Episode 5: Walk on the Wild Side

Dressed in tattered rags, reeking of filthy oils and burnt circuitry, he filtered through the teeming masses. Unseen, unnoticed, uncared for. Obsoletes were an unfortunate sub culture of Cybertronian society consisting of models of citizens which had passed through the generations without fanfare or glory and never having enough credits to upgrade their exo-structure. Their sparks long since broken, yet stubbornly clinging to their meagre existences. They roamed the streets and scavenged whatever they can from the decadent high culture. This figure appeared no different. Broken trinkets and dirty cables swung from his stooping frame with each laborious step

He continued onwards, sporadically changing directions in a slow, unpredictable manner. All obsoletes had nowhere to go and often followed this progression throughout the cities. Eventually, he arrived in front of the New Iacon Research Facility located on the western outskirts. Within this massive building was the latest in cutting edge technology which was constantly being designed, improved and upgraded by the best techs Cybertron had to offer.

A complex of this importance was quite heavily guarded, however in the recent history of Cybertron, neither faction had ever bothered attacking it because the scientists within not only came from both factions, but distributed the information feely in the interests of furthering scientific advancement.

The dirty figure continued to lurch forward in an irregular pattern. A large wall surrounded the facility and the single opening was guarded by a burly pair of Maximals from Enforcer’s security detail. Motion trackers and autoguns studded the building itself and their systems were configured to target anything within the grounds and the airspace above. Bottom line, a frontal assault on this facility would be foolish and fatal.

As the vagrant neared the guards, he began to mutter to himself and cough noisily. The two sentries grinned at each other and observed the unexpected “entertainment” to alleviate their boredom.

He began muttering things like “Where is it?” “Who stole?” and so forth whilst sending his gaze darting all over the ground.

“Hey,” said the first, “don’t be cruel. He’s been the first bot we’ve seen out here in ages.” While the other just harrumphed and sat back to watch the show.

Frantically scrabbling on the floor, the obsolete had made his way forward to the first guard. He sent a startled expression upwards and began to reach toward the guard “Ssss...sss..sscuse m...” was as far as he got, before the contents of his dirty robes spilled out on the floor and began rolling into the facility.

The Obsolete yelled “NO!” and leapt forward into the gate as he scrambled for his escaping possessions, triggering the auto sensors. “Ah slag!” yelled the first guard as he lunged and grabbed the Obsolete before he could continue into the line of fire of the guns. The Obsolete began emitting unholy screeches and baying that he needed his “children.” The first guard continued to struggle and yelled to the other “OK! OK! Calm down! I’m gonna help you.” He turned to his partner who was still grinning and said “Get on the horn and tell them to shut down the auto sensors for a while. We’ll get them back online once we clear this mess up.”

“Yeah, and whose gonna come here? The Bootleg Man? Or how about a Bytepyre? You know this place has never seen any action since its construction.”

The Obsolete chose this moment to redouble his efforts causing his captor to do the same “Look! Just do it! The quicker we get that trash to this guy, the quicker we get some peace and quiet.”

The second reluctantly raised his comm. link and gave the order. The alarms ceased and the autoguns powered down. “Thank Primus.” Sighed the first guard.

“No..... thank you.” Said the Obsolete, surprising the guard as the energo blade burst through his spark chamber. The second guard barely had a chance to register what had happened before he was decapitated. The Obsolete raised to his full height and activated his own comm. link “This is Terris. The path is clear.”

“Razorbeast! Beast Mode!” yelled the reformatted Maximal. Where Razor stood a few moments ago was a large snarling boar.

He turned to respond to the Transmetal skunk, but something was wrong. He paused for a moment, trying to figure it out. It started off as a light whine in the back of his mind, gradually building in pitch to form a roar. Upon the culmination, his view snapped from familiar optic vision to a world washed in red. Where Stinkbomb had been, a snarling feral biped stood, glaring at him with terrifying optics. Razor could feel his logic circuits failing. Who? What? Why? Were all suddenly replaced by one instinct. ATTACK! He struck at the beast with his powerful tusks but he was soon being advanced upon by many more. SMASH! Fighting, baying and kicking he held them off. FLEE! Too many. Must run. Powerful leg actuators pushed him through the ominous foliage setting him on his way to freedom.

“The agent reports that the Maximal unit has safely arrived on ancient Earth.” Explained Seaclamp.

“Excellent.” Commented Ramhorn. “Then everything is proceeding as planned.”

“No.” Responded Seaclamp “It appears that the Spear of Primus encountered some planned turbulence upon entry into Earth’s atmosphere which all but destroyed the craft.”

The group chuckled at this statement before Ramhorn spoke up “And their location?”

