Author Topic: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]  (Read 13822 times)

Lord Harlock

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In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« on: 11 May 2013, 17:21:27 »
Jumpship Bristol
Zenith Jumpoint, New Earth
Prefecture X, Republic of the Sphere
March 23, 3085


New Earth had the notable feature of being the first world colonized by humanity. It also was a garden world that had endured much over the past almost thousand years of human rule. It had gone through several owners during that time including the Terran Alliance, Terran Hegemony, Lyran Commonwealth, Federated Commonwealth, Lyran Alliance, and most recently it had briefly belonged to the Word of Blake Protectorate.

Now, the world belonged to the Republic of the Sphere, but the ship didn’t belong to the Republic Navy or to Republic Agencies busily shifting the population across it to create unity. No, the Bristol belonged to the private corporation Interstellar Expeditions. The company strove to find new worlds, open new channels of trade to lost worlds, and possibly fund other expeditions for more lucrative reasons or scientific curiosities by finding lost things of great importance. Some said the company even hunted down missing Blakist and their lost worlds. That was not the Bristol’s mission.

The JumpShip Bristol was an Invader Class vessel meaning that it had the capacity to hold three DropShips on its main body, which was a long fragile cylinder, through hyperspace. Two of the DropShips were registered officially to an anonymous donor who initially had funded the expedition totally until an investigation by Republic of the Sphere into the donor’s finances curtailed plans. The egg shaped Fortress class DropShip, Omega, held most of the expedition’s equipment and personal while the aerodyne Buccaneer DropShip called Lynx would serve the expedition as an all-purpose shuttle. The third dropship and the Bristol belonged to the expedition’s chief financier.

Darius Swendson had become the “Savior of New Syrtis” after the Taurian Concordat’s campaign of destruction there during the Word of Blake Jihad. In 3077 he turned around several failing companies with fresh capital and tripled his investment on the icy world which led to further investments on Syrtis and the recovering Capellan March as a whole. There were even rumors that Darius had carnal relations with Duchess Angela Hasek.

Those were just rumors since the “Wizard of the Syrtis Stock Exchange” was a recluse who only appeared via hologram. However, he did have his way with the Duchess since she got him some dock space at the New Syrtis Shipyard to turn an aerodyne Triumph class into a close approximation of the Assault Triumph made famous by the Word of Blake as a personal yacht for himself and his mercenary guard.

The Midas’ Touch had joined the expedition after Darius insisted. Interstellar Expeditions reluctantly accepted Darius Swendson’s offer, but tension had been high since the expedition was planned.

Briefing Room on board the Bristol

“Take your seats please,” Director Ajax DuQuesne said to the people filing into the briefing room. He waited a few minutes before starting into his prepared presentation. “Now that you’re all here, I can get the reason we’ve come all this way. Six months ago, the Sol Debris Survey turned up a startling and disturbing find: A new star just under 30 lightyears from Terra in Prefecture VII.”

A collection of gasps and a general murmur from the audience caused DuQuesne to pause.

“As all of you obviously understand, such an event is virtually unthinkable when one considers the length of time humanity has been traversing the stars within one jump of Terra. The new star is a red dwarf partially obscured by a nebula, so detection was highly unlikely without the sort of high-powered telescopes used by the Debris Survey, but there should have some record of the star anyway. The obvious conclusion is that someone or some organization has been keeping this star off the charts and out of history books. Given these facts, the discovery was kept secret and Interstellar Expeditions was contracted to find out why this star was kept secret.”

“Each of you is a specialist in a scientific field considered important to solving this riddle, or a highly trained soldier with the skills to keep the former individuals safe. I expect the utmost professionalism from all of you. I must stress that every article of your non-disclosure agreements will be enforced with regards to this mission, and leaks may be prosecuted under the Republic of the Sphere’s Official Secrets Act. We jump in two hours, so make your preparations.”

“If I might give one friendly word of advice, on this mission, expect the unexpected. Dismissed.”

Expect the unexpected, chuckled the man known as Major Montgomery Cristo to himself. How little they know, especially DuQuesne.

"Mr. Darius Swendson doesn't pay you to scowl, Major," said Dr. A. Pipperton. With her bright red hair, nearly glowing blue eyes, and youthful looks, Darius Swendson's chief scientist was not the typical aging scientist with bony fingers working with beakers. Though she did have pale white skin, she was much than she seemed especially to Cristo.

Her smile must have been a weapon at some point, thought Cristo as he sighed.

"Mr. Swendson pays us for security, Ariel. Remember, we both make sure that the Economic Wizard of Syrtis is safe."

Her shiny white teeth met the Major’s real eye. "Just remember that we are both representing Mr. Swendson here. He has spent many C-Bills to help fund this expedition along with sending us, his best personnel, to help. Remember we must be smiles as he says, so mingle for a moment before you go back to sulk back on the Midas when we dock."

Major Cristo gave a smile with his tanned skin making the shape of a weak one. "I'll do my best to . . . meet and greet."

As Dr. Pipperton went to smile at the other scientists, Major Cristo turned around to see Director Ajax DuQuesne’s face. The director did not look happy.

“There is scuttlebutt that your dropship is planning different landing coordinates than the ones the expedition assigned, Major.”

Cristo looked at DuQesne and merely smiled. It had gotten easier over the years to lie ever since that day when he lost everything. “When did you become the MASK, Director? Going after more wild rumors?” Cristo left DuQesne stunned for a minute. “I assure you that Mr. Swendson’s contribution will follow the expedition directives to the letter.”

Ajax DuQesne scowled. “I’d love to believe that, but there was that incident before we left when some of your mercenaries ruffed up some of IE’s troops for calling Mr. Swendson, a Lyran Baron.”

For a moment, Cristo almost released some anger as he was reminded of the incident. In the Federated Suns, one of the worst things to do to someone of power was to call them a Lyran Baron. Before the Federated Commonwealth, the phrase just meant a nobleman who had power thanks to wealth. After the Federated Commonwealth Civil War, the term became associated with the corrupted systems that most people in the Suns now believed reigned supreme with businesses colluding with Lyran government to keep a stronger-than-actual market value.

The insult had upset Cristo for a moment. “No, Mr. Swendson is no Lyran Baron. He enjoys the game too much to collude with anyone.” However, Cristo knew that he took favors from others, but he usually swindled people out what they thought was a deal.

Cristo remembered Swendson’s words to such a victim, “Did we shake on it? I don’t remember seeing you with my own two eyes give a gentlemen’s shake.” The man believed that Swendson would get him a deal with Duchess Hasek, but instead after the man had given several gifts to Cristo’s employer, Swendson, who merely laughed about it like he had a misunderstood lover.

No, the way to get Darius Swendson’s respect was to meet him on his field of battle: the investment markets. He actually sent a note of congratulations to Grand Federation Bank of Torrance when they beat his investment portfolio one quarter two years ago. He then discovered the young investment banker who had accomplished the task, and he hired the man immediately for his own, smaller investment house.

“Indeed,” began Director DuQesne. “I’m sure that Mr. Swendson could barely be as honorable as some of the Lyran Princes of Business that I’ve met over the years. However, Interstellar Expeditions appreciates his assistance both materially and financial in this mission.”

DuQesne walked off as Cristo merely stared him down. For a moment, Cristo turned his head to look in a mirror to see his perfectly normal looking human face. There were no scars in the reflection, but Montgomery Cristo knew they ran deeper. He hurried back to the Midas’ Touch where he controlled things for the most part.


After the final checks were made and the crews were secure, the countdown began for the jump. Finally, after an hour, it finished. Crewmembers prepared for the jump. Some took anti-nausea medicine. Others relaxed. Some just wanted the moment between spaces to last longer.

In a second, a bright flash appeared near New Earth. During the shift in space, there are some who have stared into space that say beasts and creatures of energy live there. Those poor fools are usually found babbling after witnessing strange things. Some say that is where the missing Manei Domini, the cybernetic elite of the Blakist forces, went after the Jihad having found a way to survive in that unknown country.

There are others who say that the sickness experienced by some during jumps is in fact the pull of the infernal regions. And the reason that Hell is pulling on its victims is due to the fact that they have some sort of sin. It could be that it is just a nexus between the now and hereafter, and in fact, some travelers see beloved love ones reaching out to hug them instead.

Then again, the space between jumps was largely unexplored and mostly avoided. Even an artificial intelligent JumpShip had been sent through hyperspace without a human operator, and the AI ship, the Bright Star, seemed to have gone mad. Instead of finding new worlds, it just kept on jumping further and further out into space. Some say that it will lead an invasion of vengeful machines back to Terra someday.

Regardless of tales of the odd and macabre, no one on the Bristol or its DropShips tried to see what was out there. Perhaps, they should have, but after almost a millennium of warning, no one really wanted to go mad from horrid revelation.

Then at the edge of some unknown system, the Bristol appeared out of a brief star. Several crewmembers across the Bristol had jump sickness which mostly consisted of headaches and nausea. Some thought that they felt some unusual static that gave them a bit of unease. That all washed away when they saw telescope images of the mysterious world. It appeared metallic like a giant mechanical sphere. Perhaps, it was a Star League wonder lost to Comstar or the Amaris Civil War’s destruction of records.
« Last Edit: 25 May 2013, 21:21:43 by Lord Harlock »

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #1 on: 11 May 2013, 17:33:37 »
Okay, I've abandoned Enigma for the time being to focus on something that GBScientist and I have been putting together for awhile. Some of you will figure out exactly what Battletech is being crossed with just by knowing the authors of this story. And if you have a good memory, the title is a give away.

That's right! Battletech is being crossed over with an incredibly big white pony disguised as a metallic alien planet. Expect appearances by that "terrorist" Jokey Smurf with presents. Be astounded by the appearance of Roy the Rooster as he pilots an Atlas to create the largest practical joke ever. And discover that it was in fact Jack Napier who founded the Word of Blake.

Wait, none of that is actually going to happen.

Oh well, updates will occur on Saturdays and Tuesdays.

snakespinner

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #2 on: 11 May 2013, 19:53:45 »
Carnal knowledge, with those two words i knew you had something interesting planned. ;D
Great start. O0
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Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #3 on: 14 May 2013, 14:16:36 »
Omega’s Repair Bays attached SS Bristol
Beyond Jump Limit, Unknown System
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
March 23, 3085


“I tell you Louie; you are screwy if you want me to believe that some sort of blue plasma ball flew into the wall during jump,” said an Interstellar Expedition security guard looking over the panel. He wore light armor along with magnetic boots. The guard, whose face was covered by a helmet, poked the still sizzling panel.

Louie, a tech, wore basic JumpShip crew overalls. His shaggy red hair seemed to make him look younger than he really was, but his eyes told the guard that he believed the story. “Sir, I’ve never had jump sickness, and during the jump I noticed the ball when a friend who suffers bad from it keeled over from the pain. That ball was almost azure with a white throbbing center. It bounced against the panel, and then it flew off somewhere in the bay.”

The guard had heard of strange things before during jumps such as seeing dead relatives to one guy claiming to have saw the cast of Immortal Warrior XXI doing “King Lear”, but that was a pretty steep story to believe from the kid. “I’d like to believe you, but it’s my job to be cautious, kid. And I have to suspect humans, including you, for tampering with the Omega, kid.”

“I’ll vouch for him,” said an understanding voice. Walking over was the chief mechanic on board the Omega, he had the oddest blue eyes that anyone had ever seen. They almost seemed to almost glow blue. “I also saw the blue orb that Louie saw. And if my name isn’t Chief Hound Dog, let me get hit by the hatchet from that mech over there right now.”

Louie smiled even if the guard showed no expression. “Chief, I know you run this place, but if there is sabotage, we need to discover it before we get down on that planet. Plus, you name isn’t Hound Dog. It’s Harris Lupin. However, I have other duties, and probably what happened was the panel just had an overload. These older dropships have these kinds of problems all the time.”

Hound Dog smiled through his blond beard. “It could have been. Just stop giving the kid a hard time.”
“Fine,” said the guard walking off.

Hound Dog kneeled down and gave a good look at Louie. “Now you go get back to work.” Louie floated off.
Hound Dog looked at the panel, and then he seemed to shimmer for a moment. “I need to contact the Director.”

The SS Bristol Bridge

“What is the current situation?” asked Cristo as he walked onto the bridge of the Bristol.

“Well if I wasn’t being paid well, I’d wish for a smidgen of good alcohol because that planet looks like it has chunk missing in the southern hemisphere. Also, it has a strange orange glow like the eyes of a branth. Nice dragons, but it’s unsettling seeing a planet glow that way. Plus, spectral analysis shows that its surface is mostly made of a material like ferro-fibrous armor. I’m sure Dr. Ariel is having naughty thoughts if you know what I mean.”

The captain of the Bristol winked. Then he took a swig from a canteen from the side of his chair, the man winced as his grey haired head shook back from the water.

“That’s the problem with working for Sunners. No good booze, and the water is too clean,” said Captain Zadok Allen.

Major Montgomery Cristo had no idea where Darius Swendson had dug up Allen, but he had no desire to discover where that place was especially when the man was drunk. He talked of odd things from hyperspace the last time that Cristo found him a bit tipsy. The drunken rants included descriptions of creatures that made his homeworld a place of living nightmares if they were true.

After the Blakist Jihad and the truth that he knew, Cristo didn’t truly doubt the man. In another life, he would have laughed at such stories. Now as he stared out of the window of the Midas’ Touch at the distant, metal world, he saw them as possible. However, Cristo needed order, especially from his captain.

“We don’t need you as drunk as Kenyon Marik, Allen. I just need you to confirm that the plan is in place before we get approval to go down there.”

“Do Liaos have limp swords?”

Cristo chuckled. “At least, you have a sense of humor. How did Swendson hire you again?”

Allen sighed. “He found me in the gutters on Stewart after the Republic kindly moved in and said that I’m a danger to any JumpShip that I captain because of my alcoholism. The nerve of Stone’s people astounds me. It’s not like they don’t have their demons.”

After sneering at his hatred of the Republic, Allen continued. “Anyway, Darius Swendson found I had two talents when he recruited me. One I used to serve in the Free Worlds League Navy when that meant something. The Gods bless that grand institution that it returns someday. Most of all, I can keep a secret as long as I keep sober, and trust me, like you, I know his greatest secret. And thanks to the fact that Swendson employs me in a place where I can’t get decent alcohol from the old League, I’m sober all the time it seems.”

Cristo shook his head. “Has the Midas’ Touch informed you if Mega and Buster launched in their Corsair fighters?”

Allen nodded. “Yeah, those two launched. Giga worries about his wife though.”

“Plus, they’ve already confirmed that the path provided by Interstellar Expeditions’ people on the Omega is clear except for light debris that appears to be almost alien. It’s mostly made of material that we know about just in odd shapes. Some even looks like metallic human arms and legs just a bit bulkier. The Omega is studying some of the images at the moment. Ariel, I think is probably doing the same just for other reasons.”

Cristo smiled. “And the Midas’ Touch is ready to go?”

Allen had a glen in his eye. “The Touch is ready to go. I’m just waiting for Director DuQuense to give the word, and then I’ll give you and Captain Abdul Fakkadi more time to prepare for what is necessary.”

Cristo nodded. “Mr. Swendson doesn’t pay us to sit here, so let’s hope that we begin this operation soon. Just have our little plan ready to go when it is time.”


Onboard the Omega, Three Days in Transit

In the Omega’s bays, like the Midas, the tech crews were readying vehicles, mechs, and aerospace fighters. However, two techs were pulling their hair out or what was left of it.

“This piece of Davion trash is not worth whatever the board paid, quiaff?” asked the burly bald man trying to make heads or tails of some oddities in the aerospace fighter that the two were working on.

It took his partner a moment to register that he needed to respond. Then again inspecting the back lasers on a new CS-12D Corsair should have been an easy task. The fifty ton aerospace fighter was long and narrow with the cockpit near the aft section along with the wings.

“Nah Jorgen, this thing is not a piece of junk, but there is just something odd about it. It’s like one moment I’m looking the capacitor bank, and then suddenly if I shift my head for a moment, it is like the capacitors shifted down five centimeters,” said the other tech.

The burly large tech shook his head. “Back when I was proud tech for Clan Ghost Bear, before the Thirty-Third Provisional Cluster joined the Republic Armed Forces and I was shuffled to a unit made up of Combine warriors who treated me like stravag, we would have sent this machine away for testing to discover manufacturing problems.”

Jorgen showing his strength helped his partner pull out the X-Pulse Medium Laser on the fighter. “You would do the same in the Free World League Military, Yancy Upton, quiaff?”

Yancy Upton who was a smaller man with a slight pot belly rubbed his shaggy black hair with his greasy hand. “Sure, we would have made note of the oddities, but we’d probably still use the fighter since you have to use every weapon available to you. Then again, that was during the Jihad. When we were back in the days of Captain-General Thomas Marik, we’d just shipped the fighter back to the manufacturer and be done with it.”

“Thomas Marik sounds like wise man,” said Jorgen whipping his hands.

Upton slid the laser back into the fighter. After looking closer, he was sure that the laser looked different, as if it suddenly had become more advanced than the already high tech laser should be.

“He was. And then those fools in Parliament threw away his leadership just because he really wasn’t a Marik.” Upton said as he whipped off some grease, and then an idea popped in head. “We need to take apart this fighter to make sure that it’s useable. You know, examine the engines and control system. Someone has been altering this machine, and it was perfectly fine before we jumped, to boot.”

Jorgen smiled. “That is what I wanted to hear, Senior Tech Upton!”

And then suddenly the radio sounded. Yancy Upton shifted over to the receiver. “This is Bay Four!”

DuQuense’s voice bellowed out of the receiver nearly deafening Upton. “Why haven’t you cleared that fighter for service?”

Upton suddenly felt sheepish. “Director DuQuense, this . . . is unusual.”

Director DuQuense continued to screech through the radio. “There are other machines waiting for clearance. We do not have time to foolishly waste time on just one beautiful and pristine fighter. Does it have the ability to fly and fight according to your scanners?”

Upton nodded even though DuQuense couldn’t see him. “Yes sir. It checks out according to all sensors, but I did some exams before we jumped. It was fine. Now, it is almost like the fighter is evolving.”

DuQuense with a prideful but at the same time nearly mechanical voice responded back. “Then consider it an honor that the magnificent fighter graced your optics with its exquisite body and get to the next lowly piece of trash.”

“It’ll be done, sir.”

Upton looked at Jorgen. “That fighter is cleared for service. Let’s get to the next one. I’m not disagreeing with the director.”


At that moment, Director DuQuense walked out of a head on another deck. He seemed unstressed. An aide walked up to him. “Sir, it seems some of the equipment is taking a bit longer to clear for readiness.”

The aide added. “And the Midas has already launched fighters. I doubt that they would attack at the moment, but I think that we should just tell the bay to do quick checks.”

Director DuQuense nodded. “You have my authority to give the orders. Plus, give the orders to separate and head for that empty planet. I need to go check some things before we set down on the planet.”

The aide rushed off to give the order starting with Bay Four. DuQuense walked into his office.


Upton was glad that fighter was gone. And then the radio flared up again. “Order from the Director, speed up the checks.”

“Of course?” said Upton a bit confused.

Jorgen looked at Yancy Upton. “Sometimes, it just does not pay to get out of the bunk, quiaff?”

“Aff,” was all that Upton said as he moved the troubled fighter and hopefully got a less unusual fighter quickly.


“You believe that we might have a situation,” said Ajax DuQuense at his desk.

The chief mechanic said as much. “It’s unusual for ball of plasma to just kind of fly into things.”

DeQuense sighed. “There isn’t time to investigate this situation now that the dropships  separated from the Bristol. Just keep your nose to the ground, and if any of the equipment starts to act mysterious, you have my full authority to do the appropriate actions immediately,” said the leader of the expedition.

Hound Dog confirmed his order. “It’ll be done.”


Midas’ Touch
Bridge[/b]

Montgomery Cristo looked at his hand that had the same peach skin as the rest of his body. The DropShip had been transit away from the Bristol for awhile. Captain Fakkadi looked at him as he talked on his personal receiver. The u-shaped communication device with a bit chopped off looked like a twentieth-century phone handset. Fakkadi’s smile revealed pure joy.

“It appears that our chief scientist wants to talk to you. I believe she wishes to have a toaster with you, so you better propose to her.”

Allen chuckled. Then he added. “Should I put it over the loud speaker? It could boost morale, no?”

Shaking his head, Major Cristo sighed. “No, this is probably going to need to be private.”

Cristo picked up a personal communicator headset that strapped over his head. “This is Cristo.”

Ariel Pipperton spoke up. “I wish to wake the Master, but it is not yet time. Did you see it, unworthy one? It was just as he said it would be. He should be awakened to see it.”

Cristo had to keep his words specific and vague. To Pipperton, he sounded weak and unsure. “Indeed, I had just entered the bridge of the Touch to see Captain Fakkadi when we got the latest telescope images. The bridge crew seems to be impressed by it.”

Scoffing over the phone, Dr. Pipperton laughed. “You are still afraid, Cristo. They will know soon enough the truth of the greater purpose that they serve. I shall awaken him as soon as we land. I’d suggest that you join me as he emerges to bask in his wisdom, but our Lord desires true devotion that only I can give him.”

This made Cristo laugh. “No, I’m pretty sure that the boss just wants results.” It felt like this often when he talked to Ariel that she had two personalities. When she was alone, she was a zealot with dead eyes, but in public, she became a bubbly social cheerleader of a major university, like the New Avalon Institute of Science.

She was almost as bad as Cristo’s younger sister. While he did have one before Blakist Jihad, the war had taken much from Cristo. Sarah had the excuse that she used drugs from Magistracy of Canopus for why she was that way. Cristo hoped that someone would raze those hedonistic worlds someday for what their drugs had done to his sister.

“When he awakens, he shall be pleased with me. That is all, Cristo.”

“Sure, I’ll see you in a bit, Doctor.”

Most of the operators of the DropShip ignored what Cristo had said as he went back to stand next to the overdressed Fakkadi. Captain Fakkadi rubbed his black beard. “Hopefully, that girl doesn’t do anything too wild. The great astro mariner Abdul Fakkadi feels that Belters that our employer got that device from were a bit less than honest.”

Belters were humans who lived for the most part in the asteroid belt in the Sol System. Others lived in the belts of two other systems as well. For the most part, they had a culture more in common with twenty-first century Terra than the thirty-first century Inner Sphere. They also were the only people who still had any real world knowledge of cryo stasis. Though Darius Swendson probably had other reasons for contacting them than that particular tech, Cristo had no idea where the belters got the device that the boss wanted.

“I wouldn’t worry about Ariel; she’ll have to face Swendson if she breaks anything. And he hates someone wasting resources especially when it’s on his C-Bill and one of his prizes,” offered Cristo.

Fakkadi nodded as he looked at the navigation screen near his chair. “We are four days out, Major. I’d suggest spending this time until we are ready to merely sit back and relax. Perhaps, you should make Doctor Pipperton a proper woman like on my homeworld of Corebeanca. A woman who obsesses over improper things often ends up just a bit odd, yes?”

Cristo shook his head. “Captain Fakkadi, I believe that Doctor Ariel Pipperton is too far gone for anything to save her,” he lamented. For a second, Cristo looked at his hand again. “I’ll be in my quarters. Have Lieutenant Giga Minamoto report there. I need to discuss plans for his BattleArmor troops.”

As Fakkadi issued orders to his crew, Cristo could not shake the question that crossed his mind about both Pipperton and himself. Was there anything that could save either of them from what they had become?


As the three DropShips proceeded out, they stayed in formation for the most part. It was a seven day trip to the planet’s surface from the Bristol which remained at jump point, and they had traveled already three days. As the trip proceeded, the other two dropships which were controlled for the most part by Interstellar Expeditions approved crews seemed to not trust the Midas’ Touch.

Nothing really occurred as the ships continued on towards the strange world.

That was until the ships passed some debris near the sixth day, there was a bit of debris that sprang to life. It recorded the shape and form of the ships. Then using their direction and their relative speed it found the Bristol. Then it began to signal something on the dead world.


On the other side of the planet near a sea of rust, a lonely citadel stood.

Inside a dim room lit only by a small pulsating light, shadows seemed to be the only occupants.

Then suddenly the light began to flicker faster as others lights lit up around to reveal that it was connecting to some sort of computer console. In front of the console, there appeared to be holograms of the various DropShips and the distant Bristol. Other consoles in the room lit up detailing data on the ships.

Finally across from the initial light, doors hissed on the wall and opened. A single red light emerged from it. And then a single word was heard that came in a cold and harsh voice.

“Intruders.”

Stormcrow

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #4 on: 14 May 2013, 23:56:21 »
Is this a Transformers crossover?
Commandant Otto Maurus, ARWH-1Z ArcHammer, Maurus' Minutemen
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GBscientist

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #5 on: 15 May 2013, 10:52:03 »
Why would anyone want to write a BattleTech/Transformers crossover?  That's just crazy talk.
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Comedian

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #6 on: 17 May 2013, 03:54:52 »
Nah neither GB Scientist nor Lord Harlock have ever been involved in something like that

Never......
really....

;)

(TAG )
« Last Edit: 17 May 2013, 03:58:22 by Comedian »
Listen to your inner Lyran.
Take a Assault Mech!

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Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #7 on: 17 May 2013, 13:10:14 »
Besides at the end of Transformers G1 cartoon continuity, Cybertron is turned into a technorganic hellish place where the sun shines and the denizens are happy and what not. Ugh. I'm not writing that. Now, I might write a story where it turns out that Primus wants Cybertron to get back to being robotic to fight Unicron for a battle that might be a bit apocalyptic. It would involve humans killing technorganic pussycats in Atlases, the revival of Beast Wars Megatron as another Transformer God, and of course Rodimus Prime appearing as the Matrix Bearer to purge Cybertron of the Maximal taint. Of course, Unicorn and Primus have to battle each other for the fate the galaxy.

How that is possible considering the Rodimus died battling Cryotek? Macguffins and convenient 1986 Cartoon writing are the answers. 

This story does not have anyone named Hot Rod in it, so it can't be a crossover with Transformers Generation One especially if I'm part of the writing team.  Rodimus forever! Till All Are One!

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #8 on: 18 May 2013, 14:01:22 »
Bridge of the Omega
Upper Atmosphere, Unknown World
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
March 30, 3085


Gustav Keeper, the captain of the DropShip Omega, stared at the pilot of the Fortress class DropShip. The broad, tall man had a non-descript face, though his voice was imposing.

The Omega was about to begin landing procedures, which was basically a controlled descent towards the world. And Gustav as he sat in his chair at top of the dropship in the bridge was prepared for anything.

“Have we shifted to a vertical position?” asked Gustav.

The pilot sitting at the control console did not make any motion other than controlling the ship. However, his booming voice did reply.

“Affirmative, Omega . . . has achieved correct orientation for orbital descent.”

It always amazed Keeper that there was always a delay after the pilot said Omega. Most didn’t understand why, but a captain knows his crew.

“Do you wish to begin descent?” asked the pilot never turning his head.

Gustav was about to say yes when Director DuQuense floated to his chair. Now that the engines were merely maintaining their current altitude, the spheroid DropShip was experiencing microgravity.

“Gus, I will give the order since I am leader of this expedition.”

Gustav hated DuQuense’s pompous attitude. However, he hated being called Gus worse, and most people understood that. DuQuense was not most people.

“Is there wood between your ears?” asked Keeper to DuQuense.

“Still mad about me calling you by you ‘Gus’?” asked DuQuense. “Alright Captain Keeper, I’ll keep things formal, but I thought that we were great chums.”

“That’s not what I meant. Just don’t call me Gus.”

For a second, there seemed to be some semblance of sparks going on in Director DuQuense’s brain. Then he opened his mouth again.

“I’ll save the short form for special occasions, then,” DuQuesne said with an irritating smirk.

Gustav was about to grumble further when their conversation was broken by the pilot.

“Do you wish to begin landing procedures?”

Gustav was about to answer when suddenly there was a scream from the communication console. A young female spacer was frantically trying to figure out what was going on. She finally just put it through to Captain Keeper.

“This is Keeper,” answered the Omega’s Captain picking up his mic.

What he heard was in a flurry of Japanese which Keeper didn’t exactly understand.

“Okay, Stahl slow down the Combine talk,” asked Keeper.

The captain of the Lynx stopped talking in Japanese. “It’s Japanese, Keeper. Beside it is not exclusive to the Combine. My mother was of Japanese descent, but she wasn’t from the Combine. . .”

Keeper cut off Junichiro Stahl in mid-sentence. “As much as I want to hear about your family’s background, Stahl, we are in a bit of a delicate situation.”

Another voice from the Lynx spoke up its pilot, L. Skyler. “This is a bit of an alarming situation, Captain Keeper. The Midas’ Touch just had an explosion on its starboard wing. Communication is choppy at the moment. I propose that we swoop in and save the lads on the Touch.”

DuQuense was trying to find out what was going on. “This is important. As Director of this expedition under the authority of Interstellar Expeditions, I demand to know what is going on. . . . Is it Blakist?”

Keeper tried to push away the director. “There appears to be a situation on the Midas’ Touch, DuQuense.”

Turning to his sensor officer, Keeper was about to ask for any visual. Then his pilot answered in his deep monotone voice. “Visual confirmation of DropShip peril confirmed.”

On a screen that usual showed star maps, but it could be used to show video as well. There was the aerodyne DropShip near the Lynx with smoke pouring out of the starboard wing.

Turning to his communications officer, Keeper did not want to see anyone die even those arrogant jerks on Midas’ Touch. “Is the Touch sending out an SOS, Spacer Carlo?”

“Not yet. . .Oh, we just got this. I’ll put it on loud speaker.”

The brunette young lady pressed a couple of buttons as a frantic voice came over the speaker.

“This is Captain . . . [buzz]. . . akkadi of the private DropShip Midas’ Touch. We will attempt to make a crash landing. . . . will send rescue coordinates if able . . . Oh mommy!”

Captain Keeper shook his head. And then DuQuense taking the moment gave an order.

“Pilot whatever-your-name-is please begin landing procedures,” said the Interstellar Expedition Director.

Keeper looked at DuQuense as the Omega began to shake as it entered the unknown world’s atmosphere.


Somewhere ten digits began to press buttons. With a wicked grin, the operator of the machine hoped that she would be greeted with great rewards of knowledge and . . .possibly more. There was so much that she wanted from her master.

She stared up at the large cylinder filled with various liquids. The equipment told her that her master was coming back to her. Soon the master’s cold heart would warm, and it would pump the various fluids that his body needed to awaken.

In the swirling mass of dark chemicals, there appeared two purple lights. The operator smiled as they appeared through the translucent liquid. These stars of purple light shone down on her as she knelled to her master.

And then finally, the operator heard a familiar voice. “Ah, it’s time for my homecoming.”


As the Omega landed, the massive legs of the Fortress class DropShip started to unfold. The metal landed on the similar ground creating a metallic crunch.

However, what greeted them was not a lost Star League world, or even something human. It was a world of large metallic buildings that looked destroyed and devastated. About a mile from the Omega was what appeared to be a river bed, but if a scientist expected to find evidence of water, he’d instead find remnants of some sort of high energy liquid that once flowed on its banks.

Crews began to unload from the Omega as the Lynx made its own landing on a nearby open field. The crews either wore environmental suits or full BattleArmor.


The bridge of the Omega

“I want those aerospace fighters in the air or whatever that is out there,” said DuQuense sitting in the captain’s chair giving out orders.

Keeper was at the communication station, and he smiled as DuQuense ignored the DropShip pilot’s stoic guarding of his console.

“Carlo, I need you to tell HoundDog and his assistant to get going on their mission. DuQuense will never be more distracted. He has vision of a Nobel Prize from just seeing the pictures of the surface.”

Carlo nodded as she sent a signal to the mechanic.


HoundDog smiled as he walked over to his assistant in the vehicle bay. “It’s time to go, Ted.”

Ted had a leather jacket over his mechanic uniform as he watched a crewmember clean off his ‘ride’. “Why do you have to bother me? Charlene was just finishing up, if you know what I mean.”

“No, I have no idea,” said a deadpan HoundDog. “Honestly Sk . . .Ed, I don’t have time to hear about your theories of spark and soul interfacing at the moment.”

