“Might very well be sire,” He said, responding to Trion. “As it’s primary feature is a large metal turbine that lowers in front of the entrance, that sucks up anything on the road. It then has some disassemblers inside of it that will break what it’s captured into it’s based components. We don’t often use it, but it has been for emergency purposes when a large force attempts to breach out sanctum. The cargo bay is primarily used for dormitories now.” He explained, hoping he may now have proof of it’s development.
“Smart kid, where are you? I’ll come join you.” Ivory asked
Seraphicon drew his sword and marches right up to Nova Prime, “do us all a favor: shut up.” He says to the specter.
“Okay, I may still be catching up but could we get some context for his outburst?” Firestorm asks Alpha Trion, more comfortable asking the Original 13’s historian.
“I suppose that’s helpful, if perhaps vague. Then again it’s not like I’m at a lack of resources at the moment. Now would be a good time for me to consult my other predecessor, while they’re all here. Unless of course there was anything else you wanted to share with me.”
Honeycomb grew a wide smile. The enthusiastic words of the Primes inspired quite a bit of confidence within her. Onyx especially.
“Thank you! That helps a lot actually.”
Defender asks, “Lady Prime, what shall we do next? I understand that we have the full council of Primes here, so this ought to be a good time to formulate a plan, at least for the next few days.”
Oreo heads back into the Tomb to find Razor. He is intrigued by the comments of the crowd.
Axis turned to Defender.
“I’m still not certain at the moment. I have a lot to consider. A lot to think about. Before I decide anything, I need to further consult my predecessors.”
She replied.
Solus Prime’s eyes light up as LD-L1 describes the Anchorite, his words jogging her memory.
“I thought those were all destroyed!” she says. “In any case, I’m pleased that it has continued to be of use to people, even if it isn’t serving its intended function.”
Alpha Trion frowns, now that his suspicions are confirmed and he knows that the Followers are the same misguided cult he’s been thinking of.
“Your devotion is… admirable,” he says tentatively to LD-L1, “but I have to say, you and your fellows have some rather strange and not-entirely-correct perceptions of us.”
“Peace,” Nova Prime scoffs. “I tried to uplift our species, to claim our rightful place in this universe, and they cast me down for it. What peace should I find in that?”
The shade of the disgraced Prime turns as Seraphicon storms up to him, blade in hand. “Perhaps I will,” he sneers. “Even after all these eons, my words fall upon deaf ears. Under my rule, our people would have been reunited far sooner. The war with the Decepticons, the return of the Heralds of Unicron, and even this new emerging threat could have all been avoided.”
With Alpha Trion speaking with LD-L1, Beta Maxx takes it upon himself to answer Firestorm’s question.
“Oh, that’s Nova Prime,” he explains. "He used to be an Angelicon, like Seraphicon, but he went mad after he bonded with the Matrix. He became a tyrant and was cast down in a revolt some twenty-one million years ago.
“It’s a shame,” he adds. “There must have once been something good in him for Matrix to choose him in the first place, I imagine. But ‘power corrupts’, and all that…”
“It is my pleasure,” Onyx says pleasantly. Micronus responds with a thumbs-up.
“I have nothing more to share with you,” Sentinel says to Axis, and to the rest of our heroes. “Go to Lacuna when you are ready. Find what I have hidden before your new enemy does, and do what you must with it. I could say more, but the Angelicon Order and even the Knights of Cybertron are not immune to corruption. The less I tell you here, the better.”
Oreo will find that the Tomb of the Primes is much brighter inside now, and currently populated by the ghosts of the previous Matrix-bearers, temporarily brought into the mortal realm by the Matrix through means unknown. It has never displayed such abilities before.
“I’m on the bridge,” Salvage tells Ivory. “Just keeping an eye on the cameras, making sure our guests don’t try anything stupid and looking for any more stowaways, I guess.”
“Oh! Well, I’m not sure that’s my place to explain…” Beta Max responds, nodding toward Kitai. He knew what the hybrid quintesson was, but he also wanted to show Kitai respect and give him the opportunity to disclose his identity on his own terms.
Axis nodded.
“I understand. Though the next time I try to reach you, try not to be such a stranger. I’ll solve your puzzles if that’s what you wish. But there’s no need to be such a recluse.”
With that the Prime turned and walked through the necropolis. She approached the 12 gathered Primes. She acknowledged LD-L1 and Honeycomb who were already there. But she decided this was more important than whatever was on their minds.
She looked to the 12 spirits, addressing them respectfully and as a group.