“Fortunately, the detonation occurred at precisely the right moment forcing the ship to crash on the opposite side of the planet.” Continued Seaclamp. “Our agent will ensure that planetary scans remain an impossibility.”

“Meaning by the time they dissscover our plans, they will most assuredly be too late.” Finished Cicadacon.

“We will soon receive word from the primary team. Only then will we consult the dark covenant again.” Answered Seaclamp.

“Very well. We shall reconvene when the signal arrives.” Said Ramhorn. “Tripedicus Council session terminated.”

RUN! The overwhelming urge to race along unabated consumed him. His boar hooves pounding against the solid ground pushing him onwards. Leaping through the undergrowth, he landed in a clearing and was taken aback to see smaller versions of the beasts which had attacked him earlier. Fortunately, their backs were turned and they appeared to be milling about a fire. No chances. His feral instincts kicked into overdrive and he charged into the group. A handful went flying and he was pleased to note they did not rise again. PUSH! The larger bipeds had surrounded him now and were using their sharp spikes against his tough hide. Only a few managed to penetrate his thick fur, however those that only served to boost his rage. More and more advanced, however he continued to fight. Then a mighty beast strode forth shrouded in a large pelt and with glowing green eyes and let out a high pitched roar as it struck at him. The fury of the attack pushed him back, however he stood firm and did not let them take him. He tensed, drew his head back and prepared to impale another victim with his mighty tusks. Suddenly, there was an explosion of bright light and the monsters ran from around him, gathering their fallen comrades and fleeing into the forest. SUCCESS! He bellowed as loudly as his vocal processors would allow, when he was interrupted by another flash. It was only then he realised he had been hit. Twice. The adrenal circuitry slowed as repair fluid oozed from his cranium and his vision slowly went from maddening red to a dull grey and finally darkness. Before he completely lost consciousness, he saw a vision of a single beast standing over him wielding a sharp knife with vengeance in its eyes.

A cold silence surrounded Rattrap as he stood before the mausoleum. It was the first scene he had seen on that strange disk and so as good a place as any to start. The building loomed above him and the strangely gothic architecture almost didn’t fit in with the rest of the Cybertronian sprawl. Old Iacon. It was truly a scene for the ghosts of the past. Epitaphs to the fallen first, second and later generation Autobots and Decepticons lined the halls. Rattrap had only been here twice before, once with Bomber whilst at the academy and the other he cared not to think about. Icy tendrils worked their way across his spark as his surveyed the tomb and he physically shuddered in response. After shaking his head and muttering “Dis ain’t no time ta get a loose transista.” To himself, he cautiously strode up to the doors.

He raised his hand to the touch sensor and it chimed before activating the large doors to swing inwards. “Heh,” he chuckled “dey even managed ta get da creepy door creak an ev’ry’tin.” As he entered through the doorway he was greeted by a swirling tower of light. He reflexively yelped and jumped back slightly and remained frozen by the spectacle. The light began to slow and then finally became the form of a tall, bearded, purple, white and red autobot. “Greetings friend.” It began “My name is Alpha Trion and I will be your guide in this holy monument to fallen warriors from years gone by.”

Rattrap shook his head and chuckled again “Slaggin’ holograms.” He contemplated the situation for a moment before asking “Hey Alfie. You programmed to rememba da bots who come inan outta here?”

The hologram flickered before replying “Correct. My purpose is to both guide and monitor.”

“OK den, I’m looking for da Pred General Obsidian. I’ve seen a vid o’ him comin ‘ere, gettin’ jumped and runnin off. Is dat bout right?”

“Wha?” Rattrap queried as the hologram flickered once again and blurred into another pillar of light. Having experienced this previously, Rattrap merely stood and waited, what he did not expect was the pillar to turn into Obsidian. He quickly drew his blaster and aimed it at the general but the figure simply remained in the air for a few seconds with all parts frozen. Even the rotors were paused in mid-spin. Rattrap cautiously raised the gun away however continued to eye the visage suspiciously. After a few moments, the rotors began to spin and the figure began to hover instead of remaining suspended in mid-air. It then said “Simulation loaded. Commencing.” Before it began to move further in to the mausoleum.

Razor sluggishly rose from the damp, leaf covered ground. The darkness surrounding him made apparitions of the trees and demons of the bushes. “Ugh.. what happened?” he groaned as he sat upright, rubbing his optics. His robot mode whined and whirred in protest as he rose and he had to lean against a tree to maintain verticality. A quick scan revealed that there were no other Cybertonians present and the jungle appeared to be devoid of life. Instinctively, he reached down for his blaster and was surprised to discover it was missing. Diagnostic screens flashed in front of his optics and revealed that his weapons systems were offline. “Great.” He muttered to himself.