“Fine, I’ll be ready soon,” said Ted. “Though I hesitate to leave Charlene’s presence. She has optimal proportions in a human female to translate into trunk capacity, which makes her really quite fetching.”

“There’s a reason that you were forgotten about during the war,” said HoundDog.


The Other Side of the Unknown Planet

Flying perfectly through the a city, the Triumph class dropship flew in formation with its fighters. The dark night covered the realm of purple spires rising out of the ground. The crumbling roads that connected the spires had seen better days.

As the Corsair fighters protected the dropship, there was nervousness that the large aerial transport might get hit by debris from the roads. Captain Fakkadi was taking the ship in slow towards their destination. The destination apparently could only be reached by flying through the city.

Apparently according to what they knew of the place, the only viable landing field was through the debris of the once-great alien city. It was a dead city.

The former occupants were the size of mechs and made of metal. And their bodies littered most of the dead city in mostly piece,s though some bodies looked in better condition. However, the Midas’ Touch avoided them and the odd variety of different vehicles that were rattled by their flying by.


Midas’ Touch Bridge

Montgomery Cristo stood as he looked out the windows of the bridge of the Touch. The landscape was less than ideal and bit ominous. This is especially true of the unusual bird-like face with a three pointed crown on top that adorned many of the buildings. Cristo recognized it, but he didn’t let on to that information.

It still amazed Cristo their deception had worked out even if it was as simple as a fake explosion and some theatrics on the part of Fakkadi. The Interstellar teams probably believed that the Midas’ Touch was twisted metal and slurry of blood, and hopefully there would be no rescue attempts by their former companions.

Cristo knew that the Interstellar Expeditions crew would have a horrid fate once Swendson’s plan came together.

“This is truly a world of giants and not men. Do you not agree, Major Cristo?” asked the BattleArmor commander Giga Minamoto. The bulky warrior sometimes was mistaken for a Clan Elemental with his height and bulk, but he was merely a man from the Combine, with his top-knot of hair down his neck like a samurai.

“Perhaps it is a world of 'mechs,” laughed Montgomery Cristo.

“A MechWarriors often see the world through the prism of their ‘mechs,” offered Giga. “But perhaps, you are correct, my commander, even if your discipline creates bias in your vision.”

Sitting in his chair, Captain Abdul Fakkadi kept wondering about his navigator who could not understand the navigation points. The man with his beard and bald head sweated as he studied the map as if he was disturbed. “This makes no sense. I know Darrius Swendson’s ships and their routes, and I know none of you have been here. Yet, we are following a path to somewhere in this place of towers.”

Fakkadi looked at the man with his round small glasses. “Mr. Buckle, you were paid to tell Pilot Ulysses if she is on the right course and to analyze maps. It is not for you to decide if it makes sense. Just tell us if we are in the correct direction.”

Cristo left Minamoto gazing at the place as he walked to Fakkadi’s perch. “You told me that he wouldn’t panic.”

Fakkadi shot back. “His psych profile is outstanding, but he apparently thought that we were kidding when he got asked about alien environments. He thought that we might be going after an enclave of Gene Caste.”

Cristo looked at Fakkadi as red appeared in his right eye for a brief second. The mercenary commander breathed in releasing his anger. “The Gene Caste are nothing more than a rumor created to drum up business for a trivid that got cancelled due to the FedCom Civil War. The marketing company never got the message that the production company cancelled production, and now I have to pay for it because of a jumpy navigator.”

During the FedCom Civil War, a Lyran Trivid producer came up with a new horror franchise after hearing a lecture on Clan Genetic Advances. When the lecture came to conjecture what could be done with the technology such as making humans who could fly and other odd concepts, the rest of the film wrote itself of horrid monstrous creatures that had divided from the fearsome Clans to become even less human to just pure nightmare. Basically the GeneCaste would show up in the Inner Sphere traveling across worlds altering the genetic structure of victims into other willing monstrous slaves. Eventually a hero in a new type of mech would save the day . . . until the sequel.

The problem had been the film was going to use some guerilla marketing with a company on Tharkad. Sending data files through Comstar to Conspiracy Theorists across the Sphere, the plan was to make the concept believable to the public by getting the idea out there. However, the film had to shut down production when the producer died after getting stepped on while trying to get footage from a ‘mech battle. No one told the marketing company until it was too late.

Now, the idea of the GeneCaste was actually considered a reality for billions in the Inner Sphere.

“Well, keep us on target there, Buckle. I have better things to do then go offline this cycle,” laughed a gregarious sort.

Fakkadi and Cristo turned to the one who had spoken to see a man who seemed to be light on his feet. He had slick black hair neatly trimmed even if he was a bit stout. He wore purple sunglasses and a tailored mustard business suit with purple trimming on Lyran business suit lines with a bolo tie around his neck with an odd purple ornament.

“I did not realize that Mister Swendson was on board. Why was I not informed?” said Navigator Buckle.

Ariel Pipperton walked slowly behind Swendson. She smiled at Buckle. “Mr. Swendson prefers to keep his whereabouts secret incase his enemies try to discover him.”

Swendson spoke up. “I can’t have them spoil my fun.”

Buckle looked confused still. “Indeed Mr. Swendson, but it would have helped to know why we are following this path with such an important figure.”

Cristo shook his head as Ariel Pipperton walked over to Navigator Buckle. Swendson however had Fakkadi and Cristo follow him to where Minamoto stood at the ready.

“It is truly as I described, eh?”

Cristo nodded even if he still concerned over the part that he didn’t understand since this whole thing began. “So, why are we here with the Interstellar Expeditions? Their presence here makes this plan of yours a bit more dangerous than it already is.”

Swendson chuckled. “Well as you know, you need bait when you go hunting. Those fools at Interstellar Expeditions make such good bait too. I bet in ten years that several of their company will be dead by the hands of Blakists that they are hunting in secret. But today something else will hunt them.”

Fakkadi nodded to Swendson. “Perhaps sir, it would be best to address the crew and give some words of encouragement.”

Chuckling he played with bolo tie. “Of course, a little synergy never hurt the fuel pump.”

Swendson turned and spoke to the bridge crew. “Here we are at the unknown. Others are here for knowledge. Let me tell you something: knowledge isn’t power. It’s only a means to the real power: wealth. And all of you will be getting a share of this expedition’s great profit. As they say, . . . ”

The bridge crew then spoke up and joined their boss. “Money makes the world go round.”

There was a cheer.

But Cristo and Minamoto looked in the distance at what the navigation computer said was their destination. It appeared to be a massive spire with what appeared to be a crown of thorns on top of the spire. The base where the DropShip was to land had the same symbol on its front, and it was literally the size of a space port. It seemed to positioned near a huge gate which had the same emblem.

Minamoto looked at Swendson and the small bolo tie emblem that no one else noticed that was the same as the emblem emblazoned in the city. He talked to Cristo as Fakkadi returned to his chair.

“Sir, have you noticed that the our Lord Swendson’s symbol is the same as on the fortress?”

Cristo sighed as the DropShip started to its procedure towards the fortress. It was best to get away from Swendson’s dog if he wanted to let the trooper in on the deal.

“Mr. Swendson, I will prepare our troops for securing the alien ruins.” Cristo made sure that the bridge crew heard him. As Fakkadi barked off orders, Darius Swendson merely smiled.

“Of course, Major Cristo. Remember to ready our troops for the big announcement.”

Cristo looked at his subordinate to answer his earlier question as he pulled him towards the door. “It’s best to not think about that.” Then Cristo walked towards the exit of the bridge. “Come on Lieutenant, stop dragging your feet. We need to get ready to secure this fortress.”

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/Surprise]
« Reply #9 on: 22 May 2013, 14:26:26 »
Unknown Fortress
Unknown Region, Unknown Planet
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
March 31, 3085


“How long ‘till we are done?”

That was the question on the minds of everyone in the Swendson Guard unit. Since landing at the fortress, the BattleArmor troops and infantry had been deployed across the fortress along with the four WorkMechs and four BattleMechs. The ‘mechs were mostly being used to open doors and move equipment. Or remove the odd large humanoid like ‘mechs that scattered the fortress.

In his modified Cavalier BattleArmor made to resemble a Samurai as oppose to a Centurion, Giga Minamoto, the commander of the infantry and BattleArmor troops, walked over to the man working on connecting the odd battery device to some great machine that resembled a furnace. Placing his hand on his shoulder, Giga spoke words to the man in the Gray Death Strike armor.

“It is not for a solider to choose his task. No my comrade, it is our nature to know that even when we seem to be doing pointless endeavors. It is for the greater moment of victory.”

The soldier rolled his eyes in his helmet below the rack that normally held missiles. It astounded the solder that most of the BattleArmors had no ammo. They were told that they would receive ammo after the ceremony.

“You do not believe. Observe.”

Though the man had been slacking off, others in Cavalier, Clan Elemental, and other Grey Death Strike armors alongside regular troops in pressure suits connected the odd large battery to the furnace. After several troops pressed buttons things began to happen. Suddenly the fortress shook for several minutes as unknown lights began to flicker on.

The troops looked around, worried that the unknown robots would spring to life to murder them, as suddenly the room filled with light revealing more of disabled robots around the furnace. Giga shook his head.

“They are as lifeless as the rest of their kind.”

This steadied the troops. Though in the corner there was a robot with face that seemed integrated with his body, and held a mighty axe in hand. Giga laughed for the robot had nicks and scrapes across its armor, but where on a man would be the heart was a single wound.

“Whatever warrior did this, he knew where to aim.”

Giga Minamoto walked over to the still standing dark blue with red striped, ‘mech-sized robot. Examining the axe, the BattleArmor commander smirked.

He turned towards his troops while pointing with his unarmed armed left hand at the axe. “This one killed his opponent while taking the fatal blow.” There on the other side of the axe was another robotic body without a head.

The teal robot that appeared to have a cockpit in his torso lost its head in its final attack. The head appeared to be in various parts on the side of the wall.

Then Giga Minomoto received orders along with the rest of his command. “This is Swendson. Good work on the restoring power to Dar . . . the fortress. You are relieved till the opening ceremony. Sweet, sweet oxygen should be following thanks to the ever-generous me. Just remember when the ceremony begins to thank the one responsible: your boss.”

And then stating his last line, Swendson took a bit of sweet higher tone like he was about to cry. “That would be me.”

Minamoto nodded as his troops began to head upstairs.

After the last of the infantry left, Andrews lead the BattleMechs down into the power generation room as it had been revealed.

Standing in his Berserker BattleMech, Major Montgomery Cristo and the machine were as one as he lead his battle lance of troops down into the room. Every step of the Berserker was his own as it had been since that fateful day. He felt the servos of the ‘mech’s arm as it pointed toward the axe wielding dead robot.

“Mr. Swendson wants that one specifically brought up to Dr. Pipperton’s lab.”

The blackened and soot filled room scattered with metallic parts made Cristo realize that the paint job of his ‘mech looked odd. Then again, no one would take gold with purple as camo willingly. Some things, men have no control over.

Dropship Omega’s Fighter Bay

“Why in the world will this fighter's stupid engines not ignite?” screamed its pilot. He had sat in the launch bay for twenty seconds as his fighter refused to do anything.

“Bob? Is everything okay?” asked his commander.

For Bob Rogers, it was not a good day. Then again for the past ten years since he discovered that the Blakist had redeveloped Land-Air ‘Mechs again, he had sought a way to somehow track down an example of the new transformable ‘mechs, even leaving an honored positioned at the rebuilding New Avalon Institute of Science. The problem was that he had almost raised enough capital to purchase and move a stripped down frame from a Regulan Merchant who said that he acquired it during the Regulan Fiefdoms’ nuclear assault on Blakist holdings at the end of the Blakist Jihad.

And now, the Corsair that he had been assigned as a pilot was acting like he was a cadet back in flight school.

“This is DuQuense. If you don’t get that Corsair in the air, I’m going to have it sold off in pieces and you thrown off ship at the next habitable planet, Rogers!”

Suddenly the machine activated with the engine spooling up, and Rogers thought that he heard a yelp. “This is Bear. I’m heading out. “

The Corsair then got shot out the bay door.


Watching from a distance away from the patrols of ‘mechs, BattleArmor, and vehicles, there stood a metallic robot with a bubble head and what appeared to be lasers for arms. Its boxy body stood on what appeared to be light armored legs.

It suddenly heard orders in its simple circuits. “Interesting, the fleshlings have developed new designs in the last five hundred planetary megacycles. No doubt, they are based on our technology.” The voice was cold yet logical. “Transform and turn off for now. There is no point in alerting the intruders to our presence, Drone 1984.”

And without a hesitation on the part of the drone, the laser arms shifted up as the head rose. The legs fused together and buried themselves next to what appeared to be ruined lamp posts.

Just as it finished and turned off, a Skuller Mark II, a trapezoidal vehicle with an Extended Range Medium Laser, passed it, along with a Saxon Armored Personnel Carrier that hovered along behind.

The green Skuller seemed to be excited by being out on the planet like it was home. The alien drone never detected them since its sensor had already turned off by the time that the two passed.

“You should have gone with something that hovers,” said the Saxon as it kept pace with the Skuller easily. “Though if the Saxon had wheels, I guess Charlene would have had to get really in there, I could have tested my theory of gluteus maximus whammy.”

The Skuller’s driver was not happy. “For the last time, I don’t want to hear about your odd theories. I just need you to carry the computer once we collect it, so I never have to hear about your ideas on sparklings.”

There was a scoff over the comms. “Ah, but that’s the trick isn’t it? We live in a universe of infinite possibilities. And we could possibly find evidence which leads to multiple means of affecting it. Consider the combination of custard and other foods . . .”

The screams of the comms drowned out whatever odd theory that the other person was talking about. “There is a reason that you were named Skids, right?”

“Oh come now, we are supposed to be going by code names, HoundDog. For crying out, it least I came up with a good name like Theodore Walter St. Clair. All you could come up with is HoundDog. For a master of disguise and a spy, you are as a creative as a petrorabbit.”

HoundDog really hated being assigned this mission, but in a way, it was good to see the domes and streets. And then his companion had to speak some more. “So, you should probably use the key to locate what we are looking for.”

“No, we will do better by waiting till we get to my old stomping grounds near the Hall of Records. I used to use my holograms to entertain.”

“Race you!” suddenly the Saxon colored in red and blue with white and black strapping sped up.

“Fine, you want a race? I’ll give you a race, you hovering skidplate.”

The two vehicles speed up through the debris ridden road as the lamppost changed once more. It observed that both vehicles had no organic life signs onboard, and that both were traveling towards the ancient enemy capital.

This was reported immediately to the Guardian.


Unknown Fortress

The Midas’ Touch had been pulled into a large bay inside the fortress. The air had been flowing in the chamber for three hours. The Swendson military personnel stood at attention waiting for Darius Swendson to come out of the Midas’ Touch.

Standing in front of the company, their commander, Montgomery Cristo, stood in the purple uniform of Swendson Security. He didn’t seem to show any emotion. However, the commander of ground troops and the air commander held hands when no one was looking.

“Ah my lovely Mega, it is good to see you in your complimentary form. How I wish to sweep you in my arms, my love, now that you are on the ground,” said Giga.

Looking back and forth, the slender pilot looked up at her husband with her violet eyes. “Ah my great samurai, I look forward to a chance to have you take me into your strong arms.”

“Cut it out, some of us are doomed to an eternity of being unable to truly love again,” said Montgomery Cristo. “Now stand at attention.”

“Yes, sir!” they both shouted. Even though they had both been lost in each other’s’ gazes, they broke eye contact and stood ready.

However, it was taking a while for their boss to arrive.

“So Buster and Wilder are currently on patrol?” asked Cristo trying to get past the silence.

“Affirmative. I have those two patrolling the area in their Corsair and Dagger.”

That was when Ariel Pipperton walked out with her assistants. Unlike the military personal, Ariel was dressed in a loose fitting purple dress with beige trimming. She had a lab-coat which had on either shoulder the odd emblem that adorned the walls.

The Swendson Security personnel did not have those on yet, but instead emblem of the encircled letters ‘DS’ adorned their shoulders. Then again, Swendson was not that dumb to reveal his true origins to his enemies.

However, the question was whether it was to reveal it to friends. Some would question how a Rasalhague refugee from the Clan Wars was able to amass a fortune. Plus, the way that he somehow showed up on New Syrtis to help rebuild the economy baffled some.

Suddenly Bay Three of the DropShip, lowered and a Chevalier Light Tank rolled out of the DropShip. It was state of the art; with a multi missile launcher on the front of the vehicle. It was beige with purple striping.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I’m so glad that we all could show up here today in this fortress. I’d like you to know that this place has a name, Darkmount. And I didn’t just make that up.” The voice came from the eight wheeled tank.

Standing on the other side of the scientist and soldiers was the Midas’ Touch crew. The nervous navigator was swatted by Captain Abdul Fakkaid’s baton as he stood stiff in his finest high-collared captain’s uniform.

“Let me ask you: Do you think that it unusual that I somehow knew this fortress was called Darkmount?”

There were murmurs all around.

“Of course, you would. Would it be weirder if this is my homeworld? And that the history people know about me is all elaborate deception to hide my true identity?”

“It all makes sense!” screamed the navigator.

That set off more murmurs as even the soldiers started to ask questions. If Darrius was actually from this world of giant metallic robots, what did that mean that he was?

Suddenly the tank started to shift. The sides of the front split from the body as the laser on the turret detached to attach to the right front. And then arms pushed out from the front as back shifted down. Pushing up from the ground, legs shifted out from back side of the tank creating heavily armed lower legs.

The remaining front of the tank, that was now standing at the top of a humanoid body, shifted back as the turret split in two to create what appeared to be a backpack. The last part to be revealed was a head, upon which two purple piercing eyes lit. The helmeted head was black with a grey face.

A smile appeared on the face of the robot.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, may I introduce myself. I am Swindle, your employer. And let me welcome you to Cybertron.” Holding out his right arm while making a fist, Swindle gave a grin. “And using our synergy, we will together conquer the Inner Sphere.”

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #10 on: 25 May 2013, 21:21:22 »
Transformers is a registered trademark of Hasbro and Takara/Tomy. Battletech is a registered trademark of Topps. All rights reserved to the original trademark holders. Scenario and writing belong to GBscientist and Lord Harlock.

Outside of Kolkular
Kaon, Cyberton
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 1, 3085


The Skuller stopped as the Saxon suddenly started to shift. The hovering vehicle seemed to jump off the ground by nine meters. The front pushed out as the sides next to the front cabin pushed out with arms popping out from behind them. Then from the main body, legs shifted out along with waist region. Lastly, the blue helmeted head rose from the blue chest.

Holding the laser that had rested on the top of the main body now on his right arm, Skids looked out over ruins of the region that once held the Decepticon capital. His red accented limbs seemed to stretch as the Cybertronian’s blue optics lit up.

“Hound, I always theorized that Kaon would end up a scrap heap in 4.42345678909 Stellar Cycles, but I never knew that I’d be right to the millionth degree,” said the theoretician. The transformer had goggles pop down onto his optics. “Oh, there is the main statue of Megatron. You can only tell because the face has that scowl that he had right before he blasted you with that cannon of his.”

“Is he still in his tank form?” asked the green colored transformer walking up besides Skids.

“No, I think this is the statue right between when he shifted from tank to aerospace. You know, when he was that flying tank thing that even Ricochet could hit because it was slower than frozen energon.”

Hound with his flattened chest and his laser to the side of his head chuckled. “Yeah, Megs just didn’t realize that a flying tank was as wise as assigning Misfire to sniper duty. That was really one of his dumber moments.”

“Too bad those didn’t last,” lamented Skids. “Or else, Cybertron wouldn’t be this . . . this . . . “

“Husk?”

Skids nodded.

Hound crossed his arms. “I’d probably have sprung an oil leak if we had gotten closer to Iacon when you mentioned that Prime had told you that the entrance to Vector Sigma there had gotten bombed out before Optimus discovered Metroplex.”

Skids looked at odd light post. There was one that looked like it came from the Decepticon zenith of power on Cybertron. Its purple Decepticon sigil had faded and tarnished, while the odd one looked newer, almost too new.

“Well Hound, it’s quite simple. I listen and make theories. Like Charlene, who is absolutely an interesting woman, I make theories on the nature of the universe and how it relates to the spark. Prime said the entrance under Iacon was destroyed. Though the key said that we were close to it, and if we really wanted to, I could have gotten Charlene in love with me, and we could have gotten her and other humans to dig out the entrance.”

Skids’ laser started to charge. “It’s interesting that no one takes my theory on humans being created by the One seriously except Cloudburst. And who’s seen Cloudburst in 500 Stellar Cycles? If we could just look a bit deeper. We would find more ways to create more sparks without this insanity of trying to get Vector Sigma working on Paradron.”

Hound slapped his faceplate. “Not this again, Skids. Next you are going to tell me that it is perfectly viable to replenish Paradron with new sparks by just letting the femmes and mechs produce a new one after a hundred stellar cycles. There just aren’t enough femmes, and Perceptor believes that we can rebuild Vector Sigma.”

“Love as the humans do is nothing to scoff at, master of illusion. What I talk about is merely love which Primus gives us if we’d only listen, but it is merely . . . ,” Skids cut off as he fired his cannon at his target. “Another tool that Primus gave his children. Isn’t Prime a descendant of Solus and Nexus of the Thirteen?”

“What the hell was that blast for? Do you want to alert any Decepticons that might be here?” yelled Hound.
Skids walked over to the light post that had fallen over. “Most lamps don’t fall over if you hit them with a laser blast, Hound.” Then Skid fired at the other one.

It now had a hole in it without failing over. The odd one started to shift.

“That’s a drone,” said Hound. “This planet isn’t as empty as we thought.”

Skids looked towards the fortress of Kolkular. “No, but the universe isn’t as clear as we’d like it either. Sometimes it is wobbly like Charlene’s trunk.”

Hound’s head servos really were going to ache when they were done. “Let’s get the key out, and get out of here as fast as possible.”


Near the Sea of Rust

A tower that had been created by Megatron after he had access to power of the Omega Lock sat alone near the swirling storm of rust and decay. The power of creation had been at the grasp of Decepticon Founder, and then he threw it away to conquer another world. Cybertron truly lost its last chance at rebirth on that day.
Cybertron had only one guardian now.

For many megacycles, the lone guardian, exiled for a forced mistake, had slowly watched from the lone tower recreated near the Sea of Rust due to the nearness to the last great reserve of natural energon on the dying world. His experiments had kept him company for many cycles, and Shockwave knew the companionship of other Decepticons only when Energon shipments from Lord Megatron occurred.

However, the last shipment of Energon had occurred after the Decepticon Leader got involved in something that the fleshlings called the “Age of War”. And then there was nothing. Just loneliness and cold logic. Eventually, he shut himself down unless there was a reason to activate, since the experiments had failed.

“Kaon Scout 1984 XL deactivated. Last images broadcasting,” said the computer.

Shockwave shifted his head to look at a hologram. It was two Autobots desecrating Kaon. He recognized the blue and red one who had once been his student, and possibly a charge in his spark desired to greet him again. However, the student had joined the Autobots, and their foolish attempts to prevent the rise of Megatron had resulted in the desecration of their homeworld.

If only Optimus Prime had realized what would happen by defying Megatron, Cybertron would not be a dead world. And Shockwave would not be alone on this world, and there would be ample energy to advance the Cybertronian race. Now, he barely had enough energy to defend what little of Cybertron that he could patrol.

However, he had a duty, and with his last bit of energy, he would defend Cybertron. Using his right hand, he began typing on his console to bring into view another spot on the holographic world of Cybertron that was on the other side of the room. Walking over, Shockwave observed what was going on.

There were currently two other incursions. One was in Polyhex at Darkmount. He had lost all scouts and cameras around the facility in the last two megacycles. The other incursion was on a plain close to Iacon. The Autobots had originated from there. And the saddest aspect was that humans once again had come to Cybertron.

Jack Darby had been the name of the first. So illogical that one had been, but he succeeded in helping to create the Terran Alliance. Shockwave had received information that Darby’s daughter married into some family named McKenna.

The most glaring aspect of the fleshling was that he had somehow been able to use artifacts of Cybertronian origin such as the Key to Vector Sigma. That should not have been possible.

If he had more time on Earth, Shockwave would have been able to examine the humans more to decipher how they could utilize Cybertronian relics. His student probably has thoughts on the reasons why, but logic said that humans were organics that came from lonely rodents that somehow outlived magnificent beasts of power and thunder. Sometimes history was illogical, but organic biology always was.

That world was now useless and a mark of shame for Shockwave after the Predacon Debacle, his greatest defeat, had occurred there. And perhaps, Megatron had been merciful to exile him to dead Cybertron to guard and continue experiments.

“Energon reserves are down to 5%,” said the computer.

Shockwave’s eye shimmered for a second. “Then the most logical course of action is to attack the fleshling encampment since the most information is available on it.”

Even with his heavier drones, Shockwave knew that he needed help. Even if it was futile, the protocol said that an outnumbered Decepticon could call for assistance. Most likely, there would be no help.

However, Shockwave issued the distress call, and then he began to prepare for the assault.


Darkmount
Polyhex, Cybertron


Swindle sat back in the chair. “Why are the biggest chairs so uncomfortable?”

Cristo in his Berserker shifted twisted the body. “Who did this belong to?”

A smile spread across the lower part of Swindle’s face. “Ah Straxus was the governor of this place for old Megs. If those two could have mated, they’d made one ugly sparkling.”

“So Straxus was a female transformer?”

Swindle laughed. “Well, he did have the waddle of one of your pregnant woman, and he had absolutely horrible poetry, between you and me. Thankfully for your eyes and my optics, Straxus was a mech. If you read the Covenant of Primus, you’ll find that our god made sure that was impossible. Then again even in Golden Age, couplings were looked down upon since it usually created multifunctional bots. And the Guilds hated them because they were multifunctional. ”

Twisting his 'mech back, Cristo thought on what Swindle said. “So there are female transformers?”

Swindle’s purple eyes lit up. “Ah, yes. Fembots. I’ve missed the company of them. Back when me and my squad were looking to join Megs after we left the Senate’s service, his Lordship decided to wine and dine us with the best oil and fembots with the loosest panels if you know what I mean? Ah Goldenrod, how I miss your backrubs.”

“I remember back in my mercenary days one or two lords tried to lure my unit . . . ,” said Cristo with a bit of pride. “. . . with similar treatment. However, we just wanted to be our own men and we were loyal to House Davion.”

Swindle then turned sore. “Primus, I just thought about Brawl. That’s going give me nightmares during my shut down cycle. The memory of his stupidity crawling up my neural net makes my circuits overcharge,” Swindle shuddered. “If only I had a bottle of Maccadam’s Triple Oil Special. It got your pistons revving in the early cycles and wiped out bad memories, to boot.”

Twisting his 'mech towards Swindle again, Cristo looked at Swindle with his own eyes as opposed to the inputs of cameras. It still felt odd to feel the 'mech as part of him, but Swindle had insisted on the so-called upgrade for his general especially after finding him half-dead and a perfect test subject for his other pet. Then again the upgrade would probably get the former mercenary killed on most worlds in the Republic of the Sphere, and many in other parts of the Inner Sphere.

“Lord Swindle, shouldn’t we go see how Doctor Pipperton is doing on your chief project? Captain Fakkadi has already reported that the upgrades to the Midas’ Touch are going splendidly, especially after we got rid of the navigator.”

Swindle seemed to cough. “More stupidity. Honestly, he was almost as dumb as that brick Brawl.”

Getting off of his throne in what Cristo called the throne room of Darkmount, Swindle seemed angry. “I offer Moe What’s-his-name a piece of the profits, and he sees me as an ogre or the bogeyman. So, he deserved getting thrown into the smelting pit. At least there, his stupidity will help keep the lights on for a cycle.”

Swindle walked out the door to the throne room and down a long hall. Then they took an elevator down to a lower level. Swindle put on a smile, and he even greeted his employees as he tried to avoid smashing them.

“Ah Helen, remember to lift with the back.”

Making his hands look like guns, he pointed at Matsumoto talking to a squad of his troops in the large halls of Darkmount. “Ah there is Giga. I hope that he remembers Swendson Industries provides benefits for two point five offspring along with his wife. Then again, he can get benefits for a third thanks to his wife also being employed thanks to the low, low prices at Swendson Insurance of New Syrtis.”

Swindle and Cristo finally arrived at Ariel Pipperton’s main lab.

“Ah Project Lazarus, it’s time to get my pound’s worth out of these useable bodies.”

Cristo saw a large metal cylinder that seemed large enough to lower a 'mech into. Apparently, there was a fluid that was held in huge tanks that would bathe the bodies of the dead of Swindle’s species, as Cristo understood it. However, all he really wanted was to find out why Swindle had brought so many slave units for a C3, a device intended for command, control, and communications between military units.

Swindle picked up a C3 component. “Let me tell you Cristo, you never want one of these inside you. Otherwise, you might end up with the thoughts of a complete idiot who would pass up twelve good deals on clear crisp energon for an opportunity to hit himself with a rock.”


Omega Landing Site

“Expedition 10, you are cleared for landing,” said the air boss.

The fighter was responding right, but there was still something off about this Corsair. At one point, he had been flying near what appeared to be an alien city. And Bob Rogers was sure that he heard a voice say “crown.”

“This is Expedition 10 coming in . . .,” said Rogers.

Something was off, the stick wasn’t responding. And instead of descending or decreasing in speed, the aerospace fighter was climbing.

“Let me put it this way, human. I’d rather not go back to sitting in that bay with your halfwits poking my engine. So enjoy your ride back to your ship.”

Suddenly, Rogers felt the wind of the alien world as the cockpit opened up, and then he was shot out. The chair didn’t follow.


The Corsair shifted its course towards the rust sea.

“It’s good to be back on Cybertron. And I might as well go see what a fellow Decepticon needs. For Air Commander Starscream always looks out for his subordinates.”

And then Starscream added. “Besides, I need someone to install a transformation cog.”

Shadow_Wraith

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #11 on: 25 May 2013, 23:30:20 »
 :D  What, Starscream as a Corsair AF!  Nice update!  More please!

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #12 on: 01 June 2013, 17:34:15 »
More like a mode locked Corsair. Anyhow, we are shifting to a once a week update schedule.


Captain’s Ready Room SS Bristol
Zenith Jumpoint
Cybertron, Prefecture VII
April 2, 3085


Captain Allen sat back as he listened to Captain Fakkidi. Finally alone, he was sipping from his private reserve of alcohol that he had stashed in his ready room. With the JumpShip currently at station-keeping, there was no need to do much except for an occasional watch, and of course chewing out young sailors who were goofing off.

Zadok really enjoyed chewing out the especially obnoxious ones.

“So, you finally got to see Swendson’s real form. Good for you, Abdul. He’s a lot more impressive that way, am I right?” stated Zadok Allen.

Abdul Fakkadi, who was standing in what a room that made him appear to be a doll, seemed a bit less than impressed. “Sure, it’s great for you, Allen. However at the moment, I have to monitor an entire alien fortress while my Midas’ Touch has alien technology added to it.”

That sparked Allen’s interest even more than the taste of a sharp swig of Stewart Whiskey. “Are we talking a super powerful laser that can split a moon asunder? Now I’d be all primed for that kind of treatment.”

Fakkadi snorted. “Sure that would be glorious. Captain Fakkadi would be feared across the Inner Sphere to even the lowest gutter on Strana Mechty where the Criminal Caste goes unseen, but no, it’s some sort of alien drive system called transwarp and an artificial gravity generator.”

Fakkadi stomped his foot a bit. “Apparently our boss does not want fluids floating about him anymore. It’s not like his body entropies in microgravity. What’s he worried about?”

Allen smiled. “You never do see the grass as green where you are,” said Allen. Fakkadi was about to respond, but Swindle appeared dwarfing Fakkadi.

“Oh Captain Allen, I see that you are taking your downtime in your typical fashion. Hope you’re enjoying that whiskey, but apparently one of my race is on Cybertron. So I figure might as well use the comm channel to see how he’s doing.”

Then Swindle smiled. “And if he doesn’t join Swendson Financial and its subsidiaries, we might have to add another loose end to take care of before we leave Old Cybertron. But for now, Fakkadi needs to get off the phone.”

Allen relaxed as his boss disappeared. Now all he had to worry about was DuQuense calling him.

