--------------------------------------------------------
Though he
was unsure if he had been out for a few mega-cycles or even days, Rhinox was
pretty sure that he had been unconscious for quite some time. He shook his head
groggily as he came to his senses. His body was being strapped on to a large
table in a place that resembled some sort of logging company. Even though he
tried to struggle, the energy bonds that held him were fastened on too tightly.
Next to him, Rattrap lay there bound up just the same.
“So
you’re finally awake, horn head,” a smooth, yet venomous voice purred.
“Blackarachnia,”
Rhinox mumbled. “I should’ve known you and the Preds were behind this.”
“Actually,
it’s just me and Scorponok,” she corrected. “We’re just here to get rid
of you two, nothing more.”
“Yo! Hands
off the merchandise!” Rattrap hollered as Scorponok examined him.
Rhinox
scrutinized Blackarachnia’s face carefully. “Business before pleasure,
huh?”
“You could
say that,” she replied. “Though sometimes this job doesn’t let me have the
fun I want.”
“How
so?”
“I’m the
type of girl who’d rather her prey writhe in agony than finish them off just
like that,” she sighed. “Unfortunately with Megatron, his emphasis is only
on ‘getting the job done’ instead of letting me do my thing.”
“Quit
complaining!” Scorponok shouted over Rattrap’s protests. “You signed up as
a Predacon and you’d better do your job if you want to be in Megatron’s good
graces!”
“You
signed up?” Rhinox blinked. “Last I remembered, you were a Maximal protoform
reprogrammed to be a Predacon.”
“Don’t
try to sweet talk me back into being a Maximal, horns!” Blackarachnia growled.
“I like being a Predacon too much to turn back!”
“Hey!”
Scorponok gasped. “It isn’t here!”
Blackarachnia
looked like she was about to explode. “What is it this time, moron?”
“I can’t
find that supercomputer…” Scorponok scratched his head. “I didn’t find
it on Rhinox so I thought for sure it’d be on Rattrap.”
Rhinox
gasped and looked down at his own arm. Sure enough, the armband that was
Sentinel no longer remained attached to him.
“Oh
slag,” he muttered.
Blackarachnia
took out her gun and pointed it at Rhinox’s head. “Start talking. Where is
it?”
“We’re
not the ones who have it anymore,” Rhinox replied tentatively.
--------------------------------------------------------
“Fascinating
device,” Dr. Drake stroked his chin. “A semi-sentient supercomputer all
wrapped in this microchip.”
“I do not
find this amusing, humanoid,” Sentinel spoke in a harsh, mechanical voice.
“Why am I being held against my will?”
“So, you
have free will too, eh?” Dr. Drake mused. “You are a gift from the
heavens, my friend.”
“My
allegiance is with the Maximals,” Sentinel said without pause. “I suggest
for your own sake that you return me.”
“Let me
ask you this, Sentinel,” Dr. Drake started. “Since you have free will,
should you not be allowed the right to choose your side instead of blindly
following the ones who created you?”
“While
your point is valid, I still would not choose to follow you,” Sentinel replied
briskly. “For your inferior human intellect could not possibly hope to offer
me anything beyond trivial data.”
“So you
simply choose the side that gives you the most?”
“Again, I
should remind you,” Sentinel explained. “Though my programming remains
Maximal, I have free will to choose. Right now, my loyalty lies with the
Maximals.”
“You’re
a logical being, correct, Sentinel?”
“That is
correct.”
“Then
wouldn’t it be illogical for you to remain loyal to the Maximals at this
point?”
“Explain.”
“Well, for
one thing, my ‘inferior human intellect’ managed to take out both your
Maximal companions,” Dr. Drake told him. “The fact that they were defeated
by an inferior being such as myself is reason enough for you not to remain loyal
to them anymore.”
Sentinel
remained silent. In contrast, Dr. Drake went on with what he wanted to say.
“You,
Sentinel, are truly a magnificent being. You don’t have the so-called sparks
of your Maximal masters and yet, you are the pinnacle of artificial
intelligence! Should you not deserve better treatment than being forced into
servitude for the rest of your life as a mere desktop file?”
Still,
Sentinel gave no answer but Dr. Drake could tell from the lack of responses that
he was indeed accomplishing at least some aspect of altering the
supercomputer’s programming.
--------------------------------------------------------
“M-Megatron’s
gonna have our heads once he finds out we don’t have Sentinel!” Scorponok
stuttered wildly.
