SIX: KILL THE PAST
Combatron
“You really expect me to believe there are survivors here, Foldspace?”
“The scanners never lie, Spacewarp!” the old Mini-Con shot back as his tiny rover form rolled across the desolate surface of Combatron.
Spacewarp could only sigh and roll her eyes as she stood above her Mini-Con partner, watching as he picked through rubble. As much as she wanted to point out the plenty of times in which his scanners did in fact lie (or, more likely than not, he misread them), she was not in the state of mind to argue with him.
Besides, she knew he needed this. They both did. For the past several months, they had been spinning their wheels, searching for surviving Mini-Cons only to come up empty. A part of Spacewarp wasn’t surprised much by that; by this point, any Mini-Cons that had survived the massacre on Micron had either been rescued already or were lost deep in Galactic Council or Black Block Consortia territory, serving their new masters for as long as they still functioned. Until Spacewarp was daring enough to go deep into their territory, that was where they would likely remain for the foreseeable future.
If anything, Spacewarp’s primary focus as of late was to get as far away from Megatron and his forces as possible. From what she had heard, the Decepticon armada he had amassed was constantly on the move, reclaiming old territory and reintegrating wayward Decepticon forces. Spacewarp just knew that she was on his list—if he remembered her existence at all—and that he would not take no for an answer should she be approached by him.
That could have been another factor in why they had had so little luck so far. She had deliberately pressured Foldspace to focus on worlds that were remote and far out of reach of any major galactic power. Ostensibly it had been to stay out of the Galactic Council’s sights… but really it was to stay out of Megatron’s. And while Combatron had once been a contested planet in the Great War, the outcome of the battle that had taken place here all those centuries ago meant that there was nothing worth of value for anyone. Surely Megatron would have no interest in such a desolate world like Combatron.
Right?
Unconsciously, Spacewarp’s optics flicked up to the dusty, starry sky above, scanning it for any sign of spacecraft—specifically those of the purple variety. Ever since they had arrived on Combatron, she had started to feel… paranoid. Like she was being watched. Any minute now, she was expecting something to emerge from the void and—
“Found something!”
Spacewarp nearly jumped at the sound of Foldspace’s cry. She looked down to see the Mini-Con transform and move aside two stones that revealed a small hole in the ground. Huddled inside it were a trio of Mini-Cons, who all instantly raised their arms upon being discovered.
“Please, don’t hurt us!” said a dark turquoise Mini-Con with gray pincers adorning his shoulders.
“Relax,” Spacewarp said, crouching down next to the hole. “We’re here to rescue you. How long have you guys been hunkered down here?”
A tan Mini-Con with wings lowered his arms to fold them over his chest. “You tell us, femme. How long has it been since the Atlas War?”
“Somewhere between five centuries and a millennium.” Spacewarp frowned behind her faceplate. “How have you guys been surviving in all that time?”
“Stasis naps and rationing reserves,” said the turquoise Mini-Con. “Plus we are a lot more energy efficient than you bulks.”
“I can see that. Name’s Spacewarp, by the way, and this is Foldspace.” She shifted and the trio that made up the Transwarp Blaster emerged from one of her compartments. “And these are the Interstellar Marauders. Boom-Tube, Jump Drive, and Starburst.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance. You can call me Grip-Lock. This is Thunderstick, and over there is Skysickle.” The turquoise Mini-Con gestured first to the tan one and then to their third companion, a maroon one with rotors for hands. Thunderstick merely grunted as means of greeting while Skysickle responded in a manic and incoherent string of binary. Grip-Lock then gave an apologetic look. “Sorry about him. He’s been… through some scrap. We all have.”
“Yeah,” Thunderstick muttered. “So are we just gonna sit around or are we finally gonna get off this rock?”
“Hey, don’t let me keep you waiting,” Spacewarp said. “There’s plenty of room aboard my alt mode, so you can all come aboard and—”
“Hold it,” Foldspace interjected. “I’m picking up something.”
“Another Mini-Con signature?”
“No. It’s coming from somewhere else.” Without looking up from his scanner, Foldspace pointed up to the sky. “It’s coming from above.”
Spacewarp could already feel her spark sink as she lifted her gaze up to the stars. One of the objects in the sky, she quickly deduced, was not a star but in fact an object that was fast approaching from space.