“My esteemed predecessors, I require your guidance. All of you. Sentinel has warned me that my actions have lead me down a dangerous path. One that he himself fell to. One where the Matrix would reject me. Such a possibility… it frightens me, to say the absolute least. So I ask you, what can I do to avoid this fate? What must I change to keep the Matrix with me?”
She asked. While she tried her best to stay calm and composed, there was a noticeable level of desperation could be heard in her voice.
With Axis having gone to speak with the 13, Maximus looked to Sentinel.
“So… was there anything else big you did while you were Prime? Or is the whole Great War fiasco the only notable thing you did?”
He asked casually.
Ld-l1 took a breath, he knew what was coming. Ever since the primes had properly come back to be with the common folk, even in a limited way, it had caused a schism among the believers. Many lost faith, and left their order, calling them frauds and crazies, leasing to their current, rather depleted numbers. For those that remained, the Adjunct Deificus had made a decree. She would continue in her works, even if the Primes claimed to no longer be deities. Faith was good for the soul, even if that faith was proven to be false. She would not require any to join with her, but would welcome any to join her.
In the years that followed doctrine had been changed, through careful debate and discussion, until the current state had been reached. The old records were a simple misinterpretation of the Prime’s current state. The Primes, while functionally immortal, were not divine. Primus however was, and thus the thirteen, as his children were equivilent to demigods and worthy of honor regardless. Some chose to reject this, insiting that they were divine, and they too left the order forming their own.
LD-L1, after a few moments, spoke something that all of his order had memorized, just in the off chance that they found themselves in this circumstance. “I am… aware of our history, lord Trion. But, much has changed since your passing, and we have become well awakened to the truth, well, most of us. We realize now that neither you nor your siblings are divine, despite your apparent immortality. But Primus still is, or rather, as close to divine as one can be. So we keep the faith, and we retain our old trappings, as you and your siblings have still done much worthy of emulation and honor. You are not divine, mortal and fallible, but that does not mean we cannot attempt to emulate your successes. And so, we keep ourselves true to our old teachings and myths. I hope I am clear?”
———-
“Right, I’ll be there in a jiffy.” He answered, before taking off to find the place.
Solus Prime, Megatronus, Alpha Trion, Onyx Prime, and Micronus Prime are still engrossed in their conversations with LD-L1 and Honeycomb. Optimus Prime, though, steps forward. Due to his unique situation, his form is much more opaque, more “solid” than the other spirits the Matrix has summoned into the Tomb. It almost looks like one could reach out and touch him.
“If your primary concern is to cling to your power, Axis, then the Matrix will take it from you anyway,” he warns Axis. “It will leave you to seek another host one day, regardless of what you do- that is the way of it. Focus on becoming a better leader first and foremost, as Sentinel advised, not on appeasing the Matrix.”
“I understand,” Alpha Trion says after a moment of consideration. “I do not agree with you, but I understand. Faith has long been a pillar of our civilization- my fellow Primes and my companion Beta Maxx knew this, and thus encouraged it. I, however, have always put more value in historical truth. That is the purpose that Primus made me for- I’m sure you understand that.”
“The Great War, and all that has transpired since, is all there is to my legacy,” Sentinel Prime tells Maximus with a sad smile. “Early in my reign, I thought I could use the knowledge contained within the Matrix to redevelop technologies lost after the Golden Age. I even considered telling my people the truth about the War of the Primes and the Prime Colonies- reunification was an ambition of mine, though of course it would be an eon before the right people came along to make it real. As I peered deeper into the Matrix’s collective memory, and saw why the Thirteen hid such knowledge, I abandoned those projects. I decided that the time was not right, that my people were not ready. I have often considered that I may have been mistaken.”
The bridge is located at the front of the Pulsar. Salvage is currently hunched over the security console, scanning various holo-screens linked to the ships security cameras.
“If we’re gonna keep this thing, we need to install some interior defenses,” he remarks. “Like tripwires, or immobilizer rays, or just good ol’ fashioned turrets.”
"So. You tried to make a lot of people gods and those people cast you down for it because they didn’t want to be. Very simple,very straight forward. I think you have a ego the size of a moon, and a god complex, and so on and so forth. To be brutally honest with you, everyone, including the matrix, saw that you,and only you, were being an absolute steaming pile of egotistical mania,and everyone showed you signs that maybe what you were doing was wrong. And now you’re dead and have to deal with the consequences of being a terrible leader. My advice, is that if you cant at least cope, and change your opinions about what you did, and get your head out of the clouds of ridiculous imagery that cybertronians are the most supreme beings in the universe, you are going to spend the rest of eternity, sulking in a corner about “Ooohh,I couldn’t get my people to ascend, so i have every right to complain.” " Kitai said with a stern tone.