The roar broke the blanket of silence and interrupted Razor’s musings. He tensed up in response and set his audio sensors to maximum to pick up any hints of the creature. Nothing. Not a slaggin thing. Silence returned and this time brought even less comfort. After a few tense moments, he began to take a step forward, when the tree line behind him exploded.

Razor flew through the air alongside leaves, branches and splinters and he landed solidly once again. “Ohhh....” he moaned as the fought to regain footing. Turning back to the clearing sent a chill through his spark. In the newly formed space stood a large, drooling, snarling boar. The beast stood three times the height of Razor and its thick tusks and gaping maw only spoke of death. It locked eyes with him, snuffling and shuffling in its contemplation. Razor did nothing in return, being content to merely observe the beast without aggravating it.

Finally, the animal let out an ungodly bellow, spitting froth and menace in equal portions and charged forward.

With a hiss, the med-bay doors slid open to reveal the stocky silhouette of Rhinox. The Maximal entered past Enforcer’s security detail and stood within the containment area. A quick flash and his exo-structure was coated in a temporary field of nano-bots. Such precautions were necessary when dealing with patients which had suffered a great trauma because they ensured that no external contaminants entered the vital fluids of the patient.

He continued on through to the ward and saw a single figure standing vigil over the patient. Her back was turned and Rhinox could see that she was deep in thought. The glow of the data pad reflected blue light off her plain white exo-structure and outlined the thin black cables running from her head into the pad. She had collected the cables into a bundle using a rubber tie behind her head, giving her a simple pony tail.

He coughed once to get her attention and was rewarded by a jolt from the female. She turned and said “Oh, Rhinox. I’m sorry I was miles away.” With a slight flick of her head, the cables disengaged from the pad and dangled loosely behind her.

“Rhinox,” she started in a partially exasperated voice. “how many times do I have to ask you to call me Ivy?”

Ivy, had been the female med-tech in charge of the cleanup after Megatron’s ill-fated operation. She had never been far from First Aid’s side after the incident and had been using every ounce of strength to help him. Who could blame her? It wasn’t easy to see a close friend in such a state, especially when that friend had been her mentor. Now he lay there as the repair nanites swarmed around his damaged internals and made the delicate repairs.

“Still the same.” She replied, turning back to the patient “his structure is almost 100% but some of those neural links are still pretty shaken up.”

Unfortunately, the problem here was not First Aid’s exo-structure. That could be repaired in a manner of cycles. It was his spark. An instability was created in the connections between his spark and all his primary systems from Megatron’s onslaught. Had it been even a fraction more, there would have been no chance to repair him at all, however now it was still a shaky recovery period and there were still no guarantees that he would make it out of this.

“Hmm....” mused Rhinox “couldn’t you try moving his spark into a new body, or maybe turning him into a protoform?”

“No.” She sadly replied. “Normally, transportation would be the first thing I’d do in extreme cases like this, however the problem we have is that we don’t know if any spark fragments remain in the exo sections. A spark is a very complicated part of our bodies, not only do they house our very essence, but they take care of all inter-corporeal communication. In robots and drones, circuitry makes up a great deal of the connections between power sources, controllers and servos. In us, the spark replaces all of that. Instead of having a physical wire, a section of our spark flows out to connect to our servos and this allows us to transform in many ways which would be impossible for any physical connector to achieve. To transport a spark, the patient must go into stasis lock because this draws all of the external connections inwards and returns it to the spark. The result is a complete shutdown of the exo-structure but it keeps the spark intact. Once the spark is contained, it can be moved as a single unit to another body. In First Aid’s case, the damage shocked his system but broke a number of those important connections before the spark could completely retract. If we took his spark out, there’s no knowing what damage we would do. He may never walk or even speak again.”

“Yeah. Not to good having a body you can’t use.” Agreed Rhinox “And the protoforming?”

“First Aid’s an Autobot. Protoforming was invented at the time of the Maximals and Predacons. Our systems are radically different to our predecessors. We’ve perfected the process so well now that we could jump in a protoforming vat right here and be converted in about a megacycle. An Autobot or Decepticon would have to go through a long, difficult and dangerous reformatting process to become a later model. It has been done, but only on rare occasions. However, even if we wanted to do it for him, we still encounter the spark instability problem.”

“Yeah, spark operations can be real tricky.” Replied Rhinox. “Back in the Beast Wars, I had to do my fair share of repairs but I’m glad I didn’t have to handle anything as extreme as this. Don’t worry, I know you can handle it. You could probably remove a Pred shell program with your eyes closed.” He finished with a smile.

Looking directly into his optics, she smiled in return and said “Thanks Rhinox.”

