CHAPTER FOUR
--The Lost Light--
All optics were trained on the aqua green mech sitting in the center of the room. Seated next to him was his defense Chromedome and before them both were the three judges: Rodimus, Ultra Magnus, and Emirate Xaaron. A tense silence hung over the room until Rodimus finally broke it.
"Brainstorm, you have the dubious honor of being the first Cybertronian to be tried by the Lost Light Internal Legal Affairs Committee. This board would never have been formed had it not been for the danger your antics put the entire universe in. Are you proud of this fact?"
Brainstorm said nothing.
Xaaron revved softly. "Before we begin, I'd like to remind everyone that you're either here by invitation or because you were involved with the events that have led to this trial. I would like to ask everyone to shut off any recording devices-- that means you, Rewind. And Riptide, datapads count as well."
The Hydrobot grumbled as he put away his datapad.
"Now then, are there any questions?" No one spoke. "Then let us begin."
"Brainstorm," Ultra Magnus said, "you are aware that you put the entire universe at risk by meddling with the timeline. While your intentions were noble, your actions nonetheless placed several lives at risk."
"Cybertronian lives, you mean," Brainstorm replied. "At the same time, I was sparing the rest of the galaxy from the Decepticons' atrocities."
"Maybe so, but your alterations would have still place other worlds at risk. For instance, Earth, in your new timeline, had its population wiped out by the Functionists."
"Is that right?" For his part, Brainstorm looked genuinely surprised by this news. "That... certainly was not part of my intentions."
"And," Chromedome said, "in my client's defense, he did not know every last detail of this new timeline-- only that the atrocities of our war would have been averted."
"That may be true," Rodimus said. "But as I understand it, your motivation was a selfish one; you lost someone you cared for and you sought to bring them back by preventing the war."
"I won't deny that," Brainstorm said. "When it all comes down to it, that's what spurred me to dall all of this."
"Is that a confession?"
"Call it what you want."
"Right then," Rodimus went on. "With that settled, let's move on to the next subject concerning you: your Decepticon symbol."
"Ah. So you know about that as well."
"The war may be over, but we are nonetheless concerned by this development," Xaaron said. "Care to explain yourself?"
"Gladly," Brainstorm said. "When Arcana and I started work on the time machine, we scoured the galaxy for the needed tech, but a lot of it proved ineffective. When rumors leaked of the Decepticons' developing transwarp technology, I seized the opportunity and joined them as a double agent to gain access to it."
"Did the Decepticons not ask for anything in return?" Ultra Magnus asked.
"Of course they did. But all I gave them was old information with a new spin to it. It warded off enough suspicion until I had what I needed."
"But the Autobot Secret Service soon got their own hands on the Transwarp tech," Ultra Magnus pointed out. "You could have gone to them for it."
"But the thing is, I was the one who gave them the tech-- anonymously, of course. The reason I did it that way was because, well, it's me. Would you really trust me with tech like that?"
"No," Xaaron admitted.
"And as recent events have proven, we would have had good reason not to do so," Rodimus added.
"Again, I don't blame you," Brainstorm said. "And there you have it; my confession, if you will. Judge me as you please, but don't do so as an Autobot or a Decepticon... judge me as who I actually am: a Cybertronian who wanted to make a difference."
The room went silence. The three Autobots on the Committee glanced at each other and held conversation over private radio. When they were finished, Xaaron looked at Brainstorm and folded his hands.
"As I said before, the war is over; allegiance no longer matters. As such, we shall not hold that against you. As for your temporal ventures, we shall have your time machine be destroyed and you and your lab shall be placed under strict supervision. Unless, of course, you wish to depart the Lost Light...?"
"No," Brainstorm said firmly. "This is my home. I'm not going anywhere."
"In that case...." Xaaron tapped the table with a gavel. "Court adjourned."
--The medibay--
"Well? Anything?"
"I'm not detecting any lethal pathogens," Ambulon said as scanned the coffin. "I'd still wait a few days before opening it-- maybe even a week."
"Agreed," Ratchet said. "We have no idea where this coffin has been or how whatever is inside died."
"Um, Ratchet?" First Aid poked his head up from the other side of the coffin, holding another scanner. "I would like to differ on that 'dead' thing."
Ratchet frowned. "What do you mean?"
"It's faint, but I'm picking up a spark signature coming from here. Whatever's in here... it's still alive."
All three medics stared at the coffin in silence, musing over this unsettling revelation.
"Should we open it then?" Ambulon finally asked.
"Too risky," Ratchet said. "For all we know it could be something dangerous like a Buffaloid or a Corvicon. Heck, it could even be non-Cybertronian like a Recyclon or a--"
Tap tap tap.
The medics fell silent again, this time all the more disturbed. Were it possible for their race, Ratchet's face would have went pale.
"Go get Magnus," he murmured.
--The bridge--
"Captain on bridge."
With the burden of Brainstorm's trial having been lifted from his shoulders and his mind cleared of all the time travel business, Rodimus practically jogged for his command chair, with Drift and Ultra Magnus behind him.
"Right-o, then! On with the quest! What's the first stop on your interstellar map, Drift?"
"Caminus," Drift replied. "It makes up the tip of Solus' Arrow, and, according to some, points in the direction of Cyberutopia. Given the colony's fabled history with the Titans, I have faith that our answers may lies there."
"Sweet! Let's set a course and--"
"Not so fast, caps," Blaster called from his station. "While you were gone, I picked up a stray transmission. It's broken up, but here's what I was able to get."
The communications officer brought the message up and played it. A distorted voice crackled through the speakers.
"<static> Decepticons <static> Garrus-16 <static> help <static> please <static>"
Once the message had come to an abrupt end, Ultra Magnus raised a hand to his chin. "Garrus-16? That's on Talrus, which isn't far from here."
"Well, if they're sending a call for help, who are we to ignore it?" Rodimus said. "Mainframe, change of plans: take us to Talrus."
While Mainframe set the coordinates, Ultra Magnus suddenly raised a hand to his helmet's comlink. After a moment of hushed conversation with whoever was on the other end, he turned back to Rodimus.
"That was Ratchet. He says that Rewind and Chromedome brought a coffin on board and that someone is tapping from the inside."
Rodimus looked up at his first mate with a completely placid expression. "You know," he said calmly, "if you were anyone else, I'd say you were trying to mess with me."
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