With the two headed off, Axis looks to find a quiet and secluded place nearby. A place where she wasn’t likely to be bothered.
Once such a place was found she sat down on the ground. She took a deep breath in, waited a moment, then let it out. With her nerves at ease she tried to reach into the Matrix, and contact the lingering spirit of Alpha Trion.
Maximus meanwhile looked for someone who could properly take care of the bodies he had found.
Axis’s surroundings do not seem to change- the city and the people around her remain as they are. However, a pink and purple cybertronian is now sitting beside her, sporting a long white beard made of fiberoptic cables. Patterns of yellow light scrawl over his armor, forming ancient cybertronian glyphs on his arms and legs.
“Good morning, Axis,” Alpha Trion says with a light smile. “Anything I can help you with?”
Any one of the medics on the scene could probably take the bodies off Maximus’s hands. The predacon might also see the four-eyed police captain storming through the rubble by the entrance to the Hall of Records, looking very irate.
“As a matter of fact, there is.”
Axis replied.
“There was a terrorist attack on the Hall of Records this morning. We were only just able to fend them off. And it seems this is what they were after.”
The Prime opened the case given to her by Aralysa and Stonefist. After taking a moment to observe the data pad herself, she turned it to show Alpha Trion.
“This artifact is apparently called the Journal of Sentinel Prime. I was hoping you could tell me exactly what this is, and why someone would want to go through so much trouble to get it.”
Once Maximus had handed off the two bodies, he decided to approach the angered police captain.
“Is something wrong officer?”
He asked calmly.
“Well, it’s Sentinel’s journal, obviously,” Alpha Trion says. “It’s the diary of your immediate predecessor.”
“Yes!” the captain snaps, stopping suddenly and whipping around to glare up at Maximus- he was a good two heads shorter than the predacon.
“In addition to one of the most important cultural sites on the planet being attacked under my watch, your conjux is a psychopath!”
“First, let’s get you out of that suit, can’t have you bleeding out on me. In the meantime, you can tell what your objectives were? Was it a smash and grab? General terror? Or were you trying to hit someone?”
The woman begins to remove the outer armor of her exosuit, moving slowly so as to keep from causing herself more pain.
“The computer would’ve told me if I was bleeding,” she says. "But if this keeps me out of whatever dungeon cybertronians throw their criminals in, I’ll humor you.
“We were supposed to steal some kind of diary from the lower levels,” she explains. “The journal of some warrior-priest or whatever- Sentinel, I think his name was? Don’t bother asking who hired us, or what they wanted with it- we never communicated with them directly.”
Kitai notices Axis talking to thin air. "Hey. Uuuuuuh… i inquire why you are talking to thin air? Sorry if i’m being rude.
The journal of Sentinel Prime? Now that was quite the prize indeed.
“Did you work through an intermediary, or was it a simple drop?” He asked, looking to figure out the means of communication.
In the meantime, he looked for any obvious injuries, such as broken limbs or serious burns.
The woman has no injuries that Ivory could see- everything from the base of her skull down is covered in a black undersuit, with hardpoints and circuitry nodes made to connect to the outer plating of her armor. There are no obvious punctures, and all four of her limbs seemed to be intact.
“We coordinated through encrypted communications,” she explains. “Our employer gave us our target, told us when to strike, then had us meet in some abandoned asteroid mine to pick up our gear. The whole time, we never saw their face.”
Maximus folded his arms and glared down at the police captain. His optics narrowed in a subtle, though very clear sign of anger. Had the officer made such a harsh claim a few thousand years ago, the predacon would have punched him on the spot. Though thankfully he had learned some restraint since then.
“You know, that’s a pretty serious accusation to just throw out there. Especially to me, specifically. So I’m going to need you to explain yourself. And I suggest you do so, very, carefully.”
He spoke in a very collected, though serious tone.
“Yes, of course.”
Axis replied. She seemed a little ashamed that she hadn’t thought of that immediately.
“In all my years spent as Prime, I unfortunately haven’t taken the time I should have to learn about the one who came before me. A failure on my part, I will admit. Perhaps its time I pay him a visit.”
Axis then perked up a bit and smiled.
“Thank you for your time Alpha Trion. It’s always a delight to see you.”
If the old Prime had nothing else to say, Axis dismissed him back into the Matrix. Though before she could try to summon Sentinel…
Axis turned to Kitai, somewhat surprised by his sudden appearance. Though he would notice she seemed much more calm and collected than before.
“Oh, hello again.”
She picked up her Phoenix Sceptre and stood up off the ground.