“Speak of the devil,” spoke the Bristol’s captain. He pressed a couple of buttons on his keyboard. “What can I do you for, Director?”

DuQuense did not look happy. “Allen, under accordance with procedure Omega Level One of the Interstellar Expedition Procedural Handbook, I need you to start doing telescopic scans of the planet. The Lynx has been unable to locate the wreckage of the Midas’ Touch so far. I fear the worst.”

Allen raised an eyebrow. “No sign of them so far? That’s a shame. I knew a great many of the people on that Dropper, considering that they belonged to the extended family of Swendson Transport. Good crew. Though Fakkadi was a bit of a worry wart, he was always complaining that he was not appreciated, considering that his Triumph was the pride of the Swendson Transport fleet. I will do as you asked Director.”

Then Allen formed a grin. “I’ll even have my astro-navigator start to compute up a pirate point in case you have to institute a Level Three evac. Anything else that we should be looking at?”

DuQuense looked a bit embarrassed about his next request. “If your telescopes detect a lone Corsair flying across the plains of this planet, I’d appreciate it. One of the Omega’s pilots claims that it came to life and flew off. Obviously, the man is drunk, but it is possible that this world is not as empty as we believed at first glance. Though I pray it is not some sort of alien intelligence that overwhelms our brains.” DuQuesne paused. “I fear procedure and discipline would fatal if that was the case.”

Allen turned his head out of the camera’s range and took a sip from his special reserve. “Of course, Director, I’ll be sure to keep my mind clean from alien influences. Allen out.”

With his monitor clicking out, he hoped that was the last of his interruptions before his nap. Then again if he didn’t at the least bring the Bristol closer to the planet, Director DuQuense would start to get suspicious.

“I’d better inform the Boss that one of his cousins was on the Omega, apparently.”


Plains of Cybertron, near Iacon

Tommy Rector eased his Warhammer around a pile of rubble. Looking out the window of his heavy BattleMech, he knew for sure that there was something alien and horrid about the devastation suffered on this world, but as the team of scientists and Battle Armor troops in transports that he lead towards the unusual city followed behind him, he knew that he was one of the first humans to walk into an alien city.

Though if any of the Midas’ Touch crew survived, they’d probably be the some of the first to walk in the other alien cities.

Then he got a signal from the Omega.

Pulling a switch, Tommy turned his radio on. “This is Explorer-Alpha. What’s the situation, Omega?”

“Rector, this is Keeper. I’m calling you back to home. We’ve had a situation, and I want as much firepower back here at the dropsite. I’ve dispatched two VTOLs to watch your expedition.”
Rector sighed. “Understood Captain Keeper. It was nice while it lasted. “

After telling the rest of the small cadre of explorers, Rector began walking back to the Omega. Though a queer thought entered his head, the idea of what was having him called back to the DropShip. Was this world truly dead? And if it wasn’t, did that mean that he just left several good men and women to die in that alien city with the great dome?

Tommy desperately wanted to avoid thinking on those ideas at the moment, alone now on the plains of this alien world.

However, it was hard to not think of them as the jagged and metallic surface made every step seem like hundreds of ‘mechs were closing in on his position.


Bridge of the Omega

Gustav Keeper sighed. He was calling back the ship’s BattleMechs. Though DuQuense had no idea why he was on edge about the situation even more so than the Director himself, the Captain knew that an unmanned aerospace fighter on this world meant something else than remote control by members of the crew.

“It’s a perfectly reasonable explanation, Gus,” offered DuQuense giving a grandfather smile.

Keeper shook his head. “It’s inaccurate. I ordered HoundDog and his assistant out to coordinate with one of the teams that was having some mechanical difficulties. “

DuQuense’s eyes opened wide as if a panel on the Omega had opened in the vacuum of the void. “You ordered our chief mechanic out on a simple repair mission. By Blake’s Beard, that’s sheer stupidity. What happens if something is out there and our head mechanic gets eaten, leaving no one to coordinate repairs, Gus?!”

Gustav Keeper knew that the Director was angry, but the masquerade had to cover for Hound and Skids as long as possible. He had other orders from a being that he respected as much as possible. “HoundDog was the only one qualified to work in a hazardous atmosphere, and he wanted to give his assistant some tips for how to work in that environment as well. I would have informed you, but you were asleep at the time, DuQuense.”

The red from the Director’s face began to fade. “That hurts, Gus. I thought that we at the least respected each other enough to inform each other about numb-skull plans.”

DuQuense huffed and puffed some more; then he finally gave out a sigh of regret. “I’ll just say that for now that HoundDog is off my chief culprit list, but if he doesn’t return in the next day, he will bumped up in my mind for those behind this theft of a aerospace fighter.”

Keeper nodded. “On another note, I’ve called back our BattleMechs just in case. I’ve routed our VTOLs to keep watch and in a worst case scenario emergency evac.”

DuQuense shook his head. “The loss of that much material would not go over well at Interstellar Expedition Headquarters.”

The director began to walk out off the bridge. “Just keep me informed, Gus. It’s my duty to make sure that everything follows the rules. And I can’t do that if you keep things secret from me.”

DuQuense walked off the bridge, and Keeper felt like a heel even if he and the ship’s Pilot were the only ones on decks.

“Reports coming in,” said the Pilot in his booming voice. “Hound and Skids have entered the tunnel to Vector Sigma.”


Shockwave’s Citadel

Shockwave couldn’t believe it. There was another Decepticon on Cybertron, but why did it have to be this one? There was no logic to that ‘con, just greed.

“Honestly Shocks, I can’t believe that you’ve been here on this dead world for this long. Personally, I’d taken an energon crystal to the spark casting, being alone for that long,” said the hologram of Swindle.

Shockwave did not say anything or offer any emotions, he just stood at his monitor. The massive gun attached to his left arm did not even twitch. Some wondered if the Decepticon Scientist missed his left hand, considering the robotic dinosaur that had ripped it off had been one of Shockwave’s more annoying experiments in the long run.

“Still the stoic guardian,” said Swindle deepening his voice. His voice went back to normal with a bit of sleaze added as usual. “Honestly, you should get out and see the Inner Sphere. I know this great little spot on Apollo where the oil is sweeter than Maccadam’s blend. It’s too bad that my supplier there has been dead for a while.”

Then Swindle chuckled. “Though his body is probably in worse condition than Cybertron considering what they did to him at a planet called New Samarkand. And let me tell you, that planet is about as unfun as you, Shockwave.”

Shockwave looked at Swindle. “My files indicate that I outrank you, Swindle. You presume too much to give me orders.”

Swindle didn’t flinch. “That’s the thing, Shocks. I really don’t care. Megs died sometime during the First Succession War. And I’m basically an independent contractor at this point, so what do I care about rank? Gutcruncher outranked the lots of us as a merc back during the war for Cybertron, so why not little old me.”

“Does Onslaught know that you have abandoned the Decepticons? “ asked Shockwave.

Swindle chuckled. “He should. I tore out my combiner components and threw them at the rest of the Combaticons with explosives attached right before I went on what was supposed to be a three cycle cruise with Aleksandr Kerensky.” Swindle ‘s optics looked down at the ground. “Now, that was a mistake. Who knew that someone could create a worse society than a stiff like you?”

Shockwave didn’t emote or show any change as Swindle continued.

“Let me tell you the most fun I had was imprinting some of my wisdom on one of that idiot’s malfunctioning, protoform Clans. Primus, it was beautiful till Lorenzo undermined me. I got my revenge on him when I returned to this neck of the woods, or what the humans call the Inner Sphere. The Sharks never knew what hit them on Tukayyid thanks to me lowering their bids and sabotaging their strategy.” Swindle smiled broadly. “It created just the right chaos to keep that group of fishes off my trail as I sat up a new identity and started building up a fortune.”

Shockwave asked a vital question looking towards the hologram with his head. “If you have resources, why have you come to Cybertron? Even your avarice would not draw you here just to take Darkmount because it was denied to you and instead went to one of Megatron’s gladiators.”

Swindle purple eyes lit up. “Thanks for reminding me of that slight. How anyone assigns a moron like Straxus to anything resembling command is beyond my processor. He was almost as moronic as that fool, Brawl.”

Shockwave continued his examination of Swindle, and he finally turned towards the holographic version of Swindle fully. Swindle got a good look at the large cannon with the armor-sheathed energon feed that Shockwave used to replace the arm that he had lost. Shockwave opened the palm of his hand.

“Logically you are here for something on Cybertron that you can’t get via human production methods. Considering that you were never particularly religious or moral, my observation is that you are seeking some sort of commodity that probably borders on many of my experiments’ darker applications. If so, if you submit to my command and use whatever forces that you can to destroy the other invaders on Cybertron, the infraction against my rank will be overlooked.”

Swindle’s optics narrowed. “Shockwave, there is no way that I am submitting to anyone ruling me again. Neither you, Onslaught, or Megatron, if he stopped smelling of fish and somehow resurrected himself like Prime does every other rotational cycle, will get me to bow down and accept your commands.

“I’m the Big Cheese now! No bot who thinks themselves Primus’ gift to logic, or some brute, will force me back into servitude to a cause that is already dead. I am the future of what remains of the Decepticons, and you can either be with me or against me. And right now, mono-eye, I’ve got the superior position with a little experiment that will change war forever.”

Swindle placed his arms over his chest with his signature snide grin as well.

“When I’m done with this husk of a burned-out metal wrapper, I’m out of here. I might sell the location of this junk pile to Chancellor Sun-Tzu Liao so he can desecrate the Hall of Records or the Gladiator Pits of Kaon with his pathetic ideals of his state as some sort of celestial, universal, living machine.”

Shockwave looked at Swindle. “Interesting, I assume that this Chancellor is a human who believes in the superiority of our nature. Could he and his people be converted to Decepticon aims?”

“Yeah if you want to deal with the stupidity of their concepts of programing. I mean really, scan a Capellan novel. Then suddenly, you have read every piece of literature that Capellans ever wrote; the brave Chancellor destroys the chaotic enemy and restores peace and stability to grand, celestial machine. Boring and absolutely wrong.”

Shockwave had turned around to study his records from cycles ago on what he knew about humanity. “Intriguing, a new stratagem could be available to the Decepticon cause if the necessary pieces come together.”

Swindle shook his head while holding the temple of his head. “Shockwave, you don’t get it. The Decepticon cause is as dead as the Sea of Rust. You are a relic following some orders from Megatron to monitor this junk pile. Unicorn’s Pit, I’d give you a position in my organization with great benefits and a stellar retirement package because you and I are pals.”

Swindle’s hologram pointed at Shockwave.

“However stay out of Darkmount, and I’ll contact you when I’m leaving this dead and empty world for something resembling a future. Shockwave, you of all bots should know that there is no logic in staying here.”

Swindle cut transmission. Shockwave wished that he could waste resources to tear out Swindle’s optics, but the problem was that Darkmount was blocked from Ground Bridges and the logistics officer had already rearmed the fortress.

Shockwave knew that he could only concentrate on the humans and the Autobots. Then something odd came up on the scanner: Another Decepticon signal.

Considering the chances and the limited exposure that Shockwave had to other Decepticons, this for a more religious bot would be a sign of Primus’ intervention. Shockwave just looked over the statistics, and the results were incredibly were low that this would happen. For a moment, he stroked the bottom of his head.

“Identify yourself,” said Shockwave.

The answer that Shockwave got nearly made him laugh. “Shockwave? I thought that Megatron had your spark removed after that debacle with the Predacons.”

“That would be a waste of resources. Megatron made me Guardian of Cybertron instead. A position that allowed me to see our homeworld slide further into its irreversible death spiral.”

Starscream chuckled. “A better position than you deserve for that debacle back on Earth.”

Shockwave did not mince words. “Are you combat ready, Starscream?”

Starscream hummed on the radio for a second. “Would you believe I don’t have a t-cog? If you can get me one, I would personally lead whatever forces you have. That is, if you still have the skill to work on t-cogs.”

Shockwave walked over to his computer console again. Pressing several buttons, he created a outline of the long aerospace vehicle mode that Starscream occupied. Then after several scans, Shockwave’s eye analyzed the results.

“Going by the visuals of your body, you are stuck in alt mode. That will make this harder, but there are other issues. This body seems to be made of Cybertronian parts, but it may need additional modifications for transformation. It will take time to accomplish. Time that could be used for attacking the intruders.”

Shockwave’s eye flashed on and off for several seconds.

“However, another viable Decepticon would be worth the work for the coming battle. The coordinates have now been sent to your computer for landing. Follow them precisely, or you may be swept into the Sea of Rust.”

Shockwave closed the communication channel. And then he issued several orders to his drones to bring the hoist on the hoversled. Then with several keystrokes, he powered up his main laboratory. Starscream had not given him all the information, but from the readings, the possibility existed that he was trapped in an aircraft created by the humans with technology based off of Transformer technology, that somehow had been altered further by his spark.

At the pounding and precise steps of Shockwave’s feet on the floor of his control center, he felt excitement in his spark. Starscream’s spark had somehow survived in a different body that was not exactly a Cybertronian one, plus modified it, and that intrigued Shockwave. And beyond the Decepticon cause, Shockwave desired to find a way to preserve and advance Cybertronians for a more logical future.

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #13 on: 12 June 2013, 13:39:27 »
The Plains of Derodmontatus’ Folly
Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 3, 3085


“Never did want to live forever!” screamed Captain Furman. As he felt a bead of sweat fall down from the back of his bald head to back, he pushed his Falconer forward with his Heavy PPC blazing.

There had been four of them who had rendezvous here somewhere on this dead world on their march back to the Omega. And then these non-piloted mechs appeared seeming transformed out of what appeared to be ruined street lamps and other ordinary things. And even as he had taken down ten of the things, there were tons more, and unfortunately for the New Argyle native, he had run dry on autocannons shells and had to sweat like a pig now.

And one of those vaguely humanoid light ones had decided to grapple with his vast, predatory, bird-like mech.

“Captain, here comes the boom!”

Furman stomped down on his jump jets paddles while firing his heavy ppc again. This pushed back the scout enemy with its sharp knife like hands back. Suddenly out of nowhere missiles just engulfed the enemy as he escaped the explosion.

“Lieutenant Bay! Next time tell a bloke what the '****** hell you’re thinking before you light up the target that has decided to start courting him.”

And that was when Furman heard the high pitched whine of Michelle Bay. “Oh I am sorry, Captain, but the boom did blast apart the drone, Though if you don’t want me to help, I can always go away since I’m only here for the money,”said a remorseful Michelle “Boom-Boom”Bay. Furman hated the way that her overly tanned skin made her look like a mummy with sandy blonde hair. The fact that the woman dressed like she was in a ‘mech all the time caused Furman problems as well.

You’d think that someone would tell her that she should wear more than a coolant vest and shorts out of combat. Then again, Furman did have to admit that her plastic surgery had come out rather large and attractive. If she weren’t crazy, a totally butterface, and absolutely insane, Furman would have considered dating her.

And that was why Furman almost never thought about the upper chest region of women: it usually got him into trouble. A beam of crimson energy nearly blasted him apart as it sailed by the forward-placed cockpit of his ‘Mech. Two of the heavy built drones with huge plasma cannons on one shoulder were bearing down on him.

Pushing back his mech, Furman noticed that it was overheating. He desperately tried to vent coolant, but it was no good. He didn’t have enough time to cut down his heat without risking an automatic shutdown. In the remaining time, he’d be left at the mercy of the drones that transformed from tanks.

“If you got any missiles left, I’m little too hot over here, Boom-Boom,” pleaded Simon.

“Sorry, but I’ve got a loading error in one of my multi-missile launchers, Captain. It’ll take another minute, just like that scene in Immortal Warrior XXXIII where the beautiful and ample-chested heroine is unable to help her boyfriend, the Immortal Warrior, in his ‘mech battle against Precentor Yuri Liao in his Supermech that looked a Highlander with racing stripes. I wonder why they went with racing stripes.”

Furman wondered how Bay had survived the Jihad in the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces without getting shot for her inane banter. Some people deserved to reap the whirlwind.

“Not to worry, Captain,”said another voice over the comms as two heavy PPC shots sailed into the heads of the monster drones. Furman practically got down on his knees and praised the Author of the Unfinished Book, but he figured that the metal of his cockpit would probably cause a burn.

“Thomas Rector, you blasted Draconis Marcher. I’d kiss you if you weren’t a bloody bloke.”

“Would you kiss me? We’ve got that thing going and then the wind can be blowing my hair as the sun sets behind us,”asked Michelle.

Furman wanted to say no in the loudest voice possible, but he didn’t want to risk Michelle suddenly being the most senior MechWarrior on the Omega. That would mean that these unknown enemies would devastate their ticket off this horrid world of metal and robots.

“You made it in the nick of time, Tommy. Now let’s link up positions, and that includes you too Boom-Boom, even if you are piloting that Leaguer piece of trash,”scoffed Furman. Bay liked having lots of missiles, but for some odd reason, she especially liked the walking missile rack known as the Yeoman.

The Falconer pilot knew that this battle was over, finished. However, he also knew that he’d lost Wise when two of the heavier drones jumped together to smash him like two giant turtles squashing a defenseless ninja in one of those Combine films. And then losing Bay’s two support missile boats, in Tweetle-Dee and Tweetle-Dum, to being overrun by the scout model drones had been a bad blow.

“Oh, I just thought of something. Perhaps these robots are in fact ninjas, and they are here because they have to fight giant beings from another dimension. Plus thanks to us killing them, we have left the dimensional gateway unguarded and an undead ninja monster robot will rise from its grave to activate a way to release an unearthly horror that will make this planet into its body. Wouldn’t that be totally cool?”

Furman just sighed as he lead the two back towards the Omega. Hopefully Buddy and Flint had survived because they were all doomed if all the support that they had was Boom-Boom.


Shockwave’s Lab- Fortress Near the Sea of Rust

“Interesting,”mused Shockwave.

Shockwave had turned from his surgery to watch a battle that had happened between some of his hidden drones on the Plains of Derodmontatus’ Folly. When the two missile firing mechs had been destroyed by waves of his drones, Shockwave knew that the battle to eliminate the human intruders could be a bit more problematic. Though now that he had seen their artificial mechanoids, Shockwave could see that the humans used their tools either as direct attackers or artillery.

“Could you stop looking at that Quintesson General’s failed battlefield and finish me up?”

Shockwave turned from his computer console, and then he walked back to the upper body of Starscream with his long face. It was remarkable to Shockwave that the armless Starscream had much the same look as when he had taken the Earthling’s F-16 as alt-mode, but something truly unique had occurred with Starscream.

“Air Commander, do you continue to contend that you were able to maintain yourself as merely a spark?”

The mouth of Starscream sneered. “Why would I lie about that after you already have torn me to pieces, and have been slowly putting back together in a most painful manner? So you could torture me even more? When will this indignity end?”

Shockwave did not answer as he placed a device near Starscream’s chest. And then he opened up the chest panel pulled off another larger panel to reveal Starscream’s spark. “What are you doing? You are going to kill me! Please, don’t kill me. . . . ,” Starscream started to squeal.

For a moment, he considered going further into Starscream’s spark. However, he only needed to sample the pure CNA contained in the spark to compare against another property. For a second, the probe pierced the blue sphere contained within Starscream which caused the Decepticon to scream.

And then Starscream realized that he was still alive. “Wait, what in the Infernal Pit did you do?” The Decepticon Scientist and Theorist pulled a vial of energon from the probe.

Shockwave walked slowly over to his console with the vial. Placing the vial in a device that had a large cylinder above it, Shockwave walked back to his console.

“Answer me! What did you do?”

Shockwave pressed several button as the cylinder closed on the vial. It took several moments, but then all of the sudden, Shockwave’s eye moved from several holograms.

And then he finally answered.

“The truth is that I took a bit of your spark, or innermost energon, as the uneducated like to say,” said Shockwave. Then Shockwave pressed another button, and all of the lights in the lab turned off except for his eye and an odd blue light coming from Starscream’s chest.

“Traditionally, a spark, once it loses this so-called innermost energon, then it takes several megacycles to restores itself. Also, there is a wound left in the spark. Before the War, the proper authorities were informed that Innermost Energon merely acted as a placebo. The simpletons never bothered to listen.”

Shockwave uttered one more phrase. “Useless fools.”

Then Shockwave walked over and he reached into Starscream’s spark. “What madness is this?”Starscream waited for pain, but nothing happened.

“The truth is that nothing that my hand does can harm your spark, Starscream.”

Then Shockwave walked back to his console. Pressing several buttons, Shockwave activated machines that were working on the rest of Starscream’s body, which resumed their paused reconstruction work..

“In fact, a spark nearing death has barely a glow. And the more religious say once it goes dark that it goes to join Primus. However, your spark does not deplete. In short, you are the first Transformer, except possibly the ancient Primes, to be effectively immortal. The question is how that occurred, and if it can be duplicated.”

Starscream looked down at his opened chest. “And would you actually be willing to go through what it took to make me immortal?”

Shockwave turned his head as his head continued to press button. “Perhaps if the risks do not outweigh the benefits, the procedure may be in fact worth going through.”

Starscream chuckled. “Well here is the kicker, I died Shockwave. My body was destroyed and my spark depleted. And it was all our Master’s fault.”

“Did Lord Megatron order you to attack a location?”

Starscream nodded. “It was in the early days of what the humans call the First Succession War for the title of Lord of the Stars. What a pretentious title. I met one of these Star Lords. His name was Steffen Amaris. What a rolly-polly fool of a man.”

Then Starscream craned his neck back. “That fat man thought that he was invincible with our forces. Lord Megatron used Swindle as his envoy. It was all a ploy to get Prime to challenge him one last time. One last glorious battle, and  when came time to battle Prime on New Dallas, Megatron was beaten badly, even with our ally., Megatron was beaten badly, even with our ally. We used the troops that he offered us and barely beat back the Autobots.”

“However, Prime had done something that Megatron never anticipated with the help of an earlier Lord of a now-dead state, named James McKenna. The Director-General, as he was called, gave a world to the Autobots that they turned into a new Cybertron. And on this world, the Autobots reorganized. Megatron, thanks to the upgrades you gave him during that Predacon Madness, never considered that option. It was always revitalize Cybertron or take Earth . . .The Humans call it Terra now. And the humans did the same thing as the Autobots. Thousands of worlds belong to them, and we Decepticons are merely dying embers.”

Starscream lamented. “Megatron was defeated suddenly when the Autobots revealed that they had reorganized and multiplied on their new world. They were not living on the scraps of resources that we Decepticons were, from an ally we merely intended as a lure. And then after our near defeat, Megatron ordered me to lure out the Autobots by destroying a facility on a planet called New Earth, which had begun to experiment with a material unknown to humans for the most part.”

Shockwave walked back over to Starscream and started to reattach Starcream’s chest plating. Drones that had remained hidden brought over the various pieces that had been finished.

“Energon? Humans with energon could prove problematic.”

An arm was attached to Starscream. “That was Megatron’s thought as well, but the humans also discovered that the place that their JumpShips travel through actually is full of it. And as I examined the facility, I realized what was going on, but I had already planted the charges. The explosion was supposed to lure the Autobots out, but it exploded with me there. Somehow, I next knew was on that JumpShip traveling nearby. Then I possessed this new body only to discover that by human standards that I’d been dead about four hundred years.”

And then Shockwave, with a motion of his hand, had the drone reattach Starscream’s other arm, legs, and wings. Shockwave was about to repair the hole that he had made in Starscream’s back when he noticed that it was already healing with what appeared to be energon.

“Interesting.”


Pipperton’s Lab, Darkmount

Swindle walked back into the lab where Dr. Ariel Pipperton was running her experiment, and the ultimate prize for coming back to Cybertron. Though Swindle had come up with the scheme when he came across a large supply of the main ingredient in waste that the Republic of the Armed Forces needed cleaned up, it still made him chuckle deep in his circuits.

They have no idea that this fluid, toxic to human and Cybertronians alike, came from the core of their homeworld, thought Swindle.

Swindle’s optics noticed that Cristo’s axe was on the ground. Though the improvements in the man made his control of his Berserker nearly on par with a true Cybertronian, he was still just a man in armored suit. This experiment would give Swindle the best mercenary force in the Inner Sphere and lots of C-Bills as well.

Swindle reached down and got the axe, and then he gave it back to Cristo. “So, did another test run go wrong?”

Cristo’s ‘Mech looked at Swindle. “You could say the Creature did not take kindly to being reawakened as a monster.” There were burn marks across the Cristo’s Berserker.

“I see, but you took care of the problem while I made that call? That’s why you’re my number one guy, Montgomery,” smiled Swindle as he patted the Berserker on the back.

And then he scanned the room. Once Swindle found the target, he lifted his arm, and he fired his large laser. After a brief explosion, the parts fell apart.

That was when Ariel walked up. Half of her face was covered by her red hair. “Master, I believe that I have come up with the means of correcting the mistake. The C3 equipment has to be added after infusion, or it merely becomes another part of the overall creature. We are ready to begin in earnest on our next attempt.”

Ariel shifted her head to reveal that part of her face had been burned around her eye to reveal metal and a red piercing eye. Cristo knew that Ariel’s team already knew that she was not altogether human.

“This had better work. I’ve had the rest of the MechWarriors helping to load body parts into the smelting pits. I’d rather be out doing patrols with them than standing here waiting to be pummeled by your unholy creations,” said Cristo over the Berserker’s loudspeakers.

Swindle chuckled. “Don’t rush the poor Manei Dominus Scientist. She is the key to unlocking my perfect army. No provisions. No Health Benefits. And especially no need to worry about training since they are easily controlled.”

Ariel smiled at her master. “Your praise is worth it, Master. Do you have any of the subjects that you’d like to try next?”

Swindle robbed his hands together. “I was wondering when you’d ask. I’m like a protoform getting his first upgrade. Let’s see.”

Swindle’s optics looked across the fourteen bodies that have been assembled so far. For a second, his purple optics rest on a large robot built like a stout Franklin stove only larger and meaner. “Let’s not start with Straxus. . . . Ah, I think that Catilla will be a perfect test subject.”

Swindle smiled as the robot that appeared to have feline aspects to his head got loaded into the long chamber. And then the chamber was closed around it.

“Hey Cristo, it’s funny that I once told Catilla that he’d be under my command someday? Then he had to betray the Decepticon cause when a Wrecker of all bots saved him. And now, I’m right again!”

From behind the chamber a glowing purple substance descended from tubes into the chamber. Swindle didn’t want to be around it personally. Then again, most Decepticons who had exposure to it seemed to have some sort of circuit damage. Brawl never seemed to get back half the intelligence that he had. Starscream lost some of his memory apparently, thanks to being thrown through a wall into a transrotor and that liquid. And good old Megatron became an acolyte to Unicron at times.

Swindle had barely noticed that Brawl went from a dimwit to a nitwit. The others troubled Swindle. He did not want to end up serving any god especially the Master of the Pit. There was no money in it.

“So what are you exposing these other Cybertronians too, Lord Swindle?” asked Cristo. “Ariel, basically laughs like a maniac and her assistants barely know either. They just tell me to avoid the goo since it apparently is pretty lethal to humans.”

Swindle shrugged his shoulders. “It’s called Dark Energon. It is the Blood of Unicron, my people’s version of the Devil. Though ironically, he is apparently at the center of your homeworld according to a datatrack that I got off a dead Vehicon.”

The Berserker looked at Swindle as the chamber began to glow an unholy color. “Wait, your devil is at the center of Kathil?”

Swindle laughed. “I forget your humans prefer to think of your birthworld as your home planet. No, I mean the mother planet for you monkeys: Earth, or Terra as you like to call it now.”

Then Swindle smiled as the chamber lifted to reveal Catilla growling and ready to kill as suddenly a piston shot out and attached a box to its neck.

Standing at a console on a ledge, Ariel pressed several buttons. And suddenly the transformer zombie stopped.

It did not growl. It did not move. It stood at attention.

“And now, let’s see if it can be given an alt form,”chuckled Swindle.
« Last Edit: 06 September 2013, 20:33:10 by Lord Harlock »

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #14 on: 15 June 2013, 21:10:26 »
Outside Smelting Pits
Polyhex, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of Sphere
April 4, 3085


A Chevalier Tank sped by three BattleMechs that were scanning the area. The wheels squealed as the brakes caused the tank to drift by the gaggle of ‘mechs. After a brief push up from the ground, arms spread out as the chest moved forward as the legs pushed out. Then as the laser moved the right shoulder, the head of Swindle emerged out. His left arm pulled out of what had been the turret.

Placing what appeared to be some sort of communication device with a viewfinder on the right-side of his face, Swindle smiled at his other MechWarriors that had been ordered to help with the fueling of Darkmount by throwing parts and useless bodies of dead Cybertronians and anything else into the fiery pits of molten slag.

Ladies and gentleman, I need your help on a bit of a fox hunt. So tally ho!” Swindle said. Then his chest moved up as his arms pushed in. With his vehicle mode standing up, the wheels were already spinning as the legs pulled and the turret reattached itself.

The pilot of one of the Stealth BattleMechs gushed. “Oh, this is the start of something glorious,” she said.

There was a sigh from the leader of the three. “Be quiet Daphne, you’re being daft again,” said a sarcastic voice in the Rakshasa.

“The boss said let’s go, so let’s go,” said the raspy pilot of the other Stealth. That Stealth then got up to its maximum speed of about eighty six kilometers per hour to catch up with Swindle.

Daphne started to trot her Stealth along. “Oh come on, Bugsy. Are you still miffed that I want to marry Mr. Swendson?”

Bugsy in his Rakshasa merely scanned the area. “Sure, throw your life away. All you care about is cash?”

The Stealth ‘mech turned to look at the GM derivative ‘mech of the Clan Timber Wolf. Bugsy had a stylized rabbit on the side of it that had boxing gloves whereas Daphne had a stylized feminine black feathered duck. Daphne’s cousin Donald Duckworth had an angry white feathered duck with one wing above the other fighting mad.

Major Cristo brought them because they were a good team, and for the most part, they could keep a secret. Donald’s wife, their fourth member, was left behind on New Syrtis due to suspicions that she might have more than stomach flu.

“Of course, I care about cash, but think what a girl could do with a husband who’s made of metal. Besides, Swendson probably doesn’t mind a girl who has a couple of extra pounds.”

“Yeah, I think that’s why the AFFS threw you out. You broke the physical scale with your love of El Dorado Ultra Honey Sopapilas! So I throw away a good commission to start a mercenary band with you and your crazed cousin because I didn’t want to break up a team not because I am jealous because you have the hot’s for a living automaton. Sure being under the command of Cristo is good because being independent was drying my bank account, but you still won’t follow the line. And now, I’m taking orders from a talking tank! Yeah, I really need to get my head examined because apparently I am living in a children’s fantasy trivid.”

“You’re jealous!” laughed Daphne Duckworth.

Her ‘Mech then got to full speed leaving the Rakshasa there still scanning.

Then a voice was heard over Bugsy’s comm. “For the record, I prefer my female attachments to be a bit heavier than Miss Duckworth. More in the fifty ton range, but they need a sleeker alternative form and body. None of those Strika style femmes. Yuck. So if you want her, I can’t fault a guy for wanting a . . . What’s an appropriate human word?”

Bugsy was getting a transmission from his ultimate boss: the talking tank. Then after a laugh Swindle came to a conclusion. “Pleasantly plump, that’s the neutral phrase that I was looking for. Then again since you’re standing there, I figure that you can scan and stand as our first defender in case the fox comes back along to your station.”

Bugsy sighed as he wondered what he did to God to deserve this. Perhaps not going to mass as a child was a mistake. Perhaps being sarcastic? Perhaps it was his love of carrot cake.

All Bugsy knew was that he really wished that he was still in the Armed Forces of the Federated Suns.


Hangar Bay of the Omega

“What in the world happened to you?” asked Keeper, a bit shocked.

“Well, there I was hooking up with the lads when I was attacked by what appeared to be transforming ‘mechs. We lost Rob and Alex first. They got swarmed by those motorcycle transforming ‘mechs who seemed to have legs split out of a bloody wheel. And then these larger tank-like mechs broke through and clobbered poor Dave.”

Simon looked up at the top of the bay as he wiped a tear from his eye. “He got smashed between two of them like they was turtles. Only reason that Boom-Boom and I escaped is that these things had the tactics of a five year old sibkin out of his first maneuvers. That and Tommy got us out, skip.”