They remained locked for a few moments before Rhinox looked away and coughed. “Uhh.. well... ahem. The reason why I came by was to ask you about First Aid’s files.”

A little startled by the sudden change, she quickly shook her head to clear it and said “Oh.. yes. Sure. What did you want to know?”

“Before... well... before the... operation, I was helping First Aid to collect some data on our Beast Modes. I had done a great deal of research back on earth, but when the Axalon was sent to the bottom of the ocean, most of it was lost. We were hoping to rebuild that database using the technology available here.”

“Yes, sounds good. With access to all of the sensor arrays and med-equipment, you’ll be able to get more done here than you ever could on earth with field tech.”

“Exactly. The only catch is, the data we had already taken was saved in First Aid’s files and they’ve been triple encrypted.”

“Well Rhinox, I’m sorry but there were some things First Aid kept even from me. I don’t know what secrets a Cybertronian head of medicine would have, but I never really needed to ask.”

He began to turn to leave when he was interrupted by Ivy “If you’re going be hanging around here, promise me you won’t be a stranger.”

Ivy smiled in return and said “I’ll look forward to it.” As the Maximal engineer left the room.

Branches lashed out and slapped against his external plating as he continued to race away from the snarling beast on his heels. It felt as though the entire forest was reaching out to ensnare him in a tangled web of roots and leaves. Each progressive strike would come more powerfully and slow him down just a little further until the dark foliage had him pushing forward with every ounce of energy. The baying echoed in his head and the image of the raging beast sent his adrenal circuitry into overdrive. Whining servos and aching actuators continued to fight but to no avail and he was dragged to a halt. His optics darted about in desperation but he could not find a way out. No gaps, breakages or weak spots. He could feel the flecks of spittle sprinkling on the back of his neck and the warm promise of deactivation behind him. As the great beast rose to deliver the crushing blow, a metallic hand burst through the foliage and latched itself around his wrist with a steely grip. All at once, he was being pulled out and the branches appeared to wither away. He landed in yet another clearing and saw that the boar had been trapped in the very forest which had tried to consume him. It had bought him some time, but not a lot. Even now he could hear tearing and snapping as it struggled for freedom. Of his rescuer there was no sign.

Blackarachnia knelt before a shadowy trio in the centre of the underground arena. She had been brought here a number of other times since her first meeting with the leaders of the mysterious Coven. Each time she was asked brief yet vague questions. “Why should you join?” “Who are you?” “You deem yourself worthy?” She continued to successfully answer the queries under the watchful guidance of Agony. Now, Blackarachnia had finally come to the end of that road and the beginning of a whole new game.

Where there had been nothing but shadows in the previous meetings, stood row upon row of robed Cybertronians. Each one of them female. “My sisters,” began Sister Alpharia “members of our cause have steadily grown since the end of the Maximal/Predacon wars. We females have fought alongside our male counterparts for millennia and yet, what do we have to show for it? Nothing. We are seen as second class citizens, playthings and vessels for new sparks. There are none of us on either ruling councils and very few within the hierarchy of Cybertron. We have been looked over and cast aside too many times. But our time is soon at hand. Our numbers are the largest that they have ever been and soon, we will rise and we will take what is rightfully ours.”

Cheers and screeches emanated from various followers around the room as the crowd was roused by the speech. Blackarachnia remained hunched over on the ground as she had been ordered to do so and listened tentatively to how the situation continued to unfold. She did not have to wait long because Alpharia raised her hands to quieten the crowd. “Now I wish to formally introduce our newest initiate... rise, Sister Venom.”

At that, Blackarachnia unfurled from the floor and stood proudly before the congregation. Her steely glare met the glowing optics of the hundreds of females gathered there. “She has been examined and found to be true to our cause.” More cheers followed at that statement. “And we are proud to announce that she will be trained within the Order.” Instead of continued praise, gasps emanated from all round. “Yes.. yes..” continued Alpharia “I understand that such an honour has never been bestowed upon an initiate, however her own experiences within the Beast Wars, not to mention the impressive powers granted to her by this Transmetal form, make her the perfect candidate.”

Only a few muttered voices remained after the explanation, however the air remained tense. “Hmmm.. perhaps an example is needed.” She turned to Blackarachnia and nodded, the spider returned the gesture and glanced around for a viable target. Her eyes rested upon a torch which was fixed on a wall at the far end of the room. She narrowed her eyes and focused. Both the spark chamber located in her chest and her optics began to glow with brightly as she pushed her abilities outward. Slowly, the torch began to shake, then gradually, it peeled away from the wall and coasted over the heads of the crowd and came to rest in the centre of the room. Blackarachnia shook her head and the glow vanished and she returned her gaze to the audience with a smug grin. “As you can see,” finished Alpharia. “I did not exaggerate about her abilities.” No reaction came after this and Blackarachnia was quite pleased with the shocked silence. It was all the verification she required.

