CHAPTER SEVEN
--Lost Light--
"...Do I want to know why there are two mechs infused into the hyper-drive?"
Que looked up from his tools and frowned at the robot pair embedded into the engine block. "Ah, yes. That was something that happened before I joined. Perceptor told me all about it. It's... not a pretty story."
"Forget it then." Dealer shook his head in both disgust and remorse before turning back to the Autobot scientist. "Any luck?"
"It's getting there. Although not impossible, getting the hyper-drive to make a jump manually is not something often done. You also have to be an expert in quantum physics to even know you can do it in the first place."
"Good thing they've got you then."
Que smiled. "Yes. My days at Unitrex have not gone to waste."
Both mechs fell silent for a moment as Que continued to work. Then, clearing his vocal processor, Dealer said, "How will we make the jump to HQ? The navcomp is on the bridge...."
"I should be able to hack into it from my personal computer," Que said.
"I'm sorry, your personal--?"
On cue, a panel opened in the Autobot scientist's chest and a monitor extended out from it. "People thought Brainstorm had too much time on his hands," Que said wryly. "They don't know me."
Dealer blinked as he gaped in awe. "Have... have you always had that?"
"Only since every other computer I've used started breaking down on me. Between that and the Director sending me all over the galaxy during the war, I decided it would make a useful and necessary modification."
"No kidding. And here I thought being a Triple Changer was a far as you could--"
The double agent was cut off by an alarm suddenly blaring, bathing the room in red. Dealer's optics dimmed slightly as fear gripped his spark.
"Oh no. That can't be good."
Que grimaced. "I don't understand. We disabled the security cameras and everything. Did they get our location out of Perceptor or--"
Before the Autobot scientist could finish the thought, the ship suddenly rocked violently and both mechs were sent tumbling.
* * *
They say that in space no one could hear you scream.
And while that was indeed true, that didn't stop Gigatron from roaring loudly as he launched himself at Ragnarok, both of his dragon hands blasting out streams of fire. The flames merely bounced off of the giant's armor and the massive Decepticon paid him no heed as he continued to pound on the Lost Light's hull.
Snarling, Gigatron transformed to his robot mode and unsheathed his double-edged blade, twirling it in his hand. Flying towards Ragnarok, he wailed upon the larger Decepticon with his sword, hoping he could at the very least get his attention.
His prayers were answered when Ragnarok finally reacted and swung a massive arm at him, sending the Decepticon warlord flying. Once he had righted himself and gotten his bearings, he saw that Ragnarok had already returned to attacking the ship.
This is going nowhere. Growling to himself, Gigatron raised a hand to his helmet and contacted the Chimeracon ship from which he had arrived on.
"Carnivac, I could really use that special gift of yours."
"Oh, I would love to lend you my assistance," came the snippy response. "But you see, my 'gift' is sound-based, and seeing as we're currently in space--"
"Spare me your useless excuses, you mediocre mutt!" Gigatron snapped. "Just think of something to make yourself useful because I'm only wasting my time here!"
"Well, why didn't you say so?"
Just as the connection ended on his end, Gigatron caught an approaching object in his peripheral vision. Turning around, he saw that the Chimeracons' ship -- the Mayhem, they called it -- was blasting right towards him and Ragnarok, no doubt intending to knock the latter off the other ship.
This was either going to provide the desired results or simply make things a thousand times worse.
Either way, Gigatron considered it wise to get out of the way.
* * *
"Who is this Ragnarok that we're dealing with?"
Shockwave stared silently at the visuals Soundblaster was providing of the fight outside. Gigatron seemed to be throwing everything he had at Ragnarok, only for his attacks to be ignored. It was fortunate for Gigatron that Ragnarok had yet to retaliate; the warlord would likely be scrap by now.
Realizing that Megatron had spoken to him, Shockwave looked up at the clone Decepticon leader. "He is an experiment. An experiment gone wrong."
"An experiment for what?"
Shockwave did not answer right away, instead returning his gaze to the visual. "It was an attempt at making a super-soldier from scratch," he finally said. "Megatron -- the original Megatron -- was already content with the Warriors Elite, but even with the failsafes I implemented into them, I knew they would someday prove an issue should they decide to turn against our leader.
"So I created Ragnarok -- a living war machine. Built from scratch, powered by a laser core rather than a spark. Not alive in the same sense as the average Cybertronian, but not non-sentient in the way a turbofox may be. He was almost perfect in every way."
"What went wrong then?" Megatron asked.
Again, Shockwave did not answer immediately. He was deprived of a chance to do so when in the visuals Soundblaster was projecting, a medium-size spacecraft collided into Ragnarok, knocking him off the Lost Light's hull. Those on the bridge felt the repercussions of this as the entire ship shook violently, throwing everyone off balance.
The first back on his feet, Megatron glared out the viewport. "What in the living inferno's name are they doing?!"
"It would appear Gigatron's accomplices have found an impractical yet efficient way of securing our troublesome friend," Shockwave said. "Perhaps we should head out and see if they have succeeded."
Megatron frowned at him. "Is it wise to leave this ship unattended? What if the Autobots retake it? What about the Autobot you sent the others to find?"
"We have an alternative means of transportation now -- provided their ship wasn't damaged in the collision. As for the Autobot...." Shockwave paused in contemplation. "...Let him live for now. Once we're on Gigatron's ship, we can disable this vessel's engines and communications and prevent it from going anywhere or contacting anyone."
"And if they still find a way?"
"Then by the time they get word to Autobot High Command, our plan will already be in motion. Even an advance forewarning will not be enough for them to prepare. But it does not hurt to be too careful."
With that, he then turned to Soundblaster.
"Recall the others. It is time for us to go."
* * *
"That sure was unpleasant."
Dealer shook his head as he got back to his feet. The alarms had already ceased and everything seemed to have stilled. Looking around, he saw Que laying in a heap nearby, motionless. Worried, he rushed over to the inventor.
"Que?" He shook the old mech gently. "Come on, man. Don't let me down now. We've still got work to do."
"I would like to differ."
His body tensing, Dealer slowly turned around to see a Decepticon clone standing in the entrance to the engine rooms. Plated in purple and light blue, he wielded a gun in his right hand, which he slowly raised at the two Autobots.
"I think," Archforce said, "that you're just about done."
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