“I’m not entirely sure I understand.”
Axis replied.
“This is an active problem. I’ve already felt the Matrix lash out against me. I’m afraid that this might happen soon. But it sounds like you’re telling me to solve the problem, by not worrying about the problem?”
“I think you’re worrying too much about the symptoms of the problem, rather than the cause of the problem.”
Honeycomb interjected.
Axis looked to the insecticon with a confused and bewildered expression.
“Excuse me?”
“Ah! I-I’m sorry, Axis Prime, miss- I uh- I just- I spoke without thinking. I’m sorry.”
Honeycomb sputtered out in a nervous panic.
“Relax. I am not above criticism. If you or any of my subjects believe they have something to say to me, they are free to say it.”
Axis replied calmly.
“Okay, well… I don’t have all the context obviously, but to me it sounds like the Matrix isn’t judging you based on super specific details or anything, but on the overall quality of your work. Its like a hive manager.”
“I’m sorry, I’m not very familiar with insecticon culture. What is a hive manager?”
Axis asked.
"Oh, right. That makes sense. See back home in the Below, every insecticon has some sort of job they’re supposed to do. For example I used to work in resource organization before my friend and I transferred to food gathering so we could spend more time outside. But the thing is there are a lot of insecticons that live in the Blow. Way too many for queen Pterygota to manage on her own. So she has a whole bunch of hive managers. Their job is to look over a big group of insecticons and make sure that they’re doing their job well. Then those managers report back to the queen. Or maybe to Gossamer. I’m not super sure.
“Anyway, my point is that hive managers don’t fuss over the little details. All they care about is that you’re doing a good job. And to me, it sounds like this Matrix thing might be a similar situation. You’re looking for specific changes to make for a really specific outcome. But that’s not what the Matrix cares about. All it cares about is the overall quality of work. So if you spend all your time worrying about the problem and nothing else, then you miss the point entirely.”
Honeycomb paused for a moment as she realized she had been rambling. She turned and looked up to Optimus Prime.
“Did I get that right?”
She asked.
“Huh. Well that’s definitely unfortunate.”
Maximus replied. He waited another quiet moment before he spoke again.
"Do you really think Axis has been that rough on the job? I mean she’s still pretty new to the whole thing, but I’ve seen her work. I’ve been by her side every day since she was chosen by the Matrix. And she’s done a pretty good job. Managing the colonies, handling the occasional minor crisis, even meeting with interspecies delegates and laying out all the groundwork for rejoining the F.A.S. She’s had to handle way more than any other cybertronian lesder in a long, long time. She’s brought our people to a better place than they’ve been in millions of years. A reunified empire and free from exile. And as far as I’ve seen, the public don’t have any problems with her. Most of them anyway.
Maximus sighed.
"I’m not saying she’s perfect. She definitely has a problem with shouldering more work than she needs to, and she gets overwhelmed. And yeah, she probably does jump to violence a little to quick sometimes. But we’re from Eukaris, it’s kinda built in. Hard to work out of your system.
“My point is that she’s had way more responsibilities to worry about than a lot of other leaders before her. Definitely more than you did. Yeah she has problems, but she’s also still new. I just feel like you’re being a bit harsher than what she deserves.”
“Of course, I understand well Lord Trion. And if I may be so frank, I agree with you in many ways. If I had the ability, I would gladly cross-reference our legends and parables with your knowledge, so we may correct them. It has been several thousand years, and anything will become twisted over such time. Faith in Primus and our traditions do not necessarily preclude accuracy, and I do wish the Adjunct Deificus would consider such a matter. This may interest you, and perhaps you could offer suggestions so as to improve our studies.” LD-L1 reaches into his cloak, revealing a small pendant.
The Pendant was a triangle shape with three spheres on the points. In the center was a stylized data disc, representative of knowledge. “This medalion is meant to represent yourself, lord. It is given once an initiate has mastered the lessons that we attribute to yourself, and your siblings all have one as well. You virtues of self-research, the protection of knowledge and as of recently, the understanding that many of our stories are parables, lesson tools, not fact. No initiate may be considered a full member of our order until they have shown understanding these virtues, though if you have suggestions for further refining our teachings, please, tell me. I am a more than willing pupil.”
LD-L1 hoped both to satisfy Trion’s dislike of the whole ordeal, as well as potentially gain new knowledge.