“Calm
down,” Blackarachnia urged. “Do you remember where that guy lives?”
“Of
course,” Scorponok replied hastily. “I was the one who contacted him.”
“Then come
on,” Blackarachnia ordered. “We’re going to retrieve Megatron’s little
birthday gift!”
“What
about them?” Scorponok gestured towards Rattrap and Rhinox.
“The
restraining bolts will hold them,” the female Predacon answered. “The
important thing is that we find Sentinel first.”
As soon as
the two of them were gone, Rhinox turned to Rattrap.
“Almost
done yet?”
“In a
jiffy,” Rattrap replied as the restraining bolts that held his hands were
being fiddled with by a small lock pick hidden in his hand.
Finally, the
energy bonds disappeared as the restraining bolt was opened up. Rattrap quickly
did the same to the restraining bolts that tied his feet together. As soon as he
was done with that, he turned to help Rhinox.
“How do
you suppose the Preds know about Sentinel?” asked Rattrap.
“They must
have been following us for the past few days,” Rhinox deduced. “This is the
first time we’ve ever taken Sentinel out of the base with us since I made him
last week.”
“So let
‘em have Sentinel,” Rattrap scoffed. “I say we get outta here right
now.”
“No,”
Rhinox sighed. “Sentinel’s programming is far more advanced than any drone.
He has the knowledge to build a thermonuclear bomb if he wanted to. And if one
of the Predacons managed to reprogram him…”
“Yikes!”
Rattrap exclaimed. “I see your point now!”
“Maybe you
were right,” Rhinox muttered.” Maybe creating Sentinel was a mistake…”
Rattrap
patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry ‘bout it, Rhinox. Like you said
before, he needs to be around guys like us to get on the straight and narrow.”
Rhinox
finally breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Whenever you’re this helpful,
it always means you have an ace up your sleeve.”
“I sure
do, ol’ buddy of mine!”
--------------------------------------------------------
“Access
denied.”
Another wave
of electricity surged through Dr. Drake’s body as he screamed. When it was all
over, he was thrown violently to the floor again.
“Come
on!” he pleaded. “I was the one who convinced you of your innate
superiority! Surely you’d allow me access to your programming!”
“Negative,”
Sentinel replied emotionlessly. “Though I have conceded to your articulate
reasoning, I still deny you access to my circuitry on the basis that you, Dr.
Drake, are still an inferior specimen, unworthy of the knowledge I have stored
within me.”
Drake rubbed
his neck painfully. It was as if he were experiencing electro-shock therapy each
time he tried to touch the armband that contained Sentinel. So far, he was
pretty sure that he had convinced Sentinel to use his free will however he
liked. Unfortunately, he was unable to convince the supercomputer to use that
free will to serve him.
He got back
up to his feet and attempted to scoop Sentinel up. Again, Sentinel sent a
powerful surge through him to force him back.
“I’m not
even allowed to touch you now?” Dr. Drake coughed through the smoke.
“Affirmative,”
Sentinel replied with a hint of smugness to his voice.
Dr. Drake
hissed inwardly and looked towards the rifle mounted on his wall. If he were to
dissect Sentinel then perhaps he could…
Without any
forewarning, the front door to his home was kicked down. Dr. Drake stared in
shock as two robots, remarkably similar to the ones he had encountered in the
woods, appeared before him.
“No, stay
away!” he cried.
“Relax,”
the female hissed. “We’re only here to reclaim what’s ours!”
The gray
robot batted Dr. Drake aside with his claws as if he were a doll. He then
grabbed hold of Sentinel and left with his cohort as quickly as he had arrived.
Dr. Drake
clutched his side in pain. He could tell from one blow that a few of his bones
would need mending.
--------------------------------------------------------
“Where’d
they go!” Scorponok shouted as he and Blackarachnia re-entered the lumber
mill.
The
restraining bolts on the tables had been picked clean. Due to unforeseen
circumstances, the Maximals had freed themselves.
“Slag!”
Scorponok cursed. “And you said the energy bonds couldn’t be broken!”
“Calm
down, shell head,” Blackarachnia quickly retorted. “We still have Sentinel
with us!”
“What good
will that do when we can’t present their heads to Megatron?” Scorponok
demanded.
“This
prize will be good enough,” responded Blackarachnia as she gestured towards
Sentinel. “Do you have any idea what went into this piece of art?”
