CHAPTER FOUR
Standing on the bridge of the Xantium, Impactor analyzed the holographic map of the Decepticons' territory... what little they had, anyway. In the days of the Great War, which he had fought in, the Decepticon Empire had numerous worlds under its tyrannical grasp. Now, only a handful remained under its loose controls, with those worlds being mainly desolate wastelands.
To to the other nine Wreckers, as well as Optronix, Prowl, Tumbler, and Wheeljack, Impactor said, "So, which one of these should we go to first?"
Whirl indicated one of the planets with a spindly claw. "That one."
Topspin manipulated the controls of the holoprojector's computer, zooming in on the planet and providing its info. "Lucifer. Heavily fortified with an abundant amount of smelting pools. Ruled by the self-titled Lord High Governor Straxus."
He turned to stare at Whirl. "And why, for the love of all that is great and holy, would you want to go there?"
"It sounds cool."
"Straxus is one of the top warlords, so he would be an ideal person to be behind this," Prowl mused aloud. "Of course, it would be too dangerous to go there."
"Gee, you think?" Tumbler said testily. Turning to the projection, he indicated a planet near Lucifer. "How about that one?"
Again, Topspin zoomed in on it and read its information. "Thrull. An irregularly-shaped planet. Its only use is a good source for plasma lava. Great if you want a quick plasma bath, but take note that it may fry your logic circuits."
"Yeah, no thanks," Optronix muttered. "Let's face it; all of these planets come with a death notice, so we might as well pick the one with less risk."
"Less risk means less fun," said the large Roadbuster. "I say we go with Lucifer. Best place to scratch our itchy trigger-fingers."
"What, and start the war again in the process?" Prowl said. "Or are we all forgetting the plan?"
"We know the plan," said Leadfoot, the Wreckers' defense and stealth specialist. "It's just the matter of it working."
"Only one way to find out, right?" said Topspin's brother Twin Twist.
Optronix sighed. "I suppose we could go to Lucifer. But remember-"
"Yeah, yeah," Whirl said flippantly. "'Only shoot to kill if necessary.' It's not like you're our boss-bot or the Prime."
Impactor could have sworn he heard Optronix mutter, "Some day I might be."
* * *
Lucifer truly was the last planet in the galaxy that Crankcase wanted to be on. Of course, he would have still been miserable on any other world, perhaps even Cybertron, but they still would have been better than the dismal domain of the tyrant who called himself Straxus.
"'Nother shipment of prisoners," said his on-duty partner Storm Cloud. "Gee, Trypticon must've been full of 'em."
Crankcase sighed. "It's not just Trypticon, ya broken diode. It's from prisons across the galaxy: Garrus-9, Grindcore...."
"Oh. Right," the black and purple mech said. "So, uh, how is Trannis stealin' all of these prisons?"
"Pit if I know... or care," Crankcase snapped. "We're just here to do our blasted job and get paid ten Shanix, if we're lucky."
The prison ship descended towards the awaiting landing pad. Once it had stopped, the boarding ramp lowered and a tall Decepticon in black and red armor appeared, flanked by five others, and with four Autobot prisoners chained to them.
"Tell us where they need to go," the leader growled.
Crankcase pointed back at the fortress which served as Straxus' seat of power. "Darkmount, level one-thirteen, in the dungeon."
"Thanks," the leader said. Beckoning to his troops, he pushed past Crankcase and Storm Cloud, with the Autobots in tow. Crankcase watched them bemusedly as they went, unsure on how to feel about the expression of gratitude he had been given.
* * *
"'Thanks?'" Impactor hissed. "'Thanks?' Since when do Decepticons ever say thanks?!"
Optronix glared back at him as they approached the Decepticon fortress. "As if you could have done a better job."
"Sure I could've!" the Wrecker leader snapped. "I've actually a fought a Decepticon- several, in fact! And not one of them ever said 'thanks!'"
Optronix grunted. "Whatever. Just keep moving."
They came to a stop before Darkmount's entrance, which was guarded by a hulking Decepticon brute. "Identify yourselves," it growled.
Adopting the best Decepticon impression he could muster, Optronix said, "I am Commander Scourge of the Darksyde II. These are my men Mega-Octane, Armorhide, Movor, Rollbar, and, uh, Ro-Tor. We bring Autobot prisoners entrusted to us by Lord Trannis himself."
The guard eyed them carefully as he viewed a datapad in his hand. "There's no ship called the Darksyde II on here."
"We're freelance," Optronix said smoothly. "Lord Straxus isn't expecting us."
The guard grunted. "Whatever. Darkwing, Dreadwind, take the prisoners to the dungeon."
"Er, actually, we can take them ourselves," Optronix said, a bit too hastily for his liking. "I've always wanted to see Darkmount on the inside-"
The guard cut him off with a glare. "You're freelance. You're not getting paid. You are not enlisted by Lord Straxus to transport prisoners. You are not permitted to enter Darkmount."
With that, he took the four chained prisoners- Tumbler, Prowl, Wheeljack, and Leadfoot- and gave them to the awaiting Decepticons Darkwing and Dreadwind. Then, to Optronix and his party, the guard growled, "Leave."
With little choice, especially since several dozen 'Cons were now watching them, the six disguised Autobots turned and headed back for the disguised Xantium. Glancing at Optronix, Impactor muttered, "So what now, 'Scourge?'"
Optronix sighed. "I think it's time for a Plan B."
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