“I assure you, I wasn’t just speaking to thin air. I can use the Matrix of Leadership to communicate with Primes of the past. I’ve relied upon their experience, wisdom, and guidance many times before. And now I am using them to try and learn more about the artifact that the terrorists were trying to steel.”
Axis replied.
“were there any other groups involved in the operation? A frontal smash-and-grab seems a bit risk, especially for something that could easily be destroyed in the crossfire.”
Cargo scratches his head. “Er- Yes, yes, he is. Nova, this is Zipline. Zip, this is Nova.”
“It- It talked to you, Cargo!” yelps Zip, pointing at Nova.
“Well,I wanted to ask you something. If something that was left behind from your greatest enemy,never supposed to be found,and it made its way to you,what would you do?” Kitai asked,his wings fluttering slightly.
The captain directs Maximus’s attention to one of the medical transports, where the hostage gored by Loader was being connected to life support equipment.
“See that man there? The one with the gaping hole in his abdomen?” he asks. He then continues before Maximus could answer:
“The big one with the chainsaw did that. The terrorists were starting to kill the hostages- which is exactly what they said they’d do if Axis and her comrades kept charging at them head-on. Now, Primus must be feeling merciful today, because somehow he’s still alive, but his life was put in danger by people who were supposed to protect him. That’s something I take very seriously.”
“If there’s anyone else they hired, we never met them,” the woman answers. “I certainly wish we had some backup.”
“I can imagine, though I doubt you expected such heavy resistance. How much did you all plan this out? What was your job? It’s odd to send an unaugmented human into a fight against cybertronians.”
“You were very brave,” Roaster says with an appreciative nod. “But threatening them first probably wasn’t the best. Nor jumping out of your mech there. Oh! Speaking of which, mind if I take a look at that sometime? My new project is studying mechas for beings like you, could help me a great deal.”
“Now where do we go?” Stonefist asked once he and Aralysa had begun walking through Iacon again. The gray-armored transformer glanced around the city, and though it was quite different from what he remembered, there were still parts that were easily recognizable even to him.
Stonefist’s purple and blue friend shrugs.
“Hmmmm.” Aralysa mumbles, deep in thought. “Oh I don’t know, let’s just head to the Primal Basilica.”
“Alright, sure.” Stonefist replies nonchalantly. With that, the two transformers then start heading towards their Iaconian destination.
“Supersoldiers are overrated,” the woman scoffs. “I’ve never needed any enhancements before- though maybe a reinforced skeleton would’ve come in handy when that copter-bot chucked a grenade at me…”
Word of the attack at the Hall of Records has spread throughout Iacon. As Stonefist and Aralysa walk to the Basilica, they overhear many people talking about it. Some people even seemed to recognize the pair from the newsfeeds, though no-one approaches them.
A few sections of the Primal Basilica are open to the public. Another ancient building, this place has been the home of Matrix-bearers since the beginning of cybertronian history. The Thirteen themselves once walked its halls. Today, it is looked after by an order of seraph-looking bots with wings on their backs, along with a compliment of Knights of Cybertron.
“I’m no superhuman myself, just making an observation. Mind answering the question? After that we should be done.”
“Of course I can talk. Why wouldn’t I?”
Nova asked, rather confused by Zipline’s behavior.
“Another curious question from the strange traveler. Very well, I suppose I could spare a moment to ponder.”
Axis replied.
“Left by my greatest enemy… Never meant to be found…”
She muttered to herself as she thought it over.
“I suppose it would depend on the exact nature of what was found. Say for instance that it’s a weapon. A tool used only for death and destruction. In that case I would see it destroyed so that it can do no more harm. But suppose instead that it’s information. Say a personal secret or knowledge of a fatal weakness. In that case I would try to use it to my advantage. Leverage it against my enemy to gain the upper hand.”
Maximus’ expression softened considerably. His stern fury quickly faded away. He had to admit, the captain did have a point.
“The situation was… Complicated, to say the least. I won’t try to tell you that you’re wrong to be upset. But at the same time I don’t think it would have been right to stand by and let them get what they wanted. Who knows how many more people could have been hurt if they succeeded and gotten away with the artifact they were after? And of course it doesn’t help that they fired on us before we ever attacked them. Perhaps we could have handled things better… But sometimes keeping people safe means taking difficult risks.”
The predacon replied. Now in a more calm and respectful tone.
“Oh, Ferrex? Yeah I don’t mind if you look him over. Just be careful. He’s got a few nasty gashes from that scrap with the dragon guy. I really hope there’s a repair shop somewhere close by.”
Niko replied.