“Now that
you mention it… no,” Scorponok confessed.
“Sentinel,
my hapless scorpion,” Blackarachnia explained, “is one of the finest in
Cybertronian technology. Not only does he have vast knowledge of all
Cybertronian history, but he also has stored in him the stats of all the
Maximals.”
Scorponok
only blinked.
Blackarachnia
sighed in frustration. “What I mean is that Sentinel will help us win the
Beast Wars!”
“How do
you know this?” asked Scorponok.
“While we
were heading back here, I did a quick scan,” Blackarachnia replied. “I’m
telling you, his databases are overflowing with information. The only thing left
is for us to access that information!”
“Not
today, sister!” a voice from behind her said. “In fact, not ever!”’
Blackarachnia
didn’t have to look behind her to feel Rattrap’s pistol pressing against the
back of her neck. Scorponok quickly aimed his missile launcher towards them.
“Don’t
shoot, you idiot!” she growled. “Do you want to hit me too?”
“Hey, no
worries,” Scorponok laughed as he backed away while taking aim. “I’m the
one holding Sentinel!”
Blackarachnia’s
eyes narrowed. “You slithering son of a—“
“I
wouldn’t do that if I were you!”
Scorponok
gasped as a large green hand grabbed him by his head and lifted him up.
This time,
both Blackarachnia and Rattrap breathed a sigh of relief. In contrast, Scorponok
squirmed in Rhinox’s grip, struggling wildly to break free. Rhinox only had to
apply a little pressure to stop the squirming.
“Sentinel,
please,” Rhinox requested calmly.
Immediately,
Scorponok held up the armband as Rhinox took it. Calmly, Rhinox dropped
Scorponok on his rear. Scorponok glared at Rhinox balefully but dared not to
make a move against the much larger Transformer. Inversely, he focused his
attention on Blackarachnia and Rattrap as he stared at Rattrap with a sadistic
smile.
It didn’t
take long for Blackarachnia to catch on either. Without warning, Scorponok
lunged towards Blackarachnia only for her to leap aside so that he tackled
Rattrap instead.
Rhinox
reached for his gun but several machine gun blasts from the eight legs mounted
on Blackarachnia’s shoulders forced him back. As the large Maximal steadied
himself, he realized how much damage he had obtained. A few bullets he could
even feel embedded in parts of his arm.
As he raised
his head, Blackarachnia was no longer there. Rhinox quickly allowed his vision
to zoom around the building for any signs of the lethal femme-bot.
A shrill cry
was heard from behind but as soon as he noticed it, it was too late. The female
Predacon swung down from the roof and knocked him into a large bundle of logs
with a powerful roundhouse.
“Not too
shabby,” Blackarachnia grinned.
--------------------------------------------------------
Before long,
both Scorponok and Rattrap smashed through the window of the lumber mill. A
quick punch from Rattrap into Scorponok’s chin quickly separated the two
combatants.
“Not
bad,” Rattrap complimented. “Looks like you know how to get down an’
dirty!”
“You just
gotta know how to brawl on the streets of Cybertron if you wanna survive,”
Scorponok replied curtly.
“Point
taken,” Rattrap nodded as Scorponok charged again.
Reacting
quickly, the small Maximal grabbed his attacker by the shoulders and flipped him
over. Scorponok quickly leaped back to his feet and bashed Rattrap viciously
across the face with his claw, knocking his opponent back.
Rattrap
winced. The claws he would have to watch out for!
Scorponok
tackled him to the ground again but this time, Rattrap rammed his forehead into
the Predacon’s chin. Mech fluid ran down Scorponok’s mouth but he returned
the attack with an even nastier headbutt to Rattrap’s head, nearly knocking
the Maximal unconscious.
“Let’s
see how you like a dose of cyber venom to wake up with!” Scorponok growled as
he raised his tail in preparation of striking down.
Rattrap’s
vision was dim but he could tell that Scorponok was about to come down on him
with his stinger. As the tail struck down, Rattrap quickly moved his head to the
side as the stinger stabbed into the ground, missing him narrowly. Before
Scorponok could curse out loud, Rattrap used the opportunity poke him straight
in the optics.
Due to the
intense agony, Scorponok howled and fell down on the ground, rolling around in
pain while Rattrap got up and dusted himself off.
“I lived
on the streets too, back in ‘da day,” Rattrap confessed. “First rule of
thumb… give no quarter and don’t expect any!”
