Transformers Regenerated: Pax Cybertronia XI, Chapter Five

CHAPTER FIVE

--Cybertron--

    “Okay.” Rodimus Prime leaned back in his seat and propped his feet on the Council’s meeting table, crossing his arms behind his head. “So, before we begin, let me ask you: Ore-14?”

    “Pardon?” asked the white and black bot who claimed to be Prowl.

    “Were you resurrected by Ore-14? Were you greeted by a little guy named Fistfight?”

    “No, to either of those.”

    “Did you even die in the first place?”

    “Yes, Rodimus, I did in fact die. In fact, as far as I know, I am still dead.”

    “Then how. The frag. Are you here. And. Talking.”

    “Rodimus,” Windblade said quietly. “Please, at least try to be professional....”

    “I am not necessarily the Prowl you knew, Rodimus,” Prowl replied. “I am simply a near-perfect copy that was activated in the event of my template’s death. I have all of Prowl’s memories and data-tracks, but my spark is my own. A clone, if you will.”

    Rather than be annoyed and confused, Rodimus’ face actually lit up at this as he glanced over at Shockwave. “Looks like someone pulled a page out of your book, Shockers.”

    “Indeed,” the Prowl clone said. “After I learned how Shockwave was able to keep himself and Soundwave alive after their respective demises, I decided to look into the process myself. Fortunately, I was able to perfect it enough before I lost my own life. I suppose, in that regard, I owe you my thanks, Shockwave.”

    The mono-eyed Decepticon said nothing, carefully regarding Prowl in silence.

    “So, with that out of the way,” Rodimus said, “what brings you here, Prowl? What have you been up to lately?”

    “I come to you with an urgent message, Rodimus,” Prowl said. “As you are aware, Cybertron and her colonies are under threat from a mysterious faction.”

    “We are very much aware,” muttered Dai Atlas.

    “This faction is led by an individual who calls himself the Grand Architect. I have yet to deduce the identity of this ‘Grand Architect,’ but I do know that he has been operating for quite some time. His agents have been operating under a simple mantra: Prepare, confront, repel.”

    “That’s what Omega Supreme was saying, according to what Cosmos told us.” Rodimus was now sitting properly, invested in what Prowl was saying. “Do you know why this Grand Architect has been targeting the Regenesis ores?”

    “From my understanding, he is using the ores to power a weapon that will destroy the very fabric of time and space,” Prowl answered. “When combined, the powers of the ores will create a threat that not even the combined forces of Cybertron and her colonies will be able to repel.”

    “So what would you have us do?” asked Starscream. “How do you even know all this stuff?”

    “The source of my knowledge is not for you to know, Starscream,” Prowl coolly replied. “All you must know is what you’ll need to do in order to prevent the Grand Architect from achieving his goals.”

    “We’re all ears, Prowl,” Rodimus said. “Tell us what we must do.”

    “Fortress Maximus’ space bridge is currently linked to where I have been for the last year,” Prowl informed them. “It is a colony world that has been lost to Cybertronian history for many millennia and is site to one of the thirteen Regenesis ores. Its leaders are aware of the Grand Architect’s schemes and have been amassing a force to combat the threat of his army. They wish to seek an audience with you, Rodimus Prime.”

    “Is that right?” Rodimus glanced at the other councilors. Some of them, such as Devisiun and Velocitron’s representatives, looked receptive to the prospect of another colony’s aid. Others, such as Windblade and Dai Atlas, seemed dubious to what Prowl was saying. And others still, like the Decepticons, were unreadable as ever.

    In any case, Rodimus had already made up his mind. “Who should I bring with me?”

    “Prime, wait,” Dai Atlas said. “We need to think this over before—”

    “We don’t have time to think things over, Dai Atlas. The Grand Architect could strike again at any minute. I’m not going to sit around and pass up an opportunity like this.” Rodimus rose from his seat. “Lead me to Fort Max. I’ll call up the Elite Guard to provide some extra support, though I doubt I’ll need it.”

    “Rodimus, stop!” Windblade pleaded. “You can’t just... you don’t know what you’re getting into.”

    “I’ll be fine, Windblade,” Rodimus replied, already taking his leave from the Council chambers. “I’ll keep the space bridge open, in case I need any last-minute rescuing. But I trust Prowl; even if I hate his circuits sometime, I know him well enough to know that he wouldn’t pull any dirty tricks.”

    Once the young Prime and the Prowl clone had left the room, Windblade slumped back into her seat. “Unbelievable.”