A very large object. Titan-sized, one might say.
“You have got to be fraggin’ kidding me.”
* * *
“Combatron?! Why are we here of all places?” Starscream practically squawked.
Krok stood behind him as they both stared at the visuals Trypticon had provided them from within his cranial unit. The desolate world of Combatron, ravaged by the Great War, was fast approaching as the Titan made his descent.
“Do you not know your history?” Trypticon rumbled, a sardonic tone to his voice. “During the Age of the Primes, this world was the stronghold of my former master, the one you remember as the Fallen.”
Starscream scowled. “Yeah, well, the Fallen is dead. And so is this waste of a planet.”
“Precisely. Which is why it must be destroyed. Consider it a symbolic gesture as well as a demonstration of my power.”
Starscream threw his hands up as he turned away from the screen. “Great. So we get to watch him blow up rocks in space. I’m glad we could be here for this.”
“At least he’s not trying to blow up Cybertron,” Krok muttered.
“Quiet!” Starscream grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him against a wall. “Don’t give him any ideas!”
“Oh, don’t worry,” Trypticon said. “It was already on my list.”
Starscream continued to glower at Krok even as he let go of him. The former scavenger could only look away, feeling despondent from this whole situation. That was when he noticed a small green light blinking on his wrist, indicating an incoming call on his communicator.
He frowned. He knew of only one other Decepticon (presently living) who could have his personal comm frequency… and would have enough care to do so.
Tentatively, he raised his arm to his faceplate and answered the call, speaking quietly for all the good it would do.
“Hello…?”
“Krok?” the familiar voice of Nickel came through. “Oh, thank Primus. I was worried you had died in the battle. You weren’t among the wounded that came in so I wasn’t sure—”
“Nickel,” Krok interjected. “I need you to be quiet and listen to me. Starscream and I are inside Trypticon and—”
“Trypticon? Starscream? Wait, what are you talking about?”
“There’s no time to explain! Look, we’re at Combatron. Trypticon is about to destroy the planet. Go tell Megatron so he can bring the fleet.”
“Um, okay. I’m on my way.”
Krok exhaled from his cooling systems. “Thank you, Nickel. I… thank you.”
He ended the call before slumping down on the floor, leaning his head against the wall. Starscream stood across from him, arms crossed with a disgusted look on his face.
“What a fantastic use of a lifeline,” the Seeker muttered.
“Have you forgotten,” Trypticon thundered around them, “that I can see and hear all that you do?”
“I haven’t,” Krok admitted. “To be honest, it matters not what happens to me now. Only that someone has remembered me.”
“How pathetically naive.” Trypticon went silent again as he pressed on towards Combatron.
Starscream glared back at Krok. “For the record,” he muttered, “I agree with the Titan.”
Krok simply closed his eyes, blocking out their remarks as he waited for whatever came next.
The Nemesis
“This had better not be a trick…”
“I wouldn’t lie to you, Lord Megatron!” Nickel exclaimed as she rolled beside Megatron on the bridge of the Nemesis. “I swear on my life—!”
“Good, because your life will be forfeit should this prove to be a trap.”
With the blast shield still in place of the viewport he had shattered, the Nemesis was practically flying blind as it traversed through hyperspace towards the Tsiehshi system, home to the abandoned colony world of Combatron. At the ship’s controls, Skywarp could only rely on the navigation system as he directed the Nemesis towards their destination.
In the meantime, Megatron had already assembled a strike force to bring Trypticon to heel. While he knew it would perhaps be easier to simply blow the Titan to oblivion, Trypticon was too useful an asset to throw away so recklessly. If there was a chance to bring him back under his control, then Megatron was not going to give that up.
He glanced over to the side, where said strike force gathered in wait. Lugnut appeared eager as always to fulfill his master’s command, while most of the others, such as Blitzwing and the Seekers assigned as his flight-mates, looked apathetic or were otherwise difficult to read. And Astrotrain…
Astrotrain simply stared at Megatron, a subtle fury in his optics.
Megatron frowned at this, unsure what to make of it. As he recalled, Astrotrain had been among the Decepticons who had returned to Earth to search for him. He, as with Lugnut and the rest of that team (besides Starscream) he had always pegged to be among his most loyal followers.