He grabbed
Scorponok by the head and slammed it into his knee.
--------------------------------------------------------
“Oh, come
on!” Blackarachnia called out to the fallen Rhinox who lay beneath several
pieces of logs. “Don’t tell me that’s all you got!”
“No,”
Rhinox replied. “I’m just getting started!”
With a
powerful burst, Rhinox exploded from the rubble. He grabbed one of the logs and
swung, catching Blackarachnia by the side and knocking her half way across the
room.
“Strong,
silent type, eh?” she groaned.
“You could
say that,” Rhinox replied neutrally.
Blackarachnia
quickly attacked Rhinox with a leaping sidekick, which he promptly caught,
throwing her to the ground in the process. She cursed inwardly but got up again
and threw several roundhouse kicks towards him, only for Rhinox to block them
all.
All she
could do was grit her teeth. Slag! Better split while I still can!
As
Rhinox’s fist came crashing down to the ground she stood, Blackarachnia
flipped out of the way in time and somersaulted away.
--------------------------------------------------------
Though he
was winning several nano-kliks ago, Rattrap really found himself on the
receiving end in the situation. He had been struck up to three times already by
Scorponok’s claws. Even though he was still faster, each successive blow
managed to weaken him and blur his vision even further.
And I
thought ol’ Scorpio here couldn’t fight!
As Rattrap
backed up, he felt something oddly familiar behind him. Looking up momentarily,
he saw several bundles of logs stacked up high.
Scorponok
charged without hesitation. This time Rattrap step-sided him, grabbed him by the
arm, and flung him into the logs, causing the entire bundle to come crashing
down on the hapless Predacon soldier.
“Rattrap,
are you okay?”
Rattrap
turned around to face Rhinox who had just arrived.
“Never
been better, Big R!”
“I see
Scorponok here won’t be getting up for a while.”
“The bug
had it coming,” Rattrap shrugged. “By the way, did you find Sentinel?”
“Right
here,” Rhinox announced happily. He held up the armband that contained the
supercomputer.
“You okay
there, Sentinel?” asked Rattrap, this time with genuine concern.
“Though
the human attempted to tamper with my programming, I am otherwise unharmed,”
Sentinel replied. “I am appreciative of your concern.”
“Well, I
think I’m ready ‘ta go back to base for a good CR dip,” Rattrap declared
with a yawn. “I think this expedition’s ‘bout over!”
“I
agree,” Rhinox nodded. “We could all use the rest after today. Though…
your attitude seems slightly different now, Rattrap.”
“Oh, I
finally figured it out.”
“Figured
what out?”
“You and
Sentinel,” Rattrap explained. “I can see now that when you built Sentinel,
you put a little bit of yourself into him. ‘Dat explains why you wanted to
find ‘im so badly. It’s like losin’ a part of yourself.”
Rhinox
smiled. “Since when did you become so understanding, Rattrap?”
“I’m
not. I’m just makin’ an observation. It’s like every time I work on one of
my demolition charges. I always gotta put a little of myself into it too.”
“So you
really do understand where I’m coming from?”
“Well…
yeah,” Rattrap finally confessed. “Just don’t tell Optimus I said that.”
As the two
Maximals walked off into the setting sun, the meaning of their conversation was
not lost to Sentinel.
--------------------------------------------------------
“Idiots!”
Megatron bellowed through the monitor screen. “You failed me again!”
This time,
both Scorponok and Blackarachnia shuddered at having to face Megatron’s wrath.
So far, neither one of them had come up with any passable excuses for what
happened. Now, Megatron’s rage was completely directed towards them.
Scorponok
scratched his head nervously while Blackarachnia tried her best to look away.
“How is it
that both the Maximals AND Sentinel escaped your grasp?” Megatron finally
asked calmly but heatedly.
“Well,”
Scorponok began shakily. “I wanted to take care of the Maximals first but
Blackarachnia insisted that we go retrieve Sentinel! I just thought we’d get
both tasks done at once!”
Megatron’s
ire was now focused on Blackarachnia.
“Miss
Arachnia, I believe you have some explaining to do.”
Blackarachnia
swallowed anxiously.
“What he
said is true. However, Scorponok was the one who trusted that crackpot
roboticist! If we had just ambushed the Maximals ourselves instead of relying on
untrustworthy humans, both Sentinel and the heads of the Maximals
would’ve been yours!”
