CHAPTER THREE
Cybertron
“He’s still not talking?”Checkpoint shook his head, staring at the restrained Wipe-Out through the large window separating them. “We’ve tried everything with him. From gentle prodding to aggressive interrogation… we even brought in Stungun to scare him a little. So far, all we’ve gotten out of him is an oil leak.”
Star Saber grimaced as he observed the nervous and jittery Decepticon. As far as he was concerned, Wipe-Out was the only hope anyone had in getting to the Grand Architect and rescuing Rung. As Wipe-Out had been the one who gave Rung’s location away to the Grand Architect, he must have had some form of direct contact with the elusive figure. However, the Decepticon had claimed that he had deleted any contact information he had with the Grand Architect; a claim that Star Saber had strong doubts about.
“He must know something,” he murmured. “Is there anyway we can extract the information from his processor?”
Checkpoint glanced up at him, an optic ridge raised. “You mean through mnemosurgery?”
“Do we have any mnemosurgeons available?”
“Only one I know of is Chromedome, and he’s given up that practice from what I’ve heard. I doubt we could convince him to do it.”
“I know that Chromedome was crewmates with Rung when Rodimus captained the Lost Light,” Star Saber said. “If we told him what was at stake, he might consider it.”
Checkpoint shrugged. “You’re free to give it a shot. I wouldn’t count on it though.”
“Do you know where I can find him?”
Checkpoint sighed, not bothering to hide his exasperation. “Last I checked, he and his spark-mate Rewind are living here in Iacon. I can give you exact directions once I check the register.”
“Thank you. It may be our only hope in getting to this Grand Architect.”
Star Saber turned and was about to leave when Checkpoint spoke up again.
“Has a decision been made on how we’re going to deal with the Decepticons?”
Star Saber stopped to look at him. “Elita is still discussing it with the Council,” he replied. “I’m not aware of any decisions that have been made, if any.”
“Right,” Checkpoint grunted. “’Cos, you know, Megatron being back is kind of a big deal. Much bigger than rescuing this friend of yours.”
Star Saber narrowed his optics at the officer. “Rung is more important than you realize. The Grand Architect obviously wants him for a reason and, based on all of our encounters with those who serve him, it clearly can’t be anything good.”
“If you say so,” Checkpoint muttered. “I still think Megatron’s return is a more pressing and far more evident matter of concern.”
“You’re right, it is. That’s why all of our resources are being split in order to address all of the many, many issues at hand.”
“Still seems like a slipshod way of doing things. If Optimus was still leader, we would be a lot more focused.”
Star Saber frowned beneath his mouthplate. “I’ve heard that Optimus — or Orion Pax has agreed to help us.”
“Yeah, but is he leading us? We’re going to need one until or if we get Rodimus back.”
“Elita and I are sharing command, along with the rest of the Council. It may not be the best solution, but—”
“You’ve got that right.” Turning sharply on his heel, Checkpoint began to head out of the room. “Give me five minutes and I’ll get you Chromedome’s location. Then you can continue this futile detour of yours.”
“It’s not futile when it’s another Autobot’s life on the line,” Star Saber retorted.
“All of our lives on the line,” Checkpoint shot back. “It’s not just the life of one. Even if you do manage to save Rang, or whatever his name is, how many Autobots will have fallen to Megatron by then? As someone who’s supposed to be leading us, that’s something you should be taking into consideration.”
Star Saber opened his mouth to argue further only for Checkpoint to turn his back to him.
“If you ask me, your time is better spent elsewhere,” the officer muttered as he walked away. “Of course, no one ever asks me….”
Star Saber found himself at a loss for words as Checkpoint departed from the room, leaving him alone with the silent Wipe-Out.
* * *
“I’ve gotta admit, I am feeling slightly agitated about this whole thing.”“Don’t worry, Cosmos, this isn’t an interrogation,” Nightbeat said as he motioned the green-and-yellow Autobot to sit down at a small table in just-as-small room. “We just want to have a quick talk with you.”
“I’m still getting major interrogation vibes here.” Cosmos glanced nervously between Nightbeat and Skids, the latter who was standing with his back against the door. “Like, could you guys try to be just a little bit less intimidating?”
Skids sighed. “We just want some answers, Cosmos. You were the one who first encountered the Destructons in the Muta-Gaath Nebula, when they captured Omega Supreme.”
“Yes, and I filed my report as soon as I got back to Cybertron!” Cosmos replied. “Can’t you just bring it up and read it for yourselves instead of… doing this?”
“We want to hear from your first-hand,” Nightbeat said, taking a seat across from him. “When you found Omega Supreme, what state was he in?”
Cosmos slumped against his seat. “He looked as if he had been dragged through hell and back. I don’t know who did it to him or why. It was probably the Destructons, but—”
“Were the Destructons there when you found him?”
“No. I didn’t see them until a few hours after I called for help.”
“Did you hear them say anything?”
Cosmos spared a moment to think. “They were talking about using a Transwarp device, which they used to take Omega Supreme away. I… I don’t remember hearing anything else before they attacked me.”
“What about Omega?” asked Skids. “Did he say anything to you?”
“He was repeating some kind of mantra when I found him. ‘Prepare, confront, repel,’ I believe it was. Then he told me to get the hell out of there, which… looking back, I probably should have.”
“Is that all?” Nightbeat asked.
Cosmos nodded. “That was when the Destructons found me, and then you guys showed up. Can’t give you anything more than that.”