    “As much as I would like to give him credit for maturing since becoming a Prime, he’s still as reckless as ever,” Dai Atlas commented.

    “I for one have faith in the Prime,” said Fireshot. “After all, he carries the Matrix of Leadership. One would be a fool to confront someone a true Prime like him.”

    “Like we were fools to fight Thunderwing when he had the Matrix?” Starscream asked dryly.

    “Thunderwing was a pretender; the Matrix actually chose Rodimus whereas Thunderwing stole it from its then-proper bearer.”

    Windblade suddenly straightened up at this. “Wait a minute... where’s Orion Pax been?”

    “Orion Pax?” Dai Atlas asked. “Last I heard, he’s still living in Tyger Pax. The new one.”

    “Someone get me his frequency,” Windblade said urgently. “He needs to know about this.”

    “I thought he didn’t want to be bothered with politics anymore,” said Airazor. “He is retired, after all.”

    “Not retired enough for this. Not when the fate of Cybertron is resting in the balance....”

--Earth--

    Sovereign, leader of the Titan Masters, was growing impatient.

    It was a feeling that had been festering for quite some time, at least as far back as a year ago. It wasn’t until the situation with the Underbase, which had forced him to improvise his plans, that he had really started to feel it. He had contacted his superior of the situation, informing them that things were not proceeding as foreseen. The response he had received simply told him to have patience and wait.

    Well, Sovereign was quite through with waiting. He had been waiting for well over six thousand years when ever since he first came to this soggy dirtball of a planet. He had done everything his master has asked of him: Locate the Enigma of Combination; use it to make breakthroughs in science and technology that humanity had never before dreamed of; allow it to fall into the hands of the Earl of Folgan so as to expedite Onyx Prime’s ascension; retrieve the Underbase for the final stage of their scheme; use it and the technology they had already developed to win the humans over....

    Sovereign had done all of this and yet still had not reaped any benefits from all his patience. What his master was waiting for, Sovereign could only begin to guess at. He had already done his part of the agenda; now it was time for Onyx Prime to do his.

    Night had begun to fall in Detroit. The new Onyx tower, made from what had once been Sumdac Systems, was a sufficient replacement for the tower they had lost in Santa Cruz. It certainly helped that Sumdac himself had expertise in the field of robotics; they didn’t even have to do much in terms of overhauling the building beyond a few cosmetic changes here and there. Out of everything they had done in the past few weeks, that was the one thing that had turned out right.

    Sovereign shook his head to himself as he kicked back in his office chair. There was no need for his “Blackrock” disguise now; he was alone for the night and most of the staff had already left early for the holiday. The only ones working now were those who were already aware of his true nature. As he stared at the crescent moon glowing in the nighttime sky, he noticed a light flashing on his desk. That was sure to be Powell; he had been rather energetic at the meeting earlier that day and was very adamant about his proposal about something-or-other (Sovereign couldn’t remember what it was). No doubt he was trying to call “Blackrock” to win him over with his smooth words.

    Rolling his optics, Sovereign leaned over and picked up the desk phone. “Blackrock, here.”

    “Sovereign, it’s Diac.”

    “Diac?” Sovereign instantly straightened in his seat. “What is it? You sound panicked—”

    “Because I am panicked! All of our systems are down! None of our computers are responding!”

    “Calm down, they’re probably just acting up. You know how fallible human technology can be.”

    “It’s not that!” Diac replied. “Ominus and Twin Cast have been trying to bring things back up, but... Ominus thinks someone’s trying to hack into our database.”

    “Impossible,” Sovereign whispered. “We fortified our firewalls and we used the Underbase to put firewalls around the firewalls. How could anyone be breaking through our defenses?”

    “I don’t know. We’re trying everything but nothing’s working.”

    Sovereign cursed to himself as he rose to his feet, kicking his chair away. “Quit your whining. I’m on my way.”

    Slamming down the phone, he started to make his way towards the door. However, when he pressed the remote to open it, nothing happened. He glanced at it to make sure it was still on before trying again only to get the same lack of results. After a few more futile button mashes, he crushed the remote in his hand before slamming a palm over the control panel. Still nothing. Growling to himself, Sovereign reeled back his leg and gave the door a powerful kick. A few more broke the door off of its hinges and it fell to the floor with a sounding clang.

    Sovereign stormed out of his office and made his way down to the control center, where his fellow Titan Masters were moving about in a panicked frenzy. All of the monitors were showing either static or blue screens while everything else technological was malfunctioning: robotic arms from the production lines were spinning around, conveyor belts were moving in the wrong directions, and spare parts were being knocked or thrown around. It was pure chaos.