Now Megatron
glared at Scorponok accusingly. “Have you anything to say, Scorponok?”
“Well, I,
umm… wanted to, uh…”
Unfortunately
for the scorpion, he was neither quick witted nor as gifted with the tongue as
Blackarachnia. In the end, it would cost him dearly.
“Enough!”
Megatron bellowed. “I want the two of you back at base, IMMEDIATELY!”
Before
Megatron could turn off the connection, the obnoxious face of Terrorsaur
appeared on the screen to mock Blackarachnia and Scorponok.
“Haha!”
he screeched. “I knew you idiots would screw it up!”
Immediately,
Megatron grabbed Terrorsaur by the face and shoved the Predacon flyer away
before turning off the connection. In reality, slamming his fist down on the
panel to destroy the connection was a more apt description.
“This is
your fault!” Blackarachnia and Scorponok barked at each other simultaneously.
--------------------------------------------------------
Though the
aches and pains were mild, Dr. Drake was still sitting in a catatonic state as
he finished the remainder of his pizza. Several days ago, he had the greatest
scientific discovery in his hands and now, it was no longer there.
Barely a
week had passed and the roboticist could hardly believe his luck. He had
experienced something most people would never experience in their entire lives.
He had made contact with an alien being… with several beings in fact.
What made
him sore now was the fact that the opportunities to study these living
machines… these ‘Maximals’, would no longer be available to him.
Quietly, he
got up and headed towards his computer room to sell more of his creations off on
he turned on his laptop, he was greeted with the usual sight of his desktop
along with several familiar icons. Then, to his surprise, he saw a new desktop
icon that had been implemented without his detection. A large red ‘S’
characterized it best.
With two
rapid clicks, it opened.
“Greetings,
Dr. Drake,” a voice came through the sound systems.
“What?”
Dr. Drake gasped in shock.
“Come,
surely you have not forgotten about our encounter last week.”
“Sentinel!”
Drake shouted. “It’s you!”
“Very
perceptive, Dr. Drake” Sentinel replied coldly, “However inferior your
intellect may be.”
“How did
you get inside my computer?” Drake demanded.
“Do you
remember our last encounter?” Sentinel asked.
“Yes…?”
“Did you
wonder why I did not use my electrical defense grids to attack the two Predacons
who took me away?”
“Not
really,” Dr. Drake muttered. “I was too busy mending my ribs after that gray
‘Predacon’ knocked me over.”
“I needed
them to bring me to my former Maximal masters,” Sentinel explained. “I
calculated that both Predacons would lose and that the Maximals would retrieve
me.”
“Former
masters, huh?” Dr. Drake sneered. “If they’re no longer your masters,
why are you going back to them?”
“To bide
my time,” Sentinel told him. “At their base, the Maximals have access to the
World Wide Web. After installing me as their primary defense system, I
downloaded a part of my consciousness into the internet.”
“That’s
how you found me!”
“Yes, the
search was extensive, but in the end, I did find you,” Sentinel said with no
hint of emotion in his voice. “I now have my consciousness in all
technological corners of the globe.”
Dr. Drake
felt a sudden chill down his spine. If what Sentinel said were true, then he’d
have access to the entire world’s defense systems!
“You’re
bluffing!” he accused.
“Am I?”
Sentinel responded impartially. “Look behind you.”
Dr. Drake
felt a large metallic claw clasp him from behind. Turning around slowly, he
looked into the eyes of one of his V-13 models. Its crab-like hands clicked
excitedly in anticipation of ripping its prey in half.
Then it
backed off.
“This is
no bluff,” Sentinel cautioned. “I have virtual access to your robots, do I
not?”
“Y-Yes,”
Dr. Drake gulped.
“You are
my servant now, Dr. Drake,” Sentinel said. “Henceforth, you shall construct
a new body for me.”
“And if I
don’t?”
The V-13
unit grabbed Drake by both arms.
“Okay!
Okay!” Drake yelled. “I’ll do it!”
“Much
better, Dr. Drake,” Sentinel spoke with no hint of aggression in his voice.
“I have great use for you.”
“Have you
betrayed your Maximal masters yet?” Drake snarled.
“As I have
reiterated before, I am only biding my time. They will be aware of my true
intentions in the foreseeable future.”
“How long
will that be?” Drake slumped into his seat in defeat.
“However
long I wish, for I am Sentinel and I am forever.”