Razor had managed to climb into the branches of a thick tree and observed the surrounding area. He was horrified to discover that the dense forest stretched on for miles. He was thoroughly confused by this. “There’s no geography on earth like this.” He muttered to himself “Where the frag am I?”

His musing was interrupted when he noticed some movement on the forest floor. It was a bipedal and it looked Cybertronian. “Finally.” he exclaimed “Someone else..” he was stopped by a roar and the sound of snapping twigs on the other side of his vision. He turned and saw the boar pounding its way through the undergrowth. “No...” he whispered and turned back to the other “HEY!” he yelled “GET OUT OF THERE!” But the figure took no notice. Without a moment’s hesitation, he leapt from the tree and sprung towards the figure. As he ran forward, he saw that it was someone familiar. “Nutso?” he said and stopped running as the figure slowly turned.... wielding a large pulse rifle. Nutso narrowed his optics, aimed directly at Razor and pulled the trigger. Razor’s reflexes threw him to the floor and the shot sailed over him, directly into the beast as it exploded through the undergrowth. It let out a wheeze as it fell and ground to a halt, mere inches away from Razor.

The stunned Maximal turned back to where the other had fired from, but the engineer had vanished. He rose and strode over to the wounded animal. It looked up at him with pain in its eyes but it was far from dead. “What the slag am I supposed to do with you now?” he asked it and was replied by a whimper. “Yeah I figured as much.” He strode over to the base of one of the large trees and found the biggest rock he could locate.

Silverbolt sat alone in the dark. His wings, face and ears all drooped in the same depressed way. Every day had been the same. Get up, go to that pit-spawned energo-outlet, go home and wait. Each night was even worse. Entire cycles would pass by as Blackarachnia remained out on this “mission” of hers and he hardly saw her. When he did, it was after she had snuck in to lie down beside him. They barely exchanged words because he would have to leave early every morning and she went out at night. Thoughts of what she could be doing exploded violently in his mind and he fought back tears of feeling useless and helpless. He simply stared at nothing in the dark. “My life has become an empty shell.” Silver informed the darkness and he no longer held back the tears.

Rattrap had followed the entire tedious hour of Obsidian’s tour around the mausoleum and the hologram finally reached the centre of the Decepticon section. In the middle of the room stood a large statue dedicated to the “legendary” Megatron. The statue had been created as a way of acknowledging the Predacon’s history and thus it was shaped to show the villain as a proud leader. Rattrap shook his head. “Bet ol Prime’d be rollin round in his grave.”

He walked between the Predacon’s holographic image and the large statue and studied Obsidian’s face closely. He said “Mega..” and his eyes flickered white and he turned and began to head towards the doorway. “Hey, hey.” Rattrap exclaimed “Pause program!” It took a few seconds, but the image froze in mid air once again. The Maximal positioned himself in front of the Predacon and observed the optics. Something was there. “Zoom in on optics, magnification times ten.” The vision expanded until he was standing before a large green optic. At the centre of it shone a familiar symbol. One that he despised more than the Predacon insignia. “Decepticons....” he said, as he continued the program and followed it outside.

Razor heaved the rock over his head and turned to finish the monster but was surprised to see the clearing empty when he turned. He dropped the rock and warily eyed the surrounding forest. The silence was deafening. Nothing else existed here except for him. It was unsettling.

The voice sighed “And now it’s gone. If you want to get through this you’ve got to be smarter than that. I can only guide and protect you for so long.”

The rest of the ceremony had carried on for a number of cycles and finally the crowd and drifted out of the catacombs and back to their living quarters. Alpharia had taken Blackarachnia to an adjoining room where they could talk in private.

“Not too shabby.” Said Blackarachnia as she admired the small, yet tastefully decorated office. In the centre of the room there was a fairly plain desk with various holo documents and key cards sorted into neat piles and a simple chair behind it. In front of the desk was a small couch upon which Blackarachnia sat and on the walls hung ancient tapestries and artifacts.

“Thanks,” replied Alpharia “but there’s more on this wall than just pretty baubles and trinkets. Each one of these were discovered, rescued or “retrieved” from various places and each is a testament to the glorious history of female Cybertronians.”

She walked over to a long holo parchment which contained blue scrolling binary code. “See this one here?” she continued “it depicts the defence of Fra’Chaloor V.”