Ivory was not entirely surprised of the level of paranoia Salvage had. “I think that might be a bit overkill.” He commented, offering a human-sized hand to shake.
Nova Prime steps back, shocked. He hadn’t expected to take such a verbal lashing from what he believed to be simply another quintesson drone. Unable to come up with a satisfactorily -scathing rebuttal, the disgraced Prime simply snarls and storms off, draping his mechanical wings around himself like a cape. Some of the nearby spirits of other past Primes snicker as he passes them, pleased to see Nova humbled yet again.
“That is not entirely correct,” Optimus Prime says to Honeycomb, shaking his head. “The Matrix of Leadership will respond to specific actions it disapproves of. In Axis’s case, I suspect it lashed out at her for endangering innocents and comrades in some of your most recent battles, and for killing the leader of the thieves at the Hall of Records when the hybrid quintesson in your company had already incapacitated him. The Matrix does not take kindly to such recklessness, which is what Sentinel tried to explain.”
“The demands of leadership are great, young predacon,” Sentinel tells Maximus. “And those chosen to bear this burden must be held to higher standards- that is the way of it. I serve as an example of what can happen when a leader does not meet those standards in times of crisis. Something dark and powerful looms on the horizon- you all have felt it- and the consequences of failure will surely be terrible.”
Alpha Trion curiously inspects the pendant, stroking his beard as he did so. After a moment, he looks back up at LD-L1.
“If you wish to sway your ‘Adjunct Deificus’ to change her rulings on this matter, perhaps the word of Alpha Trion himself could help convince her,” he suggests, clearly unaccustomed to flaunting his quasi-divinity so. “It also sounds as though whatever Sentinel Prime buried on Lacuna will provide a few more historical revelations if discovered- I think your order could use it, if you have the opportunity.”
Salvage turns around, and upon seeing nobody at eye-level, he looks down to see Ivory approach in his human form. The red Junkion kneels down and kinda awkwardly bumps fist with the detective, moving his arm slowly and carefully so as to avoid injuring the Silent Shroud. Of course, Salvage doesn’t know that this man is somewhat more than meets the eye…
“Eh, maybe,” he says. “They’d be a real glitch to install, too, I’ll bet. We’d be better off trying to pull some strings and get ourselves another ship- something actually built to be in a fight.”
“I suppose I do tend to jump to quickly to violence. I will readily admit that I let things get terribly out of hand at the space port, and killing the terrorist leader was a foolish and impulsive decision. I promise I will work to be more careful in future, and I will be sure to only use as much force as is necessary, and only when it is necessary.”
Axis replied to Optimus Prime.
“I mean obviously. It’s just… agh. I don’t know. I’m not the best with all this big Prime stuff. I get that we got a lot coming up ahead. I just feel like you’re not giving Axis the credit she deserves. Or any credit at all really.”
Hoping to escape the conversation, Maximus looked around the chamber to see if there were any Eukarian Primes present among the specters.
“Quintesson?” Firestrom asks Optimus over non verbal comms. The prime could hear his voice but he wasn’t speaking out loud for everyone to hear. The Lost Knight looks at Quintus Prime, “are they your progeny?” He asks the Prime of Life in the same manner.
Defender sees Oreo enter the room.
“Welcome, stranger,” he says quietly. “I assume you are with the Prime’s party?”
“Yes, I am,” Oreo replies. He looks around the room, amazed and somewhat nervous at the sight of all the Primes filling the room.
“Allow me to introduce myself,” Defender says. “My name is Defender. I am one of the few surviving fighters from the Great War, as I- well, I got put in stasis upon arrival, and so I missed the whole thing. I was woken up about fifty years ago when my vehicle form was sent to Cybertron as a gift to the Prime from the humans of Earth. Their gift was a whole lot better than they had imagined, as I had been assumed dead. So now I’m just touring the Galaxy, learning what I missed and catching up on the recent developments. And you are?”
“I’m Oreo,” Oreo says. “I’m a case of cold-construction, from here on Cybertron. My friend Razor should be around here somewhere. She’s a Mini-Con, about six feet tall, has two wheels on her shoulders – have you seen her?”
“If you believe it would help, please do so. The Data disk in the center is functional, if relatively low capacity.” LD-L1 told the Prime. He didn’t tell him it was meant to be used to record last words, but he figured this was somewhat more important.
“That seems much more doable, though I’m not sure how many combat-grade freighters are flying around. Maybe a Corps scale transporter?” Ivory posited, fully aware that keeping the bot talking was the best way to keep someone company.
