“All right,” he nodded his head. “You can call it my intuition, so just bear with me here,” he said as he gestured with his hands. “On my last mission, to retrieve the Omega Key, I’ve encountered a strange bot, to say the least,” he mentioned, puzzled just like the enigmatic character he mentioned.
“I don’t know how to say this…” he stared at his hands, “but he had a different kind of presence than any Autobot I’ve seen. His mettle is that of a different kind. Greater than that of a Wrecker even.”
“He also appeared to be old. I should have told you of this strange figure sooner. But, I didn’t think it was that important,” he shook his head.
“He didn’t give me a name but I saw him use an energon axe. Now, it isn’t much to go by. However, can you search up anything on a bot wearing robes and an axe during the Ancient Age and potentially everything following after that, since he may have made other appearances in our History?” he asked.
Motherboard is silent for just a second as she searches through Salvation’s databases.
“Wearing clothing is unusual for our species, though not unheard of,” she says. “Energon blades have also been a common weapon used since before the Golden Age. Unfortunately, it is impossible for me to determine the identity of a specific individual from the information you have provided me, crewman Scorchlock.”
“Topside told me about your mystery bot after we left OL-2,” Shatterpoint comments. “He couldn’t put a name to him either.”
“Wait, how old do you think that guy was?” Broadband asks the wrecker. “You’re looking through Golden Age history, but realistically speaking, anybody from that time’s been long dead by now.”
Scorchlock remained silent as Motherboard searched through Salvation’s database. But just as he expected, there wasn’t anything she could provide him with that information.
“Well, he had blue optics but I reckon it won’t be much help either,” he crossed his arms, resting his elbow on his palm while bringing his other hand close toward his mouth in a thinking pose. “He told me his name was of no importance. But I have a hunch he’s more than meets the eye,” he said.
The Wrecker glanced at Broadband, as he asked him how long he thought the bot was. He gave some thought before answering. “Remember when I said he had a unique presence than I was used to?” he asked. “You could say he was… mythical, something that was taken out of the Covenant of Primus and brought to life.”
“I don’t want to jump the gun here and claim he’s the big thing,” he mentioned. “However, my intuition tells me he’s way older than we think he is. So it was worth a shot,” he looked at Broadband, before glancing at Motherboard. “Can you look after the Golden Age then?” he asked.
“Maybe you could spot some references, who knows, he might have made some sort of appearance during the Great War before we draw it into a cease-fire,” he speculated.
“Kinda strange, I gotta admit,” Broadband says. “I mean, we are supposed to be the only ones out here. Well, us and Bludgeon, of course.”
“If we meet him again, perhaps we could learn something more,” Shatterpoint considers. “But let’s not allow the past to get in the way of our mission in the present.”
“Yeah; why just read about history when you can make it?” Flyby jokes, looking around at the other bots on the bridge to try and pull a laugh from at least one of them. Not even his own sister was willing to throw him a bone, however, as she sighs and drops her head into her palm.
“Oh come on…” the pilot mutters, turning back to his controls to bring Salvation out of transwarp.
The Wrecker couldn’t say he wasn’t disappointed. This mystery man was driving him insane. He didn’t know why but he felt as if, he was a big deal, and he needed to discover his name.
Needless to say, he sighed and nodded his head. “Thank you, Motherboard,” he looked at her.
He listened to what Broadband had to say, “apparently not,” he mentioned. “But once I meet him again, I will get his name. I have to,” he determinedly said, before he went silent the moment Flyby made some kind of joke to bring some humor in a rather earnest conversation about a mysterious figure.
“Anyway,” Scorchlock breaks the silence. “I’ll be in the hangar,” he said, “so if you will excuse me,” he turned around only to walk out of the bridge. As the doors close behind him, he continued to walk until he arrived at one of the hangars the Salvation had, before he found a spot he could seat and think.
Out of nowhere, his pal, Cayde appeared flying toward his master. Scorchlock greeted him with a wave before he extened his forearm to sit on. “Hey pal,” he said before taking a small energon cube and feeding him the substanence. “Our next destiation is approaching. I’m nervous,” he said.
Cayde stared him in the optics, “but then again, so are you,” he patted his head.
Lurch’s capture was conveniently timed; a moment longer, and he would still have been on the loose when Salvation and our heroes finally reached the next stop on their journey. The Fleetcarrier’s crew abandon their hunt for the spy who had eluded them for so long, and whatever ire they felt toward Lurch was soon to be replaced far different emotions.
Topside enters the bridge, and immediately Shatterpoint approaches him. The Decepticon had never thought he’d see his counterpart as overcome with wrath as he had been when SideStep had finally pried the spy’s identity from the mind of his would-be assassin, and it had honestly disturbed him. And he’d been just feet away from Megatron in some of the worst of his homicidal fits.
“I’m alright.” Topside holds up a hand, addressing the driller worm in the room. “I’ll just… need a moment, I guess.”
“Right.” Flyby wasn’t entirely convinced that the whole crew didn’t need to see a psychiatrist with all the scrap they’d been through.
“Aaaanyway; we’re coming out of transwarp in three… two… one.”
