EDITED 8/4/2018 Replaced Antilla with a made-up planet for... reasons.
CHAPTER TWO
"You with me, Orion? Come on, wake up...."
Blue optics flickered on and Ratchet felt a wave of relief pass over him. If he had believed in the Guiding Hand- which he certainly didn't- he would have classified this as a miracle.
Orion Pax rubbed his forehead as he sat up. "Ratchet? Where am I? What-?" He froze. Then, tentatively, he raised a hand to his face and touched the mouthplate which now permanently concealed the lower half of his face. "Where... is my mouth? And why is my voice deeper?"
Ratchet smiled sadly. "You were a bit beaten up when Hardhead and the others brought you in. We... had to take a few liberties in repairing you."
Orion looked down at himself. His body was now a lot more bulkier and well-armored than before. In fact, he looked more like a commander than a mere soldier. After examining himself for a minute, Orion looked up at Ratchet and said, "You mentioned Hardhead and the others. Are they all right?"
"They're fine," Ratchet assured him, before frowning. "Although, Ultra Magnus..."
"What about him?" Orion asked urgently. "Is he all right?"
Ratchet sighed. "I don't know, to be honest. His spark was shrinking- maybe even at zero point- when he was brought in. But Pharma shooed me away before I could do anything."
"Can I see him?" Orion asked, moving to get off his infirmary bed, but Ratchet pushed him back down.
"I don't think so," the medic said. "Remedy only just finished your repairs and your body needs a few more mega-cycles to adjust to them. Please, just rest for now."
Orion sighed but complied with the doctor's orders. Noticing his disappointment, Ratchet then said, "If I can, I'll try to check on him and let you know how he's doing. Okay?"
Orion merely shrugged before laying down, switching off into sleep mode. Ratchet frowned to himself as he left the infirmary room. Well, I suppose someone has to care for everyone.
* * *
"I really don't understand why you want to do this, sir," Pharma said as he paced back and forth in the infirmary room containing Ultra Magnus' comatose and dying form. "I mean, why would someone such as yourself- a Chief Justice and High Councilor- want with a corpse?"
"Are you certain he's dead?" asked Chief Justice Tyrest, who stood before Pharma and his team of medics in holographic form.
Pharma glanced at his right-hand bot, Suture, who gave him a curt nod. "Yes, Chief Justice. He's dead."
Tyrest frowned grimly. "In that case, I will be dropping by to retrieve the body. However, no one must know of his passing."
Pharma raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"
"Those are reasons I shall keep to myself," Tyrest said sternly. "Expect my arrival later tonight."
With that, the Chief Justice's incorporeal form vanished and Pharma was left to muse over his intentions.
* * *
"So the mission to Zull was a success."
Standing before Zeta Prime in the place of Ultra Magnus, Sergeant Kup nodded. "Yes, sir. Magnus sent Onslaught and his Combaticons running with their tailpipes between their legs."
Turning away from his office window to face Kup, Zeta Prime said, "I took it from your initial report that you suffered a few casualties."
Kup lowered his head. "Yes, sir. We've lost one hundred and thirty-two men out of ten thousand, while Ultra Magnus and Orion Pax were severely injured."
"All of that caused by just five Combaticons?"
Kup shook his head. "No, sir, by those new spangled Vehicon drones the 'Cons have been cranking out ever since they conquered that factory world."
"Ah, yes. The Vehicons." Zeta Prime spoke the name with more spite than Kup though befitting a Prime. "Good thing I've sent Thunderclash and his 'bots to retake that world."
"Yeah, uh, about that." Kup shifted his feet. "Don't you think that by carelessly attacking planets, we're no better than the Decepticons?"
"They're not just any planets," Zeta said defiantly. "They're Decepticon-aligned planets. And we're not attacking, but liberating them."
"Do you call Gargon 4 a liberation?" Kup snapped before he could stop himself. "What about Praxis? Heck, the Tiresian Union are still sending us death threats about that."
"They are casualties of war, Sergeant Kup," Zeta Prime retorted, his optics flaring. "Such casualties are going to occur until we end this war. There's no other way around it."
Kup grunted. "Suppose you're right... for now. Ask me how things are going in another ten years."
Zeta Prime glowered at him. "You are dismissed, sergeant."
Taking the hint, Kup turned around and strode out of the Prime's office, all the while muttering to himself of the Autobots' military progress... or lack thereof.
* * *
Baleful, scarlet eyes watched as Onslaught exited the Decepticon throne room. The Combaticon leader had been rightfully chastised for his failure on Zull, but no further punishment had been executed. His tactical skills were far too valuable to waste.
"Lord Megatron."
The Decepticon leader turned his attention to the azure mech that stood at his side at almost all times. "Yes, Soundwave, what is it?"
"We have received a transmission from Skyquake on Vehicon."
Megatron nodded. "Patch him through."
A minute later, the holographic form of a large, winged mech appeared before him, giving Megatron a great bow of respect.
"My lord," Skyquake said. "We have detected a fleet of Autobot ships within the Vehicon system. Unfortunately, we do not have the means to counter them."
Megatron raised an eyebrow. "What about the Vehicon drones?"
"Well, we have plenty of standard class models but the more advanced ones are taking longer to produce. They won't be enough to withstand the Autobots."
A sly smile crossed Megatron's face. "I see. In that case, we must do what's necessary."
"You mean send reinforcements?"
"Better than that." Activating an intercom built into the armrest of his chair, Megatron said, "Sixshot, your services are required."
No comments:
Post a Comment