Backbreaker recalls this creature from an earlier conversation with Maximus- it was a Cobroid. He also remembers that they didn’t normally attack creatures larger than themselves.
So it only looks scary. I’ll just scare it off.
He transforms into his beast mode, pawing at the sand and flicking his tail as he snarled at the cobroid.
The snake looked at Backbreaker, looking more annoyed than anything. It went back down and slithered away to find someplace quieter to sleep.
Backbreaker reverts to robot mode and smirks, misinterpreting the snake’s retreat as being out of fright.
“Yeah, you better run,” he says quietly, and he sits down on the fallen arm to watch the sunrise. After such a rude awakening, he felt like taking some time to decompress.
Torchwing walked out and sat near him with a huff. The large predacon tried to get as comfortable as he could while he waited for the party to get moving again. He didn’t say anything, but he definitely looked a little tense.
Backbreaker chalks Torchwing’s tension to some lingering nerves from the fight. He sits in silence with the predacon for a moment, content to look upon the horizon, but after a minute he feels the need to pick Torchwing’s brain- metaphorically, of course.
“Hey,” he says, “what do you know about these guys Maximus is taking us to? What are they like, and why do they do their business in the Sea of Rust?”
Angel quietly flew down.
“The Dust Devils are a pirate crew that hit small towns and Federation patrols near the edge of the Sea of Rust.”
Torchwing said calmly, keeping his gaze out to the distance.
“Only pirate crew I know of that never goes off world. They’re also one of the crews that work under Ironfang like we do, so we’re on good terms. The reason they keep out here most of the time is to avoid capture and detection. It’s not worth the effort to hunt someone down when they live in the most inhospitable place on the planet.”
Once Angel was up on the table, he could see Axis had a guilty look to her.
“Listen, I’m really sorry about this. After everything you’ve been through, and what we’ve done to your home… Is there anything I could do to make it up to you?”
“Makes more sense, putting it that way,” Backbreaker replies.
“How do you think they’ve managed to survive the last seventeen years?” he then asks. “You think the Decepticons think they’re not worth chasing, like the maximals did?”
“Look around. This place is a wasteland. There’s nothing worthwhile for hundreds of miles. The 'cons might not even know they’re out here.”
Torchwing replied.
“Hell, they probably wrote us off as dead before we even made landfall.”
“That’d be nice,” Backbreaker says. “Gives us some breathing room- the element of surprise, maybe. We lay low; learn some more about what the planet’s like, what’s left of the Federation, and draw up some battle plans.”
“That’d be a nice change of pace. Maximus is probably the best friend I have, but I have no issue recognizing that he isn’t exactly the best bot to adventure with sometimes. Subtly is far from his strong suit, and he usually ends up setting the pace for most our trips. So actually getting to take our time with this would be nice.”
“We can start by answering my questions.” Angel said, “What happened to my people, who was Nova Prime and who is Megatron? Tell me, not as a person, but as a historian; the facts.”
He seemed distraught.
“I just gave you the guidebook to everything,” Grumbled Direwolf, wait, are you illiterate?" He asked, failing to read the room.
Axis took a deep breath to calm herself.
"The first two questions are… difficult. No one knows what happened to the Ancients. The exact event that wiped them out is up to serious debate between current historians and scholars. The best answer I can give is an old legend that’s been around since the golden age.
"The ones who came before were limitless in their power and wisdom, but they were not infallible. They pushed the boundaries of time, space, and life itself. But one day, they pushed too far. One act of hubris so great that Primus himself couldn’t stand by. Deeply ashamed he wiped the Ancients off the face of Cybertron, and pulled all that they created beneath the surface. When he tried again, he made his children weaker, and without the gift of magic, so that they would not commit the same mistakes as their predecessors.
"But like I said, that’s just a legend. Something likely thrown together long ago based off of sparse findings and flights of imagination. While it would explain why every ruin that’s been found so far has been underground, most historians don’t believe in its validity. Myself included.
"As for Nova Prime, I really can’t help you there. In every book I’ve read, and all the research I’ve done, I’ve never once seen mention of his name. The machine said ‘In the holy word of Nova Prime’, so he must have been in a high position of power. And the title of Prime is fascinating to me. Considering that there’s no record of any prime between the original 13 and Optimus Prime at the dawn of the Great War. Really, I’m astonished I haven’t heard of him before now.
“But Megatron… Megatron is easy. Megatron was a horrible tyrant. He formed a movement that was meant to better Cybertron. Only for it to turn into a faction of hate and violence. In the war, he was bent on conquest and power. Megatron is a name that used to send terror through the entire galaxy. He was killed by Optimus Prime towards the end of the Great War several hundred millennia ago, but now it seems he’s returned from the dead and reclaimed Cybertron for himself and his decepticons. That’s what my friends and I are doing here. We’re planning on stopping him and freeing our home.”
Axis looked past Angel and at Direwolf, not having noticed him till now.
“How long have you been standing there?”
Before he knew it, the robot was dragged out and destroyed by the others. Timberjack tosses the now useless tool elsewhere in the room. He sighs, but at least the threat was gone for now. And while there’s peace, he tries to see if there are any remaining tools or models that could be useful to take with them. If not, he goes to check on the supplies they’re brought to see if they survived the battle.
Similarly, with the threat gone and having not found anything useful inside before, the Railroad Team waits outside for when they start moving again.
Darksting stepped out of the shadows, and said,
“I’ve been here too. Your explanation is as thorough as it can be. Megatron is a horrible person.”
“For a while now.”
“Then Megatron should’ve remained dead, I will join you for the sake and memory of my people.” Angel said.
“But I must ask something in return.” He says.
“Alright then, let’s move out, guys.” Darksting said to them.
“Well that sure is one way to start the day.”
Nebula said.
Axis was very presently surprised.
“That’s great! We’d be happy to have you. And I’d be happy to give whatever it is you need.”
Maximus was standing guard outside, surveying the landscape. When suddenly something caught his attention. Something black moving out in the distance. He pulled out his sniper rifle and used the scope to get a better look. It seemed to be a tarantula of some sort. A really big earth tarantula.
“Well now. Seems we’re not alone out here.”