Alpharia laughed sadly “Very few have. It was one of those smaller external victories which took place at the time the Decepticon/Autobot war began.” At this she tapped one end of the parchment and the numbers began to gradually scroll at a slower pace until they locked in and the image changed from numbers to black and white static. “Earth was not the first alien planet we encountered. In fact, Cyberonians were exploring regions of space long before the Great War. In the case of Fra’Chaloor, a small team of explorers came across the planet and quickly befriended the indigenous organisms. They have been long since forgotten, however it is known that they were capable of wondrous works with biomechanics. While the group was there, the planet came under attack from a violent nomadic race. In the first wave, over half of the Cybertonian unit was destroyed leaving only Med Tech Trabitha and her three aides. All of them female Cybertonians. They were outnumbered and outmatched in every way, but they took up arms and fought valiantly to protect the Fra’Chaloorians. This is the footage of their final assault.”

At this, she touched the parchment again and the static flickered before taking on the form on a young female Cybertronian. “This is Nexar, primary aide to Med Tech Trabitha making a direct neural connection to this parchment as a record of the actions taken by my mentor.” The image shifted to show a slightly more mature and battle worn female directing orders to others who were out of sight. “...good Potham, load up as much as you can..... good. Now bring it forward.” At this, a large exo-skeletal figure was pushed into view. It appeared machine-like, however it seemed to pulsate as if it were alive.

“A pretender suit?” replied Alpharia. “Yes, it can. This is the very first ever documented.”

All the Maximal could do was watch on in amazement as the Trabitha climbed into the cumbersome structure and became engulfed in the layers of biomechanics. For a few moments nothing happened, then the suit’s optics flickered to life and it emitted a high screech. It then flew into the air via the large rockets on the back and soared out of view. Tense moments passed and then there was a blast of white light which engulfed the vision. Here it ended.

Again, Alpharia looked down sadly. “Well, the story is as follows. Trabitha had equipped the pretender suit with powerful rockets, much more powerful than was required for the battle. She requested them to be filled to maximum beforehand and never truly explained her plan. After blasting off, she tore straight to the enemie’s refuelling station, which had safely landed on the planet amid their troops. As her exostructure was riddled with firepower and explosions, she continued to push on and dove straight into her target. The resulting explosion decimated the enemy ranks and most of their capital ships which happened to be refuelling at the time. The rest of the war was won and the planet was liberated. Unfortunately, the damaged wreaked left the entire planet and the specie’s society in tatters and help was required. The remaining aides, led by Nexar returned to Cybertron to obtain this assistance. They were greeted by Megatron, who had performed his coo and taken over Cybertron, and pleaded their case. The Decepticon leader agreed and sent forth three of his loyal followers, Astrotrain, Soundwave and Skywarp to assist the heroes. Unfortunately, their true intentions were revealed to the survivors all too late. Upon arrival, the Decepticons bound the aides and began a mass genocide of Fra’Choolar V. Within cycles the planet had been cleansed and the precious biotechnological data was stolen and stored within Decepticon archives. The aides were taken into slavery at the hands of the usurpers and only one survived to escape and tell the tale. Shortly after, she mysteriously shut down.”

Alpharia walked over to the desk and sat down for the first time. “Every single one of these tells a similar story. Heroic deeds, betrayal and loss. Our history is not a happy one, but it shows that we get things done. What we are trying to do now is change things for the better.” She stared distantly for a few moments and then said “But we’re here to get talk about you now.”

“I don’t need to know anything else. You passed through our tests and that showed me all that was needed, had it not, you wouldn’t be here now. No. What I need to do now is prepare you for what lies ahead.”

“This is about the Order isn’t it? You don’t have to worry, Agony made sure she lived up to her name when setting me up for this.”

“Actually, I have no doubts that you can handle yourself. You’re strong, agile and a fast learner. You’ll fit in just fine. What I need you to do is keep your eyes open and report back to me.”

Alpharia sighed “Sadly, yes. The Order was always given freedom to operate under their own discretions because they tended to take care of the...... dirtier sides of our organization. Unfortunately, their methods have become more violent and less discrete. I feel that they are becoming corrupted by their power and I will not have a group of bloodthirsty renegades tearing down all the hard work we have done up till now. I’m not saying to go against them and take them down. I’m asking you to join them and if there are things you feel I should know about, please let me know. If I have a direct report I can step in, however if I act on a gut instinct, then it makes me look paranoid and that will damage our cause more than any violence ever could. We have always derived strength through unity and I need you to help me keep it that way.”

The hologram of Obsidian continued forward until it reached the entry to the alleyway. At this, the image froze and Alpha Trion’s voice returned saying “Perimeter of scanner range reached. No further data available.” At that the image imploded and Rattrap was left standing along at the entrance.