Why, then, was Astrotrain regarding him with such anger? Had he been wrong in his assessment?
“It would not be the first time.”
Megatron scowled as he started to shift his gaze to the left, where the intruding voice had come from. But the apparition that stood beside him was not Shockwave but rather a tall mech in white and black armor plating, with blue on his thighs and biceps and a golden sheen to his mouthplate and helm crest.
Blinking in confusion, Megatron opened his mouth to speak but thought better of it, conscious of his audience. Instead, he used his thoughts to communicate the figure that was already in his head. Who are you?
“Has so much time passed that you no longer remember me?” The mysterious mech scoffed as he shook his head. “For shame, Optronix.”
Megatron’s expression darkened. I no longer go by that name. Now, I will not ask again: Who are you?
“You will remember me as Atlas Convoy. But in my final years, I went by another moniker.”
Ah. Megatron remembered now. Yes. You proclaimed yourself King Atlas, ruler of Combatron. Namesake of the Atlas War.
“I suppose I shouldn’t blame you for forgetting.” Atlas walked past him, unseen by the other Decepticons. He stopped at the front of the bridge and made a motion with his hand, bringing up an image of Combatron. “Your Decepticons were not involved in that particular conflict. A wise decision in hindsight, given the destruction it brought about.”
King Atlas then paused before looking over his shoulder at Megatron.
“Of course, you and I are both familiar with destruction, aren’t we?”
Beside him, other apparitions began to materialize beside King Atlas. Megatron instantly recognized them as other members of the Convoy Corps, the special operations group he had formed so long ago to combat the threat of the Destructons.
“You claim to be so much more powerful now than you were all those years ago, and yet still the Destructons elude you. Your current followers have failed where we have succeeded. We didn’t need combiners or Titans to defeat the Destructons. So what is your excuse, Megatron?”
Megatron clenched his fists. I don’t need excuses.
“Are you truly as strong as you say?”
Shut up…
“Did you make the right choice in becoming who you are?”
Shut up!
“Was Galvatron right in choosing—”
“SHUT UP!”
The apparitions vanished, leaving no trace of their presence. In their place were the shocked and stunned stares of all on the bridge.
Megatron froze in place, realizing at once that not only had he screamed his final thought aloud… but that he had raised his fusion cannon and prepared to charge it, aiming it at where King Atlas’ image had been. Just as he was about to lower his arm and think of an explanation for himself, he heard the click of a gun and looked over to see Astrotrain raise his weapon at him.
“I suppose now is as good a time as any to start this,” the Triple Changer muttered.
Megatron’s eyes flashed at him and he moved to aim his fusion cannon at Astrotrain. As he did that however, he heard another click as Dirge raised his null rays, pointing them at his head.
Then, another Decepticon raised his gun.
Then another.
Then another.
All pointing at him.
Skywarp remained where he stood, looking on in disbelief. Lugnut whirled on his compatriots, shaking with fury.
“How dare you turn your weapons on the all mighty Megatron! You shall pay for this treason!”
“There’s more where that came from, by the way,” Astrotrain said, seeming to ignore Lugnut. He drew another weapon and pointed it at Skywarp. “Have we dropped out of hyperspace yet?”
“Hold on just a nanosecond,” the black and purple Seeker exclaimed. “Just what the frag do you think you’re—”
“Answer me, you idiot!” Astrotrain snapped.
Skywarp scowled but glanced at the navigation system anyway. “Yeah, we’ve just entered the system. I was about to report that anyway until—”
“Until what? Until our ‘all mighty leader’ decided to have another episode?” Astrotrain sneered, keeping his sights on Megatron. “If this is the one you want to put your faith in, then be my guest… but you and Lugnut are going to be part of a very small club.”
“Wait, just hold it, Astro’.” Blitzwing stepped in between his fellow Triple Changer and Megatron. “Just talk to us. What exactly are you trying to pull here?”
“I guess Starscream didn’t approach you, then? He didn’t show you what he’s shown me? What he’s shown all of us?”
“What are you talking about? What does Starscream have to do with any of this?”
“He showed me the truth!” Astrotrain snapped. “He showed me exactly what he has become! An unstable leader who doesn’t know what he’s doing and spends more time talking to himself than he does trying to crush our enemies! He had an opportunity to destroy Earth and the Autobots but decided to postpone it. He has been leading us on a fool’s errand to wipe out the Destructons but we got our afts handed to us! Instead of using his power to wipe them out, he saved them for bots like Clench—for fellow Decepticons!”