    Unable to locate Diac in all the madness, Sovereign instead set his eyes on Apex, who was watching everything unfold with crossed arms. Grabbing him by the shoulder, Sovereign growled, “How did this happen?”

    Apex shrugged the other Titan Master’s hand off. “Everything was working normally until now,” he grunted. “It all happened at once; no warning signs, nothing glitching out prior, nothing.”

    “You don’t think someone could have sabotaged us, do you?”

    “I wouldn’t rule out the possibility,” Apex replied. “Since you mention it, I have been wary of Ginrai and his true loyalties since we retrieved him from those crusaders.”

    “Yes, I am well aware of your misgivings with him,” Sovereign said wearily. “Where is he now?”

    “Wherever the transtectors are being held. Diac just went for him, I think.”

    Sovereign grabbed Apex by the arm. “Then let’s go.”

    “Hey!” Apex protested as Sovereign dragged him through the chaotic control room. “What are you--”

    “All of my headaches for the past few weeks started with you,” Sovereign muttered. “You’re in this with me whether you like it or not.”

     Ignoring Apex’s continued objections, Sovereign navigated his way through the crowd of panicking Titan Masters before finally reaching the hangar in which the transtectors were being kept. The large Cybertronian-sized bodies had been built with the use of Sumdac’s robotics as well as data downloaded from the Underbase, made in preparation for an event in which the Autobots attempted to undermine their operations. Perhaps they would be needed sooner than Sovereign had anticipated....

    It didn’t take him long to locate Diac and Ginrai, who were standing in front of a black truck with red-tinted windows. Upon noticing Sovereign and Apex, Ginrai noticeably tensed while Diac stood to attention, albeit looking more than a little unsettled.

    “Sovereign,” Diac said carefully. “I wasn’t expecting you to... what I mean is--”

    “Both of you have five seconds to convince me that neither of you had a hand in this,” Sovereign said darkly.

    Ginrai held up his hands. “I assure you that I had no part, although I can’t speak for Diac.” He ignored the glare the other Titan Master gave him. “However, I am taking this as an opportunity to abandon ship.”

    Sovereign narrowed his optics. “You’re running.”

    “It’s a lost cause, Sovereign. First, we botched the Underbase thing, then we lost one of our towers, then our contractors broke off their alliance with us... there’s simply no way of salvaging this.”

    Apex scoffed. “As if you’ve done anything to help us. At least Diac made an attempt by sending Trypticon for the rest of the Underbase, even if that ended in misery as well. What have you done for us lately?”

    Ginrai glared at Apex but kept his attention on Sovereign. “Listen, I know you’ve been at this for a long time, longer than any of us. But at some point, you have to ask yourself if it’s worth it.”

    Sovereign frowned and opened his mouth to retort... but found that he had nothing to retort with. Everything Ginrai was saying was what he had been feeling just five minutes prior.

    “You say that you’re destroying the Primes and their legacy,” Ginrai went on. “But how is it not hypocritical when the very being you’re answering to throughout all of this is a Prime himself?”

    “You know why it’s not hypocritical!” Apex snapped. “Once Onyx Prime returns, he will abolish the very name of Prime and—”

    “I’m well aware of that,” Ginrai shot back. “But what good is any of it if we’re simply substituting one corrupt dynasty for another?”

    Apex started to shake with anger. “What are you implying?”

    “I’m not implying anything; I’m saying that once Onyx Prime returns, he will simply do what every other tyrant before him has done and—”

    “That’s it!” Apex raised an arm which, in the same motion, transformed into a gun. “I’ve heard enough of your treasonous slander! If you won’t stand with us, then—”

     The rest of his speech came out as a scream as Sovereign grabbed a hold of his weapon arm and ripped it off at the shoulder joint. As Apex staggered back in agony, Sovereign tore the severed arm open to gain access to its triggering mechanism before pointing it at Apex’s chest. The other Titan Master saw this and his optics went wide in horror.

    “No... you can’t—”

    “I take it back,” Sovereign said. “I’ve decided you no longer need to be a part of this.”

    He pressed the trigger and a blast of energy tore its way through Apex’s chest. The Titan Master’s body fell to the floor, a gaping hole where his spark had once been, as the color of his armor plating faded to gray. Sovereign then tossed the weapon arm aside as he turned back to Ginrai and Diac.

    “Mobilize all of the transtectors while I summon all of the others. I think it’s finally time we throw off the shackles of the Primes completely and choose our own destiny.”