He heard a clatter of litter falling behind him and he darted around with his blaster. Narrowing his optics to scan the area revealed nothing he turned back and holstered his weapon. He then took a few steps forward into the alleyway and leaned against the wall saying “Oh boy, Rattrap. What have ye gotten yeself inta?” before continuing along. After five steps there was a loud sound reminiscent of the ocean, followed by a snap. Rattrap grinned and turned around.

He was surprised to see Bazooka suspended in the manga-trap he had planted on the ally wall. “You?!” he exclaimed “I ain’t seen you since ye helped me carry ol Rhinox back to his quarters!”

“Awww... come on now. Don tell me you’re angry at getting caught in my lil trap. Heh heh.”

“Don take it too hard. Besides, I coulda really made it hurt and used a full power blast, but then I couldn ask ya why yer following me.”

“Look, I’ve caught ya. There’s no point keepin it from me. By de looks o tings, you’ve been doin this for some time but you’re not outta get me. If you wanted ta do that, you coulda taken me down cycles ago. So whats da angle yer playin at? If what I’m doin interests you tell me why and it may stop me from taking you down to Enforcer’s security detail.”

Bazooka grimaced but saw the logic in Rattrap’s words. “Look,” he grudgingly began “there are others out there who are interested in your hunt and want to see it successful. They sent me to keep an eye and ensure that you got the job done.”

“Well, mostly it’s been following. You seem to be able to take care of yourself.” He said indicating his current prison.

Rattrap chuckled and said “Yeah, I’ve been in dis game fer some time kid.”

Razor was pinned against a thick tree between the thick tusks of the boar. The sheer weight of the beast pressed harshly against his exo-structure and he cried out in pain. Sweat, froth and servo fluids all mixed in the struggle for domination as neither combatant was willing to give in to the other. Unfortunately, Razor knew that he couldn’t keep this up. Even with augmented servos and thick exo-armour, the boar was massive and unrelenting. Eventually, its strength would see it through.

He noticed movement behind the boar and was greeted by a figure steeping out from behind a far tree. It slowly walked forward as Razor continued to struggle. Emerging from the shadows, he could clearly make out the shape of Nutso. “Nu...” he tried to call out, but it was stifled by another nudge in the abdominal plate.

“You fight your essence Razorbeast. You should not seek battle, but control.” Instructed the engineer.

“I will give you the strength of wisdom to see this through.” At that, the engineer outstretched both arms to either side and raised his head to the heavens. There was a loud screech which was akin to a binary exchange of code and the figure of Nutso changed to a glowing white spectre.

Razor looked on in amazement, all the while continuing to fight, as the tendrils of energy swirled and danced their way towards him. He let out a scream as it darted directly into his body and permeated his very being. His entire exo structure began to shine and grow. When the light faded, he amazed to see that he now was on equal proportions to the boar. He reached up and grabbed the tusks and pushed the great beast back. The hooves dragged in the dirt as the large bulk was repelled. Razor redoubled his attack and wrestled it to the ground and pinned it with one arm around its neck.

As he continued to scuffle he noticed his blaster lying on the ground. He was surprised for there had been nothing there before. Quickly snatching up the weapon in his free hand, he place the barrel against the boar’s skull and his finger hovered over the trigger.

The boar struggled and panicked beneath Razor’s weight as it could sense its demise and it began letting out squeals of terror. Anger and frustration were written across Razor’s face and he was prepared to end this creature’s reign of destruction once and for all. Then he heard a voice echo through his mind “You should not seek battle, but control.” He paused and looked directly into the beast’s eyes. Within he could see fear and confusion and he realised that the creature had actually looked this way all along.

He though hard and then slowly removed the blaster and holstered it. Then, keeping a stern grip on the boar’s tusk, he gradually rose so that he stood before the beast. They locked eyes and he said “OK, I’m letting you go now.” And he released his grip. To his surprise, the boar merely lay there on the ground before him. At first he thought he may have seriously injured the creature, but when he bent back down, it looked more like it was waiting for something.

“What’s wrong?” he asked “You can go.” But there was no response, nor movement. With a sigh, Razor sat next to the creature and shook his head. “This is all crazy. My hard disk has definitely fragmented.” Then he pat the boar on the head “Well, looks like we’re in this together...” at that, the boar and all of the surroundings began to fade into a blackness. “What?!” started Razor. “What’s goi....” and then all was dark.

“Yeah?! So was yer mutha!” continued Rattrap. The argument between the suspended Bazooka and the Maximal Spy had raged on for quite some time and neither seemed to be willing to back down. A beep chimed over Rattrap’s comm. Link interrupting the exchange.