A harsh silence fell over the bridge as those who had yet to raise their weapons processed the words they were hearing. Only Lugnut and Skywarp seemed to remain defiant in the face of this growing mutiny.
“A thousand years,” Astrotrain went on. “A thousand years he has been our leader and what has he accomplished? Nothing. He ruled Cybertron for all of a few seconds before losing it to Unicron’s heralds. He was dead for a year, leaving us in shambles, and then played chummy with the Autobots when he came back. It was only after he died and came back again did he finally decide to take back command to lead us back to glory. And after half a year, where is that glory? Where is our triumph?”
Skywarp scoffed. “And who are you going to look to instead? Starscream? He’s had his chance already.”
“Indeed he has, which is why I’m not doing this for him. I couldn’t care less if we rescued him from Trypticon or not. He can burn in the Pit for all I care.” Astrotrain’s optics blazed as he focused his gaze on Megatron. “I am doing this for us. For the Decepticon Empire.”
Megatron glanced around and saw that the rest of the bridge crew had raised their weapons in his direction. Even Blitzwing and Thundercracker, as reluctant as their expressions were, had turned against him. All that left on his side were Skywarp and Lugnut, as well as Nickel who cowered behind his legs.
“So,” Megatron murmured. “This is how it ends.”
“I’m afraid so,” Astrotrain replied. “Look, if you do the smart thing for once and surrender yourself, then we’ll just lock you in the brig and decide where to go from there.”
“Nobody locks Megatron in a cage!” Lugnut roared, raising his fists.
“Indeed.” Megatron cocked his fusion cannon and prepared to charge it. “I suppose there is only one outcome to this.”
“Wait.” Nickel poked her head out from behind Megatron, the radiation dial on her helm pinging wildly back and forth. “My Lord, if you fire your weapon here, it could obliterate the entire bridge!”
Megatron looked down at her, studying the Mini-Con for a minute before offering her smile. A sad smile, but a genuine one.
“An observant one, aren’t you?”
He then returned his attention to Astrotrain, who remained defiant where he stood, the barrel of his own weapon beginning to glow.
For what seemed like an eternity, no one made a move. Then, just as Megatron was seconds away from firing, Skywarp lunged from his station, tackled his leader to the deck, and the world around him disappeared in a flash of light.
When reality materialized around him once more, he lost control of his weapon and a powerful blast of energy lanced from the barrel of his fusion cannon. However, there was no longer a target in front of him and it dissipated in the void of space.
Megatron whirled himself around and saw Skywarp floating before him. Above him was Nickel, who was angled upside down after he had inadvertently flung her off his leg to which she had been clinging for safety.
In the distance behind Skywarp was the Nemesis and the rest of the Decepticon fleet. From the bridge came the flash of an explosion, which seemed to rock the entire vessel. Blasting out of the opening that had been made in the ship was a large purple bomber plane which came blasting towards Megatron’s position. Upon closing the distance, Lugnut transformed to robot mode and prostrated himself before his leader… or the best he could do in the vacuum of space.
“My glorious leader, I humbly submit myself to your command! Give the word and I shall eradicate those treasonous—”
“No, Lugnut,” Megatron sighed. “That won’t be necessary.”
Lugnut blinked in surprise. “But… my Liege…”
“Astrotrain is right. I cannot call myself leader if all I do is lead us to failure. If I am to rule the Decepticons, then I must make things right.”
Skywarp frowned. “Okay… and how are you going to do that?”
“I must eradicate all the ghosts of my past... starting with the Destructons.”
“Right, but we need to find them first….”
“I have an idea on where to start. But first, we need a method of transportation.”
“I can warp us back to the Nemesis, but…” Skywarp looked over his shoulder to where the Nemesis was floating aimlessly, smoke exhuming from the command bridge. “It looks like Lugnut’s temporarily taken it out of commission.”
Megatron smirked. “Oh no, I’m not talking about the Nemesis.” His gaze moved towards the planet of Combatron. In the distance, he could spot the unmistakable form of Trypticon as the Titan made its descent through the planet's atmosphere.
“I was thinking something a little more… bigger.”
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