CHAPTER NINE
--Paradron--
"Sir, there's been another--"
"I know," Sandstorm said curtly as he entered his office. "Any word from my contact?"
Playback shook his head. "Not yet. But, sir, shouldn't something be--"
"What do you expect me to do?" Sandstorm snapped at the red and white bot. "Landshark's the one in charge, not me. This is his situation, not mine."
"Yes, but as a candidate, shouldn't you--"
"Get out." Sandstorm pointed his assistant to the door. "I need some time alone. I can't think with someone harping in my audio sensor."
Once a petrified Playback had scurried out of the room, Sandstorm locked the door and sat down at his desk, pressing his palms against his forehead.
"Come on," he growled to himself. "You said you'd be here by now."
"What's wrong? Tired of killing already?"
Jumping to his feet, Sandstorm whirled around to see a blue bot standing on the balcony behind him, his frame a dead ringer for a certain Autobot leader.
"P-Prime?" Sandstorm stammered.
"Close enough." Stepping through the open window, Convoy fixed the ex-Wrecker with a piercing glare. "So what happened to being pacifists? Just couldn't help killing again?"
"I... I don't know what you're talking about. How did you find me? How did you get past the guards?"
"I overpowered them. It was remarkably easy." Convoy began to circle the yellow and orange bot. "So why did you kill Blitz?"
"I haven't killed anyone!" Sandstorm exclaimed.
"Then why were you at the scene of the crime? Why didn't you do anything to help?"
Backing towards his desk, Sandstorm reached for something underneath. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Don't play dumb!" Convoy snapped. "I know it was you! I followed you here!"
Sandstorm frowned. "Did you now? That's too bad."
From under the desk, he drew a gun and aimed it at the clone's head.
"I was hoping to use my second-to-last bullet for a special someone, but I guess I'll just have to readjust my--"
"Sir?" The door to his office opened as Playback walked in with a sick-looking mech. "This bot needs medical--" He stopped as he saw what was going on. "...Sir? What... what are you doing?"
Sandstorm closed his optics as he sighed. "It's not what it looks like, Playback. Just turn around and walk away."
"You... you have a gun," Playback murmured. "That's... that's against the law, Sandstorm."
Sandstorm gritted his teeth as he applied pressure on the trigger. "I am the law."
He then fired the gun... just as Convoy launched himself at the ex-Wrecker. The fourth infernus bullet flew over the Prime clone's shoulder, burning a hole through the wall. Convoy then pushed Sandstorm over his desk, knocking the gun out of his hand and over to a shocked Playback.
"It was you!" he cried. "You're the murderer!"
"Playback," Sandstorm grunted, struggling against Convoy. "You should have waited outside."
From behind Playback, a detail of security bots came charging towards Sandstorm's office. Without thinking, Playback picked up the discarded gun and turned to face the arriving police force.
"Clamp Down, it was Sandstorm! He's the murder--"
"Drop the weapon!" Clamp Down shouted, raising a stun blaster. "Now!"
"What? But I didn't...." Playback dropped the gun, a distraught look on his face. "I didn't do anything...."
"Sparkride, cuff him up -- as well as his friend!" Pushing past Playback, Clamp Down raised his blaster at Convoy. "I've got this one."
"No," Cannonspring croaked, trying to break free from Playback's grasp. "He's not the enemy...."
But it was too late. Clamp Down had already fired his weapon and Convoy was on the ground, unconscious. As Sandstorm got to his feet, Clamp Down walked up to him. "Are you all right, sir?"
"I'm fine," Sandstorm muttered, dusting himself off. "See to it that these delinquents are properly detained."
Saluting him, Clamp Down gestured for his bots to retrieve the unconscious Convoy. Suddenly, Cannonspring fell to the floor, clutching his chest.
"Somebody take this mech to Lifeline," Clamp Down ordered. "He looks like he's on the verge of stasis lock."
"He's here," Cannonspring murmured. "I can feel him."
Sandstorm frowned at him. "What are you talking about? Who's here?"
But the ailing mech did not need to answer, as at that moment a giant shadow fell over the building. Running over to the balcony, Sandstorm came out to see the best thing he had seen all day.
A Titan.
--The Lost Light--
"Please tell me that's not what I think it is."
"I don't know what you want me to say it is," Mainframe said as he and the rest of the bridge crew stared at the massive ship that had just appeared in Paradron's sky. "It's a Titan--"
Rodimus shook his head. "Not just any Titan. It's the worst Titan. The Titan I never wanted to see again for as long as I lived."
"What are you Autobots going on about?" Megatron growled.
Ignoring him, Rodimus said to Mainframe, "Get us out of here. Now."
"But Convoy and Cannonspring--" Ultra Magnus started to say.
"They left on their own voalition. They chose their fate. We're choosing ours. Now get us out of here!"
"We can't," Mainframe said.
Rodimus grabbed him by the shoulders. "What do you mean we can't?!"
"The engines aren't responding."
"Sabotage?" Megatron asked.
"I don't know. Something happened or someone did something."
"But who?" Magnus asked. "Who could have done that? And why?"
Megatron rubbed his chin. "Which hab suite is closest to the engine rooms?"
Mainframe thought for a moment. "Uh... Room 791. That's... Evac and Stormshot's room."
"Evac and Whoshot?" Rodimus asked. "Not names I recognize."
"I'll go check things out," Magnus said, turning to leave the bridge. "Call me in case Carcer does anything bad."
"Just being there is bad enough." Rodimus then frowned as he looked back at a retreating Magnus. "Wait, you're leaving me with Megatron?"
"I won't be gone long," Magnus said. "Try not to kill each other."
Once he was gone, Megatron glanced at Rodimus. "Was that a joke?"
"Mags never jokes," Rodimus muttered.
"Really? Because I remember at Simanzi he was quite the funny one...."
* * *
"Stormshot? Come on, it's me. Open up."
Evac knocked on the door for the nth time. No response came. The blue Autobot frowned, worry filling his spark.
"I promise not to brag about how much fun I had. In fact, I didn't have fun at all. Nothing's fun without you...."
Still nothing. Evac pressed his forehead against the door, doing everything he could from breaking down.
"Please answer," he whispered. "You don't have to open the door, just say something. Tell me that you... that you're still...."
He couldn't bring himself to say it. He didn't want to think his friend would do something like that. He refused to.
"Evac?"
The blue mech looked up to see Ultra Magnus standing over him. Relief flooded his spark.
"Ultra Magnus! Sir! Thank goodness you're here!" Evac exclaimed. "It's Stormshot. She... the door won't open. It's locked from the inside and... she won't answer."
Wordlessly, Magnus waved a security card through the control panel, bypassing the lock. Evac braced himself as the door slid open....
...and revealed nothing but a viewscreen playing at the end of the room.
"Stormshot?" Evac called out, but it was clear his friend was nowhere to be found.
Ultra Magnus, meanwhile, was staring at the footage being played on the viewscreen. His optics narrowed as he tried to discern the fast-moving images.
"That's Hydrus Four," he murmured.
Evac froze up as he figured out what was going on. "Oh no... she's called them."
Magnus raised an optic at him. "Called who?"
Before Evac could answer, Magnus' comm buzzed and Rodimus' voice came through.
"Magnus, get back here. Carcer is doing something bad."
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