Captain Keeper shook his head. “Did any of these things that you shot indicate intelligence?”

Simon chuckled. “They showed about as much life as a life as a Liao College Frat Party. I think that answers the question. Yes.”

Keeper shook his head. Sometimes, he wondered about his MechCommander, Death’s Head. “Okay, did they display any tactical knowledge?”

Simon Furman scratched his perfectly shaved chin. Then again, he liked to his precision combat knife and used it to shave his chin in the morning and once a month his head. It was as smooth as the day he was born.

“Well, they appeared to follow the tactics of a two year old Draconis Combine Chain Gang General. They merely rushed us. The funny thing is that I saw no cockpits.”

“No cockpits,” screamed DuQuense as he entered the bay. He had walked down to the bay to see the MechWarriors as they returned. Marissa “Flint” Dillion and Buddy Budanisky were about an hour out, and they had reported no problems even after being warned.

"This is not good,” he stammered. “Keeper, we need to call back all crews regardless of mission. This is beyond anything imagined when Interstellar Expeditions decided to land. I’ve heard of Blakist Investigations that are less problematic than this mission have been. We have a first contact situation with apparently an alien species.”

“I’d use faux alien species because they sure did explode easy.”

The words came from a woman with an absolutely perfect set of mammary glands. Round and spherical, the only thing holding back their perfection was a cooling vest. Her legs like stilettos seemed to move effortlessly as she moved. Her milky white skin talked of beauty. Her hips had the perfect amount of sway to send any man’s heart rate racing.

However, all that ended like a thud after most people looked at her face. Michelle “Boom-Boom” Bay‘s face was never that good to look at. However after receiving several blows to the face, scars ravaging her left eye, and being burned on her right side of the face, she kind of was a bit repulsive. Then there was the fact that she was called Boom-Boom for a reason. Though she liked explosions, it was more for the fact that she had a wicked side in the bed that rivaled her damaged face.

Following behind her was acting chief mechanic, Charlene Travis. There always seemed to be smiles from anyone who met the red head rather than Boom-Boom. She always had a smile on her face underneath a bit of grease and oil. Her body was the ideal given form. The only real issue that Charlene had was an almost messianic belief in Devlin Stone bordering on the religious.

“I’m extracting the battleROMs now,” said Charlene. “However, I’ve already viewed a bit of Lieutenant Bay’s footage and it shows unknown combatants that attacked her, plus Alex and Robb, almost immediately. They match Captain Furman’s description of the enemy.”

Furman smiled broadly. “See, I told you that I was right.”

DuQuense nodded. “I’ll contact the Bristol immediately. We need to recall all team immediately, Keeper. This mission has become much dangerous.”

Charlene Travis added. “You know we should probably contact Dr. Lear. He’d know what to do.”

DuQuense shook his head. “No, I believe that Interstellar Expeditions Protocol overrides any feelings on the Republic of the Sphere or any other government. The council must be convened, and we have to decide if the rest of humanity is ready for the revelation that we are not alone.”

Keeper saw the Omega Navigator appear as if out of nowhere, so he slipped away to talk to the tall and foreboding man.

“The situation is less than optimal.”


Darkmount Makeshift Fighter Bay

Giga Minamoto stood proudly as he embraced his blue haired wife. She wore her pressure suit. In her other hand was her helmet that fed her oxygen out in the dangerous atmosphere of this world called Cybertron.

“You are so different from my mother, my beloved Mega,” laughed Giga. He stroked her braided blue hair.

“I’d think so. For one, I’m Lyran. And for another, your mother was an Elemental taken in combat. Lucky for you, the Clans have different methods of making sure that their female Warriors do not produce babies.”

The Clans of Kerensky discouraged their female warriors from having unplanned pregnancies. To the Clans, the ideal was the creation and controlled life of the Warrior elite in Iron Wombs. However, some Clans took precautions in case Iron Wombs became unavailable to make sure that Trueborn warriors are born. Thus, the female warriors had merely a simple tubal ligation. Other Clans went to extreme measure to ensure that their female Warrior Caste members did not reproduce such as radiation and removal of reproductive systems all together, which was a bit too extreme for the more pragmatic Clans.

Giga Minamoto’s father had been in the Draconis Combine Mustered Soldiery during the early days of the Clan Invasion. By luck, he took a female Elemental prisoner. Due to a translation error, he believed that he had taken the woman as his wife. So, he returned with her to his family’s modest estate and married her. Before the marriage, her tubes were reattached, and two years after the end of the Clan War, Giga was born to a modest samurai house.

He grew up the eldest of three children. However, he looked like an elemental even if he only had the genes. His younger brother looked normal, and though his sister was exotic for her height, she was lithe and elegant. Giga had entered Sun Zhang Academy as a MechWarrior, but the instructors said that he was too bulky and tall. Thus, he became a Battle Armor specialist, and by the time he became a soldier, the jihad had just begun.

It was years of hell and pain for him. During the interstellar operation to free the worlds under the Word of Blake rule, he saved the life of a Lyran aerospace pilot, his angel.

Mega feared him at first, but she came to love her Samurai. Eventually, they left their respective groups, and they found employment with Swendson Security, which was looking for both pilots and BA troopers.

Both soon were at the top of the company in their respective fields, but the one thing that eluded both was a child.

Mega smiled at her tall and muscular man. “I think I am pregnant,” she purred.

Giga’s eyes opened wide. “By the Dragon! That is the best news that I’ve heard since we started this mission, but this world is no place for a child. There are no children, and the poisoned atmosphere is an issue as well. Hopefully, this operation is over soon, and you can find a proper place to have our child.”

Mega chuckled and stroked her husband’s face. “I’ll probably need a WorkMech to carry me around considering your heritage, my samurai. Let’s hope that Swindle is being truthful when he says that he’ll share wealth from this mission.”

Knowing that no one was around and that the security still hadn’t gotten cameras working, Giga knew his answer. “I will personally slay Swindle if he lies to us. No doubt Cristo will turn a blind eye to it as well. There is something about the man that yearns to be let go of Swindle’s employment.”

Mega got out of the embrace. She put on her helmet known as an elephant mask due to the hoses attached to the front which was placed above her face. “But both the Major and Dr. Pipperton have the same sort of inhuman feeling to them. Have you ever noticed?”

Giga drew air into his chest that made him seem bigger. “There is something that isn’t exactly like the rest of us about both of them. A certain mechanical feeling that if you didn't know the Major you attribute to being a no-nonsense soldier. However, Cristo confides in me that he wishes that he could escape his current existence.”

Mega looked at her husband. “That isn’t true about Pipperton. There isn’t much that is kept secret about the women. And she never seems to have a period. She always hides her feeling behind that wall of a smile that she has, and there is something wrong with her.”

Giga chuckled. Mega looked at her husband with crossed eyes. “What’s so funny?”

Mega stopped his large laughs. “It is not often that I hear women talk about themselves like men talk of them. Where I grew up on Richmond after it was reconquered, we often talked of the mysterious jewel of women that could be beautiful but but dangerous all the same.”

Mega gave a sharp smile. “Oh, do you believe me to be some sort of witch then? Who’d smile and cook your fingers for my stew?”

Giga laughed. “Of course, I never forget your call sign is Star Witch.”

Mega shook her head. “I’ll never live that one down especially after that Halloween Costume. Who knew Sunners took that holiday that seriously.”

Giga smiled. “It is odd to see the young children dressed in the various uniforms of House Davion troops, ja?” asked the large man with a bit of his wife’s native German.

“In the Commonwealth, I think we are called the Commonwealth again, we wear scary monsters costumes to frighten the dark. You see that in the Suns as well, but it seems to be those uniforms everywhere, even after Stone.”

“Ah Stone, I still wish that something would happen to that man. I do not trust him. Then again, I don’t trust the Gunji-no-Kanrei.”

“And someday, I hope to take Thomas Hogarth’s manhood and throw it in a boiling cauldron for his absolute stupidity during the Jihad. If I hadn’t been transferred to the Twenty-Third Acturan Guard, I’d never have met you in Tokyo.”

“It was lovely of you in your fighter to save my troops and me from a ‘mech with that well placed bomb.”

Mega smiled and kissed her husband. Or she tried. He noticed and knelled, so she kissed him on his forehead. “I need to get on patrol.”

Giga nodded.


Inside Cybertron

There were few things that Hound hated, but following Skids was now on the top of his list. The bot seemed to find new and odd topics to talk about during their voyage in vehicle mode through the underbelly of the planet.  Skids abruptly changed the subject again as they crossed a group of large cybernetic arachnids.  Or what had been robotic arachnids at one point. They were dead. Their metal bodies filled the chamber.

“Once the last drops of energon ran out, the final thing keeping these beasts alive disappeared. And they haven’t re-appeared on Paradron either.”

Hound shook his head. “Have you ever considered that is for the best? Maybe the universe is better without giant metallic spiders?”

Skids sighed. “Do you ever consider how the universe weeps when a creation is destroyed due to the arrogance of someone?”

Hound‘s optics rolled. “Not particularly. Let’s face it; these things were a major problem for the Security Forces. We’d be often sent down here to protect new protoforms that were traveling up from the Well.”

Skids sighed. “And yet, these creatures existed without Vector Sigma, and now no new ones will ever come. They only started to die out when we took out the AllSpark itself. That reminds me, we need to check the Key.”

Hound sighed as he looked at the vast chamber in which they were standing. Skids took out the blue Key, and it suddenly shifted to a larger version. Then as it hovered, Skids smiled as the device spun until it pointed towards the side of the chamber which was a solid wall.

“Oh great, we have a choice. Either go down a side tunnel that will take another cycle or hope for a connecting chamber behind the metallic wall.”

Skids hadn’t heard him. Instead, the theoretician had transformed out of his alt mode and sped over to the wall.

Hound transformed quickly.

Skids had his ear to the wall. Tapping it, he seemed to be hunting something. “This is interesting,” said Skids. “The other side is hollow.”

Hound, a bit exhausted from a the constant movement, really needed an energon break. Hound willed a panel to open on his side. And he took out a glowing bar of energon. Skids swiped it.

“Wait, I need that energon, thief!”

Skids merely smiled as he got out of Hound’s way. “Stand back. I have a theory!”

Hound shot towards Skids to strangle him, but he missed him as the other Autobot threw the small glowing bar. He quickly raised his laser. And fired.

After a brief explosion, Skids walked over to the hole that he had created. There was a strange blue light that Hound remembered barely.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. We found Vector Sigma.”

Skids nodded. “Thankfully I brought some climbing gear, so we can cross that chasm. Because I’m pretty sure that neither of us have the ability to fly, I propose we create a rope bridge, and then we walk over to collect Vector Sigma. Then we take the bridge to its island down and travel by tunnels back to the surface.”

Hound stared into the chamber to see the great computer. The shifting parts of Vector Sigma created a blue sphere.  And now that they found it, Paradron would truly be a new home for Autobots. And then Hound realized a problem.

“You know this would be easier if we had Springer here.”

“Probably, but he’s off with the Wreckers investigating the Goshen War College.”

“Oh Primus, you can’t be serious that the Wreckers were sent on a wild petrorabbit chase!”

“That’s Autobot Intelligence for you. But being a cleanup bot at the moment, I go where I’m needed and want to go. Now look out, I’m going to make a bridge.”
 
Skids smiled as he climbed through the hole to stand on the edge of chasm. His cable deployed from his back. Pulling the cable out, Skids started to twirl it.  His throw sent the gappling hook head of the cable arcing gracefully to the other side.  The hooks embedding themselves on the other side, anchoring the rope.  Skids then pounded the other end into the side that they were currently on.

“Well, it time to climb.”

Hound sighed. “This is going to take a while isn’t?”

Skids nodded as he knelled down. “Of course, all the best things do.”


Shockwave’s Citadel

“Megatron’s greatest mistake was never finding the Autobots new homeworld. They had a steady logistics train and what did we have, I’d ask the Master. And what would he reply?”

Shockwave walked with Starscream towards the main hangar. Preparations with the drones to attack the humans were ready. Usually, the Decepticon Scientist considered Starscream’s babbling and egotistical rants to be utterly pointless. However due to being cut off from the rest of the Decepticons, these words were as valuable to him as purified energon.

The once again lanky Starscream with his long face and typical Decepticon bioptical face seemed to be at the center of his own universe especially after getting a working body.

“They call it Paradron. Due to the reestablishment of the Autobot Space Navy, we were unable to track it down. And then after that damn conflict, he had his most loyal and valuable air commander get blown up!”

Shockwave never moved his head to look at Screamer. “Again, you dwell on the explosion. Though you probably experienced new sensations of pain, it gave you abilities far beyond that of normal Cybertronians. In a sense, Megatron’s obvious ploy to kill you failed, but it bestowed unexpected results that help our purposes.”

Starscream looked at Shockwave after the more massive transformer stamped on. “That’s one way to look at it, but it still cost me planetary cycles that I could have done more productive things like . . . living.”

“Irrelevant.”

Screamer stomped his foot down. “Irrelevant, I had cycles of my life taken from me, and it is pointless to dwell on it because now I am immortal. That still does not make up for the time th . . . .”

Screamer walked into a massive door.

“As I was about to say, we have arrived.” The cold rumbling of Shockwave vocal circuits stated.

The door unlocked as Screamer got up.

“Why didn’t you say something?”

Shockwave turned. “It is rude to interrupt. Now, I’ll introduce you to the drone types.”

Shockwave walked over to a boxy Decepticon shuttle with dual engines on either side of it. There were four of them. There were long, and they were currently being loaded with land-based drones.

“The large menacing ones are called Tankor Models. They feature heavy armor and a heavy plasma cannon. Destructive capabilities are optimal.”

One of them turned on its treaded feet without the movement of the legs. It had claws for hands on the end of broad boxy arms. Its head was mostly flat with a visor.

“You never were one for aesthetics. What with the obsession with bugs, lizards, and of course those Predacons.” Starscream said with his lanky arms crossed.

This did not deter the scientist. The next one walked over on a lanky and hunched body. Its face had bioptics with a snout for a mouth, and it had clawed hands as well. It shifted its feet together to form a wheel.

“This is the scout drone's main form. Though some have been shifted to appear as street lamps and other hidden objects, their main alternate form is a high speed cycle. Their best use is high speed attack runs. They are codenamed Thrusts.”

Starscream raised on what most humans would call an eyebrow. “Cannon fodder, then.”

Shockwave did not answer as the last drone appeared after he pressed a button. It floated on its feet with a long lanky body. Sharp razor tipped hands were attached to long narrow arms. On its back, wings from its alt mode angled the viewer away from the head that appeared to have no mouth but a long headdress instead.

“And you shall lead my air forces, Air Commander. They transform into fast attack aircraft that shall complement your new Corsair body. They are called Jetscream models.”

Starscream looked at the one presented for his approval. “Not heavily armed or armored for that point, with only two medium lasers, but with enough of them just like the land based one, we should be able to whittle away at the humans’ defenses. Let’s go teach these humans why the Quintessons no longer exist.”

With that the hangar doors opened as the last of the land based drones were loaded on the shuttles. Shockwave went inside his shuttle, and passed the twenty drones loaded on board the vehicle. Sitting in the cockpit, he used his hand to have the shuttle lift up.

“Then this operation has begun. We shall meet at the rendezvous point. Do not go adventuring with the drones that I have you commanding, Starscream. We will not have another chance.”

Shockwave’s shuttle pulled out. In the glint of Starscream’s eye, dreams of glory and power passed through it. However he shook his head. That will wait for a more opportune time. As the other shuttles left under autopilot, Starscream shifted his gaze behind him to see the thirty drones behind him.

“Jetscreams let us show these humans the power of the greatest seeker!”

Starscream began running on his lanky legs. And then he pulled up as his legs twirled behind him with flames beginning to push out. His head pushed forward into his body as his chest shifted back to create the center of the Corsair aerospace fighter. Then his arms shifted forward to create the long nose of the aerospace fighter.

Starscream pushed his afterburners as he was followed by the long winged, twin engine fighters with long cockpits at his back.

“It is good to be a predator again,” chuckled Starscream.
« Last Edit: 28 July 2013, 23:25:49 by Lord Harlock »

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #15 on: 23 June 2013, 23:52:01 »
Darkmount
Polyhex, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 5, 3085


“This is murder,” yawned the Elemental sentry of Ariel Pipperton’s laboratory.

“Be quiet, Horse. Don’t they teach you anything in the Clans about standing guard?“ said the other sentry in Grey Death Battle Armor.

They had been standing there all night. Neither really said much when their boss who was a transforming sentient robot had walked out of the lab with a brand new Thunder Fox. Yancy Horse had suggested that there was an odd unearthly glow about the BattleMech, and Kenneth “Reckless” Prudent had agreed.

Sarge finally let Ken go for his break; he hadn’t returned yet.

“Aff, they teach us to stand guard, but the Clans know how to schedule better.”

The guard in Grey Death Legion Armor shook off his helmet to reveal his ebony skinned face. “Then what‘s your problem? We’re paid to do a job- provide security to Dr. Pipperton’s Freak Lab. And that’s what we are going to do! Do you understand vatborn?”

“Aff, you do not have to call me hurtful words. So I am mercenary, and I was taken in my first mission against the Inner Sphere. I lost for all times the ability to ilKhan Yancy Cobb. By the Great Father, how did my life become such a surat joke, Sergeant Winslow, quineg?”

“Now Yancy, don’t cry. Some of us have a great destiny before us. Sometimes, we get into situations where it is impossible for us to escape. And then suddenly the clouds part, the choirs of angelic hosts come out, and carry you as far away from your ex-wife as possible. Before you know it, you’re living the good life with mermaids on Canopus. And then those fishes claim you are harassing them, so you hop on a DropShip out of there because the Magistracy of Canopus has absolute awful laws on harassment, and take whatever job that you can. Then you land a sweet job where you do security and explore strange new worlds.”

Then Sergeant Winslow chomped down on a cigar. “It’s a good day to be Swendson Security, boy.”

“But I will never see Strana Mechty as IlKhan, I had a five year plan that would improve crop production. It involved allowing for better movement between castes. I believe that it would yield higher production and allow for greater productivity as well.”

There was something unsettling to Sergeant Winslow about what was the equivalent of a meek young adult male who could break your back. He didn’t really care about the conditions, but he wanted his men to be ready for anything. The problem was that Yancy, even if he was born in an Iron Womb, had basically been captured on his first operation by a stray mercenary unit that witnessed Clan Hell’s Horse battling Clan Jade Falcon. And he was like only twelve at the time. The boy still needed some sort of guidance. The Hell’s Horses had sent this boy out too soon if you asked Winslow.

That was when the ‘mech sized doors opened to the laboratory, and a brand new ‘mech walked out. It was a Bruin. It was followed by a lab assistant with a large control board held by a strap around his neck. He, in turn, was followed by Dr. Ariel Pipperton.

“Following the conversion of the one called Repugnus by Lord Swindle, we have perfected the Terrorcon Conversation Program. Dickens, I want you to prepare the one whom our Lord kicked. He will be happy if we make a slave of that one.”

Dickens looked at Ariel whose long red hair covered one side of her face, leaving the other side visible. The man scratched his bald head. His brown eyes pleaded with the icy woman. She did not stop walking to look at him. Instead, she gave a stare with her one visible eye.

“Dr. Pipperton, please, there is something that I don’t like about that unit. It has a vicious look to it. Plus, it has that pickaxe. Who carries a pickaxe? Vicious killers are the only things that require pickaxes.“

Ariel Pipperton turned her head and Yancy seemed to wince for a second. He was already nervous after seeing the unknown Bruin. However for a brief moment, he saw something about Swindle’s chief scientist that put the Elemental on edge.

The ‘mech and three scientist were down the hall when Sergeant Winslow spoke. “There is something happening in that lab that is just as bad as my grandmother’s gumbo.”

Yancy just shook his massive head once he lifted his visor. “See, I told you that something odd was going on.”

“I wouldn’t put it past them that it was altogether a bit like voodoo.”

“What is voodoo?”

Winslow laughed. “Let’s just say that it’s better not to ask those type of questions. Else my grandmother’s ghost might curse me. I already have one ex-wife out to get me.”

So the two continued to stand guard, but Marvin Winslow felt something odd going on.


Vector Sigma Chamber

Hound finally came over the rope bridge as Skids fiddled with a silvery card with blue patterns in his hand. “Open, darnit!” cursed the theoretician.

Hound sighed. “I guess I have to do this part of the operation. Thankfully, there is a bridge to the island, so hopefully you don’t have to transform once I get Vector Sigma down to size.”

“What are you talking about?” said Skids. “There should be a yellow orb floating in this room. Or that was what one datatrak said that Vector Sigma looked. And all I see is an empty room.”

Above them was a vast ceiling with circuit patterns on it. There was a faint blue glow to them. In the center, there seemed to be a pattern that created a cog. Obscuring the cog was a long panel. At the end of the panel was a grey control panel. Hound remembered what to do after he examined it.

“While you were reading legends, I was listening to the description given by the human known as Commander Jack Darby, which was confirmed by Commandant Arcee. We just need to put the key in the proper place, and stand back. That’s why Prime granted me guardianship of the Key to Vector Sigma, since he knows you are a bit fragmented, Skids.”

Skids shrugged. The wings on the back of his torso shifted up as he did so. “It doesn’t seem to like me, anyway.”

Hound took control of the key which after a push of one of the middle blue ridges shifted the object. It shifted out of the pattern as Hound laid it down on the gray interface.

Then things began to shift. “Let’s back up,” said Skids. The two Autobots slowly backed up off the slightly raised platform as the cog patterned lit up with a blue light. Then the raised panel slid back and up before the two bots. It appeared to almost in the same shape as the Autobot brand. A dot that blinked on and off that sat on top of what had been the Key to Vector Sigma.

The cog broke apart as a large blue orb rose surrounded by two vast rings that spun about the orb. It rose to the top of the chamber.

And then nothing.

“Okay, what do we do now? We have a giant orb that I don’t think will fit in your trunk,” said Hound.

Skids sighed and pressed the button. He fell to his knees. “Oh Vector Sigma, the oracle of Primus the LightBringer, come forth so that two humble sparks of the Light may beseech thee. “
Hound was about to say that didn’t work when suddenly a booming voice spoke.

“Before Cybertron, I existed. For eons, this Cybertron has been silently and growing dimmer. No new sparks have been born. Only a child of the One dulled the silence. And now children of Primus arrive. State your purpose for this node becomes weaker.”

Hound spoke before Skids could continue. “Vector Sigma, we have come to move you to a new world that we the Children of Primus call Paradron to return you to your original mission of creating new life on our new world.”

The Orb grew darker. “That was not the original task. It is merely a way to help foolish children. The means of life is already available to you to continue on as other children already do, but it is wise to be moved to this Paradron. To once more be in communication with his Children, for the Darkness grows once more and guidance must be heard or else all will be lost.”

“The Darkness,” whispered Skids.

And then he spoke up. “Do you mean Unicron?”

“The Devour, the Chaos Bringer, stirs. His old body covered in rock and broken no longer can act as a node for his dark Will. A new body will be created soon. And the barrier created by the One will not contain him anymore. He shall live once more in the corrupted husk. Thus this node must be moved, or it will serve instead darker whims.”

Suddenly the orb grew brighter, but it grew smaller as well. The chamber’s own lit circuits started to go black. Finally a much smaller orb rested on the greying cog pattern as the panel slid down.

“Till . . . all . . .one.”

Skids shook his head.

“Well, I guess that dark revelation is for us to give Autobot Command. Hopefully, Senator Jetfire listens, considering he leads the faction that believes that anything about Primus was made up by the Primes to keep in power after the fall of the Thirteen. Some in the Science Ministry would prefer if Primus was merely a made up story as well, that jerk Highbrow especially.”

Hound sighed. “Jetfire is a good soldier, but his ideas make no sense. It’s like the War took his optics away from him to leave only the basest and grimmest explanations for anything. He’s seen wonders, but he prefers his explanation of evolving gears to what in front of his face plate.”

Skids shook his head. “Too many of us lost faith during the War, but Jetfire sadly has his optics welded shut to anything beyond what he has seen. And too much of that was awful. Remember he once worked with that insecticon, Starscream, and the corrupt Senate to maintain the Trypticon Research Station. That’d be enough to make any bot lose faith in the Allspark.”

Hound nodded as he walked past the transforming Skids. “Yeah, I can understand that, but still Prime has the Matrix. And wasn’t Jetfire infused by Vector Sigma?”

Skids, now in vehicle mode, sighed. “No like a lot of the Seekers, he was forged. For some unknown reason, many of the forged sparks are less likely to believe in Primus. The sparks born of interface between a mech and a femme for some odd reason are the opposite. It’s an odd situation.”

Lowering down on his knee servos, Hound attempted to pick up the now shrunk vast computer node. “Dear Primus, this is going to blow a power relay or two.”

In shrinking, the Vector Sigma node had become incredibly dense and heavy. Hound struggled to get the sphere to the back of Skid’s vehicle mode. Finally, the bot got it in his partner.

“Ouch, I didn’t realize that mystical computers were almost as heavy as a quasar,” gulped Skids. “But I knew my hover skirt could take the load,” he laughed as he started to move.

“Don’t blame me; I carried that thing long enough.” Hound transformed, and the two exited the chamber that became dark and useless.


Iacon- Hall of Records

“This place is odd,” said Tyson Tanner. Sitting on the steps of a large building, he sat in wonder of a rocky moon. The ruins of this alien city did not entice the young man.

When he was a child, he dreamed of being a JumpShip captain, but his dreams were greater than the reality of his mind. As he looked up at the sky over Cybertron, he longed to explore those moons. When the Jihad ravaged his homeworld, he merely wanted to escape to find new homes for humanity, but then he found out he had no mind for math, which any good JumpShip captain needed.

He was alone. The scientists and their guards were inside. He was just their driver. That was as close to an explorer as he would ever come.

“I wonder what the builders of this city would say,” he said with his radio off.

And then there was a rush of wind, and even though he was enclosed in a pressure suit, he could have sworn that he heard the rush of large cape. What he heard next was a booming but calm voice.

“Welcome, child, to Iacon. I am Alpha Trion.”

Tyson turned his head and he saw sitting next to a ‘mech sized humanoid robot with a large voluminous cape and beard. Tyson scrambled back.

“Do not fear, child. I am merely here to greet you.”

Tyson had no idea what he was looking at the purple and maroon robot with brown trimming. “How did I not hear you sneak up behind me?”

The robot stroked his beard. “I have been the lone occupant of these ruins for eons. Many have sought me out including my old student, but I can only reappear when the Covenant demands it. Though some would say that I wrote this to occur out of loneliness, my brother Liege Maximo would be one of those. He believed that he understood exact thoughts to the nanosecond of thought. His manipulations earned him the vengeance of our other brother, Vector Prime. “

The robot lifted his arm and pointed out into empty space. “Vector Prime locked Liege Maximo inside his own creation, the Hub. Far beyond what your JumpShips have discovered, that is where my brother now struggles to escape. And to forever trap him, Vector locked the full secret of transwarp, so even if Liege could escape in a ship, the transwarp field would take him eons of time to get even close to one of the daughter worlds of Cyberton.”

The robot looked remorseful. “Most of those worlds are now as dead as Cybertron herself.”

“Why are you telling me these things?” asked the young man.

“Because young one, I would like a ride on your ship. I have been told by my Father that it is time to find Optimus Prime once more. A teacher is needed on Paradron.“

Tyson looked at the rocky moon. And then Trion shook his head. “That moon is infested with the Darkness that once threatened the fabric of this reality. Some say that it is ruled by a ruthless female member of my race who would kill you because your soul is not the correct energy that she needs to feed her endless hunger. I fear that soon she will lead her undead swarm to serve the coming Darkness.”

Tyson got up and looked at the massive metallic man. “Honestly, Mr. Alpha Trion, I’d invite you . . .”

Tyson didn’t get to finish what he wanted to say. “Then it is decided! I will go prepare for travel. I thank you for the invitation.”

Tyson was about to correct the ancient Transformer when he got a signal in his helmet. His eyes turned to the metallic orange step. “Come in Team 5, drop everything. We are going to withdraw. I say again, return to the Omega. “

“Great,” said Tyson. He turned to explain to the robot. However, there was nothing there. Just empty space remained.

“I guess I better call the scientist and guards back to the transport and get out of here.”

And Tyson hoped that he was merely hallucinating as he radioed the team to get them out of the ancient building.


Outskirts of Polyhex

Swindle twisted his front wheels. His first Terrorcon was leading him and his ‘mechs through a true romp around the city. And all he had to do was order it to run. Sure at any moment, he could order the drone to transform and go wait in the DropShip, but it was fun.

“Daphne, you might want to turn,” said Swindle. The idiot in the Stealth just stood there in the path of Swindle. As Swindle transformed, he added ‘moronic sycophant’ to Daphne’s file. There was only one thing that Swindle knew as he skidded on his knees next to the STH-3S Stealth; he would pop the head off that two chinned female given the chance.

“Boss, you should probably get a look at the Thunder Fox. It’s looking towards that rocky moon like there is something there.”

Swindle twisted his head even as he put on the command amplifier. When he did so, Catilla was under his thrall again.

Swindle’s optics narrowed. “That’s odd. Reports said that succubus was dead. It’s probably just residual energy.”

That was when three other ‘mechs and several APCs arrived. They were led by Monty Cristo in his Berserker. Even before his military commander spoke, he knew that his man was upset.

“Lord Swindle, this is insane. Ariel Pipperton has already created another one of these abominations. I thought that you were going to watch to make sure that nothing like one of the early experiments occurred. We don’t have enough troops to go on a private fox hunt.”

Swindle shrugged. “There’s nothing wrong. Now that the project can go forward, and now we know that using C3 components can control Terrorcons. There isn’t a problem.”

His optics narrowed, and the Transformer sighed. “Fine, we will just go place Catilla in containment since you are a nervous Nancy, Cristo. And I wasn’t the one who ordered half of our troops out of Darkmount, Major. I just took the Stealths.”

Cristo saw his pet go absolutely insane in his cockpit. “No, but we need to put that thing in containment. There is something in this world that feels like someone just pulled the plug. We should abandon this insane plan of yours. We can construct your Terrorcon mercenary army somewhere more controlled than on this dead world.”

“And leave Darkmount after I finally have it? You’re talking crazy. This fortress was denied me. Instead of being given control of it eons ago by Megs, he gave it to his lieutenant, that fool fighter, Straxus. If he had followed my little advice to turn it into a logistics point for taking Iacon, Cybertron would at least have enough transformers to get a good insurance pool together.”

The Berserker moved its head towards Giga Minamoto who had exited his APC. “Lieutenant, we are heading back to Darkmount. “

Swindle just for the hell of it ordered Catilla to transform. And then suddenly, the cat like face of Catilla shifted out of the body of the Terrorcon as the cockpit shifted to the chest. The light gauss rifle was on the right shoulder as well as the SRM emerged on the left.

Vacant, with no life to him, Catilla followed behind Swindle. “Cristo, take Catilla back to base. I want to go find some stuff that I can take back to New Syrtis. Perhaps make a couple extra million pounds off of Duchess Angela.”

“That’s not possible,” said Cristo. “You’ll have to escort us. And I’ll send a security detail with you afterwards.”

Swindle’s optics narrowed on Cristo. “What are you talking about? The C3 master system should take control of the Terrorcon fine.”

Cristo laughed. “Yeah it should, but Pipperton had to make adjustments to the device by adding a vial of that gunk that you had poured on them. I think you two called it Dark Energon. Apparently that command and control component that she created even has some in the signal transmitter. Personally, I’m not letting that Dark Energon get anywhere near my 'mech.”

“What? It’s not like it’ll come alive. I’m ninety-seven percent assured that won’t possibly happen. Mind you, it was Pipperton who said it, and she sometimes exaggerates. Okay, we’d better take Catilla back to containment to take a cat nap.”

“Now, you are concerned about Pipperton. This whole plan to create an army of these Terrorcons is foolhardy, and she probably was the one who came up with it in the first place. By the Unfinished Book, she is an idiot,” Cristo said while pointing his hatchet at Catilla. “And I’ve told you that before. We’d be better off just taking as much of the technology that we can’t replicate back with us to New Syrtis.”