The pilot and navigator pull back on the levers between them, and the field of blue-green light around Salvation ruptures and peels back, releasing her back into this universe.
And what a strange corner of it she’d come upon. Our heroes found themselves drifting in a field of debris hanging in the void; mountainous chunks of rock and ice and twisted scraps of metal drift slowly in long arcs, slowly spinning through strange wisps of purple and blue that spread throughout this space like a dense nebula.
A possible source for the destruction presented itself on Salvation’s port side: a small, dark blue planetoid with its northern hemisphere smashed to pieces. The magma beneath its crust had long-since simmered and hardened into miles-long spires that rose up from its core, like crooked fingers trying vainly to grasp onto life.
The Wrecker continued to mend his pet before he saw the blue-green light around Salvation from the Hangar’s windows change into the void of space. He took a moment to realize that.
Scorchlock glanced at Cayde, “we’ve arrived sooner than expected,” he said.
The falcon squawked and rubbed his head against the Wrecker’s fingers in approval. “With Lurch’s discovery as Bludgeon’s spy… we should have some sort of advantage now,” he replied.
He glanced at the hangar’s digital window, “but I have a feeling they’re not far behind,” he muttered, as he was ready for the next mission. He had a few things on his priority list: Kill Bludgeon to revenge the Titan Squadron, get the Omega Key, find the mystery bot and get his name.
There was no doubt about it, that our Wrecker, was determined to tick everything on that list…
Forcep looks out the window, following Zepar’s gaze.
“Knowing our luck, we’ll be picking pieces of the next key out of all this rubble,” he says.
“Although, I suppose fortune’s bestowed some mercy on us fairly recently, so who knows?”
Motherboard had indeed done what they had asked; Lurch’s commlink had disconnected, and his access to Salvation’s computers had been revoked. He didn’t even a hab-suite anymore; Motherboard had replaced the location of his quarters aboard the ship with his cell number.
Of course, Lurch wasn’t currently in his cell. He was in the detention ward’s medical facility, shadowed by guards while Tailspin, the brig’s designated medical officer, removed his weapons.
“Maybe I should tell Facelift I’ve got the guy who’s made our lives so miserable for the past two months bolted to an operating table with his guns cut out,” she darkly jokes. “I think he’d just love to hear that.”
“I know you two have a history, you wretch,” Lurch snarls up at her. “And because of that I also know you two wouldn’t go within teen feet of each other if your sparks depended on it.”
Tailspin undoes the restraints on the operating table, and steps back to let Lurch slide off it. He stands up, rubbing the spots on his back where his launchers once where.
OOC: It might have to wait, but that could be dependent on what the other characters want to do.
I preferably want to get to that after y’all find the next key, but I won’t force anything more than I have to.
Zepar arrives in the brig as the restraints were released, his eyes said it all: he wanted to bleed the traitor dry of life and information and use him against the heretics…rather ironic, the idea of using their spy as a weapon against them.
Garand and Epsilon approaches Lurch, “Now, I believe we need to show you to your new living space.” Epsilon said.
Lurch gulps and takes a step away from Zepar. Knowing his powers, Lurch knew he couldn’t stand a chance against him without his weapons. He offers no resistance, and lets the trio lead him to his cell.
“I will see you in your cell, traitor.” Zepar growled, the last word in Ancient, as Garand and Epsilon brought Lurch to his cell and prepared to put him inside. “If I may, I wish to put him in there.” He requested of Garand who looked at the brig warden for their decree on this.
The warden, a brawny Autobot with blue armor, nods his head, unsuspecting of whatever Zepar’s true motives were. Lurch doesn’t speak, but was not looking forward to what he believed Zepar had in mind.
“Primus above.”
Starchaser said as she looked out a window. By this point she and Broadwing had separated, but were still traveling together.
“It truly is magnificent sight.”
Broadwing replied.
“Breathtaking almost.”
“Yikes. This place looks more beat up than back home. And that’s saying something. I mean have you seen Junkion?”
Pipebomb said to Brieg. The two were walking down a hall, traveling to their respective quarters, when the Salvation came out of transwarp.
“Yes. Well good luck out there. I’m sure whatever awaits you in this place will be most exciting.”
Brieg said in a very dry and matter of fact tone.
“Oh what’s the matter doc. You not coming?”
Pipebomb joked.
“I am a scientist. My place is in the lab with Shockwave and the others. You can go galavanting out there all you like. But adventure just isn’t my thing.”
Fortress stood quietly in the darkness of his hanger. He found himself alone, yet again. He looked longingly out one of the larger windows, gently pressing his hand against the glass. The sight before him was beautiful to say the least. Oh how desperately he wanted to be able to go out and join the others. But he knew he couldn’t. He wasn’t meant to. Unless personal needed to be moved long distance on the ground, or the crew found themselves in a super-heavy combat situation, he just wasn’t needed.
But then he thought about what Starchaser said to him. All the things she talked about. Maybe just because he didn’t need to go, didn’t mean he couldn’t?
He quickly hailed the autobot captain on his comlink
“Attention Captain Topside. I request that I be deployed on this following mission.”
This would probably come as a surprise to the captain, considering the giant had never really asked for anything before. But it was still worth a shot.