“Well, that doesn’t really help us much,” Skids muttered. “We still don’t know what the Destructons wanted with Omega Supreme or where he even is now.”
Nightbeat rubbed his chin. “Clearly, this calls for a much deeper investigation.”
Skids gave him a look. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Isn’t it obvious? We have to retrace our steps and go back to where this whole mess started in the first place: the Muta-Gaath Nebula.”
Skids frowned at him. “And what exactly do you expect we will find there?”
“Anything! Answers, clues, you name it! We would have a better chance finding them there then we would peddling around here on Cybertron.”
“In any case, you would have to clear it with Star Saber or Elita. The Muta-Gaath is dangerous territory to begin with and to go someplace that the Destructons have already been is pushing it into suicidal levels.”
Nightbeat smirked at him. “And teleporting yourself onto Tyrest’s ship isn’t?”
Skids looked as if he was about to retort but couldn’t come up with a strong enough response. Instead, he let out a huff as he returned his gaze to Cosmos. “You’ve still got directions to the Muta-Gaath, don’t you?”
“I….” Cosmos hesitated for a moment. “Yes. Yes, I do.”
“Hold on to them. We just might need them sooner than you think.”
* * *
“No. Absolutely not.”“I wasn’t asking you, Rewind,” Star Saber said, standing just outside Chromedome and Rewind’s living quarters. “I was asking—”
“No.” Rewind shook his head, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. “I will say it a hundred times if I have to. I’ve got plenty of time.”
Star Saber frowned as he glanced between Rewind and Chromedome, who was rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “Help me out here,” Star Saber said to the latter.
“I don’t practice mnemosurgery anymore,” Chromedome replied. “I physically can’t. If I do, the process would instantly kill me. The reason you don’t see many mnemosurgeons around is because of how high the mortality rate is among practitioners.”
“That is unfortunate. So there is no way you can help?”
Chromedome shook his head. “I’m afraid not.”
“Look, we’ve heard about everything involving Rung,” Rewind said. “Believe me, we are just as worried as everyone else; he was with us for many of our adventures on the Lost Light. But I don’t think Chromedome would be of any help by doing what you want him to do.”
Star Saber nodded solemnly. “I understand. I don’t suppose you know of any other mnemosurgeons who can help?”
While Rewind shook his head, Chromedome tapped the chin of his mouthplate. “Actually… I might know someone.”
Rewind looked up at him in surprise. “For real?”
“When the others and I were abducted by the Titan Masters, I got the sense that the Cyberdroid controlling my body knew something about mnemosurgery. It felt like someone was swimming through my mind, digging up old memories.”
Star Saber looked at him intently. “Do you happen to know the name of this Titan Master?”
“As a matter of fact, I do. I believe his name was Stylor.”
“Stylor.” Star Saber repeated the name, committing it to memory. “Well, I’m glad you remember that because it just so happens that we’ve made friends with some of the Titan Masters. Hopefully Stylor is still with them and will be willing to help.”
“Good luck with that,” Rewind said as he and Chromedome headed back inside.
“Yeah, and try not to do anything too shady,” Chromedome advised. “Trust me, it’s very easy to fall down that path.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Once the pair had closed their door, Star Saber turned and was about to transform when he noticed a pair of blue cars speeding up to him. Recognizing them as Nightbeat and Skids, Star Saber stayed put as the two Crusadercons transformed and walked up him.
“Captain,” Nightbeat started, “we need to return to the Muta-Gaath.”
Star Saber eyed the detective carefully. “Come again?”
“Nightbeat thinks we would be able to find some clues regarding the Destructons and their plans there,” Skids explained.
“It is where we first encountered them, after all,” Nightbeat elaborated. “Not to mention the fact that they captured Omega Supreme there, and we still don’t know what they have planned for him.”
Star Saber folded his arms over his chest. “And what makes you think we would find anything there?”
“Call it a hunch. A very good hunch, at that.” Nightbeat grinned as he spread his arms wide. “Have my hunches ever steered you wrong?”
“Well, there was that time at Aeglus Four—”
“That doesn’t count,” Nightbeat hastily said. “That was just an adventure caused by a mistranslation.”
Skids cleared his vocal processor. “So, what’s it going to be? Each minute we spend debating is another minute Rung or Omega Supreme potentially loses. Cosmos says he’s got the coordinates, so we just need the ship.”
Star Saber sighed as he stared at Nightbeat. “You are absolutely sure about this ‘hunch’ of yours?”
“Captain,” Nightbeat said firmly, “I’ve never been more sure in my life.”
“I’m pretty certain you’ve said that more than once to me,” Star Saber muttered. “But, in any case… give me some time to talk to Elita, as well as to call up some bots. Meet me back at the Lost Light in two mega-cycles.”
“Yes!” While Nightbeat pumped his fist triumphantly, Skids gave Star Saber a surprised look.
“Wow. Just like that? To be honest, I was expecting a bit more resistance to the idea.”
“Believe me, a large part of me wants to shoot down your idea,” Star Saber replied. “However, I’m as desperate as you are at this point. We are going to save Rung and put a stop to the Destructons once and for all.”
“Sounds good,” Skids said. “But what if Elita says no?”
“Last time I checked, she isn’t Prime. Besides, she’s already given me the approval to focus on rescuing Rung. Hopefully, this endeavor will lead us towards fulfilling that goal.”
“If that’s the case,” Skids said, glancing pointedly at Nightbeat, “this hunch of yours better not steer us wrong.”
The detective grinned at him. “Skids, my old friend, I’m right there with you.”
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