Swindle nodded. “There is probably an entire market in selling those transwarp cells to Pirates, and we could make an absolute killing with those gravity generators. You humans would stop turning to spaghetti after too much microgravity. I’ll miss the floppy ones, but getting better work levels out of spacers would worth losing their floppiness.”

Cristo smiled in his cockpit. Perhaps everything was going to be okay.

He was wrong.


Pipperton’s Lab

“Okay Gentlemen,” she said once more smiling. “I’ve cleaned up the damage from earlier since it made you squeamish to see the future of humanity.”

Her smile crossed over to both sides of her face again. The fake skin had to be reapplied, which she had devices for. And once more her hair was down the back of her head. Her minions were all present, except for that fool Dickens who was loading Repugnus into containment.

“Load the bulky one who appears to be built like a Franklin Stove into the Unit.”

Another one of her assistants walked up to her. She was meek and had a bit of a timid personality.

“Ma’am, you wanted word if we deciphered any of this fortress’ datafiles. And we might have discovered something that might interest you,” offered the intern. She was from the restarted New Avalon Institute of Science. She took a year off to intern, but the large chested girl with the mousy hair was a mere plaything for a true mistress of science.

Holding the folder, Ariel Pipperton saw a picture of a true god. He was broad-shouldered. And there was that lovely weapon on that one arm.

“Something is not right!” screamed one of her associates. There was a splash of dark energon from the back of the machine. A pounding began.

There was that all-encompassing eye as well. Ariel could stare into it for hours, it seemed. This was love at first sight for her. Though powerful looking, Ariel could tell that this god was much superior to her current master. If she discovered this supreme specimen, she would bow and plead loyalty, just as she had previously when she first saw Swindle.

“Oh Sweet Jesus, it’s going to break through! All control methods are useless. What should we do, Dr. Pipperton?”

She remembered when she was just Ariel of the Manai Domini. When she first saw Swindle, the ideals of the first Master were truly made manifest. There was no fallible flesh like a human. As Apollyon had said, if frails could throw away the flesh, we would achieve perfection. No wants. No disagreements. There would only be the Golden Age that Jerome Blake had prophesied.

Another scientist ran past her. “Who put that axe in his hand?” He then opened the doors to exit the lab. “Who cares? It’s every man for themselves.”

But she realized Swindle was too flawed to be the true Master who would perfect humanity. This was the first time that she felt a pang in her heart. She wanted to be held and perfected by this new Master.

“If only Shockwave still existed.”

And then Ariel Pipperton realized that something was wrong. Her assistants were running. Leaks of Dark Energon shot out of the containment unit.

She stopped one of her assistants. “What is going on? Engage the C3 control unit!”

The man looked at her. “Ma’am, it overloaded trying to control that one. We just made a huge mistake.”

A voice could be heard screaming as the containment cylinder suddenly broke apart. The dead transformer suddenly emerged from it. His eyes were glowing purple, but his black and red head seemed to be repairing perfectly, without command like the other two.

Ariel started to run as the bulky transformer seemed to chuckle and had some sort of personality. A battle armor trooper rushed in as the two guards tried to get Ariel’s assistants out.

Running forward in a Infiltrator Mk II BattleArmor, the extra guard threw the coffee that he had brought with him at the wall. Kenneth Prudent was ready to go. This was his moment to be the hero.

He raised the magshot on his armor. The blasts did not dent the now-live beast. Ariel backed away as the mighty axe hit the brave yet foolish trooper. The trooper flew through the air: if not for the failing support beam, he would have survived.

“No Ken, you didn’t have to die!” shouted Winslow as he seized Ariel just as the beast spoke.

“Bugs! Know this! The Lord of Darkmount has returned, and all who defile his fortress shall learn that mercy is not dispersed here. “

Winslow shut the doors.

But the words echoed.

“Only pain!”

****

-One Week Hiatus for vacationing and buffering. Standby for more pain!

Comedian

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #16 on: 24 June 2013, 07:04:48 »
This is a story along the RP we tried to have a board before isn`t it?
Listen to your inner Lyran.
Take a Assault Mech!

Yes I was on the old boards.

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #17 on: 24 June 2013, 09:05:38 »
Yes and no, it's based on the same premise that GBScientist originally came up with, but when we tried to resurrect it on Spacebattles as another rp, it didn't get much traffic. Eventually due to the amount of backstory that we created, it was decided to go forward with the story as a fanfic.

Major and minor changes

-No tragic purely Lord Harlock created character to show my angst. Yeah in the RP version of Empty Planet, there is a FedSuns MI6 character who really hates Devlin Stone. (Davion and hates Devlin Stone, I wonder who that's suppose to be. ;) ) He got axed because I got tired of writing that character. He was replaced by a lot of other characters that we created to replace player characters.

-The original version was based in a mismash of the Live Action Movies, Transformers Animated, and the original cartoon. This time, it's based in Aligned/Prime continuity with details gleaned from other continuities as needed. Darkmount the fortress has been named in Transformers Prime, but the actually Lord of Darkmount has not be named in the show or other materials. So we went ahead and created his backstory how he ended up there and how he factors into the story. He's bringing the pain to a certain Decepticon's plot.

-The Autobots got a new homeworld called Paradron. Named after a planet that exploded in the original cartoon after being taken over by Galvatron, this version is not home to bunch of pacifist Autobots and clones of Arcee. No, it's got ministries and everything. And by the second part of In Plain Sight, you will probably get to see Paradron.

-Transformer Reproduction is now the motivating factor for the Autobots' return to Cybertron. And combined with ideas from the current IDW and my own ideas, various forms of Transformer reproduction are referenced. Though I've yet to add Budding mostly because I really don't know how to factor that into the story yet.

-Normal sized Autobots actually appear: Hound and Skids. Originally when it was still a new version of the original rp, they were suppose to be guides, but they got upgraded to full characters with the shift to fanfic.

-References within references, again a lot of this is due to me taken over character creation and most of the writing. Most of the named Swendson Security personal are references to the original cartoon, the Japanese exclusive cartoon Masterforce, or just references to stuff that I like. And then there is Yancy Horse. Let's just say that I like to use wussy names for characters that will probably do something incredible awesome at some point. The command crew of the Omega and the Lynx were named by GBScientist, but I basically decided to name most every one of the MechWarriors in this version after creators for Transformer material over the years.

For instance, one of them gets killed by two drones in a similar manner to a scene from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze when two of the turtles back into each with a poor innocent foot ninja in between. That is a reference to the fact that one of the more prolific writers of both the original Transformers and Turtles cartoon was a man named David Wise who used a reference to the Third Doctor Who whenever he could. And he also wrote the last three episodes of the original G1 cartoon. Which is probably why his character died horrible. I really hate those episodes. Boom-Boom is so obvious who she is suppose to be in a skirt; it isn't funny.

-Swindle's motive shifted from getting Transformers tech for profit to using dead Transformers combined with the MacGuffin of Transformer Prime, Dark Energon, for profit. He wants a mercenary army of zombies basically for . . . wait for it . . . profit. Basically, you add a bit of Dark Energon to a dead Transformers, and then you have a uncontrollable murder zombie called a Terrorcon. Except there are some Transformers who can control Terrorcons, and we made it a plot point why this is. Expect more on this as the story continues.   

-Swindle being my favorite Decepticon next to Starscream will probably go through a whole lot of pain through this story. Older allies and enemies will be trying to rip out his optics. All he wants really is respect and a bit of crisp clear oil. He probably won't get either. Screamer will get a whole lot of character development.

-As to why I haven't included other characters from the original RP, I didn't want to directly reference anybody without direct permission or at the least wiggle room.

-Also, Jack Darby's genes are in Clan Snow Raven if anyone hadn't figured that out at least in this fic.

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #18 on: 08 July 2013, 22:21:44 »
Near DropShip Omega
Plains near Iacon, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 5, 3085


Shockwave was arranging his last group of drones into proper lines. He would attack the enemy in four directions from the north as the embers of the planetary cycle ended. Leading from the final direction, Shockwave would crush the invaders.

With plans to attack the human craft was under control, Shockwave considered what he knew about the method of human faster than light travel. If the human JumpShips tore a hole through a dimension of pure energon, it might be possible to extract the precious fuel source and revitalize Cybertron. And then it would be Shockwave, not Megatron or Optimus Prime, who saved their species.

As Shockwave pushed his head up towards the stars, ideas turned through his head. Megatron had created the Decepticon Revolution that had toppled the old ways of the Cybertronian Guilds. The ascension of Optimus Prime and the reemergence of the conservative elements of Cybertronian society in the Autobot Reformation had stalled the logical course of the development of Megatron’s ideal. Perhaps, it was time for a different epoch away from the constant battle of both Megatron and Prime.

The problem to Shockwave was that even if he could lead such a new order, he had given his word to Lord Megatron. And the universe relies on order to remain stable. However, there were always loopholes, and perhaps, it was time to examine loopholes, remembered Shockwave thinking back to his mentor.

Jhiaxus had always sought ways to make Cybertron better and more efficient. As Shockwave slowly walked to the head of the northern column, he remembered the final words of his mentor right before he attempted an experiment to decrease travel time via transwarp by traveling to the ancient HUB. “Discovery is not found by being cautious, Shockwave. “

Then Jhiaxus disappeared in his ship never to be seen again. It was found later that his transwarp drive had been sabotaged. It took Shockwave countless cycles to discover that it was done by the Senate. On that day, Shockwave had also discovered the rhetoric of a gladiator from Kaon. Without even a notice to the University of Crystal City, Shockwave left to seek out this gladiator.

Looking at his right arm that now ending in a cannon fed by energon cartridges, the scientist wondered if his going to hear the gladiator was the most logical path. Megatron had proven a bit erratic and less than logical. The Predacon Debacle was partially Shockwave’s mistake, but exile to Cybertron with no real intention to even try to revive the world was an illogical waste of Shockwave as a resource.

Armies needed logistical support. Megatron too often tried to make brute force work. Starscream had been the one who had assembled the energon mines on Terra, but Megatron never acknowledged his Air Commander’s efforts.

Starscream had acclimated well to his new alt-form, which Shockwave had discovered came from a human star empire called the Federated Suns: A Principality ruled through law and a single human over trillions. Even at their height of Cybertron’s Golden Age, there were never that many Cybertronians.

It baffled Shockwave to his core to how the illogical humans could create that many of themselves let alone six empires, many lesser states, and several of these Clans of Kerensky, from what Starscream’s datatrax reported. The various colonies of Cybertron barely even looked past their gravity wells, and even now, it would not surprise Shockwave to learn that Velocitron had burned from some sort of massive pile up of its denizens, or that Junkion had finally lost its eternal battle to become more than rust and junk.

Only Cybertron tried to endure, but now even Cybertron was dead. What had Megatron done about it? He had attempted to wield the Dark Energon. Shockwave had advised his leader that Dark Energon was too unstable. There was something in the substance that just did not make sense, but Megatron had gone forward on his mad quest to find more of the substance after Cybertron’s reserves had been exhausted during the War for Cybertron.

Shockwave’s eye narrowed.

Suddenly, his left’s arm holoprojector shot to life. One of his satellites suddenly detected a large supply of Energon appearing on Cybertron. Shockwave’s scanned the information with glee. It was not a large amount, but perhaps it would be enough to keep going.

“That’s Dark Energon. You know that right?” said Starscream who was standing next to Shockwave.

Shockwave looked astonished at Starscream.

“Everyone forgets that to be a Seeker, you have to be a scientist. Then again, they made Skywarp a seeker for some odd reason. My field of expertise is energy readings, and I know a Dark Energon reading when I see it. Bah, what a useless substance! What a solar cycle! I have memories reforming in my head. I was even leader of the Decepticons, and I had a crown. That’s why I mentioned IT when I flew over Kaon.”

Shockwave did not say anything. Starscream continued chortling. “And I’d still be head of the Decepticons if not for those numbcores, the Combaticons. They cost me my crown.”

Shockwave shook his head. “No Starscream, you cost yourself that crown. You were barely alive when my troops discovered you after your altercation with the modified Autobot, so I made some modifications according to Lord Megatron’s specifications.”

“You what?” screeched the Air Commander.

“By your nature,” clinically explained Shockwave, “You are traitorous. Thus Megatron had me reduce your power levels as well as blocking some of your more provocative memories including your knowledge of Dark Energon in case you attempted anything.”

Starscream felt his long face. “This isn’t how I’m supposed to look. I had a much different head originally, with a true Seekers’s body. If Slipstream was here, she’d laugh at my predicament. Megatron always laughed at me, but I don’t have the power to fight him if he still lingers somewhere. “

Shockwave raised his left arm moving the hologram up. “Regardless, you have a chance to get back at one of those Combaticons. Swindle is experimenting on Dark Energon at Darkmount. I recommend that you take ten Jetscreams with you to investigate the situation.”

Starscream looked at Shockwave. “And why should I?”

Shockwave did not show any expression. “Because you value revenge even if it is ultimately pointless.”

Scratching his chin, Starscream nodded. “Indeed I do, and just to tell you, I’ve forgiven you for your part in my previous modifications. However, I want to be restored to my proper form with a more fitting alt mode. If Megatron is gone from this universe, it is the proper time that a new leader rise.”

Shockwave did not make any motion for several seconds. “Perhaps, but you must first confirm if Megatron no longer functions.”

Starscream merely narrowed his optics as he gently walked away. “Then I shall go and find out what Swindle is doing for. . . How do the humans say it? Oh, right. I will see what he is doing for a buck.”

Shockwave made a request. “Starscream with your remarkable skills, it would help in my meager research if you could collect some of Swindle’s humans for study. Megatron dismissed my requests to study the humans since he felt the human factor was worthless from a previous experiment by Knock-Out. However, there is something in his research that I wish to explore further.”

The Seeker turned around. “Swindle has humans. He still expects them to be his playthings, then. You think after the fat oaf that he’d stop trying to use them to get free oil. I will try and collect some for your research.”

Starscream shot into the air and transformed.

Shockwave shifted off his hologram. A new leader may be needed for the Decepticons to allow for logical evolution. And then he moved the remaining Jetstorms into his formations.

All he needed now was darkness to fall, and then the terror would befall the humans who had come to Cybertron. In the aftermath as they die, Shockwave would know that he had protected Cybertron for another day. Perhaps, afterwards, he could complete his experiment with superior probability of success. Only minor adjustments were needed.


Ruins of Gladiator Pits, Kaon

Skids stood waiting for their ride. Hound stood guard over the reduced core of Vector Sigma. Hound, who did a lot of scout work during the eons of war, had used his holographic abilities to hide them as they came out of the tunnels when an unknown force had sped by.

“So, do you think that he will be here?”

Skids looked back at Hound. “Considering he believes himself to be the best flyer across space and time, Lynx won’t let us down or let us forget it either. The bot is a braggart to the nth degree times a trillion. However, he knows how to fly and do a pick up.”

Hound sighed. “So what do you think that force was?”

Skids sighed. “Decepticon drones probably lead by a guardian. Once saw a similar protocol back when I traveled across the galaxy. It was about seven hundred stellar cycles. It was on a planet in what is called the Lyran Commonwealth.”

“That’s the Lyran Alliance. Kat Steiner renamed it when she broke up the Federated Commonwealth from her brother,” answered Hound.

Skids chuckled as he sat on some rubble. “That’s the problem. The new Archon has brought back the old Commonwealth moniker.”

“So, no more LAAF then?”

Skids laughed. “Yeah. Apparently, that was celebrated mightily by their military. I’m surprised you hadn’t learned of it, but then again, information is slow to come to Paradron.”

Hound sat next to Skids. “Yeah, that’s the problem. The humans live at best four hundred years, and that’s our allies who live in the asteroids. They are even less dynamic than the rest of humanity. I remember like it was a cycle ago that the humans created their Star League. We all thought that Megatron had been defeated once and for all. How wrong we were when he showed up that last time supporting that guy from the Rim World Republic.”

Skids laughed. “It’s always easier to say a problem is gone when we have no proof, but those lead by Jetfire, who demand proof for everything else, nearly stripped Prime of all power right before that point. Then again, I didn’t stick around to hear their processors pop when Megatron reemerged. I was too busy seeing the new worlds that humanity had created. It was fun. “

Hound shook his head. “Jetfire was all ready to denounce Prime is nothing more than a relic of old Cybertron. He was going to cut off the Belters, and some even speculated that he wanted to recreate the old guilds just with new names for a more logical course of action. And then Springer and Prime entered the Senate with evidence that Megatron had returned. I’ve never seen that Seeker shut up so fast.”

“You know I’ve been called a Seeker, but then again, I was always an odd-ball. I was not accepting into my father or mother’s guilds.”

Hound looked at Skids. “You are a new spark!” New sparks were sparks created by a ‘mech and femme during interface. A body is later created when the spark is born by either parent, but it is usually the mother’s duty.

“Well yes, I wasn’t born by infusion through Vector Sigma nor am forged spark. I like most of the new Autobots on Paradron am a new spark.”

Hound was a bit astonished. “But why would you go on this mission? Most of the new sparks were against the recreation of the infusion process. Even Prime argued against it, but he was overridden by the Senate.”

Skids laughed. “And I did as well, but you knew that when you asked by Prime to do all in his power to help than you do it. Sky Lynx is helping even though he didn’t have a particularly desire to see this mission go through, but the question most have to ask is one between respect for the process of law and their personal morals.”

His tone became more serious as he continued. “Me personally, I’d rather see Cybertronians doing it like humans, but most Cybertronians are disgusted by this concept since apparently they find interfacing between opposites to be sick and non-pure. Though for some odd reason between the same, it’s okay. It must be the old Guild Mentality of the great big machine. They want the simplicity of Vector Sigma infusing sparks even though it’s been proven again and again that most of those sparks are merely average.”

Hound shook his head. “No, we just want simplicity. Before the war, it was simple. You were created for a job, and then you did it. With the war over, we want simplicity to return. Though I’ll admit that Jetfire is a bit extreme just wanting to draw back to Paradron and recreate the guilds.”

“And what about those of us that felt odd about such a situation? The curious ones who sought to find out if there was truth to Path of Vector Prime or if they could summon the Fallen by creating a massive fire? What about us?”

“You tried to summon the Fallen?” deadpanned Hound.

“When you are young and angry, you do silly things. That’s doubly true when they stick you behind a lab desk trying to see if you can create artificial sparks. That was most boring time that I ever had. My mechanics mentor decided that it be best for me to become a field expert or Seeker. That was the best solar cycle of my existence. Sure, my attempt at Seeking was an attempt to summon the Fallen. All I got for it was burning off my paintjob, but it was fun making all the preparations.”

“Really, you even got the spark ember of a dying Prime.”

Skids snickered. “Okay, I couldn’t get the ember of a dying Prime, but I did get the dying spark of a delivery bot beaten to death by some early Decepticons. And I also had to get something other than Dark Energon since I had no idea that there was tons of the junk up at Trypticon Station, or else, I’d have snuck up there.”

“What did you do use some paint with energon to make it darker?” jokingly asked Hound.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I did,” smiled Skids.

“That’s incredibly dumb. You know that right?” asked Hound.

Skids shrugged. “Who cares if it was dumb? I was trying to prove a point. And for a second as I stared into the connection that I created, I saw a figure shrouded in flames before I got hit by the explosion.“

“And next you are going to tell me that you knew how to stop Megatron back before the war,” laughed Hound.

“Yeah, it was quite simple. You give Megatron an impossible quest such as the quest that Jhiaxus the Foolish attempted to find the Hub and possibly correct the problem with transwarp, and then you usher in a new golden age. But then again, my father never wanted to listen to my ideas.”

Hound was intrigued and since the only other thing in the arena was broken statues of Megatron. So he continued the questioning. “You brought it up, so who was your father?”

“It’s truly dumb. He always claimed that he accidentally interfaced with a femme with a loose chest-case and too much liquid energon. He always was shuffling me between guilds to keep me from being discovered because he was afraid if it came out that he had a new spark that he’d lose the backing of the Guilds.”

It suddenly dawned on Hound who Skids’ father had been. “You have part of his coloring.”

“Yeah, my mother, who designed my torso, at times apparently loved my father enough that she gave me part of his coloring. She actually had two sparks growing in her, since she was kind of dual-cored, and intended to give her coloring to the second protoform. Unfortunately, my brother didn’t survive being transferred. Mom didn’t have anyone to help her even though she knew the danger of doing it alone. And thus, I was the only one to survive.”

Skids looked up. “As much as I like talking about how much I hate Zeta Prime’s so-called reforms, I think I’ve spotted Sky Lynx in the distance.”

A Buccaneer class DropShip heading right for them. Hound picked up his signal first. “Right oh, gentlebots. It is the ever graceful and magnificent Sky Lynx coming to pick you two up. Bad news though, Omega is surrounded by a squad of drones. Just got told by my crew; it’s not looking good. Also, our former comrades on the Midas’ Touch attacked me, but I easily shook them off when we picked up your request for a first-class rescue.”

Skids rose from the broken column that he had been sitting on.

“Sky Lynx, I want you to drop me and Hound on top of those drones. We cannot lose that crew, and then I want you to get to the JumpShip with Vector Sigma.”

Sky Lynx started to land with thrusters on the bottom of the craft. “What, I can’t join the fun?” asked the transforming dropship.

“No, you’ve got to get the core and your crew to the Bristol. After that, we could probably use the expert mayhem that you like to cause,” said Hound as he answered the larger Autobot.

“Glad someone agrees with me for once, Hound,” Skids quipped.

“Save that for after we get Vector Sigma on that delta winged dinobot and save the humans on the Omega.”

That’s when Skids smiled. “I wouldn’t worry about moving Vector Sigma. I’d be more worried about going into combat. I knew that I should have chosen something with a couple more rotary auto cannons.”

Sky Lynx piped in as the two started to walk over to the core. “And remember it will take me ten of those human minutes to get back to Bristol and back when I turn on my gravity generator and kick my engines to their full power.”


Bridge of the Omega

Gustav Keeper sighed as he looked at the optical and scanner data. “We are surrounded by those drones. Though this purple one seems different. . . .Wait, that silvery one with blue trimming turned into a Corsair!”

Director DuQuense looked at the slender and lanky robot that shifted into an aerospace fighter. “Well that solves that mystery. Apparently, we had aliens on board this expedition the whole time.”

Gustav looked at the pilot, who didn’t make a sound or movement. It was not time yet to play that card. Though he had already ordered all crew to put on pressure suits in case it came to that.

“It appears that HoundDog and his assistant got picked up by the Lynx. I just had an interesting conversation with Junichiro Stahl. He tells me that this mission wasn’t a total loss; apparently they found some sort of alien data core. If we can decipher it, the information could be more profound than Helm Memory Core.”

“That will not happen, Director,” said the pilot.

Ajax DuQuense’s face looked shocked as the giant of a man rose from his chair. “Vector Sigma belongs to the Prime. It is by his choice alone that I accompanied this mission. “

And then his blue eyes looked at DuQuense as he walked to DuQuense and Keeper. “That’s enough, Pilot. Interstellar Expeditions will not be getting anything from this mission. However, I’d hoped that you wouldn’t threaten the Director. Optimus Prime would not be happy.”

“Gustav,” Ajax DuQuense turned his head to the captain of the Omega, “What is going on?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve known for twenty years that aliens walk amongst us, in plain sight. The alien robots that some call Transformers have existed for millions of years before we even learned to climb out of the trees in Africa,” said Gustav Keeper.

“There is more to humanity than mere evolution,” said the Pilot. “However, my mission is supreme. Weapons are trained on the columns. At the optimal time, bombardment will commence. If necessary, I will end this, but your crew and the Director must abandon me.”

Gustav nodded. “First let’s see what we can do with the weapons at our disposal along with our mechs and troops. I’d rather not risk the crew being caught by this Decepticon as you call him.”

The pilot merely looked down. “It is Shockwave, one of Megatron’s chief scientists. The other one, who commandeered your Corsair, is Starscream, who was reported terminated over three hundred years ago.”

And then the ship shook. Gustav gave the order. “Order Captain Furman to open fire on the southern column, I want to create a hole in case we need to escape the ship.”

DuQuense looked at his friend. “That’s insane, Gus. Why would we abandon the ship?”

“Because it might be our best chance to survive,” said Keeper, “so get your pressure suit ready.”


Darkmount

Cristo could not believe his luck. “Do you ever give up?!” screamed the Major through his speakers on his ‘mech. The initial attack had left Donald’s Stealth a wreck. And Cristo had to defend the attempt to recover the ‘mech with his BattleArmor troopers. Plus, the alpha strike had left the target looking undamaged.

“My new Master has given me vast power to accomplish this task. His blood fills my every circuit. With my hands I could crush you, parasite, even in your mockery of a Cybertronian!” declared the transformer who identified himself as Straxus.

Just as the group has arrived back at the fortress, the monster had jumped from an opening it had created in the fortress. At the moment, communication was chaotic, but he was glad to see that Swindle’s kill switch on his abomination had worked on the unit called Catilla after it had nearly been taken control of by Straxus.

Swindle, who had taken an axe to his arm, was bleeding a blue substance from the wound. Daphne stood guard over him as he repaired himself. He had pulled something from his pack on his back to clean and fix it, but he currently wasn’t in the fight since he was on his knee. “You know Straxus. We can work this out. I fixed up Darkmount, and I’m sure that an undead fellow like yourself could use a hopping pad to suck energon from unsuspecting femme bots. That’s what you do now, right?”

Straxus pushed aside Cristo, and then gave Bugsy’s Rakshasa an uppercut. It was all so he could lift Swindle by the cuff of his neck. “Worm! You do not deserve the right to speak of fair Darkmount. From here, the new age of Cybertron begins. This dawn is a time when only the strong will be given their wits for all others are mere pawns or fodder for the furnace in the Pit of the Master.”

Swindle struggled as he was pulled to the smelting pits that seemed to be turning into an active volcano as Straxus grew closer. “Come on, can’t we make a deal, Lord Straxus? Can I call you that your lordship? I want you to know that I always loved your poetry.”

Straxus shifted his head. The grill over his mouth betrayed no emotion as the sulfuric liquid bubbled out of the pits below Swindle.

“Stop your stammering, pawn. You and I once competed for Darkmount, and I won. However, I have now been selected by something beyond petty ideas of good and evil. Now, the epoch for our race to reach our true potential is upon us, and you aren’t even worth wasting the blood of the Master on to create another pawn.”

Swindle squirmed above the bubbling lava. His purple optics looked down at the pit of molten metal. Shooting his eyes at the light neon violet eyes of the Terrorcon yielded no pity for there was none.

“No, you don’t. He’s worth billions of pounds!”

And then Daphne pushed her Stealth straight at Staxus. With the momentum, Swindle landed safely on the solid ground.

“I’d even marry that ‘curvy’ . . . That’s the word. Yes, I’d even marry that curvy female human,” said Swindle.

And then Straxus merely pushed the Stealth into the molten pit. “Your pathetic nature cannot escape the inevitable moment of your demise. You are not even worth being a thrall for the Master, and the pathetic display of these parasitic humans proves it.”

Holding aloft his pickaxe, Straxus slowly walked towards Swindle. “It’s time to pay your debt, swindler.”

That was when Cristo pushed his Berserker with the myomer accelerator signal circuit (MASC) fully engaged. The MASC gave the ‘mech more strength and precision. With movement uncommon for a regular MechWarrior, Montgomery Cristo brought down his hatchet on the Straxus stumpy head. Then Cristo pushed the left arm of the ‘mech into the bulky body of the undead transformer. Plasma and lighting erupted as Straxus flew backwards into an open hangar of Darkmount.

Swindle got himself up. He had his cannon ready in his right arm as he patted Cristo’s Berserker on the back. “It was a good omen when I found you that day, Andrews. “

When Cristo heard his real family name, it felt good, but he couldn’t let it linger to think back to his Arcadians and their destruction by the Word of Blake. Or the cyborg he had become.

“Let’s finish this mistake, Swindle.”

Donald Duckworth’s Stealth was already smashed pretty badly. Bugsy’s Rakshasa at the moment was on the ground. And Daphne was at best a fried duck.

“Giga, watch over the recovery procedures,” ordered Cristo as he and Swindle moved into hangar of Darkmount.

Standing fully erect, the damage that Cristo had inflicted on Straxus repaired itself. Tendrils of Dark Energon repaired burns and destroyed panels.

“That was a good first round, but now comes the pain.”

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #19 on: 15 July 2013, 11:20:17 »
Airspace Around Darkmount
Polyhex, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of Sphere
April 5, 3085


Mega flipped a switch as her Corsair’s communication board lit up. In her days with the Lyran Alliance Armed Forces (LAAF) she had to respect authority. Now, she was a merc, and she could have a bit more lee-way. She daintily flipped the channel to respond to the Midas’ Touch’s Captain who commanded Darkmount’s defenses.

Mega smirked thinking of how silly the man looked attempting to sit in one of the Transformer sized chairs. If there was a way to become as a big as a Transformer, it would probably be less silly.

“This is Witch-1. What’s going on you egotistical Free Worlder?”

That’s when with panic in his voice Captain Abdul Fakkadi spoke. “This is not the time for your foolishness, Witch.”

Mega laughed. “Really, it’s always a time for a bit of mirth.”

“We have had a situation. The anti-aircraft guns are done around Darkmount. I need you to tighten your defense of Darkmount to . . .Oh Allah, close corridor seventeen you dolt. If we allow that beast to escape, Cristo will have our head.”

That’s when the pilot realized what was going on.

“Abdul as much as I find you to be a pompous piece of excrement who I’d love to feed to a fine boar while soaked in a fine honey sauce, my job is to provide aerial military expertise for Swendson Security. I’m moving our patrol closer to Darkmount.”

“It’s good that you at least listen to reason, Witch. . . . Infidel, Cristo needs more BattleArmor troops to kill this monster, and you send them to recover those two ‘mechs that are knocked out. I’d have your tongue if I thought that it would improve performance.“

“Also, lock the doors to level VI corridor 17 before that monster reaches my ship.”

Mega got on the horn to her wingmen-Buster, Wilder, and Clouder. Buster’s Corsair flew next to Mega’s Corsair followed by Clouder’s Eagle behind her with Wilder in his Dagger flying behind the flying brick.

“What are your orders,” the chilling cold voice of Wilder.

“It appears that whatever Enchantress Ariel being brewing in her lab has backfired. Apparently the anti-air weaponry of the alien fortress got taken off line, so after our merry little chase of that IE DropShip, we get to do a round of patrols around the fortress.”

“Great! We almost had that foolish pilot. Whoever flew that thing apparently has no regard for the rest of the crew,” laughed Buster.

Mega laughed. “There was something odd about how it flew, but let’s keep on sights on protecting Darkmount.”

The engines revved up as she pushed the throttle forward. That is when Clouder spoke up. “Ma’am shouldn’t we keep an eye on the sensors? This place could hold all sorts of things that I only dreamed of from trivids. Just imagine if Ratyag the Dragger of Doom, the Living ‘Mech actually exists.”

“It would still be the lamest encounter ever,” laughed Buster “Swindle is enough of an alien for anyone, but you want the living slasher mech that eat human souls. Didn’t the director go crazy after that studio in the Suns went under? During the Jihad no one really wanted to see horror trivids because the Jihad made them all too real.”

Wilder in his soft spoken voice spoke. “The truth is that the Studio went under due to multiple reasons, but the main issue was that they concentrated too often on aging and pointless pictures just like Wagnker Aerospace. “

Buster raged on his radio. “How dare you brother! Wagnker provide quality designs. Why bother with changes to quality?”

Wilder responded with a quip. “It is all perception. If you are not creating new things then the market believes that you are a goner even if the Davions like Clouder keep buying your products for some unknown reason.”

“Hey! I resent that,” spoke Clouder. “Besides, I have an Eagle.”

Laughter erupted from Mega. “My boys, the only reason Clouder has an Eagle is because Darrius Swendson got a deal with Wagnker. Personally, I’d prefer an old fashioned Chippewa, or if he’d use a couple of extra kroner to buy an Eistenstrum. I started out flying one of those brooms until I had to be reassigned.”

Flying over the debris of Polyhex, the four fighters never realized that there were predators flying about.


Corridor 16 Level VI Darkmount


Cristo felt pain course through his body as that pickaxe of the Transformer Straxus ripped into the armor of his Berserker. He never wanted the pain inhibiter that Ariel had offered to him after she added the Vehicular Direct Neural Interface (VDNI). If true be known, he wanted to be back on Acahmar, dead with his unit.