Rattrap flipped open the small screen on his wrist and said “Yeah whaddaya want?!” right into the face of Ultra Magnus. He coughed and shook with a worried look on his face “Er... sorry sir. I was just in the middle o..”

Magnus chuckled “That’s fine Rattrap. I’m sorry to interrupt but I hadn’t heard anything from you and wanted to see how things were going.”

“Well, dats an interestin question.” He said shooting a glance over to Bazooka “I tink I may have jus found a new lead.”

“Yeah, turns out dis may be even bigger dan we first tought. I’ll let ya know when I’ve found sometin more.” Rattrap continued turning back to look down the alley.

Magnus deactivated the comm. panel and walked back out to the balcony. “Turns out that spy of yours is onto something.” He said to the other occupant.

“Yeah, if I know Rattrap, he’s not going to let this get the better of him.” Replied Optimus “If there’s a secret out there, he’ll find it.”

“I hope so.” Mused Magnus. “But for now we’ve got more pressing matters. Tomorrow is the last day of this ‘trial’ and we need to be on our guard.”

“Not only that, we have to be.....” he was interrupted again by the sound of the comm. link chiming. With a sigh, he walked back over to the panel saying “Never a moment’s peace is there?”

He was surprised to see Enforcer’s image. Unfortunately, he was also instantly put on edge because Enforcer would never contact him this late unless there were some kind of emergency. “What is it Enforcer?” he said with concern.

“What?!” he exclaimed. “That’s never happened. There’s no reason for it.”

“Yes sir, I know.” Continued Enforcer. “It’s a real mess and I think you should get down here asap.”

Razor’s optics slowly came into focus and he realised he was lying down on a bench of some kind. He could make out dark figures silhouetted around him and he began to panic. They had found him! This was the end! He tried to jump up but only managed a brief jolt before the ache overtook him and he let out a groan.

“Yeah, that’s right. You know you had us scared there for a while. If it weren’t got Nutso here, you’d probably be still tearing about in a feral beast mode.”

“Nutso?” he said turning slightly to look at the engineer who was still just as jittery and nervous as ever, so much that he barely even made optic contact.

“Yeah, he actually gave me a real spark attack.” Continued Cheetor. “I saw him stab you in the cranial chamber and I thought you were a gonner. Turns out that ‘personality stabilizer’ he downloaded into you was just the trick. I don’t understand what exactly it did and Nutso isn’t saying anything more about it. I’d ask you about it, but you need your rest.”

Being a little overwhelmed by all the information Razor merely looked on in surprise.

The rest added their well wishes except for Stinkbomb who merely grunted and walked away. As the group began to disperse Razor called out “Nutso.” The engineer flinched at the sound of his name and turned back to the warrior. “Thank you.” Said Razor.

A mess, Enforcer had called it. That was the understatement of the stellar cycle. Various level of the building billowed smoke and fire. Building debris, equipment parts and empty Cybertronian shells littered most levels and some parts of the surrounding courtyard.

Magnus and Optimus arrived on a hover skip and disembarked before Enforcer. “They didn’t stand a chance.” Magnus observed.

“You said it sir.” Said Enforcer, with fire in his eyes. “There were only two guards posted here because the building was one big defence grid, but the slaggin thing was shut down when we got here. It doesn’t make any sense why.”

“We’re not sure yet, but look at it sir. I seriously doubt it. I know that the techies are always making bigger and better things, but there’s too much damage for one of them going ‘boom.’ But here’s the strangest thing. None of the higher level equipment was touched.”

“Well, not exactly. We think there was some removal of industrial equipment but we’re trying to find out what. Whatever’s going down, it smells like filthy engine oil, if you don’t mind my saying so sir.”

“Thank you sir, now we have alot of work to get done, so if you’ll excuse me.”

“Yes sir, I’ll let you know as soon as we find something.” With that, Enforcer returned to his duties.

“Both Maximal and Predacon factions are given access to technologies built here so there’s no reason for either side to attack, unless it were to set the other side up. But there’s no claim nor evidence to support either side being responsible. No, this was a renegade. Someone who has strength but needs resources.”

The pulsing, grinding and thumping sounds echoed around the room as the newly liberated mining equipment was put to used on the permashielded door. Scavenger clutched a datapad which he continuously referred to and relayed orders to the other Predacons. Each had been equipped with a various tool from their new collection and it was a concerted effort to get through the obstruction.

At the back of the group, partially concealed in shadow stood Megatron. His Predacons has performed well in their first raid and his plan was beginning to take shape. Burning red optics focused intently on the doorway and a large, confident grin indicated his contentment. “Soon... yes... very soon, this world shall be remade....” Flashes of light danced across his face adding a further eerie aspect to the entire scene and the Predacons continued to work onwards to their new future.