For a moment, his mind drifted back.


Acahmar 3075

Lifting his arm, Bradley Andrews lifted his right arm up. Only then did he realize what had happened. His Caesar had been ripped to shreds. And then he lifted it up with his eye that could see.

It looked like a burnt bit of meat. There was no hand. The worst part was the left was also gone. His left hand still felt, but there was something wrong. His hand moved across his face. Thousands of needles crossed his face as he tried to reach for his left eye.

And Bradley screamed. A bony finger flayed by that particle projectile cannon had popped his eye. And that’s when he saw a woman. Perhaps, it was a Valkyrie come to take him to Valhalla. But the red hair and blue eyes spoke of an angel of mercy.

“This one still lives, Master. Burns are severe with many signs pointing towards death, but you require a military man to defend your interests. A Davion Commander usually is tactically sound, and their brains are quite soft and moldable.”

And then two monsters that Andrews knew as Tau Zombies reached into the shattered cockpit. “George and Romero take this one. We don’t have much time.”

That was the first time that he met Ariel.



“You fight well for a parasite. But you will learn pain as I have,” screamed Straxus.

The axe sliced the air.

However, sparks were the only things that met. The Berserker’s Hatchet slid the pickaxe down as Cristo pushed the ERPPC in the monster’s face. He knew that wouldn’t kill it. Somehow, nothing seemed to kill it. He had been able to kill the previous monster easily enough.

The plasma erupted like lighting, and it least seem to hurt Straxus. It was hot inside his cockpit as the heatsinks tried to absorb the heat that he was pushing the system. However, it wasn’t hot enough yet.

“No, Straxus let me teach what I know of pain.”

Flames burst from the ‘mech.

The flat head of Straxus with his grill mouth showed damage especially after the flames, but all Cristo really wanted was Swindle.


Outbound from Acamar, 3075

“He should be responding, especially with the parts that the Master gave us,” said a sweet voice. Andrews could hear it. He hoped to God that he was in Heaven, but the white walls and the guards were not the heavenly gates where Saint Peter would see him before being ushered into heaven.

There was a swoosh sound. “ Well my little Manei, how is my investment?” asked an oily voice.

The voice responded shocked. “Master? You can take human form.”

Andrews opened his eyes. There was a woman with the face of a teenage girl looking back at him as a man in a beige and purple suit stood there. There was also a bolo tie with an odd symbol on it. Andrews couldn’t make out the symbol.

“I can do many things like provide superior parts that you Blakist Butchers never thought to try.”

The man gave a wicked grin. “You Blakist can be such pea-brains. Then again, I thankfully had a bundle of Decepticon grade wire. And now this former mercenary commander with my parts and your expertise is the finest cyborg ever made.”

Andrews lifted his right arm. It felt hot. It did not feel normal even if the phantom pain was there. However, it was not pain that he saw with both eyes. That shouldn’t be there either. He could see out of his left eye.

He remembered popping it.

“What have you done to me?” asked Andrews.

The man smiled. He never took off his sunglasses. “That’s simple. I’ve given you your life. Perhaps you need a new name. What was that character’s name form that human novel. Oh yes, Edmund Dantès. Let’s just say that you need a new name.”

“You want me to become the Count of Monty Cristo?”

The man laughed. “That’s the one. Great novel. I really should fund a new trivid version. It’s a great story of pain and satisfaction. Pity, it really doesn’t speak much of avarice. That’s the thing that makes the world go round.”

The woman who wore all white spoke. “Master, he needs time to figure out what he has become. He has extensive reconstruction. There is no telling if he will accept this new state of being. There are rites and traditions.”

“Hogwash is what they are.”

Andrews looked at the man. There was something not particularly Blakist about him.

“All a man needs is a little motivation. And with a little catalyst of revenge, he’ll be as right as rain. Now, Colonel Andrews, you can call me Darius Swendson.”

“Wait, I still need to know what happened to me. The last thing that I remember was being moments away from death, and now I have a right arm. Plus I can somehow see . . .,” Andrews looked at reflective surface.

His hair was gone. That was to be expected after being burned. However, the face that stared at him was one of a much younger man. His arm still burned.

“How is this possible?”

Swendson snickered. “I bought my own personal Cybernetics Scientist off the Word of Blake. Sure, it was more with showing off my rocking bod, but getting what I want is a talent of mine. And I need a Cristo now to help me get a bit of revenge on a former business partner, the Word of Blake.”

“You worked with the Blakists. Why?” asked Andrews.

“Simple, it looked good in the short term, and then the ingrates decided that it would be a great idea to attempt to chop me up and dissect me, but my dear Ariel didn’t particularly like that idea.”

Ariel spoke up. “You do not kill a living god and the embodiment of all that Blake believed.”

Andrews suddenly realized that he had lost everything. The Arcadians were dead. The legacy of Arcadia had died in his Caesar; he never got to give it to his son. Now of the old first families of Arcadia only the Morrisons of Sherwood still had one of seals of Arcadia, and they were traitors to the Federated Suns by joining that fool Coalition. Though he had heard one of their scions had turned his back on the rest of them by staying with the Suns.

“Swendson to Andrews, are you there? So will you become my Cristo? It’s not like you can go back to the Arcadians.”

His arm burned. “I have no choice do I? All that I ask is that you somehow retrieve my Caesar, and if you find a gold seal, I need you to have it sent to my daughter.”

Swendson sighed. “Well I guess that I can do that, but it is so hard to find Arcadian First Family Seals. However if it provides loyalty, I guess it will be worth it. Though I could sell that seal for several billion c-bills.”

The arm hurt, but he pointed his arm at Swendson. “That is my price.”

“Then the deal is accepted. Though I think I need Ariel to work on that arm. It’s about to melt that fake skin.”

And that is when Ariel rushed over with some sort of drug and stabbed Andrews. And for the last time, Bradley Andrews went to sleep.

When he awoke he was Montgomery Cristo.


Cristo pushed his ‘mech forward. The hatchet smashed into the Transformers’ side. The only thing that the former AFFS officer and Mercenary wanted in reality was for the Transformer to kill him. He was forever bound to Swindle until death by his sacred honor. However, the man who was once Bradley Andrews would not take the easy route.

As he shot his lasers, he burned off a bit of armor from the frame of the transformer. However, there was definitely something not right as the Transformer chuckled.

“Fool, my master has given me abilities beyond the rest of my race by your foolish attempt to revive me.”

Even now Swindle should be waiting with some BattleArmor troopers.

“So we can’t just dip Swindle in that Dark Energon, and he’d be just as invulnerable. That’s good to know.”

Well there went that idea. For all they know, all it would do would make Swindle full of rage. Apparently, transformers subsisted on a substance called energon. Swindle had devices that could create artificial energon from hydrocarbons which the transformer also enjoyed like champagne. Without energon, transformers eventually rusted and turned to dust.

The sensors showed him that his employer, with several battle armor troopers, was ready to strike.

“No, the fool would merely become a thrall. Few would pass the test of my Master. Your species would never be able to absorb Dark Energon’s greater properties.”

Straxus was about to strike.

It was now or never when suddenly an elevator shaft opened up.

“Change of plans!”


Central Control, Darkmount

Abdul Fakkadi laughed as he heard the words of the acting science advisor, an intern from the New Avalon Institute of Science. “So, you are telling me that Ariel Pipperton is in a catatonic state?”

The fretful girl seemed unable to stare at the captain of the Midas’ Touch. “She can’t stop . . .muttering ‘Shockwave’. W-w-we don’t know w-w-what it means?” said the girl with sweater trying to cover her ample cleavage.

Abdul would take it off to see the girl’s body, or that was what his father would do. Which is why his son now only ran a rapidly falling apart fortress for a transforming ‘mech. The universe took strange delight in mocking Captain Fakkadi.

“So, Miss Summers, did the good doctor recommend anything to counteract the horrible creature ransacking throughout this fortress?”

The timid girl with pink highlights began to whimper some more. “Well, . . . ,” she stammered again.

Fakkid walked back and forth for a second, and then he pointed his finger in her face.

“Now listen to me, I want advice, and I don’t care if it is from a flying yellow pony the size of a small dog. Just tell me how to bring an end to this threat to our Lord Swindle’s fortress.”

The girl large eyes opened up as wide as they’d go, and then she smiled.

“Since Straxus has demonstrated again and again the ability to regenerate that none of other mechanical living entities exposed to Catalyst Mana Dark have, the only logical conclusion is trap the rampaging no good meanie in one of the stasis holds in Swindle’s throne room. The elevators can be shifted to gravity lift easily enough, and their current position seems to be easily accessible from one of the lifts. Our personnel are not on the throne level, so it should be easy.”

Fakkid smiled. “Excellent advice, flying yellow pony. We’ll give the tactical plan to Lord Swindle. For this shall be a glorious day for all of us. Lock all other access points. I’d advise that only Major Cristo and Lord Swindle go to the top of this Darkmount.”

Fakkadi wished that he had explosives.


Corridor 16 Level VI

Swindle sat in his tank form with troops. His large laser that most assumed to be Clan make was in fact something much more attuned. Even the Clans were not yet able to make a Cybertronian grade weapon. Though in a gambling mood, he once argued that it would be the Taurian Concordat who would be able to create a Cybertronian weapons with, of all ‘bots, Skywarp, but that was mostly because he had sold several of them to Protector Hampton Calderon back in the human year 2730.

Only for the fool to get assassinated. The weapons were apparently placed in a weapons vault for emergencies, since they thought they were Royal Star League equipment. Swindle stole the weapons back when he got out of service to the Word of Blake. It felt good to have a more powerful weapon than the jury rigged one that he had been using.

And Straxus would hurt from it as well.

“Lord Swindle, we have analyzed the situation. It would be impossible for you to snipe the demon Straxus. However, we have come up with a plan.”

Swindle had the target perfectly lined up, and even if Cristo found him to be annoying merchant of death, Swindle still enjoyed the company of the man. He was his man. For Swindle that as much loyalty as he would allow, especially if a better option became available.

“Fine, what do you have planned?”

Fakkadi, with his usual confident voice, spoke with bombastic volume. “It is quite brilliant. It was if a wise herd of magnificent yellow flying steeds came before me to present a plan that had the seal of Seventh Heaven upon it with the Prophets approval. In short, we have locked off all other corridors except for an elevator straight to Level XX where you throne room is.”

“That seems counterproductive. I mean really why expect me to give up Darkmount just as I got the deed signed?”

“No, Lord Swindle,” offered Fakkadi. “I expect you and Cristo to trap the Demon Straxus in a stasis cell.”

Swindle revved his motor as his four front wheels speed up. Straxus and Cristo were next to the opening pathway.

“Change of plans,” said Swindle to Cristo. “We are going up.”

Swindle shot out in his Chevalier Tank form. “Sergeant Winslow, you are in charge,” he spoke through his loudspeakers. He didn’t bother to look back at the man as he drove.

Pushing himself up with jets of fire, he had momentum carry him across the room as his body shifted. His arms enveloped both of the combatants and shoved them up the gravity lift.

All three were now tumbling up to the top level. Straxus screamed. “Damn you! That was a battle, and you interrupted. I should feast on your spark, but it is pointless Swindle. You spark is merely corrupt goo.”

Straxus reached to grab a hold of Swindle, but instead the more horrid monster transformer began to spin uncontrollably. The former Combaticon pulled a special little something from what had been his turret but contained various emergency weapons. He placed sticky explosives on Straxus with the tumbling monster unable to stop him or realizing it.

Swindle grabbed the less coordinated ‘mech piloted by his primary commander. Even with the direct control system which had not come cheap, Cristo was as coordinated at times as a protoform on a drunken energon binge. They rolled onto Level XX with Swindle helping up Cristo.

For a moment, Swindle considered tell Fakkadi to open the top of Darkmount and let Straxus be shot into orbit, but knowing his luck, the enraged undead transformer would come back down to rip out his optics.

However since Swindle kind of enjoyed controlling Darkmount, he’d rather not just lose the facility’s elevator shaft for what had to come next. Swindle watched for Straxus to emerge. “Cristo get to the throne room.”

“I kind of guessed sniping wouldn’t work, but what’s the plan? It’d help if I knew what was going on in that computer that you call a brain.”

Swindle chuckled. “Femmes with loose chestplates, the last currency exchange rates-the yuan took a beating after VINDOLANDA, a search for the name of a really good Quintesson merchant that I met who once gave me an excellent deal on an energy convertor, the last thing that I ever said to Brawl, oh yeah, I killed Utz Nus since he wouldn’t haggle, and the exact last lines of the Covenant of Primus. Primus, that line is dumb. ‘Till all are one!’ What does that even mean? Are we supposed to combine into a supertransformer that barely can say hi due to the conflicting circuits? All belong to one faction? Or is it some sort of statement that we are merely pieces of a sleeping god?” Lingering for a moment, Swindle then gave a direct order. “Personally, I don’t care. Just get to the throne room and stand by that chair. Activate Cell 2 when you get there.”

A hand clawed its way to the side of the shaft. Then that pickaxe came into view as Cristo rushed to the throne room. Swindle lowered down as his body shifted back to his tank form. Revving up his engine, Swindle shifted the turret.

Straus emerged off the gravity lift. “That’s enough of your foolishness, Swindle. I’ll obliterate you.”

Though the former gladiator seemed to be to have only one objective on his mind, ripping apart every piece of Swindle until there would be no more of him, the deceitful and greedy Decepticon had no desire to face Primus’ judgment.

Firing shots from his turret, Swindle laughed at Straxus. “Come and get me, Insecticon-brained fool!”

“Insecticon-brained! Swindle!” screamed Straxus.

Entering his throne room, Straxus smiled until he saw Swindle sitting on his throne. “Like a disobedient protoform, Swindle, you do not know your place.”

Swindle spoke from the throne. “Personally as the Lord of Darkmount, I can sit on any chair that I want. Don’t you agree Major Cristo?”

The Berserker BattleMech looked at Swindle. “That is a Lord’s right.”

Straxus’ rage got him as he rushed forward. “If you insist on acting like a protoform, let us begin your lessons in . . . PAIN,” screamed the transformer. And then he smacked into an energy wall. “What? No, you trapped me in a stasis cell!”

The undead transformer was enclosed by a cylinder of energy.

“You have no right to encase Straxus in his own cell,” screamed the transformer as it pounded on the energy wall.

Swindle looked at Cristo in the cockpit of the Berserker. “He’s a bit annoying let’s put down the cell.” Pressing a button, Swindle walked to the stasis cell. “Enjoy eternity, Straxus.”

Just before the armored cell came down on the enraged revenant, Swindle smiled. Straxus screamed until the cell closed on him.

They heard a pounding on the metal. “Should we get out of here?” asked Cristo.

Swindle walked backed to the throne. “It’s tripled reinforced. It’ll take him a month in your time to get out. And right now, I just want to relax for a microcycle. Besides it’s not like Shockwave is going to come after me.”


Outside Omega

Shockwave had waited until his internal clocks clicked down to nothing. It was time for the final act. For this moment as the luminous sun completed another solar cycle, it was time for his moment of glory.

“Tankors begin bombardment,” ordered Shockwave.

Then the whirring sound of the cannons on the tank based drone sped up as the energy arced between each of their main cannons and the target DropShip. Shockwave’s eye focused on the human landing vessel. However, there was something off about it.

The armor should be half of what a Cybertronian vessel would be able to provide. There should be cracks in the armor as the supercharged plasma flew across it. Shockwave had gone over the data that Starscream had in his banks.

This shouldn’t be happening.

Shockwave did a spectral analysis of the ship. He had only seen that armor once before, and it had not played out well the last time that he saw it.

“The Autobots rediscovered him.” Shockwave transformed. His legs shifted around as his front treads appeared from his body, and his regular arm shifted into his body. The cannon shifted onto the top of his tank form. “Thrusts follow me!”

Shockwave didn’t have much time if what he suspected was true.

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #20 on: 22 July 2013, 14:24:28 »
Interlude

As the plasma cannons of Shockwave’s drones strike too close to the bird like ‘mech, the pains of a dying world strike my audio receivers. Even from a distance, I, Alpha Trion, bear witness to the last battle that Cybertron will experience as it currently stands. For this is the will of a power beyond Primus, and as an apostle of Primus, I am bound by that decision.
   
The Covenant of Primus details my destiny just as it tells of the events that are to come. Though I have the power to stall or alter the events that will unfold by writing a line in the tome of my creator, the Will always gets its way . . . eventually. Perhaps that is how it is supposed to be.

Megatronus, my brother, hated fate just as his namesakes have a distaste for it. In ways, I envy them for that, but their rebellious spirits betray their true intentions always. Instead of trying to master fate to make things better for all, they merely wanted to rearrange the system to reflect their opinions.

The Fallen, as he is now known by the current Cybertronians in all universes, sought to change . . . love. It was something that he could not control, but in attempting to control it, he murdered the only thing that he loved, our beloved sister, the Prime of the forge, Solus. With her death, he fled to our enemy and became the Fallen.

His namesake, Megatron of Kaon, was a simple miner who became a gladiator, but somehow, he became a tyrant when his original intentions were noble. Zeta Prime never listened to my advice on his notion of the guilds after the invasion of the Quentisson Co-Prosperity Sphere. By then, I merely was a misfiring relic best forgotten in the Archives of Iacon.

And yet, as it does for the oddities known as humans, history screams its lesson to deaf ears. The humans are interesting as well. Even they have stories and history that speak against trying to control everything. Those histories speak of the human Star League, the Terran Alliance, Soviet Union, Mongol Empire, Roman Empire, Persian Empire, and countless others that all failed for varying degrees in attempts to control everything.

It astounds me how many human empires have risen and fallen in a period the same as a thousandth of a typical Cybertronian’s lifespan. For such a short lived species, they have accomplished much, but there is always more to learn.

In a way, it is good that the majority of humanity has found stability in the five great houses. Too many of their kind will never have a chance to choose their path because of the cruel reality that their homeworld will inevitably kill everything on it someday. That will render the idea of the ilClan of Kerensky moot, but there are always factors that most miss.

It is a consequence of forces beyond their control that their homeworld, known as Dirt, holds the broken form of the evil brother of Primus, Unicron. The coming reformatting will be the fall of Dirt, Terra, or Earth. Sadly, those who inhabit it will not realize until it’s too late to escape the planet when the toxic blood of Unicorn bubbles to the surface of the human homeworld. The orb will die, but it will not matter. For humanity’s destiny according to the One was never to stay in its assembling bay.

Their destiny was always in the stars.

However, there are those who wanted them never to leave, but be controlled.

There is a passage about some vile humans that encountered one of my kind about ten solar cycles ago.


Unknown Area
Ruins of Gabriel, Odessa
Donegal Province, Lyran Alliance
April 17, 3075


Demi-Precentor Delta/ Epsilon V Roman Benjamin hated his luck. For one, he had been ordered to scuttle a portion of the Ruins of Gaberiel. There was something in him that felt unsettled about destroying such a relic.

Wasn’t it the duty of the true Comstar to preserve technology?

“The truth is here. Even holy fallout cannot destroy this area. It reveals the true gods!”

The other reason that seemed to make Roman’s head hurt was the malfunctioning Manei Domini Delphius who had gone mad apparently. He had run down an unknown tunnel when Roman’s crews had finished arming explosives, and Roman knew that it would be his head if he lost one of Apollyon’s Chosen.

However, he was now standing in a larger purple hallway. A hallway where ‘mechs could walk unhindered was all around them, but the oddest thing was that there was suddenly gravity. Spacecraft could only generate artificial gravity by having a deck that spun to produce centrifugal force, but there was none of the low squeal of the gravity decks. However, there was a low hum though of some sort of engine.

“Do you not see, Demi-Precentor? These halls were not created by men or even cats with hats. No, they were created by the true gods, living ‘mechs.”

Roman had to roll his eyes. The scruffy Manei Domini was more worried about these odd hallways instead of trying to retreat with the rest of the units to escape the Ghost Bears that had invaded the system.

“Yeah, I’m sure the light purple walls reveal the secret origin of humanity as the feet cleaners of giant robots that apparently built this facility.”

Delphius scratched the fleshy parts of his lower face where stubble had formed. “Isn’t it the truth? Were not these hands made to scrape the filth from our creator worthy feet? Did not Blake tell us of the more perfect nature of the machine? It is in front of our eyes that machines are the truth and singular blessing for humanity true ascension to be demi-gods.”

Manei Domini threw out his arms in madness as his head rolled back. “He knew the truth that we were the products of superior mechanical intelligence, but come infidel, the place of reverence awaits.”

Roman looked at his watch. There wouldn’t be enough time soon to escape the Ruins. He had to give the order to his crews to start evacuation before the Ghost Bears or the explosions came.

Raising his communicator up to his mouth, he wondered what his wife back on Terra would say. He hoped that his letter had gotten to her that he loved her. The Precentor Martial said that they were winning, but if they were winning, why would they scuttle the Ruins of Gabriel? If they were truly winning, they’d throw ships and men to protect their investment here.

“Connors, this is Demi-Precentor Roman Benjamin begin immediate withdraw from the facility. Under no circumstances attempt to retrieve me or Delphius; we will find another way to escape. If we do not, get word to my wife.”

Connors on the other end replied. “Understood. May the Peace of Blake be with you.”

Roman threw the device against the wall. Shattering into thousands of pieces, Roman ignored it as he followed the slow trudge of the cyborg towards a room down the vast hallway.

There were no words between them.

After what felt like an eternity, but in reality was ten minutes, they walked into a room where a mechanical man floated in some sort of clear liquid in a massive tank of some sort. The robot had a bucket head with sharpened edges near the cruel mouth. Other parts of the man were missing. An arm. The right leg. However, the right arm had what appeared to be a nasty looking cannon.

“Do you not see the glory, Demi-Precentor?”

Roman Benjamin was not in awe of the mechanical man. Instead, there was merely fear. Fear of this robot, of never seeing his wife again, and of course for his life ran through his head.

“I’d personally rather get off this facility alive.”

That was when Delphius laughed. “Fear runs through you instead of awe. I remembered being so base, but now after being closer to the gods, I realize the truth. You are bound by the gravity of your flesh. You should abandon it. The first step is to take a bit of the useless flesh for sacrifice.”

Benjamin reached for his sidearm as Delphius lunged at him.

However, there was something else.

It had been silent. It merely watched without betraying any sound. It had long flat arms ending in claws. It had a slender body. Its head was shaped almost like a bat, but it had no visible mouth or eyes like the one in the tank. Instead, it was merely a faceplate.

“A living god!” screamed Delphius.

He fell to his mechanical knees. And then he removed his red hood to show the mismatched head with cybernetics and flesh.

Roman did not allow the moment to escape. He fled the room, but he had no idea where to run. Prayers to gods from his own childhood training in a dying church escaped his mouth as he fled. Turning his head, he saw metallic tentacles slithered out of the robot that wasn’t a ‘mech. It curled around the Manei Domini.

Smaller interface devices came out of the head of the tentacle that was the size of the upper torso for a full grown man. Finally, one of the smaller tentacles connected with a port on the back of the cyborg.

Delphius shuddered for a moment. His limbs went wild, and then finally he slumped back. There was nothing that could be done.

n shock, Roman Benjamin turned around to see appeared to be a semicolon and a right arrow appear on the large faceplate. The silent robot suddenly chuckled in a deep mechanical voice.

“Manei Domini inferior, Soundwave superior. Human Singularity always laughable.”

The laughter continued.

Roman Benjamin didn’t let another moment linger, so he ran.

However, there was something with the gait of a large cat chasing after him. Turning his head, a robotic jaguar was chasing him. It growled at him.

“Jessica,” he mumbled before he was overtaken.


Soundwave found the tunnel that the human had used to descend into the Nemesis. His expressionless face scanned the damage. The sensors of the ship showed various unknown ships slaughtering other unknown designs of humans. All were being analyzed for further use later.

Most of the former facilities of the Decepticon Shipyard were now unrecognizable, especially the central computer which was now of human make. But thanks to that cyborg, Soundwave could download all the information from that computer. Ironically, the cyborg had awakened him, and it was interesting to sort through his mad ramblings. Now was not the time to analyze the changes that had brought about a faction of cybernetic humans.

The Nemesis and its Master were still not ready to leave the last true dock hiding in plain sight inside this asteroid. To protect the last hope of the Decepticons, Soundwave waited for the explosion to come. There was no time to close the hole.

The tumbling could be heard closing on him. Symbols and coordinates appeared to the robot. At the right moment, a green field opened in front of Decepticon. The fire slid easily into the field until it was gone.

The flames reappeared outside next to a Ghost Bear Visigoth fighter.

Watching the fighter die in the flames, Soundwave was impressed by its ability to survive even it was doomed. And finally, Soundwave knew how to revive his Master. The only Cybertronian worthy of leading Cybertron and the entire universe in perfect peace would once more function.

Lord Megatron would live again.

For now, Soundwave would return to repairing the Nemesis. For Soundwave needed the vessel to once more function to be a rallying cry to other Decepticons, but at the same time, it was needed for one other simple reason. It contained the only facilities capable of restoring Megatron.

Even if those facilities were offline, the battle had delayed those vital repairs for another five solar cycles. And then it would take time to finish the repairs to Megatron himself, but Soundwave would silently work towards that goal no matter how long it took.

Soundwave could be patient, but other Decepticons were not so much. If Starscream still functioned, he’d mostly likely had lead any listening Decepticons to an unrecoverable defeat. Even after the long cycles and three failures to restore Cybertron, Megatron’s cause still existed, even if the only loyal one left was the silent guardian.

Megatron would know how to make it work, and then peace through his benevolent tyranny would finally happen. The sound of harmony would overcome all the dissonance caused by the conflicts of freedom created by ignorance of the perfect utopia that would be created by Megatron.

The loyal guardian went back to his work as the Ghost Bears continued their slaughter of the Word of Blake. The lethargic Clan of Kerensky showed the ferocity of their claws that day out of either a lie of their origins or a dark truth. As emblems passed across Soundwave’s faceplate, he came to one from the database of a human number in front of the outline of the former state of Minnesota. Data on what it meant passed through his CPU.

For a moment, he considered detailing the truth to these Ghost Bears, but then that would beg questions. The best way to hide was to stay silent.

The emblem disappeared, and Soundwave decided to hide what he truly knew for a later time. It was a strategy that had again and again proved its worth.


The Covenant of Primus ends that passage abruptly, but I often wonder if I with my Quill could alter the fate of the founder of the Decepticons. It is possible that he is never revived, that Soundwave will continue to work on his Master ‘till Liege Maximo escapes the Hub at the end of time.

But that is only one possible end for the universe. There is another possibility that it will all end when the fires that birthed this universe contract to nothingness again. That is an end that the great enemy of Primus works towards hastening.

That is why Paradron needs me.

My former student Orion Pax has barely left the world since the fall of the human Star League. There are pains that he alone has had to endure, but in a way, most humans have no idea that it was the current holder of the Matrix of Leadership that saved the majority of humanity from a worse fate than the Successor Wars.

For like the universe, contraction always causes decline. Focusing on the center always spells the end since it is better to continue out. It happened to Cybertron with the Guilds, and it has occurred many times throughout the history of man including the bloated Terran Alliance. However, unlike my beloved Cybertron, the humans of the colonies flourished, unlike the Colonial Cybertronians whose worlds have disappeared to entropy.

Perhaps, it was my lessons that helped Optimus that day.


Star League BattleMech Warehouse 51
Canada, Terra
Terran Hegemony
February 1, 2784


“That is it,” said the tired general. As he stood in a chamber meant for cleaning twenty meter tall ‘mechs, Aleksander Kerensky stood in the dress uniform of the Commanding General of the Star League Defense Force speaking to no man. There was an Orion BattleMech being buffed by automated machinery to his right. And something else in the other side of the chamber, it was almost as massive as one of the new Atlas.

“Those so-called lords of the Star League are fools especially John Davion. If only he could see what is at stake, he’d do more to preserve the Star League instead of trying to strip everything that he can from it, but he is almost as bad as that drunk Kenyon Marik or that traitor Minoru Kurita,” said the man who had been up to a couple of years ago the Protector of the Star League to some, or a traitor to others.

“Prince John merely is distrustful of some of the so-called reforms that have been secretly placed in the members’ states to rebuild the Terran Hegemony, and perhaps he sees a coming war and only wants to get better troops to protect his realm. As I told McKenna, you cannot make anyone trust you through force or lies. You have to be honest to sentient beings, and all too often, I see too many of the people that you surround yourself with, Aleksandr, wanting to force or lie to the rest of your species as if this were the Terran Hegemony of a hundred years ago.”

Kerensky scoffed. “The man claimed to be my friend, Prime. That’s what is so disturbing about this all. He doesn’t trust me to do what is best for humanity with what troops that I have. When I needed his help to keep the sizes of the member state armies down, he was just as grasping as the rest of the House Lords. And now, he has his people get good men to betray the last true organ of the Star League. Mark my words as you speak of lies, his facade as a man of peace will melt away just as much as you are something more than a truck.”

The voice with sadness responded. “Perhaps, but like you I’ve grown tired. It has been five million of your years since our War began. The Decepticons failed in their final bid, but the last chance to restore our original homeworld died with that Cybermatter bomb that Megatron had been developing.”

The grey face with blue optics looked at Kerensky. “You asked me to help one last time with humanity, but I cannot abide any longer the lies that humanity creates to keep knowledge of our existence from becoming common knowledge.” Prime made a fist. “It was Minister Fowler that changed history books to suggest that a minor political uproar in Russia created the Terran Alliance. He was a good man, but he too often did not realize how hard lies are to uphold.”

Kerensky stood aghast at that knowledge. “The Second Soviet Civil War never occurred.”

Prime shook his head.

“The truth is hard to swallow for some. It has always amazed me that some believe that just because one thing is false that it discredits everything else. Some of my people do that too often. They cannot see the truth of the universe that there are things beyond the physical, but to prop up their own position, they debase their opponents into fools and zealots without looking at what is said. This causes rage on the other side which leads to the next step where finally war happen.”

Prime knelt down and he looked at Kerensky. “And this time, I’ve decided to return to Paradron to keep another war from happening.”

Kerensky was a bit shocked. “I was expecting you to help Jerome and myself with rebuilding the Terran Hegemony just as you helped James McKenna build it in the first place.”

“No Commanding-General, I am tired, and I deserve to help rebuild my people. Our ancient foe is scattered and for the most part destroyed. With the Nemesis most likely destroyed, it took someone who was once my friend, but he became my eternal foe. The Autobots have earned our rest, General. My race deserves a second chance, but I encourage you to not follow our path by creating a stagnant society that always goes back to try and create a Terran Hegemony.”

Prime pointed at the Commanding General. “Be the better man, Aleksandr Kerensky, try to make amends with Prince John Davion and the other members of the Star League Council. It is time for humanity to realize that there is nothing special about Terra now that most of her children have become perhaps better. Cybertron’s Senate, blinded by arrogance, cut off the colonies because they should worship their homeworld, and most of those worlds are now dead because in our arrogance, and Cybertron will soon follow.”

Kerensky shook his head. “There is too much bad blood between us. You should have seen how much John railed against Jerome Blake when he was up for Minister of Communications. It was all to spite me because I did not recognize him as regent.”

“Perhaps, he sees something that I’ve seen in that man as well,” offered Prime. The sentient robot started to walk towards the door.

Kerensky rolled his eyes. “Not you too! Blake is one of the smartest men of the age. He is one of the few that I can trust to help the SLDF. To be honest, his demands for more resources for his projects to create these newer HPGs do disturb me. Honestly, he has more than enough to rebuild the Terran Hegemony.”

“Sometimes, there are beings who want more than just to rebuild; they want to reformat things,” said the voice with remorse.

“And it would be easier if your people stayed and helped to remake the Terran Hegemony. I implore you.”

The only response that the General received was the shifting of metal as the door to the chamber opened. “No General, we will watch, but we will not help recreate the same mistakes as we have in the past for your race. Heed my words, Kerensky: Freedom is the right of all sentient beings. It is time for humanity as a whole to make its own mistakes. If you attempt to control all of humanity, you will merely doom trillions to attempts at peaceful tyranny,” said the red and blue civilian truck as it rolled out. “But remember, Aleksandr, the Autobots will continue to watch.”

Kerensky shook his head. He had hoped that he could convince the sentient robot to help Jerome, but the war with Amaris’ Decepticons allies had taken its toll on the leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime. DeChevalier reported that Prime’s people had been disappearing to this Paradron for weeks, and that he had even taken some notes in case of having to do something similar.

However, it was enough to know that the Autobots would watch over humanity.

The idea struck him that it might be better not to fight a pointless war which would demand what remained of the Terran Hegemony to fight against the rest of humanity. No doubt, it would be a war that would be lost. Even with most of the Star League Defense Force behind him, Kerensky knew that the Houses, along with the Periphery, could fight a war against him that would last perhaps much longer than the Periphery Uprisings did.

Could Kerensky even guarantee his troops would not just revert to their original nations?

And then what Prime had said about Blake. There were certain ideas that the man held that were disturbing especially how callous he seemed about free will and the nature of men. Kerensky could understand the darker nature of men, but if Kerensky stayed, what would that mean when he died?

Aleksandr heard the gate close, and his mind was at work. If he stayed, he was merely a tool for Blake. To leave, he could mold the best of humanity into something that would always defend it away from Houses and Blake.

Picking up his communicator, Aleksandr Kerensky made his mind up. “Aaron, I want you to assemble the senior command at Warehouse 51. It’s time that we did something that was for the good of all humanity.”


The decision of this Aleksandr Kerensky weighs on me. I am leaving Cybertron to help the rest of my race. However, Aleksandr did not realize what would come later.

Perhaps if he did, he would have stayed on Terra to an inevitable war between the Star League Defense Force and the rest of humanity along with a civil war. Instead of breaking in the frontier of humanity, he would have broken on a truly devastated Terra. And then that would have attracted a group of creatures to take advantage of such devastation as it did to Cybertron before Zeta Prime rose.

The Quintessons would have found fertile ground for their twisted lies, but that reality never came to be. And even now, the former occupiers of Cybertron know that humanity could stand against them, so they stay in their Co-Prosperity Sphere away from the human Inner Sphere, waiting.

Let’s us hope that they do not shift their faces to death from greed.

I shake my head, and I know that it is time. I place the my most precious object in a special holding area.

As I shift my body, I realize it that this is the first time in generations that I have fought in a battle. A wave of energy seems to well up in me.

And I know that I’m ready.

« Last Edit: 28 July 2013, 23:21:21 by Lord Harlock »

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #21 on: 28 July 2013, 23:20:38 »
Sky Lynx-Autobot “Extraordinary” Transport
Upper Atmosphere, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 6, 3085


“You should commit seppuku!”

Screaming into the small microphone in his hand, Captain Stahl had been driven insane by what the captain of the Bristol said.

Sitting in the center of the bridge of the transforming Buccaneer dropship, he sat behind the pilot. Most of the crew was not there. Then again, it was kind of odd to be the crew of a sentient ship especially one like Sky Lynx, or as he is registered, Lynx.

“Oh, you’d like that you, Combinephile. It amazes me that the Lyrans tolerate your Kyotians so easily. No doubt, you were placed there to be spies for the Kurita. It’s a perfect excuse, but again, Stahl, you can’t fight the contract that my employer Darius Swendson has with Interstellar Expeditions.

Drawing out his syllables, Captain Allen made what he was saying was a lecture. “Any alien artifacts brought aboard the Bristol are subject to right of first refusal by Swendson Shipping. That whatever-you’ve-got really belongs to Darius Swendson. As his representative, I know that our small research wing would like to have a crack at it.”

L. Skyler, whom Captain Junichiro Stahl always wondered why Sky Lynx loved to masquerade as, spoke up. “What a wanker.”

Allen’s voiced sounded hurt. “Really that’s the best that your pilot could do? I’ve been called many things in my life, from a stinking drunk, to a nonbeliever, to dinner, but you can do better than flying my flag pole all the time for pleasure.”

Sky Lynx’s avatar always dressed in the uniform of what appeared to be leather chaps, a heavy bomber jacket, some early era aviator cap and had the oddest twirl of a mustache that Stahl had ever seen when he was especially angry. Slurring out a word after the hologram tried to pound the control panel, which was a bit odd considering it was a part of him. It was stalled by Allen continuing.

“Don’t speak Skyler. I don’t want to tax that Avalonian brain of yours.  A good Free Worlder is worth a whole RCT of you Davions.  So I’ll put it in monosyllabic words for you two lovers with the collective intelligence of a ****** Lyran Social General whose daddy bought him his rank with a loan. Either let my do an examination of that artifact that you two are carrying, or you can have a long honeymoon on that dead ball of metal and killer robots.”
Allen chuckled.

“And remember you two, I want to be able to accept the invitation to the wedding, so be kinder when you call next time. Enjoy the stewing.”

The signal cut off.

Sky Lynx’ avatar got of his chair and pounded the floor. “The nerve! To insist that I am in love with another ‘mech, that’s just not cricket. Femmes have sought me out for the amazing interface that I, Sky Lynx, have provided for countless stellar cycles. They have to come in groups of five because I am that well designed and crafted!”

Junichiro Stahl really didn’t want to hear that bit of information.

“Let’s stop caring what the old drunk thinks. Are there any other options for getting this computer that . . .,” Junichiro said before getting cut off.

“It’s so much more than a mere computer that you might find at Apple Interstellar or even Doering from your own New Kyoto. I remember the time that I traveled to New Kyoto; your people thought that my robot form was part of the wildlife. It was quite amusing. However, Vector Sigma is the interface by which the AllSpark can commune to embed a spark in a protoform.  Even though it is a bit of a bone to JetFire’s traditionalists and all that, Prime is smart one for ordering us to retrieve it. And might I add that Primus was wise to bestow my spark on this magnificent body.”

Stahl sighed. “Sky Lynx, do we have any other options other than Allen and the Bristol?”

The hologram twirled his mustache. “There is one last option, and considering that Shockwave is giving our boys a good old fashioned walloping, it is time to ask for help from one of Prime’s chief advisors.”

Suddenly, Cybertronian writing appeared on Stahl’s monitor. “Baka! You know I can’t understand your language.”

“No worries, it’s actually not the message. I’m merely sending the signal to the old Decepticon Space Bridge. Let’s hope that Bumblebee remembers to scan for signals in that ancient junk heap that we salvaged before the false restoration fell apart.”

Stahl was a bit confused. “False restoration? What is that?”

Sky Lynx sighed. “After the first time that we thought that Megatron had finally been defeated until that silent cur Soundwave discovered a way to revive him after he escaped from a place between worlds, we Autobots returned to Cybertron, though at the time I was a Predacon. That was also before I got this current body thanks to a truly remarkable doctor.  We started to rebuild even with some Decepticons, but Prime realized that the planet was only superficially reborn.“

Sky Lynx’s screen then showed what appeared to be a large circle in orbit of one of the moons. “It seems like it’s working. Okay, the signal is sent, and if Bee is listening, we will have an alternative to having to use Swendson Shipping for getting Vector Sigma to Paradron.”

“So I’m guessing that Prime sent you to find a new home, and that was Paradron,” suggested Stahl.

Sky Lynx laughed. “No, Prime found Paradron with that giant that the Autobots salvaged. It was right before you humans had that unpleasantness between your colonies and Earth.”

“I thought that the Decepticons didn’t know where Paradron is.”

“You are always assuming things, Stahl. That will get you into trouble. No, Prime was going to invite the Decepticons, but suddenly the Waves revealed that they had revived the Emperor of Destruction himself: Megatron. The war began anew, but this time, the Autobots had a secure base to strike back from. It was a quick war considering our species. It only lasted until about the end of your Age of War.”

Sky Lynx heard a klaxon blaring, but he ignored it. “As I recall some of the Cons even helped prop up some of the early proto breakaway states, the Chesterton Trade Union believed that the Cons were going to back them up against the early Federated Suns.  If the Cons had honored the deal, I doubt that you’d even see those dastardly Liaos saying that they really own Chesterton let alone the Davions.”

Stahl ignored what  was being said. “What’s that alarm about?”

Sky Lynx laughed. “We are about to enter the battle. Better get Skids and Hound ready for drop. We might need to coordinate with the crew of the Omega.  Since the Bristol is off limits, I need to inform them that we are trying to arrange other transport away from  Cybertron.”

Near Omega 

Furman was having the time of his life. His Falconer might not be the most attractive ‘mech, but it was a built for this moment. It was a moment that his mates from back in his Armed Forces of the Federated Suns days would never believe.

Even if that moment was being a lightning rod for the attackers as the crew of the Omega escape, the captain really knew that this would get him into Valhalla or whatever his religion of the Third Dawn believed.  Or maybe he was supposed to be already in hell? It didn’t matter, he only went to the meeting because that sweet lover for the night had gone, and then they joined together. She went head-long into the tenets of the Third Dawn while Simon kind of got bored and went back on the mercenary trade.

All that really mattered was that he and his ‘mech helped out the crews get away to somewhere on this death world. Though in all honesty with a little bit of work, they’d probably get the scrubbers working in one of the abandoned buildings.

As the slouched forward ‘mech used the blunt trauma impact of a Heavy PPC to the stunted head of one of the scout drones, he then had a perfect shot. “Surprise!” shouted Furman as he pulled the trigger on his heavy projected particle cannon.

Suddenly the head of one of the large, tank-like ‘mechs crackled with energy, and then after the sizzle the flat headed drone with the visor with the mooneye fell over, fried. “Now that was a sharp, short lesson! Now if you would Madam Missile, I believe that it is time for some of the more slow students to get why you don’t play with fire.”

“Fine, but you owe me, Captain,” said Boom-Boom Bay. Her Yeoman had to constantly go back for whatever supplies that the Omega’s tech could load into that walking billboard called the Yeoman.

As the three scout drones around the larger drone suddenly were engulfed in the explosives launched by Michelle Bay, Simon Furman noticed something unusual happening other than the sheer amazing gunnery abilities of the Omega.  If that stiff the pilot was doing it, he’d take the bloke to this amazing place that he knew on Solaris VII. The woman there could get even a slab of solid granite to crack a real smile.

 No, the odd thing was the swirling nature of what appeared to a strange stellar phenomenon. There were not words for what he was seeing.
“Am I reaping the whirlwind for too many years piloting?” asked the pilot.

Then he heard a voice in his head even as his mind started to realize that he had made a rookie mistake. “Do not worry, it is merely a bit of. . . swamp gas. That is the most unbelievable reason,” said the captain of the DropShip Omega.

Suddenly Simon realized that two of the larger drones were riding on their treaded feet towards him, their heads rose up screaming some horrible scream of binary code. Furman tried to move his ‘mech, but their spinning plasma cannons were already trained on him.

He pushed his ‘mech at full throttle and tried to turn as much as possible.  Simon felt the ‘mech shudder. For a second, he watched the damage on his indicator light up to red and then go black on his left arm. “Well, that arm is gone,” stammered Furman.

The problem was that he was running low on ammo, and without his heavy ppc, this fight was going to be long and probably dangerous.
“Thom, how much longer do you think that you’ll be engaged with that squad of those aerospace harpies?”

Rector and his Warhammer were fighting  closer to the Omega trying to protect some anti-aircraft assets as they disembarked.  Near them and several BA troopers was Boom-Boom and her Yeoman.  He was about a thousand meters from the Omega, and at the moment. His best hope for support was Boom-Boom.

And then those odds went from plausible to winning the El Dorado City of Gold Lottery. Furman nearly choked when the unusual purple tank with the high speed and massive cannon with the feeder roared towards his now one-armed, slouched-forward ‘mech.

“They might have picked one of my wings, but my bird is still has her gun,” he said even as an explosion from one of Bay’s massive bombardments pushed back the two tank-like drones who had melted the left arm of his ‘mech off.

Even as he started to take shots, the tank kept dodging each shot, with its high speed not stopping it. It jumped into the air and spun around to create a unique one eyed robot with a massive cannon for one of its arms.

It nonchalantly walked up to Furman who was trying to aim with his right arm, but the purple robot’s  good arm ripped off the gauss rifle, and it then proceeded to beat the sides of the Falconer with it, destroying the lasers.

“A futile effort, human. My larger question is why would fight in a one of your ‘mechs based off our design that looked so much like your g. gallus fowl? There doesn’t seem to be an advantage to the design. Perhaps it is the engine. Tankors 13 and 19, take the ‘mech and its pilot back to the shuttle for further study.”

That is when Simon noticed that the two tank drones that he had seen draw back had returned. He tried to run, but they both fired precision blasts that wiped out the legs.
The purple robot then placed a finger to the cockpit located in the center of the ‘mech. “This will be my only kindness, though it was developed by Knock-Out, who’s circuits were a bit hard fried.”

After a brief crack, Simon witnessed a rush of purple mist fill the cockpit. He felt his body harden.

Then he felt nothing.

Bridge of the Omega

Gustav Keeper was alone on the bridge of the Omega. Personnel were gone. Though he was not entirely alone as the doors to the bridge opened and out stepped DuQuense along with Spacer Carlo escorting him. The head of the mission was not distraught, but he seemed concerned.

“Gustav, you need to leave the bridge. The first three pushes worked to get most of the crew over the ridge to the fallback point. Why are you still here?”

Keeper, now in a pressure suit just like the other two, sat alone in the Omega. “I’m not totally alone. The Pilot is about. However, a captain should go down with his ship.”

Spacer Verity Carlo shook her head. “’It’s not good to throw yourself away’, as my Uncle Magnus says. DuQuense is probably your oldest friend, Captain. He’s right. It’s time to leave to leave the ‘Pilot’ to prepare for the final work that is absolutely necessary.”

DuQuense’s face curled up into a queer face. “That’s an unusual name, Magnus. You don’t appear to be from a Norse Colony World from your accent or bearing, Spacer Carlo. I’d imagine that you are mostly likely from the Capellan March around the Taurian border from the accent. However, there is something off about you.”

“Would you believe I was a war orphan from a family of lifelong FedSuns military personnel who got whacked during the Jihad, and then I was adopted by a wandering warrior who raised me?” asked catty Verity.

“You and Gus have something in common, and it seems to me that both of you have had contact with these NBEs or non-biological entities before. The question is how far back these mechanical beings’ interference goes back.”

DuQuense suddenly noticed the large pilot walk into the room. “When time began, we were created soon after. The Thirteen and other early creations of Lord Primus were the first after the battle with Unicron, the opposite of Primus. The two brothers fought across the realities created by the One. In the end, the Thirteen won the war in this reality against Unicron. However, it is never over.”

The Pilot walked to the console. Director DuQuense just looked at the man. “Is he a machine or something?”

Gustav Keeper laughed. “I thought that it was pretty obvious, but things can hide in plain sight without us realizing it. That’s the beauty of humanity in a way. Divine revelation can be shown to us, and some of us categorize it as legend or bits of myth created as a play that got misunderstood.  However as much as I want to get to a point, the issue is that we want to see what fits with what we think reality is. The obvious questions to those who have cut off question is, both to the religious zealot and scientific literalist, is there anything more?”

Keeper was silent for only a moment, but then he answered the rhetorical question. “Let me tell you, there is. And as for what I’ve been doing, I’ve been helping my friend keep that horde out there from getting out of hand.”

The pilot spoke. “Irrelevant now. Captain Keeper, it would be best for you to flee. My transformation is not as advanced as younger members of my race. Gears and sockets tend to ignore sensations of smaller beings.“

“But you still need time to prepare, and we’ve done drills for this sort of situation.”

The pilot turned from his console. “This is not one of the scenarios we trained for, Captain. Sky Lynx has already asked for help from Paradron. It should arrive from the portal soon. It has been good to serve with you, Captain Keeper. However, transformation preparations are done.”

Keeper smiled. “It’s good to know that you care, old friend,” Gustav Keeper pulled down the crash harness of his captain’s chair. “But you’re not getting rid of me that easily.”

Spacer Carlo already had her red helmet on her head. “Do I have to do this the hard way? Because shooting you with the tranquilizer dart and dragging you to the last VTOL is going to hurt.”
“Negative, Spacer Carlo,” the pilot said.  “Captain Keeper has made his decision and will be under my protection.”

DuQuense looked at the pilot and finally put all of the clues together. “So you are a robot? What do you transform out of?”

The pilot spoke one laconic work. “Omega.”

A Moon of Cybertron

Long ago, its queen had told it to bury itself below the surface as others presented themselves as offerings for her hunger. Now her voice spoke its sweet commands.

“Soldier, your queen begs you to rise.”

Rising from the dirt the massive six-legged. beetle-like robot looked up at the night sky, the beast forms’ optics saw something long like a metal umbrella. And then the voice coming from the shadows was heard.

“Soldier, a ship has been prepared. It shall take you to the invader. Bring its core to me, it can feed my hunger forevermore.  And if you succeed, you shall remain unharmed, my Ransack. Now go to the ship over the ridge.”

With a roar, Ransack rose on his wings, and he flew over the ridge. There he found a jury-rigged ship made from various parts that had landed or fallen on the moon. It was a one bot ship, and it would probably not survive a return trip. Ransack transformed into the hunch-backed form that many Insecticons had adopted after the creation of the hive mind by the Decepticon Scientist Shockwave. The Queen had another form, but she could overwhelm the hive.

As Ransack started to turn on the ship, his optics picked up movement. The song of the hive was gone, and all that he felt was terror filled roar. Or perhaps, the song had become a thirst. Regardless, Ransack was alone, and he had to complete this task to remain the last of his kind.

For he alone was the last of his kind. The rest long ago shifted into true monsters that serve an eternal queen of horrors. Despite himself, Ransack knew that he’d give himself to the Queen as well if she commanded it. For a moment in his head, he considered an alternative as the ship came to life as he pressed buttons to bring the ship alive.

He could escape to Cybertron where he was originally from. From there, he could escape possibly away from the voice of the Queen.

But he could not disobey the voice, Ransack tried, but he targeted the invader. In his spark, he wished that he had never volunteered for Shockwave’s experiments.

As the flames of the makeshift ship’s engine shot out, Ransack saw what his kind had become. The long tongue twisted about wanting what remained in him, the blood of Primus.

For a brief second, he saw the silhouette of the queens modified robot form with six wispy legs.

Ransack decided what he had to do, and it was beyond him to do so.

Sky Lynx

Hound was helped by some of the crew. Unlike ninety-nine percent of the crew on board the Omega,  they were for the most part Belters or humans who knew about the Autobots. Skids was enjoying being helped into the harnesses usually used by human BattleMechs for slowing down descents.

“So are you ready, Hound?” asked Skids who smiled at a female tech.

Hound laughed. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Are you sure this device will slow us down enough? I really don’t want to have to get replacement legs. Remember when we finally found Ironhide, and he had no legs? That was because he had jumped out of a ship without any means of slowing down. He had to ride around on those treads for several cycles.”

Skids chuckled. “Really, you are worried about ending up on that tripod until they can make you new legs?”

Laughing horribly Skids didn’t at first hear the klaxons to warn the crew to get out of the bay that they were in. Vector Sigma was currently in another bay, so there was no particular worry that it would roll out to crash onto Cybertron’s surface.

“Well ‘bots, it appears that the lads need some help, and if you could draw off some of these fighter drones on my tail, I’d appreciate it.”

Skids rose. “Let’s get this started!”

Sky Lynx started to shift the orientation with a flip. That didn’t faze Skids who was prepared for this, but Hound really wished that he wasn’t with the theoretician at this point. The bot could be a bit crazy when it came to operations.

Suddenly the door to the bay opened, and Skids ran out without much fear.

Hound followed, but as he peered over the edge, his optics saw the battle. The Omega was holding over three quarters of the drones off, but it was waning.  Suddenly, it dawned on Hound what was about to happen, especially since he could see the human crew seemingly making a run for it.

Finally, Hound took the plunge.

“Primus!” he screamed. The air rushed against him.

One of the drones with the swept forward wings started to shoot at him. Hound got a good look at the dark blue paintjob of a thing with a moving head.

‘Moving head, what kind of strange bot designs a drone with a movable neck like a bird?’ wondered Hound.

Pushing to the right, Hound rolled. He’d love to transform just to make his mass more like a lead weight, but the harness was preventing that little idea. Plus without the harness, he’d probably lose his legs.

As Hound tried to track the drone, he suddenly heard something. “Allons-y!”

Hound along with the drone turned their head to Skids riding another drone. Suddenly the drone that the Autobot rode shot its cannons. “Good work, Tabitha! Not let’s catch Hound, and we shall have a much easier landing.”

Skids caught Hound. Pulling the other bot onto the drone, Skids laughed. “See sometimes Primus provides better plans when we are falling down.”

Hound held onto the drone. “Are you fragmented? How did you get this drone to do what you want?”

The Autobot laughed. “That’s easy. The transmission device is a Decepticon design that I’ve played with for cycles. Personally, I’m a little ashamed that Shockwave is still using it, but then again, he probably hasn’t had new supplies in ages.”

As they started to descend into the battlefield riding some vast, predatory, robotic bird, they both saw that the DropShip had started break apart, but it wasn’t from explosions. The Fortress DropShip had, in fact, started to split and shift along previously invisible seams.

“It looks like they evacuated the crew, but do you think that will scare the Decepticon who is leading that attack?” asked Hound.

“Shockwave?” questioned Skids.

Hound looked at Skids. “How did you know it was Shockwave?”

The bot smiled. “It was a pink quadruped that had cotton candy for hair that told me. No, this drone is one of his old designs that he showed his class of student back at the University of Crystal City when I studied in cybermechanics course.”

“Primus, he is still bent on that whole enhancement of form concept of his back when he had both arms,” stated Skids.

“What do you mean?” asked Hound. The great gears of a transformation began to spin within the Omega.

Well, Shockwave did not actually agree with the concepts of the guilds, but he wanted to enhance the robotic and alternate forms of transformers to incorporate more organic concepts. Let’s just say that he probably got that from his teacher, but his experiments have caused more problems.”

Hound ignored Skids because at that moment, the sides of the Fortress class DropShip began to slide back over one-another to form what appeared two massive crescent-shaped wings. The internal structure and deck plating was revealed and shifting, as well, compressing into a more solid block with the DropShip’s fusion core at its center.  The weapon blisters of the ship slid along with the deck plating, coming to rest at the four corners of the block.

At the same time, the KF Boom of the DropShip had split in half, with one part ending in a gun barrel and the other in a massive four-fingered claw, both of which attached themselves with shifted support beams to the upper corners of the core block.

Two legs had formed from various structural members, with feet that were made from the combined landing legs of the Omega. As the legs affixed themselves to the lower corners of the core block, a head formed out of the bridge, and behind the glass face-plate, blue optics started to glow. The final gears clicked and the towering Autobot rose to his feet.

The massive Autobrand at the center of the red and yellow trimmed chest indicated proudly the allegiance of the massive Autobot.  With a lifting of his right arm, the robot had a laser sight appear over a group of drones.

“Advice: stand down and retreat, Decepticon.  I am Omega Supreme.”

Energy built up in the massive cannon and Omega released the energy. What was left of the  twenty-five drones was merely melted and twisted slag.



Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #22 on: 06 September 2013, 20:25:44 »
The Battlefield
Plains Near Omega Supreme, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 6, 3085


Shockwave fired his mini-cannon. As the charge from the loaded energon cartridge was expelled, Shockwave knew that his chance for victory disappeared. Already, he had lost most of his drones, and as the pounding on the ground continued to come closer, the Decepticon knew the odds were getting lessened.

“You should give up Shockwave. I’m sure that you’d get a fair trial on Paradron,” shouted the Autobot named Hound.

“That is improbable. Most likely all charges will be exaggerated. The only way for even a fair verdict is for Optimus Prime to commute sentence, which will not occur,” replied Shockwave as his target reticle went below Hound.

Releasing the shot, Shockwave shifted around and landed on the ground escorted by several Thrusts already in cycle mode. An ordered retreat was the only viable solution at the moment, but the problem was that the Autobots and their human allies could chase him back to his citadel even if it was near the Sea of Rust.

As the explosion picked up the Autobot, Shockwave turned his thoughts to getting back to his shuttles. This would not have happened if Megatron after the scientist had helped revive the leader and founder of the Decepticons after being possessed by Unicron had kept his word when he made the scientist guardian of Cybertron.

There were supposed to be regularly shipment of energon after the restored Cybertron had become less productive, now it was near nil. Instead all the guard units and anything useful was stripped from the planet, which left Shockwave with only drones that he had started to build to help in his two other tasks in addition to protecting Cybertron from invasion.

The first task was impossible from the get-go since the components needed had been mostly used in the construction of the first Omega Lock replica. To build more, Shockwave would have needed additional energon to construct facilities to create new components. The Autobots had wisely removed the original replica from the Nemesis. It was possible that Shockwave could raid Paradron, the Autobot Colony World, for parts or even the replica that he had built. However, there was no intelligence on what was available. Even the Autobots would not be foolish enough to place such a device where it could easily be stolen.

The other task was almost complete, but needed a key component: a spark. However, these were not easily found on Cybertron at the moment. It would help the current situation if he could complete his second task since it would allow him to escape Cybertron.

As much as Starscream was a viable candidate, it would be illogical to utilize his mutant spark considering the controls would be unable to motivate the spark correctly.  No, he needed an easily manipulated spark otherwise the shell program would not take full effect.

Hound and his former student were candidates, but at the moment his forces were being slaughtered by the ancient titan, Omega Supreme. Already most of the Tankor drones had been destroyed; only the two ordered to take the human to the shuttle had survived. The rest had been reduced to molten slag.

Shockwave’s sensor detected a high speed object bearing down on him. There was no time to act responsibly. Pushing in his tank form to the left, the crunch of a Thrust and its explosion created pain.  However as two other Thrusts that were on his right were engulfed by a fire from the Guardian of the Core, Shockwave took the soot and slight damage over total immolation.

As he sped up to dangerous speeds, a hovercraft tried to match up with him. It was no doubt Skids, a former student. Too fragmented a mind for the higher mysteries of the universe, but still reasonably intelligent. Shockwave was proven wrong on his assessment that Skids was too smart to challenge him.

The Autobot slammed into the Decepticon.

Suddenly due to the amount of momentum that Shockwaves had sped up to, Skids exerted a minimum amount of force that pushed Shockwave over.  Spinning over Shockwave pulled his treads back into his body as his arms extended out to slow down the tumbling. As the head emerged, the cannon on Shockwave’s cannon fired under Skids.

As Skids flipped through the air, Shockwave rerouted his remaining Jetstorms to harass and stall Omega Supreme, and at the same time, he redirected his shuttle to collect the Thrusts. Landing after transforming, Skids had his weapons firing as he ran to Shockwave.

“You should give yourself up, Shockwave. The Decepticons are over. History is against you,” screamed Skids.

Shockwave responded with blasts from his cannon. The lone optic on his head looked for the exact weak spot of the theoretician. Whether there was frustration or anger in the glowing red eye could not be adequately gauged over the response that Shockwave finally gave.

“History neither decides nor describes our fate in advance. It is only a recorder of our story neither judge nor arbiter of future successes,” coldly said Shockwave.

Skids jumped over Shockwave. The more bulky bot was slow to evade as a laser blast shaved a piece off the lower portion of his head. That again did not illicit a sign of pain or anguish. Instead, Shockwave merely walked forward and pounded Skids with the blunt back of his cannon arm.

“The Decepticons may have in fact finally died. There are other possibilities which allow for differing hypotheses. The time for Megatron may be over, but his philosophy and ideas can become the starting point to a renaissance of those ideals once they have been refined and reformatted to address mistakes inherent ,” said the emotionless voice of Shockwave.

Skids tried to punch Shockwave in the damaged portion of his face. “Stop trying to make everything into mechanics or chemistry just like back at the University!” said Skids.

The fist did not connect as Shockwave pulled back at the last second. Skids shuffled as he tried to regain his footing only for Shockwave’s hand to rip off one of his wings.  Skids’ blue optics seethed with pain and anger.

“You’ll pay for that in five moves!”

Shockwave did not show any emotion as energy sizzled off of what on a normal bot would be his chin. He merely let his cannon spin as bolts of energy fired off.  The shots were off, but Skids’ mind was not on the challenge before him which gave Shockwave a moment.

Shockwave ordered the automations on his shuttles to kick in, but at the moment, he needed one thing more than anything if he was going to escape this world. He needed a spark. As he laid out orders through messages to Starscream on what to do with the remaining Thrusts once he took Darkmount, Shockwave gave the final commands to the Jetstorms under his command.
All while he let his cannon blaze at Skids.


Inside Omega Supreme

What had been once the bridge of a DropShip had disappeared for the most part.

However around components and neural relays that had once been  floors and consoles, there was an egg like structure around the command chair. Sitting and advising Omega Supreme was Captain Gustav Keeper.

Surviving the transformation, Gustav watched and tried to advice Omega as much as possible. “It appears that you have these Decepticons on the run. Though Skids got too far ahead to figure out what is going on.”

The voice of the massive transformer spoke. “Acknowledgment: Skids has over-extended. His beacon is falling off.”

Gustav sighed. Though the pilot persona wasn’t much more talkative, there seemed to be a general drawdown in communications with Omega when he transformed. From everything that Gustav understood from the Autobot Chief Scientist and head of the Ministry of Science on Paradron, Omega  Supreme was one of the oldest Autobots or transformers in existence.

However, Gustav knew that he could help Omega by tracking sensor data that was being feed into Omega. He noticed Skids, but then he suddenly noticed sixteen high speed objects heading directly towards the Autobot.

“Omega, there appear to be several high speed objects about to hit you directly, coming from the same direction that Skids went towards.”

There was suddenly a shift in Omega, but there was not a response to Gustav.

“Affirmative. Captain Keeper, prepare for bombardment.”

Suddenly Gustav realized what was happening. “Protect yourself as best you can.”

The shakes and tumbling started almost immediately, each one reverberating across the vast body of Omega Supreme.  Gustav had braced himself well, but even then he wasn’t prepared for when finally in the pit of his stomach he felt queasy as suddenly the massive bot was pushed over.

With a colossal crash, the massive Autobot now lay on his back.

Keeper shook his head, and even though he was now oriented badly, with a bit of his blood rushing to the back of his skull, the spacer began to run diagnostics to help his friend. There were several armor panels lighting up, and it looked like it was most superficial damage, but Keeper had to ask.

“Omega, are you functional?”

“Assessment: Damage minimal, but it will take time to return to upright.”

Keeper nodded, but with most of the rest of the remaining forces including Hound trying to make sure that the last of the crew got to the fall back point, Skids was on his own.
That was why Keeper opened a channel. “Keeper to Hound, come in.”


Recovery Zone

“So, your kind are responsible for all of this?” asked Director DuQuense as he stood there looking up at the living robot that could also become a vehicle.
Hound chuckled. “Do you mean the destruction or the planet? Or are you alluding to humanity’s history of wars?”

“All of it.”

Hound touched his chin. Since greeting DuQuense as he landed in his VTOL and explaining himself to the humans, Hound had been talking to the head of Interstellar Expedition’s mission here on Cybertron.

“Well, Cybertron is in fact the work of Primus, the creator of our kind. It’s his body you see, and it is not a good thing if he awakens. That usually means that his brother, Unicron has awakened. Though in his current shape, I doubt that he’d be able to transform considering that we took out Vector Sigma.”

DuQuense peered over where Sthil had placed several Battle Armor Troopers along with Marissa and Thomas in their ‘mechs to defend what appeared to be an alien data core. Though there was an odd light about it that was similar to  transformer that he was communicating with at the moment.

“But your kind has influenced humanity’s history? That is what I’m curious about,”

Hound knew that certain people were supposed to be kept in the dark about how involved the Autobots and Decepticons had been in the history of conflict on Earth. In fact due to certain psych files, Director DuQuense probably would be detained for a long time (for a human) on Paradron to prevent too many details from leaking out to the rest of humanity. 

“That’s classified. I’ve been informed that another vessel will be coming soon to pick us up, and we will have to make a stop first on new world of Paradron.”

Hound’s optics picked up that DuQuense was contemplating something. Twirling on his mouth meant that the man was smiling, but he’d probably be miffed once the Inspector of Shipping and Immigration examined him.  Ultra Magnus liked his his current job. Until Magnus did his test to make sure that DuQuense did not blab about the Autobots, which DuQuense would fail, the director would keep smiling.

He suddenly picked up on his audio receiver as his right hand reached to his right side of his head. “Keeper to Hound, come in!”

Hound responded. “Gustav, where are you? I can’t find you out here.”

“Didn’t Skids tell you that I was in Omega Supreme?”

Hound really wished that he had been given more details than just go help the humans. Skids apparently wanted to go settle a score. Like Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx, who was entertaining the humans in his beast form, he was currently in his robot form as well.  The masquerade was over on Cybertron for the moment.

“No, Skids ran off, and I was left with talking to Boom-Boom Bay. There are worst things in the pit than hearing about her ideas. “

Hound then sighed. “Why she thinks that I leak petroleum is beyond me.”

“Boom-Boom is a handful, but I need you to try and find Skids. He ran off after Omega decimated most of Shockwave’s drones. Due to an attack by Shockwave and most of his remaining aerodrones, Omega is on his back. He’s getting back up, but I can’t find Skids on any sensors. Visual is currently looking at the Bristol, which makes me wish that Omega had longer range weaponry. Captain Allen deserves a kick in the gut at the moment.”

Hound was worried. “That idiot might get himself killed.”
Keeper agreed. “I’ll upload coordinates to you.”

Hound transformed immediately into the Skuller alt-mode. His wheels began to roll when he saw a human female in a pressure suit. “Take me with you,” she shouted.

“Spacer Charlene?” questioned Hound.

“If you are going after Ted, I want to help.”

Hound,against his better, judgment opened a door and Charlene got in. He pushed his motor as he gave a report to Sky Lynx, but in the sky above something explosive was occurring.

SS Bristol Bridge
Orbit around Cybertron


“Are you sure that object is heading towards the Bristol?” asked Captain Zadok Allen.

The spacer nodded.  “I’ve done the calculations. It’s obviously some sort of powered vehicle, but the sensors can’t figure out what in the world it is.”

Zadok Allen took a sip of his whiskey.  “This is not a good situation. Spacer. First the Omega was a giant robot, and now we are probably going to die horribly. How long till impact?”

The spacer took several moments, but his face grew graver each time that he apparently reran the calculations.

“We have less than two minutes till impact since the object has sped up.”

Zadok Allen yelled at the astronavigator. “Do an emergency jump immediately!”

“Too late,” mumbled the spacer.

The object made of various transformer spacecraft that had landed on the second moon of Cybertron unfortunately was then constructed by Terrorcon Insecticons. This was generally a bad idea.
Instead of slowing down, Ransack’s cockpit section got split off from the rest of the ship due to a wiring issue. Ransack realized that he had no controls at that point. As the cockpit of the makeshift shuttle tumbled towards the atmosphere of Cybertron, the rest of the ship collided with the Bristol.

The front of the Star Lord class JumpShip got pulled off by the rest of the makeshift ship while the mid-section detonated. Most of the KF drive tumbled towards the second moon.


Battlefield

Shockwave, if he could have smiled, would have.  Skids had torn off his cannon. The Autobot was holding the severed arm above his head. “There you took my wing, but I got your weapon. So there!”

Shockwave didn’t show any emotion. Sparks from his arm socket along with the damage on his not-chin surged longer right before Shockwave’s cannon exploded. It was not particularly large, but it knocked Skids to the ground.

Skids’ eyes flickered. “How convenient my final security measure worked.  It should have been a protocol before my mistake with Grimlock.”

A blade of refined energon shot out of Shockwave’s remaining arm. The scientist’s arm caught the scalpel. The feder chain that once feed into the cannon dragged across the ground.
“Do not worry, Skids. Your spark will power a new life that will allow a metamorphosis of the Transformers. Thanks to it, the Decepticon Philosophy will be reborn.”

Shockwave dug into Skid’s chest with the scalpel in his hand.  Ripping it off like the skin of orange, Shockwave pulled off several panels. “This will probably hurt a bit if you still have any senses, but remembering the murmurings that you had once, I probably should reconsider using your spark. However, the choice is simple: I need a spark, and you have it.”

The battlefield had become a surgical table.

Ignoring the pump, Shockwave pressed a button on the side of the spark chamber. A blue light shined out of the chamber as panels opened and slid down. Looking at the spark, Shockwave was pleased with what he saw.  First, he needed to make sure that this was painful for Skids by disabling the stasis lock. Some would call it spite, but there was logic to it.

Skids had disrupted classes back at the University of Crystal City. Too often, he started talking about ideas and concepts in biomechanics that were  disruptive to the learning environment.  It had caused too much fragmenting in Shockwave, and now the universe had given Shockwave a means to extract his pound of energon.

“Why is stasis . . . lock not . . .working?”

Shockwave wanted to laugh, but he answered anyway as he disabled several subsystems with small precise cuts. “It is easy, but you were too busy with worthless theories and thoughts on the universe to learn what I am doing.”

Now was the moment of glory, Shockwave was about to start to cut the chamber out of Skids. Suddenly his audio receivers picked up the sound of an approaching vehicle, and it wasn’t his shuttle to pick him up.

“This is not the viable situation.”

Shockwave made a decision. A bit of a spark was better than no spark.  Few Transformers had his ability with sparks. Through his abilities, the Vehicons were able to made from only two hundred sparks that allowed the Decepticons to continue to fight for eons. It was possible that the emissary entity could be made with a few spark pieces.

“Finish me,” begged Skids.

Shockwave did not answer him. Pulling an energon chamber from the broken chain, Shockwave placed the spark fragment into the chamber. Another sound suddenly got picked up by his audio receivers. His shuttle would arrive before probably whatever help was coming for Skids.

Closing the spark fragment around the chamber, Shockwave walked away from the battlefield as the shuttle landed in front of him. Boarding it, one of his two last Tankors helped him into the shuttle as the doors opened.

The other Tankor had secured the cockpit of the human ‘mech, but it relayed additional information as Shockwave walked to the front of the cockpit. “Guardian Shockwave, a small craft has landed close to the citadel. Sensors detect a faint spark entity.”

The other Tankor then spoke as the shuttle shot into the air. “Sensors detect damage to your exterior. Energy loss could cause eventually stasis lock or even spark loss.”
“That is not a worry. There is a spare cannon in the weapon chamber. Cranial repairs can be made as the shuttle travels to the unknown landing. And here I thought that I was going to have to get Starscream to capture Swindle’s spark.”

Shockwave flew the shuttle as one of the Tankor retrieved his spare weapon. The part of the cannon that was still attached to his body released from Shockwave’s body.
As the brutish shock trooper attached the weapon onto Shockwave’s body, Shockwave contacted Starscream.
   
“Is this absolutely necessary?” asked the air commander. “I was about to launch an assault that would be written in the annals of Cybertronian history.”

Shockwave did not have time for the Seeker’s bravado. “There has been a change of plans. The remaining Thrusts have been sent with one of the shuttles to retrieve any energon that Swindle has created at Darkmount.  If you cannot reroute it to my Citadel, I suggest that you secure as much as possible.”

Starscreame screeched. “What is this? Did Primus show up and chase you away?”

Shockwave deadpanned. “The humans were allied with Autobots and the human dropship in fact was Omega Supreme, the Guardian of the Core.”

“Omega Supreme!” choked Starscream. “I thought that the Autobots put him into stasis lock eons ago.”

Shockwave did not care as the Tankor attached the cannon again. “My searches before energon became scarce on the surface did not reveal any sign of his body, so no doubt the Autobots took the ancient titan to their new colony and repaired him.”

“But Omega Supreme nearly destroyed most of the Decepticon Battle Fleet before. How many drones do you have left?”

“Ten.”

Starscream nearly broke down at that point. “Ten! That is insanity Shockwave. There is no way to defeat Omega Supreme with such a small number of troops. I have more vivid memories of the battle to capture the Titan in the ancient days. Legions of Decepticons died to merely wound the ancient!”

“If you secure the energon, the ability to surpass the ancient will  become available. Starscream, this is the most important part of the battle. ”

Starscream laughed. “Thus it falls to the wisdom of the skies to secure victory once more.”

“Have no worry. The energon will flow.”


Back on the battlefield, Skids tried to hold up his hand as his audio receiver picked up the shrill of shifting cybertronian parts.

“Skids, buddy. This is bad.”

“Ted, this is Charlene. You don’t have to die.”

Skids could feel part of spark that was gone.  “Shockwave was going to take . . . my . . . spark.”

Hound pressed a couple of buttons as he pulled out a bundle. “Take an energon goodie, Skids. You are leaking badly. These burns are bad. Why are you not in stasis?”

“Damage to circuits,” replied Skids.

Suddenly Hound backed away.

“Do not worry, child. I shall ease your pain.”

Skids opened his optics. There was Charlene and Hound backing away as an ancient transformer walked towards him. “I am called Alpha Trion. And you still have a destiny, Skids.”
The ancient transformer with even beard walked towards the Autobot. “Zeta Prime said that you were an ancient fool.”

Alpha Trion placed his hand on Skids’ chest. “Your father only could see with his optics. Truths eluded him because he was unable to see past defeating the Quintessons. The crumbling walls of his guilds and Cybertron were not noticed as he created more and more controls to ensure his place, but you already knew that. There is more to being a Prime than just the surface aspects.”

Skids thought that he could see a quill writing in a tome. “Till all are one, Skids.”

Suddenly Skids felt his stasis lock kicking in.

“What did you do to him?” asked Hound.

Alpha Trion rose.  “I merely repaired his stasis lock circuits, Hound. And this must be Charlene, you are only the second human that I have ever had the opportunity to meet.”

“How did you know my name?” asked the tech.

“I read it in the Convent of Primus, child.”

“Now, we must get Skids to transport and to a medic. Repairs that he desperately needs cannot be made out here.”

Charlene did not care as she pulled out her tools and began to repair the damage done to Skids who she knew as Ted.  Hound was about to stop her when Alpha Trion put his hand on his shoulder. “Do not worry, Hound. She will help your friend.”

“But he isn’t really my friend, Alpha Trion.”

“Oh isn’t he? You worried when you found barely a quarter-hour of life left in his struggling systems to survive. In times long past, we’d call that a friend.”

Hound picked up Skids with Charlene working to repair damage. “This should be reattached. And I think that this goes back in this socket.”

Near Darkmount

Starscream continued to lead his fighters through the honeycomb of destroyed buildings to keep Swindle from realizing that he was coming.

Suddenly, he received another call on Shockwave’s frequency. Transforming along with the drones, Starscream was about ready to kill the scientist. “What is it Shockwave?”

“Oh, I’m not Shockwave, but I want to meet him . . . a lot,” answered the voice.

From the variable and way that each syllable was spoken, Starscream knew that it was a human female that was aroused.  Thinking back on his days held up without his transformation cog in the Harbinger, he would scan human signals in an attempt to find some sort of advantage. That was the only reason that he knew anything about the sounds of an aroused human female.  They definitely did not have serene resonates of a femme such as Slipstream.

“Why should I trust a bag of flesh, human? I’ve had bad experiences dealing with your kind.”

The voice didn’t answer at first. “In five minutes, the energon flow that is being created by the smelting pits will be shifted from Darkmount to Shockwave’s Citadel if I am reading this correctly. The defenses of Darkmount will drop at that point. I will then open the doors allowing for you and those drones that Master Shockwave has provided you to take over from that greedy deceiver, Swindle.”

Starscream smiled. “And what do you get from this arrangement, human?”

“Only to gaze at Lord Shockwave’s glorious, logical form is gift enough.”

Starscream rolled his eyes.

“Then it is settled, you will lower the defenses of Darkmount, and provide my force tactical knowledge of the forces defending it, human.”

“I didn’t . . . Fine if it gets me to see Shockwave, I will do so.”

Starscream smiled.

Lord Harlock

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Re: In Plain Sight: Empty Planet [BT/TF:Prime]
« Reply #23 on: 17 September 2013, 10:18:23 »
Darkmount
Polyhex, Cybertron
Prefecture VII, Republic of the Sphere
April 7, 3085


“This is unacceptable!” Screamed Swindle.

Standing in jumpsuit next to his leader and outside his ‘mech, Montgomery Cristo shook his head as Abdul Fakkadi looked about ready to shoot lasers from his eyes. Swindle was observing Fakkadi’s personal loading everything they could onto the Midas’ Touch.

“Unfortunately, it is true, Lord Swindle. The Bristol has left this plain of existence. In fire and screams, most likely.”

“That’s not the point, Abdul. That JumpShip cost over a hundred million c-bills. Sure, I have twenty more, but I liked the Bristol. It had that synergy that is so hard to get these days.”

Major Cristo looked at Swindle for a second as he fretted. Then he looked at the captain of the DropShip. “Captain Fakkadi, are the modifications to the Touch, ready?”

“Except for the translation program for that weird drive that seems to speak the language of the djinn, I’d say that my ship is ready to go as soon as you are ready, my liege. For if we load anymore of that equipment onto the Midas’ Touch, I have fears that we will be as heavy as a Capellan Duchess overloaded with jade and gold.”

Swindle finally came to his senses. “What do you mean the translation program for the transwarp drive is not ready?”

Abdul was quite clear as he struck his hand with his baton. “The good doctor Pipperton has not sent us the program. The system hums when I turn it on, but it’s in that language which makes as much sense as High Torrence. I once meet a countess who spoke that devil’s tongue. She nearly was thrown out a convenient airlock on the ship that I was serving at the time,” laughed Abdul.

Swindle’s eyes glowed a bright purple. “Where is Ariel Pipperton?”

The whole of his personnel and troops looked at Swindle. Even most of the surviving science teams were down in the hanger, but Ariel Pipperton was nowhere to be seen. Swindle looked at Cristo. “Was she on the MIA report?”

Cristo shook his head no. “Ariel was not found among the dead from Straxus’ rampage, and . . . apparently according to the noteputer, she last used her badge to pass into one of the labs to do work apparently, according to the security team that passed her through.”

Swindle shrugged. “That’s my girl. She’s just working on the translation program for the transwarp drive, so Captain Abdul can get my ship to rendezvous with our back up JumpShip.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Even if Dr. Pipperton is often known for doing her work mysteriously, I somehow don’t feel that she is not acting in our best interests.”

That was when Swindle interrupted. “Okay, you nervous nellies! If you really believe that the situation is out of control, I still have the console now in my private cabin, right?”

Fakkadi nodded. “It is still available, but you’ve never needed it before.”

Swindle chuckled. “I usually switched myself into what we cybertronians call stasis lock. It’s bit like sleep but more like a coma. Though personally, it’s a good power nap. I’ll miss them; since if Ariel doesn’t get that translation program for you humans, I’ll be forced to do all the astronavigation.”

The sapient robot picked at his chin with his thumb. “It’d also give me a chance to find out if my solution for the Transwarp dilemma works.”

“Dilemma!” gulped Fakkadi. “What type of problem are we speaking of Lord Swindle.”

Looking up slyly at Swindle, Cristo chuckled. “You never explained the issue.”

Swindle shrugged. “It’s quite simple. Somehow back in the days of yore, transwarp was disrupted by Vector Prime to prevent his brother Liege Maximo from returning to Cybertron if he ever escaped the Hub. Ever since the fall of the ancient Primes, there have been Seekers trying to discover ways to overcome the delay in transwarp since there should be a way to instantly go anywhere, or even anywhen, in theory.”

Fakkid looked shocked. “I thought this was just one of you Transformer version of a jump drive. This is something much more powerful.”

Cristo chuckled. “And it is much more dangerous. I think that certain parties would pay through the nose to travel back in time, if Lord Swindle had the means. Actually, I’d just argue that every House, Clan, and probably even our master would probably want to go back and effect the downfall of the Star League.”

Swindle licked his lips. “A chance to get some more of that sweet crude from that well on Apollo would be a good reason to time travel.”

Suddenly, Swindle’s tone shifted. “However, I even have to draw a line. Let’s say that I go back in time, and I warn my past self that X happens plus I give him a list of stocks to invest in. Then I go back to the future only to discover that list was totally worthless because X had impacted all of those stocks including the profit. Gentlemen, time travel is not the place for capacious greed to go about mucking up things.”

Fakkadi nodded. “Truly, you are wise, Lord Swindle. Though I do suggest that we send a squad to find Dr. Pipperton; it is important to take care of the situation. Also, I need to speak with your martial commander”

“Of course. You talk and I’ll go ahead and lead the squad.”

Swindle walked away after picking up three battle armored troops.

As Swindle transformed and had the guards get inside him, Captain Abdul Fakkadi looked back and forth for a second after the transformer drove off. Then he took his hat and slapped himself.

“Can you believe him? Time travel is too dangerous for the greedy. I’ve never seen a more greedy being than our employer, eh?”

Montgomery Cristo nodded. “He is probably the living embodiment of avarice, but the one thing that is also true about him is that he has a greed about his own existence. He probably fears time travel since it’s also pretty much true that it’d be impossible for him to predict the outcome of what would occur if he did try and travel through time. Plus remember, he does have a much longer life span than the both of us by about a million years.”

Fakkadi nodded. “Though it still remains that we are at his whims, it is embarrassing. I was the heir on my homeworld to a profitable piece of land. I would have been Sultan of all that I surveyed for hundreds of kilometers, and then those djinns of Blake came and ruined my family’s lands leaving me forever to be a captain of a DropShip. Perhaps, I might get a promotion to being in charge of a JumpShip, but that will take time.”

Fakkadi noticed that Cristo looking at his hand. “You stare at your hand again, Cristo.”

Major Cristo nodded. “A pregnant thought entered my head. I considered if I would change the past with the ability to travel through time. In many ways, I yearn to erase a mistake that lead me here, but then I wonder if I had not made that move would that mean that somehow something worse would happen.”

Fakkadi laughed. “What’s the worst that could happen, my friend? Perhaps, the Word of Blake would rule all the Inner Sphere, or maybe you fear that somehow due to your decision a group of rogue Smoke Jaguar would ravage entire worlds burning them until all of humanity went dark. Or perhaps, you fear the GeneCaste would rise up and eat our faces like that trivid?”

Abdul Fakkadi had a long laugh after that. And then someone loading the DropShip dropped a crate. “You imbecile! Can you not use a loader mech? My father’s second wife, who was a waif and a fool, could load a whole DropShip on her own in a two hour time frame.”

Major Cristo watched as Fakkadi went to yell at the loading teams when Faith Summers walked up to him. The girl was too sweet to be here on this trip. She looked a bit disturbed, and it was not because she had already shifted her lab clothes for a skin tight pressure suit. Something truly troubled her.

“Major Cristo?” she asked hesitantly.

“Yes, Miss Summers,” he answered. The thing that bothered him was the fact that she feared him for some odd reason. Perhaps, it was the fact that he looked similar to Ariel due to the implants. Faith had grown to fear Dr. Pipperton.

“I am concerned that perhaps. . . this is silly, but it needs to be said. But if I’m wrong, I’ll never get credit for New Avalon Institute of Science, and my mother will go hungry because I’ll be forced to sell my body . . . ,” Montgomery stopped her from talking.

“That’s enough. You’ll get credit, but you probably won’t be able to discuss too much. However, I’m needed, so please get to your point.”

She breathed in heavily which made her large chest seem even larger which unsettled Cristo. “I’ve been detecting unusual transmissions coming from Dr. Pipperton’s lab. She seems to be communicating in an unusual language which I’ve finally translated thanks to the computer here, and she seems to be communicating with another transformer in attempt to meet something called Shockwave.”

Cristo ran to his ‘mech.



Recovery Zone


Omega Supreme once more had transformed back to the Fortress Class dropship, and at the moment, a tech was doing all she could for someone who she had odd feelings for. It bothered Charlene that the first man that she had ever loved turned out to be a ‘mech. Or close enough to be considered one.

As work continued on what she could repair on Skids, or Ted as she preferred, there was something right about the situation. As she repaired an actuator that had ruptured, her mind turned to a memory of her father kidding her about taking a ‘mech that he was helping repair to a dance. The fact that she had been born in what had been called the Chaos March and grew up in the Blakist Protectorate meant that she grew up during trying times.

Plus, the dance was chaperoned by Work of Blake member to ensure nothing unauthorized occurred.

Her father Hanson Gail had been a mechanic by trade, and he had served in the Armed Forces of the Federated Commonwealth during the Clan Invasion. He didn’t talk about it much, but when the War of ’57 occurred, he got left behind in a chaotic situation. Charlene wasn’t even sure his real name was Gail, or where he really was from. All she knew was that he enjoyed repairing things and talking of better days.

In way, when Charlene repaired things or talked about Devlin Stone, she was her father in a younger and more feminine manner. Though her father talked of Hanse Davion with a passion, Charlene knew that Stone was the true way to a better life. Hanse Davion only cared for the Federated Suns while Devlin Stone was enlightened man who knew that all men were created equal. Even Paladin Victor Ian Steiner-Davion agreed with the Exarch and the brilliant Dr. David Lear. There would be no more petty aristocrats looking down on her plain clothing or . . .

“Hey Stoner, why don’t you stop working on your boyfriend and start working on my ‘mech?”

Charlene tensed up, and she peered out of junction port she was in to see the scared face and large and ample chest of Michelle Bay.

“Hound told me that it would help, Te . . . Skids.”

“And that automated ‘mech told me that they have a doctor for their kind on the pickup ship, so everything that you are doing is utterly pointless. So, why don’t you get to work on my ‘mech since most of you techs are working on this big guy,” said Boom-Boom as she patted the hull of the DropShip.

Repairs to Omega Supreme were a priority since it was possible the unknown enemy that Charlene had heard called Decepticons could attack with a vengeance before relief could get here. They knew what they had to fight with now, and Hound had said that they’d probably not make the same mistake twice with the raid that had occurred.

Charlene crawled out of the joint she was in the shoulder of Skids, and she angled her body out. Finally, she got on the gangway. After a brief climb down, she could talk to Michelle properly. Hopefully, she didn’t kid her again about her bottom. It was a little large, but her father told her often that it was a gift from her mother.

As she walked down the steps, Charlene walked up to the taller and bustier Michelle. And there was the right side of Boom-Boom’s face, where you could see through gaps in the burn-scarred flesh to her teeth almost. “Looking at the necro tissue again, huh, Charlie? Let me tell you, I got distracted by a man once. A laser burned my cheek to the bone, and then what happened? Well lover-boy-Stoner left me for a girl with a booty and idealism like yours. After that, I decided that my only true loves were boom, and of course, bigger boom. That’s my advice, Boudicca. Find what you truly love then use males for one night and throw them away in the morning.”

“And you want me to work on your ‘mech? Plus, you’re a bit of a slut.” snidely replied Charlene.

“Yeah, I don’t care. I took the Clan Philosophy for sex to heart even if I wasn’t raised in it. You do good work, and I really don’t hold a grudge. Plus, you still can crawl in the junction points with that prodigious posterior of yours.”

Charlene gave a stern look at Boom-Boom Bay, but the tech’s cheeks reddened. The woman was worse than any man with the way that she talked or acted about women in general. And each time Boom-Boom talked about her, Charlene’s mind kept thinking that her backside grew exponentially in size.

“Would you please not talk that way, Michelle? It’s a bit lewd.”

“Hey, I don’t really care if you are the Coordinator of the Combine or some gutter urchin in Solaris City. I’ll talk to all the same. I prefer to think that I practice perfect equality because of it.”

“Coordinator? What, are you from the Combine?” laughed Charlene

Whereas Michelle Bay usually looked like on the verge of a joke, she suddenly shifted her eyes to something more serious.

“You do not understand what it means to be part of the Dragon, gaijin.”

Charlene suddenly realized that she struck deep into Michelle Bay. “I’m sorry. Lear says that we have to understand other cultures.”

“Shut your pie hole. Lear is a wide eyed jerk who looks at the universe as a laboratory for social experimentation. He’d have a field day in the Combine if he was the Dragon, or if he had been born on the right side of the bed; for want of a nail, he could have been the heir to Mad Max. The problem with Stoners like you is that the Combine and those vicious Capellans are controllable by the will of the those at the top, but the experiment is already in session in the Republic. Lear has yet to really get started, and I’ve already read reports of what he is doing with that relocation thing of his.”

Charlene aghast, looked at the woman talking with the scar running down her left eye. “But Dr. Lear is a genius.”

Michelle patted the metallic skin of Skids.

“And I can be a certified doctor in these Transformers too if I get a university to give me a degree.”

Charlene held her arms over her chest. “And what do you know of government experiments?”

Michelle chuckled as she breathed into her chest to make her chest look even bigger as she pushed out her chest as well. She exhaled at Charlene. “Oh, I memorized several stanzas of the Dictim Honorium as a girl just like my sisters and all-so-honored older brother who died on Galedon V thanks to the Ravens. Daddy never smiled again after that, but then again, Junichiro had a Japanese mother from the Sho-Sho’s first marriage. He had a one night stand with my mother after his beloved Yuki died from a fever, and felt honor bound to bring the woman into his house as his second wife. Sure, he had three daughters and my younger brother, Amuro, with my submissive and dolt of a mother, but he always pined for that bitch, Yuki.”

Suddenly, Michelle shifted her weight and made herself seem smaller and more controlled by holding arms in front of her of chest to hide their size a bit. She laughed into her hand even with the bad burn scar on her check.

“Let’s see if I remember the ideas from that horrid book. Women are to be mistress of the house who acts as mothers. Only whores wear revealing clothing, but then again, I rebelled against the Sho-Sho when I was sixteen. I stowed away on a DropShip ‘till I got to the Mercenary Star, and then I was a whore for couple of bagging years.”

Charlene was a bit disgusted that Michelle had such love for her years of being a mistress of a house of derriere. The woman shifted again to a gaudy act that probably she used to urge men to pick up her services on Galatea.

“Then I met a guy around ten years ago who taught me to pilot a ‘mech like a banshee, but then he fell in love with Devlin Stone and that ebony star eyed college student. Left me and the unit we built together to sell his ‘mech for a shiny medal that says that he is a jack-ass.”

Boom-Boom laughed.

“After he left me to worship at the feet of Devlin Stone, I, not knowing the first thing about running a merc unit, took over. We signed on with the Marik-Stewart Commonwealth, and I promptly learned why mercenary units are constantly changing their names.”

Charlene wanted to agree to anything to get Michelle to stop talking to her.

“Okay, I get it. You promptly messed up paying your debts, and you pretty much got your unit killed.”

Boom-Boom laughed some more.

“Nope, but that’s a good guess. I actually stole the C-Bills and changed my name. Bought my little Boom-Boom maker, and do you know why?”

Charlene sighed.

“Fine, I’ll repair your ‘mech. I never want to hear any more of your life story, Bay. There are porn trivids that are more respectable than you are.”

As Charlene walked off to begin work on Michelle’s mech, she chuckled at Skids. “And that’s why Sho-Sho, you’re little Juno still knows how to get her way. It’d be pretty fun to have a black shower from one of these monsters though. ”

And after smiling straight at Skids, Bay walked off.


Darkmount

And without warning the emergency lights kicked in above him. “Just great, I feed the smelting pits plus add additional power sources to damn fortress, and what happens the power goes out. Does anyone know the number for the Powermaster Guild?”

The Battle Armor Troopers looked dumbfounded at their Lord and Master. Giga Miyamoto in his Cavalier Armor was able to answer with a turning of his neck.

“Good answer. You’re that Hell Horse Elemental that I picked up for cheap, right? Oh no, that’s right I got you the Samurai helmet to tell you apart from the rest of the troops, Giga.”

“That is correct, Lord Swindle.”

The sad truth for Swindle was that he had a hard time telling humans’ apart. It was easy with humans that he somewhat liked such as Cristo, but for most of his employees, he had to make notes in his datatracks to make sure that he knew who they were and some detail. One of his human secretaries got asked if she was still gestating the growing embryo in her tummy six years after the little tyke had been born due to the fact that he forgot to update his information. The idea of growing in size due to small energy storage still alluded Swindle.

Thankfully, the woman just quit instead of getting bigger. There was something unsettling for Swindle about humans’ expanding past their protoform stage. He once even saw a human who was as round as a planet; it haunted his shutdown periods.

However as much as that memory disturbed Swindle, there was work to do, especially if the lights had issues. He touched the side of the head, but the control center was down.

“This isn’t good,” mumbled Swindle.


In the skies above Darkmount, three aerospace fighters still circled the fortress. The Eagle fighter had landed for refueling, and due to the priority being the Midas’ Touch loading, the fighter was still si,ting with its pilot in the bay.

All of the sudden, Mega noticed that the lights had dimmed from the fortress. “This isn’t right,” she mumbled.

And then both of her wingmates were engulfed in fire.

She pushed the Corsair screaming frantically to get help, but all she heard was static as a robot with long head reached with what appeared to be a claw into her fighter’s cockpit.


Standing atop the ruins of a once-mighty skyscraper, Starscream watched the operation commence as his fighters took down the aerospace defenders of Swindle’s little fortress. His mouth slowly formed a huge grin.

Holding his head up with his right arm, Starscream watched his left arm project his units, his armada. “Excellent,” the Decepticon Air Commander exclaimed. “This is how you do a siege: With subterfuge and brilliance. No lost units as well.”

The shuttle containing Shockwave’s remaining Thrusts had arrived. Starscream contacted his ally.

“Now open the other bay, so I may enter Darkmount as a conqueror,” ordered Starscream. And then he added. “Plus, I need a place to land Shockwave’s shuttle.”

The female human responded even as Starscream could make out the sounds of Swindle screaming and most likely banging on the doors. “Is Shockwave on the shuttle?”

“No, he is returning to his Citadel to most likely lick his wounds. Had I, Air Commander Starscream, been the one to assault Omega Supreme, there would be no issue now.”

“Because you’d be dead.”

“Of course, because I’d be de . . . Wait a milicycle, you listen to me, wench. Air Commander Starscream shall last till the stars themselves scream their finally song, and it shall be glorious. However, I need you to open that bay; otherwise, you will never see your beloved.”

The female responded, “Then it shall be done.”

Starscream was about to get up and transform to lead his fighters in when one of the Jetstorms contacted him in the monotone almost Shockwave voice. “Commander Starscream, we captured one human.”

The Air Commander almost told the drone to throw the human into the ruins of Polyhex; perhaps a petrorabbit would eat it. However, that could come back to harm him. “Throw it into one of Shockwave’s cryotubes on that landing shuttle full of Thrusts.”

“By your command,” it replied.

Starscream shook his head. “Absolutely no personality. What I’d do for someone to talk to that had an ounce of personality. Perhaps I can talk to Swindle before I finally pay him back for the Combaticons’ crimes against me.”

Shockwave’s shuttle flew over the Air Commander’s head. “Well, time to lead the troops in and secure Darkmount.”

Starscream backed up, and then he ran toward the building’s edge. At the last second, he jumped and shifted into his aerospace mode. Then once his engines increased in thrust, he lead his contingent into the other bay at Darkmount.

This planetary cycle had been a good one for Starscream.


Near Shockwave’s Citadel


Shockwave would have smiled if he could. “Governor Shockwave, the energy flow from Darkmount is connected.”

Surrounded by wreckage, Shockwave gave a simple order as he lifted up debris to get a better look at the pilot of the cacophony that had landed there.

The Insecticon seemed to be on the verge of permanent spark loss. Its arms shook. It’s blasted and pulverized faceplate burned and was of little use. All in all, it was a near-optimal situation still.

As Shockwave begin to open the chest to retrieve the spark before it disappeared, he gave a simple order. Years ago, he had commenced a project. He eventually gave it name after he received the designs for a ship the humans had built. Going along the lines that Megatron ordered, it was supposed to do what the Nemesis couldn’t: Transform and be as intelligent as Metroplex or Omega Supreme.

Unfortunately, Shockwave had only discovered one method for creating a transformer as powerful yet as intelligent as the two ancient titans of the Autobots. And as the scientist opened the chest of the Insecticon, he realized that he didn’t have enough spark here either.

He was about to open a channel to Starscream to order him to bring Swindle alive, but then it dawned on Shockwave as he took what remained of the Insecticon’s spark. “Drone 459, transfer all energy to Project Texas and give me all data on Breakdown’s connection to the human Silas, along with all of Knockout’s research. Then ready Lab Four with Pink Alchemy equipment.”

Project Texas would work. If he didn’t have enough spark materials with the sliver from Skids and half from the Insecticon, Shockwave would follow the advice of his mentor. The words echoed in his head from Jhiaxus.

“When in doubt, experimentation provides the answer.”

 

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